Soft network composite materials with deterministic and bio-inspired designs

Hard and soft structural composites found in biology provide inspiration for the design of advanced synthetic materials. Many examples of bio-inspired hard materials can be found in the literature; far less attention has been devoted to soft systems. Here we introduce deterministic routes to low-modulus thin film materials with stress/strain responses that can be tailored precisely to match the non-linear properties of biological tissues, with application opportunities that range from soft biomedical devices to constructs for tissue engineering. The approach combines a low-modulus matrix with an open, stretchable network as a structural reinforcement that can yield classes of composites with a wide range of…

• NS
  National Science Foundation

  Awards: 1400169, DE-FG02-07ER46471, CMMI-1400169
• UD
  U.S. Department of Energy

  Awards: DE-FG02-07ER46471, DE-FG02-, DE-FG02, FG02-07ER46471
• NR
  National Research Foundation
• NR
  National Research Foundation of Korea

  Award: K20704000003TA050000310
• S
  Samsung
• UO
  University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
• OO
  Office of Science

  Award: DE-FG02-07ER46471
• DO
  Division of Materials Research

  Award: CMMI-1400169
• DO
  Division of Civil, Mechanical and Manufacturing Innovation

  Award: 1400169
• BE
  Basic Energy Sciences

  Awards: DE-FG02, DE-FG02-07ER46471