A novel method to prepare Au nanocage@SiO_2 nanoparticle

Gold （Au） nanocage@SiO2 nanoparticles are prepared by a novel approach. The silver （Ag） nanocube@SiO2 structure is synthetized firstly. Next, the method of etching a SiO2 shell by boiling water is adopted to change the penetration rate of AuCl4- through the SiO2 shell. AuCl4- can penetrate through silica shells of different thickness values to react with the Ag nanocube core by changing the incubation time. The surface plasma resonance （SPR） peak of synthetic Au nanocage@SiO2 can be easily tuned into the near-infrared region. Besides, CdTeS quantum dots （QDs） are successfully connected to the surface of Au nanocage@SiO2, which testifies that the incubation process does not change the property of silica.     

A novel approach to accelerate the reaction between Ti and Al

Pure Ti foils and SiCp/Al composite foils were employed to investigate the parabolic growth kinetics of TiAl₃ at 660 °C. Compared with pure Al foils, the introduction of SiC particles significantly refined TiAl₃ grain size by the solid solution of silicon. Corresponding refinement mechanisms were concluded from the perspective of the nucleation of TiAl₃. Micromechanics analysis shows that the fine TiAl₃ grains own a small viscous resistance, and subsequently an improvement in the reaction rate could be achieved. This meaningful law also applies extensively to Ni/Al and Fe/Al systems.     

Hydrodynamic cavitation: A feasible approach to intensify the emulsion cross-linking process for chitosan nanoparticle synthesis

Chitosan nanoparticles (NPs) exhibit great potential in drug-controlled release systems. A controlled hydrodynamic cavitation (HC) technique was developed to intensify the emulsion crosslinking process for the synthesis of chitosan NPs. Experiments were performed using a circular venturi and under varying operating conditions, i.e., types of oil, addition mode of glutaraldehyde (Glu) solution, inlet pressure (P_in), and rheological properties of chitosan solution. Palm oil was more appropriate for use as the oil phase for the HC-intensified process than the other oil types. The addition mode of water-in-oil (W/O) emulsion containing Glu (with Span 80) was more favorable than the other modes for obtaining a narrow distribution of chitosan NPs. The minimum size of NPs with polydispersity index of 0.342 was 286.5 nm, and the maximum production yield (P_y) could reach 47.26%. A positive correlation was found between the size of NPs and the droplet size of W/O emulsion containing chitosan at increasing P_in. Particle size, size distribution, and the formation of NPs were greatly dependent on the rheological properties of the chitosan solution. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis indicated that the molecular structure of palm oil was unaffected by HC-induced effects. Compared with ultrasonic horn, stirring-based, and conventional drop-by-drop processes, the application of HC to intensify the emulsion crosslinking process allowed the preparation of a finer and a narrower distribution of chitosan NPs in a more energy-efficient manner. The novel route developed in this work is a viable option for chitosan NP synthesis.     

A novel and expeditious method to fabricate superhydrophobic metal carboxylate surface

This article has presented a novel method to fabricate superhydrophobic metal carboxylate surface on substrates like copper, ferrum, etc. This method markedly shortened the fabrication time to less than one second. The superhydrophobic effect is even better that the contact angle (CA) is 170±1° and the sliding angle (SA) <2°. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images showed micro-nano flower-like structures. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) confirmed that the flower-like structures are composed of Cu[CH₃(CH₂)₁₂COO]₂. The ethanol solution containing fatty acid and metal salt plays a key role in this method. This method has tremendous potentials in industrial production of superhydrophobic materials.     

A novel method for the synthesis of substituted 3,4-dihydrocoumarin derivatives via isocyanide-based three-component reaction

A new one-pot procedure for the efficient synthesis of novel 3,4-dihydrocoumarin derivatives using commercially available substituted 2-hydroxybenzaldehydes, Meldrum's acid, and isocyanides by a three-component condensation reaction in dichloromethane at room temperature without using any catalysts and activation was developed.     

Efficient approach to metal/metal oxide interfaces within variable charge model

A modified procedure of calculating the energy of metal/oxide interfaces and surfaces in the frame of the CTIP + EAM model (charge transfer ionic potential + embedded atom method) has been developed. According to the proposed approach, local charges and positions of atoms are determined only in a restricted zone surrounding the interface, while in the remaining region they are fixed. As a result, the number of variables undergoes a significant reduction, which enables carrying out efficient calculations for metal/oxide systems. The modified procedure has been applied to studying the relaxation of the α-Al₂O₃ surface. Using three different forms of the CTIP + EAM model present in literature, it has been shown that the correctness of the obtained results is conditioned by the appropriate relation between the CTIP and EAM components. Finally, the relaxation of the Ni/α-Al₂O₃ interface has been examined.     

Inverse oxide/metal catalysts: A versatile approach for activity tests and mechanistic studies

There is a general desire to improve the configuration of industrial catalysts to take advantage of the intrinsic properties of metal oxides. In recent years, a series of studies has been published examining the growth of oxide nanoparticles on metal substrates. These studies have revealed structures for the supported oxide which are different from those found in bulk phases. In addition, the oxide ? metal interactions can alter the electronic states of the oxide producing new chemical properties. On an inverse oxide/metal catalyst, the reactants can interact with defect sites of the oxide nanoparticles, metal sites, and the metal–oxide interface. In these systems, one can couple the special reactivity of the oxide nanoparticles to the reactivity of the metal to obtain high catalytic activity. Furthermore, an oxide/metal system is also an attractive model for fundamental studies. It can be used to investigate the role of the oxide in a catalytic process, and how the stability of different reaction intermediates depends on the nature of the oxide.     

Organic-ligand-assisted supercritical hydrothermal synthesis of titanium oxide nanocrystals leading to perfectly dispersed titanium oxide nanoparticle in organic phase

Titanium oxide (TiO₂) nanocyrstals which are perfectly dispersed in organic solvents are synthesized by organic-ligand-assisted supercritical hydrothermal synthesis. The addition of hexaldehyde to the supercritical hydrothermal synthesis of TiO₂ leads to the in-situ surface modification, which enables the synthsized TiO₂ nanocrystals to be perfectly dispersed in iso-octane because of its hydrophobic nature. Further, the one-pot synthesis of hybrid materials results in the significant reduction of the particles size, probably due to the capping effect of hexaldehyde to suppress the particles growth.     

A method to fabricate 2D nanoparticle arrays

This article demonstrates an efficient approach to fabricate nanoparticles arranged in a periodic pattern over a large area. A nanoscale gold film coated on a silicon wafer substrate was sectioned into grids by focused ion beam machining. Through a thermal treatment, the film in a confined area transforms into a nanoparticle due to the surface tension effect of the melted gold film. By controlling the film thickness and the size of the confined area, a nanoparticle array with various particle sizes and interparticle spacings can be manipulated. This approach may have great potential applications in sensor chips and nonlinear devices.     

An aqueous solution approach to advanced metal oxide arrays on substrates

Materials chemistry has emerged as one of the most consistent fabrication tools for the rational delivery of high purity functional nanomaterials, engineered from molecular to microscopic scale at low cost and large scale. An overview of the major achievements and latest advances of a recently developed growth concept and low temperature aqueous synthesis method, for the fabrication of purpose-built large bandgap metal oxide semiconductor materials and oriented nano-arrays is presented. Important insight of direct relevance for semiconductor technology, optoelectronics, photovoltaics and photocatalysis for solar hydrogen generation, are revealed by in-depth investigations of the electronic structure of metal oxide nanostructures with new morphology and architecture, carried out at synchrotron radiation facilities. PACS 73.22.-f; 73.61.Ga; 73.61.Le; 73.63.Bd     

A novel three-component reaction designed by the combinatorial method: Heteroarenes, isothiocyanates and isocyanides

The novel three-component reaction of isoquinoline with isothiocyanates and isocyanides leads to a variety of new imidazoisoquinolines. The zwitterionic ground state of these new ring systems is established by means of NMR and X-ray analysis. Use of phthalazine instead of isoquinoline gives access to imidazole annulated phthalazines.     

A high throughput approach to quantify protein adsorption on combinatorial metal/metal oxide surfaces using electron microprobe and spectroscopic ellipsometry

Although metallic biomaterials are widely used, systematic studies of protein adsorption onto such materials are generally lacking. Combinatorial binary films of Al_1−xTi_x and Al_1−xNb_x (0  x  1) and corresponding pure element films were produced on glass substrates using a unique magnetron sputtering technique. Fibrinogen and albumin adsorption amounts were measured by wavelength-dispersive spectroscopy (WDS) and spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE) equipment, both high throughput techniques with automated motion stage capabilities. X-ray diffraction revealed that the binary films have crystalline phases present near the ends of the compositional gradient with an amorphous region throughout the interior of the gradient. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy provided the surface chemistry along the binary films and showed that Al₂O₃ preferentially formed at the surface. Protein adsorption onto these films was found to be closely correlated to the alumina surface fraction, with high alumina content at the surface leading to low amounts of adsorbed fibrinogen and albumin. Protein adsorption amounts obtained with WDS and SE were in excellent agreement for all films. This suggests that this combinatorial materials approach combined with these state-of-the-art, automated high throughput instruments provides a novel way to accurately monitor protein adsorption taking place at the surfaces of these metal/metal oxide materials.     

A novel four-component reaction for the synthesis of disubstituted 1,3,4-oxadiazole derivatives

The 1:1 imine intermediate generated by the addition of benzyl amine to cyclobutanone is trapped by (N-isocyanimino)triphenylphosphorane in the presence of an aromatic carboxylic acid leads to the formation of the corresponding iminophosphorane intermediate. Disubstituted 1,3,4-oxadiazole derivatives are formed via intramolecular aza-Wittig reaction of the iminophosphorane intermediate. The reactions were completed in neutral conditions at room temperature. The disubstituted 1,3,4-oxadiazole derivatives, were produced in excellent yields.     

Reshape scale method: A novel multi scale entropic analysis approach

The Reshape Scale (RS) method was introduced in this article as a novel approach to perform multi scale transition of sample entropy. This method was able to quantify the orderliness in the signal by determining the distance over which the subsequent data points can remain affiliated to one another. Entropic Half Life (EnHL)   was introduced to characterize such an affiliation. The method was tested for 1/f^α$1/f^{\alpha }$ processes for different α$\alpha$ values. Furthermore, the dependency of the multi scale entropy analysis developed by Costa et al. (2002) [6] to the probability density function and the standard deviation of autoregressive signals was studied and discussed.     

Polymer-supported metals and metal oxide nanoparticles: synthesis,characterization, and applications

Metal and metal oxide nanoparticles exhibit unique properties in regard to sorption behaviors, magnetic activity, chemical reduction, ligand sequestration among others. To this end, attempts are being continuously made to take advantage of them in multitude of applications including separation, catalysis, environmental remediation, sensing, biomedical applications and others. However, metal and metal oxide nanoparticles lack chemical stability and mechanical strength. They exhibit extremely high pressure drop or head loss in fixed-bed column operation and are not suitable for any flow-through systems. Also, nanoparticles tend to aggregate; this phenomenon reduces their high surface area to volume ratio and subsequently reduces effectiveness. By appropriately dispersing metal and metal oxide nanoparticles into synthetic and naturally occurring polymers, many of the shortcomings can be overcome without compromising the parent properties of the nanoparticles. Furthermore, the appropriate choice of the polymer host with specific functional groups may even lead to the enhancement of the properties of nanoparticles. The synthesis of hybrid materials involves two broad pathways: dispersing the nanoparticles (i) within pre-formed or commercially available polymers; and (ii) during the polymerization process. This review presents a broad coverage of nanoparticles and polymeric/biopolymeric host materials and the resulting properties of the hybrid composites. In addition, the review discusses the role of the Donnan membrane effect exerted by the host functionalized polymer in harnessing the desirable properties of metal and metal oxide nanoparticles for intended applications.     

Qualitative assessment of silver and gold nanoparticle synthesis in various plants: a photobiological approach

The development of rapid and ecofriendly processes for the synthesis of silver (Ag) and gold (Au) nanoparticles is of great importance in the field of nanotechnology. In this study, the extracellular production of Ag and Au nanoparticles was carried out from the leaves of the plants, Tridax procumbens L. (Coat buttons), Jatropa curcas L. (Barbados nut), Calotropis gigantea L. (Calotropis), Solanum melongena L. (Eggplant), Datura metel L. (Datura), Carica papaya L. (Papaya) and Citrus aurantium L. (Bitter orange) by the sunlight exposure method. Qualitative comparisons of the synthesized nanoparticles between the plants were measured. Among these T. procumbens, J. curcas and C. gigantea plants synthesized <20 nm sized and spherical-shaped Ag particles, whereas C. papaya, D. metel and S. melongena produced <20 nm sized monodispersed Au particles. The amount of nanoparticles synthesized and its qualitative characterization was done by UV–vis spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), respectively. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were used for structural confirmation. Further analysis carried out by fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), provided evidence for the presence of amino groups, which increased the stability of the synthesized nanoparticles.     

A novel approach for enhancing metal ion separation using acoustic nebulisation

A novel technique for anionic surfactant assisted separation and preconcentration of metal cations was developed using ultrasound induced nebulization at MHz frequency. The ions of copper, zinc, cadmium, and calcium were used as model analytes. Analysis of the aerosol using flame atomic absorption spectrometry showed enrichment factors for the metal ions studied between 5 and 8, when dilute solutions containing sodium dodecylsulfate and the metal ions were nebulized. The mechanism of metal ion enrichment was explained based on surfactant adsorption and the droplet model for aerosol droplets. It was demonstrated that further increase in the enrichment factor could be achieved by increasing the ultrasound frequency, thus producing smaller droplets.     

A chemical approach to understanding oxide surfaces

Chemical bonding has often been ignored in favor of physics based energetic considerations in attempts to understand the structure, stability, and reactivity of oxide surfaces. Herein, we analyze the chemical bonding in published structures of the SrTiO_3, MgO, and NiO surfaces using bond valence sum (BVS) analysis. These simple chemical bonding theories compare favorably with far more complex quantum mechanical calculations in assessing surface structure stability. Further, the coordination and bonding of surface structures explains the observed stability in a readily comprehensible manner. Finally, we demonstrate how simple chemical bonding models accurately predict the adsorption of foreign species onto surfaces, and how such models can be used to predict changes in surface structures.     

A novel approach to Ising problems

In 2000 Istrail suggested that calculating the partition function of non‐planar Ising models is an NP‐complete problem, implying that these problems are intractable and thus essentially unsolvable. In this note we discuss the validity of this suggestion and introduce the idea of gauging on an exact equation. We illustrate how this method works by applying it to two non‐planar Ising models, namely the 2D model with nearest and weak next nearest neighbor interactions and the anisotropic 3D model.     

A multi-component reaction (MCR) approach to the synthesis of highly diverse polymers with polypeptide-like features

A new strategy for the combinatorial synthesis of new materials has been developed through the consecutive application of an Ugi 4CC reaction and a ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) reaction. Norbornenyl aldehydes and carboxylic acids could be used in the Ugi MCR to give highly diverse monomers that were converted to the corresponding polymers by exposure to the second-generation Grubbs' catalyst. These polymers have structural features reminiscent of polypeptides and the process could be extended to the preparation of chiral materials.