Hamers Group Research Projects
Functional Nanoscale Materials :
Using surface chemistry to tailor the properties of nanoscale materials.
Nanoscale materials have many unique properties. However, in most cases the most interesting science comes from being able to control how nanoscale materials interact with their surroundings. We are investigating how to functionalize nanoscale materials with organic and biological molecules in order to control their properties. Ongoing research is aimed at a number of different nanomaterials, including carbon nanofibers, silicon nanowires, and various semiconducting and metallic nanoparticles.
Carbon Nanofibers are a particularly interested type of nanoscale material because carbon has extraordinary stability under a wide range of conditions. Consequently, functionalization of carbon nanofibers and nanotubes leads to interfaces that are extremely stable.
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SEM image of carbon nanofibers. Each nanofiber is ~70 nm in diameter and several microns long. At the top of each nanofiber the Ni catalyst is visible as a small hemispherical object. |
NanoBucky: The UW Mascon, created from carbon nanofibers. Each of bucky's hairs is a single carbon nanofiber. |
Carbon nanofibers are grown by a plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition process, using a transition metal catalyst to control where the fibers grow. This allows nanofibers to be patterned into different shapes, such as NanoBucky.
Ongong work includes using carbon nanofibers for high-density energy storage in supercapacitors, modification of carbon nanofibers with biomolecules for electronic sensing, and covalent functionalization with redox-active molecules, such as cytochrome c.
Recent Papers include (click here for a complete, up-to-date publications list):
Sarah E. Baker, Paula Colavita, KiuYuen Tse, and Robert J. Hamers, "Functionalized Vertically Aligned Carbon Nanofibers as Scaffolds for Immobilization and Electrochemical Detection of Redox-active Proteins", Chemistry of Materials, accepted 7/06.
Sarah E. Baker, Kiu-Yuen Tse, Eve Hindin, Beth M. Nichols, Tami Lasseter Clare, and Robert J. Hamers, "Covalent Functionalization for Biomolecular Recognition on Vertically Aligned Carbon Nanofibers", Chemistry of Materials, 17, 4971-4978 (2005)
Sarah E. Baker, Kiu-Yuen Tse, Chang-Soo Lee, and Robert J. Hamers, "Fabrication and Characterization of Vertically Aligned Carbon Nanofiber Electrodes for Biosensing Applications", Diamond and Related Materials, 15, 433-439 (2006). Link to paper.