Polymer thin films are key functional components for advanced manufacturing and separations technologies. Improvements in the properties of polymer thin films can assist in the development of new lithographic approaches, improved membrane efficiency, or lower detection limits for sensors. Final control over the properties can be achieved by variation in either structure or chemistry and can often depend on variations near interfaces. Understanding structure-property relationships in these systems requires the development of new characterization approaches given the limited sample volumes. Research projects include the study of block copolymers and polymer blends, characterization of chemical reactions in thin films, development of soft X-ray scattering and reflectivity methods, and the integration of scattering measurements with simulations.

 

References

Daniel F. Sunday, Moshe Dolejsi, Alice B. Chang, Lee J. Richter, Ruipeng Li, R. Joseph Kline, Paul F. Nealey, Robert H. Grubbs. “Confinement and Processing Can Alter the Morphology and Periodicity of Bottlebrush Block Copolymers in Thin Films” ACS Nano, 14(12), 17476-17486, 2020

Daniel F. Sunday, Xuanxuan Chen, Thomas R. Albrecht, Derek Nowak, Paulina Rincon Delgadillo, Takahiro Dazai, Ken Miyagi, Takaya Maehashi, Akiyoshi Yamazaki, Paul F. Nealey, R. Joseph Kline. “Influence of Additives on the Interfacial Width and Line Edge Roughness in Block Copolymer Lithography. Chemistry of Materials, 32(6), 2399-2407, 2020

Thomas J Ferron, Jacob L Thelen, Kushal Bagchi, Chuting Deng, Eliot Gann, Juan J de Pablo, MD Ediger, Daniel F Sunday, Dean M DeLongchamp. “Characterizing of the Interfacial Orientation and Molecular Conformation in a Glass-Forming Organic Semiconductor”. ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces. 14(2), 3455-3466, 2022

 

key words

Polymer; Scattering; Reflectivity; X ray; Soft X ray; Block copolymer; Thin film; Nanostructure;

Citizenship:  Open to U.S. citizens

Level:  Open to Postdoctoral applicants