The MRSEC team at the University of Minnesota investigated the self-assembly phase behaviors of frustrated bottlebrush block terpolymers PLA-PEP-PS synthesized via sequential ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) of norbornene-functionalized poly(D,L-lactic acid) (PLA), poly(ethylene-alt-propylene) (PEP), and polystyrene (PS).
Measurements of the cycling endurance of LSCO, showing record cycling endurance by an order of magnitude. The IRG-1 team at the University of Minnesota used operando FTIR spectroscopy for the first time, correlated with electrochemical measurements, to gain mechanistic insight into endurance and the roles of relative humidity, device design, and electrode metal selection.
For the first time ever, the shape and mechanical response of millimeter-scale atomically thin polycrystalline films were probed in a mechanically free state using a counterintuitive solution: The MRSEC team at the University of Chicago float atomically thin films on water. Using this approach, they discovered that large scale membranes naturally wrinkle in a universal way, that is tunable, yet independent of atomistic details.
For biological organisms, training is well established as a means of achieving and maintaining targeted levels of performance. In similarly applying training to non-living materials key requirements are the ability of the material to adapt to external cues as well as to retain some memory once the cues are removed. With additional memories more complex responses can then be trained-in.
The OSU MRSEC team found that resonant fluctuating fields change relative population between spin states decreasing photoluminescence.
MRSEC researchers at Ohio State University report the first experimental demonstration of an unconventional unidirectional magnetoresistance (UMR) in heterostructures consisting of a topological semimetal and ferromagnetic insulator, which allows them to electrically read the up and down states of the magnetic layer, which has perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA), through longitudinal resistance measurements in bilayer heterostructures
The MRSEC team at Ohio State University has developed a new type of metal-organic framework which is a promising candidate for spin liquid physics based on the Kitaev honeycomb model.
One of the research goals of UCSD MRSEC IRG2 included developing shape-shifting materials driven by asymmetric forces. In a recent effort, the MRSEC team demonstrated an ELM capable of shape-shifting driven by both a temperature stimulus and enzymatic mediated partial degradation of the composite material.
Surface ligands are critical in determining the chemical and physical properties of nanocrystals and nanoparticles. However, site-selectivity and preferential binding of these ligands are poorly understood. MRSEC researchers at the University of California, San Diego have uncovered the impact of molecular orientation on m-terphenyl isocyanide ligand binding to metal nanocrystals using surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy, where molecular motions are amplified when aligned with the optical near-field.
The UT Austin MRSEC has discovered a super-moiré structure in a large-angle single twisted WSe2 bilayer, which hosts narrow electronic bands.
