Sanford A. Asher Distinguished Professor of Chemistry
Research
Photonic Crystals
Keywords: Nanoparticles, Smart Nano Materials, Photonic crystal chemical sensing.
We develop novel materials based on crystalline colloidal (CCA) self assembly of nanoscale particles. CCA are ordered arrays of nanoscale colloidal particles formed in a liquid. The colloidal particles repel each other and form cubic arrays which Bragg diffract light from the UV through the visible and the IR spectral region. These arrays serve as diffracting optical devices. We develop methods to polymerize these arrays in solid films that change dimension in response to chemical, electrical, and thermal environmental changes. We utilized these materials to develop a new chemical sensing motif which creates a new generation of optical switches for use in optical computing, for chemical separations and for thin film display devices.
We also develop novel smart optical materials that control molecular transport and light transmission by synthesizing novel smart nanoparticles that array themselves in functional assemblies.
