Effects of temperature and dispersants on the phases and morphology of Ag–Cu nanoparticles

Ultrafine Ag–Cu nanoparticles (NPs) have been synthesized by a rapid one-step reduction within only 10 min. Effects of temperature and dispersants on the phases and morphology of Ag–Cu NPs were investigated. Results showed that citric acid exhibited an advantageous nature to avoid the formation of Cu₂O and form uniform morphology over PVP. The average particle size of the Ag–Cu NPs synthesized simply in ice-cubes bath could be controlled in 8.6 nm about a quarter of that synthesized at room temperature. The synthesized Ag–Cu NPs presented alloy states near the eutectic composition of 72:28. Due to the lower Ostwald ripening rate and citric acid protection, smaller Ag–Cu NPs were achieved in ice-cube bath. Results also showed that the ultrafine Ag–Cu NPs could be expected to sinter at about 330 °C which was much lower than the eutectic temperature (779 °C) of bulk Ag–Cu alloy. The ultrafine Ag–Cu NPs could be applied as potential die attach materials for SiC power devices.     

Synthesis of anisotropic NaNbO<Subscript>3</Subscript> seed crystals and fabrication of textured (K<Subscript>0.5</Subscript>Na<Subscript>0.5</Subscript>)NbO<Subscript>3</Subscript>-based ceramics

High aspect ratio patelike NaNbO₃ particles with pure perovskite structure have been successfully synthesized by topochemical microcrystal conversion (TMC) from plate-like precursor particles of the layer-structured Bi_2.5Na_3.5Nb₅O₁₈. By changing the Bi_2.5Na_3.5Nb₅O₁₈/Na₂CO₃ ratio, large and thin NaNbO₃ particles with a thickness of approximately 0.5 μm and a width of approximately 20 μm were obtained. The obtained NaNbO₃ particles is quite suitable for fabricating textured (K_0.5Na_0.5)NbO₃-based ceramics. Using the fine platelike NaNbO₃ particles as templates, dense <001> -oriented (K_0.5Na_0.5)NbO₃-0.5 mol %MnO₂ ceramics with high texture quality (Lotgering factor F ₀₀₁ = 87 %) and excellent piezoelectric properties were produced by templated grain growth. Compared with randomly oriented ceramics, textured samples show greatly enhanced properties. The room-temperature strain S, the piezoelectric coefficient d ₃₃ ^* and d ₃₃ reach up to 0.093 %, 233 pm/V and 195pC/N, respectively, which are all about 1.5 times larger than those of non-textured ceramics.     

含季铵盐聚合物丙烯酸酯共混防污涂料的制备与性能

用溶液聚合法合成了甲基丙烯酰乙基三甲基氯化铵(DMC)-甲基丙烯酸缩水甘油醚(GMA)-丙烯酸乙酯含季铵盐聚合物(QASP)的丙烯酸酯共聚物,并将合成的含季铵盐的丙烯酸酯共聚物和气相二氧化硅触变剂、氧化亚铜防污剂碾磨混合均匀得到共混物防污涂料。测试结果表明:随着共混物涂料中DMC用量的增加,涂层的抗拉强度先增加后降低,剪切强度降低,亲水性增强,有利于阻抗蛋白质的吸附;涂层吸水率的温敏性较强;防污涂料中铜离子渗出率在达到峰值后还能保持在比较高的水平,对于防污有效。     

Monitoring the Dynamic Process of Formation of Plasmonic Molecular Junctions during Single Nanoparticle Collisions

The capability to study the dynamic formation of plasmonic molecular junction is of fundamental importance, and it will provide new insights into molecular electronics/plasmonics, single‐entity electrochemistry, and nanooptoelectronics. Here, a facile method to form plasmonic molecular junctions is reported by utilizing single gold nanoparticle (NP) collision events at a highly curved gold nanoelectrode modified with a self‐assembled monolayer. By using time‐resolved electrochemical current measurement and surface‐enhanced Raman scattering spectroscopy, the current changes and the evolution of interfacial chemical bonding are successfully observed in the newly formed molecular tunnel junctions during and after the gold NP “hit‐n‐stay” and “hit‐n‐run” collision events. The results lead to an in‐depth understanding of the single NP motion and the associated molecular level changes during the formation of the plasmonic molecular junctions in a single NP collision event. This method also provides a new platform to study molecular changes at the single molecule level during electron transport in a dynamic molecular tunnel junction.     

Imparting Designer Biorecognition Functionality to Metal–Organic Frameworks by a DNA‐Mediated Surface Engineering Strategy

Surface functionality is an essential component for processing and application of metal–organic frameworks (MOFs). A simple and cost‐effective strategy for DNA‐mediated surface engineering of zirconium‐based nanoscale MOFs (NMOFs) is presented, capable of endowing them with specific molecular recognition properties and thus expanding their potential for applications in nanotechnology and biotechnology. It is shown that efficient immobilization of functional DNA on NMOFs can be achieved via surface coordination chemistry. With this strategy, it is demonstrated that such porphyrin‐based NMOFs can be modified with a DNA aptamer for targeting specific cancer cells. Furthermore, the DNA–NMOFs can facilitate the delivery of therapeutic DNA (e.g., CpG) into cells for efficient recognition of endosomal Toll‐like receptor 9 and subsequent enhanced immunostimulatory activity in vitro and in vivo. No apparent toxicity is observed with systemic delivery of the DNA–NMOFs in vivo. Overall, these results suggest that the strategy allows for surface functionalization of MOFs with different functional DNAs, extending the use of these materials to diverse applications in biosensor, bioimaging, and nanomedicine.     

Personalized Cancer Immunotherapy via Transporting Endogenous Tumor Antigens to Lymph Nodes Mediated by Nano Fe3O4

While immunotherapy has a tremendous clinical potential to combat cancer, immune responses generated by conventional cancer immunotherapy remain not enough to completely eliminate tumors, mainly due to the tumor's immunosuppressive microenvironment and heterogeneity of tumor immunogenicity. To improve antitumor immune responses and realize personalized immunotherapy, in this report, endogenous tumor antigens (ETAs) that dynamically present on tumor cells are transported to lymph nodes (LNs). Based on the hypothesis that nano Fe₃O₄ (≈10 nm) could serve as the nanocarrier for transporting ETAs from the tumor to LNs, we wondrously find that Fe₃O₄ has a tremendous potential to improve cancer immunotherapy, because of its excellent protein‐captured efficiency and LNs‐targeted ability. To ensure the optimal ETAs‐bound efficiency of Fe₃O₄, a core–shell formulation (denoted as Ce6/Fe₃O₄‐L) is developed and specific release of Fe₃O₄ in tumor is enabled. These findings provide a simple and general strategy for boosting cytotoxic T‐cell response and realizing personalized cancer immunotherapy simultaneously.