Nam-Joon cho
Beyond the Circular Economy
School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Avenue 639798, Singapore
Throughout history, new materials have been the foundation of disruptive technologies. From bronze, paper, and ceramics to steel, polymers, and semiconductors, each material enabled far-reaching advances and defined the era. Seventy years ago, the synthesis of pure semiconductors as single crystals led to a complete transformation of the electronics industry and sweeping changes in communications, computing, and transportation.
Today, inspired by the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – a blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all – another new class of materials is emerging—one with both the potential to alleviate environmental burden, provide radically new functions, and to challenge our notion of what constitutes a “material.” These materials, inspired and co-opted from biology, combine (1) hybrid-composite design, combining disparate building blocks;
(2) compartmentalized architecture, encapsulating desirable biomolecules while excluding others; and (3) hierarchical organization. Together, they enable unique and remarkable combinations of properties, including adaptability, plasticity, multi-functionality, and environmental responsiveness – far beyond those achieved by monolithic materials of the synthetic world.
An extraordinary example is pollen, a discrete mesoscale compartment, which encapsulates, protects, and transports male genetic material in flowering plants enabling the biological imperative of reproduction. In this talk, I will introduce our ongoing efforts to explore the materials science of pollen and to transform pollen into a valuable commodity to produce pollen-based materials innovation as a sustainable solution to numerous outstanding environmental challenges. Key examples that will be covered include digital printing of shape-morphing materials, recyclable and reusable paper, and oil-absorbing sponges.
