Our Research

The Mohapatra research group conducts interdisciplinary research at the intersection of polymer synthesis, physical-organic chemistry, computational polymer science, and polymer mechanochemistry. In our lab, we seek to develop polymeric materials that undergo mechanical self-strengthening under application of mechanical force. Specifically, we develop mechano-responsive polymers that, under mechanical activation, will promote the formation of new polymeric structures within themselves. These kinds of polymeric materials will find use in the development of force-activated polymeric adhesives (useful in additive manufacturing), force-activated polymeric foams that are deployed after mechanical impact (useful in automotive and defense sectors), and force-activated self-healing in polymers (useful to extend lifetime of consumer plastics).