Preparation and antibacterial properties of hybrid-zirconia films with silver nanoparticles

The antimicrobial effect of incorporating silver nanoparticles (AgNps) into zirconia matrix–polyether glycol was studied. AgNps of 4–6 nm in size were synthesized using the inverse micelles method, and different doses of metallic nanoparticles were incorporated into zirconia–polyether glycol mixtures during the ageing procedure. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) of the modified hybrid film showed a homogenous distribution of 20–80 nm diameter AgNps, indicating agglomeration of these structures during film modification; such agglomerations were greater when increasing the dosage of the colloidal system. The AgNps-hybrid films showed higher antimicrobial activity against Gram-positive bacteria than for Gram-negative bacteria. Hybrid films prepared with dioctyl sodium sulfosuccinate (AOT) stabilized AgNps presented enhanced antibacterial activity compared to that obtained through the addition of a high AgNO₃ concentration (0.3 wt%).     

Size tuning of MAA capped CdSe and CdSe/CdS quantum dots and their stability in different pH environments

The present work reports synthesis of mercaptoacetic acid capped CdSe nanoparticles soluble in water at different temperatures and with different precursor ratios. This enabled to tune the particle size of QDs from 2.7 to 5.8 nm. The particles consist of nanocrystals; with mixed phase, hexagonal wurtzite as well as sphalerite cubic and are luminescent with quantum yield 10%. The quantum yield up to 20% has been obtained by growing a shell of CdS over the CdSe. HR-TEM images, XRD patterns and the photoluminescence excitation spectra shows epitaxial growth of CdS shell over CdSe and with average size 3.2 ± 1.2 and 4.7 ± 1.2 nm for CdSe and CdSe/CdS quantum dots respectively. FT-IR spectrum and the negative zeta potential value together confirms the attachment of mercaptoacetic acid to the QD surface, where the carboxylic acid group is facing towards solvent and provides stability due to electrostatic hindrance. Further, the QDs are checked for their stability and the luminescence in environments of different pH (4–11 pH). Both CdSe and CdSe/CdS agglomerate with total elimination of fluorescence for 4 pH medium, and no shift in the fluorescence emission peak observed for the 6–9 pH, therefore QDs can be applicable as the fluorescence tags in this specific range of pH.     

Preparation and characterization of CdSe and PbSe nanoparticles via aqueous solution for nanoparticle-based solar cells

Monodispersed CdSe and PbSe nanoparticles (NPs) as the building blocks could be applied to the all-inorganic nanoparticle solar cells and quantum-dot based solar cells. In the present work, a low-cost preparation route to monodispersed CdSe NPs and PbSe NPs with the particle sizes less than their Bohr radii was present. CdSe NPs and PbSe NPs were synthesized with different preparation conditions, using non-toxic chemicals such as the soluble starch as the capping agent and sodium citrate as the chelating agent of metal ions in aqueous solutions. The effect of preparation conditions on the particle size (∼3–4 nm) of monodispersed cubic phase CdSe NPs, their optical absorption and photo-luminescent spectra were investigated by various measurements and discussed with Brus's effective mass model. Monodispersed cubic phase PbSe NPs with ca. 30–40 nm in size were also obtained, but the smaller sized (<10 nm) PbSe colloids could not be stabilized by this capping agent starch. Further modification need be done to prevent the smaller sized PbSe NPs from growing up.     

A novel route for the synthesis of indium nanoparticles in ionic liquid

In this paper, we report a novel preparation of indium nanoparticles by the reduction of indium chloride in ionic liquid by methanolic solution of NaBH₄. The particles are characterized by means of transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction and UV-visible studies indicated that the powder consist of the cubic phase of indium. The particle size of indium nanoparticles is in the range of 20 nm mean diameter by Transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The samples display a strong surface plasma absorption band at 231 nm, which indicates that the sample is metal indium and the particle size is less than 20 nm. The thermal analysis of the sample indicate indium not indium oxide. Electrochemical studies show that indium nanoparticles have very good electrical properties.     

Effect of citrate on poly(vinyl pyrrolidone)-stabilized gold nanoparticles formed by PVP reduction in microwave (MW) synthesis

Colloidal PVP (poly(vinyl pyrrolidone))–stabilized gold nanoparticles (PVP–AuNPs) are synthesized in aqueous solution with PVP as a reducing and stabilizing agent using a short microwave (MW) heating duration of 1 min. The size and uniformity of the synthesized PVP–AuNPs can be varied by modifying the concentration of sodium citrate (Na₃Ct), which acts predominantly as mediator of the stability of PVP–AuNP formation during the rapid synthesis. Due to the increase in the Na₃Ct concentration, the number of citrate ions adsorbed on the growing surface of AuNPs increase, and less reactive gold solute complexes are formed, leading to slow stable reactions that produce small, uniform colloidal PVP–AuNPs. We therefore demonstrate that by adjusting the Na₃Ct concentration used in the PVP reduction, the diameter of PVP–AuNPs was varied from 19.47 ± 3.97 nm to 7.94 ± 0.14 nm when using constant concentrations of chloroauric acid (HAuCl₄) and PVP.     

Particle size-dependent electrical properties of nanocrystalline NiO

Nickel oxide nanoparticles are formed by chemical precipitation and subsequent drying and calcinations at temperatures ≥523 K. Samples are characterized using X-ray diffraction and BET surface area measurements indicating the formation of a single NiO phase whose crystallite size increases with increasing calcination temperature. The electrical properties are examined by measuring DC and AC conductivities and dielectric properties as functions of temperature. Electrical conductivities first slightly increases with increasing particle size up to 7–10 nm and are about 8 orders of magnitude higher than that of NiO single crystals. Further increasing the particle size above 10 nm, leads to a monotonic decrease of conductivity. The data are discussed in view of variations of grain boundary as well as triple junction volume fractions as the particle size varies. At temperatures above θ_D/2 (θ_D is the Debye temperature), the conductivity is ascribed to a band-like conduction due to the large polaron. The activation energy of conduction was found to be minimal for the highly conducting samples of 7–10 nm, and gradually increases to ~0.5 eV with increasing the particle size above 10 nm. For T < θ_D/2, the conductivity is best described by variable–range–hopping models. Model parameters are thus estimated and presented as functions of particle size. Frequency as well as temperature dependencies of the AC conductivity and dielectric constant exhibit trends usually observed in carrier dominated dielectrics.     

Effect of vibro-milling time on phase formation and particle size of lead zirconate nanopowders

A perovskite phase of lead zirconate, PbZrO₃, nanopowder was synthesized by a solid-state reaction via a rapid vibro-milling technique. The effect of milling time on the phase formation and particle size of PbZrO₃ powder was investigated. Powder samples were characterized using TG-DTA, XRD, SEM and laser diffraction techniques. It was found that an average particle size of 50 nm was achieved at 25 h of vibro-milling after which a higher degree of particle agglomeration was observed upon continuation of milling to 35 h. In addition, by employing an appropriate choice of milling time, a narrow particle size distribution curve was also observed.     

Role of particle size of alumina on the formation of aluminium titanate as well as on sintering and microstructure development in sol–gel alumina–aluminium titanate composites

With a view to develop low temperature fine grained alumina–aluminium titanate composite, influence of alumina particle size on the temperature of formation of the aluminium titanate, sintering behaviour and microstructure development of alumina–aluminium titanate composite prepared through a sol–gel core shell approach is reported. The alumina matrix composite containing 20 wt% aluminium titanate has been prepared from alumina powders having different average particle size in the range 300–600 nm. The alumina particle size appears to have no significant influence on the formation temperature of in situ formed aluminium titanate. However, the microstructural analysis of the dense ceramic showed that the average grain size of the alumina–aluminium titanate composite increases with increase in the alumina particle size. XRD analysis indicated the absence of rutile titania in the sintered composite ensuring complete formation of aluminium titanate. Smaller starting alumina particle size led to finer grain size composites. The present study therefore shows that although the starting particle size of alumina has no significant role on the lowering of formation temperature of aluminium titanate, it does influence the microstructure of the composite.     

Impact of various irradiation photon energies and gamma doses on the optical properties of ZnSe nanostructure thin film

ZnSe thin films were prepared by thermal evaporation technique under high vacuum (10⁻⁶ Torr) at 300 K and different film thickness. The structure of thin films was measured using grazing incident in-plane X-ray diffraction (GIIXD) and shows single phase zinc blende structure. The particle sizes of the deposited films were estimated for low film thickness by TEM and high film thickness by GIIXD. The particle size of ZnSe films was decreased from ~8.53 to 3.93 nm as film thickness lowered from 200 to 20 nm which ensures the nanocrystalline structure. The optical transmission (T) and reflection (R) in the wavelength range 190–2,500 nm for irradiated and unirradiated ZnSe thin films under investigation were measured. The effect of irradiation of different energies in range (0.1–1.25 MeV) from X-ray, ¹³⁷Cs and ⁶⁰Co irradiation sources were studied for ZnSe thin films of 100 and 200 nm thicknesses. The dependence of the absorption spectra and refractive index were investigated for different energies irradiation sources. The ZnSe films show direct allowed interband transition. The effect of particle size of nanocrystalline ZnSe thin films for unirradiated and irradiated by gamma (γ) doses from ¹³⁷Cs on the optical properties was studied. Both the optical energy bandwidth and absorption coefficient (α) were found to be (γ) dose dependent.     

A comprehensive study of structural and magnetic properties of sputter deposited nickel–silica thin films

The present work reports the formation of Ni nanoparticles inside the SiO₂ matrix and deals with the influence of Ni concentration on structural and magnetic properties of Ni–SiO₂ nanocomposite thin films. The films with varying Ni concentration (20–55 at% measured by Rutherford back scattering spectroscopy) were deposited using DC/RF magnetron co-sputtering. TEM and XRD analysis reveal the formation of FCC Ni nanoparticles in all the samples. The particle size varies from 3 to 10 nm as a function of Ni concentration. The surface roughness of the films is also found to increase with increase in nickel concentration. Magnetic measurements show that the Ni nanoparticles behave as superparamagnets when their size is ≤6 nm, in spite of their large volume fractions. The results show that the magnetic properties of the nanoparticles can be controlled by their size and Ni concentration in the samples.     

Effect of Al dopants on the structural,optical and gas sensing properties of spray-deposited ZnO thin films

Undoped and Al-doped ZnO thin films were deposited on glass substrates by the spray pyrolysis method. The structural, morphological and optical properties of these films were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), UV–Vis spectroscopy, photoluminescence (PL) and photoconductivity (PC) measurements, respectively. XRD analyses confirm that the films are polycrystalline zinc oxide with the hexagonal wurtzite structure, and the crystallite size has been found to be in the range 20–40 nm. SEM and AFM analyses reveal that the films have continuous surface without visible holes or faulty zones, and the surface roughness decreases on Al doping. The Al-doped films have been found to be highly transparent (>85%) and show normal dispersion behavior in the wavelength range 450–700 nm. The doped films show only ultraviolet emission and are found to be highly photosensitive. Among all the films examined, at 300 °C the 1.0 at% Al-doped film shows the selective high response (98.2%) to 100 ppm acetone concentration over to methanol, ethanol, propan-2-ol, formaldehyde and hydrogen.     

La2O3-Y2O3-ZrO2纳米陶瓷粉末的制备及高温相稳定性

用化学共沉淀法制备4.5%Y2O3-ZrO2(YSZ)和0.6%La2O3-YSZ、0.8%La2O3-YSZ、1.2%La2O3-YSZ(0.6La、0.8La、1.2La)(摩尔分数)纳米复合陶瓷粉末,研究了四组粉末的高温相稳定性.结果表明:采用正向滴淀方法制备的0.6La粉末(粒径～50 nm)团聚严重,而用反向...     

Aerosol synthesis of titanium nitride nanoparticles by direct current arc discharge method

Arc discharge synthesis has industrial relevance due to its low cost and scale-up potential. The production of titanium nitride nanoparticles was achieved by direct current arc discharge in an atmospheric-pressured ambient composed of N₂ and Ar. We systematically investigated the effect of the synthesis parameters, including quench gas velocity, quench gas composition, and applied arc current, on the particle quality, yield, and size. It is found that increasing quench gas velocity enables to produce particles with a primary size of 10–15 nm, while titanium nitride particles of 20–50 nm are produced at low quench gas velocity based on scanning electron microscope (SEM) analysis. X-ray diffraction (XRD) results indicated that titanium nitride particles produced at various nitrogen compositions are almost stoichiometric, while the crystallite size increases almost 20 nm when increasing nitrogen contents in the quench gas. Quench gas composition also has a significant impact on the arc voltage as well as particle production rate. When increasing the nitrogen concentration from 20% to 100%, the production rate can be enhanced by a factor of three. Besides, raising the applied arc current from 12 A to 50 A leads to a yield enhancement of factor 10. According to the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) measurement, the increase of applied arc current has a limited impact on primary particle size. The enhancement in particle production rate is mainly reflected by the larger agglomerate sizes and agglomerate number concentration. Additionally, based on experimental observations and previous studies, a mechanism is presented to explain the growth of deposits on the cathode tip.     

Cobalt ferrite dispersion in organic solvents for electrophoretic deposition: Influence of suspension parameters on the film microstructure

An electrophoretic deposition (EPD) method was applied for the preparation of CoFe₂O₄ (CFO) films on Al₂O₃/Pt substrates. A coprecipitation process was used to synthesize fine CFO powders with an average particle size of ∼40 nm. Influences of suspension parameters such as solvents, iodine additive, and charged polymer on the suspension stability and film microstructure were investigated in detail. Three suspensions including CFO–acetylacetone, CFO–acetylacetone–0.08 wt% I₂ and CFO–acetylacetone–0.2 wt% polyethylenimine (PEI) were optimized, respectively. It was found that CFO was deposited uniformly and the potential required for the deposition was small for the three optimized suspensions. After sintering at 1250 °C for 2 h, the film from CFO–acetylacetone–0.08 wt% I₂ showed many cracks, which indicates this suspension is not suitable for preparing high quality CFO ceramic films. While the sintered films fabricated from the other two optimized suspensions exhibited dense structures. Based on the electric and magnetic properties of CFO ceramic films, it can be concluded that CFO–acetylacetone–0.2 wt% PEI is the proper suspension to prepare films with better microstructures and properties.     

Structural and magnetic properties of pristine and Fe-doped NiO nanoparticles synthesized by the co-precipitation method

Ni_1?xFe_xO (x = 0 and 0.03) nanoparticles are synthesized by a chemical route. XRD and TEM measurements confirm phase purity and crystallinity of the nanoparticles. Fe substitution in NiO reduces considerably the average particle size of the nanoparticles. The pristine NiO sample with size 14 nm and Fe-substituted sample having size 7 nm show room temperature ferromagnetism. The pristine NiO having 31 nm size and Fe-substituted sample with size 25 nm are found to be antiferromagnetic. The M–H and M–T behavior of the pristine and Fe-doped samples are explained with a core–shell model with an antiferromagnetic core and a ferromagnetic shell. The disordered spins at the shell give rise to a spin-glass like frozen state below 10 K. The obtained room temperature ferromagnetism in the pristine and Fe-doped NiO has been attributed to particle size effect.     

Mechanochemical synthesis and characterization of TiB2 and VB2 nanopowders

A novel method for the synthesis of transition-metal boride nanopowder has been developed using a mechanochemical reaction between LiBH₄, LiH and transition-metal chloride (TiCl₃ and VCl₃) by high energy ball milling. This method successfully produces TiB₂ and VB₂ particles dispersed within a soluble LiCl matrix. Subsequent washing with distilled water, ethanol and acetone to remove the LiCl matrix phase yields TiB₂ and VB₂ nanopowders of 15-60 nm particle size. From the X-ray diffraction patterns and high resolution transmission electron microscopy image, it is found that each particle is polycrystalline consisting of 3-5 nm crystallites. Neither particle nor crystallite size are increased significantly after heating at 680 °C.     

Preparation of zinc oxide nanorods by microwave assisted technique using ethylene glycol as a stabilizing agent

Zinc oxide nanorods have been synthesized by microwave assisted method using zinc nitrate, ethylene glycol and sodium hydroxide as a precursors. The material was characterized by XRD, SEM, EDAX and UV–Visible techniques. XRD analysis revealed all the relevant Bragg’s reflections for wurtzite (hexagonal phase) structure of zinc oxide. The average particle size was obtained 34 nm from the Williamson–Hall plot. The value of particle size determined from XRD was in good agreement with the SEM and TEM results. The direct optical band gap was found to be 3.13 eV.     

Effect of the TiO2 nanoparticle size on the decomposition behaviors in aluminum matrix composites

The decomposition behaviors and the effect of particle size on the kinetic rate are studied for Al–3 vol.% titanium dioxide (TiO₂) composites by using three different types of TiO₂ particles (15, 50, and 300 nm). Thermal analysis shows that the reaction is stepwise with the first reaction starting before the melting temperature of Al. Since the high chemical potential of nanoparticles enhances reactivity, the TiO, Al₃Ti, and α-Al₂O₃ phases are found to be formed during the first reaction regardless of particle size. Based on observations of microstructure, the formation mechanism of Al₃Ti and α-Al₂O₃ is understood to be solution precipitation. Non-isothermal kinetic analysis reveals that the reaction mechanism is closely related to the three-dimensional continuous nucleation and the growth limited by diffusion. Particle size is found to be having considerable effect on the kinetic rate. As the particle size decreases, the rate constant increases, while the pre-exponential factor and the activation energy decreases. A non-linear relationship between the rate constant and the reciprocal of the size is found and evaluated.     

Preparation and characterization of ceria nanoparticles using crystalline hydrate cerium propionate as precursor

Ceria nanoparticles were synthesized simply by pyrolysis method using hydrate cerium propionate as precursor. The effect of pyrolysis temperature on the physical properties of ceria was investigated. It was found that the large crystals of precursor cracked to many nano-sized ceria particles on heating, and the medium particle sizes D₅₀ determined by laser scattering (LS) method decreased firstly and then increased with minimum value around 460 nm at calcination temperature of 1000 °C. SEM observations showed that the average particle size of synthesized ceria powders ranged from 20 to 50 nm.     

A new yellowish green luminescent material SrMoO4:Tb

A novel yellowish green phosphor tervalent terbium (Tb³⁺) doped strontium molybdate (SrMoO₄) was synthesized by conventional solid-state reaction method and its crystal structure and luminescent properties are investigated in this paper. The X-ray diffraction patterns (XRD) showed that the phosphor sintered at 750 °C for 3 h was a pure SrMoO₄ phase. The excitation spectrum consisted of two bands and the two excitation peaks located at 375 nm and 488 nm respectively. The emission spectrum was composed of four narrow bands, in which the strongest emission was located at 548 nm. The particle size analysis indicated that the median particle size D₅₀ = 2.89 μm and range of particle size distribution was narrow. These results showed that the SrMoO₄:Tb³⁺ phosphor was a promising yellowish green phosphor for ultraviolet light emitting diode (UVLED) and blue LED based white LED. The appropriate concentration of Tb³⁺ was 5 mol% for the highest emission intensity at 548 nm. Natrium ion (Na⁺) was found to be a promising charge compensator for SrMoO₄:Tb³⁺ phosphor.