Maxx Q. Arguilla
•Assistant Professor, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
•
Biography
Maxx Q. Arguilla, Ph.D., is Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry and the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the University of California, Irvine. Arguilla's research focuses on the synthesis and characterization of low-dimensional van der Waals materials, particularly one-dimensional crystals with helical and anisotropic structures. His work explores the relationships between atomic structure, bonding, and emergent optical and electronic properties in these materials.
Arguilla is a recipient of the 2025 National Fresenius Award from the American Chemical Society and Phi Lambda Upsilon, the 2025 Rose Hills Foundation Innovator Award, and the DoD Air Force Office of Scientific Research Young Investigator Program Award. He received the 2023 NSF CAREER Award from the Solid State and Materials Chemistry program and was named to the 2023 ACS C&EN Talented 12. He was selected as a keynote panelist for the 20th Anniversary National Nanotechnology Initiative Symposium organized by the National Academies in 2024, where he was one of three panelists and the only assistant professor. Arguilla was also honored in Matter's 35 PIs under 35 in 2024 and selected as a 2025 IUPAC Young Observer, serving as a member of the US delegation for the IUPAC General Assembly and the 50th World Chemistry Congress.
Arguilla serves on the advisory and editorial boards of the Journal of Materials Chemistry C, Materials Chemistry Frontiers, and Chemical and Engineering News. He is a member of the Eddleman Quantum Institute at UC Irvine and an affiliate of the ChAMP Program. Arguilla received his Ph.D. in Inorganic Chemistry from The Ohio State University, where he was a Center for Emergent Materials Fellow, and completed postdoctoral training at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Return to topEducation
- B.S. in Chemistry, University of the Philippines-Diliman, 2011
- Ph.D. in Inorganic Chemistry, The Ohio State University, 2017
Distinctions
- Keynote panelist, 20th Anniversary National Nanotechnology Initiative Symposium, National Academies, 2024
- IUPAC Young Observer fellowship, 2025
- ACS Materials Au Rising Stars in Materials Science, 2025
- ACS C&EN Talented 12, 2023
- Fellow, ACS Postdoc to Faculty program, 2018
- Runner-up, Journal of Materials Chemistry Lectureship Award, Royal Society of Chemistry, 2024
- National Fresenius Award, American Chemical Society and Phi Lambda Upsilon, 2025
- Top 5 Awardee, Dream Chemistry Award, Polish and Czech Academy of Sciences, 2024
- Matter's 35 PIs under 35, Cell Press, 2024
- Rose Hills Foundation Innovator, 2025
Areas of Expertise
- Low-Dimensional Quantum Materials
- Van der Waals Crystal Synthesis
- Topochemical Exfoliation Methods
- Helical Inorganic Nanostructures
- Quasi-One-Dimensional Conductors
- Thermochromic Chalcogenide Nanowires
- Peptide-Guided Nanocrystal Assembly
Recent Publications
- Ogura K.S., Singsen S., Cordova D.L.M., Liu J., Milligan G.M., Lopez D., Kerr T.A., Ziller J.W., Rao R., Jauregui L.A., Lee E.M.Y., Arguilla M.Q., “Persistent metallicity and systematic vacancies in tellurium-based quasi-one-dimensional Chevrel-type single crystals” (opens in new tab), Matter, vol. 9, 2026.
- Dold K.G., Spencer J., Milligan G.M., Singsen S., Wang Z., Marracci M., Cordova D.L.M., Huynh T.N., Ogura K., Aoki T., Yan X., Fishman D.A., Pan X., Wu R., Lee E.M.Y., Arguilla M.Q., “Dimensionally Resolved Nanostructures of an Atomically Precise and Optically Active 1D van der Waals Helix” (opens in new tab), Advanced Materials, vol. 38, 2026.
- Milligan G.M., Collins C.J., Dold K.G., Lopez D., Arguilla M.Q., “Facet-Specific Liquid-Phase Exfoliation of an Ionic 1D Crystal, (NbSe4)3I, into Ultrathin Nanoribbons” (opens in new tab), ACS Materials Au, vol. 6, pp. 189-201, 2026.
- K. G. Dold, D. L. M. Cordova, T. N. Huynh, G. M. Milligan, S. J. Teat, M. Q. Arguilla, “Triel-defined helicity in one-dimensional III-VI-VII van der Waals crystals” (opens in new tab), Inorganic Chemistry, vol. 64, no. 30, pp. 15490-15501, 2025.
- G. M. Milligan, S. Singsen, S. To, T. Aoki, B. Y. Zhi, C. J. Collins, K. S. Ogura, E. M. Y. Lee, M. Q. Arguilla, “Precision synthesis of a single chain polymorph of a two-dimensional solid within single-walled carbon nanotubes” (opens in new tab), Advanced Materials, vol. 2502213, 2025.
- D. D. Nguyen, M. J. Milhander, E. M. Hitch, D. L. M. Cordova, J. L. G. Jimenez, J. Mora, D. Sandoval, M. Q. Arguilla, A. M. Fry-Petit, “Direct Correlation of the Crystalline Phases of La₀.₉Sr₀.₁Co₁₋yFeyO₃₋δ with the Partial Oxidation of Methane via In Situ Neutron and Synchrotron Diffraction” (opens in new tab), ACS Materials Au, vol. 5, no. 3, pp. 547-557, 2025.
- Arguilla M., Milner P., “2024 Journal of Materials Chemistry Lectureship runners-up: Maxx Arguilla, University of California, Irvine, United States, and Phillip Milner, Cornell University, United States” (opens in new tab), Journal of Materials Chemistry C, vol. 13, pp. 982-984, 2025.
- S. W. Cranford, M. Q. Arguilla, “35 challenges in materials science being tackled by PIs under 35 (ish) in 2024” (opens in new tab), Matter, vol. 7, no. 11, pp. 3699-3706, 2024.
- D. L. M. Cordova, K. Chua, T. A. Kerr, T. Aoki, D. Knez, G. Skorupskii, D. Lopez, J. Ziller, D. A. Fishman, M. Q. Arguilla, “Atomically Precise Inorganic Helices with a Programmable Irrational Twist” (opens in new tab), Nature Materials, vol. 23, pp. 1347-1354, 2024.
- K. Dold, D. L. M. Cordova, S. Singsen, J. Nguyen, G. M. Milligan, M. Marracci, Z.-F. Yao, J. Ziller, D. Fishman, E. M. Y. Lee, M. Q. Arguilla, “GaSI: A wide gap non-centrosymmetric helical crystal” (opens in new tab), Journal of the American Chemical Society, vol. 146, no. 33, pp. 22881-22886, 2024.
- D. Lopez, Y. Zhou, D. L. M. Cordova, G. M. Milligan, K. Ogura, R. Wu, M. Q. Arguilla, “Bonding-Directed Crystallization of Ultra-Long One-Dimensional NbS₃ van der Waals Nanowires” (opens in new tab), Journal of the American Chemical Society, vol. 146, no. 33, pp. 22863-22868, 2024.
- G. M. Milligan, D. L. M. Cordova, Z.-F. Yao, B. Zhi, L. Scammell, T. Aoki, M. Q. Arguilla, “Encapsulation of Crystalline and Amorphous Sb₂S₃ within Carbon and Boron Nitride Nanotubes” (opens in new tab), Chemical Science, vol. 15, pp. 10464-10476, 2024.
- K. S. Ogura, D. L. M. Cordova, T. Aoki, G. M. Milligan, Z. Yao, M. Q. Arguilla, “Functionalization and Structural Evolution of Conducting Quasi-1D Chevrel-Type Telluride Nanocrystals” (opens in new tab), Chemistry of Materials, vol. 36, no. 9, pp. 4714-4725, 2024.
- D. L. M. Cordova, Y. Zhou, G. M. Milligan, L. Cheng, T. A. Kerr, J. Ziller, R. Wu, M. Q. Arguilla, “Sensitive Thermochromic Behavior of InSeI, a highly anisotropic and tubular 1D van der Waals Crystal” (opens in new tab), Advanced Materials, vol. 36, no. 21, pp. 2312597, 2024.
- Z.-F. Yao, D. L. M. Cordova, G. M. Milligan, D. Lopez, S. J. Allison, Y. Kuang, H. A. M. Ardoña, M. Q. Arguilla, “Lattice-Guided Assembly of Optoelectronically-Active π-Conjugated Peptides on 1D van der Waals Single Crystals” (opens in new tab), Science Advances, vol. 10, no. 24, pp. eadl2402, 2024.
- S. J. Allison, D. L. M. Cordova, M. Hasib, T. Aoki, M. Q. Arguilla, “Nanoparticle-Directed Bimodal Crystallization of the Quasi-1D van der Waals Phase, Bi₄I₄” (opens in new tab), Chemical Science, vol. 15, pp. 4811-4823, 2024.
- Y. Zhou, D. L. M. Cordova, G. M. Milligan, M. Q. Arguilla, R. Wu, “Higher-Dimensional Spin Selectivity in Chiral Crystals” (opens in new tab), Physical Review B, vol. 110, no. 4, pp. 045434, 2024.
- G. M. Milligan, D. L. M. Cordova, B. Tong, M. Q. Arguilla, “Single Quasi-1D Chains of Sb₂Se₃ Encapsulated Within Carbon Nanotubes” (opens in new tab), Chemistry of Materials, vol. 36, no. 2, pp. 730-741, 2024.
- Aoki T., Gordova D.L.M., Chua K., Huynh R.M., Arguilla M.Q., “Analytical S/TEM to Understand Structure and Chemistry of Dimensionally Resolved 1D and Quasi-2D van der Waals Sb2S3 Nanocrystals” (opens in new tab), Microscopy and Microanalysis, vol. 30, pp. 1143-1144, 2024.
- D. L. M. Cordova, K Chua, R. M. Huynh, T. Aoki, M. Q. Arguilla, “Anisotropy-Driven Crystallization of Dimensionally Resolved Quasi-1D Van der Waals Nanostructures” (opens in new tab), Journal of the American Chemical Society, vol. 145, no. 41, pp. 22413-22424, 2023.
Most Cited Publications
- J.-H. Dou, M. Q. Arguilla, J. Li, Y. Luo, W. Zhang, L. Yang, T. Chen, G. Skorupskii, L. R. Parent, N. J. Libretto, C. Sun, J. T. Miller, J. Kong, L. Sun, C. H. Hendon, J. Sun, M. Dincă, “Atomically-Precise Single Crystal Structures of Electrically Conducting 2D MOFs” (opens in new tab), Nature Materials, vol. 20, pp. 222-228, 2021.
- R. W. Day, K. Bediako, M. Rezaee, L. Parent, G. Skorupskii, M. Q. Arguilla, C. Hendon, I. Stassen, N. Gianneschi, P. Kim, M. Dincă, “Single Crystals of Electrically Conductive 2D MOFs: Structural and Electrical Transport Properties” (opens in new tab), ACS Central Science, vol. 5, pp. 1959-1964, 2019.
- S. Jiang, M. Q. Arguilla, N. Cultrara, J. E. Goldberger, “Covalently-Controlled Properties by Design in Group IV Graphane Analogues” (opens in new tab), Accounts of Chemical Research, vol. 48, pp. 144-151, 2015.
- S. Jiang, K. Krymowski, T. Asel, M. Q. Arguilla, N. D. Cultrara, E. Yanchenko, X. Yang, L. Brillson, W. Windl, J. E. Goldberger, “Tailoring the Electronic Structure of Covalently Functionalized Germanane via the Interplay of Ligand Strain and Electronegativity” (opens in new tab), Chemistry of Materials, vol. 28, pp. 8071-8077, 2016.
- B. He, Y. Wang, M. Q. Arguilla, N. D. Cultrara, M. R. Scudder, J. E. Goldberger, W. Windl, J. P. Heremans, “The Fermi Surface Geometrical Origin of Axis-Dependent Conduction Polarity in Layered Materials” (opens in new tab), Nature Materials, vol. 18, pp. 568-572, 2019.
- N.D. Cultrara, Y. Wang, M. Q. Arguilla, M. R. Scudder, S. Jiang, W. Windl, S. Bobev, J. E. Goldberger, “Synthesis of 1T, 2H and 6R Germanane Polytypes” (opens in new tab), Chemistry of Materials, vol. 30, pp. 1335-1343, 2018.
- Skorupskii G., Le K.N., Cordova D.L.M., Yang L., Chen T., Hendon C.H., Arguilla M.Q., Dinca M., “Porous lanthanide metal–organic frameworks with metallic conductivity” (opens in new tab), Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, vol. 119, 2022.
- M. Q. Arguilla, N. D. Cultrara, J. J. Baum, S. Jiang, R. D. Ross, J. E. Goldberger, “EuSn₂As₂: An Exfoliatable Magnetic Layered Zintl Phase” (opens in new tab), Inorganic Chemistry Frontiers, vol. 4, pp. 378-386, 2017.
- M. Q. Arguilla, S. Jiang, B. Chitara, J. E. Goldberger, “Synthesis and Stability of Two-dimensional Ge/Sn Graphane Alloys” (opens in new tab), Chemistry of Materials, vol. 26, pp. 6941-6946, 2014.
- M. Q. Arguilla, J. Katoch, K. Krymowski, N. Cultrara, J. Xu, X. Xi, A. Hanks, S. Jiang, R.D. Ross, R.J. Koch, S. Ulstrup, A. Bostwick, C. Jozwiak, E. Rotenberg, D. McComb, J. Shan, W. Windl, R. K. Kawakami, J. E. Goldberger, “NaSn₂As₂: An Exfoliatable Layered van der Waals Zintl Phase” (opens in new tab), ACS Nano, vol. 10, pp. 9500-9508, 2016.
Contact Information
Website: https://www.maxx-lab.com
Email: marguill@uci.edu
Address: 4124 Natural Sciences I
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Last updated on 5/14/2026.