Evangelos Manias
· Professor of Materials Science and EngineeringVerifiedPennsylvania State University · Department of Materials Science and Engineering
Active 1993–2022
About
Evangelos Manias is a Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at Penn State University. He received his B.S. degree in Physics from Aristotle University in Thessaloniki, Greece, and his Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Groningen in the Netherlands. Following his doctoral studies, he conducted postdoctoral research in the Materials Science and Engineering department at Cornell University before joining Penn State as an assistant professor in 1998. His research combines theoretical, simulation, and experimental approaches to understand how nanoscale structures influence the macroscopic properties of multi-phase polymer systems. He focuses on designing structures and functionalities that lead to high-performance novel materials. Professor Manias’ research centers on developing new high-performance polymers and polymer-composite materials, leveraging nanoscale structures and nanoscopic components. His work includes the development of high-performance polymer/inorganic nanocomposites, stimuli-responsive polymers, multifunctional food packaging materials, and insulator and dielectric composites with advanced performance. He employs techniques such as atomic force microscopy (AFM), molecular modeling, and synthesis to explore the fundamental physics and engineering design of these materials. His group’s approach integrates polymer physics, chemistry, and engineering, fostering cross-disciplinary collaboration. His research has led to scientific breakthroughs published in eminent journals, patented technologies, and advances in materials R&D that have been featured in popular science media.
Research topics
- Composite material
- Materials science
- Optoelectronics
- Chemistry
Selected publications
Interfacial Effects on the Dielectric Properties of Elastomer Composites and Nanocomposites
Advances in dielectrics · 2022-01-01 · 11 citations
book-chapterSenior authorCorrespondingThe Journal of Physical Chemistry C · 2022 · 84 citations
Senior authorCorresponding- Materials science
- Composite material
- Chemistry
Polymer composites filled with conductive fillers can demonstrate ultrahigh effective dielectric permittivity, which is generally attributed to an enhanced Maxwell–Wagner–Sillars interfacial polarization associated with the formation of microcapacitor networks. Here, we explore a composite of the ethylene–propylene–diene elastomer with carbon-black (CB) nanofillers and investigate its dielectric response over wide ranges of temperature and frequency. The dielectric relaxation exhibits atypical (counter-Arrhenius) temperature dependence, contradicting the widely assumed interfacial polarization mechanisms. It is shown that the relaxation/polarization is actually determined by electron displacement─primarily via e-conduction and tunneling within CB clusters─and that the composites’ dielectric response can be quantitatively correlated with the CB cluster morphology via a set of scaling laws. Considering the selected composite as a paradigmatic system, the physical origins of the dielectric relaxation and the associated scaling relations seem to be generally applicable and expected to also pertain to other dielectric polymer/conductive-filler composites near percolation.
Interfacial effects on the dielectric properties of elastomer/carbon-black/ceramic composites
MRS Advances · 2021 · 42 citations
Senior authorCorresponding- Materials science
- Composite material
ACS Applied Nano Materials · 2018-06-08 · 72 citations
articleSenior authorCorrespondingEmerging energy and insulation applications require dielectric materials that can operate at high electric fields and meanwhile possess low leakage currents. For dielectric polymer nanocomposites, beyond filler dispersion, tailoring hierarchical structures offers a promising, yet largely untapped, approach to reach this goal. Here, we demonstrate that the controlled arrangement of pseudo-2D nanofillers and polymer crystals in polyethylene/montmorillonite nanocomposites can be used as an effective approach to achieve nontrivial highly enhanced dielectric performances, far beyond what is feasible with conventional (macroscopic, isotropic) composites. In particular, it is shown that aligned nanofillers can increase the breakdown strength, while, at the same time, reducing the leakage current, in these dielectric nanostructured composites. The orientation of the nanosized pseudo-2D fillers increases the path tortuosity for charge transport, acting as an effective geometric barrier, in the same way and in addition to the oriented polymer crystals of the polymer matrix. Thus, incorporation of aligned nanoplatelet fillers provides an independent and complementary increase to breakdown strength, in excess of any improvements due to the crystal orientation. In this manner, a substantially improved breakdown strength can be realized in the nanostructured composite, with the aligned fillers and aligned polymer crystals acting as a macroscopic barrier established across the sample.
2018-10-08 · 17 citations
book-chapterSenior authorThis chapter summarizes studies on the nanostructure-property interdependencies in tailored/structured polymer nanocomposites, and explains the nanoscale principles leading to the design and synthesis of high-performance nanomaterials for energy storage applications. It provides clues on the mitigation of such detrimental effects, which are commonly responsible for the poor dielectric performance of the composites. Three key factors are emphasized for synthesizing multifunctional nanocomposites: Nanoparticle functionality, Self-assembly of desired nano structures, and Hierarchical nanostructures. The chapter discusses fundamental interrelationships between the nanoscale dielectric properties and the macroscopic properties of the nanocomposites with an emphasis on the dielectric breakdown strength. It describes spectroscopic studies for composites with potential dielectrical applications and with promise to store electrostatic energy. Nanoparticle functionality and nanoparticles with controlled size have shown notable benefits against detrimental effects associated with the interfaces; however, certain applications may necessitate the integration of two or more inorganic phases.
ACS Applied Nano Materials · 2018-08-29 · 62 citations
articleSenior authorCorrespondingIn general, dielectric multifiller polymer composites have the potential to achieve enhanced performances by integrating the desirable properties of each filler. However, the improvement in thermophysical and dielectric properties is often accompanied by a deterioration of electrical breakdown strength (EBD). Here, we explore a two-filler polymer nanocomposite structure, based on polyolefins with montmorillonite and calcium carbonate fillers, and present an effective approach to obtain enhanced EBD by tailoring the composite morphology (by designing the pseudo-two-dimensional nanoclays to preferentially physisorb on the surfaces of calcium carbonates, so as to change the nature of the filler/polymer interfaces). It is shown that, in these structured polymer nanocomposites, the breakdown performance is substantially improved, exceeding the performance of the unfilled polymers and of the respective single-filler composites. The enhanced dielectric behavior originates from the specific composite morphology, which capitalizes on the platelet nanofillers to enhance the microfiller/polymer interfaces and on the extended hybrid-filler structure to mitigate low-energy failure initiation and propagation.
Applied Physics Letters · 2017-08-21 · 47 citations
articleSenior authorExtrusion blown polyethylene and polyethylene/montmorillonite nanocomposite films were cold stretched to various ratios to quantify the influence of the crystal orientation and the nanofiller alignment on their dielectric breakdown performance. It was found that the crystal orientation could increase the breakdown strength (EBD) in the stretched blown films. The aligned pseudo-2D inorganic nanoclays provided additional strong improvements in EBD that can be superimposed to any EBD enhancement due to the polymer crystal orientation. At high filler loadings and high stretching ratios, the onset of percolation was observed through a substantial improvement in the dielectric breakdown strength.
Increased Dielectric Breakdown Strength of Polyolefin Nanocomposites via Nanofiller Alignment
MRS Advances · 2016-12-15 · 34 citations
articleSenior author2016-01-06 · 1 citations
article1st authorCorrespondingWhen grafted on solid surfaces, temperature-responsive polymers provide convenient means to define switchable surface properties (wettability, adhesion, topography), because of the ease of altering the conformation of the grafted polymers through changes in temperature. These switchable properties
MRS Advances · 2016-12-20 · 19 citations
articleSenior author
Recent grants
Frequent coauthors
- 48 shared
Emmanuel P. Giannelis
Cornell University
- 27 shared
Georgios Polizos
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
- 23 shared
Ramanan Krishnamoorti
- 22 shared
Jan Genzer
North Carolina State University
- 21 shared
Jeffrey W. Gilman
National Institute of Standards and Technology
- 18 shared
Takashi Kashiwagi
Dokkyo Medical University
- 18 shared
С. М. Ломакин
- 17 shared
Vikram Kuppa
University of Dayton
Education
- 1998
Post-Doctoral Research Associate, Materials Science & Engineering
Cornell University
- 1995
Ph.D., Natural Sciences (Polymer Chemistry)
University of Groningen
- 1991
B.Sc./M.Sc., Physics
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
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