Cesium lead halide perovskite nanocrystals for ultraviolet and blue light blocking

Using cesium lead halide perovskite nanocrystals, CsPb(Cl/Br)_3, as a light absorber, we report a highly effective UV and blue light blocking film. The CsPb(Cl/Br)_3 nanocrystals are well dispersed in the ethyl cellulose(EC) matrix to compose a UV and blue light shielding film, and the absorption edge of the film is tunable by adjusting Cl to Br ratio using anion exchange. The CsPbCl_2 Br-EC film exhibits a transmittance of 5% at 459 nm, 90% at 478 nm and 95% in the range of 500–800 nm, which makes it excellent for UV and blue light shielding. In addition, the as-prepared EC-CsPb(Cl/Br)_3 film shows excellent photostability under UV irradiation. Results demonstrate that this EC-CsPb(Cl/Br)_3 based materials with sharp absorbance edges, tunable blocking wavelength, and high photostability can be useful for the applications in UV and blue light blocking and optical filters     

New Photoluminescence Phenomena of Ge／SiO2 Glass Synthesized by Sol-gel Method

New Ge/SiO2 glasses have been synthesized by heating the GeO2/SiO2 dry gels under H2 gas at 700℃. The resulting fluorescence spectra show that this kind of Ge/SiO2 glasses emit strong photoluminescence at 392 nm (3.12 eV), medium strong photoluminescence at 600 nm (2.05 eV) and weak photoluminescence at 770 nm (1.60 eV) respectively. Possible photoluminescence mechanisms are also discussed based on the results of X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectra (XPS).     

Sulfide Gels and Films: Products of Non-Oxide Gelation

The preparation of concentrated sols and transparent stiff gels of II-VI semiconductors nanocrystals is reported. A two-step process for the production of cadmium sulfide is reported. Sol stabilization and gelation control are achieved through successive passivation and depassivation of the surface of the nanocrystals which are complexed with thiols. The mechanisms driving the aggregation and the gelation are explained on the basis of NMR and SAXS experiments. Thin films as well as monoliths can be produced. The general principles of the method presented are not restricted to chalcogenide systems and thus enlarge the domain of application of the inorganic sol-gel process.     

Effect of Particle Size and Capping on Photoluminescence Quantum Efficiency of 1,3,5-Triphenyl-2-pyrazoline Nanocrystals

Organic nanocrystals of 1,3,5-triphenyl-2-pyrazoline(TPP) with a series of sizes were synthesized by reprecipitation method.The luminescence quantum efficiency of TPP nanocrystals increases from 24.2% for the nanocrystals with an average size of 300nm to 34.6% for those with an average size of 20nm.Surface capping by polyvinyl pyrrolidone(PVP) will improve the quantum efficiency of TPP nanocrystals.The size-dependence and capping-induced variation of the luminescence quantum efficiency was elucidated in viewpoint of aggregation quenching and the equilibrium between the TPP monomers and the aggregates in TPP nanocrystals.     

Low‐Temperature Facile Template Synthesis of Crystalline Inorganic Composite Hollow Spheres

This report presents a facile approach for the low‐temperature synthesis of crystalline inorganic‐oxide composite hollow spheres by employing the bulk controlled synthesis of inorganic‐oxide nanocrystals with polymer spheres as templates. The sulfonated polystyrene gel layer can adsorb the target precursor and induce inorganic nanocrystals to grow on the template in situ. The crystalline phase and morphology of the composite shell is tunable. By simply adjusting the acidity of the titania sol, crystalline titania composite hollow spheres with tunable crystalline phases of anatase, rutile, or a mixture of both were achieved. The approach is general and has been extended to synthesize the representative perovskite oxide (barium and strontium titanate) composite hollow spheres. The traditional thermal treatment for crystallite transformation is not required, thus intact shells can be guaranteed. The combination of oxide properties such as high refractive index, high dielectric constant, and catalytic ability with the cavity of the hollow spheres is promising for applications such as opacifiers, photonic crystals, high‐κ‐gate dielectrics, and photocatalysis.     

Nanocrystals for large Stokes shift-based optosensing

The influence of Stokes shift in optosensing was discussed. Then, the current status of large Stokes shift-based optosensing was reviewed here.     

Raman spectra and structure of multicomponent oxide planar waveguides prepared by sol-gel

This work was aimed at understanding the structure of SiO₂–MO₂ (M = Ti, Zr, Hf) and SiO₂–HfO₂–MO₂ (M = Ti, Zr) materials, used as mixed oxide glass hosts for Er³⁺ ions in the fabrication of optical planar waveguides by sol-gel processing. This structural study was performed by Waveguide Raman Spectroscopy (WRS), complemented with X-ray diffraction (XRD). The admixture of TiO₂ to HfO₂, SiO₂–HfO₂ and HfO₂–ZrO₂ compositions was found to cause precipitation of nanocrystals of tetragonal HfO₂ or ZrO₂, or the formation of hafnia-titania mixed crystals, depending on the HfO₂/TiO₂ molar ratio.     

Förster Resonance Energy Transfer Investigations Using Quantum‐Dot Fluorophores

F?rster resonance energy transfer (FRET), which involves the nonradiative transfer of excitation energy from an excited donor fluorophore to a proximal ground-state acceptor fluorophore, is a well-characterized photophysical tool. It is very sensitive to nanometer-scale changes in donor-acceptor separation distance and their relative dipole orientations. It has found a wide range of applications in analytical chemistry, protein conformation studies, and biological assays. Luminescent semiconductor nanocrystals (quantum dots, QDs) are inorganic fluorophores with unique optical and spectroscopic properties that could enhance FRET as an analytical tool, due to broad excitation spectra and tunable narrow and symmetric photoemission. Recently, there have been several FRET investigations using luminescent QDs that focused on addressing basic fundamental questions, as well as developing targeted applications with potential use in biology, including sensor design and protein conformation studies. Herein, we provide a critical review of those developments. We discuss some of the basic aspects of FRET applied to QDs as both donors and acceptors, and highlight some of the advantages offered (and limitations encountered) by QDs as energy donors and acceptors compared to conventional dyes. We also review the recent developments made in using QD bioreceptor conjugates to design FRET-based assays.     

Assembled structures of nanocrystals in polymer/calcium carbonate thin-film composites formed by the cooperation of chitosan and poly(aspartate)

Assembled structures of calcium carbonate (CaCO₃) nanocrystals have been examined for polymer/CaCO₃ thin-film composites synthesized through a self-organization process inspired by biomineralization. For the crystallization of CaCO₃, a thin-film matrix of chitosan has been used as a polymeric substrate. When the matrix is immersed into a supersaturated aqueous solution of CaCO₃ containing 1.4 × 10⁻³ wt % poly(aspartate) (PAsp), thin-film crystals of CaCO₃ are formed spontaneously. Three kinds of disklike films have been observed under a polarizing optical microscope. Electron diffraction analyses of each film have revealed that one is aragonite, displaying radial orientation of the c axes, and the others are vaterite, exhibiting different orientations. Detailed observation by scanning electron microscopy has clarified that these films are assemblies of crystalline particles 10–20 nm in size. The thin-film composites have been obtained over a PAsp concentration range of 4.4 × 10⁻⁴ to 1.0 × 10⁻² wt %. Vaterite formation becomes dominant when the concentration of PAsp is increased. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 44: 5153–5160, 2006     

Seed‐Mediated Synthesis of Gold Tetrahedra in High Purity and with Tunable,Well‐Controlled Sizes

We report a facile synthesis of Au tetrahedra in high purity and with tunable, well‐controlled sizes via seed‐mediated growth. The success of this synthesis relies on the use of single‐crystal, spherical Au nanocrystals as the seeds and manipulation of the reaction kinetics to induce an unsymmetrical growth pattern for the seeds. In particular, the dropwise addition of a precursor solution with a syringe pump, assisted by cetyltrimethylammonium chloride and bromide at appropriate concentrations, was found to be critical to the formation of Au tetrahedra in high purity. Their sizes could be readily tuned in the range of 30–60 nm by simply varying the amount of precursor added to the reaction solution. The current strategy not only enables the synthesis of Au tetrahedra with tunable and controlled sizes but also provides a facile and versatile approach to reducing the symmetry of nanocrystals made of a face‐centered cubic lattice.