Doctoral Researchers

A12: Daniel Otschkowski

E-Mail: otschkowski@ipfdd.de
Phone: +49 351 4658 1216
Office: Kaitzer Str. 4, 01069 Dresden, Room K214

During my Master’s studies in materials science, I became interested in how complex material behavior can often be understood through a small number of underlying principles. This perspective naturally led me to polymers, where collective effects dominate and macroscopic properties arise from the organization of many simple units. Computer simulations provide a way to isolate these mechanisms and explore them systematically, free from experimental constraints. In my PhD, I use and develop coarse-grained models to study the reversible self-assembly of polymer-decorated nanoparticles. Through this work, I aim to link molecular design choices to emergent structure and material functionality.

portrait photo Daniel Otschkowski
Project Topic: Modeling and optimizing the controlled assembly of responsive polymer-decorated nanoparticles (A12)

Supervisors:

Mentor: Arash Nikoubashman
Co-Mentor: Hendrik Schlicke

My PhD focuses on understanding and controlling the self-assembly of polymer-decorated nanoparticles using coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations. Polymer-grafted nanoparticles are versatile building blocks that combine the optical, magnetic, or electronic functionality of their inorganic cores with the elasticity and responsiveness of grafted polymers, allowing their structure and properties to be finely tuned through both core characteristics and polymer architecture [1–3]. Building on recent work demonstrating selective transport in polymer-grafted nanoparticle melts and complex micellar structures in dilute systems [4-6], I investigate nanoparticles coated with dual temperature-responsive diblock copolymers. This design enables temperature-controlled assembly and disassembly. The ultimate goal is to design dynamically reconfigurable nanostructured materials with tailored structural and transport properties, relevant for responsive membranes and functional composites.

(References)

  • [1] Liu, X.; Yang, Y.; Urban, M., Stimuli-Responsive Polymeric Nanoparticles. Macromol. Rapid Commun. 2017, 38 (13), 1700030.
  • [2] Lee, S.; Sim, K.; Moon, S.; Choi, J.; Jeon, Y.; Nam, J.; Park, S. Controlled Assembly of Plasmonic Nanoparticles: From Static to Dynamic Nanostructures. Adv. Mater. 33 (46), 2007668.
  • [3] Li, Z.; Fan, Q.; Yin, Y. Colloidal Self-Assembly Approaches to Smart Nanostructured Materials. Chem. Rev. 2022, 122 (5), 4976 – 5067
  • [4] Bilchak, C.; Jhalaria, M.; Huang, Y.; Abbas, Z.; Midya, J.; Benedetti, F.; Parisi, D.; Egger, W.; Dickmann, M.; Minelli, M.; Doghieri, F.; Nikoubashman, A.; Durning, C.; Vlassopoulos, D.; Jestin, J.; Smith, Z.; Benicewicz, B.; Rubinstein, M.; Leibler, L.; Kumar, S., Tuning Selectivities in Gas Separation Membranes Based on PolymerGrafted Nanoparticles. ACS Nano 2020, 14 (12), 17174 - 17183.
  • [5] Midya, J.; Rubinstein, M.; Kumar, S.; Nikoubashman, A., Structure of Polymer-Grafted Nanoparticle Melts. ACS Nano 2020, 14 (11), 15505 – 15516.
  • [6] Sebastian, M.; Fery, A.; Nikoubashman, A.; Rossner, C., Multicompartmentalized Micellar Structures by Gold Nanoparticles Grafted with Diblock‐Copolymer Ligands. ChemPhysChem 2024, e202400747.
Education
(2016- 2021)

Bachelor in Materials Science

Universität des Saarlandes (Germany)
(2021- 2024)

Master in Materials Science

Universität des Saarlandes (Germany)

  • Thesis: Molecular Dynamics Simulation of Polymer Chains on a Spinning Disk