Faculty Profiles

Michael Rubinstein
Michael Rubinstein
Professor of Chemistry
Office: 
Hudson Hall, Rm. 144, Box 90300, Durham, NC 27708
Phone: 
(919) 660-5365
michael.rubinstein@duke.edu
Rubinstein Lab
Research Interests: 

The research of the Rubinstein group is in the field of polymer theory and computer simulations. The unique properties of polymeric systems are due to the size, topology and interactions of the molecules they are made of. Our goal is to understand the properties of various polymeric systems and to design new systems with even more interesting and useful properties.

Our approach is based upon building and solving simple molecular models of different polymeric systems. The models we develop are simple enough to be solved either analytically or numerically, but contain the main features leading to unique properties of real polymers. Computer simulations of our models serve as an important bridge between analytical calculations and experiments.

Overview

Education:

Ph.D., Harvard University 1983

Zhulina, Ekaterina B., and Michael Rubinstein. “Lubrication by Polyelectrolyte Brushes.” Macromolecules, vol. 47, no. 16, American Chemical Society (ACS), Aug. 2014, pp. 5825–38. Crossref, doi:10.1021/ma500772a. Full Text

Hegde, Maruti, et al. “SWCNT induced crystallization in amorphous and semi-crystalline poly(etherimide)s: Morphology and thermo-mechanical properties.” Polymer, vol. 55, no. 16, Elsevier BV, Aug. 2014, pp. 3746–57. Crossref, doi:10.1016/j.polymer.2014.06.017. Full Text

Hemp, Sean T., et al. “RAFT polymerization of temperature- and salt-responsive block copolymers as reversible hydrogels.” Polymer, vol. 55, no. 10, Elsevier BV, May 2014, pp. 2325–31. Crossref, doi:10.1016/j.polymer.2014.03.062. Full Text

Liu, Kun, et al. “Copolymerization of Metal Nanoparticles: A Route to Colloidal Plasmonic Copolymers.” Angewandte Chemie International Edition, vol. 53, no. 10, Wiley, Mar. 2014, pp. 2648–53. Crossref, doi:10.1002/anie.201309718. Full Text

Klinkova, A., et al. “Colloidal analogs of molecular chain stoppers.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 110, no. 47, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Nov. 2013, pp. 18775–79. Crossref, doi:10.1073/pnas.1315381110. Full Text

Pasquino, Rossana, et al. “Viscosity of Ring Polymer Melts.” Acs Macro Letters, vol. 2, no. 10, American Chemical Society (ACS), Oct. 2013, pp. 874–78. Crossref, doi:10.1021/mz400344e. Full Text

Abbaspourrad, Alireza, et al. “Microfluidic Fabrication of Stable Gas-Filled Microcapsules for Acoustic Contrast Enhancement.” Langmuir, vol. 29, no. 40, American Chemical Society (ACS), Oct. 2013, pp. 12352–57. Crossref, doi:10.1021/la402598p. Full Text

Stukalin, Evgeny B., et al. “Self-Healing of Unentangled Polymer Networks with Reversible Bonds.” Macromolecules, vol. 46, no. 18, American Chemical Society (ACS), Sept. 2013, pp. 7525–41. Crossref, doi:10.1021/ma401111n. Full Text

Sheiko, Sergei S., et al. “Perfect mixing of immiscible macromolecules at fluid interfaces.” Nature Materials, vol. 12, no. 8, Springer Science and Business Media LLC, Aug. 2013, pp. 735–40. Crossref, doi:10.1038/nmat3651. Full Text

Choueiri, Rachelle M., et al. “Structural Transitions in Nanoparticle Assemblies Governed by Competing Nanoscale Forces.” Journal of the American Chemical Society, vol. 135, no. 28, American Chemical Society (ACS), July 2013, pp. 10262–65. Crossref, doi:10.1021/ja404341r. Full Text

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