Research projects

Running projects and research grants

Project title: Multicomponent Functional Nanostructures

Project ID: OTKA FK142148

Duration: 2022.10.01.-2026.09.31.

Funders: National Research, Development and Innovation Fund

Project title: Novel Semiconducting Materials

Project ID: TKA2021-NKTA-05

Duration: 2022.01.01.-2025.12.31.

Funders: Ministry of Innovation and Technology of Hungary - National Research, Development and Innovation Fund

Project title: Infrastructural Instrumentation Grant

Project ID: Acquisition of an Edinburgh FS5 spectrofluorometer with integrating sphere and TCSPC electronics

Duration: 2021

Funders: Centre for Energy Research, Eötvös Lóránd Research Network

this page is still partly under construction

Nanoparticles and structures from the lab

Plasmonic gold nanoparticles with different shape, size and functionality are synthesized by wet chemical approaches. Silica nanoparticles and their Langmuir-Blodgett films. Semiconductor quantum dots, rods and nanoplatelets. Solvogels and highly porous, self-supported aerogels from semiconductor and plasmonic building blocks. Printed xero- and aerogel films on conductive substrates.

Transition metal oxide-based multicomponent nanoparticles

Structural, optical, photophysical and photocatalytic properties of shape-controlled transition metal oxide nanoparticles combined with noble metal nanoparticles are in the recent focus of the group. We are especially interested in charge-carrier extraction processes in order to enhance the activity of oxide NPs in photocatalytic applications.

Interconnected semidonductor nanorods in a gel network

The crystal contact between the nanoparticles in the hyperbranched network enables the enhanced mobility of the charge carriers upon illumination. It is of special importance in extracting photogenerated electrons from CdSe/CdS/Au or Pt multicomponent systems.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/adom.202100291

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/adfm.202101628

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/adom.202101712

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/smll.202206818

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/sstr.202300186

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/sstr.202300225

Noble metal nanorod networks as novel electrocatalysts

Eletrocatalytic activity of Au and Au/Ag nanorods have been investigated as a form of cryoaerogels on conductive substrate. AuNRs serve as promising catalysts for EOR and glucose sensing.

Monitoring ligand exchange reactions at the single particle level

Anchoring different thiols on the surface of gold nanoprisms has been monitored in situ by single particle microspectroscopy at the single nanoprism level to reveal the kinetics and the patch formation during the ligand exchange process. These patchy particle can later serve as a new platform for directed self-assembly experiments via modulated electrostatic interactions.

+ additional paper under review currently

Colloidal interaction calculations

Relevant interparticle interactions are calculated and predicted in order to investigate the possibilities to obtain soft-sphere type interaction. These interaction potential profile is essential to prepare compact, three-dimensional nanoparticle clusters.

http://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2016/ra/c6ra03902b

Nanostructured interface for Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering

Precisely fabricated periodic gold nanovoid structure enables the detection of low amount of Raman active molecules if gold nanoparticles are applied as Raman reporter carriers.

https://www.osapublishing.org/abstract.cfm?URI=oe-24-2-A424

Clustering of NPs by fine-tuning colloidal interactions

Self-assembly of spherical gold nanoparticles with different size modified by methoxy-poly(ethlylene glycol) can be triggered via external stimuli. The kinetics of the aggregation and the structure of the evolved clusters can be influenced by the control parameters (ionic strength and temperature).

http://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2016/ra/c6ra03902b

Optical simulations: self-assembly relevant model structures

Extinction spectra of self-assembly relevant gold nanoassemblies are simulated to map the optical response of chains, heptamers and 3D clusters with different NP-NP distances. Near-field plots give information about pasmon coupling and enhancement.

Related paper:

https://pp.bme.hu/ch/article/view/9101

Capillary lithography: nanorings and their optical properties

Gold nanoparticles can be used as tracer objects to identify the dewetting stages of the capillary lithography process. Single chain gold nanoparticle rings were prepared with tunable internal radii by capillary lithography and the optical response of the rings were measured by single particle spectroscopy.