Regulation of Interparticle Interactions: In Search of Advanced Nanoparticle Functions

DIPC Seminars

Speaker
Pramod P. Pillai, Indian Instiute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Pune, India
When
2019/06/13
14:00
Place
Donostia International Physics Center
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Regulation of Interparticle Interactions: In Search of Advanced Nanoparticle Functions Ability to control the interplay of forces can not only improve the existing nanoparticle (NP) functionalities but can pave way for newer properties as well.1 Our group is interested in controlling the fundamental forces, and thereby interparticle interactions, to understand and improve various processes occurring at the nanoscale. In principle most of the forces and interactions at the nanoscale originate from molecules around a nanomaterial. Thus, one of the fundamental aspects of our research is the surface functionalization of nanomaterials with molecules of interest, while retaining NP’s inherent optoelectronic properties. We have successfully tested our hypothesis of controlling the interplay of forces in some of the fundamental nanoscale properties like self-assembly, sensing, catalysis, light harvesting and biotargeting.2-4 For instance, we have regulated the interparticle forces to reveal the unprecedented phenomenon of controlled aggregation and emergence of selectivity in inherently non-selective Au NPs, without the aid of any analyte specific ligands.2 In another example, a precise tuning of NP-reactant interactions helped in outplaying the poisoning effects of ligands in NP catalyzed reactions. The same metal core can function as a catalyst and a non- catalyst based on the NP surface potential. The superiority of surface engineering of NP system lies in the ease with which the necessary surface chemistry can be ‘fitted in’ irrespective of the NP core. In this regard, we have successfully demonstrated electrostatically driven light induced energy/electron transfer processes in Quantum Dot-Dye hybrid systems.4 These advancements in the existing optoelectronic properties of nanomaterials through the fine control over interactions are expected to expand the scope of nanoscience in energy and health research. References 1\. (a) B. A. Grzybowski and W. T. S. Huck, Nat. Nanotechnol. 2016, 11, 585; (b) C. A. S. Batista, R. G. Larson and N. A. Kotov, Science 2015, 350, 1242477; (c) K. J. Bishop, C. E. Wilmer, S. Soh and B. A. Grzybowski, Small 2009, 5, 1600; (d) K. Saha, S. S. Agasti, C. Kim, X. Li and V. M. Rotello, Chem. Rev. 2012, 112, 2739 2\. (a) A. Rao, S. Roy, M. Unnikrishnan, S. S. Bhosale, G. Devatha and P. P. Pillai, Chem. Mater. 2016, 28, 2348; (b) A. Rao, S. Govind, S. Roy, T. R. Ajesh, G. Devatha and P. P. Pillai, ChemRxiv.7195817.v1 2018. 3\. (a) S. Roy, A. Rao, G. Devatha and P. P. Pillai, ACS. Catal. 2017, 7, 7141; (b) S. Roy, S. Roy, A. Rao, G. Devatha and P. P. Pillai, Chem. Mater. 2018, 30, 8415; (c) I. N. Chakraborty, S. Roy, G. Devatha, A. Rao and P. P. Pillai, Chem. Mater. 2019, 31, 2258. 4\. (a) G. Devatha, S. Roy, A. Rao, A. Mallick, S. Basu and P. P. Pillai, Chem. Sci. 2017, 8, 2017, 3879; (b) J. A. M. Xavier, G. Devatha, S. Roy, A. Rao and P. P. Pillai, J. Mater. Chem. A 2018, 6, 22248; (c) S. Muduli, P. Pandey, G. Devatha, R. Babar, D. C. Kothari, M. Kabir, P. P. Pillai and S. Ogale, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2018, 57, 7682. Host: Marek Grzelczak