Research interests

My research activities are focused on the synthesis and characterization of fluorescent zero-dimensional nanoparticles and of their solid-state nanocomposites. In the past years, my interests mainly aimed at developing synthetic methods for carbon dots (CDs), i.e. carbonaceous fluorescent nanoparticles. Moreover, I focused on elucidating relationship between their structure and properties trough the combination of diverse chemical, structural and optical nanoparticle characterization techniques. Another main focus of my research is the development of solution-based post-synthetic methodologies favoring the implementation of these nanoparticles in polymeric matrices or solid-state optoelectronic or sensing devices. Overall, my research is targeted towards the development of greener, safer and more advanced fluorescent nanoparticles important for a broad variety of application fields.

Keywords: fluorescent carbon nanoparticles, colloidal synthesis, fluorescence spectroscopy, polymeric nanocomposites, optoelectronic devices, fluorescence sensing