Materials for Energy & Sustainability Research

Biophysical chemistry / microscopy of biosensing platforms; Materials science / surface chemistry functionalizations; Algorithms in data analysis / simulations

Surface, interfacial molecular studies of surfactants / polymers (self-assembly, adsorption, interfacial interactions) using laser spectroscopy/scanning probe microscopy.

Development and applications of quantum mechanical methods to elucidate the electronic structure and properties of molecules and materials, with a focus on computational catalyst design for renewable energy conversion and storage.

Synthetic innovation of advanced materials for energy- and sustainability-related critical issues.

Plant cell walls as bioenergy feedstocks. Self-assembly and polymerization of hydroxyproline-rich glycoproteins. Regulation of wall biosynthesis by small RNAs.

Transition metal coordination chemistry, complexes as active-site models for redox-active metalloenzymes that catalyze environmentally significant reactions.

Design, synthesis, characterization and host-guest recognition of supramolecular architectures, with a focus on pumpkin-shaped Cucurbit[n]uril hosts and their extreme binding affinities in water.

Forensic Chemistry / Food and Agricultural Chemistry / Metabolomics / Environmental Chemistry / Material Science