Research & Publications

Plasmonic photochemistry

Metallic nanoparticles act as nanoscale antennas that amplify and concentrate light in their vicinity. Our research group specializes in harnessing these unique optical properties to enhance and control photochemical processes. To achieve this, we engineer innovative metallic nanoparticle hybrid systems and investigate how their structure, composition, and plasmonic behavior influence light-driven reactivity. We then apply these nanomaterials toward photochemical and antimicrobial applications.

Singlet Oxygen

Singlet oxygen is an excited state of molecular oxygen generated through photosensitization. Due to its short lifetime and highly reactive nature, singlet oxygen acts locally at the site of production, making it an effective tool for targeted antimicrobial applications against pathogens ranging from viruses to bacteria. Our group is interested in harnessing singlet oxygen to address antimicrobial resistance through the development and optimization of new photosensitizers, as well as strategies to enhance singlet oxygen generation and efficacy.

Excited-state modulation

Our research group is interested in understanding and controlling excited-state pathways through unconventional approaches to triplet-state access. Using polymer-based systems, we investigate how polymer composition, thickness, and the incorporation of plasticizers or antiplasticizers influence excited-state behavior and relaxation processes. By establishing fundamental structure–property relationships, our goal is to develop design principles that enable the rational tuning of excited-state dynamics, reducing reliance on trial-and-error approaches in photochemical material design.

publications

Self-Assembly of Organic Dyes in Supramolecular Aggregates

Photochem. Photobiol. Sci. 2016, 15, 1103. Many scientists probably consider dye aggregation in solution a curse. Here, the adjective “many” should be stressed, as some other researchers thrive on forcing dyes to aggregate in solution. This perspective paper is certainly not meant to be a comprehensive review on the topic. However, for people intrigued by this pervasive phenomenon, I will try to offer a general picture on the self-assembly of dyes into supramolecular aggregat

Distance-Dependent Plasmon-Enhanced Singlet Oxygen Production and Emission for Bacterial Inacti

J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2016, 138, 2762. Herein, we synthesized a series of 10 core–shell silver–silica nanoparticles with a photosensitizer, Rose Bengal, tethered to their surface. Each nanoparticle possesses an identical silver core of about 67 nm, but presents a different silica shell thickness ranging from 5 to 100 nm. These hybrid plasmonic nanoparticles thus afford a plasmonic nanostructure platform with a source of singlet oxygen (1O2) at a well-defined distance from the m

Structure-Property Relationship of Donor Acceptor Acridones - An Optical, Electrochemical and C

Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 2015, 17, 20903. The synthesis of two neutral acridone derivatives was carried out to design media sensitive chromophores by taking advantage of intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) features. The molecules comprised two different donor–acceptor–donor triads, with absorption maxima at 425 nm and 520 nm, for the ketone and dicyanomethylene derivatives, respectively. The ketone variant exhibited fluorescence at room temperature, whereas the dicyanomethyle

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