Kuang Lab

Adaptive (Bio)polymer Composites

Natural materials achieve toughness, adaptability, and efficient use of matter through hierarchical combinations of dynamic bonds, network topologies, soft and hard phases, and living components. Although these structural motifs increasingly inspire synthetic materials, we still lack predictive knowledge of how they form, evolve, and collectively determine macroscopic function. A key question is: how do multiscale structures form under external stimuli, and how do they enable materials to adapt over time?

We combine polymer design, advanced characterization, rheology, mechanics, imaging, and computational modeling to connect molecular interactions and mesoscale organization with viscoelasticity, toughness, transport, acoustic response, degradation, and cellular function. Representative systems include adaptive polymer networks, cell-permissive biomaterials, architected hydrogels, and hierarchical composites. This research establishes dynamic structure–property–function relationships for materials whose structures continue to evolve after fabrication. The resulting principles enable tougher composites, adaptive biointerfaces, responsive devices, and materials with programmable healing, remodeling, and degradation.

The novel phase-locked dynamic bonds design, i.e., kinetically trapping the weak bonds in the viscoelastic hard microphase, enable decoupled mechanical robustness and dynamic functions (such as fast healing rate). This provides a versatile molecular design approach to develop fully transparent, mechanically robust , and fast healable materials (Adv. Mater.,2018).

Diffusion-reaction model by coupling diffusion-based mass transport and catalyzed dynamic reaction was developed to guide the design of efficient mild chemical recycling methods for fiber reinforced thermoset composites and electronics packaging (Macromolecules, 2019; ACS Sustainable Chem. Eng.,2018).

The magnetic shape memory polymer composites consists of hard and soft magnetic particles in an amorphous shape memory polymer matrix. It shows integrated multifunctionalities, such as untethered rapid reversible shape change, sequential actuation, re-programmability, and shape locking (Adv. Mater.,2020).

The magnetic dynamic polymer composites consist of of hard-magnetic microparticles in thermally reversible dynamic network polymer matrix. The temperature dependent reversible elastic-plastic-viscous transition of the composites enables integrated multifunctionalities, including modular welding, magnetization reprogramming, and structural reconfiguration, as well as self-healing and close-loop recycling (Adv. Mater., 2021)

Relevant publications (# equal contribution,* corresponding authorship) (Selected)

  1. X. Kuang#, S. Wu#, Q. Ze#, L. Yue, Y. Jin, S. M. Montgomery, F. Yang, H. J. Qi*, and R. Zhao*, Magnetic Dynamic Polymers for Modular Assembling and Reconfigurable Morphing Architectures, Adv Mater 33, e2102113 (2021), DOI: 10.1002/adma.202102113.
  2. Q. Ze#, X. Kuang#, S. Wu#, J. Wong, S. M. Montgomery, R. Zhang, J. M. Kovitz, F. Yang, H. J. Qi*, R. Zhao*, Magnetic Shape Memory Polymers with Integrated Multifunctional Shape Manipulation, Adv Mater 32, 1906657 (2020).
  3. C. M. Hamel#, X. Kuang#, and H. J. Qi*, Modeling the Dissolution of Thermosetting Polymers and Composites via Solvent Assisted Exchange Reactions, Composites Part B: Engineering, 108363 (2020). 

  4. C. M. Hamel#, X. Kuang#, K. Chen, and H. J. Qi*, Reaction-Diffusion Model for Thermosetting Polymer Dissolution through Exchange Reactions Assisted by Small-Molecule Solvents, Macromolecules 52, 3636 (2019)

  5. X. Kuang, Y. Zhou, Q. Shi, T. Wang, and H. J. Qi*, Recycling of Epoxy Thermoset and Composites via Good Solvent Assisted and Small Molecules Participated Exchange Reactions, ACS Sustainable Chem. Eng. 6, 9189 (2018).

  6. Y. Lai#, X. Kuang#, P. Zhu, M. Huang, X. Dong*, and D. Wang, Colorless, Transparent, Robust, and Fast Scratch-Self-Healing Elastomers via a Phase-Locked Dynamic Bonds Design, Adv. Mater. 0, 1802556 (2018). 

  7. X. Kuang, G. Liu, X. Dong, and D. Wang*, Correlation Between Stress Relaxation Dynamics and Thermochemistry for Covalent Adaptive Networks Polymers, Mater. Chem. Front. 1, 111 (2017) DOI: 10.1039/c6qm00094k.

  8. X. Kuang, G. Liu, L. Zheng, C. Li, and D. Wang*, Functional Polyester with Widely Tunable Mechanical Properties: The Role of Reversible Cross-linking and Crystallization, Polymer 65, 202 (2015). DOI: 10.1016/j.polymer.2015.03.074.