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Soft Materials and Nanomaterials Research
We experimentally investigate the microscopic structure and dynamics of synthetic and biological soft matter to better understand traditional concepts such as phase transitions, self-assembly and the relationship between microscopic structure and macroscopic properties. We also apply our expertise in soft matter to challenges in nanoscience to answer fundamental scientific questions.
In our group, we employ both soft and nanomaterials approaches to engineer multifunctional materials with tailored optical, electrical, thermal and mechanical properties. These unique materials have diverse applications in areas such as photonics, fuel cells, supercapacitors, drug delivery vessels, scaffolds for tissue engineering, etc. Due to the interdisciplinary nature of our research, we closely collaborate with researchers from other fields including physics, chemistry, and biomedical engineering.
News
November 10 - 11, 2017:
Research from the Islam Lab on carbon nanotube aerogels was featured at the Founders Exposition for the 50th Anniversary celebration of Carnegie Mellon University!
Recent Publications
K. Narumi, F. Qin, S. Liu, H. Cheng, J. Gu, Y. Kawahara, M. Islam, L. Yao "Self-healing UI: Mechanically and Electrically Self-healing Materials for Sensing and Actuation Interfaces" Proceedings of the 32nd Annual ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology, 293-306 (2019)
G. Zhou, N. R. Kim, S. E. Chun, W. Lee, M. K. Um, T. W. Chou, M. F. Islam, J. H. Byun, Y. Oh, "Highly porous and easy shapeable poly-dopamine derived graphene-coated single walled carbon nanotube aerogels for stretchable wire-type supercapacitors" Carbon, 130, 137 (2018)
M. N. Tsui, K. H. Kim, M. F. Islam, "Drastically Enhancing Moduli of Graphene-Coated Carbon Nanotube Aerogels via Densification While Retaining Temperature Invariant Superelasticity and Ultrahigh Efficiency " ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces 9, 37954 (2017).
A. S. Campbell, M. F. Islam, A. J. Russell, "Intramolecular Electron Transfer through Poly-Ferrocenyl Glucose Oxidase Conjugates to Carbon Electrodes: 2. Sensor Sensitivity, Selectivity and Longevity" Electrochimica Acta 248, 578 (2017).
Y. Zhao, M. P. Li, S. Liu, M. F. Islam, "Superelastic Pseudocapacitors from Freestanding MnO2 Decorated Graphene-Coated Carbon Nanotube Aerogels" ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces 9, 23810 (2017) .
S. Jin, P. Wijesekara-Kankanange, P. Boyer, K. N. Dahl, M. F. Islam, "Length-Dependent Intracellular Bundling of Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes Influences Retention" Journal of Materials Chemistry B 5, 6657 (2017).
A. S. Campbell, M. F. Islam, A. J. Russell, "Intramolecular Electron Transfer through Poly-Ferrocenyl Glucose Oxidase Conjugates to Carbon Electrodes: 2. Mechanistic Understanding of Long-Term Stability" Electrochimica Acta 246, 294 (2017).
K. H. Kim, M. N. Tsui, M. F. Islam, "Graphene-Coated Carbon Nanotube Aerogels Remain Superelastic While Resisting Fatigue and Creep Over -100˚C to 500 ˚C" Chemistry of Materials 29, 2748 (2017).
H. -A. Park, S. Liu, Y. Oh, P. A. Salvador, G. S. Rohrer, M. F. Islam, "Nano-Photoelectrochemical Cell Arrays with Spatially Isolated Oxidation and Reduction Channels" ACS Nano 11, 2150 (2017).
B. D. Holt, V. Roginskaya, B. Van Houten, M. F. Islam, K. N. Dahl, "Dispersed Single Wall Carbon Nanotubes Do Not Impact Mitochondria Structure or Function, but Technical Issues During Analysis Could Yield Incorrect Results" Journal of Materials Chemistry B 5, 369 (2017).
M. N. Tsui, M. F. Islam, "Creep- and Fatigue-Resistant, Rapid Piezoresistive Responses of Elastomeric Graphene-Coated Carbon Nanotube Aerogels Over a Wide Pressure Range" Nanoscale 9, 1128 (2017).
Patents
M. F. Islam, "Carbon Nanotube Aerogels, Composites Including the Same, and Devices Formed Therefrom" US Patent, 9725601, (2017).
A complete list of our work is available on multiple domains including our Publications page, ResearchGate, or through Google Scholar.
The Islam Group gratefully acknowledges the following organizations for their sponsorship:
