[5] One of his most significant contributions in experimental polymer physics is a comprehensive understanding of the thermodynamically-driven microphase separation of diblock copolymers with quantitative comparisons to theories developed by Ludwik Leibler and others.
Bates is also credited with supplying a detailed understanding of the formation of bicontinuous and tricontinuous network phase morphologies in block copolymers, including the conclusive identification of the double gyroid morphology in diblock copolymers and the discovery of the first two orthorhombic network phases in soft materials.
[6] As a chemical engineer, Bates has parlayed insights from his fundamental research into the invention and development of useful commercial materials.
The American Chemical Society recognized this fruitful collaboration between academic and industrial scientists with the 2008 ACS Cooperative Research Award.
Dow and the Bates laboratory have also developed a class of inexpensive block copolymers for toughening certain epoxy resins,[7] which commonly used in microelectronics circuit boards, as well as new excipients for solubilizing otherwise intractable therapeutics for oral drug delivery.
[11] During his tenure as department head (1999-2014) in chemical engineering and materials science at the University of Minnesota, Bates has led multiple fundraising initiatives.