Research interests in Daniel Buttry's group encompasses electrochemistry and materials science. Specific areas of current interest include the uses of nanomaterials and nanocomposites in energy-related applications such as batteries and fuel cells, interfacial processes in corrosion and electrochemical properties of DNA binders. The group employs a suite of tools ranging from AFM/STM methods to various optical and X-ray spectroscopies to liquid-state and solid-state NMR. Some of these techniques are available through their collaborations at ASU, in the U.S. and abroad. The group's activities also are affiliated with the Arizona State Center for Renewable Energy Electrochemistry (ACREE).

Nanomaterials have the potential to revolutionize the properties of batteries, fuel cells and other types of energy storage and conversion devices. The group has several major thrusts that seek to exploit these possibilities. The first is in the study of energy storage materials that have potential applications in battery technology, such as nanoscale vanadium and manganese oxides. Another involves assembly of nanocomposites with unique properties, for example, to simultaneously facilitate Li+ and electronic transport in lithium secondary batteries. The third is a collaborative effort on the use of NMR to characterize nanoscale materials. More recently, they have begun to examine the synthetic approaches to produce metal and metal oxide nanoparticles and to explore their electrochemical and electrocatalytic properties.

The group's efforts in corrosion have focused on interfacial processes relevant to the initiation of corrosion. They have used novel characterization tools, such as scanning electrochemical microscopy, to examine the interfacial redox activity of heterogeneous alloy surfaces and how this reactivity influences corrosion. They also have studied the ability of several novel coating systems to inhibit the electrochemical processes that drive corrosion in aluminum alloys.

Finally, they have developed a novel class of redox active DNA minor groove binders, and have explored their interactions with both single-stranded and double-stranded DNA. They have demonstrated that these compounds enable electrochemical detection of hybridization without covalent labeling.