Liquid crystals (LCs), a class of structured fluids that combine crystalline-like long-range order with liquid-like mobility, have been widely used in display technology. However, with the transition from liquid crystal displays (LCDs) to light-emitting diode (LED) technologies, new opportunities arise to use LCs beyond displays. My research uses confinement as a design principle to broaden the functionality of LCs.
William Wang,
The Ohio State University
In my presentation, I will first discuss the development of an LC-film sensor for detecting COVID-19 virus RNA, where confinement at fluid interfaces couples long-range molecular ordering with stimuli-responsiveness to achieve label-free biosensing. Building on this principle, I will describe how geometrically confined nematic LCs within micropillar lattices act as memorysurfaces, encoding stable flow histories through topological defect networks. Next, I will show how LC confinement controls the release of embedded objects, where droplet impact provides interfacial stress that reorganizes LC alignment and drives cargo release.
Finally, I will present our discovery that using LC solvents as molecular-scale confinement during polymerization can imprint orientational order onto amorphous polymers, unlocking their potential in programmable shape-changing and adaptive materials.
Xiaoguang (William) Wang is a H.C. “Slip” Slider Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at The Ohio State University. He received his B.S. in chemical engineering in 2008 and M.S. in 2011 from Zhejiang University, China, with a focus on controlled/living free radical emulsion polymerization. He obtained his Ph.D. in chemical engineering from University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2016, under the supervision of Prof. Nicholas L. Abbott.
Before joining The Ohio State University, Dr. Wang did his postdoc study with Prof. Joanna Aizenberg at Harvard University. His research advances a ConFINE strategy: CONfining materials to unlock unique Functional Innovation and Novel Engineering. His contributions have received recognition, including NSF CAREER Award and ACS PMSE Early Investigator Award.