Materials Research Lecture

Nature provides awe-inspiring lessons in designing materials structures from simple building blocks to achieve necessary performance. A ubiquitous theme is the establishment of structures that have unique mechanical responses at different length scales, ranging from nanometers to centimeters. Here, we present an overview of our group s efforts to learn from Nature within the guiding light of scalability for synthetic materials design. First, we describe how the same balance of materials properties and geometry that control draping in a thin film can be advantageous for the hierarchical design of reversible, gecko-inspired adhesives. We develop a simple scaling theory to link the adhesive performance of features on nanometer lengths to climbing systems of macroscopic dimension. Second, we highlight new efforts to assemble tailored nanoparticles into materials structures that possess unique properties on both sub-10nm as well as multi-centimeter length scales. These structures represent a new materials paradigm, possessing functionality of inorganic cores with unique nanoscale properties combined with macroscale properties similar to fabric. Overall, these stories will provide insight into how we think as a group and learn from Nature, without losing focus on the importance of fundamental materials principles and engineering design.