We develop wet-chemical routes and exploit pulsed laser technology to create colloidal nanocrystals with precise dimensions and morphologies, defined compositions and elemental distributions, controlled lattice defects, and tailored self-assembly behavior.

RESEARCH

Synthesis and Modification of Colloidal Nanocrystals

Advanced strategies are designed and explored to create metallic and ionic nanomaterials with defined shapes, complex compositions, distinct elemental distributions, and lattice defects for study in catalysis and optics.

Self-assembly of Nanocrystals

Routes to control directed self-assembly and self-assembly in confined space are explored to create structured materials with emergent physicochemical properties. Notably, surface ligands are specifically design to control colloidal stability and self-assembly behavior of nanocrystals.

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

Revisiting the Role of Seed Size for the Synthesis of Highly Uniform Sub-10 nm Length Gold Nanorods

Guillermo González-Rubio*, Pablo Llombart, Jian Zhou, Henry Geiss, Ovidio Peña-Rodríguez, Huiyu Gai, Bing Ni, Rose Rosenberg, and Helmut Cölfen. Chem. Mater. 2024, 36, 4, 1982–1997. DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemmater.3c02866

From Multi- to Single-Hollow Trimetallic Nanocrystals by Ultrafast Heating

Vanesa Manzaneda-González, Kellie Jenkinson, Ovidio Peña-Rodríguez, Olivia Borrell-Grueiro, Sergio Triviño-Sánchez, Luis Bañares, Elena Junquera, Ana Espinosa, Guillermo González-Rubio*, Sara Bals*, and Andrés Guerrero-Martínez*. Chem. Mater. 2023, 35, 22, 9603–9612. DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemmater.3c01698

Self-Assembly of Colloidal Nanocrystals into 3D Binary Mesocrystals

Bing Ni*, Guillermo Gonzalez-Rubio*, and Helmut Cölfen*. Acc. Chem. Res. 2022, 55, 12, 1599–1608. DOI: 10.1021/acs.accounts.2c00074

A Nanoparticle-Based Model System for the Study of Heterogeneous Nucleation Phenomena

Ann-Kathrin Göppert, Guillermo González-Rubio,* Simon Schnitzlein, and Helmut Cölfen*. Langmuir 2023 39, 10, 3580-3588. DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.2c0303

Simple Determination of Gold Nanocrystal Dimensions by Analytical Ultracentrifugation via Surface Ligand-Solvent Density Matching

Guillermo González-Rubio*, Holger Hilbert, Rose Rosenberg, Bing Ni, Lisa Fuhrer, Helmut Cölfen* Nanomaterials 2021, 11, 6, 1427

DOI:10.3390/nano11061427

Micelle-directed Chiral Seeded Growth on Anisotropic Gold Nanocrystals

Guillermo González-Rubio, Jesús Mosquera, Vished Kumar, Adrián Pedrazo-Tardajos, Pablo Llombart, Diego M. Solís, Ivan Lobato, Eva G. Noya, Andrés Guerrero-Martínez, José M. Taboada, Fernando Obelleiro, Luis G. MacDowell, Sara Bals*, Luis M. Liz-Marzán*. Science 2020, 368, 1472–1477. DOI: 10.1126/science.aba0980

Controlled Alloying of Au@Ag Core–Shell Nanorods Induced by Femtosecond Laser Irradiation

Ann-Kathrin Göppert, Guillermo González-Rubio,* Simon Schnitzlein, and Helmut Cölfen*. Langmuir 2023 39, 10, 3580-3588. DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.2c0303

Disconnecting Symmetry Breaking from Seeded Growth for the Reproducible Synthesis of High Quality Gold Nanorods

Guillermo González-Rubio*, Vished Kumar, Pablo Llombart, Pablo Díaz-Núñez, Eva Bladt, Thomas Altantzis, Sara Bals, Ovidio Peña-Rodríguez, Eva G. Noya, Luis G. MacDowell, Andrés Guerrero-Martínez*, and Luis M. Liz-Marzán*. ACS Nano 2019, 13, 4, 4424-4435. DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.8b09658

Femtosecond Laser Reshaping Yields Gold Nanorods with Ultranarrow Surface Plasmon Resonances

Guillermo González-Rubio, Pablo Díaz-Núñez, Antonio Rivera, Alejandro Prada, Gloria Tardajos, Jesús González-Izquierdo, Luis Bañares, Pablo Llombart, Luis G. Macdowell, Mauricio Alcolea Palafox, Luis M. Liz-Marzán*, Ovidio Peña-Rodríguez*, Andrés Guerrero-Martínez*. Science 2017, 358, 640–644. DOI: 10.1126/science.aan8478

List of Publications

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TEAM

Nick Sokov

PhD Student

Jessica Geppert

PhD Student

Sergio Triviño

PhD Student

Ren Xu

PhD Student

Fernando Martín

PhD Student

Marina T. Candela de Aroca

Postdoctoral Researcher

ABOUT DR. GONZÁLEZ-RUBIO

Dr. González-Rubio studied Chemistry at the Complutense University (UCM) of Madrid and obtained his PhD in 2017 from CIC biomaGUNE, under the guidance of Prof. Luis Liz-Marzán and Prof. Andrés Guerrero-Martínez. His postdoctoral studies were conducted at the University of Konstanz under the mentorship of Prof. Helmut Cölfen, followed by a position at UCM as an Atracción de Talento Fellow.

Throughout his career, Dr. González-Rubio has been honored with three research fellowships in competitive international calls: Formación de Personal Investigador, Alexander von Humboldt, and Atracción de Talento de la Comunidad de Madrid. Additionally, he received a research grant from the German Research Foundation (DFG). In 2024, he was awarded an ERC Starting Grant to develop advanced methods to synthesize complex multielemental nanocrystals. Over the last ten years, Dr. González-Rubio has authored over 50 articles published in prestigious journals such as Science, Nature, or Angewandte Chemie.

Outside of his professional pursuits, Dr. González-Rubio is an avid biker who enjoys photography and gardening during his free time.

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