Overview

Dominantly, our group has been interested in magnetic properties of nanostructured materials, including both nanoparticles and nanowires. We have used ligand exchange to graft small clusters into nanostructured materials for MRI contrast agents, and also investigated luminescence in copper halide framework structures. New directions include molecular superlattices, as well as novel nanowires syntheses of superconducting materials.

Our approach is to develop a precursor approach to nanostructured materials, as well as chemical transformations of preformed nanostructured materials. We are also interested in novel solvents such as molten salts, hydrothermal synthesis, and metal fluxes. Typical characterization tools include: X-ray powder diffraction (new Ultima IV), magnetization measurements (QD SQUID), TEM (several high resolution instruments at the University of Maryland Nano Center), and neutron scattering experiments (National Institute for Standards and Technology).