Nicholas A. Kotov

Nicholas A. Kotov
2021
Born (1965-08-29) August 29, 1965
Moscow, USSR
Alma materMoscow State University
Known forself-assembling materials, layer-by-layer assembly, nanotechnology
Scientific career
FieldsChemistry, Chemical Engineering, Materials Science, Nanotechnology, Biomedical Engineering
InstitutionsUniversity of Michigan
Thesis Photoelectrochemical Effects at the Interface of the Two Immiscible Electrolyte Solutions
Doctoral advisorMikhail Kuzmin
Other academic advisorsJanos H. Fendler

Nicholas A. Kotov (born August 29, 1965, in Moscow, USSR) is the Irving Langmuir Distinguished University Professor of Chemical Sciences and Engineering at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States.[1] He is the Director of the National Science Foundation Science and Technology Center for Complex Particle Systems (COMPASS).[2]

Kotov is known for pioneering studies on nanoparticle self-organization, biomimetic materials, and chiral nanostructures. Kotov demonstrated that structurally imperfect inorganic nanoparticles can self-assemble into complex hierarchical structures resembling biological assemblies and materials.[3][4][5] He established self-organization as an intrinsic characteristic of nanoscale systems, which contributed to the development of biomimetic composites combining mechanical, optical, and functional properties that are rarely achieved simultaneously in conventional materials.[6] These composite biomimetic materials are exemplified by nacre-like composites from clay and graphene oxide,[7][8] and cartilage-like membranes from cellulose nanofibrils and aramid nanofibers.[9][10] Kotov is also known for pioneering chiral nanostructures exhibiting exceptionally strong optical activity.[11][12]

Materials he developed have enabled sustainable energy devices, green catalysis, and aramid recycling. The chiral plasmonic nanoparticles are being tested for early detection of cancer.[13][14]

Work

Kotov's research is focused on the development of biomimetic nanocomposites, the self-assembly of nanoparticles,[15] and chiral nanostructures.[16] Utilizing layer-by-layer assembly (LbL),[17] Kotov prepared a wide spectrum of nacre-like nanocomposites including those from clay[18] and graphite oxide.[19] He showed that clay-based biomimetic composites can attain mechanical properties comparable to some grades of steel while retaining transparency.[20] This discovery spurred the development of new methods for the mass-production of nacre-like materials from a large variety of inorganic nanosheets.[21] While being inspired by natural materials, these composites far exceeded the properties of their natural prototypes and add other optical, electrical, thermal, and membrane properties.

Kotov extended the concept of biomimetic nanostructures to inorganic nanoparticles. He established that, similarly to many proteins and other biomolecules, nanoparticles can self-organize into chains,[15] sheets,[22] nanowires, twisted ribbons[23] and nanohelices,[24][25] and spherical supraparticles replicating viral capsids.[26]

Kotov's work established that the biomimetic self-assembly behavior of nanoparticles originates from interparticle interactions at the nanoscale,[27] in which chirality also plays a prominent role.[28] His studies on the self-assembly of chiral nanostructures have led to the development of nanoparticle assemblies with complexity exceeding those found in biological organisms.[29]

Education and research career

Education and early career

Kotov received his MS (1987) and PhD (1990) degrees in chemistry from Moscow State University, where his research concerned liquid-liquid interfaces imitating cell membranes for solar energy conversion. After graduation, he took up a postdoctoral position in the research group of Prof. Janos Fendler in the Department of Chemistry at Syracuse University in New York state working on nanoparticle synthesis and assembly at interfaces.

Independent research career

Kotov took up a position as assistant professor of chemistry at the Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, Oklahoma in 1996, gaining promotion to associate professor in 2001. In 2003 he moved to the University of Michigan where he is now the Irving Langmuir Distinguished Professor of Chemical Sciences and Engineering.

Awards

Personal life

Kotov married chemist Elvira Stesikova, PhD, in 1991. They have two daughters, Sophia and Nicole.

References

  1. ^ "Nicholas A. Kotov Joseph B. and Florence V. Cejka Professor of Chemical Engineering". Michigan Engineering. Retrieved 26 February 2026.
  2. ^ "Center for Complex Particle Systems (COMPASS)". University of Michigan. Retrieved 26 February 2026.
  3. ^ "ACS Award in Colloid Chemistry: Nicholas A. Kotov". Chemical & Engineering News. Retrieved 26 February 2026.
  4. ^ "Dr. Nicholas A. Kotov". AIChE.org. 12 October 2020. Retrieved 26 February 2026.
  5. ^ Jiang, Wenfeng (2020). "Emergence of complexity in hierarchically organized chiral particles". Science. 368 (6491): 642–648. doi:10.1126/science.aaz7949. hdl:10447/626100. PMID 32273399.
  6. ^ "RSC Award Lecture at Hull University". RSC.org. 20 May 2016. Retrieved 26 February 2026.
  7. ^ "U-M research: Making Plastic as Strong as Steel". Scientific American. Retrieved 26 February 2026.
  8. ^ Kotov, Nicholas A. (1996). "Ultrathin graphite oxide-polyelectrolyte composites prepared by self-assembly: Transition between conductive and non-conductive states". Advanced Materials. 8 (8): 637–641. doi:10.1002/adma.19960080806.
  9. ^ "Membrane inspired by bone and cartilage efficiently produces electricity from saltwater". ScienceDaily. Retrieved 26 February 2026.
  10. ^ "Inspired by the Tissues of Living Organisms, Researchers Take One Step Closer to Harvesting "Blue Energy"". Yale Environment 360. Retrieved 26 February 2026.
  11. ^ Chen, Wei (2009). "Nanoparticle Superstructures Made by Polymerase Chain Reaction: Collective Interactions of Nanoparticles and a New Principle for Chiral Materials". Nano Letters. 9 (5): 2153–2159. doi:10.1021/nl900726s. PMID 19320495.
  12. ^ "UMich researcher receives $10 million grant for nanoparticle design research". The Michigan Daily. Retrieved 26 February 2026.
  13. ^ "Faster, more sensitive lung cancer detection from a blood draw". University of Michigan News. Retrieved 26 February 2026.
  14. ^ "Michigan Chemical Engineering Faculty Leads International Collaboration on Chiral Nanoparticles Project". University of Michigan Chemical Engineering. Retrieved 26 February 2026.
  15. ^ a b Zhiyong Tang; Nicholas A. Kotov; Michael Giersig (2002). "Spontaneous Organization of Single CdTe Nanoparticles into Luminescent Nanowires". Science. 297 (5579): 237–40. Bibcode:2002Sci...297..237T. doi:10.1126/science.1072086. PMID 12114622. S2CID 45388619.
  16. ^ Wei Chen; Ai Bian; Ashish Agarwal; Liqiang Liu; Hebai Shen; Libing Wang; Chuanlai Xu; Nicholas A. Kotov (2009). "Nanoparticle Superstructures Made by Polymerase Chain Reaction: Collective Interactions of Nanoparticles and a New Principle for Chiral Materials". Nano Letters. 9 (5): 2153–2159. Bibcode:2009NanoL...9.2153C. doi:10.1021/nl900726s. PMID 19320495. S2CID 35163925.
  17. ^ G. Decher; J. D. Hong; J. Schmitt (1992). "Buildup of ultrathin multilayer films by a self-assembly process: III. Consecutively alternating adsorption of anionic and cationic polyelectrolytes on charged surfaces". Thin Solid Films. 210/211: 831. Bibcode:1992TSF...210..831D. doi:10.1016/0040-6090(92)90417-A.
  18. ^ Kotov, N. A.; Magonov, S.; Tropsha, E. (March 1998). "Layer-by-Layer Self-Assembly of Alumosilicate−Polyelectrolyte Composites: Mechanism of Deposition, Crack Resistance, and Perspectives for Novel Membrane Materials". Chemistry of Materials. 10 (3): 886–895. doi:10.1021/cm970649b. ISSN 0897-4756.
  19. ^ Kotov, Nicholas A.; Dékány, Imre; Fendler, Janos H. (August 1996). "Ultrathin graphite oxide-polyelectrolyte composites prepared by self-assembly: Transition between conductive and non-conductive states". Advanced Materials. 8 (8): 637–641. Bibcode:1996AdM.....8..637K. doi:10.1002/adma.19960080806.
  20. ^ Podsiadlo, Paul; Kaushik, Amit K.; Arruda, Ellen M.; Waas, Anthony M.; Shim, Bong Sup; Xu, Jiadi; Nandivada, Himabindu; Pumplin, Benjamin G.; Lahann, Joerg (2007-10-05). "Ultrastrong and Stiff Layered Polymer Nanocomposites". Science. 318 (5847): 80–83. Bibcode:2007Sci...318...80P. doi:10.1126/science.1143176. ISSN 0036-8075. PMID 17916728. S2CID 22559961.
  21. ^ Gao, Huai-Ling; Chen, Si-Ming; Mao, Li-Bo; Song, Zhao-Qiang; Yao, Hong-Bin; Cölfen, Helmut; Luo, Xi-Sheng; Zhang, Fu; Pan, Zhao (2017-08-18). "Mass production of bulk artificial nacre with excellent mechanical properties". Nature Communications. 8 (1): 287. Bibcode:2017NatCo...8..287G. doi:10.1038/s41467-017-00392-z. ISSN 2041-1723. PMC 5562756. PMID 28821851.
  22. ^ Zhiyong Tang; Zhenli Zhang; Ying Wang; Sharon C. Glotzer; Nicholas A. Kotov (2006). "Self-Assembly of CdTe Nanocrystals into Free-Floating Sheets". Science. 314 (5797): 274–8. Bibcode:2006Sci...314..274T. doi:10.1126/science.1128045. PMID 17038616. S2CID 18839769.
  23. ^ Sudhanshu Srivastava; Aaron Santos; Kevin Critchley; Ki-Sub Kim; Paul Podsiadlo; Kai Sun; Jaebeom Lee; Chuanlai Xu; G. Daniel Lilly; Sharon C. Glotzer; Nicholas A. Kotov (2010). "Light-Controlled Self-Assembly of Semiconductor Nanoparticles into Twisted Ribbons". Science. 327 (5971): 1355–9. Bibcode:2010Sci...327.1355S. doi:10.1126/science.1177218. PMID 20150443. S2CID 22492581.
  24. ^ Zhou, Yunlong; Marson, Ryan L.; van Anders, Greg; Zhu, Jian; Ma, Guanxiang; Ercius, Peter; Sun, Kai; Yeom, Bongjun; Glotzer, Sharon C. (2016-03-22). "Biomimetic Hierarchical Assembly of Helical Supraparticles from Chiral Nanoparticles". ACS Nano. 10 (3): 3248–3256. Bibcode:2016ACSNa..10.3248Z. doi:10.1021/acsnano.5b05983. ISSN 1936-0851. OSTI 1440921. PMID 26900920. S2CID 30561840.
  25. ^ Feng, Wenchun; Kim, Ji-Young; Wang, Xinzhi; Calcaterra, Heather A.; Qu, Zhibei; Meshi, Louisa; Kotov, Nicholas A. (2017-03-01). "Assembly of mesoscale helices with near-unity enantiomeric excess and light-matter interactions for chiral semiconductors". Science Advances. 3 (3) e1601159. Bibcode:2017SciA....3E1159F. doi:10.1126/sciadv.1601159. ISSN 2375-2548. PMC 5332156. PMID 28275728.
  26. ^ Xia, Yunsheng; Nguyen, Trung Dac; Yang, Ming; Lee, Byeongdu; Santos, Aaron; Podsiadlo, Paul; Tang, Zhiyong; Glotzer, Sharon C.; Kotov, Nicholas A. (2011-08-21). "Self-assembly of self-limiting monodisperse supraparticles from polydisperse nanoparticles". Nature Nanotechnology. 6 (9): 580–587. Bibcode:2011NatNa...6..580X. doi:10.1038/nnano.2011.121. ISSN 1748-3395. PMID 21857686.
  27. ^ Batista, Carlos A. Silvera; Larson, Ronald G.; Kotov, Nicholas A. (2015-10-09). "Nonadditivity of nanoparticle interactions". Science. 350 (6257) 1242477. doi:10.1126/science.1242477. ISSN 0036-8075. PMID 26450215.
  28. ^ Ma, Wei; Xu, Liguang; de Moura, André F.; Wu, Xiaoling; Kuang, Hua; Xu, Chuanlai; Kotov, Nicholas A. (2017-06-28). "Chiral Inorganic Nanostructures". Chemical Reviews. 117 (12): 8041–8093. doi:10.1021/acs.chemrev.6b00755. ISSN 0009-2665. PMID 28426196.
  29. ^ Jiang, Wenfeng; Qu, Zhi-bei; Kumar, Prashant; Vecchio, Drew; Wang, Yuefei; Ma, Yu; Bahng, Joong Hwan; Bernardino, Kalil; Gomes, Weverson R.; Colombari, Felippe M.; Lozada-Blanco, Asdrubal (2020-05-08). "Emergence of complexity in hierarchically organized chiral particles". Science. 368 (6491): 642–648. Bibcode:2020Sci...368..642J. doi:10.1126/science.aaz7949. hdl:10447/626100. ISSN 0036-8075. PMID 32273399. S2CID 215726726.
  30. ^ "Professor Nicholas A. Kotov".
  31. ^ "National Academy of Engineering Elects AIChE Members to 2025 Class". 25 February 2025.
  32. ^ "Open call for papers – Chiral Nanomaterials – Nanoscale & Nanoscale Advances Blog".
  33. ^ "Chirality 2024 34th International Symposium on Chirality".
  34. ^ "2023 AAAS Fellows | American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)".
  35. ^ "Mobile App - Wayne State University".
  36. ^ "Honoris causa | Universidade de Vigo".
  37. ^ "Nicholas A. Kotov | American Academy of Arts and Sciences". July 2025.
  38. ^ "Nicholas Kotov receives ACS Outstanding Achievement Award in Nanoscience". 25 March 2022.
  39. ^ "Mercator Fellow Nicholas A. Kotov visited RTG 2767". 18 October 2022.
  40. ^ David Turnbull Lectureship Recipients
  41. ^ Nanoscale Science and Engineering Forum Award
  42. ^ "2020 National Academy of Inventors" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2022-01-22. Retrieved 2022-01-22.
  43. ^ 2020 Alpha Chi Sigma Award Recipient
  44. ^ Recipients Newton Award
  45. ^ Faculty Profile
  46. ^ 2018 Vannevar Bush Fellows
  47. ^ Soft Matter and Biophysical Chemistry Award Winners
  48. ^ a b Humboldt Foundation Fellowships
  49. ^ 2017 Colloid Chemistry Award Recipients
  50. ^ 2016 Kwolek Award Recipients
  51. ^ Fifth UNESCO Medals
  52. ^ 2014 Materials Research Society Medal Recipients
  53. ^ Fellow of the Materials Research Society
  54. ^ 2012 Stine Award for Materials Research
  55. ^ Top 100 Materials Scientists in 2000-2010
  56. ^ Top 100 Chemists in 2000-2010
  57. ^ 2008 Top 10 Discoveries of the Year
  58. ^ Gran Prix, Materials Research Society Entrepreneurship Challenge
  59. ^ NSF Career Award
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