SEM and HRTEM analysis of ZnS nanoflakes produced by?a?simple route

In this work, we report the synthesis of ZnS nanostructures by a simple and eco-friendly method that makes possible producing nanoflakes at room temperature. Scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy methods (mainly bright-field, high resolution and high angle annular dark-field) were used to identify and study the obtained nanostructures. The structure of these nanoflakes consists of nanosized crystalline particles around 1.5 to 3 nm. Domains with different contrast of nanometer-size diameters are formed in the self-assembled nanoflakes as a result of a noncompact arrangement of nanocrystallites during agglomeration and differences in the presence of the organic passivation agent. Agglomeration can be attributed to the amount of crystallites generated at the beginning of the reaction or to an anisotropic interaction between phosphate ions and the surfaces of ZnS clusters, and consequently a bottom-up synthesis is considered, which opens a simple route for the production of nanomaterials with the inclusion of extra elements by a simple way.     

Towards a monolithic optical cavity for atom detection and manipulation

We study a Fabry-Perot cavity formed from a ridge waveguide on a AlGaAs substrate. We experimentally determined the propagation losses in the waveguide at 780 nm, the wavelength of Rb atoms. We have also made a numerical and analytical estimate of the losses induced by the presence of the gap which would allow the interaction of cold atoms with the cavity field. We found that the intrinsic finesse of the gapped cavity can be on the order of F∼30, which, when one takes into account the losses due to mirror transmission, corresponds to a cooperativity parameter for our system C∼1.     

Preparation and medical application of magnetic beads conjugated with bioactive molecules

Ferrite nanobeads were synthesized from an aqueous solution utilizing Fe²⁺ to Fe³⁺ oxidation for use as magnetic carriers in bioscreening, bio-molecular recognition and anti-cancer diagnosis and therapy. The beads had a crystal structure that was intermediate between Fe₃O₄ and γ-Fe₂O₃. Functional biomolecules were strongly conjugated onto the surfaces of the ferrite beads via COOH and SH groups. The addition of ferrite seed crystals (3-8 nm in size) together with a disaccharide enabled the synthesis of monodisperse, spherical ferrite beads with average diameters (d¯) between 50 and 150 nm and relative deviation Δd/d¯=9-16%. Hollow ferrite nano-spheres (d¯=150-450 nm, Δd/d¯≈10%) were prepared using silica spheres as templates, which were dissolved in NaOH solution. Ferrite beads 40 nm in size were encapsulated in polymer spheres of styrene and polymerized glycidyl methacrylate (poly-GMA), 184±9 nm in diameter. They were used for high throughput bioscreening system for affinity purification of target proteins which make specific bindings to anti-cancer drugs, porphyrins, environment hormones, etc.     

Optical and ESR studies on Fe doped ZnS nanocrystals

Zn_1 − xFe_xS (x=0.0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.4 and 0.6) nanocrystals have been obtained by chemical co-precipitation from homogeneous solutions of zinc and iron salt compounds, with S²⁻ as precipitating anion formed by decomposition of thiophenol. The TEM micrographs show a spherical shape for ZnS nanocrystals and their average size is around 7 nm. The optical absorption spectra indicate a blue shift of the absorption edge with increasing Fe-content. The luminescence of nanoparticles excite at about 370 nm with an emission peak at around 490 nm. At room temperature, ESR signal characteristic of Fe³⁺ was observed in samples of all concentrations.     

Excitation power controlled luminescence switching in Yb-Tm co-doped hexagonal NaYF4 nanorods

Intense infrared-to-visible up-conversion (UC) emissions were obtained in hexagonal Yb³⁺-Tm³⁺ co-doped NaYF₄ nanorods under excitation at 980 nm. Especially, luminescent switching between different UC emission wavelengths at 800, 480 and 450 nm were observed by adjusting excitation powers. Based on power-dependent spectral analyses, it was found that the cooperative energy transfer between Yb³⁺-Yb³⁺ pairs and Tm³⁺ ions play a key role on the luminescent switching besides the saturation effect of Yb³⁺²F_5/2 and Tm³⁺¹G₄ excited states. Our results indicate that hexagonal NaYF₄ nanostructures have potential applications in miniaturized solid-state laser, optical processing sensors and fluorescent biolabels.     

Royal crown-shaped electride Li3-N3-Be containing two superatoms: new knowledge on aromaticity

The structure and aromaticity of a royal crown-shaped molecule Li(3)-N(3)-Be are studied at the CCSD(T)/aug-cc-pVDZ level. This molecule is a charge-separated system and can be denoted as Li(3) (2+)N(3) (3-)Be(+). It is found that the Li(3) (2+) ring exhibits aromaticity mainly because the Li(3) (2+) ring can share the pi-electron with the N(3) (-3) ring. The 4n+2 electron counter rule can be satisfied for the Li(3) (2+) subunit if the shared pi valence electron of N(3) (3-) subunit is also taken into account. This new knowledge on aromaticity of a ring from the interactions between subunits is revealed first time in this paper. Li(3)-N(3)-Be can be also regarded as a molecule containing two superatoms (Li(3) and N(3)), which may be named as a "superomolecule." Li(3)-N(3)-Be is a new metal-nonmetal-metal type sandwich complex. The N(3) (3-) trianion in the middle repulses the electron clouds of the two metal subunits (mainly to the Li(3) superatom) to generate an excess electron, and thus Li(3)-N(3)-Be is also an electride. This phenomenon of the repulsion results in: (a) the HOMO energy level increased, (b) the electron cloud in HOMO distended, (c) the area of the negative NICS value extended, and (d) the VIE value lowered. So the superomolecule Li(3)-N(3)-Be is not only a new metal-nonmetal-metal type sandwich complex but also a new type electride, which comes from the interaction between the alkali superatom (Li(3)) and the nonmetal superatom (N(3)).     

Geometries, stabilities, and electronic properties of Be-doped gold clusters: a density functional theory study

We have systematically investigated the geometrical structures, relative stabilities and electronic properties of small bimetallic AunBe (n = 1, 2, . . . , 8) clusters using a density functional method at BP86 level. The optimized geometries reveal that the impurity beryllium atom dramatically affects the structures of the Aun clusters. The averaged binding energies, fragmentation energies, second-order difference of energies, the highest occupied-lowest unoccupied molecular orbital energy gaps and chemical hardness are investigated. All of them exhibit a pronounced odd-even alternation, manifesting that the clusters with even number of gold atoms possess relatively higher stabilities. Especially, the linear Au2Be cluster is magic cluster with the most stable chemical stability. According to the natural population analysis, it is found that charge-transferring direction between Au atom and Be atom changes at the size of n = 4.     

Preparation of Sb2S3 nanomaterials with different morphologies via a refluxing approach

Single-crystalline antimony trisulfide (Sb₂S₃) nanomaterials with flower-like and rod-like morphologies were successfully synthesized under refluxing conditions by the reaction of antimony trichloride (SbCl₃) and thiourea with PEG400 and OP-10 as the surfactants. X-ray diffraction (XRD) indicates that the obtained sample is orthorhombic-phase Sb₂S₃ with calculated lattice parameters a=1.124 nm, b=1.134 nm and c=0.382 nm. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images show that the flower-like Sb₂S₃ is 9–10 μm in size, which is composed of thin leaves with thickness of 0.05–0.2 μm, width of 0.8–2.2 μm and length of 2.5–3 μm, and the rod-like Sb₂S₃ is 45–360 nm in diameter and 0.7–4 μm in length, respectively. UV–Vis analysis indicates that the band gap of Sb₂S₃ nanorods is 1.52 eV, suitable for photovoltaic conversion. A possible mechanism of formation was proposed. The effects of reaction time and surfactants on the growth of nanomaterials with different morphologies were also investigated.     

A facile route to prepare boron nitride hollow particles at 450 °C

Hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) particles including hollow spheres (with a proportion of ~30–40%) and nanotubes (10%) have been synthesized by using sodium fluoroborate and sodium azide at 450 °C for 20 h. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) studies show that the as-obtained BN hollow particles are crystalline. The total specific surface area of the product calculated from Brunauer–Emmentt–Teller (BET) absorption measurement is 89.79 m²/g, indicating that it may be utilized as a promising candidate for hydrogen storage container or catalyst. Thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) result reveals its excellent thermal stability below 800 °C. Its possible growth mechanism and the effects of reaction parameters were also briefly discussed.