Multienzyme-Mimetic Activity of Gold/Cerium Oxide Nanozyme

Redox-active nanozymes offer low-cost controlled synthesis, high stability, and tunable catalytic properties over natural enzymes, which have attracted wide attention in the field of disease diagnosis and treatment. However, the improvement of catalytic activity remains an important challenge for nanozymes. Herein, the Au/CeO₂ nanozymes is developed to achieve enhanced multiple enzyme-mimetic activity. The Au/CeO₂ nanozymes at 5% doping possess best peroxidase-like activity with threefold higher catalytic rate than CeO₂. For catalase-mimic catalysis, the Au/CeO₂ nanozymes at 5% doping also exhibited a 1.5-fold enhanced reaction rate higher than pure CeO₂. The superoxide dismutase (SOD)-like capacity of Au/CeO₂ nanozymes is proportional to Au content. The Au/CeO₂ nanozymes at 10% doping show optimal SOD-like capacity of 60.2 U mg⁻¹. In vitro experiments validate the regulation ability of intracellular oxidative stress and inflammation. Au/CeO₂ nanozymes can reduce lipopolysaccharide- or H₂O₂-induced oxidative damage by scavenging excess ROS in nerve cell. Therefore, Au/CeO₂ can be used as a promising antioxidant in disease treatment, and the study offers general guidelines for achieving enhanced biocatalytic property through atomic doping.     

Nickel-iron-gold magnetic films

Ni-Fe-Au films can be made by vacuum evaporation from a single melt since Au has an evaporation rate comparable to that of Ni and Fe. In films 400 Å thick the addition of Au does not changeH _c , butH _k increases 0·1 Oe per 1% Au until 10% Au is reached and then remains constant for Au percentages up to 26%. The change ofH _k with substrate deposition temperature is about the same as for Ni-Fe films (–0·01 Oe/°C). Films with 8% Au have the same skew as Ni-Fe films when made at a substrate temperature of 300 °C, but for Ni-Fe-Au films the change of skew with substrate temperature is about one fourth that of Ni-Fe films. The small area dispersion is reduced by a factor of 2 to 3 for Au additions of 4 to 26 percent.     

Enhanced nonlinear optical absorption of Au/SiO2 nano-composite thin films

Nano metal-particle dispersed glasses are the attractive candidates for nonlinear optical material applications.Au/SiO 2 nano-composite thin films with 3 vol% to 65 vol% Au are prepared by inductively coupled plasma sputtering.Au particles as perfect spheres with diameters between 10 nm and 30 nm are uniformly dispersed in the SiO 2 matrix.Optical absorption peaks due to the surface plasmon resonance of Au particles are observed.The absorption property is enhanced with the increase of Au content,showing a maximum value in the films with 37 vol% Au.The absorption curves of the Au/SiO 2 thin films with 3 vol% to 37 vol% Au accord well with the theoretical optical absorption spectra obtained from Mie resonance theory.Increasing Au content over 37 vol% results in the partial connection of Au particles,whereby the intensity of the absorption peak is weakened and ultimately replaced by the optical absorption of the bulk.The band gap decreases with Au content increasing from 3 vol% to 37 vol % but increases as Au content further increases.     

Au doped Sb3Te phase-change material for C-RAM device

Au doped Sb₃Te phase-change films have been investigated by means of in situ temperature-dependent resistance measurement. Crystallization temperature of 2 at.% Au doped Sb₃Te has been enhanced to 161 °C, which leads to a better data retention. The physical stability of the film has been improved evidently after adding Au as well. Resistance contrast has been improved to 1.1 × 10⁴, one order of magnitude higher than that of pure Sb₃Te. X-ray diffraction patterns indicate the polycrystalline Au-SbTe series have hexagonal structure, similar with pure Sb₃Te alloy, when Au doping dose is less than 9 at.%.     

Influence of Au thickness on the optical and electrical properties of transparent and conducting TiO2/Au/TiO2 multilayer films

Au-intermediate TiO₂/Au/TiO₂ (TAT) multilayer films were deposited by RF magnetron sputtering onto glass substrates. Changes in the optical and electrical properties of the films were investigated with respect to the thickness of the Au interlayer.The observed optical and electrical properties were dependent on the thickness of the Au interlayer. The resistivity decreased to 3.3 × 10⁻⁴ Ω cm for TiO₂ films with a 20 nm-thick Au interlayer and the optical transmittance was also influenced by the Au interlayer. Although optical transmittance deteriorated as Au thickness increased, TiO₂ films with a 5 nm-thick Au interlayer showed a relatively high optical transmittance of 80% at a wavelength of 550 nm. In addition, since a TAT film with a 5 nm-thick Au interlayer showed a relatively high work function value, it is an alternative candidate for use as a transparent anode in OLEDs and flat panel displays.     

Thermally Evaporated Ag–Au Bimetallic Catalysts for Efficient Electrochemical CO2 Reduction

CO₂ reduction reaction (CO₂RR) has indispensable significance for carbon recycling and renewable energy production. As typical electrochemical catalysts, Au and Ag show relatively high reaction activity and selectivity in CO₂RR. In this study, a series of Ag–Au bimetallic catalysts are designed and synthesized through the thermal evaporation method for efficient yet massive production of electrochemical catalysts. The Ag–Au catalysts show significantly enhanced activity and selectivity in CO₂RR, which is mainly attributed to the increased grain boundaries with well-dispersed single Ag atoms. After the optimization, Au20Ag10 exhibits the best performance with a CO Faraday efficiency of 89% at −0.9 V (vs the reversible hydrogen electrode) with good stability.     

Fabrication of Gold-Doped Titanium Dioxide (Tio2:Au) Nanofibers Photocatalyst by Vacuum Ion Sputter Coating

Gold-doped titanium dioxide (TiO₂:Au) nanofibers were prepared by a combination of an electrospinning method and sputtering technology and characterized by scanning electron microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The results show that the morphologies of Au-deposited TiO₂ nanofibers can be well controlled by the sputtering time. The photocatalytic decomposition of acetaldehyde on TiO₂:Au nanofibers was investigated at room temperature. The photocatalytic effect of the TiO₂ nanofiber was improved by using the Au-doped titania nanofibers catalyst and increased as the Au depositing time was increased from 40 s to 3 min. The photocatalytic removal rate of acetaldehyde remained above 94% on the TiO₂:Au nanofibers (2 min) catalyst under ultraviolet (UV) irradiation for 70 min, 1.7 times that of pure TiO₂ fibers.     

Preparation and characterization of amorphous hydrogenated carbon films containing Au nanoparticles from heat-treatment of polymer precursors

Amorphous hydrogenated carbon (aC:H) films containing Au nanoparticles have been successfully prepared by heat-treatment of the precursors including poly(phenylcarbyne) polymer and HAuCl₄ at 600 °C in Ar atmosphere. The microstructure and morphology of the obtained films were investigated by means of Raman, XPS, XRD, TEM, and AFM. The sheet resistivity of the films was measured by a four-point probe method. Moreover, a ball-on-disc test was employed to obtain information about the frictional properties and sliding wear resistance of the films. The results show that heat-treatment of the precursors at 600 °C causes the change of the polymer into amorphous hydrogenated carbon phase, and the reduction of AuCl₄^- anions into zero-valence Au. All of the AuaC:H films exhibit smooth morphologies, with the RMS roughness smaller than 0.80 nm. Au nanoparticles are well dispersed in the amorphous carbon matrix, with size ranging from several to tens of nanometers, and the particle size increases with increasing gold content. The incorporation of Au in the carbon matrix can drastically decrease the resistivity and the resistivity of composite films gradually decreases with increasing Au concentration. AuaC:H films with the Au concentration of 2% and 4% show much better friction-reduction and wear-resistance than aC:H film. PACS 81.15.Np; 81.07.-b; 81.40.Pq     

Solubility and lattice location of Au in CdTe by backscattering techniques

The solubility of Au in CdTe, at 800°C and 900°C, has been determined as a function of P_cd (stoichiometry), and the lattice location of the Au has been investigated by ion channeling (2 MeV, ⁴He⁺) techniques. The measured Au solubilities varied from ～10¹⁸cm^?3 to ～10²⁰cm^?3 and were found to increase with increasing temperature and with decreasing cadmium partial pressure roughly as $\text{P}{}^{\mathrm{<mtext>?</mtext><mtext>1</mtext><mtext>3</mtext>}}{}_{\mathrm{cd}}$. Lattice location studies showed that from ～50% to ～80% of the Au remained in a substitutional, dissolved state after quenching to room temperature. In addition, angular yield scans indicate that the substitutional fraction of the incorporated Au is displaced off lattice sites by ～0·2 Å. No flux peaking was seen in the angular yield scans and the non-substitutiolial fraction of the incorporated Au, manifested at room temperature, may consist either of precipitated or (displaced) interstitial Au. Diffusion coefficients of Au in CdTe have been estimated at 900°C, at the extreme boundaries of the phase field, using the ion channeling technique. The results indicate that the Au diffusivity decreases markedly with increasing P_cd.These observations are found to be consistent with a dissociative model for Au in CdTe in which the major native defects are doubly ionized cadmium Frenkel defects and approximately singly ionized substitutional Au.     

New method to calibrate binding energy using Au nanocolloids in X-ray photoelectron analysis of diamondlike carbon films with different electrical resistivities

A new method to calibrate the binding energy (E_B) using Au nanocolloids as a calibrant in XPS analysis of diamondlike carbon (DLC) is proposed by considering the DLC films with different electrical resistivities. A few microliters of a dilute aqueous solution containing Au nanocolloids were dropped onto a small local surface area of the DLC film, which became a stain before XPS measurements by gradually drying in vacuo. The observed peak E_B of the C 1s spectrum at another native surface (an area without Au nanocolloids) of the DLC film was calibrated by setting that of the Au 4f_7/2 spectrum of the Au nanocolloids to 84.0 (83.98 ± 0.02) eV. The adequacy of this method was investigated by considering the correlation among the full width at half maximums (FWHMs) of the Au 4f_7/2 spectra of the Au nanocolloids on the DLC surfaces and that of a Au plate as a reference. Consequently, the FWHM of the Au 4f_7/2 spectrum of the Au nanocolloids on the DLC surface is a candidate to investigate the differential charging effect of the DLC surface, and the calibration method is reliable if the FWHM agrees with that of the Au plate.     

Dependence of the non-photonic electron spectrum on the charmed baryon-to-meson ratio

In this talk I argue that a substantial fraction of the non-photonic electron suppression in Au+Au collisions could arise as a result of an enhanced Λ_c/D ratio rather than purely from jet-quenching. At intermediate transverse momentum (2<p_T<6 GeV/c), the baryon-to-meson ratio in Au+Au collisions is enhanced compared to p+p collisions. Since charm-baryon decays produce electrons less frequently than charm-meson decays, the non-photonic electron spectrum is sensitive to the Λ_c/D ratio. I show the dependence of the non-photonic electron spectrum on the baryon-to-meson ratio for charm hadrons. As an example, I assume that the Λ_c/D ratio is the same as the Λ/K⁰ _S ratio. I show that even if the total charm quark yield in Au+Au collisions scales with the number of binary nucleon-nucleon collisions (N_bin), the electron spectrum at 2<p_T<5 GeV/c will be suppressed relative to N_bin scaled p+p collisions by as much as 20%. PACS 25.75.-q; 25.75.Dw     

Characteristics of charged particle production in relativistic heavy-ion collisions

Inclusive spectra of charged particles at midrapidity in Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt {s_{NN} } = 130$ GeV and 200 GeV were measured with the STAR detector at RHIC. The measured mean transverse momentum 〈p _T 〉 shows a characteristic dependence on charged particle multiplicity and beam energy in Au+Au collisions that is distinctly different from pp, $p\bar p$ and e⁺e^? collisions. A 32%±3%(syst) increase in 〈p _T 〉 from pp to Au+Au collisions was observed at 200 GeV. While the charged multiplicity was found to increase by 19%±5%(syst) from $\sqrt {s_{NN} } = 130$ GeV to 200 GeV, no significant difference in 〈p _T 〉 was found between the two energies. A comparison with model predictions is discussed.     

Synthesis of Au nanorods via autocatalytic growth of Au seeds formed by sonochemical reduction of Au(I): Relation between formation rate and characteristic of Au nanorods

The sonochemical formation of Au seeds and their autocatalytic growth to Au nanorods were investigated in a one-pot as a function of concentration of HAuCl₄, AgNO₃, and ascorbic acid (AA). The effects of ultrasonic power and irradiation time were also investigated. In addition, the formation rate of Au nanorods was analyzed by monitoring the extinction at 400 nm by UV–Vis spectroscopy and compared with the growth behavior of Au seeds to nanorods. Most of the reaction conditions affected the yield, size, and shape of Au nanorods formed. It was confirmed that the concentration balance between HAuCl₄ and AA was important to proceed the formation of Au seeds and nanorods effectively. The formation rate became faster with increasing AA concentration and dog-bone shaped nanorods were formed at high AA concentration. It was also confirmed a unique phenomenon that the shape of Au nanorods changed even after the completion of the reduction of Au(I) in the case of short-time ultrasonic irradiation for Au seed formation.     

DFT calculations for Au adsorption onto a reduced TiO2 (110) surface with the coexistence of Cl

Residual chlorines, which originate from HAuCl₄, enhance the aggregation of gold (Au) nanoparticles and clusters, preventing the generation of highly active supported Au catalysts. However, the detailed mechanism of residual-chlorine-promoted aggregation of Au is unknown. Herein to investigate this mechanism, density functional theory (DFT) calculations of Au and Cl adsorption onto a reduced rutile TiO₂ (110) surface were performed using a generalised gradient approximation Perdew, Burke, and Ernzerhof formula (GGA–PBE) functional and plane-wave basis. Although both Au and Cl atoms prefer to mono-absorb onto oxygen defect sites, Cl atoms have a stronger absorption onto a reduced TiO₂ (110) surface, abbreviated as rTiO₂ (110) in the following, than Au atoms. Additionally, co-adsorption of a Cl atom and a Au atom or Au nanorod onto a rTiO₂ surface was investigated; Cl adsorption onto an oxygen defect site weakens the interaction between a Au atom or Au nanorod and rTiO₂ (110) surface. The calculation results suggest that the depletion of interaction between Au and rTiO₂ surface is due to strong interaction between Cl atoms at oxygen defect sites and neighbouring bridging oxygen (O^B) atoms.     

Fabrication and characterization of Au/SiO2 nanocomposite films grown by radio-frequency cosputtering

Au/SiO₂ nanocomposite films were prepared on Si wafers by cosputtering of SiO₂ and gold wires. Au/Si atomic ratios in Au/SiO₂ nanocomposite films were varied from 0.53 to 0.92 by controlling the length of gold wire to study the evolution of the crystallization of gold, the size of Au/SiO₂ nanocomposite particles, and the optical properties of as-deposited Au/SiO₂ nanocomposite films. An X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy reveals that Au exists as a metallic phase in the bulk of SiO₂ matrix. Dome-shaped Au/SiO₂ nanocomposite particles and both Au (1 1 1) and (2 0 0) planes were observed in a field-emission scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction studies respectively. With an ultraviolet-visible, absorption peaks of Au/SiO₂ nanocomposite films were observed at 525 nm.     

Size-selected Au clusters deposited on SiO2/Si: Stability of clusters under ambient pressure and elevated temperatures

This study examined the oxidation and reduction behavior of mass-selected Au clusters consisting of 2-13 atoms deposited on silica. An atomic oxygen environment was used for the oxidation of Au. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was used to identify Au(III) and Au(O). Au₅, Au₇ and Au₁₃ clusters deposited on the as-prepared SiO₂/Si substrates were highly inert towards oxidation, whereas the other clusters could be oxidized, i.e. the chemical property drastically changed with the number of atoms in a cluster. The size-selectivity in chemical reactivity remained unchanged upon air-exposure. The chemical properties of the deposited Au clusters were unchanged after annealing at 250 °C. Annealing at higher temperatures caused structural changes to the surface, as determined by the oxidation behavior. XPS of the deposited Au clusters upon annealing indicated charge transfer from Au to silica.     

Growth morphology of nanoscale sputter-deposited Au films on amorphous soft polymeric substrates

The growth of a room-temperature sputter-deposited thin Au film on two soft polymeric substrates, polystyrene (PS) and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), from nucleation to formation of a continuous film is investigated by means of atomic force microscopy. In particular, we studied the surface morphology evolution of the film as a function of the deposition time observing an initial Au three-dimensional island-type growth. Then the Au film morphology evolves, with increasing deposition time, from hemispherical islands to partially coalesced worm-like island structures, to percolation, and finally to a continuous and rough film. The overall Au morphology evolution is discussed in the framework of the interrupted coalescence model, allowing us to evaluate the island critical radius for the partial coalescence R _c=8.7±0.9 nm for Au on PS and R _c=7.6±0.8 nm for Au on PMMA. Furthermore, the application of the kinetic freezing model allows us to evaluate the room-temperature surface diffusion coefficient D _s≈1.8×10⁻¹⁸ m²/s for Au on PS and D _s≈1.1×10⁻¹⁸ m²/s for Au on PMMA. The application of the Vincent model allows us, also, to evaluate the critical coverage (at which the percolation occurs) P _c=61% for Au on PS and P _c=56% for Au on PMMA. Finally, the dynamic scaling theory of a growing interface was applied to characterize the kinetic roughening of the Au film on both PMMA and PS. Such analyses allow us to evaluate the dynamic scaling, growth, and roughness exponents z=3.8±0.4, β=0.28±0.03, α=1.06±0.05 for the growth of Au on PS and z=4.3±0.3, β=0.23±0.03, α=1.03±0.05 for the growth of Au on PMMA, in agreement with a non-equilibrium but conservative and linear growth process in which the surface diffusion phenomenon plays a key role.     

Improved device performance in nonpolar a ‐plane GaN LEDs using a Ni/Al/Ni/Au n‐type ohmic contact

The authors report upon the increased light‐output power (P_out) via a reduction in the forward voltage (V_f) for nonpolar a ‐plane GaN LEDs using Ni/Al/Ni/Au n‐type ohmic contacts. The specific contact resistivity of the Ni/Al/Ni/Au contact is found to be as low as 5.6 × 10^–5 whereas that of a typical Ti/Al/Ni/Au contact is 6.8 × 10^–4 Ω cm², after annealing at 700 °C. The X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy results show that the upward surface band bending is less pronounced for the Ni/Al contact compared to the Ti/Al contact, leading to a decrease in the effective Schottky barrier height (SBH). The V_f of the nonpolar LEDs decreases by 10% and P_out increases by 15% when the Ni/Al/Ni/Au scheme is used instead of the typical Ti/Al/Ni/Au metal scheme. (© 2011 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

On the interstitial and substitutional distribution of Au dissolved in solid Pb

It has been proposed that Au, when dissolved in solid Pb, exists as isolated atoms (Au₁) and small clusters of two (Au₂) and four (Au₄) atoms. In this paper three sets of data are analyzed: (1) the volume change of Pb(Au) accompanying Au precipitation at room temperature, (2) the difference in lattice parameter between Pb and Pb(Au), and (3_) the equilibrium distribution of Au in Pb in a centrifugal field. On the basis of this analysis it is concluded that Au₁ is predominantly substitutional and Au in the quenched-in Au₄ state is either mostly substitutional (each Au atom occupying a former Pb site) or vacancies are created during cluster formation and survive the quench.     

Metal contacts to n-GaN

Al, Au, Ti/Al and Ti/Au contacts were prepared on n-GaN and annealed up to 900 °C. The structure, phase and morphology were studied by cross-sectional transmission and scanning electron microscopy as well as by X-ray diffraction (XRD), the electrical behaviour by current-voltage measurements. It was obtained that annealing resulted in interdiffusion, lateral diffusion along the surface, alloying and bowling up of the metal layers. The current-voltage characteristics of as-deposited Al and Ti/Al contacts were linear, while the Au and Ti/Au contacts exhibited rectifying behaviour. Except the Ti/Au contact which became linear, the contacts degraded during heat treatment at 900 °C. The surface of Au and Ti/Au contacts annealed at 900 °C have shown fractal-like structures revealed by scanning electron microscopy. Transmission electron microscopy and XRD investigations of the Ti/Au contact revealed that Au diffused into the n-GaN layer at 900 °C. X-ray diffraction examinations showed, that new Ti₂N, Au₂Ga and Ga₃Ti₂ interface phases formed in Ti/Au contact at 900 °C, new Ti₂N phase formed in Ti/Al contact at 700 and 900 °C, as well as new AlN interface phase developed in Ti/Al contact at 900 °C.