Les nanotubes de carbone (NTCs), en raison de leurs propriétés exceptionnelles et d’une utilisation potentielle dans un grand nombre d'applications, constituent surement la classe la plus étudiée des nanomatériaux. Les NTCs fonctionnalisés, qui peuvent être facilement manipulés et modifiés par liaison covalente ou fonctionnalisation non covalente, apparaissent comme de nouveaux outils dans le domaine des biotechnologies et en biomédecine. En effet, les NTC ont des propriétés optiques, électroniques et mécaniques qui peuvent être exploitées dans des applications biologiques ou biomédicales. Les nanoparticules magnétiques métalliques (NPMMs) de la série 3d ainsi que leurs alliages présentent d'excellentes propriétés magnétiques contrairement à leurs homologues oxydes, qui peuvent être exploitées en biomédecine et pour l'enregistrement magnétique ultra-haute densité. Les nano-matériaux confinés dans les NTCs peuvent présenter des propriétés et des comportements différents par rapport aux matériaux massifs. Divers effets de confinement provenant de l'interaction entre les matériaux confinés et les cavités internes des nanotubes de carbone offrent des possibilités de réglage ou la conception de nouveaux nanocomposites. Cette thèse est consacrée à l’étude d’une nouvelle approche pour le développement de matériaux nanocomposites NPMMs@NTC et de leurs propriétés. Des NPMMs de taille et forme contrôlée de Co et de Fe ont été synthétisées avec de nouveaux ligands aromatiques comme stabilisants. Ces MMNPs ont ensuite été introduites de manière sélective dans la cavité de NTCs du fait d’interactions attractives/répulsives entre les nanotubes de carbone multi-parois fonctionnalisés et les NPMMs. Nous nous sommes ensuite intéressés à la protection de ces nanoparticules de l’oxydation par l’air. Les nanoparticules de fer confinées ont ainsi été revêtues par du polyisoprène. Pour ce faire, la surface des nanoparticules de Fe a été modifiée avec un catalyseur de polymérisation par échange de ligand, puis la polymérisation de l'isoprène a été réalisée à l'intérieur du canal des NTCs. La protection de l'oxydation par le polyisoprène a été évaluée par des mesures magnétiques après exposition à l'air. De façon tout à fait surprenante, cette étude a montré que les nanoparticules de fer les plus résistantes à l’oxydation étaient celles obtenues après échange de ligand et sans polymérisation. Dans ce cas seulement les propriétés des nanoparticules originales sont maintenues après mise à l’air. Enfin, des nanostructures (particules ou fils) magnétiques bimétalliques associant le Pt au cobalt ou au fer ont été obtenues et confinées dans les NTCs. Leurs structures chimiques ordonnées ont également été étudiées par des études de recuit thermique. Le travail développé dans cette thèse ouvre de nouvelles perspectives pour la production de nouveaux nanocomposites MMNPs@NTC résistants à l’oxydation. / Carbon nanotubes (CNTs), because of their unique properties and potential use in a variety of applications, are probably the most studied class of nanomaterials. Functionalized CNTs, which can be easily manipulated and modified by covalent or non-covalent functionalization, appear as new tools in biotechnology and biomedicine. Indeed, CNTs have optical, electronic and mechanical properties that can be exploited in biological or biomedical applications. Metallic magnetic nanoparticles (MMNPs) of the 3d series and their alloys exhibit excellent magnetic properties unlike their oxide counterparts, which can be exploited in biomedicine and ultra-high density magnetic recording. When confined in CNTs nano-materials can have different properties and behaviors compared to bulk materials. Various confinement effects resulting from the interaction between the confined materials and the internal cavities of CNTs provide opportunities for regulating or designing new nanocomposites. This thesis is devoted to the study of a new approach for the development of nanocomposite materials MMNPs@CNTs and their properties. MMNPs of controlled size and shape of Co and Fe were synthesized with novel aromatic ligands as stabilizers. These MMNPs were then selectively introduced into the cavity of CNTs due to repulsive/attractive interactions between the functionalized multi-walled CNTs and the MMNPs. We were then interested in the protection of these nanoparticles from oxidation by air. Thus, confined iron nanoparticles have been coated with polyisoprene. To do this, the surface of the Fe nanoparticles has been modified with a polymerization catalyst by ligand exchange; then, polymerization of isoprene was conducted inside the channel of CNTs. The protection from oxidation by the polyisoprene was evaluated by magnetic measurements after exposure to air. Quite surprisingly, this study showed that the iron nanoparticles the more resistant to oxidation were those obtained after ligand exchange and without polymerization. In this case only, the original properties of the nanoparticles are maintained after venting. Finally, magnetic bimetallic nanostructures (particles or rods) combining Pt and cobalt or iron were obtained and confined in CNTs. Their chemical structure orderings were also studied by thermal annealing studies. The work developed in this thesis opens up new perspectives for the production of new MMNPs@NTC nanocomposites resistant to oxidation.

This thesis summarizes the methods of preparation and optical properties of hybrid assemblies of Au NPs and cadmium selenide (CdSe) QDs. First chap-ter deals with the literature survey and theoretical aspects of plasmonics and discussions on optical excitations of metal (plasmons) and semiconducting QDs (excitons). Variation of energy levels of CdSe QDs and its optical properties i e. absorption and emission properties under strong confinement regime have been discussed with respect to effective mass approximation (EMA) model. This is followed by the discussion on optical properties of Au NPs and rods, describing absorption properties, based on Mie theory. Size and shape depen-dent variation of absorption properties. Theoretical discussions of collective effects in QDs assemblies and plasmonic interactions with the QDs assemblies i.e. plasmonic Dicke effect and metal nanoantenna interaction with CdSe QDs arrays is provided. In the second chapter a discussion on experimental techniques used for the study is provided. It starts with a discussion on the synthesis methods for CdSe QDs and Au NPs/rods with different capping ligands. Different techniques of preparation of CdSe QDs assemblies and their hybrid with metallic nanoparti-cles has been discussed. Further discussion on optical microscopy techniques, confocal, near field scanning microscopy (NSOM), Brewster angle microscopy and electron microscopy techniques i. e transmission electron microscopy and scanning electron microscopy and thermogravimetry analysis of the samples is provided. In the third chapter the details of the different self-assembly methods of preparation of hybrid assemblies of CdSe QDs and Au NPs /rods are given. The different strategies are used for different type of hybrids. In first method of Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) , effect of different capping agents, core size, and number ratios of Au NPs/rods to CdSe QDs, effect of anisotropy of Au NPs on the LB films of CdSe QDs assemblies is discussed. In another method of dip coating several control parameters like dip time, concentration of the solution and dip speed of transferring an aligned GNRs is given. Finally a combination of LB and dip coating methods is described for transferring aligned GNRs over a compact layer of CdSe QDs. At the end, a section is devoted to hit and trials of self-assemblies of hybrid of GNRs and CdSe QDs using LB method, the failures of which resulted in devising a method which uses a combination of LB and dip coating. In fourth chapter effects of plasmons on the collective emission of CdSe QDs assemblies are investigated. A plasmonic tuning of photoluminescence from semiconducting QD assemblies using Au NP in different ratio and different packing density has been discussed. We have described how the emission from a closed pack assemblies, prepared with different packing densities depends on the packing density and extent of spectral overlap between QD photolumi-nescence and the metal nanoparticle absorbance. We have provided possible evidence for plasmon mediated coherent emission enhancement from some of these assemblies from the case of strong spectral overlap between CdSe QDs and Au nanoparticle. In fifth chapter, we have demonstrated non local far field enhancement of PL in QDs assemblies induced by isolated and partially aligned GNRs nano-antenna located on such assemblies. It is shown that the emission is also anisotropic with the maxima being near such GNRs assembly which decays to finite, nonzero and significantly large values even away from the vicinity of any such assemblies. For this novel effect it is shown to have a clear spec-tral dependence. It is shown to be maximum when the longitudinal surface plasmon resonance absorption maxima is resonant with the CdSe QD photolu-minescence maxima and the excitation wavelength and is always non-existent for the off resonant case. We have also shown that finite difference time do-main simulations could model some of the observed near field effects but the far field effects could not be modelled in such simulations.

Le but de cette étude est de développer des effets innovants sur la soie par résonance plasmon. Pour cela, différents types de synthèses de nanoparticules d'or et d'alliages avec d'autres métaux nobles ont été envisagés : une synthèse préalable des nanoparticules par le biais de méthodes d'ores et déjà connues, suivie d'une incorporation sur la soie ; et une synthèse des nanoparticules in-situ sur la soie. Cette deuxième approche a permis de mettre en évidence deux effets intéressants : un effet irisé des colorations (couleur changeant en fonction de l'angle d'observation), dû à la formation simultanée sur la soie de nanoparticules plasmoniques absorbant la lumière et d'agrégats métalliques la réfléchissant ; et un effet d'addition des concentrations par rematage des pâtes d'impression permettant de réaliser des effets de superpositions et de dégradés attractifs pour les industriels. Après l'étude des paramètres de préparation, de stockage et d'impression à contrôler, la faisabilité d'un tel procédé en milieu industriel et la reproductibilité des résultats ont été validées. Il reste encore à réaliser certains réglages pour le passage à grande échelle en vue d'une future industrialisation / The purpose of this study is to develop innovative effects on silk due to plasmon resonance. For this, different synthesis pathways of pure gold nanoparticles and alloys with other noble metals have been considered: preliminary syntheses of nanoparticles through already known methods, followed by their incorporation on silk; and an in situ synthesis of nanoparticles directly on the silk. This second approach allowed us to identify two interesting effects: first, an iridescent effect of the dye (color change depending on the observation angle), due to the simultaneous formation on silk of plasmonic light-absorbing nanoparticles and light-reflective metal aggregates; second, an effect of concentrations addition by the pastes’ re-impression to achieve overlaying and gradient effects interesting for the industrial partners. After the preparation, storage and printing parameters’ study, the feasibility of such a process in industry and the reproducibility of the results have been validated. Some adjustments still need to be made in the case of a future industrialization

Objetivo: Avaliar se a adição de nanopartículas de prata ao cimento MTA branco irá melhorar a ação antimicrobiana sobre Enterococcus faecalis e prevenir a aderência deste microrganismo ao material. Método: Teste de contato direto utilizando corpos de prova dos materiais: MTA branco (n=10) grupo B, MTA cinza (n=10) grupo C, MTA branco + NPAg em pó a 1% em peso (n=10) grupo P, MTA branco + solução de NPAg 50ppm (n=10) grupo L, que foram mantidos a 35˚C por 72 horas na suspensão de Enterococcus faecalis em SBF (0.085 UA; 660nm). Alíquotas de 100μL foram tomadas da suspensão a cada 24 horas, realizadas as diluições seriadas e semeadas em triplicata em placa de Petri contendo meio Nutriente acrescido de azul de bromotimol a 0,001%. As placas foram incubadas a 35˚C por 48 horas e então realizadas as contagens de UFC. Ao final de 72 horas, corpos de prova em resina (n=10), que haviam sido mantidos na mesma suspensão juntamente com os demais grupos, tiveram a suspensão renovada, tendo sido ajustada para 0.1 UA (660nm). Permaneceram por mais 72 horas em estufa a 35˚C e então foram submetidos ao teste de aderência. Resultados: Para a comparação intergrupos considerando a variação do número de UFC em dois períodos houve diferença significante entre o grupo P e demais grupos no intervalo (T0-24h) e no intervalo (48-72h) para o grupo C comparado ao grupo L e P (Teste Anova teste t; α=0.01). Conclusões: Os cimentos MTA cinza e branco, com ou sem nanopartículas, apresentaram ação antimicrobiana sobre Enterococcus faecalis em todos os períodos do teste de contato direto; A adição da nanopartícula de prata em pó promoveu um efeito antimicrobiano em menor tempo sobre o Enterococcus faecalis, no teste de contato direto; O MTA branco, com nanopartículas não permitiu a aderência bacteriana ao final de 72 horas em contato com a suspensão bacteriana de Enterococcus faecalis. / Aim: To evaluate if the addition of silver nanoparticles to white MTA cement will improve the antimicrobial action of Enterococcus faecalis and prevent adherence of this microorganism to the material. Method: Direct contact test using samples of materials: white MTA (n=10) B group, gray MTA (n=10) C group, white MTA + NPAG powder to 1wt% (n=10) P group, white MTA + solution NPAG of 50ppm (n=10) L group were kept at 35˚C for 72 hours in Enterococcus faecalis in SBF(0.085AU; 660nm). Aliquots of the suspension were taken every 24 hours, serial dilutions carried out in triplicate and plated on Petri dishes containing nutrient medium plus bromothymol blue 0.001%. The plates were incubated at 35˚C for 48 hours and then the CFU counts performed. At the end of 72 hours resin specimens (n=10) which had been kept at the same suspension together with the remaining groups all had renewed suspension having been adjusted to 0.1AU (660nm). Lasted for over 72 hours in an oven at 35˚C and then were tested for adhesion. Results: Comparing between those groups consider the variation of numbers of CFU in two periods there was significant differente between the P group and other groups in the interval (T0-24h) and range (48-72h) for group C compared with group L and P (Anova test - t test; α=00:01). Conclusions: The gray and white MTA, with or without nanoparticles showed antimicrobial activity on Enterococcus faecalis at all periods of direct contact test; the silver nanoparticle powder addition promoted an antimicrobial effect in less time on the Enterococcus faecalis in test direct contact; white MTA with nanoparticles prevented bacterial adherence at the end of 72 hours in contact with the bacterial suspension of Enterococcus faecalis.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / Ammonia has attracted attention as a possible fuel for direct fuel cells since it is easy to handle under low pressure, costs only slightly higher than methanol and can easily be cracked down into hydrogen and nitrogen. At low temperature, ammonia oxidation on noble metal electrodes is a sluggish reaction and efficient catalysts are required to convert ammonia to nitrogen and hydrogen at reasonable reaction rates. In this thesis, I present polycrystalline and oriented nanoalloys synthesised at room temperature in aqueous media and their catalytic effects on the oxidation of ammonia. The electro-oxidation of ammonia on palladium-goldsilver (PdAuAgNPs) ternary nanoalloys was systematically studied in alkaline solution of potassium hydroxide (KOH) by cyclic voltammetry (CV). The PdAuAg nanoalloys were prepared through a facile synthesis with ascorbic acid as a reductant and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) as a stabilising agent from aqueous solutions of PdCh/HAuCI4.3H20/AgN03 mixtures. UV-visible spectroscopy was used to confirm the complete reduction of the metal ions; absorption peaks observed at 260 nm, 285 nm and 420 nm for Ag", Au3+ and Pd2+ ions respectively, disappeared after reduction indicating a complete reduction of the metal ions to zero-valent nanoparticles. High resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR TEM) revealed the formation of crystalline nonaggregated 25-35 nm sized nanoalloys. The elemental composition of the nanoalloys measured using energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) showed the presence of the three elements; Pd, Au and Ag. The well-dispersed non-agglomerated PdAuAg nanoalloys exhibited a reduced overpotential and a 33%, 400%,82% and 54% increase in current density for ammonia electro-oxidation compared to Pd, PdAg, PdAu nanoparticles and bare Pt electrode, respectively. The much improved current density of the well-dispersed PdAuAg nanoalloys is attributed to the increased electrochemically active surface area of the nanoalloys. This electro catalytic behaviour of the PdAuAg nanoalloys for ammonia oxidation in KOH solutions provides a promising route for development of low-cost and high performance electro catalyst for electro-oxidation of ammoniaMoreover, ammonia oxidation on platinum surfaces has been found to be a very structure sensitive reaction which takes place almost exclusively on Pt(100) surfaces. I report for the first time the preparation of sodium polyacrylate-capped Pt(100)Pd, pte 1OO)Au, pte 1OO)Ir, Pt(IOO)Rh, Pt(100)PdAu, Pt(100)IrAu, Pt(IOO)PdIr and Pt(IOO)RhAu nanoalloys. The reduction of the metal ions to nanoparticles was confirmed by UV-visible spectroscopy while the shapes and the structures of the nanoparticles were studied using HRTEM and CV. HRTEM analysis showed well distributed non-agglomerated 5-20 nm semi-spherical and cubic nanoalloys with lattice fridges on their surfaces indicating the crystalline nature of the nanoalloys. Pt(100) nanoalloy systems showed particles with triangular and cubic shapes. The existence of the preferentially cubic shaped nanoparticles in the samples indicated that the nanoalloys had some (100) sites orientation/a significant amount of (100) sites at their surfaces. The CV of the nanoparticles in the hydrogen adsorption/desorption region (-200 mV to 100 mV vs. Ag! AgCl) was used to obtain qualitative information about the surface structure of the nanoparticles. The voltammogram of oriented Pt(100) nanoparticles showed very clearly the presence of adsorption states associated with (110) sites, (100) domains and (l00) sites at -131 mV, -34 mV and 29 mV, respectively. The companson of this voltammetric profile with that obtained for a Pt(100) single crystal electrode clearly points out that the synthesised Pt nanoparticles have a high density of (100) sites. However, the peak that was observed at 29 mV in the CV of Pt(100) nanoparticles was not present in the vo ltammo grams of the Pt(100) nanoalloy systems confirming the formation of the nanoalloys. The results reported in this work demonstrate the importance of controlling the intrinsic structural properties of Pt nanoparticles; in terms of nature of the active sites and the effect of adding adatoms (such as Au, Pd, Rh, Ir) in order to understand their catalytic properties. The electrochemical activities of these nanoparticles for ammonia oxidation in basic medium showed an increase of over 100% current density compared to Pt electrode. Pt(lOO)RhAu nanoalloys showed the highest catalytic properties while Pt(lOO)PdAu had the lowest as shown in the trend: Pt(lOO)RhAu > Pt(lOO)PdIr > Pt(lOO) > Pt(lOO)IrAu > Pt(lOO)Pd> Pt(lOO)Rh > Pt(lOO)Au > Pt(lOO)Ir > Pt(lOO)PdAu. The synthesised oriented nanoalloys were further interrogated towards the oxidation of hydrazine as a fuel for hydrazine fuel cells. The oriented Pt(lOO) nanoparticles and Pt(lOO) nanoalloy systems exhibited over 1000% increase in current density and reduced oxidation overpotential compared to bare glassy carbon electrode. These excellent catalytic properties are attributed to the increased surface area and the presence of (100) sites which favour the oxidation of hydrazine.

Les nanoparticules métalliques (NPs) présentent des propriétés optiques (PO) uniques provenant de l’oscillation collective de leurs électrons. Cet effet se traduit par l'émergence d'une bande plasmon dont les caractéristiques peuvent être modulées par la taille, la forme, la nature des NPs et le milieu hôte. Il existe de nombreuses méthodes pour la préparation de ces NPs, l'une d'entre elles est l'ablation laser en milieu liquide (ALML). Cette technique offre certains avantages comme la simplicité, l’adaptabilité et des NPs dépourvues de contamination. Ses principaux inconvénients sont la productivité et le contrôle de la taille et de la forme des NPs. Ce travail est consacré à l'élaboration de NPs d’Ag par l’ALML et à l'étude théorique de leurs PO. Nous donnons dans ce manuscrit, les résultats de l'optimisation des paramètres d'élaboration conduisant à l'obtention de distributions en NPs reproductibles et contrôlées. Les PO de ces NPs sont mesurées et comparées à des modèles physiques spécifiques basés sur la théorie des milieux effectifs (EMT). L'EMT, telle que le modèle de Maxwell-Garnett, permet de décrire les PO de NPs monodisperses. Cependant, les voies de préparation classiques conduisent inévitablement vers des NPs montrant une distribution de forme et de taille qui induit des changements drastiques sur leurs PO. Le modèle SDEMT est proposée pour le calcul de la fonction diélectrique effective et du coefficient d'absorption de solutions colloïdales de NPs métalliques. Contrairement à Maxwell-Garnett, ce modèle donne une meilleure description des spectres d'absorption et d’ellipsométrie mesurés sur des échantillons contenant des NPs d’Ag et d’Au / Metal nanoparticles (NPs) exhibit unique optical properties (OP) coming from the collective oscillations of their electrons. This effect is translated by the emergence of a band of plasmon, the characteristics which can be modulated by the size, the shape and the nature of the NPs as well as by the environment of the host. There are many methods for the preparation of NPs, and one of them is the pulsed-laser ablation in liquid (PLAL). This technique offers some advantages such as simplicity, versatility and surface NP without contamination (reducing agent residues and/or stabilizers). Its main drawbacks are the lacks of productivity and control of the NP size and shape. This work is devoted to elaboration of Ag NPs by PLAL and theoretical investigation of their OP. We give here the results about the optimization of elaboration parameters leading to obtaining reproducible and controlled distributions of Ag NPs. The OP of these NPs are measured and compared to specific physical models based on the effective medium theory (EMT). Classical EMT such as Maxwell Garnett approximation allows describing the OP of monodisperse NPs. However, conventional preparation routes unavoidably conduct to NPs showing a shape and a size distribution which induces drastic changes in the OP. A SDEMT model which considers the shape dispersion is proposed for the calculation of the effective dielectric function and absorption coefficient of colloidal solution of metal NPs in water. Contrary to the conventional theory, this model gives a better description of the measured absorption and ellispometry spectra of sample containing Ag and Au NPs

New challenges in nanotechnology arise in the assembly of nanoobjects into three-dimensional superstructures, which may carry synergetic properties and open up new application fields. Within this new class of materials nanostructured, porous functional metals are of great interest since they combine high surface area, gas permeability, electrical conductivity, plasmonic behavior and size-enhanced catalytic reactivity. Even though a large variety of preparation pathways for the fabrication of porous noble metals has already been established, several limitations are still to be addressed by research developments. The new and versatile approach that is presented in this work makes use of a templatefree self-assembly process for the fabrication of highly porous, metallic nanostructures. Thereby, nanochains are formed by the controlled coalescence of noble metal NPs in aqueous media and their interconnection and interpenetration leads to the formation of a self-supported network with macroscopic dimensions. Subsequently, the supercritical drying technique is used to remove the solvent from the pores of the network without causing a collapse of the fragile structure. The resulting highly porous, low-weighted, three-dimensional nanostructured solids are named aerogels. The exceptional properties of these materials originate from the conjunction of the unique properties of nanomaterials magnified by macroscale assembly. Moreover, the combination of different metals may lead to synergetic effects regarding for example their catalytic activity. Therefore, the synthesis of multimetallic gels and the characterization of their structural peculiarities are in the focus of the investigations. In the case of the developed preparation pathways the gelation process starts from preformed, stable colloidal solutions of citrate capped, spherical noble metal (Au, Ag, Pt, Pd) NPs. In order to face various requirements several methods for the initiation of the controlled destabilization and coalescence of the nanosized building blocks were developed and synthesis conditions were optimized, respectively. Multimetallic structures with tunable composition are obtained by mixing different kinds of monometallic NP solutions and performing a joint gel formation. The characterization of the resulting materials by means of electron microscopy reveals the formation of a highly porous network of branched nanochains that provide a polycrystalline nature and diameters in the size range of the initial NPs. Furthermore, synthesis conditions for the spontaneous gel formation of glucose stabilized Au and Pd NPs were investigated. In order to gain a detailed knowledge of the structural properties of bimetallic aerogel structures a versatile set of characterization techniques was applied. A broad pore size distribution dominated by meso- and macropores and remarkably high inner surface areas were concluded from the N2 physisorption isotherms and density measurements. As investigated, a specific thermal treatment could be used to tune the ligament size of Au-Ag aerogels, whereas Au-Pd and Pt-Pd structures provide thermal stability under mild conditions. Further investigations aimed to the enlightenment of the elemental distribution and phase composition within the nanochains of multimetallic gel structures. The different approaches provide complementary and consistent results. Phase analyses based on XRD measurements revealed separated phases of each metal in the case of Ag-Pd and Au-Pd aerogels. They further proved the possibility of temperature induced phase modifications that lead to complete alloying of Au and Pd. In addition, separated domains of Pt and Pd were established from the EXAFS analysis of the corresponding aerogel. STEM EDX high resolution elemental mappings confirmed the separated domains of different metals in the case of Au-Pd and Pt-Pd aerogels. Moreover, a complete interdiffusion and alloy formation of Au and Ag within the corresponding aerogel structure is suggested from STEM EDX results. Finally, the presented investigations further promote the field of metallic aerogels by addressing the challenging issue of processability and device fabrication. Hybrid materials with organic polymers as well as various kinds of coatings on glass substrates and glassy carbon electrodes were prepared whereas the network structure was preserved throughout all processing steps. Moreover, it was illustrated that the NP-based aerogels carry metallic properties as expressed by their low Seebeck coefficients and high electrical conductivities.

Zur Darstellung von Edelmetallnanopartikelüberstrukturen werden zunächst kolloidale Lösungen von Gold, Silber, Platin und Palladium synthetisiert. Dafür wird eine modifizierte Syntheseprozedur für Citrat stabilisierte Goldnanopartikel in wässriger Lösung unter Verwendung gleicher Konzentrationen auf die Systeme Silber, Platin und Palladium übertragen. Die Nanopartikellösungen werden mittels Absorptionsspektroskopie und Elektronenmikroskopie in mittlerer und hoher Auflösung charakterisiert. Die Platinnanopartikel werden verwendet, um mittels Keim vermitteltem Wachstum größere Platinnanopartikel darzustellen. Die resultierenden annähernd sphärischen Partikel haben eine sehr enge Größenverteilung mit einer Standardabweichung von drei bis sieben Prozent. Mit bis zu zwei Schritten des Keim vermittelten Wachstums können Partikel mit einem mittleren Durchmesser im Bereich von 10 bis 100 Nanometern hergestellt werden. Hochauflösende Elektronenmikroskopie zeigt, dass die Oberfläche der Partikel aus Platinkristalliten mit Durchmessern weniger Nanometer besteht, was zu einer Oberflächenrauhigkeit von drei bis zehn Nanometern führt. Mittels eines Kern-Schale-Modells werden Einzelteilchenextinktionsspektren berechnet, welche in sehr guter Übereinstimmung mit den experimentell bestimmten Extinktionsspektren des dispergierten Ensembles sind. Eine über weite Bereiche des sichtbaren Spektralbereichs lineare Abhängigkeit des Extinktionsmaximums vom Partikeldurchmesser wird beobachtet. Dadurch und zusammen mit der Einheitlichkeit der synthetisierten Platinsphären eröffnen sich Anwendungsmöglichkeiten im Bereich der Photonik, der Nanooptik und der oberflächenverstärkten Ramanspektroskopie. Geordnete Überstrukturen der Edelmetallnanopartikel können durch Infiltrieren von Templaten aus Block-Copolymer-Filmen mit wässriger Nanopartikellösung synthetisiert werden. In Abhängigkeit von der Vorbehandlung der Polymerfilme werden entweder zweidimensional periodische Anordnungen mit einer Periodizität von weniger als 30 Nanometern oder Fingerabdruck ähnliche Anordnungen mit einem Rillenabstand im selben Größenbereich hergestellt. Durch Entfernen des Polymers entstehen ein- bzw. zweidimensionale Anordnungen aus Platinnanodrähten bzw. -Nanopartikeln auf einem Siliziumwafer. Diese hochgeordneten Strukturen sind von fundamentalem Interesse für die Entwicklung von nanometerskaligen Schaltkreisen, Sensoren und als Substrate für die oberflächenverstärkte Ramanspektroskopie. Für die Herstellung ungeordneter Überstrukturen werden zwei unterschiedliche Ansätze gewählt: direkte Destabilisierung von Nanopartikellösungen, welche zu Hydrogelen und durch Trocknung zu Aerogelen führt, und Immobilisierung von Nanopartikeln auf einem in die Lösung implantierten Pilzmycel. Aus Gold-, Silber- und Platinnanopartikeln werden monometallische Hydro- und Aerogele synthetisiert. Unterschiedliche Destabilisierungsmittel sowie unterschiedliche Methoden zur Aufkonzentration der Nanopartikellösungen werden getestet. Abhängig von der Methode werden gelartige Überstrukturen mit teilweise komplexen Morphologien aus hierarchischen Anordnungen von Primär-, Sekundär-, Tertiärpartikeln beobachtet. Bimetallische Hydro- und Aerogele können aus Mischungen von Gold- oder Platin- mit Silbernanopartikellösungen hergestellt werden. Hochauflösende TEM-Aufnahmen zeigen ein polykristallines Netzwerk aus 2 bis 10 Nanometer dicken Drähten. Erste BET-Messungen zeigen, dass die Gold-Silber-Netzwerke eine Oberfläche von etwa 48 m2/g besitzen. Diese Systeme aus monometallischen und bimetallischen Nanopartikeln stellen erste Ansätze für hochporöse templatfreie Hydro- und Aerogele dar und besitzen großes Potential für den Einsatz in der heterogenen Gasphasenkatalyse, da fast die gesamte Oberfläche aus Übergangsmetall besteht. Es wird für eine Auswahl an unterschiedlichen Pilzen gezeigt, dass deren Wachstum direkt in den synthetisierten Nanopartikellösungen möglich ist. Ohne weitere Funktionalisierung findet eine Anlagerung von Nanopartikeln auf der Pilzoberfläche statt. Starke Variationen in den Affnitäten verschiedener Pilze zu den unterschiedlichen Metallnanopartikeln werden beobachtet. Auch werden Unterschiede der Nanopartikelaffnität mit Variation der Morphologie innerhalb desselben Hybridsystems beobachtet. Ein Platin-Pilz-Hybrid wird in wässriger Lösung erfolgreich als Katalysator einer Redoxreaktion getestet. Solche Hybridstrukturen besitzen ebenso wie die oben beschriebenen Aerogele großes Potential für den Einsatz in der heterogenen Katalyse, wobei die Verwendung von Pilzmycel als Trägermaterial eine kostengünstige Darstellung größerer Katalysatormengen ermöglichen könnte.

Considerable attention has been focused on nanomaterials and their extensive applications. Metallic nanoparticles, especially gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) and silver nanoparticles (AgNPs), due to their superior physical, chemical, and optical properties, are vastly developed for numerous biomedical applications such as drug and gene delivery systems, diagnostic biosensors, imaging, and therapeutics. This study presents a low-cost method for the fabrication of self-assembled metallic nanoparticles, including gold and silver, via a reactive blade coating process, which is carried out based on in situ reduction of the metal precursors. This technique is a roll-to-roll compatible technique suitable for scalable nanomanufacturing. Oleylamine was used as a reducer agent, and gold (III) chloride hydrate and silver salts, including silver nitrate and silver perchlorate hydrate, were used as the metal precursors. Fabrication was carried out by first blade coating the reducer ink and subsequently coating the precursor ink followed by 3 hours of heat treatment. Various solvent systems were used to examine the effect of different solvents on the fabrication process. Surface morphology, crystalline phase composition, and plasmon resonance of the coated samples were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffractometer (XRD), and UV-Vis spectroscopy, respectively. Results demonstrated the synthesis of spherical self-assembled AuNPs using toluene (TOL) and isopropyl alcohol (IPA) for reducing and precursor solvents, respectively. Changing the concentration of reactants or increasing the coating layers exhibited a change in the average size of AuNPs. Self-assembled AuNPs thin films were also demonstrated to have the potential to be used as a biosensing platform based on localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) effect to detect the elevated levels of glucose in an aqueous solution. Recently, the world has faced a pandemic of Covid-19 caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which has threatened human health and has brought a worldwide devastating economic and social crisis. Hence, finding a solution to mitigate the current breakout of Covid-19 is vital to protect the international community from its causing harm. AgNPs as an antimicrobial agent, which has exhibited promising antiviral activity against several viruses, can offer a resolution to combat the spread of Covid-19. In this regard, AgNPs thin films were fabricated analogously via blade coating using various reducer and silver salt inks made of different solvent systems. Virucidal efficacy of reactive blade coated AgNPs on glass substrates was analyzed against human coronavirus 229E, a virus from the Coronavirus family, as a surrogate SARS-CoV-2 (according to the Level 2 Biosafety facility at uOttawa). Plaque forming assay indicated more than 99.99% reduction in infectivity of the virus when it contacts the AgNPs coated glass for 30 min before infecting cells. These results suggest the excellent potential for reactive blade coated AgNPs as an antiviral agent against coronavirus to avoid the spread of the virus.

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