Tags: Materials Chemistry and Nanoscience Seminar


Environmental Fate of Water-Soluble Synthetic Polymers (WSPs)

Water-soluble synthetic polymers (WSPs), including polyacrylamide, polyvinyl alcohol, and polyethylene glycol, are widely used in consumer and industrial applications such as detergents, cosmetics, and textile processing. Global demand for WSPs is increasing by over 5.4% annually and is expected to reach 12.8 million metric tons within the next decade. After their use, millions of tons of WSPs dissolve and enter environmental systems each year;…


Guest Speaker: Prof. Ioannis Spanopoulos


Addressing Physical Aging and Brittleness in Polyhydroxyalkanoates through Melt Blending and Reactive Extrusion

Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) are biodegradable polyesters, with attractive characteristics, promising for replacing conventional petroleum-derived polymers. However, two mechanical limitations greatly restrict their broader applications. This research investigates melt blending and reactive extrusion as strategies to address the two mechanical limitations. The first part focuses on addressing the aging-induced embrittlement problem of PHA. Melt…


Guest Speaker: Prof. Sara E. Skrabalak


Polysaccharide-Based Materials for Controlled Drug Release and Barrier Performance

Polysaccharides are versatile bio-based polymers with significant potential in different industries, due to their excellent biocompatibility, biodegradability, natural abundance, low cost, and capacity to regulate molecular transport. This research investigates the use of polysaccharide-based materials in two applications: controlled drug delivery and sustainable packaging. The first part focuses on pharmaceutical applications, where natural…


Geometrical Frustration in Quantum Materials:
To Order or Not To Order?

One of the major focuses of solid-state chemistry is properties-structure relation. Geometrical frustration is an intriguing structural property which can lead to various quantum phenomena. On one hand, geometrical frustration suppresses long-range magnetic ordering in systems with localized magnetic moments and leads to exotic quantum states, such as quantum spin liquid. In contrast, it can host interesting electronic structures that are…


Chemical- and High-Pressure-Induced Band Engineering and Polymorphism in Complex Zintl Phases

Structurally complex charge-balanced polar intermetallic compounds, such as Zintl pnictides (i.e., those containing Group 15 elements) and heteroanionic pnictide oxides, are promising candidates for advancing thermoelectric technology. We present novel layered Zintl pnictide oxides Ba2Zn2Pn2O (Pn = As, Sb, Bi), which feature two distinct [Zn2Pn2O]2− anionic substructures composed of corner-sharing, distorted tetrahedral ZnPn3O units. We provide…


CaCO3 Nanoparticles to Promote the Tumor Infiltration and Maturation of cDC1s

Dendritic cells (DCs) are key antigen-presenting cells that initiate anti-tumor immunity, with cDC1s playing a critical role in cross-presentation and CD8+ T cell activation. However, within the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME), DC infiltration and maturation are often impaired, limiting effective immune responses.  Calcium ion (Ca2+) is an essential second messenger, regulating DC activation, antigen presentation, and…


Hansen Solubility Parameters as a Predictive Tool for Formulating Amorphous Solid Dispersions

 A major challenge in pharmaceutical development is the poor aqueous solubility of majority of the crystalline active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) generated in drug discovery.  Amorphous solid dispersions (ASDs) improve solubility by molecularly dispersing amorphous APIs within a glassy polymer matrix; however, their utility is often constrained by limited drug loading capacity and incomplete drug dissolution. To address these…


Novel Bio-based Plasticizers for Poly(Vinyl Chloride)

Poly(Vinyl Chloride) is the third most synthesized and utilized commodity plastic. While its unplasticized form is used extensively in construction materials because of its toughness and rigidity, it is also desirable for biomedical and packaging applications due to its sterility and chemical resistance, requiring plasticization which accounts for 80% of the world's plasticizer usage. The most common plasticizer for PVC, Di-2-EthylHexyl…
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