Shaw Ling Hsu
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Degree Information: Mailing Address: Phone:
Email:
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Research Interests:
Current Research: Our research is focused on environmentally appropriate polymers, which are being used in biomedical devices, coatings, packaging, adhesives etc. We have been able to develop collaborative initiatives with both academic and industrial partners that promote exciting scientific programs and at the same time promote environmentally friendly technologies. We are considered to be experts in spectroscopic techniques that can be utilized to characterize polymer microstructures and their changes as a function of time, temperature and external forces. Theory and experiments are being carried out to characterize the phase equilibria of various reactive multi-component polymer systems. We are capable of measuring polymer structural transformations (e.g. amorphous to crystalline) with high spatial and temporal resolution that provide molecular interpretations of relevant macroscopic physical properties. As an example, we aim to replace PVC, 20% of world's polymer market, with Poly(lactic acid) (PLA). PVC is already banned in Europe and is facing regulatory restrictions in this country, because of the toxic plasticizers currently being used to make it. PLA has a number of attractive properties (such as being biodegradable, biocompatible, high modulus, synthesized from non-petroleum feedstockb&) and is being developed into both specialized and commodity applications. In most applications samples need to be tough, some to the point of being rubbery. In addition, sample stability as a function of time, is a necessary requirement during various manufacturing steps and in the final product after deployment. Based on the studies carried out in my laboratory over the last few years, we have been able to take advantage of the relative crystallization rates (stereocomplex versus neat L- or D-isomer) to "trap" the continuous amorphous phase that we hypothesized for the exceptional mechanical properties obtained. This can be seen in the optical microscopic images. We have also obtained Raman "microscopic images" showing the origin of the nucleation process and the growth of the crystals subsequently.
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Selected Publications
Chen, X; Kalish, J.P; Hsu, S.L., "Structure Evolution of α-Phase Poly(lactic acid)" JOURNAL OF POLYMER SCIENCE PART B: POLYMER PHYSICS, 2011 49 :1446-1454 AUG 9 2011Rathi, S; Chen, X; Coughlin, E.B; et al "Toughening semicrystalline poly(lactic acid) by morphology alteration" POLYMER, 52 (19) : 4184-4188 SEP 1 2011
Kalish, J.P; Zeng, X; Yang, X; et al. "A spectroscopic analysis of conformational distortion in the alpha ' phase of poly(lactic acid)" POLYMER, 52 (15) : 3431-3436 JUL 7 2011
Kalish, J.P; Aou, K; Yang, X; et al. "Spectroscopic and thermal analyses of alpha ' and alpha crystalline forms of poly(L-lactic acid)" POLYMER, 52 (3): 814-821 FEB 3 2011
Rathi, S; Kalish, J.P; Coughlin E. B; "Utilization of Oligo(lactic add) for Studies of Chain Conformation and Chain Packing in Poly(lactic acid)" MACROMOLECULES, 44 (9): 3410-3415 APR 11 2011
Yang, Y; Ramalingam, S; Wu, G; Hsu, SL; Kleiner, LW ; Tang, FW; Ding, N; Hossainy, S, "Perturbing effects of bulky comonomers on the chain conformation of poly(vinylidene fluoride)" POLYMER, 49 (7): 1926-1933 APR 1 2008
Yang, Y; Wu, GL; Ramalingam, S; Hsu, SL; Kleiner, L; Tang, FW, "Spectroscopic analysis of amorphous structure in fluorinated polymers" MACROMOLECULES, 40 (26): 9658-9663 DEC 25 2007
Aou, K; Hsu, SL; Kleiner, LW; Tang, FW, "Roles of conformational and configurational defects on the physical aging of amorphous poly(lactic acid)" JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY B, 111 (42): 12322-12327 OCT 25 2007
Yang, YN; Lai, WC; Hsu, SL, "Analysis of rapid chain dynamics in isochronal dielectric measurements of polymers" JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL PHYSICS, 127 (5): Art. No. 054901 AUG 7 2007
Jayaraman, K; Hsu, SL; McCarthy, TJ, "Versatile multilayer thin film preparation using hydrophobic interactions, crystallization, and chemical modification of poly(vinyl alcohol)" LANGMUIR, 23 (6): 3260-3264 MAR 13 2007
Honors and Distinctions:
- Fellow, American Physical Society
- Director, Spectroscopy Facility
- Co-Director of the New England Green Chemistry Consortium
- National Science Foundation Creativity Award
- Chair of the Nanotechnology Advisory Board, Taiwan Industrial Technology Research Institute
- Phi Beta Kappa
- Danforth Foundation Fellow
- Sigma Xi Honorary Research Society
- University of Massachusetts Faculty Fellowship
- University of Massachusetts Leadership Award
Personal Interests:
- Fishing and Hiking
