Influence of synthesis and operating parameters on silicalite-1 membrane properties

The present study deals with the synthesis of nanostructured silicalite-1 membranes on porous α-Al₂O₃ supports by a hydrothermal method. Different parameters including the synthesis conditions (temperature and alkalinity) and operating conditions (temperature and pressure) were investigated. The membranes were characterized by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy techniques. The optimum synthesis temperature and alkalinity were determined to be 160 °C and pH = 11, respectively. The permeability of CO₂ and CH₄ through the optimized membrane was determined by the pressure drop method. The results revealed that the main effective separation mechanism was adsorption. The permeation of CO₂ and CH₄ declined with increasing temperature, whereas high feed pressures enhanced the single gas flux. The CO₂ and CH₄ permeability values at 30 °C and 2 bar were 1.62 × 10^?7 and 2.07 × 10^?7 mol m^?2 s^?1 Pa^?1, respectively. Furthermore, the response surface methodology analysis confirmed the significance of all the variables and the proposed model. Excellent correlation between the experimental and predicted data (R² = 0.99) was obtained, confirming that response surface methodology is a powerful tool for modeling nanostructured silicalite-1 membrane processes.     

Molecular dynamics study of the primary ferrofluid aggregate formation

Investigations of the phase transitions and self-organization in the magnetic aggregates are of the fundamental and applied interest. The long-range ordering structures described in the Tománek's systematization (M. Yoon, and D. Tománek, 2010 [1]) are not yet obtained in the direct molecular dynamics simulations. The resulted structures usually are the linear chains or circles, or, else, amorphous (liquid) formations. In the present work, it was shown, that the thermodynamically equilibrium primary ferrofluid aggregate has either the long-range ordered or liquid phase. Due to the unknown steric layer force and other model idealizations, the clear experimental verification of the real equilibrium phase is still required. The predicted long-range ordered (crystallized) phase produces the faceting shape of the primary ferrofluid aggregate, which can be recognized experimentally. The medical (antiviral) application of the crystallized aggregates has been suggested. Dynamic formation of all observed ferrofluid nanostructures conforms to the Tománek's systematization.     

Numerical investigation of electrostatic interactions in nanoscale substances based on finite-size particle simulation

We use the optimized finite-size particle techniques derived from plasma simulations to investigate the electrostatic interactions in nanoscale substances. In conjunction with electron tunneling, the substance surface is modeled as a potential well that confines simulated electrons for reaching equilibrium in an electrostatic system governed by Poisson's equation. This scheme avoids the mathematical difficulty of handling sophisticated boundary conditions at the interface and easily treats complicated shapes. We demonstrate the performance of the proposed method by simulating millions of electrons propagating in isolated substances at nanoscale. Numerical results are consistent with theoretical predictions of electrostatic properties in equilibrium.     

Simple synthesis of mesoporous boron nitride with strong cathodoluminescence emission

Mesoporous BN was prepared at 550 °C for 10 h or so via a simple reaction between NaBH₄ and CO(NH₂)₂. X-ray diffraction demonstrates the formation of t-BN with lattice constants a=2.46 and c=6.67 Å. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy displays a lot of porous films in the product, which possesses a high surface area of 219 m² g⁻¹ and a pore size primarily around 3.8 nm tested by nitrogen adsorption-desorption method. The mesoporous BN exhibits a strong luminescence emission around 3.41 eV in the cathodoluminescence spectra, a high stability in both morphology and structure, and good oxidation resistance up to 800 °C. The byproducts generated during the reaction are responsible for the formation of the mesoporous BN.     

Solvent atmosphere controlled self-assembly of unmodified C60： A facile approach for constructing various architectures

A facile approach for constructing diverse architectures of unmodified C60 was developed via simple evaporation of pure C60 solution in CS2 under various poor solvent atmospheres. Diverse architectures such as belts, sheets, and starfishes were successfully constructed under different experimental conditions. C60 belts obtained under EtOH atmosphere were confirmed to be a face-centered cubic （fcc） structure. The solvent atmospheres not only slowed clown the evaporation speed, but also could reorganize the self-assembly of C60 by partially re-dissolving the initially formed architectures. This concept represents a novel method for preparation of nanostructures of C60 and could also be applied for controlling of the self-assembly of other functional organic molecules.     

Synthetic strategy of dendrimers: A review

Dendrimer chemistry is a fascinating and growing area of modern chemistry. Dendrimers are macromolecular entities with unique three-dimensional topologies, multi-functionality, and unique chemical and physical properties. Because of these characteristics, they are particularly well suited for applications in nanotechnology, pharmaceuticals, and medicinal chemistry. The study of dendrimers and hyperbranched polymers is gaining widespread interest from researchers in academia and industry for their unique structure and properties. This review article focused on dendrimer structure and the different synthetic strategies employed at the laboratory and commercial levels. This review covers convergent and divergent approaches, as well as accelerated approaches to dendrimer synthesis.     

手性纳米材料: 生物成像、 生物传感与治疗

手性无机纳米结构不仅形貌和结构可调控、 易于表面功能化修饰, 而且光学性质独特, 在生物领域的应用上展现了很大的优异性. 本文综述了近年来手性纳米技术在生物医学领域的研究进展, 重点介绍了手性金属和手性半导体纳米结构的合成策略、 圆二色效应、 光手性机制及在生物成像、 生物传感、 肿瘤以及神经退行性疾病等医学领域的应用. 手性纳米材料的研究丰富了生物化学的纳米技术手段, 促进了肿瘤等重大疾病诊断与治疗技术的进步, 推动了手性在生命科学中的发展, 鼓励了研究者对这一新兴领域的持续探索与挑战.     

Growth and characterization of thin ZnO films deposited on glass substrates by electrodeposition technique

Electrodeposition technique was used in order to produce nanometric zinc oxide films on glass insulating substrates. The effect of electrolyte concentration and applied current density on the formation and growth of electrodeposited Zn thin films in aqueous solutions of ZnSO₄ were studied. After a thermal oxidation, a characterization of the structural morphology of the films deposited was carried out by optical microscopy (OM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and by grazing incidence X-rays diffraction (GIXD). These characterization techniques show that the grains size of the films after oxidation at temperature 450 °C is between 5 and 15 nm, as well as the structure is polycrystalline nature with several orientations. UV/vis spectrophotometry confirms that it is possible to obtain transparent good ZnO films with an average transmittance of approximately 80% within the visible wavelength region, as well as the optical gap of obtained ZnO films is 3.17 eV.     

PbS nanostructures synthesized via surfactant assisted mechanochemical route

PbS nanocrystals using surfactant assisted mechanochemical route has been successfully prepared. The methods of XRD, SEM, surface area and particle size measurements were used for nanocrystals characterization. The XRD patterns confirmed the presence of galena PbS (JCPDS 5–592) whatever treatment conditions were applied. The strong observable peaks indicate the highly crystalline nature in formation of PbS nanostructures where preferential crystal growth in the (200) direction after chelating agent (EDTANa₂•2H₂O) addition has been observed. The mean volume weighted crystallite size 4.9 nm and 35 nm has been calculated from XRD data using Williamson-Hall method for PbS synthesized without and/or with chelating agent, respectively corresponding with surface weighted crystallites sizes of 2.9 and 18.8 nm. The sample prepared without surfactant yields the smaller crystallites and the higher microstrain compared with surfactant assisted synthesis. The obtained results illustrate a possibility to manipulate crystal morphology by combining effect of milling and surfactant application.