Structural Principles of Polyhedral Allotropes of Phosphorus

We derive the structural principles of polyhedral allotropes of phosphorus, introducing three distinct families of black phosphorus nanostructures. The predicted tetrahedral, octahedral, and icosahedral phosphorus cages can also be considered as phosphorus fullerenes. Phosphorus cages up to P₈₈₈ are systematically investigated by quantum chemical methods, and their thermodynamic stabilities are compared with the experimentally known allotropic forms of phosphorus. The tetrahedral cages are thermodynamically favored over the octahedral and icosahedral structures, although large octahedral structures become nearly as stable as the tetrahedral ones. The stability trends of the studied polyhedral families can be rationalized on the basis of their structural characteristics. The phosphorus polyhedra can be further stabilized by fitting smaller structures inside larger ones, resulting in multilayered, bulk‐like cages. The synthesis of the predicted black phosphorus nanostructures is suggested to be viable from the thermodynamic point of view, and several approaches for their experimental preparation can be envisaged.     

Bi2O3 Hierarchical Nanostructures: Controllable Synthesis,Growth Mechanism,and their Application in Photocatalysis

Flower power : Unique 3D flower‐like Bi₂O₃ hierarchical nanostructures were synthesized using a mild aqueous template‐free method (see figure). By introducing VO₃^? into the reaction system, which mediated the nucleation and growth of Bi₂O₃, the in situ self‐assembly of 3D hierarchitectures from 2D nanosheets has been realized.

     

Encapsulation and Polymerization of White Phosphorus Inside Single-Wall Carbon Nanotubes

Elemental phosphorus displays an impressive number of allotropes with highly diverse chemical and physical properties. White phosphorus has now been filled into single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) from the liquid and thereby stabilized against the highly exothermic reaction with atmospheric oxygen. The encapsulated tetraphosphorus molecules were visualized with transmission electron microscopy, but found to convert readily into chain structures inside the SWCNT “nanoreactors”. The energies of the possible chain structures were determined computationally, highlighting a delicate balance between the extent of polymerization and the SWCNT diameter. Experimentally, a single-stranded zig-zag chain of phosphorus atoms was observed, which is the lowest energy structure at small confinement diameters. These one-dimensional chains provide a glimpse into the very first steps of the transformation from white to red phosphorus.     

Synthesis of Onion‐Peel Nanodendritic Structures with Sequential Functional Phosphorus Diversity

The preparation of novel families of phosphorus‐based macromolecular architectures called “onion peel” phosphorus nanodendritic systems is reported. This construct is based on the versatility of methods of synthesis using several building blocks and on the capability of these systems to undergo regioselective reactions within the cascade structure. Sustainable metal‐free routes such as the Staudinger reaction or Schiff‐base condensation, involving only water and nitrogen as byproducts, allow access to several dendritic macromolecules bearing up to seven different phosphorus units in their backbone, each of them featuring specific reactivity. The presence of the highly aurophilic P?N?P?S fragment enables selective ligation of Au^I within the dendritic framework.     

Icosahedral and ring-shaped allotropes of phosphorus

The existence of two new allotropic forms of phosphorus, icosahedral cages and ring-shaped chains, is predicted. The cages and rings are nanostructural modifications of the black and the red phosphorus, respectively. The icosahedral and ring-shaped allotropes are compared with the experimentally known allotropic forms of phosphorus by quantum chemical methods. Both the cages and the rings are thermodynamically favored over the white phosphorus, the rings being comparable to the Hittorf's violet phosphorus and to the recently discovered fibrous red phosphorus. The stabilities of the icosahedral cages increase as a function of their size, having structural resemblance with the rhombohedral black phosphorus. The high thermodynamic stability of the phosphorus nanostructures suggests their experimental synthesis to be viable.     

Photoactive Nanostructures of Polypyrrole

The creation of nanostructures of the photoactive polymer polypyrrole (PPy) on glass substrates with the spin‐coating method is described. No additional post‐production treatment is necessary to obtain uniformly distributed photoactive nanostructures on macroscopically scaled substrates. Based on X‐ray reflectivity measurements, the critical solution concentration of PPy below which these nanostructures develop is determined. The PPy nanostructures are displayed with atomic force microscopy (AFM) measurements, which prove that the nanostructures form directly on the substrate. With UV/Vis spectroscopy the absorption behavior of the nanostructures is probed in comparison to PPy films and PPy solutions. A linear dependence of the absorption of the nanostructure on the surface coverage measured with AFM is detected. The influence of confinement on the conjugation length results in a modified absorption behavior of the nanostructures.     

Synthesis of Copper Oxide Hierarchical Nanostructures

The copper oxide (CuO) hierarchical nanostructures were synthesized by a simple hydrothermal reaction, using copper(II) acetylacetonate and NaOH as the reactants. The morphologies of CuO nanostructures are strongly influenced by the dosage of copper(II) acetylacetonate, alkali concentration and reaction temperature. The possible formation process was also discussed on the basis of time‐dependent experiments. This simple solution‐phase method may be useful for morphological synthesis of other oxides nanocrystals.     

Systematic Synthesis of ZnO Nanostructures

In this study, we report a simple solution‐phase method to prepare ZnO nanostructures with controllable morphologies. By using oleylamine (OAm) and dodecanol (DDL) as solvents, zinc oxide nanocrystals with tunable sizes and diverse shapes (hexagonal pyramids, bulletlike, and pencil‐like shapes) have been obtained under mild conditions. At the same time, the introduction of presynthesized gold nanocrystals can also lead to the hybrid nanostructures of gold–zinc oxide hexagonal nanopyramids. In addition, the possible formation mechanism of the as‐prepared ZnO nanostructures has been investigated. Notably, the unique optical properties of the ZnO nanostructures with different sizes and shapes have also been discussed. We hope that this strategy will be a general and effective method for fabricating other metal oxide nanocrystals.     

级次纳米结构材料及其液相合成

级次纳米结构材料因其新颖的结构,独特的化学、物理性质,以及形貌和尺寸对这些性质极大地影响,使得它在光、电、磁等方面的性质更加丰富, 为实现由下到上构建纳米器件提供了坚实的基础。由此级次纳米结构材料引起化学家和材料学家的极大兴趣, 成为纳米材料化学领域中引人注目的研究方向之一。本文综述了近年来国内外级次纳米结构材料的最新研究进展,重点介绍了介孔材料、具有级次结构的空心球、气凝胶和其他典型的级次纳米结构,归纳了级次纳米结构制备中的各种液相合成方法及其特点,讨论了级次纳米结构的合成机制及各种影响因素,并在此基础上对级次纳米结构材料在一些领域的应用前景进行了展望。     

Preparation of Chemically Modified RNA Origami Nanostructures

In nucleic acid nanotechnology, designed RNA molecules are widely explored because of their usability originating from RNA’s structural and functional diversity. Herein, a method to design and prepare RNA nanostructures by employing DNA origami strategy was developed. A single‐stranded RNA scaffold and staple RNA strands were used for the formation of RNA nanostructures. After the annealing of the mixtures, 7‐helix bundled RNA tile and 6‐helix bundled RNA tube structures were observed as predesigned shapes. These nanostructures were easily functionalized by introducing chemical modification to the RNA scaffolds. The DNA origami method is extended and utilized to construct RNA nanostructures.     

表面分子纳米结构构筑的分子工程学

以分子工程学的基本思想为指导,基于对表面分子自组装过程基本原理及规律的深入理解,以功能为导向开展表界面分子纳米结构的定向设计与构筑,发展其在分子器件、单分子科学等领域的应用,是纳米科学与技术研究的一个重要方向。本文结合近年来国内外的工作,概述了表面分子工程学中的研究进展,展望了该领域的研究方向。     

DNA Nanostructures for Targeted Antimicrobial Delivery

We report the use of DNA origami nanostructures, functionalized with aptamers, as a vehicle for delivering the antibacterial enzyme lysozyme in a specific and efficient manner. We test the system against Gram‐positive (Bacillus subtilis) and Gram‐negative (Escherichia coli) targets. We use direct stochastic optical reconstruction microscopy (dSTORM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) to characterize the DNA origami nanostructures and structured illumination microscopy (SIM) to assess the binding of the origami to the bacteria. We show that treatment with lysozyme‐functionalized origami slows bacterial growth more effectively than treatment with free lysozyme. Our study introduces DNA origami as a tool in the fight against antibiotic resistance, and our results demonstrate the specificity and efficiency of the nanostructure as a drug delivery vehicle.     

Microscopic Visualization of Nanostructures of Cellulose Derivatives

Microscopy has proved to be a valuable tool for the investigation of supermolecular structures of cellulose derivatives. Thus, with AFM it was possible to show that statistically functionalized derivatives (degree of substitution below 3) form specific aggregates called fringed micelles. In contrast, derivatives with a non-statistic distribution exhibit a more network-like structure as known for galactomannans consisting of block-like structures. If samples are prepared by deposition of dilute solutions of polyelectrolytes on mica and drying at elevated temperature, the formation of nanorings is observed. In addition, AFM and REM were applied to investigate the morphology of membranes prepared of cellulose esters with unsaturated substituents. It was shown that cross-linking of the polymer chains in the membranes does not lead to a change in the nanostructure of the surface, i.g., the surface roughness and the pore sizes were not modified.     

Controlled Synthesis of Sea-urchin-like ZnO Nanomaterials with the Aid of Ethylene Glycol Using a Solvothermal Method

Sea-urchin-like ZnO nanomaterials were successfully synthesized by decomposition of zinc acetate precursor in the presence of sodium hydroxide and ethylene glycol(EG) in an ethanol solution using a solvothermal method at 180 ℃ for 12 h.The crystalline phase and morphology of the resultant nanomaterials were characterized by X-ray diffraction(XRD),scanning electron microscopy(SEM),transmission electron microscopy(TEM),selected-area electronic diffraction(SAED) and high-resolution electron microscopy(HRTEM).Interestingly,the sizes and prod length of the samples can be easily tuned by changing the amount of directing agent EG and keeping other reaction conditions unchangeable.On the basis of our experimental outcomes,EG-controlled-nucleation-growth formation mechanism was proposed to correspond for the sea-urchin-like ZnO growth processes.And the photoluminescence(PL) spectra of the as-selected samples were measured at room temperature,presenting two emission peaks centered at～388 and 480 nm.     

Emerging Strategies for the Total Synthesis of Inorganic Nanostructures

New synthetic innovations are rapidly being developed to address the demand for complex, next‐generation nanomaterials with rigorously controlled architectures and interfaces. This Review highlights key strategies for the chemical transformation and stepwise synthesis of multicomponent inorganic nanostructures, with the existing nanoscale transformations categorized into classes of reactions that are related to those used in the synthesis of organic molecules. The application of concepts used in molecular synthesis—including site‐selectivity, regio‐ and chemoselectivity, orthogonal reactivity, coupling reactions, protection/deprotection strategies, and procedures for separation and purification—to nanoscale systems is emphasized. Collectively, the resulting synthetic concept represents an emerging model for the synthesis of complex inorganic nanostructures on the basis of the guiding principles that underpin the multistep total synthesis of complex organic molecules and natural products.     

Synthesis and Characterization of Hyperbranched RuO2 Nanostructures

RuO₂ nanostructures were synthesized by heating Ru nanoparticles in air at 280°C using Cu as catalyst. The Ru nanoparticles were prepared by the pyrolysis of ruthenium precursors in a vacuum using multi-walled carbon nanotubes as templates. The RuO₂ nanostructures grew radically with diameters of 50–150 nm, and lengths of 0.5–2.0 μm. The growth of nanostructure mainly depends on the dispersivity of Ru nanoparticles on MWNTs. The electrochemical property of these nanostructures was studied by cyclic voltammetry. Electronic Supplementary Material Supplementary material for this article is available at and is accessible for authorized users.