Cornell scientists have developed a novel technique to transform symmetrical semiconductor particles into intricately twisted, spiral structures – or “chiral” materials – producing films with extraordinary light-bending properties.

The discovery, detailed in a paper publishing Jan. 31 in the journal Science, could revolutionize technologies that rely on controlling light polarization, such as displays, sensors and optical communications devices.

Non-wovens usually experience damage under external loading. Hence, a good understanding of damage mechanisms is of great value in designing new non-woven materials.

What did the Scientists Discover?

TeraPore develops and manufactures filters with unprecedented performance through a proprietary and scalable block copolymer self-assembly technology. When fabricated into membranes, the polymers spontaneously form into highly uniform structures, creating precise holes (or pores) on the nanoscale. The benefits of these membranes include high permeability, allowing very high flow rates, and uniform pore sizes for highly precise nanofiltration.

The Society cites his outstanding achievements in photopolymer science and technology and the “Development of new advanced photoresist for microelectronics.” Ober is the Francis Bard Professor of Materials Engineering, Materials Science and Engineering, Cornell University and he and his students and post-doctoral associates have been long-time collaborators and codevelopers of techniques and technology for small-angle x-ray scattering capabilities with CHESS staff scientist Detlef Smilgies.

Carbon-fibre-reinforced-carbon (aka “carbon-carbon” or “C/C”) is a leading, tough, low-density material that has been extensively used for these applications. Despite its many advantages, C/C does suffer from being susceptible to oxidization, and must therefore be coated with some protective layer prior to use. The residual and thermally-induced strains between C/C and its protective coatings must be understood in order to engineer safer, lighter vehicles.

NSF CAREER Award, 2017-2022

Assistant Professor Silberstein received a 5-yr, 500,000 award from the Division of Civil, Mechanical and Manufacturing Innovation (CMMI), NSF.

Award Abstract #1653059

CAREER: Building a Mechanistic Understanding of Mechanochemically Adaptive Polymers

Although high power conversion efficiency has been achieved for these materials, the fundamental understanding of solidification of perovskite inks and the reproducibility of related manufacturing processes remains an open question.