Seong Kim

About

Seong Kim is the Department Head and Walter L. Robb Family Endowed Chair in Chemical Engineering at Penn State University. His research focuses on energy and environment, interfaces and surfaces, with specific interest areas including tribology, glass surface science, and cellulosic nanomaterials. His work involves surface science, nano-materials, nano-tribology, glass, biomass, and catalysis. He has authored books such as 'Surface and Interface Analysis: Principles and Applications' and 'Adhesion aspects in MEMS/NEMS'. His extensive publication record includes numerous journal articles on topics like surface chemistry, nanomaterials, glass-water interactions, and tribology, contributing significantly to understanding surface phenomena, nanostructured materials, and their applications in energy, environmental science, and materials engineering.

Research topics

• Materials science
• Chemistry
• Organic chemistry
• Composite material
• Chemical physics
• Optoelectronics
• Engineering
• Nanotechnology
• Biochemistry
• Chemical engineering

Selected publications

• High-temperature polymers with record-high breakdown strength enabled by rationally designed chain-packing behavior in blends

  Matter · 2021 · 237 citations

  DOI

• Raman spectroscopy analysis of disordered and amorphous carbon materials: A review of empirical correlations

  Carbon · 2025-03-10 · 190 citations

  reviewSenior authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Structural Insight in the Interfacial Effect in Ferroelectric Polymer Nanocomposites

  Advanced Materials · 2020 · 143 citations

  Both experimental results and theoretical models suggest the decisive role of the filler-matrix interfaces on the dielectric, piezoelectric, pyroelectric, and electrocaloric properties of ferroelectric polymer nanocomposites. However, there remains a lack of direct structural evidence to support the so-called interfacial effect in dielectric nanocomposites. Here, a chemical mapping of the interfacial coupling between the nanofiller and the polymer matrix in ferroelectric polymer nanocomposites b…

  DOI

• Mutations in the Pectin Methyltransferase QUASIMODO2 Influence Cellulose Biosynthesis and Wall Integrity in Arabidopsis

  The Plant Cell · 2020 · 142 citations

  Abstract Pectins are abundant in the cell walls of dicotyledonous plants, but how they interact with other wall polymers and influence wall integrity and cell growth has remained mysterious. Here, we verified that QUASIMODO2 (QUA2) is a pectin methyltransferase and determined that QUA2 is required for normal pectin biosynthesis. To gain further insight into how pectin affects wall assembly and integrity maintenance, we investigated cellulose biosynthesis, cellulose organization, cortical microtu…

  DOI

• Perspective on improving the quality of surface and material data analysis in the scientific literature with a focus on x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS)

  Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology A Vacuum Surfaces and Films · 2023 · 62 citations

  Due to significant advances in instrumentation, many previously specialized techniques have become “routine” in user facilities. However, detailed knowledge held by experts has often not been relayed to general users, so they often rely on entry-level information, basic principles, and comparison with literature results for data analysis. As a result, major errors in the data analysis of multiple surface and material analysis techniques, including in x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), have…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Recent grants

• Mechanochemistry of Silicate Glass Surface: Mixed Modifier Effect on Resistance to Frictional Subsurface Damage

  NSF · $480k · 2020–2024

• Lubrication by Chemical Reaction Products at Sliding Interface

  NSF · $350k · 2014–2018

• COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH EAGER: Sum-frequency generation (SFG) vibration study of structure and enzymatic hydrolysis activities of crystalline cellulose in biomass

  NSF · $50k · 2011–2013

Frequent coauthors

• Stéṕhane Gin

  Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique et aux Énergies Alternatives

  49 shared

• Hongtu He

  43 shared

• Linmao Qian

  Southwest Jiaotong University

  37 shared

• Yassine Haddab

  Laboratoire d'Informatique, de Robotique et de Microélectronique de Montpellier

  37 shared

• Yann Le Gorrec

  Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique

  37 shared

• V. J. Logeeswaran

  36 shared

• Nicolas Lafitte

  Fluigent (France)

  36 shared

• Avinash P. Nayak

  36 shared

Education

• PhD, Chemistry

  Northwestern University

  1998

• MS, Chemistry

  Yonsei University

  1992

• BS, Chemistry

  Yonsei University

  1990

Awards & honors

• Outstanding Engineering Alumni Award
• Early Career Alumni Recognition Award
• Alumni Achievement Award
• Alumni Fellow Award

Similar researchers at Pennsylvania State University

• Michael Janikh-64
• Ezra Clarkh-51
• Enrique Gomezh-50