Luminescent Nanostructures: Controlling Nanoscale Architecture for Multifunctionality

近年来，功能发光纳米材料无论从基本观点还是在健康、食品、安全、能源和环境等领域的潜在应用，都引起了人们的极大兴趣。我们对发光纳米材料世界的基本理解，从它们的生长和结构，到它们在外源刺激下的行为，正在导致实现具有前所未有的特性或它们的组合的工程化纳米系统。然而，非常需要通过量身定制的研究来指导我们的基本理解，以解决明显的问题并开发新的应用程序。该计划旨在弥合这一鸿沟，以便从新设计的发光纳米结构中收集的信息可以被用于对加拿大具有重要意义的创新应用。在寻找新的发光纳米材料方面，稀土掺杂纳米结构因其迷人的、多功能的光学性质而处于前沿。鉴于这种无可争辩的兴趣，我制定了一个强有力的研究计划，在INRS-EMT研究功能发光纳米结构，特别是稀土掺杂纳米颗粒。在这个发现基金的框架内，我的目标是开发新的稀土掺杂纳米结构，以揭示结构和发光之间的基本关系。这一认识将引导我们设计具有新的或增强的发光特性的纳米结构，以实现最终的应用集成。 具体地说，在未来五年中，我将：(I)研究新型稀土掺杂纳米结构，以缓解和利用稀土离子之间的能量传递过程，从而使个体的发光性能脱钩；(Ii)开发能够同时提供光学产生的热和实时温度检测的新的纳米平台；(Iii)通过将稀土掺杂纳米结构与其他各种近红外可扰动纳米材料的合理组合，设计混合纳米结构。 这一雄心勃勃的研究计划将在新型功能发光纳米结构的工程方面取得创新进展，为开发符合加拿大社会迫切需求的有形应用铺平道路，培养高素质的人才，以满足学术界和工业界的科学和技术要求，并通过实现一个新兴技术平台，巩固加拿大在先进材料研究，特别是纳米材料研发方面的领先地位。

Functional luminescent nanomaterials have garnered significant interest in recent years from both a fundamental viewpoint and for their potential applications spanning several sectors including health, food, safety, energy, and environment. Our fundamental understanding of the luminescent nanomaterials world, from their growth and structure, to their behavior after exogenous stimulation, is leading to the realization of engineered nanosystems with properties, or a combination thereof, never before observed. There exists, however, a great need to guide our basic understanding with tailored research to address explicit problems and to develop new applications. This program seeks to bridge this divide such that the information gleaned from newly engineered luminescent nanostructures can be exploited for innovative applications of importance to Canada. In the search for new luminescent nanomaterials, rare earth doped nanostructures are at the cutting edge due to their fascinating and versatile optical properties. Given this indisputable interest, I have developed a vigorous research program to investigate functional luminescent nanostructures at INRS-EMT with a particular focus on rare earth doped nanoparticles. In the framework of this Discovery Grant, my goal is to develop new rare earth doped nanostructures to unravel the basic relationships between structure and luminescence. This understanding will guide us towards engineering nanoarchitectures with new or enhanced luminescence properties for ultimate application integration. Specifically, over the course of the next five years, I will: (i) study new nanoarchitectures with controlled rare earth doping to mitigate and harness energy transfer processes amongst rare earth ions to decouple individual luminescence properties; (ii) Develop new nanoplatforms capable of simultaneously delivering optically generated heat and real-time temperature detection; (iii) Engineer hybrid nanostructures through the rational combination of rare earth doped nanostructures with other diverse near-infrared perturbable nanomaterials. This ambitious research program will result in innovative advances in the engineering of new functional luminescent nanostructures paving the way for the development of tangible applications consistent with the immediate needs of Canadian society, train highly qualified personnel to address the scientific and technological requirements of academia and industry, and underpin Canada's position of leadership in Advanced Materials research, in particular nanomaterials research and development through the realization of an emerging technology platform.