 Deon Terrell Miles
 It's never too early to start learning chemistry! Welcome, Noah Alexander Miles! Deon's Research Interests:
Monolayer-Protected Semiconductor and Metallic Nanoparticles Synthesis: My research group is interested in studying water-soluble, monolayer-protected semiconductor nanoparticles (also known as quantum dots [QDs]) as a precursor to incorporating them into nanoscale bio-sensing and vapor-sensing devices. We use an aqueous method to synthesize QDs that are surrounded by water-soluble thiols (e.g., glutathione). My group has also synthesized monolayer-protected gold clusters (MPCs) using a simple biphasic protocol. We have extensively studied the electrochemical properties of as-prepared and redox-modified MPCs in solution at reduced temperatures. Analysis: For our QDs, the key factors that determine if they can be used in the aforementioned potential devices include: (i) solubility in a desired solvent, (ii) stability of luminescent properties under true operation conditions, and (iii) high luminescence quantum efficiency. We use several analytical techniques to study these factors, including: Ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) Spectroscopy Photoluminescence (PL) Spectroscopy Proton Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (1H NMR) Spectroscopy Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) Spectroscopy High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) Cyclic Voltammetry (CV) and Differential Pulse Voltammetry (DPV) |