Jung Ah Lee Postdoctoral Associate Postdoctoral Fellow in Polymer Science and Engineering, University of Massachusetts, Amherst Ph.D. in Chemical and Biological Engineering, Seoul National University, Korea

Multifunctional Silicone Nanofiber Membrane For Soldier Protection

My current project has been focused on developing nanomaterial technology that can provide remarkable enhancement to chemical and biological defense for soldier protection. This project includes developing photo reactive, flame retardant, and water repellent nanofiber-based fabrics for soldier protection in wearable garments and personnel vehicles through the combination of two principal technologies having control at the nanoscale: electrospinning and layer-by-layer (LbL) deposition. We have recently developed and demonstrated highly reactive TiO2 decorated nanofibers for degradation of toxic chemicals using these two technologies. Following figures show SEM images of electrospun nanofibers (a), TiO2-coated electrospun fibers (b), and TEM image of TiO2-coated electrospun fiber (c).