Lecture: Design and Study of Novel Stimuli-Responsive Polymers and Hybrid Materials
Lecturer: Prof. Yue Zhao, Département de chimie, Université de Sherbrooke, Canada
Date: June30
Time: 9:00
Place: Academic hall, 3rd Floor, Lihua Building
Abstract of the lecture:
I will report on our recent studies on polymers and hybrid materials that are responsive to a variety of stimuli such as light, temperature, pH, ultrasound and carbon dioxide. We have developed new methods and materials design to make polymers respond to stimuli in a controllable or predictable manner, or in a way to exhibit a useful function. The studies which I will discuss include 1) near-infrared light-sensitive polymer hydrogels based on both photochemical reaction and photothermal effect, 2) ultrasound- and light-controllable shape-memory and healable polymers using stimuli-induced localized heating, and 3) CO2-switchable polymers for various applications triggered by gases.
Introduction to Prof. Yue Zhao:
Prof. Yue Zhao received his BSc in 1982 from Chengdu University of Science and Technology (now Sichuan University). He went to France in 1983 for graduate studies at the école Supérieure de Physique et de Chimie Industrielles de Paris (ESPCI). After obtaining his PhD in 1987, he went to Canada for postdoctoral studies at the Université Laval. In 1991, he joined the Chemistry Department of the Université de Sherbrooke and has been a full professor since 2000. He was a chair professor of Chang Jiang Scholar at Sichuan University (2007-2010). Zhao’s main research interests are the design, synthesis, study and exploitation for applications of self-assembled, nanostructured and stimuli-responsive polymers and liquid crystalline materials. He has published over 185 papers in primary journals and edited a book on azobenzene-containing polymers and liquid crystals. His work on photocontrollable polymer micelles earned him the inaugural Public Prize for the Discovery of the Year 2005 in Quebec. He was the recipient of the Macromolecular Science and Engineering Award of the Chemical Institute of Canada (CIC) in 2013 and has been elected CIC Fellow in 2014. 