Controlled electrochemically-assisted deposition of sol-gel biocomposite on electrospun platinum nanofibers

The modification of platinum nanofibers by silica using the electrochemically-assisted deposition is reported here. Pt nanofibers are obtained by electrospinning and deposited on a glass substrate. The electrochemically-assisted deposition of the sol-gel material then gives the unique possibility to finely tune the silica film thickness around these nanofibers. It also allows the successful encapsulation of a biomolecule (glucose oxidase was chosen here as a model) while retaining its biological activity, as pointed out via the electrochemical monitoring of H(2)O(2) produced upon addition of glucose in the medium. This silica-glucose oxidase composite offers the possibility of comparing systematically the influence of the deposition time on the bioelectrode response and to compare it with the particular features of the deposits. It was found that the film first grew uniformly around the nanofibers and then started to deposit between them, covering the whole sample (fibers and glass substrate), and tended to fully embed the nanofibers for prolonged deposition. The thickness of the silica film is critical for the electroactivity of the biocomposite, the best response being obtained for a silica layer thickness in the range of the fiber diameter (～50 nm).     

Carbon nanofibers grown on sodalime glass at 500°C using thermal chemical vapor deposition

Carbon nanofibers are grown homogeneously on a large area of nickel-deposited sodalime glass substrate by thermal chemical vapor deposition of acetylene at 500°C. The diameters of carbon nanofibers are uniformly distributed in the range between 50 and 60 nm. Most of the carbon nanofibers are curved or bent in shape, but some fractions are twisted. They consist of defective graphitic sheets with a herringbone morphology. The maximum emission current density from the carbon nanofibers is 0.075 mA/cm² at 16 V/μm, which is sufficient for commercializing the carbon-nanofibers-based field emission displays.     

Preparation and Properties of Electrospun Sheath-core Modified-PMMA Nanofibers with Photoluminescence and Photochromic Functions

Multi-functional nanofibers are playing an important role in the optical field, and are widely used in fluorescence indication, product anti-counterfeit identification and smart clothing. Nanofibers with photoluminescence and photochromic functions are already attracting more interest from researchers. In this work, based on electrospun technology, the modified-PMMA nanofibers[PMMA=poly(methyl methacrylate)] with photoluminescence and photochromic functions were prepared through the design of the sheath-core structure(SCNFs 1-4). Compared with other samples, SCNF-4 shows outstanding photoluminescence and photochromic functions. SCNF-4 can produce green light and its fluorescence intensity and fluorescence lifetime can reach 7144 a.u. and 1031.32 μs, respectively. In photochromic functions, SCNF-4 can show purple in 1 min under the 365 nm ultraviolet light, and the color can be preserved for more than 4 h under the sunlight. When SCNF-4 is irradiated by far infrared light, the color of the samples can fade quickly in 40 s. Under the irradiation of ultraviolet light of different wavelengths, SCNF-4 can display multi-color fluorescence and achieve a reversible transition between white and purple. The design of the sheath-core structure realizes the complementarity of photoluminescence and photochromic functions of the electrospun modified-PMMA nanofibers, which is important to promote the wide application of multi-functional nanofibers in the optical field.     

Preparation and study of PPV/PVA nanofibers via electrospinning PPV precursor alcohol solution

We have found a simple method to prepare poly(phenylene vinylene) (PPV) nanofibers via electrospinning PPV precursor alcohol solution under annealed at 180 °C in a N₂ atmosphere. The nanofibers are uniform in diameter and long in decimeter magnitudes with resistance in decay, which makes them have potential applications in optical and electronic devices. The morphology can be better controlled by blend PPV precursor solution with poly(vinylalcohol) (PVA) aqueous solution. The fluorescence spectrum of PPV/PVA nanofibers exhibited appreciable blue shift, which made it possible to fabricate nanofibers with fluorescence from yellow-green to blue.     

基于荧光素的荧光纳米纤维的制备与表征

以电纺聚丙烯腈(PAN)纳米纤维为起始物, 经乙二胺改性后, 再利用Mannich反应将荧光素共价连接于PAN纳米纤维薄膜表面. 用荧光光谱、 扫描电镜和红外光谱进行了结构表征. 结果表明, 利用荧光素对静电纺丝薄膜表面进行修饰, 获得了很强的荧光信号, 证明了方法的可行性.     

Production of aligned helical polymer nanofibers by electrospinning

A new and simple electrospinning method has been developed for producing aligned helical polymer nanofibers. Aligned helical polycaprolactone (PCL) nanofibers were prepared by this method. The helical fibers were collected by a tilted glass slide. The morphology and loop diameters of the helical structures are dependant on the PCL solution concentration and the loop diameters are in the range of 6.9-14.9 μm for the concentration range of 4.7%-10%. The three-dimensional helical structures were obtained at the high solution concentration of 10%. These helical structures were formed by jet buckling due to mechanical instability when hitting collector surface. Formation of the helical structures is dependent on the obliquity of the tilted glass slide and distance away from the syringe needle. The converging electrical field generated by a tip collector plays an important role in the alignment of the helical structures.     

Intermolecular complexes of singly linked bisporphyrins with trinitrobenzene

Several covalently linked bisporphyrin systems, free-base (H₂P---H₂P), hybrid bisporphyrins (Zn---H₂P) and Zn(II) dimers (ZnP---ZnP) and their 1:1 molecular complexes with sym 1,3,5-trinitrobenzene have been investigated by optical absorption and emission, and magnetic resonance spectroscopic methods. In these systems, two porphyrin units are linked singly through one of the meso aryl groups via ether linkages of variable length. The bisporphyrins cooperatively bind a molecule of a π-acceptor; 1,3,5-trinitrobenzene (TNB). The binding constant values vary with interchromophore separation. Maximum binding is observed in the bisporphyrin bearing a two-ether covalent linkage. It is found that TNB quenches the fluorescence of the two porphyrine units in a selective manner. It is suggested that a critical distance between the two porphyrin units is necessary for the observance of maximum cooperative intermolecular binding with an acceptor.     

Efficient method for fabrication of fluorescein derivative/PDAC composite nanofibers and characteristics of their photoluminescent properties

Electrospinning is a simple and cost-effective approach for the production of nanofibers and assemblies with controllable structures. In this work, the pure poly (diallyldimethylammonium chloride) (PDAC) nanofibers with smooth surface and uniform morphology were successfully fabricated by electrospinning. On this basis, fluorescein/PDAC, dibromofluorescein/PDAC, diidofluorescein/PDAC and fluorescein sodium/PDAC composite nanofibers were also fabricated using the same method. The average diameters of the pure PDAC nanofibers increased with the applied field strength and the amount of PDAC in the solutions; and the average diameters ranged from 280 to 450 nm. The morphology of pure PDAC nanofibers has been observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and the photoluminescent properties of fluorescein derivative/PDAC composite nanofibers have been characterized by fluorescence microscopy.     

Filtration application from recycled expanded polystyrene

Water-in-oil emulsion with drop size less than 100 mum is difficult to separate. Coalescence filtration is economical and effective for separation of secondary dispersions. Coalescence performance depends on flow rate, bed depth, fiber surface properties, and drop size. The amount of surface area of the fibers directly affects the efficiency. A new recycling method was investigated in the previous work in which polystyrene (PS) sub-mum fibers were electro-spun from recycled expanded polystyrene (EPS). These fibers are mixed with micro glass fibers to modify the glass fiber filter media. The filter media are tested in the separation of water droplets from an emulsion of water droplets in oil. The experimental results in this work show that adding nanofibers to conventional micron sized fibrous filter media improves the separation efficiency of the filter media but also increases the pressure drop. An optimum in the performance occurs (significant increase in efficiency with minimal increase in pressure drop) with the addition of about 4% by mass of 500 nm diameter PS nanofibers to glass fibers for the filters.     

Effect of needle diameter on nanofiber diameter and thermal properties of electrospun poly(methyl methacrylate)

The effect of needle diameter on the resulting electrospun poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) average nanofiber diameter has been evaluated for three different needle gauges. The resulting nanofibers were observed and analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), suggesting a lack of correlation between the needle diameter used and the resulting average nanofiber diameter. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) indicated an increase in the thermal stability of PMMA nanofibers when compared to powdered PMMA, while differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) studies evidenced lower glass transition temperatures (Tg) for PMMA nanofibers in the first heating cycle. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Diamagnetic anisotropy of molecular complexes of 1,3,5-trinitrobenzene with anthracene and carbazole

The anisotropy of the diamagnetic properties of 1 : 1 EDA complex crystals of 1,3,5-trinitrobenzene with anthracene (A—TNB) and carbazole (C—TNB) has been measured as a function of temperature in the range 100–293 K. The results for 293 K are found to be in good agreement with the values calculated according to the rule of additivity for molecular susceptibilities. The temperature dependence of the diamagnetic anisotropy for both A—TNB and C—TNB crystals, is discussed in the context of possible phase transitions in the crystals. The influence of thermal motions on the diamagnetic properties is described     

Construction of 1D/1D WO_3 Nanorod/TiO_2 Nanobelt Hybrid Heterostructure for Photocatalytic Application

In this work, well-defined 1D/1D WO_3 nanorod/TiO_2 nanobelt(WNR/TNB) hybrid heterostructure was fabricated by a simple electrostatic self-assembly method. The structure-property correlation was clarified by characterizing the crystal phases, morphologies, optical properties, photoluminescence and photocatalytic performances of the WNR/TNB heterostructures. It was demonstrated that photocatalytic performances of WNR/TNB heterostructure toward mineralization was superior to blank TNB, WNR and randomly mixed counterparts under simulated solar light irradiation, owing predominantly to the intimate interfacial contact between WNR and TNB, forming intimately integrated heterojunction, which promotes the spatial charge carriers transfer and electron relay, hence prolonging the lifetime of photogenerated electron-hole pairs. Moreover, photocatalytic mechanism was elucidated. It is anticipated that our work would provide an alternative strategy to construct diverse heterostructured photocatalysts for solar energy conversion.     

Quantum Chemical Investigations on the Structures,Stabilities and Decompositions of Trinitrobenzenes and Their Chloro Derivatives

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豆奶粉提取碳点及含碳点荧光纳米纤维的制备

以豆奶粉为碳源, 以有机硅烷为钝化剂, 用水热合成法制备碳点, 采用静电纺丝技术, 以碳点与聚乙烯吡咯烷酮(PVP)共混溶液为纺丝液, 制备了含碳点的纳米纤维. 通过紫外吸收光谱、 荧光吸收光谱和荧光发射光谱表征了碳点性质. 结果显示, 所得碳点纳米纤维直径分布均匀, 形貌良好, 碳点分散溶液在340~540 nm的紫外光激发下发出强青绿色荧光, 荧光发射峰出现在550 nm处, 并且随着激发波长增加有微弱的红移.     

Ultrafine nanofibers fabricated from an arylene-ethynylene macrocyclic molecule using surface assisted self-assembly

Large area uniform nanofibers have been fabricated from a hexameric arylene-ethynylene macrocycle (1) through in situ self-assembly on a glass substrate during solvent evaporation. The fibril morphology is controlled by the solvophilic core of 1, in conjunction with the interfacial interactions between the side chains of 1 and the substrate.     

Characterization of electron donor sites on Al2O3 surface

Formation of radical anions after adsorption of 1,3,5-trinitrobenzene (TNB) on electron donor sites of fully oxidized Al(2)O(3) samples with different phase compositions is studied by EPR. It is shown that the maximum concentration of the radical anions does not substantially depend on the choice of solvent and reaction temperature, and can be used to measure the total concentration of the donor sites. The donor sites are observed in almost the same concentration about 5 × 10(16) m(-2) on all alumina polymorphs except for α-Al(2)O(3). The formation rate of the TNB radical anions and the activation energy of this process are found to depend on the donor properties of the solvent. The EPR in situ experiments showed that a substantial amount of the adsorbate forming a liquid phase is required for generation of the radical anions. These results prove that the sites measured by the formation of the TNB radical anions are not genuine electron donor sites capable of direct electron transfer to the adsorbed TNB molecules. A model of the observed paramagnetic species based on the obtained experimental data and the results of quantum chemical simulations is suggested. According to this model, a TNB radical anion substitutes a hydroxyl group forming a neutral ion pair with a surface aluminum cation. The suggested mechanism for the formation of such ion pairs involves the migration of simple radicals and does not require long-distance charge separation. It is supposed that the donor site where the process is initiated includes a negatively charged surface hydroxyl group.     

Fabrication of nanofibers through a unique morphological transformation of poly(lactic acid) particles in water

Poly(lactic acid) (PLA) particles dispersed in water were transformed into nanofibers by simply heating above the glass transition temperatures of the hydrated PLAs.     

Imaging cellular distribution of fluorescent supramolecular nanofibers

In this study, we used the 4-nitro-2,1,3-benzoxadiazole (NBD) as an aromatic capping group for a peptide to construct the supramolecular nanofibers. Taking the advantage of the fluorescence property of NBD, we could directly observe the cellular distribution of the self-assembled nanofibers. We found that the distributions of the nanofibers of NBD-FFETIGGY are different in four mammalian cells and two plant cells. The nanofibers are mainly located at the surface of two mammalian cells and one plant cell, while in the intracellular space of other cells. Different distributions of nanofibers lead to different protein binding patterns of the nanofibers in two different cell lines. We believe that a useful and versatile platform has been offered to the image cellular distribution of nanofibers, which can provide useful information to the biological functions of the self-assembled nanostructures.     

Calorimetric studies of binary systems of 1,3,5-trinitrobenzene with naphthalene, anthracene and carbazole. II. Phase diagrams

The phase diagrams of the binary systems of 1,3,5-trinitrobenzene (TNB) with naphthalene, anthracene and carbazole have been determined by differential scanning calorimetry and optical microscopy over the temperature range 180 K to just above the melting point. All systems show the same features: (i) systems form nearly ideal double simple-eutectic type phase diagrams with 1 : 1 complex, (ii) each one of three known modifications of TNB may exist as a component of the complex—TNB eutectic mixtures. (iii) measured liquidus lines of complexes agree within experimental error with those calculated by the Vieland equation for a completely dissociated complex in the liquid phase, whereas the experimental liquidus lines for the parent components deviate slightly from those predicted by the Schröder—van Laar equation, indicating some degree of complexing in the liquid phase.

The solubility parameter theory has been used to clarify this discrepancy. Applying this theory to the liquidus lines of complexes, we have found that these TNB complexes are still stable upon fusion, and an approximate degree of dissociation amounted to 90% at the melting point in all three cases.

The enthalpy of complex formation, ΔH⁰, both in the liquid and solid state has been determined. The values of ΔH⁰ show that in the solid state the carbazole—TNB complex is the most stable, and the naphthalene—TNB complex is the least stable.     

Thermo-mechanical behavior of electrospun thermoplastic polyurethane nanofibers

Analysis of the thermo-mechanical behavior of electrospun thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) block co-polymer nanofibers (glass transition temperature ∼−50 °C) is presented. Upon heating, nanofibers began to massively contract, at ∼70 °C, whereas TPU cast films started to expand. Radial wide-angle X-ray scattering (WAXS) profiles of the nanofibers and the films showed no diffraction peaks related to crystals, whereas their amorphous halo had an asymmetric shape, which can be approximated by two components, associated with hard and soft segments. During heating, noticeable changes in the contribution of these components were only observed in nanofibers. These changes, which were accompanied with an endothermic DSC peak, coinciding with the start of the nanofibers contraction, can be attributed to relaxation of an oriented stretched amorphous phase created during electrospinning. Such structure relaxation becomes possible when a portion of the hard segment clusters, forming an effective physical network, is destroyed upon heating.