Galo Soler-Illia performed his MSc and PhD in Chemistry at Buenos Aires University (1989-1998), followed bya postdoc in C. Sanchez group at University Pierre-et-Marie-Curie, Paris (1999-2003). He was the founder of Chemistry of Nanomaterials Group at CNEA, Argentina (2003-2014). At present, he is the Dean of Instituto de Nanosistemas at San Martín University, Buenos Aires, Principal Researcher of CONICET (Argentina), Associate Professor at the University of Buenos Aires, and Full Member of the National Academy of Exact and Natural Sciences of Argentina (Nanotechnology chair). He has been guest professor at Paris VI, University of Osaka Prefecture and the University of Melbourne. He received several national awards, in basic and applied sciences. He designs and produces new nanosystems with intelligent architectures and custom properties using chemical methods inspired by Nature. He has published more than 140 papers in reviewed journals, which received more than 10.000 citations (h=44), and filed four patents. In addition, he is an advisor for the Argentine Nanotechnology Foundation; he has published three science books about chemistry and nanotechnology, and disseminates science in open TV. He leads national and international projects with research groups and companies; he recently co-founded Hybridon, a start-up dedicated to mesoporous hybrid materials.
Controlling molecular transport and confinement in Mesoporous Materials:
towards intelligent perm-selective membranes
Galo J. A. A. Soler-Illia
Instituto de Nanosistemas, Universidad Nacional de San Martín, Buenos Aires, Argentina
The combination of nanomaterials synthesis with self-assembly processes led to a significant advance in the production of hybrid inorganic-organic Mesoporous Materials (MM) with controllable pore structures and localized functions. Our ability to produce these precise architectures with well-defined localized functions opens the path to create “intelligent materials” that can change their physical or chemical properties in response to the environment. Programmable nanosystems can be envisaged, in which confinement effects, responsivity, or collaborative functionalitycan be imparted into the structure through the control of positional chemistryof different chemical building blocks. In this presentation, we will present recent results in the design and perm-selective performance of MM-based systems made up through the incorporation of molecular, biomolecular or polymeric nanobuilding blocks. A variety of MM thin films or colloidal particles can be produced through the self-assembly of inorganic nanobuilding blocks in the presence of supramolecular templates. MM can then be decorated by small molecular species, biomolecules, polymers or nanoparticles. The final functionality is attained through the combined control of the pore size and shape, the contents of the pore interior, and the interactions at the pore surface level. We will discuss in detail the chemical toolbox to incorporate molecular fragments and polyelectrolytes within the mesopores in order to design and produce perm-selective electrodes or membranes. In addition to synthetic and characterization tools, theoretical models and simulations are essential to understand the complexity of the synthesis paths and the final properties. This in-depth knowledge is key to ultimate nanosystems design. A potentially infinite variety of nanosystems with externally controllable behavior is at our disposal, opening the path to design intelligent matter.
