Emily Pentzer
  • Professor

Primary Appointment: Materials Science and Engineering

Joint Appointment: Chemistry

Research Areas
  • Energy
  • Materials
  • Nanoscience
  • Organic
  • Polymer
  • Supramolecular
  • Surface
  • Sustainability & Green
  • Synthesis

Research Interests

The Pentzer group's three main research thrusts are polymers, particles, and printing. Group members use organic synthesis to prepare carbon-based composites with tailored, novel properties for applications in the areas of energy harvesting and storage. A bottom-up approach is used to prepare new small molecules and polymers that contain functionality which dictate their intermolecular interactions as well as interactions with other surfaces, nanoparticles, and additives. Current research directions address the management of thermal energy, electrochemical energy storage, and marrying polymer composition with microstructure using additive manufacturing. Collaboration with scientists and engineers across various fields present opportunities to augment this work, allowing ideas to be taken from design to implementation to application.

Educational Background

  • Postdoc, UMass Amherst 2010-2013
  • PhD, Northwestern University
  • BS, Butler University

Awards & Honors

  • 2022 Finalist for Blavatnik Award in Physical Sciences and Engineering
  • 2021 Texas A&M University Presidential Impact Fellow
  • 2021 American Chemical Society WCC Rising Star Award
  • 2021 AZZ Inc. Faculty Fellow
  • 2019 CWRU Faculty Diversity Excellence Award
  • 2017 CWRU Outstanding Professor Award from Engineering Group
  • 2017 ACS PMSE Young Investigator
  • 2016 NSF CAREER Award

Selected Publications

  • Temperature-Dependent Capsule Shell Bonding and Destruction Based on Hindered Poly(urea-urethane) Chemistry. Wang, Y.; Wei, P.; Zhou, Q.; Cipriani, C.; Qi, M.; Sukhishvili, S.; Pentzer, E.* Chemistry of Materials, 2022, 34, 5821-5831. DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemmater.2c00415

  • Additive Manufacturing: Modular Platform for 3D Printing Fluid-Containing Monoliths. Cipriani, C. E.; Starvaggi, N. C.; Edgehouse, K. J.; Price, J. B.; Vivod, S. L.; Pentzer, E. B.* Molecular Systems Design & Engineering, 2022, accepted. DOI: 10.1039/D2ME00102K

  • 3D Printing CO2-Based Triblock Copolymers and Post-Printing Modification. Wei, P.; Bhat, G. A.; Cipriani, C.; Mohammad, H.; Schoonover, K.; Pentzer, E.*; Darensbourg, D.* Angewandte Chemie, 2022, e202208355. DOI: 10.1002/anie.202208355

  • Synthesis and Electronic Applications of Polymer Films Templated by Ti3C2Tz MXene-Armored Particles via Pickering Emulsion Polymerization. Cao, H.; Escamilla, M.; Anas, M.; Tan, Z.; Gulati, S.; Yun, J.; Luktenhaus, J.; Radovic, M; Pentzer, E.*; Green, M.* ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 2021, 13, 51556-51566. DOI: 10.1021/acsami.1c16234

  • Structure-Processing-Property Relationships of 3D Printed Porous Polymeric Materials. Cipriani, C.; Ha, T.; Martinez, O.; Myneni, M.; Wang, Y.; Benjamin, C.; Wang, J.*; Pentzer, E.*; Wei, P.* ACS Materials Au, 2021, 1, 69-80. Invited to inaugural issue. DOI: 10.1021/acsmaterialsau.1c000017