Rate My Professor Samuel Alvarado

Alvarado's research examines magic sized quantum dots, semiconductor particles 1-100 nanometers in diameter that are larger than molecules but smaller than bulk semiconductors, such as those with formulas Cd13Se13 or Zn34S34. These quantum dots display tunable luminescence across the visible spectrum, from red to blue, with applications in consumer electronics like televisions, though some compositions like CdS, CdSe, or InP pose toxicity or scarcity issues. His projects focus on developing luminescent materials through doping magic sized ZnS quantum dots with small amounts of transition metal ions; studying the electronic structure of these doped quantum dots using experimental methods and computational modeling; and investigating the chemical reactions of magic sized ZnS quantum dots in solution. He holds a WiSys Applied Research Technology Advancement Grant Match for the project 'Producing Polymer-Quantum Dot Composite Materials through Direct Ligand Reaction.' Select publications include Bhattacharjee, U. et al., 'Using ATTO Dyes to Probe the Photocatalytic Activity of Au-CdS Nanoparticles,' J. Phys. Chem. C, 2017, 121, 676-683; Alvarado, S. R. et al., 'Assessing Phosphine-Chalcogen Bond Energetics from Calculations,' Organometallics, 2015, 34, 4023-4031; Alvarado, S. R. et al., 'Inorganic Chemistry Solutions to Colloidal Semiconductor Problems,' Coord. Chem. Rev., 2014, 263, 182-196; Humphries, M. E. et al., 'Ruthenium(II) supported by phosphine-functionalized N-heterocyclic carbene ligands as catalysts...,' Inorg. Chem. Commun., 2013, 37, 138-143; Guo, Y. et al., 'Shape-Programmed Nanofabrication...,' ACS Nano, 2013, 7, 3616-3626; and Alvarado, S. R. et al., 'Photochemical vs. Thermal Synthesis of Cobalt Oxyhydroxide Nanocrystals,' J. Phys. Chem. C, 2012, 116, 10382-10389.