Michael Chabinyc

Materials Department

University of California Santa Barbara

Abstract: Polymers are essential for wearable electronic systems as active and passive materials.  We will discuss the role of molecular structure on the behavior of semiconducting polymers and dielectric elastomers. In both cases, the molecular architecture of polymers controls their ultimate functional behavior. First, we will discuss how relatively small changes in the design of the sidechains of semiconducting polymers can be used to modify donor-acceptor interactions with molecular dopants. These subtle changes control whether charge transfer is complete leading to an electrically conductive state, or partial leading to a poorly conducting charge-transfer state.  Second, we will discuss how polymers with a bottlebrush architecture can be used to form super-soft elastomers useful for pressure sensors. The low mechanical modulus of bottlebrush elastomers, which is comparable to that of hydrogels, allows for the simple formation of capacitive pressure sensors with sensitivity comparable to human touch. Recent results on 3D printing of super-soft materials will also be described.

Biography: Professor Michael Chabinyc is Chair of the Materials Department at the University of California Santa Barbara. He received his Ph.D. in chemistry from Stanford University and was an NIH postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University. He was a Member of Research Staff at (Xerox) PARC prior to joining UCSB in 2008. His research group studies fundamental properties of organic semiconducting materials and thin film inorganic semiconductors with a focus on materials useful for energy conversion. He has authored more than 200 papers across a range of topics and is inventor on more than 40 patents in the area of thin film electronics.  He is a fellow of the Materials Research Society (MRS), the American Physical Society (APS), the National Academy of Inventors (NAI), and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).