Invited Speaker

Prof. Wei Min Huang

Prof. Wei Min Huang

School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Nanyang technological University
Singapore
Speech Title: Vitrimer-like polymers and their applications

Abstract: The shape memory effect (SME) refers to the ability of a material to recover its original shape, but only in the presence of a right stimulus. Most polymers, either thermo-plastic or thermoset, can have the SME, although the actual shape memory performance varies according to the exact material and how the material is processed. Vitrimer, which is between thermoset and thermo-plastic, is featured by the reversible cross-linking. Vitrimer-like shape memory polymers (SMPs) combine the vitrimer-like behavior (associated with dissociative covalent adaptable networks) and SME, and can be utilized to achieve many novel functions that are difficult to be realized by conventional polymers.

In the first part of this talk, a commercial polymer is used to demonstrate how to characterize the vitrimer-like behavior based on the heating-responsive SME. In the second part, a series of cases are presented to reveal the potential applications of vitrimer-like SMPs and their composites. It is concluded that the vitrimer-like feature not only enables many new ways in reshaping polymers, but also can bring forward new approaches in manufacturing, such as, rapid 3D printing in solid state on space/air/sea missions.

Keywords: vitrimer; shape memory; cross-linking; reversible; 3D printing; reshaping


Biography: Dr Wei Min Huang has over 20 years of experience on various shape memory materials (alloy, polymer, composite and hybrid), he has published over 190 papers in journals, such as Accounts of Chemical Research, Advanced Drug Delivery Reviews, and Materials Today, and has been invited to review manuscripts from over 300 international journals (including Progress in Polymer Science, Nature Communications, Advanced Materials, and Advanced Functional Materials, etc), project proposals from American Chemical Society, Hong Kong Research Grants Council, etc, and book proposals from Springer, Elsevier and CRC. He has published two books (Thin film shape memory alloys – fundamentals and device applications, Polyurethane shape memory polymers) and is currently on the editorial board of over three dozen of journals.