Nanostructured Materials by Electropolymerization and Electronanopatterning

Abstract:

This talk will focus on our latest effort to synthesize electropolymerizable "polymer precursors"  in a variety of architectures ranging from simple homopolymers to linear-dendron structures capable of forming ultrathin conjugated polymer networks, nano-objects, nanopatterns, and arrays. These materials by design enable the use of cyclic voltammetry or potentiosatic methods to convert these precursors into conjugated oligomers and polymers that result in specific energy transfer, fluorescence, and charge transfer. The use of surface sensitive spectroscopic and microscopic analytical tools is important for structure-property correlation. As applied materials, they have been demonstrated to be useful for sensing, molecular imprinting, photovoltaic effects, memory devices, and controlled wetting phenomena.



About the Speaker:

Rigoberto C. Advincula, Ph.D., known as “Gobet” by his many peers and friends, is recognized internationally for his numerous and significant contributions in the field of polymers, materials, and nanotechnology. He has contributed to the significant growth and body of research on “polymer brushes,” electropolymerizable conjugated polymer networks, dendrimer macromolecules, biosurfaces, and hybrid nanomaterials.



In 2008, his work on nanopatterning which demonstrated current sensing AFM (CS AFM) onto a nanostructured layer-by-layer (LBL) ultrathin film was highlighted as the cover page in Macromolecules. In 2010, his work on electrochemical and electronanopatterning of carbazole peripheral dendrimers at the air-water interface was featured on the cover of Langmuir. His expertise is in: (1) synthesis of new functional nanomaterials capable of ordering at surfaces and interfaces, (2) application of surface sensitive spectroscopic, microscopic, optical, and electrochemical analytical techniques to understand ordering phenomena, (3) devices and sensor applications of ultrathin films and particles, and (4) biotechnology and biomedical applications. Gobet is highly cited and has won numerous honors and awards, including Fellow of the American Chemical Society in 2010. He is a graduate of the University of the Philippines (B.S.) and the University of Florida (Ph.D.).