Summary
Research Interests
Research in the Yang laboratory is at the interface of synthetic chemistry, polymer chemistry, and soft materials. Inspired by nature, we are interested in the design and synthesis of polymeric materials with built-in dynamic chemistries and hierarchical structures at various length scales. Dynamics of novel polymer structures will allow on-demand control of materials' chemical and mechanical properties, thus creating novel functionalities such as mechano-responsiveness, shapeshifting, and re-processability. As the sustainability of traditional petroleum-based polymers is becoming a pressing issue, another focus of our research is using basic chemistry as a tool to create novel sustainable polymers.
Education
- Postdoctoral Scholar (2016-2019), Clemson University (Marek Urban)
- Ph.D., Materials Science and Engineering (2016), Clemson University (Marek Urban)
- B.S., Chemistry (2010), Nankai University
Publications
- M.W. Urban, D. Davydovich, Y. Yang, T. Demir, Y. Zhang, L. Casabianca, "Key-and-lock commodity self-healing copolymers." Science, 2018, 362, 220.
- Y. Yang, D. Davydovich, C.C. Hornat, X. Liu, and M.W. Urban, "Leaf-inspired self-healing polymers." Chem, 2018, 4, 1.
- Y. Yang and M.W. Urban, "Self-healing of polymers via supramolecular chemistry." Advanced Materials Interfaces, 2018, 1800384.
- Y. Yang, M.W. Urban, "Self-healing of polymer networks by damage-induced primary amines." Polymer Chemistry, 2017, 8, 303.
- C.C. Hornat, Y. Yang, and M.W. Urban, "Quantitative predictions of shape memory effects in polymers." Advanced Materials, 2017, 29,1603334.
- X. Liu, Y. Yang, and M.W. Urban, "Stimuli-responsive polymeric nanoparticles." Macromolecular Rapid Communications, 2017, 38, 1700030.
- Y. Peng, R. Burtovyy, Y. Yang, M.W. Urban, M.S. Kennedy, K.G. Kornev, R. Bordia, and I. Luzinov, "Towards scalable fabrication of ultrasmooth and porous thin carbon films." Carbon, 2016, 96, 184.
- Y. Yang, X. Ding, and M.W. Urban, "Chemical and physical aspects of self-healing materials." Progress in Polymer Science, 2015, 49, 34.
- Y. Yang and M.W. Urban, "Self-repairable polyurethane networks by atmospheric carbon dioxide and water." Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 2014, 53, 12142.
- Z. Wang, Y. Yang, and M.W. Urban, "UV-induced self-repairing polydimethylsiloxane-polyurethane (pdms- pur) and polyethylene glycol-polyurethane (peg-pur) cu-catalyzed networks." Journal of Materials Chemistry Part A, 2014, 2, 15527.
- Y. Yang and M.W. Urban, "Self-healing polymeric materials." Chemical Society Reviews, 2013, 42, 7446.
- Y. Yang and M.W. Urban, "Thermodynamics of self-healing in polymeric materials." RSC Polymer Chemistry Series No.5, Healable Polymer Systems, Editors: Wayne Hayes, Barnaby W Greenland, The Royal Society of Chemistry, 2013, p. 126.