Pinar Akcora (pakcora)

Pinar Akcora

Associate Professor

Charles V. Schaefer, Jr. School of Engineering and Science

Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science

McLean Hall 415
(201) 216-5060
(201) 216-8306
Website

Education

  • PhD (2005) University of Maryland-College Park (Chemical Engineering)

Research

Synthesis and characterization of polymeric nanohybrids; self-assembly of polymer-grafted nanoparticles; mechanical and structural relationships of ordered-disordered systems; developing new strategies for the self-assembly of nanoparticles; hybrid electrolytes; polymer-grafted nanoparticles in ionic liquids for energy applications; mechanically adaptive composite membranes for large shear and high temperature applications; multifunctional polymer composites for enhanced conductivity and reinforcement; protein-polymer functionalized surfaces for bio-applications.

General Information

Pinar Akcora received her Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering at the University of Maryland-College Park in 2005. She completed her post-doctoral work at Columbia University between 2005-2008. She joined University of Missouri-Columbia, Chemical Engineering as an assistant professor in 2008 and has joined Stevens in August 1, 2010. She is the recipient of the 2010 NSF-CAREER award and has received several grants from NSF-DMR, NSF-CMMI, NSF-CHE and ACS PRF.

Institutional Service

  • Academic Operations and Affair Committee Member
  • CEMS Undergraduate Curriculum Committee (UCC) Member Member
  • CEMS Undergraduate Ambassador Member
  • CEMS Research Committee Chair Chair
  • Nanotechnology Program Coordinator Chair
  • Institute Curriculum Committee (ICC) Member
  • Academic Planning and Resources Committee (APAR) Member
  • CEMS Faculty Hiring Committee 2021-23 Member
  • SES Strategic Planning Committee 2022-2023 Member
  • Search Committee for the Vice Provost for Research and Innovation (VPRI), Spring 2022-Summer 2022 Member
  • Faculty Advisory Council for the Dean of Engineering Member
  • ICC Member
  • SES Faculty Advisory Council (FAC) 2022 Member
  • Review Committee for the SES Dean's Appointment Member
  • Search Committee for the new SES Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies Program 2022 Member
  • Undergraduate Curriculum Committee (UCC) Chair
  • Undergraduate Curriculum Committee Chair
  • Institute Curriculum Committee (ICC) Member
  • Academic Planning and Resources Committee (APAR) Member
  • Stevens 150th Anniversary Academic Symposium Committee Member

Professional Service

  • Journal of Polymer Science Editorial Advisory Board Member
  • Organization Co-organizer of 17th Northeast Complex Fluids and Soft Matter Workshop at Stevens
  • APS Task Force / Poster Sessions Committee
  • American Physical Society (APS) - Division of Polymer Physics (DPOLY) 2021 APS March Meeting Program Chair

Appointments

Associate Prof. - Stevens Institute of Technology, Chemical Engineering & Materials Science (2016-)
Assistant Prof. - Stevens Institute of Technology, Chemical Engineering & Materials Science (Aug 2010-March 2016)
Assistant Prof. - U Missouri-Columbia, Chemical Engineering (Nov 2008- Aug 2010)

Honors and Awards

2021 Program Chair, Division of Polymer Physics (DPOLY), APS March Meeting
2010 National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER Award, DMR-Polymers
2010 Stevens Institute of Technology Research Recognition Award
2009 University of Missouri, Research Board Award

Professional Societies

  • ACS – American Chemical Society Member
  • AICHE – American Institute of Chemical Engineers Member
  • APS – American Physical Society Member
  • MRS – Materials Research Society Member
  • NSSA – Neutron Scattering Society of the America Member

Grants, Contracts and Funds


NSF CHE-CSD, Collaborative Research: Revealing Structure-Ionic Transport Relationship in Polymer-Ionic Liquid Ionogels" (2025), PI, Amount: $380,000
NSF DMR-Polymers, "Directed Ionic Transport in Poly(Ionic Liquid)-Grafted Nanoparticles in Polarizable Media" (2021), PI. Amount: $424,000.
NSF REU/RET Site grant on “Interdisciplinary Research Experience in Sustainable Energy and Bioengineering” (2021), PI. Amount: $375,000.
NSF-CMMI, Supplemental Grant, Machine Learning for Polymer Nanocomposites using Force-Field Agnostic Molecular Dynamics Descriptors (2020), PI
NSF DMR-Polymers, Ionic Transport in Ion Containing Copolymer-Grafted Nanoparticle Structures (2018), PI
NSF-CMMI-MEP, Collaborative Research: Chemical and Dynamic Heterogeneities in Interfaces for Adaptive Polymer Nanocomposites (2018), PI
NSF-CMMI-MEP, Unusual Temperature Dependent Behavior of Polymer Nanocomposites (2015), PI
ACS PRF New Directions Grant, Flow-induced Organization of Bimodal-Sized Particles in Drying Polymer Droplets (2014), PI
NSF MRI: Acquisition of a High- Pressure Freezing System for Cryo-Electron Microscopy (2014), co-PI
NSF DMR-Polymers, CAREER: Multi-functional Particle Assemblies in Polymer Nanocomposites (2010)
Stevens-CHI Healthcare Scholars (2016), PI
Stevens Ignition Grant Initiative, Designing Reversibly Stiffening Multifunctional Polymer Hybrids (2017), PI
University of Missouri (MU) Research Board Grant (2009), PI

Patents and Inventions

US2010/0303874 A1, Publication date: Dec. 2, 2010

Selected Publications

Book Chapter

  1. Green, P. F.; Oh, H.; Akcora, P.; Kumar, S. K. (2012). Structure and Dynamics of Polymer Nanocomposites Involving Chain-Grafted Spherical Nanoparticles. Neutron Scattering Applications and Techniques (pp. 349-366). Springer US.
    https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-0727-0_13.

Conference Proceeding

  1. Muisener, P. A.; Akcora, P.. A New Mentoring and Undergraduate Research Experience Model between REUs and RETs at the Stevens REU/RET Site Program on Sustainable Energy and Bioengineering.
    file:///Users/pinarakcora/Downloads/board-200-a-new-mentoring-and-undergraduate-research-experience-model-between-reus-and-rets-at-the-stevens-reu-ret-site-program-on-sustainable-energy-and-bioengineering.pdf.

Journal Article

  1. Li, R.; Mbonu, C.; Akcora, P. (2025). Structure-Dependent Ionic Conductivity in Poly(Ionic Liquid)-b-Poly(methyl methacrylate)-Grafted Nanoparticles. ACS Applied Polymer Materials (6 ed., vol. 7, pp. 3853-3862). American Chemical Society (ACS).
    https://doi.org/10.1021/acsapm.5c00070.
  2. Patil, S.; Mbonu, C.; Cheng, S.; Akcora, P. (2024). Dynamics of poly(methyl acrylate)/poly(methyl methacrylate)-grafted-Fe3O4 nanocomposites. Soft Matter (39 ed., vol. 20, pp. 7970–7982).
  3. Mbonu, C.; Osti, N. C.; Wu, D.; Akcora, P. (2024). Quasi‐elastic neutron scattering study on dynamically asymmetric polymer blends. Journal of Polymer Science (18 ed., vol. 62, pp. 4177-4185). Wiley.
    https://doi.org/10.1002/pol.20240161.
  4. Feng, Y.; Li, R.; Mbonu, C.; Akcora, P. (2024). Effect of Oligomer Addition on Tube Dilation in Polymer Nanocomposite Melts. Macromolecular Rapid Communications (5 ed., vol. 45). Wiley.
    https://doi.org/10.1002/marc.202300620.
  5. Li, R.; Bulucu, D.; Chou, T.; Akcora, P. (2024). Enhanced Ion Conductivity in a Poly(ionic liquid)-Grafted Nanoparticle-Based Single-Ion Conductor. Macromolecules (8 ed., vol. 57, pp. 3807-3815). ACS.
    https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.macromol.3c02623.
  6. Wu, D.; Narayanan, S.; Li, R.; Feng, Y.; Akcora, P. (2023). The effect of dynamically heterogeneous interphases on the particle dynamics of polymer nanocomposites. Soft Matter (15 ed., vol. 19, pp. 2764-2770). Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC).
    https://doi.org/10.1039/d2sm01617f.
  7. Ge, Y.; Akcora, P. (2023). Alignment-Assisted Networks of Polyelectrolyte-Grafted Cellulose Nanocrystals. ACS Applied Engineering Materials (10 ed., vol. 1, pp. 2599-2605). American Chemical Society (ACS).
    https://doi.org/10.1021/acsaenm.3c00378.
  8. Li, R.; Feng, Y.; Akcora, P. (2023). Examining ionicity and conductivity in poly(methyl methacrylate) containing imidazolium-based ionic liquids. Journal of Molecular Liquids (vol. 382, pp. 121897). Elsevier BV.
    https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molliq.2023.121897.
  9. Li, R.; Han, Y.; Akcora, P. (2022). Ion channels in sulfonated copolymer-grafted nanoparticles in ionic liquids. Soft Matter (29 ed., vol. 18, pp. 5402-5409). Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC).
    https://doi.org/10.1039/d2sm00725h.
  10. Liu, S.; Li, R.; Tyagi, M.; Akcora, P. (2022). Confinement Effects in Dynamics of Ionic Liquids with Polymer‐Grafted Nanoparticles. ChemPhysChem (18 ed., vol. 23). Wiley.
    https://doi.org/10.1002/cphc.202200219.
  11. Feng, Y.; Wu, D.; Li, R.; Akcora, P. (2022). Rheological properties of crosslinked unentangled and entangled Poly(methyl acrylate) nanocomposite networks. Polymer (vol. 255, pp. 125150). Elsevier BV.
    https://doi.org/10.1016/j.polymer.2022.125150.
  12. Wu, D.; Ge, Y.; Li, R.; Feng, Y.; Akcora, P. (2022). Thermally Activated Shear Stiffening in Polymer-Grafted Nanoparticle Composites for High-Temperature Adhesives. ACS Applied Polymer Materials (4 ed., vol. 4, pp. 2819-2827). American Chemical Society (ACS).
    https://doi.org/10.1021/acsapm.2c00097.
  13. Wu, D.; Feng, Y.; Li, R.; Ozisik, R.; Akcora, P. (2021). Entanglement Density and Local Viscosity in Rigid Interfacial Layers of Polymer Nanocomposites. Journal of Applied Physics (6 ed., vol. 130 , pp. 064701). Hoboken: IAP.
  14. Liu, S.; Wu, D.; Akcora, P. (2021). Ion-Containing Polymer-Grafted Nanoparticles in Ionic Liquids: Implications for Polymer Electrolyte Membranes. ACS Applied Nano Materials (8 ed., vol. 4, pp. 8108). Hoboken: ACS.
    https://doi.org/10.1021/acsanm.1c01369.
  15. Gong, C.; Weiblen, D.; Akcora, P.; Ozisik, R. (2021). Stability of Particle Dispersion and Heterogeneous Interfacial Layers in Polymer Nanocomposites. Polymer (vol. 226, pp. 123813). Elsevier.
    https://doi.org/10.1016/j.polymer.2021.123813.
  16. Wu, D.; Weiblen, D. G.; Ozisik, R.; Akcora, P. (2020). Local Viscosity of Interfacial Layers in Polymer Nanocomposites Measured by Magnetic Heating. ACS Applied Polymer Materials (12 ed., vol. 2, pp. 5542-5549). American Chemical Society (ACS).
    https://doi.org/10.1021/acsapm.0c00889.
  17. Liu, S.; Tyagi, M.; Akcora, P. (2020). Polymer-Coupled Local Dynamics Enhances Conductivity of Ionic Liquids. Macromolecules (15 ed., vol. 53, pp. 6538-6546). American Chemical Society (ACS).
    https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.macromol.0c01434.
  18. Liu, S.; Walton, M.; Tarakina, N. V.; Akcora, P. (2020). Solvation in Ionic Liquids with Polymer-Grafted Nanoparticles. Journal of Physical Chemistry B (23 ed., vol. 124, pp. 4843-4850). ACS.
  19. Zhang, C.; Padmanabhan, V.; Akcora, P. (2019). Solution Rheology of Poly(acrylic acid)-Grafted Silica Nanoparticles. Macromolecules (24 ed., vol. 52, pp. 9594-9603). ACS.
  20. Yang, S.; Akcora, P. (2019). Deformation of Chemically Heterogeneous Interfacial Layers of Polymer Nanocomposites. ACS Macro Letters (12 ed., vol. 8, pp. 1635-1641). ACS.
  21. Peng, W.; Ranganathan, R.; Keblinski, P.; Akcora, P.; Ozisik, R. (2019). Viscoelastic and Dynamic Properties of Polymer Grafted Nanocomposites with High Glass Transition Temperature Graft Chains. Journal of Applied Physics (19 ed., vol. 126, pp. Article number 195102). AIP Publishing.
  22. Liu, S.; Liedel, C.; Tarakina, N. V.; Osti, N. C.; Akcora, P. (2019). Dynamics of Ionic Liquids in the Presence of Polymer-Grafted Nanoparticles. Nanoscale (42 ed., vol. 11, pp. 19832-19841). Royal Society of Chemistry.
  23. Yang, S.; Hassan, M.; Akcora, P. (2019). Role of adsorbed chain rigidity in reinforcement of polymer nanocomposites. Journal of Polymer Science, Part B: Polymer Physics (1 ed., vol. 57, pp. 9-14). Hoboken.
  24. Yang, S.; Liu, S.; Narayanan, S.; Zhang, C.; Akcora, P. (2018). Chemical heterogeneity in interfacial layers of polymer nanocomposites. Soft Matter (23 ed., vol. 14, pp. 4784-4791). Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC).
    https://doi.org/10.1039/c8sm00663f.
  25. Liu, S.; Wang, H.; Akcora, P. (2018). Ordering Polymer‐Grafted Nanoparticles at Oil–Air Interfaces under Magnetic Fields. Macromolecular Chemistry and Physics (11 ed., vol. 219). Wiley.
    https://doi.org/10.1002/macp.201800012.
  26. Zhang, C.; Carlson, T.; Yang, S.; Akcora, P. (2018). Ordering pH‐Responsive Polyelectrolyte‐Grafted Nanoparticles in a Flow Coating Process. Advanced Materials Interfaces (5 ed., vol. 5). Wiley.
    https://doi.org/10.1002/admi.201701318.
  27. Wang, H.; Akcora, P. (2017). Examining lysozyme structures on polyzwitterionic brush surfaces. Colloids and Surfaces B: Biointerfaces (vol. 160, pp. 215-219). Elsevier BV.
    https://doi.org/10.1016/j.colsurfb.2017.09.040.
  28. Wang, H.; Akcora, P. (2017). Confinement effect on the structure and elasticity of proteins interfacing polymers. Soft Matter (8 ed., vol. 13, pp. 1561-1568). Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC).
    https://doi.org/10.1039/c6sm02179d.
  29. Zhang, C.; Akcora, P. (2017). Evaporation controlled particle patterns in a polymer droplet. RSC Advances (30 ed., vol. 7, pp. 18321-18326). Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC).
    https://doi.org/10.1039/c7ra01687e.
  30. Bachhar, N.; Jiao, Y.; Asai, M.; Akcora, P.; Bandyopadhyaya, R.; Kumar, S. K. (2017). Impact of the Distributions of Core Size and Grafting Density on the Self-Assembly of Polymer Grafted Nanoparticles. Macromolecules (19 ed., vol. 50, pp. 7730-7738). American Chemical Society (ACS).
    https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.macromol.7b01093.
  31. Senses, E.; Faraone, A.; Akcora, P. (2016). Microscopic Chain Motion in Polymer Nanocomposites with Dynamically Asymmetric Interphases. Scientific Reports (1 ed., vol. 6). Springer Science and Business Media LLC.
    https://doi.org/10.1038/srep29326.
  32. Liu, S.; Senses, E.; Jiao, Y.; Narayanan, S.; Akcora, P. (2016). Structure and Entanglement Factors on Dynamics of Polymer-Grafted Nanoparticles. ACS Macro Letters (5 ed., vol. 5, pp. 569-573). American Chemical Society (ACS).
    https://doi.org/10.1021/acsmacrolett.6b00089.
  33. Wang, H.; Black, C. T.; Akcora, P. (2016). Elastic Properties of Protein Functionalized Nanoporous Polymer Films. Langmuir (1 ed., vol. 32, pp. 151-158). American Chemical Society (ACS).
    https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.langmuir.5b04334.
  34. Zhao, D.; Ge, S.; Senses, E.; Akcora, P.; Jestin, J.; Kumar, S. K. (2015). Role of Filler Shape and Connectivity on the Viscoelastic Behavior in Polymer Nanocomposites. Macromolecules (15 ed., vol. 48, pp. 5433-5438). American Chemical Society (ACS).
    https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.macromol.5b00962.
  35. Jiao, Y.; Chou, T.; Akcora, P. (2015). Design of Ion-Containing Polymer-Grafted Nanoparticles for Conductive Membranes. Macromolecules (14 ed., vol. 48, pp. 4910-4917). American Chemical Society (ACS).
    https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.macromol.5b00758.
  36. Senses, E.; Isherwood, A.; Akcora, P. (2015). Reversible Thermal Stiffening in Polymer Nanocomposites. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces (27 ed., vol. 7, pp. 14682-14689). American Chemical Society (ACS).
    https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.5b02046.
  37. Senses, E.; Jiao, Y.; Akcora, P. (2014). Modulating interfacial attraction of polymer-grafted nanoparticles in melts under shear. Soft Matter (25 ed., vol. 10, pp. 4464-4470). Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC).
    https://doi.org/10.1039/c4sm00460d.
  38. Senses, E.; Akcora, P. (2014). Tuning mechanical properties of nanocomposites with bimodal polymer bound layers. RSC Adv. (91 ed., vol. 4, pp. 49628-49634). Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC).
    https://doi.org/10.1039/c4ra07157c.
  39. Jiao, Y.; Akcora, P. (2014). Understanding the role of grafted polystyrene chain conformation in assembly of magnetic nanoparticles. Physical Review E (4 ed., vol. 90). American Physical Society (APS).
    https://doi.org/10.1103/physreve.90.042601.
  40. Jiao, Y.; Akcora, P. (2014). Accelerated brush growth on nanoparticle surfaces by reversible addition‐fragmentation chain transfer polymerization. Journal of Polymer Science Part A: Polymer Chemistry (12 ed., vol. 52, pp. 1700-1705). Wiley.
    https://doi.org/10.1002/pola.27170.
  41. Senses, E.; Akcora, P. (2013). An Interface-Driven Stiffening Mechanism in Polymer Nanocomposites. Macromolecules (5 ed., vol. 46, pp. 1868-1874). American Chemical Society (ACS).
    https://doi.org/10.1021/ma302275f.
  42. Senses, E.; Black, M.; Cunningham, T.; Sukhishvili, S. A.; Akcora, P. (2013). Spatial Ordering of Colloids in a Drying Aqueous Polymer Droplet. Langmuir (8 ed., vol. 29, pp. 2588-2594). American Chemical Society (ACS).
    https://doi.org/10.1021/la400032u.
  43. Jiao, Y.; Gyawali, D.; Stark, J. M.; Akcora, P.; Nair, P.; Tran, R. T.; Yang, J. (2012). A rheological study of biodegradable injectable PEGMC/HA composite scaffolds. Soft Matter (5 ed., vol. 8, pp. 1499-1507). Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC).
    https://doi.org/10.1039/c1sm05786c.
  44. Jiao, Y.; Akcora, P. (2012). Assembly of Polymer-Grafted Magnetic Nanoparticles in Polymer Melts. Macromolecules (8 ed., vol. 45, pp. 3463-3470). American Chemical Society (ACS).
    https://doi.org/10.1021/ma3000576.
  45. Zhu, Z.; Senses, E.; Akcora, P.; Sukhishvili, S. A. (2012). Programmable Light-Controlled Shape Changes in Layered Polymer Nanocomposites. ACS Nano (4 ed., vol. 6, pp. 3152-3162). American Chemical Society (ACS).
    https://doi.org/10.1021/nn204938j.
  46. Moll, J. F.; Akcora, P.; Rungta, A.; Gong, S.; Colby, R. H.; Benicewicz, B. C.; Kumar, S. K. (2011). Mechanical Reinforcement in Polymer Melts Filled with Polymer Grafted Nanoparticles. Macromolecules (18 ed., vol. 44, pp. 7473-7477). American Chemical Society (ACS).
    https://doi.org/10.1021/ma201200m.
  47. Akcora, P.; Kumar, S. K.; García Sakai, V.; Li, Y.; Benicewicz, B. C.; Schadler, L. S. (2010). Segmental Dynamics in PMMA-Grafted Nanoparticle Composites. Macromolecules (19 ed., vol. 43, pp. 8275-8281). American Chemical Society (ACS).
    https://doi.org/10.1021/ma101240j.
  48. Akcora, P.; Kumar, S. K.; Moll, J.; Lewis, S.; Schadler, L. S.; Li, Y.; Benicewicz, B. C.; Sandy, A.; Narayanan, S.; Ilavsky, J.; Thiyagarajan, P.; Colby, R. H.; Douglas, J. F. (2010). “Gel-like” Mechanical Reinforcement in Polymer Nanocomposite Melts. Macromolecules (2 ed., vol. 43, pp. 1003-1010). American Chemical Society (ACS).
    https://doi.org/10.1021/ma902072d.
  49. Khan, J.; Harton, S. E.; Akcora, P.; Benicewicz, B. C.; Kumar, S. K. (2009). Polymer Crystallization in Nanocomposites: Spatial Reorganization of Nanoparticles. Macromolecules (15 ed., vol. 42, pp. 5741-5744). American Chemical Society (ACS).
    https://doi.org/10.1021/ma900794t.
  50. Akcora, P.; Liu, H.; Kumar, S. K.; Moll, J.; Li, Y.; Benicewicz, B. C.; Schadler, L. S.; Acehan, D.; Panagiotopoulos, A. Z.; Pryamitsyn, V.; Ganesan, V.; Ilavsky, J.; Thiyagarajan, P.; Colby, R. H.; Douglas, J. F. (2009). Anisotropic self-assembly of spherical polymer-grafted nanoparticles. Nature Materials (4 ed., vol. 8, pp. 354-359). Springer Science and Business Media LLC.
    https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat2404.
  51. Akcora, P.; Briber, R. M.; Kofinas, P. (2006). TEM characterization of diblock copolymer templated iron oxide nanoparticles: Bulk solution and thin film surface doping approach. Polymer (6 ed., vol. 47, pp. 2018-2022). Elsevier BV.
    https://doi.org/10.1016/j.polymer.2006.01.064.
  52. Akcora, P.; Zhang, X.; Varughese, B.; Briber, R. M.; Kofinas, P. (2005). Structural and magnetic characterization of norbornene–deuterated norbornene dicarboxylic acid diblock copolymers doped with iron oxide nanoparticles. Polymer (14 ed., vol. 46, pp. 5194-5201). Elsevier BV.
    https://doi.org/10.1016/j.polymer.2005.04.026.

Courses

CHE 333 Thermodynamics II
CHE 560 Fundamentals of Polymer Science
CHE 332 Separation Operations
NANO 525 Techniques of Surface and Nanostructure Characterization