Professor Jacob W. Ciszek

Professor of Chemistry

Loyola University Chicago
Flanner Hall 122
1032 West Sheridan Road
Chicago, IL, 60660

Email: jciszek@luc.edu

Academic Training

• B.S., Chemical Engineering,University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (1999)


• PhD., Chemistry, Rice University (2005)


• Postdoctoral Associate, Northwestern University (2005-2008)


• American Cancer Society Postdoctoral Fellow, Northwestern (2006-2008)

Research Interests

The Ciszek group desires to understand the fundamental chemical reactivity at the surface of optoelectronically relevant substrates. Modern electronics, especially in lighting applications, have transitioned from inorganic materials to organic. Yet despite the fact that the metal-on-organic contact is crucial to device performance, no chemistry has been developed to optimize the interface. Our group develops reactions to form “monolayers” to alleviate flaws such as poor adhesion and injection barriers that exist in top-contact organic semiconductor devices.

Specifically our group studies the reactions at the surface of organic molecular crystals with vapor dosed adsorbates. From a fundamental standpoint, these reactions are fascinating as geometric considerations (based off molecular orientation in the crystal) appear to be the primary determinant of reactivity and isomer selectivity. Electronic effects appear muted at best. We have been developing composite mechanisms which examine how factors such as the intercalation pathways for adsorbates, the highly anisotropic nature of reaction loci, the relatively weak intermolecular forces within the molecular crystal, and the material’s low surface energies impact reactivity. Fundamental studies are then applied to generate altered surfaces which are then tested for improved interactions with metal top contacts. Improvements are scaled and engineered into OFETs and OLEDs with the explicit goal of transitioning the technology to industry.

At its heart, the group is a blend of surface science, organic chemistry, materials science, and device engineering. Our primary focus is on the surface science, where most of the ground breaking science occurs. Through a combination of MALDI, XPS, PMIRRAS, UV-vis, AFM, x-ray crystallography, and SEM we tease out the chemical changes within a surface for improved device behavior.

Selected Publications

[41] DePope, K. C; He, S.; Liu, Yicheng; Pakhomenko, E.; Holmes, R. J.; Ciszek, J. W. Chemical Reactions as a Means of Installing Adlayers on Electron Transport Layers submitted Appl. Surf. Sci. 2024 , xx, xxxx. preprint

[40] Williams, M. C.; MacQueen, J. A.; Adrahtas, D. Z.; Ciszek, J. W. Readily Modified Surface Potential of Pentacene by Functionalization with Dipole Monolayers submitted Adv. Electron. Mater. 2024 , xx, xxxx. journal link

[39] Carr, M. R; Kochert, M.; Waduge, W. L. I.; Deye, G. D.; Olsen, K. W.; Ciszek, J. W. Highly Varied Reaction Cavities Within a Single Molecular Crystal CrystEngComm 2023 , 25, 5714. journal link

[38] Li, F.; Hopwood, J. P.; Hu, X.; Ambagaspitiya, T. D.; Cimatu, K. L. A.; Ciszek, J. W. Monolayer-Induced Changes in Metal Penetration and Wetting for Metal-on-Organic Interfaces Chem. Mat. 2021 , 33, 9515. journal link

[37] Calimano, J.; Li, F.; Florián, J.; Piñero-Cruz, D. M.; Fielitz, T. R; Holmes, R. J.; Ciszek, J. W. Solid State Properties and Spectroscopic Analysis of Thin-Film TPBi J. Phys. Chem. C 2020, 124, 23716. journal link

Awards and Honors

• Sujack Award for Excellence in Faculty Research (2015)

• NSF CAREER award (2011)

• Fellow - Office of Naval Research Summer Faculty Research Program (2011)

• American Cancer Society Postdoctoral Fellowship (2006-2008)

• Harry B. Weiser Teaching Award, Rice University (2001)

Recent Invited Talks

• Illinois State University, Normal IL (Sept 2024)

• University of Puerto Rico, San Juan PR (Sept 2021)

Extended Biography

• Born and raised near Chicago, Prof. Ciszek spent a large portion of his youth dreaming up mechanical inventions. In 1994, he was inspired by Foresight Institute's Newsletters to study nanotechnology under the umbrella of Chemical Engineering, and began his undergraduate studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign in 1995. After receiving his BS degree in 1999, he sought a more atomistic/molecular understanding of nanoscale phenomenon and spent a year as a post baccalaureate student in the group of Jeffery S. Moore where he discovered a love for research (thanks Neal!). "The sun is brighter in Texas" as they say, and in 2000 he began his PhD at Rice University in Houston Texas under the tutelage of Prof. James M. Tour. After a productive 5 years with some of the best colleagues imaginable, Prof. Ciszek returned to the Chicagoland area to postdoc with Prof. Chad A. Mirkin at Northwestern University.

In 2008 Prof. Ciszek joined the faculty of Loyola University Chicago as a assistant professor of chemistry. Now a professor, Prof. Ciszek continues his work on interfacial phenomenon in electronic materials with a push towards industrially relevant science. In addition to his research, Prof. Ciszek is particularly involved in outreach and is the director of the department's shared instrument facility. He has recently launched a spinoff company related to the research at Loyola.