Current Research Interests
Our research involves developing novel electronic, photonic, magnetic, and catalytic materials based on soft materials including polymers, colloids, and liquid crystals. We particularly interest in utilizing self-assembling natures and nanostructures of soft materials to make them suitable for device applications. For example, diblock copolymers spontaneously form nanometer-sized micelles in a selective solvent for one of the blocks. These micelles can be coated on solid substrates to form a self-assembled nanostructure, which can serve as a nanostructured template to direct the synthesis of an ultrahigh density array of nanoparticles. We also emphasize thin films of soft materials because functional materials should be in the form of thin films in most device applications. We investigate fabrication strategies of controlled and directed nanostructures by adjusting interfaces and surface of thin films of soft materials.
Our research involves developing novel electronic, photonic, magnetic, and catalytic materials based on soft materials including polymers, colloids, and liquid crystals. We particularly interest in utilizing self-assembling natures and nanostructures of soft materials to make them suitable for device applications. For example, diblock copolymers spontaneously form nanometer-sized micelles in a selective solvent for one of the blocks. These micelles can be coated on solid substrates to form a self-assembled nanostructure, which can serve as a nanostructured template to direct the synthesis of an ultrahigh density array of nanoparticles. We also emphasize thin films of soft materials because functional materials should be in the form of thin films in most device applications. We investigate fabrication strategies of controlled and directed nanostructures by adjusting interfaces and surface of thin films of soft materials.