Molecular Design Principles for Energy Applications

Molecular Design Principles for Energy Applications

Aykut Erbaş
Northwestern University, Material Sci & Eng. Dept.

Özet : Understanding the properties of either a material or a biological system (e.g., conductivity, molecular conformations or stimuli responsiveness) usually necessities a precise understanding of relationship between molecular details and macroscopic properties. Solving such problems requires facilitating tools of physics, thus, bottom-up approaches. For instance, the balance between entropic and energetic interactions leads to ion-conductive phases in macromolecular assemblies. In another example, role of long-range interactions in cell nucleus determines the mechanical response of DNA in vivo. Along with these lines, in my talk I will first discuss electro-mechanical energy conversion in charged polymeric networks (i.e., in hydrogels, fibrous gels or euchromatine). Furthermore, as another example, in dense solutions of amphiphilic molecules, complex and percolated bulk phases can be obtained by systematically varying temperature and the steric interactions. These phases are ion- conducting and bi-continuous, hence, are promising for energy storage applications (i.e., for batteries).

Bio : Dr. Aykut Erbas received his PhD degree in Physics from Technical University Munich (TUM) Germany in December 2011 under the advisory of Roland Netz. During his PhD studies, he worked on the protein-surface interactions, single-molecule friction and hydrogen bonding in polymeric systems. Later he continued his research career as a postdoctoral fellow in the Chemistry Department at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill with Michael Rubinstein. He conducted research on polymer brushes and melts to characterize their friction and dissipation properties. Since January 2014, he is a research fellow at the Material Science & Engineering Department under the Center of Bio-inspired Energy Systems (CBES) at Northwestern University. Dr. Erbas has been working on charged polymeric systems, including gels, ionic liquids, co-polymers and DNA-protein interactions, as well as on the self- assembly of macromolecular structures in collaboration with numerous experimental groups.

Tarih : 6 Ekim 2016 Perşembe, Saat: 15:00
Yer : MSGSÜ Bomonti Yerleşkesi, Fizik Bölümü

Ayrıntılı bilgi : Cemsinan Deliduman (cemsinan@msgsu.edu.tr)