中英科技桥

ResearchProfile

SUMMARYOFMYRELEVANTRESEARCHAREAS:

Briefsummaryofyourresearchareas,inEnglishjustashortparagraphplease

Myresearchfocusesonbiopolymers,particularlythenanomaterialsfromrenewableresources,suchas cellulose nanofibers, chitin whiskers, etc. The extraction of cellulose nanofibers and theirapplications ingreennanocomposites, functionalmaterialsand tissueengineeringhavebeen theactiveresearchtopicsinmyresearchgroup.Brief summary of your research areas, in Chinese we will translate this for non-Chinese speaking UKparticipants主要从事天然高分子材料的研究，在纤维素纤维增强聚合物复合材料、纤维素纳米纤维的制

备和功能化改性应用、纤维素组织工程材料方面取得重要进展。PrimaryResearchinterests:Afullerdescriptionofyourmainresearchareas.1. Commercialization of cellulose nanofibers production. The main obstacle for the industrialization of

cellulosenanofibers fromplant fibers is thevastenergyconsumption.Wehavedevelopedanefficientpretreatmenttechnologytogetherwithaselfdesignedequipmentthatcansignificantlyreducetheenergyconsumption.

2. Applicationofcellulosenanofibers.Wehavesurface-modifiedthenanomaterialstargetingtheinterfacialand dispersion problems in composites and a series of high performance nanocomposites have beenprepared.Wealsousecellulosenanofibers for someadvancedapplications, suchaspaperelectronics,energystoragematerials,waterpurificationmaterialsaswellasbiomedicines.

3. Electrospinningof cellulose.Theelectrospinningofnativecellulosehasbeenextensively studied inourresearchgroup.Theelectrospuncellulosehasbeensuccessfullyappliedintissueengineering,drugdeliveryandwaterpurifications,etc.

4. 3Dprinting.Wehaveself-developedthefirstequipmentinChinathatcancontinuously3Dprintobjectsata very fast speedwithphotocurable resins (Theseprint speedsallowparts to beproduced inminutesinstead of hours). The application of this technique for biomedical application is currently underinvestigation.

Topicsinwhichyouwouldliketodevelopcollaborativeresearch:Please indicate here research areas forwhich youwould like to find partners to undertake jointresearch.TheapplicationofnanocelluloseinbiomedicalresearchHigh-speedcontinuous3Dprintingwithphotocurableresinsanditsapplications

Name:WeiZhang Position:AssociateProfessor Institute/division:PolymerResearchInstituteatSichuanUniv. Email:weizhang@scu.edu.cn Tel:13648019293

中英科技桥

Relevantexistingcollaborations(academic/clinical/commercial)insideoroutsideChina.IncludehereanyrelevantcollaborationsyouhaveWehaveestablishedsolidcollaborationswiththeWestChinaHospitalofStomatology,SichuanUniversityRelevantgraphics,figures,pictures:Usethisareatoshowpicturesorscientificfigureswhichillustrateyourresearch

Electrospuncellulosenanofibershavebeenprovedtobeanidealscaffoldfortissueengineering

Wehavepatentedthefirst3DprinterinChinathatcanprintanobjectof51mmwithlessthan6minPublicationsandotheroutputsrelevanttoyourinterestinthisprogramme(upto5)PleasegivereferencestoyourkeyrecentresearchpublicationsUniaxiallyAlignedElectrospunAll-CelluloseNanocompositeNanofibersReinforcedwithCelluloseNanocrystals:ScaffoldforTissueEngineering，Biomacromolecules，2014，15（2）：618-627。