纳米光学传感器用于检测汞离子

汞离子是毒性最大的重金属之一,对环境和人体都会造成严重的不良影响,开发能够快速检测环境中汞离子的分析方法引起了越来越多的关注。纳米材料由于其优良的光学性能和良好的稳定性,被广泛用于环境中汞离子的检测。本文主要综述了近年来一些代表性的基于纳米材料的汞离子荧光、比色传感器。根据纳米材料的不同,将这些传感器分为基于金、银、碳和硅基材料,以及量子点、有机纳米颗粒和其他纳米基材料的荧光、比色传感器,并分别从设计原理、识别性能和实际应用等方面对这些传感器进行了描述和讨论。最后对该领域的研究和发展提出了展望。     

Possibilities and Limitations of Different Separation Techniques for the Analysis of the Protein Corona

One of the biggest challenges in the field of nanomedicine is the adsorption of biomolecules on the nanomaterial upon contact with a biological medium. The interactions of the resulting protein corona are essential for their behavior in a biological system. Thus, it is now commonly accepted that understanding the formation and consequently understanding the influence of the protein corona on the biological response is crucial. However, the outcome of the protein corona characterization cannot easily be compared between different studies and techniques, since many different sample preparation procedures exist that are suitable for different materials or methods. Depending on the applied procedure, the nanomaterial–protein system will be altered in a certain way, so that it is necessary to consider the individual influence on the protein corona. Accordingly, the aim of this Minireview is to give an overview of the applied sample preparation methods for the analysis of the protein corona and to evaluate their influence on the outcome of the results especially with regard to the introduced terms “soft” and “hard protein corona”. Special focus will be placed on the comparison of the most commonly used techniques such as centrifugation, magnetic, and chromatographic separation.     

Ion‐Specific Assembly of Strong,Tough, and Stiff Biofibers

Designing engineering materials with high stiffness and high toughness is challenging as stiff materials tend to be brittle. Many biological materials realize this objective through multiscale (i.e., atomic‐ to macroscale) mechanisms that are extremely difficult to replicate in synthetic materials. Inspired from the architecture of such biological structures, we here present flow‐assisted organization and assembly of renewable native cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs), which yields highly anisotropic biofibers characterized by a unique combination of high strength (1010 MPa), high toughness (62 MJ m^?3) and high stiffness (57 GPa). We observed that properties of the fibers are primarily governed by specific ion characteristics such as hydration enthalpy and polarizability. A fundamental facet of this study is thus to elucidate the role of specific anion binding following the Hofmeister series on the mechanical properties of wet fibrillar networks, and link this to the differences in properties of dry nanostructured fibers. This knowledge is useful for rational design of nanomaterials and is critical for validation of specific ion effect theories. The bioinspired assembly demonstrated here is relevant example for designing high‐performance materials with absolute structural control.     

Nonradiative Excited-State Decay via Conical Intersection in Graphene Nanostructures

Chemical groups are known to tune the luminescent efficiencies of graphene-related nanomaterials, but some species, including the epoxide group (−COC−), are suspected to act as emission-quenching sites. Herein, by performing nonadiabatic excited-state dynamics simulations, we reveal a fast (within 300 fs) nonradiative excited-state decay of a graphene epoxide nanostructure from the lowest excited singlet (S₁) state to the ground (S₀) state via a conical intersection (CI), at which the energy difference between the S₁ and S₀ states is approximately zero. This CI is induced after breaking one C−O bond at the −COC− moiety during excited-state structural relaxation. This study ascertains the role of epoxide groups in inducing the nonradiative recombination of the excited electron-hole, providing important insights into the CI-promoted nonradiative de-excitations and the luminescence tuning of relevant materials. In addition, it shows the feasibility of utilizing nonadiabatic excited-state dynamics simulations to investigate the photophysical processes of the excited states of graphene nanomaterials.     

Synthesis and Applications of Functionalized Magnetic Nanomaterials in Enantioseparation

Efficient enantioselective separation is a challenging task due to the identical physical and chemical properties of enantiomers. Functionalized magnetic nanomaterials modified with chiral ligands on their surface possess both magnetic property and chiral recognition ability, and have demonstrated great potential in chiral discrimination. This review summarizes the applications of magnetic nanomaterials modified with various chiral selectors (e.g., β-cyclodextrins, polymers, proteins, amino acids and cellulose) in enantioselective separation. After proper preparation and modification, these functionalized magnetic nanomaterials are effective for enantioseparation. Therefore, enantioseparations based on functionalized magnetic nanomaterials are convenient, economical and effective.     

Experimental study on enhanced heat transfer of nanocomposite phase change materials

Nanocomposite phase change materials (NCPCMs) containing different mass fractions (nanomaterial concentration) and different copper nanoparticle (CN)/multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) mass ratios were prepared and experimentally studied. Latent heat and thermal conductivity of the NCPCMs were studied and calculated by using the T-history method. The results revealed that addition of CN or MWCNT to the phase change material (PCM) resulted in NCPCMs with enhanced thermal conductivity and charge rates, respectively. However, when both nanoparticle materials were added to the PCM simultaneously, the resulting NCPCMs improved their thermal performance below expectations as a result of agglomeration and sedimentation between the two additives. Thus, the NCPCMs containing only CN or MWCNT showed superior thermophysical properties than the pure PCM, while the NCPCM containing both CN and MWCNT did not improve the thermal characteristic of PCM significantly.     

SiNWs:Tb3+的光学稳定性及Si纳米线对其发光特性的影响

荧光纳米材料不但具备纳米材料的优势,同时还具有优异的光学性质,被广泛应用于荧光标记、离子识别、荧光免疫分析、光学成像和医学诊断等方面。因此,荧光纳米材料的制备、结构分析和荧光特性等方面的研究备受人们的关注。为了获得发光强度大、荧光量子效率高和制备过程可控的Si基荧光纳米材料,实验进一步研究了Si纳米线对样品发光特性的影响和样品的光学稳定性。首先,基于固-液-固生长机制,在反应温度为1 100 ℃、N₂气流量为1 500 sccm、生长时间为15～60 min等工艺条件下,分别以“抛光”和“金字塔”织构表面的单晶Si(100)为衬底,生长出不同长度和分布的Si纳米线;以Au或Au-Al合金膜层作为金属催化剂,生长出密度分别约为108和1010 cm-2的Si纳米线;然后,利用L4514自动控温管式加热炉,基于高温固相法,在温度为1 100 ℃、掺杂时间为60 min和N₂气流量为1 000 sccm等工艺条件下,以高纯Tb₄O₇(99.99%)粉末为稀土掺杂剂对不同Si纳米线衬底进行稀土掺杂,制备一系列的荧光纳米材料SiNWs:Tb3+样品;室温下利用Hitachi F-4600型荧光分光光度计,固定激发光波长为243 nm、激发光狭缝为2.5 nm、发射光狭缝为2.5 nm、扫描波长范围为450～650 nm、光电倍增管(photomultiplier lube, PMT)电压为600 V等参数下,测量了不同样品的光致发光特性;最后,实验测试了该荧光纳米材料的光学稳定性,如时间(0～30 d)、温度(300～500 K)、酸碱(pH 1和11)、抗光漂白(0～120 min)等稳定性以及水溶性和分散性。结果显示,在衬底为“金字塔”织构表面上、生长时间为30 min、以Au为金属催化剂等条件下制备的Si纳米线为Tb3+掺杂衬底时,SiNWs:Tb3+的绿光发射强度较大,其发光强峰值位于554 nm,属于能级5D₄→7F₅的跃迁,另外在波长为494,593和628 nm出现了三条发光谱带,它们分别属于能级5D₄→7F₆,5D₄→7F₄和5D₄→7F₃的跃迁。另外,样品展示出了优异的时间、温度、酸碱和抗光漂白等光学稳定性,同时还具有良好的水溶性和分散性。如温度升高到500 K时,光发射强度仅降低了约8.9%左右;抗光漂白能力较强,用波长为365 nm、功率为450 W的紫外光源照射120 min,样品的绿光发射强度无衰减;酸、碱稳定性好,在pH 1的强酸(HCl)溶液中120 min未见衰减,在pH 11的强碱(NaOH)溶液中15 min内衰减较小, 随后发光强度出现了缓慢下降的趋势;当60 min后,样品的发光强度变得极其微弱。分析认为,在SiNWs:Tb3+表面有一层SiO₂包覆层,而NaOH溶液容易和SiO₂发生化学反应,随着时间延长SiO₂层被破坏,故样品发光强度降低;样品溶于水中放置30 d未见沉淀物,发光亮度均匀且分散性较好。在研究了制备温度、气体流量和掺杂时间等工艺条件之后,深入研究了Si纳米线自身变化对Tb3+绿光发射的影响。该材料展示出了良好的光学稳定性、水溶性和分散性,使其作为荧光标记物具有一定的应用价值。     

非贵金属电催化析氧催化剂的最新进展

氢气具有环境友好、含量丰富、高能量密度等特点,是一种可以替代化石能源的绿色环保可再生能源. 电解水是制备氢气最有效途径之一. 但在电解水过程中,动力学过程非常缓慢,过电位较大的阳极析氧半反应严重限制了阴极析氢反应效率. 因此,研究高效、稳定和低成本的催化剂来降低析氧反应的过电位,从而提高析氢反应效率受到了广泛关注. 基于非贵金属催化剂本身特性及其在高浓度OH-条件下具有较高OER催化活性等原因,本文首先简要介绍碱性条件下析氧反应机理及其性能的评价方法,然后重点讨论非贵金属电催化析氧催化剂的最新研究进展. 最后对如何深入研究催化机理、设计高效、双功能及新型非贵金属电催化析氧催化剂进行了展望.     

纳米材料在生物分析应用中存在的若干问题

从三个方面考察与总结了一些常用的纳米材料(如碲化镉量子点,纳米金和碳纳米点)在生物分析应用中存在的问题：(1)纳米材料的毒性. 三种裸露纳米材料的平行比较实验表明,碲化镉量子点能够导致细胞代谢活性下降、细胞发生皱缩、甚至死亡,具有很强的毒性;纳米金在高浓度(30 μg/mL)时可对细胞代谢产生一定的抑制作用;而碳纳米点对细胞几乎不产生影响,具有较好的生物相容性. 三种纳米材料的相对毒性为：碲化镉量子点>>纳米金>碳纳米点. 这种相对毒性还得到了绿豆芽生长抑制实验的支持. (2)纳米材料的非均一性. 这主要表现在以下几个方面：粒径分布的非均一性,表面修饰/性质的非均一性,以及在生物样品(如细胞)中分布的非均一性. (3)纳米材料的环境敏感性或稳定性. 实验表明,碲化镉量子点、纳米金和碳纳米点的光学性质对环境pH的改变均十分敏感,而且纳米金不抗盐,在离子强度较高的盐溶液中不稳定、易聚集. 这些问题的严重性在许多以往的研究中并未引起人们的全面重视. 我们希望通过本研究以及对这些问题的再次探讨,能促使人们在实际应用中对相关纳米材料进行重新的审视和合理的选择. 此外,为克服这些问题,我们在文中提到的一些措施可供参考.     

Progress of nanoscience in China

Fast evolving nanoseienees and nanotechnology in China has made it one of the front countries of nanotechnology development. Ill this review, we summarize some most recent progresses in nanoseienee research and nanotechnology development in China. The topics we selected in this article include llano-fabrication, nanocatalysis, bioinspired nanoteehnology, green printing nanotechnology, nanoplasmonics, nanomedicine, nanomaterials and their applications, energy and environmental nanoteehnology, nano EHS （nanosafety）, etc. Most of them have great potentials in applications or application-related key issues in future.