Mark Lukowski


Graduate Student, Physical Chemistry
Department of Chemistry
University of Wisconsin-Madison

mlukowski@chem.wisc.edu

 

Biographical Sketch

B.S. Eastern Michigan University, Chemistry, 2008
PhD University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2008-Present

 

Research

My research focuses on the rational synthesis of earth abundant metal oxide nanowires and their application in photoelectrochemical cells.  The fundamentals of 1-D nanowire growth and various doping strategies are explored in optimizing the physical properties of these materials. 

Recently, we reported an improved method to synthesize α-Fe2O3 (hematite) nanowires (NWs) via thermal oxidation that significantly reduces reaction time while improving NW density and uniformity. Stress introduced by shot-peening the starting steel foils and the relief of such stress seems to play an important role in promoting uniform one-dimensional growth. Water vapor is also shown to strongly influence both the density and the morphology of the grown nanostructures.  Furthermore, by doping these hematite NWs with silicon, we have increased their electrical conductivity by 5-orders of magnitude.

  

More recently, I am working towards the fabrication of a complex, 3-D hierarchical network of hematite nanostructures.  It is our hope that this new photoelectrode design can help overcome some of the biggest challenges limiting the performance of hematite in PECs.

 

Selected Publications and Presentations

  1. Lukowski, M. A.; Jin, S., Improved Synthesis and Electrical Properties of Si-Doped α-Fe2O3 Nanowires. The Journal of Physical Chemistry C 2011, 115, (25), 12388-12395.
  2. Improved Synthesis of α-Fe2O3 Nanowires and Investigation of Their Physical Properties. Mark A. Lukowski and Song Jin; MRS Fall Meeting December 2010, Boston, MA, (W6.28, poster).
  3. Szczech, J. R.; Lukowski, M. A.; Jin, S., Synthesis of mesoporous Si1-xGexO2 (0.10 [less-than-or-equal] x [less-than-or-equal] 0.31) using a nonionic block copolymer template. Journal of Materials Chemistry 2010, 20, (38), 8389-8393.
  4. Lukowski, M. A.; Dae Jin, C.; Milletti, M. C., Substrate Binding and Kinetic Aspects of the Peroxidation Reaction of Four Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids in the COX Active Site of PGHS-1. Letters in Drug Design & Discovery 2010, 7, (2), 88-97.
  5. Lukowski, M.; Jacobs, K.; Hsueh, P.; Lindsay, H. A.; Milletti, M. C., Thermodynamic and kinetic factors in the aza-Cope rearrangement of a series of iminium cations. Tetrahedron 2009, 65, (50), 10311-10316.
  6. Hsueh, P.; Lukowski, M.; Lindsay, H. A.; Milletti, M. C., Factors affecting the relative stability of a series of iminium cation stereoisomers. Journal of Molecular Structure: THEOCHEM 2007, 806, (1–3), 223-230.