Ben McDonald

About

Ben McDonald is an Assistant Professor of Chemistry and Engineering at Brown University. His research interests are not explicitly detailed on the provided page. He is associated with the School of Engineering at Brown University, located in Providence, RI. Contact information includes his email benjamin_mcdonald1@brown.edu and phone number 401-863-3587. Further specifics about his background, key contributions, or research focus are not provided in the available text.

Research topics

• Computer Science
• Materials science
• Chemistry
• Nanotechnology
• Biology
• Chromatography
• Organic chemistry
• Combinatorial chemistry
• Photochemistry

Selected publications

• Bottlebrush Midblocks Promote Colloidal Bridging of Telechelic Polymers

  ACS Macro Letters · 2024-09-16 · 8 citations

  articleOpen accessCorresponding

  Telechelic polymers are effective rheological modifiers that bridge between associative constituents to form elastic networks. The performance of linear telechelic chains, however, is controlled by entropic forces and thus suffers from an upper limit on bridge formation. This work overcomes this limitation by utilizing telechelic triblock copolymers containing bottlebrush midblocks. By comparing the rheological properties of emulsions linked by telechelic bottlebrush polymers to those containing…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Ion‐Specific Interactions Engender Dynamic and Tailorable Properties in Biomimetic Cationic Polyelectrolytes

  Angewandte Chemie International Edition · 2024-07-10 · 6 citations

  articleSenior authorCorresponding

  Biomaterials such as spider silk and mussel byssi are fabricated by the dynamic manipulation of intra- and intermolecular biopolymer interactions. Organisms modulate solution parameters, such as pH and ion co-solute concentration, to effect these processes. These biofabrication schemes provide a conceptual framework to develop new dynamic and responsive abiotic soft material systems. Towards these ends, the chemical diversity of readily available ionic compounds offers a broad palette to manipul…

  PublisherDOI

• Tailoring Crosslinks through Time─A Paradigm for Tough Hydrogels

  Chemical Reviews · 2026-01-29 · 3 citations

  articleSenior authorCorresponding

  , spatial structure-function relationships, with particular regard to strength and toughness. While this approach has driven fundamental advancements in the design of robust hydrogel structures, further complementary perspectives are needed to enable holistic, rational design schemes that integrate considerations such as fabrication and advanced functions like response and adaptation. To these ends, this review focuses on the dynamics of temporal-function relationships and their fundamental base…

  PublisherDOI

• Investigating Biomimetic Chemoresponsive Cation–π Interactions Using Raman Spectroscopy

  Journal of Raman Spectroscopy · 2025-05-07 · 3 citations

  articleOpen access

  ABSTRACT Biomimetic designs are inspired by the complex and unique behavior of naturally occurring materials, and can be applied to many systems, including polymers. ZIPer polymers (Zwitter arene‐ion like polymer) are inspired by byssal threads found on mussels, and their physical state is highly sensitive to various environmental conditions. Specifically, the ZIPer polymer undergoes chemospecific phase transitions, exhibiting potential for its use as an ionic responsive technology. Though this…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• The Precise Synthesis of Ultradense Bottlebrush Polymers Unearths Unique Trends in Lyotropic Ordering

  Journal of the American Chemical Society · 2024-12-24 · 3 citations

  articleSenior authorCorresponding

  Biomacromolecular networks with multiscale fibrillar structures are characterized by exceptional mechanical properties, making them attractive architectures for synthetic materials. However, there is a dearth of synthetic polymeric building blocks capable of forming similarly structured networks. Bottlebrush polymers (BBPs) are anisotropic graft polymers with the potential to mimic and replace biomacromolecules such as tropocollagen for the fabrication of synthetic fibrillar networks; however, a…

  PublisherDOI

Recent grants

• Exploration of Novel Silyl Derived d1 Synthon Equivalents

  NIH · $112k · 2015–2018

Frequent coauthors

• Lanny J. Rosenwasser

  University of Missouri–Kansas City

  40 shared

• Stephen A. Jobling

  Agriculture and Food

  40 shared

• Lee Gehrke

  Massachusetts Institute of Technology

  40 shared

• L S Paik

  Harvard University

  36 shared

• Timothy M. Swager

  Massachusetts Institute of Technology

  27 shared

• Francesco Fornasiero

  11 shared

• Karl A. Scheidt

  Midwestern University

  11 shared

• Rong Zhu

  Peking University

  10 shared

Similar researchers at Brown University

• Huajian Gaoh-156
• John Donoghueh-127
• Nitin Padtureh-115