nanocrystals – Inorganic Nanoparticles Group

Robust one-pot synthesis of citrate-stabilized Au@CeO2 hybrid nanocrystals with different thickness and dimensionality

Editor — Wed, 15 May 2019 09:25:46 +0000

Well-defined colloidal Au@CeO₂ hybrid nanocrystals (NCs) comprising different core/shell morphologies have been synthesized via a novel and simple one-pot aqueous approach. The method allows producing hybrid morphologies composed by an active and accessible Au core coated by a porous CeO₂ shell with varying shell thickness and dimensionality by simply adjusting the Au³⁺/Ce³⁺ precursor ratio. These hybrid NCs are highly monodisperse and well-dispersed in water, showing intense surface plasmon resonance bands that offer unique opportunities for advanced material applications, such as plasmonics and catalysis.

Robust one-pot synthesis of citrate-stabilized Au@CeO2 hybrid nanocrystals with different thickness and dimensionality

Volume 15, June 2019, Pages 445-452

Hollow metal nanostructures for enhanced plasmonics: synthesis, local plasmonic properties and applications. Published in Nanophotonics

Editor — Fri, 28 Sep 2018 10:09:28 +0000

Metallic nanostructures have received great attention due to their ability to generate surface plasmon resonances, which are collective oscillations of conduction electrons of a material excited by an electromagnetic wave. Plasmonic metal nanostructures are able to localize and manipulate the light at the nanoscale and, therefore, are attractive building blocks for various emerging applications. In particular, hollow nanostructures are promising plasmonic materials as cavities are known to have better plasmonic properties than their solid counterparts thanks to the plasmon hybridization mechanism. The hybridization of the plasmons results in the enhancement of the plasmon fields along with more homogeneous distribution as well as the reduction of localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) quenching due to absorption. In this review, we summarize the efforts on the synthesis of hollow metal nanostructures with an emphasis on the galvanic replacement reaction. In the second part of this review, we discuss the advancements on the characterization of plasmonic properties of hollow nanostructures, covering the single nanoparticle experiments, nanoscale characterization via electron energy-loss spectroscopy and modeling and simulation studies. Examples of the applications, i.e. sensing, surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy, photothermal ablation therapy of cancer, drug delivery or catalysis among others, where hollow nanostructures perform better than their solid counterparts, are also evaluated.

Hollow metal nanostructures for enhanced plasmonics: synthesis, local plasmonic properties and applications.

Probing the surface reactivity of nanocrystals by the catalytic degradation of organic dyes: the effect of size, surface chemistry and composition. Published in Journal of Materials Chemistry A

Editor — Fri, 28 Sep 2018 10:00:57 +0000

We herein present a comprehensive study on how the catalytic performance and reusability of Au nanocrystals (NCs) are affected by systematic variations of crystal size, surface coating and composition. The reductions of different organic dyes (4-nitrophenol, rhodamine B and methylene blue) by borohydride ions were used as model catalytic reactions. The catalytic performance of the Au NCs ranged between 3.6 to 110 nm was found to be dependent on crystal size, indicating that Au surface atoms have a distinct size-dependent reactivity in this reaction. Similarly, the catalytic performance was found to be strongly dependent on the nature of the coating molecule, obtaining lower catalytic activities for molecules strongly bound to the Au surface. Finally, the catalytic performance was found to be dependent on the chemical composition of the NC (Au, Ag, Pt) and the model dye used as a testing system, with the highest degradation rate found for methylene blue, followed by 4-nitrophenol and rhodamine B. We believe that this study provides a better understanding of the catalytic performance of Au NCs upon controlled modifications of the structural and morphological parameters, and a working environment that can be used to facilitate the selection of the optimum NC size, coating molecule and evaluation system for a particular study of interest.

Probing the surface reactivity of nanocrystals by the catalytic degradation of organic dyes: the effect of size, surface chemistry and composition

Neus Bastús has been awarded a Ramón y Cajal Fellowship

Editor — Tue, 27 Aug 2013 10:29:27 +0000

Dr. Neus Bastús has been awarded a Ramón y Cajal Fellowship, arguably the most prestigious fellowship in the national Spanish scientific system. Ranked first in the area of “Engineering and Technology” (in the last call of November 2012), she geared her application to the research she is developing now in our group (Colloidal synthesis of monocomponent and hybrid nanocrystals) and previous work carried out during her PhD with Prof. Puntes, and her postdoctoral stay in Hamburg University with Prof. Weller (Synthesis and Functionalization of metal, semiconductor nanocrystals and hybrid structures).

Current holder of a Spanish Juan de la Cierva Fellowship, already awarded with a Marie Curie Career Integration Grant from the European Commission, and previous holder of a Catalan Beatriu Pinós Fellowship, we wish her all the success in this new stage at ICN2.

Many congratulations, Neus!

Neus Bastús has been awarded the Marie Curie CIG grant

Editor — Thu, 05 Jul 2012 19:56:05 +0000

Dr. Neus Bastús, a Juan de la Cierva postdoctoral Fellow in our group, has been recently awarded a Marie Curie Career Reintegration Grant (CIG), granted by the European Commission to support junior researchers directly by funding their own research – a step beyond a personal fellowship. Neus presented the project “Developing New Strategies for the Production of Viable Hybrid Nanocrystals with Applicability in Energy Conversion and (Photo)catalysis”, focusing on the production of metal-semiconductor, metal-oxide of semiconductor and metal-metal oxide, in core-shell and/or oligomer-like configurations, by tackling the most challenging points related to the growth of multi-component materials, in particular the conditions by which it is possible to tune both, the materials that compose the structure and the morphology of the final structure.

Many congratulations, Neus!