Nanostructured Functional Materials
Group Leader: Daniel Ruiz-Molina
Main Research Lines
Nanoscale functional polymers for health and social welfare:
Catechol-based polymers
Engineering polymers for optimal micro/nanoencapsulation
Coordination polymersLight harvesting and chromogenic nanomaterials for energy saving:
Photochromism
Thermochromism
Fluorescence
UpconversionHybrid devices and 2D materials for emerging technologies:
2D coordinatoin polymers
Active molecular nanostructures on surfaces
The goal of the Nanostructured Functional Materials or “NANOSFUN” group is to develop new routes to molecular nanostructures with properties inspired in nature and smart responses to external stimuli. As such work continued in 2017 on novel catechol-based coatings and wet adhesives that reproduce the sticking power of marine mussels, as well as the development of nanoencapsulation strategies for photoactive species with potential photophysical and chemical applications. The group also has a strong line in photo- and thermochromism. New this year are lines devoted to the development of coordination polymers for theranostic applications, and the synthesis of 2D coordination flakes for electronic applications.
Group Leader
Daniel Ruiz-Molina
CSIC Tenured Scientist
Daniel Ruiz-Molina earned his PhD in polyradical dendrimers at the Institut de Ciència de Materials de Barcelona (ICMAB-CSIC) under Prof. Jaume Veciana. He then took a postdoctoral position at the University of California San Diego (USA), where he spent three years working on single molecule magnets and molecular switches.