Industrial Partnership for Research in Interfacial and Materials Engineering

7 Research Programs
IPRIME provides a University-Industry partnership based on two-way knowledge exchange through collaboration in a highly interdisciplinary (47 faculty in 9 departments) environment.
Seven IPRIME Partnership Programs provide exchange with our industry Member Companies through University of Minnesota departments and associated IPRIME Faculty & Students. Several of these programs also receive support from the National Science Foundation via the University’s Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC).
Biocatalysis and BiotechnologyProgram
Enzymatic synthesis for biofuels, biopolymers, biosensors, biofuel cells, and specialty chemicals. Enzymes to produce chemicals for end use and as synthons; biotechnological applications of enzymes for use in biofuels production and chemical synthesis; metabolic and pathway engineering for synthesis of bioactive compounds; microbial synthesis of biodegradable polymers; functional genomics for enzyme discovery; biocatalysis in nanoscale environments; Nanotechnology for micro bioreactors, membrane and interfacial catalysis, bioactive materials, and coatings.
• Enzyme and pathway engineering for chemical synthesis, bioremediation, biofuels, and bioenergy.
• Protein engineering and design.
• Microbial functional genomics and metagenomics for enzyme discovery.
• Enzyme evolution for catalytic efficiency and substrate specificity.
• Enzymatic synthesis and pathway engineering for biopolymer production.
• Biocatalysis in nanoscale environments.
Applications:
• Fine and specialty chemical production
• Biofuels and biosensors
• Bioremediation
• Biodegradable polymers and biocoatings
Biomaterials and Pharmaceutical Materials
Synthesis and characterization of novel hard and soft materials and composites for biomedical and pharmaceutical applications; dynamics of mechanical, chemical and transport properties of biomaterials; evaluation and elucidation of materials interactions with biological tissues and media, and with pharmaceuticals.
Research Areas:
• Synthesis and characterization of novel hard and soft materials and composites for biomedical and
pharmaceutical applications
• Dynamics of mechanical, chemical, and transport properties of biomaterials
• Evaluation and elucidation of materials interactions with biological tissues and media, and with
pharmaceuticals
Applications:
• Drug and biomolecule delivery
• Passive and active surface coatings for medical devices
• Artificial tissue replacement materials
• Scaffolds for tissue engineering
Coating Process Fundamentals
Process and prototype visualizations, microscopies, nanotesting, NMR and other spectroscopies, and microstructure probes combined with theory, computational methods, and computers to support the electronics, photonics, magnetics, specialty-films, and many other industries.
Coatings, films, membranes, and interlayers are everywhere. They are commonly made by depositing liquid layers
of polymer solutions or particulate suspensions, which are then solidified by drying or curing. The solidified layer is
a functional coating with microstructure and properties that are essential to its use. Alternatively, the layer can be
stripped off the substrate to make a free-standing film that functions on its own as a membrane or layer in a laminated
structure such as a fuel cell or membrane. Similarly, printed patterns are created on substrates using processes that
involve depositing liquid in small patches followed by solidification. Coated and printed materials are vital ingredients of an enormous diversity of products from adhesives, coated
papers and fabrics, printed graphics, and pre-coated steel and aluminum, to separation membranes, photographic
film, magnetic tapes, and flexible electronic devices. The key technological challenges are to achieve the desired functions of the coating, which may be electrical, optical, photochemical, permselective, catalytic or adhesive, through control of the interfaces and microstructures. This
must be commensurate with industrial requirements of a reproducibly uniform or patterned product and, most
often, a continuous, high-throughput, efficient manufacturing process capable of rapid changeover. Therefore, one
focus of this research program is to deliver, through scientific understanding of liquid flow coating, solidification, and
microstructure development, the optimum process conditions for identified industrial needs. The avenues for this
work include new processes for advanced materials systems, more efficient processes, improved product quality, and
in-line measurement and process control. A cross-disciplinary approach to the basic challenges facing coating processes is inherently necessary. The
Coating Process Fundamentals Program is unique in its comprehension and depth of inquiry. The program draws
from extensive input from industry and the expertise of researchers in fluid mechanics, optics, elastohydrodynamics, rheology, transport and reaction phenomena, stress and failure analysis, colloid and interface science, microstructure
characterization, polymer science and engineering, ceramic science and engineering, applied mathematics, and
scientific computation. Individual researchers work in several disciplines themselves as well as collaborate across
disciplines. This environment of scientific and technological challenges coupled with industrial interactions has
proved superb for educating research students and getting them and their results into applications.
Electronic Materials and Devices
Focuses on synthesis, structural and chemical characterization, and a plethora of electronic, optical and magnetic characterization techniques. Particular emphasis is placed on the understanding of the fundamentals of electronic structure and transport in electronic and magnetic materials in addition to the materials science, physics and chemistry of the interfaces and nanostructures that play such a vital role in devices.
The scientific advances that continue to fuel the rapid progress seen in the area of electronic
materials and devices now rely heavily on research that is fundamentally interdisciplinary in nature.
Such research draws upon many disciplines, encompassing materials science, electrical
engineering, physics, and chemistry, to name only a few. The focus of the IPRIME Electronic
Materials and Devices program is on precisely this form of collaborative interdisciplinary effort,
building on faculty expertise across multiple departments, and covering synthesis, structural and
chemical characterization, and a plethora of electronic, optical and magnetic characterization
techniques. Particular emphasis is placed on the understanding of the fundamentals of electronic
structure and transport in electronic and magnetic materials, in addition to the materials science,
physics and chemistry of the interfaces and nanostructures that play such a vital role in devices.
Current research areas in our program span a wide range from complex oxides, metal
chalcogenides, organic conductors, and next generation solar absorbers, to superconductors,
magnetism, and magnetic materials. A particular current emphasis is the use of new techniques
using ionic liquids and gels to induce ultra-high charge densities in transistor-type structures. We
provide expertise in synthesis and structural characterization techniques as varied as molecular
beam epitaxy, sputtering, crystal growth, x-ray and neutron scattering, and high resolution electron
microscopy. A vast range of electrical characterization techniques are also used, in addition to
theoretical studies based on electronic structure computation and modeling techniques.
Flexible Electronics and Photovoltaics
Define structure-mobility relationships and to maximize electron and hole mobilities for applications in field effect transistors (FETs) as model devices.
Charge transport along and across interfaces is central to the operation of all organic electronic and
optoelectronic devices, including organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), field effect transistors (OFETs), and
photovoltaic cells (OPVs). The efficiency of OLEDs, for example, relies on the transport of charge across multiple
organic and metal- organic heterojunctions, as well as the confinement of molecular excited states at interfaces.
Continued expansion of organic optoelectronics in displays, solid-state lighting, printed flexible electronics,
sensing, photodetection, and solar energy conversion requires performance improvements in OLEDs, OFETs
and OPVs, where interfacial properties dominate performance. The goal of the Flexible Electronics and
Photovoltaics (FEP) Program is: (1) to employ cutting- edge characterization methods to determine structureproperty relationships at organic optoelectronic interfaces, and (2) to use this knowledge to prepare organic
interfaces with improved performance in devices, particularly OFETs, OPVs, and electrically pumped organic
lasers. FEP faculty are also increasingly interested in developing methods to print active organic devices on
flexible substrates. To achieve these goals we have assembled a student/faculty team with expertise spanning
organic synthesis, film growth and processing, structure characterization, spectroscopy, charge transport,
computation,devicefabrication, andmodeling.
The FEP program greatly expands the scope of organic electronic materials research at Minnesota. A
principal distinction of the program is its focus on optical properties of organic semiconductors in addition to
electronic properties. This is exemplified in the enhanced emphasis on spectroscopy embodied by
Blank, Massari, and Zhu, and in the participation of Holmes, who brings
expertise in OLEDs, lasers, and OPVs. This broader scope was
implemented in response to the growing importance of optoelectronic
devices in applications such as display, lighting, detection, and solar energy
conversion. The FEP program is unique in the U.S. in its comprehensive
approach to organic semiconductors research, combining broad expertise
in materials synthesis, thin film characterization and devices with cuttingedge spectroscopy and theory. The interdisciplinary character will help
researchers to uncover fundamental structure- property relationships, to
improve materials synthesis and processing, and to
develop new device paradigms as a result of its integration of diverse
and complementaryareasof expertise.
Microstructured Polymers
Design and synthesis of novel polymers, characterization of their structural and mechanical properties, and investigation of their rheological and processing behavior for both commodity and high value-added polymer products.
The next generation of polymer-based materials will rely on the incorporation of multiple components to
achieve superior and tunable properties. This will require control over chemical connectivity and
morphology from the nanometer up to the micron scale. Applications include, but are by no means
limited to: multilayer and barrier films, water-compatible structures and processing, biorenewable
materials, anisotropic mechanical and transport properties, nanoporous materials and templates, and
ionic membranes. The thermodynamic incompatibility of most polymer pairs demands a flexible strategy
for designing hybrid materials in both equilibrium and metastable structures. Block polymers exemplify
such a strategy, as they offer direct routes to manipulating morphology, establishing the desired
microstructural length scales, reinforcing interfacial properties, and incorporating diverse chemical and
physical functionality. Efficient development of such materials requires parallel advances in molecular
design and synthesis, prediction and characterization of microstructure, understanding of dynamics
and processing, and property optimization. Our combined expertise in all of these areas, coupled with
an unmatched suite of characterization facilities and a uniquely collaborative approach, position us to
make major contributions to both fundamental research and technological practice.
Representative Current Projects:
Improved biorenewable polymers, Polymers in ionic liquids, New fluorinated polymers and copolymers,
Controlled vesicles and wormlike micelles, Porous polymer nanostructures, Viscoelasticity of stiff chain
polymers, Multilayer coextrusion and adhesion, Phase behavior of copolymer solutions, Reactive
compatibilization, Phase behavior of ABC and multiblock copolymers, Inorganic/organic
nanocomposites, Flow orientation of microstructures, Dynamics of polymer blends, Multiply continuous
morphologies
Nanostructural Materials and Processes
Identifying key molecular parameters and principles governing the assembly and properties of molecular thin films, surfactants, and ordered molecular phases of molecular systems for synthesis of specialty materials in agricultural, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and other businesses.
Self-Assembly at the molecular and colloidal scales is crucial to the performance of many industrial systems,
including detergents, foams, adhesives, paints, pharmaceuticals, sensors, catalysts, composites, and emerging electronic
and optical materials. The nanostructure of the materials involved as well as the process of nanostructure development
are central to the function of the system.
Critical issues in such applications are to control the molecular and colloidal forces that govern the structure and
properties of the self-assembled materials, to develop insights into the mechanisms governing these processes, and to
elucidate and correlate the structure and behavior of such materials (particularly ordered films and crystals).
The researchers in this program combine experiment, theory and modeling to correlate molecular and process
parameters with synthesis, phase behavior, structure, and performance of surfactants and novel self-assembled molecular
and colloidal systems. The overriding goal is to enable interfacial engineers to synthesize materials which perform
optimally with specified constraints.
Critical current research topics include:
• Phase behavior and dynamics of surfactant and colloidal systems: Regulation of molecular and colloidal forces
yields a rich variety of ordered structures which are investigated by molecular simulation and novel forms of cryoscanning and cryo-transmission electron microscopy.
• Nanostructural chemistry and processing: Templates and hydrogen bonding interactions yields nanostructured
supramolecular networks, composite materials.
• Self-Assembly of molecular and colloidal films and crystals: Molecular assembly is driven epitaxially and on
patterned surfaces to enable new applications in, for instance, flexible organic semiconductors and photonic materials.
• Interfacial forces, adhesion, and tribology: Films and gels, including biomolecular interfaces, are investigated with
novel forms of molecular scanning probe microscopy.