Roles and responsibilities
- Senior Research Officer- NanoComposites Group, materials chemist
- Research project leader
- Member of the NRC’s President Research Excellence Advisory Committee (2022-2025)
Current research and/or projects
Ongoing projects focus on chemical modification and integration of nanomaterials, in particular carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs), with the purpose of producing polymer composites with enhanced performance and new functionalities for transportation, space, health, and energy conversion materials.
Research and/or project statements
- Nanomaterials (e.g., CNTs and BNNTs) chemistry and processing customized for integration into diverse materials (e.g., synthetic and natural polymers) and formats (e.g., fabrics/sheets, foams, hydrogels)
- Nanomaterials as nanocarriers and multifunctional reinforcements in soft materials (e.g., self-healing hydrogels) for biomedical applications
- Processing-Structure-Property relationship in multifunctional polymer nanocomposites with a recent focus on flexible non-woven fabrics for applications that include energy conversion (organic thermoelectrics) and morphing wing components for improved aerodynamics and fuel efficiency
- Development of advanced materials from lab scale to demonstration-scale, aiming to facilitate evaluation and early adoption in industry applications
For additional information see the Advanced Nanomaterials research facilities page on the NRC website at https://nrc.canada.ca/en/research-development/nrc-facilities/advanced-nanomaterials-research-facilities
NRC nanomaterial can take the heat in war and peace: https://nrc.canada.ca/en/node/2754
Shapeshifting aircraft wings take inspiration from birds and bats: https://nrc.canada.ca/en/node/2527
Education
B.Sc Chemistry, University of Havana, 1995; M.Sc. Chemistry, University of Havana 1999; Ph.D. Chemistry, University of Chile, 2004
Professional activities/interests
- Symposium co-organizer, International Materials Research Congress (IMRC) 2018-2023 (organized by the MRS and SMM)
- Member of the Materials Research Society (MRS)
Inventions and patents
- 1 granted and 7 pending patents
Key publications
Yadienka Martinez Rubi - Google Scholar
1) K. Wagner, A. J. Kell, Y. Martinez‐Rubi, C. Paquet, B. H. Lessard. Engineering Silver Microgrids with a Boron Nitride Nanotube Interlayer for Highly Conductive and Flexible Transparent Heaters. Advanced Materials Technologies, 2200037 (2022).
2) Y. Martinez-Rubi, B. Ashrafi, M.B. Jakubinek, S. Zou, K.S. Kim, H. Cho, B. Simard. Nanocomposite Fabrics with High Content of Boron Nitride Nanotubes for Tough and Multifunctional composites. Journal of Materials Research. Accepted (Aug 2022). DOI: 10.1557/s43578-022-00707-x
3) M. Rahmat, M.B. Jakubinek, B. Ashrafi, Y. Martinez-Rubi, B. Simard. Glass Fiber-Epoxy Composites with Boron Nitride Nanotubes for Enhancing Interlaminar Properties in Structures. ACS Omega 7, 10674, 2022.
4) A. Zandieh, H. Izadi, M. Hamidinejad, H. Shin, S. Shi, Y. Martinez-Rubi, J. Guan, H. Cho, K.S. Kim, C.B. Park, "Molecular Engineering of the Surface of Boron Nitride Nanotubes for Manufacture of Thermally Conductive Dielectric Polymer Composites", Appl. Surf. Sci., 587, p.152779 (11pp) (2022).
5) K. Wagner, C. Paquet, Y. Martinez‐Rubi, M. Genest, J. Guan, K.L. Sampson, K.S. Kim, A.J. Kell, P.R. Malenfant, B.H. Lessard, “Boron Nitride Nanotube Coatings for Thermal Management of Printed Silver Inks on Temperature Sensitive Substrates”, Adv. Electron. Mater. 7, p.2001035 (10pp) (2021).
6) Z. J. Jakubek, M. Chen, Y. Martinez Rubi, B. Simard, and S. Zou, Conformational Order in Aggregated rra-P3HT as an Indicator of Quality of Boron Nitride Nanotubes, J. Phys. Chem. Lett., 11, 4179−4185 (2020).
7) H. Cho, S. Walker, M. Plunkett, D. Ruth, R. Iannitto, Y. Martinez Rubi, K. S. Kim, C. M. Homenick, A. Brinkmann, M. Couillard, S. Dénommée, J. Guan, M. B. Jakubinek, Z. J. Jakubek, C. T. Kingston, and B. Simard, Scalable Gas-Phase Purification of Boron Nitride Nanotubes by Selective Chlorine Etching, Chem. Mater., 32, 3911−3921 (2020).
8) R. Iannitto, H. Shin, Y. Martinez-Rubi, B. Simard, and S. Coulombe, In-flight plasma functionalization of boron nitride nanotubes with ammonia for composite applications, ACS Appl. Nano Mat., 3, 294-302 (2020).
9) M. B. Jakubinek, Y. Martinez-Rubi, B. Ashrafi, N. Gumienny-Matsuo, D. Park, H. Li, S. Denommee, and B. Simard, Carbon nanotube fabric-based composites for development of multifunctional structures. MRS Advances, 4, 3123-3132 (2019). doi:10.1557/adv.2019.386
10) M. B.Jakubinek, B. Ashrafi, Y. Martinez-Rubi, J. Guan, M. Rahmat, K. S. Kim, S. Dénommée, C. T. Kingston, B. Simard, “Boron Nitride Nanotube Composites”, in Nanotube Superfiber Materials: Science, Manufacturing, Commercialization, Elsevier, 2019, pp 91-111.
11) Y. Martinez Rubi, Z. Jakubek, M. Chen, S. Zou, and B. Simard, “Quality Assessment of Bulk Boron Nitride Nanotubes for Advancing Research, Commercial and Industrial Applications" ACS Applied Nano, 2, 2054-2063 (2019).
12) S. Quiles-Diaz, Y. Martinez-Rubi, J. Guan, K. S. Kim, M. Couillard, H. J. Salavagione, M. A. Gomez-Fatou and B. Simard, Enhanced thermal conductivity in polymer nanocomposites via covalent functionalization of boron nitride nanotubes with short polyethylene chains for heat-transfer applications, ACS Appl. Nano Mat., 2(1), 440-451 (2019).
13) M. Rahmat, B. Ashrafi, A. Naftel, D. Djokic, Y. Martinez-Rubi, M. B. Jakubinek and B. Simard, Enhanced shear performance of hybrid glass fiber-epoxy laminates modified with boron nitrides nanotubes, ACS Appl. Nano Mater., 1, 2709-2717 (2018).
14) J. Guan, B. Ashrafi, Y. Martinez-Rubi, M. B. Jakubinek, M. Rahmat, K. S. Kim and B. Simard, Epoxy resin nanocomposites with hydroxyl (OH) and amino (NH2) functionalized boron nitride nanotubes, Nanocomposites, 4, 10-17 (2018).
15) M. J. Jakubinek, B. Ashrafi, Y. Martnez-Rubi, M. Rahmat, M. Yourdkhani, K. S. Kim, K. Laqua, A. Yousefpour and B. Simard, Nanoreinforced epoxy and adhesive joints incorporating boron nitride nanotubes, Intern. J. Adhesion and Adhesives, 84, 194-201 (2018).
16) Y. Martinez-Rubi, B. Ashrafi, M. B. Jakubinek, S. Zou, K. Laqua, M. Barnes, and B. Simard. Fabrication of High Content Carbon Nanotube−Polyurethane Sheets with Tailorable Properties, ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 9, 30840-30849 (2017).
