Prof. Baytekin of Chemical Engineering, Bilkent University, Ankara, Turkey

Electrostatics is one of the oldest known phenomena in science, yet the molecular origins of contact electrification remain incompletely understood. Mechanisms such as electron transfer, ion transfer, and material transfer are often invoked to explain charge separation. In this tutorial lecture, we will discuss electrostatics from a chemical perspective, emphasizing how surface composition, functionality, and reactivity influence both charge generation and charge retention. The chemical character of a surface can determine the dominant mechanism of charge generation, how efficiently charge is produced, and how long it persists on the surface.

We will highlight the role of mechanochemical bond scission in polymers, which can generate reactive, charged, or charge-stabilizing species at the surface. Strategies for charge dissipation based on controlling or mitigating these species will be discussed. The electron-donor and electron-acceptor abilities of organic molecules, and how these properties affect the charging polarity, magnitude, and retention in the triboelectrification of organic powders, will also be examined.

 Overall, this lecture will show how surface chemistry, mechanochemistry, and molecular electronic structure provide a unified framework for understanding and controlling electrostatic behavior.

Biography:

Prof. Bilge Baytekin earned the BSc and MSc in Chemistry from Orta Dogu Teknik Universitesi (METU), Ankara, Turkey). She was awarded the PhD in Chemistry (2008) from Freie Universität Berlin, Germany. Following graduation, Dr. Baytekin was a Postdoctoral Research (2009-2014) at Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA and a visiting postdoctoral researcher (2014) at Harvard University, Cambridge, MA. She is currently an Associate Professor, Bilkent University, Department of Chemistry, Ankara TURKEY. Notable recognitions for her work include the L'Oréal-UNESCO for Women in Science (Turkey) Award, and the 2019 Rising Star Award from the Electrostatics Society of America (ESA). 

Baytekin Group at Bilkent University is interested in problems related to organic and polymer mechanochemistry, soft robotics, and electrostatics.

Email:

Address:Bilkent University, Bilkent, SB – 311 Bilkent, Ankara, 06800, Türkiye