The Schroeder Group uses single-molecule characterization of materials – together with automated synthesis and molecular design – to understand how form and function arise in soft materials. Research in the Schroeder Group is currently focused on three areas:
(1) Soft matter dynamics – Our group aims to understand how molecular-scale properties give rise to bulk stress and mechanical behavior in soft materials and polymers. In one area, we study lipid vesicle dynamics and capillary suspension breakup in flow using the Stokes trap. In a second area, we use single molecule techniques to study the non-equilibrium dynamics and rheology of entangled polymers and architecturally complex materials.
(2) Molecular electronics – Our group aims to understand how molecular composition and sequence govern the charge transport properties of conjugated molecules, redox-active materials, and light-harvesting organic molecules, which is essential for energy capture and storage applications. A key focus lies in understanding electron transport in biological materials such as peptides, proteins, and self-assembled protein nanowires.
(3) Closed-loop materials discovery & automated synthesis – Our work focuses on using closed-loop experimentation to discover new materials with enhanced or improved functional properties, e.g., organic molecules with enhanced photostability. A key focus lies in using “Lego-like” synthesis of organic materials based on a modular set of molecular building blocks, which greatly accelerates the rate of materials discovery.
Research Highlights
Closed-loop discovery of photostable light-harvesting molecules
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Open Macromolecular Genome (OMG): generative design of synthetically accessible polymers
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Nature, 2024
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ACS Polymers Au, 2023
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Prior Research
DNA data storage
Supramolecular assembly of proteins
Single molecule biophysics & fluorescent proteins