The MCPT Lab develops materials that translate fundamental polymer science into self-powered sensors, energy harvesters, and membranes for environmental remediation. We work across electrospinning, nanocomposite engineering, device fabrication, and machine-learning-guided optimization.
Self-powered sensors and wearable energy harvesters based on PVDF, MXene composites, lead-free halide perovskites, and high-entropy oxides. Core questions: how do molecular additives stabilize the β-phase of PVDF? How do we couple piezo and tribo modes in a single device? ML-guided optimization sits alongside hands-on electrospinning.
Antibacterial and antifouling membranes built from graphene oxide, silver nanoparticles, and bio-inspired surface chemistries. Applications in forward osmosis, desalination, heavy-metal removal, and municipal wastewater treatment. Recent work: PEF/PLA and PVA/rGO membranes with tunable flux and covalently-anchored biocides.
Structure–property relationships for EMI shielding, dielectric energy storage, and charge transport in polymer blends. We use selectively-localized nanofillers (MWCNTs, rGO), conducting-polymer blends, and perovskite–polymer hybrids to engineer decade-spanning dielectric response and EMI absorption.
Nanofiber fabrication for energy harvesting, filtration, bioelectronics, and tissue scaffolding. We combine electrospinning with 3D printing, surface functionalization, and scalable hybrid processing to translate benchtop chemistries into manufacturable devices.
Machine learning and Bayesian optimization applied to polymer nanocomposite design. Surrogate models for piezoelectric output, dielectric response, and membrane flux — linking molecular descriptors to device performance.