Sensitive electrochemiluminescence resonance energy transfer(ECL-RET) between Ru(bpy)_3~(2+) and Au nanorod for hydrogen peroxide detection

Here,we developed a novel electrochemiluminescence resonance energy transfer(ECL-RET) approach between Ru(bpy)_3~(2+) and Au nanorods(NRs) for sensitive determination of H_2O_2.Au NRs were synthesized through silver ion-assisted seed-mediated method which exhibited an obvious absorption peak at about 627 nm.They were modified at glassy carbon electrode(GCE) surface which showed a significant ECL quenching efficiency about 56.5%due to the ECL-RET process.This Au NRs modified electrode was then utilized to measure the concentration of H_2O_2 on the basis of the significant quenching effect of H_2O_2 on Ru(bpy)_3~(2+) ECL.Results demonstrated that the decrement of ECL intensity at Au NRs modified electrode had ~ 6.6-fold enhancement as compared with that at bare electrode.     

Synthesis and alignment of silver nanorods and nanowires and the formation of Pt, Pd, and core/shell structures by galvanic exchange directly on surfaces

Here we describe the synthesis of Ag nanorods (NRs) (aspect ratio <20) and nanowires (NWs) (aspect ratio > or =20) directly on surfaces by seed-mediated growth. The procedure involves attaching gold seed nanoparticles (Au NPs) to 3-mercaptopropyltrimethoxysilane (MPTMS)-functionalized silicon or glass surfaces and growing them into NRs/NWs by placing the substrates into a solution containing cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), silver nitrate, and ascorbic acid with the pH ranging from 7 to 12. Under our conditions, Ag NRs/NWs grow optimally at pH 10.6 with a 3% yield, where spherical, triangular, and hexagonal nanostructures represent the other byproducts. The length of Ag NRs/NWs ranges from 50 nm to more than 10 microm, the aspect ratio (AR) ranges from 1.4 to >300, and the average diameter is approximately 35 nm. Approximately 40% of the 1D structures are NRs, and 60% are NWs as defined by their ARs. We also report the alignment of Ag NRs/NWs directly on surfaces by growing the structures on amine-functionalized Si(100) surfaces after an amidation reaction with acetic acid and a method to improve the percentage of Ag NRs/NWs on the surface by removing structures of other shapes with adhesive tape. Surface-grown Ag NRs/NWs also react with salts of palladium, platinum, and gold via galvanic exchange reactions to form high-surface-area 1D structures of the corresponding metal. The combination of the seed-mediated growth of Ag on Au NRs followed by the galvanic exchange of Ag with Pd leads to interesting core/shell NRs grown directly on surfaces. We used scanning electron microscopy, UV-vis spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy to characterize the surface-grown nanostructures.     

Directly monitoring the growth of gold nanoparticle seeds into gold nanorods

This paper describes the use of atomic force microscopy to directly image surface-attached 3-5 nm diameter gold nanoparticle seeds before and after seed-mediated growth into gold nanorods (Au NRs) and other shapes (spheres, triangles, and hexagons). Results show that Au NRs form from seeds growing in either one or two directions. A direct correlation exists between seed diameter and NR diameter; small diameter seeds form small diameter NRs. However, correlation between seed diameter and nanostructure shape or NR length is less evident. We describe our results in terms of growth mechanisms proposed in the literature and discuss possible reasons for the large size dispersity observed for surface-grown Au NRs. A better understanding of Au NR and other metal and semiconductor one-dimensional (1D) growth processes is necessary to improve synthesis, tailor their properties, and utilize 1D nanostructures for useful technological applications.     

Synthesis of highly stable silver nanoparticles by photoreduction and their size fractionation by phase transfer method

In this report we demonstrate a green chemical approach for the synthesis of stable silver nanoparticles in aqueous medium using tyrosine as an efficient photoreducing agent. A narrow size distribution of silver nanoparticles can be achieved by this simple photoirradiation method without using any additional stabilizing agents or surfactants. Two different irradiation sources have been explored resulting in a different particle size distribution pattern in each case. Further, we show that starting from a polydisperse tyrosine synthesized silver nanoparticles sample, it is also possible to fractionate them into different size ranges. The size fractionation was achieved by a 2 stage phase transfer method employing different organic solvents. The nanoparticles synthesized were characterized using UV-vis spectroscopy, Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques.     

Directing the growth of highly aligned gold nanorods through a surface chemical amidation reaction

This paper describes the seed-mediated growth of highly aligned gold nanorods (Au NRs) over large areas directly on a Si(100) surface. The Si(100) surface is NH2-functionalized with (aminopropyl)triethoxysilane (APTES) followed by a DCC-catalyzed surface amidation reaction with acetic acid. After exposure to a gold nanoparticle (Au NP) "seed" solution, chemical seed-mediated growth of the surface-bound seeds via reduction of AuCl4- by ascorbic acid in the presence of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide leads to the growth of highly aligned Au NRs on the surface. About 80% of the NRs are aligned in the same direction within a +/-30 degrees range. Au NRs account for 19% of the nanostructures with average aspect ratio (AR) of approximately 20. The alignment direction did not correlate with the atomic arrangement of the Si(100) crystal since it varied over different regions of the sample, rotating by 90 degrees from top to bottom of an approximately 5 mm sample. Si crystallinity may still be important since alignment is not observed on amorphous glass. Surface functionalization is the key since alignment is only observed following the amidation reaction and not on NH2-functionalized, SH-functionalized, or bare Si(100) surfaces. Alignment also occurred for Au NRs grown on Si(100)/APTES reacted with succinic acid and on Ag NRs grown on Si(100)/APTES/acetic acid surfaces. This unique alignment of metal NRs promoted by a surface amidation chemical reaction may find use in nanoelectronics, chemical sensing, and plasmonics applications.     

Thorough tuning of the aspect ratio of gold nanorods using response surface methodology

In the present work a central composite design based on response surface methodology (RSM) is employed for fine tuning of the aspect ratios of seed-mediated synthesized gold nanorods (GNRs). The relations between the affecting parameters, including ratio of l-ascorbic acid to Au³⁺ ions, concentrations of silver nitrate, CTAB, and CTAB-capped gold seeds, were explored using a RSM model. It is observed that the effect of each parameter on the aspect ratio of developing nanorods highly depends on the value of the other parameters. The concentrations of silver ions, ascorbic acid and seeds are found to have a high contribution in controlling the aspect ratios of NRs. The optimized parameters led to a high yield synthesis of gold nanorods with an ideal aspect ratio ranging from 1 (spherical particle) to 4.9. In addition, corresponding tunable surface Plasmon absorption band has been extended to 880 nm. The resulted nanorods were characterized by UV–visible spectrometry and transmission electron microscopy.     

Well-controlled synthesis of Au@Pt nanostructures by gold-nanorod-seeded growth

Pt nanodots were formed on Au nanorods (NRs) by using a simple seed-mediated growth. Their density and distribution on the Au NR can be finely tuned by varying the reaction parameters. At lower Pt/Au ratios, the Pt nanodots mainly appear at endcaps and side edges of the Au rod. At higher Pt/Au ratios, they distribute homogeneously over the whole Au rod. The obtained Pt nanostructure is a single crystal owing to the epitaxial growth of Pt on the Au rod. Due to the unique surface plasmon resonance (SPR) features of the Au NRs, the Au core/Pt shell (Au@Pt) nanostructures also exhibit well-defined and red-shifted longitudinal SPR bands in the visible and near-infrared region. The position and intensity can be regulated by the thickness and amount of the Pt shell. At a thinner Pt thickness, the Au@Pt NRs show higher dielectric sensitivity than the corresponding Au NRs. It thus opens up the potential of Pt nanostructures for SPR-based sensing.     

Synthesis of alkyl sulfonate/alcohol-protected gamma-Fe(2)O(3) nanocrystals with narrow size distributions

Highly crystalline gamma-Fe(2)O(3) nanoparticles with narrow size distributions that are coated with 1-undecanesulfonic acid were synthesized via two distinct approaches using oxidation and site-exchange reactions. However, similar nanocrystals protected with 1-octanol could only be achieved via the site-exchange method, while the oxidation approach led to Fe(2)O(3) nanoparticles of poor crystallinity and size uniformity. Our magnetization measurements confirmed the superparamagnetic nature of our Fe(2)O(3) nanoparticle products and the effects of the coating materials on magnetization properties.     

Solution-phase synthesis of silver nanodiscs in HPMC-matrix and simulation of UV-vis extinction spectra using DDA based method

Present investigation demonstrates a very simple seed-mediated route, using hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose (HPMC) as stabilizing agent, for the synthesis of silver nanodiscs in aqueous solution. Central to the concept of seed-mediated growth of nanoparticles is that small nanoparticle seeds serve as nucleation centres to grow nanoparticles to a desired size and shape. It is found that the additional citrate ions in the growth solution play the pivotal role in controlling the size of silver nanodiscs. Similar to the polymers in the solution, citrate ions could be likewise dynamically adsorbed on the growing silver nanoparticles and promote the two-dimensional (2D) growth of nanoparticles. Morphological, structural, and spectral changes associated with the seed-mediated growth of the nanoparticles in the presence of HPMC are characterized using UV–vis and TEM spectroscopic studies. Metal nanoparticles have received increasing attention for their peculiar capability to control local surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) when interacting with incident light waves. Extensive simulation study of the UV–vis extinction spectra of our synthesized silver nanodiscs has been carried out using discrete dipole approximation (DDA) methodology.     

Cysteine-assisted growth of silver on gold nanorods

Au–Ag core–shell (Au@Ag) nanobars could be synthesized from gold nanorod (NR) seeds with cysteine additives by a two-step process of reaction temperatures. The lateral sides of gold NRs surrounded by surfactant bilayers render cysteine additives binding on both ends of the NRs, and restricted silver deposition to their lateral sides at room temperature. Further, silver deposition can take place at first on the pre-formed silver layers on the lateral sides at higher temperatures and finally resulted in the formation of Au@Ag nanobars in which gold NRs are in the corner positions of the nanobars and their longitudinal axes parallel to the longer sides of the nanobars.     

CePO4纳米线的热稳定性及光学性能

以铈盐和磷酸为前驱体, 经水热合成获得了高长径比的具有六方晶型和单斜晶型独居石结构的CePO4纳米线, 采用XRD、HRTEM、SEM和荧光光度计对其晶相组成、形貌及发光性能进行了表征. 结果表明, 六方晶型CePO4纳米线直径约为40 nm, 长度约为3 μm; 单斜晶型独居石结构CePO4纳米线直径约为50 nm, 长度可达10 μm, 产物均为高纯且结晶良好的CePO4晶体. 可通过控制水热反应时间达到控制CePO4纳米线晶型的目的. 随水热反应时间的延长, 磷酸铈纳米线从六方晶型转变为单斜晶型(独居石结构). 随煅烧温度的升高, 磷酸铈纳米线直径增大, 但经1000 ℃煅烧仍具有一维线性结构, 其热稳定性高. 磷酸铈纳米线在紫外光激发下具有可见光区蓝紫发射区, 但随煅烧温度的升高, 磷酸铈纳米线的发光强度明显降低.     

银纳米颗粒的制备及表征

用鞣酸还原法制得了PVP保护的Ag纳米颗粒,并通过TEM、XRD、TG、DTA及FT IR对其结构进行了表征.结果表明在所选择的实验条件下制备了粒径小、单分散且化学稳定的Ag PVP纳米颗粒,其粒径约10nm,有良好的水分散性.PVP的加入和银氨络离子的形成对制备出小尺寸纳米银起了重要作用.     

金纳米粒子的阳光光化学合成和晶种媒介生长

在柠檬酸盐-HAuCl4溶液体系中, 于高原太阳紫外线辐射下光化学合成了分散良好、尺寸分布窄的胶体金纳米粒子. 研究了溶液的酸度和太阳辐射条件对Au(Ⅲ)离子光化学还原反应速率和形成金纳米粒子尺寸的影响; 采用晶种媒介生长技术, 通过改变Au(0)/Au(Ⅲ)比合成了平均直径为4.9~9.7 nm的球形金粒子. 根据紫外-可见吸收光谱和透射电子显微镜的表征和分析, 讨论了光化学反应中自由基反应、金纳米粒子成核和生长机理.     

CeO2@Au核壳结构纳米粒子的合成与性质研究

采用沉淀法制备了球形CeO2纳米粒子,将其作为核粒子溶液,然后向其中滴加四氯合金酸溶液,在CeO2胶体表面利用柠檬酸钠还原[AuCl4]-离子,得到了CeO2@Au核壳结构纳米粒子。TEM分析表明,CeO2纳米粒子分散效果好,粒径为5 nm;CeO2@Au核壳粒子为球形,无团聚,平均粒径为15 nm。XRD分析表明,CeO2@Au核壳粒子为晶型结构,属于立方晶系,CeO2空间群为O5H-FM3M,Au的空间群为Fm-3m。UV-vis分析发现,CeO2@Au核壳粒子在300和520 nm处呈现出两个比较强的吸收峰,分别对应于CeO2胶体溶液的吸收峰和金粒子的表面等离子共振吸收峰。EDS分析了核壳结构CeO2@Au纳米粒子中存在Ce,O和Au 3种元素。XPS分析表明,Ce3d3/2和Au4f电子结合能与标准结合能相比发生了变化,说明CeO2与Au之间存在着相互作用。     

One-pot synthesis of Ag-Au bimetallic nanoparticles with Au shell and their high catalytic activity for aerobic glucose oxidation

PVP-protected Ag(core)/Au(shell) bimetallic nanoparticles of enough small size, i.e., 1.4nm in diameter were synthesized in one-vessel using simultaneous reduction of the corresponding ions with rapid injection of NaBH(4), and characterized by HR-TEM. The Ag(core)/Au(shell) bimetallic nanoparticles show a high and durable catalytic activity for the aerobic glucose oxidation, and the catalyst can be stably kept for more than 2months under ambient conditions. The highest activity (16,890mol-glucoseh(-1)mol-metal(-1)) was observed for the bimetallic nanoparticles with Ag/Au atomic ratio of 2/8, the TOF value of which is several times higher than that of Au nanoparticles with nearly the same particle size. The higher catalytic activity of the prepared bimetallic nanoparticles than the usual Au nanoparticles can be ascribed to: (1) the small average diameter, usually less than 2.0nm, and (2) the electronic charge transfer effect from adjacent Ag atoms and protecting PVP to Au active sites. In contrast, the Ag-Au alloy nanoparticles, synthesized by dropwise addition of NaBH(4) into the starting solution and having the large mean particle size, showed a low catalytic activity.     

Synthesis and manipulation of high aspect ratio gold nanorods grown directly on surfaces

Here we describe the synthesis of Au nanorods directly on glass surfaces using seed-mediated deposition of Au from AuCl4- onto surface-attached 3-5 nm diameter Au nanoparticles (AuNPs) in the presence of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB). The average length (200 nm to 1.2 microm) and aspect ratio (6-22) of the nanorods increases with increasing AuCl4- concentration. Short, low aspect ratio Au nanorods are manipulated with an atomic force microscopy (AFM) tip, while longer, high aspect ratio nanorods are bent and broken with the AFM tip.     

内部具有可移动金核的中空银纳米颗粒的制备、表征及其表面增强拉曼效应

采用振荡法和种子生长技术制备出核壳结构的Au@SiO2纳米颗粒及夹层结构的Au@SiO2@Ag纳米颗粒, 用HF将Au@SiO2@Ag NPs夹层的SiO2溶解, 得到内部带有粒径为30 nm的可移动金核、壳层厚度约为30 nm的中空银纳米颗粒(Au@air@Ag NPs). 用扫描电子显微镜和透射电子显微镜对所得到的纳米微球的形貌进行了表征, 并以罗丹明B为探针分子研究了Au@air@Ag 纳米颗粒的表面增强拉曼(SERS)效应, 发现Au@air@Ag 纳米颗粒是一种可应用于SERS的理想材料.     

Thermal behavior of carbon nanotubes decorated with gold nanoparticles

Three different forms of carbon, i.e., multi-walled carbon nanotubes (CNTs), single-walled CNTs, and soot, were decorated with gold nanoparticles by a new method. In this method C₁₀H₈ ⁻ ions transfer electrons to the CNTs or soot. These electrons on the carbon surface can then reduce Au³⁺ species to form supported Au nanoparticles with a narrow particle size distribution. Thermogravimetric/differential thermal analyses (TG/DTA), XRD, Raman, and TEM show that naphthalene molecules remain trapped inside the Au nanoparticles and can only be removed by treatment at ca. 300 °C. Remarkable effect of the Au nanoparticles on the oxidation of carbon by O₂ is also observed by TG/DTA, i.e., on-set oxidation temperature and activation energy (E _a). It is shown that as the Au particle size decreases from 25 to 2 nm a linear decrease of the oxidation temperature is observed. Au particles larger than 25 nm do not produce any significant effect on carbon oxidation. These results are discussed in terms of spillover catalytic effect where Au nanoparticles activate O₂ molecules to produce active oxygen species which oxidize the different carbon supports.     

Synthesis and photocatalytic activity for water-splitting reaction of nanocrystalline mesoporous titania prepared by hydrothermal method

Nanocrystalline mesoporous TiO₂ was synthesized by hydrothermal method using titanium butoxide as starting material. XRD, SEM, and TEM analyses revealed that the synthesized TiO₂ had anatase structure with crystalline size of about 8 nm. Moreover, the synthesized titania possessed a narrow pore size distribution with average pore diameter and high specific surface area of 215 m²/g. The photocatalytic activity of synthesized TiO₂ was evaluated with photocatalytic H₂ production from water-splitting reaction. The photocatalytic activity of synthesized TiO₂ treated with appropriate calcination temperature was considerably higher than that of commercial TiO₂ (Ishihara ST-01). The utilization of mesoporous TiO₂ photocatalyst with high crystallinity of anatase phase promoted great H₂ production. Furthermore, the reaction temperature significantly influences the water-splitting reaction.     

Facile aqueous synthesis and stabilization of nearly monodispersed gold nanospheres by poly(L‐proline)

A facile strategy is developed to synthesize Au nanoparticles (Au‐NPs) using water‐soluble poly(L ‐proline) (PLP). The synthesized NPs were characterized by TEM, FTIR and NMR spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, and circular dichroism. It was found that PLP has a “dual” role as an efficient reductant of Au(III) and simultaneously as a stabilizing agent of Au‐NPs. The influence of PLP molecular weight, temperature, initial Au(III) concentration, and Au(III)/PLP molar ratio on the size and dispersity of Au‐NPs is examined. It was found that the unique extended secondary structure of PLP II resulted in the facile formation of highly crystalline Au‐NPs in water at a very low Au(III)/PLP molar ratio. These Au‐NPs have the smallest dimensions and size distributions among NPs synthesized so far by polymeric materials in aqueous media, and exhibit enduring colloidal stability. Therefore, by utilizing biocompatible and benign materials in water, we managed to obtain Au‐NPs, so as the final product is ready‐to‐use for biomedical applications. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2013