Morgan Stefik
University of South Carolina, USA
Title: Design of novel block co-polymers for solution processing of advanced nanomaterials
Biography
Biography: Morgan Stefik
Abstract
The ability to tune nanoscale features in traditional materials can enable new properties or enhanced performance in technologies ranging from optoelectronics to super-capacitors and solar devices. Our lab takes inspiration from the promise of nanomaterials chemistry to advance the capabilities of devices for both energy conversion and storage. One of our core strategies is the design of novel block copolymer self-assembly systems that enable new levels of precision. In this talk, I will focus on recent developments where new amphiphilic block copolymers are synthesized by controlled radical techniques to enable advanced solution processing of inorganic nanostructures. Solution processing is highly scalable, but more subtly is also highly tunable to result in markedly different nanostructures. With one example, we apply thermodynamic concepts to direct the entrapment of block copolymer micelles for self-assembly with precision control. The resulting tunable isomorphic architectures have widespread applications to advance (photo) electrochemical devices.