Presented By: Chemical Engineering
ChE Seminar Series: Suchol Savagatrup
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
“Imitating Nature’s Gentle Approach: Molecular Engineering of Soft Materials for Energy and Sensing”
ABSTRACT
While conventional electronic devices are composed of hard materials, the pliability and chemical reactivity of soft organic materials may afford new solutions to pressing scientific challenges for applications in energy and environmental monitoring. Here, I will present two examples of molecular engineering of soft materials for (1) mechanically robust organic photovoltaics (OPVs) and (2) bioinspired chemical sensors. OPVs hold promises to produce devices with performance approaching that of silicon-based electronics, but with the mechanical stability of conventional plastics. However, obtaining both “plastic” deformability and high energy conversion efficiency has proven challenging. I will discuss the relationships between mechanical compliance and charge transport in polymeric systems, and the rational design principles that lead to intrinsically stretchable OPVs, allowing for the co-optimization toward the “best of both worlds.” In addition, I will discuss the fabrications of chemical sensors based on complex liquid colloids. These dynamic, multicomponent emulsions behave as a natural sensor with reconfigurable morphologies that are extremely sensitive to the chemical environment. Specifically, their unique coupling between chemical, morphological, and optical properties can be leveraged to detect different classes of biomolecules. These nature-inspired examples serve as an important step in demonstrating the possibility of translating chemical principles to practical devices.
BIO
uchol Savagatrup obtained his Bachelor of Science from UC Berkeley in 2012 and his Ph.D. from UC San Diego in 2016, both in Chemical Engineering. At UC San Diego, Suchol worked in the laboratory of Prof. Darren Lipomi and was supported by several competitive fellowships including the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship, the ARCS scholarship, and the Kaplan Dissertation Year Fellowship. Suchol is currently a Ruth L. Kirschstein NIH NRSA postdoctoral fellow in Prof. Timothy Swager’s lab at MIT. His research interests sit at the interface of soft materials science and device fabrication for applications in energy, human health, and environmental sustainability.
“Imitating Nature’s Gentle Approach: Molecular Engineering of Soft Materials for Energy and Sensing”
ABSTRACT
While conventional electronic devices are composed of hard materials, the pliability and chemical reactivity of soft organic materials may afford new solutions to pressing scientific challenges for applications in energy and environmental monitoring. Here, I will present two examples of molecular engineering of soft materials for (1) mechanically robust organic photovoltaics (OPVs) and (2) bioinspired chemical sensors. OPVs hold promises to produce devices with performance approaching that of silicon-based electronics, but with the mechanical stability of conventional plastics. However, obtaining both “plastic” deformability and high energy conversion efficiency has proven challenging. I will discuss the relationships between mechanical compliance and charge transport in polymeric systems, and the rational design principles that lead to intrinsically stretchable OPVs, allowing for the co-optimization toward the “best of both worlds.” In addition, I will discuss the fabrications of chemical sensors based on complex liquid colloids. These dynamic, multicomponent emulsions behave as a natural sensor with reconfigurable morphologies that are extremely sensitive to the chemical environment. Specifically, their unique coupling between chemical, morphological, and optical properties can be leveraged to detect different classes of biomolecules. These nature-inspired examples serve as an important step in demonstrating the possibility of translating chemical principles to practical devices.
BIO
uchol Savagatrup obtained his Bachelor of Science from UC Berkeley in 2012 and his Ph.D. from UC San Diego in 2016, both in Chemical Engineering. At UC San Diego, Suchol worked in the laboratory of Prof. Darren Lipomi and was supported by several competitive fellowships including the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship, the ARCS scholarship, and the Kaplan Dissertation Year Fellowship. Suchol is currently a Ruth L. Kirschstein NIH NRSA postdoctoral fellow in Prof. Timothy Swager’s lab at MIT. His research interests sit at the interface of soft materials science and device fabrication for applications in energy, human health, and environmental sustainability.
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