Dr. Jordi Arbiol (ICN2-ICREA)

Cicle

 

SCIENCE ON MONDAY: Nanoscience and Nanotechnology: the future is here!

The new materials for the most innovative technological applications are currently being synthesised at the nanoscale (nanotubes, nanoparticles, etc.). We can also adapt atomic structures to improve treatments for cancer, Alzheimer's and other diseases. Throughout the world, those of us who work in nanoscience, nanotechnology, material science and/or nanobiology all have close links with nanoscopy, given that a critical need exists to characterise the synthesised nanostructures at the atomic scale and to relate them with their physical, chemical and functional properties. We shall see how – by using advanced electronic microscopy tools – we can observe low-dimensionality nanostructures, such as nanophyles, quantum dots, nano-islands and viruses or bacteria. The speaker will explain the technological journey science has followed, ever since the times of Galileo, to develop microscopes, and the fact that we have now achieved sub-angstrom resolutions, which enables us to observe individual atoms. We shall see how we can model atomic structures in 3D, and how this modelling can help us to understand the different properties of nano-objects at the most macroscopic scale. We will be travelling from the macro-world to the nano world, and back again, all duly illustrated with images, videos and examples, thus offering an explanation that is both enjoyable and entertaining, and at the same time highly informative and educational.