The Nanomaterials Chemistry and Advanced Optical Characterization Lab develops new materials and structures for applications in the energy, environmental, and biomedical industries.
The nanomaterials chemistry and characterization research group develops zerodimensional (0D), unidimensional (1D), and twodimensional (2D) nanomaterials and nanostructures such as semiconductor quantum dots, transition metal catalytic particles, metal oxides, plasmonic nanostructures, and nanohybrids. The group also studies their properties and applications in the energy (solar fuels and solar cells), water treatment (photocatalysis), and biomedical (bioimaging, photothermal therapy, drug delivery) sectors.
The Nanomaterials Chemistry and Characterization Lab has all the necessary equipment—including a glove box, fume hoods, a vacuum unit, a hydrothermal synthesis reactor, and a microwave synthesis reactor—for synthesizing advanced, highly functional nanomaterials and nanohybrids.
These include semiconductor nanocrystals (also called quantum boxes or quantum dots), plasmonic nanostructures (silver rice grains and gold flowers), transition metal nanoparticles in various configurations (core-shell, alloys, hollow particles, etc.), and various unidimensional and two-dimensional nanomaterials—such as TiO2 nanorods, C3N4, and black phosphorus nanosheets—for environmental (e.g., photocatalytic degradation of pollutants), energy (e.g., solar fuels and solar cells), and biomedical applications.
The lab is also equipped with a UV/VIS/NIR absorption spectrometer (with an integrating sphere) and a cutting-edge fluorescence spectrometer that can measure emissions and lifespans in the UV spectrum up to 1700 nm in the near infrared. The fluorescence spectrometer is coupled with a microscope for mapping the intensity and lifespan of fluorescent materials.
The lab also has an electrochemical workstation, a solar simulator, lasers, LEDs, Xe lamps, and is equipped for gas chromatography (GC).
The Nanomaterial Chemistry and Characterization Lab is available to INRS Énergie Matériaux Télécommunications Research Centre faculty, students, and staff for their research projects.
Lab resources can also be used for external collaborations and R&D contracts. Contact us to learn more about the services available.
- Renewable energy
- Environmental and nano–bio interfaces<
- Solar fuels
- Solar cells
- Photocatalytic degradation of pollutants
- Water treatment
- Bioimaging
- Photothermal therapy
- Drug delivery, and more.
The Nanomaterial Chemistry and Characterization Lab was created with funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI), the Government of Quebec, and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC). It also receives grants from federal and Quebec government funding agencies.
Contacts
Dongling Ma
Professor and Scientific leader
Phone: 514-228-6920
Email: ma@emt.inrs.ca
Nanomaterials Chemistry and Advanced Optical Characterization Lab
Institut national de la recherche scientifique
Énergie Matériaux Télécommunications Research Centre
1650 boulevard Lionel-Boulet
Varennes, Québec J3X 1S2
CANADA