Robust synthesis of mono-dispersed spherical silica nanoparticle from rice husk for high definition latent fingermark development

Silica is one of the most functional metalloid oxides with a widespread application as semiconductor, fillers, silicone and ceramic primarily due to its structural versatility. In this work, a robust step-wise thermochemical treatment was successfully formulated for the controlled fabrication of high-purity mono-dispersed spherical silica nanoparticle from rice husk. The silica nanoparticle with the desired morphology was formed in two stages; thermal-assisted seed particle formation followed by particle growth through acidification of the solvent modified sodium silicate solution. The obtained powder was characterised, and the effectiveness of the powder for latent fingermark development across varied donors and surfaces was tested at the introductory level. The formed spherical particles were in the range of 200 to 400 nm, as confirmed by FESEM and HRTEM analysis. Minimising the degree of silica nanoparticle agglomeration notably affected their selectivity to fingermark residue. There was a striking improvement in the selectivity of the silica nanoparticle to fingermark residue. The improvement was attributed to the strong interaction between the silica nanoparticle and the lipid components in the fingermark residue, as compared to the commercial white powder that works solely based on mechanical adherence. Additionally, the size and morphology of the fabricated silica nanoparticle were optimised to enhance the clarity of the developed fingermark. Findings of this study could improve quality of fingermarks obtained in a crime scene due to considerably lower background interference without compromising the effectiveness of fingermark development.     

特殊的电像法研究多个导体球的相互作用

推广了一般导体和点电荷电像,用迭代电像法计算了两个导体球之间的作用力与电容,并做了推广以及精确性分析.进一步给出了多个导体球的一般计算方式.作为多导体球问题的例子给出了第三个无静电荷的导体球对两导体球体系的影响.给出了导体作用数值计箅的具体方式,并且为导体相互作用实质提供了清晰的物理图像.     

Influence of adhesion of silica and ceria abrasive nanoparticles on Chemical-Mechanical Planarization of silica surfaces

We report on a direct measurement of adhesion between abrasive nanoparticles of irregular shape, which are used in semiconductor industry in the process of Chemical-Mechanical Planarization (CMP), and silica surface. The adhesion of ceria and silica nanoparticles to silica surface is measured in multiple chemistries of different CMP slurries using a specially developed atomic force microscopy (AFM) method. Using this method, we study the influence of adhesion on the main parameters of CMP, removal rate and defectivity, scratches. While being plausible to expect correlation between these parameters and adhesion, it has not been systematically studied as of yet. We observed direct correlation between adhesion and removal rate. Comparing the measured defectivity and adhesion, we observe the presence of some correlation between these parameters. We conclude that both adhesion and shape of abrasive particles influence defectivity, micro-scratches. Direct measurements of the adhesion between abrasive nano-particles and surface can be used in the screening of new slurries as well as various modeling related to wearing of the surfaces.     

Superhydrophobicity of silica nanoparticles modified with polystyrene

Polystyrene/silica nanoparticles were prepared by radical polymerization of silica nanoparticles possessing vinyl groups and styrene with benzoyl peroxide. The resulting vinyl silica nanoparticles, polystyrene/silica nanoparticles were characterized by means of Fourier transformation infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy and UV-vis absorption spectroscopy. The results indicated that polystyrene had been successfully grafted onto vinyl silica nanoparticles via covalent bond. The morphological structure of polystyrene/silica nanoparticles film, investigated by scanning electron microscopy, showed a characteristic rough structure. Surface wetting properties of the polystyrene/silica nanoparticles film were evaluated by measuring water contact angle and the sliding angle using a contact angle goniometer, which were measured to be 159° and 2°, respectively. The excellent superhydrophobic property enlarges potential applications of the superhydrophobic surfaces.     

Improved methods for the synthesis and isolation of imidazolium based ionic salts

Solvent-free reactions were used for the synthesis of a series of imidazolium-based ionic salts: 3,3′-[pyridine-2,6-diylbis(methylene)]bis(1-R-1H-imidazol-3-ium)chloride; (R = methyl, ethyl, butyl, isobutyl, hexyl, and benzyl). A simple and effective filtration process was used to isolate all the products in high purity and with yields ?93% within a 24 h period. The highly pure ionic compounds which are precursors to N-heterocyclic carbene ligands used in catalysis were fully characterized as gray-white hygroscopic salts.     

Fabrication of hollow silica microspheres utilizing a hydrothermal approach

Hollow silica microspheres(HSMSs) have been successfully fabricated via a facile hydrothermal route using D-glucose as the sacrificial template and sodium silicate powder as the silica precursor.The resulting silica hollow particles were characterized by scanning electron microscopy(SEM),transmission electron microscopy(TEM),X-ray diffraction(XRD),and infrared spectroscopy(IR).The surface area was determined using the BET method.SEM and TEM images exhibited micro-sized silica hollow particles with a size of ~1.5μm.     

Organically nanoporous silica gel based on carbon paste electrode for potentiometric detection of trace Cr(III)

A new ion-selective electrode (ISE) for the detection of trace chromium(III) was designed by using 2-acetylpyridine and nanoporous silica gel (APNSG)-functionalized carbon paste electrode (CPE). The presence of APNSG acted as not only a paste binder, but also a reactive material. With 7.5 wt% APNSG proportions, the developed electrode exhibited wide dynamic range of 1.0 × 10⁻⁸ to 1.0 × 10⁻³ M toward Cr(III) with a detection limit of 8.0 × 10⁻⁹ M and a Nernstian slope of 19.8 ± 0.2 mV decade⁻¹. The as-prepared electrode displayed rapid response (∼55 s), long-time stability, and high sensitivity. Moreover, the potentiometric responses could be carried out with wide pH range of 1.5-5.0. In addition, the content of Cr(III) in food samples, e.g. coffee and tea leaves, has been assayed by the developed electrode, atomic absorption spectrophotometer (AAS) and atomic emission spectrometer (ICP-AES), respectively, and consistent results were obtained. Importantly, the response mechanism of the proposed electrode was investigated by using AC impedance and UV-vis spectroscopy.     

Effect of filling mixtures of sepiolite and a surface modified fumed silica on the mechanical and swelling behavior of a styrene-butadiene rubber

A styrene-butadiene copolymer is filled with mixtures of pyrogenic silica combined with a silane coupling agent and fibers of organophilic sepiolite. The mechanical properties of the composites reveal that a mixture of double fillers impart to the elastomeric matrix a higher degree of reinforcement than that which would result from a simple addition of the two types of fillers. The swelling ratio of the composite containing the two types of fillers was found to highly decrease with regard to the pure polymer reflecting strong interactions with the matrix. The changes in the state of dispersion by adding the second filler were evaluated by transmission electron microscopy.     

Liquid-phase deposition of silica nanoparticles into a capillary for in-tube solid-phase microextraction coupled with high-performance liquid chromatography

A silica nanoparticle (NP)-deposited capillary fabricated by liquid-phase deposition (LPD) and modified with octadecyl groups was introduced for in-tube solid-phase microextraction coupled to high-performance liquid chromatography with UV detection (in-tube SPME–HPLC). The resultant capillary (60 cm × 50 μm I.D.) was demonstrated to be of higher extraction capacity by comparing with an octadecyl-grafted bare capillary and an octadecyl-grafted silica-coated capillary that was prepared by sol–gel chemistry. Two groups of compounds, endocrine disruptors and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, were used as model analytes to further evaluate extraction capacity of the silica NP-deposited capillary, and its reproducibility and stability was also investigated. The extraction time profiles were monitored for all the chemicals, and their limits of detection were calculated to be in the range of 0.42–0.78 and 0.034–0.19 ng/mL with RSD values of peak area less than 4.6%.     

Silica nanoparticle-templated methacrylic acid monoliths for in-line solid-phase extraction–capillary electrophoresis of basic analytes

Polymeric ion-exchange monoliths typically exhibit low capacities due to the limited surface area on the globules of the monoliths. The ion-exchange binding of protonated weakly basic analytes on deprotonated carboxylate sites on methacrylate polymer monoliths has been increased by templating the monoliths with silica nanoparticles. The templating method is achieved by adding the nanoparticles as a suspension to the polymerisation mixture. After polymerisation, the nanoparticles are removed by washing the monolith with strong base. Monolithic columns prepared using this procedure have exhibited a 33-fold increase in ion-exchange capacity when compared to untemplated monoliths prepared and treated under similar conditions. The templating procedure does not alter the macroporous properties of the polymer monolith, confirmed through scanning electron microscopy and BET surface area analysis, but provides increased capacity predominantly through the re-orientation of more carboxylic acid groups. The resulting increase in ion-exchange capacity has proven to be useful for the preconcentration and separation of neurotransmitters by in-line solid-phase extraction–capillary electrophoresis. The increased capacity of the templated monolith allowed the injection time to be increased 10 times over that of an untemplated monolith, allowing 10 times more sample to be injected with the efficiencies and recoveries remaining unaffected. The enhancement in sensitivity for the test mixture of neurotransmitter (dopamine, norepinephrine and metanephrine) ranged 1500–1900 compared to a normal hydrodynamic injection in capillary electrophoresis. Efficiencies obtained for the neurotransmitters were 100 000–260 000 plates, typical of those obtained in capillary zone electrophoresis. The applicability of the increased capacity silica nano-templated polymer monolith was demonstrated by analysing trace levels of caffeine in biological, food and environmental samples.