Printing Polymer Electronics and Photonics for Sustainable Earth and Habitable Mars
Printing technologies have the potential to revolutionize manufacturing of electronic and energy materials. At the same time, this approach brings a new set of challenges demanding exquisite control over hierarchical structures down to the molecular scale. We address this challenge by complementing hypothesis-driven approach to achieve precision printing with a data-driven approach to accelerate materials discovery. In the first example, we discover surprising chiral helical assemblies of achiral semiconducting polymers, which can be largely tuned by the printing process. Such new topological states of semiconducting polymers are empowering unprecedented control over charge and spin transport, reminiscent of how Nature efficiently transfers electrons and transduces energy using chiral helical structures. The ability to control nonequilibrium assembly during printing sets the stage for dynamically modulating assembled structures on the fly. We demonstrate this concept by programming nanoscale morphology and structure color of bottlebrush block copolymers during 3D printing. This approach holds the potential to reduce the use of environmentally toxic pigments by printing structure color. Complementing the above hypothesis-driven approach, we are pursuing a data-science-driven approach to drastically accelerate discovery and manufacturing of functional polymers. By linking automated synthesis, testing and machine learning in a closed-loop, we optimize function highly efficiently while discovering new physical insights by transferring closed-loop optimization into hypothesis-driven discovery. Besides unlocking the potential of printing technologies in energy sustainability, we are developing printed wearable electronics for remote and autonomous monitoring of plant growth to support human space exploration and extraterrestrial agriculture.