Welcome to the Laboratory of Macromolecular and Organic Materials
The Laboratory of Macromolecular and Organic Materials is part of the Institute of Materials at EPFL. We pursue an interdisciplinary research program at the interface of synthetic chemistry, supramolecular self-assembly, and materials science. Our research interests revolve around the intricate balance of order and disorder in materials as a tool to control structure formation on the supramolecular, nanoscopic, or microscopic length scale. We ultimately use this concept to guide chemical reactivity of metastable molecular precursor for carbon nanomaterials, control electronic properties in organic semiconductor nanostructures, or tailor the bulk mechanical properties in supramolecular materials. In all of our investigations, we complement a chemistry-driven interest in structure formation on the supramolecular level with a broader materials science perspective, investigating structures of macromolecular and organic materials at all length scales, with an attention to bulk properties, applications, and devices..
The use of highly reactive carbon-rich molecular precursors for the bottom-up synthesis of novel functional carbon nanomaterials at room temperature allows us to explore supramolecular self-assembly to control their morphology.
Organic nanowires are model systems for the investigation of charge transport in organic semiconductors under nanoscopic confinement, and may serve as potential building blocks for integrated circuits in the future.
Supramolecular networks that make use of specific non-covalent interactions furnish elastomer materials with superior processing and self-healing properties.