Dr. Eva Hemmer is an Associate Professor of Materials Chemistry at the University of Ottawa. She received her PhD (2008) in materials science from Saarland University (Germany) under the mentorship of Prof. Sanjay Mathur. During her graduate studies she focused on single-source-precursors and their application in the bottom-up synthesis of inorganic nanomaterials. This experience was further deepened during her postdoctoral studies when she worked on rare-earth-based nanoparticles for near-infrared bioimaging with Prof. Kohei Soga (Tokyo University of Science, Japan, 2009-2012). In 2013 she was awarded a Feodor Lynen Research Postdoctoral Fellowship from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation to work in the groups of Profs. Fiorenzo Vetrone and Francois Légaré at Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique (INRS-EMT, Université du Québec, Canada, 2012-2015) to develop rare-earth-based optical nanothermometers. In winter 2016 Dr. Hemmer came to Ottawa; since then, her research focuses on new designs of rare-earth-based nanoparticles for bioimaging, optoelectronic and optomagnetic applications, accompanied by chemically controlled synthesis, surface chemistry, and understanding of structure-property relationships. She received the 2021 Jubilee Global Diversity Award of the ACerS (American Ceramic Society; Engineering Ceramics Division), as well as the 2021 Early-career Achievement Award in Nanoscience and Nanotechnology by NanoOntario. Her commitment to higher-level education and to the broader materials community – for instance as active member of the American Ceramic Society or as Chair of the Student Engagement Sub-Committee of the Materials Research Society – was recognized with the AcerS‘ Du-Co Ceramics Young Professional Award.

Abstract: A Lanthanide Journey: Navigating Materials from Multimodal Imaging to Miniature Thermometers

The remarkable optical properties of the lanthanides (Ln) make Ln-based materials ideal forapplications ranging from biomedicine to optomagnetic, optoelectronic, and energy conversion technology.This is due to the unique electronic properties of the Ln
ions allowing for upconversion, i.e., the emission ofUV-visible light under excitation with near-infrared (NIR) light. Moreover, some Ln-based materials emit NIRlight under NIR excitation, hence, operating fully in the so-called NIR transparency window, endowing themwith potential for biomedical applications. Sodium lanthanide fluorides (NaLnF
) are our favorite materials, andwe developed a microwave-assisted synthetic approach allowing crystalline phase and size control in the sub20 nm realm. Having a fast and reliable synthetic route towards NaLnF
nanoparticles on hand, we nowexplore various nanoparticle architectures and compositions with the goal to optimize their optical andmagnetic properties, ultimately resulting in the design of brighter emitters, biocompatible multimodal imagingprobes or nanoscale thermal sensors. This brief journey to the world of lanthanide-based materials will shedlight on the microwave-assisted synthesis of core/(multi)shell Ln-based nanoparticles and highlight someexamples of potential applications.

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