Forschung

Nanoparticles and Nanostructures
Chemistry is life. That’s the starting point, and nanoparticles can make life more pleasant and easy. Simply by finely dispersing common bulk materials new properties can be observed: inert materials become catalysts, insulators become conductors, opaque substances become transparent, stable materials become combustible… Gold nanoparticles solutions are shining red. Scientist skills lie in their ability to manipulate matter in a controlled way. There is a world to be discovered: what Ostwald named the “world of lost dimension”. It is common belief that nanostructures are a new state of matter. This is due to the fact that atoms at surfaces behave differently to those in the bulk, and nanoparticles are literally characterised by those surfaces. My group works on particles, which are relevant for novel energy cycles and more efficient chemical reactions. For many of those applications, appropriate nanostructures do not already exist or are not sustainable so that “de novo” systems have to be designed from scratch. This for instance holds for metal carbide and nitride particles, which offer new pathways for metal/base catalysis, but also are record holders in mechanical hardness or magnetization. This is also true for the corresponding borides, which are again new land for chemistry, when rational nanostructures are to be made. New cathode nanomaterials for the lithium batteries are another target where progress will directly impact society. Synthesis in my group is always accompanied with the suitable physical characterization techniques. This includes, among others, high-resolution TEM microscopy, scattering techniques and magnetic characterisation.

Using urea to play the double role of nitrogen/carbon source and stabilizing agent, several metal carbides and nitrides have been synthesised (Figure 1) [mehr]
Magnetic nanomaterials possess special interest for a variety of applications, e.g. as magnetic recording material, sensors and in new nanoelectronic devices. [mehr]
The department recently showed that mesoporous carbon nitride provides an easy-to-remove matrix upon thermal decomposition, as well as a solid reactant. [mehr]
It is an actual trend in material science to analyze new pathways towards nanomaterials which improve the performance of Li-batteries, reducing at the same time cost and toxicity. [mehr]
Recently, much attention has been paid to polymerized ionic liquids or polymeric ionic liquids, which are macromolecules obtained from polymerizing ionic liquid monomers. [mehr]
High temperature (T > 1000 °C) solid state synthesis usually leads to thermodynamically stable states, with the formation of bulk stable polymorphs. [mehr]
Nowadays, the need for nano and mesostructured materials has taken the attention of the scientific community. The creation of such systems has generated new challenges in their design process and characterization. [mehr]
We have developed new routes to binary and ternary metal carbides and nitrides through the control of nucleation and growth of the intermediate ceramic phases. [mehr]
Nowadays, environment pollution and energy crisis are widely concerned all over the world. It is an urgent task to develop environment-friendly technologies for alternative clean energies. [mehr]
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