Understanding the Behavior and Structure of Nanocrystalline Material through the Interactions of Photons

Ligand passivated nanoparticles have applications in solid-state lighting, plasmonics, and catalysis. At the nanoscale, the properties of these materials can be manipulated by reaction kinetics, allowing for systematic control to achieve desired functionalities and performance efficiency. Analysis of these properties and evaluating their fundamental behavior is challenging due to the complex chemistry at the nanoscale. Therefore, a combination of analytical techniques such as TEM, SEM, pXRD, NMR, and optical methods are required to study the structure and properties of these materials. This dissertation will consist of two topics covering nanoparticle synthesis and their applications. The first topic will discuss the use of 2 nm lanthanide doped nanospinels (Ln:ZnAl2O4, Ln = Tb, Eu) as down-shifting phosphors for solid-state lighting. Emission quantum yields up to 50% are achieved following energy transfer from a surface coordinating ligand. The second topic will discuss the synthesis and isolation of catalytic material from an iron-cobalt Prussian blue analogue (PBA). The isolated catalytic material retain elemental compositions and obey a scaling law with respect to the seed PBA, suggesting a templated interconversion.