Our group focuses on better understanding the principles controlling charge transport within polymeric matrices and establishing a roadmap towards nano-structured, multifunctional materials with improved ionic conductivity or optoelectronic properties. Renewable energy alternatives, flexible optoelectronic devices and better energy storage are promising areas that will benefit from tailoring the materials properties via a precise control of their structure at the molecular and supramolecular scales. The interdisciplinary nature of this work allows students to acquire experience, not only in organic or polymer synthetic chemistry, but also in a wide variety of characterization techniques routinely used to study the materials they prepare. Furthermore, while striving to control and tailor the properties of these new compounds, they have the opportunity to closely collaborate with their peers from other disciplines working towards the same broad objective.
Specific research areas:
1.Ionic transport through polymeric matrices (Fuel cells, Lithium batteries and Dye sensitized solar cells). Development and widespread use of new alternative energy sources, such as high temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cells, lithium-ion batteries and dye sensitized solar cells, requires a better fundamental understanding of the nature of ion transport within polymeric matrices. Three substantial challenges face the extensive use of ion conducting membranes: The need to decouple mechanical properties from ionic conductivity, the low concentration of dissociated ions within most polymeric matrices and a relatively low mobility of the macromolecule enclosed ionic species. Our efforts focus on understanding the fundamental physico-chemical principles governing charge transport and on deriving structure-property relationships to help guide the design of new ion conducting components for water-free polymer electrolyte (PEM) fuel cells, lithium ion batteries and dye sensitized solar cells. This effort utilizes, tailorable, well-defined, model macromolecular systems as the underpinning for an integrated study of ion transport through polymer matrices.
2.Electronic conduction (Solar Cells, Flexible Electronics): We aim to develop improved semiconducting polymeric materials for optoelectronic applications, particularly photovoltaic systems, via careful control of the semiconducting phase nanostructure. These well-defined systems will be used to achieve a better understanding and characterization of charge separation and charge transport within semi-conducting polymeric matrices, essential requirements for the development of photovoltaic devices with increased energy conversion efficiency. The photovoltaic effort will be divided into design of polymer structures with tailored electronic properties (charge carrier mobility, band gap, etc.) and development of controlled nano-scale architectures to improve macroscopic charge separation.
