Engineering white light-emitting Eu-doped ZnO urchins by biopolymer-assisted hydrothermal method

With the presence of biopolymer-sodium alginate as additive, Eu-doped ZnO (zinc oxide) urchins consisting of nanorods were synthesized through a hydrothermal route. X-ray diffraction pattern makes evident the absence of phase other than wurtzite ZnO. Upon excited by 325 nm xenon laser, such nanostructured Eu-doped ZnO urchins emit white light, which originates from the luminescence of ZnO and the intra-4f transitions of Eu3+ ions. Besides acting as stabilizing agent, sodium alginate may also sensitize the Eu3+ ions in the nanostructures and facilitate the energy transfer from the host to Eu3+ ions. (c) 2006 American Institute of Physics.

Controlled synthesis of 2D Au nanostructure assembly with the assistance of sulfonated polyaniline nanotubes

A wet chemical approach is used successfully to produce nanostructured Au material by the reduction of sulfonated polyaniline (SPANI) nanotubes. The Au nanostructures obtained are composed of single crystal Au nanoplates, which are aggregated layer-by-layer into stacks or edge-on-face into clusters at various conditions. The Au nanoplate diameter and thickness can be conveniently controlled in the range of 100 nm to 2 mu m and 10 to 30 nm, respectively, with no accompanying single Au nanoparticles being observed. The formation of the Au nanostructures was controlled by the degradation of SPANI. The gradually and slowly released segments of SPANI served as the reductant during the growth of the 2D Au nanostructures.

Direct electrochemical generation of conducting polymer micro-rings

Self-doped polyaniline (PANI) micro-rings have been successfully generated electrochemically. The polymer forming rings were about 100 nm wide, and the ring diameter is tunable from several to dozens of micrometres depending on deferent current densities. The morphology of such nanostructured polyaniline rings was investigated and further confirmed with field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM). Furthermore, the film was characterized using UV/visible spectroscopy and cyclic voltammetry. The bubble template formation mechanism of the micro-rings was also proposed. Such nanostructured materials synthesized electrochemically open up a new approach to surface morphology control.

Preparation of TiO2 nanocrystallites by hydrolyzing with gaseous water and their photocatalytic activity

TiO2 nanocrystallites were prepared front precursors tetra-n-butyl titanate (Ti(OC4H9)(4)) and titanium tetrachloride (TiCl4). The precursors were hydrolyzed by gaseous water in autoclave, and then calcined at predetermined testing temperatures. The samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetry-differential thermal analysis (TG-DTA), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectra (FT-IR), and UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectra (DRS). The photocatalytic activities of the samples were evaluated by the photobleaching of methylene blue (MB) in aqueous solution and the photocatalytic oxidation of propylene in gas phase at ambient temperature. The results showed that the anatase phase nanocrystalline TiO2 could be obtained at relatively low temperatures (for precursor Ti(OC4H9)4 at I I VC and for TiCl4 at 140 degrees C, respectively), and that the as prepared samples exhibited high photocatalytic activities to photobleach MB in aqueous solution. As the calcination temperatures increasing. the decolor ratio of MB increased and reached the maximum value of nearly 100% at 600 degrees C, and then decreased. The photobleaching of MB by all samples followed the pseudo-first-order kinetics with respect to MB concentration.

Triphenylmethanethiol: a novel rigid capping agent for gold nanoclusters

In this article, we employed triphenylmethanethiol (TPMT) as a novel rigid agent for capping gold nanoparticles and the TPMT monolayer-protected gold nanoparticles were characterized by various analytical techniques. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy showed a narrow dispersed gold core with an average core diameter of ca. 3.6 nm. The UV/vis spectrum revealed the surface plasmon absorbance at 528 nm. The p-pi conjugated structure of the TPMT ligand was confirmed by nuclear magnetic resonance. Differential scanning calorimetry and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy revealed the rigid nature of the TPMT chains.

Sol-gel preparation and luminescence properties of nano-structured hybrid materials incorporated with europium complexes

Microporous silica gel has been prepared by the sol-gel method utilizing the hydrolysis and polycondensation of tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS). The gel has been doped with the luminescent ternary europium complex Eu(TTA)(3)(.)phen: where HTTA=1-(2-thenoyl)-3,3,3-trifluoracetone and phen=1,10-phenanthroline. By contrast to the weak f-f electron absorption bands of Eu3+, the complex organic ligand exhibits intense near ultraviolet absorption. Energy transfer from the ligand to Eu3+ enables the production of efficient, sharp visible luminescence from this material. Utilizing the polymerization of methyl methacrylate, the inorganic/polymer hybrid material containing Eu(TTA)(3)(.)phen has also been obtained. SEM micrographs show uniformly dispersed particles in the nanometre range. The characteristic luminescence spectral features of europium ions are present in the emission spectra of the hybrid material doped with Eu(TTA)(3)(.)phen.

Alternating LB film of ferric oxide nanoparticles-copper phthalocyanine derivative and its gas sensitivity

Nanoparticulate ferric oxide - tris - (2,4-di-t-amylphenoxy) - (8-quinolinolyl) copper phthalocyanine Langmuir-Blodgett Z-type multilayers were obtained by using monodisperse nanoparticle ferric oxide hydrosol as the subphase. XPS data reveal that the nanoparticle ferric oxide exist as alpha -Fe2O3 phase in the films. Transition electron microscopic (TEM) image of the alternating monolayer shows that the film was highly covered by the copper phthalocyanine derivative and the nanoparticles were arranged rather closely. IR and visible spectra all give the results that the nanoparticles were deposited onto the substrate with the copper phthalocyanine derivative. The gas-sensing measurements show that the alternating LB film had very fast response-recovery characteristic to 2 ppm C2H5OH gas, and also sensitive to larger than 200 ppm NH3.

Anticorrosion performance of polyaniline nanostructures on mild steel

Different one-dimensional nanostructured polyanilines were synthesized in sulfuric acid solutions by conventional polymerization, interfacial polymerization and direct mixed reaction, respectively. The products were characterized with SEM, UV-vis and FTIR and the anticorrosion performance of products on mild steel were studied using electrochemical measurement in 3.5% NaCl aqueous solution. Results showed that the polyaniline nanofibers synthesized by direct mixed reaction have uniform morphology with diameters of 60-100 nm and more excellent protective properties than conventional aggregated polyaniline. Comparative studies revealed that the nanostructure and morphology of polyaniline could influence its anticorrosion performance. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The stability of nanosized HZSM-5 zeolite: a high-resolution solid-state NMR study

The thermal and hydrothermal stabilities of HZSM-5 zeolites with crystal sizes less than 100 nm have been studied by multinuclear solid-state NMR, combined with BET and XRD. As evidenced by Al-27 and Si-29 MAS as well as their corresponding cross-polarization/MAS NMR investigations, the thermal stability of nanosized HZSM-5 is not so good as that of microsized HZSM-5. This is due to two processes concerning dealumination and desilicification involved in the calcination of nanosized HZSM-5, while only the dealumination process is conducted in microsized HZSM-5 under the similar calcination process. The hydrothermal stability of nanosized HZSM-5 is, contrary to what was expected, not so bad as that of the microsized HZSM-5 in the course of steam treatment. The actual resistance of the hydrothermal stability to the crystal size of HZSM-5 can be ascribed to an active reconstruction of zeolitic framework through an effective filling of amorphous Si species into nanosized HZSM-5 during hydrothermal treatment. (C) 2001 Published by Elsevier Science B.V.