Ion implantation effects of negative oxygen on copper nanowires

Copper nanowires of diameter 80 nm were synthesized in polycarbonate membrane using template technique. Samples were then implanted with 160 keV O^?1 ion beam with varying particle fluence of 1?×?10¹², 5?×?10¹² and 1?×?10¹³ ions/cm². The SRIM (Stopping and range of ions in matter) software was used to study the processes involved. Compositional analysis confirms implantation of oxygen ions and the stoichiometry of Cu:O was found to be 6:1 by weight % when implanted at 1?×?10¹³ ions/cm². Scanning electron microscopy reveals no changes in morphology of nanowires on implantation. X-ray diffraction analysis showed no shifting in the ‘2θ’ position of diffraction peaks however some new diffraction peaks of oxygen were seen. Implantation with oxygen ion led to the increased crystallite size and reduced strain. The conductivity of the nanowires was found to increase linearly with the ion fluence presenting constructive effect of negative ion implantation on copper nanowires.     

Interface Engineering and Controlling the Friction and Wear of Ultrathin Carbon Films: High sp3 Versus High sp2 Carbons

Understanding and engineering interfaces, and controlling the friction and wear of materials, are extremely important for many technological applications, particularly for magnetic storage technologies and micro‐ and nanoelectromechanical systems (MEMS and NEMS), where one sliding/moving surface comes into contact with another. Ultrathin carbon films are generally employed in most of these technologies. However, their wear and friction mechanisms are not well understood, especially the role of the film–substrate (FS) interface has not been deeply explored and discussed to date. This limits further developments in this field. Through experimental and theoretical experiments, we are able to report on the engineering of a FS interface consisting of high sp³‐ and high sp²‐bonded ultrathin carbon films on Al₂O₃–TiC substrates by introducing a silicon nitride (SiN_x) interlayer and tuning the carbon ion energy. All carbon‐based overcoats show a low coefficient of friction (COF) in the range of 0.08–0.16; however, the high sp³‐bonded C/SiN_x bilayer overcoat reveals the lowest and most stable friction. The friction mechanism is explained using an integrated framework of surface passivation, rehybridization, material transfer, tribolayer formation, and interfaces. We discover that FS interface engineering substantially reduces the wear of ultrathin carbon films while maintaining/reducing the friction. In general, this approach can be applied to control the friction and wear of ultrathin films of diverse materials.     

Preparation of pH‐sensitive hydrogels by graft polymerization of itaconic acid on tragacanth gum

Graft polymerization of itaconic acid on tragacanth gum (TG) was carried out using potassium persulfate as initiator to develop smart hydrogels for drug delivery systems. The effect of the grafting parameters on the degree of grafting was investigated. The grafting was significantly influenced by the reaction medium, the reaction temperature and the monomer concentration. The monomer dependency of the system was found to be 1.52. The hydrogels were characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, differential scanning calorimetry and X‐ray diffraction. The grafted TG had an amorphous nature and exhibited excellent swelling in water and strong dependence on the pH of the medium. The grafted TG showed pH‐dependent release of ciprofloxacin which offers the possibility of using these materials in colon‐specific drug targeting for human healthcare systems. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry     

Preparation of polyaniline/multiwalled carbon nanotube composite by novel electrophoretic route

A nano-structured composite film comprising of emeraldine salt (ES) and carboxyl group functionalized multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT-c) has been electrophoretically prepared from their colloidal suspension on an indium-tin-oxide (ITO) coated glass plate. This nano-structured composite film (ES/MWCNT-c) has been characterized using atomic force microscopy (AFM), ultraviolet-visible (UV-visible) spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, cyclic voltammetry (CV), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The AFM studies reveal porous morphology with uniformly distributed MWCNT-c in this composite film. The SEM and TEM investigations reveal wrapping of MWCNT-c with the chains of ES. UV-visible and FT-IR investigations show the formation of MWCNT-c doped composite at the molecular level. The results of the CV and EIS studies indicate enhanced electrochemical and charge transfer behavior of the composite. The application of ES/MWCNT-c/ITO electrode to biosensor for cholesterol indicates short response time (10 s) and high sensitivity (6800 nA mM⁻¹).     

Synthesis of Combretastatin-A4 Carboxamidest that Mimic Sulfonyl Piperazines by a Molecular Hybridization Approach: in vitro Cytotoxicity Evaluation and Inhibition of Tubulin Polymerization

Molecular hybridization approach is a promising structural modification tool to design new chemical entities (NCEs) by mimicking two different pharmacophoric units into one scaffold to enhance the biological properties. With this aim, combretastatin-A4 acids were integrated with sulfonyl piperazine scaffolds as a one molecular platform and evaluated for their in vitro antiproliferative activity against a panel of human cancer lines cell lines namely, lung (A549), mouse melanoma (B16F10), breast (MDA MB-231and MCF-7) and colon (HCT-15) by MTT assay. Amongst which the compound (E)-3-(4-Chlorophenyl)-1-(4-((4-chlorophenyl)sulfonyl)piperazin-1-yl)-2-(3,4,5-trimethoxyphenyl)prop-2-en-1-one ( 5 ab ) displayed significant IC₅₀ values in the range of 0.36 to 7.08 μm against the selected cancer cell lines. Moreover, 5 ab was found to be the most potent member of this series with IC₅₀ 0.36±0.02 μm . Further investigations revealed that the compound 5 ab displayed significant inhibition of tubulin assembly with IC₅₀ 5.24±0.06 μm and molecular docking studies also disclosed the binding of 5 ab effectively in CA4 binding space at the colchicine binding site. The flow cytometric analysis demonstrated that the compound 5 ab caused cell cycle arrest at G2/M phase in A549 cells. Compound 5 ab induced apoptosis in A549 cells which was further evaluated by different staining assays such as DAPI and AO which undoubtedly speculated, the induction of apoptosis. To study the anti-migration with 5 ab , cell migration/scratch wound assay was performed and the extent of apoptosis was studied by Annexin-V, including mitochondrial potential by JC-1 staining.     

Nanostructured cerium oxide film for triglyceride sensor

Lipase has been immobilized onto sol–gel derived nanostuctured cerium oxide (Nano-CeO₂, 35 nm) film deposited onto indium–tin–oxide (ITO) coated glass plate for tributyrin detection. The Nano-CeO₂/ITO electrode and lipase/nano-CeO₂/ITO bioelectrode have been characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and cyclic voltammetry (CV). The electrochemical response of lipase/nano-CeO₂/ITO bioelectrode towards tributyrin, investigated using CV studies, exhibits linearity, detection limit and shelf life as 50–500 mg/dL, 32.8 mg/dL and 12 weeks, respectively. The value of the apparent Michaelis–Menten constant () obtained as 22.27 mg/dL (0.736 mM) for lipase/nano-CeO₂/ITO bioelectrode indicates high affinity of lipase with tributyrin. Attempts have been made to detect triglyceride concentration in serum samples.     

Proton implantation effect on CdSe nanowires

Semiconducting nanowires represent an exclusive system for analyzing phenomena at the nanoscale and are also believed to play an important role in future nanoscale electronic and optoelectronic devices. The one dimensional nanostructures bring about significant alterations in their properties on implantation; depending on the energy, dose and fluence of the bombarding ions. In this view, effects of implantation with 250 keV protons on structural, optical and electrical properties of CdSe nanowires of 80 nm were studied for different fluencies. Implantation led to substantial change in the electrical conductivity at various fluencies as compared to pristine which may be attributed to the ionization effects. A drop in conductivity value above fluence of 10¹² ions/cm² may be ascribed to the passivation of some donor levels due to the presence of hydrogen. The optical band gap was also found to vary with implantation. This study opens up new avenues for research to modulate opto-electronic properties of CdSe nanowires for the novel device applications.     

Structural,magnetic and dielectric properties of Co-Zr substituted M-type calcium hexagonal ferrite nanoparticles in the presence of α-Fe2O3 phase

Polycrystalline nanoparticles of M-type Ca(ZrCo)_xFe_12?2xO₁₉ (0.0?≤?x?≤?1.0) hexaferrites were prepared using a simple heat treatment method at a low heating temperature of 650?°C. Effect of cobalt-zirconium substitution on the structural, microstructural, magnetic and dielectric properties was investigated. XRD analysis indicates that all the samples possess a hexagonal structure with anti-ferromagnetic α-Fe₂O₃ phase. The values of lattice parameters and cell volume found to be increased with increasing the cobalt-zirconium substitution along with the amount of α-Fe₂O₃ phase. Crystal symmetry has not affected by Zr–Co substitution in prepared calcium hexaferrite samples but the position of diffraction peak [108] is found to shift towards a lower angle as an increase in the substitution of Zr–Co. The crystallite size found to vary between 12 and 17?nm. SEM images show agglomerated grains and surface morphology has changed with Zr–Co substitution. EDX analysis of typical samples revealed the presence of Ca, Fe, Co, Zr. The magnetic analysis revealed the formation of multi-domain structure. Room temperature Mössbauer spectra of prepared samples show that all five sextets are merged together with a paramagnetic doublet and it confirmed that the size of particles is very small in the nano range. Single and double semicircle arcs were observed in Cole-Cole plots, due to the contributions of grain and grain boundaries resistance.