Solid state laser synthesis of high entropy nanomaterials as elecrocatalysts for water electrolysis and biosensing
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[EMBARGOED UNTIL 12/01/2026] This dissertation is about synthesis and applications of high-entropy nanomaterials produced by a simple solid-state CO₂ laser process to solve two practical problems: producing green hydrogen from natural seawater and building more stable, enzyme-free glucose sensors. First, it addresses the challenge that most water electrolysis systems need either precious-metal catalysts or corrosive acidic/alkaline electrolytes, which are costly and less practical for large-scale use with seawater. To address this, the work develops FeNiCoRu medium-entropy alloy nanoparticles directly on carbon paper using rapid CO₂ laser induction under ambient conditions. The resulting porous, single-phase nanostructures act as durable, efficient bifunctional electrocatalysts for hydrogen and oxygen evolution in neutral seawater, offering a pathway toward more affordable and scalable seawater electrolysis. Second, the dissertation addresses the limitations of conventional enzymatic glucose sensors, which suffer from enzyme instability, short lifetimes, and dependence on expensive noble metals. It introduces a FeNiCoCuZn high-entropy alloy nanomaterial, also synthesized in situ by CO₂ laser on carbon paper, as a non-enzymatic glucose sensing electrode. The multimetallic surface forms active oxyhydroxide species in alkaline media, enabling direct electrocatalytic oxidation of glucose with good sensitivity, stability, and selectivity, including in artificial sweat samples. Overall, the dissertation shows that direct CO₂ laser writing is a versatile and scalable method for creating high-entropy nanomaterials and demonstrates how these materials can be engineered to solve real-world problems in clean energy conversion and biomedical sensing.
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Ph. D.