Nanoparticles and nanostructured materials exhibit new and fascinating properties which make them an attractive family of materials and a hot topic in the research of advanced functional materials. We study fundamentals of a broad range of nanomaterials including metal and metal oxide nanoparticles, their assemblies and nanoporous materials, develop methods to fabricate functional materials based on rational design of their nanostructures, and address critical issues in practical applications including catalysis, energy conversion and storage, and biosensing, taking the advantage of the unique properties of the nanomaterials.  

Research Overview: Controlled Synthesis and Applications of Noble Metal Nanocrystals

1) Synthesis methodology studies for metal nanocrystals and their derivatives such as hydroxides, oxides, and chalcogonides;

2) Large-scale synthetic chemistry for metal nanoparticles;

3) Homogeneous alloy nanomaterials;

4) Core-shell nanostructures;

5) Nanoclusters with sizes below 3 nm;

6) Key catalysts for water-splitting hydrogen production, hydrogen strorage and release, and fuel cells;

7) Key catalysts for organic conversion and gas transformation;

8) Metal nanoparticle paste for circuit printing, Power semiconductor device packaging

9) Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS).