Professor: Christopher K. Ober
Stable radicals are intriguing materials. A radical is an unpaired electron and can induce magnetism into a substance, act as a conducting charge carrier, store energy and is often an extraordinarily reactive chemical function involved in the chemistry of fire. Yet there exist stable radicals, radicals that can exist for long periods of time and it is these chemical units that we would like to put into polymers. Once done we have the ability to mold and shape these stable radicals into polymer films where we can precisely place and control the stable radical. The student will work with graduate students to carry out chemical preparation of these new polymers and work with a team of physicists to study them using a new kind of microspectrometer. The REU student will be involved in this state-of-the-art work to create new energy storage materials and to understand the fundamental materials science of how they behave.