Welcome to the Jaffe Lab! We develop hybrid material platforms by combining the synthetic control associated with molecular chemistry and the robust structural and electronic properties of extended materials. Hybrid organic-inorganic approaches to the mild synthesis and modification of solid-state systems yield fundamental understanding and functionality. We analyze of the relationships between structural and electronic properties and hope to address key challenges for a cleaner energy future.
Good lab culture is one of the most important aspects of scientific research and leads to happiness, health, and better science. We treat each other with respect and compassion, emphasize inclusion of people from diverse backgrounds and experiences, and support our fellow scientists and humans.
Science is fun and also has the power to make impactful, positive change in the world. Let’s get to it!
Group News
November 2024: Double success! Anton was awarded ‘Best Graduate Student Poster’ and Lakna was awarded ‘Best Talk’ at the PINDU Annual Inorganic Chemistry Conference. Thanks to the inorganic chemists at Indiana University for hosting this year.
August 2024: Anton’s paper is accepted for publication in J. Am. Chem. Soc. We demonstrate mild, solution-state mixed-metal alloying followed by chemical reduction to give the first mixed-metal hybrid bronzes! This alloying approach tunes the band gap and charge transport of these mixed-valence hybrid metal oxides.
July 2024: Congratulations to Lakna for passing her 4th year exam! Well done.
July 2024: Grace receives a travel award from the ACS Division of Inorganic Chemistry to attend ACS Denver 2024!
June 2024: Lakna and Anton receive Honorable Mention for the Link Foundation Energy Fellowship!
February 2024: Alex is awarded the prestigious Ph.D. Engineering and Science Fellowship from the GEM Fellowship Program. Congrats Alex!
November 2023: Adam has received the NSF CAREER award!
November 2023: Congrats to Lakna for winning the graduate student poster competition at this year’s PINDU (Purdue-Indiana University-Notre Dame Inorganic Chemistry Conference)!
November 2023: Suchen’s work is accepted for publication as a Very Important Paper in Angew. Chem., Int. Ed.! Here, we have developed molecular templation design principles that allow us to tune the electrical conductivity of hybrid vanadium bronzes over six orders of magnitude.
October 2023: Congrats to Alex for passing his Oral Candidacy Exam! Well done!
October 2023: Grace just passed her Oral Candidacy Exam! Woohoo!!
September 2023: Lakna’s and Raúl’s paper (our first!) establishing molybdenum and tungsten hybrid bronzes—mixed-valence hybrid metal oxides—as a tunable material platform is accepted for publication in Chem. Sci.!
July 2023: Our Lab Hacks YouTube Channel (@LabHacks) is live! Check it out for practical and low-cost lab equipment alternatives, demos for scientists of all ages, and experimental methods for science at many levels.
July 2023: A giant congratulations to Joshua Morales Campos for being awarded a Notre Dame Materials Science and Engineering Fellowship!
July 2023: Our collaboration with the Forse group at the University of Cambridge, on quinone-functionalized carbons for electrochemical CO2 capture, is accepted for publication in J. Mater. Chem. A.
May 2023: Raúl, Joshua, and Lakna all presented excellent posters at the 6th Annual ND Energy Research Symposium. And congratulations to Lakna for taking the top prize in the poster competition!!
April 2023: Joshua is accepted to the 2023 National School on Neutron and X-ray Scattering at ANL/ORNL. Congratulations Joshua!
February 2023: The lab had an absolute blast contributing to the latest edition of Science Alive!—science outreach demonstrations at the St. Joseph County Library. Thanks to all who participated and to Anne Pillai from ND Energy for organizing.
January 2023: A huge congratulations to Raúl Torres-Cadena and Lakna Dayaratne for being awarded the Forgash Fellowship for Graduate Student Research in Solar Energy and the Patrick and Jana Eilers Graduate Student Fellowship for Energy Related Research, respectively!
December 2022: The lab is very happy to officially welcome first-years Grace Robertson and Alex Padilla to the group! Woohoo, time to choose a hood…
November 2022: Welcome to this month’s rotation students, Grayson Huldin, Jared Jorolemon, and M.E. Demmin!
October 2022: Congratulations to Suchen for passing his Academic and Research Progress exam! Time to celebrate!
October 2022: Joshua passed his Academic and Research Progress exam! Awesome job!
October 2022: Congratulations to Raúl for passing his Academic and Research Progress exam! Well done!
October 2022: The Jaffe Group welcomes Grace Robertson, Akshaya Chemmangat, and Sean Richardson as first-year rotation students!
September 2022: The Jaffe Group is happy to have Alex Padilla, Brendan Nieukirk, and Wyatt Balliew as first-year rotation students this month. Welcome!
August 2022: Welcome to Nicole Musielak, a visiting masters student from the University of Heidelberg doing research with us for 8 months!
July 2022: The Jaffe Group loved hosting 7th-12th graders from ND TRiO Talent Search Summer Academy for a day and splitting water with them in lab!
July 2022: Alex Padilla, an incoming first-year in the MS&E track of the Chemistry PhD program joins the Jaffe Group for some summer research. Welcome Alex!
May 2022: The Jaffe Group welcomes Brandon Prokop (rising Sophomore at Purdue) and Bennett Schmitt (rising Sophomore at ND) for summer research experiences!
February 2022: A huge congrats to the Lakna for passing her Academic and Research Progress exam!!
December 2021: A belated announcement but we are ecstatic to announce our first grant application was funded! Many thanks to the ACS PRF DNI program.
December 2021: The Jaffe Lab is interested in hiring a postdoctoral researcher to help us continue building our group! Details can be found here.
December 2021: Welcome first-years!! We are so happy to have Suchen Wan, Joshua Morales Campos, and Raúl Torres Cadena joining the group.
November 2021: The lab welcomes Joshua Morales Campos as a rotation student for November.
October 2021: Check out our new lab spaces!
October 2021: The lab welcomes Suchen Wan and Gábor Szabó as rotation students for October.
September 2021: The lab welcomes Mawuli Degbevi and Raúl Torres Cadena as rotation students for September.
August 2021: The lab is officially open for business. Renovations are almost complete. Wow are we excited!
April 2021: The lab welcomes visiting researcher and masters student Anton Walte from the University of Heidelberg!
April 2021: The lab welcomes graduate student Lakna Dayaratne to the group!
March 2021: Recruitment was a blast! Any interested prospective students should feel free to contact Prof. Jaffe via email (ajaffe at nd.edu) if they have any questions.
February 2021: ND Chemistry and Biochemistry virtual recruiting is Feb. 18-19. Congratulations to all admitted students! Come find the Jaffe Lab poster.
April 2020: The website is live!