Gun'ko Research Group

Prof. Yurii Gun'ko

Yurii Gun'ko graduated from the Chemistry Department of Moscow State University in 1987. He received his Ph.D degree in Inorganic Chemistry from Moscow State University in 1990. He then worked as a lecturer in Chemistry in the Belorussian Institute of Technology (Belarus). In 1994 he took up a position as a postdoctoral researcher in the group of Professor M. F. Lappert at the University of Sussex (UK). In 1995, he was awarded an Alexander von Humboldt fellowship and worked in the University of Magdeburg (Germany) with Professor F. T. Edelman. In 1999, Professor Gun'ko became lecturer of Inorganic Chemistry in the School of Chemistry in Trinity College Dublin (Ireland), where he currently works as an associate Professor and is currently Director of Research. In 2008, Professor Gun'ko received the Enterprise Ireland Industrial Technologies Commercialisation Award for his work on the development, commercialisation, and licensing of a new technology relating to polymer nanocomposite materials. To date, Professor Gun'ko has authored 135 peer-reviewed scientific publications, 2 book chapters and 10 patents.

Prof. Yurii Gun'ko has expertise in the areas of inorganic chemistry, science of materials and nanotechnology. His main research interests and activities include magnetic nanoparticles and magnetic fluids for MRI applications; metallasiloxanes; functionalisation of carbon nanotubes; and quantum dots for biomedical applications. Prof. Gun'ko's group is made up of 10 postgraduate students and 3 postdoctoral fellows. The research focuses on the synthesis and characterisation of functional materials and nano-materials. The main research interests are as follows:

• New magnetic fluids for MRI applications
• Magnetic-fluorescent nanocomposites for biomedical applications
• Silica nanoparticles for biomedical applications
• Quantum Dots for biomedical and photonic applications
• Graphene Oxide (GO) and Carbon Nanotube (CNT) - polymer composites
• Dye-sensitised Solar Cells (DSSC)
• Gold and silver nanostructures
• Pulsed injection MOCVD thin film growth

• A. Prina-Mello, A. M. Whelan, A. Atzberger, J. E. McCarthy, F.Byrne, G.-L. Davies, J. M. D. Coey, Y. Volkov and Y. K. Gun'ko
  Comparative flow cytometric analysis of immuno-functionalized nanowire and nanoparticle signatures
  Small, 2010, 6 (2), 247-255. DOI
• M. T. Byrne and Y.K. Gun'ko
  Recent Advances in Research on Carbon Nanotube-Polymer Composites
  Advanced Materials, 2010, 22 (15), 1672-1688. DOI
• I. O'Connor, H. Hayden, S. O'Connor, J. N. Coleman and Y. K. Gun'ko
  Polymer Reinforcement with Kevlar-Coated Carbon Nanotubes,
  Journal of Physical Chemistry C, 2009, 113, 20184-20192. DOI
• I. O'Connor, S. De , J. N. Coleman and Y. K. Gun'ko
  Development of transparent, conducting composites by surface infiltration of nanotubes into commercial polymer films
  Carbon, 2009, 47, 1983-1988. DOI
• I. O'Connor, H. Hayden, J. N. Coleman and Y. K. Gun'ko
  High-Strength, High-Toughness Composite Fibers by Swelling Kevlar in Nanotube Suspensions
  Small, 2009, 5(4), 466-469. DOI
• G.L. Davies, A. Barry and Y.K. Gun'ko
  Preparation and size optimisation of silica nanoparticles using statistical analyses,
  Chemical Physics Letters, 2009, 468 (4-6), 239-244. DOI
• M. Byrne, Y. R. Hernandez, T. Conaty, F. M. Blighe, J. N. Coleman and Y. K. Gun'ko
  Preparation of Buckypaper-Copper Composites and Investigation of their Conductivity and Mechanical Properties
  ChemPhysChem., 2009, 10 (5), 774-777. DOI
• J. J. Gallagher, R. Tekoriute, J.-A. O'Reilly, C. Kerskens, Y. K. Gun'ko and M. Lynch
  Bimodal magnetic-fluorescent nanostructures for biomedical applications
  Journal of Materials Chemistry, 2009, 19, 408-4084. DOI
• D. Aherne, D. E. Charles, M. E. Brennan-Fournet, J. M. Kelly and Y. K. Gun'ko
  Etching-Resistant Silver Nanoprisms by Epitaxial Deposition of a Protecting Layer of Gold at the Edges
  Langmuir, 2009, 25 (17), 10165-10173. DOI

This work involves the development of a new family of water-based magnetic fluids for use as contrast agents for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and other biomedical applications. Our magnetic fluids contain a new type of magnetic iron oxide-DNA or polyelectrolyte composites which have been characterised by nuclear magnetic resonance dispersion (NMRD, in DCU). These magnetic fluids demonstrate high low field relaxivity values over an order of magnitude higher than currently used MRI contrast agents. In addition, Fe₂O₃ and Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles and their assemblies have been synthesised from novel iron alkoxide precursors using innovative sol-gel techniques.

• S. A. Corr, Y. K. Gun'ko, R. Tekoriute, C. J. Meledandri and D. F. Brougham
  Poly(sodium-4-styrene)sulfonate-Iron Oxide Nanocomposite Dispersions with Controlled Magnetic Resonance Properties
  Journal of Physical Chemistry C, 2008, 112, 13324-13327. DOI
• S. A. Corr, S. J. Byrne, R. Tekoriute, C. J. Meledandri, D. F. Brougham, M. Lynch, C. Kerskens, L. O'Dwyer and Y. K. Gun'ko
  Linear Assemblies of Magnetic Nanoparticles as MRI Contrast Agents
  Journal of the American Chemical Society, 2008, 130, 4214-4215. DOI
• S. A. Corr, Y. K. Gun'ko, A. P. Douvalis, M. Venkatesan, R. D. Gunning and P. D. Nellist
  From Nanocrystals to Nanorods: New Iron Oxide-Silica Nanocomposites from Metallorganic Precursors
  Journal of Physical Chemistry C, 2008, 112, 1008-1018. DOI
• S. J. Byrne, S. A. Corr, Y. K. Gun'ko, J. M. Kelly, D. F. Brougham and S. Ghosh
  Magnetic nanoparticle assemblies on denatured DNA show unusual magnetic relaxivity and potential applications for MRI
  Chemical Communications, 2004, 22, 2560-2561. DOI

The preparation of multi-modal, magnetic and fluorescent, nanomaterials is of great interest in nanoparticle research, as such materials have strong potential in a wide range of biomedical and catalytic applications. This work includes the synthesis of iron oxide based nanomaterials with a range of luminescent moieties, as well as the incorporation of magnetic nanoparticles into silica and polystyrene 1-dimensional nanostructures. These nanomaterials have been used in bio-sensing and bio-separation applications.

• A. Prina-Mello, A. M. Whelan, A. Atzberger, J. E. McCarthy, F, Byrne, G.-L. Davies, J. M. D. Coey, Y. Volkov and Y. K. Gun'ko
  Comparative Flow Cytometric Analysis of Immunofunctionalized Nanowire and Nanoparticle Signatures
  Small, 2010, 6(2), 247-255. DOI
• J. J. Gallagher, R. Tekoriute, J.-A. O'Reilly, C. Kerskens, Y. K. Gun'ko and M. Lynch
  Bimodal magnetic-fluorescent nanostructures for biomedical applications
  Journal of Materials Chemistry, 2009, 19, 4081-4084. DOI
• A. Peschiulli, C. Quigley, S. Tallon, Y. K. Gun'ko and S. J. Connon
  Organocatalytic asymmetric addition of alcohols and thiols to activated electrophiles - efficient dynamic kinetic resolution and desymmetrization protocols
  Journal of Organic Chemistry, 2008, 73, 6409-6412. DOI
• S. A. Corr, Y. P. Rakovich and Y. K. Gun'ko
  Multifunctional Magnetic-fluorescent Nanocomposites for Biomedical Applications
  Nanoscale Research Letters, 2008, 3, 87-104. DOI
• C. O'Dalaigh, S. A. Corr, Y. K. Gun'ko and S. J. Connon
  A Magnetic-Nanoparticle-Supported 4-N,N-Dialkylaminopyridine Catalyst: Excellent Reactivity Combined with Facile Catalyst Recovery and Recyclability
  Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 2007, 46, 4329-4332. DOI
• S. A. Corr, A. O' Byrne, Y. K. Gun'ko, S. Ghosh, D. F. Brougham, S. Mitchell, Y. Volkov and A. Prina-Mello
  Magnetic-fluorescent nanocomposites for biomedical multitasking
  Chemical Communications, 2006, 43, 4474-4476.(cover below) DOI

Silica nanomaterials have been a popular topic of research for several decades. The vast number of variable parameters in the synthesis of any nanomaterials can lead to a host of different structures and properties. In this work, statistical analyses were used to optimise the preparation of small sized silica nanoparticles with small standard deviation. We have developed methods to dramatically reduce the reaction times involved. We are currently developing new methods of preparing fluorescent silica nanoparticles which have potential in a wide range of biomedical applications.

• G-L. Davies, A. Barry and Y.K. Gun'ko
  Preparation and size optimisation of silica nanoparticles using statistical analyses
  Chemical Physics Letters, 2009, 468, 239-244. DOI

The main aim of this work is to develop novel multicolour semiconductor nanocrystals (quantum dots) for a wide range of applications. This work includes: (i) preparation of functionalised biologically-compatible CdTe-nanocomposites; (ii) investigation of optical properties of materials (Physics); (iii) biological investigation of new materials in living cells using confocal microscopy (Clinical Medicine, TCD). The successful outcome of this research would open novel opportunities in intracellular visualization, drug delivery and diagnostics. In addition, a range of shaped chiral nanoparticles of CdS, CdSe and related II-VI compounds are being produced with a view to developing novel photonic devices and nanosensors. A third facet to this work involves the preparation of quantum dots capped with organic ligands and also alloyed ternary-core quantum dots. This work contributes to the development of blinking and non-blinking semiconductors with high quantum yields.

• M. Lunz, A.L. Bradley, W.Y. Chen, V.A. Gerard, S.J. Byrne, Y.K. Gun'ko, V. Lesnyak and N. Gaponik
  Influence of quantum dot concentration on Forster resonant energy transfer in monodispersed nanocrystal quantum dot monolayers
  Physical Review B, 2010, 81, 205316. DOI
• B. Prasad, N. Nikolskaya, D. Connolly, T. Smith, S. Byrne, V. Gerard, Y. Gun'ko and Y. Rochev
  Long-term exposure of CdTe quantum dots on PC12 cellular activity and the determination of optimum non-toxic concentrations for biological use
  Journal of Nanobiotechnology,, 2010, 8, 7. DOI
• Y. Williams, A. Sukhanova, M. Nowostawska, A.M. Davies, S. Mitchell, V. Oleinikov, Y. Gun'ko, I. Nabiev, D. Kelleher and Y. Volkov
  Probing Cell-Type-Specific Intracellular Nanoscale Barriers Using Size-Tuned Quantum Dots
  Small, 2010, 5, 2581-2588. DOI
• J. E. Govan, E. Jan, A. Querejeta, N. A. Kotov and Y. K. Gun'ko
  Chiral Luminescent CdS nano-tetrapods
  Chemical Communications, 2010, in press
• M. P. Moloney, Y. K. Gun'ko and J. M. Kelly
  Chiral highly luminescent CdS quantum dots
  Chemical Communications, 2007, 38, 3900-3902.(cover below) DOI

This work aims to develop strong GO- and CNT-polymer composites by chemical crosslinking. We have recently demonstrated the development of very strong GO-polymer composites that have superior mechanical properties to GO films - a 28 % overall increase in tensile strength was achieved. CNT-polymer composites were made in a similar fashion to give strong composites. Free standing carbon nanotube films (buckpaper) have also been developed to form strong composites with potentially high thermal and electrical conductivity.

• M.T. Byrne, C.A. Hanley and Y.K. Gun'ko
  Preparation and properties of buckypaper-gold nanoparticle composites
  Journal of Materials Chemistry, 2010, 20, 2949-2951. DOI
• A. Satti, P. Larpent and Y.K. Gun'ko
  Improvement of mechanical properties of graphene oxide/poly(allylamine) composites by chemical crosslinking
  Carbon, 2010, in Press. DOI
• M.T. Byrne and Y.K. Gun'ko
  Recent Advances in Research on Carbon Nanotube-Polymer Composites
  Advanced Materials, 2010, 22, 1672-1688. DOI
• I. O'Connor, H. Hayden, J.N. Coleman and Y.K. Gun'ko
  High-Strength, High-Toughness Composite Fibers by Swelling Kevlar in Nanotube Suspensions
  Small, 2009, 5, 466-469. DOI
• T. Connolly, R.C. Smith, Y. Hernandez, Y.K. Gun'ko, J.N. Coleman and J.D. Carey
  Carbon-Nanotube-Polymer Nanocomposites for Field-Emission Cathodes
  Small, 2009, 5, 826-831. DOI
• I. O'Connor, S. De, J.N. Coleman and Y.K. Gun'ko
  Development of transparent, conducting composites by surface infiltration of nanotubes into commercial polymer films
  Carbon, 2009 47, 8, 1983-1988. DOI
• M. Byrne, Y. R. Hernandez, T. Conaty, F. M. Blighe, J. N. Coleman and Y. K. Gun'ko
  Preparation of Buckypaper-Copper Composites and Investigation of their Conductivity and Mechanical Properties
  ChemPhysChem., 2009, 10 (5), 774-777. DOI
• I. O'Connor, H. Hayden, S. O'Connor, J. N. Coleman and Y. K. Gun'ko
  Polymer Reinforcement with Kevlar-Coated Carbon Nanotubes,
  Journal of Physical Chemistry C, 2009, 113, 20184-20192. DOI
• I. O'Connor, H. Hayden, S. O'Connor, J. N. Coleman and Y. K. Gun'ko
  Kevlar coated carbon nanotubes for reinforcement of polyvinylchloride
  Journal of Materials Chemistry, 2008, 18, 5585-5588.(cover below) DOI
• R. Blake, J.N. Coleman, M.T. Byrne, J.E. McCarthy, T.S. Perova, W.J. Blau, A.Fonseca, J.B. Nagy and Y.K. Gun'ko
  Reinforcement of poly(vinyl chloride) and polystyrene using chlorinated polypropylene grafted carbon nanotubes
  Journal of Materials Chemistry, 2006, 16, 4206-4213.(cover below) DOI

This work is directed at the improvement of the overall efficiency of DSSC. These cells may be integrated in everyday technology including electronics, transport and construction. This work is carried out in collaboration with SolarPrint Ltd, Dublin (www.solarprint.ie).

The aim of this work is to functionalise anisotropic metal nanostructures such as nanoprisms, nanorings and nanoboxes in order to induce their assembly in a controlled way for potential applications in bio-sensing. Characterisation of those new structures involves a wide range of techniques including absorption spectroscopy, electrophoresis and TEM.

• D.E. Charles, D. Aherne, M. Gara, D.M. Ledwith, Y.K. Gun'ko, J.M. Kelly, W.J. Blau and M.E. Brennan-Fournet
  Versatile Solution Phase Triangular Silver Nanoplates for Highly Sensitive Plasmon Resonance Sensing
  ACS Nano, 2010, 4, 55-64. DOI
• D. Aherne, M. Gara, J.M. Kelly and Y.K. Gun'ko
  From Ag Nanoprisms to Triangular AuAg Nanoboxes
  Advanced Functional Materials, 2010, 20, 1329-1338. DOI
• D. Aherne, D. E. Charles, M. E. Brennan-Fournet, J. M. Kelly and Y. K. Gun'ko
  Etching-Resistant Silver Nanoprisms by Epitaxial Deposition of a Protecting Layer of Gold at the Edges
  Langmuir, 2009, 25 (17), 10165-10173. DOI

The main aim of this project is to prepare thin dielectric and semiconductor films for integrated circuits and nanoelectronics by using metallorganic single source precursors and a pulsed injection MOCVD technique..

• A. Zukova, A. Teiserskis, Y.K. Gun'ko, A.M. Sanchez and S. van Dijken
  Anomalous magnetic field effects during pulsed injection metal-organic chemical vapor deposition of magnetite films
  Applied Physics Letters, 2010, 96, 172502. DOI
• A. Teiserskis, A. Zukova, Y.K. Gun'ko, S. Grudinkin, T.S. Perova and R.A. Moorek
  Investigation of Alumina-Silica Films Deposited by Pulsed Injection Metal-Organic Chemical Vapour Deposition
  Thin Solid Films, 2006, 515, 1830-1834. DOI

The research carried out by the Gun'ko group is funded by the EU FP7 programme, Enterprise Ireland Research and Innovation, Science Foundation Ireland (SFI), Higher Education Authority (HEA) and Trinity College Dublin.

Past members of the Gun'ko group include:

Dr. Damian Ahern, Dr. Sivakumar Balakrisnan, Dr. Matthew Bent, Dr. Rowan Blake, Dr. Michele Byrne, Dr. Stephen Byrne, Mr. Wei-Yu Chen, Dr. Serena Corr, Dr. Hugh Hayden, Dr. Bertrand LeBon, Dr. Micheal Moloney, Dr. Ian O'Connor, Dr. Roisin Reilly, Mr. Maciej Stefanko, Dr. Renata Tekoriute, Dr. Aine Whelan, Dr. Anna Zukova

Christmas 2008

Christmas 2007

Christmas 2006

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Contact Details

Postdoctoral Fellows

NAME	E-MAIL ADDRESS
Dr. Arunas Teiserskis	teisersa@tcd.ie
Dr. Aran Rafferty	rafferta@tcd.ie
Dr. Amro Satti	sattia@tcd.ie

Postgraduate Students

NAME	E-MAIL ADDRESS
Iftikhar Ahmad	iftikhaa@tcd.ie
Lorcan Brennan	ljbrenna@tcd.ie
Gemma-Louise Davies	daviesgl@tcd.ie
Shane Gallagher	gallagsh@tcd.ie
Valerie Gerard	gerardv@tcd.ie
Joseph Govan	govanj@tcd.ie
Cormac Hanley	hanleyco@tcd.ie
Joanne Lynch	lynchj7@tcd.ie
Joseph McCarthy	mccartj5@tcd.ie
Malgorzata Nowostawska	nowostm@tcd.ie

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