Applied Mathematics Seminar | C. Nadir Kaplan, Rational design of self-organization in chemical precipitation

MC 6460

Speaker

Dr. C. Nadir Kaplan
School of Engineering and Applied Sciences | Harvard

Title

Rational design of self-organization in chemical precipitation

Abstract

   Controlled self-assembly of three-dimensional structures inspired by biomineralization reaction-diffusion processes holds great potential for fabrication of functional materials. Their practical realization requires a theoretical understanding to steer the dynamic sculpting of the curved micro-scale morphologies that often arise in accretive mineralization. In this seminar, I will present a geometrical framework that explains a variety of thin-walled complex coprecipitation patterns of carbonate and silica. I will further show how the theory predicts new assembly pathways and thereby guides the design of functional base shapes of optical microstructures, which are synthesized to demonstrate their light-guiding capabilities. Altogether, the confluence of theory and experiment allows for the bottom-up understanding and control of functional precipitation-based mineralization.