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Cobalt nanoparticles (NPs) are important materials for applications in very different fields like magnetic storage technology, catalysis or medicine. These applications require different properties that are related with the surface state of the original particles. In this thesis we have functionalized the surface of isotropic and anisotropic Co NPs in order to fulfill this demand. Pre-synthesized Co nanowires have been submitted to a thermal treatment that permits the formation of carbon coated anisotropic objects, overcoming therefore one of the main limitations of this kind of materials: their instability towards oxidation. In other order of things, we have synthesized small Co NPs with a fluorophore (Rhodamine B) as unique stabilizer. Such system presents a very interesting opportunity to study the effect of the magnetic core over the optical properties of the dye and, at the same time, to observe how an excited organic molecule directly attached to the Co surface can have an effect over the magnetic properties of the particle. The same dye has been used under other synthetic conditions to promote the anisotropic growth of Co NPs, leading to the formation of monodisperse Co nanodisks. These particles are single domain and present blocked behavior at room temperature, being therefore interesting materials for magnetic data storage devices or permanent magnets.