Prof. Emanuele Marino : From Artificial Atoms to Artificial Solids: Designing Materials for Light and Energy
Abstract: Nanocrystals are often described as “artificial atoms,” as they possess discrete, tunable energy levels that determine how they absorb and emit light. Just as conventional materials are built by combining atoms, nanocrystals can be treated as modular building blocks that can be mixed and matched to create new forms of matter. In this talk, I will show how physical confinement can guide these building blocks to self-organize into highly reproducible and scalable architectures known as supraparticles, three-dimensional “artificial solids” with tunable structure and function. This approach enables precise control over interactions between nanocrystals, paving the way for materials with properties that go beyond those of their individual components. I will highlight how coupling semiconductor, plasmonic, and magnetic nanocrystals leads to emergent optical phenomena, including controllable light emission and low-threshold lasing, with potential implications for energy and photonic technologies.
Bio: Dr. Emanuele Marino is an Assistant Professor at the Università degli Studi di Palermo, where he studies how nanoscale building blocks known as nanocrystals can be assembled into new forms of matter with properties that do not exist in nature. His research explores how controlling structure at the nanoscale can enable novel ways to manipulate light and energy, with potential applications in solar energy conversion, photonics, and next-generation optical devices. By bridging physics, chemistry, and materials science, he aims to design “artificial solids” whose collective behavior goes beyond that of their individual components. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Amsterdam and was a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Pennsylvania. His work has been published in leading journals including Nature and Science, and is supported by major international funding, including an ERC Starting Grant.
Bio: Dr. Emanuele Marino is an Assistant Professor at the Università degli Studi di Palermo, where he studies how nanoscale building blocks known as nanocrystals can be assembled into new forms of matter with properties that do not exist in nature. His research explores how controlling structure at the nanoscale can enable novel ways to manipulate light and energy, with potential applications in solar energy conversion, photonics, and next-generation optical devices. By bridging physics, chemistry, and materials science, he aims to design “artificial solids” whose collective behavior goes beyond that of their individual components. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Amsterdam and was a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Pennsylvania. His work has been published in leading journals including Nature and Science, and is supported by major international funding, including an ERC Starting Grant.
Practical information
- Informed public
- Free
Organizer
- Institute of Chemical Sciences and Engineering
Contact
- Wendy Queen
[email protected]