Research & Initiatives
Graphene and other graphitic carbon materials are essential in various applications like energy storage and water purification. Recent research challenges the belief of their hydrophobic nature, revealing mild hydrophilicity due to airborne hydrocarbon contamination. This discovery influences surface properties and prompts further investigation into its implications for both graphitic and other 2D materials, guiding ongoing research towards understanding their intrinsic properties and applications. Our research also involves stabilization of DNA nanostructures on various surfaces, elucidating the precise chemistry governing such lithography processes. Additionally, we explore imprinting techniques on surfaces and develop antibacterial plastics and polymer surfaces with potential biomedical applications. Expanding our scope, we utilize DNA nanostructures to dope metal surfaces like MoS2, potentially paving the way for innovative semiconductor research in the foreseeable future.
Graphene Chemistry
Intrinsic properties of graphitic carbon materials
Research Background
Intrinsic properties of graphitic carbon materials
Graphene and various other graphitic carbon materials are extensively utilized in diverse fields including electrochemical energy storage, water purification, and catalyst support. Given that many of these applications necessitate the interaction of carbon surfaces with air or water, understanding the interfacial properties of graphitic materials becomes crucial for ongoing research efforts. Our research has previously demonstrated graphitic surfaces are intrinsically mildly hydrophilic, challenging the long-believed “hydrophobicity”. The observed hydrophobicity is attributed to airborne hydrocarbon contamination within several minutes of exposure to air. This discovery suggests a broader impact on various surface properties (e.g. surface energy, double layer capacitance, and heterogeneous electron transfer rate) of graphitic and other 2D materials, like hBN and MoS2, are also likely influenced, and prompts ongoing investigations. Our ongoing research focuses on the study of graphene and other 2D materials. Our goal is to discover the intrinsic mechanical and chemical properties, as well as developing the application of these materials.
DNA Nanochemistry
DNA-based Nanofabrication
Research Background
DNA-based Nanofabrication
Self-assembled DNA nanostructures are an attractive template for ultra-high resolution (< 10 nm) and low-cost (< $10s/m2) nanofabrication. DNA nanostructures can be made into both 2D and 3D shapes with a resolution down to ca. 5 nm and sizes up to micrometer range. Although DNA materials are often perceived to be expensive, surface pattering only requires a monolayer amount of template and hence the cost of DNA tempalte can be as low as <$1/m2. We believe that DNA-based fabrication combines the best of both top-down and bottom-up fabrication approaches: scalable, low cost, compatible with non-flat substrates, and capable of producing designer patterns.