Academic lecture：Design of Supramolecular Polymer Networks toward Sustainable and Recyclable Functional Materials
Speaker： Yoshinori Takashima, Professor at the Graduate School of Science, Osaka University
Invitor： Future Display Research Center
Time： 2025.11.13 14:00- 2025.11.13 15:30
Location： Room 200, Yue-Kong Pao Library's Annex
Abstract：
Designing polymeric materials that combine mechanical robustness, self-healing capability, and controlled degradability is a key challenge in the development of sustainable soft materials. Our research aims to establish a unified molecular design concept based on reversible and movable crosslinking strategies to achieve both long service life and recyclability of polymeric systems.
Reversible crosslinked networks are constructed through dynamic noncovalent interactions such as hydrogen bonding and host-guest inclusion, allowing reversible cleavage and reformation under mild conditions. These dynamic bonds impart self-healing and fatigue-resistant properties by enabling structural recovery after mechanical damage. Meanwhile, movable crosslinks-formed by polymer chains penetrating macrocyclic units-introduce an additional degree of freedom for energy dissipation. The sliding motion of the movable junctions effectively prevents crack propagation and results in tough yet highly elastic materials.
Extending this design concept to biodegradable systems, we developed poly(ε-caprolactone)-based materials incorporating cyclodextrin or aromatic macrocyclic crosslinkers. These supramolecular movable networks exhibit enhanced toughness without sacrificing crystallinity and allow precise control over enzymatic degradation. Furthermore, by integrating triacetylated γ-cyclodextrin-based movable crosslinks into polyurethane networks, enzyme-catalyzed reinforcement and closed-loop recycling were successfully achieved using Candida antarctica lipase B (Novozym 435). The degraded fragments were reassembled into polymer networks with restored mechanical performance, demonstrating the potential for upcycling.
Overall, these findings highlight a versatile molecular design strategy that integrates reversible and movable crosslinking chemistry with enzymatic catalysis. This approach provides a promising route toward high-performance, repairable, and recyclable polymeric materials that contribute to a sustainable circular polymer economy.
Biography：
Prof. Yoshinori Takashima is a Professor at the Graduate School of Science, Osaka University. He received his B.Eng. degree from Kyoto Institute of Technology in 1998, and his M.Sci. and Dr.Sci. degrees from Osaka University in 2000 and 2003, respectively, under the supervision of Prof. Akira Harada. From 1999 to 2002, he was a Research Fellow of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS). He joined Osaka University as an Assistant Professor in 2004, became a Lecturer in 2016, and has served as a Professor at the Institute for Advanced Co-Creation Studies and the Graduate School of Science since 2018. Prof. Takashima's research focuses on the design and development of supramolecular materials, catalysts, molecular motors, and devices. He has made pioneering contributions to supramolecular polymer networks and self-healing materials based on dynamic host-guest interactions. His representative works have been published in leading journals such as Nature Chemistry, Nature Communications, Advanced Materials, and Chem. He has received several prestigious honors, including the Young Scientists' Prize of the Commendation for Science and Technology by the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (2014) and the Award for Encouragement of Research in Polymer Science from the Society of Polymer Science, Japan (2009).
