Full-Color Biomimetic Photonic Materials with Iridescent and Non-Iridescent Structural Colors

PubMed Central

Kawamura, Ayaka; Kohri, Michinari; Morimoto, Gen; Nannichi, Yuri; Taniguchi, Tatsuo; Kishikawa, Keiki

2016-01-01

The beautiful structural colors in bird feathers are some of the brightest colors in nature, and some of these colors are created by arrays of melanin granules that act as both structural colors and scattering absorbers. Inspired by the color of bird feathers, high-visibility structural colors have been created by altering four variables: size, blackness, refractive index, and arrangement of the nano-elements. To control these four variables, we developed a facile method for the preparation of biomimetic core-shell particles with melanin-like polydopamine (PDA) shell layers. The size of the core-shell particles was controlled by adjusting the core polystyrene (PSt) particles’ diameter and the PDA shell thicknesses. The blackness and refractive index of the colloidal particles could be adjusted by controlling the thickness of the PDA shell. The arrangement of the particles was controlled by adjusting the surface roughness of the core-shell particles. This method enabled the production of both iridescent and non-iridescent structural colors from only one component. This simple and novel process of using core-shell particles containing PDA shell layers can be used in basic research on structural colors in nature and their practical applications. PMID:27658446

Full-Color Biomimetic Photonic Materials with Iridescent and Non-Iridescent Structural Colors.

PubMed

Kawamura, Ayaka; Kohri, Michinari; Morimoto, Gen; Nannichi, Yuri; Taniguchi, Tatsuo; Kishikawa, Keiki

2016-09-23

The beautiful structural colors in bird feathers are some of the brightest colors in nature, and some of these colors are created by arrays of melanin granules that act as both structural colors and scattering absorbers. Inspired by the color of bird feathers, high-visibility structural colors have been created by altering four variables: size, blackness, refractive index, and arrangement of the nano-elements. To control these four variables, we developed a facile method for the preparation of biomimetic core-shell particles with melanin-like polydopamine (PDA) shell layers. The size of the core-shell particles was controlled by adjusting the core polystyrene (PSt) particles' diameter and the PDA shell thicknesses. The blackness and refractive index of the colloidal particles could be adjusted by controlling the thickness of the PDA shell. The arrangement of the particles was controlled by adjusting the surface roughness of the core-shell particles. This method enabled the production of both iridescent and non-iridescent structural colors from only one component. This simple and novel process of using core-shell particles containing PDA shell layers can be used in basic research on structural colors in nature and their practical applications.

Predictable Particle Engineering: Programming the Energy Level, Carrier Generation, and Conductivity of Core-Shell Particles.

PubMed

Yuan, Conghui; Wu, Tong; Mao, Jie; Chen, Ting; Li, Yuntong; Li, Min; Xu, Yiting; Zeng, Birong; Luo, Weiang; Yu, Lingke; Zheng, Gaofeng; Dai, Lizong

2018-06-20

Core-shell structures are of particular interest in the development of advanced composite materials as they can efficiently bring different components together at nanoscale. The advantage of this structure greatly relies on the crucial design of both core and shell, thus achieving an intercomponent synergistic effect. In this report, we show that decorating semiconductor nanocrystals with a boronate polymer shell can easily achieve programmable core-shell interactions. Taking ZnO and anatase TiO 2 nanocrystals as inner core examples, the effective core-shell interactions can narrow the band gap of semiconductor nanocrystals, change the HOMO and LUMO levels of boronate polymer shell, and significantly improve the carrier density of core-shell particles. The hole mobility of core-shell particles can be improved by almost 9 orders of magnitude in comparison with net boronate polymer, while the conductivity of core-shell particles is at most 30-fold of nanocrystals. The particle engineering strategy is based on two driving forces: catechol-surface binding and B-N dative bonding and having a high ability to control and predict the shell thickness. Also, this approach is applicable to various inorganic nanoparticles with different components, sizes, and shapes.

Controlled Synthesis of Pd/Pt Core Shell Nanoparticles Using Area-selective Atomic Layer Deposition

PubMed Central

Cao, Kun; Zhu, Qianqian; Shan, Bin; Chen, Rong

2015-01-01

We report an atomic scale controllable synthesis of Pd/Pt core shell nanoparticles (NPs) via area-selective atomic layer deposition (ALD) on a modified surface. The method involves utilizing octadecyltrichlorosilane (ODTS) self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) to modify the surface. Take the usage of pinholes on SAMs as active sites for the initial core nucleation, and subsequent selective deposition of the second metal as the shell layer. Since new nucleation sites can be effectively blocked by surface ODTS SAMs in the second deposition stage, we demonstrate the successful growth of Pd/Pt and Pt/Pd NPs with uniform core shell structures and narrow size distribution. The size, shell thickness and composition of the NPs can be controlled precisely by varying the ALD cycles. Such core shell structures can be realized by using regular ALD recipes without special adjustment. This SAMs assisted area-selective ALD method of core shell structure fabrication greatly expands the applicability of ALD in fabricating novel structures and can be readily applied to the growth of NPs with other compositions. PMID:25683469

Ultrasonic approach to the synthesis of HMX@TATB core-shell microparticles with improved mechanical sensitivity.

PubMed

Huang, Bing; Hao, Xiaofei; Zhang, Haobin; Yang, Zhijian; Ma, Zhigang; Li, Hongzhen; Nie, Fude; Huang, Hui

2014-07-01

To improve the safety of sensitive explosive HMX while maintaining explosion performance, a moderately powerful but insensitive explosive TATB was used to coat HMX microparticles via a facile ultrasonic method. By using Estane as surface modifier and nano-sized TATB as the shell layer, the HMX@TATB core-shell microparticles with a monodisperse size and compact shell structure were successfully constructed. Both scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) results confirmed the formation of perfect core-shell structured composites. Based on a systematic and comparative study of the effect of experimental conditions, a possible formation mechanism of core-shell structure was proposed in detail. Moreover, the perfect core-shell HMX@TATB microparticles exhibited a unique thermal behavior and significantly improved mechanical sensitivity compared with that of the physical mixture. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Process to make core-shell structured nanoparticles

DOEpatents

Luhrs, Claudia; Phillips, Jonathan; Richard, Monique N

2014-01-07

Disclosed is a process for making a composite material that contains core-shell structured nanoparticles. The process includes providing a precursor in the form of a powder a liquid and/or a vapor of a liquid that contains a core material and a shell material, and suspending the precursor in an aerosol gas to produce an aerosol containing the precursor. In addition, the process includes providing a plasma that has a hot zone and passing the aerosol through the hot zone of the plasma. As the aerosol passes through the hot zone of the plasma, at least part of the core material and at least part of the shell material in the aerosol is vaporized. Vapor that contains the core material and the shell material that has been vaporized is removed from the hot zone of the plasma and allowed to condense into core-shell structured nanoparticles.

Characterization of core–shell MOF particles by depth profiling experiments using on-line single particle mass spectrometry

DOE PAGES

Cahill, J. F.; Fei, H.; Cohen, S. M.; ...

2015-01-05

Materials with core-shell structures have distinct properties that lend themselves to a variety of potential applications. Characterization of small particle core-shell materials presents a unique analytical challenge. Herein, single particles of solid-state materials with core-shell structures were measured using on-line aerosol time-of-flight mass spectrometry (ATOFMS). Laser 'depth profiling' experiments verified the core-shell nature of two known core-shell particle configurations (< 2 mu m diameter) that possessed inverted, complimentary core-shell compositions (ZrO2@SiO2 versus SiO2@ZrO2). The average peak area ratios of Si and Zr ions were calculated to definitively show their core-shell composition. These ratio curves acted as a calibrant for anmore » uncharacterized sample - a metal-organic framework (MOF) material surround by silica (UiO-66(Zr)@SiO2; UiO = University of Oslo). ATOFMS depth profiling was used to show that these particles did indeed exhibit a core-shell architecture. The results presented here show that ATOFMS can provide unique insights into core-shell solid-state materials with particle diameters between 0.2-3 mu m.« less

Methanol oxidation reaction on core-shell structured Ruthenium-Palladium nanoparticles: Relationship between structure and electrochemical behavior

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kübler, Markus; Jurzinsky, Tilman; Ziegenbalg, Dirk; Cremers, Carsten

2018-01-01

In this work the relationship between structural composition and electrochemical characteristics of Palladium(Pd)-Ruthenium(Ru) nanoparticles during alkaline methanol oxidation reaction is investigated. The comparative study of a standard alloyed and a precisely Ru-core-Pd-shell structured catalyst allows for a distinct investigation of the electronic effect and the bifunctional mechanism. Core-shell catalysts benefit from a strong electronic effect and an efficient Pd utilization. It is found that core-shell nanoparticles are highly active towards methanol oxidation reaction for potentials ≥0.6 V, whereas alloyed catalysts show higher current outputs in the lower potential range. However, differential electrochemical mass spectrometry (DEMS) experiments reveal that the methanol oxidation reaction on core-shell structured catalysts proceeds via the incomplete oxidation pathway yielding formaldehyde, formic acid or methyl formate. Contrary, the alloyed catalyst benefits from the Ru atoms at its surface. Those are found to be responsible for high methanol oxidation activity at lower potentials as well as for complete oxidation of CH3OH to CO2 via the bifunctional mechanism. Based on these findings a new Ru-core-Pd-shell-Ru-terrace catalyst was synthesized, which combines the advantages of the core-shell structure and the alloy. This novel catalyst shows high methanol electrooxidation activity as well as excellent selectivity for the complete oxidation pathway.

Research advances in polymer emulsion based on "core-shell" structure particle design.

PubMed

Ma, Jian-zhong; Liu, Yi-hong; Bao, Yan; Liu, Jun-li; Zhang, Jing

2013-09-01

In recent years, quite many studies on polymer emulsions with unique core-shell structure have emerged at the frontier between material chemistry and many other fields because of their singular morphology, properties and wide range of potential applications. Organic substance as a coating material onto either inorganic or organic internal core materials promises an unparalleled opportunity for enhancement of final functions through rational designs. This contribution provides a brief overview of recent progress in the synthesis, characterization, and applications of both inorganic-organic and organic-organic polymer emulsions with core-shell structure. In addition, future research trends in polymer composites with core-shell structure are also discussed in this review. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Core-Shell Structuring of Pure Metallic Aerogels towards Highly Efficient Platinum Utilization for the Oxygen Reduction Reaction.

PubMed

Cai, Bin; Hübner, René; Sasaki, Kotaro; Zhang, Yuanzhe; Su, Dong; Ziegler, Christoph; Vukmirovic, Miomir B; Rellinghaus, Bernd; Adzic, Radoslav R; Eychmüller, Alexander

2018-03-05

The development of core-shell structures remains a fundamental challenge for pure metallic aerogels. Here we report the synthesis of Pd x Au-Pt core-shell aerogels composed of an ultrathin Pt shell and a composition-tunable Pd x Au alloy core. The universality of this strategy ensures the extension of core compositions to Pd transition-metal alloys. The core-shell aerogels exhibited largely improved Pt utilization efficiencies for the oxygen reduction reaction and their activities show a volcano-type relationship as a function of the lattice parameter of the core substrate. The maximum mass and specific activities are 5.25 A mg Pt -1 and 2.53 mA cm -2 , which are 18.7 and 4.1 times higher than those of Pt/C, respectively, demonstrating the superiority of the core-shell metallic aerogels. The proposed core-based activity descriptor provides a new possible strategy for the design of future core-shell electrocatalysts. © 2018 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Rapid Synthesis and Formation Mechanism of Core-Shell-Structured La-Doped SrTiO3 with a Nb-Doped Shell

PubMed Central

Park, Nam-Hee; Akamatsu, Takafumi; Itoh, Toshio; Izu, Noriya; Shin, Woosuck

2015-01-01

To provide a convenient and practical synthesis process for metal ion doping on the surface of nanoparticles in an assembled nanostructure, core-shell-structured La-doped SrTiO3 nanocubes with a Nb-doped surface layer were synthesized via a rapid synthesis combining a rapid sol-precipitation and hydrothermal process. The La-doped SrTiO3 nanocubes were formed at room temperature by a rapid dissolution of NaOH pellets during the rapid sol-precipitation process, and the Nb-doped surface (shell) along with Nb-rich edges formed on the core nanocubes via the hydrothermal process. The formation mechanism of the core-shell-structured nanocubes and their shape evolution as a function of the Nb doping level were investigated. The synthesized core-shell-structured nanocubes could be arranged face-to-face on a SiO2/Si substrate by a slow evaporation process, and this nanostructured 10 μm thick thin film showed a smooth surface. PMID:28793420

Nanostructured core-shell electrode materials for electrochemical capacitors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiang, Long-bo; Yuan, Xing-zhong; Liang, Jie; Zhang, Jin; Wang, Hou; Zeng, Guang-ming

2016-11-01

Core-shell nanostructure represents a unique system for applications in electrochemical energy storage devices. Owing to the unique characteristics featuring high power delivery and long-term cycling stability, electrochemical capacitors (ECs) have emerged as one of the most attractive electrochemical storage systems since they can complement or even replace batteries in the energy storage field, especially when high power delivery or uptake is needed. This review aims to summarize recent progress on core-shell nanostructures for advanced supercapacitor applications in view of their hierarchical architecture which not only create the desired hierarchical porous channels, but also possess higher electrical conductivity and better structural mechanical stability. The core-shell nanostructures include carbon/carbon, carbon/metal oxide, carbon/conducting polymer, metal oxide/metal oxide, metal oxide/conducting polymer, conducting polymer/conducting polymer, and even more complex ternary core-shell nanoparticles. The preparation strategies, electrochemical performances, and structural stabilities of core-shell materials for ECs are summarized. The relationship between core-shell nanostructure and electrochemical performance is discussed in detail. In addition, the challenges and new trends in core-shell nanomaterials development have also been proposed.

Core-shell Au-Pd nanoparticles as cathode catalysts for microbial fuel cell applications

PubMed Central

Yang, Gaixiu; Chen, Dong; Lv, Pengmei; Kong, Xiaoying; Sun, Yongming; Wang, Zhongming; Yuan, Zhenhong; Liu, Hui; Yang, Jun

2016-01-01

Bimetallic nanoparticles with core-shell structures usually display enhanced catalytic properties due to the lattice strain created between the core and shell regions. In this study, we demonstrate the application of bimetallic Au-Pd nanoparticles with an Au core and a thin Pd shell as cathode catalysts in microbial fuel cells, which represent a promising technology for wastewater treatment, while directly generating electrical energy. In specific, in comparison with the hollow structured Pt nanoparticles, a benchmark for the electrocatalysis, the bimetallic core-shell Au-Pd nanoparticles are found to have superior activity and stability for oxygen reduction reaction in a neutral condition due to the strong electronic interaction and lattice strain effect between the Au core and the Pd shell domains. The maximum power density generated in a membraneless single-chamber microbial fuel cell running on wastewater with core-shell Au-Pd as cathode catalysts is ca. 16.0 W m−3 and remains stable over 150 days, clearly illustrating the potential of core-shell nanostructures in the applications of microbial fuel cells. PMID:27734945

Fabrication of SiO2@ZrO2@Y2O3:Eu3+ core-multi-shell structured phosphor.

PubMed

Gao, Xuan; He, Diping; Jiao, Huan; Chen, Juan; Meng, Xin

2011-08-01

ZrO2 interface was designed to block the reaction between SiO2 and Y2O3 in SiO2@Y2O3:Eu coreshell structure phosphor. SiO2@ZrO2@Y2O3:Eu core-multi-shell phosphors were successfully synthesized by combing an LBL method with a Sol-gel process. Based on electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and spectroscopy experiments, compelling evidence for the formation of the Y2O3:Eu outer shell on ZrO2 were presented. The presence of ZrO2 layer on SiO2 core can block the reaction of SiO2 core and Y2O3 shell effectively. By this kind of structure, the reaction temperature of the SiO2 core and Y2O3 shell in the SiO2@Y2O3:Eu core-shell structure phosphor can be increased about 200-300 degrees C and the luminescent intensity of this structure phosphor can be improved obviously. Under the excitation of ultraviolet (254 nm), the Eu3+ ion mainly shows its characteristic red (611 nm, 5D0-7F2) emissions in the core-multi-shell particles from Y2O3:Eu3+ shells. The emission intensity of Eu3+ ions can be tuned by the annealing temperatures, the number of coating times, and the thickness of ZrO2 interface, respectively.

Structural Basis for Near Unity Quantum Yield Core/Shell Nanostructures

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

McBride, James; Treadway, Joe; Pennycook, Stephen J

2006-01-01

Aberration-corrected Z-contrast scanning transmission electron microscopy of core/shell nanocrystals shows clear correlations between structure and quantum efficiency. Uniform shell coverage is obtained only for a graded CdS/ZnS shell material and is found to be critical to achieving near 100% quantum yield. The sublattice sensitivity of the images confirms that preferential growth takes place on the anion-terminated surfaces. This explains the three-dimensional "nanobullet" shape observed in the case of core/shell nanorods.

Design, synthesis and applications of core-shell, hollow core, and nanorattle multifunctional nanostructures.

PubMed

El-Toni, Ahmed Mohamed; Habila, Mohamed A; Labis, Joselito Puzon; ALOthman, Zeid A; Alhoshan, Mansour; Elzatahry, Ahmed A; Zhang, Fan

2016-02-07

With the evolution of nanoscience and nanotechnology, studies have been focused on manipulating nanoparticle properties through the control of their size, composition, and morphology. As nanomaterial research has progressed, the foremost focus has gradually shifted from synthesis, morphology control, and characterization of properties to the investigation of function and the utility of integrating these materials and chemical sciences with the physical, biological, and medical fields, which therefore necessitates the development of novel materials that are capable of performing multiple tasks and functions. The construction of multifunctional nanomaterials that integrate two or more functions into a single geometry has been achieved through the surface-coating technique, which created a new class of substances designated as core-shell nanoparticles. Core-shell materials have growing and expanding applications due to the multifunctionality that is achieved through the formation of multiple shells as well as the manipulation of core/shell materials. Moreover, core removal from core-shell-based structures offers excellent opportunities to construct multifunctional hollow core architectures that possess huge storage capacities, low densities, and tunable optical properties. Furthermore, the fabrication of nanomaterials that have the combined properties of a core-shell structure with that of a hollow one has resulted in the creation of a new and important class of substances, known as the rattle core-shell nanoparticles, or nanorattles. The design strategies of these new multifunctional nanostructures (core-shell, hollow core, and nanorattle) are discussed in the first part of this review. In the second part, different synthesis and fabrication approaches for multifunctional core-shell, hollow core-shell and rattle core-shell architectures are highlighted. Finally, in the last part of the article, the versatile and diverse applications of these nanoarchitectures in catalysis, energy storage, sensing, and biomedicine are presented.

Hierarchical Mesoporous Organosilica-Silica Core-Shell Nanoparticles Capable of Controlled Fungicide Release.

PubMed

Luo, Leilei; Liang, Yucang; Erichsen, Egil Severin; Anwander, Reiner

2018-05-17

A new class of hierarchically structured mesoporous silica core-shell nanoparticles (HSMSCSNs) with a periodic mesoporous organosilica (PMO) core and a mesoporous silica (MS) shell is reported. The applied one-pot, two-step strategy allows rational control over the core/shell chemical composition, topology, and pore/particle size, simply by adjusting the reaction conditions in the presence of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) as structure-directing agent under basic conditions. The spherical, ethylene- or methylene-bridged PMO cores feature hexagonal (p6mm) or cage-like cubic symmetry (Pm3‾ n) depending on the organosilica precursor. The hexagonal MS shell was obtained by n-hexane-induced controlled hydrolysis of TEOS followed by directional co-assembly/condensation of silicate/CTAB composites at the PMO cores. The HSMSCSNs feature a hierarchical pore structure with pore diameters of about 2.7 and 5.6 nm in the core and shell domains, respectively. The core sizes and shell thicknesses are adjustable in the ranges of 90-275 and 15-50 nm, respectively, and the surface areas (max. 1300 m 2  g -1 ) and pore volumes (max. 1.83 cm 3  g -1 ) are among the highest reported for core-shell nanoparticles. The adsorption and controlled release of the fungicide propiconazole by the HSMSCSNs showed a three-stage release profile. © 2018 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Fabrication of Ni@Ti core-shell nanoparticles by modified gas aggregation source

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hanuš, J.; Vaidulych, M.; Kylián, O.; Choukourov, A.; Kousal, J.; Khalakhan, I.; Cieslar, M.; Solař, P.; Biederman, H.

2017-11-01

Ni@Ti core-shell nanoparticles were prepared by a vacuum based method using the gas aggregation source (GAS) of nanoparticles. Ni nanoparticles fabricated in the GAS were afterwards coated by a Ti shell. The Ti shell was deposited by means of magnetron sputtering. The Ni nanoparticles were decelerated in the vicinity of the magnetron to the Ar drift velocity in the second deposition chamber. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy analysis of the nanoparticles showed the core-shell structure. It was shown that the thickness of the shell can be easily tuned by the process parameters with a maximum achieved thickness of the Ti shell ~2.5 nm. The core-shell structure was confirmed by the STEM analysis of the particles.

Chemical and thermal stability of core-shelled magnetite nanoparticles and solid silica

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cendrowski, Krzysztof; Sikora, Pawel; Zielinska, Beata; Horszczaruk, Elzbieta; Mijowska, Ewa

2017-06-01

Pristine nanoparticles of magnetite were coated by solid silica shell forming core/shell structure. 20 nm thick silica coating significantly enhanced the chemical and thermal stability of the iron oxide. Chemical and thermal stability of this structure has been compared to the magnetite coated by mesoporous shell and pristine magnetite nanoparticles. It is assumed that six-membered silica rings in a solid silica shell limit the rate of oxygen diffusion during thermal treatment in air and prevent the access of HCl molecules to the core during chemical etching. Therefore, the core/shell structure with a solid shell requires a longer time to induce the oxidation of iron oxide to a higher oxidation state and, basically, even strong concentrated acid such as HCl is not able to dissolve it totally in one month. This leads to the desired performance of the material in potential applications such as catalysis and environmental protection.

Epitaxial Growth of Lattice-Mismatched Core-Shell TiO2 @MoS2 for Enhanced Lithium-Ion Storage.

PubMed

Dai, Rui; Zhang, Anqi; Pan, Zhichang; Al-Enizi, Abdullah M; Elzatahry, Ahmed A; Hu, Linfeng; Zheng, Gengfeng

2016-05-01

Core-shell structured nanohybrids are currently of significant interest due to their synergetic properties and enhanced performances. However, the restriction of lattice mismatch remains a severe obstacle for heterogrowth of various core-shells with two distinct crystal structures. Herein, a controlled synthesis of lattice-mismatched core-shell TiO2 @MoS2 nano-onion heterostructures is successfully developed, using unilamellar Ti0.87 O2 nanosheets as the starting material and the subsequent epitaxial growth of MoS2 on TiO2 . The formation of these core-shell nano-onions is attributed to an amorphous layer-induced heterogrowth mechanism. The number of MoS2 layers can be well tuned from few to over ten layers, enabling layer-dependent synergistic effects. The core-shell TiO2 @MoS2 nano-onion heterostructures exhibit significantly enhanced energy storage performance as lithium-ion battery anodes. The approach has also been extended to other lattice-mismatched systems such as TiO2 @MoSe2 , thus suggesting a new strategy for the growth of well-designed lattice-mismatched core-shell structures. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Fabrication and investigation of effect of core size in heterostructure PbS/CdS core/shell nanoparticles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Das, D.; Hussain, A. M. P.

2018-04-01

PbS/CdS core/shell (CS) nanoparticles (NPs) were fabricated with three different concentrations of PbS core and CdS shell. Formation of core/shell heterostructure was confirmed from X-ray diffraction studies. The diffraction patterns exhibited formation of cubic phase and polycrystalline core/shell nanostructure. The crystalline sizes calculated from Williamson-Hall plot exhibited increase with molar concentration of precursors with decrease in strain. High resolution electron microscopy studies also confirm the formation of core/shell structure with particle size around 10 nm. A large blue-shift for PbS core compared to its bulk and small red-shift for the PbS/CdS core/shell as compared to the core is being observed in absorption spectra.

Metal-Organic Frameworks Derived Porous Core/Shell Structured ZnO/ZnCo2O4/C Hybrids as Anodes for High-Performance Lithium-Ion Battery.

PubMed

Ge, Xiaoli; Li, Zhaoqiang; Wang, Chengxiang; Yin, Longwei

2015-12-09

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) derived porous core/shell ZnO/ZnCo2O4/C hybrids with ZnO as a core and ZnCo2O4 as a shell are for the first time fabricated by using core/shell ZnCo-MOF precursors as reactant templates. The unique MOFs-derived core/shell structured ZnO/ZnCo2O4/C hybrids are assembled from nanoparticles of ZnO and ZnCo2O4, with homogeneous carbon layers coated on the surface of the ZnCo2O4 shell. When acting as anode materials for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), the MOFs-derived porous ZnO/ZnCo2O4/C anodes exhibit outstanding cycling stability, high Coulombic efficiency, and remarkable rate capability. The excellent electrochemical performance of the ZnO/ZnCo2O4/C LIB anodes can be attributed to the synergistic effect of the porous structure of the MOFs-derived core/shell ZnO/ZnCo2O4/C and homogeneous carbon layer coating on the surface of the ZnCo2O4 shells. The hierarchically porous core/shell structure offers abundant active sites, enhances the electrode/electrolyte contact area, provides abundant channels for electrolyte penetration, and also alleviates the structure decomposition induced by Li(+) insertion/extraction. The carbon layers effectively improve the conductivity of the hybrids and thus enhance the electron transfer rate, efficiently prevent ZnCo2O4 from aggregation and disintegration, and partially buffer the stress induced by the volume change during cycles. This strategy may shed light on designing new MOF-based hybrid electrodes for energy storage and conversion devices.

Structural and optical properties of ZnSe:Eu/ZnS quantum dots depending on interfacial residual europium

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Park, Ji Young; Lee, Chan Gi; Seo, Han Wook; Jeong, Da-Woon; Kim, Min Young; Kim, Woo-Byoung; Kim, Bum Sung

2018-01-01

A multimodal emitter comprising of ZnSe:Eu/ZnS (core/shell) quantum dots (QDs) by adding a ZnS precursor in situ during synthesis. ZnSe/Eu2+/Eu3+/ZnS actives both core and core/shell. QDs prepared with the ZnS precursor displayed a luminescence intensity three times that of ZnSe QDs due to the passivation effect of the Shell. While the core QDs display the 450-550 nm emission of Eu2+ (4F65D1 → 4F7), the core/shell system showed no Eu2+ emission but only the sharp peaks in the red at 579, 592, 615, 651, and 700 nm due to the electronic transitions of 5D0 → 7Fn (n = 0-4) depending on leisurely decreased with increased reaction time. These results are in agreement with Eu 3d spectra of XPS analysis results. Microscopic analyses show that the core and core/shell QDs both have a zinc blende structure, and their respective sizes were about 3.19 and 3.44 nm. The lattice constant in the central portion of the core/shell QDs are around d111 = 3.13 Å, which is between the outside and inside ring patterns (d111 = 3.27 and 3.07 Å, respectively). This shows the effective over-capping of shell onto the core QDs. The core/shell structure may contain Eu2O3 bonding the over-coated ZnS surface on the Eu3+-doped ZnSe core.

Bandgap engineered reverse type-I CdTe/InP/ZnS core-shell nanocrystals for the near-infrared.

PubMed

Kim, Sunghoon; Shim, Wooyoung; Seo, Heonjin; Hyun Bae, Je; Sung, Jaeyoung; Choi, Seung Hong; Moon, Woo Kyung; Lee, Gwang; Lee, Bunyeoul; Kim, Sang-Wook

2009-03-14

New quantum dots were fabricated with a core/shell/shell structure consisting of CdTe core/InP shell/ZnS shell of which the InP shell causes a red-shift to the NIR region and the ZnS shell imparts photo-stability; toxicity tests on mammalian cells and NIR imaging of a mouse highlight their potential applications in biomedical imaging.

Controlled Formation of Radial Core-Shell Si/Metal Silicide Crystalline Heterostructures.

PubMed

Kosloff, Alon; Granot, Eran; Barkay, Zahava; Patolsky, Fernando

2018-01-10

The highly controlled formation of "radial" silicon/NiSi  core-shell nanowire heterostructures has been demonstrated for the first time. Here, we investigated the "radial" diffusion of nickel atoms into crystalline nanoscale silicon pillar 11 cores, followed by nickel silicide phase formation and the creation of a well-defined shell structure. The described approach is based on a two-step thermal process, which involves metal diffusion at low temperatures in the range of 200-400 °C, followed by a thermal curing step at a higher temperature of 400 °C. In-depth crystallographic analysis was performed by nanosectioning the resulting silicide-shelled silicon nanopillar heterostructures, giving us the ability to study in detail the newly formed silicide shells. Remarkably, it was observed that the resulting silicide shell thickness has a self-limiting behavior, and can be tightly controlled by the modulation of the initial diffusion-step temperature. In addition, electrical measurements of the core-shell structures revealed that the resulting shells can serve as an embedded conductive layer in future optoelectronic applications. This research provides a broad insight into the Ni silicide "radial" diffusion process at the nanoscale regime, and offers a simple approach to form thickness-controlled metal silicide shells in the range of 5-100 nm around semiconductor nanowire core structures, regardless the diameter of the nanowire cores. These high quality Si/NiSi core-shell nanowire structures will be applied in the near future as building blocks for the creation of utrathin highly conductive optically transparent top electrodes, over vertical nanopillars-based solar cell devices, which may subsequently lead to significant performance improvements of these devices in terms of charge collection and reduced recombination.

Gram-level synthesis of core-shell structured catalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction in proton exchange membrane fuel cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Luo, Mingchuan; Wei, Lingli; Wang, Fanghui; Han, Kefei; Zhu, Hong

2014-12-01

Over the past decade, Pt based core-shell structured alloys have been studied extensively as oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) catalysts for proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) because of their distinctive electrochemical performance and low Pt loading. In this paper, a facile route based on microwave-assisted polyol method and chemical dealloying process is proposed to synthesize carbon supported core-shell structured nanoparticles (NPs) in gram-level for ORR electrocatalysis in PEMFCs. The obtained samples are characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). These physical characterization indicate that the final synthesized NPs are highly dispersed on the carbon support, and in a core-shell structure with CuPt alloy as the core and Pt as the shell. Electrochemical measurements, conducted by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and rotating disk electrode (RDE) tests, show the core-shell structured catalyst exhibit a 3× increase in mass activity and a 2× increase in specific activity over the commercial Pt/C catalyst, respectively. These results demonstrate that this route can be a reliable way to synthesize low-Pt catalyst in large-scale for PEMFCs.

Electronic and Optical Properties of Core/Shell Pb16X16/Cd52X52 (X =S, Se, Te) Quantum Dots

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tamukong, Patrick; Mayo, Michael; Kilina, Svetlana

2015-03-01

The electronic and optoelectronic properties of semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) are mediated by surface defects due to the presence of dangling bonds producing trap states within the HOMO-LUMO energy gap, and contributing to fluorescence quenching. Surface capping ligands are generally used to alleviate this problem and increase the quantum yields of QDs. An alternative way is to synthesize core-shell QD structures; i.e., a QD core with a shell of another semiconductor material. We have investigated the effects of Cd52X52 shells on the photoexcited dynamics of Pb16X16 (X =S, Se, Te) QDs. The thin (~ 0.50 nm) shells were found to result largely in type I core/shell structures and a blue shift of the absorption spectra. Our studies revealed fairly strong core-shell hybridization in the electronic states close to the conduction band (CB) edge for Pb16S16andPb16Se16 cores, whereas for the Pb16Te16 core, such CB states were largely shell-like in nature. Nonadiabatic DFT-based dynamics, coupled with the surface hopping method, was used to study the effects of the core and shell compositions on energy relaxation rates in these systems.

The effects of the chemical composition and strain on the electronic properties of GaSb/InAs core-shell nanowires

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

Ning, Feng; Wang, Dan; Tang, Li-Ming, E-mail: lmtang@hnu.edu.cn

2014-09-07

The effects of the chemical composition and strain on the electronic properties of [111] zinc-blende (ZB) and [0001] wurtzite (WZ) GaSb/InAs core-shell nanowires (NWs) with different core diameters and shell thicknesses are studied using first-principles methods. The band structures of the [111] ZB GaSb/InAs core-shell NWs underwent a noticeable type-I/II band alignment transition, associated with a direct-to-indirect band gap transition under a compressive uniaxial strain. The band structures of the [0001] WZ GaSb/InAs core-shell NWs preserved the direct band gap under either compressive or tensile uniaxial strains. In addition, the band gaps and the effective masses of the carriers couldmore » be tuned by their composition. For the core-shell NWs with a fixed GaSb-core size, the band gaps decreased linearly with an increasing InAs-shell thickness, caused by the significant downshift of the conduction bands. For the [111] ZB GaSb/InAs core-shell NWs, the calculated effective masses indicated that the transport properties could be changed from hole-dominated conduction to electron-dominated conduction by changing the InAs-shell thickness.« less

Direct Observation of the Growth of Au-Pd Core-Shell Nanoparticles Using in situ Low-Dose Liquid Cell STEM imaging

DOE PAGES

Bhattarai, Nabraj; Prozorov, Tanya

2016-07-25

Bimetallic core-shell nanoparticles are widely used as catalysts in several industrial reactions, with core-shell structures permitting facile surface modification and allowing increased stability and durability, and cost-effectiveness of the catalysts. We report, for the first time, on observing the early stages of the formation of Au-Pd core-shell bimetallic nanoparticles via the seed-mediated growth in the presence of reducing agent, while employing the low-dose scanning transmission electron microscopy imaging with the fluid cell in situ. Use of the continuous flow in situ fluid cell platform allows for delivery of reagent solutions and generation of near-native reaction environment in the reaction chamber,more » and permits direct visualization of the early stages of formation of Au-Pd core-shell structures at low dose rate (0.1 e -/(Å 2s)) in the presence of ascorbic acid. No core-shell structures were detected in the absence of reducing agent at the electron dose of 32.6 e -/Å 2. While the core-shell structures formed in situ under the low-dose imaging closely resemble those obtained in solution synthesis, the reaction kinetics in the fluid cell is affected by the radiolysis of liquid reagents induced by electron beam, altering the rate-determining reaction steps. The enhanced reduction of Pd ions leads to initial rapid growth of the nascent Pd shell along the <111> direction at the Au interface, followed by a slower rearrangement of the outer Pd layer. The latter becomes the rate-determining step in the in situ reaction and appears to follow the oriented attachment-like movement to yield a remodeled, compact and stable Au-Pd core-shell nanostructure. Our findings highlight the differences between the two reaction pathways and aid in understanding the mechanism of formation of the core-shell nanostructure in situ.« less

Modified ferrite core-shell nanoparticles magneto-structural characterization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Klekotka, Urszula; Piotrowska, Beata; Satuła, Dariusz; Kalska-Szostko, Beata

2018-06-01

In this study, ferrite nanoparticles with core-shell structures and different chemical compositions of both the core and shell were prepared with success. Proposed nanoparticles have in the first and second series magnetite core, and the shell is composed of a mixture of ferrites with Fe3+, Fe2+ and M ions (where M = Co2+, Mn2+ or Ni2+) with a general composition of M0.5Fe2.5O4. In the third series, the composition is inverted, the core is composed of a mixture of ferrites and as a shell magnetite is placed. Morphology and structural characterization of nanoparticles were done using Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Infrared spectroscopy (IR). While room temperature magnetic properties were measured using Mössbauer spectroscopy (MS). It is seen from Mössbauer measurements that Co always increases hyperfine magnetic field on Fe atoms at RT, while Ni and Mn have opposite influences in comparison to pure Fe ferrite, regardless of the nanoparticles structure.

Carbon-silicon core-shell nanowires as high capacity electrode for lithium ion batteries.

PubMed

Cui, Li-Feng; Yang, Yuan; Hsu, Ching-Mei; Cui, Yi

2009-09-01

We introduce a novel design of carbon-silicon core-shell nanowires for high power and long life lithium battery electrodes. Amorphous silicon was coated onto carbon nanofibers to form a core-shell structure and the resulted core-shell nanowires showed great performance as anode material. Since carbon has a much smaller capacity compared to silicon, the carbon core experiences less structural stress or damage during lithium cycling and can function as a mechanical support and an efficient electron conducting pathway. These nanowires have a high charge storage capacity of approximately 2000 mAh/g and good cycling life. They also have a high Coulmbic efficiency of 90% for the first cycle and 98-99.6% for the following cycles. A full cell composed of LiCoO(2) cathode and carbon-silicon core-shell nanowire anode is also demonstrated. Significantly, using these core-shell nanowires we have obtained high mass loading and an area capacity of approximately 4 mAh/cm(2), which is comparable to commercial battery values.

Core-shell TiO2@ZnO nanorods for efficient ultraviolet photodetection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Panigrahi, Shrabani; Basak, Durga

2011-05-01

Core-shell TiO2@ZnO nanorods (NRs) have been fabricated by a simple two step method: growth of ZnO NRs' array by an aqueous chemical technique and then coating of the NRs with a solution of titanium isopropoxide [Ti(OC3H7)4] followed by a heating step to form the shell. The core-shell nanocomposites are composed of single-crystalline ZnO NRs, coated with a thin TiO2 shell layer obtained by varying the number of coatings (one, three and five times). The ultraviolet (UV) emission intensity of the nanocomposite is largely quenched due to an efficient electron-hole separation reducing the band-to-band recombinations. The UV photoconductivity of the core-shell structure with three times TiO2 coating has been largely enhanced due to photoelectron transfer between the core and the shell. The UV photosensitivity of the nanocomposite becomes four times larger while the photocurrent decay during steady UV illumination has been decreased almost by 7 times compared to the as-grown ZnO NRs indicating high efficiency of these core-shell structures as UV sensors.

Highly efficient near-infrared light-emitting diodes by using type-II CdTe/CdSe core/shell quantum dots as a phosphor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shen, Huaibin; Zheng, Ying; Wang, Hongzhe; Xu, Weiwei; Qian, Lei; Yang, Yixing; Titov, Alexandre; Hyvonen, Jake; Li, Lin Song

2013-11-01

In this paper, we present an innovative method for the synthesis of CdTe/CdSe type-II core/shell structure quantum dots (QDs) using ‘greener’ chemicals. The PL of CdTe/CdSe type-II core/shell structure QDs ranges from 600 to 820 nm, and the as-synthesized core/shell structures show narrow size distributions and stable and high quantum yields (50-75%). Highly efficient near-infrared light-emitting diodes (LEDs) have been demonstrated by employing the CdTe/CdSe type-II core/shell QDs as emitters. The devices fabricated based on these type-II core/shell QDs show color-saturated near-infrared emission from the QD layers, a low turn-on voltage of 1.55 V, an external quantum efficiency (EQE) of 1.59%, and a current density and maximum radiant emittance of 2.1 × 103 mA cm-2 and 17.7 mW cm-2 at 8 V it is the first report to use type-II core/shell QDs as near-infrared emitters and these results may offer a practicable platform for the realization of near-infrared QD-based light-emitting diodes, night-vision-readable displays, and friend/foe identification system.

Synthesis and optical properties of core-multi-shell CdSe/CdS/ZnS quantum dots: Surface modifications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ratnesh, R. K.; Mehata, Mohan Singh

2017-02-01

We report two port synthesis of CdSe/CdS/ZnS core-multi-shell quantum dots (Q-dots) and their structural properties. The multi-shell structures of Q-dots were developed by using successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) technique. The obtained Q-dots show high crystallinity with the step-wise adjustment of lattice parameters in the radial direction. The size of the core and core-shell Q-dots estimated by transmission electron microscopy images and absorption spectra is about 3.4 and 5.3 nm, respectively. The water soluble Q-dots (scheme-1) were prepared by using ligand exchange method, and the effect of pH was discussed regarding the variation of quantum yield (QY). The decrease of a lifetime of core-multi-shell Q-dots with respect to core CdSe indicates that the shell growth may be tuned by the lifetimes. Thus, the study clearly demonstrates that the core-shell approach can be used to substantially improve the optical properties of Q-dots desired for various applications.

Degradation of Si/Ge core/shell nanowire heterostructures during lithiation and delithiation at 0.8 and 20 A g-1.

PubMed

Kim, Dongheun; Li, Nan; Sheehan, Chris J; Yoo, Jinkyoung

2018-04-26

Si/Ge core/shell nanowire heterostructures have been expected to provide high energy and power densities for lithium ion battery anodes due to the large capacity of Si and the high electrical and ionic conductivities of Ge. Although the battery anode performances of Si/Ge core/shell nanowire heterostructures have been characterized, the degradation of Si/Ge core/shell nanowire heterostructures has not been thoroughly investigated. Here we report the compositional and structural changes of the Si/Ge core/shell nanowire heterostructure over cycling of lithiation and delithiation at different charging rates. The Si/Ge core/shell nanowire heterostructure holds the core and shell structure at a charging rate of 0.8 A g-1 up to 50 cycles. On the other hand, compositional intermixing and loss of Si occur at a charging rate of 20 A g-1 within 50 cycles. The operation condition-dependent degradation provides a new aspect of materials research for the development of high performance lithium ion battery anodes with a long cycle life.

Zirconium(IV) oxide: New coating material for nanoresonators for shell-isolated nanoparticle-enhanced Raman spectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krajczewski, Jan; Abdulrahman, Heman Burhanalden; Kołątaj, Karol; Kudelski, Andrzej

2018-03-01

One tool that can be used for determining the structure and composition of surfaces of various materials (even in in situ conditions) is shell-isolated nanoparticle-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SHINERS). In SHINERS measurements, the surface under investigation is covered with a layer of surface-protected plasmonic nanoparticles, and then the Raman spectrum of the surface analysed is recorded. The plasmonic cores of the used core-shell structures act as electromagnetic nanoresonators, significantly locally enhancing the intensity of the electric field of the incident radiation, leading to a large increase in the efficiency of the generation of the Raman signal from molecules in the close proximity to the deposited SHINERS nanoresonators. A protective layer (from transparent dielectrics such as SiO2, Al2O3 or TiO2) prevents direct interaction between the plasmonic metal and the analysed surface (such interactions may lead to changes in the structure of the surface) and, in the case of plasmonic cores other than gold cores, the dielectric layer increases the chemical stability of the metal core. In this contribution, we show for the first time that core-shell nanoparticles having a silver core (both a solid and hollow one) and a shell of zirconium(IV) oxide are very efficient SHINERS nanoresonators that are significantly more stable in acidic and alkaline media than the silver-silica core-shell structures typically used for SHINERS experiments.

Core-shell silk hydrogels with spatially tuned conformations as drug-delivery system.

PubMed

Yan, Le-Ping; Oliveira, Joaquim M; Oliveira, Ana L; Reis, Rui L

2017-11-01

Hydrogels of spatially controlled physicochemical properties are appealing platforms for tissue engineering and drug delivery. In this study, core-shell silk fibroin (SF) hydrogels of spatially controlled conformation were developed. The core-shell structure in the hydrogels was formed by means of soaking the preformed (enzymatically crosslinked) random coil SF hydrogels in methanol. When increasing the methanol treatment time from 1 to 10 min, the thickness of the shell layer can be tuned from about 200 to about 850 μm as measured in wet status. After lyophilization of the rehydrated core-shell hydrogels, the shell layer displayed compact morphology and the core layer presented porous structure, when observed by scanning electron microscopy. The conformation of the hydrogels was evaluated by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy in wet status. The results revealed that the shell layer possessed dominant β-sheet conformation and the core layer maintained mainly random coil conformation. Enzymatic degradation data showed that the shell layers presented superior stability to the core layer. The mechanical analysis displayed that the compressive modulus of the core-shell hydrogels ranged from about 25 kPa to about 1.1 MPa by increasing the immersion time in methanol. When incorporated with albumin, the core-shell SF hydrogels demonstrated slower and more controllable release profiles compared with the non-treated hydrogel. These core-shell SF hydrogels of highly tuned properties are useful systems as drug-delivery system and may be applied as cartilage substitute. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Boron-based nanostructures: Synthesis, functionalization, and characterization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bedasso, Eyrusalam Kifyalew

Boron-based nanostructures have not been explored in detail; however, these structures have the potential to revolutionize many fields including electronics and biomedicine. The research discussed in this dissertation focuses on synthesis, functionalization, and characterization of boron-based zero-dimensional nanostructures (core/shell and nanoparticles) and one-dimensional nanostructures (nanorods). The first project investigates the synthesis and functionalization of boron-based core/shell nanoparticles. Two boron-containing core/shell nanoparticles, namely boron/iron oxide and boron/silica, were synthesized. Initially, boron nanoparticles with a diameter between 10-100 nm were prepared by decomposition of nido-decaborane (B10H14) followed by formation of a core/shell structure. The core/shell structures were prepared using the appropriate precursor, iron source and silica source, for the shell in the presence of boron nanoparticles. The formation of core/shell nanostructures was confirmed using high resolution TEM. Then, the core/shell nanoparticles underwent a surface modification. Boron/iron oxide core/shell nanoparticles were functionalized with oleic acid, citric acid, amine-terminated polyethylene glycol, folic acid, and dopamine, and boron/silica core/shell nanoparticles were modified with 3-(amino propyl) triethoxy silane, 3-(2-aminoethyleamino)propyltrimethoxysilane), citric acid, folic acid, amine-terminated polyethylene glycol, and O-(2-Carboxyethyl)polyethylene glycol. A UV-Vis and ATR-FTIR analysis established the success of surface modification. The cytotoxicity of water-soluble core/shell nanoparticles was studied in triple negative breast cancer cell line MDA-MB-231 and the result showed the compounds are not toxic. The second project highlights optimization of reaction conditions for the synthesis of boron nanorods. This synthesis, done via reduction of boron oxide with molten lithium, was studied to produce boron nanorods without any contamination and with a uniform size distribution. Various reaction parameters such as temperature, reaction time, and sonication were altered to find the optimal reaction conditions. Once these conditions were determined, boron nanorods were produced then functionalized with amine-terminated polyethylene glycol.

Morphology and electronic structure of the oxide shell on the surface of iron nanoparticles.

PubMed

Wang, Chongmin; Baer, Donald R; Amonette, James E; Engelhard, Mark H; Antony, Jiji; Qiang, You

2009-07-01

An iron (Fe) nanoparticle exposed to air at room temperature will be instantly covered by an oxide shell that is typically approximately 3 nm thick. The nature of this native oxide shell, in combination with the underlying Fe(0) core, determines the physical and chemical behavior of the core-shell nanoparticle. One of the challenges of characterizing core-shell nanoparticles is determining the structure of the oxide shell, that is, whether it is FeO, Fe(3)O(4), gamma-Fe(2)O(3), alpha-Fe(2)O(3), or something else. The results of prior characterization efforts, which have mostly used X-ray diffraction and spectroscopy, electron diffraction, and transmission electron microscopic imaging, have been framed in terms of one of the known Fe-oxide structures, although it is not necessarily true that the thin layer of Fe oxide is a known Fe oxide. In this Article, we probe the structure of the oxide shell on Fe nanoparticles using electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) at the oxygen (O) K-edge with a spatial resolution of several nanometers (i.e., less than that of an individual particle). We studied two types of representative particles: small particles that are fully oxidized (no Fe(0) core) and larger core-shell particles that possess an Fe core. We found that O K-edge spectra collected for the oxide shell in nanoparticles show distinct differences from those of known Fe oxides. Typically, the prepeak of the spectra collected on both the core-shell and the fully oxidized particles is weaker than that collected on standard Fe(3)O(4). Given the fact that the origin of this prepeak corresponds to the transition of the O 1s electron to the unoccupied state of O 2p hybridized with Fe 3d, a weak pre-edge peak indicates a combination of the following four factors: a higher degree of occupancy of the Fe 3d orbital; a longer Fe-O bond length; a decreased covalency of the Fe-O bond; and a measure of cation vacancies. These results suggest that the coordination configuration in the oxide shell on Fe nanoparticles is defective as compared to that of their bulk counterparts. Implications of these defective structural characteristics on the properties of core-shell structured iron nanoparticles are discussed.

Material with core-shell structure

DOEpatents

Luhrs, Claudia [Rio Rancho, NM; Richard, Monique N [Ann Arbor, MI; Dehne, Aaron [Maumee, OH; Phillips, Jonathan [Rio Rancho, NM; Stamm, Kimber L [Ann Arbor, MI; Fanson, Paul T [Brighton, MI

2011-11-15

Disclosed is a material having a composite particle, the composite particle including an outer shell and a core. The core is made from a lithium alloying material and the outer shell has an inner volume that is greater in size than the core of the lithium alloying material. In some instances, the outer mean diameter of the outer shell is less than 500 nanometers and the core occupies between 5 and 99% of the inner volume. In addition, the outer shell can have an average wall thickness of less than 100 nanometers.

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

Wang Shumin; Tian Hongwei; Pei Yanhui

A novel hedgehog-like core/shell structure, consisting of a high density of vertically aligned graphene sheets and a thin graphene shell/a copper core (VGs-GS/CC), has been synthesized via a simple one-step synthesis route using radio-frequency plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (RF-PECVD). Scanning and transmission electron microscopy investigations show that the morphology of this core/shell material could be controlled by deposition time. For a short deposition time, only multilayer graphene shell tightly surrounds the copper particle, while as the deposition time is relative long, graphene sheets extend from the surface of GS/CC. The GS can protect CC particles from oxidation. The growth mechanismmore » for the obtained GS/CC and VGs-GS/CC has been revealed. Compared to VGs, VGs-GS/CC material exhibits a better electron field emission property. This investigation opens a possibility for designing a core/shell structure of different carbon-metal hybrid materials for a wide variety of practical applications. - Graphical abstract: With increasing deposition time, graphene sheets extend from the surface of GS/CC, causing the multilayer graphene encapsulated copper to be converted into vertically aligned graphene sheets-graphene shell/copper core structure. Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer A novel hedgehog-like core/shell structure has been synthesized. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The structure consists of vertical graphene sheets-graphene shell and copper core. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The morphology of VGs-GS/CC can be controlled by choosing a proper deposition time. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer With increasing deposition time, graphene sheets extend from the surface of GS/CC. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer VGs-GS/CC exhibits a better electron field emission property as compared with VGs.« less

Synthesis and properties MFe2O4 (M = Fe, Co) nanoparticles and core-shell structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yelenich, O. V.; Solopan, S. O.; Greneche, J. M.; Belous, A. G.

2015-08-01

Individual Fe3-xO4 and CoFe2O4 nanoparticles, as well as Fe3-xO4/CoFe2O4 core/shell structures were synthesized by the method of co-precipitation from diethylene glycol solutions. Core/shell structure were synthesized with CoFe2O4-shell thickness of 1.0, 2.5 and 3.5 nm. X-ray diffraction patterns of individual nanoparticles and core/shell are similar and indicate that all synthesized samples have a cubic spinel structure. Compares Mössbauer studies of CoFe2O4, Fe3-xO4 nanoparticles indicate superparamagnetic properties at 300 K. It was shown that individual magnetite nanoparticles are transformed into maghemite through oxidation during the synthesis procedure, wherein the smallest nanoparticles are completely oxidized while a magnetite core does occur in the case of the largest nanoparticles. The Mössbauer spectra of core/shell nanoparticles with increasing CoFe2O4-shell thickness show a gradual decrease in the relative intensity of the quadrupole doublet and significant decrease of the mean isomer shift value at both RT and 77 K indicating a decrease of the superparamagnetic relaxation phenomena. Specific loss power for the prepared ferrofluids was experimentally calculated and it was determined that under influence of ac-magnetic field magnetic fluid based on individual CoFe2O4 and Fe3-xO4 particles are characterized by very low heating temperature, when magnetic fluids based on core/shell nanoparticles demonstrate higher heating effect.

Preparation and characterization of SiO2-coated submicron-sized L10 Fe-Pt particles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hayashi, Yoshiaki; Ogawa, Tomoyuki; Ishiyama, Kazushi

2018-05-01

The development of magnets with higher performance is attracting increasing interest. The optimization of their microstructure is essential to enhance their properties, and a microstructure comprising magnetically isolated hard magnetic grains of a single-domain size has been proposed as an ideal structure for enhancing the coercivity of magnets. To obtain magnets with an ideal structure, we consider the fabrication of magnets by an approach based on core/shell nanoparticles with a hard magnetic core and a non-magnetic shell. In this study, to obtain particles for our proposed approach, we attempted to fabricate L10 Fe-Pt/SiO2-core/shell particles with submicron-sized cores less than the critical single-domain size. The fabrication of such core/shell particles was confirmed from morphology observations and XRD analysis of the particles. Although the formation of more desirable core/shell particles with submicron-sized single-crystal cores in the single-domain size range was not achieved, the fabricated core/shell particles showed a high coercivity of 25 kOe.

Fabrication of Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4}@CuO core-shell from MOF based materials and its antibacterial activity

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

Rajabi, S.K.; Sohrabnezhad, Sh., E-mail: sohrabnezhad@guilan.ac.ir; Ghafourian, S.

Magnetic Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4}@CuO nanocomposite with a core/shell structure was successfully synthesized via direct calcinations of magnetic Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4}@HKUST-1 in air atmosphere. The morphology, structure, magnetic and porous properties of the as-synthesized nano composites were characterized by using scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), and vibration sample magnetometer (VSM). The results showed that the nanocomposite material included a Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4} core and a CuO shell. The Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4}@CuO core-shell can be separated easily from the medium by a small magnet. The antibacterial activity of Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4}-CuO core-shell was investigated againstmore » gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. A new mechanism was proposed for inactivation of bacteria over the prepared sample. It was demonstrated that the core-shell exhibit recyclable antibacterial activity, acting as an ideal long-acting antibacterial agent. - Graphical abstract: Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4}@CuO core-shell release of copper ions. These Cu{sup 2+} ions were responsible for the exhibited antibacterial activity. - Highlights: • The Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4}@CuO core-shell was prepared by MOF method. • This is the first study of antibacterial activity of core-shell consist of CuO and Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4}. • The core-shell can be reused effectively. • Core-shell was separated from the reaction solution by external magnetic field.« less

Isostructural solid-solid phase transition in monolayers of soft core-shell particles at fluid interfaces: structure and mechanics.

PubMed

Rey, Marcel; Fernández-Rodríguez, Miguel Ángel; Steinacher, Mathias; Scheidegger, Laura; Geisel, Karen; Richtering, Walter; Squires, Todd M; Isa, Lucio

2016-04-21

We have studied the complete two-dimensional phase diagram of a core-shell microgel-laden fluid interface by synchronizing its compression with the deposition of the interfacial monolayer. Applying a new protocol, different positions on the substrate correspond to different values of the monolayer surface pressure and specific area. Analyzing the microstructure of the deposited monolayers, we discovered an isostructural solid-solid phase transition between two crystalline phases with the same hexagonal symmetry, but with two different lattice constants. The two phases corresponded to shell-shell and core-core inter-particle contacts, respectively; with increasing surface pressure the former mechanically failed enabling the particle cores to come into contact. In the phase-transition region, clusters of particles in core-core contacts nucleate, melting the surrounding shell-shell crystal, until the whole monolayer moves into the second phase. We furthermore measured the interfacial rheology of the monolayers as a function of the surface pressure using an interfacial microdisk rheometer. The interfaces always showed a strong elastic response, with a dip in the shear elastic modulus in correspondence with the melting of the shell-shell phase, followed by a steep increase upon the formation of a percolating network of the core-core contacts. These results demonstrate that the core-shell nature of the particles leads to a rich mechanical and structural behavior that can be externally tuned by compressing the interface, indicating new routes for applications, e.g. in surface patterning or emulsion stabilization.

Core-Shell Structuring of Pure Metallic Aerogels towards Highly Efficient Platinum Utilization for the Oxygen Reduction Reaction

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

Cai, Bin; Hübner, René; Sasaki, Kotaro

The development of core–shell structures remains a fundamental challenge for pure metallic aerogels. Here we report the synthesis of Pd xAu-Pt core–shell aerogels composed of an ultrathin Pt shell and a composition-tunable Pd xAu alloy core. The universality of this strategy ensures the extension of core compositions to Pd transition-metal alloys. The core–shell aerogels exhibited largely improved Pt utilization efficiencies for the oxygen reduction reaction and their activities show a volcano-type relationship as a function of the lattice parameter of the core substrate. The maximum mass and specific activities are 5.25 A mg Pt -1 and 2.53 mA cm -2,more » which are 18.7 and 4.1 times higher than those of Pt/C, respectively, demonstrating the superiority of the core–shell metallic aerogels. The proposed core-based activity descriptor provides a new possible strategy for the design of future core–shell electrocatalysts.« less

Core-Shell Structuring of Pure Metallic Aerogels towards Highly Efficient Platinum Utilization for the Oxygen Reduction Reaction

DOE PAGES

Cai, Bin; Hübner, René; Sasaki, Kotaro; ...

2018-02-08

The development of core–shell structures remains a fundamental challenge for pure metallic aerogels. Here we report the synthesis of Pd xAu-Pt core–shell aerogels composed of an ultrathin Pt shell and a composition-tunable Pd xAu alloy core. The universality of this strategy ensures the extension of core compositions to Pd transition-metal alloys. The core–shell aerogels exhibited largely improved Pt utilization efficiencies for the oxygen reduction reaction and their activities show a volcano-type relationship as a function of the lattice parameter of the core substrate. The maximum mass and specific activities are 5.25 A mg Pt -1 and 2.53 mA cm -2,more » which are 18.7 and 4.1 times higher than those of Pt/C, respectively, demonstrating the superiority of the core–shell metallic aerogels. The proposed core-based activity descriptor provides a new possible strategy for the design of future core–shell electrocatalysts.« less

Nano-engineering of three-dimensional core/shell nanotube arrays for high performance supercapacitors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grote, Fabian; Wen, Liaoyong; Lei, Yong

2014-06-01

Large-scale arrays of core/shell nanostructures are highly desirable to enhance the performance of supercapacitors. Here we demonstrate an innovative template-based fabrication technique with high structural controllability, which is capable of synthesizing well-ordered three-dimensional arrays of SnO2/MnO2 core/shell nanotubes for electrochemical energy storage in supercapacitor applications. The SnO2 core is fabricated by atomic layer deposition and provides a highly electrical conductive matrix. Subsequently a thin MnO2 shell is coated by electrochemical deposition onto the SnO2 core, which guarantees a short ion diffusion length within the shell. The core/shell structure shows an excellent electrochemical performance with a high specific capacitance of 910 F g-1 at 1 A g-1 and a good rate capability of remaining 217 F g-1 at 50 A g-1. These results shall pave the way to realize aqueous based asymmetric supercapacitors with high specific power and high specific energy.

Reconstruction of TiO2/MnO2-C nanotube/nanoflake core/shell arrays as high-performance supercapacitor electrodes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xiong, Qinqin; Zheng, Cun; Chi, Hongzhong; Zhang, Jun; Ji, Zhenguo

2017-02-01

Construction of electrodes with fast reaction kinetics is of great importance for achieving advanced supercapacitors. Herein we report a facile combined synthetic strategy with atomic layer deposition (ALD) and electrodeposition to rationally fabricate nanotube/nanoflake core/shell arrays. ALD-TiO2 nanotubes are used as the skeleton core for assembly of electrodeposited MnO2-C nanoflake shells forming a core/shell structure. Highly porous architecture and good electrical conductivity are combined in this unique core/shell structure, resulting in fast ion/electron transfer. In tests of electrochemical performance, the TiO2/MnO2-C core/shell arrays are characterized as cathode for asymmetric supecapacitors and exhibit high specific capacitance (880 F g-1 at 2.5 A g-1), excellent rate properties (735 F g-1 at 30 A g-1) and good long-term cycling stability (94.3% capacitance retention after 20 000 cycles). The proposed electrode construction strategy is favorable for fabrication of other advanced supercapacitor electrodes.

Reconstruction of TiO2/MnO2-C nanotube/nanoflake core/shell arrays as high-performance supercapacitor electrodes.

PubMed

Xiong, Qinqin; Zheng, Cun; Chi, Hongzhong; Zhang, Jun; Ji, Zhenguo

2017-02-03

Construction of electrodes with fast reaction kinetics is of great importance for achieving advanced supercapacitors. Herein we report a facile combined synthetic strategy with atomic layer deposition (ALD) and electrodeposition to rationally fabricate nanotube/nanoflake core/shell arrays. ALD-TiO 2 nanotubes are used as the skeleton core for assembly of electrodeposited MnO 2 -C nanoflake shells forming a core/shell structure. Highly porous architecture and good electrical conductivity are combined in this unique core/shell structure, resulting in fast ion/electron transfer. In tests of electrochemical performance, the TiO 2 /MnO 2 -C core/shell arrays are characterized as cathode for asymmetric supecapacitors and exhibit high specific capacitance (880 F g -1 at 2.5 A g -1 ), excellent rate properties (735 F g -1 at 30 A g -1 ) and good long-term cycling stability (94.3% capacitance retention after 20 000 cycles). The proposed electrode construction strategy is favorable for fabrication of other advanced supercapacitor electrodes.

Structural and electronic properties of CdS/ZnS core/shell nanowires: A first-principles study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Hyo Seok; Kim, Yong-Hoon

2015-03-01

Carrying out density functional theory (DFT) calculation, we studied the relative effects of quantum confinement and strain on the electronic structures of II-IV semiconductor compounds with a large lattice-mismatch, CdS and ZnS, in the core/shell nanowire geometry. We considered different core radii and shell thickness of the CdS/ZnS core/shell nanowire, different surface facets, and various defects in the core/shell interface and surface regions. To properly describe the band level alignment at the core/shell boundary, we adopted the self-interaction correction (SIC)-DFT scheme. Implications of our findings in the context of device applications will be also discussed. This work was supported by the Basic Science Research Grant (No. 2012R1A1A2044793), Global Frontier Program (No. 2013-073298), and Nano-Material Technology Development Program (2012M3A7B4049888) of the National Research Foundation funded by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology of Korea. Corresponding author

Fabrication of Fe3O4@CuO core-shell from MOF based materials and its antibacterial activity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rajabi, S. K.; Sohrabnezhad, Sh.; Ghafourian, S.

2016-12-01

Magnetic Fe3O4@CuO nanocomposite with a core/shell structure was successfully synthesized via direct calcinations of magnetic Fe3O4@HKUST-1 in air atmosphere. The morphology, structure, magnetic and porous properties of the as-synthesized nano composites were characterized by using scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), and vibration sample magnetometer (VSM). The results showed that the nanocomposite material included a Fe3O4 core and a CuO shell. The Fe3O4@CuO core-shell can be separated easily from the medium by a small magnet. The antibacterial activity of Fe3O4-CuO core-shell was investigated against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. A new mechanism was proposed for inactivation of bacteria over the prepared sample. It was demonstrated that the core-shell exhibit recyclable antibacterial activity, acting as an ideal long-acting antibacterial agent.

B80 and B101-103 clusters: Remarkable stability of the core-shell structures established by validated density functionalsa)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Fengyu; Jin, Peng; Jiang, De-en; Wang, Lu; Zhang, Shengbai B.; Zhao, Jijun; Chen, Zhongfang

2012-02-01

Prompted by the very recent claim that the volleyball-shaped B80 fullerene [X. Wang, Phys. Rev. B 82, 153409 (2010), 10.1103/PhysRevB.82.153409] is lower in energy than the B80 buckyball [N. G. Szwacki, A. Sadrzadeh, and B. I. Yakobson, Phys. Rev. Lett. 98, 166804 (2007), 10.1103/PhysRevLett.98.166804] and core-shell structure [J. Zhao, L. Wang, F. Li, and Z. Chen, J. Phys. Chem. A 114, 9969 (2010), 10.1021/jp1018873], and inspired by the most recent finding of another core-shell isomer as the lowest energy B80 isomer [S. De, A. Willand, M. Amsler, P. Pochet, L. Genovese, and S. Goedecher, Phys. Rev. Lett. 106, 225502 (2011), 10.1103/PhysRevLett.106.225502], we carefully evaluated the performance of the density functional methods in the energetics of boron clusters and confirmed that the core-shell construction (stuffed fullerene) is thermodynamically the most favorable structural pattern for B80. Our global minimum search showed that both B101 and B103 also prefer a core-shell structure and that B103 can reach the complete core-shell configuration. We called for great attention to the theoretical community when using density functionals to investigate boron-related nanomaterials.

Synthesis and thermal stability of W/WS{sub 2} inorganic fullerene-like nanoparticles with core-shell structure

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

Chang Lianxia; Yang Haibin; Fu Wuyou

W/WS{sub 2} inorganic fullerene-like (IF) nanoparticles with core-shell structure are synthesized by the reaction of tungsten nanospheres and sulfur at relatively low temperatures (380-600 deg. C) under hydrogen atmosphere, in which tungsten nanospheres were prepared by wire electrical explosion method. Images of transmission electron microscopy and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy show that the composite particles are of core-shell structure with spherical shape and the shell thickness is about 10 nm. X-ray powder diffraction results indicate that the interlayer spacing of IF-WS{sub 2} shell decreases and approaches that of 2H-WS{sub 2} with increasing annealing temperatures, representing an expansion of 3.3-1.6%. Amore » mechanism of IF-WS{sub 2} formation via sulfur diffusion into fullerene nanoparticles is discussed. Thermal analysis shows that the nanoparticles obtained at different temperatures exhibit similar thermal stability and the onset temperature of oxidization is about 410 deg. C. Encapsulating hard tungsten core into IF-WS{sub 2} and the spherical shape of the core-shell structures may enhance their performance in tribological applications.« less

Enhanced oxidation stability of quasi core-shell alloyed CdSeS quantum dots prepared through aqueous microwave synthesis technique.

PubMed

Zhan, Hong-Ju; Zhou, Pei-Jiang; Ma, Rong; Liu, Xi-Jing; He, Yu-Ning; Zhou, Chuan-Yun

2014-01-01

Quasi core shell alloyed CdSeS quantum dots (QDs) have been prepared through a facile aqueous-phase route employing microwave irradiation technique. The optical spectroscopy and structure characterization evidenced the quasi core shell alloyed structures of CdSeS QDs. The X-ray diffraction patterns of the obtained CdSeS QDs displayed peak positions very close to those of bulk cubic CdS crystal structures and the result of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy data re-confirmed the thick CdS shell on the CdSe core. The TEM images and HRTEM images of the CdSeS QDs ascertained the well-defined spherical particles and a relatively narrow size distribution. On the basis, the stability of the obtained QDs in an oxidative environment was also discussed using etching reaction by H2O2. The experiments result showed the as-prepared QDs present high tolerance towards H2O2, obviously superior to the commonly used CdTe QDs and core-shell CdTe/CdS QDs, which was attributed to the unique quasi core-shell CdSeS crystal structure and the small lattice mismatch between CdSe and CdS semiconductor materials. This assay provided insight to obtain high stable crystal structured semiconductor nanocrystals in the design and synthesis process.

Dye-sensitized solar cells employing a SnO2-TiO2 core-shell structure made by atomic layer deposition.

PubMed

Karlsson, Martin; Jõgi, Indrek; Eriksson, Susanna K; Rensmo, Håkan; Boman, Mats; Boschloo, Gerrit; Hagfeldt, Anders

2013-01-01

This paper describes the synthesis and characterization of core-shell structures, based on SnO2 and TiO2, for use in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSC). Atomic layer deposition is employed to control and vary the thickness of the TiO2 shell. Increasing the TiO2 shell thickness to 2 nm improved the device performance of liquid electrolyte-based DSC from 0.7% to 3.5%. The increase in efficiency originates from a higher open-circuit potential and a higher short-circuit current, as well as from an improvement in the electron lifetime. SnO2-TiO2 core-shell DSC devices retain their photovoltage in darkness for longer than 500 seconds, demonstrating that the electrons are contained in the core material. Finally core-shell structures were used for solid-state DSC applications using the hole transporting material 2,2',7,7',-tetrakis(N, N-di-p-methoxyphenyl-amine)-9,9',-spirofluorene. Similar improvements in device performance were obtained for solid-state DSC devices.

A novel "modularized" optical sensor for pH monitoring in biological matrixes.

PubMed

Liu, Xun; Zhang, Shang-Qing; Wei, Xing; Yang, Ting; Chen, Ming-Li; Wang, Jian-Hua

2018-06-30

A novel core-shell structure optical pH sensor is developed with upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) serving as the core and silica as the shell, followed by grafting bovineserumalbumin (BSA) as another shell via glutaraldehyde cross-linking. The obtained core-shell-shell structure is shortly termed as UCNPs@SiO 2 @BSA, and its surface provides a platform for loading various pH sensitive dyes, which are alike "modules" to make it feasible for measuring pHs within different pH ranges by simply regulating the type of dyes. Generally, a single pH sensitive dye is adopted to respond within a certain pH range. This study employs bromothymol blue (BTB) and rhodamine B (RhB) to facilitate their responses to pH variations within two ranges, i.e., pH 5.99-8.09 and pH 4.98-6.40, respectively, with detection by ratio-fluorescence protocol. The core-shell-shell structure offers superior sensitivity, which is tens of times more sensitive than those achieved by ratio-fluorescence approaches based on various nanostructures, and favorable stability is achieved in high ionic strength medium. In addition, this sensor exhibits superior photostability under continuous excitation at 980 nm. Thanks to the near infrared excitation in the core-shell-shell structure, it effectively avoids the self-fluorescence from biological samples and thus facilitates accurate sensing of pH in various biological sample matrixes. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Robust and Stable Cu Nanowire@Graphene Core-Shell Aerogels for Ultraeffective Electromagnetic Interference Shielding.

PubMed

Wu, Shiting; Zou, Mingchu; Li, Zhencheng; Chen, Daqin; Zhang, Hui; Yuan, Yongjun; Pei, Yongmao; Cao, Anyuan

2018-06-01

Cu nanowires (CuNWs) are considered as a promising candidate to develop high performance metal aerogels, yet the construction of robust and stable 3D porous structures remains challenging which severely limits their practical applications. Here, graphene-hybridized CuNW (CuNW@G) core-shell aerogels are fabricated by introducing a conformal polymeric coating and in situ transforming it into multilayered graphene seamlessly wrapped around individual CuNWs through a mild thermal annealing process. The existence of the outer graphene shell reinforces the 3D bulk structure and significantly slows down the oxidation process of CuNWs, resulting in improved mechanical property and highly stable electrical conductivity. When applied in electromagnetic interference shielding, the CuNW@G core-shell aerogels exhibit an average effectiveness of ≈52.5 dB over a wide range (from 8.2 to 18 GHz) with negligible degradation under ambient conditions for 40 d. Mechanism analysis reveals that the graphene shell with functional groups enables dual reflections on the core-shell and a multiple dielectric relaxation process, leading to enhanced dielectric loss and energy dissipation within the core-shell aerogels. The flexible core-shell-structured CuNW@G aerogels, with superior mechanical robustness and electrical stability, have potential applications in many areas such as advanced energy devices and functional composites. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Highly selective and sensitive methanol gas sensor based on molecular imprinted silver-doped LaFeO3 core-shell and cage structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rong, Qian; Zhang, Yumin; Lv, Tianping; Shen, Kaiyuan; Zi, Baoye; Zhu, Zhongqi; Zhang, Jin; Liu, Qingju

2018-04-01

Silver-doped LaFeO3 molecularly imprinted polymers (SLMIPs) were synthesized by a sol-gel method combined with molecularly imprinted technology as precursors. The precursors were then used to prepare SLMIPs cage (SLM-cage) and SLMIPs core-shell (SLM-core-shell) structures by using a carbon sphere as the template and hydrothermal synthesis, respectively. The structures, morphologies, and surface areas of these materials were determined, as well as their gas-sensing properties and related mechanisms. The SLM-cage and SLM-core-shell samples exhibited good responses to methanol gas, with excellent selectivity. The response and optimum working temperature were 16.98 °C and 215 °C, 33.7 °C and 195 °C, respectively, with corresponding response and recovery times of 45 and 50 s (SLM-cage) and 42 and 57 s (SLM-core-shell) for 5 ppm methanol gas. Notably, the SLM-cage and SLM-core-shell samples exhibited lower responses (≤5 and ≤7, respectively) to other gases, including ethanol, ammonia, benzene, acetone, and toluene. Thus, these materials show potential as practical methanol detectors.

The multifunctional wound dressing with core-shell structured fibers prepared by coaxial electrospinning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wei, Qilin; Xu, Feiyang; Xu, Xingjian; Geng, Xue; Ye, Lin; Zhang, Aiying; Feng, Zengguo

2016-06-01

The non-woven wound dressing with core-shell structured fibers was prepared by coaxial electrospinning. The polycaprolactone (PCL) was electrospun as the fiber's core to provide mechanical strength whereas collagen was fabricated into the shell in order to utilize its good biocompatibility. Simultaneously, the silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs) as anti-bacterial agent were loaded in the shell whereas the vitamin A palmitate (VA) as healing-promoting drug was encapsulated in the core. Resulting from the fiber's core-shell structure, the VA released from the core and Ag-NPs present in the shell can endow the dressing both heal-promoting and anti-bacteria ability simultaneously, which can greatly enhance the dressing's clinical therapeutic effect. The dressing can maintain high swelling ratio of 190% for 3 d indicating its potential application as wet dressing. Furthermore, the dressing's anti-bacteria ability against Staphylococcus aureus was proved by in vitro anti-bacteria test. The in vitro drug release test showed the sustainable release of VA within 72 h, while the cell attachment showed L929 cells can well attach on the dressing indicating its good biocompatibility. In conclusion, the fabricated nanofibrous dressing possesses multiple functions to benefit wound healing and shows promising potential for clinical application.

Highly selective and sensitive methanol gas sensor based on molecular imprinted silver-doped LaFeO3 core-shell and cage structures.

PubMed

Rong, Qian; Zhang, Yumin; Lv, Tianping; Shen, Kaiyuan; Zi, Baoye; Zhu, Zhongqi; Zhang, Jin; Liu, Qingju

2018-04-06

Silver-doped LaFeO 3 molecularly imprinted polymers (SLMIPs) were synthesized by a sol-gel method combined with molecularly imprinted technology as precursors. The precursors were then used to prepare SLMIPs cage (SLM-cage) and SLMIPs core-shell (SLM-core-shell) structures by using a carbon sphere as the template and hydrothermal synthesis, respectively. The structures, morphologies, and surface areas of these materials were determined, as well as their gas-sensing properties and related mechanisms. The SLM-cage and SLM-core-shell samples exhibited good responses to methanol gas, with excellent selectivity. The response and optimum working temperature were 16.98 °C and 215 °C, 33.7 °C and 195 °C, respectively, with corresponding response and recovery times of 45 and 50 s (SLM-cage) and 42 and 57 s (SLM-core-shell) for 5 ppm methanol gas. Notably, the SLM-cage and SLM-core-shell samples exhibited lower responses (≤5 and ≤7, respectively) to other gases, including ethanol, ammonia, benzene, acetone, and toluene. Thus, these materials show potential as practical methanol detectors.

Core-shell TiO2@ZnO nanorods for efficient ultraviolet photodetection.

PubMed

Panigrahi, Shrabani; Basak, Durga

2011-05-01

Core-shell TiO(2)@ZnO nanorods (NRs) have been fabricated by a simple two step method: growth of ZnO NRs' array by an aqueous chemical technique and then coating of the NRs with a solution of titanium isopropoxide [Ti(OC(3)H(7))(4)] followed by a heating step to form the shell. The core-shell nanocomposites are composed of single-crystalline ZnO NRs, coated with a thin TiO(2) shell layer obtained by varying the number of coatings (one, three and five times). The ultraviolet (UV) emission intensity of the nanocomposite is largely quenched due to an efficient electron-hole separation reducing the band-to-band recombinations. The UV photoconductivity of the core-shell structure with three times TiO(2) coating has been largely enhanced due to photoelectron transfer between the core and the shell. The UV photosensitivity of the nanocomposite becomes four times larger while the photocurrent decay during steady UV illumination has been decreased almost by 7 times compared to the as-grown ZnO NRs indicating high efficiency of these core-shell structures as UV sensors. © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2011

Continuous-Flow MOVPE of Ga-Polar GaN Column Arrays and Core-Shell LED Structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Xue; Li, Shunfeng; Mohajerani, Matin Sadat; Ledig, Johannes; Wehmann, Hergo-Heinrich; Mandl, Martin; Strassburg, Martin; Steegmüller, Ulrich; Jahn, Uwe; Lähnemann, Jonas; Riechert, Henning; Griffiths, Ian; Cherns, David; Waag, Andreas

2013-06-01

Arrays of dislocation free uniform Ga-polar GaN columns have been realized on patterned SiOx/GaN/sapphire templates by metal organic vapor phase epitaxy using a continuous growth mode. The key parameters and the physical principles of growth of Ga-polar GaN three-dimensional columns are identified, and their potential for manipulating the growth process is discussed. High aspect ratio columns have been achieved using silane during the growth, leading to n-type columns. The vertical growth rate increases with increasing silane flow. In a core-shell columnar LED structure, the shells of InGaN/GaN multi quantum wells and p-GaN have been realized on a core of n-doped GaN column. Cathodoluminescence gives insight into the inner structure of these core-shell LED structures.

Preparation, process optimization and characterization of core-shell polyurethane/chitosan nanofibers as a potential platform for bioactive scaffolds.

PubMed

Maleknia, Laleh; Dilamian, Mandana; Pilehrood, Mohammad Kazemi; Sadeghi-Aliabadi, Hojjat; Hekmati, Amir Houshang

2018-06-01

In this paper, polyurethane (PU), chitosan (Cs)/polyethylene oxide (PEO), and core-shell PU/Cs nanofibers were produced at the optimal processing conditions using electrospinning technique. Several methods including SEM, TEM, FTIR, XRD, DSC, TGA and image analysis were utilized to characterize these nanofibrous structures. SEM images exhibited that the core-shell PU/Cs nanofibers were spun without any structural imperfections at the optimized processing conditions. TEM image confirmed the PU/Cs core-shell nanofibers were formed apparently. It that seems the inclusion of Cs/PEO to the shell, did not induce the significant variations in the crystallinity in the core-shell nanofibers. DSC analysis showed that the inclusion of Cs/PEO led to the glass temperature of the composition increased significantly compared to those of neat PU nanofibers. The thermal degradation of core-shell PU/Cs was similar to PU nanofibers degradation due to the higher PU concentration compared to other components. It was hypothesized that the core-shell PU/Cs nanofibers can be used as a potential platform for the bioactive scaffolds in tissue engineering. Further biological tests should be conducted to evaluate this platform as a three dimensional scaffold with the capabilities of releasing the bioactive molecules in a sustained manner.

Iridium-decorated palladium-platinum core-shell catalysts for oxygen reduction reaction in proton exchange membrane fuel cell.

PubMed

Wang, Chen-Hao; Hsu, Hsin-Cheng; Wang, Kai-Ching

2014-08-01

Carbon-supported Pt, Pd, Pd-Pt core-shell (Pt(shell)-Pd(core)/C) and Ir-decorated Pd-Pt core-shell (Ir-decorated Pt(shell)-Pd(core)/C) catalysts were synthesized, and their physical properties, electrochemical behaviors, oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) characteristics and proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) performances were investigated herein. From the XRD patterns and TEM images, Ir-decorated Pt(shell)-Pd(core)/C has been confirmed that Pt was deposited on the Pd nanoparticle which had the core-shell structure. Ir-decorated Pt(shell)-Pd(core)/C has more positive OH reduction peak than Pt/C, which is beneficial to weaken the binding energy of Pt-OH during the ORR. Thus, Ir-decorated Pt(shell)-Pd(core)/C has higher ORR activity than Pt/C. The maximum power density of H2-O2 PEMFC using Ir-decorated Pt(shell)-Pd(core)/C is 792.2 mW cm(-2) at 70°C, which is 24% higher than that using Pt/C. The single-cell accelerated degradation test of PEMFC using Ir-decorated Pt(shell)-Pd(core)/C shows good durability by the potential cycling of 40,000 cycles. This study concludes that Ir-decorated Pt(shell)-Pd(core)/C has the low Pt content, but it can facilitate the low-cost and high-efficient PEMFC. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Hierarchical core-shell structure of ZnO nanorod@NiO/MoO₂ composite nanosheet arrays for high-performance supercapacitors.

PubMed

Hou, Sucheng; Zhang, Guanhua; Zeng, Wei; Zhu, Jian; Gong, Feilong; Li, Feng; Duan, Huigao

2014-08-27

A hierarchical core-shell structure of ZnO nanorod@NiO/MoO2 composite nanosheet arrays on nickel foam substrate for high-performance supercapacitors was constructed by a two-step solution-based method involving two hydrothermal processes followed by a calcination treatment. Compared to one composed of pure NiO/MoO2 composite nanosheets, the hierarchical core-shell structure electrode displays better pseudocapacitive behaviors in 2 M KOH, including high areal specific capacitance values of 1.18 F cm(-2) at 5 mA cm(-2) and 0.6 F cm(-2) at 30 mA cm(-2) as well as relatively good rate capability at high current densities. Furthermore, it also shows remarkable cycle stability, remaining at 91.7% of the initial value even after 4000 cycles at a current density of 10 mA cm(-2). The enhanced pseudocapacitive behaviors are mainly due to the unique hierarchical core-shell structure and the synergistic effect of combining ZnO nanorod arrays and NiO/MoO2 composite nanosheets. This novel hierarchical core-shell structure shows promise for use in next-generation supercapacitors.

Core/shell structured Zn/ZnO nanoparticles synthesized by gaseous laser ablation with enhanced photocatalysis efficiency

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Song, Lu; Wang, Yafei; Ma, Jing; Zhang, Qinghua; Shen, Zhijian

2018-06-01

Zinc oxide (ZnO) is a competitive candidate in semiconductor photocatalysts, only if the efficiency could be fully optimized especially by tailored nanostructures. Here we report a kind of core/shell structured Zn/ZnO nanoparticles with enhanced photocatalysis efficiency, which were synthesized by a highly-productive gaseous laser ablation method. The nanodroplets generated by laser ablation would be reduced to zinc in the protective atmosphere, and further be oxidized at surface to form a specific core/shell structured Zn/ZnO nanoparticles within seconds. Thanks to the formation of this Zn-ZnO Schottky junction, the photocatalysis degradation efficiency of such core/shell Zn/ZnO nanostructure is significantly improved owing to the enhanced visible light absorption and inhibited carrier recombination by introducing the metallic zinc.

Internal structure of InP/ZnS nanocrystals unraveled by high-resolution soft X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy.

PubMed

Huang, Kai; Demadrille, Renaud; Silly, Mathieu G; Sirotti, Fausto; Reiss, Peter; Renault, Olivier

2010-08-24

High-energy resolution photoelectron spectroscopy (DeltaE < 200 meV) is used to investigate the internal structure of semiconductor quantum dots containing low Z-contrast elements. In InP/ZnS core/shell nanocrystals synthesized using a single-step procedure (core and shell precursors added at the same time), a homogeneously alloyed InPZnS core structure is evidenced by quantitative analysis of their In3d(5/2) spectra recorded at variable excitation energy. When using a two-step method (core InP nanocrystal synthesis followed by subsequent ZnS shell growth), XPS analysis reveals a graded core/shell interface. We demonstrate the existence of In-S and S(x)-In-P(1-x) bonding states in both types of InP/ZnS nanocrystals, which allows a refined view on the underlying reaction mechanisms.

Structural transformation and photoluminescence modification of AgInS2 nanoparticles induced by ZnS shell formation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hamanaka, Yasushi; Yukitoki, Daichi; Kuzuya, Toshihiro

2015-09-01

AgInS2 nanoparticles were capped by ZnS via a widely used procedure to fabricate core/shell nanoparticles with highly efficient luminescence. The nanoparticle structures were investigated by ultrahigh-resolution analytical electron microscopy. We found that Zn-Ag-In-S nanoparticles were created by ZnS capping at ˜480 K, which suggests that the luminescence enhancement reported for such core/shell nanoparticles is not caused by the passivation of surface defects by ZnS shells but by Zn doping. Quasi-core/shell nanoparticles could be obtained by ZnS capping without heating. However, their luminescence efficiency remained unchanged, indicating that surface passivation was ineffective when ZnS shells were formed at room temperature.

Transition-Metal Nitride Core@Noble-Metal Shell Nanoparticles as Highly CO Tolerant Catalysts

DOE PAGES

Garg, Aaron; Milina, Maria; Ball, Madelyn; ...

2017-05-25

Core–shell architectures offer an effective way to tune and enhance the properties of noble-metal catalysts. Herein, we demonstrate the synthesis of Pt shell on titanium tungsten nitride core nanoparticles (Pt/TiWN) by high temperature ammonia nitridation of a parent core–shell carbide material (Pt/TiWC). X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy revealed significant core-level shifts for Pt shells supported on TiWN cores, corresponding to increased stabilization of the Pt valence d-states. The modulation of the electronic structure of the Pt shell by the nitride core translated into enhanced CO tolerance during hydrogen electrooxidation in the presence of CO. In conclusion, the ability to control shell coveragemore » and vary the heterometallic composition of the shell and nitride core opens up attractive opportunities to synthesize a broad range of new materials with tunable catalytic properties.« less

Transition-Metal Nitride Core@Noble-Metal Shell Nanoparticles as Highly CO Tolerant Catalysts

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

Garg, Aaron; Milina, Maria; Ball, Madelyn

Core–shell architectures offer an effective way to tune and enhance the properties of noble-metal catalysts. Herein, we demonstrate the synthesis of Pt shell on titanium tungsten nitride core nanoparticles (Pt/TiWN) by high temperature ammonia nitridation of a parent core–shell carbide material (Pt/TiWC). X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy revealed significant core-level shifts for Pt shells supported on TiWN cores, corresponding to increased stabilization of the Pt valence d-states. The modulation of the electronic structure of the Pt shell by the nitride core translated into enhanced CO tolerance during hydrogen electrooxidation in the presence of CO. In conclusion, the ability to control shell coveragemore » and vary the heterometallic composition of the shell and nitride core opens up attractive opportunities to synthesize a broad range of new materials with tunable catalytic properties.« less

Investing the effectiveness of retention performance in a non-volatile floating gate memory device with a core-shell structure of CdSe nanoparticles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Dong-Hoon; Kim, Jung-Min; Lim, Ki-Tae; Cho, Hyeong Jun; Bang, Jin Ho; Kim, Yong-Sang

2016-03-01

In this paper, we empirically investigate the retention performance of organic non-volatile floating gate memory devices with CdSe nanoparticles (NPs) as charge trapping elements. Core-structured CdSe NPs or core-shell-structured ZnS/CdSe NPs were mixed in PMMA and their performance in pentacene based device was compared. The NPs and self-organized thin tunneling PMMA inside the devices exhibited hysteresis by trapping hole during capacitance-voltage characterization. Despite of core-structured NPs showing a larger memory window, the retention time was too short to be adopted by an industry. By contrast core-shell structured NPs showed an improved retention time of >10000 seconds than core-structure NCs. Based on these results and the energy band structure, we propose the retention mechanism of each NPs. This investigation of retention performance provides a comparative and systematic study of the charging/discharging behaviors of NPs based memory devices. [Figure not available: see fulltext.

Structural Color Palettes of Core-Shell Photonic Ink Capsules Containing Cholesteric Liquid Crystals.

PubMed

Lee, Sang Seok; Seo, Hyeon Jin; Kim, Yun Ho; Kim, Shin-Hyun

2017-06-01

Photonic microcapsules with onion-like topology are microfluidically designed to have cholesteric liquid crystals with opposite handedness in their core and shell. The microcapsules exhibit structural colors caused by dual photonic bandgaps, resulting in a rich variety of color on the optical palette. Moreover, the microcapsules can switch the colors from either core or shell depending on the selection of light-handedness. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Enhanced exchange bias and improved ferromagnetic properties in Permalloy-BiFe0.95Co0.05O3 core-shell nanostructures.

PubMed

Javed, K; Li, W J; Ali, S S; Shi, D W; Khan, U; Riaz, S; Han, X F

2015-12-14

Hybrid core-shell nanostructures consisting of permalloy (Ni80Fe20) and multiferroic(BiFeO3, BFO/BiFe0.95Co0.05O3, BFC) materials were synthesized by a two-step method, based on wet chemical impregnation and subsequent electrodeposition within porous alumina membranes. Structural and magnetic characterizations have been done to investigate doping effect on magnetic properties and exchange bias. The magnetometry analysis revealed significant enhancements of the exchange bias and coercivity in NiFe-BFC core-shell nanostructures as compared with NiFe-BFO core-shell nanostructures. The enhancements can be attributed to the effective reduction of ferromagnet domain sizes between adjacent layers of core-shell structure. It indicates that it is possible to improve properties of multiferroic composites by site-engineering method. Our approach opens a pathway to obtain optimized nanostructured multiferroic composites exhibiting tunable magnetic properties.

Electrosprayed core-shell polymer-lipid nanoparticles for active component delivery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eltayeb, Megdi; Stride, Eleanor; Edirisinghe, Mohan

2013-11-01

A key challenge in the production of multicomponent nanoparticles for healthcare applications is obtaining reproducible monodisperse nanoparticles with the minimum number of preparation steps. This paper focus on the use of electrohydrodynamic (EHD) techniques to produce core-shell polymer-lipid structures with a narrow size distribution in a single step process. These nanoparticles are composed of a hydrophilic core for active component encapsulation and a lipid shell. It was found that core-shell nanoparticles with a tunable size range between 30 and 90 nm and a narrow size distribution could be reproducibly manufactured. The results indicate that the lipid component (stearic acid) stabilizes the nanoparticles against collapse and aggregation and improves entrapment of active components, in this case vanillin, ethylmaltol and maltol. The overall structure of the nanoparticles produced was examined by multiple methods, including transmission electron microscopy and differential scanning calorimetry, to confirm that they were of core-shell form.

Coaxial Electrospinning and Characterization of Core-Shell Structured Cellulose Nanocrystal Reinforced PMMA/PAN Composite Fibers

PubMed Central

Li, Chao; Li, Qingde; Ni, Xiaohui; Liu, Guoxiang; Cheng, Wanli; Han, Guangping

2017-01-01

A modified coaxial electrospinning process was used to prepare composite nanofibrous mats from a poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) solution with the addition of different cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) as the sheath fluid and polyacrylonitrile (PAN) solution as the core fluid. This study investigated the conductivity of the as-spun solutions that increased significantly with increasing CNCs addition, which favors forming uniform fibers. This study discussed the effect of different CNCs addition on the morphology, thermal behavior, and the multilevel structure of the coaxial electrospun PMMA + CNCs/PAN composite nanofibers. A morphology analysis of the nanofibrous mats clearly demonstrated that the CNCs facilitated the production of the composite nanofibers with a core-shell structure. The diameter of the composite nanofibers decreased and the uniformity increased with increasing CNCs concentrations in the shell fluid. The composite nanofibrous mats had the maximum thermal decomposition temperature that was substantially higher than electrospun pure PMMA, PAN, as well as the core-shell PMMA/PAN nanocomposite. The BET (Brunauer, Emmett and Teller) formula results showed that the specific surface area of the CNCs reinforced core-shell composite significantly increased with increasing CNCs content. The specific surface area of the composite with 20% CNCs loading rose to 9.62 m2/g from 3.76 m2/g for the control. A dense porous structure was formed on the surface of the electrospun core-shell fibers. PMID:28772933

Vertically aligned P(VDF-TrFE) core-shell structures on flexible pillar arrays

PubMed Central

Choi, Yoon-Young; Yun, Tae Gwang; Qaiser, Nadeem; Paik, Haemin; Roh, Hee Seok; Hong, Jongin; Hong, Seungbum; Han, Seung Min; No, Kwangsoo

2015-01-01

PVDF and P(VDF-TrFE) nano- and micro- structures have been widely used due to their potential applications in several fields, including sensors, actuators, vital sign transducers, and energy harvesters. In this study, we developed vertically aligned P(VDF-TrFE) core-shell structures using high modulus polyurethane acrylate (PUA) pillars as the support structure to maintain the structural integrity. In addition, we were able to improve the piezoelectric effect by 1.85 times from 40 ± 2 to 74 ± 2 pm/V when compared to the thin film counterpart, which contributes to the more efficient current generation under a given stress, by making an effective use of the P(VDF-TrFE) thin top layer as well as the side walls. We attribute the enhancement of piezoelectric effects to the contributions from the shell component and the strain confinement effect, which was supported by our modeling results. We envision that these organic-based P(VDF-TrFE) core-shell structures will be used widely as 3D sensors and power generators because they are optimized for current generations by utilizing all surface areas, including the side walls of core-shell structures. PMID:26040539

Vertically aligned P(VDF-TrFE) core-shell structures on flexible pillar arrays

DOE PAGES

Choi, Yoon-Young; Yun, Tae Gwang; Qaiser, Nadeem; ...

2015-06-04

PVDF and P(VDF-TrFE) nano- and micro- structures are widely used due to their potential applications in several fields, including sensors, actuators, vital sign transducers, and energy harvesters. In this study, we developed vertically aligned P(VDF-TrFE) core-shell structures using high modulus polyurethane acrylate (PUA) pillars as the support structure to maintain the structural integrity. In addition, we were able to improve the piezoelectric effect by 1.85 times from 40 ± 2 to 74 ± 2 pm/V when compared to the thin film counterpart, which contributes to the more efficient current generation under a given stress, by making an effective use ofmore » the P(VDF-TrFE) thin top layer as well as the side walls. We attribute the enhancement of piezoelectric effects to the contributions from the shell component and the strain confinement effect, which was supported by our modeling results. We envision that these organic-based P(VDF-TrFE) core-shell structures will be used widely as 3D sensors and power generators because they are optimized for current generations by utilizing all surface areas, including the side walls of core-shell structures.« less

Fabrication of polyacrylate core-shell nanoparticles via spray drying method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Pengpeng; Cheng, Zenghui; Chu, Fuxiang; Xu, Yuzhi; Wang, Chunpeng

2016-05-01

Fine polyacrylate particles are thought to be environmental plastisols for car industry. However, these particles are mainly dried through demulsification of the latexes, which is not reproducible and hard to be scaled up. In this work, a spray drying method had been applied to the plastisols-used acrylate latex. By adjusting the core/shell ratio, spray drying process of the latex was fully studied. Scanning electronic microscopy observation of the nanoparticles before and after spray drying indicated that the core-shell structures could be well preserved and particles were well separated by spray drying if the shell was thick enough. Otherwise, the particles fused into each other and core-shell structures were destroyed. Polyacrylate plastisols were developed using diisononylphthalate as a plasticizer, and plastigels were obtained after heat treatment of the sols. Results showed that the shell thickness also had a great influence on the storage stability of the plastisols and mechanical properties of the plastigels.

Magnetic Behavior of Ni-Fe Core-Shell and Alloy Nanowires

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tripathy, Jagnyaseni; Vargas, Jose; Spinu, Leonard; Wiley, John

2013-03-01

Template assisted synthesis was used to fabricate a series of Ni-Fe core-shell and alloy nanowires. By controlling reaction conditions as well as pore structure, both systems could be targeted and magnetic properties followed as a function of architectures. In the core-shell structure coercivity increases with decrease in shell thickness while for the alloys, coercivity squareness improve with increase pore diameter. Details on the systematic studies of these materials will be presented in terms of hysteretic measurements, including first order reversal curves (FORC), and FMR data. Magnetic variation as a function of structure and nanowire aspect ratios will be presented and the origins of these behaviors discussed. Advanced Material Research Institute

Interface engineered ferrite@ferroelectric core-shell nanostructures: A facile approach to impart superior magneto-electric coupling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abraham, Ann Rose; Raneesh, B.; Das, Dipankar; Oluwafemi, Oluwatobi Samuel; Thomas, Sabu; Kalarikkal, Nandakumar

2018-04-01

The electric field control of magnetism in multiferroics is attractive for the realization of ultra-fast and miniaturized low power device applications like nonvolatile memories. Room temperature hybrid multiferroic heterostructures with core-shell (0-0) architecture (ferrite core and ferroelectric shell) were developed via a two-step method. High-Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy (HRTEM) images confirm the core-shell structure. The temperature dependant magnetization measurements and Mossbauer spectra reveal superparamagnetic nature of the core-shell sample. The ferroelectric hysteresis loops reveal leaky nature of the samples. The results indicate the promising applications of the samples for magneto-electric memories and spintronics.

Introduction of biotin or folic acid into polypyrrole magnetite core-shell nanoparticles

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

Nan, Alexandrina; Turcu, Rodica; Liebscher, Jürgen

2013-11-13

In order to contribute to the trend in contemporary research to develop magnetic core shell nanoparticles with better properties (reduced toxicity, high colloidal and chemical stability, wide scope of application) in straightforward and reproducible methods new core shell magnetic nanoparticles were developed based on polypyrrole shells functionalized with biotin and folic acid. Magnetite nanoparticles stabilized by sebacic acid were used as magnetic cores. The morphology of magnetite was determined by transmission electron microscopy TEM, while the chemical structure investigated by FT-IR.

Structural Color Tuning: Mixing Melanin-Like Particles with Different Diameters to Create Neutral Colors.

PubMed

Kawamura, Ayaka; Kohri, Michinari; Yoshioka, Shinya; Taniguchi, Tatsuo; Kishikawa, Keiki

2017-04-18

We present the ability to tune structural colors by mixing colloidal particles. To produce high-visibility structural colors, melanin-like core-shell particles composed of a polystyrene (PSt) core and a polydopamine (PDA) shell, were used as components. The results indicated that neutral structural colors could be successfully obtained by simply mixing two differently sized melanin-like PSt@PDA core-shell particles. In addition, the arrangements of the particles, which were important factors when forming structural colors, were investigated by mathematical processing using a 2D Fourier transform technique and Voronoi diagrams. These findings provide new insights for the development of structural color-based ink applications.

Core/shell structure NiCo2O4@MnCo2O4 nanofibers fabricated by different temperatures for high-performance supercapacitors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Qing; Qin, Xuefeng; Jiang, Pengcheng; Dai, Jianfeng; Li, Weixue; Gao, Haoran

2018-03-01

Core/shell structure NiCo2O4@MnCo2O4 nanofibers (NiCo2O4@MnCo2O4 NFs) were prepared by a facile co-electrospinning method and heat treatment. The composites annealed at 500 °C have a complete, continuously obvious core/shell structure, and clear interface of composites with good morphology, while annealed at 600 °C were stacked on each other and were unable to sustain three-dimensional network structures and 700 °C calcination have completely lost one-dimensional structure. The core NiCo2O4 is about 70 nm in diameter and the MnCo2O4 shell behaves a thickness about 60 nm. When investigated as an electrode material for supercapacitors, the NiCo2O4@MnCo2O4 NFs annealed at 500 °C exihibited the specific capacitance of 463 F g-1 (0.926 F cm-2) at 1 A g-1, higher than that annealed at 600 °C 362 F g-1, 1 A g-1 (0.724 F cm-2, 1 A g-1) and 700 °C 283 F g-1, 1 A g-1 (0.566 F cm-2, 1 A g-1). These results suggest that core/shell NiCo2O4@MnCo2O4 NFs annealed at 500 °C have formed a good morphology with continuously complete core/shell structure which lead to good properties would be potential electrodes for supercapacitors.

Direct Evidence of Significant Cation Intermixing in Upconverting Core@Shell Nanocrystals: Toward a New Crystallochemical Model

DOE PAGES

Hudry, Damien; Busko, Dmitry; Popescu, Radian; ...

2017-11-02

Core@shell design represents an important class of architectures because of its capability to dramatically increase the absolute upconversion quantum yield (UCQY) of upconverting nanocrystals (UCNCs) but also to tune energy migration pathways. A relatively new trend towards the use of very thick optically inert shells affording significantly higher absolute UCQYs raises the question of the crystallographic and chemical characteristics of such nanocrystals (NCs). In this article, local chemical analyses performed by scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) combined with energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDXS) and x-ray total scattering experiments together with pair distribution function (PDF) analyses were used to probe themore » local chemical and structural characteristics of hexagonal β-NaGd0.78Yb0.2Er0.02F4@NaYF4 core@shell UCNCs. The investigations lead to a new crystallochemical model to describe core@shell UCNCs that considerably digresses from the commonly accepted epitaxial growth concept with sharp interfaces. The results obtained on ultra-small (4.8 ± 0.5 nm) optically active cores (β-NaGd0.78Yb0.2Er0.02F4) surrounded by an optically inert shell (NaYF4) of tunable thickness (roughly 0, 1, 2, and 3.5 nm) clearly indicate the massive dissolution of the starting seeds and the inter-diffusion of the shell element (such as Y) into the Gd/Yb/Er-containing core giving rise to the formation of a non-homogeneous solid solution characterized by concentration gradients and the lack of sharp interfaces. Independently of the inert shell thickness, core/interface/shell architectures were observed for all synthesized UCNCs. The presented results constitute a significant step towards the comprehensive understanding of the “structure - property” relationship of upconverting core@shell architectures, which is of prime interest not only in the development of more efficient structures but also to provide new physical insights at the nanoscale to better explain upconversion (UC) properties alterations.« less

Direct Evidence of Significant Cation Intermixing in Upconverting Core@Shell Nanocrystals: Toward a New Crystallochemical Model

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

Hudry, Damien; Busko, Dmitry; Popescu, Radian

Core@shell design represents an important class of architectures because of its capability to dramatically increase the absolute upconversion quantum yield (UCQY) of upconverting nanocrystals (UCNCs) but also to tune energy migration pathways. A relatively new trend towards the use of very thick optically inert shells affording significantly higher absolute UCQYs raises the question of the crystallographic and chemical characteristics of such nanocrystals (NCs). In this article, local chemical analyses performed by scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) combined with energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDXS) and x-ray total scattering experiments together with pair distribution function (PDF) analyses were used to probe themore » local chemical and structural characteristics of hexagonal β-NaGd0.78Yb0.2Er0.02F4@NaYF4 core@shell UCNCs. The investigations lead to a new crystallochemical model to describe core@shell UCNCs that considerably digresses from the commonly accepted epitaxial growth concept with sharp interfaces. The results obtained on ultra-small (4.8 ± 0.5 nm) optically active cores (β-NaGd0.78Yb0.2Er0.02F4) surrounded by an optically inert shell (NaYF4) of tunable thickness (roughly 0, 1, 2, and 3.5 nm) clearly indicate the massive dissolution of the starting seeds and the inter-diffusion of the shell element (such as Y) into the Gd/Yb/Er-containing core giving rise to the formation of a non-homogeneous solid solution characterized by concentration gradients and the lack of sharp interfaces. Independently of the inert shell thickness, core/interface/shell architectures were observed for all synthesized UCNCs. The presented results constitute a significant step towards the comprehensive understanding of the “structure - property” relationship of upconverting core@shell architectures, which is of prime interest not only in the development of more efficient structures but also to provide new physical insights at the nanoscale to better explain upconversion (UC) properties alterations.« less

High ink absorption performance of inkjet printing based on SiO2@Al13 core-shell composites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, YiFan; Jiang, Bo; Liu, Li; Du, Yunzhe; Zhang, Tong; Zhao, LiWei; Huang, YuDong

2018-04-01

The increasing growth of the inkjet market makes the inkjet printing more necessary. A composite material based on core-shell structure has been developed and applied to prepare inkjet printing layer. In this contribution, the ink printing record layers based on SiO2@Al13 core-shell composite was elaborated. The prepared core-shell composite materials were characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), zeta potential, X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results proved the presence of electrostatic adsorption between SiO2 molecules and Al13 molecules with the formation of the well-dispersed system. In addition, based on the adsorption and the liquid permeability analysis, SiO2@Al13 ink printing record layer achieved a relatively high ink uptake (2.5 gmm-1) and permeability (87%), respectively. The smoothness and glossiness of SiO2@Al13 record layers were higher than SiO2 record layers. The core-shell structure facilitated the dispersion of the silica, thereby improved its ink absorption performance and made the clear printed image. Thus, the proposed procedure based on SiO2@Al13 core-shell structure of dye particles could be applied as a promising strategy for inkjet printing.

Facet-selective nucleation and conformal epitaxy of Ge shells on Si nanowires

DOE PAGES

Nguyen, Binh -Minh; Swartzentruber, Brian; Ro, Yun Goo; ...

2015-10-08

Knowledge of nanoscale heteroepitaxy is continually evolving as advances in material synthesis reveal new mechanisms that have not been theoretically predicted and are different than what is known about planar structures. In addition to a wide range of potential applications, core/shell nanowire structures offer a useful template to investigate heteroepitaxy at the atomistic scale. We show that the growth of a Ge shell on a Si core can be tuned from the theoretically predicted island growth mode to a conformal, crystalline, and smooth shell by careful adjustment of growth parameters in a narrow growth window that has not been exploredmore » before. In the latter growth mode, Ge adatoms preferentially nucleate islands on the {113} facets of the Si core, which outgrow over the {220} facets. Islands on the low-energy {111} facets appear to have a nucleation delay compared to the {113} islands; however, they eventually coalesce to form a crystalline conformal shell. As a result, synthesis of epitaxial and conformal Si/Ge/Si core/multishell structures enables us to fabricate unique cylindrical ring nanowire field-effect transistors, which we demonstrate to have steeper on/off characteristics than conventional core/shell nanowire transistors.« less

Magnetic response of hybrid ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic core-shell nanostructures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khan, U.; Li, W. J.; Adeela, N.; Irfan, M.; Javed, K.; Wan, C. H.; Riaz, S.; Han, X. F.

2016-03-01

The synthesis of FeTiO3-Ni(Ni80Fe20) core-shell nanostructures by a two-step method (sol-gel and DC electrodeposition) has been demonstrated. XRD analysis confirms the rhombohedral crystal structure of FeTiO3(FTO) with space group R3&cmb.macr;. Transmission electron microscopy clearly depicts better morphology of nanostructures with shell thicknesses of ~25 nm. Room temperature magnetic measurements showed significant enhancement of magnetic anisotropy for the permalloy (Ni80Fe20)-FTO over Ni-FTO core-shell nanostructures. Low temperature magnetic measurements of permalloy-FeTiO3 core-shell structure indicated a strong exchange bias mechanism with magnetic coercivity below the antiferromagnetic Neel temperature (TN = 59 K). The exchange bias is attributed to the alignment of magnetic moments in the antiferromagnetic material at low temperature. Our scheme opens a path towards optimum automotive systems and wireless communications wherein broader bandwidths and smaller sizes are required.The synthesis of FeTiO3-Ni(Ni80Fe20) core-shell nanostructures by a two-step method (sol-gel and DC electrodeposition) has been demonstrated. XRD analysis confirms the rhombohedral crystal structure of FeTiO3(FTO) with space group R3&cmb.macr;. Transmission electron microscopy clearly depicts better morphology of nanostructures with shell thicknesses of ~25 nm. Room temperature magnetic measurements showed significant enhancement of magnetic anisotropy for the permalloy (Ni80Fe20)-FTO over Ni-FTO core-shell nanostructures. Low temperature magnetic measurements of permalloy-FeTiO3 core-shell structure indicated a strong exchange bias mechanism with magnetic coercivity below the antiferromagnetic Neel temperature (TN = 59 K). The exchange bias is attributed to the alignment of magnetic moments in the antiferromagnetic material at low temperature. Our scheme opens a path towards optimum automotive systems and wireless communications wherein broader bandwidths and smaller sizes are required. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available. See DOI: 10.1039/c5nr07946b

Synthesis of carbon core–shell pore structures and their performance as supercapacitors

DOE PAGES

Ariyanto, Teguh; Dyatkin, Boris; Zhang, Gui-Rong; ...

2015-07-15

High-power supercapacitors require excellent electrolyte mobility within the pore network and high electrical conductivity for maximum capacitance and efficiency. Achieving high power typically requires sacrificing energy densities, as the latter demands a high specific surface area and narrow porosity that impedes ion transport. Here, we present a novel solution for this optimization problem: a nanostructured core–shell carbonaceous material that exhibits a microporous carbon core surrounded by a mesoporous, graphitic shell. The tunable synthesis parameters yielded a structure that features either a sharp or a gradual transition between the core and shell sections. Electrochemical supercapacitor testing using organic electrolyte revealed thatmore » these novel core–shell materials outperform carbons with homogeneous pore structures. The hybrid core–shell materials showed a combination of good capacitance retention, typical for the carbon present in the shell and high specific capacitance, typical for the core material. These materials achieved power densities in excess of 40 kW kg -1 at energy densities reaching 27 Wh kg -1.« less

Control of the shell structural properties and cavity diameter of hollow magnesium fluoride particles.

PubMed

Nandiyanto, Asep Bayu Dani; Ogi, Takashi; Okuyama, Kikuo

2014-03-26

Control of the shell structural properties [i.e., thickness (8-25 nm) and morphology (dense and raspberry)] and cavity diameter (100-350 nm) of hollow particles was investigated experimentally, and the results were qualitatively explained based on the available theory. We found that the selective deposition size and formation of the shell component on the surface of a core template played important roles in controlling the structure of the resulting shell. To achieve the selective deposition size and formation of the shell component, various process parameters (i.e., reaction temperature and charge, size, and composition of the core template and shell components) were tested. Magnesium fluoride (MgF2) and polystyrene spheres were used as models for shell and core components, respectively. MgF2 was selected because, to the best of our knowledge, the current reported approaches to date were limited to synthesis of MgF2 in film and particle forms only. Therefore, understanding how to control the formation of MgF2 with various structures (both the thickness and morphology) is a prospective for advanced lens synthesis and applications.

Hollow Polycaprolactone Microspheres with/without a Single Surface Hole by Co-Electrospraying

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

We describe the co-electrospraying of hollow microspheres from a polycaprolactone (PCL) shell solution and various core solutions including water, cyclohexane, poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO), and polyethylene glycol (PEG), using different collectors. The morphologies of the resultant microspheres were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), confocal microscopy, and nano-X-ray computed tomography (nano-XCT). The core/shell solution miscibility played an important role in the co-electrospraying process and the formation of microsphere structures. Spherical particles were more likely to be produced from miscible combinations of core/shell solutions than from immiscible ones. Hollow PCL microspheres with a single hole in their surfaces were produced when an ethanol bath was used as the collector. The mechanism by which the core/shell structure is transformed into single-hole hollow microspheres is proposed to be primarily based on the evaporation through the shell and extraction by ethanol of the core solution and is described in detail. Additionally, we present a 3D macroscopic tubular structure composed of hollow PCL microspheres, directly assembled on a copper wire collector during co-electrospraying. SEM and nano-XCT confirm that microspheres in the 3D bulk structure remain hollow. PMID:28901145

Composites Based on Core-Shell Structured HBCuPc@CNTs-Fe3O4 and Polyarylene Ether Nitriles with Excellent Dielectric and Mechanical Properties

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pu, Zejun; Zhong, Jiachun; Liu, Xiaobo

2017-10-01

Core-shell structured magnetic carbon nanotubes (CNTs-Fe3O4) coated with hyperbranched copper phthalocyanine (HBCuPc) (HBCuPc@CNTs-Fe3O4) hybrids were prepared by the solvent-thermal method. The results indicated that the HBCuPc molecules were decorated on the surface of CNTs-Fe3O4 through coordination behavior of phthalocyanines, and the CNTs-Fe3O4 core was completely coaxial wrapped by a functional intermediate HBCuPc shell. Then, polymer-based composites with a relatively high dielectric constant and low dielectric loss were fabricated by using core-shell structured HBCuPc@CNTs-Fe3O4 hybrids as fillers and polyarylene ether nitriles (PEN) as the polymer matrix. The cross-sectional scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images of composites showed that there is almost no agglomeration and internal delamination. In addition, the rheological analysis reveals that the core-shell structured HBCuPc@CNTs-Fe3O4 hybrids present better dispersion and stronger interface adhesion with the PEN matrix than CNTs-Fe3O4, thus resulting in significant improvement of the mechanical, thermal and dielectric properties of polymer-based composites.

Honeycomb Films with Core-Shell Dispersed Phases Prepared by the Combination of Breath Figures and Phase Separation Process of Ternary Blends.

PubMed

Del Campo, A; de León, A S; Rodríguez-Hernández, J; Muñoz-Bonilla, A

2017-03-21

Herein, we propose a strategy to fabricate core-shell microstructures ordered in hexagonal arrays by combining the breath figures approach and phase separation of immiscible ternary blends. This simple strategy to fabricate these structures involves only the solvent casting of a ternary polymer blend under moist atmosphere, which provides a facile and low-cost fabrication method to obtain the porous structures with a core-shell morphology. For this purpose, blends consisting of polystyrene (PS) as a major component and PS 40 -b-P(PEGMA300) 48 amphiphilic copolymer and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) as minor components were dissolved in tetrahydrofuran and cast onto glass wafers under humid conditions, 70% of relative humidity. The resulting porous morphologies were characterized by optical and confocal Raman microscopy. In particular, confocal Raman results demonstrated the formation of core-shell morphologies into the ordered pores, in which the PS forms the continuous matrix, whereas the other two phases are located into the cavities (PDMS is the core while the amphiphilic copolymer is the shell). Besides, by controlling the weight ratio of the polymer blends, the structural parameters of the porous structure such as pore diameter and the size of the core can be effectively tuned.

Flexible 3D Fe@VO2 core-shell mesh: A highly efficient and easy-recycling catalyst for the removal of organic dyes.

PubMed

Li, Jing; Wang, Ruoqi; Su, Zhen; Zhang, Dandan; Li, Heping; Yan, Youwei

2018-10-01

Nowadays, it is extremely urgent to search for efficient and effective catalysts for water purification due to the severe worldwide water-contamination crises. Here, 3D Fe@VO 2 core-shell mesh, a highly efficient catalyst toward removal of organic dyes with excellent recycling ability in the dark is designed and developed for the first time. This novel core-shell structure is actually 304 stainless steel mesh coated by VO 2 , fabricated by an electrophoretic deposition method. In such a core-shell structure, Fe as the core allows much easier separation from the water, endowing the catalyst with a flexible property for easy recycling, while VO 2 as the shell is highly efficient in degradation of organic dyes with the addition of H 2 O 2 . More intriguingly, the 3D Fe@VO 2 core-shell mesh exhibits favorable performance across a wide pH range. The 3D Fe@VO 2 core-shell mesh can decompose organic dyes both in a light-free condition and under visible irradiation. The possible catalytic oxidation mechanism of Fe@VO 2 /H 2 O 2 system is also proposed in this work. Considering its facile fabrication, remarkable catalytic efficiency across a wide pH range, and easy recycling characteristic, the 3D Fe@VO 2 core-shell mesh is a newly developed high-performance catalyst for addressing the universal water crises. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Photocatalytic activity of Ag/ZnO core-shell nanoparticles with shell thickness as controlling parameter under green environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rajbongshi, Himanshu; Bhattacharjee, Suparna; Datta, Pranayee

2017-02-01

Plasmonic Ag/ZnO core-shell nanoparticles have been synthesized via a simple two-step wet chemical method for application in Photocatalysis. The morphology, size, crystal structure, composition and optical properties of the nanoparticles are investigated by x-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), FTIR spectroscopy, ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) absorption spectroscopy and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. The shell thicknesses are varied by varying the concentration of zinc nitrate hexa-hydrate and triethanolamine. The ZnO shell coating over Ag core enhances the charge separation, whereas the larger shell thickness and increased refractive index of surrounding medium cause red shifts of surface Plasmon resonance (SPR) peak of Ag core. The photoluminescence (PL) spectra of Ag/ZnO core-shell show that the larger shell thickness quenches the near band edge UV emission of ZnO. The electrochemical impedance spectra (EIS) i.e. Nyquist plots also confirm the higher charge transfer efficiency of the Ag/ZnO core-shell nanoparticles. The Photocatalytic activities of Ag/ZnO core-shell nanoparticles are investigated by the degradation of methylene blue (MB) dye under direct sunlight irradiation. Compared to pure ZnO nanoparticles (NPs), Ag/ZnO core-shell NPs display efficient sunlight plasmonic photocatalytic activity because of the influence of SPR of Ag core and the electron sink effect. The photocatalytic activity of Ag/ZnO core-shell NPs is found to be enhanced with increase in shell thickness.

Core@shell@shell structured carbon-based magnetic ternary nanohybrids: Synthesis and their enhanced microwave absorption properties

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Erqi; Qi, Xiaosi; Xie, Ren; Bai, Zhongchen; Jiang, Yang; Qin, Shuijie; Zhong, Wei; Du, Youwei

2018-05-01

High encapsulation efficiency of core@shell@shell structured carbon-based magnetic ternary nanohybrids have been synthesized in high yield by chemical vapor deposition of acetylene directly over octahedral-shaped Fe2O3 nanoparticles. By controlling the pyrolysis temperature, Fe3O4@Fe3C@carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and Fe@Fe3C@CNTs ternary nanohybrids could be selectively produced. The optimal RL values for the as-prepared ternary nanohybrids could reach up to ca. -46.7, -52.7 and -29.5 dB, respectively. The excellent microwave absorption properties of the obtaiend ternary nanohybrids were proved to ascribe to the quarter-wavelength matching model. Moreover, the as-prepared Fe@Fe3C@CNTs ternary nanohybrids displayed remarkably enhanced EM wave absorption capabilities compared to Fe3O4@Fe3C@CNTs due to their excellent dielectric loss abilities, good complementarities between the dielectric loss and the magnetic loss, and high attenuation constant. Generally, this strategy can be extended to explore other categories of core@shell or core@shell@shell structured carbon-based nanohybrids, which is very beneficial to accelerate the advancements of high performance MAMs.

Eco-friendly synthesis of core-shell structured (TiO2/Li2CO3) nanomaterials for low cost dye-sensitized solar cells.

PubMed

Karuppuchamy, S; Brundha, C

2016-12-01

Core-shell structured TiO 2 /Li 2 CO 3 electrode was successfully synthesized by eco-friendly solution growth technique. TiO 2 /Li 2 CO 3 electrodes were characterized using X-ray Diffractometer (XRD), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and photocurrent-voltage measurements. The synthesized core-shell electrode material was sensitized with tetrabutylammonium cis-di(thiocyanato)-N,N'-bis(4-carboxylato-4'-carboxylic acid-2,2'-bipyridine)ruthenate(II) (N-719). The performance of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs) based on N719 dye modified TiO 2 /Li 2 CO 3 electrodes was investigated. The effect of various shell thickness on the photovoltaic performance of the core-shell structured electrode is also investigated. We found that Li 2 CO 3 shells of all thicknesses perform as inert barriers which improve open-circuit voltage (V oc ) of the DSCs. The energy conversion efficiency was greatly dependent on the thickness of Li 2 CO 3 on TiO 2 film, and the highest efficiency of 3.7% was achieved at the optimum Li 2 CO 3 shell layer. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Core-shell-structured nanothermites synthesized by atomic layer deposition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qin, Lijun; Gong, Ting; Hao, Haixia; Wang, Keyong; Feng, Hao

2013-12-01

Thermite materials feature very exothermic solid-state redox reactions. However, the energy release rates of traditional thermite mixtures are limited by the reactant diffusion velocities. In this work, atomic layer deposition (ALD) is utilized to synthesize thermite materials with greatly enhanced reaction rates. By depositing certain types of metal oxides (oxidizers) onto a commercial Al nanopowder, core-shell-structured nanothermites can be produced. The average film deposition rate on the Al nanopowder is 0.17 nm/cycle for ZnO and 0.031 nm/cycle for SnO2. The thickness of the oxidizer layer can be precisely controlled by adjusting the ALD cycle number. The compositions, morphologies, and structures of the ALD nanothermites are characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. The characterization results reveal nearly perfect coverage of the Al nanoparticles by uniform ALD oxidizer layers and confirm the formation of core-shell nanoparticles. Combustion properties of the nanothermites are probed by laser ignition technique. Reactions of the core-shell-structured nanothermites are several times faster than the mixture of nanopowders. The promoted reaction rate is mostly attributed to the uniform distribution of reactants on the nanometer scale. These core-shell-structured nanothermites provide a potential pathway to control and enhance thermite reactions.

Characterization of core/shell structures based on CdTe and GaAs nanocrystalline layers deposited on SnO2 microwires

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ghimpu, L.; Ursaki, V. V.; Pantazi, A.; Mesterca, R.; Brâncoveanu, O.; Shree, Sindu; Adelung, R.; Tiginyanu, I. M.; Enachescu, M.

2018-04-01

We report the fabrication and characterization of SnO2/CdTe and SnO2/GaAs core/shell microstructures. CdTe or GaAs shell layers were deposited by radio-frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering on core SnO2 microwires synthesized by a flame-based thermal oxidation method. The produced structures were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), high-resolution scanning transmission electron microscope (HR-STEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman scattering and FTIR spectroscopy. It was found that the SnO2 core is of the rutile type, while the shells are composed of CdTe or GaAs nanocrystallites of zincblende structure with the dimensions of crystallites in the range of 10-20 nm. The Raman scattering investigations demonstrated that the quality of the porous nanostructured shell is improved by annealing at temperatures of 420-450 °C. The prospects of implementing these microstructures in intrinsic type fiber optic sensors are discussed.

Magnetite and magnetite/silver core/shell nanoparticles with diluted magnet-like behavior

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

Garza-Navarro, Marco; Torres-Castro, Alejandro, E-mail: alejandro.torrescs@uanl.edu.m; Centro de Innovacion, Investigacion y Desarrollo en Ingenieria y Tecnologia, Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon, Apodaca, Nuevo Leon 66600

2010-01-15

In the present work is reported the use of the biopolymer chitosan as template for the preparation of magnetite and magnetite/silver core/shell nanoparticles systems, following a two step procedure of magnetite nanoparticles in situ precipitation and subsequent silver ions reduction. The crystalline and morphological characteristics of both magnetite and magnetite/silver core/shell nanoparticles systems were analyzed by high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) and nanobeam diffraction patterns (NBD). The results of these studies corroborate the core/shell morphology and the crystalline structure of the magnetite core and the silver shell. Moreover, magnetization temperature dependent, M(T), measurements show an unusual diluted magnetic behaviormore » attributed to the dilution of the magnetic ordering in the magnetite and magnetite/silver core/shell nanoparticles systems. - Graphical abstract: Biopolymer chitosan was used as stabilization media to synthesize both magnetite and magnetite/silver core/shell nanoparticles. Results of HRTEM and NBD patterns confirm core/shell morphology of the obtained nanoparticles. It was found that the composites show diluted magnet-like behavior.« less

Abnormal elastic modulus behavior in a crystalline-amorphous core-shell nanowire system.

PubMed

Lee, Jeong Hwan; Choi, Su Ji; Kwon, Ji Hwan; Van Lam, Do; Lee, Seung Mo; Kim, An Soon; Baik, Hion Suck; Ahn, Sang Jung; Hong, Seong Gu; Yun, Yong Ju; Kim, Young Heon

2018-06-13

We investigated the elastic modulus behavior of crystalline InAs/amorphous Al2O3 core-shell heterostructured nanowires with shell thicknesses varying between 10 and 90 nm by conducting in situ tensile tests inside a transmission electron microscope (TEM). Counterintuitively, the elastic modulus behaviors of InAs/Al2O3 core-shell nanowires differ greatly from those of bulk-scale composite materials, free from size effects. According to our results, the elastic modulus of InAs/Al2O3 core-shell nanowires increases, peaking at a shell thickness of 40 nm, and then decreases in the range of 50-90 nm. This abnormal behavior is attributed to the continuous decrease in the elastic modulus of the Al2O3 shell as the thickness increases, which is caused by changes in the atomic/electronic structure during the atomic layer deposition process and the relaxation of residual stress/strain in the shell transferred from the interfacial mismatch between the core and shell materials. A novel method for estimating the elastic modulus of the shell in a heterostructured core-shell system was suggested by considering these two effects, and the predictions from the suggested method coincided well with the experimental results. We also found that the former and latter effects account for 89% and 11% of the change in the elastic modulus of the shell. This study provides new insight by showing that the size dependency, which is caused by the inhomogeneity of the atomic/electronic structure and the residual stress/strain, must be considered to evaluate the mechanical properties of heterostructured nanowires.

On the possibility of room temperature ferromagnetism on chunk-shape BaSnO3/ZnO core/shell nanostructures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rajamanickam, N.; Jayakumar, K.; Ramachandran, K.

2018-04-01

Core/shell BaSnO3/ZnO (BS-ZO) nanostructures were prepared by oxalate precipitation method and wet-chemical method. BaSnO3 (BSO) cubic perovskite structure and ZnO hexagonal wurtzite structure were confirmed by X-ray diffraction (XRD). The crystallite sizes is 23 nm, 29 nm and 27 nm for BSO, ZnO and BS-ZO, respectively. Chunk-shape and cuboids morphology observed from scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis. The magnetic properties were studied by VSM for bare and core-shell nano systems and the room temperature ferromagnetism observed for core-shell nanostructures. The BSO/ZnO shows enhanced coercivity and saturated magnetization as compared with BSO and ZnO nanostructures.

Magnetism and Mössbauer study of formation of multi-core γ -Fe2O3 nanoparticles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kamali, Saeed; Bringas, Eugenio; Hah, Hien-Yoong; Bates, Brian; Johnson, Jacqueline A.; Johnson, Charles E.; Stroeve, Pieter

2018-04-01

A systematic investigation of magnetic nanoparticles and the formation of a core-shell structure, consisting of multiple maghemite (γ -Fe2O3) nanoparticles as the core and silica as the shell, has been performed using various techniques. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy clearly shows isolated maghemite nanoparticles with an average diameter of 13 nm and the formation of a core-shell structure. Low temperature Mössbauer spectroscopy reveals the presence of pure maghemite nanoparticles with all vacancies at the B-sites. Isothermal magnetization and zero-field-cooled and field-cooled measurements are used for investigating the magnetic properties of the nanoparticles. The magnetization results are in good accordance with the contents of the magnetic core and the non-magnetic shell. The multiple-core γ -Fe2O3 nanoparticles show similar behavior to isolated particles of the same size.

Synthesis of Multicolor Core/Shell NaLuF4:Yb3+/Ln3+@CaF2 Upconversion Nanocrystals

PubMed Central

Li, Hui; Hao, Shuwei; Yang, Chunhui; Chen, Guanying

2017-01-01

The ability to synthesize high-quality hierarchical core/shell nanocrystals from an efficient host lattice is important to realize efficacious photon upconversion for applications ranging from bioimaging to solar cells. Here, we describe a strategy to fabricate multicolor core @ shell α-NaLuF4:Yb3+/Ln3+@CaF2 (Ln = Er, Ho, Tm) upconversion nanocrystals (UCNCs) based on the newly established host lattice of sodium lutetium fluoride (NaLuF4). We exploited the liquid-solid-solution method to synthesize the NaLuF4 core of pure cubic phase and the thermal decomposition approach to expitaxially grow the calcium fluoride (CaF2) shell onto the core UCNCs, yielding cubic core/shell nanocrystals with a size of 15.6 ± 1.2 nm (the core ~9 ± 0.9 nm, the shell ~3.3 ± 0.3 nm). We showed that those core/shell UCNCs could emit activator-defined multicolor emissions up to about 772 times more efficient than the core nanocrystals due to effective suppression of surface-related quenching effects. Our results provide a new paradigm on heterogeneous core/shell structure for enhanced multicolor upconversion photoluminescence from colloidal nanocrystals. PMID:28336867

Dock 'n roll: folding of a silk-inspired polypeptide into an amyloid-like beta solenoid.

PubMed

Zhao, Binwu; Cohen Stuart, Martien A; Hall, Carol K

2016-04-20

Polypeptides containing the motif ((GA)mGX)n occur in silk and have a strong tendency to self-assemble. For example, polypeptides containing (GAGAGAGX)n, where X = G or H have been observed to form filaments; similar sequences but with X = Q have been used in the design of coat proteins (capsids) for artificial viruses. The structure of the (GAGAGAGX)m filaments has been proposed to be a stack of peptides in a β roll structure with the hydrophobic side chains pointing outwards (hydrophobic shell). Another possible configuration, a β roll or β solenoid structure which has its hydrophobic side chains buried inside (hydrophobic core) was, however, overlooked. We perform ground state analysis as well as atomic-level molecular dynamics simulations, both on single molecules and on two-molecule stacks of the silk-inspired sequence (GAGAGAGQ)10, to decide whether the hydrophobic core or the hydrophobic shell configuration is the most stable one. We find that a stack of two hydrophobic core molecules is energetically more favorable than a stack of two hydrophobic shell molecules. A shell molecule initially placed in a perfect β roll structure tends to rotate its strands, breaking in-plane hydrogen bonds and forming out-of-plane hydrogen bonds, while a core molecule stays in the β roll structure. The hydrophobic shell structure has type II' β turns whereas the core configuration has type II β turns; only the latter secondary structure agrees well with solid-state NMR experiments on a similar sequence (GA)15. We also observe that the core stack has a higher number of intra-molecular hydrogen bonds and a higher number of hydrogen bonds between stack and water than the shell stack. Hence, we conclude that the hydrophobic core configuration is the most likely structure. In the stacked state, each peptide has more intra-molecular hydrogen bonds than a single folded molecule, which suggests that stacking provides the extra stability needed for molecules to reach the folded state.

Zero-valent iron treatment of dark brown colored coffee effluent: Contributions of a core-shell structure to pollutant removals.

PubMed

Tomizawa, Mayuka; Kurosu, Shunji; Kobayashi, Maki; Kawase, Yoshinori

2016-12-01

The decolorization and total organic carbon (TOC) removal of dark brown colored coffee effluent by zero-valent iron (ZVI) have been systematically examined with solution pH of 3.0, 4.0, 6.0 and 8.0 under oxic and anoxic conditions. The optimal decolorization and TOC removal were obtained at pH 8.0 with oxic condition. The maximum efficiencies of decolorization and TOC removal were 92.6 and 60.2%, respectively. ZVI presented potential properties for pollutant removal at nearly neutral pH because of its core-shell structure in which shell or iron oxide/hydroxide layer on ZVI surface dominated the decolorization and TOC removal of coffee effluent. To elucidate the contribution of the core-shell structure to removals of color and TOC at the optimal condition, the characterization of ZVI surface by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with an energy dispersive X-ray spectroscope (EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was conducted. It was confirmed that the core-shell structure was formed and the shell on ZVI particulate surface and the precipitates formed during the course of ZVI treatment consisted of iron oxides and hydroxides. They were significantly responsible for decolorization and TOC removal of coffee effluent via adsorption to shell on ZVI surface and inclusion into the precipitates rather than the oxidative degradation by OH radicals and the reduction by emitted electrons. The presence of dissolved oxygen (DO) enhanced the formation of the core-shell structure and as a result improved the efficiency of ZVI treatment for the removal of colored components in coffee effluents. ZVI was found to be an efficient material toward the treatment of coffee effluents. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effect of core-shell structure on optical properties of Au-Cu2O nanoparticles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sai, Cong Doanh; Ngac, An Bang

2018-03-01

Solid Au-Cu2O core-shell nanoparticles were synthesized using gold nanoparticles of 16.6 nm in size as the core. The core-shell structure of the synthesized particles was confirmed and characterized by TEM and HRTEM images. Due to their similar crystal structure, the (111) planes of Cu2O are nucleated and grown epitaxially on the {111} facets of Au nanoparticles with the lattice mismatch of about 4.3% resulting in a polycrystallized Cu2O shell covering the Au nanocore. Due to the quantum confinement effect, the band gap energy Eg of the synthesized Cu2O shells is blue-shifted from 2.35 to 2.70 eV as the shell thickness decreases from of 24.6±3.6 to 9.0±1.7 nm. The localized SPR (Surface Plasmon Resonance) peak of the Au nanocore undergoes a large red shift of the order of a hundred of nm due to both the high refractive index and the increase of the thickness of Cu2O shell. Theoretical models within the Drude framework significantly underestimate the experimental data and predict a wrong rate of change of the SPR peak position with respect to the shell thickness.

Evaluation of damage progression and mechanical behavior under compression of bone cements containing core-shell nanoparticles by using acoustic emission technique.

PubMed

Pacheco-Salazar, O F; Wakayama, Shuichi; Sakai, Takenobu; Cauich-Rodríguez, J V; Ríos-Soberanis, C R; Cervantes-Uc, J M

2015-06-01

In this work, the effect of the incorporation of core-shell particles on the fracture mechanisms of the acrylic bone cements by using acoustic emission (AE) technique during the quasi-static compression mechanical test was investigated. Core-shell particles were composed of a poly(butyl acrylate) (PBA) rubbery core and a methyl methacrylate/styrene copolymer (P(MMA-co-St)) outer glassy shell. Nanoparticles were prepared with different core-shell ratio (20/80, 30/70, 40/60 and 50/50) and were incorporated into the solid phase of bone cement at several percentages (5, 10 and 15 wt%). It was observed that the particles exhibited a spherical morphology averaging ca. 125 nm in diameter, and the dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) thermograms revealed the desired structuring pattern of phases associated with core-shell structures. A fracture mechanism was proposed taking into account the detected AE signals and the scanning electron microscopy (SEM) micrographs. In this regard, core-shell nanoparticles can act as both additional nucleation sites for microcracks (and crazes) and to hinder the microcrack propagation acting as a barrier to its growth; this behavior was presented by all formulations. Cement samples containing 15 wt% of core-shell nanoparticles, either 40/60 or 50/50, were fractured at 40% deformation. This fact seems related to the coalescence of microcracks after they surround the agglomerates of core-shell nanoparticles to continue growing up. This work also demonstrated the potential of the AE technique to be used as an accurate and reliable detection tool for quasi-static compression test in acrylic bone cements. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Tuning the synthesis of platinum-copper nanoparticles with a hollow core and porous shell for the selective hydrogenation of furfural to furfuryl alcohol

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Shuangshuang; Yang, Nating; Wang, Shibin; Sun, Yuhan; Zhu, Yan

2016-07-01

Pt-Cu nanoparticles constructed with a hollow core and porous shell have been synthesized in which Pt-Cu cages with multiporous outermost shells are formed at the initial stage and then the Pt and Cu atoms in solution continuously fed these hollow-core of cages by passing through the porous tunnels of the outermost shells, finally leading to the formation of hollow structures with different sizes. Furthermore, these hollow-core Pt-Cu nanoparticles are more effective than the solid-core Pt-Cu nanoparticles for the catalytic hydrogenation of furfural toward furfuryl alcohol. The former can achieve almost 100% conversion of furfural with 100% selectivity toward the alcohol.Pt-Cu nanoparticles constructed with a hollow core and porous shell have been synthesized in which Pt-Cu cages with multiporous outermost shells are formed at the initial stage and then the Pt and Cu atoms in solution continuously fed these hollow-core of cages by passing through the porous tunnels of the outermost shells, finally leading to the formation of hollow structures with different sizes. Furthermore, these hollow-core Pt-Cu nanoparticles are more effective than the solid-core Pt-Cu nanoparticles for the catalytic hydrogenation of furfural toward furfuryl alcohol. The former can achieve almost 100% conversion of furfural with 100% selectivity toward the alcohol. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available. See DOI: 10.1039/c6nr03894h

An Efficient Analysis Methodology for Fluted-Core Composite Structures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Oremont, Leonard; Schultz, Marc R.

2012-01-01

The primary loading condition in launch-vehicle barrel sections is axial compression, and it is therefore important to understand the compression behavior of any structures, structural concepts, and materials considered in launch-vehicle designs. This understanding will necessarily come from a combination of test and analysis. However, certain potentially beneficial structures and structural concepts do not lend themselves to commonly used simplified analysis methods, and therefore innovative analysis methodologies must be developed if these structures and structural concepts are to be considered. This paper discusses such an analysis technique for the fluted-core sandwich composite structural concept. The presented technique is based on commercially available finite-element codes, and uses shell elements to capture behavior that would normally require solid elements to capture the detailed mechanical response of the structure. The shell thicknesses and offsets using this analysis technique are parameterized, and the parameters are adjusted through a heuristic procedure until this model matches the mechanical behavior of a more detailed shell-and-solid model. Additionally, the detailed shell-and-solid model can be strategically placed in a larger, global shell-only model to capture important local behavior. Comparisons between shell-only models, experiments, and more detailed shell-and-solid models show excellent agreement. The discussed analysis methodology, though only discussed in the context of fluted-core composites, is widely applicable to other concepts.

Investigation of mechanical properties and deformation behavior of single-crystal Al-Cu core-shell nanowire generated using non-equilibrium molecular dynamics simulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sarkar, Jit

2018-06-01

Molecular dynamics (MD) simulation studies were carried out to generate a cylindrical single-crystal Al-Cu core-shell nanowire and its mechanical properties like yield strength and Young's modulus were evaluated in comparison to a solid aluminum nanowire and hollow copper nanowire which combines to constitute the core-shell structure respectively. The deformation behavior due to changes in the number of Wigner-Seitz defects and dislocations during the entire tensile deformation process was thoroughly studied for the Al-Cu core-shell nanowire. The single-crystal Al-Cu core-shell nanowire shows much higher yield strength and Young's modulus in comparison to the solid aluminum core and hollow copper shell nanowire due to tangling of dislocations caused by lattice mismatch between aluminum and copper. Thus, the Al-Cu core-shell nanowire can be reinforced in different bulk matrix to develop new type of light-weight nanocomposite materials with greatly enhanced material properties.

Understanding the Thermal Stability of Palladium-Platinum Core-Shell Nanocrystals by In Situ Transmission Electron Microscopy and Density Functional Theory.

PubMed

Vara, Madeline; Roling, Luke T; Wang, Xue; Elnabawy, Ahmed O; Hood, Zachary D; Chi, Miaofang; Mavrikakis, Manos; Xia, Younan

2017-05-23

Core-shell nanocrystals offer many advantages for heterogeneous catalysis, including precise control over both the surface structure and composition, as well as reduction in loading for rare and costly metals. Although many catalytic processes are operated at elevated temperatures, the adverse impacts of heating on the shape and structure of core-shell nanocrystals are yet to be understood. In this work, we used ex situ heating experiments to demonstrate that Pd@Pt 4L core-shell nanoscale cubes and octahedra are promising for catalytic applications at temperatures up to 400 °C. We also used in situ transmission electron microscopy to monitor the thermal stability of the core-shell nanocrystals in real time. Our results demonstrate a facet dependence for the thermal stability in terms of shape and composition. Specifically, the cubes enclosed by {100} facets readily deform shape at a temperature 300 °C lower than that of the octahedral counterparts enclosed by {111} facets. A reversed trend is observed for composition, as alloying between the Pd core and the Pt shell of an octahedron occurs at a temperature 200 °C lower than that for the cubic counterpart. Density functional theory calculations provide atomic-level explanations for the experimentally observed behaviors, demonstrating that the barriers for edge reconstruction determine the relative ease of shape deformation for cubes compared to octahedra. The opposite trend for alloying of the core-shell structure can be attributed to a higher propensity for subsurface Pt vacancy formation in octahedra than in cubes.

Natural Biowaste-Cocoon-Derived Granular Activated Carbon-Coated ZnO Nanorods: A Simple Route To Synthesizing a Core-Shell Structure and Its Highly Enhanced UV and Hydrogen Sensing Properties.

PubMed

Saravanan, Adhimoorthy; Huang, Bohr-Ran; Kathiravan, Deepa; Prasannan, Adhimoorthy

2017-11-15

Granular activated carbon (GAC) materials were prepared via simple gas activation of silkworm cocoons and were coated on ZnO nanorods (ZNRs) by the facile hydrothermal method. The present combination of GAC and ZNRs shows a core-shell structure (where the GAC is coated on the surface of ZNRs) and is exposed by systematic material analysis. The as-prepared samples were then fabricated as dual-functional sensors and, most fascinatingly, the as-fabricated core-shell structure exhibits better UV and H 2 sensing properties than those of as-fabricated ZNRs and GAC. Thus, the present core-shell structure-based H 2 sensor exhibits fast responses of 11% (10 ppm) and 23.2% (200 ppm) with ultrafast response and recovery. However, the UV sensor offers an ultrahigh photoresponsivity of 57.9 A W -1 , which is superior to that of as-grown ZNRs (0.6 A W -1 ). Besides this, switching photoresponse of GAC/ZNR core-shell structures exhibits a higher switching ratio (between dark and photocurrent) of 1585, with ultrafast response and recovery, than that of as-grown ZNRs (40). Because of the fast adsorption ability of GAC, it was observed that the finest distribution of GAC on ZNRs results in rapid electron transportation between the conduction bands of GAC and ZNRs while sensing H 2 and UV. Furthermore, the present core-shell structure-based UV and H 2 sensors also well-retained excellent sensitivity, repeatability, and long-term stability. Thus, the salient feature of this combination is that it provides a dual-functional sensor with biowaste cocoon and ZnO, which is ecological and inexpensive.

Investigation of CuInSe2 nanowire arrays with core-shell structure electrodeposited at various duty cycles into anodic alumina templates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cheng, Yu-Song; Wang, Na-Fu; Tsai, Yu-Zen; Lin, Jia-Jun; Houng, Mau-Phon

2017-02-01

Copper indium selenide (CuInSe2) nanowire (NW) arrays were prepared at various electrolyte duty cycles by filling anodic alumina templates through the pulsed electrodeposition technique. X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images showed that the nucleation mechanism of CuInSe2 NW arrays was affected by the electrodeposition duty cycle. Moreover, SEM images showed that the diameter and length of the NWs were 80 nm and 2 μm, respectively. Furthermore, PEDOT/CuInSe2 NW core-shell arrays were fabricated using surfactant-modified CuInSe2 NW surfaces showing the lotus effect. Transmission electron microscopy images confirmed that a core-shell structure was achieved. Current-voltage plots revealed that the CuInSe2 NW arrays were p-type semiconductors; moreover, the core-shell structure improved the diode ideality factor from 3.91 to 2.63.

Chalcone dendrimer stabilized core-shell nanoparticles—a comparative study on Co@TiO2, Ag@TiO2 and Co@AgCl nanoparticles for antibacterial and antifungal activity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vanathi Vijayalakshmi, R.; Praveen Kumar, P.; Selvarani, S.; Rajakumar, P.; Ravichandran, K.

2017-10-01

A series of core@shell nanoparticles (Co@TiO2, Ag@TiO2 and Co@AgCl) stabilized with zeroth generation triazolylchalcone dendrimer was synthesized using reduction transmetalation method. The coordination of chalcone dendrimer with silver ions was confirmed by UV-vis spectroscopy. The NMR spectrum ensures the number of protons and carbon signals in the chalcone dendrimer. The prepared samples were structurally characterized by XRD, FESEM and HRTEM analysis. The SAED and XRD analyses exhibited the cubic structure with d hkl   =  2.2 Å, 1.9 Å and 1.38 Å. The antibacterial and antifungal activities of the dendrimer stabilized core@shell nanoparticles (DSCSNPs) were tested against the pathogens Bacillus subtilis, Proteus mirabilis, Candida albicans and Aspergillus nigir from which it is identified that the dendrimer stabilized core shell nanoparticles with silver ions at the shell (Co@AgCl) shows effectively high activity against the tested pathogen following the other core@shell nanoparticles viz Ag@TiO2 and Co@TiO2.

Influence of dimensionality and interface type on optical and electronic properties of CdS/ZnS core-shell nanocrystals—A first-principles study

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

Kocevski, V., E-mail: vancho.vk@gmail.com, E-mail: vancho.kocevski@physics.uu.se; Eriksson, O.; Gerard, C.

2015-10-28

Semiconducting nanocrystals (NCs) have become one of the leading materials in a variety of applications, mainly due to their size tunable band gap and high intensity emission. Their photoluminescence (PL) properties can be notably improved by capping the nanocrystals with a shell of another semiconductor, making core-shell structures. We focus our study on the CdS/ZnS core-shell nanocrystals that are closely related to extensively studied CdSe/CdS NCs, albeit exhibiting rather different photoluminescence properties. We employ density functional theory to investigate the changes in the electronic and optical properties of these nanocrystals with size, core/shell ratio, and interface structure between the coremore » and the shell. We have found that both the lowest unoccupied eigenstate (LUES) and the highest occupied eigenstate (HOES) wavefunction (WF) are localized in the core of the NCs, with the distribution of the LUES WF being more sensitive to the size and the core/shell ratio. We show that the radiative lifetimes are increasing, and the Coulomb interaction energies decrease with increasing NC size. Furthermore, we investigated the electronic and optical properties of the NCs with different interfaces between the core and the shell and different core types. We find that the different interfaces and core types have rather small influence on the band gaps and the absorption indexes, as well as on the confinement of the HOES and LUES WFs. Also the radiative lifetimes are found to be only slightly influenced by the different structural models. In addition, we compare these results with the previous results for CdSe/CdS NCs, reflecting the different PL properties of these two types of NCs. We argue that the difference in their Coulomb interaction energies is one of the main reasons for their distinct PL properties.« less

Plateau-Rayleigh Crystal Growth of Nanowire Heterostructures: Strain-Modified Surface Chemistry and Morphological Control in One, Two, and Three Dimensions.

PubMed

Day, Robert W; Mankin, Max N; Lieber, Charles M

2016-04-13

One-dimensional (1D) structures offer unique opportunities for materials synthesis since crystal phases and morphologies that are difficult or impossible to achieve in macroscopic crystals can be synthesized as 1D nanowires (NWs). Recently, we demonstrated one such phenomenon unique to growth on a 1D substrate, termed Plateau-Rayleigh (P-R) crystal growth, where periodic shells develop along a NW core to form diameter-modulated NW homostructures with tunable morphologies. Here we report a novel extension of the P-R crystal growth concept with the synthesis of heterostructures in which Ge (Si) is deposited on Si (Ge) 1D cores to generate complex NW morphologies in 1, 2, or 3D. Depositing Ge on 50 nm Si cores with a constant GeH4 pressure yields a single set of periodic shells, while sequential variation of GeH4 pressure can yield multimodulated 1D NWs with two distinct sets of shell periodicities. P-R crystal growth on 30 nm cores also produces 2D loop structures, where Ge (Si) shells lie primarily on the outside (inside) of a highly curved Si (Ge) core. Systematic investigation of shell morphology as a function of growth time indicates that Ge shells grow in length along positive curvature Si cores faster than along straight Si cores by an order of magnitude. Short Ge deposition times reveal that shells develop on opposite sides of 50 and 100 nm Si cores to form straight 1D morphologies but that shells develop on the same side of 20 nm cores to produce 2D loop and 3D spring structures. These results suggest that strain mediates the formation of 2 and 3D morphologies by altering the NW's surface chemistry and that surface diffusion of heteroatoms on flexible freestanding 1D substrates can facilitate this strain-mediated mechanism.

The role of ion exchange in the passivation of In(Zn)P nanocrystals with ZnS

PubMed Central

Cho, Deok-Yong; Xi, Lifei; Boothroyd, Chris; Kardynal, Beata; Lam, Yeng Ming

2016-01-01

We have investigated the chemical state of In(Zn)P/ZnS core/shell nanocrystals (NCs) for color conversion applications using hard X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) and photoluminescence excitation (PLE). Analyses of the edge energies as well as the X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) reveal that the Zn2+ ions from ZnS remain in the shell while the S2− ions penetrate into the core at an early stage of the ZnS deposition. It is further demonstrated that for short growth times, the ZnS shell coverage on the core was incomplete, whereas the coverage improved gradually as the shell deposition time increased. Together with evidence from PLE spectra, where there is a strong indication of the presence of P vacancies, this suggests that the core-shell interface in the In(Zn)P/ZnS NCs are subject to substantial atomic exchanges and detailed models for the shell structure beyond simple layer coverage are needed. This substantial atomic exchange is very likely to be the reason for the improved photoluminescence behavior of the core-shell particles compare to In(Zn)P-only NCs as S can passivate the NCs surfaces. PMID:26972936

Template-Free Hydrothermal Synthesis, Mechanism, and Photocatalytic Properties of Core-Shell CeO2 Nanospheres

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Huijie; Meng, Fanming; Gong, Jinfeng; Fan, Zhenghua; Qin, Rui

2018-03-01

CeO2 nanospheres with the core-shell nanostructure have been successfully synthesized by a template-free hydrothermal method. The structures, morphologies and optical properties of core-shell CeO2 nanospheres were analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), TG, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, XRD, EDS, SAED, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy, UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectra, Raman analyses. The degradation efficiencies of core-shell CeO2 nanospheres for methyl orange were as high as 93.49, 95.67 and 98.28% within 160 min, and the rates of photo degradation of methyl orange by core-shell CeO2 nanospheres under UV-light were 0.01693, 0.01782 and 0.02375 min-1. Methyl orange was degraded in photocatalytic oxidation processes, which mainly gave the credit to a large number of reactive species including h+, surface superoxide species ·O2 -, and ·OH radicals. The core-shell structure, small crystallite size and the conversion between Ce3+ and Ce4+ of CeO2 nanospheres were of importance for its catalytic activity. These results demonstrated the possibility of improving the efficient catalysts of the earth abundant CeO2 catalysts.

Growth of InAs/InP core-shell nanowires with various pure crystal structures.

PubMed

Gorji Ghalamestani, Sepideh; Heurlin, Magnus; Wernersson, Lars-Erik; Lehmann, Sebastian; Dick, Kimberly A

2012-07-20

We have studied the epitaxial growth of an InP shell on various pure InAs core nanowire crystal structures by metal-organic vapor phase epitaxy. The InP shell is grown on wurtzite (WZ), zinc-blende (ZB), and {111}- and {110}-type faceted ZB twin-plane superlattice (TSL) structures by tuning the InP shell growth parameters and controlling the shell thickness. The growth results, particularly on the WZ nanowires, show that homogeneous InP shell growth is promoted at relatively high temperatures (∼500 °C), but that the InAs nanowires decompose under the applied conditions. In order to protect the InAs core nanowires from decomposition, a short protective InP segment is first grown axially at lower temperatures (420-460 °C), before commencing the radial growth at a higher temperature. Further studies revealed that the InP radial growth rate is significantly higher on the ZB and TSL nanowires compared to WZ counterparts, and shows a strong anisotropy in polar directions. As a result, thin shells were obtained during low temperature InP growth on ZB structures, while a higher temperature was used to obtain uniform thick shells. In addition, a schematic growth model is suggested to explain the basic processes occurring during the shell growth on the TSL crystal structures.

Development of SiO2@TiO2 core-shell nanospheres for catalytic applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kitsou, I.; Panagopoulos, P.; Maggos, Th.; Arkas, M.; Tsetsekou, A.

2018-05-01

Silica-titania core-shell nanospheres, CSNp, were prepared via a simple and environmentally friendly two step route. First, silica cores were prepared through the hydrolysis-condensation reaction of silicic acid in the presence of hyperbranched poly(ethylene)imine (HBPEI) followed by repeating washing, centrifugation and, finally, calcination steps. To create the core-shell structure, various amounts of titanium isopropoxide were added to the cores and after that a HBPEI-water solution was added to hydrolyze the titanium precursor. Washing with ethanol and heat treatment followed. The optimization of processing parameters led to well-developed core-shell structures bearing a homogeneous nanocrystalline anatase coating over each silica core. The photocatalytic activity for NO was examined in a continuous flux photocatalytic reactor under real environmental conditions. The results revealed a very potent photocatalyst as the degradation percentage reached 84.27% for the core-shell material compared to the 82% of pure titania with the photodecomposition rates measured at 0.62 and 0.55 μg·m-2·s-1, respectively. In addition, catalytic activities of the CSNp and pure titania were investigated by monitoring the reduction of 4-nitrophenol to 4-aminophenol by an excess of NaBH4. Both materials exhibited excellent catalytic activity (100%), making the core-shell material a promising alternative catalyst to pure titania for various applications.

Field-assisted organization, substrate effects and magnetic behavior of Ag 30Co 70 core-shell nanoparticles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Crisan, A. D.; Angelakeris, M.; Simeonidis, K.; Tsiaoussis, I.; Crisan, O.

2010-11-01

In core-shell systems with non-magnetic core and magnetic shell, the electron transport and magnetic properties are expected to show enhanced behavior due to the particular morpho-structural features of the conductive and magnetic regions. This may lead to novel advanced GMR materials and spin valves. This is the case of core-shell Ag-Co colloidal nanoscale particles that organize into regular arrays. An insight on the structure and morphology of the newly synthesized Ag-Co nanoparticles deposited on different substrates will be presented. The influence of the substrate on different morphologies and organization dynamics is discussed. It is shown that the magnetic behavior of the Ag-Co nanoparticles is highly influenced by the corona-like morphology of Co shell, chemical environment of the magnetic atoms and by the fact that they exhibit strongly reduced coordination due to the surface states.

Magnetic response of hybrid ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic core-shell nanostructures.

PubMed

Khan, U; Li, W J; Adeela, N; Irfan, M; Javed, K; Wan, C H; Riaz, S; Han, X F

2016-03-21

The synthesis of FeTiO3-Ni(Ni80Fe20) core-shell nanostructures by a two-step method (sol-gel and DC electrodeposition) has been demonstrated. XRD analysis confirms the rhombohedral crystal structure of FeTiO3(FTO) with space group R3[combining macron]. Transmission electron microscopy clearly depicts better morphology of nanostructures with shell thicknesses of ∼25 nm. Room temperature magnetic measurements showed significant enhancement of magnetic anisotropy for the permalloy (Ni80Fe20)-FTO over Ni-FTO core-shell nanostructures. Low temperature magnetic measurements of permalloy-FeTiO3 core-shell structure indicated a strong exchange bias mechanism with magnetic coercivity below the antiferromagnetic Neel temperature (TN = 59 K). The exchange bias is attributed to the alignment of magnetic moments in the antiferromagnetic material at low temperature. Our scheme opens a path towards optimum automotive systems and wireless communications wherein broader bandwidths and smaller sizes are required.

Designing of luminescent GdPO4:Eu@LaPO4@SiO2 core/shell nanorods: Synthesis, structural and luminescence properties

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ansari, Anees A.; Labis, Joselito P.; Aslam Manthrammel, M.

2017-09-01

GdPO4:Eu3+ (core) and GdPO4:Eu@LaPO4 (core/shell) nanorods (NRs) were successfully prepared by urea based co-precipitation process at ambient conditions which was followed by coating with amorphous silica shell via the sol-gel chemical route. The role of surface coating on the crystal structure, crystallinity, morphology, solubility, surface chemistry and luminescence properties were well investigated by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis, Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR), UV-Vis, and photoluminescence spectroscopy. XRD pattern revealed highly purified, well-crystalline, single phase-hexagonal-rhabdophane structure of GdPO4 crystal. The TEM micrographs exhibited highly crystalline and narrow size distributed rod-shaped GdPO4:Eu3+ nanostructures with average width 14-16 nm and typical length 190-220 nm. FTIR spectra revealed characteristic infrared absorption bands of amorphous silica. High absorbance in a visible region of silica modified core/shell/Si NRs in aqueous environment suggests the high solubility along with colloidal stability. The photoluminescence properties were remarkably enhanced after growth of undoped LaPO4 layers due to the reduction of nonradiative transition rate. The advantages of presented high emission intensity and high solubility of core/shell and core/shell/Si NRs indicated the potential applications in monitoring biological events.

Alternating current dielectrophoresis of core-shell nanoparticles: Experiments and comparison with theory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Chungja

Nanoparticles are fascinating where physical and optical properties are related to size. Highly controllable synthesis methods and nanoparticle assembly are essential for highly innovative technological applications. Well-defined shaped and sized nanoparticles enable comparisons between experiments, theory and subsequent new models to explain experimentally observed phenomena. Among nanoparticles, nonhomogeneous core-shell nanoparticles (CSnp) have new properties that arise when varying the relative dimensions of the core and the shell. This CSnp structure enables various optical resonances, and engineered energy barriers, in addition to the high charge to surface ratio. Assembly of homogeneous nanoparticles into functional structures has become ubiquitous in biosensors (i.e. optical labeling), nanocoatings, and electrical circuits. Limited nonhomogenous nanoparticle assembly has only been explored. Many conventional nanoparticle assembly methods exist, but this work explores dielectrophoresis (DEP) as a new method. DEP is particle polarization via non-uniform electric fields while suspended in conductive fluids. Most prior DEP efforts involve microscale particles. Prior work on core-shell nanoparticle assemblies and separately, nanoparticle characterizations with dielectrophoresis and electrorotation, did not systematically explore particle size, dielectric properties (permittivity and electrical conductivity), shell thickness, particle concentration, medium conductivity, and frequency. This work is the first, to the best of our knowledge, to systematically examine these dielectrophoretic properties for core-shell nanoparticles. Further, we conduct a parametric fitting to traditional core-shell models. These biocompatible core-shell nanoparticles were studied to fill a knowledge gap in the DEP field. Experimental results (chapter 5) first examine medium conductivity, size and shell material dependencies of dielectrophoretic behaviors of spherical CSnp into 2D and 3D particle-assemblies. Chitosan (amino sugar) and poly-L-lysine (amino acid, PLL) CSnp shell materials were custom synthesized around a hollow (gas) core by utilizing a phospholipid micelle around a volatile fluid templating for the shell material; this approach proves to be novel and distinct from conventional core-shell models wherein a conductive core is coated with an insulative shell. Experiments were conducted within a 100 nl chamber housing 100 um wide Ti/Au quadrapole electrodes spaced 25 um apart. Frequencies from 100kHz to 80MHz at fixed local field of 5Vpp were tested with 10-5 and 10-3 S/m medium conductivities for 25 seconds. Dielectrophoretic responses of ~220 and 340(or ~400) nm chitosan or PLL CSnp were compiled as a function of medium conductivity, size and shell material. Experiments further examined shell thickness and particle concentration (chapter 6) dependencies on ~530 nm CSnp dielectrophoretic and electrorotational responses with ~30nm and ~80 nm shell thicknesses and at particle concentration count rates of 5000 +/- 500, 10000 +/- 500, and 15000 +/- 500 counts per second. Using similar experimental conditions, both dielectrophoretic and electrorotational CSnp responses were compiled versus frequency, shell thickness, and particle concentration. Knowledge gained from this study includes a unique resonance-like dielectrophoretic and electrorotational spectrum, which is significantly distinct from other cells and particles. CSnp dielectric properties were then calculated by parametrically fitting parameters to an existing core-shell model. The optimum conductivity and relative permittivity for the core and the shell are 1E-15 S/m, 1, 0.6 S/m, and 90, respectively. These properties can be exploited to rapidly assemble these unique core-shell particles for future structural color production in fabrics, vehicle, and wall painting.

Threefold rotational symmetry in hexagonally shaped core-shell (In,Ga)As/GaAs nanowires revealed by coherent X-ray diffraction imaging.

PubMed

Davtyan, Arman; Krause, Thilo; Kriegner, Dominik; Al-Hassan, Ali; Bahrami, Danial; Mostafavi Kashani, Seyed Mohammad; Lewis, Ryan B; Küpers, Hanno; Tahraoui, Abbes; Geelhaar, Lutz; Hanke, Michael; Leake, Steven John; Loffeld, Otmar; Pietsch, Ullrich

2017-06-01

Coherent X-ray diffraction imaging at symmetric hhh Bragg reflections was used to resolve the structure of GaAs/In 0.15 Ga 0.85 As/GaAs core-shell-shell nanowires grown on a silicon (111) substrate. Diffraction amplitudes in the vicinity of GaAs 111 and GaAs 333 reflections were used to reconstruct the lost phase information. It is demonstrated that the structure of the core-shell-shell nanowire can be identified by means of phase contrast. Interestingly, it is found that both scattered intensity in the (111) plane and the reconstructed scattering phase show an additional threefold symmetry superimposed with the shape function of the investigated hexagonal nanowires. In order to find the origin of this threefold symmetry, elasticity calculations were performed using the finite element method and subsequent kinematic diffraction simulations. These suggest that a non-hexagonal (In,Ga)As shell covering the hexagonal GaAs core might be responsible for the observation.

The effects of staggered bandgap in the InP/CdSe and CdSe/InP core/shell quantum dots.

PubMed

Kim, Sunghoon; Park, Jaehyun; Kim, Sungwoo; Jung, Won; Sung, Jaeyoung; Kim, Sang-Wook

2010-06-15

New type-II structures of CdSe/InP and InP/CdSe core-shell nanocrystals which have staggered bandgap alignment were fabricated. Using a simple model for the wave function for electrons and holes in InP/CdSe and CdSe/InP core/shell nanocrystals showed the wave function of the electron and hole spread into the shell, respectively. The probability density of the InP/CdSe and CdSe/InP core/shell QDs also showed a similar tendency. As a result, the structure exhibits increased delocalization of electrons and holes, leading to a red-shift in absorption and emission. Quantum yield increased in the InP/CdSe, however decreased in the CdSe/InP. The reason may be due to the surface trap and high activation barrier for de-trapping in the InP shell. 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Room-temperature ferromagnetic Cr-doped Ge/GeOx core-shell nanowires.

PubMed

Katkar, Amar S; Gupta, Shobhnath P; Seikh, Md Motin; Chen, Lih-Juann; Walke, Pravin S

2018-06-08

The Cr-doped tunable thickness core-shell Ge/GeO x nanowires (NWs) were synthesized and characterized using x-ray diffraction, field-emission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and magnetization studies. The shell thickness increases with the increase in synthesis temperature. The presence of metallic Cr and Cr 3+ in core-shell structure was confirmed from XPS study. The magnetic property is highly sensitive to the core-shell thickness and intriguing room temperature ferromagnetism is realized only in core-shell NWs. The magnetization decreases with an increase in shell thickness and practically ceases to exist when there is no core. These NWs show remarkably high Curie temperature (T C  > 300 K) with the dominating values of its magnetic remanence (M R ) and coercivity (H C ) compared to germanium dilute magnetic semiconductor nanomaterials. We believe that our finding on these Cr-doped Ge/GeO X core-shell NWs has the potential to be used as a hard magnet for future spintronic devices, owing to their higher characteristic values of ferromagnetic ordering.

Shell Layer Thickness-Dependent Photocatalytic Activity of Sputtering Synthesized Hexagonally Structured ZnO-ZnS Composite Nanorods

PubMed Central

Liang, Yuan-Chang; Lo, Ya-Ru; Wang, Chein-Chung; Xu, Nian-Cih

2018-01-01

ZnO-ZnS core-shell nanorods are synthesized by combining the hydrothermal method and vacuum sputtering. The core-shell nanorods with variable ZnS shell thickness (7–46 nm) are synthesized by varying ZnS sputtering duration. Structural analyses demonstrated that the as-grown ZnS shell layers are well crystallized with preferring growth direction of ZnS (002). The sputtering-assisted synthesized ZnO-ZnS core-shell nanorods are in a wurtzite structure. Moreover, photoluminance spectral analysis indicated that the introduction of a ZnS shell layer improved the photoexcited electron and hole separation efficiency of the ZnO nanorods. A strong correlation between effective charge separation and the shell thickness aids the photocatalytic behavior of the nanorods and improves their photoresponsive nature. The results of comparative degradation efficiency toward methylene blue showed that the ZnO-ZnS nanorods with the shell thickness of approximately 17 nm have the highest photocatalytic performance than the ZnO-ZnS nanorods with other shell layer thicknesses. The highly reusable catalytic efficiency and superior photocatalytic performance of the ZnO-ZnS nanorods with 17 nm-thick ZnS shell layer supports their potential for environmental applications. PMID:29316671

Preparation of core-shell structured CaCO3 microspheres as rapid and recyclable adsorbent for anionic dyes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Mengen; Chen, Zhenhua; Lv, Xinyan; Zhou, Kang; Zhang, Jie; Tian, Xiaohan; Ren, Xiuli; Mei, Xifan

2017-09-01

Core-shell structured CaCO3 microspheres (MSs) were prepared by a facile, one-pot method at room temperature. The adsorbent dosage and adsorption time of the obtained CaCO3 MSs were investigated. The results suggest that these CaCO3 MSs can rapidly and efficiently remove 99-100% of anionic dyes within the first 2 min. The obtained CaCO3 MSs have a high Brunauer-Emmett-Teller surface area (211.77 m2 g-1). In addition, the maximum adsorption capacity of the obtained CaCO3 MSs towards Congo red was 99.6 mg g-1. We also found that the core-shell structured CaCO3 MSs have a high recycling capability for removing dyes from water. Our results demonstrate that the prepared core-shell structured CaCO3 MSs can be used as an ideal, rapid, efficient and recyclable adsorbent to remove dyes from aqueous solution.

Electrochemical Synthesis of Core-Shell-Structured NbC-Fe Composite Powder for Enforcement in Low-Carbon Steel.

PubMed

Li, Hongmei; Song, Qiushi; Xu, Qian; Chen, Ying; Xu, Liang; Man, Tiannan

2017-11-01

An NbC-Fe composite powder was synthesized from an Nb₂O₅/Fe/C mixture by electrochemical reduction and subsequent carbonization in molten CaCl₂-NaCl. The composite has a core-shell structure, in which NbC acts as the cores distributing in the Fe matrix. A strong bonding between NbC and Fe is benefit from the core-shell structure. The sintering and electrochemical reduction processes were investigated to probe the mechanism for the reactions. The results show that NbC particles about several nanometers were embraced by the Fe shell to form a composite about 100 nm in size. This featured structure can feasibly improve the wettability and sinterability of NbC as well as the uniform distribution of the carbide in the cast steel. By adding the composite into steel in the casting process, the grain size of the casted steel was markedly deceased from 1 mm to 500 μm on average, favoring the hardening of the casted steel.

Modeling of absorption and scattering properties of core -shell nanoparticles for application as nanoantenna in optical domain

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Devi, Jutika; Saikia, Rashmi; Datta, Pranayee

2016-10-01

The present paper describes the study of core-shell nanoparticles for application as nanoantenna in the optical domain. To obtain the absorption and extinction efficiencies as well as the angular distribution of the far field radiation pattern and the resonance wavelengths for these metal-dielectric, dielectric-metal and metal-metal core-shell nanoparticles in optical domain, we have used Finite Element Method based COMSOL Multiphysics Software and Mie Theory. From the comparative study of the extinction efficiencies of core-shell nanoparticles of different materials, it is found that for silica - gold core - shell nanoparticles, the resonant wavelength is greater than that of the gold - silver, silver-gold and gold-silica core - shell nanoparticles and also the radiation pattern of the silica-gold core-shell nanoparticle is the most suitable one from the point of view of directivity. The dielectric functions of the core and shell material as well as of the embedded matrix are extremely important and plays a very major role to tune the directivity and resonance wavelength. Such highly controllable parameters of the dielectric - metal core - shell nanoparticles make them suitable for efficient coupling of optical radiation into nanoscale structures for a broad range of applications in the field of communications.

Fabrication and photoluminescence properties of graphite fiber/ZnO nanorod core-shell structures.

PubMed

Liu, Xianbin; Du, Hejun; Liu, Bo; Wang, Jianxiong; Sun, Xiao Wei; Sun, Handong

2011-08-01

Graphite fiber/ZnO nanorod core-shell structures were synthesized by thermal evaporation process. The core-shell hybrid architectures were comprised of ZnO nanorods grown on the surface of graphite fiber. In addition, Hollow ZnO hierarchical structure can be obtained by oxidizing the graphite fiber. Room temperature photoluminescence (PL) of the as-made graphite fiber/ZnO nanorod structures shows two UV peaks at around 3.274 eV and 3.181 eV. The temperature-dependent photoluminescence spectra demonstrate the two UV emissions are attributed to the intrinsic optical transitions and extrinsic defect-related emissions in ZnO. These hybrid structures may be used as the building block for fabrication of nanodevices.

Improved open-circuit voltage in polymer/oxide-nanoarray hybrid solar cells by formation of homogeneous metal oxide core/shell structures.

PubMed

Wu, Fan; Cui, Qi; Qiu, Zeliang; Liu, Changwen; Zhang, Hui; Shen, Wei; Wang, Mingtai

2013-04-24

Incorporation of vertically aligned nanorod/nanowire arrays of metal oxide (oxide-NAs) with a polymer can produce efficient hybrid solar cells with an ideal bulk-heterojunction architecture. However, polymer/oxide-NAs solar cells still suffer from a rather low (normally, < 0.4 V) open-circuit voltage (Voc). Here we demonstrate, for the first time, a novel strategy to improve the Voc in polymer/oxide-NAs solar cells by formation of homogeneous core/shell structures and reveal the intrinsic principles involved therein. A feasible hydrothermal-solvothermal combined method is developed for preparing homogeneous core/shell nanoarrays of metal oxides with a single-crystalline nanorod as core and the aggregation layer of corresponding metal oxide quantum dots (QDs) as shell, and the shell thickness (L) is easily controlled by the solvothermal reaction time for growing QDs on the nanorod. The core/shell formation dramatically improves the device Voc up to ca. 0.7-0.8 V depending on L. Based on steady-state and dynamic measurements, as well as modeling by space-charge-limited current method, it is found that the improved Voc originates from the up-shifted conduction band edge in the core by the interfacial dipole field resulting from the decreased mobility difference between photogenerated electrons and holes after the shell growth, which increases the energy difference between the quasi-Fermi levels of photogenerated electrons in the core and holes in the polymer for a higher Voc. Our results indicate that increasing Voc by the core/shell strategy seems not to be dependent on the kinds of metal oxides.

Biomimetic synthesis of raspberry-like hybrid polymer-silica core-shell nanoparticles by templating colloidal particles with hairy polyamine shell.

PubMed

Pi, Mengwei; Yang, Tingting; Yuan, Jianjun; Fujii, Syuji; Kakigi, Yuichi; Nakamura, Yoshinobu; Cheng, Shiyuan

2010-07-01

The nanoparticles composed of polystyrene core and poly[2-(diethylamino)ethyl methacrylate] (PDEA) hairy shell were used as colloidal templates for in situ silica mineralization, allowing the well-controlled synthesis of hybrid silica core-shell nanoparticles with raspberry-like morphology and hollow silica nanoparticles by subsequent calcination. Silica deposition was performed by simply stirring a mixture of the polymeric core-shell particles in isopropanol, tetramethyl orthosilicate (TMOS) and water at 25 degrees C for 2.5h. No experimental evidence was found for nontemplated silica formation, which indicated that silica deposition occurred exclusively in the PDEA shell and formed PDEA-silica hybrid shell. The resulting hybrid silica core-shell particles were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), thermogravimetry, aqueous electrophoresis, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. TEM studies indicated that the hybrid particles have well-defined core-shell structure with raspberry morphology after silica deposition. We found that the surface nanostructure of hybrid nanoparticles and the composition distribution of PDEA-silica hybrid shell could be well controlled by adjusting the silicification conditions. These new hybrid core-shell nanoparticles and hollow silica nanoparticles would have potential applications for high-performance coatings, encapsulation and delivery of active organic molecules. 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Green synthesis of CuInS2/ZnS core-shell quantum dots by facile solvothermal route with enhanced optical properties

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jindal, Shikha; Giripunje, Sushama M.; Kondawar, Subhash B.; Koinkar, Pankaj

2018-03-01

We report an eco-friendly green synthesis of highly luminescent CuInS2/ZnS core-shell quantum dots (QDs) with average particle size ∼ 3.9 nm via solvothermal process. The present study embodies the intensification of CuInS2/ZnS QDs properties by the shell growth on the CuInS2 QDs. The as-prepared CuInS2 core and CuInS2/ZnS core-shell QDs have been characterized using a range of optical and structural techniques. By adopting a low temperature growth of CuInS2 core and high temperature growth of CuInS2/ZnS core-shell growth, the tuning of absorption and photoluminescence emission spectra were observed. Optical absorption and photoluminescence spectroscopy probe the effect of ZnS passivation on the electronic structure of the CuInS2 dots. In addition, QDs have been scrutinized using ultra violet photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS) to explore their electronic band structure. The band level positions of CuInS2 and CuInS2/ZnS QDs suffices the demand of non-toxic acceptor material for electronic devices. The variation in electronic energy levels of CuInS2 core with the coating of wide band gap ZnS shell influence the removal of trap assisted recombination on the surface of the core. QDs exhibited tunable emission from red to orange region. These studies reveal the feasibility of QDs in photovoltaic and light emitting diodes.

Ni@Ru and NiCo@Ru Core-Shell Hexagonal Nanosandwiches with a Compositionally Tunable Core and a Regioselectively Grown Shell.

PubMed

Hwang, Hyeyoun; Kwon, Taehyun; Kim, Ho Young; Park, Jongsik; Oh, Aram; Kim, Byeongyoon; Baik, Hionsuck; Joo, Sang Hoon; Lee, Kwangyeol

2018-01-01

The development of highly active electrocatalysts is crucial for the advancement of renewable energy conversion devices. The design of core-shell nanoparticle catalysts represents a promising approach to boost catalytic activity as well as save the use of expensive precious metals. Here, a simple, one-step synthetic route is reported to prepare hexagonal nanosandwich-shaped Ni@Ru core-shell nanoparticles (Ni@Ru HNS), in which Ru shell layers are overgrown in a regioselective manner on the top and bottom, and around the center section of a hexagonal Ni nanoplate core. Notably, the synthesis can be extended to NiCo@Ru core-shell nanoparticles with tunable core compositions (Ni 3 Co x @Ru HNS). Core-shell HNS structures show superior electrocatalytic activity for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) to a commercial RuO 2 black catalyst, with their OER activity being dependent on their core compositions. The observed trend in OER activity is correlated to the population of Ru oxide (Ru 4+ ) species, which can be modulated by the core compositions. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Synthesis of Au/TiO2 Core-Shell Nanoparticles from Titanium Isopropoxide and Thermal Resistance Effect of TiO2 Shell

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kwon, Hyun-Woo; Lim, Young-Min; Tripathy, Suraj Kumar; Kim, Byoung-Gyu; Lee, Min-Sang; Yu, Yeon-Tae

2007-04-01

On the synthesis of Au/TiO2 core-shell structure nanoparticles, the effect of the concentration of Ti4+ on the morphology and optical property of Au/TiO2 core-shell nanoparticles was examined. A gold colloid was prepared by mixing HAuCl4\\cdot4H2O and C6H5Na3\\cdot2H2O. Titanium stock solution was prepared by mixing solutions of titanium(IV) isopropoxide (TTIP) and triethanolamine (TEOA). The concentration of the Ti4+ stock solution was adjusted to 0.01-0.3 mM, and then the gold colloid was added to the Ti4+ stock solution. Au/TiO2 core-shell structure nanoparticles could be prepared by the hydrolysis of the Ti4+ stock solution at 80 °C. The size of the as-prepared Au nanoparticles was 15 nm. The thickness of the TiO2 shell on the surface of gold particles was about 10 nm. The absorption peak of the Au/TiO2 core-shell nanoparticles shifted towards the red end of the spectrum by about 3 nm because of the formation of the TiO2 shell on the surface of the gold particles. The crystal structure of the TiO2 shell showed an anatase phase. The increase in the Au crystallite size of the Au/TiO2 nanoparticles with increasing heat treatment temperature is smaller than that in the pure Au nanoparticles. This may be due to the encapsulation of Au particles with the TiO2 shell that prevents the growth of the nanoparticle nucleation.

Study of the effect of varying core diameter, shell thickness and strain velocity on the tensile properties of single crystals of Cu-Ag core-shell nanowire using molecular dynamics simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sarkar, Jit; Das, D. K.

2018-01-01

Core-shell type nanostructures show exceptional properties due to their unique structure having a central solid core of one type and an outer thin shell of another type which draw immense attention among researchers. In this study, molecular dynamics simulations are carried out on single crystals of copper-silver core-shell nanowires having wire diameter ranging from 9 to 30 nm with varying core diameter, shell thickness, and strain velocity. The tensile properties like yield strength, ultimate tensile strength, and Young's modulus are studied and correlated by varying one parameter at a time and keeping the other two parameters constant. The results obtained for a fixed wire size and different strain velocities were extrapolated to calculate the tensile properties like yield strength and Young's modulus at standard strain rate of 1 mm/min. The results show ultra-high tensile properties of copper-silver core-shell nanowires, several times than that of bulk copper and silver. These copper-silver core-shell nanowires can be used as a reinforcing agent in bulk metal matrix for developing ultra-high strength nanocomposites.

Effect of Ni Core Structure on the Electrocatalytic Activity of Pt-Ni/C in Methanol Oxidation

PubMed Central

Kang, Jian; Wang, Rongfang; Wang, Hui; Liao, Shijun; Key, Julian; Linkov, Vladimir; Ji, Shan

2013-01-01

Methanol oxidation catalysts comprising an outer Pt-shell with an inner Ni-core supported on carbon, (Pt-Ni/C), were prepared with either crystalline or amorphous Ni core structures. Structural comparisons of the two forms of catalyst were made using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and methanol oxidation activity compared using CV and chronoamperometry (CA). While both the amorphous Ni core and crystalline Ni core structures were covered by similar Pt shell thickness and structure, the Pt-Ni(amorphous)/C catalyst had higher methanol oxidation activity. The amorphous Ni core thus offers improved Pt usage efficiency in direct methanol fuel cells. PMID:28811402

Catalyst-free fabrication of novel ZnO/CuO core-Shell nanowires heterojunction: Controlled growth, structural and optoelectronic properties

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khan, Muhammad Arif; Wahab, Yussof; Muhammad, Rosnita; Tahir, Muhammad; Sakrani, Samsudi

2018-03-01

Development of controlled growth and vertically aligned ZnO/CuO core-shell heterojunction nanowires (NWs) with large area by a catalyst free vapor deposition and oxidation approach has been investigated. Structural characterization reveals successful fabrication of a core ZnO nanowire having single crystalline hexagonal wurtzite structure along [002] direction and CuO nanostructure shell with thickness (8-10 nm) having polycrystalline monoclinic structure. The optical property analysis suggests that the reflectance spectrum of ZnO/CuO heterostructure nanowires is decreased by 18% in the visible range, which correspondingly shows high absorption in this region as compared to pristine ZnO nanowires. The current-voltage (I-V) characteristics of core-shell heterojunction nanowires measured by conductive atomic force microscopy (C-AFM) shows excellent rectifying behavior, which indicates the characteristics of a good p-n junction. The high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) has confirmed the sharp junction interface between the core-shell heterojunction nanowire arrays. The valence band offset and conduction band offset at ZnO/CuO heterointerfaces are measured to be 2.4 ± 0.05 and 0.23 ± 0.005 eV respectively, using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and a type-II band alignment structure is found. The results of this study contribute to the development of new advanced device heterostructures for solar energy conversion and optoelectronics applications.

Synthesis and gas sensing properties of α-Fe(2)O(3)@ZnO core-shell nanospindles.

PubMed

Zhang, Jun; Liu, Xianghong; Wang, Liwei; Yang, Taili; Guo, Xianzhi; Wu, Shihua; Wang, Shurong; Zhang, Shoumin

2011-05-06

α-Fe(2)O(3)@ZnO core-shell nanospindles were synthesized via a two-step hydrothermal approach, and characterized by means of SEM/TEM/XRD/XPS. The ZnO shell coated on the nanospindles has a thickness of 10-15 nm. Considering that both α-Fe(2)O(3) and ZnO are good sensing materials, we have investigated the gas sensing performances of the core-shell nanocomposite using ethanol as the main probe gas. It is interesting to find that the gas sensor properties of the core-shell nanospindles are significantly enhanced compared with pristine α-Fe(2)O(3). The enhanced sensor properties are attributed to the unique core-shell nanostructure. The detailed sensing mechanism is discussed with respect to the energy band structure and the electron depletion theory. The core-shell nanostructure reported in this work provides a new path to fabricate highly sensitive materials for gas sensing applications.

Enhanced linear photonic nanojet generated by core-shell optical microfibers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Cheng-Yang; Yen, Tzu-Ping; Chen, Chien-Wen

2017-05-01

The generation of linear photonic nanojet using core-shell optical microfiber is demonstrated numerically and experimentally in the visible light region. The power flow patterns for the core-shell optical microfiber are calculated by using the finite-difference time-domain method. The focusing properties of linear photonic nanojet are evaluated in terms of length and width along propagation and transversal directions. In experiment, the silica optical fiber is etched chemically down to 6 μm diameter and coated with metallic thin film by using glancing angle deposition. We show that the linear photonic nanojet is enhanced clearly by metallic shell due to surface plasmon polaritons. The large-area superresolution imaging can be performed by using a core-shell optical microfiber in the far-field system. The potential applications of this core-shell optical microfiber include micro-fluidics and nano-structure measurements.

Cadmium-free aqueous synthesis of ZnSe and ZnSe@ZnS core-shell quantum dots and their differential bioanalyte sensing potential

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mir, Irshad Ahmad; Rawat, Kamla; Bohidar, H. B.

2016-10-01

Herein we report a facile and cadmium-free approach to prepare water-soluble fluorescent ZnSe@ZnS core-shell quantum dots (QDs), using thioglycolic acid (TGA) ligand as a stabilizer and thiourea as a sulfur source. The optical properties and morphology of the obtained core-shell QDs were characterized by UV-vis and fluorescence spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy-dispersive x-ray analysis (EDX), x-ray diffraction (XRD), electrophoresis and dynamic light scattering (DLS) techniques. TEM analysis, and electrophoresis data showed that ZnSe core had an average size of 3.60 ± 0.12 nm and zeta potential of -38 mV; and for ZnSe@ZnS QDs, the mean size was 4.80 ± 0.20 nm and zeta potential was -45 mV. Compared to the core ZnSe QDs, the quantum yield of these core-shell structures was higher (13% versus 32%). These were interacted with five common bioanalytes such as, ascorbic acid, citric acid, oxalic acid, glucose and cholesterol which revealed fluorescence quenching due to concentration dependent binding of analytes to the core only, and core-shell QDs. The binding pattern followed the sequence: cholesterol < glucose < ascorbic acid < oxalic acid < citric acid for ZnSe, and cholesterol < glucose < oxalic acid < ascorbic acid < citric acid for core-shell QDs. Thus, enhanced binding was noticed for the analyte citric acid which may facilitate development of a fluorescence-based sensor based on the ZnSe core-only quantum dot platform. Further, the hydrophilic core-shell structure may find use in cell imaging applications.

PbSe-Based Colloidal Core/Shell Heterostructures for Optoelectronic Applications

PubMed Central

Zaiats, Gary; Yanover, Diana; Vaxenburg, Roman; Tilchin, Jenya; Sashchiuk, Aldona; Lifshitz, Efrat

2014-01-01

Lead-based (IV–VI) colloidal quantum dots (QDs) are of widespread scientific and technological interest owing to their size-tunable band-gap energy in the near-infrared optical region. This article reviews the synthesis of PbSe-based heterostructures and their structural and optical investigations at various temperatures. The review focuses on the structures consisting of a PbSe core coated with a PbSexS1–x (0 ≤ x ≤ 1) or CdSe shell. The former-type shells were epitaxially grown on the PbSe core, while the latter-type shells were synthesized using partial cation-exchange. The influence of the QD composition and the ambient conditions, i.e., exposure to oxygen, on the QD optical properties, such as radiative lifetime, Stokes shift, and other temperature-dependent characteristics, was investigated. The study revealed unique properties of core/shell heterostructures of various compositions, which offer the opportunity of fine-tuning the QD electronic structure by changing their architecture. A theoretical model of the QD electronic band structure was developed and correlated with the results of the optical studies. The review also outlines the challenges related to potential applications of colloidal PbSe-based heterostructures. PMID:28788244

A modified carbothermal reduction method for preparation of high-performance nano-scale core/shell Cu 6Sn 5 alloy anodes in Li-ion batteries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cui, Wangjun; Wang, Fei; Wang, Jie; Liu, Haijing; Wang, Congxiao; Xia, Yongyao

Core-shell structured, carbon-coated, nano-scale Cu 6Sn 5 has been prepared by a modified carbothermal reduction method using polymer coated mixed oxides of CuO and SnO 2 as precursors. On heat treatment, the mixture oxides were converted into Cu 6Sn 5 alloy by carbothermal reduction. Simultaneously, the remnants carbon was coated on the surface of the Cu 6Sn 5 particles to form a core-shell structure. Transmission electron microscope (TEM) images demonstrate that the well-coated carbon layer effectively prevents the encapsulated, low melting point alloy from out flowing in a high-temperature treatment process. Core-shell structured, carbon coated Cu 6Sn 5 delivers a reversible capacity of 420 mAh g -1 with capacity retention of 80% after 50 cycles. The improvement in the cycling ability can be attributed to the fact that the carbon-shell prevents aggregation and pulverization of nano-sized tin-based alloy particles during charge/discharge cycling.

Crossover from disordered to core-shell structures of nano-oxide Y{sub 2}O{sub 3} dispersed particles in Fe

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

Higgins, M. P.; Wang, L. M.; Gao, F., E-mail: gaofeium@umich.edu

Molecular dynamic simulations of Y{sub 2}O{sub 3} in bcc Fe and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) observations were used to understand the structure of Y{sub 2}O{sub 3} nano-clusters in an oxide dispersion strengthened steel matrix. The study showed that Y{sub 2}O{sub 3} nano-clusters below 2 nm were completely disordered. Y{sub 2}O{sub 3} nano-clusters above 2 nm, however, form a core-shell structure, with a shell thickness of 0.5–0.7 nm that is independent of nano-cluster size. Y{sub 2}O{sub 3} nano-clusters were surrounded by off-lattice Fe atoms, further increasing the stability of these nano-clusters. TEM was used to corroborate our simulation results and showed a crossover frommore » a disordered nano-cluster to a core-shell structure.« less

Investigation of novel inverted NiO@NixCo1-xO core-shell nanoparticles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hasan, Samiul; Mayanovic, R. A.; Benamara, Mourad

2018-05-01

Inverse core-shell nanoparticles, comprised of an antiferromagnetic (AFM) core covered by a ferromagnetic (FM) or ferrimagnetic (FiM) shell, are of current interest due to their different potential application and due to the tunability of their magnetic properties. The antiferromagnetic nature of NiO and high Néel temperature (523 K) makes this material well suited for inverse core-shell nanoparticle applications. Our primary objective in this project has been to synthesize and characterize inverted core-shell nanoparticles (CSNs) comprised of a NiO (AFM) core and a shell consisting of a NixCo1-xO (FiM) compound. The synthesis of the CSNs was made using a two-step process. The NiO nanoparticles were synthesized using a chemical reaction method. Subsequently, the NiO nanoparticles were used to grow the NiO@NixCo1-xO CSNs using our hydrothermal nano-phase epitaxy method. XRD structural characterization shows that the NiO@NixCo1-xO CSNs have the rock salt cubic crystal structure. SEM-EDS data indicates the presence of Co in the CSNs. Magnetic measurements show that the CSNs exhibit AFM/FiM characteristics with a small coercivity field of 30 Oe at 5 K. The field cooled vs zero field cooled hysteresis loop measurements show a magnetization axis shift which is attributed to the exchange bias effect between the AFM NiO core and an FiM NixCo1-xO shell of the CSNs. Our ab initio based calculations of the NixCo1-xO rock salt structure confirm a weak FiM character and a charge transfer insulator property of the compound.

Nanospheres with a smectic hydrophobic core and an amorphous PEG hydrophilic shell: structural changes and implications for drug delivery

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

Murthy, N. Sanjeeva; Zhang, Zheng; Borsadia, Siddharth

The structural changes in nanospheres with a crystalline core and an amorphous diffuse shell were investigated by small-angle neutron scattering (SANS), small-, medium-, and wide-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS, MAXS and WAXS), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC).

Ni3Si(Al)/a-SiOx core shell nanoparticles: characterization, shell formation, and stability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pigozzi, G.; Mukherji, D.; Gilles, R.; Barbier, B.; Kostorz, G.

2006-08-01

We have used an electrochemical selective phase dissolution method to extract nanoprecipitates of the Ni3Si-type intermetallic phase from two-phase Ni-Si and Ni-Si-Al alloys by dissolving the matrix phase. The extracted nanoparticles are characterized by transmission electron microscopy, energy-dispersive x-ray spectrometry, x-ray powder diffraction, and electron powder diffraction. It is found that the Ni3Si-type nanoparticles have a core-shell structure. The core maintains the size, the shape, and the crystal structure of the precipitates that existed in the bulk alloys, while the shell is an amorphous phase, containing only Si and O (SiOx). The shell forms around the precipitates during the extraction process. After annealing the nanoparticles in nitrogen at 700 °C, the tridymite phase recrystallizes within the shell, which remains partially amorphous. In contrast, on annealing in air at 1000 °C, no changes in the composition or the structure of the nanoparticles occur. It is suggested that the shell forms after dealloying of the matrix phase, where Si atoms, the main constituents of the shell, migrate to the surface of the precipitates.

Ni(3)Si(Al)/a-SiO(x) core-shell nanoparticles: characterization, shell formation, and stability.

PubMed

Pigozzi, G; Mukherji, D; Gilles, R; Barbier, B; Kostorz, G

2006-08-28

We have used an electrochemical selective phase dissolution method to extract nanoprecipitates of the Ni(3)Si-type intermetallic phase from two-phase Ni-Si and Ni-Si-Al alloys by dissolving the matrix phase. The extracted nanoparticles are characterized by transmission electron microscopy, energy-dispersive x-ray spectrometry, x-ray powder diffraction, and electron powder diffraction. It is found that the Ni(3)Si-type nanoparticles have a core-shell structure. The core maintains the size, the shape, and the crystal structure of the precipitates that existed in the bulk alloys, while the shell is an amorphous phase, containing only Si and O (SiO(x)). The shell forms around the precipitates during the extraction process. After annealing the nanoparticles in nitrogen at 700 °C, the tridymite phase recrystallizes within the shell, which remains partially amorphous. In contrast, on annealing in air at 1000 °C, no changes in the composition or the structure of the nanoparticles occur. It is suggested that the shell forms after dealloying of the matrix phase, where Si atoms, the main constituents of the shell, migrate to the surface of the precipitates.

Developing core-shell upconversion nanoparticles for optical encoding

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Kai

Lanthanide-doped upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) are an emerging class of luminescent materials that emit UV or visible light under near infra-red (NIR) excitations, thereby possessing a large anti-Stokes shift property. Also considering their sharp emission bands, excellent photo- and chemical stability, and almost zero auto-fluorescence of their NIR excitation, UCNPs are advantageous for optical encoding. Fabricating core-shell structured UCNPs provides a promising strategy to tune and enhance their upconverting luminescence. However, the energy transfer between core and shell had been rarely studied. Moreover, this strategy had been limited by the difficulty of coating thick shells onto the large cores of UCNPs. To overcome these constraints, the overall aim of this project is to study the inter-layers energy transfer in core-shell UCNPs and to develop an approach for coating thicker shell onto the core UCNPs, in order to fabricate UCNPs with enhanced and tunable luminescence for optical encoding. The strategy for encapsulating UCNPs into hydrogel droplet to fabricate multi-color bead barcodes has also been developed. Firstly, to study the inter-layers energy transfer between the core and shell of coreshell UCNPs, the activator and sensitizer ions were separately doped in the core or shell by fabricating NaYF4:Er NaYF4:Yb and NaYF4:Yb NaYF4:Er UCNPs. This eliminated the intra-layer energy transfer, resulting in a luminescence that is solely based on the energy transfer between layers, which facilitated the study of inter-layers energy transfer. The results demonstrated that the NaYF4:Yb NaYF4:Er structure, with sensitizer ions doped in the core, was preferable because of the strong luminescence, through minimizing the cross relaxations between Er3+ and Yb3+ and the surface quenching. Based on these information, a strategy of enhancing and tuning upconversion luminescence of core-shell UCNPs by accumulating sensitizer in the core has been developed. Next, a strategy of coating a thick shell by lutetium doping has been developed. With a smaller ion radius compared to Y3+, when Lu3+ partially replace Y3+ in the NaYF4 UCNPs during nanoparticle synthesis, nucleation process is suppressed and the growth process is promoted, which are favorable for increasing the nanoparticle size and coating a thicker shell onto the core UCNPs. Through the rational doping of Lu3+, core UCNPs with bigger sizes and enhanced luminescence were produced. Using NaLuF4 as the shell material, shells with tremendous thickness were coated onto core UCNPs, with the shell/core ratio of up to 10:1. This led to the fabrication of multi-color UCNPs with well-designed core-shell structures with multiple layers and controllable thicknesses. Finally, a strategy of encapsulating these UCNPs to produce optically encoded micro-beads through high-throughput microfluidics has been developed. The hydrophobic UCNPs were first modified with Pluronic F127 to render them hydrophilic and uniformly distributed in the poly (ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEGDA) hydrogel precursor. Droplets of the hydrogel precursor were formed in a microfluidic device and cross-linked into micro-beads under UV irradiation. Through encapsulation of multi-color UCNPs and by controlling their ratio, optically encoded multi-color micro-beads have been easily fabricated. These multi-color UCNPs and micro-bead barcodes have great potential for use in multiplexed bioimaging and detection.

Design and Synthesis of Spherical Multicomponent Aggregates Composed of Core-Shell, Yolk-Shell, and Hollow Nanospheres and Their Lithium-Ion Storage Performances.

PubMed

Park, Gi Dae; Kang, Yun Chan

2018-03-01

Micrometer-sized spherical aggregates of Sn and Co components containing core-shell, yolk-shell, hollow nanospheres are synthesized by applying nanoscale Kirkendall diffusion in the large-scale spray drying process. The Sn 2 Co 3 -Co 3 SnC 0.7 -C composite microspheres uniformly dispersed with Sn 2 Co 3 -Co 3 SnC 0.7 mixed nanocrystals are formed by the first-step reduction of spray-dried precursor powders at 900 °C. The second-step oxidation process transforms the Sn 2 Co 3 -Co 3 SnC 0.7 -C composite into the porous microsphere composed of Sn-Sn 2 Co 3 @CoSnO 3 -Co 3 O 4 core-shell, Sn-Sn 2 Co 3 @CoSnO 3 -Co 3 O 4 yolk-shell, and CoSnO 3 -Co 3 O 4 hollow nanospheres at 300, 400, and 500 °C, respectively. The discharge capacity of the microspheres with Sn-Sn 2 Co 3 @CoSnO 3 -Co 3 O 4 core-shell, Sn-Sn 2 Co 3 @CoSnO 3 -Co 3 O 4 yolk-shell, and CoSnO 3 -Co 3 O 4 hollow nanospheres for the 200 th cycle at a current density of 1 A g -1 is 1265, 987, and 569 mA h g -1 , respectively. The ultrafine primary nanoparticles with a core-shell structure improve the structural stability of the porous-structured microspheres during repeated lithium insertion and desertion processes. The porous Sn-Sn 2 Co 3 @CoSnO 3 -Co 3 O 4 microspheres with core-shell primary nanoparticles show excellent cycling and rate performances as anode materials for lithium-ion batteries. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Facet-Dependent Deposition of Highly Strained Alloyed Shells on Intermetallic Nanoparticles for Enhanced Electrocatalysis

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

Wang, Chenyu; Sang, Xiahan; Gamler, Jocelyn T. L.

Compressive surface strains can enhance the performance of platinum-based core@shell electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). Bimetallic core@shell nanoparticles (NPs) are widely studied nanocatalysts but often have limited lattice mismatch and surface compositions; investigations of core@shell NPs with greater compositional complexity and lattice misfit are in their infancy. Here, a new class of multimetallic NPs composed of intermetallic cores and random alloy shells is reported. Specifically, face-centered cubic (fcc) Pt- Cu random alloy shells were deposited non-epitaxially on PdCu B2 intermetallic seeds, giving rise to faceted core@shell NPs with highly strained surfaces. In fact, high resolution transmission electron microscopymore » (HRTEM) revealed orientation-dependent surface strains, where the compressive strains were minimal on Pt-Cu {111} facets but greater on {200} facets. These core@shell NPs provide higher specific and mass activities for the ORR when compared to conventional Pt-Cu NPs. Moreover, these intermetallic@random alloy NPs displayed high endurance, undergoing 10,000 cycles with only a slight decay in activity and no apparent structural changes.« less

Facet-Dependent Deposition of Highly Strained Alloyed Shells on Intermetallic Nanoparticles for Enhanced Electrocatalysis

DOE PAGES

Wang, Chenyu; Sang, Xiahan; Gamler, Jocelyn T. L.; ...

2017-08-25

Compressive surface strains can enhance the performance of platinum-based core@shell electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). Bimetallic core@shell nanoparticles (NPs) are widely studied nanocatalysts but often have limited lattice mismatch and surface compositions; investigations of core@shell NPs with greater compositional complexity and lattice misfit are in their infancy. Here, a new class of multimetallic NPs composed of intermetallic cores and random alloy shells is reported. Specifically, face-centered cubic (fcc) Pt- Cu random alloy shells were deposited non-epitaxially on PdCu B2 intermetallic seeds, giving rise to faceted core@shell NPs with highly strained surfaces. In fact, high resolution transmission electron microscopymore » (HRTEM) revealed orientation-dependent surface strains, where the compressive strains were minimal on Pt-Cu {111} facets but greater on {200} facets. These core@shell NPs provide higher specific and mass activities for the ORR when compared to conventional Pt-Cu NPs. Moreover, these intermetallic@random alloy NPs displayed high endurance, undergoing 10,000 cycles with only a slight decay in activity and no apparent structural changes.« less

Facile synthesis of mercaptosuccinic acid-capped CdTe/CdS/ZnS core/double shell quantum dots with improved cell viability on different cancer cells and normal cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Parani, Sundararajan; Bupesh, Giridharan; Manikandan, Elayaperumal; Pandian, Kannaiyan; Oluwafemi, Oluwatobi Samuel

2016-11-01

Water-soluble, mercaptosuccinic acid (MSA)-capped CdTe/CdS/ZnS core/double shell quantum dots (QDs) were prepared by successive growth of CdS and ZnS shells on the as-synthesized CdTe/CdSthin core/shell quantum dots. The formation of core/double shell structured QDs was investigated by ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) absorption and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy, PL decay studies, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The core/double shell QDs exhibited good photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY) which is 70% higher than that of the parent core/shell QDs, and they are stable for months. The average particle size of the core/double shell QDs was ˜3 nm as calculated from the transmission electron microscope (TEM) images. The cytotoxicity of the QDs was evaluated on a variety of cancer cells such as HeLa, MCF-7, A549, and normal Vero cells by 3-(4,5-dimethyl-2-thiazolyl)-2,5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) cell viability assay. The results showed that core/double shell QDs were less toxic to the cells when compared to the parent core/shell QDs. MCF-7 cells showed proliferation on incubation with QDs, and this is attributed to the metalloestrogenic activity of cadmium ions released from QDs. The core/double shell CdTe/CdS/ZnS (CSS) QDs were conjugated with transferrin and successfully employed for the biolabeling and fluorescent imaging of HeLa cells. These core/double shell QDs are highly promising fluorescent probe for cancer cell labeling and imaging applications.

Construction of self-supported porous TiO2/NiO core/shell nanorod arrays for electrochemical capacitor application

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, J. B.; Guo, R. Q.; Huang, X. H.; Lin, Y.

2013-12-01

High-quality metal oxides hetero-structured nanoarrays have been receiving great attention in electrochemical energy storage application. Self-supported TiO2/NiO core/shell nanorod arrays are prepared on carbon cloth via the combination of hydrothermal synthesis and electro-deposition methods. The obtained core/shell nanorods consist of nanorod core and interconnected nanoflake shell, as well as hierarchical porosity. As cathode materials for pseudo-capacitors, the TiO2/NiO core/shell nanorod arrays display impressive electrochemical performances with both high capacitance of 611 F g-1 at 2 A g-1, and pretty good cycling stability with a retention of 89% after 5000 cycles. Besides, as compared to the single NiO nanoflake arrays on carbon cloth, the TiO2/NiO core/shell nanorod arrays exhibit much better electrochemical properties with higher capacitance, better electrochemical activity and cycling life. This enhanced performance is mainly due to the core/shell nanorods architecture offering fast ion/electron transfer and sufficient contact between active materials and electrolyte.

Soft template synthesis of yolk/silica shell particles.

PubMed

Wu, Xue-Jun; Xu, Dongsheng

2010-04-06

Yolk/shell particles possess a unique structure that is composed of hollow shells that encapsulate other particles but with an interstitial space between them. These structures are different from core/shell particles in that the core particles are freely movable in the shell. Yolk/shell particles combine the properties of each component, and can find potential applications in catalysis, lithium ion batteries, and biosensors. In this Research News article, a soft-template-assisted method for the preparation of yolk/silica shell particles is presented. The demonstrated method is simple and general, and can produce hollow silica spheres incorporated with different particles independent of their diameters, geometry, and composition. Furthermore, yolk/mesoporous silica shell particles and multishelled particles are also prepared through optimization of the experimental conditions. Finally, potential applications of these particles are discussed.

Enhanced performance of core-shell structured polyaniline at helical carbon nanotube hybrids for ammonia gas sensor

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

Tian, Xin; Wang, Qiang; Chen, Xiangnan

2014-11-17

A core-shell structured hybrid of polyaniline at helical carbon nanotubes was synthesized using in situ polymerization, which the helical carbon nanotubes were uniformly surrounded by a layer of polyaniline nanorods array. More interestingly, repeatable responses were experimentally observed that the sensitivity to ammonia gas of the as-prepared helical shaped core-shell hybrid displays an enhancement of more than two times compared to those of only polyaniline or helical carbon nanotubes sensors because of the peculiar structures with high surface area. This kind of hybrid comprising nanorod arrays of conductive polymers covering carbon nanotubes and related structures provide a potential in sensorsmore » of trace gas detection for environmental monitoring and safety forecasting.« less

Microstructure of In x Ga1-x N nanorods grown by molecular beam epitaxy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Webster, R. F.; Soundararajah, Q. Y.; Griffiths, I. J.; Cherns, D.; Novikov, S. V.; Foxon, C. T.

2015-11-01

Transmission electron microscopy is used to examine the structure and composition of In x Ga1-x N nanorods grown by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy. The results confirm a core-shell structure with an In-rich core and In-poor shell resulting from axial and lateral growth sectors respectively. Atomic resolution mapping by energy-dispersive x-ray microanalysis and high angle annular dark field imaging show that both the core and the shell are decomposed into Ga-rich and In-rich platelets parallel to their respective growth surfaces. It is argued that platelet formation occurs at the surfaces, through the lateral expansion of surface steps. Studies of nanorods with graded composition show that decomposition ceases for x ≥ 0.8 and the ratio of growth rates, shell:core, decreases with increasing In concentration.

Liquid-phase pulsed laser ablation synthesis of graphitized carbon-encapsulated palladium core-shell nanospheres for catalytic reduction of nitrobenzene to aniline

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Yu-jin; Ma, Rory; Reddy, D. Amaranatha; Kim, Tae Kyu

2015-12-01

Graphitized carbon-encapsulated palladium (Pd) core-shell nanospheres were produced via pulsed laser ablation of a solid Pd foil target submerged in acetonitrile. The microstructural features and optical properties of these nanospheres were characterized via high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and UV-visible spectroscopy. Microstructural analysis indicated that the core-shell nanostructures consisted of single-crystalline cubic metallic Pd spheres that serve as the core material, over which graphitized carbon was anchored as a heterogeneous shell. The absorbance spectrum of the synthesized nanostructures exhibited a broad (absorption) band at ∼264 nm; this band corresponded to the typical inter-band transition of a metallic system and resulted possibly from the absorbance of the ionic Pd2+. The catalytic properties of the Pd and Pd@C core-shell nanostructures were investigated using the reduction of nitrobenzene to aniline by an excess amount of NaBH4 in an aqueous solution at room temperature, as a model reaction. Owing to the graphitized carbon-layered structure and the high specific surface area, the resulting Pd@C nanostructures exhibited higher conversion efficiencies than their bare Pd counterparts. In fact, the layered structure provided access to the surface of the Pd nanostructures for the hydrogenation reaction, owing to the synergistic effect between graphitized carbon and the nanostructures. Their unique structure and excellent catalytic performance render Pd@C core-shell nanostructures highly promising candidates for catalysis applications.

Core-shell structured SiO2@YVO4:Dy3+/Sm3+ phosphor particles: sol-gel preparation and characterization.

PubMed

Wang, H; Yu, M; Lin, C K; Lin, J

2006-08-01

Spherical SiO(2) particles have been coated with YVO(4):Dy(3+)/Sm(3+) phosphor layers by a Pechini sol-gel process, leading to the formation of core-shell structured SiO(2)@YVO(4):Dy(3+)/Sm(3+) particles. X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transform IR spectroscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), photoluminescence (PL) spectra as well as lifetimes were used to characterize the resulting SiO(2)@YVO(4):Dy(3+)/Sm(3+) core-shell phosphors. The obtained core-shell phosphors have perfect spherical shape with narrow size distribution (average size ca. 300 nm), smooth surface and non-agglomeration. The thickness of shells could be easily controlled by changing the number of deposition cycles (20 nm for one deposition cycle). The core-shell particles show strong characteristic emission from Dy(3+) for SiO(2)@YVO(4):Dy(3+) and from Sm(3+) for SiO(2)@YVO(4):Sm(3+) due to an efficient energy transfer from YVO(4) host to them. The PL intensity of Dy(3+) and Sm(3+) increases with raising the annealing temperature and the number of coating cycles.

Core-shell rhodium sulfide catalyst for hydrogen evolution reaction / hydrogen oxidation reaction in hydrogen-bromine reversible fuel cell

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Yuanchao; Nguyen, Trung Van

2018-04-01

Synthesis and characterization of high electrochemical active surface area (ECSA) core-shell RhxSy catalysts for hydrogen evolution oxidation (HER)/hydrogen oxidation reaction (HOR) in H2-Br2 fuel cell are discussed. Catalysts with RhxSy as shell and different percentages (5%, 10%, and 20%) of platinum on carbon as core materials are synthesized. Cyclic voltammetry is used to evaluate the Pt-equivalent mass specific ECSA and durability of these catalysts. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray Photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) techniques are utilized to characterize the bulk and surface compositions and to confirm the core-shell structure of the catalysts, respectively. Cycling test and polarization curve measurements in the H2-Br2 fuel cell are used to assess the catalyst stability and performance in a fuel cell. The results show that the catalysts with core-shell structure have higher mass specific ECSA (50 m2 gm-Rh-1) compared to a commercial catalyst (RhxSy/C catalyst from BASF, 6.9 m2 gm-Rh-1). It also shows better HOR/HER performance in the fuel cell. Compared to the platinum catalyst, the core-shell catalysts show more stable performance in the fuel cell cycling test.

Tracking the Magnetization Evolution in γ-Fe2O3 / Metallic Fe Core-Shell Nanoparticle Variants

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kons, C.; Nemati, Z.; Srikanth, H.; Phan, M.-H.; Krycka, K.; Borchers, J.; Keavney, D.; Arena, D. A.

Iron-core magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) with oxide shells exhibit varying magnetic properties due to the different ordering temperatures of the core and shell spins, as well as the coupling across the metal/oxide interface. While spin coupling across two dimensional interfaces has been well explored, less is known about three dimensional interfaces such as those presented in the MNPs. In this work, MNPs were synthesized with a bcc Fe core and γ-Fe2O3 shell and placed in an oxygen rich environment to encourage the transition from cores shell (CS) to core void shell (CVS) to hollow (H) structures. Static magnetic measurements (MvT) and AC magnetometry were performed to explore the magnetic behavior of the various synthesized structures. To further understand the nature of the spin coupling in the MNPs, TEM and conventional magnetometry as well as variable-temperature small angle neutron scattering (SANS), x-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) and x-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) spectroscopy were performed. Modeling of the x-ray spectra and SANS data will enable us to develop a cohesive picture of spin coupling, freezing and frustration along the three-dimensional metal / oxide interface. Supported by Department of Energy award #DE-FG02-07ER46438; NSF Award #DMR-1508249.

Large-area super-resolution optical imaging by using core-shell microfibers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Cheng-Yang; Lo, Wei-Chieh

2017-09-01

We first numerically and experimentally report large-area super-resolution optical imaging achieved by using core-shell microfibers. The particular spatial electromagnetic waves for different core-shell microfibers are studied by using finite-difference time-domain and ray tracing calculations. The focusing properties of photonic nanojets are evaluated in terms of intensity profile and full width at half-maximum along propagation and transversal directions. In experiment, the general optical fiber is chemically etched down to 6 μm diameter and coated with different metallic thin films by using glancing angle deposition. The direct imaging of photonic nanojets for different core-shell microfibers is performed with a scanning optical microscope system. We show that the intensity distribution of a photonic nanojet is highly related to the metallic shell due to the surface plasmon polaritons. Furthermore, large-area super-resolution optical imaging is performed by using different core-shell microfibers placed over the nano-scale grating with 150 nm line width. The core-shell microfiber-assisted imaging is achieved with super-resolution and hundreds of times the field-of-view in contrast to microspheres. The possible applications of these core-shell optical microfibers include real-time large-area micro-fluidics and nano-structure inspections.

Direct correlations of structural and optical properties of three-dimensional GaN/InGaN core/shell micro-light emitting diodes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sadat Mohajerani, Matin; Müller, Marcus; Hartmann, Jana; Zhou, Hao; Wehmann, Hergo-H.; Veit, Peter; Bertram, Frank; Christen, Jürgen; Waag, Andreas

2016-05-01

Three-dimensional (3D) InGaN/GaN quantum-well (QW) core-shell light emitting diodes (LEDs) are a promising candidate for the future solid state lighting. In this contribution, we study direct correlations of structural and optical properties of the core-shell LEDs using highly spatially-resolved cathodoluminescence spectroscopy (CL) in combination with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM). Temperature-dependent resonant photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy has been performed to understand recombination mechanisms and to estimate the internal quantum efficiency (IQE).

Scalable Synthesis of Triple-Core-Shell Nanostructures of TiO2 @MnO2 @C for High Performance Supercapacitors Using Structure-Guided Combustion Waves.

PubMed

Shin, Dongjoon; Shin, Jungho; Yeo, Taehan; Hwang, Hayoung; Park, Seonghyun; Choi, Wonjoon

2018-03-01

Core-shell nanostructures of metal oxides and carbon-based materials have emerged as outstanding electrode materials for supercapacitors and batteries. However, their synthesis requires complex procedures that incur high costs and long processing times. Herein, a new route is proposed for synthesizing triple-core-shell nanoparticles of TiO 2 @MnO 2 @C using structure-guided combustion waves (SGCWs), which originate from incomplete combustion inside chemical-fuel-wrapped nanostructures, and their application in supercapacitor electrodes. SGCWs transform TiO 2 to TiO 2 @C and TiO 2 @MnO 2 to TiO 2 @MnO 2 @C via the incompletely combusted carbonaceous fuels under an open-air atmosphere, in seconds. The synthesized carbon layers act as templates for MnO 2 shells in TiO 2 @C and organic shells of TiO 2 @MnO 2 @C. The TiO 2 @MnO 2 @C-based electrodes exhibit a greater specific capacitance (488 F g -1 at 5 mV s -1 ) and capacitance retention (97.4% after 10 000 cycles at 1.0 V s -1 ), while the absence of MnO 2 and carbon shells reveals a severe degradation in the specific capacitance and capacitance retention. Because the core-TiO 2 nanoparticles and carbon shell prevent the deformation of the inner and outer sides of the MnO 2 shell, the nanostructures of the TiO 2 @MnO 2 @C are preserved despite the long-term cycling, giving the superior performance. This SGCW-driven fabrication enables the scalable synthesis of multiple-core-shell structures applicable to diverse electrochemical applications. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Dock ’n Roll: Folding of a Silk-Inspired Polypeptide into an Amyloid-like Beta Solenoid

PubMed Central

Zhao, Binwu; Cohen Stuart, Martien A.; Hall, Carol K.

2016-01-01

Polypeptides containing the motif ((GA)mGX)n occur in silk (we refer to them as ‘silk-like’) and have a strong tendency to self-assemble. For example, polypeptides containing (GAGAGAGX)n, where X = G or H have been observed to form filaments; similar sequences but with X = Q have been used in the design of coat proteins (capsids) for artificial viruses. The structure of the (GAGAGAGX)m filaments has been proposed to be a stack of peptides in a β roll structure with the hydrophobic side chains pointing outwards (hydrophobic shell). Another possible configuration, a β roll or β solenoid structure which has its hydrophobic side chains buried inside (hydrophobic core) was, however, overlooked. We perform ground state analysis as well as atomic-level molecular dynamics simulations, both on single molecules and on two-molecule stacks of the silk-inspired sequence (GAGAGAGQ)10, to decide whether the hydrophobic core or the hydrophobic shell configuration is the most stable one. We find that a stack of two hydrophobic core molecules is energetically more favorable than a stack of two shell molecules. A shell molecule initially placed in a perfect β roll structure tends to rotate its strands, breaking in-plane hydrogen bonds and forming out-of-plane hydrogen bonds, while a core molecule stays in the β roll structure. The hydrophobic shell structure has type II’ β turns whereas the core configuration has type II β turns; only the latter secondary structure agrees well with solid-state NMR experiments on a similar sequence (GA)15. We also observe that the core stack has a higher number of intra-molecular hydrogen bonds and a higher number of hydrogen bonds between stack and water than the shell stack. Hence, we conclude that the hydrophobic core configuration is the most likely structure. In the stacked state, each peptide has more intra-molecular hydrogen bonds than a single folded molecule, which suggests that stacking provides the extra stability needed for molecules to reach the folded state. PMID:26947809

Emission Characteristics of InGaN/GaN Core-Shell Nanorods Embedded in a 3D Light-Emitting Diode.

PubMed

Jung, Byung Oh; Bae, Si-Young; Lee, Seunga; Kim, Sang Yun; Lee, Jeong Yong; Honda, Yoshio; Amano, Hiroshi

2016-12-01

We report the selective-area growth of a gallium nitride (GaN)-nanorod-based InGaN/GaN multiple-quantum-well (MQW) core-shell structure embedded in a three-dimensional (3D) light-emitting diode (LED) grown by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) and its optical analysis. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM) observation revealed the high quality of the GaN nanorods and the position dependence of the structural properties of the InGaN/GaN MQWs on multiple facets. The excitation and temperature dependences of photoluminescence (PL) revealed the m-plane emission behaviors of the InGaN/GaN core-shell nanorods. The electroluminescence (EL) of the InGaN/GaN core-shell-nanorod-embedded 3D LED changed color from green to blue with increasing injection current. This phenomenon was mainly due to the energy gradient and deep localization of the indium in the selectively grown InGaN/GaN core-shell MQWs on the 3D architecture.

Tuning electrocatalytic activity of Pt monolayer shell by bimetallic Ir-M (M=Fe, Co, Ni or Cu) cores for the oxygen reduction reaction

DOE PAGES

Kuttiyiel, Kurian A.; Choi, YongMan; Sasaki, Kotaro; ...

2016-05-18

Here, platinum monolayer electrocatalyst are known to exhibit excellent oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) activity depending on the type of substrate used. Here we demonstrate a relationship between the ORR electrocatalytic activity and the surface electronic structure of Pt monolayer shell induced by various IrM bimetallic cores (M=Fe, Co, Ni or Cu). The relationship is rationalized by comparing density functional theory calculations and experimental results. For an efficient Pt monolayer electrocatalyst, the core should induce sufficient contraction to the Pt shell leading to a downshift of the d-band center with respect to the Fermi level. Depending on the structure of themore » IrM, relative to that of pure Ir, this interaction not only alters the electronic and geometric structure but also induces segregation effects. Combined these effects significantly enhance the ORR activities of the Pt monolayer shell on bimetallic Ir cores electrocatalysts.« less

A coarse grained molecular dynamics simulation study on the structural properties of carbon nanotube-dendrimer composites.

PubMed

Kavyani, Sajjad; Dadvar, Mitra; Modarress, Hamid; Amjad-Iranagh, Sepideh

2018-04-25

By employing coarse grained (CG) molecular dynamics (MD) simulation, the effect of the size and hydrophilic/hydrophobic properties of the interior/exterior structures of the dendrimers in carbon nanotube (CNT)-dendrimer composites has been studied, to find a stable composite with high solubility in water and the capability to be used in drug delivery applications. For this purpose, composites consisting of core-shell dendrimer complexes including: [PPI{core}-PAMAM{shell}], [PAMAM{core}-polyethyleneglycol (PEG){shell}] and [PAMAM{core}-fattyacid (FTA){shell}] were constructed. A new CG model for the fatty acid (FTA) molecules as functionalized to the dendrimer was developed, which, unlike the previous models, could generate the structural conformations of the FTA properly. The obtained results indicated that the dendrimer complexes with short FTA chains can form stable composites with the CNT. Also, it was found that the pristine PAMAM and PPI-PAMAM with small PPI, and PAMAM-PEG dendrimers with short PEG chains, can distribute their chains into the water medium and interact with the CNT efficiently, to form a stable water-soluble CNT-dendrimer composite. The results demonstrated that the structural difference between the interior and exterior of a core-shell dendrimer complex can prevent the core and the interior layers of the dendrimer complex from interacting with the CNT. An overall analysis of the results manifested that the CNT-PAMAM:4-PEG:4 is the most stable composite, due to strong binding of the dendrimer with the CNT while also having high solubility in water, and its core retains its structure properly and unchanged, suitable for encapsulating drugs in the targeted delivery applications.

Synthesis and magnetic properties of cobalt-iron/cobalt-ferrite soft/hard magnetic core/shell nanowires

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leandro Londoño-Calderón, César; Moscoso-Londoño, Oscar; Muraca, Diego; Arzuza, Luis; Carvalho, Peterson; Pirota, Kleber Roberto; Knobel, Marcelo; Pampillo, Laura Gabriela; Martínez-García, Ricardo

2017-06-01

A straightforward method for the synthesis of CoFe2.7/CoFe2O4 core/shell nanowires is described. The proposed method starts with a conventional pulsed electrodeposition procedure on alumina nanoporous template. The obtained CoFe2.7 nanowires are released from the template and allowed to oxidize at room conditions over several weeks. The effects of partial oxidation on the structural and magnetic properties were studied by x-ray spectrometry, magnetometry, and scanning and transmission electron microscopy. The results indicate that the final nanowires are composed of 5 nm iron-cobalt alloy nanoparticles. Releasing the nanowires at room conditions promoted surface oxidation of the nanoparticles and created a CoFe2O4 shell spinel-like structure. The shell avoids internal oxidation and promotes the formation of bi-magnetic soft/hard magnetic core/shell nanowires. The magnetic properties of both the initial single-phase CoFe2.7 nanowires and the final core/shell nanowires, reveal that the changes in the properties from the array are due to the oxidation more than effects associated with released processes (disorder and agglomeration).

Synthesis and magnetic properties of cobalt-iron/cobalt-ferrite soft/hard magnetic core/shell nanowires.

PubMed

Londoño-Calderón, César Leandro; Moscoso-Londoño, Oscar; Muraca, Diego; Arzuza, Luis; Carvalho, Peterson; Pirota, Kleber Roberto; Knobel, Marcelo; Pampillo, Laura Gabriela; Martínez-García, Ricardo

2017-06-16

A straightforward method for the synthesis of CoFe 2.7 /CoFe 2 O 4 core/shell nanowires is described. The proposed method starts with a conventional pulsed electrodeposition procedure on alumina nanoporous template. The obtained CoFe 2.7 nanowires are released from the template and allowed to oxidize at room conditions over several weeks. The effects of partial oxidation on the structural and magnetic properties were studied by x-ray spectrometry, magnetometry, and scanning and transmission electron microscopy. The results indicate that the final nanowires are composed of 5 nm iron-cobalt alloy nanoparticles. Releasing the nanowires at room conditions promoted surface oxidation of the nanoparticles and created a CoFe 2 O 4 shell spinel-like structure. The shell avoids internal oxidation and promotes the formation of bi-magnetic soft/hard magnetic core/shell nanowires. The magnetic properties of both the initial single-phase CoFe 2.7 nanowires and the final core/shell nanowires, reveal that the changes in the properties from the array are due to the oxidation more than effects associated with released processes (disorder and agglomeration).

The construction, characterization, Hg(II)-sensing and removal behavior of magnetic core-shell nanospheres loaded with fluorescence "Off-On" probe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tan, Jun; Wei, Xiaoyan; Chen, Jie; Sun, Ping; Ouyang, Yuxia; Fan, Juhong; Liu, Rui

2014-12-01

The present paper constructed and discussed core-shell structured nanospheres grafted with rhodamine based probe for Hg(II) sensing and removal. Electron microscopy images, XRD curves, thermogravimetric analysis and N2 adsorption/desorption isotherms were used to identify the core-shell structure. The inner core consisted of superparamagnetic Fe3O4 nanoparticles, which made the nanocomposite magnetically removable. The outer shell was constructed with silica molecular sieve which provided large surface area and ordered tunnels for the sensing probe, accelerating analyte adsorption and transportation. The rhodamine based sensing probe emission increased with the increasing Hg(II) concentration, showing emission "Off-On" effect, which could be explained by the structural transformation from a non-emissive one to a highly emissive one. The influence from various metal ions and pH values was also investigated, which suggested this structural transformation could only be triggered by Hg(II), showing high selectivity and linear response. The Hg(II) sensing nanocomposite could be regenerated after usage. The response time was slightly compromised and could be further improved.

In-situ synthetize multi-walled carbon nanotubes@MnO2 nanoflake core-shell structured materials for supercapacitors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zheng, Huajun; Wang, Jiaoxia; Jia, Yi; Ma, Chun'an

2012-10-01

A new type of core-shell structured material consisting of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and manganese dioxide (MnO2) nanoflake is synthesized using an in-situ co-precipitation method. By scanning electron microscopy and transition electron microscope, it is confirmed that the core-shell nanostructure is formed by the uniform incorporation of birnessite-type MnO2 nanoflake growth round the surface of the activated-MWCNTs. That core-shell structured material electrode presents excellent electrochemical capacitance properties with the specific capacitance reaching 380 F g-1 at the current density of 5 A g-1 in 0.5 M Na2SO4 electrolyte. In addition, the electrode also exhibits good performance (the power density: 11.28 kW kg-1 at 5 A g-1) and long-term cycling stability (retaining 82.7% of its initial capacitance after 3500 cycles at 5 A g-1). It mainly attributes to MWCNTs not only providing considerable specific surface area for high mass loading of MnO2 nanoflakes to ensure effective utilization of MnO2 nanoflake, but also offering an electron pathway to improve electrical conductivity of the electrode materials. It is clearly indicated that such core-shell structured materials including MWCNTs and MnO2 nanoflake may find important applications for supercapacitors.

Microscopic Shell Model Calculations for sd-Shell Nuclei

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barrett, Bruce R.; Dikmen, Erdal; Maris, Pieter; Shirokov, Andrey M.; Smirnova, Nadya A.; Vary, James P.

Several techniques now exist for performing detailed and accurate calculations of the structure of light nuclei, i.e., A ≤ 16. Going to heavier nuclei requires new techniques or extensions of old ones. One of these is the so-called No Core Shell Model (NCSM) with a Core approach, which involves an Okubo-Lee-Suzuki (OLS) transformation of a converged NCSM result into a single major shell, such as the sd-shell. The obtained effective two-body matrix elements can be separated into core and single-particle (s.p.) energies plus residual two-body interactions, which can be used for performing standard shell-model (SSM) calculations. As an example, an application of this procedure will be given for nuclei at the beginning ofthe sd-shell.

Polydopamine-coated, nitrogen-doped, hollow carbon-sulfur double-layered core-shell structure for improving lithium-sulfur batteries.

PubMed

Zhou, Weidong; Xiao, Xingcheng; Cai, Mei; Yang, Li

2014-09-10

To better confine the sulfur/polysulfides in the electrode of lithium-sulfur (Li/S) batteries and improve the cycling stability, we developed a double-layered core-shell structure of polymer-coated carbon-sulfur. Carbon-sulfur was first prepared through the impregnation of sulfur into hollow carbon spheres under heat treatment, followed by a coating polymerization to give a double-layered core-shell structure. From the study of scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) images, we demonstrated that the sulfur not only successfully penetrated through the porous carbon shell but also aggregated along the inner wall of the carbon shell, which, for the first time, provided visible and convincing evidence that sulfur preferred diffusing into the hollow carbon rather than aggregating in/on the porous wall of the carbon. Taking advantage of this structure, a stable capacity of 900 mA h g(-1) at 0.2 C after 150 cycles and 630 mA h g(-1) at 0.6 C after 600 cycles could be obtained in Li/S batteries. We also demonstrated the feasibility of full cells using the sulfur electrodes to couple with the silicon film electrodes, which exhibited significantly improved cycling stability and efficiency. The remarkable electrochemical performance could be attributed to the desirable confinement of sulfur through the unique double-layered core-shell architectures.

Structural and Magnetic Response in Bimetallic Core/Shell Magnetic Nanoparticles

PubMed Central

Nairan, Adeela; Khan, Usman; Iqbal, Munawar; Khan, Maaz; Javed, Khalid; Riaz, Saira; Naseem, Shahzad; Han, Xiufeng

2016-01-01

Bimagnetic monodisperse CoFe2O4/Fe3O4 core/shell nanoparticles have been prepared by solution evaporation route. To demonstrate preferential coating of iron oxide onto the surface of ferrite nanoparticles X-ray diffraction (XRD), High resolution transmission electron microscope (HR-TEM) and Raman spectroscopy have been performed. XRD analysis using Rietveld refinement technique confirms single phase nanoparticles with average seed size of about 18 nm and thickness of shell is 3 nm, which corroborates with transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis. Low temperature magnetic hysteresis loops showed interesting behavior. We have observed large coercivity 15.8 kOe at T = 5 K, whereas maximum saturation magnetization (125 emu/g) is attained at T = 100 K for CoFe2O4/Fe3O4 core/shell nanoparticles. Saturation magnetization decreases due to structural distortions at the surface of shell below 100 K. Zero field cooled (ZFC) and Field cooled (FC) plots show that synthesized nanoparticles are ferromagnetic till room temperature and it has been noticed that core/shell sample possess high blocking temperature than Cobalt Ferrite. Results indicate that presence of iron oxide shell significantly increases magnetic parameters as compared to the simple cobalt ferrite. PMID:28335200

Monolithic photonic crystals created by partial coalescence of core-shell particles.

PubMed

Lee, Joon-Seok; Lim, Che Ho; Yang, Seung-Man; Kim, Shin-Hyun

2014-03-11

Colloidal crystals and their derivatives have been intensively studied and developed during the past two decades due to their unique photonic band gap properties. However, complex fabrication procedures and low mechanical stability severely limit their practical uses. Here, we report stable photonic structures created by using colloidal building blocks composed of an inorganic core and an organic shell. The core-shell particles are convectively assembled into an opal structure, which is then subjected to thermal annealing. During the heat treatment, the inorganic cores, which are insensitive to heat, retain their regular arrangement in a face-centered cubic lattice, while the organic shells are partially fused with their neighbors; this forms a monolithic structure with high mechanical stability. The interparticle distance and therefore stop band position are precisely controlled by the annealing time; the distance decreases and the stop band blue shifts during the annealing. The composite films can be further treated to give a high contrast in the refractive index. The inorganic cores are selectively removed from the composite by wet etching, thereby providing an organic film containing regular arrays of air cavities. The high refractive index contrast of the porous structure gives rise to pronounced structural colors and high reflectivity at the stop band position.

Enhancing the methanol tolerance of platinum nanoparticles for the cathode reaction of direct methanol fuel cells through a geometric design.

PubMed

Feng, Yan; Ye, Feng; Liu, Hui; Yang, Jun

2015-11-18

Mastery over the structure of nanoparticles might be an effective way to enhance their performance for a given application. Herein we demonstrate the design of cage-bell nanostructures to enhance the methanol tolerance of platinum (Pt) nanoparticles while remaining their catalytic activity for oxygen reduction reaction. This strategy starts with the synthesis of core-shell-shell nanoparticles with Pt and silver (Ag) residing respectively in the core and inner shell regions, which are then agitated with saturated sodium chloride (NaCl) solution to eliminate the Ag component from the inner shell region, leading to the formation of bimetallic nanoparticles with a cage-bell structure, defined as a movable Pt core enclosed by a metal shell with nano-channels, which exhibit superior methanol-tolerant property in catalyzing oxygen reduction reaction due to the different diffusion behaviour of methanol and oxygen in the porous metal shell of cage-bell structured nanoparticles. In particular, the use of remarkably inexpensive chemical agent (NaCl) to promote the formation of cage-bell structured particles containing a wide spectrum of metal shells highlights its engineering merit to produce highly selective electrocatalysts on a large scale for the cathode reaction of direct methanol fuel cells.

Magnetization processes in core/shell exchange-spring structures.

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

Jiang, J. S.

2015-03-27

The magnetization reversal processes in cylindrical and spherical soft core/hard shell exchange-spring structures are investigated via the analytical nucleation theory, and are verified with numerical micromagnetic simulations. At small core sizes, the nucleation of magnetic reversal proceeds via the modified bulging mode, where the transverse component of the magnetization is only semi-coherent in direction and the nucleation field contains a contribution from self-demagnetization. For large core sizes, the modified curling mode, where the magnetization configuration is vortex-like, is favored at nucleation. The preference for the modified curling mode is beneficial in that the fluxclosure allows cylindrical and spherical core/shell exchange-springmore » elements to be densely packed into bulk permanent magnets without affecting the nucleation field, thereby offering the potential for high energy product.« less

Lithography-Free Fabrication of Core-Shell GaAs Nanowire Tunnel Diodes.

PubMed

Darbandi, A; Kavanagh, K L; Watkins, S P

2015-08-12

GaAs core-shell p-n junction tunnel diodes were demonstrated by combining vapor-liquid-solid growth with gallium oxide deposition by atomic layer deposition for electrical isolation. The characterization of an ensemble of core-shell structures was enabled by the use of a tungsten probe in a scanning electron microscope without the need for lithographic processing. Radial tunneling transport was observed, exhibiting negative differential resistance behavior with peak-to-valley current ratios of up to 3.1. Peak current densities of up to 2.1 kA/cm(2) point the way to applications in core-shell photovoltaics and tunnel field effect transistors.

Large enhanced dielectric permittivity in polyaniline passivated core-shell nano magnetic iron oxide by plasma polymerization

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

Joy, Lija K.; Sooraj, V.; Sethulakshmi, N.

2014-03-24

Commercial samples of Magnetite with size ranging from 25–30 nm were coated with polyaniline by using radio frequency plasma polymerization to achieve a core shell structure of magnetic nanoparticle (core)–Polyaniline (shell). High resolution transmission electron microscopy images confirm the core shell architecture of polyaniline coated iron oxide. The dielectric properties of the material were studied before and after plasma treatment. The polymer coated magnetite particles exhibited a large dielectric permittivity with respect to uncoated samples. The dielectric behavior was modeled using a Maxwell–Wagner capacitor model. A plausible mechanism for the enhancement of dielectric permittivity is proposed.

Effects of core/shell structure on magnetic induction heating promotion in Fe3O4/γ-Fe2O3 magnetic nanoparticles for hyperthermia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Shih-Chi; Fu, Chao-Ming; Chang, Fu-Hsiung

2013-10-01

Fe3O4/γ-Fe2O3 core-shell magnetic nanoparticles have demonstrated superior heating efficiency by applying the alternating magnetic field. The magnetic induction heating properties of core-shell magnetic nanoparticles were analyzed by the rate-dependent hysteresis model, taken into account the magnetic anisotropies and actual size distribution of particles. The analyzed results have disclosed the significance of magnetic anisotropies and shell-thickness to the promotion of magnetic induction heating performance. Further experiments about the cancer cells with uptake of these core-shell magnetic nanoparticles conjugated biocompatible cationic liposomes have achieved in vitro intracellular magnetically induced hyperthermia under a weak alternating magnetic field.

Preparation of core-shell Ti-Nb oxide nanocrystals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Simakov, David S. A.; Tsur, Yoed

2008-01-01

Nanosized powders of Ti-Nb oxide core-shell nanocrystals with atomic ratios of Nb/Ti = 0.11, 0.25, and 0.38 have been prepared by two preparation routes. The first route was co-precipitation, followed by␣annealing, using NbCl5 as a source of Nb. The second route was coating of pure TiO2 nanocrystals by Nb-isopropoxide in liquid medium, followed by impregnation of the Nb into the nanoparticles by annealing. Both methods yielded anatase nanocrystals with a Nb-rich shell and a core, which had much lower Nb loadings. The anatase structure solid solution (with Nb incorporated) was stable under annealing up to 760°C. The particle size remained within the nanometric scale ( <50 nm) under heat-treatment up to 760°C. It has been shown that the fabricated powders can be redispersed in aqueous media by simple ultrasound treatment, resulting in nanosized dispersions. Using a variety of analytical techniques, including depth profiling of single nanocrystallites by AES combined with sputtering by Ar ions, the mechanism of the core-shell structure creation was studied. It is proposed that the formation of the core-shell structure is governed by solubility limitations in the co-precipitation route and by solubility and diffusion limitations in the coating-incorporation route.

Au@MnO2 core-shell nanomesh electrodes for transparent flexible supercapacitors.

PubMed

Qiu, Tengfei; Luo, Bin; Giersig, Michael; Akinoglu, Eser Metin; Hao, Long; Wang, Xiangjun; Shi, Lin; Jin, Meihua; Zhi, Linjie

2014-10-29

A novel Au@MnO2 supercapacitor is presented. The sophisticated core-shell architecture combining an Au nanomesh core with a MnO2 shell on a flexible polymeric substrate is demonstrated as an electrode for high performance transparent flexible supercapacitors (TFSCs). Due to their unique structure, high areal/gravimetric capacitance and rate capability for TFSCs are achieved. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Degradation of Si/Ge core/shell nanowire heterostructures during lithiation and delithiation at 0.8 and 20 A g −1

DOE PAGES

Kim, Dongheun; Li, Nan; Sheehan, Chris J.; ...

2018-01-01

The charging rate-dependent degradation of lithium ion battery anodes based on Si/Ge core/shell nanowire heterostructure was observed. Si/Ge core/shell structure was preserved at the charging rate of 0.8 A g −1 . On the other hand, compositional intermixing and loss of Si occurs at the charging rate of 20 A g −1 .

Degradation of Si/Ge core/shell nanowire heterostructures during lithiation and delithiation at 0.8 and 20 A g −1

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

Kim, Dongheun; Li, Nan; Sheehan, Chris J.

The charging rate-dependent degradation of lithium ion battery anodes based on Si/Ge core/shell nanowire heterostructure was observed. Si/Ge core/shell structure was preserved at the charging rate of 0.8 A g −1 . On the other hand, compositional intermixing and loss of Si occurs at the charging rate of 20 A g −1 .

High performance of PbSe/PbS core/shell quantum dot heterojunction solar cells: short circuit current enhancement without the loss of open circuit voltage by shell thickness control.

PubMed

Choi, Hyekyoung; Song, Jung Hoon; Jang, Jihoon; Mai, Xuan Dung; Kim, Sungwoo; Jeong, Sohee

2015-11-07

We fabricated heterojunction solar cells with PbSe/PbS core shell quantum dots and studied the precisely controlled PbS shell thickness dependency in terms of optical properties, electronic structure, and solar cell performances. When the PbS shell thickness increases, the short circuit current density (JSC) increases from 6.4 to 11.8 mA cm(-2) and the fill factor (FF) enhances from 30 to 49% while the open circuit voltage (VOC) remains unchanged at 0.46 V even with the decreased effective band gap. We found that the Fermi level and the valence band maximum level remain unchanged in both the PbSe core and PbSe/PbS core/shell with a less than 1 nm thick PbS shell as probed via ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS). The PbS shell reduces their surface trap density as confirmed by relative quantum yield measurements. Consequently, PbS shell formation on the PbSe core mitigates the trade-off relationship between the open circuit voltage and the short circuit current density. Finally, under the optimized conditions, the PbSe core with a 0.9 nm thick shell yielded a power conversion efficiency of 6.5% under AM 1.5.

One-pot facile synthesis of reusable tremella-like M1@M2@M1(OH)2 (M1 = Co, Ni, M2 = Pt/Pd, Pt, Pd and Au) three layers core-shell nanostructures as highly efficient catalysts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Yadong; Fang, Zhen; Kuai, Long; Geng, Baoyou

2014-07-01

In this work, a general, facile, successive and eco-friendly method for multilayer nanostructures has been established for the first time. We take full advantage of the structural and compositional character of M1@M2 (M1 = Co, Ni, M2 = Pt/Pd, Pt, Pd and Au) core-shell nanostructures to prepare a series of reusable tremella-like M1@M2@M1(OH)2 three layer core-shell or yolk-shell nanocomposites with a magnetic core, a porous noble metal shell, and an ultrathin cobalt or nickel hydroxide shell. We evaluated their catalytic performance using a model reaction based on the reduction of 4-nitrophenol. These novel M1@M2@M1(OH)2 nanomaterials with a unique internal micro environment promoted the efficiency of the catalytic reaction, prolonged the service life of the catalyst and enhanced the overall activity of the catalyst in the catalytic process. The novel three layer core-shell nanocomposites can be extended to other applications such as biomedical detection, energy conversion and storage systems.In this work, a general, facile, successive and eco-friendly method for multilayer nanostructures has been established for the first time. We take full advantage of the structural and compositional character of M1@M2 (M1 = Co, Ni, M2 = Pt/Pd, Pt, Pd and Au) core-shell nanostructures to prepare a series of reusable tremella-like M1@M2@M1(OH)2 three layer core-shell or yolk-shell nanocomposites with a magnetic core, a porous noble metal shell, and an ultrathin cobalt or nickel hydroxide shell. We evaluated their catalytic performance using a model reaction based on the reduction of 4-nitrophenol. These novel M1@M2@M1(OH)2 nanomaterials with a unique internal micro environment promoted the efficiency of the catalytic reaction, prolonged the service life of the catalyst and enhanced the overall activity of the catalyst in the catalytic process. The novel three layer core-shell nanocomposites can be extended to other applications such as biomedical detection, energy conversion and storage systems. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available: Fig. S1-S6. See DOI: 10.1039/c4nr01470g

Synthesis of Various Metal/TiO2 Core/shell Nanorod Arrays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, Wei; Wang, Guan-zhong; Hong, Xun; Shen, Xiao-shuang

2011-02-01

We present a general approach to fabricate metal/TiO2 core/shell nanorod structures by two-step electrodeposition. Firstly, TiO2 nanotubes with uniform wall thickness are prepared in anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) membranes by electrodeposition. The wall thickness of the nanotubes could be easily controlled by modulating the deposition time, and their outer diameter and length are only limited by the channel diameter and the thickness of the AAO membranes, respectively. The nanotubes' tops prepared by this method are open, while the bottoms are connected directly with the Au film at the back of the AAO membranes. Secondly, Pd, Cu, and Fe elements are filled into the TiO2 nanotubes to form core/shell structures. The core/shell nanorods prepared by this two-step process are high density and free-standing, and their length is dependent on the deposition time.

Pb(core)/ZnO(shell) nanowires obtained by microwave-assisted method

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

In this study, Pb-filled ZnO nanowires [Pb(core)/ZnO(shell)] were synthesized by a simple and novel one-step vapor transport and condensation method by microwave-assisted decomposition of zinc ferrite. The synthesis was performed using a conventional oven at 1000 W and 5 min of treatment. After synthesis, a spongy white cotton-like material was obtained in the condensation zone of the reaction system. HRTEM analysis revealed that product consists of a Pb-(core) with (fcc) cubic structure that preferentially grows in the [111] direction and a hexagonal wurtzite ZnO-(Shell) that grows in the [001] direction. Nanowire length was more than 5 μm and a statistical analysis determined that the shell and core diameters were 21.00 ± 3.00 and 4.00 ± 1.00 nm, respectively. Experimental, structural details, and synthesis mechanism are discussed in this study. PMID:21985637

Cellulose nanofibers reinforced sodium alginate-polyvinyl alcohol hydrogels: Core-shell structure formation and property characterization.

PubMed

Yue, Yiying; Han, Jingquan; Han, Guangping; French, Alfred D; Qi, Yadong; Wu, Qinglin

2016-08-20

Core-shell structured hydrogels consisting of a flexible interpenetrating polymer network (IPN) core and a rigid semi-IPN shell were prepared through chemical crosslinking of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and sodium alginate (SA) with Ca(2+) and glutaraldehyde. Short cellulose nanofibers (CNFs) extracted from energycane bagasse were incorporated in the hydrogel. The shell was micro-porous and the core was macro-porous. The hydrogels could be used in multiple adsorption-desorption cycles for dyes, and the maximum methyl blue adsorption capacity had a 10% increase after incorporating CNFs. The homogeneous distribution of CNFs in PVA-SA matrix generated additional hydrogen bonds among the polymer molecular chains, resulting in enhanced density, viscoelasticity, and mechanical strength for the hydrogel. Specifically, the compressive strength of the hydrogel reached 79.5kPa, 3.2 times higher than that of the neat hydrogel. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Subwavelength core/shell cylindrical nanostructures for novel plasmonic and metamaterial devices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Kyoung-Ho; No, You-Shin

2017-12-01

In this review, we introduce novel plasmonic and metamaterial devices based on one-dimensional subwavelength nanostructures with cylindrical symmetry. Individual single devices with semiconductor/metal core/shell or dielectric/metal core/multi-shell structures experience strong light-matter interaction and yield unique optical properties with a variety of functions, e.g., invisibility cloaking, super-scattering/super-absorption, enhanced luminescence and nonlinear optical activities, and deep subwavelength-scale optical waveguiding. We describe the rational design of core/shell cylindrical nanostructures and the proper choice of appropriate constituent materials, which allow the efficient manipulation of electromagnetic waves and help to overcome the limitations of conventional homogeneous nanostructures. The recent developments of bottom-up synthesis combined with the top-down fabrication technologies for the practical applications and the experimental realizations of 1D subwavelength core/shell nanostructure devices are briefly discussed.

Detailed Investigation of Core-Shell Precipitates in a Cu-Containing High Entropy Alloy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alam, T.; Gwalani, B.; Viswanathan, G.; Fraser, H.; Banerjee, R.

2018-05-01

Due to the competing influences of configurational entropy and enthalpy of mixing, in recent years, secondary (including intermetallic) phases have been reported in many high entropy alloy (HEA) systems. These secondary phases offer great potential in terms of strengthening the HEA beyond the solid solution strengthening effects, and as such are of great interest in regards to alloy design for engineering applications. The present research investigates novel nano-scale core-shell precipitates forming within the disordered bcc matrix phase of an Al2CrCuFeNi2 HEA, utilizing complementary high-resolution microscopy techniques of atom probe tomography (APT) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The size, morphology, and local chemistry of these core-shell precipitates was measured by APT, and the composition was further corroborated by high-resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy-energy dispersive spectroscopy in an aberration-corrected TEM. Furthermore, high-resolution TEM imaging of the core-shell structure indicates that the Cu-rich core exhibits a bcc crystal structure.

Crystal Structure of Faradaurate-279: Au279(SPh-tBu)84 Plasmonic Nanocrystal Molecules.

PubMed

Sakthivel, Naga Arjun; Theivendran, Shevanuja; Ganeshraj, Vigneshraja; Oliver, Allen G; Dass, Amala

2017-11-01

We report the discovery of an unprecedentedly large, 2.2 nm diameter, thiolate protected gold nanocrystal characterized by single crystal X-ray crystallography (sc-XRD), Au 279 (SPh-tBu) 84 named Faradaurate-279 (F-279) in honor of Michael Faraday's (1857) pioneering work on nanoparticles. F-279 nanocrystal has a core-shell structure containing a truncated octahedral core with bulk face-centered cubic-like arrangement, yet a nanomolecule with a precise number of metal atoms and thiolate ligands. The Au 279 S 84 geometry was established from a low-temperature 120 K sc-XRD study at 0.90 Å resolution. The atom counts in core-shell structure of Au 279 follows the mathematical formula for magic number shells: Au@Au 12 @Au 42 @Au 92 @Au 54 , which is further protected by a final shell of Au 48 . Au 249 core is protected by three types of staple motifs, namely: 30 bridging, 18 monomeric, and 6 dimeric staple motifs. Despite the presence of such diverse staple motifs, Au 279 S 84 structure has a chiral pseudo-D 3 symmetry. The core-shell structure can be viewed as nested, concentric polyhedra, containing a total of five forms of Archimedean solids. A comparison between the Au 279 and Au 309 cuboctahedral superatom model in shell-wise growth is illustrated. F-279 can be synthesized and isolated in high purity in milligram quantities using size exclusion chromatography, as evidenced by mass spectrometry. Electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry independently verifies the X-ray diffraction study based heavy atoms formula, Au 279 S 84 , and establishes the molecular formula with the complete ligands, namely, Au 279 (SPh-tBu) 84 . It is also the smallest gold nanocrystal to exhibit metallic behavior, with a surface plasmon resonance band around 510 nm.

Structural and electronic properties of CdSe/ZnS and ZnS/CdSe core/shell nanowires via first principles study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rehman, Shafiq Ur; Li, H. M.; Ding, Z. J.

2018-05-01

First principles calculations have been performed to predict the structural stability and electronic structures of hydrogen passivated wurtzite CdSe/ZnS and ZnS/CdSe core/shell nanowires (CSNWs) in the [0001] direction. The calculated binding energy shows that ZnS/CdSe CSNWs are more stable than CdSe/ZnS CSNWs and the stability of ZnS/CdSe CSNWs increases with increasing the thickness of ZnS shell. The modulated electronic band gap demonstrates an increase when the size of both CSNWs is reduced, as a result of the quantum confinement effect. The core-to-shell chemical composition of atoms shows that a strong composition effect also exists in these CSNWs, which in turn affects their electronic properties. Our simulated results show that the photoemission spectra of the CSNWs can be significantly improved by tuning the energy gap of CSNWs.

Core-shell structured polystyrene/BaTiO3 hybrid nanodielectrics prepared by in situ RAFT polymerization: a route to high dielectric constant and low loss materials with weak frequency dependence.

PubMed

Yang, Ke; Huang, Xingyi; Xie, Liyuan; Wu, Chao; Jiang, Pingkai; Tanaka, Toshikatsu

2012-11-23

A novel route to prepare core-shell structured nanocomposites with excellent dielectric performance is reported. This approach involves the grafting of polystyrene (PS) from the surface of BaTiO(3) by an in situ RAFT polymerization. The core-shell structured PS/BaTiO(3) nanocomposites not only show significantly increased dielectric constant and very low dielectric loss, but also have a weak frequency dependence of dielectric properties over a wide range of frequencies. In addition, the dielectric constant of the nanocomposites can also be easily tuned by varying the thickness of the PS shell. Our method is very promising for preparing high-performance nanocomposites used in energy-storage devices. Copyright © 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

NaF-loaded core-shell PAN-PMMA nanofibers as reinforcements for Bis-GMA/TEGDMA restorative resins.

PubMed

Cheng, Liyuan; Zhou, Xuegang; Zhong, Hong; Deng, Xuliang; Cai, Qing; Yang, Xiaoping

2014-01-01

A kind of core-shell nanofibers containing sodium fluoride (NaF) was produced and used as reinforcing materials for dimethacrylate-based dental restorative resins in this study. The core-shell nanofibers were prepared by coaxial-electrospinning with polyacrylonitrile (PAN) and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) solutions as core and shell fluids, respectively. The produced PAN-PMMA nanofibers varied in fiber diameter and the thickness of PMMA shell depending on electrospinning parameters. NaF-loaded nanofibers were obtained by incorporating NaF nanocrystals into the core fluid at two loadings (0.8 or 1.0wt.%). Embedment of NaF nanocrystals into the PAN core did not damage the core-shell structure. The addition of PAN-PMMA nanofibers into Bis-GMA/TEGDMA clearly showed the reinforcement due to the good interfacial adhesion between fibers and resin. The flexural strength (Fs) and flexural modulus (Ey) of the composites decreased slightly as the thickness of PMMA shell increasing. Sustained fluoride releases with minor initial burst release were achieved from NaF-loaded core-shell nanofibers and the corresponding composites, which was quite different from the case of embedding NaF nanocrystals into the dental resin directly. The study demonstrated that NaF-loaded PAN-PMMA core-shell nanofibers were not only able to improve the mechanical properties of restorative resin, but also able to provide sustained fluoride release to help in preventing secondary caries. © 2013.

Core-shell SrTiO3/graphene structure by chemical vapor deposition for enhanced photocatalytic performance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

He, Chenye; Bu, Xiuming; Yang, Siwei; He, Peng; Ding, Guqiao; Xie, Xiaoming

2018-04-01

Direct growth of high quality graphene on the surface of SrTiO3 (STO) was realized through chemical vapor deposition (CVD), to construct few-layer 'graphene shell' on every STO nanoparticle. The STO/graphene composite shows significantly enhanced UV light photocatalytic activity compared with the STO/rGO reference. Mechanism analysis confirms the role of special core-shell structure and chemical bond (Tisbnd C) for rapid interfacial electron transfer and effective electron-hole separation.

Facile in situ synthesis of wurtzite ZnS/ZnO core/shell heterostructure with highly efficient visible-light photocatalytic activity and photostability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xiao, Jian-Hua; Huang, Wei-Qing; Hu, Yong-sheng; Zeng, Fan; Huang, Qin-Yi; Zhou, Bing-Xin; Pan, Anlian; Li, Kai; Huang, Gui-Fang

2018-02-01

High photocatalytic activity and photostability are the pursuit of the goal for designing promising photocatalysts. Herein, using ZnO to encapsulate ZnS nanoparticles is proposed as an effective strategy to enhance photocatalytic activity and anti-photocorrosion. The ZnS/ZnO core/shell heterostructures are obtained via an annealing treatment of ZnS nanoparticles produced by a facile wet chemical approach. Due to its small size, the nascent cubic sphalerite ZnS (s-ZnS) converts into a hexagonal wurtzite ZnS (w-ZnS)/ZnO core/shell structure after annealing treatment. In situ oxidation leads to increasing ZnO, simultaneously decreasing the w-ZnS content in the resultant w-ZnS/ZnO with thermal annealing time. The w-ZnS/ZnO core/shell heterostructures show high photocatalytic activity, demonstrated by the photodegradation rate of methylene blue being up to ten-fold and seven-fold higher than that of s-ZnS under UV and visible light irradiation, respectively, and the high capability of degrading rhodamine B. The enhanced photocatalytic activity may be attributed to the large specific surface and improved charge carrier separation at the core/shell interface. Moreover, it displays high photostability owing to the protection of the ZnO shell, greatly inhibiting the photocorrosion of ZnS. This facile in situ oxidation is effective and easily scalable, providing opportunities for developing novel core/shell structure photocatalysts with high activity and photostability.

Rational Construction of Uniform CoNi-Based Core-Shell Microspheres with Tunable Electromagnetic Wave Absorption Properties.

PubMed

Chen, Na; Jiang, Jian-Tang; Xu, Cheng-Yan; Yan, Shao-Jiu; Zhen, Liang

2018-02-16

Core-shell particles with integration of ferromagnetic core and dielectric shell are attracting extensive attention for promising microwave absorption applications. In this work, CoNi microspheres with conical bulges were synthesized by a simple and scalable liquid-phase reduction method. Subsequent coating of dielectric materials was conducted to acquire core-shell structured CoNi@TiO 2 composite particles, in which the thickness of TiO 2 is about 40 nm. The coating of TiO 2 enables the absorption band of CoNi to effectively shift from K u to S band, and endows CoNi@TiO 2 microspheres with outstanding electromagnetic wave absorption performance along with a maximum reflection loss of 76.6 dB at 3.3 GHz, much better than that of bare CoNi microspheres (54.4 dB at 17.8 GHz). The enhanced EMA performance is attributed to the unique core-shell structures, which can induce dipole polarization and interfacial polarization, and tune the dielectric properties to achieve good impedance matching. Impressively, TiO 2 coating endows the composites with better microwave absorption capability than CoNi@SiO 2 microspheres. Compared with SiO 2 , TiO 2 dielectric shells could protect CoNi microspheres from merger and agglomeration during annealed. These results indicate that CoNi@TiO 2 core-shell microspheres can serve as high-performance absorbers for electromagnetic wave absorbing application.

Two emissive-magnetic composite platforms for Hg(II) sensing and removal: The combination of magnetic core, silica molecular sieve and rhodamine chemosensors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mao, Hanping; Liu, Zhongshou

2018-01-01

In this paper, a composite sensing platform for Hg(II) optical sensing and removal was designed and reported. A core-shell structure was adopted, using magnetic Fe3O4 nanoparticles as the core, silica molecular sieve MCM-41 as the shell, respectively. Two rhodamine derivatives were synthesized as chemosensor and covalently immobilized into MCM-41 tunnels. Corresponding composite samples were characterized with SEM/TEM images, XRD analysis, IR spectra, thermogravimetry and N2 adsorption/desorption analysis, which confirmed their core-shell structure. Their emission was increased by Hg(II), showing emission turn on effect. High selectivity, linear working curves and recyclability were obtained from these composite samples.

Tuning the synthesis of platinum-copper nanoparticles with a hollow core and porous shell for the selective hydrogenation of furfural to furfuryl alcohol.

PubMed

Huang, Shuangshuang; Yang, Nating; Wang, Shibin; Sun, Yuhan; Zhu, Yan

2016-08-07

Pt-Cu nanoparticles constructed with a hollow core and porous shell have been synthesized in which Pt-Cu cages with multiporous outermost shells are formed at the initial stage and then the Pt and Cu atoms in solution continuously fed these hollow-core of cages by passing through the porous tunnels of the outermost shells, finally leading to the formation of hollow structures with different sizes. Furthermore, these hollow-core Pt-Cu nanoparticles are more effective than the solid-core Pt-Cu nanoparticles for the catalytic hydrogenation of furfural toward furfuryl alcohol. The former can achieve almost 100% conversion of furfural with 100% selectivity toward the alcohol.

Enhanced exchange bias and improved ferromagnetic properties in Permalloy–BiFe0.95Co0.05O3 core–shell nanostructures

PubMed Central

Javed, K.; Li, W. J.; Ali, S. S.; Shi, D. W.; Khan, U.; Riaz, S.; Han, X. F.

2015-01-01

Hybrid core–shell nanostructures consisting of permalloy (Ni80Fe20) and multiferroic(BiFeO3, BFO/BiFe0.95Co0.05O3, BFC) materials were synthesized by a two-step method, based on wet chemical impregnation and subsequent electrodeposition within porous alumina membranes. Structural and magnetic characterizations have been done to investigate doping effect on magnetic properties and exchange bias. The magnetometry analysis revealed significant enhancements of the exchange bias and coercivity in NiFe-BFC core-shell nanostructures as compared with NiFe-BFO core-shell nanostructures. The enhancements can be attributed to the effective reduction of ferromagnet domain sizes between adjacent layers of core-shell structure. It indicates that it is possible to improve properties of multiferroic composites by site-engineering method. Our approach opens a pathway to obtain optimized nanostructured multiferroic composites exhibiting tunable magnetic properties. PMID:26658956

Synthesis of Fe5C2@SiO2 core@shell nanoparticles as a potential candidate for biomedical application

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ahmadpoor, Fatemeh; Shojaosadati, Seyed Abbas; Delavari H, Hamid; Christiansen, Gunna; Saber, Reza

2018-05-01

A new strategy for water-dispersibility of hydrophobic carbide nanostructures was proposed. In this regard, hydrophobic Fe5C2 nanoparticles (NPs) with size ranging 25–40 nm were synthesized and coated with 12–15 nm silica shell for biomedical applications. X-ray diffraction (XRD) results revealed that Fe5C2 NPs with monoclinic structure were successfully prepared. The crystalline structure of Fe5C2 NPs was remained unchanged and saturation magnetization of core remained nearly constant after coating with silica shell. Moreover, Raman spectroscopy identified D-band of amorphous carbon shells which was also confirmed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Finally, Fe5C2@SiO2 core@shell NPs demonstrated no significant cytotoxicity and appropriate heat generating which makes them a promising candidate for magnetic fluid hyperthermia applications.

Wave Function Engineering in CdSe/PbS Core/Shell Quantum Dots.

PubMed

Wieliczka, Brian M; Kaledin, Alexey L; Buhro, William E; Loomis, Richard A

2018-05-25

The synthesis of epitaxial CdSe/PbS core/shell quantum dots (QDs) is reported. The PbS shell grows in a rock salt structure on the zinc blende CdSe core, thereby creating a crystal structure mismatch through additive growth. Absorption and photoluminescence (PL) band edge features shift to lower energies with increasing shell thickness, but remain above the CdSe bulk band gap. Nevertheless, the profiles of the absorption spectra vary with shell growth, indicating that the overlap of the electron and hole wave functions is changing significantly. This leads to over an order of magnitude reduction of absorption near the band gap and a large, tunable energy shift, of up to 550 meV, between the onset of strong absorption and the band edge PL. While the bulk valence and conduction bands adopt an inverse type-I alignment, the observed spectroscopic behavior is consistent with a transition between quasi-type-I and quasi-type-II behavior depending on shell thickness. Three effective mass approximation models support this hypothesis and suggest that the large difference in effective masses between the core and shell results in hole localization in the CdSe core and a delocalization of the electron across the entire QD. These results show the tuning of wave functions and transition energies in CdSe/PbS nanoheterostructures with prospects for use in optoelectronic devices for luminescent solar concentration or multiexciton generation.

Novel highly ordered core–shell nanoparticles

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

Dey, Sonal; Hossain, Mohammad D.; Mayanovic, Robert A.

2016-10-26

Core–shell nanoparticles have potential for a wide range of applications due to the tunability of their magnetic, catalytic, electronic, optical, and other physicochemical properties. A frequent drawback in the design of core–shell nanoparticles and nanocrystals is the lack of control over an extensive, disordered, and compositionally distinct interface that occurs due to the dissimilarity of structural and compositional phases of the core and shell. In this work, we demonstrate a new hydrothermal nanophase epitaxy (HNE) technique to synthesize highly structurally ordered α-Cr 2O 3@α-Co 0.38Cr 1.62O 2.92 inverted core–shell nanoparticles (CSNs) with evidence for the nanoscale growth of corundum structuremore » beginning from the core and extending completely into the shell of the CSNs with minimal defects at the interface. The high-resolution TEM results show a sharp interface exhibiting epitaxial atomic registry of shell atoms over highly ordered core atoms. The XPS and Co K-edge XANES analyses indicate the +2 oxidation state of cobalt is incorporated in the shell of the CSNs. Our XPS and EXAFS results are consistent with oxygen vacancy formation in order to maintain charge neutrality upon substitution of the Co 2+ ion for the Cr 3+ ion in the α-Co 0.38Cr 1.62O 2.92 shell. Furthermore, the CSNs exhibit the magnetic exchange bias effect, which is attributed to the exchange anisotropy at the interface made possible by the nanophase epitaxial growth of the α-Co 0.38Cr 1.62O 2.92 shell on the α-Cr 2O 3 core of the nanoparticles. The combination of a well-structured, sharp interface and novel nanophase characteristics is highly desirable for nanostructures having enhanced magnetic properties.« less

Application of Powder Diffraction Methods to the Analysis of the Atomic Structure of Nanocrystals: The Concept of the Apparent Lattice Parameter (ALP)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Palosz, B.; Grzanka, E.; Gierlotka, S.; Stelmakh, S.; Pielaszek, R.; Bismayer, U.; Weber, H.-P.; Palosz, W.; Curreri, Peter A. (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

The applicability of standard methods of elaboration of powder diffraction data for determination of the structure of nano-size crystallites is analysed. Based on our theoretical calculations of powder diffraction data we show, that the assumption of the infinite crystal lattice for nanocrystals smaller than 20 nm in size is not justified. Application of conventional tools developed for elaboration of powder diffraction data, like the Rietveld method, may lead to erroneous interpretation of the experimental results. An alternate evaluation of diffraction data of nanoparticles, based on the so-called 'apparent lattice parameter' (alp) is introduced. We assume a model of nanocrystal having a grain core with well-defined crystal structure, surrounded by a surface shell with the atomic structure similar to that of the core but being under a strain (compressive or tensile). The two structural components, the core and the shell, form essentially a composite crystal with interfering, inseparable diffraction properties. Because the structure of such a nanocrystal is not uniform, it defies the basic definitions of an unambiguous crystallographic phase. Consequently, a set of lattice parameters used for characterization of simple crystal phases is insufficient for a proper description of the complex structure of nanocrystals. We developed a method of evaluation of powder diffraction data of nanocrystals, which refers to a core-shell model and is based on the 'apparent lattice parameter' methodology. For a given diffraction pattem, the alp values are calculated for every individual Bragg reflection. For nanocrystals the alp values depend on the diffraction vector Q. By modeling different a0tomic structures of nanocrystals and calculating theoretically corresponding diffraction patterns using the Debye functions we showed, that alp-Q plots show characteristic shapes which can be used for evaluation of the atomic structure of the core-shell system. We show, that using a simple model of a nanocrystal with spherical shape and centro-symmetric strain at the surface shell we obtain theoretical alp-Q values which match very well the alp-Q plots determined experimentally for Sic, GaN, and diamond nanopowders. The theoretical models are defined by the lattice parameter of the grain core, thickness of the surface shell, and the magnitude and distribution of the strain field in the surface shell. According to our calculations, the part of the diffraction pattern measured at relatively low diffraction vectors Q (below 10/angstrom) provides information on the surface strain, whle determination of the lattice parameters in the grain core requires measurements at large Q-values (above 15 - 20/angstrom).

Development of core-shell coaxially electrospun composite PCL/chitosan scaffolds.

PubMed

Surucu, Seda; Turkoglu Sasmazel, Hilal

2016-11-01

This study was related to combining of synthetic Poly (ε-caprolactone) (PCL) and natural chitosan polymers to develop three dimensional (3D) PCL/chitosan core-shell scaffolds for tissue engineering applications. The scaffolds were fabricated with coaxial electrospinning technique and the characterizations of the samples were done by thickness and contact angle (CA) measurements, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) analyses, mechanical and PBS absorption and shrinkage tests. The average inter-fiber diameter values were calculated for PCL (0.717±0.001μm), chitosan (0.660±0.007μm) and PCL/chitosan core-shell scaffolds (0.412±0.003μm), also the average inter-fiber pore size values exhibited decreases of 66.91% and 61.90% for the PCL and chitosan scaffolds respectively, compared to PCL/chitosan core-shell ones. XPS analysis of the PCL/chitosan core-shell structures exhibited the characteristic peaks of PCL and chitosan polymers. The cell culture studies (MTT assay, Confocal Laser Scanning Microscope (CLSM) and SEM analyses) carried out with L929 ATCC CCL-1 mouse fibroblast cell line proved that the biocompatibility performance of the scaffolds. The obtained results showed that the created micro/nano fibrous structure of the PCL/chitosan core-shell scaffolds in this study increased the cell viability and proliferation on/within scaffolds. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Porous HKUST-1 derived CuO/Cu2O shell wrapped Cu(OH)2 derived CuO/Cu2O core nanowire arrays for electrochemical nonenzymatic glucose sensors with ultrahigh sensitivity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yu, Cuiping; Cui, Jiewu; Wang, Yan; Zheng, Hongmei; Zhang, Jianfang; Shu, Xia; Liu, Jiaqin; Zhang, Yong; Wu, Yucheng

2018-05-01

Self-supported CuO/Cu2O@CuO/Cu2O core-shell nanowire arrays (NWAs) are successfully fabricated by a simple and efficient method in this paper. Anodized Cu(OH)2 NWAs could in-situ convert to HKUST-1 at room temperature easily. Cu(OH)2 NWAs cores and HKUST-1 shells transform into CuO/Cu2O simultaneously after calcinations and form CuO/Cu2O@CuO/Cu2O core-shell NWAs. This smart configuration of the core-shell structure not only avoids the agglomeration of the traditional MOF-derived materials in particle-shape, but also facilitates the ion diffusion and increases the active sites. This novel structure is employed as substrate to construct nonenzymatic glucose sensors. The results indicate that glucose sensor based on CuO/Cu2O@CuO/Cu2O core-shell NWAs presents ultrahigh sensitivity (10,090 μA mM-1 cm-2), low detection limit (0.48 μM) and wide linear range (0.99-1,330 μM). In addition, it also shows excellent anti-interference ability toward uric acid, ascorbic acid and L-Cysteine co-existing with glucose, good reproducibility and superior ability of real sample analysis.

Design and intestinal mucus penetration mechanism of core-shell nanocomplex.

PubMed

Zhang, Xin; Cheng, Hongbo; Dong, Wei; Zhang, Meixia; Liu, Qiaoyu; Wang, Xiuhua; Guan, Jian; Wu, Haiyang; Mao, Shirui

2018-02-28

The objective of this study was to design intestinal mucus-penetrating core-shell nanocomplex by functionally mimicking the surface of virus, which can be used as the carrier for peroral delivery of macromolecules, and further understand the influence of nanocomplex surface properties on the mucosal permeation capacity. Taking insulin as a model drug, the core was formed by the self-assembly among positively charged chitosan, insulin and negatively charged sodium tripolyphosphate, different types of alginates were used as the shell forming material. The nanocomplex was characterized by dynamic light scattering (DLS), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and FTIR. Nanocomplex movement in mucus was recorded using multiple particle tracking (MPT) method. Permeation and uptake of different nanocomplex were studied in rat intestine. It was demonstrated that alginate coating layer was successfully formed on the core and the core-shell nanocomplex showed a good physical stability and improved enzymatic degradation protection. The mucus penetration and MPT study showed that the mucus penetration capacity of the nanocomplex was surface charge and coating polymer structure dependent, nanocomplex with negative alginate coating had 1.6-2.5 times higher mucus penetration ability than that of positively charged chitosan-insulin nanocomplex. Moreover, the mucus penetration ability of the core-shell nanocomplex was alginate structure dependent, whereas alginate with lower G content and lower molecular weight showed the best permeation enhancing ability. The improvement of intestine permeation and intestinal villi uptake of the core-shell nanocomplex were further confirmed in rat intestine and multiple uptake mechanisms were involved in the transport process. In conclusion, core-shell nanocomplex composed of oppositely charged materials could provide a strategy to overcome the mucus barrier and enhance the mucosal permeability. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Strain relaxation and ambipolar electrical transport in GaAs/InSb core-shell nanowires.

PubMed

Rieger, Torsten; Zellekens, Patrick; Demarina, Natalia; Hassan, Ali Al; Hackemüller, Franz Josef; Lüth, Hans; Pietsch, Ullrich; Schäpers, Thomas; Grützmacher, Detlev; Lepsa, Mihail Ion

2017-11-30

The growth, crystal structure, strain relaxation and room temperature transport characteristics of GaAs/InSb core-shell nanowires grown using molecular beam epitaxy are investigated. Due to the large lattice mismatch between GaAs and InSb of 14%, a transition from island-based to layer-like growth occurs during the formation of the shell. High resolution transmission electron microscopy in combination with geometric phase analyses as well as X-ray diffraction with synchrotron radiation are used to investigate the strain relaxation and prove the existence of different dislocations relaxing the strain on zinc blende and wurtzite core-shell nanowire segments. While on the wurtzite phase only Frank partial dislocations are found, the strain on the zinc blende phase is relaxed by dislocations with perfect, Shockley partial and Frank partial dislocations. Even for ultrathin shells of about 2 nm thickness, the strain caused by the high lattice mismatch between GaAs and InSb is relaxed almost completely. Transfer characteristics of the core-shell nanowires show an ambipolar conductance behavior whose strength strongly depends on the dimensions of the nanowires. The interpretation is given based on an electronic band profile which is calculated for completely relaxed core/shell structures. The peculiarities of the band alignment in this situation implies simultaneously occupied electron and hole channels in the InSb shell. The ambipolar behavior is then explained by the change of carrier concentration in both channels by the gate voltage.

Control of the Speed of a Light-Induced Spin Transition through Mesoscale Core-Shell Architecture.

PubMed

Felts, Ashley C; Slimani, Ahmed; Cain, John M; Andrus, Matthew J; Ahir, Akhil R; Abboud, Khalil A; Meisel, Mark W; Boukheddaden, Kamel; Talham, Daniel R

2018-05-02

The rate of the light-induced spin transition in a coordination polymer network solid dramatically increases when included as the core in mesoscale core-shell particles. A series of photomagnetic coordination polymer core-shell heterostructures, based on the light-switchable Rb a Co b [Fe(CN) 6 ] c · mH 2 O (RbCoFe-PBA) as core with the isostructural K j Ni k [Cr(CN) 6 ] l · nH 2 O (KNiCr-PBA) as shell, are studied using temperature-dependent powder X-ray diffraction and SQUID magnetometry. The core RbCoFe-PBA exhibits a charge transfer-induced spin transition (CTIST), which can be thermally and optically induced. When coupled to the shell, the rate of the optically induced transition from low spin to high spin increases. Isothermal relaxation from the optically induced high spin state of the core back to the low spin state and activation energies associated with the transition between these states were measured. The presence of a shell decreases the activation energy, which is associated with the elastic properties of the core. Numerical simulations using an electro-elastic model for the spin transition in core-shell particles supports the findings, demonstrating how coupling of the core to the shell changes the elastic properties of the system. The ability to tune the rate of optically induced magnetic and structural phase transitions through control of mesoscale architecture presents a new approach to the development of photoswitchable materials with tailored properties.

Towards better light harvesting capability for DSSC (dye sensitized solar cells) through addition of Au@SiO2 core-shell nanoparticles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fadhilah, Nur; Alhadi, Emha Riyadhul Jinan; Risanti, Doty Dewi

2018-04-01

The Au nanoparticles as core can increase the light harvesting due to the strong near-field effect LSPR (Localized Surface Plasmon Resonance), effectively minimized the electron recombination process and also can improve the optical absorption of the dye sensitized. Au@SiO2 core-shell nanoparticles were prepared using SiO2 extracted from Sidoarjo mud volcano. In this work investigated the influence of pH solution and silica shell volume fraction in Au@SiO2 nanoparticles core-shell structure on DSSC loaded with Ru-based dye. From XRD characterization it was found that core-shell contains SiO2, Au, γAl2O3 and traces NaCl. UV-Vis absorption spectra of core-shell showed the position of the surface plasmon AuNP band in the range of 500-600 nm. The Au@SiO2 core-shell with volume fraction of 30ml silica has the highest peak absorbance. The enhanced light absorption is primarily attributed to the LSPR effect of the Au core. Our results on incident photon-to-current conversion efficiency indicates that the presence of SiO2 depending on its volume fraction tends to shift to longer wavelength.

Low temperature grown ZnO@TiO{sub 2} core shell nanorod arrays for dye sensitized solar cell application

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

Goh, Gregory Kia Liang; Le, Hong Quang, E-mail: lehq@imre.a-star.edu.sg; Huang, Tang Jiao

High aspect ratio ZnO nanorod arrays were synthesized on fluorine-doped tin oxide glasses via a low temperature solution method. By adjusting the growth condition and adding polyethylenimine, ZnO nanorod arrays with tunable length were successfully achieved. The ZnO@TiO{sub 2} core shells structures were realized by a fast growth method of immersion into a (NH{sub 4}){sub 2}·TiF{sub 6} solution. Transmission electron microscopy, X-ray Diffraction and energy dispersive X-ray measurements all confirmed the existence of a titania shell uniformly covering the ZnO nanorod's surface. Results of solar cell testing showed that addition of a TiO{sub 2} shell to the ZnO nanorod significantlymore » increased short circuit current (from 4.2 to 5.2 mA/cm{sup 2}), open circuit voltage (from 0.6 V to 0.8 V) and fill factor (from 42.8% to 73.02%). The overall cell efficiency jumped from 1.1% for bare ZnO nanorod to 3.03% for a ZnO@TiO{sub 2} core shell structured solar cell with a 18–22 nm shell thickness, a nearly threefold increase. - Graphical abstract: The synthesis process of coating TiO{sub 2} shell onto ZnO nanorod core is shown schematically. A thin, uniform, and conformal shell had been grown on the surface of the ZnO core after immersing in the (NH{sub 4}){sub 2}·TiF{sub 6} solution for 5–15 min. - Highlights: • ZnO@TiO{sub 2} core shell nanorod has been grown on FTO substrate using low temperature solution method. • TEM, XRD, EDX results confirmed the existing of titana shell, uniformly covered rod's surface. • TiO{sub 2} shell suppressed recombination, demonstrated significant enhancement in cell's efficiency. • Core shell DSSC's efficiency achieved as high as 3.03%, 3 times higher than that of ZnO nanorods.« less

Stability of a Bifunctional Cu-Based Core@Zeolite Shell Catalyst for Dimethyl Ether Synthesis Under Redox Conditions Studied by Environmental Transmission Electron Microscopy and In Situ X-Ray Ptychography.

PubMed

Baier, Sina; Damsgaard, Christian D; Klumpp, Michael; Reinhardt, Juliane; Sheppard, Thomas; Balogh, Zoltan; Kasama, Takeshi; Benzi, Federico; Wagner, Jakob B; Schwieger, Wilhelm; Schroer, Christian G; Grunwaldt, Jan-Dierk

2017-06-01

When using bifunctional core@shell catalysts, the stability of both the shell and core-shell interface is crucial for catalytic applications. In the present study, we elucidate the stability of a CuO/ZnO/Al2O3@ZSM-5 core@shell material, used for one-stage synthesis of dimethyl ether from synthesis gas. The catalyst stability was studied in a hierarchical manner by complementary environmental transmission electron microscopy (ETEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and in situ hard X-ray ptychography with a specially designed in situ cell. Both reductive activation and reoxidation were applied. The core-shell interface was found to be stable during reducing and oxidizing treatment at 250°C as observed by ETEM and in situ X-ray ptychography, although strong changes occurred in the core on a 10 nm scale due to the reduction of copper oxide to metallic copper particles. At 350°C, in situ X-ray ptychography indicated the occurrence of structural changes also on the µm scale, i.e. the core material and parts of the shell undergo restructuring. Nevertheless, the crucial core-shell interface required for full bifunctionality appeared to remain stable. This study demonstrates the potential of these correlative in situ microscopy techniques for hierarchically designed catalysts.

Core–Shell to Doped Quantum Dots: Evolution of the Local Environment Using XAFS

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

Saha, Avijit; Chattopadhyay, Soma; Shibata, Tomohiro

2016-09-30

Internal structure study at an atomic level is a challenging task with far reaching consequences to its material properties, specifically in the field of transition metal doping in quantum dots. Diffusion of transition metal ions in and out of quantum dots forming magnetic clusters has been a major bottleneck in this class of materials. Diffusion of the magnetic ions from the core into the nonmagnetic shell in a core/shell heterostructure architecture to attain uniform doping has been recently introduced and yet to be understood. In this work, we have studied the local structure variation of Fe as a function ofmore » CdS matrix thickness and annealing time during the overcoating of Fe 3O 4 core with CdS using X-ray absorption spectroscopy. The data reveals that Fe 3O 4 core initially forms a core/shell structure with CdS followed by alloying at the interface eventually completely diffusing all the way through the CdS matrix to form homogeneously Fe-doped CdS QDs with excellent control over size and size distribution. Study of Fe K-edge shows a complete change of Fe local environment from Fe–O to FeS.« less

The effect of operational parameters on the photocatalytic degradation of Congo red organic dye using ZnO-CdS core-shell nano-structure coated on glass by Doctor Blade method.

PubMed

Habibi, Mohammad Hossein; Rahmati, Mohammad Hossein

2015-02-25

Photocatalytic degradation of Congo red was investigated using ZnO-CdS core-shell nano-structure coated on glass by Doctor Blade method in aqueous solution under irradiation. Field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques were used for the morphological and structural characterization of ZnO-CdS core-shell nanostructures. XRD results showed diffractions of wurtzite zinc oxide core and wurtzite cadmium sulfide shell. FESEM results showed that nanoparticles are nearly hexagonal with an average diameter of about 50 nm. The effect of catalyst loading, UV-light irradiation time and solution pH on photocatalytic degradation of Congo red was studied and optimized values were obtained. Results showed that the employment of efficient photocatalyst and selection of optimal operational parameters may lead to complete decolorization of dye solutions. It was found that ZnO-CdS core-shell nano-structure is more favorable for the degradation of Congo red compare to pure ZnO or pure CdS due to lower electron hole recombination. The results showed that the photocatalytic degradation rate of Congo red is enhanced with increasing the content of ZnO up to ZnO(0.2 M)/CdS(0.075 M) which is reached 88.0% within 100 min irradiation. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Water-soluble core/shell nanoparticles for proton therapy through particle-induced radiation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Park, Jeong Chan; Jung, Myung-Hwan; Kim, Maeng Jun; Kim, Kye-Ryung

2015-02-01

Metallic nanoparticles have been used in biomedical applications such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), therapy, and drug delivery systems. Metallic nanoparticles as therapeutic tools have been demonstrated using radio-frequency magnetic fields or near-infrared light. Recently, therapeutic applications of metallic nanomaterials combined with proton beams have been reported. Particle-induced radiation from metallic nanoparticles, which can enhance the therapeutic effects of proton therapy, was released when the nanoparticles were bombarded by a high-energy proton beam. Core/shell nanoparticles, especially Au-coated magnetic nanoparticles, have drawn attention in biological applications due to their attractive characteristics. However, studies on the phase transfer of organic-ligand-based core/shell nanoparticles into water are limited. Herein, we demonstrated that hydrophobic core/shell structured nanomaterials could be successfully dispersed in water through chloroform/surfactant mixtures. The effects of the core/shell nanomaterials and the proton irradiation on Escherichia coli (E. coli) were also explored.

Enhanced Ethanol Gas Sensing Properties of SnO2-Core/ZnO-Shell Nanostructures

PubMed Central

Tharsika, T.; Haseeb, A. S. M. A.; Akbar, Sheikh A.; Sabri, Mohd Faizul Mohd; Hoong, Wong Yew

2014-01-01

An inexpensive single-step carbon-assisted thermal evaporation method for the growth of SnO2-core/ZnO-shell nanostructures is described, and the ethanol sensing properties are presented. The structure and phases of the grown nanostructures are investigated by field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques. XRD analysis indicates that the core-shell nanostructures have good crystallinity. At a lower growth duration of 15 min, only SnO2 nanowires with a rectangular cross-section are observed, while the ZnO shell is observed when the growth time is increased to 30 min. Core-shell hierarchical nanostructures are present for a growth time exceeding 60 min. The growth mechanism for SnO2-core/ZnO-shell nanowires and hierarchical nanostructures are also discussed. The sensitivity of the synthesized SnO2-core/ZnO-shell nanostructures towards ethanol sensing is investigated. Results show that the SnO2-core/ZnO-shell nanostructures deposited at 90 min exhibit enhanced sensitivity to ethanol. The sensitivity of SnO2-core/ZnO-shell nanostructures towards 20 ppm ethanol gas at 400 °C is about ∼5-times that of SnO2 nanowires. This improvement in ethanol gas response is attributed to high active sensing sites and the synergistic effect of the encapsulation of SnO2 by ZnO nanostructures. PMID:25116903

Hydrogel Encapsulation Facilitates Rapid-Cooling Cryopreservation of Stem Cell-Laden Core-Shell Microcapsules as Cell-Biomaterial Constructs.

PubMed

Zhao, Gang; Liu, Xiaoli; Zhu, Kaixuan; He, Xiaoming

2017-12-01

Core-shell structured stem cell microencapsulation in hydrogel has wide applications in tissue engineering, regenerative medicine, and cell-based therapies because it offers an ideal immunoisolative microenvironment for cell delivery and 3D culture. Long-term storage of such microcapsules as cell-biomaterial constructs by cryopreservation is an enabling technology for their wide distribution and ready availability for clinical transplantation. However, most of the existing studies focus on cryopreservation of single cells or cells in microcapsules without a core-shell structure (i.e., hydrogel beads). The goal of this study is to achieve cryopreservation of stem cells encapsulated in core-shell microcapsules as cell-biomaterial constructs or biocomposites. To this end, a capillary microfluidics-based core-shell alginate hydrogel encapsulation technology is developed to produce porcine adipose-derived stem cell-laden microcapsules for vitreous cryopreservation with very low concentration (2 mol L -1 ) of cell membrane penetrating cryoprotective agents (CPAs) by suppressing ice formation. This may provide a low-CPA and cost-effective approach for vitreous cryopreservation of "ready-to-use" stem cell-biomaterial constructs, facilitating their off-the-shelf availability and widespread applications. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Structural control of InP/ZnS core/shell quantum dots enables high-quality white LEDs.

PubMed

Kumar, Baskaran Ganesh; Sadeghi, Sadra; Melikov, Rustamzhon; Aria, Mohammad Mohammadi; Jalali, Houman Bahmani; Ow-Yang, Cleva W; Nizamoglu, Sedat

2018-08-24

Herein, we demonstrate that the structural and optical control of InP-based quantum dots (QDs) can lead to high-performance light-emitting diodes (LEDs). Zinc sulphide (ZnS) shells passivate the InP QD core and increase the quantum yield in green-emitting QDs by 13-fold and red-emitting QDs by 8-fold. The optimised QDs are integrated in the liquid state to eliminate aggregation-induced emission quenching and we fabricated white LEDs with a warm, neutral and cool-white appearance by the down-conversion mechanism. The QD-functionalized white LEDs achieve luminous efficiency (LE) up to 14.7 lm W -1 and colour-rendering index up to 80. The structural and optical control of InP/ZnS core/shell QDs enable 23-fold enhancement in LE of white LEDs compared to ones containing only QDs of InP core.

Generation of a mesoporous silica MSU shell onto solid core silica nanoparticles using a simple two-step sol-gel process.

PubMed

Allouche, Joachim; Dupin, Jean-Charles; Gonbeau, Danielle

2011-07-14

Silica core-shell nanoparticles with a MSU shell have been synthesized using several non-ionic poly(ethylene oxide) based surfactants via a two step sol-gel method. The materials exhibit a typical worm-hole pore structure and tunable pore diameters between 2.4 nm and 5.8 nm.

Reconfigurable Polymer Shells on Shape-Anisotropic Gold Nanoparticle Cores.

PubMed

Kim, Juyeong; Song, Xiaohui; Kim, Ahyoung; Luo, Binbin; Smith, John W; Ou, Zihao; Wu, Zixuan; Chen, Qian

2018-05-03

Reconfigurable hybrid nanoparticles made by decorating flexible polymer shells on rigid inorganic nanoparticle cores can provide a unique means to build stimuli-responsive functional materials. The polymer shell reconfiguration has been expected to depend on the local core shape details, but limited systematic investigations have been undertaken. Here, two literature methods are adapted to coat either thiol-terminated polystyrene (PS) or polystyrene-poly(acrylic acid) (PS-b-PAA) shells onto a series of anisotropic gold nanoparticles of shapes not studied previously, including octahedron, concave cube, and bipyramid. These core shapes are complex, rendering shell contours with nanoscale details (e.g., local surface curvature, shell thickness) that are imaged and analyzed quantitatively using the authors' customized analysis codes. It is found that the hybrid nanoparticles based on the chosen core shapes, when coated with the above two polymer shells, exhibit distinct shell segregations upon a variation in solvent polarity or temperature. It is demonstrated for the PS-b-PAA-coated hybrid nanoparticles, the shell segregation is maintained even after a further decoration of the shell periphery with gold seeds; these seeds can potentially facilitate subsequent deposition of other nanostructures to enrich structural and functional diversity. These synthesis, imaging, and analysis methods for the hybrid nanoparticles of anisotropically shaped cores can potentially aid in their predictive design for materials reconfigurable from the bottom up. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Monocrystalline platinum-nickel branched nanocages with enhanced catalytic performance towards the hydrogen evolution reaction.

PubMed

Cao, Zhenming; Li, Huiqi; Zhan, Chenyang; Zhang, Jiawei; Wang, Wei; Xu, Binbin; Lu, Fa; Jiang, Yaqi; Xie, Zhaoxiong; Zheng, Lansun

2018-03-15

Single crystalline noble metal nanocages are the most promising candidates for heterogeneous catalysis due to their large specific surface area, well-defined structure and enhanced structural stability. Herein, based on the observation of an unexpected phenomenon that the alloying of Pt and transition metals by co-reduction is more preferential than the formation of pure Pt NCs, we propose a feasible one-pot strategy to synthesize a uniformly epitaxial core-shell Pt-Ni structure with a Ni-rich alloy as the core and a Pt-rich alloy as the shell. The as-prepared Pt-Ni core-shell structures are subsequently etched into monocrystalline Pt-Ni branched nanocages with the wall thickness being 2.8 nm. This unique structure exhibits excellent catalytic performance and stability for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in alkaline solution which is of great significance for the energy-intensive water-alkali and chlor-alkali industry.

Surface profile control of FeNiPt/Pt core/shell nanowires for oxygen reduction reaction

DOE PAGES

Zhu, Huiyuan; Zhang, Sen; Su, Dong; ...

2015-03-18

The ever-increasing energy demand requires renewable energy schemes with low environmental impacts. Electrochemical energy conversion devices, such as fuel cells, combine fuel oxidization and oxygen reduction reactions and have been studied extensively for renewable energy applications. However, their energy conversion efficiency is often limited by kinetically sluggish chemical conversion reactions, especially oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). [1-5] To date, extensive efforts have been put into developing efficient ORR catalysts with controls on catalyst sizes, compositions, shapes and structures. [6-12] Recently, Pt-based catalysts with core/shell and one-dimensional nanowire (NW) morphologies were found to be promising to further enhance ORR catalysis.more » With the core/shell structure, the ORR catalysis of a nanoparticle (NP) catalyst can be tuned by both electronic and geometric effects at the core/shell interface. [10,13,14] With the NW structure, the catalyst interaction with the conductive support can be enhanced to facilitate electron transfer between the support and the NW catalyst and to promote ORR. [11,15,16]« less

Hierarchically mesoporous CuO/carbon nanofiber coaxial shell-core nanowires for lithium ion batteries

PubMed Central

Park, Seok-Hwan; Lee, Wan-Jin

2015-01-01

Hierarchically mesoporous CuO/carbon nanofiber coaxial shell-core nanowires (CuO/CNF) as anodes for lithium ion batteries were prepared by coating the Cu2(NO3)(OH)3 on the surface of conductive and elastic CNF via electrophoretic deposition (EPD), followed by thermal treatment in air. The CuO shell stacked with nanoparticles grows radially toward the CNF core, which forms hierarchically mesoporous three-dimensional (3D) coaxial shell-core structure with abundant inner spaces in nanoparticle-stacked CuO shell. The CuO shells with abundant inner spaces on the surface of CNF and high conductivity of 1D CNF increase mainly electrochemical rate capability. The CNF core with elasticity plays an important role in strongly suppressing radial volume expansion by inelastic CuO shell by offering the buffering effect. The CuO/CNF nanowires deliver an initial capacity of 1150 mAh g−1 at 100 mA g−1 and maintain a high reversible capacity of 772 mAh g−1 without showing obvious decay after 50 cycles. PMID:25944615

A Study on the Plasmonic Properties of Silver Core Gold Shell Nanoparticles: Optical Assessment of the Particle Structure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mott, Derrick; Lee, JaeDong; Thi Bich Thuy, Nguyen; Aoki, Yoshiya; Singh, Prerna; Maenosono, Shinya

2011-06-01

This paper reports a qualitative comparison between the optical properties of a set of silver core, gold shell nanoparticles with varying composition and structure to those calculated using the Mie solution. To achieve this, silver nanoparticles were synthesized in aqueous phase from a silver hydroxide precursor with sodium acrylate as dual reducing-capping agent. The particles were then coated with a layer of gold with controllable thickness through a reduction-deposition process. The resulting nanoparticles reveal well defined optical properties that make them suitable for comparison to ideal calculated results using the Mie solution. The discussion focuses on the correlation between the synthesized core shell nanoparticles with varying Au shell thickness and the Mie solution results in terms of the optical properties. The results give insight in how to design and synthesize silver core, gold shell nanoparticles with controllable optical properties (e.g., SPR band in terms of intensity and position), and has implications in creating nanoparticle materials to be used as biological probes and sensing elements.

Exciton antennas and concentrators from core-shell and corrugated carbon nanotube filaments of homogeneous composition.

PubMed

Han, Jae-Hee; Paulus, Geraldine L C; Maruyama, Ryuichiro; Heller, Daniel A; Kim, Woo-Jae; Barone, Paul W; Lee, Chang Young; Choi, Jong Hyun; Ham, Moon-Ho; Song, Changsik; Fantini, C; Strano, Michael S

2010-10-01

There has been renewed interest in solar concentrators and optical antennas for improvements in photovoltaic energy harvesting and new optoelectronic devices. In this work, we dielectrophoretically assemble single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) of homogeneous composition into aligned filaments that can exchange excitation energy, concentrating it to the centre of core-shell structures with radial gradients in the optical bandgap. We find an unusually sharp, reversible decay in photoemission that occurs as such filaments are cycled from ambient temperature to only 357 K, attributed to the strongly temperature-dependent second-order Auger process. Core-shell structures consisting of annular shells of mostly (6,5) SWNTs (E(g)=1.21 eV) and cores with bandgaps smaller than those of the shell (E(g)=1.17 eV (7,5)-0.98 eV (8,7)) demonstrate the concentration concept: broadband absorption in the ultraviolet-near-infrared wavelength regime provides quasi-singular photoemission at the (8,7) SWNTs. This approach demonstrates the potential of specifically designed collections of nanotubes to manipulate and concentrate excitons in unique ways.

Synthesis of basalt fiber@Zn1-xMgxO core/shell nanostructures for selective photoreduction of CO2 to CO

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kwak, Byeong Sub; Kim, Kang Min; Park, Sun-Min; Kang, Misook

2017-06-01

This study focused on the development of a catalyst for converting carbon dioxide, the main cause of global warming, into a beneficial energy source. Core@shell structured particles, BF@ZnO and BF@Zn1-xMgxO, are synthesized in order to selectively obtain CO gas from the photoreduction of CO2. A modified sol-gel process is used to synthesize the core@shell structures with a three-dimensional microstructure, which are subsequently characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectrometry (EDAX), ultraviolet (UV)-vis absorption, photoluminescence (PL), and photocurrent density analysis. The CO2 adsorption abilities of the core@shell particles are estimated through CO2-temperature programmed desorption (TPD). The core@shell structured BF@Zn1-xMgxO particles including the Mg ingredient significantly increased the adsorption of CO2 gas at the microfiber/nanoparticle interface. Both the BF@ZnO and BF@Zn1-xMgxO particles selectively reduce the carbon dioxide to carbon monoxide, with almost no other reduced products being observed. These results are attributed to the effective adsorption of CO2 gas and inhibited recombination of the photogenerated electron-hole pairs. BF@Zn0.75Mg0.25O exhibited superior photocatalytic behavior and selectively produced 5.0 μmolgcat-1 L-1 of CO gas after 8 h of reaction.

Two emissive-magnetic composite platforms for Hg(II) sensing and removal: The combination of magnetic core, silica molecular sieve and rhodamine chemosensors.

PubMed

Mao, Hanping; Liu, Zhongshou

2018-01-15

In this paper, a composite sensing platform for Hg(II) optical sensing and removal was designed and reported. A core-shell structure was adopted, using magnetic Fe 3 O 4 nanoparticles as the core, silica molecular sieve MCM-41 as the shell, respectively. Two rhodamine derivatives were synthesized as chemosensor and covalently immobilized into MCM-41 tunnels. Corresponding composite samples were characterized with SEM/TEM images, XRD analysis, IR spectra, thermogravimetry and N 2 adsorption/desorption analysis, which confirmed their core-shell structure. Their emission was increased by Hg(II), showing emission turn on effect. High selectivity, linear working curves and recyclability were obtained from these composite samples. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Mesoporous coaxial titanium nitride-vanadium nitride fibers of core-shell structures for high-performance supercapacitors.

PubMed

Zhou, Xinhong; Shang, Chaoqun; Gu, Lin; Dong, Shanmu; Chen, Xiao; Han, Pengxian; Li, Lanfeng; Yao, Jianhua; Liu, Zhihong; Xu, Hongxia; Zhu, Yuwei; Cui, Guanglei

2011-08-01

In this study, titanium nitride-vanadium nitride fibers of core-shell structures were prepared by the coaxial electrospinning, and subsequently annealed in the ammonia for supercapacitor applications. These core-shell (TiN-VN) fibers incorporated mesoporous structure into high electronic conducting transition nitride hybrids, which combined higher specific capacitance of VN and better rate capability of TiN. These hybrids exhibited higher specific capacitance (2 mV s(-1), 247.5 F g(-1)) and better rate capability (50 mV s(-1), 160.8 F g(-1)), which promise a good candidate for high-performance supercapacitors. It was also revealed by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) characterization that the minor capacitance fade originated from the surface oxidation of VN and TiN.

Nitrite sensing composite systems based on a core-shell emissive-superamagnetic structure: Construction, characterization and sensing behavior

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Yan; Liu, Liang; Zha, Jianhua; Yuan, Ningyi

2017-04-01

Two recyclable nitrite sensing composite samples were designed and constructed through a core-shell structure, with Fe3O4 nanoparticles as core, silica molecular sieve MCM-41 as shell and two rhodamine derivatives as chemosensors, respectively. These samples and their structure were identified with their electron microscopy images, N2 adsorption/desorption isotherms, magnetic response, IR spectra and thermogravimetric analysis. Their nitrite sensing behavior was discussed based on emission intensity quenching, their limit of detection was found as low as 1.2 μM. Further analysis suggested a static sensing mechanism between nitrite and chemosensors through an additive reaction between NO+ and chemosensors. After finishing their nitrite sensing, these composite samples and their emission could be recycled and recovered by sulphamic acid.

Energy storage in ferroelectric polymer nanocomposites filled with core-shell structured polymer@BaTiO3 nanoparticles: understanding the role of polymer shells in the interfacial regions.

PubMed

Zhu, Ming; Huang, Xingyi; Yang, Ke; Zhai, Xing; Zhang, Jun; He, Jinliang; Jiang, Pingkai

2014-11-26

The interfacial region plays a critical role in determining the electrical properties and energy storage density of dielectric polymer nanocomposites. However, we still know a little about the effects of electrical properties of the interfacial regions on the electrical properties and energy storage of dielectric polymer nanocomposites. In this work, three types of core-shell structured polymer@BaTiO3 nanoparticles with polymer shells having different electrical properties were used as fillers to prepare ferroelectric polymer nanocomposites. All the polymer@BaTiO3 nanoparticles were prepared by surface-initiated reversible-addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization, and the polymer shells were controlled to have the same thickness. The morphology, crystal structure, frequency-dependent dielectric properties, breakdown strength, leakage currents, energy storage capability, and energy storage efficiency of the polymer nanocomposites were investigated. On the other hand, the pure polymers having the same molecular structure as the shells of polymer@BaTiO3 nanoparticles were also prepared by RAFT polymerization, and their electrical properties were provided. Our results show that, to achieve nanocomposites with high discharged energy density, the core-shell nanoparticle filler should simultaneously have high dielectric constant and low electrical conductivity. On the other hand, the breakdown strength of the polymer@BaTiO3-based nanocomposites is highly affected by the electrical properties of the polymer shells. It is believed that the electrical conductivity of the polymer shells should be as low as possible to achieve nanocomposites with high breakdown strength.

Core-Shell Composite Fibers for High-Performance Flexible Supercapacitor Electrodes.

PubMed

Lu, Xiaoyan; Shen, Chen; Zhang, Zeyang; Barrios, Elizabeth; Zhai, Lei

2018-01-31

Core-shell nanofibers containing poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) and manganese oxide nanoparticles as the core and polypyrrole (PPy) as the shell were fabricated through electrospinning the solution of PAA and manganese ions (PAA/Mn 2+ ). The obtained nanofibers were stabilized by Fe 3+ through the interaction between Fe 3+ ions and carboxylate groups. Subsequent oxidation of Mn 2+ by KMnO 4 produced uniform manganese dioxide (MnO 2 ) nanoparticles in the fibers. A PPy shell was created on the fibers by immersing the fibers in a pyrrole solution where the Fe 3+ ions in the fiber polymerized the pyrrole on the fiber surfaces. In the MnO 2 @PAA/PPy core-shell composite fibers, MnO 2 nanoparticles function as high-capacity materials, while the PPy shell prevents the loss of MnO 2 during the charge/discharge process. Such a unique structure makes the composite fibers efficient electrode materials for supercapacitors. The gravimetric specific capacity of the MnO 2 @PAA/PPy core-shell composite fibers was 564 F/g based on cyclic voltammetry curves at 10 mV/s and 580 F/g based on galvanostatic charge/discharge studies at 5 A/g. The MnO 2 @PAA/PPy core-shell composite fibers also present stable cycling performance with 100% capacitance retention after 5000 cycles.

Fabrication and characterization of ZnS/ZnO core shell nanostructures on silver wires

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kao, Chyuan Haur; Su, Wei Ming; Li, Cheng Yuan; Weng, Wei Chih; Weng, Chen Yuan; Cheng, Chin-Chi; Lin, Yung-Sen; Lin, Chia Feng; Chen, Hsiang

2018-06-01

In this research, ZnS nanoparticles were synthesized on ZnO/silver wires to form ZnS/ZnO core shell structures. Various outward appearance and colors could be observed by different ZnO growth and sulfurization conditions. To evaluate the properties of these nanostructures, optical properties and chemical bindings were analyzed by photoluminescence, Raman analysis, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Furthermore, material characterizations including transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction confirmed that cubic ZnS (311)/ZnO nanostructures were grown on silver wires for the first time. ZnS/ZnO core shell structures on silver wires are promising for future optoelectronic and biomedical applications.

A novel fabrication of Cu{sub 2}O@Cu{sub 7}S{sub 4} core-shell micro/nanocrystals from Cu{sub 2}O temples and enhanced photocatalytic activities

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

Li, Junqi, E-mail: sfmlab@163.com; Sun, Long; Yan, Ying

2016-08-15

Highlights: • The Cu{sub 2}O@Cu{sub 7}S{sub 4} core-shell crystals maintained the same morphology with template. • The crystals exhibit enhanced photocatalytic activity than the pure Cu{sub 2}O crystals. • The photocatalytic activity of different R crystals is diverse from each other. • A possible formation mechanism has been proposed. - Abstract: Uniform and monodispersed Cu{sub 2}O@Cu{sub 7}S{sub 4} core-shell micro/nanocrystals have been synthesized successfully at room temperature via a simple chemical etching reaction, using Cu{sub 2}O as sacrificial template. The structure and properties of the crystals were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM),more » X-ray photoelectron spectra (XPS). The photocatalytic activity of the Cu{sub 2}O@Cu{sub 7}S{sub 4} crystals was evaluated by photocatalytic decolorization of MeO (methyl orange) aqueous solution at ambient temperature under visible-light irradiation. The results show that the as-prepared Cu{sub 2}O@Cu{sub 7}S{sub 4} crystals revealed core-shell structure, which maintained the same morphology with corresponding template and were composed of cuboctahedron Cu{sub 7}S{sub 4} shell and active Cu{sub 2}O core. Due to the unique Cu{sub 2}O@Cu{sub 7}S{sub 4} core-shell structure, the crystals exhibit enhanced photocatalytic activity than that of the pure Cu{sub 2}O crystals, and the photocatalytic activity of different R crystals is diverse from each other. A possible formation mechanism has been proposed.« less

Preparation, characterization and luminescence properties of core-shell ternary terbium composites SiO2(600)@Tb(MABA-Si)•L

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ma, Yang-Yang; Li, Wen-Xian; Zheng, Yu-Shan; Bao, Jin-Rong; Li, Yi-Lian; Feng, Li-Na; Yang, Kui-Suo; Qiao, Yan; Wu, An-Ping

2018-03-01

Two novel core-shell structure ternary terbium composites SiO2(600)@Tb(MABA-Si)·L(L:dipy/phen) nanometre luminescence materials were prepared by ternary terbium complexes Tb(MABA-Si)·L2·(ClO4)3·2H2O shell grafted onto the surface of SiO2 microspheres. And corresponding ternary terbium complexes were synthesized using (CONH(CH2)3Si(OCH2CH3)3)2 (denoted as MABA-Si) as first ligand and L as second ligand coordinated with terbium perchlorate. The as-synthesized products were characterized by means of IR spectra, 1HNMR, element analysis, molar conductivity, SEM and TEM. It was found that the first ligand MABA-Si of terbium ternary complex hydrolysed to generate the Si-OH and the Si-OH condensate with the Si-OH on the surface of SiO2 microspheres; then ligand MABA-Si grafted onto the surface of SiO2 microspheres. The diameter of SiO2 core of SiO2(600)@Tb(MABA-Si)·L was approximately 600 nm. Interestingly, the luminescence properties demonstrate that the two core-shell structure ternary terbium composites SiO2(600)Tb(MABA-Si)·L(dipy/phen) exhibit strong emission intensities, which are 2.49 and 3.35 times higher than that of the corresponding complexes Tb(MABA-Si)·L2·(ClO4)3·2H2O, respectively. Luminescence decay curves show that core-shell structure ternary terbium composites have longer lifetime. Excellent luminescence properties enable the core-shell materials to have potential applications in medicine, industry, luminescent fibres and various biomaterials fields.

Preparation, characterization and luminescence properties of core-shell ternary terbium composites SiO2(600)@Tb(MABA-Si)•L.

PubMed

Ma, Yang-Yang; Li, Wen-Xian; Zheng, Yu-Shan; Bao, Jin-Rong; Li, Yi-Lian; Feng, Li-Na; Yang, Kui-Suo; Qiao, Yan; Wu, An-Ping

2018-03-01

Two novel core-shell structure ternary terbium composites SiO 2(600) @Tb(MABA-Si)·L(L:dipy/phen) nanometre luminescence materials were prepared by ternary terbium complexes Tb(MABA-Si)·L 2 ·(ClO 4 ) 3 ·2H 2 O shell grafted onto the surface of SiO 2 microspheres. And corresponding ternary terbium complexes were synthesized using (CONH(CH 2 ) 3 Si(OCH 2 CH 3 ) 3 ) 2 (denoted as MABA-Si) as first ligand and L as second ligand coordinated with terbium perchlorate. The as-synthesized products were characterized by means of IR spectra, 1 HNMR, element analysis, molar conductivity, SEM and TEM. It was found that the first ligand MABA-Si of terbium ternary complex hydrolysed to generate the Si-OH and the Si-OH condensate with the Si-OH on the surface of SiO 2 microspheres; then ligand MABA-Si grafted onto the surface of SiO 2 microspheres. The diameter of SiO 2 core of SiO 2(600) @Tb(MABA-Si)·L was approximately 600 nm. Interestingly, the luminescence properties demonstrate that the two core-shell structure ternary terbium composites SiO 2(600) Tb(MABA-Si)·L(dipy/phen) exhibit strong emission intensities, which are 2.49 and 3.35 times higher than that of the corresponding complexes Tb(MABA-Si)·L 2 ·(ClO 4 ) 3 ·2H 2 O, respectively. Luminescence decay curves show that core-shell structure ternary terbium composites have longer lifetime. Excellent luminescence properties enable the core-shell materials to have potential applications in medicine, industry, luminescent fibres and various biomaterials fields.

Eosin-Y sensitized core-shell TiO2-ZnO nano-structured photoanodes for dye-sensitized solar cell applications.

PubMed

Manikandan, V S; Palai, Akshaya K; Mohanty, Smita; Nayak, Sanjay K

2018-06-01

In the current investigation, TiO 2 and TiO 2 -ZnO (core-shell) spherical nanoparticles were synthesized by simple combined hydrolysis and refluxing method. A TiO 2 core nanomaterial on the shell material of ZnO was synthesized by utilizing variable ratios of ZnO. The structural characterization of TiO 2 -ZnO core/shell nanoparticles were done by XRD analysis. The spherical structured morphology of the TiO 2 -ZnO has been confirmed through field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) studies. The UV-visible spectra of TiO 2 -ZnO nanostructures were also compared with the pristine TiO 2 to investigate the shift of wavelength. The TiO 2 -ZnO core/shell nanoparticles at the interface efficiently collect the photogenarated electrons from ZnO and also ZnO act a barrier for reduced charge recombination of electrolyte and dye-nanoparticles interface. This combination improved the light absorption which induced the charge transfer ability and dye loading capacity of core-shell nanoparticles. An enhancement in the short circuit current (J sc ) from 1.67 mA/cm 2 to 2.1 mA/cm 2 has been observed for TiO 2 -ZnObased photoanode (with platinum free counter electrode), promises an improvement in the energy conversion efficiency by 57% in comparison with that of the DSSCs based on the pristine TiO 2 . Henceforth, TiO 2 -ZnO photoelectrode in ZnO will effectively act as barrier at the interface of TiO 2 -ZnO and TiO 2 , ensuring the potential for DSSC application. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Catalytic performance of M@Ni (M = Fe, Ru, Ir) core-shell nanoparticles towards ammonia decomposition for CO x -free hydrogen production

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Xin; Zhou, Junwei; Chen, Shuangjing; Zhang, Hui

2018-06-01

To reduce the use of precious metals and maintain the catalytic activity for NH3 decomposition reaction, it is an effective way to construct bimetallic nanoparticles with special structures. In this paper, by using density functional theory methods, we investigated NH3 decomposition reaction on three types of core-shell nanoparticles M@Ni (M = Fe, Ru, Ir) with 13 core M atoms and 42 shell Ni atoms. The size of these three particles is about 1 nm. Benefit from alloying with Ru in this nanocluster, Ru@Ni core-shell nanoparticles exhibit catalytic activity comparable to that of single metal Ru, based on the analysis of the adsorption energy and potential energy diagram of NH3 decomposition, as well as N2 desorption processes. However, as for Fe@Ni and Ir@Ni core-shell nanoparticles, their catalytic activities are still unsatisfactory compared to the active metal Ru. In addition, in order to further explain the synergistic effect of bimetallic core-shell nanoparticles, the partial density of states were also calculated. The results show that d-band electrons provided by the core metal are the main factors affecting the entire catalytic process.

Facile synthesis of Ag@ZIF-8 core-shell heterostructure nanowires for improved antibacterial activities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guo, Yu-Feng; Fang, Wei-Jun; Fu, Jie-Ru; Wu, Yun; Zheng, Jun; Gao, Gui-Qi; Chen, Cheng; Yan, Rui-Wen; Huang, Shou-Guo; Wang, Chun-Chang

2018-03-01

Compared with pure MOFs, core-shell heterostructures of noble-metal@MOFs have attracted tremendous interest due to their unique structure and extensive applications. In the present study, we have successfully synthesized well-defined core-shell Ag@ZIF-8 nanowires. The products growth process has been investigated by examining the products obtained at different intervals and the thickness of ZIF-8 shell ranging from 30 to 100 nm can be technically obtained by tuning the quantity of Ag nanowires. Ag@ZIF-8 has been proven to possess large specific surfaces and high thermal stability. Additionally, the antibacterial activity of Ag@ZIF-8 is further tested against Bacillus subtilis and Escherichia coli BL21. The results reveal that Ag@ZIF-8 core-shell heterostructure nanowires have effective activities against the two types of bacterial strains.

A facile in situ self-assembly strategy for large-scale fabrication of CHS@MOF yolk/shell structure and its catalytic application in a flow system.

PubMed

Gao, Hongyi; Luan, Yi; Chaikittikul, Kullapat; Dong, Wenjun; Li, Jie; Zhang, Xiaowei; Jia, Dandan; Yang, Mu; Wang, Ge

2015-03-04

A hierarchical yolk/shell copper hydroxysulfates@MOF (CHS@MOF, where MOF = metal-organic frameworks) structure was fabricated from a homogeneous yolk/shell CHS template composed of an active shell and a stabilized core via a facile self-template strategy at room temperature. The active shell of the template served as the source of metal ion and was in situ transformed into a well-defined MOF crystal shell, and the relatively stabilized core retained its own nature during the formation of the MOF shell. The strategy of in situ transformation of CHS shell to MOF shell avoided the self-nucleation of MOF in the solution and complex multistep procedures. Furthermore, a flow reaction system using CHS@MOF as self-supported stationary-phase catalyst was developed, which demonstrated excellent catalytic performance for aldehyde acetalization with ethanol, and high yields and selectivities were achieved under mild conditions.

Multifunctional Au-Fe3O4@MOF core-shell nanocomposite catalysts with controllable reactivity and magnetic recyclability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ke, Fei; Wang, Luhuan; Zhu, Junfa

2014-12-01

The recovery and reuse of expensive catalysts are important in both heterogeneous and homogeneous catalysis due to economic and environmental reasons. This work reports a novel multifunctional magnetic core-shell gold catalyst which can be easily prepared and shows remarkable catalytic properties in the reduction of 4-nitrophenol. The novel Au-Fe3O4@metal-organic framework (MOF) catalyst consists of a superparamagnetic Au-Fe3O4 core and a porous MOF shell with controllable thickness. Small Au nanoparticles (NPs) of 3-5 nm are mainly sandwiched between the Fe3O4 core and the porous MOF shell. Catalytic studies show that the core-shell structured Au-Fe3O4@MOF catalyst has a much higher catalytic activity than other reported Au-based catalysts toward the reduction of 4-nitrophenol. Moreover, this catalyst can be easily recycled due to the presence of the superparamagnetic core. Therefore, compared to conventional catalysts used in the reduction of 4-nitrophenol, this porous MOF-based magnetic catalyst is green, cheap and promising for industrial applications.The recovery and reuse of expensive catalysts are important in both heterogeneous and homogeneous catalysis due to economic and environmental reasons. This work reports a novel multifunctional magnetic core-shell gold catalyst which can be easily prepared and shows remarkable catalytic properties in the reduction of 4-nitrophenol. The novel Au-Fe3O4@metal-organic framework (MOF) catalyst consists of a superparamagnetic Au-Fe3O4 core and a porous MOF shell with controllable thickness. Small Au nanoparticles (NPs) of 3-5 nm are mainly sandwiched between the Fe3O4 core and the porous MOF shell. Catalytic studies show that the core-shell structured Au-Fe3O4@MOF catalyst has a much higher catalytic activity than other reported Au-based catalysts toward the reduction of 4-nitrophenol. Moreover, this catalyst can be easily recycled due to the presence of the superparamagnetic core. Therefore, compared to conventional catalysts used in the reduction of 4-nitrophenol, this porous MOF-based magnetic catalyst is green, cheap and promising for industrial applications. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available. See DOI: 10.1039/c4nr05421k

A sensitive glucose biosensor based on Ag@C core-shell matrix.

PubMed

Zhou, Xuan; Dai, Xingxin; Li, Jianguo; Long, Yumei; Li, Weifeng; Tu, Yifeng

2015-04-01

Nano-Ag particles were coated with colloidal carbon (Ag@C) to improve its biocompatibility and chemical stability for the preparation of biosensor. The core-shell structure was evidenced by transmission electron microscope (TEM) and the Fourier transfer infrared (FTIR) spectra revealed that the carbon shell is rich of function groups such as -OH and -COOH. The as-prepared Ag@C core-shell structure can offer favorable microenvironment for immobilizing glucose oxidase and the direct electrochemistry process of glucose oxidase (GOD) at Ag@C modified glassy carbon electrode (GCE) was realized. The modified electrode exhibited good response to glucose. Under optimum experimental conditions the biosensor linearly responded to glucose concentration in the range of 0.05-2.5mM, with a detection limit of 0.02mM (S/N=3). The apparent Michaelis-Menten constant (KM(app)) of the biosensor is calculated to be 1.7mM, suggesting high enzymatic activity and affinity toward glucose. In addition, the GOD-Ag@C/Nafion/GCE shows good reproducibility and long-term stability. These results suggested that core-shell structured Ag@C is an ideal matrix for the immobilization of the redox enzymes and further the construction of the sensitive enzyme biosensor. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Hierarchically structured nanowires on and nanosticks in ZnO microtubes

PubMed Central

Rivaldo-Gómez, C. M.; Cabrera-Pasca, G. A.; Zúñiga, A.; Carbonari, A. W.; Souza, J. A.

2015-01-01

We report both coaxial core-shell structured microwires and ZnO microtubes with growth of nanosticks in the inner and nanowires on the outer surface as a novel hierarchical micro/nanoarchitecture. First, a core-shell structure is obtained—the core is formed by metallic Zn and the semiconducting shell is comprised by a thin oxide layer covered with a high density of nanowires. Such Zn/ZnO core-shell array showed magnetoresistance effect. It is suggested that magnetic moments in the nanostructured shell superimposes to the external magnetic field enhancing the MR effect. Second, microtubes decorated with nanowires on the external surface are obtained. In an intermediate stage, a hierarchical morphology comprised of discrete nanosticks in the inner surface of the microtube has been found. Hyperfine interaction measurements disclosed the presence of confined metallic Zn regions at the interface between linked ZnO grains forming a chain and a ZnO thicker layer. Surprisingly, the metallic clusters form highly textured thin flat regions oriented parallel to the surface of the microtube as revealed by the electrical field gradient direction. The driving force to grow the internal nanosticks has been ascribed to stress-induced migration of Zn ions due to compressive stress caused by the presence of these confined regions. PMID:26456527

Construction of Hierarchical α-MnO2 Nanowires@Ultrathin δ-MnO2 Nanosheets Core-Shell Nanostructure with Excellent Cycling Stability for High-Power Asymmetric Supercapacitor Electrodes.

PubMed

Ma, Zhipeng; Shao, Guangjie; Fan, Yuqian; Wang, Guiling; Song, Jianjun; Shen, Dejiu

2016-04-13

Poor electrical conductivity and mechanical instability are two major obstacles to realizing high performance of MnO2 as pseudocapacitor material. The construction of unique hierarchical core-shell nanostructures, therefore, plays an important role in the efficient enhancement of the rate capacity and the stability of this material. We herein report the fabrication of a hierarchical α-MnO2 nanowires@ultrathin δ-MnO2 nanosheets core-shell nanostructure by adopting a facile and practical solution-phase technique. The novel hierarchical nanostructures are composed of ultrathin δ-MnO2 nanosheets with a few atomic layers growing well on the surface of the ultralong α-MnO2 nanowires. The first specific capacitance of hierarchical core-shell nanostructure reached 153.8 F g(-1) at the discharge current density of as high as 20 A g(-1), and the cycling stability is retained at 98.1% after 10,000 charge-discharge cycles, higher than those in the literature. The excellent rate capacity and stability of the hierarchical core-shell nanostructures can be attributed to the structural features of the two MnO2 crystals, in which a 1D α-MnO2 nanowire core provides a stable structural backbone and the ultrathin 2D δ-MnO2 nanosheet shell creates more reactive active sites. The synergistic effects of different dimensions also contribute to the superior rate capability.

Nitrogen-polar core-shell GaN light-emitting diodes grown by selective area metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Shunfeng; Wang, Xue; Fündling, Sönke; Erenburg, Milena; Ledig, Johannes; Wei, Jiandong; Wehmann, Hergo H.; Waag, Andreas; Bergbauer, Werner; Mandl, Martin; Strassburg, Martin; Trampert, Achim; Jahn, Uwe; Riechert, Henning; Jönen, Holger; Hangleiter, Andreas

2012-07-01

Homogeneous nitrogen-polar GaN core-shell light emitting diode (LED) arrays were fabricated by selective area growth on patterned substrates. Transmission electron microscopy measurements prove the core-shell structure of the rod LEDs. Depending on the growth facets, the InGaN/GaN multi-quantum wells (MQWs) show different dimensions and morphology. Cathodoluminescence (CL) measurements reveal a MQWs emission centered at about 415 nm on sidewalls and another emission at 460 nm from top surfaces. CL line scans on cleaved rod also indicate the core-shell morphology. Finally, an internal quantum efficiency of about 28% at room temperature was determined by an all-optical method on a LED array.

Spatially-controlled NiCo2O4@MnO2 core-shell nanoarray with hollow NiCo2O4 cores and MnO2 flake shells: an efficient catalyst for oxygen evolution reaction.

PubMed

Xue, Hairong; Yu, Hongjie; Li, Yinghao; Deng, Kai; Xu, You; Li, Xiaonian; Wang, Hongjing; Wang, Liang

2018-07-13

Control of structures and components of the nanoarray catalysts is very important for electrochemical energy conversion. Herein, unique NiCo 2 O 4 @MnO 2 core-shell nanoarray with hollow NiCo 2 O 4 Cores and MnO 2 flake shells is in situ fabricated on carbon textile via a two-step hydrothermal treatment followed by a subsequent annealing. The as-made nanoarray is highly active and durable catalyst for oxygen evolution reaction in alkaline media attribute to the synergetic effect derived from spatially separated nanoarray with favorable NiCo 2 O 4 and MnO 2 compositions.

A Strategy for Fabricating Porous PdNi@Pt Core-shell Nanostructures and Their Enhanced Activity and Durability for the Methanol Electrooxidation

PubMed Central

Liu, Xinyu; Xu, Guangrui; Chen, Yu; Lu, Tianhong; Tang, Yawen; Xing, Wei

2015-01-01

Three-dimensionally (3D) porous morphology of nanostructures can effectively improve their electrocatalytic activity and durability for various electrochemical reactions owing to big surface area and interconnected structure. Cyanogel, a jelly-like inorganic polymer, can be used to synthesize various three-dimensionally (3D) porous alloy nanomaterials owing to its double-metal property and particular 3D backbone. Here, 3D porous PdNi@Pt core-shell nanostructures (CSNSs) are facilely synthesized by first preparing the Pd-Ni alloy networks (Pd-Ni ANWs) core via cyanogel-reduction method followed by a galvanic displacement reaction to generate the Pt-rich shell. The as-synthesized PdNi@Pt CSNSs exhibit a much improved catalytic activity and durability for the methanol oxidation reaction (MOR) in the acidic media compared to the commercial used Pt black because of their specific structural characteristics. The facile and mild method described herein is highly attractive for the synthisis of 3D porous core-shell nanostructures. PMID:25557190

Centrifugal Deposited Au-Pd Core-Shell Nanoparticle Film for Room-Temperature Optical Detection of Hydrogen Gas.

PubMed

Song, Han; Luo, Zhijie; Liu, Mingyao; Zhang, Gang; Peng, Wang; Wang, Boyi; Zhu, Yong

2018-05-06

In the present work, centrifugal deposited Au-Pd core-shell nanoparticle (NP) film was proposed for the room-temperature optical detection of hydrogen gas. The size dimension of 44, 48, 54, and 62 nm Au-Pd core-shell nanocubes with 40 nm Au core were synthesized following a solution-based seed-mediated growth method. Compared to a pure Pd NP, this core-shell structure with an inert Au core could decrease the H diffusion length in the Pd shell. Through a modified centrifugal deposition process, continues film samples with different core-shell NPs were deposited on 10 mm diameter quartz substrates. Under various hydrogen concentration conditions, the optical response properties of these samples were characterized by an intensity-based optical fiber bundle sensor. Experimental results show that the continues film that was composed of 62 nm Au-Pd core-shell NPs has achieved a stable and repeatable reflectance response with low zero drift in the range of 4 to 0.1% hydrogen after a stress relaxation mechanism at first few loading/unloading cycles. Because of the short H diffusion length due to the thinner Pd shell, the film sample composed of 44 nm Au-Pd NPs has achieved a dramatically decreased response/recovery time to 4 s/30 s. The experiments present the promising prospect of this simple method to fabricate optical hydrogen sensors with controllable high sensitivity and response rate at low cost.

High Water Tolerance of a Core-Shell-Structured Zeolite for CO2 Adsorptive Separation under Wet Conditions.

PubMed

Miyamoto, Manabu; Ono, Shumpei; Kusukami, Kodai; Oumi, Yasunori; Uemiya, Shigeyuki

2018-06-11

Dehumidification in CO 2 adsorptive separation processes is an important issue, owing to its high energy consumption. However, available adsorbents such as low-silica zeolites show a significant decrease in CO 2 adsorption capacity when water vapor is present. A core-shell-structured MFI-type zeolite with a hydrophilic ZSM-5 coated with a hydrophobic silicalite-1 shell layer was applied in CO 2 adsorptive separation under wet conditions. This hybrid material demonstrated remarkably high water tolerance with stable CO 2 adsorption performance without additional thermal treatment for regeneration, whereas a significant decrease in the CO 2 adsorption amount because of water vapor was observed on the parent ZSM-5. The core-shell structure of zeolites with high pore volumes, such as LTA or CHA, could also be suitable candidates for high CO 2 adsorption capacity and high water tolerance for practical applications. © 2018 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Formation of an Anti-Core–Shell Structure in Layered Oxide Cathodes for Li-Ion Batteries

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

Zhang, Hanlei; Omenya, Fredrick; Whittingham, M. Stanley

The layered → rock-salt phase transformation in the layered dioxide cathodes for Li-ion batteries is believed to result in a “core-shell” structure of the primary particles, in which the core region maintains as the layered phase while the surface region undergoes the phase transformation to the rock-salt phase. Using transmission electron microscopy, here we demonstrate the formation of an “anti-core-shell” structure in cycled primary particles with a formula of LiNi0.80Co0.15Al0.05O2, in which the surface and subsurface regions remain as the layered structure while the rock-salt phase forms as domains in the bulk with a thin layer of the spinel phasemore » between the rock-salt core and the skin of the layered phase. Formation of this anti-core-shell structure is attributed to the oxygen loss at the surface that drives the migration of oxygen from the bulk to the surface, thereby resulting in localized areas of significantly reduced oxygen levels in the bulk of the particle, which subsequently undergoes the phase transformation to the rock-salt domains. The formation of the anti-core-shell rock-salt domains is responsible for the reduced capacity, discharge voltage and ionic conductivity in cycled cathode.« less

Highly aqueous soluble CaF2:Ce/Tb nanocrystals: effect of surface functionalization on structural, optical band gap, and photoluminescence properties.

PubMed

Ansari, Anees A; Parchur, Abdul K; Kumar, Brijesh; Rai, S B

2016-12-01

The design of nanostructured materials with highly stable water-dispersion and luminescence efficiency is an important concern in nanotechnology and nanomedicine. In this paper, we described the synthesis and distinct surface modification on the morphological structure and optical (optical absorption, band gap energy, excitation, emission, decay time, etc.) properties of highly crystalline water-dispersible CaF 2 :Ce/Tb nanocrystals (core-nanocrystals). The epitaxial growth of inert CaF 2 and silica shell, respectively, on their surface forming as CaF 2 :Ce/Tb@CaF 2 (core/shell) and CaF 2 :Ce/Tb@CaF 2 @SiO 2 (core/shell/SiO 2 ) nanoarchitecture. X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscope image shows that the nanocrystals were in irregular spherical phase, highly crystalline (~20 nm) with narrow size distribution. The core/shell nanocrystals confirm that the surface coating is responsible in the change of symmetrical nanostructure, which was determined from the band gap energy and luminescent properties. It was found that an inert inorganic shell formation effectively enhances the luminescence efficiency and silica shell makes the nanocrystals highly water-dispersible. In addition, Ce 3+ /Tb 3+ -co-doped CaF 2 nanocrystals show efficient energy transfer from Ce 3+ to Tb 3+ ion and strong green luminescence of Tb 3+ ion at 541 nm( 5 D 4 → 7 F 5 ). Luminescence decay curves of core and core/shell nanocrystals were fitted using mono and biexponential equations, and R 2 regression coefficient criteria were used to discriminate the goodness of the fitted model. The lifetime values for the core/shell nanocrystals are higher than core-nanocrystals. Considering the high stable water-dispersion and intensive luminescence emission in the visible region, these luminescent core/shell nanocrystals could be potential candidates for luminescent bio-imaging, optical bio-probe, displays, staining, and multianalyte optical sensing. A newly designed CaF 2 :Ce/Tb nanoparticles via metal complex decomposition rout shows high dispersibility in aqueous solvents with enhanced photoluminescence. The epitaxial growth of inert CaF 2 shell and further amorphous silica, respectively, enhanced their optical and luminescence properties, which is highly usable for luminescent biolabeling, and optical bioprobe etc.

DNA nanoparticles with core-shell morphology.

PubMed

Chandran, Preethi L; Dimitriadis, Emilios K; Lisziewicz, Julianna; Speransky, Vlad; Horkay, Ferenc

2014-10-14

Mannobiose-modified polyethylenimines (PEI) are used in gene therapy to generate nanoparticles of DNA that can be targeted to the antigen-presenting cells of the immune system. We report that the sugar modification alters the DNA organization within the nanoparticles from homogenous to shell-like packing. The depth-dependent packing of DNA within the nanoparticles was probed using AFM nano-indentation. Unmodified PEI-DNA nanoparticles display linear elastic properties and depth-independent mechanics, characteristic of homogenous materials. Mannobiose-modified nanoparticles, however, showed distinct force regimes that were dependent on indentation depth, with 'buckling'-like response that is reproducible and not due to particle failure. By comparison with theoretical studies of spherical shell mechanics, the structure of mannobiosylated particles was deduced to be a thin shell with wall thickness in the order of few nanometers, and a fluid-filled core. The shell-core structure is also consistent with observations of nanoparticle denting in altered solution conditions, with measurements of nanoparticle water content from AFM images, and with images of DNA distribution in Transmission Electron Microscopy.

Significant efficiency enhancement of hybrid solar cells using core-shell nanowire geometry for energy harvesting.

PubMed

Tsai, Shin-Hung; Chang, Hung-Chih; Wang, Hsin-Hua; Chen, Szu-Ying; Lin, Chin-An; Chen, Show-An; Chueh, Yu-Lun; He, Jr-Hau

2011-12-27

A novel strategy employing core-shell nanowire arrays (NWAs) consisting of Si/regioregular poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) was demonstrated to facilitate efficient light harvesting and exciton dissociation/charge collection for hybrid solar cells (HSCs). We experimentally demonstrate broadband and omnidirectional light-harvesting characteristics of core-shell NWA HSCs due to their subwavelength features, further supported by the simulation based on finite-difference time domain analysis. Meanwhile, core-shell geometry of NWA HSCs guarantees efficient charge separation since the thickness of the P3HT shells is comparable to the exciton diffusion length. Consequently, core-shell HSCs exhibit a 61% improvement of short-circuit current for a conversion efficiency (η) enhancement of 31.1% as compared to the P3HT-infiltrated Si NWA HSCs with layers forming a flat air/polymer cell interface. The improvement of crystal quality of P3HT shells due to the formation of ordering structure at Si interfaces after air mass 1.5 global (AM 1.5G) illumination was confirmed by transmission electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy. The core-shell geometry with the interfacial improvement by AM 1.5G illumination promotes more efficient exciton dissociation and charge separation, leading to η improvement (∼140.6%) due to the considerable increase in V(oc) from 257 to 346 mV, J(sc) from 11.7 to 18.9 mA/cm(2), and FF from 32.2 to 35.2%, which is not observed in conventional P3HT-infiltrated Si NWA HSCs. The stability of the Si/P3HT core-shell NWA HSCs in air ambient was carefully examined. The core-shell geometry should be applicable to many other material systems of solar cells and thus holds high potential in third-generation solar cells.

Size effect on atomic structure in low-dimensional Cu-Zr amorphous systems.

PubMed

Zhang, W B; Liu, J; Lu, S H; Zhang, H; Wang, H; Wang, X D; Cao, Q P; Zhang, D X; Jiang, J Z

2017-08-04

The size effect on atomic structure of a Cu 64 Zr 36 amorphous system, including zero-dimensional small-size amorphous particles (SSAPs) and two-dimensional small-size amorphous films (SSAFs) together with bulk sample was investigated by molecular dynamics simulations. We revealed that sample size strongly affects local atomic structure in both Cu 64 Zr 36 SSAPs and SSAFs, which are composed of core and shell (surface) components. Compared with core component, the shell component of SSAPs has lower average coordination number and average bond length, higher degree of ordering, and lower packing density due to the segregation of Cu atoms on the shell of Cu 64 Zr 36 SSAPs. These atomic structure differences in SSAPs with various sizes result in different glass transition temperatures, in which the glass transition temperature for the shell component is found to be 577 K, which is much lower than 910 K for the core component. We further extended the size effect on the structure and glasses transition temperature to Cu 64 Zr 36 SSAFs, and revealed that the T g decreases when SSAFs becomes thinner due to the following factors: different dynamic motion (mean square displacement), different density of core and surface and Cu segregation on the surface of SSAFs. The obtained results here are different from the results for the size effect on atomic structure of nanometer-sized crystalline metallic alloys.

Nanoscale zero-valent iron (nZVI): aspects of the core-shell structure and reactions with inorganic species in water.

PubMed

Yan, Weile; Herzing, Andrew A; Kiely, Christopher J; Zhang, Wei-Xian

2010-11-25

Aspects of the core-shell model of nanoscale zero-valent iron (nZVI) and their environmental implications were examined in this work. The structure and elemental distribution of nZVI were characterized by X-ray energy-dispersive spectroscopy (XEDS) with nanometer-scale spatial resolution in an aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM). The analysis provides unequivocal evidence of a layered structure of nZVI consisting of a metallic iron core encapsulated by a thin amorphous oxide shell. Three aqueous environmental contaminants, namely Hg(II), Zn(II) and hydrogen sulfide, were studied to probe the reactive properties and the surface chemistry of nZVI. High-resolution X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (HR-XPS) analysis of the reacted particles indicated that Hg(II) was sequestrated via chemical reduction to elemental mercury. On the other hand, Zn(II) removal was achieved via sorption to the iron oxide shell followed by zinc hydroxide precipitation. Hydrogen sulfide was immobilized on the nZVI surface as disulfide (S(2)(2-)) and monosulfide (S(2-)) species. Their relative abundance in the final products suggests that the retention of hydrogen sulfide occurs via reactions with the oxide shell to form iron sulfide (FeS) and subsequent conversion to iron disulfide (FeS(2)). The results presented herein highlight the multiple reactive pathways permissible with nZVI owing to its two functional constituents. The core-shell structure imparts nZVI with manifold functional properties previously unexamined and grants the material with potentially new applications. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Electronic structure and intersubband magnetoabsorption spectra of CdSe/CdS core-shell nanowires

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xiong, Wen

2016-10-01

The electronic structures of CdSe/CdS core-shell nanowires are calculated based on the effective-mass theory, and it is found that the hole states in CdSe/CdS core-shell nanowires are strongly mixed, which are very different from the hole states in CdSe or CdS nanowires. In addition, we find the three highest hole states at the Γ point are almost localized in the CdSe core and the energies of the hole states in CdSe/CdS core-shell nanowires can be enhanced greatly when the core radius Rc increases and the total radius R is fixed. The degenerate hole states are split by the magnetic field, and the split energies will increase when |Jh | increases from 1/2 to 7/2, while they are almost not influenced by the change of the core radius Rc. The absorption spectra of CdSe/CdS core-shell nanowires at the Γ point are also studied in the magnetic field when the temperature T is considered, and we find there are only two peaks will arise if the core radius Rc and the temperature T increase. The intensity of each optical absorption can be considerably enhanced by increasing the core radius Rc when the temperature T is fixed, it is due to the increase of their optical transition matrix element. Meanwhile, the intensity of each optical absorption can be decreased when the temperature T increases and the core radius Rc is fixed, and this is because the Fermi-Dirac distribution function of the corresponding hole states will increase as the increase of the temperature T.

Synthesis and characterization of metal oxide-polyaniline emeraldine salt based nanocomposite

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kumar, K. Siva; Kavitha, B.; Prabakar, K.; Srinivasu, D.; Srinivas, Ch.; Narsimlu, N.

2013-02-01

This paper describes the synthesis of TiO2 (core)/Polyaniline (shell) core-shell structured nanocomposites and characterization of the synthesized material. The morphological characterization is performed with XRD, SEM, DLS and SANS. Spectroscopic characterization is performed with FTIR, UV/Visible and ESR techniques.

Influence of SiO2 shell thickness on power conversion efficiency in plasmonic polymer solar cells with Au nanorod@SiO2 core-shell structures

PubMed Central

Zhang, Ran; Zhou, Yongfang; Peng, Ling; Li, Xue; Chen, Shufen; Feng, Xiaomiao; Guan, Yuqiao; Huang, Wei

2016-01-01

Locating core-shell metal nanoparticles into a photoactive layer or at the interface of photoactive layer/hole extraction layer is beneficial for fully employing surface plasmon energy, thus enhancing power conversion efficiency (PCE) in plasmonic organic photovoltaic devices (OPVs). Herein, we first investigated the influence of silica shell thickness in Au nanorods (NRs)@SiO2 core-shell structures on OPV performances by inserting them into poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(4-styrenesulfonate) and thieno[3,4-b]thiophene/benzodithiophene (PTB7) interface, and amazedly found that a 2–3 nm silica shell onto Au NRs induces a highest short-circuit current density of 21.2 mA cm−2 and PCE of 9.55%. This is primarily due to an extremely strong local field and a much slower attenuation of localized surface plasmon resonance around ultrathin silica-coated Au NRs, with which the field intensity remains a high value in the active layer, thus sufficiently improves the absorption of PTB7. Our work provides a clear design concept on precise control of the shell of metal nanoparticles to realize high performances in plasmonic OPVs. PMID:27125309

Influence of SiO2 shell thickness on power conversion efficiency in plasmonic polymer solar cells with Au nanorod@SiO2 core-shell structures.

PubMed

Zhang, Ran; Zhou, Yongfang; Peng, Ling; Li, Xue; Chen, Shufen; Feng, Xiaomiao; Guan, Yuqiao; Huang, Wei

2016-04-29

Locating core-shell metal nanoparticles into a photoactive layer or at the interface of photoactive layer/hole extraction layer is beneficial for fully employing surface plasmon energy, thus enhancing power conversion efficiency (PCE) in plasmonic organic photovoltaic devices (OPVs). Herein, we first investigated the influence of silica shell thickness in Au nanorods (NRs)@SiO2 core-shell structures on OPV performances by inserting them into poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(4-styrenesulfonate) and thieno[3,4-b]thiophene/benzodithiophene (PTB7) interface, and amazedly found that a 2-3 nm silica shell onto Au NRs induces a highest short-circuit current density of 21.2 mA cm(-2) and PCE of 9.55%. This is primarily due to an extremely strong local field and a much slower attenuation of localized surface plasmon resonance around ultrathin silica-coated Au NRs, with which the field intensity remains a high value in the active layer, thus sufficiently improves the absorption of PTB7. Our work provides a clear design concept on precise control of the shell of metal nanoparticles to realize high performances in plasmonic OPVs.

One-pot synthesis of monodisperse CoFe2O4@Ag core-shell nanoparticles and their characterization.

PubMed

Hara, Shuta; Aisu, Jumpei; Kato, Masahiro; Aono, Takashige; Sugawa, Kosuke; Takase, Kouichi; Otsuki, Joe; Shimizu, Shigeru; Ikake, Hiroki

2018-06-08

In recent years, monodispersed magnetic nanoparticles with a core/shell structure are expected for their wide applications including magnetic fluid, recoverable catalysts, and biological analysis. However, their synthesis method needs numerous processes such as solvent substitution, exchange of protective agents, and centrifugation. A simple and rapid method for the synthesis of monodispersed core-shell nanoparticles makes it possible to accelerate their further applications. This paper describes a simple and rapid one-pot synthesis of core (CoFe 2 O 4 )-shell (Ag) nanoparticles with high monodispersity. The synthesized nanoparticles showed plasmonic light absorption owing to the Ag shell. Moreover, the magnetic property of the nanoparticles had a soft magnetic behavior at room temperature and a hard magnetic behavior at 5 K. In addition, the nanoparticles showed high monodispersity with a low polydispersity index (PDI) value of 0.083 in hexane.

Ru-core/Cu-shell bimetallic nanoparticles with controlled size formed in one-pot synthesis.

PubMed

Helgadottir, I; Freychet, G; Arquillière, P; Maret, M; Gergaud, P; Haumesser, P H; Santini, C C

2014-12-21

Suspensions of bimetallic nanoparticles (NPs) of Ru and Cu have been synthesized by simultaneous decomposition of two organometallic compounds in an ionic liquid. These suspensions have been characterized by Anomalous Small-Angle X-ray Scattering (ASAXS) at energies slightly below the Ru K-edge. It is found that the NPs adopt a Ru-core, a Cu-shell structure, with a constant Ru core diameter of 1.9 nm for all Ru : Cu compositions, while the Cu shell thickness increases with Cu content up to 0.9 nm. The formation of RuCuNPs thus proceeds through rapid decomposition of the Ru precursor into RuNPs of constant size followed by the reaction of the Cu precursor and agglomeration as a Cu shell. Thus, the different decomposition kinetics of precursors make possible the elaboration of core-shell NPs composed of two metals without chemical affinity.

One-pot synthesis of monodisperse CoFe2O4@Ag core-shell nanoparticles and their characterization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hara, Shuta; Aisu, Jumpei; Kato, Masahiro; Aono, Takashige; Sugawa, Kosuke; Takase, Kouichi; Otsuki, Joe; Shimizu, Shigeru; Ikake, Hiroki

2018-06-01

In recent years, monodispersed magnetic nanoparticles with a core/shell structure are expected for their wide applications including magnetic fluid, recoverable catalysts, and biological analysis. However, their synthesis method needs numerous processes such as solvent substitution, exchange of protective agents, and centrifugation. A simple and rapid method for the synthesis of monodispersed core-shell nanoparticles makes it possible to accelerate their further applications. This paper describes a simple and rapid one-pot synthesis of core (CoFe2O4)-shell (Ag) nanoparticles with high monodispersity. The synthesized nanoparticles showed plasmonic light absorption owing to the Ag shell. Moreover, the magnetic property of the nanoparticles had a soft magnetic behavior at room temperature and a hard magnetic behavior at 5 K. In addition, the nanoparticles showed high monodispersity with a low polydispersity index (PDI) value of 0.083 in hexane.

Facile synthesis of core-shell Cu2O@ ZnO structure with enhanced photocatalytic H2 production

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Yong-Hui; Jiu, Bei-Bei; Gong, Fei-Long; Lu, Kuan; Jiang, Nan; Zhang, Hao-Li; Chen, Jun-Li

2018-05-01

Core-shell Cu2O@ZnO composites were synthesized successfully based on a one-pot hydrothermal method in the presence of dioctyl sulfosuccinate sodium salt (AOT) surfactant. The Cu2O can be converted to rough core-shell Cu2O@ZnO structure by adjusting the amount of zinc powder added. The as-synthesized Cu2O@ZnO composites exhibited excellent photocatalytic activity and the amount of H2 generated using these composites was 4.5-fold more than that produced with Cu2O cubes. A possible photocatalytic mechanism for the Cu2O@ZnO composites with enhanced photocatalytic activity could be the separation by ZnO of the effective charge carriers.

Response Surface Methodology for Design of Porous Hollow Sphere Thermal Insulator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shohani, Nazanin; Pourmahdian, Saeed; Shirkavand Hadavand, Behzad

2017-11-01

In this study, response surface method is used for synthesizing polystyrene (PS) as sacrificial templates and optimizing the particle size. Three factors of initiator, stabilizer concentration and also stirring rate were selected as variable factors. Then, three different concentration of tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) added to reaction media and core-shell structure with PS core and silica shell was developed. Finally, core-shell structure was changed to hollow silica sphere for using as thermal insulator. We observed that increased initiator concentration caused to larger PS particles, increase the stirring rate caused the smaller PS and also with increased the stabilizer concentration obtained that particle size decrease then after 2.5% began to increase. Also the optimum amount of TEOS was found.

A facile method for synthesis of well-coated ZnO@graphene core/shell structure by self-assembly of amine-functionalized ZnO and graphene oxide

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Yunlong; Song, Lixin; Zhang, Yuzhi; Wang, Panpan; Liu, Yangqiao; Wu, Lingnan; Zhang, Tao

2016-06-01

The core/shell structure was formed by GO self-assembled with amine-functionalized commercial ZnO (CZO) and preparative hexagonal ZnO (HZO), respectively. Graphene-coated CZO and HZO were obtained after being reduced in Ar at 500 °C. The mechanism of the coating procedure was investigated by measuring their respective zeta potential values. Our characterizations demonstrate that graphene on HZO has better quality and fewer layers. An obvious band gap decrease of ZnO was observed for coating with graphene. Photoluminescence spectra of ZnO@graphene core/shell composites display the fluorescence quenching property, which indicates its good application prospect in optoelectronics, photocatalytic and other fields.

Electrospun core-shell fibers for robust silicon nanoparticle-based lithium ion battery anodes.

PubMed

Hwang, Tae Hoon; Lee, Yong Min; Kong, Byung-Seon; Seo, Jin-Seok; Choi, Jang Wook

2012-02-08

Because of its unprecedented theoretical capacity near 4000 mAh/g, which is approximately 10-fold larger compared to those of the current commercial graphite anodes, silicon has been the most promising anode for lithium ion batteries, particularly targeting large-scale energy storage applications including electrical vehicles and utility grids. Nevertheless, Si suffers from its short cycle life as well as the limitation for scalable electrode fabrication. Herein, we develop an electrospinning process to produce core-shell fiber electrodes using a dual nozzle in a scalable manner. In the core-shell fibers, commercially available nanoparticles in the core are wrapped by the carbon shell. The unique core-shell structure resolves various issues of Si anode operations, such as pulverization, vulnerable contacts between Si and carbon conductors, and an unstable sold-electrolyte interphase, thereby exhibiting outstanding cell performance: a gravimetric capacity as high as 1384 mAh/g, a 5 min discharging rate capability while retaining 721 mAh/g, and cycle life of 300 cycles with almost no capacity loss. The electrospun core-shell one-dimensional fibers suggest a new design principle for robust and scalable lithium battery electrodes suffering from volume expansion. © 2011 American Chemical Society

Oxygen reduction kinetics on Pt monolayer shell highly affected by the structure of bimetallic AuNi cores

DOE PAGES

Chen, Guangyu; Kuttiyiel, Kurian A.; Su, Dong; ...

2016-07-12

Here, we describe pronounced effects of structural changes of the AuNi cores on the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) activity of a Pt monolayer shell. The study of alloyed AuNi nanoparticles compared with AuNi core–shell structured nanoparticles revealed configurations having different electronic and electrochemical properties. Controlled alloying of Au with Ni was essential to tune the electronic properties of Au interacting with the Pt monolayer shell to achieve suitable adsorption of O 2 on Pt for expediting the ORR. The alloyed AuNi nanoparticles made the Pt shell more catalytically active for the ORR than the core–shell structured AuNi nanoparticles. The Ptmore » monolayer supported on the alloyed AuNi nanoparticles showed the Pt mass and specific activities as high as 1.52 A mg –1 and 1.18 mA cm –2, respectively, with almost no loss over 5 000 cycles of stability test. This high ORR activity is ascribed to the role of nonspecific steric configuration of Ni atoms changing the electronic properties of the alloy that affect the oxygen and water interaction with the Pt shell and facilitate increased ORR kinetics.« less

Thrombi produced in stagnation point flows have a core-shell structure.

PubMed

Herbig, Bradley A; Diamond, Scott L

2017-12-01

In regions of flow separation/reattachment within diseased arteries, the local hemodynamics can result in stagnation point flow that provides an atypical environment in atherosclerosis. Impinging flows occur with recirculation eddies distal of coronary stenosis or diseased carotid bifurcations. By perfusing whole blood directly perpendicular to a fibrillar collagen thrombotic surface, a microfluidic device produced a stagnation point flow. Side view visualization of thrombosis in this assay allowed for observation of clot structure and composition at various flow rates and blood biochemistry conditions. For clotting over collagen/tissue factor surfaces, platelet thrombi formed in this device displayed a core-shell architecture with a fibrin-rich, platelet P-selectin-positive core and an outer platelet P-selectin-negative shell. VWF was detected in clots at low and high shear, but when N-acetylcysteine was added to the whole blood, both platelet and VWF deposition were markedly decreased at either low or high flow. To further examine the source of clot stability, 1 mM GPRP was added to prevent fibrin formation while allowing the PAR1/4-cleaving activity of thrombin to progress. The inhibition of fibrin polymerization did not change the overall structure of the clots, demonstrating the stability of these clots without fibrin. Impinging flow microfluidics generate thrombi with a core-shell structure.

Silica-modified luminescent LaPO4 :Eu@LaPO4 @SiO2 core/shell nanorods: Synthesis, structural and luminescent properties.

PubMed

Ansari, Anees A

2018-02-01

Monoclinic-type tetragonal LaPO 4 :Eu (core) and LaPO 4 :Eu@LaPO 4 (core/shell) nanorods (NRs) were successfully prepared using a urea-based co-precipitation process under ambient conditions. An amorphous silica layer was coated around the luminescent core/shell NRs via the sol-gel process to improve their solubility and colloidal stability in aqueous and non-aqueous media. The prepared nano-products were systematically characterized by X-ray diffraction pattern, transmission electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray analysis, and FTIR, UV/Vis, and photoluminescence spectroscopy to examine their phase purity, crystal phase, surface chemistry, solubility and luminescence characteristics. The length and diameter of the nano-products were in the range 80-120 nm and 10-15 nm, respectively. High solubility of the silica-modified core/shell/Si NRs was found for the aqueous medium. The luminescent core NRs exhibited characteristic excitation and emission transitions in the visible region that were greatly affected by surface growth of insulating LaPO 4 and silica layers due to the multiphonon relaxation rate. Our luminescence spectral results clearly show a distinct difference in intensities for core, core/shell, and core/shell/Si NRs. Highly luminescent NRs with good solubility could be useful candidates for a variety of photonic-based biomedical applications. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Thiolated DNA-based chemistry and control in the structure and optical properties of plasmonic nanoparticles with ultrasmall interior nanogap.

PubMed

Oh, Jeong-Wook; Lim, Dong-Kwon; Kim, Gyeong-Hwan; Suh, Yung Doug; Nam, Jwa-Min

2014-10-08

The design, synthesis and control of plasmonic nanostructures, especially with ultrasmall plasmonically coupled nanogap (∼1 nm or smaller), are of significant interest and importance in chemistry, nanoscience, materials science, optics and nanobiotechnology. Here, we studied and established the thiolated DNA-based synthetic principles and methods in forming and controlling Au core-nanogap-Au shell structures [Au-nanobridged nanogap particles (Au-NNPs)] with various interior nanogap and Au shell structures. We found that differences in the binding affinities and modes among four different bases to Au core, DNA sequence, DNA grafting density and chemical reagents alter Au shell growth mechanism and interior nanogap-forming process on thiolated DNA-modified Au core. Importantly, poly A or poly C sequence creates a wider interior nanogap with a smoother Au shell, while poly T sequence results in a narrower interstitial interior gap with rougher Au shell, and on the basis of the electromagnetic field calculation and experimental results, we unraveled the relationships between the width of the interior plasmonic nanogap, Au shell structure, electromagnetic field and surface-enhanced Raman scattering. These principles and findings shown in this paper offer the fundamental basis for the thiolated DNA-based chemistry in forming and controlling metal nanostructures with ∼1 nm plasmonic gap and insight in the optical properties of the plasmonic NNPs, and these plasmonic nanogap structures are useful as strong and controllable optical signal-generating nanoprobes.

Photoresponse and Field Effect Transport Studies in InAsP-InP Core-Shell Nanowires

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Rochelle; Jo, Min Hyeok; Kim, TaeWan; Kim, Hyo Jin; Kim, Doo Gun; Shin, Jae Cheol

2018-05-01

A ternary InAsyP1-y alloy is suitable for an application to near-infrared (NIR) optical devices as their direct bandgap energy covers the entire NIR band. A nanowire (NW) system allows an epitaxial integration of InAsyP1-y alloy on any type of substrate since the lattice mismatch strain can be relieved through the NW sidewall. Nevertheless, the very large surface to volume ratio feature of the NWs leads to enormous surface states which are susceptible to surface recombination of free carriers. Here, ternary InAs0.75P0.25 NWs are grown with InP passivation layer (i.e., core-shell structure) to minimize the influence of the surface states, thus increasing their optical and electrical properties. A photoresponse study was achieved through the modeled band structure of the grown NWs. The model and experimental results suggest that 5-nm-thick InP shell efficiently passivates the surface states of the InAs0.75P0.25 NWs. The fabricated core-shell photodetectors and field-effect transistors exhibit improved photoresponse and transport properties compared to its counterpart core-only structure.

The sustained-release behavior and in vitro and in vivo transfection of pEGFP-loaded core-shell-structured chitosan-based composite particles

PubMed Central

Wang, Yun; Lin, Fu-xing; Zhao, Yu; Wang, Mo-zhen; Ge, Xue-wu; Gong, Zheng-xing; Bao, Dan-dan; Gu, Yu-fang

2014-01-01

Novel submicron core-shell-structured chitosan-based composite particles encapsulated with enhanced green fluorescent protein plasmids (pEGFP) were prepared by complex coacervation method. The core was pEGFP-loaded thiolated N-alkylated chitosan (TACS) and the shell was pH- and temperature-responsive hydroxybutyl chitosan (HBC). pEGFP-loaded TACS-HBC composite particles were spherical, and had a mean diameter of approximately 120 nm, as measured by transmission electron microscopy and particle size analyzer. pEGFP showed sustained release in vitro for >15 days. Furthermore, in vitro transfection in human embryonic kidney 293T and human cervix epithelial cells, and in vivo transfection in mice skeletal muscle of loaded pEGFP, were investigated. Results showed that the expression of loaded pEGFP, both in vitro and in vivo, was slow but could be sustained over a long period. pEGFP expression in mice skeletal muscle was sustained for >60 days. This work indicates that these submicron core-shell-structured chitosan-based composite particles could potentially be used as a gene vector for in vivo controlled gene transfection. PMID:25364253

The sustained-release behavior and in vitro and in vivo transfection of pEGFP-loaded core-shell-structured chitosan-based composite particles.

PubMed

Wang, Yun; Lin, Fu-xing; Zhao, Yu; Wang, Mo-zhen; Ge, Xue-wu; Gong, Zheng-xing; Bao, Dan-dan; Gu, Yu-fang

2014-01-01

Novel submicron core-shell-structured chitosan-based composite particles encapsulated with enhanced green fluorescent protein plasmids (pEGFP) were prepared by complex coacervation method. The core was pEGFP-loaded thiolated N-alkylated chitosan (TACS) and the shell was pH- and temperature-responsive hydroxybutyl chitosan (HBC). pEGFP-loaded TACS-HBC composite particles were spherical, and had a mean diameter of approximately 120 nm, as measured by transmission electron microscopy and particle size analyzer. pEGFP showed sustained release in vitro for >15 days. Furthermore, in vitro transfection in human embryonic kidney 293T and human cervix epithelial cells, and in vivo transfection in mice skeletal muscle of loaded pEGFP, were investigated. Results showed that the expression of loaded pEGFP, both in vitro and in vivo, was slow but could be sustained over a long period. pEGFP expression in mice skeletal muscle was sustained for >60 days. This work indicates that these submicron core-shell-structured chitosan-based composite particles could potentially be used as a gene vector for in vivo controlled gene transfection.

Photoresponse and Field Effect Transport Studies in InAsP-InP Core-Shell Nanowires

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Rochelle; Jo, Min Hyeok; Kim, TaeWan; Kim, Hyo Jin; Kim, Doo Gun; Shin, Jae Cheol

2018-03-01

A ternary InAsyP1-y alloy is suitable for an application to near-infrared (NIR) optical devices as their direct bandgap energy covers the entire NIR band. A nanowire (NW) system allows an epitaxial integration of InAsyP1-y alloy on any type of substrate since the lattice mismatch strain can be relieved through the NW sidewall. Nevertheless, the very large surface to volume ratio feature of the NWs leads to enormous surface states which are susceptible to surface recombination of free carriers. Here, ternary InAs0.75P0.25 NWs are grown with InP passivation layer (i.e., core-shell structure) to minimize the influence of the surface states, thus increasing their optical and electrical properties. A photoresponse study was achieved through the modeled band structure of the grown NWs. The model and experimental results suggest that 5-nm-thick InP shell efficiently passivates the surface states of the InAs0.75P0.25 NWs. The fabricated core-shell photodetectors and field-effect transistors exhibit improved photoresponse and transport properties compared to its counterpart core-only structure.

Highly exothermic and superhydrophobic Mg/fluorocarbon core/shell nanoenergetic arrays.

PubMed

Zhou, Xiang; Xu, Daguo; Yang, Guangcheng; Zhang, Qiaobao; Shen, Jinpeng; Lu, Jian; Zhang, Kaili

2014-07-09

Mg/fluorocarbon core/shell nanoenergetic arrays are prepared onto silicon substrate, with Mg nanorods as the core and fluorocarbon as the shell. Mg nanorods are deposited by the glancing angle deposition technique, and the fluorocarbon layer is then prepared as a shell to encase the Mg nanorods by the magnetron sputtering deposition process. Scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy show the core/shell structure of the Mg/fluorocarbon arrays. X-ray energy-dispersive spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy are used to characterize the structural composition of the Mg/fluorocarbon. It is found that the as-prepared fluorocarbon layer consists of shorter molecular chains compared to that of bulk polytetrafluoroethylene, which is proven beneficial to the low onset reaction temperature of Mg/fluorocarbon. Water contact angle test demonstrates the superhydrophobicity of the Mg/fluorocarbon arrays, and a static contact angle as high as 162° is achieved. Thermal analysis shows that the Mg/fluorocarbon material exhibits a very low onset reaction temperature of about 270 °C as well as an ultrahigh heat of reaction approaching 9 kJ/g. A preliminary combustion test reveals rapid combustion wave propagation, and a convective mechanism is adopted to explain the combustion behaviors.

Nano-structured silica coated mesoporous carbon micro-granules for potential application in water filtration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Das, Avik; Sen, D.; Mazumder, S.; Ghosh, A. K.

2017-05-01

A novel nano-composite spherical micro-granule has been synthesized using a facile technique of solvent evaporation induced assembly of nanoparticles for potential application in water filtration. The spherical micro-granule is comprised of nano-structured shell of hydrophilic silica encapsulating a hydrophobic mesoporous carbon at the core. Hierarchical structure of such core-shell micro-granules has been rigorously characterized using small-angle neutron and X-ray scattering techniques and complemented with scanning electron microscopy. The hydrophilic silica envelope around the carbon core helps in incorporation of such granules into the hydrophilic polymeric ultra-filtration membrane. The interstitial micro-pores present in the silica shell can serve as water transport channels and the mesoporus carbon core enhances the separation performance due its well adsorption characteristics. It has been found that the incorporation of such granules inside the ultra-filtration membrane indeed enhances the water permeability as well as the separation performance in a significant way.

Synthesis, characterization and nitrite ion sensing performance of reclaimable composite samples through a core-shell structure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cui, Xiao; Yuqing, Zhao; Cui, Jiantao; Zheng, Qian; Bo, Wang

2018-02-01

The following paper reported and discussed a nitrite ion optical sensing platform based on a core-shell structure, using superamagnetic nanoparticles as the core, a silica molecular sieve MCM-41 as the shell and two rhodamine derivatives as probe, respectively. This superamagnetic core made this sensing platform reclaimable after finishing nitrite ion sensing procedure. This sensing platform was carefully characterized by means of electron microscopy images, porous structure analysis, magnetic response, IR spectra and thermal stability analysis. Detailed analysis suggested that the emission of these composite samples was quenchable by nitrite ion, showing emission turn off effect. A static sensing mechanism based on an additive reaction between chemosensors and nitrite ion was proposed. These composite samples followed Demas quenching equation against different nitrite ion concentrations. Limit of detection value was obtained as low as 0.4 μM. It was found that, after being quenched by nitrite ion, these composite samples could be reclaimed and recovered by sulphamic acid, confirming their recyclability.

Linear and nonlinear magneto-optical properties of an off-center single dopant in a spherical core/shell quantum dot

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Feddi, E.; Talbi, A.; Mora-Ramos, M. E.; El Haouari, M.; Dujardin, F.; Duque, C. A.

2017-11-01

Using the effective mass approximation and a variational procedure, we have investigated the nonlinear optical absorption coefficient and the relative refractive index changes associated to a single dopant confined in core/shell quantum dots considering the influences of the core/shell dimensions, externally applied magnetic field, and dielectric mismatch. The results show that the optical absorption coefficient and the coefficients of relative refractive index change depend strongly on the core/shell sizes and they are blue shifted when the spatial confinement increases so this effect is magnified by higher structural dimensions. Additionally, it is obtained that both studied optical properties are sensitive to the dielectric environment in such a way that their amplitudes are very affected by the local field corrections.

CVD graphene sheets electrochemically decorated with "core-shell" Co/CoO nanoparticles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bayev, V. G.; Fedotova, J. A.; Kasiuk, J. V.; Vorobyova, S. A.; Sohor, A. A.; Komissarov, I. V.; Kovalchuk, N. G.; Prischepa, S. L.; Kargin, N. I.; Andrulevičius, M.; Przewoznik, J.; Kapusta, Cz.; Ivashkevich, O. A.; Tyutyunnikov, S. I.; Kolobylina, N. N.; Guryeva, P. V.

2018-05-01

The paper reports on the first successful fabrication of Co-graphene composites by electrochemical deposition of Co nanoparticles (NPs) on the sheets of twisted graphene. Characterization of the surface morphology and element mapping of twisted graphene decorated with Co NPs by transmission and scanning electron microscopy in combination with the energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy reveals the formation of isolated quasi-spherical oxidized Co NPs with the mean diameter 〈 d〉 ≈ 220 nm and core-shell structure. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy indicates that the core of deposited NPs consists of metal Co while the shell is CoO. Composite Co-graphene samples containing core-shell NPs reveal an exchange bias field up to 160 Oe at 4 K as detected by vibrating sample magnetometry after the field cooling procedure.

Application of core-shell-structured CdTe@SiO2 quantum dots synthesized via a facile solution method for improving latent fingerprint detection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gao, Feng; Han, Jiaxing; Lv, Caifeng; Wang, Qin; Zhang, Jun; Li, Qun; Bao, Liru; Li, Xin

2012-10-01

Fingerprint detection is important in criminal investigation. This paper reports a facile powder brushing technique for improving latent fingerprint detection using core-shell-structured CdTe@SiO2 quantum dots (QDs) as fluorescent labeling marks. Core-shell-structured CdTe@SiO2 QDs are prepared via a simple solution-based approach using NH2NH2·H2O as pH adjustor and stabilizer, and their application for improving latent fingerprint detection is explored. The obtained CdTe@SiO2 QDs show spherical shapes with well-defined core-shell structures encapsulating different amounts of QDs depending on the type of the pH adjustor and stabilizer. Moreover, the fluorescence of CdTe@SiO2 QDs is largely enhanced by surface modification of the SiO2 shell. The CdTe@SiO2 QDs overcome the oxidation problem of pure CdTe QDs in air, thus affording better variability with strong adhesive ability, better resolution, and bright emission colors for practical application in latent fingerprint detection. In comparison with the conventional fluorescence powders, silver powders, and others, the effectiveness of CdTe@SiO2 QD powders for detection of latent fingerprints present on a large variety of object surfaces is greatly improved. The synthesis method for CdTe@SiO2 QDs is simple, cheap, and easy for large-scale production, and thus offers many advantages in the practical application of fingerprint detection.

Synthesis and detection the oxidization of Co cores of Co@SiO2 core-shell nanoparticles by in situ XRD and EXAFS.

PubMed

Zhang, Kunhao; Zhao, Ziyan; Wu, Zhonghua; Zhou, Ying

2015-01-01

In this paper, the Co@SiO2 core-shell nanoparticles were prepared by the sol-gel method. The oxidization of Co core nanoparticles was studied by the synchrotron radiation-based techniques including in situ X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) up to 800°C in air and N2 protection conditions, respectively. It was found that the oxidization of Co cores is undergoing three steps regardless of being in air or in N2 protection condition. In the first step ranging from room temperature to 200°C, the Co cores were dominated by Co(0) state as well as small amount of Co(2+) ions. When temperature was above 300°C, the interface between Co cores and SiO2 shells was gradually oxidized into Co(2+), and the CoO layer was observed. As the temperature increasing to 800°C, the Co cores were oxidized to Co3O4 or Co3O4/CoO. Nevertheless, the oxidization kinetics of Co cores is different for the Co@SiO2 in air and N2 gas conditions. Generally, the O2 in the air could get through the SiO2 shells easily onto the Co core surface and induce the oxidization of the Co cores due to the mesoporous nature of the SiO2 shells. However, in N2 gas condition, the O atoms can only be from the SiO2 shells, so the diffusion effect of O atoms in the interface between Co core and SiO2 shell plays a key role.

Core-shell structure of Miglyol/poly(D,L-lactide)/Poloxamer nanocapsules studied by small-angle neutron scattering.

PubMed

Rübe, Andrea; Hause, Gerd; Mäder, Karsten; Kohlbrecher, Joachim

2005-10-03

The contrast variation technique in small angle neutron scattering (SANS) was used to investigate the inner structure of nanocapsules on the example of poly(D,L-lactide) (PLA) nanocapsules. The determination of the PLA and Poloxamer shell thickness was the focus of this study. Highest sensitivity on the inner structure of the nanocapsules was obtained when the scattering length density of the solvent was varied between the one of the Miglyol core and the PLA shell. According to the fit data the PLA shell thickness was 9.8 nm. The z-averaged radius determined by SANS experiments correlated well with dynamic light scattering (DLS) results, although DLS values were systematically slightly higher than the ones measured by SANS. This could be explained by taking into account the influence of Poloxamer attached to the nanocapsules surface. For a refined fit model with a second shell consisting of Poloxamer, SANS values and DLS values fitted well with each other. The characterization method presented here is significant because detailed insights into the nanocapsule and the Poloxamer shell were gained for the first time. This method could be used to develop strategies for the optimization of the shell properties concerning controlled release and to study changes in the shell structure during degradation processes.

Enhanced Performance of Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting with ITO@α-Fe2O3 Core-Shell Nanowire Array as Photoanode.

PubMed

Yang, Jie; Bao, Chunxiong; Yu, Tao; Hu, Yingfei; Luo, Wenjun; Zhu, Weidong; Fu, Gao; Li, Zhaosheng; Gao, Hao; Li, Faming; Zou, Zhigang

2015-12-09

Hematite (α-Fe2O3) is one of the most promising candidates for photoelectrodes in photoelectrochemical water splitting system. However, the low visible light absorption coefficient and short hole diffusion length of pure α-Fe2O3 limits the performance of α-Fe2O3 photoelectrodes in water splitting. Herein, to overcome these drawbacks, single-crystalline tin-doped indium oxide (ITO) nanowire core and α-Fe2O3 nanocrystal shell (ITO@α-Fe2O3) electrodes were fabricated by covering the chemical vapor deposited ITO nanowire array with compact thin α-Fe2O3 nanocrystal film using chemical bath deposition (CBD) method. The J-V curves and IPCE of ITO@α-Fe2O3 core-shell nanowire array electrode showed nearly twice as high performance as those of the α-Fe2O3 on planar Pt-coated silicon wafers (Pt/Si) and on planar ITO substrates, which was considered to be attributed to more efficient hole collection and more loading of α-Fe2O3 nanocrystals in the core-shell structure than planar structure. Electrochemical impedance spectra (EIS) characterization demonstrated a low interface resistance between α-Fe2O3 and ITO nanowire arrays, which benefits from the well contact between the core and shell. The stability test indicated that the prepared ITO@α-Fe2O3 core-shell nanowire array electrode was stable under AM1.5 illumination during the test period of 40,000 s.

Au@Pd core-shell nanobricks with concave structures and their catalysis of ethanol oxidation.

PubMed

Wang, Wenjin; Zhang, Jie; Yang, Shengchun; Ding, Bingjun; Song, Xiaoping

2013-10-01

Au@Pd core-shell nanobricks (CNBs) with concave surfaces and Pd shells with a thickness of approximately 5 nm were synthesized by co-reduction of HAuCl4 and H2 PdCl4 in the presence of Au seeds and Ag ions. These as-synthesized concave CNBs exhibit significantly enhanced catalytic activity for the electrooxidation of ethanol in alkaline media compared to the commercially-used Pd black. The improved performance of the Au@Pd CNBs can be attributed to the exposed stepped surfaces, high-index facets, and the synergistic effects of the core and shell metals. Copyright © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Single and multi-layered core-shell structures based on ZnO nanorods obtained by aerosol assisted chemical vapor deposition

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

Sáenz-Trevizo, A.; Amézaga-Madrid, P.; Pizá-Ruiz, P.

2015-07-15

Core–shell nanorod structures were prepared by a sequential synthesis using an aerosol assisted chemical vapor deposition technique. Several samples consisting of ZnO nanorods were initially grown over TiO{sub 2} film-coated borosilicate glass substrates, following the synthesis conditions reported elsewhere. Later on, a uniform layer consisting of individual Al, Ni, Ti or Fe oxides was grown onto ZnO nanorod samples forming the so-called single MO{sub x}/ZnO nanorod core–shell structures, where MO{sub x} was the metal oxide shell. Additionally, a three-layer core–shell sample was developed by growing Fe, Ti and Fe oxides alternately, onto the ZnO nanorods. The microstructure of the core–shellmore » materials was characterized by grazing incidence X-ray diffraction, scanning and transmission electron microscopy. Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy was employed to corroborate the formation of different metal oxides. X-ray diffraction outcomes for single core–shell structures showed solely the presence of ZnO as wurtzite and TiO{sub 2} as anatase. For the multi-layered shell sample, the existence of Fe{sub 2}O{sub 3} as hematite was also detected. Morphological observations suggested the existence of an outer material grown onto the nanorods and further microstructural analysis by HR-STEM confirmed the development of core–shell structures in all cases. These studies also showed that the individual Al, Fe, Ni and Ti oxide layers are amorphous; an observation that matched with X-ray diffraction analysis where no apparent extra oxides were detected. For the multi-layered sample, the development of a shell consisting of three different oxide layers onto the nanorods was found. Overall results showed that no alteration in the primary ZnO core was produced during the growth of the shells, indicating that the deposition technique used herein was and it is suitable for the synthesis of homogeneous and complex nanomaterials high in quality and purity. In addition, materials absorptance determined from the total transmittance and reflectance spectra revealed a broader absorption interval including visible light, indicating potential uses of these nanostructures on solar energy appliances. - Graphical abstract: Display Omitted - Highlights: • Uniform ZnO nanorods (core)–metal oxide (shell) were obtained sequentially by AACVD. • Shells were structured of homogeneous single or multi-layered non-mixed metal oxides. • ZnO nanorod core was preserved during the shell synthesis. • Optical absorptance revealed visible interval absorption for FeO{sub x} shell samples. • Materials can be suitable for photocatalytic or photovoltaic applications.« less

Effect of solvents on morphology, magnetic and dielectric properties of (α-Fe2O3@SiO2) core-shell nanoparticles.

PubMed

Joshi, Deepika P; Pant, Geeta; Arora, Neha; Nainwal, Seema

2017-02-01

Present work describes the formation of α-Fe 2 O 3 @SiO 2 core shell structure by systematic layer by layer deposition of silica shell on core iron oxide nanoparticles prepared via various solvents. Sol-gel method has been used to synthesize magnetic core and the dielectric shell. The average crystallite size of iron oxide nanoparticles was calculated ∼20 nm by X-ray diffraction pattern. Morphological study by scanning electron microscopy revealed that the core-shell nanoparticles were spherical in shape and the average size of nanoparticles increased by varying solvent from methanol to ethanol to isopropanol due to different chemical structure and nature of the solvents. It was also observed that the particles prepared by solvent ethanol were more regular and homogeneous as compared to other solvents. Magnetic measurements showed the weak ferromagnetic behaviour of both core α-Fe 2 O 3 and silica-coated iron oxide nanoparticles which remained same irrespective of the solvent chosen. However, magnetization showed dependency on the types of solvent chosen due to the variation in shell thickness. At room temperature, dielectric constant and dielectric loss of silica nanoparticles for all the solvents showed decrement with the increment in frequency. Decrement in the value of dielectric constant and increment in dielectric loss was observed for silica coated iron oxide nanoparticles in comparison of pure silica, due to the presence of metallic core. Homogeneous and regular silica layer prepared by using ethanol as a solvent could serve as protecting layer to shield the magnetic behaviour of iron oxide nanoparticles as well as to provide better thermal insulation over pure α-Fe 2 O 3 nanoparticles.

Exchange coupling and microwave absorption in core/shell-structured hard/soft ferrite-based CoFe2O4/NiFe2O4 nanocapsules

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Feng, Chao; Liu, Xianguo; Or, Siu Wing; Ho, S. L.

2017-05-01

Core/shell-structured, hard/soft spinel-ferrite-based CoFe2O4/NiFe2O4 (CFO/NFO) nanocapsules with an average diameter of 17 nm are synthesized by a facile two-step hydrothermal process using CFO cores of ˜15 nm diameter as the hard magnetic phase and NFO shells of ˜1 nm thickness as the soft magnetic phase. The single-phase-like hysteresis loop with a high remnant-to-saturation magnetization ratio of 0.7, together with a small grain size of ˜16 nm, confirms the existence of exchange-coupling interaction between the CFO cores and the NFO shells. The effect of hard/soft exchange coupling on the microwave absorption properties is studied. Comparing to CFO and NFO nanoparticles, the finite-size NFO shells and the core/shell structure enable a significant reduction in electric resistivity and an enhancement in dipole and interfacial polarizations in the CFO/NFO nanocapsules, resulting in an obvious increase in dielectric permittivity and loss in the whole S-Ku bands of microwaves of 2-18 GHz, respectively. The exchange-coupling interaction empowers a more favorable response of magnetic moment to microwaves, leading to enhanced exchange resonances in magnetic permeability and loss above 10 GHz. As a result, strong absorption, as characterized by a large reflection loss (RL) of -20.1 dB at 9.7 GHz for an absorber thickness of 4.5 mm as well as a broad effective absorption bandwidth (for RL<-10 dB) of 8.4 GHz (7.8-16.2 GHz) at an absorber thickness range of 3.0-4.5 mm, is obtained.

Largely improved the low temperature toughness of acrylonitrile-styrene-acrylate (ASA) resin: Fabricated a core-shell structure of two elastomers through the differences of interfacial tensions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mao, Zepeng; Zhang, Jun

2018-06-01

The phase morphology of two elastomers (i.e., chlorinated polyethylene (CPE) and polybutadiene rubber (BR)) were devised to be a core-shell structure in acrylonitrile-styrene-acrylate (ASA) resin matrix, via the interfacial tension differences of polymer pairs. Selective extraction test and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were utilized to verify this special phase morphology. The results demonstrated that the core-shell structure, BR core and CPE shell, significantly contributed to improve the low temperature toughness of ASA/CPE/BR ternary blends, which may be because the nonpolar BR core was segregated from polar ASA by the CPE shell. The CPE shell served dual functions: Not only did it play compatibilizing effect in the interface between BR and ASA matrix, but it also toughened the blends at 25 and 0 °C. The blends of ASA/CPE/BR (100/27/3, w/w/w) and ASA/CPE/BR (100/22/8, w/w/w) showed the peak impact strengths at about 28 and 9 kJ/m2 at 0 and -30 °C, respectively, which were higher than both that of ASA/CPE/BR (100/30/0, w/w/w) and ASA/CPE/BR (100/0/30, w/w/w). Moreover, the impact strength of ternary blends at room temperature kept at 40 kJ/m2 when BR content was lower than 10 phr. Other characterizations including contact angle measurement, dynamic mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA), morphology of impact-fractured surfaces, tensile properties, flexural properties, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) were measured as well.

Electronic, Optical, and Thermal Properties of Reduced-Dimensional Semiconductors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Shouting

Reduced-dimensional materials have attracted tremendous attention because of their new physics and exotic properties, which are of great interests for fundamental science. More importantly, the manipulation and engineering of matter on an atomic scale yield promising applications for many fields including nanoelectronics, nanobiotechnology, environments, and renewable energy. Because of the unusual quantum confinement and enhanced surface effect of reduced-dimensional materials, traditional empirical models suffer from necessary but unreliable parameters extracted from previously-studied bulk materials. In this sense, quantitative, parameter-free approaches are highly useful for understanding properties of reduced-dimensional materials and, furthermore, predicting their novel applications. The first-principles density functional theory (DFT) is proven to be a reliable and convenient tool. In particular, recent progress in many-body perturbation theory (MBPT) makes it possible to calculate excited-state properties, e.g., quasiparticle (QP) band gap and optical excitations, by the first-principles approach based on DFT. Therefore, during my PhD study, I employed first-principles calculations based on DFT and MBPT to systematically study fundamental properties of typical reduced-dimensional semiconductors, i.e., the electronic structure, phonons, and optical excitations of core-shell nanowires (NWs) and graphene-like two-dimensional (2D) structures of current interests. First, I present first-principles studies on how to engineer band alignments of nano-sized radial heterojunctions, Si/Ge core-shell NWs. Our calculation reveals that band offsets in these one-dimensional (1D) nanostructures can be tailored by applying axial strain or varying core-shell sizes. In particular, the valence band offset can be efficiently tuned across a wide range and even be diminished via applied strain. Two mechanisms contribute to this tuning of band offsets. Furthermore, varying the size of Si/Ge core-shell NWs and corresponding quantum confinement is shown to be efficient for modifying both valence and conduction band offsets simultaneously. Our proposed approaches to control band offsets in nano-sized heterojunctions may be of practical interest for nanoelectronic and photovoltaic applications. Additionally, I also studied the lattice vibrational modes of Si/Ge core-shell N-Ws. Our calculations show that the internal strain induced by the lattice mismatch between core and shell plays an important role in significantly shifting the frequency of characteristic optical modes of core-shell NWs. In particular, our simulation demonstrates that these frequency shifts can be detected by Raman-scattering experiments, giving rise to a convenient and nondestructive way to obtain structural information of core-shell materials. Meanwhile, another type of collective modes, the radial breathing modes (RBM), is identified in Si-core/Ge-shell NWs and their frequency dependence is explained by an elastic media model. Our studied vibrational modes and their frequency evolution are useful for thermoelectric applications based on core-shell nanostructures. Then I studied optical properties and exciton spectra of 2D semiconducting carbon structures. The energy spectra and wavefunctions of excitons in the 2D graphene derivatives, i.e., graphyne and graphane, are found to be strongly modified by quantum confinement, making them qualitatively different from the usual Rydberg series. However, their parity and optical selection rules are preserved. Thus a one-parameter hydrogenic model is applied to quantitatively explain the ab initio exciton spectra, and allows one to extrapolate the electron-hole binding energy from optical spectroscopies of 2D semiconductors without costly simulations. Meanwhile, our calculated optical absorption spectrum and enhanced spin singlet-triplet splitting project graphyne, an allotrope of graphene, as a good candidate for intriguing energy and biomedical applications. Lastly, we report first-principles results on electronic structures of 2D graphene-like system, i.e., silicene. For planar and simply buckled silicene structures, we confirm their zero-gap nature and show a significant renormalization of their Fermi velocity by including many-electron effects. However, the other two recently proposed silicene structures exhibit a finite band gap, indicating that they are gapped semiconductors instead of expected Dirac-fermion semimetals. This finite band gap of the latter two structures is preserved even with the Ag substrate included. The gap opening is explained by the symmetry breaking of the buckled structures. Moreover, our GW calculation reveals enhanced many-electron effects in these 2D structures. Finally the band gap of the latter two structures can be tuned in a wide range by applying strain.

Spontaneous formation of GaN/AlN core-shell nanowires on sapphire by hydride vapor phase epitaxy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Trassoudaine, Agnès; Roche, Elissa; Bougerol, Catherine; André, Yamina; Avit, Geoffrey; Monier, Guillaume; Ramdani, Mohammed Réda; Gil, Evelyne; Castelluci, Dominique; Dubrovskii, Vladimir G.

2016-11-01

Spontaneous GaN/AlN core-shell nanowires with high crystal quality were synthesized on sapphire substrates by vapor-liquid-solid hydride vapor phase epitaxy (VLS-HVPE) without any voluntary aluminum source. Deposition of aluminum is difficult to achieve in this growth technique which uses metal-chloride gaseous precursors: the strong interaction between the AlCl gaseous molecules and the quartz reactor yields a huge parasitic nucleation on the walls of the reactor upstream the substrate. We open up an innovative method to produce GaN/AlN structures by HVPE, thanks to aluminum etching from the sapphire substrate followed by redeposition onto the sidewalls of the GaN core. The paper presents the structural characterization of GaN/AlN core-shell nanowires, speculates on the growth mechanism and discusses a model which describes this unexpected behavior.

Electrosprayed core-shell solid dispersions of acyclovir fabricated using an epoxy-coated concentric spray head.

PubMed

Liu, Zhe-Peng; Cui, Lei; Yu, Deng-Guang; Zhao, Zhuan-Xia; Chen, Lan

2014-01-01

A novel structural solid dispersion (SD) taking the form of core-shell microparticles for poorly water-soluble drugs is reported for the first time. Using polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) as a hydrophilic polymer matrix, the SDs were fabricated using coaxial electrospraying (characterized by an epoxy-coated concentric spray head), although the core fluids were unprocessable using one-fluid electrospraying. Through manipulating the flow rates of the core drug-loaded solutions, two types of core-shell microparticles with tunable drug contents were prepared. They had average diameters of 1.36±0.67 and 1.74±0.58 μm, and were essentially a combination of nanocomposites with the active ingredient acyclovir (ACY) distributed in the inner core, and the sweeter sucralose and transmembrane enhancer sodium dodecyl sulfate localized in the outer shell. Differential scanning calorimetry and X-ray diffraction results demonstrated that ACY, sodium dodecyl sulfate, and sucralose were well distributed in the PVP matrix in an amorphous state because of favorable second-order interactions. In vitro dissolution and permeation studies showed that the core-shell microparticle SDs rapidly freed ACY within 1 minute and promoted nearly eightfold increases in permeation rate across the sublingual mucosa compared with raw ACY powders.

Room-temperature synthesis of core-shell structured magnetic covalent organic frameworks for efficient enrichment of peptides and simultaneous exclusion of proteins.

PubMed

Lin, Guo; Gao, Chaohong; Zheng, Qiong; Lei, Zhixian; Geng, Huijuan; Lin, Zian; Yang, Huanghao; Cai, Zongwei

2017-03-28

Core-shell structured magnetic covalent organic frameworks (Fe 3 O 4 @COFs) were synthesized via a facile approach at room temperature. Combining the advantages of high porosity, magnetic responsiveness, chemical stability and selectivity, Fe 3 O 4 @COFs can serve as an ideal absorbent for the highly efficient enrichment of peptides and the simultaneous exclusion of proteins from complex biological samples.

Hollow core-shell structured Ni-Sn@C nanoparticles: a novel electrocatalyst for the hydrogen evolution reaction.

PubMed

Lang, Leiming; Shi, Yi; Wang, Jiong; Wang, Feng-Bin; Xia, Xing-Hua

2015-05-06

Pt-free electrocatalysts with high activity and low cost are highly pursued for hydrogen production by electrochemically splitting water. Ni-based alloy catalysts are potential candidates for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and have been studied extensively. Here, we synthesized novel hollow core-shell structure Ni-Sn@C nanoparticles (NPs) by sol-gel, chemical vapor deposition, and etching processes. The prepared electrocatalysts with porous hollow carbon layers have a high conductivity and large active area, which exhibit good electrocatalytic activity toward HER. The Tafel slope of ∼35 millivolts per decade measured in acidic solution for Ni-Sn@C NPs is the smallest one to date for the Ni-Sn alloy catalysts, and exceeds those of the most non-noble metal catalysts, indicating a possible Volmer-Heyrovsky reaction mechanism. The synthetic method can be extended to prepare other hollow core-shell structure electrocatalysts for low-temperature fuel cells.

Facile synthesis of nanorod-assembled multi-shelled Co3O4 hollow microspheres for high-performance supercapacitors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Yaping; Pan, Anqiang; Zhu, Qinyu; Nie, Zhiwei; Zhang, Yifang; Tang, Yan; Liang, Shuquan; Cao, Guozhong

2014-12-01

In this work, we report a novel strategy for the controlled synthesis of nanorod assembled multi-shelled cobalt oxide (Co3O4) hollow microspheres (HSs). The Co2CO3(OH)2 NRs are first vertically grown on the carbon microspheres (CS) to form the core-shelled composites by a low-temperature solution route. The multi-shelled hollow interiors within the Co3O4 microspheres are unconventionally obtained by annealing the as-prepared core-shell structured CS@Co2CO3(OH)2 composite in air. When evaluated for supercapacitive performance, the multi-shelled Co3O4 hollow microspheres exhibit high capacitance of 394.4 and 360 F g-1 at the current densities of 2 A g-1 and 10 A g-1, respectively. The superior electrochemical performance can be attributed to the multi-shelled hollow structures, which facilitate the electrolyte penetration and provide more active sites for the electrochemical reactions.

Improving dielectric properties of BaTiO3/poly(vinylidene fluoride) composites by employing core-shell structured BaTiO3@Poly(methylmethacrylate) and BaTiO3@Poly(trifluoroethyl methacrylate) nanoparticles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Xianhong; Zhao, Sidi; Wang, Fang; Ma, Yuhong; Wang, Li; Chen, Dong; Zhao, Changwen; Yang, Wantai

2017-05-01

Polymer based dielectric composites were fabricated through incorporation of core-shell structured BaTiO3 (BT) nanoparticles into PVDF matrix by means of solution blending. Core-shell structured BT nanoparticles with different shell composition and shell thickness were prepared by grafting methacrylate monomer (MMA or TFEMA) onto the surface of BT nanoparticles via surface initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (SI-ATRP). The content of the grafted polymer and the micro-morphology of the core-shell structured BT nanoparticles were investigated by thermo gravimetric analyses (TGA) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), respectively. The dielectric properties were measured by broadband dielectric spectroscopy. The results showed that high dielectric constant and low dielectric loss are successfully realized in the polymer based composites. Moreover, the type of the grafted polymer and its content had different effect on the dielectric constant. In detail, the attenuation of dielectric constant was 16.6% for BT@PMMA1/PVDF and 10.7% for BT@PMMA2/PVDF composite in the range of 10 Hz to 100 kHz, in which the grafted content of PMMA was 5.5% and 8.0%, respectively. However, the attenuation of dielectric constant was 5.5% for BT@PTFEMA1/PVDF and 4.0% for BT@PTFEMA2/PVDF composite, in which the grafted content of PTFEMA was 1.5% and 2.0%, respectively. These attractive features of BT@PTFEMA/PVDF composites suggested that dielectric ceramic fillers modified with fluorinated polymer can be used to prepare high performance composites, especially those with low dielectric loss and high dielectric constant.

Synthesis of ligand-stabilized metal oxide nanocrystals and epitaxial core/shell nanocrystals via a lower-temperature esterification process.

PubMed

Ito, Daisuke; Yokoyama, Shun; Zaikova, Tatiana; Masuko, Keiichiro; Hutchison, James E

2014-01-28

The properties of metal oxide nanocrystals can be tuned by incorporating mixtures of matrix metal elements, adding metal ion dopants, or constructing core/shell structures. However, high-temperature conditions required to synthesize these nanocrystals make it difficult to achieve the desired compositions, doping levels, and structural control. We present a lower temperature synthesis of ligand-stabilized metal oxide nanocrystals that produces crystalline, monodisperse nanocrystals at temperatures well below the thermal decomposition point of the precursors. Slow injection (0.2 mL/min) of an oleic acid solution of the metal oleate complex into an oleyl alcohol solvent at 230 °C results in a rapid esterification reaction and the production of metal oxide nanocrystals. The approach produces high yields of crystalline, monodisperse metal oxide nanoparticles containing manganese, iron, cobalt, zinc, and indium within 20 min. Synthesis of tin-doped indium oxide (ITO) can be accomplished with good control of the tin doping levels. Finally, the method makes it possible to perform epitaxial growth of shells onto nanocrystal cores to produce core/shell nanocrystals.

Single-mode tunable laser emission in the single-exciton regime from colloidal nanocrystals

PubMed Central

Grivas, Christos; Li, Chunyong; Andreakou, Peristera; Wang, Pengfei; Ding, Ming; Brambilla, Gilberto; Manna, Liberato; Lagoudakis, Pavlos

2013-01-01

Whispering-gallery-mode resonators have been extensively used in conjunction with different materials for the development of a variety of photonic devices. Among the latter, hybrid structures, consisting of dielectric microspheres and colloidal core/shell semiconductor nanocrystals as gain media, have attracted interest for the development of microlasers and studies of cavity quantum electrodynamic effects. Here we demonstrate single-exciton, single-mode, spectrally tuned lasing from ensembles of optical antenna-designed, colloidal core/shell CdSe/CdS quantum rods deposited on silica microspheres. We obtain single-exciton emission by capitalizing on the band structure of the specific core/shell architecture that strongly localizes holes in the core, and the two-dimensional quantum confinement of electrons across the elongated shell. This creates a type-II conduction band alignment driven by coulombic repulsion that eliminates non-radiative multi-exciton Auger recombination processes, thereby inducing a large exciton–bi-exciton energy shift. Their ultra-low thresholds and single-mode, single-exciton emission make these hybrid lasers appealing for various applications, including quantum information processing. PMID:23974520

Facile synthesis of Zn1-xCoxO/ZnO core/shell nanostructures and their application to dye-sensitized solar cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Manthina, Venkata; Agrios, Alexander G.

2017-04-01

Heterostructures consisting of Co-doped ZnO nanorod cores encased in an undoped ZnO shell were successfully synthesized to serve as photoanodes for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) by a two-step chemical bath deposition (CBD) technique. This yields a highly favorable structure in which electrons injected from the dye into the ZnO then step down in energy into the Co-doped core, where the electron is transported to the collector while the ZnO shell acts as a barrier to recombination with the electrolyte. Incorporation of the core/shell structures into DSSCs resulted in large improvements in photocurrent and photovoltage in comparison to pure ZnO nanorod-based DSSCs. SEM and XRD characterization indicate incorporation of the Co2+ into the ZnO matrix, without separation of the Co into other phases, providing no energy barriers. In addition, the ability of these heterostructures to reduce recombination rates in redox couples with fast recombination rates was probed by comparing DSSC device performance in both iodide/triiodide-based and ferrocene/ferrocenium-based electrolytes.

Outer Electrospun Polycaprolactone Shell Induces Massive Foreign Body Reaction and Impairs Axonal Regeneration through 3D Multichannel Chitosan Nerve Guides

PubMed Central

Behrens, Peter; Wienecke, Soenke; Chakradeo, Tanmay; Glasmacher, Birgit

2014-01-01

We report on the performance of composite nerve grafts with an inner 3D multichannel porous chitosan core and an outer electrospun polycaprolactone shell. The inner chitosan core provided multiple guidance channels for regrowing axons. To analyze the in vivo properties of the bare chitosan cores, we separately implanted them into an epineural sheath. The effects of both graft types on structural and functional regeneration across a 10 mm rat sciatic nerve gap were compared to autologous nerve transplantation (ANT). The mechanical biomaterial properties and the immunological impact of the grafts were assessed with histological techniques before and after transplantation in vivo. Furthermore during a 13-week examination period functional tests and electrophysiological recordings were performed and supplemented by nerve morphometry. The sheathing of the chitosan core with a polycaprolactone shell induced massive foreign body reaction and impairment of nerve regeneration. Although the isolated novel chitosan core did allow regeneration of axons in a similar size distribution as the ANT, the ANT was superior in terms of functional regeneration. We conclude that an outer polycaprolactone shell should not be used for the purpose of bioartificial nerve grafting, while 3D multichannel porous chitosan cores could be candidate scaffolds for structured nerve grafts. PMID:24818158

Outer electrospun polycaprolactone shell induces massive foreign body reaction and impairs axonal regeneration through 3D multichannel chitosan nerve guides.

PubMed

Duda, Sven; Dreyer, Lutz; Behrens, Peter; Wienecke, Soenke; Chakradeo, Tanmay; Glasmacher, Birgit; Haastert-Talini, Kirsten

2014-01-01

We report on the performance of composite nerve grafts with an inner 3D multichannel porous chitosan core and an outer electrospun polycaprolactone shell. The inner chitosan core provided multiple guidance channels for regrowing axons. To analyze the in vivo properties of the bare chitosan cores, we separately implanted them into an epineural sheath. The effects of both graft types on structural and functional regeneration across a 10 mm rat sciatic nerve gap were compared to autologous nerve transplantation (ANT). The mechanical biomaterial properties and the immunological impact of the grafts were assessed with histological techniques before and after transplantation in vivo. Furthermore during a 13-week examination period functional tests and electrophysiological recordings were performed and supplemented by nerve morphometry. The sheathing of the chitosan core with a polycaprolactone shell induced massive foreign body reaction and impairment of nerve regeneration. Although the isolated novel chitosan core did allow regeneration of axons in a similar size distribution as the ANT, the ANT was superior in terms of functional regeneration. We conclude that an outer polycaprolactone shell should not be used for the purpose of bioartificial nerve grafting, while 3D multichannel porous chitosan cores could be candidate scaffolds for structured nerve grafts.

A comparative study of a (0-3) connectivity type composite and core-shell structure of CoFe2O4 - BaTiO3 based on microstructure and magnetic property

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Das, Avisek; Gorige, Venkataiah

2018-04-01

In this work CoFe2O4 (CFO)-BaTiO3 (BTO) composite and core-shell CFO-BTO have been prepared to investigate the effect of microstructure on the magnetic properties. Detailed microstructure analysis has been carried out using X-ray diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscope and transmission electron microscope. Although uniform distribution of CFO is found in BTO matrix for the composite sample, magnetization and coercivity values are more enhanced in core-shell CFO-BTO.

Radiative Properties of Carriers in Cdse-Cds Core-Shell Heterostructured Nanocrystals of Various Geometries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, S.; Dong, L.; Popov, S.; Friberg, A. T.

2013-07-01

We report a model on core-shell heterostructured nanocrystals with CdSe as the core and CdS as the shell. The model is based on one-band Schrödinger equation. Three different geometries, nanodot, nanorod, and nanobone, are implemented. The carrier localization regimes with these structures are simulated, compared, and analyzed. Based on the electron and hole wave functions, the carrier overlap integral that has a great impact on stimulated emission is further investigated numerically by a novel approach. Furthermore, the relation between the nanocrystal size and electron-hole recombination energy is also examined.

Theoretical investigation of geometries, stabilities, electronic and optical properties for advanced Ag{sub n}@(ZnO){sub 42} (n=6-18) hetero-nanostructure

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

Cheng, Hai-Xia; Department of Physics, National University of Singapore, 117542; Wang, Xiao-Xu

The structural properties of Ag{sub n}@(ZnO){sub 42} (n=6-18) core-shell nanoparticles have been investigated by the first principles calculations, and the core-shell nanostructure with n=13 is proved to be the most stable one for the first time. Ag{sub 13}@(ZnO){sub 42} core-shell nanostructure possesses higher chemistry activity and shows a red shift phenomenon in the light of the absorption spectrum compare to the (ZnO){sub 48}, this can be confirmed by the calculated electron structure. The visible-light could be absorbed by Ag{sub 13}@(ZnO){sub 42} to improve the photo-catalysis of (ZnO){sub 48} nanostructure. Our results show good agreement with experiments.

Large-scale shell-model calculation with core excitations for neutron-rich nuclei beyond 132Sn

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jin, Hua; Hasegawa, Munetake; Tazaki, Shigeru; Kaneko, Kazunari; Sun, Yang

2011-10-01

The structure of neutron-rich nuclei with a few nucleons beyond 132Sn is investigated by means of large-scale shell-model calculations. For a considerably large model space, including neutron core excitations, a new effective interaction is determined by employing the extended pairing-plus-quadrupole model with monopole corrections. The model provides a systematical description for energy levels of A=133-135 nuclei up to high spins and reproduces available data of electromagnetic transitions. The structure of these nuclei is analyzed in detail, with emphasis of effects associated with core excitations. The results show evidence of hexadecupole correlation in addition to octupole correlation in this mass region. The suggested feature of magnetic rotation in 135Te occurs in the present shell-model calculation.

Electrochemical performance and structure evolution of core-shell nano-ring α-Fe2O3@Carbon anodes for lithium-ion batteries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, Yan-Hui; Liu, Shan; Zhou, Feng-Chen; Nan, Jun-Min

2016-12-01

Core-shell nano-ring α-Fe2O3@Carbon (CSNR) composites with different carbon content (CSNR-5%C and CSNR-13%C) are synthesized using a hydrothermal method by controlling different amounts of glucose and α-Fe2O3 nano-rings with further annealing. The CSNR electrodes exhibit much improved specific capacity, cycling stability and rate capability compared with that of bare nano-ring α-Fe2O3 (BNR), which is attributed to the core-shell nano-ring structure of CSNR. The carbon shell in the inner and outer surface of CSNR composite can increase electron conductivity of the electrode and inhibit the volume change of α-Fe2O3 during discharge/charge processes, and the nano-ring structure of CSNR can buffer the volume change too. The CSNR-5%C electrode shows super high initial discharge/charge capacities of 1570/1220 mAh g-1 and retains 920/897 mAh g-1 after 200 cycles at 500 mA g-1 (0.5C). Even at 2000 mA g-1 (2C), the electrode delivers the initial capacities of 1400/900 mAh g-1, and still maintains 630/610 mAh g-1 after 200 cycles. The core-shell nano-rings opened during cycling and rebuilt a new flower-like structure consisting of α-Fe2O3@Carbon nano-sheets. The space among the nano-sheet networks can further buffer the volume expansion of α-Fe2O3 and facilitate the transportation of electrons and Li+ ions during the charge/discharge processes, which increases the capacity and rate capability of the electrode. It is the first time that the evolution of core-shell α-Fe2O3@Carbon changing to flower-like networks during lithiation/de-lithiation has been reported.

A Facile Method for Synthesizing Dendritic Core–Shell Structured Ternary Metallic Aerogels and Their Enhanced Electrochemical Performances

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

Shi, Qiurong; Zhu, Chengzhou; Li, Yijing

2016-11-08

Currently, three dimensional self-supported metallic structures are attractive for their unique properties of high porosity, low density, excellent conductivity etc. that promote their wide application in fuel cells. Here, for the first time, we report a facile synthesis of dendritic core-shell structured Au/Pt3Pd ternary metallic aerogels via a one-pot self-assembly gelation strategy. The as-prepared Au/Pt3Pd ternary metallic aerogels demonstrated superior electrochemical performances toward oxygen reduction reaction compared to commercial Pt/C. The unique dendritic core-shell structures, Pt3Pd alloyed shells and the cross-linked network structures are beneficial for the electrochemical oxygen reduction reaction performances of the Pt-based materials via the electronic effect,more » geometric effect and synergistic effect. This strategy of fabrication of metallic hydrogels and aerogels as well as their exceptional properties hold great promise in a variety of applications.« less

Magnetization measurements and XMCD studies on ion irradiated iron oxide and core-shell iron/iron-oxide nanomaterials

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

Kaur, Maninder; Qiang, You; Jiang, Weilin

2014-12-02

Magnetite (Fe3O4) and core-shell iron/iron-oxide (Fe/Fe3O4) nanomaterials prepared by a cluster deposition system were irradiated with 5.5 MeV Si2+ ions and the structures determined by x-ray diffraction as consisting of 100% magnetite and 36/64 wt% Fe/FeO, respectively. However, x-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) indicates similar surfaces in the two samples, slightly oxidized and so having more Fe3+ than the expected magnetite structure, with XMCD intensity much lower for the irradiated core-shell samples indicating weaker magnetism. X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) data lack the signature for FeO, but the irradiated core-shell system consists of Fe-cores with ~13 nm of separating oxide crystallite,more » so it is likely that FeO exists deeper than the probe depth of the XAS (~5 nm). Exchange bias (Hex) for both samples becomes increasingly negative as temperature is lowered, but the irradiated Fe3O4 sample shows greater sensitivity of cooling field on Hex. Loop asymmetries and Hex sensitivities of the irradiated Fe3O4 sample are due to interfaces and interactions between grains which were not present in samples before irradiation as well as surface oxidation. Asymmetries in the hysteresis curves of the irradiated core/shell sample are related to the reversal mechanism of the antiferromagnetic FeO and possibly some near surface oxidation.« less

Efficient tungsten oxide/bismuth oxyiodide core/shell photoanode for photoelectrochemical water splitting

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ma, Haipeng; Zhang, Jing; Liu, Zhifeng

2017-11-01

The novel WO3 nanorods (NRs)/BiOI core/shell structure composite is used as an efficient photoanode applied in photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting for the first time. It is synthesized via facile hydrothermal method and, successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) process. This facile synthesis route can achieve uniform WO3/BiOI core/shell composite nanostructures and obtain varied BiOI morphologies simultaneously. The WO3 NRs/BiOI-20 composite exhibits enhanced PEC activity compared to pristine WO3 with a photocurrent density of 0.79 mA cm-2 measured at 0.8 V vs. RHE under AM 1.5G. This excellent performance benefits from the broader absorption spectrum and suppressed electron-hole recombination. This novel core/shell composite may provide insight in developing more efficient solar driven photoelectrodes.

Preparation of paclitaxel/chitosan co-assembled core-shell nanofibers for drug-eluting stent

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tang, Jing; Liu, Yongjia; Zhu, Bangshang; Su, Yue; Zhu, Xinyuan

2017-01-01

The paclitaxel/chitosan (PTX/CS) core-shell nanofibers (NFs) are easily prepared by co-assembly of PTX and CS and used in drug-eluting stent. The mixture solution of PTX (dissolved in ethanol) and CS (dissolved in 1% acetic acid water solution) under sonication will make the formation of NFs, in which small molecule PTX co-assembles with biomacromolecular CS through non-covalent interactions. The obtained NFs are tens to hundreds nanometers in diameter and millimeter level in length. Furthermore, the structure of PTX/CS NFs was characterized by confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM), zeta potential, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and nanoscale infra-red (nanoIR), which provided evidences demonstrated that PTX/CS NFs are core-shell structures. The 'shell' of CS wrapped outside of the NFs, while PTX is located in the core. Thus it resulted in high drug loading content (>40 wt.%). The well-controlled drug release, low cytotoxicity and good haemocompatibility were also found in drug carrier system of PTX/CS NFs. In addition, the hydrophilic and flexible properties of NFs make them easily coating and filming on stent to prepare drug-eluting stent (DES). Therefore, this study provides a convenient method to prepare high PTX loaded NFs, which is a promising nano-drug carrier used for DES and other biomedical applications. The possible molecular mechanism of PTX and CS co-assembly and core-shell nanofiber formation is also explored.

Optical absorption of carbon-gold core-shell nanoparticles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Zhaolong; Quan, Xiaojun; Zhang, Zhuomin; Cheng, Ping

2018-01-01

In order to enhance the solar thermal energy conversion efficiency, we propose to use carbon-gold core-shell nanoparticles dispersed in liquid water. This work demonstrates theoretically that an absorbing carbon (C) core enclosed in a plasmonic gold (Au) nanoshell can enhance the absorption peak while broadening the absorption band; giving rise to a much higher solar absorption than most previously studied core-shell combinations. The exact Mie solution is used to evaluate the absorption efficiency factor of spherical nanoparticles in the wavelength region from 300 nm to 1100 nm as well as the electric field and power dissipation profiles inside the nanoparticles at specified wavelengths (mostly at the localized surface plasmon resonance wavelength). The field enhancement by the localized plasmons at the gold surfaces boosts the absorption of the carbon particle, resulting in a redshift of the absorption peak with increased peak height and bandwidth. In addition to spherical nanoparticles, we use the finite-difference time-domain method to calculate the absorption of cubic core-shell nanoparticles. Even stronger enhancement can be achieved with cubic C-Au core-shell structures due to the localized plasmonic resonances at the sharp edges of the Au shell. The solar absorption efficiency factor can exceed 1.5 in the spherical case and reach 2.3 in the cubic case with a shell thickness of 10 nm. Such broadband absorption enhancement is in great demand for solar thermal applications including steam generation.

Synthesis and controllable oxidation of monodisperse cobalt-doped wüstite nanoparticles and their core-shell stability and exchange-bias stabilization.

PubMed

Chen, Chih-Jung; Chiang, Ray-Kuang; Kamali, Saeed; Wang, Sue-Lein

2015-09-14

Cobalt-doped wüstite (CWT), Co0.33Fe0.67O, nanoparticles were prepared via the thermal decomposition of CoFe2-oleate complexes in organic solvents. A controllable oxidation process was then performed to obtain Co0.33Fe0.67O/CoFe2O4 core-shell structures with different core-to-shell volume ratios and exchange bias properties. The oxidized core-shell samples with a ∼4 nm CoFe2O4 shell showed good resistance to oxygen transmission. Thus, it is inferred that the cobalt ferrite shell provides a better oxidation barrier performance than magnetite in the un-doped case. The hysteresis loops of the oxidized 19 nm samples exhibited a high exchange bias field (H(E)), an enhanced coercivity field (H(C)), and a pronounced vertical shift, thus indicating the presence of a strong exchange bias coupling effect. More importantly, the onset temperature of H(E) was found to be higher than 200 K, which suggests that cobalt doping increases the Néel temperature (T(N)) of the CWT core. In general, the results show that the homogeneous dispersion of Co in iron precursors improves the stability of the final CWT nanoparticles. Moreover, the CoFe2O4 shells formed following oxidation increase the oxidation resistance of the CWT cores and enhance their anisotropy energy.

Low-temperature nanosolders

DOEpatents

Boyle, Timothy J.; Lu, Ping; Vianco, Paul T.; Chandross, Michael E.

2016-10-11

A nanosolder comprises a first metal nanoparticle core coated with a second metal shell, wherein the first metal has a higher surface energy and smaller atomic size than the second metal. For example, a bimetallic nanosolder can comprise a protective Ag shell "glued" around a reactive Cu nanoparticle. As an example, a 3-D epitaxial Cu-core and Ag-shell structure was generated from a mixture of copper and silver nanoparticles in toluene at temperatures as low as 150.degree. C.

Ultraviolet Electroluminescence from ZnS@ZnO Core-Shell Nanowires/p-GaN Introduced by Exciton Localization.

PubMed

Fang, Xuan; Wei, Zhipeng; Yang, Yahui; Chen, Rui; Li, Yongfeng; Tang, Jilong; Fang, Dan; Jia, Huimin; Wang, Dengkui; Fan, Jie; Ma, Xiaohui; Yao, Bin; Wang, Xiaohua

2016-01-27

We investigate the electroluminescence (EL) from light emitting diodes (LEDs) of ZnO nanowires/p-GaN structure and ZnS@ZnO core-shell nanowires/p-GaN structure. With the increase of forward bias, the emission peak of ZnO nanowires/p-GaN structure heterojunction shows a blue-shift, while the ZnS@ZnO core-shell nanowires/p-GaN structure demonstrates a changing EL emission; the ultraviolet (UV) emission at 378 nm can be observed. This discrepancy is related to the localized states introduced by ZnS particles, which results in a different carrier recombination process near the interfaces of the heterojunction. The localized states capture the carriers in ZnO nanowires and convert them to localized excitons under high forward bias. A strong UV emission due to localized excitons can be observed. Our results indicated that utilizing localized excitons should be a new route toward ZnO-based ultraviolet LEDs with high efficiency.

Synthesis of Engineered Zeolitic Materials: From Classical Zeolites to Hierarchical Core-Shell Materials.

PubMed

Masoumifard, Nima; Guillet-Nicolas, Rémy; Kleitz, Freddy

2018-04-01

The term "engineered zeolitic materials" refers to a class of materials with a rationally designed pore system and active-sites distribution. They are primarily made of crystalline microporous zeolites as the main building blocks, which can be accompanied by other secondary components to form composite materials. These materials are of potential importance in many industrial fields like catalysis or selective adsorption. Herein, critical aspects related to the synthesis and modification of such materials are discussed. The first section provides a short introduction on classical zeolite structures and properties, and their conventional synthesis methods. Then, the motivating rationale behind the growing demand for structural alteration of these zeolitic materials is discussed, with an emphasis on the ongoing struggles regarding mass-transfer issues. The state-of-the-art techniques that are currently available for overcoming these hurdles are reviewed. Following this, the focus is set on core-shell composites as one of the promising pathways toward the creation of a new generation of highly versatile and efficient engineered zeolitic substances. The synthesis approaches developed thus far to make zeolitic core-shell materials and their analogues, yolk-shell, and hollow materials, are also examined and summarized. Finally, the last section concisely reviews the performance of novel core-shell, yolk-shell, and hollow zeolitic materials for some important industrial applications. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Selective isolation of the electron or hole in photocatalysis: ZnO-TiO2 and TiO2-ZnO core-shell structured heterojunction nanofibers via electrospinning and atomic layer deposition.

PubMed

Kayaci, Fatma; Vempati, Sesha; Ozgit-Akgun, Cagla; Donmez, Inci; Biyikli, Necmi; Uyar, Tamer

2014-06-07

Heterojunctions are a well-studied material combination in photocatalysis studies, the majority of which aim to improve the efficacy of the catalysts. Developing novel catalysts begs the question of which photo-generated charge carrier is more efficient in the process of catalysis and the associated mechanism. To address this issue we have fabricated core-shell heterojunction (CSHJ) nanofibers from ZnO and TiO2 in two combinations where only the 'shell' part of the heterojunction is exposed to the environment to participate in the photocatalysis. Core and shell structures were fabricated via electrospinning and atomic layer deposition, respectively which were then subjected to calcination. These CSHJs were characterized and studied for photocatalytic activity (PCA). These two combinations expose electrons or holes selectively to the environment. Under suitable illumination of the ZnO-TiO2 CSHJ, e/h pairs are created mainly in TiO2 and the electrons take part in catalysis (i.e. reduce the organic dye) at the conduction band or oxygen vacancy sites of the 'shell', while holes migrate to the core of the structure. Conversely, holes take part in catalysis and electrons diffuse to the core in the case of a TiO2-ZnO CSHJ. The results further revealed that the TiO2-ZnO CSHJ shows ∼1.6 times faster PCA when compared to the ZnO-TiO2 CSHJ because of efficient hole capture by oxygen vacancies, and the lower mobility of holes.

Nanocrystalline p-hydroxyacetanilide (paracetamol) and gold core-shell structure as a model drug deliverable organic-inorganic hybrid nanostructure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Das, Subhojit; Paul, Anumita; Chattopadhyay, Arun

2013-09-01

We report on the generation of core-shell nanoparticles (NPs) having an organic nanocrystal (NC) core coated with an inorganic metallic shell, being dispersed in aqueous medium. First, NCs of p-hydroxyacetanilide (pHA)--known also as paracetamol--were generated in an aqueous medium. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) evidenced the formation of pHA NCs and of their crystalline nature. The NCs were then coated with Au to form pHA@Au core-shell NPs, where the thickness of the Au shell was on the order of nanometers. The formation of Au nanoshell--surrounding pHA NC--was confirmed from its surface plasmon resonance (SPR) band in the UV/Vis spectrum and by TEM measurements. Further, on treatment of the core-shell particles with a solution comprising NaCl and HCl (pH < 3), the Au shell could be dissolved, subsequently releasing pHA molecules. The dissolution of Au shell was marked by a gradual diminishing of its SPR band, while the release of pHA molecules in the solution was confirmed from TEM and FTIR studies. The findings suggest that the core-shell NP could be hypothesized to be a model for encapsulating drug molecules, in their crystalline forms, for slow as well as targeted release.We report on the generation of core-shell nanoparticles (NPs) having an organic nanocrystal (NC) core coated with an inorganic metallic shell, being dispersed in aqueous medium. First, NCs of p-hydroxyacetanilide (pHA)--known also as paracetamol--were generated in an aqueous medium. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) evidenced the formation of pHA NCs and of their crystalline nature. The NCs were then coated with Au to form pHA@Au core-shell NPs, where the thickness of the Au shell was on the order of nanometers. The formation of Au nanoshell--surrounding pHA NC--was confirmed from its surface plasmon resonance (SPR) band in the UV/Vis spectrum and by TEM measurements. Further, on treatment of the core-shell particles with a solution comprising NaCl and HCl (pH < 3), the Au shell could be dissolved, subsequently releasing pHA molecules. The dissolution of Au shell was marked by a gradual diminishing of its SPR band, while the release of pHA molecules in the solution was confirmed from TEM and FTIR studies. The findings suggest that the core-shell NP could be hypothesized to be a model for encapsulating drug molecules, in their crystalline forms, for slow as well as targeted release. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available: See DOI: 10.1039/c3nr03566b

Preparation and recognition of surface molecularly imprinted core-shell microbeads for protein in aqueous solutions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lu, Yan; Yan, Chang-Ling; Gao, Shu-Yan

2009-04-01

In this paper, a surface molecular imprinting technique was reported for preparing core-shell microbeads of protein imprinting, and bovine hemoglobin or bovine serum albumin were used as model proteins for studying the imprinted core-shell microbeads. 3-Aminophenylboronic acid (APBA) was polymerized onto the surface of polystyrene microbead in the presence of the protein templates to create protein-imprinted core-shell microbeads. The various samples were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) methods. The effect of pH on rebinding of the template hemoglobin, the specific binding and selective recognition were studied for the imprinted microbeads. The results show that the bovine hemoglobin-imprinted core-shell microbeads were successfully created. The shell was a sort of imprinted thin films with porous structure and larger surface areas. The imprinted microbeads have good selectivity for templates and high stability. Due to the recognition sites locating at or closing to the surface, these imprinted microbeads have good property of mass-transport. Unfortunately, the imprint technology was not successfully applied to imprinting bovine serum albumin (BSA).

Electronic properties of core-shell nanowire resonant tunneling diodes

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

The electronic sub-band structure of InAs/InP/InAs/InP/InAs core-shell nanowire resonant tunneling diodes has been investigated in the effective mass approximation by varying the core radius and the thickness of the InP barriers and InAs shells. A top-hat, double-barrier potential profile and optimal energy configuration are obtained for core radii and surface shells >10 nm, InAs middle shells <10 nm, and 5 nm InP barriers. In this case, two sub-bands exist above the Fermi level in the InAs middle shell which belongs to the m = 0 and m = 1 ladder of states that have similar wave functions and energies. On the other hand, the lowest m = 0 sub-band in the core falls below the Fermi level but the m = 1 states do not contribute to the current transport since they reside energetically well above the Fermi level. We compare the case of GaAs/AlGaAs/GaAs/AlGaAs/GaAs which may conduct current with smaller applied voltages due to the larger effective mass of electrons in GaAs and discuss the need for doping. PMID:25288912

Facile green in situ synthesis of Mg/CuO core/shell nanoenergetic arrays with a superior heat-release property and long-term storage stability.

PubMed

Zhou, Xiang; Xu, Daguo; Zhang, Qiaobao; Lu, Jian; Zhang, Kaili

2013-08-14

We report a facile green method for the in situ synthesis of Mg/CuO core/shell nanoenergetic arrays on silicon, with Mg nanorods as the core and CuO as the shell. Mg nanorods are first prepared by glancing angle deposition. CuO is then deposited around the Mg nanorods by reactive magnetron sputtering to realize the core/shell structure. Various characterization techniques are used to investigate the prepared Mg/CuO core/shell nanoenergetic arrays, including scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray energy dispersive spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and thermal analysis. Uniform mixing and intimate contact between the Mg nanorods and CuO are confirmed from both visual inspection of the morphological images and analyses of the heat-release curves. The nanoenergetic arrays exhibit a low-onset reaction temperature (∼300 °C) and high heat of reaction (∼3400 J/g). Most importantly, the nanoenergetic arrays possess long-term storage stability resulting from the stable CuO shell. This study provides a potential general strategy for the synthesis of various Mg nanorod-based stable nanoenergetic arrays.

Electronic properties of core-shell nanowire resonant tunneling diodes.

PubMed

Zervos, Matthew

2014-01-01

The electronic sub-band structure of InAs/InP/InAs/InP/InAs core-shell nanowire resonant tunneling diodes has been investigated in the effective mass approximation by varying the core radius and the thickness of the InP barriers and InAs shells. A top-hat, double-barrier potential profile and optimal energy configuration are obtained for core radii and surface shells >10 nm, InAs middle shells <10 nm, and 5 nm InP barriers. In this case, two sub-bands exist above the Fermi level in the InAs middle shell which belongs to the m = 0 and m = 1 ladder of states that have similar wave functions and energies. On the other hand, the lowest m = 0 sub-band in the core falls below the Fermi level but the m = 1 states do not contribute to the current transport since they reside energetically well above the Fermi level. We compare the case of GaAs/AlGaAs/GaAs/AlGaAs/GaAs which may conduct current with smaller applied voltages due to the larger effective mass of electrons in GaAs and discuss the need for doping.

Bandgap Engineering of InP QDs Through Shell Thickness and Composition

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

Dennis, Allison M.; Mangum, Benjamin D.; Piryatinski, Andrei

2012-06-21

Fields as diverse as biological imaging and telecommunications utilize the unique photophysical and electronic properties of nanocrystal quantum dots (NQDs). The development of new NQD compositions promises material properties optimized for specific applications, while addressing material toxicity. Indium phosphide (InP) offers a 'green' alternative to the traditional cadmium-based NQDs, but suffers from extreme susceptibility to oxidation. Coating InP cores with more stable shell materials significantly improves nanocrystal resistance to oxidation and photostability. We have investigated several new InP-based core-shell compositions, correlating our results with theoretical predictions of their optical and electronic properties. Specifically, we can tailor the InP core-shell QDsmore » to a type-I, quasi-type-II, or type-II bandgap structure with emission wavelengths ranging from 500-1300 nm depending on the shell material used (ZnS, ZnSe, CdS, or CdSe) and the thickness of the shell. Single molecule microscopy assessments of photobleaching and blinking are used to correlate NQD properties with shell thickness.« less

Electronic Structures and Optical Properties of α-Al2O3Nanowires

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Zhiqiang; Li, Chunlei; Liu, Lijia; Sham, Tsun-Kong

2013-04-01

The electronic structure and optical properties of α-Al2O3 nanowires (NWs) have been investigated using X-ray absorption near-edge structures (XANES) and X-ray excited optical luminescence (XEOL). The XANES were recorded in total electron yield (TEY) and total fluorescence yield (TFY) across the K- and L3,2-edges of aluminium and the K-edge of oxygen. The results indicate that the NWs are of a core/shell structure with a single-crystalline core and an amorphous shell. The XEOL spectra of the NWs show an intense peak at 404 nm, which comes from the F centre located in the amorphous shell of the NWs. The implication of these findings and the sensitivity of XEOL for defect detection are discussed.

Optimization and photomodification of extremely broadband optical response of plasmonic core-shell obscurants.

PubMed

de Silva, Vashista C; Nyga, Piotr; Drachev, Vladimir P

2016-12-15

Plasmonic resonances of the metallic shells depend on their nanostructure and geometry of the core, which can be optimized for the broadband extinction normalized by mass. The fractal nanostructures can provide a broadband extinction. It allows as well for a laser photoburning of holes in the extinction spectra and consequently windows of transparency in a controlled manner. The studied core-shell microparticles synthesized using colloidal chemistry consist of gold fractal nanostructures grown on precipitated calcium carbonate (PCC) microparticles or silica (SiO 2 ) microspheres. The optimization includes different core sizes and shapes, and shell nanostructures. It shows that the rich surface of the PCC flakes is the best core for the fractal shells providing the highest mass normalized extinction over the extremely broad spectral range. The mass normalized extinction cross section up to 3m 2 /g has been demonstrated in the broad spectral range from the visible to mid-infrared. Essentially, the broadband response is a characteristic feature of each core-shell microparticle in contrast to a combination of several structures resonant at different wavelengths, for example nanorods with different aspect ratios. The photomodification at an IR wavelength makes the window of transparency at the longer wavelength side. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Micro-Raman investigations of InN-GaN core-shell nanowires on Si (111) substrate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sangeetha, P.; Jeganathan, K.; Ramakrishnan, V.

2013-06-01

The electron-phonon interactions in InN-GaN core-shell nanowires grown by plasma assisted- molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) on Si (111) substrate have been analysed using micro-Raman spectroscopic technique with the excitation wavelength of 633, 488 and 325 nm. The Raman scattering at 633 nm reveals the characteristic E2 (high) and A1 (LO) phonon mode of InN core at 490 and 590 cm-1 respectively and E2 (high) phonon mode of GaN shell at 573 cm-1. The free carrier concentration of InN core is found to be low in the order ˜ 1016 cm-3 due to the screening of charge carriers by thin GaN shell. Diameter of InN core evaluated using the spatial correlation model is consistent with the transmission electron microscopic measurement of ˜15 nm. The phonon-life time of core-shell nanowire structure is estimated to be ˜0.4 ps. The micro-Raman mapping and its corresponding localised spectra for 325 nm excitation exhibit intense E2 (high) phonon mode of GaN shell at 573 cm-1 as the decrease of laser interaction length and the signal intensity is quenched at the voids due to high spacing of NWs.

Synthesis and functionalization of NaGdF4:Yb,Er@NaGdF4 core-shell nanoparticles for possible application as multimodal contrast agents.

PubMed

Baziulyte-Paulaviciene, Dovile; Karabanovas, Vitalijus; Stasys, Marius; Jarockyte, Greta; Poderys, Vilius; Sakirzanovas, Simas; Rotomskis, Ricardas

2017-01-01

Upconverting nanoparticles (UCNPs) are promising, new imaging probes capable of serving as multimodal contrast agents. In this study, monodisperse and ultrasmall core and core-shell UCNPs were synthesized via a thermal decomposition method. Furthermore, it was shown that the epitaxial growth of a NaGdF 4 optical inert layer covering the NaGdF 4 :Yb,Er core effectively minimizes surface quenching due to the spatial isolation of the core from the surroundings. The mean diameter of the synthesized core and core-shell nanoparticles was ≈8 and ≈16 nm, respectively. Hydrophobic UCNPs were converted into hydrophilic ones using a nonionic surfactant Tween 80. The successful coating of the UCNPs by Tween 80 has been confirmed by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), photoluminescence (PL) spectra and magnetic resonance (MR) T1 relaxation measurements were used to characterize the size, crystal structure, optical and magnetic properties of the core and core-shell nanoparticles. Moreover, Tween 80-coated core-shell nanoparticles presented enhanced optical and MR signal intensity, good colloidal stability, low cytotoxicity and nonspecific internalization into two different breast cancer cell lines, which indicates that these nanoparticles could be applied as an efficient, dual-modal contrast probe for in vivo bioimaging.

Self-Assembled Core-Shell CdTe/Poly(3-hexylthiophene) Nanoensembles as Novel Donor-Acceptor Light-Harvesting Systems.

PubMed

Istif, Emin; Kagkoura, Antonia; Hernandez-Ferrer, Javier; Stergiou, Anastasios; Skaltsas, Theodosis; Arenal, Raul; Benito, Ana M; Maser, Wolfgang K; Tagmatarchis, Nikos

2017-12-27

The self-assembly of novel core-shell nanoensembles consisting of regioregular poly(3-hexylthiophene) nanoparticles (P3HT NPs ) of 100 nm as core and semiconducting CdTe quantum dots (CdTe QDs ) as shell with a thickness of a few tens of nanometers was accomplished by employing a reprecipitation approach. The structure, morphology, and composition of CdTe QDs /P3HT NPs nanoensembles were confirmed by high-resolution scanning transmission microscopy and dynamic light-scattering studies. Intimate interface contact between the CdTe QDs shell and the P3HT NPs core leads to the stabilization of the CdTe QDs /P3HT NPs nanoensemble as probed by the steady-state absorption spectroscopy. Effective quenching of the characteristic photoluminescence of CdTe QDs at 555 nm, accompanied by simultaneous increase in emission of P3HT NPs at 660 and 720 nm, reveals photoinduced charge-transfer processes. Probing the redox properties of films of CdTe QDs /P3HT NPs further proves the formation of a stabilized core-shell system in the solid state. Photoelectrochemical assays on CdTe QDs /P3HT NPs films show a reversible on-off photoresponse at a bias voltage of +0.8 V with a 3 times increased photocurrent compared to CdTe QDs . The improved charge separation is directly related to the unique core-shell configuration, in which the outer CdTe QDs shell forces the P3HT NPs core to effectively act as electron acceptor. The creation of novel donor-acceptor core-shell hybrid materials via self-assembly is transferable to other types of conjugated polymers and semiconducting nanoparticles. This work, therefore, opens new pathways for the design of improved optoelectronic devices.

Ion Structure Near a Core-Shell Dielectric Nanoparticle

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ma, Manman; Gan, Zecheng; Xu, Zhenli

2017-02-01

A generalized image charge formulation is proposed for the Green's function of a core-shell dielectric nanoparticle for which theoretical and simulation investigations are rarely reported due to the difficulty of resolving the dielectric heterogeneity. Based on the formulation, an efficient and accurate algorithm is developed for calculating electrostatic polarization charges of mobile ions, allowing us to study related physical systems using the Monte Carlo algorithm. The computer simulations show that a fine-tuning of the shell thickness or the ion-interface correlation strength can greatly alter electric double-layer structures and capacitances, owing to the complicated interplay between dielectric boundary effects and ion-interface correlations.

Role of Absorbing Nanocrystal Cores in Soft Photonic Crystals: A Spectroscopy and SANS Study.

PubMed

Rauh, Astrid; Carl, Nico; Schweins, Ralf; Karg, Matthias

2018-01-23

Periodic superstructures of plasmonic nanoparticles have attracted significant interest because they can support coupled plasmonic modes, making them interesting for plasmonic lasing, metamaterials, and as light-management structures in thin-film optoelectronic devices. We have recently shown that noble metal hydrogel core-shell colloids allow for the fabrication of highly ordered 2-dimensional plasmonic lattices that show surface lattice resonances as the result of plasmonic/diffractive coupling (Volk, K.; Fitzgerald, J. P. S.; Ruckdeschel, P.; Retsch, M.; König, T. A. F.; Karg, M. Reversible Tuning of Visible Wavelength Surface Lattice Resonances in Self-Assembled Hybrid Monolayers. Adv. Optical Mater. 2017, 5, 1600971, DOI: 10.1002/adom.201600971). In the present work, we study the photonic properties and structure of 3-dimensional crystalline superstructures of gold hydrogel core-shell colloids and their pitted counterparts without gold cores. We use far-field extinction spectroscopy to investigate the optical response of these superstructures. Narrow Bragg peaks are measured, independently of the presence or absence of the gold cores. All crystals show a significant reduction in low-wavelength scattering. This leads to a significant enhancement of the plasmonic properties of the samples prepared from gold-nanoparticle-containing core-shell colloids. Plasmonic/diffractive coupling is not evident, which we mostly attribute to the relatively small size of the gold cores limiting the effective coupling strength. Small-angle neutron scattering is applied to study the crystal structure. Bragg peaks of several orders clearly assignable to an fcc arrangement of the particles are observed for all crystalline samples in a broad range of volume fractions. Our results indicate that the nanocrystal cores do not influence the overall crystallization behavior or the crystal structure. These are important prerequisites for future studies on photonic materials built from core-shell particles, in particular, the development of new photonic materials from plasmonic nanocrystals.

Laser ablation of Au-CuO core-shell nanocomposite in water for optoelectronic devices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ismail, Raid A.; Abdul-Hamed, Ryam S.

2017-12-01

Core-shell gold-copper oxide Au-CuO nanocomposites were synthesized using laser ablation of CuO target in colloidal solution of Au nanoparticles (NPs). The effect of laser fluence on the structural, morphological, electrical, and optical properties of Au-CuO nanocomposites was investigated using x-ray diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscope (AFM), scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM), photoluminescence (PL), Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Hall measurement, and UV-vis spectroscopy. X-ray diffraction results confirm the formation of polycrystalline Au-CuO NPs with monoclinic structure. The optical energy gap for CuO was 4 eV and for the Au-CuO core-shell nanocomposites was found to be in the range of 3.4-3.7 eV. SEM and TEM investigations revealed that the structure and morphology of Au-CuO core-shell nanocomposites were strongly depending on the laser fluence. A formation of Au-CuO nanospheres and platelets structures was observed. The photoluminescence data showed an emission of broad visible peaks between 407 and 420 nm. The effect of laser fluence on the dark and illuminated I-V characteristics of Au-CuO/n-Si heterojunction photodetectors was investigated and analyzed. The experimental data demonstrated that the photodetector prepared at optimum laser fluence exhibited photosensitivity of 0.6 AW-1 at 800 nm.

Laser Heating of the Core-Shell Nanowires

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Astefanoaei, Iordana; Dumitru, Ioan; Stancu, Alexandru

2016-12-01

The induced thermal stress in a heating process is an important parameter to be known and controlled in the magnetization process of core-shell nanowires. This paper analyses the stress produced by a laser heating source placed at one end of a core-shell type structure. The thermal field was computed with the non-Fourier heat transport equation using a finite element method (FEM) implemented in Comsol Multiphysics. The internal stresses are essentially due to thermal gradients and different expansion characteristics of core and shell materials. The stress values were computed using the thermo elastic formalism and are depending on the laser beam parameters (spot size, power etc.) and system characteristics (dimensions, thermal characteristics). Stresses in the GPa range were estimated and consequently we find that the magnetic state of the system can be influenced significantly. A shell material as the glass which is a good thermal insulator induces in the magnetic core, the smaller stresses and consequently the smaller magnetoelastic energy. These results lead to a better understanding of the switching process in the magnetic materials.

Core-shell nanofibers of curcumin/cyclodextrin inclusion complex and polylactic acid: Enhanced water solubility and slow release of curcumin.

PubMed

Aytac, Zeynep; Uyar, Tamer

2017-02-25

Core-shell nanofibers were designed via electrospinning using inclusion complex (IC) of model hydrophobic drug (curcumin, CUR) with cyclodextrin (CD) in the core and polymer (polylactic acid, PLA) in the shell (cCUR/HPβCD-IC-sPLA-NF). CD-IC of CUR and HPβCD was formed at 1:2 molar ratio. The successful formation of core-shell nanofibers was revealed by TEM and CLSM images. cCUR/HPβCD-IC-sPLA-NF released CUR slowly but much more in total than PLA-CUR-NF at pH 1 and pH 7.4 due to the restriction of CUR in the core of nanofibers and solubility improvement shown in phase solubility diagram, respectively. Improved antioxidant activity of cCUR/HPβCD-IC-sPLA-NF in methanol:water (1:1) is related with the solubility enhancement achieved in water based system. The slow reaction of cCUR/HPβCD-IC-sPLA-NF in methanol is associated with the shell inhibiting the quick release of CUR. On the other hand, cCUR/HPβCD-IC-sPLA-NF exhibited slightly higher rate of antioxidant activity than PLA-CUR-NF in methanol:water (1:1) owing to the enhanced solubility. To conclude, slow release of CUR was achieved by core-shell nanofiber structure and inclusion complexation of CUR with HPβCD provides high solubility. Briefly, electrospinning of core-shell nanofibers with CD-IC core could offer slow release of drugs as well as solubility enhancement for hydrophobic drugs. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Structure and photoluminescence properties of TeO2-core/TiO2-shell nanowires

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Park, Sunghoon; An, Soyeon; Lee, Chongmu

2013-12-01

TeO2-core/TiO2-shell nanowires were fabricated by thermal evaporation of Te powders and MOCVD of TiO2. The as-synthesized TeO2 nanowires showed a weak broad violet band centered at approximately 430 nm. The emission peak was shifted to a bluish violet region (∼455 nm) by the encapsulation of the nanowires with a TiO2 thin film. The intensity of the major emission from the core-shell nanowires showed strong dependence on the shell layer thickness. The strongest emission was obtained for the shell layer thickness of ∼15 nm and its intensity was approximately 80 times higher than that of the violet emission from the as-synthesized TeO2 nanowires. This enhancement in emission intensity is attributed to the subwavelength optical resonant cavity formation in the shell layer. The major emission intensity was enhanced further and blue-shifted by annealing, which might be attributed to the increase in the Ti interstitial and O vacancy concentrations in the TeO2 cores during annealing.

Process Development of Gallium Nitride Phosphide Core-Shell Nanowire Array Solar Cell

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chuang, Chen

Dilute Nitride GaNP is a promising materials for opto-electronic applications due to its band gap tunability. The efficiency of GaNxP1-x /GaNyP1-y core-shell nanowire solar cell (NWSC) is expected to reach as high as 44% by 1% N and 9% N in the core and shell, respectively. By developing such high efficiency NWSCs on silicon substrate, a further reduction of the cost of solar photovoltaic can be further reduced to 61$/MWh, which is competitive to levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) of fossil fuels. Therefore, a suitable NWSC structure and fabrication process need to be developed to achieve this promising NWSC. This thesis is devoted to the study on the development of fabrication process of GaNxP 1-x/GaNyP1-y core-shell Nanowire solar cell. The thesis is divided into two major parts. In the first parts, previously grown GaP/GaNyP1-y core-shell nanowire samples are used to develop the fabrication process of Gallium Nitride Phosphide nanowire solar cell. The design for nanowire arrays, passivation layer, polymeric filler spacer, transparent col- lecting layer and metal contact are discussed and fabricated. The property of these NWSCs are also characterized to point out the future development of Gal- lium Nitride Phosphide NWSC. In the second part, a nano-hole template made by nanosphere lithography is studied for selective area growth of nanowires to improve the structure of core-shell NWSC. The fabrication process of nano-hole templates and the results are presented. To have a consistent features of nano-hole tem- plate, the Taguchi Method is used to optimize the fabrication process of nano-hole templates.

Facile, one-pot and scalable synthesis of highly emissive aqueous-based Ag,Ni:ZnCdS/ZnS core/shell quantum dots with high chemical and optical stability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sahraei, Reza; Soheyli, Ehsan; Faraji, Zahra; Soleiman-Beigi, Mohammad

2017-11-01

We report here on a one-pot, mild and low cost aqueous-based synthetic route for the preparation of colloidally stable and highly luminescent dual-doped Ag,Ni:ZnCdS/ZnS core/shell quantum dots (QDs). The pure dopant emission of the Ni-doped core/shell QDs was found to be highly affected by the presence of a second dopant ion (Ag+). Results showed that the PL emission intensity increases while its peak position experiences an obvious blue shift with an increase in the content of Ag+ ions. Regarding the optical observations, we provide a simple scheme for absorption-recombination processes of the carriers through impurity centers. To obtain optimum conditions with a better emission characteristic, we also study the effect of different reaction parameters, such as refluxing temperature, the pH of the core and shell solution, molar ratio of the dopant ions (Ni:(Zn+Cd) and Ag:(Zn+Cd)), and concentration of the core and shell precursors. Nonetheless, the most effective parameter is the presence of the ZnS shell in a suitable amount to eliminate surface trap states and enhance their emission intensity. It can also improve the bio-compatibility of the prepared QDs by restricting the Cd2+ toxic ions inside the core of the QDs. The present suggested route also revealed the remarkable optical and chemical stability of the colloidal QDs which establishes them as a decent kind of nano-scale structure for light emitting applications, especially in biological technologies. The suggested process also has the potential to be scaled-up while maintaining the emission characteristics and structural quality necessary for industrial applications in optoelectronic devices.

Core/multishell nanowire heterostructures as multicolor, high-efficiency light-emitting diodes.

PubMed

Qian, Fang; Gradecak, Silvija; Li, Yat; Wen, Cheng-Yen; Lieber, Charles M

2005-11-01

We report the growth and characterization of core/multishell nanowire radial heterostructures, and their implementation as efficient and synthetically tunable multicolor nanophotonic sources. Core/multishell nanowires were prepared by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition with an n-GaN core and InxGa1-xN/GaN/p-AlGaN/p-GaN shells, where variation of indium mole fraction is used to tune emission wavelength. Cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy studies reveal that the core/multishell nanowires are dislocation-free single crystals with a triangular morphology. Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy clearly shows shells with distinct chemical compositions, and quantitatively confirms that the thickness and composition of individual shells can be well controlled during synthesis. Electrical measurements show that the p-AlGaN/p-GaN shell structure yields reproducible hole conduction, and electroluminescence measurements demonstrate that in forward bias the core/multishell nanowires function as light-emitting diodes, with tunable emission from 365 to 600 nm and high quantum efficiencies. The ability to synthesize rationally III-nitride core/multishell nanowire heterostructures opens up significant potential for integrated nanoscale photonic systems, including multicolor lasers.

All zinc-blende GaAs/(Ga,Mn)As core-shell nanowires with ferromagnetic ordering.

PubMed

Yu, Xuezhe; Wang, Hailong; Pan, Dong; Zhao, Jianhua; Misuraca, Jennifer; von Molnár, Stephan; Xiong, Peng

2013-04-10

Combining self-catalyzed vapor-liquid-solid growth of GaAs nanowires and low-temperature molecular-beam epitaxy of (Ga,Mn)As, we successfully synthesized all zinc-blende (ZB) GaAs/(Ga,Mn)As core-shell nanowires on Si(111) substrates. The ZB GaAs nanowire cores are first fabricated at high temperature by utilizing the Ga droplets as the catalyst and controlling the triple phase line nucleation, then the (Ga,Mn)As shells are epitaxially grown on the side facets of the GaAs core at low temperature. The growth window for the pure phase GaAs/(Ga,Mn)As core-shell nanowires is found to be very narrow. Both high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and scanning electron microscopy observations confirm that all-ZB GaAs/(Ga,Mn)As core-shell nanowires with smooth side surface are obtained when the Mn concentration is not more than 2% and the growth temperature is 245 °C or below. Magnetic measurements with different applied field directions provide strong evidence for ferromagnetic ordering in the all-ZB GaAs/(Ga,Mn)As nanowires. The hybrid nanowires offer an attractive platform to explore spin transport and device concepts in fully epitaxial all-semiconductor nanospintronic structures.

Surface passivation and self-regulated shell growth in selective area-grown GaN-(Al,Ga)N core-shell nanowires.

PubMed

Hetzl, Martin; Winnerl, Julia; Francaviglia, Luca; Kraut, Max; Döblinger, Markus; Matich, Sonja; Fontcuberta I Morral, Anna; Stutzmann, Martin

2017-06-01

The large surface-to-volume ratio of GaN nanowires implicates sensitivity of the optical and electrical properties of the nanowires to their surroundings. The implementation of an (Al,Ga)N shell with a larger band gap around the GaN nanowire core is a promising geometry to seal the GaN surface. We investigate the luminescence and structural properties of selective area-grown GaN-(Al,Ga)N core-shell nanowires grown on Si and diamond substrates. While the (Al,Ga)N shell allows a suppression of yellow defect luminescence from the GaN core, an overall intensity loss due to Si-related defects at the GaN/(Al,Ga)N interface has been observed in the case of Si substrates. Scanning transmission electron microscopy measurements indicate a superior crystal quality of the (Al,Ga)N shell along the nanowire side facets compared to the (Al,Ga)N cap at the top facet. A nucleation study of the (Al,Ga)N shell reveals a pronounced bowing of the nanowires along the c-direction after a short deposition time which disappears for longer growth times. This is assigned to an initially inhomogeneous shell nucleation. A detailed study of the proceeding shell growth allows the formulation of a strain-driven self-regulating (Al,Ga)N shell nucleation model.

A novel magnetic core-shell nanocomposite Fe3O4@chitosan@ZnO for the green synthesis of 2-benzimidazoles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tian, Fei; Niu, Libo; Chen, Bo; Gao, Xuejia; Lan, Xingwang; Huo, Li; Bai, Guoyi

2017-10-01

A novel magnetic core-shell nanocomposite Fe3O4@Chitosan@ZnO was successfully prepared by in situ chemical precipitation method. It has a clear core-shell structure with magnetic Fe3O4 (about 160 nm in diameter) as core, chitosan as the inner shell, and ZnO as the outer shell, as demonstrated by the transmission electron microscopy and the related elemental mapping. Moreover, this nanocomposite has high magnetization (43.6 emu g-1) so that it can be easily separated from the reaction mixture within 4 s by an external magnetic field. The introduction of the natural chitosan shell, instead of the conventional SiO2 shell, and its combination with the active ZnO ensures this novel nanocomposite green character and good catalytic performance in the synthesis of 2-benzimidazoles with moderate to excellent isolated yields at room temperature. Notably, it can be recycled seven times without appreciable loss of its initial catalytic activity, demonstrating its good stability and making it an attractive candidate for the green synthesis of 2-benzimidazoles. [Figure not available: see fulltext.

Symplectic no-core shell-model approach to intermediate-mass nuclei

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tobin, G. K.; Ferriss, M. C.; Launey, K. D.; Dytrych, T.; Draayer, J. P.; Dreyfuss, A. C.; Bahri, C.

2014-03-01

We present a microscopic description of nuclei in the intermediate-mass region, including the proximity to the proton drip line, based on a no-core shell model with a schematic many-nucleon long-range interaction with no parameter adjustments. The outcome confirms the essential role played by the symplectic symmetry to inform the interaction and the winnowing of shell-model spaces. We show that it is imperative that model spaces be expanded well beyond the current limits up through 15 major shells to accommodate particle excitations, which appear critical to highly deformed spatial structures and the convergence of associated observables.

Reducing Iridium Loading in Oxygen Evolution Reaction Electrocatalysts Using Core–Shell Particles with Nitride Cores

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

Tackett, Brian M.; Sheng, Wenchao; Kattel, Shyam

Here, the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) has broad applications in electrochemical devices, but it often requires expensive and scarce Ir-based catalysts in acid electrolyte. Presented here is a framework to reduce Ir loading by combining core–shell iridium/metal nitride morphologies using in situ experiments and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Several group VIII transition metal (Fe, Co, and Ni) nitrides are studied as core materials, with Ir/Fe 4N core–shell particles showing enhancement in both OER activity and stability. In situ X-ray absorption fine structure measurements are used to determine the structure and stability of the core–shell catalysts under OER conditions. DFTmore » calculations are used to demonstrate adsorbate binding energies as descriptors of the observed activity trends.« less

Reducing Iridium Loading in Oxygen Evolution Reaction Electrocatalysts Using Core–Shell Particles with Nitride Cores

DOE PAGES

Tackett, Brian M.; Sheng, Wenchao; Kattel, Shyam; ...

2018-02-16

Here, the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) has broad applications in electrochemical devices, but it often requires expensive and scarce Ir-based catalysts in acid electrolyte. Presented here is a framework to reduce Ir loading by combining core–shell iridium/metal nitride morphologies using in situ experiments and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Several group VIII transition metal (Fe, Co, and Ni) nitrides are studied as core materials, with Ir/Fe 4N core–shell particles showing enhancement in both OER activity and stability. In situ X-ray absorption fine structure measurements are used to determine the structure and stability of the core–shell catalysts under OER conditions. DFTmore » calculations are used to demonstrate adsorbate binding energies as descriptors of the observed activity trends.« less

Tunable luminescent emission characterization of type-I and type-II systems in CdS-ZnSe core-shell nanoparticles: Raman and photoluminescence study.

PubMed

Ca, Nguyen Xuan; Lien, V T K; Nghia, N X; Chi, T T K; Phan, The-Long

2015-11-06

We used wet chemical methods to synthesize core-shell nanocrystalline samples CdS(d)/ZnSe N , where d = 3-6 nm and N = 1-5 are the size of CdS cores and the number of monolayers grown on the cores, respectively. By annealing typical CdS(d)/ZnSe N samples (with d = 3 and 6 nm and N = 2) at 300 °C for various times t an = 10-600 min, we created an intermediate layer composed of Zn1-x Cd x Se and Cd1-x Zn x S alloys with various thicknesses. The formation of core-shell structures and intermediate layers was monitored by Raman scattering and UV-vis absorption spectrometers. Careful photoluminescence studies revealed that the as-prepared CdS(d)/ZnSe N samples with d = 5 nm and N = 2-4, and the annealed samples CdS(3 nm)/ZnSe2 with t an ≤ 60 min and CdS(6 nm)/ZnSe2 with t an ≤ 180 min, show the emission characteristics of type-II systems. Meanwhile, the other samples show the emission characteristics of type-I systems. These results prove that the partial separation of photoexcited carriers between the core and shell is dependent strongly on the engineered core-shell nanostructures, meaning the sizes of the core, shell, and intermediate layers. With the tunable luminescence properties, CdS-ZnSe-based core-shell materials are considered as promising candidates for multiple-exciton generation and single-photon sources.

Development of Modified Titanium Nitride Nanoparticles as Potential Contrast Material for Photoacoustic Imaging

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-05-10

based on modified fullerenes , carbon nanotubes and gold nanoparticles (including nanocages and nanorods) were very recently reported.4 Nevertheless, this...ratios of 1:1.6 and 1:16, in order to form an onion- like core-shell structure, containing TiN core and shells of TPP (inner shell) and chitosan (outer...These results nicely correlate with the cells viability results and the formation of the ROS is most likely the cause of the cells death (Figure 24

ZnS-Sb2S3@C Core-Double Shell Polyhedron Structure Derived from Metal-Organic Framework as Anodes for High Performance Sodium Ion Batteries.

PubMed

Dong, Shihua; Li, Caixia; Ge, Xiaoli; Li, Zhaoqiang; Miao, Xianguang; Yin, Longwei

2017-06-27

Taking advantage of zeolitic imidazolate framework (ZIF-8), ZnS-Sb 2 S 3 @C core-double shell polyhedron structure is synthesized through a sulfurization reaction between Zn 2+ dissociated from ZIF-8 and S 2- from thioacetamide (TAA), and subsequently a metal cation exchange process between Zn 2+ and Sb 3+ , in which carbon layer is introduced from polymeric resorcinol-formaldehyde to prevent the collapse of the polyhedron. The polyhedron composite with a ZnS inner-core and Sb 2 S 3 /C double-shell as anode for sodium ion batteries (SIBs) shows us a significantly improved electrochemical performance with stable cycle stability, high Coulombic efficiency and specific capacity. Peculiarly, introducing a carbon shell not only acts as an important protective layer to form a rigid construction and accommodate the volume changes, but also improves the electronic conductivity to optimize the stable cycle performance and the excellent rate property. The architecture composed of ZnS inner core and a complex Sb 2 S 3 /C shell not only facilitates the facile electrolyte infiltration to reduce the Na-ion diffusion length to improve the electrochemical reaction kinetics, but also prevents the structure pulverization caused by Na-ion insertion/extraction. This approach to prepare metal sulfides based on MOFs can be further extended to design other nanostructured systems for high performance energy storage devices.

Factors affecting the microstructure and mechanical properties of Ti-Al3Ti core-shell-structured particle-reinforced Al matrix composites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guo, Baisong; Yi, Jianhong; Ni, Song; Shen, Rujuan; Song, Min

2016-04-01

This work studied the effects of matrix powder and sintering temperature on the microstructure and mechanical properties of in situ formed Ti-Al3Ti core-shell-structured particle-reinforced pure Al-based composites. It has been shown that both factors have significant effects on the morphology of the reinforcements and densification behaviour of the composites. Due to the strong interfacial bonding and the limitation of the crack propagation in the intermetallic shell during deformation by soft Al matrix and Ti core, the composite fabricated using fine spherical-shaped Al powder and sintered at 570 °C for 5 h has the optimal combination of the overall mechanical properties. The study provides a direction for the optimum combination of high strength and ductility of the composites by adjusting the fabrication parameters.

Accurate image-charge method by the use of the residue theorem for core-shell dielectric sphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fu, Jing; Xu, Zhenli

2018-02-01

An accurate image-charge method (ICM) is developed for ionic interactions outside a core-shell structured dielectric sphere. Core-shell particles have wide applications for which the theoretical investigation requires efficient methods for the Green's function used to calculate pairwise interactions of ions. The ICM is based on an inverse Mellin transform from the coefficients of spherical harmonic series of the Green's function such that the polarization charge due to dielectric boundaries is represented by a series of image point charges and an image line charge. The residue theorem is used to accurately calculate the density of the line charge. Numerical results show that the ICM is promising in fast evaluation of the Green's function, and thus it is useful for theoretical investigations of core-shell particles. This routine can also be applicable for solving other problems with spherical dielectric interfaces such as multilayered media and Debye-Hückel equations.

Magnetic field insensitive photoluminescence decay of ZnSe/CdS core/shell type-II colloidal quantum dots

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Woojin; Park, Seongho; Murayama, Akihiro; Lee, Jong-soo; Kyhm, Kwangseuk

2018-06-01

We have synthesized ZnSe/CdS core/shell type-II colloidal quantum dots, where an electron and a hole are separated in the CdS shell and the ZnSe core, respectively. Our theoretical model has revealed that absorbance spectrum of bare ZnSe quantum dots in 2 nm radius becomes broadened with a large redshift (∼1.15 eV) when the electron in ZnSe core is separated by 3.2 nm CdS shell. Also, we found that our type-II QDs are insensitive to an external magnetic field up to 5 T in terms of central emission energy, degree of polarization, and photoluminescence decay time. This can be attributed to the electron–hole charge separation in a type-II structure, whereby the suppressed exchange interaction gives rise to a magnetic insensitivity with a small energy difference between the bright and dark exciton states.

Magnetocapacitance effect in core/shell NiO nanoparticles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Roy, Subir; Kambhala, Nagaiah; Angappane, S.

2018-04-01

The exchange bias and magnetocapacitance properties of nickel oxide nanoparticles of average particle size 50 nm have been studied. NiO nanoparticles of uniform size distribution were synthesized by a sol-gel method using nickel acetate and polyvinyl acetate. The magnetic measurements show the ferromagnetic like behavior exhibiting exchange bias effect indicative of the formation of core/shell structure of NiO with a antiferromagnetic core and ferromagnetic shell. An electrical double layer capacitance behavior was observed for NiO nanoparticles in the cyclic voltammetry measurement, and it was found that the value of capacitance decreased by about 26 % under the application of magnetic field of 0.1 T.

The Synthesis and Characterization of Gold-Core/LDH-Shell Nanoparticles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rearick, Colton

In recent years, the field of nanomedicine has progressed at an astonishing rate, particularly with respect to applications in cancer treatment and molecular imaging. Although organic systems have been the frontrunners, inorganic systems have also begun to show promise, especially those based upon silica and magnetic nanoparticles (NPs). Many of these systems are being designed for simultaneous therapeutic and diagnostic capabilities, thus coining the term, theranostics. A unique class of inorganic systems that shows great promise as theranostics is that of layered double hydroxides (LDH). By synthesis of a core/shell structures, e.g. a gold nanoparticle (NP) core and LDH shell, the multifunctional theranostic may be developed without a drastic increase in the structural complexity. To demonstrate initial proof-of-concept of a potential (inorganic) theranostic platform, a Au-core/LDH-shell nanovector has been synthesized and characterized. The LDH shell was heterogeneously nucleated and grown on the surface of silica coated gold NPs via a coprecipitation method. Polyethylene glycol (PEG) was introduced in the initial synthesis steps to improve crystallinity and colloidal stability. Additionally, during synthesis, fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) was intercalated into the interlayer spacing of the LDH. In contrast to the PEG stabilization, a post synthesis citric acid treatment was used as a method to control the size and short-term stability. The heterogeneous core-shell system was characterized with scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDX), dynamic light scattering (DLS), and powder x-ray diffraction (PXRD). A preliminary in vitro study carried out with the assistance of Dr. Kaushal Rege's group at Arizona State University was to demonstrate the endocytosis capability of homogeneously-grown LDH NPs. The DLS measurements of the core-shell NPs indicated an average particle size of 212nm. The PXRD analysis showed that PEG greatly improved the crystallinity of the system while simultaneously preventing aggregation of the NPs. The preliminary in vitro fluorescence microscopy revealed a moderate uptake of homogeneous LDH NPs into the cells.

Structural transition of (InSb)n clusters at n = 6-10

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lu, Qi Liang; Luo, Qi Quan; Huang, Shou Guo; Li, Yi De

2016-10-01

An optimization strategy combining global semi-empirical quantum mechanical search with all-electron density functional theory was adopted to determine the lowest energy structure of (InSb)n clusters with n = 6-10. A new structural growth pattern of the clusters was observed. The lowest energy structures of (InSb)6 and (InSb)8 were different from that of previously reported results. Competition existed between core-shell and cage-like structures of (InSb)8. The structural transition of (InSb)n clusters occurred at size n = 8-9. For (InSb)9 and (InSb)10 clusters, core-shell structure were more energetically favorable than the cage. The corresponding electronic properties were investigated.

Atomic level characterization of cadmium selenide nanocrystal systems using atomic number contrast scanning transmission electron microscopy and Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McBride, James R.

This project involved the characterization of CdSe nanocrystals. Through the use of Atomic Number Contrast Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy (Z-STEM) and Rutherford Backscattering Spectroscopy (RBS), atomic level structure and chemical information was obtained. Specifically, CdSe nanocrystals produced using a mixture of hexadecylamine (HDA) and trioctylphosphine oxide (TOPO) were determined to be spherical compared to nanocrystals produced in TOPO only, which had elongated (101) facets. Additionally, the first Z-STEM images of CdSe/ZnS core/shell nanocrystals were obtained. From these images, the growth mechanism of the ZnS shell was determined and the existence of non-fluorescent ZnS particles was confirmed. Through collaboration with Quantum Dot Corp., core/shell nanocrystals with near unity quantum yield were developed. These core/shell nanocrystals included a US intermediate layer to improve shell coverage.

Synthesis of Co/MFe(2)O(4) (M = Fe, Mn) Core/Shell Nanocomposite Particles.

PubMed

Peng, Sheng; Xie, Jin; Sun, Shouheng

2008-01-01

Monodispersed cobalt nanoparticles (NPs) with controllable size (8-14 nm) have been synthesized using thermal decomposition of dicobaltoctacarbonyl in organic solvent. The as-synthesized high magnetic moment (125 emu/g) Co NPs are dispersible in various organic solvents, and can be easily transferred into aqueous phase by surface modification using phospholipids. However, the modified hydrophilic Co NPs are not stable as they are quickly oxidized, agglomerated in buffer. Co NPs are stabilized by coating the MFe(2)O(4) (M = Fe, Mn) ferrite shell. Core/shell structured bimagnetic Co/MFe(2)O(4) nanocomposites are prepared with tunable shell thickness (1-5 nm). The Co/MFe(2)O(4) nanocomposites retain the high magnetic moment density from the Co core, while gaining chemical and magnetic stability from the ferrite shell. Comparing to Co NPs, the nanocomposites show much enhanced stability in buffer solution at elevated temperatures, making them promising for biomedical applications.

Synthesis of hierarchical Co3O4@NiO core-shell nanotubes with a synergistic catalytic activity for peroxidase mimicking and colorimetric detection of dopamine.

PubMed

Zhu, Yun; Yang, Zezhou; Chi, Maoqiang; Li, Meixuan; Wang, Ce; Lu, Xiaofeng

2018-05-01

Fabrication of core-shell nanostructured catalyst is a promising way for tuning its catalytic performance due to the highly active interface and rich redox properties. In this work, hierarchical Co 3 O 4 @NiO core-shell nanotubes are fabricated by the deposition of NiO shells via a chemical bath treatment using electrospun Co-C composite nanofibers as templates, followed by a calcination process in air. The as-prepared Co 3 O 4 @NiO core-shell nanotubes exhibit a uniform and novel hollow structure with Co 3 O 4 nanoparticles attached to the inner wall of NiO nanotubes and excellent catalytic activity toward the oxidation of 3,3',5,5'-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) in the presence of H 2 O 2 . Due to the synergistic effect, the peroxidase-like activity of the Co 3 O 4 @NiO core-shell nanotubes is much higher than that of individual Co 3 O 4 and NiO components. Owing to the superior peroxidase-like activity, a simple and rapid colorimetric approach for the detection of dopamine with a detection limit of 1.21µM and excellent selectivity has been developed. It is anticipated that the prepared Co 3 O 4 @NiO core-shell nanotubes are promising materials applied for biomedical analysis and environmental monitoring. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Elucidation of Two Giants: Challenges to Thick-shell Synthesis in CdSe/ZnSe and ZnSe/CdS Core/Shell Quantum Dots

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

Acharya, Krishna P.; Nguyen, Hue M.; Paulite, Melissa

2015-03-06

Core/thick-shell "giant" quantum dots (gQDs) possessing type II electronic structures exhibit suppressed blinking and diminished nonradiative Auger recombination. Here we investigate CdSe/ZnSe and ZnSe/CdS as potential new gQDs. We show theoretically and experimentally that both can exhibit partial or complete spatial separation of an excited-state electron–hole pair (i.e., type II behavior). However, we reveal that thick-shell growth is challenged by competing processes: alloying and cation exchange. We demonstrate that these can be largely avoided by choice of shelling conditions (e.g., time, temperature, and QD core identity). The resulting CdSe/ZnSe gQDs exhibit unusual single-QD properties, principally emitting from dim gray statesmore » but having high two-exciton (biexciton) emission efficiencies, whereas ZnSe/CdS gQDs show characteristic gQD blinking suppression, though only if shelling is accompanied by partial cation exchange.« less

Probing defect emissions in bulk, micro- and nano-sized α-Al2O3 via X-ray excited optical luminescence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Zhiqiang; Li, Chunlei; Liu, Lijia; Sham, Tsun-Kong

2013-02-01

The electronic structure and optical properties of bulk, micro-sized, and nano-sized α-Al2O3 (wafer, microparticles (MPs), nanowires (NWs), and nanotubes (NTs)) have been investigated using X-ray absorption near-edge structures (XANES) and X-ray excited optical luminescence (XEOL). XANES results show that the wafer, MPs, and NTs have characteristic features of α-Al2O3. The NWs have a core/shell structure with a single crystalline α-Al2O3 core surrounded by an amorphous shell, which is consistent with transmission electron microscopy result. It is found that some Al3+ in the shell and core/shell interface of the NWs as well as the surface of the NTs were reduced to Al2+ or Al1+ during the growth process. XEOL results show that the wafer and MPs have a broad emission at 325 nm and a sharp emission at 694 nm, which are attributed to F+ center and Cr3+ impurities, respectively. The NWs exhibit an intense emission at 404 nm that comes from F center, while the NTs show relatively weak luminescence at 325, 433, and 694 nm, which are attributed to F+ center, F center, and Cr3+ impurities, respectively. The O K-edge XEOL confirms that the emissions of α-Al2O3 in the range of 250-550 nm are related to the oxygen site. Furthermore, on the basis of XEOL and photoluminescence yield, the strong luminescence of the NWs (404 nm) is related to the Al2+ or Al1+ in the shell and core/shell interface, while the luminescence of the NTs at 325 and 433 nm are related to the bulk and the Al2+ or Al1+ on the surface, respectively.

Template-free synthesis of ordered ZnO@ZnS core-shell arrays for high performance supercapacitors.

PubMed

Yan, Hailong; Li, Tong; Lu, Yang; Cheng, Jinbing; Peng, Tao; Xu, Jinyou; Yang, Linying; Hua, Xiangqiang; Liu, Yunxin; Luo, Yongsong

2016-11-28

In this article, ordered ZnO@ZnS core-shell structures have been produced on a stainless mesh by a two-step approach without using a template. ZnO nanorods fabricated by a chemical vapor method are transferred into a 50 ml autoclave for a second stage ion-exchange reaction followed by heating at 120 °C for 4-16 h. The ZnO core is prepared as the conducting channel and ZnS as the active material. Such unique architecture exhibits remarkable electrochemical performance with high capacitance and desirable cycle life. When evaluating as the electrode for supercapacitors, the ZnO@ZnS core-shell structure delivers a high specific capacitance of 603.8 F g -1 at a current density of 2 A g -1 , with 9.4% capacitance loss after cycling 3000 times. The fabrication strategy presented here is simple and cost-effective, which can open new avenues for large-scale applications of the novel materials in energy storage.

Low pressure bottom-up synthesis of metal@oxide and oxide nanoparticles: control of structure and functional properties

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

D'Addato, Sergio; Chiara Spadaro, Maria

2018-03-01

Experimental activity on core@shell, metal@oxide, and oxide nanoparticles (NPs) grown with physical synthesis, and more specifically by low pressure gas aggregation sources (LPGAS) is reviewed, through a selection of examples encompassing some potential applications in nanotechnology. After an introduction to the applications of NPs, a brief description of the main characteristics of the growth process of clusters and NPs in LPGAS is given. Thereafter, some relevant case studies are reported: • Formation of native oxide shells around the metal cores in core@shell NPs. • Experimental efforts to obtain magnetic stabilization in magnetic core@shell NPs by controlling their structure and morphology. • Recent advancements in NP source design and new techniques of co-deposition, with relevant results in the realization of NPs with a greater variety of functionalities. • Recent results on reducible oxide NPs, with potentialities in nanocatalysis, energy storage, and other applications. Although this list is far from being exhaustive, the aim of the authors is to provide the reader a descriptive glimpse into the physics behind the growth and studies of low pressure gas-phase synthesized NPs, with their ever-growing potentialities for the rational design of new functional materials.

Liquid-liquid phase separation of freely falling undercooled ternary Fe-Cu-Sn alloy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, W. L.; Wu, Y. H.; Li, L. H.; Zhai, W.; Zhang, X. M.; Wei, B.

2015-11-01

The active modulation and control of the liquid phase separation for high-temperature metallic systems are still challenging the development of advanced immiscible alloys. Here we present an attempt to manipulate the dynamic process of liquid-liquid phase separation for ternary Fe47.5Cu47.5Sn5 alloy. It was firstly dispersed into numerous droplets with 66 ~ 810 μm diameters and then highly undercooled and rapidly solidified under the containerless microgravity condition inside drop tube. 3-D phase field simulation was performed to explore the kinetic evolution of liquid phase separation. Through regulating the combined effects of undercooling level, phase separation time and Marangoni migration, three types of separation patterns were yielded: monotectic cell, core shell and dispersive structures. The two-layer core-shell morphology proved to be the most stable separation configuration owing to its lowest chemical potential. Whereas the monotectic cell and dispersive microstructures were both thermodynamically metastable transition states because of their highly active energy. The Sn solute partition profiles of Fe-rich core and Cu-rich shell in core-shell structures varied only slightly with cooling rate.

Influence of shell thickness on thermal stability of bimetallic Al-Pd nanoparticles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wen, John Z.; Nguyen, Ngoc Ha; Rawlins, John; Petre, Catalin F.; Ringuette, Sophie

2014-07-01

Aluminum-based bimetallic core-shell nanoparticles have shown promising applications in civil and defense industries. This study addresses the thermal stability of aluminum-palladium (Al-Pd) core/shell nanoparticles with a varying shell thickness of 5, 6, and 7 Å, respectively. The classic molecular dynamics (MD) simulations are performed in order to investigate the effects of the shell thickness on the ignition mechanism and subsequent energetic processes of these nanoparticles. The histograms of temperature change and structural evolution clearly show the inhibition role of the Pd shell during ignition. While the nanoparticle with a thicker shell is more thermally stable and hence requires more excess energy, stored as the potential energy of the nanoparticle and provided through numerically heating, to initiate the thermite reaction, a higher adiabatic temperature can be produced from this nanoparticle, thanks to its greater content of Pd. The two-stage thermite reactions are discussed with their activation energy based on the energy balance processes during MD heating and production. Analyses of the simulation results reveal that the inner pressure of the core-shell nanoparticle increases with both temperature and the absorbed thermal energy during heating, which may result in a breakup of the Pd shell.

High-Performance Core–Shell Catalyst with Nitride Nanoparticles as a Core: Well-Defined Titanium Copper Nitride Coated with an Atomic Pt Layer for the Oxygen Reduction Reaction

DOE PAGES

Tian, Xinlong; Tang, Haibo; Luo, Junming; ...

2017-04-25

A class of core–shell structured low-platinum catalysts with well-dispersed inexpensive titanium copper nitride nanoparticles as cores and atomic platinum layers as shells exhibiting high activity and stability for the oxygen reduction reaction is successfully developed. In using nitrided carbon nanotubes (NCNTs) as the support greatly improved the morphology and dispersion of the nitride nanoparticles, resulting in significant enhancement of the performance of the catalyst. The optimized catalyst, Ti 0.9Cu 0.1N@Pt/NCNTs, has a Pt mass activity 5 times higher than that of commercial Pt/C, comparable to that of core–shell catalysts with precious metal nanoparticles as the core, and much higher thanmore » that the latter if we take into account the mass activity of all platinum group metals. Furthermore, only a minimal loss of activity can be observed after 10000 potential cycles, demonstrating the catalyst’s high stability. After durability testing, atomic-scale elemental mapping confirmed that the core–shell structure of the catalyst remained intact. This approach may open a pathway for the design and preparation of high-performance inexpensive core–shell catalysts for a wide range of applications in energy conversion processes.« less

High-Performance Core–Shell Catalyst with Nitride Nanoparticles as a Core: Well-Defined Titanium Copper Nitride Coated with an Atomic Pt Layer for the Oxygen Reduction Reaction

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

Tian, Xinlong; Tang, Haibo; Luo, Junming

A class of core–shell structured low-platinum catalysts with well-dispersed inexpensive titanium copper nitride nanoparticles as cores and atomic platinum layers as shells exhibiting high activity and stability for the oxygen reduction reaction is successfully developed. In using nitrided carbon nanotubes (NCNTs) as the support greatly improved the morphology and dispersion of the nitride nanoparticles, resulting in significant enhancement of the performance of the catalyst. The optimized catalyst, Ti 0.9Cu 0.1N@Pt/NCNTs, has a Pt mass activity 5 times higher than that of commercial Pt/C, comparable to that of core–shell catalysts with precious metal nanoparticles as the core, and much higher thanmore » that the latter if we take into account the mass activity of all platinum group metals. Furthermore, only a minimal loss of activity can be observed after 10000 potential cycles, demonstrating the catalyst’s high stability. After durability testing, atomic-scale elemental mapping confirmed that the core–shell structure of the catalyst remained intact. This approach may open a pathway for the design and preparation of high-performance inexpensive core–shell catalysts for a wide range of applications in energy conversion processes.« less

Effect of Surface Functionalization on Structural and Optical Properties of Luminescent LaF₃:Sm Nanoparticles.

PubMed

Ansari, Anees A

2018-02-01

Samarium (Sm3+)-doped LaF3 nanoparticles (NPs) subsequently encapsulated with inert crystalline LaF3 and amorphous silica layers were prepared by polyol and sol-gel chemical process, respectively. These surface modified core/shell/SiO2-nanostructured were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), FE-transmission electron microscopy (TEM), thermal analysis, FTIR, UV/Vis absorption, bang gap energy and photoluminescence spectroscopy. The FETEM, EDX and FTIR spectral studies clearly revealed that the silica layer has been formed surrounding the core-NPs. Comparative spectral analysis indicated that core/shell/SiO2-NPs revealed high solubility in aqueous and non-aqueous solvents. The decrease in band gap energy after surface growth of an inert LaF3 and silica shells is directly correlated to the increase in grain size. On comparing the emission intensity, a significant enhancement was observed after inert layer coating, whereas, it suppress after silica encapsulation due to the non-radiative transitions. The increase luminescent intensity after inert shell growth indicates that a significant amount of non-radiative centers existing on the surface of core/shell nanoparticles can be eliminated by the shielding effect of LaF3 shells. These observed results indicate that the as-prepared core/shell/SiO2-NPs could be highly useful in broad photonic based applications such as optical sensor/optical bio-probe and light emitting diode.

Study of CT Scan Flooding System at High Temperature and Pressure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, X. Y.

2017-12-01

CT scan flooding experiment can scan micro-pore in different flooding stages by the use of CT scan technology, without changing the external morphology and internal structure of the core, and observe the distribution characterization in pore medium of different flooding fluid under different pressure.thus,it can rebuilt the distribution images of oil-water distribution in different flooding stages. However,under extreme high pressure and temperature conditions,the CT scan system can not meet the requirements. Container of low density materials or thin shell can not resist high pressure,while high density materials or thick shell will cause attenuation and scattering of X-ray. The experiment uses a simple Ct scanning systems.X ray from a point light source passing trough a micro beryllium shell on High pressure stainless steal container,continuously irradiates the core holder that can continuously 360° rotate along the core axis. A rare earth intensifying screen behind the core holder emitting light when irradiated with X ray can show the core X ray section image. An optical camera record the core X ray images through a transparency high pressure glazing that placed on the High pressure stainless steal container.Thus,multiple core X ray section images can reconstruct the 3D core reconstruction after a series of data processing.The experiment shows that both the micro beryllium shell and rare earth intensifying screen can work in high temperature and high pressure environment in the stainless steal container. This way that X-ray passes through a thin layer of micro beryllium shell , not high pressure stainless steal shell,avoid the attenuation and scattering of X-ray from the container shell,while improving the high-pressure experiment requirements.

The Assessment for Sensitivity of a NO2 Gas Sensor with ZnGa2O4/ZnO Core-Shell Nanowires—a Novel Approach

PubMed Central

Chen, I-Cherng; Lin, Shiu-Shiung; Lin, Tsao-Jen; Hsu, Cheng-Liang; Hsueh, Ting Jen; Shieh, Tien-Yu

2010-01-01

The application of novel core-shell nanowires composed of ZnGa2O4/ZnO to improve the sensitivity of NO2 gas sensors is demonstrated in this study. The growth of ZnGa2O4/ZnO core-shell nanowires is performed by reactive evaporation on patterned ZnO:Ga/SiO2/Si templates at 600 °C. This is to form the homogeneous structure of the sensors investigated in this report to assess their sensitivity in terms of NO2 detection. These novel NO2 gas sensors were evaluated at working temperatures of 25 °C and at 250 °C, respectively. The result reveals the ZnGa2O4/ZnO core-shell nanowires present a good linear relationship (R2 > 0.99) between sensitivity and NO2 concentration at both working temperatures. These core-shell nanowire sensors also possess the highest response (<90 s) and recovery (<120 s) values with greater repeatability seen for NO2 sensors at room temperature, unlike traditional sensors that only work effectively at much higher temperatures. The data in this study indicates the newly-developed ZnGa2O4/ZnO core-shell nanowire based sensors are highly promising for industrial applications. PMID:22319286

Nanosized (mu12-Pt)Pd164-xPtx(CO)72(PPh3)20 (x approximately 7) containing Pt-centered four-shell 165-atom Pd-Pt core with unprecedented intershell bridging carbonyl ligands: comparative analysis of icosahedral shell-growth patterns with geometrically related Pd145(CO)x(PEt3)30 (x approximately 60) containing capped three-shell Pd145 core.

PubMed

Mednikov, Evgueni G; Jewell, Matthew C; Dahl, Lawrence F

2007-09-19

Presented herein are the preparation and crystallographic/microanalytical/magnetic/spectroscopic characterization of the Pt-centered four-shell 165-atom Pd-Pt cluster, (mu(12)-Pt)Pd(164-x)Pt(x)(CO)(72)(PPh(3))(20) (x approximately 7), 1, that replaces the geometrically related capped three-shell icosahedral Pd(145) cluster, Pd(145)(CO)(x)(PEt(3))(30) (x approximately 60), 2, as the largest crystallographically determined discrete transition metal cluster with direct metal-metal bonding. A detailed comparison of their shell-growth patterns gives rise to important stereochemical implications concerning completely unexpected structural dissimilarities as well as similarities and provides new insight concerning possible synthetic approaches for generation of multi-shell metal clusters. 1 was reproducibly prepared in small yields (<10%) from the reaction of Pd(10)(CO)(12)(PPh(3))(6) with Pt(CO)(2)(PPh(3))(2). Its 165-atom metal-core geometry and 20 PPh(3) and 72 CO ligands were established from a low-temperature (100 K) CCD X-ray diffraction study. The well-determined crystal structure is attributed largely to 1 possessing cubic T(h) (2/m3) site symmetry, which is the highest crystallographic subgroup of the noncrystallographic pseudo-icosahedral I(h) (2/m35) symmetry. The "full" four-shell Pd-Pt anatomy of 1 consists of: (a) shell 1 with the centered (mu(12)-Pt) atom encapsulated by the 12-atom icosahedral Pt(x)Pd(12-x) cage, x = 1.2(3); (b) shell 2 with the 42-atom nu(2) icosahedral Pt(x)Pd(42-x) cage, x = 3.5(5); (c) shell 3 with the anti-Mackay 60-atom semi-regular rhombicosidodecahedral Pt(x)Pd(60-x) cage, x = 2.2(6); (d) shell 4 with the 50-atom nu(2) pentagonal dodecahedral Pd(50) cage. The total number of crystallographically estimated Pt atoms, 8 +/- 3, which was obtained from least-squares (Pt(x)/Pd(1-x))-occupancy analysis of the X-ray data that conclusively revealed the central atom to be pure Pt (occupancy factor, x = 1.00(3)), is fortuitously in agreement with that of 7.6(7) found from an X-ray Pt/Pd microanalysis (WDS spectrometer) on three crystals of 1. Our utilization of this site-occupancy (Pt(x)Pd(1-x))-analysis for shells 1-3 originated from the microanalytical results; otherwise, the presumed metal-core composition would have been (mu(12)-Pt)Pd(164). [Alternatively, the (mu(12)-Pt)M(164) core-geometry of 1 may be viewed as a pseudo-Ih Pt-centered six-shell successive nu(1) polyhedral system, each with radially equivalent vertex atoms: Pt@M(12)(icosahedron)@M(30)(icosidodecahedron)@M(12)(icosahedron)@M(60)(rhombicosidodecahedron)@M(30)(icosidodecahedron)@M(20)(pentagonal dodecahedron)]. Completely surprising structural dissimilarities between 1 and 2 are: (1) to date 1 is only reproducibly isolated as a heterometallic Pd-Pt cluster with a central Pt instead of Pd atom; (2) the 50 atoms comprising the outer fourth nu(2) pentagonal dodecahedral shell in 1 are less than the 60 atoms of the inner third shell in 1, in contradistinction to shell-by-shell growth processes in all other known shell-based structures; (3) the 10 fewer PR3 ligands in 1 necessitate larger bulky PPh(3) ligands to protect the Pd-Pt core-geometry; (4) the 72 CO ligands consist of six bridging COs within each of the 12 pentagons in shell 4 that are coordinated to intershell metal atoms. SQUID magnetometry measurements showed a single-crystal sample of 1 to be diamagnetic over the entire temperature range of 10-300 K.

Microstructure and mechanical properties of a hot-extruded Al-based composite reinforced with core-shell-structured Ti/Al3Ti

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Li; Wu, Bao-lin; Liu, Yu-lin

2017-12-01

An Al-based composite reinforced with core-shell-structured Ti/Al3Ti was fabricated through a powder metallurgy route followed by hot extrusion and was found to exhibit promising mechanical properties. The ultimate tensile strength and elongation of the composite sintered at 620°C for 5 h and extruded at a mass ratio of 12.75:1 reached 304 MPa and 14%, respectively, and its compressive deformation reached 60%. The promising mechanical properties are due to the core-shell-structured reinforcement, which is mainly composed of Al3Ti and Ti and is bonded strongly with the Al matrix, and to the reduced crack sensitivity of Al3Ti. The refined grains after hot extrusion also contribute to the mechanical properties of this composite. The mechanical properties might be further improved through regulating the relative thickness of Al-Ti intermetallics and Ti metal layers by adjusting the sintering time and the subsequent extrusion process.

In situ control of synchronous germanide/silicide reactions with Ge/Si core/shell nanowires to monitor formation and strain evolution in abrupt 2.7 nm channel length

DOE PAGES

Chen, Renjie; Nguyen, Binh-Minh; Tang, Wei; ...

2017-05-22

The metal-semiconductor interface in self-aligned contact formation can determine the overall performance of nanoscale devices. This interfacial morphology is predicted and well researched in homogenous semiconductor nanowires (NWs) but was not pursued in heterostructured core/shell nanowires. Here, we found here that the solid-state reactions between Ni and Ge/Si core/shell nanowires resulted in a protruded and a leading NiSiy segment into the channel. A single Ni 2Ge/NiSi y to Ge/Si core/shell interface was achieved by the selective shell removal near the Ni source/drain contact areas. In using in situ transmission electron microscopy, we measured the growth rate and anisotropic strain evolutionmore » in ultra-short channels. We also found elevated compressive strains near the interface between the compound contact and the NW and relatively lower strains near the center of the channel which increased exponentially below the 10 nm channel length to exceed 10% strain at ~3 nm lengths. These compressive strains are expected to result in a non-homogeneous energy band structure in Ge/Si core/shell NWs below 10 nm and potentially benefit their transistor performance.« less

In situ control of synchronous germanide/silicide reactions with Ge/Si core/shell nanowires to monitor formation and strain evolution in abrupt 2.7 nm channel length

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

Chen, Renjie; Nguyen, Binh-Minh; Tang, Wei

The metal-semiconductor interface in self-aligned contact formation can determine the overall performance of nanoscale devices. This interfacial morphology is predicted and well researched in homogenous semiconductor nanowires (NWs) but was not pursued in heterostructured core/shell nanowires. Here, we found here that the solid-state reactions between Ni and Ge/Si core/shell nanowires resulted in a protruded and a leading NiSiy segment into the channel. A single Ni 2Ge/NiSi y to Ge/Si core/shell interface was achieved by the selective shell removal near the Ni source/drain contact areas. In using in situ transmission electron microscopy, we measured the growth rate and anisotropic strain evolutionmore » in ultra-short channels. We also found elevated compressive strains near the interface between the compound contact and the NW and relatively lower strains near the center of the channel which increased exponentially below the 10 nm channel length to exceed 10% strain at ~3 nm lengths. These compressive strains are expected to result in a non-homogeneous energy band structure in Ge/Si core/shell NWs below 10 nm and potentially benefit their transistor performance.« less

Sound Transmission through a Cylindrical Sandwich Shell with Honeycomb Core

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tang, Yvette Y.; Robinson, Jay H.; Silcox, Richard J.

1996-01-01

Sound transmission through an infinite cylindrical sandwich shell is studied in the context of the transmission of airborne sound into aircraft interiors. The cylindrical shell is immersed in fluid media and excited by an oblique incident plane sound wave. The internal and external fluids are different and there is uniform airflow in the external fluid medium. An explicit expression of transmission loss is derived in terms of modal impedance of the fluids and the shell. The results show the effects of (a) the incident angles of the plane wave; (b) the flight conditions of Mach number and altitude of the aircraft; (c) the ratios between the core thickness and the total thickness of the shell; and (d) the structural loss factors on the transmission loss. Comparisons of the transmission loss are made among different shell constructions and different shell theories.

Facile fabrication of core-in-shell particles by the slow removal of the core and its use in the encapsulation of metal nanoparticles.

PubMed

Choi, Won San; Koo, Hye Young; Kim, Dong-Yu

2008-05-06

Core-in-shell particles with controllable core size have been fabricated from core-shell particles by means of the controlled core-dissolution method. These cores in inorganic shells were employed as scaffolds for the synthesis of metal nanoparticles. After dissolution of the cores, metal nanoparticles embedded in cores were encapsulated into the interior of shell, without any damage or change. This article describes a very simple method for deriving core-in-shell particles with controllable core size and encapsulation of nanoparticles into the interior of shell.

Melamine-assisted one-pot synthesis of hierarchical nitrogen-doped carbon@MoS2 nanowalled core-shell microspheres and their enhanced Li-storage performances

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, Fugen; Wei, Yanju; Chen, Jianzhuang; Long, Donghui; Ling, Licheng; Li, Yongsheng; Shi, Jianlin

2015-07-01

A facile and scalable one-pot approach has been developed to synthesize carbon@MoS2 core-shell microspheres by a hydrothermal method, which involves the fast formation of melamine-resorcinol-formaldehyde polymeric microspheres in situ, followed by direct growth of the MoS2 nanowalls on them. The results give unequivocal proof that melamine could be the key to forming the core-shell microspherical morphology, and the contents of MoS2 shells can be easily tuned by initial ratios of the precursors. After a simple heat treatment, the obtained carbon@MoS2 microspheres simultaneously integrate the nitrogen-doped carbon cores and the hierarchical shells which consist of few-layered MoS2 nanowalls with an expanded interlayer spacing. Their unique architectures are favourable for high electronic/ionic conductivity and accommodate volume strain during the electrochemical reaction of the MoS2 anodes in lithium-ion batteries. Thus, a very high reversibility capacity of 771 mA h g-1 at 100 mA g-1 after 100 cycles, and a rate capacity of 598 mA h g-1 at 2000 mA g-1 could be achieved for the carbon@MoS2 core-shell microspheres with the optimal composition. Furthermore, a thin carbon coating on the carbon@MoS2 microspheres could further increase the reversible capacity to 856 mA h g-1 after 100 cycles at 100 mA g-1. These encouraging results suggest that such a facile and efficient protocol can provide a new pathway to produce hierarchical core-shell microspheres which integrate the structural, morphological and compositional design rationales for advanced lithium-ion batteries.A facile and scalable one-pot approach has been developed to synthesize carbon@MoS2 core-shell microspheres by a hydrothermal method, which involves the fast formation of melamine-resorcinol-formaldehyde polymeric microspheres in situ, followed by direct growth of the MoS2 nanowalls on them. The results give unequivocal proof that melamine could be the key to forming the core-shell microspherical morphology, and the contents of MoS2 shells can be easily tuned by initial ratios of the precursors. After a simple heat treatment, the obtained carbon@MoS2 microspheres simultaneously integrate the nitrogen-doped carbon cores and the hierarchical shells which consist of few-layered MoS2 nanowalls with an expanded interlayer spacing. Their unique architectures are favourable for high electronic/ionic conductivity and accommodate volume strain during the electrochemical reaction of the MoS2 anodes in lithium-ion batteries. Thus, a very high reversibility capacity of 771 mA h g-1 at 100 mA g-1 after 100 cycles, and a rate capacity of 598 mA h g-1 at 2000 mA g-1 could be achieved for the carbon@MoS2 core-shell microspheres with the optimal composition. Furthermore, a thin carbon coating on the carbon@MoS2 microspheres could further increase the reversible capacity to 856 mA h g-1 after 100 cycles at 100 mA g-1. These encouraging results suggest that such a facile and efficient protocol can provide a new pathway to produce hierarchical core-shell microspheres which integrate the structural, morphological and compositional design rationales for advanced lithium-ion batteries. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available. See DOI: 10.1039/c5nr03708e

Optimization and design of pigments for heat-insulating coatings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Guang-Hai; Zhang, Yue

2010-12-01

This paper reports that heat insulating property of infrared reflective coatings is obtained through the use of pigments which diffuse near-infrared thermal radiation. Suitable structure and size distribution of pigments would attain maximum diffuse infrared radiation and reduce the pigment volume concentration required. The optimum structure and size range of pigments for reflective infrared coatings are studied by using Kubelka—Munk theory, Mie model and independent scattering approximation. Taking titania particle as the pigment embedded in an inorganic coating, the computational results show that core-shell particles present excellent scattering ability, more so than solid and hollow spherical particles. The optimum radius range of core-shell particles is around 0.3 ~ 1.6 μm. Furthermore, the influence of shell thickness on optical parameters of the coating is also obvious and the optimal thickness of shell is 100-300 nm.

Vertical group III-V nanowires on si, heterostructures, flexible arrays and fabrication

DOEpatents

Wang, Deli; Soci, Cesare; Bao, Xinyu; Wei, Wei; Jing, Yi; Sun, Ke

2015-01-13

Embodiments of the invention provide a method for direct heteroepitaxial growth of vertical III-V semiconductor nanowires on a silicon substrate. The silicon substrate is etched to substantially completely remove native oxide. It is promptly placed in a reaction chamber. The substrate is heated and maintained at a growth temperature. Group III-V precursors are flowed for a growth time. Preferred embodiment vertical Group III-V nanowires on silicon have a core-shell structure, which provides a radial homojunction or heterojunction. A doped nanowire core is surrounded by a shell with complementary doping. Such can provide high optical absorption due to the long optical path in the axial direction of the vertical nanowires, while reducing considerably the distance over which carriers must diffuse before being collected in the radial direction. Alloy composition can also be varied. Radial and axial homojunctions and heterojunctions can be realized. Embodiments provide for flexible Group III-V nanowire structures. An array of Group III-V nanowire structures is embedded in polymer. A fabrication method forms the vertical nanowires on a substrate, e.g., a silicon substrate. Preferably, the nanowires are formed by the preferred methods for fabrication of Group III-V nanowires on silicon. Devices can be formed with core/shell and core/multi-shell nanowires and the devices are released from the substrate upon which the nanowires were formed to create a flexible structure that includes an array of vertical nanowires embedded in polymer.

Cloaks for suppression or enhancement of scattering of diffuse photon density waves

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Renthlei, Lalruatfela; Ramakrishna, S. Anantha; Wanare, Harshawardhan

2018-07-01

Enhancement of wave-like characteristics of heavily damped diffuse photon density waves in a random medium by amplification can induce strongly localised resonances. These resonances can be used to either suppress or enhance scattering from an inhomogeneity in the random medium by cloaking the inhomogeneous region by a shell of random medium with the correct levels of absorption or amplification. A spherical core-shell structure consisting of a shell of a random amplifying medium is shown to enhance or suppress specific resonant modes. A shell with an absorbing random medium is also shown to suppress scattering which can also be used for cloaking the core region.

High-Performance One-Body Core/Shell Nanowire Supercapacitor Enabled by Conformal Growth of Capacitive 2D WS2 Layers.

PubMed

Choudhary, Nitin; Li, Chao; Chung, Hee-Suk; Moore, Julian; Thomas, Jayan; Jung, Yeonwoong

2016-12-27

Two-dimensional (2D) transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) have emerged as promising capacitive materials for supercapacitor devices owing to their intrinsically layered structure and large surface areas. Hierarchically integrating 2D TMDs with other functional nanomaterials has recently been pursued to improve electrochemical performances; however, it often suffers from limited cyclic stabilities and capacitance losses due to the poor structural integrity at the interfaces of randomly assembled materials. Here, we report high-performance core/shell nanowire supercapacitors based on an array of one-dimensional (1D) nanowires seamlessly integrated with conformal 2D TMD layers. The 1D and 2D supercapacitor components possess "one-body" geometry with atomically sharp and structurally robust core/shell interfaces, as they were spontaneously converted from identical metal current collectors via sequential oxidation/sulfurization. These hybrid supercapacitors outperform previously developed any stand-alone 2D TMD-based supercapacitors; particularly, exhibiting an exceptional charge-discharge retention over 30,000 cycles owing to their structural robustness, suggesting great potential for unconventional energy storage technologies.

Synthesis and applications of MANs/poly(MMA-co-BA) nanocomposite latex by miniemulsion polymerization

PubMed Central

Chen, Huayao; Zhou, Xinhua; Gunasekaran, Sundaram

2017-01-01

We have synthesized core-shell structured 3-methacryloxypropyltrimethoxysilane (MPS) functionalized antimony-doped tin oxide nanoparticles (MANs)–poly(methyl methacrylate-co-butyl acrylate) (PMMA-co-BA, PMB) nanocomposite latex particles via miniemulsion polymerization method. Polymerizable anionic surfactant DNS-86 (allyloxy polyoxyethylene(10) nonyl ammonium sulfate) was first introduced to synthesize core-shell nanocomposite. The morphologies of synthesized MANs and MANs/PMB latex nanocomposite particles were studied with transmission electron microscopy, which revealed particles, on average 70 nm in size, with a core-shell structure. Owing to the uniformity and hydrophobicity of MANs, the MANs-embedded PMB latex nanocomposite can be tailored more precisely than other nanoparticles-embedded nanocomposites. Films incorporating 10 wt% of MANs in the MAN/PMB latex nanocomposite exhibit good transmittance in the visible region, and excellent opacity in the near infrared region. The MANs/PMB nanocomposite film also appears suitable for heat insulation applications. PMID:29291076

Freestanding three-dimensional core-shell nanoarrays for lithium-ion battery anodes.

PubMed

Tan, Guoqiang; Wu, Feng; Yuan, Yifei; Chen, Renjie; Zhao, Teng; Yao, Ying; Qian, Ji; Liu, Jianrui; Ye, Yusheng; Shahbazian-Yassar, Reza; Lu, Jun; Amine, Khalil

2016-06-03

Structural degradation and low conductivity of transition-metal oxides lead to severe capacity fading in lithium-ion batteries. Recent efforts to solve this issue have mainly focused on using nanocomposites or hybrids by integrating nanosized metal oxides with conducting additives. Here we design specific hierarchical structures and demonstrate their use in flexible, large-area anode assemblies. Fabrication of these anodes is achieved via oxidative growth of copper oxide nanowires onto copper substrates followed by radio-frequency sputtering of carbon-nitride films, forming freestanding three-dimensional arrays with core-shell nano-architecture. Cable-like copper oxide/carbon-nitride core-shell nanostructures accommodate the volume change during lithiation-delithiation processes, the three-dimensional arrays provide abundant electroactive zones and electron/ion transport paths, and the monolithic sandwich-type configuration without additional binders or conductive agents improves energy/power densities of the whole electrode.

Structure analysis for hole-nuclei close to 132Sn by a large-scale shell-model calculation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Han-Kui; Sun, Yang; Jin, Hua; Kaneko, Kazunari; Tazaki, Shigeru

2013-11-01

The structure of neutron-rich nuclei with a few holes in respect of the doubly magic nucleus 132Sn is investigated by means of large-scale shell-model calculations. For a considerably large model space, including orbitals allowing both neutron and proton core excitations, an effective interaction for the extended pairing-plus-quadrupole model with monopole corrections is tested through detailed comparison between the calculation and experimental data. By using the experimental energy of the core-excited 21/2+ level in 131In as a benchmark, monopole corrections are determined that describe the size of the neutron N=82 shell gap. The level spectra, up to 5 MeV of excitation in 131In, 131Sn, 130In, 130Cd, and 130Sn, are well described and clearly explained by couplings of single-hole orbitals and by core excitations.

Implications of room temperature oxidation on crystal structure and exchange bias effect in Co/CoO nanoparticles

DOE PAGES

Feygenson, Mikhail; Formo, Eric V.; Freeman, Katherine; ...

2015-11-02

In this study, we describe how the exchange bias effect in Co/CoO nanoparticles depends on the size focusing and temperature treatment of precursor Co nanoparticles before oxidation at ambient conditions. By appealing to magnetization, microscopy, neutron and synchrotron x-ray measurements we found that as-synthesized Co nanoparticles readily oxidize in air only after 20 days. The highest exchange bias field of 814 Oe is observed at T = 2K. When the same nanoparticles are centrifuged and annealed at 70 °C in vacuum prior to oxidation, the exchange bias field is increased to 2570 Oe. Annealing of Co nanoparticles in vacuum improvesmore » their crystallinity and prevents complete oxidation, so that Co-core/CoO-shell structure is preserved even after 120 days. The crystal structure of CoO shell in both samples is different from its bulk counterpart. Implications of such distorted CoO shells on exchange bias are discussed. Coating of Co nanoparticles with amorphous silica shell makes them resistant to oxidation, but ultimately modifies the crystal structure of both Co core and SiO 2 shell.« less

Enhanced near-infrared photoacoustic imaging of silica-coated rare-earth doped nanoparticles.

PubMed

Sheng, Yang; Liao, Lun-De; Bandla, Aishwarya; Liu, Yu-Hang; Yuan, Jun; Thakor, Nitish; Tan, Mei Chee

2017-01-01

Near-infrared photoacoustic (PA) imaging is an emerging diagnostic technology that utilizes the tissue transparent window to achieve improved contrast and spatial resolution for deep tissue imaging. In this study, we investigated the enhancement effect of the SiO 2 shell on the PA property of our core/shell rare-earth nanoparticles (REs) consisting of an active rare-earth doped core of NaYF 4 :Yb,Er (REDNPs) and an undoped NaYF 4 shell. We observed that the PA signal amplitude increased with SiO 2 shell thickness. Although the SiO 2 shell caused an observed decrease in the integrated fluorescence intensity due to the dilution effect, fluorescence quenching of the rare earth emitting ions within the REDNPs cores was successfully prevented by the undoped NaYF 4 shell. Therefore, our multilayer structure consisting of an active core with successive functional layers was demonstrated to be an effective design for dual-modal fluorescence and PA imaging probes with improved PA property. The result from this work addresses a critical need for the development of dual-modal contrast agent that advances deep tissue imaging with high resolution and signal-to-noise ratio. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

NaYF{sub 4}:Er,Yb/Bi{sub 2}MoO{sub 6} core/shell nanocomposite: A highly efficient visible-light-driven photocatalyst utilizing upconversion

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

Sun, Yuanyuan; Wang, Wenzhong, E-mail: wzwang@mail.sic.ac.cn; Sun, Songmei

2014-04-01

Highlights: • Design and synthesis of NaYF{sub 4}:Er,Yb/Bi{sub 2}MoO{sub 6} based on upconversion. • NaYF{sub 4}:Er,Yb/Bi{sub 2}MoO{sub 6} nanocomposite was prepared for the first time. • Core–shell structure benefits the properties. • Upconversion contributed to the enhanced photocatalytic activity. • Helps to understand the functionality of new type photocatalysts. - Abstract: NaYF{sub 4}:Er,Yb/Bi{sub 2}MoO{sub 6} core/shell nanocomposite was designed and prepared for the first time based on upconversion. The products were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), high resolution TEM (HRTEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and diffuse reflectance spectra (DRS). The results revealed that the as-synthesizedmore » NaYF{sub 4}:Er,Yb/Bi{sub 2}MoO{sub 6} consisted of spheres with a core diameter of about 26 nm and a shell diameter of around 6 nm. The core was upconversion illuminant NaYF{sub 4}:Er,Yb and the shell was Bi{sub 2}MoO{sub 6} around the core, which was confirmed by EDS. The NaYF{sub 4}:Er,Yb/Bi{sub 2}MoO{sub 6} exhibited higher photocatalytic activity for the photodecomposition of Rhodamine B (RhB) under the irradiation of Xe lamp and green light emitting diode (g-LED). The mechanism of the high photocatalytic activity was discussed by photoluminescence spectra (PL), which is mainly attributed to upconversion of NaYF{sub 4}:Er,Yb in the NaYF{sub 4}:Er,Yb/Bi{sub 2}MoO{sub 6} nanocomposite and the core–shell structure.« less

Defined polymer shells on nanoparticles via a continuous aerosol-based process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sigmund, Stephanie; Akgün, Ertan; Meyer, Jörg; Hubbuch, Jürgen; Wörner, Michael; Kasper, Gerhard

2014-08-01

A continuous aerosol-based process is described for the encapsulation of nanoparticles with a thin polymer shell. The process is essentially based on directed binary collisions between gas-borne core particles and liquid monomer droplets carrying opposite electrical charges, followed by photo-initiated polymerization. Once the two streams are mixed together, the process runs to completion on a time scale of about 2 min or less, required for coagulation and polymerization. Gold, silica, and sodium chloride nanoparticles were successfully coated by this technique with PHDDA [poly(hexanediol diacrylate)] and/or crosslinked PMMA [poly(methyl methacrylate)]. It was found that all core materials as well as agglomerates were wettable at room temperature and that the spreading kinetics of the monomer were fast enough to cover the core particles uniformly within the time scale provided for coagulation. The shell thickness depends on the volume ratio between core particles and monomer droplets. This was demonstrated for a combination of monodisperse silica spheres ( d = 241 nm) and polydisperse methyl methacrylate droplets, resulting in a theoretical shell thickness of 18 nm. There was very good agreement between measurements by TEM and electrical mobility spectroscopy. The results revealed that about 90 % or more of the core-shell structures were formed from 1:1 collisions between a core particle and a single monomer droplet.

Facile transformation of FeO/Fe3O4 core-shell nanocubes to Fe3O4 via magnetic stimulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lak, Aidin; Niculaes, Dina; Anyfantis, George C.; Bertoni, Giovanni; Barthel, Markus J.; Marras, Sergio; Cassani, Marco; Nitti, Simone; Athanassiou, Athanassia; Giannini, Cinzia; Pellegrino, Teresa

2016-09-01

Here, we propose the use of magnetic hyperthermia as a means to trigger the oxidation of Fe1-xO/Fe3-δO4 core-shell nanocubes to Fe3-δO4 phase. As a first relevant consequence, the specific absorption rate (SAR) of the initial core-shell nanocubes doubles after exposure to 25 cycles of alternating magnetic field stimulation. The improved SAR value was attributed to a gradual transformation of the Fe1-xO core to Fe3-δO4, as evidenced by structural analysis including high resolution electron microscopy and Rietveld analysis of X-ray diffraction patterns. The magnetically oxidized nanocubes, having large and coherent Fe3-δO4 domains, reveal high saturation magnetization and behave superparamagnetically at room temperature. In comparison, the treatment of the same starting core-shell nanocubes by commonly used thermal annealing process renders a transformation to γ-Fe2O3. In contrast to other thermal annealing processes, the method here presented has the advantage of promoting the oxidation at a macroscopic temperature below 37 °C. Using this soft oxidation process, we demonstrate that biotin-functionalized core-shell nanocubes can undergo a mild self-oxidation transformation without losing their functional molecular binding activity.

Core - shell upconversion nanoparticle - semiconductor heterostructures for photodynamic therapy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dou, Qing Qing; Rengaramchandran, Adith; Selvan, Subramanian Tamil; Paulmurugan, Ramasamy; Zhang, Yong

2015-02-01

Core-shell nanoparticles (CSNPs) with diverse chemical compositions have been attracting greater attention in recent years. However, it has been a challenge to develop CSNPs with different crystal structures due to the lattice mismatch of the nanocrystals. Here we report a rational design of core-shell heterostructure consisting of NaYF4:Yb,Tm upconversion nanoparticle (UCN) as the core and ZnO semiconductor as the shell for potential application in photodynamic therapy (PDT). The core-shell architecture (confirmed by TEM and STEM) enables for improving the loading efficiency of photosensitizer (ZnO) as the semiconductor is directly coated on the UCN core. Importantly, UCN acts as a transducer to sensitize ZnO and trigger the generation of cytotoxic reactive oxygen species (ROS) to induce cancer cell death. We also present a firefly luciferase (FLuc) reporter gene based molecular biosensor (ARE-FLuc) to measure the antioxidant signaling response activated in cells during the release of ROS in response to the exposure of CSNPs under 980 nm NIR light. The breast cancer cells (MDA-MB-231 and 4T1) exposed to CSNPs showed significant release of ROS as measured by aminophenyl fluorescein (APF) and ARE-FLuc luciferase assays, and ~45% cancer cell death as measured by MTT assay, when illuminated with 980 nm NIR light.

The influence of MOVPE growth conditions on the shell of core-shell GaN microrod structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schimpke, Tilman; Avramescu, Adrian; Koller, Andreas; Fernando-Saavedra, Amalia; Hartmann, Jana; Ledig, Johannes; Waag, Andreas; Strassburg, Martin; Lugauer, Hans-Jürgen

2017-05-01

A core-shell geometry is employed for most next-generation, three-dimensional opto-electric devices based on III-V semiconductors and grown by metal organic vapor phase epitaxy (MOVPE). Controlling the shape of the shell layers is fundamental for device optimization, however no detailed analysis of the influence of growth conditions has been published to date. We study homogeneous arrays of gallium nitride core-shell microrods with height and diameter in the micrometer range and grown in a two-step selective area MOVPE process. Changes in shell shape and homogeneity effected by deliberately altered shell growth conditions were accurately assessed by digital analysis of high-resolution scanning electron microscope images. Most notably, two temperature regimes could be established, which show a significantly different behavior with regard to material distribution. Above 900 °C of wafer carrier temperature, the shell thickness along the growth axis of the rods was very homogeneous, however variations between vicinal rods increase. In contrast, below 830 °C the shell thickness is higher close to the microrod tip than at the base of the rods, while the lateral homogeneity between neighboring microrods is very uniform. This temperature effect could be either amplified or attenuated by changing the remaining growth parameters such as reactor pressure, structure distance, gallium precursor, carrier gas composition and dopant materials. Possible reasons for these findings are discussed with respect to GaN decomposition as well as the surface and gas phase diffusion of growth species, leading to an improved control of the functional layers in next-generation 3D V-III devices.

Synthesis of core-shell structured FAU/SBA-15 composite molecular sieves and their performance in catalytic cracking of polystyrene

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Du, Jinlong; Shi, Chunwei; Wu, Wenyuan; Bian, Xue; Chen, Ping; Cui, Qingzhu; Cui, Zhixuan

2017-12-01

Composite molecular sieves, FAU/SBA-15, having core-shell structure were synthesized. The synthesized composite sieves were characterized by X-ray diffractometry (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), pyrolysis fourier transform infrared (Py-FTIR) spectroscopy, temperature programmed desorption spectra (NH3-TPD), UV Raman spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and other techniques. XRD, SEM, TEM, N2 adsorption-desorption, mass spectrometry, NMR and EDS results showed that the composite molecular sieve contained two pore channels. Py-FTIR results showed that the addition of HY molecular sieves improved the acidity of the composite zeolite. The crystallization mechanism during the growth of FAU/SBA-15 shell was deduced from the influence of crystallization time on the synthesis of FAU/SBA-15 core-shell structured composite molecular sieve. HY dissociated partially in H2SO4 solution, and consisted of secondary structural units. This framework structure was more stable than its presence in the isolated form on the same ring or in the absence of Al. Thus it played a guiding role and connected with SBA-15 closely through the Si-O bond. This resulted in the gradual covering of the exterior surface of FAU phase by SBA-15 molecular sieves. The presence of SBA-15 restricted the formation of the other high mass components and increased the selectivity towards ethylbenzene.

Fe 2O 3–TiO 2 core–shell nanorod arrays for visible light photocatalytic applications

DOE PAGES

Yao, Kun; Basnet, Pradip; Sessions, Henry; ...

2015-11-11

By using the glancing angle deposition technique and post-deposition annealing, Fe 2O 3–TiO 2 core-shell nanorod arrays with specific crystalline states can be designed and fabricated. The Fe 2O 3–TiO 2 core-shell samples annealed at temperatures greater than 450°C formed α-Fe 2O 3 and anatase TiO 2, and showed higher catalytic efficiency for the degradation of methylene blue (MB) under visible light illumination when compared with pure anatase TiO 2 or α-Fe 2O 3 nanorod arrays. Solar conversion of carbon dioxide and water vapor in the presence of Fe 2O 3–TiO 2 core-shell nanorod arrays was also investigated. Carbon monoxide,more » hydrogen, methane, and methanol along with other hydrocarbons were produced after only several hours’ exposure under ambient sunlight. It was determined that the core-shell structure showed greater efficiency for solar CO 2 conversion than the pure TiO 2 nanorod arrays.« less

Polystyrene Core-Silica Shell Particles with Defined Nanoarchitectures as a Versatile Platform for Suspension Array Technology.

PubMed

Sarma, Dominik; Gawlitza, Kornelia; Rurack, Knut

2016-04-19

The need for rapid and high-throughput screening in analytical laboratories has led to significant growth in interest in suspension array technologies (SATs), especially with regard to cytometric assays targeting a low to medium number of analytes. Such SAT or bead-based assays rely on spherical objects that constitute the analytical platform. Usually, functionalized polymer or silica (SiO2) microbeads are used which each have distinct advantages and drawbacks. In this paper, we present a straightforward synthetic route to highly monodisperse SiO2-coated polystyrene core-shell (CS) beads for SAT with controllable architectures from smooth to raspberry- and multilayer-like shells by varying the molecular weight of poly(vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP), which was used as the stabilizer of the cores. The combination of both organic polymer core and a structurally controlled inorganic SiO2 shell in one hybrid particle holds great promises for flexible next-generation design of the spherical platform. The particles were characterized by electron microscopy (SEM, T-SEM, and TEM), thermogravimetry, flow cytometry, and nitrogen adsorption/desorption, offering comprehensive information on the composition, size, structure, and surface area. All particles show ideal cytometric detection patterns and facile handling due to the hybrid structure. The beads are endowed with straightforward modification possibilities through the defined SiO2 shells. We successfully implemented the particles in fluorometric SAT model assays, illustrating the benefits of tailored surface area which is readily available for small-molecule anchoring. Very promising assay performance was shown for DNA hybridization assays with quantification limits down to 8 fmol.

Robust electrodes based on coaxial TiC/C-MnO2 core/shell nanofiber arrays with excellent cycling stability for high-performance supercapacitors.

PubMed

Zhang, Xuming; Peng, Xiang; Li, Wan; Li, Limin; Gao, Biao; Wu, Guosong; Huo, Kaifu; Chu, Paul K

2015-04-17

A coaxial electrode structure composed of manganese oxide-decorated TiC/C core/shell nanofiber arrays is produced hydrothermally in a KMnO4 solution. The pristine TiC/C core/shell structure prepared on the Ti alloy substrate provides the self-sacrificing carbon shell and highly conductive TiC core, thus greatly simplifying the fabrication process without requiring an additional reduction source and conductive additive. The as-prepared electrode exhibits a high specific capacitance of 645 F g(-1) at a discharging current density of 1 A g(-1) attributable to the highly conductive TiC/C and amorphous MnO2 shell with fast ion diffusion. In the charging/discharging cycling test, the as-prepared electrode shows high stability and 99% capacity retention after 5000 cycles. Although the thermal treatment conducted on the as-prepared electrode decreases the initial capacitance, the electrode undergoes capacitance recovery through structural transformation from the crystalline cluster to layered birnessite type MnO2 nanosheets as a result of dissolution and further electrodeposition in the cycling. 96.5% of the initial capacitance is retained after 1000 cycles at high charging/discharging current density of 25 A g(-1). This study demonstrates a novel scaffold to construct MnO2 based SCs with high specific capacitance as well as excellent mechanical and cycling stability boding well for future design of high-performance MnO2-based SCs. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Long-period seismology on Europa: 1. Physically consistent interior models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cammarano, F.; Lekic, V.; Manga, M.; Panning, M.; Romanowicz, B.

2006-12-01

In order to examine the potential of seismology to determine the interior structure and properties of Europa, it is essential to calculate seismic velocities and attenuation for the range of plausible interiors. We calculate a range of models for the physical structure of Europa, as constrained by the satellite's composition, mass, and moment of inertia. We assume a water-ice shell, a pyrolitic or a chondritic mantle, and a core composed of pure iron or iron plus 20 weight percent of sulfur. We consider two extreme mantle thermal states: hot and cold. Given a temperature and composition, we determine density, seismic velocities, and attenuation using thermodynamical models. While anelastic effects will be negligible in a cold mantle and the brittle part of the ice shell, strong dispersion and dissipation are expected in a hot convective mantle and the bulk of the ice shell. There is a strong relationship between different thermal structures and compositions. The ``hot'' mantle may maintain temperatures consistent with a liquid core made of iron plus light elements. For the ``cold scenarios,'' the possibility of a solid iron core cannot be excluded, and it may even be favored. The depths of the ocean and core-mantle boundary are determined with high precision, 10 km and 40 km, respectively, once we assume a composition and thermal structure. Furthermore, the depth of the ocean is relatively insensitive (4 km) to the core composition used.

Structural Characterization of Bimetallic Nanocrystal Electrocatalysts

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

Cullen, David A

2016-01-01

Late transition metal nanocrystals find applications in heterogeneous catalysis such as plasmon-enhanced catalysis and as electrode materials for fuel cells, a zero-emission and sustainable energy technology. Their commercial viability for automotive transportation has steadily increased in recent years, almost exclusively due to the discovery of more efficient bimetallic nanocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) at the cathode. Despite improvements to catalyst design, achieving high activity while maintaining durability is essential to further enhance their performance for this and other important applications in catalysis. Electronic effects arising from the generation of metal-metal interfaces, from plasmonic metals, and from lattice distortions,more » can vastly improve sorption properties at catalytic surfaces, while increasing durability.[1] Multimetallic lattice-strained nanoparticles are thus an interesting opportunity for fundamental research.[2,3] A colloidal synthesis approach is demonstrated to produce AuPd alloy and Pd@Au core-shell nanoicosahedra as catalysts for electro-oxidations. The nanoparticles are characterized using aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy (ac-STEM) and large solid angle energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) on an FEI Talos 4-detector STEM/EDS system. Figure 1 shows bright-field (BF) and high-angle annular dark-field (HAADF) ac-STEM images of the alloy and core-shell nanoicosahedra together with EDS line-scans and elemental maps. These structures are unique in that the presence of twin boundaries, alloying, and core-shell morphology could create highly strained surfaces and interfaces. The shell thickness of the core-shell structures observed in HAADF-STEM images is tuned by adjusting the ratio between metal precursors (Figure 2a-f) to produce shells ranging from a few to several monolayers. Specific activity was measured in ethanol electro-oxidation to examine the effect of shell thickness on catalytic activity. A volcano relationship was observed for the core-shell nanoicosahedra having different Pd-shell thicknesses as Pd content is increased (Figure 2g). Durability tests are ongoing for the AuPd system; however, promising ORR materials and morphologies have also been synthesized for a more cost-effective Cu-based system of Cu-CuM (M = Pd, Rh, Pt) core-alloy-shell nanocrystals. The synthesis, characterization, and catalytic behavior of different high-index faceted morphologies of Cu-based materials towards ORR and methanol oxidation catalysis will be discussed, where we show how they exceed the performance of commercial Pd- and Pt- based catalysts. The development of new materials and their characterization is critical to understanding the effects of structure and composition on catalysis. Future efforts are directed at resolving these structures and more industrially relevant fuel cell catalysts in 3D through electron tomography.[4] References: [1] X. Huang, et al., Science 348 (2015) p. 1230. [2] P. Strasser, et al., Nat. Chem. 2 (2010) p. 454. [3] C. Chen, et al., Science 343 (2014) p. 1339. [4] Microscopy performed as part of a user project through ORNL s Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, which is a U.S. DOE Office of Science User Facility, and instrumentation provided by the U.S. DOE Office of Nuclear Energy, Fuel Cycle R&D Program, and the Nuclear Science User Facilities.« less

Interface control in BaTiO3 based supercapacitors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maglione, Mario; Elissalde, Catherine; Chung, U.-Chan

2010-03-01

Core shell BaTiO3 based particles sintered using advanced processes provide a high control of grain boundaries in bulk composites. As a result, supercapacitor behavior was evidenced which came from the balance between inner grain conductivity and grain boundary dielectric barrier. Thanks to the core-shell structure of the starting particles, improved control of the effective dielectric parameters can be achieved.

Modification of Ga2O3 by an Ag-Cr core-shell cocatalyst enhances photocatalytic CO evolution for the conversion of CO2 by H2O.

PubMed

Pang, Rui; Teramura, Kentaro; Tatsumi, Hiroyuki; Asakura, Hiroyuki; Hosokawa, Saburo; Tanaka, Tsunehiro

2018-01-25

A core-shell structure of Ag-Cr dual cocatalyst loaded-Ga 2 O 3 was found to significantly enhance the formation rate of CO and selectivity toward CO evolution for the photocatalytic conversion of CO 2 where H 2 O is used as an electron donor.

Local Crystalline Structure in an Amorphous Protein Dense Phase

PubMed Central

Greene, Daniel G.; Modla, Shannon; Wagner, Norman J.; Sandler, Stanley I.; Lenhoff, Abraham M.

2015-01-01

Proteins exhibit a variety of dense phases ranging from gels, aggregates, and precipitates to crystalline phases and dense liquids. Although the structure of the crystalline phase is known in atomistic detail, little attention has been paid to noncrystalline protein dense phases, and in many cases the structures of these phases are assumed to be fully amorphous. In this work, we used small-angle neutron scattering, electron microscopy, and electron tomography to measure the structure of ovalbumin precipitate particles salted out with ammonium sulfate. We found that the ovalbumin phase-separates into core-shell particles with a core radius of ∼2 μm and shell thickness of ∼0.5 μm. Within this shell region, nanostructures comprised of crystallites of ovalbumin self-assemble into a well-defined bicontinuous network with branches ∼12 nm thick. These results demonstrate that the protein gel is comprised in part of nanocrystalline protein. PMID:26488663

Chemical Structure, Ensemble and Single-Particle Spectroscopy of Thick-Shell InP-ZnSe Quantum Dots.

PubMed

Reid, Kemar R; McBride, James R; Freymeyer, Nathaniel J; Thal, Lucas B; Rosenthal, Sandra J

2018-02-14

Thick-shell (>5 nm) InP-ZnSe colloidal quantum dots (QDs) grown by a continuous-injection shell growth process are reported. The growth of a thick crystalline shell is attributed to the high temperature of the growth process and the relatively low lattice mismatch between the InP core and ZnSe shell. In addition to a narrow ensemble photoluminescence (PL) line-width (∼40 nm), ensemble and single-particle emission dynamics measurements indicate that blinking and Auger recombination are reduced in these heterostructures. More specifically, high single-dot ON-times (>95%) were obtained for the core-shell QDs, and measured ensemble biexciton lifetimes, τ 2x ∼ 540 ps, represent a 7-fold increase compared to InP-ZnS QDs. Further, high-resolution energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) chemical maps directly show for the first time significant incorporation of indium into the shell of the InP-ZnSe QDs. Examination of the atomic structure of the thick-shell QDs by high-angle annular dark-field scanning transmission electron microscopy (HAADF-STEM) reveals structural defects in subpopulations of particles that may mitigate PL efficiencies (∼40% in ensemble), providing insight toward further synthetic refinement. These InP-ZnSe heterostructures represent progress toward fully cadmium-free QDs with superior photophysical properties important in biological labeling and other emission-based technologies.

Shell thickness-dependent microwave absorption of core-shell Fe3O4@C composites.

PubMed

Du, Yunchen; Liu, Wenwen; Qiang, Rong; Wang, Ying; Han, Xijiang; Ma, Jun; Xu, Ping

2014-08-13

Core-shell composites, Fe3O4@C, with 500 nm Fe3O4 microspheres as cores have been successfully prepared through in situ polymerization of phenolic resin on the Fe3O4 surface and subsequent high-temperature carbonization. The thickness of carbon shell, from 20 to 70 nm, can be well controlled by modulating the weight ratio of resorcinol and Fe3O4 microspheres. Carbothermic reduction has not been triggered at present conditions, thus the crystalline phase and magnetic property of Fe3O4 micropsheres can be well preserved during the carbonization process. Although carbon shells display amorphous nature, Raman spectra reveal that the presence of Fe3O4 micropsheres can promote their graphitization degree to a certain extent. Coating Fe3O4 microspheres with carbon shells will not only increase the complex permittivity but also improve characteristic impedance, leading to multiple relaxation processes in these composites, thus the microwave absorption properties of these composites are greatly enhanced. Very interestingly, a critical thickness of carbon shells leads to an unusual dielectric behavior of the core-shell structure, which endows these composites with strong reflection loss, especially in the high frequency range. By considering good chemical homogeneity and microwave absorption, we believe the as-fabricated Fe3O4@C composites can be promising candidates as highly effective microwave absorbers.

Synthesis of fly ash based core-shell composites for use as functional pigment in paints

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sharma, Richa; Tiwari, Sangeeta

2016-04-01

Fly ash is a combustion residue, mainly composed of silica, alumina and iron oxides. It is produced by the power industries in very large amounts and usually disposed in landfills, which have represented an environmental problem in recent years1. The need to generate a market for fly ash consumption is the main reason why alternative applications have been studied. It has been applied as an additive in construction materials like cement and pavements2. The present work describes the synthesis of Flyash-Titania core-shell particles by precipitation technique using Titanium tetra isopropoxide (TTIP) which can be used for variety of applications such as NIR reflecting materials for cool coatings, Photocatalysis etc. In this work, Fly ash is used in core and Nano -TiO2 is coated as shell on it. Surfactants are used to improve the adhesion of Nano Titania shell on fly ash core. Effect on adhesion of TiO2 on Fly ash is studied by using different types of surfactant. The preparation of core shells was carried out in absence of surfactant as well as using anionic and non-ionic surfactants. The percentage of surfactant was varied to study the effect of amount of surfactant on the uniformity and size of particles in the shell using Kubelka-Munk transformed reflectance spectra. The morphology of core shell structures was studied using SEM technique. Use of anionic surfactant results in more uniform coating with reduced particle size of the shell material. The composite particles prepared by using anionic surfactant are having good pigment properties and also shows good reflectance in Near Infrared region and hence can be used as a pigment in cool coatings.

Nanowebs and nanocables of silicon carbide

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shim, Hyun Woo; Huang, Hanchen

2007-08-01

This paper presents two novel hierarchical structures of SiC-SiO2 core-shell nanowires: (a) nanocables in the form of multi-core and single shell and (b) nanowebs in the form of intersecting nanowires and nanocables, augmented by variable amounts of SiO2 membranes. The two structures are controllable through variations of substrate temperature and source chemistry. The hierarchical nanostructures, together with the controllability, may offer superb mechanical properties in composite applications. Finally, the authors propose a model of nanowebs and nanocables formation, as a result of nanowires intersection and alignment.

Controlled Synthesis and Utilization of Metal and Oxide Hybrid Nanoparticles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Crane, Cameron

This dissertation reports the development of synthetic methods concerning rationally-designed, hybrid, and multifunctional nanomaterials. These methods are based on a wet chemical, solution phase approach that utilizes the knowledge of synthetic organic and inorganic chemistry to generate building blocks in solution for the growth of nanocrystals and hybrid nanostructures. This work builds on the prior knowledge of shape-controlled synthesis of noble metal nanocrystals and expands into the challenging realm of the more reactive first row transition metals. Specifically, a microemulsion sol-gel method was developed to synthesize Au-SiO2 dimers as precursors for the synthesis of segmented heterostructures of noble metals that can be used for catalysis. This microemulsion sol-gel method was modified to synthesize an aqueous suspension of oxidation-resistant Cu-SiO2 core-shell nanoparticles that can be used for sensing and catalysis. A thermal decomposition approach was developed, wherein zero-valence metal precursor complexes in the presence of seed nanoparticles produced metal-metal oxide core-shell structures with well-controlled shell thickness. This method was demonstrated on AuCu 3-Fe3O4, AuCu3-NiO, and AuCu3 -MnO core-shell systems. Switching the core from AuCu3 alloy to pure Cu, this method could extend to Cu-Fe3O4 and Cu-MnO systems. Further etching the Cu core in these core-shell structures led to the formation of the hollow metal oxides which provides a versatile route to hollow nanostructures of metal oxides. This work develops the synthetic library of tools for the production of hybrid nanostructures with multiple functionalities.

Tailoring characteristic thermal stability of Ni-Au binary nanocrystals via structure and composition engineering: theoretical insights into structural evolution and atomic inter-diffusion

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

Li, Bangquan; Wang, Hailong; Xing, Guozhong

We report on the structural evolution and atomic inter-diffusion characteristics of the bimetallic Ni-Au nanocrystals (NCs) by molecular dynamics simulations studies. Our results reveal that the thermal stability dynamics of Ni-Au NCs strongly depends on the atomic configurations. By engineering the structural construction with Ni:Au = 1:1 atomic composition, compared with core-shell Au@Ni and alloy NCs, the melting point of core-shell Ni@Au NCs is significantly enhanced up to 1215 K. Unexpectedly, with atomic ratio of Au:Ni= 1:9, the melting process initiates from the atoms in the shell of Ni@Au and alloy NCs, while starts from the core of Au@Ni NCs.more » The corresponding features and evolution process of structural motifs, mixing and segregation are illustrated via a series of dynamic simulations videos. Moreover, our results revealed that the face centered cubic phase Au{sub 0.75}Ni{sub 0.25} favorably stabilizes in NCs form but does not exist in the bulk counterpart, which elucidates the anomalies of previously reported experimental results on such bimetallic NCs.« less

Light-stimulated cargo release from a core–shell structured nanocomposite for site-specific delivery

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

Cai, Yun; Ling, Li; Li, Xiaofang

This paper reported a core–shell structured site-specific delivery system with a light switch triggered by low energy light (λ=510 nm). Its core was composed of supermagnetic Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4} nanoparticles for magnetic guiding and targeting. Its outer shell consisted of mesoporous silica molecular sieve MCM-41 which offered highly ordered hexagonal tunnels for cargo capacity. A light switch N1-(4aH-cyclopenta[1,2-b:5,4-b′]dipyridin-5(5aH)-ylidene)benzene-1, 4-diamine (CBD) was covalently grafted into these hexagonal tunnels, serving as light stimuli acceptor with loading content of 1.1 μM/g. This composite was fully characterized and confirmed by SEM, TEM, XRD patterns, N{sub 2} adsorption/desorption, thermogravimetric analysis, IR, UV–vis absorption and emissionmore » spectra. Experimental data suggested that this composite had a core as wide as 150 nm and could be magnetically guided to specific sites. Its hexagonal tunnels were as long as 180 nm. Upon light stimuli of “on” and “off” states, controllable release was observed with short release time of ~900 s (90% capacity). - Graphical abstract: A core–shell structured site-specific delivery system with a light switch triggered by yellow light was constructed. Controllable release was observed with short release time of ~900 s (90% capacity). - Highlights: • A core–shell structured site-specific delivery system was constructed. • It consisted of Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4} core and MCM-41 shell grafted with light switch. • This delivery system was triggered by low energy light. • Controllable release was observed with short release time of ~900 s.« less

Photogenerated carriers transport behaviors in L-cysteine capped ZnSe core-shell quantum dots

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shan, Qingsong; Li, Kuiying; Xue, Zhenjie; Lin, Yingying; Yin, Hua; Zhu, Ruiping

2016-02-01

The photoexcited carrier transport behavior of zinc selenide (ZnSe) quantum dots (QDs) with core-shell structure is studied because of their unique photoelectronic characteristics. The surface photovoltaic (SPV) properties of self-assembled ZnSe/ZnS/L-Cys core-shell QDs were probed via electric field induced surface photovoltage and transient photovoltage (TPV) measurements supplemented by Fourier transform infrared, laser Raman, absorption, and photoluminescence spectroscopies. The ZnSe QDs displayed p-type SPV characteristics with a broader stronger SPV response over the whole ultraviolet-to-near-infrared range compared with those of other core-shell QDs in the same group. The relationship between the SPV phase value of the QDs and external bias was revealed in their SPV phase spectrum. The wide transient photovoltage response region from 3.3 × 10-8 to 2 × 10-3 s was closely related to the long diffusion distance of photoexcited free charge carriers in the interfacial space-charge region of the QDs. The strong SPV response corresponding to the ZnSe core mainly originated from an obvious quantum tunneling effect in the QDs.

Biaxially strained PtPb/Pt core/shell nanoplate boosts oxygen reduction catalysis

DOE PAGES

Bu, Lingzheng; Zhang, Nan; Guo, Shaojun; ...

2016-12-16

Compressive surface strains have been necessary to boost oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) activity in core/shell M/Pt catalysts (where M can be Ni, Co, Fe). We report a class of PtPb/Pt core/shell nanoplate catalysts that exhibit large biaxial tensile strains. The stable Pt (110) facets of the nanoplates have high ORR specific and mass activities that reach 7.8 milliampere per centimeter square and 4.3 ampere per milligram of platinum at 0.9 volts versus the reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE), respectively. Density functional theory calculations revealed that the edge-­Pt and top (bottom)-Pt (110) facets undergo large tensile strains that help optimize the Pt-­Omore » bond strength. The intermetallic core and uniform 4 layers of Pt shell of the PtPb/Pt nanoplates appear to underlie the high endurance of these catalysts, which can undergo 50,000 voltage cycles with negligible activity decay and no apparent structure and composition changes.« less

Synthesis of core-shell iron nanoparticles via a new (novel) approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chaudhary, Rakesh P.; Koymen, Ali R.

2014-03-01

Carbon-encapsulated iron (Fe) nanoparticles were synthesized by a newly developed method in toluene. Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and High Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy (HRTEM) of the as prepared sample reveal that core-shell nanostructures have been formed with Fe as core and graphitic carbon as shell. Fe nanoparticles with diameter 11nm to 102 nm are encapsulated by 6-8 nm thick graphitic carbon layers. There was no iron carbide formation observed between the Fe core and the graphitic shell. The Fe nanoparticles have body centered cubic (bcc) crystal structure. The magnetic hysteresis loop of the as synthesized powder at room temperature showed a saturation magnetization of 9 Am2 kg-1. After thermal treatment crystalline order of the samples improved and hence saturation magnetization increased to 24 Am2kg-1. We foresee that the carbon-encapsulated Fe nanoparticles are biologically friendly and could have potential applications in Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and Photothermal cancer therapy.

Fast-Dissolving Core-Shell Composite Microparticles of Quercetin Fabricated Using a Coaxial Electrospray Process

PubMed Central

Li, Chen; Yu, Deng-Guang; Williams, Gareth R.; Wang, Zhuan-Hua

2014-01-01

This study reports on novel fast-dissolving core-shell composite microparticles of quercetin fabricated using coaxial electrospraying. A PVC-coated concentric spinneret was developed to conduct the electrospray process. A series of analyses were undertaken to characterize the resultant particles in terms of their morphology, the physical form of their components, and their functional performance. Scanning and transmission electron microscopies revealed that the microparticles had spherical morphologies with clear core-shell structure visible. Differential scanning calorimetry and X-ray diffraction verified that the quercetin active ingredient in the core and sucralose and sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) excipients in the shell existed in the amorphous state. This is believed to be a result of second-order interactions between the components; these could be observed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. In vitro dissolution and permeation studies showed that the microparticles rapidly released the incorporated quercetin within one minute, and had permeation rates across the sublingual mucosa around 10 times faster than raw quercetin. PMID:24643072

Biaxially strained PtPb/Pt core/shell nanoplate boosts oxygen reduction catalysis

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

Bu, Lingzheng; Zhang, Nan; Guo, Shaojun

Compressive surface strains have been necessary to boost oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) activity in core/shell M/Pt catalysts (where M can be Ni, Co, Fe). We report a class of PtPb/Pt core/shell nanoplate catalysts that exhibit large biaxial tensile strains. The stable Pt (110) facets of the nanoplates have high ORR specific and mass activities that reach 7.8 milliampere per centimeter square and 4.3 ampere per milligram of platinum at 0.9 volts versus the reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE), respectively. Density functional theory calculations revealed that the edge-­Pt and top (bottom)-Pt (110) facets undergo large tensile strains that help optimize the Pt-­Omore » bond strength. The intermetallic core and uniform 4 layers of Pt shell of the PtPb/Pt nanoplates appear to underlie the high endurance of these catalysts, which can undergo 50,000 voltage cycles with negligible activity decay and no apparent structure and composition changes.« less

Efficient synthetic access to thermo-responsive core/shell nanoparticles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dine, Enaam Jamal Al; Ferjaoui, Zied; Roques-Carmes, Thibault; Schjen, Aleksandra; Meftah, Abdelaziz; Hamieh, Tayssir; Toufaily, Joumana; Schneider, Raphaël; Gaffet, Eric; Alem, Halima

2017-03-01

Core/shell nanostructures based on silica, fluorescent ZnO quantum dots (QDs) and superparamagnetic Fe3O4 nanoparticles (NPs) were prepared and fully characterized by the combination of different techniques and the physical properties of the nanostructures were studied. We demonstrate the efficiency of the atom transfer radical polymerization with activators regenerated by electron transfer process to graft (co-)polymers of different structures and polarity at the surface of metal oxide NPs. The influence of the polymer chain configuration on the optical properties of the ZnO/polymer core/shell QDs was enlightened. Concerning the magnetic properties of the Fe3O4/polymer nanostructures, only the amount of the grafted polymer plays a role on the saturation magnetization of the NPs and no influence of the aggregation was evidenced. The simple and fast process described in this work is efficient for the grafting of copolymers from surfaces and the derived NPs display the combination of the physical properties of the core and the macromolecular behavior of the shell.

Efficient synthetic access to thermo-responsive core/shell nanoparticles.

PubMed

Dine, Enaam Jamal Al; Ferjaoui, Zied; Roques-Carmes, Thibault; Schjen, Aleksandra; Meftah, Abdelaziz; Hamieh, Tayssir; Toufaily, Joumana; Schneider, Raphaël; Gaffet, Eric; Alem, Halima

2017-03-24

Core/shell nanostructures based on silica, fluorescent ZnO quantum dots (QDs) and superparamagnetic Fe 3 O 4 nanoparticles (NPs) were prepared and fully characterized by the combination of different techniques and the physical properties of the nanostructures were studied. We demonstrate the efficiency of the atom transfer radical polymerization with activators regenerated by electron transfer process to graft (co-)polymers of different structures and polarity at the surface of metal oxide NPs. The influence of the polymer chain configuration on the optical properties of the ZnO/polymer core/shell QDs was enlightened. Concerning the magnetic properties of the Fe 3 O 4 /polymer nanostructures, only the amount of the grafted polymer plays a role on the saturation magnetization of the NPs and no influence of the aggregation was evidenced. The simple and fast process described in this work is efficient for the grafting of copolymers from surfaces and the derived NPs display the combination of the physical properties of the core and the macromolecular behavior of the shell.

Controllable Synthesis of Copper Oxide/Carbon Core/Shell Nanowire Arrays and Their Application for Electrochemical Energy Storage

PubMed Central

Zhan, Jiye; Chen, Minghua; Xia, Xinhui

2015-01-01

Rational design/fabrication of integrated porous metal oxide arrays is critical for the construction of advanced electrochemical devices. Herein, we report self-supported CuO/C core/shell nanowire arrays prepared by the combination of electro-deposition and chemical vapor deposition methods. CuO/C nanowires with diameters of ~400 nm grow quasi-vertically to the substrates forming three-dimensional arrays architecture. A thin carbon shell is uniformly coated on the CuO nanowire cores. As an anode of lithium ion batteries, the resultant CuO/C nanowire arrays are demonstrated to have high specific capacity (672 mAh·g−1 at 0.2 C) and good cycle stability (425 mAh·g−1 at 1 C up to 150 cycles). The core/shell arrays structure plays positive roles in the enhancement of Li ion storage due to fast ion/electron transfer path, good strain accommodation and sufficient contact between electrolyte and active materials. PMID:28347084

Glycerol capped PbS/CdS core/shell nanoparticles at different molar ratio and its application in biosensors: An optical properties study

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

Das, D., E-mail: ddasphy014@gmail.com; Hussain, A. M. P.

2016-05-06

Glycerol capped PbS/CdS core/shell type nanoparticles fabricated with two different molar ratios are characterized for study of structural and optical properties. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern exhibits cubic phased polycrystalline nanocrystals. The calculated grain sizes from Williamson-Hall plot were found to be around 6 nm with increased strain. HRTEM investigation confirms the formation of core/shell nanostructures and the sizes of the particles were found to be around 7 nm which is in good agreement with the results of the W-H plot. An increase of band gap with the decrease in precursor concentration is confirmed from the blue shift in the absorption spectramore » and also from Tauc plot. A clear blue shifted intense emission is observed in the photoluminescence spectra with decrease in particle size. Intense luminescence from the core/shell nanostructure may be applied in bio labelling and biosensors.« less

Amphiphilic Block Copolymers Directed Interface Coassembly to Construct Multifunctional Microspheres with Magnetic Core and Monolayer Mesoporous Aluminosilicate Shell.

PubMed

Zhang, Yu; Yue, Qin; Yu, Lei; Yang, Xuanyu; Hou, Xiu-Feng; Zhao, Dongyuan; Cheng, Xiaowei; Deng, Yonghui

2018-05-11

Core-shell magnetic porous microspheres have wide applications in drug delivery, catalysis and bioseparation, and so on. However, it is great challenge to controllably synthesize magnetic porous microspheres with uniform well-aligned accessible large mesopores (>10 nm) which are highly desired for applications involving immobilization or adsorption of large guest molecules or nanoobjects. In this study, a facile and general amphiphilic block copolymer directed interfacial coassembly strategy is developed to synthesize core-shell magnetic mesoporous microspheres with a monolayer of mesoporous shell of different composition, such as core-shell magnetic mesoporous aluminosilicate (CS-MMAS), silica (CS-MMS), and zirconia-silica (CS-MMZS), open and large pores by employing polystyrene-block-poly (4-vinylpyridine) (PS-b-P4VP) as an interface structure directing agent and aluminum acetylacetonate (Al(acac) 3 ), zirconium acetylacetonate, and tetraethyl orthosilicate as shell precursors. The obtained CS-MMAS microspheres possess magnetic core, perpendicular mesopores (20-32 nm) in the shell, high surface area (244.7 m 2 g -1 ), and abundant acid sites (0.44 mmol g -1 ), and as a result, they exhibit superior performance in removal of organophosphorus pesticides (fenthion) with a fast adsorption dynamics and high adsorption capacity. CS-MMAS microspheres loaded with Au nanoparticles (≈3.5 nm) behavior as a highly active heterogeneous nanocatalyst for N-alkylation reaction for producing N-phenylbenzylamine with a selectivity and yields of over 90% and good magnetic recyclability. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Synthesis and White-Light Emission of ZnO/HfO2: Eu Nanocables

PubMed Central

2010-01-01

ZnO/HfO2:Eu nanocables were prepared by radio frequency sputtering with electrospun ZnO nanofibers as cores. The well-crystallized ZnO/HfO2:Eu nanocables showed a uniform intact core–shell structure, which consisted of a hexagonal ZnO core and a monoclinic HfO2 shell. The photoluminescence properties of the samples were characterized. A white-light band emission consisted of blue, green, and red emissions was observed in the nanocables. The blue and green emissions can be attributed to the zinc vacancy and oxygen vacancy defects in ZnO/HfO2:Eu nanocables, and the yellow–red emissions are derived from the inner 4f-shell transitions of corresponding Eu3+ ions in HfO2:Eu shells. Enhanced white-light emission was observed in the nanocables. The enhancement of the emission is ascribed to the structural changes after coaxial synthesis. PMID:20730130

Seaurchin-like hierarchical NiCo2O4@NiMoO4 core-shell nanomaterials for high performance supercapacitors.

PubMed

Zhang, Qiang; Deng, Yanghua; Hu, Zhonghua; Liu, Yafei; Yao, Mingming; Liu, Peipei

2014-11-14

A novel electrode material of the three-dimensional (3D) multicomponent oxide NiCo2O4@NiMoO4 core-shell was synthesized via a facile two-step hydrothermal method using a post-annealing procedure. The uniform NiMoO4 nanosheets were grown on the seaurchin-like NiCo2O4 backbone to form a NiCo2O4@NiMoO4 core-shell material constructed by interconnected ultrathin nanosheets, so as to produce hierarchical mesopores with a large specific surface area of 100.3 m(2) g(-1). The porous feature and core-shell structure can facilitate the penetration of electrolytic ions and increases the number of electroactive sites. Hence, the NiCo2O4@NiMoO4 material exhibited a high specific capacitance of 2474 F g(-1) and 2080 F g(-1) at current densities of 1 A g(-1) and 20 A g(-1) respectively, suggesting that it has not only a very large specific capacitance, but also a good rate performance. In addition, the capacitance loss was only 5.0% after 1000 cycles of charge and discharge tests at the current density of 10 A g(-1), indicating high stability. The excellent electrochemical performance is mainly attributed to its 3D core-shell and hierarchical mesoporous structures which can provide unobstructed pathways for the fast diffusion and transportation of ions and electrons, a large number of active sites and good strain accommodation.

Fabrication of SnO2-TiO2 core-shell nanopillar-array films for enhanced photocatalytic activity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cheng, Hsyi-En; Lin, Chun-Yuan; Hsu, Ching-Ming

2017-02-01

Immobilized or deposited thin film TiO2 photocatalysts are suffering from a low photocatalytic activity due to either a low photon absorption efficiency or a high carrier recombination rate. Here we demonstrate that the photocatalytic activity of TiO2 can be effectively improved by the SnO2-TiO2 core-shell nanopillar-array structure which combines the benefits of SnO2/TiO2 heterojunction and high reaction surface area. The SnO2-TiO2 core-shell nanopillar-array films were fabricated using atomic layer deposition and dry etching techniques via barrier-free porous anodic alumina templates. The photocatalytic activity of the prepared films was evaluated by methylene blue (MB) bleaching under 352 nm UV light irradiation. The results show that the photocatalytic activity of TiO2 film was 45% improved by introducing a SnO2 film between TiO2 and ITO glass substrate and was 300% improved by using the SnO2-TiO2 core-shell nanopillar-array structure. The 45% improvement by the SnO2 interlayer is attributed to the SnO2/TiO2 heterojunction which separates the photogenerated electron-hole pairs in TiO2 for MB degradation, and the high photocatalytic activity of the SnO2-TiO2 core-shell nanopillar-array films is attributed to the three dimensional SnO2/TiO2 heterojunction which owns both the carrier separation ability and the high photocatalytic reaction surface area.

Fabricating core (Au)-shell (different stimuli-responsive polymers) nanoparticles via inverse emulsion polymerization: Comparing DOX release behavior in dark room and under NIR lighting.

PubMed

Mazloomi-Rezvani, Mahsa; Salami-Kalajahi, Mehdi; Roghani-Mamaqani, Hossein

2018-06-01

Different core-shell nanoparticles with Au as core and stimuli-responsive polymers such as poly(acrylic acid) (PAA), poly(methacrylic acid) (PMAA), poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAm), poly(N,N'-methylenebis(acrylamide)) (PMBA), poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (PHEMA) and poly((2-dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate) (PDMAEMA) as shells were fabricated via inverse emulsion polymerization. Dynamic light scattering (DLS) was used to investigate particles sizes and particle size distributions and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) was applied to observe the core-shell structure of Au-polymer nanoparticles. Also, surface charge of all samples was studied by measurement of zeta potentials. Synthesized core-shell nanoparticles were utilized as nanocarriers of DOX as anti-cancer drug and drug release behaviors were investigated in dark room and under irradiation of near-infrared (NIR) light. Results showed that all core-shell samples have particle sizes less than 100 nm with narrow particle size distributions. Moreover, amount of drug loading decreased by increasing zeta potential. In dark room, lower pH resulted in higher cumulative drug release due to better solubility of DOX in acidic media. Also, NIR lighting on DOX-loaded samples led to increasing cumulative drug release significantly. However, DOX-loaded Au-PAA and Au-PMAA showed higher drug release at pH = 7.4 compared to 5.3 under NIR lighting. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Structural and photoluminescence studies on catalytic growth of silicon/zinc oxide heterostructure nanowires

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Silicon/zinc oxide (Si/ZnO) core-shell nanowires (NWs) were prepared on a p-type Si(111) substrate using a two-step growth process. First, indium seed-coated Si NWs (In/Si NWs) were synthesized using a plasma-assisted hot-wire chemical vapor deposition technique. This was then followed by the growth of a ZnO nanostructure shell layer using a vapor transport and condensation method. By varying the ZnO growth time from 0.5 to 2 h, different morphologies of ZnO nanostructures, such as ZnO nanoparticles, ZnO shell layer, and ZnO nanorods were grown on the In/Si NWs. The In seeds were believed to act as centers to attract the ZnO molecule vapors, further inducing the lateral growth of ZnO nanorods from the Si/ZnO core-shell NWs via a vapor-liquid-solid mechanism. The ZnO nanorods had a tendency to grow in the direction of [0001] as indicated by X-ray diffraction and high resolution transmission electron microscopy analyses. We showed that the Si/ZnO core-shell NWs exhibit a broad visible emission ranging from 400 to 750 nm due to the combination of emissions from oxygen vacancies in ZnO and In2O3 structures and nanocrystallite Si on the Si NWs. The hierarchical growth of straight ZnO nanorods on the core-shell NWs eventually reduced the defect (green) emission and enhanced the near band edge (ultraviolet) emission of the ZnO. PMID:23590803

Dye-Sensitized Core/Active Shell Upconversion Nanoparticles for Optogenetics and Bioimaging Applications

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

Wu, Xiang; Zhang, Yuanwei; Takle, Kendra

2016-01-26

Near Infrared (NIR) dye-sensitized upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) have recently been proposed in order to broaden the absorption range and to boost upconversion efficiency. However, implementing this strategy has been limited only to bare core UCNP structures that are faintly luminescent. Herein, we report on an approach to achieve significantly enhanced upconversion luminescence in dye-sensitized core-active shell UCNPs with a broadened absorption range via the doping of ytterbium ions in the UCNP shell in order to bridge the energy transfer from the dye to the UCNP core. As a result, we have been able to synergize the two most practical upconversionmore » booster effectors (dye-sensitizing and core/shell enhancement). The absolute quantum yield of our dye-sensitized core/active shell UCNPs at 800 nm was determined to be ~6% at 2 W/cm2, about 33 times larger than the highest value reported to date for existing 800 nm excitable UCNPs. Moreover, for the first time, by using dye-sensitized core/active shell UCNP embedded poly(methyl methacrylate) polymer implantable systems, we successfully shifted the optogenetic neuron excitation window to a wavelength that is compatible with deep tissue penetrable near the infrared wavelength at 800 nm. Finally, amphiphilic triblock copolymer, Pluronic F127 coatings permit the transfer of hydrophobic UCNPs into water, resulting in water-soluble nanoparticles with well-preserved optical property in aqueous solution. We believe that this research offers a new solution to enhance upconversion efficiency for photonic and biophotonic purposes and opens up new opportunities to use UCNPs as a NIR relay for optogenetic applications.« less

Effect of the Semiconductor Quantum Dot Shell Structure on Fluorescence Quenching by Acridine Ligand

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Linkov, P. A.; Vokhmintcev, K. V.; Samokhvalov, P. S.; Laronze-Cochard, M.; Sapi, J.; Nabiev, I. R.

2018-02-01

The main line of research in cancer treatment is the development of methods for early diagnosis and targeted drug delivery to cancer cells. Fluorescent semiconductor core/shell nanocrystals of quantum dots (e.g., CdSe/ZnS) conjugated with an anticancer drug, e.g., an acridine derivative, allow real-time tracking and control of the process of the drug delivery to tumors. However, linking of acridine derivatives to a quantum dot can be accompanied by quantum dot fluorescence quenching caused by electron transfer from the quantum dot to the organic molecule. In this work, it has been shown that the structure of the shell of the quantum dot plays the decisive role in the process of photoinduced charge transfer from the quantum dot to the acridine ligand, which is responsible for fluorescence quenching. It has been shown that multicomponent ZnS/CdS/ZnS shells of CdSe cores of quantum dots, which have a relatively small thickness, make it possible to significantly suppress a decrease in the quantum yield of fluorescence of quantum dots as compared to both the classical ZnS thin shell and superthick shells of the same composition. Thus, core/multicomponent shell CdSe/ZnS/CdS/ZnS quantum dots can be used as optimal fluorescent probes for the development of systems for diagnosis and treatment of cancer with the use of anticancer compounds based on acridine derivatives.

Silica-Coated Core-Shell Structured Polystyrene Nanospheres and Their Size-Dependent Mechanical Properties.

PubMed

Cao, Xu; Pan, Guoshun; Huang, Peng; Guo, Dan; Xie, Guoxin

2017-08-22

The core-shell structured PS/SiO 2 composite nanospheres were synthesized on the basis of a modified Stöber method. The mechanical properties of monodisperse nanospheres were characterized with nanoindentation on the basis of the atomic force microscopy (AFM). The surface morphologies of PS/SiO 2 composite nanospheres was scanned with the tapping mode of AFM, and the force-distance curves were measured with the contact mode of AFM. Different contact models were compared for the analyses of experimental data. The elastic moduli of PS/SiO 2 composite nanosphere (4-40 GPa) and PS nanosphere (∼3.4 GPa) were obtained with the Hertz and Johnson-Kendall-Roberts (JKR) models, respectively, and the JKR model was proven to be more appropriate for calculating the elastic modulus of PS/SiO 2 nanospheres. The elastic modulus of SiO 2 shell gradually approached a constant value (∼46 GPa) with the increase of SiO 2 shell thickness. A core-shell model was proposed for describing the relationship between PS/SiO 2 composite nanosphere's elastic modulus and shell thickness. The mechanical properties of the composite nanospheres were reasonably explained on the basis of the growth mechanism of PS/SiO 2 composite nanospheres, in particular the SiO 2 shell's formation process. Available research data of PS/SiO 2 composite nanospheres in this work can provide valuable guidance for their effective application in surface engineering, micro/nanomanufacturing, lubrication, and so on.

Oxidation driven ZnS Core-ZnO shell photocatalysts under controlled oxygen atmosphere for improved photocatalytic solar water splitting

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bak, Daegil; Kim, Jung Hyeun

2018-06-01

Zinc type photocatalysts attract great attentions in solar hydrogen production due to their easy availability and benign environmental characteristics. Spherical ZnS particles are synthesized with a facile hydrothermal method, and they are further used as core materials to introduce ZnO shell layer surrounding the core part by partial oxidation under controlled oxygen contents. The resulting ZnS core-ZnO shell photocatalysts represent the heterostructural type II band alignment. The existence of oxide layer also influences on proton adsorption power with an aid of strong base cites derived from highly electronegative oxygen atoms in ZnO shell layer. Photocatalytic water splitting reaction is performed to evaluate catalyst efficiency under standard one sun condition, and the highest hydrogen evolution rate (1665 μmolg-1h-1) is achieved from the sample oxidized at 16.2 kPa oxygen pressure. This highest hydrogen production rate is achieved in cooperation with increased light absorption and promoted charge separations. Photoluminescence analysis reveals that the improved visible light response is obtained after thermal oxidation process due to the oxygen vacancy states in the ZnO shell layer. Therefore, overall photocatalytic efficiency in solar hydrogen production is enhanced by improved charge separations, crystallinity, and visible light responses from the ZnS core-ZnO shell structures induced by thermal oxidation.

A Study on Dielectric Properties of Cadmium Sulfide-Zinc Sulfide Core-Shell Nanocomposites for Application as Nanoelectronic Filter Component in the Microwave Domain

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Devi, Jutika; Datta, Pranayee

2018-07-01

Complex permittivities of cadmium sulfide (CdS), zinc sulfide (ZnS), and of cadmium sulfide-zinc sulfide (CdS/ZnS) core-shell nanoparticles embedded in a polyvinyl alcohol matrix (PVA) were measured in liquid phase using a VectorNetwork Analyzer in the frequency range of 500 MHz-10 GHz. These nanocomposites are modeled as an embedded capacitor, and their electric field distribution and polarization have been studied using COMSOL Multiphysics software. By varying the thickness of the shell and the number of inclusions, the capacitance values were estimated. It was observed that CdS, ZnS and CdS/ZnS core-shell nanoparticles embedded in a polyvinyl alcohol matrix show capacitive behavior. There is a strong influence of the dielectric properties in the capacitive behavior of the embedded nanocapacitor. The capping matrix, position and filling factors of nanoinclusions all affect the capacitive behavior of the tested nanocomposites. Application of the CdS, ZnS and CdS/ZnS core-shell nanocomposite as the passive low-pass filter circuit has also been investigated. From the present study, it has been found that CdS/ZnS core-shell nanoparticles embedded in PVA matrix are potential structures for application as nanoelectronic filter components in different areas of communication.

A Study on Dielectric Properties of Cadmium Sulfide-Zinc Sulfide Core-Shell Nanocomposites for Application as Nanoelectronic Filter Component in the Microwave Domain

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Devi, Jutika; Datta, Pranayee

2018-03-01

Complex permittivities of cadmium sulfide (CdS), zinc sulfide (ZnS), and of cadmium sulfide-zinc sulfide (CdS/ZnS) core-shell nanoparticles embedded in a polyvinyl alcohol matrix (PVA) were measured in liquid phase using a VectorNetwork Analyzer in the frequency range of 500 MHz-10 GHz. These nanocomposites are modeled as an embedded capacitor, and their electric field distribution and polarization have been studied using COMSOL Multiphysics software. By varying the thickness of the shell and the number of inclusions, the capacitance values were estimated. It was observed that CdS, ZnS and CdS/ZnS core-shell nanoparticles embedded in a polyvinyl alcohol matrix show capacitive behavior. There is a strong influence of the dielectric properties in the capacitive behavior of the embedded nanocapacitor. The capping matrix, position and filling factors of nanoinclusions all affect the capacitive behavior of the tested nanocomposites. Application of the CdS, ZnS and CdS/ZnS core-shell nanocomposite as the passive low-pass filter circuit has also been investigated. From the present study, it has been found that CdS/ZnS core-shell nanoparticles embedded in PVA matrix are potential structures for application as nanoelectronic filter components in different areas of communication.

Influences of external vs. core-shell mixing on aerosol optical properties at various relative humidities.

PubMed

Ramachandran, S; Srivastava, Rohit

2013-05-01

Aerosol optical properties of external and core-shell mixtures of aerosol species present in the atmosphere are calculated in this study for different relative humidities. Core-shell Mie calculations are performed using the values of radii, refractive indices and densities of aerosol species that act as core and shell, and the core-shell radius ratio. The single scattering albedo (SSA) is higher when the absorbing species (black carbon, BC) is the core, while for a sulfate core SSA does not vary significantly as the BC in the shell dominates the absorption. Absorption gets enhanced in core-shell mixing of absorbing and scattering aerosols when compared to their external mixture. Thus, SSA is significantly lower for a core-shell mixture than their external mixture. SSA is more sensitive to core-shell ratio than mode radius when BC is the core. The extinction coefficient, SSA and asymmetry parameter are higher for external mixing when compared to BC (core)-water soluble aerosol (shell), and water soluble aerosol (core)-BC (shell) mixtures in the relative humidity range of 0 to 90%. Spectral SSA exhibits the behaviour of the species which acts as a shell in core-shell mixing. The asymmetry parameter for an external mixture of water soluble aerosol and BC is higher than BC (core)-water soluble aerosol (shell) mixing and increases as function of relative humidity. The asymmetry parameter for the water soluble aerosol (core)-BC (shell) is independent of relative humidity as BC is hydrophobic. The asymmetry parameter of the core-shell mixture decreases when BC aerosols are involved in mixing, as the asymmetry parameter of BC is lower. Aerosol optical depth (AOD) of core-shell mixtures increases at a higher rate when the relative humidity exceeds 70% in continental clean and urban aerosol models, whereas AOD remains the same when the relative humidity exceeds 50% in maritime aerosol models. The SSA for continental aerosols varies for core-shell mixing of water soluble aerosol (core)-shell (BC) when compared to their external mixture, while the SSA for maritime aerosols does not vary significantly for different mixing scenarios because of the dominance of sea salt aerosols. Thus, these results confirm that aerosol mixing can modify the physical and optical characteristics of aerosols, which vary as a function of relative humidity. These calculations will be useful in parameterising the effect of core-shell vs. external mixing of aerosols in global climate models, and in the evaluation of aerosol radiative effects.

Fabrication of bifunctional core-shell Fe3O4 particles coated with ultrathin phosphor layer

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Bifunctional monodispersed Fe3O4 particles coated with an ultrathin Y2O3:Tb3+ shell layer were fabricated using a facile urea-based homogeneous precipitation method. The obtained composite particles were characterized by powder X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), quantum design vibrating sample magnetometry, and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. TEM revealed uniform spherical core-shell-structured composites ranging in size from 306 to 330 nm with a shell thickness of approximately 25 nm. PL spectroscopy confirmed that the synthesized composites displayed a strong eye-visible green light emission. Magnetic measurements indicated that the composite particles obtained also exhibited strong superparamagnetic behavior at room temperature. Therefore, the inner Fe3O4 core and outer Y2O3:Tb3+ shell layer endow the composites with both robust magnetic properties and strong eye-visible luminescent properties. These composite materials have potential use in magnetic targeting and bioseparation, simultaneously coupled with luminescent imaging. PMID:23962025

Fabrication of bifunctional core-shell Fe3O4 particles coated with ultrathin phosphor layer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Atabaev, Timur Sh; Kim, Hyung-Kook; Hwang, Yoon-Hwae

2013-08-01

Bifunctional monodispersed Fe3O4 particles coated with an ultrathin Y2O3:Tb3+ shell layer were fabricated using a facile urea-based homogeneous precipitation method. The obtained composite particles were characterized by powder X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), quantum design vibrating sample magnetometry, and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. TEM revealed uniform spherical core-shell-structured composites ranging in size from 306 to 330 nm with a shell thickness of approximately 25 nm. PL spectroscopy confirmed that the synthesized composites displayed a strong eye-visible green light emission. Magnetic measurements indicated that the composite particles obtained also exhibited strong superparamagnetic behavior at room temperature. Therefore, the inner Fe3O4 core and outer Y2O3:Tb3+ shell layer endow the composites with both robust magnetic properties and strong eye-visible luminescent properties. These composite materials have potential use in magnetic targeting and bioseparation, simultaneously coupled with luminescent imaging.

Highly luminescent core-shell InP/ZnX (X = S, Se) quantum dots prepared via a phosphine synthetic route.

PubMed

Mordvinova, Natalia; Vinokurov, Alexander; Kuznetsova, Tatiana; Lebedev, Oleg I; Dorofeev, Sergey

2017-01-24

Here we report a simple method for the creation of highly luminescent core-shell InP/ZnX (X = S, Se) quantum dots (QDs) on the basis of a phosphine synthetic route. In this method a Zn precursor was added to the reaction mixture at the beginning of the synthesis to form an In(Zn)P alloy structure, which promoted the formation of a ZnX shell. Core-shell InP/ZnX QDs exhibit highly intensive emission with a quantum yield over 50%. The proposed method is primarily important for practical applications. Advantages of this method compared to the widely used SILAR technique are discussed. We further demonstrate that the SILAR approach consisting of consequent addition of Zn and chalcogen precursors to pre-prepared non-doped InP colloidal nanoparticles is not quite suitable for shell growth without the addition of special activator agents or the use of very reactive precursors.

Synthesis of Au-induced structurally ordered AuPdCo intermetallic core-shell nanoparticles and their use as oxygen reduction catalysts

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

Kuttiyiel, Kurian A.; Sasaki, Kotaro; Adzic, Radoslav R.

Embodiments of the disclosure relate to intermetallic nanoparticles. Embodiments include nanoparticles having an intermetallic core including a first metal and a second metal. The first metal may be palladium and the second metal may be at least one of cobalt, iron, nickel, or a combination thereof. The nanoparticles may further have a shell that includes palladium and gold.

Twin-mediated epitaxial growth of highly lattice-mismatched Cu/Ag core-shell nanowires.

PubMed

Weng, Wei-Lun; Hsu, Chin-Yu; Lee, Jheng-Syun; Fan, Hsin-Hsin; Liao, Chien-Neng

2018-05-31

Lattice-mismatch is an important factor for the heteroepitaxial growth of core-shell nanostructures. A large lattice-mismatch usually leads to a non-coherent interface or a polycrystalline shell layer. In this study, a conformal Ag layer is coated on Cu nanowires with dense nanoscale twin boundaries through a galvanic replacement reaction. Despite a large lattice mismatch between Ag and Cu (∼12.6%), the Ag shell replicates the twinning structure in Cu nanowires and grows epitaxially on the nanotwinned Cu nanowire. A twin-mediated growth mechanism is proposed to explain the epitaxy of high lattice-mismatch bimetallic systems in which the misfit dislocations are accommodated by coherent twin boundaries.

Stabilization of Pt monolayer catalysts under harsh conditions of fuel cells

DOE PAGES

Zhang, Xiaoming; Liu, Ping; Yu, Shansheng; ...

2015-05-21

We employed density functional theory (DFT) to explore the stability of core (M = Cu, Ru, Rh, Pd, Ag, Os, Ir, Au)-shell (Pt) catalysts under harsh conditions, including solutions and reaction intermediates involved in the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in fuel cells. A pseudomorphic surface alloy (PSA) with a Pt monolayer (Pt 1ML) supported on an M surface, Pt 1ML/M(111) or (001), was considered as a model system. Different sets of candidate M cores were identified to achieve a stable Pt 1ML shell depending on the conditions. In vacuum conditions, the Pt 1ML shell can be stabilized on the mostmore » of M cores except Cu, Ag, and Au. The situation varies under various electrochemical conditions. Depending on the solutions and the operating reaction pathways of the ORR, different M should be considered. Pd and Ir are the only core metals studied, being able to keep the Pt ML shell intact in perchloric acid, sulfuric acid, phosphoric acid, and alkaline solutions as well as under the ORR conditions via different pathways. Ru and Os cores should also be paid attention, which only fall during the ORR via the *OOH intermediate. Rh core works well as long as the ORR does not undergo the pathway via *O intermediate. Our results show that PSAs can behave differently from the near surface alloy, Pt 1ML/M 1ML/Pt(111), highlighting the importance of considering both chemical environments and the atomic structures in rational design of highly stable core-shell nanocatalysts. Finally, the roles that d-band center of a core M played in determining the stability of supported Pt 1ML shell were also discussed.« less

Stabilization of Pt monolayer catalysts under harsh conditions of fuel cells

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

Zhang, Xiaoming; Yu, Shansheng; Zheng, Weitao, E-mail: wtzheng@jlu.edu.cn, E-mail: pingliu3@bnl.gov

2015-05-21

We employed density functional theory to explore the stability of core (M = Cu, Ru, Rh, Pd, Ag, Os, Ir, Au)-shell (Pt) catalysts under harsh conditions, including solutions and reaction intermediates involved in the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in fuel cells. A pseudomorphic surface alloy (PSA) with a Pt monolayer (Pt{sub 1ML}) supported on an M surface, Pt{sub 1ML}/M(111) or (001), was considered as a model system. Different sets of candidate M cores were identified to achieve a stable Pt{sub 1ML} shell depending on the conditions. In vacuum conditions, the Pt{sub 1ML} shell can be stabilized on the most ofmore » M cores except Cu, Ag, and Au. The situation varies under various electrochemical conditions. Depending on the solutions and the operating reaction pathways of the ORR, different M should be considered. Pd and Ir are the only core metals studied, being able to keep the Pt{sub ML} shell intact in perchloric acid, sulfuric acid, phosphoric acid, and alkaline solutions as well as under the ORR conditions via different pathways. Ru and Os cores should also be paid attention, which only fall during the ORR via the *OOH intermediate. Rh core works well as long as the ORR does not undergo the pathway via *O intermediate. Our results show that PSAs can behave differently from the near surface alloy, Pt{sub 1ML}/M{sub 1ML}/Pt(111), highlighting the importance of considering both chemical environments and the atomic structures in rational design of highly stable core-shell nanocatalysts. Finally, the roles that d-band center of a core M played in determining the stability of supported Pt{sub 1ML} shell were also discussed.« less

A high-performance ternary Si composite anode material with crystal graphite core and amorphous carbon shell

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sui, Dong; Xie, Yuqing; Zhao, Weimin; Zhang, Hongtao; Zhou, Ying; Qin, Xiting; Ma, Yanfeng; Yang, Yong; Chen, Yongsheng

2018-04-01

Si is a promising anode material for lithium-ion batteries, but suffers from sophisticated engineering structures and complex fabrication processes that pose challenges for commercial application. Herein, a ternary Si/graphite/pyrolytic carbon (SiGC) anode material with a structure of crystal core and amorphous shell using low-cost raw materials is developed. In this ternary SiGC composite, Si component exists as nanoparticles and is spread on the surface of the core graphite flakes while the sucrose-derived pyrolytic carbon further covers the graphite/Si components as the amorphous shell. With this structure, Si together with the graphite contributes to the high specific capacity of this Si ternary material. Also the graphite serves as the supporting and conducting matrix and the amorphous shell carbon could accommodate the volume change effect of Si, reinforces the integrity of the composite architecture, and prevents the graphite and Si from direct exposing to the electrolyte. The optimized ternary SiGC composite displays high reversible specific capacity of 818 mAh g-1 at 0.1 A g-1, initial Coulombic efficiency (CE) over 80%, and excellent cycling stability at 0.5 A g-1 with 83.6% capacity retention (∼610 mAh g-1) after 300 cycles.

Direct Fabrication of Monodisperse Silica Nanorings from Hollow Spheres - A Template for Core-Shell Nanorings.

PubMed

Zhong, Kuo; Li, Jiaqi; Liu, Liwang; Brullot, Ward; Bloemen, Maarten; Volodin, Alexander; Song, Kai; Van Dorpe, Pol; Verellen, Niels; Clays, Koen

2016-04-27

We report a new type of nanosphere colloidal lithography to directly fabricate monodisperse silica (SiO2) nanorings by means of reactive ion etching of hollow SiO2 spheres. Detailed TEM, SEM, and AFM structural analysis is complemented by a model describing the geometrical transition from hollow sphere to ring during the etching process. The resulting silica nanorings can be readily redispersed in solution and subsequently serve as universal templates for the synthesis of ring-shaped core-shell nanostructures. As an example we used silica nanorings (with diameter of ∼200 nm) to create a novel plasmonic nanoparticle topology, a silica-Au core-shell nanoring, by self-assembly of Au nanoparticles (<20 nm) on the ring's surface. Spectroscopic measurements and finite difference time domain simulations reveal high quality factor multipolar and antibonding surface plasmon resonances in the near-infrared. By loading different types of nanoparticles on the silica core, hybrid and multifunctional composite nanoring structures could be realized for applications such as MRI contrast enhancement, catalysis, drug delivery, plasmonic and magnetic hyperthermia, photoacoustic imaging, and biochemical sensing.

Synthesis and Characterization of Mn3O4 - Graphene Core - Shell Quantum Dots for Electrochemical Pseudocapacitor Applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ko, Yohan; Son, Dong Ick

2018-05-01

We report on the in-situ chemical growth of unique core-shell quantum dots (QDs) with single layer graphene on the surfaces of the Mn3O4 QDs and on their structural, optical and electrical properties. The Mn3O4-graphene QDs were synthesized through a simple hydrothermal technique. In order to enhance performance for electrochemical energy storage, we developed core (active material) - shell (conductive material)-type Mn3O4 - graphene QDs as electrode materials by using an aqueous electrolyte (6M KOH). As a result, the performance of electrochemical energy storage exhibit a specific capacitance of 452.72 Fg-1 at a current density of 1 Ag-1.

Surface and exchange-bias effects in compacted CaMnO3-δ nanoparticles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Markovich, V.; Fita, I.; Wisniewski, A.; Puzniak, R.; Mogilyansky, D.; Titelman, L.; Vradman, L.; Herskowitz, M.; Gorodetsky, G.

2008-02-01

Magnetic properties of compacted 50nm CaMnO3-δ (CMO) nanoparticles have been investigated. Measurements of ac-susceptibility exhibit upon cooling two magnetic transitions at Ttilde 270K accompanied by a small spontaneous magnetic moment and a para-antiferromagnetic (AFM) transition at TN˜120K , observed previously in bulk CMO. Asymmetric magnetization hysteresis loops observed in applied magnetic fields H≤90kOe are attributed to an exchange coupling between the antiferromagnetic core and the ferromagnetic (FM) shell of the CMO nanoparticles. This work provides the observation of exchange bias effect in manganite nanoparticles with inverted AFM-core-FM-shell structure, as compared to the typical FM-core-AFM-shell. Effects of surface and exchange anisotropy are also discussed.

Preparation of ZnS@In2S3 Core@shell Composite for Enhanced Photocatalytic Degradation of Gaseous o-Dichlorobenzene under Visible Light.

PubMed

Liu, Baojun; Hu, Xia; Li, Xinyong; Li, Ying; Chen, Chang; Lam, Kwok-Ho

2017-11-27

In this study, novel ZnS@In 2 S 3 core@shell hollow nanospheres were fabricated by a facile refluxing method for the first time, and the formation mechanism of hollow structure with interior architecture was discussed based on ion-exchange Ostwald ripening. As the photocatalytic material for degradation of gaseous o-Dichlorobenzene (o-DCB), the as-synthesized core@shell hollow nanospheres were found to show significantly enhanced catalytic performance for effective separation of photo-generated charges. Moreover, the mechanisms of enhanced activity were elucidated by band alignment and unique configuration. Such photocatalyst would meet the demands for the control of persistent organic pollutant (POPs) in the atmospheric environment.

Effects of quantum confinement and shape on band gap of core/shell quantum dots and nanowires

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gao, Faming

2011-05-01

A quantum confinement model for nanocrystals developed is extended to study for the optical gap shifts in core/shell quantum dots and nanowires. The chemical bond properties and gap shifts in the InP/ZnS, CdSe/CdS, CdSe/ZnS, and CdTe/ZnS core/shell quantum dots are calculated in detail. The calculated band gaps are in excellent agreement with experimental values. The effects of structural taping and twinning on quantum confinement of InP and Si nanowires are elucidated. It is found theoretically that a competition between the positive Kubo energy-gap shift and the negative surface energy shift plays the crucial role in the optical gaps of these nanosystems.

Quantum interferometer based on GaAs/InAs core/shell nanowires connected to superconducting contacts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Haas, F.; Dickheuer, S.; Zellekens, P.; Rieger, T.; Lepsa, M. I.; Lüth, H.; Grützmacher, D.; Schäpers, Th

2018-06-01

An interferometer structure was realized based on a GaAs/InAs core/shell nanowire and Nb superconducting electrodes. Two pairs of Nb contacts are attached to the side facets of the nanowire allowing for carrier transport in three different orientations. Owing to the core/shell geometry, the current flows in the tubular conductive InAs shell. In transport measurements with superconducting electrodes directly facing each other, indications of a Josephson supercurrent are found. In contrast for junctions in diagonal and longitudinal configuration a deficiency current is observed, owing to the weaker coupling on longer distances. By applying a magnetic field along the nanowires axis pronounced h/2e flux-periodic oscillations are measured in all three contact configurations. The appearance of these oscillations is explained in terms of interference effects in the Josephson supercurrent and long-range phase-coherent Andreev reflection.

Highly stable multi-wall carbon nanotubes@poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)/poly(styrene sulfonate) core-shell composites with three-dimensional porous nano-network for electrochemical capacitors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, Haihan; Han, Gaoyi; Chang, Yunzhen; Fu, Dongying; Xiao, Yaoming

2015-01-01

A facile and feasible electrochemical polymerization method has been used to construct the multi-wall carbon nanotubes@poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)/poly(styrene sulfonate) (MWCNTs@PEDOT/PSS) core-shell composites with three-dimensional (3D) porous nano-network microstructure. The composites are characterized with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscope, and transmission electron microscopy. This special core-shell nanostructure can significantly reduce the ions diffusion distance and the 3D porous nano-network microstructure effectively enlarges the electrode/electrolyte interface. The electrochemical tests including cyclic voltammetry, galvanostatic charge/discharge measurements, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy tests are performed, the results manifest the MWCNTs@PEDOT/PSS core-shell composites have superior capacitive behaviors and excellent cyclic stability, and a high areal capacitance of 98.1 mF cm-2 is achieved at 5 mV s-1 cyclic voltammetry scan. Furthermore, the MWCNTs@PEDOT/PSS composites exhibit obviously superior capacitive performance than that of PEDOT/PSS and PEDOT/Cl electrodes, indicating the effective composite of MWCNTs and PEDOT noticeably boosts the capacitive performance of PEDOT-based electrodes for electrochemical energy storage. Such a highly stable core-shell 3D network structural composite is very promising to be used as electrode materials for the high-performance electrochemical capacitors.

Luminescence emission from nonpolar Al0.3Ga0.7N/GaN core-shell and core-multi-shell nanowires

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Namvari, E.; Shojaei, S.; Asgari, A.

2017-12-01

In the present work, we theoretically study the possibility of luminescence emission from two systems of nonpolar Al0.3Ga0.7N/GaN Core-shell and core-multi-shell c-axis oriented nanowires with hexagonal cross section. To obtain energy levels and wave functions through the solution of Schrodinger-Poisson equations, numerical Self-consistent procedure has been employed. N-type doping has been considered to investigate the two-dimensional electron gas formation and its effect on luminescence. The detailed analysis of the results as a function of the various structural parameters has been carried out. The results presents an examination of the band to band luminescence feature and its changes with involved parameters. We found that the size of the system determines the feature of luminescence emission. As main finding, our calculations show that the intensity of luminescence spectrum in facet to facet route of NW cross section is significant than that of corner to corner route. In addition, no shift of the peak position is observed with changing the amount of doping. Our numerical calculations give more insights into the luminescence emission of nonpolar GaN/AlGaN core/shell nanowire and have many implications in experiment.

Monodisperse MnO2@NiCo2O4 core/shell nanospheres with highly opened structures as electrode materials for good-performance supercapacitors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, You; Ma, Li; Gan, Mengyu; Ye, Menghan; Li, Xiurong; Zhai, Yanfang; Yan, Fabing; Cao, Feifei

2018-06-01

The monodisperse MnO2@NiCo2O4 core/shell nanospheres for good-performance supercapacitors are designed and synthesized by a two-step solution-based method and a simple post annealing process. In the composite, both MnO2 (the "core") and NiCo2O4 (the "shell") are formed by the accumulation of nanoflakes. Thus, nearly all the core/shell nanoflakes are highly opened and accessible to electrolyte, making them give full play to the Faradaic reaction. Our results demonstrate that the composite electrode exhibits desirable pseudocapacitive behaviors with higher specific capacitance (1127.27 F g-1 at a current density of 1 A g-1), better rate capability (81.0% from 1 to 16 A g-1) and superior cycling stability (actually 126.8% capacitance retention after 1000 cycles and only 3.7% loss after 10,000 cycles at 10 A g-1) in 3 M KOH aqueous solution. Moreover, it offers the excellent specific energy density of 26.6 Wh kg-1 at specific power density of 800 W kg-1. The present MnO2@NiCo2O4 core/shell nanospheres with remarkable electrochemical properties are considered as potential electrode materials for the next generation supercapacitors.

Gene transcripts selectively down-regulated in the shell of the nucleus accumbens long after heroin self-administration are up-regulated in the core independent of response contingency.

PubMed

Jacobs, Edwin H; de Vries, Taco J; Smit, August B; Schoffelmeer, Anton N M

2004-01-01

Long-term drug-induced alterations in neurotransmission within the nucleus accumbens (NAc) shell and core may underlie relapse to drug-seeking behavior and drug-taking upon re-exposure to drugs and drug-associated stimuli (cues) during abstinence. Using an open screening strategy, we recently identified 25 gene transcripts, encoding for proteins involved in neuronal functioning and structure that are down-regulated in rat NAc shell after contingent (active), but not after non-contingent (passive), heroin administration. Studying the expression of the same transcripts in the NAc core by means of quantitative PCR, we now demonstrate that most of these transcripts are up-regulated in that NAc subregion long (3 weeks) after heroin self-administration in rats. A similar up-regulation in gene expression was also apparent in the NAc core of animals with a history of non-contingent heroin administration (yoked controls). These data indicate that heroin self-administration differentially regulates genes in the NAc core as compared with the shell. Moreover, whereas cognitive processes involved in active drug self-administration (e.g., instrumental learning) seems to direct gene expression in the NAc shell, neuroplasticity in the NAc core may be due to the pharmacological effects of heroin (including Pavlovian conditioning), as expressed in rats upon contingent as well as non-contingent administration of heroin.

Au@TiO2 yolk-shell nanostructures for enhanced performance in both photoelectric and photocatalytic solar conversion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

He, Qinrong; Sun, Hang; Shang, Yinxing; Tang, Yanan; She, Ping; Zeng, Shan; Xu, Kongliang; Lu, Guolong; Liang, Song; Yin, Shengyan; Liu, Zhenning

2018-05-01

Solar energy conversion is an important field gaining increasing interest. Herein, bio-inspired Au@TiO2 yolk-shell nanoparticles (NPs) have been prepared via a facial one-pot hydrothermal approach. The Au@TiO2 yolk-shell NPs can self-assemble into 3D-structure to form photoelectrode for photoelectric conversion. The obtained photoelectrode demonstrates a swift and stable photocurrent of 3.5 μA/cm2, which is 4.2 and 1.6 times higher than those of the photocurrents generated by the counterparts of commercial TiO2 and Au@TiO2 core-shell NPs, respectively. Moreover, compared to the commercial TiO2 and Au@TiO2 core-shell NPs, the Au@TiO2 yolk-shell NPs also exhibit superior photocatalytic activity, delivering a H2 evolution rate of 4.92 mmol/g h. The performance improvement observed for the Au@TiO2 yolk-shell NPs is likely contributed by two synergistic factors, i.e. the incorporation of AuNPs and the unique hollow structure, which benefit the activity by simultaneously enhancing light utilization, charge separation and reaction site accessibility. The rational design and fabrication of Au@TiO2 yolk-shell NPs hold great promise for future application in efficient solar energy conversion.

Fabrication of Silica-Coated Hollow Carbon Nanospheres Encapsulating Fe3O4 Cluster for Magnetical and MR Imaging Guided NIR Light Triggering Hyperthermia and Ultrasound Imaging.

PubMed

Huang, Yun-Kai; Su, Chia-Hao; Chen, Jiu-Jeng; Chang, Chun-Ting; Tsai, Yu-Hsin; Syu, Sheng-Fu; Tseng, Tsu-Ting; Yeh, Chen-Sheng

2016-06-15

Iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs)-carbon (C) hybrid zero-dimensional nanostructures normally can be categorized into core-shell and yolk-shell architectures. Although IONP-C is a promising theranostic nanoagent, the in vivo study has surprisingly been less described. In addition, little effort has strived toward the fabrication of yolk-shell compared to the core-shell structures. In this context, we synthesized a yolk-shell type of the silica-coated hollow carbon nanospheres encapsulating IONPs cluster, which can be dispersed in aqueous solution for systemic studies in vivo, via the preparation involving the mixed micellization, polymerization/hollowing, sol-gel (hydration-condensation), and pyrolysis processes. Through a surface modification of the polyethylenimine followed by the sol-gel process, the silica shell coating was able to escape from condensing and sintering courses resulting in aggregation, due to the annealing. Not limited to the well-known functionalities in magnetical targeting and magnetic resonance (MR) imaging for IONP-C hybrid structures, we expanded this yolk-shell NPs as a near-infrared (NIR) light-responsive echogenic nanoagent giving an enhanced ultrasound imaging. Overall, we fabricated the NIR sensitive yolk-shell IONP-C to activate ultrasound imaging and photothermal ablation under magnetically and MR imaging guided therapy.

Preparation and characterization of polymer-coated core-shell structured magnetic microbeads

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Z. L.; Ding, Z. H.; Yao, K. L.; Tao, J.; Du, G. H.; Lu, Q. H.; Wang, X.; Gong, F. L.; Chen, X.

2003-09-01

Composite microbeads consisting of polymer-coated iron oxide nanoparticles are prepared by the microemulsion polymerization of styrene, divinyl benzene and methacrylic acid in the presence of emulsifiers. Fourier transform infrared spectrometer analysis indicates the presence of -COOH groups and Fe 3O 4 of the microbeads. The amount of -COOH groups localized on the surface, which is about 0.15 mmol/g, is determined by conductometric titration. Transmission electron microscope picture reveals that the microbeads have a core-shell structure. The dissolving experiments of microbeads in hydrochloric acid and toluene further identify the core-shell structure. Optical microscope indicates that the magnetic microbeads have uniform and spherical forms with the size of 1-5 μm. Magnetic sensitivity measurement indicates that the microbeads can be used conveniently. Magnetic property measurement shows very little residual magnetization and coercivity, which are below 0.5 emu/g and around 15 Oe, respectively. The magnetic properties are greatly related to the particle sizes. The thermal gravity analysis result shows the improvement of thermal stability. The experiment of immobilized antibody indicates that the functional groups on the surface are appropriate.

Nafion covered core-shell structured Fe3O4@graphene nanospheres modified electrode for highly selective detection of dopamine.

PubMed

Zhang, Wuxiang; Zheng, Jianzhong; Shi, Jiangu; Lin, Zhongqiu; Huang, Qitong; Zhang, Hanqiang; Wei, Chan; Chen, Jianhua; Hu, Shirong; Hao, Aiyou

2015-01-01

Nafion covered core-shell structured Fe3O4@graphene nanospheres (GNs) modified glassy carbon electrode (GCE) was successfully prepared and used for selective detection dopamine. Firstly, the characterizations of hydro-thermal synthesized Fe3O4@GNs were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Raman spectroscopy. Then Fe3O4@GNs/Nafion modified electrode exhibited excellent electrocatalytic activity toward the oxidations of dopamine (DA). The interference test showed that the coexisted ascorbic acid (AA) and uric acid (UA) had no electrochemical interference toward DA. Under the optimum conditions, the broad linear relationship was obtained in the experimental concentration from 0.020 μM to 130.0 μM with the detection limit (S/N=3) of 0.007 μM. Furthermore, the core-shell structured Fe3O4@GNs/Nafion/GCE was applied to the determination of DA in real samples and satisfactory results were got, which could provide a promising platform to develop excellent biosensor for detecting DA. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Core-shell monodisperse spherical mSiO2/Gd2O3:Eu3+@mSiO2 particles as potential multifunctional theranostic agents

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eurov, Daniil A.; Kurdyukov, Dmitry A.; Kirilenko, Demid A.; Kukushkina, Julia A.; Nashchekin, Alexei V.; Smirnov, Alexander N.; Golubev, Valery G.

2015-02-01

Core-shell nanoparticles with diameters in the range 100-500 nm have been synthesized as monodisperse spherical mesoporous (pore diameter 3 nm) silica particles with size deviation of less than 4 %, filled with gadolinium and europium oxides and coated with a mesoporous silica shell. It is shown that the melt technique developed for filling with gadolinium and europium oxides provides a nearly maximum filling of mesopores in a single-run impregnation, with gadolinium and europium uniformly distributed within the particles and forming no bulk oxides on their surface. The coating with a shell does not impair the monodispersity and causes no coagulation. The coating technique enables controlled variation of the shell thickness within the range 5-100 % relative to the core diameter. The thus produced nanoparticles are easily dispersed in water, have large specific surface area (300 m2 g-1) and pore volume (0.3 cm3 g-1), and are bright solid phosphor with superior stability in aqueous media. The core-shell structured particles can be potentially used for cancer treatment as a therapeutic agent (gadolinium neutron-capture therapy and drug delivery system) and, simultaneously, as a multimodal diagnostic tool (fluorescence and magnetic resonance imaging), thereby serving as a multifunctional theranostic agent.

Heterojunction-Assisted Co3 S4 @Co3 O4 Core-Shell Octahedrons for Supercapacitors and Both Oxygen and Carbon Dioxide Reduction Reactions.

PubMed

Yan, Yibo; Li, Kaixin; Chen, Xiaoping; Yang, Yanhui; Lee, Jong-Min

2017-12-01

Expedition of electron transfer efficiency and optimization of surface reactant adsorption products desorption processes are two main challenges for developing non-noble catalysts in the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and CO 2 reduction reaction (CRR). A heterojunction prototype on Co 3 S 4 @Co 3 O 4 core-shell octahedron structure is established via hydrothermal lattice anion exchange protocol to implement the electroreduction of oxygen and carbon dioxide with high performance. The synergistic bifunctional catalyst consists of p-type Co 3 O 4 core and n-type Co 3 S 4 shell, which afford high surface electron density along with high capacitance without sacrificing mechanical robustness. A four electron ORR process, identical to the Pt catalyzed ORR, is validated using the core-shell octahedron catalyst. The synergistic interaction between cobalt sulfide and cobalt oxide bicatalyst reduces the activation energy to convert CO 2 into adsorbed intermediates and hereby enables CRR to run at a low overpotential, with formate as the highly selective main product at a high faraday efficiency of 85.3%. The remarkable performance can be ascribed to the synergistic coupling effect of the structured co-catalysts; heterojunction structure expedites the electron transfer efficiency and optimizes surface reactant adsorption product desorption processes, which also provide theoretical and pragmatic guideline for catalyst development and mechanism explorations. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Synthesis and Characterization of Monodisperse Core-shell Lanthanide Upconversion Nanoparticles NaYF4: Yb,Tm/SiO2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Manurung, R. V.; Wiranto, G.; Hermida, I. D. P.

2018-05-01

Lanthanide up-converting luminescent nanoparticles (UCNPs) are exciting and promising materials for optical bioimaging, biosensor and theranostic due to their unique and advantageous optical and chemical properties. The UCNPs absorb low energy near-infrared (NIR) light and emit high-energy shorter wavelength photons (visible light). Their unique features allow them to overcome various problems associated with conventional imaging probes such as photostability, lack of toxicity, and to provide versatility for creating nanoplatforms with both imaging and therapeutic modalities. This paper reports synthesis and characterization of core-shell structured of NaYF4:Yb,Tm/SiO2 microspheres. The synthesis of lanthanide upconversion nanoparticles NaYF4:Yb,Tm was prepared by thermal decomposition process which involves dissolving organic precursors in high-boiling-point solvents oleic acid (OA) and octadecene (ODE). After that, the NaYF4:Yb,Tm phosphors was coated by silica via reverse microemulsion process to obtain core-shell structured NaYF4:Yb,Tm/SiO2. Scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, specific area electron diffraction, and photoluminescence were applied to characterize these samples. The obtained core-shell structured NaYF4:Yb,Tm/SiO2 phosphors exhibit a perfect cubic morphology with narrow size distribution and smooth surface. Upon IR excitation at 980 nm, the NaYF4:Yb,Tm/SiO2 samples exhibit whitish blue upconversion (UC) luminescence, respectively. These phosphors show potential applications in the displaying on biological fields and biosensing.

Enhanced photodegradation of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid using a novel TiO2@MgFe2O4 core@shell structure.

PubMed

Huy, Bui The; Jung, Da-Som; Kim Phuong, Nguyen Thi; Lee, Yong-Ill

2017-10-01

A novel TiO 2 @MgO-Fe 2 O 3 core-shell structure has been synthesized via a hydrolysis and co-precipitation method followed by calcination at 500 °C and has proven to be an efficient photocatalyst. The obtained TiO 2 @MgO-Fe 2 O 3 core-shell was characterized by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and UV-Vis diffused reflectance techniques. Its photocatalytic activity toward 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) was investigated in aqueous solutions with and without visible light irradiation in the presence and absence of hydrogen peroxide. It was revealed that a strong electronic coupling exists between two components within the TiO 2 @MgO-Fe 2 O 3 core-shell structure. The present findings clearly highlight that TiO 2 @MgO-Fe 2 O 3 exhibits excellent photocatalytic activity under visible light irradiation in the presence of H 2 O 2 . More than 83% degradation of 2,4-D was observed within 240 min, at an initial concentration of 100 mg L -1 with 0.5 g of catalyst per liter. Moreover, the material showed high chemical stability after four consecutive experiments with no significant difference in the rate of photocatalytic degradation. Therefore, the results reported herein offer a green, low cost and highly efficient photocatalyst for environmental remediation. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Preparation and Characterization of WS2@SiO2 and WS2@PANI Core-Shell Nanocomposites

PubMed Central

Sade, Hagit

2018-01-01

Two tungsten disulfide (WS2)-based core-shell nanocomposites were fabricated using readily available reagents and simple procedures. The surface was pre-treated with a surfactant couple in a layer-by-layer approach, enabling good dispersion of the WS2 nanostructures in aqueous media and providing a template for the polymerization of a silica (SiO2) shell. After a Stöber-like reaction, a conformal silica coating was achieved. Inspired by the resulting nanocomposite, a second one was prepared by reacting the surfactant-modified WS2 nanostructures with aniline and an oxidizing agent in an aqueous medium. Here too, a conformal coating of polyaniline (PANI) was obtained, giving a WS2@PANI nanocomposite. Both nanocomposites were analyzed by electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and FTIR, verifying the core-shell structure and the character of shells. The silica shell was amorphous and mesoporous and the surface area of the composite increases with shell thickness. Polyaniline shells slightly differ in their morphologies dependent on the acid used in the polymerization process and are amorphous like the silica shell. Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy of the WS2@PANI nanocomposite showed variation between bulk PANI and the PANI shell. These two nanocomposites have great potential to expand the use of transition metals dichalcogenides (TMDCs) for new applications in different fields. PMID:29534426

Inverse Photonic Glasses by Packing Bidisperse Hollow Microspheres with Uniform Cores.

PubMed

Kim, Seung-Hyun; Magkiriadou, Sofia; Rhee, Do Kyung; Lee, Doo Sung; Yoo, Pil J; Manoharan, Vinothan N; Yi, Gi-Ra

2017-07-19

A major fabrication challenge is producing disordered photonic materials with an angle-independent structural red color. Theoretical work has shown that such a color can be produced by fabricating inverse photonic glasses with monodisperse, nontouching voids in a silica matrix. Here, we demonstrate a route toward such materials and show that they have an angle-independent red color. We first synthesize monodisperse hollow silica particles with precisely controlled shell thickness and then make glassy colloidal structures by mixing two types of hollow particles with the same core size and different shell thicknesses. We then infiltrate the interstices with index-matched polymers, producing disordered porous materials with uniform, nontouching air voids. This procedure allows us to control the light-scattering form factor and structure factor of these porous materials independently, which is not possible to do in photonic glasses consisting of packed solid particles. The structure factor can be controlled by the shell thickness, which sets the distance between pores, whereas the pore size determines the peak wave vector of the form factor, which can be set below the visible range to keep the main structural color pure. By using a binary mixture of 246 and 268 nm hollow silica particles with 180 nm cores in an index-matched polymer matrix, we achieve angle-independent red color that can be tuned by controlling the shell thickness. Importantly, the width of the reflection peak can be kept constant, even for larger interparticle distances.

Synthesis characterisation series of newly fabricated type II CdSe CdSe/CdTe nanocrystals and their optical properties

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ahmed, A. S.; Christopher, W.

2018-03-01

Nanocrystalline semiconductors exhibit different properties due to two basic factors. They possess high surface to volume ratio and the actual size of particle can determine the electronic and physical properties of the material. The small size results in an observable quantum confinement effect, defined by the increasing bandgap accompanied by the quantization of the energy levels to discrete values. In present work we have synthesized the series of cadmium selenide/cadmium telluride (CdSe/CdTe) core/shell and CdSe/CdTe/CdS core/shell/shell to investigate the biexciton energy through transient absorption measurements. These structures are type II nanocrystals are with a hole in the shell and the electron confined to the core. We specifically investigate the effect of nanoparticle shape on the electronic structure and ultrafast electronic dynamics in the band-edge exciton states of CdSe quantum dots, nanorods, and nanoplatelets. Particle size was chosen to enable straightforward comparisons of the effects of particle shape on the spectra and dynamics without retuning the laser source. In our results the Uv-vis showed only a mild redshift in the first excitonic an elongated tail with increasing shell thickness. High resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy (HRTEM) shows the slight agglomeration of the nanocrystals but still the size distribution was calculate able. Spherical small crystals ranging from 5.9 nm to 10 nm are observed. CdTe/CdSe structures were quasi spherical with a rough diameter 6 nm with some little agglomerated structure. . The spherical nanocrystals could be peanut shaped oriented along the c axis or the spherical only, which could explain the two peak emission. p-XRD results indicate the predominant wurtzite structure throughout.

Production of silver-silica core-shell nanocomposites using ultra-short pulsed laser ablation in nanoporous aqueous silica colloidal solutions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Santagata, A.; Guarnaccio, A.; Pietrangeli, D.; Szegedi, Á.; Valyon, J.; De Stefanis, A.; De Bonis, A.; Teghil, R.; Sansone, M.; Mollica, D.; Parisi, G. P.

2015-05-01

Ultra-short pulsed laser ablation of materials in liquid has been demonstrated to be a versatile technique for nanoparticles production. In a previous paper, it has been described, for the first time, how by laser ablation in a liquid system, silver nanoparticles can be loaded onto SBA-15 and MCM-41 supports which show promising catalytic properties for the oxidation of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs). The aim of the present research is to demonstrate the formation of stable silver-silica core-shell nanoparticles by direct laser ablation (Ti:Sa; 800 nm pulse duration: 120 fs repetition rate: 1 kHz, pulse energy: 3.6 mJ, fluence: 9 J cm  -  2) of a Ag target submerged in a static colloidal solution of MCM-41 or SBA-15 silica nanoporous materials. In previous studies, it was discovered that a side and negligible product of the laser ablation process of silver performed in water-silica systems, could be related to the formation of silver-silica core-shell nanoparticles. In order to emphasize this side process some modifications to the laser ablation experimental set-up were performed. Among these, the most important one, in order to favor the production of the core-shell systems, was to keep the liquid silica suspension firm. The laser generated nanomaterials were then analyzed using TEM morphologic characterization. By UV-vis absorption spectra the observed features have been related to components of the colloidal solution as well as to the number of the incident laser pulses. In this manner characterizations on both the process and the resulting suspension have been performed. Significant amount of small sized silver-silica core-shell nanoparticles have been detected in the studied systems. The size distribution, polydispersivity, UV-vis plasmonic bands and stability of the produced silver-silica core-shell nanocomposites have been related to the extent of damage induced in the nanoporous silica structure during the ablation procedure adopted here. In presence of SBA-15 the silver-silica core-shell nanoparticles observed by TEM are smaller and more homogeneously dispersed if compared with the core-shell system obtained when the MCM-41 mesoporous silica was used. The outcomes show that the choice of the mesoporous silica material can affect the silica shell thickness in addition to the Ag NPs size distribution. With this regard, TEM images evidence that in MCM-41 the silver-silica core-shell nanostructures display a silica layer thickness between 1-10 nm conversely, for SBA-15, the silver-silica core-shell nanoparticles are finely dispersed and the silica shell shows, when present, an average thickness of about 5 nm.

Low-Cost Carbothermal Reduction Preparation of Monodisperse Fe3O4/C Core-Shell Nanosheets for Improved Microwave Absorption.

PubMed

Liu, Yun; Fu, Yiwei; Liu, Lin; Li, Wei; Guan, Jianguo; Tong, Guoxiu

2018-05-16

This paper demonstrates a facile and low-cost carbothermal reduction preparation of monodisperse Fe 3 O 4 /C core-shell nanosheets (NSs) for greatly improved microwave absorption. In this protocol, the redox reaction between sheet-like hematite (α-Fe 2 O 3 ) precursors and acetone under inert atmosphere and elevated temperature generates Fe 3 O 4 /C core-shell NSs with the morphology inheriting from α-Fe 2 O 3 . Thus, Fe 3 O 4 /C core-shell NSs of different sizes ( a) and Fe 3 O 4 /C core-shell nanopolyhedrons are obtained by using different precursors. Benefited from the high crystallinity of the Fe 3 O 4 core and the thin carbon layer, the resultant NSs exhibit high specific saturation magnetization larger than 82.51 emu·g -1 . Simultaneously, the coercivity enhances with the increase of a, suggesting a strong shape anisotropy effect. Furthermore, because of the anisotropy structure and the complementary behavior between Fe 3 O 4 and C, the as-obtained Fe 3 O 4 /C core-shell NSs exhibit strong natural magnetic resonance at a high frequency, enhanced interfacial polarization, and improved impedance matching, ensuring the enhancement of the microwave absorption. The 250 nm NSs-paraffin composites exhibit reflection loss (RL) lower than -20 dB (corresponding to 99% absorption) in a large frequency ( f) range of 2.08-16.40 GHz with a minimum RL of -43.95 dB at f = 3.92 GHz when the thickness is tuned from 7.0 to 1.4 mm, indicating that the Fe 3 O 4 /C core-shell NSs are a good candidate to manufacture high-performance microwave absorbers. Moreover, the as-developed carbothermal reduction method could be applied for the fabrication of other composites based on ferrites and carbon.

Hierarchical Mesoporous NiO/MnO2@PANI Core-Shell Microspheres, Highly Efficient and Stable Bifunctional Electrocatalysts for Oxygen Evolution and Reduction Reactions.

PubMed

He, Junkai; Wang, Mingchao; Wang, Wenbo; Miao, Ran; Zhong, Wei; Chen, Sheng-Yu; Poges, Shannon; Jafari, Tahereh; Song, Wenqiao; Liu, Jiachen; Suib, Steven L

2017-12-13

We report on the new facile synthesis of mesoporous NiO/MnO 2 in one step by modifying inverse micelle templated UCT (University of Connecticut) methods. The catalyst shows excellent electrocatalytic activity and stability for both the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in alkaline media after further coating with polyaniline (PANI). For electrochemical performance, the optimized catalyst exhibits a potential gap, ΔE, of 0.75 V to achieve a current of 10 mA cm -2 for the OER and -3 mA cm -2 for the ORR in 0.1 M KOH solution. Extensive characterization methods were applied to investigate the structure-property of the catalyst for correlations with activity (e.g., XRD, BET, SEM, HRTEM, FIB-TEM, XPS, TGA, and Raman). The high electrocatalytic activity of the catalyst closely relates to the good electrical conductivity of PANI, accessible mesoporous structure, high surface area, as well as the synergistic effect of the specific core-shell structure. This work opens a new avenue for the rational design of core-shell structure catalysts for energy conversion and storage applications.

Magnetic, core-shell structured and surface molecularly imprinted polymers for the rapid and selective recognition of salicylic acid from aqueous solutions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Zulei; Niu, Dechao; Li, Yongsheng; Shi, Jianlin

2018-03-01

In this work, a novel kind of magnetic, core-shell structured and surface molecularly imprinted polymers (MMIPs) for the recognition of salicylic acid (SA) was facilely synthesized through a surface imprinting and sol-gel polymerization approach. The as-synthesized MMIPs exhibit uniform core-shell structure and favorable magnetic properties with a saturation magnetization of 22.8 emu g-1. The binding experiments demonstrated that MMIPs possessed high binding and specific recognition capacity, as well as fast binding kinetics and phase separation rate. The maximum binding capacity of MMIPs is around 36.8 mg g-1, nearly 6 times that of the magnetic non-imprinted polymers (MNIPs). Moreover, the selectivity experiments show that all the relative selectivity coefficients towards SA over its structure analogs are higher than 18, further indicating the markedly enhanced binding selectivity of MMIPs. Furthermore, the MMIPs were successfully applied for the determination of SA in environmental water samples with the recovery rates ranging from 94.0 to 108.0 %. This strategy may provide a versatile approach for the fabrication of well-defined molecularly imprinted polymers on nanomaterials for the analysis of complicated matrixes.

Electroless nickel – phosphorus coating on crab shell particles and its characterization

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

Arulvel, S., E-mail: gs.arulvel.research@gmail.com; Elayaperumal, A.; Jagatheeshwaran, M.S.

Being hydrophilic material, crab shell particles have only a limited number of applications. It is, therefore, necessary to modify the surface of the crab shell particles. To make them useful ever for the applications, the main theme we proposed in this article is to utilize crab shell particles (CSP) with the core coated with nickel phosphorus (NiP) as a shell using the electroless coating process. For dealing with serious environmental problems, utilization of waste bio-shells is always an important factor to be considered. Chelating ability of crab shell particles eliminates the surface activation in this work proceeding to the coatingmore » process. The functional group, phase structure, microstructure, chemical composition and thermal analysis of CSP and NiP/CSP were characterized using Fourier transform infra-red spectroscopy (FTIR), x-ray diffraction analyzer (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDS), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The combination of an amorphous and crystalline structure was exhibited by CSP and NiP/CSP. NiP/CSP has shown a better thermal stability when compared to uncoated CSP. Stability test, adsorption test, and conductivity test were conducted for the study of adsorption behavior and conductivity of the particles. CSP presented a hydrophilic property in contrast to hydrophobic NiP/CSP. NiP/CSP presented a conductivity of about 44% greater compared to the CSP without any fluctuations. - Highlights: • Utilization of crab shell waste is focused on. • NiP coating on crab shell particle is fabricated using electroless process. • Thermal analysis, stability test, adsorption test and conductivity test were done. • Organic matrix of crab shell particle favors the coating process. • Results demonstrate the characterization of CSP core – NiP shell structure.« less

Facile synthesis of 3D few-layered MoS2 coated TiO2 nanosheet core-shell nanostructures for stable and high-performance lithium-ion batteries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Biao; Zhao, Naiqin; Guo, Lichao; He, Fang; Shi, Chunsheng; He, Chunnian; Li, Jiajun; Liu, Enzuo

2015-07-01

Uniform transition metal sulfide deposition on a smooth TiO2 surface to form a coating structure is a well-known challenge, caused mainly due to their poor affinities. Herein, we report a facile strategy for fabricating mesoporous 3D few-layered (<4 layers) MoS2 coated TiO2 nanosheet core-shell nanocomposites (denoted as 3D FL-MoS2@TiO2) by a novel two-step method using a smooth TiO2 nanosheet as a template and glucose as a binder. The core-shell structure has been systematically examined and corroborated by transmission electron microscopy, scanning transmission electron microscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analyses. It is found that the resultant 3D FL-MoS2@TiO2 as a lithium-ion battery anode delivers an outstanding high-rate capability with an excellent cycling performance, relating to the unique structure of 3D FL-MoS2@TiO2. The 3D uniform coverage of few-layered (<4 layers) MoS2 onto the TiO2 can remarkably enhance the structure stability and effectively shortens the transfer paths of both lithium ions and electrons, while the strong synergistic effect between MoS2 and TiO2 can significantly facilitate the transport of ions and electrons across the interfaces, especially in the high-rate charge-discharge process. Moreover, the facile fabrication strategy can be easily extended to design other oxide/carbon-sulfide/oxide core-shell materials for extensive applications.Uniform transition metal sulfide deposition on a smooth TiO2 surface to form a coating structure is a well-known challenge, caused mainly due to their poor affinities. Herein, we report a facile strategy for fabricating mesoporous 3D few-layered (<4 layers) MoS2 coated TiO2 nanosheet core-shell nanocomposites (denoted as 3D FL-MoS2@TiO2) by a novel two-step method using a smooth TiO2 nanosheet as a template and glucose as a binder. The core-shell structure has been systematically examined and corroborated by transmission electron microscopy, scanning transmission electron microscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analyses. It is found that the resultant 3D FL-MoS2@TiO2 as a lithium-ion battery anode delivers an outstanding high-rate capability with an excellent cycling performance, relating to the unique structure of 3D FL-MoS2@TiO2. The 3D uniform coverage of few-layered (<4 layers) MoS2 onto the TiO2 can remarkably enhance the structure stability and effectively shortens the transfer paths of both lithium ions and electrons, while the strong synergistic effect between MoS2 and TiO2 can significantly facilitate the transport of ions and electrons across the interfaces, especially in the high-rate charge-discharge process. Moreover, the facile fabrication strategy can be easily extended to design other oxide/carbon-sulfide/oxide core-shell materials for extensive applications. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available: Supplementary SEM, TEM, XPS and EIS analyses. See DOI: 10.1039/c5nr03334a

Description of gravity cores from San Pablo Bay and Carquinez Strait, San Francisco Bay, California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Woodrow, Donald L.; John L. Chin,; Wong, Florence L.; Fregoso, Theresa A.; Jaffe, Bruce E.

2017-06-27

Seventy-two gravity cores were collected by the U.S. Geological Survey in 1990, 1991, and 2000 from San Pablo Bay and Carquinez Strait, California. The gravity cores collected within San Pablo Bay contain bioturbated laminated silts and sandy clays, whole and broken bivalve shells (mostly mussels), fossil tube structures, and fine-grained plant or wood fragments. Gravity cores from the channel wall of Carquinez Strait east of San Pablo Bay consist of sand and clay layers, whole and broken bivalve shells (less than in San Pablo Bay), trace fossil tubes, and minute fragments of plant material.

Surface-Charge-Mediated Formation of H-TiO2 @Ni(OH)2 Heterostructures for High-Performance Supercapacitors.

PubMed

Ke, Qingqing; Guan, Cao; Zhang, Xiao; Zheng, Minrui; Zhang, Yong-Wei; Cai, Yongqing; Zhang, Hua; Wang, John

2017-02-01

An electrochemically favorable Ni(OH) 2 with porously hierarchical structure and ultrathin nanosheets in a core-shell structure H-TiO 2 @Ni(OH) 2 is achieved through modulating the surface chemical activity of TiO 2 by hydrogenation, which creates a defect-rich surface of TiO 2 , thereby facilitating the subsequent nucleation and growth of Ni(OH) 2 . These configuration-tailored H-TiO 2 @Ni(OH) 2 core-shell nanowires exhibit a superior electrochemical performance and good flexibility. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

A Prussian Blue-Based Core-Shell Hollow-Structured Mesoporous Nanoparticle as a Smart Theranostic Agent with Ultrahigh pH-Responsive Longitudinal Relaxivity.

PubMed

Cai, Xiaojun; Gao, Wei; Ma, Ming; Wu, Meiying; Zhang, Linlin; Zheng, Yuanyi; Chen, Hangrong; Shi, Jianlin

2015-11-04

Novel core-shell hollow mesoporous Prussian blue @ Mn-containing Prussian blue analogue (HMPB@MnPBA) nanoparticles, designated as HMPB-Mn) as an intelligent theranostic nanoagent, are successfully constructed by coating a similarly crystal-structured MnPBA onto HMPB. This can be used as a pH-responsive T1 -weighted magnetic resonance imaging contrast agent with ultrahigh longitudinal relaxivity (r1 = 7.43 m m(-1) s(-1) ), and achieves the real-time monitoring of drug release. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Core-Shell Magnetic Morphology of Structurally Uniform Magnetite Nanoparticles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krycka, K. L.; Booth, R. A.; Hogg, C. R.; Ijiri, Y.; Borchers, J. A.; Chen, W. C.; Watson, S. M.; Laver, M.; Gentile, T. R.; Dedon, L. R.; Harris, S.; Rhyne, J. J.; Majetich, S. A.

2010-05-01

A new development in small-angle neutron scattering with polarization analysis allows us to directly extract the average spatial distributions of magnetic moments and their correlations with three-dimensional directional sensitivity in any magnetic field. Applied to a collection of spherical magnetite nanoparticles 9.0 nm in diameter, this enhanced method reveals uniformly canted, magnetically active shells in a nominally saturating field of 1.2 T. The shell thickness depends on temperature, and it disappears altogether when the external field is removed, confirming that these canted nanoparticle shells are magnetic, rather than structural, in origin.

Synthesis of Ag@TiO2 core-shells using a rapid microwave irradiation and study of their nonlinear optical properties

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Karimipour, M.; Ebrahimi, M.; Abafat, Z.; Molaei, M.

2016-07-01

Ag@TiO2 core-shells were synthesized by employing oleylamine as capping agent and using a rapid microwave method. The shell growth was optimized first based on the variation of oleylamine content in the reaction solution. Thereafter the shell thickness was varied just by varying titanium isopropoxide (TiTP) with 25, 50, 100 and 200 μl as TiO2 precursor. The prepared core-shells were characterized by means of XRD, FTIR spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and UV-Vis spectroscopy. XRD analysis revealed a cubic crystal structure for Ag and Anatase phase for TiO2. TEM images clearly indicated that the size of Ag core is roughly 15 nm and with the increase of TiTP, the shell thickness increases and varies between 5 nm and 15 nm. UV-Vis spectroscopy indicated that the plasmon resonance of Ag nanoparticles shifts from 407 nm up to 454 nm with the increase of TiTP precursor. Using a low power laser diode at a 532 nm wavelength, the magnitude and the sign of the nonlinear refractive index were determined by the Z-scan technique and Sheik-Bahae model. The results show that the enhancement of nonlinear optical properties originates from the quality of TiO2 shell growth. The highest nonlinearity belongs to the sample synthesized with 100 μlit TiTP. Generally all the prepared Ag@TiO2 core-shells show both saturable and reverse saturable absorption. They exhibit also a considerable nonlinear absorption and nonlinear refractive index ranging from -4.21 × 10-7 to -3.51 × 10-6 which are comparable to the sole Ag and TiO2 nanoparticles.

Electrical breakdown and nanogap formation of indium oxide core/shell heterostructure nanowires.

PubMed

Jung, Minkyung; Song, Woon; Sung Lee, Joon; Kim, Nam; Kim, Jinhee; Park, Jeunghee; Lee, Hyoyoung; Hirakawa, Kazuhiko

2008-12-10

We report the electrical breakdown behavior and subsequent nanogap formation of In(2)O(3)/InO(x) core/shell heterostructure nanowires with substrate-supported and suspended structures. The radial heterostructure nanowires, composed of crystalline In(2)O(3) cores and amorphous In-rich shells, are grown by chemical vapor deposition. As the nanowires broke down, they exhibited two distinct current drops in the current-voltage characteristics. The tips of the broken nanowires were found to have a cone or a volcano shape depending on the width of the nanowire. The shape, the size, and the position of the nanogap depend strongly on the device structure and the nanowire dimensions. The substrate-supported and the suspended devices exhibit distinct breakdown behavior which can be explained by the diffusive thermal transport model. The breakdown temperature of the nanowire is estimated to be about 450 K, close to the melting temperature of indium. We demonstrated the usefulness of this technique by successful fabrication of working pentacene field-effect transistors.

Enhanced electrochemical performance of sulfur/polyacrylonitrile composite by carbon coating for lithium/sulfur batteries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peng, Huifen; Wang, Xiaoran; Zhao, Yan; Tan, Taizhe; Mentbayeva, Almagul; Bakenov, Zhumabay; Zhang, Yongguang

2017-10-01

A carbon-coated sulfur/polyacrylonitrile (C@S/PAN) core-shell structured composite is successfully prepared via a novel solution processing method. The sulfur/polyacrylonitrile (S/PAN) core particle has a diameter of 100 nm, whereas the carbon shell is about 2 nm thick. The as-prepared C@S/PAN composite shows outstanding electrochemical performance in lithium/sulfur (Li/S) batteries delivering a high initial discharge capacity of 1416 mAh g-1. Furthermore, it exhibits 89% retention of the initial reversible capacity over 200 cycles at a constant current rate of 0.1 C. The improved performance contributed by the unique composition and the core-shell structure, wherein carbon matrix can also withstand the volume change of sulfur during the process of charging and discharging as well as provide channels for electron transport. In addition, polyacrylonitrile (PAN) matrix suppresses the shuttle effect by the covalent bonding between sulfur (S) and carbon (C) in the PAN matrix. [Figure not available: see fulltext.

Hierarchical NiCo-LDH@NiOOH core-shell heterostructure on carbon fiber cloth as battery-like electrode for supercapacitor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liang, Haoyan; Lin, Jinghuang; Jia, Henan; Chen, Shulin; Qi, Junlei; Cao, Jian; Lin, Tiesong; Fei, Weidong; Feng, Jicai

2018-02-01

Constructing rational structure and utilizing distinctive components are two important keys to promote the development of high performance supercapacitor. Herein, we adopt a facile two-step method to develop an in-situ heterostructure with NiCo-LDH nanowire as core and NiOOH nanosheets as shell on carbon fiber cloth. The resultant NiCo-LDH@NiOOH electrode exhibites a high specific capacitance of about 2622 F g-1 at 1 A g-1 and good cycling stability (88.5% remain after 10000 cycles). This reinforced electrochemical performance is benefit from the distinct core-shell structure, and takes advantage of the synergetic effect to supply more electrochemical active spots and pathways to accelerate electron and ion transport. Furthermore, the fabricated asymmetric supercapacitor of optimized NiCo-LDH@NiOOH//AC device displays a high energy density of 51.7 Wh kg-1 while the power density is 599 W kg-1 and presents a satisfying cycling performance.

Core-shell VO2@TiO2 nanorods that combine thermochromic and photocatalytic properties for application as energy-saving smart coatings

PubMed Central

Li, Yamei; Ji, Shidong; Gao, Yanfeng; Luo, Hongjie; Kanehira, Minoru

2013-01-01

Vanadium dioxide (VO2) is a Mott phase transition compound that can be applied as a thermochromic smart material for energy saving and comfort, and titanium dioxide (TiO2) is a well-known photocatalyst for self-cleaning coatings. In this paper, we report a VO2@TiO2 core-shell structure, in which the VO2 nanorod core exhibits a remarkable modulation ability for solar infrared light, and the TiO2 anatase shell exhibits significant photocatalytic degradation of organic dye. In addition, the TiO2 overcoating not only increased the luminous transmittance of VO2 based on an antireflection effect, but also modified the intrinsic colour of VO2 films from yellow to light blue. The TiO2 also enhanced the chemical stability of VO2 against oxidation. This is the first report of such a single nanoparticle structure with both thermochromic and photocatalytic properties that offer significant potential for creating a multifunctional smart coating. PMID:23546301

Core-shell VO2@TiO2 nanorods that combine thermochromic and photocatalytic properties for application as energy-saving smart coatings.

PubMed

Li, Yamei; Ji, Shidong; Gao, Yanfeng; Luo, Hongjie; Kanehira, Minoru

2013-01-01

Vanadium dioxide (VO2) is a Mott phase transition compound that can be applied as a thermochromic smart material for energy saving and comfort, and titanium dioxide (TiO2) is a well-known photocatalyst for self-cleaning coatings. In this paper, we report a VO2@TiO2 core-shell structure, in which the VO2 nanorod core exhibits a remarkable modulation ability for solar infrared light, and the TiO2 anatase shell exhibits significant photocatalytic degradation of organic dye. In addition, the TiO2 overcoating not only increased the luminous transmittance of VO2 based on an antireflection effect, but also modified the intrinsic colour of VO2 films from yellow to light blue. The TiO2 also enhanced the chemical stability of VO2 against oxidation. This is the first report of such a single nanoparticle structure with both thermochromic and photocatalytic properties that offer significant potential for creating a multifunctional smart coating.

Effects of Alloying Elements on the Formation of Core-Shell-Structured Reinforcing Particles during Heating of Al–Ti Powder Compacts

PubMed Central

Chen, Tijun; Gao, Min; Tong, Yunqi

2018-01-01

To prepare core-shell-structured Ti@compound particle (Ti@compoundp) reinforced Al matrix composite via powder thixoforming, the effects of alloying elements, such as Si, Cu, Mg, and Zn, on the reaction between Ti powders and Al melt, and the microstructure of the resulting reinforcements were investigated during heating of powder compacts at 993 K (720 °C). Simultaneously, the situations of the reinforcing particles in the corresponding semisolid compacts were also studied. Both thermodynamic analysis and experiment results all indicate that Si participated in the reaction and promoted the formation of Al–Ti–Si ternary compounds, while Cu, Mg, and Zn did not take part in the reaction and facilitated Al3Ti phase to form to different degrees. The first-formed Al–Ti–Si ternary compound was τ1 phase, and then it gradually transformed into (Al,Si)3Ti phase. The proportion and existing time of τ1 phase all increased as the Si content increased. In contrast, Mg had the largest, Cu had the least, and Si and Zn had an equivalent middle effect on accelerating the reaction. The thicker the reaction shell was, the larger the stress generated in the shell was, and thus the looser the shell microstructure was. The stress generated in (Al,Si)3Ti phase was larger than that in τ1 phase, but smaller than that in Al3Ti phase. So, the shells in the Al–Ti–Si system were more compact than those in the other systems, and Si element was beneficial to obtain thick and compact compound shells. Most of the above results were consistent to those in the semisolid state ones except the product phase constituents in the Al–Ti–Mg system and the reaction rate in the Al–Ti–Zn system. More importantly, the desirable core-shell structured Ti@compoundp was only achieved in the semisolid Al–Ti–Si system. PMID:29342946

Effects of Alloying Elements on the Formation of Core-Shell-Structured Reinforcing Particles during Heating of Al-Ti Powder Compacts.

PubMed

Chen, Tijun; Gao, Min; Tong, Yunqi

2018-01-15

To prepare core-shell-structured Ti@compound particle (Ti@compound p ) reinforced Al matrix composite via powder thixoforming, the effects of alloying elements, such as Si, Cu, Mg, and Zn, on the reaction between Ti powders and Al melt, and the microstructure of the resulting reinforcements were investigated during heating of powder compacts at 993 K (720 °C). Simultaneously, the situations of the reinforcing particles in the corresponding semisolid compacts were also studied. Both thermodynamic analysis and experiment results all indicate that Si participated in the reaction and promoted the formation of Al-Ti-Si ternary compounds, while Cu, Mg, and Zn did not take part in the reaction and facilitated Al₃Ti phase to form to different degrees. The first-formed Al-Ti-Si ternary compound was τ1 phase, and then it gradually transformed into (Al,Si)₃Ti phase. The proportion and existing time of τ1 phase all increased as the Si content increased. In contrast, Mg had the largest, Cu had the least, and Si and Zn had an equivalent middle effect on accelerating the reaction. The thicker the reaction shell was, the larger the stress generated in the shell was, and thus the looser the shell microstructure was. The stress generated in (Al,Si)₃Ti phase was larger than that in τ1 phase, but smaller than that in Al₃Ti phase. So, the shells in the Al-Ti-Si system were more compact than those in the other systems, and Si element was beneficial to obtain thick and compact compound shells. Most of the above results were consistent to those in the semisolid state ones except the product phase constituents in the Al-Ti-Mg system and the reaction rate in the Al-Ti-Zn system. More importantly, the desirable core-shell structured Ti@compound p was only achieved in the semisolid Al-Ti-Si system.

In Situ Generation of Pd-Pt Core-Shell Nanoparticles on Reduced Graphene Oxide (Pd@Pt/rGO) Using Microwaves: Applications in Dehalogenation Reactions and Reduction of Olefins.

PubMed

Goswami, Anandarup; Rathi, Anuj K; Aparicio, Claudia; Tomanec, Ondrej; Petr, Martin; Pocklanova, Radka; Gawande, Manoj B; Varma, Rajender S; Zboril, Radek

2017-01-25

Core-shell nanocatalysts are a distinctive class of nanomaterials with varied potential applications in view of their unique structure, composition-dependent physicochemical properties, and promising synergism among the individual components. A one-pot microwave (MW)-assisted approach is described to prepare the reduced graphene oxide (rGO)-supported Pd-Pt core-shell nanoparticles, (Pd@Pt/rGO); spherical core-shell nanomaterials (∼95 nm) with Pd core (∼80 nm) and 15 nm Pt shell were nicely distributed on the rGO matrix in view of the choice of reductant and reaction conditions. The well-characterized composite nanomaterials, endowed with synergism among its components and rGO support, served as catalysts in aromatic dehalogenation reactions and for the reduction of olefins with high yield (>98%), excellent selectivity (>98%) and recyclability (up to 5 times); both Pt/rGO and Pd/rGO and even their physical mixtures showed considerably lower conversions (20 and 57%) in dehalogenation of 3-bromoaniline. Similarly, in the reduction of styrene to ethylbenzene, Pd@Pt core-shell nanoparticles (without rGO support) possess considerably lower conversion (60%) compared to Pd@Pt/rGO. The mechanism of dehalogenation reactions with Pd@Pt/rGO catalyst is discussed with the explicit premise that rGO matrix facilitates the adsorption of the reducing agent, thus enhancing its local concentration and expediting the hydrazine decomposition rate. The versatility of the catalyst has been validated via diverse substrate scope for both reduction and dehalogenation reactions.

Single-step synthesis of Er3+ and Yb3+ ions doped molybdate/Gd2O3 core-shell nanoparticles for biomedical imaging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kamińska, Izabela; Elbaum, Danek; Sikora, Bożena; Kowalik, Przemysław; Mikulski, Jakub; Felcyn, Zofia; Samol, Piotr; Wojciechowski, Tomasz; Minikayev, Roman; Paszkowicz, Wojciech; Zaleszczyk, Wojciech; Szewczyk, Maciej; Konopka, Anna; Gruzeł, Grzegorz; Pawlyta, Mirosława; Donten, Mikołaj; Ciszak, Kamil; Zajdel, Karolina; Frontczak-Baniewicz, Małgorzata; Stępień, Piotr; Łapiński, Mariusz; Wilczyński, Grzegorz; Fronc, Krzysztof

2018-01-01

Nanostructures as color-tunable luminescent markers have become major, promising tools for bioimaging and biosensing. In this paper separated molybdate/Gd2O3 doped rare earth ions (erbium, Er3+ and ytterbium, Yb3+) core-shell nanoparticles (NPs), were fabricated by a one-step homogeneous precipitation process. Emission properties were studied by cathodo- and photoluminescence. Scanning electron and transmission electron microscopes were used to visualize and determine the size and shape of the NPs. Spherical NPs were obtained. Their core-shell structures were confirmed by x-ray diffraction and energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy measurements. We postulated that the molybdate rich core is formed due to high segregation coefficient of the Mo ion during the precipitation. The calcination process resulted in crystallization of δ/ξ (core/shell) NP doped Er and Yb ions, where δ—gadolinium molybdates and ξ—molybdates or gadolinium oxide. We confirmed two different upconversion mechanisms. In the presence of molybdenum ions, in the core of the NPs, Yb3+-{{{{MoO}}}4}2- (∣2F7/2, 3T2〉) dimers were formed. As a result of a two 980 nm photon absorption by the dimer, we observed enhanced green luminescence in the upconversion process. However, for the shell formed by the Gd2O3:Er, Yb NPs (without the Mo ions), the typical energy transfer upconversion takes place, which results in red luminescence. We demonstrated that the NPs were transported into cytosol of the HeLa and astrocytes cells by endocytosis. The core-shell NPs are sensitive sensors for the environment prevailing inside (shorter luminescence decay) and outside (longer luminescence decay) of the tested cells. The toxicity of the NPs was examined using MTT assay.

Organic-dye-coupled magnetic nanoparticles encaged inside thermoresponsive PNIPAM Microcapsules.

PubMed

Guo, Jia; Yang, Wuli; Deng, Yonghui; Wang, Changchun; Fu, Shoukuan

2005-07-01

We present a new approach for the fabrication of thermoresponsive polymer microcapsules with mobile magnetic cores that undergo a volume phase-transition upon changing the temperature and are collected under an external magnetic field. We have prepared organic/inorganic composite microspheres with a well-defined core-shell structure that are composed of a crosslinked poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) shell and silica cores dotted centrally by magnetite nanoparticles. Since the infiltration of template-decomposed products is dependent on the permeability of PNIPAM shells triggered by changes of exterior temperature, the silica layer sandwiched between the magnetic core and the PNIPAM shell was quantitatively removed to generate PNIPAM microcapsules with mobile magnetic cores by treatment with aqueous NaOH solution. For development of the desired multifunctional microcapsules, modification of the unetched silica surface interiors can be realized by treatment with a silane coupling agent containing functional groups that can easily bind to catalysts, enzymes, or labeling molecules. Herein, fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC), which is a common organic dye, is attached to the insides of the mobile magnetic cores to give PNIPAM microcapsules with FITC-labeled magnetic cores. In this system, it can be expected that an extension of the functionalization of the cavity properties of smart polymer microcapsules is to immobilize other target molecules onto the mobile cores in order to introduce other desired functions in the hollow cage.

Cross-section imaging and p-type doping assessment of ZnO/ZnO:Sb core-shell nanowires by scanning capacitance microscopy and scanning spreading resistance microscopy

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

Wang, Lin, E-mail: lin.wang@insa-lyon.fr; Brémond, Georges; Sallet, Vincent

2016-08-29

ZnO/ZnO:Sb core-shell structured nanowires (NWs) were grown by the metal organic chemical vapor deposition method where the shell was doped with antimony (Sb) in an attempt to achieve ZnO p-type conduction. To directly investigate the Sb doping effect in ZnO, scanning capacitance microscopy (SCM) and scanning spreading resistance microscopy (SSRM) were performed on the NWs' cross-sections mapping their two dimensional (2D) local electrical properties. Although no direct p-type inversion in ZnO was revealed, a lower net electron concentration was pointed out for the Sb-doped ZnO shell layer with respect to the non-intentionally doped ZnO core, indicating an evident compensating effectmore » as a result of the Sb incorporation, which can be ascribed to the formation of Sb-related acceptors. The results demonstrate SCM/SSRM investigation being a direct and effective approach for characterizing radial semiconductor one-dimensional (1D) structures and, particularly, for the doping study on the ZnO nanomaterial towards its p-type realization.« less

Mechanistic profiling of the siRNA delivery dynamics of lipid-polymer hybrid nanoparticles.

PubMed

Colombo, Stefano; Cun, Dongmei; Remaut, Katrien; Bunker, Matt; Zhang, Jianxin; Martin-Bertelsen, Birte; Yaghmur, Anan; Braeckmans, Kevin; Nielsen, Hanne M; Foged, Camilla

2015-03-10

Understanding the delivery dynamics of nucleic acid nanocarriers is fundamental to improve their design for therapeutic applications. We investigated the carrier structure-function relationship of lipid-polymer hybrid nanoparticles (LPNs) consisting of poly(DL-lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) nanocarriers modified with the cationic lipid dioleoyltrimethyl-ammoniumpropane (DOTAP). A library of siRNA-loaded LPNs was prepared by systematically varying the nitrogen-to-phosphate (N/P) ratio. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) and cryo-transmission electron microscopy (cryo-TEM) combined with small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) studies suggested that the siRNA-loaded LPNs are characterized by a core-shell structure consisting of a PLGA matrix core coated with lamellar DOTAP structures with siRNA localized both in the core and in the shell. Release studies in buffer and serum-containing medium combined with in vitro gene silencing and quantification of intracellular siRNA suggested that this self-assembling core-shell structure influences the siRNA release kinetics and the delivery dynamics. A main delivery mechanism appears to be mediated via the release of transfection-competent siRNA-DOTAP lipoplexes from the LPNs. Based on these results, we suggest a model for the nanostructural characteristics of the LPNs, in which the siRNA is organized in lamellar superficial assemblies and/or as complexes entrapped in the polymeric matrix. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.