Abstract: Functional polymers and nanocrystals are promising building blocks for advanced materials and devices. In this talk, I will present our efforts on nanostructured functional materials from synthesis, self-assembly to solar energy applications. Four studies will be discussed: (1) Semiconductor conjugated polymer-quantum dot (CP-QD) and conjugated polymer-quantum rod (CP-QR) nanocomposites via directly grafting CP onto QD and QR surface by Heck coupling and click reaction, and their applications in nanohybrid solar cells; (2) Low-cost, high-efficiency dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) through the use of nanostructured TiO2 (e.g., nanotubes and nanoflowers) as photoanode, and earth abundant, environmentally friendly quaternary semiconductor copper zinc tin sulfide (CZTS) as counter electrode; (3) Rational design and synthesis of star-like and bottlebrush-like functional block copolymers and their conversion into a wide diversity of monodispersed (multi)functional nanocrystals with uniform size and shape intimately and permanently linked with polymers; and (4) Learning from “coffee rings”: highly ordered complex structures crafted by controlled evaporative self-assembly (CESA).
Bio: Zhiqun Lin received the B.S. degree in Materials Chemistry from Xiamen University, Xiamen in 1995, the Master degree in Macromolecular Science from Fudan University, Shanghai in 1998, and the PhD degree in Polymer Science and Engineering from UMass, Amherst in 2002. He was a postdoctoral associate at UIUC. He joined the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Iowa State University in 2004, and was promoted to Associate Professor in 2010. He moved to Georgia Institute of Technology in 2011. His research focuses on nanostructured materials and materials for solar energy conversion, including multifunctional nanocystals, multifunctional polymers, and their nanohybrids. He is a recipient of Frank J. Padden Award in Polymer Physics from American Physical Society (2002), 3M non-tenured faculty award (2006-2008), and NSF CAREER Award (2009). He was a participant at the 2010 Frontiers of Engineering symposium organized by the National Academy of Engineering. He is an Associate Editor of several journals, including Science of Advanced Materials, Journal of Nanomanufacturing and Nanoengineering, Reviews in Advanced Sciences and Engineering, and Journal of Nanoscience Letters. He is also serving as an Advisory Board members for Nanoscale, a Royal Society of Chemistry journal.