Nagarjuna Gavvalapalli

Office: 432 Regents Hall
Phone: 202-687-0693
Fax: 202-687-6209
ng554@georgetown.edu

Education/Background

B. Sc., summa cum laude, 2004 Andhra Loyola College
M. Sc., 2006 University of Hyderabad
Ph.D. 2012 University of Massachusetts Amherst
Postdoctoral Fellow 2012-2016, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Teaching

Polymer Chemistry, and Organic Chemistry

Research Interests

Functional Organic Polymers and Nanostructures

Our research program is focused on the rational design and development of functional organic polymers and nanostructures. Our group’s core strength is design, development, synthesis, and structural characterization of smart functional polymers and self-assembly of organic molecules and nanostructures. Students in my research group are trained at the interfaces of organic chemistry, polymer chemistry and nanoscience, and gain expertise in the design and synthesis of small molecules, polymers and nano/colloidal particles. In addition to the synthesis of materials, students routinely perform electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and electrochemical and optical characterization, alongside basic material characterization.

Current projects in my research group are: i) design and development of elastic and self-healable materials for organic electronics; ii) design principles for smart and mechano-responsive π-conjugated polymers; and iii) shape-controlled synthesis of organic π-conjugated polyhedral nanoparticles.

Key Words of Our Research

smart polymers, π-conjugated materials, nanostructures, self-healing, elastic, organic polyhedral particles, self-assembly, solar cells, batteries, electronics, and photonics

Recent Publications

Nagarjuna, G.; Hui, J.; Cheng, K. J.; Lichtenstein, T.; Shen, M.; Moore, J. S.; Rodríguez-López, J. “Impact of Redox Active Polymer Molecular Weight on the Electrochemical Properties and Transport Across Porous Separators in Non-Aqueous Solvents” J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2014, 136, 16309-16316.

Bag, M.; Gehan, T. S.; Algaier, D. D.; Liu, F.; Nagarjuna, G.; Lahti, P. M.; Russell, T. P.; Venkataraman, D. “Efficient Charge Transport in Assemblies of Surfactant-Stabilized Semiconducting Nanoparticles” Adv. Mater. 2013, 25, 6411-6415.

Nagarjuna, G.; Baghgar, M.; Labastide, J. A.; Algaier, D. D.; Barnes, M. D.; Venkataraman, D. “Tuning Aggregation of Poly(3-hexylthiophene) Within Nanoparticles” ACS Nano 2012, 6, 10750-10758.

Nagarjuna, G.; Kokil, A.; Kumar, J.; Venkataraman, D. “A Straightforward Route to Electron Transporting Conjugated Polymers” J. Mater. Chem. 2012, 22, 16091-16094.

Nagarjuna, G.; Venkataraman, D. “Strategies for Controlling the Active Layer Morphologies in OPVs” J. Poly. Sci., Poly. Phys. 2012, 50, 1045-1056.

Nagarjuna, G.; Yurt, S.; Jadhav, K. G.; Venkataraman, D. “Impact of Pendant 1,2,3-Triazole on the Synthesis and Properties of Thiophene-Based Polymers” Macromolecules 2010, 43, 8045-8050.