Facultat de Física

Departament de Física de la Matèria Condensada

Increasing the Complexity of Colloidal Multicomponent Nanocrystals

Neus G. Bastús(neus.bastus@icn2.cat )

Institut Català de Nanociència i Nanotecnologia (ICN2), CSIC, The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST), Barcelona.

The rational design and development of new protocols for the colloidal synthesis of multicomponent nanocrystals (NCs) represent an important research direction to expand the functionalities of single-component counterparts¹. In these systems, the functionality of the composite NCs is ultimately determined by the atomic interactions between constituent domains, which essentially relies on the precise and deliberate control of the NC architecture with the independent organization of each individual domain.

Consequently, the controllable integration of different functionalities into single nanostructures has recently become one of the hottest research topics due to these complex NCs' unique structural features and synergetic optical and catalytic properties. However, despite the design of the nanostructures has become quite sophisticated through controlling the size, shape and crystal structure of the constituent domains, a long-standing barrier has been the development of simple and cost-effective synthetic processes allowing a fine adjustment of the structure and interface of these systems, especially in water. In this context, we will summarize our research on the design and development of colloidal synthesis strategies for producing multifunctional inorganic colloidal NCs comprising the combinations of metals, metal oxides and magnetic and their applicability in the fields of biomedicine, energy and the environment^2-6.

1. Bastus, N. G.; Gonzalez, E. E.; Puntes, V., Increasing complexity of nanocrystals. Nano Today 2020, 32, 100859.
2. Bastús, N. G.; Piella, J.; Perez, S.; Patarroyo, J.; Genç, A.; Arbiol, J.; Puntes, V., Robust one-pot synthesis of citrate-stabilized Au@ CeO2 hybrid nanocrystals with different thickness and dimensionality. Applied Materials Today 2019, 15, 445-452.
3. Patarroyo, J.; Delgado, J. A.; Merkoci, F.; Genc, A.; Sauthier, G.; Llorca, J.; Arbiol, J.; Bastus, N. G.; Godard, C.; Claver, C.; Puntes, V., Hollow PdAg-CeO(2) heterodimer nanocrystals as highly structured heterogeneous catalysts. Sci Rep 2019, 9 (1), 18776.
4. Piella, J.; Gónzalez-Febles, A.; Patarroyo, J.; Arbiol, J.; Bastús, N. G.; Puntes, V., Seeded-Growth Aqueous Synthesis of Colloidal-Stable Citrate-Stabilized Au/CeO2 Hybrid Nanocrystals: Heterodimers, Core@Shell, and Clover- and Star-Like Structures. Chem. Mater. 2019, 31 (19), 7922-7932.
5. Merkoçi, F.; Patarroyo, J.; Russo, L.; Piella, J.; Genç, A.; Arbiol, J.; Bastús, N. G.; Puntes, V., Understanding galvanic replacement reactions: the case of Pt and Ag. Materials Today Advances 2020, 5, 100037.
6. Ventosa, M.; Oliveras, J.; Bastús, N. G.; Gimbert-Suriñach, C.; Puntes, V.; Llobet, A., Nanocrystal–Molecular Hybrids for the Photocatalytic Oxidation of Water. ACS Applied Energy Materials 2020, 3 (10), 10008-10014.