Meet Dr. Robert Pankow

Advisor: Dr. Tobin J. Marks

Institution: Northwestern University

Bio:  Robert M. Pankow earned his BA in Chemistry from UC Santa Barbara (2012) and his MS in Chemistry from CSU Northridge (2015). He earned his Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Southern California (2020) under the guidance of Prof. Barry C. Thompson, focusing on the design and sustainable synthesis of conjugated polymers. He is currently an IC Postdoctoral Fellow at Northwestern University working with Prof. Tobin J. Marks and Prof. Antonio Facchetti. His research interests include the design and synthesis of functional organic materials, polymer synthesis and characterization, sustainable chemistry, and organic electronics.

Abstract:  We are working towards the fabrication of flexible and stretchable electrochromic (EC) devices for tunable optical filter applications using -conjugated polymers with NIR/IR light-absorption. Aided by computation, we will synthesize novel semiconducting polymer structures incorporating diketopyrrolopyrrole (DPP) and bay-annulated isoindigo (BAI) units, which have very strong, broad, and tunable NIR absorption and desirable electrochemical properties suitable for EC applications. Porous films of these polymers with novel honeycomb microstructures will be fabricated, using techniques recently developed in the Marks’ Lab, to maximize performance in flexible and stretchable EC devices with strong NIR/IR light absorption, superb mechanical strength, and exceptional environmental stability. From preliminary experiments we find that porous honeycomb film morphologies facilitate electrolyte ion insertion/expulsion for highly efficient redox processes and enhanced stability on mechanical deformation. This will undoubtedly provide desirable EC device performance, such as rapid switching, high optical contrast, and good overall stability. Furthermore, we show porous films can be sequentially layered, and we will apply this towards the fabrication of EC devices incorporating multiple polymer layers with NIR absorption and distinct electrochemical properties. The layering of different porous polymers films with varying optical and electrochemical properties is an unexplored route for accessing tunable and dynamic optical filtration with uncompromised device performance and exceptional mechanical stability. In addition, we will evaluate the electrochemical, environmental, and mechanical stability of the EC films and devices fabricated to provide a polymer and devicearchitecture pairing that is truly robust.