Our research is in the area of materials chemistry and physics of complex, soft materials. Specifically, we are interested in electrically-active polymeric and molecular materials.  We hope to elucidate the fundamental processing-structure-property relationships that govern these materials to generate design rules and guidelines for the rational synthesis of materials with tailored properties and the development of innovative processing and patterning technologies for the realization of low-cost, light weight, mechanically flexible thin-film devices, such as organic transistors and solar cells.

Currently, we are examining how specific processing conditions affect the structure evolution of organic and polymer materials, and how structure development can in turn impact applications-relevant macroscopic electrical and physical properties. Work is being carried out on functional block copolymers, solution-processable organic and polymeric conductors and semiconductors, as well as conjugated self-assembled monolayers.

Polyaniline template polymerized with poly(2-acyrlamido- 2-methyl-1-propanesulfonic acid) can be polyelectrochromically switched between transparent, green, and purple oxidation states within a (1 V window in aqueous media. Solvent annealing in dichloroacetic acid stabilizes the polyelectrochromic response and imparts near-infrared contrast between the colored and transparent forms.

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