Group Members

Dr. Michael Kilbey – Advisor, Associate Head of the Graduate Education

B.S. in Chemistry – Prairie View A&M University

High-Performance Polymer Additives for 3D-Printing:  My research focuses on investigating how the thermochemical properties of a PS matrix can be changed when low levels of the high performance polymer poly(2,6-dimethyl- 1,4-phenylene oxide) (PPO) are used as a blend or as an additive. By varying the loading levels of PPO as well as the molecular design of PPO-based copolymers we can assess, by thermomechanical testing, how the presence of these PPO-based additives influence the properties of FDM printed parts.

Abby Linhart – alinhart@vols.utk.edu

B.S. in Chemistry – Lewis University

M.S. in Chemistry – Lewis University

M.S. in Physics – Lewis University

Donor-Acceptor Conjugated Polymers:  My research focuses on synthesizing DPP and thiophene based conjugated polymers of varying structural attributes to explore the impact on electrical conductivity.  Specifically, these polymers will be molecularly doped and then characterized via GPC, AFM, and GISAXS/GIWAXS to identify key morphological characteristics and then relate them to electrical performance (i.e., conductivity).  This offers insight into what polymer properties are most advantageous for high performance organic electronics.

Candice Halbert – chalber1@vols.utk.edu

B.S. in Chemistry – Illinois State University

M.S. in Chemistry – Georgia Institute of Technology

Neutron Reflectivity of Thin Films

Evan Holt – evajholt@vols.utk.edu

B.S. in Chemistry – Union University

3D-Printing Materials with Reduced Graphene Oxide (rGO): My research focuses on incorporating rGO into different 3D-printable polymers. My goal is to see how changing rGO loading levels within the polymeric system affects print quality and conductive properties. These polymers will be characterized using a variety of thermomechanical testing to assess their printability, conductivity, and strength. The outcome of this research will expand the scope of 3D-printable materials and help understand the morphology of blends of rGO with different polymeric systems.

KJ Bell – kbell51@vols.utk.edu

B.S. in Chemistry – Kennesaw State University

M.S. in Chemical Science – Kennesaw State University

Role of Connectivity in Purine-based Conjugated Copolymers: Purines are a naturally occurring structure found in DNA and RNA that are amenable to various synthetic modifications. Previous work in our group has shown that utilizing purines
enables access to highly fluorescent small molecule and polymeric materials with application in
OLED devices. This was enabled through the exemplary 2,6-position of pyrimidine ring which
has been alluded to exhibit cross-conjugated properties. My project involves designing 2,8- and
6,8-connected purine-based small molecules and polymers. These pathways will help further
elucidate the impact that the 2-, 6-, and 8-position have on site-specific reactivity, photophysical
properties, and morphology of purine-based conjugated copolymers.

Manvendra Singh – msingh22@vols.utk.edu

B.S. in Chemistry – Hindu College, University of Delhi

M.S. in Polymer Chemistry – K J Somaiya College of Science & Commerce

Role of Regiochemistry in Purine-based Conjugated Copolymers: Since purines are asymmetric molecules, enchaining TPT (Thiophene-Purine-Thiophene) triads can lead to different regiochemical configurations due to varying potentials for head-head, head-tail, and tail-tail couplings. My research focuses on synthesizing TPT oligomers with varying connectivity and regiochemical configurations to understand their effect on self-assembly and photophysical properties.

Taylor Kearbey – tkearbey@vols.utk.edu

Pursuing a B.S. in Biochemistry