Development of betalain-silica hybrid materials

• Grant number: 21/07217-1
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: January 01, 2022
• End date: October 31, 2022
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Chemistry - Organic Chemistry
• Principal Investigator: Erick Leite Bastos
• Grantee: Andréia Boaro
• Host Institution: Instituto de Química (IQ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 14/22136-4 - Use of green solvents and their mixtures for optimizing chemical processes, AP.TEM

Abstract

Betalains are natural antioxidants and water-soluble pigments that have been widely applied as redox mediators. The objective of this postdoctoral project is to develop intelligent hybrid materials based on betalains and silica xerogels or aerogels. The betalains will be prepared by a green chemoenzymatic method and the resulting materials will be characterized from the morphological, photophysical and photochemical point of view aiming future application as luminescent materials, sensors for oxidizing species, and photoresponsive devices. This project is linked to the FAPESP-FAPERGS (2019/15412-9) and FAPESP-SPRINT (2019/08450-1) projects in collaboration with Profs. Fabiano Rodembusch and Jacinto Sá, respectively, and will also have the collaboration of Prof. Pedro Vidinha for experiments in supercritical conditions. (AU)