Nanoparticles and Nanostructures

Team

• Dr. Jessica Rodríguez-Fernández (group leader)
• Dr. Aliaksei Dubavik („Hybrid Nanoparticles“, postdoctoral researcher)
• Haojin Ba („Au Nanoparticles and Cellular Membranes“, PhD candidate)
• Ilka Kriegel („Copper Chalcogenide Nanocrystals“, PhD candidate)
• Jaekwon Do („Hybrid Nanocomposites“, PhD candidate)
• Verena Baumann („Nanoparticle Assemblies“, MSc)
• Anna Helfrich (Lab technician)

Visitors

• Prof. Andrey Rogach (City University of Hong Kong)
• Aleksandar Vaneski (City University of Hong Kong) – May 2011
• Dr. Sameer Sapra (Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, „Semiconductor Nanocrystals“ ) – May 2011-July 2011
• Wenhua Li (Catalonia Institute for Energy Research – IREC, Barcelona, „Nanocrystals for Photovoltaics“) – March 2011-July 2011

We use colloidal chemistry approaches for the preparation and surface modification of nanoparticles, hybrid nanoparticles/nanocomposites and assemblies/superstructures with appealing properties (e.g. optical, magnetic, etc.) for a wide range of applications, from optics to biology and photovoltaics.

Our main interest is devoted to the utilization of colloidal nanoparticles of several materials (with a special interest on those holding localized surface plasmons) as building-blocks for the creation of complex, self-assembled, nanostructures with new properties.

We are also interested in:

• hybrid organic-inorganic nanocomposites with remotely-controlled responses
• metal/magnetic/semiconductor (hybrid/non-hybrid) nanoparticles and their interaction with biological membranes.

General strategy for the controlled labeling of lipids in living cell membranes with functionalized Au nanoparticles (Ba et al., Nano Letters 10, 3006 (2010))

Hybrid nanocomposites (Au nanorod-microgel core-shell colloids): Au nanorods can be simultaneously used as fast optothermal manipulators and sensitive optical reporters of the volume phase transition of temperature-sensitive microgel shells based on poly(N-isopropylacrylamide (pNIPAM) (Rodríguez-Fernández et al., Nanotechnology 22, 245708 (2011))

Supercrystals composed of self-assembled, close-packed, copper sulfide (Cu1.97S) nanocrystals show enhanced absorption in the visible-NIR (Kriegel et al., Chem. Mater. 23 ,1830 (2011))

Recent Publications and Publications Highlights*

Tuning the Excitonic and Plasmonic Properties of Copper Chalcogenide Nanocrystals

I. Kriegel, C. Jiang, J. Rodríguez-Fernández, R. D. Schaller, D. V. Talapin, E. da Como, J. FeldmannJ. Am. Chem. Soc. 134 (3), 1583 (2012)

Triggering the volume phase transition of core-shell Au nanorod-microgel nanocomposites with light

J. Rodríguez-Fernández, M. Fedoruk, C. Hrelescu, A. A. Lutich, J. Feldmann
Nanotechnology 22 (24), 245708 (2011)

Hybrid colloidal heterostructures of anisotropic semiconductor nanocrystals decorated with noble metals: synthesis and function

Vaneski, A. S. Susha, J. Rodríguez-Fernández, M. Berr, F. Jäckel, J. Feldmann, A. L. Rogach
Adv. Funct. Mater. 21 (9), 245708 (2011) (Invited Feature Article)

Tuning the light absorption of Cu1.97S nanocrystals in supercrystal structures

Kriegel, J. Rodríguez-Fernández, E. Da Como, A. Lutich, J. Szeifert, J. Feldmann
Chemistry of Materials 23 (7), 1830 (2011)

Colloidal CdS nanorods decorated with sub-nanometer sized Pt clusters for photocatalytic hydrogen generation

M. Berr, A. Vaneski, A. S. Susha, J. Rodríguez-Fernández, M. Döblinger, F. Jäckel, A. L. Rogach, J Feldmann
Appl. Phys. Lett. 97, 093108 (2010)

Immobilization of Gold Nanoparticles on Living Cell Membranes upon Controlled Lipid Binding

H. Ba, J. Rodríguez-Fernández, F.D. Stefani, J. Feldmann
Nano Letters 10 (8), 3006 (2010)
(Featured at the web portal of Nano Letters and Publication Award 2010 of the Center for Nanoscience (CeNS), Munich)

Charge Separation in Type II Tunneling Structures of Close-packed CdTe and CdSe Nanocrystals

D. Gross, A. S. Susha, T. A. Klar, E. Da Como, A. L. Rogach, J. Feldmann
Nano Lett., 8 (5), 1482 (2008)

* For a full publication list of the team members please visit their respective personal homepages linked above.