Event
ChBE Seminar: Younjin Min, U. of Akron
Tuesday, November 7, 2017
11:00 a.m.
2108, Chemical and Nuclear Engineering Building
Dongxia Liu
liud@umd.edu
Speaker: Younjin Min, Assistant Professor, Department of Polymer Engineering, University of Akron
Title: Interfacial Dynamics of Nanoconfined Molecules and Macromolecules
Abstract:
The properties of molecules and macromolecules when confined at nanometer scales differ greatly from their bulk properties owing to the introduction of symmetry breaking, structural frustration and confinement-induced entropy loss in the system. This talk will describe how different degrees of nanoconfiment alter the structural organization and interfacial properties of soft matter ranging from non-biological to biological ones. In the first part of this presentation, nanoconfinement induced intermolecular interactions of two types of ionic liquids (ILs) and their rheological properties will be discussed in conjunction with the analysis of their orientation, organization, and assembly at the interfaces. Mechanisms on how biomacromolecules such as silk fibroin (SF) proteins self-assemble into hierarchical structures at the multiple-length levels will be explained in the second part of the seminar. The presentation will conclude with some perspectives on new fundamental insights for rational design of these two important material classes with desired interfacial properties in use of fabricating superior functional materials and devices.
