Materials chemistry plays a key role in the design and fabrication of novel materials with interesting physical, chemical, and functional properties. The development of these materials is critical for advancing current and future technology within the fields of biomedicine, catalysis, energy, storage, and separations. 
Ph.D. students choose from graduate classes in Chemistry of Surfaces and Interfaces, Soft Matter Physics, Structure and Properties of Materials, Molecular Quantum Chemistry, Statistical Thermodynamics, Chemical Kinetics, Condensed Matter Physics.
The Materials Chemistry faculty members employ diverse approaches in the synthesis, characterization and applications of advanced materials.
Anne Kelley's group studies the vibrations (phonons) of semiconductor nanocrystals and how they are coupled to electronic excitations.
David Kelley's group uses ultrafast optical spectroscopy to examine the optical and electronic properties of semiconductor nanoparticles that have potential applications in solar energy conversion and display technologies.
Jennifer Lee's group studies nanomaterials for heterogeneous catalysis; energy and environmental sustainability.
Andrea Merg’s group is developing synthetic methods for constructing programmable, hierarchical nanomaterials from the self-assembly of designed, molecularly 
engineered biopolymer building blocks.
Son Nguyen’s group studies the tunability of catalytic activities and selectivities of nanocrystal photocatalysts and their potential application in green chemistry.
Alex Noy's group studies molecular transport and signal transduction acros
s nanoscale interfaces and develops biomimetic nanostructures that facilitate the creation of bioelectronic devices and circuits.
David Strubbe’s group uses theoretical calculations of Raman spectroscopy, phase diagrams, and optical properties to characterize materials including amorphous silicon, doped 2D materials, and hybrid metal halide perovskites.
Yue Jessica Wang’s group develops functional polymers and bioinspired composites with unusual properties such as mechanical adaptiveness and self-repair abilities.
Tao Ye's group focuses on the measuring and controlling surfaces and interfaces, which are increasingly important as the sizes of materials scale down.
