• Postdoctoral Research Associate, University of Minnesota, 2004-2006
• PhD, Polymer Science and Engineering, University of Massachusetts – Amherst, 2004
• BS, Chemistry, METU, Turkey, 1998

• UB Young Investigator Award, 2012
  
• Fellow of Polymer Chemistry Division, ACS, 2012
  
• Herman F. Mark Young Scholar Award, ACS Division of Polymer Chemistry, 2011
  
• National Science Foundation CAREER Award, 2009
  
• Valedictorian, METU, Turkey, 1998

• Novel synthetic approaches in polymer chemistry
  
• Molecular bottlebrushes
  
• Polymer self-assembly
  
• Nanoporous materials
  
• Organic/inorganic hybrid materials

Our research program embraces all the steps of a successful materials design, from building tailored polymer structures and architectures to analyzing their supramolecular organization and self-assembly to testing their final macroscale properties. The main thrust is centered around shape-persistent macromolecules, such as bottlebrush copolymers, as building blocks for nanoscale assemblies and functional materials. Our research focuses on synthesizing complex macromolecular architectures and developing understanding how these molecules come together to form a solid state material or discrete assemblies in solution. We are interested in developing nanoporous materials for membrane applications and water purification, organic/inorganic hybrid materials for separations and catalysis, ultrahigh pitch periodic nanostructures for photonic applications, ultralow pitch periodic nanostructures for nanopatterning, and polymeric nanoparticles for drug delivery. Multidisciplinary nature of the program allows students to acquire diverse synthetic and analytical skills and develop broad scientific vision.

• Altay, E.; Nykypanchuk, D.; Rzayev, J. “Mesoporous Polymer Frameworks from End-Reactive Bottlebrush Copolymers”, ACS Nano 2017, in press. DOI:10.1021/acsnano.7b03214
• Unsal, H.; Onbulak, S.; Calik, F.; Er-Rafik, M.; Schmutz, M.; Sanyal, A.; Rzayev, J. “Interplay between Molecular Packing, Core Cross-linking, and Drug Loading in Bottlebrush Copolymer Micelles”, Macromolecules 2017, 50, 1342. DOI:10.1021/acs.macromol.6b02182
• Mapas, J. K. D.; Thomay, T.; Cartwright, A. N.; Ilavsky, J.; Rzayev, J. “Ultrahigh Molecular Weight Linear Block Copolymers: Rapid Access by Reversible-Deactivation Radical Polymerization and Self-Assembly into Large Domain Nanostructures”, Macromolecules 2016, 49, 3733. DOI:10.1021/acs.macromol.6b00863
• Onbulak, S.; Rzayev, J. “Cylindrical Nanocapsules from Photo-Cross-Linkable Core-Shell Bottlebrush Copolymers”, Polym. Chem. 2015, 6, 764. DOI:10.1039/c4py01215a
• Fenyves, R.; Schmutz, M.; Horner, I. J.; Bright, F. V.; Rzayev, J. “Aqueous Self-Assembly of Giant Bottlebrush Block Copolymer Surfactants as Shape-Tunable Building Blocks”, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2014, 136, 7762-7770. DOI:10.1021/ja503283r
• Rzayev, J. “Molecular Bottlebrushes: New Opportunities in Nanomaterials Fabrication”, ACS Macro Lett. 2012, 1, 1146 (Viewpoint article). DOI:10.1021/mz300402x
• Huang, K.; Rzayev, J. “Charge and Size Selective Molecular Transport by Amphiphilic Organic Nanotubes”, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2011, 133, 16726. DOI: 10.1021/ja204296v
• Bolton, J.; Bailey, T. S.; Rzayev, J. “Large Pore Size Nanoporous Materials From the Self-Assembly of Asymmetric Bottlebrush Block Copolymers”, Nano Letters 2011, 11, 998. DOI: 10.1021/nl103747m. Highlighted in MRS Bulletin 2011, 36(4), 242. DOI:10.1557/mrs.2011.76
• Huang, K.; Rzayev, J. “Well-Defined Organic Nanotubes from Multicomponent Bottlebrush Copolymers”, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2009, 131, 6880. DOI: 10.1021/ja901936g. Highlighted in Synfacts 2009, 8, 0854. DOI: 10.1055/s-0029-1217472
• Rzayev, J. “Synthesis of Polystyrene-Polylactide Bottlebrush Block Copolymers and Their Melt Self-Assembly into Large Domain Nanostructures”, Macromolecules 2009, 42, 2135. DOI: 10.1021/ma802304y