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Sarah Tolbert, Ph.D.

   
Professor, Chemistry and Biochemistry, Physical Chemistry
Member, NanoElectronics, Photonics, Architectonics, NanoMechanical and Nanofluidic Systems, California NanoSystems Institute
Researcher, Inorganic, Nanoscience and Materials, Physical

Education:
Degrees:
Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley, 1995 -
B.S., Yale University, 1990

Certifications:
Professional Societies:
American Chemical Society, American Chemical Society
Materials Research Society, Materials Research Society

Contact Information:
Email Address: tolbert@chem.ucla.edu
Laboratory Address: Young Hall 4107
Work Address: Young Hall 3045A
Home Page: http://tolbert.chem.ucla.edu
ARR Papers: http://www.cnsi.ucla.edu/arr/personnel-papers?personnel_id=113234
Lab Number: 1 (310) 794-6618
Work Phone Number: 1 (310) 206-4767
Technical Research Interest:

Research in the Tolbert group is focused on using self-organization to create nanostructured composites with applications as optical, electronic, magnetic, and structural materials. Specific research areas include the following: (1) Assembly and self-organization of semiconducting polymers with other nanoscale inorganic species for applications in controlled polymer emission and photovoltaics. (2) Formation of periodic nanoporous semiconductors using Zintl clusters as soluble inorganic building blocks. (3) Control of magnetic coupling and thus magnetic properties in ordered nanocrystal arrays using host guest chemistry in periodic nanoporous inorganic materials. (4) Tuning mechanical properties (e.g. stiffness, toughness, or elasticity) in periodic nanostructured inorganic/ organic composites through control of nanometer scale architecture. (5) The design and testing of new ultra-hard materials. (6) Formation of micro- and nano-scale batteries using solution phase processing. (7) Optically active bio-composites based on well defined protein cages such as virus capsids or vaults. For the majority of these projects, the goal is to use control of nanometer scale architecture to produce new physical properties and new combinations of properties by the intimate mixing of disparate and complex components.

Patents and Patent Applications:
  • "Polarized-Light Emitting Films and Methods for Producing the Same." H. Miyata, S.H. Tolbert, W.C. Molenkamp. United States Patent Application No. 10/623561, Filed July 22, 2003.
  • Continuation in Part to "Polarized-Light Emitting Films and Methods for Producing the Same." H. Miyata, S.H. Tolbert, W.C. Molenkamp, B.J. Schwartz, and I. Martini. United States Patent Application 11/103600, Filed April 12, 2005.
  • "Solution Processable Inorganic Ordered Vertically Oriented Porous Films." E.K. Richman and S.H. Tolbert. United States Provisional Patent Application No. 60/688615, Filed June 8, 2005.



Additional Information:

Sarah Tolbert is an associate professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at UCLA. Research in her group focuses on self-organized nanoscale materials and includes both organic templated inorganic phases and colloidal materials. Current work in her group is aimed at understanding and controlling structure and periodicity in complex nanostructured composite materials, and in exploiting that periodicity for a range of structural, optical, and electronic materials applications. Projects in Prof. Tolbert's group range from examination of nanoscale phase transitions in surfactant templated inorganic solids to the designed assembly of electro-active composite materials. Professor Tolbert's honors include a National Science Foundation Early CAREER Development Award, the Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Award, a Beckman Young Investigator Award, and an Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Fellowship.

Selected Publications:

S.D. Korlann, A.E. Riley, B.S. Mun, and S.H. Tolbert, Chemical Tuning of the Electronic Properties of Nanostructured Semiconductor Films formed through Surfactant Templating of Zintl Cluster, J. Phys. Chem. C., 2009, doi 10.1021/jp806857v.
M.B. Weinberger, J.B. Levine, H.-Y. Chung, R.W. Cumberland, H.I. Rasool, J.-M. Yang, R.B. Kaner, and S.H. Tolbert, Incompressibility and Hardness of Solid Solution Transition Metal Diborides: Ru1-xOsxB2, Chem. Mater., 2009, doi 10.1021/cm900211v.
H.-Y. Chung, J.-M. Yang, S.H. Tolbert and R.B. Kaner, Anisotropic Mechanical Properties Of Ultra-Incompressible, Hard Osmium Diboride, J. Mater., 2008, 23, 1797-1801.
S. Virji, B.H. Weiller, J. Huang, H. Shepherd, T. Faltens, P.C. Haussmann, R. Blair, R.B. Kaner, and S.H. Tolbert, Construction of a Polyaniline Nanofiber Gas Sensor, J. Chem. Ed., 2008, 85, 1102-1104.
H.Y.Chung, M.B. Weinberger, J.M. Yang, S.H. Tolbert, and R. B. Kaner, Correlation Between Hardness And Elastic Moduli Of The Ultraincompressible Transition Metal Diborides RuB2, OsB2, and ReB2, Appl. Phys. Lett., 2008, 92, 261904.
X. Chen, E.K. Richman, B.L. Kirsch, R. Senter, S.H. Tolbert, and V. Gupta, Measurement of anisotropic fracture energies in periodic templated silica/polymer composite coatings, J. Appl. Phys., 2008, 104, 083515.
M.B. Weinberger, S.H. Tolbert, and A. Kavner, Osmium Metal Studied Under High Pressure and Nonhydrostatic Stress, Phys. Rev. Lett., 2008, 100, 045506.
M. Yu, B.C. Ng, L.H. Rome, S.H. Tolbert, H.G. Monbouquette, Reversible pH Lability of Crosslinked Vault Nanocapsules, Nano Lett., 2008, 8, 3510-3515.
A.L. Ayzner, D.D. Wanger, C.J. Tassone, S.H. Tolbert and B.J. Schwartz, Room to Improve Conjugated Polymer-Based Solar Cells: Understanding how Thermal Annealing Affects the Fullerene Component of a Bulk Heterojunction Photovoltaic Device, J. Phys. Chem. C., 2008, 112, 18711-18716.
R.D. Kennedy, A.L. Ayzner, D.D. Wanger, C.T Day, M. Halim, S.I. Khan, S.H. Tolbert, B.J. Schwartz, and Y. Rubin, Self-Assembling Fullerenes for Improved Bulk-Heterojunction Photovoltaic Devices, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2008, 130, 17290-17292.
E.K. Richman, T. Brezesinski, and S.H. Tolbert, Vertically Oriented Hexagonal Mesoporous Films Formed through Nanometer Scale Epitaxy, Nature Mater., 2008, 7, 712-717.
H.-Y. Chung, M.B. Weinberger, J.B. Levine, R. W. Cumberland, A. Kavner, J.-M. Yang, S.H. Tolbert and R.B. Kaner, Response to Comment on "Synthesis of Ultra-Incompressible Superhard Rhenium Diboride at Ambient Pressure", Science, 2007, 318, doi:10.1126/science.1147704.
A.E. Riley and S.H. Tolbert, Synthesis and Characterization of Tin Telluride Inorganic/Organic Composite materials with Nanoscale Periodicity through Solution Phase Self-Assembly: A New Class of Composite Materials Based on Zintl Cluster Self-Oligomerization, Res. Chem. Intermed., 2007, 33, 111-124.
H.-Y. Chung, M.B. Weinberger, J.B. Levine, R. W. Cumberland, A. Kavner, J.-M. Yang, S.H. Tolbert and R.B. Kaner, Synthesis of Ultra-Incompressible Superhard Rhenium Diboride at Ambient Pressure, Science, 2007, 316, 436-439.
L. Huang, E.K. Richman, B.L. Kirsch, and S.H. Tolbert, Controlling Thickness in Hexagonal Polymer Templated Mesoporous Silica Films, Microporous Mesoporous Mater., 2006, 96, 341-349.
D. Sun, A.E. Riley, A.J. Cadby, E.K. Richman, S.D. Korlann, and S.H. Tolbert, , Hexagonal Nanoporous Germanium through Surfactant-Driven Self-Assembly of Zintl Clusters, Nature, 2006, 441, 1126-1130.
A.P.-Z. Clark, A.J. Cadby, C.K.-F. Shen, Y. Rubin, and S.H. Tolbert, Synthesis and Self-Assembly of an Amphiphilic Poly(phenylene ethynylene) Ionomer, J. Phys. Chem. B., 2006, 110, 22088-22096.
A.E. Riley, S.D. Korlann, E.K. Richman, and S.H. Tolbert, Synthesis of Semiconducting Thin Films with Nanometer Scale Periodicity by Solution Phase Co-Assembly of Zintl Clusters with Surfactants, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. , 2006, 45, 235-241 .
S.D. Korlann, A.E. Riley, B.L. Kirsch, B.S. Mun, S.H. Tolbert, Chemical Tuning of the Electronic Properties in a Periodic Surfactant-Templated Nanostructured Semiconductor, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2005, 127, 12516-12527 .
A.J. Cadby and S.H. Tolbert, Controlling Optical Properties and Interchain Interactions in Semiconducting Polymers by Encapsulation in Periodic Nanoporous Silicas with Different Pore Sizes, J. Phys. Chem. B., 2005, 109, 17879-17886 .
O. Trofymluk, A.A. Levchenko, S.H. Tolbert, A. Navrotsky, Energetics of Mesoporous Silica: Investigation into Pore Size and Symmetry, Chem. Mater. , 2005, 17, 3772-3783 .
R.B. Kaner, J.J. Gilman, and S.H. Tolbert, Materials Science: Designing Superhard Materials, Science, 2005, 308, 1268-1269 .
B.L. Kirsch, X. Chen, E.K. Richman, V. Gupta, and S.H. Tolbert, Probing the Effects of Nanoscale Architecture on the Mechanical Properties of Hexagonal Silica/Polymer Composite Thin Films, Adv. Func. Mater. , 2005, 15, 1319-1327.
A. Rugge, J.-S. Park, R.G. Gordon, and S.H. Tolbert., Tantalum(V) Nitride Inverse Opals as Photonic Structures for Visible Wavelengths, J. Phys. Chem. B., 2005, 109, 3764-3771.
A. Cadby and S.H. Tolbert, Control Of Optical Polaron Production In Semiconducting Polymers Using Host-Guest Chemistry In Hexagonal Nanoporous Silica, Polym. Preprints, 2004, 45, 208-209 .
B.F. Kirsch, E.K. Richman, A.E. Riley, and S.H. Tolbert, In-Situ X-Ray Diffraction Study of The Crystallization Kinetics Of Mesoporous Titania Films, J. Phys. Chem. B., 2004, 108, 12698-12706.
D. Sun, C.W. Kwon, G. Baure, E.K. Richman, J. MacLean, B. Dunn, and S.H. Tolbert., The Relationship between Nanoscale Structure and Electrochemical Properties of Vanadium Oxide Nanorolls, Adv. Func. Mater., 2004, 14, 1197-1204.
A.F. Gross, M.R. Diehl, K.C. Beverly, E. Richman, and S.H. Tolbert, Controlling Magnetic Coupling between Cobalt Nanoparticles through Nanoscale Confinement in Hexagonal Mesoporous Silica, J. Phys. Chem. B, 2003, 10, 5475-5482.
A. Rugge, W.T. Ford, and S.H. Tolbert, From a Colloidal Crystal to an Interconnected Colloidal Array: a Mechanism for a Spontaneous Rearrangement, Langmuir, 2003, 19, 7852-7861.
A.F. Gross, S.Yang, A. Navrotsky, and S.H. Tolbert, In-Situ Calorimetric Study of the Hexagonal-to-Lamellar Phase Transformation in a Silica/Surfactant Composite, J. Phys. Chem. B, 2003, 107, 2709-2718.
A.E. Riley, G.W. Mitchell, P.A. Koutentis, M. Bendikov, P. Kaszynki, F. Wudl, and S.H. Tolbert, Liquid Crystalline Phase Behavior in a Zwitterionic Tetraazapentacene, Adv. Func. Mater. , 2003, 13, 531-540.
B.L. Kirsch and S.H. Tolbert, Stabilization of Isolated Hydrous Amorphous and Tetragonal Zirconia Nanoparticles Through the Formation of a Passivating Alumina Shell, Adv. Func. Mater., 2003, 13, 281-288.
A. Rugge, J.S. Becker, R.G. Gordon, and S.H. Tolbert, Tungsten Nitride Inverse Opals by Atomic Layer Deposition, Nano Lett., 2003, 3, 1293-1297.
A.F. Gross, V.H. Le, B.L. Kirsch, and S.H. Tolbert, Chemical Control of Phase Transformation Kinetics in Periodic Silica/Surfactant Composites, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2002, 124, 3713-3724.
J. Wu, L. Zhao, E.L. Chronister, and S.H. Tolbert, Elasticity through Nanoscale Distortions in Periodic Surfactant Templated Porous Silica under High Pressure, J. Phys. Chem. B., 2002, 106, 5613-5621.
A. Rugge and S.H. Tolbert, The Effect Of Electrostatic Interactions On Crystallization In Binary Colloidal Films, Langmuir, 2002, 18, 7057-7065.
A.M. Lapena, J.J. Wu, A.F. Gross, and S.H. Tolbert, Using High Pressure Phase Stability to Determine the Internal Pressure of Silica/Surfactant Composites, J. Phys. Chem. B, 2002, 106, 11720-11724.
T.-Q. Nguyen, J. Wu, S. H. Tolbert, B. J. Schwartz, Control of Energy Transport in Conjugated Polymers using an Ordered Mesoporous Silica Matrix, Adv. Mater., 2001, 13, 609-611, 542.
A.F. Gross, V.H. Le, B.L. Kirsch, A.E. Riley, and S.H. Tolbert, Correlations Between Silica Chemistry and Structural Changes in Hydrothermally Treated Hexagonal Silica/Surfactant Composites Examined by In-Situ X-ray Diffraction, Chem. Mater., 2001, 13, 3571-3579.
S.H. Tolbert, J. Wu, A.F. Gross, T.-Q. Nguyen, and B.J. Schwartz, Directional Energy Migration in an Oriented Nanometer-Scale Host/Guest Composite: Semiconducting Polymers Threaded into Mesoporous Silica, Microporous Mesoporous Mater., 2001, 44-45, 445-451.
J. Wu, M. Abu-Omar, S.H. Tolbert, Fluorescent Probes of the Molecular Environment within Mesostructured Silica/Surfactant Composites under High Pressure, Nano Lett., 2001, 1, 27-31.
B.J. Schwartz, T.-Q. Nguyen, J. Wu, and S.H. Tolbert, Interchain and Intrachain Exciton Transport in Conjugated Polymers: Ultrafast Studies of Energy Migration in Aligned MEH-PPV/Mesoporous Silica Composites, Synthetic Metals, 2001, 116, 35-40.
C.C. Landry, S.H. Tolbert, K.W. Gallis, A. Monnier, G.D. Stucky, P. Norby, and J.C. Hanson, Phase Transitions in Mesostructured Silica/Surfactant Composites. Mechanisms for Change and Applications to Materials Synthesis, Chem. Mater., 2001, 13, 1600-1608.
A.F. Gross, E.J. Ruiz, V. Le, and S.H. Tolbert, The Role of Silica Chemistry in Controlling Phase Transitions in Silica/Surfactant Composite Materials, Microporous Mesoporous Mater., 2001, 44-45, 785-791.
A.F. Gross, V.H. Le, B.L. Kirsch, S.H. Tolbert, Understanding Phase Stability in Silica/Surfactant Composites through the Study of a Curvature Driven Rectangular Intermediate, Langmuir, 2001, 17, 3496-3504.
T.-Q. Nguyen, J. Wu, V. Doan, B.J. Schwartz, and S.H. Tolbert, Control of Energy Transfer in Oriented Conjugated Polymer-Mesoporous Silica Composites, Science, 2000, 288, 652-656.
A.F. Gross, E.J. Ruiz, and S.H. Tolbert, Effect of Framework Polymerization on the Phase Stability of Periodic Silica/Surfactant Nanostructured Composites, J. Phys. Chem. B., 2000, 104, 5448-5461.
J. Wu, X. Liu, and S.H. Tolbert, High Pressure Stability in Ordered Mesoporous Silicas – Rigidity and Elasticity through Nanometer Scale Arches, J. Phys. Chem. B., 2000, 104, 11837-11841.



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