CBE Seminar: Shudipto Konika Dishari

Beyond the Bulk: Interface-Aware Ionomer Design for Electrochemical Technologies

Abstract

Ionomers are central to electrochemical energy conversion and storage devices, separations, resource recovery, and beyond, enabling selective ion transport across membranes and at reactive electrode interfaces. However, the understanding and design of ionomers have historically prioritized their bulk properties, measured in the format of tens of microns thick, bulk, free-standing membranes. At electrodes, ionomers instead exist as sub-micron thick films, where geometric and interfacial confinement can dramatically reshape their morphology, hydration, molecular orientation, and ion-transport behavior. This talk will focus on our multi-pronged approach to attack confinement and interface-related challenges. We look into the nanoscale origins of suppressed proton conduction in thin films of conventional ionomers and identify the critical role of interfaces. We also deliberately control the interfacial chemical make up to tune ionomer organization and ion conduction under confinement and at interfaces. Finally, we translate these fundamental insights into new ionomer design principles that address challenges specifically associated with confinement—an aspect that has historically received little attention. Our work leverages nature-derived and bio-inspired design principles to engineer ionomers with enhanced connectivity of proton-conducting domains and improved interfacial compatibility. These tailored ionomers demonstrate substantially improved proton conductivity in thin films compared with state-of-the-art fluorocarbon- and hydrocarbon-based ionomers. We also pay a great deal of attention to sustainability of the materials. Together, our work highlights a paradigm shift from bulk-centric optimization to interface-aware ionomer design, offering new opportunities to unlock performance gains across a wide range of electrochemical technologies.

Biography

Shudipto Dishari is the Ross McCollum Associate Professor in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL). Dishari completed her post-doctoral training at Penn State, working at Materials Science and Engineering, and Chemical Engineering, and earned her PhD in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering from the National University of Singapore (NUS).

Dishari's research centers on the design of synthetic, bio-derived and nature-inspired polymers, with particular emphasis on interfacial and confined-state phenomena. These materials are central to advancing sustainable energy and biomedical systems. Dishari’s contributions in research, teaching, and innovation have been recognized with numerous awards, including the DOE Office of Science Early Career Award (2019), NSF CAREER Award (2018), ACS Polymeric Materials Science and Engineering (ACS PMSE) Young Investigator Award (2023), 3M Non-Tenured Faculty Award (2021), ACS-CES Award for incorporating Sustainability in Chemical Education (2026), ASEE Midwest Section Outstanding Teaching Award (2024), ASEE National Best Paper Award (2025), WEPAN Accelerator Award (2022), NUTech Emerging Innovator of the Year Award (2020), and Baxter Young Investigator Award (2014).

Beyond her research and teaching, Dishari has held many leadership roles within the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) Materials Engineering and Science Division (MESD)—including MESD 2nd Vice-Chair (leading to Chair) (2025-), Area 08A (Polymers) Chair-Elect and Vice Chair—, the ACS Division of Polymeric Materials: Science and Engineering (PMSE) Executive Committee Member (2025-), and an Executive Guest Editor of Polymer (Elsevier) (2026-).