Sample records for nanosheets modified glassy

  1. Multi-walled Carbon Nanotubes/Graphite Nanosheets Modified Glassy Carbon Electrode for the Simultaneous Determination of Acetaminophen and Dopamine.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Susu; He, Ping; Zhang, Guangli; Lei, Wen; He, Huichao

    2015-01-01

    Graphite nanosheets prepared by thermal expansion and successive sonication were utilized for the construction of a multi-walled carbon nanotubes/graphite nanosheets based amperometric sensing platform to simultaneously determine acetaminophen and dopamine in the presence of ascorbic acid in physiological conditions. The synergistic effect of multi-walled carbon nanotubes and graphite nanosheets catalyzed the electrooxidation of acetaminophen and dopamine, leading to a remarkable potential difference up to 200 mV. The as-prepared modified electrode exhibited linear responses to acetaminophen and dopamine in the concentration ranges of 2.0 × 10(-6) - 2.4 × 10(-4) M (R = 0.999) and 2.0 × 10(-6) - 2.0 × 10(-4) M (R = 0.998), respectively. The detection limits were down to 2.3 × 10(-7) M for acetaminophen and 3.5 × 10(-7) M for dopamine (S/N = 3). Based on the simple preparation and prominent electrochemical properties, the obtained multi-walled carbon nanotubes/graphite nanosheets modified electrode would be a good candidate for the determination of acetaminophen and dopamine without the interference of ascorbic acid.

  2. 2D nanosheet molybdenum disulphide (MoS2) modified electrodes explored towards the hydrogen evolution reaction

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rowley-Neale, Samuel J.; Brownson, Dale A. C.; Smith, Graham C.; Sawtell, David A. G.; Kelly, Peter J.; Banks, Craig E.

    2015-10-01

    We explore the use of two-dimensional (2D) MoS2 nanosheets as an electrocatalyst for the Hydrogen Evolution Reaction (HER). Using four commonly employed commercially available carbon based electrode support materials, namely edge plane pyrolytic graphite (EPPG), glassy carbon (GC), boron-doped diamond (BDD) and screen-printed graphite electrodes (SPE), we critically evaluate the reported electrocatalytic performance of unmodified and MoS2 modified electrodes towards the HER. Surprisingly, current literature focuses almost exclusively on the use of GC as an underlying support electrode upon which HER materials are immobilised. 2D MoS2 nanosheet modified electrodes are found to exhibit a coverage dependant electrocatalytic effect towards the HER. Modification of the supporting electrode surface with an optimal mass of 2D MoS2 nanosheets results in a lowering of the HER onset potential by ca. 0.33, 0.57, 0.29 and 0.31 V at EPPG, GC, SPE and BDD electrodes compared to their unmodified counterparts respectively. The lowering of the HER onset potential is associated with each supporting electrode's individual electron transfer kinetics/properties and is thus distinct. The effect of MoS2 coverage is also explored. We reveal that its ability to catalyse the HER is dependent on the mass deposited until a critical mass of 2D MoS2 nanosheets is achieved, after which its electrocatalytic benefits and/or surface stability curtail. The active surface site density and turn over frequency for the 2D MoS2 nanosheets is determined, characterised and found to be dependent on both the coverage of 2D MoS2 nanosheets and the underlying/supporting substrate. This work is essential for those designing, fabricating and consequently electrochemically testing 2D nanosheet materials for the HER.We explore the use of two-dimensional (2D) MoS2 nanosheets as an electrocatalyst for the Hydrogen Evolution Reaction (HER). Using four commonly employed commercially available carbon based electrode

  3. 2D nanosheet molybdenum disulphide (MoS2) modified electrodes explored towards the hydrogen evolution reaction.

    PubMed

    Rowley-Neale, Samuel J; Brownson, Dale A C; Smith, Graham C; Sawtell, David A G; Kelly, Peter J; Banks, Craig E

    2015-11-21

    We explore the use of two-dimensional (2D) MoS2 nanosheets as an electrocatalyst for the Hydrogen Evolution Reaction (HER). Using four commonly employed commercially available carbon based electrode support materials, namely edge plane pyrolytic graphite (EPPG), glassy carbon (GC), boron-doped diamond (BDD) and screen-printed graphite electrodes (SPE), we critically evaluate the reported electrocatalytic performance of unmodified and MoS2 modified electrodes towards the HER. Surprisingly, current literature focuses almost exclusively on the use of GC as an underlying support electrode upon which HER materials are immobilised. 2D MoS2 nanosheet modified electrodes are found to exhibit a coverage dependant electrocatalytic effect towards the HER. Modification of the supporting electrode surface with an optimal mass of 2D MoS2 nanosheets results in a lowering of the HER onset potential by ca. 0.33, 0.57, 0.29 and 0.31 V at EPPG, GC, SPE and BDD electrodes compared to their unmodified counterparts respectively. The lowering of the HER onset potential is associated with each supporting electrode's individual electron transfer kinetics/properties and is thus distinct. The effect of MoS2 coverage is also explored. We reveal that its ability to catalyse the HER is dependent on the mass deposited until a critical mass of 2D MoS2 nanosheets is achieved, after which its electrocatalytic benefits and/or surface stability curtail. The active surface site density and turn over frequency for the 2D MoS2 nanosheets is determined, characterised and found to be dependent on both the coverage of 2D MoS2 nanosheets and the underlying/supporting substrate. This work is essential for those designing, fabricating and consequently electrochemically testing 2D nanosheet materials for the HER.

  4. Electrocatalytic simultaneous determination of ascorbic acid, uric acid and L-Cysteine in real samples using quercetin silver nanoparticles-graphene nanosheets modified glassy carbon electrode

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zare, Hamid R.; Jahangiri-Dehaghani, Fahime; Shekari, Zahra; Benvidi, Ali

    2016-07-01

    By immobilizing of quercetin at the surface of a glassy carbon electrode modified with silver nanoparticles and graphene nanosheets (Q-AgNPs-GNs-GCE) a new sensor has been fabricated. The cyclic voltammogram of Q-AgNPs-GNs-GCE shows a stable redox couple with surface confined characteristics. Q-AgNPs-GNs-GCE demonstrated a high catalytic activity for L-Cysteine (L-Cys) oxidation. Results indicated that L-Cys peak potential at Q-AgNPs-GNs-GCE shifted to less positive values compared to GNs-GCE or AgNPs-GCE. Also, the kinetic parameters such as the electron transfer coefficient,, and the heterogeneous electron transfer rate constant, k‧, for the oxidation of L-Cys at the Q-AgNPs-GNs-GCE surface were estimated. In differential pulse voltammetric determination, the detection limit of L-Cys was obtained 0.28 μM, and the calibration plots were linear within two ranges of 0.9-12.4 μM and 12.4-538.5 μM of L-Cys. Also, the proposed modified electrode is used for the simultaneous determinations of ascorbic acid (AA), uric acid (UA), and L-Cys. Finally, this study has demonstrated the practical analytical utility of the sensor for determination of AA in vitamin C tablet, L-Cys in a milk sample and UA in a human urine sample.

  5. An Easily Fabricated Electrochemical Sensor Based on a Graphene-Modified Glassy Carbon Electrode for Determination of Octopamine and Tyramine

    PubMed Central

    Zhang, Yang; Zhang, Meiqin; Wei, Qianhui; Gao, Yongjie; Guo, Lijuan; Al-Ghanim, Khalid A.; Mahboob, Shahid; Zhang, Xueji

    2016-01-01

    A simple electrochemical sensor has been developed for highly sensitive detection of octopamine and tyramine by electrodepositing reduced graphene oxide (ERGO) nanosheets onto the surface of a glassy carbon electrode (GCE). The electrocatalytic oxidation of octopamine and tyramine is individually investigated at the surface of the ERGO modified glassy carbon electrode (ERGO/GCE) by using cyclic voltammetry (CV) and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV). Several essential factors including the deposition cycle of reduced graphene oxide nanosheets and the pH of the running buffer were investigated in order to determine the optimum conditions. Furthermore, the sensor was applied to the quantification of octopamine and tyramine by DPV in the concentration ranges from 0.5 to 40 μM and 0.1 to 25 μM, respectively. In addition, the limits of detection of octopamine and tyramine were calculated to be 0.1 μM and 0.03 μM (S/N = 3), respectively. The sensor showed good reproducibility, selectivity and stability. Finally, the sensor successfully detected octopamine and tyramine in commercially available beer with satisfactory recovery ranges which were 98.5%–104.7% and 102.2%–103.1%, respectively. These results indicate the ERGO/GCE based sensor is suitable for the detection of octopamine and tyramine. PMID:27089341

  6. Electrochemiluminescence of luminol at the titanate nanotubes modified glassy carbon electrode.

    PubMed

    Xu, Guifang; Zeng, Xiaoxue; Lu, Shuangyan; Dai, Hong; Gong, Lingshan; Lin, Yanyu; Wang, Qingping; Tong, Yuejin; Chen, Guonan

    2013-01-01

    A new strategy for the construction of a sensitive and stable electrochemiluminescent platform based on titanate nanotubes (TNTs) and Nafion composite modified electrode for luminol is described, TNTs contained composite modified electrodes that showed some photocatalytic activity toward luminol electrochemiluminescence emission, and thus could dramatically enhance luminol light emission. This extremely sensitive and stable platform allowed a decrease of the experiment electrochemiluminescence luminol reagent. In addition, in luminol solution at low concentrations, we compared the capabilities of a bare glassy carbon electrode with the TNT composite modified electrode for hydrogen peroxide detection. The results indicated that compared with glassy carbon electrode this platform was extraordinarily sensitive to hydrogen peroxide. Therefore, by combining with an appropriate enzymatic reaction, this platform would be a sensitive matrix for many biomolecules.

  7. Poly(ionic liquids) functionalized polypyrrole/graphene oxide nanosheets for electrochemical sensor to detect dopamine in the presence of ascorbic acid.

    PubMed

    Mao, Hui; Liang, Jiachen; Zhang, Haifeng; Pei, Qi; Liu, Daliang; Wu, Shuyao; Zhang, Yu; Song, Xi-Ming

    2015-08-15

    Novel poly(ionic liquids) functionalized polypyrrole/graphene oxide nanosheets (PILs/PPy/GO) were prepared by the polymerization of 1-vinyl-3-ethylimidazole bromide (VEIB) on the surface of N-vinyl imidazolium modified PPy/GO nanosheets. Due to the synergistic effects of GO with well-defined lamellar structures, conductive PPy and biocompatible PILs, PILs/PPy/GO modified glassy carbon electrode (GCE) presented the excellent electrochemical catalytic activity towards dopamine (DA) with good stability, high sensitivity and wide linear range in the present of ascorbic acid (AA) with high concentration. PILs played an essential role for the simultaneous determination of DA and AA in a mixture, whose existence effectively improved the transmission mode of electrons and resulted in the different electrocatalytic performance towards the oxidation of DA and AA. It is indicated that PILs/PPy/GO nanosheets can act as a good steady and sensitive electrode material for the development of improved DA sensors. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  8. Multifunctional nanosheets based on folic acid modified manganese oxide for tumor-targeting theranostic application

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hao, Yongwei; Wang, Lei; Zhang, Bingxiang; Zhao, Hongjuan; Niu, Mengya; Hu, Yujie; Zheng, Cuixia; Zhang, Hongling; Chang, Junbiao; Zhang, Zhenzhong; Zhang, Yun

    2016-01-01

    It is highly desirable to develop smart nanocarriers with stimuli-responsive drug-releasing and diagnostic-imaging functions for cancer theranostics. Herein, we develop a reduction and pH dual-responsive tumor theranostic platform based on degradable manganese dioxide (MnO2) nanosheets. The MnO2 nanosheets with a size of 20-60 nm were first synthesized and modified with (3-Aminopropyl) trimethoxysilane (APTMS) to get amine-functionalized MnO2, and then functionalized by NH2-PEG2000-COOH (PEG). The tumor-targeting group, folic acid (FA), was finally conjugated with the PEGylated MnO2 nanosheets. Then, doxorubicin (DOX), a chemotherapeutic agent, was loaded onto the modified nanosheets through a physical adsorption, which was designated as MnO2-PEG-FA/DOX. The prepared MnO2-PEG-FA/DOX nanosheets with good biocompatibility can not only efficiently deliver DOX to tumor cells in vitro and in vivo, leading to enhanced anti-tumor efficiency, but can also respond to a slightly acidic environment and high concentration of reduced glutathione (GSH), which caused degradation of MnO2 into manganese ions enabling magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The longitudinal relaxation rate r 1 was 2.26 mM-1 s-1 at pH 5.0 containing 2 mM GSH. These reduction and pH dual-responsive biodegradable nanosheets combining efficient MRI and chemotherapy provide a novel and promising platform for tumor-targeting theranostic application.

  9. KOH modified graphene nanosheets for supercapacitor electrodes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Yueming; van Zijll, Marshall; Chiang, Shirley; Pan, Ning

    Chemical modification of graphene nanosheets by KOH was examined as a way to enhance the specific capacity of graphene nanosheets in supercapacitor. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy were used to investigate the effects of the treatment on the surface of the graphene nanosheets. The specific capacitance of 136 F g -1 was obtained for KOH treated graphene by integration of the cyclic voltammogram, an increase of about 35% compared with that for the pristine graphene nanosheets.

  10. Enhanced photocatalytic H2-production activity of graphene-modified titania nanosheets

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Xiang, Quanjun; Yu, Jiaguo; Jaroniec, Mietek

    2011-09-01

    Graphene-modified TiO2 nanosheets with exposed (001) facets (graphene/TiO2) were prepared by microwave-hydrothermal treatment of graphene oxide (GO) and hydrothermally synthesized TiO2 nanosheets with exposed (001) facets in an ethanol-water solvent. These nanocomposite samples showed high photocatalytic H2-production activity in aqueous solutions containing methanol, as sacrificial reagent, even without Pt co-catalyst. The optimal graphene content was found to be ~1.0 wt%, giving a H2-production rate of 736 μmol h-1 g-1 with a quantum efficiency (QE) of 3.1%, which exceeded the rate observed on pure TiO2 nanosheets by more than 41 times. This high photocatalytic H2-production activity is due to the deposition of TiO2 nanosheets on graphene sheets, which act as an electron acceptor to efficiently separate the photogenerated charge carriers. The observed enhancement in the photocatalytic activity is due to the lower absolute potential of graphene/graphene z.rad- (-0.08 V vs. SHE, pH = 0) in comparison to the conduction band (-0.24 V) of anatase TiO2, meanwhile the aforementioned absolute value is higher than the reduction potential of H+ (0 V), which favors the electron transfer from the conduction band (CB) of TiO2 to graphene sheets and the reduction of H+, thus enhancing photocatalytic H2-production activity. The proposed mechanism for the observed photocatalytic performance of TiO2 nanosheets, modified with a small amount of graphene, was further confirmed by photoluminescence spectroscopy and transient photocurrent response. This work not only shows a possibility for the utilization of low cost graphene sheets as a substitute for noble metals (such as Pt) in the photocatalytic H2-production but also for the first time shows a significant enhancement in the H2-production activity by using metal-free carbon material as an effective co-catalyst.

  11. Glassy aging with modified Kohlrausch-Williams-Watts form

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Sen Gupta, Bhaskar; Das, Shankar P.

    2007-12-15

    In this paper, we address the question of whether aging in the nonequilibrium glassy state is controlled by the equilibrium {alpha}-relaxation process, which occurs at temperatures above T{sub g}. Recently, Lunkenheimer et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 95, 055702 (2005)] proposed a model for the glassy aging data of dielectric relaxation using a modified Kohlrausch-Williams-Watts form exp[-(t{sub age}/{tau}{sub age}){sup {beta}{sub age}}]. The aging time t{sub age} dependence of the relaxation time {tau}{sub age} is defined by these authors through a functional relation involving the corresponding frequency {nu}(t{sub age})=1/(2{pi}{tau}{sub age}), but the stretching exponent {beta}{sub age} is the same as {beta}{sub {alpha}},more » the {alpha}-relaxation stretching exponent. We present here an alternative functional form for {tau}{sub age}(t{sub age}) directly involving the relaxation time itself. The proposed model fits the data of Lunkenheimer et al. perfectly with a stretching exponent {beta}{sub age} different from {beta}{sub {alpha}}.« less

  12. Poly(zwitterionic liquids) functionalized polypyrrole/graphene oxide nanosheets for electrochemically detecting dopamine at low concentration.

    PubMed

    Mao, Hui; Liang, Jiachen; Ji, Chunguang; Zhang, Haifeng; Pei, Qi; Zhang, Yuyang; Zhang, Yu; Hisaeda, Yoshio; Song, Xi-Ming

    2016-08-01

    Poly(3-(1-vinylimidazolium-3-yl)propane-1-sulfonate) (PVIPS), a novel kind of poly(zwitterionic liquids) (PZILs) containing both imidazolium cation and sulfonate anion, was successfully modified on the surface of polypyrrole/graphene oxide nanosheets (PPy/GO) by covalent bonding. The obtained novel PZILs functionalized PPy/GO nanosheets (PVIPS/PPy/GO) modified glassy carbon electrode (GCE) presented the excellent electrochemical catalytic activity towards dopamine (DA) with high stability, sensitivity, selectivity and wide linear range (40-1220nM), especially having a lower detection limit (17.3nM). The excellent analytical performance is attributed to the strongly negative charges on the surface of modified GCE in aqueous solution, which is different from conventional poly(ionic liquids) modified GCE. DA cations could be quickly enriched on the electrode surface by electrostatic interaction in solution due to the existence of SO3(-) groups with negative charge at the end of pendant groups in zwitterionic PVIPS, resulting in a change of the electrons transmission mode in the oxidation of DA, that is, from a typical diffusion-controlled process at conventional poly(1-vinyl-3-ethylimidazole bromide) (PVEIB)/PPy/GO modified GCE to a typical surface-controlled process. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  13. Cerium Oxide Nanoparticles Decorated Graphene Nanosheets for Selective Detection of Dopamine.

    PubMed

    Nayak, Pranati; Santhosh, P N; Ramaprabhu, S

    2015-07-01

    The fabrication of a novel amperometric biosensor based on selective determination of dopamine (DA) using nafion coated cerium oxide nanoparticles (NPs) decorated graphene nanosheets (CeO2-HEG-nafion) as a transducer candidate is reported. Graphene was synthesized by hydrogen exfoliation technique. Decoration of CeO2NPs over graphene nanosheets was done by chemical reduction method. The electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) study shows the enhanced electron transfer kinetics of the composite compared to HEG modified and bare glassy carbon electrode (GCE). The response of the composite towards dopamine displays a lower oxidation potential of 0.23 V and a high oxidation current. The sensor exhibits linearity from 10 µM to 780 µM with a detection limit of 1 µM. In the presence of nafion, it shows excellent selectivity for coexisting interference species like Ascorbic acid (AA) and Uric acid (UA). The excellent performance of the biosensor can be attributed to large active surface area, enhanced electron transfer kinetics and high catalytic activity of the composite.

  14. Polythioether Particles Armored with Modifiable Graphene Oxide Nanosheets.

    PubMed

    Rodier, Bradley J; Mosher, Eric P; Burton, Spencer T; Matthews, Rachael; Pentzer, Emily

    2016-06-01

    Facile and scalable fabrication methods are attractive to prepare materials for diverse applications. Herein, a method is presented to prepare cross-linked polymeric nanoparticles with graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets covalently attached to the surface. Alkene-modified GO serves as a surfactant in a miniemulsion polymerization, and the alkene functionalities of GO exposed to the oil-phase are incorporated into the polymer particle through thiol-ene reactions, leaving the unreacted alkene functional groups of the other face of GO available for further functionalization. The surface of GO-armored polymer particles is then modified with a small molecule fluorophore or carboxylic acid functional groups that bind to Fe2 O3 and TiO2 nanoparticles. This methodology provides a facile route to preparing complex hybrid composite materials. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  15. In Situ Determination of Bisphenol A in Beverage Using a Molybdenum Selenide/Reduced Graphene Oxide Nanoparticle Composite Modified Glassy Carbon Electrode.

    PubMed

    Shi, Rongguang; Liang, Jing; Zhao, Zongshan; Liu, Yi; Liu, Aifeng

    2018-05-22

    Due to the endocrine disturbing effects of bisphenol A (BPA) on organisms, rapid detection has become one of the most important techniques for monitoring its levels in the aqueous solutions associated with plastics and human beings. In this paper, a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) modified with molybdenum selenide/reduced graphene oxide (MoSe₂/rGO) was fabricated for in situ determination of bisphenol A in several beverages. The surface area of the electrode dramatically increases due to the existence of ultra-thin nanosheets in a flower-like structure of MoSe₂. Adding phosphotungstic acid in the electrolyte can significantly enhance the repeatability (RSD = 0.4%) and reproducibility (RSD = 2.2%) of the electrode. Under the optimized condition (pH = 6.5), the linear range of BPA was from 0.1 μM⁻100 μM and the detection limit was 0.015 μM (S/ N = 3). When using the as-prepared electrode for analyzing BPA in beverage samples without any pretreatments, the recoveries ranged from 98⁻107%, and the concentrations were from below the detection limit to 1.7 μM, indicating its potential prospect for routine analysis of BPA.

  16. g-C3N4 modified TiO2 nanosheets with enhanced photoelectric conversion efficiency in dye-sensitized solar cells

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Xu, Jian; Wang, Guanxi; Fan, Jiajie; Liu, Baoshun; Cao, Shaowen; Yu, Jiaguo

    2015-01-01

    Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) were fabricated by using g-C3N4 modified TiO2 nanosheets (CTS) as photoanode materials in this research. A thin layer of g-C3N4 was coated on the surface of TiO2 nanosheets by simply heating the mixture of TiO2 nanosheets and urea, which led to the formation of TiO2@g-C3N4 nanosheet heterostructure. The experimental results showed that the photoelectric conversion efficiency of DSSCs was obviously improved after modified by g-C3N4. The measurements of I-V characteristic indicated that the introduction of g-C3N4 could increase both the open circuit voltage and short-circuit photocurrent density. Along with the analysis of electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, it is considered that the thin layer of g-C3N4 can act as the blocking layer for electron backward recombination with electrolyte, which can be used as the functional material to increase the DSSC performance.

  17. Glutatione modified ultrathin SnS2 nanosheets with highly photocatalytic activity for wastewater treatment

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wei, Renjie; Zhou, Tengfei; Hu, Juncheng; Li, Jinlin

    2014-04-01

    L-Glutatione (GSH) modified ultrathin SnS2 nanosheets were successfully synthesized via a one-pot, facile and rapid solvothermal approach. During the process, the GSH not only served as the sulfur sources, the structure-directing agent, but also as the surface modified ligands. The as-synthesized samples mainly consist of ultrathin nanosheets with the thickness of about 10 nm. Inspiringly, even under the visible light (λ > 420 nm) irradiation, the as-synthesized products exhibited highly photocatalytic activities for both the degradation of methyl orange (MO) and the reductive conversion of Cr (VI) in aqueous solution. The superior performance was presented by completely removed the methyl orange and aqueous Cr(VI) in 20 min and 60 min, respectively. It was much higher than the pure samples, which suggested that these obtained photocatalysts have the potential for wastewater treatment in a green way. The high-efficiency of photocatalytic properties could attribute to the ultrathin size of the photocatalysts and the chelation between GSH and Sn (IV), which have the advantages of electron-hole pairs separation. Moreover, modified organic compounds with common electron donors would also enhance the spectral response even to the near infrared region through ligand-to-metal charge transfer (LMCT) mechanism.

  18. Nickel hydroxide nanoparticles-reduced graphene oxide nanosheets film: layer-by-layer electrochemical preparation, characterization and rifampicin sensory application.

    PubMed

    Rastgar, Shokoufeh; Shahrokhian, Saeed

    2014-02-01

    Electrochemical deposition, as a well-controlled synthesis procedure, has been used for subsequently layer-by-layer preparation of nickel hydroxide nanoparticle-reduced graphene oxide nanosheets (Ni(OH)2-RGO) on a graphene oxide (GO) film pre-cast on a glassy carbon electrode surface. The surface morphology and nature of the nano-hybrid film (Ni(OH)2-RGO) was thoroughly characterized by scanning electron and atomic force microscopy, spectroscopy and electrochemical techniques. The modified electrode appeared as an effective electro-catalytic model for analysis of rifampicin (RIF) by using linear sweep voltammetry (LSV). The prepared modified electrode exhibited a distinctly higher activity for electro-oxidation of RIF than either GO, RGO nanosheets or Ni(OH)2 nanoparticles. Enhancement of peak currents is ascribed to the fast heterogeneous electron transfer kinetics that arise from the synergistic coupling between the excellent properties of RGO nanosheets (such as high density of edge plane sites, subtle electronic characteristics and attractive π-π interaction) and unique properties of metal nanoparticles. Under the optimized analysis conditions, the modified electrode showed two oxidation processes for rifampicin at potentials about 0.08 V (peak I) and 0.69 V (peak II) in buffer solution of pH 7.0 with a wide linear dynamic range of 0.006-10.0 µmol L(-1) and 0.04-10 µmol L(-1) with a detection limit of 4.16 nmol L(-1) and 2.34 nmol L(-1) considering peaks I and II as an analytical signal, respectively. The results proved the efficacy of the fabricated modified electrode for simple, low cost and highly sensitive medicine sensor well suited for the accurate determinations of trace amounts of rifampicin in the pharmaceutical and clinical preparations. © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  19. A 3D Microfluidic Chip for Electrochemical Detection of Hydrolysed Nucleic Bases by a Modified Glassy Carbon Electrode

    PubMed Central

    Vlachova, Jana; Tmejova, Katerina; Kopel, Pavel; Korabik, Maria; Zitka, Jan; Hynek, David; Kynicky, Jindrich; Adam, Vojtech; Kizek, Rene

    2015-01-01

    Modification of carbon materials, especially graphene-based materials, has wide applications in electrochemical detection such as electrochemical lab-on-chip devices. A glassy carbon electrode (GCE) modified with chemically alternated graphene oxide was used as a working electrode (glassy carbon modified by graphene oxide with sulphur containing compounds and Nafion) for detection of nucleobases in hydrolysed samples (HCl pH = 2.9, 100 °C, 1 h, neutralization by NaOH). It was found out that modification, especially with trithiocyanuric acid, increased the sensitivity of detection in comparison with pure GCE. All processes were finally implemented in a microfluidic chip formed with a 3D printer by fused deposition modelling technology. As a material for chip fabrication, acrylonitrile butadiene styrene was chosen because of its mechanical and chemical stability. The chip contained the one chamber for the hydrolysis of the nucleic acid and another for the electrochemical detection by the modified GCE. This chamber was fabricated to allow for replacement of the GCE. PMID:25621613

  20. A 3D microfluidic chip for electrochemical detection of hydrolysed nucleic bases by a modified glassy carbon electrode.

    PubMed

    Vlachova, Jana; Tmejova, Katerina; Kopel, Pavel; Korabik, Maria; Zitka, Jan; Hynek, David; Kynicky, Jindrich; Adam, Vojtech; Kizek, Rene

    2015-01-22

    Modification of carbon materials, especially graphene-based materials, has wide applications in electrochemical detection such as electrochemical lab-on-chip devices. A glassy carbon electrode (GCE) modified with chemically alternated graphene oxide was used as a working electrode (glassy carbon modified by graphene oxide with sulphur containing compounds and Nafion) for detection of nucleobases in hydrolysed samples (HCl pH = 2.9, 100 °C, 1 h, neutralization by NaOH). It was found out that modification, especially with trithiocyanuric acid, increased the sensitivity of detection in comparison with pure GCE. All processes were finally implemented in a microfluidic chip formed with a 3D printer by fused deposition modelling technology. As a material for chip fabrication, acrylonitrile butadiene styrene was chosen because of its mechanical and chemical stability. The chip contained the one chamber for the hydrolysis of the nucleic acid and another for the electrochemical detection by the modified GCE. This chamber was fabricated to allow for replacement of the GCE.

  1. Modified Unzipping Technique to Prepare Graphene Nano-Sheets

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Al-Tamimi, B. H.; Farid, S. B. H.; Chyad, F. A.

    2018-05-01

    Graphene nano-sheets have been prepared via unzipping approach of multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). The method includes two chemical-steps, in which a multi-parameter oxidation step is performed to achieve unzipping the carbon nanotubes. Then, a reduction step is carried out to achieve the final graphene nano-sheets. In the oxidation step, the oxidant material was minimized and balanced with longer curing time. This modification is made in order to reduce the oxygen-functional groups at the ends of graphene basal planes, which reduce its electrical conductivity. In addition, a similar adjustment is achieved in the reduction step, i.e. the consumed chemicals is reduced which make the overall process more economic and eco-friendly. The prepared nano-sheets were characterized by atomic force microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and Raman spectroscopy. The average thickness of the prepared graphene was about 5.23 nm.

  2. Trimethylamine Sensors Based on Au-Modified Hierarchical Porous Single-Crystalline ZnO Nanosheets.

    PubMed

    Meng, Fanli; Zheng, Hanxiong; Sun, Yufeng; Li, Minqiang; Liu, Jinhuai

    2017-06-22

    It is of great significance for dynamic monitoring of foods in storage or during the transportation process through on-line detecting trimethylamine (TMA). Here, TMA were sensitively detected by Au-modified hierarchical porous single-crystalline ZnO nanosheets (HPSCZNs)-based sensors. The HPSCZNs were synthesized through a one-pot wet-chemical method followed by an annealing treatment. Polyethyleneimine (PEI) was used to modify the surface of the HPSCZNs, and then the PEI-modified samples were mixed with Au nanoparticles (NPs) sol solution. Electrostatic interactions drive Au nanoparticles loading onto the surface of the HPSCZNs. The Au-modified HPSCZNs were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and energy dispersive spectrum (EDS), respectively. The results show that Au-modified HPSCZNs-based sensors exhibit a high response to TMA. The linear range is from 10 to 300 ppb; while the detection limit is 10 ppb, which is the lowest value to our knowledge.

  3. Trimethylamine Sensors Based on Au-Modified Hierarchical Porous Single-Crystalline ZnO Nanosheets

    PubMed Central

    Zheng, Hanxiong; Sun, Yufeng; Li, Minqiang; Liu, Jinhuai

    2017-01-01

    It is of great significance for dynamic monitoring of foods in storage or during the transportation process through on-line detecting trimethylamine (TMA). Here, TMA were sensitively detected by Au-modified hierarchical porous single-crystalline ZnO nanosheets (HPSCZNs)-based sensors. The HPSCZNs were synthesized through a one-pot wet-chemical method followed by an annealing treatment. Polyethyleneimine (PEI) was used to modify the surface of the HPSCZNs, and then the PEI-modified samples were mixed with Au nanoparticles (NPs) sol solution. Electrostatic interactions drive Au nanoparticles loading onto the surface of the HPSCZNs. The Au-modified HPSCZNs were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and energy dispersive spectrum (EDS), respectively. The results show that Au-modified HPSCZNs-based sensors exhibit a high response to TMA. The linear range is from 10 to 300 ppb; while the detection limit is 10 ppb, which is the lowest value to our knowledge. PMID:28640226

  4. Voltammetric studies of Azathioprine on the surface of graphite electrode modified with graphene nanosheets decorated with Ag nanoparticles.

    PubMed

    Asadian, Elham; Iraji Zad, Azam; Shahrokhian, Saeed

    2016-01-01

    By using graphene nanosheets decorated with Ag nanoparticles (AgNPs-G) as an effective approach for the surface modification of pyrolytic graphite electrode (PGE), a sensing platform was fabricated for the sensitive voltammetric determination of Azathioprine (Aza). The prepared AgNPs-G nanosheets were characterized using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV-vis and Raman spectroscopy techniques. The electrochemical behavior of Aza was investigated by means of cyclic voltammetry. Comparing to the bare PGE, a remarkable enhancement was observed in the response characteristics of Aza on the surface of the modified electrode (AgNPs-G/PGE) as well as a noticeable decrease in its reduction overpotential. These results can be attributed to the incredible enlargement in the microscopic surface area of the electrode due to the presence of graphene nanosheets together with strong adsorption of Aza on its surface. The effect of experimental parameters such as accumulation time, the amount of modifier suspension and pH of the supporting electrolyte were also optimized toward obtaining the maximum sensitivity. Under the optimum conditions, the calibration curve studies demonstrated that the peak current increased linearly with Aza concentrations in the range of 7 × 10(-7) to 1 × 10(-4)mol L(-1) with the detection limit of 68 nM. Further experiments revealed that the modified electrode can be successfully applied for the accurate determination of Aza in pharmaceutical preparations. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  5. Electrochemical behavior of an antiviral drug acyclovir at fullerene-C(60)-modified glassy carbon electrode.

    PubMed

    Shetti, Nagaraj P; Malode, Shweta J; Nandibewoor, Sharanappa T

    2012-12-01

    Electrochemical oxidation of acyclovir at fullerene-C(60)-modified glassy carbon electrode has been investigated using cyclic and differential pulse voltammetry. In pH 7.4 phosphate buffer, acyclovir showed an irreversible oxidation peak at about 0.96V. The cyclic voltammetric results showed that fullerene-C(60)-modified glassy carbon electrode can remarkably enhance electrocatalytic activity towards the oxidation of acyclovir. The electrocatalytic behavior was further exploited as a sensitive detection scheme for the acyclovir determination by differential pulse voltammetry. Effects of anodic peak potential (E(p)/V), anodic peak current (I(p)/μA) and heterogeneous rate constant (k(0)) have been discussed. Under optimized conditions, the concentration range and detection limit were 9.0×10(-8) to 6.0×10(-6)M and 1.48×10(-8)M, respectively. The proposed method was applied to acyclovir determination in pharmaceutical samples and human biological fluids such as urine and blood plasma as a real sample. This method can also be employed in quality control and routine determination of drugs in pharmaceutical formulations. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  6. Poly(4-vinylphenylboronic acid) functionalized polypyrrole/graphene oxide nanosheets for simultaneous electrochemical determination of catechol and hydroquinone

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mao, Hui; Liu, Meihong; Cao, Zhenqian; Ji, Chunguang; Sun, Ying; Liu, Daliang; Wu, Shuyao; Zhang, Yu; Song, Xi-Ming

    2017-10-01

    Novel poly(4-vinylphenylboronic acid) (P4VPBA) functionalized polypyrrole/graphene oxide (PPy/GO) nanosheets, which combined the advantages of GO, PPy and PBA groups, were successfully prepared by a simple polymerization of 4-vinylphenylboronic acid (4VPBA) on the surface of pre-treated PPy/GO containing vinyl groups. Because of the synergistic effects of GO with excellent 2D structures and large surface area, PPy with good electronic conductivity and PBA with high recognition capability, P4VPBA/PPy/GO modified glassy carbon electrode presented excellent electrochemical sensing capabilities toward catechol (CC) and hydroquinone (HQ) with good stability, high sensitivity and selectivity, especially giving a large anodic peak potential difference between CC and HQ enough to well distinguish and simultaneously determine the two dihydroxybenzene isomers in their mixture. It is found that PBA groups on the surface of P4VPBA/PPy/GO nanosheets played an essential role for the discrimination and simultaneous electrochemical determination of CC and HQ, which may be due to the selective formation of stable cyclic esters by the covalent interaction between PBA groups and related molecules with a cis-diol in an alkaline aqueous solution. Therefore, P4VPBA/PPy/GO nanosheets can act as a good electrode material for building a steady electrochemical sensor for detecting the two dihydroxybenzene isomers with high sensitivity and selectivity.

  7. Heterofunctional nanosheet controlling cell adhesion properties by collagen coating.

    PubMed

    Niwa, Daisuke; Fujie, Toshinori; Lang, Thorsten; Goda, Nobuhito; Takeoka, Shinji

    2012-08-01

    Recently, biomaterials have been widely used in a variety of medical applications. We previously reported that a poly-l-lactic acid (PLLA) nanosheet shows anti-adhesive properties and constitutes a useful biomaterial for preventing unwanted wound adhesion in surgical operations. In this article, we examine whether the PLLA nanosheet can be specifically modified with biomacromolecules on one surface only. Such an approach would endow each side of the nanosheet with discrete functions, that is anti-adhesive and pro-healing properties. We fabricated two distinct PLLA nanosheets: (i) collagen cast on the surface of a PLLA nanosheet (Col-Cast-PLLA) and (ii) collagen spin-coated on the nanosheet (Col-Spin-PLLA). In the Col-Spin-PLLA nanosheet, the collagen layer had a thickness of 5-10 nm on the PLLA surface and displayed increased hydrophilicity compared to both PLLA and Col-Cast-PLLA nanosheets. In addition, atomic force microscopy showed disorganized collagen fibril formation on the PLLA layer when covered using the spin-coating method, while apparent bundle formations of collagen were formed in the Col-Cast-PLLA nanosheet. The Col-Spin-PLLA nanosheet provided a microenvironment for cells to adhere and spread. By contrast, the Col-Cast-PLLA nanosheet displayed reduced cell adhesion compared to the Col-Spin-PLLA nanosheet. Consistent with these findings, immunocytochemical analysis clearly showed fine networks of actin filaments in cells cultured on the Col-Spin-PLLA, but not the Col-Cast-PLLA nanosheet. Therefore, the Col-Spin-PLLA nanosheet was shown to be more suitable for acting as a scaffold. In conclusion, we have succeeded in developing a heterofunctional nanosheet comprising a collagen modified side, which has the ability to rapidly adhere cells, and an unmodified side, which acts as an adhesion barrier, by using a spin-coating technique.

  8. Poly(amidosulfonic acid) modified glassy carbon electrode for determination of isoniazid in pharmaceuticals.

    PubMed

    Yang, Gongjun; Wang, Cunxiao; Zhang, Rui; Wang, Chenying; Qu, Qishu; Hu, Xiaoya

    2008-06-01

    Amidosulfonic acid was electropolymerized by cyclic voltammetry onto the surface of glassy carbon electrode (GCE) to fabricate the chemically modified electrode, which showed high stability, good selectivity and reproducibility for determination of isoniazid. The modified electrode showed an excellent electrocatalytical effect on the oxidation of isoniazid. Under the optimum conditions, there was a good linear relationship between anodic peak current and isoniazid concentration in the range of 5.0 x 10(-8)- 1.0 x 10(-5) M, and a detection limit of 1.0 x 10(-8) M (S/N = 3) was obtained after 120 s at the accumulation potential of - 0.2 V (vs. SCE). This developed method had been applied to the direct determination of isoniazid in injection and tablet samples with satisfactory results.

  9. Modified g-C3N4/TiO2 nanosheets/ZnO ternary facet coupled heterojunction for photocatalytic degradation of p-toluenesulfonic acid (p-TSA) under visible light

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jiang, Dong; Yu, Han; Yu, Hongbing

    2017-01-01

    Novel ternary nanocomposites with facet coupled structure were synthesized by using modified g-C3N4, TiO2 nanosheets and nano-ZnO. Nanosheet/nanosheet heterojunction structure was investigated by TEM, XPS and XRD. FT-IR and Nitrogen adsorption were illustrated for chemical/physical structure analyses. Solution of p-Toluenesulfonic acid (p-TSA) was chosen as target pollutant for visible light photodegradation and the excellent removal efficiency was achieved by this structurally modified g-C3N4/TiO2/ZnO hybrid. The visible light absorption improvement and quantum efficiency enhancement, which were testified by UV-vis DRS, PL and p-TSA photodegradation measurements, due to the facet coupled structure and appropriate quantity of modified g-C3N4 in the nanocomposites.

  10. A novel electrochemical sensor based on FeS anchored reduced graphene oxide nanosheets for simultaneous determination of dopamine and acetaminophen.

    PubMed

    Liu, Xiaoya; Shangguan, Enbo; Li, Jing; Ning, Sashuang; Guo, Litan; Li, Quanmin

    2017-01-01

    In this paper, FeS nanoparticles anchored on reduced graphene oxide (rGO) nanosheets are synthesized via a facile direct-precipitation method. For the first time, a novel electrochemical sensor is developed based on FeS/rGO nanosheets modified glassy carbon electrode (GCE). It has been proved that the resultant FeS/rGO/GCE sensor is very suitable for the individual and simultaneous measurement of dopamine (DA) and acetaminophen (AC) and delivers excellent anti-interference ability to ascorbic acid (AA) and uric acid (UA). Under optimum conditions with differential pulse voltammetry method, a broad linear response versus the concentrations of DA and AC has been observed in the ranges of 2.0 to 250.0μM and 5.0 to 300.0μM, respectively. The detection limits for DA and AC are 0.098μM and 0.18μM, respectively. Furthermore, the as-obtained sensor has been successfully utilized in real samples and satisfactory results have been achieved. Consequently, by virtue of its outstanding electrocatalytic activity, excellent sensitivity, and long time stability, the as-obtained FeS/rGO modified electrode can be considered as a new promising DA and AC sensor. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  11. Design of amine modified polymer dispersants for liquid-phase exfoliation of transition metal dichalcogenide nanosheets and their photodetective nanocomposites

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lee, Jinseong; Hahnkee Kim, Richard; Yu, Seunggun; Babu Velusamy, Dhinesh; Lee, Hyeokjung; Park, Chanho; Cho, Suk Man; Jeong, Beomjin; Sol Kang, Han; Park, Cheolmin

    2017-12-01

    Liquid-phase exfoliation (LPE) of transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) nanosheets is a facile, cost-effective approach to large-area photoelectric devices including photodetectors and non-volatile memories. Non-destructive exfoliation of nanosheets using macromolecular dispersing agents is beneficial in rendering the TMD nanocomposite films suitable for mechanically flexible devices. Here, an efficient LPE of molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) with an amine modified poly(styrene-co-maleic anhydride) co-polymer (AM-PSMA) is demonstrated, wherein the maleic anhydrides were converted into maleic imides with primary amines using N-Boc-(CH2) n -NH2. The exfoliation of nanosheets was facilitated through Lewis acid-base interaction between the primary amine and transition metal. The results demonstrate that the exfoliation depends upon both the fraction of primary amines in the polymer chain and their distance from the polymer backbone. Under optimized conditions of primary amine content and its distance from the backbone, AM-PSMA gave rise to a highly concentrated MoS2 nanosheet suspension that was stable for over 10 d. Exfoliation of several other TMDs was also achieved using the optimized AM-PSMA, indicating the scope of AM-PSMA applications. Furthermore, a flexible composite film of AM-PSMA and MoS2 nanosheets fabricated by vacuum-assisted filtration showed excellent photoconductive performances including a high I on/I off ratio of 102 and a fast photocurrent switching of 300 ms.

  12. Electrical properties of carbon nanotubes modified GaSe glassy system

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Khan, Hana; Khan, Zubair M. S. H.; Islam, Shama; Rahman, Raja Saifu; Husain, M.; Zulfequar, M.

    2018-05-01

    In this paper we report the investigation of the effect of Carbon Nanotubes (CNT) addition on the electrical properties of GaSe Glassy system. Dielectric constant and dielectric loss of GaSe glassy system are found to increase on CNT addition. The conductivity of GaSe glasy systems is also found to increase on CNT addition. This behavior is attributed to the excellent conduction properties of Carbon Nanotube.

  13. Glucose biosensing using glassy carbon electrode modified with polyhydroxy-C60, glucose oxidase and ionic-liquid.

    PubMed

    Yang, Tian; Yang, Xiao-Lu; Zhang, Yu-Shuai; Xiao, BaoLin; Hong, Jun

    2014-01-01

    Direct electrochemistry of glucose oxidase (GOD) was achieved when an ionic liquid/GOD-Polyhydroxy-C60 functional membrane was confined on a glassy carbon electrode (GCE). The cyclic voltammograms (CVs) of the modified GCE showed a pair of redox peaks with a formal potential (E°') of - 329 ± 2 mV. The heterogeneous electron transfer constant (k(s)) was 1.43 s-1. The modified GCE response to glucose was linear in the range from 0.02 to 2.0 mM. The detection limit was 1 μM. The apparent Michaelis-Menten constant (K(m)(app)) was 1.45 mM.

  14. Amperometric sensing of hydrogen peroxide using glassy carbon electrode modified with copper nanoparticles

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Sophia, J.; Muralidharan, G., E-mail: muraligru@gmail.com

    2015-10-15

    In this paper, fabrication of glassy carbon electrode (GCE) modified with nano copper particles is discussed. The modified electrode has been tested for the non-enzymatic electrochemical detection of hydrogen peroxide (H{sub 2}O{sub 2}). The copper nanoparticles (Cu NPs) were prepared employing a simple chemical reduction method. The presence of Cu NPs was confirmed through UV–visible (UV–vis) absorption spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. The size and morphology of the particles were investigated using transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The electrochemical properties of the fabricated sensor were studied via cyclic voltammetry (CV), chronoamperometry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The electrochemical sensor displayedmore » excellent performance features towards H{sub 2}O{sub 2} detection exhibiting wide linear range, low detection limit, swift response time, good reproducibility and stability.« less

  15. Electrochemical Determination of Caffeine Content in Ethiopian Coffee Samples Using Lignin Modified Glassy Carbon Electrode.

    PubMed

    Amare, Meareg; Aklog, Senait

    2017-01-01

    Lignin film was deposited at the surface of glassy carbon electrode potentiostatically. In contrast to the unmodified glassy carbon electrode, an oxidative peak with an improved current and overpotential for caffeine at modified electrode showed catalytic activity of the modifier towards oxidation of caffeine. Linear dependence of peak current on caffeine concentration in the range 6 × 10 -6 to 100 × 10 -6  mol L -1 with determination coefficient and method detection limit (LoD = 3 s/slope) of 0.99925 and 8.37 × 10 -7  mol L -1 , respectively, supplemented by recovery results of 93.79-102.17% validated the developed method. An attempt was made to determine the caffeine content of aqueous coffee extracts of Ethiopian coffees grown in four coffee cultivating localities (Wonbera, Wolega, Finoteselam, and Zegie) and hence to evaluate the correlation between users preference and caffeine content. In agreement with reported works, caffeine contents (w/w%) of 0.164 in Wonbera coffee; 0.134 in Wolega coffee; 0.097 in Finoteselam coffee; and 0.089 in Zegie coffee were detected confirming the applicability of the developed method for determination of caffeine in a complex matrix environment. The result indicated that users' highest preference for Wonbera and least preference for Zegie cultivated coffees are in agreement with the caffeine content.

  16. Electrocatalytic activity of spots of electrodeposited noble-metal catalysts on carbon nanotubes modified glassy carbon.

    PubMed

    Chen, Xingxing; Eckhard, Kathrin; Zhou, Min; Bron, Michael; Schuhmann, Wolfgang

    2009-09-15

    A strategy for the screening of the electrocatalytic activity of electrocatalysts for possible application in fuel cells and other devices is presented. In this approach, metal nanoclusters (Pt, Au, Ru, and Rh and their codeposits) were prepared using a capillary-based droplet-cell by pulsed electrodeposition in a diffusion-restricted viscous solution. A glassy carbon surface was modified with carbon nanotubes (CNTs) by electrophoretic accumulation and was used as substrate for metal nanoparticle deposition. The formed catalyst spots on the CNT-modified glassy carbon surface were investigated toward their catalytic activity for oxygen reduction as a test reaction employing the redox competition mode of scanning electrochemical microscopy (RC-SECM). Qualitative information on the electrocatalytic activity of the catalysts was obtained by varying the potential applied to the substrate; semiquantitative evaluation was based on the determination of the electrochemically deposited catalyst loading by means of the charge transferred during the metal nanoparticle deposition. Qualitatively, Au showed the highest electrocatalytic activity toward the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in phosphate buffer among all investigated single metal catalysts which was attributed to the much higher loading of Au achieved during electrodeposition. Coelectrodeposited Au-Pt catalysts showed a more positive onset potential (-150 mV in RC-SECM experiments) of the ORR in phosphate buffer at pH 6.7. After normalizing the SECM image by the charge during the metal nanocluster deposition which represents the mass loading of the catalyst, Ru showed a higher electrocatalytic activity toward the ORR than Au.

  17. Impedimetric PSA aptasensor based on the use of a glassy carbon electrode modified with titanium oxide nanoparticles and silk fibroin nanofibers.

    PubMed

    Benvidi, Ali; Banaei, Maryam; Tezerjani, Marzieh Dehghan; Molahosseini, Hosein; Jahanbani, Shahriar

    2017-12-14

    This article describes an impedimetric aptasensor for the prostate specific antigen (PSA), a widely accepted prostate cancer biomarker. A glassy carbon electrode (GCE) was modified with titanium oxide nanoparticles (TiO 2 ) and silk fibroin nanofiber (SF) composite. The aptasensor was obtained by immobilizing a PSA-binding aptamer on the AuNP-modified with 6-mercapto-1-hexanol. The single fabrication steps were characterized by cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The assay has two linear response ranges (from 2.5 fg.mL -1 to 25 pg.mL -1 , and from 25 pg.mL -1 to 25 ng.mL -1 ) and a 0.8 fg.mL -1 detection limit. After optimization of experimental conditions, the sensor is highly selective for PSA over bovine serum albumin and lysozyme. It was successfully applied to the detection of PSA in spiked serum samples. Graphical abstract Schematic of the fabrication of an aptasensor for the prostate specific antigen (PSA). It is based on the use of a glassy carbon electrode modified with gold nanoparticles and titanium oxide-silk fibroin. The immobilization process of aptamer and interaction with PSA were followed by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy technique.

  18. Novel Signal-Amplified Fenitrothion Electrochemical Assay, Based on Glassy Carbon Electrode Modified with Dispersed Graphene Oxide

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wang, Limin; Dong, Jinbo; Wang, Yulong; Cheng, Qi; Yang, Mingming; Cai, Jia; Liu, Fengquan

    2016-03-01

    A novel signal-amplified electrochemical assay for the determination of fenitrothion was developed, based on the redox behaviour of organophosphorus pesticides on a glassy carbon working electrode. The electrode was modified using graphene oxide dispersion. The electrochemical response of fenitrothion at the modified electrode was investigated using cyclic voltammetry, current-time curves, and square-wave voltammetry. Experimental parameters, namely the accumulation conditions, pH value, and volume of dispersed material, were optimised. Under the optimum conditions, a good linear relationship was obtained between the oxidation peak current and the fenitrothion concentration. The linear range was 1-400 ng·mL-1, with a detection limit of 0.1 ng·mL-1 (signal-to-nose ratio = 3). The high sensitivity of the sensor was demonstrated by determining fenitrothion in pakchoi samples.

  19. Electrocatalytic oxidation of 2-mercaptoethanol using modified glassy carbon electrode by MWCNT in combination with unsymmetrical manganese (II) Schiff base complexes

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Mohebbi, Sajjad, E-mail: smohebbi@uok.ac.ir; Eslami, Saadat

    2015-06-15

    Highlights: • High electocatalytic efficiency and stability of modified hybrid electrode GC/MWCNTs/MnSaloph. • Direct reflection of catalytic activity of manganese complexes on electrocatalytic oxidation of 2-ME. • Decreasing overpotential and increasing catalytic peak current toward oxidation of 2-ME. • Deposition of range of novel substituted N{sub 2}O{sub 2} Saloph complexes of manganese(II) on GCE/MWCNT. • Enhancement of electrocatalytic oxidation activity upon electron donating substitutions on the Saloph. - Abstract: The performance of modified hybrid glassy carbon electrode with composite of carbon nanotubes and manganese complexes for the electrocatalytic oxidation of 2-mercaptoethanol is developed. GC electrode was modified using MWCNT andmore » new N{sub 2}O{sub 2} unsymmetrical tetradentate Schiff base complexes of manganese namely Manganese Saloph complexes 1-5, with general formula Mn[(5-x-4-y-Sal)(5-x′-4-y′-Sal) Ph], where x, x′ = H, Br, NO{sub 2} and y, y′ = H, MeO. Direct immobilization of CNT on the surface of GCE is performed by abrasive immobilization, and then modified by manganese(II) complexes via direct deposition method. These novel modified electrodes clearly demonstrate the necessity of modifying bare carbon electrodes to endow them with the desired behavior and were identified by HRTEM. Also complexes were characterized by elemental analyses, MS, UV–vis and IR spectroscopy. Modified hybrid GC/MWCNT/MnSaloph electrode exhibits strong and stable electrocatalytic activity towards the electrooxidation of 2-mercaptoethanol molecules in comparison with bare glassy carbon electrode with advantages of very low over potential and high catalytic current. Such ability promotes the thiol’s electron transfer reaction. Also, electron withdrawing substituent on the Saloph was enhanced electrocatalytic oxidation activity.« less

  20. Non-enzymatic detection of glucose using poly(azure A)-nickel modified glassy carbon electrode.

    PubMed

    Liu, Tong; Luo, Yiqun; Zhu, Jiaming; Kong, Liyan; Wang, Wen; Tan, Liang

    2016-08-15

    A simple, sensitive and selective non-enzymatic glucose sensor was constructed in this paper. The poly(azure A)-nickel modified glassy carbon electrode was successfully fabricated by the electropolymerization of azure A and the adsorption of Ni(2+). The Ni modified electrode, which was characterized by scanning electron microscope, cyclic voltammetry, electrochemical impedance spectra and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements, respectively, displayed well-defined current responses of the Ni(III)/Ni(II) couple and showed a good activity for electrocatalytic oxidation of glucose in alkaline medium. Under the optimized conditions, the developed sensor exhibited a broad linear calibration range of 5 μM-12mM for quantification of glucose and a low detection limit of 0.64μM (3σ). The excellent analytical performance including simple structure, fast response time, good anti-interference ability, satisfying stability and reliable reproducibility were also found from the proposed amperometric sensor. The results were satisfactory for the determination of glucose in human serum samples as comparison to those from a local hospital. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  1. Polymer modified glassy carbon electrode for the electrochemical determination of caffeine in coffee.

    PubMed

    Amare, Meareg; Admassie, Shimelis

    2012-05-15

    4-Amino-3-hydroxynaphthalene sulfonic acid (AHNSA) was electropolymerized on a glassy carbon electrode. The deposited film showed electrocatalytic activity towards the oxidation of caffeine. The polymer-modified electrode showed high sensitivity, selectivity and stability in the determination of caffeine in coffee. The peak current increased linearly with the concentration of caffeine in the range of 6 × 10(-8) to 4 × 10(-5) mol L(-1), with a detection limit of 1.37 × 10(-7) mol L(-1) (LoD = 3δ/slope). Analysis of caffeine in coffee was affected neither by sample matrices nor by structurally similar compounds. Recoveries ranging between 93.75 ± 2.32 and 100.75 ± 3.32 were achieved from coffee extracts indicating the applicability of the developed method for real sample analyses. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  2. Detection of Guanine and Adenine Using an Aminated Reduced Graphene Oxide Functional Membrane-Modified Glassy Carbon Electrode

    PubMed Central

    Li, Di; Yang, Xiao-Lu; Xiao, Bao-Lin; Geng, Fang-Yong; Hong, Jun; Sheibani, Nader; Moosavi-Movahedi, Ali Akbar

    2017-01-01

    A new electrochemical sensor based on a Nafion, aminated reduced graphene oxide and chitosan functional membrane-modified glassy carbon electrode was proposed for the simultaneous detection of adenine and guanine. Fourier transform-infrared spectrometry (FTIR), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and electrochemical methods were utilized for the additional characterization of the membrane materials. The prepared electrode was utilized for the detection of guanine (G) and adenine (A). The anodic peak currents to G and A were linear in the concentrations ranging from 0.1 to 120 μM and 0.2 to 110 μM, respectively. The detection limits were found to be 0.1 μM and 0.2 μM, respectively. Moreover, the modified electrode could also be used to determine G and A in calf thymus DNA. PMID:28718793

  3. Noncovalently Functionalized Tungsten Disulfide Nanosheets for Enhanced Mechanical and Thermal Properties of Epoxy Nanocomposites.

    PubMed

    Sahu, Megha; Narashimhan, Lakshmi; Prakash, Om; Raichur, Ashok M

    2017-04-26

    In the present study, noncovalently functionalized tungsten disulfide (WS 2 ) nanosheets were used as a toughening agent for epoxy nanocomposites. WS 2 was modified with branched polyethyleneimine (PEI) to increase the degree of interaction of nanosheets with the epoxy matrix and prevent restacking and agglomeration of the sheets in the epoxy matrix. The functionalization of WS 2 sheets was confirmed through Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analysis. The exfoliation of the bulk WS 2 was confirmed through X-ray diffraction and various microscopic techniques. Epoxy nanocomposites containing up to 1 wt % of WS 2 -PEI nanosheets were fabricated. They showed a remarkable improvement in fracture toughness (K IC ). K IC increased from 0.94 to 1.72 MPa m -1/2 for WS 2 -PEI nanosheet loadings as low as 0.25 wt %. Compressive and flexural properties also showed a significant improvement as incorporation of 0.25 wt % of WS 2 -PEI nanosheets resulted in 43 and 65% increase in the compressive and flexural strengths of epoxy nanocomposites, respectively, compared with neat epoxy. Thermal stability and thermomechanical properties of the WS 2 -PEI-modified epoxy also showed a significant improvement. The simultaneous improvement in the mechanical and thermal properties could be attributed to the good dispersion of WS 2 -PEI nanosheets in the matrix, intrinsic high strength and thermal properties of the nanosheets, and improved interaction of the WS 2 nanosheets with the epoxy matrix owing to the presence of PEI molecules on the surface of the WS 2 nanosheets.

  4. Enhanced sulfide removal and bioelectricity generation in microbial fuel cells with anodes modified by vertically oriented nanosheets.

    PubMed

    Yang, Meng; Zhong, Yuezhi; Zhang, Baogang; Shi, Jiaxin; Huang, Xueyang; Xing, Yi; Su, Lin; Liu, Huipeng; Borthwick, Alistair G L

    2018-01-31

    Anode materials and structures are of critical importance for microbial fuel cells (MFCs) recovering energy from toxic substrates. Carbon-fiber-felt anodes modified by layers of vertically oriented TiO 2 and Fe 2 O 3 nanosheets were applied in the present study. Enhanced sulfide removal efficiencies (both over 90%) were obtained after a 48-h operation, with maximum power densities improved by 1.53 and 1.36 folds compared with MFCs with raw carbon-fiber-felt anode. The modified anodes provided more active sites for microbial adhesion with increasing biomass densities. High-throughput 16S rRNA gene sequencing analysis also indicated the increase in microbial diversities. Bacteroidetes responsible for bioelectricity generation with Thiobacillus and Spirochaeta dominating sulfide removal were found in the MFCs with the modified anodes, with less anaerobic fermentative bacteria as Firmicutes appeared. This indicates that the proposed materials are competitive for applications of MFCs generating bioelectricity from toxic sulfide.

  5. Tin oxide nanosheet assembly for hydrophobic/hydrophilic coating and cancer sensing.

    PubMed

    Masuda, Yoshitake; Ohji, Tatsuki; Kato, Kazumi

    2012-03-01

    Tin oxide nanosheets were crystallized on transparent conductive oxide substrates of fluorine-doped tin oxide in aqueous solutions. The nanosheets had chemical ratio of Sn:O:F = 1:1.85:0.076, suggesting fluorine doping into SnO(2). They were hydrophobic surfaces with contact angle of 140°. They were converted to hydrophilic surfaces with contact angle of below 1° by light irradiation. The simple water process will be applied to surface coating of polymers, metals, biomaterials, papers, etc. Furthermore, the tin oxide nanosheets were modified with dye-labeled monoclonal antibody. Monoclonal antibody reacts with human alpha-fetoprotein in blood serum of hepatocellular cancer patient. Photoluminescence and photocurrent were obtained from the nanosheets under excitation light. Photoelectric conversion was an essence in the sensing system. The tin oxide nanosheets with dye-labeled prostate specific antigen will be used for electrodes of prostate cancer sensors. © 2012 American Chemical Society

  6. Amperometric biosensor based on glassy carbon electrode modified with long-length carbon nanotube and enzyme

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Furutaka, Hajime; Nemoto, Kentaro; Inoue, Yuki; Hidaka, Hiroki; Muguruma, Hitoshi; Inoue, Hitoshi; Ohsawa, Tatsuya

    2016-05-01

    An amperometric biosensor based on a glassy carbon electrode modified with long-length multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and enzyme nicotinamide-adenine-dinucleotide-dependent glucose dehydrogenase (GDH) is presented. We demonstrate the effect of the MWCNT length on the amperometric response of the enzyme biosensor. The long length of MWCNT is 200 µm (average), whereas the normal length of MWCNT is 1 µm (average). The response of the long MWCNT-GDH electrode is 2 times more sensitive than that of the normal-length MWCNT-GDH electrode in the concentration range from 0.25-35 mM. The result of electrochemical impedance spectroscopy measurements suggest that the long-length MWCNT-GDH electrode formed a better electron transfer network than the normal-length one.

  7. SiC nanoparticles-modified glassy carbon electrodes for simultaneous determination of purine and pyrimidine DNA bases.

    PubMed

    Ghavami, Raouf; Salimi, Abdollah; Navaee, Aso

    2011-05-15

    For the first time a novel and simple electrochemical method was used for simultaneous detection of DNA bases (guanine, adenine, thymine and cytosine) without any pretreatment or separation process. Glassy carbon electrode modified with silicon carbide nanoparticles (SiCNP/GC), have been used for electrocatalytic oxidation of purine (guanine and adenine) and pyrimidine bases (thymine and cytosine) nucleotides. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) techniques were used to examine the structure of the SiCNP/GC modified electrode. The modified electrode shows excellent electrocatalytic activity toward guanine, adenine, thymine and cytosine. Differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) was proposed for simultaneous determination of four DNA bases. The effects of different parameters such as the thickness of SiC layer, pulse amplitude, scan rate, supporting electrolyte composition and pH were optimized to obtain the best peak potential separation and higher sensitivity. Detection limit, sensitivity and linear concentration range of the modified electrode toward proposed analytes were calculated for, guanine, adenine, thymine and cytosine, respectively. As shown this sensor can be used for nanomolar or micromolar detection of different DNA bases simultaneously or individually. This sensor also exhibits good stability, reproducibility and long lifetime. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  8. A glassy carbon electrode modified with poly(2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine) for simultaneous detection of dihydroxybenzene isomers.

    PubMed

    Lopa, Nasrin Siraj; Rahman, Md Mahbubur; Jang, Hohyoun; Sutradhar, Sabuj Chandra; Ahmed, Faiz; Ryu, Taewook; Kim, Whangi

    2017-12-06

    2,4-Dinitrophenylhydrazine (DNPH) was electropolymerized on the surface of an anodized glassy carbon electrode by cyclic voltammetry. The anodized electrode has a highly electroactive surface due to the creation of chemically functionalized graphitic nanoparticles, and this facilitates the formation of poly-DNPH via radical polymerization. Poly-DNPH displays excellent redox activity due to the presence of nitro groups on its backbone. These catalyze the electro-oxidation of hydroquinone (HQ) and catechol (CT). The peak-to-peak separation is around 109 mV, while a bare GCE cannot resolve the peaks (located at 165 and 274 mV vs. Ag/AgCl). Sensitivity is also enhanced to ∼1.20 and 1.19 μA·cm -2 ·μM -1 , respectively. The sensor has a linear response that covers the 20-250 μM concentration range for both HQ and CT, with 0.75 and 0.76 μM detection limits, respectively, at simultaneous detection. Commonly present species do not interfere. Graphical abstract A novel conducting poly(2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine)-modified anodized glassy carbon electrode (pDNPH/AGCE) was developed by electrochemical method. The electro-catalytic activity of pDNPH/AGCE sensor was investigated for the selective and simultaneous electrochemical detection of hydroquinone (HQ) and catechol (CT), which revealed high sensitivities and low detection limits with excellent stability.

  9. Determination of fenitrothion in water using a voltammetric sensor based on a polymer-modified glassy carbon electrode.

    PubMed

    Amare, Meareg; Abicho, Samuel; Admassie, Shimelis

    2014-01-01

    A glassy carbon electrode (GCE) modified with poly(4-amino-3-hydroxynaphthalene sulfonic acid) (poly-AHNSA) was used for the selective and sensitive determination of fenitrothion (FT) organophosphorus pesticide in water. The electrochemical behavior of FT at the bare GCE and the poly-AHNSA/GCE were compared using cyclic voltammetry. Enhanced peak current response and shift to a lower potential at the polymer-modified electrode indicated the electrocatalytic activity of the polymer film towards FT. Under optimized solution and method parameters, the adsorptive stripping square wave voltammetric reductive peak current of FT was linear to FT concentration in the range of 0.001 to 6.6 x 10(-6) M, and the LOD obtained (3delta/m) was 7.95 x 10(-10) M. Recoveries in the range 96-98% of spiked FT in tap water and reproducible results with RSD of 2.6% (n = 5) were obtained, indicating the potential applicability of the method for the determination of trace levels of FT in environmental samples.

  10. Direct electrochemistry of glucose oxidase and glucose biosensing on a hydroxyl fullerenes modified glassy carbon electrode.

    PubMed

    Gao, Yun-Fei; Yang, Tian; Yang, Xiao-Lu; Zhang, Yu-Shuai; Xiao, Bao-Lin; Hong, Jun; Sheibani, Nader; Ghourchian, Hedayatollah; Hong, Tao; Moosavi-Movahedi, Ali Akbar

    2014-10-15

    Direct electrochemistry of glucose oxidase (GOD) was achieved when GOD-hydroxyl fullerenes (HFs) nano-complex was immobilized on a glassy carbon (GC) electrode and protected with a chitosan (Chit) membrane. The ultraviolet-visible absorption spectrometry (UV-vis), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and circular dichroism spectropolarimeter (CD) methods were utilized for additional characterization of the GOD, GOD-HFs and Chit/GOD-HFs. Chit/HFs may preserve the secondary structure and catalytic properties of GOD. The cyclic voltammograms (CVs) of the modified GC electrode showed a pair of well-defined quasi-reversible redox peaks with the formal potential (E°') of 353 ± 2 mV versus Ag/AgCl at a scan rate of 0.05 V/s. The heterogeneous electron transfer constant (ks) was calculated to be 2.7 ± 0.2s(-1). The modified electrode response to glucose was linear in the concentrations ranging from 0.05 to 1.0mM, with a detection limit of 5 ± 1 μM. The apparent Michaelis-Menten constant (Km(app)) was 694 ± 8 μM. Thus, the modified electrode could be applied as a third generation biosensor for glucose with high sensitivity, selectivity and low detection limit. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  11. Highly selective determination of dopamine in the presence of ascorbic acid and serotonin at glassy carbon electrodes modified with carbon nanotubes dispersed in polyethylenimine.

    PubMed

    Rodríguez, Marcela C; Rubianes, María D; Rivas, Gustavo A

    2008-11-01

    We report the highly selective and sensitive voltammetric dopamine quantification in the presence of ascorbic acid and serotonin by using glassy carbon electrodes modified with a dispersion of multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) in polyethylenimine, PEI (GCE/MWCNT-PEI). The electrocatalytic activity of the MWCNT deposited on the glassy carbon electrode has allowed an important decrease in the overvoltages for the oxidation of ascorbic acid and dopamine, making possible a clear definition of dopamine, serotonin and ascorbic acid oxidation processes. The sensitivities for dopamine in the presence and absence of 1.0 mM ascorbic acid and serotonin were (2.18 +/- 0.03) x 10(5) microAM(-1) (r = 0.9998); and (2.10 +/- 0.07) x 10(5) miroAM(-1) (r=0.9985), respectively, demonstrating the excellent performance of the GCE/MWCNT-PEI. The detection limit for dopamine in the mixture was 9.2 x 10(-7) M. The R. S. D. for the determination of 50 microM dopamine using four different electrodes was 3.9% when modified with the same MWCNT/PEI dispersion, and 4.6% when using four different dispersions. The modified electrode has been successfully applied for recovery assays of dopamine in human blood serum. Therefore, the new sensor represents an interesting and promising alternative for the electrochemical quantification of neurotransmitters and other analytes of clinical interest.

  12. Amperometric ascorbic acid sensor based on doped ferrites nanoparticles modified glassy carbon paste electrode.

    PubMed

    Dimitrijević, Teodora; Vulić, Predrag; Manojlović, Dragan; Nikolić, Aleksandar S; Stanković, Dalibor M

    2016-07-01

    In this study, a novel electrochemical sensor for quantification of ascorbic acid with amperometric detection in physiological conditions was constructed. For this purpose, cobalt and nickel ferrites were synthesized using microwave and ultrasound assistance, characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD), and used for modification of glassy carbon paste electrode (GCPE). It was shown that introducing these nanoparticles to the structure of GCPE led to increasing analytical performance. Co ferrite modified GCPE (CoFeGCPE) showed better characteristics toward ascorbic acid sensing. The limit of detection (LOD) obtained by sensor was calculated to be 0.0270 mg/L, with linear range from 0.1758 to 2.6010 mg/L. This sensor was successfully applied for practical analysis, and the obtained results demonstrated that the proposed procedure could be a promising replacement for the conventional electrode materials and time-consuming and expensive separation methods. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  13. Aryl Diazonium Chemistry for the Surface Functionalization of Glassy Biosensors.

    PubMed

    Zheng, Wei; van den Hurk, Remko; Cao, Yong; Du, Rongbing; Sun, Xuejun; Wang, Yiyu; McDermott, Mark T; Evoy, Stephane

    2016-03-14

    Nanostring resonator and fiber-optics-based biosensors are of interest as they offer high sensitivity, real-time measurements and the ability to integrate with electronics. However, these devices are somewhat impaired by issues related to surface modification. Both nanostring resonators and photonic sensors employ glassy materials, which are incompatible with electrochemistry. A surface chemistry approach providing strong and stable adhesion to glassy surfaces is thus required. In this work, a diazonium salt induced aryl film grafting process is employed to modify a novel SiCN glassy material. Sandwich rabbit IgG binding assays are performed on the diazonium treated SiCN surfaces. Fluorescently labelled anti-rabbit IgG and anti-rabbit IgG conjugated gold nanoparticles were used as markers to demonstrate the absorption of anti-rabbit IgG and therefore verify the successful grafting of the aryl film. The results of the experiments support the effectiveness of diazonium chemistry for the surface functionalization of SiCN surfaces. This method is applicable to other types of glassy materials and potentially can be expanded to various nanomechanical and optical biosensors.

  14. Aryl Diazonium Chemistry for the Surface Functionalization of Glassy Biosensors

    PubMed Central

    Zheng, Wei; van den Hurk, Remko; Cao, Yong; Du, Rongbing; Sun, Xuejun; Wang, Yiyu; McDermott, Mark T.; Evoy, Stephane

    2016-01-01

    Nanostring resonator and fiber-optics-based biosensors are of interest as they offer high sensitivity, real-time measurements and the ability to integrate with electronics. However, these devices are somewhat impaired by issues related to surface modification. Both nanostring resonators and photonic sensors employ glassy materials, which are incompatible with electrochemistry. A surface chemistry approach providing strong and stable adhesion to glassy surfaces is thus required. In this work, a diazonium salt induced aryl film grafting process is employed to modify a novel SiCN glassy material. Sandwich rabbit IgG binding assays are performed on the diazonium treated SiCN surfaces. Fluorescently labelled anti-rabbit IgG and anti-rabbit IgG conjugated gold nanoparticles were used as markers to demonstrate the absorption of anti-rabbit IgG and therefore verify the successful grafting of the aryl film. The results of the experiments support the effectiveness of diazonium chemistry for the surface functionalization of SiCN surfaces. This method is applicable to other types of glassy materials and potentially can be expanded to various nanomechanical and optical biosensors. PMID:26985910

  15. Multimetallic nanosheets: synthesis and applications in fuel cells.

    PubMed

    Zeb Gul Sial, Muhammad Aurang; Ud Din, Muhammad Aizaz; Wang, Xun

    2018-04-03

    Two-dimensional nanomaterials, particularly multimetallic nanosheets with single or few atoms thickness, are attracting extensive research attention because they display remarkable advantages over their bulk counterparts, including high electron mobility, unsaturated surface coordination, a high aspect ratio, and distinctive physical, chemical, and electronic properties. In particular, their ultrathin thickness endows them with ultrahigh specific surface areas and a relatively high surface energy, making them highly favorable for surface active applications; for example, they have great potential for a broad range of fuel cell applications. First, the state-of-the-art research on the synthesis of nanosheets with a controlled size, thickness, shape, and composition is described and special emphasis is placed on the rational design of multimetallic nanosheets. Then, a correlation is performed with the performance of multimetallic nanosheets with modified and improved electrochemical properties and high stability, including for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), formic acid oxidation (FAO), methanol oxidation reaction (MOR), ethanol oxidation reaction (EOR), and methanol tolerance are outlined. Finally, some perspectives and advantages offered by this class of materials are highlighted for the development of highly efficient fuel cell electrocatalysts, featuring low cost, enhanced performance, and high stability, which are the key factors for accelerating the commercialization of future promising fuel cells.

  16. Microwave-assisted synthesis of graphene modified CuO nanoparticles for voltammetric enzyme-free sensing of glucose at biological pH values.

    PubMed

    Foroughi, Faranak; Rahsepar, Mansour; Hadianfard, Mohammad Jafar; Kim, Hasuck

    2017-12-18

    The effect of graphene nanosheets on the glucose sensing performance of CuO powders was investigated. CuO and graphene-modified CuO nanoparticles (NPs) were fabricated by microwave-assisted synthesis and characterized by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The material was placed on a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) which then was characterized by cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry with respect to the capability of sensing glucose both at pH 13 and pH 7.4. The results revealed that the modified GCE has a fast and selective linear response to glucose at pH 13 that covers the 0.21 μM to 12 mM concentration range, with a 0.21 μM low detection limit. The presence of graphene nanosheets results in an improved sensitivity which is to 700 μA mM -1  cm -2 . In solution of pH 7.4, the respective data are a linear analytical range from 5 to 14 mM; a 5 μM LOD and a sensitivity of 37.63 μA mM -1  cm -2 at working potential of -0.05 V (vs. Ag/AgCl) and scan rate of 50 mV s -1 . Ascorbic acid, dopamine, uric acid, sucrose, maltose and fructose do not interfere. Graphical abstract ᅟ.

  17. Ultrathin rhodium nanosheets.

    PubMed

    Duan, Haohong; Yan, Ning; Yu, Rong; Chang, Chun-Ran; Zhou, Gang; Hu, Han-Shi; Rong, Hongpan; Niu, Zhiqiang; Mao, Junjie; Asakura, Hiroyuki; Tanaka, Tsunehiro; Dyson, Paul Joseph; Li, Jun; Li, Yadong

    2014-01-01

    Despite significant advances in the fabrication and applications of graphene-like materials, it remains a challenge to prepare single-layered metallic materials, which have great potential applications in physics, chemistry and material science. Here we report the fabrication of poly(vinylpyrrolidone)-supported single-layered rhodium nanosheets using a facile solvothermal method. Atomic force microscope shows that the thickness of a rhodium nanosheet is <4 Å. Electron diffraction and X-ray absorption spectroscopy measurements suggest that the rhodium nanosheets are composed of planar single-atom-layered sheets of rhodium. Density functional theory studies reveal that the single-layered Rh nanosheet involves a δ-bonding framework, which stabilizes the single-layered structure together with the poly(vinylpyrrolidone) ligands. The poly(vinylpyrrolidone)-supported single-layered rhodium nanosheet represents a class of metallic two-dimensional structures that might inspire further fundamental advances in physics, chemistry and material science.

  18. Thiol-modified MoS2 nanosheets as a functional layer for electrical bistable devices

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Guan; Tan, Fenxue; Lv, Bokun; Wu, Mengying; Wang, Ruiqi; Lu, Yue; Li, Xu; Li, Zhiqiang; Teng, Feng

    2018-01-01

    Molybdenum disulfide nanosheets have been synthesized by one-pot method using 1-ODT as sulfur source and surfactant. The structure, morphology and optical properties of samples were investigated by XRD, FTIR, Abs spectrum and TEM patterns. The XRD pattern indicated that the as-obtained MoS2 belong to hexagonal system. The as-obtained MoS2 nanosheets blending with PVK could be used to fabricate an electrically bistable devices through a simple spin-coating method and the device exhibited an obvious electrical bistability properties. The charge transport mechanism of the device was discussed based on the filamentary switching models.

  19. Glassy carbon electrode modified with polyanilne/ethylenediamine for detection of copper ions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Patil, Harshada K.; Deshmukh, Megha A.; Bodkhe, Gajanan A.; Shirsat, Mahendra D.

    2018-05-01

    Increasing water pollution is having high concern, since it creates the threats to all leaving organisms of existence. Industrial sewages have not only polluted the main stream lines of water, also the ground level water is having serious contaminations. Heavy metal ions are the pollutants which are not degradable and can be accumulated on living things ultimately the excess accumulation results into the serious concerns. Therefore, it is necessary to develop the sensors which can detect the heavy metal ions up to its maximum contamination limits. Conducting polymers are the materials which possess large application spectra. This investigation reports the electrochemically synthesized polyaniline (PANI) for modification of glassy carbon electrode (GCE). Ethylenediamine (EDA) - chelating ligand used for the modification of polyaniline so as to inculcate the selectivity toward copper ions Cu (II). The electrochemical cyclic voltammetry (CV) was used for the study of redox characteristics of PANI and influence of EDA modification. The result of CV has shown the reduced oxidation and reduction peak currents after modification indicating the domination of EDA. GCE modified with PANI/EDA was then employed for the detection of divalent copper ions and have shown the affinity toward Cu ions. The detection limit achieved was equal to 10mg/lit.

  20. Fabrication of Amine-Modified Magnetite-Electrochemically Reduced Graphene Oxide Nanocomposite Modified Glassy Carbon Electrode for Sensitive Dopamine Determination

    PubMed Central

    He, Quanguo; Liu, Jun; Liu, Xiaopeng; Li, Guangli; Chen, Dongchu; Deng, Peihong; Liang, Jing

    2018-01-01

    Amine-modified magnetite (NH2–Fe3O4)/reduced graphene oxide nanocomposite modified glassy carbon electrodes (NH2–Fe3O4/RGO/GCEs) were developed for the sensitive detection of dopamine (DA). The NH2-Fe3O4/RGO/GCEs were fabricated using a drop-casting method followed by an electrochemical reduction process. The surface morphologies, microstructure and chemical compositions of the NH2–Fe3O4 nanoparticles (NPs), reduced graphene oxide (RGO) sheets and NH2–Fe3O4/RGO nanocomposites were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-Ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The electrochemical behaviors of DA on the bare and modified GCEs were investigated in phosphate buffer solution (PBS) by cyclic voltammetry (CV). Compared with bare electrode and RGO/GCE, the oxidation peak current (ipa) on the NH2–Fe3O4/RGO/GCE increase significantly, owing to the synergistic effect between NH2–Fe3O4 NPs and RGO sheets. The oxidation peak currents (ipa) increase linearly with the concentrations of DA in the range of 1 × 10−8 mol/L – 1 × 10−7 mol/L, 1 × 10−7 mol/L – 1 × 10−6 mol/L and 1 × 10−6 mol/L – 1 × 10−5 mol/L. The detection limit is (4.0 ± 0.36) ×10−9 mol/L (S/N = 3). Moreover, the response peak currents of DA were hardly interfered with the coexistence of ascorbic acid (AA) and uric acid (UA). The proposed NH2–Fe3O4/RGO/GCE is successfully applied to the detection of dopamine hydrochloride injections with satisfactory results. Together with low cost, facile operation, good selectivity and high sensitivity, the NH2–Fe3O4/RGO/GCEs have tremendous prospects for the detection of DA in various real samples. PMID:29584682

  1. A voltammetric determination of caffeic acid in red wines based on the nitrogen doped carbon modified glassy carbon electrode.

    PubMed

    Karikalan, Natarajan; Karthik, Raj; Chen, Shen-Ming; Chen, Hsi-An

    2017-04-05

    We reported an electrochemical determination of caffeic acid (CA) based on the nitrogen doped carbon (NDC). The described sensor material was prepared by the flame synthesis method, which gave an excellent platform for the synthesis of carbon nanomaterials with the hetero atom dopant. The synthesized material was confirmed by various physical characterizations and it was further characterized by different electrochemical experiments. The NDC modified glassy carbon electrode (NDC/GCE) shows the superior electrocatalytic performance towards the determination of CA with the wide linear concentration range from 0.01 to 350 μM. It achieves the lowest detection limit of 0.0024 μM and the limit of quantification of 0.004 μM. The NDC/GCE-CA sensor reveals the good selectivity, stability, sensitivity and reproducibility which endorsed that the NDC is promising electrode for the determination of CA. In addition, NDC modified electrode is applied to the determination of CA in red wines and acquired good results.

  2. Comparison of impedimetric detection of DNA hybridization on the various biosensors based on modified glassy carbon electrodes with PANHS and nanomaterials of RGO and MWCNTs.

    PubMed

    Benvidi, Ali; Tezerjani, Marzieh Dehghan; Jahanbani, Shahriar; Mazloum Ardakani, Mohammad; Moshtaghioun, Seyed Mohammad

    2016-01-15

    In this research, we have developed lable free DNA biosensors based on modified glassy carbon electrodes (GCE) with reduced graphene oxide (RGO) and carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) for detection of DNA sequences. This paper compares the detection of BRCA1 5382insC mutation using independent glassy carbon electrodes (GCE) modified with RGO and MWCNTs. A probe (BRCA1 5382insC mutation detection (ssDNA)) was then immobilized on the modified electrodes for a specific time. The immobilization of the probe and its hybridization with the target DNA (Complementary DNA) were performed under optimum conditions using different electrochemical techniques such as cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The proposed biosensors were used for determination of complementary DNA sequences. The non-modified DNA biosensor (1-pyrenebutyric acid-N- hydroxysuccinimide ester (PANHS)/GCE), revealed a linear relationship between ∆Rct and logarithm of the complementary target DNA concentration ranging from 1.0×10(-16)molL(-1) to 1.0×10(-10)mol L(-1) with a correlation coefficient of 0.992, for DNA biosensors modified with multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and reduced graphene oxide (RGO) wider linear range and lower detection limit were obtained. For ssDNA/PANHS/MWCNTs/GCE a linear range 1.0×10(-17)mol L(-1)-1.0×10(-10)mol L(-1) with a correlation coefficient of 0.993 and for ssDNA/PANHS/RGO/GCE a linear range from 1.0×10(-18)mol L(-1) to 1.0×10(-10)mol L(-1) with a correlation coefficient of 0.985 were obtained. In addition, the mentioned biosensors were satisfactorily applied for discriminating of complementary sequences from noncomplementary sequences, so the mentioned biosensors can be used for the detection of BRCA1-associated breast cancer. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  3. Photogeneration of singlet oxygen by the phenothiazine derivatives covalently bound to the surface-modified glassy carbon

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Blacha-Grzechnik, Agata; Piwowar, Katarzyna; Krukiewicz, Katarzyna; Koscielniak, Piotr; Szuber, Jacek; Zak, Jerzy K.

    2016-05-01

    The selected group of four amine-derivatives of phenothiazine was covalently grafted to the glassy carbon surface in the four-step procedure consisting of the electrochemical reduction of the diazonium salt followed by the electrochemical and chemical post-modification steps. The proposed strategy involves the bonding of linker molecule to which the photosensitizer is attached. The synthesized organic layers were characterized by means of cyclic voltammetry, XPS and Raman Spectroscopy. It was shown that the phenothiazines immobilized via proposed strategy retain their photochemical properties and are able to generate 1O2 when activated by the laser radiation. The effectiveness of in situ singlet oxygen generation by those new solid photoactive materials was determined by means of UVVis spectroscopy. The reported, covalently modified solid surfaces may find their application as the singlet oxygen photogenerators in the fine chemicals' synthesis or in the wastewater treatment.

  4. Hydrophilic MoSe2 Nanosheets as Effective Photothermal Therapy Agents and Their Application in Smart Devices.

    PubMed

    Lei, Zhouyue; Zhu, Wencheng; Xu, Shengjie; Ding, Jian; Wan, Jiaxun; Wu, Peiyi

    2016-08-17

    A facile poly(vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP)-assisted exfoliation method is utilized to simultaneously exfoliate and noncovalently modify MoSe2 nanosheets. The resultant hydrophilic nanosheets are shown to be promising candidates for biocompatible photothermal therapy (PTT) agents, and they could also be encapsulated into a hydrogel matrix for some intelligent devices. This work not only provides novel insights into exfoliation and modification of transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) nanosheets but also might spark more research into engineering multifunctional TMD-related nanocomposites, which is in favor of further exploiting the attractive properties of these emerging layered two-dimensional (2D) nanomaterials.

  5. Ultrathin MoS2 Nanosheets with Superior Extreme Pressure Property as Boundary Lubricants.

    PubMed

    Chen, Zhe; Liu, Xiangwen; Liu, Yuhong; Gunsel, Selda; Luo, Jianbin

    2015-08-07

    In this paper, a new kind of oil-soluble ultrathin MoS2 nanosheets is prepared through a one-pot process. A superior extreme pressure property, which has not been attained with other nano-additives, is discovered when the nanosheets are used as lubricant additives. The as-synthesized MoS2 nanosheet is only a few atomic layers thick and tens of nanometers wide, and it is surface-modified with oleylamine so it can be well dispersed in oil or lubricant without adscititious dispersants or surfactants. By adding 1 wt% ultrathin MoS2 nanosheets, at the temperature of 120 °C, the highest load liquid paraffin can bear is tremendously improved from less than 50 N to more than 2000 N. Based on the tribological tests and analysis of the wear scar, a lubrication mechanism is proposed. It is believed that the good dispersion and the ultrathin shape of the nanosheets ensure that they can enter the contact area of the opposite sliding surfaces and act like a protective film to prevent direct contact and seizure between them. This work enriches the investigation of ultrathin MoS2 and has potential application in the mechanical industry.

  6. Ultrathin MoS2 Nanosheets with Superior Extreme Pressure Property as Boundary Lubricants

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chen, Zhe; Liu, Xiangwen; Liu, Yuhong; Gunsel, Selda; Luo, Jianbin

    2015-08-01

    In this paper, a new kind of oil-soluble ultrathin MoS2 nanosheets is prepared through a one-pot process. A superior extreme pressure property, which has not been attained with other nano-additives, is discovered when the nanosheets are used as lubricant additives. The as-synthesized MoS2 nanosheet is only a few atomic layers thick and tens of nanometers wide, and it is surface-modified with oleylamine so it can be well dispersed in oil or lubricant without adscititious dispersants or surfactants. By adding 1 wt% ultrathin MoS2 nanosheets, at the temperature of 120 °C, the highest load liquid paraffin can bear is tremendously improved from less than 50 N to more than 2000 N. Based on the tribological tests and analysis of the wear scar, a lubrication mechanism is proposed. It is believed that the good dispersion and the ultrathin shape of the nanosheets ensure that they can enter the contact area of the opposite sliding surfaces and act like a protective film to prevent direct contact and seizure between them. This work enriches the investigation of ultrathin MoS2 and has potential application in the mechanical industry.

  7. Enhanced amperometric detection of metronidazole in drug formulations and urine samples based on chitosan protected tetrasulfonated copper phthalocyanine thin-film modified glassy carbon electrode.

    PubMed

    Meenakshi, S; Pandian, K; Jayakumari, L S; Inbasekaran, S

    2016-02-01

    An enhanced electrocatalytic reduction of metronidazole antibiotic drug molecule using chitosan protected tetrasulfonated copper phthalocyanine (Chit/CuTsPc) thin-film modified glassy carbon electrode (GCE) has been developed. An irreversible reduction occurs at -0.47V (vs. Ag/AgCl) using Chit/CuTsPc modified GCE. A maximum peak current value is obtained at pH1 and the electrochemical reduction reaction is a diffusion controlled one. The detection limit is found to be 0.41nM from differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) method. This present investigation method is adopted for electrochemical detection of metronidazole in drug formulation and urine samples by using DPV method. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  8. Adsorption stripping voltammetry of phenol at Nafion-modified glassy carbon electrode in the presence of surfactants.

    PubMed

    Yi, H; Wu, K; Hu, S; Cui, D

    2001-12-24

    In this paper, a new voltammetric method for the determination of phenol is described. In pH 8.00 phosphate buffer and in the presence of long-chain cationic surfactant-cetyltrimethylammonium bromide-phenol has a very sensitive oxidation peak at 0.47 V (vs. SCE) on the Nafion-modified glassy carbon electrode (GCE). The experimental parameters, such as supporting electrolyte and pH values, amounts of Nafion, varieties and concentration of surfactants, accumulation potential and time, as well as scan rate were optimized. The peak current is linear with the concentration of phenol in the range from 8x10(-9) to 1x10(-5) M, and the detection limit is 1x10(-9) M after being accumulated at -0.50 V (vs. SCE) for 3 min. Trace levels of phenol in water samples were determined by using this voltammetric method, the average recovery was calculated to be 99.56%.

  9. The Enhanced Photo-Electrochemical Detection of Uric Acid on Au Nanoparticles Modified Glassy Carbon Electrode

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shi, Yuting; Wang, Jin; Li, Shumin; Yan, Bo; Xu, Hui; Zhang, Ke; Du, Yukou

    2017-07-01

    In this work, a sensitive and novel method for determining uric acid (UA) has been developed, in which the glassy carbon electrode (GCE) was modified with electrodeposition Au nanoparticles and used to monitor the concentration of UA with the assistant of visible light illumination. The morphology of the Au nanoparticles deposited on GCE surface were characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and the nanoparticles were found to be well-dispersed spheres with the average diameter approaching 26.1 nm. A series of cyclic voltammetry (CV) and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) measurements have revealed that the introduction of visible light can greatly enhance both the strength and stability of response current due to the surface plasmon resonance (SPR). Specifically, the DPV showed a linear relationship between peak current and UA concentration in the range of 2.8 to 57.5 μM with the equation of I pa (μA) = 0.0121 c UA (μM) + 0.3122 ( R 2 = 0.9987). Herein, the visible light illuminated Au/GCE possesses a potential to be a sensitive electrochemical sensor in the future.

  10. An amperometric hydrogen peroxide biosensor based on Co3O4 nanoparticles and multiwalled carbon nanotube modified glassy carbon electrode

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kaçar, Ceren; Dalkiran, Berna; Erden, Pınar Esra; Kiliç, Esma

    2014-08-01

    In this work a new type of hydrogen peroxide biosensor was fabricated based on the immobilization of horseradish peroxidase (HRP) by cross-linking on a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) modified with Co3O4 nanoparticles, multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and gelatin. The introduction of MWCNTs and Co3O4 nanoparticles not only enhanced the surface area of the modified electrode for enzyme immobilization but also facilitated the electron transfer rate, resulting in a high sensitivity of the biosensor. The fabrication process of the sensing surface was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). Amperometric detection of hydrogen peroxide was investigated by holding the modified electrode at -0.30 V (vs. Ag/AgCl). The biosensor showed optimum response within 5 s at pH 7.0. The optimized biosensor showed linear response range of 7.4 × 10-7-1.9 × 10-5 M with a detection limit of 7.4 × 10-7. The applicability of the purposed biosensor was tested by detecting hydrogen peroxide in disinfector samples. The average recovery was calculated as 100.78 ± 0.89.

  11. Ultrathin MoS2 Nanosheets with Superior Extreme Pressure Property as Boundary Lubricants

    PubMed Central

    Chen, Zhe; Liu, Xiangwen; Liu, Yuhong; Gunsel, Selda; Luo, Jianbin

    2015-01-01

    In this paper, a new kind of oil-soluble ultrathin MoS2 nanosheets is prepared through a one-pot process. A superior extreme pressure property, which has not been attained with other nano-additives, is discovered when the nanosheets are used as lubricant additives. The as-synthesized MoS2 nanosheet is only a few atomic layers thick and tens of nanometers wide, and it is surface-modified with oleylamine so it can be well dispersed in oil or lubricant without adscititious dispersants or surfactants. By adding 1 wt% ultrathin MoS2 nanosheets, at the temperature of 120 °C, the highest load liquid paraffin can bear is tremendously improved from less than 50 N to more than 2000 N. Based on the tribological tests and analysis of the wear scar, a lubrication mechanism is proposed. It is believed that the good dispersion and the ultrathin shape of the nanosheets ensure that they can enter the contact area of the opposite sliding surfaces and act like a protective film to prevent direct contact and seizure between them. This work enriches the investigation of ultrathin MoS2 and has potential application in the mechanical industry. PMID:26249536

  12. Adsorptive Behavior and Voltammetric Determination of Hydralazine Hydrochloride at A Glassy Carbon Electrode Modified with Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes

    PubMed Central

    Khodadadian, Mehdi; Jalili, Ronak; Bahrami, Mohammad Taher; Bahrami, Gholamreza

    2017-01-01

    An electroanalytical method has been introduced for highly sensitive determination of hydralazine hydrochloride (Hy-HCl) based on its oxidation at a glassy carbon electrode modified with multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT/GCE). Studies showed that the electrochemical oxidation of Hy-HCl was accompanied by adsorption and highly sensitive responses could be achieved by adsorptive stripping voltammetry. The electrooxidation of Hy-HCl at MWCNT/GCE occurred at ~32 mV which was lower than that observed at bare GCE (~52 mV). The optimum working conditions for determination of the drug using differential-pulse adsorptive stripping voltammetry (DPAdSV) were established. The method exhibited linear responses to Hy-HCl in the concentration range 10-220 nM with a detection limit of 2.7 nM. The proposed method was successfully applied to the determination of this compound in pharmaceutical dosage forms. PMID:29552043

  13. Balancing the Hydrogen Evolution Reaction, Surface Energetics, and Stability of Metallic MoS 2 Nanosheets via Covalent Functionalization

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Benson, Eric E.; Zhang, Hanyu; Schuman, Samuel A.

    We modify the fundamental electronic properties of metallic (1T phase) nanosheets of molybdenum disulfide (MoS 2) through covalent chemical functionalization, and thereby directly influence the kinetics of the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), surface energetics, and stability. Chemically exfoliated, metallic MoS 2 nanosheets are functionalized with organic phenyl rings containing electron donating or withdrawing groups. We find that MoS 2 functionalized with the most electron donating functional group (p-(CH 3CH 2) 2NPh-MoS 2) is the most efficient catalyst for HER in this series, with initial activity that is slightly worse compared to the pristine metallic phase of MoS 2. The p-(CHmore » 3CH 2) 2NPh-MoS 2 is more stable than unfunctionalized metallic MoS 2 and outperforms unfunctionalized metallic MoS 2 for continuous H 2 evolution within 10 min under the same conditions. With regards to the entire studied series, the overpotential and Tafel slope for catalytic HER are both directly correlated with the electron donating strength of the functional group. The results are consistent with a mechanism involving ground-state electron donation or withdrawal to/from the MoS 2 nanosheets, which modifies the electron transfer kinetics and catalytic activity of the MoS 2 nanosheet. The functional groups preserve the metallic nature of the MoS 2 nanosheets, inhibiting conversion to the thermodynamically stable semiconducting state (2H) when mildly annealed in a nitrogen atmosphere. We propose that the electron density and, therefore, reactivity of the MoS 2 nanosheets are controlled by the attached functional groups. Functionalizing nanosheets of MoS 2 and other transition metal dichalcogenides provides a synthetic chemical route for controlling the electronic properties and stability within the traditionally thermally unstable metallic state.« less

  14. Balancing the Hydrogen Evolution Reaction, Surface Energetics, and Stability of Metallic MoS 2 Nanosheets via Covalent Functionalization

    DOE PAGES

    Benson, Eric E.; Zhang, Hanyu; Schuman, Samuel A.; ...

    2017-12-27

    We modify the fundamental electronic properties of metallic (1T phase) nanosheets of molybdenum disulfide (MoS 2) through covalent chemical functionalization, and thereby directly influence the kinetics of the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), surface energetics, and stability. Chemically exfoliated, metallic MoS 2 nanosheets are functionalized with organic phenyl rings containing electron donating or withdrawing groups. We find that MoS 2 functionalized with the most electron donating functional group (p-(CH 3CH 2) 2NPh-MoS 2) is the most efficient catalyst for HER in this series, with initial activity that is slightly worse compared to the pristine metallic phase of MoS 2. The p-(CHmore » 3CH 2) 2NPh-MoS 2 is more stable than unfunctionalized metallic MoS 2 and outperforms unfunctionalized metallic MoS 2 for continuous H 2 evolution within 10 min under the same conditions. With regards to the entire studied series, the overpotential and Tafel slope for catalytic HER are both directly correlated with the electron donating strength of the functional group. The results are consistent with a mechanism involving ground-state electron donation or withdrawal to/from the MoS 2 nanosheets, which modifies the electron transfer kinetics and catalytic activity of the MoS 2 nanosheet. The functional groups preserve the metallic nature of the MoS 2 nanosheets, inhibiting conversion to the thermodynamically stable semiconducting state (2H) when mildly annealed in a nitrogen atmosphere. We propose that the electron density and, therefore, reactivity of the MoS 2 nanosheets are controlled by the attached functional groups. Functionalizing nanosheets of MoS 2 and other transition metal dichalcogenides provides a synthetic chemical route for controlling the electronic properties and stability within the traditionally thermally unstable metallic state.« less

  15. Balancing the Hydrogen Evolution Reaction, Surface Energetics, and Stability of Metallic MoS2 Nanosheets via Covalent Functionalization.

    PubMed

    Benson, Eric E; Zhang, Hanyu; Schuman, Samuel A; Nanayakkara, Sanjini U; Bronstein, Noah D; Ferrere, Suzanne; Blackburn, Jeffrey L; Miller, Elisa M

    2018-01-10

    We modify the fundamental electronic properties of metallic (1T phase) nanosheets of molybdenum disulfide (MoS 2 ) through covalent chemical functionalization, and thereby directly influence the kinetics of the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), surface energetics, and stability. Chemically exfoliated, metallic MoS 2 nanosheets are functionalized with organic phenyl rings containing electron donating or withdrawing groups. We find that MoS 2 functionalized with the most electron donating functional group (p-(CH 3 CH 2 ) 2 NPh-MoS 2 ) is the most efficient catalyst for HER in this series, with initial activity that is slightly worse compared to the pristine metallic phase of MoS 2 . The p-(CH 3 CH 2 ) 2 NPh-MoS 2 is more stable than unfunctionalized metallic MoS 2 and outperforms unfunctionalized metallic MoS 2 for continuous H 2 evolution within 10 min under the same conditions. With regards to the entire studied series, the overpotential and Tafel slope for catalytic HER are both directly correlated with the electron donating strength of the functional group. The results are consistent with a mechanism involving ground-state electron donation or withdrawal to/from the MoS 2 nanosheets, which modifies the electron transfer kinetics and catalytic activity of the MoS 2 nanosheet. The functional groups preserve the metallic nature of the MoS 2 nanosheets, inhibiting conversion to the thermodynamically stable semiconducting state (2H) when mildly annealed in a nitrogen atmosphere. We propose that the electron density and, therefore, reactivity of the MoS 2 nanosheets are controlled by the attached functional groups. Functionalizing nanosheets of MoS 2 and other transition metal dichalcogenides provides a synthetic chemical route for controlling the electronic properties and stability within the traditionally thermally unstable metallic state.

  16. Bottom-up synthesis of WS2 nanosheets with synchronous surface modification for imaging guided tumor regression.

    PubMed

    Wang, Shige; Zhao, Jiulong; Yang, Hailun; Wu, Chenyao; Hu, Fei; Chang, Haizhou; Li, Guixiang; Ma, Dan; Zou, Duowu; Huang, Mingxian

    2017-08-01

    Two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) have been receiving great attention as NIR photothermal transducing agent in tumor photothermal therapy. Keeping in mind the low efficiency of the conventional top-down exfoliated 2D TMDs and the complexity of their surface modifications, we herein proposed a bottom-up strategy for the one-pot hydrothermal and controlled synthesis of surface polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP) modified WS 2 nanosheets. The material design was based on the chelating-coordinating effect between the lone pair electrons of oxygen of PVP carbonyl group and the unoccupied orbital (5d orbitals) of tungsten. The WS 2 nanosheets with synchronous surface PVP grafting showed an excellent photothermal conversion performance, while the surface anchored PVP guaranteed its colloidal stability. Moreover, the strong X-ray attenuation ability and near-infrared (NIR) absorbance of WS 2 -PVP 360kDa enabled the sensitive in vitro and in vivo computed tomography and photoacoustic imaging. The WS 2 -PVP 360kDa nanosheets were biocompatible and exhibited promising in vitro and in vivo anti-cancer efficacy. Findings in this report may greatly promote the design of colloidal stable and biocompatible 2D TMDs and their future clinical translations. A bottom-up strategy for the one-pot and controlled synthesis of surface polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP) modified WS 2 nanosheets was proposed for the first time. By hydrothermally treating the mixture solution of tetrathiotungstate and PVP, Owing to the chelating-coordinating effect between the lone pair electrons of oxygen of PVP carbonyl group and the unoccupied orbital (5d orbitals) of tungsten, PVP was synchronously graphed on WS 2 -PVP nanosheets surface. The formed WS 2 -PVP nanosheets were colloidal stable, biocompatible, and exhibited promising computed tomography, photoacoustic imaging and tumor photothermal therapy efficacy both in vitro and in vivo. Copyright © 2017 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier

  17. Simulation studies of glassy nanoclusters

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bowles, Richard

    2015-03-01

    Glassy materials are amorphous solids usually formed by rapidly cooling a liquid below its equilibrium freezing temperature, trapping the particles in a liquid-like structure at the glass transition temperature. While appearing throughout nature and industry, these systems continue to challenge the way we think about the dynamics and thermodynamics of condensed matter and a fundamental understanding of the glass state remains elusive. This talk describes molecular simulation studies of glassy behaviour in binary Lennard-Jones nanoclusters. We show that the relaxation dynamics of the clusters is nonuniform and the core of the cluster goes through a glass transition at higher temperatures than at the surface. As the nanoclusters are cooled, they also exhibit a fragile-strong crossover in their dynamics and we explore how this phenomena is linked to the potential energy landscape of the clusters. Finally, we compare the properties of nanoclusters formed through vapour condensation, directly to the glassy state, with those of glassy clusters formed through traditional supercooling. The condensation clusters are shown to form ultra-stable glassy states analogous to the ultra-stable glasses formed by thin film vapour deposition onto a cold substrate. In all, our work suggests that nanoscale clusters exhibit some unique glassy features, while also offering potential insights into the fundamental nature of the glass transition.

  18. Hierarchical 3-dimensional nickel-iron nanosheet arrays on carbon fiber paper as a novel electrode for non-enzymatic glucose sensing.

    PubMed

    Kannan, Palanisamy; Maiyalagan, Thandavarayan; Marsili, Enrico; Ghosh, Srabanti; Niedziolka-Jönsson, Joanna; Jönsson-Niedziolka, Martin

    2016-01-14

    Three-dimensional nickel-iron (3-D/Ni-Fe) nanostructures are exciting candidates for various applications because they produce more reaction-active sites than 1-D and 2-D nanostructured materials and exhibit attractive optical, electrical and catalytic properties. In this work, freestanding 3-D/Ni-Fe interconnected hierarchical nanosheets, hierarchical nanospheres, and porous nanospheres are directly grown on a flexible carbon fiber paper (CFP) substrate by a single-step hydrothermal process. Among the nanostructures, 3-D/Ni-Fe interconnected hierarchical nanosheets show excellent electrochemical properties because of its high conductivity, large specific active surface area, and mesopores on its walls (vide infra). The 3-D/Ni-Fe hierarchical nanosheet array modified CFP substrate is further explored as a novel electrode for electrochemical non-enzymatic glucose sensor application. The 3-D/Ni-Fe hierarchical nanosheet arrays exhibit significant catalytic activity towards the electrochemical oxidation of glucose, as compared to the 3-D/Ni-Fe hierarchical nanospheres, and porous nanospheres. The 3-D/Ni-Fe hierarchical nanosheet arrays can access a large amount of glucose molecules on their surface (mesopore walls) for an efficient electrocatalytic oxidation process. Moreover, 3-D/Ni-Fe hierarchical nanosheet arrays showed higher sensitivity (7.90 μA μM(-1) cm(-2)) with wide linear glucose concentration ranging from 0.05 μM to 0.2 mM, and the low detection limit (LOD) of 0.031 μM (S/N = 3) is achieved by the amperometry method. Further, the 3-D/Ni-Fe hierarchical nanosheet array modified CFP electrode can be demonstrated to have excellent selectivity towards the detection of glucose in the presence of 500-fold excess of major important interferents. All these results indicate that 3-D/Ni-Fe hierarchical nanosheet arrays are promising candidates for non-enzymatic glucose sensing.

  19. Ultrasensitive Determination of Piroxicam at Diflunisal-Derived Gold Nanoparticle-Modified Glassy Carbon Electrode

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shaikh, Tayyaba; uddin, SiraJ; Talpur, Farah N.; Khaskeli, Abdul R.; Agheem, Muhammad H.; Shah, Muhammad R.; Sherazi, Tufail H.; Siddiqui, Samia

    2017-10-01

    We present a simple and green approach for synthesis of gold nanoparticles (AuNps) using analgesic drug diflunisal (DF) as capping and stabilizing agent in aqueous solution. Characterization of the synthesized diflunisal-derived gold nanoparticles (DF-AuNps) was performed by ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy, revealing the surface plasmon absorption band at 520 nm under optimized experimental conditions. Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy established the effective interaction of the capping agent with the AuNps. Topographical features of the synthesized DF-AuNps were assessed by atomic force microscopy (AFM), revealing average particle height of 29 nm to 32 nm. X-ray diffractometry was used to study the crystalline nature, revealing that the synthesized DF-AuNps possessed excellent crystalline properties. The synthesized DF-AuNps were employed to modify the surface of glassy carbon electrode (GCE) for selective determination of piroxicam (PX) using differential pulse voltammetry technique. The fabricated Nafion/DF-AuNps/GCE sensor exhibited high sensitivity compared with bare GCE. The current response of the fabricated sensor was found to be linear in the PX concentration range of 0.5 μM to 50 μM, with limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) of 50 nM and 150 nM, respectively. The proposed sensor was successfully utilized for sensitive and rapid determination of PX in human serum, urine, and pharmaceutical samples.

  20. Interfacial electron transfer of glucose oxidase on poly(glutamic acid)-modified glassy carbon electrode and glucose sensing.

    PubMed

    Zhou, Xuechou; Tan, Bingcan; Zheng, Xinyu; Kong, Dexian; Li, Qinglu

    2015-11-15

    The interfacial electron transfer of glucose oxidase (GOx) on a poly(glutamic acid)-modified glassy carbon electrode (PGA/GCE) was investigated. The redox peaks measured for GOx and flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD) are similar, and the anodic peak of GOx does not increase in the presence of glucose in a mediator-free solution. These indicate that the electroactivity of GOx is not the direct electron transfer (DET) between GOx and PGA/GCE and that the observed electroactivity of GOx is ascribed to free FAD that is released from GOx. However, efficient electron transfer occurred if an appropriate mediator was placed in solution, suggesting that GOx is active. The PGA/GCE-based biosensor showed wide linear response in the range of 0.5-5.5 mM with a low detection limit of 0.12 mM and high sensitivity and selectivity for measuring glucose. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  1. para-Sulfonatocalix[6]arene-modified silver nanoparticles electrodeposited on glassy carbon electrode: preparation and electrochemical sensing of methyl parathion.

    PubMed

    Bian, Yinghui; Li, Chunya; Li, Haibing

    2010-05-15

    In this paper, a new electrochemical sensor, based on modified silver nanoparticles, was fabricated using one-step electrodeposition approach. The para-sulfonatocalix[6]arene-modified silver nanoparticles coated on glassy carbon electrode (pSC(6)-Ag NPs/GCE) was characterized by attenuated total reflection IR spectroscopy (ATR-IR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), etc. The pSC(6) as the host are highly efficient to capture organophosphates (OPs), which dramatically facilitates the enrichment of nitroaromatic OPs onto the electrochemical sensor surface. The combination of the host-guest supramolecular structure and the excellent electrochemical catalytic activities of the pSC(6)-Ag NPs/GCE provides a fast, simple, and sensitive electrochemical method for detecting nitroaromatic OPs. In this work, methyl parathion (MP) was used as a nitroaromatic OP model for testing the proposed sensor. In comparison with Ag NPs-modified electrode, the cathodic peak current of MP was amplified significantly. Differential pulse voltammetry was used for the simultaneous determination of MP. Under optimum conditions, the current increased linearly with the increasing concentration of MP in the range of 0.01-80microM, with a detection limit of 4.0nM (S/N=3). The fabrication reproducibility and stability of the sensor is better than that of enzyme-based electrodes. The possible underlying mechanism is discussed.

  2. Synthesis and characterization of gadolinium nanosheets with bound rose bengal: potential use in photodynamic therapy and MRI

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Stefanakis, Dimitrios; Seimenis, Ioannis; Ghanotakis, Demetrios

    2014-11-01

    Gadolinium (Gd) is a trivalent paramagnetic element, making it useful as a contrast agent for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Gd2(OH)5NO3· xH2O belongs to a new family of nanosheets. The advantages of these materials are their relatively small size, paramagnetic behavior, stability, lack of toxicity and highly ordered structure. In the present study, Gd2(OH)5NO3 nanosheets were functionalized with amino groups and modified with the photosensitiser rose bengal (RB). This surface modification makes possible the use of the nanosheets in photodynamic therapy. The coated nanosheets were characterized with X-ray diffraction, fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and UV-Vis spectroscopy, as well as transmission electron microscopy. The possibility of using these nanosheets as potential spin-lattice ( T 1) and spin-spin relaxation ( T 2) contrast agents in MRI was evaluated at 1.5 T. Finally, the ability of Gd2(OH)5NO3-RB to catalyze photooxidization reactions was examined using nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS).

  3. Preparation and optical properties of fullerene/ferrocene hybrid hexagonal nanosheets and large-scale production of fullerene hexagonal nanosheets.

    PubMed

    Wakahara, Takatsugu; Sathish, Marappan; Miyazawa, Kun'ichi; Hu, Chunping; Tateyama, Yoshitaka; Nemoto, Yoshihiro; Sasaki, Toshio; Ito, Osamu

    2009-07-29

    The supramolecular nanoarchitectures, C(60)/ferrocene nanosheets, were prepared by a simple liquid-liquid interfacial precipitation method and fully characterized by means of SEM, STEM, HRTEM, XRD, Raman and UV-vis-NIR spectra. The highly crystallized C(60)/ferrocene hexagonal nanosheets had a size of ca. 9 microm and the formulation C(60)(ferrocene)(2). A strong charge-transfer (CT) band between ferrocene and C(60) was observed at 782 nm, indicating the presence of donor-acceptor interaction in the nanosheets. Upon heating the nanosheets to 150 degrees C, the CT band disappeared due to the sublimation of ferrocene from the C(60)/ferrocene hybrid, and C(60) nanosheets with an fcc crystal structure and the same shape and size as the C(60)/ferrocene nanosheets were obtained.

  4. Voltammetric behavior of dopamine at a glassy carbon electrode modified with NiFe(2)O(4) magnetic nanoparticles decorated with multiwall carbon nanotubes.

    PubMed

    Ensafi, Ali A; Arashpour, B; Rezaei, B; Allafchian, Ali R

    2014-06-01

    Voltammetric behavior of dopamine was studied on a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) modified-NiFe(2)O(4) magnetic nanoparticles decorated with multiwall carbon nanotubes. Impedance spectroscopy and cyclic voltammetry were used to characterize the behavior of dopamine at the surface of modified-GCE. The modified electrode showed a synergic effect toward the oxidation of dopamine. The oxidation peak current is increased linearly with the dopamine concentration (at pH7.0) in wide dynamic ranges of 0.05-6.0 and 6.0-100μmolL(-1) with a detection limit of 0.02μmolL(-1), using differential pulse voltammetry. The selectivity of the method was studied and the results showed that the modified electrode is free from interference of organic compounds especially ascorbic acid, uric acid, cysteine and urea. Its applicability in the determination of dopamine in pharmaceutical, urine samples and human blood serum was also evaluated. The proposed electrochemical sensor has appropriate properties such as high selectivity, low detection limit and wide linear dynamic range when compared with that of the previous reported papers for dopamine detection. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  5. A novel enzymatic glucose sensor based on Pt nanoparticles-decorated hollow carbon spheres-modified glassy carbon electrode

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Luhana, Charles; Bo, Xiang-Jie; Ju, Jian; Guo, Li-Ping

    2012-10-01

    A new glucose biosensor was developed based on hollow carbon spheres decorated with platinum nanoparticles (Pt/HCSs)-modified glassy carbon electrode immobilized with glucose oxidase (GOx) with the help of Nafion. The Pt nanoparticles were well dispersed on the HCSs with an average size of 2.29 nm. The detection of glucose was achieved via electrochemical detection of the enzymatically liberated H2O2 at +0.5 V versus Ag/AgCl at physiologic pH of 7.4. The Pt/HCSs-modified electrode exhibited excellent electrocatalytic activities toward both the oxidation and reduction of H2O2. The glucose biosensor showed good electrocatalytic performance in terms of high sensitivity (4.1 μA mM-1), low detection limit (1.8 μM), fast response time <3 s, and wide linear range (0.04-8.62 mM). The apparent Michaelis-Menten constant ( K m) and the maximum current density ( i max) values for the biosensor were 10.94 mM and 887 μA cm-2 respectively. Furthermore, this biosensor showed an acceptable reproducibility and high stability. The interfering signals from ascorbic acid and uric acid at concentration levels normally found in human blood were not much compared with the response to glucose. Blood serum samples were also tested with this biosensor and a good recovery was achieved for the two spiked serum samples.

  6. Engineering birnessite-type MnO2 nanosheets on fiberglass for pH-dependent degradation of methylene blue

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Xin Zhang, Yu; Long Guo, Xiao; Huang, Ming; Dong Hao, Xiao; Yuan, Yuan; Hua, Chao

    2015-08-01

    We construct hierarchical MnO2 nanosheets @ fiberglass nanostructures via one-pot hydrothermal method without any surfactants. The morphology and structure of MnO2-modified fiberglass composites are examined by focus ion beam scanning electron microscopy (FIB/SEM), X-Ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). The birnessite-type MnO2 nanosheets are observed to grow vertically on the surface of fiberglass. Furthermore, the birnessite-type MnO2-fiberglass composites exhibit good ability for degradation of methylene blue (MB) in different pH levels. In neutral solution (pH 6.5-7.0), it achieves a high removal rate of 96.1% (2 h, at 60 °C) in the presence of H2O2; and in acidic environment (pH 1.5), 96.8% of MB solution (20 mg/L, 100 mL) is decomposed by oxidation within only 5 min. In principles, the rational design of MnO2 nanosheets-decorated fiberglass architectures demonstrated the suitability of the low-cost MnO2-modified fiberglass nanostructure for water treatment.

  7. Electrochemical Detection of Ultratrace (Picomolar) Levels of Hg2+ Using a Silver Nanoparticle-Modified Glassy Carbon Electrode.

    PubMed

    Suherman, Alex L; Ngamchuea, Kamonwad; Tanner, Eden E L; Sokolov, Stanislav V; Holter, Jennifer; Young, Neil P; Compton, Richard G

    2017-07-05

    Ultratrace levels of Hg 2+ have been quantified by undertaking linear sweep voltammetry with a silver nanoparticle-modified glassy carbon electrode (AgNP-GCE) in aqueous solutions containing Hg 2+ . This is achieved by monitoring the change in the silver stripping peak with Hg 2+ concentration resulting from the galvanic displacement of silver by mercury: Ag(np) + 1/2Hg 2+ (aq) → Ag + (aq) + 1/2Hg(l). This facile and reproducible detection method exhibits an excellent linear dynamic range of 100.0 pM to 10.0 nM Hg 2+ concentration with R 2 = 0.982. The limit of detection (LoD) based on 3σ is 28 pM Hg 2+ , while the lowest detectable level for quantification purposes is 100.0 pM. This method is appropriate for routine environmental monitoring and drinking water quality assessment since the guideline value set by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for inorganic mercury in drinking water is 0.002 mg L -1 (10 nM).

  8. Biosensor based on tyrosinase immobilized on a single-walled carbon nanotube-modified glassy carbon electrode for detection of epinephrine

    PubMed Central

    Apetrei, Irina Mirela; Apetrei, Constantin

    2013-01-01

    A biosensor comprising tyrosinase immobilized on a single-walled carbon nanotube-modified glassy carbon electrode has been developed. The sensitive element, ie, tyrosinase, was immobilized using a drop-and-dry method followed by cross-linking. Tyrosinase maintained high bioactivity on this nanomaterial, catalyzing the oxidation of epinephrine to epinephrine-quinone, which was electrochemically reduced (−0.07 V versus Ag/AgCl) on the biosensor surface. Under optimum conditions, the biosensor showed a linear response in the range of 10–110 μM. The limit of detection was calculated to be 2.54 μM with a correlation coefficient of 0.977. The repeatability, expressed as the relative standard deviation for five consecutive determinations of 10−5 M epinephrine solution was 3.4%. A good correlation was obtained between results obtained by the biosensor and those obtained by ultraviolet spectrophotometric methods. PMID:24348034

  9. Phototransistor based on single In2Se3 nanosheets

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Qin-Liang; Liu, Chang-Hai; Nie, Yu-Ting; Chen, Wen-Hua; Gao, Xu; Sun, Xu-Hui; Wang, Sui-Dong

    2014-11-01

    Micrometer-sized single-crystalline In2Se3 nanosheets are synthesized by epitaxial growth from In2Se3 nanowires. The In2Se3 nanosheets possess anisotropic structural configuration with intralayer covalent bonding and interlayer van der Waals bonding. Phototransistors based on the In2Se3 nanosheets are realized, and the devices show high photoresponsivity and high photo On/Off ratio up to two orders. The photo-gating effect can be modulated by the gate bias, indicating potential utility of the In2Se3 nanosheets in a variety of optoelectronic applications.Micrometer-sized single-crystalline In2Se3 nanosheets are synthesized by epitaxial growth from In2Se3 nanowires. The In2Se3 nanosheets possess anisotropic structural configuration with intralayer covalent bonding and interlayer van der Waals bonding. Phototransistors based on the In2Se3 nanosheets are realized, and the devices show high photoresponsivity and high photo On/Off ratio up to two orders. The photo-gating effect can be modulated by the gate bias, indicating potential utility of the In2Se3 nanosheets in a variety of optoelectronic applications. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available: SEM images of typical In2Se3 nanosheets, TEM-EDX spectrum of single In2Se3 nanosheets, STEM image and elemental mapping of an In2Se3 nanosheet, Scherrer sizes of In2Se3 nanosheets derived from the XRD pattern, statistics of In2Se3 nanosheet thickness, and photoresponse of an In2Se3 nanosheet phototransistor. See DOI: 10.1039/c4nr04404e

  10. Electrochemical behavior and voltammetric determination of acetaminophen based on glassy carbon electrodes modified with poly(4-aminobenzoic acid)/electrochemically reduced graphene oxide composite films.

    PubMed

    Zhu, Wencai; Huang, Hui; Gao, Xiaochun; Ma, Houyi

    2014-12-01

    Poly(4-aminobenzoic acid)/electrochemically reduced graphene oxide composite film modified glassy carbon electrodes (4-ABA/ERGO/GCEs) were fabricated by a two-step electrochemical method. The electrochemical behavior of acetaminophen at the modified electrode was investigated by means of cyclic voltammetry. The results indicated that 4-ABA/ERGO composite films possessed excellent electrocatalytic activity towards the oxidation of acetaminophen. The electrochemical reaction of acetaminophen at 4-ABA/ERGO/GCE is proved to be a surface-controlled process involving the same number of protons and electrons. The voltammetric determination of acetaminophen performed with the 4-ABA/ERGO modified electrode presents a good linearity in the range of 0.1-65 μM with a low detection limit of 0.01 μM (S/N=3). In the case of using the 4-ABA/ERGO/GCE, acetaminophen and dopamine can be simultaneously determined without mutual interference. Furthermore, the 4-ABA/ERGO/GCE has good reproducibility and stability, and can be used to determine acetaminophen in tablets. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  11. Multifunctional nanosheets based on hyaluronic acid modified graphene oxide for tumor-targeting chemo-photothermal therapy

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hou, Lin; Feng, Qianhua; Wang, Yating; Zhang, Huijuan; Jiang, Guixiang; Yang, Xiaomin; Ren, Junxiao; Zhu, Xiali; Shi, Yuyang; Zhang, Zhenzhong

    2015-03-01

    Graphene oxide (GO) with strong optical absorption in the near-infrared (NIR) region has shown great potential both in photothermal therapy and drug delivery. In this work, hyaluronic acid (HA)-functionalized GO (HA-GO) was successfully synthesized and controlled loading of mitoxantrone (MIT) onto HA-GO via π- π stacking interaction was investigated. The results revealed that drug-loaded nanosheets with high loading efficiency of 45 wt% exhibited pH-sensitive responses to tumor environment. Owing to the receptor-mediated endocytosis, cellular uptake analysis of HA-GO showed enhanced internalization. In vivo optical imaging test demonstrated that HA-GO nanosheets could enhance the targeting ability and residence time in tumor site. Moreover, the anti-tumor activity of free MIT, MIT/GO, and MIT/HA-GO in combination with NIR laser was investigated using human MCF-7 cells. In vitro cytotoxicity study revealed that HA-GO could stand as a biocompatible nanocarrier and MIT/HA-GO demonstrated remarkably higher toxicity than free MIT and MIT/GO, with IC50 of 0.79 µg ml-1. Tumor cell-killing potency was enhanced when MIT/HA-GO were combined with NIR irradiation, and the IC50 of MIT/HA-GO plus laser irradiation was 0.38 µg ml-1. In vivo, MIT/HA-GO plus NIR laser irradiation with the tumor growth inhibition of 93.52 % displayed greater anti-tumor effect compared with free MIT and MIT/GO with or without laser irradiation. Therefore, the MIT/HA-GO nanosheets may potentially be useful for further development of synergistic cancer therapy.

  12. Well-defined flake-like polypyrrole grafted graphene nanosheets composites as electrode materials for supercapacitors with enhanced cycling stability

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wang, Xue; Wang, Tingmei; Yang, Chao; Li, Haidong; Liu, Peng

    2013-12-01

    Well-defined flake-like polypyrrole grafted graphene nanosheets composites (PPy-g-GNS) were fabricated by the in-situ chemical oxidative grafting polymerization of pyrrole in the presence of the 4-aminophenyl modified graphene nanosheets (AP-GNS), which were prepared via the coupling reaction of the graphene nanosheets (GNS) with diazonium salt. The flake-like PPy-g-GNS composite showed the high conductivity at room temperature. A maximum discharge capacitance of 191.2 F/g at the scan rate of 10 mV/s could be achieved in the three-electrode cell electrochemical testing in 1.0 mol/L NaNO3 electrolyte solution. It is higher than those of the AP-GNS, pure PPy, and the GNS/PPy composite prepared with the unmodified graphene nanosheets (GNS). The flake-like PPy-g-GNS composites also exhibited the excellent electrochemical stability even after 1000 cycles. It revealed the synergistic effect between the conducting polymer and the carbon-based support.

  13. Facile decolorization of methylene blue by morphology-dependence δ-MnO2 nanosheets -modified diatomite

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yu, Ting Ting; Li, Kai Lin; Guo, Xiao Long; Li, Fei; Huang, Jia Mu; Zhang, Yu Xin

    2015-12-01

    In this work, coscinodiscus-diatomite and melosira-diatomite have been decorated by ultrathin birnessite MnO2 (δ-MnO2) nanosheets through a one-pot hydrothermal method without using any surfactants. The δ-MnO2 nanosheets are observed to grow vertically on the purified melosira-diatomite as well as coscinodiscus-diatomite. Moreover, the two composites exhibit high efficiency for decomposing methylene blue (MB) in the presence of H2O2. The coscinodiscus-diatmite@MnO2 achieves a removal rate of 81.8% (2 h), and yet melosira-diatomite@MnO2 reaches a higher degradation rate of 91.3% in 2 h. Additionally, the effects of catalyst amount, catalysis reaction temperature, preparing time have also been investigated. In principle, the diverse diatomite@MnO2 nanostructures not only present an environmentally friendly and low cost with a good cycling stability, but also offer a simple way for the catalytic degradation of dye waste water in practical applications.

  14. A photofunctional bottom-up bis(dipyrrinato)zinc(II) complex nanosheet

    PubMed Central

    Sakamoto, Ryota; Hoshiko, Ken; Liu, Qian; Yagi, Toshiki; Nagayama, Tatsuhiro; Kusaka, Shinpei; Tsuchiya, Mizuho; Kitagawa, Yasutaka; Wong, Wai-Yeung; Nishihara, Hiroshi

    2015-01-01

    Two-dimensional polymeric nanosheets have recently gained much attention, particularly top-down nanosheets such as graphene and metal chalcogenides originating from bulk-layered mother materials. Although molecule-based bottom-up nanosheets manufactured directly from molecular components can exhibit greater structural diversity than top-down nanosheets, the bottom-up nanosheets reported thus far lack useful functionalities. Here we show the design and synthesis of a bottom-up nanosheet featuring a photoactive bis(dipyrrinato)zinc(II) complex motif. A liquid/liquid interfacial synthesis between a three-way dipyrrin ligand and zinc(II) ions results in a multi-layer nanosheet, whereas an air/liquid interfacial reaction produces a single-layer or few-layer nanosheet with domain sizes of >10 μm on one side. The bis(dipyrrinato)zinc(II) metal complex nanosheet is easy to deposit on various substrates using the Langmuir–Schäfer process. The nanosheet deposited on a transparent SnO2 electrode functions as a photoanode in a photoelectric conversion system, and is thus the first photofunctional bottom-up nanosheet. PMID:25831973

  15. Electrochemical synthesis of gold nanoparticles on the surface of multi-walled carbon nanotubes with glassy carbon electrode and their application

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Song, Y. Z.; Li, X.; Song, Y.; Cheng, Z. P.; Zhong, H.; Xu, J. M.; Lu, J. S.; Wei, C. G.; Zhu, A. F.; Wu, F. Y.; Xu, J.

    2013-01-01

    Gold nanoparticles on the surface of multi-walled carbon nanotubes with glassy carbon electrode were prepared using electrochemical synthesis method. The thin films of gold Nanoparticles/multi-walled carbon nanotubes were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, powder X-ray diffraction, and cyclic voltammetry. Electrochemical behavior of adrenaline hydrochloride at gold nanoparticles/multi-walled carbon nanotube modified glassy carbon electrode was investigated. A simple, sensitive, and inexpensive method for determination of adrenaline hydrochloride was proposed.

  16. Simultaneous determination of caffeine and paracetamol by square wave voltammetry at poly(4-amino-3-hydroxynaphthalene sulfonic acid)-modified glassy carbon electrode.

    PubMed

    Tefera, Molla; Geto, Alemnew; Tessema, Merid; Admassie, Shimelis

    2016-11-01

    Poly(4-amino-3-hydroxynaphthalene sulfonic acid)-modified glassy carbon electrode (poly(AHNSA)/GCE) was prepared for simultaneous determination of caffeine and paracetamol using square-wave voltammetry. The method was used to study the effects of pH and scan rate on the voltammetric response of caffeine and paracetamol. Linear calibration curves in the range of 10-125μM were obtained for both caffeine and paracetamol in acetate buffer solution of pH 4.5 with a correlation coefficient of 0.9989 and 0.9986, respectively. The calculated detection limits (S/N=3) were 0.79μM for caffeine and 0.45μM for paracetamol. The effects of some interfering substances in the determination of caffeine and paracetamol were also studied and their interferences were found to be negligible which proved the selectivity of the modified electrode. The method was successfully applied for the quantitative determination of caffeine and paracetamol in Coca-Cola, Pepsi-Cola and tea samples. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Glassy carbon electrode modified with carbon black for sensitive estradiol determination by means of voltammetry and flow injection analysis with amperometric detection.

    PubMed

    Smajdor, Joanna; Piech, Robert; Ławrywianiec, Martyna; Paczosa-Bator, Beata

    2018-03-01

    A voltammetric method for fast and sensitive estradiol determination using carbon black modified glassy carbon electrode (CBGC) is proposed. The use of carbon black as a modifying layer led to obtain low detection limit (9.2·10 -8  mol L -1 for a preconcentration time of 60 s) and stability of registered signals (measured as RSD is 1.3%, n = 7, estradiol concentration 0.5·10 -6  mol L -1 ). Cyclic voltammetry study revealed that in phosphate media estradiol suffers irreversible one-proton and one-electron oxidation process. Under the optimum conditions, estradiol calibration curve was linear in the concentration range from 0.15·10 -6 to 3.5·10 -6  mol L -1 . The proposed method enable to determine estradiol content in different pharmaceutical formulation with good recovery. Amperometric measurements of estradiol were performed as well to indicate the possibility of its fast and accurate determination under the flow conditions. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  18. Nanomolar determination of 4-nitrophenol based on a poly(methylene blue)-modified glassy carbon electrode.

    PubMed

    Giribabu, Krishnamoorthy; Suresh, Ranganathan; Manigandan, Ramadoss; Munusamy, Settu; Kumar, Sivakumar Praveen; Muthamizh, Selvamani; Narayanan, Vengidusamy

    2013-10-07

    A poly(methylene blue)-modified glassy carbon electrode (PMB/GCE) was fabricated by electropolymerisation of methylene blue on a GCE and further utilized to investigate the electrochemical determination of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) by cyclic voltammetry (CV), differential pulse voltammetry and chronocoulometry. The morphology of the PMB on GCE was examined using a scanning electron microscope (SEM). An oxidation peak of 4-NP at the PMB modified electrode was observed at 0.28 V, and in the case of bare GCE, no oxidation peak was observed, which indicates that PMB/GCE exhibits a remarkable effect on the electrochemical determination of 4-NP. Due to this remarkable effect of PMB/GCE, a sensitive and simple electrochemical method was proposed for the determination of 4-NP. The effect of the scan rate and pH was investigated to determine the optimum conditions at which the PMB/GCE exhibits a higher sensitivity with a lower detection limit. Moreover, kinetic parameters such as the electron transfer number, proton transfer number and standard heterogeneous rate constant were calculated. Under optimum conditions, the oxidation current of 4-NP is proportional to its concentration in the range of 15-250 nM with a correlation coefficient of 0.9963. The detection limit was found to be 90 nM (S/N = 3). The proposed method based on PMB/GCE is simple, easy and cost effective. To further confirm its possible application, the proposed method was successfully used for the determination of 4-NP in real water samples with recoveries ranging from 97% to 101.6%. The interference due to sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, copper, zinc, iron, sulphate, carbonate, chloride, nitrate and phosphate was found to be almost negligible.

  19. Ultra-smooth glassy graphene thin films for flexible transparent circuits

    PubMed Central

    Dai, Xiao; Wu, Jiang; Qian, Zhicheng; Wang, Haiyan; Jian, Jie; Cao, Yingjie; Rummeli, Mark H.; Yi, Qinghua; Liu, Huiyun; Zou, Guifu

    2016-01-01

    Large-area graphene thin films are prized in flexible and transparent devices. We report on a type of glassy graphene that is in an intermediate state between glassy carbon and graphene and that has high crystallinity but curly lattice planes. A polymer-assisted approach is introduced to grow an ultra-smooth (roughness, <0.7 nm) glassy graphene thin film at the inch scale. Owing to the advantages inherited by the glassy graphene thin film from graphene and glassy carbon, the glassy graphene thin film exhibits conductivity, transparency, and flexibility comparable to those of graphene, as well as glassy carbon–like mechanical and chemical stability. Moreover, glassy graphene–based circuits are fabricated using a laser direct writing approach. The circuits are transferred to flexible substrates and are shown to perform reliably. The glassy graphene thin film should stimulate the application of flexible transparent conductive materials in integrated circuits. PMID:28138535

  20. Dithizone-modified graphene oxide nano-sheet as a sorbent for pre-concentration and determination of cadmium and lead ions in food.

    PubMed

    Moghadam Zadeh, Hamid Reza; Ahmadvand, Parvaneh; Behbahani, Ali; Amini, Mostafa M; Sayar, Omid

    2015-01-01

    Graphene oxide nano-sheet was modified with dithizone as a novel sorbent for selective pre-concentration and determination of Cd(II) and Pb(II) in food. The sorbent was characterised by various analytical methods and the effective parameters for Cd(II) and Pb(II) adsorption were optimised during this work. The high adsorption capacity and selectivity of this sorbent makes the method capable of fast determinations of the Cd(II) and Pb(II) content in complicated matrices even at μg l(-1) levels using commonly available instrumentation. The precision of this method was < 1.9% from 10 duplicate determinations and its accuracy verified using standard reference materials. Finally, this method was applied to the determination of Cd(II) and Pb(II) ions in common food samples and satisfactory results were obtained.

  1. The functionalization of carbon nanosheets

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Quinlan, Ronald A.

    Carbon nanosheets are a novel two-dimensional nanostructure made up of 2-20 graphene atomic planes oriented with their in-plane axis perpendicular to the growth substrate. Previous efforts in developing nanosheet technology have focused on the characterization of the system and their development as an electron source due to the high atomic enhancement factor (beta) and low turn on field. Further investigation of nanosheets as high surface area electrodes revealed poor wetting by polymeric material and extreme hydrophobic behavior. Because nanosheet technology has promise as a high surface area electrode material, this thesis research has focused on three areas of interest: the enhancement of nanosheets through chemical modification, the incorporation of the nanosheets into a polymeric composite and the delivery of a proof of concept measurement. We have successfully introduced defects into the graphene lattice of the nanosheet system via an acid treatment. Inspection of these defects by x-ray absorption near-edge spectroscopy (XANES) shows the introduction of two features in the spectra assigned to C=O pi* and C-O sigma* transitions. Thermal desorption spectroscopy (TDS) was used to identify the oxygen containing groups created during the functionalization as carboxylic and hydroxyl functional groups. These groups were identified through the combination of carboxylic, hydroxyl, anhydride and lactone peaks in the CO2, CO and H 2O TDS spectra. Deconvolution of the TDS spectra using 1st and 2nd order Polanyi-Wigner equations enables the calculation of desorption energy values for individual features and for the estimation of the number of atoms desorbing from the surface during a particular event. Identification of the exact nature of the functional groups was attempted through high resolution x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) of the C(1s) and O(1s) peaks. Though the pairing of sub-peaks with specific functionalities of the system was not possible due to the

  2. Elastic properties of suspended black phosphorus nanosheets

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Wang, Jia-Ying; Li, Yang; Zhen, Liang

    2016-01-04

    The mechanical properties of black phosphorus (BP) nanosheets suspended over circular holes were measured by an atomic force microscope nanoindentation method. The continuum mechanic model was introduced to calculate the elastic modulus and pretension of BP nanosheets with thicknesses ranging from 14.3 to 34 nm. Elastic modulus of BP nanosheets declines with thickness, and the maximum value is 276 ± 32.4 GPa. Besides, the effective strain of BP ranges from 8 to 17% with a breaking strength of 25 GPa. Our results show that BP nanosheets serve as a promising candidate for flexible electronic applications.

  3. Enzymatic biosensor based on entrapment of d-amino acid oxidase on gold nanofilm/MWCNTs nanocomposite modified glassy carbon electrode by sol-gel network: Analytical applications for d-alanine in human serum.

    PubMed

    Shoja, Yalda; Rafati, Amir Abbas; Ghodsi, Javad

    2017-05-01

    Sensing and determination of d-alanine is studied by using an enzymatic biosensor which was constructed on the basis of d-amino acid oxidase (DAAO) immobilization by sol-gel film onto glassy carbon electrode surface modified with nanocomposite of gold nanofilm (Au-NF) and multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). The Au-NF/MWCNT nanocomposite was prepared by applying the potentiostatic technique for electrodeposition of Au-NF on the MWCNT immobilized on glassy carbon electrode surface. The modified electrode is investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) and cyclic voltammetry(CV) techniques. The linear sweep voltammetry was used for determination of d-alanine and the results showed an excellent linear relationship between biosensor response and d-alanine concentration ranging from 0.25μM to 4.5μM with correction coefficient of 0.999 (n=20). Detection limit for the fabricated sensor was calculated about 20nM (for S/N=3) and sensitivity was about 56.1μAμM -1 cm -2 . The developed biosensor exhibited rapid and accurate response to d-alanine, a good stability (4 weeks) and an average recovery of 98.9% in human serum samples. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  4. Electrocatalytic Oxidation of Ascorbic Acid Using a Poly(aniline-co-m-ferrocenylaniline) Modified Glassy Carbon Electrode

    PubMed Central

    Chairam, Sanoe; Sriraksa, Worawit; Amatatongchai, Maliwan; Somsook, Ekasith

    2011-01-01

    A poly(aniline-co-m-ferrocenylaniline) was successfully synthesized on a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) by electrochemical copolymerization using a scan potential range from −0.3 to +0.9 V (vs. Ag/AgCl) in 0.5 M H2SO4 containing 30% acetonitrile (ACN), 0.1 M aniline (Ani) and 0.005 M m-ferrocenyaniline (m-FcAni). The field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) and electrochemical methods were used to characterize the poly(Ani-co-m-FcAni) modified electrode. The poly(Ani-co-m-FcAni)/GCE exhibited excellent electrocatalytic oxidation of ascorbic acid (AA) in citrate buffer solution (CBS, pH 5.0). The anodic peak potential of AA was shifted from +0.55 V at the bare GCE to +0.25 V at the poly(Ani-co-m-FcAni)/GCE with higher current responses than those seen on the bare GCE. The scan number at the 10th cycle was selected as the maximum scan cycle in electrochemical polymerization. The limit of detection (LOD) was estimated to be 2.0 μM based on the signal-to-noise ratio (S/N = 3). The amperometric responses demonstrated an excellent selectivity for AA determination over glucose (Glu) and dopamine (DA). PMID:22346636

  5. Enhancing the mechanical properties of BN nanosheet-polymer composites by uniaxial drawing

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jan, Rahim; May, Peter; Bell, Alan P.; Habib, Amir; Khan, Umar; Coleman, Jonathan N.

    2014-04-01

    We have used liquid exfoliation of hexagonal Boron-Nitride (BN) to prepare composites of BN nanosheets of three different sizes in polyvinylchloride matrices. These composites show low levels of reinforcement, consistent with poor alignment of the nanosheets as-described by a modified version of Halpin-Tsai theory. However, drawing of the composites to 300% strain results in a considerable increase in mechanical properties with the maximum composite modulus and strength both ~×3 higher than that of the pristine polymer. In addition, the rate of increase of modulus with BN volume fraction was up to 3-fold larger than for the unstrained composites. This is higher than can be explained by drawing-induced alignment using Halpin-Tsai theory. However, the data was consistent with a combination of alignment and strain-induced de-aggregation of BN multilayers.

  6. Enhancing the mechanical properties of BN nanosheet-polymer composites by uniaxial drawing.

    PubMed

    Jan, Rahim; May, Peter; Bell, Alan P; Habib, Amir; Khan, Umar; Coleman, Jonathan N

    2014-05-07

    We have used liquid exfoliation of hexagonal Boron-Nitride (BN) to prepare composites of BN nanosheets of three different sizes in polyvinylchloride matrices. These composites show low levels of reinforcement, consistent with poor alignment of the nanosheets as-described by a modified version of Halpin-Tsai theory. However, drawing of the composites to 300% strain results in a considerable increase in mechanical properties with the maximum composite modulus and strength both ∼×3 higher than that of the pristine polymer. In addition, the rate of increase of modulus with BN volume fraction was up to 3-fold larger than for the unstrained composites. This is higher than can be explained by drawing-induced alignment using Halpin-Tsai theory. However, the data was consistent with a combination of alignment and strain-induced de-aggregation of BN multilayers.

  7. A Highly Sensitive Oligonucleotide Hybridization Assay for Klebsiella pneumoniae Carbapenemase with the Probes on a Gold Nanoparticles Modified Glassy Carbon Electrode.

    PubMed

    Pan, Hong-zhi; Yu, Hong- Wei; Wang, Na; Zhang, Ze; Wan, Guang-Cai; Liu, Hao; Guan, Xue; Chang, Dong

    2015-01-01

    To develop a new electrochemical DNA biosensor for determination of Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase, a highly sensitive and selective electrochemical biosensor for DNA detection was constructed based on a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) modified with gold nanoparticles (Au-nano). The Au-nano/GCE was characterized by scanning electromicroscopy, cyclic voltammetry, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The hybridization detection was measured by differential pulse voltammetry using methylene blue as the hybridization indicator. The dynamic range of detection of the sensor for the target DNA sequences was from 1 × 10(-11) to 1 × 10(-8) M, with an LOD of 1 × 10(-12) M. The DNA biosensor had excellent specificity for distinguishing complementary DNA sequence in the presence of non-complementary and mismatched DNA sequence. The Au-nano/GCE showed significant improvement in electrochemical characteristics, and this biosensor was successfully applied for determination of K. pneumoniae.

  8. Nonlinear absorption properties of silicene nanosheets.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Fang; Wang, Mengxia; Wang, Zhengping; Han, Kezhen; Liu, Xiaojuan; Xu, Xinguang

    2018-06-01

    As the cousins of graphene, i.e. same group IVA element, the nonlinear absorption (NLA) properties of silicene nanosheets were rarely studied. In this paper, we successfully exfoliated the two-dimensional silicene nanosheets from bulk silicon crystal using liquid phase exfoliation method. The NLA properties of silicene nanosheets were systemically investigated for the first time, as we have known. Silicene performed exciting saturable absorption and two photon absorption (2PA) behavior. The lower saturable intensity and larger 2PA coefficient at 532 nm excitation indicates that silicene has potential application in ultrafast lasers and optical limiting devices, especially in visible waveband.

  9. Nonlinear absorption properties of silicene nanosheets

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhang, Fang; Wang, Mengxia; Wang, Zhengping; Han, Kezhen; Liu, Xiaojuan; Xu, Xinguang

    2018-06-01

    As the cousins of graphene, i.e. same group IVA element, the nonlinear absorption (NLA) properties of silicene nanosheets were rarely studied. In this paper, we successfully exfoliated the two-dimensional silicene nanosheets from bulk silicon crystal using liquid phase exfoliation method. The NLA properties of silicene nanosheets were systemically investigated for the first time, as we have known. Silicene performed exciting saturable absorption and two photon absorption (2PA) behavior. The lower saturable intensity and larger 2PA coefficient at 532 nm excitation indicates that silicene has potential application in ultrafast lasers and optical limiting devices, especially in visible waveband.

  10. Effective NaBH4-exfoliated ultrathin multilayer Co(OH)2 nanosheets arrays and sulfidation for energy storage

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yang, Wanjun; Qu, Gan; Chen, Mingyue; Ma, Wenhao; Li, Wenhui; Tang, Yiwen

    2018-07-01

    Facile engineering ultrathin nano structural materials is still a huge challenge for material science. Thereinto, the strategy of exfoliating shows great advantages. In this work, we develop a convenient approach to exfoliate Co(OH)2 nanosheets into ultrathin Co(OH)2 nanoflakes through NaBH4-exfoliation method. Moreover, the microstructures of the Co(OH)2 nanosheets are conveniently controlled by varying the exfoliation time. As a result, the obtained ultrathin Co(OH)2-72 h nanosheets deliver the excellent electrochemical performance. In order to improve the energy storage properties, the obtained ultrathin Co(OH)2 nanosheets are further modified to enhance the conductivity via sulfidation. Consequently, the synthesized Co(OH)2-72 h/CoS2 composites exhibit a specific capacitance of 2536 F g‑1 at 1 A g‑1, which is more outstanding than that of Co(OH)2-72 h. What’s more, the Co(OH)2-72 h/CoS2 composites show a capacitance retention of 83.3% after 10 000 cycles. Besides, the assembled asymmetric supercapacitor displays a power density of 482 W kg‑1 at an energy density of 36 Wh kg‑1, demonstrating a large potential for application.

  11. Effective NaBH4-exfoliated ultrathin multilayer Co(OH)2 nanosheets arrays and sulfidation for energy storage.

    PubMed

    Yang, Wanjun; Qu, Gan; Chen, Mingyue; Ma, Wenhao; Li, Wenhui; Tang, Yiwen

    2018-07-20

    Facile engineering ultrathin nano structural materials is still a huge challenge for material science. Thereinto, the strategy of exfoliating shows great advantages. In this work, we develop a convenient approach to exfoliate Co(OH) 2 nanosheets into ultrathin Co(OH) 2 nanoflakes through NaBH 4 -exfoliation method. Moreover, the microstructures of the Co(OH) 2 nanosheets are conveniently controlled by varying the exfoliation time. As a result, the obtained ultrathin Co(OH) 2 -72 h nanosheets deliver the excellent electrochemical performance. In order to improve the energy storage properties, the obtained ultrathin Co(OH) 2 nanosheets are further modified to enhance the conductivity via sulfidation. Consequently, the synthesized Co(OH) 2 -72 h/CoS 2 composites exhibit a specific capacitance of 2536 F g -1 at 1 A g -1 , which is more outstanding than that of Co(OH) 2 -72 h. What's more, the Co(OH) 2 -72 h/CoS 2 composites show a capacitance retention of 83.3% after 10 000 cycles. Besides, the assembled asymmetric supercapacitor displays a power density of 482 W kg -1 at an energy density of 36 Wh kg -1 , demonstrating a large potential for application.

  12. Fabrication of free-standing albumin-nanosheets having heterosurfaces.

    PubMed

    Okamura, Yosuke; Goto, Takahiro; Niwa, Daisuke; Fukui, Yoshihito; Otsuka, Masanobu; Motohashi, Norikazu; Osaka, Tetsuya; Takeoka, Shinji

    2009-04-01

    Sheet-shaped carriers, having both obverse and reverse surfaces and thus a large contact area for targeting a site, have several advantages over spherical-shaped carriers, which have an extremely small contact area for targeting sites. Here, we proposed a novel method to prepare a free-standing ultrathin and biocompatible nanosheet having heterosurfaces, by a combination of four processes: (1) specific adsorption of recombinant human serum albumin (rHSA) molecules onto a patterned octadecyltrimethoxysilane self-assembled monolayer region (ODS-SAM), (2) preparation of nanosheets of rHSA molecules bearing thiol groups (SH-rHSA) via two-dimensionally disulfide crosslinking, (3) surface modification of the resulting nanosheet, and (4) preparation of the free-standing nanosheet by detachment from the ODS-SAM. The SH-rHSA molecules at pH 5.0 and a concentration of 1 microg/mL were specifically adsorbed on the patterned ODS-SAM regions by hydrophobic interaction, and were two-dimensionally crosslinked in the presence of copper ion as an oxidant. The rHSA-nanosheets were then simply detached from the ODS-SAM by treatment with surfactant. We succeeded in the preparation of rectangular (10 microm x 30 microm) and ultrathin (4.5 +/- 1.0 nm) rHSA-nanosheets on a patterned ODS-SAM, and could also obtain free-standing rHSA-nanosheets having heterosurfaces by surface modification with fluorescent latex beads. Thus, the rHSA-nanosheets having heterosurfaces could be regarded as a new biomaterial for drug carriers, hemostatic reagents, wound dressing for burn injury, and so forth. Copyright 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  13. Constitutive modeling of glassy shape memory polymers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Khanolkar, Mahesh

    The aim of this research is to develop constitutive models for non-linear materials. Here, issues related for developing constitutive model for glassy shape memory polymers are addressed in detail. Shape memory polymers are novel material that can be easily formed into complex shapes, retaining memory of their original shape even after undergoing large deformations. The temporary shape is stable and return to the original shape is triggered by a suitable mechanism such heating the polymer above a transition temperature. Glassy shape memory polymers are called glassy because the temporary shape is fixed by the formation of a glassy solid, while return to the original shape is due to the melting of this glassy phase. The constitutive model has been developed to capture the thermo-mechanical behavior of glassy shape memory polymers using elements of nonlinear mechanics and polymer physics. The key feature of this framework is that a body can exist stress free in numerous natural configurations, the underlying natural configuration of the body changing during the process, with the response of the body being elastic from these evolving natural configurations. The aim of this research is to formulate a constitutive model for glassy shape memory polymers (GSMP) which takes in to account the fact that the stress-strain response depends on thermal expansion of polymers. The model developed is for the original amorphous phase, the temporary glassy phase and transition between these phases. The glass transition process has been modeled using a framework that was developed recently for studying crystallization in polymers and is based on the theory of multiple natural configurations. Using the same frame work, the melting of the glassy phase to capture the return of the polymer to its original shape is also modeled. The effect of nanoreinforcement on the response of shape memory polymers (GSMP) is studied and a model is developed. In addition to modeling and solving boundary

  14. Sealing effect of a polysaccharide nanosheet for murine cecal puncture.

    PubMed

    Fujie, Toshinori; Kinoshita, Manabu; Shono, Satoshi; Saito, Akihiro; Okamura, Yosuke; Saitoh, Daizoh; Takeoka, Shinji

    2010-07-01

    Recent developments in nanobiotechnology have led us to develop a method of producing a free-standing polymer nanosheet composed of polysaccharides (ie, polysaccharide nanosheet) with a thickness of tens of nanometers. Owing to its enormous aspect ratio, the polysaccharide nanosheet is semi-absorbent and has a physical adhesive strength 7.5-fold greater than that of conventional films of >1 microm thickness. Herein, we have investigated the therapeutic sealing effect of this polysaccharide nanosheet on murine cecal puncture as a wound dressing material. Murine cecum was punctured and then overlapped with the polysaccharide nanosheet. Thereafter, we evaluated its sealing effect on bacterial peritonitis as well as the protection offered by the polysaccharide nanosheet against bacterial permeability using an in vitro transmembrane assay. The 39-nm-thick polysaccharide nanosheet overlapped tightly the perforated cecum. No adhering agents were required because of the ability of the polysaccharide nanosheet to adhere to the tissue surface by physical adsorption (eg, van der Waals interaction). Sealing the perforated cecum with the polysaccharide nanosheet increased survival rate without postoperative adhesion by comparison with untreated mice (90 vs 30%; P < .01). These data were supported by the improvement in peritonitis related to bacterial counts, white blood cell counts, and the serum tumor necrosis factor level. Moreover, using an in vitro transmembrane assay, we showed that the polysaccharide nanosheet inhibited effectively bacterial penetration. We have demonstrated the potential clinical benefits of the nanosheet-type biomaterial that can be used for repairing a cecal colotomy without chemical bonding agents. Copyright 2010 Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

  15. Gold nanoparticles embedded electropolymerized thin film of pyrimidine derivative on glassy carbon electrode for highly sensitive detection of l-cysteine.

    PubMed

    Kannan, Ayyadurai; Sevvel, Ranganathan

    2017-09-01

    This paper demonstrates the fabrication of novel gold nanoparticles incorporated poly (4-amino-6-hydroxy-2-mercaptopyrimidine) (Nano-Au/Poly-AHMP) film modified glassy carbon electrode and it is employed for highly sensitive detection of l-cysteine (CYS). The modified electrode was characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM), cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). SEM images of modified electrode revealed the homogeneous distribution of gold nanoparticles on poly (4-amino-6-hydroxy-2-mercaptopyrimidine) thin film modified glassy carbon electrode. The modified electrode was successfully utilized for highly selective and sensitive determination of l-cysteine at physiological pH7.0. The present electrochemical sensor successfully resolved the voltammetric signals of ascorbic acid (AA) and l-cysteine with peak separation of 0.510V. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of larger peak separation between AA and CYS. Wide linear concentration ranges (2μM-500μM), low detection limit (0.020μM), an excellent reproducibility and stability are achieved for cysteine sensing with this Nano-Au/Poly-AHMP/GCE. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  16. Application of neural networks with novel independent component analysis methodologies to a Prussian blue modified glassy carbon electrode array.

    PubMed

    Wang, Liang; Yang, Die; Fang, Cheng; Chen, Zuliang; Lesniewski, Peter J; Mallavarapu, Megharaj; Naidu, Ravendra

    2015-01-01

    Sodium potassium absorption ratio (SPAR) is an important measure of agricultural water quality, wherein four exchangeable cations (K(+), Na(+), Ca(2+) and Mg(2+)) should be simultaneously determined. An ISE-array is suitable for this application because its simplicity, rapid response characteristics and lower cost. However, cross-interferences caused by the poor selectivity of ISEs need to be overcome using multivariate chemometric methods. In this paper, a solid contact ISE array, based on a Prussian blue modified glassy carbon electrode (PB-GCE), was applied with a novel chemometric strategy. One of the most popular independent component analysis (ICA) methods, the fast fixed-point algorithm for ICA (fastICA), was implemented by the genetic algorithm (geneticICA) to avoid the local maxima problem commonly observed with fastICA. This geneticICA can be implemented as a data preprocessing method to improve the prediction accuracy of the Back-propagation neural network (BPNN). The ISE array system was validated using 20 real irrigation water samples from South Australia, and acceptable prediction accuracies were obtained. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  17. Electrochemical DNA biosensor based on poly(2,6-pyridinedicarboxylic acid) modified glassy carbon electrode for the determination of anticancer drug gemcitabine.

    PubMed

    Tığ, Gözde Aydoğdu; Zeybek, Bülent; Pekyardımcı, Şule

    2016-07-01

    In this study, a simple methodology was used to develop a new electrochemical DNA biosensor based on poly(2,6-pyridinedicarboxylic acid) (P(PDCA)) modified glassy carbon electrode (GCE). This modified electrode was used to monitor for the electrochemical interaction between the dsDNA and gemcitabine (GEM) for the first time. A decrease in oxidation signals of guanine after the interaction of the dsDNA with the GEM was used as an indicator for the selective determination of the GEM via differential pulse voltammetry (DPV). The guanine oxidation peak currents were linearly proportional to the concentrations of the GEM in the range of 1-30mgL(‒1). Limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) were found to be 0.276mgL(‒1) and 0.922mgL(‒1), respectively. The reproducibility, repeatability, and applicability of the analysis to pharmaceutical dosage forms and human serum samples were also examined. In addition to DPV method, UV-vis and viscosity measurements were utilized to propose the interaction mechanism between the GEM and the dsDNA. The novel DNA biosensor could serve for sensitive, accurate and rapid determination of the GEM. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  18. Enhanced photocatalytic H2-production activity of C-dots modified g-C3N4/TiO2 nanosheets composites.

    PubMed

    Li, Yang; Feng, Xionghan; Lu, Zhexue; Yin, Hui; Liu, Fan; Xiang, Quanjun

    2018-03-01

    As a new carbon-based material, carbon dots (C-dots) have got widely preference because of its excellent electronic transfer capability. In this work, a novel ternary layered C-dots/g-C 3 N 4 /TiO 2 nanosheets (CGT) composite photocatalysts were prepared by impregnation precipitation methods. The optimal ternary CGT composite samples revealed high photocatalytic hydrogen evolution rate in triethanolamine aqueous solutions, which exceeded the rate of the optimal g-C 3 N 4 /TiO 2 composite sample by a factor of 5 times. The improved photocatalytic activity is owed to the positive effects of C-dots and layered heterojunction structure of TiO 2 nanosheets and g-C 3 N 4 sheets. C-dots in the CGT composites can serve as electron reservoirs to capture the photo-induced electrons. The well-defined layered heterojunction structure of CGT provides the intimate contact and the strong interaction of anatase TiO 2 nanosheets and g-C 3 N 4 sheets via face-to-face orientation, which restrains the recombination of photogenerated charge carriers, and thus enhances the photocatalytic H 2 -production activity. Electron paramagnetic resonance and transient photocurrent response proved the strong interaction and improved interfacial charge transfer of TiO 2 nanosheets and g-C 3 N 4 sheets, respectively. The mechanism of improving the photocatalytic H 2 -evolution activity was further confirmed by time-resolved fluorescence, electron paramagnetic resonance, transient photocurrent response and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  19. Simultaneous electrochemical detection of dopamine and ascorbic acid using an iron oxide/reduced graphene oxide modified glassy carbon electrode.

    PubMed

    Peik-See, Teo; Pandikumar, Alagarsamy; Nay-Ming, Huang; Hong-Ngee, Lim; Sulaiman, Yusran

    2014-08-19

    The fabrication of an electrochemical sensor based on an iron oxide/graphene modified glassy carbon electrode (Fe3O4/rGO/GCE) and its simultaneous detection of dopamine (DA) and ascorbic acid (AA) is described here. The Fe3O4/rGO nanocomposite was synthesized via a simple, one step in-situ wet chemical method and characterized by different techniques. The presence of Fe3O4 nanoparticles on the surface of rGO sheets was confirmed by FESEM and TEM images. The electrochemical behavior of Fe3O4/rGO/GCE towards electrocatalytic oxidation of DA was investigated by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) analysis. The electrochemical studies revealed that the Fe3O4/rGO/GCE dramatically increased the current response against the DA, due to the synergistic effect emerged between Fe3O4 and rGO. This implies that Fe3O4/rGO/GCE could exhibit excellent electrocatalytic activity and remarkable electron transfer kinetics towards the oxidation of DA. Moreover, the modified sensor electrode portrayed sensitivity and selectivity for simultaneous determination of AA and DA. The observed DPVs response linearly depends on AA and DA concentration in the range of 1-9 mM and 0.5-100 µM, with correlation coefficients of 0.995 and 0.996, respectively. The detection limit of (S/N = 3) was found to be 0.42 and 0.12 µM for AA and DA, respectively.

  20. Electrochemical reduction of nalidixic acid at glassy carbon electrode modified with multi-walled carbon nanotubes.

    PubMed

    Patiño, Yolanda; Pilehvar, Sanaz; Díaz, Eva; Ordóñez, Salvador; De Wael, Karolien

    2017-02-05

    The aqueous phase electrochemical degradation of nalidixic acid (NAL) is studied in this work, using cyclic voltammetry (CV) and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) as instrumental techniques. The promotional effect of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) on the performance of glassy carbon electrodes is demonstrated, being observed that these materials catalyze the NAL reduction. The effect of surface functional groups on MWCNT -MWCNT-COOH and MWCNT-NH 2 -was also studied. The modification of glassy carbon electrode (GCE) with MWCNT leads to an improved performance for NAL reduction following the order of MWCNT>MWCNT-NH 2 >MWCNT-COOH. The best behavior at MWCNT-GCE is mainly due to both the increased electrode active area and the enhanced MWCNT adsorption properties. The NAL degradation was carried out under optimal conditions (pH=5.0, deposition time=20s and volume of MWCNT=10μL) using MWCNT-GCE obtaining an irreversible reduction of NAL to less toxic products. Paramaters as the number of DPV cycles and the volume/area (V/A) ratio were optimized for maximize pollutant degradation. It was observed that after 15 DPV scans and V/A=8, a complete reduction was obtained, obtaining two sub-products identified by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS). Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  1. Defect-induced room temperature ferromagnetism in silicon carbide nanosheets

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yang, Guijin; Wu, Yanyan; Ma, Shuyi; Fu, Yujun; Gao, Daqiang; Zhang, Zhengmei; Li, Jinyun

    2018-07-01

    Silicon carbide (SiC) nanosheets with different sizes and thickness were synthesized by a liquid exfoliation method by varying the exfoliating time in the N, N-dimethylformamide organic solvent. During the exfoliating time increasing from 4 to 16 h, the size of the SiC nanosheets decreases gradually from 500 to 200 nm, and the thickness decreases from 9 to 3.5 nm. Results showed that all prepared SiC nanosheets show intrinsic room temperature ferromagnetism, which is greatly different to the diamagnetism nature of virgin bulk SiC. Moreover, the saturation magnetization of the SiC nanosheets increases monotonously from 0.005 to 0.018 emu/g as the size and thickness decrease. Further studies via transmission electron microscopy, superconducting quantum interference device, and electron spin resonance revealed that the origin of the ferromagnetism in SiC nanosheets might be attributed to the defects with carbon dangling bond on the surface of nanosheets.

  2. Green synthesis and characterization of graphene nanosheets

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Tavakoli, Farnosh; Salavati-Niasari, Masoud, E-mail: salavati@kashanu.ac.ir; Department of Inorganic Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Kashan, Kashan, P. O. Box. 87317-51167, Islamic Republic of Iran

    Highlights: • For the first time, we have synthesized graphene nanosheets in the presence of pomegranate juice. • Here pomegranate juice was used not only as reductant but also as capping agent. • FT-IR, XRD, SEM, EDS and TEM were used to characterize the samples. • According to TEM image, graphene nanosheet is individually exfoliated after stirring for 24 h. • As shown in the TEM image, graphene monolayer is obtained. - Abstract: For the first time, we have successfully synthesized graphene nanosheets in the presence of pomegranate juice. In this approach, pomegranate juice was used not only as reductantmore » but also as capping agent to form graphene nanosheets. At first, the improved Hummer method to oxidize graphite for the synthesis of graphene oxide (GO) was applied, and then the as-produced graphene oxide was reduced by pomegranate juice to form graphene nanosheets. Fourier transformed infrared (FT-IR), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS), high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and raman were used to characterize the samples. The results obtained from the characterization techniques proved high purity of the final products.« less

  3. Determination of heavy metals in mussel and oyster samples with tris (2,2‧-bipyridyl) ruthenium (II)/graphene/Nafion® modified glassy carbon electrodes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Palisoc, Shirley T.; Uy, Donald Jans S.; Natividad, Michelle T.; Lopez, Toni Beth G.

    2017-11-01

    Tris (2,2‧-bipyridyl)ruthenium(II)/graphene/Nafion® modified glassy carbon electrodes (GCEs) were fabricated using the drop coating method. The modified electrode was used as the working electrode in differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) for the determination of lead, cadmium, and copper in mussel and oyster samples. The concentration of Tris (2,2‧-bipyridyl) ruthenium (II) and graphene were varied while those of Nafion®, methanol, and ethanol were held constant in the coating solution. The morphology and elemental composition of the fabricated electrodes were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) was done to investigate the reversibility and stability of the modified electrodes. The modified electrode with the best figures of merit was utilized for the detection of copper (Cu2+), lead (Pb2+) and cadmium (Cd2+) via DPV. This was the electrode modified with 4 mg [Ru (bpy)3]2+ and 3 mg graphene. The anodic current and metal concentration showed linear relationship in the range of 48 ppb-745 ppb for Pb2+, 49 ppb-613 ppb for Cd2+, and 28 ppb-472 ppb for Cu2+. The limits of detection for lead, cadmium, and copper were 48 ppb, 49 ppb, and 28 ppb, respectively. Results from atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS) were compared with those measured with DPV. Lead, cadmium, and copper were in mussels, oysters, and sea water. In addition, DPV was able to detect other metals such as zinc, iron, tin and mercury in sea water samples and some samples of oysters.

  4. Shock-wave studies of anomalous compressibility of glassy carbon

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Molodets, A. M., E-mail: molodets@icp.ac.ru; Golyshev, A. A.; Savinykh, A. S.

    2016-02-15

    The physico-mechanical properties of amorphous glassy carbon are investigated under shock compression up to 10 GPa. Experiments are carried out on the continuous recording of the mass velocity of compression pulses propagating in glassy carbon samples with initial densities of 1.502(5) g/cm{sup 3} and 1.55(2) g/cm{sup 3}. It is shown that, in both cases, a compression wave in glassy carbon contains a leading precursor with amplitude of 0.135(5) GPa. It is established that, in the range of pressures up to 2 GPa, a shock discontinuity in glassy carbon is transformed into a broadened compression wave, and shock waves are formedmore » in the release wave, which generally means the anomalous compressibility of the material in both the compression and release waves. It is shown that, at pressure higher than 3 GPa, anomalous behavior turns into normal behavior, accompanied by the formation of a shock compression wave. In the investigated area of pressure, possible structural changes in glassy carbon under shock compression have a reversible character. A physico-mechanical model of glassy carbon is proposed that involves the equation of state and a constitutive relation for Poisson’s ratio and allows the numerical simulation of physico-mechanical and thermophysical properties of glassy carbon of different densities in the region of its anomalous compressibility.« less

  5. Supramolecule-Inspired Fabrication of Carbon Nanoparticles In Situ Anchored Graphene Nanosheets Material for High-Performance Supercapacitors.

    PubMed

    Huang, Yulan; Gao, Aimei; Song, Xiaona; Shu, Dong; Yi, Fenyun; Zhong, Jie; Zeng, Ronghua; Zhao, Shixu; Meng, Tao

    2016-10-12

    The remarkable electrochemical performance of graphene-based materials has drawn a tremendous amount of attention for their application in supercapacitors. Inspired by supramolecular chemistry, the supramolecular hydrogel is prepared by linking β-cyclodextrin to graphene oxide (GO). The carbon nanoparticles-anchored graphene nanosheets are then assembled after the hydrothermal reduction and carbonization of the supramolecular hydrogels; here, the β-cyclodextrin is carbonized to carbon nanoparticles that are uniformly anchored on the graphene nanosheets. Transmission electron microscopy reveals that carbon nanoparticles with several nanometers are uniformly anchored on both sides of graphene nanosheets, and X-ray diffraction spectra demonstrate that the interlayer spacing of graphene is enlarged due to the anchored nanoparticles among the graphene nanosheets. The as-prepared carbon nanoparticles-anchored graphene nanosheets material (C/r-GO-1:3) possesses a high specific capacitance (310.8 F g -1 , 0.5 A g -1 ), superior rate capability (242.5 F g -1 , 10 A g -1 ), and excellent cycle stability (almost 100% after 10 000 cycles, at the scan rate of 50 mV s -1 ). The outstanding electrochemical performance of the resulting C/r-GO-1:3 is mainly attributed to (i) the presence of the carbon nanoparticles, (ii) the enlarged interlayer spacing of the graphene sheets, and (iii) the accelerated ion transport rates toward the interior of the electrode material. The supramolecule-inspired approach for the synthesis of high-performance carbon nanoparticles-modified graphene sheets material is promising for future application in graphene-based energy storage devices.

  6. Graphene Reinforced Glassy Carbon (GRGC) Beam Windows

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Renomeron, Lynda L.

    Secondary particle beams require beam windows that isolate the target (usually in air) from the primary particle beam vacuum. Advanced beam window solutions are needed that can withstand anticipated increases in beam power and intensity that will result in higher thermal shock on the window and increased oxidative erosion rates on the air-side caused by increased temperatures. Carbon-based windows, in particular, glassy carbon windows are of interest to minimize interaction with the beam. The attractive properties of glassy carbon are: 1. Low atomic number 2. Low thermal expansion 3. High strength and low Young's modulus 4. Low gas permeability andmore » low outgassing for ultrahigh vacuum use The one liability of glassy carbon is its low thermal conductivity, nominally 5 W/mK, which will exacerbate temperature rise, oxidation, and thermal shock concerns as beam powers increase. TA&T proposes the development of graphene reinforced glassy carbon (GRGC) composites to increase the thermal conductivity and address this Achilles heel of glassy carbon. Graphene as a reinforcing phase has shown the capability to increase the thermal conductivity of the matrix material by up to two orders of magnitude. For beam windows this would substantially increase heat spreading away from the beam zone of the window and improve thermal shock resistance, and reduce maximum temperature and air-side oxidation of the window. Increased thermal conductivity would also improve the effectiveness of edge-cooling schemes to minimize temperature increase. In the Phase I effort, graphene oxide (GO) particles were dispersed into glassy carbon precursor at different content levels and cast into solid shapes. The goal was to determine the effect of graphene concentration on the mechanical properties (flexure strength), and thermal (thermal conductivity). The Phase I results indicated that addition of graphene did have a significant effect on thermal conductivity; however the microstructural

  7. Synthesis and characterization of manganese diselenide nanoparticles (MnSeNPs): Determination of capsaicin by using MnSeNP-modified glassy carbon electrode.

    PubMed

    Sukanya, Ramaraj; Sakthivel, Mani; Chen, Shen-Ming; Chen, Tse-Wei; Al-Hemaid, Fahad M A; Ajmal Ali, M; Elshikh, Mohamed Soliman

    2018-06-02

    A new type of manganese diselenide nanoparticles (MnSeNPs) was synthesized by using a hydrothermal method. Their surface morphology, crystallinity and elemental distribution were characterized by using transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy which scrutinize the formation of the NPs. The NPs were coated on a glassy carbon electrode (GCE), and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, cyclic voltammetry and differential pulse voltammetry were applied to study the electroanalytical properties towards the oxidation of the food additive capsaicin. The modified GCE displays lower charge transfer resistance (R ct  = 29.52 Ω), a larger active surface area (0.089 cm 2 /g, and more efficient electrochemical oxidation of capsaicin compared to a MnS 2 /GCE and a bare GCE. The oxidation peak potential is 0.43 V (vs. Ag/AgCl) which is lower than that of previously reported GCEs. The sensor has a detection limit as low as 0.05 μM and an electrochemical sensitivity of 2.41 μA μM -1  cm -2 . The method was applied to the determination of capsaicin in pepper samples. Graphical abstract Electrochemical determination of capsaicin in pepper extract by using MnSeNPs modified electrode.

  8. Diazonium Chemistry for the Bio-Functionalization of Glassy Nanostring Resonator Arrays

    PubMed Central

    Zheng, Wei; Du, Rongbing; Cao, Yong; Mohammad, Mohammad A.; Dew, Steven K.; McDermott, Mark T.; Evoy, Stephane

    2015-01-01

    Resonant glassy nanostrings have been employed for the detection of biomolecules. These devices offer high sensitivity and amenability to large array integration and multiplexed assays. Such a concept has however been impaired by the lack of stable and biocompatible linker chemistries. Diazonium salt reduction-induced aryl grafting is an aqueous-based process providing strong chemical adhesion. In this work, diazonium-based linker chemistry was performed for the first time on glassy nanostrings, which enabled the bio-functionalization of such devices. Large arrays of nanostrings with ultra-narrow widths down to 10 nm were fabricated employing electron beam lithography. Diazonium modification was first developed on SiCN surfaces and validated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Similarly modified nanostrings were then covalently functionalized with anti-rabbit IgG as a molecular probe. Specific enumeration of rabbit IgG was successfully performed through observation of downshifts of resonant frequencies. The specificity of this enumeration was confirmed through proper negative control experiments. Helium ion microscopy further verified the successful functionalization of nanostrings. PMID:26263989

  9. Diazonium Chemistry for the Bio-Functionalization of Glassy Nanostring Resonator Arrays.

    PubMed

    Zheng, Wei; Du, Rongbing; Cao, Yong; Mohammad, Mohammad A; Dew, Steven K; McDermott, Mark T; Evoy, Stephane

    2015-07-30

    Resonant glassy nanostrings have been employed for the detection of biomolecules. These devices offer high sensitivity and amenability to large array integration and multiplexed assays. Such a concept has however been impaired by the lack of stable and biocompatible linker chemistries. Diazonium salt reduction-induced aryl grafting is an aqueous-based process providing strong chemical adhesion. In this work, diazonium-based linker chemistry was performed for the first time on glassy nanostrings, which enabled the bio-functionalization of such devices. Large arrays of nanostrings with ultra-narrow widths down to 10 nm were fabricated employing electron beam lithography. Diazonium modification was first developed on SiCN surfaces and validated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Similarly modified nanostrings were then covalently functionalized with anti-rabbit IgG as a molecular probe. Specific enumeration of rabbit IgG was successfully performed through observation of downshifts of resonant frequencies. The specificity of this enumeration was confirmed through proper negative control experiments. Helium ion microscopy further verified the successful functionalization of nanostrings.

  10. A Novel Type of Aqueous Dispersible Ultrathin-Layered Double Hydroxide Nanosheets for in Vivo Bioimaging and Drug Delivery.

    PubMed

    Yan, Li; Zhou, Mengjiao; Zhang, Xiujuan; Huang, Longbiao; Chen, Wei; Roy, Vellaisamy A L; Zhang, Wenjun; Chen, Xianfeng

    2017-10-04

    Layered double hydroxide (LDH) nanoparticles have been widely used for various biomedical applications. However, because of the difficulty of surface functionalization of LDH nanoparticles, the systemic administration of these nanomaterials for in vivo therapy remains a bottleneck. In this work, we develop a novel type of aqueous dispersible two-dimensional ultrathin LDH nanosheets with a size of about 50 nm and a thickness of about 1.4 to 4 nm. We are able to covalently attach positively charged rhodamine B fluorescent molecules to the nanosheets, and the nanohybrid retains strong fluorescence in liquid and even dry powder form. Therefore, it is available for bioimaging. Beyond this, it is convenient to modify the nanosheets with neutral poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG), so the nanohybrid is suitable for drug delivery through systemic administration. Indeed, in the test of using these nanostructures for delivery of a negatively charged anticancer drug, methotrexate (MTX), in a mouse model, dramatically improved therapeutic efficacy is achieved, indicated by the effective inhibition of tumor growth. Furthermore, our systematic in vivo safety investigation including measuring body weight, determining biodistribution in major organs, hematology analysis, blood biochemical assay, and hematoxylin and eosin stain demonstrates that the new material is biocompatible. Overall, this work represents a major development in the path of modifying functional LDH nanomaterials for clinical applications.

  11. Dispersions of TiS2 nanosheets in organic medium

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Manjunatha, S.; Kumar, A. Sunil; Machappa, T.

    2018-05-01

    Here in this article, we report Li-intercalated titanium disulfide (TiS2) two-dimensional (2D) nanosheets, exfoliated in 1-methyl-2-pyrrolidinone (NMP) forming a quite stable dispersions of pale brownish color. As synthesized TiS2 nanosheets were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Selected area electron diffraction (SAED) pattern confirmed the hexagonal lattice structure of the exfoliated nanosheets.

  12. Simultaneous Electrochemical Detection of Dopamine and Ascorbic Acid Using an Iron Oxide/Reduced Graphene Oxide Modified Glassy Carbon Electrode

    PubMed Central

    Peik-See, Teo; Pandikumar, Alagarsamy; Nay-Ming, Huang; Hong-Ngee, Lim; Sulaiman, Yusran

    2014-01-01

    The fabrication of an electrochemical sensor based on an iron oxide/graphene modified glassy carbon electrode (Fe3O4/rGO/GCE) and its simultaneous detection of dopamine (DA) and ascorbic acid (AA) is described here. The Fe3O4/rGO nanocomposite was synthesized via a simple, one step in-situ wet chemical method and characterized by different techniques. The presence of Fe3O4 nanoparticles on the surface of rGO sheets was confirmed by FESEM and TEM images. The electrochemical behavior of Fe3O4/rGO/GCE towards electrocatalytic oxidation of DA was investigated by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) analysis. The electrochemical studies revealed that the Fe3O4/rGO/GCE dramatically increased the current response against the DA, due to the synergistic effect emerged between Fe3O4 and rGO. This implies that Fe3O4/rGO/GCE could exhibit excellent electrocatalytic activity and remarkable electron transfer kinetics towards the oxidation of DA. Moreover, the modified sensor electrode portrayed sensitivity and selectivity for simultaneous determination of AA and DA. The observed DPVs response linearly depends on AA and DA concentration in the range of 1–9 mM and 0.5–100 μM, with correlation coefficients of 0.995 and 0.996, respectively. The detection limit of (S/N = 3) was found to be 0.42 and 0.12 μM for AA and DA, respectively. PMID:25195850

  13. A highly efficient nano-cluster artificial peroxidase and its direct electrochemistry on a nano complex modified glassy carbon electrode.

    PubMed

    Hong, Jun; Wang, Wei; Huang, Kun; Yang, Wei-Yun; Zhao, Ying-Xue; Xiao, Bao-Lin; Gao, Yun-Fei; Moosavi-Movahedi, Zainab; Ghourchian, Hedayatollah; Moosavi-Movahedi, Ali Akbar

    2012-01-01

    A nano-cluster with highly efficient peroxide activity was constructed based on nafion (NF) and cytochrome c (Cyt c). UV-Vis spectrometry and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) methods were utilized for characterization of the nano-structured enzyme or artificial peroxidase (AP). The nano-cluster was composed of a Chain-Ball structure, with an average ball size of about 40 nm. The Michaelis-Menten (K(m)) and catalytic rate (k(cat)) constants of the AP were determined to be 2.5 ± 0.4 µM and 0.069 ± 0.001 s(-1), respectively, in 50 mM PBS at pH 7.0. The catalytic efficiency of the AP was evaluated to be 0.028 ± 0.005 µM(-1) s(-1), which was 39 ± 5% as efficient as the native horseradish peroxidase (HRP). The AP was also immobilized on a functional multi-wall carbon nanotube (MWNCTs)-gold colloid nanoparticles (AuNPs) nano-complex modified glassy carbon (GC) electrode. The cyclic voltammetry of AP on the nano complex modified GC electrode showed a pair of well-defined redox peaks with a formal potential (E°') of -45 ± 2 mV (vs. Ag/AgCl) at a scan rate of 0.05 V/s. The heterogeneous electron transfer rate constant (k(s)) was evaluated to be 0.65 s(-1). The surface concentration of electroactive AP on GC electrode (Γ) was 7 × 10(-10) mol cm(-2). The apparent Michaelis-Menten constant (K(m)(app)) was 0.23 nM.

  14. Electrochemical Determination of Chlorpyrifos on a Nano-TiO₂Cellulose Acetate Composite Modified Glassy Carbon Electrode.

    PubMed

    Kumaravel, Ammasai; Chandrasekaran, Maruthai

    2015-07-15

    A rapid and simple method of determination of chlorpyrifos is important in environmental monitoring and quality control. Electrochemical methods for the determination of pesticides are fast, sensitive, reproducible, and cost-effective. The key factor in electrochemical methods is the choice of suitable electrode materials. The electrode materials should have good stability, reproducibility, more sensitivity, and easy method of preparation. Mercury-based electrodes have been widely used for the determination of chlorpyrifos. From an environmental point of view mercury cannot be used. In this study a biocompatible nano-TiO2/cellulose acetate modified glassy carbon electrode was prepared by a simple method and used for the electrochemical sensing of chlorpyrifos in aqueous methanolic solution. Electroanalytical techniques such as cyclic voltammetry, differential pulse voltammetry, and amperometry were used in this work. This electrode showed very good stability, reproducibility, and sensitivity. A well-defined peak was obtained for the reduction of chlorpyrifos in cyclic voltammetry and differential pulse voltammetry. A smooth noise-free current response was obtained in amperometric analysis. The peak current obtained was proportional to the concentration of chlorpyrifos and was used to determine the unknown concentration of chlorpyrifos in the samples. Analytical parameters such as LOD, LOQ, and linear range were estimated. Analysis of real samples was also carried out. The results were validated through HPLC. This composite electrode can be used as an alternative to mercury electrodes reported in the literature.

  15. Application of nanosheets as an anti-adhesion barrier in partial hepatectomy.

    PubMed

    Niwa, Daisuke; Koide, Masatsugu; Fujie, Toshinori; Goda, Nobuhito; Takeoka, Shinji

    2013-10-01

    Postoperative adhesion often causes serious adverse effects such as bowl obstruction, chronic abdominal pain, pelvic pain, and infertility. We previously reported that a poly-L-lactic acid (PLLA) nanosheet can efficiently seal a surgical incision without scarring. In this report, we examined whether the PLLA nanosheet can form an effective anti-adhesion barrier in partial hepatectomy accompanied by severe hemorrhaging in rats. To evaluate the anti-adhesive property of the nanosheet, the liver wound surface was covered with TachoComb(®) , a well-known hemostat material used in clinical procedures, and then with the PLLA nanosheet. Dressing the wound surface with TachoComb(®) alone caused severe adhesion with omentum and/or residual parts of the liver. By contrast, combinational usage of TachoComb(®) and the PLLA nanosheet significantly reduced such adhesion, presumably by inhibiting the permeation of oozing blood cells and the infiltration of fibroblastic cells. Moreover, the nanosheet displayed low permeability against serum proteins as well as cells in vitro, supporting the notion that the PLLA nanosheet has anti-adhesive properties in vivo. These results strongly suggested that the PLLA nanosheet is a promising material for reducing unwanted postoperative adhesion. Copyright © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  16. Controlled soft-template synthesis of ultrathin C@FeS nanosheets with high-Li-storage performance.

    PubMed

    Xu, Chen; Zeng, Yi; Rui, Xianhong; Xiao, Ni; Zhu, Jixin; Zhang, Wenyu; Chen, Jing; Liu, Weiling; Tan, Huiteng; Hng, Huey Hoon; Yan, Qingyu

    2012-06-26

    We report a facile approach to prepare carbon-coated troilite FeS (C@FeS) nanosheets via surfactant-assisted solution-based synthesis. 1-Dodecanethiol is used as both the sulfur source and the surfactant, which may form different-shaped micelles to direct the growth of nanostructures. Under appropriate growth conditions, the iron and sulfur atoms react to form thin layers of FeS while the hydrocarbon tails of 1-dodecanethiol separate the thin FeS layers, which turn to carbon after annealing in Ar. Such an approach can be extended to grow C@FeS nanospheres and nanoplates by modifying the synthesis parameters. The C@FeS nanosheets display excellent Li storage properties with high specific capacities and stable charge/discharge cyclability, especially at fast charge/discharge rates.

  17. Total Scattering Analysis of Disordered Nanosheet Materials

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Metz, Peter C.

    Two dimensional materials are of increasing interest as building blocks for functional coatings, catalysts, and electrochemical devices. While increasingly sophisticated processing routes have been designed to obtain high-quality exfoliated nanosheets and controlled, self-assembled mesostructures, structural characterization of these materials remains challenging. This work presents a novel method of analyzing pair distribution function (PDF) data for disordered nanosheet ensembles, where supercell stacking models are used to infer atom correlations over as much as 50 A. Hierarchical models are used to reduce the parameter space of the refined model and help eliminate strongly correlated parameters. Three data sets for restacked nanosheet assemblies with stacking disorder are analyzed using these methods: simulated data for graphene-like layers, experimental data for 1 nm thick perovskite layers, and experimental data for highly defective delta-MnO2 layers. In each case, the sensitivity of the PDF to the real-space distribution of layer positions is demonstrated by exploring the fit residual as a function of stacking vectors. The refined models demonstrate that nanosheets tend towards local interlayer ordering, which is hypothesized to be driven by the electrostatic potential of the layer surfaces. Correctly accounting for interlayer atom correlations permits more accurate refinement of local structural details including local structure perturbations and defect site occupancies. In the delta-MnO2 nanosheet material, the new modeling approach identified 14% Mn vacancies while application of 3D periodic crystalline models to the < 7 A PDF region suggests a 25% vacancy concentration. In contrast, the perovskite nanosheet material is demonstrated to exhibit almost negligible structural relaxation in contrast with the bulk crystalline material from which it is derived.

  18. Microwave-Assisted Synthesis Cd Metal Hexagonal Nanosheets

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sun, Yidong; She, Houde; Bai, Wencai; Li, Liangshan; Zhou, Hua

    2018-07-01

    Sodium borohydride (NaBH4) as reducing agent, oleic acid (OA) as surfactant, deionized water as the dispersant, reducing cadmium nitrate (Cd(NO3)2 · 4H2O) can get Cd nanosheets by microwave method. Room temperature photoluminescence (PL) spectrum for Cd nanosheets recorded under xenon light wavelength of 325 nm exhibited obviously emission bands at 331, 379, and 390 nm. By analyzing the results of XRD and TEM, the nanosheets are thought as hexagonal phase and the size is about 20 nm. This synthesis performs in a lower temperature. Moreover our method is quite simple and the cost of the experiment is relatively lower.

  19. Flower-Like Nanoparticles of Pt-BiIII Assembled on Agmatine Sulfate Modified Glassy Carbon Electrode and Their Electrocatalysis of H2O2

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Xiao, Mingshu; Yan, Yuhua; Feng, Kai; Tian, Yanping; Miao, Yuqing

    2015-04-01

    A new electrochemical technique to detect hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) was developed. The Pt nanoparticles and BiIII were subsequently assembled on agmatine sulfate (AS) modified glassy carbon electrode (GCE) and the prepared GCE-AS-Pt-BiIII was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with result showing that the flower-like nanostructure of Pt-BiIII was yielded. Compared with Pt nanoparticles, the flower-like nanostructure of Pt-BiIII greatly enhanced the electrocatalysis of GCE-AS-Pt-BiIII towards H2O2, which is ascribed to more Pt-OH obtained on GCE-AS-Pt-BiIII surface for the presence of BiIII. Based on its high electrocatalysis, GCE-AS-Pt-BiIII was used to determine the content of H2O2 in the sample of sheet bean curd with standard addition method. Meantime, its electrocatalytic activity also was studied.

  20. High Photocatalytic Performance of Two Types of Graphene Modified TiO2 Composite Photocatalysts

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhang, Jun; Li, Sen; Tang, Bo; Wang, Zhengwei; Ji, Guojian; Huang, Weiqiu; Wang, Jinping

    2017-07-01

    High quality and naturally continuous structure of three-dimensional graphene network (3DGN) endow it a promising candidate to modify TiO2. Although the resulting composite photocatalysts display outstanding performances, the lacking of active sites of the 3DGN not only goes against a close contact between the graphene basal plane and TiO2 nanoparticles (weaken electron transport ability) but also limits the efficient adsorption of pollutant molecules. Similar with surface functional groups of the reduced graphene oxide (RGO) nanosheets, surface defects of the 3DGN can act as the adsorption sites. However, the defect density of the 3DGN is difficult to control (a strict cool rate of substrate and a strict flow of precursor gas are necessary) because of its growth approach (chemical vapor deposition method). In this study, to give full play to the functions of graphene, the RGO nanosheets and 3DGN co-modified TiO2 composite photocatalysts are prepared. After optimizing the mass fraction of the RGO nanosheets in the composite photocatalyst, the resulting chemical adsorption ability and yields of strong oxidizing free radicals increase significantly, indicating the synergy of the RGO nanosheets and 3DGN.

  1. Mediatorless solar energy conversion by covalently bonded thylakoid monolayer on the glassy carbon electrode.

    PubMed

    Lee, Jinhwan; Im, Jaekyun; Kim, Sunghyun

    2016-04-01

    Light reactions of photosynthesis that take place in thylakoid membranes found in plants or cyanobacteria are among the most effective ways of utilizing light. Unlike most researches that use photosystem I or photosystem II as conversion units for converting light to electricity, we have developed a simple method in which the thylakoid monolayer was covalently immobilized on the glassy carbon electrode surface. The activity of isolated thylakoid membrane was confirmed by measuring evolving oxygen under illumination. Glassy carbon surfaces were first modified with partial or full monolayers of carboxyphenyl groups by reductive C-C coupling using 4-aminobenzoic acid and aniline and then thylakoid membrane was bioconjugated through the peptide bond between amine residues of thylakoid and carboxyl groups on the surface. Surface properties of modified surfaces were characterized by cyclic voltammetry, contact angle measurements, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. Photocurrent of 230 nA cm(-2) was observed when the thylakoid monolayer was formed on the mixed monolayer of 4-carboxylpheny and benzene at applied potential of 0.4V vs. Ag/AgCl. A small photocurrent resulted when the 4-carboxyphenyl full monolayer was used. This work shows the possibility of solar energy conversion by directly employing the whole thylakoid membrane through simple surface modification. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  2. MIP-graphene-modified glassy carbon electrode for the determination of trimethoprim.

    PubMed

    da Silva, Hélder; Pacheco, João G; Magalhães, Júlia M C S; Viswanathan, Subramanian; Delerue-Matos, Cristina

    2014-02-15

    A novel sensitive electrochemical sensor was developed by electropolymerization of pyrrole (PY) and molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) which was synthesized onto a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) in aqueous solution using cyclic voltammetry in the presence of Trimethoprim (TMP) as template molecules. Furthermore, a previous electrode modification was performed by deposition of a suspension of graphene on the electrode's surface. The performance of the imprinted and non-imprinted (NIP) films was evaluated by impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and cyclic voltammetry (CV) of a ferric solution. The molecularly imprinted film exhibited a high selectivity and sensitivity toward TMP. The sensor presented a linear range, between peak current intensity and logarithm of TMP concentration between 1.0 × 10(-6) and 1.0 × 10(-4)M. The results were accurate (with recoveries higher than 94%), precise (with standard deviations less than 5%) and the detection limit was 1.3 × 10(-7)M. The new sensor is selective, simple to construct and easy to operate. The MIP sensor was successfully applied to quantify TMP in urine samples. © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  3. Two-dimensional CdS nanosheet-based TFT and LED nanodevices.

    PubMed

    Ye, Yu; Yu, Bin; Gao, Zhiwei; Meng, Hu; Zhang, Hui; Dai, Lun; Qin, Guogang

    2012-05-17

    Semiconductor nanosheets have several unique applications in electronic and optoelectronic nanodevices. We have successfully synthesized single-crystalline n-type CdS nanosheets via a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method in a Cd-enriched ambient. The as-synthesized nanosheets are typically 40-100 nm thick, 10-300 µm wide, and up to several millimeters long. Using the nanosheets, we fabricated for the first time (to our knowledge), nano thin-film transistors (nano-TFTs) based on individual CdS nanosheets. A typical unit of such nanosheet TFTs has a high on-off ratio (∼1.7 ×10(9)) and peak transconductance (∼14.1µS), which to our knowledge are the best values reported so far for semiconductor nano-TFTs. In addition, we fabricated n-CdS nanosheet/p(+)-Si heterojunction light emitting diodes (LEDs) with a top electrode structure. This structure, where the n-type electrode is directly above the junction, has the advantage of a large active region and injection current favorable for high-efficiency electroluminescence (EL) and lasing. Room-temperature spectra of the LEDs consist of only an intense CdS band-edge emission peak (∼507.7 nm) with a full width at half-maximum of about 14 nm.

  4. S-Layer Nanosheet Binding of Zn and Gd

    DOE Data Explorer

    Ajo-Franklin, Caroline (ORCID:0000000189096712); Charrier, Marimikel; Yang, Li

    2016-04-15

    This data characterizes binding of Zn2+ and Gd3+ to engineered nanosheets at 40C and in a brine solution. The engineered nanosheets are composed of surface-layer (S-layer) proteins which form 2 D crystalline sheets and display Zn2+- or Gd3+-binding domains on these sheets. Their ability to bind Zn2+ is compared to S-layer nanosheets that do not contain Zn2+-binding domains. We found that the purification method of these nanosheets was a critical determinant of their function and thus have provided data on the binding from two different purification methods. A key distinction of this dataset from other datasets is that the engineered nanosheets were expressed and purified from E. coli grown at 37C as described in (Kinns, 2010; Howorka, 2000), Kinns, H., et al. Identifying assembly-inhibiting and assembly-tolerant sites in the SbsB S-layer protein from Geobacillus stearothermophilus. Journal of Molecular Biology, 2010. 395(4): p. 742-753. Howorka, S., et al. Surface-accessible residues in the monomeric and assembled forms of a bacterial surface layer protein. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 2000. 275(48): p. 37876-37886.

  5. Liquid/Liquid Interfacial Synthesis of a Click Nanosheet.

    PubMed

    Rapakousiou, Amalia; Sakamoto, Ryota; Shiotsuki, Ryo; Matsuoka, Ryota; Nakajima, Ukyo; Pal, Tigmansu; Shimada, Rintaro; Hossain, Amran; Masunaga, Hiroyasu; Horike, Satoshi; Kitagawa, Yasutaka; Sasaki, Sono; Kato, Kenichi; Ozawa, Takeaki; Astruc, Didier; Nishihara, Hiroshi

    2017-06-22

    A liquid/liquid interfacial synthesis is employed, for the first time, to synthesize a covalent two-dimensional polymer nanosheet. Copper-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC) between a three-way terminal alkyne and azide at a water/dichloromethane interface generates a 1,2,3-triazole-linked nanosheet. The resultant nanosheet, with a flat and smooth texture, has a maximum domain size of 20 μm and minimum thickness of 5.3 nm. The starting monomers in the organic phase and the copper catalyst in the aqueous phase can only meet at the liquid/liquid interface as a two-dimensional reaction space; this allows them to form the two-dimensional polymer. The robust triazole linkage generated by irreversible covalent-bond formation allows the nanosheet to resist hydrolysis under both acidic and alkaline conditions, and to endure pyrolysis up to more than 300 °C. The coordination ability of the triazolyl group enables the nanosheet to act as a reservoir for metal ions, with an affinity order of Pd 2+ >Au 3+ >Cu 2+ . © 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  6. Therapeutic efficacy of an antibiotic-loaded nanosheet in a murine burn-wound infection model.

    PubMed

    Saito, Akihiro; Miyazaki, Hiromi; Fujie, Toshinori; Ohtsubo, Shinya; Kinoshita, Manabu; Saitoh, Daizoh; Takeoka, Shinji

    2012-08-01

    Polymeric ultra-thin films (nanosheets) possess unique properties that make them suitable materials for various biomedical applications. In our previous study, we assessed the use of an antibiotic (tetracycline, TC)-loaded nanosheet (or "TC-nanosheet") for the treatment of gastrointestinal tissue defects. The nanosheet consisted of three functional layers: layer-by-layer nanosheet as a stable platform, TC as an antimicrobial agent with autofluorescence for tracing, and a poly(vinyl acetate) nanosheet to act as a protecting layer. The TC-nanosheet has high flexibility, adhesive strength and transparency. Here, we evaluated the effectiveness of the TC-nanosheet in preventing full thickness burn-wound infections. In an in vivo study, murine dorsal skin was injured by full-thickness burns and then infected with Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa), a common bacterium causing burn-associated infections. The wound site was treated either with a TC-nanosheet, TC-unloaded nanosheet or left untreated. Wound management was facilitated by the high transparency of the TC-nanosheet. The TC-nanosheet significantly improved burn-wound infection by P. aeruginosa in mice. Indeed, all mice treated with the TC-nanosheet survived, whereas the other treatment groups displayed increased rates of mortality due to bacterial infection. According to histological analyses and viable bacterial counting in the liver (bacterial translocation), the TC-nanosheets were able to prevent not only the local inflammation but also systemic inflammation. We conclude that the TC-nanosheet can act as an effective treatment for full-thickness burn-wound infection. Hence, the TC-nanosheet is a promising therapeutic tool for burn-wound management in severely burn-injured patients. Copyright © 2012 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Combined photothermal and photodynamic therapy delivered by PEGylated MoS2 nanosheets

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Liu, Teng; Wang, Chao; Cui, Wei; Gong, Hua; Liang, Chao; Shi, Xiaoze; Li, Zhiwei; Sun, Baoquan; Liu, Zhuang

    2014-09-01

    Single- or few-layered transitional metal dichalcogenides, as a new genus of two-dimensional nanomaterials, have attracted tremendous attention in recent years, owing to their various intriguing properties. In this study, chemically exfoliated MoS2 nanosheets are modified with lipoic acid-terminated polyethylene glycol (LA-PEG), obtaining PEGylated MoS2 (MoS2-PEG) with high stability in physiological solutions and no obvious toxicity. Taking advantage of its ultra-high surface area, the obtained MoS2-PEG is able to load a photodynamic agent, chlorin e6 (Ce6), by physical adsorption. In vitro experiments reveal that Ce6 after being loaded on MoS2-PEG shows remarkably increased cellular uptake and thus significantly enhanced photodynamic therapeutic efficiency. Utilizing the strong, near-infrared (NIR) absorbance of the MoS2 nanosheets, we further demonstrate photothermally enhanced photodynamic therapy using Ce6-loaded MoS2-PEG for synergistic cancer killing, in both in vitro cellular and in vivo animal experiments. Our study presents a new type of multifunctional nanocarrier for the delivery of photodynamic therapy, which, if combined with photothermal therapy, appears to be an effective therapeutic approach for cancer treatment.Single- or few-layered transitional metal dichalcogenides, as a new genus of two-dimensional nanomaterials, have attracted tremendous attention in recent years, owing to their various intriguing properties. In this study, chemically exfoliated MoS2 nanosheets are modified with lipoic acid-terminated polyethylene glycol (LA-PEG), obtaining PEGylated MoS2 (MoS2-PEG) with high stability in physiological solutions and no obvious toxicity. Taking advantage of its ultra-high surface area, the obtained MoS2-PEG is able to load a photodynamic agent, chlorin e6 (Ce6), by physical adsorption. In vitro experiments reveal that Ce6 after being loaded on MoS2-PEG shows remarkably increased cellular uptake and thus significantly enhanced photodynamic

  8. Freestanding palladium nanosheets with plasmonic and catalytic properties

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Huang, Xiaoqing; Tang, Shaoheng; Mu, Xiaoliang; Dai, Yan; Chen, Guangxu; Zhou, Zhiyou; Ruan, Fangxiong; Yang, Zhilin; Zheng, Nanfeng

    2011-01-01

    Ultrathin metal films can exhibit quantum size and surface effects that give rise to unique physical and chemical properties. Metal films containing just a few layers of atoms can be fabricated on substrates using deposition techniques, but the production of freestanding ultrathin structures remains a significant challenge. Here we report the facile synthesis of freestanding hexagonal palladium nanosheets that are less than 10 atomic layers thick, using carbon monoxide as a surface confining agent. The as-prepared nanosheets are blue in colour and exhibit a well-defined but tunable surface plasmon resonance peak in the near-infrared region. The combination of photothermal stability and biocompatibility makes palladium nanosheets promising candidates for photothermal therapy. The nanosheets also exhibit electrocatalytic activity for the oxidation of formic acid that is 2.5 times greater than that of commercial palladium black catalyst.

  9. Rational Design of Multilayer Collagen Nanosheets with Compositional and Structural Control.

    PubMed

    Jiang, Tao; Vail, Owen A; Jiang, Zhigang; Zuo, Xiaobing; Conticello, Vincent P

    2015-06-24

    Two collagen-mimetic peptides, CP(+) and CP(-), are reported in which the sequences comprise a multiblock architecture having positively charged N-terminal (Pro-Arg-Gly)3 and negatively charged C-terminal (Glu-Hyp-Gly)3 triad extensions, respectively. CP(+) rapidly self-associates into positively charged nanosheets based on a monolayer structure. In contrast, CP(-) self-assembles to form negatively charged monolayer nanosheets at a much slower rate, which can be accelerated in the presence of calcium(II) ion. A 2:1 mixture of unassociated CP(-) peptide with preformed CP(+) nanosheets generates structurally defined triple-layer nanosheets in which two CP(-) monolayers have formed on the identical surfaces of the CP(+) nanosheet template. Experimental data from electrostatic force microscopy (EFM) image analysis, zeta potential measurements, and charged nanoparticle binding assays support a negative surface charge state for the triple-layer nanosheets, which is the reverse of the positive surface charge state observed for the CP(+) monolayer nanosheets. The electrostatic complementarity between the CP(+) and CP(-) triple helical cohesive ends at the layer interfaces promotes a (CP(-)/CP(+)/CP(-)) compositional gradient along the z-direction of the nanosheet. This structurally informed approach represents an attractive strategy for the fabrication of two-dimensional nanostructures with compositional control.

  10. Water clustering in glassy polymers.

    PubMed

    Davis, Eric M; Elabd, Yossef A

    2013-09-12

    In this study, water solubility and water clustering in several glassy polymers, including poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), poly(styrene) (PS), and poly(vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP), were measured using both quartz spring microbalance (QSM) and Fourier transform infrared-attenuated total reflectance (FTIR-ATR) spectroscopy. Specifically, QSM was used to determine water solubility, while FTIR-ATR spectroscopy provided a direct, molecular-level measurement of water clustering. The Flory-Huggins theory was employed to obtain a measure of water-polymer interaction and water solubility, through both prediction and regression, where the theory failed to predict water solubility in both PMMA and PVP. Furthermore, a comparison of water clustering between direct FTIR-ATR spectroscopy measurements and predictions from the Zimm-Lundberg clustering analysis produced contradictory results. The failure of the Flory-Huggins theory and Zimm-Lundberg clustering analysis to describe water solubility and water clustering, respectively, in these glassy polymers is in part due to the equilibrium constraints under which these models are derived in contrast to the nonequilibrium state of glassy polymers. Additionally, FTIR-ATR spectroscopy results were compared to temperature-dependent diffusivity data, where a correlation between the activation energy for diffusion and the measured water clustering was observed.

  11. Non-Equilibrium Water-Glassy Polymer Dynamics

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Davis, Eric; Minelli, Matteo; Baschetti, Marco; Sarti, Giulio; Elabd, Yossef

    2012-02-01

    For many applications (e.g., medical implants, packaging), an accurate assessment and fundamental understanding of the dynamics of water-glassy polymer interactions is of great interest. In this study, sorption and diffusion of pure water in several glassy polymers films, such as poly(styrene) (PS), poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), poly(lactide) (PLA), were measured over a wide range of vapor activities and temperatures using several experimental techniques, including quartz spring microbalance (QSM), quartz crystal microbalance (QCM), and time-resolved Fourier transform infrared-attenuated total reflectance (FTIR-ATR) spectroscopy. Non-Fickian behavior (diffusion-relaxation phenomena) was observed by all three techniques, while FTIR-ATR spectroscopy also provides information about the distribution of the states of water and water transport mechanisms on a molecular-level. Specifically, the states of water are significantly different in PS compared to PMMA and PLA. Additionally, a purely predictive non-equilibrium lattice fluid (NELF) model was applied to predict the sorption isotherms of water in these glassy polymers.

  12. Electrochemical determination of estrogenic compound bisphenol F in food packaging using carboxyl functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes modified glassy carbon electrode.

    PubMed

    Wang, Xin; Yang, Lijun; Jin, Xudong; Zhang, Lei

    2014-08-15

    A simple and highly sensitive electroanalytical method for the determination of bisphenol F (BPF) was developed, which was carried out on multi-walled carbon nanotubes-COOH (MWCNT-COOH) modified glassy carbon electrode (GCE) using cyclic voltammetry (CV) and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV). The results showed that MWCNT-COOH remarkably enhanced the oxidation of BPF, which improved the anodic peak current of BPF significantly. The mechanism was oxidation of BPF lose electrons on the electrode surface via adsorption-controlled process, electrode reaction is the two electrons/two protons process. Under the optimised conditions, the oxidation peak current was proportional to BPF concentration the range from 0.12 to 6.01 μg mL(-1). The detection limit was 0.11 μg mL(-1) (S/N=3), and the relative standard deviation (R.S.D.) was 3.5% (n=9). Moreover, the MWCNT-COOH/GCE electrode showed good reproducibility, stability and anti-interference. Therefore, the proposed method was successfully applied to determine BPF in food packing and the results were satisfactory. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Ambipolar thermoelectric power of chemically-exfoliated RuO2 nanosheets

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kim, Jeongmin; Yoo, Somi; Moon, Hongjae; Kim, Se Yun; Ko, Dong-Su; Roh, Jong Wook; Lee, Wooyoung

    2018-01-01

    The electrical conductivity and Seebeck coefficient of RuO2 nanosheets are enhanced by metal nanoparticle doping using Ag-acetate solutions. In this study, RuO2 monolayer and bilayer nanosheets exfoliated from layered alkali metal ruthenates are transferred to Si substrates for device fabrication, and the temperature dependence of their conductivity and Seebeck coefficients is investigated. For pristine RuO2 nanosheets, the sign of the Seebeck coefficient changes with temperature from 350-450 K. This indicates that the dominant type of charge carrier is dependent on the temperature, and the RuO2 nanosheets show ambipolar carrier transport behavior. By contrast, the sign of the Seebeck coefficient for Ag nanoparticle-doped RuO2 nanosheets does not change with temperature, indicating that the extra charge carriers from metal nanoparticles promote n-type semiconductor behavior.

  14. The Effect of Low Energy Nitrogen Ion Implantation on Graphene Nanosheets

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mishra, Mukesh; Alwarappan, Subbiah; Kanjilal, Dinakar; Mohanty, Tanuja

    2018-03-01

    Herein, we report the effect 50 keV nitrogen ion implantation at varying fluence on the optical properties of graphene nanosheets (number of layers < 5). Initially, graphene nanosheets synthesized by the direct liquid exfoliation of graphite layers were deposited on a cleaned Si-substrate by drop cast method. These graphene nanosheets are implanted with 50 keV nitrogen-ion beam at six different fluences. Raman spectroscopic results show that the D, D' and G peak get broadened up to the nitrogen ion fluence of 1 × 1015 ions/cm2, while 2D peak of graphene nanosheets disappeared for nitrogen-ions have fluence more than 1014 ions/cm2. However, further increase of fluence causes the indistinguishable superimposition of D, D' and G peaks. Surface contact potential value analysis for ion implanted graphene nanosheets shows the increase in defect concentration from 1.15 × 1012 to 1.98 × 1014 defects/cm2 with increasing the nitrogen ion fluence, which resembles the Fermi level shift towards conduction band. XRD spectra confirmed that the crystallinity of graphene nanosheets was found to tamper with increasing fluence. These results revealed that the limit of nitrogen ion implantation resistant on the vibrational behaviors for graphene nanosheets was 1015 ions/cm2 that opens up the scope of application of graphene nanosheets in device fabrication for ion-active environment and space applications.

  15. Liquid Crystalline Behavior and Related Properties of Colloidal Systems of Inorganic Oxide Nanosheets

    PubMed Central

    Nakato, Teruyuki; Miyamoto, Nobuyoshi

    2009-01-01

    Inorganic layered crystals exemplified by clay minerals can be exfoliated in solvents to form colloidal dispersions of extremely thin inorganic layers that are called nanosheets. The obtained “nanosheet colloids” form lyotropic liquid crystals because of the highly anisotropic shape of the nanosheets. This system is a rare example of liquid crystals consisting of inorganic crystalline mesogens. Nanosheet colloids of photocatalytically active semiconducting oxides can exhibit unusual photoresponses that are not observed for organic liquid crystals. This review summarizes experimental work on the phase behavior of the nanosheet colloids as well as photochemical reactions observed in the clay and semiconducting nanosheets system.

  16. Hydrogen peroxide biosensor based on hemoglobin immobilized at graphene, flower-like zinc oxide, and gold nanoparticles nanocomposite modified glassy carbon electrode.

    PubMed

    Xie, Lingling; Xu, Yuandong; Cao, Xiaoyu

    2013-07-01

    In this work, a highly sensitive hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) biosensor based on immobilization of hemoglobin (Hb) at Au nanoparticles (AuNPs)/flower-like zinc oxide/graphene (AuNPs/ZnO/Gr) composite modified glassy carbon electrode (GCE) was constructed, where ZnO and Au nanoparticles were modified through layer-by-layer onto Gr/GCE. Flower-like ZnO nanoparticles could be easily prepared by adding ethanol to the precursor solution having higher concentration of hydroxide ions. The Hb/AuNPs/ZnO/Gr composite film showed a pair of well-defined, quasi-reversible redox peaks with a formal potential (E(0)) of -0.367 V, characteristic features of heme redox couple of Hb. The electron transfer rate constant (k(s)) of immobilized Hb was 1.3 s(-1). The developed biosensor showed a very fast response (<2 s) toward H2O2 with good sensitivity, wide linear range, and low detection limit of 0.8 μM. The fabricated biosensor showed interesting features, including high selectivity, acceptable stability, good reproducibility, and repeatability along with excellent conductivity, facile electron mobility of Gr, and good biocompatibility of ZnO and AuNPs. The fabrication method of this biosensor was simple and effective for determination of H2O2 in real samples with quick response, good sensitivity, high selectivity, and acceptable recovery. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  17. Solvothermal modification of BiOCl nanosheets with Bi nanoparticles using ascorbic acid as reductant and the superoxide radicals dominated photocatalytic performance

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cui, Zhankui; Gao, Keke; Ge, Suxiang; Fa, Wenjun

    2017-11-01

    BiOCl nanosheets were solvothermally modified with Bi nanoparticles (NPs) using ascorbic acid as the reductant. The structures of Bi/BiOCl composites were characterized by XRD, Raman spectroscopy, FTIR spectroscopy and SEM. The light absorption properties were measured by UV-vis-NIR spectroscopy. The photocatalytic performances were evaluated by photodegrading methyl orange (MO) and the photocatalytic mechanism was investigated using trapping experiments and a fluorescent probe method. The results show that Bi NPs are uniformly distributed on the surfaces of BiOCl nanosheets and the modification amount of Bi NPs could be well controlled because of the mild property of ascorbic acid as reducing agent. The photocatalytic activities for the composites are improved obviously and the best photocatalytic performance is obtained when the weight ratio of Bi and BiOCl is1:10 and the photochemical reaction rate is 3.5 times that of pure BiOCl nanosheets and 19.7 times of Bi powders. The enhanced photocatalytic efficiency is ascribed to the favorable formation of dominant \\cdot O2- radicals caused by the increased photoinduced electrons from both Bi NPs and BiOCl nanosheets.

  18. A label-free electrochemical impedance immunosensor based on AuNPs/PAMAM-MWCNT-Chi nanocomposite modified glassy carbon electrode for detection of Salmonella typhimurium in milk.

    PubMed

    Dong, Jing; Zhao, Han; Xu, Minrong; Ma, Qiang; Ai, Shiyun

    2013-12-01

    A sensitive and stable label-free electrochemical impedance immunosensor for the detection of Salmonella typhimurium was developed by immobilising anti-Salmonella antibodies onto the gold nanoparticles and poly(amidoamine)-multiwalled carbon nanotubes-chitosan nanocomposite film modified glassy carbon electrode (AuNPs/PAMAM-MWCNT-Chi/GCE). Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and cyclic voltammetry (CV) were used to verify the stepwise assembly of the immunosensor. Co-addition of MWCNT, PAMAM and AuNPs greatly enhanced the sensitivity of the immunosensor. The immobilisation of antibodies and the binding of Salmonella cells to the modified electrode increased the electron-transfer resistance (Ret), which was directly measured with EIS using [Fe(CN)6](3-/4-) as a redox probe. A linear relationship of Ret and Salmonella concentration was obtained in the Salmonella concentration range of 1.0×10(3) to 1.0×10(7) CFU mL(-1) with a detection limit of 5.0×10(2) CFU mL(-1). Additionally, the proposed method was successfully applied to determine S. typhimurium content in milk samples with satisfactory results. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. Dual therapeutic action of antibiotic-loaded nanosheets for the treatment of gastrointestinal tissue defects.

    PubMed

    Fujie, Toshinori; Saito, Akihiro; Kinoshita, Manabu; Miyazaki, Hiromi; Ohtsubo, Shinya; Saitoh, Daizoh; Takeoka, Shinji

    2010-08-01

    An ultra-thin polymer film (nanosheet) composed of polysaccharides (i.e., polysaccharide nanosheet) provides sufficient adhesiveness, flexibility and robustness to act as an effective wound dressing. We have recently demonstrated the sealing effect of a nanosheet on a murine cecal puncture. Nevertheless, a small percentage of bacteria penetrated the nanosheet because of its ultra-thin structure. Here, we have developed an antibiotic-loaded nanosheet to inhibit bacterial penetration and investigated its therapeutic efficacy using a model of a murine cecal puncture. Tetracycline (TC) was sandwiched between a poly(vinylacetate) (PVAc) layer and the polysaccharide nanosheet (named PVAc-TC-nanosheet). Under physiological conditions, TC was released from the nanosheet for 6 h. Microscopic observation between the interface of the PVAc-TC-nanosheet and bacteria demonstrated how its potent anti-microbial effect was achieved. In vivo studies show that overlapping therapy with the PVAc-TC-nanosheet (thickness: 177 nm) significantly increases mouse survival rate after cecal puncture as well as suppressing an increase in the intraperitoneal bacterial count and leukocyte count. 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Fuel blends: Enhanced electro-oxidation of formic acid in its blend with methanol at platinum nanoparticles modified glassy carbon electrodes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    El-Deab, Mohamed S.; El-Nagar, Gumaa A.; Mohammad, Ahmad M.; El-Anadouli, Bahgat E.

    2015-07-01

    The current study addresses, for the first time, the enhanced direct electro-oxidation of formic acid (FA) at platinum-nanoparticles modified glassy carbon (nano-Pt/GC) electrode in the presence of methanol (MeOH) as a blending fuel. This enhancement is probed by: (i) the increase of the direct oxidation current of FA to CO2 (Ipd, dehydrogenation pathway), (ii) suppressing the dehydration pathway (Ipind, producing the poisoning intermediate CO) and (iii) a favorable negative shift of the onset potential of Ipd with increasing the mole fraction of MeOH in the blend. Furthermore, the charge of the direct FA oxidation in 0.3 M FA + 0.3 M MeOH blend is by 14 and 21times higher than that observed for 0.3 M FA and 0.3 M MeOH, respectively. MeOH is believed to adsorb at the Pt surface sites and thus disfavor the "non-faradaic" dissociation of FA (which produces the poisoning CO intermediate), i.e., MeOH induces a high CO tolerance of the Pt catalyst. The enhanced oxidation activity indicates that FA/MeOH blend is a promising fuel system.

  1. Synthesis of layered double hydroxide nanosheets by coprecipitation using a T-type microchannel reactor

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Pang, Xiujiang; Sun, Meiyu; Ma, Xiuming

    The synthesis of Mg{sub 2}Al–NO{sub 3} layered double hydroxide (LDH) nanosheets by coprecipitation using a T-type microchannel reactor is reported. Aqueous LDH nanosheet dispersions were obtained. The LDH nanosheets were characterized by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy and particle size analysis, and the transmittance and viscosity of LDH nanosheet dispersions were examined. The two-dimensional LDH nanosheets consisted of 1–2 brucite-like layers and were stable for ca. 16 h at room temperature. In addition, the co-assembly between LDH nanosheets and dodecyl sulfate (DS) anions was carried out, and a DS intercalated LDH nanohybrid was obtained. To the bestmore » of our knowledge, this is the first report of LDH nanosheets being directly prepared in bulk aqueous solution. This simple, cheap method can provide naked LDH nanosheets in high quantities, which can be used as building blocks for functional materials. - Graphical abstract: Layered double hydroxide (LDH) nanosheets were synthesized by coprecipitation using a T-type microchannel reactor, and could be used as basic building blocks for LDH-based functional materials. Display Omitted - Highlights: • LDH nanosheets were synthesized by coprecipitation using a T-type microchannel reactor. • Naked LDH nanosheets were dispersed in aqueous media. • LDH nanosheets can be used as building blocks for functional materials.« less

  2. A very low potential electrochemical detection of L-cysteine based on a glassy carbon electrode modified with multi-walled carbon nanotubes/gold nanorods.

    PubMed

    Silva, Francisco de Assis dos Santos; da Silva, Monique Gabriella Angelo; Lima, Phabyanno Rodrigues; Meneghetti, Mario Roberto; Kubota, Lauro Tatsuo; Goulart, Marilia Oliveira Fonseca

    2013-12-15

    A nanohybrid platform built with multi-walled carbon nanotubes and gold nanorods, prepared via a cationic surfactant-containing seed-mediated sequential growth process, in aqueous solution, on a glassy carbon substrate has been successfully developed to be used in the electrocatalytic oxidation of L-cysteine (Cys). The nanohybrid was characterized by transmission electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy and electrochemical measurements. Cyclic voltammetry results had shown that the modified electrode allows the oxidation of Cys at a very low anodic potential (0.00 V vs. Ag/AgCl). The kinetic constant kcat for the catalytic oxidation of Cys was evaluated by chronoamperometry and provided a value of 5.6×10(4) L mol(-1) s(-1). The sensor presents a linear response range from 5.0 up to 200.0 µmol L(-1), detection limit of 8.25 nmol L(-1) and a sensitivity of 120 nA L µmol(-1). Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  3. Crystallization of the glassy grain boundary phase in silicon nitride ceramics

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Drummond, Charles H., III

    1991-01-01

    The role was studied of the intergranular glassy phase in silicon nitride as-processed with yttria as a sintering aid. The microstructure, crystallization, and viscosity of the glassy phase were areas studied. Crystallization of the intergranular glassy phase to more refractory crystalline phases should improve the high temperature mechanical properties of the silicon nitride. The addition of a nucleating agent will increase the rate of crystallization. The measurement of the viscosity of the glassy phase will permit the estimation of the high temperature deformation of the silicon nitride.

  4. New model system in radiation cryochemistry:. hyperquenched glassy water

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bednarek, Janusz; Plonka, Andrzej; Hallbrucker, Andreas; Mayer, Erwin

    1999-08-01

    Radicals generated by high-energy irradiation of liquid water, short-lived at ambient temperature, can be studied at cryogenic temperatures after irradiating water and dilute aqueous solutions in their glassy states which can be obtained by so-called hyperquenching of the liquids at cooling rates of ˜10 6-10 7 K s -1. In the glassy states of hyperquenched dilute aqueous solutions there is no problem with phase separation and radiolysis of glassy water is quite distinct from radiolysis of polycrystalline ice obtained from liquid water on slow-cooling in liquid nitrogen.

  5. Evidence for cis Amide Bonds in Peptoid Nanosheets.

    PubMed

    Hudson, Benjamin C; Battigelli, Alessia; Connolly, Michael D; Edison, John; Spencer, Ryan K; Whitelam, Stephen; Zuckermann, Ronald N; Paravastu, Anant K

    2018-05-17

    Peptoid nanosheets are supramolecular protein-mimetic materials that form from amphiphilic polypeptoids with aromatic and ionic side chains. Nanosheets have been studied at the nanometer scale, but the molecular structure has been difficult to probe. We report the use of 13 C- 13 C dipolar recoupling solid-state NMR measurements to reveal the configuration of backbone amide bonds selected by 13 C isotopic labeling of adjacent α-carbons. Measurements on the same molecules in the amorphous state and in nanosheets revealed that amide bonds in the center of the amino block of peptoid (NaeNpe) 7 -(NceNpe) 7 (B28) favor the trans configuration in the amorphous state and the cis configuration in the nanosheet. This unexpected result contrasts with previous NMR and theoretical studies of short solvated peptoids. Furthermore, examination of the amide bond at the junction of the two charged blocks within B28 revealed a mixture of both cis and trans configurational states, consistent with the previously predicted brickwork-like intermolecular organization.

  6. Dispersible Exfoliated Zeolite Nanosheets and Their Application as a Selective Membrane

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Varoon, Kumar; Zhang, Xueyi; Elyassi, Bahman

    2011-10-06

    Thin zeolite films are attractive for a wide range of applications, including molecular sieve membranes, catalytic membrane reactors, permeation barriers, and low-dielectric-constant materials. Synthesis of thin zeolite films using high-aspect-ratio zeolite nanosheets is desirable because of the packing and processing advantages of the nanosheets over isotropic zeolite nanoparticles. Attempts to obtain a dispersed suspension of zeolite nanosheets via exfoliation of their lamellar precursors have been hampered because of their structure deterioration and morphological damage (fragmentation, curling, and aggregation). We demonstrated the synthesis and structure determination of highly crystalline nanosheets of zeolite frameworks MWW and MFI. The purity and morphological integritymore » of these nanosheets allow them to pack well on porous supports, facilitating the fabrication of molecular sieve membranes.« less

  7. Toward Edge-Defined Holey Boron Nitride Nanosheets

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Lin, Yi; Liao, Yunlong; Chen, Zhongfan; Connell, John W.

    2015-01-01

    "Holey" two-dimensional (2D) nanosheets with well-defined holy morphology and edge chemistry are highly desirable for applications such as energy storage, catalysis, sensing, transistors, and molecular transport/separation. For example, holey grapheme is currently under extensive investigation for energy storage applications because of the improvement in ion transport due to through the thickness pathways provided by the holes. Without the holes, the 2D materials have significant limitations for such applications in which efficient ion transport is important. As part of an effort to apply this approach to other 2D nanomaterials, a method to etch geometrically defined pits or holes on the basal plane surface of hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) nanosheets has been developed. The etching, conducted via heating in ambient air using metal nanoparticles as catalysts, was facile, controllable, and scalable. Starting h-BN layered crystals were etched and subsequently exfoliated into boron nitride nanosheets (BNNSs). The as-etched and exfoliated h-BN nanosheets possessed defined pit and hole shapes that were comprised of regulated nanostructures at the edges. The current finding are the first step toward the bulk preparation of holey BNNSs with defined holes and edges.

  8. A glassy carbon electrode modified with cerium phosphate nanotubes for the simultaneous determination of hydroquinone, catechol and resorcinol.

    PubMed

    Li, Zhen; Yue, Yuhua; Hao, Yanjun; Feng, Shun; Zhou, Xianli

    2018-03-12

    A nafion film containing cerium phosphate nanotubes was pasted onto a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) to obtain a sensor for hydroquinone (HQ). The morphologies and components of the coating were characterized by transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive spectroscopy. Cyclic voltammetry and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) showed the specific surface of the electrode to be significantly increased and the electron transfer rate to be accelerated. The modified GCE was applied to the determination of hydroquinone (HQ) via DPV. The oxidation current increases linearly in the 0.23 μM to 16 mM HQ concentration range which is as wide as five orders of magnitude. The limit of detection is 0.12 μM (based on a signal-to-noise ratio of 3), and the sensitivity is 1.41 μA·μM -1  cm -2 . The method was further applied to the simultaneous determination of HQ, catechol and resorcinol. The potentials for the three species are well separated (20, 134, and 572 mV vs SCE). Average recoveries from (spiked) real water samples are between 95.2 and 107.0%, with relative standard deviations of 0.9~2.7% (for n = 3) at three spiking levels. The method was validated by independent assays using HPLC. Graphical abstract ᅟ.

  9. Surface modification of boron nitride nanosheets by polyelectrolytes via atom transfer radical polymerization

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wu, Yuanpeng; Guo, Meiling; Liu, Guanfei; Xue, Shishan; Xia, Yuanmeng; Liu, Dan; Lei, Weiwei

    2018-04-01

    In this study, the surface modification of boron nitride nanosheets (BNNSs) with poly 2-acrylamido-2-methyl- propanesulfonate (PAMPS) brushes is achieved through electron transfer atom transfer radical polymerization (ARGET ATRP). BNNSs surface was first modified with α-bromoisobutyryl bromide (BIBB) via hydroxyl groups, then PAMPS brushes were grown on the surface through ARGET ATRP. Polyelectrolyte brushes modified BNNSs were further characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermogravimetric analyses (TGA), x-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The concentraction of water-dispersion of BNNSs have been enhanced significantly by PAMPS and the high water-dispersible functional BNNSs/PAMPS composites are expected to have potential applications in biomedical and thermal management in electronics.

  10. Ultra-selective high-flux membranes from directly synthesized zeolite nanosheets

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Jeon, Mi Young; Kim, Donghun; Kumar, Prashant

    A zeolite with structure type MFI is an aluminosilicate or silicate material that has a three-dimensionally connected pore network, which enables molecular recognition in the size range 0.5-0.6 nm. These micropore dimensions are relevant for many valuable chemical intermediates, and therefore MFI-type zeolites are widely used in the chemical industry as selective catalysts or adsorbents. As with all zeolites, strategies to tailor them for specific applications include controlling their crystal size and shape. Nanometre-thick MFI crystals (nanosheets) have been introduced in pillared and self-pillared (intergrown) architectures, offering improved mass-transfer characteristics for certain adsorption and catalysis applications. Moreover, single (non-intergrown andmore » nonlayered) nanosheets have been used to prepare thin membranes that could be used to improve the energy efficiency of separation processes. However, until now, single MFI nanosheets have been prepared using a multi-step approach based on the exfoliation of layered MFI9,15, followed by centrifugation to remove non-exfoliated particles. This top-down method is time-consuming, costly and low-yield and it produces fragmented nanosheets with submicrometre lateral dimensions. Alternatively, direct (bottom-up) synthesis could produce high-aspect-ratio zeolite nanosheets, with improved yield and at lower cost. Here we use a nanocrystal-seeded growth method triggered by a single rotational intergrowth to synthesize high-aspect-ratio MFI nanosheets with a thickness of 5 nanometres (2.5 unit cells). These high-aspect-ratio nanosheets allow the fabrication of thin and defect-free coatings that effectively cover porous substrates. Finally, these coatings can be intergrown to produce high-flux and ultra-selective MFI membranes that compare favourably with other MFI membranes prepared from existing MFI materials (such as exfoliated nanosheets or nanocrystals).« less

  11. Ultra-selective high-flux membranes from directly synthesized zeolite nanosheets

    DOE PAGES

    Jeon, Mi Young; Kim, Donghun; Kumar, Prashant; ...

    2017-03-15

    A zeolite with structure type MFI is an aluminosilicate or silicate material that has a three-dimensionally connected pore network, which enables molecular recognition in the size range 0.5-0.6 nm. These micropore dimensions are relevant for many valuable chemical intermediates, and therefore MFI-type zeolites are widely used in the chemical industry as selective catalysts or adsorbents. As with all zeolites, strategies to tailor them for specific applications include controlling their crystal size and shape. Nanometre-thick MFI crystals (nanosheets) have been introduced in pillared and self-pillared (intergrown) architectures, offering improved mass-transfer characteristics for certain adsorption and catalysis applications. Moreover, single (non-intergrown andmore » nonlayered) nanosheets have been used to prepare thin membranes that could be used to improve the energy efficiency of separation processes. However, until now, single MFI nanosheets have been prepared using a multi-step approach based on the exfoliation of layered MFI9,15, followed by centrifugation to remove non-exfoliated particles. This top-down method is time-consuming, costly and low-yield and it produces fragmented nanosheets with submicrometre lateral dimensions. Alternatively, direct (bottom-up) synthesis could produce high-aspect-ratio zeolite nanosheets, with improved yield and at lower cost. Here we use a nanocrystal-seeded growth method triggered by a single rotational intergrowth to synthesize high-aspect-ratio MFI nanosheets with a thickness of 5 nanometres (2.5 unit cells). These high-aspect-ratio nanosheets allow the fabrication of thin and defect-free coatings that effectively cover porous substrates. Finally, these coatings can be intergrown to produce high-flux and ultra-selective MFI membranes that compare favourably with other MFI membranes prepared from existing MFI materials (such as exfoliated nanosheets or nanocrystals).« less

  12. Facile synthesis of bismuth oxyhalide nanosheet films with distinct conduction type and photo-induced charge carrier behavior

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jia, Huimin; He, Weiwei; Zhang, Beibei; Yao, Lei; Yang, Xiaokai; Zheng, Zhi

    2018-05-01

    A modified successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) method was developed to fabricate 2D ordered BiOX (X = CI, Br, I) nanosheet array films on FTO substrates at room temperature. The formation of BiOX films were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), UV-vis absorption spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The semiconductor surface states determine the type of semiconductor. Although BiOCI, BiOBr and BiOI belong to the bismuth oxyhalide semiconductor family and possess similar crystal and electronic structures, they show different conductivity types due to their respective surface states. Mott-Schottky curve results demonstrate that the BiOCl and BiOI nanosheet arrays display n-type semiconductor properties, while the BiOBr films exhibit p-type semiconductor properties. Assisted by surface photovoltage (SPV) and transient photovoltage (TPV) techniques, the photoinduced charge transfer dynamics on the surface/interface of the BiOX/FTO nanosheet films were systematically and comparatively investigated. As revealed by the results, both the separation and transfer dynamics of the photo-induced carrier are influenced by film thickness.

  13. Target-responsive aptamer release from manganese dioxide nanosheets for electrochemical sensing of cocaine with target recycling amplification.

    PubMed

    Chen, Zongbao; Lu, Minghua

    2016-11-01

    A novel electrochemical sensing platform based on manganese dioxide (MnO2) nanosheets was developed for sensitive screening of target cocaine with the signal amplification. Ferrocene-labeled cocaine aptamers were initially immobilized onto MnO2 nanosheets-modified screen-printed carbon electrode because of π-stacking interaction between nucleobases and nanosheets. The immobilized ferrocene-aptamer activated the electrical contact with the electrode, thereby resulting in the sensor circuit to switch on. Upon target cocaine introduction, the analyte reacted with the aptamer and caused the dissociation of ferrocene-aptamer from the electrode, thus giving rise to the detection circuit to switch off. The released aptamer was cleaved by DNase I with target recycling. Under optimal conditions, the decreasing percentage of the electronic signal relative to background current increased with the increasing cocaine concentration in the dynamic range of 0.1-20nM, and the detection limit was 32pM. The reproducibility, selectivity and method accuracy were acceptable. Importantly, this concept offers promise for rapid, simple, and cost-effective analysis of cocaine biological samples without the needs of sample separation and multiple washing steps. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  14. Nanosheet-assembled NiO microstructures for high-performance supercapacitors.

    PubMed

    Purushothaman, Kamatchi Kamaraj; Babu, Inbamani Manohara; Sethuraman, Balasubramanian; Muralidharan, Gopalan

    2013-11-13

    Nanosheet-assembled NiO microstructures have been synthesized via a hydrothermal method. The presence of anionic surfactant in the fabrication process initiates the formation of lamellar micelles and a self-assembling process. This leads to the formation of NiO nanosheets and organizes it into microstructures. The effect of preparation temperature on the morphological, structural, and electrochemical properties and stability upon continuous charge/discharge cycles has been examined for supercapacitor applications. Electrochemical analysis demonstrated that NiO nanosheets prepared at 160 °C are capable of delivering a specific capacitance of 989 F g(-1) at a scan rate of 3 mV s(-1) for the potential window of 0-0.6 V. The nanosheets exhibit excellent capacity retention, 97% retention after 1000 continuous charge/discharge cycles, and an energy density of 49.45 W h kg(-1).

  15. Electrochemical DNA biosensor based on a glassy carbon electrode modified with gold nanoparticles and graphene for sensitive determination of Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase.

    PubMed

    Pan, Hong-zhi; Yu, Hong-wei; Wang, Na; Zhang, Ze; Wan, Guang-cai; Liu, Hao; Guan, Xue; Chang, Dong

    2015-11-20

    We describe the fabrication of a sensitive electrochemical DNA biosensor for determination of Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase (KPC). The highly sensitive and selective electrochemical biosensor for DNA detection was constructed based on a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) modified with gold nanoparticles (Au-NPs) and graphene (Gr). Then Au-NPs/Gr/GCE was characterized by scanning electro microscope (SEM), cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The hybridization detection was measured by diffierential pulse voltammetry (DPV) using methylene blue (MB) as the hybridization indicator. The dynamic range of detection of the sensor for the target DNA sequences was from 1 × 10(-12) to 1 × 10(-7)mol/L, with a detection limit of 2 × 10(-13)mol/L. The DNA biosensor had excellent specificity for distinguishing complementary DNA sequence in the presence of non-complementary and mismatched DNA sequence. The results demonstrated that the Au-NPs/Gr nanocomposite was a promising substrate for the development of high-performance electrocatalysts for determination of KPC. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  16. Boron nitride nanotubes and nanosheets.

    PubMed

    Golberg, Dmitri; Bando, Yoshio; Huang, Yang; Terao, Takeshi; Mitome, Masanori; Tang, Chengchun; Zhi, Chunyi

    2010-06-22

    Hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) is a layered material with a graphite-like structure in which planar networks of BN hexagons are regularly stacked. As the structural analogue of a carbon nanotube (CNT), a BN nanotube (BNNT) was first predicted in 1994; since then, it has become one of the most intriguing non-carbon nanotubes. Compared with metallic or semiconducting CNTs, a BNNT is an electrical insulator with a band gap of ca. 5 eV, basically independent of tube geometry. In addition, BNNTs possess a high chemical stability, excellent mechanical properties, and high thermal conductivity. The same advantages are likely applicable to a graphene analogue-a monatomic layer of a hexagonal BN. Such unique properties make BN nanotubes and nanosheets a promising nanomaterial in a variety of potential fields such as optoelectronic nanodevices, functional composites, hydrogen accumulators, electrically insulating substrates perfectly matching the CNT, and graphene lattices. This review gives an introduction to the rich BN nanotube/nanosheet field, including the latest achievements in the synthesis, structural analyses, and property evaluations, and presents the purpose and significance of this direction in the light of the general nanotube/nanosheet developments.

  17. Plastic flow modeling in glassy polymers

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Clements, Brad

    2010-12-13

    Glassy amorphous and semi-crystalline polymers exhibit strong rate, temperature, and pressure dependent polymeric yield. As a rule of thumb, in uniaxial compression experiments the yield stress increases with the loading rate and applied pressure, and decreases as the temperature increases. Moreover, by varying the loading state itself complex yield behavior can be observed. One example that illustrates this complexity is that most polymers in their glassy regimes (i.e., when the temperature is below their characteristic glass transition temperature) exhibit very pronounced yield in their uniaxial stress stress-strain response but very nebulous yield in their uniaxial strain response. In uniaxial compression,more » a prototypical glassy-polymer stress-strain curve has a stress plateau, often followed by softening, and upon further straining, a hardening response. Uniaxial compression experiments of this type are typically done from rates of 10{sup -5} s{sup -1} up to about 1 s{sup -1}. At still higher rates, say at several thousands per second as determined from Split Hopkinson Pressure Bar experiments, the yield can again be measured and is consistent with the above rule of thumb. One might expect that that these two sets of experiments should allow for a successful extrapolation to yet higher rates. A standard means to probe high rates (on the order of 105-107 S-I) is to use a uniaxial strain plate impact experiment. It is well known that in plate impact experiments on metals that the yield stress is manifested in a well-defined Hugoniot Elastic Limit (HEL). In contrast however, when plate impact experiments are done on glassy polymers, the HEL is arguably not observed, let alone observed at the stress estimated by extrapolating from the lower strain rate experiments. One might argue that polymer yield is still active but somehow masked by the experiment. After reviewing relevant experiments, we attempt to address this issue. We begin by first presenting our

  18. Tunable assembly of amyloid-forming peptides into nanosheets as a retrovirus carrier.

    PubMed

    Dai, Bin; Li, Dan; Xi, Wenhui; Luo, Fang; Zhang, Xiang; Zou, Man; Cao, Mi; Hu, Jun; Wang, Wenyuan; Wei, Guanghong; Zhang, Yi; Liu, Cong

    2015-03-10

    Using and engineering amyloid as nanomaterials are blossoming trends in bionanotechnology. Here, we show our discovery of an amyloid structure, termed "amyloid-like nanosheet," formed by a key amyloid-forming segment of Alzheimer's Aβ. Combining multiple biophysical and computational approaches, we proposed a structural model for the nanosheet that is formed by stacking the amyloid fibril spines perpendicular to the fibril axis. We further used the nanosheet for laboratorial retroviral transduction enhancement and directly visualized the presence of virus on the nanosheet surface by electron microscopy. Furthermore, based on our structural model, we designed nanosheet-forming peptides with different functionalities, elucidating the potential of rational design for amyloid-based materials with novel architecture and function.

  19. Disconnecting structure and dynamics in glassy thin films

    PubMed Central

    Sussman, Daniel M.; Cubuk, Ekin D.; Liu, Andrea J.

    2017-01-01

    Nanometrically thin glassy films depart strikingly from the behavior of their bulk counterparts. We investigate whether the dynamical differences between a bulk and thin film polymeric glass former can be understood by differences in local microscopic structure. Machine learning methods have shown that local structure can serve as the foundation for successful, predictive models of particle rearrangement dynamics in bulk systems. By contrast, in thin glassy films, we find that particles at the center of the film and those near the surface are structurally indistinguishable despite exhibiting very different dynamics. Next, we show that structure-independent processes, already present in bulk systems and demonstrably different from simple facilitated dynamics, are crucial for understanding glassy dynamics in thin films. Our analysis suggests a picture of glassy dynamics in which two dynamical processes coexist, with relative strengths that depend on the distance from an interface. One of these processes depends on local structure and is unchanged throughout most of the film, while the other is purely Arrhenius, does not depend on local structure, and is strongly enhanced near the free surface of a film. PMID:28928147

  20. Two-dimensional bismuth nanosheets as prospective photo-detector with tunable optoelectronic performance

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Huang, Hao; Ren, Xiaohui; Li, Zhongjun; Wang, Huide; Huang, Zongyu; Qiao, Hui; Tang, Pinghua; Zhao, Jinlai; Liang, Weiyuan; Ge, Yanqi; Liu, Jie; Li, Jianqing; Qi, Xiang; Zhang, Han

    2018-06-01

    Two dimensional Bi nanosheets have been employed to fabricate electrodes for broadband photo-detection. A series of characterization techniques including scanning electron microscopy and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy have verified that Bi nanosheets with intact lamellar structure have been obtained after facile liquid phase exfoliation. In the meanwhile, UV–vis and Raman spectra are also carried out and the inherent optical and physical properties of Bi nanosheets are confirmed. Inherited from the topological characteristics of Bi bulk counterpart, the resultant Bi nanosheet-based photo-detector exhibits preferable photo-response activity as well as environmental robustness. We then evaluate the photo-electrochemical (PEC) performance of the photodetector in 1 M NaOH and 0.5 M Na2SO4 electrolytes, and demonstrated that the as-prepared Bi nanosheets may possess a great potential as PEC-type photo-detector. Additional PEC measurements show that the current density of Bi nanosheets can reach up to 830 nA cm‑2, while an enhanced responsivity (1.8 μA W‑1) had been achieved. We anticipate that this contribution can provide feasibility towards the construction of high-performance elemental Bi nanosheets-based optoelectronic devices in the future.

  1. Two-dimensional bismuth nanosheets as prospective photo-detector with tunable optoelectronic performance.

    PubMed

    Huang, Hao; Ren, Xiaohui; Li, Zhongjun; Wang, Huide; Huang, Zongyu; Qiao, Hui; Tang, Pinghua; Zhao, Jinlai; Liang, Weiyuan; Ge, Yanqi; Liu, Jie; Li, Jianqing; Qi, Xiang; Zhang, Han

    2018-06-08

    Two dimensional Bi nanosheets have been employed to fabricate electrodes for broadband photo-detection. A series of characterization techniques including scanning electron microscopy and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy have verified that Bi nanosheets with intact lamellar structure have been obtained after facile liquid phase exfoliation. In the meanwhile, UV-vis and Raman spectra are also carried out and the inherent optical and physical properties of Bi nanosheets are confirmed. Inherited from the topological characteristics of Bi bulk counterpart, the resultant Bi nanosheet-based photo-detector exhibits preferable photo-response activity as well as environmental robustness. We then evaluate the photo-electrochemical (PEC) performance of the photodetector in 1 M NaOH and 0.5 M Na 2 SO 4 electrolytes, and demonstrated that the as-prepared Bi nanosheets may possess a great potential as PEC-type photo-detector. Additional PEC measurements show that the current density of Bi nanosheets can reach up to 830 nA cm -2 , while an enhanced responsivity (1.8 μA W -1 ) had been achieved. We anticipate that this contribution can provide feasibility towards the construction of high-performance elemental Bi nanosheets-based optoelectronic devices in the future.

  2. Preparation of Phosphonic Acid Functionalized Graphene Oxide-modified Aluminum Powder with Enhanced Anticorrosive Properties

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    He, Lihua; Zhao, Yan; Xing, Liying; Liu, Pinggui; Wang, Zhiyong; Zhang, Youwei; Liu, Xiaofang

    2017-07-01

    To improve the anticorrosive performance of aluminum powder, a common functional filler in polymer coatings, we report a novel method to prepare graphene oxide modified aluminum powder (GO-Al) using 3-aminoproplyphosphoic acid as "link" agent. The GO nanosheets were firstly functionalized with 3-aminoproplyphosphoic acid (APSA) by the reaction of amine groups of APSA and the epoxy groups of GO. Subsequently, a layer of GO nanosheets uniformly and tightly covered the surface of flaky aluminum particle though the strong linking strength between -PO(OH)2 functional groups of the modified GO and aluminum. The hydrogen evolution experiment suggests that the GO attached on the aluminum powder could effectively improve the anticorrosive performance of the pigments.

  3. Fluorescent 2D WS2 Nanosheets Bearing Chemical Affinity Elements for the Recognition of Glycated Hemoglobin.

    PubMed

    Yang, Jin-Kyoung; Lee, Hye-Rim; Hwang, In-Jun; Kim, Hye-In; Yim, DaBin; Kim, Jong-Ho

    2018-05-14

    It is required to exfoliate and functionalize 2D transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) in an aqueous solution for biological and medical applications. Herein, the approach for the simultaneous exfoliation and functionalization of 2D WS 2 nanosheets using boronic acid-modified poly(vinyl alcohol) (B-PVA) in an aqueous solution is reported, and the B-PVA-functionalized WS 2 nanosheets (B-PVA-WS 2 ) are exploited as a fluorescent biosensor for the detection of glycated hemoglobin, HbA1c. The synthetic B-PVA polymer facilitates the exfoliation and functionalization of WS 2 nanosheets from the bulk counterpart in the aqueous solution via a pulsed sonication process, resulting in fluorescent B-PVA-WS 2 nanohybrids with a specific recognition of HbA1c. The fluorescence of the B-PVA-WS 2 is quenched in the presence of HbA1c, whereas PVA-functionalized WS 2 (PVA-WS 2 ), not bearing boronic acid as a recognition moiety, shows no fluorescence changes upon the addition of the target. The B-PVA-WS 2 is able to selectively detect HbA1c at the concentration as low as 3.3 × 10 -8 m based on its specific fluorescence quenching. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  4. Pd/WO3/C nanocomposite with APTMS-functionalized tungsten oxide nanosheet for formic acid electrooxidation enhancement

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yang, Yang; Li, Yun-Hua; Zhao, Ya-Fei; Li, Peng-Wei; Li, Qiao-Xia

    2018-01-01

    A Pd/WO3/C nanocomposite with 3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane (APTMS)-functionalized tungsten oxide nanosheets (Pd/WO3/C-APTMS) was synthesized and applied as the efficient anode catalyst for direct formic acid fuel cells (DFAFCs). The mechanism for synthesizing the nanocomposite is as follows: initially, [PdCl4]2- was assembled onto the tungsten oxide nanosheets modified with APTMS. Following this, Pd nanoparticles were reduced via traditional impregnation reduction of [PdCl4]2- with NaBH4. The transmission electron microscope (TEM) images revealed that the Pd nanoparticles were uniformly dispersed on WO3 nanosheets and were approximately 2.7 nm in size. The electrochemical test results showed that enhanced electrocatalytic activity for the formic acid oxidation reaction (FAOR) was obtained on the Pd/WO3/C catalyst compared with Pd/C. The higher electrocatalytic activity might be attributed to the uniform distribution of Pd with smaller particles. Furthermore, it is likely that the improvement in catalytic stability for the Pd/WO3/C catalyst is due to the hydrogen spillover effect of WO3 particles. These results indicate that this novel Pd/WO3/C-APTMS nanocomposite exhibits promising potential for use as an anode electrocatalyst in DFAFCs.

  5. Dopamine and uric acid electrochemical sensor based on a glassy carbon electrode modified with cubic Pd and reduced graphene oxide nanocomposite.

    PubMed

    Wang, Jin; Yang, Beibei; Zhong, Jiatai; Yan, Bo; Zhang, Ke; Zhai, Chunyang; Shiraishi, Yukihide; Du, Yukou; Yang, Ping

    2017-07-01

    A cubic Pd and reduced graphene oxide modified glassy carbon electrode (Pd/RGO/GCE) was fabricated to simultaneously detect dopamine (DA) and uric acid (UA) by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and different pulse voltammetry (DPV) methods. Compared with Pd/GCE and RGO/GCE, the Pd/RGO/GCE exhibited excellent electrochemical activity in electrocatalytic behaviors. Performing the Pd/RGO/GCE in CV measurement, the well-defined oxidation peak potentials separation between DA and UA reached to 145mV. By using the differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) technique, the calibration curves for DA and UA were found linear with the concentration range of 0.45-421μM and 6-469.5μM and the detection limit (S/N =3) were calculated to be 0.18μM and 1.6μM, respectively. Furthermore, the Pd/RGO/GCE displayed high selectivity when it was applied into the determination of DA and UA even though in presence of high concentration of interferents. Additionally, the prepared electrochemical sensor of Pd/RGO/GCE demonstrated a practical feasibility in rat urine and serum samples determination. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  6. Simple flow injection for determination of sulfite by amperometric detection using glassy carbon electrode modified with carbon nanotubes-PDDA-gold nanoparticles.

    PubMed

    Amatatongchai, Maliwan; Sroysee, Wongduan; Chairam, Sanoe; Nacapricha, Duangjai

    2015-02-01

    A new approach is presented for sensitive and selective measurement of sulfite (SO3(2-)) in beverages based on a simple flow injection system with amperometric detection. In this work, the sulfite sensor was a glassy carbon electrode modified with multiwall carbon nanotubes-poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride)-gold nanoparticles composites (CNTs-PDDA-AuNPs/GC). Electrochemical oxidation of sulfite with this electrode was first studied in 0.1M phosphate buffer (pH 7.0) using cyclic voltammetry. The results indicated that the CNTs-PDDA-AuNPs/GC electrode possesses electrocatalytic activity for the oxidation of sulfite with high sensitivity and selectivity. Sulfite was quantified using amperometric measurement with the new sensor at +0.4V vs Ag/AgCl in conjunction with flow injection. The linear working range for the quantitation of sulfite was 2-200 mg L(-1) (r(2)=0.998) with a detection limit of 0.03 mg L(-1) (3σ of blank) and an estimated precision of 1.5%.The proposed method was successfully applied to the determination of sulfite in fruit juices and wines with a sample throughput of 23 samples per hour. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  7. Alcohol molecules adsorption on graphane nanosheets - A first-principles investigation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nagarajan, V.; Chandiramouli, R.

    2018-05-01

    The geometric structure, electronic and adsorption properties of methanol, ethanol and 1-propanol molecules on hydrogenated graphene (graphane) were investigated using first-principles calculations. The stability of graphane base material is confirmed using formation energy and phonon band structures. The adsorption of alcohol molecules on bare graphane and hydrogen vacant graphane nanosheet is found to be prominent and the selectivity of alcohol molecules can be achieved using bare or hydrogen vacant graphane nanosheet. Moreover, the interaction of alcohol molecules on bare and hydrogen vacant graphane nanosheets is studied using the adsorption energy, energy band gap variation, Bader charge transfer and average energy band gap variation. The adsorption energy ranges from -0.149 to -0.383 eV upon alcohol adsorption. The energy gap varies from 4.71 to 2.62 eV for bare graphane and from 4.02 to 3.60 eV for hydrogen vacant graphane nanosheets upon adsorption of alcohol molecules. The adsorption properties of alcohol molecules provide useful information for the possible application of graphane nanosheet as a base material for the detection of alcohol molecules.

  8. SPM investigation of local aging effects in glassy polymers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Crider, Philip

    2005-03-01

    We investigate the cooperative and heterogeneous nature of glassy dynamics by nanometer-scale probing in a glassy polymer, Polyvinyl-Actetate (PVAc), with a Scanning Force Microscope (SFM). Using ultra-high-vacuum (UHV) Scanning Capacitive Force Microscopy techniques, nanometer-scale capacitive responses are probed. Dielectric relaxation near the glass transition is investigated, and scanning capabilities are utilized to analyze spatial response on a nanometer scale. The results of these studies may yield insight into the understanding of temperature-dependent cooperative length scales, local aging properties, and energy landscape properties of evolving dipole clusters on a mesoscopic scale. Results are used to test the validity and relevance of current models of glassy dynamics.

  9. Ferroelectric, dielectric and electrical behavior of two-dimensional lead sulphide nanosheets

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Afsar, M. F.; Jamil, Arifa; Rafiq, M. A.

    2017-12-01

    Two-dimensional pure cubic phase lead sulphide (PbS) nanosheets were synthesized using solid state reaction method at ambient pressure and low temperature ~190 °C. From 210 K-300 K, small polaron hopping conduction mechanism was found to be dominant in PbS nanosheets at frequencies 20 Hz-2 MHz. High values of dielectric constant (~200) and electrical conductivity (of the order of 10-3 S m-1 at 300 K) of PbS nanosheets were extracted suggesting that it is a proficient material for capacitive storage devices. A high value of density of states of the order of 1032 eV-1 cm-3 was obtained for PbS nanosheets. The capacitance-voltage (CV) measurements of PbS nanosheets resulted in a stable butterfly loop due to switching of ferroelectric polarization at 300 K. The permittivity calculated at 0 V capacitance was ~150 and the dielectric loss remained below ~0.50. The polarization-voltage (QV) measurements showed a remnant polarization 23 µC cm-2 in PbS nanosheets. The leakage current density was below 0.5 mA cm-2 in the range  ±5 V.

  10. Anion vacancy-mediated ferromagnetism in atomic-thick Ni3N nanosheets

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Xia, Baorui; Wang, Tongtong; Chi, Xiao; Yu, Xiaojiang; Liu, Peitao; Zhang, Jingyan; Xi, Shibo; Du, Yonghua; Gao, Daqiang

    2017-12-01

    Realizing spin and electronic behavior of two-dimensional ultrathin nanosheets is significant to construct next generation nanoelectronics. Here, atomic-thick Ni3N nanosheets with clear room temperature ferromagnetism and high saturation magnetization (1.2 emu/g) are reported. X-ray magnetic circular dichroism and first-principles calculation results give the evidence that the observed intrinsic ferromagnetism in Ni3N nanosheets originates from the surface N-deficiency, where alignments of localized large magnetic moments of Ni in the vicinity of the N defect can be aligned parallel to activate macroscopic ferromagnetism. These ultrathin Ni3N nanosheets show great potential application in next-generation electron devices.

  11. A novel highly selective and sensitive detection of serotonin based on Ag/polypyrrole/Cu2O nanocomposite modified glassy carbon electrode.

    PubMed

    Selvarajan, S; Suganthi, A; Rajarajan, M

    2018-06-01

    A silver/polypyrrole/copper oxide (Ag/PPy/Cu 2 O) ternary nanocomposite was prepared by sonochemical and oxidative polymerization simple way, in which Cu 2 O was decorated with Ag nanoparticles, and covered by polyprrole (PPy) layer. The as prepared materials was characterized by UV-vis-spectroscopy (UV-vis), FT-IR, X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with EDX, high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Sensing of serotonin (5HT) was evaluated electrocatalyst using polypyrrole/glassy carbon electrode (PPy/GCE), polypyrrole/copper oxide/glassy carbon electrode (PPy/Cu 2 O/GCE) and silver/polypyrrole/copper oxide/glassy carbon electrode (Ag/PPy/Cu 2 O/GCE). The Ag/PPy/Cu 2 O/GCE was electrochemically treated in 0.1MPBS solution through cyclic voltammetry (CV) and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV). The peak current response increases linearly with 5-HT concentration from 0.01 to 250 µmol L -1 and the detection limit was found to be 0.0124 μmol L -1 . It exhibits high electrocatalytic activity, satisfactory repeatability, stability, fast response and good selectivity against potentially interfering species, which suggests its potential in the development of sensitive, selective, easy-operation and low-cost serotonin sensor for practical routine analyses. The proposed method is potential to expand the possible applied range of the nanocomposite material for detection of various concerned electro active substances. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  12. Synthesis of Ultrathin Si Nanosheets from Natural Clays for Lithium-Ion Battery Anodes.

    PubMed

    Ryu, Jaegeon; Hong, Dongki; Choi, Sinho; Park, Soojin

    2016-02-23

    Two-dimensional Si nanosheets have been studied as a promising candidate for lithium-ion battery anode materials. However, Si nanosheets reported so far showed poor cycling performances and required further improvements. In this work, we utilize inexpensive natural clays for preparing high quality Si nanosheets via a one-step simultaneous molten salt-induced exfoliation and chemical reduction process. This approach produces high purity mesoporous Si nanosheets in high yield. As a control experiment, two-step process (pre-exfoliated silicate sheets and subsequent chemical reduction) cannot sustain their original two-dimensional structure. In contrast, one-step method results in a production of 5 nm-thick highly porous Si nanosheets. Carbon-coated Si nanosheet anodes exhibit a high reversible capacity of 865 mAh g(-1) at 1.0 A g(-1) with an outstanding capacity retention of 92.3% after 500 cycles. It also delivers high rate capability, corresponding to a capacity of 60% at 20 A g(-1) compared to that of 2.0 A g(-1). Furthermore, the Si nanosheet electrodes show volume expansion of only 42% after 200 cycles.

  13. Application of nickel zinc ferrite/graphene nanocomposite as a modifier for fabrication of a sensitive electrochemical sensor for determination of omeprazole in real samples.

    PubMed

    Afkhami, Abbas; Bahiraei, Atousa; Madrakian, Tayyebeh

    2017-06-01

    In the present study, a simple and highly sensitive sensor for the determination of omeprazole based on nickel-zinc ferrite/graphene modified glassy carbon electrode is reported. The morphology and electro analytical performance of the fabricated sensor were characterized with X-ray diffraction spectrometry, Fourier transform infrared spectrometry, scanning electron microscopy, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, cyclic voltammetry, differential pulse voltammetry and operation of the sensor. Results were compared with those achieved at the graphene modified glassy carbon electrode and bare glassy carbon electrode. Under the optimized experimental conditions, linear response was over the range of 0.03-100.0µmolL -1 . The lower detection limit was found to be 0.015µmolL -1 . The effect of different interferences on the anodic current response of OMZ was investigated. By measuring the concentrations of omeprazole in plasma and pharmaceutical samples, the practical application of the modified electrode was evaluated. This revealed that the nickel-zinc ferrite/graphene modified glassy carbon electrode shows excellent analytical performance for the determination of omeprazole with a very low detection limit, high sensitivity, and very good accuracy. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  14. Recent Applications of 2D Inorganic Nanosheets for Emerging Energy Storage System.

    PubMed

    Oh, Seung Mi; Patil, Sharad B; Jin, Xiaoyan; Hwang, Seong-Ju

    2018-04-03

    Among many types of nanostructured inorganic materials, highly anisotropic 2D nanosheets provide unique advantages in designing and synthesizing efficient electrode and electrocatalyst materials for novel energy storage technologies. 2D inorganic nanosheets boast lots of unique characteristics such as high surface area, short ion diffusion path, tailorable compositions, and tunable electronic structures. These merits of 2D inorganic nanosheets render them promising candidate materials as electrodes for diverse secondary batteries and supercapacitors, and electrocatalysts. A wide spectrum of examples is presented for inorganic nanosheet-based electrodes and electrocatalysts. Future perspectives in research about 2D nanosheet-based functional materials are discussed to provide insight for the development of next-generation energy storage systems using 2D nanostructured materials. © 2018 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  15. Thermodynamic behavior of glassy state of structurally related compounds.

    PubMed

    Kaushal, Aditya Mohan; Bansal, Arvind Kumar

    2008-08-01

    Thermodynamic properties of amorphous pharmaceutical forms are responsible for enhanced solubility as well as poor physical stability. The present study was designed to investigate the differences in thermodynamic parameters arising out of disparate molecular structures and associations for four structurally related pharmaceutical compounds--celecoxib, valdecoxib, rofecoxib, and etoricoxib. Conventional and modulated temperature differential scanning calorimetry were employed to study glass forming ability and thermodynamic behavior of the glassy state of model compounds. Glass transition temperature of four glassy compounds was in a close range of 327.6-331.8 K, however, other thermodynamic parameters varied considerably. Kauzmann temperature, strength parameter and fragility parameter showed rofecoxib glass to be most fragile of the four compounds. Glass forming ability of the compounds fared similar in the critical cooling rate experiments, suggesting that different factors were determining the glass forming ability and subsequent behavior of the compounds in glassy state. A comprehensive understanding of such thermodynamic facets of amorphous form would help in rationalizing the approaches towards development of stable glassy pharmaceuticals.

  16. Electrochemical detection of dopamine in the presence of ascorbic acid using graphene modified electrodes.

    PubMed

    Kim, Yang-Rae; Bong, Sungyool; Kang, Yeon-Joo; Yang, Yongtak; Mahajan, Rakesh Kumar; Kim, Jong Seung; Kim, Hasuck

    2010-06-15

    Dopamine plays a significant role in the function of human metabolism. It is important to develop sensitive sensor for the determination of dopamine without the interference by ascorbic acid. This paper reports the synthesis of graphene using a modified Hummer's method and its application for the electrochemical detection of dopamine. Electrochemical measurements were performed at glassy carbon electrode modified with graphene via drop-casting method. Cyclic voltammogram of ferri/ferrocyanide redox couple at graphene modified electrode showed an increased current intensity compared with glassy carbon electrode and graphite modified electrode. The decrease of charge transfer resistance was also analyzed by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The capacity of graphene modified electrode for selective detection of dopamine was confirmed in a sufficient amount of ascorbic acid (1 mM). The observed linear range for the determination of dopamine concentration was from 4 microM to 100 microM. The detection limit was estimated to be 2.64 microM. Copyright 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  17. Nanostructure of highly aromatic graphene nanosheets -- From optoelectronics to electrochemical energy storage applications

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Biswas, Sanjib

    The exceptional electrical properties along with intriguing physical and chemical aspects of graphene nanosheets can only be realized by nanostructuring these materials through the homogeneous and orderly distribution of these nanosheets without compromising the aromaticity of the native basal plane. Graphene nanosheets prepared by direct exfoliation as opposed to the graphene oxide route are necessary in order to preserve the native chemical properties of graphene basal planes. This research has been directed at optimally combining the diverse physical and chemical aspects of graphene nanosheets such as particle size, surface area and edge chemistry to fabricate nanostructured architectures for optoelectronics and high power electrochemical energy storage applications. In the first nanostructuring effort, a monolayer of these ultrathin, highly hydrophobic graphene nanosheets was prepared on a large area substrate via self-assembly at the liquid-liquid interface. Driven by the minimization of interfacial energy these planar graphene nanosheets produce a close packed monolayer structure at the liquid-liquid interface. The resulting monolayer film exhibits high electrical conductivity of more than 1000 S/cm and an optical transmission of more than 70-80% between wavelengths of 550 nm and 2000 nm making it an ideal candidate for optoelectronic applications. In the second part of this research, nanostructuring was used to create a configuration suitable for supercapacitor applications. A free standing, 100% binder free multilayer, flexible film consisting of monolayers of graphene nanosheets was prepared by utilizing the van der Waals forces of attraction between the basal plans of the graphene nanosheets coupled with capillary driven and drying-induced collapse. A major benefit in this approach is that the graphene nanosheet's attractive physical and chemical characteristics can be synthesized into an architecture consisting of large and small nanosheets to create an

  18. Electrocatalytic oxidation of hydrazine and hydroxylamine by graphene oxide-Pd nanoparticle-modified glassy carbon electrode.

    PubMed

    Lee, Eunhee; Kim, Daekun; You, Jung-Min; Kim, Seul Ki; Yun, Mira; Jeon, Seungwon

    2012-12-01

    Pd nanoparticle catalysts supported by thiolated graphene oxide (tGO) on a glassy carbon electrode (GCE), and denoted as tGO-Pd/GCE, are used in this study for the electrochemical determination of hydroxylamine and hydrazine. The physicochemical properties of tGO-Pd were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). They showed strong catalytic activity toward the oxidation of hydroxylamine and hydrazine. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) and amperometry were used to characterize the sensors' performances. The detection limits of hydroxylamine and hydrazine by tGO-Pd/GCE were 0.31 and 0.25 microM (s/n = 3), respectively. The sensors' sensitivity, selectivity, and stability were also investigated.

  19. Excellent electrical conductivity of the exfoliated and fluorinated hexagonal boron nitride nanosheets.

    PubMed

    Xue, Yafang; Liu, Qian; He, Guanjie; Xu, Kaibing; Jiang, Lin; Hu, Xianghua; Hu, Junqing

    2013-01-24

    The insulator characteristic of hexagonal boron nitride limits its applications in microelectronics. In this paper, the fluorinated hexagonal boron nitride nanosheets were prepared by doping fluorine into the boron nitride nanosheets exfoliated from the bulk boron nitride in isopropanol via a facile chemical solution method with fluoboric acid; interestingly, these boron nitride nanosheets demonstrate a typical semiconductor characteristic which were studied on a new scanning tunneling microscope-transmission electron microscope holder. Since this property changes from an insulator to a semiconductor of the boron nitride, these nanosheets will be able to extend their applications in designing and fabricating electronic nanodevices.

  20. Structural and optical properties of CdSe nanosheets

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Solanki, Rekha Garg; Rajaram, P.; Arora, Aman

    2018-04-01

    Nanosheets of CdSe have been synthesized using a solvothermal route using citric acid as an additive. It is found that the citric acid effectively controls the structural and optical properties of CdSe nanostructures. XRD studies confirm the formation of hexagonal wurtzite phase of CdSe. The FESEM micrographs show that the obtained CdSe nanocrystals are in the form of very thin sheets (nanosheets). Optical absorption studies as well as Photoluminescence spectra show that the optical gap is around 1.76 eV which is close to the reported bulk value of 1.74 eV. The prepared CdSe nanosheets because of large surface area may be useful for catalytic activities in medicine, biotechnology and environmental chemistry and in biomedical imaging for in vitro detection of a breast cancer cells.

  1. Spin valley and giant quantum spin Hall gap of hydrofluorinated bismuth nanosheet.

    PubMed

    Gao, Heng; Wu, Wei; Hu, Tao; Stroppa, Alessandro; Wang, Xinran; Wang, Baigeng; Miao, Feng; Ren, Wei

    2018-05-09

    Spin-valley and electronic band topological properties have been extensively explored in quantum material science, yet their coexistence has rarely been realized in stoichiometric two-dimensional (2D) materials. We theoretically predict the quantum spin Hall effect (QSHE) in the hydrofluorinated bismuth (Bi 2 HF) nanosheet where the hydrogen (H) and fluorine (F) atoms are functionalized on opposite sides of bismuth (Bi) atomic monolayer. Such Bi 2 HF nanosheet is found to be a 2D topological insulator with a giant band gap of 0.97 eV which might host room temperature QSHE. The atomistic structure of Bi 2 HF nanosheet is noncentrosymmetric and the spontaneous polarization arises from the hydrofluorinated morphology. The phonon spectrum and ab initio molecular dynamic (AIMD) calculations reveal that the proposed Bi 2 HF nanosheet is dynamically and thermally stable. The inversion symmetry breaking together with spin-orbit coupling (SOC) leads to the coupling between spin and valley in Bi 2 HF nanosheet. The emerging valley-dependent properties and the interplay between intrinsic dipole and SOC are investigated using first-principles calculations combined with an effective Hamiltonian model. The topological invariant of the Bi 2 HF nanosheet is confirmed by using Wilson loop method and the calculated helical metallic edge states are shown to host QSHE. The Bi 2 HF nanosheet is therefore a promising platform to realize room temperature QSHE and valley spintronics.

  2. Glassy composition for hermetic seals

    DOEpatents

    Wilder, Jr., James A.

    1980-01-01

    The invention relates to a glassy composition adaptable for sealing to aluminum-based alloys to form a hermetically-sealed insulator body. The composition may either be employed as a glass or, after devitrifying heat treatment, as a glass-ceramic.

  3. Intrinsic ferromagnetism in hexagonal boron nitride nanosheets

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Si, M. S.; Gao, Daqiang, E-mail: gaodq@lzu.edu.cn, E-mail: xueds@lzu.edu.cn; Yang, Dezheng

    2014-05-28

    Understanding the mechanism of ferromagnetism in hexagonal boron nitride nanosheets, which possess only s and p electrons in comparison with normal ferromagnets based on localized d or f electrons, is a current challenge. In this work, we report an experimental finding that the ferromagnetic coupling is an intrinsic property of hexagonal boron nitride nanosheets, which has never been reported before. Moreover, we further confirm it from ab initio calculations. We show that the measured ferromagnetism should be attributed to the localized π states at edges, where the electron-electron interaction plays the role in this ferromagnetic ordering. More importantly, we demonstratemore » such edge-induced ferromagnetism causes a high Curie temperature well above room temperature. Our systematical work, including experimental measurements and theoretical confirmation, proves that such unusual room temperature ferromagnetism in hexagonal boron nitride nanosheets is edge-dependent, similar to widely reported graphene-based materials. It is believed that this work will open new perspectives for hexagonal boron nitride spintronic devices.« less

  4. Synthesis of strongly fluorescent molybdenum disulfide nanosheets for cell-targeted labeling.

    PubMed

    Wang, Nan; Wei, Fang; Qi, Yuhang; Li, Hongxiang; Lu, Xin; Zhao, Guoqiang; Xu, Qun

    2014-11-26

    MoS2 nanosheets with polydispersity of the lateral dimensions from natural mineral molybdenite have been prepared in the emulsions microenvironment built by the water/surfactant/CO2 system. The size, thickness, and atomic structure are characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and laser-scattering particle size analysis. Meanwhile, by the analysis of photoluminescence spectroscopy and microscope, the MoS2 nanosheets with smaller lateral dimensions exhibit extraordinary photoluminescence properties different from those with relatively larger lateral dimensions. The discovery of the excitation dependent photoluminescence for MoS2 nanosheets makes them potentially of interests for the applications in optoelectronics and biology. Moreover, we demonstrate that the fabricated MoS2 nanosheets can be a nontoxic fluorescent label for cell-targeted labeling application.

  5. Solubility of gases and liquids in glassy polymers.

    PubMed

    De Angelis, Maria Grazia; Sarti, Giulio C

    2011-01-01

    This review discusses a macroscopic thermodynamic procedure to calculate the solubility of gases, vapors, and liquids in glassy polymers that is based on the general procedure provided by the nonequilibrium thermodynamics for glassy polymers (NET-GP) method. Several examples are presented using various nonequilibrium (NE) models including lattice fluid (NELF), statistical associating fluid theory (NE-SAFT), and perturbed hard sphere chain (NE-PHSC). Particular applications illustrate the calculation of infinite-dilution solubility coefficients in different glassy polymers and the prediction of solubility isotherms for different gases and vapors in pure polymers as well as in polymer blends. The determination of model parameters is discussed, and the predictive abilities of the models are illustrated. Attention is also given to the solubility of gas mixtures and solubility isotherms in nanocomposite mixed matrices. The fractional free volume determined from solubility data can be used to correlate solute diffusivities in mixed matrices.

  6. Amperometric cholesterol biosensor based on the direct electrochemistry of cholesterol oxidase and catalase on a graphene/ionic liquid-modified glassy carbon electrode.

    PubMed

    Gholivand, Mohammad Bagher; Khodadadian, Mehdi

    2014-03-15

    Cholesterol oxidase (ChOx) and catalase (CAT) were co-immobilized on a graphene/ionic liquid-modified glassy carbon electrode (GR-IL/GCE) to develop a highly sensitive amperometric cholesterol biosensor. The H2O2 generated during the enzymatic reaction of ChOx with cholesterol could be reduced electrocatalytically by immobilized CAT to obtain a sensitive amperometric response to cholesterol. The direct electron transfer between enzymes and electrode surface was investigated by cyclic voltammetry. Both enzymes showed well-defined redox peaks with quasi-reversible behaviors. An excellent sensitivity of 4.163 mA mM(-1)cm(-2), a response time less than 6s, and a linear range of 0.25-215 μM (R(2)>0.99) have been observed for cholesterol determination using the proposed biosensor. The apparent Michaelis-Menten constant (KM(app)) was calculated to be 2.32 mM. The bienzymatic cholesterol biosensor showed good reproducibility (RSDs<5%) with minimal interference from the coexisting electroactive compounds such as ascorbic acid and uric acid. The CAT/ChOx/GR-IL/GCE showed excellent analytical performance for the determination of free cholesterol in human serum samples. © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  7. Extraordinary attributes of 2-dimensional MoS2 nanosheets

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rao, C. N. R.; Maitra, Urmimala; Waghmare, Umesh V.

    2014-08-01

    The discovery of the amazing properties of graphene has stimulated exploration of single- and few-layer structures of layered inorganic materials. Of all the inorganic 2D nanosheet structures, those of MoS2 have attracted great attention because of their novel properties such as the presence of a direct bandgap, good field-effect transistor characteristics, large spin-orbit splitting, intense photoluminescence, catalytic properties, magnetism, superconductivity, ferroelectricity and several other properties with potential applications in electronics, optoelectronics, energy devices and spintronics. MoS2 nanosheets have been used in lithium batteries, supercapacitors and to generate hydrogen. Highlights of the impressive properties of MoS2 nanosheets, along with their structural and spectroscopic features are presented in this Letter. MoS2 typifies the family of metal dichalcogenides such as MoSe2 and WS2 and there is much to be done on nanosheets of these materials. Linus Pauling would have been pleased to see how molybdenite whose structure he studied in 1923 has become so important today.

  8. Ordering of lipid membranes altered by boron nitride nanosheets.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Yonghui; Li, Zhen; Chan, Chun; Ma, Jiale; Zhi, Chunyi; Cheng, Xiaolin; Fan, Jun

    2018-02-07

    Boron nitride nanosheets are novel promising nanomaterials with a lower cytotoxicity than graphene making them a better candidate for biomedical applications. However, there is no systematic study on how they interact with cell membranes. Here we employed large scale all-atom molecular dynamics simulations to provide molecular details of the structure and properties of membranes after the insertion of boron nitride nanosheets. Our results reveal that the boron nitride nanosheet can extract phospholipids from the lipid bilayers and is enveloped by the membrane. Afterwards, the acyl chains of lipid molecules re-orient and become more ordered. As a result, a fluid to gel phase transition occurs in the 1,2-dimyristoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine bilayer. Consequently, the bending moduli of the bilayers increase, and the diffusivity of the individual lipid molecule decreases. These changes will affect relevant cellular activities, such as endocytosis and signal transduction. Our study provides novel insights into the biocompatibility and cytotoxicity of boron nitride nanosheets, which may facilitate the design of safer nanocarriers, antibiotics and other bio-nanotechnology applications.

  9. Ultrathin Nickel Hydroxide and Oxide Nanosheets: Synthesis, Characterizations and Excellent Supercapacitor Performances

    PubMed Central

    Zhu, Youqi; Cao, Chuanbao; Tao, Shi; Chu, Wangsheng; Wu, Ziyu; Li, Yadong

    2014-01-01

    High-quality ultrathin two-dimensional nanosheets of α-Ni(OH)2 are synthesized at large scale via microwave-assisted liquid-phase growth under low-temperature atmospheric conditions. After heat treatment, non-layered NiO nanosheets are obtained while maintaining their original frame structure. The well-defined and freestanding nanosheets exhibit a micron-sized planar area and ultrathin thickness (<2 nm), suggesting an ultrahigh surface atom ratio with unique surface and electronic structure. The ultrathin 2D nanostructure can make most atoms exposed outside with high activity thus facilitate the surface-dependent electrochemical reaction processes. The ultrathin α-Ni(OH)2 and NiO nanosheets exhibit enhanced supercapacitor performances. Particularly, the α-Ni(OH)2 nanosheets exhibit a maximum specific capacitance of 4172.5 F g−1 at a current density of 1 A g−1. Even at higher rate of 16 A g−1, the specific capacitance is still maintained at 2680 F g−1 with 98.5% retention after 2000 cycles. Even more important, we develop a facile and scalable method to produce high-quality ultrathin transition metal hydroxide and oxide nanosheets and make a possibility in commercial applications. PMID:25168127

  10. Enhanced antibacterial activity through the controlled alignment of graphene oxide nanosheets.

    PubMed

    Lu, Xinglin; Feng, Xunda; Werber, Jay R; Chu, Chiheng; Zucker, Ines; Kim, Jae-Hong; Osuji, Chinedum O; Elimelech, Menachem

    2017-11-14

    The cytotoxicity of 2D graphene-based nanomaterials (GBNs) is highly important for engineered applications and environmental health. However, the isotropic orientation of GBNs, most notably graphene oxide (GO), in previous experimental studies obscured the interpretation of cytotoxic contributions of nanosheet edges. Here, we investigate the orientation-dependent interaction of GBNs with bacteria using GO composite films. To produce the films, GO nanosheets are aligned in a magnetic field, immobilized by cross-linking of the surrounding matrix, and exposed on the surface through oxidative etching. Characterization by small-angle X-ray scattering and atomic force microscopy confirms that GO nanosheets align progressively well with increasing magnetic field strength and that the alignment is effectively preserved by cross-linking. When contacted with the model bacterium Escherichia coli , GO nanosheets with vertical orientation exhibit enhanced antibacterial activity compared with random and horizontal orientations. Further characterization is performed to explain the enhanced antibacterial activity of the film with vertically aligned GO. Using phospholipid vesicles as a model system, we observe that GO nanosheets induce physical disruption of the lipid bilayer. Additionally, we find substantial GO-induced oxidation of glutathione, a model intracellular antioxidant, paired with limited generation of reactive oxygen species, suggesting that oxidation occurs through a direct electron-transfer mechanism. These physical and chemical mechanisms both require nanosheet penetration of the cell membrane, suggesting that the enhanced antibacterial activity of the film with vertically aligned GO stems from an increased density of edges with a preferential orientation for membrane disruption. The importance of nanosheet penetration for cytotoxicity has direct implications for the design of engineering surfaces using GBNs.

  11. Investigation into the effects of surface stripping ZnO nanosheets.

    PubMed

    Barnett, Chris J; Jackson, Georgina; Jones, Daniel R; Lewis, Aled R; Welsby, Kathryn; Evans, Jon E; McGettrick, James D; Watson, Trystan; Maffeis, Thierry G G; Dunstan, Peter R; Barron, Andrew R; Cobley, Richard J

    2018-04-20

    ZnO nanosheets are polycrystalline nanostructures that are used in devices including solar cells and gas sensors. However, for efficient and reproducible device operation and contact behaviour the conductivity characteristics must be controlled and surface contaminants removed. Here we use low doses of argon bombardment to remove surface contamination and make reproducible lower resistance contacts. Higher doses strip the surface of the nanosheets altering the contact type from near-ohmic to rectifying by removing the donor-type defects, which photoluminescence shows to be concentrated in the near-surface. Controlled doses of argon treatments allow nanosheets to be customised for device formation.

  12. Investigation into the effects of surface stripping ZnO nanosheets

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Barnett, Chris J.; Jackson, Georgina; Jones, Daniel R.; Lewis, Aled R.; Welsby, Kathryn; Evans, Jon E.; McGettrick, James D.; Watson, Trystan; Maffeis, Thierry G. G.; Dunstan, Peter R.; Barron, Andrew R.; Cobley, Richard J.

    2018-04-01

    ZnO nanosheets are polycrystalline nanostructures that are used in devices including solar cells and gas sensors. However, for efficient and reproducible device operation and contact behaviour the conductivity characteristics must be controlled and surface contaminants removed. Here we use low doses of argon bombardment to remove surface contamination and make reproducible lower resistance contacts. Higher doses strip the surface of the nanosheets altering the contact type from near-ohmic to rectifying by removing the donor-type defects, which photoluminescence shows to be concentrated in the near-surface. Controlled doses of argon treatments allow nanosheets to be customised for device formation.

  13. Glassy dynamics of landscape evolution

    PubMed Central

    Ortiz, Carlos P.; Jerolmack, Douglas J.

    2018-01-01

    Soil creeps imperceptibly downhill, but also fails catastrophically to create landslides. Despite the importance of these processes as hazards and in sculpting landscapes, there is no agreed-upon model that captures the full range of behavior. Here we examine the granular origins of hillslope soil transport by discrete element method simulations and reanalysis of measurements in natural landscapes. We find creep for slopes below a critical gradient, where average particle velocity (sediment flux) increases exponentially with friction coefficient (gradient). At critical gradient there is a continuous transition to a dense-granular flow rheology. Slow earthflows and landslides thus exhibit glassy dynamics characteristic of a wide range of disordered materials; they are described by a two-phase flux equation that emerges from grain-scale friction alone. This glassy model reproduces topographic profiles of natural hillslopes, showing its promise for predicting hillslope evolution over geologic timescales. PMID:29686102

  14. Graphene-like monolayer InSe–X: several promising half-metallic nanosheets in spintronics

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Liu, Jun; Kang, Wei; Zhou, Ting-Yan; Ma, Chong-Geng

    2018-04-01

    Several half-metallic graphene-like nanosheets, namely halogen atom adsorbed InSe–X (X  =  F, Cl, Br and I) nanosheets, are predicted by first-principles calculations. Then, their structural, electric and magnetic properties are studied in detail. The calculated negative adsorption energies of these InSe–X nanosheets ensure that they attain stable adsorption structures, which suggests that they may be prepared experimentally. The pristine InSe monolayer is a typical semi-conductor, whereas it is interesting that the X ion (X  =  F, Cl, Br and I) adsorbed InSe–X nanosheets are electronically conductive. They can be promising and good candidates for applications of half-metallic 2D materials. The calculated magnetic moments of these nanosheets are close to 1.0 µ B. In the InSe–F nanosheet, there are sp2 hybridized orbitals due to the crystal field effect, and its electroconductibility, half-metallicity and magnetic moments originate from the In and Se ions, not the F ion. However, in InSe–X (X  =  Cl, Br and I) nanosheets, there are sp3 hybridized orbitals, and their electroconductibility, half-metallicity and magnetic moments originate mainly from X ions, together partially with the In and Se ions.

  15. Nickel/silicon core/shell nanosheet arrays as electrode materials for lithium ion batteries

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Huang, X.H., E-mail: drhuangxh@hotmail.com; Zhang, P.; Wu, J.B.

    Highlights: • Ni nanosheet arrays is the core and Si layer is the shell. • Ni nanosheet arrays act as a three-dimensional current collector to support Si. • Ni nanosheet arrays can improve the conductivity and stability of the electrode. • Ni/Si nanosheet arrays exhibit excellent cyclic and rate performance. - Abstract: Ni/Si core/shell nanosheet arrays are proposed to enhance the electrochemical lithium-storage properties of silicon. The arrays are characterized by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The arrays are micro-sized in height, which are constructed by interconnected Ni nanosheet as themore » core and Si coating layer as the shell. The electrochemical properties as anode materials of lithium ion batteries are investigated by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and galvanostatic charge-discharge tests. The arrays can achieve high reversible capacity, good cycle stability and high rate capability. It is believed that the enhanced electrochemical performance is attributed to the electrode structure, because the interconnected Ni nanosheet can act as a three-dimensional current collector, and it has the ability of improving the electrode conductivity, enlarging the electrochemical reaction interface, and suppressing the electrode pulverization.« less

  16. Sensitive voltammetric determination of chloramphenicol by using single-wall carbon nanotube-gold nanoparticle-ionic liquid composite film modified glassy carbon electrodes.

    PubMed

    Xiao, Fei; Zhao, Faqiong; Li, Jiangwen; Yan, Rui; Yu, Jingjing; Zeng, Baizhao

    2007-07-16

    A novel composite film modified glassy carbon electrode has been fabricated and characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and voltammetry. The composite film comprises of single-wall carbon nanotube (SWNT), gold nanoparticle (GNP) and ionic liquid (i.e. 1-octyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate), thus has the characteristics of them. The resulting electrode shows good stability, high accumulation efficiency and strong promotion to electron transfer. On it, chloramphenicol can produce a sensitive cathodic peak at -0.66 V (versus SCE) in pH 7.0 phosphate buffer solutions. Parameters influencing the voltammetric response of chloramphenicol are optimized, which include the composition of the film and the operation conditions. Under the optimized conditions, the peak current is linear to chloramphenicol concentration in the range of 1.0x10(-8)-6.0x10(-6) M, and the detection limit is estimated to be 5.0x10(-9) M after an accumulation for 150 s on open circuit. The electrode is applied to the determination of chloramphenicol in milk samples, and the recoveries for the standards added are 97.0% and 100.3%. In addition, the electrochemical reaction of chloramphenicol and the effect of single-wall carbon nanotube, gold nanoparticle and ionic liquid are discussed.

  17. Two-dimensional dielectric nanosheets: novel nanoelectronics from nanocrystal building blocks.

    PubMed

    Osada, Minoru; Sasaki, Takayoshi

    2012-01-10

    Two-dimensional (2D) nanosheets, which possess atomic or molecular thickness and infinite planar lengths, are regarded as the thinnest functional nanomaterials. The recent development of methods for manipulating graphene (carbon nanosheet) has provided new possibilities and applications for 2D systems; many amazing functionalities such as high electron mobility and quantum Hall effects have been discovered. However, graphene is a conductor, and electronic technology also requires insulators, which are essential for many devices such as memories, capacitors, and gate dielectrics. Along with graphene, inorganic nanosheets have thus increasingly attracted fundamental research interest because they have the potential to be used as dielectric alternatives in next-generation nanoelectronics. Here, we review the progress made in the properties of dielectric nanosheets, highlighting emerging functionalities in electronic applications. We also present a perspective on the advantages offered by this class of materials for future nanoelectronics. Copyright © 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  18. Few-layered MoSe2 nanosheets as an advanced electrode material for supercapacitors.

    PubMed

    Balasingam, Suresh Kannan; Lee, Jae Sung; Jun, Yongseok

    2015-09-21

    We report the synthesis of few-layered MoSe2 nanosheets using a facile hydrothermal method and their electrochemical charge storage behavior. A systematic study of the structure and morphology of the as-synthesized MoSe2 nanosheets was performed. The downward peak shift in the Raman spectrum and the high-resolution transmission electron microscopy images confirmed the formation of few-layered nanosheets. The electrochemical energy-storage behavior of MoSe2 nanosheets was also investigated for supercapacitor applications in a symmetric cell configuration. The MoSe2 nanosheet electrode exhibited a maximum specific capacitance of 198.9 F g(-1) and the symmetric device showed 49.7 F g(-1) at a scan rate of 2 mV s(-1). A capacitance retention of approximately 75% was observed even after 10 000 cycles at a high charge-discharge current density of 5 A g(-1). The two-dimensional MoSe2 nanosheets exhibited a high specific capacitance and good cyclic stability, which makes it a promising electrode material for supercapacitor applications.

  19. Trimetallic Hybrid Nanoflower-Decorated MoS2 Nanosheet Sensor for Direct in Situ Monitoring of H2O2 Secreted from Live Cancer Cells.

    PubMed

    Dou, Baoting; Yang, Jianmei; Yuan, Ruo; Xiang, Yun

    2018-05-01

    In situ monitoring of hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) secreted from live cells plays a critical role in elucidating many cellular signaling pathways, and it is a significant challenge to selectively detect these low levels of endogenous H 2 O 2 . To address this challenge, we report the establishment of a trimetallic hybrid nanoflower-decorated MoS 2 nanosheet-modified sensor for in situ monitoring of H 2 O 2 secreted from live MCF-7 cancer cells. The Au-Pd-Pt nanoflower-dispersed MoS 2 nanosheets are synthesized by a simple wet-chemistry method, and the resulting nanosheet composites exhibit significantly enhanced catalytic activity toward electrochemical reduction of H 2 O 2 , due to the synergistic effect of the highly dispersed trimetallic hybrid nanoflowers and the MoS 2 nanosheets, thereby resulting in ultrasensitive detection of H 2 O 2 with a subnanomolar level detection limit in vitro. Also the immobilization of the laminin glycoproteins on the surface of the nanocomposites increases its biocompatibility for cell adhesion and growth, which enables in situ electrochemical monitoring of H 2 O 2 directly secreted from live cells for potential application of such sensor in cellular biology, clinical diagnosis, and pathophysiology.

  20. Surface activation of graphene oxide nanosheets by ultraviolet irradiation for highly efficient anti-bacterials

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Veerapandian, Murugan; Zhang, Linghe; Krishnamoorthy, Karthikeyan; Yun, Kyusik

    2013-10-01

    A comprehensive investigation of anti-bacterial properties of graphene oxide (GO) and ultraviolet (UV) irradiated GO nanosheets was carried out. Microscopic characterization revealed that the GO nanosheet-like structures had wavy features and wrinkles or thin grooves. Fundamental surface chemical states of GO nanosheets (before and after UV irradiation) were investigated using x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) results revealed that UV irradiated GO nanosheets have more pronounced anti-bacterial behavior than GO nanosheets and standard antibiotic, kanamycin. The MIC of UV irradiated GO nanosheets was 0.125 μg ml-1 for Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhimurium, 0.25 μg ml-1 for Bacillus subtilis and 0.5 μg ml-1 for Enterococcus faecalis, ensuring its potential as an anti-infective agent for controlling the growth of pathogenic bacteria. The minimum bactericidal concentration of normal GO nanosheets was determined to be two-fold higher than its corresponding MIC value, indicating promising bactericidal activity. The mechanism of anti-bacterial action was evaluated by measuring the enzymatic activity of β-d-galactosidase for the hydrolysis of o-nitrophenol-β-d-galactopyranoside.

  1. Evaluation of grapevine as a host for the glassy-winged sharpshooter

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Grapevine was evaluated as a feeding and oviposition host for the glassy-winged sharpshooter. Two sets of experiments were conducted. The first set compared performance and preference of glassy-winged sharpshooter females for grapevine (cv. Chardonnay) versus cowpea (Vigna unguiculata cultivar black...

  2. Red photoluminescence BCNO synthesized from graphene oxide nanosheets

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kang, Yue; Chu, Zeng-yong; Ma, Tian; Li, Wei-ping; Zhang, Dong-jiu; Tang, Xiao-yu

    2016-01-01

    In this paper, we demonstrate the conversion of graphene oxide (GO) into boron carbon oxynitride (BCNO) hybrid nanosheets via a reaction with boric acid and urea, during which the boron and nitrogen atoms are incorporated into graphene nanosheets. The experimental results reveal that GO is important for the photoluminescence (PL) BCNO phosphor particles. More importantly, in this system, the prepared BCNO phosphors can be used to prepare the materials needed for red light emitting diodes (LEDs).

  3. Preparation and applications of mechanically exfoliated single-layer and multilayer MoS₂ and WSe₂ nanosheets.

    PubMed

    Li, Hai; Wu, Jumiati; Yin, Zongyou; Zhang, Hua

    2014-04-15

    Although great progress has been achieved in the study of graphene, the small current ON/OFF ratio in graphene-based field-effect transistors (FETs) limits its application in the fields of conventional transistors or logic circuits for low-power electronic switching. Recently, layered transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) materials, especially MoS2, have attracted increasing attention. In contrast to its bulk material with an indirect band gap, a single-layer (1L) MoS2 nanosheet is a semiconductor with a direct band gap of ~1.8 eV, which makes it a promising candidate for optoelectronic applications due to the enhancement of photoluminescence and high current ON/OFF ratio. Compared with TMD nanosheets prepared by chemical vapor deposition and liquid exfoliation, mechanically exfoliated ones possess pristine, clean, and high-quality structures, which are suitable for the fundamental study and potential applications based on their intrinsic thickness-dependent properties. In this Account, we summarize our recent research on the preparation, characterization, and applications of 1L and multilayer MoS2 and WSe2 nanosheets produced by mechanical exfoliation. During the preparation of nanosheets, we proposed a simple optical identification method to distinguish 1L and multilayer MoS2 and WSe2 nanosheets on a Si substrate coated with 90 and 300 nm SiO2. In addition, we used Raman spectroscopy to characterize mechanically exfoliated 1L and multilayer WSe2 nanosheets. For the first time, a new Raman peak at 308 cm(-1) was observed in the spectra of WSe2 nanosheets except for the 1L WSe2 nanosheet. Importantly, we found that the 1L WSe2 nanosheet is very sensitive to the laser power during characterization. The high power laser-induced local oxidation of WSe2 nanosheets and single crystals was monitored by Raman spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Hexagonal and monoclinic structured WO3 thin films were obtained from the local oxidization of single- to triple

  4. Covalent functionalization of MoS2 nanosheets synthesized by liquid phase exfoliation to construct electrochemical sensors for Cd (II) detection.

    PubMed

    Gan, Xiaorong; Zhao, Huimin; Wong, Kwok-Yin; Lei, Dang Yuan; Zhang, Yaobin; Quan, Xie

    2018-05-15

    Surface functionalization is an effective strategy in the precise control of electronic surface states of two-dimensional materials for promoting their applications. In this study, based on the strong coordination interaction between the transition-metal centers and N atoms, the surface functionalization of few-layer MoS 2 nanosheets was successfully prepared by liquid phase exfoliation method in N, N-dimethylformamide (DMF), 1-methyl-2-pyrrolidinone, and formamide. The cytotoxicity of surface-functionalized MoS 2 nanosheets was for the first time evaluated by the methylthiazolyldiphenyl-tetrazoliumbromide assays. An electrochemical sensor was constructed based on glass carbon electrode (GCE) modified by MoS 2 nanosheets obtained in DMF, which exhibits relatively higher sensitivity to Cd 2+ detection and lower cytotoxicity against MCF-7 cells. The mechanisms of surface functionalization and selectively detecting Cd 2+ were investigated by density functional theory calculations together with various spectroscopic measurements. It was found that surface-functionalized MoS 2 nanosheets could be generated through Mo-N covalent bonds due to the orbital hybridization between the 5 s orbitals of Mo atoms and the 2p orbitals of N atoms of the solvent molecules. The high selectivity of the sensor is attributed to the coordination reaction between Cd 2+ and O donor atoms of DMF adsorbed on MoS 2 nanosheets. The robust anti-interference is ascribed to the strong binding energy of Cd 2+ and O atoms of DMF. Under the optimum conditions, the electrochemical sensor exhibits highly sensitive and selective assaying of Cd 2+ with a measured detection limit of 0.2 nM and a linear range from 2 nM to 20 μM. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  5. Glassy dynamics of landscape evolution.

    PubMed

    Ferdowsi, Behrooz; Ortiz, Carlos P; Jerolmack, Douglas J

    2018-05-08

    Soil creeps imperceptibly downhill, but also fails catastrophically to create landslides. Despite the importance of these processes as hazards and in sculpting landscapes, there is no agreed-upon model that captures the full range of behavior. Here we examine the granular origins of hillslope soil transport by discrete element method simulations and reanalysis of measurements in natural landscapes. We find creep for slopes below a critical gradient, where average particle velocity (sediment flux) increases exponentially with friction coefficient (gradient). At critical gradient there is a continuous transition to a dense-granular flow rheology. Slow earthflows and landslides thus exhibit glassy dynamics characteristic of a wide range of disordered materials; they are described by a two-phase flux equation that emerges from grain-scale friction alone. This glassy model reproduces topographic profiles of natural hillslopes, showing its promise for predicting hillslope evolution over geologic timescales. Copyright © 2018 the Author(s). Published by PNAS.

  6. Development of a ubiquitously transferrable silver-nanoparticle-loaded polymer nanosheet as an antimicrobial coating.

    PubMed

    Ito, Keisuke; Saito, Akihiro; Fujie, Toshinori; Miyazaki, Hiromi; Kinoshita, Manabu; Saitoh, Daizoh; Ohtsubo, Shinya; Takeoka, Shinji

    2016-04-01

    Ultra-thin polymer films (nanosheets) fabricated by a layer-by-layer (LbL) method possess unique properties such as high flexibility, adhesive strength, and transparency, and can be peeled off from a substrate and attached to various surfaces via a water-soluble supporting film. Therefore, flexible and transferrable LbL nanosheets are convenient tools as coating materials. Here, we fabricated a novel antimicrobial coating material by embedding silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) in an LbL nanosheet composed of layers of chitosan and sodium alginate (Ag-LbL nanosheet) by means of a photo-reduction method. Optimizing the amount of irradiated energy applied led to robust antimicrobial efficacy against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), sufficient to meet ISO standards (ISO 22196), while maintaining the flexibility and adhesive potency of the LbL nanosheet. Thus, the Ag-LbL nanosheet is a promising coating material that can provide antimicrobial efficacy to various surfaces. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  7. Homogeneously dispersed CeO2 nanoparticles on exfoliated hexaniobate nanosheets

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Marques, Thalles M. F.; Strayer, Megan E.; Ghosh, Anupama; Silva, Alexandre; Ferreira, Odair P.; Fujisawa, Kazunori; Alves da Cunha, Jose R.; Abreu, Guilherme J. P.; Terrones, Mauricio; Mallouk, Thomas E.; Viana, Bartolomeu C.

    2017-12-01

    Hexaniobate nanosheets derived from the parent compound K4Nb6O17 have been decorated with CeO2 nanoparticles by ion exchange with aqueous cerium (IV) solution. Very homogeneous CeO2 nanoparticle decoration of the hexaniobate sheets can be achieved by this method and the resulting composites may absorb visible light. HRTEM images show that ∼3.0 nm diameter CeO2 nanoparticles adhere to hexaniobate nanosheets that are exfoliated and then restacked prior to Ce deposition. The interfacial interaction between CeO2 nanoparticles and nanosheets would be due to an electrostatic attraction mechanism. Raman and XRD measurements have given strong evidence that CeO2 nanoparticles have fluorite structure. EDS, FTIR and XPS results suggest almost complete exchange of TBA+ and K+ by Ce4+. Cerium ion exchange on the acid exchanged parent compound, H2.9K1.1Nb6O17, revealed that the extent of Ce ion exchange is much greater in case of nanosheets, which may be rationalized by the larger surface area available after exfoliation. XPS measurements show that the ratio of Ce4+/Ce3+ is around 4.4, in agreement with the formation of fluorite structure (CeO2). Thus, these CeO2 nanoparticle/nanosheet composites may be useful for catalytic processes.

  8. Electrochemical determination of Sudan I in food samples at graphene modified glassy carbon electrode based on the enhancement effect of sodium dodecyl sulphonate.

    PubMed

    Ma, Xinying; Chao, Mingyong; Wang, Zhaoxia

    2013-06-01

    This paper describes a novel electrochemical method for the determination of Sudan I in food samples based on the electrochemical catalytic activity of graphene modified glassy carbon electrode (GMGCE) and the enhancement effect of an anionic surfactant: sodium dodecyl sulphonate (SDS). Using pH 6.0 phosphate buffer solution (PBS) as supporting electrolyte and in the presence of 1.5 × 10(-4)mol L(-1) SDS, Sudan I yielded a well-defined and sensitive oxidation peak at a GMGCE. The oxidation peak current of Sudan I remarkably increased in the presence of SDS. The experimental parameters, such as supporting electrolyte, concentration of SDS, and accumulation time, were optimised for Sudan I determination. The oxidation peak current showed a linear relationship with the concentrations of Sudan I in the range of 7.50 × 10(-8)-7.50 × 10(-6)mol L(-1), with the detection limit of 4.0 × 10(-8)mol L(-1). This new voltammetric method was successfully used to determine Sudan I in food products such as ketchup and chili sauce with satisfactory results. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. Sensing properties of monolayer borophane nanosheet towards alcohol vapors: A first-principles study.

    PubMed

    Nagarajan, V; Chandiramouli, R

    2017-05-01

    The electronic properties of borophane nanosheet and adsorption behavior of three distinct alcohol vapors namely methanol, ethanol and 1-propanol on borophane nanosheet is studied using density functional theory method for the first time. The state-of-the-art provides insights on to the development of new two dimensional materials with the surface passivation on boron nanostructures. The density of states spectrum provides a clear perception on charge transfer upon adsorption of alcohol vapors on borophane nanosheets. The monolayer of borophane band gap widens upon adsorption of alcohol vapors, which can be used for the detection for volatile organic vapors. The adsorption properties of alcohol vapors on borophane base material are analyzed in terms of natural bond orbital, average energy gap variation, adsorption energy and energy gap. The most suitable adsorption sites of methanol, ethanol and 1-propanol molecules on borophane nanosheet are investigated in atomistic level. The adsorption of alcohol molecules on borophane nanosheet is found to be more favorable. The findings suggest that the monolayer borophane nanosheet can be utilized to detect the presence of alcohol vapors in the atmosphere. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  10. Facile hydrothermal preparation of titanium dioxide decorated reduced graphene oxide nanocomposite

    PubMed Central

    Chang, Betty Yea Sze; Huang, Nay Ming; An’amt, Mohd Nor; Marlinda, Abdul Rahman; Norazriena, Yusoff; Muhamad, Muhamad Rasat; Harrison, Ian; Lim, Hong Ngee; Chia, Chin Hua

    2012-01-01

    A simple single-stage approach, based on the hydrothermal technique, has been introduced to synthesize reduced graphene oxide/titanium dioxide nanocomposites. The titanium dioxide nanoparticles are formed at the same time as the graphene oxide is reduced to graphene. The triethanolamine used in the process has two roles. It acts as a reducing agent for the graphene oxide as well as a capping agent, allowing the formation of titanium dioxide nanoparticles with a narrow size distribution (~20 nm). Transmission electron micrographs show that the nanoparticles are uniformly distributed on the reduced graphene oxide nanosheet. Thermogravimetric analysis shows the nanocomposites have an enhanced thermal stability over the original components. The potential applications for this technology were demonstrated by the use of a reduced graphene oxide/titanium dioxide nanocomposite-modified glassy carbon electrode, which enhanced the electrochemical performance compared to a conventional glassy carbon electrode when interacting with mercury(II) ions in potassium chloride electrolyte. PMID:22848166

  11. Two-dimensional TiO2-based nanosheets co-modified by surface-enriched carbon dots and Gd2O3 nanoparticles for efficient visible-light-driven photocatalysis

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lu, Dingze; Fang, Pengfei; Ding, Junqian; Yang, Minchen; Cao, Yufei; Zhou, Yawei; Peng, Kui; Kondamareddy, Kiran Kumar; Liu, Min

    2017-02-01

    Two-dimensional TiO2-based nanosheets (TNSs) co-modified by surface-enriched carbon dots (CDs) and Gd2O3 nanoparticles: (Gd-C-TNSs), capable of exhibiting visible-light-driven photo catalysis were synthesized using a two-pot hydrothermal route. The samples had a sheet-like structure, thickness of approximately 3.6 nm, large specific surface area of 240-350 cm2/g. The CDs (2-3 nm) and Gd2O3 nanoparticles (1-2 nm) were highly dispersed over the surface of the nanosheets. The co-modification by Gd2O3 nanoparticles and CDs influenced the crystallinity, crystal structure, and surface area of the TNSs, and improved the visible-light absorption. Surface photocurrent and fluorescence spectral studies revealed that the photo-generated charge carrier separation efficiency could be improved by an appropriate amount of modification. A very high efficiency was obtained using 0.5 at% Gd/Ti and 3.0 g/L of CDs. The visible-light-induced photocatalytic activity is enhanced under the isolated Cr(VI) system, isolated Rhodamin B (RhB) system, and the synergism between RhB degradation and Cr(VI) reduction for the Gd-C-TNSs photocatalysts. Initially, the photocatalytic activity gradually increased with an increase in the amount of CDs, and then decreased after attaining a maximum, in the case where 0.5 at% Gd/Ti and 3.0 g/L of CDs were used. The enhancement in the photocatalytic activity was attributed to the synergetic effect of the Gd2O3 nanoparticles, TNSs, and CDs in the Gd-C-TNSs composites. The effect led to a fast separation and slow recombination of photo-induced electron-hole pairs. An alternate mechanism for enhanced visible-light photocatalytic activity was also considered.

  12. Morphological Evolution of Vertically Standing Molybdenum Disulfide Nanosheets by Chemical Vapor Deposition.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Song; Liu, Jiajia; Ruiz, Karla Hernandez; Tu, Rong; Yang, Meijun; Li, Qizhong; Shi, Ji; Li, Haiwen; Zhang, Lianmeng; Goto, Takashi

    2018-04-20

    In this study, we demonstrated the chemical vapor deposition (CVD) of vertically standing molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂) nanosheets, with an unconventional combination of molybdenum hexacarbonyl (Mo(CO)₆) and 1,2-ethanedithiol (C₂H₆S₂) as the novel kind of Mo and S precursors respectively. The effect of the distance between the precursor’s outlet and substrates (denoted as d ) on the growth characteristics of MoS₂, including surface morphology and nanosheet structure, was investigated. Meanwhile, the relationship between the structure characteristics of MoS₂ nanosheets and their catalytic performance for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) was elucidated. The formation of vertically standing nanosheets was analyzed and verified by means of an extrusion growth model. The crystallinity, average length, and average depth between peak and valley ( R z) of MoS₂ nanosheets differed depending on the spatial location of the substrate. Good crystalized MoS₂ nanosheets grown at d = 5.5 cm with the largest average length of 440 nm, and the highest R z of 162 nm contributed to a better HER performance, with a respective Tafel slope and exchange current density of 138.9 mV/decade, and 22.6 μA/cm² for raw data (127.8 mV/decade and 19.3 μA/cm² for iR-corrected data).

  13. Tuning electronic and magnetic properties of GaN nanosheets by surface modifications and nanosheet thickness.

    PubMed

    Xiao, Meixia; Yao, Tingzhen; Ao, Zhimin; Wei, Peng; Wang, Danghui; Song, Haiyang

    2015-04-14

    Density-functional theory calculations are performed to investigate the effects of surface modifications and nanosheet thickness on the electronic and magnetic properties of gallium nitride (GaN) nanosheets (NSs). Unlike the bare GaN NSs terminating with polar surfaces, the systems with hydrogenated Ga (H-GaN), fluorinated Ga (F-GaN), and chlorinated Ga (Cl-GaN) preserve their initial wurtzite structures and exhibit ferromagnetic states. The abovementioned three different decorations on Ga atoms are energetically more favorable for thicker GaN NSs. Moreover, as the thickness increases, H-GaN and F-GaN NSs undergo semiconductor to metal and half-metal to metal transition, respectively, while Cl-GaN NSs remain completely metallic. The predicted diverse and tunable electronic and magnetic properties highlight the potential of GaN NSs for novel electronic and spintronic nanodevices.

  14. Large-scale Growth and Simultaneous Doping of Molybdenum Disulfide Nanosheets

    PubMed Central

    Kim, Seong Jun; Kang, Min-A; Kim, Sung Ho; Lee, Youngbum; Song, Wooseok; Myung, Sung; Lee, Sun Sook; Lim, Jongsun; An, Ki-Seok

    2016-01-01

    A facile method that uses chemical vapor deposition (CVD) for the simultaneous growth and doping of large-scale molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) nanosheets was developed. We employed metalloporphyrin as a seeding promoter layer for the uniform growth of MoS2 nanosheets. Here, a hybrid deposition system that combines thermal evaporation and atomic layer deposition (ALD) was utilized to prepare the promoter. The doping effect of the promoter was verified by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy. In addition, the carrier density of the MoS2 nanosheets was manipulated by adjusting the thickness of the metalloporphyrin promoter layers, which allowed the electrical conductivity in MoS2 to be manipulated. PMID:27044862

  15. Pressure-induced transformations in computer simulations of glassy water.

    PubMed

    Chiu, Janet; Starr, Francis W; Giovambattista, Nicolas

    2013-11-14

    Glassy water occurs in at least two broad categories: low-density amorphous (LDA) and high-density amorphous (HDA) solid water. We perform out-of-equilibrium molecular dynamics simulations to study the transformations of glassy water using the ST2 model. Specifically, we study the known (i) compression-induced LDA-to-HDA, (ii) decompression-induced HDA-to-LDA, and (iii) compression-induced hexagonal ice-to-HDA transformations. We study each transformation for a broad range of compression/decompression temperatures, enabling us to construct a "P-T phase diagram" for glassy water. The resulting phase diagram shows the same qualitative features reported from experiments. While many simulations have probed the liquid-state phase behavior, comparatively little work has examined the transitions of glassy water. We examine how the glass transformations relate to the (first-order) liquid-liquid phase transition previously reported for this model. Specifically, our results support the hypothesis that the liquid-liquid spinodal lines, between a low-density and high-density liquid, are extensions of the LDA-HDA transformation lines in the limit of slow compression. Extending decompression runs to negative pressures, we locate the sublimation lines for both LDA and hyperquenched glassy water (HGW), and find that HGW is relatively more stable to the vapor. Additionally, we observe spontaneous crystallization of HDA at high pressure to ice VII. Experiments have also seen crystallization of HDA, but to ice XII. Finally, we contrast the structure of LDA and HDA for the ST2 model with experiments. We find that while the radial distribution functions (RDFs) of LDA are similar to those observed in experiments, considerable differences exist between the HDA RDFs of ST2 water and experiment. The differences in HDA structure, as well as the formation of ice VII (a tetrahedral crystal), are a consequence of ST2 overemphasizing the tetrahedral character of water.

  16. Pressure-induced transformations in computer simulations of glassy water

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chiu, Janet; Starr, Francis W.; Giovambattista, Nicolas

    2013-11-01

    Glassy water occurs in at least two broad categories: low-density amorphous (LDA) and high-density amorphous (HDA) solid water. We perform out-of-equilibrium molecular dynamics simulations to study the transformations of glassy water using the ST2 model. Specifically, we study the known (i) compression-induced LDA-to-HDA, (ii) decompression-induced HDA-to-LDA, and (iii) compression-induced hexagonal ice-to-HDA transformations. We study each transformation for a broad range of compression/decompression temperatures, enabling us to construct a "P-T phase diagram" for glassy water. The resulting phase diagram shows the same qualitative features reported from experiments. While many simulations have probed the liquid-state phase behavior, comparatively little work has examined the transitions of glassy water. We examine how the glass transformations relate to the (first-order) liquid-liquid phase transition previously reported for this model. Specifically, our results support the hypothesis that the liquid-liquid spinodal lines, between a low-density and high-density liquid, are extensions of the LDA-HDA transformation lines in the limit of slow compression. Extending decompression runs to negative pressures, we locate the sublimation lines for both LDA and hyperquenched glassy water (HGW), and find that HGW is relatively more stable to the vapor. Additionally, we observe spontaneous crystallization of HDA at high pressure to ice VII. Experiments have also seen crystallization of HDA, but to ice XII. Finally, we contrast the structure of LDA and HDA for the ST2 model with experiments. We find that while the radial distribution functions (RDFs) of LDA are similar to those observed in experiments, considerable differences exist between the HDA RDFs of ST2 water and experiment. The differences in HDA structure, as well as the formation of ice VII (a tetrahedral crystal), are a consequence of ST2 overemphasizing the tetrahedral character of water.

  17. Stretchable hydrogen sensors employing palladium nanosheets transferred onto an elastomeric substrate

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Namgung, Gitae; Ta, Qui Thanh Hoai; Noh, Jin-Seo

    2018-07-01

    Stretchable hydrogen sensors were fabricated from Pd nanosheets that were transferred onto a PDMS substrate. To prepare the Pd nanosheets, a Pd thin film on PDMS was first biaxially stretched and then PDMS substrate was etched off. The size of Pd nanosheets decreased as the applied strain increased and the film thickness decreased. A transfer technique was utilized to implement the stretchable hydrogen sensors. The stretchable sensors exhibited negative response behaviors upon the exposure to hydrogen gas. Interestingly, the sensors worked even under large strains up to 30%, demonstrating a potential as a high-strain-tolerable hydrogen sensor for the first time.

  18. Controlled Interactions between Two Dimensional Layered Inorganic Nanosheets and Polymers

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2016-06-15

    with end-functionalized polymers . First, an end-functionalized polymer with conjugated end-molecule, pyrene, is successfully employed to boron... polymers . First, an end-functionalized polymer with conjugated end-molecule, pyrenes, is successfully employed to boron nitride nanosheets (BNNS), and...AFRL-AFOSR-JP-TR-2016-0071 Controlled Interactions between Two Dimensional Layered Inorganic Nanosheets and Polymers Cheolmin Park YONSEI UNIVERSITY

  19. 2D black phosphorous nanosheets as a hole transporting material in perovskite solar cells

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Muduli, Subas Kumar; Varrla, Eswaraiah; Kulkarni, Sneha Avinash; Han, Guifang; Thirumal, Krishnamoorthy; Lev, Ovadia; Mhaisalkar, Subodh; Mathews, Nripan

    2017-12-01

    We demonstrate for the first-time liquid exfoliated few layers of 2D Black phosphorus (BP) nanosheets as a hole transporting material (HTM) for perovskite based solar cells. The photoelectron spectroscopy in air (PESA) measurements confirm the low laying valence band level of BP nanosheets (-5.2 eV) favourable for hole injection from CH3NH3PbI3 (MAPbI3). Our results show that ∼25% improvement in power conversion efficiency (PCE) of η = 16.4% for BP nanosheets + Spiro-OMeTAD as an HTM as compared to spiro-OMeTAD (η = 13.1%). When BP nanosheets are exclusively utilised as an HTM, a PCE of η = 7.88% is noted, an improvement over the 4% PCE values observed for HTM free devices. Photoluminescence (PL) quenching of MAPbI3 and impedance measurements further confirm the charge extraction ability of BP nanosheets. The structural and optical characterization of liquid exfoliated BP nanosheets is discussed in detail with the aid of transmission electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, absorption spectroscopy and photo-electron spectroscopy.

  20. Synthesis of Novel CuO Nanosheets and Their Non-Enzymatic Glucose Sensing Applications

    PubMed Central

    Ibupoto, Zafar Hussain; Khun, Kimleang; Beni, Valerio; Liu, Xianjie; Willander, Magnus

    2013-01-01

    In this study, we have developed a sensitive and selective glucose sensor using novel CuO nanosheets which were grown on a gold coated glass substrate by a low temperature growth method. X-ray differaction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) techniques were used for the structural characterization of CuO nanostructures. CuO nanosheets are highly dense, uniform, and exhibited good crystalline array structure. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) technique was applied for the study of chemical composition of CuO nanosheets and the obtained information demonstrated pure phase CuO nanosheets. The novel CuO nanosheets were employed for the development of a sensitive and selective non-enzymatic glucose sensor. The measured sensitivity and a correlation coefficient are in order 5.20 × 102 μA/mMcm2 and 0.998, respectively. The proposed sensor is associated with several advantages such as low cost, simplicity, high stability, reproducibility and selectivity for the quick detection of glucose. PMID:23787727

  1. Synthesis of novel CuO nanosheets and their non-enzymatic glucose sensing applications.

    PubMed

    Ibupoto, Zafar Hussain; Khun, Kimleang; Beni, Valerio; Liu, Xianjie; Willander, Magnus

    2013-06-20

    In this study, we have developed a sensitive and selective glucose sensor using novel CuO nanosheets which were grown on a gold coated glass substrate by a low temperature growth method. X-ray differaction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) techniques were used for the structural characterization of CuO nanostructures. CuO nanosheets are highly dense, uniform, and exhibited good crystalline array structure. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) technique was applied for the study of chemical composition of CuO nanosheets and the obtained information demonstrated pure phase CuO nanosheets. The novel CuO nanosheets were employed for the development of a sensitive and selective non-enzymatic glucose sensor. The measured sensitivity and a correlation coefficient are in order 5.20 × 10² µA/mMcm² and 0.998, respectively. The proposed sensor is associated with several advantages such as low cost, simplicity, high stability, reproducibility and selectivity for the quick detection of glucose.

  2. Carbon nanotube modified glassy carbon electrode for electrochemical oxidation of alkylphenol ethoxylate.

    PubMed

    Patiño, Yolanda; Díaz, Eva; Lobo-Castañón, María Jesús; Ordóñez, Salvador

    2018-06-01

    Electrochemical oxidation of an emerging pollutant, 2-(4-methylphenoxy)ethanol (MPET), from water has been studied by cyclic voltammetry (CV). Multiwall carbon nanotubes glassy carbon electrodes (MWCNT-GCE) were used as working electrode due to their extraordinary properties. The oxidation process is irreversible, since no reduction peaks were observed in the reverse scan. The electrocatalytic effect of MWCNT was confirmed as the oxidation peak intensity increases in comparison to bare-GCE. The effect of functional groups on MWCNT was also studied by MWCNT functionalized with NH 2 (MWCNT-NH 2 ) and COOH (MWCNT-COOH) groups. The oxidation peak current decreases in the following order: MWCNT > MWCNT-NH 2 > MWCNT-COOH. Taking into account the normalized peak current, MWCNT-NH 2 exhibits the best results due to its strong interaction with MPET. Under optimal conditions (pH = 5.0 and volume of MWCNT = 10 μL), degradation was studied for MWCNT-GCE and MWCNT-NH 2 -GCE. A complete MPET removal was observed using MWCNT-GCE after four CV cycles, for a volume/area (V/A) ratio equal to 19. In the case of MWCNT-NH 2 -GCE, the maximum MPET removal was close to 90% for V/A = 37, higher than that obtained for MWCNT-GCE at the same conditions (≈80%). In both cases, no organic by-products were detected.

  3. One-Step Nickel Foam Assisted Synthesis of Holey G-Carbon Nitride Nanosheets for Efficient Visible-light Photocatalytic H2 Evolution.

    PubMed

    Fang, Zhenyuan; Hong, Yuanzhi; Li, Di; Luo, Bifu; Mao, Baodong; Shi, Weidong

    2018-06-01

    Graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) with layered structure represents one of the most promising metal-free photocatalysts. As yet, the direct one-step synthesis of ultrathin g-C3N4 nanosheets remains a challenge. Here, few-layered holey g-C3N4 nanosheets (CNS) were fabricated by simply introducing a piece of nickel foam over the precursors during the heating process. The as-prepared CNS with unique structural advantages exhibited superior photocatalytic water splitting activity (1871.09 µmol h-1 g-1) than bulk g-C3N4 (BCN) under visible light (λ>420 nm) (≈31 fold). Its outstanding photocatalytic performance originated from the high specific surface area (240.34 m2 g-1) and mesoporous structure, which endows CNS with more active sites, efficient exciton dissociation and prolonged charge carrier lifetime. Moreover, the obvious up-shift of the conduction band leads to a larger thermodynamic driving force for photocatalytic proton reduction. This methodology not only had the advantages for the direct and green synthesis of g-C3N4 nanosheets, but also paved a new avenue to modify molecular structure and textural of g-C3N4 for advanced applications.

  4. The superconducting state parameters of glassy superconductors

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Vora, Aditya M.

    2011-11-01

    We present theoretical investigations of the superconducting state parameters (SSPs), i.e. the electron-phonon coupling strength, λ, Coulomb pseudopotential, μ*, transition temperature, Tc, isotope effect exponent, α, and effective interaction strength, N0V, of glassy superconductors by employing Ashcroft's well know empty core model potential for the first time using five screening functions proposed by Hartree (H), Taylor, Ichimaru-Utsumi (IU), Farid et al and Sarkar et al. The Tc obtained from the H and IU screening functions is found to be in excellent agreement with available experimental data. Also, the present results confirm the superconducting phase in bulk metallic glass superconductors. A strong dependency of the SSPs of the glassy superconductors on the 'Z' valence is found.

  5. Hydrothermally grown and self-assembled modified titanium and nickel oxide composite nanosheets on Nitinol-based fibers for efficient solid phase microextraction.

    PubMed

    Wang, Huiju; Song, Wenlan; Zhang, Min; Zhen, Qi; Guo, Mei; Zhang, Yida; Du, Xinzhen

    2016-10-14

    A novel titanium and nickel oxide composite nanosheets (TiO 2 /NiOCNSs) coating was in situ grown on a Nitinol (NiTi) wire by direct hydrothermal treatment and modified by self-assembly of trichlorophenylsilane for solid phase microextraction (SPME). TiO 2 /NiOCNSs were radially oriented and chemically bonded to the NiTi substrate with double-faced open access sites. Moreover the phenyl modified TiO 2 /NiOCNSs (TiO 2 /NiOCNSs-Ph) coating exhibited original surface supporting framework favorable for effective SPME. The extraction performance of TiO 2 /NiOCNSs-Ph coated NiTi (NiTi-TiO 2 /NiOCNSs-Ph) fiber was investigated for the concentration and detection of ultraviolet (UV) filters, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), phthalate acid esters and polychlorinated biphenyls coupled to HPLC with UV detection. The novel fiber exhibited better selectivity for UV filters and PAHs and presented greater extraction capability compared to commercial polydimethylsiloxane and polyacrylate fibers. Under the optimized conditions for SPME of UV filters, the proposed method presented linear ranges from 0.1 to 300μg/L with correlation coefficients of higher than 0.999 and limits of detection from 0.030μg/L to 0.064μg/L. Relative standard deviations (RSDs) were below 7.16% and 8.42% for intra-day and inter-day measurements with the single fiber, respectively. Furthermore RSDs for fiber-to-fiber reproducibility from 6.57% to 8.93% were achieved. The NiTi-TiO 2 /NiOCNSs-Ph fiber can be used up to 200 times. The proposed method was successfully applied to the preconcentration and determination of trace target UV filters in different environmental water samples. The relative recoveries from 87.3% to 104% were obtained with RSDs less than 8.7%. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  6. Effects of surface passivation on twin-free GaAs nanosheets.

    PubMed

    Arab, Shermin; Chi, Chun-Yung; Shi, Teng; Wang, Yuda; Dapkus, Daniel P; Jackson, Howard E; Smith, Leigh M; Cronin, Stephen B

    2015-02-24

    Unlike nanowires, GaAs nanosheets exhibit no twin defects, stacking faults, or dislocations even when grown on lattice mismatched substrates. As such, they are excellent candidates for optoelectronic applications, including LEDs and solar cells. We report substantial enhancements in the photoluminescence efficiency and the lifetime of passivated GaAs nanosheets produced using the selected area growth (SAG) method with metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). Measurements are performed on individual GaAs nanosheets with and without an AlGaAs passivation layer. Both steady-state photoluminescence and time-resolved photoluminescence spectroscopy are performed to study the optoelectronic performance of these nanostructures. Our results show that AlGaAs passivation of GaAs nanosheets leads to a 30- to 40-fold enhancement in the photoluminescence intensity. The photoluminescence lifetime increases from less than 30 to 300 ps with passivation, indicating an order of magnitude improvement in the minority carrier lifetime. We attribute these enhancements to the reduction of nonradiative recombination due to the compensation of surface states after passivation. The surface recombination velocity decreases from an initial value of 2.5 × 10(5) to 2.7 × 10(4) cm/s with passivation.

  7. Multilayered nano-architecture of variable sized graphene nanosheets for enhanced supercapacitor electrode performance.

    PubMed

    Biswas, Sanjib; Drzal, Lawrence T

    2010-08-01

    The diverse physical and chemical aspects of graphene nanosheets such as particle size surface area and edge chemistry were combined to fabricate a new supercapacitor electrode architecture consisting of a highly aligned network of large-sized nanosheets as a series of current collectors within a multilayer configuration of bulk electrode. Capillary driven self-assembly of monolayers of graphene nanosheets was employed to create a flexible, multilayer, free-standing film of highly hydrophobic nanosheets over large macroscopic areas. This nanoarchitecture exhibits a high-frequency capacitative response and a nearly rectangular cyclic voltammogram at 1000 mV/s scanning rate and possesses a rapid current response, small equivalent series resistance (ESR), and fast ionic diffusion for high-power electrical double-layer capacitor (EDLC) application.

  8. ELECTROCHEMICAL DETERMINATION OF HYDROGEN SULFIDE AT CARBON NANOTUBE MODIFIED ELECTRODES. (R830900)

    EPA Science Inventory

    Carbon nanotube (CNT) modified glassy carbon electrodes exhibiting a strong and stable electrocatalytic response towards sulfide are described. A substantial (400 mV) decrease in the overvoltage of the sulfide oxidation reaction (compared to ordinary carbon electrodes) is...

  9. Silver Nanoparticle-Deposited Boron Nitride Nanosheets as Fillers for Polymeric Composites with High Thermal Conductivity.

    PubMed

    Wang, Fangfang; Zeng, Xiaoliang; Yao, Yimin; Sun, Rong; Xu, Jianbin; Wong, Ching-Ping

    2016-01-19

    Polymer composites with high thermal conductivity have recently attracted much attention, along with the rapid development of the electronic devices toward higher speed and performance. However, a common method to enhance polymer thermal conductivity through an addition of high thermally conductive fillers usually cannot provide an expected value, especially for composites requiring electrical insulation. Here, we show that polymeric composites with silver nanoparticle-deposited boron nitride nanosheets as fillers could effectively enhance the thermal conductivity of polymer, thanks to the bridging connections of silver nanoparticles among boron nitride nanosheets. The thermal conductivity of the composite is significantly increased from 1.63 W/m-K for the composite filled with the silver nanoparticle-deposited boron nitride nanosheets to 3.06 W/m-K at the boron nitride nanosheets loading of 25.1 vol %. In addition, the electrically insulating properties of the composite are well preserved. Fitting the measured thermal conductivity of epoxy composite with one physical model indicates that the composite with silver nanoparticle-deposited boron nitride nanosheets outperforms the one with boron nitride nanosheets, owning to the lower thermal contact resistance among boron nitride nanosheets' interfaces. The finding sheds new light on enhancement of thermal conductivity of the polymeric composites which concurrently require the electrical insulation.

  10. Designer Shape Anisotropy on Transition-Metal-Dichalcogenide Nanosheets.

    PubMed

    Martella, Christian; Mennucci, Carlo; Lamperti, Alessio; Cappelluti, Emmanuele; de Mongeot, Francesco Buatier; Molle, Alessandro

    2018-03-01

    MoS 2 and generally speaking, the wide family of transition-metal dichalcogenides represents a solid nanotechnology platform on which to engineer a wealth of new and outperforming applications involving 2D materials. An even richer flexibility can be gained by extrinsically inducing an in-plane shape anisotropy of the nanosheets. Here, the synthesis of anisotropic MoS 2 nanosheets is proposed as a prototypical example in this respect starting from a highly conformal chemical vapor deposition on prepatterend substrates and aiming at the more general purpose of tailoring anisotropy of 2D nanosheets by design. This is envisioned to be a suitable configuration for strain engineering as far as strain can be spatially redistributed in morphologically different regions. With a similar approach, both the optical and electronic properties of the 2D transition-metal dichalcogenides can be tailored over macroscopic sample areas in a self-organized fashion, thus paving the way for new applications in the field of optical metasurfaces, light harvesting, and catalysis. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  11. Keggin-type polyoxometalate nanosheets: synthesis and characterization via scanning transmission electron microscopy.

    PubMed

    Hiyoshi, Norihito

    2018-05-17

    Polyoxometalate nanosheets were synthesized at the gas/liquid interface of an aqueous solution of Keggin-type silicotungstic acid, cesium chloride, and n-octylamine. The structure of the nanosheets was elucidated via aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy at the atomic and molecular levels.

  12. Facile bottom-up synthesis of partially oxidized black phosphorus nanosheets as metal-free photocatalyst for hydrogen evolution

    PubMed Central

    Tian, Bin; Tian, Bining; Smith, Bethany; Scott, M. C.; Lei, Qin; Hua, Ruinian; Liu, Yi

    2018-01-01

    Few-layer black phosphorus (BP) nanosheets were first reported as a 2D material for the application of field-effect transistors in 2014 and have stimulated intense activity among physicists, chemists, and material and biomedical scientists, driving research into novel synthetic techniques to produce BP nanosheets. At present, exfoliation is the main route toward few-layer BP nanosheets via employing bulk BP as raw material. However, this is a complicated and time-consuming process, which is difficult for the large-scale synthesis of BP nanosheets. Moreover, BP degrades rapidly when exfoliated to nanoscale dimensions, resulting in the rapid loss of semiconducting properties. Here, we report the direct wet-chemical synthesis of few-layer BP nanosheets in gram-scale quantities in a bottom-up approach based on common laboratory reagents at low temperature, showing excellent stability due to partial oxidation of surface. Solvent and temperature are two critical factors, controlling not only the formation of BP nanosheets but also the thickness. The as-prepared BP nanosheets can extract hydrogen from pure water (pH = 6.8), exhibiting more than 24-fold higher activity than the well-known C3N4 nanosheets. Our results reporting the ability to prepare few-layer BP nanosheets with a facile, scalable, low-cost approach take us a step closer to real-world applications of phosphorene including next-generation metal-free photocatalysts for photosynthesis. PMID:29563225

  13. Temperature and frequency response of conductivity in Ag2S doped chalcogenide glassy semiconductor

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ojha, Swarupa; Das, Anindya Sundar; Roy, Madhab; Bhattacharya, Sanjib

    2018-06-01

    The electric conductivity of chalcogenide glassy semiconductor xAg2S-(1-x)(0.5S-0.5Te) has been presented here as a function of temperature and frequency. Formation of different nanocrystallites has been confirmed from X-ray diffraction study. It is also noteworthy that average size of nanocrystallites decreases with the increase of dislocation density. Dc conductivity data have been interpreted using Mott's model and Greaves's model in low and high temperature regions respectively. Ac conductivity above the room temperature has been analyzed using Meyer-Neldel (MN) conduction rule. It is interestingly noted that Correlated Barrier Hopping (CBH) model is the most appropriate conduction mechanism for x = 0.35, where pairs of charge carrier are considered to hop over the potential barrier between the sites via thermal activation. To interpret experimental data for x = 0.45, modified non-overlapping small polaron tunnelling (NSPT) model is supposed to be appropriate model due to tunnelling through grain boundary. The conductivity spectra at various temperatures have been analyzed using Almond-West Formalism (power law model). Scaling of conductivity spectra reveals that electrical relaxation process of charge carriers (polaron) is temperature independent but depends upon the composition of the present chalcogenide glassy system.

  14. Determination of mutagenic amines in water and food samples by high pressure liquid chromatography with amperometric detection using a multiwall carbon nanotubes-glassy carbon electrode.

    PubMed

    Bueno, Ana María; Marín, Miguel Ángel; Contento, Ana María; Ríos, Ángel

    2016-02-01

    A chromatographic method, using amperometric detection, for the sensitive determination of six representative mutagenic amines was developed. A glassy carbon electrode (GCE), modified with multiwall carbon nanotubes (GCE-CNTs), was prepared and its response compared to a conventional glassy carbon electrode. The chromatographic method (HPLC-GCE-CNTs) allowed the separation and the determination of heterocyclic aromatic amines (HAAs) classified as mutagenic amines by the International Agency for Research of Cancer. The new electrode was systematically studied in terms of stability, sensitivity, and reproducibility. Statistical analysis of the obtained data demonstrated that the modified electrode provided better sensitivity than the conventional unmodified ones. Detection limits were in the 3.0 and 7.5 ng/mL range, whereas quantification limits ranged between 9.5 and 25.0 ng/mL were obtained. The applicability of the method was demonstrated by the determination of the amines in several types of samples (water and food samples). Recoveries indicate very good agreement between amounts added and those found for all HAAs (recoveries in the 92% and 105% range). Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Square-wave adsorptive stripping voltammetric determination of nanomolar levels of bezafibrate using a glassy carbon electrode modified with multi-walled carbon nanotubes within a dihexadecyl hydrogen phosphate film.

    PubMed

    Ardila, Jorge Armando; Oliveira, Geiser Gabriel; Medeiros, Roberta Antigo; Fatibello-Filho, Orlando

    2014-04-07

    A highly sensitive method for bezafibrate determination using a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) modified with multi-walled carbon nanotubes within a dihexadecyl hydrogen phosphate film based on square-wave adsorptive stripping voltammetry (SWAdSV) is proposed. The electrochemical behaviour of bezafibrate has been studied by cyclic voltammetry, showing an irreversible anodic peak at a potential of 1.09 V in 0.1 mol L(-1) phosphate buffer solution (pH 2.0). A study of the scan rate showed that the oxidation of bezafibrate is an adsorptive-controlled process, involving the transfer of two electrons and two protons per molecule. The analytical curve was linear over a bezafibrate concentration range from 50 to 910 nmol L(-1), with a detection limit of 16 nmol L(-1). This analytical method was successfully applied for benzafibrate determination in pharmaceutical formulations, with results showing good agreement with those obtained using a comparative spectrophotometric method, and has the potential for field application.

  16. Glassy carbon electrodes sequentially modified by cysteamine-capped gold nanoparticles and poly(amidoamine) dendrimers generation 4.5 for detecting uric acid in human serum without ascorbic acid interference.

    PubMed

    Ramírez-Segovia, A S; Banda-Alemán, J A; Gutiérrez-Granados, S; Rodríguez, A; Rodríguez, F J; Godínez, Luis A; Bustos, E; Manríquez, J

    2014-02-17

    Glassy carbon electrodes (GCE) were sequentially modified by cysteamine-capped gold nanoparticles (AuNp@cysteamine) and PAMAM dendrimers generation 4.5 bearing 128-COOH peripheral groups (GCE/AuNp@cysteamine/PAMAM), in order to explore their capabilities as electrochemical detectors of uric acid (UA) in human serum samples at pH 2. The results showed that concentrations of UA detected by cyclic voltammetry with GCE/AuNp@cysteamine/PAMAM were comparable (deviation <±10%; limits of detection (LOD) and quantification (LOQ) were 1.7×10(-4) and 5.8×10(-4) mg dL(-1), respectively) to those concentrations obtained using the uricase-based enzymatic-colorimetric method. It was also observed that the presence of dendrimers in the GCE/AuNp@cysteamine/PAMAM system minimizes ascorbic acid (AA) interference during UA oxidation, thus improving the electrocatalytic activity of the gold nanoparticles. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  17. Easy Preparation and Photoelectrochemical Properties of CdS Nanoparticle/Graphene Nanosheet Nanocomposites Using Supercritical Carbon Dioxide.

    PubMed

    Yan, Shancheng; Xu, Xin; Jiang, Chao; Pan, Lijia; Shi, Yi; Hu, Dong; Cao, Zhenglin

    2016-03-01

    Graphene nanosheets (GNSs) were modified with CdS nanoparticles (NPs) using supercritical CO2 (SC CO2), which has gas-like diffusivity, low viscosity, and near-zero surface tension. The resulting CdS NP/GNS nanocomposites were characterized by field-emission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and photoluminescence spectroscopy. Distinct morphologies of CdS NP/GNS nanocomposites decorated on the GNS surface were obtained at different SC CO2 pressures, temperatures, and durations and in different sources. Results showed that the sources and SC CO2 significantly influenced the aggregation or assembly behavior of the CdS NP/GNS nanocomposites on the GNSs. The formation mechanism of the distinct nanohybrid structures was studied by Raman mapping. A difference was noted between the Raman spectra of pristine graphene nanosheets and CdS NP/GNS nanocomposites. This result can be ascribed to the CdS NPs anchored onto the GNS defects and to the improved quality of the GNSs under SC CO2. The photo-current densities of CdS NP/GNS nanocomposites were at least three times higher than that of the pristine CdS NPs at the same applied voltage for photoelectrochemical water splitting. The findings suggested that highly efficient graphene-supported NP photoelectrocatalysts can be fabricated by the supercritical fluid method and that graphene can serve as a favorable photoelectrocatalytic carrier, with promising potential applications in environmental and energy fields. Keywords: Graphene Nanosheets, Cadmium Sulfide, Raman Spectroscopy, Photoelectrochemical.

  18. Controlled Synthesis of Co3O4 Nanopolyhedrons and Nanosheets at Low Temperature

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Liang, H.; Zhang, L.; Raitano, J.M.

    2009-12-28

    Cobalt oxide (Co{sub 3}O{sub 4}) nanopolyhedrons and nanosheets were controlled synthesized at the low temperature of 80 C via a novel, simple, aqueous method; the obtained nanosheets are only 2-3 nm thick.

  19. Facile bottom-up synthesis of partially oxidized black phosphorus nanosheets as metal-free photocatalyst for hydrogen evolution.

    PubMed

    Tian, Bin; Tian, Bining; Smith, Bethany; Scott, M C; Lei, Qin; Hua, Ruinian; Tian, Yue; Liu, Yi

    2018-04-24

    Few-layer black phosphorus (BP) nanosheets were first reported as a 2D material for the application of field-effect transistors in 2014 and have stimulated intense activity among physicists, chemists, and material and biomedical scientists, driving research into novel synthetic techniques to produce BP nanosheets. At present, exfoliation is the main route toward few-layer BP nanosheets via employing bulk BP as raw material. However, this is a complicated and time-consuming process, which is difficult for the large-scale synthesis of BP nanosheets. Moreover, BP degrades rapidly when exfoliated to nanoscale dimensions, resulting in the rapid loss of semiconducting properties. Here, we report the direct wet-chemical synthesis of few-layer BP nanosheets in gram-scale quantities in a bottom-up approach based on common laboratory reagents at low temperature, showing excellent stability due to partial oxidation of surface. Solvent and temperature are two critical factors, controlling not only the formation of BP nanosheets but also the thickness. The as-prepared BP nanosheets can extract hydrogen from pure water (pH = 6.8), exhibiting more than 24-fold higher activity than the well-known C 3 N 4 nanosheets. Our results reporting the ability to prepare few-layer BP nanosheets with a facile, scalable, low-cost approach take us a step closer to real-world applications of phosphorene including next-generation metal-free photocatalysts for photosynthesis. Copyright © 2018 the Author(s). Published by PNAS.

  20. Few-layered Ni(OH)2 nanosheets for high-performance supercapacitors

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sun, Wenping; Rui, Xianhong; Ulaganathan, Mani; Madhavi, Srinivasan; Yan, Qingyu

    2015-11-01

    Few-layered Ni(OH)2 nanosheets (4-5 nm in thickness) are synthesized towards high-performance supercapacitors. The ultrathin Ni(OH)2 nanosheets show high specific capacitance and good rate capability in both three-electrode and asymmetric devices. In the three-electrode device, the Ni(OH)2 nanosheets deliver a high capacitance of 2064 F g-1 at 2 A g-1, and the capacitance still has a retention of 1837 F g-1 at a high current density of 20 A g-1. Such excellent performance is by far one of the best for Ni(OH)2 electrodes. In the two-electrode asymmetric device, the specific capacitance is 248 F g-1 at 1 A g-1, and reaches 113 F g-1 at 20 A g-1. The capacitance of the asymmetric device maintains to be 166 F g-1 during the 4000th cycle at 2 A g-1, suggesting good cycling stability of the device. Besides, the asymmetric device exhibits gravimetric energy density of 22 Wh kg-1 at a power density of 0.8 kW kg-1. The present results demonstrate that the ultrathin Ni(OH)2 nanosheets are highly attractive electrode materials for achieving fast charging/discharging and high-capacity supercapacitors.

  1. Hierarchical MnO2 nanosheets synthesized via electrodeposition-hydrothermal method for supercapacitor electrodes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zheng, Dongdong; Qiang, Yujie; Xu, Shenying; Li, Wenpo; Yu, Shanshan; Zhang, Shengtao

    2017-02-01

    Metal oxides have emerged as one kind of important supercapacitor electrode materials. Herein, we report hierarchical MnO2 nanosheets prepared of indium tin oxide (ITO) coated glass substrates via a hybrid two-step protocol, including a cathodic electrodeposition technique and a hydrothermal process. The samples are characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscope (SEM) with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), and transmission electron microscope (TEM). SEM and TEM images show that the as-synthesized MnO2 nanosheets are hierarchical and porous, which could increase the active surface and short paths for fast ion diffusion. The results of nitrogen adsorption-desorption analysis indicate that the BET surface area of the MnO2 nanosheets is 53.031 m2 g-1. Furthermore, the electrochemical properties of the MnO2 are elucidated by cyclic voltammograms (CV), galvanostatic charge-discharge (GCD) tests, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) in 0.1 M Na2SO4 electrolyte. The electrochemical results demonstrate that the as-grown MnO2 nanosheet exhibits an excellent specific capacitance of 335 F g-1 at 0.5 A g-1 when it is applied as a potential electrode material for an electrochemical supercapacitor. Additionally, the MnO2 nanosheet electrode also presents high rate capability and good cycling stability with 91.8% retention after 1000 cycles. These excellent properties indicate that the hierarchical MnO2 nanosheets are a potential electrode material for electrochemical supercapacitors.

  2. Large-scale synthesis of high-quality hexagonal boron nitride nanosheets for large-area graphene electronics.

    PubMed

    Lee, Kang Hyuck; Shin, Hyeon-Jin; Lee, Jinyeong; Lee, In-yeal; Kim, Gil-Ho; Choi, Jae-Young; Kim, Sang-Woo

    2012-02-08

    Hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) has received a great deal of attention as a substrate material for high-performance graphene electronics because it has an atomically smooth surface, lattice constant similar to that of graphene, large optical phonon modes, and a large electrical band gap. Herein, we report the large-scale synthesis of high-quality h-BN nanosheets in a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process by controlling the surface morphologies of the copper (Cu) catalysts. It was found that morphology control of the Cu foil is much critical for the formation of the pure h-BN nanosheets as well as the improvement of their crystallinity. For the first time, we demonstrate the performance enhancement of CVD-based graphene devices with large-scale h-BN nanosheets. The mobility of the graphene device on the h-BN nanosheets was increased 3 times compared to that without the h-BN nanosheets. The on-off ratio of the drain current is 2 times higher than that of the graphene device without h-BN. This work suggests that high-quality h-BN nanosheets based on CVD are very promising for high-performance large-area graphene electronics. © 2012 American Chemical Society

  3. Synthesis and structural property of Si nanosheets connected to Si nanowires using MnCl2/Si powder source

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Meng, Erchao; Ueki, Akiko; Meng, Xiang; Suzuki, Hiroaki; Itahara, Hiroshi; Tatsuoka, Hirokazu

    2016-08-01

    Si nanosheets connected to Si nanowires were synthesized using a MnCl2/Si powder source with an Au catalyst. The synthesis method has benefits in terms of avoiding conventionally used air-sensitive SiH4 or SiCl4. The existence of the Si nanosheets connected to the Si<111> nanowires, like sprouts or leaves with petioles, was observed, and the surface of the nanosheets was Si{111}. The nanosheets were grown in the growth direction of <211> perpendicular to that of the Si nanowires. It was evident from these structural features of the nanosheets that the nanosheets were formed by the twin-plane reentrant-edge mechanism. The feature of the observed lattice fringes, which do not appear for Si bulk crystals, of the Si(111) nanosheets obtained by high resolution transmission electron microscopy was clearly explained due to the extra diffraction spots that arose by the reciprocal lattice streaking effect.

  4. Film transfer enabled by nanosheet seed layers on arbitrary sacrificial substrates

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Dral, A. P.; Nijland, M.; Koster, G.

    An approach for film transfer is demonstrated that makes use of seed layers of nanosheets on arbitrary sacrificial substrates. Epitaxial SrTiO{sub 3}, SrRuO{sub 3}, and BiFeO{sub 3} films were grown on Ca{sub 2}Nb{sub 3}O{sub 10} nanosheet seed layers on phlogopite mica substrates. Cleavage of the mica substrates enabled film transfer to flexible polyethylene terephthalate substrates. Electron backscatter diffraction, X-ray diffraction, and atomic force microscopy confirmed that crystal orientation and film morphology remained intact during transfer. The generic nature of this approach is illustrated by growing films on zinc oxide substrates with a nanosheet seed layer. Film transfer to a flexiblemore » substrate was accomplished via acid etching.« less

  5. Nucleic acid-functionalized transition metal nanosheets for biosensing applications

    PubMed Central

    Mo, Liuting; Li, Juan; Liu, Qiaoling; Qiu, Liping; Tan, Weihong

    2017-01-01

    In clinical diagnostics, as well as food and environmental safety practices, biosensors are powerful tools for monitoring biological or biochemical processes. Two-dimensional (2D) transition metal nanomaterials, including transition metal chalcogenides (TMCs) and transition metal oxides (TMOs), are receiving growing interest for their use in biosensing applications based on such unique properties as high surface area and fluorescence quenching abilities. Meanwhile, nucleic acid probes based on Watson-Crick base-pairing rules are also being widely applied in biosensing based on their excellent recognition capability. In particular, the emergence of functional nucleic acids in the 1980s, especially aptamers, has substantially extended the recognition capability of nucleic acids to various targets, ranging from small organic molecules and metal ions to proteins and cells. Based on π-π stacking interaction between transition metal nanosheets and nucleic acids, biosensing systems can be easily assembled. Therefore, the combination of 2D transition metal nanomaterials and nucleic acids brings intriguing opportunities in bioanalysis and biomedicine. In this review, we summarize recent advances of nucleic acid-functionalized transition metal nanosheets in biosensing applications. The structure and properties of 2D transition metal nanomaterials are first discussed, emphasizing the interaction between transition metal nanosheets and nucleic acids. Then, the applications of nucleic acid-functionalized transition metal nanosheet-based biosensors are discussed in the context of different signal transducing mechanisms, including optical and electrochemical approaches. Finally, we provide our perspectives on the current challenges and opportunities in this promising field. PMID:27020066

  6. Phosphorus doped graphitic carbon nitride nanosheets as fluorescence probe for the detection of baicalein

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wang, Xuan; Li, Xuebing; Chen, Wenfang; Wang, Rulin; Bian, Wei; Choi, Martin M. F.

    2018-06-01

    Phosphorus doped graphitic carbon nitride (P-g-C3N4) nanosheets were synthesized by calcination. P-g-C3N4 nanosheets were characterized by XRD, XPS, TEM, fluorescence, ultraviolet-visible absorption and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The fluorescence of the P-g-C3N4 nanosheets was gradually quenched with the increase in the concentration of baicalein at room temperature. The proposed probe was used for the determination of baicalein in the concentration 2.0-30 μM with a detection limit of 53 nM. The quenching mechanism was discussed. The P-g-C3N4 nanosheets have been successfully applied for effective and selective detection of baicalein in human urine samples and blood samples.

  7. Layer speciation and electronic structure investigation of freestanding hexagonal boron nitride nanosheets

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    WangEqual Contribution To This Work., Jian; Wang, Zhiqiang; Cho, Hyunjin; Kim, Myung Jong; Sham, T. K.; Sun, Xuhui

    2015-01-01

    Chemical imaging, thickness mapping, layer speciation and polarization dependence have been performed on single and multilayered (up to three layers and trilayered nanosheets overlapping to form 6 and 9 layers) hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) nanosheets by scanning transmission X-ray microscopy. Spatially-resolved XANES directly from freestanding regions of different layers has been extracted and compared with sample normal and 30° tilted configurations. Notably a double feature σ* excitonic state and a stable high energy σ* state were observed at the boron site in addition to the intense π* excitonic state. The boron projected σ* DOS, especially the first σ* exciton, is sensitive to surface modification, particularly in the single layered hBN nanosheet which shows more significant detectable contaminants and defects such as tri-coordinated boron/nitrogen oxide. The nitrogen site has shown very weak or no excitonic character. The distinct excitonic effect on boron and nitrogen was interpreted to the partly ionic state of hBN. Bulk XANES of hBN nanosheets was also measured to confirm the spectro-microscopic STXM result. Finally, the unoccupied electronic structures of hBN and graphene were compared.Chemical imaging, thickness mapping, layer speciation and polarization dependence have been performed on single and multilayered (up to three layers and trilayered nanosheets overlapping to form 6 and 9 layers) hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) nanosheets by scanning transmission X-ray microscopy. Spatially-resolved XANES directly from freestanding regions of different layers has been extracted and compared with sample normal and 30° tilted configurations. Notably a double feature σ* excitonic state and a stable high energy σ* state were observed at the boron site in addition to the intense π* excitonic state. The boron projected σ* DOS, especially the first σ* exciton, is sensitive to surface modification, particularly in the single layered hBN nanosheet which

  8. Controllable synthesis of hierarchical MgMoO4 nanosheet-arrays and nano-flowers assembled with mesoporous ultrathin nanosheets

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhang, Lifeng; He, Wenjie; Shen, Kechao; Liu, Yi; Guo, Shouwu

    2018-04-01

    Self-standing hierarchical mesoporous MgMoO4 nanosheet-arrays and nano-flowers have been built via the self-assembly of ultrathin mesoporous nanosheets. The arrays and flower nanostructures can be facilely controlled by tuning the surfactant dosage. The formation mechanism of such special nanostructures has also been proposed. The flower structure has larger surface area than the arrays, owing to the more mesoporous nature of the former. Additionally, the as-prepared MgMoO4 nanomaterials not doped by any other ion have important optical properties, that enable the generation of strong red light with excitation wavelengths of 369 and 534 nm and emission of bright green light under irradiation by blue light (423 and 451 nm), demonstrating their potential applications in blue phototherapy and fluorescence labeling.

  9. Thin single-crystalline Bi2(Te1-xSex)3 ternary nanosheets synthesized by a solvothermal technique

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Guo, Jing; Jian, Jikang; Zhang, Zhihua; Wu, Rong; Li, Jin; Sun, Yanfei

    2016-01-01

    Bi2(Te1-xSex)3 ternary nanosheets have been successfully synthesized through a facile solvothermal technique using diethylenetriamine as solvent, where x can vary from 0 to 1. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) indicate that the as-synthesized Bi2(Te1-xSex)3 samples are nanosheets with rhombohedral structure, and the thickness of the nanosheets can be as thin as several nanometers. High resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) and selected area electron diffraction (SAED) reveal that the nanosheets are single crystalline with a rhombohedral structure. Energy disperse spectroscopy (EDS) and XRD analysis by Vegard's law confirm that the ternary Bi2(Te1-xSex)3 nanosheets have been obtained here. The growth of the nanosheets is discussed based on an amine-based molecular template mechanism that has been employed to synthesize some other metal chalcogenides.

  10. Glassy nature and glass-to-crystal transition in the binary metallic glass CuZr

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wei, Zi-Yang; Shang, Cheng; Zhang, Xiao-Jie; Liu, Zhi-Pan

    2017-06-01

    The prediction for the stability of glassy material is a key challenge in physical science. Here, we report a theoretical framework to predict the glass stability based on stochastic surface walking global optimization and reaction pathway sampling. This is demonstrated by revealing for the first time the global potential energy surface (PES) of two systems, CuZr binary metallic glass and nonglassy pure Cu systems, and establishing the lowest energy pathways linking glassy/amorphous structures with crystalline structures. The CuZr system has a significant number of glassy structures on PES that are ˜0.045 eV /atom above the crystal structure. Two clear trends are identified from global PES in the glass-to-crystal transition of the CuZr system: (i) the local Zr-Cu coordination (nearest neighbor) increases, and (ii) the local Zr bonding environment becomes homogeneous. This allows us to introduce quantitative structural and energetics conditions to distinguish the glassy structures from the crystalline structures. Because of the local Zr-Cu exchange in the glass-to-crystal transition, a high reaction barrier (>0.048 eV /atom ) is present to separate the glassy structures and the crystals in CuZr. By contrast, the Cu system, although it does possess amorphous structures that appear at much higher energy (˜0.075 eV /atom ) with respect to the crystal structure, has very low reaction barriers for the crystallization of amorphous structures, i.e. <0.011 eV /atom . The quantitative data on PES now available from global optimization techniques deepens our understanding on the microscopic nature of glassy material and might eventually facilitate the design of stable glassy materials.

  11. Role of boundary layer diffusion in vapor deposition growth of chalcogenide nanosheets: the case of GeS.

    PubMed

    Li, Chun; Huang, Liang; Snigdha, Gayatri Pongur; Yu, Yifei; Cao, Linyou

    2012-10-23

    We report a synthesis of single-crystalline two-dimensional GeS nanosheets using vapor deposition processes and show that the growth behavior of the nanosheet is substantially different from those of other nanomaterials and thin films grown by vapor depositions. The nanosheet growth is subject to strong influences of the diffusion of source materials through the boundary layer of gas flows. This boundary layer diffusion is found to be the rate-determining step of the growth under typical experimental conditions, evidenced by a substantial dependence of the nanosheet's size on diffusion fluxes. We also find that high-quality GeS nanosheets can grow only in the diffusion-limited regime, as the crystalline quality substantially deteriorates when the rate-determining step is changed away from the boundary layer diffusion. We establish a simple model to analyze the diffusion dynamics in experiments. Our analysis uncovers an intuitive correlation of diffusion flux with the partial pressure of source materials, the flow rate of carrier gas, and the total pressure in the synthetic setup. The observed significant role of boundary layer diffusions in the growth is unique for nanosheets. It may be correlated with the high growth rate of GeS nanosheets, ~3-5 μm/min, which is 1 order of magnitude higher than other nanomaterials (such as nanowires) and thin films. This fundamental understanding of the effect of boundary layer diffusions may generally apply to other chalcogenide nanosheets that can grow rapidly. It can provide useful guidance for the development of general paradigms to control the synthesis of nanosheets.

  12. Free-Standing Bilayered Nanoparticle Superlattice Nanosheets with Asymmetric Ionic Transport Behaviors.

    PubMed

    Rao, Siyuan; Si, Kae Jye; Yap, Lim Wei; Xiang, Yan; Cheng, Wenlong

    2015-11-24

    Natural cell membranes can directionally and selectively regulate the ion transport, which is critical for the functioning of living cells. Here, we report on the fabrication of an artificial membrane based on an asymmetric nanoparticle superlattice bilayered nanosheet, which exhibits similar ion transport characteristics. The superlattice nanosheets were fabricated via a drying-mediated self-assembly of polystyrene-capped gold nanoparticles at the liquid-air interface. By adopting a layer-by-layer assembly process, an asymmetric nanomembrane could be obtained consisting of two nanosheets with different nanoparticle size. The resulting nanomembranes exhibit an asymmetric ion transport behavior, and diode-like current-voltage curves were observed. The asymmetric ion transport is attributed to the cone-like nanochannels formed within the membranes, upon which a simulation map was established to illustrate the relationship between the channel structure and the ionic selectivity, in consistency with our experimental results. Our superlattice nanosheet-based design presents a promising strategy for the fabrication of next-generation smart nanomembranes for rationally and selectively regulating the ion transport even at a large ion flux, with potential applications in a wide range of fields, including biosensor devices, energy conversion, biophotonics, and bioelectronics.

  13. Development of a Novel Electrochemical Sensor for Determination of Matrine in Sophora flavescens.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Junping; Wang, Yanchun; Zheng, Wei

    2017-04-01

    A simple and sensitive electrochemical sensor fabricated with graphene nanosheets (GNs) and a hydroxyapatite (HA) nanocomposite-modified glassy carbon electrode (GCE) was developed for the determination of matrine (MT). The as-prepared electrode (GNs/HA/GCE) was verified to outperform bare a GCE and GNs-modified electrode with increased oxidation peak currents and the decreased over-potential in the redox process of MT, indicating the great enhancement of electrocatalytic activity toward the oxidation of MT by the composite of GNs and HA. Under the optimized conditions, the oxidation peak currents were related linearly with the concentration of MT, ranging from 2 μM to 3 mM, and the detection limit (S/N = 3) was 1.2 μM. In addition, the proposed electrochemical sensor can be successfully applied in the quantitative determination of MT in Sophora flavescens extract.

  14. Piezoelectric two-dimensional nanosheets/anionic layer heterojunction for efficient direct current power generation.

    PubMed

    Kim, Kwon-Ho; Kumar, Brijesh; Lee, Keun Young; Park, Hyun-Kyu; Lee, Ju-Hyuck; Lee, Hyun Hwi; Jun, Hoin; Lee, Dongyun; Kim, Sang-Woo

    2013-01-01

    Direct current (DC) piezoelectric power generator is promising for the miniaturization of a power package and self-powering of nanorobots and body-implanted devices. Hence, we report the first use of two-dimensional (2D) zinc oxide (ZnO) nanostructure and an anionic nanoclay layer to generate piezoelectric DC output power. The device, made from 2D nanosheets and an anionic nanoclay layer heterojunction, has potential to be the smallest size power package, and could be used to charge wireless nano/micro scale systems without the use of rectifier circuits to convert alternating current into DC to store the generated power. The combined effect of buckling behaviour of the ZnO nanosheets, a self-formed anionic nanoclay layer, and coupled semiconducting and piezoelectric properties of ZnO nanosheets contributes to efficient DC power generation. The networked ZnO nanosheets proved to be structurally stable under huge external mechanical loads.

  15. Free-Volume Nanostructurization in Ga-Modified As2Se3 Glass.

    PubMed

    Shpotyuk, Ya; Ingram, A; Shpotyuk, O; Dziedzic, A; Boussard-Pledel, C; Bureau, B

    2016-12-01

    Different stages of intrinsic nanostructurization related to evolution of free-volume voids, including phase separation, crystalline nuclei precipitation, and growth, were studied in glassy As2Se3 doped with Ga up to 5 at. %, using complementary techniques of positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy, X-ray powder diffraction, and scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive X-ray analysis. Positron lifetime spectra reconstructed in terms of a two-state trapping model testified in favor of a native void structure of g-As2Se3 modified by Ga additions. Under small Ga content (below 3 at. %), the positron trapping in glassy alloys was dominated by voids associated with bond-free solid angles of bridging As2Se4/2 units. This void agglomeration trend was changed on fragmentation with further Ga doping due to crystalline Ga2Se3 nuclei precipitation and growth, these changes being activated by employing free volume from just attached As-rich glassy matrix with higher content of As2Se4/2 clusters. Respectively, the positron trapping on free-volume voids related to pyramidal AsSe3/2 units (like in parent As2Se3 glass) was in obvious preference in such glassy crystalline alloys.

  16. Metallic molybdenum disulfide nanosheet-based electrochemical actuators.

    PubMed

    Acerce, Muharrem; Akdoğan, E Koray; Chhowalla, Manish

    2017-09-21

    Actuators that convert electrical energy to mechanical energy are useful in a wide variety of electromechanical systems and in robotics, with applications such as steerable catheters, adaptive wings for aircraft and drag-reducing wind turbines. Actuation systems can be based on various stimuli, such as heat, solvent adsorption/desorption, or electrochemical action (in systems such as carbon nanotube electrodes, graphite electrodes, polymer electrodes and metals). Here we demonstrate that the dynamic expansion and contraction of electrode films formed by restacking chemically exfoliated nanosheets of two-dimensional metallic molybdenum disulfide (MoS 2 ) on thin plastic substrates can generate substantial mechanical forces. These films are capable of lifting masses that are more than 150 times that of the electrode over several millimetres and for hundreds of cycles. Specifically, the MoS 2 films are able to generate mechanical stresses of about 17 megapascals-higher than mammalian muscle (about 0.3 megapascals) and comparable to ceramic piezoelectric actuators (about 40 megapascals)-and strains of about 0.6 per cent, operating at frequencies up to 1 hertz. The actuation performance is attributed to the high electrical conductivity of the metallic 1T phase of MoS 2 nanosheets, the elastic modulus of restacked MoS 2 layers (2 to 4 gigapascals) and fast proton diffusion between the nanosheets. These results could lead to new electrochemical actuators for high-strain and high-frequency applications.

  17. Metallic molybdenum disulfide nanosheet-based electrochemical actuators

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Acerce, Muharrem; Akdoğan, E. Koray; Chhowalla, Manish

    2017-09-01

    Actuators that convert electrical energy to mechanical energy are useful in a wide variety of electromechanical systems and in robotics, with applications such as steerable catheters, adaptive wings for aircraft and drag-reducing wind turbines. Actuation systems can be based on various stimuli, such as heat, solvent adsorption/desorption, or electrochemical action (in systems such as carbon nanotube electrodes, graphite electrodes, polymer electrodes and metals). Here we demonstrate that the dynamic expansion and contraction of electrode films formed by restacking chemically exfoliated nanosheets of two-dimensional metallic molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) on thin plastic substrates can generate substantial mechanical forces. These films are capable of lifting masses that are more than 150 times that of the electrode over several millimetres and for hundreds of cycles. Specifically, the MoS2 films are able to generate mechanical stresses of about 17 megapascals—higher than mammalian muscle (about 0.3 megapascals) and comparable to ceramic piezoelectric actuators (about 40 megapascals)—and strains of about 0.6 per cent, operating at frequencies up to 1 hertz. The actuation performance is attributed to the high electrical conductivity of the metallic 1T phase of MoS2 nanosheets, the elastic modulus of restacked MoS2 layers (2 to 4 gigapascals) and fast proton diffusion between the nanosheets. These results could lead to new electrochemical actuators for high-strain and high-frequency applications.

  18. Biomass-directed synthesis of 20 g high-quality boron nitride nanosheets for thermoconductive polymeric composites.

    PubMed

    Wang, Xue-Bin; Weng, Qunhong; Wang, Xi; Li, Xia; Zhang, Jun; Liu, Fei; Jiang, Xiang-Fen; Guo, Hongxuan; Xu, Ningsheng; Golberg, Dmitri; Bando, Yoshio

    2014-09-23

    Electrically insulating boron nitride (BN) nanosheets possess thermal conductivity similar to and thermal and chemical stabilities superior to those of electrically conductive graphenes. Currently the production and application of BN nanosheets are rather limited due to the complexity of the BN binary compound growth, as opposed to massive graphene production. Here we have developed the original strategy "biomass-directed on-site synthesis" toward mass production of high-crystal-quality BN nanosheets. The strikingly effective, reliable, and high-throughput (dozens of grams) synthesis is directed by diverse biomass sources through the carbothermal reduction of gaseous boron oxide species. The produced BN nanosheets are single crystalline, laterally large, and atomically thin. Additionally, they assemble themselves into the same macroscopic shapes peculiar to original biomasses. The nanosheets are further utilized for making thermoconductive and electrically insulating epoxy/BN composites with a 14-fold increase in thermal conductivity, which are envisaged to be particularly valuable for future high-performance electronic packaging materials.

  19. Silicon-tin oxynitride glassy composition and use as anode for lithium-ion battery

    DOEpatents

    Neudecker, Bernd J.; Bates, John B.

    2001-01-01

    Disclosed are silicon-tin oxynitride glassy compositions which are especially useful in the construction of anode material for thin-film electrochemical devices including rechargeable lithium-ion batteries, electrochromic mirrors, electrochromic windows, and actuators. Additional applications of silicon-tin oxynitride glassy compositions include optical fibers and optical waveguides.

  20. Layered-metal-hydroxide nanosheet arrays with controlled nanostructures to assist direct electronic communication at biointerfaces.

    PubMed

    An, Zhe; Lu, Shan; Zhao, Liwei; He, Jing

    2011-10-18

    In this work, ordered vertical arrays of layered double hydroxide (LDH) nanosheets have been developed to achieve electron transfer (eT) at biointerfaces in electrochemical devices. It is found that tailoring the gap size of LDH nanosheet arrays could significantly promote the eT rate. This research has successfully extended nanomaterials for efficient modifications of electrode surfaces from nanoparticles, nanowires, nanorods, and nanotubes to nanosheets. © 2011 American Chemical Society

  1. Phytic acid/graphene oxide nanocomposites modified electrode for electrochemical sensing of dopamine.

    PubMed

    Wang, Donglei; Xu, Fei; Hu, Jiajie; Lin, Meng

    2017-02-01

    An electrochemical sensor for determining dopamine was developed by modifying phytic acid/graphene oxide (PA/GO) nanocomposites onto a glassy carbon electrode (GCE). PA functionalized GO was prepared by an ultra-sonication method. Subsequently, the PA/GO nanocomposites were drop-casted on a glassy carbon substrate. The structural feature of the PA/GO modified GCE was confirmed by attenuated total reflection infrared (ATR-IR) spectroscopy. The proposed electrochemical sensor was applied to detect various concentrations of DA by differential pulse voltammetry (DPV). The PA/GO/GCE was considered to be highly sensitive to DA in the range of 0.05-10μM. In addition, the PA/GO/GCE demonstrated high electrochemical selectivity toward DA in the presence of ascorbic acid (AA) and uric acid (UA). The prepared electrochemical DA sensor was applied for detection of DA in dopamine hydrochloride injection and spiked samples of human urine with satisfactory results. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  2. Hydrothermal synthesis of nickel oxide nanosheets for lithium-ion batteries and supercapacitors with excellent performance.

    PubMed

    Mondal, Anjon Kumar; Su, Dawei; Wang, Ying; Chen, Shuangqiang; Wang, Guoxiu

    2013-11-01

    Nickel oxide nanosheets have been successfully synthesized by a facile ethylene glycol mediated hydrothermal method. The morphology and crystal structure of the nickel oxide nanosheets were characterized by X-ray diffraction, field-emission SEM, and TEM. When applied as electrode materials for lithium-ion batteries and supercapacitors, nickel oxide nanosheets exhibited a high, reversible lithium storage capacity of 1193 mA h g(-1) at a current density of 500 mA g(-1), an enhanced rate capability, and good cycling stability. Nickel oxide nanosheets also demonstrated a superior specific capacitance of 999 F g(-1) at a current density of 20 A g(-1) in supercapacitors. Copyright © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  3. Hydroxyapatite grafted carbon nanotubes and graphene nanosheets: Promising bone implant materials

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Oyefusi, Adebola; Olanipekun, Opeyemi; Neelgund, Gururaj M.; Peterson, Deforest; Stone, Julia M.; Williams, Ebonee; Carson, Laura; Regisford, Gloria; Oki, Aderemi

    2014-11-01

    In the present study, hydroxyapatite (HA) was successfully grafted to carboxylated carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and graphene nanosheets. The HA grafted CNTs and HA-graphene nanosheets were characterized using FT-IR, TGA, SEM and X-ray diffraction. The HA grafted CNTs and graphene nanosheets (CNTs-HA and Gr-HA) were further used to examine the proliferation and differentiation rate of temperature-sensitive human fetal osteoblastic cell line (hFOB 1.19). Total protein assays and western blot analysis of osteocalcin expression were used as indicators of cell proliferation and differentiation. Results indicated that hFOB 1.19 cells proliferate and differentiate well in treatment media containing CNTs-HA and graphene-HA. Both CNTs-HA and graphene-HA could be promising nanomaterials for use as scaffolds in bone tissue engineering.

  4. Synthesizing new types of ultrathin 2D metal oxide nanosheets via half-successive ion layer adsorption and reaction

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gao, Linjie; Li, Yaguang; Xiao, Mu; Wang, Shufang; Fu, Guangsheng; Wang, Lianzhou

    2017-06-01

    Two-dimensional (2D) metal oxide nanosheets have demonstrated their great potential in a broad range of applications. The existing synthesis strategies are mainly preparing 2D nanosheets from layered and specific transition metal oxides. How to prepare the other types of metal oxides as ultrathin 2D nanosheets remains unsolved, especially for metal oxides containing alkali, alkaline earth metal, and multiple metal elements. Herein, we developed a half-successive ion layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) method, which could synthesize those types of metal oxides as ultrathin 2D nanosheets. The synthesized 2D metal oxides nanosheets are within 1 nm level thickness and 500 m2 · g-1 level surface area. This method allows us to develop many new types of ultrathin 2D metal oxides nanosheets that have never been prepared before.

  5. Spin polarized first principles study of Mn doped gallium nitride monolayer nanosheet

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sharma, Venus; Kaur, Sumandeep; Srivastava, Sunita; Kumar, Tankeshwar

    2017-05-01

    The structural, electronic and magnetic properties of gallium nitride nanosheet (GaNs) doped with Mn atoms have been studied using spin polarized density functional theory. The binding energy per atom, Energy Band gap, Fermi energy, magnetic moment, electric dipole moment have been found. The doped nanosheet is found to be more stable than pure GaN monolayer nanosheet. Adsorption of Mn atom has been done at four different sites on GaNs which affects the fermi level position. It is found that depending on the doping site, Mn can behave both like p-type semiconductor and also as n-type semiconductor. Also, it is ascertained that Mn doped GaNs (GaNs-Mn) exhibits ferromagnetic behavior.

  6. Silver Nanoparticle-Deposited Boron Nitride Nanosheets as Fillers for Polymeric Composites with High Thermal Conductivity

    PubMed Central

    Wang, Fangfang; Zeng, Xiaoliang; Yao, Yimin; Sun, Rong; Xu, Jianbin; Wong, Ching-Ping

    2016-01-01

    Polymer composites with high thermal conductivity have recently attracted much attention, along with the rapid development of the electronic devices toward higher speed and performance. However, a common method to enhance polymer thermal conductivity through an addition of high thermally conductive fillers usually cannot provide an expected value, especially for composites requiring electrical insulation. Here, we show that polymeric composites with silver nanoparticle-deposited boron nitride nanosheets as fillers could effectively enhance the thermal conductivity of polymer, thanks to the bridging connections of silver nanoparticles among boron nitride nanosheets. The thermal conductivity of the composite is significantly increased from 1.63 W/m-K for the composite filled with the silver nanoparticle-deposited boron nitride nanosheets to 3.06 W/m-K at the boron nitride nanosheets loading of 25.1 vol %. In addition, the electrically insulating properties of the composite are well preserved. Fitting the measured thermal conductivity of epoxy composite with one physical model indicates that the composite with silver nanoparticle-deposited boron nitride nanosheets outperforms the one with boron nitride nanosheets, owning to the lower thermal contact resistance among boron nitride nanosheets’ interfaces. The finding sheds new light on enhancement of thermal conductivity of the polymeric composites which concurrently require the electrical insulation. PMID:26783258

  7. Graphitization of Glassy Carbon after Compression at Room Temperature

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shiell, T. B.; McCulloch, D. G.; McKenzie, D. R.; Field, M. R.; Haberl, B.; Boehler, R.; Cook, B. A.; de Tomas, C.; Suarez-Martinez, I.; Marks, N. A.; Bradby, J. E.

    2018-05-01

    Glassy carbon is a technologically important material with isotropic properties that is nongraphitizing up to ˜3000 °C and displays complete or "superelastic" recovery from large compression. The pressure limit of these properties is not yet known. Here we use experiments and modeling to show permanent densification, and preferred orientation occurs in glassy carbon loaded to 45 GPa and above, where 45 GPa represents the limit to the superelastic and nongraphitizing properties of the material. The changes are explained by a transformation from its s p2 rich starting structure to a s p3 rich phase that reverts to fully s p2 bonded oriented graphite during pressure release.

  8. The viscoelastic behavior of notched glassy polymers

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Crook, R. A.; Letton, Alan

    1993-01-01

    In the bulk, glassy polymers exhibit a nonlinear viscoelastic response during deformation. Stress or strain induced damage (i.e. crazing, microshear banding) results in the production of nonrecoverable work and observed nonlinearity. Stress or strain dependent shift factors have been used to mathematically model the mechanical behavior of these polymers. Glassy polymers that have been notched, may exhibit very different load displacement response compared to the same material under bulk deformation. If a sharp notch is introduced into the body then loaded, the load displacement trace may appear to be single-valued in the absence of viscoelasticity and crack growth. This suggests the volume of damaged material is small compared to the overall dimensions of the specimen. The ability to produce a single-valued load-load-line displacement trace through the use of the Correspondence Principle may prove to be useful for fracture of viscoelastic materials.

  9. Scalable Synthesis of Cholesteric Glassy Liquid Crystals

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Wallace, Jason U.; Shestopalov, Alexander; Kosc, Tanya

    2018-03-08

    Capable of non-absorbing circular polarization of unpolarized incident light, cholesteric glassy liquid crystals consisting of hybrid chiral-nematic pendants to volume-excluding cores are potentially useful for the fabrication of various robust optical devices. As illustrated in this study, the well-oriented glassy film of enantiomeric Bz3ChN, with a glass transition at 73 oC and a cholesteric-to-isotropic transition at 295 oC, exhibits a selective reflection band centered at approximately 410 nm, an exceptional set of properties well suited for optical device exploration. To enable sustainable, large-scale synthesis of this material class for widespread applications, a productive strategy has been established, requiring a meremore » three-step scheme with an overall yield, atom economy, and reaction mass efficiency at 34, 33 and 12 %, respectively. While amenable to improvements, the resultant green chemistry metrics are encouraging as the first attempt.« less

  10. Electrostatic self-assembly of exfoliated niobate nanosheets (Nb3O8-) and cobalt porphyrins (CoIIITMPyP) utilized for rapid construction of intercalated nanocomposite and exploration of electrocatalysis towards oxygen reduction

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Xu, Jiasheng; Wang, Mengjun; Pan, Binbin; Li, Jinpeng; Xia, Bin; Zhang, Xiaobo; Tong, Zhiwei

    To prepare the novel plate-like nanocomposite CoIIITMPyP/Nb3O8, the cationic cobalt (III) tetrakis-5, 10, 15, 20-(N-methyl-4-pyridyl) porphyrin (CoIIITMPyP) was intercalated into the interlayer of the perovskite structural material KNb3O8 via the electrostatic self-assembly of the positively charged CoIIITMPyP molecules and the electronegative Nb3O8- nanosheets. The Nb3O8- nanosheets was obtained by exfoliating the protonated product of niobate KNb3O8 in the tetrabutyl ammonium hydroxide (TBA+OH-) aqueous solution. The zeta potential was measured to indicate the stability and uniformity of the Nb3O8- nanosheet colloidal dispersion, and the structure and component of the parent material KNb3O8, the acidified product HNb3O8, and the interlayered nanocomposite CoIIITMPyP/Nb3O8 were characterized using XRD, FT-IR, SEM and AFM. Furthermore, the electrocatalytic activity toward the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) of CoIIITMPyP/Nb3O8 hybrids modified GCE was investigated by the cyclic voltammetry (CV) measurements. The modified GCE exhibited good electrocatalytic activity toward ORR in consideration of the peak shift from -0.723V to -0.300V. The linear correlation of the reduction peak current and the square root of the scan rate suggested a diffusion controlled process.

  11. Nucleic acid-functionalized transition metal nanosheets for biosensing applications.

    PubMed

    Mo, Liuting; Li, Juan; Liu, Qiaoling; Qiu, Liping; Tan, Weihong

    2017-03-15

    In clinical diagnostics, as well as food and environmental safety practices, biosensors are powerful tools for monitoring biological or biochemical processes. Two-dimensional (2D) transition metal nanomaterials, including transition metal chalcogenides (TMCs) and transition metal oxides (TMOs), are receiving growing interest for their use in biosensing applications based on such unique properties as high surface area and fluorescence quenching abilities. Meanwhile, nucleic acid probes based on Watson-Crick base-pairing rules are also being widely applied in biosensing based on their excellent recognition capability. In particular, the emergence of functional nucleic acids in the 1980s, especially aptamers, has substantially extended the recognition capability of nucleic acids to various targets, ranging from small organic molecules and metal ions to proteins and cells. Based on π-π stacking interaction between transition metal nanosheets and nucleic acids, biosensing systems can be easily assembled. Therefore, the combination of 2D transition metal nanomaterials and nucleic acids brings intriguing opportunities in bioanalysis and biomedicine. In this review, we summarize recent advances of nucleic acid-functionalized transition metal nanosheets in biosensing applications. The structure and properties of 2D transition metal nanomaterials are first discussed, emphasizing the interaction between transition metal nanosheets and nucleic acids. Then, the applications of nucleic acid-functionalized transition metal nanosheet-based biosensors are discussed in the context of different signal transducing mechanisms, including optical and electrochemical approaches. Finally, we provide our perspectives on the current challenges and opportunities in this promising field. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  12. The Erevan howardite: Petrology of glassy clasts and mineral chemistry

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Nazarov, M. A.; Ariskin, A. A.

    1993-01-01

    The Erevan howardite is a polymict regolith breccia containing xenoliths of carbonaceous chondrites. In this work, we studied glassy clasts, which could be considered as primary quenched melts, and mineral chemistry of the breccia. The study reveals that the Erevan howardite consists of common rocks of the HED suite. However, unique glassy clasts, which are present in some eucritic melts, were identified. The mineral chemistry and the simulation of crystallization of the melts suggest that the compositions of the melts reflect those of some primary lithologies of EPB.

  13. Incorporation of titanate nanosheets to enhance mechanical properties of water-soluble polyamic acid

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Harito, C.; Bavykin, Dmitry V.; Walsh, Frank C.

    2017-07-01

    Pyromeliticdianhydride (PMDA) and 4’,4’-oxydianiline (ODA) were used as monomers of polyimide. To synthesise a water soluble polyimide precursor (polyamic acid salt), triethylamine (TEA) was added to polyamic acid with a TEA/COOH mole ratio of 1:1. Titanate nanosheets were synthesised by solid-state reaction, ion-exchanged with acid, and exfoliated by TEA. Exfoliated titanate nanosheets were mixed with water soluble polyamic acid salt as reinforcing filler. Drop casting was deployed to synthesise polyamic acid/titanate nanosheet nanocomposite films. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were employed to study the morphology and dispersion of nanosheets in the colloidal dispersion and the solid film composite. Modulus and hardness of nanocomposites was provided by nanoindentation. Hardness increased by 90% with addition of 2% TiNS while modulus increased by 103% compared to pure polymer. This behaviour agrees well with Halpin-Tsai theoretical predictions up to 2 wt% filler loading; agglomeration occurs at higher concentrations.

  14. Solution growth of NiO nanosheets supported on Ni foam as high-performance electrodes for supercapacitors

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yan, Hailong; Zhang, Deyang; Xu, Jinyou; Lu, Yang; Liu, Yunxin; Qiu, Kangwen; Zhang, Yihe; Luo, Yongsong

    2014-08-01

    Well-aligned nickel oxide (NiO) nanosheets with the thickness of a few nanometers supported on a flexible substrate (Ni foam) have been fabricated by a hydrothermal approach together with a post-annealing treatment. The three-dimensional NiO nanosheets were further used as electrode materials to fabricate supercapacitors, with high specific capacitance of 943.5, 791.2, 613.5, 480, and 457.5 F g-1 at current densities of 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25 A g-1, respectively. The NiO nanosheets combined well with the substrate. When the electrode material was bended, it can still retain 91.1% of the initial capacitance after 1,200 charging/discharging cycles. Compared with Co3O4 and NiO nanostructures, the specific capacitance of NiO nanosheets is much better. These characteristics suggest that NiO nanosheet electrodes are promising for energy storage application with high power demands.

  15. Solution growth of NiO nanosheets supported on Ni foam as high-performance electrodes for supercapacitors.

    PubMed

    Yan, Hailong; Zhang, Deyang; Xu, Jinyou; Lu, Yang; Liu, Yunxin; Qiu, Kangwen; Zhang, Yihe; Luo, Yongsong

    2014-01-01

    Well-aligned nickel oxide (NiO) nanosheets with the thickness of a few nanometers supported on a flexible substrate (Ni foam) have been fabricated by a hydrothermal approach together with a post-annealing treatment. The three-dimensional NiO nanosheets were further used as electrode materials to fabricate supercapacitors, with high specific capacitance of 943.5, 791.2, 613.5, 480, and 457.5 F g(-1) at current densities of 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25 A g(-1), respectively. The NiO nanosheets combined well with the substrate. When the electrode material was bended, it can still retain 91.1% of the initial capacitance after 1,200 charging/discharging cycles. Compared with Co3O4 and NiO nanostructures, the specific capacitance of NiO nanosheets is much better. These characteristics suggest that NiO nanosheet electrodes are promising for energy storage application with high power demands.

  16. Templated synthesis of plate-like MoS2 nanosheets assisted with HNTs and their tribological performance in oil

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wu, Pei-Rong; Cheng, Zhi-Lin; Kong, Ying-Chao; Ma, Zhan-Sheng; Liu, Zan

    2018-05-01

    Two-dimensional MoS2 nanosheets were synthesized by using halloysite nanotubes (HNTs) as template under the hydrothermal synthesis. The structure and morphology of the as-synthesized MoS2 nanosheets were determined by a series of characterizations. The results showed that the as-synthesized MoS2 nanosheets were of the plate-like structure with about five layers, and the basal spacing was about 0.63 nm. It was demonstrated that HNTs played a crucial template role in the formation of the plate-like MoS2 nanosheets. The formation mechanism was proposed. Furthermore, the tribological performance of the as-prepared MoS2 nanosheets in oil was intensively examined on the ball-on-ball wear tester. The testing results verified that the as-prepared MoS2 nanosheets as additive could significantly improve the friction performance of oil, which exhibited the good antifriction, antiwear, and load-carrying properties.

  17. Modified Graphene Oxide for Long Cycle Sodium-Ion Batteries

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shareef, Muhamed; Gunn, Harrison; Voigt, Victoria; Singh, Gurpreet

    Hummer's process was modified to produce gram levels of 2-dimensional nanosheets of graphene oxide (GO) with varying degree of exfoliation and chemical functionalization. This was achieved by varying the weight ratios and reaction times of oxidizing agents used in the process. Based on Raman and Fourier transform infra red spectroscopy we show that potassium permanganate (KMnO4) is the key oxidizing agent while sodium nitrate (NaNO3) and sulfuric acid (H2SO4) play minor role during the exfoliation of graphite. Tested as working electrode in sodium-ion half-cell, the GO nanosheets produced using this optimized approach showed high rate capability and exceptionally high energy density of ~500 mAh/g for up to at least 100 cycles, which is among the highest reported for sodium/graphite electrodes. The average Coulombic efficiency was approximately 99 %. NSF Grant No. 1454151.

  18. Effect of Fe doping concentration on photocatalytic activity of ZnO nanosheets under natural sunlight

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Khokhra, Richa; Kumar, Rajesh, E-mail: rajesh.kumar@juit.ac.in

    2015-05-15

    A facile room temperature, aqueous solution-based chemical method has been adopted for large-scale synthesis of Fe doped ZnO nanosheets. The XRD and SEM results reveal the as-synthesized products well crystalline and accumulated by large amount of interweave nanosheets, respectively. Energy dispersive spectroscopy data confirmed Fe doping of the ZnO nanosheets with a varying Fe concentration. The photoluminescence spectrum reveals a continuous suppression of defect related emissions intensity by increasing the concentration of the Fe ion. A photocatalytic activity using these samples under sunlight irradiation in the mineralization of methylene blue dye was investigated. The photocatalytic activity of Fe doped ZnOmore » nanosheets depends upon the presence of surface oxygen vacancies.« less

  19. Oxygen vacancy effect on photoluminescence of KNb3O8 nanosheets

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Rui; Liu, Liying; Ming, Bangming; Ji, Yuhang; Wang, Ruzhi

    2018-05-01

    Fungus-like potassium niobate (KNb3O8) nanosheets have been synthesized on indium-doped tin oxide (ITO) glass substrates by a simple and environmental friendly two-step hydrothermal process. The prepared samples have been characterized by using X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FESEM), High Resolution Transmission Electron Microscope (HRTEM), Fourier Transform Infra-Red Spectroscopy (FTIR), Raman Spectroscopy and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS). Furthermore, the photoluminescence (PL) of KNb3O8 nanosheets have been systematically studied. The results showed that the PL spectrum is between 300 and 645 nm with a 325 nm light excitation, which is divided into some sub-peaks. It is different from the perfect KNb3O8 nanosheets whose PL emission peaks located at near 433 nm. It should be originated from the effect of the oxygen (O) vacancies in the KNb3O8 nanosheets, which the PLs peaks can be found at about 490 nm and 530 nm by different position of O vacancy. The experimental results are in accordance with the first-principles calculations. Our results may present a feasible clue to estimate the defect position in KNb3O8 by the shape analysis of its spectrum of PLs.

  20. All-printed thin-film transistors from networks of liquid-exfoliated nanosheets

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kelly, Adam G.; Hallam, Toby; Backes, Claudia; Harvey, Andrew; Esmaeily, Amir Sajad; Godwin, Ian; Coelho, João; Nicolosi, Valeria; Lauth, Jannika; Kulkarni, Aditya; Kinge, Sachin; Siebbeles, Laurens D. A.; Duesberg, Georg S.; Coleman, Jonathan N.

    2017-04-01

    All-printed transistors consisting of interconnected networks of various types of two-dimensional nanosheets are an important goal in nanoscience. Using electrolytic gating, we demonstrate all-printed, vertically stacked transistors with graphene source, drain, and gate electrodes, a transition metal dichalcogenide channel, and a boron nitride (BN) separator, all formed from nanosheet networks. The BN network contains an ionic liquid within its porous interior that allows electrolytic gating in a solid-like structure. Nanosheet network channels display on:off ratios of up to 600, transconductances exceeding 5 millisiemens, and mobilities of >0.1 square centimeters per volt per second. Unusually, the on-currents scaled with network thickness and volumetric capacitance. In contrast to other devices with comparable mobility, large capacitances, while hindering switching speeds, allow these devices to carry higher currents at relatively low drive voltages.

  1. Hydroxyapatite grafted carbon nanotubes and graphene nanosheets: promising bone implant materials.

    PubMed

    Oyefusi, Adebola; Olanipekun, Opeyemi; Neelgund, Gururaj M; Peterson, Deforest; Stone, Julia M; Williams, Ebonee; Carson, Laura; Regisford, Gloria; Oki, Aderemi

    2014-11-11

    In the present study, hydroxyapatite (HA) was successfully grafted to carboxylated carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and graphene nanosheets. The HA grafted CNTs and HA-graphene nanosheets were characterized using FT-IR, TGA, SEM and X-ray diffraction. The HA grafted CNTs and graphene nanosheets (CNTs-HA and Gr-HA) were further used to examine the proliferation and differentiation rate of temperature-sensitive human fetal osteoblastic cell line (hFOB 1.19). Total protein assays and western blot analysis of osteocalcin expression were used as indicators of cell proliferation and differentiation. Results indicated that hFOB 1.19 cells proliferate and differentiate well in treatment media containing CNTs-HA and graphene-HA. Both CNTs-HA and graphene-HA could be promising nanomaterials for use as scaffolds in bone tissue engineering. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  2. Biocompatible PEGylated MoS2 nanosheets: controllable bottom-up synthesis and highly efficient photothermal regression of tumor.

    PubMed

    Wang, Shige; Li, Kai; Chen, Yu; Chen, Hangrong; Ma, Ming; Feng, Jingwei; Zhao, Qinghua; Shi, Jianlin

    2015-01-01

    Two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides, particularly MoS2 nanosheets, have been deemed as a novel category of NIR photothermal transducing agent. Herein, an efficient and versatile one-pot solvothermal synthesis based on "bottom-up" strategy has been, for the first time, proposed for the controlled synthesis of PEGylated MoS2 nanosheets by using a novel "integrated" precursor containing both Mo and S elements. This facile but unique PEG-mediated solvothermal procedure endowed MoS2 nanosheets with controlled size, increased crystallinity and excellent colloidal stability. The photothermal performance of nanosheets was optimized via modulating the particulate size and surface PEGylation. PEGylated MoS2 nanosheets with desired photothermal conversion performance and excellent colloidal and photothermal stability were further utilized for highly efficient photothermal therapy of cancer in a tumor-bearing mouse xenograft. Without showing observable in vitro and in vivo hemolysis, coagulation and toxicity, the optimized MoS2-PEG nanosheets showed promising in vitro and in vivo anti-cancer efficacy. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. Incorporating nitrogen atoms into cobalt nanosheets as a strategy to boost catalytic activity toward CO2 hydrogenation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wang, Liangbing; Zhang, Wenbo; Zheng, Xusheng; Chen, Yizhen; Wu, Wenlong; Qiu, Jianxiang; Zhao, Xiangchen; Zhao, Xiao; Dai, Yizhou; Zeng, Jie

    2017-11-01

    Hydrogenation of CO2 into fuels and useful chemicals could help to reduce reliance on fossil fuels. Although great progress has been made over the past decades to improve the activity of catalysts for CO2 hydrogenation, more efficient catalysts, especially those based on non-noble metals, are desired. Here we incorporate N atoms into Co nanosheets to boost the catalytic activity toward CO2 hydrogenation. For the hydrogenation of CO2, Co4N nanosheets exhibited a turnover frequency of 25.6 h-1 in a slurry reactor under 32 bar pressure at 150 °C, which was 64 times that of Co nanosheets. The activation energy for Co4N nanosheets was 43.3 kJ mol-1, less than half of that for Co nanosheets. Mechanistic studies revealed that Co4N nanosheets were reconstructed into Co4NHx, wherein the amido-hydrogen atoms directly interacted with the CO2 to form HCOO* intermediates. In addition, the adsorbed H2O* activated amido-hydrogen atoms via the interaction of hydrogen bonds.

  4. Electric contributions to magnetic force microscopy response from graphene and MoS{sub 2} nanosheets

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Li, Lu Hua, E-mail: luhua.li@deakin.edu.au; Chen, Ying

    Magnetic force microscopy (MFM) signals have recently been detected from whole pieces of mechanically exfoliated graphene and molybdenum disulfide (MoS{sub 2}) nanosheets, and magnetism of the two nanomaterials was claimed based on these observations. However, non-magnetic interactions or artefacts are commonly associated with MFM signals, which make the interpretation of MFM signals not straightforward. A systematic investigation has been done to examine possible sources of the MFM signals from graphene and MoS{sub 2} nanosheets and whether the MFM signals can be correlated with magnetism. It is found that the MFM signals have significant non-magnetic contributions due to capacitive and electrostaticmore » interactions between the nanosheets and conductive cantilever tip, as demonstrated by electric force microscopy and scanning Kevin probe microscopy analyses. In addition, the MFM signals of graphene and MoS{sub 2} nanosheets are not responsive to reversed magnetic field of the magnetic cantilever tip. Therefore, the observed MFM response is mainly from electric artefacts and not compelling enough to correlate with magnetism of graphene and MoS{sub 2} nanosheets.« less

  5. Effective control of massive venous bleeding by "multioverlapping therapy" using polysaccharide nanosheets in a rabbit inferior vena cava injury model.

    PubMed

    Hagisawa, Kohsuke; Saito, Akihiro; Kinoshita, Manabu; Fujie, Toshinori; Otani, Naoki; Shono, Satoshi; Park, Young-Kwang; Takeoka, Shinji

    2013-07-01

    To investigate the efficacy of multioverlapping therapy using a polysaccharide nanosheet having 75-nm thickness for sealing and stopping massive venous hemorrhage. The hydrostatic durability of the polysaccharide nanosheet was evaluated in vitro when secured to an incised silicon tube. For in vivo studies, the inferior vena cava (IVC) of rabbits was cut longitudinally, and multiple polysaccharide nanosheets were overlapped onto the injured IVC. The mechanical hydrostatic durability of the nanosheets was gradually augmented by an increasing number of multilayered nanosheets in vitro. This durability was saturated at 80 ± 6 mm Hg by four layers of nanosheets, which was robust enough to seal injured vessel walls of the large IVC. Multioverlapping therapy using nanosheets effectively sealed and stopped bleeding from the injured IVC in vivo. One month later, no inflammatory tissue response was observed around the nanosheet attachment sites of the IVC, while conventional suturing repair in control rabbits showed a severe inflammatory response around the sutured area. The multioverlapping therapy using the polysaccharide nanosheets will effectively stop massive venous bleeding without adverse effects in the immediate or chronic postoperative setting. Copyright © 2013 Society for Vascular Surgery. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  6. Binary ionic porphyrin nanosheets: electronic and light-harvesting properties regulated by crystal structure

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tian, Yongming; M. Beavers, Christine; Busani, Tito; Martin, Kathleen E.; Jacobsen, John L.; Mercado, Brandon Q.; Swartzentruber, Brian S.; van Swol, Frank; Medforth, Craig J.; Shelnutt, John A.

    2012-02-01

    Crystalline solids self-assembled from anionic and cationic porphyrins provide a new class of multifunctional optoelectronic micro- and nanomaterials. A 1 : 1 combination of zinc(ii) tetra(4-sulfonatophenyl)porphyrin (ZnTPPS) and tin(iv) tetra(N-methyl-4-pyridiniumyl)porphyrin (SnTNMePyP) gives porphyrin nanosheets with high aspect ratios and varying thickness. The room temperature preparation of the nanosheets has provided the first X-ray crystal structure of a cooperative binary ionic (CBI) solid. The unit cell contains one and one-half molecules of aquo-ZnTPPS4- (an electron donor) and three half molecules of dihydroxy-SnTNMePyP4+ (an electron acceptor). Charge balance in the solid is reached without any non-porphyrinic ions, as previously determined for other CBI nanomaterials by non-crystallographic means. The crystal structure reveals a complicated molecular arrangement with slipped π-π stacking only occurring in isolated dimers of one of the symmetrically unique zinc porphyrins. Consistent with the crystal structure, UV-visible J-aggregate bands indicative of exciton delocalization and extended π-π stacking are not observed. XRD measurements show that the structure of the Zn/Sn nanosheets is distinct from that of Zn/Sn four-leaf clover-like CBI solids reported previously. In contrast with the Zn/Sn clovers that do exhibit J-aggregate bands and are photoconductive, the nanosheets are not photoconductive. Even so, the nanosheets act as light-harvesting structures in an artificial photosynthesis system capable of reducing water to hydrogen but not as efficiently as the Zn/Sn clovers.Crystalline solids self-assembled from anionic and cationic porphyrins provide a new class of multifunctional optoelectronic micro- and nanomaterials. A 1 : 1 combination of zinc(ii) tetra(4-sulfonatophenyl)porphyrin (ZnTPPS) and tin(iv) tetra(N-methyl-4-pyridiniumyl)porphyrin (SnTNMePyP) gives porphyrin nanosheets with high aspect ratios and varying thickness. The room

  7. Development of the Ni-based Metallic glassy bipolar plates for Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yamaura, S.; Yokoyama, M.; Kimura, H. M.; Inoue, A.

    2009-01-01

    Alloy optimization in the Ni80-xCrxP16B4 (x = 9-30 at%) alloy system was conducted in order to achieve low Tg, Tx and a large ΔTx. From this study, the Ni65Cr15P16B4 glassy alloy was found to be the optimal alloy. The static and potentiodynamic corrosion behaviours of this alloy were measured. As a result of polarization measurements, it was found that the current density of the non-polished glassy alloy sample was smaller than that of a SUS316L sample. By contrast, the current density of the surface-polished glassy sample was slightly larger than that of the SUS316L sample in the voltage range of 0.3-0.8 V. A bipolar plate was successfully produced by hot-pressing the glassy alloy sheet in a supercooled liquid state. The I-V characteristics of a single cell with the glassy bipolar plates were measured.

  8. Optical and mechanical behaviors of glassy silicone networks derived from linear siloxane precursors

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jang, Heejun; Seo, Wooram; Kim, Hyungsun; Lee, Yoonjoo; Kim, Younghee

    2016-01-01

    Silicon-based inorganic polymers are promising materials as matrix materials for glass fiber composites because of their good process ability, transparency, and thermal property. In this study, for utilization as a matrix precursor for a glass-fiber-reinforced composite, glassy silicone networks were prepared via hydrosilylation of linear/pendant Si-H polysiloxanes and the C=C bonds of viny-lterminated linear/cyclic polysiloxanes. 13C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy was used to determine the structure of the cross-linked states, and a thermal analysis was performed. To assess the mechanical properties of the glassy silicone networks, we performed nanoindentation and 4-point bending tests. Cross-linked networks derived from siloxane polymers are thermally and optically more stable at high temperatures. Different cross-linking agents led to final networks with different properties due to differences in the molecular weights and structures. After stepped postcuring, the Young's modulus and the hardness of the glassy silicone networks increased; however, the brittleness also increased. The characteristics of the cross-linking agent played an important role in the functional glassy silicone networks.

  9. Voltammetric pH sensing using carbon electrodes: glassy carbon behaves similarly to EPPG.

    PubMed

    Lu, Min; Compton, Richard G

    2014-09-21

    Developing and building on recent work based on a simple sensor for pH determination using unmodified edge plane pyrolytic graphite (EPPG) electrodes, we present a voltammetric method for pH determination using a bare unmodified glassy carbon (GC) electrode. By exploiting the pH sensitive nature of quinones present on carbon edge-plane like sites within the GC, we show how GC electrodes can be used to measure pH. The electro-reduction of surface quinone groups on the glassy carbon electrode was characterised using cyclic voltammetry (CV) and optimised with square-wave voltammetry (SWV) at 298 K and 310 K. At both temperatures, a linear correlation was observed, corresponding to a 2 electron, 2 proton Nernstian response over the aqueous pH range 1.0 to 13.1. As such, unmodified glassy carbon electrodes are seen to be pH dependent, and the Nernstian response suggests its facile use for pH sensing. Given the widespread use of glassy carbon electrodes in electroanalysis, the approach offers a method for the near-simultaneous measurement and monitoring of pH during such analyses.

  10. Taming interfacial electronic properties of platinum nanoparticles on vacancy-abundant boron nitride nanosheets for enhanced catalysis

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Zhu, Wenshuai; Wu, Zili; Foo, Guo Shiou

    Taming interfacial electronic effects on Pt nanoparticles modulated by their concomitants has emerged as an intriguing approach to optimize Pt catalytic performance. Here, we report Pt nanoparticles assembled on vacancy-abundant hexagonal boron nitride nanosheets and their use as a model catalyst to embrace an interfacial electronic effect on Pt induced by the nanosheets with N-vacancies and B-vacancies for superior CO oxidation catalysis. Experimental results indicate that strong interaction exists between Pt and the vacancies. Bader charge analysis shows that with Pt on B-vacancies, the nanosheets serve as a Lewis acid to accept electrons from Pt, and on the contrary, whenmore » Pt sits on N-vacancies, the nanosheets act as a Lewis base for donating electrons to Pt. The overall-electronic effect demonstrates an electron-rich feature of Pt after assembling on hexagonal boron nitride nanosheets. Such an interfacial electronic effect makes Pt favour the adsorption of O 2, alleviating CO poisoning and promoting the catalysis.« less

  11. Taming interfacial electronic properties of platinum nanoparticles on vacancy-abundant boron nitride nanosheets for enhanced catalysis

    DOE PAGES

    Zhu, Wenshuai; Wu, Zili; Foo, Guo Shiou; ...

    2017-06-09

    Taming interfacial electronic effects on Pt nanoparticles modulated by their concomitants has emerged as an intriguing approach to optimize Pt catalytic performance. Here, we report Pt nanoparticles assembled on vacancy-abundant hexagonal boron nitride nanosheets and their use as a model catalyst to embrace an interfacial electronic effect on Pt induced by the nanosheets with N-vacancies and B-vacancies for superior CO oxidation catalysis. Experimental results indicate that strong interaction exists between Pt and the vacancies. Bader charge analysis shows that with Pt on B-vacancies, the nanosheets serve as a Lewis acid to accept electrons from Pt, and on the contrary, whenmore » Pt sits on N-vacancies, the nanosheets act as a Lewis base for donating electrons to Pt. The overall-electronic effect demonstrates an electron-rich feature of Pt after assembling on hexagonal boron nitride nanosheets. Such an interfacial electronic effect makes Pt favour the adsorption of O 2, alleviating CO poisoning and promoting the catalysis.« less

  12. Highly Stable Nanocontainer of APTES-Anchored Layered Titanate Nanosheet for Reliable Protection/Recovery of Nucleic Acid

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kim, Tae Woo; Kim, In Young; Park, Dae-Hwan; Choy, Jin-Ho; Hwang, Seong-Ju

    2016-02-01

    A universal technology for the encapsulative protection of unstable anionic species by highly stable layered metal oxide has been developed via the surface modification of a metal oxide nanosheet. The surface anchoring of (3-aminopropyl)triethoxysilane (APTES) on exfoliated titanate nanosheet yields a novel cationic metal oxide nanosheet, which can be universally used for the hybridization with various biological and inorganic anions. The encapsulation of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) in the cationic APTES-anchored titanate lattice makes possible the reliable long-term protection of DNA against enzymatic, chemical, and UV-vis light corrosions. The encapsulated DNA can be easily released from the titanate lattice via sonication, underscoring the functionality of the cationic APTES-anchored titanate nanosheet as a stable nanocontainer for DNA. The APTES-anchored titanate nanosheet can be also used as an efficient CO2 adsorbent and a versatile host material for various inorganic anions like polyoxometalates, leading to the synthesis of novel intercalative nanohybrids with unexplored properties and useful functionalities.

  13. Solution growth of NiO nanosheets supported on Ni foam as high-performance electrodes for supercapacitors

    PubMed Central

    2014-01-01

    Well-aligned nickel oxide (NiO) nanosheets with the thickness of a few nanometers supported on a flexible substrate (Ni foam) have been fabricated by a hydrothermal approach together with a post-annealing treatment. The three-dimensional NiO nanosheets were further used as electrode materials to fabricate supercapacitors, with high specific capacitance of 943.5, 791.2, 613.5, 480, and 457.5 F g-1 at current densities of 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25 A g-1, respectively. The NiO nanosheets combined well with the substrate. When the electrode material was bended, it can still retain 91.1% of the initial capacitance after 1,200 charging/discharging cycles. Compared with Co3O4 and NiO nanostructures, the specific capacitance of NiO nanosheets is much better. These characteristics suggest that NiO nanosheet electrodes are promising for energy storage application with high power demands. PMID:25276099

  14. Eco-friendly synthesis of metal dichalcogenides nanosheets and their environmental remediation potential driven by visible light

    PubMed Central

    Mishra, Ashish Kumar; Lakshmi, K. V.; Huang, Liping

    2015-01-01

    Exfoliated transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) such as WS2 and MoS2 have shown exciting potential for energy storage, catalysis and optoelectronics. So far, solution based methods for scalable production of few-layer TMDs usually involve the use of organic solvents or dangerous chemicals. Here, we report an eco-friendly method for facile synthesis of few-layer WS2 and MoS2 nanosheets using dilute aqueous solution of household detergent. Short time sonication of varying amount of bulk samples in soapy water was used to scale up the production of nanosheets. Thermal stability, optical absorption and Raman spectra of as-synthesized WS2 and MoS2 nanosheets are in close agreement with those from other synthesis techniques. Efficient photocatalytic activity of TMDs nanosheets was demonstrated by decomposing Brilliant Green dye in aqueous solution under visible light irradiation. Our study shows the great potential of TMDs nanosheets for environmental remediation by degrading toxic industrial chemicals in wastewater using sunlight. PMID:26503125

  15. Eco-friendly synthesis of metal dichalcogenides nanosheets and their environmental remediation potential driven by visible light

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mishra, Ashish Kumar; Lakshmi, K. V.; Huang, Liping

    2015-10-01

    Exfoliated transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) such as WS2 and MoS2 have shown exciting potential for energy storage, catalysis and optoelectronics. So far, solution based methods for scalable production of few-layer TMDs usually involve the use of organic solvents or dangerous chemicals. Here, we report an eco-friendly method for facile synthesis of few-layer WS2 and MoS2 nanosheets using dilute aqueous solution of household detergent. Short time sonication of varying amount of bulk samples in soapy water was used to scale up the production of nanosheets. Thermal stability, optical absorption and Raman spectra of as-synthesized WS2 and MoS2 nanosheets are in close agreement with those from other synthesis techniques. Efficient photocatalytic activity of TMDs nanosheets was demonstrated by decomposing Brilliant Green dye in aqueous solution under visible light irradiation. Our study shows the great potential of TMDs nanosheets for environmental remediation by degrading toxic industrial chemicals in wastewater using sunlight.

  16. Highly Stable Nanocontainer of APTES-Anchored Layered Titanate Nanosheet for Reliable Protection/Recovery of Nucleic Acid.

    PubMed

    Kim, Tae Woo; Kim, In Young; Park, Dae-Hwan; Choy, Jin-Ho; Hwang, Seong-Ju

    2016-02-24

    A universal technology for the encapsulative protection of unstable anionic species by highly stable layered metal oxide has been developed via the surface modification of a metal oxide nanosheet. The surface anchoring of (3-aminopropyl)triethoxysilane (APTES) on exfoliated titanate nanosheet yields a novel cationic metal oxide nanosheet, which can be universally used for the hybridization with various biological and inorganic anions. The encapsulation of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) in the cationic APTES-anchored titanate lattice makes possible the reliable long-term protection of DNA against enzymatic, chemical, and UV-vis light corrosions. The encapsulated DNA can be easily released from the titanate lattice via sonication, underscoring the functionality of the cationic APTES-anchored titanate nanosheet as a stable nanocontainer for DNA. The APTES-anchored titanate nanosheet can be also used as an efficient CO2 adsorbent and a versatile host material for various inorganic anions like polyoxometalates, leading to the synthesis of novel intercalative nanohybrids with unexplored properties and useful functionalities.

  17. Scalable Synthesis of Cholesteric Glassy Liquid Crystals

    DOE PAGES

    Wallace, Jason U.; Shestopalov, Alexander; Kosc, Tanya; ...

    2018-03-15

    Capable of non-absorbing circular polarization of unpolarized incident light, cholesteric glassy liquid crystals consisting of hybrid chiral-nematic pendants to volume-excluding cores are potentially useful for the fabrication of various robust optical devices. As illustrated in this study, the well-oriented glassy film of enantiomeric Bz3ChN, with a glass transition at 73 °C and a cholesteric-to-isotropic transition at 295 °C, exhibits a selective reflection band centered at approximately 410 nm, an exceptional set of properties well suited for optical device exploration. To enable sustainable, large-scale synthesis of this material class for widespread applications, a productive strategy has been established, requiring a meremore » three-step scheme with an overall yield, atom economy, and reaction mass efficiency at 34%, 33% and 12%, respectively. Lastly, while amenable to improvements, the resultant green chemistry metrics are encouraging as the first attempt.« less

  18. An anisotropic hydrogel with electrostatic repulsion between cofacially aligned nanosheets

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Liu, Mingjie; Ishida, Yasuhiro; Ebina, Yasuo; Sasaki, Takayoshi; Hikima, Takaaki; Takata, Masaki; Aida, Takuzo

    2015-01-01

    Machine technology frequently puts magnetic or electrostatic repulsive forces to practical use, as in maglev trains, vehicle suspensions or non-contact bearings. In contrast, materials design overwhelmingly focuses on attractive interactions, such as in the many advanced polymer-based composites, where inorganic fillers interact with a polymer matrix to improve mechanical properties. However, articular cartilage strikingly illustrates how electrostatic repulsion can be harnessed to achieve unparalleled functional efficiency: it permits virtually frictionless mechanical motion within joints, even under high compression. Here we describe a composite hydrogel with anisotropic mechanical properties dominated by electrostatic repulsion between negatively charged unilamellar titanate nanosheets embedded within it. Crucial to the behaviour of this hydrogel is the serendipitous discovery of cofacial nanosheet alignment in aqueous colloidal dispersions subjected to a strong magnetic field, which maximizes electrostatic repulsion and thereby induces a quasi-crystalline structural ordering over macroscopic length scales and with uniformly large face-to-face nanosheet separation. We fix this transiently induced structural order by transforming the dispersion into a hydrogel using light-triggered in situ vinyl polymerization. The resultant hydrogel, containing charged inorganic structures that align cofacially in a magnetic flux, deforms easily under shear forces applied parallel to the embedded nanosheets yet resists compressive forces applied orthogonally. We anticipate that the concept of embedding anisotropic repulsive electrostatics within a composite material, inspired by articular cartilage, will open up new possibilities for developing soft materials with unusual functions.

  19. An anisotropic hydrogel with electrostatic repulsion between cofacially aligned nanosheets.

    PubMed

    Liu, Mingjie; Ishida, Yasuhiro; Ebina, Yasuo; Sasaki, Takayoshi; Hikima, Takaaki; Takata, Masaki; Aida, Takuzo

    2015-01-01

    Machine technology frequently puts magnetic or electrostatic repulsive forces to practical use, as in maglev trains, vehicle suspensions or non-contact bearings. In contrast, materials design overwhelmingly focuses on attractive interactions, such as in the many advanced polymer-based composites, where inorganic fillers interact with a polymer matrix to improve mechanical properties. However, articular cartilage strikingly illustrates how electrostatic repulsion can be harnessed to achieve unparalleled functional efficiency: it permits virtually frictionless mechanical motion within joints, even under high compression. Here we describe a composite hydrogel with anisotropic mechanical properties dominated by electrostatic repulsion between negatively charged unilamellar titanate nanosheets embedded within it. Crucial to the behaviour of this hydrogel is the serendipitous discovery of cofacial nanosheet alignment in aqueous colloidal dispersions subjected to a strong magnetic field, which maximizes electrostatic repulsion and thereby induces a quasi-crystalline structural ordering over macroscopic length scales and with uniformly large face-to-face nanosheet separation. We fix this transiently induced structural order by transforming the dispersion into a hydrogel using light-triggered in situ vinyl polymerization. The resultant hydrogel, containing charged inorganic structures that align cofacially in a magnetic flux, deforms easily under shear forces applied parallel to the embedded nanosheets yet resists compressive forces applied orthogonally. We anticipate that the concept of embedding anisotropic repulsive electrostatics within a composite material, inspired by articular cartilage, will open up new possibilities for developing soft materials with unusual functions.

  20. Aramid nanofiber-functionalized graphene nanosheets for polymer reinforcement

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fan, Jinchen; Shi, Zixing; Zhang, Lu; Wang, Jialiang; Yin, Jie

    2012-10-01

    Aramid macroscale fibers, also called Kevlar fibers, exhibit extremely high mechanical performance. Previous studies have demonstrated that bulk aramid macroscale fibers can be effectively split into aramid nanofibers (ANFs) by dissolution in dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) in the presence of potassium hydroxide (KOH). In this paper, we first introduced the ANFs into the structure of graphene nanosheets through non-covalent functionalization through π-π stacking interactions. Aramid nanofiber-functionalized graphene sheets (ANFGS) were successfully obtained by adding the graphene oxide (GO)/DMSO dispersion into the ANFs/DMSO solution followed by reduction with hydrazine hydrate. The ANFGS, with ANFs absorbed on the surface of the graphene nanosheets, can be easily exfoliated and dispersed in N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP). Through a combination of these two ultra-strong materials, ANFs and graphene nanosheets (GS), the resultant ANFGS can act as novel nanofillers for polymer reinforcement. We used the ANFGS as an additive for reinforcing the mechanical properties of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA). With a loading of 0.7 wt% of the ANFGS, the tensile strength and Young's modulus of the ANFGS/PMMA composite film approached 63.2 MPa and 3.42 GPa, which are increases of ~84.5% and ~70.6%, respectively. The thermal stabilities of ANFGS/PMMA composite films were improved by the addition of ANFGS. Additionally, the transparencies of the ANFGS/PMMA composite films have a degree of UV-shielding due to the ultraviolet light absorption of the ANFs in the ANFGS.Aramid macroscale fibers, also called Kevlar fibers, exhibit extremely high mechanical performance. Previous studies have demonstrated that bulk aramid macroscale fibers can be effectively split into aramid nanofibers (ANFs) by dissolution in dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) in the presence of potassium hydroxide (KOH). In this paper, we first introduced the ANFs into the structure of graphene nanosheets through non

  1. Deactivation of Multilayered MFI Nanosheet Zeolite during Upgrading of Biomass Pyrolysis Vapors

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Xu, Mengze; Mukarakate, Calvin; Iisa, Kristiina

    Here, the catalytic fast pyrolysis (CFP) of biomass is a promising technology for producing renewable transportation fuels and chemicals. MFI-type catalysts have shown promise for CFP because they produce gasoline range hydrocarbons from oxygenated pyrolysis compounds; however, rapid catalyst deactivation due to coking is one of the major technical barriers inhibiting the commercialization of this technology. Coke deposited on the surface of the catalysts blocks access to active sites in the micropores leading to rapid catalyst deactivation. Our strategy is to minimize rapid catalyst deactivation by adding mesoporosity through forming MFI nanosheet materials. The synthesized MFI nanosheet catalysts were fullymore » characterized and evaluated for cellulose pyrolysis vapor upgrading to produce olefins and aromatic hydrocarbons. The data obtained from pyrolysis-GCMS (py-GCMS), showed that fresh MFI nanosheets produced similar aromatic hydrocarbon and olefin yields compared to conventional HZSM-5. However, MFI nanosheets demonstrated a longer lifetime than HZSM-5 even though coke contents were also higher than for HZSM-5 because the mesopores enabled better accessibility to active acid sites. This conclusion was supported by results from post-reaction analysis of various spent catalysts collected at different points during the deactivation experiments.« less

  2. Mesoporous g-C₃N₄ Nanosheets: Synthesis, Superior Adsorption Capacity and Photocatalytic Activity.

    PubMed

    Li, Dong-Feng; Huang, Wei-Qing; Zou, Lan-Rong; Pan, Anlian; Huang, Gui-Fang

    2018-08-01

    Elimination of pollutants from water is one of the greatest challenges in resolving global environmental issues. Herein, we report a high-surface-area mesoporous g-C3N4 nanosheet with remarkable high adsorption capacity and photocatalytic performance, which is prepared through directly polycondensation of urea followed by a consecutive one-step thermal exfoliation strategy. This one-pot method to prepare mesoporous g-C3N4 nanosheet is facile and rapid in comparison with others. The superior adsorption capacity of the fabricated mesoporous g-C3N4 nanostructures is demonstrated by a model organic pollutant-methylene blue (MB), which is up to 72.2 mg/g, about 6 times as that of the largest value of various g-C3N4 adsorbents reported so far. Moreover, this kind of porous g-C3N4 nanosheet exhibits high photocatalytic activity to MB and phenol degradation. Particularly, the regenerated samples show excellent performance of pollutant removal after consecutive adsorption/degradation cycles. Therefore, this mesoporous g-C3N4 nanosheet may be an attractive robust metal-free material with great promise for organic pollutant elimination.

  3. An approach for scalable production of silver (Ag) decorated WS2 nanosheets

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sumesh, C. K.; Kapatel, Sanni; Chaudhari, Arti

    2018-05-01

    In the Present study we report the synthesis of Ag nanoparticles (NPs) decorated WS2 nanosheets by sonochemical exfoliation followed by simple chemical reduction process at room temperature. The morphology and microstructure of the as-synthesized Ag-WS2 nanocomposite were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and optical absorption (UV-Vis.) spectroscopy. X-ray and TEM analysis shows the presence of Ag with significant peak over 38.08°, 44.22°, 64.37° and 77.33° at 2θ angle for (111), (200), (220) and (311) respectively. The Ag nanoparticles are randomly distributed throughout the surface of the WS2 nanosheets without undergoing further oxidation during the formation of composites. The formation of Ag-WS2 nanocomposites shows a clear blue shift in the absorption as we obtained the characteristics absorption valleys at 456, 536 and 631 nm from the UV Vis spectroscopy analysis compared to pure WS2 nanosheets. Henceforth a facile method for the Ag decoration on WS2 nanosheets was put forward and briefly discussed. The proposed synthesis method is very promising for the low cost and large-scale synthesis of other noble metal incorporation TMDC compounds.

  4. Ultra-broadband nonlinear saturable absorption of high-yield MoS2 nanosheets

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wei, Rongfei; Zhang, Hang; Hu, Zhongliang; Qiao, Tian; He, Xin; Guo, Qiangbing; Tian, Xiangling; Chen, Zhi; Qiu, Jianrong

    2016-07-01

    High-yield MoS2 nanosheets with strong nonlinear optical (NLO) responses in a broad near-infrared range were synthesized by a facile hydrothermal method. The observation of saturable absorption, which was excited by the light with photon energy smaller than the gap energy of MoS2, can be attributed to the enhancement of the hybridization between the Mo d-orbital and S p-orbital by the oxygen incorporation into MoS2. High-yield MoS2 nanosheets with high modulation depth and large saturable intensity generated a stable, passively Q-switched fiber laser pulse at 1.56 μm. The high output power of 1.08 mW can be attained under a very low pump power of 30.87 mW. Compared to recently reported passively Q-switched fiber lasers utilizing exfoliated MoS2 nanosheets, the efficiency of the laser for our passive Q-switching operation is larger and reaches 3.50%. This research may extend the understanding on the NLO properties of MoS2 and indicate the feasibility of the high-yield MoS2 nanosheets to passively Q-switched fiber laser effectively at low pump strengths.

  5. Deactivation of Multilayered MFI Nanosheet Zeolite during Upgrading of Biomass Pyrolysis Vapors

    DOE PAGES

    Xu, Mengze; Mukarakate, Calvin; Iisa, Kristiina; ...

    2017-05-02

    Here, the catalytic fast pyrolysis (CFP) of biomass is a promising technology for producing renewable transportation fuels and chemicals. MFI-type catalysts have shown promise for CFP because they produce gasoline range hydrocarbons from oxygenated pyrolysis compounds; however, rapid catalyst deactivation due to coking is one of the major technical barriers inhibiting the commercialization of this technology. Coke deposited on the surface of the catalysts blocks access to active sites in the micropores leading to rapid catalyst deactivation. Our strategy is to minimize rapid catalyst deactivation by adding mesoporosity through forming MFI nanosheet materials. The synthesized MFI nanosheet catalysts were fullymore » characterized and evaluated for cellulose pyrolysis vapor upgrading to produce olefins and aromatic hydrocarbons. The data obtained from pyrolysis-GCMS (py-GCMS), showed that fresh MFI nanosheets produced similar aromatic hydrocarbon and olefin yields compared to conventional HZSM-5. However, MFI nanosheets demonstrated a longer lifetime than HZSM-5 even though coke contents were also higher than for HZSM-5 because the mesopores enabled better accessibility to active acid sites. This conclusion was supported by results from post-reaction analysis of various spent catalysts collected at different points during the deactivation experiments.« less

  6. Li n @B36 ( n = 1, 2) Nanosheet with Remarkable Electro-Optical Properties: A DFT Study

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Solimannejad, Mohammad; Kamalinahad, Saeedeh; Shakerzadeh, Ehsan

    2017-07-01

    In this study, an attempt has been made to investigate alteration in electro-optical properties of bowl-shape B36 nanosheet due to interaction with one and two Li atoms. Our results reveal that the highest occupied molecular orbital-lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (HOMO-LUMO) gap of B36 nanosheet is decreased because of a high energy level which is formed under influence of interactions with Li atoms. Gigantic enhancement in the first hyperpolarizability ( β 0) of the studied nanosheet up to 4920.62 au is indicated owing to the effect of Li adsorption. The result of the present study may be eventuating to design and fabrication of a nanosheet with tunable electro-optical properties.

  7. Thermodynamic Modeling of Gas Transport in Glassy Polymeric Membranes.

    PubMed

    Minelli, Matteo; Sarti, Giulio Cesare

    2017-08-19

    Solubility and permeability of gases in glassy polymers have been considered with the aim of illustrating the applicability of thermodynamically-based models for their description and prediction. The solubility isotherms are described by using the nonequilibrium lattice fluid (NELF) (model, already known to be appropriate for nonequilibrium glassy polymers, while the permeability isotherms are described through a general transport model in which diffusivity is the product of a purely kinetic factor, the mobility coefficient, and a thermodynamic factor. The latter is calculated from the NELF model and mobility is considered concentration-dependent through an exponential relationship containing two parameters only. The models are tested explicitly considering solubility and permeability data of various penetrants in three glassy polymers, PSf, PPh and 6FDA-6FpDA, selected as the reference for different behaviors. It is shown that the models are able to calculate the different behaviors observed, and in particular the permeability dependence on upstream pressure, both when it is decreasing as well as when it is increasing, with no need to invoke the onset of additional plasticization phenomena. The correlations found between polymer and penetrant properties with the two parameters of the mobility coefficient also lead to the predictive ability of the transport model.

  8. Thermodynamic Modeling of Gas Transport in Glassy Polymeric Membranes

    PubMed Central

    Minelli, Matteo; Sarti, Giulio Cesare

    2017-01-01

    Solubility and permeability of gases in glassy polymers have been considered with the aim of illustrating the applicability of thermodynamically-based models for their description and prediction. The solubility isotherms are described by using the nonequilibrium lattice fluid (NELF) (model, already known to be appropriate for nonequilibrium glassy polymers, while the permeability isotherms are described through a general transport model in which diffusivity is the product of a purely kinetic factor, the mobility coefficient, and a thermodynamic factor. The latter is calculated from the NELF model and mobility is considered concentration-dependent through an exponential relationship containing two parameters only. The models are tested explicitly considering solubility and permeability data of various penetrants in three glassy polymers, PSf, PPh and 6FDA-6FpDA, selected as the reference for different behaviors. It is shown that the models are able to calculate the different behaviors observed, and in particular the permeability dependence on upstream pressure, both when it is decreasing as well as when it is increasing, with no need to invoke the onset of additional plasticization phenomena. The correlations found between polymer and penetrant properties with the two parameters of the mobility coefficient also lead to the predictive ability of the transport model. PMID:28825619

  9. Supercapacitors based on graphene-supported iron nanosheets as negative electrode materials.

    PubMed

    Long, Conglai; Wei, Tong; Yan, Jun; Jiang, Lili; Fan, Zhuangjun

    2013-12-23

    We report a facile strategy to prepare iron nanosheets directly grown on graphene sheets nanocomposite (C-PGF) through the carbonization of iron ions adsorbed onto polyaniline nanosheet/graphene oxide hybrid material. Because of the synergistic effect of iron nanosheets and graphene sheets, the as-obtained C-PGF exhibits an ultrahigh capacitance of ca. 720 F g(-1) in 6 M KOH aqueous solution. Additionally, the assembled asymmetric supercapacitor (C-PGF//Ni(OH)2/CNTs) delivers a remarkable high power density and a noticeable ultrahigh energy density of ca. 140 Wh kg(-1) (based on the total mass of active materials) and an acceptable cycling performance of 78% retention after 2000 cycles. Therefore, the designed supercapacitors with high energy density, comparable to rechargeable lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), offer an important guideline for future design of advanced next-generation supercapacitors for both industrial and consumer applications.

  10. Evolution of Moiré Profiles from van der Waals Superstructures of Boron Nitride Nanosheets

    PubMed Central

    Liao, Yunlong; Cao, Wei; Connell, John W.; Chen, Zhongfang; Lin, Yi

    2016-01-01

    Two-dimensional (2D) van der Waals (vdW) superstructures, or vdW solids, are formed by the precise restacking of 2D nanosheet lattices, which can lead to unique physical and electronic properties that are not available in the parent nanosheets. Moiré patterns formed by the crystalline mismatch between adjacent nanosheets are the most direct features for vdW superstructures under microscopic imaging. In this article, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) observation of hexagonal Moiré patterns with unusually large micrometer-sized lateral areas (up to ~1 μm2) and periodicities (up to ~50 nm) from restacking of liquid exfoliated hexagonal boron nitride nanosheets (BNNSs) is reported. This observation was attributed to the long range crystallinity and the contaminant-free surfaces of these chemically inert nanosheets. Parallel-line-like Moiré fringes with similarly large periodicities were also observed. The simulations and experiments unambiguously revealed that the hexagonal patterns and the parallel fringes originated from the same rotationally mismatched vdW stacking of BNNSs and can be inter-converted by simply tilting the TEM specimen following designated directions. This finding may pave the way for further structural decoding of other 2D vdW superstructure systems with more complex Moiré images. PMID:27188697

  11. Enhanced photocatalytic performance from NiS/TiO2 p-n heterojunction nanosheet arrays

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Qian, Long-Long; Li, Yan; Li, Jian-feng; Wang, Cheng-Wei

    2018-05-01

    A novel p-n heterostructural film photocatalyst of oriented NiS/TiO2 nanosheet arrays were designed and successfully fabricated via a simple two-step hydrothermal process, and its photodegradation activities of methyl orange (MO) were detailedly investigated. Combining p-type NiS nanoparticles with n-type TiO2 nanosheets to construct distributed p-n heterojunctions, the absorption edge of NiS/TiO2 red-shifted to about 471 nm and its photoresponse in visible range significantly enhanced. Compared with pure TiO2 nanosheet arrays (NSAs), the assembled NiS/TiO2 p-n heterostructural arrays with 0.003 M NiS in hydrothermal precursor solution showed an optimal degradation rate of k = 0.7368 h-1 for MO, achieving 76.3% photocatalytic efficiency within 120 min, which is about 2.34 times higher than that of pure TiO2 nanosheet arrays (k = 0.3144 h-1). Such enhanced photocatalytic activities should be attributed to both the high efficiency of photogenerated charge separation by the built-in electric field at interfaces of NiS-TiO2 and the oriented thin nanosheet structures for smoothly charge transportation for redox reactions at surfaces of NiS/TiO2.

  12. Incorporation of Graphene-Related Carbon Nanosheets in Membrane Fabrication for Water Treatment: A Review

    PubMed Central

    Lawler, Jenny

    2016-01-01

    The minimization of the trade-off between the flux and the selectivity of membranes is a key area that researchers are continually working to optimise, particularly in the area of fabrication of novel membranes. Flux versus selectivity issues apply in many industrial applications of membranes, for example the unwanted diffusion of methanol in fuel cells, retention of valuable proteins in downstream processing of biopharmaceuticals, rejection of organic matter and micro-organisms in water treatment, or salt permeation in desalination. The incorporation of nanosheets within membrane structures can potentially lead to enhancements in such properties as the antifouling ability, hydrophilicy and permeability of membranes, with concomitant improvements in the flux/selectivity balance. Graphene nanosheets and derivatives such as graphene oxide and reduced graphene oxide have been investigated for this purpose, for example inclusion of nanosheets within the active layer of Reverse Osmosis or Nanofiltration membranes or the blending of nanosheets as fillers within Ultrafiltration membranes. This review summarizes the incorporation of graphene derivatives into polymeric membranes for water treatment with a focus on a number of industrial applications, including desalination and pharmaceutical removal, where enhancement of productivity and reduction in fouling characteristics have been afforded by appropriate incorporation of graphene derived nanosheets during membrane fabrication. PMID:27999364

  13. Ultrathin cellulose nanosheet membranes for superfast separation of oil-in-water nanoemulsions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhou, Ke; Zhang, Qiu Gen; Li, Hong Mei; Guo, Nan Nan; Zhu, Ai Mei; Liu, Qing Lin

    2014-08-01

    Oily wastewater is generated in diverse industrial processes, and its treatment has become crucial due to increasing environmental concerns. Herein, novel ultrathin nanoporous membranes of cellulose nanosheets have been fabricated for separation of oil-in-water nanoemulsions. The fabrication approach is facile and environmentally friendly, in which cellulose nanosheets are prepared by freeze-extraction of a very dilute cellulose solution. The as-prepared membranes have a cellulose nanosheet layer with a cut-off of 10-12 nm and a controllable thickness of 80-220 nm. They allow ultrafast water permeation and exhibit excellent size-selective separation properties. A 112 nm-thick membrane has a water flux of 1620 l m-2 h-1 bar-1 and a ferritin rejection of 92.5%. These membranes have been applied to remove oil from its aqueous nanoemulsions successfully, and they show an ultrafast and effective separation of oil-in-water nanoemulsions. The newly developed ultrathin cellulose membranes have a wide application in oily wastewater treatment, separation and purification of nanomaterials.Oily wastewater is generated in diverse industrial processes, and its treatment has become crucial due to increasing environmental concerns. Herein, novel ultrathin nanoporous membranes of cellulose nanosheets have been fabricated for separation of oil-in-water nanoemulsions. The fabrication approach is facile and environmentally friendly, in which cellulose nanosheets are prepared by freeze-extraction of a very dilute cellulose solution. The as-prepared membranes have a cellulose nanosheet layer with a cut-off of 10-12 nm and a controllable thickness of 80-220 nm. They allow ultrafast water permeation and exhibit excellent size-selective separation properties. A 112 nm-thick membrane has a water flux of 1620 l m-2 h-1 bar-1 and a ferritin rejection of 92.5%. These membranes have been applied to remove oil from its aqueous nanoemulsions successfully, and they show an ultrafast and effective

  14. A simple way to prepare reduced graphene oxide nanosheets/Fe2O3-Pd/N-doped carbon nanosheets and their application in catalysis.

    PubMed

    Yao, Tongjie; Zhang, Junshuai; Zuo, Quan; Wang, Hao; Wu, Jie; Zhang, Xiao; Cui, Tieyu

    2016-04-15

    The catalysts with Pd and γ-Fe2O3 nanoparticles embedded between reduced graphene oxide nanosheets (rGS) and N-doped carbon nanosheets (NCS) were prepared through a two-step method. Firstly, graphene oxide nanosheets (GS)/prussian blue (PB)-Pd/polypyrrole (PPy) composites were synthesized by using pyrrole monomer as reductant, K3Fe(CN)6 and PdCl2 as oxidants in the presence of GS via a redox reaction. Subsequently, the as-obtained GS/PB-Pd/PPy composites were calcinated in N2 atmosphere. During the heat-treatment, carbonization of PPy to NCS, conversion of nonmagnetic PB to magnetic γ-Fe2O3 nanoparticles, and reduction of GS to rGS were finished, simultaneously. rGS/Fe2O3-Pd/NCS composites exhibited good catalytic activity toward reduction of 4-nitrophenol. The rate constant k and turnover frequency were calculated and compared with recent reports. Owing to γ-Fe2O3 nanoparticles, the rGS/Fe2O3-Pd/NCS composites could be quickly separated by magnet and reused without obvious decrease in activity. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  15. Electroactive nanoparticle directed assembly of functionalized graphene nanosheets into hierarchical structures with hybrid compositions for flexible supercapacitors

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Choi, Bong Gill; Huh, Yun Suk; Hong, Won Hi; Erickson, David; Park, Ho Seok

    2013-04-01

    Hierarchical structures of hybrid materials with the controlled compositions have been shown to offer a breakthrough for energy storage and conversion. Here, we report the integrative assembly of chemically modified graphene (CMG) building blocks into hierarchical complex structures with the hybrid composition for high performance flexible pseudocapacitors. The formation mechanism of hierarchical CMG/Nafion/RuO2 (CMGNR) microspheres, which is triggered by the cooperative interplay during the in situ synthesis of RuO2 nanoparticles (NPs), was extensively investigated. In particular, the hierarchical CMGNR microspheres consisting of the aggregates of CMG/Nafion (CMGN) nanosheets and RuO2 NPs provided large surface area and facile ion accessibility to storage sites, while the interconnected nanosheets offered continuous electron pathways and mechanical integrity. The synergistic effect of CMGNR hybrids on the supercapacitor (SC) performance was derived from the hybrid composition of pseudocapacitive RuO2 NPs with the conductive CMGNs as well as from structural features. Consequently, the CMGNR-SCs showed a specific capacitance as high as 160 F g-1, three-fold higher than that of conventional graphene SCs, and a capacitance retention of >95% of the maximum value even after severe bending and 1000 charge-discharge tests due to the structural and compositional features.Hierarchical structures of hybrid materials with the controlled compositions have been shown to offer a breakthrough for energy storage and conversion. Here, we report the integrative assembly of chemically modified graphene (CMG) building blocks into hierarchical complex structures with the hybrid composition for high performance flexible pseudocapacitors. The formation mechanism of hierarchical CMG/Nafion/RuO2 (CMGNR) microspheres, which is triggered by the cooperative interplay during the in situ synthesis of RuO2 nanoparticles (NPs), was extensively investigated. In particular, the hierarchical CMGNR

  16. Synthesis and properties of electrically conductive, ductile, extremely long (~50 μm) nanosheets of K(x)CoO2·yH2O.

    PubMed

    Aksit, Mahmut; Hoselton, Benjamin C; Kim, Ha Jun; Ha, Don-Hyung; Robinson, Richard D

    2013-09-25

    Extremely long, electrically conductive, ductile, free-standing nanosheets of water-stabilized KxCoO2·yH2O are synthesized using the sol-gel and electric-field induced kinetic-demixing (SGKD) process. Room temperature in-plane resistivity of the KxCoO2·yH2O nanosheets is less than ~4.7 mΩ·cm, which corresponds to one of the lowest resistivity values reported for metal oxide nanosheets. The synthesis produces tens of thousands of very high aspect ratio (50,000:50,000:1 = length/width/thickness), millimeter length nanosheets stacked into a macro-scale pellet. Free-standing nanosheets up to ~50 μm long are readily delaminated from the stacked nanosheets. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM) studies of the free-standing nanosheets indicate that the delaminated pieces consist of individual nanosheet crystals that are turbostratically stacked. X-ray diffraction (XRD) studies confirm that the nanosheets are stacked in perfect registry along their c-axis. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) based statistical analysis show that the average thickness of the nanosheets is ~13 nm. The nanosheets show ductility with a bending radius as small as ~5 nm.

  17. Peptoid nanosheets as soluble, two-dimensional templates for calcium carbonate mineralization.

    PubMed

    Jun, Joo Myung V; Altoe, M Virginia P; Aloni, Shaul; Zuckermann, Ronald N

    2015-06-25

    Nacre-mimetic materials are of great interest, but difficult to synthesize, because they require the ordering of organic and inorganic materials on several length scales. Here we introduce peptoid nanosheets as a versatile two-dimensional platform to develop nacre mimetic materials. Free-floating zwitterionic nanosheets were mineralized with thin films of amorphous calcium carbonate (of 2-20 nm thickness) on their surface to produce planar nacre synthons. These can serve as tunable building blocks to produce layered brick and mortar nanoarchitectures.

  18. Playback interference of glassy-winged sharp shooter communication

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Animal communication is vital to reproduction, particularly for securing a mate. Insects commonly communicate by exchanging vibrational signals that are transmitted through host plants. The glassy-winged sharpshooter (GWSS), Homalodisca vitripennis, is an important vector of Xylella fastidiosa, a pl...

  19. Mating interference of glassy-winged sharpshooters, Homalodisca vitripennis

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Animal signaling is a complex behavior that is influenced by abiotic and biotic factors of the environment. Glassy-winged sharpshooters (GWSS), Homalodisca vitripennis (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae), primarily use vibrational signaling for courtship. Because GWSS is a major pest, transmitting the plant ...

  20. Glassy selenium at high pressure: Le Chatelier's principle still works

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Brazhkin, V. V.; Tsiok, O. B.

    2017-10-01

    Selenium is the only easily vitrified elementary substance. Numerous experimental studies of glassy Se (g -Se) at high pressures show a large spread in the data on the compressibility and electrical resistivity of g -Se. Furthermore, H. Liu et al. [Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 105, 13229 (2008), 10.1073/pnas.0806857105] have arrived at the surprising conclusion that the volume of glass increases during pressure-induced crystallization. We have performed high-precision measurements of the specific volume and electrical resistivity of glassy selenium (g -Se) at high hydrostatic pressures up to 9 GPa. The measured bulk modulus at normal pressure is B =(9.0 5 ±0.15 ) GPa and its pressure derivative is BP'=6.4 ±0.2 . In the pressure range P <3 GPa, glassy selenium has an anomalously large negative second derivative of the bulk modulus. The electrical resistivity of g -Se decreases almost exponentially with increasing pressure and reaches 20 Ω cm at a pressure of 8.75 GPa. The inelastic behavior and weak relaxation of the volume for g -Se begin at pressures above 3.5 GPa; the volume and logarithm of the electrical resistivity relax significantly (logarithmically with the time) at pressures above 8 GPa. Bulk measurements certainly indicate that the volume of g -Se glass in the crystallization pressure range is larger than the volumes of both appearing crystalline phases (by 2% and 4%). Therefore, the "volume expansion phenomenon" suggested in [H. Liu et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 105, 13229 (2008), 10.1073/pnas.0806857105] is not observed, and the pressure-induced crystallization of glassy selenium is consistent with the laws of thermodynamics.

  1. Glassy materials for lithium batteries: electrochemical properties and devices performances

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Duclot, Michel; Souquet, Jean-Louis

    Amorphous or glassy materials may be used as electrolyte or electrode materials for lithium primary or secondary batteries. A first generation proceeded from classical coin cells in which the organic electrolyte was replaced by a high lithium conductive glassy electrolyte. The solid components were assembled under isostatic pressure. The main advantages of such cells are a good storage stability and ability to operate until 200°C. Nevertheless, the high resistivity of the glassy electrolyte below room temperature and a limited depth for charge and discharge cycles makes these cells not competitive compared to conventional lithium-ion batteries. More promising, are the thin films solid state microbatteries realised by successive depositions of electrodes and electrolyte. The low resistance of the electrolyte amorphous layer allows cycling at temperatures as low as -10°C. The total thickness of thin film batteries, including packaging is less than 100 μm. A capacity of about 100 μAh cm -2 with over 10 4 charge-discharge cycles at 90% in depth of discharge is well suited for energy independent smart cards or intelligent labels, which represent for these devices a large and unrivalled market.

  2. CoMn2O4 Spinel Hierarchical Microspheres Assembled with Porous Nanosheets as Stable Anodes for Lithium-ion Batteries

    PubMed Central

    Hu, Lin; Zhong, Hao; Zheng, Xinrui; Huang, Yimin; Zhang, Ping; Chen, Qianwang

    2012-01-01

    Herein, we report the feasibility to enhance the capacity and stability of CoMn2O4 anode materials by fabricating hierarchical mesoporous structure. The open space between neighboring nanosheets allows for easy diffusion of the electrolyte. The hierarchical microspheres assembled with nanosheets can ensure that every nanosheet participates in the electrochemical reaction, because every nanosheet is contacted with the electrolyte solution. The hierarchical structure and well interconnected pores on the surface of nanosheets will enhance the CoMn2O4/electrolyte contact area, shorten the Li+ ion diffusion length in the nanosheets, and accommodate the strain induced by the volume change during the electrochemical reaction. The last, hierarchical architecture with spherical morphology possesses relatively low surface energy, which results in less extent of self-aggregation during charge/discharge process. As a result, CoMn2O4 hierarchical microspheres can achieve a good cycle ability and high rate capability. PMID:23248749

  3. Stable, fast and high-energy-density LiCoO2 cathode at high operation voltage enabled by glassy B2O3 modification

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhou, Aijun; Wang, Weihang; Liu, Qin; Wang, Yi; Yao, Xu; Qing, Fangzhu; Li, Enzhu; Yang, Tingting; Zhang, Long; Li, Jingze

    2017-09-01

    In this work, commercial LiCoO2 is modified with a glassy B2O3 by solution mixing with H3BO3 followed by post-calcination in order to enhance its high-voltage electrochemical performance. The glassy B2O3 coating/additive is believed to serve as an effective physiochemical buffer and protection between LiCoO2 and liquid electrolyte, which can suppress the high-voltage induced electrolyte decomposition and active material dissolution. During the early cycling and due to the electrochemical force, the as-coated B2O3 glasses which have 3D open frameworks tend to accommodate some mobile Li+ and form a more chemically-resistant and ion-conductive lithium boron oxide (LBO) interphase as a major component of the solid electrolyte interphase (SEI), which consequently enables much easier Li+ diffusion/transfer at the solid-liquid interfaces upon further cycling. Due to the synergetic effects of B2O3 coating/modification, the high-voltage capacity and energy density of the B2O3-modified LiCoO2 cathode are promisingly improved by 35% and 30% after 100 cycles at 1 C within 3.0-4.5 V vs. Li/Li+. Meanwhile, the high-rate performance of the B2O3-modified electrode is even more greatly improved, showing a capacity of 105 mAh g-1 at 10 C while the bare electrode has dropped to no more than 30 mAh g-1 under this rate condition.

  4. Metal-organic framework nanosheets in polymer composite materials for gas separation

    PubMed Central

    Seoane, Beatriz; Miro, Hozanna; Corma, Avelino; Kapteijn, Freek; Llabrés i Xamena, Francesc X.; Gascon, Jorge

    2014-01-01

    Composites incorporating two-dimensional nanostructures within polymeric matrices hold potential as functional components for several technologies, including gas separation. Prospectively, employing metal-organic-frameworks (MOFs) as versatile nanofillers would notably broaden the scope of functionalities. However, synthesizing MOFs in the form of free standing nanosheets has proven challenging. We present a bottom-up synthesis strategy for dispersible copper 1,4-benzenedicarboxylate MOF lamellae of micrometer lateral dimensions and nanometer thickness. Incorporating MOF nanosheets into polymer matrices endows the resultant composites with outstanding CO2 separation performance from CO2/CH4 gas mixtures, together with an unusual and highly desired increment in the separation selectivity with pressure. As revealed by tomographic focused-ion-beam scanning-electron-microscopy, the unique separation behaviour stems from a superior occupation of the membrane cross-section by the MOF nanosheets as compared to isotropic crystals, which improves the efficiency of molecular discrimination and eliminates unselective permeation pathways. This approach opens the door to ultrathin MOF-polymer composites for various applications. PMID:25362353

  5. Anisotropic MoS2 Nanosheets Grown on Self-Organized Nanopatterned Substrates.

    PubMed

    Martella, Christian; Mennucci, Carlo; Cinquanta, Eugenio; Lamperti, Alessio; Cappelluti, Emmanuele; Buatier de Mongeot, Francesco; Molle, Alessandro

    2017-05-01

    Manipulating the anisotropy in 2D nanosheets is a promising way to tune or trigger functional properties at the nanoscale. Here, a novel approach is presented to introduce a one-directional anisotropy in MoS 2 nanosheets via chemical vapor deposition (CVD) onto rippled patterns prepared on ion-sputtered SiO 2 /Si substrates. The optoelectronic properties of MoS 2 are dramatically affected by the rippled MoS 2 morphology both at the macro- and the nanoscale. In particular, strongly anisotropic phonon modes are observed depending on the polarization orientation with respect to the ripple axis. Moreover, the rippled morphology induces localization of strain and charge doping at the nanoscale, thus causing substantial redshifts of the phonon mode frequencies and a topography-dependent modulation of the MoS 2 workfunction, respectively. This study paves the way to a controllable tuning of the anisotropy via substrate pattern engineering in CVD-grown 2D nanosheets. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  6. Atomic Oxygen Tailored Graphene Oxide Nanosheets Emissions for Multicolor Cellular Imaging.

    PubMed

    Mei, Qingsong; Chen, Jian; Zhao, Jun; Yang, Liang; Liu, Bianhua; Liu, Renyong; Zhang, Zhongping

    2016-03-23

    Graphene oxide (GO) has been widely used as a fluorescence quencher, but its luminescent properties, especially tailor-made controlling emission colors, have been seldom reported due to its heterogeneous structures. Herein, we demonstrated a novel chemical oxidative strategy to tune GO emissions from brown to cyan without changing excitation wavelength. The precise tuning is simply achieved by varying reaction times of GO nanosheets in piranha solution, but there is no need for complex chromatography separation procedures. With increasing reaction times, oxygen content on the lattice of GO nanosheets increased, accompanied by the diminution of their sizes and sp(2) conjugation system, resulting in an increase of emissive carbon cluster-like states. Thereby, the luminescent colors of GO were tuned from brown to yellow, green, and cyan, and its fluorescent quantum yields were enhanced. The obtained multicolored fluorescent GO nanosheets would open plenty of novel applications in cellular imaging and multiplex encoding analysis.

  7. Nanometre-thick single-crystalline nanosheets grown at the water-air interface

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wang, Fei; Seo, Jung-Hun; Luo, Guangfu; Starr, Matthew B.; Li, Zhaodong; Geng, Dalong; Yin, Xin; Wang, Shaoyang; Fraser, Douglas G.; Morgan, Dane; Ma, Zhenqiang; Wang, Xudong

    2016-01-01

    To date, the preparation of free-standing 2D nanomaterials has been largely limited to the exfoliation of van der Waals solids. The lack of a robust mechanism for the bottom-up synthesis of 2D nanomaterials from non-layered materials has become an obstacle to further explore the physical properties and advanced applications of 2D nanomaterials. Here we demonstrate that surfactant monolayers can serve as soft templates guiding the nucleation and growth of 2D nanomaterials in large area beyond the limitation of van der Waals solids. One- to 2-nm-thick, single-crystalline free-standing ZnO nanosheets with sizes up to tens of micrometres are synthesized at the water-air interface. In this process, the packing density of surfactant monolayers adapts to the sub-phase metal ions and guides the epitaxial growth of nanosheets. It is thus named adaptive ionic layer epitaxy (AILE). The electronic properties of ZnO nanosheets and AILE of other materials are also investigated.

  8. Sonochemical Assisted Solvothermal Synthesis of Gallium Oxynitride Nanosheets and their Solar-Driven Photoelectrochemical Water-Splitting Applications.

    PubMed

    Iqbal, Naseer; Khan, Ibrahim; Yamani, Zain H; Qurashi, Ahsanullhaq

    2016-08-26

    Gallium oxynitride (GaON) nanosheets for photoelectrochemical (PEC) analysis are synthesized via direct solvothermal approach. Their FE-SEM revealed nanosheets morphology of GaON prepared at a reaction time of 24 hours at 180 °C. The elemental composition and mapping of Ga, O and N are carried out through electron dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). The cubic structure of GaON nanosheets is elucidated by X-ray diffraction (XRD)analysis. The X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) further confirms Ga, O and N in their respective ratios and states. The optical properties of GaON nanosheets are evaluated via UV-Visible, Photoluminescence (PL) and Raman spectroscopy's. The band gap energy of ~1.9 eV is calculated from both absorption and diffused reflectance spectroscopy's which showed stronger p-d repulsions in the Ga (3d) and N (2p) orbitals. This effect and chemical nitridation caused upward shift of valence band and band gap reduction. The GaON nanosheets are investigated for PEC studies in a standard three electrode system under 1 Sun irradiation in 0.5 M Na2SO4. The photocurrent generation, oxidation and reduction reactions during the measurements are observed by Chronoampereometry, linear sweep Voltametry (LSV) and Cyclic Voltametry (CV) respectively. Henceforward, these GaON nanosheets can be used as potential photocatalyts for solar water splitting.

  9. Sonochemical Assisted Solvothermal Synthesis of Gallium Oxynitride Nanosheets and their Solar-Driven Photoelectrochemical Water-Splitting Applications

    PubMed Central

    Iqbal, Naseer; Khan, Ibrahim; Yamani, Zain H.; Qurashi, Ahsanullhaq

    2016-01-01

    Gallium oxynitride (GaON) nanosheets for photoelectrochemical (PEC) analysis are synthesized via direct solvothermal approach. Their FE-SEM revealed nanosheets morphology of GaON prepared at a reaction time of 24 hours at 180 °C. The elemental composition and mapping of Ga, O and N are carried out through electron dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). The cubic structure of GaON nanosheets is elucidated by X-ray diffraction (XRD)analysis. The X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) further confirms Ga, O and N in their respective ratios and states. The optical properties of GaON nanosheets are evaluated via UV-Visible, Photoluminescence (PL) and Raman spectroscopy’s. The band gap energy of ~1.9 eV is calculated from both absorption and diffused reflectance spectroscopy’s which showed stronger p-d repulsions in the Ga (3d) and N (2p) orbitals. This effect and chemical nitridation caused upward shift of valence band and band gap reduction. The GaON nanosheets are investigated for PEC studies in a standard three electrode system under 1 Sun irradiation in 0.5 M Na2SO4. The photocurrent generation, oxidation and reduction reactions during the measurements are observed by Chronoampereometry, linear sweep Voltametry (LSV) and Cyclic Voltametry (CV) respectively. Henceforward, these GaON nanosheets can be used as potential photocatalyts for solar water splitting. PMID:27561646

  10. Generalized Low-Temperature Fabrication of Scalable Multi-Type Two-Dimensional Nanosheets with a Green Soft Template.

    PubMed

    Wang, Lanfang; Song, Chuang; Shi, Yi; Dang, Liyun; Jin, Ying; Jiang, Hong; Lu, Qingyi; Gao, Feng

    2016-04-11

    Two-dimensional nanosheets with high specific surface areas and fascinating physical and chemical properties have attracted tremendous interests because of their promising potentials in both fundamental research and practical applications. However, the problem of developing a universal strategy with a facile and cost-effective synthesis process for multi-type ultrathin 2 D nanostructures remains unresolved. Herein, we report a generalized low-temperature fabrication of scalable multi-type 2 D nanosheets including metal hydroxides (such as Ni(OH)2, Co(OH)2, Cd(OH)2, and Mg(OH)2), metal oxides (such as ZnO and Mn3O4), and layered mixed transition-metal hydroxides (Ni-Co LDH, Ni-Fe LDH, Co-Fe LDH, and Ni-Co-Fe layered ternary hydroxides) through the rational employment of a green soft-template. The synthesized crystalline inorganic nanosheets possess confined thickness, resulting in ultrahigh surface atom ratios and chemically reactive facets. Upon evaluation as electrode materials for pseudocapacitors, the Ni-Co LDH nanosheets exhibit a high specific capacitance of 1087 F g(-1) at a current density of 1 A g(-1), and excellent stability, with 103% retention after 500 cycles. This strategy is facile and scalable for the production of high-quality ultrathin crystalline inorganic nanosheets, with the possibility of extension to the preparation of other complex nanosheets. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  11. Comment on ``Glassy Potts model: A disordered Potts model without a ferromagnetic phase''

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Carlucci, Domenico M.

    1999-10-01

    We report the equivalence of the ``glassy Potts model,'' recently introduced by Marinari et al. and the ``chiral Potts model'' investigated by Nishimori and Stephen. Both models do not exhibit any spontaneous magnetization at low temperature, differently from the ordinary glass Potts model. The phase transition of the glassy Potts model is easily interpreted as the spin-glass transition of the ordinary random Potts model.

  12. Novel platelet substitutes: disk-shaped biodegradable nanosheets and their enhanced effects on platelet aggregation.

    PubMed

    Okamura, Yosuke; Fukui, Yoshihito; Kabata, Koki; Suzuki, Hidenori; Handa, Makoto; Ikeda, Yasuo; Takeoka, Shinji

    2009-10-21

    We have studied biocompatible spherical carriers carrying a dodecapeptide, HHLGGAKQAGDV (H12), on their surface as platelet substitutes. This peptide is a fibrinogen γ-chain carboxy-terminal sequence (γ400-411) and specifically recognizes the active form of glycoprotein IIb/IIIa on activated platelets. Our purpose is to assess the possibility of making a novel platelet substitute consisting of disk-shaped nanosheets having a large contact area for the targeting site, rather than conventional small contact area spherical carriers. The H12 peptide was conjugated to the surface of the free-standing nanosheets made of biodegradable poly(d,l-lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA). These H12-PLGA nanosheets were fabricated onto 3 μm disk-shaped patterned hydrophobic octadecyl regions on a SiO(2) substrate. By way of comparison, spherical H12-PLGA microparticles with the same surface area and conjugation number of H12 were also prepared. The resulting H12-PLGA nanosheets specifically interacted with the activated platelets adhered on the collagen surface at twice the rate of the H12-PLGA microparticles under flow conditions, and showed platelet thrombus formation in a two-dimensional spreading manner. Thus, H12-PLGA nanosheets might be a suitable candidate novel platelet alternative substitute for infused human platelet concentrates for the treatment of bleeding in patients with severe thrombocytopenia.

  13. Synthesis of Co3O4 nanosheets via electrodeposition followed by ozone treatment and their application to high-performance supercapacitors

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kung, Chung-Wei; Chen, Hsin-Wei; Lin, Chia-Yu; Vittal, R.; Ho, Kuo-Chuan

    2012-09-01

    A thin film of Co3O4 nanosheets is electrodeposited on a flexible Ti substrate by a one-step potentiostatic method, followed by an UV-ozone treatment for 30 min. The films before and after the UV-ozone treatment are characterized with X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The film is composed of Co(OH)2 before UV-ozone treatment, and of Co3O4 after the treatment. The morphologies of both films are examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM). The obtained films are composed of nanosheets, and there is no change in their sheet-like morphology before and after the UV-ozone treatment. When applied for a supercapacitor, the Co3O4 modified Ti electrode (Co3O4/Ti) shows a far higher capacitance than that of the Co(OH)2 modified Ti electrode. The electrodeposition time and NaOH concentration in the electrolyte are optimized. A remarkably high specific capacitance of 1033.3 F g-1 is obtained for the Co3O4 thin film at a charge-discharge current density of 2.5 A g-1. The long-term stability data shows that there is still 77% of specific capacitance remaining after 3000 repeated charge-discharge cycles. The high specific capacitance and long-term stability suggest the potential use of Co3O4/Ti for making a flexible supercapacitor.

  14. One-step large-scale synthesis of micrometer-sized silver nanosheets by a template-free electrochemical method

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Park, Sun Hwa; Son, Jin Gyeong; Lee, Tae Geol; Park, Hyun Min; Song, Jae Yong

    2013-05-01

    We have synthesized micrometer-sized Ag nanosheets via a facile, one-step, template-free electrochemical deposition in an ultra-dilute silver nitrate aqueous electrolyte. The nanosheet growth was revealed to occur in three stages: (1) formation of polygonal Ag nuclei on a substrate, (2) growth of {112}-faceted nanowire from the nuclei, and (3) anisotropic growth of (111)-planar nanosheets, approximately 20 to 50 nm in thickness and 10 μm in width, in the <112>-direction. The vertical growth of the facet nanowire was induced by the strong interface anisotropy between the deposit and electrolyte due to the ultra-dilute concentration of electrolyte and high reduction potential. The thickness of Ag nanosheets was controllable by the adjustment of the reduction/oxidation potential and frequency of the reverse-pulse potentiodynamic mode.

  15. Spatial and mesoscopic fluctuations in glassy dynamics

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chamon, Claudio C.; Cugliandolo, Leticia F.

    2004-05-01

    One of the striking properties of a glassy system is that many material properties depend on its age, i.e., the time since the system entered its glassy phase. In this this talk we shall review some recent progress (work in collaboration with H. E. Castillo, P. Charbonneau, J. L. Iguain, M. P. Kennett, D. R. Reichman and M. Sellitto) in understanding local aging, through the study of local observable quantities, which reveal that there are spatial heterogeneities and fluctuations in the aging process of macroscopic systems. We show that a number of universal properties are shared by many non-equilibrium systems, both with and without quenched disorder, such as the 3D Edwards-Anderson model and some kinetically constrained non-interacting 2D and 3D spin models, for example. Similar scaling relations are found for mesoscopic sample-to-sample fluctuations of global quantities in small size systems. We discuss how the emergence of a symmetry in aging systems, time-reparametrization invariance, could be responsible for the observed universal behavior of the local and mesoscopic non-equilibrium fluctuations.

  16. A comparative study on the effects of ultrathin luminescent graphene oxide quantum dot (GOQD) and graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets on the interfacial interactions and mechanical properties of an epoxy composite.

    PubMed

    Karimi, B; Ramezanzadeh, B

    2017-05-01

    The reinforcement effect of graphene oxide nanosheets on the mechanical properties of an epoxy coating has been extensively studied. However, the effect of graphene oxide quantum dot (GOQD) as a new unique carbon based nanomaterial (with lateral dimension of 5-6nm and thickness of one carbon atom) on the mechanical properties of epoxy coating has not been reported and compared with GO yet. So this study aims at fabrication of a high-performance polymer composite with unique mechanical properties using GOQD nanosheets. GO and GOQD were obtained through two different strategies of "top-down" synthesis from an expandable graphite by a modified Hummers' method and an easy "bottom-up" method by carbonizing citric acid, respectively. The morphology, size distribution, microstructure and chemistry of the GO and GOQD were compared by utilizing X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, atomic force microscopy (AFM), high resolution-transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM), high resolution field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Results obtained from these analyses confirmed successful synthesize of GOQD and GO nanosheets. The reinforcement effect of GO and GOQD nanosheets on the mechanical properties of the epoxy coating was studied by dynamic mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA) and tensile test. It was found that the GOQD could remarkably enhance the energy of break, Young's modulus, tensile stress and interfacial interactions compared to the neat epoxy and the one reinforced with GO nanosheets. GOQD improved the fracture toughness by factor of 175% and 700% compared to the GO/Epoxy and neat epoxy, respectively. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  17. Shear-transformation-zone theory of linear glassy dynamics.

    PubMed

    Bouchbinder, Eran; Langer, J S

    2011-06-01

    We present a linearized shear-transformation-zone (STZ) theory of glassy dynamics in which the internal STZ transition rates are characterized by a broad distribution of activation barriers. For slowly aging or fully aged systems, the main features of the barrier-height distribution are determined by the effective temperature and other near-equilibrium properties of the configurational degrees of freedom. Our theory accounts for the wide range of relaxation rates observed in both metallic glasses and soft glassy materials such as colloidal suspensions. We find that the frequency-dependent loss modulus is not just a superposition of Maxwell modes. Rather, it exhibits an α peak that rises near the viscous relaxation rate and, for nearly jammed, glassy systems, extends to much higher frequencies in accord with experimental observations. We also use this theory to compute strain recovery following a period of large, persistent deformation and then abrupt unloading. We find that strain recovery is determined in part by the initial barrier-height distribution, but that true structural aging also occurs during this process and determines the system's response to subsequent perturbations. In particular, we find by comparison with experimental data that the initial deformation produces a highly disordered state with a large population of low activation barriers, and that this state relaxes quickly toward one in which the distribution is dominated by the high barriers predicted by the near-equilibrium analysis. The nonequilibrium dynamics of the barrier-height distribution is the most important of the issues raised and left unresolved in this paper.

  18. Glue-Free Stacked Luminescent Nanosheets Enable High-Resolution Ratiometric Temperature Mapping in Living Small Animals.

    PubMed

    Miyagawa, Takuya; Fujie, Toshinori; Ferdinandus; Vo Doan, Tat Thang; Sato, Hirotaka; Takeoka, Shinji

    2016-12-14

    In this paper, a microthermograph, temperature mapping with high spatial resolution, was established using luminescent molecules embedded ultrathin polymeric films (nanosheets), and demonstrated in a living small animal to map out and visualize temperature shift due to animal's muscular activity. Herein, we report super flexible and self-adhesive (no need of glue) nanothermosensor consisting of stacked two different polymeric nanosheets with thermosensitive (Eu-tris (dinaphthoylmethane)-bis-trioctylphosphine oxide: EuDT) and insensitive (Rhodamine 800) dyes being embedded. Such stacked nanosheets allow for the ratiometric thermometry, with which the undesired luminescence intensity shift due to focal drift or animal's z-axis displacement is eliminated and the desired intensity shift solely due to the temperature shift of the sample (living muscle) can be acquired. With the stacked luminescent nanosheets, we achieved the first-ever demonstration of video filming of chronologically changing temperature-shift distribution from the rest state to the active state of the muscles in the living animal. The polymer nanosheet engineering and in vivo microthermography presented in the paper are promising technologies to microscopically explore the heat production and heat transfer in living cells, tissues, and organisms with high spatial resolution beyond what existing thermometric technologies such as infrared thermography have ever achieved.

  19. Probing the biocompatibility of MoS2 nanosheets by cytotoxicity assay and electrical impedance spectroscopy

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shah, Pratikkumar; Narayanan, Tharangattu N.; Li, Chen-Zhong; Alwarappan, Subbiah

    2015-08-01

    Transition metal dichalgogenides such as MoS2 have recently emerged as hot two-dimensional (2D) materials due to their superior electronic and catalytic properties. Recently, we have reported the usefulness of MoS2 nanosheets toward the electrochemical detection of neurotransmitters and glucose (Narayanan et al 2014 Nanotechnology 25 335702). Furthermore, there are reports available in the literature that demonstrate the usefulness of MoS2 nanosheets for biosensing and energy storage applications (Zhu et al 2013 J. Am. Chem. Soc. 135 5998-6001 Pumera and Loo 2014 Trends Anal. Chem. 61 49-53 Lee et al 2014 Sci. Rep. 4 7352; Stephenson et al 2014 Energy Environ. Sci. 7 209-31). Understanding the cytotoxic effect of any material is very important prior to employing them for any in vivo biological applications such as implantable sensors, chips, or carriers for drug delivery and cell imaging purposes. Herein, we report the cytotoxicity of the MoS2 nanosheets based on the cytotoxic assay results and electrical impedance analysis using rat pheochromocytoma cells (PC12) and rat adrenal medulla endothelial cells (RAMEC). Our results indicated that the MoS2 nanosheets synthesized in our work are safe 2D nanosheets for futuristic biomedical applications.

  20. Synthesis of Si nanosheets by using Sodium Chloride as template for high-performance lithium-ion battery anode material

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wang, P. P.; Zhang, Y. X.; Fan, X. Y.; Zhong, J. X.; Huang, K.

    2018-03-01

    Due to the shorter path length and more channels for lithium ion diffusion and insertion, the two-dimensional (2D) Si nanosheets exhibit superior electrochemical performances in the field of electrochemical energy storage and conversion. Recently, various efforts have been focused on how to synthesize 2D Si nanosheets. However, there are many difficulties to achieve the larger area, high purity of 2D Si nanosheets. Herein, we developed a facile and scalable synthesis strategy to fabricate 2D Si nanosheets, utilizing the unique combination of the water-soluble NaCl particles as the sacrificial template and the hydrolyzed tetraethyl orthosilicate as the silica source, and assisting with the magnesium reduction method. Importantly, the obtained Si nanosheets have a larger area up to 10 μm2. Through combining with reduced graphene oxides (rGO), the Si nanosheets@rGO composite electrode exhibits excellent electrochemical performances. It delivers high reversible capacity about 2500 mAh g-1 at the current density of 0.2 A g-1, as well as an excellent rate capability over 900 mAh g-1 at 2 A g-1 even after 200 cycles.

  1. Porous silver nanosheets: a novel sensing material for nanoscale and microscale airflow sensors

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Marzbanrad, Ehsan; Zhao, Boxin; Zhou, Norman Y.

    2015-11-01

    Fabrication of nanoscale and microscale machines and devices is one of the goals of nanotechnology. For this purpose, different materials, methods, and devices should be developed. Among them, various types of miniaturized sensors are required to build the nanoscale and microscale systems. In this research, we introduce a new nanoscale sensing material, silver nanosheets, for applications such as nanoscale and microscale gas flow sensors. The silver nanosheets were synthesized through the reduction of silver ions by ascorbic acid in the presence of poly(methacrylic acid) as a capping agent, followed by the growth of silver in the shape of hexagonal and triangular nanoplates, and self-assembly and nanojoining of these structural blocks. At the end of this process, the synthesized nanosheets were floated on the solution. Then, their electrical and thermal stability was demonstrated at 120 °C, and their atmospheric corrosion resistance was clarified at the same temperature range by thermogravimetric analysis. We employed the silver nanosheets in fabricating airflow sensors by scooping out the nanosheets by means of a sensor substrate, drying them at room temperature, and then annealing them at 300 °C for one hour. The fabricated sensors were tested for their ability to measure airflow in the range of 1 to 5 ml min-1, which resulted in a linear response to the airflow with a response and recovery time around 2 s. Moreover, continuous dynamic testing demonstrated that the response of the sensors was stable and hence the sensors can be used for a long time without detectable drift in their response.

  2. Preparation of sandwich-structured graphene/mesoporous silica composites with C8-modified pore wall for highly efficient selective enrichment of endogenous peptides for mass spectrometry analysis.

    PubMed

    Yin, Peng; Wang, Yuhua; Li, Yan; Deng, Chunhui; Zhang, Xiangmin; Yang, Pengyuan

    2012-09-01

    In this study, sandwich-structured graphene/mesoporous silica composites (C8-modified graphene@mSiO(2)) were synthesized by coating mesoporous silica onto hydrophilic graphene nanosheets through a surfactant-mediated cocondensation sol-gel process. The newly prepared C8-modified graphene@mSiO(2) nanocomposites possess unique properties of extended plate-like morphology, good water dispersibility, highly open pore structure, uniform pore size (2.8 nm), high surface area (632 m(2)/g), and C8-modified-interior pore walls. The unique structure of the C8-modified graphene@mSiO(2) composite nanosheets not only provide extended planes with hydrophilic surface that prevents aggregation in solution, but also offer a huge number of C8-modified mesopores with high surface area that can ensure an efficient adsorption of peptides through hydrophobic-hydrophobic interaction between C8-moified pore walls and target molecules. The obtained C8-modified graphene@mSiO(2) materials were utilized for size selectively and specifically enriching peptides in standard peptide mixtures and endogenous peptides in real biological samples (mouse brain tissue). © 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  3. Observation of glassy state relaxation during annealing of frozen sugar solutions by X-ray computed tomography.

    PubMed

    Nakagawa, Kyuya; Tamiya, Shinri; Do, Gabsoo; Kono, Shinji; Ochiai, Takaaki

    2018-06-01

    Glassy phase formation in a frozen product determines various properties of the freeze-dried products. When an aqueous solution is subjected to freezing, a glassy phase forms as a consequence of freeze-concentration. During post-freezing annealing, the relaxation of the glassy phase and the ripening of ice crystals (i.e. Ostwald ripening) spontaneously occur, where the kinetics are controlled by the annealing and glass transition temperatures. This study was motivated to observe the progress of glassy state relaxation separate from ice coarsening during annealing. X-ray computed tomography (CT) was used to observe a frozen and post-freezing annealed solutions by using monochromatized X-ray from the synchrotron radiation. CT images were successfully obtained, and the frozen matrix were analyzed based on the gray level values that were equivalent to the linear X-ray attenuation coefficients of the observed matters. The CT images obtained from rapidly frozen sucrose and dextrin solutions with different concentrations gave clear linear relationships between the linear X-ray attenuation coefficients values and the solute concentrations. It was confirmed that the glassy state relaxation progressed as increasing annealing time, and this trend was larger in the order of the glass transition temperature of the maximally freeze-concentrated phase. The sucrose-water system required nearly 20 h of annealing time at -5 °C for the completion of the glassy phase relaxation, whereas dextrin-water systems required much longer periods because of their higher glass transition temperatures. The trends of ice coarsening, however, did not perfectly correspond to the trends of the relaxation, suggesting that the glassy phase relaxation and Ostwald ripening would jointly control the ice crystal growth/ripening kinetics, and the dominant mechanism differed by the annealing stage. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  4. Ultrahigh photo-responsivity and detectivity in multilayer InSe nanosheets phototransistors with broadband response

    DOE PAGES

    Feng, Wei; Wu, Jing-Bin; Li, Xiaoli; ...

    2015-05-20

    In this paper, we demonstrate the strategies and principles for the performance improvement of layered semiconductor based photodetectors using multilayer indium selenide (InSe) as the model material. It is discovered that multiple reflection interference at the interfaces in the phototransistor device leads to a thickness-dependent photo-response, which provides a guideline to improve the performance of layered semiconductor based phototransistors. The responsivity and detectivity of InSe nanosheet phototransistor can be adjustable using applied gate voltage. Our InSe nanosheet phototransistor exhibits ultrahigh responsivity and detectivity. An ultrahigh external photo-responsivity of ~10 4 A W -1 can be achieved from broad spectra rangingmore » from UV to near infrared wavelength using our InSe nanosheet photodetectors. The detectivity of multilayer InSe devices is ~10 12 to 10 13 Jones, which surpasses that of the currently exploited InGaAs photodetectors (10 11 to 10 12 Jones). Finally, this research shows that multilayer InSe nanosheets are promising materials for high performance photodetectors.« less

  5. Facilely prepared, N, O-codoped nanosheet derived from pre-functionalized polymer as supercapacitor electrodes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wang, Jun; Yang, Ting; Zeng, Zheling; Deng, Shuguang

    2018-04-01

    Nitrogen and oxygen codoped carbon nanosheets derived from pre-functionalized polymer were prepared using a facile direct pyrolysis method. The carbon microstructures are tunable with micro- and mesopore size distribution and a large specific surface area (1628.9-2146.1 m2 g-1). Furthermore, a significant morphology change, from carbon granules to carbon nanosheets, occurred at an annealing temperature of 1273 K. The unique carbon sheet morphology guaranteed a good specific capacitance of 246.4 F g-1 at 0.5 A g-1 in 1 M H2SO4 aqueous solution and an excellent rate capability with a retention of 87.9% at 5 A g-1 as coin cell. The outstanding capacitance attributes to the combination of pseudocapacitance due to the N,O dual-doping and unique nanosheet morphology. Moreover, its outstanding cycling performance with 95% retention over 10,000 cycles at 10 A g-1 and an acceptable energy density of 8.6 Wh kg-1 at 0.2 A g-1 make the N,O-codoped carbon nanosheet potent and promising electrode material for high performance supercapacitors.

  6. Synthesis of adenine-modified reduced graphene oxide nanosheets.

    PubMed

    Cao, Huaqiang; Wu, Xiaoming; Yin, Gui; Warner, Jamie H

    2012-03-05

    We report here a facile strategy to synthesize the nanocomposite of adenine-modified reduced graphene oxide (AMG) via reaction between adenine and GOCl which is generated from SOCl(2) reacted with graphite oxide (GO). The as-synthesized AMG was characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), UV-vis absorption spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), cyclic voltammetry (CV), and galvanostatic discharge analysis. The AMG owns about one adenine group per 53 carbon atoms on a graphene sheet, which improves electronic conductivity compared with reduced graphene oxide (RGO). The AMG displays enhanced supercapacitor performance compared with RGO accompanying good stability and good cycling behavior in the supercapacitor.

  7. Amine-pillared Nanosheet Adsorbents for CO2 Capture Applications

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jiang, Hui

    Amine-functionalized solid adsorbents have gained attention within the last decade for their application in carbon dioxide capture, due to their many advantages such as low energy cost for regeneration, tunable structure, elimination of corrosion problems, and additional advantages. However, one of the challenges facing this technology is to accomplish both high CO 2 capture capacity along with high CO2 diffusion rates concurrently. Current amine-based solid sorbents such as porous materials similar to SBA-15 have large pores diffusion entering molecules; however, the pores become clogged upon amine inclusion. To meet this challenge, our group's solution involves the creation of a new type of material which we are calling-amino-pillared nanosheet (APN) adsorbents which are generated from layered nanosheet precursors. These materials are being proposed because of their unique lamellar structure which exhibits ability to be modified by organic or inorganic pillars through consecutive swelling and pillaring steps to form large mesoporous interlayer spaces. After the expansion of the layer space through swelling and pillaring, the large pore space can be functionalized with amine groups. This selective functionalization is possible by the choice of amine group introduced. Our choice, large amine molecules, do not access the micropore within each layer; however, either physically or chemically immobilized onto the surface of the mesoporous interlayer space between each layer. The final goal of the research is to investigate the ability to prepare APN adsorbents from a model nanoporous layered materials including nanosheets precursor material MCM-22(P) and nanoporous layered silicate material AMH-3. MCM-22(P) contains 2-dimensional porous channels, 6 membered rings (MB) openings perpendicular to the layers and 10 MB channels in the plane of the layers. However, the transport limiting openings (6 MB) to the layers is smaller than CO2 gas molecules. In contrast, AMH-3 has

  8. Soft chemical synthesis of silicon nanosheets and their applications

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Nakano, Hideyuki; Ikuno, Takashi

    2016-12-15

    Two-dimensional silicon nanomaterials are expected to show different properties from those of bulk silicon materials by virtue of surface functionalization and quantum size effects. Since facile fabrication processes of large area silicon nanosheets (SiNSs) are required for practical applications, a development of soft chemical synthesis route without using conventional vacuum processes is a challenging issue. We have recently succeeded to prepare SiNSs with sub-nanometer thicknesses by exfoliating layered silicon compounds, and they are found to be composed of crystalline single-atom-thick silicon layers. In this review, we present the synthesis and modification methods of SiNSs. These SiNSs have atomically flat andmore » smooth surfaces due to dense coverage of organic moieties, and they are easily self-assembled in a concentrated state to form a regularly stacked structure. We have also characterized the electron transport properties and the electronic structures of SiNSs. Finally, the potential applications of these SiNSs and organic modified SiNSs are also reviewed.« less

  9. Electrodeposition of zinc hydroxysulfate nanosheets and reduction to zinc metal microdendrites on polypyrrole films.

    PubMed

    Andreoli, Enrico; Rooney, Denise A; Redington, Wynette; Gunning, Robert; Breslin, Carmel B

    2012-01-01

    Nanothin sheets made of zinc sulfate hydroxide hydrate, ZnSO4[Zn(OH)2]3 x 5H2O, are easily and quickly prepared using an innovative electrochemical route onto polypyrrole-polystyrene sulfonate (PPy-PSS) films. The sheets are characterized using a range of experimental techniques. The deposits are formed on the film surface with instantaneous nucleation to grow into a network of entangled nanosheets. The effect of the experimental conditions on the deposition is reported. Interestingly, the formation of the nanosheets is observed on PPy-PSS films only, and not on films doped with other sulfate/sulfonate dopants. The zinc nanosheets can be easily electrochemically reduced to metallic zinc microdentrites.

  10. Free-Standing Biodegradable Poly(lactic acid) Nanosheet for Sealing Operations in Surgery.

    PubMed

    Okamura, Yosuke; Kabata, Koki; Kinoshita, Manabu; Saitoh, Daizoh; Takeoka, Shinji

    2009-11-20

    A free-standing biodegradable nanosheet composed of poly(L-lactic acid) (PLLA) was shown to have excellent sealing efficacy for a gastric incision as a novel wound dressing material that did not require adhesive agents, and the PLLA nanosheet-induced wound repair showed neither scars nor tissue adhesion. This material may, therefore, be an ideal alternative to conventional tissue repairing procedures using suture/ligation in surgery. Copyright © 2009 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  11. Aramid nanofiber-functionalized graphene nanosheets for polymer reinforcement.

    PubMed

    Fan, Jinchen; Shi, Zixing; Zhang, Lu; Wang, Jialiang; Yin, Jie

    2012-11-21

    Aramid macroscale fibers, also called Kevlar fibers, exhibit extremely high mechanical performance. Previous studies have demonstrated that bulk aramid macroscale fibers can be effectively split into aramid nanofibers (ANFs) by dissolution in dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) in the presence of potassium hydroxide (KOH). In this paper, we first introduced the ANFs into the structure of graphene nanosheets through non-covalent functionalization through π-π stacking interactions. Aramid nanofiber-functionalized graphene sheets (ANFGS) were successfully obtained by adding the graphene oxide (GO)/DMSO dispersion into the ANFs/DMSO solution followed by reduction with hydrazine hydrate. The ANFGS, with ANFs absorbed on the surface of the graphene nanosheets, can be easily exfoliated and dispersed in N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP). Through a combination of these two ultra-strong materials, ANFs and graphene nanosheets (GS), the resultant ANFGS can act as novel nanofillers for polymer reinforcement. We used the ANFGS as an additive for reinforcing the mechanical properties of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA). With a loading of 0.7 wt% of the ANFGS, the tensile strength and Young's modulus of the ANFGS/PMMA composite film approached 63.2 MPa and 3.42 GPa, which are increases of ∼84.5% and ∼70.6%, respectively. The thermal stabilities of ANFGS/PMMA composite films were improved by the addition of ANFGS. Additionally, the transparencies of the ANFGS/PMMA composite films have a degree of UV-shielding due to the ultraviolet light absorption of the ANFs in the ANFGS.

  12. Interplay between local dynamics and mechanical reinforcement in glassy polymer nanocomposites

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Holt, Adam P.; Bocharova, Vera; Cheng, Shiwang

    The modification of polymer dynamics in the presence of strongly interacting nanoparticles has been shown to significantly change themacroscopic properties above the glass transition temperature of polymer nanocomposites (PNCs). However, much less attention has been paid to changes in the dynamics of glassy PNCs. Analysis of neutron and light scattering data presented herein reveals a surprising enhancement of local dynamics, e.g., fast picosecond and secondary relaxations, in glassy PNCs accompanied with a strengthening of mechanical modulus. Here we ascribe this counter-intuitive behavior to the complex interplay between chain packing and stretching within the interfacial layer formed at the polymer-nanoparticle interface.

  13. Interplay between local dynamics and mechanical reinforcement in glassy polymer nanocomposites

    DOE PAGES

    Holt, Adam P.; Bocharova, Vera; Cheng, Shiwang; ...

    2017-11-17

    The modification of polymer dynamics in the presence of strongly interacting nanoparticles has been shown to significantly change themacroscopic properties above the glass transition temperature of polymer nanocomposites (PNCs). However, much less attention has been paid to changes in the dynamics of glassy PNCs. Analysis of neutron and light scattering data presented herein reveals a surprising enhancement of local dynamics, e.g., fast picosecond and secondary relaxations, in glassy PNCs accompanied with a strengthening of mechanical modulus. Here we ascribe this counter-intuitive behavior to the complex interplay between chain packing and stretching within the interfacial layer formed at the polymer-nanoparticle interface.

  14. Erbium-doped fiber laser passively mode locked with few-layer WSe2/MoSe2 nanosheets

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mao, Dong; She, Xiaoyang; Du, Bobo; Yang, Dexing; Zhang, Wending; Song, Kun; Cui, Xiaoqi; Jiang, Biqiang; Peng, Tao; Zhao, Jianlin

    2016-03-01

    Few-layer transition-metal dichalcogenide WSe2/MoSe2 nanosheets are fabricated by a liquid exfoliation technique using sodium deoxycholate bile salt as surfactant, and their nonlinear optical properties are investigated based on a balanced twin-detector measurement scheme. It is demonstrated that both types of nanosheets exhibit nonlinear saturable absorption properties at the wavelength of 1.55 μm. By depositing the nanosheets on side polished fiber (SPF) or mixing the nanosheets with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) solution, SPF-WSe2 saturable absorber (SA), SPF-MoSe2 SA, PVA-WSe2 SA, and PVA-MoSe2 SA are successfully fabricated and further tested in erbium-doped fiber lasers. The SPF-based SA is capable of operating at the high pump regime without damage, and a train of 3252.65 MHz harmonically mode-locked pulses are obtained based on the SPF-WSe2 SA. Soliton mode locking operations are also achieved in the fiber laser separately with other three types of SAs, confirming that the WSe2 and MoSe2 nanosheets could act as cost-effective high-power SAs for ultrafast optics.

  15. Adhesive and robust multilayered poly(lactic acid) nanosheets for hemostatic dressing in liver injury model.

    PubMed

    Komachi, Takuya; Sumiyoshi, Hideaki; Inagaki, Yutaka; Takeoka, Shinji; Nagase, Yu; Okamura, Yosuke

    2017-10-01

    Freestanding biodegradable nanosheets composed of poly(l-lactic acid) (PLLA) have been developed for various biomedical applications. These nanosheets exhibit unique properties such as high adhesiveness and exquisite flexibility; however, they burst easily due to their nanometer thickness. We herein describe a freestanding, multilayered nanosheet composed of PLLA fabricated using a simple combination procedure: (i) multilayering of PLLA and alginate, (ii) gelation of the alginate layers, (iii) fusion-cut sealing, and (iv) elution of the alginate layers. The multilayered nanosheets not only reinforced the bursting strength but also provided a high level of adhesive strength. In fact, they were found to show potential as a hemostatic dressing, and they tended to show reduced tissue adhesion that accompanies liver injury. Therefore, we propose this biomaterial as a candidate for an alternative to conventional therapy in hemorrhage. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater, 105B: 1747-1757, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  16. The facile synthesis of hierarchical NiCoO2 nanotubes comprised ultrathin nanosheets for supercapacitors

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Xu, Xin; Zhou, Han; Ding, Shujiang; Li, Jun; Li, Beibei; Yu, Demei

    2014-12-01

    Hierarchical NiCoO2 nanosheets nanotubes are successfully prepared by a mild solution method based on the template of polymeric nanotubes (PNT) followed by a thermal annealing treatment. The microstructure and chemical composition of NiCoO2 nanosheets nanotubes are characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) analyzer, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). When evaluated as an electrode material for supercapacitors, the results of electrochemical test show that the unique NiCoO2 nanosheets nanotubes exhibit relatively high specific capacitance of 1468, 1352, 1233, 1178, 1020 and 672 F g-1 at the discharge current densities of 2, 4, 8, 10, 20 and 40 A g-1, respectively. They also reveal an excellent cycling stability of 99.2% retention after 3000 cycles at 10 A g-1. The smart nanostructures of the NiCoO2 nanosheets nanotubes make a prominent contribution to the excellent electrochemical performance.

  17. Conformations of peptoids in nanosheets result from the interplay of backbone energetics and intermolecular interactions.

    PubMed

    Edison, John R; Spencer, Ryan K; Butterfoss, Glenn L; Hudson, Benjamin C; Hochbaum, Allon I; Paravastu, Anant K; Zuckermann, Ronald N; Whitelam, Stephen

    2018-05-29

    The conformations adopted by the molecular constituents of a supramolecular assembly influence its large-scale order. At the same time, the interactions made in assemblies by molecules can influence their conformations. Here we study this interplay in extended flat nanosheets made from nonnatural sequence-specific peptoid polymers. Nanosheets exist because individual polymers can be linear and untwisted, by virtue of polymer backbone elements adopting alternating rotational states whose twists oppose and cancel. Using molecular dynamics and quantum mechanical simulations, together with experimental data, we explore the design space of flat nanostructures built from peptoids. We show that several sets of peptoid backbone conformations are consistent with their being linear, but the specific combination observed in experiment is determined by a combination of backbone energetics and the interactions made within the nanosheet. Our results provide a molecular model of the peptoid nanosheet consistent with all available experimental data and show that its structure results from a combination of intra- and intermolecular interactions.

  18. Anomalous glassy dynamics in simple models of dense biological tissue

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sussman, Daniel M.; Paoluzzi, M.; Marchetti, M. Cristina; Manning, M. Lisa

    2018-02-01

    In order to understand the mechanisms for glassy dynamics in biological tissues and shed light on those in non-biological materials, we study the low-temperature disordered phase of 2D vertex-like models. Recently it has been noted that vertex models have quite unusual behavior in the zero-temperature limit, with rigidity transitions that are controlled by residual stresses and therefore exhibit very different scaling and phenomenology compared to particulate systems. Here we investigate the finite-temperature phase of two-dimensional Voronoi and Vertex models, and show that they have highly unusual, sub-Arrhenius scaling of dynamics with temperature. We connect the anomalous glassy dynamics to features of the potential energy landscape associated with zero-temperature inherent states.

  19. Polyelectrolyte-induced reduction of exfoliated graphite oxide: a facile route to synthesis of soluble graphene nanosheets.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Sheng; Shao, Yuyan; Liao, Honggang; Engelhard, Mark H; Yin, Geping; Lin, Yuehe

    2011-03-22

    Here we report that poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) (PDDA) acts as both a reducing agent and a stabilizer to prepare soluble graphene nanosheets from graphite oxide. The results of transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy, and Fourier transform infrared indicated that graphite oxide was successfully reduced to graphene nanosheets which exhibited single-layer structure and high dispersion in various solvents. The reaction mechanism for PDDA-induced reduction of exfoliated graphite oxide was proposed. Furthermore, PDDA facilitated the in situ growth of highly dispersed Pt nanoparticles on the surface of graphene nanosheets to form Pt/graphene nanocomposites, which exhibited excellent catalytic activity toward formic acid oxidation. This work presents a facile and environmentally friendly approach to the synthesis of graphene nanosheets and opens up a new possibility for preparing graphene and graphene-based nanomaterials for large-scale applications.

  20. Electroactive nanoparticle directed assembly of functionalized graphene nanosheets into hierarchical structures with hybrid compositions for flexible supercapacitors.

    PubMed

    Choi, Bong Gill; Huh, Yun Suk; Hong, Won Hi; Erickson, David; Park, Ho Seok

    2013-05-07

    Hierarchical structures of hybrid materials with the controlled compositions have been shown to offer a breakthrough for energy storage and conversion. Here, we report the integrative assembly of chemically modified graphene (CMG) building blocks into hierarchical complex structures with the hybrid composition for high performance flexible pseudocapacitors. The formation mechanism of hierarchical CMG/Nafion/RuO2 (CMGNR) microspheres, which is triggered by the cooperative interplay during the in situ synthesis of RuO2 nanoparticles (NPs), was extensively investigated. In particular, the hierarchical CMGNR microspheres consisting of the aggregates of CMG/Nafion (CMGN) nanosheets and RuO2 NPs provided large surface area and facile ion accessibility to storage sites, while the interconnected nanosheets offered continuous electron pathways and mechanical integrity. The synergistic effect of CMGNR hybrids on the supercapacitor (SC) performance was derived from the hybrid composition of pseudocapacitive RuO2 NPs with the conductive CMGNs as well as from structural features. Consequently, the CMGNR-SCs showed a specific capacitance as high as 160 F g(-1), three-fold higher than that of conventional graphene SCs, and a capacitance retention of >95% of the maximum value even after severe bending and 1000 charge-discharge tests due to the structural and compositional features.

  1. A fluorometric aptasensor for methamphetamine based on fluorescence resonance energy transfer using cobalt oxyhydroxide nanosheets and carbon dots.

    PubMed

    Saberi, Zeinab; Rezaei, Behzad; Faroukhpour, Hossein; Ensafi, Ali Ashghar

    2018-05-17

    Cobalt oxyhydroxide (CoOOH) nanosheets are efficient fluorescence quenchers due to their specific optical properties and high surface area. The combination of CoOOH nanosheets and carbon dots (CDs) has not been used in any aptasensor based on fluorescence quenching so far. An aptamer based fluorometric assay is introduced that is making use of fluorescent CDs conjugated to the aptamer against methamphetamine (MTA), and of CoOOH nanosheets which reduce the fluorescence of the CDs as a quencher. The results revealed that the conjugated CDs with aptamers were able to enclose the CoOOH nanosheets. Consequently, fluorescence is quenched. If the aptamer on the CD binds MTA, the CDs are detached from CoOOH nanosheets. As a result, fluorescence is restored proportionally to zhe MTA concentration. The fluorometric limit of detection is 1 nM with a dynamic range from 5 to 156 nM. The method was validated by comparing the results obtained by the new method to those obtained by ion mobility spectroscopy. Theoretical studies showed that the distance between CoOOH nanosheet and C-Ds is approximately 7.6 Å which can illustrate the possibility of FRET phenomenon. The interactions of MTA and the aptamer were investigated using molecular dynamic simulation (MDS). Graphical abstract Carbon dots (C-Ds) were prepared from grape leaves, conjugated to aptamer, and adsorbed on CoOOH nanosheets. So, the fluorescence of C-Ds is quenched. On addition of MTA, fluorescence is restored.

  2. Redox-active thionine-graphene oxide hybrid nanosheet: one-pot, rapid synthesis, and application as a sensing platform for uric acid.

    PubMed

    Sun, Zhoumin; Fu, Haiying; Deng, Liu; Wang, Jianxiu

    2013-01-25

    In this paper, we fabricate a sensitive and stable amperometric UA amperometric biosensor using nanobiocomposite derived from thionine modified graphene oxide in this study. A simple wet-chemical strategy for synthesis of thionine-graphene oxide hybrid nanosheets (T-GOs) through π-π stacking has been demonstrated. Various techniques, such as UV-vis absorption spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and electrochemistry have been utilized to characterize the formation of the T-GOs. Due to the synergistic effect between thionine and graphene oxide, the nanosheets exhibited excellent performance toward H(2)O(2) reduction. The incorporation of thionine onto graphene oxide surface resulted in more than a twice increase in the amperometric response to H(2)O(2) of the thionine modified electrode. The as-formed T-GOs also served as a biocompatible matrix for enzyme assembly and a mediator to facilitate the electron transfer between the enzyme and the electrode. Using UOx as a model system, we have developed a simple and effective sensing platform for assay of uric acid at physiological levels. UA has been successfully detected at -0.1 V without any interference due to other electroactive compounds at physiological levels of glucose (5 mM), ascorbic acid (0.1 mM), noradrenalin (0.1 mM), and dopamine (0.1 mM). The response displays a good linear range from 0.02 to 4.5 mM with detection limit 7 μM. The application of this modified electrode in blood and urine UA exhibited a good performance. The robust and advanced hybrid materials might hold great promise in biosensing, energy conversion, and biomedical and electronic systems. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  3. Use of a Phage-Display Method to Identify Peptides that Bind to a Tin Oxide Nanosheets.

    PubMed

    Nakazawa, Hikaru; Seta, Yasuko; Hirose, Tatsuya; Masuda, Yoshitake; Umetsu, Mitsuo

    2018-01-01

    Nanosheets of SnO2 which an n-type semiconductor with a rutile-type crystalline structure are predominantly used as gas sensors. SnO2 nanosheets have a tetragonal crystal structure where growth along the c-axis is suppressed to form a sheet. The major exposed facets of SnO2 nanosheets have {110}, {101} and {211} crystal planes along the a-axis, with the reduced {110} surface having a particularly high surface energy. Identifying peptides that bind to specific crystal planes by using peptide phage-display approach will increase the potential applications of metal oxide nanomaterials by fusing proteins with desirable active sites to peptides that adsorb at high density on the major exposed crystal plane of nanosheets. It may be possible to construct highly sensitive biosensors. The main objective of the present study is to identify peptides that adsorb preferentially to a SnO2 nanosheet by using peptide-phage display approach. Four milligrams of SnO2 nanosheet were mixed with 1011 plaque-forming units of Ph.D.-12 Phage Display Peptide Library. Phage-bound nanosheet particles were washed 10 times with 1 mL of phosphatebuffered saline containing 0.5% Tween 20. Phages bound to the nanosheet were eluted with three different buffers: (1) high-salt buffer containing 2 M NaCl (pH 7.5); (2) acidic buffer containing 200 mM Gly-HCl (pH 2.2); and (3) high-phosphate-ion buffer containing 500 mM NaH2PO4 (pH 7.5). The eluted phages were subjected to four or five rounds of biopanning. At each round, individual plaques were picked from the plates, and the amino acid sequences of the peptides were identified by DNA sequencing. The identified SnO2-binding peptides labeled with fluorescein isothiocyanate were synthesized. Adsorption isotherms were constructed at peptide concentrations ranging from 0.25 to 2.0 µM with 4mg of nanomaterials. We were determined the sequences of 11 clones with the high-salt buffer, 7 with the high-phosphateion buffers, and 6 with the acidic buffer and

  4. Quantifying glassy and crystalline basalt partitioning in the oceanic crust

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Moore, Rachael; Ménez, Bénédicte

    2016-04-01

    The upper layers of the oceanic crust are predominately basaltic rock, some of which hosts microbial life. Current studies of microbial life within the ocean crust mainly focus on the sedimentary rock fraction, or those organisms found within glassy basalts while the potential habitability of crystalline basalts are poorly explored. Recently, there has been recognition that microbial life develops within fractures and grain boundaries of crystalline basalts, therefore estimations of total biomass within the oceanic crust may be largely under evaluated. A deeper understanding of the bulk composition and fractionation of rocks within the oceanic crust is required before more accurate estimations of biomass can be made. To augment our understanding of glassy and crystalline basalts within the oceanic crust we created two end-member models describing basalt fractionation: a pillow basalt with massive, or sheet, flows crust and a pillow basalt with sheeted dike crust. Using known measurements of massive flow thickness, dike thickness, chilled margin thickness, pillow lava size, and pillow lava glass thickness, we have calculated the percentage of glassy versus crystalline basalts within the oceanic crust for each model. These models aid our understanding of textural fractionation within the oceanic crust, and can be applied with bioenergetics models to better constrain deep biomass estimates.

  5. Facile synthesis of soybean phospholipid-encapsulated MoS2 nanosheets for efficient in vitro and in vivo photothermal regression of breast tumor

    PubMed Central

    Li, Xiang; Gong, Yun; Zhou, Xiaoqian; Jin, Hui; Yan, Huanhuan; Wang, Shige; Liu, Jun

    2016-01-01

    Two-dimensional MoS2 nanosheet has been extensively explored as a photothermal agent for tumor regression; however, its surface modification remains a great challenge. Herein, as an alternative to surface polyethylene glycol modification (PEGylation), a facile approach based on “thin-film” strategy has been proposed for the first time to produce soybean phospholipid-encapsulated MoS2 (SP-MoS2) nanosheets. By simply vacuum-treating MoS2 nanosheets/soybean phospholipid/chloroform dispersion in a rotary evaporator, SP-MoS2 nanosheet was successfully constructed. Owing to the steric hindrance of polymer chains, the surface-coated soybean phospholipid endowed MoS2 nanosheets with excellent colloidal stability. Without showing detectable in vitro and in vivo hemolysis, coagulation, and cyto-/histotoxicity, the constructed SP-MoS2 nanosheets showed good photothermal conversion performance and photothermal stability. SP-MoS2 nanosheet was shown to be a promising platform for in vitro and in vivo breast tumor photothermal therapy. The produced SP-MoS2 nanosheets featured low cost, simple fabrication, and good in vivo hemo-/histocompatibility and hold promising potential for future clinical tumor therapy. PMID:27199557

  6. Novel iron oxyhydroxide lepidocrocite nanosheet as ultrahigh power density anode material for asymmetric supercapacitors.

    PubMed

    Chen, Ying-Chu; Lin, Yan-Gu; Hsu, Yu-Kuei; Yen, Shi-Chern; Chen, Kuei-Hsien; Chen, Li-Chyong

    2014-09-24

    A simple one-step electroplating route is proposed for the synthesis of novel iron oxyhydroxide lepidocrocite (γ-FeOOH) nanosheet anodes with distinct layered channels, and the microstructural influence on the pseudocapacitive performance of the obtained γ-FeOOH nanosheets is investigated via in situ X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) and electrochemical measurement. The in situ XAS results regarding charge storage mechanisms of electrodeposited γ-FeOOH nanosheets show that a Li(+) can reversibly insert/desert into/from the 2D channels between the [FeO6 ] octahedral subunits depending on the applied potential. This process charge compensates the Fe(2+) /Fe(3+) redox transition upon charging-discharging and thus contributes to an ideal pseudocapacitive behavior of the γ-FeOOH electrode. Electrochemical results indicate that the γ-FeOOH nanosheet shows the outstanding pseudocapacitive performance, which achieves the extraordinary power density of 9000 W kg(-1) with good rate performance. Most importantly, the asymmetric supercapacitors with excellent electrochemical performance are further realized by using 2D MnO2 and γ-FeOOH nanosheets as cathode and anode materials, respectively. The obtained device can be cycled reversibly at a maximum cell voltage of 1.85 V in a mild aqueous electrolyte, further delivering a maximum power density of 16 000 W kg(-1) at an energy density of 37.4 Wh kg(-1). © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  7. Structurally Oriented Nano-Sheets in Co Thin Films: Changing Their Anisotropic Physical Properties by Thermally-Induced Relaxation

    PubMed Central

    Vergara, José; Favieres, Cristina; Magén, César; de Teresa, José María; Ibarra, Manuel Ricardo

    2017-01-01

    We show how nanocrystalline Co films formed by separated oblique nano-sheets display anisotropy in their resistivity, magnetization process, surface nano-morphology and optical transmission. After performing a heat treatment at 270 °C, these anisotropies decrease. This loss has been monitored measuring the resistivity as a function of temperature. The resistivity measured parallel to the direction of the nano-sheets has been constant up to 270 °C, but it decreases when measured perpendicular to the nano-sheets. This suggests the existence of a structural relaxation, which produces the change of the Co nano-sheets during annealing. The changes in the nano-morphology and the local chemical composition of the films at the nanoscale after heating above 270 °C have been analysed by scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM). Thus, an approach and coalescence of the nano-sheets have been directly visualized. The spectrum of activation energies of this structural relaxation has indicated that the coalescence of the nano-sheets has taken place between 1.2 and 1.7 eV. In addition, an increase in the size of the nano-crystals has occurred in the samples annealed at 400 °C. This study may be relevant for the application in devices working, for example, in the GHz range and to achieve the retention of the anisotropy of these films at higher temperatures. PMID:29206155

  8. Structurally Oriented Nano-Sheets in Co Thin Films: Changing Their Anisotropic Physical Properties by Thermally-Induced Relaxation.

    PubMed

    Vergara, José; Favieres, Cristina; Magén, César; de Teresa, José María; Ibarra, Manuel Ricardo; Madurga, Vicente

    2017-12-05

    We show how nanocrystalline Co films formed by separated oblique nano-sheets display anisotropy in their resistivity, magnetization process, surface nano-morphology and optical transmission. After performing a heat treatment at 270 °C, these anisotropies decrease. This loss has been monitored measuring the resistivity as a function of temperature. The resistivity measured parallel to the direction of the nano-sheets has been constant up to 270 °C, but it decreases when measured perpendicular to the nano-sheets. This suggests the existence of a structural relaxation, which produces the change of the Co nano-sheets during annealing. The changes in the nano-morphology and the local chemical composition of the films at the nanoscale after heating above 270 °C have been analysed by scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM). Thus, an approach and coalescence of the nano-sheets have been directly visualized. The spectrum of activation energies of this structural relaxation has indicated that the coalescence of the nano-sheets has taken place between 1.2 and 1.7 eV. In addition, an increase in the size of the nano-crystals has occurred in the samples annealed at 400 °C. This study may be relevant for the application in devices working, for example, in the GHz range and to achieve the retention of the anisotropy of these films at higher temperatures.

  9. Photo-induced morphological winding and unwinding motion of nanoscrolls composed of niobate nanosheets with a polyfluoroalkyl azobenzene derivative

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nabetani, Yu; Takamura, Hazuki; Uchikoshi, Akino; Hassan, Syed Zahid; Shimada, Tetsuya; Takagi, Shinsuke; Tachibana, Hiroshi; Masui, Dai; Tong, Zhiwei; Inoue, Haruo

    2016-06-01

    Photo-responsive nanoscrolls can be successfully fabricated by mixing a polyfluoroalkyl azobenzene derivative and a niobate nanosheet, which is exfoliated from potassium hexaniobate. In this study, we have found that the photo-responsive nanoscroll shows a morphological motion of winding and unwinding, which is basically due to the nanosheet sliding within the nanoscroll, by efficient photo-isomerization reactions of the intercalated azobenzene in addition to the interlayer distance change of the nanoscrolls. The relative nanosheet sliding of the nanoscroll is estimated to be ca. 280 nm from the AFM morphology analysis. The distance of the sliding motion is over 20 times that of the averaged nanosheet sliding in the azobenzene/niobate hybrid film reported previously. Photo-responsive nanoscrolls can be expected to be novel photo-activated actuators and artificial muscle model materials.Photo-responsive nanoscrolls can be successfully fabricated by mixing a polyfluoroalkyl azobenzene derivative and a niobate nanosheet, which is exfoliated from potassium hexaniobate. In this study, we have found that the photo-responsive nanoscroll shows a morphological motion of winding and unwinding, which is basically due to the nanosheet sliding within the nanoscroll, by efficient photo-isomerization reactions of the intercalated azobenzene in addition to the interlayer distance change of the nanoscrolls. The relative nanosheet sliding of the nanoscroll is estimated to be ca. 280 nm from the AFM morphology analysis. The distance of the sliding motion is over 20 times that of the averaged nanosheet sliding in the azobenzene/niobate hybrid film reported previously. Photo-responsive nanoscrolls can be expected to be novel photo-activated actuators and artificial muscle model materials. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available: Fig. S1. Photo-isomerization reaction of nanoscrolls. See DOI: 10.1039/c6nr02177h

  10. Hierarchically porous CoFe2O4 nanosheets supported on Ni foam with excellent electrochemical properties for asymmetric supercapacitors

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gao, Hongyan; Xiang, Junjie; Cao, Yan

    2017-08-01

    A new type of hierarchically mesoporous cobalt ferrite oxide nanosheets, CoFe2O4 nanosheets, has been successfully fabricated via a simple hydrothermal method on the Ni foam followed by a post-annealing treatment. This CoFe2O4 nanosheets was employed as a supercapacitor electrode and exhibited an excellent capacitance of 503 F g-1 at a current density of 2 A g-1. When the current density increased to 20 A g-1, the capacitance of CoFe2O4 nanosheets can maintain 78.5% (395 F g-1) of the initial value, indicating the remarkable rate capability of the as-prepared CoFe2O4 nanosheets. An aqueous asymmetric supercapacitor (ASC) based on CoFe2O4 nanosheets as a positive electrode and the activated carbon (AC) as a negative electrode was assembled for the first time. The as-fabricated ASC delivered a specific capacitance of 73.12 F g-1 at a current density of 1.2 A g-1 in a voltage window of 1.5 V. The CoFe2O4//AC ASC could achieve a high energy density of 22.85 W h kg-1 and good long-term cycling stability (98% retention after 5000 cycles). These results demonstrated that CoFe2O4 nanosheets could be one of the promising electrode material for supercapacitors applications.

  11. Coexistence of Magnetic Order and Ferroelectricity at 2D Nanosheet Interfaces.

    PubMed

    Li, Bao-Wen; Osada, Minoru; Ebina, Yasuo; Ueda, Shigenori; Sasaki, Takayoshi

    2016-06-22

    Multiferroic materials, in which the electronic polarization can be switched by a magnetic field and vice versa, are of fundamental importance for new electronic technologies. However, there exist very few single-phase materials that exhibit such cross-coupling properties at room temperature, and heterostructures with a strong magnetoelectric coupling have only been made with complex techniques. Here, we present a rational design for multiferroic materials by use of a layer-by-layer engineering of 2D nanosheets. Our approach to new multiferroic materials is the artificial construction of high-quality superlattices by interleaving ferromagnetic Ti0.8Co0.2O2 nanosheets with dielectric perovskite-structured Ca2Nb3O10 nanosheets. Such an artificial structuring allows us to engineer the interlayer coupling, and the (Ti0.8Co0.2O2/Ca2Nb3O10/Ti0.8Co0.2O2) superlattices induce room-temperature ferroelectricity in the presence of the ferromagnetic order. Our technique provides a new route for tailoring artificial multiferroic materials in a highly controllable manner.

  12. Graphitic carbon nitride nanosheet@metal-organic framework core-shell nanoparticles for photo-chemo combination therapy

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chen, Rui; Zhang, Jinfeng; Wang, Yu; Chen, Xianfeng; Zapien, J. Antonio; Lee, Chun-Sing

    2015-10-01

    Recently, nanoscale metal-organic frameworks (NMOFs) have started to be developed as a promising platform for bioimaging and drug delivery. On the other hand, combination therapies using multiple approaches are demonstrated to achieve much enhanced efficacy. Herein, we report, for the first time, core-shell nanoparticles consisting of a photodynamic therapeutic (PDT) agent and a MOF shell while simultaneously carrying a chemotherapeutic drug for effective combination therapy. In this work, core-shell nanoparticles of zeolitic-imadazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8) as shell embedded with graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) nanosheets as core are fabricated by growing ZIF-8 in the presence of g-C3N4 nanosheets. Doxorubicin hydrochloride (DOX) is then loaded into the ZIF-8 shell of the core-shell nanoparticles. The combination of the chemotherapeutic effects of DOX and the PDT effect of g-C3N4 nanosheets can lead to considerably enhanced efficacy. Furthermore, the red fluorescence of DOX and the blue fluorescence of g-C3N4 nanosheets provide the additional function of dual-color imaging for monitoring the drug release process.Recently, nanoscale metal-organic frameworks (NMOFs) have started to be developed as a promising platform for bioimaging and drug delivery. On the other hand, combination therapies using multiple approaches are demonstrated to achieve much enhanced efficacy. Herein, we report, for the first time, core-shell nanoparticles consisting of a photodynamic therapeutic (PDT) agent and a MOF shell while simultaneously carrying a chemotherapeutic drug for effective combination therapy. In this work, core-shell nanoparticles of zeolitic-imadazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8) as shell embedded with graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) nanosheets as core are fabricated by growing ZIF-8 in the presence of g-C3N4 nanosheets. Doxorubicin hydrochloride (DOX) is then loaded into the ZIF-8 shell of the core-shell nanoparticles. The combination of the chemotherapeutic effects of DOX

  13. Broadband nanoindentation of glassy polymers: Part II. Viscoplasticity

    Treesearch

    Joseph E. Jakes; Rod S. Lakes; Don S. Stone

    2012-01-01

    The relationship between hardness and flow stress in glassy polymers is examined. Materials studied include poly(methylmethacrylate), polystyrene, and polycarbonate. Properties are strongly rate dependent, so broadband nanoindentation creep (BNC) is used to measure hardness across a broad range of indentation strain rates (10-4 to 10 s

  14. Synthesis and characterization of Ag+ ion conducting glassy electrolytes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chandra, Angesh; Bhatt, Alok; Chandra, Archana

    2013-07-01

    Synthesis and characterization of new Ag+ ion conducting glassy systems: x[0.75AgI:0.25AgC1]: (1 - x)[Ag2O:P2O5], where 0.1 < x < 1 in molar weight fraction, are reported. The present glassy electrolytes have been synthesized by melt-quench technique using a high-speed twin roller-quencher. An alternate host salt: "quenched [0.75AgI:0.25AgC1] mixed system/solid solution", has been used in place of the traditional host AgI. The compositional dependence conductivity studies on the glassy systems: x[0.75AgI:0.25AgC1]:(1 - x)[Ag2O:P2O5] as well as xAgI:(1 - x)[Ag2O:P2O5] prepared identically, indicated that the composition at x = 0.75 exhibited the highest room temperature conductivity (σ ~ 5.5 x 10-3 S cm-1). The composition: 0.75[0.75AgI:0.25AgC1]:0.25[Ag2O:P2O5] has been referred to as optimum conducting composition (OCC). The some basic ion transport parameters viz. ionic conductivity (σ), ionic mobility (μ), mobile ion concentration (n), ionic drift velocity (vd), ion transference number (tion) and activation energy (Ea) values have been characterized with the help of various experimental techniques. A solid state battery was fabricated and its basic cell parameters calculated.

  15. Tuning the Electronic and Optical Properties of Two-Dimensional Graphene-like C_2N Nanosheet by Strain Engineering

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Phuc, Huynh V.; Tuan, Vu V.; Hieu, Nguyen N.; Ilyasov, Victor V.; Fedorov, Igor A.; Hoi, Bui D.; Phuong, Le T. T.; Hieu, Nguyen V.; Feddi, Elmustapha; Nguyen, Chuong V.

    2018-05-01

    Using density functional theory, we have studied the structural, electronic and optical properties of two-dimensional graphene-like C_2N nanosheet under in-plane strains. Our results indicate that the C_2N nanosheet is a semiconductor with a direct band gap of 1.70 eV at the equilibrium state opening between the highest valence band and lowest conduction band located at the Γ point. The band gap of the C_2N nanosheet decreases with the increasing of both uniaxial/biaxial strains. In the presence of the strain, we found band shift and band splitting of the occupied and unoccupied energy states of the valence and conduction bands, resulting in a decrease of the band gap. Furthermore, the absorption and reflectance spectra for the C_2N nanosheet have a broad peak around 2.6 eV, where a maximum absorption value is up to 3.2 × 10^{-5} cm^{-1} and reflectance is about 0.27%. Moreover, our calculations also show that the optical properties of the C_2N nanosheets can be controlled by applying the biaxial and uniaxial strains. The obtained results might provide potential applications for the C_2N nanosheets in nanoelectronics and optoelectronics.

  16. Anticorrosive performance of waterborne epoxy coatings containing water-dispersible hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) nanosheets

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cui, Mingjun; Ren, Siming; Chen, Jia; Liu, Shuan; Zhang, Guangan; Zhao, Haichao; Wang, Liping; Xue, Qunji

    2017-03-01

    Homogenous dispersion of hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) nanosheets in solvents or in the polymer matrix is crucial to initiate their many applications. Here, homogeneous dispersion of hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) in epoxy matrix was achieved with a water-soluble carboxylated aniline trimer derivative (CAT-) as a dispersant, which was attributed to the strong π-π interaction between h-BN and CAT-, as proved by Raman and UV-vis spectra. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis confirmed a random dispersion of h-BN nanosheets in the waterborne epoxy coatings. The deterioration process of water-borne epoxy coating with and without h-BN nanosheets during the long-term immersion in 3.5 wt% NaCl solution was investigated by electrochemical measurements and water absorption test. Results implied that the introduction of well dispersed h-BN nanosheets into waterborne epoxy system remarkably improved the corrosion protection performance to substrate. Moreover, 1 wt% BN/EP composite coated substrate exhibited higher impedance modulus (1.3 × 106 Ω cm2) and lower water absorption (4%) than those of pure waterborne epoxy coating coated electrode after long-term immersion in 3.5 wt% NaCl solution, demonstrating its superior anticorrosive performance. This enhanced anticorrosive performance was mainly ascribed to the improved water barrier property of epoxy coating via incorporating homogeneously dispersed h-BN nanosheets.

  17. An Effective Way to Optimize the Functionality of Graphene-Based Nanocomposite: Use of the Colloidal Mixture of Graphene and Inorganic Nanosheets

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jin, Xiaoyan; Adpakpang, Kanyaporn; Young Kim, In; Mi Oh, Seung; Lee, Nam-Suk; Hwang, Seong-Ju

    2015-06-01

    The best electrode performance of metal oxide-graphene nanocomposite material for lithium secondary batteries can be achieved by using the colloidal mixture of layered CoO2 and graphene nanosheets as a precursor. The intervention of layered CoO2 nanosheets in-between graphene nanosheets is fairly effective in optimizing the pore and composite structures of the Co3O4-graphene nanocomposite and also in enhancing its electrochemical activity via the depression of interaction between graphene nanosheets. The resulting CoO2 nanosheet-incorporated nanocomposites show much greater discharge capacity of ~1750 mAhg-1 with better cyclability and rate characteristics than does CoO2-free Co3O4-graphene nanocomposite (~1100 mAhg-1). The huge discharge capacity of the present nanocomposite is the largest one among the reported data of cobalt oxide-graphene nanocomposite. Such a remarkable enhancement of electrode performance upon the addition of inorganic nanosheet is also observed for Mn3O4-graphene nanocomposite. The improvement of electrode performance upon the incorporation of inorganic nanosheet is attributable to an improved Li+ ion diffusion, an enhanced mixing between metal oxide and graphene, and the prevention of electrode agglomeration. The present experimental findings underscore an efficient and universal role of the colloidal mixture of graphene and redoxable metal oxide nanosheets as a precursor for improving the electrode functionality of graphene-based nanocomposites.

  18. Graphene oxide-labeled sandwich-type impedimetric immunoassay with sensitive enhancement based on enzymatic 4-chloro-1-naphthol oxidation.

    PubMed

    Hou, Li; Cui, Yuling; Xu, Mingdi; Gao, Zhuangqiang; Huang, Jianxin; Tang, Dianping

    2013-09-15

    A new sandwich-type impedimetric immunosensor based on functionalized graphene oxide nanosheets with a high ratio of horseradish peroxidase (HRP) and detection antibody was developed for the detection of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) by coupling with enzymatic biocatalytic precipitation of 4-chloro-1-naphthol (4-CN) on the captured antibody-modified glassy carbon electrode. Two molecular tags (with and without the graphene oxide nanosheets) were investigated for the detection of CEA and improved analytical features were acquired with the graphene-based labeling. With the labeling method, the performance and factors influencing the properties of the impedimetric immunosensors were also studied and evaluated. Under the optimal conditions, the dynamic concentration range of the impedimetric immunosensors spanned from 1.0pgmL(-1) to 80ngmL(-1) CEA with a detection limit (LOD) of 0.64pgmL(-1). Intra- and inter-assay coefficients of variation were less than 7.5% and 11%, respectively. Additionally, the methodology was evaluated for CEA analysis of 10 clinical serum samples and 5 diluted serum samples, receiving in a good accordance with the results obtained by the impedimetric immunoassay and the commercialized electrochemiluminescent method. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  19. Y2O3 modified TiO2 nanosheets enhanced the photocatalytic removal of 4-chlorophenol and Cr (VI) in sun light

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhao, Xiaona; Wu, Pei; Liu, Min; Lu, Dingze; Ming, Junlan; Li, Chunhe; Ding, Junqian; Yan, Qiuyang; Fang, Pengfei

    2017-07-01

    Y2O3 modified TiO2 nanosheets (Y2O3@TNSs), capable of exhibiting sun light, were synthesized through one pot/hydrothermal method using Y (NO3)3 as precursor. Multiple techniques were applied to investigate the structures, morphologies, optical and electronic properties and photocatalytic performance of the as-prepared samples. The Y2O3@TNSs, with thickness of approximately 3-4 nm, large surface area of 240-350 m2/g, were full of Y2O3 nanoparticles highly dispersed on the surface. The introduction of Y2O3 influenced the crystallinity and the structure evolution of TNSs, besides, improved the light absorption ability. The surface photo-current and fluorescence spectral studies revealed that the photo-generated charge carrier separation efficiency could be improved by an appropriate modification. The degradation activity of this sun-light-induced photocatalytic has enhanced apparently on 4-Chlorophenol and K2Cr2O7 solution, the degradation efficiency of 4-Chlorophenol reached 5.69 times than that of P25, and the maximum TOC removal obtained after 120 min was 67.6%, indicating that most organic compounds were released from the solution. The enhancement in the photocatalytic activity was attributed to the synergetic effect of the Y2O3 and TNSs, which led to a fast separation and slow recombination of photo-induced electron-hole pairs. Consequently, the high efficiency in the experiments showed a promising application of the catalyst in the oxidation or reduction degradation of organic pollutants.

  20. Graphene oxide-mediated electrochemistry of glucose oxidase on glassy carbon electrodes.

    PubMed

    Castrignanò, Silvia; Valetti, Francesca; Gilardi, Gianfranco; Sadeghi, Sheila J

    2016-01-01

    Glucose oxidase (GOD) was immobilized on glassy carbon electrodes in the presence of graphene oxide (GO) as a model system for the interaction between GO and biological molecules. Lyotropic properties of didodecyldimethylammonium bromide (DDAB) were used to stabilize the enzymatic layer on the electrode surface resulting in a markedly improved electrochemical response of the immobilized GOD. Transmission electron microscopy images of the GO with DDAB confirmed the distribution of the GO in a two-dimensional manner as a foil-like material. Although it is known that glassy carbon surfaces are not ideal for hydrogen peroxide detection, successful chronoamperometric titrations of the GOD in the presence of GO with β-d-glucose were performed on glassy carbon electrodes, whereas no current response was detected upon β-d-glucose addition in the absence of GO. The GOD-DDAB-GO system displayed a high turnover efficiency and substrate affinity as a glucose biosensor. The simplicity and ease of the electrode preparation procedure of this GO/DDAB system make it a good candidate for immobilizing other biomolecules for fabrication of amperometric biosensors. © 2015 International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.

  1. CdO nanosheet film with a (200)-preferred orientation with sensitivity to liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) at low-temperatures.

    PubMed

    Cui, Guangliang; Li, Zimeng; Gao, Liang; Zhang, Mingzhe

    2012-12-21

    CdO nanosheet film can be synthesized by electrochemical deposition in an ultra-thin liquid layer by using Cd(NO(3))(2) and HNO(3) as source materials for Cd and oxygen respectively. HNO(3) is also used to adjust the pH of the electrolyte. Studies on the detailed structure indicate that the synthesized CdO nanosheet film has a face-centered cubic structure with (200)-preferred orientation. The response of the CdO nanosheet film to liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) at low temperature has been significantly improved by the novel structure of film. It has exhibited excellent sensitivity and selectivity to LPG at low temperature. A new growth mechanism of electrochemical deposition has been proposed to elaborate the formation of nanosheet in an ultra-thin liquid layer. The self-oscillation of potential in the growth interface and intermediate hydroxide are responsible for the formation of nanosheets.

  2. Broadband nanoindentation of glassy polymers: Part I Viscoelasticity

    Treesearch

    Joesph E. Jakes; Rod S. Lakes; Don S. Stone

    2012-01-01

    Protocols are developed to assess viscoelastic moduli from unloading slopes in Berkovich nanoindentation across four orders of magnitude in time scale (0.01-100 s unloading time). Measured viscoelastic moduli of glassy polymers poly(methyl methacrylate), polystyrene, and polycarbonate follow the same trends with frequency (1/unloading time) as viscoelastic moduli...

  3. Enhanced field emission performance of NiMoO4 nanosheets by tuning the phase

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bankar, Prashant K.; Ratha, Satyajit; More, Mahendra A.; Late, Dattatray J.; Rout, Chandra Sekhar

    2017-10-01

    In this paper we report, large scale synthesis of α and β-NiMoO4 by a facile hydrothermal method and we observed that urea plays important role on the growth of β-NiMoO4 nanosheets. We have also carried out field emission (FE) investigations of α and β-NiMoO4 at a base pressure of ∼1 × 10-8 mbar. The obtained turn-on field at emission current density of 1 μA/cm2 for β-NiMoO4 nanosheets and α -NiMoO4 is 1.3 V/μm and 2.2 V/μm respectively were observed. The maximum field emission current density of 1.006 mA/cm2at an applied electric field of 2.7 V/μm was achieved for β-NiMoO4 nanosheets. Furthermore, we found that the β-NiMoO4 nanosheets possess good field emission performance compared to α-NiMoO4. The results indicate that NiMoO4can be used as a promising material in FE applications with possibility of tuning field emission performance by controlling the phase.

  4. Cobalt oxide-carbon nanosheet nanoarchitecture as an anode for high-performance lithium-ion battery.

    PubMed

    Wang, Huanlei; Mao, Nan; Shi, Jing; Wang, Qigang; Yu, Wenhua; Wang, Xin

    2015-02-04

    To improve the electrochemical performance of cobalt oxide owing to its inherent poor electrical conductivity and large volume expansion/contraction, Co3O4-carbon nanosheet hybrid nanoarchitectures were synthesized by a facile and scalable chemical process. However, it is still a challenge to control the size of Co3O4 particles down to ∼5 nm. Herein, we created nanosized cobalt oxide anchored 3D arrays of carbon nanosheets by the control of calcination condition. The uniformly dispersed Co3O4 nanocrystals on carbon nanosheets held a diameter down to ∼5 nm. When tested as anode materials for lithium-ion batteries, high lithium storage over 1200 mAh g(-1) is achieved, whereas high rate capability with capacity of about 390 mAh g(-1) at 10 A g(-1) is maintained through nanoscale diffusion distances and interconnected porous structure. After 500 cycles, the cobalt oxide-carbon nansheets hybrid display a reversible capacity of about 970 mAh g(-1) at 1 A g(-1). The synergistic effect between nanosized cobalt oxide and sheetlike interconnected carbon nanosheets lead to the greatly improved specific capacity and the initial Coulombic efficiency of the hybrids.

  5. In-situ TEM on the coalescence of birnessite manganese dioxides nanosheets during lithiation process

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Cao, Ke; Kuang, Min; Zhang, Yuxin

    2016-07-15

    Highlights: • Evolution of MnO{sub 2} nanosheets during lithiation was in situ observed. • MnO{sub 2} was reacted with Li to form Mn and LiO{sub 2}. • Nanosheets expanded and aggregated due to lithiation. - Abstract: Nanostructure is believed to produce great benefits for anode materials in lithium ion batteries (LIBs) by enhancing lithium ion transfer, accommodating large volume change and increasing surface area. Whether the nanostructure (especially the porous nanostructure) could be well held during charging/discharging process is one of the most commonly concerned issues in LIBs research. The dynamic evolution of birnessite manganese dioxides nanosheets during lithiation processmore » is investigated by in-situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM) for the first time. The TiO{sub 2}@MnO{sub 2} core-shell nanowires are used as the anode and Li metal as the counter electrode inside the TEM. Interestingly, the lithiation process is confirmed as MnO{sub 2} and Li converting to Li{sub 2}O and Mn. The original porous structure of the nanosheets is hard to preserve during lithiation process due to lithiation-induced contact flattening.« less

  6. A novel sensor made of Antimony Doped Tin Oxide-silica composite sol on a glassy carbon electrode modified by single-walled carbon nanotubes for detection of norepinephrine.

    PubMed

    Wang, Zhao; Wang, Kai; Zhao, Lu; Chai, Shigan; Zhang, Jinzhi; Zhang, Xiuhua; Zou, Qichao

    2017-11-01

    In this study, we designed a novel molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP), Antimony Doped Tin Oxide (ATO)-silica composite sol, which was made using a sol-gel method. Then a sensitive and selective imprinted electrochemical sensor was constructed with the ATO-silica composite sol on a glassy carbon electrode modified by single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs). The introduction of SWNTs increased the sensitivity of the MIP sensor. The surface morphology of the MIP and MIP/SWNTs were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and the optimal conditions for detection were determined. The oxidative peak current increased linearly with the concentration of norepinephrine in the range of 9.99×10 -8 M to 1.50×10 -5 M, as detected by cyclic voltammetry (CV), the detection limit was 3.33×10 -8 M (S/N=3). In addition, the proposed electrochemical sensors were successfully applied to detect the norepinephrine concentration in human blood serum samples. The recoveries of the sensors varied from 99.67% to 104.17%, indicating that the sensor has potential for the determination of norepinephrine in clinical tests. Moreover, the imprinted electrochemical sensor was used to selectively detect norepinephrine. The analytical application was conducted successfully and yielded accurate and precise results. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  7. Thermoluminescence and photoluminescence of cerium doped CaSO 4 nanosheets

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zahedifar, M.; Mehrabi, M.

    2010-12-01

    Thermoluminescence (TL) and photoluminescence (PL) characteristics of CaSO 4:Ce nanocrystalline prepared by hydrothermal method has been studied. Its TL glow curve contains three overlapping glow peaks at around 490, 505 and 521 K. Emission spectra band at 303 and 324 nm were observed for the orthorhombic phase of nanosheets. TL response of the prepared nanocrystalline to β and γ radiation was studied and the sensitivity of the nanosheets was found much more than that of analogous microcrystalline and is around 10 times higher than the well known high sensitive TL dosimeter LiF:Mg, Cu, P (GR-200) hot-pressed chips. TL kinetic parameters of this nanocrystalline are also presented.

  8. Unusual attempt to direct the growth of bimetallic Ag@Pt nanorods on electrochemically reduced graphene oxide nanosheets by electroless exchange of Cu by Pt for an efficient alcohol oxidation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jeena, S. E.; Gnanaprakasam, P.; Selvaraju, T.

    2017-01-01

    A simple and an efficient tool for the direct growth of bimetallic Ag@Pt nanorods (NRDs) on electrochemically reduced graphene oxide (ERGO) nanosheets was developed at glassy carbon electrode (GCE). Initially, Cu shell was grown on Ag core as Ag@Cu NRD by the seed-mediated growth method. Accordingly, Cu shell has been successfully replaced by Pt using the electroless galvanic replacement method with ease by effective functionalization of L-tryptophan on ERGO surface (L-ERGO), which eventually plays an important role in the direct growth of one-dimensional bimetallic NRDs. As a result, the synthesized Ag@Pt NRD-supported L-ERGO nanosheets (Ag@Pt NRDs/L-ERGO/GCE) were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy-dispersive X-ray analysis (EDAX) and Raman spectroscopy. Anodic stripping voltammetry was used to explore its electrochemical properties. Finally, the developed bimetallic Ag@Pt NRDs/L-ERGO/GCEs were studied as a better electrocatalyst compared to the commercial catalysts such as Pt40/C or Pt20/C-loaded electrode for the oxidation of ethanol or methanol with a high tolerance level and an enhanced current density. In addition, the long-term stability was studied using chronoamperometry for 1000 s at the bimetallic NRD electrode for alcohol oxidation which impedes the fouling properties. The unfavourable and favourable electrooxidation of ethanol at Ag@Cu NRDs/L-ERGO/GCE (a) and Ag@Pt NRDs/L-ERGO/GCE (b) is discussed. The synergistic effect of Ag core and catalytic properties of Pt shell at Ag@Pt NRDs/L-ERGO/GCE tend to strongly minimize the CO poisoning effect and enhanced ethanol electrooxidation.

  9. New β-Cyclodextrin Entrapped in Polyethyleneimine Film-Modified Electrodes for Pharmaceutical Compounds Determination

    PubMed Central

    Fritea, Luminţa; Tertiş, Mihaela; Cristea, Cecilia; Săndulescu, Robert

    2013-01-01

    The electrochemical behavior of ascorbic acid and uric acid on glassy carbon bare electrodes and ones modified with β-cyclodextrin entrapped in polyethyleneimine film has been investigated using square wave voltammetry. The electrode modification was achieved in order to separate the voltammetric peaks of ascorbic acid and uric acid when present in the same solution. On the modified electrodes the potential of the oxidation peak of the ascorbic acid was shifted to more negative values by over 0.3 V, while in the case of uric acid, the negative potential shift was about 0.15 V compared to the bare glassy carbon electrode. When the two compounds were found together in the solution, on the bare electrode only a single broad signal was observed, while on the modified electrode the peak potentials of these two compounds were separated by 0.4 V. When the uric acid concentration remained constant, the peak intensity of the ascorbic acid is increased linearly with the concentration (r2 = 0.996) and when the ascorbic acid concentration remains constant, the peak intensity of the uric acid increased linearly with the concentration (r2 = 0.992). FTIR measurements supported the formation of inclusion complexes. In order to characterize the modification of the electrodes microscopic studies were performed. The modified electrodes were successfully employed for the determination of ascorbic acid in pharmaceutical formulations with a detection limit of 0.22 μM. PMID:24287544

  10. MoS{sub 2} nanosheet functionalized with Cu nanoparticles and its application for glucose detection

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Huang, Jingwei; Dong, Zhengping; Gansu Provincial Engineering Laboratory for Chemical Catalysis, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000

    Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • First report on decorating MoS{sub 2} nanosheet with Cu nanoparticles by chemical reduction. • Cu nanoparticles were uniformly decorated on MoS{sub 2} nanosheet. • Glucose biosensor based on copper nanoparticles-MoS{sub 2} nanosheet hybrid is fabricated. • The biosensor exhibits high sensitivity. - Abstract: For the first time, Cu nanoparticles were evenly decorated on MoS{sub 2} nanosheet by chemical reduction. The as-prepared Cu-MoS{sub 2} hybrid was characterized by atomic force microscope (AFM), Raman spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and then used to fabricate a non-enzymatic glucose sensor. The performance of our sensor wasmore » investigated by cyclic voltammetry and amperometric measurement in alkaline media. Electrochemical tests showed that Cu-MoS{sub 2} hybrid exhibited synergistic electrocatalytic activity on the oxidation of glucose with a high sensitivity of 1055 μA mM{sup −1} cm{sup −2} and a linear range up to 4 mM.« less

  11. Improving Powder Magnetic Core Properties via Application of Thin, Insulating Silica-Nanosheet Layers on Iron Powder Particles

    PubMed Central

    Ishizaki, Toshitaka; Nakano, Hideyuki; Tajima, Shin; Takahashi, Naoko

    2016-01-01

    A thin, insulating layer with high electrical resistivity is vital to achieving high performance of powder magnetic cores. Using layer-by-layer deposition of silica nanosheets or colloidal silica over insulating layers composed of strontium phosphate and boron oxide, we succeeded in fabricating insulating layers with high electrical resistivity on iron powder particles, which were subsequently used to prepare toroidal cores. The compact density of these cores decreased after coating with colloidal silica due to the substantial increase in the volume, causing the magnetic flux density to deteriorate. Coating with silica nanosheets, on the other hand, resulted in a higher electrical resistivity and a good balance between high magnetic flux density and low iron loss due to the thinner silica layers. Transmission electron microscopy images showed that the thickness of the colloidal silica coating was about 700 nm, while that of the silica nanosheet coating was 30 nm. There was one drawback to using silica nanosheets, namely a deterioration in the core mechanical strength. Nevertheless, the silica nanosheet coating resulted in nanoscale-thick silica layers that are favorable for enhancing the electrical resistivity. PMID:28336835

  12. Novel room temperature synthesis of ZnO nanosheets, characterization and potentials in light harvesting applications and electrochemical devices.

    PubMed

    Mansournia, Mohammadreza; Rafizadeh, Somayeh; Hosseinpour-Mashkani, S Mostafa; Motaghedifard, Mohammad Hassan

    2016-08-01

    Zinc oxide nanosheets (ZnONSs) were successfully synthesized using Zn(NO3)2·4H2O as the starting reagent in ammonia atmosphere at room temperature by a novel gas-solution precipitation method. XRD and EDS patterns indicated that pure ZnONSs were produced only in 15min reaction time. Besides, investigating the optical properties of the as-prepared ZnO nanosheets using UV-Vis diffused reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) exhibited their semiconducting property by revealing one optical band gap in 3.3eV. Moreover, rhodamine B and methylene blue degradation were used as a probe reaction to test the as-synthesized ZnONSs photoactivity. Furthermore, a possible reaction mechanism for ZnONSs formation was discussed. On the other hand, operation of ZnONSs in Dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) was investigated by current density-voltage (Jsc-Voc) curve. Finally, a pencil graphite electrode was decorated using ZnONSs and pure MWCNT to provide an electrochemical device for Pb(+2) ions sensing. This modified electrode showed agreeable responses to trace amounts of Pb(+2) in NaOAC/HOAC buffer solutions. The limit of detection was found to be 0.112nmolL(-1) for Pb(+2). Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  13. Exfoliation and Reassembly of Cobalt Oxide Nanosheets into a Reversible Lithium-Ion Battery Cathode

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2012-01-01

    REPORT Exfoliation and Reassembly of Cobalt Oxide Nanosheets into a Reversible Lithium-Ion Battery Cathode 14. ABSTRACT 16. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF...battery fabrication, cobalt oxide Owen C. Compton, Ali Abouimrane, Zhi An, Marc J. Palmeri, L. Catherine Brinson, Khalil Amine, SonBinh T. Nguyen...Exfoliation and Reassembly of Cobalt Oxide Nanosheets into a Reversible Lithium-Ion Battery Cathode Report Title ABSTRACT An exfoliation–reassembly

  14. Permeation of Mixed Penetrants through Glassy Polymer Membranes.

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1985-03-15

    and LOPE. Also, ESCA was used in conjunction with plasma etching to determine the effects of the gas phase fluorine concentration and fluorination...at 35 3C. ARD-AISS5 65 PERMEATION OF MIXED PENETRANTS THROUGH GLASSY POLYMER 213 MENBRANES (U) NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIV AT RALEIGH R T CHERN ET AL. 15

  15. Modification of WS2 nanosheets with controllable layers via oxygen ion irradiation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Song, Honglian; Yu, Xiaofei; Chen, Ming; Qiao, Mei; Wang, Tiejun; Zhang, Jing; Liu, Yong; Liu, Peng; Wang, Xuelin

    2018-05-01

    As one kind of two-dimensional materials, WS2 nanosheets have drawn much attention with different kinds of research methods. Yet ion irradiation method was barely used for WS2 nanosheets. In this paper, the structure, composition and optical band gap (Eg) of the multilayer WS2 films deposited by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method on sapphire substrates before and after oxygen ion irradiation with different energy and fluences were studied. Precise tailored layer-structures and a controllable optical band gap of WS2 nanosheets were achieved after oxygen ion irradiation. The results shows higher energy oxygen irradiation changed the shape from triangular shaped grains to irregular rectangle shape but did not change 2H-WS2 phase structure. The intensity of E2g1 (Г) and A1g (Г) modes decreased and have small shifts after oxygen ion irradiation. The peak frequency difference between the E2g1 (Г) and A1g (Г) modes (Δω) decreased after oxygen ion irradiation, and this result indicates the number of layers decreased after oxygen ion irradiation. The Eg decreased with the increase of the energy and the fluence of oxygen ions. The number of layers, thickness and optical band gap changed after ion irradiation with different ion fluences and energies. The results proposed a new strategy for precise control of multilayer nanosheets and demonstrated the high applicability of ion irradiation in super-capacitors, field effect transistors and other applications.

  16. Two-dimensional inorganic-organic perovskite hexagonal nanosheets: growth and mechanism

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shakya, Suman; Prakash, G. Vijaya

    2015-03-01

    In this era of novel technological materials, inorganic-organic (IO) materials has emerged as new class of materials for their application in photonic materials, miniaturized sensors, optoelectronic devices, non-linear optical apparatus by exploiting the properties of both constituents in a single entity. Here we present the formation and growth mechanism of two dimensional Inorganic-organic (IO) perovskite structures from anisotropically grown PbO hexagonal nanosheets, in three steps: Fabrication of hexagonal PbO nanosheets by the versatile bottom-up electrochemical deposition technique, iodinization of PbO into PbI2, followed by conversion of PbI2 into IO hybrid by the intercalation of organic moiety. A systematic and detailed structural study reveals that PbO nanosheet formation is more likely to result from an oriented attachment mechanism, in which the sheets formed by the reduction in surface area that happens during aggregation of small nanoparticle that each has a net dipole moment, which tends to form a self-assembled structure. Intercalation of organic moiety into the PbI2 layers yielded a selfassembled quantum-wells system of one of the IO hybrid, i.e. (C6H9C2H4NH3)2PbI4 (CHPI), sustaining the hexagonal shape.

  17. Facile synthesis high nitrogen-doped porous carbon nanosheet from pomelo peel and as catalyst support for nitrobenzene hydrogenation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zuo, Pingping; Duan, Jiaqi; Fan, Huailin; Qu, Shijie; Shen, Wenzhong

    2018-03-01

    Nitrogen-doping porous carbon-based nanosheets were fabricated from pemole peel and melamine through hydrothermal route and carbonization. The pomelo peel with sponge-like natural structure was employed as carbon source, and melamine was used both as nitrogen precursors and as nanosheet structure directing. The morphology and chemical composition of the obtained porous carbon nanosheet carbon materials were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, thermogravimetric analyzer, Fourier transform infrared spectra, transmission electron microscopy, BET surface area measurement, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and X-ray powder diffraction. The result indicated that the nanosheet thickness, nitrogen-doped amount and surface area were determined by the ratio of pomelo peel to melamine and carbonization temperature. The catalytic nitrobenzene hydrogenation was evaluated after Pd was loaded on nitrogen-doping porous carbon-based nanosheet. The results showed Pd@PCN had almost 100% conversion and good cycling performance towards the hydrogenation of nitrobenzene due to the developed pore structure, high nitrogen-doping and well dispersed less Pd particle; it was superior to other nanomaterial supports and demonstrated great potential application.

  18. Simultaneous voltammetric determination of dopamine and epinephrine in human body fluid samples using a glassy carbon electrode modified with nickel oxide nanoparticles and carbon nanotubes within a dihexadecylphosphate film.

    PubMed

    Figueiredo-Filho, Luiz C S; Silva, Tiago A; Vicentini, Fernando C; Fatibello-Filho, Orlando

    2014-06-07

    A simple and highly selective electrochemical method was developed for the single or simultaneous determination of dopamine (DA) and epinephrine (EP) in human body fluids using a glassy carbon electrode modified with nickel oxide nanoparticles and carbon nanotubes within a dihexadecylphosphate film using square-wave voltammetry (SWV) or differential-pulse voltammetry (DPV). Using DPV with the proposed electrode, a separation of ca. 360 mV between the peak reduction potentials of DA and EP present in binary mixtures was obtained. The analytical curves for the simultaneous determination of dopamine and epinephrine showed an excellent linear response, ranging from 7.0 × 10(-8) to 4.8 × 10(-6) and 3.0 × 10(-7) to 9.5 × 10(-6) mol L(-1) for DA and EP, respectively. The detection limits for the simultaneous determination of DA and EP were 5.0 × 10(-8) mol L(-1) and 8.2 × 10(-8) mol L(-1), respectively. The proposed method was successfully applied in the simultaneous determination of these analytes in human body fluid samples of cerebrospinal fluid, human serum and lung fluid.

  19. Thermodynamics of water sorption in high performance glassy thermoplastic polymers

    PubMed Central

    Scherillo, Giuseppe; Petretta, Mauro; Galizia, Michele; La Manna, Pietro; Musto, Pellegrino; Mensitieri, Giuseppe

    2014-01-01

    Sorption thermodynamics of water in two glassy polymers, polyetherimide (PEI) and polyetheretherketone (PEEK), is investigated by coupling gravimetry and on line FTIR spectroscopy in order to gather information on the total amount of sorbed water as well as on the different species of water molecules absorbed within the polymers, addressing the issue of cross- and self-interactions occurring in the polymer/water systems. Water sorption isotherms have been determined at temperatures ranging from 30 to 70°C while FTIR spectroscopy has been performed only at 30°C. The experimental analysis provided information on the groups present on the polymer backbones involved in hydrogen bonding interactions with absorbed water molecules. Moreover, it also supplied qualitative indications about the different “populations” of water molecules present within the PEEK and a quantitative assessment of these “populations” in the case of PEI. The results of the experimental analysis have been interpreted using an equation of state theory based on a compressible lattice fluid model for the Gibbs energy of the polymer-water mixture, developed by extending to the case of out of equilibrium glassy polymers a previous model intended for equilibrium rubbery polymers. The model accounts for the non-equilibrium nature of glassy polymers as well as for mean field and for hydrogen bonding interactions, providing a satisfactory quantitative interpretation of the experimental data. PMID:24860802

  20. Polyallylamine-Rh nanosheet nanoassemblies-carbon nanotubes organic-inorganic nanohybrids: A electrocatalyst superior to Pt for the hydrogen evolution reaction

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bai, Juan; Xing, Shi-Hui; Zhu, Ying-Ying; Jiang, Jia-Xing; Zeng, Jing-Hui; Chen, Yu

    2018-05-01

    Rationally tailoring the surface/interface structures of noble metal nanostructures emerges as a highly efficient method for improving their electrocatalytic activity, selectivity, and long-term stability. Recently, hydrogen evolution reaction is attracting more and more attention due to the energy crisis and environment pollution. Herein, we successfully synthesize polyallylamine-functionalized rhodium nanosheet nanoassemblies-carbon nanotube nanohybrids via a facile one-pot hydrothermal method. Three-dimensionally branched rhodium nanosheet nanoassemblies are consisted of two dimensionally atomically thick ultrathin rhodium nanosheets. The as-prepared polyallylamine-functionalized rhodium nanosheet nanoassemblies-carbon nanotube nanohybrids show the excellent electrocatalytic activity for the hydrogen evolution reaction in acidic media, with a low onset reduction potential of -1 mV, a small overpotential of 5 mV at 10 mA cm-2, which is much superior to commercial platinum nanocrystals. Two dimensionally ultrathin morphology of rhodium nanosheet, particular rhodium-polyallylamine interface, and three-dimensionally networks induced by carbon nanotube are the key factors for the excellent hydrogen evolution reaction activity in acidic media.

  1. Copper Oxide (CuO) 2-D Nanosheets for Advanced Electronic and Optical Properties

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2015-08-01

    for the upgrading of biodiesel . In a collaboration with Professor Kim at Yale we have decorated CuO nanosheets with nanodiamonds as a new catalytic...Details of Synergistic projects IV.1 CuO nanosheets for Biodiesel synthesis Professors at Yale University are coming together to form an all in one...center for the understanding of biodiesel , from its production in algae with Dr. Jordan Peccia’s group, to its Figure  4  depicts  (a)  an

  2. Microplasma Processed Ultrathin Boron Nitride Nanosheets for Polymer Nanocomposites with Enhanced Thermal Transport Performance.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Ri-Chao; Sun, Dan; Lu, Ai; Askari, Sadegh; Macias-Montero, Manuel; Joseph, Paul; Dixon, Dorian; Ostrikov, Kostya; Maguire, Paul; Mariotti, Davide

    2016-06-01

    This Research Article reports on the enhancement of the thermal transport properties of nanocomposite materials containing hexagonal boron nitride in poly(vinyl alcohol) through room-temperature atmospheric pressure direct-current microplasma processing. Results show that the microplasma treatment leads to exfoliation of the hexagonal boron nitride in isopropyl alcohol, reducing the number of stacks from >30 to a few or single layers. The thermal diffusivity of the resulting nanocomposites reaches 8.5 mm(2) s(-1), 50 times greater than blank poly(vinyl alcohol) and twice that of nanocomposites containing nonplasma treated boron nitride nanosheets. From TEM analysis, we observe much less aggregation of the nanosheets after plasma processing along with indications of an amorphous carbon interfacial layer, which may contribute to stable dispersion of boron nitride nanosheets in the resulting plasma treated colloids.

  3. Rocking-Chair Configuration in Ultrathin Lithium Vanadate-Graphene Hybrid Nanosheets for Electrical Modulation

    PubMed Central

    Zhu, Haiou; Qin, Xinming; Sun, Xu; Yan, Wensheng; Yang, Jinlong; Xie, Yi

    2013-01-01

    The ability to control electronic property of a material by externally applied voltage is greatly anticipated in modern electronics, and graphene provide potential application foreground for this issue on account of its exotic ambipolar transport property. In this study, we proposed that inorganic-graphene intercalated nanosheet is an effective solution to optimize the transport property of graphene. As an example, lithium vanadate-graphene (LiVO-graphene) alternately intercalated nanosheets were designed and successfully synthesized. Theoretical calculation implied that its rocking chair configuration may provide a new pathway to switch the carrier in graphene layer between p-type and n-type while the position of embedded Li ions is controlled by an external field. Thus, a demo transistor was fabricated with layer-by-layer overlapping of LiVO-graphene nanosheets which proved that this inorganic-graphene structure could be used for electrical modulation in electronic devices. PMID:23409237

  4. Cobalt oxide nanosheets wrapped onto nickel foam for non-enzymatic detection of glucose

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Meng, Shangjun; Wu, Meiyan; Wang, Qian; Dai, Ziyang; Si, Weili; Huang, Wei; Dong, Xiaochen

    2016-08-01

    Ultra-sensitive and highly selective detection of glucose is essential for the clinical diagnosis of diabetes. In this paper, an ultra-sensitive glucose sensor was successfully fabricated based on cobalt oxide (Co3O4) nanosheets directly grown on nickel foam through a simple hydrothermal method. Characterizations indicated that the Co3O4 nanosheets are completely and uniformly wrapped onto the surface of nickel foam to form a three-dimensional heterostructure. The resulting self-standing electrochemical electrode presents a high performance for the non-enzymatic detection of glucose, including short response time (<10 s), ultra-sensitivity (12.97 mA mM-1 cm-2), excellent selectivity and low detection limit (0.058 μM, S/N = 3). These results indicate that Co3O4 nanosheets wrapped onto nickel foam are a low-cost, practical, and high performance electrochemical electrode for bio sensing.

  5. Fragmentation of poly(lactic acid) nanosheets and patchwork treatment for burn wounds.

    PubMed

    Okamura, Yosuke; Kabata, Koki; Kinoshita, Manabu; Miyazaki, Hiromi; Saito, Akihiro; Fujie, Toshinori; Ohtsubo, Shinya; Saitoh, Daizoh; Takeoka, Shinji

    2013-01-25

    Freestanding poly(L-lactic acid) (PLLA) nanosheets are mass-produced by a simple combination of a spin-coating-assisted multi-layering process and a peeling technique. The resulting PLLA nanosheets are fragmented by homogenization and then reconstructed into a "patchwork" sheet on various surfaces without any adhesive reagents. The patchwork is shown to offer excellent protection against burn wound infection with Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and may therefore be an alternative to conventional burn therapy for prevention of infection. Copyright © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  6. Three-dimensional WS2 nanosheet networks for H2O2 produced for cell signaling

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tang, Jing; Quan, Yingzhou; Zhang, Yueyu; Jiang, Min; Al-Enizi, Abdullah M.; Kong, Biao; An, Tiance; Wang, Wenshuo; Xia, Limin; Gong, Xingao; Zheng, Gengfeng

    2016-03-01

    Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is an important molecular messenger for cellular signal transduction. The capability of direct probing of H2O2 in complex biological systems can offer potential for elucidating its manifold roles in living systems. Here we report the fabrication of three-dimensional (3D) WS2 nanosheet networks with flower-like morphologies on a variety of conducting substrates. The semiconducting WS2 nanosheets with largely exposed edge sites on flexible carbon fibers enable abundant catalytically active sites, excellent charge transfer, and high permeability to chemicals and biomaterials. Thus, the 3D WS2-based nano-bio-interface exhibits a wide detection range, high sensitivity and rapid response time for H2O2, and is capable of visualizing endogenous H2O2 produced in living RAW 264.7 macrophage cells and neurons. First-principles calculations further demonstrate that the enhanced sensitivity of probing H2O2 is attributed to the efficient and spontaneous H2O2 adsorption on WS2 nanosheet edge sites. The combined features of 3D WS2 nanosheet networks suggest attractive new opportunities for exploring the physiological roles of reactive oxygen species like H2O2 in living systems.Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is an important molecular messenger for cellular signal transduction. The capability of direct probing of H2O2 in complex biological systems can offer potential for elucidating its manifold roles in living systems. Here we report the fabrication of three-dimensional (3D) WS2 nanosheet networks with flower-like morphologies on a variety of conducting substrates. The semiconducting WS2 nanosheets with largely exposed edge sites on flexible carbon fibers enable abundant catalytically active sites, excellent charge transfer, and high permeability to chemicals and biomaterials. Thus, the 3D WS2-based nano-bio-interface exhibits a wide detection range, high sensitivity and rapid response time for H2O2, and is capable of visualizing endogenous H2O2 produced in

  7. Sensitive detection of hydroxylamine at a simple baicalin carbon nanotubes modified electrode.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Hongfang; Zheng, Jianbin

    2012-05-15

    A baicalin multi-wall carbon nanotubes (BaMWCNT) modified glassy carbon electrode (GCE) for the sensitive determination of hydroxylamine was described. The BaMWCNT/GCE with dramatic stability was firstly fabricated with a simple adsorption method. And it showed excellent catalytic activity toward the electrooxidation of hydroxylamine. The amperometric response at the BaMWCNT/GCE modified electrode increased linearly to hydroxylamine concentrations in the range of 0.5 μM to 0.4mM with a detection limit of 0.1 μM. The modified electrode was applied to detection hydroxylamine in the tap water, and the average recovery for the standards added was 96.0%. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  8. Effects of nymphal diet and adult feeding on allocation of resources to glassy-winged sharpshooter egg production

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    The glassy-winged sharpshooter is an invasive insect capable of transmitting the bacterial pathogen Xylella fastidiosa. Pre-oviposition periods of laboratory reared glassy-winged sharpshooters are variable. Here, two questions were addressed: does nymphal diet affect pre-oviposition period and how d...

  9. A Two-Dimensional Lamellar Membrane: MXene Nanosheet Stacks.

    PubMed

    Ding, Li; Wei, Yanying; Wang, Yanjie; Chen, Hongbin; Caro, Jürgen; Wang, Haihui

    2017-02-06

    Two-dimensional (2D) materials are promising candidates for advanced water purification membranes. A new kind of lamellar membrane is based on a stack of 2D MXene nanosheets. Starting from compact Ti 3 AlC 2 , delaminated nanosheets of the composition Ti 3 C 2 T x with the functional groups T (O, OH, and/or F) can be produced by etching and ultrasonication and stapled on a porous support by vacuum filtration. The MXene membrane supported on anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) substrate shows excellent water permeance (more than 1000 L m -2  h -1  bar -1 ) and favorable rejection rate (over 90 %) for molecules with sizes larger than 2.5 nm. The water permeance through the MXene membrane is much higher than that of the most membranes with similar rejections. Long-time operation also reveals the outstanding stability of the MXene membrane for water purification. © 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  10. Nanosheet Supported Single-Metal Atom Bifunctional Catalyst for Overall Water Splitting.

    PubMed

    Ling, Chongyi; Shi, Li; Ouyang, Yixin; Zeng, Xiao Cheng; Wang, Jinlan

    2017-08-09

    Nanosheet supported single-atom catalysts (SACs) can make full use of metal atoms and yet entail high selectivity and activity, and bifunctional catalysts can enable higher performance while lowering the cost than two separate unifunctional catalysts. Supported single-atom bifunctional catalysts are therefore of great economic interest and scientific importance. Here, on the basis of first-principles computations, we report a design of the first single-atom bifunctional eletrocatalyst, namely, isolated nickel atom supported on β 12 boron monolayer (Ni 1 /β 12 -BM), to achieve overall water splitting. This nanosheet supported SAC exhibits remarkable electrocatalytic performance with the computed overpotential for oxygen/hydrogen evolution reaction being just 0.40/0.06 V. The ab initio molecular dynamics simulation shows that the SAC can survive up to 800 K elevated temperature, while enacting a high energy barrier of 1.68 eV to prevent isolated Ni atoms from clustering. A viable experimental route for the synthesis of Ni 1 /β 12 -BM SAC is demonstrated from computer simulation. The desired nanosheet supported single-atom bifunctional catalysts not only show great potential for achieving overall water splitting but also offer cost-effective opportunities for advancing clean energy technology.

  11. Loss of halogens from crystallized and glassy silicic volcanic rocks

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Noble, D.C.; Smith, V.C.; Peck, L.C.

    1967-01-01

    One hundred and sixty-four F and Cl analyses of silicic welded tuffs and lavas and glass separates are presented. Comparison of the F and Cl contents of crystallized rocks with those of nonhydrated glass and hydrated glassy rocks from the same rock units shows that most of the halogens originally present were lost on crystallization. An average of about half of the F and four-fifths of the Cl originally present was lost. Analyses of hydrated natural glasses and of glassy rocks indicate that in some cases significant amounts of halogens may be removed from or added to hydrated glass through prolonged contact with ground water. The data show that the original halogen contents of the groundmass of a silicic volcanic rock can be reliably determined only from nonhydrated glass. ?? 1967.

  12. Assembly of potassium niobate nanosheets/silver oxide composite films with good SERS performance towards crystal violet detection

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhu, Kun; Hong, Zhen; Kang, Shi-Zhao; Qin, Lixia; Li, Guodong; Li, Xiangqing

    2018-04-01

    The orderly potassium niobate nanosheets/silver oxide (Ag2O) composite films with uniform morphology were achieved by layer-by-layer self-assembly combined with ultraviolet light irradiation. The composition, structure and morphology of the potassium niobate nanosheets/Ag2O composite films were studied by XPS, XRD and SEM. Furthermore, the films were used as a SERS probe to detect crystal violet molecules. The results showed that the potassium niobate nanosheets/Ag2O composite films were an active substrate for fast and sensitive detection of crystal violet with low concentration. The limit of detection by the films can reach 1 × 10-6 mol L-1. Both electromagnetic enhancement and chemical enhancement contributed to the enhanced SERS in the (potassium niobate nanosheets/Ag2O)4 films. Moreover, it was found that the films were relatively stable under light irradiation or heat treatment in a certain range.

  13. Comparison on exfoliated graphene nano-sheets and triturated graphite nano-particles for mode-locking the Erbium-doped fibre lasers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yang, Chun-Yu; Lin, Yung-Hsiang; Wu, Chung-Lun; Cheng, Chih-Hsien; Tsai, Din-Ping; Lin, Gong-Ru

    2018-06-01

    Comparisons on exfoliated graphene nano-sheets and triturated graphite nano-particles for mode-locking the Erbium-doped fiber lasers (EDFLs) are performed. As opposed to the graphite nano-particles obtained by physically triturating the graphite foil, the tri-layer graphene nano-sheets is obtained by electrochemically exfoliating the graphite foil. To precisely control the size dispersion and the layer number of the exfoliated graphene nano-sheet, both the bias of electrochemical exfoliation and the speed of centrifugation are optimized. Under a threshold exfoliation bias of 3 volts and a centrifugation at 1000 rpm, graphene nano-sheets with an average diameter of 100  ±  40 nm can be obtained. The graphene nano-sheets with an area density of 15 #/µm2 are directly imprinted onto the end-face of a single-mode fiber made patchcord connector inside the EDFL cavity. Such electrochemically exfoliated graphene nano-sheets show comparable saturable absorption with standard single-graphene and perform the self-amplitude modulation better than physically triturated graphite nano-particles. The linear transmittance and modulation depth of the inserted graphene nano-sheets are 92.5% and 53%, respectively. Under the operation with a power gain of 21.5 dB, the EDFL can be passively mode-locked to deliver a pulsewidth of 454.5 fs with a spectral linewidth of 5.6 nm. The time-bandwidth product of 0.31 is close to the transform limit. The Kelly sideband frequency spacing of 1.34 THz is used to calculate the chirp coefficient as  ‑0.0015.

  14. Two-dimensional assembly structure of graphene and TiO2 nanosheets from titanic acid with enhanced visible-light photocatalytic performance

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hao, Rong; Guo, Shien; Wang, Xiuwen; Feng, Tong; Feng, Qingmao; Li, Mingxia; Jiang, Baojiang

    2016-06-01

    The titanic acid sheets were prepared by one-step hydrazine hydrate-assisted hydrothermal process. Then the reduced graphite oxide (rGO)@TiO2 nanosheet composites were finally obtained through ultrasonic exfoliation and following calcination treatment process. rGO@TiO2 nanosheet composites show excellent hydrogen production performance under AM1.5 light source. The highest hydrogen evolution yield (923.23 μmol) is nearly two times higher than that of pure TiO2, mainly due to the special electron structure and more active sites for TiO2 nanosheet. The introduction of graphene could improve the TiO2 nanosheet stability and extend visible-light absorption range.

  15. Equation of state of heated glassy carbon

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Sekine, Toshimori; Ahrens, Thomas J.

    1991-01-01

    New Hugoniot data are presented for glassy carbon preheated to 1550 K and shocked to 20 GPa. The high-temperature Hugoniot is very similar to the principal Hugoniot. This results argues against the diffusional mechanism for the shock-induced transformaton of amorphous carbon to diamond, although the present results are obviously limited to below 20 GPa. This study provides the first Higoniot data for carbon preheated to significantly high temperatures.

  16. MIPs-graphene nanoplatelets-MWCNTs modified glassy carbon electrode for the determination of cardiac troponin I.

    PubMed

    Ma, Ya; Shen, Xiao-Lei; Wang, Hai-Shui; Tao, Jia; Huang, Jian-Zhi; Zeng, Qiang; Wang, Li-Shi

    2017-03-01

    An electrochemical sensor with high selectivity in addition to sensitivity was developed for the determination of cardiac troponin I (cTnI), based on the modification of cTnI imprinted polymer film on a glassy carbon electrode (GCE). The sensor was fabricated by layer-by-layer assembled graphene nanoplatelets (GS), multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), chitosan (CS), glutaraldehyde (GA) composites, which can increase the electronic transfer rate and the active surface area to capture a larger number of antigenic proteins. MWCNTs/GS based imprinted polymers (MIPs/MWCNTs/GS) were synthesized by means of methacrylic acid (MAA) as the monomer, ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA) as the cross linker α,α'-azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN) as the initiator and cTnI as the template. In comparison with conventional methods, the proposed electrochemical sensor is highly sensitive for cTnI, providing a better linear response range from 0.005 to 60 ng cm -3 and a lower limit of detection (LOD) of 0.0008 ng cm -3 under optimal experimental conditions. In addition, the electrochemical sensor exhibited good specificity, acceptable reproducibility and stability. Moreover, satisfactory results were obtained in real human serum samples, indicating that the developed method has the potential to find application in clinical detection of cTnI as an alternative approach. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  17. Nanosheets of oxides and hydroxides: Ultimate 2D charge-bearing functional crystallites.

    PubMed

    Ma, Renzhi; Sasaki, Takayoshi

    2010-12-01

    A wide variety of cation-exchangeable layered transition metal oxides and their relatively rare counterparts, anion-exchangeable layered hydroxides, have been exfoliated into individual host layers, i.e., nanosheets. Exfoliation is generally achieved via a high degree of swelling, typically driven either by intercalation of bulky organic ions (quaternary ammonium cations, propylammonium cations, etc.) for the layered oxides or by solvation with organic solvents (formamide, butanol, etc.) for the hydroxides. Ultimate two-dimensional (2D) anisotropy for the nanosheets, with thickness of around one nanometer versus lateral size ranging from submicrometer to several tens of micrometers, allows them to serve either as an ideal quantum system for fundamental study or as a basic building block for functional assembly. The charge-bearing inorganic macromolecule-like nanosheets can be assembled or organized through various solution-based processing techniques (e.g., flocculation, electrostatic sequential deposition, or the Langmuir-Blodgett method) to produce a range of nanocomposites, multilayer nanofilms, and core-shell nanoarchitectures, which have great potential for electronic, magnetic, optical, photochemical, and catalytic applications.

  18. Wettability and friction of water on a MoS{sub 2} nanosheet

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Luan, Binquan, E-mail: bluan@us.ibm.com, E-mail: ruhongz@us.ibm.com; Zhou, Ruhong, E-mail: bluan@us.ibm.com, E-mail: ruhongz@us.ibm.com

    2016-03-28

    The molybdenum disulfide (MoS{sub 2}) nanosheet is a promising two-dimensional (2D) material and has recently been used in biological sensing. While the electronic structure of 2D MoS{sub 2} sheet has been actively studied, the role of its atomic structure and thus the interfacial interactions with bio-fluids are still elusive. Using Molecular dynamics simulations, we developed MoS{sub 2} force field parameters to reproduce the experimentally determined water contact angle of the MoS{sub 2} nanosheet and then predicted the slip-length of water that has not been measured in experiment yet. Simulation results suggest that the MoS{sub 2} nanosheet is a hydrophobic andmore » low-friction surface, despite its seemingly significant charges of surface atoms and relatively strong strength of van der Waals potentials. We expect that the developed force fields for depicting surface atoms of MoS{sub 2} will facilitate future research in understanding biomolecule-MoS{sub 2} interactions in MoS{sub 2}-based biosensors.« less

  19. Ni-C-N Nanosheets as Catalyst for Hydrogen Evolution Reaction.

    PubMed

    Yin, Jie; Fan, Qiaohui; Li, Yuxuan; Cheng, Fangyi; Zhou, Panpan; Xi, Pinxian; Sun, Shouheng

    2016-11-09

    We report a facile nitrogenation/exfoliation process to prepare hybrid Ni-C-N nanosheets. These nanosheets are <2 nm thin, chemically stable, and metallically conductive. They serve as a robust catalyst for the hydrogen evolution reaction in 0.5 M H 2 SO 4 , or 1.0 M KOH or 1.0 M PBS (pH = 7). For example, they catalyze the hydrogen evolution reaction in 0.5 M H 2 SO 4 at an onset potential of 34.7 mV, an overpotential of 60.9 mV (at j = 10 mA cm -2 ) and with remarkable long-term stability (∼10% current drop after 70 h testing period). They are promising as a non-Pt catalyst for practical hydrogen evolution reaction.

  20. Hydrothermal synthesis of stable metallic 1T phase WS2 nanosheets for thermoelectric application

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Piao, Mingxing; Chu, Jin; Wang, Xiao; Chi, Yao; Zhang, Heng; Li, Chaolong; Shi, Haofei; Joo, Min-Kyu

    2018-01-01

    Two-dimensional materials have gained great attention as a promising thermoelectric (TE) material due to their unique density of state with confined electrons and holes. Here, we synthesized 1T phase tungsten disulfide (WS2) nanosheets with high TE performance via the hydrothermal method. Flexible WS2 nanosheets restacked thin films were fabricated by employing the vacuum filtration technique. The measured electrical conductivity was 45 S cm-1 with a Seebeck coefficient of +30 μV K-1 at room temperature, indicating a p-type characteristic. Furthermore, the TE performance could be further improved by thermal annealing treatment. It was found the electrical conductivity could be enhanced 2.7 times without sacrificing the Seebeck coefficient, resulting in the power factor of 9.40 μW m-1 K-2. Moreover, such 1T phase WS2 nanosheets possess high phase stability since the TE properties maintained constant at least half one year in the air atmosphere. Notably, other kinds of 1T phase transitional metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) with excellent TE performance also could be imitated by using the procedure in this work. Finally, we believe a variety of materials based on 1T phase TMDCs nanosheets have great potential as candidate for future TE applications.

  1. Peptoid nanosheets exhibit a new secondary-structure motif.

    PubMed

    Mannige, Ranjan V; Haxton, Thomas K; Proulx, Caroline; Robertson, Ellen J; Battigelli, Alessia; Butterfoss, Glenn L; Zuckermann, Ronald N; Whitelam, Stephen

    2015-10-15

    A promising route to the synthesis of protein-mimetic materials that are capable of complex functions, such as molecular recognition and catalysis, is provided by sequence-defined peptoid polymers--structural relatives of biologically occurring polypeptides. Peptoids, which are relatively non-toxic and resistant to degradation, can fold into defined structures through a combination of sequence-dependent interactions. However, the range of possible structures that are accessible to peptoids and other biological mimetics is unknown, and our ability to design protein-like architectures from these polymer classes is limited. Here we use molecular-dynamics simulations, together with scattering and microscopy data, to determine the atomic-resolution structure of the recently discovered peptoid nanosheet, an ordered supramolecular assembly that extends macroscopically in only two dimensions. Our simulations show that nanosheets are structurally and dynamically heterogeneous, can be formed only from peptoids of certain lengths, and are potentially porous to water and ions. Moreover, their formation is enabled by the peptoids' adoption of a secondary structure that is not seen in the natural world. This structure, a zigzag pattern that we call a Σ('sigma')-strand, results from the ability of adjacent backbone monomers to adopt opposed rotational states, thereby allowing the backbone to remain linear and untwisted. Linear backbones tiled in a brick-like way form an extended two-dimensional nanostructure, the Σ-sheet. The binary rotational-state motif of the Σ-strand is not seen in regular protein structures, which are usually built from one type of rotational state. We also show that the concept of building regular structures from multiple rotational states can be generalized beyond the peptoid nanosheet system.

  2. Understanding soft glassy materials using an energy landscape approach

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hwang, Hyun Joo; Riggleman, Robert A.; Crocker, John C.

    2016-09-01

    Many seemingly different soft materials--such as soap foams, mayonnaise, toothpaste and living cells--display strikingly similar viscoelastic behaviour. A fundamental physical understanding of such soft glassy rheology and how it can manifest in such diverse materials, however, remains unknown. Here, by using a model soap foam consisting of compressible spherical bubbles, whose sizes slowly evolve and whose collective motion is simply dictated by energy minimization, we study the foam's dynamics as it corresponds to downhill motion on an energy landscape function spanning a high-dimensional configuration space. We find that these downhill paths, when viewed in this configuration space, are, surprisingly, fractal. The complex behaviour of our model, including power-law rheology and non-diffusive bubble motion and avalanches, stems directly from the fractal dimension and energy function of these paths. Our results suggest that ubiquitous soft glassy rheology may be a consequence of emergent fractal geometry in the energy landscapes of many complex fluids.

  3. Fabrication of manganese dioxide nanoplates anchoring on biomass-derived cross-linked carbon nanosheets for high-performance asymmetric supercapacitors

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Yiju; Yu, Neng; Yan, Peng; Li, Yuguang; Zhou, Xuemei; Chen, Shuangling; Wang, Guiling; Wei, Tong; Fan, Zhuangjun

    2015-12-01

    In this paper, MnO2 nanoplates loading on biomass-derived cross-linked carbon nanosheets have been prepared by a two-step synthesis. At first, the cross-linked carbon nanosheets derived from willow catkin are synthesized by one-step pyrolysis and activation method, then the MnO2 anchored cross-linked carbon nanosheets is prepared via in-situ hydrothermal deposition. The asymmetric supercapacitor with terrific energy and power density is assembled by employing the MnO2 anchored cross-linked carbon nanosheets as the positive electrode and the cross-linked carbon nanosheets as the negative electrode in a 1 M Na2SO4 electrolyte. The asymmetric supercapacitor displays a high energy density of 23.6 Wh kg-1 at a power density of 188.8 W kg-1 within a wide voltage rage of 0-1.9 V. In addition, the asymmetric supercapacitor exhibits excellent cycling stability with only 1.4% capacitance loss after 10000 cycles at 1 A g-1. These discoveries open up the prospect of biomass/biowaste derived carbon-based composites for high-voltage asymmetric supercapacitors with superb energy and power density performance.

  4. Investigation of oxygen reduction and methanol oxidation reaction activity of PtAu nano-alloy on surface modified porous hybrid nanocarbon supports

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Parambath Vinayan, Bhaghavathi; Nagar, Rupali; Ramaprabhu, Sundara

    2016-09-01

    We investigate the electrocatalytic activity of PtAu alloy nanoparticles supported on various chemically modified carbon morphologies towards oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and methanol oxidation reaction (MOR). The surface-modification of graphene nanosheets (f-G), multi-walled carbon nanotubes (f-MWNTs) and (graphene nanosheets-carbon nanotubes) hybrid support (f-G-MWNTs) were carried out by soft functionalization method using a cationic polyelectrolyte poly-(diallyldimethyl ammonium chloride). The Pt and PtAu alloy nanoparticles were dispersed over chemically modified carbon supports by sodium-borohydride assisted modified polyol reduction method. The electrochemical performance of all electrocatalysts were studied by half- and full-cell proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) measurements and PtAu/f-G-MWNTs catalyst comparatively yielded the best catalytic performance. PEMFC full cell measurements of PtAu/f-G-MWNTs cathode electrocatalyst yield a maximum power density of 319 mW cm-2 at 60 °C without any back pressure,which is 2.1 times higher than that of cathode electrocatalyst Pt on graphene support. The high ORR and MOR activity of PtAu/f-G-MWNTs electrocatalyst is due to the alloying effect and inherent beneficial properties of porous hybrid nanocarbon support.

  5. Chemical Welding on Semimetallic TiS2 Nanosheets for High-Performance Flexible n-Type Thermoelectric Films.

    PubMed

    Zhou, Yuan; Wan, Juanyong; Li, Qi; Chen, Lei; Zhou, Jiyang; Wang, Heao; He, Dunren; Li, Xiaorui; Yang, Yaocheng; Huang, Huihui

    2017-12-13

    Solution-based processing of two-dimensional (2D) materials provides the possibility of allowing these materials to be incorporated into large-area thin films, which can translate the interesting fundamental properties of 2D materials into available devices. Here, we report for the first time a novel chemical-welding method to achieve high-performance flexible n-type thermoelectric films using 2D semimetallic TiS 2 nanosheets. We employ chemically exfoliated TiS 2 nanosheets bridged with multivalent cationic metal Al 3+ to cross-link the nearby sheets during the film deposition process. We find that such a treatment can greatly enhance the stability of the film and can improve the power factor by simultaneously increasing the Seebeck coefficient and electrical conductivity. The resulting TiS 2 nanosheet-based flexible film shows a room temperature power factor of ∼216.7 μW m -1 K -2 , which is among the highest chemically exfoliated 2D transition-metal dichalcogenide nanosheet-based films and comparable to the best flexible n-type thermoelectric films, to our knowledge, indicating its potential applications in wearable electronics.

  6. Synthesis of MoS2/rGO nanosheets hybrid materials for enhanced visible light assisted photocatalytic activity

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pal, Shreyasi; Dutta, Shibsankar; De, Sukanta

    2018-04-01

    A facile hydrothermal method has been adopted to synthesize pure MoS2 nanosheets and MoS2/rGO nanosheets hybrid. The samples were characterized using field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), X-ray diffraction spectroscopy (XRD), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET). The photocatalytic performance and reusability of MoS2 nanosheets and MoS2/rGO hybrids was evaluated by discoloring of RhB under visible light irradiation. Results indicated that MoS2/rGO photocatalysts with large surface area of 69.5 m2 g-1 could completely degrade 50 mL of 8 mg L-1 RhB aqueous solution in 90 min with excellent recycling and structural stability as compared with pure MoS2 nanosheets (53%). Such enhanced performance could be explained due to the high surface area, enhanced light absorption and the increased dye adsorptivity and reduced electron-hole pair recombination with the presence of rGO.

  7. Large-scale synthesis of NbS2 nanosheets with controlled orientation on graphene by ambient pressure CVD.

    PubMed

    Ge, Wanyin; Kawahara, Kenji; Tsuji, Masaharu; Ago, Hiroki

    2013-07-07

    We report ambient pressure chemical vapor deposition (CVD) growth of single-crystalline NbS2 nanosheets with controlled orientation. On Si and SiO2 substrates, NbS2 nanosheets grow almost perpendicular to the substrate surface. However, when we apply transferred CVD graphene on SiO2 as a substrate, NbS2 sheets grow laterally lying on the graphene. The NbS2 sheets show the triangular and hexagonal shapes with a thickness of about 20-200 nm and several micrometres in the lateral dimension. Analyses based on X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy indicate that the NbS2 nanosheets are single crystalline 3R-type with a rhombohedral structure of R3m space group. Our findings on the formation of highly aligned NbS2 nanosheets on graphene give new insight into the formation mechanism of NbS2 and would contribute to the templated growth of various layered materials.

  8. Polymer-silicon nanosheet composites: bridging the way to optoelectronic applications

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lyuleeva, Alina; Helbich, Tobias; Rieger, Bernhard; Lugli, Paolo

    2017-04-01

    The fabrication of electronic devices from sensitive, functional, two-dimensional (2D) nanomaterials with anisotropic structural properties has attracted much attention. Many theoretical and experimental studies have been performed; however, such materials have not been used in applications. In this context, the focus has shifted toward the study and synthesis of new materials. Freestanding hydrogen-terminated silicon nanosheets (SiNSs) are a new class of material with outstanding (opto)electronic properties (e.g. photoluminescence at approximately 510 nm) (Nakano 2014 J. Ceram. Soc. Japan 122 748). SiNSs are promising candidates for use in nanoelectronic devices and flexible electronics. Additional reasons for interest in such nanomaterials are their structural anisotropy and the fact that they are made from silicon. Here, we present examples for the application of functionalized SiNS-based composites as active materials for photonic sensors. The implementation of SiNSs in a covalent nanocomposite not only improves their stability but also facilitates subsequent device fabrication. Thus, SiNSs can be used in a straightforward setup preparation procedure. We show that the modification of novel Si-based 2D nanosheets with selected organic components not only opens a new field of photosensitive applications but also improves the processability of these nanosheets (Niu et al 2014 Sci. Rep. 4 4810, Chimene et al 2015 Adv. Mater. 27 7261).

  9. Macroscopic and spectroscopic investigations of the adsorption of nitroaromatic compounds on graphene oxide, reduced graphene oxide, and graphene nanosheets.

    PubMed

    Chen, Xiaoxiao; Chen, Baoliang

    2015-05-19

    The surface properties and adsorption mechanisms of graphene materials are important for potential environmental applications. The adsorption of m-dinitrobenzene, nitrobenzene, and p-nitrotoluene onto graphene oxide (GO), reduced graphene oxide (RGO), and graphene (G) nanosheets was investigated using IR spectroscopy to probe the molecular interactions of graphene materials with nitroaromatic compounds (NACs). The hydrophilic GO displayed the weakest adsorption capability. The adsorption of RGO and G was significantly increased due to the recovery of hydrophobic π-conjugation carbon atoms as active sites. RGO nanosheets, which had more defect sites than did GO or G nanosheets, resulted in the highest adsorption of NACs which was 10-50 times greater than the reported adsorption of carbon nanotubes. Superior adsorption was dominated by various interaction modes including π-π electron donor-acceptor interactions between the π-electron-deficient phenyls of the NACs and the π-electron-rich matrix of the graphene nanosheets, and the charge electrostatic and polar interactions between the defect sites of graphene nanosheets and the -NO2 of the NAC. The charge transfer was initially proved by FTIR that a blue shift of asymmetric -NO2 stretching was observed with a concomitant red shift of symmetric -NO2 stretching after m-dinitrobenzene was adsorbed. The multiple interaction mechanisms of the adsorption of NAC molecule onto flat graphene nanosheets favor the adsorption, detection, and transformation of explosives.

  10. Preparation and Relaxation of Very Stable Glassy States of a Simulated Liquid

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jack, Robert L.; Hedges, Lester O.; Garrahan, Juan P.; Chandler, David

    2011-12-01

    We prepare metastable glassy states in a model glass former made of Lennard-Jones particles by sampling biased ensembles of trajectories with low dynamical activity. These trajectories form an inactive dynamical phase whose “fast” vibrational degrees of freedom are maintained at thermal equilibrium by contact with a heat bath, while the “slow” structural degrees of freedom are located in deep valleys of the energy landscape. We examine the relaxation to equilibrium and the vibrational properties of these metastable states. The glassy states we prepare by our trajectory sampling method are very stable to thermal fluctuations and also more mechanically rigid than low-temperature equilibrated configurations.

  11. Fabrication, characterisation and voltammetric studies of gold amalgam nanoparticle modified electrodes.

    PubMed

    Welch, Christine M; Nekrassova, Olga; Dai, Xuan; Hyde, Michael E; Compton, Richard G

    2004-09-20

    The tabrication, characterisation, and electroanalytical application of gold and gold amalgam nanoparticles on glassy carbon electrodes is examined. Once the deposition parameters for gold nanoparticle electrodes were optimised, the analytical utility of the electrodes was examined in CrIII electroanalysis. It was found that gold nanoparticle modified (Au-NM) electrodes possess higher sensitivity than gold macroelectrodes. In addition, gold amalgam nanoparticle modified (AuHg-NM) electrodes were fabricated and characterised. The response of those electrodes was recorded in the presence of important environmental analytes (heavy metal cations). It was found AuHg-NM electrodes demonstrate a unique voltammetric behaviour and can be applied for electroanalysis when enhanced sensitivity is crucial.

  12. Janus graphene oxide nanosheet: A promising additive for enhancement of polymeric membranes performance prepared via phase inversion.

    PubMed

    Akbari, Mahdi; Shariaty-Niassar, Mojtaba; Matsuura, Takeshi; Ismail, Ahmad Fauzi

    2018-10-01

    Although polymeric membranes find important role in water and waste water treatment in recent years, their fouling is still an important problem. Application of hydrophilic nanoparticles (NPs) is one of the proposed methods for reducing fouling of membranes but their dispersion and stability in hydrophobic polymer matrix is challenging. In this study Janus functionalization of the NPs was introduced as a promising technique toward achieving this goal. Polysulfone (PSf) membranes containing various concentrations of graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets and Janus graphene oxide (Janus GO) nanosheets (as additives) were fabricated via phase inversion. The synthesized nanosheets were characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Raman spectroscopy and dynamic light scattering (DLS). The prepared membranes also were then characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), contact angle (CA), water uptake, porosity, mean pore size and casting solution viscosity. The membrane performance was also tested by determining pure water flux (PWF), bovine serum albumin (BSA) separation, flux reduction by fouling and flux recovery. CA reduced from 85° to 68° and PWF increased from 23.15 L/m 2  h to 230.61 L/m 2  h for PSF and Janus GO nanosheets containing membrane, respectively. Also investigation of antifouling performance of membranes revealed that membrane with the 1 wt.% of Janus GO nanosheets had higher water flux recovery ratio (FRR) and lower irreversible fouling (R ir ) of 84% and 16%, respectively. These improvements were attributed to the better dispersion and stability of Janus GO nanosheets in the prepared mixed matrix membranes. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  13. Reduced humic acid nanosheets and its uses as nanofiller

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Duraia, El-shazly M.; Henderson, B.; Beall, Gary W.

    2015-10-01

    Leonardite is highly oxidized form of lignite coal and contains a number of carboxyl groups around the edges of a graphene-like core. A novel approach has been developed to synthesize graphene oxide-like nanosheets in large scale utilizing leonardite as a starting material. Humic acid extracted from leonardite has been reduced by performing a high pressure catalytic hydrogenation. The reaction was carried out inside a high pressure stirred reactor at 150 °C and 750 psi (~5.2×106 Pa). Morphology of the as-synthesized samples showed porous platy particles and EDAX analysis indicates the carbon and oxygen atomic ratios as 96:4-97:3%. The as-synthesized material has been used as nanofiller in polyurethane. The reduced humic acid-polyurethane nanocomposite showed over 250% increase of Young's modulus. This new approach provides a low cost and scalable source for graphene oxide-like nanosheets in nanocomposite applications.

  14. Effects of dispersible MoS2 nanosheets and Nano-silver coexistence on the metabolome of yeast.

    PubMed

    Yang, Qi; Zhang, Lei; Ben, Ailing; Wu, Na; Yi, Yanliang; Jiang, Ling; Huang, He; Yu, Yadong

    2018-05-01

    As a new rising star in the post-graphene two-dimensional materials (2DMs), molybdenum disulfide (MoS 2 ) attracts increasing attentions and is widely applied. However, the chemical and toxicological interaction between MoS 2 and other co-contaminants is still poorly understood. Nano-silver (N-Ag) is the most commonly used nanomaterial in commercial products and distributed widely in the environment. Herein, we investigated the effects of chitosan functionalized MoS 2 (CS-MoS 2 ) nanosheets, a water-dispersible form of MoS 2 , on the microbial toxicity of N-Ag. We found that the incorporation of CS-MoS 2 nanosheets attenuated the oxidative stress induced by N-Ag on yeast cells, while caused more membrane stress. In addition, the inhibition of N-Ag on the metabolic activities of yeast cells could be attenuated by CS-MoS 2 nanosheets as well. The coexistence of N-Ag and CS-MoS 2 nanosheets mainly perturbed the amino acid-related metabolic pathways in yeast cells, and phosphoric acid was a potential nanotoxicity biomarker. We further found that CS-MoS 2 nanosheets dramatically absorbed the Ag ion released from N-Ag, which might be responsible for its attenuation effect on the microbial toxicity of N-Ag. Our findings provide more new insights for the ecotoxicity evaluation of MoS 2 and other 2DMs. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. 2D Space-Confined Synthesis of Few-Layer MoS2 Anchored on Carbon Nanosheet for Lithium-Ion Battery Anode.

    PubMed

    Zhou, Jingwen; Qin, Jian; Zhang, Xiang; Shi, Chunsheng; Liu, Enzuo; Li, Jiajun; Zhao, Naiqin; He, Chunnian

    2015-04-28

    A facile and scalable 2D spatial confinement strategy is developed for in situ synthesizing highly crystalline MoS2 nanosheets with few layers (≤5 layers) anchored on 3D porous carbon nanosheet networks (3D FL-MoS2@PCNNs) as lithium-ion battery anode. During the synthesis, 3D self-assembly of cubic NaCl particles is adopted to not only serve as a template to direct the growth of 3D porous carbon nanosheet networks, but also create a 2D-confined space to achieve the construction of few-layer MoS2 nanosheets robustly lain on the surface of carbon nanosheet walls. In the resulting 3D architecture, the intimate contact between the surfaces of MoS2 and carbon nanosheets can effectively avoid the aggregation and restacking of MoS2 as well as remarkably enhance the structural integrity of the electrode, while the conductive matrix of 3D porous carbon nanosheet networks can ensure fast transport of both electrons and ions in the whole electrode. As a result, this unique 3D architecture manifests an outstanding long-life cycling capability at high rates, namely, a specific capacity as large as 709 mAh g(-1) is delivered at 2 A g(-1) and maintains ∼95.2% even after 520 deep charge/discharge cycles. Apart from promising lithium-ion battery anode, this 3D FL-MoS2@PCNN composite also has immense potential for applications in other areas such as supercapacitor, catalysis, and sensors.

  16. Large birefringence and linear dichroism in TiS3 nanosheets.

    PubMed

    Papadopoulos, Nikos; Frisenda, Riccardo; Biele, Robert; Flores, Eduardo; Ares, Jose R; Sánchez, Carlos; van der Zant, Herre S J; Ferrer, Isabel J; D'Agosta, Roberto; Castellanos-Gomez, Andres

    2018-06-21

    TiS3 nanosheets have proven to be promising candidates for ultrathin optoelectronic devices due to their direct narrow band-gap and the strong light-matter interaction. In addition, the marked in-plane anisotropy of TiS3 is appealing for the fabrication of polarization sensitive optoelectronic devices. Herein, we study the optical contrast of TiS3 nanosheets of variable thickness on SiO2/Si substrates, from which we obtain the complex refractive index in the visible spectrum. We find that TiS3 exhibits very large birefringence, larger than that of well-known strong birefringent materials like TiO2 or calcite, and linear dichroism. These findings are in qualitative agreement with ab initio calculations that suggest an excitonic origin for the birefringence and linear dichroism of the material.

  17. Na 2 Ti 3 O 7 Nanoplatelets and Nanosheets Derived from a Modified Exfoliation Process for Use as a High-Capacity Sodium-Ion Negative Electrode

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Ko, Jesse S.; Doan-Nguyen, Vicky V. T.; Kim, Hyung-Seok

    2017-01-18

    The increasing interest in Na-ion batteries (NIBs) can be traced to sodium abundance, its low cost compared to lithium, and its intercalation chemistry being similar to that of lithium. We report that the electrochemical properties of a promising negative electrode material, Na2Ti3O7, are improved by exfoliating its layered structure and forming 2D nanoscale morphologies, nanoplatelets, and nanosheets. Exfoliation of Na2Ti3O7 was carried out by controlling the amount of proton exchange for Na+ and then proceeding with the intercalation of larger cations such as methylammonium and propylammonium. An optimized mixture of nanoplatelets and nanosheets exhibited the best electrochemical performance in termsmore » of high capacities in the range of 100–150 mA h g–1 at high rates with stable cycling over several hundred cycles. These properties far exceed those of the corresponding bulk material, which is characterized by slow charge-storage kinetics and poor long-term stability. The results reported in this study demonstrate that charge-storage processes directed at 2D morphologies of surfaces and few layers of sheets are an exciting direction for improving the energy and power density of electrode materials for NIBs.« less

  18. Electrochemical fabrication of interconnected tungsten bronze nanosheets for high performance supercapacitor

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yang, Gan; Liu, Xiao-Xia

    2018-04-01

    Interconnected H0.12WO3ṡH2O nanosheets with high electrochemical performances are fabricated on partial exfoliated graphite substrate (Ex-GF) by potential-limited pulse galvanostatic method (PLPG). The dead volume problem of bulk pesudocapacitive materials is addressed by the novel interconnected nanosheets structure, enabling a large specific capacitance of 5.95 F cm-2 (495.8 F g-1) at 2 mA cm-2. Merited from the fluent electrolyte penetration channels established by the plenty voids among nanosheets, as well as fast electron transportation in the electronic conductive tungsten bronze which is directly grown from graphite substrate, the obtained WO3/Ex-GF demonstrates excellent rate capability. The material can maintain 60.0% of its capacitance when the discharge current density increases from 2 to 100 mA cm-2. Moreover, WO3/Ex-GF doesn't show capacitance decay after 5000 galvanostatic charge-discharge cycles, displaying its super stability. Furthermore, a high performance asymmetric supercapacitor assembled by using WO3/Ex-GF and electrochemical fabricated MnO2/Ex-GF as negative and positive electrodes, respectively displays a high energy density of 2.88 mWh cm-3 at the power density of 11.1 mW cm-3, demonstrating its potential application for energy storage.

  19. Adsorption of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons by graphene and graphene oxide nanosheets.

    PubMed

    Wang, Jun; Chen, Zaiming; Chen, Baoliang

    2014-05-06

    The adsorption of naphthalene, phenanthrene, and pyrene onto graphene (GNS) and graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets was investigated to probe the potential adsorptive sites and molecular mechanisms. The microstructure and morphology of GNS and GO were characterized by elemental analysis, XPS, FTIR, Raman, SEM, and TEM. Graphene displayed high affinity to the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), whereas GO adsorption was significantly reduced after oxygen-containing groups were attached to GNS surfaces. An unexpected peak was found in the curve of adsorption coefficients (Kd) with the PAH equilibrium concentrations. The hydrophobic properties and molecular sizes of the PAHs affected the adsorption of G and GO. The high affinities of the PAHs to GNS are dominated by π-π interactions to the flat surface and the sieving effect of the powerful groove regions formed by wrinkles on GNS surfaces. In contrast, the adsorptive sites of GO changed to the carboxyl groups attaching to the edges of GO because the groove regions disappeared and the polar nanosheet surfaces limited the π-π interactions. The TEM and SEM images initially revealed that after loading with PAH, the conformation and aggregation of GNS and GO nanosheets dramatically changed, which explained the observations that the potential adsorption sites of GNS and GO were unusually altered during the adsorption process.

  20. Highly efficient low-temperature plasma-assisted modification of TiO2 nanosheets with exposed {001} facets for enhanced visible-light photocatalytic activity.

    PubMed

    Li, Beibei; Zhao, Zongbin; Zhou, Quan; Meng, Bo; Meng, Xiangtong; Qiu, Jieshan

    2014-11-03

    Anatase TiO2 nanosheets with exposed {001} facets have been controllably modified under non-thermal dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma with various working gas, including Ar, H2 , and NH3 . The obtained TiO2 nanosheets possess a unique crystalline core/amorphous shell structure (TiO2 @TiO2-x ), which exhibit the improved visible and near-infrared light absorption. The types of dopants (oxygen vacancy/surface Ti(3+) /substituted N) in oxygen-deficient TiO2 can be tuned by controlling the working gases during plasma discharge. Both surface Ti(3+) and substituted N were doped into the lattice of TiO2 through NH3 plasma discharge, whereas the oxygen vacancy or Ti(3+) (along with the oxygen vacancy) was obtained after Ar or H2 plasma treatment. The TiO2 @TiO2-x from NH3 plasma with a green color shows the highest photocatalytic activity under visible-light irradiation compared with the products from Ar plasma or H2 plasma due to the synergistic effect of reduction and simultaneous nitridation in the NH3 plasma. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  1. Structure and magnetic properties of low-temperature phase Mn-Bi nanosheets with ultra-high coercivity and significant anisotropy

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Liu, Rongming, E-mail: rmliu@iphy.ac.cn, E-mail: shenbg@iphy.ac.cn; Zhang, Ming; Niu, E

    2014-05-07

    The microstructure, crystal structure, and magnetic properties of low-temperature phase (LTP) Mn-Bi nanosheets, prepared by surfactant assistant high-energy ball milling (SA-HEBM) with oleylamine and oleic acid as the surfactant, were examined with scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and vibrating sample magnetometer, respectively. Effect of ball-milling time on the coercivity of LTP Mn-Bi nanosheets was systematically investigated. Results show that the high energy ball milling time from tens of minutes to several hours results in the coercivity increase of Mn-Bi powders and peak values of 14.3 kOe around 10 h. LTP Mn-Bi nanosheets are characterized by an average thickness of tensmore » of nanometers, an average diameter of ∼1.5 μm, and possess a relatively large aspect ratio, an ultra-high room temperature coercivity of 22.3 kOe, a significant geometrical and magnetic anisotropy, and a strong (00l) crystal texture. Magnetization and demagnetization behaviors reveal that wall pinning is the dominant coercivity mechanism in these LTP Mn-Bi nanosheets. The ultrafine grain refinement introduced by the SA-HEBM process contribute to the ultra-high coercivity of LTP Mn-Bi nanosheets and a large number of defects put a powerful pinning effect on the magnetic domain movement, simultaneously. Further magnetic measurement at 437 K shows that a high coercivity of 17.8 kOe and a strong positive temperature coefficient of coercivity existed in the bonded permanent magnet made by LTP Mn-Bi nanosheets.« less

  2. Adsorption of NO2 molecules on armchair phosphorene nanosheet for nano sensor applications - A first-principles study.

    PubMed

    Nagarajan, V; Chandiramouli, R

    2017-08-01

    The electronic and NO 2 adsorption properties of hydrogenated armchair phosphorene nanosheet device is investigated through density functional theory (DFT) and non-equilibrium Green's function method (NEGF). The armchair phosphorene nanosheet is used for the detection of NO 2 gas in phosphorene molecular device. The DOS spectrum demonstrates the change in peak maxima due to transfer of electrons between NO 2 gas and phosphorene base material. The change in the peak amplitude is observed along the valance band as well as in the conduction band in the transmission spectrum of phosphorene device. I-V characteristics support the change in the current upon adsorption of NO 2 gas molecule on phosphorene molecular device. Using formation energy, structural stability of phosphorene nanosheet has been studied. The adsorption properties of NO 2 on phosphorene nanosheet have also been investigated with the help of adsorption energy, Mulliken charge and Bader charge analysis. In order to ascertain the selectivity of NO 2 gas along phosphorene molecular device in the ambient condition, the adsorption behavior of O 2 and CO 2 is also studied. The findings of the present work confirm that phosphorene molecular device can be used as a NO 2 gas sensor and also the influence of Al substitution in phosphorene nanosheet device is explored and reported. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  3. Stable Fe/ZSM-5 Nanosheet Zeolite Catalysts for the Oxidation of Benzene to Phenol

    PubMed Central

    2017-01-01

    Fe/ZSM-5 nanosheet zeolites of varying thickness were synthesized with di- and tetraquaternary ammonium structure directing agents and extensively characterized for their textural, structural, and catalytic properties. Introduction of Fe3+ ions in the framework of nanosheet zeolites was slightly less effective than in bulk ZSM-5 zeolite. Steaming was necessary to activate all catalysts for N2O decomposition and benzene oxidation. The higher the Fe content, the higher the degree of Fe aggregation was after catalyst activation. The degree of Fe aggregation was lower when the crystal domain size of the zeolite or the Fe content was decreased. These two parameters had a substantial influence on the catalytic performance. Decreasing the number of Fe sites along the b-direction strongly suppressed secondary reactions of phenol and, accordingly, catalyst deactivation. This together with the absence of diffusional limitations in nanosheet zeolites explains the much higher phenol productivity obtainable with nanostructured Fe/ZSM-5. Steamed Fe/ZSM-5 zeolite nanosheet synthesized using C22-6-3·Br2 (domain size in b-direction ∼3 nm) and containing 0.24 wt % Fe exhibited the highest catalytic performance. During the first 24 h on stream, this catalyst produced 185 mmolphenol g–1. Calcination to remove the coke deposits completely restored the initial activity. PMID:28413693

  4. Glucose Biosensor Based on a Glassy Carbon Electrode Modified with Polythionine and Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes

    PubMed Central

    Tang, Wenwei; Li, Lei; Wu, Lujun; Gong, Jiemin; Zeng, Xinping

    2014-01-01

    A novel glucose biosensor was fabricated. The first layer of the biosensor was polythionine, which was formed by the electrochemical polymerisation of the thionine monomer on a glassy carbon electrode. The remaining layers were coated with chitosan-MWCNTs, GOx, and the chitosan-PTFE film in sequence. The MWCNTs embedded in FAD were like “conductive wires” connecting FAD with electrode, reduced the distance between them and were propitious to fast direct electron transfer. Combining with good electrical conductivity of PTH and MWCNTs, the current response was enlarged. The sensor was a parallel multi-component reaction system (PMRS) and excellent electrocatalytic performance for glucose could be obtained without a mediator. The glucose sensor had a working voltage of −0.42 V, an optimum working temperature of 25°C, an optimum working pH of 7.0, and the best percentage of polytetrafluoroethylene emulsion (PTFE) in the outer composite film was 2%. Under the optimised conditions, the biosensor displayed a high sensitivity of 2.80 µA mM−1 cm−2 and a low detection limit of 5 µM (S/N = 3), with a response time of less than 15 s and a linear range of 0.04 mM to 2.5 mM. Furthermore, the fabricated biosensor had a good selectivity, reproducibility, and long-term stability, indicating that the novel CTS+PTFE/GOx/MWCNTs/PTH composite is a promising material for immobilization of biomolecules and fabrication of third generation biosensors. PMID:24816121

  5. Glucose biosensor based on a glassy carbon electrode modified with polythionine and multiwalled carbon nanotubes.

    PubMed

    Tang, Wenwei; Li, Lei; Wu, Lujun; Gong, Jiemin; Zeng, Xinping

    2014-01-01

    A novel glucose biosensor was fabricated. The first layer of the biosensor was polythionine, which was formed by the electrochemical polymerisation of the thionine monomer on a glassy carbon electrode. The remaining layers were coated with chitosan-MWCNTs, GOx, and the chitosan-PTFE film in sequence. The MWCNTs embedded in FAD were like "conductive wires" connecting FAD with electrode, reduced the distance between them and were propitious to fast direct electron transfer. Combining with good electrical conductivity of PTH and MWCNTs, the current response was enlarged. The sensor was a parallel multi-component reaction system (PMRS) and excellent electrocatalytic performance for glucose could be obtained without a mediator. The glucose sensor had a working voltage of -0.42 V, an optimum working temperature of 25°C, an optimum working pH of 7.0, and the best percentage of polytetrafluoroethylene emulsion (PTFE) in the outer composite film was 2%. Under the optimised conditions, the biosensor displayed a high sensitivity of 2.80 µA mM(-1) cm(-2) and a low detection limit of 5 µM (S/N = 3), with a response time of less than 15 s and a linear range of 0.04 mM to 2.5 mM. Furthermore, the fabricated biosensor had a good selectivity, reproducibility, and long-term stability, indicating that the novel CTS+PTFE/GOx/MWCNTs/PTH composite is a promising material for immobilization of biomolecules and fabrication of third generation biosensors.

  6. Achieving significantly enhanced visible-light photocatalytic efficiency using a polyelectrolyte: the composites of exfoliated titania nanosheets, graphene, and poly(diallyl-dimethyl-ammonium chloride)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhang, Qian; An, Qi; Luan, Xinglong; Huang, Hongwei; Li, Xiaowei; Meng, Zilin; Tong, Wangshu; Chen, Xiaodong; Chu, Paul K.; Zhang, Yihe

    2015-08-01

    A high-performance visible-light-active photocatalyst is prepared using the polyelectrolyte/exfoliated titania nanosheet/graphene oxide (GO) precursor by flocculation followed by calcination. The polyelectrolyte poly(diallyl-dimethyl-ammonium chloride) serves not only as an effective binder to precipitate GO and titania nanosheets, but also boosts the overall performance of the catalyst significantly. Unlike most titania nanosheet-based catalysts reported in the literature, the composite absorbs light in the UV-Vis-NIR range. Its decomposition rate of methylene blue is 98% under visible light. This novel strategy of using a polymer to enhance the catalytic performance of titania nanosheet-based catalysts affords immense potential in designing and fabricating next-generation photocatalysts with high efficiency.A high-performance visible-light-active photocatalyst is prepared using the polyelectrolyte/exfoliated titania nanosheet/graphene oxide (GO) precursor by flocculation followed by calcination. The polyelectrolyte poly(diallyl-dimethyl-ammonium chloride) serves not only as an effective binder to precipitate GO and titania nanosheets, but also boosts the overall performance of the catalyst significantly. Unlike most titania nanosheet-based catalysts reported in the literature, the composite absorbs light in the UV-Vis-NIR range. Its decomposition rate of methylene blue is 98% under visible light. This novel strategy of using a polymer to enhance the catalytic performance of titania nanosheet-based catalysts affords immense potential in designing and fabricating next-generation photocatalysts with high efficiency. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available. See DOI: 10.1039/c5nr03256c

  7. Black phosphorus nanosheets for rapid microRNA detection.

    PubMed

    Zhou, Jie; Li, Zhongjun; Ying, Ming; Liu, Maixian; Wang, Xiaomei; Wang, Xianyou; Cao, Liwei; Zhang, Han; Xu, Gaixia

    2018-03-15

    Herein, for the first time, a sensitive sensing platform for rapid detection of microRNA was developed by employing black phosphorus nanosheets as the fluorescence quenching material. The biosensor displayed a good linear response to microRNA ranging from 10 nM to 1000 nM. Moreover, the biosensor could distinguish triple nucleotide polymorphism.

  8. Electrochemical Determination of TNT, DNT, RDX, and HMX with Gold Nanoparticles/Poly(Carbazole-Aniline) Film-Modified Glassy Carbon Sensor Electrodes Imprinted for Molecular Recognition of Nitroaromatics and Nitramines.

    PubMed

    Sağlam, Şener; Üzer, Ayşem; Erçağ, Erol; Apak, Reşat

    2018-06-19

    Since nitroaromatic- and nitramine-type energetic materials, mostly arising from military activities, are persistent pollutants in soil and groundwater, on-site sensing of these hazardous chemicals has gained importance. A novel electrochemical sensor was designed for detecting nitroaromatic- and nitramine-type energetic materials, relying on gold nanoparticles (Au nano ), modified glassy carbon (GC) electrode coated with nitro-energetic memory-poly(carbazole-aniline) copolymer (Cz- co-ANI) film (e.g., TNT memory-GC/P(Cz- co-ANI)-Au nano modified electrode). Current was recorded against concentration to build the calibration curves that were found to be linear within the range of 100-1000 μg L -1 for 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) and 2,4-dinitrotoluene (DNT): 50-1000 μg L -1 for 1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazacyclohexane (RDX) and octahydro-1,3,5,7-tetranitro-1,3,5,7-tetrazocine (HMX). The corresponding limits of detection were 25 μg L -1 for TNT, 30 μg L -1 for DNT, and 10 μg L -1 for both RDX and HMX, using nitro-energetic memory-GC/P(Cz- co-ANI)-Au nano electrodes. These electrodes were used separately, and specific determinations were made in various mixtures of nitro-energetic materials. The developed method could be efficiently used in electroanalyzing nitroaromatics and nitramines in military explosives (i.e., comp B, octol, and comp A5). The sensor electrodes were specific for the tested nitro-energetic compounds and did not respond to paracetamol-caffeine-based analgesic drug, acetylsalicylic acid (aspirin), sweetener, and sugar that can be used as camouflage materials in passenger belongings. The developed method was statistically validated against the standard LC-MS reference method in contaminated clay soil samples containing TNT and RDX explosives.

  9. Disentangling the Role of Entanglement Density and Molecular Alignment in the Mechanical Response of Glassy Polymers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    O'Connor, Thomas; Robbins, Mark

    Glassy polymers are a ubiquitous part of modern life, but much about their mechanical properties remains poorly understood. Since chains in glassy states are hindered from exploring their conformational entropy, they can't be understood with common entropic network models. Additionally, glassy states are highly sensitive to material history and nonequilibrium distributions of chain alignment and entanglement can be produced during material processing. Understanding how these far-from equilibrium states impact mechanical properties is analytically challenging but essential to optimizing processing methods. We use molecular dynamics simulations to study the yield and strain hardening of glassy polymers as separate functions of the degree of molecular alignment and inter-chain entanglement. We vary chain alignment and entanglement with three different preparation protocols that mimic common processing conditions in and out of solution. We compare our results to common mechanical models of amorphous polymers and assess their applicability to different experimental processing conditions. This research was performed within the Center for Materials in Extreme Dynamic Environments (CMEDE) under the Hopkins Extreme Materials Institute at Johns Hopkins University. Financial support was provided by Grant W911NF-12-2-0022.

  10. Synthesis of bilayer MoS{sub 2} nanosheets by a facile hydrothermal method and their methyl orange adsorption capacity

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Ye, Lijuan; Xu, Haiyan; Zhang, Dingke

    2014-07-01

    Highlights: • Hexagonal phase of MoS{sub 2} nanosheets was synthesized by a facile hydrothermal method. • FE-SEM and TEM images show the sheets-like morphology of MoS{sub 2}. • Bilayer MoS{sub 2} can be grown under the optimized mole ratio of 2:1 of S:Mo at 180 °C for 50 h. • The MoS{sub 2} nanosheets possess high methyl orange adsorption capacity due to the large surface area. - Abstract: Molybdenum disulfide (MoS{sub 2}) nanosheets have received significant attention recently due to the potential applications for exciting physics and technology. Here we show that MoS{sub 2} nanosheets can be prepared by amore » facile hydrothermal method. The study of the properties of the MoS{sub 2} nanosheets prepared at different conditions suggests that the mole ratio of precursors and hydrothermal time significantly influences the purity, crystalline quality and thermal stability of MoS{sub 2}. X-ray diffraction, Raman spectra and transmission electron microscopy results indicate that bilayer MoS{sub 2} can be grown under an optimized mole ratio of 2:1 of S:Mo at 180 °C for 50 h. Moreover, such ultrathin nanosheets exhibit a prominent photoluminescence and possess high methyl orange adsorption capacity due to the large surface area, which can be potentially used in photodevice and photochemical catalyst.« less

  11. Toward DNA electrochemical sensing by free-standing ZnO nanosheets grown on 2D thin-layered MoS2.

    PubMed

    Yang, Tao; Chen, Meijing; Kong, Qianqian; Luo, Xiliang; Jiao, Kui

    2017-03-15

    Very recently, the 2-dimensional MoS 2 layer as base substrate integrated with other materials has caused people's emerging attention. In this paper, a thin-layered MoS 2 was prepared through an ultrasonic exfoliation method from bulk MoS 2 and then the free-standing ZnO nanosheet was electrodeposited on the MoS 2 scaffold for DNA sensing. The ZnO/MoS 2 nanocomposite revealed smooth and vertical nanosheets morphology by scanning electron microscopy, compared with the sole MoS 2 and sole ZnO. Importantly, the partially negative charged MoS 2 layer is beneficial to the nucleation and growth of ZnO nanosheets under the effect of electrostatic interactions. Classic methylene blue, which possesses different affinities to dsDNA and ssDNA, was adopted as the measure signal to confirm the immobilization and hybridization of DNA on ZnO nanosheets and pursue the optimal synthetic conditions. And the results demonstrated that the free-standing ZnO/MoS 2 nanosheets had low detection limit (6.6×10 -16 M) and has a positive influence on DNA immobilization and hybridization. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  12. Compressed glassy carbon: An ultrastrong and elastic interpenetrating graphene network

    PubMed Central

    Hu, Meng; He, Julong; Zhao, Zhisheng; Strobel, Timothy A.; Hu, Wentao; Yu, Dongli; Sun, Hao; Liu, Lingyu; Li, Zihe; Ma, Mengdong; Kono, Yoshio; Shu, Jinfu; Mao, Ho-kwang; Fei, Yingwei; Shen, Guoyin; Wang, Yanbin; Juhl, Stephen J.; Huang, Jian Yu; Liu, Zhongyuan; Xu, Bo; Tian, Yongjun

    2017-01-01

    Carbon’s unique ability to have both sp2 and sp3 bonding states gives rise to a range of physical attributes, including excellent mechanical and electrical properties. We show that a series of lightweight, ultrastrong, hard, elastic, and conductive carbons are recovered after compressing sp2-hybridized glassy carbon at various temperatures. Compression induces the local buckling of graphene sheets through sp3 nodes to form interpenetrating graphene networks with long-range disorder and short-range order on the nanometer scale. The compressed glassy carbons have extraordinary specific compressive strengths—more than two times that of commonly used ceramics—and simultaneously exhibit robust elastic recovery in response to local deformations. This type of carbon is an optimal ultralight, ultrastrong material for a wide range of multifunctional applications, and the synthesis methodology demonstrates potential to access entirely new metastable materials with exceptional properties. PMID:28630918

  13. Cure kinetics, morphologies, and mechanical properties of thermoplastic/MWCNT modified multifunctional glassy epoxies prepared via continuous reaction methods

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cheng, Xiaole

    The primary goal of this dissertation is to develop a novel continuous reactor method to prepare partially cured epoxy prepolymers for aerospace prepreg applications with the aim of replacing traditional batch reactors. Compared to batch reactors, the continuous reactor is capable of solubilizing and dispersing a broad range of additives including thermoplastic tougheners, stabilizers, nanoparticles and curatives and advancing epoxy molecular weights and viscosities while reducing energy consumption. In order to prove this concept, polyethersulfone (PES) modified 4, 4'-diaminodiphenylsulfone (44DDS)/tetraglycidyl-4, 4'-diaminodiphenylmethane (TGDDM) epoxy prepolymers were firstly prepared using both continuous reactor and batch reactor methods. Kinetic studies confirmed the chain extension reaction in the continuous reactor is similar to the batch reactor, and the molecular weights and viscosities of prepolymers were readily controlled through reaction kinetics. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) confirmed similar cured network morphologies for formulations prepared from batch and continuous reactors. Additionally tensile strength, tensile modulus and fracture toughness analyses concluded mechanical properties of cured epoxy matrices produced from both reactors were equivalent. Effects of multifunctional epoxy compositions on thermoplastics phase-separated morphologies were systematically studied using a combination of AFM with nanomechanical mapping, spectroscopic and calorimetric techniques to provide new insights to tailor cured reaction induced phase separation (CRIPS) in multifunctional epoxy blend networks. Furthermore, how resultant crosslinked glassy polymer network and phase-separated morphologies correlated with mechanical properties are discussed in detail. Multiwall carbon nanotube (MWCNT)/TGDDM epoxy prepolymers were further prepared by combining the successful strategies for advancing epoxy chemistries and dispersing nanotubes using the continuous reactor

  14. One-step electrodeposited nickel cobalt sulfide nanosheet arrays for high-performance asymmetric supercapacitors.

    PubMed

    Chen, Wei; Xia, Chuan; Alshareef, Husam N

    2014-09-23

    A facile one-step electrodeposition method is developed to prepare ternary nickel cobalt sulfide interconnected nanosheet arrays on conductive carbon substrates as electrodes for supercapacitors, resulting in exceptional energy storage performance. Taking advantages of the highly conductive, mesoporous nature of the nanosheets and open framework of the three-dimensional nanoarchitectures, the ternary sulfide electrodes exhibit high specific capacitance (1418 F g(-1) at 5 A g(-1) and 1285 F g(-1) at 100 A g(-1)) with excellent rate capability. An asymmetric supercapacitor fabricated by the ternary sulfide nanosheet arrays as positive electrode and porous graphene film as negative electrode demonstrates outstanding electrochemical performance for practical energy storage applications. Our asymmetric supercapacitors show a high energy density of 60 Wh kg(-1) at a power density of 1.8 kW kg(-1). Even when charging the cell within 4.5 s, the energy density is still as high as 33 Wh kg(-1) at an outstanding power density of 28.8 kW kg(-1) with robust long-term cycling stability up to 50,000 cycles.

  15. Two-Dimensional CH3NH3PbI3 Perovskite Nanosheets for Ultrafast Pulsed Fiber Lasers.

    PubMed

    Li, Pengfei; Chen, Yao; Yang, Tieshan; Wang, Ziyu; Lin, Han; Xu, Yanhua; Li, Lei; Mu, Haoran; Shivananju, Bannur Nanjunda; Zhang, Yupeng; Zhang, Qinglin; Pan, Anlian; Li, Shaojuan; Tang, Dingyuan; Jia, Baohua; Zhang, Han; Bao, Qiaoliang

    2017-04-12

    Even though the nonlinear optical effects of solution processed organic-inorganic perovskite films have been studied, the nonlinear optical properties in two-dimensional (2D) perovskites, especially their applications for ultrafast photonics, are largely unexplored. In comparison to bulk perovskite films, 2D perovskite nanosheets with small thicknesses of a few unit cells are more suitable for investigating the intrinsic nonlinear optical properties because bulk recombination of photocarriers and the nonlinear scattering are relatively small. In this research, we systematically investigated the nonlinear optical properties of 2D perovskite nanosheets derived from a combined solution process and vapor phase conversion method. It was found that 2D perovskite nanosheets have stronger saturable absorption properties with large modulation depth and very low saturation intensity compared with those of bulk perovskite films. Using an all dry transfer method, we constructed a new type of saturable absorber device based on single piece 2D perovskite nanosheet. Stable soliton state mode-locking was achieved, and ultrafast picosecond pulses were generated at 1064 nm. This work is likely to pave the way for ultrafast photonic and optoelectronic applications based on 2D perovskites.

  16. One-pot synthesis of powder-form β-Ni(OH)2 monolayer nanosheets with high electrochemical performance

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wang, Minmin; Ren, Wanzhong; Zhao, Yunan; Liu, Yan; Cui, Hongtao

    2013-08-01

    In this work, β-Ni(OH)2 monolayer nanosheets, which had been thought to be unachievable, were successfully prepared for the first time by a one-pot strategy using epoxide as precipitation agent and sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) as surfactant. The characterization results indicate that the formation of monolayer morphology depends on the mediation of SDS molecules. The XRD patterns demonstrate the loose and defective packing of Ni(OH)2 layers in the SDS intercalated samples. The disappearing of vibration band of free hydroxyl groups in the FTIR spectra suggests the interlayer separation resulted by SDS. The TEM and AFM images further confirm the formation of monolayer nanosheets. It is proposed that the in situ modification of the secondary growth unit of β-Ni(OH)2 by SDS allows its two-dimensional anisotropic growth through steric hindrance of SDS molecules. In addition, this effect allows isolation of β-Ni(OH)2 from solvent with keeping of monolayer nanosheet state in dry powder. The electrochemical measurement results indicate that β-Ni(OH)2 monolayer nanosheets own much higher urea electrolysis performance than their corresponding multilayer structure.

  17. Ultrasensitive Detection of Methylmercaptan Gas Using Layered Manganese Oxide Nanosheets with a Quartz Crystal Microbalance Sensor.

    PubMed

    Tokura, Yuki; Nakada, Gentoku; Moriyama, Yukari; Oaki, Yuya; Imai, Hiroaki; Shiratori, Seimei

    2017-11-21

    Methylmercaptan (MM) is a marker of periodontal disease; however, the required sensitivity for MM is parts per billion, which has been challenging to realize with a simple sensor. Here, we report the capability to detect MM at concentrations as low as 20 ppb using layered manganese oxide nanosheets with a quartz crystal microbalance sensor. The sensing capabilities of the manganese oxide nanosheets are promoted by adsorbed water present on and between the nanosheets. The strong adsorption of MM to the sensor, which is necessary for the high sensitivity, leads to significant hysteresis in the response on cycling due to irreversible adsorption. However, the sensor can be readily reset by heating to 80 °C, which leads to highly reproducible response to MM vapor at low concentrations. A key aspect of this sensor design is the high selectivity toward MM in comparison to other compounds such as ethanol, ammonia, acetaldehyde, acetic acid, toluene, and pyridine. This layered nanosheets design for high-sensitivity sensors, demonstrated here for dilute MM, holds significant promise for addressing needs to identify sulfur compounds associated for environmental protection and medical diagnostics.

  18. Study of the physical properties of Ge-S-Ga glassy alloy

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rana, Anjli; Sharma, Raman

    2018-05-01

    In the present work, we have studied the effect of Ga doping on the physical properties of Ge20S80-xGax glassy alloy. The basic physical parameters which have important role in determining the structure and strength of the material viz. average coordination number, lone-pair electrons, mean bond energy, glass transition temperature, electro negativity, probabilities for bond distribution and cohesive energy have been computed theoretically for Ge-S-Ga glassy alloy. Here, the glass transition temperature and mean bond energy have been investigated using the Tichy-Ticha approach. The cohesive energy has been calculated by using chemical bond approach (CBA) method. It has been found that while average coordination number increases, all the other parameters decrease with the increase in Ga content in Ge-S-Ga system.

  19. Confined Transformation Derived Ultrathin Titanate Nanosheets/ Graphene Films for Excellent Na/K Ion Storage.

    PubMed

    Zeng, Cheng; Xie, Fangxi; Yang, Xianfeng; Jaroniec, Mietek; Zhang, Lei; Qiao, Shizhang

    2018-05-02

    Confined transformation of assembled two-dimensional MXene (titanium carbide) and reduced graphene oxide (rGO) nanosheets was employed to prepare the free-standing films of the integrated ultrathin sodium titanate (NTO)/potassium titanate (KTO) nanosheets sandwiched between graphene layers. The ultrathin Ti-based nanosheets reduce the diffusion distance while rGO layers enhance conductivity. Incorporation of graphene into the titanate films produced efficient binder-free anodes for ion storage. The resulting NTO/rGO electrode for sodium ion batteries exhibited an excellent rate performance and long cycling stability characterized by reversible capacity of 72 mA h g-1 at 5 A g-1 after 10000 cycles. Moreover, flexible KTO/rGO electrode for potassium ion batteries maintained a reversible capacity of 75 mA h g-1 after 700 cycles at 2 A g-1. These results demonstrate the superiority of the unique sandwich-type electrodes. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  20. Investigating the Influence of MoS2 Nanosheets on E. coli from Metabolomics Level.

    PubMed

    Wu, Na; Yu, Yadong; Li, Tao; Ji, Xiaojun; Jiang, Ling; Zong, Jiajun; Huang, He

    2016-01-01

    Molybdenum disulfide, a type of two-dimensional layered material with unique properties, has been widely used in many fields. However, an exact understanding of its toxicity remains elusive, let alone its effects on the environmental microbial community. In this study, we utilized metabolomics technology to explore the effects of different concentrations of molybdenum disulfide nanosheets on Escherichia coli for the first time. The results showed that with increasing concentration of molybdenum disulfide nanosheets, the survival rate of Escherichia coli was decreased and the release of lactic dehydrogenase was increased. At the same time, intracellular concentrations of reactive oxygen species were dramatically increased. In addition, metabolomics analysis showed that high concentrations of molybdenum disulfide nanosheets (100, 1000 μg/mL) could significantly affect the metabolic profile of Escherichia coli, including glycine, serine and threonine metabolism, protein biosynthesis, urea cycle and pyruvate metabolism. These results will be beneficial for molybdenum disulfide toxicity assessment and further applications.

  1. P dopants induced ferromagnetism in g-C3N4 nanosheets: Experiments and calculations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Liu, Yonggang; Liu, Peitao; Sun, Changqi; Wang, Tongtong; Tao, Kun; Gao, Daqiang

    2017-05-01

    Outstanding magnetic properties are highly desired for two-dimensional (2D) semiconductor nanosheets due to their potential applications in spintronics. Metal-free ferromagnetic 2D materials whose magnetism originated from the pure s/p electron configuration could give a long spin relaxation time, which plays the vital role in spin information transfer. Here, we synthesize 2D g-C3N4 nanosheets with room temperature ferromagnetism induced by P doping. In our case, the Curie temperature of P doped g-C3N4 nanosheets reaches as high as 911 K and the precise control of the P concentration can further adjust the saturation magnetization of the samples. First principles calculation results indicate that the magnetic moment is primarily due to strong hybridization between p bonds of P, N, and C atoms, giving the theoretical evidence of the ferromagnetism. This work opens another door to engineer a future generation of spintronic devices.

  2. Polyoxometalate-Graphene Nanocomposite Modified Electrode for Electrocatalytic Detection of Ascorbic Acid

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Zhang, Weiying; Du, Dan; Gunaratne, Don

    Phosphomolybdate functionalized graphene nanocomposite (PMo 12-GS) has been successfully formed on a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) for the detection of ascorbic acid (AA). The obtained PMo 12-GS modified GCE, was characterized by cyclic voltammetry, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy and compared with GCE, GS modified GCE, and PMo 12 modified GCE. It shows an increased current and a decrease in over-potential of ~210 mV. The amperometric signals are linearly proportional to the AA concentration in a wide concentration range from 1×10 -6 M to 8×10 -3 M, with a detection limit ofmore » 0.5×10 -6 M. Finally, the PMo 12-GS modified electrode was employed for the determination of the AA level in vitamin C tablets, with recoveries between 96.3 and 100.8 %.« less

  3. Facile Synthesis of Ultrathin Nickel-Cobalt Phosphate 2D Nanosheets with Enhanced Electrocatalytic Activity for Glucose Oxidation.

    PubMed

    Shu, Yun; Li, Bing; Chen, Jingyuan; Xu, Qin; Pang, Huan; Hu, Xiaoya

    2018-01-24

    Two-dimensional (2D) ultrathin nickel-cobalt phosphate nanosheets were synthesized using a simple one-step hydrothermal method. The morphology and structure of nanomaterials synthesized under different Ni/Co ratios were investigated by transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Moreover, the influence of nanomaterials' structure on the electrochemical performance for glucose oxidation was investigated. It is found that the thinnest nickel-cobalt phosphate nanosheets synthesized with a Ni/Co ratio of 2:5 showed the best electrocatalytic activity for glucose oxidation. Also, the ultrathin nickel-cobalt phosphate nanosheet was used as an electrode material to construct a nonenzymatic electrochemical glucose sensor. The sensor showed a wide linear range (2-4470 μM) and a low detection limit (0.4 μM) with a high sensitivity of 302.99 μA·mM -1 ·cm -2 . Furthermore, the application of the as-prepared sensor in detection of glucose in human serum was successfully demonstrated. These superior performances prove that ultrathin 2D nickel-cobalt phosphate nanosheets are promising materials in the field of electrochemical sensing.

  4. Interaction of Boron Nitride Nanosheets with Model Cell Membranes.

    PubMed

    Hilder, Tamsyn A; Gaston, Nicola

    2016-06-03

    Boron nitride nanomaterials have attracted attention for biomedical applications, due to their improved biocompatibility when compared with carbon nanomaterials. Recently, graphene and graphene oxide nanosheets have been shown, both experimentally and computationally, to destructively extract phospholipids from Escherichia coli. Boron nitride nanosheets (BNNSs) have exciting potential biological and environmental applications, for example the ability to remove oil from water. These applications are likely to increase the exposure of prokaryotes and eukaryotes to BNNSs. Yet, despite their promise, the interaction between BNNSs and cell membranes has not yet been investigated. Here, all-atom molecular dynamics simulations were used to demonstrate that BNNSs are spontaneously attracted to the polar headgroups of the lipid bilayer. The BNNSs do not passively cross the lipid bilayer, most likely due to the large forces experienced by the BNNSs. This study provides insight into the interaction of BNNSs with cell membranes and may aid our understanding of their improved biocompatibility. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  5. Understanding Diffusion in Hierarchical Zeolites with House-of-Cards Nanosheets.

    PubMed

    Bai, Peng; Haldoupis, Emmanuel; Dauenhauer, Paul J; Tsapatsis, Michael; Siepmann, J Ilja

    2016-08-23

    Introducing mesoporosity to conventional microporous sorbents or catalysts is often proposed as a solution to enhance their mass transport rates. Here, we show that diffusion in these hierarchical materials is more complex and exhibits non-monotonic dependence on sorbate loading. Our atomistic simulations of n-hexane in a model system containing microporous nanosheets and mesopore channels indicate that diffusivity can be smaller than in a conventional zeolite with the same micropore structure, and this observation holds true even if we confine the analysis to molecules completely inside the microporous nanosheets. Only at high sorbate loadings or elevated temperatures, when the mesopores begin to be sufficiently populated, does the overall diffusion in the hierarchical material exceed that in conventional microporous zeolites. Our model system is free of structural defects, such as pore blocking or surface disorder, that are typically invoked to explain slower-than-expected diffusion phenomena in experimental measurements. Examination of free energy profiles and visualization of molecular diffusion pathways demonstrates that the large free energy cost (mostly enthalpic in origin) for escaping from the microporous region into the mesopores leads to more tortuous diffusion paths and causes this unusual transport behavior in hierarchical nanoporous materials. This knowledge allows us to re-examine zero-length-column chromatography data and show that these experimental measurements are consistent with the simulation data when the crystallite size instead of the nanosheet thickness is used for the nominal diffusional length.

  6. Graphene nanosheets and graphite oxide as promising adsorbents for removal of organic contaminants from aqueous solution.

    PubMed

    Ji, Liangliang; Chen, Wei; Xu, Zhaoyi; Zheng, Shourong; Zhu, Dongqiang

    2013-01-01

    Graphenes are an emerging class of carbon nanomaterials whose adsorption properties toward organic compounds have not been well understood. In the present study, graphene nanosheets were prepared by reoxidation and abrupt heating of graphite oxide, which was prepared by sequential chemical oxidation of commercial nonporous graphite powder. Adsorption properties of three aromatic compounds (naphthalene, 2-naphthol, and 1-naphthylamine) and one pharmaceutical compound (tylosin) on graphene nanosheets and graphite oxide were examined to explore the potential of these two adsorbents for the removal of organic contaminants from aqueous solutions. Compared with the literature data of adsorption on carbon nanotubes, adsorption of bulky, flexible tylosin on graphene nanosheets exhibited markedly faster adsorption kinetics, which can be attributed to their opened-up layer structure. Graphene nanosheets and graphite oxide showed similar sequences of adsorption affinity: 1-naphthylamine > 2-naphthol > tylosin > naphthalene (with much larger differences observed on graphite oxide). It was proposed that the strong adsorption of the three aromatic compounds was mainly due to π-π electron donor-acceptor interactions with the graphitic surfaces of adsorbents. Additionally, Lewis acid-base interaction was likely an important factor contributing to the strong adsorption of 1-naphthylamine and tylosin, especially for the O-functionality-abundant graphite oxide. After being normalized on the basis of adsorbent surface area, adsorption affinities of all four tested adsorbates on graphene nanosheets were very close to those on nonporous graphite powder, reflecting complete accessibility of the adsorbent surface area in adsorption. Copyright © by the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America, Inc.

  7. 2D SnO2 Nanosheets: Synthesis, Characterization, Structures, and Excellent Sensing Performance to Ethylene Glycol

    PubMed Central

    Wan, Wenjin; Li, Yuehua; Ren, Xingping; Zhao, Yinping; Gao, Fan; Zhao, Heyun

    2018-01-01

    Two dimensional (2D)SnO2 nanosheets were synthesized by a substrate-free hydrothermal route using sodium stannate and sodium hydroxide in a mixed solvent of absolute ethanol and deionized water at a lower temperature of 130 °C. The characterization results of the morphology, microstructure, and surface properties of the as-prepared products demonstrated that SnO2 nanosheets with a tetragonal rutile structure, were composed of oriented SnO2 nanoparticles with a diameter of 6–12 nm. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) and high-resolution transmission electron microscope (FETEM) results demonstrated that the dominant exposed surface of the SnO2 nanoparticles was (101), but not (110). The growth and formation was supposed to follow the oriented attachment mechanism. The SnO2 nanosheets exhibited an excellent sensing response toward ethylene glycol at a lower optimal operating voltage of 3.4 V. The response to 400 ppm ethylene glycol reaches 395 at 3.4 V. Even under the low concentration of 5, 10, and 20 ppm, the sensor exhibited a high response of 6.9, 7.8, and 12.0 to ethylene glycol, respectively. The response of the SnO2 nanosheets exhibited a linear dependence on the ethylene glycol concentration from 5 to 1000 ppm. The excellent sensing performance was attributed to the present SnO2 nanoparticles with small size close to the Debye length, the larger specific surface, the high-energy exposed facets of the (101) surface, and the synergistic effects of the SnO2 nanoparticles of the nanosheets. PMID:29462938

  8. Effects of xylem-sap composition on glassy-winged sharpshooter egg maturation on high and low quality host plants

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Glassy-winged sharpshooters must feed as adults to produce mature eggs. Cowpea and sunflower are both readily accepted by the glassy-winged sharpshooter for feeding, but egg production on sunflower was reported to be lower than egg production on cowpea. To better understand the role of adult diet in...

  9. Green synthesis route for WS2 nanosheets using water intercalation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jha, Ravindra; Santra, Sumita; Guha, Prasanta Kumar

    2016-09-01

    The exfoliation of layered materials has attracted a lot of attention in recent times. In this report, we have exfoliated WS2 in deionized water (without using any chemical solvents, surfactants, etc) using the thermal coefficient mismatch between WS2 and H2O along with other anomalous properties of water, such as the formation of five-, six- and seven-ring structures while freezing. Two different green synthesis routes have been proposed for WS2 exfoliation. We call them the ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ quenching methods. The nanosheets were investigated using different characterization tools and we found the exfoliation of the bulk into <4 layers with an average lateral dimension of 200 nm. The exfoliation method is unique in the sense of producing pristine nanosheets due to the absence of any organic solvents, which are difficult to remove.

  10. Confinement of Aggregation-Induced Emission Molecular Rotors in Ultrathin Two-Dimensional Porous Organic Nanosheets for Enhanced Molecular Recognition.

    PubMed

    Dong, Jinqiao; Li, Xu; Zhang, Kang; Di Yuan, Yi; Wang, Yuxiang; Zhai, Linzhi; Liu, Guoliang; Yuan, Daqiang; Jiang, Jianwen; Zhao, Dan

    2018-03-21

    Despite the rapid development of molecular rotors over the past decade, it still remains a huge challenge to understand their confined behavior in ultrathin two-dimensional (2D) nanomaterials for molecular recognition. Here, we report an all-carbon, 2D π-conjugated aromatic polymer, named NUS-25, containing flexible tetraphenylethylene (TPE) units as aggregation-induced emission (AIE) molecular rotors. NUS-25 bulk powder can be easily exfoliated into micrometer-sized lamellar freestanding nanosheets with a thickness of 2-5 nm. The dynamic behavior of the TPE rotors is partially restricted through noncovalent interactions in the ultrathin 2D nanosheets, which is proved by comparative experimental studies including AIE characteristics, size-selective molecular recognition, and theoretical calculations of rotary energy barrier. Because of the partially restricted TPE rotors, NUS-25 nanosheets are highly fluorescent. This property allows NUS-25 nanosheets to be used as a chemical sensor for the specific detection of acenaphthylene among a series of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) via fluorescent quenching mechanism. Further investigations show that NUS-25 nanosheets have much higher sensitivity and selectivity than their stacked bulk powder and other similar polymers containing dynamic TPE rotors. The highly efficient molecular recognition can be attributed to the photoinduced electron transfer (PET) from NUS-25 nanosheets to acenaphthylene, which is investigated by time-resolved photoluminescence measurements (TRPL), excitation and emission spectra, and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Our findings demonstrate that confinement of AIE molecular rotors in 2D nanomaterials can enhance the molecular recognition. We anticipate that the material design strategy demonstrated in this study will inspire the development of other ultrathin 2D nanomaterials equipped with smart molecular machines for various applications.

  11. Enhanced photocatalytic performances of ultrafine g-C3N4 nanosheets obtained by gaseous stripping with wet nitrogen

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fan, Chengkong; Feng, Qiang; Xu, Guangqing; Lv, Jun; Zhang, Yong; Liu, Jiaqin; Qin, Yongqiang; Wu, Yucheng

    2018-01-01

    Graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) is a promising heterogeneous photocatalyst for organics pollutants degradation and water splitting. Herein, we highlight an available pathway to prepare the ultrafine g-C3N4 nanosheets by gaseous stripping of bulk g-C3N4 in wet nitrogen. As comparison, g-C3N4 treated in air and nitrogen atmospheres are also prepared. The obtained products are characterized with X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectra, respectively. Well dispersed g-C3N4 nanosheets can be obtained by this gaseous stripping process in wet nitrogen, which possess much higher specific surface area (211.2 m2 g-1) than that of bulk g-C3N4 (15.3 m2 g-1). Both RhB degradation and water splitting are applied to characterize the photocatalytic performances of the ultrafine g-C3N4 nanosheets. The g-C3N4 (w-N2) nanosheets can degrade 20 mg/L RhB completely within 12 min under visible light illumination, which is 5.32 times faster than that of bulk g-C3N4. Also, the g-C3N4 (w-N2) nanosheets possess the highest photocatalytic hydrogen evolution rate of 1113.48 μmol h-1 g-1 under visible light illumination, which is 6 times that of bulk g-C3N4. The mechanisms of enhancing the photocatalytic performance are discussed to be the higher oxidation ability of VB and higher specific surface area (211.2 m2/g) of the ultrafine g-C3N4 nanosheets.

  12. Electroanalytical detection of pindolol: comparison of unmodified and reduced graphene oxide modified screen-printed graphite electrodes.

    PubMed

    Cumba, Loanda R; Smith, Jamie P; Brownson, Dale A C; Iniesta, Jesús; Metters, Jonathan P; do Carmo, Devaney R; Banks, Craig E

    2015-03-07

    Recent work has reported the first electroanalytical detection of pindolol using reduced graphene oxide (RGO) modified glassy carbon electrodes [S. Smarzewska and W. Ciesielski, Anal. Methods, 2014, 6, 5038] where it was reported that the use of RGO provided significant improvements in the electroanalytical signal in comparison to a bare (unmodified) glassy carbon electrode. We demonstrate, for the first time, that the electroanalytical quantification of pindolol is actually possible using bare (unmodified) screen-printed graphite electrodes (SPEs). This paper addresses the electroanalytical determination of pindolol utilising RGO modified SPEs. Surprisingly, it is found that bare (unmodified) SPEs provide superior electrochemical signatures over that of RGO modified SPEs. Consequently the electroanalytical sensing of pindolol is explored at bare unmodified SPEs where a linear range between 0.1 μM-10.0 μM is found to be possible whilst offering a limit of detection (3σ) corresponding to 0.097 μM. This provides a convenient yet analytically sensitive method for sensing pindolol. The optimised electroanalytical protocol using the unmodified SPEs, which requires no pre-treatment (electrode polishing) or electrode modification step (such as with the use of RGO), was then further applied to the determination of pindolol in urine samples. This work demonstrates that the use of RGO modified SPEs have no significant benefits when compared to the bare (unmodified) alternative and that the RGO free electrode surface can provide electro-analytically useful performances.

  13. Kelvin probe imaging of photo-injected electrons in metal oxide nanosheets from metal sulfide quantum dots under remote photochromic coloration

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kondo, A.; Yin, G.; Srinivasan, N.; Atarashi, D.; Sakai, E.; Miyauchi, M.

    2015-07-01

    Metal oxide and quantum dot (QD) heterostructures have attracted considerable recent attention as materials for developing efficient solar cells, photocatalysts, and display devices, thus nanoscale imaging of trapped electrons in these heterostructures provides important insight for developing efficient devices. In the present study, Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM) of CdS quantum dot (QD)-grafted Cs4W11O362- nanosheets was performed before and after visible-light irradiation. After visible-light excitation of the CdS QDs, the Cs4W11O362- nanosheet surface exhibited a decreased work function in the vicinity of the junction with CdS QDs, even though the Cs4W11O362- nanosheet did not absorb visible light. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy revealed that W5+ species were formed in the nanosheet after visible-light irradiation. These results demonstrated that excited electrons in the CdS QDs were injected and trapped in the Cs4W11O362- nanosheet to form color centers. Further, the CdS QDs and Cs4W11O362- nanosheet composite films exhibited efficient remote photochromic coloration, which was attributed to the quantum nanostructure of the film. Notably, the responsive wavelength of the material is tunable by adjusting the size of QDs, and the decoloration rate is highly efficient, as the required length for trapped electrons to diffuse into the nanosheet surface is very short owing to its nanoscale thickness. The unique properties of this photochromic device make it suitable for display or memory applications. In addition, the methodology described in the present study for nanoscale imaging is expected to aid in the understanding of electron transport and trapping processes in metal oxide and metal chalcogenide heterostructure, which are crucial phenomena in QD-based solar cells and/or photocatalytic water-splitting systems.Metal oxide and quantum dot (QD) heterostructures have attracted considerable recent attention as materials for developing efficient solar cells

  14. Effect of calcination temperature on structure and photocatalytic activity under UV and visible light of nanosheets from low-cost magnetic leucoxene mineral

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Charerntanom, Wissanu; Pecharapa, Wisanu; Pavasupree, Suttipan; Pavasupree, Sorapong

    2017-07-01

    This research has experimentally synthesized the nanosheets from the naturally-mineral magnetic leucoxene under the hydrothermal synthesis condition of 105 °C for 24 h. Magnetic leucoxene was utilized as the starting material due to its high TiO2 content (70-80%) and inexpensiveness. The characterization of the synthesized nanosheets was subsequently carried out: the crystalline structure, the chemical composition, the shape, the size and the specific surface area, by the X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray fluorescence (XRF), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) specific surface area analysis. The analysis results indicated that the starting magnetic leucoxene is of rutile phase while the synthesized nanosheets are of titanate structure (H2TixO2x + 1). After calcination at the temperature range of 300 and 400 °C, the calcined samples demonstrated TiO2 (B). At 500 and 600 °C, the calcined nanosheets revealed a bi-crystalline mixture consisting of TiO2 (B) and anatase TiO2. At 700-1000 °C, the crystalline structure shows anatase and rutile phase. At 1100 °C, the prepared samples consisted of a mixture of anatase, rutile phase of TiO2, and Fe2O3 phase. The synthesized product also exhibited the flower-like morphology with 2-5 μm in diameter, and the nanosheets structure was slightly curved, with 100 nm to 2 μm in width and 1-3 nm in thickness. At 100-200 °C showed sheets-like structure. At 300-1100 °C, the calcined nanosheets became unstable and began to decompose and transform into nanoparticles. The increasing size of nanoparticle decreased the specific surface area of the nanosheets, caused by increasing calcination temperature. Furthermore, the BET specific surface area of the nanosheets was approximately 279.8 m2/g. More importantly, the synthesized nanosheets achieved the higher photocatalytic activity under UV and visible light than did the commercial TiO2 nanoparticles (JRC-01, JRC-03

  15. Development of efficient electrocatalysts via molecular hybridization of NiMn layered double hydroxide nanosheets and graphene

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ma, Wei; Ma, Renzhi; Wu, Jinghua; Sun, Pengzhan; Liu, Xiaohe; Zhou, Kechao; Sasaki, Takayoshi

    2016-05-01

    Ni2+Mn3+ layered double hydroxide (LDH) nanoplatelets have been hydrothermally synthesized in a homogeneous precipitation of mixed Ni2+/Mn2+ salts at a molar ratio of 2 : 1 via the hydrolysis of hexamethylenetetramine (HMT) and in situ oxidation with H2O2. After anion-exchange, NiMn LDH was exfoliated into unilamellar nanosheets. Subsequent flocculation of NiMn LDH nanosheets with (reduced) graphene oxide (GO/rGO) into superlattice composites was achieved and further tested as electrocatalysts for oxygen evolution reaction (OER). The face-to-face heteroassembly of NiMn LDH nanosheets with conductive rGO at an alternating sequence resulted in a small overpotential of 0.26 V and a Tafel slope of 46 mV per decade, which is much superior to as-exfoliated nanosheets. The analyses of electrochemical activity surface area (ECSA) and impedance spectra clearly indicated that the superlattice structure was ideal in facilitating the migration/transfer of the charge and reactants, revealing the electrochemical energetics and mechanism behind the synergistic effect arising from molecular hybridization. The proof of concept toward total water splitting using the newly developed hybrid electrocatalyst was demonstrated by an electrolysis cell powered by a single AA battery.Ni2+Mn3+ layered double hydroxide (LDH) nanoplatelets have been hydrothermally synthesized in a homogeneous precipitation of mixed Ni2+/Mn2+ salts at a molar ratio of 2 : 1 via the hydrolysis of hexamethylenetetramine (HMT) and in situ oxidation with H2O2. After anion-exchange, NiMn LDH was exfoliated into unilamellar nanosheets. Subsequent flocculation of NiMn LDH nanosheets with (reduced) graphene oxide (GO/rGO) into superlattice composites was achieved and further tested as electrocatalysts for oxygen evolution reaction (OER). The face-to-face heteroassembly of NiMn LDH nanosheets with conductive rGO at an alternating sequence resulted in a small overpotential of 0.26 V and a Tafel slope of 46 mV per decade

  16. Isothermal enthalpy relaxation of glassy 1,2,6-hexanetriol

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fransson, Å.; Bäckström, G.

    The isothermal enthalpy relaxation of glassy 1,2,6-hexanetriol has been measured at six temperatures. The relaxation time and the distribution parameters extracted from fits of the Williams-Watts relaxation function are compared with parameters obtained by other techniques and on other substances. A detailed comparison of the Williams-Watts and the Davidson-Cole relaxation functions is presented.

  17. Hierarchical Pd-Sn alloy nanosheet dendrites: an economical and highly active catalyst for ethanol electrooxidation.

    PubMed

    Ding, Liang-Xin; Wang, An-Liang; Ou, Yan-Nan; Li, Qi; Guo, Rui; Zhao, Wen-Xia; Tong, Ye-Xiang; Li, Gao-Ren

    2013-01-01

    Hierarchical alloy nanosheet dendrites (ANSDs) are highly favorable for superior catalytic performance and efficient utilization of catalyst because of the special characteristics of alloys, nanosheets, and dendritic nanostructures. In this paper, we demonstrate for the first time a facile and efficient electrodeposition approach for the controllable synthesis of Pd-Sn ANSDs with high surface area. These synthesized Pd-Sn ANSDs exhibit high electrocatalytic activity and superior long-term cycle stability toward ethanol oxidation in alkaline media. The enhanced electrocataytic activity of Pd-Sn ANSDs may be attributed to Pd-Sn alloys, nanosheet dendrite induced promotional effect, large number of active sites on dendrite surface, large surface area, and good electrical contact with the base electrode. Because of the simple implement and high flexibility, the proposed approach can be considered as a general and powerful strategy to synthesize the alloy electrocatalysts with high surface areas and open dendritic nanostructures.

  18. Hierarchical Pd-Sn Alloy Nanosheet Dendrites: An Economical and Highly Active Catalyst for Ethanol Electrooxidation

    PubMed Central

    Ding, Liang-Xin; Wang, An-Liang; Ou, Yan-Nan; Li, Qi; Guo, Rui; Zhao, Wen-Xia; Tong, Ye-Xiang; Li, Gao-Ren

    2013-01-01

    Hierarchical alloy nanosheet dendrites (ANSDs) are highly favorable for superior catalytic performance and efficient utilization of catalyst because of the special characteristics of alloys, nanosheets, and dendritic nanostructures. In this paper, we demonstrate for the first time a facile and efficient electrodeposition approach for the controllable synthesis of Pd-Sn ANSDs with high surface area. These synthesized Pd-Sn ANSDs exhibit high electrocatalytic activity and superior long-term cycle stability toward ethanol oxidation in alkaline media. The enhanced electrocataytic activity of Pd-Sn ANSDs may be attributed to Pd-Sn alloys, nanosheet dendrite induced promotional effect, large number of active sites on dendrite surface, large surface area, and good electrical contact with the base electrode. Because of the simple implement and high flexibility, the proposed approach can be considered as a general and powerful strategy to synthesize the alloy electrocatalysts with high surface areas and open dendritic nanostructures. PMID:23383368

  19. Chemically linked metal-matrix nanocomposites of boron nitride nanosheets and silver as thermal interface materials

    DOE PAGES

    Nagabandi, N.; Yegin, C.; Feng, X.; ...

    2018-01-31

    Herein, novel hybrid nanocomposite thermal interface materials (TIMs) relying on the chemical linkage of silver, boron nitride nanosheets (BNNSs), and organic ligands are reported. These TIMs were prepared using a co-electrodeposition/chemisorption approach where the electrolytic reduction of silver ions into silver nano-/micro-crystals was coupled with the conjugation of ligand-coated nanosheets onto silver crystals. Furthermore, the influence of bond strength of silver/nanosheet links on the thermal, mechanical, and structural properties is investigated using a combination of techniques; including laser flash analysis, phase-sensitive transient thermoreflectance, nanoindentation, and electron microscopy. Internal nanostructure was found to be strongly dependent on the linker chemistry. Whilemore » the chemical grafting of 4-cyano-benzoyl chloride (CBC) and 2-mercapto-5-benzimidazole carboxylic acid (MBCA) on BNNSs led to the uniform distribution of functionalized-nanosheets in the silver crystal matrix, the physical binding of 4-bromo-benzoyl chloride (BBC) linkers on nanosheets caused the aggregation and phase separation. The thermal conductivity was 236-258 W/m-K and 306-321 W/m-K for physically and chemically conjugated TIMs, respectively, while their hardness varied from 495 to 400 MPa and from 240 to 360 MPa, respectively. The corresponding ratio of thermal conductivity to hardness, which is a critical parameter controlling the performance of TIMs, was ultrahigh for the chemically conjugated TIMs: 1.3x10-6 m2/K-s for MBCA-BNNS and 8.5x10-7 m2/K-s for CBC-BNNS. We anticipate that these materials can satisfy some of the emerging thermal management needs arising from the improved performance and efficiency, miniaturization, and/or high throughput of electronic devices, energy storage devices, energy conversion systems, light-emitting diodes, and telecommunication components.« less

  20. Chemically linked metal-matrix nanocomposites of boron nitride nanosheets and silver as thermal interface materials.

    PubMed

    Nagabandi, N; Yegin, C; Feng, X; King, C; Oh, J K; Scholar, E A; Narumanchi, S; Akbulut, M

    2018-03-09

    Herein, novel hybrid nanocomposite thermal interface materials (TIMs) relying on the chemical linkage of silver, boron nitride nanosheets (BNNSs), and organic ligands are reported. These TIMs were prepared using a co-electrodeposition/chemisorption approach where the electrolytic reduction of silver ions into silver nano-/micro-crystals was coupled with the conjugation of ligand-coated nanosheets onto silver crystals. Furthermore, the influence of the bond strength of silver/nanosheet links on the thermal, mechanical, and structural properties is investigated using a combination of techniques including laser flash analysis, phase-sensitive transient thermoreflectance, nanoindentation, and electron microscopy. The internal nanostructure was found to be strongly dependent on the linker chemistry. While the chemical grafting of 4-cyano-benzoyl chloride (CBC) and 2-mercapto-5-benzimidazole carboxylic acid (MBCA) on BNNSs led to the uniform distribution of functionalized-nanosheets in the silver crystal matrix, the physical binding of 4-bromo-benzoyl chloride linkers on nanosheets caused the aggregation and phase separation. The thermal conductivity was 236-258 W m -1 K and 306-321 W m -1 K for physically and chemically conjugated TIMs, respectively, while their hardness varied from 400-495 MPa and from 240 to 360 MPa, respectively. The corresponding ratio of thermal conductivity to hardness, which is a critical parameter controlling the performance of TIMs, was ultrahigh for the chemically conjugated TIMs: 1.3 × 10 -6 m 2 K -1 s for MBCA-BNNS and 8.5 × 10 -7 m 2 K -1 s for CBC-BNNS. We anticipate that these materials can satisfy some of the emerging thermal management needs arising from the improved performance and efficiency, miniaturization, and/or high throughput of electronic devices, energy storage devices, energy conversion systems, light-emitting diodes, and telecommunication components.