- Silicon nanocrystals tailored for bioimaging and energy conversion
- Angeloni, Sara <1993>
Subject
- CHIM/03 Chimica generale e inorganica
Description
- This thesis focus is the development of hybrid organic-inorganic systems based on Silicon Nanocrystals (SiNCs) with possible applications in the field of bioimaging and solar energy conversion. SiNCs were engineered thanks to the realization of a strong covalent Si-C bond on their surface, which allowed us to disperse them in different solvents with different final purpose. Chapter 1 introduces the basic properties of nanomaterials. Chapter 2 describes all the synthetic procedures to obtain the organic molecules-functionalized SiNCs. Chapter 3 illustrates an organic-inorganic antenna system based on SiNCs conjugated with diphenylanthracene (DPA) photoactive molecules, which was also embedded into Luminescent Solar Concentrators (LSC) made of a polymeric matrix. The optical and photovoltaic performances of this device were compared with the ones of a LSC embedded with a physical mixture made of SiNCs plus DPA at the same concentrations of the two components in the covalent system. Chapter 4 shows many different techniques to functionalize SiNCs with polyethylene glycol (PEG) chains in order to make them dispersible in water, for biomedical imaging applications. Chapter 5 presents the synthesis of dyes and/or SiNCs loaded Polymer Nanoparticles (PNPs) capable of excitation energy transfer (EET) mechanism. Chapter 6 is focused on the realization of photo-switchable systems based on azobenzene derivatives-functionalized SiNCs. These organic-inorganic hybrid materials were studied to possibly obtain a new light-driven response of SiNCs. In the end, chapter 7 reports the activity I followed in America, at The University of Texas at Austin, in the laboratory led by the professor Brian Korgel. Here I studied and compared the properties of high temperature hydrosilylated SiNCs and room temperature, radical promoted, hydrosilylated SiNCs.
Date
- 2021-06-07
Type
- Doctoral Thesis
- PeerReviewed
Format
- application/pdf
Identifier
urn:nbn:it:unibo-27518
Angeloni, Sara (2021) Silicon nanocrystals tailored for bioimaging and energy conversion, [Dissertation thesis], Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna. Dottorato di ricerca in Chimica