A tandem project of Dr. Ruiting Li (MPl of Colloids and Interfaces) and Prof. Dr. Matthias Stein (MPI for Dynamics of Complex Technical Systems).
About
By embedding bio-based building blocks directly into the polymer architecture, This project aims to develop and understand new possibilities for degradable polymers and establishes a novel class of sustainable photonic materials.
Persons
- Dr. Ruiting Li (Group Leader @ MPI of Colloids and Interfaces, Sustainable and Bio-inspired Materials)
- Prof. Dr. Matthias Stein (Research Group Leader (W2; Associate Professor) @ MPI for Dynamics of Complex Technical Systems)
Project summary
The design of next-generation materials must increasingly integrate degradability, disassembly, and recyclability to reduce resource consumption and support a circular economy. In photonic applications, structural coloration offers a sustainable alternative to conventional dyes, eliminating dye leaching and enabling long-term optical stability. Computer-aided materials design offers an efficient route to accelerate this transition by enabling predictive control over molecular architecture and material performance.
Bottlebrush block copolymers (BBCPs) have emerged as a powerful platform for structural color materials, owing to their rapid self-assembly kinetics and their ability to form highly ordered nanostructures with periodicities in the visible-light range. These features enable vivid and tunable structural coloration without the need for pigments.
The proposed research will integrate computer-aided molecular design, predictive simulations, and experimental synthesis to develop a new class of eco-friendly photonic materials. By combining modeling-guided material selection with sustainable polymer chemistry, the project aims to retain the optical performance of conventional BBCPs while significantly improving their environmental sustainability, enabling scalable, dye-free coloration technologies.
