About our research

Our research group specializes in functional polymers, self-assembling soft materials, and surface science, with a particular focus on block copolymer thin films. Among our key achievements is the development of photothermal methods using laser radiation to control supramolecular self-assembly;  for example to produce perfectly ordered block copolymer thin films. We have also shown how block copolymers can be used in synthesizing semiconducting nanowires, which are applied in miniaturized atmospheric pollutants-sensing devices through a straightforward one-pot synthetic process.

More recently, our work in collaboration with a group of Prof. Graczykowski from Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan has led to the development of a synthetic pathway for depositing ultra-thin polymeric membranes that are sensitive to light and humidity. These membranes, created through a unique plasma-assisted polymerization technique, exhibit exceptional durability and can function as microscopic actuators controlled by light or as highly sensitive sensors responsive to environmental changes such as humidity and temperature.

List of published articles

(10) Łempicka-Mirek, K.; Król, M.; Mazur, R.; Piecek, W.; Szczytko, J.; Majewski, P. W.; Piętka, B. Free-Standing Ultrathin Films of 2D Perovskite for Light-Emitting Devices Operating at Strong Coupling Regime. Advanced Optical Materials 2024, https://doi.org/10.1002/adom.202401666.

(9) Krysztofik, A.; Warżajtis, M.; Pochylski, M.; Boecker, M.; Yu, J.; Marchesi D’Alvise, T.; Puła, P.; Majewski, P. W.; Synatschke, C. V.; Weil, T.; Graczykowski, B. Multi-Responsive Poly-Catecholamine Nanomembranes.Nanoscale 2024, https://doi.org/10.1039/D4NR01050G.

(8) Pula, P.; Leniart, A. A.; Krol, J.; Gorzkowski, M.; Suster M.; Wrobel, P,; Lewera, A.; Majewski, P. W., Block Copolymer-Templated, Single-Step Synthesis of Transition Metal Oxide Nanostructures for Sensing Applications. ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 2023, https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.3c10439.

(7) Yager, K. G.; Majewski, P. W.; Noack, M. M.; Fukuto, M. Autonomous X-Ray Scattering. Nanotechnology 2023, https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1361-6528/acd25a

(6) Pula, P.; Leniart, A. A.; Majewski, P. W. Solvent-assisted self-assembly of block copolymer thin films. Soft Matter 2022, https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2022/sm/d2sm00439a.

(5) Leniart, A. A.; Pula, P.; Style R. W.; Majewski, P. W. Pathway-Dependent Grain Coarsening of Block Copolymer Patterns under Controlled Solvent Evaporation. ACS Macro Letters 2022, https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acsmacrolett.1c00677.

(4) Leniart, A. A.; Pula, P.; Tsai, E. H. R.; Majewski, P. W. Large-Grained Cylindrical Block Copolymer Morphologies by One-Step Room-Temperature Casting. Macromolecules 2020, https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.macromol.0c02026.

(3) Leniart, A. A.; Pula, P.; Sitkiewicz, A.; Majewski, P. W. Macroscopic Alignment of Block Copolymers on Silicon Substrates by Laser Annealing. ACS Nano 2020, https://doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.0c00696.

(2) Basutkar, M. N.; Majewski, P. W.; Doerk, G. S.; Toth, K.; Osuji, C. O.; Karim, A.; Yager, K. G. Aligned Morphologies in Near-Edge Regions of Block Copolymer Thin Films. Macromolecules 2019, 52 (19), 7224–7233. https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.macromol.9b01703

(1) Choo, Y.; Majewski, P. W.; Fukuto, M.; Osuji, C. O.; Yager, K. G. Pathway-Engineering for Highly-Aligned Block Copolymer Arrays. Nanoscale 2018, 10 (1), 416–427. https://doi.org/10.1039/c7nr06069f

The “Innovative Nanostructured Functional Materials by Combinatorial Methods of Directed Self-Assembly of Block Copolymers” project is carried out within the First Team programme of the Foundation for Polish Science co-financed by the European Union under the European Regional Development Fund.