Alpha-cyclodextrin functionalized CdS nanocrystals for fabrication of 2/3 D assemblies

Different types of cyclodextrins (CDs) have been tested as mediators for the water phase transfer of organic-capped CdS nanocrystals (NCs), and alphaCD has been demonstrated to be the most effective system. The formation of a complex based on alphaCDs and colloidal NCs has been considered to be responsible for the phase transfer process and extensively investigated by optical, structural, and calorimetric measurements, as a function of the experimental parameters (pH and NC and CD concentration). A mechanism for the complexation phenomena has been suggested. The fabrication of 2/3 D supramolecular architectures has been proposed according to two different strategies. First, a layer-by-layer procedure has been used to obtain multilayered structures where polyelectrolyte layers have been intercalated with negatively charged alphaCD-CdS NC complexes by exploiting electrostatic interaction between polyelectrolyte and cyclodextrin OH groups. Second, a monolayer of CdS NCs has been deposited onto a self-assembled monolayer of sulfated CDs, thus combining the use of an electrostatic-force-based approach and host-guest chemistry. The important role played by host-guest interactions has then been revealed.     

Biomimetic fabrication of 3D structures by spontaneous folding of tapes

This paper describes a biomimetic strategy for the fabrication of 3D structures-including an electrically functional light detector-modeled on the folding of biological macromolecules into globular shapes. The process started by fabricating precursors to 3D, millimeter-sized structures using flexible polymer tapes. These tapes were patterned with metal features supporting liquid solder, crimped into strings of 3D corrugations, and attached to flat polymer tapes to generate linear 3D structures. Capillary interactions between droplets of molten solder on adjacent faces of the crimped tapes resulted in folding of the precursors into quasi-3D and truly 3D structures.     

Shape-controlled synthesis of 3D and 1D structures of CdS in a binary solution with L-cysteine's assistance

A facile L-cysteine-assisted route was designed for the selectively controlled synthesis of 1D and novel, interesting 3D CdS spherical nanostructures constructed from CdS nanorods (or nanopolypods) in a binary solution. By controlling reaction conditions such as the molar ratio between Cd(OAc)2 and L-cysteine and the volume ratio of the mixed solvents, the synthesis of various 3D architectural structures and 1D wirelike structures in large quantities can be controlled. This is the first reported case of the direct growth of novel 3D self-assemblies of CdS nanorods (or nanopolypods). The morphology, structure, and phase composition of the as-prepared CdS products were examined by using various techniques (X-ray diffraction (XRD), field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), selected-area electron diffraction (SAED), high-resolution TEM, and Raman spectroscopy). On the basis of the results from TEM studies and our analysis, we speculate that in the present synthesis the L-cysteine dominates nucleation growth and the ethylenediamine (en)-dominated, oriented-assembly process. Interestingly, the products obtained show a gradient evolution in color from light-yellow to dark-yellow, which implies that their intrinsic optical properties change, possibly due to variations in their special morphologies and structures. This facile solution-phase L-cysteine-assisted method could be extended for the controlled preparation of other metal chalcogenides nanostructures with complex morphologies.     

One-step fabrication of well-defined hollow CdS nanoboxes

Hollow CdS nanoboxes, having paper-thin walls of well-defined facets, were synthesized at 170 degrees C via a simple reaction using Na(2)SeO(3) for interior quasitemplates and ethylenediamine for exterior molecular templates.     

微波法制备还原氧化石墨烯负载Pt_3Co纳米合金(英文)

微波辐射法可以在数分钟内将高度分散的Pt3Co合金颗粒负载于还原氧化石墨烯表面上.表征结果发现,与传统的溶剂热法和浸渍法相比,微波法制备的催化剂中贵金属的利用率高,合金颗粒的分布均匀,组成可控,同时氧化石墨烯的再石墨化现象也得到有效地抑制.采用微波法制备的Pt3Co/RGO-MW催化剂在肉桂醛加氢反应中具有较高的活性和和产物选择性.Pt3Co/RGO-MW中每一个Pt原子在70℃的转化频率高达23.8 min-1.     

Microwave-assisted synthesis of anhydrous CdS nanoparticles in a water-oil microemulsion

Microwave irradiation at a frequency of 2.45 GHz and a power ranging between 22 and 30 W was used, in a water-oil microemulsion at 35+/-2 degrees C, to obtain stable, small, crystalline, anhydrous CdS nanoparticles exhibiting enhanced luminescence properties. The process of nanoparticles growth at different irradiation times was followed by UV-vis spectroscopy. It was observed that irradiated nanoparticles grew faster and their size reached a constant value. The final mean nanoparticle diameter was 2.7 nm, smaller than that observed in a non-irradiated sample, in which particle dimensions slowly increased even after 10 h. This finding was confirmed by high resolution transmission electron microscopy which also suggested that the spherical nanoparticles had a narrow size distribution and were spatially well separated. Furthermore, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy was used to obtain information about structural changes that the microemulsion underwent when irradiated by microwaves. In particular, the evolution of the stretching and bending bands of water molecules along with the CO and SO3 stretching bands of the surfactant molecules, showed that water was selectively and almost completely extracted from the aqueous core of the reversed micelles. Changes in the surroundings of the nanoparticles surface were monitored by photoluminescence spectroscopy and variations in the emission band profiles indicated enhanced luminescence properties. The latter finding, as well as the inhibition of the nanoparticles growth process, are attributable to the progressive reduction of water content in the core of the reversed micelles.     

Single exposure fabrication and manipulation of 3D hydrogel cell microcarriers

We present a simple and high-throughput method for fabricating free-floating hydrogel cell microcarriers using single exposure UV patterning. We also demonstrate magnetic manipulation of the free-floating cell microcarriers using a magnetic nanoparticle-embedded structure for an active agitation and a solution exchange.     

Inkjet-printed thiol self-assembled monolayer structures on gold: quality control and microarray electrode fabrication

Laterally structured, self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of different thiols (HS-R-X, R = (CH 2) 3-16, X = -CH 3, -COOH, -NH 2) on gold have been prepared by inkjet printing. The printer is a modified, low-cost desktop printer (Epson Stylus Photo R200), the ink is a 1 mM solution of the thiol in ethanol/glycerol (6:1). The quality of inkjet-printed large area SAMs obtained in this study is between that of a layer self-assembled from a thiol solution and that obtained by soft lithography, according to cyclic voltammetry, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM), and polarization-modulated Fourier transform infrared reflection-absorption spectroscopy (PM IRRAS). For the first time, simultaneous printing of two different thiols in a single print job as an alternative to sequential printing and backfilling is demonstrated. The smallest structures consisting of conductive disks of 40 microm diameter were analyzed as single spots by SECM and as random array electrodes with different average disk-disk distance. Conductive band electrodes with variable bandwidth (300 microm to 1 cm) are presented, as well as a pH switchable band structure. As compared to stamping, inkjet printing allows for simultaneous multiple thiol printing in a single print job with the resolution limited only by the droplet size and the precision of the translation stage.     

Self-propagating fabrication of 3D porous MXene-rGO film electrode for high-performance supercapacitors

2D MXene nanosheets with metallic conductivity and high pseudo-capacitance are promising electrode materials for supercapacitors.Especially,MXene films can be directly used as electrodes for flexible supercapacitors.However,they suffer from sluggish ion transport due to self-restacking,causing limited electrochemical performance.Herein,a flexible 3D porous MXene film is fabricated by incorporating graphene oxide(GO) into MXene film followed by self-propagating reduction.The self-propagating process is facile and effective,which can be accomplished in 1.25 s and result in 3D porous framework by releasing substantial gas instantaneously.As the 3D porous structure provides massive ion-accessible active sites and promotes fast ion transport,the MXene-rGO films exhibit superior capacitance and rate performance.With the rGO content of 20%,the MXene-rGO-20 film delivers a high capacitance of 329.9 F g^-1 at 5 mV s^-1 in 3 M H2 SO4 electrolyte and remains 260.1 F g^-1 at 1,000 mV s^-1 as well as good flexibility.Furthermore,the initial capacitance is retained above 90% after 40,000 cycles at 100 A g^-1,revealing good cycle stability.This work not only provides a high-performance flexible electrode for supercapacitors,but also proposes an efficient and time-saving strategy for constructing 3D structure from 2D materials.     

Microwave-assisted growth and characterization of water-dispersed CdTe/CdS core-shell nanocrystals with high photoluminescence

A novel microwave-assisted method of growth of high-quality CdTe/CdS core-shell nanocrystals in the aqueous phase is presented in this paper. The photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY) is greatly enhanced by epitaxial growth of the CdS shell. Under optimum conditions, the PLQY of as-prepared nanocrystals reaches as high as 75% without any post-treatment. Furthermore, these investigations demonstrate that microwave irradiation is tremendously useful for fast epitaxial growth of nanocrystals due to its special characteristics. As a result, the microwave synthesis is sufficiently time-economizing (only five minutes are required) to obtain optimum amounts of CdTe/CdS core-shell nanocrystals in comparison to the conventional illumination method (several days are required). Therefore, this current research not only provides a rapid microwave synthesis for producing highly fluorescent CdTe/CdS core-shell nanocrystals, but also it presents some advantages of the microwave synthesis in comparison to the illumination method.     

Lithium-sulphur batteries based on biological 3D structures

Journal of Solid State Electrochemistry - Lithium-sulphur accumulators are, thanks to their high theoretical energy density and good availability of sulphur, one of the most promising concepts of...     

Self-assembly of nanosized 0D clusters: CdS quantum dot-polyoxotungstate nanohybrids with strongly coupled electronic structures and visible-light-active photofunctions

Nanohybrids of CdS–polyoxotungstate with strongly coupled electronic structures and visible‐light‐active photofunctions can be synthesized by electrostatically derived self‐assembly of very small CdS quantum dots, or QDs, (particle size≈2.5 nm) and polyoxotungstate nanoclusters (cluster size≈1 nm). The formation of CdS–polyoxotungstate nanohybrids is confirmed by high‐resolution transmission electron microscopy, elemental mapping, and powder X‐ray diffraction analysis. Due to the strong electronic coupling between two semiconductors, the CdS–polyoxotungstate nanohybrids show a narrow bandgap energy of around 1.9–2.7 eV, thus reflecting their ability to harvest visible light. Time‐resolved photoluminescence experiments indicate that the self‐assembly between nanosized CdS and polyoxotungstate is very effective in increasing the lifetime of holes and electrons, thus indicating an efficient electron transfer between two‐component semiconductors. The hybridization results not only in a significant improvement in the photostability of CdS QD but also in the creation of visible‐light‐induced photochromism. Of particular importance is that the present nanohybrids show visible‐light‐driven photocatalytic activity to produce H₂ and O₂, which is superior to those of the unhybridized CdS and polyoxotungstate. The self‐assembly of nanometer‐level semiconductor clusters can provide a powerful way of optimizing the photoinduced functionalities of each component (i.e., visible‐induced photochromism and photocatalysis) by means of strong electronic coupling.     

FDM 3D printing of combustible structures: First results

For the first time, complex geometry combustible structures of an ammonium perchlorate–polylactic acid composite have been successfully printed using fused deposition modeling (FDM). The structural and energetic capabilities of the printed structures are demonstrated. Combined with the ability to be produced by FDM printing, these combustible elements could afford many practical applications.     

Microwave-assisted multi-component synthesis of fused 3-aminoimidazoles

A variety of fused 3-aminoimidazoles have been synthesised by a microwave assisted Ugi three-component coupling (3cc) reaction catalysed by scandium triflate in methanol as solvent. Yields of 33-93% have been achieved after just 10 min of microwave irradiation using a simple one-stage procedure. The methodology described is suitable for the rapid and efficient synthesis of a range of fused heterocycles of pharmacological interest.     

LSPR增强0D/2DCdS/MoO3-xS型异质结的构建及其可见光光催化活性研究

近年来,等离子体半导体光催化剂因其具有从可见光到近红外光的光响应而引起了人们极大的研究兴趣.含有丰富氧空位的非化学计量的氧化钼(MoO3-x)具有中心位于700 nm和尾部吸收拓展至2000 nm强的局域表面等离子体共振(LSPR)效应,因此,MoO3-x或将成为实现全光谱响应光催化制氢技术最有吸引力的候选材料之一.然而,单一MoO3-x中电荷载流子的复合快速.具有II型、Z型或S型异质结构的MoO3-x基复合光催化剂的构建被证明是同时实现拓展光吸收和分离光生载流子改善光催化析氢性能的有效策略.与传统的Ⅱ型异质结构相比,Z型或S型可在较高还原电位上进行水分解反应,又可以实现光生载流子的有效分离.相比于Z型,S型由于内部电场导致的半导体的能带玩去可以进一步缩短电子与空穴之间的迁移距离,从而导致光诱导载流子的更快分离.基于此,本文选择了与MoO3-x能带匹配的CdS半导体催化剂,通过简单的共沉淀法在具有LSPR效应的二维(2D)MoO3-x椭圆纳米片上生长零维(0D)CdS纳米粒子,制备了LSPR增强的0D/2D CdS/MoO3-xS型异质结.由于MoO3-x的引入,0D/2D CdS/MoO3-x复合材料展现出了一个因LSPR效应而具有的从600到1400 nm的尾部吸收,并且这种尾部吸收强度随着复合材料中MoO3-x含量的增加而增加.在可见光光催化反应中,CdS/MoO3-x复合材料的产氢速率为7.44 mmol·g^-1·h^-1,为单一CdS的10.3倍.当采用不同波段的单色光作为激发光源,在420,450和550 nm单色光的照射下,CdS/MoO3-x复合材料的产氢效率为15.7,10.9和193.4 mmol·g^-1,分别比CdS高6.8,5.0和3倍.当激发波长拓展至650 nm时,CdS/MoO3-x复合材料的产氢效率为6.83 mmol·g^-1,而CdS则不具有产氢活性,侧面体现了MoO3-x的LSPR效应在提升光解水产氢活性方向的有效作用.我们利用肖特基和固体紫外测试确定了CdS和MoO3-x的能带结构,并通过第一原理密度泛函理论模拟计算了CdS和MoO3-x的功函数,分别为4.07和7.56 eV,当这两个半导体接触时,MoO3-x的费米能级比CdS的更负,电子将从CdS迁移到MoO3-x,因此CdS和MoO3-x的能带将分别向上和向下弯曲,直到其费米能级达到平衡.这种向上和向下的带弯曲是S型结构的特征之一.XPS分析也证实在带正电荷的CdS和带负电荷的MoO3-x之间会产生内部电场,这也符合S型结构.此外,还利用电子自旋共振(ESR)进一步研究了CdS,MoO3-x和CdS/MoO3-x在光照下自由基的产生情况,CdS/MoO3-x产生的DMPO-·O2?和DMPO-·OH信号强度均强于CdS和MoO3-x,证明CdS/MoO3-x能产生更多的·O2?和·OH自由基.ESR结果还表明,在CdS/MoO3-x复合材料中光诱导电子和空穴仍然分别停留在CdS的导带和MoO3-x的价带中,CdS/MoO3-x复合材料的光诱导电荷分离机制将遵循S型机制,而不是传统的II型异质结.在光照下,内部电场和弯曲能带促使积聚在MoO3-x导带上的电子与CdS的空穴结合,在CdS的导带上留下具有较强氧化还原能力的电子参与光催化水还原反应,实现高效的光催化产氢.     

3D dahlia-like NiAl-LDH/CdS heterosystem coordinating with 2D/2D interface for efficient and selective conversion of CO2

Developing photocatalyst with high activity,superior stability and prominent selectivity for CO₂ conversion is of great importance for the target of carbon neutralization.Herein,3 D dahlia-like NiAl-LDH/CdS heterosystem is developed through in-situ decoration of exfoliated CdS nanosheets on the scaffold of NiAl-LDH and the on-spot self-assembly.The formation of a hierarchical architecture collaborating with well-defined 2 D/2 D interfacial interaction is constructed by optimizing the ...     

A new approach to fabrication of a self-organizing film of heterostructured polymer/CdS nanoparticles

In this paper, we alternately deposit transition metal Cd²⁺ neutralized polyelectrolytes and ligands pyridine contained polymer via the formation of complexes, and by sequential reaction with H₂S gas, in situ fabricate CdS nanoparticles/polymer heterostructured film. The driving force for the construction of multilayered films is based on covalent coordination.     

Searching for patterns of amino acids in 3D protein structures

This paper describes the program ASSAM, which has been developed to search for patterns of amino acid side-chains in the 3D structures in the Protein Data Bank. ASSAM represents an amino acid by a vector drawn from the main chain towards the functional part of the amino acid and then computes a graph representation of a protein in which the individual side-chain vectors are the nodes and the intervector distances are the edges. The presence of a query pattern in a Protein Data Bank structure can then be searched for by means of a subgraph isomorphism algorithm. Recent enhancements to ASSAM allow searches to include the following: the main-chain structure in addition to the side-chains; the secondary structure and solvent accessibility of side-chains; allowable distances from a known binding-site; disulfide bridges; and improved generic and wild-card queries. The effectiveness of these approaches is demonstrated by extensive searches of the Protein Data Bank for typical 3D query patterns.