The Scientist: Emmanuel Giannelis

Material science is often about having your cake and eating it too. Plastics enjoy flexibility, but are notoriously weak and easy to split. Crystal solids stubbornly refuse to give under great strain, but can’t offer any flexibility. But today material scientists like Prof. Emmanuel Giannelis have managed to defy these seemingly fundamental failings with high-tech blends of complimentary materials.

[1]Emmanuel Giannelis: Rebecca ReisnerThe characteristics of materials in our macroscopic world depend on the bizarre properties of atoms and molecules of the nanoscopic world. Nano means one billionth of a meter, which is exactly how far scientists need to zoom in before they can study the tiny clumps of atoms that govern material properties. On this size scale, organic polymers feature long chains of carbon atoms. Put enough of these together, and they twist and tangle like a giant mess of stiff spaghetti. This stretchy web of spaghetti explains how materials made of polymers, such as plastics, have great flexibility, but thin out and tear apart when stretched.

An ideal material would combine the flexibility of a polymer with the strength of a crystalline solid. Giannelis works with just such a material: nanocomposites. These mixtures combine the favorable properties of carbon-based, organic polymers with those of small non-carbon-based, inorganic nanoparticles.

Giannelis joined the department over 20 years ago with a background in Chemistry — the study of matter at a molecular level.

“It became obvious to people in materials science and myself that somebody who can operate at the molecular scale and utilize these small building blocks [nanoparticles] could actually make materials with significant control at the molecular and nano-scale,” he explained. “By being able to do that then, we could give these materials a set of properties that was unrealizable before.”

Giannelis and his lab focus on decoupling the properties of strength and stiffness in nanocomposites, but the lab also deals with decoupling other important material properties like the material’s electrical, magnetic, and thermal properties.

“As a materials scientist, I am trying to integrate the molecular with the macroscopic,” said Giannelis. Although materials science has many applications in different industries, Giannelis focuses on the fundamentals of nanocomposites. “I would argue that as a university group, we are better suited looking at the fundamentals, looking at the science and the engineering, and leaving the manufacturing to other people, specifically to industry,” Giannelis stated.

“We have certain expertise in our group that has to do with our ability to synthesize and manipulate nanoparticles and place them into media and polymers,” Giannelis explained. “Then, we’ll look around and say, ‘Where does this technology fit in the general scheme of things?’”

The answer to that question, he says, is almost everywhere.

Nanofluids, created by Giannelis in collaboration with another colleague, are inorganic artificially-charged nanoparticles. Unlike other solvent-based fluids, these fluids have very low vapor pressures. The magnetic, electrical, or thermal properties of inorganic particles of the fluid can be altered, providing great applications in heat exchange and lubrication.

Giannelis also applies his research to some burgeoning problems of our society. “Some of the things we are doing have to do with critical emerging problems: energy, clean energy, renewable energy, or biomedical applications. It’s not accidental that of all the systems our research could find applications in, we certainly focus on the ones that appear to be really critical problems for our country, but also for the world,” explained Giannelis.

[2]Nano in ContextIn fuel cells, electrons pass through a circuit from the reacting side of the cell to the side where products are being created. Coupled with this is the movement of ions across an ion-only wall in the cell. With nanoparticles, Giannelis hopes to improve the conductivity of these membranes, which would result in better fuel cell performance.

Nanobiohybrids are stacked nanoparticles that can be loaded with organic molecules, such as pharmaceutical drugs or other therapeutics, and sent into cells or organs to deliver the organic compounds. Giannelis’s research in this area involves manipulating the loading and releasing ability of the nanoparticles. These nanobiohybrids can be manipulated to be recognized by MRI or other imaging machines. They can also have organic tags added to them so they’ll be recognized and taken in by certain types of tissues or organs. Giannelis and his group showed that nanoparticles loaded with anti-inflammatory drugs, like ibuprofen found in Tylenol, could go into cancer cells and kill them. This has immediate and important consequences for cancer research.

As a chair in the materials science and engineering department, Giannelis stays busy with research and administrative duties. But he says the most enjoyable part of his job remains interacting with his students and research group. His interaction with students goes beyond the research lab into the classroom, where he has taught several courses, including Technology Management. This course came from his “desire to sensitize students to the fact that there is more than good science that is necessary in industry,” such as a knowledge of technology markets and intellectual property issues, topics Giannelis feels are not covered enough in universities. Giannelis also teaches a popular intro to engineering course on Nanotechnology.

For Giannelis, the future holds infinite opportunities. While the essence of his research will continue to be the creation and manipulation of nanoparticles, he envisions future topics of research to be any area where nanomaterials can be applied. “If there is a new opportunity where our group can make a difference I am sure I will take that opportunity and that challenge.”