DESIGN AND EVALUATION OF CHIRAL STABILIZING AGENTS FOR ZNO NANOPARTICLES FORMATION

Work package:
https://www.lcc-toulouse.fr/nanochimie-organisation-et-capteurs-equipe-t/ DESIGN AND EVALUATION OF CHIRAL STABILIZING AGENTS FOR ZNO NANOPARTICLES FORMATION Internship supervisor(s) Dr Myrtil KAHN, myrtil.kahn@lcc-toulouse.fr, Laboratoire de chimie de coordination LCC Dr Valérie Sartor, valerie.sartor@utoulouse.fr, SOFTMAT Dr. Béatrice GERLAND, beatrice.gerland@utoulouse.fr, LSPCMIB Location LCC Équipe Nanochimie, organisation et capteurs (équipe T) 205 route de Narbonne, BP 44099 31077 Toulouse cedex 4, France This research master's degree research project could be followed by a PhD ☒ YES ☐ NO During the synthesis of nanoparticles (NPs), surfactants primarily act as ligands for species in solution but are also involved in NP growth, thereby influencing their final properties, such as size, morphology, polydispersity, and surface structure. A deeper understanding of these surfactants role is essential to control NP properties and, consequently, their potential applications, ranging from optoelectronics to biomedical imaging.[1] Zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NP), considered non-toxic, have generated significant interest, as evidenced by the emergence of antibacterial [2] and chiral ZnO NP,[3] achieved through the use of biomolecules such as amino acids[4] as surfactants. Moving beyond conventional sol-gel processes for ZnO NP synthesis, M. Kahn’s team of Coordination Chemistry Laboratory (LCC) has developed a "safe-by-design" synthesis based on the controlled hydrolysis of the organometallic precursor ZnCy₂ in the presence of the surfactant dodecylamine (DDA), thereby highlighting the role of primary amines in ZnO NP growth (Scheme 1).[5] This project aims to screen surfactants bearing a primary amine function, either from the chiral pool (such as amino acids for example) or from chiral analogs of DDA already synthesized within the laboratory, to evaluate their contribution to morphological control and colloidal stability of ZnO NPs. WP1_ZnO NP Synthesis: Obtention of ZnO NPs under inert conditions by varying chiral surfactant type, concentration, and reaction parameters (temperature, time) while carrying initial observations (stability, preliminary UV-visible studies). WP2_Morphological and Structural Characterization of ZnO NP: Statistical analysis of ZnO NP size, shape, polydispersity based on TEM images, evaluation of the optical properties by UV-visible spectroscopy, determination of chiral optical activity by circular dichroism, investigation of the chiral ligand role by NMR spectroscopy.