Synthesis of SnO2 nanoribbons by a carbothermal reduction process

This communication describes, for the first time, the growth of SnO2 nanoribbons by a controlled carbothermal reduction process. An analysis of the transmission electron microscopy image revealed that these nanoribbons have a well-defined shape, with a typical width in the range of 70-300 nm. In general, the nanostructured ribbons were more than 100 mum in length. The results reported here support the hypothesis that this ribbon-like nanostructured material grows by a vapor-solid process. This study introduces two hypotheses to explain the SnO2 nanoribbon growth process.

Optical spectrum of bottom-up graphene nanoribbons: towards efficient atom-thick excitonic solar cells

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

On the unzipping of multiwalled carbon nanotubes

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Ion-sensing properties of 1D vanadium pentoxide nanostructures

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

A study of the precursors and photoactivity of nanostructures of Ti oxides synthesized by the alkaline hydrothermal method

The present study describes the synthesis, characterization and photocatalytic potential of Ti oxide nanostructures of various morphologies and crystalline phases that were synthesized from 4 different precursors by the alkaline hydrothermal method. The materials were characterized by mainly X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, scanning and transmission electron microscopy (SEM and TEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS). Also, photocatalytic potential was assessed by rhodamine B photodegradation. The materials obtained from peroxytitanium complexes (PTCs) exhibited a strong dependence on the concentration of KOH ([KOH]) used for synthesis. The pre-formed sheets of the PTCs were critical to the formation of nanostructures such as nanoribbons, and they were also compatible with the rolling up process, which can be utilized to form structures such as nanorods, nanowires or nanotubes. In the rhodamine photodegradation tests, TiO2 anatase nanostructures with six-coor inated Ti were more effective than the titanate ones (five-coordinated), despite having a smaller surface area and fewer OH groups. The lower photoactivity of the titanates was attributed to the presence of five-coordinated titanium species (TiO5), which may act as electron-hole recombination centers. Furthermore, the material with a mixture of TiO2/titanate was shown to be promising for photocatalytic applications. © 2013 by American Scientific Publishers.

On the unzipping mechanisms of carbon nanotubes: Insights from reactive molecular dynamics simulations

Unzipping carbon nanotubes (CNTs) is considered one of the most promising approaches for the controlled and large-scale production of graphene nanoribbons (GNR). These structures are considered of great importance for the development of nanoelectronics because of its dimensions and intrinsic nonzero band gap value. Despite many years of investigations some details on the dynamics of the CNT fracture/unzipping processes remain unclear. In this work we have investigated some of these process through molecular dynamics simulations using reactive force fields (ReaxFF), as implemented in the Large-scale Atomic/Molecular Massively Parallel Simulator (LAMMPS) code. We considered multi-walled CNTs of different dimensions and chiralities and under induced mechanical stretching. Our preliminary results show that the unzipping mechanisms are highly dependent on CNT chirality. Well-defined and distinct fracture patterns were observed for the different chiralities. Armchair CNTs favor the creation of GNRs with well-defined armchair edges, while zigzag and chiral ones produce GNRs with less defined and defective edges. © 2012 Materials Research Society.

Caracterização de nanoestruturas de óxido de estanho como sensores de gás

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Dynamical aspects of the unzipping of multiwalled boron nitride nanotubes

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Simulação atomística de sistema em nanoescala

Pós-graduação em Física - IGCE