Research Interests:

The primary research focus of Chemical Physics Group (CPG) contains two folds. One is nanoscale science and application and the other is the research and development of explosive, biological and chemical detection applications at trace level. Our nanoscience and technology research includes 1) the fabrication and discovery of novel phenomena, properties and functions of the materials at nanoscale, which are nonscalable outside of the nm domain; 2) the ability to manipulate matter at the nanoscale in order to change those properties and functions and 3) the use of these highly function materials for sensor and device developments such as solar cells, optically and electrically based chemical sensors and light sources. The trace detection research in our group is closely linked to our nation's homeland security and protection against terrorism. Our primary rule in the field is to provide the basic but important information of the physical and chemical properties of the molecules and agents to be detected, which, in turn, will shed the lights on how to detect them before being deployed. Since the establishment in 1994, the group has demonstrated excellent track records in research, graduate and undergraduate training, and research collaborations with other universities and national labs, as well as other groups on Fisk campus.

Selected Recent Publications:

"The structure and optical properties of ZnO nanocrystals embedded in CaF2 matrix", Y.C. Liu, H.Y. Xu, R. Mu, D.O. Henderson,  Appl. Phys. Lett (July, 2003).

"Effects of interfacial interaction potential on the sublimation rates of TNT films on a silica surface examined by QCM and AFM techniques"  R. Mu, A. Ueda, M.H. Wu and D.O. Henderson, Surface Science Lett. 530, L293 (2003).

"Optical properties and electrical characterization of p-type ZnO thin films prepared by thermally oxiding Zn3N2 thin films" B.S. Li, Y.C. Liu, Z.Z. Zhi, D.Z. Shen, Y.M. Lu, J.Y. Zhang, X.W. Fan, R. Mu, Don O. Henderson. J Mat. Res. Rap. Comm. 18, 3-8 (2003).

"Fabrication of Self-assembled, size graded Si quantum dots by pulsed laser deposition. D.O. Henderson, R.H. Wu, R. Mu, A. Ueda, B. Vlahovic, and M. Jaksic. Materials Research Society Symposium Proceedings Volume 775  (Self-Assembled Nanostructured Materials) P9.1/1 - P9.1/6 (2003).

"Production of III-V nanocrystals by picosecond pulsed laser ablation. M.H. Wu, R. Mu, A. Ueda, and D.O. Henderson. Materials Research Society Symposium Proceedings Volume 780 (Nanostructuring Advanced Optical Processing of Materials) Y3.2/1 - Y3.2/6 (2003).

"Preferred orientation of ZnO nanoparticles formed by post-thermal annealing zinc implanted silica.     Liu, Y. X.; Liu, Y. C.; Shen, D. Z.; Zhong, G. Z.; Fan, X. W.; Kong, X. G.; R. Mu.; Henderson, D. O. Solid State Comm. ,  121(9-10), 531-536 (2002).

"Optically measured diffusion constants of oxygen vacancies in MgO".  Ueda, A.; R. Mu; Tung, Y-S.; Wu, M. H.; Zavalin, A.; Wang, P. W.; Henderson, D. O. J. Physics: Condensed Matter ,  13(23),  5535-5544 (2001).

"Experimental and Theoretical Demonstration of the Interfacial Interaction Potential Between an Adsorbed Film and a Smooth Substrate" R. Mu, A. Ueda, Y.S. Tung, and D.O. Henderson, W.A. Curby and A. Mercado, J. Phys. Chem. 104,  105 (2000).

"Self?aggregation of DNA oligomers with XGG trinucleotide repeats: kinetic and atomic force microscopy measurements" F. Sha, R. Mu, D.O. Henderson, F-M. Chen Biophys. J.  77(1),  410?423 (1999).