Ngoc Nguyen | Applied Research Institute | UIUC

Staff Research Scientist

(217) 333-6510

[email protected]

206 Applied Research Institute

For More Information

Biography

Dr. Nguyen is a polymer scientist of the Illinois Applied Research Institute (ARI) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He has solid background in development, design, formulation, and characterization of polymeric materials. He has extensive experience in rheology combined with thermal, mechanical, and scattering techniques for both polymer solutions and polymer melts. His research centers on developing sustainable polymeric materials for additive manufacturing, energy, and environmental applications. He has designed innovative methods to upcycle plastic wastes and has developed advanced functional polymers and composites inspired by biological materials using natural materials.

Dr. Nguyen earned his Ph.D. under the advisement of Prof. Michael E. Mackay in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering and the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the University of Delaware. His work focused on flow-induced solution crystallization of semiconducting polymers, polymer thin-film fabrication and electronic devices, polymer confinement, polymer-based nanocomposites, and stimuli responsive polymers. He used diverse and advanced characterization techniques to discover structure-property relationships of polymeric materials to enhance their performance and processibility. After his Ph.D., Dr. Nguyen moved to the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) as a postdoctoral fellow of the Materials Science and Technology Division. Then he was promoted to R&D staff scientist of the Chemical Sciences Division, ORNL. Dr. Nguyen has worked as a tenured assistant professor of the Hanoi University of Science and Technology before joining ARI.

Other Professional Employment

• Assistant Professor, School of Chemical Engineering, Hanoi University of Science and Technology (2019-2021)
• R&D Staff Scientist, Chemical Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (2018-2019)
• Post-doctoral Research Fellow, Materials Science and Technology Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (2016-2018)
• Lecturer, School of Chemical Engineering, Hanoi University of Science and Technology (2006-2010)
• Chemical Engineer, Tan Long Ltd., a representative of Dainippon Screen Japan (2004-2006)

Research Interests

• Sustainable and Renewable Materials
• Stimuli Responsive Polymers
• Plastics Upcycling
• Polymeric Materials for Additive Manufacturing
• Multifunctional Materials
• Fiber-reinforced Composites and Nanocomposites
• Roll-to-roll Printing Inks and Coatings
• Semiconducting Polymer Self-assembly and Electronic Devices
• Polymer Crystallization

Research Areas

• Materials

Selected Articles in Journals

• *Corresponding Author/  **Co-first Author
• W. Chung, J. Griebel, E. Kim, H. Yoon, A. Simmonds, H. Jon, J. J. Wie, N. A. Nguyen, B.W. Guralnick, J. Park, Á. Somogyi, P. Theato, M.E. Mackay, Y. Sung, K. Char, J. Pyun*, The use of elemental sulfur as an alternative feedstock for polymeric materials (Nature Chemistry) 2013, 5, 518–524
• J. J. Griebel**, N. A. Nguyen**, A.V. Astashkin, R.S. Glass, M.E. Mackay*, K. Char*, J. Pyun*, Preparation of dynamic covalent polymers via inverse vulcanization of elemental sulfur (ACS Macro Letters) 2014, 3, 1258-1261.
• J. J. Griebel**, N. A. Nguyen**, S. Namnabat, L.E. Anderson, R.S. Glass, R.A. Norwood, M.E. Mackay*, K. Char*, J. Pyun*, Dynamic Covalent Polymers via Inverse Vulcanization of Elemental Sulfur for Healable Infrared Optical Materials (ACS Macro Letters) 2015, 4, (9), 862-866
• T. S. Kleine**, N. A. Nguyen**, L.E. Anderson, S. Namnabat, E.A. LaVilla, S. A. Showghi, P.T. Dirlam, C.B. Arrington, M.S. Manchester, J. Schwiegerling, R.S. Glass, K. Char, R.A. Norwood, M.E. Mackay*, J. Pyun*, High Refractive Index Copolymers with Improved Thermomechanical Properties via the Inverse Vulcanization of Sulfur and 1, 3, 5-Triisopropenylbenzene (ACS Macro Letters) 2016, 5(10), 1152-1156
• N. A. Nguyen*, C. C. Bowland, P. V. Bonnesen, K. C. Littrell, J. K. Keum, A. K. Naskar*, Fractionation of Lignin for Selective Shape Memory Effects at Elevated Temperatures (Invited Paper, Materials) 2020, 13(8), 1940
• N. A. Nguyen*, K. M. Meek, C. C. Bowland, A. K. Naskar*, Responsive Lignin for Shape Memory Applications (Polymer) 2019, 160, 210-222
• N. A. Nguyen, K. M. Meek, C. C. Bowland, S. H. Barnes, A. K. Naskar*, An Acrylonitrile–Butadiene–Lignin Renewable Skin with Programmable and Switchable Electrical Conductivity for Stress/Strain-Sensing Applications (Macromolecules) 2017, 51 (1), 115–127.
• L. Hart, N. A. Nguyen, J. L. Harries, M. E. Mackay, H. M. Colquhoun and W. Hayes*, Perylene as an Electron-Rich Moiety in Healable, Complementary π–π Stacked, Supramolecular Polymer Systems (Polymer) 2015, 69 , 293–300
• G. G. Jang, N. A. Nguyen, C. C. Bowland, H. C. Ho, J. K. Keum and A. K. Naskar*, Effects of Graphene Surface Functionalities Towards Controlled Reinforcement of a Lignin Based Renewable Thermoplastic Rubber (Composites Science and Technology) 2020, 108352
• N. A. Nguyen*, K. Kim, C. C. Bowland, J. Keum, L. Kearney, N. André, N. Labbe*, and A. K. Naskar*, A fundamental understanding of whole biomass dissolution in ionic liquid for regeneration of fiber by solution-spinning (Green Chemistry) 2019, 21, 4354-436
• N. A. Nguyen*, S. H. Barnes, C. C. Bowland, K. M. Meek, K. C. Littrell, J. K. Keum, and A. K. Naskar*, A Path for Lignin Valorization via Additive Manufacturing of High-Performance Sustainable Composites with Enhanced 3D-Printability (Science Advances) 2018, 4 (12), eaat4967
• N. A. Nguyen*, C. C. Bowland, A. K. Naskar*, A General Method to Improve 3D-Printability and Inter-layer Adhesion in Lignin-Based Composites (Applied Materials Today) 2018, 12, 138-152.
• P. Liu*, R. B. Dinwiddie, J. K. Keum, R. K. Vasudevan, S. Jesse, N. A. Nguyen, J. M. Lindahl, V. Kunc, Rheology, crystal structure, and nanomechanical properties in large-scale additive manufacturing of polyphenylene sulfide/carbon fiber composites (Composites Science and Technology) 2018, 168, 263-271
• Xiangtao Meng*, N. A. Nguyen, Halil Tekinalp, Edgar Lara-Curzio, Soydan Ozcan*, Supertough PLA-Silane Nanohybrids by in situ Condensation and Grafting (ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering) 2017, 6 (1), 1289–1298
• A. Holmberg, N.A. Nguyen, M. Karavolias, K. Reno R. Wool, TH. Epps III*, Softwood Lignin-Based Methacrylate Polymers with Tunable Thermal and Viscoelastic Properties (Macromolecules) 2016, 49 (4), 1286-1295
• A. Holmberg, K. H. Reno, N. A. Nguyen, R. P. Wool, and Thomas H. Epps III*, Syringyl Methacrylate, a Hardwood Lignin-Based Monomer for High-Tg Materials (ACS Macro Letters) 2016, 5 (5), 574-578
• H. C. Ho, N. A. Nguyen, K. M. Meek, D. M. Alonso, S. H. Hakim, A. K. Naskar*, A Solvent‐Free Synthesis of Lignin‐Derived Renewable Carbon with Tunable Porosity for Supercapacitor Electrodes (ChemSusChem) 2018, 11, 2953-2959
• C. C. Bowland*, N. A. Nguyen, Amit K. Naskar*, Roll-to-Roll Processing of Silicon Carbide Nanoparticle Deposited Carbon Fiber for Multifunctional Composites (ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces) 2018, 10, 26576–26585
• N. A. Nguyen*, S. Himmelberger, A. Salleo , M. E. Mackay*, Brush-painted Solar Cells from Pre-Crystallized Components in a Non-halogenated Solvent system Prepared by a Simple Stirring Technique (Macromolecules) 2020, 53, 19, 8276-8285
• N. A. Nguyen*, H. Shen, Y. Liu, M. E. Mackay*, Kinetics and Mechanism of Poly(3-hexylthiophene) Crystallization in Solution under Shear Flow (Macromolecules) 2020, 53, 14, 5795–5804
• W. Zhang*, N. A. Nguyen, R. Murray, M.E. Mackay*, Device Performance Enhancement of Polymer Solar Cells by Nanoparticle Self-Assembly (Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells) 2017, 160, 126-133
• N. A. Nguyen*, R. A. Remy , M. E. Mackay*, Thermal Analysis of Semiconducting Polymer Crystals- Free of a Mobile Amorphous Fraction (Macromolecules) 2021, 54, 5, 2155–2161.
• S. Kim**, N. A. Nguyen**, J. J. Wie*, H. S. Park*, Manipulating Glass Transition Behavior of Sulfonated Polystyrene by Functionalized Nanoparticle Inclusion (Nanoscale) 2015, 7, 8864-8872
• R. Remy, E. Weiss, N. A. Nguyen, S. Wei, L.M. Campos, T. Kowalewski, M.E. Mackay*, Enthalpy of Fusion of Poly(3-hexylthiophene) by Differential Scanning Calorimetry (Polymer Science, Part B) 2014, 52, 1469–1475
• J. J. Wie**, N. A. Nguyen**, C.D. Cwalina, J. Liu, D.C. Martin, M.E. Mackay*, Shear-Induced Solution Crystallization of Poly (3-hexylthiophene)(P3HT) (Macromolecules) 2014, 47, 3343−3349

Invited Lectures

• In situ Small-Angle Neutron Scattering and Wide-Angle-X-ray Diffraction Study on Molecular Relaxation and Structural Reformation of a Multifunctional Material
• Deformation and Flow of Structural and Functional Materials
• Sustainable Fibers by Solution Spinning Whole Biomass
• Additive Manufacturing and Neutron Scattering of a Multifunctional Material
• Deformation and Flow of Structural and Functional Materials
• Intra- and inter-molecular Interactions of Lignocellulosic Biomass in 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium Acetate Ionic Liquid: Solution Spinability and Molecular Orientation
• Macromolecular Engineering: Structure-Property Relationships of Functional Polymers and Polymer Nanocomposites

Patents

• Microporous Polymeric Fibers for Separation and Environmental Remediation, U.S. Provisional Patent Application, No. 63/319,876, 2022
• Multi-functional 3D-Printing Materials, U.S. Provisional Patent Application, No. 63/310,231, 2022
• Lignin-based Polymers with Enhanced Melt Extrusion Ability, US Patent App. 17/487,061, 2022
• Plasticized Terephthalate-based Polyester Blends Containing Fatty Acids or Esters Thereof, US Patent 11,279,805, 2022
• Lignin-based Polymers with Enhanced Melt Extrusion Ability, US Patent 11,248,121, 2022
• Shape Memory Polymer Blend Materials, US Patent 11,124,652, 2021
• Lignin-based Polymers with Enhanced Melt Extrusion Ability, US Patent 11,161,983, 2021

Magazine Articles

Journal Editorships

• Invited Guest Editor of Molecules Journal
• Invited Guest Editor of Materials Journal
• Academic Editor of Advances In Polymer Technology Journal

Teaching Honors

• Outstanding Graduate Student Teaching Award, University of Delaware (2014)

Research Honors

• Outstanding Postdoctoral Award, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (2018)
• Composites and Advanced Materials Expo Best paper Award, CAMX- The Composites and Advanced Materials Expo (2017)
• SM & MSEG Poster Award for Soft Materials, University of Delaware (2016)
• Outstanding Graduate student Research Award, University of Delaware (2015)
• Society of Rheology Travel Grant, The 87th Annual Meeting of the Society of Rheology (2015)
• Poster Award Winner, Thermal Analysis Forum of the Delaware Valley, North American Thermal Analysis Society (2014)
• Materials in Art Contest Award, University of Delaware (2014)
• Professional Development Award, Graduate and Professional Education, University of Delaware (2014)
• American Conference on Neutron Scattering Travel Grant, The American Conference on Neutron Scattering (2014)
• U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology Summer School, The U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (2013)

Public Service Honors

• President of Material Advantage student chapter, University of Delaware (2015)