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Scientists seek collaborative opportunities for carbon dot research

Scientists seek collaborative opportunities for carbon dot research
Carbon dots, one of the most studied nanomaterials of the present time, were the central topic of Wednesday’s workshop held at the IT4Innovations National Supercomputing Center (IT4I) at VSB – Technical University of Ostrava. The research centre welcomed colleagues from the Czech Institute of Research and Advanced Technologies (CATRIN) at Palacký University.

At the workshop, the scientists presented the results of many years of research into the design, synthesis and especially the use of these materials. Carbon dots have a number of unique properties, including high stability, biocompatibility, low toxicity and, above all, intense photoluminescence. Thanks to this, they are promising candidates for a wide range of applications, from medicine to optoelectronics.

According to Vít Vondrák, Managing Director of IT4Innovations, the collaboration with CATRIN, originally based primarily on the use of the computing capacities of the Ostrava scientific centre, significantly intensified in 2021.

"With Michal Otyepka being the new Head of the Modelling for Nanotechnologies Lab and its further inclusion of new members of the research team with a strong orientation towards computational chemistry, CATRIN has become a partner for collaboration in the field of materials science and nanotechnology. It also shows that linking IT4I's know-how in HPC and AI with the experience of the CATRIN teams in the fields of development of new nanomaterials, procedures for their rational design or computer simulations of biomolecules brings success and interesting scientific results. I firmly believe that further significant scientific results will also come in the field of carbon dots research, which was the focus of this joint workshop," said Vondrák.

Michal Otyepka also appreciated the sharing of information and debate over the questions raised. "I believe that the workshop showed new possibilities for collaboration and outlined ways to use mutual synergies," he said.

Radek Zbořil, who, in addition to CATRIN works at the Nanotechnology Centre, which is part of CEET, at VSB-TUO, has been involved in research on carbon dots for a long time. "Over the course of many years, we have understood many of the properties of carbon dots and have been able to use them for many applications in medicine, catalysis or energy. The computational description and design of these materials in collaboration with experimental scientists can open up other unsuspected possibilities, which, I believe, is one of the main conclusions of the workshop," added Zbořil.

The workshop followed the Opening Ceremony of the Global Experts programme, funded by the Moravian-Silesian Region, which aims to attract the world's top scientists to local universities. The first university involved is VSB-TUO, specifically IT4Innovations National Supercomputing Center, which is to host Professor Andrey Rogach.

Text: Martina Šaradínová, PR specialist for R&D

Photo: IT4Innovations

Created: 3. 5. 2023
Category:  News
Department: 9320 - Science and Research Management and the PhD Academy
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