Functional polymers for energy, sensing and biomedical applications

Prof. Sohini Kar-Narayan, University of Cambridge, will present a seminar on "functional polymers for energy, sensing and biomedical applications"

Speaker: Sohini Kar-Narayan  University of Cambridge

Functional polymers for energy, sensing and biomedical applications

Properties of piezoelectric polymers at the nanoscale can be significantly different to their bulk properties. [1] The ability to engineer material properties at the nanoscale gives rise to a wide range of applications of these materials in fields such as biomedicine and energy harvesting. Our research involves understanding structure-property and functionality relationships in novel polymer-based piezoelectric nanostructures, with a focus on the role of phase, crystallinity and morphology on their functionality. At the same time, these nanomaterials can also be integrated into sensors and energy harvesters using advanced microscale additive manufacturing techniques to create a range of functional devices, including those aimed at biomedical or clinical applications. For example, a combination of aerosol-jet printing and 3d printing can be used to fabricate “soft” functional interfaces based on piezoelectric polymer nanostructures [2] for sensing and stimulation of cells, and also to enhance and control piezoelectricity in printed structures based on collagen [3] for possible applications in tissue engineering. The same techniques can be used to create “soft” micro-patterned ultrathin electrochemical actuators [4] with controllable multimodal actuation. The ability to control properties at the nanoscale through processing therefore allows for subsequent integration into functional devices for energy harvesting, sensing and biomedical applications.

References

[1] “Piezoelectric polymers: Theory, challenges and opportunities” M Smith & S Kar-Narayan, International Materials Reviews 67, 65 (2022)

[2] “Poly-L-lactic acid nanotubes as soft piezoelectric interfaces for biology: controlling cell attachment via polymer crystallinity” M Smith, T Chalklen, C Lindackers, Y Calahorra, C Howe, A Tamboli, DV Bax, DJ Barrett, RE Cameron, SM Best, S Kar-Narayan, ACS Applied Bio Materials 3, 2140 (2020).

[3] “Optimising aerosol jet printing of collagen inks for enhanced piezoelectricity and controlled surface potential”, M Nair, E Inwald, L Ives, KRM See, S Kar-Narayan, Journal of Physics: Materials 6, 034001 (2023)

[4] “Controllable Multimodal Actuation in Fully Printed Ultrathin Micro-Patterned Electrochemical Actuators”, J Zhang, Q Jing, T Wade, Z Xu, L Ives, D Zhang, J Baumberg, S Kar-Narayan, ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces DOI: 10.1021/acsami.3c19006 (2024)

Bio: 

Sohini Kar-Narayan is Professor of Device Materials in the Department of Materials Science at the University of Cambridge, where she leads an interdisciplinary research group working on functional nanomaterials and devices for energy, sensing and biomedical applications. She received her PhD in Physics from the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, in 2009, and was awarded a prestigious Royal Society Dorothy Hodgkin Fellowship in 2012. She was the recipient of a World Economic Forum Young Scientist Award and a European Research Council (ERC) Starting Grant in 2015, and also an ERC Consolidator Grant in 2023. Prof. Kar Narayan received the Royal Society of Chemistry Peter Day Prize in 2023. She was recognised as one of the Top 50 Women in Engineering of 2021 by the Women's Engineering Society, and was elected Fellow of the Institute of Materials, Minerals & Mining (IoM3) in 2022. She is a Co-Founder and Director of ArtioSense Ltd., a Cambridge University spin-out that seeks to commercialise microfluidic force sensors for precision orthopaedic surgery, for which she was awarded the Armourers & Braisiers’ Venture Prize Award in 2022, and the Institute of Physics Lee Lucas Award in 2023. She was named “Innovator of the Year” at the 2024 Electronics Weekly Women Leaders in Electronics Awards. She is a Professorial Fellow of Clare Hall College in Cambridge, and Associate Editor of the journal Applied Materials Today.