	Home Home
	Welcome Welcome
	Faculty Faculty
	Staff Staff
	Research Research
	Centers Centers
	Facilities Facilities
	Graduate Graduate
	Undergraduate Undergraduate
	Alumni Alumni
	Courses Courses
	Seminars Seminars
	Special Events Special Events
	Outreach Outreach
	Employment Employment

1102 Natural Sciences 2 University of California, Irvine, California, 92697-2025 :: phone (949) 824-4097 :: fax (949) 824-8571

Reginald M. Penner

Professor, Chemistry
School of Physical Sciences

Director, Institute for Surface and Interface Science (ISIS)

Ph.D., Texas A&M University, 1987

B.A. 1983, Gustavus Adolphus College

Phone: (949) 824-8572
Fax: (949) 824-8125
Email: rmpenner@uci.edu

University of California
2137 Natural Sciences Unit 2
Mail Code: 2025
Irvine, CA 92697-202



Research Interests	Analytical Chemistry

URL	chem.ps.uci.edu/~rmpenner/PennerGroup.html

Academic Distinctions	1986 Distinguished Graduate Student Research Award, Texas A+M University. 1985 Dow Fellow, Texas A+M University. 1991 Procter & Gamble, University Exploratory Research Program Award. 1992 National Science Foundation, NSF Young Investigator Award. 1993 Office of Naval Research, ONR Young Investigator Award. 1993 Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation, Beckman Young Investigator Award. 1995 Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Fellow. 1995 UCI School of Physical Sciences Award for Outstanding Contributions to Undergraduate Education. 1995 Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar, Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation. 2000 Hellmuth Fischer Medal, 8th International Fischer Symposium, Karlsruhe, Germany. 2004 National Science Foundation Award for Special Creativity. 2007 Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). complete CV in PDF format

Appointments	California Institute of Technology 1988-90. Stanford University 1987-88.

Research Abstract	Our research focuses on the development of new synthetic methods for preparing nanomaterials that have unique and useful properties for chemical sensing, and for other applications. The emphasis is on electronic materials including metals, metal oxides, semiconductors, thermoelectric materials, and electronically conductive polymers. We are, first and foremost, electrochemists and electrodeposition is the starting point for all the synthetic methods we develop. This means that nanostructure "synthesis" begins on a conductive electrode surface (composed of graphite or silicon) from precursors (metal ions, organic monomers, etc.) present in a contacting liquid phase. Additional processing steps that do not involve electrochemistry are also sometimes employed to obtain compounds of interest. we have termed this "Electrochemical/Chemical" synthesis. The rigorous structural characterization of the nanomaterials we prepare consumes a large fraction of our day-to-day research effort and routinely involves six methods (TEM, SAED, SEM, EDX, XPS, and powder XRD). Many projects in the group proceed sequentially through three phases: Phase 1: synthesis and structural characterization of a nanomaterial, Phase 2: measurement of one or more "functional" fundamental, properties that may be optical, electronic, thermal, magnetic, etc., and, Phase 3: evaluation of performance in a prototype device that exploits the properties probed in Phase 2. While breakthroughs can happen in Phases 1 and 2, we believe that the most important discoveries in chemical sensing and in other applications will involve proceeding all the way to Phase 3. The reason is that the behavior of a particular nanomaterial in a particular application or device can not be predicted based on its structure, morphology, and chemical composition. Consequently, we target nanomaterials that are likely to exhibit useful behavior, and we stay alert for surprises! We are interested in how the composition and structure of a nanomaterial produces the properties that make it useful, and we are willing to devote time and effort to the elucidation of this structure-property relationship. Our central premise is that nanomaterials with unique attributes, and over which we have direct synthetic control, will lead to breakthroughs in chemical sensing and other applications. The six objectives of our research program are the following: Identify and understand the processes that lead to size dispersion in the electrochemical growth of nanostructures such as nanoparticles and nanowires. Devise electrochemical methods for circumventing these processes; methods that enable the electrodeposition of "size monodisperse" nanometer-scale structures. Synthesize nanostructures composed of compounds possessing desirable and technologically useful electronic properties. The family of methods we are developing for this purpose are called "Electrochemical/Chemical Methods". Materials of current interest include semiconductors (e.g., MoS₂, CdS), thermoelectrics (Bi₂Te₃), and electronically conductive polymers (e.g. polythiophene). Discover new strategies for enforcing a two-dimensional organization on the electrodeposition of nanostructures on flat electrode surfaces. Measure and understand the size-dependant physical and chemical properties of nanostructures including the conductivity, electro- and photoluminescence, thermoelectricity, magnetoresistance, and chemical reactivity. Exploit the unique properties of these nanostructures in chemical sensors and other types of devices in new and interesting ways. Figure. Nanowires electrodeposited onto glass surfaces using the Lithographically Patterned Nanowire Electrodeposition (LPNE) Method. Students in the group receive an especially broad exposure to the tools of modern materials and surface chemistry including electron microscopy and electron diffraction, scanning probe microscopy, laser-induced luminescence spectroscopy, state-of-the-art computational methods, and of course electrochemistry.

Publications	Q. Li and R.M. Penner*, Photoconductive Cadmium Sulfide Hemicylindrical Shell Nanowire Ensembles. Nano Letters 5 (2005) 1720.

	B.J. Murray, J.T. Newberg, E.C. Walter, Q. Li, J.C. Hemminger, and R.M. Penner*, Fast, Reversible Resistance Modulation in Mesoscopic Silver Wires Induced by Exposure to Amine Vapor. Analytical Chemistry 77 (2005) 5205.

	Q. Li, E.C. Walter, W.E. van der Veer, B.J. Murray, J.T. Newberg, E.W. Bohannan, J.A. Switzer, J.C. Hemminger, and R.M. Penner*, Molybdenum Disulfide Nanowires and Nanoribbons by Electrochemical/Chemical Synthesis, J. Phys. Chem. B 109 (2005) 3169.

	R.A.W. Dryfe, E.C. Walter, and R.M. Penner, Electroless Deposition of Metal Nanostructures Powered by Insoluble Crystals of a Ferrocene Derivative, ChemPhysChem 12 (2004) 1879.

	E.J. Menke, Q. Li, and R.M. Penner*, Bismuth Telluride (Bi2Te3) Nanowires Synthesized by Cyclic Electrodeposition/Stripping Coupled with Step Edge Decoration, NanoLetters 4 (2004) 2009.

	Q. Li, J.B. Olsen, and R.M. Penner*, Nanocrystalline -MnO2 Nanowires By Electrochemical Step Edge Decoration, Chemistry of Materials 16 (2004) 3402.

	B.J. Murray, E.C. Walter, and R.M. Penner*, Amine Vapor Sensing With Silver Mesowires, NanoLetters 4 (2004) 665

	Q. Li, J.T. Newberg, E.C. Walter, J.C. Hemminger, and R.M. Penner*, Molybdenum Disulfide (2H-MoS₂) Nano- and Micro-Ribbons by Electrochemical/Chemical Synthesis, NanoLetters 4 (2004) 277

	E.C. Walter, B.J. Murray, F. Favier, and R.M. Penner, Beaded Bimetallic Nanowires: Wiring Nanoparticles of Metal 1 Using Nanowires of Metal 2*, Adv. Mat. 15 (2003) 396.

	G. Kaltenpoth, P. Schnabel, E. Menke, E.C Walter, and M. Grunze, R.M. Penner*, Multi-Mode Detection of Hydrogen Gas Using Palladium Nanoparticle Networks On Silicon, Analytical Chemistry 75 (2003) 4756

	E.C. Walter, M.P. Zach, F. Favier, B.J. Murray, K. Inazu, J.C. Hemminger, and R.M. Penner*, Metal Nanowire Arrays by Electrodeposition, ChemPhysChem 4 (2003) 131.

Professional Societies	American Chemical Society Materials Research Society Electrochemical Society

Research Center	Institute for Surface and Interface Science

Link to this profile	http://www.faculty.uci.edu/profile.cfm?faculty_id=2040

Last updated	11/16/2006