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EXPERIMENTAL LOW-DIMENSIONAL CONDENSED MATTER CHEMISTRY LABORATORY AT UC IRVINE
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The Maxx X Lab

at the University of California, Irvine Department of Chemistry

is an interdisciplinary experimental chemistry laboratory working at the interfaces of solid state chemistry, materials chemistry and physics, and nanoscience.

Research themes in the Maxx X Lab

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Dimensionality

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Confinement

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Assembly

NEWS

Recent News

  • ​Maxx is named as one of the finalists for the 2024 Dream Chemistry Award organized by the Polish and Czech Academy of Sciences! The grand prize winner will be announced in December.

  • We found a structural motif that promotes 1D growth and suppresses vdW growth in 1D vdW crystals! Check out Diana's paper on the growth of optically active ultra-long nanowires of dimerized NbS3 now out in J. Am. Chem. Soc.!  https://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/jacs.4c05730

  • The inorganic helices are getting more structurally unusual and complex...Check out Kaitlyn's and Dmitri's paper on the unique "squircular" cross-sectional motif in 1D van der Waals helical crystals of GaSI now out in J. Am. Chem. Soc.!  

https://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/jacs.4c06487

  • The long wait is over...Check out Dmitri's and Kenneth's paper on the unusual helical structure of a 1D van der Waals inorganic material, GaSeI, now appearing in Nature Materials! 

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41563-024-01963-4

  • Check out new publications and a pre-print from the group: (1) Kaleo's paper on the surface functionalization of quasi-1D Chevrel-type nanocrystals is now out in Chemistry of Materials [Chem. Mater. 2024, 36, 9, 4714–4725]; (2) Ze-Fan's work between the Ardoña and Arguilla Groups is now In Press in Science Advances; and (3) Kaitlyn's paper on the discovery of a rare squircular motif in GaSI helices is now accessible through ChemRxiv [DOI: 10.26434/chemrxiv-2024-f4s7c]

  • Check out a new pre-print now available in ChemRxiv: Diana's paper on the growth of ultra-long 1D van der Waals NbS3 nanowires that approach ~1 cm [DOI: 10.26434/chemrxiv-2024-smqf9] 

  • Congratulations to Maxx X Lab graduate student, Kaitlyn Dold! Kaitlyn recently received the NSF GRFP fellowship under the Materials Research - Chemistry of Materials division

  • Maxx talked about the research at the Maxx X Lab and discussed several emergent directions in nanoscale materials research at the "Future of Nanotechnology" keynote panel during the 20th Anniversary Symposium of the National Nanotechnology Initiative held at the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine in Washington, D.C.(More information can be found here: link)

  • Check out several pre-prints that are now available in ChemRxiv: (1) Dmitri's paper on the unusual aperiodic nature of inorganic III-VI-VII helices [DOI: 10.26434/chemrxiv-2024-n122g]; (2) Kaleo's paper on the surface organic functionalization of a quasi-1D Chevrel-like metallic telluride [DOI: 10.26434/chemrxiv-2024-lvzj4]; and (3) Griffin's paper on the crystallization dynamics and optoelectronic properties of nanotube-encapsulated few-to-single chains of Sb2S3 [DOI: 10.26434/chemrxiv-2024-67sfl]

  • Steve is named one of the Eddleman Quantum Institute Graduate Fellows for 2024

  • NEW Paper Alert: Steve's paper on the directed bottom-up synthesis of dimensionally resolved nanocrystals of a quasi-1D van der Waals topological insulator,Bi4I4, has just been accepted in Chemical Science!

  • NEW Paper Alert: Dmitri's paper on the highly sensitive thermochromic behavior of InSeI, a helical 1D van der Waals crystal, is now out in Advanced Materials! Here's the link to the open-access article: link

  • NEW Paper Alert: Griffin's paper on the synthesis of optically-active quasi-1D van der Waals single chains within single-walled carbon nanotubes is now out in Chemistry of Materials! Here's the link to the open-access article: link

  • Maxx receives the NSF CAREER Award entitled "CAREER: Anisotropy-Directed Synthesis of Optically Active 1D van der Waals Nanocrystals and Development of Multiscale Solid State Chemistry Educational Activities". More information about the award can be found through this link.

  • Congratulations to Steve Allison for winning the best poster award at the recently held CA-USG Workshop on 2D Materials!

  • NEW Paper Alert: Dmitri's paper on anisotropy-driven growth of optically-active quasi-1D vdW solids is now out in JACS! The article will also be featured in the front cover in an upcoming issue! Here's the link to the open-access article: https://doi.org/10.1021/jacs.3c05887

  • Maxx is named as one of C&EN's Talented 12 Class of 2023! 

Link to C&EN feature article: https://cen.acs.org/materials/inorganic-chemistry/Maxx-Arguilla/101/i16

  • Congratulations to Maxx X Lab graduate students: Griffin Milligan for receiving the NSF GRFP fellowship and Diana Lopez for receiving the NSF GRFP fellowship and an honorable mention from the Ford Fellowship Predoctoral Program UCI's NSF GRFP feature article - https://www.ess.uci.edu/news/1175

  • Congratulations to Zefan for receiving UCI's Tom Angell Fellowship!

  • We officially welcome our new graduate students: Kaitlyn Dold (UG: UM College Park) and Jan Ragadi (UG: CSU Fullerton)!

  • We hate to see them leave, but we are very excited for Kenneth (will be attending UNC-Chapel Hill Chemistry) and Maham (will be attending Harvard Applied Physics) for their graduate studies!

  • Congratulations to Leo for winning the 2022 EQI SURP and UROP fellowships!

  • Steve received the Eddleman Quantum Institute Graduate Fellowship, congratulations!

  • Congratulations to Kaleo for receiving the DoD NDSEG Fellowship and to Steve for receiving an honorable mention for the NSF GRFP Fellowship!

  • We officially welcome our new graduate students, Diana Lopez and Griffin Milligan!

  • Maxx was awarded the inaugural UCI Inclusive Excellence Teaching Award!​

JOIN US

Join Us!

We are in constant search of highly-motivated undergraduate students, graduate students, and postdoctoral scholars:

 

  • For current UCI undergraduate students interested in inorganic materials synthesis and characterization—Send Maxx a brief statement of research interests and a one-page resumé

  • For current UCI graduate students—Contact Maxx to set-up a Zoom meeting and to discuss about potential research projects in the Maxx X Lab

  • For prospective graduate students—Don’t hesitate to reach out to Maxx and apply to the UCI Department of Chemistry 

  • For postdoctoral candidates with interests in solid state synthesis and the physics and chemistry of low-dimensional materials—Send Maxx a formal application which includes the following: (1) Cover Letter, (2) CV and publication list, and (3) Research Summary and potential research interests in the Maxx X Lab

 

Researchers interested in joining the Maxx X Lab should directly email Maxx at marguill@uci.edu

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