Speaker: Kristin Hutchins, Assistant Professor at Texas Tech University
Title: Thermal Expansion Properties of Organic Solid-State Materials
Abstract: Thermal expansion (TE) is the response of a material to a change in temperature. Materials that undergo well-controlled TE are useful in high precision instruments, sensors, and aerospace applications. TE behavior of a solid largely depends on the type of bonds that comprise it. Along a given direction, the expansion will depend on the bonds that lie along that direction. For example, having only strong bonds, in cases such as inorganic or network solids, leads to minimal TE. Thus, properties for materials like concrete and metal-based solids are relatively well understood. On the other hand, having weaker, noncovalent interactions leads to larger TE. Organic crystalline solids are held together in three dimensions by noncovalent interactions such as hydrogen bonds, halogen bonds, or pi-pi stacking; thus, the ability to control structure and predict TE behavior is more challenging. The range in type and strength of noncovalent forces that can be used for self-assembly of organic solids offers incredible opportunity to tune TE, if forces are controlled in 3D. Here, we describe our efforts to design organic solids that undergo molecular motion in response to temperature as a platform for achieving large TE. We also direct solid-state self-assembly via noncovalent interactions and discuss the impact of these interactions on TE behavior.
Bio: Kristin was born and raised in Iowa and received her B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Iowa in 2010. She stayed at the University of Iowa for graduate school and worked with Professor Leonard MacGillivray in the areas of supramolecular chemistry, crystal engineering, and solid-state reactivity and received her Ph.D. in 2015. Kristin went to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign to conduct postdoctoral work with Professor Jeffrey Moore on polymer colloids for self-healing applications. In 2017, she started as an assistant professor at Texas Tech University. Her research group investigates solid-state motion, thermal expansion of solids, and design of materials that can capture wastewater contaminants. Kristin is an editorial advisory board member for CrystEngComm, and she recently became an advisory board member for the Women in Supramolecular Chemistry Network – an international organization promoting career progression of women in chemistry.