Little drops of water,/Little grains of sand,/Make the mighty ocean- Julius Carney
Ionic Liquid
Imidazolium-based ionic liquids are attractive green solvents that can revolutionize industrial and laboratory practices. However, understanding these ionic liquids on a molecular level is a challenge as these are non-homogeneous liquids entirely made of ions. Our group focuses on examining these liquids with infrared spectroscopy both linear and nonlinear in conjunction with wet-chemistry manipulations to enable observation of the solvent structure and dynamics.
Deep Eutectic Liquid
Deep Eutectic Liquids are similar to ionic liquids in many aspects, but its solvent structure and dynamics is governed by hydrogen bonding instead of coulombic forces as in conventional ionic liquids. Our group is interested in understanding the microenvirionment of these solvents, solute-solvent interactions and application of these materials in drug delivery
Bioimaging.
Imaging chemical changes in a diseased site by infrared spectroscopy can be attractive way for detecting diseases at an early stage. A bottleneck in chemical imaging is spectral congestion and thus it is rare to find infrared imaging in medical settings. Our goal is to simplify the imaging analysis in the infrared without resorting to complex algorithms by exploiting the biological background signal. Unambiguous interpretation of the images can compliment existing methods in medical settings to detect diseases.
Photocurable Ionic Liquid Formulation
Flexible electronics and sensors are required for next generation of devices and deep space explorations.To this end, our group is formulating conductive polymers based on ionic liquids that can be used for functional 3D-printing and bio scaffolds. In particular, we are interested in manufacturing micro to nano devices using multiphoton lithography.
Greenhouse Gases From Swamps
Research on carbon exchange, particularly methane, from wetlands surrounding Lake Pontchartrain area is almost non-existent. Our goal is to use portable infrared devices to measure methane from wetlands and connect it to environmental parameters.
Guided Inquiry In Physical Chemistry
Physical chemistry is traditionally represented as a hard science where concepts of chemistry, physics, and mathematics are amalgamated. Our approach is to make this subject fun to learn through guided work and self-discovery. Our work involves modified POGIL methods and Xavier research incorporated in the curriculum with continuous feedback from students to revise the content.