Monodisperse spherical meso–macroporous silica particles: Synthesis and adsorption of biological macromolecules

Monodispersed spherical silica particles, including large mesopores (over 10 nm) and macropores (up to 100 nm) were obtained by chemical etching in an autoclave. A method for introducing globular protein myoglobin molecules into the pores is developed. The method of filling is based on a high adsorption capacity of the developed internal pore structure of the particles. The structure and adsorption properties of the materials are studied.     

Melt synthesis and structural properties of opal-V2O5 and opal-VO2 nanocomposites

A method has been proposed for filling bulk and film opals with V₂O₅ and V₂O₅: W melts under the action of capillary forces. The VO₂ and VO₂: W (1.8 mol %) compounds have been synthesized from the V₂O₅ and V₂O₅: W precursors in opal pores. The phase composition and morphology of the nanocomposites prepared have been investigated. It has been revealed that, in the opal-V₂O₅ composite, the filler compound has a texture formed by the directional crystallization of the melt in pores of the opal film. The tunable photonic crystal heterostructure opal/opal-VO₂ has been synthesized using liquid chemical etching.     

Effect of tetraethoxysilane pretreatment on synthesis of colloidal particles of amorphous silicon dioxide

The effect of the time passed after tetraethoxysilane treatment with ammonia on the diameter of particles produced by tetraethoxysilane hydrolysis in alcohol-water-ammonia media is studied. The regulation the time passed after of tetraethoxysilane treatment results in the synthesis of submicron monodisperse spherical silica particles with diameters differing by a factor of two. The difference is explained by the formation of SiO₂ particles with sizes of 10–100 nm in tetraethoxysilane during 10–30 h after treatment with ammonia. These particles enhance the concentration of nucleation centers in a reaction mixture, thus decreasing the final size of monodisperse silica spheres. Opal films with a high structural perfection and pronounced photonic crystal properties are grown based on the obtained monodisperse SiO₂ particles.     

Optical properties of synthetic-opal films with a copper-filled pore sublattice

The opal-copper composite structures in which the surface of the a-SiO₂ spheres forming pores of an opal matrix is coated by a copper film have been prepared by the autocatalytic method. The reflection spectra of these structures in the optical and near-IR ranges have been investigated as a function of the pore filling by copper and the angle of light incidence. At low fillings, the spectrum exhibits a Bragg reflection line shifted toward the long-wavelength range with respect to the original opal. At high fillings, the spectrum exhibits several features whose position does not depend on the angle of light incidence. These features have been assigned to excitation of hybridized Mie plasma modes of a periodic ensemble of nanoshells. Calculation of the reflection spectra performed by the finite-difference method in the time domain provides a qualitatively good fit to the spectral features observed at high fillings.     

Dependence of the Characteristics of Spectrally Narrow Luminescence Lines in Nanodiamonds on the Excitation and Temperature Parameters

Physics of the Solid State - The influence of the parameters of exciting radiation and temperature on the spectral characteristics of the narrow photoluminescence lines of nanodiamonds obtained by...     

New luminescence lines in nanodiamonds obtained by chemical vapor deposition

The spectral characteristics of the photoluminescence lines detected for nanodiamonds obtained by the reactive ion etching of diamond particles in oxygen plasma, deposited by chemical vapor deposition on a silicon substrate, are studied. At room temperature, narrow lines are observed in the visible and infrared spectral regions, with a full width at half-maximum in the range of 1–2 nm at an almost complete absence of a broadband photoluminescence background signal. At decreasing temperature, the lines narrowed to 0.2–0.6 nm at T = 79 K, and the minimum line width was 0.055 nm at T = 10 K. With increasing temperature, the narrow lines shifted to the long-wavelength region of the spectrum, and their intensity decreased.     

Fluorescent monodisperse spherical particles based on mesoporous silica containing rhodamine 6G

Fluorescent monodisperse spherical silica (SiO₂) particles with a regular mesoporous structure containing encapsulated Rhodamine 6G (R6G) dye have been synthesized. The as-synthesized particles have been coated with SiO₂ and SiO₂-CTAB (cetyltrimethylammonium bromide, C₁₆H₃₃N(CH₃)₃Br) shells in order to prevent uncontrolled release of the dye from pores. The kinetics of R6G release from the pores of silica particles has been studied. It has been found that the particles synthesized by adding CTAB and R6G to the reaction mixture, as well as the particles coated with the SiO₂-CTAB shell, are characterized by the maximum duration of dye release from the pores, which is probably associated with the formation of chemical bonds between R6G and CTAB molecules.     

Electro-tunable one-dimensional photonic crystal structures based on grooved silicon infiltrated with liquid crystal

The paper reports on composite periodic structures fabricated by means of wet anisotropic etching of (1 1 0)-oriented Si on a SOI platform and infiltrated with liquid crystal E7. The electro-optical effect under low voltages was registered for inter-digital structures by both optical microscopy and micro-Raman spectroscopy.     

Photoluminescence of Germanium-Vacancy Color Centers in Diamond Particles Obtained by Chemical Vapor Deposition

Physics of the Solid State - We synthesized diamond particles with germanium-vacancy color centers on a germanium substrate by hot-filament chemical vapor deposition. The formation of color centers...