Emerson Chen
I will focus on organic mixed ionic-electronic conductors (OMIECs), which are often soft polymers or polymer blends with conjugated structure. They are promising candidates for supercapacitor and battery electrodes as they have great ionic-electronic coupling property and decent capability of ion and electron transportation. Also, the fabrication could be easily scaled up using roll-to-roll printing as most OMIECs are solution processable. In specific, I will synthesize PEDOT or Polythiophene with carboxybetaine/sulfobetaine zwitterionic side chains via chemical polymerization. EIS and OECT will be applied to characterize the synthesized materials for capacitance and kinetics studies. Higher specific capacitance and charging rate are expected as the zwitterion...
Doris Hung
My research focuses on developing a computational artificial intelligence framework for 3D lithium-ion batteries. Conventional battery manufacturing only considers monolithic, planar electrode architectures that have a fundamental trade-off between power and energy density. 3D batteries overcome this trade-off by enhancing ion transport with their engineered electrode architectures. I am currently developing a model framework that can automatically generate and optimize electrode architectures based on a set of user-defined design requirements. Advisor: Corie Cobb - Mechanical Engineering...
Amy Mayhugh
My research addresses ecological and economic factors that limit conjugated materials synthesis for solar energy. Conjugated polymers have the potential for widespread use in solar cells, as they can be cheap to produce, and installed in unique settings. Currently, synthesizing high-performing semiconducting polymers is energy intensive and complex. I study ways to reduce the number of synthetic steps while simultaneously prioritizing mild reaction conditions. I will continue my work on direct arylation polymerization (DArP) at room temperature for conjugated polymer synthesis. DArP is attractive as it directly functionalizes C-H bonds, avoiding the use of toxic organometallic intermediates. Due to the high selectivity and reactivity requirements for...
Martin Brischetto
Weyl semimetals is a recently discovered class of material exhibiting the chiral anomaly and Fermi arc surface states. These properties cause exotic thermal, optical, and electronic effects; such as a colossal bulk photovoltaic effect and a dissipationless charge transport. Consequently, they have potentially revolutionary applications in energy conversion systems. Some half-Heusler compounds transition to the Weyl semimetal phase at a threshold magnetic field strength. My research is aimed at exploring this phase transition and the conditions under which it occurs. This may reveal a wider range of materials that can be modified to exhibit the Weyl semimetal phase. Advisor: Jihui Yang - Materials Science &...
Mitchell Kaiser
My research will focus on self-assembly of organically cross-linked structures of 2D materials for clean energy applications. The 2D semi-conducting and quantum materials have well-defined atomic structure and architecture. Integrating 2D materials with functional organic molecules into well-controlled molecular to nano-scale architectures will lead to novel and synergistic properties and functions. Monolayer or few layer MoS2 will be prepared through mechanical and chemical exfoliation. Organic molecules will be self-assembled on the nanoflakes and cross-linked into layered structures. The unique band structures, limited electrons, and incomplete band bending of such materials will be exploited to realize unique catalytic, transport, and storage properties. In-situ STM, novel...
Ling Zhang
My research centers on the application of generative models in the context of renewable energy systems. By developing generative models, we can account for uncertainty without explicitly modeling probability. Advisor: Daniel Kirschen — Electrical & Computer Engineering ...
Muammer Yaman
My research involves the synthesis of hierarchical inorganic materials by designing programmable macromolecular building blocks like proteins, polymers. Advisor: David Ginger — Chemistry ...
Liwen Xing
The goal of my research is to develop a more environmentally friendly method to synthesize high-performance D-A conjugated polymers (high MWs and zero homo-coupling defect). Advisor: Christine Luscombe — Molecular Engineering ...
Liam Wrigley
My research will focus on designing new photocatalytic molecules for the purposes of clean energy generation. Advisor: Cody Schlenker - Chemistry ...
Caitlyn Wolf
Using molecular dynamics simulations of P3HT, we will train a machine learning model to predict neutron scattering profiles from force fields (FFs). Advisor: Lilo Pozzo - Chemical Engineering ...
Kendahl Walz
My work will pave the way for scalable phosphorene device fabrication while preserving the inherent electronic properties of the nanosheet. Advisor: Alexandra Velian - Chemistry ...
Duyen Tran
My research will address these challenges by (1) investigating ternary blends composed of a new class of NFAs synthesized in our lab and (2) developing tandem OPV devices with enhanced efficiency and Voc. Advisor: Samson A. Jenekhe - Chemical Engineering ...