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The Materials and Nanoscience Program in the Department of Chemistry is a multidisciplinary program that arose from a common interest between faculty to design, synthesize, and study new functional materials of all types, and also to develop them for use in important application areas. Some of the types of new materials being synthesized and studied include nanostructured organic liquid crystal assemblies and polymers, electrically and ionically conducting polymers, nanostructured inorganic thin films, inorganic nanocrystal systems, biopolymer–nanocrystal composites, molecular machines, responsive surfaces, carbon nanotube composites, and nanoporous cage structures and polymer films. The application areas that these materials are being investigated for include new display technologies, nanoelectronics, optical communications, water purification/desalination, separation and storage of gases, chemical sensing, solar energy conversion, and electrical energy storage in the form of improved Li batteries.

A substantial amount of this research in new materials and nanoscience is collaborative. In addition to collaborations between research groups in the department, many researchers in the program work closely with researchers in the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), the Soft Material Materials Research Center at ¶¶Òõ¶ÌÊÓƵ (SMRC), the Physics Department, the Chemical & Biological Engineering Department, and several outside companies and universities.

Faculty in this area:

Tanja Cuk: Physical Chemistry, Heterogeneous Catalysis/Reaction Dynamics, Material Surfaces, and Renewable Energy

Niels Damrauer: Photochemical Reactions & Multi-electron Chemistry, Inorganic Chemistry, Physical Chemistry, Renewable Energy, Photochemistry, Reaction Dynamics

Gordana Dukovic: Nanotechnology/Materials, Physical Chemistry, Renewable Energy

Joel Eaves: Nanotechnology/Materials, Physical Chemistry, Theoretical Chemistry, Biophysics, Chemical Physics

Steven George: Surface Chemistry, Nanotechnology/Materials, Physical Chemistry, Renewable Energy

Oana Luca: Physical Inorganic Chemistry, Inorganic Chemistry and Organometallic, Solar Fuel Conversions

Seth Marder: Polymers, Nanostructures, Biomolecular-Solids

Andrés Montoya-Castillo: Physical Chemistry, Theoretical Chemistry, Chemical Physics

Richard Noble: Ionic Liquids, Use of External Fields for Selective Separations, Liquid Crystals

Jihye Park: Inorganic; Nanotechnology/Materials; Photochemical Reactions & Multi-electron Chemistry; Physical Organic Chemistry; Renewable Energy

Garry Rumbles: Photochemistry, Kinetics/Thermochemistry, Physical, Renewable Energy

Sandeep Sharma: Physical Chemistry, Theoretical Chemistry, Metalloenzymes, Gas phase Kinetics

David Walba: Supermolecular stereochemistry and materials chirality in the context of liquid crystal science and technology

Wei Zhang: Dynamic covalent chemistry, Energy storage, Nanotechnology/Materials, Self-assembly, Self-healing, Synthesis