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Program Highlights for year 2009

Macroscopic Addressable Arrays of Block Copolymers With Areal Densities of 10 Terabit/inch2 and Beyond

A collaboration between researchers funded by the DOE and NSF-supported MRSEC and CHM at UC Berkeley and UMASS Amherst has led to a breakthrough in the areal density of templates derived from block copolymers (BCPs) having orientational registry over macroscopic distances. The facets on a reconstructed single crystal surface, like

Fundamental MIT MRSEC research enables life-saving technology

Technology based on fundamental studies carried out within our MRSEC is now saving lives at hospitals across the country: over 175 novel endoscopic surgical procedures per week are being carried out across 250 medical facilities in the U. S. using high-power laser radiation delivered by OmniGuide photonic fibers.

PREM Collaboration yields scientific and educational results

A collaboration between PREM partners, Michael Bockstaller (CMU) and Rufina Alamo (FAMU) had great outcomes for both science and education. A student from Alamos's group at FAMU, Robert Smith, joined Bockstaller's group during the summer to study the effect of selective chlorine substitution on the crystallization of polyethylene.

Grain Boundary Lifetimes

The types of grain boundaries that make up the interfacial network within polycrystalline solids influence the properties and performance of the material. The population of grain boundary types is anisotropic, meaning that some of the types are found more frequently than others.

Adhesion and Interfacial Fracture in Soft and Hard Materials

One of the challenges in developing robust multilayers is the need to predict the interfacial strength between hard and soft materials.

Toward Site-Specific Stamping of Graphene

A physical hypothesis based on theory and ab initio modeling for the stamping of graphene and few layers graphene (FLG) on silica is presented, and the feasibility of site-specific stamping of FLG patterns is demonstrated experimentally (figure below shows 10-layer FLG pattern stamped on silica).

Hybrid Silicon Nanocrystal-Polymer Solar Cells

Mr. Chin-Yi Liu, a graduate student working in Professor Kortshagen’s group, demonstrated the first hybrid solar cell based on silicon nanocrystals and a conductive polymer, poly-3(hexylthiophene) (P3HT). 

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