synthesis – Inorganic Nanoparticles Group

Access to top European nanoscience facilities is now open thanks to project QNano

Editor — Thu, 12 Jul 2012 18:19:08 +0000

Providing access to top facilities for nanomaterials processing, characterisation and exposure assessment, the FP7 project QNano launched its second call for applicants to “Transnational Access”, open to the whole European nanosafety community. The project covers all expenses for the applicant, including travel and consumables. Access to 15 major European research sites is via a single application and evaluation process, described at this link of the QNano website:

http://www.qnano-ri.eu/access.html

The deadline for this second call is August 31, 2012.

The Transnational Access component of the EU-FP7 project QNano is dedicated to providing the European nanosafety community with access to services and equipment for nanomaterials synthesis, processing, characterisation and exposure assessment located at major European research centres, known as Transnational Access Facilities (TAFs). A broad array of analytical services will be available, including various techniques in microscopy (AFM, TEM, SEM, confocal, etc.) and spectroscopy (XRD, and Z-potential, UV-Vis), as well as centrifugation and purification. The ICN is among the 15 TAFs participating in QNano through the Inorganic Nanoparticles Group, which offers technical support in the synthesis and characterisation of diverse types of inorganic nanoparticles.

We encourage you to apply! Do contact our group if we can assist you in any way.

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!

Miriam has defended her PhD thesis!

Editor — Mon, 04 Jun 2012 20:41:42 +0000

Miriam Varón has successfully defended her PhD thesis entitled “Synthesis of Nanoparticles and Nanostructured Materials by Self-Assembly”, last Thursday May 31.

The PhD Committee was formed by Prof. Cathrine Frandsen (Technical University of Denmark), Dra. Maria del Puerto Morales Herrero (Instituto de Ciencia de Materiales de Madrid, Spain) and Dr. Andreu Cabot (Catalonia Institute for Energy Research, Spain).

Congratulations, Miriam!!!

Our work on hollow complex nanostructures has been published in Science!

Editor — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 19:57:13 +0000

One of the main works from Dr. Edgar Gonzalez’s doctorate in our group was the synthesis of highly complex metallic hollow nanostructures. He obtained gold and silver nanocages and nanoboxes (multi-walled and/or multi-chambered polyhedra and wires). The degree of structural complexity was not the only achievement here, but also the fact that the synthetic procedure can be performed at room temperature (green chemistry), unlike previous attempts where high temperatures were required.

This work, carried out with the collaboration of Prof. Jordi Arbiol from the Institute of Materials Science of Barcelona (ICMAB), has now been published in Science, “Carving at the Nanoscale: Sequential Galvanic Exchange and Kirkendall Growth at Room Temperature”. Its value also resides in the fact that the concept relies in “carving” the hollow structure out of a solid one (controlled corrosion). And this is fundamentally different from the general trend of thinking that complex precious nanostructures should be built assembling objects atom-by-atom or molecule-by-molecule. This conceptual move is also well framed in the Perspective article by W. Parak that introduces our paper in the Science issue: “Complex Colloidal Assembly”. It is also well explained in simpler terms in the BBC Technology news item “Nanoparticle hollowing method promises medical advances”.

Gonzalez, E., Arbiol, J., & Puntes, V. F. (2011). Carving at the Nanoscale: Sequential Galvanic Exchange and Kirkendall Growth at Room Temperature. Science, 334(6061), 1377–1380.

http://www.sciencemag.org/content/334/6061/1377

Selected media coverage and related:

Wolfgang J. Parak (2011). Complex Colloidal Assembly. Science 334(6061), 1359-1360.

http://www.sciencemag.org/content/334/6061/1359

BBC Online: Nanoparticle hollowing method promises medical advances, by Leo Kelion. December 8, 2011.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-16101495

PhysicsWorld.com: Corrosion carves out 3D nanostructures, by Belle Dumé. December 12, 2012.

http://physicsworld.com/cws/article/news/2011/dec/12/corrosion-carves-out-3d-nanostructures

RSC Chemistry World: Molecular suitcases created by corrosion, by Simon Hadlington. December 8, 2012.

http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/News/2011/December/08121105.asp

El Mundo Newspaper: ‘Matriuskas’ en las estructuras internas de las nanopartículas. December 8, 2011.

http://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2011/12/07/nanotecnologia/1323285656.html

ScienceDaily: Carving at the Nanoscale. December 10, 2011

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/12/111208142013.htm

MaterialsToday.com: Carving goes nanoscale. December 12, 2011.

http://www.materialstoday.com/view/22582/carving-goes-nanoscale/

Phys.org: Carving at the nanoscale. December 8, 2011.

http://phys.org/news/2011-12-nanoscale.html

Nanowiki.info: Why hollow?… No, why solid!, by Victor Puntes. December 19, 2011.

http://www.nanowiki.info/#[[Why%20hollow%3F…%20No%2C%20why%20solid!]]