Current Research Interests

1. Polymer Nanocomposites

• Bio-inspired surface modification of nanofillers using polydopamine

• Bio-based lignin as functional additives

• Multifunctional nanofillers

Polydopamine-coated graphene as multifunctional nanofillers in polyurethane

 

Lignin-assisted direct exfoliation of graphite and other 2D materials in aqueous media
(AL: alkali lignin; MoS₂: molybdenum disulfide; WS₂: tungsten disulfide; BN: boron nitride)

Toughening epoxy resin using lignin

 

2. Nanocomposites and Organic-Inorganic Hybrid materials
for Electrochemical Applications

• Hybrid electrochromic materials

• Carbon-based nanocomposites for lithium-ion battery (LIB) electrodes

Covalently bonded polyaniline-TiO₂ hybrids as highly stable electrochromic materials

 

One-pot Layer-by-Layer electrodeposited WO₃/PEDOT:PSS hybrid films with enhanced electrochromic performance

 

Dopamine-assisted one-pot synthesis of zinc ferrite-embedded porous carbon nanospheres for ultrafast and stable lithium-ion battery anodes

3. Electrospinning-Derived Functional Composite Nanomaterials

• Nanofibers as templates for fabrication of nanoparticle-encapsulated hollow C nanofibers

• Hybrid nanofibers as hosts for ionic liquid-based electrolytes

• Nanofibers as hosts for growing inorganic nanostructures

  

Silicon nanoparticles encapsulated in polydopamine (PDA)-derived hollow graphitized carbon nanofibers for lithium-ion battery anode

 

Covalently attaching inorganic oxides on electrospun PVDF nanofibrous mats and the applications of the hybrid mats as ionic liquid host in electrochromic device (b) and lithium-ion battery (c)

 

Growth of ZnFe₂O₄ nanorods (c) and MoS₂ nanosheets (d) in mesoporous C-PDA nanofibers for lithium-ion battery applications