Research Summary

1. Synthesis of nanoparticle-deposited nanocomposite. Nanoparticle-deposited nanocomposite materials have various potential applications such as photonic crystals, chemical sensors, surface-enhanced Raman scattering(SERS), antibacterial materials, etc. I'm focusing on one-pot synthesis of such materials with some kind of functionalized precursors. Functional group is the bridge between deposited nanoparticles and basic nanoparticles. With its help, deposited nanoparticles are steadily stuck to the surface of basic nanoparticles, basing on our experiments.

2. Nanoparticle-enhanced PEM(Polymer Electrolyte Membrane) Fuel cell. As a result of the energy crisis, it is important to explore alternate energy sources. PEM fuel cell, a type of hydrogen fuel cell is one of the best future alternative energy sources because it has high power density, relatively low operating temperature, quick response and most important, pollution-free operation. However, the higher cost is an unavoidable problem, compared to the tranditional energy source. In order to increase the efficiency of PEM fuel cell, we use nanopartilces to enhance the output power of the fuel cell. The size of nanoparticls is comparable to the electron wavelength and therefore quantum mechanical effects change the electronic band structure of the electrons, which plays an important role during the process. From our experimental results, the nanoparticles indeed enhance the output power of fuel cell a lot. In the future, we are going to try different kinds and shapes of nanoparticles to achieve highest efficiency.