Effect of a surface charge on the halfwidth and peak position of cluster plasmons in colloidal metal particles

The optical response of colloidal particles depends on a variety of properties of the cluster, e.g., shape, size, size distribution and particle material. Since particles often are charged, also the surface charge may be a parameter which influences their optical properties. In this paper the effect of a surface charge on optical properties of spherical colloidal particles is studied and its magnitude is estimated by extended computations for silver clusters with surface plasmon in aqueous suspension. Two models are presented and discussed. The first model is based on the electrodynamic solution by Bohren and Hunt (Can. J. Phys. 55, 1930 (1977)), where a surface conductivity _S for a free surface charge yield an additional contribution _S to the dielectric constant of the particle material. In the second model, the surface charge contributes to the number density of free electrons in the cluster. Both models lead to a shift of the cluster plasmon peak, while an increase of the plasmon halfwidth could not be derived. The effect is quite small and limited on very small clusters.PACS 61.46+w 73.20.Mf 78.20.Dj     

Structural Characterization of Silver Doped Silica Prepared by Two Different Wet Chemical Methods

Two sets of silver doped silica samples were prepared, one using the traditional sol-gel method and the other from colloidal silica. In samples prepared by the first method, the addition of Ag promotes crystallization of the SiO₂ matrix when annealed at temperatures below those marked by the phase diagram. Before crystallization of the silica glass into the -cristobalite phase occurs, the silver diffuses throughout the amorphous network to form silver colloidal particles at annealing temperatures that depend on the silver concentration. In samples obtained from the colloidal silica, larger Ag particles are formed at lower annealing temperatures. Further annealing at higher temperatures crystallizes the glass into the already mentioned phase. The reason of having larger Ag particles at lower temperatures in the latter set of samples is probably because they have a more open structure, produced by a wider distribution in the Si—O—Si bridging angle.     

Template free fabrication of hollow hematite spheres via a one-pot polyoxometalate-assisted hydrolysis process

Uniform hollow hematite (α-Fe₂O₃) spheres with diameter of about 600-700 nm and shell thickness lower than 100 nm are obtained by direct hydrothermal treatment of dilute FeCl₃ and tungstophosphoric acid H₃PW₁₂O₄₀ solution at 180 °C. The hollow spheres are composed of robust shells with small nanoparticles standing out of the surface and present a high-surface area and a weak ferromagnetic behavior at room temperature. The effect of concentration of H₃PW₁₂O₄₀, reaction time and temperature for the formation of the hollow spheres are investigated in series of experiments. The formation of the hollow spheres may be ascribed to a polyoxometalte-assisted forced hydrolysis and dissolution process.     

三元添加剂水溶液体系制备CaCO3空心球

利用原位聚合方法, 通过加入一定量的引发剂使甲基丙烯酸原位聚合, 在三嵌段共聚物(P123)、聚甲基丙烯酸(PMAA)和十二烷基硫酸钠(SDS)的三元添加剂混合溶液体系中成功地制备了CaCO3空心球. 采用扫描电子显微镜(SEM)和X射线粉末衍射(XRD)对合成样品的形貌、结构进行了表征. 结果显示, 方解石CaCO3空心球直径约0.5-2 μm. 空心球壁由直径约25-35 nm的圆形粒子组成, 壁厚约100-300 nm. 利用核鄄壳机理解释了空心球结构的形成过程.     

磁性微胶囊的制备及其药物缓控释性能

用乳液-凝胶法制备了磁性壳聚糖/海藻酸钠微胶囊. 在壳聚糖/海藻酸钠微胶囊中掺入Fe3O4磁性中空球, 使微胶囊具有磁靶向性能. 以头孢拉定作为模型药物研究了载药磁性微胶囊的载药量、包封率及药物缓控释性能等. 结果表明, 提高头孢拉定的初始浓度可以提高载药量, 却不利于提高药物的包封率. 所制备的微胶囊在各种缓冲溶液中长时间内具有显著的缓释效果, 并具有pH 刺激响应释放的性能, 即在模拟胃液中的药物释放率大大降低, 而在模拟体液和肠液中的释放时间大大延长, 可达50 h以上. 另外, 在外加磁场作用下, 微胶囊表现出良好的磁定向运动性能, 为磁靶向药物输送提供基础.     

Effect of adsorbed polymers on the slow motion of an assemblage of spherical particles relative to a fluid

 The effects of adsorbed polymers on the sedimentation of a homogeneous distribution of colloidal spheres and on the fluid flow through a bed of particles are investigated theoretically. The Reynolds number is assumed to be small, and the surface polymer layers are assumed to be thin with respect to the radius of particles and to the surface-to-surface spacing between neighboring particles. The effects of interaction of the individual particles are taken into explicit account by employing a fundamental cell-model representation which is known to provide good predictions for the motion of a swarm of spheres within a fluid in the absence of adsorbed polymers. To solve the Stokes flow equations within and outside the polymer layer a method of matched asymptotic expansions in a small parameter λ is used, where λ is the ratio of the length scale of the polymer layer to the particle radius. The results for the sedimentation rate and the pressure drop are expressed in terms of an effective hydrodynamic thickness (L) of the polymer layer, which are accurate to O(λ²). When the concentration of particles in a suspension or a bed is increased, L becomes larger, meaning the settling velocity decreases or the pressure drop increases. The O(λ) term for L normalized by its value in the limit λ→0 is found to be independent of the polymer segment distribution, the hydrodynamic inter-actions among the segments, and the volume fraction of the segments. The O(λ²) term for L, however, is a sensitive function of the polymer segment distribution and the volume fraction of the segments. In general, the particle-interaction effects on the motion of polymer-coated particles relative to a fluid can be quite significant. Received: 28 August 1996 Accepted: 23 January 1997     

Conductance behavior of long-chain amine hydrochlorides in 2-methoxyethanol

The solution behavior of octyl-, decyl-, dodecyl-, tetradecyl-, hexadecyl-, and octadecylamine hydrochloride in 2-methoxyethanol at 25°C was determined by conductance techniques. Data were evaluated by the Fuoss-Shedlovsky, Fuoss-Onsager, and the Fernández-Prini expanded form of the Pitts and Fuoss-Hsia equations. As expected, the limiting equivalent conductances of the electrolytes decrease as the crystallographic radii of the cations of these salts increase. Little difference is observed in the extent of association of the six long-chain quaternary ammonium salts in 2-methoxyethanol; these salts appear to behave as simple 11 electrolytes within the concentration range of 1–28×10^–4 M. Included in the present study is a discussion of the previously investigated conductance behavior of these colloidal electrolytes in water.     

Capabilities of polymer-modified monodisperse colloidal silica particles as biomaterial carrier

 Polymer modification of monodispersed colloidal silica (0.5 μm) with poly(maleic anhydride-co-styrene) (P(MA-ST)) and poly (maleic anhydride-co-methyl methacrylate) (P(MA-MMA)) and application of the composite particles to biomaterial carriers were investigated. The reaction of bovine serum albumin(BSA)-immobilized P(MA-MMA)/SiO₂ with the anti-BSA antibody showed higher sensitivity in immunological agglutination test than BSA–P(MA-ST)/SiO₂, though immobilization efficiency of BSA on P(MA-MMA)/SiO₂ was lower than that on P(MA-ST)/SiO₂. Alkaline phosphatase and glucose oxidase immobilized on the composite particles exhibited extremely low activities, but α-chymotrypsin immobilized on P(MA-MMA)/SiO₂ and its derivative particles showed the relative activity of 12.5% and 16.1% to the native enzyme, respectively. Grafting of a hydrophilic polymer of poly(acrylic acid) to P(MA-ST)/SiO₂ let to an increase of the immobilized α-chymotrypsin activity to give the maximum relative activity of 55.5%. Received: 23 August 1996 Accepted: 16 October 1996     

Influence of polyelectrolyte and salt on the structure of dispersions containing charged colloidal particles

An integral equation theory has been used as the basis for studying the structure of dispersions containing charged colloidal particles: globular protein molecules with a nonzero dipole moment, a polyelectrolyte and a low-molecular salt. It is demonstrated that there is an effective attraction between charged colloidal particles, which increases in the presence of charged polymer chains. The influence of the length of polyelectrolyte chains and of salt concentration on the partial structure factor of colloidal particles was studied.     

Hydrazide-functionalized hollow porous poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate-co-ethylene dimethacrylate) spheres for immobilization of enzyme

Hollow porous poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate-co-ethylene dimethacrylate)(HEMA-co-EDMA) spheres were prepared by emulsifier-free emulsion polymerization, swelling, seed emulsion polymerization and extraction. Then the spheres activated with 2,4,6-trichloro-1,3,5-triazine were functioned with adipohydrazide (AH). After periodate oxidation of its carbohydrate moieties, horseradish peroxidase was immobilized on the hydrazide-functionalized hollow porous poly(HEMA-co-EDMA) spheres. The amount of immobilized enzyme was up to 43.4 μg of enzyme/g of support. Moreover, the immobilized horseradish peroxidase exhibited high activity and good stability.