Light-regulated growth from dynamic swollen substrates for making rough surfaces

Lulu Xue, Xinhong Xiong, Baiju P. Krishnan, Fatih Puza, Sheng Wang, Yijun Zheng () and Jiaxi Cui ()
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Lulu Xue: INM - Leibniz Institute for New Materials
Xinhong Xiong: INM - Leibniz Institute for New Materials
Baiju P. Krishnan: INM - Leibniz Institute for New Materials
Fatih Puza: INM - Leibniz Institute for New Materials
Sheng Wang: INM - Leibniz Institute for New Materials
Yijun Zheng: ShanghaiTech University
Jiaxi Cui: INM - Leibniz Institute for New Materials

Nature Communications, 2020, vol. 11, issue 1, 1-9

Abstract: Abstract Natural organic structures form via a growth mode in which nutrients are absorbed, transported, and integrated. In contrast, synthetic architectures are constructed through fundamentally different methods, such as assembling, molding, cutting, and printing. Here, we report a photoinduced strategy for regulating the localized growth of microstructures from the surface of a swollen dynamic substrate, by coupling photolysis, photopolymerization, and transesterification together. Photolysis is used to generate dissociable ionic groups to enhance the swelling ability that drives nutrient solutions containing polymerizable components into the irradiated region, photopolymerization converts polymerizable components into polymers, and transesterification incorporates newly formed polymers into the original network structure. Such light-regulated growth is spatially controllable and dose-dependent and allows fine modulation of the size, composition, and mechanical properties of the grown structures. We also demonstrate the application of this process in the preparation of microstructures on a surface and the restoration of large-scale surface damage.

Date: 2020
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-14807-x

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