Presented by Wenlong Cheng, Nanobionics Research Laboratory, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria 3800 Australia Melbourne Centre for Nanofabrication, Clayton Victoria 3800.
Time: 15:00 p.m., Dec 04, 2013
Location: A718, SINANO
Abstract:
“Hard” microelectronics and “soft” biology play with different materials by different rules but they meet at the nanoscale. On one hand, we are seeing fast-growing nanotechnologies to make electronic materials smaller and smaller (metallic nanoparticles, quantum dots, carbon nanotubes, etc.); on the other hand, we understand better and better biological building blocks represented by DNA, RNA, protein and polysaccharide. Now the electronic building blocks (usually hard materials) and biological building blocks (usually soft materials) meet at the nanoscale. Thus, the nanoscale regime provides an ideal platform for us to interface electronic materials with biological system to design the powerful nanobionic materials that possess both “nano” and “bio” functions to design lightweight, foldable and adaptive devices.In this talk, I will discuss our recent research activities in interfacing hard metallic nanoparticles with soft ligands including DNA, polymer and alkyl molecules. Firstly, I will describe synthesis of high-quality “hard” plasmonic nanoparticles (including nanospheres, nanorods, nanocages, nanocubes, and nanowires). Secondly, I will cover the conjugation of “soft ligands” to “hard” particles as well as controlled assembly into free-standing thinnest possible superlattice nanomembranes. Thirdly, I will describe our experimental and theoretical studies on plasmonic and mechanical properties of 2D superlattices. Finally, I will introduce our recent success in integration of soft superlattices into lightweight, foldable optoelectronic devices.
Biography:
Wenlong Cheng is an associate professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering at Monash University, Australia. He earned his PhD from Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2005 and his BS from Jilin University, China in 1999. He held positions in the Max Planck Institute of Microstructure Physics and the Department of Biological and Environmental Engineering of Cornell University before joining the Monash University in 2010. His research interest lies at the Nano-Bio Interface, particularly addressing plasmonic nanomaterials, DNA nanotechnology, nanoparticle anticancer theranostics and electrochemical nanocatalysts. He has published 48 journal papers including 3 in Nature Nanotechnology, 1 in Nature Materials. He has also coauthored 4 book chapters and 2 US patents.
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