Descripción del proyecto
LIGHT IS AN INNOCUOUS REAGENT THAT CAN INITIATE CHEMICAL PROCESSES, AVOIDING HARSH REACTION CONDITIONS. IN ADDITION, LIGHT CAN BE USED FOR ANALYTICAL PURPOSES. NANOMATERIALS POSSESS UNIQUE OPTICAL, ELECTRICAL, MECHANICAL, AND CHEMICAL PROPERTIES AND THOSE WHICH ABSORB LIGHT AND/OR EMIT LUMINESCENCE CAN BE USED AS SENSORS OR PHOTOCATALYSTS. LIGHT CAN INDUCE THE BREAKAGE OF BONDS AND THE FORMATION OF NEW ONES. THUS, NEW NANOMATERIALS CAN BE PREPARED OR, ALTERNATIVELY, THOSE PREPARED BY CONVENTIONAL METHODS OR PHOTOCHEMICAL STRATEGIES CAN BE RESHAPED, RESIZED, OR SELF-ASSEMBLING BY LIGHT IRRADIATION.THE SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES OF THIS PROJECT ARE:- TO MODIFY THE SIZE AND SHAPE OF COLLOIDAL METAL NANOPARTICLES USING MAINLY EXCITATION AT UV (A, B, AND C)-WAVELENGTHS, SINCE THE EFFECT OF THESE EXCITATIONS ON METAL NANOPARTICLES HAS HARDLY BEEN EXPLORED. - TO STUDY THE ASSEMBLY OF COLLOIDAL METAL NANOPARTICLES USING LIGHT EXCITATION. THE EFFECT OF PHOTON FLUENCY, POLARITY OF THE SOLVENT, NANOPARTICLE CONCENTRATION, AND THE FUNCTIONALITY OF THE EXTERIOR OF THE NANOSYSTEM, ETC. WILL BE INVESTIGATED. - TO PREPARE EPITAXIAL SEMICONDUCTOR-METAL NANOPARTICLES BY COMBINING I) THE CAPACITY OF LIGHT FOR SELECTIVE ACTIVATION AND FOR FACILITATING THE REDUCTION OF METAL SALTS AND II) THE RELATIVELY EASY EXCHANGE OF CATIONS OF THE SEMICONDUCTOR NANOPARTICLE WITH METAL SALTS. THESE STUDIES WILL BE MAINLY FOCUSED ON CORE-SHELL SEMICONDUCTOR NANOPARTICLES. - TO SYNTHESIZE SMART NANOPARTICLES THAT CAN BE SWITCHED REVERSIBLY FROM AN ORGANIC TO AN AQUEOUS SOLVENT UPON EXPOSURE TO AN ATMOSPHERE OF CARBON DIOXIDE AND THAT CAN THEN REVERT BACK WHEN EXPOSED TO NITROGEN OR ARGON GAS UNDER VERY MILD CONDITIONS. - TO MAKE USE OF THE UNIQUE PROPERTIES OF METAL, SEMICONDUCTOR, AND UP-CONVERSION NANOPARTICLES AS SENSORS. SPECIAL EMPHASIS WILL BE GIVEN TO THE STUDY OF SUBSTRATE-NANOPARTICLE INTERACTIONS WITHIN THE SHELL. THESE TYPES OF INTERACTIONS HAVE NOT BEEN USED FOR MOLECULAR RECOGNITION, IN PARTICULAR IN CHIRAL RECOGNITION, BY NANOPARTICLES.- TO APPLY THE NANODEVICES PREPARED DURING THE DEVELOPMENT OF THIS PROJECT, INCLUDING METAL, SEMICONDUCTOR-METAL NPS, UP-CONVERSION-METAL NPS, AND UP-CONVERSION-SEMICONDUCTOR NPS, IN PHOTOCATALYSIS.- TO STUDY THE VERSATILITY OF ASSEMBLED METAL NANOSYSTEMS TO HEAT TRANSFER.CONVENTIONAL (NMR, IR, UV-VIS, ETC.) AND SPECIFIC TECHNIQUES (SEM, TEM, DLS, ETC.) WILL BE USED FOR THE CHARACTERIZATION OF THE SYNTHESIZED SYSTEMS. IN ADDITION, STEADY-STATE AND TIME-RESOLVED TECHNIQUES (EMISSION, LASER FLASH PHOTOLYSIS) WILL MAKE IT POSSIBLE TO OBTAIN DATA ON THE PHOTOPHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF THE SYNTHESIZED SYSTEMS AND THE INTERACTION MECHANISMS OF THE SYSTEMS WITH MODEL SUBSTRATES (PHOTOCATALYSIS) OR CHIRAL RECOGNITION (CHIRAL DEVICES). ETAL AND SEMICONDUCTOR NANOPARTICLES\HEAT TRANSFER\PHOTOCATALYSIS\SENSING\PHOTOINDUCED PROCESSES