Research

Developing fundamentally new materials, and new ways to fabricate them, is the core of the research program in The Fenton Lab. Work in our group focuses on creative synthetic problem solving at the interface of inorganic and organic materials, covering a range of fundamental and application-driven inquiries in colloidal nanosolids, porous materials, polymers, and extended hybrid solids. 

​

​

Since our lab was established in January 2022, we have been hard at work building out our lab space and purchasing/commissioning new synthetic and analytical equipment. We have new, state-of-the-art equipment in our lab, including a bench top powder X-ray diffractometer, Shimadzu FT-IR and UV-Vis spectrometers, a Vigor double glovebox, and numerous furnaces and ovens, all of which enable us to work efficiently and effectively. We are awaiting several additional pieces of equipment that should arrive in the first half of 2023! Check out our lab tour to preview our in-house capabilities. 

 

​

Our lab's initial projects are underway and moving forward. We are currently focusing our efforts on two major material classes: hybrid materials and colloidal nanocrystals. Both projects are driven by fundamental synthetic questions with an emphasis on detailed materials characterization.

 

​

Lab members make extensive use of the facilities available in Penn State's Materials Characterization Lab (a short walk from our lab space!). These specialized techniques include scanning and transmission electron microscopy and single-crystal x-ray diffraction, among (many) others.

​

​

If you have additional questions about research, please email Julie. We look forward to sharing the details of our science with you soon!