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To enable ambient processing and study of indium selenide, NU-MRSEC IRG-1 has developed a mixed-dimensional organic/inorganic passivation scheme based on n-methyl-2-pyrrilodone (NMP) seeded atomic layer deposited (ALD) alumina that provides a pinhole-free encapsulation layer that preserves the intrinsic electronic properties of the underlying InSe.

Materials synthesis is a complex process that depends not only on thermodynamic stability, but also on kinetic factors, advances in synthesis techniques, and the availability of precursors. This complexity makes the development of a general theory for predicting synthesizability extremely difficult.

The NU-MRSEC Super-Seed team has developed a method to process imine-linked 2D COF powders into thin films via reversible exfoliation. The COF powder is treated with strong acids, which causes each layer to become positively charged. This charged form is exfoliated in solvents with gentle sonication, which provides a suspension of nanosheets.

Traditional design approaches are insufficient for exploring the vast phase space available to protein-based biomaterials. This NU-MRSEC seed-funded project is developing a platform for biomaterials design using directed evolution, which combines genetic mutation and protein synthesis with high-throughput materials characterization.

In collaboration with the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry and the Chicago Public Library, the NU-MRSEC launched the Materials Science Exhibit at the Harold Washington Library in downtown Chicago.

The NSF-MRSEC booth was featured at the XXVII International Materials Research Congress (IMRC) in Cancun, Mexico on August 19-24, 2018 to increase awareness, promote international collaboration, and broaden participation from traditionally underrepresented groups in the National Science Foundation Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (NSF-MRSEC) program.

In this work, the complexation of ABC micelles with a model semiflexible polyion, DNA, is systematically investigated to correlate the structure of the micelle with the properties of the resulting “micelleplexes”.

Using analytical aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM), we studied the behavior of the electron probe propagating in SrTiO3 at sub-atomic length scales.

A collaboration of the Simon and Schuster groups at the University of Chicago MRSEC  have realized a photonic strongly interacting Mott insulator using a 1D lattice of superconducting qubits.

INTELLECTUAL MERIT