Nanostructured Films & Particles

Research Group

HIGHLIGHTS:

Simple surface treatment improves performance of carbon materials for sodium ion battery anodes

Hard carbons are the most extended anode materials for sodium-ion batteries (SIBs); however, they suffer from several limitations such as low stability, poor rate performance ...

Exploring hybrid hard carbon/Bi2S3-based negative electrodes for Na-ion batteries

The study presents a hybrid hard-carbon/nanocrystalline-Bi2S3 (HC/Bi2S3) material applicable for negative electrodes in sodium-ion batteries. Electrochemical measurements, operando XRD, ex situ solid-state NMR, and high-resolution ...

Enhanced power-point tracking for high-hysteresis perovskite solar cells with a galvanostatic approach

Harnessing the untapped potential of solar energy sources is crucial for achieving a sustainable future, and accurate maximum-power- point tracking of solar cells is vital ...

Cu-releasing nanoparticles induce the catalytic transamination of amino acids and GSSG under tumor microenvironment conditions

Catalytic cancer therapy exploits the tumor microenvironment (TME) to target cancer cells by leveraging molecules already present in the TME. Currently, only a few processes ...

On-chip monitoring of toxic gases: capture and label-free SERS detection with plasmonic mesoporous sorbents

The evaluation of toxic gas molecules spread in air at low concentration on field requires a robust microfluidic platform combined with analytical technique that can ...

Solar Energy Storage Using a Cu2O-TiO2 Photocathode in a Lithium Battery

A Cu2O-TiO2 photoelectrode is proposed for simultaneous solar light energy harvesting and storing of electrochemical energy in an adapted lithium coin cell. The p-type Cu2O ...

Microwave-Driven Exfoliation of Bulk 2H-MoS2 after Acetonitrile Prewetting Produces Large-Area Ultrathin Flakes with Exceptionally High Yield

2D materials display exciting properties in numerous fields, but the development of applications is hindered by the low yields, high processing times, and impaired quality ...

Double redox aqueous capacitor with high energy output

The paper puts forward the concept of double redox electrochemical capacitor operating in an aqueous electrolyte. It combines the redox activity of sulphur from Bi2S3 ...

In Cellulo Bioorthogonal Catalysis by Encapsulated AuPd Nanoalloys: Overcoming Intracellular Deactivation

Bioorthogonal metallocatalysis has opened up a xenobiotic route to perform nonenzymatic catalytic transformations in living settings. Despite their promising features, most metals are deactivated inside ...

Unveiling the interplay between homogeneous and heterogeneous catalytic mechanisms in copper-iron nanoparticles working under chemically relevant tumour conditions

In this work we have designed a bimetallic catalyst nanoparticle containing Cu and Fe species and we describe how homogeneous and heterogeneous processes involving gluthatione ...

Formamidinium halide salts as precursors of carbon nitrides

Pyrolysis of formamidinium halide salts (FAI, FABr) results in a new type of amorphous carbon nitride materials with a mass fraction of 40–50% nitrogen content. ...

Transfer of photothermal nanoparticles using stem cell derived small extracellular vesicles for in vivo treatment of primary and multinodular tumours

The main current challenges in oncology are (1) avoiding systemic side effects in therapy, and (2) developing alternative treatment strategies for metastatic tumours. Nanomedicine was ...

Welcome To

the Nanostructured Films & Particles
Research Group

The NFP Group was created in 2007 by researchers from different backgrounds, with the aim of concentrating efforts in the development and application of nanostructured materials. The NFP Group is one of the founding research groups at the Nanoscience Institute of Aragon (INA), a multidisciplinary institute where researchers in Physics, Chemistry, Engineering, Medicine and Biochemistry find numerous opportunities for lateral thinking and scientific collaboration.

The common thread linking the NFP research areas is the synthesis of nanomaterials in a multiplicity of shapes and structures. We are interested in the development of bottom-up methods that allow us to synthesize nanoscaled materials in a way that is both precise and scalable. Our synthesis procedures are designed to endow the final product with the properties required for the desired application. This can be a very challenging objective. Thus, for applications in nanomedicine our structures have to perform a certain function, (e.g. deliver a therapeutic cargo to a tumour in vivo), but at the same time they have to fulfil a wide set of requisites such as be biodegradable, or at least biocompatible, capable to avoid the immune system, sometimes also capable of remote activation etc. This entails the fabrication of complex architectures with nanoscale precision. Similarly, in other fields of application within our research portfolio (e.g. nanostructured surfaces for molecular recognition, or nanomaterials for environmental photocatalysis) the final product always requires a careful design and accurate fabrication in order to achieve the outstanding features that are the trademark of the nanoscale.

Please browse our site for a more in-depth view of our research. If any of the contents inspires you, do not hesitate to contact us. We are always looking for new, highly motivated postdoctoral researchers and Ph.D. students, and also for new scientific collaborations with other research groups.

Contact:
Prof. J. Santamaria
Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering
University of Zaragoza
Jesus.Santamaria@unizar.es
Phone: +34 976761153