Seminar Report

Title: Metal-ligand chemistry in nanoparticle synthesis and performance

Speaker: Dr. Jill Millstone, University of Pittsburg
Date: 08/20/2018 (Kavli Foundation Emerging Leader in Chemistry Lecture)

1. Keywords (5)
metal-ligands, pendant ligands, optoelectronic propeties, magnetic properties, multimetallic
nanoparticles

2. Problem(s) studied by speaker:

I. Identifying synthesis methods to obtain mixed metal nanoparticles at the low nanometer scale.
II. Understanding control factors in ligand assisted alloy formation at reduction and metal segregation
stage.
III. Understanding control factors for the surface architecture of metal nanoparticles.
IV. Effect the ligand type on photoluminescent behavior of metal nanoparticles.
V. Interaction of photolumiscence of yuterbium with that of metal np.

3. Prior work on topic:

I. Background knowledge of surface energy and mechanisms that govern nanoparticle synthesis is
already known.
II. Monometallic mechanistic studies on nanoparticle synthesis already published.

4. Speaker’s accomplishments:
I. Discovered that Au-Cu and Au-Ag show red shift in photoluminescent emmission depends on
composition.
II. Discovered that Au-Co alloy nanoparticles have different magnetic susceptibility properties
depending on composition.
III. Discovered that increasing Yb content in Yb and Au nanoparticle mixtures increased the emission
from Yb and decrease from Au nanoparticles but mentained the same photoluminescent excitation
profile.
IV. Discovered that when metal phylate complex forms prior to reduction it gives random solid but
when sequestered in micelle but not chemically bound then forms core-shell structure.

5. How speakers work differs from or related to previously published work:

I. Au-Co alloy nanoparticles synthesized for the first time with composition tunability.
II. Use the nucleation event to mimic the diffusion quench process in the bulk
III. Synthesized bimetallic analogs of metal phylate complexes prenucleation species to study the
mechanism of nucleation.
IV. Control of position of atoms in metal np synthesis by the metal phylate complex was previously
undiscovered.
depending on original architecture 2% to 75% exchange efficiency depending on architecture.
VII. The ligand type used significantly impact the nanoparticle quantum yield
VIII Shorter ligands gave shorter wavlength of emission and shorter lifetimes.

6. Future directions (2 senten.)

I. Understanding the dynamics of surface architectures in different environments
II. Developing applications for the developed nanoparticles in catalysis and optoelectronics.