Smart materials are the latest revolution in the field of materials science, which can adapt their characteristics to changes in the environment. They can be used in all areas, from self-repairing mobile phone screens to the reshaping of aircraft wings and targeted drug delivery.
In diseases such as cancer, it is particularly important to use smart materials to deliver drugs to specific locations in the human body, because smart materials release the payload of drugs only when they detect the presence of cancer cells and keep healthy cells intact. The Center for Advanced 2D Materials (CA2DM) at National University of Singapore has created a completely new type of smart material. It has the structure of a two-dimensional (2D) material, but its behavior is similar to an electrolyte, and it may be a new method of delivering drugs to the human body.
Like regular electrolytes, these new “2D electrolytes” dissociate their atoms in various solvents and become charged. In addition, the location of these materials can be controlled by external factors (such as pH and temperature), which is ideal for targeted drug delivery. 2D electrolytes also show promise for other applications that require materials to respond to environmental changes. Acts as artificial muscle and energy storage.
The 2D electrolyte team is led by Professor Antonio Castro Neto, CA2DM director, and includes researchers from the School of Physics and Materials Science and Engineering of CA2DM and NUS: The discovery of such materials has opened up new horizons. The research fields of materials scientists, because they bring together two traditionally unrelated research fields, namely 2D materials in physics and electrolytes (2D materials in electrochemistry).
There are countless types of functionalized graphene and other 2D materials to convert them into 2D electrolytes. We hope that our work will inspire scientists from different fields to further study the properties and potential applications of 2D electrolytes. They can organize themselves spontaneously and network into nanofibers, which are expected to be used in filter membranes, drug delivery and smart electronic paper towels.
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