ChBE Seminar: Bottom-up assembly of Polymeric Materials: Synthesis, Integration, and Applications
Join the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering for a fall seminar.
Siamak Nejati,
Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Dr. Siamak Nejati is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He received his Ph.D. from Drexel University in 2013. His research is focused on materials development for the challenges at the water-energy nexus. He plans to develop precise and bottom-up approaches for the engineering and assembly of soft matter with tunable physical and chemical properties.
Abstract
The vapor phase polymerization (VPP) is a versatile approach f polymerization techniques. The last decade of development in VPP has shown the promises of these methods for creating stoichiometric polymeric coatings that can be applied to a variety of materials and structures. Here, I will discuss initiated and oxidative Chemical Vapor Deposition (iCVD/oCVD). In iCVD and oCVD, the adsorption of reactive species is typically the rate-limiting step. As a result, the polymer growth and properties can be tuned by adjusting the surface availability of the reactants. In this work, I will start with a general introduction into materials processing and the challenges with controlling soft materials structure. Then I will demonstrate how iCVD and oCVD can be utilized for the synthesis and integration of polymeric materials within the high aspect ratio structures. I will highlight the exceptional coating resolution that can be achieved through these methods. Then, I will discuss the importance of processing conditions on the chemical properties of the synthesized materials.
Further, I present an unexplored dimension that can allow for the fine-tuning of materials properties. I will discuss the importance of developing bottom-up approaches for assembling ordered organic materials for the desired applications in electrocatalysis and separation. In the end, I will share the opportunities that are remained to be explored for the growth and synthesis of well-defined organic materials and interfaces with the designed and programmable architectures.