Prof. Loredana Protesescu is an Associate Professor specializing in the chemistry of nanomaterials, a role she has held since 2024, following her tenure as an Assistant Professor at the Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials, University of Groningen (2019–2024). Her research bridges fundamental inorganic chemistry with applied nanoscale engineering, with the goal of unlocking new functionalities for advanced technologies. Her work has led to over 60 publications, three patents, and collaborations with industry partners, including AiLumiQ, where she serves as a scientific advisor.

At the core of her work is the development of synthetic strategies—from molecular design to the engineering of complex ink systems—enabling scalable and functional nanomaterial applications. By integrating precision chemical design, structural control, and self-assembly principles, and by innovating in automated and high-throughput synthetic processes, her group accelerates discovery and optimization.

Her research is driven by deep expertise in nanomaterial chemistry, where her team pioneers innovations across two interconnected yet distinct directions: semiconductor nanocrystals and hard/superhard nanomaterials for extreme environments.

Together with her team, Prof. Protesescu designs and synthesizes semiconductor nanocrystals, spanning from conventional to unconventional systems (e.g., perovskites and antiperovskites), with optical and electronic properties tailored from the visible to the infrared. These materials enable breakthroughs in optoelectronics, energy conversion, sensing, and advanced imaging, where her group achieves unprecedented control over their synthesis, structure, and surface chemistry.

Simultaneously, her research focuses on the development of hard and superhard nanomaterials, such as metal borides, engineered for extreme environments. These materials combine exceptional mechanical strength, thermal stability, and conductivity, making them ideal for high-temperature electronics, protective coatings, and high-stress applications.

By integrating automated high-throughput synthesis and precision chemical design, her team accelerates the discovery and optimization of nanomaterials that are both scientifically innovative and industrially impactful. Their work pushes the boundaries of materials science, creating solutions that redefine performance in energy, electronics, and beyond.

Her research has been recognized with awards such as the Nanomaterials 2020 Young Investigator Award, Veni and Vidi NWO grants, OTP NWO grant (2024), MWO-M2 (2024), and an ERC Starting Grant (2025). She is also actively involved in the scientific community, serving as an Early Career Board member for Nano Letters (2022–2025) and as Chair of the Board (2023–2024). Since September 2024, she has been the Program Director of the Nanoscience Master’s program, fostering innovation and excellence in nanoscience research.

Top three publications:

[1] Kushagra Gahlot, Sytze de Graaf, Herman Duim, Georgian Nedelcu, Razieh M Koushki, Majid Ahmadi, Dnyaneshwar Gavhane, Alessia Lasorsa, Oreste De Luca, Petra Rudolf, Patrick CA van der Wel, Maria A Loi, Bart J Kooi, Giuseppe Portale, Joaquín Calbo, Loredana Protesescu Structural Dynamics and Tunability for Colloidal Tin Halide Perovskite Nanostructures Advanced Materials, 2022, 2201353

 [2] Loredana Protesescu, Joaquin Calbo, Kristopher Williams, William Tisdale, Aron Walsh, Mircea Dincă Colloidal Nano-MOFs Nucleate and Stabilize Ultra-Small Quantum Dots of Lead Bromide Perovskites Chemical science, 2021, 12 (17), 6129-6135

[3] M.V. Kovalenko, L. Protesescu, M.I. Bodnarchuk Properties and potential optoelectronic applications of lead halide perovskite nanocrystals Science, 2017, 358, 745-750

In publication (1) Protesescu and colleagues discuss the recent advances in the field of semiconducting lead-based perovskite nanocrystals. The essential feature of these nanomaterials - defect-tolerance - is explored to develop low cost and effective active materials for light emitting devices, displays, or sensors. The ongoing research direction is highlighted and it focuses on the intrinsic disadvantages of halide perovskites: i) their ionic nature, which determines the instability in operating conditions of devices, and ii) the content of lead, which is known to accumulate in the human body and therefore has strict restrictions on the EU market. Those limiting factors stimulated the work described in the other selected publications.

In publication (2) Protesescu designed a host-guest strategy to prepare ultra-small lead halide perovskites (blue emitters), which are stabilized and studied for the first time. The use of metal-organic frameworks in the form of colloidal nanocrystals to ensure solution processability of the final heterocomposites proved to be very efficient in stabilizing the perovskite nanomaterials.

In the most recent publication (3), Protesescu found a way around lead content's pressing and ethical issues for these exceptional classes of nanomaterials. She reports tin-based halide perovskites with excellent long-term stability in a controlled atmosphere and significant opto-electronics properties, an important step towards the technical application of the materials.