Prof. Michael S. Silverstein
After
receiving his doctorate, Prof. Silverstein spent a year as a research
associate at the Center for Applied Polymer Research, Department
of Macromolecular Science, Case Western Reserve University. He joined
the Department of Materials Engineering, Technion in 1989 and has
spent sabbatical years at the Department of Engineering Physics,
Ecole Polytechnique, Montreal, Canada and at the National Institute
of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD. He is a member of
the Materials Research Society, the American Chemical Society, the
American Vacuum Society, the Society of Plastics Engineers and the
Israel Polymers and Plastics Society.
Polymeric
materials are not only used as structural materials but are commonly
finding a niche in such diverse fields as microelectronics, high
technology protective coatings and medicine. Superior properties
can result through the combination of very different materials
in polymer blends and composites. The characterization of these
materials through processing, structure and property relationships
may often overlook the integral contribution of the interface
(or interphase). The structure and nature of the interfaces in
polymer blends and composites affect the processing, stability,
overall multiphase structure and, ultimately, the mechanical properties.
In-depth analysis and control of interfacial phenomena will result
in the ability to design blends and composites that take the maximum
advantage of their component properties. Nanoscale structures
with synergistic properties are one possible benefit of controlling
interface properties.
The
structure and properties of a polymer surface is often of great
practical significance. The surface is, in fact, the interface
between the bulk polymer and surrounding environments as varied
and as harsh as that in space or inside the body. The nature
of the surface is especially critical to polymeric thin films
for microelectronic, protective coating and adhesive applications.
Interfaces are difficult to characterize theoretically due to
their thermodynamic metastability and are often difficult to
characterize experimentally. Dynamic mechanical thermal analysis,
dielectric thermal analysis, fourier transform infrared spectroscopy,
small angle X-ray scattering, nuclear magnetic resonance, x-ray
photoelectron spectroscopy, optical microscopy, electron microscopy,
x-ray reflectivity and small angle neutron scattering are some
of the tools used to probe interfacial and surface phenomena
in polymeric blends, composites and thin films.
CURRENT RESEARCH PROJECTS
- Nanoporous
Polymers for Low-k Dielectrics
-
Plasma Polymerization
-
Polymer Films for Microelectronic and Sensing Applications
- Porous
Polymers from High Internal Phase Emulsions
- Organic –
Inorganic Hybrids
- Polymer Precursors
for High Temperature Superconductors and Functional Ceramics
-
Nanoscale Blends and Interpenetrating Polymer Networks
-
Interfaces in Advanced Polymer Composites
SELECTED
PUBLICATIONS
- M. S. Silverstein, L. Sandrin and
E. Sacher, “The copper/plasma-polymerized octofluorocyclobutane
interface”, Polymer, 42, 4299
(2001).
- M. S. Silverstein, H. Tai, A. Sergienko,
Y. Lumelsky and S. Pavlovsky, “PolyHIPE: IPNs, hybrids,
nanoscale porosity, silica monoliths and ICP-based sensors”, Polymer, 46,
6682 (2005).
- M. S. Silverstein, B. J. Bauer, R.
C. Hedden and H.-J. Lee and B. G. Landes, “SANS and XRR
Porosimetry of a Polyphenylene Low-k Dielectric”, Macromolecules, 39,
2998 (2006).
- M. Shach-Caplan, M. S. Silverstein,
H. Bianco-Peled, N. V. Tsarevsky, B. M. Cooper and K.
Matyjaszewski, “Nanoscale structure of SAN-PEO-SAN triblock
copolymers synthesized by atom transfer radical polymerization”, Polymer, 47,
6673 (2006).
- Y. Lumelsky and M. S. Silverstein, “The
degradation of novolak containing metal nitrates and the formation
of YBCO”, Journal of Materials Science, 41,
8202 (2006).
- O. Kulygin and M. S. Silverstein, “Porous
Poly(2-hydroxyethyl acrylate) Hydrogels Synthesized within
High Internal Phase Emulsions”, Soft Matter, 2,
1525 (2007).
- J. Normatov and M. S. Silverstein, “Interconnected
Silsesquioxane-Organic Networks in Porous Nanocomposites
Synthesized within High Internal Phase Emulsions”, Chemistry
of Materials, 20, 1571 (2008).
- Y. Lumeslky, J. Zoldan, S. Levenberg,
and M. S. Silverstein, “Porous Polycaprolactone-Polystyrene
Semi-Interpenetrating Polymer Networks Synthesized within High
Internal Phase Emulsion Polymers”, Macromolecules,
41, 1469 (2008).
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