The objective of this Seed is to understand cooperative electronic, optical and electromagnetic phenomena emerging from the interactions of nanoscale building blocks. Recent work encompasses synthesis of nanoparticles (figure right) and nanowires, and the investigation of how nanocrystals can drive geometrical rearrangement in polymersome micelles (figure right). A second breakthrough (figure below), developed a ligand exchange process that enables flexible electronic devices (FETs) based on nanocrystal assemblies

Protein assembly at the air-water interface (AWI) occurs naturally in many biological processes, and provides a method for creating ordered biomaterials. However, the factors that control protein self-assembly at the AWI are generally not well understood. Here, we describe the behavior of a model protein, human serum albumin minimally labeled with Texas Red dye (HSA-TR), using a new confocal microscopy technique (Figure 1). Albumin was observed to form well-ordered, mesoscale

The topological insulating materials offer conductive surface states that can be useful for quantum computing, catalysis, and other applications. In this recent work, we (Young, Chowdhury, Walter, Mele, Kane, and Rappe, under review, 2011) show that compressing the material strengthens the topological insulating state, while expanding the material eventually takes this behavior away completely. Using external pressure as a control parameter suggests general ways to strengthen this important physical effect.

In 2008 The Penn MRSEC assisted a high school science teacher, Schuyler Patton, to prepare a year-long elective course on materials science for his high school, Central HS, Philadelphia. It started with one class of 33 students and it was very successful. In 2010-11, it was expanded to two sections with 66 students. In summer 2010, the Penn MRSEC offered a series of three hands-on workshops for teachers based on the laboratory experiments used in this course. The themes of these workshops were a)

Recent physics research shows how spin-orbit coupling can rearrange electronic bands in a solid to make a "topological insulator" a new quantum phase of matter that is guaranteed to have conductive surfaces even though its bulk is insulating. What happens if you take a topological insulator and compress or expand it? A team of researchers at the University of Pennsylvania has examined this question. They find that if you expand the material enough, you can manipulate the Dirac

Conductive polymers, i.e. plastics, that conduct electricity, are important in science and technology as they offer the potential for cheap, flexible electronic devices.

In semiconductor nanocrystals, the physical effects of deliberately included impurities, called dopants, may depend on the dopant position with the crystal.