Faculty Research Groups
Stanislaus S. Wong,
Professor
B.Sc., 1994, McGill University
A.M., 1996, Harvard University
Ph.D., 1999, Harvard University
Postdoctoral fellow, 1999-2000, Columbia University
Phone: (631) 632-1703
BNL Phone: (631) 344-3178
Email:
Email:
Positions
• Assistant Professor (2000-2006), Associate Professor (2006-2010), and Professor (2010-present) of Chemistry at the State University of New York at Stony Brook.
Joint appointment with the Condensed Matter Physics and Materials Sciences Department at Brookhaven National Laboratory. Affiliated member of the Biomedical Engineering Program and the Biophysics Program at the State University of New York at Stony Brook.
• Member of the Editorial Advisory Board of Chemistry of Materials (2008 - present).
• Section editor of the ‘Materials: synthesis and self-assembly’ section of Nanotechnology (Institute of Physics journal) and member of the editorial board (2010 - present).
• Nanoscience Chair-Elect (2008), Nanoscience Chair (2009), and Nanoscience Programming Chair (2009-2012) of the Inorganic Chemistry Division (American Chemical Society).
• Member of the Institutional Nanoscience Safety Advisory Committee at Brookhaven National Laboratory (Fall 2006 - present).
• Chair of the Center for Functional Nanomaterials (CFN) User Executive Committee at Brookhaven National Laboratory (2009 – 2010) and co-organizer of the 2010 National Synchrotron Light Source / CFN Users’ Meeting, entitled ‘Understanding and Mitigating the Effects of Climate Change Using Synchrotron and Nanoscience Research’.
• Member of the Materials Research Society National Nanotechnology Initiative Task Force (Summer 2010).
Research Description
I. Global Directions and Themes
My group’s research has primarily focused on two main areas (namely, nanotube chemistry and nanostructure synthesis) that will broaden the potential impact and practical applicability of nanostructures.
A. Carbon Nanotube (CNT) Functionalization
In this area, we have reacted nanotubes as if there were chemical ligands (be it inorganic or organic) in their own right, e.g. as if these were simply complex alkenes. The work in our laboratory has been involved with understanding chemical reactivity involving carbon nanotubes from a structural and mechanistic perspective, which should hopefully expand the breadth and types of reactions CNTs can undergo in the solution phase. Specifically, the protocols that we have created have significantly enhanced the ability to purify, exfoliate, process, solubilize, and even render biocompatible CNTs, thereby permitting more facile photophysical, catalytic, and biomedical applications of these systems. Controllable chemical functionalization suggests that the unique optoelectronic and mechanical properties of SWNTs can be tailored in a determinable manner.
Key Case Studies of Successful Carbon Nanotube Functionalization in Inorganic, Organic, and Biological Systems
(i). Inorganic Systems
(ii). Organic Systems
(iii). Nanotube-Nanocrystal Heterostructures
(iv). Biological Systems
B. Green Nanostructure Synthesis
Early on, we expended a lot of effort on developing innovative syntheses of nanoscale formulations (including cubes, tubes, wires, spheres, and rhombohedra as well as aggregates and arrays) of perovskite oxide materials. More generally, we have implemented a number of viable environmentally friendly synthetic methodologies in the fabrication of a range of ternary and binary metal oxides, elemental metals, titanates, fluorides, phosphates, sulfides, tungstates, niobates, zirconates, ruthenates, and ferrites. In fact, most of our processes run under either ambient conditions or low temperatures, and can be efficiently scaled up. Moreover, our simple protocols are generally cost-effective; use mainly nontoxic precursors; limit the numbers of reagents and reaction steps; minimize waste, reagent use, and power consumption; and involve the development of high-yield processes with a relative absence of volatile and toxic byproducts.
In particular, we have made important advances in the use of molten-salt synthetic methods, hydrothermal protocols, and ambient template-directed techniques as green, cost-effective methodologies to generate monodisperse nanostructures with precise size and shape control without sacrificing on sample quality, purity, and crystallinity. Our as-prepared nanomaterials maintain fundamentally interesting size-dependent electronic, optical, and magnetic properties. In terms of applications, these nanostructures have wide-ranging utility in areas as diverse as catalysis, energy storage, biomedicine, computation, power generation, photonics, remediation, and sensing.
Key Case Studies of Successful Metal-Containing Nanostructure Synthesis
(i). Tungstates
(ii). Fluorides
(iii). Magnetic Nanostructures
(iv). Perovskite Nanostructures
(v). Titanate Nanostructures
(vi). Binary Systems
(vii). Nanostructures for Biological Labeling
(viii). Nanomaterials for Fuel Cells
II. New and Emerging Trends
A. Fuel Cells
We have recently reported on the synthesis, characterization, and electrochemical performance of novel, ultrathin Pt monolayer shell ~ Pd nanowire core catalysts of relevance for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). Initially, ultrathin Pd nanowires with diameters of 2.0 ± 0.5 nm were generated and a method has been developed to achieve highly uniform distributions of these catalysts onto the Vulcan XC-72 carbon support. As-prepared wires were activated by the use of two distinctive treatment protocols followed by selective CO adsorption in order to selectively remove undesirable organic residues. Subsequently, the desired nanowire core-Pt monolayer shell motif was reliably achieved by Cu underpotential deposition (UPD) followed by galvanic displacement of the Cu adatoms. The surface area and mass activity of the acid and ozone-treated nanowires were explored and the ozone-treated nanowires were found to maintain outstanding area and mass specific activities of 0.77 mA/cm2 and 1.83 A/mgPt, respectively, which were significantly enhanced as compared with conventional commercial Pt nanoparticles, core-shell nanoparticles, and acid-treated nanowires. The ozone-treated nanowires also maintained excellent electrochemical durability under accelerated half-cell testing and it was found that the area-specific activity increased by ~1.5 fold after a simulated catalyst lifetime.
B. Solar Cells
We have investigated the use of various morphologies, including nanoparticles, nanowires, and sea-urchins of TiO2 as the semiconducting material used as components of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). Analysis of the solar cells under AM 1.5 solar irradiation reveals the superior performance of nanoparticles, by comparison with two readily available commercial nanoparticle materials, within the DSSC architecture. The sub-structural morphology of films of these nanostructured materials has been directly characterized using SEM and indirectly probed using dye desorption. Furthermore, the surfaces of these nanomaterials were studied using TEM in order to visualize their structure, prior to their application within DSSCs. Surface areas of the materials have been quantitatively analyzed by collecting BET adsorption and desorption data. Additional investigation using open circuit voltage decay measurements reveals the efficiency of electron conduction through each TiO2 material. Moreover, the utilization of various chemically distinctive titanate materials within the DSSCs has also been investigated, demonstrating the deficiencies of using these particular chemical compositions within traditional DSSCs.
C. Nuances of Nanomaterial Toxicology
The use of any material for practical applications engenders risk. Frankly, even water itself can be fatal if misused. What is important is in understanding what constitutes acceptable risk. For nanomaterials, the key point is in determining whether a substance is inherently toxic and under what specific circumstances, it can be particularly harmful. In both cellular and marine studies, our group has found that the toxicity of a nanomaterial is often a function not only of its actual chemical composition but also of its particular structural morphology.
Representative Perspective, Review, and Concept Articles
Christopher Koenigsmann and Stanislaus S. Wong, “One-Dimensional Noble Metal Electrocatalysts: A New Structural Paradigm for Direct Methanol Fuel Cells”, invited Perspective article, Energy & Environmental Sciences (cover), 4(4), 1161 – 1176 (2011).
Jonathan M. Patete, Xiaohui Peng, Christopher Koenigsmann, Yan Xu, Barbara Karn, and Stanislaus S. Wong, invited critical review, “Viable methodologies for the Synthesis of High-Quality Nanostructures”, Green Chemistry, 13(3), 482-519 (2011). One of the top 10 accessed articles in Green Chemistry in March and April 2011.
Amanda L. Tiano, Alexander C. Santulli, Christopher Koenigsmann, and
Stanislaus S. Wong, “Solution-Based Synthetic Strategies for One-Dimensional Metal-Containing Nanostructures”, invited Feature Article, Chem. Commun., 46(43), 8093-8130 (2010).
Xiaohui Peng, Jingyi Chen, James A. Misewich, and Stanislaus S. Wong, “Carbon Nanotube-Nanocrystal Heterostructures”, invited Critical Review, Chem. Soc. Rev. (inside cover), 38(4), 1076-1098 (2009).
Xiaohui Peng and Stanislaus S. Wong, “Functional Covalent Chemistry of Carbon Nanotube Surfaces”, invited Progress Report, Adv. Mater., 21(6), 625-642 (2009).
Yuanbing Mao, Tae-Jin Park, Fen Zhang, Hongjun Zhou, and Stanislaus S. Wong; “Environmentally friendly methodologies of nanostructure synthesis”, invited review, Small, 3(7), 1122-1139 (2007).
Tae-Jin Park, Sarbajit Banerjee, Tirandai Hemraj-Benny, and Stanislaus S. Wong, “Purification Strategies and Purity Evaluation Techniques for Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes”, J. Mater. Chem. (Feature Article; cover), 16(2), 141-154 (2006).
Tirandai Hemraj-Benny, Sarbajit Banerjee, Sharadha Sambasivan, Mahalingam Balasubramanian, Daniel A. Fischer, Gyula Eres, Alexander A. Puretzky, David B. Geohegan, Douglas H. Lowndes, Weiqiang Han, James A. Misewich, and Stanislaus S. Wong, “Near-edge X-ray Absorption Fine Structure Spectroscopy as a Tool for Investigating Nanomaterials”, Small (Concepts Article), 2(1), 26-35 (2006).
Yuanbing Mao, Tae-Jin Park, and Stanislaus S. Wong, “Synthesis of classes of ternary metal oxide nanostructures”, Chem. Commun. (Invited Feature Article; inside cover), (46), 5721-5735 (2005).
Sarbajit Banerjee, Tirandai Hemraj-Benny, and Stanislaus S. Wong, “Routes Towards Separating Metallic and Semiconducting Nanotubes”, invited review, J. Nanosci. Nanotech., 5(6), 841-855 (2005).
Sarbajit Banerjee, Tirandai Hemraj-Benny, and Stanislaus S. Wong, “Covalent Surface Chemistry of Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes”, invited review, Adv. Mater., 17(1), 17-29 (2005).
Sarbajit Banerjee, Michael G.C. Kahn, and Stanislaus S. Wong, “Rational Chemical Strategies for Carbon Nanotube Functionalization”, invited Concepts article, Chem. Eur. J., 9(9), 1898-1908 (2003).
