Delia Milliron

Colloidal Phase Control in Plasmonic Metal Oxide Nanocrystals via Competitive Metal–Ligand Equilibria We achieve programmable gelation temperature and network structure in terpyridine-functionalized tin-doped indium oxide nanocrystals. This strategy leverages the tuning of competitive metal–terpyridi...

Researchers in the Eric Anslyn, Thomas M Truskett and Delia Milliron labs have developed a way to control gelation temperature and network structure in terpyridine-functionalized tin-doped indium oxide nanocrystals. 🧊 https://bit.ly/4rw4n79 #WelchFunded #WelchChair

Plasmon Polaritons in Disordered Nanoparticle Assemblies Multilayer assemblies of metal nanoparticles can act as photonic structures, where collective plasmon resonances hybridize with cavity modes to create plasmon-polariton states. For sufficiently strong coupling, plasmon polaritons qualitatively alter the optical properties of light-matter systems, with applications ranging from sensing to solar energy. However, results from experimental studies have raised questions about the role of nanoparticle structural disorder in plasmon-polariton formation and the strength of light-matter coupling in plasmonic assemblies. Understanding how disorder affects optical properties has practical implications since methods for assembling low-defect nanoparticle superlattices are slow and scale poorly. Modeling realistic disorder requires large system sizes, which is challenging using conventional electromagnetic simulations. We employ Brownian dynamics simulations to construct large-scale nanoparticle multilayers with controlled structural order. We investigate their far- and near-field optical response using a superposition T-matrix method with two-dimensional periodic boundary conditions. We find that while structural disorder broadens the polaritonic stop band and the near-field hot-spot distribution, the polariton dispersion and coupling strength remain unaltered. To understand the effects of nanoparticle composition, we consider assemblies with Drude model particles mimicking gold or tin-doped indium oxide (ITO) nanocrystals. Assemblies of ITO nanocrystals, which have lower carrier concentrations, exhibit ultrastrong coupling, in contrast to Au nanoparticle multilayers that display deep strong coupling. Finally, we demonstrate that while computationally efficient mutual polarization method calculations employing the quasistatic approximation modestly overestimate the strength of collective plasmon coupling in these assemblies, they reproduce the polariton dispersion relations determined by electrodynamic simulations.

Disorder is inevitable in colloidal assembly. Sharing our latest in ACS Photonics, led by Tanay Paul and Allison Green in collaboration with @deliamilliron.bsky.social, exploring the role of structural disorder in extreme light-matter coupling of plasmonic nanocrystals pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10....

Abortion bans make pregnancy more dangerous and put young families at risk.

A panoramic of a research group sitting around a conference table, most wearing Michigan branded shirts or hats, making M with their hands.

A cake with blue and maize colored decoration, printed with DMG, the M resembling the University of Michigan logo and a scientific visualization of a localized surface plasmon resonance in a doped nanocrystal.

Huge thank you to my DMG (Delia Milliron Group) students and postdocs for the amazing send off at group meeting today. Go Blue! #ChemSky

Two small spaniels, each sitting in a mesh bag dog carrier with the top zipper open

The girls are training for our upcoming trip.

Amid Fear of Retaliation, N.S.F. Workers Sign Letter of Dissent

“More than 140 employees of the National Science Foundation have signed a letter denouncing what they described as efforts to undermine one of the country’s main science funding agencies.”

Austin votes 70-80% for Democratic candidates and elects progressive prosecutors, but only 1 of something like 5 US representatives from districts including Austin is a Democratic.

In discussing the redistricting news with folks outside of Texas, I've realized many don't know how much our democracy is already eroded. The GOP is not worried about losing ground, rather they are aiming to go even FURTHER to undermine representation for democrat-leaning populations.

On my way to the first-ever American Conference on Inorganic Nanoscience (ACIN). Grateful to @brandicossairt.bsky.social and the other organizers for bringing the community together to exchange ideas. I hope our international colleagues can reach the US safely.
#chemSky

An illustration of a woman sailing a boat. Hedline says: Abandoning my long-held career plans was painful—but I love where I landed.

"I now start my classes by saying science is a human endeavor, with the uniquely human parts making us stronger—if we let them." scim.ag/3Sn9O7G #ScienceWorkingLife

Exclusive: NSF stops awarding new grants and funding existing ones US science funder also plans to screen grant applications for compliance with ‘agency priorities’.

Staff members at the US National Science Foundation (NSF) were told on 30 April to “stop awarding all funding actions until further notice,” according to an email seen by Nature.

https://go.nature.com/44Ugf9V

This is chilling. The slowing of grant funding to a crawl could, through recission later this year, result in drastically reduced FY25 funding that provides the excuse for drastically reduced science funding going forward. The copy-paste of this strategy to #NSF and others seems likely.
🧪#ChemSky

Useful info for those mystified (and angered) by the student status terminations hitting international students at campuses across the US.

LEFT: Near-field electric field enhancement maps of nanocystal layers in cross-section showing spatial concentration in different layers RIGHT: Reflection spectra in the mid-IR depending on the number of nanocrystal layers stacked on a Au-backed Ge substrate, demonstrating ultrastrong coupling and increasing splitting of spectral modes where reflection drops to zero.

Photonic integration of plasmonic metal oxide nanocrystal assemblies for ultrastrong coupling and infrared spectral tuning. Collaboration with @utmid-ir.bsky.social and @tmtruskett.bsky.social now out in @pubs.acs.org ACS Nano.
@texasche.bsky.social

#ChemSky 🧪
pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...

LEFT: S(q) from small angle X-ray scattering showing comparison between theory predicted structure and observed structure in colloidal nanocrystal dispersions with added polymer. RIGHT: Phase diagram comparing theoretical predictions for phase boundaries (FVT, GFVT) with experimental observations of phase stability for varying polymer concentration and ratio of sizes between nanocrystals and polymers.

How do polymer co-solutes induce attractive interactions between colloidal nanocrystals? Quantitative theory-experiment analysis with @tmtruskett.bsky.social group using small angle X-ray scattering. @texasche.bsky.social @chemistry.bsky.social

www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

#ChemSky 🧪

I'm watching closely, with a flicker of hope, and with pride as an alum, how Princeton is responding to funding threats and how other universities will, I hope, rally in solidarity with them and with each other. #academicSky

A robot called WANDA... My group has recently returned to @molecularfoundry.lbl.gov to use WANDA and work with @emorychannano.bsky.social on nanocrystal synthetic development.

#ChemSky

Flyer advertising Responsive Colloidal Networks symposium that runs all day Sunday and Wednesday, half day Thursday at the American Chemical Society meeting in San Diego. 40 invited speakers from around the world with sponsors as described in the post.

Heading to San Diego for #ACSSpring2025? Check out our three-day symposium on Responsive Colloidal Networks (3/23, 3/26, 3/27) with more than 40 speakers.

Full technical program: lnkd.in/gdd-2YKE

Thanks to sponsors: @acs.org, @aip.bsky.social, Syngenta, @texasche.bsky.social, and UW ChE
ChemSky🧪

Don’t wait out four hard years: speak truth to power The importance of diversity in science is an unshakeable reality that the scientific community must stand by.

"If science is to honour one of its core values — a commitment to the truth wherever it might lead — scientists must stand up when DEI matters"

www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Prof. Wennie Wang receives a certificate of her award from the President of the American Physical Society.

Big congrats to my @texasche.bsky.social colleague Wennie Wang on her Maria Goeppert Mayer award from @apsphysics.bsky.social for "research on defective transition metal oxides...[&] a commitment to broadening participation of underrepresented groups in computational materials science"
🧪ChemSky

Grateful for my elected US rep @doggett.house.gov and colleagues from UT Austin who gave voice yesterday to the importance of science. The baseless and destructive dismantling of science and higher ed in the US must stop. We must protect funding and demand disbursement of funds for research!

a cartoon says hey everybody an old man 's talking while bart simpson looks on ALT: a cartoon says hey everybody an old man 's talking while bart simpson looks on

Special Bluetorial: The benefits of different life experiences

The scientific community has folks with a very wide range of life experiences. We have a lot to learn from one another.

Received this email from my chair tonight (🧵, 1/6):

"The DOE has issued new guidance indicating that, until further notice, there will be delays in any funding actions. Here’s what this means for projects pending or already awarded by DOE:
1. Pending Proposals: Awards will be postponed.
...

Reading about these various definitely-not-DEI-hire nominees, I can't help but wonder if the Republicans have confused "meritocracy" with "mediocrity."

ChemSky

(left) cross-sectional SEM showing a Au layer at the bottom, few hundred nm thick Ge layer, topped by ~200 nm thick layer of ~25 nm diameter ITO nanocrystals. (right) Series of mid-IR reflectance spectra showing two dips to near-zero that become further apart as the number of nanocrystal layers in the assembly increases

New #ChemRxiv #preprint from my group and collaborators @tmtruskett.bsky.social and @utmid-ir.bsky.social

Ultrastrong coupling and IR spectral design by assembling layers of plasmonic ITO nanocrystals in open cavities. Surprising disorder tolerance of polariton modes!

chemrxiv.org/engage/chemr...

Organic electrolyte cations promote non-aqueous CO2 reduction by mediating interfacial electric fields - Nature Catalysis Electrolyte cations have been shown to have a strong impact on reactivity in electrocatalytic CO2 reduction. However, most studies have been performed in an aqueous environment. Here the effect of var...

Excited to see this research published! From my @texasche.bsky.social colleague @joaquinresasco.bsky.social and his team about how dissolved ions restructure the electric field at the electrode-electrolyte interface to modulate electrocatalytic reactions. ChemSky 🧪
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

As a department chair, I routinely review student comments submitted to my colleagues and occasionally check the averages on the quantitative ratings. The kinds of gender biases reported in this study and in many others are pervasive.

One of the articles that got me thinking about it: www.bloomberg.com/graphics/202...

and the whole Microsoft-Three Mile Island thing:
www.technologyreview.com/2024/09/26/1...

So, I guess mundane uses of LLMs (office, search) add up, unless Microsoft is into something serious I'm unaware of.

Anyone seen analysis of which LLM uses are primarily driving the huge energy use? Is it students taking shortcuts? Folks writing vapid sounding work emails? Generating memes and infographics? Search results no one asked for? Contractors designing deadly weapons of war?