There are several researchers in nanochemistry that have been credited with the development of the field. Geoffrey A. Ozin, from the University of Toronto, is known as one of the "founding fathers of Nanochemistry" due to his four and a half decades of research on this subject. This research includes the study of matrix isolation laser Raman spectroscopy, naked metal clusters chemistry and photochemistry, nanoporous materials, hybrid nanomaterials, mesoscopic materials, and ultrathin inorganic nanowires.
Another chemist who is also viewed as one of the nanochemistry's pioneers is Charles M. Lieber at Harvard University. He is known for his contributions to the development of nano-scale technologies, particularly in the field of biology and medicine. The technologies include nanowires, a new class of quasi-one-dimensional materials that have demonstrated superior electrical, optical, mechanical, and thermal properties and can be used potentially as biological sensors. Research under Lieber has delved into the use of nanowires mapping brain activity.
Shimon Weiss, a professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, is known for his research of fluorescent semiconductor nanocrystals, a subclass of quantum dots, for biological labeling.
Paul Alivisatos, from the University of California, Berkeley, is also notable for his research on the fabrication and use of nanocrystals. This research has the potential to develop insight into the mechanisms of small-scale particles such as the process of nucleation, cation exchange, and branching. A notable application of these crystals is the development of quantum dots.
Peidong Yang, another researcher from the University of California, Berkeley, is also notable for his contributions to the development of 1-dimensional nanostructures. The Yang group has active research projects in the areas of nanowire photonics, nanowire-based solar cells, nanowires for solar to fuel conversion, nanowire thermoelectrics, nanowire-cell interface, nanocrystal catalysis, nanotube nanofluidics, and plasmonics.