Curiosity of Nanotechnology Leads Local Man to RMCC

BY MELANIE BUCK –

Jonathan Fosdick, a sophomore at Rich Mountain Community College, has been experimenting with nanomaterials for a quite a few years now, being completely fascinated and amazed by the concept of building new, amazing materials on the atomic level and nanometer scale. Nanomaterials are ultra-energy efficient, and use very little resources to produce, and it takes only a small amount of these nanomaterials to do some incredible things. The benefits of nanotechnology are far-reaching.

Fosdick says he’s been playing with nanomaterials since long before he began attending RMCC. “It’s my own project that I’ve been researching for years, even before I started taking classes. That’s what encouraged me to go back to college,” said Fosdick. He added, “Basically, it’s a brand new technology. It has applications in the medical field, it’s environmental, and I just see all the benefits and I want to be a part of the research that’s going on.

Nanotechnology is best described as “great things out of small things.” Nanotechnology is the preparation, control, and use of matter on the atomic scale. In other words, making structures and devices that can be measured in nanometers (one billionth of a meter). These tiny building blocks can be assembled together in new ways to do some rather remarkable things. Nanomaterials, built at the nanoscale, have shown tremendous progress and application in many fields including medicine, industry, electronics, and aviation, just to mention a few, and it is just the beginning of what this next revolution in technology will bring.

Recently, Fosdick has been making what are known as “quantum dots,” of various origin and types. Quantum dots are minute, two-dimensional semiconducting crystals, which are useful for improving solar cells, making LEDs, super-capacitor batteries, energy-efficient flat-screen TVs and displays, and fuel cells. They also have amazing benefits for biotechnology, and even for medical applications such as drug delivery, targeted chemotherapy, and NMR imaging.

Graphene, made from only one type of element carbon in one atomic layer thick, has been proven useful for its remarkable properties. It makes plastics stronger and lighter. A sheet of graphene can remove salt from seawater when small pores are made in it. When used in batteries, graphene boosts the time it takes to charge a lithium-ion battery and delivers more power, longer. Graphene is able to convert the entire spectrum of light into electricity, which makes it promising for new energy-efficient solar cells. Graphene has the potential to make flexible transparent devices. The list goes on. No other material in the world includes all of these properties, which makes it truly unique. Last year, graphene was dubbed as the “wonder material of the 21st century” by the American Chemical Society, the world’s largest scientific community.

Fosdick has been exploring some new ways to produce quantum dots out of other chemicals too. “I work on making these materials and try making new methods,” explained Fosdick. One example is using citric acid, the acid commonly found in oranges and lemons. The green graphene quantum dots are the results of heating with citric acid.

He has also been working on making nanoparticles using gold-based compounds. Gold nanoparticles are sub-microscopic crystals of gold. They have been shown useful for treating various forms of cancer, by entering tumor cells, and when the tissue is exposed to mild near IR-light, they destroy cancerous cells while leaving healthy cells unaffected. Early studies have shown it safely eradicates tumors and is currently undergoing stage one clinical trials.

Fosdick is also working on a new method that involves using a simple and readily available hydrocarbon as a precursor, forming graphite quantum dots directly in a water-based solution as an alternative environment-friendly method.

As far as his future goes, Fosdick is seeking an Associate of Arts at RMCC with an eventual major in Chemistry that he hopes to finish at the University of Arkansas. Passed that, he says, “I hope to better the world through any effort or innovations I may have to make the world a cleaner and safer place to bring tomorrow closer to today.”

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Jeri Pearson

Jeri is the News Director for Pulse Multi-Media and Editor of The Polk County Pulse. She has 10 years of experience in community focused journalism and has won multiple press association awards.

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