Current Research Activities in Asefa Nanomaterials include:

• Development of efficient multifunctional nanocatalysts and investigation of their catalytic properties
• Synthesis of multifunctionalized nanoporous biomaterials for biological and medical applications
• Development of novel nanomaterials (nanoparticles, nanowires, core-shell nanomaterials) with a wide array of shapes and compositions
• Nanofabrication of novel nanostructures via electrochemical deposition inside nanoporous "hard-templates" for making efficient sensors and biosensors
• Nanofabrication of nanocrystals/polymer composite materials by combination of photolithography and chemical vapor deposition for solar-cell applications
• Synthesis of nanoporous sponges for environmental remediation of waste water such as Onondaga Lake.

Resources and Research Facilities in Asefa’s Research Group:

Our UV-Vis-NIR spectrophotometer with accessories for measuring solution, powder and thin film samples at various temperature (Lambda 950, Perkin Elmer)	An 8-step programmable tube furnace
Our GC-MS spectrometer (HP 5972)	Our potentiostat with a Faraday Cage for electrochemical deposition of nanomaterials (PAR 263A)
Dr. Yanli Shi using our TGA (which is shared with professor Doyle). The TGA has robotic autosampler (Q-500, TA Instruments)	Our centrifuge (ALC)
Our nanopure water purification system (Barnsted) provides us with 18 M-ohm nanopure water for our research work.	BET gas adsorption (Micromeritics ASAP 2020) (Shared with profs Zubieta and Chaiken)

Fume-Hoods: We have several brand new, modern fume-hoods and bench spaces for our research works

Equipments and Facilities Accessible in Asefa Lab and Around:

Our newly completely renovated lab space (1,600 sq. ft) consists of six, big (6-ft) brand-new fume hoods, large bench-spaces, and spacious and beautiful student offices. Our lab is also equipped with various types of brand new instrumentation including UVVis- NIR spectrophotometer (Labmda 950, Perkin Elmer), a thermogravimetric analyzer with autosampler (TGA, Q-500, TA Instruments - shared with Prof. Doyle), a GC-MS spectrometer (HP-572), a Tristar 3000 gas adsorption instrument, a Micrometrics ASAP 2020 gas adsorption instrument (shared with Prof. Chaiken and Zubieta), an 8-step programmable furnaces (up to 1,200 °C, a Potentiostat (PAR 263 - Princeton Applied Research), an oven furnace, a centrifuge (ALC), a nanopure water purification system (Barnsted), Rotavap (Yamamoto), Ultrasonicators (Branson), fridges, freezers, heating baths and mantles, etc.

We also have access to the Cornell Nanoscale Facility (CNF) at Cornell University, a national users' facility and one of the best nanofabrication facilities in the country. CNF is about one hour drive away from Syracuse and it has a large number of state-of-the-art facilities in Class-100 clean rooms. We currently use sputtering, profilorometer, e-Beam evaporator, nanolithography tools, etc. at CNF, which are great resources for our nanomaterials research. We additionally have access at the Cornell Center for Materials Research (CCMR) at Cornell University to do our low-angle X-ray diffraction experiments on our nanoporous and mesoporous materials using Small Angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and powder X-ray diffraction as well as high resolution TEM instruments. Students in our groups constantly travel to CNF and CCMR at Cornell University to have hands-on experience on such instrumentation and to conduct their experiments and research. We get beam-times at Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Source (CHESS) at Cornell University twice a year to carry out some experiments by using state-of-the-art synchrotron sources. We also use solid-state NMR spectrometer, transmission electron microscope (TEM) and scanning electron microscopes at SUNYESF just across the street from where we are, another TEM instrument at nearby SUNY Upstate Medical University, and still another SEM machine in the Geology Department at Syracuse University.

Acknowledgements:

Syracuse University

Cornell NanoscaleFacility (CNF), Cornell University

SUNY - ESF

Cornell Center for Materials Research (CCMR), Cornell University

Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Source (CHESS), Cornell University