Katsumata Research Group

Degree Information:

Mailing Address:

Research Interests

Current Research

Katsumata Group’s research goal is to establish design rules of extremely confined soft/hard interfaces. Extremely confined interfaces become more critical for hybrid materials design at the intersection of two emerging research thrusts: precise synthesis of sequence-defined polymers and miniaturization of things. Examples in which such interfaces are prevalent include nanocomposites with ultra-small nanoparticles, ultra-thin polymer films/coatings, and two-dimensional (2D) materials with critical dimensions smaller than 10 nm. Despite emerging capabilities to synthesize these materials with precision, the influence of extreme confinement is not fully understood. The thermophysical properties of extremely confined molecules are often governed by rules different from those of bulk and moderately confined systems (> 10 nm scale). As the nanoparticle diameter and the coating thickness approach the size of polymer segments, molecular-level understanding becomes critical. In particular, my group focuses on three areas: dynamics, mechanics, and wettability. Polymer dynamics is the foundation of my research program and involves elucidating molecular movements due to perturbations by neighboring molecules, introducing molecular-level heterogeneity. The heterogeneous polymer dynamics then dictates the tangible properties we can touch and feel: wettability and mechanics. Wettability is an incarnation of polymer dynamics, as molecules rearrange their configurations at interfaces. Analogously, mechanical properties are macroscopic responses of polymer dynamics on different length and time scales. Our approaches include fluorescence spectroscopy, rapid thermal annealing, and film-stress measurement in addition to conventional instrumentation and synthesis methods for polymer science and engineering.

Recent Publications

J.N. Pagaduan, S. Samitsu, J. Varma, T. Emrick, and R. Katsumata*, “Burn-Dry: Fabrication of Porous Carbon Networks via Polymer-Templated Rapid Thermal Annealing,” submitted..

Y. Zhang+, S.P.O. Danielsen, B.C. Popere, A.T. Heitsch, M. Li, P. Trefonas, R.A. Segalman*, and R. Katsumata*,+, “Discrete, shallow doping of semiconductors via cylinder-forming block copolymer self-assembly,” submitted. (+equally contributing authors)

S. Asapu, J. Pagaduan, R. Midya, T. Moon, D. Gao, J. Lee, Q. Wu, M. Barnell, R. Katsumata, Y. Chen, Q. Xia, and J. Yang*, “Fatigue-resistant large remnant polarization in W/HZO/W ferroelectric capacitors,” submitted.

A. Bhardwaj, J.N. Pagaduan, Y-G. Yu, V.J. Einck, S. Nuguri, R. Katsumata, J. Watkins*, “Large-Pore Ordered Mesoporous Turbostratic Carbon Films Prepared Using Rapid Thermal Annealing for High-Performance Micro-pseudocapacitors,” ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces, 13, 51, 61027–61038 (2021). [DOI]

W. Young, J. Saez, and R. Katsumata*, “Rationalizing the Composition Dependence of Glass Transition Temperatures in Amorphous Polymer/POSS Composites,” ACS Macro Lett., 10, 11, 1404-1409 (2021). [DOI] (Featured as an inside cover)

N. Hight-Huf⁺, Y. Nagar⁺, A. Levi, Adi, J.N. Pagaduan, A. Datar, R. Katsumata, T. Emrick, A. Ramasubramaniam, D. Naveh, M. Barnes*, “Polarization-Driven Asymmetric Electronic Response of Monolayer Graphene to Polymer Zwitterions Probed from Both Sides,” ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces, 13, 40, 47945–47953 (2021). [DOI] (⁺equally contributing authors)

H. Papananou, R. Katsumata, Z. Neary, R. Goh, R. Limary, and R.A. Segalman*, “Dopamine mediated polymer coating facilitates area selective Atomic Layer Deposition,” ACS Appl. Polym. Mater., 10, 4924–4931 (2021). [DOI]

A.M. Mineo, M.E. Buck, and R. Katsumata*, “Molecular Design of Polymer Coatings Capable of Photo-triggered Stress Relaxation via Dynamic Covalent Bond Exchange,” J. Polym. Sci., 59, 22, 2719-2729 (2021). [DOI] (Invited submission for Young Investigator Special Issue and featured as a front cover)

J.N. Pagaduan, N. Hight-Huf, A. Datar, M. Barnes, D. Naveh, A. Ramasubramaniam*, R. Katsumata*, and T. Emrick*, “Electronic Tuning of Monolayer Graphene with Polymeric “Zwitterists”,” ACS Nano, 15, 2762–2770 (2021). [DOI]

Honors and Distinctions

• National Science Foundation: NSF CAREER (2021)
• American Chemical Society, Petroleum Research Fund, Doctoral New Investigator Grant (2019)
• Robert H. DeWolfe Teaching Fellowship in Organic Chemistry, The Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry UCSB (2018)
• Takenaka Scholarship Foundation, International Study Fellowship (2012-2016)