David L. Green | University of Virginia School of Medicine

Bio & Overview

Our research group focuses on the synthesis of well-defined nanoparticles, their dispersion into polymer solutions and melts, and their suspension rheology. First, we study the mechanisms that produce well-defined nanoparticles and then use this knowledge to optimize for a range of industrially relevant properties such as particle stability, surface expression, or catalytic activity. We are also interested in developing timely methods for determining nanoparticle growth rates inside of emulsions which are used in formulating a variety of commercial products like fiber-optic coatings, automotive finishes, and chromatographic packings. Second, we examine how grafting uniform polymers to the interfaces of well-defined nanoparticles affects their rheological behavior in polymer solutions and melts. With our fundamental studies, we seek to optimize processing to achieve a desirable microstructure in industrial suspensions, and to set a foundation for developing constitutive rheological models that predict the complex behavior of industrial suspensions. To this end, we use rheological and rheo-optical measurements to elucidate how the interactions within model suspensions affect their flow at nano-, micro-, and macroscopic length scales the full range of interactions that effect the processing of engineered materials.

Academic Information

Department: Chemical Engineering

Academic Title: Associate Professor

Research Interests

Reaction engineering of nanoparticles. Rheology of complex nanoparticle suspensions.

Selected Publications

2019

Merz, S. N., Hoover, E., Egorov, S. A., DuBay, K. H., & Green, D. L. (2019). Predicting the effect of chain-length mismatch on phase separation in noble metal nanoparticle monolayers with chemically mismatched ligands. SOFT MATTER, 15(22), 4498-4507. doi:10.1039/c9sm00264b

2016

Merz, S. N., Farrell, Z. J., Dunn, C. J., Swanson, R. J., Egorov, S. A., & Green, D. L. (2016). Theoretical and Experimental Investigation of Microphase Separation in Mixed Thiol Monolayers on Silver Nanoparticles. ACS NANO, 10(11), 9871-9878. doi:10.1021/acsnano.6b02091

2015

Farrell, Z., Merz, S., Seager, J., Dunn, C., Egorov, S., & Green, D. L. (2015). Development of Experiment and Theory to Detect and Predict Ligand Phase Separation on Silver Nanoparticles. ANGEWANDTE CHEMIE-INTERNATIONAL EDITION, 54(22), 6479-6482. doi:10.1002/anie.201500906

Sunday, D. F., & Green, D. L. (2015). Thermal and Rheological Behavior of Polymer Grafted Nanoparticles. MACROMOLECULES, 48(23), 8651-8659. doi:10.1021/acs.macromol.5b00987

2014

Liu, Q., Li, J., Liu, H., Tora, I., Ide, M. S., Lu, J., . . . Landers, J. P. (2014). Rapid, cost-effective DNA quantification via a visually-detectable aggregation of superparamagnetic silica-magnetite nanoparticles. NANO RESEARCH, 7(5), 755-764. doi:10.1007/s12274-014-0436-9

2012

Fowler, J. N., Saito, T., Gao, R., Fried, E. S., Long, T. E., & Green, D. L. (2012). Impact of Diblock Copolymers on Droplet Coalescence, Emulsification, and Aggregation in Immiscible Homopolymer Blends. LANGMUIR, 28(5), 2347-2356. doi:10.1021/la2037185

Sunday, D., Ilavsky, J., & Green, D. L. (2012). A Phase Diagram for Polymer-Grafted Nanoparticles in Homopolymer Matrices. MACROMOLECULES, 45(9), 4007-4011. doi:10.1021/ma300438g

2011

McEwan, M. E., Egorov, S. A., Ilavsky, J., Green, D. L., & Yang, Y. (2011). Mechanical reinforcement of polymer nanocomposites: theory and ultra-small angle X-ray scattering (USAXS) studies. SOFT MATTER, 7(6), 2725-2733. doi:10.1039/c0sm00393j

2010

Fowler, J. N., Chapman, B. R., & Green, D. L. (2010). Impact of plasticizers and tackifiers on the crystallization of isotactic poly(1-butene). EUROPEAN POLYMER JOURNAL, 46(3), 568-577. doi:10.1016/j.eurpolymj.2009.11.013

Sunday, D., Curras-Medina, S., & Green, D. L. (2010). Impact of Initiator Spacer Length on Grafting Polystyrene from Silica Nanoparticles. MACROMOLECULES, 43(11), 4871-4878. doi:10.1021/ma1004259