Rigoberto C Advincula

Rigoberto C. Advincula
Professor
Office: 103 SR-1 Phone: (713) 743-1760 Email: radvincula@uh.edu Education B.S. University of the Philippines 1987 Ph.D. University of Florida, 1994 Research Fellow, Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, 1995 Research Fellow, Dept. of Chem. Eng., Stanford University, 1996 Honors, Fellowships, etc. • Research Excellence Award, University of Houston, May 1, 2007 • Editorial Board, Macromolecules, Chemistry of Materials, Polymers for Advanced Technologies (PAT) and Journal of Bioactive and Compatible Polymers • Visiting Professor, Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, September-October 2006 • Visiting Professor, McGill University and University of Montreal, CSACS, July 2006 • Visiting Professor, National University of Singapore, Department of Chemistry, 2004 and 2006 • Keck Futures Nano Initiative Conference National Academies 2004 Invited Participant • Arthur Doolittle Award, American Chemical Society, PMSE Division, 2003 • Nanotechnology Visiting Professor, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Department of Organic and Polymer Materials, 2003 • NSF Materials Chemistry Workshop, Invited Participant, 2002 • NSF-CAREER Award, National Science Foundation, 1999 • Visiting Professor, Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, Mainz, Germany, with the group of Prof. Wolfgang Knoll, 1999 • Venture Business Laboratory Visiting Professor, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, VBL Program, 1997 • Alexander Von Humboldt Research Fellow, Germany, 1995 • Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society, elected, April 1995 • University National Scholarship, NSTA, Philippines, 1983 Homepage Publications

Research Interests

Polymer and Organic Ultrathin Films

We investigate the design and synthesis of organic macromolecules and oligomers capable of controlled-assembly or self-organization as ultrathin films. This includes functional amphiphile synthesis, polymerization on surfaces, network formation, and preparation of π-electron conjugated polymers. These materials are often: photochromic, electrically conducting, photoluminescent, electroluminescent, and nonlinear optically active. Electropolymerization is utilized to synthesize conjugated polymer ultrathin films in-situ. The challenge is to determine structure-property relationships as it relates to these reduced dimensions and interfacial phenomena. We are also involved in investigating nanoparticles, nanostructured surfaces, and nanocomposite materials with an organic or polymer component. Surface initiated polymerization (SIP) and block copolymers are also widely utilized. To prepare ultrathin films we have utilized self-assembled monolayers (SAM), Langmuir-Blodgett (LB), and the electrostatic layer-by-layer (ELBL) methods. Analysis includes: surface plasmon spectroscopy (SPS), atomic force microscopy (AFM), quartz crystal microbalance (QCM), polarized UV-vis, IR spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction. Thus, interfacial phenomena issues are studied using surface sensitive measurement techniques on new materials. In the area of biotechnology, there is interest in the preparation and application of these materials for bioadhesion, biosensors, and drug delivery. In summary, the projects, collaborations, and approaches are multidisciplinary. We have combined elements of organic and polymer synthesis, physical methods, and molecular engineering. The research themes that have been developed will train Ph.D. scientists who will be skilled in both organic and polymer synthesis and ultrathin films fabrication and analysis.

Recent Publications

Peer-Reviewed Publications

Taranekar, P.; Fulghum, T.; Baba, A.; Patton, D.; Advincula, R.* "Quantitative Electrochemical and Electrochromic Behavior of Terthiophene and Carbazole Containing Conjugated Polymer Network Film Precursors: EC-QCM and EC –SPR" Langmuir 2007, 23, 908-917.

Jiang, J.; Baba, A.; Advincula, R.* "Nanopatterning and Fabrication of Memory Devices from Layer-by-Layer Poly(3, 4–ethylenedioxythiophene): Poly (styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT: PSS) Ultrathin Films" Langmuir 2007, 23, 817-825.

Patton, D.; Advincula, R.* "A Versatile Synthetic Route to Macromonomers via RAFT Polymerization" Macromolecules 2006, 39, 8674-8683.

Fulghum, T.; Patton, A.; Advincula R.* "Fuzzy Ternary Particle Systems by Surface Initiated Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization (ATRP) from Layer-by-Layer Colloidal Core-Shell Macroinitiator Particles" Langmuir 2006, 22, 8397-8402.

Taranekar, P.; Park, J.; Patton, D.; Fulghum, T.; Ramon, G.; Bittner, E.; Advincula, R.* "Conjugated Polymer Nanoparticles via Intra-molecular Cross-linking of Dendrimeric Precursors" Adv. Mater. 2006, 18, 2461–2465.

Taranekar, P.; Baba, A.; Park, J.; Fulghum, T.; Advincula, R.* "Dendrimer Precursors for Nanomolar and Picomolar Real-Time SPR/Potentiometric Chemical Nerve Agent Sensing using Electrochemically Cross-linked Ultrathin Films" Adv. Funct. Mater. 2006, 16, 2000–2007.

Ravindranath, R.; Ajikumar, P.; Advincula, R.; Knoll, W.; Valiyaveettil, S.* "Fabrication and Characterization of Multilayer Films from Amphiphilic Poly(p-phenylene)s" Langmuir 2006, 22, 9002-9008.

Baba, A.; Jiang, G.; Park, K.; Park, J.; Shin, H.; Advincula, R.* "Electro-Nananopatterning of Surface Relief Gratings (SRG)s on Azobenzene Layer-by-Layer Ultrathin Films by Current-sensing Atomic Force Microscopy" J. Phys. Chem. 2006, 110, 17309-17314.

Taranekar, P.; Huang, C.; Advincula, R.* "Pinacolyl Methyl Phosphonate (PMP) detection by Molecularly Imprinted Polymers: A labile covalent bonding approach" Polymer 2006, 47, 6485-6490.

Baba, A.; Knoll, W.; Advincula, R.* "Simultaneous in situ electrochemical, surface plasmon optical, and atomic force microscopy measurements: Investigation of conjugated polymer electropolymerization" Rev, Sci. Inst. 2006, 77, 064101.

Taranekar, P.; Abdulbaki, M.; Krishnamoorti, R.; Phanichphant, S.; Waenkaew, P.; Patton, D.; Fulghum, T.; Advincula, R.* "Structure and Band-Gap Design of a New Series of Light-Emitting Poly(cyanofluorene-alt-o/m/p-phenylenevinylene)-Based Copolymers for Light-Emitting Diodes" Macromolecules 2006, 39, 3848-3854.

Jegadesan, S.; Sindhu, S.; Advincula, R.*; Valiyaveettil, S.* "Electrochemically Nanopatterned Conducting Coronas of a Conjugated Polymer Precursor: SPM Parameters and Polymer Composition" Langmuir 2006, 22, 3807-3811.

Advincula, R. "Hybrid Organic-Inorganic Nanomaterials Based on Polythiophene Dendronized Nanoparticles" Dalton Trans. 2006, 23, 2778 – 2784.

Baba, A.; Locklin, J.; Xu, R.; Advincula, R.* "Nanopatterning and Nanocharge Writing in Layer-by-Layer Quinquethiophene/Phthalocyanine Ultrathin Films" J. Phys. Chem. B. 2006, 110, 42-45.

Jegadesan, S.; Sindhu, S.; Advincula, R.*; Valiyaveettil, S.* "Direct Electrochemical Nanopatterning of Polycarbazole Monomer and Precursor Polymer Films: Ambient Formation of Thermally Stable Conducting Nanopatterns" Langmuir 2006, 22, 780-786.

Fulghum, T.; Karim, S.; Baba, A.; Taranekar, P.; Nakai, T.; Masuda, T.; Advincula, R.* "Conjugated Poly(phenylacetylene) Films Cross-Linked with Electropolymerized Polycarbazole Precursors" Macromolecules 2006, 39, 1467-1473.

Sakellariou, G.; Park. M.; Advincula, R.*; Mays, J.W.; Hadjichristidis. N.* "Homopolymer and Block Copolymer Brushes on Gold by Living Anionic Surface-initiated Polymerization in a Polar Solvent" J. Poly. Sci. Part A: 2006, 44, 769-782.

Advincula, M.; Rahemtulla, F.; Advincula, R.; Ada, E.; Lemons, J.; Bellis, S.* "Osteoblast Adhesion and Matrix Mineralization on Sol-gel Derived Titanium Oxide" Biomaterials 2006, 27, 2201-2212.

Books, Review Articles, and Refereed Proceedings

Advincula, R.* "Polymer Brushes by Anionic and Cationic Surface-Initiated Polymerization (SIP)" Advances in Polymer Science 2006, 197, 107-136.

Polymer Brushes: Advincula, R.; Ruehe, J,; Brittain, W.; Caster, K. Eds. VCH-Wiley: Weinheim, 2004, pp. 1-483.

Locklin, J.; Patton, D.; Xia, C.; Fan, X.; Advincula, R.* "Layer-by-Layer Assembly of Semiconducting and Photoreactive Bolaform Amphiphiles" In Dekker Encyclopedia of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology Schwarz, J., Contescu, C., Putyera, K., Eds.; Marcel Dekker, Inc.: New York, 2004, p. 1607.

Fan, X.; Xia, C.; Advincula, R.* "Polymer-Clay Nanocomposites and Polymer Brushes from Clay Surfaces". In Dekker Encyclopedia of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology; Schwarz, J., Contescu, C., Putyera, K., Eds.; Marcel Dekker, Inc.: New York, 2004, p. 2959.

Advincula, R. "Surface Initiated Polymerization from Nanoparticle Surfaces" Journal of Dispersion. Sci. and Tech. 2003, 24, 343-361.

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