Brito teaches MSEN 489/689 lecture

PhD student Jordan Brito got some practice teaching during one of the MSEN 489/689 lectures (Techniques for Polymer and Soft Matter Characterization). She gave a lecture on ATR-FTIR to the classroom of undergraduate and graduate students. She will also hold an in-person demo to show the benefits and limitations of the technique.

This valuable experience will help prepare her for a career in academia!

Jordan Brito gave a lecture on ATR-FTIR in MSEN 489/689

New publication in ACS Applied Bio Materials

PhD student Jordan Brito’s review article was recently accepted to ACS Applied Bio Materials!

The review, titled “Factors Controlling Degradation of Biologically Relevant Synthetic Polymers in Solution and Solid State“, is now available to read online. This article describes the influence of chemical reactivity, microenvironment, and physical form factor on the degradation behavior of a polymer material. It also reviews recent advances in tailoring the degradation profiles of materials and offers perspectives on the future of degradable polymers.

Congratulations, Jordan!

Graphic summary of the new review article in ACS Applied Bio Materials

New publication in Journal of Materials Chemistry A

PhD students Kartik and Xiuzhu’s paper titled “Strong, thermo-reversible salogels with boronate ester bonds as thermal energy storage materials” was accepted for publication in Journal of Materials Chemistry A.

In this work, Kartik and Xiuzhu compare boronate ester salogels with well-known hydrogels. They show that the highly ionic environment of salt hydrates allow the formation of strong gels compared to water with small amounts of polymer and crosslinker (~3.3 wt%). They also demonstrate the first use of dynamic covalent crosslinks, with repeatable on-demand thermo-reversibility, as a shape stabilizing matrix for inorganic salt hydrate phase change materials in thermal energy storage applications. The article is  now available to read online.

Congratulations, Kartik and Xiuzhu!

Graphic summary of the new paper in J. Mater. Chem. A

Rajagopalan selected for Phi Kappa Phi’s Love of Learning Award

PhD student Kartik Kumar Rajagopalan was selected as a recipient for Phi Kappa Phi’s Love of Learning Award. The Love of Learning Awards help fund post-baccalaureate professional development for active Phi Kappa Phi members. The committee was impressed with Kartik’s superior academic record and life/career ambitions.

Congratulations, Kartik!

New publication in Macromolecules

PhD candidate Aliaksei Aliakseyeu’s research was recently accepted to Macromolecules!

The article, titled “Impact of Star Polyacid Branching on Polymer Diffusion within Multilayer Films“, is now available to read online. This article explores the effect of polymer branching on the diffusion of polymers with LbL films assembled at low pH and considers different factors that affects the polymer dynamics within the film.

Congratulations, Aliaksei!

Graphic summary of the new research article in Macromolecules