Professor Granados-Focil is a polymer scientist with 20+ years of experience in his field. He is an expert on the synthesis and characterization of macromolecules that exhibit selective transport properties for several applications, such as energy storage, building temperature regulation, carbon capture, sustainable concrete, and sensing technologies.
Professor Granados-Focil was born in Mexico City, he holds a B.S. degree in Chemistry and a M.S. degree in Materials Science and Engineering from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). He then moved to Cleveland, OH. where he earned a Ph.D. degree in Macromolecular Science and Engineering from Case Western Reserve University. After graduate school, Prof. Granados-Focil moved to Amherst Massachusetts to work as postdoctoral researcher at UMass-Amherst and then joined the Chemistry Department at Clark University in 2008 as an assistant professor.
At Clark Prof. Granados-Focil teaches introductory chemistry (CHEM 101), organic chemistry (CHEM131, CHEM132 and CHEM231), analytical chemistry (CHEM140), polymer chemistry (CHEM281), polymeric biomaterials (BCMB283) and the science of fermentation (CHEM012).
Below is a list of current research projects in the Granados-Focil group. If you are interested in joining his lab, please contact him by email directly.
1. An integrated study of ion dynamics and population distributions to understand the molecular underpinnings of charge transport through self-assembled solid polymer electrolytes (currently funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation).
Access to mechanically robust solid polymer electrolytes with ion mobilities comparable to those of liquid electrolytes constitutes a significant barrier for the development of the high-performance lithium batteries required for the widespread use of electricity produced from renewable sources. This research effort focuses on understanding the fundamental aspects of ion diffusion through nanostructured polymeric matrices, and on using these insights to guide the design of solid polymer electrolytes for high power density lithium batteries.
2. Adaptive Building Enclosure Systems Using Cellular Solid-Solid Phase Change Materials with Variable Transparency. (currently funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation).
Buildings are responsible for about 40% of US energy consumption; a significant fraction of this energy is needed to counter thermal losses or gains occurring trough the building envelope. We seek to develop an innovative passive solar building enclosure system that uses cellular solid-solid phase change materials (PCM) with variable transparency. Our systems not only improve building interior thermal comfort, but also reduce energy use by changing its properties in response to external stimuli.
3. Thermal battery systems for garments. (currently funded by the U.S. Department of Defense).
When conducting missions in cold weather environments, troops can face a host of weather-related challenges, ranging from numb skin to hypothermia and frostbite that hinder their task performance or even threaten their limbs or lives. Therefore, it is extremely important to provide thermal extremity protection for troops operating in extreme conditions. This project aims to develop a sorbent-thermo-responsive polymer thermal battery without the use of power, which can store and deliver heat to a solider on demand with material-enabled, passive control mechanisms.
4. CO2 Separation Mediated By Proton-Coupled Electron Transfer
Increasing global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from the use of fossil fuels in energy conversion processes threatens to accelerate climate change and its associated deleterious effects on human civilization. Since the need to remove significant amounts of this greenhouse gas directly from air has become more urgent, advancing its electrochemical capture in a way that can be achieved at both point sources and the atmosphere could enable breakthrough real-world applications in carbon capture, utilization and storage.
5. Synthesis of low-cost non-perfluorinated ion conducting membranes for organic redox flow batteries.
Low-cost, highly selective, ion-conducting membranes, are prepared from a new class of sulfonated polyphenylenes. The proton conductivity of these membranes has been measured to be at least 2-4 times higher than Nafion 212. These macromolecules organize into lyotropic liquid crystalline structures with sulfonate-lined hydrated channels that vary in size between 0.8 nm and 2 nm. This channel structure exhibits high selectivity towards solvated ions and excluding larger species, resulting in better device performance.