Welcome to the Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC) at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
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Interdisciplinary Research Groups
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Participants: T.Russell and T.Emrick (coordinators) with M.Achermann, M.Barnes, A.Crosby, A.Dinsmore, T.Emrick, G.Grason, S.Gido, R.Hayward, V.Rotello, S.Thayumanavan, M.Tuominen, D.Venkataraman, J.Watkins, 9 Graduate Students Smaller, faster and more efficient devices using nanoscopic elements are key to U.S. technological competitiveness in the next decade. Generating such devices will require new protocols towards functional systems with a controlled spatial distribution of elements over multiple length scales. By directing the self-assembly of polymer-based nanoscopic elements, or by using the interactions between nanoscopic elements and a polymer host, the 2-D and 3-D spatial distribution, orientation and ordering of nanoscopic elements can be manipulated to create novel architecture and function with limited or no need for the use of external forces. This IRG will address fundamental challenges in polymer synthesis, physics, and engineering related to directing the assembly of functional materials. Specific areas of research include the assembly of polymer building blocks with tailored functionalities into hierarchically ordered structures that span multiple length scales; the use of polymer-based composites with metallic and semiconductor nanoparticles; and the spatial confinement of polymers and particles, including electronically active materials, such as self-assembled transistors and processible photovoltaics. Achieving either equilibrium or kinetically-trapped hierarchical order requires a detailed understanding of the assembly processes, as well as the response of polymers to applied fields that are coupled to the assembly process. Significant breakthroughs in functional polymer assemblies that will emerge include self-healing materials, efficient photovoltaic devices, advanced templating processes, functionalized organic/inorganic membranes and other composites with multi-dimensional functionality, and sensors with unprecedented spatial resolution and sensitivity. This will require concentrated efforts in 1) inorganic and polymer-nanorod assemblies, 2) nanoparticle and polymer-nanoparticle assemblies, and 3) nanostructured polymeric materials and their directed assembly. |
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Interdisciplinary Research Groups
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Participants: A.Crosby and J.Rothstein (coordinators) with K.Carter, B.Davidovitch, J.Davis, R.Hayward,
T.McCarthy, N.Menon, T.Russell, M.Santore, P.Wadworth, 9 Graduate Students and 1 Postdoctoral
Fellow A material’s surface dictates most of its interactions with the environment, affecting properties ranging
from optical reflectivity to cell adhesion. Efforts to control surface structure across multiple length scales
thus lie at the heart of national initiatives for nano- and bio-technology. In Nature, elastic instabilities are
ubiquitous as ways to define the shape, structure, and function of surfaces. Examples include ridges on
plant leaves, wrinkles on human skin, and blebs (protrusions) in cell membranes. In synthetic
materials, elastic instabilities have been studied predominantly in the context of materials failure, with the
focus on how to avoid instabilities. However, over the past decade, elastic instabilities have begun to be
explored as mechanisms to rationally control polymer surface morphology. Developing elastic
instabilities to their full potential will require a fundamental understanding of how the surface and bulk
materials properties define kinetically trapped and equilibrium surface structures. This IRG will develop a
new materials design paradigm that invokes elastic instabilities on polymer surfaces not only to arrange
surface structures into complex, long-range hierarchies, but also to define surface responsiveness,
thereby providing scaleable strategies for tuning response rate, sensitivity, selectivity, and magnitude of
materials properties. |
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Research Groups