Active interface architectures, exhibiting structural sensitivity to the presence of chemical species or light, are of interest for sensor and functional nanostructure applications. LCMRC researchers have demonstrated that it is possible to use liquid crystals to read out the state of a photoactive monolayer with great sensitivity to the incident wavelength. The wavelength dependent photo-induced shape transition of interfacial molecules from linear (trans) to bent (cis) produces distinct orientational changes in a contacting liquid crystal layer that can in turn be read out optically.

Penicillin, long used in medications, is now being studied as a coating, a novel weapon against bacteria that could protect medical implants and the surgical tools used to insert them. The development could potentially save thousands of lives, as many patients contract infections following surgery.

Brownian motion, the tiny random movements of small objects suspended in a fluid, has served as a paradigm for concepts of randomness ranging from noise in light detectors to fluctuations in the stock market.

Thin polymer films exhibit glass transition temperatures (Tgs) that are depressed from the bulk material Tg because of increased degrees of chain motion. Using such films as gate dielectrics in organic thin-film transistors provides a sensitive new probe of polymer surface motional characteristics at the buried semiconductor-dielectric interface.

Scientists from UCSB's Materials Research Laboratory (MRL) and the Nestle Research Center (NRC), Lausanne, Switzerland have resolved a long-standing problem in the self-assembly behavior of lipid molecules in water.

Poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET), a widely used engineering thermoplastic for carpet, clothing (fibers), tire cords, soda bottles and other containers, film, automotive, electronics, displays etc., will contribute several billion pounds of waste to landfills this year alone! According to the American Plastics Council, PET packaging was originally used for soft drinks, but packing applications today include other beverages such as water, juice, beer, in addition to other foods such as peanut butter and ketchup and a variety of other household products.

Fundamental MRSEC research often leads to new technologies that in turn create innovative start-up companies. QD Vision and Luminus Devices are two exciting examples of this process. In both cases, MRSEC-supported research at MIT helped to develop the basic platform for these new technologies.

At low temperatures, the electrons in most layered transition-metal chalcogenides undergo a phase transition into an interesting, highly-ordered state called the charge-density-wave (CDW), in which the electron density spontaneously acquires a weak, periodic spatial modulation. In a small subset of materials, the CDW state is destroyed and replaced by the superconducting state.