Synthesis and characterization of poly(N-vinylpyrrolidine)-silica hybrid shell coated cadmium selenide / cadmium sulphide and cadmium selenide / zinc sulfide nanoparticles

Poly(N-vinylpyrrolidine)-silica hybrid shell coated cadmium selenide / cadmium sulphide and cadmium selenide / zinc sulfide nanoparticles were synthesized by combining the organometallic and single “step” modified Stober method. The synthesized nanoparticles were characterized by atomic force microscopy (AFM), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and a spectrofluorometer. Concluding, this report has provided important insights into the design of new water-soluble polymer silica hybrid shell coated quantum dots nanoparticles for biomedical, analytical and catalytic applications.     

Plasmachemical synthesis of maghemite nanoparticles in atmospheric pressure microwave torch

The powder of γ − Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles was synthesized in microwave torch at atmospheric pressure from 0.05 sccm of Fe(CO)₅ vapors in 670 sccm of argon. The optimization of the torch reactor design and deposition conditions allowed continual synthesis of γ − Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles at low power consumption. The synthesized powder was collected at the reactor walls and analyzed by TEM, X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy without any further purification or treatment. The mean diameter of NPs, as observed by TEM, was 12 nm with a 90% confidence interval 5.5-22 nm.     

Fe3O4纳米粒子修饰碳纳米管的制备及其磁学性能（英文）

通过FeCl2.4H2O和FeCl3.6H2O混合共沉淀,合成平均粒径为6 nm和10 nm的Fe3O4纳米粒子。然后将两种Fe3O4纳米粒子分别与经HNO3氧化处理的多壁碳纳米管(MWCNTs)置于乙醇水溶液(水和乙醇的体积比为1∶1)中,在超声波作用下制备Fe3O4/MWCNT复合材料。用高分辨透射电子显微镜、X-射线光电子能谱、振动样品磁强计、X射线衍射仪、热重分析仪对所制备的Fe3O4/MWCNT复合材料进行表征。结果表明:由6 nm和10 nm Fe3O4纳米粒子所制备的Fe3O4/MWCNT复合材料中,Fe3O4的质量分数分别为26.65%和29.3%,相应的磁饱和强度分别为16.5 emug-1和7.5 emug-1。     

A simple and novel route for the synthesis of water soluble ZnSe quantum dots using the Nano-Se as the reaction intermediate

A new and simple synthesis method for water soluble and low toxic ZnSe QDs is presented in this paper. N-acetyl-l-cysteine (NAC) is chosen as the stabilizer of ZnSe QDs and reducing agent of Na₂SeO₃ in one reaction system. The reaction intermediate Nano-Se generated by the redox reaction between NAC and Na₂SeO₃ is used as the Se source. The water soluble ZnSe QDs obtained by our synthesis method show blue-green light emission. The effects of the pH, stabilizer concentration and synthesis time on the photoluminescence (PL) intensity of ZnSe QDs are also investigated. This new synthesis method simplifies the reaction steps, enhances the utilization rate of chemicals and reduces the cost.     

Microwave-assisted synthesis and magnetic studies of cobalt oxide nanoparticles

An efficient microwave-assisted route has been used to synthesize nanoparticles of cobalt oxide. The particles were well characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) which showed that the average diameter of the particles is around 6 nm. X-ray diffraction (XRD) studies further confirmed the formation of the spinel Co₃O₄. Purity of the products was detected by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) combined with thermal gravimetric analysis (TG/DTG). The magnetic measurements revealed a small hysteresis loop at room temperature indicating a weak ferromagnetic nature of the synthesized Co₃O₄ nanoparticles. The magnetic moment of the particles was measured to be 4.27 μ_eff.     

A facile method to synthesize hierarchical SiO2@CdSe and CdSe hollow spheres

In this paper, a facile method was developed to synthesize SiO₂@CdSe particles by using silica colloidal spheres which efficiently avoided complex prior surface modification. In the experiment, ammonia was introduced to activate silica colloidal spheres with negative charge, which acted as active sites for the nucleation of CdSe nanocrystals around silica colloidal spheres. Then the corresponding CdSe hollow spheres were obtained by dissolving the silica cores. The TEM results exhibited CdSe hollow spheres were consisted of nanorods. On the basis of experimental results, the formation process of the hollow spheres was studied and possible growth mechanism for one-step coating process was proposed.     

Controlled fabrication of branched Fe nanotubes

Here, we report a generic synthetic approach to rationally design hierarchically branched nanopores inside anodic alumina membranes (AAMs). By using these nanopores, a large variety of branched nanotubes, which are far more complex than that exists nowadays, can be fabricated. As an example, Y-branched Fe nanotube arrays have been successfully synthesized by electrochemical deposition method using these kinds of AAMs. The length and diameter of the nanotubes, determined by the thickness and the outside pore diameter of the AAMs, are about 7–8 μm and 200 nm, respectively. This technique provides a powerful approach to produce nanostructures of greater morphological complexity, especially branched nanotubes of various kinds of materials, which might be of significant applications in the electronic nanodevices and nanocircuit.     

Continuous synthesis of magnetite nanoparticles in supercritical methanol

Magnetite (Fe₃O₄) nanoparticles are synthesized continuously in supercritical methanol (scMeOH) without using reducing agents at 30 MPa, 400 °C and a residence time of 38 s. XRD analysis reveals that particles synthesized in scMeOH retain magnetite crystalline structure while particles synthesized in supercritical water retain hematite (α-Fe₂O₃) crystalline structure. The scMeOH acts both as a reaction medium and a reducing agent. The magnetite nanoparticles are spherical in shape with an average diameter of 21 ± 2 nm, as measured using SEM and TEM. The saturation magnetization of the magnetite nanoparticle is 76.6 emu/g.     

Formation of ZnS nano- and microparticles from thiourea solutions

Effects of temperature, concentration of thiourea and reaction conditions (thermal heating and microwave irradiation) on morphological properties of ZnS particles obtained by sedimentation from 0.01, 0.1 and 1 М zinc nitrate solutions are studied. It is found that ZnS particles of two shapes are formed from thiourea solutions at a thermal heating (70–90 °С): agglomerated particles of the spherical shape with the dimensions of agglomerates 50–100 nm (particle size in agglomerates of 3–5 nm) and hexagonal columns in length up to 2 μm and diameter of 80–100 nm. At the microwave heating conditions (90 °С), irrespective of thiourea concentration formation of spherical ZnS particles with the size 0.6–1.2 μm is observed.     

Effect of reducing agent on the synthesis of nickel nanoparticles

Synthesis of nickel nano-particles with a coating of a hydrophilic surfactant has been carried out by use of sodium borohydride and sodium formaldehyde sulfoxylate (SFS) in aqueous medium. It is observed that an ideal temperature range for formation of nickel nanoparticles is between 50 and 100 °C. Phase-pure nano-nickel can be obtained by use of SFS. X-ray diffraction measurements (XRD) revealed broad pattern for fcc crystal structure of nickel metal with particle diameter of about 10-15 nm. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) showed that there is clustering of spherical particles in dry state and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) gave a particle size of about less than 10 nm.     

Silica-coated iron nanoparticles: Shape-controlled synthesis,magnetism and microwave absorption properties

Body-centered cubic (bcc) phase iron nanocrystals with granular, rod-like and flaky shapes were prepared through a simple surfactant-controlled chemical reduction route. In view of extra stability and enhanced manipulative ability, thus-prepared iron nanoparticles were morphology-retained modified with a thin silica shell through a Stöber process. A serial of techniques such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FTIR), X-ray photoelectron spectrometer (XPS), thermogravimetry (TG), vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) and scalar network analyzer (SNA) were used to characterize the iron particles before and after silica coating. Results showed that the surface silica coating could effectively improve the oxidation resistance and microwave absorption performance of iron particles, while slightly influenced their magnetic properties. Furthermore, the flaky Fe@SiO₂ nanocapsules particles exhibited better microwave absorption performance than that of the granular and rod-like counterparts, which could be ascribed to the shape effect.     

Facile synthesis of superparamagnetic Fe-doped ZnO nanoparticles in liquid polyols

A facile polyol process was established to prepare superparamagnetic Fe-doped ZnO nanoparticles in a liquid polyol using Fe(acac)₃ and Zn(acac)₂ as precursors and triethylene glycol as the solvent. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images showed that as-prepared nanoparticles are uniform in size. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis revealed that the nanoparticles are of wurtzite structure without an impure phase. The successful doping of the Fe element into the ZnO host was evident by XRD lines shifting and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) results. Magnetization measurements demonstrated that the Fe-doped ZnO nanoparticles were superparamagnetic at room temperature.     

Facile route to the synthesis of porous α-Fe2O3 nanorods

The requirements of simple and reliable protocols for the synthesis of anisotropic structures with controlled morphology continue to be a major challenge in nanoscience. In this paper we describe the facile synthesis of porous hematite (α-Fe₂O₃) nanorods using anionic surfactant as a rod-like template. α-FeOOH nanorods with diameters of 170–210 nm and lengths up to 3–5 μm were synthesized in high yield via hydrothermal method using sodium dodecyl sulphate as a template. The porous α-Fe₂O₃ was obtained after solvent extraction and calcining the as-obtained α-FeOOH nanorods at 500 °C for 6 h. Even after removal of template by solvent extraction and calcination the shape of the nanorods was intact except the generation of pores on the nanorods. The porous nanorods were analysed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, transmission and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (TEM & HRTEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) measurements. SEM and TEM images showed that the morphology of hematite nanostructure is homogeneous in the shape of rods and full of porosity and magnetization measurements of the porous α-Fe₂O₃ nanorods showed weak ferromagnetic behavior. The surfactant SDS (sodium dodecyl sulphate) plays a key role in controlling the nucleation and growth of the nanorods and their use as a new class of inorganic scaffolds for the synthesis of nanomaterials are salient features of the work with implications in crystal engineering and nanocomposites design for various applications.     

Shape and size-controlled synthesis of Ni Zn ferrite nanoparticles by two different routes

Monodisperse Ni–Zn ferrite nanoparticles of different compositions have been synthesized using two different routes, such as sonochemical and polyol methods. In both the cases, the process was attempted in a single reaction in the absence of any surfactant and deoxygenated conditions. X-ray diffraction data on the samples confirmed formation of pure ferrite phase with spinel structure, and indicated that the sonochemical method produces highly crystalline particles compared to the polyol process. Transmission electron microscopy images reveal formation of different shapes, such as cubic, spherical, flower-like and amorphous depending on the method and composition of the ferrite. The magnetic properties of the synthesized Ni–Zn ferrite nanoparticles, measured by vibrating sample magnetometer at room temperature, show that the highest magnetization value was obtained for the composition of Ni_0.5 Zn_0.5 Fe₂O₄ in both the synthesis methods. The results of both the methods were discussed by correlating the structure to the magnetism at nanoscales.     

Microfluidic platform for controlled synthesis of polymeric nanoparticles

A central challenge in the development of drug-encapsulated polymeric nanoparticles is the inability to control the mixing processes required for their synthesis resulting in variable nanoparticle physicochemical properties. Nanoparticles may be developed by mixing and nanoprecipitation of polymers and drugs dissolved in organic solvents with nonsolvents. We used rapid and tunable mixing through hydrodynamic flow focusing in microfluidic channels to control nanoprecipitation of poly(lactic- co-glycolic acid)- b-poly(ethylene glycol) diblock copolymers as a model polymeric biomaterial for drug delivery. We demonstrate that by varying (1) flow rates, (2) polymer composition, and (3) polymer concentration we can optimize the size, improve polydispersity, and control drug loading and release of the resulting nanoparticles. This work suggests that microfluidics may find applications for the development and optimization of polymeric nanoparticles in the newly emerging field of nanomedicine.     

Synthesis and photoconductivity of nanosized phthalocyanine

Functional phthalocyanine （Pc） compounds of H2Pc, TiOPc, FePc and CIAIPc were synthesized with a yield of 46.7%, 91.2%, 37.4% and 34.0%, respectively. Nanosized TiOPc was synthesized via a one-step sol-gel method and effects of surfactant doses, nucleation temperature on TiOPc particle size and photoconductivity were investigated. When re（PEG）： m（TiOPc） was 0.1 and nucleation temperature was 0℃, the as-obtained TiOPc had the smallest particle size and largest specific surface area, which were 60 nm and 83m^2/g, respectively. TiOPc synthesized under these conditions also exhibits excellent photoconductivity with charging potential V0, dark decay speed Rd and energy for half-discharging of potential E1/2 being 1160 V, 30 V/s and 0.6 1x.s, respectively.     

Bulk synthesis of carbon nanocapsules and nanotubes containing magnetic nanoparticles via low energy laser pyrolysis of ferrocene

A one-step synthesis route to carbon nanocapsules and nanotubes containing Fe and Fe₃C nanoparticles is reported. Low power laser assisted pyrolysis of ferrocene yielded carbon nanocapsules (30-100 nm in diameter) and multi-wall carbon nanotubes (30-80 nm in diameter). The developed route is fast and enables one to synthesize the products at a rate of 84 mg/min. The iron content in the product (10-42 wt.%) can be varied by modulating the buffer gas pressure during the synthesis process.