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Research Highlights

Pressure Tuning of Competing Interactions on a Honeycomb Lattice

1/23/2026 | Russell Hemley (University of Illinois-Chicago)

Materials with a honeycomb lattice and heavy elements can sustain anisotropic Kitaev interactions that favor a quantum spin liquid (QSL) ground state. The same materials also host isotropic Heisenberg interactions that favor a long-range magnetic order (LRO).  Theoretically, the QSL ground state could be established by tuning the competition between the Kitaev and Heisenberg interactions in favor of the former.

Toward an Interoperable Perovskite Description

12/1/2025 | Volker Blum (Duke University)

Large Modulation of the Bottlebrush Diblock Copolymer Morphology and Structural Color through Solvent Selectivity

11/19/2025 | Simon Rogers, Damien Guironnet, and Ying Diao (University of Illinois)

Direct-ink-write Cross-linkable Bottlebrush Block Copolymers for on-the-fly Control of Structural Color

11/19/2025 | Simon Rogers, Charles Sing, Damien Guironnet, and Ying Diao (University of Illinois)

Accelerated Design of Redox-Active Polymers for Metal-Free Batteries

11/18/2025 | Daniel Tabor and Jodie Lutkenhaus (Texas A&M University)

Radiation Hardened Infrared Photodetectors

11/13/2025 | Jason D. Azoulay (Georgia Tech.); Jarrett H. Vella (AFRL)

Energy Transfer Mechanisms in Large Low-bandgap Polymers

11/13/2025 | M. Y. Sfeir and J. D. Azoulay (Georgia Tech.) B. M. Wong (U. CA – Riverside)

First Direct Measurement of a Large Exciton Binding Energy in a 2D Magnet

9/25/2025 | Bing Lv (University of Texas - Dallas)

In this paper, researchers report the first direct measurement of a large exciton binding energy in a 2D magnet, CrSBr. Using high-resolution angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy and self-consistent GW calculations, they show electronic localization and weak dielectric screening boost exciton binding energy in this bulk van der Waals antiferromagnet. They also find surface doping can tune the band gap, suggesting ways to engineer exciton-based optoelectronics and study how anisotropy affects strongly interacting bulk systems.

U.S. National Science Foundation and NSF DMREF, Materials for Our Future

This material is based upon work supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation Award No. 2015237. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. National Science Foundation. This site is maintained collaboratively by principal investigators with NSF DMREF awards, independent of the NSF.