Profile photo

Mitchell Anthamatten

  • Chair, Department of Chemical Engineering
  • Professor of Chemical Engineering
  • Scientist, Laboratory for Laser Energetics

PhD, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2001

Office Location
4311 Wegmans Hall
Telephone
(585) 273-5526
Fax
(585) 27-3134

Selected Honors & Awards

Provost's Multidisciplinary Research Award, University of Rochester (2009)
3M Non-tenured Faculty Award (2007)

Courses

ChE 273: Process Design & Simulation
ChE 413: Engineering of Soft Matter

Recent Publications

Cheng, X.; Zhang, W.; Chen, S.H.; Anthamatten, M., "Shear-Assembly of Crack-Free, Mesomorphic Ceramics from Zinc Oxide Nanorods for Waveplates," ACS Applied Nano Materials, 2023, DOI: 10.1021/acsanm.3c03666.

Zhang, W.; Cheng, X.; Chen, S.H.; Anthamatten, M., "Aqueous Coassembly of Small TiO2 Nanorods with Cellulose Nanocrystals into Transparent, Uniaxially Aligned Inorganic Thin Films for Waveplates," ACS Applied Nano Materials, 2023, DOI: 10:1021?acsanm.3c03908.

Zhang, W.; Cheng, X.; Chen, S.H.; Anthamatten, M., "Spontaneous Co-Assembly of Cellulose Nanocrystals and TiO2 Nanorods Followed by Calcination to Form Cholesteric Inorganic Nanostructures," Langmuir, 2023, DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.3c00981.

Cheng, X.; Zhang, W.; Chen, S.H.; Anthamatten, M., "Investigating the Trade-off between Optical and Mechanical Properties during Constrained Sintering of Mesomorphic Ceramic Films," Advanced Optical Materials, 2023. DOI: 10.1002/adom.202300219.

Mao, A.; Mitsuboshi, H.; Trochon, M.; Zhang, X.; Trinh, L.; Keynia, S.; Fan, P.; Kraiem, N.; Huang, X.; Li, N.; Li, P.; Wu, Z.; >Sun, W.; Cui, B.; Silvain, J.F.; Hara, M.; Yoshimura, M.; Marshall, K.; Anthamatten, M.; Lu, Y., "Evolution of chemical and mechanical properties in two-photon polymerized materials during pyrolysis," Carbon, 2023, 208, 384-389. DOI: 10.1016/j.carbon.2023.03.061.

Cheng, X.; Chen, S.H.; Anthamatten, M., "Mesomorphic Ceramic Film Fabricated via Blade Coating of a Lyotropic Nematic Liquid Crystal for High-Power Lasers," Applied Nano Materials, 2022, 5, 5, 7562-7570. DOI: doi.org/10.1021/acsanm.2c01624.

Kim, S.; Lakshmanan, S.; Li, J.; Anthamatten, M.; Lambropoulos, J.; Shestopalov, A.A., "Modulation of Interfacial Adhesion Using Semicrystalline Shape-Memory Polymers br," Langmuir, 2022, 38, 11, 3607-3616. DOI: 10.1021/acsanm.2c01624.

Jeske, M.P.; Zhang, W.; Anthamatten, M.,"Two-Photon Printing of Shape-Memory Microstructures and Metasurfaces via Radical-Mediated Thiol-Vinyl Hydrothiolation," Advanced Materials Techonologies, 2022, 2101725. DOI: 10.1002/admt.202101725.

Krajovic, D.; Anthamatten, M., "Melt-Processable Shape-Memory Elastomers Containing Bisurea Segments," ACSApplied Polymer Materials, 2021, 3, 4, 2082-2087. DOI: 10.1021/acsapm.1c00129.

Zhang, W.; Chen, S.H.; Hilfiker, J.N.; Anthamatten, M., "Mesomorphic Ceramic Films Synthesized via Lyotropic Self-Assembly of Metal Oxide Nanorods Complete with Sintering," ACS Applied Nano Mater.,2020, 3, 11, 10605-10611. DOI: 10.1021/acsanm.0c01668.

Yang, J.C.; Anthamatten, M., "On the Nature of Shape-Fixing in Semicrystallineshape-Memory Networks," Polymer Crystallization, 2020, 3, 5, e10156. DOI: 10.1002/pcr2.10156.

Yang, J.C.; Huang, X.; Meng, Y.; Anthamatten, M., "Tensile Stress Generation on Crystallization of Polymer Networks," ACS Appl. Polym. Mater., 2019, 1, 7, 1829-1836. DOI: 0.1021/acsapm.9b00350.

Meng, Y.; Xu, W.; Newman, M.R.; Benoit, D.S.W.; Anthamatten, M., "Thermoreversible Siloxane Networks: Soft Biomaterials with Widely Tunable Viscoelasticity," Advanced Functional Materials, 2019, 29, 38, 1903721. DOI:10.1002/adfm.201903721.

Anthamatten, M.; O'Neil, S.W.; Liu, D.Z.; Wheler, T.M.; Vallery, R.S.; Gidley, D.W., "Tunability of Free Volume and Viscoelastic Damping of Thiol-Ene Networks Deep in the Glassy State," Macromolecules, 2018, 51, 7, 2564-2571.

Ozcalik, O.; Anthamatten, M., "RAFT Synthesis of ABA-BAB type PS-PVBC Triblock Copolymers for Polyelectrolyte Materials," Abstracts of Papers of the ACS,2018, 255, 414.

Ozcalik, O.; Anthamatten, M., "Design and Synthesis of Highly Stable Triblock Copolymers for Anion Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells," Abstracts of Papers of the ACS,2018, 255, 359.

Lee, H.; Yang, J.C.; Thoppey, N.; Anthamatten, M., "Semicrystalline Shape-Memory Elastomers: Effects of Molecular Weight, Architecture, and Thermomechanical Path," Macromolecular Materials and Engineering, 2017, 302, 12, 1700297.

Meng, Y; Huang, X.; Fitzgerald, C.; Lee, H.; Yang, J.C.; Anthamatten, M., "Laboratory-Scale Reaction Injection Molding of Poly(Caprolactone) Elastomers for Rapid Prototyping of Stimuli-Responsive Thermosets," Rubber Chemistry and Technology, 2017, 90, 2, 337-346.

Pratchayanan, D.; Yang, J.C.; Lewis, C.L.; Thoppey, N.; Anthamatten, M., "Thermomechanical Insight into the Reconfiguration of Diels-Alder Networks," Journal of Rheology, 2017, 61, 1359.

Research Overview

A major research challenge is to create modular and robust processes that yield functional, easy-to-process polymeric materials. Our group designs polymer architectures containing reversibly binding groups to control supramolecular structure. We apply thermodynamics, synthetic chemistry, and polymer physics to develop stimuli-responsive materials and highly hysteretic processing schemes, leading to quenched, non-equilibrium, end-use states. Notable accomplishments include (1) development of novel shape-memory elastomers containing reversibly binding side-groups capable of elastic energy storage on multiple time-scales, (2) application of vapor deposition polymerization to trap thin film microstructures during film-growth, and (3) development of nanostructured ionomers and liquid crystals to promote ion-transport under anhydrous conditions. Working with surgeons at UR’s school of medicine, we are currently developing biomedical devices that require in vivo shape change. Through collaboration with the UR’s Laboratory of Laser Energetics, a vapor deposition polymerization process is being developed to fabricate spherical microcapsule targets for inertial fusion energy. All projects are highly interdisciplinary, combining core chemical engineering areas with fundamental chemistry, physics and optics, and projects are directed at specific applications in areas of alternative energy, separations, biotechnologies, advanced optics, and optoelectronics.

Research Interests

  • Macromolecular Self-assembly
  • Associative & Functional Polymers
  • Nanostructured Materials
  • Interfacial Phenomena
  • Optoelectronic Materials
  • Vapor Deposition Polymerization