Abstract Technological advances in materials science have impacted different areas of knowledge such as medicine, food production, cosmetics, electronic devices, among others, to take advantage of the properties of nanoparticles and solve current problems for the benefit of society. Therefore, this review presents a general and updated description of the applications of nanoparticles in different areas of knowledge. The importance of current nanotechnological advances to combat different pathogenic bacteria, the SARS-CoV-2 virus, and treatments of cancer diseases with nanoparticles is presented. On the other hand, the importance of nanoparticles in the textile, automotive, and agribusiness industries is discussed as an alternative to obtaining intelligent cloth, improvement of car aesthetics, the durability of parts, and reduction of CO2 pollutants, as well as in the production of safe, high quality and sustainable food.

Resumen Los avances tecnológicos en la ciencia de los materiales han impactado en diferentes áreas del conocimiento como la medicina, los alimentos, los cosméticos, dispositivos electrónicos, entre otros, con el propósito de aprovechar las propiedades de las nanopartículas y resolver problemáticas actuales en beneficio de la sociedad. En esta revisión se presenta una descripción general y actualizada de las aplicaciones de las nanopartículas en diferentes áreas del conocimiento. Se muestra la importancia de los avances nanotecnológicos actuales para combatir diferentes bacterias patógenas, el virus SARS-CoV-2 y tratamientos de enfermedades cancerígenas con nanopartículas. Por otra parte, se discute brevemente la importancia de las nanopartículas en la industria textil, automotriz y agroindustria como alternativa para obtener telas inteligentes, mejoramiento de estética en carros, durabilidad de partes y disminución de contaminantes por CO2, así como en la producción de alimentos seguros, de alta calidad y sostenibles.

Abstract We study the diffraction of a monochromatic electromagnetic plane wave by a dielectric&metal-core/metal-shell nanoparticle surrounded by a dielectric medium. This problem was solved by using generalized Mie’s theory and both the scattering cross section and the square module of the electric field were calculated as a function of shell thickness. Numerically, the first particles studied were gold-core/silver-shell nanoparticles and their inverse configuration. The gold-core/silver-shell particle presented more variation of their optical properties. The second particles were vacuum-core/metal-shell surrounded by vacuum, symmetric configurations. In this case, the dispersive Drude dielectric function for the metal was used, and a comparative study between the positions of the resonance frequencies obtained from quasi-static limit and electrodynamic theory was performed. Thus, consequently the formula obtained from the quasi-static limit can be used to calculate the positions of the resonance frequencies instead of the electrodynamic theory, when the external radius is smaller than 20 nm.

In this work we have studied the properties of CdS films obtained by the chemical bath deposition technique. We studied the influence of pH control of the reaction solution on the structural and optical properties of chemically deposited CdS films. For this, we deposited two sets of CdS films on glass substrates using two different reaction solutions. The main difference between the solutions was that one included the use of a pH-10 NH4OH/NH4Cl controller solution or buffer, which produces a more uniform pH of the reaction solution during the film-growth process. Using each reaction solution, five CdS films were deposited at 80 °C, varying the deposition time from 15 to 120 minutes. The structural and optical properties of both sets of films were determined by X-ray diffraction and by absorption, transmission and reflection spectroscopy. The differences in the properties of the films were analyzed in terms of pH control.

In this work we report the optical and structural properties of composite materials based on the semiconductor PbS enclosed in type A zeolite. The composite materials were obtained by chemical reaction in several steps of the zeolite in alkaline aqueous solutions containing de Pb2+ and S2- ions successively. Three samples were prepared at temperatures of 40, 50 and 60°C during the chemical reaction with S2- ions. The obtained materials were studied by x-ray diffraction, scanning and transmission electron microscopy, diffuse reflectance spectroscopy and photoluminescence. The experimental results show the formation of spherical-shaped PbS particles with nanometric size and cubic crystalline structure embedded in the zeolite matrix. The absorption spectra of the samples display a well defined absorption band at about 300 nm due to the PbS nanoparticles in the zeolite matrix. In addition, an absorption peak appears in the absorption spectra at about 400 nm assigned to exciton transitions.

En este trabajo se reportan las propiedades ópticas y estructurales de materiales compuestos con base en el semiconductor PbS en matrices de zeolitas tipo A. Estos materiales fueron obtenidos mediante reacción química en varias etapas de la zeolita en medios acuosos alcalinos con iones de Pb2+ y S2- sucesivamente. Se prepararon tres muestras llevando a cabo la reacción química con iones de S2- a las temperaturas de 40, 50 y 60°C, respectivamente. Los materiales obtenidos fueron estudiados por difracción de rayos X, microscopía electrónica de barrido y de transmisión, espectroscopía óptica por reflectancia difusa y fotoluminiscencia. Los resultados muestran la formación de partículas de PbS de tamaño nanométrico, forma esférica y estructura cristalina cúbica distribuidas en la matriz de la zeolita. En el espectro de absorción de las muestras se observa una banda de absorción bien definida centrada en aproximadamente 300 nm debida a las nanopartículas de PbS en la matriz de zeolita. Adicionalmente aparece un pico de absorción alrededor de 400 nm asignado a transiciones excitónicas.

Copper atoms have been introduced by diffusion in NaCl, KCl and KBr crystals at 500°C. The crystals have been optically analyzed with photoluminescence measurements and by scanning electron microscopy. The emission and excitation spectra measured at low temperatures show the exciton confinement effect, indicating the formation of CuX (X=Cl, Br) nanoparticles, which has been confirmed by electron microscopy images. This is proposed as an alternative method to obtain CuX nanoparticles in alkali halides crystals.

Atomos de cobre han sido introducidos por difusión en cristales de NaCl, KCl y KBr a 500°C. Los cristales han sido analizados ópticamente con medidas de fotoluminiscencia y por microscopía electrónica de barrido. Los espectros de emisión y excitación, medidos a baja temperatura muestran el efecto de confinamiento de exciton, indicando la formación de nanopartículas de CuX (X=Cl, Br), lo cual ha sido confirmado por imágenes de microscopía electrónica. Este método es propuesto como un método alternativo para obtener nanopartículas de CuX en cristales halogenuros alcalinos.