contact person: Karolína Šišková, CV

Karolina Siskova´s research group focuses on functional inorganic-organic nanocomposites developed for environmental and/or bio-medical applications.

Engineered nanostructures are prepared by wet syntheses in the laboratories, mostly obeying green chemistry principles. Bottom-up as well as top-down techniques of nanostructures generation can be exploited. Inorganic parts of our functional nanocomposites frequently consist of noble metal nanostructures (plasmonic nanoparticles, luminescent nanoclusters), superparamagnetic iron-oxide nanoparticles (known as SPIONs), and iron-containing species. Organic parts of our functional nanocomposites are made up of bio-friendly macromolecules (e.g., proteins, polymers) and/or low-molecular weight compounds (e.g., amino acids). The properties of as-prepared nanocomposites are further optimized and synthetic approach is designed with respect to their potential application.

Within the research group, we are also interested in mechanisms of nanostructures and nanocomposites formation. First, for curiosity and knowledge enlargement, as well as, with the aim to improve the unique characteristics of particular nanostructures.

Experimental techniques available directly in the lab in Olomouc-Holice (Palacký University Research Campus) and used for the functional nanocomposites characterization are as follows:

• UV-vis and infrared (IR) absorption spectroscopies
• steady-state fluorescence (including 3D excitation-emmission maps acquisition)
• dynamic light scattering
• zeta potential measurements
• Raman and surface-enhanced Raman scattering spectroscopies (785 nm excitation laser line).

Further characterization techniques at Dept. Of Experimental Physics include:

• XRD powder diffraction
• scanning electron microscopy (SEM)
• energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) - for element analysis within SEM mapping
• BET analysis of gas adsorption-desorption
• several home-made (stepwise updated and upgraded) Mössbauer spectrometers.

Measurements requiring the usage of the other experimental instrumentation can be mediated upon request, for instance:

• Raman micro-spectrometer
• IR absorption micro-spectrometer
• cyclic voltammetry
• X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS)
• electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR)
• nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR)
• transmission electron microscopy (TEM) + EDS, high-resolution TEM (HR-TEM), etc.

As for top-down synthetic techniques, laser ablation and ball-milling can be exploited. Concerning bottom-up syntheses, microwave irradiation, ultrasonication, hydrothermal reaction chambre can be employed.