Our Research

The scope of our research is the rational design, fabrication, and atomic-scale characterization of a range of low-dimensional nanomaterials with engineered chemical, physical, and electronic properties. Our goal is to design and make novel molecular-based and inorganic 1D and 2D materials tailored for nanoelectronics, energy, and environmental science applications. We study the structure of these materials at atomic-to-molecular scale using scanning probe microscopy techniques, and their chemical and electronic properties using surface sensitive characterization techniques combined with theoretical simulations. 

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The current projects in our group include:

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• On-surface construction of 1D and 2D polymers, single-layer covalent organic frameworks, metal-organic networks, organometallic structures, and low-dimensional quantum materials
   

• Self-assembled molecular networks
   

• Templated low-dimensional catalysts and the corresponding reaction kinetics
   

Our experimental techniques and theoretical calculations methods include:

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• Ultra-high vacuum (UHV-based) experimental (scanning probe microscopy, surface spectroscopy, and surface characterization) techniques: Scanning Tunneling Microscopy (STM), Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), Low Energy Electron Diffraction (LEED).
   

• Simulations of surface phenomena by theoretical calculations, using Density Functional Theory, Nudged Elastic Band, Charge simulations, Molecular Dynamics. We have Vienna Ab-Initio Simulation Package (VASP) license.