Dr Alison M. Funston | ARC Centre of Excellence in Exciton Science

Dr Alison M. Funston

Chief Investigator

Nanoscale Spectroscopy Laboratory

Funston's research within the Centre explores the enormous potential of hybrid inorganic/organic systems within specific systems designed for light harvesting, solar upconversion, singlet fission and directed energy transfer. She aims to combine time resolved excitation with a scanning near-field optical microscope, to provide real time imaging of exciton diffusion in films.

Qualifications: 
PhD, The University of Melbourne, 2002
Centre Research Themes: 
1. Excitonic Systems for Solar Energy Conversion
2. Control of Excitons

Publications

Book Chapters
Funston, A. M.; Lermusiaux, L. DNA-Based Self-Assembly. In World Scientific Reference on Plasmonic Nanomaterials Principles, Design and Bio-applications Volume 3: Self-Assembly of Plasmonic Nanostructures; Nie, Z., Ed.; World Scientific Reference on Plasmonic Nanomaterials Principles, Design and Bio-applications Volume 3: Self-Assembly of Plasmonic Nanostructures; World Scientific, 2022; Vol. 3, pp 29–92. doi: 10.1142/9789811235238_0002
Journal Articles
Pal, R.; Sikder, A. K.; Saito, K.; Funston, A. M.; Bellare, J. R. Study of polycarbonate–polystyrene interfaces using scanning transmission electron microscopy spectrum imaging (STEM-SI). Polymer International 2023, 72 (1), 106 - 112 DOI: 10.1002/pi.6451. doi: 10.1002/pi.6451
Yadav, A.; Follink, B.; Funston, A. M. Anion-Directed Synthesis of Core–Shell and Janus Hybrid Nanostructures. Chemistry of Materials 2022, 34 (19), 8987–8998 DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemmater.2c02494. doi: 10.1021/acs.chemmater.2c02494
Nisar, A.; Hapuarachchi, H.; Lermusiaux, L.; Cole, J. H.; Funston, A. M. Controlling Photoluminescence for Optoelectronic Applications via Precision Fabrication of Quantum Dot/Au Nanoparticle Hybrid Assemblies. ACS Applied Nano Materials 2022, 5 (3), 3213 - 3228 DOI: 10.1021/acsanm.1c03522. doi: 10.1021/acsanm.1c03522
Frazer, L.; Mercier, T. M.; Krishnan, C.; Xu, Z.; Liu, A. C. Y.; Yuan, G.; Kong, J.; Lagoudakis, P. G.; Charlton, M. D. B.; Funston, A. M. Quasiperiodic light. Optics Letters 2022, 47 (14), 3556 DOI: 10.1364/OL.461613. doi: 10.1364/OL.461613
Hargreaves, R. B.; Rozario, A. M.; McCoy, T. M.; Meaney, S. P.; Funston, A. M.; Tabor, R. F.; Whelan, D. R.; Bell, T. D. M. Optimising correlative super resolution and atomic force microscopies for investigating the cellular cytoskeleton. Methods and Applications in Fluorescence 2022, 10 (4), 045005 DOI: 10.1088/2050-6120/ac8526. doi: 10.1088/2050-6120/ac8526
Li, H.; Yin, W.; Ng, C. Kiu; Huang, R.; Du, S.; Sharma, M.; Li, B.; Yuan, G.; Michalska, M.; Matta, S. Kasi; et al. Macroporous perovskite nanocrystal composites for ultrasensitive copper ion detection. Nanoscale 2022, 14 (33), 11953 - 11962 DOI: 10.1039/D2NR02737B. doi: 10.1039/D2NR02737B
Pal, R.; Bourgeois, L.; Weyland, M.; Sikder, A. K.; Saito, K.; Funston, A. M.; Bellare, J. R. Chemical Fingerprinting of Polymers Using Electron Energy-Loss Spectroscopy. ACS Omega 2021, 6 (37), 23934 - 23942 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.1c02939. doi: 10.1021/acsomega.1c02939
Li, W.; Tong, W.; Yadav, A.; Bladt, E.; Bals, S.; Funston, A. M.; Etheridge, J. Shape Control Beyond the Seeds in Gold Nanoparticles. Chemistry of Materials 2021, 33 (23), 9152 - 9164 DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemmater.1c02459. doi: 10.1021/acs.chemmater.1c02459
Lermusiaux, L.; Nisar, A.; Funston, A. M. Flexible synthesis of high-purity plasmonic assemblies. Nano Research 2021, 14 (3), 635-645 DOI: 10.1007/s12274-020-3084-2. doi: 10.1007/s12274-020-3084-2
Frazer, L.; Higginbotham, H. F.; Bell, T. D. M.; Funston, A. M. “It’s Fundamental”: Quantum Dot Blinking Experiment to Teach Critical Thinking. Journal of Chemical Education 2020, 97 (1), 244 - 252 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.9b00679. doi: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.9b00679
Sherrie, B.; Funston, A. M.; Frazer, L. Optimal quantum dot size for photovoltaics with fusion. Nanoscale 2020, 12 (48), 24362 - 24367 DOI: 10.1039/D0NR07061K. doi: 10.1039/D0NR07061K
Pal, R.; Bourgeois, L.; Weyland, M.; Sikder, A. K.; Saito, K.; Funston, A. M.; Bellare, J. R. Chemical fingerprinting of polyvinyl acetate and polycarbonate using electron energy-loss spectroscopy. Polymer Chemistry 2020, 11 (34), 5484 - 5492 DOI: 10.1039/D0PY00771D. doi: 10.1039/D0PY00771D
Fürer, S. O.; Milhuisen, R. A.; Kashif, M. K.; Raga, S. R.; Acharya, S. S.; Forsyth, C.; Liu, M.; Frazer, L.; Duffy, N. W.; C. Ohlin, A.; et al. The Performance‐Determining Role of Lewis Bases in Dye‐Sensitized Solar Cells Employing Copper‐Bisphenanthroline Redox Mediators. Advanced Energy Materials 2020, 10 (37), 2002067 DOI: 10.1002/aenm.202002067. doi: 10.1002/aenm.202002067
Wang, C.; Chesman, A. S. R.; Yin, W.; Frazer, L.; Funston, A. M.; Jasieniak, J. J. Facile purification of CsPbX3 (X = Cl−, Br−, I−) perovskite nanocrystals. The Journal of Chemical Physics 2019, 151 (12), 121105 DOI: 10.1063/1.5123306. doi: 10.1063/1.5123306
Lermusiaux, L.; Funston, A. M. Plasmonic isomers via DNA-based self-assembly of gold nanoparticles. Nanoscale 2018, 10 (41), 19557 - 19567 DOI: 10.1039/C8NR05509B. doi: 10.1039/C8NR05509B
Mayevsky, A. D.; Funston, A. M. Control of Electric Field Localization by Three-Dimensional Bowtie Nanoantennae. The Journal of Physical Chemistry C 2018, 122 (31), 18012 - 18020 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcc.8b05805. doi: 10.1021/acs.jpcc.8b05805
Mayevsky, A. D.; Davis, T. J.; Ballard, P. M.; Henderson, C. A.; Funston, A. M. Mesoscale surface plasmons: modelling and imaging using near-field scanning optical microscopy. Optics Express 2018, 26 (18), 23426-23435 DOI: 10.1364/OE.26.023426. doi: 10.1364/OE.26.023426
Tong, W.; Katz-Boon, H.; Walsh, M. J.; Weyland, M.; Etheridge, J.; Funston, A. M. The evolution of size, shape, and surface morphology of gold nanorods. Chemical Communications 2018, 54 (24), 3022 - 3025 DOI: 10.1039/C7CC08336J. doi: 10.1039/C7CC08336J
Kumar, J.; Wei, X.; Barrow, S. J.; Funston, A. M.; K. Thomas, G.; Mulvaney, P. Coupled Plasmon Resonances and Gap Modes in Laterally Assembled Gold Nanorod Arrays. Zeitschrift für Physikalische Chemie 2018, 232 (9-11), 1607 - 1617 DOI: 10.1515/zpch-2018-1163. doi: 10.1515/zpch-2018-1163
Zhu, Y.; Nakashima, P. N. H.; Funston, A. M.; Bourgeois, L.; Etheridge, J. Topologically Enclosed Aluminum Voids as Plasmonic Nanostructures. ACS Nano 2017, 11 (11), 11383 - 11392 DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.7b05944. doi: 10.1021/acsnano.7b05944
Walsh, M. J.; Tong, W.; Katz-Boon, H.; Mulvaney, P.; Etheridge, J.; Funston, A. M. A Mechanism for Symmetry Breaking and Shape Control in Single-Crystal Gold Nanorods. Accounts of Chemical Research 2017, 50 (12), 2925 - 2935 DOI: 10.1021/acs.accounts.7b00313. doi: 10.1021/acs.accounts.7b00313
Tong, W.; Walsh, M. J.; Mulvaney, P.; Etheridge, J.; Funston, A. M. Control of Symmetry Breaking Size and Aspect Ratio in Gold Nanorods: Underlying Role of Silver Nitrate. The Journal of Physical Chemistry C 2017, 121 (6), 3549 - 3559 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcc.6b10343. doi: 10.1021/acs.jpcc.6b10343
Pal, R.; Sikder, A. K.; Saito, K.; Funston, A. M.; Bellare, J. R. Electron energy loss spectroscopy for polymers: a review. Polymer Chemistry 2017, 8 (45), 6927 - 6937 DOI: 10.1039/C7PY01459G. doi: 10.1039/C7PY01459G