RESEARCH INTERESTS

Our research involves the synthesis, processing and application of new nanostructures, with an emphasis on developing facile chemical and/or physical approaches for processing nanoscale objects (nanoparticles, nanosheets and nanofibres) into practically usable macroscopic materials. We are particularly interested in creating new functional materials or devices by controlled assembling selected functional nanoscale building units over a range of length scales. Current topics include:

• Synthesis, processing and assembly of functional nanomaterials including graphene, carbon nanotubes, conducting polymers, metal and inorganic semiconductor nanoparticles/nanofibers and biological/biomimic nanostructures
• Developing new cost-effective techniques for solution-phase processing of nanomaterials

• Novel applications of nanomaterials in energy conversion/storage, chemical and biomedical sensing, drug delivery, nanomedicine, catalysis and membrane separation

Please refer to our recent publications listed in the link below for some snapshots of our research.
We welcome both graduate and undergraduate students and visiting scientists to join our multidisciplinary research group!

Li & Kaner, Graphene-based materials. Science, 320, 1170-1171 (2008)	Li & Xia, Electrospinning of nanofibers: Reinventing the wheel? Adv. Mater, 16, 1151-1170 (2004)

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

1. Li, D*.; Kaner, R. B*., Graphene-based materials (Perspective). Science, 320, 1170-1171 (2008).
2. Li, D*.; Muller, M. B.; Gilje, S.; Kaner, R. B.; Wallace, G. G., Processable aqueous dispersions of graphene nanosheets. Nature Nanotechnology, 3, 101-105 (2008) (see a few of News highlights: http://www.nature.com/nnano/press_releases/nnano0108.html;
   http://www.natureasia.com/asia-materials/highlight.php?id=77;      http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/News/2008/January/28010802.asp) .

3. Chen, H.; Muller, M. B.; Gilmore, K. J.; Wallace, G. G.; Li, D*., Mechanically strong, electrically conductive and biocompatible graphene paper, Advanced Materials, 20, 3557 (2008).
4. Li, D,; Huang, J. X.; Kaner, R. B. Polyaniline nanofibers: A unique polymer nanostructure for versatile applications (Invited review). Accounts of Chemical Research, in press.
5. Hu, L.B., Gruner, G., Li, D., Kaner, R.B. & Cech, J. Patternable transparent carbon nanotube films for electrochromic devices. Journal of Applied Physics 101, 016102 (2007).
6. Li, D., Marquez, M. & Xia, Y.N. Capturing electrified nanodroplets under Rayleigh instability by coupling electrospray with a sol-gel reaction, Chemical Physics Letters, 445, 271-275 (2007).
7. Li, D. & Kaner, R.B. How nucleation affects the aggregation of nanoparticles (Highlight cover article). Journal of Materials Chemistry 17, 2279-2282 (2007).
8. Li, D. & Kaner, R.B. Shape and aggregation control of nanoparticles: Not shaken, not stirred. Journal of the American Chemical Society 128, 968-975 (2006).
9. Li, D., McCann, J.T. & Xia, Y.N. Electrospinning: A simple and versatile technique for producing ceramic nanofibers and nanotubes (invited review article). Journal of the American Ceramic Society 89, 1861-1869 (2006).
10. McCann, J.T., Chen, J., Li, D., Ye, Z. & Xia, Y.N. Electrospinning of polycrystalline barium titanate nanofibers with controllable morphology and alignment, Chemical Physics Letters, 424, 162-166 (2006).
11. Ostermann, R., Li, D., Yin, Y.D., McCann, J.T. & Xia, Y.N. V2O5 nanorods on TiO2 nanofibers: A new class of hierarchical nanostructures enabled by electrospinning and calcination. Nano Letters 6, 1297-1302 (2006).
12. McCann, J.T., Li, D. & Xia, Y.N. Electrospinning of nanofibers with core-sheath, hollow, or porous structures. Journal of Materials Chemistry 15, 735-738 (2005) (Highlight cover article).
13. Li, D., Ouyang, G., McCann, J.T. & Xia, Y.N. Collecting electrospun nanofibers with patterned electrodes. Nano Letters 5, 913-916 (2005) (Highlighted in Materials Today, 2005, June).
14. Li, D., McCann, J.T. & Xia, Y.N. Use of electrospinning to directly fabricate hollow nanofibers with functionalized inner and outer surfaces. Small 1, 83-86 (2005).
15. Babel, A., Li, D., Xia, Y.N. & Jenekhe, S.A. Electrospun nanofibers of blends of conjugated polymers: Morphology, optical properties, and field-effect transistors. Macromolecules 38, 4705-4711 (2005).
16. Li, D. & Kaner, R.B. Processable stabilizer-free polyaniline nanofiber aqueous colloids. Chemical Communications, 3286-3288 (2005).
17. Shang, H.M., Wang, Y., Takahashi, K., Cao, G., Li, D. & Xia, Y.N. Nanostructured superhydrophobic surfaces. Journal of Materials Science 40, 3587-3591 (2005).
18. Herricks, T.E., Kim, S.-H., Kim, J., Li, D., Kwak, J. H., Grate, J. W., Kim, S. H. & Xia Y.N. Direct fabrication of enzyme-carrying polymer nanofibers by electrospinning. Journal of Materials Chemistry 15, 3241-3245 (2005).
19. Li, D., Wang, Y.L. & Xia, Y.N. Electrospinning nanofibers as uniaxially aligned arrays and layer-by-layer stacked films. Advanced Materials 16, 361-366 (2004).
20. Li, D. & Xia, Y.N. Direct fabrication of composite and ceramic hollow nanofibers by electrospinning. Nano Letters 4, 933-938 (2004) (Highlighted in C&EN News, 2004, April 26, p. 6 and in Materials Today, 2004, June, p. 14).
21. Li, D. & Xia, Y.N. Electrospinning of nanofibers: Reinventing the wheel? (invited review article) Advanced Materials 16, 1151-1170 (2004).
22. Li, D., McCann, J.T., Gratt, M. & Xia, Y.N. Photocatalytic deposition of gold nanoparticles on electrospun nanofibers of titania. Chemical Physics Letters 394, 387-391 (2004).
23. Li, D. & Xia, Y.N. Nanomaterials - Welding and patterning in a flash (invited News and Views article). Nature Materials 3, 753-754 (2004).
24. Li, D., Babel, A., Jenekhe, S.A. & Xia, Y.N. Nanofibers of conjugated polymers prepared by electrospinning with a two-capillary spinneret. Advanced Materials 16, 2062-2066 (2004).
25. Li, D. & Xia, Y.N. Fabrication of titania nanofibers by electrospinning. Nano Letters 3, 555-560 (2003).
26. Li, D., Wang, Y.L. & Xia, Y.N. Electrospinning of polymeric and ceramic nanofibers as uniaxially aligned arrays. Nano Letters 3, 1167-1171 (2003) (Highlighted by Science as Editors’ Choices: Science, 2003, 301, 567).
27. Li, D., Herricks, T. & Xia, Y.N. Magnetic nanofibers of nickel ferrite prepared by electrospinning. Applied Physics Letters 83, 4586-4588 (2003).
28. Zhang, J.Z., Wang, X., Lu, L.D., Li, D. & Yang, X.J. Preparation and performance of high-impact polystyrene (HIPS)/Nano-TiO2 nanocomposites. Journal of Applied Polymer Science 87, 381-385 (2003)).
29. Xie, D., Jiang, Y., Li, D., Wu, Z. & Li, Y. Fabrication and characterization of polyaniline-based gas sensor by ultra-thin film technology. Sensors and Actuators B-Chemical 81, 158-164 (2002).
30. Li, D. et al. Synthesis of ultrafine Fe2O3 powders by decomposition of organic precursors and structural control by doping. Journal of Materials Science Letters 22, 931-933 (2003).
31. Yang, J., Li, D., Wang, X., Yang, X.J. & Lu, L.D. Rapid synthesis of nanocrystalline TiO2/SnO2 binary oxides and their photoinduced decomposition of methyl orange. Journal of Solid State Chemistry 165, 193-198 (2002).
32. Yang, J., Li, D., Wang, X., Yang, X.J. & Lu, L.D. Synthesis and microstructural control of nanocrystalline titania powders via a stearic acid method. Materials Science and Engineering A-Structural Materials Properties Microstructure and Processing 328, 108-112 (2002).
33. Li, D. et al. Dispersion of carbon nanotubes in aqueous solutions containing poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride). Journal of Materials Science Letters 22, 253-255 (2002).
34. Li, D. et al. Fabrication of polyaniline/phthalocyanine hybrid ultrathin films via electrostatic attraction and doping reaction. Journal of Materials Science Letters 20, 233-235 (2001).
35. Yang, J., Li, D., Wang, H., Wang, X., Yang X. & Lu, D. Effect of particle size of starting material TiO2 on morphology and properties of layered titanates. Materials Letters 50, 230-234 (2001).
36. Li, D., Wu, D.H., Wang, X., Lu, L.D. & Yang, X.J. Rapid preparation of porous Fe2O3/SiO2 nanocomposites via an organic precursor. Materials Research Bulletin 36, 2437-2442 (2001).
37. Li, D., Ding, W.Y., Wang, X., Lu, L.D. & Yang, X.J. Modifying substrate surfaces with self-assembled polyelectrolyte layers to promote the formation of uniform polypyrrole films. Applied Surface Science 183, 259-263 (2001).
38. Li, D., Ding, W.Y., Wang, X., Lu, L.D. & Yang, X.J. A simple approach to enhance the deposition of polyaniline films with self-assembled polyelectrolyte layers. Journal of Materials Science Letters 20, 1925-1928 (2001).
39. Li, D., Jiang, Y.D., Wu, Z.M., Chen, X.D. & Li, Y.R. Fabrication of self-assembled polyaniline films by doping-induced deposition. Thin Solid Films 360, 24-27 (2000).
40. Li, D., Jiang, Y.D., Wu, Z.M., Chen, X.D. & Li, Y.R. Self-assembly of polyaniline ultrathin films based on doping-induced deposition effect and applications for chemical sensors. Sensors and Actuators B-Chemical 66, 125-127 (2000).
41. Li, D. et al. Self-assembly of polyaniline/polyacrylic acid films via acid-base reaction induced deposition. Polymer 40, 7065-7070 (1999).
42. Li, D. et al. A novel technique to prepare ultrafine Fe2O3 via hydrated iron(III) nitrate. Journal of Materials Science Letters 16, 493-495 (1997).
43. Wang, X.H. Li. D., et al. The preparation of barium ferrite nanocrystalline powders by a stearic acid gel method. Materials Letters 28, 203-206 (1996)
44. Wang, X.H., Li. D, Lu, L. & Wang, X. Synthesis of substituted M- and W-type barium ferrite nanostructured powders by stearic acid gel method, Journal of Alloys and Compounds, 1996, 237, 45-48.

Book Chapters

1. Dan Li, Jesse T. McCann and Younan Xia, Uniaxial alignment of electrospun nanofibres, ACS Symposium Series, 918, Polymer Nanofibers (Ed: D. H. Reneker), 319-329, 2006.
2. Dan Li, Jesse T. McCann, Manuel Marquez, Younan Xia, Electrospinning of nanofibers with controlled structures and complex architectures, in Annual Reviews of Nano Research, Vol 1 (Ed: Guozhong Cao & C Jeffrey Brinker), World Scientific Publishing, 2006.

Patents

1. Dan Li and Gordon G. Wallace, Fabrication of aqueous colloids of graphene nanosheets, Australian Provisional Patent, filed on October 19, 2007.
2. Richard B. Kaner, Dan Li, and Jiaxing Huang, Fabrication of polyaniline nanofiber dispersions and films, US patent 2007194286.
3. Younan Xia and Dan Li, Electrospinning of fine hollow fibers, US patent, 2006226580.
4. Yadong Jiang and Dan Li, Chinese Patent: A method to fabricate self-assembled polyaniline films by doping-induced deposition, CN1254728, 2000.
5. Yadong Jiang and Dan Li, Chinese Patent: NO2 gas sensors based on doped polyaniline nanoscaled films, CN1271096, 2000.
6. Xin Wang, Xiaohui Wang and Dan Li, Chinese Patent: A method to prepare ultrafine ferrite powders, ZL95111102.7, 1997. 

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