Dr. Emily Pentzer, Associate Dean for Research in the College of Arts & Sciences, Presidential Impact Fellow, and Professor in the Department of Chemistry, has received a $642,571 grant from the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Division of Chemistry to investigate the role of self-doping in redox-active polymers. Dr. Jodie Lutkenhaus, Associate Dean for Research in the College of Engineering, Presidential Impact Fellow, and Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering, serves as co-investigator. The three-year project, “Unraveling the Effects of Self-Doping in Redox Active Polymers,” officially launched on September 1, 2025.
Redox-active polymers are promising materials for next-generation energy storage, conversion, and sensing technologies. However, the ways in which self-doping—where the material intrinsically provides charge carriers—affects their structure, stability, and performance remains poorly understood. Pentzer and Lutkenhaus aim to uncover the underlying mechanisms to better harness these unique materials for sustainable technologies.
In addition to advancing fundamental research in chemistry, the award will support training opportunities for graduate and undergraduate students at Texas A&M. Outreach initiatives will engage students in STEM, furthering the NSF’s mission to broaden participation in science and engineering.
Award Number (FAIN): 2505628