Increased Toughness and Excellent Electronic Properties in Polythiophenes

Today a new paper from the Sydlik Group appeared online in Advanced Electronic Materials! In collaboration with Prof. Genevieve Sauve at Case Western and Prof. Rick McCullough at Harvard, we synthesized and characterized a novel series of random copolymers of polythiophene. Unlike traditional electronics that are stiff and brittle, these plastics that conduct electricity were found to be exceptionally tough and flexible. This was as a result of the random incorporation of an unsubstituted thiophene into the polymer backbone. Further, these materials have excellent electronic properties, suggesting their potential for use in rollable, foldable electronics such as a portable solar cell. You can read the full paper here: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/aelm.201600316/full. This is just one example of how the concepts of polymer design have the potential transform our lives!

Image is the property of Advanced Electronic Materials & the Sydlik Group

Sydlik Lab Space

Last Friday was the last day of classes here at CMU! The Sydlik Group had a lot to celebrate, with the end of the semester and the end of renovations in our lab space. We held an open house to show off our new spaces and share the holiday spirit with our colleagues. Check out the space in the pictures below!

Prof Sydlik's office. Now you see why the website is these colors!

Through that door...

...lies the student office!

Main synthetic lab space

With chemical fume hoods for miles!

Even more chemical fume hoods 

Safety first!

Biosafety lab

Super cool microscope. So much automation!

Lunch room follows the color scheme!

Congrats to Will!

Congratulations to senior undergrad Will Koshut on his acceptance to the Chemistry PhD program at the University of Tennessee! Will's going to be Dr. Koshut some day! Thrilled to have helped nurture Will's passion for research during his time in the Sydlik Group.