Louis Madsen

Dr. Louis Madsen
Assistant Professor of Chemistry

Our perceptions of "soft" materials (e.g., polymers or liquid crystals) rely mostly on bulk macroscopic properties and on observations made after synthesis and processing are complete. However, to best design soft materials we must gain insights into their structure and dynamics at the molecular level, as these properties govern their macroscopic behavior. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) is especially well suited to investigating and quantifying structure, dynamics, and morphology and is the primary method used in our laboratory. Thus, we hope to span the molecular and macroscopic worlds, both to give a more complete picture of soft material behavior and to provide calculated feedback on synthesis and processing efforts.
In order to access different materials and experimental conditions, we often develop novel NMR spectroscopy and imaging techniques using creative approaches to detection or sample environment. Specific interests in our group include:

• Correlation of bulk polymer shear and deformation (rheology) with molecular and micron-scale details via "rheo-NMR" spectroscopy and imaging
• Investigation and development of the role of orientational order in the operation of fuel cell polyelectrolytes
• Development of in situ NMR techniques for the analysis of advanced polymers processed in supercritical CO₂
• Amplifying force-detected NMR into use as a sensitive and highly specific technique for probing microscopic samples

Dr. Madsen's Web Site