Materials Science and Chemistry

Biography

Mona Tréguer-Delapierre received a B.S. in Physical Chemistry from the University of Orsay, Paris Sud in 1996, and graduated with a Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Orsay, Paris XI, under J.Belloni in 1999. She has received an award from the Chancellerie des Universités de Paris for her PhD thesis. After a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Notre Dame, Indiana (USA) with Dan Meisel, she joined the faculty as Associate Professor in the Chemistry Department at the University of Bordeaux 1, in 2000. Her current interest involves the synthesis of metal nanoparticles, mainly gold and silver, with size and shape control and therefore with desired optical properties. Furthermore, her research is also focused on the surface modification and assembly of the nanoparticles to improve their versatility.

Research Interest

Our research in the group “Chemistry of Nanomaterials” is basically focused on the synthesis, characterization and applications of nanoparticles. The morphology control in the nanostructure is one of our favorite topics because of the spectacular effects that small changes in the shape of nanoparticles have on a variety of physical (optical, magnetic, electronic...) properties of the material. Colloidal synthesis has proven extremely useful to prepare a wide variety of nanoparticles with tight control of size and shape. Still, much of the knowledge in this area is empirical and no general rules can be provided for a rational nanomaterial design. We are particularly interested in understanding the mechanisms involved in nanoparticle growth, which determine the final size and shape. Though eminently fundamental, this research is required for the design of nanoparticle materials with tailored properties that can be used for practical applications. Examples of nanoparticles developed in the group with various morphologies are shown below.