Jaime C. Grunlan is a material scientist and academic. He is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering, and Leland T. Jordan ’29 Chair Professor at Texas A&M University.[1]

Jaime C. Grunlan
Occupation(s)Material scientist and academic
Academic background
EducationB.S. in Chemistry
PhD in Materials Science and Engineering
Alma materNorth Dakota State University
University of Minnesota
Academic work
InstitutionsTexas A&M University

Grunlan is most known for his research in the areas of polymer nanocomposites, antiflammable nanocoatings, gas barrier thin films, and thermoelectric materials. His research work has been published in over 200 journal papers.[2] He is the recipient of Carl Dahlquist Award[3] and L.E. Scriven Young Investigator Award.[4] In recent years, his work has involved the development of thin (<1 μm) gas barrier, flame retardant and thermoelectric nanocoatings through layer by layer assembly, as well as the study of thick film nanocomposites (>10 μm) with a particular emphasis on polyelectrolyte complexes and electrically conductive and thermoelectric materials.[5]

Grunlan is a Fellow of International Association of Advanced Materials (IAAM), and American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME),[6] and has been elected as a Senior Member of the National Academy of Inventors.[7] He is Editor of Journal of Materials Science,[8] and Associate Editor of Green Materials[9] and npj Materials Degradation.[10] He also serves on the International Advisory Board for Macromolecular Rapid Communications[11]

Education

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Grunlan earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry with a specialization in Polymers and Coatings from North Dakota State University in Fargo, North Dakota, in May 1997. He went on to receive his PhD in Materials Science and Engineering with a minor in Chemistry from the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, Minnesota in June 2001.[1]

Career

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Grunlan began his career in June 2001 as a Senior Research Engineer at the Avery Research Center in Pasadena, CA, where he focused on the research and development of polymer-based electronic and biological materials for new business development. He served as an adjunct professor at Azusa Pacific University from August 2002 to December 2003 and at Biola University from January 2002 to May 2002. In July 2004, he joined Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas, as an assistant professor, where he won an NSF Career award. He then held an appointment as an Associate Professor and Gulf Oil/Thomas Dietz Development Professor I from September 2010 to August 2014. He also served as the Linda and Ralph Schmidt '68 Professor, with a joint appointment in Chemistry and Materials Science and Engineering, from July 2015 to August 2020.[12] Since September 2020, he has held the Leland T. Jordan '29 Chair Professorship at Texas A&M University, with a joint appointment in Chemistry and Materials Science and Engineering.[13]

Research

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Grunlan has focused his research on protective polymer and nanocomposite systems. One of his focus areas has been oxygen barrier films for food, pharmaceutical, and electronics packaging. He has also conducted research on environmentally benign flame retardant and thermal shielding treatments, as well as high dielectric breakdown strength materials.[10]

Flame retardant polymeric materials

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Grunlan's research has resulted in highly effective flame-retardant surface treatments for flammable polymeric materials, addressing the issue of toxic fire protection. The flame retardant coating research has been recognized in publications, including Nature,[14] Smithsonian Magazine,[15] Chemical & Engineering News,[16] New York Times[17] and Science Daily.[18] His research group has developed two waterbased green coating technologies that protect fabric used in clothing,[19][20] and foam used in upholstered furniture, without using toxic molecules.[21][18] His treatments have a combination of efficacy and safety, based upon phosphate and nitrogen-rich polyelectrolytes[22][23] and clay nanoplatelets.[24][25] More recently in 2020, his invited review entitled "Flame retardant surface treatments" was the cover article for the April 2020 issue of Nature Reviews Materials.[26]

High power factor polymer nanocomposites

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Grunlan has developed organic thermoelectric coatings for fabric that can harness a person's body heat to generate power. He created a paintable/printable material made of organic components and used polyaniline, graphene, and double-walled nanotubes deposited through layer-by-layer assembly technique. The resulting one-micron thick coating exhibited exceptional electrical conductivity (σ ~ 1.9 x 105m-1) and Seebeck coefficient (S ~ 120 μV·K−1) for a completely organic material. The thermoelectric power factor (PF = S2·σ−1) is among the highest values ever reported for a completely organic material and among the highest for any material measured at room temperature.[27] In addition, he has authored a review paper which was featured on the front cover of Advanced Materials[28] and his research in this area has also resulted in the issuance of a US patent.[29]

Grunlan's research in the field of thermoelectric properties of carbon nanotube (CNT)-filled polymer composites includes enhancing conductivity in affordable single-walled carbon nanotube (SWNT)-filled composites through the use of emulsion polymer,[30] enhancing electrical and mechanical behavior with clay in SWNT/epoxy composites,[31] and demonstrating the potential of polymer nanocomposites as lightweight thermoelectric materials.[32] In 2010, he improved thermoelectric properties of (CNT)-filled composites through junction modification.[33] Apart from this, having concentrated his research on liquid exfoliation of layered materials in a collaborative study, he highlighted WS2 and MoS2 as effective polymer reinforcements, whereas WS2/carbon nanotube hybrid films showed high conductivity, promising thermoelectric properties.[34] Furthermore, he participated in a significant study of nanoplatelet exfoliation in surfactant-water solution.[35]

High gas barrier polymer and nanocomposite thin films

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Through the use of polymer and nanocomposite systems that can match the barrier of metal, Grunlan's research on polymer-based gas barrier thin films has concentrated on developing environmentally sustainable packaging for food, medicine, and electronics. In this area, his research group created thin, water-based coatings that can make commodity plastic packaging almost oxygen-impermeable, enhancing food safety. Their all-polymer thin film has an undetectable oxygen transmission rate at high humidity (OTR < 0.005 cm3·m−1·day−1) and has the potential to compete with aluminized and SiOx-coated films while being more eco-friendly and simpler to recycle.[36] He has also developed sub-micron, nanobrick wall coatings made up of polyelectrolytes and clay that exhibit unique barrier behavior[37][38][39] and his research group has studied the mechanisms behind this behavior as well as published several studies on the topic.[40][24]

Nanoparticle dispersion and microstructure in solutions and solid polymer nanocomposites

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Grunlan's research group was among the first to use stimuli-responsive polymers as dispersing agents to tailor nanoparticle dispersion in solution and nanostructure in solidified polymer nanocomposites. He was awarded an NSF Career Award for his work on stimuli-responsive dispersion of carbon nanotubes, which was based on his previous publication demonstrating weak polyelectrolyte control of carbon nanotube dispersion in water through changes in pH. The study showed that Poly(acrylic acid) [PAA] can control the level of SWNT dispersion in aqueous mixtures and the state of dispersion in a solid composite by changing pH, varying SWNT microstructure between aggregated and well-exfoliated states, as observed through electron microscopy and electrical conductivity measurements.[41] Later, his group showed that carbon nanotube dispersion in water could also be tailored by employing a thermo-responsive, pyrene-modified poly(N-cyclopropylacrylamide).[42]

Chromate conversion coating replacement using polymer nanocomposite thin films

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Grunlan's research has also focused on developing water-based, environmentally benign nanobrick wall thin films that protect metal surfaces such as steel, aluminum from corrosion without toxic chemistries. His initial studies showed that these nanocomposite coatings can provide corrosion protection for several days, even when only a few hundred nanometers thick. His work indicated that applying a 300 nm thick coating to aluminum can enhance impedance by two orders of magnitude and protect it from corrosion for five days.[43] Additionally, his research established that nanocoatings are a more effective and eco-friendlier substitute for chromate conversion coatings, as they need less metal pretreatment and are non-toxic. It was demonstrated that a coating as thin as 90 nm can decrease copper's corrosion rate by three orders of magnitude in a harsh sour-acid environment.[44]

Awards and honors

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  • 2007-2012 – National Science Foundation (NSF) Career[45]
  • 2010 – Carl Dahlquist Award, Pressure Sensitive Tape Council (PSTC) [3]
  • 2012 – L.E. Scriven Young Investigator Award, International Society of Coating Science and Technology (ISCST)[4]
  • 2018 – Fellow, American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME)[6]
  • 2018 – Doctor honoris causa, Southern Brittany University, France
  • 2019 – Senior Member, National Academy of Inventors[7]
  • 2021 – Fellow, International Association of Advanced Materials

Selected articles

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  • Grunlan, J. C., Mehrabi, A. R., Bannon, M. V., & Bahr, J. L. (2004). Water‐based single‐walled‐nanotube‐filled polymer composite with an exceptionally low percolation threshold. Advanced Materials, 16(2), 150–153.
  • Kim, D., Kim, Y., Choi, K., Grunlan, J. C., & Yu, C. (2010). Improved thermoelectric behavior of nanotube-filled polymer composites with poly (3, 4-ethylenedioxythiophene) poly (styrenesulfonate). ACS nano, 4(1), 513–523.
  • Coleman, J. N., Lotya, M., O’Neill, A., Bergin, S. D., King, P. J., Khan, U., ... & Nicolosi, V. (2011). Two-dimensional nanosheets produced by liquid exfoliation of layered materials. Science, 331(6017), 568–571.
  • Smith, R. J., King, P. J., Lotya, M., Wirtz, C., Khan, U., De, S., ... & Coleman, J. N. (2011). Large‐scale exfoliation of inorganic layered compounds in aqueous surfactant solutions. Advanced materials, 23(34), 3944–3948.
  • Blackburn, J. L., Ferguson, A. J., Cho, C., & Grunlan, J. C. (2018). Carbon‐nanotube‐based thermoelectric materials and devices. Advanced Materials, 30(11), 1704386.
  • Lazar, S. T., Kolibaba, T. J., & Grunlan, J. C. (2020). Flame-retardant surface treatments. Nature Reviews Materials, 5(4), 259–275.
  • Chiang, H. C., Iverson, E. T., Schmieg, K., Stevens, D. L., & Grunlan, J. C. (2023). Highly moisture resistant super gas barrier polyelectrolyte complex thin film. Journal of Applied Polymer Science, 140(7), e53473.

References

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  1. ^ a b "Grunlan, Jaime". engineering.tamu.edu.
  2. ^ "Dr. Jaime Grunlan – Federal Aviation Administration Conference" (PDF).
  3. ^ a b "Carl Dahlquist Awards – PSTC". pstc.org.
  4. ^ a b "Awards & Honors |". May 3, 2015.
  5. ^ "Dr. Jaime Grunlan". Polymer NanoComposites Laboratory.
  6. ^ a b "FELLOWS – ASME" (PDF).
  7. ^ a b "Search for Senior Members". NAI.
  8. ^ "Journal of Materials Science". Springer.
  9. ^ "Green Materials". Green Materials.
  10. ^ a b "About the Editors | npj Materials Degradation". www.nature.com.
  11. ^ "Macromolecular Rapid Communications".
  12. ^ "Water-based, Self-Extinguishing Nanocoatings for Fire Protection of Plastics" (PDF).
  13. ^ Revels, Michelle. "Grunlan enhances military clothing with newly developed protective nanocoatings". engineering.tamu.edu.
  14. ^ "Jaime C. Grunlan | Nature Search Results". www.nature.com.
  15. ^ Magazine, Smithsonian. "How Biomimicry is Inspiring Human Innovation". Smithsonian Magazine.
  16. ^ "Melanin Skins Provide UV-Protective Coatings".
  17. ^ Hamilton, Reeve (October 16, 2011). "A&M Researcher Wards Off Heat in Lab and on Campus". The New York Times – via NYTimes.com.
  18. ^ a b "Researchers develop fire-retardant coating featuring renewable materials: Coating could reduce the flammability of the polyurethane foam used in a variety of household furniture". ScienceDaily.
  19. ^ Leistner, Marcus; Abu-Odeh, Anas A.; Rohmer, Sarah C.; Grunlan, Jaime C. (October 5, 2015). "Water-based chitosan/melamine polyphosphate multilayer nanocoating that extinguishes fire on polyester-cotton fabric". Carbohydrate Polymers. 130: 227–232. doi:10.1016/j.carbpol.2015.05.005. PMID 26076621 – via ScienceDirect.
  20. ^ Zhao, Bin; Kolibaba, Thomas J.; Lazar, Simone; Grunlan, Jaime C. (June 1, 2021). "Environmentally-benign, water-based covalent polymer network for flame retardant cotton". Cellulose. 28 (9): 5855–5866. doi:10.1007/s10570-021-03874-y. S2CID 233261744 – via Springer Link.
  21. ^ Qin, Shuang; Pour, Maryam Ghanad; Lazar, Simone; Köklükaya, Oruç; Gerringer, Joseph; Song, Yixuan; Wågberg, Lars; Grunlan, Jaime C. (January 29, 2019). "Super Gas Barrier and Fire Resistance of Nanoplatelet/Nanofibril Multilayer Thin Films". Advanced Materials Interfaces. 6 (2): 1801424. doi:10.1002/admi.201801424. S2CID 139648583.
  22. ^ Cain, Amanda A.; Murray, Shannon; Holder, Kevin M.; Nolen, Craig R.; Grunlan, Jaime C. (October 29, 2014). "Intumescent Nanocoating Extinguishes Flame on Fabric Using Aqueous Polyelectrolyte Complex Deposited in Single Step: Intumescent Nanocoating Extinguishes Flame on Fabric". Macromolecular Materials and Engineering. 299 (10): 1180–1187. doi:10.1002/mame.201400022 – via CrossRef.
  23. ^ Li, Yu-Chin; Mannen, Sarah; Morgan, Alexander B.; Chang, SeChin; Yang, You-Hao; Condon, Brian; Grunlan, Jaime C. (September 8, 2011). "Flame-Retardant Materials: Intumescent All-Polymer Multilayer Nanocoating Capable of Extinguishing Flame on Fabric (Adv. Mater. 34/2011)". Advanced Materials. 23 (34): 3868. Bibcode:2011AdM....23.3868L. doi:10.1002/adma.201190134 – via CrossRef.
  24. ^ a b Laufer, Galina; Kirkland, Christopher; Cain, Amanda A.; Grunlan, Jaime C. (March 28, 2012). "Clay–Chitosan Nanobrick Walls: Completely Renewable Gas Barrier and Flame-Retardant Nanocoatings". ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces. 4 (3): 1643–1649. doi:10.1021/am2017915. PMID 22339671 – via CrossRef.
  25. ^ Li, Yu-Chin; Schulz, Jessica; Mannen, Sarah; Delhom, Chris; Condon, Brian; Chang, SeChin; Zammarano, Mauro; Grunlan, Jaime C. (June 22, 2010). "Flame Retardant Behavior of Polyelectrolyte−Clay Thin Film Assemblies on Cotton Fabric". ACS Nano. 4 (6): 3325–3337. doi:10.1021/nn100467e. PMID 20496883 – via CrossRef.
  26. ^ Lazar, Simone T.; Kolibaba, Thomas J.; Grunlan, Jaime C. (April 29, 2020). "Flame-retardant surface treatments". Nature Reviews Materials. 5 (4): 259–275. Bibcode:2020NatRM...5..259L. doi:10.1038/s41578-019-0164-6. S2CID 210938629 – via www.nature.com.
  27. ^ Cho, Chungyeon; Wallace, Kevin L.; Tzeng, Ping; Hsu, Jui-Hung; Yu, Choongho; Grunlan, Jaime C. (April 29, 2016). "Outstanding Low Temperature Thermoelectric Power Factor from Completely Organic Thin Films Enabled by Multidimensional Conjugated Nanomaterials". Advanced Energy Materials. 6 (7): 1502168. Bibcode:2016AdEnM...602168C. doi:10.1002/aenm.201502168. S2CID 100694196 – via CrossRef.
  28. ^ Blackburn, Jeffrey L.; Ferguson, Andrew J.; Cho, Chungyeon; Grunlan, Jaime C. (March 29, 2018). "Thermoelectric Materials: Carbon-Nanotube-Based Thermoelectric Materials and Devices (Adv. Mater. 11/2018)". Advanced Materials. 30 (11): 1870072. Bibcode:2018AdM....3070072B. doi:10.1002/adma.201870072.
  29. ^ "High performance thermoelectric materials".
  30. ^ Grunlan, J. C.; Mehrabi, A. R.; Bannon, M. V.; Bahr, J. L. (January 16, 2004). "Water-Based Single-Walled-Nanotube-Filled Polymer Composite with an Exceptionally Low Percolation Threshold". Advanced Materials. 16 (2): 150–153. Bibcode:2004AdM....16..150G. doi:10.1002/adma.200305409. S2CID 136864589 – via CrossRef.
  31. ^ Liu, L.; Grunlan, J. C. (September 24, 2007). "Clay Assisted Dispersion of Carbon Nanotubes in Conductive Epoxy Nanocomposites". Advanced Functional Materials. 17 (14): 2343–2348. doi:10.1002/adfm.200600785. S2CID 94311512 – via CrossRef.
  32. ^ Yu, Choongho; Kim, Yeon Seok; Kim, Dasaroyong; Grunlan, Jaime C. (December 10, 2008). "Thermoelectric Behavior of Segregated-Network Polymer Nanocomposites". Nano Letters. 8 (12): 4428–4432. Bibcode:2008NanoL...8.4428Y. doi:10.1021/nl802345s. PMID 19367932 – via CrossRef.
  33. ^ Kim, Dasaroyong; Kim, Yeonseok; Choi, Kyungwho; Grunlan, Jaime C.; Yu, Choongho (January 26, 2010). "Improved Thermoelectric Behavior of Nanotube-Filled Polymer Composites with Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) Poly(styrenesulfonate)". ACS Nano. 4 (1): 513–523. doi:10.1021/nn9013577. PMID 20041630 – via CrossRef.
  34. ^ Coleman, Jonathan N.; Lotya, Mustafa; O’Neill, Arlene; Bergin, Shane D.; King, Paul J.; Khan, Umar; Young, Karen; Gaucher, Alexandre; De, Sukanta; Smith, Ronan J.; Shvets, Igor V.; Arora, Sunil K.; Stanton, George; Kim, Hye-Young; Lee, Kangho; Kim, Gyu Tae; Duesberg, Georg S.; Hallam, Toby; Boland, John J.; Wang, Jing Jing; Donegan, John F.; Grunlan, Jaime C.; Moriarty, Gregory; Shmeliov, Aleksey; Nicholls, Rebecca J.; Perkins, James M.; Grieveson, Eleanor M.; Theuwissen, Koenraad; McComb, David W.; Nellist, Peter D.; Nicolosi, Valeria (February 4, 2011). "Two-Dimensional Nanosheets Produced by Liquid Exfoliation of Layered Materials". Science. 331 (6017): 568–571. Bibcode:2011Sci...331..568C. doi:10.1126/science.1194975. hdl:2262/66458. PMID 21292974. S2CID 23576676 – via CrossRef.
  35. ^ Smith, Ronan J.; King, Paul J.; Lotya, Mustafa; Wirtz, Christian; Khan, Umar; De, Sukanta; O'Neill, Arlene; Duesberg, Georg S.; Grunlan, Jaime C.; Moriarty, Gregory; Chen, Jun; Wang, Jiazhao; Minett, Andrew I.; Nicolosi, Valeria; Coleman, Jonathan N. (September 8, 2011). "Large-Scale Exfoliation of Inorganic Layered Compounds in Aqueous Surfactant Solutions". Advanced Materials. 23 (34): 3944–3948. Bibcode:2011AdM....23.3944S. doi:10.1002/adma.201102584. hdl:2262/66473. PMID 21796689. S2CID 39856705 – via CrossRef.
  36. ^ Chiang, Hsu-Cheng; Iverson, Ethan T.; Schmieg, Kendra; Stevens, Daniel L.; Grunlan, Jaime C. (February 15, 2023). "Highly moisture resistant super gas barrier polyelectrolyte complex thin film". Journal of Applied Polymer Science. 140 (7). doi:10.1002/app.53473. S2CID 254351178 – via CrossRef.
  37. ^ Priolo, Morgan A.; Gamboa, Daniel; Holder, Kevin M.; Grunlan, Jaime C. (December 8, 2010). "Super gas barrier of transparent polymer-clay multilayer ultrathin films". Nano Letters. 10 (12): 4970–4974. doi:10.1021/nl103047k. PMID 21047123 – via PubMed.
  38. ^ Priolo, M. A.; Holder, K. M.; Greenlee, S. M.; Grunlan, J. C. (2012). "Transparency, Gas Barrier, and Moisture Resistance of Large-Aspect-Ratio Vermiculite Nanobrick Wall Thin Films | ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces". ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces. 4 (10): 5529–5533. doi:10.1021/am3014289. PMID 23013618.
  39. ^ Chiang, Hsu-Cheng; Kolibaba, Thomas J.; Eberle, Bailey; Grunlan, Jaime C. (February 28, 2021). "Super Gas Barrier of a Polyelectrolyte/Clay Coacervate Thin Film". Macromolecular Rapid Communications. 42 (4): 2000540. doi:10.1002/marc.202000540. PMID 33244800. S2CID 227181410 – via CrossRef.
  40. ^ Priolo, Morgan A.; Gamboa, Daniel; Holder, Kevin M.; Grunlan, Jaime C. (December 8, 2010). "Super Gas Barrier of Transparent Polymer−Clay Multilayer Ultrathin Films". Nano Letters. 10 (12): 4970–4974. Bibcode:2010NanoL..10.4970P. doi:10.1021/nl103047k. PMID 21047123 – via CrossRef.
  41. ^ Grunlan, Jaime C; Liu, Lei; Kim, Yeon Seok (May 1, 2006). "Tunable single-walled carbon nanotube microstructure in the liquid and solid states using poly(acrylic acid)". Nano Letters. 6 (5): 911–915. Bibcode:2006NanoL...6..911G. doi:10.1021/nl052486t. PMID 16683824 – via Europe PMC.
  42. ^ Etika, Krishna C.; Jochum, Florian D.; Theato, Patrick; Grunlan, Jaime C. (September 30, 2009). "Temperature Controlled Dispersion of Carbon Nanotubes in Water with Pyrene-Functionalized Poly( N -cyclopropylacrylamide)". Journal of the American Chemical Society. 131 (38): 13598–13599. doi:10.1021/ja905803f. PMID 19736943 – via CrossRef.
  43. ^ Qin, Shuang; Cubides, Yenny; Lazar, Simone; Ly, Ramatou; Song, Yixuan; Gerringer, Joseph; Castaneda, Homero; Grunlan, Jaime C. (October 26, 2018). "Ultrathin Transparent Nanobrick Wall Anticorrosion Coatings". ACS Applied Nano Materials. 1 (10): 5516–5523. doi:10.1021/acsanm.8b01032. S2CID 139762073 – via CrossRef.
  44. ^ Schindelholz, Eric J.; Spoerke, Erik D.; Nguyen, Hai-Duy; Grunlan, Jaime C.; Qin, Shuang; Bufford, Daniel C. (July 5, 2018). "Extraordinary Corrosion Protection from Polymer–Clay Nanobrick Wall Thin Films". ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces. 10 (26): 21799–21803. doi:10.1021/acsami.8b05865. OSTI 1476931. PMID 29912546. S2CID 49309013 – via CrossRef.
  45. ^ "NSF Award Search: Award # 0644055 – CAREER: Tailoring Nanoparticle Microstructure Using Stimuli-Responsive Polymers". www.nsf.gov.