The core of any nanotechnology/nanoscience effort, is the design and synthesis of new materials. Nanoscale design of materials such as polymers and matrix composites, assemblies of nanomaterials into specified symmetries and orders, or the development of entirely new classes of nanomaterials such as carbon nanotubes, metal nanoparticles, and quantum dots, is the essence of nanoscience.  These form the creative palette on which our technologies and new medicines will be based.

At Wake Forest University, the NanoCenter effort has become particularly well known for programs in: Conjugated polymer design and synthesis, Novel variants of carbon-based nanoparticles such as doped carbon nanotubes, and polymerized fullerene derivatives, arrayed nano-particles of metals and bimetallic structures (plasmonic meta-materials), and Novel cage-like structures for use in catalysis and fuel reforming. 

The synthesis methods we employ are widely varied: CVD, Laser assisted CVD, PLD, RF Magnetron sputtering, Kratchmer Generator growth, chemical synthesis, and electro-chemical templating. The systems currently under study are:

1. 1.Electro-spun polymer fibers,
   

2. 2.Polymer nanospheres and nanowires
   

3. 3.Carbon Nanotubes, and their doped variants,
   

4. 4.Metal Nanoparticles,
   

5. 5.GaN, PbS, PbSe nanowires
   

6. 6.Conducting polymers (donor-acceptor systems)
   

7. 7.Caged structures
   
   

A key aspect of any nanomaterials synthesis program is the characterization techniques utilized. We specialize in electron and scanning probe microscopies, scanning probe spectroscopies, and a number of optical techniques such as Raman, Luminscences, Pulse-Probe, Time-of-flight, and z-scan for nonlinear effects. We also have a number of long standing collaborations in Raman, HRTEM, EELS, and XPS-UPS, to further our characterization methods.

Once nanoscale building blocks have been created, what do you do with them. Usually, they must be assembled into a structure that makes use of their unusual properties at the macroscale. These assemblies can be a simple as a randomly places assortment of nanotubes into thin transparent conducting films. They can be as complex as multiple and distinct nano-elements assembled into crystalline-like registry such as a photonic crystal.