Hyperbranched polymer hosts for solid-state polymer electrolytes.

What does it take for an electrolyte to be both conductive and mechanically strong? Hyperbranched polymers allow us to maintain the amorphousness needed for ion transport while providing the strength needed in a solid-state system. By outfitting macromers with functional groups that conduct ions with reactive termini, we can use different polymerization methods and reagents to synthesize tunable polymer hosts and adapt their properties to a system's needs.

Fabrication of supercapacitors featuring solid polymer electrolytes.

Multifunctional materials are of great interest because of their ability to "multitask." In conjuction with Dr. Constantin Ciocanel in Mechanical Engineering at NAU, we have designed and fabricated a structural supercapacitor, a power storage material that is also capable of supporting mass, encasing electronics, or otherwise providing shape and form. This material could be used, for example, to store the energy from a solar panel within the framing of the panel itself. As a result, the batteries to store the generated electricity are obsolete. A key component of the supercapacitor is a solid polymer electrolyte that both provides physical form and strength as well as conducts electricity for charging and discharging the material.

Synthesis of polymer precursors.

Tuning a polymer to obtain specific properties requires access to a wide variety of polymer building blocks. Our ability to synthesize precisely the macromer precursors and polymerization agents required to obtain the electrochemical and mechanical properties we need for any application. Particular focus is on bioderived components that will lead to recyclable and biodegradable materials.

Synthesis of ionic liquids and deep eutectic solvents.

Our interests in power storage devices and medicinal compounds have converged in the world of ionic liquids (ILs -- room temperature molten salts) and deep eutectic solvents (DESs -- multicomponent mixtures that are liquid at room temperature). The synthetic expertise in our lab allows us to prepare new IL and DES formulations with interesting electrochemical and medicinal properties. We are especially interested in natural ILs and DESs (NADES) that are bioderived and biodegradable.

Ionic liquids and deep eutectic solvents with biological activity.

Although ionic liquids (ILs -- room temperature molten salts) and deep eutectic solvents (DESs -- multicomponent mixtures that are liquid at room temperature) started as alternative solvents with interesting properties (high boiling points, exceptional polarity, etc.), they have also been found to help promote organic reactions and even have antibacterial activity. With the Koppisch Research Group at NAU, we design new ILs and DESs that have promise as topical antibacterials, antiseptics, and more.

Design, synthesis, and evaluation of inhibitors of bacterial amino acid biosynthesis.

With the increase in antibiotic resistant strains of bacteria in recent years, it is more important now than ever to discover compounds that work against previously untargeted bacterial metabolic pathways. The "essential" amino acids (those that are consumed by mammals but produced by plants and bacteria) present unexploited biosynthetic pathways whose function may be disrupted to diminish bacterial growth. We have demonstrated that bacteria lacking specific genes for amino acid biosynthesis do not grow even in rich media. Our group designs and synthesizes libraries of potential inhibitors of specific enzymes in amino acid biosynthetic pathways. These compounds are then screened for biological activity in the Koppisch laboratory. The screening data is then used to refine our design to generate additional libraries of inhibitors.