탄소나노재료연구실

Our laboratory aims to utilize excellent material properties of carbon nanomaterials, such as carbon nanotube and graphene, for addressing current and emerging issues in energy, environment, and human health. To achieve these goals we synthesize and characterize nanomaterials, tune their properties for desired performance, and explore their potential as tools in biological, energy, and environment research. Single walled carbon nanotube (SWNT) is an excellent material for studying the transport phenomena at nanoscale due to their atomically smooth surface, small diameter (1-2 nm), and extremely high aspect ratio. The tubular nature of the material allows efficient molecular transport along both the interior and the exterior. We are currently exploring the exterior transport of ions and molecules in the 1D system, and applying the unique properties of the exterior to developing novel tools for optical characterization of molecular species. Neuropeptide is an important class of signaling molecules in nervous system. Analyzing neuropeptides released from live neurons, however, has been challenging due to their small amount, high salt content, and dilution and loss of analytes during sample preparation. We develop micro/nanotechnologies for efficient collection and analysis of neuropeptides, with focus on mass analysis using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI). 1D nanomaterials such as single-walled carbon nanotube are highly sensitive to molecular binding and thus are promising sensors for monitoring chemical environment. The challenge lies in improving the selectivity and long-term stability of the materials. We develop nanomaterials treated with a recognition layer for selective and sensitive detection of gas-phase molecules including chemical warfare age