Main Focus
Block copolymers (BCPs) offer a versatile platform for controlling light-matter interactions at the nanoscale. Compared to other self-assembly materials like colloids, BCPs provide advantages such as fast kinetics, large-scale ordering, and compatibility with functional additives. By tuning their molecular structure, BCPs can form complex microstructures, enabling the self-assembly of a wide range of photonic architectures—from highly ordered structures (e.g., micelles, cylinders, gyroids) to short-range order systems like photonic glasses.
My research focuses on macromolecular self-assembly process and my primary interest is in building new macromolecule systems to fabricate sustainable and colourful materials.
I am particularly interested in:
- Synthesizing biocompatible, biodegradable BCPs
- Investigating self-assembly kinetics and confined self-assembly in droplets for photonic structures
- Enhancing self-assembly and adding functionality
- Developing functional materials from macromolecular systems
Curriculum Vitae
Dr. Ruiting Li is a group leader in the Department of Sustainable and Bio-inspired Materials, headed by Prof. Silvia Vignolini at the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces.
Dr. Ruiting Li received her B.Sc. from China Agricultural University in 2016. She later joined Professor Yapei Wang’s group in Renmin University of China and completed her PhD degree in 2021. She has been focusing on functional materials prepared via self-assembly and on the modification of elastic polymers and their various photonic and biomedical applications. She joined University of Cambridge in November 2021 as a postdoctoral research associate in Bio-inspired Photonics group lead by Professor Silvia Vignolini.
Dr. Li has been a Group Leader at Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces since May 2023, where she also received a prestigious Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship.