My interests are in nanostructured polymers and hybrids, their analysis and application, as well as the chemical reactions that allow for the (trans)formation of such materials, with a strong preference for benign / sustainable solutions.

Nanocomposites

The structure and properties of nanocomposites are intimately related to the chemistry of the polymer and the nanofiller compatibilizer. Combinations of nanoclays, non-toxic heat stabilizers and vegetable oil derived plasticizers have been investigated for potential as environmentally benign alternatives to additives in existing PVC wire and cable applications, with some work relevant to medical PVC as well. Fundamental studies of the mechanical and barrier properties of high nanofiller content films have yielded materials with unique combinations of stiffness and damping that further serve as excellent model systems for validating various theories of nanocomposite permeability. In collaboration with Prof. E. Reynaud, we are also attempting to deconvolute the effects of nanoparticle reinforcement and microstructural reorganization in semi-crystalline polymer nanocomposites. Finally, the use of nanoclays as non-toxic additives able to reduce permeability and flammability is also of interest.

Organic Sol-Gel and Thermoset Chemistry

In this area we have successfully produced cytocompatible tissue engineering scaffolds, and have used replica molding of natural porous bodies (bone, sponge, etc.) to set the structure and independently altering the properties through choice of pre-polymer. Shape-memory characteristics have been realized in these scaffolds as well, further enhancing their capabilities. Hydrogel-based delivery systems represent a second area of interest, with ongoing collaborations with Prof. P. Gaines and Prof. E. Reynaud aimed at demonstrating their ability to support cell proliferation and modeling their swelling characteristics. Finally, again working with Prof. E. Reynaud we have pursued an understanding of the composition-curing-properties relations in vegetable oil based epoxy thermosets, with potential utility as non-toxic binders in engineered wood products, epoxy adhesives and can coatings.

Pre-Ceramic Polymers

Here, in collaboration with Prof. J. Therrien, we are working to understand how to combine the formability of polymers with the properties of ceramics. We are able to show that pre-ceramic polymers may be formed into nanostructures very difficult to attain with direct ceramic processing, and that the patterning of this process is possible as well. Potential applications include high-speed scanning probe microscopy (SPM) and micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS).

Sustainability

Finally, an overarching area of interest has to do with the safety and sustainability of polymeric materials and the additives they contain. In addition to our own efforts to be mindful of such things as much as possible while pursuing the aforementioned research goals, collaborations with Prof. D. Bello and Prof. E. Rogers focus on rapidly assessing nanoparticle toxicity and correlating these results with physicochemical properties. Likewise, ongoing discussions with colleagues in the Department of Plastics Engineering, Department of Work Environment, the Lowell Center for Sustainable Production and the Massachusetts Toxics Use Reduction Institute will serve as a means to develop strategies for sustainability based on the combined knowledge of all involved disciplines.

Useful References

Click on the above link to access my collection of useful online references associated with chemistry, materials, plastics, engineering, and the like.

If you are interested in a position in my group:

Please e-mail your CV and a brief cover letter that explicitly includes what subject area(s) and degree program you're most interested in. Please understand, however, that I will not offer a funded position to someone I have never met or spoken to in person.

If you are on-campus and would like to meet:

• Meetings are scheduled by e-mail, at least 24 hours in advance.

• Your background and interests match an area of active research in my group.

• The subject of our discussions is not whether I have a funded position for you.

I will indicate my funding situation before our meeting, and make any hiring decisions only after I have met with all interested parties, based on the availability of funds and the degree to which the applicants match the needs of the relevant project(s).

Current Course Offerings (Fall 2010)

26.381 Polymer Science for Engineers I

26.383 Polymer Science Laboratory I
(co-taught with Prof. B. Budhlall & Prof. R. Nagarajan)

Previous Course Offerings

26.381 Polymer Science for Engineers I

26.383 Polymer Science Laboratory I
(co-taught with Prof. B. Budhlall & Prof. R. Nagarajan)

26.384 Polymer Science Laboratory II
(co-taught with Prof. B. Budhlall & Prof. R. Nagarajan)

26.405 Polymer Science Laboratory
(co-taught with Prof. B. Budhlall & Prof. R. Nagarajan)

26.480 Introduction to Polymer Science

26.512 Porous Polymers

26.526 Nanoscale Plastics Processing (co-taught with Prof. C. Barry)

22.570 / 26.589 Polymer Nanocomposites (co-taught with Prof. E. Reynaud)

Service

Co-Organizer, NSF Summer Institute Short Course, "From Nanoparticles to Nanocomposites: Processing, Performance and Toxicity", June 15-18, 2009, University of Massachusetts Lowell, Lowell, MA

Co-chair, "Nanoscale Structure In Polymers III: Polymer Nanocomposites", Nanoscale Science and Engineering Forum, 100th American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) Annual Meeting, November 16-21, 2008, Philadelphia, PA

Associate Editor, Journal of Macromolecular Science A, 2007-2009

Editorial Board Member, Journal of Macromolecular Science A, 2007-

Plastics Engineering Representative, U. Mass. Lowell Faculty Senate

Plastics Engineering Representative, College Computing Committee

Faculty Advisor, U. Mass. Lowell. SAMPE Student Chapter

Member, Chemistry / Materials Subcommittee, Plastics Engineering

Affiliate, Nanomanufacturing Center of Excellence

Affiliate, Center of High-Rate Nanomanufacturing

Honors & Awards

2009, Mark and Elisia Saab Endowed Professorship in Sustainable Plastics Engineering

2006, NSF/MEXT US-Japan Young Researcher in Nanotechnology and Nanomanufacturing

2004, BASF-ISIS Award for outstanding research achievements

Journal Publications

1. K. Tulsyan, S. Toshniwal, G. Dorairaju, D. F. Schmidt, E. Reynaud, "Thermomechanical Assessment of Plastic Deformation in Model Amorphous Polyamide/Clay Nanocomposites," Journal of Nanomaterials, 2010, 679786 (2010).

2. D. F. Schmidt, E. P. Giannelis, "Silicate Dispersion and Mechanical Reinforcement in Polysiloxane / Layered Silicate Nanocomposites," Chemistry of Materials, 22, 167-174 (2010).

3. D. Bello, S-F. Hsieh, D. Schmidt, E. Rogers, "Nanomaterials properties vs. biological oxidative damage: Implications for toxicity screening and exposure assessment," Nanotoxicology, 3, 249-261 (2009).

4. C. Thellen, S. Schirmer, J. A. Ratto, B. Finnigan, D. Schmidt, "Co-Extrusion of Multilayer Poly(m-xylylene adipimide) Nanocomposite Films for High Oxygen Barrier Packaging Applications," Journal of Membrane Science, 340, 45-51 (2009).

5. C. du Fresne, D. F. Schmidt, V. Schädler, "Nanoporous Melamine-Formaldehyde Gels by Microemulsion Templating," Chemistry of Materials, 20, 6124-6129 (2008).

6. C. C. Egger, C. du Fresne, D. Schmidt, J. Yang, V. Schädler, "Design of highly porous melamine-based networks through a bicontinuous microemulsion templating strategy," Journal of Sol-Gel Science and Technology, 48, 86-94 (2008).

7. E. J. Rogers, S. F. Hsieh, N. Organti, D. Schmidt, D. Bello, "A high throughput in vitro analytical approach to screen for oxidative stress potential exerted by nanomaterials using a biologically relevant matrix: Human blood serum," Toxicology in Vitro, 22, 1639-1647 (2008).

8. D. Schmidt, C. du Fresne, A. Weiss, V. Schädler, "Colloidal Gelation as a General Approach to the Production of Porous Materials," Chemistry of Materials, 20, 2851-2853 (2008).

9. D. Schmidt, V. I. Raman, C. Egger, C. du Fresne, V. Schaedler, "Templated cross linking reactions for designing nanoporous materials", Materials Science and Engineering C: Biomimetic and Supramolecular Systems, 27, 1487-1490 (2007).

10. P. Borgaonkar, S. Sharma, M. Chen, S. Bhowmick and D. F. Schmidt, "A Flexible Approach to the Preparation of Polymer Scaffolds for Tissue Engineering", Macromolecular Bioscience, 7, 201-207 (2007).

11. D. F. Schmidt, F. Clément and E. P. Giannelis, "On the Origins of Silicate Dispersion in Polysiloxane / Layered Silicate Nanocomposites", Advanced Functional Materials, 16, 417-425 (2006).

12. D. Shah, P. Maiti, E. Gunn, D. F. Schmidt, D. D. Jiang, C. A. Batt, and E. P. Giannelis, "Dramatic Enhancements in Toughness of Polyvinylidene Fluoride Nanocomposites via Nanoclay-Directed Crystal Structure and Morphology", Advanced Materials, 16, 1173-1177 (2004).

13. H. Chen, D. F. Schmidt, M. Pitsikalis, N. Hadjichristidis, Y. Zhang, U. Wiesner and E. P. Giannelis, "Poly(styrene-block-isoprene) Nanocomposites: Kinetics of Intercalation and Effects of Copolymer on Intercalation Behaviors", Journal of Polymer Science B, 41, 3264-3271 (2003).

14. V. Vohra, D. F. Schmidt, C. K. Ober, and E. P. Giannelis, "Deintercalation of a Chemically Switchable Polymer from a Layered Silicate Nanocomposites", Journal of Polymer Science B, 41, 3151-3159 (2003).

15. D. Schmidt, D. Shah, and E. P. Giannelis, "New Advances in Polymer / Layered Silicate Nanocomposites", Current Opinions in Solid State and Materials Science, 6, 205-212 (2002).

Book Chapters

1. D. Schmidt, "Processing of polymer nanocomposites," in Industry Guide to Polymer Nanocomposites, Beyer, G., Ed., Plastics Information Direct: Bristol, UK, Ch. 4, 2009.

2. C. Barry, J. Chen, J. Mead, D. Schmidt, "Multiscale Processing of Polymers and Nanocomposites," in Materials Processing Handbook, Groza, J. R., Shackelford, J. F., Lavernia, E. J., Powers, M. T., Eds., CRC Press: Boca Raton, FL, 30-1, 2007.

3. D. Schmidt, J. Mead, C. Barry, J. Chen, "Nanomanufacturing with Polymers", in Handbook of Plastics Technologies, 2nd ed., Harper, C. A., Ed., McGraw-Hill: New York, NY, 6.1, 2006.

Conference Proceedings

1. E. Dunkerley, D. F. Schmidt, "Moisture Susceptibility of Hydrophobic Nanoclay Composites," PMSE Preprints, in press (2010).

2. H. Lippincott, D. F. Schmidt, "Porous Tissue Engineering Scaffolds by Solvent Selection for Sol-Gel Polymerization," Polymer Preprints, 51, 606-607 (2010).

3. M. Jafferji, D. F. Schmidt and E. Reynaud, "Infrared Thermography Applied to the Tensile Testing of Plastics," SPE ANTEC, 68, in press (2010).

4. S. Sivasubramanian, D. F. Schmidt, E. Reynaud, "Novel Bio-based Thermost Resins from Epoxidized Vegetable Oils for Structural Applications," SPE ANTEC, 68, 950-954 (2010).

5. E. Dunkerley, D. F. Schmidt, "The Optimization of High Inorganic Content Hybrid Barrier Materials," SPE ANTEC, 68, 702-706 (2010).

6. M. L. Bernasconi, S. Toshniwal, K. Tulysan, E. Reynaud, D. F. Schmidt, "Barrier Properties of Amorphous and Semi-Crystalline Polyamide Nanocomposite Films," SPE ANTEC, 68, 698-701 (2010).

7. P. Shah, V. Mahajan, G. Dorairaju, D. F. Schmidt, "A Comparison of Layered Nanofillers in Flexible PVC," SPE ANTEC, 67, 448-452 (2009).

8. E. Dunkerley, D. F. Schmidt, "Stiff, Highly Damping Thermoplastic Polyurethane Nanocomposites via Simple, Scalable Processing," SPE ANTEC, 67, 92-96 (2009).

9. A. Shrivastava, N. Francis, D. F. Schmidt, "Effect of multiple heat histories on medical-grade flexible PVC/layered silicate nanocomposite," SPE ANTEC, 66, 1465-1469 (2008).

10. G. Dorairaju, S. Toshniwal, K. Tulsyan, D. F. Schmidt, E. Reynaud, "Relating mechanical behavior to morphology in clay/amorphous polyamide nanocomposites," SPE ANTEC, 66, 1223-1227 (2008).

11. G. Dorairaju, G. Morose, D. F. Schmidt, "The interaction of nanoclay, plasticizer and stabilizer in PVC wire and cable formulations with enhanced acceptability," SPE ANTEC, 66, 1079-1083 (2008).

12. H. Lippincott, D. F. Schmidt, "Sol-gel derived polycaprolactone/castor oil based copolyurethanes for medical applications," SPE ANTEC, 66, 528-532 (2008).

13. P. Borgaonkar, S. Sharma, M. Chen, S. Bhowmick, D. F. Schmidt, "Organic sol-gel chemistry as a flexible synthetic route to tissue engineering scaffolds", Polymer Preprints, 48, 904-906 (2007).

14. E. Reynaud, D. F. Schmidt, V. Appaji, H. Patel, "Relating mechanical behavior to polyamide/clay nanocomposites morphology", PMSE Preprints, 97, 670 (2007).

15. N. Francis, D. F. Schmidt, "PVC/layered silicate nanocomposites: preparation, characterization, and properties", SPE ANTEC, 65, 1238-1242 (2007).

16. P. Borgaonkar, S. Sharma, D. F. Schmidt, M. Chen, S. Bhowmick, "Preparation and characterization of polyester thermoset xerogels for tissue engineering scaffolds", SPE ANTEC, 65, 806-811 (2007).

17. D. Schmidt, G. Qian, and E. P. Giannelis, "Nanocomposites from Novel Synthetic Organo-Layer Silicates" PMSE Preprints, 82, 215-216 (2000).

Contact

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