Oomman K Varghese
University of Houston, USA
Title: Functional oxide nanoarchitectures for emerging energy and clinical technologies
Biography
Biography: Oomman K Varghese
Abstract
Functional materials change specific physicochemical properties under the action of external stimuli such as light, electric field, magnetic field, temperature, pressure or atomic/molecular interaction and this behavior makes them highly relevant both scientifically and technologically. Oxide semiconductors such as titanium dioxide and zinc oxide belong to this category. These are earth-abundant and low cost materials useful for a wide range of applications including electronics, optoelectronics, photovoltaics, photocatalysis and chemical sensing. Nanoarchitectures of these materials exhibit unique properties and as a result, a number of methods have emerged for developing them. Anodic oxidation is a century old industrial process
traditionally used for growing protective oxide films on metals such as aluminum and titanium. The process is currently known primarily for its ability to yield highly ordered one-dimensional nanoarchitectures such as nanotube and nanowire arrays. Titania nanotube array architecture has already been widely explored for various applications including solar energy conversion. Recently, a zinc oxide nanotube-nanowire hybrid structure developed using anodic oxidation exhibited promising characteristics for use as chemiresistive sensors for early non-invasive detection of breast cancer. This talk will focus on the specific properties of these oxides for applications in energy conversion technologies such as hybrid solar cells and solar fuel generation processes as well as in clinical devices for early detection of cancer.