CURRENT RESEARCH We are interested in several important problems in materials/solid state chemistry, including hydrogen storage, magnetic refrigeration, and inorganic-organic hybrid materials. Our research involves the synthesis of solid state materials that have organic or inorganic structural components, and study of their structures and properties by a variety of physical characterization tools, such as X-ray single crystal/powder diffraction, TEM, SEM, and magnetic measurements.
Hydrogen storage Although hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe, the use of hydrogen as an alternative source of energy has been hampered by many obstacles, one of which is storage of hydrogen. In order to use hydrogen as a fuel, hydrogen can be pressurized in gas form, or cooled to cryogenic temperature in liquid form. Alternatively, it can be absorbed in solid. In my group, using the last approach, we are developing solid state materials that have the ability to accommodate hydrogen in void spaces and release hydrogen when needed.
Inorganic-organic hybrid materials This project involves the assembly of inorganic and organic structural components into predictable, organized solid state structures. Combining inorganic and organic building blocks crystallizes in a structure often shows interesting physical properties, which might not be seen in its constituent structural moieties. The goal of this project is to learn how to fabricate sensor system by inorganic/organic self-assembly.
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