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Highlights

Top Panel: Crystal Structure and normalized absorption, photoluminescence emission spectra of the proposed perovskite.
Bottom Panel: Left: Proposed mechanism for efficient inter-system crossing for the HT-Phase and LT-Phase. Right: Schematic outlining the exciton diffusion and TTET at the perovskite/rubrene interface.
Top Panel: Crystal Structure and normalized absorption, photoluminescence emission spectra of the proposed perovskite. Bottom Panel: Left: Proposed mechanism for efficient inter-system crossing for the HT-Phase and LT-Phase. Right: Schematic outlining the exciton diffusion and TTET at the perovskite/rubrene interface.
Jun 27, 2017
Research Triangle MRSEC (2011)

Efficient Generation of Long-lived Triplet Excitons in 2D Hybrid Perovskites

Stefan Zauscher, Director, Research Triangle MRSEC

Most recent work on hybrid organic-inorganic perovskites is focused on solar cell applications. Hybrid perovskites, however, provide a flexible platform for materials design, with prospects for many different applications.
Chains of magnetic particles embedded in elastomers provide torque for directionally responsive soft robots. Image source: M. M. Schmauch, S. R. Mishra, B. A. Evans, O. D. Velev, J. B. Tracy, ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces, 9, 11895  (2017).
Chains of magnetic particles embedded in elastomers provide torque for directionally responsive soft robots. Image source: M. M. Schmauch, S. R. Mishra, B. A. Evans, O. D. Velev, J. B. Tracy, ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces, 9, 11895 (2017).
Jun 27, 2017
Research Triangle MRSEC (2011)

Magnetic Particle Chains for Directionally Controlled Actuation of Soft Robots

Stefan Zauscher, Director, Research Triangle MRSEC, Duke University

Researchers at North Carolina State University and Elon University have developed soft robots based on magnetic field-directed self-assembly of magnetic particles into chains embedded in elastomer films.
Increasing the height of the annulus induces a transition from locally-turbulent to globally-coherent flows of a confined active isotropic fluid. The left and right half-plane of each annulus illustrate the instantaneous and time-averaged flow and vorticity map of the self-organized flows. The transition to coherent flows is an intrinsically 3D phenomenon that is controlled by the aspect ratio of the channel cross-section, and vanishes for channels that are either too shallow or too thin.
Increasing the height of the annulus induces a transition from locally-turbulent to globally-coherent flows of a confined active isotropic fluid. The left and right half-plane of each annulus illustrate the instantaneous and time-averaged flow and vorticity map of the self-organized flows. The transition to coherent flows is an intrinsically 3D phenomenon that is controlled by the aspect ratio of the channel cross-section, and vanishes for channels that are either too shallow or too thin.
Jun 21, 2017
The Bioinspired Soft Materials Center (2014)

Coherent Flows in Confined 3D Active Isotropic Fluids

Seth Fraden and Zvonimir Dogic, Brandeis University

Navier-Stokes equations dictate that the conventional fluid flows only in response to an externally imposed gradient in stress or a body force. We developed a novel active fluid that is comprised of microtubules and energy consuming molecular motors kinesin.
Jun 21, 2017
The Bioinspired Soft Materials Center (2014)

Directing Actin Polymerization to Membranes

C.F. Kelley, A.A. Rodal, Brandeis University

Biological membranes are deformed and shaped by proteins that assemble into higher-order scaffolds. These scaffolds target the force-generating polymerization of actin filaments to deform and shape the membrane.
Concord students work with a research scientist at MIT to build an apparatus for measuring tensile force applied to simulated spider webs woven by the students. Image source: Ms. Susan Rosevear and Prof. Michael Rubner
Concord students work with a research scientist at MIT to build an apparatus for measuring tensile force applied to simulated spider webs woven by the students. Image source: Ms. Susan Rosevear and Prof. Michael Rubner
Jun 16, 2017
MIT Center for Materials Science and Engineering (2014)

RET Inspires Research Collaboration Between Middle School Students and MIT Research Group

The Research Experience for Teachers (RET) program at the MIT MRSEC immerses local science teachers in materials research on campus to increase their content knowledge, and develop pedagogical material for their classroom use.
Left: Calculated magnetism in the iron-substituted metal oxide.  The iron ions are at the four corners of the cell, and the ones shown in red, near the oxygen vacancy, have stronger magnetism than those shown in blue away from the vacancy. Right: close-up and top-view images of a waveguide resonator device which can act as an isolator (enabling one way transmission of light) when coated with the iron-substituted metal oxide.
Left: Calculated magnetism in the iron-substituted metal oxide. The iron ions are at the four corners of the cell, and the ones shown in red, near the oxygen vacancy, have stronger magnetism than those shown in blue away from the vacancy. Right: close-up and top-view images of a waveguide resonator device which can act as an isolator (enabling one way transmission of light) when coated with the iron-substituted metal oxide.
Jun 16, 2017
MIT Center for Materials Science and Engineering (2014)

Materials Deficient in Oxygen Show Promise in Magnetically Controlled Optical Devices

Profs. Harry Tuller and Caroline Ross

MIT MRSEC researchers, have created both polycrystalline and single-crystal films of iron-substituted metal oxides that show room temperature magnetism and magneto-optical properties depending on the oxygen pressure at which the films are grown and their resultant oxygen composition.
Figure 1. The viscoelastic mechanical properties of a hydrogel network can be programmed using bioinspired metal-coordinate crosslinks sensitive to UV light. Depending on the metal ion used to crosslink the hydrogel, the stiffness can be increased by 1000x, decreased by 100x, or remain unchanged by UV-irradiation.
Figure 1. The viscoelastic mechanical properties of a hydrogel network can be programmed using bioinspired metal-coordinate crosslinks sensitive to UV light. Depending on the metal ion used to crosslink the hydrogel, the stiffness can be increased by 1000x, decreased by 100x, or remain unchanged by UV-irradiation.
Jun 16, 2017
MIT Center for Materials Science and Engineering (2014)

Using Light to Control the Viscoelastic Mechanical Properties of Gel-Like Materials

Profs. Bradley Olsen and Niels Holten-Andersen

MIT MRSEC researchers have developed stimuli-responsive hydrogel materials that can change their mechanical properties upon exposure to light. Insights generated from these studies will aid in the development of programmable hydrogels with specific stress-relaxing or energy-dissipating properties.
Figures a,b.c. Visualization of a spin density isosurface shown in yellow of (a) a free electron, (b) a small polaron, and (c) calculated self-trapping Gibbs free energy of a small polaron in SrTiO3 as a model system. Blue (large),
gray (medium), and magenta (small) balls represent Sr, Ti, and O, respectively.
Figure a. Predominance map of electronic defects as a function of temperature and pressure in cubic SrTiO3 based on self-trapping Gibbs free energy calculated by using the quasiharmonic approximation and density functional theory. The green and red indicate small polaron and free electron predominance zones, respectively. The black dashed line represents the experimental boundary between the cubic and tetragonal phases of SrTiO3. Cubic SrTiO3 is stable above the boundary. Image source: Profs. Caroline Ross and Krystyn Van Vliet
Figures a,b.c. Visualization of a spin density isosurface shown in yellow of (a) a free electron, (b) a small polaron, and (c) calculated self-trapping Gibbs free energy of a small polaron in SrTiO3 as a model system. Blue (large), gray (medium), and magenta (small) balls represent Sr, Ti, and O, respectively. Figure a. Predominance map of electronic defects as a function of temperature and pressure in cubic SrTiO3 based on self-trapping Gibbs free energy calculated by using the quasiharmonic approximation and density functional theory. The green and red indicate small polaron and free electron predominance zones, respectively. The black dashed line represents the experimental boundary between the cubic and tetragonal phases of SrTiO3. Cubic SrTiO3 is stable above the boundary. Image source: Profs. Caroline Ross and Krystyn Van Vliet
Jun 16, 2017
MIT Center for Materials Science and Engineering (2014)

Tuning the Stability of Electronic Defects in Semiconducting Oxides

Profs. Caroline Ross and Krystyn Van Vliet

MIT MRSEC researchers have demonstrated that the combined action of temperature and mechanical stress can tune the relative stability of electronic defects in semiconducting oxides.
The image shows a researcher stretching and bending the fiber-based probe between fingers. Blue light at a wavelength of 473 nm is coupled into the fiber core and no decay of intensity is observed. The ability of the fiber-based probes to function under extreme deformation is essential to their utility for probing of spinal cord neural activity because spinal cord experiences strains up to 12% during normal movement.
The image shows a researcher stretching and bending the fiber-based probe between fingers. Blue light at a wavelength of 473 nm is coupled into the fiber core and no decay of intensity is observed. The ability of the fiber-based probes to function under extreme deformation is essential to their utility for probing of spinal cord neural activity because spinal cord experiences strains up to 12% during normal movement.
Jun 16, 2017
MIT Center for Materials Science and Engineering (2014)

Stretchable Spinal Cord Probes Offer New Tools to Study the Nervous System

Profs. Polina Anikeeva and Yoel Fink

Intellectual Merit: Currently neurological and neuromuscular disorders such as spinal cord injuries and Parkinson’s disease are poorly understood.  A impediment to advances in this area is a lack of materials and devices that would allow for precise long-term two-way communication with groups of neurons (nerve cells) in the body.
Utilization and hourly cost for USTAR – MRSEC equipment from the time of purchase
Utilization and hourly cost for USTAR – MRSEC equipment from the time of purchase
Jun 16, 2017
Next Generation Materials for Plasmonics and Organic Spintronics (2011)

Leveraging MRSEC Equipment Purchases

Ian Harvey; University of Utah

Leveraged upgrades to Scanning Transmission Electron Microscope (S/TEM) and Focused Ion Beam System (FIB) include Gas-phase Environmental TEM, 3D EDS tomography (S/TEM), and others.