Professor Ziqi Sun, whose work involves mimicking the structural and optical properties of natural objects such as seashells, fish scales and fly eyes in order to develop sustainable energy solutions, was inspired in his latest project when he walked past a clump of bamboo in the Brisbane City Botanic Gardens, in Australia.
Professor Sun and a team of researchers - including QUT’s Dr Jun Mei, Professor Xiaomin Peng, Dr Qian Zhang, Xiaoqi Zhang and Associate Professor Ting Liao - published their research, 'Bamboo-Membrane Inspired Multilevel Ultrafast Interlayer Ion Transport for Superior Volumetric Energy Storage', in the journal Advanced Functional Materials in May of this year. In the paper, the team explains how they were inspired by the multilayer membrane that runs up inside the bamboo stem.
Professor Sun said the membrane, which is about as thick as a piece of paper, allowed the ultrafast transport of water and nutrition up the bamboo,...