Alberto Escudero received his PhD in Chemistry in 2007 at University of Seville, Spain. His scientific profile is focused on the synthesis, functionalization, characterization, study of the properties and evaluation of the applications of inorganic and hybrid materials, with special interest in nanostructures for biomedical and optoelectronic applications. His professional career has been developed at the German Universities of Jena, Bayreuth, and Marburg, and at the Leibniz Institute for New Materials of Saarbrücken, within the groups of Prof. F. Langenhorst, W. Parak, and T. Kraus. He has also worked for the the Material Science Institute of Seville, and has carried out shorter stays at the University of California Santa Barbara, and at the University of Turku. He has also been responsible for innovation and industrial projects, and has taught Chemistry and Nanotechnology at the Universities of Marburg, Saarland, and Seville. Since September 2019 he works as a researcher for the Department of Inorganic Chemistry of the University of Seville, where he teaches Inorganic Chemistry, and for the Institute for Chemical Research, within the Asymmetric Synthesis and Functional Nanosystems group.
Inorganic nanostructures: synthesis, properties, applications, and large-scale production
The design of synthetic routes yielding monodisperse nanoparticles or nanostructures with controlled size and morphology is highly demanded in Nanotechnology, given than many of the properties of such materials may be strongly affected by their morphological characteristics. Other aspects such as surface modification and optimization of the properties also play a key role in Nanosciences. Moreover, upscaling of the synthesis and surface modification processes designed at laboratory scale is of special relevance for the industrial use of nanostructures, and thus for their commercial viability.
Several examples of the synthesis, surface modification and properties of monodisperse inorganic nanostructured materials, as well as some of their applications in biomedicine and optoelectronics will be commented on. This includes the synthesis and the optimization of the luminescence of rare earth doped nanoparticles for the bioimaging of cells and tissues, and also for the design of ratiometric sensors, the synthesis, appropriate surface modification, and large scale production of gold and silver nanoparticles for printing electronics, and the use of SiO2-based capsules for drug and gene delivery applications.