Lisa Tran received a Marie Curie European Fellowship for her proposal EXCHANGE_inLCs: EXamining CHemistry and Nanoparticle Geometry Effects at the INterface of Liquid CrystalS.
The organization of particles is important for tuning material characteristics, impacting electronic and optical properties. Recently, liquid crystals, famous for displays, have been employed to self-assemble particles, due to the medium’s ability to form complex patterns. However, the exact interactions between solids and liquid crystals at the submicron scale remain ambiguous and is fundamentally important for controlling liquid-crystal-based technologies. EXCHANGE_inLCs seeks to elucidate these submicron interactions through examining the effects of system geometry and chemistry on liquid-crystal-mediated, particle assembly. The project will be done with Alfons van Blaaderen.
Da Wang received a Marie Curie European Fellowship at the Electron Microscopy for Materials Research Center (EMAT) of the University of Antwerp for his proposal SuprAtom: Boosting Cation Exchange in Self-Assembled Supraparticles through Advanced Electron Tomography Techniques.
This work is based on Da’s PhD research on the topic of “Cation exchange reaction on self-assembled supraparticles” at the SCM group. During his Marie Curie research, he will develop innovative quantitative 3D electron microscopy techniques to investigate the dynamics of the structural evolution of cation-exchanged supraparticles on the single nanoparticle level, providing insights into how to achieve optimal properties. This program will be the start of a completely new research line in the fields of both colloidal science and 3D characterization. The outcome will boost the possibilities for the design and application of functional materials as well as push the limits of 3D electron microscopy techniques.
During his research stay at EMAT under supervision of prof. Sara Bals (starting from April 2020), Da will tightly collaborate with the SCM group and Christopher Murray’s group at the University of Pennsylvania.
