Research
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Areas of Research
Materials Synthesis and Manufacturing

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Bulk, Powder and Single Crystal Synthesis

Many materials questions can only be answered with a well-made specimen: a phase-pure powder, a dense polycrystal, or a single crystal large and perfect enough to measure. Northwestern faculty synthesize bulk materials by solid-state, melt, flux, and solution routes, with control of composition, stoichiometry, and defect chemistry.

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Thin Films and 2D Materials Growth

Thin films and two-dimensional materials are built up layer by layer, where interfaces, strain, and stoichiometry set the properties as much as composition does. Northwestern faculty use chemical and physical vapor deposition, including epitaxial growth, along with exfoliation and transfer methods to produce films, heterostructures, and devices down to the thickness of one atom.

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Self-Assembly and Nanoparticle Synthesis

Self-assembly builds structure from the bottom up, letting molecules, colloids, and nanoparticles organize themselves into ordered arrangements. Northwestern faculty design supramolecular and peptide-based systems, synthesize nanoparticles with controlled size, shape, and surface chemistry, and use programmable interactions such as nucleic acid recognition to direct how they assemble.

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Processing and Forming

Processing sets the microstructure, and microstructure sets the properties, so how a material is worked matters as much as what it is made of. Northwestern faculty study casting, powder consolidation, deformation and thermomechanical treatment, and polymer processing, including solid-state methods that alter structure without solvents.

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Additive and Digital Manufacturing

Additive manufacturing builds components layer by layer, producing geometries that cannot be cast or machined and microstructures that arise from rapid, repeated local melting. Northwestern research addresses the relationships between process parameters, microstructure, and properties, together with the modeling and in situ monitoring needed to make them predictable.

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