Polyoxometalate-based inorganic-organic hybrid film structure with reversible electroswitchable fluorescence property

A novel inorganic-organic hybrid film structure based on polyoxometalate and conventional organic dye has been fabricated, whose fluorescence can be reversibly switched using the electrochromic component to activate or suppress the related fluorescence quenching mechanism upon applying reduction or oxidation potentials of polyoxometalates.     

Fabrication and characterization of a biocompatible hybrid film based on silver nanoparticle/ethyl cellulose polymer

Cellulose - This work deals with a green route to fabricate a biocompatible hybrid film composed of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) and ethyl cellulose (EC). The hybrid film (AgNP/EC), with a...     

Fabrication and characterization of nanostructured titania films with integrated function from inorganic-organic hybrid materials

Nanostructured titania films are of growing interest due to their application in future photovoltaic technologies. Therefore, a lot of effort has been put into the controlled fabrication and tailoring of titania nanostructures. The controlled sol-gel synthesis of titania, in particular in combination with block copolymer templates, is very promising because of its high control on the nanostructure, easy application and cheap processing possibilities. This tutorial review gives a short overview of the structural control of titania films gained by using templated sol-gel chemistry and shows how this approach is extended by the addition of further functionality to the films. Different expansions of the sol-gel templating are possible by the fabrication of gradient samples, by the addition of a homopolymer, by the combination with micro-fluidics and also by the application of novel precursors for low-temperature processing. Moreover, hierarchically structured titania films can be fabricated via the subsequent application of several sol-gel steps or via the inclusion of colloidal templates in a one-step process. Integrated function in the block copolymer used in the sol-gel synthesis allows for the fabrication of an integrated blocking layer or an integrated hole-conductor. Both approaches grant a one-step fabrication of two components of a working solar cell, which make them very promising towards a cheap solar cell production route. Looking to the complete solar cell, the top contact is also of great importance as it influences the function of the whole solar cell. Thus, the mechanisms acting in the top contact formation are also reviewed. For all these aspects, characterization techniques that allow for a structural investigation of nanostructures inside the active layers are important. Therefore, the characterization techniques that are used in real space as well as in reciprocal space are explained shortly as well.     

Effect of inorganic cores on dye properties of inorganic-organic hybrid pigments yellow 12

Some inorganic-organic hybrid pigments were fabricated by depositing pigment yellow 12(P.Y.12) on the surface of three inorganic cores with different particle size (white carbon black,microsilica,palygorskite). Effect of inorganic cores on the morphology and structure of the hybrid pigments were systematically investigated by nanoparticle analyzer, Fourier transforms infrared spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction. Results showed that all three inorganic cores were encapsulated by the organic pigment. The particle size of hybrid pigments was all smaller and had narrower diameter scatter than the original pigment. The water dispersion and flow ability of these fabricated pigments were slightly improved. Thermal and UV-Vis analyses showed that the hybrid pigments had better thermo- and photo-stabilities. Additionally, the properties of the hybrid pigments including color strength, lightness, and yellow hue index were also improved and the modified pigment with white carbon black had the best coloring performance and better heat resistance than original P.Y.12.     

A highly sensitive electrochemical immunosensor based on coral-shaped AuNPs with CHITs inorganic-organic hybrid film

A highly sensitive electrochemical immunosensor based on combination of chitosan (CHIT) and coral-shaped AuNPs (C-AuNPs) to form an immobilization matrix has been developed using human IgG as a model analyte. The inorganic-organic hybrid film with abundant adsorbing sites and large surface area can reserve the biocompatibility of the biomaterials which greatly increase loading amounts of assembling, thus, significantly improves the performance of biosensing. The morphology is studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Under the optimized experimental conditions, the immunosensor exhibits excellent performance (e.g., a detection limit of 5 pmol L⁻¹, a linear dynamic range of 3 orders of magnitude, high specificity). This possibly makes it an attractive platform for the direct immunoassay of human IgG or other biomolecules.     

Fabrication of a covalently attached self-assembly multilayer film based on CdTe nanoparticles

A precursor film has been fabricated from TGA (thiolglycolic acid)-stabilized CdTe nanoparticles and NDR (nitro-containing diazoresin) using electrostatic interactions and the standard layer-by-layer assembly method; covalent bonds are formed under ultraviolet irradiation. XPS provided evidence for the presence of CdTe nanoparticles within the polymer ultrathin films. UV-visible spectroscopy and FTIR spectroscopy provide evidence for the formation of a covalent linkage. Moreover, the UV-visible spectroscopy and AFM measurement support the improvement of the stability of the hybrid organic/inorganic film toward polar solvents when the linkages between the nanoparticles and polymer changed from ionic bonds to covalent bonds.     

Construction of a microporous inorganic-organic hybrid compound with uranyl units

A uranium-nickel-organic hybrid compound with micropores has been assembled from a hydrothermal system, and this compound exhibits photocatalytic activities for the degradation of methyl blue as a model pollutant.     

Thermodegradation kinetics of a hybrid inorganic-organic epoxy system

Lifetime of the epoxy system formed by diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A, DGEBA/4,4′-diaminediphenylmethane, DDM, modified with the silsesquioxane, glycidylisobutyl-POSS, was calculated from thermogravimetric analysis. The activation energy of the decomposition of this system was evaluated by the integral method developed by Flynn-Wall-Ozawa (E = 88.9 ± 2.1 kJ mol⁻¹) and by Coats and Redfern method (E = 85.2 ± 1.5 kJ mol⁻¹). The kinetic parameters have been used to estimate the lifetime of the system POSS/DGEBA/DDM. The obtained results by two different ways are similar.     

Fabrication of a molecular-level multilayer film on organic polymer surfaces via chemical bonding assembly

A fresh multilayer film was fabricated on a molecular level and successfully tethered to the surface of a hydroxylated organic substrate via chemical bonding assembly (CBA). Sulfate anion groups (SO4-) were preintroduced onto the surface of biaxially oriented polypropylene (BOPP) films via a reference method. Upon hydrolysis of the SO4- groups, hydroxyl groups (--OH) were formed that subsequently acted as initial reagents for a series of alternate reactions with terephthalyl chloride (TPC) and bisphenol A (BPA). A stable and well-defined multilayer film was thus fabricated via the CBA method. As a result of the nanoscale multilayer fresh film being abundant with reactive groups, it is believed that the film and its fabrication method should provide a fundamental platform for further surface functionalization and direct the design of advanced materials with desired properties.     

Fabrication of a polypseudorotaxane nanoparticle with synergistic photodynamic and chemotherapy

Polypseudorotaxane (PPR) nanoparticles were fabricated by the self-assembly of mPEG-protoporphyrin IX (PpIX) conjugate and a-CDs via the hostguest interaction for achieving synergistic photodynamic and chemotherapy.     

Superior mechanical properties of dense and porous organic/inorganic hybrid thin films

The intrinsic mechanical properties of a given material strongly depend upon its chemical nature: the organics tend to be soft, but tough, while the inorganic materials are hard but brittle and are prone to fracture. The later characteristic gets even worse for porous materials and is of major concern in the microelectronics industry as porous organosilicates (mainly inorganic) will constitute the insulating layers in future electronic devices. In this paper, we demonstrate that significantly tougher organosilicate glass thin-films prepared by sol–gel process, can be obtained by introducing carbon bridging units between silicon atoms present in the organosilicate network. A fracture energy value of 15 J/m² was measured, surprisingly higher than that for dense silicon dioxide (10 J/m²), suggesting mechanical properties that lie somewhere in between those of conventional glasses and organic polymers. We also found that the Young’s modulus follows a linear decay when porosity is introduced, a unique property when compared to traditional organosilicates. As a result, crack resistant films were obtained at high levels of porosity, opening potential applications in the fields of low-k materials for future integrated circuits, membranes, sensors, waveguides, fuel cells and micro-fluidic channels.     

Monolayer and multilayer compact film formations on different substrates by physical deposition

Dissipative particle dynamics simulations are applied to investigate the monolayer and multilayer film formations on different solid substrates by physical deposition. The influences of the polymer concentration, the polymer chain length, the solvent quality, and the interactions between the polymer solution and the solid substrate surface on the film formation dynamics and the mechanism are studied in detail. The results are analyzed in terms of the thickness and the shape of the deposited film, the kinetics of phase separation in the polymer solution, and the contact angle formed between the polymer aggregations and the substrate surface. Moreover, we suggest two strategies, designing a deposition process analogous to “chemical titration” and physically blocking interlayer diffusion by a simple crosslinked network barrier, to deposit the compact monolayer and multilayer films with better quality, respectively. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 47: 353–365, 2009     

Fabrication of a multilayer film electrode containing porphyrin and its application as a potentiometric sensor of iodide ion

A novel iodide ion-selective electrode has been produced based on a molecular deposition technique in which water-soluble porphyrin was alternatively deposited with water-soluble polypyrrole on a 2-aminoethanethiol modified silver electrode. The potentiometric response is independent of pH of the solution between pH 1 and 7, while it is dependent on the nature of the medium. The electrode has a linear dynamic range between 1.6x10(-6) and 0.1 M with a Nernstian slope of 59 mV/decade and a detection limit of 1.0x10(-6) M in acetate buffer (0.1 M, pH 4.6). The electrode has the advantages of low resistance, short conditioning time and fast response.     

In-situ construction of a Mg-modified interface to guide uniform lithium deposition for stable all-solid-state batteries

Uniform lithium(Li)deposition in all-solid-state Li metal batteries is greatly influenced by the anode/electrolyte interface.Herein,a Mg-modified interface was constructed via the simple in-situ electrochemical reduction of Mg²⁺from Mg(TFSI)₂ in polyethylene oxide(PEO)and a Li bis(trifluoromethane)sulfoni mide(Li TFSI)formulae.As confirmed by cryogenic transmission electron microscopy,the anode/electrolyte interface exhibited hybrids consisting of crystalline Mg,Li₂O,and Li dots embedded in an amorphous polymer electrolyte.The crystalline Mg dots guided the uniform Li nucleation and growth,inducing a smoother anode/electrolyte interface compared with the pristine electrolyte.With 1 wt%Mg(TFSI)₂ in the PEO-Li TFSI electrolyte,the Mg-modified electrolyte enabled the Li/Li symmetric cells with cycling performance of over 1700 and 1400 h at current densities of 0.1 and 0.2 m A cm^-2,respectively.Moreover,the full LFP/Li cells using the novel Mg-modified electrolyte delivered a cycling lifespan of over 450 cycles with negligible capacity loss.     

Fabrication and properties of thermosensitive organic/inorganic hybrid hydrogel thin films

We report on a facile method for fabricating thermosensitive organic/inorganic hybrid hydrogel thin films from a cross-linkable organic/inorganic hydrid copolymer, poly[ N-isopropylacrylamide- co-3-(trimethoxysilyl)propylmethacrylate] [P(NIPAm- co-TMSPMA)]. Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectra confirmed the formation of hybrid hydrogel thin films after hydrolysis of the methoxysilyl groups (Si-O-CH 3) and subsequent condensation of the silanol groups (Si-OH). Atomic force microscopy (AFM) images revealed that the surface morphology of the hydrogel thin films depended on the supporting substrates. Microdomains were observed for the hydrogel thin films on a gold surface, which can be attributed to inhomogeneous network structures. The thermoresponsive swelling-deswelling behavior and the viscoelastic properties of the hydrogel thin films were investigated as a function of temperature (25-45 degrees C) by using a quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) operated in water. The high frequency shear modulus of the P(NIPAm- co-TMPSMA) hydrogel thin films was several hundred kilopascals.     

CO2-expanded liquid deposition of ligand-stabilized nanoparticles as uniform, wide-area nanoparticle films

Deposition of nanoparticles into uniform, wide-area thin films using CO(2) as an antisolvent is presented. Ligand-stabilized silver particles are controllably precipitated from organic solvents by pressurizing and expanding the solution with carbon dioxide. Subsequent addition of carbon dioxide as a dense supercritical fluid provides for removal of the organic solvent while avoiding the surface tensions common to evaporating solvents that are detrimental to nanoscale assemblies and structures. This brand new CO(2)-expanded liquid particle deposition technique allows for the targeted deposition of particles and results in more uniform and lower defect metal nanoparticle thin films than are provided by conventional solvent evaporation techniques.     

Dynamic sequential layer-by-layer deposition method for fast and region-selective multilayer thin film fabrication

We present a newly devised technique, the dynamic layer-by-layer (LbL) deposition method, that is designed to take advantage of the LbL deposition method and fluidic devices. Polyelectrolyte solutions are sequentially injected through the fluidic LbL deposition device to quickly build well-defined multilayer films on a selected region with a linear increase in the material deposited. Multilayer film fabrication by this new method on a specific region was proven to be fast and effective. The effects on film quality of the processing parameters such as concentration of polyelectrolytes, flow rate, and contact time were investigated. A half-tethered self-standing film on a substrate was fabricated to demonstrate the effectiveness and the region-selective deposition capability of the devised dynamic LbL deposition method.