Our research deals with synthesis and optical properties of nanoparticles and nanocomposites.

Specifically, we are currently pursuing two major directions:

1) Chiral nanoparticles as nano- building blocks
Selective chiral ligands are used during preparation of nanoparticles to imprint chirality; ligand chemistry, chirality, size and monodispersity of the nanoparticles being tuned makes them useful building blocks with perspectives applicatons in optics, catalysis and sensors.

2) Metallodielectric composites based on monodisperse particles
Core-shell particles composed of gold, silver, silica and polymers are prepared with tailored size and morphology and ordered into nanocomposites with unique properties to be explored for surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy and other optical applications.

Recent publications:

66) von Freymann, G.; Kitaev, V.; Lotsch, B.; Ozin, G. A. Bottom-up Assembly of Photonic Crystals. Chemical Society Review, accepted with minor revisions, October 2012. (Invited review for a special issue, written in collaboration by 4 professors in Germany and Canada).

65) Cathcart, N.; Kitaev, V.* Multifaceted prismatic silver nanoparticles: synthesis by chloride-directed selective growth from thiolate-protected clusters and SERS properties. Nanoscale, 2012, 4, 6981-6989. (Cover image)

64)  Peiris, F. C.; Murphree, J. D.; Rodriguez, J. R.; Hatton, B. D.; Kitaev, V.; Ozin, G. A. Porosity tuning of the optical properties of mesoporous silica planar defect in macroporous silica opal. Journal of Applied Physics, accepted Sept 2012, DOI: 10.1063/1.4759437.

63) Cathcart, N.; Kitaev, V.* Monodisperse Hexagonal Silver Nanoprisms: Synthesis via Thiolate-Protected Cluster Precursors and Chiral, Ligand-Imprinted Self-Assembly. ACS Nano 2011, 5, 7411-7425.

62) Cademartiri, L.;* Kitaev, V.* "On the Nature and Importance of the Transition between Molecules and Nanocrystals: Towards a Chemistry of “Nanoscale Perfection.” Nanoscale, 2011, 3, 3435-3446. (Invited review, cover image)

61) McEachran, M.; Keogh, D.; Pietrobon, B.; Cathcart, N.; Gourevich, I.; Coombs, N.; Kitaev, V.* Ultrathin Gold Nanoframes through Surfactant-Free Templating of Faceted Pentagonal Silver Nanoparticles. Journal of the American Chemical Society 2011, 133, 8066-8069.

60) Frank, A. J.; Rawski J.; Maly, K. E.*; Kitaev, V.* Environmentally benign aqueous oxidative catalysis using AuPd/TiO₂ colloidal nanoparticle system stabilized in absence of organic ligands. Green Chemistry 2010, 12, 1615-1622.

59) Cathcart, N.; Kitaev, V.* Silver Nanoclusters: Single-Stage Scaleable Synthesis of Monodisperse Species and Their Chirooptical Properties. Journal of Physical Chemistry C 2010, 114, 16010–16017. (Invited, part of the special issue “Protected Metallic Clusters, Quantum Wells and Metallic Nanocrystal Molecules”).

58) Hatton, B.; Aizenberg, J.; Kitaev V.; Perovic, D. D.; Ozin, G. A. Low-Temperature Synthesis of Nanoscale Silica Multilayers – Atomic Layer Deposition in a Test Tube. Journal of Materials Chemistry 2010, 20, 6009-6013.

57) Valadares, L. F.; Tao, Y,-G.; Zacharia, N. S.; Kitaev, V.; Galembeck, F.; Kapral, R.; Ozin, G. A. Catalytic Nanomotors: Self-Propelled Sphere Dimers. Small 2010, 6, 565-572.

56) Frank, A. J.; Cathcart, N.; Maly, K. E.; Kitaev, V.* Synthesis of Silver Nanoprisms with Variable Size and Investigation of Their Optical Properties. A First-year Undergraduate Experiment Exploring Plasmonic Nanoparticles Journal of Chemical Education, 2010, 87, 1098-1101.

55) Cathcart, N.; Frank A.; Kitaev, V.* Silver Nanoparticles with Planar Twinned Defects: Effect of Halides for Precise Tuning of Plasmon Absorption from 400 to >900 nm. Chemical Communications 2009, 46, 7170-7172.

54) Cathcart, N.; Mistry, P.; Makra, C.; Pietrobon, B.; Coombs, N.; Jelokhani-Niaraki, M.; Kitaev, V.* Chiral Thiol-Stabilized Silver Nanoclusters with Well-Resolved Optical Transitions Synthesized by a Facile Etching Procedure in Aqueous Solutions. Langmuir 2009, 25, 5840-5846.
53) Pietrobon, B.; McEachran, M.; Kitaev, V.* Synthesis of Size-Controlled Faceted Pentagonal Silver Nanorods with Tunable Plasmonic Properties and Self-Assembly of These Nanorods. ACS Nano 2009, 3, 21-26.
52) McEachran, M.; Kitaev, V.* Direct structural transformation of silver platelets into right bipyramids and twinned cube nanoparticles: morphology governed by defects. Chemical Communications 2008, 44, 5737-5739.
51) Kitaev, V.* Chiral nanoscale building blocks − from understanding to applications. Journal of Materials Chemistry 2008, 18, 4745-4749.
50) Pietrobon, B.; Kitaev, V.* Photochemical Synthesis of Monodisperse Size-Controlled Silver Decahedral Nanoparticles and Their Remarkable Optical Properties. Chemistry of Materials 2008, 20, 5186–5190.
49) Kitaev, V.* Comment on Effect of Polar Solvents on the Optical Properties of Water-Dispersible Thiol-Capped Cobalt Nanoparticles. Langmuir 2008, 24, 7623-7624.
48) Hartlen, K. D.; Athanasopoulos, A. P. T.; Kitaev, V.* Facile Preparation of Highly Monodisperse Small Silica Spheres (15 to >200 nm) Suitable for Colloidal Templating and Formation of Ordered Arrays. Langmuir 2008, 24, 1714-1720.
47) Vekris, E.; Kitaev, V.; Perovic, D. D.; Aitchison, J. S.; Ozin G. A. Visualization of Stacking Faults and Their Formation in Colloidal Photonic Crystal Films. Advanced Materials 2008, 20, 1110-1116.
46) Chen, J. I. L.; von Freymann, G.; Choi, S. Y.; Kitaev, V.; Ozin, G. A. Slow photons in the fast lane in chemistry. Journal of Materials Chemistry 2008, 18, 369-373.
45) Chen, J. I. L.; von Freymann, G.; Kitaev, V.; Ozin, G. A. Effect of Disorder on the Optically Amplified Photocatalytic Efficiency of Titania Inverse Opals. Journal of the American Chemical Society 2007, 129, 1196-1202.
44) Vekris, E.; Ozin, G. A.; Kitaev, V.* Curling colloidal photonic crystals. Advanced Materials 2006, 18, 2481-2485.
43) Chen, J. I. L.; von Freymann, G.; Choi, S.Y.; Kitaev, V.; Ozin, G. A. Amplified photochemistry with slow photons. Advanced Materials 2006, 18, 1915-1919.
42) Arsenault, A. C.; Clark, T. J.; Von Freymann, G.; Sapienza R.; Bertolotti J.; Vekris E.; Wong S.; Kitaev V.; Manners I.; Wang R. Z.; John S.; Wiersma D.; Ozin G. A. From colour fingerprinting to the control of photoluminescence in elastic photonic crystals. Nature Materials 2006, 5, 5179-5184.
41) Fleischhaker, F.; Arsenault, A. C.; Peiris, F. C.; Kitaev, V.; Manners, I.; Zentel, R.; Ozin, G. A. DNA Designer Defects in Photonic Crystals: Optically Monitored Biochemistry. Advanced Materials 2006, 18, 2387-2391.