Harnessing supramolecular assembly in AM

Nested hierarchical porous materials via macromolecules-guided soft templating in AM. The tradeoff between diffusion and selectivity is a long standing challenge for all separation problems. In our lab, we use macromolecular-guided soft-templating combined with rapid photo-crosslinking to engineer hierarchical transport pathways within materials using high-speed additive manufacturing platform [3-4]. This approach embeds nano-structured transport channels within micro-architected channels that aims to accelerate molecular or ion diffusion rate while maintaining desirable selectivity. Surface functionalization further indicated the potential for separation enhancement, that has potential for a wide range of filtration problems [5].

[3] Xia, W.; Wei, P.; Hsiao, K. Hierarchical Porous Micro-Architected Particles via Micro-Continuous Liquid Interface Production of Lyotropic Liquid Crystal Templates. ACS Appl. Polym. Mater. 2025. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsapm.5c03098.

[4] M Hsieh, K. G. Schoonover, N. Ahmed, J. Ahn, S. Qian, M. J. A. Hore, W. Xia, K. Hsiao, Y. Yuan, M. Sengoden, D. J. Darensbourg, E. Pentzer, P. Wei. “Tuning the Mechanical Properties of Crosslinked Copolymers via Sequence and Solvent-Selective Swelling for Vat Photopolymerization”. Angewandte Chemie International Edition (under review)

[5] V. Lam, Y. Kamble, K. Hsiao (in prep)

Drug-containing worm-like micelles as 3D printable drug/pesticides delivery vehicles. Micelles are capable of housing hydrophobic drugs and deliver them in suitable releasing environment. Our lab investigates the process of micellar formulation that triggers the onset of morphological change using dynamic light scattering, SAXS and WAXS. The photoactive supramolecular assembly combined with micro-CLIP process enables microfabrication of small-molecule delivery vehicles [6].

[6] M. Stertzer, M. Dimitriyev, K. Hsiao (in prep)

Stabilizing soft-colloid suspension in semi-dilute PEG solutions as 3D printable OMIEC. Interaction within polymer-colloid suspension is at the heart of 3D printing high-performing hybrid materials, that contains ceramics nanoparticles or soft polymer colloids. Our lab is interested in understanding the resin formulation to achieve stable polymer-soft colloid suspension, specifically for fabrication of PEDOT:PSS containing polymer blend system, which has emerging potential as gel polymer electrolyte for wearable electronics and portable batteries. We employ static light scattering and DLVO theory development to probe the governing intermolecular interactions, to identify a suitable processing approach to fabricate microstructured OMEIC devices.

[7] C. Chang, K. Hsiao (in prep)