Energy Materials LSPR & SERS Photocatalysis
Research in our laboratory focuses on (1) the design and characterization of plasmonic-based nanosensors utilizing chemically synthesized metallic nanostructures for high throughput assay of both biological and chemical analytes directly in human biofluids, (2) controlled manipulation of nanoscale structure- and property-dependent physicochemical and electrochemical behavior of inorganic and organic-inorganic semiconductor hybrid nanocrystals (SNCs), and (3) programmable assembly of their higher order hierarchical superstructures to elicit new optoelectronic properties. Some specific target of our ongoing research projects are:
Fabrication of flexible and disposable nanoplasmonic sensors for assaying circulating microRNAs, DNAs, and proteins directly in biological fluids in cancer patient samples with multiplexing ability and high-throughput capability.
Steady- and excited-state spectroscopy characterizations, theoretical/computational calculations of electronic properties, and electrochemical property determination through surface ligand chemistry manipulation of ultrasmall metal-oxide and perovskite nanocrystals.
Modified poly (ethylene glycol) (PEG) containing various highly conjugated aromatic hydrocarbons as a tunable ligand shell to prepare high-quality ligand-passivated semiconductor nanocrystal superlattice films.