Dr Andrew Minett

Qualifications:
BSc (Hons) - University of Wollongong, Australia
PhD - University of Wollongong, Australia

Research Interests:
After completing a PhD on conducting polymer based sensors at UOW, Dr Andrew Minett undertook a two-year Post-Doctoral Fellowship working in Dr Siegmar Roth’s Synthetic Nanostructures group at the Max-Planck-Institut fuer Festkoerperforschung (Solid State Research) in Stuttgart, Germany. Dr Minett’s research centred on the growth, functionalisation and characterization of synthetic nanostructures and the use of these in nano-electronic devices and as nanomechanical actuators. During this time he also acted as a consultant for Media Lab Europe's Nanostructures Group.

In 2002, Dr Minett was appointed as a Research Scientist and Temporary Lecturer in Prof Werner Blau’s Molecular Electronics and Nanotechnology Group, at Trinity College Dublin, Ireland. Continuing to expand on research begun in Stuttgart, successful research collaborations were undertaken with Intel Ireland, Dublin City University and the University of Texas in Dallas. Research included the incorporation of nanostructures into functional composites, the growth of nanostructures for integration into semi-conductor industry platforms, and studying the interactions of biological entities (such as enzymes, antibodies and biopolymers) with nanostructures.

In 2004, Dr Minett was awarded a five-year, Australian Research Council QEII Research Fellowship, which he decided to undertake in IPRI in April 2005, to attempt to elucidate nanomaterial interactions and biomolecular incorporation protocols that will provide a foundation for future bioelectronic devices.

Dr Minett’s nanostructured materials research and current projects focuses on:

• Carbon Nanotubes and inorganic nanowires
• CVD growth
• Chemical functionalisation
• Molecular Electronics
• Interaction of surfactants, polymers and biological entities with carbon nanotubes
• Inherently conducting polymer based nanostructures
• Biosensors and actuators based on ICPs and carbon nanotubes
• Nano-biotechnology
• Composite and smart materials production, including biocompatible polymers

Memberships:
Institute of Nanotechnology (IoN)
Materials Research Society (MRS)
American Chemical Society (ACS)
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)

Subjects taught:
Nano201
Chem301

5 key publications:

• SE. Moulton, A.I. Minett, GG. Wallace, ‘Review – Carbon Nanotube Based Electrochemical Sensors’ Sensor Letters 3 (2005) 183-193.
• J.N. Coleman, A.J. Fleming, A.I. Minett, S. Maier, S. O’Flaherty, M.S. Ferreira, S. Hutzler, W.J Blau ‘Binding kinetics and spontaneous SWNT bundle dissociation in low concentration polymer-nanotube solutions’ J. Physical Chemistry B 108 (2004) 3446-3450.
• E. Lahiff, C.Y. Ryu, S. Curran, A.I. Minett, W.J. Blau, P.M. Ajayan, ‘Selective positioning and density control of nanotubes within a polymer thin film’ Nano Letters 3 (2003) 1333-1337.
• G. Gu, M. Schmid, P.W. Chiu, A.I. Minett, J.Fraysse, G.T. Kim, S. Roth, M. Kozlov, E. Munoz, R.H. Baughman, ‘V 2O 5 nanofibre sheet actuators’ Nature Materials 2 (2003) 316-319.
• F. Frehill, J.G. Vos, S. Benrezzak, A. Koos, Z. Konya, M. Rüther, W.J. Blau, A. Fonseca, J.B. Nagy, L.P. Biro, A.I. Minett and M. in het Panhuis, ‘Interconnecting carbon nanotubes with an inorganic metal complex’, Journal of the American Chemical Society 124 (2002)13694-13695.

For further information on any of the above, including honours and post-graduate study, please contact Dr Andrew Minett on any of the following:

email: aminett@uow.edu.au
phone: +61 (02) 42 213 319
office: 41A.268

Figure 1: Dr Andrew Minett

Figure 2 : SEM of carbon nanotubes protruding from a nano-composite material.

Figure 3 : SEM image of a CVD grown carbon nanostructured X-junction which can be incorporated into nano-electronic devices.

Figure 4 : Optical image of a free-standing carbon nanotube polymer composite. The dark lines in the composite show the areas where designed carbon nanotube patterns have been incorporated into the flexible polymer host.