Summary of Research Interests

1. Nanowire building blocks

A nanowire is a structure with a diameter of the order of a nanometer. When the diameter puts the radial dimension of the nanowire at or below certain characteristic lengths, such as the Bohr radius, the wavelength of the light, phonon mean-free path, and others, quantum mechanical effects become important. Moreover, the large aspect ratio of nanowires, as an ideal energy transport material, can direct the conduction of quantum particles such as electrons, and photons improving their technological application.

2. Interface-induced nanowire assembly

Macroscopic-scale integrating nanowires into ordered or controlled assembled structures provide an advanced understanding of the phenomena of aggregation and a new way for tailoring the properties of nanowires which is a key challenge in the development of a range of bottom-up devices. The objectives of our research are (1) developing both sophisticated and practical methods to fabricate macroscopic-scale nanowire structures. (2) In Situ tools and technologies to probe of the nanowire assembly process. (3) New theoretical simulation to reveal the assembly mechanism.

3. Flexible nanodevice based on the designed nanowire structures

Fabrication of nanowire-based flexible electronics including wearable energy storage, flexible displays, electrical sensors, and health monitors, has received great attention both in fundamental research and market requirements in our daily life. Other than disordered state after synthesis, NWs with designed and hierarchical structures would not only optimize the intrinsic performance but also create new physical and chemical properties and integration of individual NWs into well-defined structures over large areas have been one of the most promising strategies to optimize the performance of the NW based flexible electronics.