Wong Group

Biography

I am an Associate Professor at the School of Chemistry, The University of Melbourne and Chief Investigator and Deputy Director of the ARC Centre of Excellence in Exciton Science.  I am also the Program Leader on Energy Materials for the Melbourne Energy Institute.  I have been an ARC Future Fellow (2014-2018) and an ARENA Research Fellow (2011-2014).  The core expertise of my group is in the design and synthesis of organic materials with applications in energy conversion, electronics and chemical sensing.
More information on Dr Wong can be found on the University Find an Expert webpage and the School of Chemistry webpage.

Research

Design and synthesis of materials is a core component of chemical science since scientists learnt to transform substances using chemical reactions. Development of synthetic techniques, as well as methods of isolation and analysis, has meant that a huge range of chemicals and materials can be synthesised. From small organic molecules to nanoparticles to bulk substances, functional materials can now be produced with relative ease and accuracy. Despite the scientific advances, chemists are still at the very beginning in learning to design and build truly complex functional systems. For this, a mastery of molecular self-assembly is critical. Dr. Wallace Wong and his team are building organic dye assemblies to improve light harvesting efficiency of solar cells as well as increase sensitivity of chemical sensors. The group has the knowhow and capability to synthesise organic molecules and polymers with desirable properties.

Interests

Solar Energy
Solar Photovoltaics
Lighting and Displays
Chemical Sensing
Biological Imaging

Techniques

  • NMR
  • Mass spectrometry
  • Electron microscopy
  • Absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy

Group Members

Group Head

Dr Wallace Wong

Postdoctoral Fellow

Mina Barzegaramiriolya

PhD Student

Yiheng Lu

Masters Students

Jungwoo Ma

Stephen Franzese

Ziyi Wang

Chaoyu Ren