SCHAAK GROUP: Synthesis and Applications of Nanoscale Inorganic Solids
Schaak Group, Summer 2025. Front row: Sudipta Kundu, Danushki Suriyawansa, Afifa Naeem, Briana Pomales, Katherine Dalton, Katherine Thompson, Gaurav Dey, Sam Soliman. Back row: Anna-Kay Brooks (REU), Charles Wood, Chul-Hyun Jeong, Andersen Dimon, Alex Leffel, Nick Benson, Joe Veglak, Ray Schaak.
The Schaak group’s primary research interests are in the general area of synthetic inorganic nanochemistry. We identify target materials systems that underpin practical, relevant, and emerging applications, but for which fundamentally interesting synthetic bottlenecks preclude their formation. We then seek to develop new synthetic tools that overcome these challenges, both to generate and study our specific target materials and to provide conceptually new synthetic approaches that are broadly applicable. Our targets, materials systems, and applications are diverse, spanning stand-alone or integrated metals, metal alloys, metal oxides, metal chalcogenides, metal phosphides, and metal carbides for use in applications that include catalysis, photonics, and energy conversion and storage.