Optical properties and electric conductivity of gold nanoparticle-containing, hydrogel-based thin layer composite films obtained by photopolymerization

Poly(acrylamide) [poly(AAm)] and poly(N-isopropyl-acrylamide) [poly(NIPAAm)] based gel films containing Au nanoparticles (d = 14 ± 2.5 nm) were synthesized. Monomers and cross-linker were added to a gold nanodispersion, and after the addition of the initiator, polymer films were prepared on the surface of an interdigital microelectrode by photopolymerization. In the course of the syntheses the gold concentration of the films was constant (10.8 μg/cm²) and the volume fraction of Au nanoparticles (?_Au) in the polymer gel films varied in the range of 0.58-85.3%. Poly(AAm)-based films swell when the temperature increases: due to a temperature shift of 15 °C the Au plasmon absorption maximum at λ = ∼532 nm was shifted towards shorter wavelengths by 16.6 nm (blue shift) through the swelling of the polymer gel film. In the case of poly(NIPAAm) the temperature-induced shrinking resulted in a red shift, namely the maximum was shifted by 18.07 nm by a temperature shift of 15 °C. In the case of both composites, the electric conductivity of the samples was shown to increase with increasing Au particle concentration. In the case of the poly(AAm)-based composite containing ?_Au = 0.85 gold the resistance of the film spread on the surface of the electrode was 0.16 MΩ at 25 °C and 0.66 MΩ at 50 °C, i.e. the conductivity of the sample decreased with increasing temperature. The opposite effect is observed in the case of the poly(NIPAAm)-based composite: as temperature is raised, the resistance of the composite abruptly drops at the point of collapse of the NIPAAm gel (it is 0.28 MΩ at 32 °C and only 0.021 MΩ at 35 °C). This thermosensitive effect was detectable only at sufficiently high Au contents (?_Au = 0.85) in both gels.     

Structural optimization and segregation behavior of quaternary alloy nanoparticles based on simulated annealing algorithm

Alloy nanoparticles exhibit higher catalytic activity than monometallic nanoparticles, and their stable structures are of importance to their applications. We employ the simulated annealing algorithm to systematically explore the stable structure and segregation behavior of tetrahexahedral Pt–Pd–Cu–Au quaternary alloy nanoparticles. Three alloy nanoparticles consisting of 443 atoms, 1417 atoms, and 3285 atoms are considered and compared. The preferred positions of atoms in the nanoparticles are analyzed. The simulation results reveal that Cu and Au atoms tend to occupy the surface, Pt atoms preferentially occupy the middle layers, and Pd atoms tend to segregate to the inner layers. Furthermore, Au atoms present stronger surface segregation than Cu ones. This study provides a fundamental understanding on the structural features and segregation phenomena of multi-metallic nanoparticles.     

Pair interaction of bilayer-coated nanoscopic particles

The pair interaction between bilayer membrane-coated nanosized particles has been explored by using the self-consistent field (SCF) theory. The bilayer membranes are composed of amphiphilic polymers. For different system parameters, the pair-interaction free energies are obtained. Particular emphasis is placed on the analysis of a sequence of structural transformations of bilayers on spherical particles, which occur during their approaching processes. For different head fractions of amphiphiles, the asymmetrical morphologies between bilayers on two particles and the inverted micellar intermediates have been found in the membrane fusion pathway. These results can benefit the fabrication of vesicles as encapsulation vectors for drug and gene delivery.     

Preparation of CoFe alloy nanoparticles with tunable electromagnetic wave absorption performance

CoFe alloy nanoparticles with different particle sizes were successfully prepared by hydrogen-thermal reduction of CoFe₂O₄ microspheres at different temperatures. It was found that the real part of the permeability of the CoFe alloy nanoparticles increased with the decrease of the particle size, and accordingly the reflection loss (RL) peak moved towards the low-frequency region. The maximum RL of the coating based on CoFe alloy nanoparticles exceeded −23 dB, and a wide effective absorption band width (RL≤−10 dB) of about 6 GHz was simultaneously achieved. The EMA performance was confirmed to be tunable by the control of the absorber's particle size, and thus a new clue for the design of the EMA applications was supplied.     

Nanosized metal deposits on titanium dioxide for augmenting gas-phase toluene photooxidation

The build-up of intermediate species on the surface of TiO₂ during gas-phase toluene (C₇H₈) photodegradation has been observed to deactivate the photocatalyst. Nanosized metallic deposits on the TiO₂ surface may enhance the photocatalytic process and improve photocatalyst performance. In this study, noble (Ag, Au) and platinum group (Pt, Pd, Rh) metals, at a nominal loading of 0.5 at.%, were deposited onto Degussa P25 TiO₂ to enhance photocatalyst performance and inhibit deactivation. Pd, Rh and Au deposits delayed photocatalyst deactivation by a factor of 2, while Pt deposits delayed photocatalyst deactivation by a factor of 20, when compared with neat TiO₂. Ag deposits did not improve photocatalyst activity. Metal deposit performance was related to the work function of each metal, however, the Pt finding suggested that these effects are not governed solely by this aspect, but factors such as deposit characteristics and/or thermal catalytic properties of the metals may be influential.     

Au@碳球复合结构中Au颗粒位置调控光吸收

采用时域有限差分（FDTD）法研究Au纳米颗粒@碳球（AuNPs@CS）复合结构的光吸收控制。发现Au纳米颗粒@碳球复合结构中Au颗粒的位置可以控制复合结构光吸收。模型计算中选取两粒Au纳米颗粒以最佳深度（0 nm）嵌入碳球表面。当两粒Au颗粒球心与碳球球心夹角为22.5°和45°时,复合结构光吸收较单一碳球光吸收明显增强;当夹角为315°、270°、180°、90°时,光吸收增量逐渐减小;当夹角为337.5°时,光吸收量低于单一碳球。这一结果主要归因于Au纳米颗粒位置变化可引起表面等离子体光强度和光散射方向的变化。改变碳球表面Au纳米颗粒的数量和位置,可以进一步调节AuNPs@CS复合结构的光吸收。     

基于铂电阻的机载测温系统校准方法改进

为了解决机载铂电阻测温系统机上校准工作量大、实施难等问题,根据机载铂电阻测温原理和校准方法,分析了对于单个测温通道在实验室与机载环境下测量结果之间的差异,提出了一种对实验室校准曲线进行修正而替代机上校准曲线的方法,并通过实验对该方法进行验证;设计了根据机载测试系统的数据文件、系统配置文件,批量修正实验室校准曲线的软件;任意选择的8个参数进行工程验证,采用原方法和本文方法进行校准得到的两组校准曲线,分别对测试数据进行处理,得到测量结果的最大偏差与量程比不超过0.27％,证明修正后实验室校准曲线与机上校准曲线基本一致,可以用作数据处理;结果证明,改进后校准方法方便、高效,校准结果满足机载测试要求,为机载参数校准提供了新思路。     

Structure and switching of single-stranded DNA tethered to a charged nanoparticle surface

Using a molecular theory, we investigate the temperature-dependent self-assembly of single-stranded DNA(ss DNA)tethered to a charged nanoparticle surface. Here the size, conformations, and charge properties of ss DNA are taken into account. The main results are as follows: i) when the temperature is lower than the critical switching temperature, the ss DNA will collapse due to the existence of electrostatic interaction between ss DNA and charged nanoparticle surface; ii)for the short ss DNA chains with the number of bases less than 10, the switching of ss DNA cannot happen, and the critical temperature does not exist; iii) when the temperature increases, the electrostatic attractive interaction between ss DNA and charged nanoparticle surface becomes weak dramatically, and ss DNA chains will stretch if the electrostatic attractive interaction is insufficient to overcome the elastic energy of ss DNA and the electrostatic repulsion energy. These findings accord well with the experimental observations. It is predicted that the switching of ss DNA will not happen if the grafting densities are too high.     

DFT study of Pt adsorption on low index SrTiO3 surfaces: SrTiO3(1 0 0), SrTiO3(1 1 1) and SrTiO3(1 1 0)

Density Functional Theory has been used to determine the energetically preferred structures of submonolayer, monolayer, and multilayer Pt films on both ideal terminations of SrTiO₃(1 0 0), SrTiO₃(1 1 1), and SrTiO₃(1 1 0). The strength of the resulting metal/metal oxide interfaces was characterized by the adsorption energy of the film and the film’s work of separation. The two polar surfaces, SrTiO₃(1 1 1) and SrTiO₃(1 1 0), form significantly stronger interfaces than the non-polar SrTiO₃(1 0 0) surface. Approximate criteria were applied to predict the growth mode of Pt on each surface.     

利用Ag@SiO_2纳米粒子等离子体共振增强发光二极管辐射功率的数值研究

金属纳米粒子利用其局域表面等离子体共振效应(LSPR),可以增强附近荧光分子的自发辐射速率,因而在光学传感、光电器件等领域中具有潜在的应用价值.金属纳米粒子的LSPR与其自身的材料、形状、尺寸以及周围环境介质密切相关,这影响着纳米粒子在具体器件中的应用.本文利用三维时域有限差分法,研究了相同体积的球形、椭球形、立方形与三棱柱形银纳米粒子对薄膜发光二极管辐射功率的影响;计算了不同形状银纳米粒子对偶极子光源辐射功率和薄膜器件光出射强度的增强,并结合LSPR效应讨论了辐射功率变化的物理机理.研究结果表明:银纳米粒子自身形状尖锐程度的增加有利于提高LSPR的共振强度;同时纳米粒子的形状影响了LSPR共振电场与薄膜器件中偶极子辐射电场之间的耦合作用,其中立方形纳米粒子因为能实现最强的耦合作用而对器件的辐射功率增强最大.在此基础上进一步讨论了不同薄膜材料对LSPR共振及光源辐射功率的影响,发现较高的材料折射率有利于增强金属纳米粒子的LSPR与器件的耦合作用,从而改善发光二极管性能.