Flowerlike MoS2 nanoparticles: solvothermal synthesis and characterization

Flowerlike MoS₂ nanoparticles have been successfully synthesized through a mild solvothermal reaction with the aid of ethanol aqueous solution, and the samples have been characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and low temperature nitrogen adsorption-desorption. The nanometer flower MoS₂ is composed of ultrathin nanosheets of approximately 10 nanometers in thickness. The influence of the reaction temperature and the reaction time on the formation of the flowerlike MoS₂ nanoparticles were evaluated. The optimal experimental conditions were determined as follows: the molar ratio of 1:1 between ethanol and water, the reaction temperature of 190°C, and the reaction time of 24 h. __________ Translated from Chinese Journal of Inorganic Chemistry, 2008, 24(6) (in Chinese)     

Synthesis and characterization of one-dimensional CdSe by a novel reverse micelle assisted hydrothermal method

Nanocrystalline cadmium selenide (CdSe) is a low bandgap material (E(g)=1.75 eV, at room temperature) with potential applications in photoelectronic devices. Its electronic properties are dependent on the dimensions of the crystals. In this study, one-dimensional wurtzite CdSe nanoparticles with a diameter of 43+/-6 nm and an aspect ratio of 3.7+/-0.6 were synthesized through a novel reverse micelle assisted hydrothermal method at a relatively low temperature. This method combines the advantages of the hydrothermal method's ability to achieve good crystallinity with the well-controlled growth offered by the reverse micelle method. The morphology of the nanoparticles can be controlled by the amount of sodium bis(2-ethylhexyl) sulfosuccinate (AOT), the amount of hydrazine hydrate and the reaction temperature. It is proposed that AOT controls the length while hydrazine hydrate controls the diameter of the growing nanocrystals. The photoluminescence (PL) of individual nanorods and the longitudinal-optical phonon properties were mapped using confocal microscopy. Raman spectroscopy showed a blue-shift of both the LO and 2LO phonon peaks which may be due to a lattice contraction of the CdSe nanorods. A nucleation and growth mechanism for these nanoparticles is also proposed based on time-dependent studies.     

GaS and GaSe nanowalls and their transformation to Ga2O3 and GaN nanowalls

Two-dimensional nanowalls of GaS and GaSe are obtained by thermal exfoliation around 900 degrees C, and transformed to Ga2O3 and GaN nanowalls upon reaction with air and ammonia respectively at 800 degrees C, while maintaining dimensional integrity.     

Combustion synthesis and characterization of nanocrystalline WO3

The energy payback time associated with the semiconductor active material is an important parameter in a photovoltaic solar cell device. Thus lowering the energy requirements for the semiconductor synthesis step or making it more energy-efficient is critical toward making the overall device economics more competitive relative to other nonpolluting energy options. In this communication, combustion synthesis is demonstrated to be a versatile and energy-efficient method for preparing inorganic oxide semiconductors such as tungsten trioxide (WO3) for photovoltaic or photocatalytic solar energy conversion. The energy efficiency of combustion synthesis accrues from the fact that high process temperatures are self-sustained by the exothermicity of the combustion process, and the only external thermal energy input needed is for dehydration of the fuel/oxidizer precursor mixture and bringing it to ignition. Importantly, we show that, in this approach, it is also possible to tune the optical characteristics of the oxide semiconductor (i.e., shift its response toward the visible range of the electromagnetic spectrum) in situ by doping the host semiconductor during the formative stage itself. As a bonus, the resultant material shows enhanced surface properties such as markedly improved organic dye uptake relative to benchmark samples obtained from commercial sources. Finally, this synthesis approach requires only very simple equipment, a feature that it shares with other "mild" inorganic semiconductor synthesis routes such as sol-gel chemistry, chemical bath deposition, and electrodeposition. The present study constitutes the first use of combustion synthesis for preparing WO3 powder comprising nanosized particles.     

Nanocrystalline hydroxyapatite: micelle templated synthesis and characterization

Nanocrystalline calcium phosphate based inorganic, hydroxyapatite (HAp), was synthesized using the dodecyl phosphate micelle system. The surfactant concentration during synthesis played an important role on the final properties of these HAp nanoparticles. A surfactant concentration close to the critical micelle concentration produced the nanoparticles with the highest surface area, with porous less agglomerated morphology. Compacts made of these nanopowders showed between 97 and 98% theoretical density of phase-pure HAp and promoted cell-material interaction when cytotoxicity tests were performed.     

Structural, energetic, electronic, bonding, and vibrational properties of Ga3O, Ga3O2, Ga3O3, Ga2O3, and GaO3 clusters

The results of density functional theory based calculations on Ga3O, Ga3O2, Ga3O3, Ga2O3, and GaO3 clusters are reported here. A preference for planar arrangement of the constituent atoms maximizing the ionic interactions is found in the ground state of the clusters considered. The sequential oxidation of the metal-excess clusters increases the binding energy, but the sequential removal of a metal atom from the oxygen-excess clusters decreases the binding energy. The increase in the oxygen to metal ratio in these clusters is accompanied by increase in both electron affinity and ionization potential. The ionization induced structural distortions in the neutral clusters are relatively small, except those for Ga3O2. In anionic (cationic) clusters, the added (ionized) electron is shared by the Ga atoms, except in the case of GaO3. The vibrational frequencies and charge density analysis reveal the importance of the ionic Ga-O bond in stabilizing the gallium oxide clusters considered in this study.     

A template-free solvothermal synthesis and photoluminescence properties of multicolor Gd2O2S:xTb3+, yEu3+ hollow spheres

The multicolor Gd₂O₂S:xTb³⁺, yEu³⁺ hollow spheres were successfully synthesized via a template-free solvothermal route without the use of surfactant from commercially available Ln (NO₃)₃·6H₂O (Ln = Gd, Tb and Eu), absolute ethanol, ethanediamine and sublimed sulfur as the starting materials. The phase, structure, particle morphology and photoluminescence (PL) properties of the as-obtained products were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and photoluminescence spectra. The influence of synthetic time on phase, structure and morphology was systematically investigated and discussed. The possible formation mechanism depending on synthetic time t for the Gd₂O₂S phase has been presented. These results demonstrate that the Gd₂O₂S hollow spheres could be obtained under optimal condition, namely solvothermal temperature T = 220 °C and synthetic time t = 16 h. The as-obtained Gd₂O₂S sample possesses hollow sphere structure, which has a typical size of about 2.5 μm in diameter and about 0.5 μm in shell thickness. PL spectroscopy reveals that the strongest emission peak for the Gd₂O₂S:xTb³⁺ and the Gd₂O₂S:yEu³⁺ samples is located at 545 nm and 628 nm, corresponding to ⁵D₄→⁷F₅ transitions of Tb³⁺ ions and ⁵D₀→⁷F₂ transitions of Eu³⁺ ions, respectively. The quenching concentration of Tb³⁺ ions and Eu³⁺ ions is 7%. In the case of Tb³⁺ and Eu³⁺ co-doped samples, when the concentration of Tb³⁺ or Eu³⁺ ions is 7%, the optimum concentration of Eu³⁺ or Tb³⁺ ions is determined to be 1%. Under 254 nm ultraviolet (UV) light excitation, the Gd₂O₂S:7%Tb³⁺, the Gd₂O₂S:7%Tb³⁺,1%Eu³⁺ and the Gd₂O₂S:7%Eu³⁺ samples give green, yellow and red light emissions, respectively. And the corresponding CIE coordinates vary from (0.3513, 0.5615), (0.4120, 0.4588) to (0.5868, 0.3023), which is also well consistent with their luminous photographs.     

One-pot synthesis of reverse type-I In2O3@In2S3 core-shell nanoparticles

A novel method to one-pot-synthesize high-quality In(2)O(3)@In(2)S(3) core-shell nanoparticles, consisting of a step of reducing In(2)O(3) core surface into a layer of active indium metal in high-temperature organic solution and a step of converting this layer to In(2)S(3) using CS(2), has been developed.     

Electrochemical synthesis and characterization of transparent nanocrystalline Cu2O films and their conversion to CuO films

Transparent nanocrystalline Cu2O films (Eg = 2.6 eV) were electrodeposited from a dimethyl sulfoxide medium; these films exhibit interesting optical and photoelectrochemical properties, and can be converted to transparent CuO films.     

One-pot solvothermal synthesis of FePt/Fe3O4 core-shell nanoparticles

Via a facile, one-pot solvothermal synthesis, highly uniform FePt/Fe3O4 core-shell nanoparticles are successfully developed, which further demonstrates their superiority in the MR imaging of living cells.     

Eu3+:Y2O3 microspheres and microcubes: a supercritical synthesis and characterization

A new approach that uses mixed supercritical solvents of water/1-propanol and water/methanol (400 °C, 40 MPa) to prepare morphology-controlled precursor materials in a very short reaction time, such as 10 min, followed by calcinations has been developed to form Eu(3+):Y(2)O(3) microspheres of 2-3 μm in diameter or microcubes of 2-3 μm in side length, respectively. Eu(3+):Y(2)O(3) microspheres and microcubes exhibited strong red emission at 610 nm corresponding to (5)D(0) → (7)F(2) transition. The highest photoluminescence emission was obtained for the microspheres after calcination at 1000 °C for 1 h in air.     

Self-assembly and hierarchical organization of Ga2O3/In2O3 nanostructures

We report on the realization of novel 3-D hierarchical heterostructures with 6-and 4-fold symmetries by a transport and condensation technique. It was found that the major core nanowires or nanobelts are single-crystalline In2O3, and the secondary nanorods are single-crystalline monoclinic beta-Ga2O3 and grow either perpendicular on or slanted to all the facets of the core In2O3 nanobelts. Depending on the diameter of the core In2O3 nanostructures, the secondary Ga2O3 nanorods grow either as a single row or multiple rows. The one-step growth of the unique Ga2O3/In2O3 heteronanostructures is a spontaneous and self-organized process. The simultaneous control of nanocrystal size and shape together with the possibility of growing heterostructures on certain nanocrystal facets opens up novel routes to the synthesis of more sophisticated heterostructures as building blocks for opto- and nanoelectronics.     

Size-controlled synthesis and characterization of quantum-size SnO2 nanocrystallites by a solvothermal route

By using ethylenediamine as both an alkali and ligand, quantum size SnO₂ nanocrystallites were synthesized with a solvothermal route. The transmission electron micrographs (TEM) were employed to characterize the morphologies of the products. The crystal sizes of the as-synthesized SnO₂ were ranged form 2.5 to 3.6 nm. The crystal structure and optical properties of the products were investigated by X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, optical absorption spectra, photoluminescence and Raman spectra. Anisotropic growth of the SnO₂ nanocrystallites was observed by altering the solvent from water to ethanol. The SnO₂ nanocrystal showed apparent quantum confinement effects. Finally, the mechanism for the formation of quantum size SnO₂ was also discussed.     

Low temperature synthesis of nanocrystalline MnIn2O4 spinel

Manganese indate, MnIn(2)O(4), with magnetic Mn(2+) ions on A-sites was synthesized by coprecipitation method followed by the calcination of the resulting precursor in air at 500 °C.     

Novel gallium phosphate framework encapsulating trinuclear Mn3(H2O)6O8 cluster: hydrothermal synthesis and characterization of Mn3(H2O)6Ga4(PO4)6

A new manganese gallium phosphate, Mn3(H2O)6Ga4(PO4)6, has been synthesized under hydrothermal conditions at 150 degrees C and characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis, magnetic susceptibility, and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy. It crystallized in the monoclinic space group, P2(1)/n, with a = 8.9468(4) A, b = 10.148(5) A, c = 13.5540(7) A, beta = 108.249(1) degrees, and Z = 2. The compound is unusual in that it is not only the first nonoranically templated MnGaPO phase but also the first instance where edge-shared trinuclear manganese-oxygen clusters are encapsulated in a metal phosphate lattice. The trimer involves a central Mn(H2O)4O2 octahedron, which links to two Mn (H2O)2O4 octahedra at trans edges. The Mn3(H2O)6O8 clusters reside in tunnels built from GaO5 trigonal bipyramids and PO4 tetrahedra. Our magnetic study revealed that superexchange interactions occurred between the neighboring MnII centers. A good fit of the magnetic susceptibility data for the isolated trimers was obtained by using a derived expression based on Van Vleck's equation. Unlike all existing linear trinuclear MnII complexes, the chi MT product in the range 8-4 K remains at a constant value corresponding to one spin S = 5/2 per three MnII centers. The Curie behavior at such low temperatures has been confirmed by EPR data. According to the thermogravimetric analysis/differential thermal analysis (TGA/DTA) results, the title compound is thermally stable up to ca. 200 degrees C.