Dr Alison Funston

Postdoctoral Research Fellow

Nanoscience Laboratory
Bio21 Institute and School of Chemistry
Bio21 Institute
30 Flemington Road
The University of Melbourne
Victoria, 3010
Australia

Telephone: +61 3 8344 2421
Fax: +61 3 9348 1595
e-mail: afunston@unimelb.edu.au
Current Project Plasmonics and opto-electronics, single molecule spectroscopy of metal nanoparticles and fluorescent semiconductor nanoparticles, energy and electron transfer in nanoparticle:organic hybrid systems for solar energy conversion.
Research Interests I am interested in investigating ways to both actively and passively manipulate the plasmon resonance of metal nanoparticles at the single particle level. This is relevent for a large number of potential applications, including optoelectronics, sensing (both chemical and biological) and Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS). A prerequisite for this research is the understanding of the shape and size dependence of optical properties of metal nanocrystals. Other interests include energy and electron transfer within donor-acceptor and donor-bridge-acceptor systems and the fluorescence and diffusion properties of CdSe nanocrystals.
Previous Positions

2008 -
Melbourne Research Office Fellow,
Nanoscience Laboratory,
School of Chemistry,
The University of Melbourne,
Victoria, 3010,
Australia

2006 - 2008
Postdoctoral Research Fellow,
Nanoscience Laboratory,
School of Chemistry,
The University of Melbourne,
Victoria, 3010,
Australia

2005
Tutor,
School of Chemistry,
The University of Melbourne,
Victoria, 3010,
Australia

2002 - 2005
Research Associate,
Radiation and Photochemistry Group,
Brookhaven National Laboratory,
Upton, New York, 11973
The United States of America.

Areas of research: Electron and energy transfer through conjugated polymers, radiation chemistry. With Dr John Miller.
Education

PhD (2002)

Thesis Title: Donor-Acceptor Compounds as Models for Radiation Activated Prodrugs
Supervisors: Assoc/Prof David McFadyen and Assoc/Prof Peter Tregloan

School of Chemistry,
The University of Melbourne,
Victoria, 3010,
Australia

Areas of research: Rate of ligand dissociation from Co(II), donor-acceptor compounds.

BSc.(Hons) (1997)

The University of Melbourne
Victoria, 3010,
Australia

List of Publications


22) Funston, A. M., Novo, C., Davis, T. J., Mulvaney, P., "Plasmon Coupling of Gold Nanorods at Short Distances and in Different Geometries", accepted for publication in Nano Letters, 2009.

21) Novo, C., Funston, A. M., Mulvaney, P., "Direct Obseration of Chemical Reactions on Single Gold Nanocrystals using Surface Plasmon Spectroscopy", Nature Nanotech., 2008, 3(10), 598-602. Manuscript highlighted in Editorial Nature Nanotech., 2008, 3(10), 575, and News and Views, Nature Nanotech., 2008, 3(10), 583-584.

Invited Contribution to Special Issue on Frontiers in Nanoparticle Research
20) Funston, A. M., Jasieniak, J. J., Mulvaney, P., "Complete Quenching of CdSe Nanocrystal Photoluminescence by Single Dye Molecules", Adv. Mater., 2008, 20(22), 4274-4280.

Invited Tutorial
19) Myroshnychenko, V., Rodríguez-Fernández, J., Pastoriza-Santos, I., Funston, A. M., Novo, C., Mulvaney, P., Liz-Marzán, L. M., García de Abajo, F. J., "Modelling the Optical Response of Gold Nanoparticles", Chem. Soc. Rev., 2008, 37(9), 1792-1805.

Invited Feature Article
18) Hu, M., Novo, C., Funston, A. M., Zou, S., Petrova, H., Mulvaney, P., Xia, Y., Hartland, G. V., "Dark-Field Microscopy Studies of Single Metal Nanoparticles: Understanding the Factors that Influence the Line Width of the Localized Surface Plasmon Resonance", J. Mat. Chem. 2008, 18, 1949-1960.

17) Novo, C., Funston, A. M., Pastoriza-Santos, I., Liz-Marzan, L., Mulvaney, P., "Influence of the Medium Refractive Index on the Optical Properties of Single Gold Triangular Prisms on a Substrate" J. Phys. Chem. C, 2008, 112(1), 3-7.

16) Cardolaccia, T., Funston, A. M., Kose, M. E., Keller, J. M., Miller, J. R., Schanze, K. S., "Radical Ion States of Platinum Acetylide Oligomers", J. Phys. Chem. B, 2007, 111(37), 10871-10880.

15) Novo, C., Funston, A. M., Pastoriza-Santos, I., Liz-Marzán, L. M., Mulvaney, P., "Routine Spectroscopy and High Resolution Microscopy of the Same Individual Nanocrystal using a Focussed Ion Beam Registration Method", Angew. Chemie. Int. Ed., 2007, 46, 3517-3520.

14) Funston, A. M., Lymar, S. V., Saunders-Price, B., Czapski, G., Miller, J. R., "Rate and Driving Force for Protonation of Aryl Radical Anions in Ethanol", J. Phys. Chem. B, 2007, 111(24), 6895-6902.

13) Funston, A. M., Fadeeva, T. A., Wishart, J. F., Castner, E. W., "Fluorescence Probing of Temperature-Dependent Dynamics and Friction in Ionic Liquid Local Environments", J. Phys. Chem. B, 2007, 111(18), 4963-4977.

12) Funston, A. M., Silverman, E. E., Schanze, K. S., Miller, J. R., "Spectroscopy and Transport of the Triplet Exciton in a Terthiophene End-Capped Poly(phenylene ethynylene)", J. Phys. Chem. B., 2006, 110(36), 17736-17742.

11) Wishart, J. F., Funston, A. M., Szreder, T., "Radiation Chemistry of Ionic Liquids", Molten Salts XIV, Eds. R. A. Mantz, P. C. Trulove, H. C. De Long, G. R. Stafford, M. Hagiwara, D. A. Costa, The Electrochemical Society, Pennington, NJ, 2006, 802-813.

10) Funston, A., Kirby, J. P., Miller, J. R., Pospisil, L., Fielder, J., Hromadova, M., Gal, M., Pecka, J., Valasek, M., Zawada, Z., Rempala, P., Michl, J., "One-Electron Reduction of an "Extended Viologen" p-Phenylene-bis-4,4'-(1-aryl-2,6-diphenylpyridinium) Dication", J. Phys. Chem. A, 2005, 109(48), 10862-10869.

9) Shirota, H., Funston, A. M., Wishart, J. F., Castner, E. W., "Ultrafast Dynamics of Pyrrolidinium Cation Ionic Liquids", J. Chem. Phys., 2005, 122, 184512.

8) Funston, A.M., Cullinane, C., Ghiggino, K. P., McFadyen, W. D., Stylli, S. S., Tregloan, P. A., "Dipyridophenazine Complexes of Cobalt(III): DNA Photocleavage and Photobiology", Aust. J. Chem., 2005, 58(3), 206-212.

7) Funston, A. M., Wishart, J. F., "Dynamics of Fast Reactions in Ionic Liquids", Ionic Liquids IIIA: Fundamentals, Progress, Challenges and Opportunities, ACS Symposium Series, 2005, 901, 102-116.

6) Funston, A. M., Miller, J. R., "Increased Yields of Radical Cations by Arene Addition to Irradiation 1,2-Dichloroethane", Radiat. Phys. Chem., 2005, 72(5), 601-611.

5) Funston, A. M., Miller, J. R., Silverman, E. E., Schanze, K. S., "Charge Transfer Through Terthiophene End-Capped Poly(arylene ethynylene)s", J. Phys. Chem. B, 2004, 108(5), 1544-1555.

4) Funston, A. M., Ghiggino, K. P., Grannas, M. J., McFadyen, W. D., Tregloan, P. A. "Synthesis, Structural Studies and Photochemistry of Cobalt(III) Complexes of Anthracenylcyclam Macrocycles" Dalton Trans., 2003, 3704-3712.

3) Funston, A. M., McFadyen, W. D., Tregloan, P. A. "The Synthesis and Crystal Structures of Two Cobalt(III) Complexes Containing the Ligand 1,4,8,11-Tetraazacyclotetradecane", Aust. J. Chem., 2002, 55(8), 535-538.

2) Funston, A. M., McFadyen, W. D., Tregloan, P. A. "A Pulse Radiolysis Study of the Rate of Ligand Dissociation from Mixed Ligand Cobalt(II) Complexes", J. Chem. Soc., Dalton Trans., 2002, 2053, 2060.

1) Funston, A. M., Gable, R. W., McFadyen, W. D., Tregloan, P. A. "The preparation of a Mixed-Ligand Cobalt(III) Complex of DPPZ and Ethylenediamine: Crystal Structures of [Co(en)2(DPPZ)](ClO4)3.0.5H2O, [Co(en)2(bpy)]Br(ClO4)2 and [Co(en)2(phen)]Br3", Aust. J. Chem. 1999, 52(8), 817 " 822.