Doctoral Student
Email: gabinetu@seas.upenn.edu
Phone: (203) 252-8213
220 S 33rd St
Moore 300B
Philadelphia, PA, 19104
Bio
Since January 2016, PhD Student, Yale School of Engineering & Applied Science, Department of Chemical Engineering
June 2015, B.Sc in Chemical Engineering, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel
Current Research
My current research focuses on directed assembly of anisotropic inorganic nanomaterials using self-assembled soft mesophases. Two model systems of inorganic nanomaterials are used: 1D ZnO nanorods and 2D MoS2 nanosheets.
The first system involves plasmonically active block copolymer (BCP) templated ZnO@Au Core@Shell NRs. Highly ordered ZnO nanorod (NR) arrays are formed using block copolymers as a template. The NR array feature size and density can be modified by varying the BCP MW. NR growth is done hydrothermally under ambient hydrothermally, and subsequently gold is added by reduction. To test the plasmonic properties of the array, the array’s optical prperties are simulated and compared with experimental measurements. In addition, the substrates are used in Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS).
The second system involves MoS2-liquid crystals composites. MoS2 exfoliated 2D nanosheets are incorporated into thermotropic and lyotropic mesophases, which are then aligned magnetically or by shear. By incorporating the sheets into liquid crystals, the inter-layer spacing can be controlled as well as the sheets’ orientation, which can be useful in application.
Previous Research
Before joining Professor Osuji’s lab, I participated in research exploring the contractile forces of actomyosin networks and active gels, under the supervision of Prof. Anne Bernheim. In this project I designed and developed an experimental system to examine the interactions between different bio-polymers, and later quantified and analysed the data, obtained mostly by florescence microscopy, using image analysis software and Matlab, to asses the contractile forces exerted by molecular motors on the active gel network. In addition, I was also involved with research of theoretical models of molecular photovoltaics: single molecule and heterojunction based. The models were based on kinetic analysis of the electron transport mechanisms, and were also used to fit experimental data.