Department
of Materials Science and Engineering
Learn more about
Materials Science
Research in the Dunn group involves the synthesis of inorganic and hybrid materials and characterization of their electrical and optical properties. The various areas are described in greater detail below and representative publications are listed. One of the principal themes which extends to most of the research activities is the use of sol-gel methods to synthesize a number of the materials studied in the group (see http://www.solgel.com/educational for background on the sol-gel process). This synthetic approach enables us to prepare materials which incorporate a wide variety of organic and biological dopants and are capable of developing unique microstructures and properties. Electrochemical Materials and
Devices
Mesoporous and Bio-Hybrid
Materials
Biomolecular Materials We have recently initiated selected research topics which are at the intersection between biology, physical science and engineering. The overarching theme with this research is to try to exploit biological structures for engineering applications.
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One of
our research directions involves the use of sol-gel synthesis methods
to create electrochemical materials with designed chemistry and
microstructure. We are interested in transition metal oxide aerogels
and we have been investigating how their high surface area influences
electrochemical properties. These aerogel materials exhibit properties
which combine the characteristics of both batteries and capacitors,
and they are able to reversibly insert a variety of monovalent and
divalent ions. We were also awarded a MURI grant to establish the
enabling science and technology for creating 3-dimensional
nanostructured batteries. Information concerning this program is
available at: 
We
have recently begun research on biofuel cells, devices which convert
the chemical energy of a fuel (glucose) and oxidant (oxygen) directly
to electrical energy by utilizing enzymes to catalyze oxidation and
reduction reactions. Our research involves the development of an
electrode nanoarchitecture in which the enzymes, mediator and carbon
nanotubes (conductive component) are immobilized in a sol-gel matrix.
For
several years we have been investigating mesostructured materials based on
the addition of surfactants to sol-gel materials. One direction for this
research has been to deliberately control the location of chromophore
dopants within the mesostructure and this has enabled us to achieve energy
transfer in thin films. In related studies we are synthesizing metallic
conducting oxides such as RuO2 as mesoporous films and determining how the
mesoporous morphology affects electron transport. Aerogels constitute
another important class of mesoporous oxides prepared using sol-gel
chemistry. In our current work, we are investigating the thermal
transpiration properties of these materials and designing the pore-solid
architecture to produce highly effective pumps and micro-propulsion
devices. 
One
project involves the metallization of microtubules. Microtubules are fibrous
proteins found in nearly all eukaryotes. They are shaped like long hollow
tubes about 25 nm in outer diameter and microns in length. The objective in
this project is to use the chemical residues on the surface of these
self-assembled proteins to bind metal and to fabricate arrays of metallized
nanowires . In the work shown here, gold colloids are able to densely cover
microtubules that have been stabilized with glutaldehyde. 
Another
project involves the use of vaults, which are nanodimensional
protein capsules found in the cells of nearly all animals and
plants. We have been working with vaults that have been genetically
engineered with enzymes and designed to exhibit chemiluminescence. 
