Nanoparticle structure, nanoparticle chemistry, novel nanoparticle synthesis strategies, applications of nanoparticles to biological imaging.

Structural chemistry of inorganic compounds, including Group IIA complexes, iron/copper bioinorganic model compounds, and metalloporphyrins; protein crystallography.

Intrinsically recyclable polymers; renewable monomers and sustainable polymers; precision (stereoselective, chemoselective & living) polymer synthesis; Lewis pair polymerization; new polymerization methodology; transition-metal, main-group & organic catalysis; biomass conversion to fuels, chemicals & materials.

Bioinorganic, Bioorganic, Physical Organic Chemistries, with focuses on characterization of menaquinone metabolism and ihibition of electron transport in tuberculosis bacteria, vanadium containing anti-diabetic and anti-malarial compounds, microemulsion drug-membrane interaction studies, copper (II) amyloid-beta and peptide complexation studies, and spectroscopic techniques including 1D and 2D NMR, EPR, fluorescence and IR.

Chemical catalysis, nanoparticle research, energy research and kinetics and mechanism

Plasma chemistry, reactivity of radicals with surfaces using LIF and molecular beam techniques. Plasma polymerization deposition and etching of materials. Characterization of plasma synthesized thin films.

New materials and methodologies involving solid-state and solution-phase reactions, particularly those involving kinetic control. We study structure/property relationships of materials (e.g., magnetism, electrical transport) using advanced synchrotron X-ray and time-of-flight neutron scattering and spectroscopic methods.

Electrochemical synthesis of inorganic bulk and nanoscale materials, low-temperature solid-state chemistry, nanomaterials.

Theoretical characterization of reaction mechanisms in homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysis, new electronic structure techniques, development of force fields or model potentials for chemical reactivity studies.

Multidisciplinary chemical design and fabrication of biomimetic materials for use in medical device applications. Research work includes: synthesis of organic and inorganic compounds including small-molecule therapeutics, polymers, and extended frameworks; analytical studies utilizing fluorescence, chemiluminesence, zeta potential, and LC/MS-TOF; fabrication and engineering of materials; biomedical efficacy and toxicity studies.

Coordination and organometallic complex synthesis and characterization: environmental control of spin-crossover properties; single-molecule magnets; solar photochemistry employing earth-abundant materials.

Fundamental and applied aspects of synthetic inorganic, analytical and environmental chemistry; fluorinated superweak ions; selective fluorination and chlorination of fullerenes; pollution prevention; infrared sensors for environmental and industrial applications; redox-cyclable ion-exchange; layered materials; metal carbonyls

My group harnesses synthetic inorganic and materials chemistry to enable the next generation of magnetic resonance imaging and photocatalytic applications.