Professor Robinson's research focuses on nanostructured materials for alternative energy applications. Our goal is to utilize the advanced properties of nanomaterials to build efficient thermoelectrics and fuel cells. By altering the size, shape, and composition of our particles we are able to tune properties important to these applications such as their band gap and thermal conductivity. Additionally our conducting metal oxide nanomaterials can be used in a variety of other energy applications where charge transport is important.
Research Projects -Colloidal synthesis of nanoparticle metal oxides -Doping of nanoparticles to control electronic and thermal properties -Synthesis of new organometallic precursors for nanoparticles -In situ studies of particle nucleation and growth -Nanofabrication of monochromatic phonon source
Much of our synthetic work revolves around colloidal synthesis of nanoparticles, relying on solvothermal, air-free techniques. We use a variety of organometallic precursors and surfactant groups to control nanoparticle composition and growth rate, with the ultimate goal of structuring efficient materials specifically for thermoelectric and fuel cell applications. The particles are assembled into macro-sized materials through a variety of means en route to producing devices. To enhance our understanding of thermoelectrics we are studying the heat transport, carrier confinement, phonon boundary scattering, and thermoelectric properties in low-dimensional materials. We're developing a monochromatic phonon source and a phonon spectrometer to accomplish this. Other fundamental research areas include the study of nanoparticle growth and nucleation, ion intercalation, and surface ligand chemistry.
D.R. Nevers* C.B. Williamson*, B.H. Savitzky, I.H. Hadar, U. Banin, L.F. Kourkoutis, Tobias Hanrath†, and R.D. Robinson†, “Mesophase Formation Stabilizes High-purity Magic-sized Clusters,” JACS 140, 3652 (2018) DOI: 10.1021/jacs.7b12175
D.R. Nevers* C.B. Williamson*, Tobias Hanrath†, and R.D. Robinson†, “Surface Chemistry of Cadmium Sulfide Magic-sized Clusters: A Window into Ligand-Nanoparticle Interactions,” Chem. Comm. 53, 2866-2869 (2017) DOI: 10.1039/c6cc09549f
A. Nelson*, D.-H. Ha*, R.D. Robinson, “Selective Etching of Copper Sulfide Nanoparticles and Heterostructures through Sulfur Abstraction: Phase Transformations and Optical Properties,” Chemistry of Materials 28, 8530-8541 (2016) DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemmater.6b02764
A. Nelson*, K.E. Fritz*, S. Honrao, R.G. Hennig, R.D. Robinson†, and J. Suntivich†, “Increased Activity in Hydrogen Evolution Electrocatalysis for Partial Anionic Substitution in Cobalt Oxysulfide Nanoparticles,” J. Mater. Chem. A 4, 2842-2848 (2016) DOI: 10.1039/c5ta08706f
C.B. Williamson, D.R. Nevers, T. Hanrath†, R.D. Robinson†, “The Prodigious Effects of Concentration Intensification on Nanoparticle Synthesis: A High-Quality, Scalable Approach,” J. Am. Chem. Soc. 137, 15843 (2015)DOI:10.1021/jacs.5b10006
S.D. Perera, X. Ding, A. Bhargava, R. Hovden, A. Nelson, L.F. Kourkoutis, R.D. Robinson, “Enhanced Supercapacitor Performance for Equal Co-Mn Stoichiometry in Colloidal Co3-xMnxO4 Nanoparticles, in Additive-Free Electrodes,” Chem. Mater. 27, 7861-7873 (2015). 10.1021/acs.chemmater.5b02106
D-H. Ha, A.H. Caldwell, M.J. Ward, S. Honrao, K. Mathew, R. Hovden, M.K.A. Koker, D.A. Muller, R.G. Hennig, and R.D. Robinson, “Solid-Solid Phase Transformations Induced through Cation Exchange and Strain, in 2D Heterostructured Copper Sulfide Nanocrystals,” Nano Letters 14, 7090–7099(2014) DOI: dx.doi.org/10.1021/nl5035607
From exploring the mechanics of early-stage bone metastasis to analyzing price formation policies in wholesale electricity markets, Cornell Engineering’s Sprout Awards are funding unique research... Read more about SPROUT Awards support 6 novel research collaborations
An interdisciplinary team developed a backchannel method that uses solubility, not entropy, to overcome thermodynamic constraints and synthesize high-entropy oxide nanocrystals at lower temperatures. Read more about Backdoor method creates high-entropy material at lower temps
