Solid-phase microfibers based on polyethylene glycol modified single-walled carbon nanotubes for the determination of chlorinated organic carriers in textiles.

PubMed

Zhang, Wei-Ya; Sun, Yin; Wang, Cheng-Ming; Wu, Cai-Ying

2011-09-01

Based on polyethylene glycol modified single-walled carbon nanotubes, a novel sol-gel fiber coating was prepared and applied to the headspace microextraction of chlorinated organic carriers (COCs) in textiles by gas chromatography-electron capture detection. The preparation of polyethylene glycol modified single-walled carbon nanotubes and the sol-gel fiber coating process was stated and confirmed by infrared spectra, Raman spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. Several parameters affecting headspace microextraction, including extraction temperature, extraction time, salting-out effect, and desorption time, were optimized by detecting 11 COCs in simulative sweat samples. Compared with the commercial solid-phase microextraction fibers, the sol-gel polyethylene glycol modified single-walled carbon nanotubes fiber showed higher extraction efficiency, better thermal stability, and longer life span. The method detection limits for COCs were in the range from 0.02 to 7.5 ng L(-1) (S/N = 3). The linearity of the developed method varied from 0.001 to 50 μg L(-1) for all analytes, with coefficients of correlation greater than 0.974. The developed method was successfully applied to the analysis of trace COCs in textiles, the recoveries of the analytes indicated that the developed method was considerably useful for the determination of COCs in ecological textile samples.

Magnetic solid-phase extraction using carbon nanotubes as sorbents: a review.

PubMed

Herrero-Latorre, C; Barciela-García, J; García-Martín, S; Peña-Crecente, R M; Otárola-Jiménez, J

2015-09-10

Magnetic solid-phase extraction (M-SPE) is a procedure based on the use of magnetic sorbents for the separation and preconcentration of different organic and inorganic analytes from large sample volumes. The magnetic sorbent is added to the sample solution and the target analyte is adsorbed onto the surface of the magnetic sorbent particles (M-SPs). Analyte-M-SPs are separated from the sample solution by applying an external magnetic field and, after elution with the appropriate solvent, the recovered analyte is analyzed. This approach has several advantages over traditional solid phase extraction as it avoids time-consuming and tedious on-column SPE procedures and it provides a rapid and simple analyte separation that avoids the need for centrifugation or filtration steps. As a consequence, in the past few years a great deal of research has been focused on M-SPE, including the development of new sorbents and novel automation strategies. In recent years, the use of magnetic carbon nanotubes (M-CNTs) as a sorption substrate in M-SPE has become an active area of research. These materials have exceptional mechanical, electrical, optical and magnetic properties and they also have an extremely large surface area and varied possibilities for functionalization. This review covers the synthesis of M-CNTs and the different approaches for the use of these compounds in M-SPE. The performance, general characteristics and applications of M-SPE based on magnetic carbon nanotubes for organic and inorganic analysis have been evaluated on the basis of more than 110 references. Finally, some important challenges with respect the use of magnetic carbon nanotubes in M-SPE are discussed. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Nanostructured manganese oxide/carbon nanotubes, graphene and graphene oxide as water-oxidizing composites in artificial photosynthesis.

PubMed

Najafpour, Mohammad Mahdi; Rahimi, Fahime; Fathollahzadeh, Maryam; Haghighi, Behzad; Hołyńska, Małgorzata; Tomo, Tatsuya; Allakhverdiev, Suleyman I

2014-07-28

Herein, we report on nano-sized Mn oxide/carbon nanotubes, graphene and graphene oxide as water-oxidizing compounds in artificial photosynthesis. The composites are synthesized by different and simple procedures and characterized by a number of methods. The water-oxidizing activities of these composites are also considered in the presence of cerium(IV) ammonium nitrate. Some composites are efficient Mn-based catalysts with TOF (mmol O2 per mol Mn per second) ~ 2.6.

Carbon nanotube-based benzyl polymethacrylate composite monolith as a solid phase extraction adsorbent and a stationary phase material for simultaneous extraction and analysis of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon in water.

PubMed

Al-Rifai, Asma'a; Aqel, Ahmad; Wahibi, Lamya Al; ALOthman, Zeid A; Badjah-Hadj-Ahmed, Ahmed-Yacine

2018-02-02

A composite of multi-walled carbon nanotubes incorporated into a benzyl methacrylate-co-ethylene dimethacrylate porous monolith was prepared, characterized and used as solid phase adsorbent and as stationary phase for simultaneous extraction and separation of ten polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, followed by nano-liquid chromatography analysis. The extraction and chromatographic parameters were optimized with regard to the extraction efficiency and the quality of chromatographic analytes separation. Under the optimized conditions, all PAHs were separated in 13 min with suitable resolution values (Rs = 1.74-3.98). Addition of a small amount of carbon nanotubes (0.1% with respect to monomers) to the polymerization mixture increased the efficiency for the separation column to over 41,700 plates m -1 for chrysene at flow rate of 0.5 μL min -1 . The method showed a wide linear range (1-500 μg L -1 with R 2 more than 0.9938), acceptable extraction repeatability (RSDs < 6.4%, n = 3) and reproducibility (RSDs < 12.6%, five parallel-made solid phase extraction cartridges) and satisfactory detection limits (0.02-0.22 μg L -1 ). Finally, the proposed method was successfully applied to the detection of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in environmental water samples. After a simple extraction procedure with preconcentration factor equal to 100, the average recovery values in ultra-pure, tap and sea water samples were found to be in the range 81.3-95.4% with %RSD less than 6.4. Again, the presence of carbon nanotubes (0.3% relatively to monomers) in native polymer enhanced the extraction performance for the solid phase adsorbent up to 78.4%. The application of the monoliths modified with CNTs in extraction and nano-scale liquid chromatography for analysis of environmental samples offered several advantages; it demonstrated an acceptable precision, low detection limits, good reproducibility, satisfying recoveries and wide dynamic linear ranges. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Nanoscaled Na3PS4 Solid Electrolyte for All-Solid-State FeS2/Na Batteries with Ultrahigh Initial Coulombic Efficiency of 95% and Excellent Cyclic Performances.

PubMed

Wan, Hongli; Mwizerwa, Jean Pierre; Qi, Xingguo; Xu, Xiaoxiong; Li, Hong; Zhang, Qiang; Cai, Liangting; Hu, Yong-Sheng; Yao, Xiayin

2018-04-18

Nanosized Na 3 PS 4 solid electrolyte with an ionic conductivity of 8.44 × 10 -5 S cm -1 at room temperature is synthesized by a liquid-phase reaction. The resultant all-solid-state FeS 2 /Na 3 PS 4 /Na batteries show an extraordinary high initial Coulombic efficiency of 95% and demonstrate high energy density of 611 Wh kg -1 at current density of 20 mA g -1 at room temperature. The outstanding performances of the battery can be ascribed to good interface compatibility and intimate solid-solid contact at FeS 2 electrode/nanosized Na 3 PS 4 solid electrolytes interface. Meanwhile, excellent cycling stability is achieved for the battery after cycling at 60 mA g -1 for 100 cycles, showing a high capacity of 287 mAh g -1 with the capacity retention of 80%.

A stable solid acid material: Sulfated ZrO2 dispersed on alumina nanotubes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Feng, Yu; Jiaqi, Chen; Xu, Wang; Rui-Feng, Li

2017-02-01

A tubular solid acid catalyst was designed by loading sulfated zirconia into γ-Al2O3 nanotubes using the method of stepwise deposition. The XRD, N2 adsorption-desorption characterization demonstrated that introducing alumina nanotube and SO4 2- anions have played an important role in stabilizing the metastable tetragonal ZrO2 phase, and the sulfated zirconia on the surface of the γ-Al2O3 nanotube has high dispersion and stability. The catalyst reused repeatedly possesses large amounts of acid sites and good acidity, exhibiting high catalytic activity and stability for isopropylbenzene cracking.

Solid-phase extraction using bis(indolyl)methane-modified silica reinforced with multiwalled carbon nanotubes for the simultaneous determination of flavonoids and aromatic organic acid preservatives.

PubMed

Wang, Na; Liao, Yuan; Wang, Jiamin; Tang, Sheng; Shao, Shijun

2015-12-01

A novel bis(indolyl)methane-modified silica reinforced with multiwalled carbon nanotubes sorbent for solid-phase extraction was designed and synthesized by chemical immobilization of nitro-substituted 3,3'-bis(indolyl)methane on silica modified with multiwalled carbon nanotubes. Coupled with high-performance liquid chromatography analysis, the extraction properties of the sorbent were evaluated for flavonoids and aromatic organic acid compounds. Under optimum conditions, the sorbent can simultaneously extract five flavonoids and two aromatic organic acid preservatives in aqueous solutions in a single-step solid-phase extraction procedure. Wide linear ranges were obtained with correlation coefficients (R(2) ) ranging from 0.9843 to 0.9976, and the limits of detection were in the range of 0.5-5 μg/L for the compounds tested. Compared with the silica modified with multiwalled carbon nanotubes sorbent and the nitro-substituted 3,3'-bis(indolyl)methane-modified silica sorbent, the developed sorbent exhibited higher extraction efficiency toward the selected analytes. The synergistic effect of nitro-substituted 3,3'-bis(indolyl)methane and multiwalled carbon nanotubes not only improved the surface-to-volume ratio but also enhanced multiple intermolecular interactions, such as hydrogen bonds, π-π, and hydrophobic interactions, between the new sorbent and the selected analytes. The as-established solid-phase extraction with high-performance liquid chromatography and diode array detection method was successfully applied to the simultaneous determination of flavonoids and aromatic organic acid preservatives in grape juices with recoveries ranging from 83.9 to 112% for all the selected analytes. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Two phase microstructure for Ag-Ni nanowires

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Srivastava, Chandan; Rai, Rajesh Kumar

2013-03-01

In the present study, electrodeposition technique was used to produce Ag-Ni nanowires. Ag-Ni system shows extremely high bulk immiscibility. Nanowire morphology was achieved by employing an anodic alumina membrane having pores of ˜200 nm diameter. Microstructure of as-deposited wire was composed of nano-sized solid solution structured Ag-Ni nanoparticles embedded in a matrix of pure Ag phase. It is proposed that the two phase microstructure resulted from an initial formation of solid solution structured nanoparticles in the alumina template pore followed by nucleation of pure Ag phase over the particles which eventually grew to form the matrix phase.

Carbon nanotube enhanced label-free detection of microRNAs based on hairpin probe triggered solid-phase rolling-circle amplification

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tian, Qianqian; Wang, Ying; Deng, Ruijie; Lin, Lei; Liu, Yang; Li, Jinghong

2014-12-01

The detection of microRNAs (miRNAs) is imperative for gaining a better understanding of the functions of these biomarkers and has great potential for the early diagnosis of human disease. High sensitivity and selectivity for miRNA detection brings new challenges. Herein, an ultrasensitive protocol for electrochemical detection of miRNA is designed through carbon nanotube (CNT) enhanced label-free detection based on hairpin probe triggered solid-phase rolling-circle amplification (RCA). Traditionally, RCA, widely applied for signal enhancement in the construction of a variety of biosensors, has an intrinsic limitation of ultrasensitive detection, as it is difficult to separate the enzymes, templates, and padlock DNAs from the RCA products in the homogeneous solution. We purposely designed a solid-phase RCA strategy, using CNTs as the solid substrate, integrated with a hairpin structured probe to recognize target miRNA. In the presence of miRNA the stem-loop structure will be unfolded, triggering the CNT based RCA process. Due to the efficient blocking effect originating from the polymeric RCA products, the label-free assay of miRNA exhibits an ultrasensitive detection limit of 1.2 fM. Furthermore, the protocol possesses excellent specificity for resolving lung cancer-related let-7 family members which have only one-nucleotide variations. The high sensitivity and selectivity give the method great potential for applications in online diagnostics and in situ detection in long-term development.The detection of microRNAs (miRNAs) is imperative for gaining a better understanding of the functions of these biomarkers and has great potential for the early diagnosis of human disease. High sensitivity and selectivity for miRNA detection brings new challenges. Herein, an ultrasensitive protocol for electrochemical detection of miRNA is designed through carbon nanotube (CNT) enhanced label-free detection based on hairpin probe triggered solid-phase rolling-circle amplification (RCA). Traditionally, RCA, widely applied for signal enhancement in the construction of a variety of biosensors, has an intrinsic limitation of ultrasensitive detection, as it is difficult to separate the enzymes, templates, and padlock DNAs from the RCA products in the homogeneous solution. We purposely designed a solid-phase RCA strategy, using CNTs as the solid substrate, integrated with a hairpin structured probe to recognize target miRNA. In the presence of miRNA the stem-loop structure will be unfolded, triggering the CNT based RCA process. Due to the efficient blocking effect originating from the polymeric RCA products, the label-free assay of miRNA exhibits an ultrasensitive detection limit of 1.2 fM. Furthermore, the protocol possesses excellent specificity for resolving lung cancer-related let-7 family members which have only one-nucleotide variations. The high sensitivity and selectivity give the method great potential for applications in online diagnostics and in situ detection in long-term development. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available: Preparation of the chemically modified multi-walled carbon nanotubes (CNTs), characterization of the CNTs and modified CNTs, preparation of the circular probe, gel electrophoresis of the RCA products, and DNA probes as noted in the text. See DOI: 10.1039/c4nr05243a

Self-assembly of protein-based biomaterials initiated by titania nanotubes.

PubMed

Forstater, Jacob H; Kleinhammes, Alfred; Wu, Yue

2013-12-03

Protein-based biomaterials are a promising strategy for creating robust highly selective biocatalysts. The assembled biomaterials must sufficiently retain the near-native structure of proteins and provide molecular access to catalytically active sites. These requirements often exclude the use of conventional assembly techniques, which rely on covalent cross-linking of proteins or entrapment within a scaffold. Here we demonstrate that titania nanotubes can initiate and template the self-assembly of enzymes, such as ribonuclease A, while maintaining their catalytic activity. Initially, the enzymes form multilayer thick ellipsoidal aggregates centered on the nanotube surface; subsequently, these nanosized entities assemble into a micrometer-sized enzyme material that has enhanced enzymatic activity and contains as little as 0.1 wt % TiO2 nanotubes. This phenomenon is uniquely associated with the active anatase (001)-like surface of titania nanotubes and does not occur on other anatase nanomaterials, which contain significantly fewer undercoordinated Ti surface sites. These findings present a nanotechnology-enabled mechanism of biomaterial growth and open a new route for creating stable protein-based biomaterials and biocatalysts without the need for chemical modification.

Nanointerface-driven reversible hydrogen storage in the nanoconfined Li-N-H system

DOE PAGES

Wood, Brandon C.; Stavila, Vitalie; Poonyayant, Natchapol; ...

2017-01-20

Internal interfaces in the Li 3N/[LiNH 2 + 2LiH] solid-state hydrogen storage system alter the hydrogenation and dehydrogenation reaction pathways upon nanosizing, suppressing undesirable intermediate phases to dramatically improve kinetics and reversibility. Finally, the key role of solid interfaces in determining thermodynamics and kinetics suggests a new paradigm for optimizing complex hydrides for solid-state hydrogen storage by engineering internal microstructure.

Phase Transformation of Droplets into Particles and Nucleation in Atmospheric Pressure Discharges

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Iqbal, M. M.; Stallard, C. P.; Dowling, D. P.; Turner, M. M.

2013-09-01

We investigate the mechanism of phase transformation of liquid precursor droplets into nano-particulates in an atmospheric pressure discharge (APD). This phase transformation is possible when the solid to a liquid mass ratio of slurry droplet reaches a threshold value. The behaviour of phase transformation of a single slurry droplet of HMDSO is described by developing a numerical model under the saturation condition of evaporation. It is observed from the temporal evolution of inner radius (Ri) of a single slurry droplet that its value approaches zero before the entire shifting of a liquid phase and which explains with an expansion in the crust thickness (Ro - Ri) . The solid traces of nano-particles are observed experimentally on the surface coating depositions because the time for transferring the slurry droplet of HMDSO into solid state is amplified with an increment in the radii of droplets and the entire phase transition occurs within residence time for the nano-sized liquid droplets. The GDE coupled with discharge plasma is numerically solved to describe the mechanism of nucleation of nano-sized particles in APD plasma under similar conditions of the experiment. The growth of nucleation in APD plasma depends on the type of liquid precursor, such as HMDSO, TEOS and water, which is verified with a sharp peak in the nucleation rate and saturation ratio. Science Foundation Ireland under Grant No. 08/SRC/I1411.

Preparation of NASICON-Type Nanosized Solid Electrolyte Li1.4Al0.4Ti1.6(PO4)3 by Evaporation-Induced Self-Assembly for Lithium-Ion Battery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Xingang; Fu, Ju; Zhang, Chuhong

2016-12-01

A simple and practicable evaporation-induced self-assembly (EISA) method is introduced for the first time to prepare nanosized solid electrolyte Li1.4Al0.4Ti1.6(PO4)3 (LATP) for all-solid-state lithium-ion batteries. A pure Na+ super ion conductor (NASICON) phase is confirmed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, and its primary particle size is down to 70 nm by optimizing evaporation rate of the solvent. Excellent room temperature bulk and total lithium-ion conductivities of 2.09 × 10-3 S cm-1 and 3.63 × 10-4 S cm-1 are obtained, with an ion-hopping activation energy as low as 0.286 eV.

Simultaneous Determination of Parathion, Malathion, Diazinon, and Pirimiphos Methyl in Dried Medicinal Plants Using Solid-Phase Microextraction Fibre Coated with Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes

PubMed Central

Ahmadkhaniha, Reza; Samadi, Nasrin; Salimi, Mona; Sarkhail, Parisa; Rastkari, Noushin

2012-01-01

A reliable and sensitive headspace solid-phase microextraction gas chromatography-mass spectrometry method for simultaneous determination of different organophosphorus pesticides in dried medicinal plant samples is described. The analytes were extracted by single-walled carbon nanotubes as a new solid-phase microextraction adsorbent. The developed method showed good performance. For diazinon and pirimiphos methyl calibration, curves were linear (r 2 ≥ 0.993) over the concentration ranges from 1.5 to 300 ng g−1, and the limit of detection at signal-to-noise ratio of 3 was 0.3 ng g−1. For parathion and malathion, the linear range and limit of detection were 2.5–300 (r 2 ≥ 0.991) and 0.5 ng g−1, respectively. In addition, a comparative study between the single-walled carbon nanotubes and a commercial polydimethylsiloxane fibre for the determination of target analytes was carried out. Single-walled carbon nanotubes fibre showed higher extraction capacity, better thermal stability (over 350°C), and longer lifespan (over 250 times) than the commercial polydimethylsiloxane fibre. The developed method was successfully applied to determine target organophosphorus pesticides in real samples. PMID:22645439

Low-temperature crystallization of anodized TiO2 nanotubes at the solid-gas interface and their photoelectrochemical properties

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Jing; Liu, Zhaoyue; Zhang, Tierui; Zhai, Jin; Jiang, Lei

2013-06-01

TiO2 nanotubular arrays formed by electrochemical anodization have attracted significant attention for photoelectrochemical applications that utilize solar energy. However, the as-anodized TiO2 nanotubes are amorphous, and need to be crystallized by high-temperature thermal annealing. Herein, we describe a low-temperature hydrothermal solid-gas route to crystallize TiO2 nanotubes. In this process, the as-anodized TiO2 hydroxo nanotubes are dehydrated to yield anatase phase via solid-gas interface reaction in an autoclave at a temperature of less than 180 °C. The solid-gas interface reaction alleviates the collapse of as-anodized TiO2 nanotubes during hydrothermal process efficiently. Compared with the common thermal annealing at the same temperature but at atmospheric pressure, the hydrothermal route improves the photocurrent density of TiO2 nanotubes by ~10 times in KOH electrolyte. The duration of the hydrothermal reaction has a substantial effect on the photoelectrochemical properties of TiO2 nanotubes, which is ascribed to the synergetic effect between the crystallization and structural evolution. Electron donors can further suppress the charge recombination in the low-temperature crystallized TiO2 nanotubes and boost the photocurrent density by ~120%.TiO2 nanotubular arrays formed by electrochemical anodization have attracted significant attention for photoelectrochemical applications that utilize solar energy. However, the as-anodized TiO2 nanotubes are amorphous, and need to be crystallized by high-temperature thermal annealing. Herein, we describe a low-temperature hydrothermal solid-gas route to crystallize TiO2 nanotubes. In this process, the as-anodized TiO2 hydroxo nanotubes are dehydrated to yield anatase phase via solid-gas interface reaction in an autoclave at a temperature of less than 180 °C. The solid-gas interface reaction alleviates the collapse of as-anodized TiO2 nanotubes during hydrothermal process efficiently. Compared with the common thermal annealing at the same temperature but at atmospheric pressure, the hydrothermal route improves the photocurrent density of TiO2 nanotubes by ~10 times in KOH electrolyte. The duration of the hydrothermal reaction has a substantial effect on the photoelectrochemical properties of TiO2 nanotubes, which is ascribed to the synergetic effect between the crystallization and structural evolution. Electron donors can further suppress the charge recombination in the low-temperature crystallized TiO2 nanotubes and boost the photocurrent density by ~120%. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available: Morphology images of TiO2 nanotubular arrays crystallized by hydrothermal solid-liquid reaction at 130 °C, 160 °C and 180 °C for 4 h. Cross-sectional image of TiO2 nanotubular arrays prepared by anodizing Ti foil at 20 V for 20 min in 0.5 wt% HF solution followed by drying in air at 100 °C for 1 h; Photocurrent density-potential curves of TiO2 nanotubular arrays crystallized by thermal annealing at 450 °C and atmospheric pressure for 4 h. See DOI: 10.1039/c3nr01286g

Magnetic solid-phase extraction based on carbon nanotubes for the determination of polyether antibiotic and s-triazine drug residues in animal food with LC-MS/MS.

PubMed

Liu, Xiaoxing; Xie, Shuyu; Ni, Tengteng; Chen, Dongmei; Wang, Xu; Pan, Yuanhu; Wang, Yulian; Huang, Lingli; Cheng, Guyue; Qu, Wei; Liu, Zhenli; Tao, Yanfei; Yuan, Zonghui

2017-06-01

Carbon nanotubes-magnetic nanoparticles, comprising ferroferric oxide nanoparticles and carbon nanotubes, were prepared through a simple one-step synthesis method and subsequently applied to magnetic solid-phase extraction for the determination of polyether antibiotic and s-triazine drug residues in animal food coupled with liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry. The nanocomposites were characterized by transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and vibrating sample magnetometry. The components within the nanocomposites endowed the material with high extraction performance and manipulative convenience. Compared with carbon nanotubes, the as-prepared carbon nanotubes-magnetic nanoparticles showed better extraction and separation efficiencies for polyether antibiotics and s-triazine drugs thanks to the contribution of the iron-containing magnetic nanoparticles. Various experimental parameters affecting the extraction efficiency had been investigated in detail. Under the optimal conditions, the good linearity ranging from 1 to 200 μg/kg for diclazuril, toltrazuril, toltrazuril sulfone, lasalocid, monensin, salinomycin, narasin, nanchangmycin, and maduramicin, low limits of detection ranging from 1 to 5 μg/kg, and satisfactory spiked recoveries (77.1-91.2%, with the inter relative standard deviation values from 4.0 to 12.2%) were shown. It was confirmed that this novel method was an efficient pretreatment and enrichment procedure and could be successfully applied for extraction and determination of polyether and s-triazine drug residues in complex matrices. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Fabrication and electrochemical properties of carbon nanotube/polypyrrole composite film electrodes with controlled pore size

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Ji-Young; Kim, Kwang Heon; Kim, Kwang Bum

Carbon nanotube (CNT)/polypyrrole (PPy) composites with controlled pore size in a three-dimensional entangled structure of a CNT film are prepared as electrode materials for a pseudocapacitor. A CNT film electrode containing nanosize silica between the CNTs is first fabricated using an electrostatic spray deposition of a mixed suspension of CNTs and nanosize silica on to a platinium-coated silicon wafer. Later, nanosize silica is removed leaving a three-dimensional entangled structure of a CNT film. Before removal of the silica from the CNT/silica film electrode, PPy is electrochemically deposited on to the CNTs to anchor them in their entangled structure. Control of the pore size of the final CNT/PPy composite film can be achieved by changing the amount of silica in the mixed suspension of CNTs and nanosize silica. Nanosize silica acts as a sacrificial filler to change the pore size of the entangled CNT film. Scanning electron microscopy of the electrochemically prepared PPy on the CNT film substrate shows that the PPy nucleated heterogeneously and deposited on the surface of the CNTs. The specific capacitance and rate capability of the CNT/PPy composite electrode with a heavy loading of PPy of around 80 wt.% can be improved when it is made to have a three-dimensional network of entangled CNTs with interconnected pores through pore size control.

Preparation of NASICON-Type Nanosized Solid Electrolyte Li1.4Al0.4Ti1.6(PO4)3 by Evaporation-Induced Self-Assembly for Lithium-Ion Battery.

PubMed

Liu, Xingang; Fu, Ju; Zhang, Chuhong

2016-12-01

A simple and practicable evaporation-induced self-assembly (EISA) method is introduced for the first time to prepare nanosized solid electrolyte Li 1.4 Al 0.4 Ti 1.6 (PO 4 ) 3 (LATP) for all-solid-state lithium-ion batteries. A pure Na + super ion conductor (NASICON) phase is confirmed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, and its primary particle size is down to 70 nm by optimizing evaporation rate of the solvent. Excellent room temperature bulk and total lithium-ion conductivities of 2.09 × 10 -3  S cm -1 and 3.63 × 10 -4  S cm -1 are obtained, with an ion-hopping activation energy as low as 0.286 eV.

VQS (vapor-quasiliquid-solid, vapor-quasisolid-solid) mechanism presents a unified foundation for the syntheses of nanotubes, primarily carbon nanotubes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mohammad, S. Noor

2017-09-01

Nanotubes are synthesized almost entirely by metal-catalyst-free and metal-catalyst-mediated non-eutectic mechanism(s). An investigation has been carried out to understand the basics of this mechanism. Various possible chemical and physical processes involved in nanotube synthesis have been researched. Various components and attributes of nanotube synthesis have been evaluated. Phase transitions, alloy formation, porosity, carrier transport and the fundamentals underlying them have been examined. Nanoparticle surfaces conducive to nanotube synthesis have been examined. The role of surface treatment, which includes oxidation, oxygenation, acid treatment, plasma treatment, water treatment, sputtering, etc in creating such surfaces, has been investigated. The role of surface treatment and phase transitions as functions of temperature, pressure, ambient, contaminants, surface amorphicity, etc in creating diffusion paths for the diffusion of growth species for supersaturation and nucleation has been explored. Interdiffusion of catalyst and source materials, and hence exchange of materials, on the nanoparticle surface, have been elucidated. This exchange of materials on catalyst surface appears to add a new dimension to the synthesis kinetics. Integrated together, they reveal a general mechanism for probably all metal-catalyst-free and metal-catalyst-mediated non-eutectic nanotube synthesis. Available experiments strongly support the proposed mechanism; they suggest that this mechanism has a broad appeal.

Novel nanofluidic chemical cells based on self-assembled solid-state SiO2 nanotubes.

PubMed

Zhu, Hao; Li, Haitao; Robertson, Joseph W F; Balijepalli, Arvind; Krylyuk, Sergiy; Davydov, Albert V; Kasianowicz, John J; Suehle, John S; Li, Qiliang

2017-10-27

Novel nanofluidic chemical cells based on self-assembled solid-state SiO 2 nanotubes on silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrate have been successfully fabricated and characterized. The vertical SiO 2 nanotubes with a smooth cavity are built from Si nanowires which were epitaxially grown on the SOI substrate. The nanotubes have rigid, dry-oxidized SiO 2 walls with precisely controlled nanotube inner diameter, which is very attractive for chemical-/bio-sensing applications. No dispersion/aligning procedures were involved in the nanotube fabrication and integration by using this technology, enabling a clean and smooth chemical cell. Such a robust and well-controlled nanotube is an excellent case of developing functional nanomaterials by leveraging the strength of top-down lithography and the unique advantage of bottom-up growth. These solid, smooth, clean SiO 2 nanotubes and nanofluidic devices are very encouraging and attractive in future bio-medical applications, such as single molecule sensing and DNA sequencing.

Novel nanofluidic chemical cells based on self-assembled solid-state SiO2 nanotubes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, Hao; Li, Haitao; Robertson, Joseph W. F.; Balijepalli, Arvind; Krylyuk, Sergiy; Davydov, Albert V.; Kasianowicz, John J.; Suehle, John S.; Li, Qiliang

2017-10-01

Novel nanofluidic chemical cells based on self-assembled solid-state SiO2 nanotubes on silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrate have been successfully fabricated and characterized. The vertical SiO2 nanotubes with a smooth cavity are built from Si nanowires which were epitaxially grown on the SOI substrate. The nanotubes have rigid, dry-oxidized SiO2 walls with precisely controlled nanotube inner diameter, which is very attractive for chemical-/bio-sensing applications. No dispersion/aligning procedures were involved in the nanotube fabrication and integration by using this technology, enabling a clean and smooth chemical cell. Such a robust and well-controlled nanotube is an excellent case of developing functional nanomaterials by leveraging the strength of top-down lithography and the unique advantage of bottom-up growth. These solid, smooth, clean SiO2 nanotubes and nanofluidic devices are very encouraging and attractive in future bio-medical applications, such as single molecule sensing and DNA sequencing.

Optimization of multiwalled carbon nanotubes reinforced hollow-fiber solid-liquid-phase microextraction for the determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in environmental water samples using experimental design.

PubMed

Hamedi, Raheleh; Hadjmohammadi, Mohammad Reza

2017-09-01

A novel design of hollow-fiber liquid-phase microextraction containing multiwalled carbon nanotubes as a solid sorbent, which is immobilized in the pore and lumen of hollow fiber by the sol-gel technique, was developed for the pre-concentration and determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in environmental water samples. The proposed method utilized both solid- and liquid-phase microextraction media. Parameters that affect the extraction of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons were optimized in two successive steps as follows. Firstly, a methodology based on a quarter factorial design was used to choose the significant variables. Then, these significant factors were optimized utilizing central composite design. Under the optimized condition (extraction time = 25 min, amount of multiwalled carbon nanotubes = 78 mg, sample volume = 8 mL, and desorption time = 5 min), the calibration curves showed high linearity (R 2  = 0.99) in the range of 0.01-500 ng/mL and the limits of detection were in the range of 0.007-1.47 ng/mL. The obtained extraction recoveries for 10 ng/mL of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons standard solution were in the range of 85-92%. Replicating the experiment under these conditions five times gave relative standard deviations lower than 6%. Finally, the method was successfully applied for pre-concentration and determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in environmental water samples. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

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

Joseph Berkmans, A.; Jagannatham, M.; Priyanka, S.

Highlights: • Polymer wastes are converted into ultrafine and nano carbon tubes and spheres. • Simple process with a minimal processing time. • It is a catalyst free and solvent free approach. • This process forms branched ultrafine carbon tubules with nano channels. - Abstract: Upcycling polymer wastes into useful, and valuable carbon based materials, is a challenging process. We report a novel catalyst-free and solvent-free technique for the formation of nano channeled ultrafine carbon tubes (NCUFCTs) and multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) from polyethylene terephthalate (PET) wastes, using rotating cathode arc discharge technique. The soot obtain from the anode containsmore » ultrafine and nano-sized solid carbon spheres (SCS) with a mean diameter of 221 nm and 100 nm, respectively, formed at the lower temperature region of the anode where the temperature is approximately 1700 °C. The carbon spheres are converted into long “Y” type branched and non-branched NCUFCTs and MWCNTs at higher temperature regions where the temperature is approximately 2600 °C, with mean diameters of 364 nm and 95 nm, respectively. Soot deposited on the cathode is composed of MWCNTs with a mean diameter of 20 nm and other nanoparticles. The tubular structures present in the anode are longer, bent and often coiled with lesser graphitization compared to the nanotubes in the soot on the cathode.« less

Evaluating structure selection in the hydrothermal growth of FeS 2 pyrite and marcasite

DOE PAGES

Kitchaev, Daniil A.; Ceder, Gerbrand

2016-12-14

While the ab initio prediction of the properties of solids and their optimization towards new proposed materials is becoming established, little predictive theory exists as to which metastable materials can be made and how, impeding their experimental realization. Here we propose a quasi-thermodynamic framework for predicting the hydrothermal synthetic accessibility of metastable materials and apply this model to understanding the phase selection between the pyrite and marcasite polymorphs of FeS 2. We demonstrate that phase selection in this system can be explained by the surface stability of the two phases as a function of ambient pH within nano-size regimes relevantmore » to nucleation. This result suggests that a first-principles understanding of nano-size phase stability in realistic synthesis environments can serve to explain or predict the synthetic accessibility of structural polymorphs, providing a guideline to experimental synthesis via efficient computational materials design.« less

Rapid analysis of pesticide residues in drinking water samples by dispersive solid-phase extraction based on multiwalled carbon nanotubes and pulse glow discharge ion source ion mobility spectrometry.

PubMed

Zou, Nan; Gu, Kejia; Liu, Shaowen; Hou, Yanbing; Zhang, Jialei; Xu, Xiang; Li, Xuesheng; Pan, Canping

2016-03-01

An analytical method based on dispersive solid-phase extraction with a multiwalled carbon nanotubes sorbent coupled with positive pulse glow discharge ion mobility spectrometry was developed for analysis of 30 pesticide residues in drinking water samples. Reduced ion mobilities and the mass-mobility correlation of 30 pesticides were measured. The pesticides were divided into five groups to verify the separation capability of pulse glow discharge in mobility spectrometry. The extraction conditions such as desorption solvent, ionic strength, conditions of adsorption and desorption, the amounts of multiwalled carbon nanotubes, and solution pH were optimized. The enrichment factors of pesticides were 5.4- to 48.7-fold (theoretical enrichment factor was 50-fold). The detection limits of pesticides were 0.01∼0.77 μg/kg. The linear range was 0.005-0.2 mg/L for pesticide standard solutions, with determination coefficients from 0.9616 to 0.9999. The method was applied for the analysis of practical and spiked drinking water samples. All results were confirmed by high-performance liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry. The proposed method was proven to be a commendably rapid screening qualitative and semiquantitative technique for the analysis of pesticide residues in drinking water samples on site. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Nanometer-sized materials for solid-phase extraction of trace elements.

PubMed

Hu, Bin; He, Man; Chen, Beibei

2015-04-01

This review presents a comprehensive update on the state-of-the-art of nanometer-sized materials in solid-phase extraction (SPE) of trace elements followed by atomic-spectrometry detection. Zero-dimensional nanomaterials (fullerene), one-dimensional nanomaterials (carbon nanotubes, inorganic nanotubes, and nanowires), two-dimensional nanomaterials (nanofibers), and three-dimensional nanomaterials (nanoparticles, mesoporous nanoparticles, magnetic nanoparticles, and dendrimers) for SPE are discussed, with their application for trace-element analysis and their speciation in different matrices. A variety of other novel SPE sorbents, including restricted-access sorbents, ion-imprinted polymers, and metal-organic frameworks, are also discussed, although their applications in trace-element analysis are relatively scarce so far.

Quick and selective extraction of Z-ligustilide from Angelica sinensis using magnetic multiwalled carbon nanotubes.

PubMed

Zeng, Qiong; Jia, Yan-Wei; Xu, Pei-Li; Xiao, Meng-Wei; Liu, Yi-Ming; Peng, Shu-Lin; Liao, Xun

2015-12-01

A facile and highly efficient magnetic solid-phase extraction method has been developed for Z-ligustilide, the major therapeutic agent in Angelica sinensis. The solid-phase adsorbent material used was prepared by conjugating carbon nanotubes with magnetic Fe3 O4 nanoparticles via a hydrothermal reaction. The magnetic material showed a high affinity toward Z-ligustilide due to the π-π stacking interaction between the carbon nanotubes and Z-ligustilide, allowing a quick and selective exaction of Z-ligustilide from complex sample matrices. Factors influencing the magnetic solid-phase extraction such as the amount of the added adsorbent, adsorption and desorption time, and desorption solvent, were investigated. Due to its high extraction efficiency, this method was proved highly useful for sample cleanup/enrichment in quantitative high-performance liquid chromatography analysis. The proposed method had a linear calibration curve (R(2) = 0.9983) over the concentration between 4 ng/mL and 200 μg/mL Z-ligustilide. The accuracy of the method was determined by the recovery, which was from 92.07 to 104.02%, with the relative standard deviations >4.51%. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Molecular discriminators using single wall carbon nanotubes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bhattacharyya, Tamoghna; Dasgupta, Anjan Kr; Ranjan Ray, Nihar; Sarkar, Sabyasachi

2012-09-01

The interaction between single wall carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) and amphiphilic molecules has been studied in a solid phase. SWNTs are allowed to interact with different amphiphilic probes (e.g. lipids) in a narrow capillary interface. Contact between strong hydrophobic and amphiphilic interfaces leads to a molecular restructuring of the lipids at the interface. The geometry of the diffusion front and the rate and the extent of diffusion of the interface are dependent on the structure of the lipid at the interface. Lecithin having a linear tail showed greater mobility of the interface as compared to a branched tail lipid like dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine, indicating the hydrophobic interaction between single wall carbon nanotube core and the hydrophobic tail of the lipid. Solid phase interactions between SWNT and lipids can thus become a very simple but efficient means of discriminating amphiphilic molecules in general and lipids in particular.

Solid-phase microextraction fiber development for sampling and analysis of volatile organohalogen compounds in air.

PubMed

Attari, Seyed Ghavameddin; Bahrami, Abdolrahman; Shahna, Farshid Ghorbani; Heidari, Mahmoud

2014-01-01

A green, environmental friendly and sensitive method for determination of volatile organohalogen compounds was described in this paper. The method is based on a homemade sol-gel single-walled carbon nanotube/silica composite coated solid-phase microextraction to develop for sampling and analysis of Carbon tetrachloride, Benzotrichloride, Chloromethyl methyl ether and Trichloroethylene in air. Application of this method was investigated under different laboratory conditions. Predetermined concentrations of each analytes were prepared in a home-made standard chamber and the influences of experimental parameters such as temperature, humidity, extraction time, storage time, desorption temperature, desorption time and the sorbent performance were investigated. Under optimal conditions, the use of single-walled carbon nanotube/silica composite fiber showed good performance, high sensitive and fast sampling of volatile organohalogen compounds from air. For linearity test the regression correlation coefficient was more than 98% for analyte of interest and linear dynamic range for the proposed fiber and the applied Gas Chromatography-Flame Ionization Detector technique was from 1 to 100 ngmL(-1). Method detection limits ranged between 0.09 to 0.2 ngmL(-1) and method quantification limits were between 0.25 and 0.7 ngmL(-1). Single-walled carbon nanotube/silica composite fiber was highly reproducible, relative standard deviations were between 4.3 to 11.7 percent.

Rapid in situ growth of oriented titanium-nickel oxide composite nanotubes arrays coated on a nitinol wire as a solid-phase microextraction fiber coupled to HPLC-UV.

PubMed

Zhen, Qi; Zhang, Min; Song, Wenlan; Wang, Huiju; Wang, Xuemei; Du, Xinzhen

2016-10-01

An oriented titanium-nickel oxide composite nanotubes coating was in situ grown on a nitinol wire by direct electrochemical anodization in ethylene glycol with ammonium fluoride and water for the first time. The morphology and composition of the resulting coating showed that the anodized nitinol wire provided a titania-rich coating. The titanium-nickel oxide composite nanotubes coated fiber was used for solid-phase microextraction of different aromatic compounds coupled to high-performance liquid chromatography with UV detection. The titanium-nickel oxide composite nanotubes coating exhibited high extraction capability, good selectivity, and rapid mass transfer for weakly polar UV filters. Thereafter the important parameters affecting extraction efficiency were investigated for solid-phase microextraction of UV filters. Under the optimized conditions, the calibration curves were linear in the range of 0.1-300 μg/L for target UV filters with limits of detection of 0.019-0.082 μg/L. The intraday and interday precision of the proposed method with the single fiber were 5.3-7.2 and 5.9-7.9%, respectively, and the fiber-to-fiber reproducibility ranged from 6.3 to 8.9% for four fibers fabricated in different batches. Finally, its applicability was evaluated by the extraction and determination of target UV filters in environmental water samples. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Electron microscopy investigation of gallium oxide micro/nanowire structures synthesized via vapor phase growth.

PubMed

Wang, Y; Xu, J; Wang, R M; Yu, D P

2004-01-01

Large-scale micro/nanosized Ga(2)O(3) structures were synthesized via a simple vapor p9hase growth method. The morphology of the as-grown structures varied from aligned arrays of smooth nano/microscale wires to composite and complex microdendrites. We present evidence that the formation of the observed structure depends strongly on its position relative to the source materials (the concentration distribution) and on the growth temperature. A growth model is proposed, based on the vapor-solid (VS) mechanism, which can explain the observed morphologies.

Preparation of micelle supported magnetic hydroxylated multi-walled carbon nanotubes based DSPE for determination of PAHs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Mingyu; Zhang, Shaojun; Zhang, Xiao; Li, Deyu

2017-06-01

A micelle supported Fe3O4 magnetic nanoparticles decorated hydroxylated multi-walled carbon nanotubes material was synthesized. The material was facilely synthesized between carbon nanotubes and Fe2+. The synthesized nanomaterial served as an excellent support for micelles, exhibiting high loading capacity and selectivity. The prepared material used in dispersive solid-phase extraction (DSPE) for investigation of gaseous phase polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) emitted from marine diesel engine for the first time. The application showed good response (R2 > 0.9981) in the range of 0.02 - 1.0 μg/L, satisfactory reproducibility (variation less than ± 10%) and high precision. Limits of detection of sixteen PAHs ranged from 0.009 to 0.018 μg/L (S/N=3). The spiked recovery of proposed method (72.65-96.54 %) was 1.01 - 2.32 times higher than that of the conventional method. The enrichment factors reached to 39.65-121.32 that exhibited good enrichment ability.

Study of Adsorption of Copper Species onto Multiwall Carbon Nanotubes

EPA Science Inventory

Functionalized CNTs have improved adsorptive capacities over pristine CNTs. These can be used for sensors, membranes, filters and matrix composite enhancements made possible because of their nano-size.

Solid phase extraction of amoxicillin using dibenzo-18-crown-6 modified magnetic-multiwalled carbon nanotubes prior to its spectrophotometric determination.

PubMed

Ahmadi, Mazaher; Madrakian, Tayyebeh; Afkhami, Abbas

2016-01-01

This work reports on a method for selective extraction and sensitive determination of amoxicillin drug (AMX). The method is based on solid phase extraction of AMX by a novel modified magnetic nanoadsorbent prior to spectrophotometric determination of AMX using a procedure based on formation a colored azo-derivative of the investigated drug. The nanoadsorbent has been synthesized by modification of magnetic-multiwalled carbon nanotube with dibenzo-18-crown-6 moieties. The synthesized nanoparticles were characterized using TEM, XRD and FT-IR measurements. At the next step, various factors that could potentially affect adsorption and desorption efficiencies of AMX, have been optimized. The results showed that under the optimized conditions, sensitive and selective determination of the investigated drug in concentration range of 5.0-1000.0 ng mL(-1) with the limit of detection of 3.0 ng mL(-1) was achievable. Furthermore, the real sample analysis (i.e. amoxicillin capsules and human urine samples) results indicated that a reliable promising candidate method has been developed for the determination of AMX in the investigated real samples. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Growth of vertically aligned carbon nanotubes on silicon and quartz substrate by spray pyrolysis of a natural precursor: Turpentine oil

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Afre, Rakesh A.; Soga, T.; Jimbo, T.; Kumar, Mukul; Ando, Y.; Sharon, M.

2005-10-01

Vertically aligned carbon nanotubes (VACNTs) were grown by spray pyrolysis of turpentine oil and ferrocene mixture at 700 °C. Using this simple method, we report the successful growth of vertically aligned nanotubes of 300 μm length and diameter in the range of 50-100 nm on Si(1 0 0) substrate. The ferrocene act as an in situ Fe catalyst precursor and forming the nanosize iron particles for formation of VACNTs on Si and quartz substrates. Morphological differences between aligned carbon nanotubes grown on different substrates are studied and discussed by SEM, TEM and Raman spectroscopy characterizations.

Mechanical and Combustion Performance of Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes as an Additive to Paraffin-Based Solid Fuels for Hybrid Rockets

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Larson, Daniel B.; Boyer, Eric; Wachs, Trevor; Kuo, Kenneth, K.; Koo, Joseph H.; Story, George

2012-01-01

Paraffin-based solid fuels for hybrid rocket motor applications are recognized as a fastburning alternative to other fuel binders such as HTPB, but efforts to further improve the burning rate and mechanical properties of paraffin are still necessary. One approach that is considered in this study is to use multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNT) as an additive to paraffin wax. Carbon nanotubes provide increased electrical and thermal conductivity to the solid-fuel grains to which they are added, which can improve the mass burning rate. Furthermore, the addition of ultra-fine aluminum particles to the paraffin/MWNT fuel grains can enhance regression rate of the solid fuel and the density impulse of the hybrid rocket. The multi-walled carbon nanotubes also present the possibility of greatly improving the mechanical properties (e.g., tensile strength) of the paraffin-based solid-fuel grains. For casting these solid-fuel grains, various percentages of MWNT and aluminum particles will be added to the paraffin wax. Previous work has been published about the dispersion and mixing of carbon nanotubes.1 Another manufacturing method has been used for mixing the MWNT with a phenolic resin for ablative applications, and the manufacturing and mixing processes are well-documented in the literature.2 The cost of MWNT is a small fraction of single-walled nanotubes. This is a scale-up advantage as future applications and projects will require low cost additives to maintain cost effectiveness. Testing of the solid-fuel grains will be conducted in several steps. Dog bone samples will be cast and prepared for tensile testing. The fuel samples will also be analyzed using thermogravimetric analysis and a high-resolution scanning electron microscope (SEM). The SEM will allow for examination of the solid fuel grain for uniformity and consistency. The paraffin-based fuel grains will also be tested using two hybrid rocket test motors located at the Pennsylvania State University s High Pressure Combustion Lab.

Freezing Temperatures, Ice Nanotubes Structures, and Proton Ordering of TIP4P/ICE Water inside Single Wall Carbon Nanotubes.

PubMed

Pugliese, P; Conde, M M; Rovere, M; Gallo, P

2017-11-16

A very recent experimental paper importantly and unexpectedly showed that water in carbon nanotubes is already in the solid ordered phase at the temperature where bulk water boils. The water models used so far in literature for molecular dynamics simulations in carbon nanotubes show freezing temperatures lower than the experiments. We present here results from molecular dynamics simulations of water inside single walled carbon nanotubes using an extremely realistic model for both liquid and icy water, the TIP4P/ICE. The water behavior inside nanotubes of different diameters has been studied upon cooling along the isobars at ambient pressure starting from temperatures where water is in a liquid state. We studied the liquid/solid transition, and we observed freezing temperatures higher than in bulk water and that depend on the diameter of the nanotube. The maximum freezing temperature found is 390 K, which is in remarkable agreement with the recent experimental measurements. We have also analyzed the ice structure called "ice nanotube" that water forms inside the single walled carbon nanotubes when it freezes. The ice forms observed are in agreement with previous results obtained with different water models. A novel finding, a partial proton ordering, is evidenced in our ice nanotubes at finite temperature.

Rapid and sensitive detection of the phenoxy acid herbicides in environmental water samples by magnetic solid-phase extraction combined with liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.

PubMed

Peng, Mao-Min; Han, Ya-Quan; Xia, Hong; Hu, Xi-Zhou; Zhou, You-Xiang; Peng, Li-Jun; Peng, Xi-Tian

2018-05-01

Phenoxy acid herbicides are widely used herbicides that play an important role in improving the yield and quality of crops. However, some research has shown that this kind of herbicide is poisonous to human and animals. In this study, a rapid and sensitive method was developed for the detection of seven phenoxy acid herbicides in water samples based on magnetic solid-phase extraction followed by liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry. Magnetic amino-functionalized multiwalled carbon nanotubes were prepared by mixing bare magnetic Fe 3 O 4 nanoparticles with commercial amino-functionalized multiwalled carbon nanotubes in water. Then the amino-functionalized multiwalled carbon nanotubes were used to enrich phenoxy acid herbicides from water samples based on hydrophobic and ionic interactions. The effects of experimental variables on the extraction efficiency have been studied in detail. Under the optimized conditions, the method validation was performed. Good linearities for seven phenoxy acid herbicides were obtained with squared regression coefficients ranging from 0.9971 to 0.9989. The limits of detection ranged from 0.01 to 0.02 μg/L. The method recoveries of seven phenoxy acid herbicides spiked at three concentration levels in a blank sample were from 92.3 to 103.2%, with inter- and intraday relative standard deviations less than 12.6%. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Comparative Studies on Al-Based Composite Powder Reinforced with Nano Garnet and Multi-wall Carbon Nanotubes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Basariya, M. Raviathul; Srivastava, V. C.; Mukhopadhyay, N. K.

2015-11-01

Effect of mechanical alloying/milling on microstructural evolution and hardness variations of garnet and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs)-reinforced Al-Mg-Si alloy (EN AW6082) composites are investigated. Structural and morphological studies revealed that the composite powders prepared by milling display a more homogenous distribution of the reinforcing particles. Improved nanoindentation hardness viz., 4.24 and 5.90 GPa are achieved for EN AW6082/Garnet and EN AW6082/MWCNTs composites, respectively, and it is attributed to severe deformation of the aluminum alloy powders and embedding of the harder reinforcement particles uniformly into the aluminum alloy matrix. However, enhancement in case of MWCNTs-reinforced composite makes apparent the effect of its nanosized uniform dispersion in the matrix, thereby resisting the plastic deformation at lower stress and increased dislocation density evolved during high-energy ball milling. The results of the present study indicate that carbon nanotubes and garnet can be effectively used as reinforcements for Al-based composites.

Gas chromatographic determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in water and smoked rice samples after solid-phase microextraction using multiwalled carbon nanotube loaded hollow fiber.

PubMed

Matin, Amir Abbas; Biparva, Pourya; Gheshlaghi, Mohammad

2014-12-29

A novel solid-phase microextraction fiber was prepared based on multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) loaded on hollow fiber membrane pores. Stainless steel wire was used as unbreakable support. The major advantages of the proposed fiber are its (a) high reproducibility due to the uniform structure of the hollow fiber membranes, (b) high extraction capacity related to the porous structure of the hollow fiber and outstanding adsorptive characteristics of MWCNTs. The proposed fiber was applied for the microextraction of five representative polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from aqueous media (river and hubble-bubble water) and smoked rice samples followed by gas chromatographic determination. Analytical merits of the method, including high correlation coefficients [(0.9963-0.9992) and (0.9982-0.9999)] and low detection limits [(9.0-13.0ngL(-1)) and (40.0-150.0ngkg(-1))] for water and rice samples, respectively, made the proposed method suitable for the ultra-trace determination of PAHs. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Influence of the applied potentials difference on structural and conductive properties of CoZnO nanotubes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ibragimova, M. A.; Kozlovskiy, A. L.; Kenzhina, I. E.; Zdorovets, M. V.

2018-04-01

A series of CoZnO nanotubes was obtained by electrochemical deposition, with different atomic metal coefficients, due to a change in the applied potential difference. A systematic study of the morphology, structural and conductive properties of nanotubes was also carried out. It is established that the samples synthesized at the applied potentials difference of 1.5 and 1.75 V are three-component systems consisting of two oxide phases of ZnO and CoO1.92 cubic system and a phase of a solid solution of substitution Co0.65Zn0.35 of hexagonal type. The samples synthesized at a potential difference of 2.0 V represent an alloy of two oxide phases, ZnO and CoO1.92.

Development of sensitive determination method for fungicides from environmental water samples with Titanate nanotube array micro-solid phase extraction prior to high performance liquid chromatography.

PubMed

Huang, Yunrui; Zhou, Qingxiang; Xie, Guohong

2013-01-01

Fungicides have been widely used throughout the world, and the resulted pollution has absorbed great attention in recent years. Present study described an effective measurement technique for fungicides including thiram, metalaxyl, diethofencarb, myclobutanil and tebuconazole in environmental water samples. A micro-solid phase extraction (μSPE) was developed utilizing ordered TiO(2) nanotube array for determination of target fungicides prior to a high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The experimental results indicated that TiO(2) nanotube arrays demonstrated excellent merits on the preconcentration of fungicides, and excellent linear relationship between peak area and the concentration of fungicides was obtained in the range of 0.1-50 μg L(-1). The detection limits for the targeted fungicides were in the range of 0.016-0.086 μg L(-1) (S/N=3). Four real environmental water samples were used to validate the applicability of the proposed method, and good spiked recoveries in the range of 73.9-114% were achieved. A comparison of present method with conventional solid phase extraction was made and the results exhibited that proposed method resulted in better recoveries. The results demonstrated that this μ-SPE technique was a viable alternative for the analysis of fungicides in complex samples. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Fabrication of porous chitosan/poly(vinyl alcohol) reinforced single-walled carbon nanotube nanocomposites for neural tissue engineering.

PubMed

Shokrgozar, Mohammad Ali; Mottaghitalab, Fatemeh; Mottaghitalab, Vahid; Farokhi, Mehdi

2011-04-01

With the ability to form a nano-sized fibrous structure with large pore sizes mimicking the extracellular matrix (ECM), electrospinning was used to fabricate chitosan/poly(vinyl alcohol) nanofibers reinforced by single-walled carbon nanotube (SWNT-CS/PVA) for potential use in neural tissue engineering. Moreover, ultrasonication was performed to fabricate highly dispersed SWNT/CS solution with 7%, 12%, and 17% SWNT content prior to electrospinning process. In the present study, a number of properties of CS/PVA reinforced SWNTs nanocomposites were evaluated. The in vitro biocompatibility of the electrospun fiber mats was also assessed using human brain-derived cells and U373 cell lines. The results have shown that SWNTs as reinforcing phase can augment the morphology, porosity, and structural properties of CS/PVA nanofiber composites and thus benefit the proliferation rate of both cell types. In addition, the cells exhibit their normal morphology while integrating with surrounding fibers. The results confirmed the potential of SWNT-CS/PVA nanocomposites as scaffold for neural tissue engineering.

New Approach for Gas Phase Synthesis and Growth Mechanism of MoS2 Fullerene-like Nanoparticles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zak, Alla; Feldman, Yishay; Alperovich, Vladimir; Rosentsveig, Rita; Tenne, Reshef

2002-10-01

Inorganic fullerene-like (hollow onion-like) nanoparticles (IF) and nanotubes are of significant interest over the past few years due to their unusual crystallographic morphology and their interesting physical properties. The synthesis of inorganic fullerene-like spherical MoS2 nanoparticles (IF-MoS2) of 5-300nm in diameter was studied in the present work. This process is based on the previous formation of suboxide (MoO3-x) 5-300nm nanoparticles and their subsequent sulfidization. During the sulfidization process the overall geometrical parameters of the suboxide nanoparticles are preserved. The oxide nanoparticles were obtained in-situ by the condensation of the evaporated MoO3 powder precursor. The condensation was provoked not by cooling (conventional method for nano-size particle formation), but by a chemical reaction (partial reduction of the MoO3 vapor by hydrogen). In this case the vapor pressure of the product (MoO2) was much lower than that of the precursor (MoO3). Based on the comprehensive understanding of the IF-MoS2 growth mechanism from MoO3 powder, a gas phase reactor, which allowed reproducible preparation of a pure IF-MoS2 phase (up to 100mg/batch) with controllable sizes, is demonstrated. Further scale-up of this production is underway.

High-Performance Ttransparent and Stretchable All-Solid Supercapacitors Based on Highly Aligned Carbon Nanotube Sheets

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-01-09

High-performance transparent and stretchable all-solid supercapacitors based on highly aligned carbon nanotube sheets Tao Chen1, Huisheng Peng2...stretchable all-solid supercapacitors with a good stability were developed. A transmittance up to 75% at the wavelength of 550 nmwas achieved for a...supercapacitormade from a cross-over assembly of two single-layer CNT sheets. The transparent supercapacitor has a specific capacitance of 7.3 F g21 and can be

Surprising synthesis of nanodiamond from single-walled carbon nanotubes by the spark plasma sintering process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mirzaei, Ali; Ham, Heon; Na, Han Gil; Kwon, Yong Jung; Kang, Sung Yong; Choi, Myung Sik; Bang, Jae Hoon; Park, No-Hyung; Kang, Inpil; Kim, Hyoun Woo

2016-10-01

Nanodiamond (ND) was successfully synthesized using single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) as a pure solid carbon source by means of a spark plasma sintering process. Raman spectra and X-ray diffraction patterns revealed the generation of the cubic diamond phase by means of the SPS process. Lattice-resolved TEM images confirmed that diamond nanoparticles with a diameter of about ˜10 nm existed in the products. The NDs were generated mainly through the gas-phase nucleation of carbon atoms evaporated from the SWCNTs. [Figure not available: see fulltext.

A new solid-phase extraction disk based on a sheet of single-walled carbon nanotubes.

PubMed

Niu, Hong Yun; Cai, Ya Qi; Shi, Ya Li; Wei, Fu Sheng; Liu, Jie Min; Jiang, Gui Bin

2008-11-01

A new kind of solid-phase extraction disk based on a sheet of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) is developed in this study. The properties of such disks are tested, and different disks showed satisfactory reproducibility. One liter of aqueous solution can pass through the disk within 10-100 min while still allowing good recoveries. Two disks (DD-disk) can be stacked to enrich phthalate esters, bisphenol A (BPA), 4-n-nonylphenol (4-NP), 4-tert-octylphenol (4-OP) and chlorophenols from various volumes of solution. The results show that SWCNT disks have high extraction ability for all analytes. The SWCNT disk can extract polar chlorophenols more efficiently than a C(18) disk from water solution. Unlike the activated carbon disk, analytes adsorbed by the new disks can be eluted completely with 8-15 mL of methanol or acetonitrile. Finally, the DD-disk system is used to pretreat 1000-mL real-world water samples spiked with BPA, 4-OP and 4-NP. Detection limits of 7, 25, and 38 ng L(-1) for BPA, 4-OP, and 4-NP, respectively, were achieved under optimized conditions. The advantages of this new disk include its strong adsorption ability, its high flow rate and its easy preparation.

Application of multiwall carbon nanotubes-based matrix solid phase dispersion extraction for determination of hormones in butter by gas chromatography mass spectrometry.

PubMed

Su, Rui; Wang, Xinghua; Xu, Xu; Wang, Ziming; Li, Dan; Zhao, Xin; Li, Xueyuan; Zhang, Hanqi; Yu, Aimin

2011-08-05

The multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs)-based matrix solid phase dispersion (MSPD) was applied for the extraction of hormones, including 17-α-ethinylestradiol, 17-α-estradiol, estriol, 17-β-estradiol, estrone, medroxyprogesterone, progesterone and norethisterone acetate in butter samples. The method includes MSPD extraction of the target analytes from butter samples, derivatization of hormones with heptafluorobutyric acid anhydride-acetonitrile mixture, and determination by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The mixture containing 0.30 g graphitized MWCNTs and 0.10 g MWCNTs was selected as absorbent. Ethyl acetate was used as elution solvent. The elution solvent volume and flow rate were 12 mL and 0.9 mL min(-1), respectively. The recoveries of hormones obtained by analyzing the five spiked butter samples were from 84.5 to 111.2% and relative standard deviations from 1.9 to 8.9%. Limits of detection and quantification for determining the analytes were in the range of 0.2-1.3 and 0.8-4.5 μg kg(-1), respectively. Compared with other traditional methods, the proposed method is simpler in the operation and shorter in the sample pretreatment time. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Determination of type A trichothecenes in coix seed by magnetic solid-phase extraction based on magnetic multi-walled carbon nanotubes coupled with ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.

PubMed

Dong, Maofeng; Si, Wenshuai; Wang, Weimin; Bai, Bing; Nie, Dongxia; Song, Weiguo; Zhao, Zhihui; Guo, Yirong; Han, Zheng

2016-09-01

Magnetic solid-phase extraction (m-SPE) is a promising sample preparation approach due to its convenience, speed, and simplicity. For the first time, a rapid and reliable m-SPE approach using magnetic multi-walled carbon nanotubes (m-MWCNTs) as the adsorbent was proposed for purification of type A trichothecenes including T-2 toxins (T2), HT-2 toxins (HT-2), diacetoxyscirpenol (DAS), and neosolaniol (NEO) in coix seed. The m-MWCNTs were synthesized by assembling the magnetic nanoparticles (Fe3O4) with MWCNTs by sonication through an aggregation wrap mechanism, and characterized by transmission electron microscope. Several key parameters affecting the performance of the procedure were extensively investigated including extraction solutions, desorption solvents, and m-MWCNT amounts. Under the optimal sample preparation conditions followed by analysis with ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS), high sensitivity (limit of quantification in the range of 0.3-1.5 μg kg(-1)), good linearity (R (2) > 0.99), satisfactory recovery (73.6-90.6 %), and acceptable precision (≤2.5 %) were obtained. The analytical performance of the developed method has also been successfully evaluated in real coix seed samples. Graphical Abstract Flow chart of determination of type A trichothecenes in coix seed by magnetic solid-phase extraction coupled with ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.

An innovative method for analysis of Pb (II) in rice, milk and water samples based on TiO2 reinforced caprylic acid hollow fiber solid/liquid phase microextraction.

PubMed

Bahar, Shahriyar; Es'haghi, Zarrin; Nezhadali, Azizollah; Banaei, Alireza; Bohlooli, Shahab

2017-04-15

In the present study, nano-sized titanium oxides were applied for preconcentration and determination of Pb(II) in aqueous samples using hollow fiber based solid-liquid phase microextraction (HF-SLPME) combined with flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS). In this work, the nanoparticles dispersed in caprylic acid as an extraction solvent was placed into a polypropylene porous hollow fiber segment supported by capillary forces and sonification. This membrane was in direct contact with solutions containing Pb (II). The effect of experimental conditions on the extraction, such as pH, stirring rate, sample volume, and extraction time were optimized. Under the optimal conditions, the performance of the proposed method was investigated for the determination of Pb (II) in food and water samples. The method was linear in the range of 0.6-3000μgmL -1 . The relative standard deviations and relative recovery of Pb (II) was 4.9% and 99.3%, respectively (n=5). Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

New findings on the influence of carbon surface curvature on energetics of benzene adsorption from gaseous phase

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Terzyk, Artur P.; Furmaniak, Sylwester; Wiśniewski, Marek; Werengowska, Karolina; Gauden, Piotr A.; Kowalczyk, Piotr

2016-02-01

In this Letter, new results of calorimetric study on benzene adsorption from the gaseous phase are presented. According to some of recently published reports, the energy of solid-fluid, interactions increases with the rise in carbon nanotube curvature during adsorption. The recent considerations [Chem. Phys. Lett. 619 (2015) 219] on thermodynamics of adsorption from aqueous solutions on a series of carbon nanotubes have confirmed this observation. Although comparable 'energy-tube diameter' relations for benzene adsorption from the solution and from the gaseous phase are observed, remarkable differences between the mechanisms of the both processes caused by surface heterogeneity are noticeable.

Carbon nanotubes in blends of polycaprolactone/thermoplastic starch.

PubMed

Taghizadeh, Ata; Favis, Basil D

2013-10-15

Despite the importance of polymer-polymer multiphase systems, very little work has been carried out on the preferred localization of solid inclusions in such multiphase systems. In this work, carbon nanotubes (CNT) are dispersed with polycaprolactone (PCL) and thermoplastic starch (TPS) at several CNT contents via a combined solution/twin-screw extrusion melt mixing method. A PCL/CNT masterbatch was first prepared and then blended with 20 wt% TPS. Transmission and scanning electron microscopy images reveal a CNT localization principally in the TPS phase and partly at the PCL/TPS interface, with no further change by annealing. This indicates a strong driving force for the CNTs toward TPS. Young's model predicts that the nanotubes should be located at the interface. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) of extracted CNTs quantitatively confirms an encapsulation by TPS and reveals a covalent bonding of CNTs with thermoplastic starch. It appears likely that the nanotubes migrate to the interface, react with TPS and then are subsequently drawn into the low viscosity TPS phase. In a low shear rate/low shear stress internal mixer the nanotubes are found both in the PCL phase and at the PCL/TPS interface and have not completed the transit to the TPS phase. This latter result indicates the importance of choosing appropriate processing conditions in order to minimize kinetic effects. The addition of CNTs to PCL results in an increase in the crystallization temperature and a decrease in the percent crystallinity confirming the heterogeneous nucleating effect of the nanotubes. Finally, DMA analysis reveals a dramatic decrease in the starch rich phase transition temperature (~26 °C), for the system with nanotubes located in the TPS phase. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Thermal and velocity slip effects on the MHD peristaltic flow with carbon nanotubes in an asymmetric channel: application of radiation therapy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Akbar, Noreen Sher; Nadeem, S.; Khan, Zafar Hayat

2014-10-01

Peristaltic flow is used to study the flow and heat transfer of carbon nanotubes in an asymmetric channel with thermal and velocity slip effects. Two types of carbon nanotubes, namely, single- and multi-wall carbon nanotubes are utilized to see the analysis with water as base fluids. Empirical correlations are used for the thermo-physical properties of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in terms of solid volume fraction of CNTs. The governing equations are simplified using long wavelength and low Reynolds number approximation. Exact solutions have been evaluated for velocity, pressure gradient, the solid volume fraction of CNTs and temperature profile. The effects of various flow parameters, i.e. Hatmann number M, the solid volume fraction of the nanoparticles ϕ, Grashof number G, velocity slip parameter β, thermal slip parameter γ and Prandtl number P r are presented graphically for both single- (SWCNT) and multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNT).

Inorganic nanotubes and fullerene-like nanoparticles.

PubMed

Tenne, R

2006-11-01

Although graphite, with its anisotropic two-dimensional lattice, is the stable form of carbon under ambient conditions, on nanometre length scales it forms zero- and one-dimensional structures, namely fullerenes and nanotubes, respectively. This virtue is not limited to carbon and, in recent years, fullerene-like structures and nanotubes have been made from numerous compounds with layered two-dimensional structures. Furthermore, crystalline and polycrystalline nanotubes of pure elements and compounds with quasi-isotropic (three-dimensional) unit cells have also been synthesized, usually by making use of solid templates. These findings open up vast opportunities for the synthesis and study of new kinds of nanostructures with properties that may differ significantly from the corresponding bulk materials. Various potential applications have been proposed for the inorganic nanotubes and the fullerene-like phases. Fullerene-like nanoparticles have been shown to exhibit excellent solid lubrication behaviour, suggesting many applications in, for example, the automotive and aerospace industries, home appliances, and recently for medical technology. Various other potential applications, in catalysis, rechargeable batteries, drug delivery, solar cells and electronics have also been proposed.

Inorganic nanotubes and fullerene-like nanoparticles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tenne, R.

2006-11-01

Although graphite, with its anisotropic two-dimensional lattice, is the stable form of carbon under ambient conditions, on nanometre length scales it forms zero- and one-dimensional structures, namely fullerenes and nanotubes, respectively. This virtue is not limited to carbon and, in recent years, fullerene-like structures and nanotubes have been made from numerous compounds with layered two-dimensional structures. Furthermore, crystalline and polycrystalline nanotubes of pure elements and compounds with quasi-isotropic (three-dimensional) unit cells have also been synthesized, usually by making use of solid templates. These findings open up vast opportunities for the synthesis and study of new kinds of nanostructures with properties that may differ significantly from the corresponding bulk materials. Various potential applications have been proposed for the inorganic nanotubes and the fullerene-like phases. Fullerene-like nanoparticles have been shown to exhibit excellent solid lubrication behaviour, suggesting many applications in, for example, the automotive and aerospace industries, home appliances, and recently for medical technology. Various other potential applications, in catalysis, rechargeable batteries, drug delivery, solar cells and electronics have also been proposed.

Application of carbon nanotubes modified with a Keggin polyoxometalate as a new sorbent for the hollow-fiber micro-solid-phase extraction of trace naproxen in hair samples with fluorescence spectrophotometry using factorial experimental design.

PubMed

Naddaf, Ezzat; Ebrahimi, Mahmoud; Es'haghi, Zarrin; Bamoharram, Fatemeh Farrash

2015-07-01

A sensitive technique to determinate naproxen in hair samples was developed using hollow-fiber micro-solid-phase combined with fluorescence spectrophotometry. The incorporation of multi-walled carbon nanotubes modified with a Keggin polyoxometalate into a silica matrix prepared by the sol-gel method was reported. In this research, the Keggin carbon nanotubes /silica composite was used in the pores and lumen of a hollow fiber as the hollow-fiber micro-solid-phase extraction device. The device was used for the microextraction of the analyte from hair and water samples under the optimized conditions. An orthogonal array experimental design with an OA24 (4(6) ) matrix was employed to optimize the conditions. The effect of six factors influencing the extraction efficiency was investigated: pH, salt, volume of donor and desorption phase, extraction and desorption time. The effect of each factor was estimated using individual contributions as response functions in the screening process. Analysis of variance was employed for estimating the main significant factors and their contributions in the extraction. Calibration curve plot displayed linearity over a range of 0.2-10 ng/mL with detection limits of 0.072 and 0.08 ng/mL for hair and aqueous samples, respectively. The relative recoveries in the hair and aqueous matrices ranged from 103-95%. The relative standard deviation for fiber-to-fiber repeatability was 3.9%. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Stirring-controlled solidified floating solid-liquid drop microextraction as a new solid phase-enhanced liquid-phase microextraction method by exploiting magnetic carbon nanotube-nickel hybrid.

PubMed

Ghazaghi, Mehri; Mousavi, Hassan Zavvar; Shirkhanloo, Hamid; Rashidi, Alimorad

2017-01-25

A specific technique is introduced to overcome limitations of classical solidification of floating organic drop microextraction, such as tedious and time-consuming centrifuge step and using disperser solvent, by facile and efficient participation of solid and liquid phases. In this proposed method of stirring-controlled solidified floating solid-liquid drop microextraction (SC-SF-SLDME), magnetic carbon nanotube-nickel hybrid (MNi-CNT) as a solid part of the extractors are dispersed ultrasonically in sample solution, and the procedure followed by dispersion of liquid phase (1-undecanol) through high-rate stirring and easily recollection of MNi-CNT in organic solvent droplets through hydrophobic force. With the reduction in speed of stirring, one solid-liquid drop is formed on top of the solution. MNi-CNT acts as both extractor and the coalescence helper between organic droplets for a facile recollection. MNi-CNT was prepared by spray pyrolysis of nickel oleate/toluene mixture at 1000 °C. Four tyrosine kinase inhibitors were selected as model analytes and the effecting parameters were investigated. The results confirmed that magnetic nanoadsorbent has an important role in the procedure and complete collection of dispersed solvent is not achieved in the absence of the solid phase. Also, short extraction time exhibited success of the proposed method and effect of dispersed solid/liquid phases. The limits of quantification (LOQs) for imatinib, sunitinib, erlotinib, and nilotinib were determined to be as low as 0.7, 1.7, 0.6, and 1.0 μg L -1 , respectively. The intra-day precisions (RSDs) were lower than 4.5%. Method performance was investigated by determination of mentioned tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) in human serum and cerebrospinal fluid samples with good recoveries in the range of 93-98%. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Vertically Aligned Carbon Nanotubes at Different Temperatures by Spray Pyrolysis Techniques

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Afre, Rakesh A.; Soga, T.; Jimbo, T.; Kumar, Mukul; Ando, Y.; Sharon, M.

Vertically aligned arrays of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (VACNTs) were grown by spray pyrolysis of turpentine oil and ferrocene mixture at temperatures higher than 700°C. Using this simple method, we report the successful growth of vertically aligned nanotubes of ~300μm length and diameter in the range of ?20-80nm on Si(100) substrate. The ferrocene acts as an in situ Fe catalyst precursor, forming the nano-sized metallic iron particles for formation of VACNTs on the Si substrate. The morphological characteristics of VACNTs are confirmed by SEM, TEM and Raman spectroscopy and growth mechanism is discussed in short.

Ionic liquid polymer functionalized carbon nanotubes-doped poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) for highly-efficient solid-phase microextraction of carbamate pesticides.

PubMed

Wu, Mian; Wang, Liying; Zeng, Baizhao; Zhao, Faqiong

2016-04-29

A poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-ionic liquid polymer functionalized multiwalled carbon nanotubes (PEDOT-PIL/MWCNTs) composite solid-phase microextraction (SPME) coating was fabricated by electrodeposition. After being dipped in Nafion solution, a Nafion-modified coating was obtained. The outer layer Nafion played a crucial role in enhancing the durability and stability of the coating, thus it was robust enough for replicated extraction for at least 150 times without decrease of extraction performance. The Nafion-modified coating exhibited much higher sensitivity than commercial coatings for the direct extraction of carbamate pesticides in aqueous solutions, due to its strong hydrophobic effect and π-π affinity based enrichment. When it was used for the determination of carbamate pesticides in combination with gas chromatography-flame ionization detection, good linearity (correlation coefficients higher than 0.9981), low limits of detection (15.2-27.2 ng/L) and satisfactory precision (relative standard deviation <8.2%, n=5) were achieved. The developed method was applied to the analysis of four carbamate pesticides in apple and lettuce samples, and acceptable recoveries (i.e. 87.5-106.5%) were obtained for the standard addition. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Preparation and characterization of novel carbon dioxide adsorbents based on polyethylenimine-modified Halloysite nanotubes.

PubMed

Cai, Haohao; Bao, Feng; Gao, Jie; Chen, Tao; Wang, Si; Ma, Rui

2015-01-01

New nano-sized carbon dioxide (CO2) adsorbents based on Halloysite nanotubes impregnated with polyethylenimine (PEI) were designed and synthesized, which were excellent adsorbents for the capture of CO2 at room temperature and had relatively high CO2 adsorption capacity. The prepared adsorbents were characterized by various techniques such as Fourier transform infrared spectrometry, gel permeation chromatography, dynamic light scattering, thermogravimetry, thermogravimetry-Fourier transform-infrared spectrometry, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The adsorption characteristics and capacity were studied at room temperature, the highest CO2 adsorption capacity of 156.6 mg/g-PEI was obtained and the optimal adsorption capacity can reach a maximum value of 54.8 mg/g-adsorbent. The experiment indicated that this kind of adsorbent has a high stability at 80°C and PEI-impregnated adsorbents showed good reversibility and stability during cyclic adsorption-regeneration tests.

Recent developments and future trends in solid phase microextraction techniques towards green analytical chemistry.

PubMed

Spietelun, Agata; Marcinkowski, Łukasz; de la Guardia, Miguel; Namieśnik, Jacek

2013-12-20

Solid phase microextraction find increasing applications in the sample preparation step before chromatographic determination of analytes in samples with a complex composition. These techniques allow for integrating several operations, such as sample collection, extraction, analyte enrichment above the detection limit of a given measuring instrument and the isolation of analytes from sample matrix. In this work the information about novel methodological and instrumental solutions in relation to different variants of solid phase extraction techniques, solid-phase microextraction (SPME), stir bar sorptive extraction (SBSE) and magnetic solid phase extraction (MSPE) is presented, including practical applications of these techniques and a critical discussion about their advantages and disadvantages. The proposed solutions fulfill the requirements resulting from the concept of sustainable development, and specifically from the implementation of green chemistry principles in analytical laboratories. Therefore, particular attention was paid to the description of possible uses of novel, selective stationary phases in extraction techniques, inter alia, polymeric ionic liquids, carbon nanotubes, and silica- and carbon-based sorbents. The methodological solutions, together with properly matched sampling devices for collecting analytes from samples with varying matrix composition, enable us to reduce the number of errors during the sample preparation prior to chromatographic analysis as well as to limit the negative impact of this analytical step on the natural environment and the health of laboratory employees. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Ionic-liquid-mediated poly(dimethylsiloxane)- grafted carbon nanotube fiber prepared by the sol-gel technique for the head space solid-phase microextraction of methyl tert-butyl ether using GC.

PubMed

Vatani, Hossein; Yazdi, Ali Sarafraz

2014-01-01

A headspace solid-phase microextraction method was developed for the preconcentration and extraction of methyl tert-butyl ether. An ionic-liquid-mediated multiwalled carbon nanotube-poly(dimethylsiloxane) hybrid coating, which was prepared by covalent functionalization of multiwalled carbon nanotubes with hydroxyl-terminated poly(dimethylsiloxane) using the sol-gel technique, was used as solid-phase microextraction adsorbent. This innovative fiber exhibited a highly porous surface structure, high thermal stability (at least 320°C) and long lifespan (over 210 uses). Potential factors affecting the extraction efficiency were optimized. Under the optimum conditions, the method LOD (S/N = 3) was 0.007 ng/mL and the LOQ (S/N = 10) was 0.03 ng/mL. The calibration curve was linear in the range of 0.03-200 ng/mL. The RSDs for one fiber (repeatability, n = 5) at three different concentrations (0.05, 1, and 150 ng/mL) were 5.1, 4.2, and 4.6% and for the fibers obtained from different batches (reproducibility, n = 3) were 6.5, 5.9, and 6.3%, respectively. The developed method was successfully applied to the determination of methyl tert-butyl ether in different real water samples on three consecutive days. The relative recoveries for the spiked samples with 0.05, 1, and 150 ng/mL were between 94-104%. © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Application of a thiourea-containing task-specific ionic liquid for the solid-phase extraction cleanup of lead ions from red lipstick, pine leaves, and water samples.

PubMed

Saljooqi, Asma; Shamspur, Tayebeh; Mohamadi, Maryam; Mostafavi, Ali

2014-07-01

Here, task-specific ionic liquid solid-phase extraction is proposed for the first time. In this approach, a thiourea-functionalized ionic liquid is immobilized on the solid sorbent, multiwalled carbon nanotubes. These modified nanotubes packed into a solid-phase extraction column are used for the selective extraction and preconcentration of ultra-trace amounts of lead(II) from aqueous samples prior to electrothermal atomic absorption spectroscopy determination. The thiourea functional groups act as chelating agents for lead ions retaining them and so, give the selectivity to the sorbent. Elution of the retained ions can be performed using an acidic thiourea solution. The effects of experimental parameters including pH of the aqueous solution, type and amount of eluent, and the flow rates of sample and eluent solutions on the separation efficiency are investigated. The linear dependence of absorbance of lead on its concentration in the initial solution is in the range of 0.5-40.0 ng/mL with the detection limit of 0.13 ng/mL (3(Sb)/m, n = 10). The proposed method is applicable to the analysis of red lipstick, pine leaves, and water samples for their lead contents. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Tube Formation in Nanoscale Materials

PubMed Central

2008-01-01

The formation of tubular nanostructures normally requires layered, anisotropic, or pseudo-layered crystal structures, while inorganic compounds typically do not possess such structures, inorganic nanotubes thus have been a hot topic in the past decade. In this article, we review recent research activities on nanotubes fabrication and focus on three novel synthetic strategies for generating nanotubes from inorganic materials that do not have a layered structure. Specifically, thermal oxidation method based on gas–solid reaction to porous CuO nanotubes has been successfully established, semiconductor ZnS and Nb2O5nanotubes have been prepared by employing sacrificial template strategy based on liquid–solid reaction, and an in situ template method has been developed for the preparation of ZnO taper tubes through a chemical etching reaction. We have described the nanotube formation processes and illustrated the detailed key factors during their growth. The proposed mechanisms are presented for nanotube fabrication and the important pioneering studies are discussed on the rational design and fabrication of functional materials with tubular structures. It is the intention of this contribution to provide a brief account of these research activities. PMID:20592945

Effects of nano-selenium on performance, meat quality, immune function, oxidation resistance, and tissue selenium content in broilers.

PubMed

Cai, S J; Wu, C X; Gong, L M; Song, T; Wu, H; Zhang, L Y

2012-10-01

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of nano-selenium (nano-Se) on performance, meat quality, immune function, oxidation resistance, and tissue selenium content in broilers. A total of five hundred forty 1-d-old male Arbor Acres broilers were randomly allotted to 1 of 5 treatments with each treatment being applied to 6 replicates of 18 chicks. The 5 treatments consisted of corn-soybean meal-based diets supplemented with 0.0, 0.3, 0.5, 1.0, or 2.0 mg/kg of nano-Se. The selenium content of the unsupplemented control diet was 0.09 mg/kg for the starter phase (0 to 21 d) and 0.08 mg/kg for the grower phase (22 to 42 d). There were no significant differences (P > 0.05) in performance, meat color, or immune organ index (thymus, bursa, and spleen) due to supplementation with nano-Se. On d 42, a significant quadratic effect of nano-Se was observed on glutathione peroxidase activity, free radical inhibition, contents of IgM, glutathione, and malondialdehyde in serum, on glutathione peroxidase activity, free radical inhibition in liver, and on glutathione peroxidase activity in muscle, with birds fed 0.30 mg/kg of nano-Se exhibiting the best effect and birds fed 2.0 mg/kg of nano-Se showing the worst effect on these parameters. Liver and muscle selenium content increased linearly and quadratically as the dietary nano-Se level increased (P < 0.01), and reached the highest value when 2.0 mg/kg of nano-Se was fed. Based on a consideration of all experiment indexes, 0.3 to 0.5 mg/kg is suggested to be the optimum level of supplementation of nano-Se, and the maximum supplementation of nano-Se could not be more than 1.0 mg/kg in broilers.

Fabrication of nanocrystalline surface composite layer on Cu plate under ball collisions.

PubMed

Romankov, S; Park, Y C; Yoon, J M

2014-10-01

It was demonstrated that the severe plastic deformation of a surface induced by repeated ball collisions can be effectively used for fabrication of the nanocrystalline surface composite layers. The Cu disk was fixed at the top of a vibration chamber and ball treated. Al, Zr, Ni, Co and Fe were introduced into a Cu plate as contaminants from the grinding media one after the other by 15-min ball treatment. The composite structure was formed as a result of mechanical intermixing of the components. The particle size in as-fabricated layer ranged from 2 nm to 20 nm, with average values of about 7 nm. As-fabricated layer contained non-equilibrium multicomponent solid solution based on FCC Cu crystal structure, Zr-based phase, nanosized steel debris and amorphous phase. The hardness of the as-fabricated composite was almost ten times that of the initial Cu plate.

Migration of carbon nanotubes from liquid phase to vapor phase in the refrigerant-based nanofluid pool boiling

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

The migration characteristics of carbon nanotubes from liquid phase to vapor phase in the refrigerant-based nanofluid pool boiling were investigated experimentally. Four types of carbon nanotubes with the outside diameters from 15 to 80 nm and the lengths from 1.5 to 10 μm were used in the experiments. The refrigerants include R113, R141b and n-pentane. The oil concentration is from 0 to 10 wt.%, the heat flux is from 10 to 100 kW·m-2, and the initial liquid-level height is from 1.3 to 3.4 cm. The experimental results indicate that the migration ratio of carbon nanotube increases with the increase of the outside diameter or the length of carbon nanotube. For the fixed type of carbon nanotube, the migration ratio decreases with the increase of the oil concentration or the heat flux, and increases with the increase of the initial liquid-level height. The migration ratio of carbon nanotube increases with the decrease of dynamic viscosity of refrigerant or the increase of liquid phase density of refrigerant. A model for predicting the migration ratio of carbon nanotubes in the refrigerant-based nanofluid pool boiling is proposed, and the predictions agree with 92% of the experimental data within a deviation of ±20%. PMID:21711730

Gas-Phase Functionalization of Macroscopic Carbon Nanotube Fiber Assemblies: Reaction Control, Electrochemical Properties, and Use for Flexible Supercapacitors.

PubMed

Iglesias, Daniel; Senokos, Evgeny; Alemán, Belén; Cabana, Laura; Navío, Cristina; Marcilla, Rebeca; Prato, Maurizio; Vilatela, Juan J; Marchesan, Silvia

2018-02-14

The assembly of aligned carbon nanotubes (CNTs) into fibers (CNTFs) is a convenient approach to exploit and apply the unique physico-chemical properties of CNTs in many fields. CNT functionalization has been extensively used for its implementation into composites and devices. However, CNTF functionalization is still in its infancy because of the challenges associated with preservation of CNTF morphology. Here, we report a thorough study of the gas-phase functionalization of CNTF assemblies using ozone which was generated in situ from a UV source. In contrast with liquid-based oxidation methods, this gas-phase approach preserves CNTF morphology, while notably increasing its hydrophilicity. The functionalized material is thoroughly characterized by Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. Its newly acquired hydrophilicity enables CNTF electrochemical characterization in aqueous media, which was not possible for the pristine material. Through comparison of electrochemical measurements in aqueous electrolytes and ionic liquids, we decouple the effects of functionalization on pseudocapacitive reactions and quantum capacitance. The functionalized CNTF assembly is successfully used as an active material and a current collector in all-solid supercapacitor flexible devices with an ionic liquid-based polymer electrolyte.

Control of Effluent Gases from Solid Waste Processing using Impregnated Carbon Nanotubes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Li, Jing; Fisher, John; Wignarajah, Kanapathipillai

2005-01-01

One of the major problems associated with solid waste processing technologies is effluent contaminants that are released in gaseous forms from the processes. This is a concern in both biological as well as physicochemical solid waste processing. Carbon dioxide (CO2), the major gas released, does not present a serious problem and there are currently in place a number of flight-qualified technologies for CO2 removal. However, a number of other gases, in particular NOx, SO2, NH3, and various hydrocarbons (e.g. CH4) do present health hazards to the crew members in space habitats. In the present configuration of solid waste processing in the International Space Station (ISS), some of these gases are removed by the Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS), demands a major resupply. Reduction of the resupply can be effective by using catalyst impregnated carbon nanotubes. For example, NO decomposition to N2 and O2 is thermodynamically favored. Data showing decomposition of NO on metal impregnated carbon nanotubes is presented. Comparisons are made of the existing TCCS systems with the carbon nanotube based technology for removing NOx based on mass/energy penalties.

Carboxylated multiwalled carbon nanotubes/polydimethylsiloxane, a new coating for 96-blade solid-phase microextraction for determination of phenolic compounds in water.

PubMed

Kueseng, Pamornrat; Pawliszyn, Janusz

2013-11-22

A new thin-film, carboxylated multiwalled carbon nanotubes/polydimethylsiloxane (MWCNTs-COOH/PDMS) coating was developed for 96-blade solid-phase microextraction (SPME) system followed by high performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet detection (HPLC-UV). The method provided good extraction efficiency (64-90%) for three spiked levels, with relative standard deviations (RSD)≤6%, and detection limits between 1 and 2 μg/L for three phenolic compounds. The MWCNTs-COOH/PDMS 96-blade SPME system presents advantages over traditional methods due to its simplicity of use, easy coating preparation, low cost and high sample throughput (2.1 min per sample). The developed coating is reusable for a minimum of 110 extractions with good extraction efficiency. The coating provided higher extraction efficiency (3-8 times greater) than pure PDMS coatings. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Halloysite Nanotubes as a New Adsorbent for Solid Phase Extraction and Spectrophotometric Determination of Iron in Water and Food Samples

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Samadi, A.; Amjadi, M.

2016-07-01

Halloysite nanotubes (HNTs) have been introduced as a new solid phase extraction adsorbent for preconcentration of iron(II) as a complex with 2,2-bipyridine. The cationic complex is effectively adsorbed on the sorbent in the pH range of 3.5-6.0 and efficiently desorbed by trichloroacetic acid. The eluted complex has a strong absorption around 520 nm, which was used for determination of Fe(II). After optimizing extraction conditions, the linear range of the calibration graph was 5.0-500 μg/L with a detection limit of 1.3 μg/L. The proposed method was successfully applied for the determination of trace iron in various water and food samples, and the accuracy was assessed through the recovery experiments and analysis of a certified reference material (NIST 1643e).

LASER APPLICATIONS AND OTHER TOPICS IN QUANTUM ELECTRONICS: Nanosize relief: from phase masks to antireflection coatings on quartz and silicon

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Verevkin, Yu K.; Klimov, A. Yu; Gribkov, B. A.; Petryakov, V. N.; Koposova, E. V.; Olaizola, Santiago M.

2008-11-01

By using the interference of pulsed radiation and a complete lithographic cycle, phase masks on quartz and antireflection structures on quartz and silicon are produced. The transmission of radiation through a corrugated vacuum—solid interface is calculated by solving rigorously an integral equation with the help of a computer program for parameters close to experimental parameters. The results of measurements are in good agreement with calculations. The methods developed in the paper can be used for manufacturing optical and semiconductor devices.

Interaction of multiferroic properties and interfaces in hexagonal LuMnO3 ceramics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baghizadeh, A.; Vieira, J. M.; Stroppa, D. G.; Mirzadeh Vaghefi, P.; Graça, M. P.; Amaral, J. S.; Willinger, M.-G.; Amaral, V. S.

2017-02-01

A study on the underlying interaction mechanisms between lattice constants, magnetic and dielectric properties with inhomogeneities or internal interfaces in hexagonal, off-stoichiometric LuMnO3 oxide is presented. By increasing Mn content the a-axis constant and volume of the unit cell, the antiferromagnetic (AFM) Néel temperature, T N, and frustration factor of the frustrated Mn3+ trimmers in basal plane show decreasing trends. It was found that increasing the annealing time improves the properties of the lattices and progressively eliminates secondary phases for compositions within the solid solution stability limits. A magnetic contribution below T N is observed for all samples. Two regimes of magnetization below and above 45 K were observed in the AFM state. The magnetic contribution below T N is assigned to either the secondary phase or internal interfaces like ferroelectric (FE) domain walls. Magneto-dielectric coupling at T N is preserved in off-stoichiometric ceramics. The presence of a low temperature anomaly of the dielectric constant is correlated to the composition of the solid solution in off-stoichiometric ceramics. Large FE domains are observed in piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM) images of doped and un-doped ceramics, whereas atomic structure analysis indicates the parallel formation of nano-sized FE domains. A combination of measured properties and microscopy images of micron- and nano-sized domains ascertain the role of lattice distortion and stability of solid solution on multiferroic properties.

Effect of particle momentum transfer on an oblique-shock-wave/laminar-boundary-layer interaction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Teh, E.-J.; Johansen, C. T.

2016-11-01

Numerical simulations of solid particles seeded into a supersonic flow containing an oblique shock wave reflection were performed. The momentum transfer mechanism between solid and gas phases in the shock-wave/boundary-layer interaction was studied by varying the particle size and mass loading. It was discovered that solid particles were capable of significant modulation of the flow field, including suppression of flow separation. The particle size controlled the rate of momentum transfer while the particle mass loading controlled the magnitude of momentum transfer. The seeding of micro- and nano-sized particles upstream of a supersonic/hypersonic air-breathing propulsion system is proposed as a flow control concept.

Solid electroytes for CNT-based actuators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Riemenschneider, Johannes; Geier, Sebastian; Mahrholz, Thorsten; Mosch, Jürgen; Monner, Hans Peter; Sinapius, Michael

2009-03-01

Actuators based on carbon nanotubes (CNT) have the potential to generate high forces at very low voltages. The density of the raw material is just 1330 kg/m3, which makes them well applicable for lightweight applications. Moreover, active strains of up to 1% can be achieved - due to the CNTs dimensional changes on charge injection. Therefore the nanotubes have to be arranged and electrically wired like electrodes of a capacitor. In previous works the system's response of the Nanotubes comprising a liquid electrolyte was studied in detail. The major challenge is to repeat such experiments with solid electrolytes, which is a prerequisite for structural integration. In this paper a method is proposed which makes sure the expansion is not based on thermal expansion. This is done by analysing the electrical system response. As thermal expansion is dominated by ohmic resistance the CNT based actuators show a strong capacitive behavior. This behavior is referable to the constitution of the electrochemical double layer around the nanotubes, which causes the tubes to expand. Also a novel test setup is described, which guarantees that the displacement which is measured will not be caused by bending of a bimorph but due to expansion of a single layer of nanotubes. This paper also presents experimental results demonstrating both, the method of electrical characterization of CNT based actuators with implemented solid electrolytes and the novel test setup which is used to measure the needed data. The actuators which were characterized are hybrids of CNT and the solid electrolyte NAFION which is supplying the ions needed to constitute the electrochemical double layer. The manufacturing, processing of these actuators and also some first experimental results are shown. Unfortunately, the results are not as clear as those for liquid electrolytes, which depend on the hybrid character of the analyzed devices. In the liquid electrolyte based case the CNTs are the only source of stiffness, whereas in the solid electrolyte case electrodes and electrolyte contribute to the overall stiffness and damping as well. Since the introduction of solid electrolytes is a major stumbling block in the development of such actuators, this work is of particular importance.

Facile preparation of multifunctional carbon nanotube/magnetite/polyaniline nanocomposite offering a strong option for efficient solid-phase microextraction coupled with GC-MS for the analysis of phenolic compounds.

PubMed

Tafazoli, Zahra; Azar, Parviz Aberoomand; Tehrani, Mohammad Saber; Husain, Syed Waqif

2018-04-20

The aim of this study the synthesis of a highly efficient organic-inorganic nanocomposite. In this research, the carbon nanotube/magnetite/polyaniline nanocomposite was successfully prepared through a facile route. Monodisperse magnetite nanospheres were prepared through the coprecipitation route, and polyaniline nanolayer as a modified shell with a high surface area was synthesized by an in situ growth route and characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The prepared nanocomposite was immobilized on a stainless-steel wire for the fabrication of the solid-phase microextraction fiber. The combination of headspace solid-phase microextraction using carbon nanotube/magnetite/polyaniline nanocomposite fiber with gas chromatography and mass spectrometry can achieve a low limit of detection and can be applied to determine phenolic compounds in water samples. The effects of the extraction and desorption parameters including extraction temperature and time, ionic strength, stirring rate, pH, and desorption temperature and time have been studied. Under the optimum conditions, the dynamic linear range was 0.01-500 ng mL -1 and the limits of detection of phenol, 4-chlorophenol, 2,6-dichlorophenol, and 2,4,6-trichlorophenol were the lowest (0.008 ng mL -1 ) for three times. The coefficient of determination of all calibration curves was more than 0.990. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

n/p-Type changeable semiconductor TiO2 prepared from NTA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Qiuye; Wang, Xiaodong; Jin, Zhensheng; Yang, Dagang; Zhang, Shunli; Guo, Xinyong; Yang, Jianjun; Zhang, Zhijun

2007-10-01

A novel kind of nano-sized TiO2 (anatase) was obtained by high-temperature (400-700°C) dehydration of nanotube titanic acid (H2Ti2O4(OH)2, NTA). The high-temperature (400-700°C) dehydrated nanotube titanic acids (HD-NTAs) with a unique defect structure exhibited a p-type semiconductor behavior under visible-light irradiation (λ≥420 nm, E photon=2.95 eV), whereas exhibited an n-type semiconductor behavior irradiated with UV light (λ=365 nm, E photon=3.40 eV).

Nanoconfined phosphorus film coating on interconnected carbon nanotubes as ultrastable anodes for lithium ion batteries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Zhiwei; Zeng, Yan; Wang, Liyuan; Li, Nan; Chen, Cheng; Li, Cuiyu; Li, Jing; Lv, Hanming; Kuang, Liyun; Tian, Xu

2017-07-01

Elemental phosphorus (P) is extensively explored as promising anode candidates due to its abundance, low-cost and high theoretical specific capacity. However, it is of great challenge for P-based materials as practical high-energy-density and long-cycling anodes for its large volume expansion and low conductibility. Here, we significantly improve both cycling and rate performance of red P by cladding the nanoconfined P film on interconnected multi-walled carbon nanotube networks (P-MWCNTs composite) via facile wet ball-milling. The red P-MWCNTs anode presents a superior high reversible capacity of 1396.6 mAh g-1 on the basis of P-MWCNTs composite weight at 50 mA g-1 with capacity retention reaching at ∼90% over 50 cycles. Even at 1000 mA g-1, it still maintains remarkable specific reversible capacity of 934.0 mAh g-1. This markedly enhanced performance is ascribed to synergistic advantages of this unique structure: Intimate contacts between nanosized red P and entangled MWCNTs not only shorten the transmission routes of ions through MWCNTs toward red P, but also motivate the access with electrolyte to open structures of P film. Besides, the confined nanosized P film moderate volume expansions effectively and the entangled MWCNTs networks acted as conductive channels activate high ionic/electronic conductivity of the whole electrodes.

Porous carbon nanotubes decorated with nanosized cobalt ferrite as anode materials for high-performance lithium-ion batteries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Lingyan; Zhuo, Linhai; Cheng, Haiyang; Zhang, Chao; Zhao, Fengyu

2015-06-01

Generally, the fast ion/electron transport and structural stability dominate the superiority in lithium-storage applications. In this work, porous carbon nanotubes decorated with nanosized CoFe2O4 particles (p-CNTs@CFO) have been rationally designed and synthesized by the assistance of supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2). When tested as anode materials for lithium-ion batteries, the p-CNTs@CFO composite exhibits outstanding electrochemical behavior with high lithium-storage capacity (1077 mAh g-1 after 100 cycles) and rate capability (694 mAh g-1 at 3 A g-1). These outstanding electrochemical performances are attributed to the synergistic effect of porous p-CNTs and nanosized CFO. Compared to pristine CNTs, the p-CNTs with substantial pores in the tubes possess largely increased specific surface area and rich oxygen-containing functional groups. The porous structure can not only accommodate the volume change during lithiation/delithiation processes, but also provide bicontinuous electron/ion pathways and large electrode/electrolyte interface, which facilitate the ion diffusion kinetics, improving the rate performance. Moreover, the CFO particles are bonded strongly to the p-CNTs through metal-oxygen bridges, which facilitate the electron fast capture from p-CNTs to CFO, and thus resulting in a high reversible capacity and excellent rate performance. Overall, the porous p-CNTs provide an efficient way for ion diffusion and continuous electron transport as anode materials.

Halloysite nanotubes-titanium dioxide as a solid-phase microextraction coating combined with negative corona discharge-ion mobility spectrometry for the determination of parathion.

PubMed

Saraji, Mohammad; Jafari, Mohammad Taghi; Mossaddegh, Mehdi

2016-07-05

Halloysite nanotubes-titanium dioxide (HNTs-TiO2) as a biocompatible environmentally friendly solid-phase microextraction (SPME) fiber coating was prepared. HNTs-TiO2 was chemically coated on the surface of a fused-silica fiber using a sol-gel process. Parathion as an organophosphorus pesticide was selected as a model compound to investigate the extraction efficiency of the fiber. The extracted analyte was detected by negative corona discharge-ion mobility spectrometer (NCD-IMS). The effective parameters on the extraction efficiency, such as salt effect, extraction temperature and extraction time were investigated and optimized. The extraction efficiency of HNTs-TiO2 fiber was compared with bare-silica (sol-gel based coating without HNTs-TiO2), HNTs, carbon nanotubes and commercial SPME fibers (PA, PDMS, and PDMS-DVB). The HNTs-TiO2 fiber showed highest extraction efficiency among the studied fibers. The intra- and inter-day relative standard deviations were found to be 4.3 and 6.3%, respectively. The limit of detection and limit of quantification values were 0.03 and 0.1 μg L(-1), respectively. The dynamic range of the method was in the range of 0.1-25 μg L(-1). The spiking recoveries were between 85 (±9) and 97 (±6). The SPME-HNTs-TiO2 combined with NCD-IMS was successfully applied for the determination of parathion in apple, strawberry, celery and water samples. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Three-dimensional rotating flow of MHD single wall carbon nanotubes over a stretching sheet in presence of thermal radiation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nasir, Saleem; Islam, Saeed; Gul, Taza; Shah, Zahir; Khan, Muhammad Altaf; Khan, Waris; Khan, Aurang Zeb; Khan, Saima

2018-05-01

In this article the modeling and computations are exposed to introduce the new idea of MHD three-dimensional rotating flow of nanofluid through a stretching sheet. Single wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) are utilized as a nano-sized materials while water is used as a base liquid. Single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) parade sole assets due to their rare structure. Such structure has significant optical and electronics features, wonderful strength and elasticity, and high thermal and chemical permanence. The heat exchange phenomena are deliberated subject to thermal radiation and moreover the impact of nanoparticles Brownian motion and thermophoresis are involved in the present investigation. For the nanofluid transport mechanism, we implemented the Xue model (Xue, Phys B Condens Matter 368:302-307, 2005). The governing nonlinear formulation based upon the law of conservation of mass, quantity of motion, thermal field and nanoparticles concentrations is first modeled and then solved by homotopy analysis method (HAM). Moreover, the graphical result has been exposed to investigate that in what manner the velocities, heat and nanomaterial concentration distributions effected through influential parameters. The mathematical facts of skin friction, Nusselt number and Sherwood number are presented through numerical data for SWCNTs.

Extraction of ochratoxin A in red wine with dopamine-coated magnetic multi-walled carbon nanotubes.

PubMed

Wan, Hong; Zhang, Bo; Bai, Xiao-Lin; Zhao, Yan; Xiao, Meng-Wei; Liao, Xun

2017-10-01

A new, rapid, green, and cost-effective magnetic solid-phase extraction of ochratoxin A from red wine samples was developed using polydopamine-coated magnetic multi-walled carbon nanotubes as the absorbent. The polydopamine-coated magnetic multi-walled carbon nanotubes were fabricated with magnetic multi-walled carbon nanotubes and dopamine by an in situ oxidative self-polymerization approach. Transmission electron microscopy, dynamic light scattering, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and vibrating sample magnetometry were used to characterize the absorbents. Ochratoxin A was quantified with high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with fluorescence detection, with excitation and emission wavelengths of 338 and 455 nm, respectively. The conditions affecting the magnetic solid-phase extraction procedure, such as pH, extraction solution, extraction time, absorbent amount, desorption solution and desorption time were investigated to obtain the optimal extraction conditions. Under the optimized conditions, the extraction recovery was 91.8-104.5% for ochratoxin A. A linear calibration curve was obtained in the range of 0.1-2.0 ng/mL. The limit of detection was 0.07 ng/mL, and the limit of quantitation was 0.21 ng/mL. The recoveries of ochratoxin A for spiked red wine sample ranged from 95.65 to 100.65% with relative standard deviation less than 8%. The polydopamine-coated magnetic multi-walled carbon nanotubes showed a high affinity toward ochratoxin A, allowing selective extraction and quantification of ochratoxin A from complex sample matrixes. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

An electrochemically enhanced solid-phase microextraction approach based on a multi-walled carbon nanotubes/Nafion composite coating.

PubMed

Zeng, Jingbin; Chen, Jinmei; Song, Xinhong; Wang, Yiru; Ha, Jaeho; Chen, Xi; Wang, Xiaoru

2010-03-12

In this paper, we proposed an approach using a multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs)/Nafion composite coating as a working electrode for the electrochemically enhanced solid-phase microextraction (EE-SPME) of charged compounds. Suitable negative and positive potentials were applied to enhance the extraction of cationic (protonated amines) and anionic compounds (deprotonated carboxylic acids) in aqueous solutions, respectively. Compared to the direct SPME mode (DI-SPME) (without applying potential), the EE-SPME presented more effective and selective extraction of charged analytes primarily via electrophoresis and complementary charge interaction. The experimental parameters relating to extraction efficiency of the EE-SPME such as applied potentials, extraction time, ionic strength, sample pH were studied and optimized. The linear dynamic range of developed EE-SPME-GC for the selected amines spanned three orders of magnitude (0.005-1mugmL(-1)) with R(2) larger than 0.9933, and the limits of detection were in the range of 0.048-0.070ngmL(-1). All of these characteristics demonstrate that the proposed MWCNTs/Nafion EE-SPME is an efficient, flexible and versatile sampling and extraction tool which is ideally suited for use with chromatographic methods. Copyright (c) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The investigation of contact line effect on nanosized droplet wetting behavior with solid temperature condition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Haegon, Lee; Joonsang, Lee

2017-11-01

In many multi-phase fluidic systems, there are essentially contact interfaces including liquid-vapor, liquid-solid, and solid-vapor phase. There is also a contact line where these three interfaces meet. The existence of these interfaces and contact lines has a considerable impact on the nanoscale droplet wetting behavior. However, recent studies have shown that Young's equation does not accurately represent this behavior at the nanoscale. It also emphasized the importance of the contact line effect.Therefore, We performed molecular dynamics simulation to imitate the behavior of nanoscale droplets with solid temperature condition. And we find the effect of solid temperature on the contact line motion. Furthermore, We figure out the effect of contact line force on the wetting behavior of droplet according to the different solid temperature condition. With solid temperature condition variation, the magnitude of contact line friction decreases significantly. We also divide contact line force by effect of bulk liquid, interfacial tension, and solid surface. This work was also supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) Grant funded by the Korean Government (MSIP) (No. 2015R1A5A1037668) and BrainKorea21plus.

Antifungal activity of Ag:hydroxyapatite thin films synthesized by pulsed laser deposition on Ti and Ti modified by TiO2 nanotubes substrates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eraković, S.; Janković, A.; Ristoscu, C.; Duta, L.; Serban, N.; Visan, A.; Mihailescu, I. N.; Stan, G. E.; Socol, M.; Iordache, O.; Dumitrescu, I.; Luculescu, C. R.; Janaćković, Dj.; Miškovic-Stanković, V.

2014-02-01

Hydroxyapatite (HA) is a widely used biomaterial for implant thin films, largely recognized for its excellent capability to chemically bond to hard tissue inducing the osteogenesis without immune response from human tissues. Nowadays, intense research efforts are focused on development of antimicrobial HA doped thin films. In particular, HA doped with Ag (Ag:HA) is expected to inhibit the attachment of microbes and contamination of metallic implant surface. We herewith report on nano-sized HA and Ag:HA thin films synthesized by pulsed laser deposition on pure Ti and Ti modified with 100 nm diameter TiO2 nanotubes (fabricated by anodization of Ti plates) substrates. The HA-based thin films were characterized by SEM, AFM, EDS, FTIR, and XRD. The cytotoxic activity was tested with HEp2 cells against controls. The antifungal efficiency of the deposited layers was tested against the Candida albicans and Aspergillus niger strains. The Ti substrates modified with TiO2 nanotubes covered with Ag:HA thin films showed the highest antifungal activity.

Flexible all-solid-state supercapacitors based on polyaniline orderly nanotubes array.

PubMed

Li, Huihua; Song, Juan; Wang, Linlin; Feng, Xiaomiao; Liu, Ruiqing; Zeng, Wenjin; Huang, Zhendong; Ma, Yanwen; Wang, Lianhui

2017-01-07

Flexible all-solid-state supercapacitors are crucial to meet the growing needs for portable electronic devices such as foldable phones and wearable electronics. As promising candidates for pseudocapacitor electrode materials, polyaniline (PANI) orderly nanotube arrays are prepared via a simple template electrodeposition method. The structures of the final product were characterized using various characterization techniques, including scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The obtained PANI nanotube film could be directly used as a flexible all-solid-state supercapacitor electrode. Electrochemical results show that the areal capacitance of a PANI nanotube-based supercapacitor with the deposition cycle number of 100 can achieve a maximum areal capacitance of 237.5 mF cm -2 at a scan rate of 10 mV s -1 and maximum energy density of 24.31 mW h cm -2 at a power density of 2.74 mW cm -2 . In addition, the prepared supercapacitor exhibits excellent flexibility under different bending conditions. It retains 95.2% of its initial capacitance value after 2000 cycles at a current density of 1.0 mA cm -1 , which displays its superior cycling stability. Moreover, the prepared flexible all-solid-state supercapacitor can power a light-emitting-diode (LED), which meets the practical applications of micropower supplies.

In Situ Atomic-Scale Observation of Electrochemical Delithiation Induced Structure Evolution of LiCoO2 Cathode in a Working All-Solid-State Battery.

PubMed

Gong, Yue; Zhang, Jienan; Jiang, Liwei; Shi, Jin-An; Zhang, Qinghua; Yang, Zhenzhong; Zou, Dongli; Wang, Jiangyong; Yu, Xiqian; Xiao, Ruijuan; Hu, Yong-Sheng; Gu, Lin; Li, Hong; Chen, Liquan

2017-03-29

We report a method for in situ atomic-scale observation of electrochemical delithiation in a working all-solid-state battery using a state-of-the-art chip based in situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM) holder and focused ion beam milling to prepare an all-solid-state lithium-ion battery sample. A battery consisting of LiCoO 2 cathode, LLZO solid state electrolyte and gold anode was constructed, delithiated and observed in an aberration corrected scanning transmission electron microscope at atomic scale. We found that the pristine single crystal LiCoO 2 became nanosized polycrystal connected by coherent twin boundaries and antiphase domain boundaries after high voltage delithiation. This is different from liquid electrolyte batteries, where a series of phase transitions take place at LiCoO 2 cathode during delithiation. Both grain boundaries become more energy favorable along with extraction of lithium ions through theoretical calculation. We also proposed a lithium migration pathway before and after polycrystallization. This new methodology could stimulate atomic scale in situ scanning/TEM studies of battery materials and provide important mechanistic insight for designing better all-solid-state battery.

PEGylation of magnetic multi-walled carbon nanotubes for enhanced selectivity of dispersive solid phase extraction.

PubMed

Zeng, Qiong; Liu, Yi-Ming; Jia, Yan-Wei; Wan, Li-Hong; Liao, Xun

2017-02-01

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) possess large potential as extraction absorbents in solid phase extraction. They have been widely applied in biomedicine research, while very rare application in natural product chemistry has been reported. In this work, methoxypolyethylene glycol amine (mPEG-NH 2 ) is covalently coupled to CNTs-magnetic nanoparticles (CNTs-MNP) to prepare a novel magnetic nanocomposite (PEG-CNTs-MNP) for use as dispersive solid-phase extraction (DSPE) absorbent. The average particle size was 86nm, and the saturation magnetization was 52.30emu/g. This nanocomposite exhibits excellent dispersibility in aqueous systems, high selectivity and fast binding kinetics when used for extraction of Z-ligustilide, the characteristic bioactive compound from two popular Asian herbal plants, R. chuanxiong and R. ligusticum. HPLC quantification of Z-ligustilide extracted from the standard sample solution showed a high recovery of 98.9%, and the extraction rate from the extracts of the above two herbs are both around 70.0%. To our knowledge, this is the first report on using PEG-CNTs-MNP as DSPE nanosorbents for selective extraction of natural products. This nano-material has promising application in isolation and enrichment of targeted components from complex matrices. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Environmental biodegradability of [¹⁴C] single-walled carbon nanotubes by Trametes versicolor and natural microbial cultures found in New Bedford Harbor sediment and aerated wastewater treatment plant sludge.

PubMed

Parks, Ashley N; Chandler, G Thomas; Ho, Kay T; Burgess, Robert M; Ferguson, P Lee

2015-02-01

Little is known about environmental biodegradability or biotransformations of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNT). Because of their strong association with aquatic organic matter, detailed knowledge of the ultimate fate and persistence of SWNT requires investigation of possible biotransformations (i.e., biodegradation) in environmental media. In the present study, [(14)C]SWNT were utilized to track biodegradation over 6 mo by pure liquid culture of the fungus Trametes versicolor and mixed bacterial isolates from field-collected sediment or aerated wastewater treatment plant sludge. The mixed cultures were chosen as more environmentally relevant media where SWNT will likely be deposited under both aerobic and anaerobic conditions. Activity of [(14)C] was assessed in solid, aqueous, and (14)CO2 gaseous phases to determine amounts of intact SWNT, partially soluble SWNT degradation products, and mineralized SWNT, respectively, during the 6 mo of the experiment. Mass balances based on radiocarbon activity were approximately 100% over 6 mo, and no significant degradation of SWNT was observed. Approximately 99% of the [(14)C] activity remained in the solid phase, 0.8% in the aqueous phase, and less than 0.1% was mineralized to (14)CO2, regardless of culture type. These results suggest that SWNT are not readily biodegraded by pure fungal cultures or environmental microbial communities, and are likely persistent in environmental media. © 2014 SETAC.

Modification of polydopamine-coated Fe3O4 nanoparticles with multi-walled carbon nanotubes for magnetic-μ-dispersive solid-phase extraction of antiepileptic drugs in biological matrices.

PubMed

Zhang, Ruiqi; Wang, Siming; Yang, Ye; Deng, Yulan; Li, Di; Su, Ping; Yang, Yi

2018-06-01

In this study, multi-walled carbon nanotubes were coated on the surface of magnetic nanoparticles modified by polydopamine. The synthesized composite was characterized and applied to magnetic-μ-dispersive solid-phase extraction of oxcarbazepine (OXC), phenytoin (PHT), and carbamazepine (CBZ) from human plasma, urine, and cerebrospinal fluid samples prior to analysis by a high-performance liquid chromatography-photodiode array detector. The extraction parameters were investigated and the optimum condition was obtained when the variables were set to the following: sorbent type, Fe 3 O 4 @polyDA-MWCNTs (length < 2 μm); sample pH, 6; amount of sorbent, 15 mg; sorption time, 1.5 min at room temperature; type and volume of the eluent, 2.5 mL methanol; and salt content, none added. Under the optimized conditions, the calibration curves are linear in the concentration range 2-2000 ng/mL, the limits of detection are in the range 0.4-3.1 ng/mL, and the relative standard deviations and relative recoveries of plasma (spiked at 200 ng/mL) and CSF (spiked at 50 ng/mL) are in the ranges 1.4-8.2% and 92.8-96.5%, respectively. The applicability of the method was successfully confirmed by extraction and determination of OXC, PHT, and CBZ in biological matrices. Graphical abstract Magnetic multi-walled carbon nanotube core-shell composites were applied as magnetic-μ-dispersive solid-phase extraction adsorbents for determination of antiepileptic drugs in biological matrices.

Simple, rapid and green one-step strategy to synthesis of graphene/carbon nanotubes/chitosan hybrid as solid-phase extraction for square-wave voltammetric detection of methyl parathion.

PubMed

Liu, Yan; Yang, Shanli; Niu, Weifen

2013-08-01

Simple, rapid, green and one-step electrodeposition strategy was first proposed to synthesis of graphene/carbon nanotubes/chitosan (GR/CNTs/CS) hybrid. The one-step electrodeposition approach for the construction of GR-based hybrid is green environmentally, which would not involve the chemical reduction of graphene oxide (GO) and therefore result in no further contamination. The whole procedure is simple and needs only several minutes. Combining the advantages of GR (large surface area, high conductivity and good adsorption ability), CNTs (high surface area, high enrichment capability and good adsorption ability) and CS (good adsorption and excellent film-forming ability), the obtained GR/CNTs/CS composite could be highly efficient to capture organophosphate pesticides (OPs) and used as solid phase extraction (SPE). The GR/CNTs/CS sensor is used for enzymeless detection of OPs, using methyl parathion (MP) as a model analyte. Significant redox response of MP on GR/CNTs/CS sensor is proved. The linear range is wide from 2.0ngmL(-1) to 500ngmL(-1), with a detection limit of 0.5ngmL(-1). Detection limit of the proposed sensor is much lower than those enzyme-based sensors and many other enzymeless sensors. Moreover, the proposed sensor exhibits high reproducibility, long-time storage stability and satisfactory anti-interference ability. This work provides a green and one-step route for the preparation of GR-based hybrid, and also offers a new promising protocol for OPs analysis. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Ignitability of Diesel Fuel with an Inclusion of Ultrafine Carbon Particles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krivosheev, P. N.; Leshchevich, V. V.; Shimchenko, S. Yu.; Shushkov, S. V.; Penyazkov, O. G.

2017-11-01

Nanosize carbon fuel additions were synthesized by the action of an electric discharge on a diesel fuel. Depending on the discharge regime, variously shaped carbon particles, including planar graphitized ones, were formed in the fuel. Ignitability of the produced samples was assessed by the method of initiation of a foamed fuel sample by a lowcurrent electric arc. The modified fuel showed the improvement of the ignition characteristics in the presence of a nanodispersed solid phase.

Reusable glucose sensing using carbon nanotube-based self-assembly

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bhattacharyya, Tamoghna; Samaddar, Sarbani; Dasgupta, Anjan Kr.

2013-09-01

Lipid functionalized single walled carbon nanotube-based self assembly forms a super-micellar structure. This assemblage has been exploited to trap glucose oxidase in a molecular cargo for glucose sensing. The advantage of such a molecular trap is that all components of this unique structure (both the trapping shell and the entrapped enzyme) are reusable and rechargeable. The unique feature of this sensing method lies in the solid state functionalization of single walled carbon nanotubes that facilitates liquid state immobilization of the enzyme. The method can be used for soft-immobilization (a new paradigm in enzyme immobilization) of enzymes with better thermostability that is imparted by the strong hydrophobic environment provided through encapsulation by the nanotubes.Lipid functionalized single walled carbon nanotube-based self assembly forms a super-micellar structure. This assemblage has been exploited to trap glucose oxidase in a molecular cargo for glucose sensing. The advantage of such a molecular trap is that all components of this unique structure (both the trapping shell and the entrapped enzyme) are reusable and rechargeable. The unique feature of this sensing method lies in the solid state functionalization of single walled carbon nanotubes that facilitates liquid state immobilization of the enzyme. The method can be used for soft-immobilization (a new paradigm in enzyme immobilization) of enzymes with better thermostability that is imparted by the strong hydrophobic environment provided through encapsulation by the nanotubes. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available. See DOI: 10.1039/c3nr02609d

Ferromagnetic effects for nanofluid venture through composite permeable stenosed arteries with different nanosize particles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Akbar, Noreen Sher; Mustafa, M. T.

2015-07-01

In the present article ferromagnetic field effects for copper nanoparticles for blood flow through composite permeable stenosed arteries is discussed. The copper nanoparticles for the blood flow with water as base fluid with different nanosize particles is not explored upto yet. The equations for the Cu-water nanofluid are developed first time in literature and simplified using long wavelength and low Reynolds number assumptions. Exact solutions have been evaluated for velocity, pressure gradient, the solid volume fraction of the nanoparticles and temperature profile. Effect of various flow parameters on the flow and heat transfer characteristics are utilized.

Growth and properties of silicon heterostructures with buried nanosize Mg2Si clusters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Galkin, N. G.; Galkin, K. N.

2005-06-01

The technology of solid-phase growth of nanosize islands of magnesium suicide on Si (111) 7x7 with narrow distributions of lateral size and height (60 - 80 and 5 - 7 nanometers, respectively) and density of up to 2x 109 sm-2 is proposed. A 20-50 nm thick Si layer has been grown upon these islands. Basing on the data of AES, EELS, AFM and JR spectroscopy, a conclusion is made that the Mg2Si islands remain in depth of the Si layer. The suggestion is made that sizes, density and crystal structure of the buried magnesium suicide clusters preserves. It is shown, that the system of three as-grown layers of buried clusters has smoother surface than the one layer system. The contribution of the Mg2Si clusters into the dielectric function is observed at the energy 0.8-1.2 eV, it is maximal if the clusters are localized on the silicon surface. It is shown, that with increase of the number of Mg2Si cluster layers their contribution increases into the effective number of electrons per a unit cell and effective dielectric function of the sample.

A novel sorbent based on carbon nanotube/amino-functionalized sol-gel for the headspace solid-phase microextraction of α-bisabolol from medicinal plant samples using experimental design.

PubMed

Yarazavi, Mina; Noroozian, Ebrahim

2018-02-13

A novel sol-gel coating on a stainless-steel fiber was developed for the first time for the headspace solid-phase microextraction and determination of α-bisabolol with gas chromatography and flame ionization detection. The parameters influencing the efficiency of solid-phase microextraction process, such as extraction time and temperature, pH, and ionic strength, were optimized by the experimental design method. Under optimized conditions, the linear range was between 0.0027 and 100 μg/mL. The relative standard deviations determined at 0.01 and 1.0 μg/mL concentration levels (n = 3), respectively, were as follows: intraday relative standard deviations 3.4 and 3.3%; interday relative standard deviations 5.0 and 4.3%; and fiber-to-fiber relative standard deviations 6.0 and 3.5%. The relative recovery values were 90.3 and 101.4% at 0.01 and 1.0 μg/mL spiking levels, respectively. The proposed method was successfully applied to various real samples containing α-bisabolol. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Fabrication of polyaniline-coated halloysite nanotubes by in situ chemical polymerization as a solid-phase microextraction coating for the analysis of volatile organic compounds in aqueous solutions.

PubMed

Abolghasemi, Mir Mahdi; Arsalani, Naser; Yousefi, Vahid; Arsalani, Mahmood; Piryaei, Marzieh

2016-03-01

We have synthesized an organic-inorganic polyaniline-halloysite nanotube composite by an in situ polymerization method. This nanocomposite is immobilized on a stainless-steel wire and can be used as a fiber coating for solid-phase microextraction. It was found that our new solid-phase microextraction fiber is an excellent adsorbent for the extraction of some volatile organic compounds in aqueous samples in combination with gas chromatography and mass spectrometry. The coating can be prepared easily, is mechanically stable, and exhibits relatively high thermal stability. It is capable of extracting phenolic compounds from water samples. Following thermal desorption, the phenols were quantified by gas chromatography with mass spectrometry. The effects of extraction temperature, extraction time, sample ionic strength, stirring rate, pH, desorption temperature and desorption time were studied. Under optimal conditions, the repeatability for one fiber (n = 5), expressed as the relative standard deviation, is between 6.2 and 9.1%. The detection limits range from 0.005 to 4 ng/mL. The method offers the advantage of being simple to use, with a shorter analysis time, lower cost of equipment and higher thermal stability of the fiber in comparison to conventional methods of analysis. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Structure reconstruction of TiO2-based multi-wall nanotubes: first-principles calculations.

PubMed

Bandura, A V; Evarestov, R A; Lukyanov, S I

2014-07-28

A new method of theoretical modelling of polyhedral single-walled nanotubes based on the consolidation of walls in the rolled-up multi-walled nanotubes is proposed. Molecular mechanics and ab initio quantum mechanics methods are applied to investigate the merging of walls in nanotubes constructed from the different phases of titania. The combination of two methods allows us to simulate the structures which are difficult to find only by ab initio calculations. For nanotube folding we have used (1) the 3-plane fluorite TiO2 layer; (2) the anatase (101) 6-plane layer; (3) the rutile (110) 6-plane layer; and (4) the 6-plane layer with lepidocrocite morphology. The symmetry of the resulting single-walled nanotubes is significantly lower than the symmetry of initial coaxial cylindrical double- or triple-walled nanotubes. These merged nanotubes acquire higher stability in comparison with the initial multi-walled nanotubes. The wall thickness of the merged nanotubes exceeds 1 nm and approaches the corresponding parameter of the experimental patterns. The present investigation demonstrates that the merged nanotubes can integrate the two different crystalline phases in one and the same wall structure.

Phase diagram of germanium telluride encapsulated in carbon nanotubes from first-principles searches

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wynn, Jamie M.; Medeiros, Paulo V. C.; Vasylenko, Andrij; Sloan, Jeremy; Quigley, David; Morris, Andrew J.

2017-12-01

Germanium telluride has attracted great research interest, primarily because of its phase-change properties. We have developed a general scheme, based on the ab initio random structure searching (AIRSS) method, for predicting the structures of encapsulated nanowires, and using this we predict a number of thermodynamically stable structures of GeTe nanowires encapsulated inside carbon nanotubes of radii under 9 Å . We construct the phase diagram of encapsulated GeTe, which provides quantitative predictions about the energetic favorability of different filling structures as a function of the nanotube radius, such as the formation of a quasi-one-dimensional rock-salt-like phase inside nanotubes of radii between 5.4 and 7.9 Å . Simulated TEM images of our structures show excellent agreement between our results and experimental TEM imagery. We show that, for some nanotubes, the nanowires undergo temperature-induced phase transitions from one crystalline structure to another due to vibrational contributions to the free energy, which is a first step toward nano-phase-change memory devices.

Evidence of nanocrystalline semiconducting graphene monoxide during thermal reduction of graphene oxide in vacuum.

PubMed

Mattson, Eric C; Pu, Haihui; Cui, Shumao; Schofield, Marvin A; Rhim, Sonny; Lu, Ganhua; Nasse, Michael J; Ruoff, Rodney S; Weinert, Michael; Gajdardziska-Josifovska, Marija; Chen, Junhong; Hirschmugl, Carol J

2011-12-27

As silicon-based electronics are reaching the nanosize limits of the semiconductor roadmap, carbon-based nanoelectronics has become a rapidly growing field, with great interest in tuning the properties of carbon-based materials. Chemical functionalization is a proposed route, but syntheses of graphene oxide (G-O) produce disordered, nonstoichiometric materials with poor electronic properties. We report synthesis of an ordered, stoichiometric, solid-state carbon oxide that has never been observed in nature and coexists with graphene. Formation of this material, graphene monoxide (GMO), is achieved by annealing multilayered G-O. Our results indicate that the resulting thermally reduced G-O (TRG-O) consists of a two-dimensional nanocrystalline phase segregation: unoxidized graphitic regions are separated from highly oxidized regions of GMO. GMO has a quasi-hexagonal unit cell, an unusually high 1:1 O:C ratio, and a calculated direct band gap of ∼0.9 eV.

New precursors for direct synthesis of single phase Na- and K-{beta}{double_prime}-aluminas for use in AMTEC systems

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

Cook, R.L.; MacQueen, D.B.; Bader, K.E.

1997-12-31

Alkali Metal Thermoelectric Converters (AMTEC) are efficient direct energy conversion devices that depend on the use of highly conductive beta-alumina membranes for their operation. The key component of the AMTEC system is a highly conductive Na-{beta}{double_prime}-alumina solid electrolyte which conducts sodium ions from the high to low temperature zone, thereby generating electricity. AMTEC cells convert thermal to electrical energy by using heat to produce and maintain an alkali metal concentration gradient across the ion transporting BASE membrane. They have developed a method for producing pure phase Na-{beta}{double_prime}-alumina and K-{beta}{double_prime}-alumina powders from single phase nano-sized carboxylato-alumoxanes precursors. Sodium or potassium ionsmore » (the mobile ions) and either Mg{sup 2+} or Li{sup +} ions (which stabilize the {beta}{double_prime}-alumina structure) can be atomically dispersed into the carboxylato-alumoxane lattice at low (< 100 C) temperature. Calculation of the carboxylato-alumoxane precursors at 1,200--1,500 C produces pure phase {beta}{double_prime}-alumina powders.« less

Sulfur nanocrystals confined in carbon nanotube network as a binder-free electrode for high-performance lithium sulfur batteries.

PubMed

Sun, Li; Li, Mengya; Jiang, Ying; Kong, Weibang; Jiang, Kaili; Wang, Jiaping; Fan, Shoushan

2014-07-09

A binder-free nano sulfur-carbon nanotube composite material featured by clusters of sulfur nanocrystals anchored across the superaligned carbon nanotube (SACNT) matrix is fabricated via a facile solution-based method. The conductive SACNT matrix not only avoids self-aggregation and ensures dispersive distribution of the sulfur nanocrystals but also offers three-dimensional continuous electron pathway, provides sufficient porosity in the matrix to benefit electrolyte infiltration, confines the sulfur/polysulfides, and accommodates the volume variations of sulfur during cycling. The nanosized sulfur particles shorten lithium ion diffusion path, and the confinement of sulfur particles in the SACNT network guarantees the stability of structure and electrochemical performance of the composite. The nano S-SACNT composite cathode delivers an initial discharge capacity of 1071 mAh g(-1), a peak capacity of 1088 mAh g(-1), and capacity retention of 85% after 100 cycles with high Coulombic efficiency (∼100%) at 1 C. Moreover, at high current rates the nano S-SACNT composite displays impressive capacities of 1006 mAh g(-1) at 2 C, 960 mAh g(-1) at 5 C, and 879 mAh g(-1) at 10 C.

Nanotechnology Based Materials and Devices for Health Care

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Srivastava, Deepaka; Cho, K.; Brenner, Don; Menon, Madhu; Andriotis, Antonis; Sagman, Uri; Biegel, Bryan A. (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

This viewgraph presentation provides information on trends in NASA nanotechnology research and development, and future biotechnological applications for that nanotechnology. The presentation covers nanoelectronics, nanosensors, and nanomaterials, biomimetics, devices and materials for health care, carbon nanotubes, biosensors for astrobiology, solid-state nanopores for DNA sequencing, and protein nanotubes.

Boosted surface acidity in TiO2 and Al2O3-TiO2 nanotubes as catalytic supports

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Camposeco, R.; Castillo, S.; Mejía-Centeno, Isidro; Navarrete, J.; Nava, N.

2015-11-01

In this study, titanate nanotubes (NT) and titanate nanotubes with alumina (NT-Al) were studied as solid acid catalytic supports to show the relationship between the kind of acidity and catalytic activity. The supports were characterized by XRD, TEM, FTIR, XPS, and tested in the SCR-NO with NH3. It was found that the amount of Brönsted acid sites was maintained and the Lewis acid sites were significantly affected by the addition of alumina (1, 3, 5 and 10 wt.%); such acidity was higher than that of the titanate nanotubes (NT) by two-fold. To confirm the formation of titanate nanotubes and titanate nanotubes with alumina, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) was used. X-ray diffraction (XRD) revealed the formation of the H2Ti4O9·H2O phase. All NT and NT-Al supports presented catalytic activity to remove NO with NH3 under lean conditions, confirming the presence of an important amount of Brönsted and Lewis acid sites in both NT and NT-Al supports.

Synthesis and high temperature stability of amorphous Si(B)CN-MWCNT composite nanowires

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bhandavat, Romil; Singh, Gurpreet

2012-02-01

We demonstrate synthesis of a hybrid nanowire structure consisting of an amorphous polymer-derived silicon boron-carbonitride (Si-B-C-N) shell with a multiwalled carbon nanotube core. This was achieved through a novel process involving preparation of a boron-modified liquid polymeric precursor through a reaction of trimethyl borate and polyureasilazane under atmospheric conditions; followed by conversion of polymer to glass-ceramic on carbon nanotube surfaces through controlled heating. Chemical structure of the polymer was studied by liquid-NMR while evolution of various ceramic phases was studied by Raman spectroscopy, solid-NMR, Fourier transform infrared and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction confirms presence of amorphous Si(B)CN coating on individual nanotubes for all specimen processed below 1400 degree C. Thermogravimetric analysis, followed by TEM revealed high temperature stability of the carbon nanotube core in flowing air up to 1300 degree C.

Photo-induced refractive index and topographical surface gratings in functionalized nanocarbon solid film

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

McGee, David J.; Ferrie, John; Plachy, Aljoscha

2015-11-02

We demonstrate that a single-walled carbon nanotube network noncovalently coupled with a pyrene-modified azo-benzene chromophore functions as a host matrix for a broad range of photo-orientation and photomechanical effects. The chromophore could be efficiently reoriented through repeated trans-cis-trans isomerization under linearly polarized 480 nm light, with Δn of 0.012 at 650 nm and fast characteristic rise-times of 0.12 s. Erasable phase diffraction gratings could also be written, with permanent surface relief gratings forming at sufficiently long irradiation times. In addition to demonstrating a mechanism for photo-manipulation of single-walled carbon nanotubes, these results show photo-orientation of chromophores in azo-functionalized single-walled carbon nanotube networks asmore » a path towards the photosensitive tuning of the electrostatic environment of the nanotube.« less

[Analysis of sulfonamide residues in pork and chicken by high performance liquid chromatography coupled with solid-phase extraction using multiwalled carbon nanotubes as adsorbent].

PubMed

Zhao, Haixiang; Liu, Haiping; Yan, Zaoying

2014-03-01

A multi-residue analytical method based on solid-phase extraction (SPE) with multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) as sorbent was developed. The determination of the sulfonamides (SAs) in pork and chicken was carried out by high performance liquid chromatography-ultraviolet detection (HPLC-UV). The clean-up conditions were optimized. The analytes were extracted by acetonitril and cleaned-up by MWCNTs SPE cartridge. The extract was redissolved with the Na2HPO4 buffer (pH 5.5-6.0) for loading, and was washed with acetone-hexane (5:95, v/v), then eluted with acetone-dichloromethane (1:1, v/v) from the column. The mobile phase used in the chromatographic separation consisted of a binary mixture of acetonitrile and 50 mmol/L NaH2PO4 with the volume ratio of 7:3. A wide linear range was 0.01-1.00 mg/L with the correlation coefficients above 0.998. The limits of detection (S/N = 3) were 0.003 mg/L, and the limits of quantification (S/N = 10) were 0.01 mg/L. The average recoveries were over 70% for the nine SAs in the spiked range of 0.02-0.2 mg/kg, with the relative standard deviations (RSDs) lower than 8%. This study indicated that the MWCNTs SPE cartridge is efficient for the clean-up of the SAs in animal tissues or products, and the method is simple, accurate and suitable for the quantification of the SAs residues.

Three-dimensional Sponges with Super Mechanical Stability: Harnessing True Elasticity of Individual Carbon Nanotubes in Macroscopic Architectures

PubMed Central

Dai, Zhaohe; Liu, Luqi; Qi, Xiaoying; Kuang, Jun; Wei, Yueguang; Zhu, Hongwei; Zhang, Zhong

2016-01-01

Efficient assembly of carbon nanotube (CNT) based cellular solids with appropriate structure is the key to fully realize the potential of individual nanotubes in macroscopic architecture. In this work, the macroscopic CNT sponge consisting of randomly interconnected individual carbon nanotubes was grown by CVD, exhibiting a combination of super-elasticity, high strength to weight ratio, fatigue resistance, thermo-mechanical stability and electro-mechanical stability. To deeply understand such extraordinary mechanical performance compared to that of conventional cellular materials and other nanostructured cellular architectures, a thorough study on the response of this CNT-based spongy structure to compression is conducted based on classic elastic theory. The strong inter-tube bonding between neighboring nanotubes is examined, believed to play a critical role in the reversible deformation such as bending and buckling without structural collapse under compression. Based on in-situ scanning electron microscopy observation and nanotube deformation analysis, structural evolution (completely elastic bending-buckling transition) of the carbon nanotubes sponges to deformation is proposed to clarify their mechanical properties and nonlinear electromechanical coupling behavior. PMID:26732143

Carbon-Nanotube Schottky Diodes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Manohara, Harish; Wong, Eric; Schlecht, Erich; Hunt, Brian; Siegel, Peter

2006-01-01

Schottky diodes based on semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotubes are being developed as essential components of the next generation of submillimeter-wave sensors and sources. Initial performance predictions have shown that the performance characteristics of these devices can exceed those of the state-of-the-art solid-state Schottky diodes that have been the components of choice for room-temperature submillimeter-wave sensors for more than 50 years. For state-of-the-art Schottky diodes used as detectors at frequencies above a few hundred gigahertz, the inherent parasitic capacitances associated with their semiconductor junction areas and the resistances associated with low electron mobilities limit achievable sensitivity. The performance of such a detector falls off approximately exponentially with frequency above 500 GHz. Moreover, when used as frequency multipliers for generating signals, state-of-the-art solid-state Schottky diodes exhibit extremely low efficiencies, generally putting out only micro-watts of power at frequencies up to 1.5 THz. The shortcomings of the state-of-the-art solid-state Schottky diodes can be overcome by exploiting the unique electronic properties of semiconducting carbon nanotubes. A single-walled carbon nanotube can be metallic or semiconducting, depending on its chirality, and exhibits high electron mobility (recently reported to be approx.= 2x10(exp 5)sq cm/V-s) and low parasitic capacitance. Because of the narrowness of nanotubes, Schottky diodes based on carbon nanotubes have ultra-small junction areas (of the order of a few square nanometers) and consequent junction capacitances of the order of 10(exp -18) F, which translates to cutoff frequency >5 THz. Because the turn-on power levels of these devices are very low (of the order of nano-watts), the input power levels needed for pumping local oscillators containing these devices should be lower than those needed for local oscillators containing state-of-the-art solid-state Schottky diodes.

Analysis of malachite green in aquatic products by carbon nanotube-based molecularly imprinted - matrix solid phase dispersion.

PubMed

Wang, Yu; Chen, Ligang

2015-10-01

A simple method based on matrix solid phase dispersion (MSPD) using molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) as sorbents for selective extraction of malachite green (MG) from aquatic products was developed. The MIPs were prepared by using carbon nanotube as support, MG as template, methacrylic acid as functional monomer, ethyleneglycol dimethacrylate as crosslinker and methylene chloride as solvent. The MIPs were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectrometry and transmission electron microscopy. The isothermal adsorption, kinetics absorption and selective adsorption experiments were carried out. We optimized the extraction conditions as follows: the ratio of MIPs to sample was 2:3, the dispersion time was 15min, washing solvent was 4mL 50% aqueous methanol and elution solvent was 3mL methanol-acetic acid (98: 2, v/v). Once the MSPD process was completed, the MG extracted from aquatic products was determined by high performance liquid chromatography. The detection limit of MG was 0.7μgkg(-1). The relative standard deviations of intra-day and inter-day were obtained in the range of 0.9%-4.7% and 3.4%-9.8%, respectively. In order to evaluate the applicability and reliability of the proposed method, it was applied to determine MG in different aquatic products samples including fish, shrimp, squid and crabs. The satisfied recoveries were in the range of 89.2%-104.6%. The results showed that this method is faster, simpler and makes extraction and purification in the same system. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Halloysite nanotubes as a solid sorbent in ultrasound-assisted dispersive micro solid-phase extraction for the determination of bismuth in water samples using high-resolution continuum source graphite-furnace atomic absorption spectrometry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krawczyk-Coda, Magdalena

2017-03-01

In this research, a simple, accurate, and inexpensive preconcentration procedure was developed for the determination of bismuth in water samples, using high-resolution continuum source graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (HR CS GFAAS). During the preconcentration step, halloysite nanotubes (HNTs) were used as a solid sorbent in ultrasound-assisted dispersive micro solid-phase extraction (USA DMSPE). The influence of the pH of the sample solution, amount of HNTs, and extraction time, as well as of the main parameters of HR CS GFAAS, on absorbance was investigated. The limit of detection was 0.005 μg L- 1. The preconcentration factor achieved for bismuth was 32. The relative standard deviation (RSD) was 4%. The accuracy of this method was validated by analyses of NIST SRM 1643e (Trace elements in water) and TMDA-54.5 (A high level fortified sample for trace elements) certified reference materials. The measured bismuth contents in these certified reference materials were in satisfactory agreement with the certified values according to the t-test for a 95% confidence level. The proposed method has been successfully applied to the determination of bismuth in five different real water samples (seawater, lake water, river water, stream water and rain water).

Mixed hemimicelle solid-phase extraction based on magnetic halloysite nanotubes and ionic liquids for the determination and extraction of azo dyes in environmental water samples.

PubMed

Liu, Wei; Fizir, Meriem; Hu, Fan; Li, Ang; Hui, Xuanhong; Zha, Jun; He, Hua

2018-05-25

An effective and greener mixed hemimicelles magnetic solid phase extraction (MHMSPE) based on magnetic halloysite nanotubes (MHNTs) and ionic liquid (IL) is developed for the simultaneous enrichment and determination of anionic azo dyes in a spiked environmental water sample. In this MHMSPE, the formation of C 16 mimBr with mixed hemimicelles on the surface of MHNTs leads to the retention of analytes by strong hydrophobic, p-p and electrostatic interactions. This MHMSPE technique combines the advantages of MHNTs and mixed hemimicelles. Zeta potential data demonstrated that mixed hemimicelles were formed in [C 16 mimBr]/[MHNTs] ratios of the range from 0.15 to 1.33. Different important factors affecting the preconcentration of analytes were investigated and optimized by response surface methodology and one variable at a time. Under the optimum conditions, the limits of detection (LOD) for methyl red and methyl orange (MR and MO) were 0.042 and 0.050 μg L -1 in samples, respectively. The accuracy of the method was assessed by recovery measurements on a spiked sample, and good recoveries 85-87% for MR and 89-93% for MO, with preconcentration factors of 481 and 524, respectively. The low relative standard deviations from 1.6-3.1% for tap water and 2.5-5.4% for lake water was achieved. So far as we know, this is the first development of a mixed hemimicelles SPE based on MHNTs and IL for the extraction of trace anionic azo dyes in environment water samples. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Application of Carbon Nanotubes in Chiral and Achiral Separations of Pharmaceuticals, Biologics and Chemicals

PubMed Central

Hemasa, Ayman L.; Maher, William A.; Ghanem, Ashraf

2017-01-01

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) possess unique mechanical, physical, electrical and absorbability properties coupled with their nanometer dimensional scale that renders them extremely valuable for applications in many fields including nanotechnology and chromatographic separation. The aim of this review is to provide an updated overview about the applications of CNTs in chiral and achiral separations of pharmaceuticals, biologics and chemicals. Chiral single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) have been directly applied for the enantioseparation of pharmaceuticals and biologicals by using them as stationary or pseudostationary phases in chromatographic separation techniques such as high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), capillary electrophoresis (CE) and gas chromatography (GC). Achiral MWCNTs have been used for achiral separations as efficient sorbent objects in solid-phase extraction techniques of biochemicals and drugs. Achiral SWCNTs have been applied in achiral separation of biological samples. Achiral SWCNTs and MWCNTs have been also successfully used to separate achiral mixtures of pharmaceuticals and chemicals. Collectively, functionalized CNTs have been indirectly applied in separation science by enhancing the enantioseparation of different chiral selectors whereas non-functionalized CNTs have shown efficient capabilities for chiral separations by using techniques such as encapsulation or immobilization in polymer monolithic columns. PMID:28718832

First-principles calculations of CdS-based nanolayers and nanotubes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bandura, A. V.; Kuruch, D. D.; Evarestov, R. A.

2018-05-01

The first-principles simulations using hybrid exchange-correlation density functional and localized atomic basis set were performed to investigate the properties of CdS nanolayers and nanotubes constructed from wurtzite and zinc blende phases. Different types of cylindrical and facetted nanotubes have been considered. The new classification of the facetted nanotubes is proposed. The stability of CdS nanotubes has been analyzed using formation and strain energies. Obtained results show that facetted tubes are favorable as compared to the most of cylindrical ones. Nevertheless, the cylindrical nanotubes generated from the layers with experimentally proved freestanding existence, also have a chance to be synthesized. Preliminary calculation of facetted nanotubes constructed from the zinc blende phase gives evidence for their possible using in the photocatalytic decomposition of water.

Impregnated multiwalled carbon nanotubes as efficient sorbent for the solid phase extraction of trace amounts of heavy metal ions in food and water samples.

PubMed

Gouda, Ayman A; Al Ghannam, Sheikha M

2016-07-01

A new, sensitive and simple solid phase extraction (SPE), separation and preconcentration method of some heavy metal ions, Cd(II), Cu(II), Ni(II), Pb(II) and Zn(II) at trace levels using multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) impregnated with 2-(2-benzothiazolylazo)orcinol (BTAO) from food and water samples were investigated. The effect of analytical parameters was examined. The metals retained on the nanotubes at pH 7.0 were eluted by 5.0mL HNO3 (2.0molL(-1)). The influence of matrix ions on the proposed method was evaluated. The preconcentration factor was calculated and found to be 100. The detection limits (LODs) for Cd(II), Cu(II), Ni(II), Pb(II) and Zn(II) were found at 0.70, 1.2, 0.80, 2.6 and 2.2μgL(-1), respectively. The relative standard deviation (RSD) and the recoveries of the standard addition method were lower than 5.0% and 95-102%, respectively. The new procedure was successfully applied to the determination of trace amounts of the studied metal ions in various food and water samples and validated using certified reference materials SRM 1570A (spinach leaves) with satisfactory and compatible results. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Chemically interconnected light-weight 3D-carbon nanotube solid network

DOE PAGES

Ozden, Sehmus; Tsafack, Thierry; Owuor, Peter S.; ...

2017-03-31

Owing to the weak physical interactions such as van der Waals and π-π interactions, which hold nanotubes together in carbon nanotube (CNT) bulk structures, the tubes can easily slide on each other. In creating covalent interconnection between individual carbon nanotube (CNT) structures we saw remarkable improvements in the properties of their three-dimensional (3D) bulk structures. The creation of such nanoengineered 3D solid structures with improved properties and low-density remains one of the fundamental challenges in real-world applications. We also report the scalable synthesis of low-density 3D macroscopic structure made of covalently interconnected nanotubes using free-radical polymerization method after functionalized CNTsmore » with allylamine monomers. The resulted interconnected highly porous solid structure exhibits higher mechanical properties, larger surface area and greater porosity than non-crosslinked nanotube structures. To gain further insights into the deformation mechanisms of nanotubes, fully atomistic reactive molecular dynamics simulations are used. Here we demonstrate one such utility in CO 2 uptake, whose interconnected solid structure performed better than non-interconnected structures.« less

First-principles modeling of hafnia-based nanotubes.

PubMed

Evarestov, Robert A; Bandura, Andrei V; Porsev, Vitaly V; Kovalenko, Alexey V

2017-09-15

Hybrid density functional theory calculations were performed for the first time on structure, stability, phonon frequencies, and thermodynamic functions of hafnia-based single-wall nanotubes. The nanotubes were rolled up from the thin free layers of cubic and tetragonal phases of HfO 2 . It was shown that the most stable HfO 2 single-wall nanotubes can be obtained from hexagonal (111) layer of the cubic phase. Phonon frequencies have been calculated for different HfO 2 nanolayers and nanotubes to prove the local stability and to find the thermal contributions to their thermodynamic functions. The role of phonons in stability of nanotubes seems to be negligible for the internal energy and noticeable for the Helmholtz free energy. Zone folding approach has been applied to estimate the connection between phonon modes of the layer and nanotubes and to approximate the nanotube thermodynamic properties. It is found that the zone-folding approximation is sufficiently accurate for heat capacity, but less accurate for entropy. The comparison has been done between the properties of TiO 2 , ZrO 2 , and HfO 2 . © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Polymeric ionic liquid bucky gels as sorbent coatings for solid-phase microextraction.

PubMed

Zhang, Cheng; Anderson, Jared L

2014-05-30

Novel cross-linked polymeric ionic liquid (PIL) bucky gels were formed by free-radical polymerization of polymerizable ionic liquids gelled with multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) and used as sorbent coatings for solid-phase microextraction (SPME). The combination of PIL with MWCNTs significantly enhanced the π-π interaction between the sorbent coatings and the aromatic analytes. Compared to the neat PIL-based sorbent coating, the PIL bucky gel sorbent coatings demonstrated higher extraction efficiency for the extraction of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). A partitioning extraction mechanism was observed for the PIL/MWCNT-based sorbent coatings indicating that the addition of MWCNTs did not seem to affect the extraction mechanism of the sorbent coating. The analyte-to-coating partition coefficients (logKfs) were estimated and the limits of detection (LOD) for selected PIL bucky gel sorbent coating were determined to be in the range of 1-2.5 ng L(-1). Recovery studies were also performed for PAHs in river and tap water to validate the applicability of the developed method. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Multi-residue determination of 171 pesticides in cowpea using modified QuEChERS method with multi-walled carbon nanotubes as reversed-dispersive solid-phase extraction materials.

PubMed

Han, Yongtao; Song, Le; Zou, Nan; Chen, Ronghua; Qin, Yuhong; Pan, Canping

2016-09-15

A rapid and sensitive method for the determination of 171 pesticides in cowpea was developed using multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) as reversed-dispersive solid-phase (r-DSPE) extraction materials. The clean-up performance of MWCNTs was proved to be obviously superior to PSA and GCB. This method was validated on cowpea spiked at 0.01 and 0.1mgkg(-1) with five replicates. The mean recoveries for 169 pesticides ranged from 74% to 129% with relative standard deviations (RSDs) (n=5) lower than 16.4%, except diflufenican and quizalofop-ethyl. Good linearity for all pesticides was obtained with the calibration curve coefficients (R(2)) larger than 0.9970. The limit of detection (LODs) and limit of quantification (LOQs) for the 171 pesticides ranged from 0.001 to 0.003mgkg(-1) and from 0.002 to 0.009mgkg(-1), respectively. The method was demonstrated to be reliable and sensitive for the routine monitoring of the 171 pesticides in cowpea samples. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Application of solid phase extraction on multiwalled carbon nanotubes of some heavy metal ions to analysis of skin whitening cosmetics using ICP-AES.

PubMed

Alqadami, Ayoub A; Abdalla, Mohammad Abulhassan; AlOthman, Zeid A; Omer, Kamal

2013-01-14

A novel and highly sensitive method for the determination of some heavy metals in skin whitening cosmetics creams using multiwalled carbon nanotubes MWCNTs as solid phase extraction sorbent for the preconcentration of these heavy metals prior to their determination by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry is described. Different practical parameters have been thoroughly investigated and the optimum experimental conditions were employed. The developed method was then applied for the determination of arsenic, bismuth, cadmium, mercury, lead and titanium in samples of skin whitening cosmetics. The detection limits under these conditions for As, Bi, Cd, Pb, Hg and Ti were 2.4, 4.08, 0.3, 2.1, 1.8, and 1.8 ng·mL-1, respectively. The relative standard deviations (RSDs) were found to be less than 2.0%. For validation, a certified reference material of NIST SRM 1570a spinach leaves was analyzed and the determined values were in good agreement with the certified values. The recoveries for spiked samples were found to be in the range of 89.6-104.4%.

Boron nitride nanotubes as novel sorbent for solid-phase microextraction of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in environmental water samples.

PubMed

Fu, Meizhen; Xing, Hanzhu; Chen, Xiangfeng; Zhao, Rusong; Zhi, Chunyi; Wu, Chiman Lawrence

2014-09-01

Boron nitride nanotube (BNNT) is a novel material that shows potential ability in capturing organic pollutants. In this study, BNNTs fixed on a stainless steel fiber by a sol-gel technique were used as sorbent for solid-phase microextraction. Five polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons with different numbers of aromatic rings were selected as target analysts. Gas chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry was used for detection and quantitative determination. Under optimized conditions, the experimental results show a wide range of linearity (1 to 1,000 ng L(-1)), less than 10.1 % repeatability of relative standard deviation, and low detection limits (0.08 to 0.39 ng L(-1)). In addition, the fabricated fiber offered good thermal and chemical stability. The proposed method was successfully applied for the analysis of real water samples, and satisfactory results were obtained with relative recoveries ranging from 80.2 to 116.8 %. The results demonstrated that BNNTs could be used as sorbent for the analysis of environmental pollutants at trace levels.

Determination of phthalate esters from environmental water samples by micro-solid-phase extraction using TiO2 nanotube arrays before high-performance liquid chromatography.

PubMed

Zhou, Qingxiang; Fang, Zhi; Liao, Xiangkun

2015-07-01

We describe a highly sensitive micro-solid-phase extraction method for the pre-concentration of six phthalate esters utilizing a TiO2 nanotube array coupled to high-performance liquid chromatography with a variable-wavelength ultraviolet visible detector. The selected phthalate esters included dimethyl phthalate, diethyl phthalate, dibutyl phthalate, butyl benzyl phthalate, bis(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate and dioctyl phthalate. The factors that would affect the enrichment, such as desorption solvent, sample pH, salting-out effect, extraction time and desorption time, were optimized. Under the optimum conditions, the linear range of the proposed method was 0.3-200 μg/L. The limits of detection were 0.04-0.2 μg/L (S/N = 3). The proposed method was successfully applied to the determination of six phthalate esters in water samples and satisfied spiked recoveries were achieved. These results indicated that the proposed method was appropriate for the determination of trace phthalate esters in environmental water samples. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Solid-state fractional capacitor using MWCNT-epoxy nanocomposite

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

John, Dina A.; Banerjee, Susanta; Bohannan, Gary W.; Biswas, Karabi

2017-04-01

Here, we propose the fabrication of a solid state fractional capacitor for which constant phase (CP) angles were attained in different frequency zones: 110 Hz-1.1 kHz, 10 kHz-118 kHz, and 230 kHz-20 MHz. The configuration makes use of epoxy resin as the matrix in which multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) are dispersed. Adhesive nature of the epoxy resin is utilized for binding the electrodes, which avoids the extra step for packaging. The fractional capacitive behavior is contributed by the distribution of time constants for the electron to travel from one electrode to the other. The distributive nature of the time constant is ensured by inserting a middle plate which is coated with a porous film of polymethyl-methacrylate in between the two electrodes. The phase angle trend for the configuration is studied in detail, and it is observed that as the % of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) loading increases, the CP angle increases from - 85 ° to - 45 ° in the frequency zones above 100 Hz. The developed device is compact and it can be easily integrated with the electronic circuits.

Flexible all-solid-state asymmetric supercapacitors based on free-standing carbon nanotube/graphene and Mn3O4 nanoparticle/graphene paper electrodes.

PubMed

Gao, Hongcai; Xiao, Fei; Ching, Chi Bun; Duan, Hongwei

2012-12-01

We report the design of all-solid-state asymmetric supercapacitors based on free-standing carbon nanotube/graphene (CNTG) and Mn(3)O(4) nanoparticles/graphene (MG) paper electrodes with a polymer gel electrolyte of potassium polyacrylate/KCl. The composite paper electrodes with carbon nanotubes or Mn(3)O(4) nanoparticles uniformly intercalated between the graphene nanosheets exhibited excellent mechanical stability, greatly improved active surface areas, and enhanced ion transportation, in comparison with the pristine graphene paper. The combination of the two paper electrodes with the polymer gel electrolyte endowed our asymmetric supercapacitor of CNTG//MG an increased cell voltage of 1.8 V, a stable cycling performance (capacitance retention of 86.0% after 10,000 continuous charge/discharge cycles), more than 2-fold increase of energy density (32.7 Wh/kg) compared with the symmetric supercapacitors, and importantly a distinguished mechanical flexibility.

Facile approach to fabricate BCN/Fe x (B/C/N) y nano-architectures with enhanced electromagnetic wave absorption.

PubMed

Zhang, Tao; Zhang, Jian; Luo, Heng; Deng, Lianwen; Zhou, Pengyu; Wen, Guangwu; Xia, Long; Zhong, Bo; Zhang, Haibin

2018-06-08

Carbon-based materials have excited extensive interest for their remarkable electrical properties and low density for application in electromagnetic (EM) wave absorbents. However, the processing of heteroatoms doping in carbon nanostructures is an insuperable challenge for attaining effective reflection loss and EM matching. Herein, a facile method for large-scale synthesis of boron and nitrogen doped carbon nanotubes decorated by ferrites particles is proposed. The BCN nanotubes (50-100 nm in diameter) imbedded with nanosized Fe x (B/C/N) y (10-20 nm) are successfully constructed by two steps of polymerization and carbonthermic reduction. The product exhibits an outstanding reflection loss (RL) performance, in that the minimum RL is -47.97 dB at 11.44 GHz with a broad bandwidth 11.2 GHz (from 3.76 to 14.9 GHz) below -10 dB indicating a competitive absorbent in stealth materials. Crystalline and theoretical studies of the absorption mechanism indicate a unique dielectric dispersion effect in the absorbing bandwidth.

Facile approach to fabricate BCN/Fe x (B/C/N) y nano-architectures with enhanced electromagnetic wave absorption

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Tao; Zhang, Jian; Luo, Heng; Deng, Lianwen; Zhou, Pengyu; Wen, Guangwu; Xia, Long; Zhong, Bo; Zhang, Haibin

2018-06-01

Carbon-based materials have excited extensive interest for their remarkable electrical properties and low density for application in electromagnetic (EM) wave absorbents. However, the processing of heteroatoms doping in carbon nanostructures is an insuperable challenge for attaining effective reflection loss and EM matching. Herein, a facile method for large-scale synthesis of boron and nitrogen doped carbon nanotubes decorated by ferrites particles is proposed. The BCN nanotubes (50–100 nm in diameter) imbedded with nanosized Fe x (B/C/N) y (10–20 nm) are successfully constructed by two steps of polymerization and carbonthermic reduction. The product exhibits an outstanding reflection loss (RL) performance, in that the minimum RL is ‑47.97 dB at 11.44 GHz with a broad bandwidth 11.2 GHz (from 3.76 to 14.9 GHz) below ‑10 dB indicating a competitive absorbent in stealth materials. Crystalline and theoretical studies of the absorption mechanism indicate a unique dielectric dispersion effect in the absorbing bandwidth.

Nano-sized Superlattice Clusters Created by Oxygen Ordering in Mechanically Alloyed Fe Alloys

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hu, Yong-Jie; Li, Jing; Darling, Kristopher A.; Wang, William Y.; Vanleeuwen, Brian K.; Liu, Xuan L.; Kecskes, Laszlo J.; Dickey, Elizabeth C.; Liu, Zi-Kui

2015-07-01

Creating and maintaining precipitates coherent with the host matrix, under service conditions is one of the most effective approaches for successful development of alloys for high temperature applications; prominent examples include Ni- and Co-based superalloys and Al alloys. While ferritic alloys are among the most important structural engineering alloys in our society, no reliable coherent precipitates stable at high temperatures have been found for these alloys. Here we report discovery of a new, nano-sized superlattice (NSS) phase in ball-milled Fe alloys, which maintains coherency with the BCC matrix up to at least 913 °C. Different from other precipitates in ferritic alloys, this NSS phase is created by oxygen-ordering in the BCC Fe matrix. It is proposed that this phase has a chemistry of Fe3O and a D03 crystal structure and becomes more stable with the addition of Zr. These nano-sized coherent precipitates effectively double the strength of the BCC matrix above that provided by grain size reduction alone. This discovery provides a new opportunity for developing high-strength ferritic alloys for high temperature applications.

Do SiO 2 and carbon-doped SiO 2 nanoparticles melt? Insights from QM/MD simulations and ramifications regarding carbon nanotube growth

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Page, Alister J.; Chandrakumar, K. R. S.; Irle, Stephan; Morokuma, Keiji

2011-05-01

Quantum chemical molecular dynamics (QM/MD) simulations of pristine and carbon-doped SiO 2 nanoparticles have been performed between 1000 and 3000 K. At temperatures above 1600 K, pristine nanoparticle SiO 2 decomposes rapidly, primarily forming SiO. Similarly, carbon-doped nanoparticle SiO 2 decomposes at temperatures above 2000 K, primarily forming SiO and CO. Analysis of the physical states of these pristine and carbon-doped SiO 2 nanoparticles indicate that they remain in the solid phase throughout decomposition. This process is therefore one of sublimation, as the liquid phase is never entered. Ramifications of these observations with respect to presently debated mechanisms of carbon nanotube growth on SiO 2 nanoparticles will be discussed.

Drug Delivery Systems, CNS Protection, and the Blood Brain Barrier

PubMed Central

Upadhyay, Ravi Kant

2014-01-01

Present review highlights various drug delivery systems used for delivery of pharmaceutical agents mainly antibiotics, antineoplastic agents, neuropeptides, and other therapeutic substances through the endothelial capillaries (BBB) for CNS therapeutics. In addition, the use of ultrasound in delivery of therapeutic agents/biomolecules such as proline rich peptides, prodrugs, radiopharmaceuticals, proteins, immunoglobulins, and chimeric peptides to the target sites in deep tissue locations inside tumor sites of brain has been explained. In addition, therapeutic applications of various types of nanoparticles such as chitosan based nanomers, dendrimers, carbon nanotubes, niosomes, beta cyclodextrin carriers, cholesterol mediated cationic solid lipid nanoparticles, colloidal drug carriers, liposomes, and micelles have been discussed with their recent advancements. Emphasis has been given on the need of physiological and therapeutic optimization of existing drug delivery methods and their carriers to deliver therapeutic amount of drug into the brain for treatment of various neurological diseases and disorders. Further, strong recommendations are being made to develop nanosized drug carriers/vehicles and noninvasive therapeutic alternatives of conventional methods for better therapeutics of CNS related diseases. Hence, there is an urgent need to design nontoxic biocompatible drugs and develop noninvasive delivery methods to check posttreatment clinical fatalities in neuropatients which occur due to existing highly toxic invasive drugs and treatment methods. PMID:25136634

Control of Effluent Gases from Solid Waste Processing Using Carbon Nanotubes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fisher, John; Cinke, Martin; Wignarajab, Kanapathipillai

2005-01-01

One of the major problems associated with solid waste processing technologies is the release of effluent gases and contaminants that are in gaseous formed from the processes. A number of other gases, in particular NO(x), SO2, NH3, Hydrocarbons (e.g. CH4) do present hazards to the crew in space habitats. Reduction of mass, power, volume and resupply can be achieved by using catalyst impregnated carbon nanotubes as compared to other catalytic systems. The development and characterization of an innovative approach for the control and elimination of gaseous toxins using single walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) promise superior performance over conventional approaches. This is due to the ability to direct the selective uptake of gaseous species based on their controllable pore size, high adsorptive capacity and the effectiveness of carbon nanotubes as catalyst supports for gaseous conversion. For example, SWNTs have high adsorptive capacity for NO and the adsorbed NO can be decomposed to N2 and O2 . Experimental results showing the decomposition of NO on metal impregnated carbon nanotubes is presented. Equivalent System Mass (ESM) comparisons are made of the existing TCCS systems with the carbon nanotube technology for removing NO(x). The potential for methane decomposition using carbon nanotubes catalysts is also discussed.

Magnetic solid-phase extraction based on magnetic multiwalled carbon nanotubes for the simultaneous enantiomeric analysis of five β-blockers in the environmental samples by chiral liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry.

PubMed

Wang, Zhaokun; Zhang, Xue; Jiang, Shenmeng; Guo, Xingjie

2018-04-01

In this work, the magnetic multiwalled carbon nanotubes (Mag-MWCNTs) were prepared by self-assembly method and characterized by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray powder diffraction, energy dispersive X-ray and vibrating sample magnetometer. Then, these synthetic Mag-MWCNTs were used as sorbents to extract five β-blockers (atenolol, metoprolol, esmolol, pindolol and arotinolol) by magnetic solid-phase extraction. The target analytes adsorbed on Mag-MWCNTs were eluted and determined on a chiral α-acid glycoprotein column coupled with a triple quadrupole mass spectrometry. Eventually, the proposed method was applied to the analysis of the enantiomeric composition of the studied β-blockers in three environmental samples, including river water, influent wastewater and effluent wastewater. Method detection and quantification limits for all enantiomers were in the range of 0.50-1.45 and 1.63-3.75ng/L, respectively. Satisfactory recovery (82.9-95.6%), good intra-day precision (RSD 0.4-10.4%) and inter-day precision (RSD 2.9-7.4%) were also obtained. With numerous advantages such as simplicity of operation, rapidity and high enrichment factor, the newly developed method has potential to assess the enantioselectivity of chiral drugs in ecotoxicity and biodegradation processes, which is also a new expanded application of Mag-MWCNTs in the environmental analysis. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Solid-liquid critical behavior of water in nanopores.

PubMed

Mochizuki, Kenji; Koga, Kenichiro

2015-07-07

Nanoconfined liquid water can transform into low-dimensional ices whose crystalline structures are dissimilar to any bulk ices and whose melting point may significantly rise with reducing the pore size, as revealed by computer simulation and confirmed by experiment. One of the intriguing, and as yet unresolved, questions concerns the observation that the liquid water may transform into a low-dimensional ice either via a first-order phase change or without any discontinuity in thermodynamic and dynamic properties, which suggests the existence of solid-liquid critical points in this class of nanoconfined systems. Here we explore the phase behavior of a model of water in carbon nanotubes in the temperature-pressure-diameter space by molecular dynamics simulation and provide unambiguous evidence to support solid-liquid critical phenomena of nanoconfined water. Solid-liquid first-order phase boundaries are determined by tracing spontaneous phase separation at various temperatures. All of the boundaries eventually cease to exist at the critical points and there appear loci of response function maxima, or the Widom lines, extending to the supercritical region. The finite-size scaling analysis of the density distribution supports the presence of both first-order and continuous phase changes between solid and liquid. At around the Widom line, there are microscopic domains of two phases, and continuous solid-liquid phase changes occur in such a way that the domains of one phase grow and those of the other evanesce as the thermodynamic state departs from the Widom line.

Preparation and application of carbon nanotubes/poly(o-toluidine) composite fibers for the headspace solid-phase microextraction of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes.

PubMed

Behzadi, Mansoureh; Noroozian, Ebrahim; Mirzaei, Mohammad

2013-11-01

A novel nanocomposite coating of poly(o-toluidine) and oxidized multiwalled CNTs (MWCNTs, where CNTs is carbon nanotubes) was electrochemically prepared on a stainless-steel wire. The applicability of the fiber was assessed for the headspace solid-phase microextraction of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes in aqueous samples followed by GC with flame ionization detection. In order to obtain an adherent and stable composite coating, several experimental parameters related to the coating process, such as polymerization potential and time, and the concentration of o-toluidine and oxidized MWCNTs were optimized. The combination of MWCNTs and polymer in a nanocomposite form presents desirable opportunities to produce materials for new applications. The effects of various parameters on the efficiency of the headspace solid-phase microextraction process, such as desorption temperature and time, extraction temperature and time, and ionic strength were also investigated. At the optimum conditions, LODs were 0.03-0.06 μg/L. The method showed linearity in the range of 0.5-300 μg/L with coefficients of determination >0.99. The intraday and interday RSDs obtained at a 5 μg/L concentration level (n = 5) using a single fiber were 1.2-5.2 and 3.2-7.5%, respectively. The fiber-to-fiber RSD (%; n = 3) at 5 μg/L was 6.1-9.2%. © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

All-solid-state flexible supercapacitors based on papers coated with carbon nanotubes and ionic-liquid-based gel electrolytes.

PubMed

Kang, Yu Jin; Chung, Haegeun; Han, Chi-Hwan; Kim, Woong

2012-02-17

All-solid-state flexible supercapacitors were fabricated using carbon nanotubes (CNTs), regular office papers, and ionic-liquid-based gel electrolytes. Flexible electrodes were made by coating CNTs on office papers by a drop-dry method. The gel electrolyte was prepared by mixing fumed silica nanopowders with ionic liquid, 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide ([EMIM][NTf(2)]). This supercapacitor showed high power and energy performance as a solid-state flexible supercapacitor. The specific capacitance of the CNT electrodes was 135 F g(-1) at a current density of 2 A g(-1), when considering the mass of active materials only. The maximum power and energy density of the supercapacitors were 164 kW kg(-1) and 41 Wh kg(-1), respectively. Interestingly, the solid-state supercapacitor with the gel electrolyte showed comparable performance to the supercapacitors with ionic-liquid electrolyte. Moreover, the supercapacitor showed excellent stability and flexibility. The CNT/paper- and gel-based supercapacitors may hold great potential for low-cost and high-performance flexible energy storage applications.

All-solid-state flexible supercapacitors based on papers coated with carbon nanotubes and ionic-liquid-based gel electrolytes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kang, Yu Jin; Chung, Haegeun; Han, Chi-Hwan; Kim, Woong

2012-02-01

All-solid-state flexible supercapacitors were fabricated using carbon nanotubes (CNTs), regular office papers, and ionic-liquid-based gel electrolytes. Flexible electrodes were made by coating CNTs on office papers by a drop-dry method. The gel electrolyte was prepared by mixing fumed silica nanopowders with ionic liquid, 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide ([EMIM][NTf2]). This supercapacitor showed high power and energy performance as a solid-state flexible supercapacitor. The specific capacitance of the CNT electrodes was 135 F g-1 at a current density of 2 A g-1, when considering the mass of active materials only. The maximum power and energy density of the supercapacitors were 164 kW kg-1 and 41 Wh kg-1, respectively. Interestingly, the solid-state supercapacitor with the gel electrolyte showed comparable performance to the supercapacitors with ionic-liquid electrolyte. Moreover, the supercapacitor showed excellent stability and flexibility. The CNT/paper- and gel-based supercapacitors may hold great potential for low-cost and high-performance flexible energy storage applications.

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

Lebedev, Oleg V.; N.S. Enikolopov Institute of Synthetic Polymer Materials of RAS, Profsoyuznaya st., Moscow, 117393; Kechek’yan, Alexander S.

Electrically conductive oriented polymer nano-composites of different compositions, based on the reactor powder of ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) with a special morphology, filled with particles of nanostructured graphite (NG), multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), and electrically conductive carbon black (CB), were investigated. Polymer composites were obtained via compaction of the mechanical mixture of the polymer and filler powder, followed by uniaxial deformation of the material under homogeneous shear (HS) conditions (all of the processing stages were conducted at room temperature). Resulted composites possess a high tensile strength, high level of the electrical conductivity and low percolation threshold, owing it to the formationmore » of the segregated conductive structure, The influence of the type of nanosized carbon filler, degree of the deformation under HS condition, temperature and etc. on the electrical conductivity and mechanical properties of strengthened conductive composites oriented under homogeneous shear conditions was investigated. Changes in the electrical conductivity of oriented composite materials during reversible “tension–shrinkage” cycles along the orientation axis direction were studied. A theoretical approach, describing the process of transformation of the conductive system as a response on polymer phase deformation and volume change, was proposed, based on the data received from the analysis of the conductivity behavior during the uniaxial deformation and thermal treatment of composites.« less

Electrode property of single-walled carbon nanotubes in all-solid-state lithium ion battery using polymer electrolyte

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

Sakamoto, Y.; Ishii, Y.; Kawasaki, S., E-mail: kawasaki.shinji@nitech.ac.jp

2016-07-06

Electrode properties of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) in an all-solid-state lithium ion battery were investigated using poly-ethylene oxide (PEO) solid electrolyte. Charge-discharge curves of SWCNTs in the solid electrolyte cell were successfully observed. It was found that PEO electrolyte decomposes on the surface of SWCNTs.

Applications of Low Density Flow Techniques and Catalytic Recombination at the Johnson Space Center

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Scott, Carl D.

2000-01-01

The talk presents a brief background on defInitions of catalysis and effects associated with chemically nonequilibrium and low-density flows of aerospace interest. Applications of catalytic recombination on surfaces in dissociated flow are given, including aero heating on reentry spacecraft thermal protection surfaces and reflection of plume flow on pressure distributions associated with the space station. Examples include aero heating predictions for the X-38 test vehicle, the inlet of a proposed gas-sampling probe used in high enthalpy test facilities, and a parabolic body at angle of attack. The effect of accommodation coefficients on thruster induced pressure distributions is also included. Examples of tools used include simple aero heating formulas based on boundary layer solutions, an engineering approximation that uses axisymmetric viscous shock layer flow to simulate full three dimensional flow, full computational fluid dynamics, and direct simulation Monte-Carlo calculations. Methods of determining catalytic recombination rates in arc jet flow are discus ed. An area of catalysis not fully understood is the formation of single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWNT) with gas phase or nano-size metal particles. The Johnson Space Center is making SWNTs using both a laser ablation technique and an electric arc vaporization technique.

Massive radius-dependent flow slippage in carbon nanotubes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Siria, Alessandro; Secchi, Eleonora; Marbach, Sophie; Niguès, Antoine; Stein, Derek; Bocquet, Lydéric

2016-11-01

Nanofluidics is the frontier where the continuum picture of fluid mechanics confronts the atomic nature of matter. Recent reports indicate that carbon nanotubes exhibit exceptional water transport properties due to nearly frictionless interfaces and this has stimulated interest in nanotube-based membranes for desalination, nano-filtration, and energy harvesting. However, the fundamental mechanisms of water transport inside nanotubes and at water-carbon interfaces remain controversial, as existing theories fail to provide a satisfying explanation for the limited experimental results. We report a study of water jets emerging from single nanotubes made of carbon and boron-nitride materials. Our experiments reveal extensive and radius-dependent surface slippage in carbon nanotubes (CNT). In stark contrast, boron-nitride nanotubes (BNNT), which are crystallographically similar to CNTs but electronically different, exhibit no slippage. This shows that slippage originates in subtle atomic-scale details of the solid-liquid interface. ERC StG - NanoSOFT.

Fe–Ni solid solutions in nano-size dimensions: Effect of hydrogen annealing

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

Kumar, Asheesh, E-mail: asheeshk@barc.gov.in; Meena, S.S.; Banerjee, S.

Highlights: • Fe–Ni solid solution with nano-size dimensions were prepared and characterized. • Both as prepared and hydrogenated solid solutions have FCC structure of Ni. • Paramagnetic and ferromagnetic domains coexist in these samples. - Abstract: Nanoparticles of Ni{sub 0.50}Fe{sub 0.50} and Ni{sub 0.75}Fe{sub 0.25} alloys were prepared by chemical reduction in ethylene glycol medium. XRD and {sup 57}Fe Mössbauer studies have confirmed the formation of Fe–Ni solid solution in nano-size dimensions with FCC structure. These samples consist of both ferromagnetic and paramagnetic domains which have been attributed to the coexistence of large and small particles as confirmed by atomicmore » force microscopic (AFM) and {sup 57}Fe Mössbauer spectroscopic studies. Improved extent of Fe–Fe exchange interaction existing in Ni{sub 0.50}Fe{sub 0.50} alloy compared to Ni{sub 0.75}Fe{sub 0.25} alloy explains the observed increase in the relative extent of ferromagnetic domains compared to paramagnetic domains in the former sample. Increase in the relative extent of ferromagnetic domains for hydrogenated alloys is due to increase in particle size brought about by the high temperature activation prior to hydrogenation.« less

Temperature-Induced Phase Separation in Molecular Assembly of Nanotubes Comprising Amphiphilic Polypeptide with Poly( N-Ethyl Glycine) in Water by a Hydrophilic-Region Driven Type Mechanism.

PubMed

Hattori, Tetsuya; Itagaki, Toru; Uji, Hirotaka; Kimura, Shunsaku

2018-06-20

Two kinds of amphiphilic polypeptides having different types of hydrophilic polypeptoids, poly(sarcosine)-b-(L-Leu-Aib)6 (ML12) and poly(N-ethyl glycine)-b-(L-Leu-Aib)6 (EL12), were self-assembled via two paths to phase-separated nanotubes. One path was via sticking ML12 nanotubes with EL12 nanotubes, and the other was a preparation from a mixture of ML12 and EL12 in solution. In either case, nanotubes showed temperature-induced phase separation along the long axis, which was observed by two methods of labeling one phase with gold nanoparticles and fluorescence resonance energy transfer between the components. The phase-separation was ascribed to aggregation of poly(N-ethyl glycine) blocks over the cloud point temperature. The addition of 5% trifluoroethanol was needed for the phase separation, because the tight association of the helices in the hydrophobic region should be loosened to allow lateral diffusion of the components to be separated. The phase-separation in molecular assemblies in water based on the hydrophilic-region driven type mechanism therefore requires sophisticated balances of association forces exerting among the hydrophilic and hydrophobic regions of the amphiphilic polypeptoids.

Solid-contact pH-selective electrode using multi-walled carbon nanotubes.

PubMed

Crespo, Gastón A; Gugsa, Derese; Macho, Santiago; Rius, F Xavier

2009-12-01

Multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) are shown to be efficient transducers of the ionic-to-electronic current. This enables the development of a new solid-contact pH-selective electrode that is based on the deposition of a 35-microm thick layer of MWCNT between the acrylic ion-selective membrane and the glassy carbon rod used as the electrical conductor. The ion-selective membrane was prepared by incorporating tridodecylamine as the ionophore, potassium tetrakis[3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]borate as the lipophilic additive in a polymerized methylmethacrylate and an n-butyl acrylate matrix. The potentiometric response shows Nernstian behaviour and a linear dynamic range between 2.89 and 9.90 pH values. The response time for this electrode was less than 10 s throughout the whole working range. The electrode shows a high selectivity towards interfering ions. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and chronopotentiometry techniques were used to characterise the electrochemical behaviour and the stability of the carbon-nanotube-based ion-selective electrodes.

Reversible Li storage for nanosize cation/anion-disordered rocksalt-type oxyfluorides: LiMoO2 - x LiF (0 ≤ x ≤ 2) binary system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Takeda, Nanami; Hoshino, Satoshi; Xie, Lixin; Chen, Shuo; Ikeuchi, Issei; Natsui, Ryuichi; Nakura, Kensuke; Yabuuchi, Naoaki

2017-11-01

A binary system of LiMoO2 - x LiF (0 ≤ x ≤ 2), Li1+xMoO2Fx, is systematically studied as potential positive electrode materials for rechargeable Li batteries. Single phase and nanosized samples on this binary system are successfully prepared by using a mechanical milling route. Crystal structures and Li storage properties on the binary system are also examined. Li2MoO2F (x = 1), which is classified as a cation-/anion-disordered rocksalt-type structure and is a thermodynamically metastable phase, delivers a large reversible capacity of over 300 mAh g-1 in Li cells with good reversibility. Highly reversible Li storage is realized for Li2MoO2F consisting of nanosized particles based on Mo3+/Mo5+ two-electron redox as evidenced by ex-situ X-ray absorption spectroscopy coupled with ex-situ X-ray diffractometry. Moreover, the presence of the most electronegative element in the framework structure effectively increases the electrode potential of Mo redox through an inductive effect. From these results, potential of nanosized lithium molybdenum oxyfluorides for high-capacity positive electrode materials of rechargeable Li batteries are discussed.

Aggregate nanostructures of organic molecular materials.

PubMed

Liu, Huibiao; Xu, Jialiang; Li, Yongjun; Li, Yuliang

2010-12-21

Conjugated organic molecules are interesting materials because of their structures and their electronic, electrical, magnetic, optical, biological, and chemical properties. However, researchers continue to face great challenges in the construction of well-defined organic compounds that aggregate into larger molecular materials such as nanowires, tubes, rods, particles, walls, films, and other structural arrays. Such nanoscale materials could serve as direct device components. In this Account, we describe our recent progress in the construction of nanostructures formed through the aggregation of organic conjugated molecules and in the investigation of the optical, electrical, and electronic properties that depend on the size or morphology of these nanostructures. We have designed and synthesized functional conjugated organic molecules with structural features that favor assembly into aggregate nanostructures via weak intermolecular interactions. These large-area ordered molecular aggregate nanostructures are based on a variety of simpler structures such as fullerenes, perylenes, anthracenes, porphyrins, polydiacetylenes, and their derivatives. We have developed new methods to construct these larger structures including organic vapor-solid phase reaction, natural growth, association via self-polymerization and self-organization, and a combination of self-assembly and electrochemical growth. These methods are both facile and reliable, allowing us to produce ordered and aligned aggregate nanostructures, such as large-area arrays of nanowires, nanorods, and nanotubes. In addition, we can synthesize nanoscale materials with controlled properties. Large-area ordered aggregate nanostructures exhibit interesting electrical, optical, and optoelectronic properties. We also describe the preparation of large-area aggregate nanostructures of charge transfer (CT) complexes using an organic solid-phase reaction technique. By this process, we can finely control the morphologies and sizes of the organic nanostructures on wires, tubes, and rods. Through field emission studies, we demonstrate that the films made from arrays of CT complexes are a new kind of cathode materials, and we systematically investigate the effects of size and morphology on electrical properties. Low-dimension organic/inorganic hybrid nanostructures can be used to produce new classes of organic/inorganic solid materials with properties that are not observed in either the individual nanosize components or the larger bulk materials. We developed the combined self-assembly and templating technique to construct various nanostructured arrays of organic and inorganic semiconductors. The combination of hybrid aggregate nanostructures displays distinct optical and electrical properties compared with their individual components. Such hybrid structures show promise for applications in electronics, optics, photovoltaic cells, and biology. In this Account, we aim to provide an intuition for understanding the structure-function relationships in organic molecular materials. Such principles could lead to new design concepts for the development of new nonhazardous, high-performance molecular materials on aggregate nanostructures.

Liquid spreading on ceramic-coated carbon nanotube films and patterned microstructures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Hangbo; Hart, A. John

2015-11-01

We study the capillary-driven liquid spreading behavior on films and microstructures of ceramic-coated vertically aligned carbon nanotubes (CNTs) fabricated on quartz substrates. The nanoscale porosity and micro-scale dimensions of the CNT structures, which can be precisely varied by the fabrication process, enable quantitative measurements that can be related to analytical models of the spreading behavior. Moreover, the conformal alumina coating by atomic layer deposition (ALD) prevents capillary-induced deformation of the CNTs upon meniscus recession, which has complicated previous studies of this topic. Washburn-like liquid spreading behavior is observed on non-patterned CNT surfaces, and is explained using a scaling model based on the balance of capillary driving force and the viscous drag force. Using these insights, we design patterned surfaces with controllable spreading rates and study the contact line pinning-depinning behavior. The nanoscale porosity, controllable surface chemistry, and mechanical stability of coated CNTs provide significantly enhanced liquid-solid interfacial area compared to solid microstructures. As a result, these surface designs may be useful for applications such as phase-change heat transfer and electrochemical energy storage. Funding for this project is provided by the National Institutes of Health and the MIT Center for Clean Water and Clean Energy supported by the King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals.

Preparation of Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes/Hydroxyl-Terminated Silicone Oil Fiber and Its Application to Analysis of Crude Oils

PubMed Central

Tong, Ting; Zhang, Wanfeng; Dai, Wei; He, Sheng; Chang, Zhenyang; Gao, Xuanbo

2014-01-01

A simple and efficient method to analyze the volatile and semivolatile organic compounds in crude oils has been developed based on direct immersion solid-phase microextraction coupled to comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography/time-of-flight mass spectrometry (DI-SPME-GC × GC/TOFMS). A novel fiber, multiwalled carbon nanotubes/hydroxyl-terminated silicone oil (MWNTs-TSO-OH), was prepared by sol-gel technology. Using standard solutions, the extraction conditions were optimized such as extraction mode, extraction temperature, extraction time, and salts effect. With the optimized conditions, a real crude oil sample was extracted and then analyzed in detail. It shows that the proposed method is very effective in simultaneously analyzing the normal and branched alkanes, cycloalkanes, aromatic hydrocarbons, and biomarkers of crude oil such as steranes and terpanes. Furthermore, the method showed good linearity (r > 0.999), precision (RSD < 8%), and detection limits ranging from 0.2 to 1.6 ng/L. PMID:24578659

One pot synthesis of magnetic graphene/carbon nanotube composites as magnetic dispersive solid-phase extraction adsorbent for rapid determination of oxytetracycline in sewage water.

PubMed

Sun, Yunyun; Tian, Jing; Wang, Lu; Yan, Hongyuan; Qiao, Fengxia; Qiao, Xiaoqiang

2015-11-27

A simple and time-saving one pot synthesis of magnetic graphene/carbon nanotube composites (M-G/CNTs) was developed that could avoid the tedious drying process of graphite oxide, and G/CNTs were modified by Fe3O4 nanoparticles in the reduction procedure. It contributed to a shorten duration of the synthesis process of M-G/CNTs. The obtained M-G/CNTs were characterized and the results indicated that CNTs and Fe3O4 nanoparticles were served as spacer distributing to the layers of graphene, which was beneficial for enlarging surface area and improving extraction efficiency. Moreover, M-G/CNTs showed good magnetic property and outstanding thermal stability. Then M-G/CNTs were applied as adsorbent of magnetic dispersive solid-phase extraction for rapid extraction and determination of oxytetracycline in sewage water. Under the optimum conditions, good linearity was obtained in the range of 20-800ngmL(-1) and the recoveries were ranged from 95.5% to 112.5% with relative standard deviations less than 5.8%. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Application of Solid Phase Extraction on Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes of Some Heavy Metal Ions to Analysis of Skin Whitening Cosmetics Using ICP-AES

PubMed Central

ALqadami, Ayoub A.; Abdalla, Mohammad Abulhassan; ALOthman, Zeid A.; Omer, Kamal

2013-01-01

A novel and highly sensitive method for the determination of some heavy metals in skin whitening cosmetics creams using multiwalled carbon nanotubes MWCNTs as solid phase extraction sorbent for the preconcentration of these heavy metals prior to their determination by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry is described. Different practical parameters have been thoroughly investigated and the optimum experimental conditions were employed. The developed method was then applied for the determination of arsenic, bismuth, cadmium, mercury, lead and titanium in samples of skin whitening cosmetics. The detection limits under these conditions for As, Bi, Cd, Pb, Hg and Ti were 2.4, 4.08, 0.3, 2.1, 1.8, and 1.8 ng·mL−1, respectively. The relative standard deviations (RSDs) were found to be less than 2.0%. For validation, a certified reference material of NIST SRM 1570a spinach leaves was analyzed and the determined values were in good agreement with the certified values. The recoveries for spiked samples were found to be in the range of 89.6–104.4%. PMID:23343988

Differentiating Left- and Right-Handed Carbon Nanotubes by DNA.

PubMed

Ao, Geyou; Streit, Jason K; Fagan, Jeffrey A; Zheng, Ming

2016-12-28

New structural characteristics emerge when solid-state crystals are constructed in lower dimensions. This is exemplified by single-wall carbon nanotubes, which exhibit a degree of freedom in handedness and a multitude of helicities that give rise to three distinct types of electronic structures: metals, quasi-metals, and semiconductors. Here we report the use of intrinsically chiral single-stranded DNA to achieve simultaneous handedness and helicity control for all three types of nanotubes. We apply polymer aqueous two-phase systems to select special DNA-wrapped carbon nanotubes, each of which we argue must have an ordered DNA structure that binds to a nanotube of defined handedness and helicity and resembles a well-folded biomacromolecule with innate stereoselectivity. We have screened over 300 short single-stranded DNA sequences with palindrome symmetry, leading to the selection of more than 20 distinct carbon nanotube structures that have defined helicity and handedness and cover the entire chiral angle range and all three electronic types. The mechanism of handedness selection is illustrated by a DNA sequence that adopts two distinct folds on a pair of (6,5) nanotube enantiomers, rendering them large differences in fluorescence intensity and chemical reactivity. This result establishes a first example of functionally distinguishable left- and right-handed carbon nanotubes. Taken together, our work demonstrates highly efficient enantiomer differentiation by DNA and offers a first comprehensive solution to achieve simultaneous handedness and helicity control for all three electronic types of carbon nanotubes.

Differentiating Left- and Right-handed Carbon Nanotubes by DNA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zheng, Ming

New structural characteristics emerge when solid-state crystals are constructed in lower dimensions. This is exemplified by single-wall carbon nanotubes, which exhibit a degree of freedom in handedness, and a multitude of helicity that gives rise to three distinct types of electronic structures - metals, quasi-metals, and semiconductors. Here, we report the use of intrinsically chiral single-stranded DNA to achieve simultaneous handedness and helicity control for all three types of nanotubes. We apply polymer aqueous two-phase systems to select special DNA-wrapped carbon nanotubes, each of which we argue must have an ordered DNA structure bound to a nanotube of defined handedness and helicity, resembling a well-folded biomacromolecule with innate stereo-selectivity. We have screened over 300 short single-stranded DNA sequences with palindrome symmetry, leading to the selection of more than 20 distinct carbon nanotube structures that have defined helicity and handedness and cover the entire chiral angle range and all three electronic types. The mechanism of handedness selection is illustrated by a DNA sequence that adopts two distinct folds on a pair of (6,5) nanotube enantiomers, respectively, rendering them large differences in fluorescence intensity and chemical reactivity. This result establishes a first example of functionally distinguishable left- and right-handed carbon nanotubes. Taken together, our work demonstrates highly efficient enantiomer differentiation by DNA, and offers a first comprehensive solution to achieve simultaneous handedness and helicity control for all three electronic types of carbon nanotubes. .

Cyclodextrin based nanosponges for pharmaceutical use: a review.

PubMed

Tejashri, Gursalkar; Amrita, Bajaj; Darshana, Jain

2013-09-01

Nanosponges are a novel class of hyper-crosslinked polymer based colloidal structures consisting of solid nanoparticles with colloidal sizes and nanosized cavities. These nano-sized colloidal carriers have been recently developed and proposed for drug delivery, since their use can solubilize poorly water-soluble drugs and provide prolonged release as well as improve a drug's bioavailability by modifying the pharmacokinetic parameters of actives. Development of nanosponges as drug delivery systems, with special reference to cyclodextrin based nanosponges, is presented in this article. In the current review, attempts have been made to illustrate the features of cyclodextrin based nanosponges and their applications in pharmaceutical formulations. Special emphasis has been placed on discussing the methods of preparation, characterization techniques and applications of these novel drug delivery carriers for therapeutic purposes. Nanosponges can be referred to as solid porous particles having a capacity to load drugs and other actives into their nanocavity; they can be formulated as oral, parenteral, topical or inhalation dosage forms. Nanosponges offer high drug loading compared to other nanocarriers and are thus suitable for solving issues related to stability, solubility and delayed release of actives. Controlled release of the loaded actives and solubility enhancement of poorly water-soluble drugs are major advantages of nanosponge drug delivery systems.

Promotion of water-mediated carbon removal by nanostructured barium oxide/nickel interfaces in solid oxide fuel cells.

PubMed

Yang, Lei; Choi, YongMan; Qin, Wentao; Chen, Haiyan; Blinn, Kevin; Liu, Mingfei; Liu, Ping; Bai, Jianming; Tyson, Trevor A; Liu, Meilin

2011-06-21

The existing Ni-yttria-stabilized zirconia anodes in solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) perform poorly in carbon-containing fuels because of coking and deactivation at desired operating temperatures. Here we report a new anode with nanostructured barium oxide/nickel (BaO/Ni) interfaces for low-cost SOFCs, demonstrating high power density and stability in C(3)H(8), CO and gasified carbon fuels at 750°C. Synchrotron-based X-ray analyses and microscopy reveal that nanosized BaO islands grow on the Ni surface, creating numerous nanostructured BaO/Ni interfaces that readily adsorb water and facilitate water-mediated carbon removal reactions. Density functional theory calculations predict that the dissociated OH from H(2)O on BaO reacts with C on Ni near the BaO/Ni interface to produce CO and H species, which are then electrochemically oxidized at the triple-phase boundaries of the anode. This anode offers potential for ushering in a new generation of SOFCs for efficient, low-emission conversion of readily available fuels to electricity.

Promotion of water-mediated carbon removal by nanostructured barium oxide/nickel interfaces in solid oxide fuel cells

PubMed Central

Yang, Lei; Choi, YongMan; Qin, Wentao; Chen, Haiyan; Blinn, Kevin; Liu, Mingfei; Liu, Ping; Bai, Jianming; Tyson, Trevor A.; Liu, Meilin

2011-01-01

The existing Ni-yttria-stabilized zirconia anodes in solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) perform poorly in carbon-containing fuels because of coking and deactivation at desired operating temperatures. Here we report a new anode with nanostructured barium oxide/nickel (BaO/Ni) interfaces for low-cost SOFCs, demonstrating high power density and stability in C3H8, CO and gasified carbon fuels at 750°C. Synchrotron-based X-ray analyses and microscopy reveal that nanosized BaO islands grow on the Ni surface, creating numerous nanostructured BaO/Ni interfaces that readily adsorb water and facilitate water-mediated carbon removal reactions. Density functional theory calculations predict that the dissociated OH from H2O on BaO reacts with C on Ni near the BaO/Ni interface to produce CO and H species, which are then electrochemically oxidized at the triple-phase boundaries of the anode. This anode offers potential for ushering in a new generation of SOFCs for efficient, low-emission conversion of readily available fuels to electricity. PMID:21694705

Femtosecond laser modification of an array of vertically aligned carbon nanotubes intercalated with Fe phase nanoparticles

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Femtosecond lasers (FSL) are playing an increasingly important role in materials research, characterization, and modification. Due to an extremely short pulse width, interactions of FSL irradiation with solid surfaces attract special interest, and a number of unusual phenomena resulted in the formation of new materials are expected. Here, we report on a new nanostructure observed after the interaction of FSL irradiation with arrays of vertically aligned carbon nanotubes (CNTs) intercalated with iron phase catalyst nanoparticles. It was revealed that the FSL laser ablation transforms the topmost layer of CNT array into iron phase nanospheres (40 to 680 nm in diameter) located at the tip of the CNT bundles of conical shape. Besides, the smaller nanospheres (10 to 30 nm in diameter) are found to be beaded at the sides of these bundles. Some of the larger nanospheres are encapsulated into carbon shells, which sometime are found to contain CNTs. The mechanism of creation of such nanostructures is proposed. PMID:24004518

Femtosecond laser modification of an array of vertically aligned carbon nanotubes intercalated with Fe phase nanoparticles.

PubMed

Labunov, Vladimir; Prudnikava, Alena; Bushuk, Serguei; Filatov, Serguei; Shulitski, Boris; Tay, Beng Kang; Shaman, Yury; Basaev, Alexander

2013-09-03

Femtosecond lasers (FSL) are playing an increasingly important role in materials research, characterization, and modification. Due to an extremely short pulse width, interactions of FSL irradiation with solid surfaces attract special interest, and a number of unusual phenomena resulted in the formation of new materials are expected. Here, we report on a new nanostructure observed after the interaction of FSL irradiation with arrays of vertically aligned carbon nanotubes (CNTs) intercalated with iron phase catalyst nanoparticles. It was revealed that the FSL laser ablation transforms the topmost layer of CNT array into iron phase nanospheres (40 to 680 nm in diameter) located at the tip of the CNT bundles of conical shape. Besides, the smaller nanospheres (10 to 30 nm in diameter) are found to be beaded at the sides of these bundles. Some of the larger nanospheres are encapsulated into carbon shells, which sometime are found to contain CNTs. The mechanism of creation of such nanostructures is proposed.

Low Temperature Synthesized H2Ti3O7 Nanotubes with a High CO2 Adsorption Property by Amine Modification.

PubMed

Ota, Misaki; Hirota, Yuichiro; Uchida, Yoshiaki; Sakamoto, Yasuhiro; Nishiyama, Norikazu

2018-06-12

Carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) capture and storage (CCS) technologies have been attracting attention in terms of tackling with global warming. To date, various CO 2 capture technologies including solvents, membranes, cryogenics, and solid adsorbents have been proposed. Currently, a liquid adsorption method for CO 2 using amine solution (monoethanolamine) has been practically used. However, this liquid phase CO 2 adsorption process requires heat regeneration, and it can cause many problems such as corrosion of equipment and degradation of the solution. Meanwhile, solid adsorption methods using porous materials are more advantageous over the liquid method at these points. In this context, we here evaluated if hydrogen titanate (H 2 Ti 3 O 7 ) nanotubes and the surface modification effectively capture CO 2 . For this aim, we first developed a facile synthesis method of H 2 Ti 3 O 7 nanotubes different from any conventional methods. Briefly, they were converted from the precursors-amorphous TiO 2 nanoparticles at room temperature (25 °C). We then determined the outer and the inner diameters of the H 2 Ti 3 O 7 nanotubes as 3.0 and 0.7 nm, respectively. It revealed that both values were much smaller than the reported ones; thus the specific surface area showed the highest value (735 m 2 /g). Next, the outer surface of H 2 Ti 3 O 7 nanotubes was modified using ethylenediamine to examine if CO 2 adsorption capacity increases. The ethylendiamine-modified H 2 Ti 3 O 7 nanotubes showed a higher CO 2 adsorption capacity (50 cm 3 /g at 0 °C, 100 kPa). We finally concluded that the higher CO 2 adsorption capacity could be explained, not only by the high specific surface area of the nanotubes but also by tripartite hydrogen bonding interactions among amines, CO 2 , and OH groups on the surface of H 2 Ti 3 O 7 .

Multiwall carbon nanotube- zirconium oxide nanocomposite hollow fiber solid phase microextraction for determination of polyaromatic hydrocarbons in water, coffee and tea samples.

PubMed

Yazdi, Mahnaz Nozohour; Yamini, Yadollah; Asiabi, Hamid

2018-06-15

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the application of hollow fiber solid-phase microextraction (HF-SPME) followed by HPLC-UV to determine the ultra-trace amounts of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) as model analytes in complex coffee and tea samples. HF-SPME can be effectively used as an alternative to the direct immersion SPME (DI-SPME) method in complex matrices. The DI-SPME method suffers from serious limitation in dirty and complicated matrices with low sample clean-up, while the HF-SPME method has high clean-up and selectivity due to the high porosity of hollow fiber that can pick out analyte from complicated matrices. As a hollow fiber sorbent, a novel multiwall carbon nanotube/zirconium oxide nanocomposite (MWCNT/ZrO 2 ) was fabricated. The excellent adsorption of PAHs on the sorbent was attributed to the dominant roles of π-π stacking interaction and hydrophobic interaction. Under the optimized extraction conditions, the wide linear range of 0.1-200 μg L -1 with coefficients of determination better than 0.998 and low detection limits of 0.033-0.16 μg L -1 with satisfactory precision (RSD < 6.6%) were obtained. The relative recoveries obtained by spiking the PAHs in water, coffee and tea samples were in the range of 92.0-106.0%. Compared to other methods, MWCNT/ZrO 2 hollow fiber solid phase microextraction demonstrated a good capability for determination of PAHs in complex coffee and tea samples. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Formulation of itraconazole nanococrystals and evaluation of their bioavailability in dogs.

PubMed

De Smet, Lieselotte; Saerens, Lien; De Beer, Thomas; Carleer, Robert; Adriaensens, Peter; Van Bocxlaer, Jan; Vervaet, Chris; Remon, Jean Paul

2014-05-01

The aim of the study is to increase the bioavailability of itraconazole (ITRA) using nanosized cocrystals prepared via wet milling of ITRA in combination with dicarboxylic acids. Wet milling was used in order to create a nanosuspension of ITRA in combination with dicarboxylic acids. After spray-drying and bead layering, solid state was characterized by MDSC, XRD, Raman and FT-IR. The release profiles and bioavailability of the nanococrystalline suspension, the spray-dried and bead layered formulation were evaluated. A monodisperse nanosuspension (549±51nm) of ITRA was developed using adipic acid and Tween®80. Solid state characterization indicated the formation of nanococrystals by hydrogen bounds between the triazole group of ITRA and the carboxyl group of adipic acid. A bioavailability study was performed in dogs. The faster drug release from the nanocrystal-based formulation was reflected in the in vivo results since Tmax of the formulations was obtained 3h after administration, while Tmax of the reference formulation was observed only 6h after administration. This fast release of ITRA was obtained by a dual concept: manufacturing of nanosized cocrystals of ITRA and adipic acid via wet milling. Formation of stable nanosized cocrystals via this approach seems a good alternative for amorphous systems to increase the solubility and obtain a fast drug release of BCS class II drugs. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

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

Ozden, Sehmus; Tsafack, Thierry; Owuor, Peter S.

Owing to the weak physical interactions such as van der Waals and π-π interactions, which hold nanotubes together in carbon nanotube (CNT) bulk structures, the tubes can easily slide on each other. In creating covalent interconnection between individual carbon nanotube (CNT) structures we saw remarkable improvements in the properties of their three-dimensional (3D) bulk structures. The creation of such nanoengineered 3D solid structures with improved properties and low-density remains one of the fundamental challenges in real-world applications. We also report the scalable synthesis of low-density 3D macroscopic structure made of covalently interconnected nanotubes using free-radical polymerization method after functionalized CNTsmore » with allylamine monomers. The resulted interconnected highly porous solid structure exhibits higher mechanical properties, larger surface area and greater porosity than non-crosslinked nanotube structures. To gain further insights into the deformation mechanisms of nanotubes, fully atomistic reactive molecular dynamics simulations are used. Here we demonstrate one such utility in CO 2 uptake, whose interconnected solid structure performed better than non-interconnected structures.« less

Zeolite Linde Type L as micro-solid phase extraction sorbent for the high performance liquid chromatography determination of ochratoxin A in coffee and cereal.

PubMed

Lee, Tien Ping; Saad, Bahruddin; Ng, Eng Poh; Salleh, Baharuddin

2012-05-11

Zeolite Linde Type L (LTL) crystals with different length, diameter and particle size (nanosized LTL, rod LTL, cylinder LTL and needle LTL) were synthesized, characterized and were used as sorbent in the micro-solid phase extraction of ochratoxin A (OTA) before the high performance liquid chromatography detection. Under the optimized conditions, the detection limits of OTA for coffee and cereal were 0.09 ng g(-1) and 0.03 ng g(-1), respectively, while the quantification limits were 0.28 ng g(-1) and 0.08 ng g(-1), respectively. The recoveries of OTA of coffee and cereal spiked at 0.5, 10 and 25 ng g(-1) ranged from 91.7 to 101.0%. The proposed method was applied to forty-five samples of coffee and cereal. The presence of OTA was found in twenty-five samples, ranging from 0.28 to 9.33 ng g(-1). Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Interstitial atoms enable joint twinning and transformation induced plasticity in strong and ductile high-entropy alloys.

PubMed

Li, Zhiming; Tasan, Cemal Cem; Springer, Hauke; Gault, Baptiste; Raabe, Dierk

2017-01-12

High-entropy alloys (HEAs) consisting of multiple principle elements provide an avenue for realizing exceptional mechanical, physical and chemical properties. We report a novel strategy for designing a new class of HEAs incorporating the additional interstitial element carbon. This results in joint activation of twinning- and transformation-induced plasticity (TWIP and TRIP) by tuning the matrix phase's instability in a metastable TRIP-assisted dual-phase HEA. Besides TWIP and TRIP, such alloys benefit from massive substitutional and interstitial solid solution strengthening as well as from the composite effect associated with its dual-phase structure. Nanosize particle formation and grain size reduction are also utilized. The new interstitial TWIP-TRIP-HEA thus unifies all metallic strengthening mechanisms in one material, leading to twice the tensile strength compared to a single-phase HEA with similar composition, yet, at identical ductility.

Optimization of a novel method for determination of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes in hair and waste water samples by carbon nanotubes reinforced sol-gel based hollow fiber solid phase microextraction and gas chromatography using factorial experimental design.

PubMed

Es'haghi, Zarrin; Ebrahimi, Mahmoud; Hosseini, Mohammad-Saeid

2011-05-27

A novel design of solid phase microextraction fiber containing carbon nanotube reinforced sol-gel which was protected by polypropylene hollow fiber (HF-SPME) was developed for pre-concentration and determination of BTEX in environmental waste water and human hair samples. The method validation was included and satisfying results with high pre-concentration factors were obtained. In the present study orthogonal array experimental design (OAD) procedure with OA(16) (4(4)) matrix was applied to study the effect of four factors influencing the HF-SPME method efficiency: stirring speed, volume of adsorption organic solvent, extraction and desorption time of the sample solution, by which the effect of each factor was estimated using individual contributions as response functions in the screening process. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was employed for estimating the main significant factors and their percentage contributions in extraction. Calibration curves were plotted using ten spiking levels of BTEX in the concentration ranges of 0.02-30,000ng/mL with correlation coefficients (r) 0.989-0.9991 for analytes. Under the optimized extraction conditions, the method showed good linearity (0.3-20,000ng/L), repeatability, low limits of detections (0.49-0.7ng/L) and excellent pre-concentration factors (185-1872). The best conditions which were estimated then applied for the analysis of BTEX compounds in the real samples. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Carbon nanotubes as carriers of Panax ginseng metabolites and enhancers of ginsenosides Rb1 and Rg1 anti-cancer activity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lahiani, Mohamed H.; Eassa, Souzan; Parnell, Charlette; Nima, Zeid; Ghosh, Anindya; Biris, Alexandru S.; Khodakovskaya, Mariya V.

2017-01-01

A major benefit to nanomaterial based-medicine is the ability to provide nanosized vehicles for sporadic metabolites. Here, we describe how the conjugation of valuable ginseng secondary metabolites (ginsenoside Rb1 or Rg1) with carbon nanotubes (CNT) can enhance their anti-proliferative and anti-cancer effects. Ginsenoside-CNT conjugate (Rb-CNT or Rg-CNT) permitted the ginsenosides to be used at a low dose, yet achieve a higher incidence of cancer killing. We were able to demonstrate that the ginsenoside-CNT conjugate can decrease cell viability up to 62% in breast cancer cells (MCF-7) and enhance antiproliferation of drug-resistant pancreatic cancer cells (PANC-1) by 61%. The interaction of the ginsenoside-CNT conjugate with breast cancer cells was studied using Raman Spectroscopy mapping. Total transcriptome profiling (Affymetrix platform) of MCF-7 cells treated with the ginsenoside-CNT conjugate shows that a number of cellular, apoptotic and response to stimulus processes were affected. Therefore, our data confirmed the potential use of CNT as a drug delivery system.

Mycoestrogen determination in cow milk: Magnetic solid-phase extraction followed by liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry analysis.

PubMed

Capriotti, Anna Laura; Cavaliere, Chiara; Foglia, Patrizia; La Barbera, Giorgia; Samperi, Roberto; Ventura, Salvatore; Laganà, Aldo

2016-12-01

Recently, magnetic solid-phase extraction has gained interest because it presents various operational advantages over classical solid-phase extraction. Furthermore, magnetic nanoparticles are easy to prepare, and various materials can be used in their synthesis. In the literature, there are only few studies on the determination of mycoestrogens in milk, although their carryover in milk has occurred. In this work, we wanted to develop the first (to the best of our knowledge) magnetic solid-phase extraction protocol for six mycoestrogens from milk, followed by liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry analysis. Magnetic graphitized carbon black was chosen as the adsorbent, as this carbonaceous material, which is very different from the most diffuse graphene and carbon nanotubes, had already shown selectivity towards estrogenic compounds in milk. The graphitized carbon black was decorated with Fe 3 O 4 , which was confirmed by the characterization analyses. A milk deproteinization step was avoided, using only a suitable dilution in phosphate buffer as sample pretreatment. The overall process efficiency ranged between 52 and 102%, whereas the matrix effect considered as signal suppression was below 33% for all the analytes even at the lowest spiking level. The obtained method limits of quantification were below those of other published methods that employ classical solid-phase extraction protocols. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Emission of nanoparticles during combustion of waste biomass in fireplace

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Drastichová, Vendula; Krpec, Kamil; Horák, Jiří; Hopan, František; Kubesa, Petr; Martiník, Lubomír; Koloničný, Jan; Ochodek, Tadeáš; Holubčík, Michal

2014-08-01

Contamination of air by solid particles is serious problem for human health and also environment. Small particles in nano-sizes are more dangerous than same weight of larger size. Negative effect namely of the solid particles depends on (i) number, (ii) specific surface area (iii) respirability and (iv) bonding of others substances (e.g. PAHs, As, Cd, Zn, Cu etc.) which are higher for smaller (nano-sizes) particles compared to larger one. For this reason mentioned above this contribution deals with measuring of amount, and distribution of nanoparticles produced form combustion of waste city biomass in small combustion unit with impactor DLPI.

Thermal conductivity of carbon nanotubes and graphene in epoxy nanofluids and nanocomposites

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

We employed an easy and direct method to measure the thermal conductivity of epoxy in the liquid (nanofluid) and solid (nanocomposite) states using both rodlike and platelet-like carbon-based nanostructures. Comparing the experimental results with the theoretical model, an anomalous enhancement was obtained with multiwall carbon nanotubes, probably due to their layered structure and lowest surface resistance. Puzzling results for functionalized graphene sheet nanocomposites suggest that phonon coupling of the vibrational modes of the graphene and of the polymeric matrix plays a dominant role on the thermal conductivities of the liquid and solid states. PACS: 74.25.fc; 81.05.Qk; 81.07.Pr. PMID:22133094

High-performance transparent and stretchable all-solid supercapacitors based on highly aligned carbon nanotube sheets

PubMed Central

Chen, Tao; Peng, Huisheng; Durstock, Michael; Dai, Liming

2014-01-01

By using highly aligned carbon nanotube (CNT) sheets of excellent optical transmittance and mechanical stretchability as both the current collector and active electrode, high-performance transparent and stretchable all-solid supercapacitors with a good stability were developed. A transmittance up to 75% at the wavelength of 550 nm was achieved for a supercapacitor made from a cross-over assembly of two single-layer CNT sheets. The transparent supercapacitor has a specific capacitance of 7.3 F g−1 and can be biaxially stretched up to 30% strain without any obvious change in electrochemical performance even over hundreds stretching cycles. PMID:24402400

Methane mobility in carbon nanotubes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bienfait, M.; Asmussen, B.; Johnson, M.; Zeppenfeld, P.

2000-07-01

Quasi-elastic neutron scattering has been used to characterize the diffusivity of CH 4 molecules condensed in single-wall carbon nanotubes. It is shown that the two sites of adsorption, previously observed by adsorption volumetry and calorimetry measurements, correspond to a solid-like phase for the more strongly bound site at T<120 K and to a liquid-like component for the more weakly bound site at 70< T<120 K. The diffusion coefficients of the mobile molecules range between 3×10 -7 to 15×10 -7 cm 2 s -1. The fraction of this viscous liquid diminishes as the temperature is decreased; the adsorbate is fully solidified at 50 K and below.

Phase constitution and interface structure of nano-sized Ag-Cu/AlN multilayers: Experiment and ab initio modeling

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

Pigozzi, Giancarlo; Janczak-Rusch, Jolanta; Passerone, Daniele

2012-10-29

Nano-sized Ag-Cu{sub 8nm}/AlN{sub 10nm} multilayers were deposited by reactive DC sputtering on {alpha}-Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}(0001) substrates. Investigation of the phase constitution and interface structure of the multilayers evidences a phase separation of the alloy sublayers into nanosized grains of Ag and Cu. The interfaces between the Ag grains and the quasi-single-crystalline AlN sublayers are semi-coherent, whereas the corresponding Cu/AlN interfaces are incoherent. The orientation relationship between Ag and AlN is constant throughout the entire multilayer stack. These observations are consistent with atomistic models of the interfaces as obtained by ab initio calculations.

Chirality-Controlled Synthesis and Applications of Single-Wall Carbon Nanotubes.

PubMed

Liu, Bilu; Wu, Fanqi; Gui, Hui; Zheng, Ming; Zhou, Chongwu

2017-01-24

Preparation of chirality-defined single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) is the top challenge in the nanotube field. In recent years, great progress has been made toward preparing single-chirality SWCNTs through both direct controlled synthesis and postsynthesis separation approaches. Accordingly, the uses of single-chirality-dominated SWCNTs for various applications have emerged as a new front in nanotube research. In this Review, we review recent progress made in the chirality-controlled synthesis of SWCNTs, including metal-catalyst-free SWCNT cloning by vapor-phase epitaxy elongation of purified single-chirality nanotube seeds, chirality-specific growth of SWCNTs on bimetallic solid alloy catalysts, chirality-controlled synthesis of SWCNTs using bottom-up synthetic strategy from carbonaceous molecular end-cap precursors, etc. Recent major progresses in postsynthesis separation of single-chirality SWCNT species, as well as methods for chirality characterization of SWCNTs, are also highlighted. Moreover, we discuss some examples where single-chirality SWCNTs have shown clear advantages over SWCNTs with broad chirality distributions. We hope this review could inspire more research on the chirality-controlled preparation of SWCNTs and equally important inspire the use of single-chirality SWCNT samples for more fundamental studies and practical applications.

Vapor Synthesis and Thermal Modification of Supportless Platinum–Ruthenium Nanotubes and Application as Methanol Electrooxidation Catalysts

DOE PAGES

Atkinson III, Robert W.; Unocic, Raymond R.; Unocic, Kinga A.; ...

2015-04-23

Metallic, mixed-phase, and alloyed bimetallic Pt-Ru nanotubes were synthesized by a novel route based on the sublimation of metal acetylacetonate precursors and their subsequent vapor deposition within anodic alumina templates. Nanotube architectures were tuned by thermal annealing treatments. As-synthesized nanotubes are composed of nanoparticulate, metallic platinum and hydrous ruthenium oxide whose respective thicknesses depend on the sample chemical composition. The Pt-decorated, hydrous Ru oxide nanotubes may be thermally annealed to promote a series of chemical and physical changes to the nanotube structures including alloy formation, crystallite growth and morphological evolution. Annealed Pt-Ru alloy nanotubes and their as-synthesized analogs demonstrate relativelymore » high specific activities for the oxidation of methanol. As-synthesized, mixed-phase Pt-Ru nanotubes (0.39 mA/cm2) and metallic alloyed Pt64Ru36NTs (0.33 mA/cm2) have considerably higher area-normalized activities than PtRu black (0.22 mA/cm2) at 0.65 V vs. RHE.« less

UV-light induced fabrication of CdCl2 nanotubes through CdSe/Te nanocrystals based on dimension and configuration control.

PubMed

Zeng, Jie; Liu, Chi; Huang, Jianliu; Wang, Xiaoping; Zhang, Shuyuan; Li, Gongpu; Hou, Jianguo

2008-05-01

Since the discovery of WS2 nanotubes in 1992 ( Nature 1992, 360, 444), there have been significant research efforts to synthesize nanotubes and fullerene-like hollow nanoparticles (HNPs) of inorganic materials ( Nat. Nanotechnol. 2006, 1, 103) due to their potential applications as solid lubrications ( J. Mater. Chem. 2005, 15, 1782), chemical sensing ( Adv. Funct. Mater. 2006, 16, 371), drug delivering ( J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2005, 127, 7316), catalysis ( Adv. Mater. 2006, 18, 2561), or quantum harvesting ( Acc. Chem. Res. 2006, 39, 239). Nanotubes can be produced either by rolling up directly from layer compounds ( Nature 2001, 410, 168) or through other mechanisms ( Adv. Mater. 2004, 16, 1497) such as template growth ( Nature 2003, 422, 599) and decomposition ( J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2001, 123, 4841). The Kirkendall effect, a classical phenomenon in metallurgy ( Trans. AIME 1947, 171, 130), was recently exploited to fabricate hollow 0-D nanocrystals ( Science 2004, 304, 711) as well as 1-D nanotubes ( Nat. Mater. 2006, 5, 627). Although the dimension of resulting hollow nanostructures depends on precursors, the hollow nanomaterials can also be organized into various dimensional nanostructures spontaneously or induced by an external field. In this letter, we report, for the first time, the UV-light induced fabrication of the ends-closed 1-D CdCl2 nanotubes from 0-D CdSe solid nanocrystals through the Kirkendall effect and the head-to-end assembled process. Our results demonstrate the possibility to control the dimension (0-D to 1-D) and the configuration (solid to hollow) of nanostructures simultaneously and have implications in fabricating hollow nano-objects from zero-dimensional to multidimensional.

Comparative study of nano-sized particles CoFe2O4 effects on superconducting properties of Y-123 and Y-358

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Slimani, Y.; Hannachi, E.; Ben Salem, M. K.; Hamrita, A.; Varilci, A.; Dachraoui, W.; Ben Salem, M.; Ben Azzouz, F.

2014-10-01

The effects of nano-sized CoFe2O4 particles (10 nm) addition on the structural and the normal state resistivity of YBa2Cu3O7 (noted Y-123) and Y3Ba5Cu8O18 (noted Y-358) polycrystalline were systematically studied. Samples were synthesized in oxygen atmosphere using a standard solid state reaction technique by adding CoFe2O4 up to 2 wt%. Phases, microstructure and superconductivity have been systematically investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and electrical measurements ρ(T). XRD results reveal that the lattice parameters change for both Y-123 and Y-358 phases. SEM observations reveal that the grain size is reduced with increasing the content of CoFe2O4. The measurements for the resistivity dependence of temperature show that the depression in superconducting temperature is more pronounced for CoFe2O4 addition in Y-358 compound than in Y-123 one. These results may be attributed to the existence of much more disorder due to a greater number of Cu sites to be substituted by Fe and Co in Y-358 compared to Y-123.

Chemical compatibility and properties of suspension plasma-sprayed SrTiO3-based anodes for intermediate-temperature solid oxide fuel cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Shan-Lin; Li, Cheng-Xin; Li, Chang-Jiu

2014-10-01

La-doped strontium titanate (LST) is a promising, redox-stable perovskite material for direct hydrocarbon oxidation anodes in intermediate-temperature solid oxide fuel cells (IT-SOFCs). In this study, nano-sized LST and Sm-doped ceria (SDC) powders are produced by the sol-gel and glycine-nitrate processes, respectively. The chemical compatibility between LST and electrolyte materials is studied. A LST-SDC composite anode is prepared by suspension plasma spraying (SPS). The effects of annealing conditions on the phase structure, microstructure, and chemical stability of the LST-SDC composite anode are investigated. The results indicate that the suspension plasma-sprayed LST-SDC anode has the same phase structure as the original powders. LST exhibits a good chemical compatibility with SDC and Mg/Sr-doped lanthanum gallate (LSGM). The anode has a porosity of ∼40% with a finely porous structure that provides high gas permeability and a long three-phase boundary for the anode reaction. Single cells assembled with the LST-SDC anode, La0.8Sr0.2Ga0.8Mg0.2O3 electrolyte, and La0.8Sr0.2CoO3-SDC cathode show a good performance at 650-800 °C. The annealing reduces the impedances due to the enhancement in the bonding between the particles in the anode and interface of anode and LSGM electrolyte, thus improving the output performance of the cell.

Improving mechanical properties of carbon nanotube fibers through simultaneous solid-state cycloaddition and crosslinking

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

Lu, Xinyi; Hiremath, Nitilaksha; Hong, Kunlun

Individual carbon nanotubes (CNTs) exhibit exceptional mechanical properties. However, difficulties remain in fully realizing these properties in CNT macro-assemblies, because the weak inter-tube forces result in the CNTs sliding past one another. Here in this study, a simple solid-state reaction is presented that enhances the mechanical properties of carbon nanotube fibers (CNTFs) through simultaneous covalent functionalization and crosslinking. This is the first chemical crosslinking proposed without the involvement of a catalyst or byproducts. The specific tensile strength of CNTFs obtained from the treatment employing a benzocyclobutene-based polymer is improved by 40%. Such improvement can be attributed to a reduced numbermore » of voids, impregnation of the polymer, and the formation of covalent crosslinks. This methodology is confirmed using both multiwalled nanotube (MWNT) powders and CNTFs. Thermogravimetric analysis, differential scanning calorimetry, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscopy of the treated MWNT powders confirm the covalent functionalization and formation of inter-tube crosslinks. This simple one-step reaction can be applied to industrial-scale production of high-strength CNTFs.« less

Improving mechanical properties of carbon nanotube fibers through simultaneous solid-state cycloaddition and crosslinking

DOE PAGES

Lu, Xinyi; Hiremath, Nitilaksha; Hong, Kunlun; ...

2017-03-13

Individual carbon nanotubes (CNTs) exhibit exceptional mechanical properties. However, difficulties remain in fully realizing these properties in CNT macro-assemblies, because the weak inter-tube forces result in the CNTs sliding past one another. Here in this study, a simple solid-state reaction is presented that enhances the mechanical properties of carbon nanotube fibers (CNTFs) through simultaneous covalent functionalization and crosslinking. This is the first chemical crosslinking proposed without the involvement of a catalyst or byproducts. The specific tensile strength of CNTFs obtained from the treatment employing a benzocyclobutene-based polymer is improved by 40%. Such improvement can be attributed to a reduced numbermore » of voids, impregnation of the polymer, and the formation of covalent crosslinks. This methodology is confirmed using both multiwalled nanotube (MWNT) powders and CNTFs. Thermogravimetric analysis, differential scanning calorimetry, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscopy of the treated MWNT powders confirm the covalent functionalization and formation of inter-tube crosslinks. This simple one-step reaction can be applied to industrial-scale production of high-strength CNTFs.« less

Ionic Liquid-Mediated Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotube-Polydimethylsiloxane Fiber for Headspace Solid-Phase Microextraction of Phenolic Compounds in Aqueous Samples by Gas Chromatography Coupled to Flame Ionization Detector.

PubMed

Sadri, Minoo; Vatani, Hossein

2017-02-01

An ionic liquid-mediated multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT)-polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) sorbent was developed for headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) of phenolic compounds from human urine samples. Sol-gel method was used to prepare this sorbent. For this purpose, MWCNTs were functionalized covalently and were attached chemically to the hydroxyl-terminated PDMS. Prepared fiber showed high thermal stability (over than 320°C) and good lifespan (>210 times). These good performances can be attributed to the performance of carbon nanotubes and sol-gel method. Affecting parameters on the efficiency of HS-SPME were investigated and optimized. Under the optimal conditions, linear dynamic ranges were observed over a range of 0.002-200 ng mL -1 with limits of detection from 0.0005 to 0.005 ng mL -1 and limits of quantitation between 0.002 and 0.02 ng mL -1 The relative standard deviations for one fiber (repeatability) (n = 5) at three different concentrations (0.05, 2 and 100 ng mL -1 ) were obtained from 4.6 up to 6.7% and between fibers or batch to batch (n = 3) (reproducibility) in the range of 5.7-7.8%. Urine samples were used as real samples. All real samples were spiked at 0.5 ng mL -1 of understudy analytes and the relative recovery percentages obtained from 90.7 to 102.1%. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Synthesis of lab-in-a-pipette-tip extraction using hydrophilic nano-sized dummy molecularly imprinted polymer for purification and analysis of prednisolone.

PubMed

Arabi, Maryam; Ghaedi, Mehrorang; Ostovan, Abbas; Wang, Shaobin

2016-10-15

A novel pipette-tip based on nano-sized dummy molecularly imprinted polymer (PT-DMIP) assisted by ultrasonication for the effective enrichment and analysis of prednisolone from urine samples was developed. The PT-DMIP cartridge was prepared by packing the dummy molecularly imprinted polymer at the tip of the micropipette. The polymerization used betamethasone (BM) as the dummy template, 3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane (APTMS) as the functionalized monomer, tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) as the cross-linker and aluminum ion (Al(3+)) as a dopant to produce Lewis acid sites in the silica matrix for metal coordinative interactions with the analyte. Compared to conventional solid phase extraction (SPE), the PT-DMIP is cost-effective, fast, and easy to handle, while the system is very approachable and reduces the consumption of toxic organic solvent. HPLC-UV analysis revealed successful applicability of the sorbent for highly efficient extraction of perdnisolone from urine matrices. The extraction recovery was investigated and optimum conditions were obtained using central composite design. Good linearity for prednisolone in the range of 0.22-220μgL(-1) with regression coefficients of 0.99 reveals high applicability of the method for trace analysis. Under the optimized conditions, the recoveries are 89.0-96.1 with relative standard deviations (RSD) of less than 9.0%. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Estimation of Effective Directional Strength of Single Walled Wavy CNT Reinforced Nanocomposite

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bhowmik, Krishnendu; Kumar, Pranav; Khutia, Niloy; Chowdhury, Amit Roy

2018-03-01

In this present work, single walled wavy carbon nanotube reinforced into composite has been studied to predict the effective directional strength of the nanocomposite. The effect of waviness on the overall Young’s modulus of the composite has been analysed using three dimensional finite element model. Waviness pattern of carbon nanotube is considered as periodic cosine function. Both long (continuous) and short (discontinuous) carbon nanotubes are being idealized as solid annular tube. Short carbon nanotube is modelled with hemispherical cap at its both ends. Representative Volume Element models have been developed with different waviness, height fractions, volume fractions and modulus ratios of carbon nanotubes. Consequently a micromechanics based analytical model has been formulated to derive the effective reinforcing modulus of wavy carbon nanotubes. In these models wavy single walled wavy carbon nanotubes are considered to be aligned along the longitudinal axis of the Representative Volume Element model. Results obtained from finite element analyses are compared with analytical model and they are found in good agreement.

Numerical simulation of electron scattering by nanotube junctions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brüning, J.; Grikurov, V. E.

2008-03-01

We demonstrate the possibility of computing the intensity of electronic transport through various junctions of three-dimensional metallic nanotubes. In particular, we observe that the magnetic field can be used to control the switch of electron in Y-type junctions. Keeping in mind the asymptotic modeling of reliable nanostructures by quantum graphs, we conjecture that the scattering matrix of the graph should be the same as the scattering matrix of its nanosize-prototype. The numerical computation of the latter gives a method for determining the "gluing" conditions at a graph. Exploring this conjecture, we show that the Kirchhoff conditions (which are commonly used on graphs) cannot be applied to model reliable junctions. This work is a natural extension of the paper [1], but it is written in a self-consistent manner.

Carbon Nanotube Fiber Ionization Mass Spectrometry: A Fundamental Study of a Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotube Functionalized Corona Discharge Pin for Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons Analysis.

PubMed

Nahan, Keaton S; Alvarez, Noe; Shanov, Vesselin; Vonderheide, Anne

2017-11-01

Mass spectrometry continues to tackle many complicated tasks, and ongoing research seeks to simplify its instrumentation as well as sampling. The desorption electrospray ionization (DESI) source was the first ambient ionization source to function without extensive gas requirements and chromatography. Electrospray techniques generally have low efficiency for ionization of nonpolar analytes and some researchers have resorted to methods such as direct analysis in real time (DART) or desorption atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (DAPCI) for their analysis. In this work, a carbon nanotube fiber ionization (nanoCFI) source was developed and was found to be capable of solid phase microextraction (SPME) of nonpolar analytes as well as ionization and sampling similar to that of direct probe atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (DP-APCI). Conductivity and adsorption were maintained by utilizing a corona pin functionalized with a multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) thread. Quantitative work with the nanoCFI source with a designed corona discharge pin insert demonstrated linearity up to 0.97 (R 2 ) of three target PAHs with phenanthrene internal standard. Graphical Abstract ᅟ.

Carbon Nanotube Fiber Ionization Mass Spectrometry: A Fundamental Study of a Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotube Functionalized Corona Discharge Pin for Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons Analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nahan, Keaton S.; Alvarez, Noe; Shanov, Vesselin; Vonderheide, Anne

2017-09-01

Mass spectrometry continues to tackle many complicated tasks, and ongoing research seeks to simplify its instrumentation as well as sampling. The desorption electrospray ionization (DESI) source was the first ambient ionization source to function without extensive gas requirements and chromatography. Electrospray techniques generally have low efficiency for ionization of nonpolar analytes and some researchers have resorted to methods such as direct analysis in real time (DART) or desorption atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (DAPCI) for their analysis. In this work, a carbon nanotube fiber ionization (nanoCFI) source was developed and was found to be capable of solid phase microextraction (SPME) of nonpolar analytes as well as ionization and sampling similar to that of direct probe atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (DP-APCI). Conductivity and adsorption were maintained by utilizing a corona pin functionalized with a multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) thread. Quantitative work with the nanoCFI source with a designed corona discharge pin insert demonstrated linearity up to 0.97 (R2) of three target PAHs with phenanthrene internal standard. [Figure not available: see fulltext.

Self-assembled hybrid polymer-TiO2 nanotube array heterojunction solar cells.

PubMed

Shankar, Karthik; Mor, Gopal K; Prakasam, Haripriya E; Varghese, Oomman K; Grimes, Craig A

2007-11-20

Films comprised of 4 microm long titanium dioxide nanotube arrays were fabricated by anodizing Ti foils in an ethylene glycol based electrolyte. A carboxylated polythiophene derivative was self-assembled onto the TiO2 nanotube arrays by immersing them in a solution of the polymer. The binding sites of the carboxylate moiety along the polymer chain provide multiple anchoring sites to the substrate, making for a stable rugged film. Backside illuminated liquid junction solar cells based on TiO2 nanotube films sensitized by the self-assembled polymeric layer showed a short-circuit current density of 5.5 mA cm-2, a 0.7 V open circuit potential, and a 0.55 fill factor yielding power conversion efficiencies of 2.1% under AM 1.5 sun. A backside illuminated single heterojunction solid state solar cell using the same self-assembled polymer was demonstrated and yielded a photocurrent density as high as 2.0 mA cm-2. When a double heterojunction was formed by infiltrating a blend of poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) and C60-methanofullerene into the self-assembled polymer coated nanotube arrays, a photocurrent as high as 6.5 mA cm-2 was obtained under AM 1.5 sun with a corresponding efficiency of 1%. The photocurrent action spectra showed a maximum incident photon-to-electron conversion efficiency (IPCE) of 53% for the liquid junction cells and 25% for the single heterojunction solid state solar cells.

Si-FeSi2/C nanocomposite anode materials produced by two-stage high-energy mechanical milling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Yun Mo; Loka, Chadrasekhar; Kim, Dong Phil; Joo, Sin Yong; Moon, Sung Whan; Choi, Yi Sik; Park, Jung Han; Lee, Kee-Sun

2017-05-01

High capacity retention Silicon-based nanocomposite anode materials have been extensively explored for use in lithium-ion rechargeable batteries. Here we report the preparation of Si-FeSi2/C nanocomposite through scalable a two-stage high-energy mechanical milling process, in which nano-scale Si-FeSi2 powders are besieged by the carbon (graphite/amorphous phase) layer; and investigation of their structure, morphology and electrochemical performance. Raman analysis revealed that the carbon layer structure comprised of graphitic and amorphous phase rather than a single amorphous phase. Anodes fabricated with the Si-FeSi2/C showed excellent electrochemical behavior such as a first discharge capacity of 1082 mAh g-1 and a high capacity retention until the 30th cycle. A remarkable coulombic efficiency of 99.5% was achieved within a few cycles. Differential capacity plots of the Si-FeSi2/C anodes revealed a stable lithium reaction with Si for lithiation/delithiation. The enhanced electrochemical properties of the Si-FeSi2/C nanocomposite are mainly attributed to the nano-size Si and stable solid electrolyte interface formation and highly conductive path driven by the carbon layer.

Extraction of toxic compounds from saliva by magnetic-stirring-assisted micro-solid-phase extraction step followed by headspace-gas chromatography-ion mobility spectrometry.

PubMed

Criado-García, Laura; Arce, Lourdes

2016-09-01

A new sample extraction procedure based on micro-solid-phase extraction (μSPE) using a mixture of sorbents of different polarities (polymeric reversed-phase sorbent HLB, silica-based sorbent C18, and multiwalled carbon nanotubes) was applied to extract benzene, toluene, butyraldehyde, benzaldehyde, and tolualdehyde present in saliva to avoid interference from moisture and matrix components and enhance sensitivity and selectivity of the ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) methodology proposed. The extraction of target analytes from saliva samples by using μSPE were followed by the desorption step carried out in the headspace vials placed in the autosampler of the IMS device. Then, 200 μL of headspace was injected into the GC column coupled to the IMS for its analysis. The method was fully validated in terms of sensitivity, precision, and recovery. The LODs and LOQs obtained, when analytes were dissolved in saliva samples to consider the matrix effect, were within the range of 0.38-0.49 and 1.26-1.66 μg mL(-1), respectively. The relative standard deviations were <3.5 % for retention time and drift time values, which indicate that the method proposed can be applied to determine toxic compounds in saliva samples. Graphical abstract Summary of steps followed in the experimental set up of this work.

Cellulose nanofibril/reduced graphene oxide/carbon nanotube hybrid aerogels for highly flexible and all-solid-state supercapacitors

Treesearch

Qifeng Zheng; Zhiyong Cai; Zhenqiang Ma; Shaoqin Gong

2015-01-01

A novel type of highly flexible and all-solid-state supercapacitor that uses cellulose nanofibril (CNF)/reduced graphene oxide (RGO)/carbon nanotube (CNT) hybrid aerogels as electrodes and H2SO4 poly (vinyl alcohol) PVA gel as the electrolyte was developed and is reported here. These flexible solid-state supercapacitors...

Solid-phase microextraction based on an agarose-chitosan-multiwalled carbon nanotube composite film combined with HPLC-UV for the determination of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in aqueous samples.

PubMed

Wan Ibrahim, Wan Nazihah; Sanagi, Mohd Marsin; Mohamad Hanapi, Nor Suhaila; Kamaruzaman, Sazlinda; Yahaya, Noorfatimah; Wan Ibrahim, Wan Aini

2018-06-07

We describe the preparation, characterization and application of a composite film adsorbent based on blended agarose-chitosan-multi-walled carbon nanotubes for the preconcentration of selected non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in aqueous samples before determination by high-performance liquid chromatography with UV detection. The composite film showed high surface area (4.0258 m 2 /g) and strong hydrogen bonding between multi-walled carbon nanotubes and agarose/chitosan matrix, which prevent adsorbent deactivation and ensure long-term stability. Several parameters, namely, sample pH, addition of salt, extraction time, desorption solvent and concentration of multi-walled carbon nanotubes in the composite film were optimized using a one-factor-at-time approach. The optimum extraction conditions obtained were as follows: isopropanol as conditioning solvent, 10 mL of sample solution at pH 2, extraction time of 30 min, stirring speed of 600 rpm, 100 μL of isopropanol as desorption solvent, desorption time of 5 min under ultrasonication, and 0.4% w/v of composite film. Under optimized conditions, the calibration curved showed good linearity in the range of 1-500 ng/mL (r 2  = 0.997-0.999), good limits of detection (0.89-8.05 ng/mL) were obtained with good relative standard deviations of < 4.59% (n = 3) for the determination of naproxen, diclofenac sodium salt and mefenamic acid drugs. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Hydrothermal synthesis of nanocubes of sillenite type compounds for photovoltaic applications and solar energy conversion of carbon dioxide to fuels

DOEpatents

Subramanian, Vaidyanathan; Murugesan, Sankaran

2014-04-29

The present invention relates to formation of nanocubes of sillenite type compounds, such as bismuth titanate, i.e., Bi.sub.12TiO.sub.20, nanocubes, via a hydrothermal synthesis process, with the resulting compound(s) having multifunctional properties such as being useful in solar energy conversion, environmental remediation, and/or energy storage, for example. In one embodiment, a hydrothermal method is disclosed that transforms nanoparticles of TiO.sub.2 to bismuth titanate, i.e., Bi.sub.12TiO.sub.20, nanocubes, optionally loaded with palladium nanoparticles. The method includes reacting titanium dioxide nanotubes with a bismuth salt in an acidic bath at a temperature sufficient and for a time sufficient to form bismuth titanate crystals, which are subsequently annealed to form bismuth titanate nanocubes. After annealing, the bismuth titanate nanocubes may be optionally loaded with nano-sized metal particles, e.g., nanosized palladium particles.

Thermodynamically equilibrium roton states of nanoparticles in molten and vapour phases

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Karasevskii, A. I.

2015-05-01

We show a possibility for a thermodynamically equilibrium nanocrystalline structure consisting of nanosized solid inclusions to appear in a melt just beyond the melting curve. Thermodynamic stability of the nanocrystalline structure in the melt results from the free energy lowering due to rotational motion of nanoparticles. The main contribution to the reduction of the free energy of the system is due to an increase in the rotational entropy and change in formation energy of nanocrystals, i.e. the nanocrystalline structure in the melt, like vacancies in a crystal, is an equilibrium defect structure of the melt. It is demonstrated that similar nanocrystalline structures can also appear in the vapour phase in the form of liquid nanodrops and in liquid solutions, e.g. in He II.

Temperature dependence of strain energy and thermodynamic properties of V2 O5 -based single-walled nanotubes: Zone-folding approach.

PubMed

Porsev, Vitaly V; Bandura, Andrei V; Evarestov, Robert A

2016-06-15

A zone-folding approach is applied to estimate the thermodynamic properties of V2 O5 -based nanotubes. The results obtained are compared with those from the direct calculations. It is shown that the zone-folding approximation allows an accurate estimation of nanotube thermodynamic properties and gives a gain in computation time compared to their direct calculations. Both approaches show that temperature effects do not change the relative stability of V2 O5 free layers and nanotubes derived from the α- and γ-phase. The internal energy thermal contributions into the strain energy of nanotubes are small and can be ignored. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

3D Printing of Carbon Nanotubes-Based Microsupercapacitors.

PubMed

Yu, Wei; Zhou, Han; Li, Ben Q; Ding, Shujiang

2017-02-08

A novel 3D printing procedure is presented for fabricating carbon-nanotubes (CNTs)-based microsupercapacitors. The 3D printer uses a CNTs ink slurry with a moderate solid content and prints a stream of continuous droplets. Appropriate control of a heated base is applied to facilitate the solvent removal and adhesion between printed layers and to improve the structure integrity without structure delamination or distortion upon drying. The 3D-printed electrodes for microsupercapacitors are characterized by SEM, laser scanning confocal microscope, and step profiler. Effect of process parameters on 3D printing is also studied. The final solid-state microsupercapacitors are assembled with the printed multilayer CNTs structures and poly(vinyl alcohol)-H 3 PO 4 gel as the interdigitated microelectrodes and electrolyte. The electrochemical performance of 3D printed microsupercapacitors is also tested, showing a significant areal capacitance and excellent cycle stability.

Approaching Piezoelectric Response of Pb-Piezoelectrics in Hydrothermally Synthesized Bi0.5(Na1- xK x)0.5TiO3 Nanotubes.

PubMed

Ghasemian, Mohammad Bagher; Rawal, Aditya; Liu, Yun; Wang, Danyang

2018-06-20

A large piezoelectric coefficient of 76 pm/V along the diameter direction, approaching that of lead-based piezoelectrics, is observed in hydrothermally synthesized Pb-free Bi 0.5 (Na 0.8 K 0.2 ) 0.5 TiO 3 nanotubes. The 30-50 nm diameter nanotubes are formed through a scrolling and wrapping mechanism without the need of a surfactant or template. A molar ratio of KOH/NaOH = 0.5 for the mineralizers yields the Na/K ratio of ∼0.8:0.2, corresponding to an orthorhombic-tetragonal (O-T) phase boundary composition. X-ray diffraction patterns along with transmission electron microscopy analysis ascertain the coexistence of orthorhombic and tetragonal phases with (110) and (001) orientations along the nanotube length direction, respectively. 23 Na NMR spectroscopy confirms the higher degree of disorder in Bi 0.5 (Na 1- x K x ) 0.5 TiO 3 nanotubes with O-T phase coexistence. These findings present a significant advance toward the application of Pb-free piezoelectric materials.

Interstitial atoms enable joint twinning and transformation induced plasticity in strong and ductile high-entropy alloys

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Zhiming; Tasan, Cemal Cem; Springer, Hauke; Gault, Baptiste; Raabe, Dierk

2017-01-01

High-entropy alloys (HEAs) consisting of multiple principle elements provide an avenue for realizing exceptional mechanical, physical and chemical properties. We report a novel strategy for designing a new class of HEAs incorporating the additional interstitial element carbon. This results in joint activation of twinning- and transformation-induced plasticity (TWIP and TRIP) by tuning the matrix phase’s instability in a metastable TRIP-assisted dual-phase HEA. Besides TWIP and TRIP, such alloys benefit from massive substitutional and interstitial solid solution strengthening as well as from the composite effect associated with its dual-phase structure. Nanosize particle formation and grain size reduction are also utilized. The new interstitial TWIP-TRIP-HEA thus unifies all metallic strengthening mechanisms in one material, leading to twice the tensile strength compared to a single-phase HEA with similar composition, yet, at identical ductility.

Thermodynamics at the nanoscale: phase diagrams of nickel-carbon nanoclusters and equilibrium constants for phase transitions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Engelmann, Yannick; Bogaerts, Annemie; Neyts, Erik C.

2014-09-01

Using reactive molecular dynamics simulations, the melting behavior of nickel-carbon nanoclusters is examined. The phase diagrams of icosahedral and Wulff polyhedron clusters are determined using both the Lindemann index and the potential energy. Formulae are derived for calculating the equilibrium constants and the solid and liquid fractions during a phase transition, allowing more rational determination of the melting temperature with respect to the arbitrary Lindemann value. These results give more insight into the properties of nickel-carbon nanoclusters in general and can specifically be very useful for a better understanding of the synthesis of carbon nanotubes using the catalytic chemical vapor deposition method.

Iron-carbide cluster thermal dynamics for catalyzed carbon nanotube growth

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ding, Feng; Bolton, Kim; Rosén, Arne

2004-07-01

Molecular dynamics simulations have been used to study the thermal behavior of FeN-mCm clusters where N, the total number of atoms, extends up to 2400. Comparison of the computed results with experimental data shows that the simulations yield the correct trends for the liquid-solid region of the iron-carbide phase diagram as well as the correct dependence of cluster melting point as a function of cluster size. The calculation indicates that, when carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are grown on large (>3-4 nm) catalyst particles at low temperatures (<1200 K), the catalyst particles are not completely molten. It is argued that the mechanism of CNT growth under these conditions may be governed by the surface melting of the cluster. .

The importance of the solids loading on confirming the dielectric nanosize dependence of BaTiO₃ powders by slurry method.

PubMed

Zhou, Wei; Nie, Yi Mei; Li, Shu Jing; Liang, Hai Yan

2013-01-01

The dielectric nanosize dependence of BaTiO₃ powders was investigated by the slurry method, where two series of BaTiO₃ slurries with 10 vol% and 30 vol% solids loadings were prepared as model samples. Applying the Bruggeman-Hanai equation, the high-frequency limiting permittivity (ε(h)) of the slurries was extracted from the dielectric spectra. The ε(h) of the 10 vol% slurry showed abnormal size independence in the range from 100 nm to 700 nm, and the ε(h) of the 30 vol% slurry exhibited good agreement with the previous prediction. Through analysing quantitatively the response of ε(h) to the changing permittivity of the powders under different solids loading, it was found that the ε h of the slurry with lower solids loading is more inclined to be interfered by the systematic and random errors. Furthermore, a high permittivity value was found in the BaTiO₃ powders with 50 nm particle size.

Exposure to nano-size titanium dioxide causes oxidative damages in human mesothelial cells: The crystal form rather than size of particle contributes to cytotoxicity.

PubMed

Hattori, Kenji; Nakadate, Kazuhiko; Morii, Akane; Noguchi, Takumi; Ogasawara, Yuki; Ishii, Kazuyuki

2017-10-14

Exposure to nanoparticles such as carbon nanotubes has been shown to cause pleural mesothelioma similar to that caused by asbestos, and has become an environmental health issue. Not only is the percutaneous absorption of nano-size titanium dioxide particles frequently considered problematic, but the possibility of absorption into the body through the pulmonary route is also a concern. Nevertheless, there are few reports of nano-size titanium dioxide particles on respiratory organ exposure and dynamics or on the mechanism of toxicity. In this study, we focused on the morphology as well as the size of titanium dioxide particles. In comparing the effects between nano-size anatase and rutile titanium dioxide on human-derived pleural mesothelial cells, the anatase form was shown to be actively absorbed into cells, producing reactive oxygen species and causing oxidative damage to DNA. In contrast, we showed for the first time that the rutile form is not easily absorbed by cells and, therefore, does not cause oxidative DNA damage and is significantly less damaging to cells. These results suggest that with respect to the toxicity of titanium dioxide particles on human-derived mesothelial cells, the crystal form rather than the particle size has a greater effect on cellular absorption. Also, it was indicated that the difference in absorption is the primary cause of the difference in the toxicity against mesothelial cells. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A novel polymeric ionic liquid-coated magnetic multiwalled carbon nanotubes for the solid-phase extraction of Cu, Zn-superoxide dismutase.

PubMed

Wen, Qian; Wang, Yuzhi; Xu, Kaijia; Li, Na; Zhang, Hongmei; Yang, Qin

2016-10-05

A novel magnetic adsorbent, benzyl groups functionalized imidazolium-based polymeric ionic liquid (PIL)-coated magnetic multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) (m-MWCNTs@PIL), has been successfully synthesized and applied for the extraction of Cu, Zn-superoxide dismutase (Cu, Zn-SOD). The m-MWCNTs@PIL were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (FT-IR), thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) and zeta-potential nanoparticles. In this method, the m-MWCNTs@PIL could interact with Cu, Zn-SOD through hydrogen bonding, π-π and electrostatic interactions. The extraction performance of the m-MWCNTs@PIL in the magnetic solid-phase extraction (MSPE) procedure was investigated, coupled with the determination by UV-vis spectrophotometer. Compared with m-MWCNTs@IL and m-MWCNTs, the m-MWCNTs@PIL exhibited the highest extraction capacity of 29.1 mg/g for Cu, Zn-SOD. The adsorbed Cu, Zn-SOD remained high specific activity after being eluted from m-MWCNTs@PIL by 1 moL/L NaCl solution. Besides, the m-MWCNTs@PIL could be easily recycled and successfully employed in the extraction of Cu, Zn-SOD from real samples. Under the optimal conditions, the precision, repeatability and stability of the proposed method were investigated and the RSDs were 0.29%, 1.68% and 0.54%, respectively. Recoveries were in the range of 82.7-102.3%, with the RSD between 3.47% and 5.35%. On the basis of these results, the developed method has great potential in the extraction of Cu, Zn-SOD or other analytes from biological samples. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Simultaneous speciation analysis of inorganic arsenic, chromium and selenium in environmental waters by 3-(2-aminoethylamino) propyltrimethoxysilane modified multi-wall carbon nanotubes packed microcolumn solid phase extraction and ICP-MS.

PubMed

Peng, Hanyong; Zhang, Nan; He, Man; Chen, Beibei; Hu, Bin

2015-01-01

Speciation analysis of inorganic arsenic, chromium and selenium in environmental waters is of great significance for the monitoring of environmental pollution. In this work, 3-(2-aminoethylamino) propyltrimethoxysilane (AAPTS) functionalized multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were synthesized and employed as the adsorbent for simultaneous speciation analysis of inorganic arsenic, chromium and selenium in environmental waters by microcolumn solid-phase extraction (SPE)-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). It was found that As(V), Cr(VI) and Se(VI) could be selectively adsorbed on the microcolumn packed with AAPTS-MWCNTs adsorbent at pH around 2.2, while As(III), Cr(III) and Se(IV) could not be retained at this pH and passed through the microcolumn directly. Total inorganic arsenic, chromium and selenium was determined after the oxidation of As(III), Cr(III) and Se(IV) to As(V), Cr(VI) and Se(VI) with 10.0 μmol L(-1) KMnO4. The assay of As(III), Cr(III) and Se(IV) was based on subtracting As(V), Cr(VI) and Se(VI) from the total As, Cr and Se, respectively. Under the optimized conditions, the detection limits of 15, 38 and 16 ng L(-1) with the relative standard deviations (RSDs) of 7.4, 2.4 and 6.2% (c=1 µg L(-1), n=7) were obtained for As(V), Cr(VI) and Se(VI), respectively. The developed method was validated by analyzing four Certified Reference Materials, rainwater, Yangtze River and East Lake waters. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Massive radius-dependent flow slippage in carbon nanotubes.

PubMed

Secchi, Eleonora; Marbach, Sophie; Niguès, Antoine; Stein, Derek; Siria, Alessandro; Bocquet, Lydéric

2016-09-08

Measurements and simulations have found that water moves through carbon nanotubes at exceptionally high rates owing to nearly frictionless interfaces. These observations have stimulated interest in nanotube-based membranes for applications including desalination, nano-filtration and energy harvesting, yet the exact mechanisms of water transport inside the nanotubes and at the water-carbon interface continue to be debated because existing theories do not provide a satisfactory explanation for the limited number of experimental results available so far. This lack of experimental results arises because, even though controlled and systematic studies have explored transport through individual nanotubes, none has met the considerable technical challenge of unambiguously measuring the permeability of a single nanotube. Here we show that the pressure-driven flow rate through individual nanotubes can be determined with unprecedented sensitivity and without dyes from the hydrodynamics of water jets as they emerge from single nanotubes into a surrounding fluid. Our measurements reveal unexpectedly large and radius-dependent surface slippage in carbon nanotubes, and no slippage in boron nitride nanotubes that are crystallographically similar to carbon nanotubes, but electronically different. This pronounced contrast between the two systems must originate from subtle differences in the atomic-scale details of their solid-liquid interfaces, illustrating that nanofluidics is the frontier at which the continuum picture of fluid mechanics meets the atomic nature of matter.

Massive radius-dependent flow slippage in carbon nanotubes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Secchi, Eleonora; Marbach, Sophie; Niguès, Antoine; Stein, Derek; Siria, Alessandro; Bocquet, Lydéric

2016-09-01

Measurements and simulations have found that water moves through carbon nanotubes at exceptionally high rates owing to nearly frictionless interfaces. These observations have stimulated interest in nanotube-based membranes for applications including desalination, nano-filtration and energy harvesting, yet the exact mechanisms of water transport inside the nanotubes and at the water-carbon interface continue to be debated because existing theories do not provide a satisfactory explanation for the limited number of experimental results available so far. This lack of experimental results arises because, even though controlled and systematic studies have explored transport through individual nanotubes, none has met the considerable technical challenge of unambiguously measuring the permeability of a single nanotube. Here we show that the pressure-driven flow rate through individual nanotubes can be determined with unprecedented sensitivity and without dyes from the hydrodynamics of water jets as they emerge from single nanotubes into a surrounding fluid. Our measurements reveal unexpectedly large and radius-dependent surface slippage in carbon nanotubes, and no slippage in boron nitride nanotubes that are crystallographically similar to carbon nanotubes, but electronically different. This pronounced contrast between the two systems must originate from subtle differences in the atomic-scale details of their solid-liquid interfaces, illustrating that nanofluidics is the frontier at which the continuum picture of fluid mechanics meets the atomic nature of matter.

Interaction of solid organic acids with carbon nanotube field effect transistors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Klinke, Christian; Afzali, Ali; Avouris, Phaedon

2006-10-01

A series of solid organic acids were used to p-dope carbon nanotubes. The extent of doping is shown to be dependent on the pKa value of the acids. Highly fluorinated carboxylic acids and sulfonic acids are very effective in shifting the threshold voltage and making carbon nanotube field effect transistors to be more p-type devices. Weaker acids like phosphonic or hydroxamic acids had less effect. The doping of the devices was accompanied by a reduction of the hysteresis in the transfer characteristics. In-solution doping survives standard fabrication processes and renders p-doped carbon nanotube field effect transistors with good transport characteristics.

Structure, optical and phonon properties of bulk and nanocrystalline Al2-xScx(WO4)3 solid solutions doped with Cr3+

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mączka, M.; Hermanowicz, K.; Pietraszko, A.; Yordanova, A.; Koseva, I.

2014-01-01

Pure and Cr3+ doped nanosized Al2-xScx(WO4)3 solid solutions were prepared by co-precipitation method as well as Al2-xScx(WO4)3 single crystals were grown by high-temperature flux method. The obtained samples were characterized by X-ray, Raman, IR, absorption and luminescence methods. Single crystal X-ray diffraction showed that AlSc(WO4)3 is orthorhombic at room temperature with space group Pnca and trivalent cations are statistically distributed. Raman and IR studies showed that Al2-xScx(WO4)3 solid solutions show "two mode" behavior. They also showed that vibrational properties of nanosized samples have been weakly modified in comparison with the bulk materials. The luminescence and absorption spectra revealed that chromium ions occupy two sites of weak and strong crystal field strength.

Evaluation of multi-walled carbon nanotubes as solid-phase extraction adsorbents of pesticides from agricultural, ornamental and forestal soils.

PubMed

Asensio-Ramos, M; Hernández-Borges, J; Borges-Miquel, T M; Rodríguez-Delgado, M A

2009-08-11

A new, simple and cost-effective method based on the use of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) as solid-phase extraction stationary phases is proposed for the determination of a group of seven organophosphorus pesticides (i.e. ethoprophos, diazinon, chlorpyriphos-methyl, fenitrothion, malathion, chlorpyriphos and phosmet) and one thiadiazine (buprofezin) in different kinds of soil samples (forestal, ornamental and agricultural) using gas chromatography with nitrogen phosphorus detection. Soils were first ultrasound extracted with 10 mL 1:1 methanol/acetonitrile (v/v) and the evaporated extract redissolved in 20 mL water (pH 6.0) was passed through 100 mg of MWCNTs of 10-15 nm o.d., 2-6 nm i.d. and 0.1-10 microm length. Elution was carried out with 20 mL dichloromethane. The method was validated in terms of linearity, precision, recovery, accuracy and selectivity. Matrix-matched calibration was carried out for each type of soil since statistical differences between the calibration curves constructed in pure solvent and in the reconstituted soil extract were found for most of the pesticides under study. Recovery values of spiked samples ranged between 54 and 91% for the three types of soils (limits of detection (LODs) between 2.97 and 9.49 ngg(-1)), except for chlorpyrifos, chlorpyrifos-methyl and buprofezin which ranged between 12 and 54% (LODs between 3.14 and 72.4 ngg(-1)), which are the pesticides with the highest soil organic carbon sorption coefficient (K(OC)) values. Using a one-sample test (Student's t-test) with fortified samples at two concentration levels in each type of soil, no significant differences were observed between the real and the experimental values (accuracy percentages ranged between 87 and 117%). It is the first time that the adsorptive potential of MWCNTs for the extraction of organophosphorus pesticides from soils is investigated.

Synthesis of polyetherimide / halloysite nanotubes (PEI/HNTs) based nanocomposite membrane towards hydrogen storage

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Muthu, R. Naresh; Rajashabala, S.; Kannan, R.

2018-04-01

Even though hydrogen is considered as green and clean energy sources of future, the blooming of hydrogen economy mainly relies on the development of safe and efficient hydrogen storage medium. The present work is aimed at the synthesis and characterization of polyetherimide/acid treated halloysite nanotubes (PEI/A-HNTs) nanocomposite membranes for solid state hydrogen storage medium, where phase inversion technique was adopted for the synthesis of nanocomposite membrane. The synthesized PEI/A-HNTs nanocomposite membranes were characterized by XRD, FTIR, SEM, EDX, CHNS elemental analysis and TGA. Hydrogenation studies were performed using a Sievert's-like hydrogenation setup. The important conclusions arrived from the present work are the PEI/A-HNTs nanocomposite membranes have better performance with a maximum hydrogen storage capacity of 3.6 wt% at 100 °C than pristine PEI. The adsorbed hydrogen possesses the average binding energy of 0.31 eV which lies in the recommended range of US- DOE 2020 targets. Hence it is expected that the PEI/A-HNTs nanocomposite membranes may have bright extent in the scenario of hydrogen fuel cell applications.

Electrostatic stabilization of multi-walled carbon nanotubes dispersed in nonaqueous media.

PubMed

Damasceno, João Paulo V; Zarbin, Aldo J G

2018-06-04

Dispersing carbon nanotubes is an easy and low-cost way to manipulate these solids and allows the preparation of more complex materials or devices, so it is fundamental for further uses that these dispersions have controlled properties and high colloidal stability. In this work we report the spontaneous electrical charge build-up in pristine multi-walled carbon nanotubes dispersed in common organic solvents such as chloroform and tetrahydrofuran and the achievement of dispersions stable for long periods without adding passivant agents or functional groups on nanotubes surface. Results from electrokinetics, homo- and heterocoagulation provided macroscopic evidences that carbon nanotubes acquire electric charges after dispersion in some organic liquids and we confirmed this process by measuring in situ Raman spectra of the nanotubes dispersions with higher surface electric potentials. We also show that the signal of electric potential of the dispersions can be predicted by the acid-base behaviour of the dispersing medium, corroborating previously reports for other dispersions of carbon nanomaterials. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Combustion of Micro- and Nanothermites under Elevating Pressure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Monogarov, K.; Pivkina, Alla; Muravyev, N.; Meerov, D.; Dilhan, D.

Non-equilibrium process of combustion-wave propagation of thermite compositions (Mg/Fe2O3) inside the sealed steel tube have been investigated to study the burning rate at elevating pressure. Under confinement the hot gas-phase products, formed during thermite combustion result in considerable overpressure inside the tube that reverses the gas flow and leads to pressure-driven preheating effect of the burned-gas permeation. Convective origin of this preheating effect is discussed. The pressure-time dependency is obtained experimentally. The composition was pressed inside the steel tube in pellets; the size of each part was measured to obtain burning rate - pressure dependency. Both micro- and nanosized components were used to prepare thermite compositions under study. The significant difference in burning parameters of micron- and nanosized thermites is observed and analyzed. Based on obtained results, the combustion mechanism of thermites with the micro- and nanosized components is discussed.

Carbon coated titanium dioxide nanotubes: synthesis, characterization and potential application as sorbents in dispersive micro solid phase extraction.

PubMed

García-Valverde, M T; Lucena, R; Galán-Cano, F; Cárdenas, S; Valcárcel, M

2014-05-23

In this article, carbon coated titanium dioxide nanotubes (c-TNTs) have been synthesized. The synthesis of the bare TNTs (b-TNTs) using anatase as precursor and their coating with a caramel layer have been performed by simple and cheap hydrothermal processes. The final conversion of the caramel layer in a carbon coating has been accomplished by a thermal treatment (600°C) in an inert (Ar) atmosphere. The c-TNTs have been characterized by different techniques including transmission microscopy, infrared spectroscopy, X-ray powder diffraction, thermogravimetry and Brunauer, Emmett and Teller (BET) adsorption isotherms. The extraction performance of the c-TNTs under a microextraction format has been evaluated and compared with that provided by b-TNTs and multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) using naproxen and ketoprofen as model analytes. c-TNTs provided better results than the other nanoparticles, especially at low acidic pH values. In addition, c-TNTs presented a better dispersibility than MWCNTs, which is very interesting for their use in dispersive micro-solid phase extraction. Finally, a microextraction format, adapted to low sample volumes, has been proposed and applied for the determination of naproxen and ketoprofen in saliva and urine samples by liquid chromatography with UV detection. The results indicate that this approach is promising for the analysis of biological samples. In fact, the recoveries were in the range between 96% and 119% while the precision, expressed as relative standard deviation, was better than 8.5% and 26.3% for urine and saliva, respectively. The detection limits were in the range 34.1-40.8μg/L for saliva samples and 81.1-110μg/L for urine samples. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Determination of acidic non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in aquatic samples by liquid chromatography-triple quadrupole mass spectrometry combined with carbon nanotubes-based solid-phase extraction.

PubMed

Reinholds, I; Pugajeva, I; Zacs, Dz; Lundanes, E; Rusko, J; Perkons, I; Bartkevics, V

2017-10-18

A solid-phase extraction (SPE) method based on multi-walled carbon nanotubes (CNT) was developed for the determination of 12 acidic non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) in surface waters and tap water. Pristine and functionalised CNTs were evaluated as sorbent materials. Batch experiments were used to optimise sorption and desorption conditions (sorbent type and amount, adsorption time, pH). The adsorption equilibrium was reached after 8 to 48 h duration, which increased with the pH of solution. Non-agglomerated pristine CNTs (20 mg) showed the most optimal adsorption (94 to 100%) for all of the analytes after a 30-min contact period in acidified water solutions (100 mL). The compounds retained at those conditions were recovered by 40 to 95% by using 5% ammonium hydroxide in methanol as the desorbing solution at ambient conditions. A comprehensive liquid chromatography coupled to triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (LC-QqQ-MS/MS) was used for the analysis of real water samples. The method showed sufficient recovery (65-125%) and good precision (2-14% relative standard deviation (RSD)). The limits of detection and quantification ranged between 0.01 and 1.3 ng L -1 and 0.04 and 3.9 ng L -1 . Only diclofenac and ibuprofen were found in the analysed surface water samples from Latvia (n = 10) and Norway (n = 14). Diclofenac was found at 1.7-8.4 ng L -1 concentration in two samples of surface waters, whereas the concentrations of ibuprofen ranged between 1.0 and 9.2 ng L -1 in seven samples collected in Norway and 3.9-17 ng L -1 in three samples from Latvia.

A new route for the synthesis of submicron-sized LaB{sub 6}

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

Lihong, Bao; Wurentuya,; Wei, Wei

Submicron crystalline LaB{sub 6} has been successfully synthesized by a solid-state reaction of La{sub 2}O{sub 3} with NaBH{sub 4} at 1200 °C. The effects of reaction temperature on the crystal structure, grain size and morphology were investigated by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope and transmission electron microscope. It is found that when the reaction temperature is in the range of 1000–1100 °C, there are ultrafine nanoparticles and nanocrystals that coexist. When the reaction temperature elevated to 1200 °C, the grain morphology transformed from ultrafine nanoparticle to submicron crystals completely. High resolution transmission electron microscope images fully confirm the formation ofmore » LaB{sub 6} cubic structure. - Highlights: • Single-phased LaB{sub 6} have been synthesized by a solid-state reaction in a continuous evacuating process. • The reaction temperature has a important effect on the phase composition. • The grain size increase from nano-size to submicron with increasing reaction temperature.« less

Fabrication of Nanosized Lanthanum Zirconate Powder and Deposition of Thermal Barrier Coating by Plasma Spray Process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mishra, S. K.; Jagdeesh, N.; Pathak, L. C.

2016-07-01

The present manuscript discusses our findings on fabrication of nanosized lanthanum zirconate powder for thermal barrier coating application and its coating by plasma spray on nickel-based superalloy substrate. Single-phase La2Zr2O7 coating of thickness of the order of 45 µm on the Ni-Cr-Al bond coat coated Ni-based superalloy substrate was deposited by plasma spray process. The layers at the interface did not show spallation and inter diffusion was very less. The microstructure, interface, porosity, and mechanical properties of different layers are investigated. The lanthanum zirconate hardness and modulus were 10.5 and 277 GPa, respectively. The load depth curve for lanthanum zirconate showed good elastic recovery around 74%.

Transport phenomena of carbon nanotubes and bioconvection nanoparticles on stagnation point flow in presence of induced magnetic field

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Iqbal, Z.; Azhar, Ehtsham; Maraj, E. N.

2017-07-01

This article is a numerical study of stagnation point flow of carbon nanotubes over an elongating sheet in presence of induced magnetic field submerged in bioconvection nanoparticles. Two types of carbon nanotubes are considered i.e. single wall carbon nanotube and multi wall carbon nanotube mixed in based fluid taken to be water as well as kerosene-oil. The emphasis of present study is to examine effect of induced magnetic field on boundary layer flows along with influence of SWCNT and MWCNT. Physical problem is mathematically modeled and simplified by using appropriate similarity transformations. Shooting method with Runge-Kutta of order 5 is employed to compute numerical results for non-dimensional velocity, induced magnetic field and temperature. The effects of pertinent parameters are portrayed through graphs. Numerical values of skinfriction coefficient and Nusselt number are tabulated to study the behaviors at the stretching surface. It is depicted that induced magnetic field is an increasing function of solid nanoparticles volumetric fraction. Moreover, MWCNT contributes in rising induced magnetic field more as compared to SWCNT for both water and kerosene-oil based fluids.

Formation of Carbon Nanotubes in a Microgravity Environment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Alford, J. M.; Mason, G. R.; Feikema, D. A.

2001-01-01

Even though nanotube science has become one of the worlds most rapidly advancing areas of research, very little is known about the processes involved in nanotube synthesis. To study the formation of carbon nanotubes in an environment unhindered by the buoyancy induced flows generated by the high temperatures necessary to vaporize carbon and grow nanotubes, we have designed a miniature carbon arc apparatus that can produce carbon nanotubes under microgravity conditions. During the first phase of this project, we designed, built, and successfully tested the mini carbon arc in both 1g and 2.2 sec drop tower microgravity conditions. We have demonstrated that microgravity can eliminate the strong convective flows from the carbon arc and we have successfully produced single-walled carbon nanotubes in microgravity. We believe that microgravity processing will allow us to better understand the nanotube formation process and eventually allow us to grow nanotubes that are superior to ground-based production.

Inorganic nanotubes and fullerene-like nanoparticles at the crossroad between materials science and nanotechnology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tenne, Reshef

2014-03-01

This presentation is aimed at underlying the principles, synthesis, characterization and applications of inorganic nanotubes (INT) and fullerne-like (IF) nanoparticles (NP) from 2-D layered compounds. While the high temperature synthesis and study of IF materials and INT from layered metal dichalcogenides, like WS2 and MoS2 remain a major challenge, progress with the synthesis of IF and INT structures from various other compounds has been realized, as well. Intercalation and doping of these nanostructures, which lends itself to interesting electronic properties, has been realized, too. Core-shell nanotubular structures, like PbI2@WS2 and SnS/SnS2 and PbS/NbS2 nanotubes from ``misfit'' compounds have been recently reported. Re doping of the IF and INT endow them with interesting electrical and other physio-chemical properties. Major progress has been achieved in elucidating the structure of INT and IF using advanced microscopy techniques, like aberration corrected TEM and electron tomography. Also recently, scaling up efforts in collaboration with ``NanoMaterials'' resulted in multikilogram production of (almost) pure multiwall WS2 nanotubes phases. Extensive experimental and theoretical analysis of the mechanical properties of individual INT and more recently IF NP was performed casting light on their behavior in the macroscopic world. IF-MS2 (M =W,Mo, etc) were shown to be superior solid lubricants in variety of forms, including an additive to various lubricating fluids/greases and for various self-lubricating coating. Full commercialization of products based on this technology is taking place now.

Process for separating metallic from semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotubes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sun, Ya-Ping (Inventor)

2008-01-01

A method for separating semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotubes from metallic single-walled carbon nanotubes is disclosed. The method utilizes separation agents that preferentially associate with semiconducting nanotubes due to the electrical nature of the nanotubes. The separation agents are those that have a planar orientation, .pi.-electrons available for association with the surface of the nanotubes, and also include a soluble portion of the molecule. Following preferential association of the separation agent with the semiconducting nanotubes, the agent/nanotubes complex is soluble and can be solubilized with the solution enriched in semiconducting nanotubes while the residual solid is enriched in metallic nanotubes.

The nature of nano-sized precipitates in ferritic/martensitic steel P92 produced by thermomechanical treatment

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

Shen, Yinzhong, E-mail: shenyz@sjtu.edu.cn

Thermomechanical treatment (TMT) can effectively improve the mechanical properties of high-Cr ferritic/martensitic (F/M) steels, which has been mainly attributed to a dense dispersion of nano-sized precipitates. Precipitate phases in high-Cr F/M steels produced by TMT require further investigations. Precipitates in commercial F/M steel P92 produced by a TMT process, warm-rolled at 650 °C plus tempered at 650 °C for 1 h, were investigated by transmission electron microscopy. Nano-sized precipitates with a high number density in the steel after the TMT were found to be Cr-rich M{sub 2}(C,N) carbonitride, rather than MX or M{sub 23}C{sub 6} phase. The M{sub 2}(C,N) carbonitridemore » has a hexagonal lattice with the lattice parameters about a/c = 0.299/0.463 nm. These M{sub 2}(C,N) carbonitrides with a typical composition of (Cr{sub 0.85}V{sub 0.06}Fe{sub 0.06}Mo{sub 0.03}){sub 2}(C,N) have an average diameter smaller than 30 nm, and mainly distribute on dislocations and at the boundaries of equiaxed ferrite grains in the TMT steel. The TMT process inhibits the precipitation of M{sub 23}C{sub 6} and M{sub 5}C{sub 2} phases. Enhanced creep properties of the P92 steel after the TMT, as reported previously, were considered to be mainly attributed to plenty of nano-sized Cr-rich M{sub 2}(C,N) carbonitrides produced by the TMT rather than to MX and M{sub 23}C{sub 6} precipitates. - Graphical abstract: TEM micrographs of precipitates on extraction carbon replicas prepared from ferritic/martensitic (F/M) steel P92. (a) After conventional heat treatment, normalized at 1050 °C for 30 min plus tempered at 765 °C for 1 h. (b) After a thermomechanical treatment (TMT), warm-rolled at 650 °C plus tempered at 650 °C for 1 h. Nano-sized precipitates with a high number density in the steel produced by the TMT were found to be Cr-rich M{sub 2}(C,N) carbonitride, rather than MX or M{sub 23}C{sub 6} phase. The TMT process inhibits the precipitation of M{sub 23}C{sub 6} and M{sub 5}C{sub 2} phases. Enhanced creep properties of the steel by the TMT are mainly attributed to plenty of nano-sized Cr-rich M{sub 2}(C,N) carbonitrides, rather than to MX and M{sub 23}C{sub 6} precipitates. It is suggested that plenty of nano-sized Cr-rich M{sub 2}(C,N) carbonitrides produced by the TMT are more helpful to improve the creep properties of the steel than M{sub 23}C{sub 6} plus MX precipitates obtained by the conventional heat treatment. - Highlights: •Carbon replicas were used for precisely identifying nano-sized phases in steel produced by TMT. •Densely nano-sized precipitates in P92 steel after TMT were found to be Cr-rich M{sub 2}(C,N) phase. •Fine precipitates produced by TMT can be M{sub 2}X phase instead of MX and/or M{sub 23}C{sub 6} phase. •Enhanced creep properties of P92 steel by TMT is attributed to fine M{sub 2}X, rather than to MX and M{sub 23}C{sub 6}. •TMT involving a tempering at 650 °C inhibits the formation of M{sub 23}C{sub 6}/M{sub 5}C{sub 2} phases in high-Cr steels.« less

Tunable Encapsulation Structure of Block Copolymer Coated Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes in Aqueous Solution

DOE PAGES

Han, Youngkyu; Ahn, Suk-Kyun; Zhang, Zhe; ...

2015-05-15

The nano-sized and shape-tunable molecular building blocks can provide great opportunities for the fabrication of precisely controlled nanostructures. In this work, we have fabricated a molecular building block of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) coated by PPO-PEO-PPO block copolymers whose encapsulation structure can be controlled via temperature or addition of small molecules. The structure and optical properties of SWNT-block copolymers have been investigated by small angle neutron scattering (SANS), ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy (AFM), and molecular dynamics (MD) simulation. The structure of the hydrated block copolymer layer surrounding SWNT can be controlled reversibly by varying temperature as well asmore » by irreversibly adding 5-methylsalicylic acid (5MS). Increasing hydrophobicity of the polymers with temperature and strong tendency of 5MS to interact with both block copolymers and orbitals of the SWNTs are likely to be responsible for the significant structural change of the block copolymer encapsulation layer, from loose corona shell to tightly encapsulating compact shell. These result shows an efficient and simple way to fabricate and manipulate carbon-based nano building blocks in aqueous systems with tunable structure.« less

STUDY ON SYNTHESIS AND EVOLUTION OF NANOCRYSTALLINE Mg4Ta2O9 BY AQUEOUS SOL-GEL PROCESS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, H. T.; Yang, C. H.; Wu, W. B.; Yue, Y. L.

2012-06-01

Nanosized and highly reactive Mg4Ta2O9 were successfully synthesized by aqueous sol-gel method compared with conventional solid-state method. Ta-Mg-citric acid solution was first formed and then evaporated resulting in a dry gel for calcination in the temperature ranging from 600°C to 800°C for crystallization in oxygen atmosphere. The crystallization process from the gel to crystalline Mg4Ta2O9 was identified by thermal analysis and phase evolution of powders was studied using X-ray diffraction (XRD) technique during calcinations. Particle size and morphology were examined by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and high resolution scanning electron microscopy (HR-SEM). The results revealed that sol-gel process showed great advantages over conventional solid-state method and Mg4Ta2O9 nanopowders with the size of 20-30 nm were obtained at 800°C.

A New Carbon Nanotube-Based Breast Cancer Drug Delivery System: Preparation and In Vitro Analysis Using Paclitaxel.

PubMed

Shao, Wei; Paul, Arghya; Rodes, Laetitia; Prakash, Satya

2015-04-01

Paclitaxel (PTX) is one of the most important drugs for breast cancer; however, the drug effects are limited by its systematic toxicity and poor water solubility. Nanoparticles have been applied for delivery of cancer drugs to overcome their limitations. Toward this goal, a novel single-walled carbon nanotube (SWNT)-based drug delivery system was developed by conjugation of human serum albumin (HSA) nanoparticles for loading of antitumor agent PTX. The nanosized macromolecular SWNT-drug carrier (SWNT-HSA) was characterized by TEM, UV-Vis-NIR spectrometry, and TGA. The SWNT-based drug carrier displayed high intracellular delivery efficiency (cell uptake rate of 80%) in breast cancer MCF-7 cells, as examined by fluorescence-labeled drug carriers, suggesting the needle-shaped SWNT-HSA drug carrier was able to transport drugs across cell membrane despite its macromolecular structure. The drug loading on SWNT-based drug carrier was through high binding affinity of PTX to HSA proteins. The PTX formulated with SWNT-HSA showed greater growth inhibition activity in MCF-7 breast cancer cells than PTX formulated with HSA nanoparticle only (cell viability of 63 vs 70% in 48 h and 53 vs 62% in 72 h). The increased drug efficacy could be driven by SWNT-mediated cell internalization. These data suggest that the developed SWNT-based antitumor agent is functional and effective. However, more studies for in vivo drug delivery efficacy and other properties are needed before this delivery system can be fully realized.

Homogeneous growth of TiO2-based nanotubes on nitrogen-doped reduced graphene oxide and its enhanced performance as a Li-ion battery anode.

PubMed

Mehraeen, Shayan; Taşdemir, Adnan; Gürsel, Selmiye Alkan; Yürüm, Alp

2018-06-22

The pursuit of a promising replacement candidate for graphite as a Li-ion battery anode, which can satisfy both engineering criteria and market needs has been the target of researchers for more than two decades. In this work, we have investigated the synergistic effect of nitrogen-doped reduced graphene oxide (NrGO) and nanotubular TiO 2 to achieve high rate capabilities with high discharge capacities through a simple, one-step and scalable method. First, nanotubes of hydrogen titanate were hydrothermally grown on the surface of NrGO sheets, and then converted to a mixed phase of TiO 2 -B and anatase (TB) by thermal annealing. Specific surface area, thermal gravimetric, structural and morphological characterizations were performed on the synthesized product. Electrochemical properties were investigated by cyclic voltammetry and cyclic charge/discharge tests. The prepared anode showed high discharge capacity of 150 mAh g -1 at 1 C current rate after 50 cycles. The promising capacity of synthesized NrGO-TB was attributed to the unique and novel microstructure of NrGO-TB in which long nanotubes of TiO 2 have been grown on the surface of NrGO sheets. Such architecture synergistically reduces the solid-state diffusion distance of Li + and increases the electronic conductivity of the anode.

Homogeneous growth of TiO2-based nanotubes on nitrogen-doped reduced graphene oxide and its enhanced performance as a Li-ion battery anode

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mehraeen, Shayan; Taşdemir, Adnan; Alkan Gürsel, Selmiye; Yürüm, Alp

2018-06-01

The pursuit of a promising replacement candidate for graphite as a Li-ion battery anode, which can satisfy both engineering criteria and market needs has been the target of researchers for more than two decades. In this work, we have investigated the synergistic effect of nitrogen-doped reduced graphene oxide (NrGO) and nanotubular TiO2 to achieve high rate capabilities with high discharge capacities through a simple, one-step and scalable method. First, nanotubes of hydrogen titanate were hydrothermally grown on the surface of NrGO sheets, and then converted to a mixed phase of TiO2-B and anatase (TB) by thermal annealing. Specific surface area, thermal gravimetric, structural and morphological characterizations were performed on the synthesized product. Electrochemical properties were investigated by cyclic voltammetry and cyclic charge/discharge tests. The prepared anode showed high discharge capacity of 150 mAh g‑1 at 1 C current rate after 50 cycles. The promising capacity of synthesized NrGO-TB was attributed to the unique and novel microstructure of NrGO-TB in which long nanotubes of TiO2 have been grown on the surface of NrGO sheets. Such architecture synergistically reduces the solid-state diffusion distance of Li+ and increases the electronic conductivity of the anode.

Size Evolution of Nanoclusters: Comparison Between the Phase Diagram and Properties of MO-S and Carbon Nanoparticles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tenne, R.

In this article a comparison between inorganic nanoparticles with hollow closed structure and the carbon fullerenes and nanotubes is undertaken. First, the structural evolution of inorganic fullerene-like (IF) nanoparticles of MoS2 as a function of their size is examined in some detail and compared to that of carbon and BN fullerenes. It is shown that hollow closed structures of MoS2 are stable above 3 nm (app 103 atoms). In the range of 3-8 nm (103-105) nanooctahedra with metallic character are the most stable form of MoS2 Semiconducting nanotubes and quasispherical IF nano-particles become the stable-most form beyond that size and the bulk (platelets) are stable above about 0.2 μm. The stability of inorganic nanotubes is also discussed. The scaling-up of the synthesis of IF-WS2 and the very recent successful synthesis of large, amounts of pure WS2 nanotubes are briefly described. The stability of IF and INT of MoS2 (WS2) under pressure and that of carbon is also discussed. Applications of the IF-WS2 as superior solid lubricants, which lead to their recent commercialization, is demonstrated.

Synthesis of polydopamine-functionalized magnetic graphene and carbon nanotubes hybrid nanocomposites as an adsorbent for the fast determination of 16 priority polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in aqueous samples.

PubMed

Chen, Kun; Jin, Rongrong; Luo, Chen; Song, Guoxin; Hu, Yaoming; Cheng, Hefa

2018-04-01

A novel adsorbent made of polydopamine-functionalized magnetic graphene and carbon nanotubes hybrid nanocomposite was synthesized and applied to determine 16 priority polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons by magnetic solid phase extraction in water samples. FTIR spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and Raman spectroscopy consistently indicate that the synthesized adsorbents are made of core-shell nanoparticles well dispersed on the surface of graphene and carbon nanotubes. The major factors affecting the extraction efficiency, including the pH value of samples, the amount of adsorbent, adsorption time and desorption time, type and volume of desorption solvent, were systematically optimized. Under the optimum extraction conditions, a linear response was obtained for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons between concentrations of 10 and 500 ng/L with the correlation coefficients ranging from 0.9958 to 0.9989, and the limits of detection (S/N = 3) were between 0.1 and 3.0 ng/L. Satisfactory results were also obtained when applying these magnetic graphene/carbon nanotubes/polydopamine hybrid nanocomposites to detect polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in several environmental aqueous samples. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Investigation of Thermal Expansion Properties of Single Walled Carbon Nanotubes by Raman Spectroscopy and Molecular Dynamics Simulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Casimir, Daniel

The mechanical properties of nano-sized materials seem to differ significantly from the predicted behavior of their bulk macroscopic counterparts (Smart, 2014, 16). The former tend to be stronger, more malleable and exhibit greater flexibility. The thermal properties of materials have also been shown to be altered significantly after having been shrunken to nanometer dimensions. The nano material that exhibits this peculiar behavior that is studied in this dissertation are single walled carbon nanotubes. Single walled carbon nanotubes are hollow cylindrical tubes that are one atomic layer in thickness and made up of sp2 hybridized carbon atoms. The majority of samples have diameters on the order 1 nm, with lengths ranging from 1 micron to sometimes a centimeter (Tomanek, 2008, v). The thermo-mechanical quantity that I specifically examine in this research is the linear and volume thermal expansion coefficients of SWCNTs. The mean linear thermal expansion coefficient is the ratio of the change in unit length in response to a 1 degree Celsius rise in temperature. The "true" value of this quantity is obtained in the theoretical limit of a vanishing temperature range DeltaT in the ratio stated above. However, this simply stated thermo-mechanical quantity for Carbon Nanotubes still remains a controversial topic, with widespread discrepancies among results of certain magnitudes - such as the temperature at the occurrence of maximum contraction, and at the transition from contraction to expansion. In conclusion, there is much incentive in examining the somewhat controversial variation in the behavior and quoted values of the thermal expansion of these quasi one-dimensional objects. In this study, I examine this important property of single walled carbon nanotubes using Resonant Raman Spectroscopy and Molecular Dynamics Simulation based on the Adaptive Intermolecular Reactive Empirical Bond Order potential. The latter is a well established potential that is well-suited to modeling chemical reactions in condensed hydrocarbons (Stuart, et al., 2000, 6472).

Nanomaterial release characteristics in a single-walled carbon nanotube manufacturing workplace

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ji, Jun Ho; Kim, Jong Bum; Lee, Gwangjae; Bae, Gwi-Nam

2015-02-01

As carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are widely used in various applications, exposure assessment also increases in importance with other various toxicity tests for CNTs. We conducted 24-h continuous nanoaerosol measurements to identify possible nanomaterial release in a single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) manufacturing workplace. Four real-time aerosol instruments were used to determine the nanosized and microsized particle numbers, particle surface area, and carbonaceous species. Task-based exposure assessment was carried out for SWCNT synthesis using the arc plasma and thermal decomposition processes to remove amorphous carbon components as impurities. During the SWCNT synthesis, the black carbon (BC) concentration was 2-12 μg/m3. The maximum BC mass concentrations occurred when the synthesis chamber was opened for harvesting the SWCNTs. The number concentrations of particles with sizes 10-420 nm were 10,000-40,000 particles/cm3 during the tasks. The maximum number concentration existed when a vacuum pump was operated to remove exhaust air from the SWCNT synthesis chamber due to the penetration of highly concentrated oil mists through the window opened. We analyzed the particle mass size distribution and particle number size distribution for each peak episode. Using real-time aerosol detectors, we distinguished the SWCNT releases from background nanoaerosols such as oil mist and atmospheric photochemical smog particles. SWCNT aggregates with sizes of 1-10 μm were mainly released from the arc plasma synthesis. The harvesting process was the main release route of SWCNTs in the workplace.

Solid-phase extraction of some heavy metal ions on a double-walled carbon nanotube disk and determination by flame atomic absorption spectrometry.

PubMed

Karatepe, Aslihan; Soylak, Mustafa; Elçi, Latif

2011-01-01

A new preconcentration method was developed for the determination of trace amounts of Cu(II), Fe(III), Pb(II), Ni(II), and Cd(II) on a double-walled carbon nanotube disk. 4-(2-Thiazolylazo) resorcinol was used as a complexing reagent. The effects of parameters, including pH of the solutions, amounts of complexing reagent, eluent type, sample volume, flow rates of solutions, and matrix ions were examined for quantitative recoveries of the studied analyte ions. The retained metal ions were eluted by 2 M HNO3. The LOD values for the analytes were in the range of 0.7-4.4 microg/mL. Natural water samples and standard reference materials were analyzed by the presented method.

Dehydrogenation kinetics and reversibility of LiAlH4-LiBH4 doped with Ti-based additives and MWCNT

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thaweelap, Natthaporn; Utke, Rapee

2016-11-01

Dehydrogenation kinetics and reversibility of LiAlH4-LiBH4 doped with Ti-based additives (TiCl3 and Ti-isopropoxide), multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNT), and MWCNT impregnated with Ti-based additives are proposed. Reduction of dehydrogenation temperature as well as improvements of kinetics and reversibility, especially decomposition of thermodynamically stable hydride (LiBH4) is obtained from the samples doped with Ti-isopropoxide and MWCNT. This can be due to the fact that the formations of LixAl(1-x)B2 and LiH-Al containing phase during dehydrogenation favor decomposition of LiH, leading to increment of hydrogen capacity, and stabilization of boron in solid state, resulting in improvement of reversibility. Besides, the curvatures and thermal conductivity of MWCNT benefit hydrogen diffusion and heat transfer during de/rehydrogenation. Nevertheless, deficient hydrogen content reversible is observed in all samples due to the irreversible of LiAlH4 and/or Li3AlH6 as well as the formation of stable phase (Li2B12H12) during de/rehydrogenation.

Electrode structure and methods of making same

DOEpatents

Ruud, James Anthony; Browall, Kenneth Walter; Rehg, Timothy Joseph; Renou, Stephane; Striker, Todd-Michael

2010-04-06

A method of making an electrode structure is provided. The method includes disposing an electrocatalytic material on an electrode, applying heat to the electrocatalytic material to form a volatile oxide of the electrocatalytic material, and applying a voltage to the electrode to reduce the volatile oxide to provide a number of nano-sized electrocatalytic particles on or proximate to a triple phase boundary, where the number of nano-sized electrocatalytic particles is greater on or proximate to the triple phase boundary than in an area that is not on or proximate to the triple phase boundary, and where the triple phase boundary is disposed on the electrode.

TiS2 and ZrS2 single- and double-wall nanotubes: first-principles study.

PubMed

Bandura, Andrei V; Evarestov, Robert A

2014-02-15

Hybrid density functional theory has been applied for investigations of the electronic and atomic structure of bulk phases, nanolayers, and nanotubes based on titanium and zirconium disulfides. Calculations have been performed on the basis of the localized atomic functions by means of the CRYSTAL-2009 computer code. The full optimization of all atomic positions in the regarded systems has been made to study the atomic relaxation and to determine the most favorable structures. The different layered and isotropic bulk phases have been considered as the possible precursors of the nanotubes. Calculations on single-walled TiS2 and ZrS2 nanotubes confirmed that the nanotubes obtained by rolling up the hexagonal crystalline layers with octahedral 1T morphology are the most stable. The strain energy of TiS2 and ZrS2 nanotubes is small, does not depend on the tube chirality, and approximately obeys to D(-2) law (D is nanotube diameter) of the classical elasticity theory. It is greater than the strain energy of the similar TiO2 and ZrO2 nanotubes; however, the formation energy of the disulfide nanotubes is considerably less than the formation energy of the dioxide nanotubes. The distance and interaction energy between the single-wall components of the double-wall nanotubes is proved to be close to the distance and interaction energy between layers in the layered crystals. Analysis of the relaxed nanotube shape using radial coordinate of the metal atoms demonstrates a small but noticeable deviation from completely cylindrical cross-section of the external walls in the armchair-like double-wall nanotubes. Copyright © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Synthesis of condensed phases containing polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons fullerenes and nanotubes

DOEpatents

Reilly, Peter T. A.

2004-10-19

The invention relates to methods for producing polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, fullerenes, and nanotubes, comprising: a. heating at least one carbon-containing material to form a condensed phase comprising at least one polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon; b. collecting at least some of the condensed phase; c. reacting the condensed phase to form fullerenes and/or nanotubes.

Determination of pyrazole and pyrrole pesticides in environmental water samples by solid-phase extraction using multi-walled carbon nanotubes as adsorbent coupled with high-performance liquid chromatography.

PubMed

Ma, Jiping; Lu, Xi; Xia, Yan; Yan, Fengli

2015-02-01

A solid-phase extraction (SPE) method using multi-walled carbon nanotubes as adsorbent coupled with high-performance liquid chromatography was developed for the determination of four pyrazole and pyrrole pesticides (fenpyroximate, chlorfenapyr, fipronil and flusilazole) in environmental water samples. Several parameters, such as extraction adsorbent, elution solvent and volume and sample loading flow rate were optimized to obtain high SPE recoveries and extraction efficiency. The calibration curves for the pesticides extracted were linear in the range of 0.05-10 μg L(-1) for chlorfenapyr and fenpyroximate and 0.05-20 μg L(-1) for fipronil and flusilazole, with the correlation coefficients (r(2)) between 0.9966 and 0.9990. The method gave good precisions (relative standard deviation %) from 2.9 to 10.1% for real spiked samples from reservoir water and seawater; method recoveries ranged 92.2-105.9 and 98.5-103.9% for real spiked samples from reservoir water and seawater, respectively. Limits of detection (S/N = 3) for the method were determined to be 8-19 ng L(-1). The optimized method was successfully applied to the determination of four pesticides of pyrazoles and pyrroles in real environmental water samples. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Ionic liquid-assisted multiwalled carbon nanotube-dispersive micro-solid phase extraction for sensitive determination of inorganic As species in garlic samples by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grijalba, Alexander Castro; Escudero, Leticia B.; Wuilloud, Rodolfo G.

2015-08-01

A highly sensitive dispersive micro-solid phase extraction (D-μ-SPE) method combining an ionic liquid (IL) and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) for inorganic As species (As(III) and As(V)) species separation and determination in garlic samples by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry (ETAAS) was developed. Trihexyl(tetradecil)phosphonium chloride IL was used to form an ion pair with the arsenomolybdate complex obtained by reaction of As(V) with molybdate ion. Afterwards, 1.0 mg of MWCNTs was dispersed for As(V) extraction and the supernatant was separated by centrifugation. MWCNTs were re-dispersed with tetradecyltrimethylammonium bromide surfactant and ultrasound followed by direct injection into the graphite furnace of ETAAS for As determination. Pyrolysis and atomization conditions were carefully studied for complete decomposition of MWCNTs and IL matrices. Under optimum conditions, an extraction efficiency of 100% and a preconcentration factor of 70 were obtained with 5 mL of garlic extract. The detection limit was 7.1 ng L- 1 and the relative standard deviations (RSDs) for six replicate measurements at 5 μg L- 1 of As were 5.4% and 4.8% for As(III) and As(V), respectively. The proposed D-μ-SPE method allowed the efficient separation and determination of inorganic As species in a complex matrix such as garlic extract.

Computational Aided-Molecular Imprinted Polymer Design for Solid Phase Extraction of Metaproterenol from Plasma and Determination by Voltammetry Using Modified Carbon Nanotube Electrode

PubMed Central

Ahmadi, Farhad; Karamian, Ehsan

2014-01-01

A molecular imprinted polymer (MIP) was computationally designed and synthesized for the selective extraction of metaproterenol (MTP), from human plasma. In this regards semi empirical MP3 and mechanical quantum (DFT) calculations were used to find a suitable functional monomers. On the basis of computational and experimental results, acrylic acid (AA) and DMSO:MeOH (90:10 %V/V) were found to be the best choices of functional monomer and polymerization solvents, respectively. This polymer was then used as a selective sorbent to develop a molecularly imprinted solid-phase extraction (MISPE) procedure followed by differential pulse voltammetry by using modified carbon nanotube electrode. The analysis was performed in phosphate buffer, pH 7.0. Peak currents were measured at +0.67 V versus Ag/AgCl. The linear calibration range was 0.026–8.0 μg mL-1 with a limit of detection 0.01 μg mL-1. The relative standard deviation at 0.5 μg mL-1 was 4.76% (n=5). The mean recoveries of 5 μg mL-1 MTP from plasma was 92.2% (n=5). The data of MISPE-DPV were compared with the MISPE-HPLC-UV. Although, the MISPE-DPV was more sensitive but both techniques have similar accuracy and precision. PMID:25237337

Doping of three-dimensional porous carbon nanotube-graphene-ionic liquid composite into polyaniline for the headspace solid-phase microextraction and gas chromatography determination of alcohols.

PubMed

Li, Lulu; Wu, Mian; Feng, Yingying; Zhao, Faqiong; Zeng, Baizhao

2016-12-15

In this work, ionic liquid (IL, i.e. 1-hydroxyethyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate), carboxyl multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and reduced graphene oxide (rGO) were used to prepare three-dimensional porous material (MWCNTs-rGO-IL) by one-step self-assembly, then it was co-electrodeposited with polyaniline (PANI) on stainless steel wires by cyclic voltammetry. The resulting coating (PANI-MWCNTs-rGO-IL) was characterized by using FT-IR and scanning electron microscopy etc, and it showed porous structure and had high thermal stability. Furthermore, it was found to be very suitable for the headspace solid-phase microextraction of alcohols (i.e. octanol, nonanol, geraniol, decanol, undecanol and dodecanol). By coupling with gas chromatography, wide linear ranges and low limits of detection (i.e. 2.2-28.3 ng L -1 ) were obtained for the alcohols. The coating also presented good repeatability and reproducibility; the relative standard deviations for intra-fiber and fiber-to-fiber were less than 5.6% (n = 5) and 7.0% (n = 5) respectively. In addition, the proposed method was successfully applied to the determination of alcohols in tea drinks, and the recoveries for standards added were 85.6-114%. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Simultaneous determination of copper, cobalt, and mercury ions in water samples by solid-phase extraction using carbon nanotube sponges as adsorbent after chelating with sodium diethyldithiocarbamate prior to high performance liquid chromatography.

PubMed

Wang, Lei; Zhou, Jia-Bin; Wang, Xia; Wang, Zhen-Hua; Zhao, Ru-Song

2016-06-01

Recently, a sponge-like material called carbon nanotube sponges (CNT sponges) has drawn considerable attention because it can remove large-area oil, nanoparticles, and organic dyes from water. In this paper, the feasibility of CNT sponges as a novel solid-phase extraction (SPE) adsorbent for the enrichment and determination of heavy metal ions (Co(2+), Cu(2+), and Hg(2+)) was investigated for the first time. Sodium diethyldithiocarbamate (DDTC) was used as the chelating agent and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) for the final analysis. Important factors which may influence extraction efficiency of SPE were optimized, such as the kind and volume of eluent, volume of DDTC, sample pH, flow rate, etc. Under the optimized conditions, wide range of linearity (0.5-400 μg L(-1)), low limits of detection (0.089~0.690 μg L(-1); 0.018~0.138 μg), and good repeatability (1.27~3.60 %, n = 5) were obtained. The developed method was applied for the analysis of the three metal ions in real water samples, and satisfactory results were achieved. All of these findings demonstrated that CNT sponges will be a good choice for the enrichment and determination of target ions at trace levels in the future.

Multi-walled carbon nanotubes-dispersive solid-phase extraction combined with liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry for the analysis of 18 sulfonamides in pork.

PubMed

Hou, Xiao-Lin; Wu, Yin-Liang; Yang, Ting; Du, Xiang-Dang

2013-06-15

A simple and cost-effective pre-treatment procedure was developed for 18 sulfonamides in pork using dispersive solid phase extraction (dSPE) with multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). The sample was analysed after purification by ultra high-performance liquid chromatography-positive electrospray ionisation tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-ESI-MS/MS). After extraction with phosphate buffer (pH 6.0), a dSPE procedure was conducted with MWCNTs. The pH value of the extract, extraction time with MWCNTs, type and amount of MWCNTs and type of eluent were optimised to increase the sample throughput and sensitivity. The samples were quantified using sulfamethazine-(13)C6 as an internal standard. The recoveries of the target compounds from the pork samples were most efficient when 150mg of MWCNTs with an outer diameter of less than 8nm and a length of 0.5-2μm was used. A mixture of acetonitrile/50mM ammonium acetate (95:5, v/v) was shown to be the most suitable solvent for desorbing the compounds from the MWCNTs. The proposed method was validated according to the European Commission Decision 2002/657/EC, which determines linearity, specificity, decision limit (CCα), detection capability (CCβ), recovery, precision and stability. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The Importance of the Solids Loading on Confirming the Dielectric Nanosize Dependence of BaTiO3 Powders by Slurry Method

PubMed Central

Zhou, Wei; Nie, Yi Mei; Li, Shu Jing; Liang, Hai Yan

2013-01-01

The dielectric nanosize dependence of BaTiO3 powders was investigated by the slurry method, where two series of BaTiO3 slurries with 10 vol% and 30 vol% solids loadings were prepared as model samples. Applying the Bruggeman-Hanai equation, the high-frequency limiting permittivity (ε h) of the slurries was extracted from the dielectric spectra. The ε h of the 10 vol% slurry showed abnormal size independence in the range from 100 nm to 700 nm, and the ε h of the 30 vol% slurry exhibited good agreement with the previous prediction. Through analysing quantitatively the response of ε h to the changing permittivity of the powders under different solids loading, it was found that the ε h of the slurry with lower solids loading is more inclined to be interfered by the systematic and random errors. Furthermore, a high permittivity value was found in the BaTiO3 powders with 50 nm particle size. PMID:23844376

Computational Nanotechnology Molecular Electronics, Materials and Machines

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Srivastava, Deepak; Biegel, Bryan A. (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

This presentation covers research being performed on computational nanotechnology, carbon nanotubes and fullerenes at the NASA Ames Research Center. Topics cover include: nanomechanics of nanomaterials, nanotubes and composite materials, molecular electronics with nanotube junctions, kinky chemistry, and nanotechnology for solid-state quantum computers using fullerenes.

Exceptional capability of nanosized CeO(2) materials to "dissolve" lanthanide oxides established by time-gated excitation and emission spectroscopy.

PubMed

Tiseanu, Carmen; Parvulescu, Vasile; Avram, Daniel; Cojocaru, Bogdan; Sanchez-Dominguez, Margarita

2014-05-28

The atomic scale homogeneity of Ce and Zr oxygen bonds represents the main reason for enhanced total oxygen storage capability of CeO2-ZrO2 (Ce/Zr = 1) as compared to that of CeO2. Here, we demonstrate that the addition of 10% Eu(3+) by wet impregnation on preformed nanosized CeO2-ZrO2 (Ce/Zr = 1) followed by calcination induces a remarkable homogeneity of 10% Eu(3+)-CeO2-ZrO2 solid solution. By use of time-resolved emission and excitation spectroscopies, the improvement of the nanoscale chemical and structural homogeneity of 10% Eu(3+)-CeO2-ZrO2 calcined at 1000 as compared to sample calcined at 750 °C is demonstrated. Based on the comparison of luminescence properties of 10% Eu(3+) impregnated on preformed nanosized CeO2-ZrO2 and CeO2, we also show that the presence of zirconium does not only preserve the ability of cerium oxide to "dissolve" lanthanide oxide, but also determines an important stabilization of defects (oxygen vacancies) generated upon Eu(3+) doping.

Using Converter Dust to Produce Low Cost Cementitious Composites by in situ Carbon Nanotube and Nanofiber Synthesis

PubMed Central

Ludvig, Péter; Calixto, José M.; Ladeira, Luiz O.; Gaspar, Ivan C.P.

2011-01-01

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and nanofibers (CNFs) were synthesized on clinker and silica fume particles in order to create a low cost cementitious nanostructured material. The synthesis was carried out by an in situ chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process using converter dust, an industrial byproduct, as iron precursor. The use of these materials reduces the cost, with the objective of application in large-scale nanostructured cement production. The resulting products were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and were found to be polydisperse in size and to have defective microstructure. Some enhancement in the mechanical behavior of cement mortars was observed due to the addition of these nano-size materials. The contribution of these CNTs/CNFs to the mechanical strength of mortar specimens is similar to that of high quality CNTs incorporated in mortars by physical mixture. PMID:28880007

High-performance supercapacitors using a nanoporous current collector made from super-aligned carbon nanotubes.

PubMed

Zhou, Ruifeng; Meng, Chuizhou; Zhu, Feng; Li, Qunqing; Liu, Changhong; Fan, Shoushan; Jiang, Kaili

2010-08-27

Nanoporous current collectors for supercapacitors have been fabricated by cross-stacking super-aligned carbon nanotube (SACNT) films as a replacement for heavy conventional metallic current collectors. The CNT-film current collectors have good conductivity, extremely low density (27 microg cm(-2)), high specific surface area, excellent flexibility and good electrochemical stability. Nanosized active materials such as NiO, Co(3)O(4) or Mn(2)O(3) nanoparticles can be directly synthesized on the SACNT films by a straightforward one-step, in situ decomposition strategy that is both efficient and environmentally friendly. These composite films can be integrated into a pseudo-capacitor that does not use metallic current collectors, but nevertheless shows very good performance, including high specific capacitance (approximately 500 F g(-1), including the current collector mass), reliable electrochemical stability (<4.5% degradation in 2500 cycles) and a very high rate capability (245 F g(-1) at 155 A g(-1)).

High-performance supercapacitors using a nanoporous current collector made from super-aligned carbon nanotubes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, Ruifeng; Meng, Chuizhou; Zhu, Feng; Li, Qunqing; Liu, Changhong; Fan, Shoushan; Jiang, Kaili

2010-08-01

Nanoporous current collectors for supercapacitors have been fabricated by cross-stacking super-aligned carbon nanotube (SACNT) films as a replacement for heavy conventional metallic current collectors. The CNT-film current collectors have good conductivity, extremely low density (27 µg cm - 2), high specific surface area, excellent flexibility and good electrochemical stability. Nanosized active materials such as NiO, Co3O4 or Mn2O3 nanoparticles can be directly synthesized on the SACNT films by a straightforward one-step, in situ decomposition strategy that is both efficient and environmentally friendly. These composite films can be integrated into a pseudo-capacitor that does not use metallic current collectors, but nevertheless shows very good performance, including high specific capacitance (~500 F g - 1, including the current collector mass), reliable electrochemical stability (<4.5% degradation in 2500 cycles) and a very high rate capability (245 F g - 1 at 155 A g - 1).

A gelatin composite scaffold strengthened by drug-loaded halloysite nanotubes.

PubMed

Ji, Lijun; Qiao, Wei; Zhang, Yuheng; Wu, Huayu; Miao, Shiyong; Cheng, Zhilin; Gong, Qianming; Liang, Ji; Zhu, Aiping

2017-09-01

Mechanical properties and anti-infection are two of the most concerned issues for artificial bone grafting materials. Bone regeneration porous scaffolds with sustained drug release were developed by freeze-drying the mixture of nanosized drug-loaded halloysite nanotubes (HNTs) and gelatin. The scaffolds showed porous structure and excellent biocompatibility. The mechanical properties of the obtained composite scaffolds were enhanced significantly by HNTs to >300%, comparing to those of gelatin scaffold, and match to those of natural cancellous bones. The ibuprofen-loaded HNTs incorporated in the scaffolds allowed extended drug release over 100h, comparing to 8h when directly mixed the drug into the gelatin scaffold. The biological properties of the composite scaffolds were investigated by culturing MG63 cells on them. The HNTs/gelatin scaffolds with excellent mechanical properties and sustained drug release could be a promising artificial bone grating material. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Multiresidue method for the determination of 227 pesticides in hot pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) by liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry.

PubMed

Zhu, Yong-Zhe; Zhao, Mei-Ai; Nan Feng, Ya; Han Kim, Jeong

2014-10-01

A high-throughput, rapid, and efficient modified QuEChERS (quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe) method with a simple cleanup procedure has been developed for simultaneously determining 227 pesticides in pepper samples by liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (running time: 10 min). Pesticide residues were extracted/partitioned with an acetonitrile/DisQuE QuEChERS pouch, and the resulting samples were cleaned up with different methods: dispersive solid-phase extraction with primary secondary amines or multiwalled carbon nanotubes and graphitized carbon solid mini cartridge column. The results indicated that multiwalled carbon nanotubes dispersive sorbents achieved the best recoveries and had less matrix interference. The numbers of pesticides with a recovery in the range of 70-120% were 199 at a spiked level of 40 μg/kg. The correlation coefficients (r(2)) for 227 pesticides were above 0.99, while the limits of quantitation of pesticides in pepper samples ranged from 0.13 to 13.51 μg/kg (S/N = 10), and the limits of detection ranged from 0.04 to 4.05 μg/kg (S/N = 3). The relative standard deviations of approximately 197 pesticides were below 20% at spiked levels of 40 μg/kg. Based on these results, the proposed method was chosen as the most suitable cleanup procedure for the determination of multiresidue pesticides in pepper samples. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Massive radius-dependent flow slippage in carbon nanotubes

PubMed Central

Secchi, Eleonora; Marbach, Sophie; Niguès, Antoine; Stein, Derek; Siria, Alessandro; Bocquet, Lydéric

2016-01-01

Simulations and measurements have established that water moves through carbon nanotubes with exceptionally high rates due to nearly frictionless interfaces1–4. These observations have stimulated interest in nanotube-based membranes for applications that range from desalination to nano-filtration and energy harvesting5–10, yet the exact water transport mechanisms inside the nanotubes and at the water-carbon interface continue to be controversially discussed11,12 because existing theories fail to provide a satisfying explanation for the limited number of experimental results available to date13. This is because even though controlled and systematic studies have explored transport through individual nanotubes8,9,14–7, none has met the considerable technical challenge of unambiguously measuring the permeability of a single nanotube11. Here we show that the pressure-driven flow rate across individual nanotubes can be determined with unprecedented sensitivity and without dyes from the hydrodynamics of water jets as they emerge from single nanotubes into a surrounding fluid. Our measurements reveal unexpectedly large and radius-dependent surface slippage in carbon nanotubes (CNT), and no slippage in boron-nitride nanotubes (BNNT) that are crystallographically similar to CNTs but differ electronically. This pronounced contrast between the two systems must originate from subtle differences in atomic-scale details of their solid-liquid interfaces, strikingly illustrating that nanofluidics is the frontier where the continuum picture of fluid mechanics confronts the atomic nature of matter. PMID:27604947

One-dimensional TiO2 nanomaterials: preparation and catalytic applications.

PubMed

Wu, Yu; Yu, Jie; Liu, Hong-Mei; Xu, Bo-Qing

2010-10-01

This work reports on the syntheses of one-dimensional (1D) H2Ti3O7 materials (nanotubes, nanowires and their mixtures) by autoclaving anatase titania (Raw-TiO2) in NaOH-containing ethanol-water solutions, followed by washing with acid solution. The synthesized nanosized materials were characterized using XRD, TEM/HRTEM, BET and TG techniques. The autoclaving temperature (120-180 degrees C) and ethanol-to-water ratio (V(EtOH)/V(H2O) = 0/60 approximately 30/30) were shown to be critical to the morphology of H2Ti3O7 product. The obtained H2Ti3O7 nanostructures were calcined at 400-900 degrees C to prepare 1D-TiO2 nanomaterials. H2Ti3O7 nanotubes were converted to anatase nanorods while H2Ti3O7 nanowires to TiO2(B) nanowires after the calcination at 400 degrees C. The calcination at higher temperatures led to gradual decomposition of the wires to rods and phase transformation from TiO2(B) to anatase then to rutile. Photocatalytic degradation of methyl orange was conducted to compare the photocatalytic activity of these 1D materials. These 1D materials were used as new support to prepare Au/TiO2 catalysts for CO oxidation at 0 degrees C and 1,3-butadiene hydrogenation at 120 degrees C. For the CO oxidation reaction, Au particles supported on anatase nanorods derived from the H2Ti3O7 nanotubes (Au/W-180-400) were 1.6 times active that in Au/P25-TiO2, 4 times that in Au/Raw-TiO2, and 8 times that on TiO2(B) nanowires derived from the H2Ti3O7 nanotubes (Au/M-180-400). For the hydrogenation of 1,3-butadiene, however, the activity of Au particles in Au/M-180-400 was 3 times higher than those in Au/W-180-400 but similar to those in Au/P25-TiO2. These results demonstrate that the potential of 1D-TiO2 nanomaterials in catalysis is versatile.

Diameter-dependent wetting of tungsten disulfide nanotubes

PubMed Central

Goldbart, Ohad; Cohen, Sidney R.; Kaplan-Ashiri, Ifat; Glazyrina, Polina; Wagner, H. Daniel; Enyashin, Andrey; Tenne, Reshef

2016-01-01

The simple process of a liquid wetting a solid surface is controlled by a plethora of factors—surface texture, liquid droplet size and shape, energetics of both liquid and solid surfaces, as well as their interface. Studying these events at the nanoscale provides insights into the molecular basis of wetting. Nanotube wetting studies are particularly challenging due to their unique shape and small size. Nonetheless, the success of nanotubes, particularly inorganic ones, as fillers in composite materials makes it essential to understand how common liquids wet them. Here, we present a comprehensive wetting study of individual tungsten disulfide nanotubes by water. We reveal the nature of interaction at the inert outer wall and show that remarkably high wetting forces are attained on small, open-ended nanotubes due to capillary aspiration into the hollow core. This study provides a theoretical and experimental paradigm for this intricate problem. PMID:27856759

Highly compressible and all-solid-state supercapacitors based on nanostructured composite sponge.

PubMed

Niu, Zhiqiang; Zhou, Weiya; Chen, Xiaodong; Chen, Jun; Xie, Sishen

2015-10-21

Based on polyaniline-single-walled carbon nanotubes -sponge electrodes, highly compressible all-solid-state supercapacitors are prepared with an integrated configuration using a poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA)/H2 SO4 gel as the electrolyte. The unique configuration enables the resultant supercapacitors to be compressed as an integrated unit arbitrarily during 60% compressible strain. Furthermore, the performance of the resultant supercapacitors is nearly unchanged even under 60% compressible strain. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Extracting material response from simple mechanical tests on hardening-softening-hardening viscoplastic solids

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mohan, Nisha

Compliant foams are usually characterized by a wide range of desirable mechanical properties. These properties include viscoelasticity at different temperatures, energy absorption, recoverability under cyclic loading, impact resistance, and thermal, electrical, acoustic and radiation-resistance. Some foams contain nano-sized features and are used in small-scale devices. This implies that the characteristic dimensions of foams span multiple length scales, rendering modeling their mechanical properties difficult. Continuum mechanics-based models capture some salient experimental features like the linear elastic regime, followed by non-linear plateau stress regime. However, they lack mesostructural physical details. This makes them incapable of accurately predicting local peaks in stress and strain distributions, which significantly affect the deformation paths. Atomistic methods are capable of capturing the physical origins of deformation at smaller scales, but suffer from impractical computational intensity. Capturing deformation at the so-called meso-scale, which is capable of describing the phenomenon at a continuum level, but with some physical insights, requires developing new theoretical approaches. A fundamental question that motivates the modeling of foams is `how to extract the intrinsic material response from simple mechanical test data, such as stress vs. strain response?' A 3D model was developed to simulate the mechanical response of foam-type materials. The novelty of this model includes unique features such as the hardening-softening-hardening material response, strain rate-dependence, and plastically compressible solids with plastic non-normality. Suggestive links from atomistic simulations of foams were borrowed to formulate a physically informed hardening material input function. Motivated by a model that qualitatively captured the response of foam-type vertically aligned carbon nanotube (VACNT) pillars under uniaxial compression [2011,"Analysis of Uniaxial Compression of Vertically Aligned Carbon Nanotubes," J. Mech.Phys. Solids, 59, pp. 2227--2237, Erratum 60, 1753-1756 (2012)], the property space exploration was advanced to three types of simple mechanical tests: 1) uniaxial compression, 2) uniaxial tension, and 3) nanoindentation with a conical and a flat-punch tip. The simulations attempt to explain some of the salient features in experimental data, like 1) The initial linear elastic response. 2) One or more nonlinear instabilities, yielding, and hardening. The model-inherent relationships between the material properties and the overall stress-strain behavior were validated against the available experimental data. The material properties include the gradient in stiffness along the height, plastic and elastic compressibility, and hardening. Each of these tests was evaluated in terms of their efficiency in extracting material properties. The uniaxial simulation results proved to be a combination of structural and material influences. Out of all deformation paths, flat-punch indentation proved to be superior since it is the most sensitive in capturing the material properties.

Free vibration of functionally graded carbon-nanotube-reinforced composite plates with cutout

PubMed Central

Mirzaei, Mostafa

2016-01-01

Summary During the past five years, it has been shown that carbon nanotubes act as an exceptional reinforcement for composites. For this reason, a large number of investigations have been devoted to analysis of fundamental, structural behavior of solid structures made of carbon-nanotube-reinforced composites (CNTRC). The present research, as an extension of the available works on the vibration analysis of CNTRC structures, examines the free vibration characteristics of plates containing a cutout that are reinforced with uniform or nonuniform distribution of carbon nanotubes. The first-order shear deformation plate theory is used to estimate the kinematics of the plate. The solution method is based on the Ritz method with Chebyshev basis polynomials. Such a solution method is suitable for arbitrary in-plane and out-of-plane boundary conditions of the plate. It is shown that through a functionally graded distribution of carbon nanotubes across the thickness of the plate, the fundamental frequency of a rectangular plate with or without a cutout may be enhanced. Furthermore, the frequencies are highly dependent on the volume fraction of carbon nanotubes and may be increased upon using more carbon nanotubes as reinforcement. PMID:27335742

Single-wall carbon nanotubes and graphene oxide-based saturable absorbers for low phase noise mode-locked fiber lasers

PubMed Central

Li, Xiaohui; Wu, Kan; Sun, Zhipei; Meng, Bo; Wang, Yonggang; Wang, Yishan; Yu, Xuechao; Yu, Xia; Zhang, Ying; Shum, Perry Ping; Wang, Qi Jie

2016-01-01

Low phase noise mode-locked fiber laser finds important applications in telecommunication, ultrafast sciences, material science, and biology, etc. In this paper, two types of carbon nano-materials, i.e. single-wall carbon nanotube (SWNT) and graphene oxide (GO), are investigated as efficient saturable absorbers (SAs) to achieve low phase noise mode-locked fiber lasers. Various properties of these wall-paper SAs, such as saturable intensity, optical absorption and degree of purity, are found to be key factors determining the performance of the ultrafast pulses. Reduced-noise femtosecond fiber lasers based on such carbon-based SAs are experimentally demonstrated, for which the phase noise has been reduced by more than 10 dB for SWNT SAs and 8 dB for GO SAs at 10 kHz. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first investigation on the relationship between different carbon material based SAs and the phase noise of mode-locked lasers. This work paves the way to generate high-quality low phase noise ultrashort pulses in passively mode-locked fiber lasers. PMID:27126900

The effects of nanostructures on the mechanical and tribological properties of TiO2 nanotubes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yoon, Yeoungchin; Park, Jeongwon

2018-04-01

TiO2 nanotubes were prepared by anodization on Ti substrates with a diameter variation of 30-100 nm, and the structure of the nanotubes were studied using x-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy, which confirmed the structure changes from the anatase phase to the rutile phase of TiO2 at a diameter below 50 nm. The tribological behaviors of TiO2 nanotubes were investigated with different diameters. The effectiveness of the rutile phase and the diameter size enhanced the frictional performance of TiO2 nanotubes.

The effects of nanostructures on the mechanical and tribological properties of TiO2 nanotubes.

PubMed

Yoon, Yeoungchin; Park, Jeongwon

2018-04-20

TiO 2 nanotubes were prepared by anodization on Ti substrates with a diameter variation of 30-100 nm, and the structure of the nanotubes were studied using x-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy, which confirmed the structure changes from the anatase phase to the rutile phase of TiO 2 at a diameter below 50 nm. The tribological behaviors of TiO 2 nanotubes were investigated with different diameters. The effectiveness of the rutile phase and the diameter size enhanced the frictional performance of TiO 2 nanotubes.

NanoRelease: Pilot interlaboratory comparison of a weathering protocol applied to resilient and labile polymers with and without embedded carbon nanotubes

EPA Science Inventory

A major use of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) is as functional fillers embedded in a solid matrix, such as plastics or coatings. Weathering and abrasion of the solid matrix during use can lead to environmental releases of the MWCNTs. Here we focus on a protocol to identif...

Characterization of van der Waals type bimodal,- lambda,- meta- and spinodal phase transitions in liquid mixtures, solid suspensions and thin films.

PubMed

Rosenholm, Jarl B

2018-03-01

The perfect gas law is used as a reference when selecting state variables (P, V, T, n) needed to characterize ideal gases (vapors), liquids and solids. Van der Waals equation of state is used as a reference for models characterizing interactions in liquids, solids and their mixtures. Van der Waals loop introduces meta- and unstable states between the observed gas (vapor)-liquid P-V transitions at low T. These intermediate states are shown to appear also between liquid-liquid, liquid-solid and solid-solid phase transitions. First-order phase transitions are characterized by a sharp discontinuity of first-order partial derivatives (P, S, V) of Helmholtz and Gibbs free energies. Second-order partial derivatives (K T , B, C V , C P , E) consist of a static contribution relating to second-order phase transitions and a relaxation contribution representing the degree of first-order phase transitions. Bimodal (first-order) and spinodal (second-order) phase boundaries are used to separate stable phases from metastable and unstable phases. The boundaries are identified and quantified by partial derivatives of molar Gibbs free energy or chemical potentials with respect to P, S, V and composition (mole fractions). Molecules confined to spread Langmuir monolayers or adsorbed Gibbs monolayers are characterized by equation of state and adsorption isotherms relating to a two-dimensional van der Waals equation of state. The basic work of two-dimensional wetting (cohesion, adsorption, spreading, immersion), have to be adjusted by a horizontal surface pressure in the presence of adsorbed vapor layers. If the adsorption is extended to liquid films a vertical surface pressure (Π) may be added to account for the lateral interaction, thus restoring PV = ΠAh dependence of thin films. Van der Waals attraction, Coulomb repulsion and structural hydration forces contribute to the vertical surface pressure. A van der Waals type coexistence of ordered (dispersed) and disordered (aggregated) phases is shown to exist when liquid vapor is confined in capillaries (condensation-liquefaction-evaporation and flux). This pheno-menon can be experimentally illustrated with suspended nano-sized particles (flocculation-coagulation-peptisation of colloidal sols) being confined in sample holders of varying size. The self-assembled aggregates represent critical self-similar equilibrium structures corres-ponding to rate determining complexes in kinetics. Overall, a self-consistent thermodynamic framework is established for the characterization of two- and three-dimensional phase separations in one-, two- and three-component systems. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Observable consequences of zero-point energy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sen, Siddhartha; Gupta, Kumar S.

2017-12-01

Spectral line widths, the Lamb shift and the Casimir effect are generally accepted to be observable consequences of the zero-point electromagnetic (ZPEM) fields. A new class of observable consequences of ZPEM field at the mesoscopic scale were recently proposed and observed. Here, we extend this class of observable effects and predict that mesoscopic water layers should have a high value for its solid-liquid phase transition temperature, as illustrated by water inside a single-walled carbon nanotube (CNT). For this case, our analysis predicts that the phase transition temperature scales inversely with the square of the effective radius available for the water flow within the CNT.

Direct determination of three-phase contact line properties on nearly molecular scale

DOE PAGES

Winkler, P. M.; McGraw, R. L.; Bauer, P. S.; ...

2016-05-17

Wetting phenomena in multi-phase systems govern the shape of the contact line which separates the different phases. For liquids in contact with solid surfaces wetting is typically described in terms of contact angle. While in macroscopic systems the contact angle can be determined experimentally, on the molecular scale contact angles are hardly accessible. Here we report the first direct experimental determination of contact angles as well as contact line curvature on a scale of the order of 1nm. For water nucleating heterogeneously on Ag nanoparticles we find contact angles around 15 degrees compared to 90 degrees for the corresponding macroscopicallymore » measured equilibrium angle. The obtained microscopic contact angles can be attributed to negative line tension in the order of –10 –10 J/m that becomes increasingly dominant with increasing curvature of the contact line. Furthermore, these results enable a consistent theoretical description of heterogeneous nucleation and provide firm insight to the wetting of nanosized objects.« less

Directing Stem Cell Differentiation via Electrochemical Reversible Switching between Nanotubes and Nanotips of Polypyrrole Array.

PubMed

Wei, Yan; Mo, Xiaoju; Zhang, Pengchao; Li, Yingying; Liao, Jingwen; Li, Yongjun; Zhang, Jinxing; Ning, Chengyun; Wang, Shutao; Deng, Xuliang; Jiang, Lei

2017-06-27

Control of stem cell behaviors at solid biointerfaces is critical for stem-cell-based regeneration and generally achieved by engineering chemical composition, topography, and stiffness. However, the influence of dynamic stimuli at the nanoscale from solid biointerfaces on stem cell fate remains unclear. Herein, we show that electrochemical switching of a polypyrrole (Ppy) array between nanotubes and nanotips can alter surface adhesion, which can strongly influence mechanotransduction activation and guide differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). The Ppy array, prepared via template-free electrochemical polymerization, can be reversibly switched between highly adhesive hydrophobic nanotubes and poorly adhesive hydrophilic nanotips through an electrochemical oxidation/reduction process, resulting in dynamic attachment and detachment to MSCs at the nanoscale. Multicyclic attachment/detachment of the Ppy array to MSCs can activate intracellular mechanotransduction and osteogenic differentiation independent of surface stiffness and chemical induction. This smart surface, permitting transduction of nanoscaled dynamic physical inputs into biological outputs, provides an alternative to classical cell culture substrates for regulating stem cell fate commitment. This study represents a general strategy to explore nanoscaled interactions between stem cells and stimuli-responsive surfaces.

Reversible temperature regulation of electrical and thermal conductivity using liquid–solid phase transitions

PubMed Central

Zheng, Ruiting; Gao, Jinwei; Wang, Jianjian; Chen, Gang

2011-01-01

Reversible temperature tuning of electrical and thermal conductivities of materials is of interest for many applications, including seasonal regulation of building temperature, thermal storage and sensors. Here we introduce a general strategy to achieve large contrasts in electrical and thermal conductivities using first-order phase transitions in percolated composite materials. Internal stress generated during a phase transition modulates the electrical and thermal contact resistances, leading to large contrasts in the electrical and thermal conductivities at the phase transition temperature. With graphite/hexadecane suspensions, the electrical conductivity changes 2 orders of magnitude and the thermal conductivity varies up to 3.2 times near 18 °C. The generality of the approach is also demonstrated in other materials such as graphite/water and carbon nanotube/hexadecane suspensions. PMID:21505445

Reversible temperature regulation of electrical and thermal conductivity using liquid-solid phase transitions.

PubMed

Zheng, Ruiting; Gao, Jinwei; Wang, Jianjian; Chen, Gang

2011-01-01

Reversible temperature tuning of electrical and thermal conductivities of materials is of interest for many applications, including seasonal regulation of building temperature, thermal storage and sensors. Here we introduce a general strategy to achieve large contrasts in electrical and thermal conductivities using first-order phase transitions in percolated composite materials. Internal stress generated during a phase transition modulates the electrical and thermal contact resistances, leading to large contrasts in the electrical and thermal conductivities at the phase transition temperature. With graphite/hexadecane suspensions, the electrical conductivity changes 2 orders of magnitude and the thermal conductivity varies up to 3.2 times near 18 °C. The generality of the approach is also demonstrated in other materials such as graphite/water and carbon nanotube/hexadecane suspensions.

In-Situ Welding Carbon Nanotubes into a Porous Solid with Super-High Compressive Strength and Fatigue Resistance

PubMed Central

Lin, Zhiqiang; Gui, Xuchun; Gan, Qiming; Chen, Wenjun; Cheng, Xiaoping; Liu, Ming; Zhu, Yuan; Yang, Yanbing; Cao, Anyuan; Tang, Zikang

2015-01-01

Carbon nanotube (CNT) and graphene-based sponges and aerogels have an isotropic porous structure and their mechanical strength and stability are relatively lower. Here, we present a junction-welding approach to fabricate porous CNT solids in which all CNTs are coated and welded in situ by an amorphous carbon layer, forming an integral three-dimensional scaffold with fixed joints. The resulting CNT solids are robust, yet still highly porous and compressible, with compressive strengths up to 72 MPa, flexural strengths up to 33 MPa, and fatigue resistance (recovery after 100,000 large-strain compression cycles at high frequency). Significant enhancement of mechanical properties is attributed to the welding-induced interconnection and reinforcement of structural units, and synergistic effects stemming from the core-shell microstructures consisting of a flexible CNT framework and a rigid amorphous carbon shell. Our results provide a simple and effective method to manufacture high-strength porous materials by nanoscale welding. PMID:26067176

In-Situ Welding Carbon Nanotubes into a Porous Solid with Super-High Compressive Strength and Fatigue Resistance.

PubMed

Lin, Zhiqiang; Gui, Xuchun; Gan, Qiming; Chen, Wenjun; Cheng, Xiaoping; Liu, Ming; Zhu, Yuan; Yang, Yanbing; Cao, Anyuan; Tang, Zikang

2015-06-11

Carbon nanotube (CNT) and graphene-based sponges and aerogels have an isotropic porous structure and their mechanical strength and stability are relatively lower. Here, we present a junction-welding approach to fabricate porous CNT solids in which all CNTs are coated and welded in situ by an amorphous carbon layer, forming an integral three-dimensional scaffold with fixed joints. The resulting CNT solids are robust, yet still highly porous and compressible, with compressive strengths up to 72 MPa, flexural strengths up to 33 MPa, and fatigue resistance (recovery after 100,000 large-strain compression cycles at high frequency). Significant enhancement of mechanical properties is attributed to the welding-induced interconnection and reinforcement of structural units, and synergistic effects stemming from the core-shell microstructures consisting of a flexible CNT framework and a rigid amorphous carbon shell. Our results provide a simple and effective method to manufacture high-strength porous materials by nanoscale welding.

In-Situ Welding Carbon Nanotubes into a Porous Solid with Super-High Compressive Strength and Fatigue Resistance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lin, Zhiqiang; Gui, Xuchun; Gan, Qiming; Chen, Wenjun; Cheng, Xiaoping; Liu, Ming; Zhu, Yuan; Yang, Yanbing; Cao, Anyuan; Tang, Zikang

2015-06-01

Carbon nanotube (CNT) and graphene-based sponges and aerogels have an isotropic porous structure and their mechanical strength and stability are relatively lower. Here, we present a junction-welding approach to fabricate porous CNT solids in which all CNTs are coated and welded in situ by an amorphous carbon layer, forming an integral three-dimensional scaffold with fixed joints. The resulting CNT solids are robust, yet still highly porous and compressible, with compressive strengths up to 72 MPa, flexural strengths up to 33 MPa, and fatigue resistance (recovery after 100,000 large-strain compression cycles at high frequency). Significant enhancement of mechanical properties is attributed to the welding-induced interconnection and reinforcement of structural units, and synergistic effects stemming from the core-shell microstructures consisting of a flexible CNT framework and a rigid amorphous carbon shell. Our results provide a simple and effective method to manufacture high-strength porous materials by nanoscale welding.

A study of the effects of synthesis conditions on Li5FeO4/carbon nanotube composites

PubMed Central

Lee, Suk-Woo; Kim, Hyun-Kyung; Kim, Myeong-Seong; Roh, Kwang Chul; Kim, Kwang-Bum

2017-01-01

Li5FeO4/carbon nanotube (LFO/CNT) composites composed of sub-micron sized LFO and a nanocarbon with high electrical conductivity were successfully synthesized for the use as lithium ion predoping source in lithium ion cells. The phase of LFO in the composite was found to be very sensitive to the synthesis conditions, such as the heat treatment temperature, type of lithium salt, and physical state of the precursors (powder or pellet), due to the carbothermic reduction of Fe3O4 by CNTs during high temperature solid state reaction. Under optimized synthesis conditions, LFO/CNT composites could be synthesized without the formation of impurities. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on the synthesis and characterization of a sub-micron sized LFO/CNT composites. PMID:28422146

A study of the effects of synthesis conditions on Li5FeO4/carbon nanotube composites.

PubMed

Lee, Suk-Woo; Kim, Hyun-Kyung; Kim, Myeong-Seong; Roh, Kwang Chul; Kim, Kwang-Bum

2017-04-19

Li 5 FeO 4 /carbon nanotube (LFO/CNT) composites composed of sub-micron sized LFO and a nanocarbon with high electrical conductivity were successfully synthesized for the use as lithium ion predoping source in lithium ion cells. The phase of LFO in the composite was found to be very sensitive to the synthesis conditions, such as the heat treatment temperature, type of lithium salt, and physical state of the precursors (powder or pellet), due to the carbothermic reduction of Fe 3 O 4 by CNTs during high temperature solid state reaction. Under optimized synthesis conditions, LFO/CNT composites could be synthesized without the formation of impurities. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on the synthesis and characterization of a sub-micron sized LFO/CNT composites.

Near-Field Infrared Pump-Probe Imaging of Surface Phonon Coupling in Boron Nitride Nanotubes.

PubMed

Gilburd, Leonid; Xu, Xiaoji G; Bando, Yoshio; Golberg, Dmitri; Walker, Gilbert C

2016-01-21

Surface phonon modes are lattice vibrational modes of a solid surface. Two common surface modes, called longitudinal and transverse optical modes, exhibit lattice vibration along or perpendicular to the direction of the wave. We report a two-color, infrared pump-infrared probe technique based on scattering type near-field optical microscopy (s-SNOM) to spatially resolve coupling between surface phonon modes. Spatially varying couplings between the longitudinal optical and surface phonon polariton modes of boron nitride nanotubes are observed, and a simple model is proposed.

Selective Template Wetting Routes to Hierarchical Polymer Films: Polymer Nanotubes from Phase-Separated Films via Solvent Annealing.

PubMed

Ko, Hao-Wen; Cheng, Ming-Hsiang; Chi, Mu-Huan; Chang, Chun-Wei; Chen, Jiun-Tai

2016-03-01

We demonstrate a novel wetting method to prepare hierarchical polymer films with polymer nanotubes on selective regions. This strategy is based on the selective wetting abilities of polymer chains, annealed in different solvent vapors, into the nanopores of porous templates. Phase-separated films of polystyrene (PS) and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), two commonly used polymers, are prepared as a model system. After anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) templates are placed on the films, the samples are annealed in vapors of acetic acid, in which the PMMA chains are swollen and wet the nanopores of the AAO templates selectively. As a result, hierarchical polymer films containing PMMA nanotubes can be obtained after the AAO templates are removed. The distribution of the PMMA nanotubes of the hierarchical polymer films can also be controlled by changing the compositions of the polymer blends. This work not only presents a novel method to fabricate hierarchical polymer films with polymer nanotubes on selective regions, but also gives a deeper understanding in the selective wetting ability of polymer chains in solvent vapors.

Nanoparticle guests in lyotropic liquid crystals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dölle, Sarah; Park, Ji Hyun; Schymura, Stefan; Jo, Hyeran; Scalia, Giusy; Lagerwall, Jan P. F.

In this chapter we discuss the benefits, peculiarities and main challenges related to nanoparticle templating in lyotropic liquid crystals. We first give a brief bird's-eye view of the field, discussing different nanoparticles as well as different lyotropic hosts that have been explored, but then quickly focus on the dispersion of carbon nanotubes in surfactant-based lyotropic nematic phases. We discuss in some detail how the transfer of orientational order from liquid crystal host to nanoparticle guest can be verified and which degree of ordering can be expected, as well as the importance of choosing the right surfactant and its concentration for the stability of the nanoparticle suspension. We introduce a method for dispersing nanoparticles with an absolute minimum of stabilizing surfactant, based on dispersion below the Krafft temperature, and we discuss the peculiar phenomenon of filament formation in lyotropic nematic phases with a sufficient concentration of well-dispersed carbon nanotubes. Finally, we describe how the total surfactant concentration in micellar nematics can be greatly reduced by combining cat- and anionic surfactants, and we discuss how nanotubes can help in inducing the liquid crystal phase close to the isotropic-nematic boundary.

Retention of 14C-labeled multiwall carbon nanotubes by humic acid and polymers: Roles of macromolecule properties

PubMed Central

Zhao, Qing; Petersen, Elijah J.; Cornelis, Geert; Wang, Xilong; Guo, Xiaoying; Tao, Shu; Xing, Baoshan

2016-01-01

Developing methods to measure interactions of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) with soils and sediments and understanding the impact of soil and sediment properties on CNT deposition are essential for assessing CNT environmental risks. In this study, we utilized functionalized carbon-14 labeled nanotubes to systematically investigate retention of multiwall CNTs (MWCNTs) by 3 humic acids, 3 natural biopolymers, and 10 model solid-phase polymers, collectively termed macromolecules. Surface properties, rather than bulk properties of macromolecules, greatly influenced MWCNT retention. As shown via multiple linear regression analysis and path analysis, aromaticity and surface polarity were the two most positive factors for retention, suggesting retention was regulated by π-π stacking and hydrogen bonding interactions. Moreover, MWCNT deposition was irreversible. These observations may explain the high retention of MWCNT in natural soils. Moreover, our findings on the relative contribution of each macromolecule property on CNT retention provide information on macromolecule selection for removal of MWCNTs from wastewater and provide a method for measuring CNT interactions with organic macromolecules. PMID:27458320

Determination of antidepressants in human urine extracted by magnetic multiwalled carbon nanotube poly(styrene-co-divinylbenzene) composites and separation by capillary electrophoresis.

PubMed

Murtada, Khaled; de Andrés, Fernando; Ríos, Angel; Zougagh, Mohammed

2018-04-20

Poly(styrene-co-divinylbenzene)-coated magnetic multiwalled carbon nanotube composite synthesized by in-situ high temperature combination and precipitation polymerization of styrene-co-divinylbenzene has been employed as a magnetic sorbent for the solid phase extraction of antidepressants in human urine samples. Fluoxetine, venlafaxine, citalopram and sertraline were, afterwards, separated and determined by capillary electrophoresis with diode array detection. The presence of magnetic multiwalled carbon nanotubes in native poly(styrene-co-divinylbenzene) not only simplified sample treatment but also enhanced the adsorption efficiencies, obtaining extraction recoveries higher than 89.5% for all analytes. Moreover, this composite can be re-used at least 10 times without loss of efficiency and limits of detection ranging from 0.014 to 0.041 μg mL -1 were calculated. Additionally, precision values ranging from 0.08 to 7.50% and from 0.21 to 3.05% were obtained for the responses and for the migration times of the analytes, respectively. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Polymeric monolith column composited with multiwalled carbon nanotubes-β-cyclodextrin for the selective extraction of psoralen and isopsoralen.

PubMed

Ling, Xu; Zou, Li; Chen, Zilin

2017-09-01

A polymeric column that contains multiwalled carbon nanotubes-β-cyclodextrin composite was developed. The composite was wrapped into the poly(butyl methacrylate-ethylene dimethacrylate) monolith column (0.76 mm id and 10 cm in length). The column was then applied for the online solid-phase microextraction of psoralen and isopsoralen from Fructus Psoraleae. Following microextraction, the coumarins were quantified by high-performance liquid chromatography with C 18 separation column and UV detection. The effects of sample flow rate, sample volume, and pH value were optimized. The method showed low limits of detection (20 pg/mL, S/N = 3) for both psoralen and isopsoralen. Finally the method was successfully applied to the determination of psoralen and isopsoralen in spiked herb extracts and rat plasma where it gave recoveries that ranged between 93.2 and 102.1%. The empty hydrophobic cavities of β-cyclodextrin and the hydrophobicity of multiwalled carbon nanotubes provided specific extraction capability for psoralen and isopsoralen. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Multi scale modeling of ignition and combustion of micro and nano aluminum particles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Puri, Puneesh

With renewed interest in nano scale energetic materials like aluminum, many fundamental issues concerning the ignition and combustion characteristics at nano scales, remain to be clarified. The overall aim of the current study is the establishment of a unified theory accommodating the various processes and mechanisms involved in the combustion and ignition of aluminum particles at micro and nano scales. A comprehensive review on the ignition and combustion of aluminum particles at multi scales was first performed identifying various processes and mechanisms involved. Research focus was also placed on the establishment of a Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulation tool to investigate the characteristics of nano-particulate aluminum through three major studies. The general computational framework involved parallelized preprocessing, post-processing and main code with capability to simulate different ensembles using appropriate algorithms. Size dependence of melting temperature of pure aluminum particles was investigated in the first study. Phenomena like dynamic coexistence of solid and liquid phase and effect of surface charges on melting were explored. The second study involved the study of effect of defects in the form of voids on melting of bulk and particulate phase aluminum. The third MD study was used to analyze the thermo-mechanical behavior of nano-sized aluminum particles with total diameter of 5-10 nm and oxide thickness of 1-2.5 nm. The ensuing solid-solid and solid-liquid phase changes in the core and shell, stresses developed within the shell, and the diffusion of aluminum cations in the oxide layer, were explored in depth for amorphous and crystalline oxide layers. In the limiting case, the condition for pyrophoricity/explosivity of nano-particulate aluminum was analyzed and modified. The size dependence of thermodynamic properties at nano scales were considered and incorporated into the existing theories developed for micro and larger scales. Finally, a phenomenological theory for ignition and combustion of aluminum particles was proposed. The whole time history from ignition till particle burnout was divided into five stages. An attempt was made to explore different modes of ignition based on the effect of pressure, temperature, oxidizer, oxide thickness and particle diameter and was investigated using length and time scales involved during ignition and combustion.

Synthesis of stable TiO2 nanotubes: effect of hydrothermal treatment, acid washing and annealing temperature.

PubMed

López Zavala, Miguel Ángel; Lozano Morales, Samuel Alejandro; Ávila-Santos, Manuel

2017-11-01

Effect of hydrothermal treatment, acid washing and annealing temperature on the structure and morphology of TiO 2 nanotubes during the formation process was assessed. X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy analysis were conducted to describe the formation and characterization of the structure and morphology of nanotubes. Hydrothermal treatment of TiO 2 precursor nanoparticles and acid washing are fundamental to form and define the nanotubes structure. Hydrothermal treatment causes a change in the crystallinity of the precursor nanoparticles from anatase phase to a monoclinic phase, which characterizes the TiO 2 nanosheets structure. The acid washing promotes the formation of high purity nanotubes due to Na + is exchanged from the titanate structure to the hydrochloric acid (HCl) solution. The annealing temperature affects the dimensions, structure and the morphology of the nanotubes. Annealing temperatures in the range of 400 °C and 600 °C are optimum to maintain a highly stable tubular morphology of nanotubes. Additionally, nanotubes conserve the physicochemical properties of the precursor Degussa P25 nanoparticles. Temperatures greater than 600 °C alter the morphology of nanotubes from tubular to an irregular structure of nanoparticles, which are bigger than those of the precursor material, i.e., the crystallinity turn from anatase phase to rutile phase inducing the collapse of the nanotubes.

Electrical Conductivity in Polymer Blends/ Multiwall Carbon Nanotubes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kulkarni, Ajit R.; Bose, Suryasarathi; Bhattacharyya, Arup R.

2008-10-01

Carbon nanotubes (CNT) based polymer composites have emerged as the future multifunctional materials in view of its exceptional mechanical, thermal and electrical properties. One of the major interests is to develop conductive polymer composites preferably at low concentration of CNT utilizing their high aspect ratio (L/D) for numerous applications, which include antistatic devices, capacitors and materials for EMI shielding. In this context, polymer blends have emerged as a potential candidate in lowering the percolation thresholds further by the utilization of `double-percolation' which arises from the synergistic improvements in blend properties associated with the co-continuous morphology. Due to strong inter-tube van der Waals' forces, they often tend to aggregate and uniform dispersion remains a challenge. To overcome this challenge, we exploited sodium salt of 6-aminohexanoic acid (Na-AHA) which was able to assist in debundlling the multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWNT) through `cation-π' interactions during melt-mixing leading to percolative `network-like' structure of MWNT within polyamide6 (PA6) phase in co-continuous PA6/acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) blends. The composite exhibited low electrical percolation thresholds of 0.25 wt% of MWNT, the lowest reported value in this system so far. Retention of `network-like structure' in the solid state with significant refinement was observed even at lower MWNT concentration in presence Na-AHA, which was assessed through AC electrical conductivity measurements. Reactive coupling was found to be a dominant factor besides `cation-π' interactions in achieving low electrical percolation in PA6/ABS+MWNT composites.

Dispersive admicelle solid-phase extraction based on sodium dodecyl sulfate coated Fe3 O4 nanoparticles for the selective adsorption of three alkaloids in Gegen-Qinlian oral liquid before high-performance liquid chromatography.

PubMed

Shi, Zhihong; Xu, Dan; Zhao, Xuan; Li, Xinghong; Shen, Huimin; Yang, Bing; Zhang, Hongyi

2017-12-01

A novel dispersive admicelle solid-phase extraction method based on sodium dodecyl sulfate-coated Fe 3 O 4 nanoparticles was developed for the selective adsorption of berberine, coptisine, and palmatine in Gegen-Qinlian oral liquid before high-performance liquid chromatography. Fe 3 O 4 nanoparticles were synthesized by a chemical coprecipitation method and characterized by using transmission electron microscopy. Under acidic conditions, the surface of Fe 3 O 4 nanoparticles was coated with sodium dodecyl sulfate to form a nano-sized admicelle magnetic sorbent. Owing to electrostatic interaction, the alkaloids were adsorbed onto the oppositely charged admicelle magnetic nanoparticles. The quick separation of the analyte-adsorbed nanoparticles from the sample solution was performed by using Nd-Fe-B magnet. Best extraction efficiency was achieved under the following conditions: 800 μL Fe 3 O 4 nanoparticles suspension (20 mg/mL), 150 μL sodium dodecyl sulfate solution (10 mg/mL), pH 2, and vortexing time 2 min for the extraction of alkaloids from 10 mL of diluted sample. Four hundred microliters of methanol was used to desorb the alkaloids by vortexing for 1 min. Satisfactory extraction recoveries were obtained in the range of 85.9-120.3%, relative standard deviations for intra- and interday precisions were less than 6.3 and 10.0%, respectively. Finally, the established method was successfully applied to analyze the alkaloids in two batches of Gegen-Qinlian oral liquids. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Noncovalent functionalization of pristine CVD single-walled carbon nanotubes with 3d metal(II) phthalocyanines by adsorption from the gas phase

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Basiuk, Vladimir A.; Flores-Sánchez, Laura J.; Meza-Laguna, Victor; Flores-Flores, José Ocotlán; Bucio-Galindo, Lauro; Puente-Lee, Iván; Basiuk, Elena V.

2018-04-01

Noncovalent hybrids of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) with phthalocyanines (Pcs) is a subject of growing research effort focused on the development of new efficient organic photovoltaic cells, heterogeneous catalysts, lithium batteries, gas sensors, field effect transistors, among other possible applications. The main advantage of using unsubstituted Pcs is their very moderate cost and easy commercial availability. Unfortunately, the deposition of unsubstituted Pcs onto CNT sidewalls via the traditional liquid-phase strategy proves to be very problematic due to an extremely poor solubility of Pcs. At the same time, unsubstituted free-base H2Pc ligand and many of its transition metal complexes exhibit high thermal stability and volatility under reduced pressure, which allows for their physical vapor deposition onto solid surfaces. In the present work, we demonstrated the possibility of simple, fast, efficient and environmentally friendly noncovalent functionalization of single-walled CNTs (SWNTs) with a series of 3d metal(II) phthalocyanines Me(II)Pc, where Me = Co, Ni, Cu and Zn. The functionalization can be performed at 400-500 °C under moderate vacuum, and takes about 2-3 h only. The nanohybrids obtained were characterized by means of Fourier-transform infrared, Raman, UV-vis and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), scanning and transmission electron microscopy. TGA suggested that Pc weight content is 30%, 17% and 35% for NiPc, CuPc and ZnPc, respectively (CoPc exhibited anomalous behavior), which is close to the estimates from EDS spectra of 24-39%, 27-36% and 27-44% for CoPc, CuPc and ZnPc, respectively. A strong increase in intensity of D band in the Raman spectra of SWNT‒Pc hybrids, as compared to that of pristine nanotubes, was interpreted as very strong interactions between Pc molecules and SWNT sidewalls. Very high absolute values of binding energies of 32.46-37.12 kcal/mol and the patterns of HOMO and LUMO distribution, calculated at the PBE-D/DNP level of density functional theory, also suggested that the interactions between metal phthalocyanines studied and nanotube sidewalls are very strong.

Micro-/nanosized cantilever beams and mass sensors under applied axial tensile/compressive force vibrating in vacuum and viscous fluid

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

Stachiv, Ivo, E-mail: stachiv@fzu.cz; Institute of Physics, Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague; Fang, Te-Hua

2015-11-15

Vibrating micro-/nanosized cantilever beams under an applied axial force are the key components of various devices used in nanotechnology. In this study, we perform a complete theoretical investigation of the cantilever beams under an arbitrary value of the axial force vibrating in a specific environment such as vacuum, air or viscous fluid. Based on the results easy accessible expressions enabling one the fast and highly accurate estimations of changes in the Q-factor and resonant frequencies of beam oscillating in viscous fluid caused by the applied axial force are derived and analyzed. It has been also shown that for beam-to-string andmore » string vibrational regimes the mode shape starts to significantly deviate from the one known for a beam without axial force. Moreover, a linear dependency of the vibrational amplitude in resonance on the dimensionless tension parameter has been found. We revealed that only a large axial force, i.e. the string vibrational regime, significantly improves the Q-factor of beams submerged in fluid, while an increase of the axial force in beam and beam-to-string transition regimes has a negligibly small impact on the Q-factor enhancement. Experiments carried out on the carbon nanotubes and nanowires are in a good agreement with present theoretical predictions.« less

Noncatalytic hydrogenation of decene-1 with hydrogen accumulated in a hybrid carbon nanostructure in nanosized membrane reactors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Soldatov, A. P.

2014-08-01

Studies on the creation of nanosized membrane reactors (NMRs) of a new generation with accumulated hydrogen and a regulated volume of reaction zone were continued at the next stage. Hydrogenation was performed in the pores of ceramic membranes with hydrogen preliminarily adsorbed in mono- and multilayered orientated carbon nanotubes with graphene walls (OCNTGs)—a new hybrid carbon nanostructure formed on the inner pore surface. Quantitative determination of hydrogen adsorption in OCNTGs was performed using TRUMEM ultrafiltration membranes with D av = 50 and 90 nm and showed that hydrogen adsorption was up to ˜1.5% of the mass of OCNTG. The instrumentation and procedure for noncatalytic hydrogenation of decene-1 at 250-350°C using hydrogen accumulated and stored in OCNTG were developed. The conversion of decene-1 into decane was ˜0.2-1.8% at hydrogenation temperatures of 250 and 350°C, respectively. The rate constants and activation energy of hydrogenation were determined. The latter was found to be 94.5 kJ/mol, which is much smaller than the values typical for noncatalytic hydrogenations and very close to the values characteristic for catalytic reactions. The quantitative distribution of the reacting compounds in each pore regarded as a nanosized membrane reactor was determined. The activity of hydrogen adsorbed in a 2D carbon nanostructure was evaluated. Possible mechanisms of noncatalytic hydrogenation were discussed.

All-solid-state flexible supercapacitors fabricated with bacterial nanocellulose papers, carbon nanotubes, and triblock-copolymer ion gels.

PubMed

Kang, Yu Jin; Chun, Sang-Jin; Lee, Sung-Suk; Kim, Bo-Yeong; Kim, Jung Hyeun; Chung, Haegeun; Lee, Sun-Young; Kim, Woong

2012-07-24

We demonstrate all-solid-state flexible supercapacitors with high physical flexibility, desirable electrochemical properties, and excellent mechanical integrity, which were realized by rationally exploiting unique properties of bacterial nanocellulose, carbon nanotubes, and ionic liquid based polymer gel electrolytes. This deliberate choice and design of main components led to excellent supercapacitor performance such as high tolerance against bending cycles and high capacitance retention over charge/discharge cycles. More specifically, the performance of our supercapacitors was highly retained through 200 bending cycles to a radius of 3 mm. In addition, the supercapacitors showed excellent cyclability with C(sp) (~20 mF/cm(2)) reduction of only <0.5% over 5000 charge/discharge cycles at the current density of 10 A/g. Our demonstration could be an important basis for material design and development of flexible supercapacitors.

Solid-state supercapacitors with ionic liquid gel polymer electrolyte based on poly (3, 4-ethylenedioxythiophene), carbon nanotubes, and metal oxides nanocomposites for electrical energy storage

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Obeidat, Amr M.

Clean and renewable energy systems have emerged as an important area of research having diverse and significant new applications. These systems utilize different energy storage methods such as the batteries and supercapacitors. Supercapacitors are electrochemical energy storage devices that are designed to bridge the gap between batteries and conventional capacitors. Supercapacitors which store electrical energy by electrical double layer capacitance are based on large surface area structured carbons. The materials systems in which the Faradaic reversible redox reactions store electrical energy are the transition metal oxides and electronically conducting polymers. Among the different types of conducting polymers, poly (3, 4- ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) is extensively investigated owing to its chemical and mechanical stability. Due to instability of aqueous electrolytes at high voltages and toxicity of organic electrolytes, potential of supercapacitors has not been fully exploited. A novel aspect of this work is in utilizing the ionic liquid gel polymer electrolyte to design solid-state supercapacitors for energy storage. Various electrochemical systems were investigated including graphene, PEDOT, PEDOT-carbon nanotubes, PEDOT-manganese oxide, and PEDOT-iron oxide nanocomposites. The electrochemical performance of solid-state supercapacitor devices was evaluated based on cyclic voltammetry (CV), charge-discharge (CD), prolonged cyclic tests, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) techniques. Raman spectroscopy technique was also utilized to analyze the bonding structure of the electrode materials. The graphene solid-state supercapacitor system displayed areal capacitance density of 141.83 mF cm-2 based on high potential window up to 4V. The PEDOT solid-state supercapacitor system was synthesized in acetonitrile and aqueous mediums achieving areal capacitance density of 219.17 mF cm-2. The hybrid structure of solid-state supercapacitors was also studied in solid-state design based on PEDOT and graphene electrodes that produced areal capacitance density of 198.26 mF cm-2. Symmetrical PEDOT-manganese oxide nanocomposites were synthesized by co-deposition and dip-coating techniques to fabricate solid-state supercapacitor systems achieving areal capacitance density of 122.08 mF cm-2 credited to the PEDOT-MnO2 supercapacitor that was synthesized by dipping the PEDOT electrode in pure KMnO4 solution. The electrochemical performance of PEDOT-carbon nanotube solid-state supercapacitors was also investigated in both acetonitrile and aqueous medium showing good dispersion characteristics with optimum CNT content of 1 mg. The PEDOT-CNT solid-state supercapacitor system synthesized in acetonitrile displayed areal capacitance density of 297.43 mF cm-2. PEDOT-Fe2O3 nanocomposites were synthesized by single-step co-deposition techniques, and these were used to fabricate solid-state supercapacitors achieving areal capacitance density of 96.89 mF cm-2. Furthermore, some of these thin flexible solid-state supercapacitors were integrated with solar cells for direct storage of solar electricity, which proved to be promising as autonomous power source for flexible and wearable electronics. This dissertation describes the electrode synthesis, design and properties of solid-state supercapacitors, and their electrochemical performance in the storage of electrical energy.

Comparison of dust release from epoxy and paint nanocomposites and conventional products during sanding and sawing.

PubMed

Gomez, Virginia; Levin, Marcus; Saber, Anne T; Irusta, Silvia; Dal Maso, Miikka; Hanoi, Roberto; Santamaria, Jesus; Jensen, Keld A; Wallin, Håkan; Koponen, Ismo K

2014-10-01

The release of dust generated during sanding or sawing of nanocomposites was compared with conventional products without nanomaterials. Epoxy-based polymers with and without carbon nanotubes, and paints with different amounts of nano-sized titanium dioxide, were machined in a closed aerosol chamber. The temporal evolution of the aerosol concentration and size distribution were measured simultaneously. The morphology of collected dust by scanning electron microscopy was different depending on the type of nanocomposites: particles from carbon nanotubes (CNTs) nanocomposites had protrusions on their surfaces and aggregates and agglomerates are attached to the paint matrix in particles emitted from alkyd paints. We observed no significant differences in the particle size distributions when comparing sanding dust from nanofiller containing products with dust from conventional products. Neither did we observe release of free nanomaterials. Instead, the nanomaterials were enclosed or partly enclosed in the matrix. A source strength term Si (cm(-3) s(-1)) that describes particle emission rates from continuous sources was introduced. Comparison between the Si parameters derived from sanding different materials allows identification of potential effects of addition of engineered nanoparticles to a composite. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Occupational Hygiene Society.

Stretchable, weavable coiled carbon nanotube/MnO2/polymer fiber solid-state supercapacitors.

PubMed

Choi, Changsoon; Kim, Shi Hyeong; Sim, Hyeon Jun; Lee, Jae Ah; Choi, A Young; Kim, Youn Tae; Lepró, Xavier; Spinks, Geoffrey M; Baughman, Ray H; Kim, Seon Jeong

2015-03-23

Fiber and yarn supercapacitors that are elastomerically deformable without performance loss are sought for such applications as power sources for wearable electronics, micro-devices, and implantable medical devices. Previously reported yarn and fiber supercapacitors are expensive to fabricate, difficult to upscale, or non-stretchable, which limits possible use. The elastomeric electrodes of the present solid-state supercapacitors are made by using giant inserted twist to coil a nylon sewing thread that is helically wrapped with a carbon nanotube sheet, and then electrochemically depositing pseudocapacitive MnO2 nanofibers. These solid-state supercapacitors decrease capacitance by less than 15% when reversibly stretched by 150% in the fiber direction, and largely retain capacitance while being cyclically stretched during charge and discharge. The maximum linear and areal capacitances (based on active materials) and areal energy storage and power densities (based on overall supercapacitor dimensions) are high (5.4 mF/cm, 40.9 mF/cm(2), 2.6 μWh/cm(2) and 66.9 μW/cm(2), respectively), despite the engineered superelasticity of the fiber supercapacitor. Retention of supercapacitor performance during large strain (50%) elastic deformation is demonstrated for supercapacitors incorporated into the wristband of a glove.

Hybrid fibers made of molybdenum disulfide, reduced graphene oxide, and multi-walled carbon nanotubes for solid-state, flexible, asymmetric supercapacitors.

PubMed

Sun, Gengzhi; Zhang, Xiao; Lin, Rongzhou; Yang, Jian; Zhang, Hua; Chen, Peng

2015-04-07

One of challenges existing in fiber-based supercapacitors is how to achieve high energy density without compromising their rate stability. Owing to their unique physical, electronic, and electrochemical properties, two-dimensional (2D) nanomaterials, e.g., molybdenum disulfide (MoS2 ) and graphene, have attracted increasing research interest and been utilized as electrode materials in energy-related applications. Herein, by incorporating MoS2 and reduced graphene oxide (rGO) nanosheets into a well-aligned multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) sheet followed by twisting, MoS2 -rGO/MWCNT and rGO/MWCNT fibers are fabricated, which can be used as the anode and cathode, respectively, for solid-state, flexible, asymmetric supercapacitors. This fiber-based asymmetric supercapacitor can operate in a wide potential window of 1.4 V with high Coulombic efficiency, good rate and cycling stability, and improved energy density. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Metal-organic frameworks for analytical chemistry: from sample collection to chromatographic separation.

PubMed

Gu, Zhi-Yuan; Yang, Cheng-Xiong; Chang, Na; Yan, Xiu-Ping

2012-05-15

In modern analytical chemistry researchers pursue novel materials to meet analytical challenges such as improvements in sensitivity, selectivity, and detection limit. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are an emerging class of microporous materials, and their unusual properties such as high surface area, good thermal stability, uniform structured nanoscale cavities, and the availability of in-pore functionality and outer-surface modification are attractive for diverse analytical applications. This Account summarizes our research on the analytical applications of MOFs ranging from sampling to chromatographic separation. MOFs have been either directly used or engineered to meet the demands of various analytical applications. Bulk MOFs with microsized crystals are convenient sorbents for direct application to in-field sampling and solid-phase extraction. Quartz tubes packed with MOF-5 have shown excellent stability, adsorption efficiency, and reproducibility for in-field sampling and trapping of atmospheric formaldehyde. The 2D copper(II) isonicotinate packed microcolumn has demonstrated large enhancement factors and good shape- and size-selectivity when applied to on-line solid-phase extraction of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in water samples. We have explored the molecular sieving effect of MOFs for the efficient enrichment of peptides with simultaneous exclusion of proteins from biological fluids. These results show promise for the future of MOFs in peptidomics research. Moreover, nanosized MOFs and engineered thin films of MOFs are promising materials as novel coatings for solid-phase microextraction. We have developed an in situ hydrothermal growth approach to fabricate thin films of MOF-199 on etched stainless steel wire for solid-phase microextraction of volatile benzene homologues with large enhancement factors and wide linearity. Their high thermal stability and easy-to-engineer nanocrystals make MOFs attractive as new stationary phases to fabricate MOF-coated capillaries for high-resolution gas chromatography (GC). We have explored a dynamic coating approach to fabricate a MOF-coated capillary for the GC separation of important raw chemicals and persistent organic pollutants with high resolution and excellent selectivity. We have combined a MOF-coated fiber for solid-phase microextraction with a MOF-coated capillary for GC separation, which provides an effective MOF-based tandem molecular sieve platform for selective microextraction and high-resolution GC separation of target analytes in complex samples. Microsized MOFs with good solvent stability are attractive stationary phases for high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). These materials have shown high resolution and good selectivity and reproducibility in both the normal-phase HPLC separation of fullerenes and substituted aromatics on MIL-101 packed columns and position isomers on a MIL-53(Al) packed column and the reversed-phase HPLC separation of a wide range of analytes from nonpolar to polar and acidic to basic solutes. Despite the above achievements, further exploration of MOFs in analytical chemistry is needed. Especially, analytical application-oriented engineering of MOFs is imperative for specific applications.

NASA Tech Briefs, March 2008

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2008-01-01

Topics covered include: WRATS Integrated Data Acquisition System; Breadboard Signal Processor for Arraying DSN Antennas; Digital Receiver Phase Meter; Split-Block Waveguide Polarization Twist for 220 to 325 GHz; Nano-Multiplication-Region Avalanche Photodiodes and Arrays; Tailored Asymmetry for Enhanced Coupling to WGM Resonators; Disabling CNT Electronic Devices by Use of Electron Beams; Conical Bearingless Motor/Generators; Integrated Force Method for Indeterminate Structures; Carbon-Nanotube-Based Electrodes for Biomedical Applications; Compact Directional Microwave Antenna for Localized Heating; Using Hyperspectral Imagery to Identify Turfgrass Stresses; Shaping Diffraction-Grating Grooves to Optimize Efficiency; Low-Light-Shift Cesium Fountain without Mechanical Shutters; Magnetic Compensation for Second-Order Doppler Shift in LITS; Nanostructures Exploit Hybrid-Polariton Resonances; Microfluidics, Chromatography, and Atomic-Force Microscopy; Model of Image Artifacts from Dust Particles; Pattern-Recognition System for Approaching a Known Target; Orchestrator Telemetry Processing Pipeline; Scheme for Quantum Computing Immune to Decoherence; Spin-Stabilized Microsatellites with Solar Concentrators; Phase Calibration of Antenna Arrays Aimed at Spacecraft; Ring Bus Architecture for a Solid-State Recorder; and Image Compression Algorithm Altered to Improve Stereo Ranging.

Solid super saturated self-nanoemulsifying drug delivery system (sat-SNEDDS) as a promising alternative to conventional SNEDDS for improvement rosuvastatin calcium oral bioavailability.

PubMed

Abo Enin, Hadel A; Abdel-Bar, Hend Mohamed

2016-11-01

This study aims to illustrate the applicability of solid supersaturated self-nanoemulsifying drug delivery system (sat-SNEDDS) for the improvement of rosuvastatin calcium (RC) oral bioavailability. Different sat-SNEDDS were prepared by incorporating different ratios of RC into SNEDDS using tween80/PEG400 (77.2%) as surfactant/cosurfactant mixture and garlic /olive oil (22.8%) as oil phase. The prepared systems were characterized viz; size, zeta potential, TEM and stability. Various hydrophilic and hydrophobic carriers were employed to solidify the optimized RC sat-SNEDDS. The influence of the carrier was investigated by SEM, XRPD, DSC, flow properties, in vitro precipitation, drug release and oral bioavailability study. The adsorption of the stable positively charged nanocarrier RC sat-SNEDDS onto solid carriers provided free flowing amorphous powder. The carrier could amend the morphological architecture and in vitro release of the RC solid sat-SNEDDS. Hydrophobic carriers as microcrystalline cellulose 102 (MCC) showed superior physical characters and higher dissolution rate over hydrophilic carriers as maltodextrin with respective T 100% 30 min and 45 min. The rapid spontaneous emulsification, the positively nanosized MCC-sat-SNEDDS improved oral bioavailability of RC by 2.1-fold over commercial tablets. Solid MCC-sat-SNEDDS combined dual benefits of sat-SNEDDS and solid dosage form was successfully optimized to improve RC oral bioavailability.

Synthesis and characterization of nano-sized CaCO3 in purified diet

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mulyaningsih, N. N.; Tresnasari, D. R.; Ramahwati, M. R.; Juwono, A. L.; Soejoko, D. S.; Astuti, D. A.

2017-07-01

The growth and development of animals depend strongly on the balanced nutrition in the diet. This research aims is to characterize the weight variations of nano-sized calcium carbonate (CaCO3) in purified diet that to be fed to animal model of rat. The nano-sized CaCO3 was prepared by milling the calcium carbonate particles for 20 hours at a rotation speed of 1000 rpm and resulting particle size in a range of 2-50 nm. Nano-sized CaCO3 added to purified diet to the four formulas that were identified as normal diet (N), deficiency calcium (DC), rich in calcium (RC), and poor calcium (PC) with containing in nano-sized CaCO3 much as 0.50 %, 0.00 %, 0.75 % and 0.25 % respectively. The nutritional content of the purified diet was proximate analyzed, it resulted as followed moisture, ash, fat, protein, crude fiber. The quantities of chemical element were analyzed by atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS), it resulted iron, magnesium, potassium and calcium. The results showed that N diet (Ca: 16,914.29 ppm) were suggested for healthy rats and RC diet (Ca: 33,696.13 ppm) for conditioned osteoporosis rats. The crystalline phases of the samples that were examined by X-ray diffraction showed that crystalline phase increased with the increasing concentration of CaCO3.

Simultaneous determination of four trace level endocrine disrupting compounds in environmental samples by solid-phase microextraction coupled with HPLC.

PubMed

Wang, Lingling; Zhang, Zhenzhen; Xu, Xu; Zhang, Danfeng; Wang, Fang; Zhang, Lei

2015-09-01

A simple, rapid, sensitive and effective method for the simultaneous determination of four endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) (bisphenol A (BPA), bisphenol F (BPF), bisphenol AF (BPAF) and bisphenol AP (BPAP)) in environment water samples based on solid-phase microextraction (SPME) coupled with high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was developed. Multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) adsorbents showed a good affinity to the target analytes. These compounds were rapidly extracted within 10 min. Various experimental parameters that could affect the extraction efficiencies had been investigated in detail. Under the optimum conditions, the enrichment factors of the method for the target EDCs were found to be 500. Satisfactory precision and accuracy of the method were obtained in a low concentration range of 2.0-500.0 ng mL(-1). The method detection limits were in the range of 0.10-0.30 ng mL(-1). The high pre-concentration rate and efficiency of the method ensure its successful application in extraction of trace EDCs from large volumes of environmental water samples. The extraction recoveries in real samples ranged from 85.3% to 102.5% with the relative standard deviations (n=5) less than 3.74%. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Analysis of four toxic metals in a single rice seed by matrix solid phase dispersion -inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

He, Xiufen; Chen, Lixia; Chen, Xin; Yu, Huamei; Peng, Lixu; Han, Bingjun

2016-12-01

Toxic metals in rice pose great risks to human health. Metal bioaccumulation in rice grains is a criterion of breeding. Rice breeding requires a sensitive method to determine metal content in single rice grains to assist the variety selection. In the present study, four toxic metals of arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr) and lead (Pb) in a single rice grain were determined by a simple and rapid method. The developed method is based on matrix solid phase dispersion using multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) as dispersing agent and analyzed by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. The experimental parameters were systematically investigated. The limits of detection (LOD) were 5.0, 0.6, 10 and 2.1 ng g-1 for As, Cd, Cr, and Pb, respectively, with relative standard deviations (n = 6) of <7.7%, demonstrating the good sensitivity and precision of the method. The results of 30 real world rice samples analyzed by this method agreed well with those obtained by the standard microwave digestion. The amount of sample required was reduced approximately 100 fold in comparison with the microwave digestion. The method has a high application potential for other sample matrices and elements with high sensitivity and sample throughput.

Comparison of several solid-phase extraction sorbents for continuous determination of amines in water by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.

PubMed

Jurado-Sánchez, Beatriz; Ballesteros, Evaristo; Gallego, Mercedes

2009-08-15

A semiautomatic method has been proposed for the determination of different types of amines in water samples including anilines, chloroanilines, N-nitrosamines and aliphatic amines. The analytes were retained on a solid-phase extraction sorbent column and after elution, 1 microL of the extract was analysed by gas chromatography coupled with electron impact ionization mass spectrometry. A systematic overview is given of the advantages and disadvantages of several sorbents (LiChrolut EN, Oasis HLB, RP-C(18), graphitized carbon black, fullerenes and nanotubes) in the retention of amine compounds and based on sensitivity, selectivity and reliability. The retention efficiency for the studied amines was higher (ca. 100%) with LiChrolut EN and Oasis HLB than it was with RP-C(18) and fullerenes (53 and 62%, respectively, on average). Detection limits of 0.5-16 ng L(-1) for the 27 amines studied were obtained when using a sorbent column containing 75 mg of LiChrolut EN for 100mL of sample, the RSD being lower than 6.5%. The method was applied with good accuracy and precision in the determination of amines in various types of water including river, pond, tap, well, drinking, swimming pool and waste.

Analysis of four toxic metals in a single rice seed by matrix solid phase dispersion -inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry.

PubMed

He, Xiufen; Chen, Lixia; Chen, Xin; Yu, Huamei; Peng, Lixu; Han, Bingjun

2016-12-06

Toxic metals in rice pose great risks to human health. Metal bioaccumulation in rice grains is a criterion of breeding. Rice breeding requires a sensitive method to determine metal content in single rice grains to assist the variety selection. In the present study, four toxic metals of arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr) and lead (Pb) in a single rice grain were determined by a simple and rapid method. The developed method is based on matrix solid phase dispersion using multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) as dispersing agent and analyzed by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. The experimental parameters were systematically investigated. The limits of detection (LOD) were 5.0, 0.6, 10 and 2.1 ng g -1 for As, Cd, Cr, and Pb, respectively, with relative standard deviations (n = 6) of <7.7%, demonstrating the good sensitivity and precision of the method. The results of 30 real world rice samples analyzed by this method agreed well with those obtained by the standard microwave digestion. The amount of sample required was reduced approximately 100 fold in comparison with the microwave digestion. The method has a high application potential for other sample matrices and elements with high sensitivity and sample throughput.

Analytical possibilities of different X-ray fluorescence systems for determination of trace elements in aqueous samples pre-concentrated with carbon nanotubes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marguí, E.; Zawisza, B.; Skorek, R.; Theato, T.; Queralt, I.; Hidalgo, M.; Sitko, R.

2013-10-01

This study was aimed to achieve improved instrumental sensitivity and detection limits for multielement determination of V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Ga, Se, Pb and Cd in liquid samples by using different X-ray fluorescence (XRF) configurations (a benchtop energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometer, a benchtop polarised energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometer and a wavelength-dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometer). The preconcentration of metals from liquid solutions consisted on a solid-phase extraction using carbon nanotubes (CNTs) as solid sorbents. After the extraction step, the aqueous sample was filtered and CNTs with the absorbed elements were collected onto a filter paper which was directly analyzed by XRF. The calculated detection limits in all cases were in the low ng mL- 1 range. Nevertheless, results obtained indicate the benefits, in terms of sensitivity, of using polarized X-ray sources using different secondary targets in comparison to conventional XRF systems, above all if Cd determination is required. The developed methodologies, using the aforementioned equipments, have been applied for multielement determination in water samples from an industrial area of Poland.

Solid-State Spun Fibers from 1 mm Long Carbon Nanotube Forests Synthesized by Water-Assisted Chemical Vapor Deposition

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zhang, Shanju; Zhu, Lingbo; Minus, Marilyn L.; Chae, han Gi; Jagannathan, Sudhakar; Wong, Ching-Ping; Kowalik, Janusz; Roberson, Luke B.; Kumar, Satish

2007-01-01

In this work, we report continuous carbon nanotube fibers dry-drawn directly from water-assisted CVD grown forests with millimeter scale length. As-drawn nanotube fibers exist as aerogel and can be transformed into more compact fibers through twisting or densification with a volatile liquid. Nanotube fibers are characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Raman microscopy and wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD). Mechanical behavior and electrical conductivity of the post-treated nanotube fibers are investigated.

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

Liu, J. P.; Wang, Y. D.; Hao, Y. L.

Two main explanations exist for the deformation mechanisms in Ti-Nb-based gum metals, i.e. the formation of reversible nanodisturbance and reversible stress-induced martensitic transformation. In this work, we used the in situ synchrotron-based high-energy X-ray diffuse-scattering technique to reveal the existence of a specific deformation mechanism, i.e. deformation-induced spatially confined martensitic transformations, in Ti-24Nb-4Zr-8Sn-0.10O single crystals with cubic 13 parent phase, which explains well some anomalous mechanical properties of the alloy such as low elastic modulus and nonlinear superelasticity. Two kinds of nanosized martensites with different crystal structures were found during uniaxial tensile loading along the [11 0](beta) axis at roommore » temperature and 190 K, respectively. The detailed changes in the martensitic phase transformation characteristics and the transformation kinetics were experimentally observed at different temperatures. The domain switch from non-modulated martensite to a modulated one occurred at 190 K, with its physical origin attributed to the heterogeneity of local phonon softening depending on temperature and inhomogeneous composition in the parent phase. An in-depth understanding of the formation of stress-induced spatially confined nanosized martensites with a large gradient in chemical composition may benefit designs of high-strength and high-ductility alloys. (C) 2014 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.« less

Interfacial Engineered Polyaniline/Sulfur-Doped TiO2 Nanotube Arrays for Ultralong Cycle Lifetime Fiber-Shaped, Solid-State Supercapacitors.

PubMed

Li, Chun; Wang, Zhuanpei; Li, Shengwen; Cheng, Jianli; Zhang, Yanning; Zhou, Jingwen; Yang, Dan; Tong, Dong-Ge; Wang, Bin

2018-05-30

Fiber-shaped supercapacitors (FSCs) have great promises in wearable electronics applications. However, the limited specific surface area and inadequate structural stability caused by the weak interfacial interactions of the electrodes result in relatively low specific capacitance and unsatisfactory cycle lifetime. Herein, solid-state FSCs with high energy density and ultralong cycle lifetime based on polyaniline (PANI)/sulfur-doped TiO 2 nanotube arrays (PANI/S-TiO 2 ) are fabricated by interfacial engineering. The experimental results and ab initio calculations reveal that S doping can effectively promote the conductivity of titania nanotubes and increase the binding energy of PANI anchored on the electrode surface, leading to a much stronger binding of PANI on the surface of the electrode and excellent electrode structure stability. As a result, the FSCs using the PANI/S-TiO 2 electrodes deliver a high specific capacitance of 91.9 mF cm -2 , a capacitance retention of 93.78% after 12 000 charge-discharge cycles, and an areal energy density of 3.2 μW h cm -2 . Meanwhile, the all-solid-state FSC device retains its excellent flexibility and stable electrochemical capacitance even after bending 150 cycles. The enhanced performances of FSCs could be attributed to the large surface area, reduced ion diffusion path, improved electrical conductivity, and engineered interfacial interaction of the rationally designed electrodes.

Biosynthesis and characterization of silver nanoparticles prepared from two novel natural precursors by facile thermal decomposition methods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goudarzi, Mojgan; Mir, Noshin; Mousavi-Kamazani, Mehdi; Bagheri, Samira; Salavati-Niasari, Masoud

2016-09-01

In this work, two natural sources, including pomegranate peel extract and cochineal dye were employed for the synthesis of silver nanoparticles. The natural silver complex from pomegranate peel extract resulted in nano-sized structures through solution-phase method, but this method was not efficient for cochineal dye-silver precursor and the as-formed products were highly agglomerated. Therefore, an alternative facile solid-state approach was investigated as for both natural precursors and the results showed successful production of well-dispersed nanoparticles with narrow size distribution for cochineal dye-silver precursor. The products were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Energy dispersive X-ray microanalysis (EDX), and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM).

Solid-phase extraction of multi-class pharmaceuticals from environmental water samples onto modified multi-walled carbon nanotubes followed by LC-MS/MS.

PubMed

Lalović, Bojana; Đurkić, Tatjana; Vukčević, Marija; Janković-Častvan, Ivona; Kalijadis, Ana; Laušević, Zoran; Laušević, Mila

2017-09-01

In this paper, pristine and chemically treated multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were employed as solid-phase extraction sorbents for the isolation and enrichment of multi-class pharmaceuticals from the surface water and groundwater, prior to liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry analysis. Thirteen pharmaceuticals that belong to different therapeutical classes (erythromycin, azithromycin, sulfamethoxazole, diazepam, lorazepam, carbamazepine, metoprolol, bisoprolol, enalapril, cilazapril, simvastatin, clopidogrel, diclofenac) and two metabolites of metamizole (4-acetylaminoantipyrine and 4-formylaminoantipyrine) were selected for this study. The influence of chemical treatment on MWCNT surface characteristics and extraction efficiency was studied, and it was shown that HCl treatment of MWCNT leads to a decrease in the amount of surface oxygen groups and at the same time favorably affects the efficiency toward extraction of selected pharmaceuticals. After the optimization of the SPE procedure, the following conditions were chosen: 50 mg of HCl-treated MCWNT as a sorbent, 100 mL of water sample at pH 6, and 15 mL of the methanol-dichloromethane mixture (1:1, v/v) as eluent. Under optimal conditions, high recoveries (79-119%), as well as low detection (0.2 to 103 ng L -1 ) and quantitation (0.5-345 ng L -1 ) limits, were obtained. The optimized method was applied to the analysis of five surface water and two groundwater samples, and three pharmaceuticals were detected, the antiepileptic drug carbamazepine and two metabolites of antipyretic metamizole.

Multi-walled carbon nanotubes as solid-phase extraction sorbents for simultaneous determination of type A trichothecenes in maize, wheat and rice by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.

PubMed

Dong, Maofeng; Si, Wenshuai; Jiang, Keqiu; Nie, Dongxia; Wu, Yongjiang; Zhao, Zhihui; De Saeger, Sarah; Han, Zheng

2015-12-04

A solid-phase extraction (SPE) procedure using multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) as sorbents coupled with ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS) was developed for simultaneous determination of four type A trichothecenes in maize, wheat and rice for the first time. Several key parameters including the composition of sample loading solutions, washing and elution solvents were thoroughly investigated to achieve optimal SPE recoveries and efficiency. Performance of the MWCNTs materials was significantly affected by pH, and after optimization, n-hexane and 5% methanol aqueous solution as the washing solutions and methanol containing 1% formic acid as the elution solvent presented an excellent purification efficiency for the four targets in the different matrices. The method was validated by determining the linearity (R(2)≥0.992), recovery (73.4-113.7%), precision (1.2-17.1%) and sensitivity (limit of quantification in the range of 0.02-0.10μg/kg), and was further applied for simultaneous determination of type A trichothecenes in 30 samples. Although low contamination levels of type A trichothecenes in wheat, maize and rice were observed revealing mitigated risks to consumers in Shanghai, China, the developed method has proven to be a valuable tool for type A trichothecenes monitoring in complex crop matrices. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Determination of six sulfonylurea herbicides in environmental water samples by magnetic solid-phase extraction using multi-walled carbon nanotubes as adsorbents coupled with high-performance liquid chromatography.

PubMed

Ma, Jiping; Jiang, Lianhua; Wu, Gege; Xia, Yan; Lu, Wenhui; Li, Jinhua; Chen, Lingxin

2016-09-30

Magnetic solid-phase extraction (MSPE) using magnetic multi-walled carbon nanotubes (mag-MWCNTs) as adsorbents, coupled with high-performance liquid chromatography-diode-array detector (HPLC-DAD), was developed for the simultaneous separation and determination of six types of sulfonylurea herbicides (SUs) in environmental water samples. Several variables affecting MSPE efficiency were systematically investigated, including the type and volume of desorption solvent, sample solution pH, salt concentration, amount of mag-MWCNTs, and extraction and desorption time. Response surface was employed to assist in the MSPE optimization. Under optimized conditions, excellent linearity was achieved in the range of 0.05-5.0μg/L for all six SUs, with coefficients of correlation r>0.9994, and preconcentration factors ranging from 178 to 210. Limits of detection and quantification were 0.01-0.04μg/L and 0.03-0.13μg/L, respectively. The intra-day and inter-day precision (relative standard deviations, n=6, %) at three spiked levels were 2.0-11.0% and 2.1-12.9% in terms of peak area, respectively. The method recoveries at three fortified concentrations were obtained within 76.7-106.9% for reservoir water samples and 78.2-105.4% for tap water samples. The developed MSPE-HPLC method demonstrated high sensitivity, repeatability, simplicity, rapidity, and excellent practical applicability. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Carbon nanotubes@silicon dioxide nanohybrids coating for solid-phase microextraction of organophosphorus pesticides followed by gas chromatography-corona discharge ion mobility spectrometric detection.

PubMed

Saraji, Mohammad; Jafari, Mohammad Taghi; Mossaddegh, Mehdi

2016-01-15

A high efficiency solid-phase microextraction (SPME) fiber coated with porous carbon nanotubes-silicon dioxide (CNTs-SiO2) nanohybrids was synthesized and applied for the determination of some organophosphorus pesticides (OPPs) in vegetables, fruits and water samples. Gas chromatography-corona discharge ion mobility spectrometry was used as the detection system. Glucose, as a biocompatible compound, was used for connecting CNT and SiO2 during a hydrothermal process. The electrospinning technique was also applied for the fiber preparation. The parameters affecting the efficiency of extraction, including stirring rate, salt effect, extraction temperature, extraction time, desorption temperature and desorption time, were investigated and optimized. The developed CNTs@SiO2 fiber presented better extraction efficiency than the commercial SPME fibers (PA, PDMS, and PDMS-DVB). The intra- and inter-day relative standard deviations were found to be lower than 6.2 and 9.0%, respectively. For water samples, the limits of detection were in the range of 0.005-0.020 μg L(-1) and the limits of quantification were between 0.010 and 0.050 μg L(-1). The results showed a good linearity in the range of 0.01-3.0 μg L(-1) for the analytes. The spiking recoveries ranged from 79 (± 9) to 99 (± 8). The method was successfully applied for the determination of OPPs in real samples. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Multiwalled carbon nanotubes as a sorbent material for the solid phase extraction of lead from urine and subsequent determination by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peña Crecente, Rosa M.; Lovera, Carlha Gutiérrez; García, Julia Barciela; Méndez, Jennifer Álvarez; Martín, Sagrario García; Latorre, Carlos Herrero

2014-11-01

The determination of lead in urine is a way of monitoring the chemical exposure to this metal. In the present paper, a new method for the Pb determination by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry (ETAAS) in urine at low levels has been developed. Lead was separated from the undesirable urine matrix by means of a solid phase extraction (SPE) procedure. Oxidized multiwalled carbon nanotubes have been used as a sorbent material. Lead from urine was retained at pH 4.0 and was quantitatively eluted using a 0.7 M nitric acid solution and was subsequently measured by ETAAS. The effects of parameters that influence the adsorption-elution process (such as pH, eluent volume and concentration, sampling and elution flow rates) and the atomic spectrometry conditions have been studied by means of different factorial design strategies. Under the optimized conditions, the detection and quantification limits obtained were 0.08 and 0.26 μg Pb L- 1, respectively. The results demonstrate the absence of a urine matrix effect and this is the consequence of the SPE process carried out. Therefore, the developed method is useful for the analysis of Pb at low levels in real samples without the influence of other urine components. The proposed method was applied to the determination of lead in urine samples of unexposed healthy people and satisfactory results were obtained (in the range 3.64-22.9 μg Pb L- 1).

Developments in Analytical Chemistry: Acoustically Levitated Drop Reactors for Enzyme Reaction Kinetics and Single-Walled Carbon Nanotube-Based Sensors for Detection of Toxic Organic Phosphonates

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Field, Christopher Ryan

2009-01-01

Developments in analytical chemistry were made using acoustically levitated small volumes of liquid to study enzyme reaction kinetics and by detecting volatile organic compounds in the gas phase using single-walled carbon nanotubes. Experience gained in engineering, electronics, automation, and software development from the design and…

Multifunctional Yarns and Fabrics for Energy Applications (NBIT Phase 2)

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-05-29

project focus on developing biscrolled carbon nanotube yarns and textiles for supercapacitor /battery and fuel cell electrode applications was chosen...redox supercapacitors resulted from program work. While project focus was on fuel cell and energy storage electrodes based on biscrolled yarns...project focus on developing biscrolled carbon nanotube yarns and textiles for supercapacitor /battery and fuel cell electrode applications was chosen

Nanotube Interactions with Nanoparticles and Peptides

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-01-01

combinatorial phage display technique. We find a tryptophan rich binding motif to nanotubes on solid silicon substrates. The motif resembles an alpha helix...CHAPTER 2. DIELECTROPHORESIS AND PHAGE DISPLAY 2.1. Dielectrophoresis (DEP) 12 2.2. Phage display 14 References...104 5.3. Conclusions 105 5.4. Experimental Section 105 5.4.1. Nanotube synthesis 105 5.4.2. Phage display

Structure and phase composition of ultrafine-grained TiNb alloy after high-temperature annealings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eroshenko, Anna Yu.; Glukhov, Ivan A.; Mairambekova, Aikol; Tolmachev, Alexey I.; Sharkeev, Yurii P.

2017-12-01

The paper presents the experimental data observed in the microstructure and phase composition of ultrafine-grained Ti-40 mass % Nb (Ti40Nb) alloy after high-temperature annealings. The ultrafine-grained Ti40Nb alloy is produced by severe plastic deformation (SPD). This method includes multiple abc-pressing and multi-pass rolling followed by further pre-recrystallizing annealing which, in its turn, enhances the formation of ultrafine-grained structures with mean size of 0.28 µm involving stable β- and α-phase and metastable nanosized ω-phase in the alloy. It is shown that annealing at 500°C preserves the ultrafine-grained structure and phase composition. In cases of annealing at 800°C the ultrafine-grained state transforms into the coarse-grained state. The stable β-phase and the nanosized metastable ω-phase have been identified in the coarse-grained structure.

Coordination polymer-derived nano-sized zinc ferrite with excellent performance in nitro-explosive detection.

PubMed

Singha, Debal Kanti; Mahata, Partha

2017-08-29

Herein, a mixed metal coordination polymer, {(H 2 pip)[Zn 1/3 Fe 2/3 (pydc-2,5) 2 (H 2 O)]·2H 2 O} 1 {where H 2 pip = piperazinediium and pydc-2,5 = pyridine-2,5-dicarboxylate}, was successfully synthesized using a hydrothermal technique. To confirm the structure and phase purity of 1, single crystals of an isomorphous pure Fe compound, {(H 2 pip)[Fe(pydc-2,5) 2 (H 2 O)]·2H 2 O} 1a, were synthesized based on similar synthetic conditions. Single crystal X-ray data of 1a confirmed the one-dimensional anionic metal-organic coordination polymer hydrogen bonded with protonated piprazine (piperazinediium) and lattice water molecules. The phase purity of 1 and 1a were confirmed via powder X-ray diffraction. Compound 1 was systematically characterized using IR, TGA, SEM, and EDX elemental mapping analysis. Compound 1 was used as a single source precursor for the preparation of nano-sized ZnFe 2 O 4 via thermal decomposition. The as-obtained ZnFe 2 O 4 was fully characterized using PXRD, SEM, TEM, and EDX elemental mapping analysis. It was found that ZnFe 2 O 4 was formed in its pure form with particle size in the nano-dimension. The aqueous dispersion of nano-sized ZnFe 2 O 4 exhibits a strong emission at 402 nm upon excitation at 310 nm. This emissive property was employed for luminescence-based detection of nitroaromatic explosives in an aqueous medium through luminescence quenching for the first time. Importantly, selective detections have been observed for phenolic nitroaromatics based on differential luminescence quenching behaviour along with a detection limit of 57 ppb for 2,4,6-trinitrophenol (TNP) in water.

Rapid, conformal gas-phase formation of silica (SiO2) nanotubes from water condensates.

PubMed

Bae, Changdeuck; Kim, Hyunchul; Yang, Yunjeong; Yoo, Hyunjun; Montero Moreno, Josep M; Bachmann, Julien; Nielsch, Kornelius; Shin, Hyunjung

2013-07-07

An innovative atomic layer deposition (ALD) concept, with which nanostructures of water condensates with high aspect ratio at equilibrium in cylindrical nanopores can be transformed uniformly into silica (SiO2) at near room temperature and ambient pressure, has been demonstrated for the first time. As a challenging model system, we first prove the conversion of cylindrical water condensates in porous alumina membranes to silica nanotubes (NTs) by introducing SiCl4 as a metal reactant without involving any catalytic reaction. Surprisingly, the water NTs reproducibly transformed into silica NTs, where the wall thickness of the silica NTs deposited per cycle was found to be limited by the amount of condensed water, and it was on the orders of ten nanometers per cycle (i.e., over 50 times faster than that of conventional ALD). More remarkably, the reactions only took place for 10-20 minutes or less without vacuum-related equipment. The thickness of initially adsorbed water layers in cylindrical nanopores was indirectly estimated from the thickness of formed SiO2 layers. With systematic experimental designs, we tackle the classical Kelvin equation in the nanosized pores, and the role of van der Waals forces in the nanoscale wetting phenomena, which is a long-standing issue lacking experimental insight. Moreover, we show that the present strategy is likely generalized to other oxide systems such as TiO2. Our approach opens up a new avenue for ultra-simple preparation of porous oxides and allows for the room temperature formation of dielectric layers toward organic electronic and photovoltaic applications.

Nanoscale Materials for Human Space Exploration: Regenerable CO2 Removal

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Arepalli, Sivaram; Nikolaev, Pasha; Gorelik, Olga; Huffman, Chad; Moloney, Padraig; Allada, Ram; Yowell, Leonard

2005-01-01

This viewgraph presentation reviews the use of Nanoscale materials in CO2 removal. It presented the background and review work on regenerable CO2 removal for spaceflight application. It demonstrated a new strategy for developing solid-supported amine absorbents based on carbon nanotube materials.

Observation of Van Hove Singularities and Temperature Dependence of Electrical Characteristics in Suspended Carbon Nanotube Schottky Barrier Transistors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Jian; Liu, Siyu; Nshimiyimana, Jean Pierre; Deng, Ya; Hu, Xiao; Chi, Xiannian; Wu, Pei; Liu, Jia; Chu, Weiguo; Sun, Lianfeng

2018-06-01

A Van Hove singularity (VHS) is a singularity in the phonon or electronic density of states of a crystalline solid. When the Fermi energy is close to the VHS, instabilities will occur, which can give rise to new phases of matter with desirable properties. However, the position of the VHS in the band structure cannot be changed in most materials. In this work, we demonstrate that the carrier densities required to approach the VHS are reached by gating in a suspended carbon nanotube Schottky barrier transistor. Critical saddle points were observed in regions of both positive and negative gate voltage, and the conductance flattened out when the gate voltage exceeded the critical value. These novel physical phenomena were evident when the temperature is below 100 K. Further, the temperature dependence of the electrical characteristics was also investigated in this type of Schottky barrier transistor.

Polypyrrole/multi-walled carbon nanotube composite for the solid phase extraction of lead(II) in water samples.

PubMed

Sahmetlioglu, Ertugrul; Yilmaz, Erkan; Aktas, Ece; Soylak, Mustafa

2014-02-01

A multi-walled carbon nanotubes-polypyrrole conducting polymer nanocomposite has been synthesized, characterized and used for the separation and preconcentration of lead at trace levels in water samples prior to its flame atomic absorption spectrometric detection. The analytical parameters like pH, sample volume, eluent, sample flow rate that were affected the retentions of lead(II) on the new nanocomposite were optimized. Matrix effects were also investigated. Limit of detection and preconcentration factors were 1.1 µg L(-1) and 200, respectively. The adsorption capacity of the nanocomposite was 25.0mg lead(II) per gram composite. The validation of the method was checked by using SPS-WW2 Waste water Level 2 certified reference material. The method was applied to the determination of lead in water samples with satisfactory results. © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Bimetallic nanosized solids with acid and redox properties for catalytic activation of C–C and C–H bonds† †Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available: General procedures, additional figures and tables, compound characterization and NMR copies. See DOI: 10.1039/c6sc03335k Click here for additional data file.

PubMed Central

Cabrero-Antonino, Jose R.; Tejeda-Serrano, María; Quesada, Manuel; Vidal-Moya, Jose A.

2017-01-01

A new approach is presented to form self-supported bimetallic nanosized solids with acid and redox catalytic properties. They are water-, air- and H2-stable, and are able to activate demanding C–C and C–H reactions. A detailed mechanistic study on the formation of the Ag–Fe bimetallic system shows that a rapid redox-coupled sequence between Ag+, O2 (air) and Fe2+ occurs, giving monodisperse Ag nanoparticles supported by O-bridged diatomic Fe3+ triflimides. The system can be expanded to Ag nanoparticles embedded within a matrix of Cu2+, Bi3+ and Yb3+ triflimide. PMID:28451218

Nanosizing and nanoconfinement: new strategies towards meeting hydrogen storage goals.

PubMed

de Jongh, Petra E; Adelhelm, Philipp

2010-12-17

Hydrogen is expected to play an important role as an energy carrier in a future, more sustainable society. However, its compact, efficient, and safe storage is an unresolved issue. One of the main options is solid-state storage in hydrides. Unfortunately, no binary metal hydride satisfies all requirements regarding storage density and hydrogen release and uptake. Increasingly complex hydride systems are investigated, but high thermodynamic stabilities as well as slow kinetics and poor reversibility are important barriers for practical application. Nanostructuring by ball-milling is an established method to reduce crystallite sizes and increase reaction rates. Since five years attention has also turned to alternative preparation techniques that enable particle sizes below 10 nanometers and are often used in conjunction with porous supports or scaffolds. In this Review we discuss the large impact of nanosizing and -confinement on the hydrogen sorption properties of metal hydrides. We illustrate possible preparation strategies, provide insight into the reasons for changes in kinetics, reversibility and thermodynamics, and highlight important progress in this field. All in all we provide the reader with a clear view of how nanosizing and -confinement can beneficially affect the hydrogen sorption properties of the most prominent materials that are currently considered for solid-state hydrogen storage.

Minimum ignition temperature of nano and micro Ti powder clouds in the presence of inert nano TiO2 powder.

PubMed

Yuan, Chunmiao; Amyotte, Paul R; Hossain, Md Nur; Li, Chang

2014-06-30

Minimum ignition temperature (MIT) of micro Ti powder increased gradually with increases in nano-sized TiO2 employed as an inertant. Solid TiO2 inertant significantly reduced ignition hazard of micro Ti powder in contact with hot surfaces. The MIT of nano Ti powder remained low (583 K), however, even with 90% TiO2. The MIT of micro Ti powder, when mixed with nano Ti powder at concentrations as low as 10%, decreased so dramatically that its application as a solid fuel may be possible. A simple MIT model was proposed for aggregate particle size estimation and better understanding of the inerting effect of nano TiO2 on MIT. Estimated particle size was 1.46-1.51 μm larger than that in the 20-L sphere due to poor dispersion in the BAM oven. Calculated MITs were lower than corresponding empirically determined values for micro Ti powder because nano-sized TiO2 coated the micro Ti powder, thereby decreasing its reaction kinetics. In the case of nano Ti powder, nano-sized TiO2 facilitated dispersion of nano Ti powder which resulted in a calculated MIT that was greater than the experimentally determined value. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Allotropes of Phosphorus with Remarkable Stability and Intrinsic Piezoelectricity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Zhenqing; He, Chaoyu; Ouyang, Tao; Zhang, Chunxiao; Tang, Chao; Römer, Rudolf A.; Zhong, Jianxin

2018-04-01

We construct a class of two-dimensional (2D) phosphorus allotropes by assembling a previously proposed ultrathin metastable phosphorus nanotube into planar structures in different stacking orientations. Based on first-principles methods, the structures, stabilities, and fundamental electronic properties of these allotropes are systematically investigated. Our results show that these 2D van der Waals phosphorene allotropes possess remarkable stabilities due to the strong intertube van der Waals interactions, which cause an energy release of about 30 - 70 meV /atom , depending on their stacking details. Most of them are confirmed to be energetically more favorable than the experimentally viable α -P and β -P . Three of them, showing a relatively higher probability of being synthesized in the future, are further confirmed to be dynamically stable semiconductors with strain-tunable band gaps and intrinsic piezoelectricity, which may have potential applications in nanosized sensors, piezotronics, and energy harvesting in portable electronic nanodevices.

Development of terbinafine solid lipid nanoparticles as a topical delivery system

PubMed Central

Chen, Ying-Chen; Liu, Der-Zen; Liu, Jun-Jen; Chang, Tsung-Wei; Ho, Hsiu-O; Sheu, Ming-Thau

2012-01-01

To resolve problems of long treatment durations and frequent administration of the antifungal agent terbinafine (TB), solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs) with the ability to load lipophilic drugs and nanosize were developed. The SLNs were manufactured by a microemulsion technique in which glyceryl monostearate (GMS), glyceryl behenate (Compritol® 888; Gattefossé), and glyceryl palmitostearate (Precirol® ATO 5; Gattefossé) were used as the solid lipid phases, Tween® and Cremophor® series as the surfactants, and propylene glycol as the cosurfactant to construct ternary phase diagrams. The skin of nude mice was used as a barrier membrane, and penetration levels of TB of the designed formulations and a commercial product, Lamisil® Once™ (Novartis Pharmaceuticals), in the stratum corneum (SC), viable epidermis, and dermis were measured; particle sizes were determined as an indicator of stability. The optimal SLN system contained a <5% lipid phase and >50% water phase. The addition of ethanol or etchants had no significant effect on enhancing the amount of TB that penetrated the skin layers, but it was enhanced by increasing the percentage of the lipid phase. Furthermore, the combination of GMS and Compritol® 888 was able to increase the stable amount of TB that penetrated all skin layers. For the ACP1-GM1 (4% lipid phase; Compritol® 888: GMS of 1:1) formulation, the amount of TB that penetrated the SC was similar to that of Lamisil® Once™, whereas the amount of TB of the dermis was higher than that of Lamisil® Once™ at 12 hours, and it was almost the same as that of Lamisil® Once™ at 24 hours. It was concluded that the application of ACP1-GM1 for 12 hours might have an efficacy comparable to that of Lamisil® Once™ for 24 hours, which would resolve the practical problem of the longer administration period that is necessary for Lamisil® Once™. PMID:22923986

Amplified solid-state electrochemiluminescence detection of cholesterol in near-infrared range based on CdTe quantum dots decorated multiwalled carbon nanotubes@reduced graphene oxide nanoribbons.

PubMed

Huan, Juan; Liu, Qian; Fei, Airong; Qian, Jing; Dong, Xiaoya; Qiu, Baijing; Mao, Hanping; Wang, Kun

2015-11-15

An amplified solid-state electrochemiluminescence (ECL) biosensor for detection of cholesterol in near-infrared (NIR) range was constructed based on CdTe quantum dots (QDs) decorated multiwalled carbon nanotubes@reduced graphene nanoribbons (CdTe-MWCNTs@rGONRs), which were prepared by electrostatic interactions. The CdTe QDs decorated on the MWCNTs@rGONRs resulted in the amplified ECL intensity by ~4.5 fold and decreased onset potential by ~100 mV. By immobilization of the cholesterol oxidase (ChOx) and NIR CdTe-MWCNTs@rGONRs on the electrode surface, a solid-state ECL biosensor for cholesterol detection was constructed. When cholesterol was added to the detection solution, the immobilized ChOx catalyzed the oxidation of cholesterol to generate H2O2, which could be used as the co-reactant in the ECL system of CdTe-MWCNTs@rGONRs. The as-prepared biosensor exhibited good performance for cholesterol detection including good reproducibility, selectivity, and acceptable linear range from 1 μM to 1mM with a relative low detection limit of 0.33 μM (S/N=3). The biosensor was successfully applied to the determination of cholesterol in biological fluid and food sample, which would open a new possibility for development of solid-state ECL biosensors with NIR emitters. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Carbon-based hybrid nanogels: a synergistic nanoplatform for combined biosensing, bioimaging, and responsive drug delivery.

PubMed

Wang, Hui; Chen, Qianwang; Zhou, Shuiqin

2018-06-05

Nanosized crosslinked polymer networks, named as nanogels, are playing an increasingly important role in a diverse range of applications by virtue of their porous structures, large surface area, good biocompatibility and responsiveness to internal and/or external chemico-physical stimuli. Recently, a variety of carbon nanomaterials, such as carbon quantum dots, graphene/graphene oxide nanosheets, fullerenes, carbon nanotubes, and nanodiamonds, have been embedded into responsive polymer nanogels, in order to integrate the unique electro-optical properties of carbon nanomaterials with the merits of nanogels into a single hybrid nanogel system for improvement of their applications in nanomedicine. A vast number of studies have been pursued to explore the applications of carbon-based hybrid nanogels in biomedical areas for biosensing, bioimaging, and smart drug carriers with combinatorial therapies and/or theranostic ability. New synthetic methods and structures have been developed to prepare carbon-based hybrid nanogels with versatile properties and functions. In this review, we summarize the latest developments and applications and address the future perspectives of these carbon-based hybrid nanogels in the biomedical field.

Synthesis of Hollow Nanotubes of Zn2SiO4 or SiO2: Mechanistic Understanding and Uranium Adsorption Behavior.

PubMed

Tripathi, Shalini; Bose, Roopa; Roy, Ahin; Nair, Sajitha; Ravishankar, N

2015-12-09

We report a facile synthesis of Zn2SiO4 nanotubes using a two-step process consisting of a wet-chemical synthesis of core-shell ZnO@SiO2 nanorods followed by thermal annealing. While annealing in air leads to the formation of hollow Zn2SiO4, annealing under reducing atmosphere leads to the formation of SiO2 nanotubes. We rationalize the formation of the silicate phase at temperatures much lower than the temperatures reported in the literature based on the porous nature of the silica shell on the ZnO nanorods. We present results from in situ transmission electron microscopy experiments to clearly show void nucleation at the interface between ZnO and the silica shell and the growth of the silicate phase by the Kirkendall effect. The porous nature of the silica shell is also responsible for the etching of the ZnO leading to the formation of silica nanotubes under reducing conditions. Both the hollow silica and silicate nanotubes exhibit good uranium sorption at different ranges of pH making them possible candidates for nuclear waste management.

Polydopamine-coated magnetic molecularly imprinted polymer for the selective solid-phase extraction of cinnamic acid, ferulic acid and caffeic acid from radix scrophulariae sample.

PubMed

Yin, Yuli; Yan, Liang; Zhang, Zhaohui; Wang, Jing; Luo, Ningjing

2016-04-01

We describe novel cinnamic acid polydopamine-coated magnetic imprinted polymers for the simultaneous selective extraction of cinnamic acid, ferulic acid and caffeic acid from radix scrophulariae sample. The novel magnetic imprinted polymers were synthesized by surface imprinting polymerization using magnetic multi-walled carbon nanotubes as the support material, cinnamic acid as the template and dopamine as the functional monomer. The magnetic imprinted polymers were characterized by transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and vibrating sample magnetometry. The results revealed that the magnetic imprinted polymers had outstanding magnetic properties, high adsorption capacity, selectivity and fast kinetic binding toward cinnamic acid, ferulic acid and caffeic acid. Coupled with high-performance liquid chromatography, the extraction conditions of the magnetic imprinted polymers as a magnetic solid-phase extraction sorbent were investigated in detail. The proposed imprinted magnetic solid phase extraction procedure has been used for the purification and enrichment of cinnamic acid, ferulic acid and caffeic acid successfully from radix scrophulariae extraction sample with recoveries of 92.4-115.0% for cinnamic acid, 89.4-103.0% for ferulic acid and 86.6-96.0% for caffeic acid. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Seal Glass - BN Nanotubes Composites

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bansal, Narottam P.; Choi, Sung R.; Hurst, Janet B.; Garg, Anita

2005-01-01

Solid oxide fuel cell seal glass G18 composites reinforced with approx.4 weight percent of BN nanotubes were fabricated via hot pressing. Room temperature strength and fracture toughness of the composite were determined by four-point flexure and single edge V-notch beam methods, respectively. The strength and fracture toughness of the composite were higher by as much as 90% and 35%, respectively, than those of the glass G18. Microscopic examination of the composite fracture surfaces using SEM and TEM showed pullout of the BN nanotubes, similar in feature to fiber-reinforced ceramic matrix composites with weak interfaces. Other mechanical and physical properties of the composite will also be presented.

Controlled functionalization of nanoparticles & practical applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rashwan, Khaled

With the increasing use of nanoparticles in both science and industry, their chemical modification became a significant part of nanotechnology. Unfortunately, most commonly used procedures provide just randomly functionalized materials. The long-term objective of our work is site- and stoichiometrically-controlled functionalization of nanoparticles with the utilization of solid supports and other nanostructures. On the examples of silica nanoparticles and titanium dioxide nanorods, we have obtained results on the solid-phase chemistry, method development, and modeling, which advanced us toward this goal. At the same time, we explored several applications of nanoparticles that will benefit from the controlled functionalization: imaging of titanium-dioxide-based photocatalysts, bioimaging by fluorescent nanoparticles, drug delivery, assembling of bone implants, and dental compositions. Titanium dioxide-based catalysts are known for their catalytic activity and their application in solar energy utilization such as photosplitting of water. Functionalization of titanium dioxide is essential for enhancing bone-titanium dioxide nanotube adhesion, and, therefore, for its application as an interface between titanium implants and bones. Controlled functionalization of nanoparticles should enhance sensitivity and selectivity of nanoassemblies for imaging and drug delivery applications. Along those lines, we studied the relationship between morphology and surface chemistry of nanoparticles, and their affinity to organic molecules (salicylic and caffeic acid) using Langmuir adsorption isotherms, and toward material surfaces using SEM- and TEM-imaging. We focused on commercial samples of titanium dioxide, titanium dioxide nanorods with and without oleic acid ligands, and differently functionalized silica nanoparticles. My work included synthesis, functionalization, and characterization of several types of nanoparticles, exploring their application in imaging, dentistry, and bone implant construction. Significant part of my experimental efforts was devoted to the solid-phase method development using model organic molecules, as well as affinity of nanoparticles to the functional groups and surfaces that can be used as linkages for constructing functional nanodevices.

Thermal properties of lauric acid filled in carbon nanotubes as shape-stabilized phase change materials.

PubMed

Feng, Yanhui; Wei, Runzhi; Huang, Zhi; Zhang, Xinxin; Wang, Ge

2018-03-14

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) filled with lauric acid (LA) as a kind of shape-stabilized phase change material were prepared and their structures and phase change properties were characterized. The results showed that the melting point and latent heat of LA confined in carbon nanotubes were lower than those of the bulk material, and both decrease as the diameters of CNTs and the filling ratios of LA decrease. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations indicated that LA molecules form a liquid layer near pore walls and crystallize at the pore center. When the LA filling ratio was reduced to a certain value, all LA molecules were attached to the inner walls of CNTs, hindering their crystallization. A linear relationship between the melting temperature shift and structural properties was obtained based on the modified Gibbs-Thomson equation, which gives a reliable interpretation of the size effect of nanochannels in phase change materials. We also found that the thermal conductivity of the composite CNTs/LA was four times larger than that of pure LA. This study will provide insights into the design of novel composite phase change materials with better thermal properties by the selection of suitable porous materials and tailoring their pore structures.

Improvement of system capacitance via weavable superelastic biscrolled yarn supercapacitors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Choi, Changsoon; Kim, Kang Min; Kim, Keon Jung; Lepró, Xavier; Spinks, Geoffrey M.; Baughman, Ray H.; Kim, Seon Jeong

2016-12-01

Yarn-based supercapacitors having improved performance are needed for existing and emerging wearable applications. Here, we report weavable carbon nanotube yarn supercapacitors having high performance because of high loadings of rapidly accessible charge storage particles (above 90 wt% MnO2). The yarn electrodes are made by a biscrolling process that traps host MnO2 nanoparticles within the galleries of helically scrolled carbon nanotube sheets, which provide strength and electrical conductivity. Despite the high loading of brittle metal oxide particles, the biscrolled solid-state yarn supercapacitors are flexible and can be made elastically stretchable (up to 30% strain) by over-twisting to produce yarn coiling. The maximum areal capacitance of the yarn electrodes were up to 100 times higher than for previously reported fibres or yarn supercapacitors. Similarly, the energy density of complete, solid-state supercapacitors made from biscrolled yarn electrodes with gel electrolyte coating were significantly higher than for previously reported fibre or yarn supercapacitors.

Influence of carbon nanotubes on the optical properties of plasticized solid polymer electrolytes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ibrahim, Suriani; Yasin, Siti Mariah Mohd; Johan, Mohd Rafie

2013-07-01

Polyethylene oxide (PEO) based solid polymer electrolyte films complexed with lithium hexafluorophosphate (LiPF6), ethylene carbonate (EC) and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are prepared by solution-casting technique. The complexation of doping materials with polymer is confirmed by X-ray diffraction and infrared studies. The incorporation of LiPF6, EC and CNTs into the host polymer shows a significant increase in conductivity of 10-10 and 10-3 S cm-1. The optical properties such as direct and indirect band gaps are investigated for pure and doped polymer films within a wavelength range of 200-400 nm. It is found that the energy gaps and band edge values shift towards lower energies upon doping. It is shown that LiPF6, EC and CNTs are responsible for the formation of defects in polymer electrolytes, which increases the degree of disorder in the films.

Cross-Linked Nanotube Materials with Variable Stiffness Tethers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Frankland, Sarah-Jane V.; Odegard, Gregory M.; Herzog, Matthew N.; Gates, Thomas S.; Fay, Catherine C.

2004-01-01

The constitutive properties of a cross-linked single-walled carbon nanotube material are predicted with a multi-scale model. The material is modeled as a transversely isotropic solid using concepts from equivalent-continuum modeling. The elastic constants are determined using molecular dynamics simulation. Some parameters of the molecular force field are determined specifically for the cross-linker from ab initio calculations. A demonstration of how the cross-linked nanotubes may affect the properties of a nanotube/polyimide composite is included using a micromechanical analysis.

Carbon Nanotropes: A Contemporary Paradigm in Drug Delivery

PubMed Central

Tripathi, Avinash C.; Saraf, Shubhini A.; Saraf, Shailendra K.

2015-01-01

Discovery of fullerenes and other nanosized carbon allotropes has opened a vast new field of possibilities in nanotechnology and has become one of the most promising research areas. Carbon nanomaterials have drawn interest as carriers of biologically pertinent molecules due to their distinctive physical, chemical and physiological properties. We have assigned the nomenclature “Carbon Nanotropes” to the nanosized carbon allotropes. Carbon nanotropes such as fullerenes, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and graphenes, have exhibited wide applicability in drug delivery, owing to their small size and biological activity. The nanotherapeutics/diagnostics will allow a deeper understanding of human ills including cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, genetic disorders and various other complications. Recently, nanomaterials with multiple functions, such as drug carrier, MRI, optical imaging, photothermal therapy, etc., have become more and more popular in the domain of cancer and other areas of research. This review is an endeavor to bring together the usefulness of the carbon nanomaterials in the field of drug delivery. The last section of the review encompasses the recent patents granted on carbon nanotropes at United State Patent Trademark Office (USPTO) in the related field.

A novel methodology for self-healing at the nanoscale in CNT/epoxy composites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Quigley, E.; Datta, S.; Chattopadhyay, A.

2016-04-01

Self-healing materials have the potential to repair induced damage and extend the service life of aerospace or civil components as well as prevent catastrophic failure. A novel technique to provide self-healing capabilities at the nanoscale in carbon nanotube/epoxy nanocomposites is presented in this paper. Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) functionalized with the healing agent (dicyclopentadiene) were used to fabricate self-healing CNT/epoxy nanocomposite films. The structure of CNTs was considered suitable for this application since they are nanosized, hollow, and provide a more consistent size distribution than polymeric nanocapsules. Specimens with different weight fractions of the functionalized CNTs were fabricated to explore the effect of weight fraction of functionalized CNTs on the extent of healing. Optical micrographs with different fluorescent filters showed partial or complete healing of damage approximately two to three weeks after damage was induced. Results indicate that by using CNTs to encapsulate a healing agent, crack growth in self-healing CNT/epoxy nanocomposites can be retarded, leading to safer materials that can autonomously repair itself.

Matrices for Sensors from Inorganic, Organic, and Biological Nanocomposites

PubMed Central

Nicolini, Claudio; Sivozhelezov, Victor; Bavastrello, Valter; Bezzerra, Tercio; Scudieri, Dora; Spera, Rosanna; Pechkova, Eugenia

2011-01-01

Matrices and sensors resulting from inorganic, organic and biological nanocomposites are presented in this overview. The term nanocomposite designates a solid combination of a matrix and of nanodimensional phases differing in properties from the matrix due to dissimilarities in structure and chemistry. The nanoocomposites chosen for a wide variety of health and environment sensors consist of Anodic Porous Allumina and P450scc, Carbon nanotubes and Conductive Polymers, Langmuir Blodgett Films of Lipases, Laccases, Cytochromes and Rhodopsins, Three-dimensional Nanoporous Materials and Nucleic Acid Programmable Protein Arrays. PMID:28824154

Optical limiting in Pluronic F-127 hydrogel with nanocarbon inclusions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nikolaeva, A. L.; Povarov, S. A.; Bocharov, V. N.

2017-02-01

Characteristics of nonlinear optical limiting (limiting curves) of laser radiation in aqueous polymer systems with nanocarbon inclusions have been studied. Suspensions of nanotubes and soot stabilized by the amphiphilic polymer Pluronic F-127, the additives of which provide the system's transition to a solid-like hydrogel aggregate state at room temperature, have been considered. The limiting materials after their optical breakdown by high-intensity radiation in the gel state have been regenerated using the thermoreversible hydrogel-isotropic solution phase transition. These systems are shown to be promising for self-healing optical materials.

Hydrothermal Synthesis of Nanostructured Vanadium Oxides

PubMed Central

Livage, Jacques

2010-01-01

A wide range of vanadium oxides have been obtained via the hydrothermal treatment of aqueous V(V) solutions. They exhibit a large variety of nanostructures ranging from molecular clusters to 1D and 2D layered compounds. Nanotubes are obtained via a self-rolling process while amazing morphologies such as nano-spheres, nano-flowers and even nano-urchins are formed via the self-assembling of nano-particles. This paper provides some correlation between the molecular structure of precursors in the solution and the nanostructure of the solid phases obtained by hydrothermal treatment. PMID:28883325

Exfoliation in ecstasy: liquid crystal formation and concentration-dependent debundling observed for single-wall nanotubes dispersed in the liquid drug γ-butyrolactone

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bergin, Shane D.; Nicolosi, Valeria; Giordani, Silvia; de Gromard, Antoine; Carpenter, Leslie; Blau, Werner J.; Coleman, Jonathan N.

2007-11-01

Large-scale debundling of single-walled nanotubes has been demonstrated by dilution of nanotube dispersions in the solvent γ-butyrolactone. This liquid, sometimes referred to as 'liquid ecstasy', is well known for its narcotic properties. At high concentrations the dispersions form an anisotropic, liquid crystalline phase which can be removed by mild centrifugation. At lower concentrations an isotropic phase is observed with a biphasic region at intermediate concentrations. By measuring the absorbance before and after centrifugation, as a function of concentration, the relative anisotropic and isotropic nanotube concentrations can be monitored. The upper limit of the pure isotropic phase was CNT~0.004 mg ml-1, suggesting that this can be considered the nanotube dispersion limit in γ-butyrolactone. After centrifugation, the dispersions are stable against sedimentation and further aggregation for a period of 8 weeks at least. Atomic-force-microscopy studies on films deposited from the isotropic phase reveal that the bundle diameter distribution decreases dramatically as concentration is decreased. Detailed data analysis suggests the presence of an equilibrium bundle number density. A population of individual nanotubes is always observed which increases with decreasing concentration until almost 40% of all dispersed objects are individual nanotubes at a concentration of 6 × 10-4 mg ml-1. The number density of individual nanotubes peaks at a concentration of ~6 × 10-3 mg ml-1 where almost 10% of the nanotubes by mass are individualized.

Single-Stroke Synthesis of Tin Sulphide/Oxide Nanocomposites Within Engineering Thermoplastic and Their Humidity Response.

PubMed

Adkar, Dattatraya; Adhyapak, Parag; Mulik, Uttamrao; Jadkar, Sandesh; Vutova, Katia; Amalnerkar, Dinesh

2018-05-01

SnS nanostructured materials have attracted enormous interest due to their important properties and potential application in low cost solar energy conversion systems and optical devices. From the perspective of SnS based device fabrication, we offer single-stroke in-situ technique for the generation of Sn based sulphide and oxide nanostructures inside the polymer network via polymer-inorganic solid state reaction route. In this method, polyphenylene sulphide (PPS)-an engineering thermoplastic-acts as chalcogen source as well as stabilizing matrix for the resultant nano products. Typical solid state reaction was accomplished by simply heating the physical admixtures of the tin salts (viz. tin acetate/tin chloride) with PPS at the crystalline melting temperature (285 °C) of PPS in inert atmosphere. The synthesized products were characterized by using various physicochemical characterization techniques. The prima facie observations suggest the concurrent formation of nanocrystalline SnS with extraneous oxide phase. The TEM analysis revealed formation of nanosized particles of assorted morphological features with polydispersity confined to 5 to 50 nm. However, agglomerated particles of nano to submicron size were also observed. The humidity sensing characterization of these nanocomposites was also performed. The resistivity response with the level of humidity (20 to 85% RH) was compared for these nanocomposites. The linear response was obtained for both the products. Nevertheless, the nanocomposite product obtained from acetate precursor showed higher sensitivity towards the humidity than that of one prepared from chloride precursor.

Formation of Nanosized Defective Lithium Peroxides through Si-Coated Carbon Nanotube Cathodes for High Energy Efficiency Li-O2 Batteries.

PubMed

Lin, Qi; Cui, Zhonghui; Sun, Jiyang; Huo, Hanyu; Chen, Cheng; Guo, Xiangxin

2018-06-06

The formation and decomposition of lithium peroxides (Li 2 O 2 ) during cycling is the key process for the reversible operation of lithium-oxygen batteries. The manipulation of such products from the large toroidal particles about hundreds of nanometers to the ones in the scale of tens of nanometers can improve the energy efficiency and the cycle life of the batteries. In this work, we carry out an in situ morphology tuning of Li 2 O 2 by virtue of the surface properties of the n-type Si-modified aligned carbon nanotube (CNT) cathodes. With the introduction of an n-type Si coating layer on the CNT surface, the morphology of Li 2 O 2 formed by discharge changes from large toroidal particles (∼300 nm) deposited on the pristine CNT cathodes to nanoparticles (10-20 nm) with poor crystallinity and plenty of lithium vacancies. Beneficial from such changes, the charge overpotential dramatically decreases to 0.55 V, with the charge plateau lying at 3.5 V even in the case of a high discharge capacity (3450 mA h g -1 ) being delivered, resulting in the high electrical energy efficiency approaching 80%. Such an improvement is attributed to the fact that the introduction of the n-type Si coating layer changes the surface properties of CNTs and guides the formation of nanosized amorphous-like lithium peroxides with plenty of defects. These results demonstrate that the cathode surface properties play an important role in the formation of products formed during the cycle, providing inspiration to design superior cathodes for the Li-O 2 cells.

Flexible poly(ethylene carbonate)/garnet composite solid electrolyte reinforced by poly(vinylidene fluoride-hexafluoropropylene) for lithium metal batteries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

He, Zijian; Chen, Long; Zhang, Bochen; Liu, Yongchang; Fan, Li-Zhen

2018-07-01

Solid-state electrolytes with high ionic conductivities, great flexibility, and easy processability are needed for high-performance solid-state rechargeable lithium batteries. In this work, we synthesize nanosized cubic Li6.25Al0.25La3Zr2O12 (LLZO) by solution combustion method and develop a flexible garnet-based composite solid electrolyte composed of LLZO, poly(ethylene carbonate) (PEC), poly(vinylidene fluoride-hexafluoropropylene) (P(VdF-HFP) and lithium bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide (LiFSI)). In the flexible composite solid electrolytes, LLZO nanoparticles, as ceramic matrix, have a positive effect on ionic conductivities and lithium ion transference number (tLi+). PEC, as a fast ion-conducting polymer, possesses high tLi+ inherently. P(VdF-HFP), as a binder, can strengthen mechanical properties. Consequently, the as-prepared composite solid electrolyte demonstrates high tLi+ (0.82) and superb thermal stability (remaining LLZO matrix after burning). All-solid-state LiFePO4|Li cells assembled with the flexible composite solid electrolyte deliver a high initial discharge specific capacity of 121.4 mAh g-1 and good cycling stability at 55 °C.

Preparation and properties of single-walled nanotubes filled with inorganic compounds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eliseev, Andrei A.; Kharlamova, M. V.; Chernysheva, M. V.; Lukashin, Alexey V.; Tretyakov, Yuri D.; Kumskov, A. S.; Kiselev, N. A.

2009-09-01

The state-of-the-art methods for filling single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) are analyzed systematically. In situ and ex situ approaches for filling SWNTs are addressed. They are based on both intercalation of inorganic substances from the gas phase, solution or melts inside SWNTs and the formation of nanocrystals inside the channels as a result of chemical reactions. A comparative evaluation of these methods is performed, and major requirements for successful formation of '1D-crystal@SWNT' nanocomposites are formulated. The functional properties of the intercalated single-walled nanotubes and their possible applications in modern nanotechnologies are discussed.

Investigating the oxidation mechanism of tantalum nanoparticles at high heating rates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

DeLisio, Jeffery B.; Wang, Xizheng; Wu, Tao; Egan, Garth C.; Jacob, Rohit J.; Zachariah, Michael R.

2017-12-01

Reduced diffusion length scales and increased specific surface areas of nanosized metal fuels have recently demonstrated increased reaction rates for these systems, increasing their relevance in a wide variety of applications. The most commonly employed metal fuel, aluminum, tends to oxidize rapidly near its melting point (660 °C) in addition to undergoing a phase change of the nascent oxide shell. To further expand on the understanding of nanosized metal fuel oxidation, tantalum nanoparticles were studied due to their high melting point (3017 °C) in comparison to aluminum. Both traditional slow heating rate and in-situ high heating rate techniques were used to probe the oxidation of tantalum nanoparticles in oxygen containing environments in addition to nanothermite mixtures. When oxidized by gas phase oxygen, the oxide shell of the tantalum nanoparticles rapidly crystallized creating cracks that may attribute to enhanced oxygen diffusion into the particle. In the case of tantalum based nanothermites, oxide shell crystallization was shown to induce reactive sintering with the metal oxide resulting in a narrow range of ignition temperatures independent of the metal oxide used. The oxidation mechanism was modeled using the Deal-Grove model to extract rate parameters, and theoretical burn times for tantalum based nanocomposites were calculated.

Direct extraction of lead (II) from untreated human blood serum using restricted access carbon nanotubes and its determination by atomic absorption spectrometry.

PubMed

Barbosa, Valéria Maria Pereira; Barbosa, Adriano Francisco; Bettini, Jefferson; Luccas, Pedro Orival; Figueiredo, Eduardo Costa

2016-01-15

Oxidized carbon nanotubes were covered with layers of bovine serum albumin to result in so-called restricted-access carbon nanotubes (RACNTs). This material can extract Pb(2+) ions directly from untreated human blood serum while excluding all the serum proteins. The RACNTs have a protein exclusion capacity of almost 100% and a maximum Pb(2+) adsorption capacity of 34.5mg g(-1). High resolution transmission electron microscopy, scanning transmission electron microscopy and energy dispersive spectroscopy were used to confirm the BSA layer and Pb(2+) adsorption sites. A mini-column filled with RACNTs was used in an on-line solid phase extraction system coupled to a thermospray flame furnace atomic absorption spectrometry. At optimized experimental conditions, the method has a detection limit as low as 2.1µg L(-1), an enrichment factor of 5.5, and inter- and intra-day precisions (expressed as relative standard deviation) of <8.1%. Recoveries of the Pb(2+) spiked samples ranged from 89.4% to 107.3% for the extraction from untreated human blood serum. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

One-pot synthesis of ethylenediamine-connected graphene/carbon nanotube composite material for isolation of clenbuterol from pork.

PubMed

Yuan, Yanan; Jiao, Xiaoyan; Han, Yehong; Bai, Ligai; Liu, Haiyan; Qiao, Fengxia; Yan, Hongyuan

2017-09-01

A fluffy porous ethylenediamine-connected graphene/carbon nanotube composite (EGC), prepared by a simple and time-saving one-pot synthesis, was successfully applied as an adsorbent in pipette-tip solid-phase extraction (PT-SPE) for the rapid extraction and determination of clenbuterol (CLB) from pork. In the one-pot synthesis, carbon nanotubes were inserted into graphene sheets and then connected with ethylenediamine through chemical modification to form a three-dimensional framework structure to prevent agglomeration of the graphene sheets. Under the optimum conditions for extraction and determination, good linearity was achieved for CLB in the range of 15.0-1000.0ngg -1 (r=0.9998) and the recoveries at three spiked levels were in the range of 92.2-96.2% with relative standard deviation ≤9.2% (n=3). In comparison with other adsorbents, including silica, NH 2 , C 18 , and Al 2 O 3 , EGC showed higher extraction and purification efficiency for CLB from pork samples. This analytical method combines excellent adsorption performance of EGC and high extraction efficiency of PT-SPE. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

White Light Emission from Cucurbituril-Based Host-Guest Interaction in the Solid State: New Function of the Macrocyclic Host.

PubMed

Xia, Yu; Chen, Shiyan; Ni, Xin-Long

2018-04-18

Energy transfer and interchange are central for fabricating white light-emitting organic materials. However, increasing the efficiency of light energy transfer remains a considerable challenge because of the occurrence of "cross talk". In this work, by exploiting the unique photophysical properties of cucurbituril-triggered host-guest interactions, the two complementary luminescent colors blue and yellow for white light emission were independently obtained from a single fluorophore dye rather than energy transfer. Further study suggested that the rigid cavity of cucurbiturils efficiently prevented the aggregation of the dye and improved its thermal stability in the solid state by providing a regular nanosized fence for each encapsulated dye molecule. As a result, a novel macrocycle-assisted supramolecular approach for obtaining solid, white light-emitting organic materials with low cost, high efficiency, and easy scale-up was successfully demonstrated.

Preparation of resveratrol-loaded nanoporous silica materials with different structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Popova, Margarita; Szegedi, Agnes; Mavrodinova, Vesselina; Novak Tušar, Natasa; Mihály, Judith; Klébert, Szilvia; Benbassat, Niko; Yoncheva, Krassimira

2014-11-01

Solid, nanoporous silica-based spherical mesoporous MCM-41 and KIL-2 with interparticle mesoporosity as well as nanosized zeolite BEA materials differing in morphology and pore size distribution, were used as carriers for the preparation of resveratrol-loaded delivery systems. Two preparation methods have been applied: (i) loading by mixing of resveratrol and mesoporous carrier in solid state and (ii) deposition in ethanol solution. The parent and the resveratrol loaded carriers were characterized by XRD, TEM, N2 physisorption, thermal analysis, and FT-IR spectroscopy. The influence of the support structure on the adsorption capacity and the release kinetics of this poorly soluble compound were investigated. Our results indicated that the chosen nanoporous silica supports are suitable for stabilization of trans-resveratrol and reveal controlled release and ability to protect the supported compound against degradation regardless of loading method. The solid-state dry mixing appears very effective for preparation of drug formulations composed of poorly soluble compound.

Optimizing Metalloporphyrin-Catalyzed Reduction Reactions for In Situ Remediation of DOE Contaminants

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

Schlautman, Mark A.

2013-07-14

Past activities have resulted in a legacy of contaminated soil and groundwater at Department of Energy facilities nationwide. Uranium and chromium are among the most frequently encountered and highest-priority metal and radionuclide contaminants at DOE installations. Abiotic chemical reduction of uranium and chromium at contaminated DOE sites can be beneficial because the reduced metal species are less soluble in water, less mobile in the environment, and less toxic to humans and ecosystems. Although direct biological reduction has been reported for U(VI) and Cr(VI) in laboratory studies and at some field sites, the reactions can sometimes be slow or even inhibitedmore » due to unfavorable environmental conditions. One promising approach for the in-situ remediation of DOE contaminants is to develop electron shuttle catalysts that can be delivered precisely to the specific subsurface locations where contaminants reside. Previous research has shown that reduction of oxidized organic and inorganic contaminants often can be catalyzed by electron shuttle systems. Metalloporphyrins and their derivatives are well known electron shuttles for many biogeochemical systems, and thus were selected to study their catalytic capabilities for the reduction of chromium and uranium in the presence of reducing agents. Zero valent iron (ZVI) was chosen as the primary electron donor in most experimental systems. Research proceeded in three phases and the key findings of each phase are reported here. Phase I examined Cr(VI) reduction and utilized micro- and nano-sized ZVI as the electron donors. Electron shuttle catalysts tested were cobalt- and iron-containing metalloporphyrins and Vitamin B12. To aid in the recycle and reuse of the nano-sized ZVI and soluble catalysts, sol-gels and calcium-alginate gel beads were tested as immobilization/support matrices. Although the nano-sized ZVI could be incorporated within the alginate gel beads, preliminary attempts to trap it in sol-gels were not successful. Conversely, the water-soluble catalysts could be trapped within sol-gel matrices but they tended to leach out of the alginate gel beads during use. In general, immobilization of the nano-sized ZVI in gel beads and of the catalysts in sol-gels tended to result in slower rates of Cr(VI) reduction, but these effects could be overcome to some extent by using higher reactant/catalyst concentrations. In addition, the lowering of their effectiveness would likely be offset by the benefits obtained when recycling and reusing the materials because they were immobilized. Addition of the catalytic electron shuttles will be most useful when the micro-sized or nano-sized ZVI becomes less reactive with reaction time. Continued work in Phase II in the area of nano-sized ZVI immobilization led to procedures that were successful in incorporating the iron particles in sol-gel matrices. The water-soluble reductants sodium dithionite and L-ascorbic acid were also tested, but their use appeared to lead to formation of complexes with the uranyl cation which limited their effectiveness. Also, although the sol-gel supported nano-sized ZVI showed some promise at reducing uranium, the fluoride used in the sol-gel synthesis protocol appeared to lead to formation of uranyl-fluoride complexes that were less reactive. Because hexavalent chromium is an anion which does not form complexes with fluoride, it was used to demonstrate the intrinsic reactivity of the sol-gel immobilized nano-sized ZVI. Consistent with our observations in Phase I, the sol-gel matrix once again slowed down the reduction reaction but the expected benefits of recycle/reuse should outweigh this adverse effect. The major emphasis in Phase III of this study was to simultaneously incorporate nano-sized ZVI and water-soluble catalysts in the same sol-gel matrix. The catalysts utilized were cobalt complexes of uroporphyrin and protoporphyrin and Cr(VI) reduction was used to test the efficacy of the combined "catalyst + reductant" sol-gel matrix. When enough catalyst was added to the sol-gels, enhancement of the Cr(VI) reduction reaction was observed. At the lowest levels of catalyst addition, however, the rates of Cr(VI) reduction were similar to those systems which only used sol-gel immobilized nano-sized ZVI without any catalyst present. These findings suggest future areas of research that should be pursued to further optimize abiotic reduction reactions of metals with combined "catalyst + reductant" matrices.« less

Electrical Conductivity in Polymer Blends/ Multiwall Carbon Nanotubes

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

Kulkarni, Ajit R.; Bose, Suryasarathi; Bhattacharyya, Arup R.

2008-10-23

Carbon nanotubes (CNT) based polymer composites have emerged as the future multifunctional materials in view of its exceptional mechanical, thermal and electrical properties. One of the major interests is to develop conductive polymer composites preferably at low concentration of CNT utilizing their high aspect ratio (L/D) for numerous applications, which include antistatic devices, capacitors and materials for EMI shielding. In this context, polymer blends have emerged as a potential candidate in lowering the percolation thresholds further by the utilization of 'double-percolation' which arises from the synergistic improvements in blend properties associated with the co-continuous morphology. Due to strong inter-tube vanmore » der Waals' forces, they often tend to aggregate and uniform dispersion remains a challenge. To overcome this challenge, we exploited sodium salt of 6-aminohexanoic acid (Na-AHA) which was able to assist in debundlling the multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWNT) through 'cation-{pi}' interactions during melt-mixing leading to percolative 'network-like' structure of MWNT within polyamide6 (PA6) phase in co-continuous PA6/acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) blends. The composite exhibited low electrical percolation thresholds of 0.25 wt% of MWNT, the lowest reported value in this system so far. Retention of 'network-like structure' in the solid state with significant refinement was observed even at lower MWNT concentration in presence Na-AHA, which was assessed through AC electrical conductivity measurements. Reactive coupling was found to be a dominant factor besides 'cation-{pi}' interactions in achieving low electrical percolation in PA6/ABS+MWNT composites.« less

Adsorption mechanism of different organic chemicals on fluorinated carbon nanotubes.

PubMed

Li, Hao; Zheng, Nan; Liang, Ni; Zhang, Di; Wu, Min; Pan, Bo

2016-07-01

Multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MC) were fluorinated by a solid-phase reaction method using polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). The surface alteration of carbon nanotubes after fluorination (MC-F) was confirmed based on surface elemental analysis, TEM and SEM. The incorporation of F on MC surface was discussed as F incorporation on carbon defects, replacement of carboxyl groups, as well as surface coating of PTFE. The adsorption performance and mechanisms of MC-F for five kinds of representative organic compounds: sulfamethoxazole (SMX), ofloxacin (OFL), norfloxacin (NOR), bisphenol a (BPA) and phenanthrene (PHE) were investigated. Although BET-N2 surface area of the investigated CNTs decreased after fluorination, the adsorption of all five chemicals increased. Because of the glassification of MC-F surface coating during BET-N2 surface area measurement, the accessible surface area of MC-F was underestimated. Desorption hysteresis was generally observed in all the sorption systems in this study, and the desorption hysteresis of MC-F were stronger than the pristine CNTs. The enhanced adsorption of MC-F may be attributed the pores generated on the coated PTFE and the dispersed CNT aggregates due to the increased electrostatic repulsion after fluorination. The rearrangement of the bundles or diffusion of the adsorbates in MC-F inner pores were the likely reason for the strong desorption hysteresis of MC-F. The butterfly structure of BPA resulted in its high sorption and strong desorption hysteresis. The exothermic sorption character of OFL on CNTs resulted in its strong desorption hysteresis. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

New nanosized catalytic membrane reactors for hydrogenation with stored hydrogen: Prerequisites and the experimental basis for their creation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Soldatov, A. P.; Tsodikov, M. V.; Parenago, O. P.; Teplyakov, V. V.

2010-12-01

The prerequisites and prospects for creating a new generation of nanosized membrane reactors are considered. For the first time, hydrogenation reactions take place in ceramic membrane pores with hydrogen adsorbed beforehand in mono- and multilayered oriented carbon nanotubes with graphene walls (OCNTGs) formed on the internal pore surface. It is shown for Trumem microfiltration membranes with D avg ˜130 nm that oxidation reactions of CO on a Cu0.03Ti0.97O2 ± δ catalyst and the oxidative conversion of methane into synthesis gas and light hydrocarbons on La + Ce/MgO are considerably enhanced when they occur in membranes. Regularities of hydrogen adsorption, storage, and desorption in nanosized membrane reactors are investigated through OCNTG formation in Trumem ultrafiltration membrane pores with D avg = 50 and 90 nm and their saturation with hydrogen at a pressure of 10-13 MPa. It is shown that the amount of adsorbed hydrogen reaches 14.0% of OCNTG mass. Using thermogravimetric analysis in combination with mass-spectrometric analysis, hydrogen adsorption in OCNTG is first determined and its desorption is found to proceed at atmospheric pressure at a temperature of ˜175°C. It is shown that adsorbed hydrogen affects the transport properties of the membranes, reducing their efficiency with respect to liquids by 4-26 times. This is indirect confirmation of its high activity, due apparently the dissociative mechanism of adsorption.

The preparation of nanosized polyethylene particles via novel heterogeneous non-metallocene catalyst (m-CH3PhO)TiCl3/CNTs/AlEt3

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, J.; Guo, J. P.; Yi, J. J.; Huang, Q. G.; Li, H. M.; Li, Y. F.; Gao, K. J.; Yang, W. T.

2014-08-01

This paper reports the preparation of coral-shaped topological morphology nascent polyethylene (PE) particles promoted by the novel heterogeneous non-metallocene catalyst (m-CH3PhO)TiCl3/carbon nanotubes (CNTs), with AlEt3 used as a cocatalyst. Scanning electron microscope (SEM), high resolution transmission electron microscope (HR-TEM) and inductively coupled plasma (ICP) emission spectroscopy were used to determine the morphology of the catalyst particles and the content of (m-CH3PhO)TiCl3. The carbon nanotube surface was treated with Grignard Reagent prior to reacting with (m-CH3PhO)TiCl3. The catalyst system could effectively catalyze ethylene polymerization and ethylene with 1- hexene copolymerization, the catalytic activity could reach up to 5.8 kg/((gTi)h). Morphology of the obtained polymer particles by SEM and HR-TEM technique revealed that the nascent polyethylene particles looked like coral shape in micro-size. The multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) supported catalysts polymerized ethylene to form polymer nanocomposite in situ. The microscopic examination of this nanocomposite revealed that carbon nanoparticles in PE matrix had a good distribution and the cryogenically fractured surface was ductile-like when polymerization time was 2 min.

DFT study of adsorption of picric acid molecule on the surface of single-walled ZnO nanotube; as potential new chemical sensor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Farmanzadeh, Davood; Tabari, Leila

2015-01-01

Using density functional theory (DFT), we have investigated the adsorption of picric acid (PA) molecule on the surface of (8,0) single-walled ZnO nanotube (ZnONT). The results show that the PA molecule can be chemisorbed on the surface of ZnONT with adsorption energies of -82.01 and -75.26 kJ/mol in gas and aqueous phase, respectively. Frontier molecular orbital analysis show that HOMO/LUMO gap of ZnONT reduces from 1.66 and 1.75 eV in the pristine nanotube to 0.83 and 0.72 eV in PA-adsorbed form in gas and aqueous phase, respectively. It suggests that the process can affect the electronic properties of the studied nanotube which would lead to its conductance change upon the adsorption of PA molecule. The modifying effect on the electrical conductance of ZnONT underlies the working mechanism of gas sensors for detecting the PA molecules. Analyses of the adsorption behavior of the electrically charged ZnONT toward PA molecule in the gas phase show that the PA molecule can be strongly adsorbed on the negatively charged ZnONT surface with significant adsorption energy (-135.1 kJ/mol). However, from the HOMO/LUMO gap changes, it can be concluded that the positive ZnONT might sensitively detect the PA molecule in comparison to the negative tube. These results can provide helpful information for experimental investigation to develop novel nanotube-based sensors.

Design of Amorphous Manganese Oxide@Multiwalled Carbon Nanotube Fiber for Robust Solid-State Supercapacitor.

PubMed

Shi, Peipei; Li, Li; Hua, Li; Qian, Qianqian; Wang, Pengfei; Zhou, Jinyuan; Sun, Gengzhi; Huang, Wei

2017-01-24

Solid-state fiber-based supercapacitors have been considered promising energy storage devices for wearable electronics due to their lightweight and amenability to be woven into textiles. Efforts have been made to fabricate a high performance fiber electrode by depositing pseudocapacitive materials on the outer surface of carbonaceous fiber, for example, crystalline manganese oxide/multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MnO 2 /MWCNTs). However, a key challenge remaining is to achieve high specific capacitance and energy density without compromising the high rate capability and cycling stability. In addition, amorphous MnO 2 is actually preferred due to its disordered structure and has been proven to exhibit superior electrochemical performance over the crystalline one. Herein, by incorporating amorphous MnO 2 onto a well-aligned MWCNT sheet followed by twisting, we design an amorphous MnO 2 @MWCNT fiber, in which amorphous MnO 2 nanoparticles are distributed in MWCNT fiber uniformly. The proposed structure gives the amorphous MnO 2 @MWCNT fiber good mechanical reliability, high electrical conductivity, and fast ion-diffusion. Solid-state supercapacitor based on amorphous MnO 2 @MWCNT fibers exhibits improved energy density, superior rate capability, exceptional cycling stability, and excellent flexibility. This study provides a strategy to design a high performance fiber electrode with microstructure control for wearable energy storage devices.

Stretchable, Weavable Coiled Carbon Nanotube/MnO2/Polymer Fiber Solid-State Supercapacitors

PubMed Central

Choi, Changsoon; Kim, Shi Hyeong; Sim, Hyeon Jun; Lee, Jae Ah; Choi, A Young; Kim, Youn Tae; Lepró, Xavier; Spinks, Geoffrey M.; Baughman, Ray H.; Kim, Seon Jeong

2015-01-01

Fiber and yarn supercapacitors that are elastomerically deformable without performance loss are sought for such applications as power sources for wearable electronics, micro-devices, and implantable medical devices. Previously reported yarn and fiber supercapacitors are expensive to fabricate, difficult to upscale, or non-stretchable, which limits possible use. The elastomeric electrodes of the present solid-state supercapacitors are made by using giant inserted twist to coil a nylon sewing thread that is helically wrapped with a carbon nanotube sheet, and then electrochemically depositing pseudocapacitive MnO2 nanofibers. These solid-state supercapacitors decrease capacitance by less than 15% when reversibly stretched by 150% in the fiber direction, and largely retain capacitance while being cyclically stretched during charge and discharge. The maximum linear and areal capacitances (based on active materials) and areal energy storage and power densities (based on overall supercapacitor dimensions) are high (5.4 mF/cm, 40.9 mF/cm2, 2.6 μWh/cm2 and 66.9 μW/cm2, respectively), despite the engineered superelasticity of the fiber supercapacitor. Retention of supercapacitor performance during large strain (50%) elastic deformation is demonstrated for supercapacitors incorporated into the wristband of a glove. PMID:25797351

One step shift towards flexible supercapacitors based on carbon nanotubes - A review

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yar, A.; Dennis, J. O.; Mohamed, N. M.; Mumtaz, A.; Irshad, M. I.; Ahmad, F.

2014-10-01

Supercapacitors have emerged as prominent energy storage devices that offer high energy density compared to conventional capacitors and high power density which is not found in batteries. Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) because of their high surface area and tremendous electrical properties are used as electrode material for supercapacitors. In this review we focused on the factors like surface area, role of the electrolyte and techniques adopted to improve performance of CNTs based supercapacitors. The supercapacitors are widely tested in liquid electrolytes which are normally hazardous in nature, toxic, flammable and their leakage has safety concerns. This review also focuses on research which is replacing these unsafe electrolytes by solid electrolytes with the combination of low cost CNTs deposited flexible supports for supercapacitors.

Magnetic nanotubes for drug delivery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ramasamy, Mouli; Kumar, Prashanth S.; Varadan, Vijay K.

2017-04-01

Magnetic nanotubes hold the potential for neuroscience applications because of their capability to deliver chemicals or biomolecules and the feasibility of controlling the orientation or movement of these magnetic nanotubes by an external magnetic field thus facilitating directed growth of neurites. Therefore, we sought to investigate the effects of laminin treated magnetic nanotubes and external alternating magnetic fields on the growth of dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons in cell culture. Magnetic nanotubes were synthesized by a hydrothermal method and characterized to confirm their hollow structure, the hematite and maghemite phases, and the magnetic properties. DRG neurons were cultured in the presence of magnetic nanotubes under alternating magnetic fields. Electron microscopy showed a close interaction between magnetic nanotubes and the growing neurites Phase contrast microscopy revealed live growing neurons suggesting that the combination of the presence of magnetic nanotubes and the alternating magnetic field were tolerated by DRG neurons. The synergistic effect, from both laminin treated magnetic nanotubes and the applied magnetic fields on survival, growth and electrical activity of the DRG neurons are currently being investigated.

Interesting properties of ferroelectric Pb(Zr0.5Ti0.5)O3 nanotube array embedded in matrix medium

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Adhikari, Rajendra; Fu, Huaxiang

2013-07-01

Finite-temperature first-principles based simulations are used to determine the structural and polarization properties of ferroelectric Pb(Zr0.5Ti0.5)O3 (PZT) nanotube array embedded in matrix medium of different ferroelectric strengths. Various interesting properties are found, including (i) that the system can behave either 3D-like, or 2D-like, or 1D-like; and (ii) the existence of an unusual structural phase in which 180° stripe domain coexists with vortex. Furthermore, we show in PZT tube array that a vortex phase can spontaneously transform into a ferroelectric phase of polarization by temperature alone, without applying external electric fields. Microscopic insights for understanding these properties are provided.

Carbon Nanotubes as an Ultrafast Emitter with a Narrow Energy Spread at Optical Frequency.

PubMed

Li, Chi; Zhou, Xu; Zhai, Feng; Li, Zhenjun; Yao, Fengrui; Qiao, Ruixi; Chen, Ke; Cole, Matthew Thomas; Yu, Dapeng; Sun, Zhipei; Liu, Kaihui; Dai, Qing

2017-08-01

Ultrafast electron pulses, combined with laser-pump and electron-probe technologies, allow ultrafast dynamics to be characterized in materials. However, the pursuit of simultaneous ultimate spatial and temporal resolution of microscopy and spectroscopy is largely subdued by the low monochromaticity of the electron pulses and their poor phase synchronization to the optical excitation pulses. Field-driven photoemission from metal tips provides high light-phase synchronization, but suffers large electron energy spreads (3-100 eV) as driven by a long wavelength laser (>800 nm). Here, ultrafast electron emission from carbon nanotubes (≈1 nm radius) excited by a 410 nm femtosecond laser is realized in the field-driven regime. In addition, the emitted electrons have great monochromaticity with energy spread as low as 0.25 eV. This great performance benefits from the extraordinarily high field enhancement and great stability of carbon nanotubes, superior to metal tips. The new nanotube-based ultrafast electron source opens exciting prospects for extending current characterization to sub-femtosecond temporal resolution as well as sub-nanometer spatial resolution. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Importance of oxygen in the metal-free catalytic growth of single-walled carbon nanotubes from SiO(x) by a vapor-solid-solid mechanism.

PubMed

Liu, Bilu; Tang, Dai-Ming; Sun, Chenghua; Liu, Chang; Ren, Wencai; Li, Feng; Yu, Wan-Jing; Yin, Li-Chang; Zhang, Lili; Jiang, Chuanbin; Cheng, Hui-Ming

2011-01-19

To understand in-depth the nature of the catalyst and the growth mechanism of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) on a newly developed silica catalyst, we performed this combined experimental and theoretical study. In situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM) observations revealed that the active catalyst for the SWCNT growth is solid and amorphous SiO(x) nanoparticles (NPs), suggesting a vapor-solid-solid growth mechanism. From in situ TEM and chemical vapor deposition growth experiments, we found that oxygen plays a crucial role in SWCNT growth in addition to the well-known catalyst size effect. Density functional theory calculations showed that oxygen atoms can enhance the capture of -CH(x) and consequently facilitate the growth of SWCNTs on oxygen-containing SiO(x) NPs.

Crystallization around solid-like nanosized docks can explain the specificity, diversity, and stability of membrane microdomains.

PubMed

de Almeida, Rodrigo F M; Joly, Etienne

2014-01-01

To date, it is widely accepted that microdomains do form in the biological membranes of all eukaryotic cells, and quite possibly also in prokaryotes. Those sub-micrometric domains play crucial roles in signaling, in intracellular transport, and even in inter-cellular communications. Despite their ubiquitous distribution, and the broad and lasting interest invested in those microdomains, their actual nature and composition, and even the physical rules that regiment their assembly still remain elusive and hotly debated. One of the most often considered models is the raft hypothesis, i.e., the partition of lipids between liquid disordered and ordered phases (Ld and Lo, respectively), the latter being enriched in sphingolipids and cholesterol. Although it is experimentally possible to obtain the formation of microdomains in synthetic membranes through Ld/Lo phase separation, there is an ever increasing amount of evidence, obtained with a wide array of experimental approaches, that a partition between domains in Ld and Lo phases cannot account for many of the observations collected in real cells. In particular, it is now commonly perceived that the plasma membrane of cells is mostly in Lo phase and recent data support the existence of gel or solid ordered domains in a whole variety of live cells under physiological conditions. Here, we present a model whereby seeds comprised of oligomerised proteins and/or lipids would serve as crystal nucleation centers for the formation of diverse gel/crystalline nanodomains. This could confer the selectivity necessary for the formation of multiple types of membrane domains, as well as the stability required to match the time frames of cellular events, such as intra- or inter-cellular transport or assembly of signaling platforms. Testing of this model will, however, require the development of new methods allowing the clear-cut discrimination between Lo and solid nanoscopic phases in live cells.

Advanced biohybrid materials based on nanoclays for biomedical applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ruiz-Hitzky, Eduardo; Darder, Margarita; Wicklein, Bernd; Fernandes, Francisco M.; Castro-Smirnov, Fidel A.; Martín del Burgo, M. Angeles; del Real, Gustavo; Aranda, Pilar

2012-10-01

Bio-nanohybrids prepared by assembling natural polymers (polysaccharides, proteins, nucleic acids, etc) to nanosized silicates (nanoclays) and related solids (layered double hydroxides, LDHs) give rise to the so-called bionanocomposites constituting a group of biomaterials with potential applications in medicine. In this way, biopolymers, including chitosan, pectin, alginate, xanthan gum, ι-carrageenan, gelatin, zein, and DNA, as well as phospholipids such as phosphatidylcholine, have been incorporated in layered host matrices by means of ion-exchange mechanisms producing intercalation composites. Also bio-nanohybrids have been prepared by the assembly of diverse bio-polymers with sepiolite, a natural microfibrous magnesium silicate, in this case through interactions affecting the external surface of this silicate. The properties and applications of these resulting biomaterials as active phases of ion-sensors and biosensors, for potential uses as scaffolds for tissue engineering, drug delivery, and gene transfection systems, are introduced and discussed in this work. It is also considered the use of synthetic bionanocomposites as new substrates to immobilize microorganisms, as for instance to bind Influenza virus particles, allowing their application as effective low-cost vaccine adjuvants and carriers.

Crossovers from excitons to plasmons in narrow-gap carbon nanotubes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Uryu, Seiji

2018-06-01

Plasmons and excitons, bound states of electrons and holes, are collective charge excitations in solids. In this study, we numerically show that in most metallic carbon nanotubes, which are called narrow-gap carbon nanotubes, excitons cross over to plasmons as the wave vector increases. This indicates that resonance with the excitons changes to that with the plasmons by changing the nanotube length, which can explain the origin of observed peaks in the terahertz or far-infrared region in the optical absorption spectra of metallic carbon nanotubes. In the crossovers from excitons to plasmons, a depolarization effect on the many-body wave functions of the plasmons and excitons is clarified.

Structural and magnetic properties of Fe and carbon nanotubes derived from coconut shells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qadri, S. B.; Gorzkowski, E. P.; Bussmann, K.; Rath, B. B.; Feng, J.

2018-05-01

Ferric oxide (Fe2O3) was directly reduced to metallic Fe using the carbon source from the coconut shells at temperatures above 1400 °C in argon gas atmospheres. X-ray diffraction analysis showed the presence of α-, γ- phases of Fe in addition to the presence of carbon nanotubes (CNTs). By selecting the appropriate ratios of coconut shell powder to Fe2O3, it is demonstrated that pure Fe is produced without any residual ferric oxide. The quantitative analysis of each of the Fe phases and carbon nanotubes was dependent on the temperature and the duration of processing at high temperature. Transmission electron microcopy results showed copious amount of carbon nanotubes in the samples. Magnetic property measurements suggested that, the average magnetic moment is consistent with presence of α-phase and the ferromagnetic γ-phase of Fe. This novel method of producing pure α- and γ-Fe in the presence of carbon nanotubes using coconut shells has potential applications as nanocomposites.

The effects of combined selenium nanoparticles and radiation therapy on breast cancer cells in vitro.

PubMed

Chen, Feng; Zhang, Xiao Hong; Hu, Xiao Dan; Liu, Pei Dang; Zhang, Hai Qian

2018-08-01

Radiosensitizers that increase cancer cell radio-sensitivity can enhance the effectiveness of irradiation and minimize collateral damage. Nanomaterial has been employed in conjunction with radiotherapy as radiosensitizers, due to its unique physicochemical properties. In this article, we evaluated selenium nanoparticles (Nano-Se) as a new radiosensitizer. Nano-Se was used in conjunction with irradiation on MCF-7 breast cancer cells, and efficacy and mechanisms of this combined treatment approach were evaluated. Nano-Se reinforced the toxic effects of irradiation, leading to a higher mortality rate than either treatment used alone, inducing cell cycle arrest at the G2/M phase and the activation of autophagy, and increasing both endogenous and irradiation-induced reactive oxygen species formation. These results suggest that Nano-Se can be used as an adjuvant drug to improve cancer cell sensitivity to the toxic effects of irradiation and thereby reduce damage to normal tissue nearby.

Effects of sintering temperature on the pyrochlore phase in PZT nanotubes and their transformation to the perovskite phase by coating with PbO multilayers.

PubMed

Han, Jin Kyu; Choi, Yong Chan; Jeon, Do Hyen; Lee, Min Ku; Bu, Sang Don

2014-11-01

We report the phase evolution of Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3 nanotubes (PZT-NTs), from the pyrochlore to perovskite phase, with an outer diameter of about 420 nm and a wall thickness of about 10 nm. The PZT-NTs were fabricated in pores of porous anodic alumina membrane (PAM) using a spin coating of PZT sol-gel solution and subsequent annealing at 500-700 degrees C in oxygen gas. The pyrochlore phase was found to be formed at 500 degrees C, and also found not to be transformed into the perovskite phase, even though annealing was performed at higher temperatures to 700 degrees C. Elementary distribution analysis of PZT-NTs embedded in PAM reveal that Pb diffusion from nanotubes into pore walls of PAM is one of the main reasons. By employing firstly an additional PbO coating on the pyrochlore nanotubes and then subsequent annealing at 700 degrees C, we have successfully achieved an almost pure perovskite phase in nanotubes. These results suggest that PbO acts as a Pb-compensation agent in the Pb- deficient PZT-NTs. Moreover, our method can be used in the synthesis of all metal-oxide materials, including volatile elements.

Metal-filled carbon nanotube based optical nanoantennas: bubbling, reshaping, and in situ characterization.

PubMed

Fan, Zheng; Tao, Xinyong; Cui, Xudong; Fan, Xudong; Zhang, Xiaobin; Dong, Lixin

2012-09-21

Controlled fabrication of metal nanospheres on nanotube tips for optical antennas is investigated experimentally. Resembling soap bubble blowing using a straw, the fabrication process is based on nanofluidic mass delivery at the attogram scale using metal-filled carbon nanotubes (m@CNTs). Two methods have been investigated including electron-beam-induced bubbling (EBIB) and electromigration-based bubbling (EMBB). EBIB involves the bombardment of an m@CNT with a high energy electron beam of a transmission electron microscope (TEM), with which the encapsulated metal is melted and flowed out from the nanotube, generating a metallic particle on a nanotube tip. In the case where the encapsulated materials inside the CNT have a higher melting point than what the beam energy can reach, EMBB is an optional process to apply. Experiments show that, under a low bias (2.0-2.5 V), nanoparticles can be formed on the nanotube tips. The final shape and crystallinity of the nanoparticles are determined by the cooling rate. Instant cooling occurs with a relatively large heat sink and causes the instant shaping of the solid deposit, which is typically similar to the shape of the molten state. With a smaller heat sink as a probe, it is possible to keep the deposit in a molten state. Instant cooling by separating the deposit from the probe can result in a perfect sphere. Surface and volume plasmons characterized with electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) prove that resonance occurs between a pair of as-fabricated spheres on the tip structures. Such spheres on pillars can serve as nano-optical antennas and will enable devices such as scanning near-field optical microscope (SNOM) probes, scanning anodes for field emitters, and single molecule detectors, which can find applications in bio-sensing, molecular detection, and high-resolution optical microscopy.

Growth of vertically aligned single-walled carbon nanotubes with metallic chirality through faceted FePt-Au catalysts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ohashi, Toshiyuki; Iwama, Hiroki; Shima, Toshiyuki

2016-02-01

Direct synthesis of vertically aligned metallic single-walled carbon nanotubes (m-SWCNT forests) is a difficult challenge. We have successfully synthesized m-SWCNT forests using faceted iron platinum-gold catalysts epitaxially grown on a single crystalline magnesium oxide substrate. The metallic content of the forests estimated by Raman spectroscopy reaches 90%. From the standpoint of growth rate of the forests, the growth mechanism is probably based on the catalyst of solid state. It is suggested that preferential growth of m-SWCNTs is achieved when both factors are satisfied, namely, {111} dominant octahedral facet and ideal size (fine particles) of FePt particles.

Separation and Enrichment of Gold in Water, Geological and Environmental Samples by Solid Phase Extraction on Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes Prior to its Determination by Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrometry.

PubMed

Duran, Ali; Tuzen, Mustafa; Soylak, Mustafa

2015-01-01

This study proposes the application of multi-walled carbon nanotubes as a solid sorbent for the preconcentration of gold prior to its flame atomic absorption spectrometry determination. Extraction was achieved by using a glass column (15.0 cm in length and 1.0 cm in diameter). Quantitative recoveries were obtained in the pH range of 2.5-4.0; the elution step was carried out with 5.0 ml of 1.0 mol/L HNO3 in acetone. In the ligand-free study, variables such as pH, eluent type, sample volume, flow rates, and matrix effect were examined for the optimum recovery of gold ions. The gold ions were able to be pre-concentrated by a factor of 150 and their LOD was determined to be 1.71 μg/L. In order to evaluate the accuracy of the developed method, addition-recovery tests were applied for the tap water, mineral water, and sea water samples. Gold recovery studies were implemented using a wet digestion technique for mine and soil samples taken from various media, and this method was also applied for anodic slime samples taken from the factories located in the Kayseri Industrial Zone of Turkey.

The structure, stability, and electronic properties of ultra-thin BC2N nanotubes: a first-principles study.

PubMed

Wang, Yue; Zhang, Juan; Huang, Gang; Yao, Xinhua; Shao, Qingyi

2014-12-01

Rapid developments of the silicon electronics industry have close to the physical limits and nanotube materials are the ideal materials to replace silicon for the preparation of next generation electronic devices. Boron-carbon-nitrogen nanotubes (BCNNT) can be formed by joining carbon nanotube (CNT) and boron nitride nanotube (BNNT) segments, and BC2N nanotubes have been widely and deeply studied. Here, we employed first-principles calculations based on density function theory (DFT) to study the structure, stability, and electronic properties of ultra thin (4 Å diameter) BC2N nanotubes. Our results showed that the cross sections of BC2N nanotubes can transform from round to oval when CNT and BNNT segments are parallel to the tube axis. It results when the curvature of BNNT segments become larger than CNT segments. Further, we found the stability of BC2N nanotubes is sensitive to the number of B-N bonds, and the phase segregation of BNNT and CNT segments is energetically favored. We also obtained that all (3,3) BC2N nanotubes are semiconductor, whereas (5,0) BC2N nanotubes are conductor when CNT and BNNT segments are perpendicular to the tube axis; and semiconductor when CNT and BNNT segments are parallel to the tube axis. These electronic properties are abnormal when compared to the relative big ones.

Application of Solid-State NMR Relaxometry for Characterization and Formulation Optimization of Grinding-Induced Drug Nanoparticle.

PubMed

Ueda, Keisuke; Higashi, Kenjirou; Moribe, Kunikazu

2016-03-07

The formation mechanism of drug nanoparticles was investigated using solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) techniques for the efficient discovery of an optimized nanoparticle formulation. The cogrinding of nifedipine (NIF) with polymers, including hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP), and sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) was performed to prepare the NIF nanoparticle formulations. Then, solid-state NMR relaxometry was used for the nanometer-order characterization of NIF in the polymer matrix. Solid-state NMR measurements revealed that the crystal size of NIF was reduced to several tens of nanometers with amorphization of NIF by cogrinding with HPMC and SDS for 100 min. Similarly, the size of the NIF crystal was reduced to less than 90 nm in the 40 min ground mixture of NIF/PVP/SDS. Furthermore, 100 min grinding of NIF/PVP/SDS induced amorphization of almost all the NIF crystals followed by nanosizing. The hydrogen bond between NIF and PVP led to the efficient amorphization of NIF in the NIF/PVP/SDS system compared with NIF/HPMC/SDS system. The efficient nanosizing of the NIF crystal in the solid state, revealed by the solid-state NMR relaxation time measurements, enabled the formation of large amounts of NIF nanoparticles in water followed by the polymer dissolution. In contrast, excess amorphization of the NIF crystals failed to efficiently prepare the NIF nanoparticles. The solid-state characterization of the crystalline NIF revealed good correlation with the NIF nanoparticles formation during aqueous dispersion. Furthermore, the solid-state NMR measurements including relaxometry successfully elucidated the nanometer-order dispersion state of NIF in polymer matrix, leading to the discovery of optimized conditions for the preparation of suitable drug nanoparticles.

BaTiO3-based nanolayers and nanotubes: first-principles calculations.

PubMed

Evarestov, Robert A; Bandura, Andrei V; Kuruch, Dmitrii D

2013-01-30

The first-principles calculations using hybrid exchange-correlation functional and localized atomic basis set are performed for BaTiO(3) (BTO) nanolayers and nanotubes (NTs) with the structure optimization. Both the cubic and the ferroelectric BTO phases are used for the nanolayers and NTs modeling. It follows from the calculations that nanolayers of the different ferroelectric BTO phases have the practically identical surface energies and are more stable than nanolayers of the cubic phase. Thin nanosheets composed of three or more dense layers of (0 1 0) and (0 1 1[overline]) faces preserve the ferroelectric displacements inherent to the initial bulk phase. The structure and stability of BTO single-wall NTs depends on the original bulk crystal phase and a wall thickness. The majority of the considered NTs with the low formation and strain energies has the mirror plane perpendicular to the tube axis and therefore cannot exhibit ferroelectricity. The NTs folded from (0 1 1[overline]) layers may show antiferroelectric arrangement of Ti-O bonds. Comparison of stability of the BTO-based and SrTiO(3)-based NTs shows that the former are more stable than the latter. Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Production of selenium nanoparticles in Pseudomonas putida KT2440.

PubMed

Avendaño, Roberto; Chaves, Nefertiti; Fuentes, Paola; Sánchez, Ethel; Jiménez, Jose I; Chavarría, Max

2016-11-15

Selenium (Se) is an essential element for the cell that has multiple applications in medicine and technology; microorganisms play an important role in Se transformations in the environment. Here we report the previously unidentified ability of the soil bacterium Pseudomonas putida KT2440 to synthesize nanoparticles of elemental selenium (nano-Se) from selenite. Our results show that P. putida is able to reduce selenite aerobically, but not selenate, to nano-Se. Kinetic analysis indicates that, in LB medium supplemented with selenite (1 mM), reduction to nano-Se occurs at a rate of 0.444 mmol L -1 h -1 beginning in the middle-exponential phase and with a final conversion yield of 89%. Measurements with a transmission electron microscope (TEM) show that nano-Se particles synthesized by P. putida have a size range of 100 to 500 nm and that they are located in the surrounding medium or bound to the cell membrane. Experiments involving dynamic light scattering (DLS) show that, in aqueous solution, recovered nano-Se particles have a size range of 70 to 360 nm. The rapid kinetics of conversion, easy retrieval of nano-Se and the metabolic versatility of P. putida offer the opportunity to use this model organism as a microbial factory for production of selenium nanoparticles.

Production of selenium nanoparticles in Pseudomonas putida KT2440

PubMed Central

Avendaño, Roberto; Chaves, Nefertiti; Fuentes, Paola; Sánchez, Ethel; Jiménez, Jose I.; Chavarría, Max

2016-01-01

Selenium (Se) is an essential element for the cell that has multiple applications in medicine and technology; microorganisms play an important role in Se transformations in the environment. Here we report the previously unidentified ability of the soil bacterium Pseudomonas putida KT2440 to synthesize nanoparticles of elemental selenium (nano-Se) from selenite. Our results show that P. putida is able to reduce selenite aerobically, but not selenate, to nano-Se. Kinetic analysis indicates that, in LB medium supplemented with selenite (1 mM), reduction to nano-Se occurs at a rate of 0.444 mmol L−1 h−1 beginning in the middle-exponential phase and with a final conversion yield of 89%. Measurements with a transmission electron microscope (TEM) show that nano-Se particles synthesized by P. putida have a size range of 100 to 500 nm and that they are located in the surrounding medium or bound to the cell membrane. Experiments involving dynamic light scattering (DLS) show that, in aqueous solution, recovered nano-Se particles have a size range of 70 to 360 nm. The rapid kinetics of conversion, easy retrieval of nano-Se and the metabolic versatility of P. putida offer the opportunity to use this model organism as a microbial factory for production of selenium nanoparticles. PMID:27845437

Conducting nanotubes or nanostructures based composites, method of making them and applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gupta, Mool C. (Inventor); Yang, Yonglai (Inventor); Dudley, Kenneth L. (Inventor); Lawrence, Roland W. (Inventor)

2013-01-01

An electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding material includes a matrix of a dielectric or partially conducting polymer, such as foamed polystyrene, with carbon nanotubes or other nanostructures dispersed therein in sufficient concentration to make the material electrically conducting. The composite is formed by dispersing the nanotube material in a solvent in which the dielectric or partially conducting polymer is soluble and mixing the resulting suspension with the dielectric or partially conducting polymer. A foaming agent can be added to produce a lightweight foamed material. An organometallic compound can be added to enhance the conductivity further by decomposition into a metal phase.

Influence of energy band alignment in mixed crystalline TiO2 nanotube arrays: good for photocatalysis, bad for electron transfer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mohammadpour, Raheleh

2017-12-01

Despite the wide application ranges of TiO2, the precise explanation of the charge transport dynamic through a mixed crystal phase of this semiconductor has remained elusive. Here, in this research, mixed-phase TiO2 nanotube arrays (TNTAs) consisting of anatase and 0-15% rutile phases has been formed through various annealing processes and employed as a photoelectrode of a photovoltaic cell. Wide ranges of optoelectronic experiments have been employed to explore the band alignment position, as well as the depth and density of trap states in TNTAs. Short circuit potential, as well as open circuit potential measurements specified that the band alignment of more than 0.2 eV exists between the anatase and rutile phase Fermi levels, with a higher electron affinity for anatase; this can result in a potential barrier in crystallite interfaces and the deterioration of electron mobility through mixed phase structures. Moreover, a higher density of shallow localized trap states below the conduction band with more depth (133 meV in anatase to 247 meV in 15% rutile phase) and also deep oxygen vacancy traps have been explored upon introducing the rutile phase. Based on our results, employing TiO2 nanotubes as just the electron transport medium in mixed crystalline phases can deteriorate the charge transport mechanism, however, in photocatalytic applications when both electrons and holes are present, a robust charge separation in crystalline anatase/rutile interphases will result in better performances.

Suppression of the commensurate magnetic phase in nanosized hübnerite MnW O 4

DOE PAGES

Zajdel, P.; G?gor, A.; Pajerowski, D. M.; ...

2017-05-18

Magnetic structures of nanosized (20 to 70 nm) powders of MnWO 4 and MnWO 4:Mo were studied using neutron powder diffraction (NPD). Sizes and shapes of the crystallites calculated from anisotropic peak broadening of diffraction peaks were found to be orthogonal parallelepipedlike with the longest edge along the c axis and the shortest along the b axis. SQUID measurements indicate the presence of two magnetic transitions around 8 and 12 K. Rietveld refinement of the NPD data below the magnetic transition was consistent with the presence of an incommensurate spiral-like (ac-AF2) phase. Finally, a commensurate phase AF1 was not observedmore » down to 2.5 K for all of the samples.« less

Ground-based simulation of the Earth's upper atmosphere oxygen impact on polymer composites with nanosized fillers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Novikov, Lev; Chernik, Vladimir; Voronina, Ekaterina; Chechenin, Nikolay; Samokhina, Maria S.; Bondarenko, Gennady G.; Gaidar, Anna I.; Vorobyeva, Ekaterina A.; Petrov, Dmitrii V.; Chirskaya, Natalia P.

The improvement of durability of polymer composites to the space environment impact is a very important task because these materials are considered currently as very promising type of materials for aerospace engineering. By embedding various nanosized fillers into a polymer matrix it is possible to obtain composites with required mechanical, thermal, electrical and optic properties. However, while developing such materials for operation in low Earth orbits (LEO), it is necessary to study thoroughly their durability to the impact of atomic oxygen (AO) of the Earth’s upper atmosphere, because AO is the main factor that causes erosion and damage of spacecraft surface materials in LEO. Ground-based simulation of AO impact on polymer composites was performed on a magnetoplasmadynamic accelerator developed at Skobeltsyn Institute of Nuclear Physics, Lomonosov Moscow State University. Polymer composite samples which were prepared as films of 30-50 mum thickness with different amount (3-20 wt%) of various inorganic and organic nanofillers including nanoparticles of metal oxides and carbides as well as polyethoxysiloxanes and carbon nanotubes (CNTs), were exposed to hyperthermal AO flow, and mass losses of samples were estimated. Changes in the structure of composite surface and in material optical properties were studied. The experiments demonstrated that embedding nanosized fillers into a polymer matrix can significantly reduced mass losses, and the good dispersion of fillers improves AO durability in comparison with initial polymers [1]. The computer simulation within the developed 2D Monte-Carlo model demonstrated a good agreement with the experimental data [2]. Special attention was given to the study of AO impact on aligned multiwalled CNTs and CNT-based composites [3]. Some results of computer simulation of hyperthermal oxygen atom interaction with CNT and graphene as well as with polymers are presented to discuss elementary processes which occur in nanostructures under AO impact [2,4]. REFERENCES 1. K.B. Vernigorov, A.Yu. Alent'ev, A.M. Muzafarov, L.S. Novikov, V.N. Chernik. J. Surf. Ingestig.-X-Ray Synchro. 5, 263 (2011). 2. E.N. Voronina, L.S. Novikov, V.N. Chernik, et al. Inorg. Mat.: Appl. Res. 3, 95 (2012). 3. N.G. Chechenin, P.N. Chernykh, E.A. Vorobyeva, O.S. Timofeev. Appl. Surf. Science, 275, 217-221 (2013). 4. E.N. Voronina, L.S. Novikov. RSC Adv., 2013, 3 (35), 15362.

Sacrificial template method of fabricating a nanotube

DOEpatents

Yang, Peidong [Berkeley, CA; He, Rongrui [Berkeley, CA; Goldberger, Joshua [Berkeley, CA; Fan, Rong [El Cerrito, CA; Wu, Yi-Ying [Albany, CA; Li, Deyu [Albany, CA; Majumdar, Arun [Orinda, CA

2007-05-01

Methods of fabricating uniform nanotubes are described in which nanotubes were synthesized as sheaths over nanowire templates, such as using a chemical vapor deposition process. For example, single-crystalline zinc oxide (ZnO) nanowires are utilized as templates over which gallium nitride (GaN) is epitaxially grown. The ZnO templates are then removed, such as by thermal reduction and evaporation. The completed single-crystalline GaN nanotubes preferably have inner diameters ranging from 30 nm to 200 nm, and wall thicknesses between 5 and 50 nm. Transmission electron microscopy studies show that the resultant nanotubes are single-crystalline with a wurtzite structure, and are oriented along the <001> direction. The present invention exemplifies single-crystalline nanotubes of materials with a non-layered crystal structure. Similar "epitaxial-casting" approaches could be used to produce arrays and single-crystalline nanotubes of other solid materials and semiconductors. Furthermore, the fabrication of multi-sheath nanotubes are described as well as nanotubes having multiple longitudinal segments.

Characterization of the Phase Composition of Nanosized Lithium Titanates Synthesized by Inductive Thermal Plasma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Quesnel, François; Soucy, Gervais; Veilleux, Jocelyn; Hovington, Pierre; Zhu, Wen; Zaghib, Karim

The properties of lithium titanates anodes in Li-ion batteries are highly dependent on their secondary constituents. While their main phase is usually constituted of Li4Ti5O12, significant quantity of lithium titanates compounds of various stoichiometry are often present, due to either the processing, usage or aging of the material. These may go underreported, as many of these spectrums overlap or display low signal in X-ray diffraction (XRD). Samples of nanosized lithium titanates synthetized by inductive plasma were characterized by XRD and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), as they provide a regular yet typical crystallite size and shape including multiple phases. A Rietveld refinement was developed to extract the composition of these samples. Mass balance through further annealing and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) enthalpy measurements from phase transformations were also used as identification and validation techniques.

Dopant-specific unzipping of carbon nanotubes for intact crystalline graphene nanostructures

PubMed Central

Lim, Joonwon; Narayan Maiti, Uday; Kim, Na-Young; Narayan, Rekha; Jun Lee, Won; Sung Choi, Dong; Oh, Youngtak; Min Lee, Ju; Yong Lee, Gil; Hun Kang, Seok; Kim, Hyunwoo; Kim, Yong-Hyun; Ouk Kim, Sang

2016-01-01

Atomic level engineering of graphene-based materials is in high demand to enable customize structures and properties for different applications. Unzipping of the graphene plane is a potential means to this end, but uncontrollable damage of the two-dimensional crystalline framework during harsh unzipping reaction has remained a key challenge. Here we present heteroatom dopant-specific unzipping of carbon nanotubes as a reliable and controllable route to customized intact crystalline graphene-based nanostructures. Substitutional pyridinic nitrogen dopant sites at carbon nanotubes can selectively initiate the unzipping of graphene side walls at a relatively low electrochemical potential (0.6 V). The resultant nanostructures consisting of unzipped graphene nanoribbons wrapping around carbon nanotube cores maintain the intact two-dimensional crystallinity with well-defined atomic configuration at the unzipped edges. Large surface area and robust electrical connectivity of the synergistic nanostructure demonstrate ultrahigh-power supercapacitor performance, which can serve for AC filtering with the record high rate capability of −85° of phase angle at 120 Hz. PMID:26796993

Investigation of phase diagrams for cylindrical Ising nanotube using cellular automata

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Astaraki, M.; Ghaemi, M.; Afzali, K.

2018-05-01

Recent developments in the field of applied nanoscience and nanotechnology have heightened the need for categorizing various characteristics of nanostructures. In this regard, this paper establishes a novel method to investigate magnetic properties (phase diagram and spontaneous magnetization) of a cylindrical Ising nanotube. Using a two-layer Ising model and the core-shell concept, the interactions within nanotube has been modelled. In the model, both ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic cases have been considered. Furthermore, the effect of nanotube's length on the critical temperature is investigated. The model has been simulated using cellular automata approach and phase diagrams were constructed for different values of inter- and intra-layer couplings. For the antiferromagnetic case, the possibility of existence of compensation point is observed.

Selective Localization and Migration of Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes in Blends of Polycarbonate and Poly(styrene-acrylonitrile).

PubMed

Göldel, Andreas; Kasaliwal, Gaurav; Pötschke, Petra

2009-03-19

Multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) have been introduced into blends of polycarbonate (PC) and poly(styrene-acrylonitrile) (SAN) by melt mixing in a microcompounder. Co-continuous blends are prepared by either pre-compounding low amounts of nanotubes into PC or SAN or by mixing all three components together. Interestingly, in all blends, regardless of the way of introducing the nanotubes, the MWNTs were exclusively located within the PC phase, which resulted in much lower electrical resistivities as compared to PC or SAN composites with the same MWNT content. The migration of MWNTs from the SAN phase into the PC phase during common mixing is explained by interfacial effects. Copyright © 2009 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Elemental selenium at nano size (Nano-Se) as a potential chemopreventive agent with reduced risk of selenium toxicity: comparison with se-methylselenocysteine in mice.

PubMed

Zhang, Jinsong; Wang, Xufang; Xu, Tongwen

2008-01-01

Selenium (Se) is an essential trace element with a narrow margin between beneficial and toxic effects. As a promising chemopreventive agent, its use requires consumption over the long term, so the toxicity of Se is always a crucial concern. Based on clinical findings and recent studies in selenoprotein gene-modified mice, it is likely that the antioxidant function of one or more selenoproteins is responsible for the chemopreventive effect of Se. Furthermore, upregulation of phase 2 enzymes by Se has been implicated as a possible chemopreventive mechanism at supranutritional dietary levels. Se-methylselenocysteine (SeMSC), a naturally occurring organic Se product, is considered as one of the most effective chemopreventive selenocompounds. The present study revealed that, as compared with SeMSC, elemental Se at nano size (Nano-Se) possessed equal efficacy in increasing the activities of glutathione peroxidase, thioredoxin reductase, and glutathione S-transferase, but had much lower toxicity as indicated by median lethal dose, acute liver injury, survival rate, and short-term toxicity. Our results suggest that Nano-Se can serve as a potential chemopreventive agent with reduced risk of Se toxicity.

A Structural Model for a Self-Assembled Nanotube Provides Insight into Its Exciton Dynamics

PubMed Central

2016-01-01

The design and synthesis of functional self-assembled nanostructures is frequently an empirical process fraught with critical knowledge gaps about atomic-level structure in these noncovalent systems. Here, we report a structural model for a semiconductor nanotube formed via the self-assembly of naphthalenediimide-lysine (NDI-Lys) building blocks determined using experimental 13C–13C and 13C–15N distance restraints from solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance supplemented by electron microscopy and X-ray powder diffraction data. The structural model reveals a two-dimensional-crystal-like architecture of stacked monolayer rings each containing ∼50 NDI-Lys molecules, with significant π-stacking interactions occurring both within the confines of the ring and along the long axis of the tube. Excited-state delocalization and energy transfer are simulated for the nanotube based on time-dependent density functional theory and an incoherent hopping model. Remarkably, these calculations reveal efficient energy migration from the excitonic bright state, which is in agreement with the rapid energy transfer within NDI-Lys nanotubes observed previously using fluorescence spectroscopy. PMID:26120375

Diffusion of multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) through a high density polyethylene (HDPE) geomembrane.

PubMed

Saheli, P T; Rowe, R K; Petersen, E J; O'Carroll, D M

2017-05-01

The new applications for carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in various fields and consequently their greater production volume have increased their potential release to the environment. Landfills are one of the major locations where carbon nanotubes are expected to be disposed and it is important to ensure that they can limit the release of CNTs. Diffusion of multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) dispersed in an aqueous media through a high-density polyethylene (HDPE) geomembrane (as a part of the landfill barrier system) was examined. Based on the laboratory tests, the permeation coefficient was estimated to be less than 5.1×10 -15 m 2 /s. The potential performance of a HDPE geomembrane and geosynthetic clay liner (GCL) as parts of a composite liner in containing MWCNTs was modelled for six different scenarios. The results suggest that the low value of permeation coefficient of an HDPE geomembrane makes it an effective diffusive barrier for MWCNTs and by keeping the geomembrane defects to minimum during the construction (e.g., number of holes and length of wrinkles) a composite liner commonly used in municipal solid waste landfills will effectively contain MWCNTs.

Surface-charge-governed electrolyte transport in carbon nanotubes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xue, Jian-Ming; Guo, Peng; Sheng, Qian

2015-08-01

The transport behavior of pressure-driven aqueous electrolyte solution through charged carbon nanotubes (CNTs) is studied by using molecular dynamics simulations. The results reveal that the presence of charges around the nanotube can remarkably reduce the flow velocity as well as the slip length of the aqueous solution, and the decreasing of magnitude depends on the number of surface charges and distribution. With 1-M KCl solution inside the carbon nanotube, the slip length decreases from 110 nm to only 14 nm when the number of surface charges increases from 0 to 12 e. This phenomenon is attributed to the increase of the solid-liquid friction force due to the electrostatic interaction between the charges and the electrolyte particles, which can impede the transports of water molecules and electrolyte ions. With the simulation results, we estimate the energy conversion efficiency of nanofluidic battery based on CNTs, and find that the highest efficiency is only around 30% but not 60% as expected in previous work. Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 11375031 and 11335003).

Epitaxial insertion of gold silicide nanodisks during the growth of silicon nanowires.

PubMed

Um, Han-Don; Jee, Sang-Won; Park, Kwang-Tae; Jung, Jin-Young; Guo, Zhongyi; Lee, Jung-Ho

2011-07-01

Nanodisk-shaped, single-crystal gold silicide heterojunctions were inserted into silicon nanowires during vapor-liquid-solid growth using Au as a catalyst within a specific range of chlorine-to-hydrogen atomic ratio. The mechanism of nanodisk formation has been investigated by changing the source gas ratio of SiCl4 to H2. We report that an over-supply of silicon into the Au-Si liquid alloy leads to highly supersaturated solution and enhances the precipitation of Au in the silicon nanowires due to the formation of unstable phases within the liquid alloy. It is shown that the gold precipitates embedded in the silicon nanowires consisted of a metastable gold silicide. Interestingly, faceting of gold silicide was observed at the Au/Si interfaces, and silicon nanowires were epitaxially grown on the top of the nanodisk by vapor-liquid-solid growth. High resolution transmission electron microscopy confirmed that gold silicide nanodisks are epitaxially connected to the silicon nanowires in the direction of growth direction. These gold silicide nanodisks would be useful as nanosized electrical junctions for future applications in nanowire interconnections.

One step shift towards flexible supercapacitors based on carbon nanotubes - A review

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

Yar, A., E-mail: asfandyarhargan@gmail.com, E-mail: johndennis@petronas.com.my, E-mail: noranimuti-mohamed@petronas.com.my, E-mail: asad-032@yahoo.com, E-mail: imrancssp@gmail.com; Dennis, J. O., E-mail: asfandyarhargan@gmail.com, E-mail: johndennis@petronas.com.my, E-mail: noranimuti-mohamed@petronas.com.my, E-mail: asad-032@yahoo.com, E-mail: imrancssp@gmail.com; Mohamed, N. M., E-mail: asfandyarhargan@gmail.com, E-mail: johndennis@petronas.com.my, E-mail: noranimuti-mohamed@petronas.com.my, E-mail: asad-032@yahoo.com, E-mail: imrancssp@gmail.com

2014-10-24

Supercapacitors have emerged as prominent energy storage devices that offer high energy density compared to conventional capacitors and high power density which is not found in batteries. Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) because of their high surface area and tremendous electrical properties are used as electrode material for supercapacitors. In this review we focused on the factors like surface area, role of the electrolyte and techniques adopted to improve performance of CNTs based supercapacitors. The supercapacitors are widely tested in liquid electrolytes which are normally hazardous in nature, toxic, flammable and their leakage has safety concerns. This review also focuses on researchmore » which is replacing these unsafe electrolytes by solid electrolytes with the combination of low cost CNTs deposited flexible supports for supercapacitors.« less

Nanotube Surface Arrays: Weaving, Bending, and Assembling on Patterned Silicon

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tsukruk, Vladimir V.; Ko, Hyunhyub; Peleshanko, Sergiy

2004-02-01

We report the fabrication of ordered arrays of oriented and bent carbon nanotube on a patterned silicon surface with a micron scale spacing extending over millimeter size surface areas. We suggest that the patterning is controlled by the hydrodynamic behavior of a fluid front and orientation and bending mechanisms are facilitated by the pinned carbon nanotubes trapped by the liquid-solid-vapor contact line. The bending of the pinned nanotubes occurs along the shrinking receding front of the drying microdroplets. The formation of stratified microfluidic layers is vital for stimulating periodic instabilities of the contact line.

Synthesis of nanometer-sized sodalite without adding organic additives.

PubMed

Fan, Wei; Morozumi, Kazumasa; Kimura, Riichiro; Yokoi, Toshiyuki; Okubo, Tatsuya

2008-06-01

Aggregates (80 nm) of sodalite nanocrystals with crystallite sizes ranging from 20 to 40 nm have been synthesized from a sodium aluminosilicate solution at low temperature, without adding any organic additives, while paying attention to the key factors for the synthesis of nanosized zeolite crystals. The physical properties of nanosized sodalite crystals were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, 29Si solid-state magic-angle spinning (MAS) NMR, and N2 adsorption. As expected, the external surface area of nanosized sodalite crystals is significantly increased compared with that of microsized sodalite crystals. The size of synthesized sodalite crystals can be controlled from 20 nm to 10 microm. It is found that the preparation of a homogeneous aluminosilicate solution followed by the formation of an aluminosilicate hard gel by adjusting the initial composition, for example, SiO2/Al2O3 and Na2O/H2O ratios, is critical for synthesis.

Friction-induced structural transformations of the carbide phase in Hadfield steel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Korshunov, L. G.; Sagaradze, V. V.; Chernenko, N. L.; Shabashov, V. A.

2015-08-01

Structural transformations of the carbide phase in Hadfield steel (110G13) that occur upon plastic deformation by dry sliding friction have been studied by methods of optical metallography, X-ray diffraction, and transmission electron microscopy. Deformation is shown to lead to the refinement of the particles of the carbide phase (Fe, Mn)3C to a nanosized level. The effect of the deformation-induced dissolution of (Fe, Mn)3C carbides in austenite of 110G13 (Hadfield) steel has been revealed, which manifests in the appearance of new lines belonging to austenite with an unusually large lattice parameter ( a = 0.3660-0.3680 nm) in the X-ray diffraction patterns of steel tempered to obtain a fine-lamellar carbide phase after deformation. This austenite is the result of the deformation-induced dissolution of disperse (Fe, Mn)3C particles, which leads to the local enrichment of austenite with carbon and manganese. The tempering that leads to the formation of carbide particles in 110G13 steel exerts a negative influence on the strain hardening of the steel, despite the increase in the hardness of steel upon tempering and the development of the processes of the deformation-induced dissolution of the carbide phase, which leads to the strengthening of the γ solid solution.

Rapid prototyping of carbon-based chemiresistive gas sensors on paper

PubMed Central

Mirica, Katherine A.; Azzarelli, Joseph M.; Weis, Jonathan G.; Schnorr, Jan M.; Swager, Timothy M.

2013-01-01

Chemically functionalized carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are promising materials for sensing of gases and volatile organic compounds. However, the poor solubility of carbon nanotubes hinders their chemical functionalization and the subsequent integration of these materials into devices. This manuscript describes a solvent-free procedure for rapid prototyping of selective chemiresistors from CNTs and graphite on the surface of paper. This procedure enables fabrication of functional gas sensors from commercially available starting materials in less than 15 min. The first step of this procedure involves the generation of solid composites of CNTs or graphite with small molecule selectors—designed to interact with specific classes of gaseous analytes—by solvent-free mechanical mixing in a ball mill and subsequent compression. The second step involves deposition of chemiresistive sensors by mechanical abrasion of these solid composites onto the surface of paper. Parallel fabrication of multiple chemiresistors from diverse composites rapidly generates cross-reactive arrays capable of sensing and differentiating gases and volatile organic compounds at part-per-million and part-per-thousand concentrations. PMID:23942132

Improvement of system capacitance via weavable superelastic biscrolled yarn supercapacitors

PubMed Central

Choi, Changsoon; Kim, Kang Min; Kim, Keon Jung; Lepró, Xavier; Spinks, Geoffrey M.; Baughman, Ray H.; Kim, Seon Jeong

2016-01-01

Yarn-based supercapacitors having improved performance are needed for existing and emerging wearable applications. Here, we report weavable carbon nanotube yarn supercapacitors having high performance because of high loadings of rapidly accessible charge storage particles (above 90 wt% MnO2). The yarn electrodes are made by a biscrolling process that traps host MnO2 nanoparticles within the galleries of helically scrolled carbon nanotube sheets, which provide strength and electrical conductivity. Despite the high loading of brittle metal oxide particles, the biscrolled solid-state yarn supercapacitors are flexible and can be made elastically stretchable (up to 30% strain) by over-twisting to produce yarn coiling. The maximum areal capacitance of the yarn electrodes were up to 100 times higher than for previously reported fibres or yarn supercapacitors. Similarly, the energy density of complete, solid-state supercapacitors made from biscrolled yarn electrodes with gel electrolyte coating were significantly higher than for previously reported fibre or yarn supercapacitors. PMID:27976668

Improvement of system capacitance via weavable superelastic biscrolled yarn supercapacitors.

PubMed

Choi, Changsoon; Kim, Kang Min; Kim, Keon Jung; Lepró, Xavier; Spinks, Geoffrey M; Baughman, Ray H; Kim, Seon Jeong

2016-12-15

Yarn-based supercapacitors having improved performance are needed for existing and emerging wearable applications. Here, we report weavable carbon nanotube yarn supercapacitors having high performance because of high loadings of rapidly accessible charge storage particles (above 90 wt% MnO 2 ). The yarn electrodes are made by a biscrolling process that traps host MnO 2 nanoparticles within the galleries of helically scrolled carbon nanotube sheets, which provide strength and electrical conductivity. Despite the high loading of brittle metal oxide particles, the biscrolled solid-state yarn supercapacitors are flexible and can be made elastically stretchable (up to 30% strain) by over-twisting to produce yarn coiling. The maximum areal capacitance of the yarn electrodes were up to 100 times higher than for previously reported fibres or yarn supercapacitors. Similarly, the energy density of complete, solid-state supercapacitors made from biscrolled yarn electrodes with gel electrolyte coating were significantly higher than for previously reported fibre or yarn supercapacitors.

High temperature in-situ observations of multi-segmented metal nanowires encapsulated within carbon nanotubes by in-situ filling technique.

PubMed

Hayashi, Yasuhiko; Tokunaga, Tomoharu; Iijima, Toru; Iwata, Takuya; Kalita, Golap; Tanemura, Masaki; Sasaki, Katsuhiro; Kuroda, Kotaro

2012-08-08

Multi-segmented one-dimensional metal nanowires were encapsulated within carbon nanotubes (CNTs) through in-situ filling technique during plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition process. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and environmental TEM were employed to characterize the as-prepared sample at room temperature and high temperature. The selected area electron diffractions revealed that the Pd4Si nanowire and face-centered-cubic Co nanowire on top of the Pd nanowire were encapsulated within the bottom and tip parts of the multiwall CNT, respectively. Although the strain-induced deformation of graphite walls was observed, the solid-state phases of Pd4Si and Co-Pd remain even at above their expected melting temperatures and up to 1,550 ± 50°C. Finally, the encapsulated metals were melted and flowed out from the tip of the CNT after 2 h at the same temperature due to the increase of internal pressure of the CNT.

Solid-state synthesis of nano-sized Ba(Ti1- x Sn x )O3 powders and dielectric properties of corresponding ceramics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ansaree, Md. Jawed; Kumar, Upendra; Upadhyay, Shail

2017-06-01

Powders of a few compositions of solid solution BaTi1- x Sn x O3 ( x = 0.0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3 and 0.40) have been synthesized at 800 °C for 8 h using Ba(NO3)2, TiO2 and SnCl4·5H2O as starting materials. The thermogravimetric (TG) and differential scanning calorimetric (DSC) analysis of mixture in the stoichiometric proportion for sample BaTi0.80Sn0.20O3 have been carried out to understand the formation of solid solutions. Single-phase pure compounds (except x = 0.40) of the samples have been obtained at a lower calcination temperature (800 °C) than that of those reported in the literature for traditional solid-state synthesis making use of oxides and or carbonates as starting material (≥1200 °C). Tetragonal symmetry for compositions x = 0.0 and 0.10, cubic for x = 0.2 and 0.30 were found by X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. The transmission electron microscopic (TEM) analysis confirmed that calcined powders have a particle size between 30 and 50 nm. Ceramics of these powders were prepared by sintering at 1350 °C for 4 h. Properties of ceramics obtained in this work have been compared with properties reported in the literature.

Chirality-Controlled Growth of Single-Wall Carbon Nanotubes Using Vapor Phase Epitaxy: Mechanistic Understanding and Scalable Production

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-09-15

controlled synthesis of single-wall carbon nanotubes. Firstly, we have successfully demonstrated a vapor-phase-epitaxy-analogous general strategy for...preselected chirality. Moreover, we carried out systematic investigations of the chirality-dependent growth kinetics and termination mechanism for the... generally believed that the diameters of the nanotubes are determined by the size of the catalytic metal particles. Unfortunately, attempts to control

A comparison of fate and toxicity of selenite, biogenically, and chemically synthesized selenium nanoparticles to zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryogenesis.

PubMed

Mal, Joyabrata; Veneman, Wouter J; Nancharaiah, Y V; van Hullebusch, Eric D; Peijnenburg, Willie J G M; Vijver, Martina G; Lens, Piet N L

2017-02-01

Microbial reduction of selenium (Se) oxyanions to elemental Se is a promising technology for bioremediation and treatment of Se wastewaters. But a fraction of biogenic nano-Selenium (nano-Se b ) formed in bioreactors remains suspended in the treated waters, thus entering the aquatic environment. The present study investigated the toxicity of nano-Se b formed by anaerobic granular sludge biofilms on zebrafish embryos in comparison with selenite and chemogenic nano-Se (nano-Se c ). The nano-Se b formed by granular sludge biofilms showed a LC 50 value of 1.77 mg/L, which was 3.2-fold less toxic to zebrafish embryos than selenite (LC 50  =   0.55 mg/L) and 10-fold less toxic than bovine serum albumin stabilized nano-Se c (LC 50  =   0.16 mg/L). Smaller (nano-Se cs ; particle diameter range: 25-80 nm) and larger (nano-Se cl ; particle diameter range: 50-250 nm) sized chemically synthesized nano-Se c particles showed comparable toxicity on zebrafish embryos. The lower toxicity of nano-Se b in comparison with nano-Se c was analyzed in terms of the stabilizing organic layer. The results confirmed that the organic layer extracted from the nano-Se b consisted of components of the extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) matrix, which govern the physiochemical stability and surface properties like ζ-potential of nano-Se b . Based on the data, it is contented that the presence of humic acid like substances of EPS on the surface of nano-Se b plays a major role in lowering the bioavailability (uptake) and toxicity of nano-Se b by decreasing the interactions between nanoparticles and embryos.

Pilot Inter-Laboratory Studies for Evaluating Weathering-Induced Release of Carbon Nanotubes from Solid Matrices

EPA Science Inventory

Nanomaterials are increasingly being used in polymer composites to enhance the properties of these materials. Here we present results of a pilot inter-laboratory study to simulate the effects of weathering on the potential release of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) from thei...

Irradiation-induced phenomena in carbon nanomaterials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krasheninnikov, Arkady

2008-03-01

The irradiation of solids with energetic particles such as electrons or ions is associated with disorder, normally an undesirable phenomenon. However, recent experiments [for an overview, see A.V Krasheninnikov, F. Banhart, Nature Materials, 6 (2007) 723] on bombardment of carbon nanostructures with energetic particles demonstrate that irradiation can have beneficial effects and that electron or ion beams may serve as tools to change the morphology and tailor mechanical, electronic and even magnetic properties of nanostructured carbon systems. We systematically study irradiation effects in carbon nanotubes and other forms of nano-structured carbon experimentally and theoretically by employing various atomistic models ranging from empirical potentials to time-dependent density functional theory. In my presentation, I will briefly review the recent progress in our understanding of ion-irradiation-induced phenomena in nano-structured carbon and present our recent theoretical [A.V Krasheninnikov, et al., Phys. Rev. Lett., 99 (2007) 016104, A. Tolvanen et al, Appl. Phys. Lett. 91 (2007) 173109.] and experimental [O. Lehtinen et al., to be published] results. I dwell on the ``beneficial'' role of defects and impurities in nanotubes and related systems. Finally, I will present the results of simulations of irradiation-induced pressure build-up inside nanotubes encapsulated with metals [L. Sun, et al., Science 312 (2006) 1199]. Electron irradiation of such composite systems in the transmission electron microscope gives rise to contraction of nanotube shells and thus to high pressure. The irradiation-stimulated pressure can be as high as 40 GPa, which makes it possible to study phase transformations at the nanoscale with high spatial resolution. I will also address the mechanisms of plastic deformation of small metal particles inside carbon shells at high temperatures, which may be important for understanding catalytic growth of carbon nanotubes.

Characterization of solid polymer dispersions of active pharmaceutical ingredients by 19F MAS NMR and factor analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Urbanova, Martina; Brus, Jiri; Sedenkova, Ivana; Policianova, Olivia; Kobera, Libor

In this contribution the ability of 19F MAS NMR spectroscopy to probe structural variability of poorly water-soluble drugs formulated as solid dispersions in polymer matrices is discussed. The application potentiality of the proposed approach is demonstrated on a moderately sized active pharmaceutical ingredient (API, Atorvastatin) exhibiting extensive polymorphism. In this respect, a range of model systems with the API incorporated in the matrix of polvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) was prepared. The extent of mixing of both components was determined by T1(1H) and T1ρ(1H) relaxation experiments, and it was found that the API forms nanosized domains. Subsequently it was found out that the polymer matrix induces two kinds of changes in 19F MAS NMR spectra. At first, this is a high-frequency shift reaching 2-3 ppm which is independent on molecular structure of the API and which results from the long-range polarization of the electron cloud around 19F nucleus induced by electrostatic fields of the polymer matrix. At second, this is broadening of the signals and formation of shoulders reflecting changes in molecular arrangement of the API. To avoid misleading in the interpretation of the recorded 19F MAS NMR spectra, because both the contributions act simultaneously, we applied chemometric approach based on multivariate analysis. It is demonstrated that factor analysis of the recorded spectra can separate both these spectral contributions, and the subtle structural differences in the molecular arrangement of the API in the nanosized domains can be traced. In this way 19F MAS NMR spectra of both pure APIs and APIs in solid dispersions can be directly compared. The proposed strategy thus provides a powerful tool for the analysis of new formulations of fluorinated pharmaceutical substances in polymer matrices.

Influence of media with different acidity on structure of FeNi nanotubes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shumskaya, Alena; Kaniukov, Egor; Kutuzau, Maksim; Bundyukova, Victoria; Tulebayeva, Dinara; Kozlovskiy, Artem; Borgekov, Daryn; Kenzhina, Inesh; Zdorovets, Maxim

2018-04-01

A detailed analysis of the structure features of FeNi nanotubes exposed at environment with different acidity is carried out. It is demonstrated that the exposure of the nanostructures in the environment with high acidity causes the structure deformation, leading to sharply increasing of the presents of oxide phases and partial amorphization of nanotubes walls that determined the rate of FeNi nanotubes destruction. It was established that the evolution of the crystal structure parameters concerned with appearance of oxide phases and with formation of disorder regions as a result of oxidation processes.

Electrochemical synthesis of self-organized TiO2 crystalline nanotubes without annealing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Giorgi, Leonardo; Dikonimos, Theodoros; Giorgi, Rossella; Buonocore, Francesco; Faggio, Giuliana; Messina, Giacomo; Lisi, Nicola

2018-03-01

This work demonstrates that upon anodic polarization in an aqueous fluoride-containing electrolyte, TiO2 nanotube array films can be formed with a well-defined crystalline phase, rather than an amorphous one. The crystalline phase was obtained avoiding any high temperature annealing. We studied the formation of nanotubes in an HF/H2O medium and the development of crystalline grains on the nanotube wall, and we found a facile way to achieve crystalline TiO2 nanotube arrays through a one-step anodization. The crystallinity of the film was influenced by the synthesis parameters, and the optimization of the electrolyte composition and anodization conditions (applied voltage and time) were carried out. For comparison purposes, crystalline anatase TiO2 nanotubes were also prepared by thermal treatment of amorphous nanotubes grown in an organic bath (ethylene glycol/NH4F/H2O). The morphology and the crystallinity of the nanotubes were studied by field emission gun-scanning electron microscopy (FEG-SEM) and Raman spectroscopy, whereas the electrochemical and semiconducting properties were analyzed by means of linear sweep voltammetry, impedance spectroscopy, and Mott-Schottky plots. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS) allowed us to determine the surface composition and the electronic structure of the samples and to correlate them with the electrochemical data. The optimal conditions to achieve a crystalline phase with high donor concentration are defined.

Imaging latex–carbon nanotube composites by subsurface electrostatic force microscopy

DOE PAGES

Patel, Sajan; Petty, Clayton W.; Krafcik, Karen Lee; ...

2016-09-08

Electrostatic modes of atomic force microscopy have shown to be non-destructive and relatively simple methods for imaging conductors embedded in insulating polymers. Here we use electrostatic force microscopy to image the dispersion of carbon nanotubes in a latex-based conductive composite, which brings forth features not observed in previously studied systems employing linear polymer films. A fixed-potential model of the probe-nanotube electrostatics is presented which in principle gives access to the conductive nanoparticle's depth and radius, and the polymer film dielectric constant. Comparing this model to the data results in nanotube depths that appear to be slightly above the film–air interface.more » Furthermore, this result suggests that water-mediated charge build-up at the film–air interface may be the source of electrostatic phase contrast in ambient conditions.« less

Nanostructured Drugs Embedded into a Polymeric Matrix: Vinpocetine/PVP Hybrids Investigated by Debye Function Analysis.

PubMed

Hasa, Dritan; Giacobbe, Carlotta; Perissutti, Beatrice; Voinovich, Dario; Grassi, Mario; Cervellino, Antonio; Masciocchi, Norberto; Guagliardi, Antonietta

2016-09-06

Microcrystalline vinpocetine, coground with cross-linked polyvinylpyrrolidone, affords hybrids containing nanosized drug nanocrystals, the size and size distributions of which depend on milling times and drug-to-polymer weight ratios. Using an innovative approach to microstructural characterization, we analyzed wide-angle X-ray total scattering data by the Debye function analysis and demonstrated the possibility to characterize pharmaceutical solid dispersions obtaining a reliable quantitative view of the physicochemical status of the drug dispersed in an amorphous carrier. The microstructural properties derived therefrom have been successfully employed in reconciling the enigmatic difference in behavior between in vitro and in vivo solubility tests performed on nanosized vinpocetine embedded in a polymeric matrix.

Carbon-Nanotube-Based Thermoelectric Materials and Devices

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

Blackburn, Jeffrey L.; Ferguson, Andrew J.; Cho, Chungyeon

Conversion of waste heat to voltage has the potential to significantly reduce the carbon footprint of a number of critical energy sectors, such as the transportation and electricity-generation sectors, and manufacturing processes. Thermal energy is also an abundant low-flux source that can be harnessed to power portable/wearable electronic devices and critical components in remote off-grid locations. As such, a number of different inorganic and organic materials are being explored for their potential in thermoelectric-energy-harvesting devices. Carbon-based thermoelectric materials are particularly attractive due to their use of nontoxic, abundant source-materials, their amenability to high-throughput solution-phase fabrication routes, and the high specificmore » energy (i.e., W g-1) enabled by their low mass. Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) represent a unique 1D carbon allotrope with structural, electrical, and thermal properties that enable efficient thermoelectric-energy conversion. Here, the progress made toward understanding the fundamental thermoelectric properties of SWCNTs, nanotube-based composites, and thermoelectric devices prepared from these materials is reviewed in detail. This progress illuminates the tremendous potential that carbon-nanotube-based materials and composites have for producing high-performance next-generation devices for thermoelectric-energy harvesting.« less

Carbon-Nanotube-Based Thermoelectric Materials and Devices

DOE PAGES

Blackburn, Jeffrey L.; Ferguson, Andrew J.; Cho, Chungyeon; ...

2018-01-22

Conversion of waste heat to voltage has the potential to significantly reduce the carbon footprint of a number of critical energy sectors, such as the transportation and electricity-generation sectors, and manufacturing processes. Thermal energy is also an abundant low-flux source that can be harnessed to power portable/wearable electronic devices and critical components in remote off-grid locations. As such, a number of different inorganic and organic materials are being explored for their potential in thermoelectric-energy-harvesting devices. Carbon-based thermoelectric materials are particularly attractive due to their use of nontoxic, abundant source-materials, their amenability to high-throughput solution-phase fabrication routes, and the high specificmore » energy (i.e., W g-1) enabled by their low mass. Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) represent a unique 1D carbon allotrope with structural, electrical, and thermal properties that enable efficient thermoelectric-energy conversion. Here, the progress made toward understanding the fundamental thermoelectric properties of SWCNTs, nanotube-based composites, and thermoelectric devices prepared from these materials is reviewed in detail. This progress illuminates the tremendous potential that carbon-nanotube-based materials and composites have for producing high-performance next-generation devices for thermoelectric-energy harvesting.« less

Carbon-Nanotube-Based Thermoelectric Materials and Devices.

PubMed

Blackburn, Jeffrey L; Ferguson, Andrew J; Cho, Chungyeon; Grunlan, Jaime C

2018-03-01

Conversion of waste heat to voltage has the potential to significantly reduce the carbon footprint of a number of critical energy sectors, such as the transportation and electricity-generation sectors, and manufacturing processes. Thermal energy is also an abundant low-flux source that can be harnessed to power portable/wearable electronic devices and critical components in remote off-grid locations. As such, a number of different inorganic and organic materials are being explored for their potential in thermoelectric-energy-harvesting devices. Carbon-based thermoelectric materials are particularly attractive due to their use of nontoxic, abundant source-materials, their amenability to high-throughput solution-phase fabrication routes, and the high specific energy (i.e., W g -1 ) enabled by their low mass. Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) represent a unique 1D carbon allotrope with structural, electrical, and thermal properties that enable efficient thermoelectric-energy conversion. Here, the progress made toward understanding the fundamental thermoelectric properties of SWCNTs, nanotube-based composites, and thermoelectric devices prepared from these materials is reviewed in detail. This progress illuminates the tremendous potential that carbon-nanotube-based materials and composites have for producing high-performance next-generation devices for thermoelectric-energy harvesting. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Nitrogen doped carbon derived from polyimide/multiwall carbon nanotube composites for high performance flexible all-solid-state supercapacitors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Dae Kyom; Kim, Nam Dong; Park, Seung-Keun; Seong, Kwang-dong; Hwang, Minsik; You, Nam-Ho; Piao, Yuanzhe

2018-03-01

Flexible all-solid-state supercapacitors are desirable as potential energy storage systems for wearable technologies. Herein, we synthesize aminophenyl multiwall carbon nanotube (AP-MWCNT) grafted polyimide precursor by in situ polymerization method as a nitrogen-doped carbon precursor. Flexible supercapacitor electrodes are fabricated via a coating of carbon precursor on carbon cloth surface and carbonization at high temperature directly. The as-obtained electrodes, which can be directly used without any binders or additives, can deliver a high specific capacitance of 333.4 F g-1 at 1 A g-1 (based on active material mass) and excellent cycle stability with 103% capacitance retention after 10,000 cycles in a three-electrode system. The flexible all-solid-state supercapacitor device exhibits a high volumetric capacitance of 3.88 F cm-3 at a current density of 0.02 mA cm-3. And also the device can deliver a maximum volumetric energy density of 0.50 mWh cm-3 and presents good cycling stability with 85.3% capacitance retention after 10,000 cycles. This device cell can not only show extraordinary mechanical flexibilities allowing folding, twisting, and rolling but also demonstrate remarkable stable electrochemical performances under their forms. This work provides a novel approach to obtain carbon textile-based flexible supercapacitors with high electrochemical performance and mechanical flexibility.

B-site cation order/disorder and their valence states in Ba3MnNb2O9 perovskite oxide

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xin, Yan; Huang, Qing; Shafieizadeh, Zahra; Zhou, Haidong

2018-06-01

Polycrystalline samples Ba3MnNb2O9 synthesized by solid state reaction and single crystal samples grown by optical floating zone have been characterized using scanning transmission electron microscopy and electron energy loss spectroscopy. Three types of B-site Mn and Nb ordering phase are observed: fully ordered 1Mn:2Nb; fully disordered; nano-sized 1Mn:1Nb ordered. No electronic structure change for crystals with different ordering/disordering. The Mn valence is determined to be 2+, and Nb valence is 5+. Oxygen 2p orbitals hybridize with Mn 3d and Nb 4d orbitals. Factors that affect the electron energy loss near edge structures of transition metal white-lines in electron energy loss spectroscopy are explicitly illustrated and discussed.

New effects in Langmuir and Langmuir-Blodgett monolayers from fluorescently labelled phospholipids and their possible use for water quality control

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ivanov, G. R.; Geshev, N. I.

2016-02-01

Secondary water contamination poses significant challenges to the sensitivity and selectivity of sensors used for its detection and monitoring. Currently only lab tests can detect these contaminants and by the time this happens the contaminated water has entered the city water supply system. Fluorescent chromophore NitroBenzoxaDiazole (NBD) is very suitable and had been successfully used in biosensor applications due to its high sensitivity to close proximity polarity of the medium. Over the years we have discovered 3 new effects in NBD- labelled phospholipids which can significantly improve the performance of biosensors. The phospholipid matrix provides flexible biocompatible environment for immobilization of selectively reacting enzymes, microorganisms, DNA, immunoagents, whole cells. Use of single layer (3.1 nm thickness) films at the air-water interface (Langmuir films) or deposited on solid support as Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) film gives fast response times for real time monitoring (no slow diffusion processes) and precise molecule ordering and orientation. The first new effect was fluorescence self-quenching in Langmuir and LB films. In the liquid phase films exhibit normal fluorescence. Upon transition to solid phase fluorescence intensity is almost completely self-quenched and fluorescence lifetimes in the nanosecond region decrease 2 times. This is easily measured. Usually large heavy metal atoms quench fluorescence. We observed the opposite new effect when LB film is deposited in the solid phase from a subphase containing heavy metals. The third new effect is the obtaining of nanosized cylinders with bilayer thickness, which remain stable at least for months, when LB monolayer is deposited in the phase coexistence region at thermodynamic equilibrium. This greatly increases reacting surface and sensitivity of possible sensors. Almost all possible optical experimental methods were used for this research. This includes polarized ATR FTIR and polarized UV-VIS spectroscopies, Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging Microscopy (FLIM), Scanning Near-field Optical Microscopy (SNOM).

Nonlinear threshold effect in the Z-scan method of characterizing limiters for high-intensity laser light

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

Tereshchenko, S. A., E-mail: tsa@miee.ru; Savelyev, M. S.; Podgaetsky, V. M.

A threshold model is described which permits one to determine the properties of limiters for high-powered laser light. It takes into account the threshold characteristics of the nonlinear optical interaction between the laser beam and the limiter working material. The traditional non-threshold model is a particular case of the threshold model when the limiting threshold is zero. The nonlinear characteristics of carbon nanotubes in liquid and solid media are obtained from experimental Z-scan data. Specifically, the nonlinear threshold effect was observed for aqueous dispersions of nanotubes, but not for nanotubes in solid polymethylmethacrylate. The threshold model fits the experimental Z-scanmore » data better than the non-threshold model. Output characteristics were obtained that integrally describe the nonlinear properties of the optical limiters.« less

Flexible robust binder-free carbon nanotube membranes for solid state and microcapacitor application

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Adu, Kofi; Ma, Danhao; Wang, Yuxiang; Spencer, Michael; Rajagopalan, Ramakrishnan; Wang, C.-Yu; Randall, Clive

2018-01-01

We present a liquid phase post synthesis self-assemble protocol that transforms trillions of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in powder form into densely packed flexible, robust and binder-free macroscopic membranes with a hierarchical pore structure. We employ charge transfer engineering to spontaneously disperse the CNTs in a liquid medium. The processing protocol has limited or no impact on the intrinsic properties of the CNTs. As the thickness of the CNT membrane is increased, we observed a gradual transition from high flexibility to buckling and brittleness in the flexural properties of the membranes. The binder-free CNT membranes have bulk mass density greater than that of water (1.0 g cm-3). We correlate the mass of the CNTs in the membrane to the thickness of the membrane and obtained a bulk mass density of ˜1.11 g cm-3 ± 0.03 g cm-3. We demonstrate the use of the CNT membranes as electrode in a pristine and oxidized single/stacked solid-state capacitor as well as pristine interdigitated microcapacitor that show time constant of ˜32 ms with no degradation in performance even after 10 000 cycles. The capacitors show very good temperature dependence over a wide range of temperatures with good cycling performance up to 90 °C. The specific capacitance of the pseudocapacitive CNT electrode at room temperature was 72 F g-1 and increased to 100 F g-1 at 70 °C. The leakage current of bipolar stacked solid state capacitor was ˜100 nA cm-2 at 2.5 V when held for 72 h.

Optically controlled dielectric properties of single-walled carbon nanotubes for terahertz wave applications.

PubMed

Smirnov, Serguei; Anoshkin, Ilya V; Demchenko, Petr; Gomon, Daniel; Lioubtchenko, Dmitri V; Khodzitsky, Mikhail; Oberhammer, Joachim

2018-06-21

Materials with tunable dielectric properties are valuable for a wide range of electronic devices, but are often lossy at terahertz frequencies. Here we experimentally report the tuning of the dielectric properties of single-walled carbon nanotubes under light illumination. The effect is demonstrated by measurements of impedance variations at low frequency as well as complex dielectric constant variations in the wide frequency range of 0.1-1 THz by time domain spectroscopy. We show that the dielectric constant is significantly modified for varying light intensities. The effect is also practically applied to phase shifters based on dielectric rod waveguides, loaded with carbon nanotube layers. The carbon nanotubes are used as tunable impedance surface controlled by light illumination, in the frequency range of 75-500 GHz. These results suggest that the effect of dielectric constant tuning with light, accompanied by low transmission losses of the carbon nanotube layer in such an ultra-wide band, may open up new directions for the design and fabrication of novel Terahertz and optoelectronic devices.

Metallic → Semiconducting transitions in HX(X=F, Br, Cl) adsorbed (5,5) and (7,7) carbon nanotubes: DFT study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Srivastava, Reena; Shrivastava, Sadhana; Srivastava, Anurag

2018-05-01

The edge sensitivity of two different chirality (5,5) and (7,7) armchair carbon nanotubes towards toxic hydrogen halides (HF, HBr and HCl) has been analyzed by using density functional theory based ab-initio approach. The edge sensitivity has been discussed in terms of the variations in the electronic band structure of (5,5) and (7,7) carbon nanotube. The observation shows metallic to semiconducting phase transition in HF and HBr adsorbed (5,5) CNT, whereas for HCl adsorbed, it is more metallic. Whereas HBr and HCl adsorbed (7,7) CNT confirms metallic→semiconducting transition and shows diameter dependence of properties of CNTs.

Solid state carbon nanotube device for controllable trion electroluminescence emission

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liang, Shuang; Ma, Ze; Wei, Nan; Liu, Huaping; Wang, Sheng; Peng, Lian-Mao

2016-03-01

Semiconducting carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have a direct chirality-dependent bandgap and reduced dimensionality-related quantum confinement effects, which are closely related to the performance of optoelectronic devices. Here, taking advantage of the large energy separations between neutral singlet excitons and charged excitons, i.e. trions in CNTs, we have achieved for the first time all trion electroluminescence (EL) emission from chirality-sorted (8,3) and (8,4) CNT-based solid state devices. We showed that strong trion emission can be obtained as a result of localized impact excitation and electrically injected holes, with an estimated efficiency of ~5 × 10-4 photons per injected hole. The importance of contact-controlled carrier injection (including symmetric and asymmetric contact configurations) and EL spectral stability for gradually increasing bias were also investigated. The realization of electrically induced pure trion emission opens up a new opportunity for CNT film-based optoelectronic devices, providing a new degree of freedom in controlling the devices to extend potential applications in spin or magnetic optoelectronics fields.Semiconducting carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have a direct chirality-dependent bandgap and reduced dimensionality-related quantum confinement effects, which are closely related to the performance of optoelectronic devices. Here, taking advantage of the large energy separations between neutral singlet excitons and charged excitons, i.e. trions in CNTs, we have achieved for the first time all trion electroluminescence (EL) emission from chirality-sorted (8,3) and (8,4) CNT-based solid state devices. We showed that strong trion emission can be obtained as a result of localized impact excitation and electrically injected holes, with an estimated efficiency of ~5 × 10-4 photons per injected hole. The importance of contact-controlled carrier injection (including symmetric and asymmetric contact configurations) and EL spectral stability for gradually increasing bias were also investigated. The realization of electrically induced pure trion emission opens up a new opportunity for CNT film-based optoelectronic devices, providing a new degree of freedom in controlling the devices to extend potential applications in spin or magnetic optoelectronics fields. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available. See DOI: 10.1039/c5nr07468a

Porous honeycomb structures formed from interconnected MnO2 sheets on CNT-coated substrates for flexible all-solid-state supercapacitors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ko, Wen-Yin; Chen, You-Feng; Lu, Ke-Ming; Lin, Kuan-Jiuh

2016-01-01

The use of lightweight and easily-fabricated MnO2/carbon nanotube (CNT)-based flexible networks as binder-free electrodes and a polyvinyl alcohol/H2SO4 electrolyte for the formation of stretchable solid-state supercapacitors was examined. The active electrodes were fabricated from 3D honeycomb porous MnO2 assembled from cross-walled and interconnected sheet-architectural MnO2 on CNT-based plastic substrates (denoted as honeycomb MnO2/CNT textiles).These substrates were fabricated through a simple two-step procedure involving the coating of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) onto commercial textiles by a dipping-drying process and subsequent electrodeposition of the interconnected MnO2 sheets onto the MWCNT-coated textile. With such unique MnO2 architectures integrated onto CNT flexible films, good performance was achieved with a specific capacitance of 324 F/g at 0.5 A/g. A maximum energy density of 7.2 Wh/kg and a power density as high as 3.3 kW/kg were exhibited by the honeycomb MnO2/CNT network device, which is comparable to the performance of other carbon-based and metal oxide/carbon-based solid-state supercapacitor devices. Specifically, the long-term cycling stability of this material is excellent, with almost no loss of its initial capacitance and good Coulombic efficiency of 82% after 5000 cycles. These impressive results identify these materials as a promising candidate for use in environmentally friendly, low-cost, and high-performance flexible energy-storage devices.

Porous honeycomb structures formed from interconnected MnO2 sheets on CNT-coated substrates for flexible all-solid-state supercapacitors

PubMed Central

Ko, Wen-Yin; Chen, You-Feng; Lu, Ke-Ming; Lin, Kuan-Jiuh

2016-01-01

The use of lightweight and easily-fabricated MnO2/carbon nanotube (CNT)-based flexible networks as binder-free electrodes and a polyvinyl alcohol/H2SO4 electrolyte for the formation of stretchable solid-state supercapacitors was examined. The active electrodes were fabricated from 3D honeycomb porous MnO2 assembled from cross-walled and interconnected sheet-architectural MnO2 on CNT-based plastic substrates (denoted as honeycomb MnO2/CNT textiles).These substrates were fabricated through a simple two-step procedure involving the coating of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) onto commercial textiles by a dipping-drying process and subsequent electrodeposition of the interconnected MnO2 sheets onto the MWCNT-coated textile. With such unique MnO2 architectures integrated onto CNT flexible films, good performance was achieved with a specific capacitance of 324 F/g at 0.5 A/g. A maximum energy density of 7.2 Wh/kg and a power density as high as 3.3 kW/kg were exhibited by the honeycomb MnO2/CNT network device, which is comparable to the performance of other carbon-based and metal oxide/carbon-based solid-state supercapacitor devices. Specifically, the long-term cycling stability of this material is excellent, with almost no loss of its initial capacitance and good Coulombic efficiency of 82% after 5000 cycles. These impressive results identify these materials as a promising candidate for use in environmentally friendly, low-cost, and high-performance flexible energy-storage devices. PMID:26726724

Heat transfer nanofluid based on curly ultra-long multi-wall carbon nanotubes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boncel, Sławomir; Zniszczoł, Aurelia; Pawlyta, Mirosława; Labisz, Krzysztof; Dzido, Grzegorz

2018-02-01

The main challenge in the use of multi-wall carbon nanotube (MWCNT) as key components of nanofluids is to transfer excellent thermal properties from individual nanotubes into the bulk systems. We present studies on the performance of heat transfer nanofluids based on ultra-long ( 2 mm), curly MWCNTs - in the background of various other nanoC-sp2, i.e. oxidized MWCNTs, commercially available Nanocyl™ MWCNTs and spherical carbon nanoparticles (SCNs). The nanofluids prepared via ultrasonication from water and propylene glycol were studied in terms of heat conductivity and heat transfer in a scaled up thermal circuit containing a copper helical heat exchanger. Ultra-long curly MWCNT (1 wt.%) nanofluids (stabilized with Gum Arabic in water) emerged as the most thermally conducting ones with a 23-30%- and 39%-enhancement as compared to the base-fluids for water and propylene glycol, respectively. For turbulent flows ( Re = 8000-11,000), the increase of heat transfer coefficient for the over-months stable 1 wt.% ultra-long MWCNT nanofluid was found as high as >100%. The findings allow to confirm that longer MWCNTs are promising solid components in nanofluids and hence to predict their broader application in heat transfer media.

Assessment of the adsorption mechanism of Flutamide anticancer drug on the functionalized single-walled carbon nanotube surface as a drug delivery vehicle: An alternative theoretical approach based on DFT and MD

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kamel, Maedeh; Raissi, Heidar; Morsali, Ali; Shahabi, Mahnaz

2018-03-01

In the present work, we have studied the drug delivery performance of the functionalized (5, 5) single-walled carbon nanotube with a carboxylic acid group for Flutamide anticancer drug in the gas phase as well as water solution by means of density functional theory calculations. The obtained results confirmed the energetic stability of the optimized geometries and revealed that the nature of drug adsorption on the functionalized carbon nanotube is physical. Our computations showed that the hydrogen bonding between active sites of Flutamide molecule and the carboxyl functional group of the nanotube plays a vital role in the stabilization of the considered configurations. The natural bond orbital analysis suggested that the functionalized nanotube plays the role of an electron donor and Flutamide molecule acts as an electron acceptor at the investigated complexes. In addition, molecular dynamics simulation is also utilized to investigate the effect of functionalized carbon nanotube chirality on the dynamic process of drug molecule adsorption on the nanotube surface. Simulation results demonstrated that drug molecules are strongly adsorbed on the functionalized nanotube surface with (10,5) chirality, as reflected by the most negative van der Waals interaction energy and a high number of hydrogen bonds between the functionalized nanotube and drug molecules.

Enhanced photocatalytic activity of graphitic carbon nitride/carbon nanotube/Bi2WO6 ternary Z-scheme heterojunction with carbon nanotube as efficient electron mediator.

PubMed

Jiang, Deli; Ma, Wanxia; Xiao, Peng; Shao, Leqiang; Li, Di; Chen, Min

2018-02-15

All-solid-state Z-scheme heterojunction has attracted much attention in photocatalytic field because of its strong ability in charge separation and transfer. In the present study, all-solid-state ternary Z-scheme heterojunction constructed by graphitic carbon nitride (CN) nanosheet, carbon nanotube (CNT), and Bi 2 WO 6 (BWO) nanosheet, in which CNT was employed as the electron mediator. The CN/CNT/BWO ternary Z-scheme heterojunction shows the enhanced photocatalytic activity towards the degradation of tetracycline hydrochloride (TC) as compared to the pristine g-C 3 N 4 , Bi 2 WO 6 , CNT/BWO, CNT/CN, and CN/BWO. The significantly improved photocatalytic activity can be mainly ascribed to the formed CNT-mediated Z-scheme heterojunction, which facilitates the separation and transfer of photogenerated electron-hole pairs. Our work provides a rational design of all-solid-state Z-scheme heterojunction with CNT as the electron mediator for highly efficient photocatalysis. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Carbonaceous materials and their advances as a counter electrode in dye-sensitized solar cells: challenges and prospects.

PubMed

Kouhnavard, Mojgan; Ludin, Norasikin Ahmad; Ghaffari, Babak V; Sopian, Kamarozzaman; Ikeda, Shoichiro

2015-05-11

Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) serve as low-costing alternatives to silicon solar cells because of their low material and fabrication costs. Usually, they utilize Pt as the counter electrode (CE) to catalyze the iodine redox couple and to complete the electric circuit. Given that Pt is a rare and expensive metal, various carbon materials have been intensively investigated because of their low costs, high surface areas, excellent electrochemical stabilities, reasonable electrochemical activities, and high corrosion resistances. In this feature article, we provide an overview of recent studies on the electrochemical properties and photovoltaic performances of carbon-based CEs (e.g., activated carbon, nanosized carbon, carbon black, graphene, graphite, carbon nanotubes, and composite carbon). We focus on scientific challenges associated with each material and highlight recent advances achieved in overcoming these obstacles. Finally, we discuss possible future directions for this field of research aimed at obtaining highly efficient DSSCs. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

In situ formation of titanium carbide using titanium and carbon-nanotube powders by laser cladding

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Savalani, M. M.; Ng, C. C.; Li, Q. H.; Man, H. C.

2012-01-01

Titanium metal matrix composite coatings are considered to be important candidates for high wear resistance applications. In this study, TiC reinforced Ti matrix composite layers were fabricated by laser cladding with 5, 10, 15 and 20 wt% carbon-nanotube. The effects of the carbon-nanotube content on phase composition, microstructure, micro-hardness and dry sliding wear resistance of the coating were studied. Microstructural observation using scanning electron microscopy showed that the coatings consisted of a matrix of alpha-titanium phases and the reinforcement phase of titanium carbide in the form of fine dendrites, indicating that titanium carbide was synthesized by the in situ reaction during laser irradiation. Additionally, measurements on the micro-hardness and dry sliding wear resistance of the coatings indicated that the mechanical properties were affected by the amount of carbon-nanotube in the starting precursor materials and were enhanced by increasing the carbon-nanotube content. Results indicated that the composite layers exhibit high hardness and excellent wear resistance.

Glass/BNNT Composite for Sealing Solid Oxide Fuel Cells

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bansal, Narottam P.; Hurst, Janet B.; Choi, Sung R.

2007-01-01

A material consisting of a barium calcium aluminosilicate glass reinforced with 4 weight percent of boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) has shown promise for use as a sealant in planar solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs).

Electronic properties of high-temperature superconductors and novel carbon-based conductors and superconductors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fuhrer, Michael Sears

This thesis is divided into three sections. The first section discusses the electrical transport properties of a highly anisotropic high temperature superconductor, Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8, in magnetic fields. High temperature superconductivity has greatly expanded the study of vortex matter: the state of the quantized magnetic field excitations, or vortices, in a superconductor. The effects of tilted fields and fields parallel to the planes are studied: striking deviations from the expectations of a simple anisotropic superconductivity model are found, indicating that the layered structure of high temperature superconductors plays a significant role in determining the dynamics and phases of vortex matter. For the case of parallel magnetic fields, the Josephson vortex state, a new phase transition is identified, the melting of the Josephson vortex lattice. A mechanism for Josephson vortex lattice melting is proposed to explain the differences in the phase diagrams from the usual case of Abrikosov vortex lattice melting. The second section discusses experiments on C60-containing solids. A method for growing high quality single crystals of C60 is described. Isotopically pure single crystal samples of the fulleride superconductor Rb3C60 were synthesized in order to measure the carbon isotope effect on superconductivity. By measuring the superconducting transitions in the resistance of single crystals of Rb3C60, the carbon isotope effect was determined with unprecedented accuracy. Measurement of the isotope effect gives essential information for determination of the superconducting parameters, necessary for a complete theoretical picture of superconductivity in this material. New intercalated graphite compounds containing C60, and their electronic properties, are also discussed. The third section discusses the electrical transport and magnetotransport properties of mats of single-walled carbon nanotubes. Single-walled nanotubes are an intriguing new physical system: nanowires of pure carbon with nanometerscale diameters and lengths of microns. The previously unexplained low-temperature properties are shown to be due to localization. The radius of the localized states is determined, and the hopping conduction is found to be three-dimensional in nature. The magnetotransport also agrees with models of variable range hopping in two or greater dimensions, indicating that mats of single-walled nanotubes are well-connected metallic networks.

Development of magnetic micro-solid phase extraction for analysis of phthalate esters in packaged food.

PubMed

Makkliang, Fonthip; Kanatharana, Proespichaya; Thavarungkul, Panote; Thammakhet, Chongdee

2015-01-01

A novel, simple and low cost magnetic multi-walled carbon nanotubes-poly (vinyl alcohol) cryogel-micro-solid phase extraction (magnetic-MWCNTs-PVA cryogel-μ-SPE) sorbent was synthesized by incorporating magnetic particles and MWCNTs into a PVA cryogel. The magnetic-MWCNTs-PVA cryogel-μ-SPE sorbent developed, with a large surface area and macro-porous structure, provided good sorbent-to-sorbent reproducibility (%RSD<8) and each sorbent could be used up to 30 times (%RSD<6). This sorbent was applied for the extraction of dibutyl phthalate (DBP) and di-2-(ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) in packaged food prior to analysis by gas chromatograph coupled with flame ionisation detector (GC-FID). The concentration of DBP and DEHP in hot-water samples from plastic bags were found in the range 0.04-0.15 μg mL(-1) and 0.03-0.20 μg mL(-1), respectively, but only DEHP was found in clear chicken soup samples in the range 0.02-0.07 μg mL(-1). Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Nano-sized graphene flakes: insights from experimental synthesis and first principles calculations.

PubMed

Lin, Pin-Chun; Chen, Yi-Rui; Hsu, Kuei-Ting; Lin, Tzu-Neng; Tung, Kuo-Lun; Shen, Ji-Lin; Liu, Wei-Ren

2017-03-01

In this study, we proposed a cost-effective method for preparing graphene nano-flakes (GNFs) derived from carbon nanotubes (CNTs) via three steps (pressing, homogenization and sonication exfoliation processes). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), laser scattering, as well as ultraviolet-visible and photoluminescence (PL) measurements were carried out. The results indicated that the size of as-synthesized GNFs was approximately 40-50 nm. Furthermore, we also used first principles calculations to understand the transformation from CNTs to GNFs from the viewpoints of the edge formation energies of GNFs in different shapes and sizes. The corresponding photoluminescence measurements of GNFs were carried out in this work.

Effect of heat treatment on the efficient adsorption of Cd2+ ions by nanosized SiO2, TiO2 and their composite

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Waseem, M.; Muntha, S. T.; Nawaz, M.; Rehman, W.; Rehman, M. A.; Shah, K. H.

2017-01-01

In this study nanosized SiO2, TiO2 and their composite were synthesized via the oil in water (o/w) microemulsion method and their thermal treatment was performed at 378, 573, 973 and 1273 K. The physicochemical properties of the samples were studied by surface area measurements, scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infra-red spectroscopy and x-ray diffraction analysis. The Brunauer, Emmett and Teller surface area of all the adsorbents increases from 378 to 573 K, while it decreases upon further heat treatment. The average crystallite size decreases by heating the samples from 378 to 573 K while it increases when the adsorbents were thermally heat treated at 973 and 1273 K. The intensity of a few IR bands was reduced along with the disappearance of most of the bands at higher temperatures. The appearance of the beta-cristobalite phase in SiO2 and the rutile phase in TiO2 was confirmed from the diffraction data. The heat treated samples were subjected to preliminary adsorption of Cd2+ ions from aqueous solution at 293 K. Based on the preliminary adsorption experiments, SiO2, TiO2 and their composite heat treated at 573 K were selected for further adsorption studies. The Langmuir model was found to be fitted to the sorption data of TiO2 and the nanocomposite while the adsorption of Cd2+ ions by the SiO2 nanoparticles was explained well based on the Freundlich model. In the present study, the maximum Cd2+ adsorption capacity of SiO2, TiO2 and their composite was found to be 79.72, 98.55 and 107.17 mg g-1, respectively. The q m and K f values obtained in the present study were found to be far better than those reported in the literature. The negative values of ΔG confirm the feasibility of an adsorption process at higher temperatures. The positive values of ΔH and ΔS represent the endothermic and physical nature of the adsorption process with the increased randomness of Cd2+ ions at the solid/solution interface.

Development of sensing techniques for weaponry health monitoring

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Edwards, Eugene; Ruffin, Paul B.; Walker, Ebonee A.; Brantley, Christina L.

2013-04-01

Due to the costliness of destructive evaluation methods for assessing the aging and shelf-life of missile and rocket components, the identification of nondestructive evaluation methods has become increasingly important to the Army. Verifying that there is a sufficient concentration of stabilizer is a dependable indicator that the missile's double-based solid propellant is viable. The research outlined in this paper summarizes the Army Aviation and Missile Research, Development, and Engineering Center's (AMRDEC's) comparative use of nanoporous membranes, carbon nanotubes, and optical spectroscopic configured sensing techniques for detecting degradation in rocket motor propellant. The first sensing technique utilizes a gas collecting chamber consisting of nanoporous structures that trap the smaller solid propellant particles for measurement by a gas analysis device. In collaboration with NASA-Ames, sensing methods are developed that utilize functionalized single-walled carbon nanotubes as the key sensing element. The optical spectroscopic sensing method is based on a unique light collecting optical fiber system designed to detect the concentration of the propellant stabilizer. Experimental setups, laboratory results, and overall effectiveness of each technique are presented in this paper. Expectations are for the three sensing mechanisms to provide nondestructive evaluation methods that will offer cost-savings and improved weaponry health monitoring.

All-solid-state flexible microsupercapacitors based on reduced graphene oxide/multi-walled carbon nanotube composite electrodes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mao, Xiling; Xu, Jianhua; He, Xin; Yang, Wenyao; Yang, Yajie; Xu, Lu; Zhao, Yuetao; Zhou, Yujiu

2018-03-01

All-solid-state flexible microsupercapacitors have been intensely investigated in order to meet the rapidly growing demands for portable microelectronic devices. Herein, we demonstrate a facile, readily scalable and cost-effective laser induction process for preparing reduced graphene oxide/multi-walled carbon nanotube composite, which can be used as the interdigital electrodes in microsupercapacitors. The obtained composite exhibits high volumetric capacitance about 49.35 F cm-3, which is nearly 5 times higher than that of the pristine reduced graphene oxide film in aqueous 1.0 M H2SO4 solution (measured at a current density of 5 A cm-3 in a three-electrode testing). Additionally, an all-solid-state flexible microsupercapacitor employing these composite electrodes with PVA/H3PO4 gel electrolyte delivers high volumetric energy density of 6.47 mWh cm-3 at 10 mW cm-3 under the current density of 20 mA cm-3 as well as achieve excellent cycling stability retaining 88.6% of its initial value and outstanding coulombic efficiency after 10,000 cycles. Furthermore, the microsupercapacitors array connected in series/parallel can be easily adjusted to achieve the demands in practical applications. Therefore, this work brings a promising new candidate of prepare technologies for all-solid-state flexible microsupercapacitors as miniaturized power sources used in the portable and wearable electronics.

The role of particle size of glyburide crystals in improving its oral absorption.

PubMed

Wang, Yongjun; Yang, Wenqian; Fu, Qiang; Guo, Zhibin; Sun, Bingjun; Liu, Wen; Liu, Yaxuan; Mu, Simeng; Guo, Mengran; Li, Jingru; Pu, Xiaohui; He, Zhonggui

2017-06-01

Currently, nanosizing is becoming increasingly prevalent as an efficient way for the improvement of oral drug absorption. This study mainly focuses on two points, namely the crystal properties, and the in vitro and in vivo characterizations of drug crystals during the nanosizing process. We used glyburide, an oral type 2 diabetes (T2D) medication, as our model drug. We sought to reduce the crystalline size of this drug and evaluate its absorption properties by comparing it with the original coarse drug because of previous reports about its gastrointestinal absorption insufficiency. Glyburide crystals, ranging from 237.6 to 4473 nm were prepared successfully by jet milling and media milling. The particle sizes and the crystal morphology were analyzed by characterization of the solid states, equilibrium solubility, and dissolution behavior. Additionally, pharmacokinetic study was performed in SD rats. The solid state results indicated a loss in crystallinity, amide-imidic acid interconversion, and partial amorphization during nanosizing. Further, in in vitro tests, nanocrystal formulations remarkably increased the solubility and dissolution of the drug (compared to microcrystals). In the in vivo test, reducing the particle size from 601.3 to 312.5 nm showed no improvement on the C max and AUC (0-36 h) values, while a profound slowing of the drug elimination occurred with reduction of particle size. Further reduction from 312.5 to 237.6 nm lead to a significant increase (p < 0.001) of the AUC (0-36 h) from 6857.8 ± 369.3 ng mL -1  h to 12,928.3 ± 1591.4 ng mL -1  h, respectively, in rats. Our present study confirmed that nanosizing has a tremendous impact on promoting the oral absorption of glyburide.

New multifunctional porous materials based on inorganic-organic hybrid single-walled carbon nanotubes: gas storage and high-sensitive detection of pesticides.

PubMed

Wang, Feng; Zhao, Jinbo; Gong, Jingming; Wen, Lili; Zhou, Li; Li, Dongfeng

2012-09-10

Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) that are covalently functionalized with benzoic acid (SWNT-PhCOOH) can be integrated with transition-metal ions to form 3D porous inorganic-organic hybrid frameworks (SWNT-Zn). In particular, N(2)-adsorption analysis shows that the BET surface area increases notably from 645.3 to 1209.9 m(2)  g(-1) for SWNTs and SWNT-Zn, respectively. This remarkable enhancement in the surface area of SWNT-Zn is presumably due to the microporous motifs from benzoates coordinated to intercalated zinc ions between the functionalized SWNTs; this assignment was also corroborated by NLDFT pore-size distributions. In addition, the excess-H(2)-uptake maximum of SWNT-Zn reaches about 3.1 wt. % (12 bar, 77 K), which is almost three times that of the original SWNTs (1.2 wt. % at 12 bar, 77 K). Owing to its inherent conductivity and pore structure, as well as good dispersibility, SWNT-Zn is an effective candidate as a sensitive electrochemical stripping voltammetric sensor for organophosphate pesticides (OPs): By using solid-phase extraction (SPE) with SWNT-Zn-modified glassy carbon electrode, the detection limit of methyl parathion (MP) is 2.3 ng mL(-1). Copyright © 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Influence of acetazolamide loading on the (in vitro) performances of non-phospholipid-based cationic nanosized emulsion in comparison with phospholipid-based anionic and neutral-charged nanosized emulsions.

PubMed

Tamilvanan, Shunmugaperumal; Kumar, Balakrishnan Ajith

2011-09-01

Acetazolamide (ACZM)-loaded anionic, cationic, and neutral-charged oil-in-water nanosized emulsions were prepared and compared with their mean droplet diameter, surface charge, entrapment efficiency, freeze-thaw cycling stability, in vitro drug release, and transcorneal permeation. The present study aims to determine the influence of ACZM loading on the performances of non-phospholipid-based cationic nanosized emulsion in comparison with phospholipid-based anionic and neutral-charged nanosized emulsions. Regardless of charges, all of these emulsions exhibited a nanometer range mean particle diameter (240-443 nm) following autoclave sterilization. While the anionic and cationic emulsions did show high negative (-36.9 mV) and positive zeta potential (+41.4 mV) values, the neutral-charged emulsion did not. Presence of cryoprotectants (5% w/w sucrose + 5% w/w sorbitol) improved the stability of cationic emulsion to droplet aggregation during freeze-thaw cycling. The in vitro release kinetic behavior of drug exchange with physiological anions present in the simulated tear solution appears to be complex and difficult to characterize using mathematical fitting model equations. Augmentation in drug permeation through goat cornea, in vitro, was noticed for cationic emulsion. ACZM-loaded cationic nanosized emulsion could be suitable for topical application into eye to elicit better therapeutic effect in comparison with its anionic and neutral-charged emulsions.

Continuous adjustment of threshold voltage in carbon nanotube field-effect transistors through gate engineering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhong, Donglai; Zhao, Chenyi; Liu, Lijun; Zhang, Zhiyong; Peng, Lian-Mao

2018-04-01

In this letter, we report a gate engineering method to adjust threshold voltage of carbon nanotube (CNT) based field-effect transistors (FETs) continuously in a wide range, which makes the application of CNT FETs especially in digital integrated circuits (ICs) easier. Top-gated FETs are fabricated using solution-processed CNT network films with stacking Pd and Sc films as gate electrodes. By decreasing the thickness of the lower layer metal (Pd) from 20 nm to zero, the effective work function of the gate decreases, thus tuning the threshold voltage (Vt) of CNT FETs from -1.0 V to 0.2 V. The continuous adjustment of threshold voltage through gate engineering lays a solid foundation for multi-threshold technology in CNT based ICs, which then can simultaneously provide high performance and low power circuit modules on one chip.

Carbon nanotube-graphene composite for ionic polymer actuators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Woosung; Choi, Hyonkwang; Choi, Suho; Jeon, Minhyon; Lee, Seung-Yop

2012-05-01

In this paper, we develop a new ionic polymer-metal composite (IPMC) by replacing a typical platinum or gold electrode with a multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWNT)-graphene based electrode. A solvent of MWNT and graphene is formed on both sides of the ionic polymer membranes as electrodes by means of spray coating and baking. Then, the ionic liquid process is performed for actuating in air. The four kinds of IPMC samples with different MWNT-graphene ratios are fabricated with the same solid Nafion film. Experimental results show that the IPMC with a pure MWNT based electrode exhibits higher displacement compared to the conventional IPMC with a platinum electrode. Also, the increment of the ratio of graphene to the MWNT-graphene electrode decreases the resultant displacement but increases the fundamental natural frequency of the polymer actuator.

Synthesis of 1D-glyconanomaterials by a hybrid noncovalent-covalent functionalization of single wall carbon nanotubes: a study of their selective interactions with lectins and with live cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pernía Leal, M.; Assali, M.; Cid, J. J.; Valdivia, V.; Franco, J. M.; Fernández, I.; Pozo, D.; Khiar, N.

2015-11-01

To take full advantage of the remarkable applications of carbon nanotubes in different fields, there is a need to develop effective methods to improve their water dispersion and biocompatibility while maintaining their physical properties. In this sense, current approaches suffer from serious drawbacks such as loss of electronic structure together with low surface coverage in the case of covalent functionalizations, or instability of the dynamic hybrids obtained by non-covalent functionalizations. In the present work, we examined the molecular basis of an original strategy that combines the advantages of both functionalizations without their main drawbacks. The hierarchical self-assembly of diacetylenic-based neoglycolipids into highly organized and compacted rings around the nanotubes, followed by photopolymerization leads to the formation of nanotubes covered with glyconanorings with a shish kebab-type topology exposing the carbohydrate ligands to the water phase in a multivalent fashion. The glyconanotubes obtained are fully functional, and able to establish specific interactions with their cognate receptors. In fact, by taking advantage of this selective binding, an easy method to sense lectins as a working model of toxin detection was developed based on a simple analysis of TEM images. Remarkably, different experimental settings to assess cell membrane integrity, cell growth kinetics and cell cycle demonstrated the cellular biocompatibility of the sugar-coated carbon nanotubes compared to pristine single-walled carbon nanotubes.To take full advantage of the remarkable applications of carbon nanotubes in different fields, there is a need to develop effective methods to improve their water dispersion and biocompatibility while maintaining their physical properties. In this sense, current approaches suffer from serious drawbacks such as loss of electronic structure together with low surface coverage in the case of covalent functionalizations, or instability of the dynamic hybrids obtained by non-covalent functionalizations. In the present work, we examined the molecular basis of an original strategy that combines the advantages of both functionalizations without their main drawbacks. The hierarchical self-assembly of diacetylenic-based neoglycolipids into highly organized and compacted rings around the nanotubes, followed by photopolymerization leads to the formation of nanotubes covered with glyconanorings with a shish kebab-type topology exposing the carbohydrate ligands to the water phase in a multivalent fashion. The glyconanotubes obtained are fully functional, and able to establish specific interactions with their cognate receptors. In fact, by taking advantage of this selective binding, an easy method to sense lectins as a working model of toxin detection was developed based on a simple analysis of TEM images. Remarkably, different experimental settings to assess cell membrane integrity, cell growth kinetics and cell cycle demonstrated the cellular biocompatibility of the sugar-coated carbon nanotubes compared to pristine single-walled carbon nanotubes. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available: Experimental procedures for the synthesis of compounds 12-10, 12-15, 17-20, 22-25, 27-30, NMR spectra, and additional TEM images. See DOI: 10.1039/c5nr05956a

Gradiently Polymerized Solid Electrolyte Meets with Micro/Nano-Structured Cathode Array.

PubMed

Dong, Wei; Zeng, Xian-Xiang; Zhang, Xu-Dong; Li, Jin-Yi; Shi, Ji-Lei; Xiao, Yao; Shi, Yang; Wen, Rui; Yin, Ya-Xia; Wang, Tai-Shan; Wang, Chun-Ru; Guo, Yu-Guo

2018-05-02

The poor contact between the solid-state electrolyte and cathode materials leads to high interfacial resistance, severely limiting the rate capability of solid Li metal batteries. Herein, an integrative battery design is introduced with a gradiently polymerized solid electrolyte (GPSE), a micro-channel current collector array and nano-sized cathode particles. In-situ formed GPSE encapsulates cathode nanoparticles in the micro-channel with ductile inclusions to lower interfacial impedance, and the stiff surface layer of GPSE toward anode suppresses Li dendrites growth. Li metal batteries based on GPSE and Li-free hydrogenated V2O5 (V2O5-H) cathode exhibit an outstanding high-rate response of up to 5 C (the capacity ratio of 5 C / 1 C is 90.3%) and an ultralow capacity fade rate of 0.07% per cycle over 300 cycles. Other Li-containing cathodes as LiFePO4 and LiNi0.5Mn0.3Co0.2O2 can also operate effectively at 5 C and 2 C rate, respectively. Such an ingenious design may provide new insights into other solid metal batteries through interfacial engineering manipulation at micro and nano level.

Developing polymer composite materials: carbon nanotubes or graphene?

PubMed

Sun, Xuemei; Sun, Hao; Li, Houpu; Peng, Huisheng

2013-10-04

The formation of composite materials represents an efficient route to improve the performances of polymers and expand their application scopes. Due to the unique structure and remarkable mechanical, electrical, thermal, optical and catalytic properties, carbon nanotube and graphene have been mostly studied as a second phase to produce high performance polymer composites. Although carbon nanotube and graphene share some advantages in both structure and property, they are also different in many aspects including synthesis of composite material, control in composite structure and interaction with polymer molecule. The resulting composite materials are distinguished in property to meet different applications. This review article mainly describes the preparation, structure, property and application of the two families of composite materials with an emphasis on the difference between them. Some general and effective strategies are summarized for the development of polymer composite materials based on carbon nanotube and graphene. Copyright © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Intrinsic Chirality Origination in Carbon Nanotubes.

PubMed

Pierce, Neal; Chen, Gugang; P Rajukumar, Lakshmy; Chou, Nam Hawn; Koh, Ai Leen; Sinclair, Robert; Maruyama, Shigeo; Terrones, Mauricio; Harutyunyan, Avetik R

2017-10-24

Elucidating the origin of carbon nanotube chirality is key for realizing their untapped potential. Currently, prevalent theories suggest that catalyst structure originates chirality via an epitaxial relationship. Here we studied chirality abundances of carbon nanotubes grown on floating liquid Ga droplets, which excludes the influence of catalyst features, and compared them with abundances grown on solid Ru nanoparticles. Results of growth on liquid droplets bolsters the intrinsic preference of carbon nuclei toward certain chiralities. Specifically, the abundance of the (11,1)/χ = 4.31° tube can reach up to 95% relative to (9,4)/χ = 17.48°, although they have exactly the same diameter, (9.156 Å). However, the comparative abundances for the pair, (19,3)/χ = 7.2° and (17,6)/χ = 14.5°, with bigger diameter, (16.405 Å), fluctuate depending on synthesis temperature. The abundances of the same pairs of tubes grown on floating solid polyhedral Ru nanoparticles show completely different trends. Analysis of abundances in relation to nucleation probability, represented by a product of the Zeldovich factor and the deviation interval of a growing nuclei from equilibrium critical size, explain the findings. We suggest that the chirality in the nanotube in general is a result of interplay between intrinsic preference of carbon cluster and induction by catalyst structure. This finding can help to build the comprehensive theory of nanotube growth and offers a prospect for chirality-preferential synthesis of carbon nanotubes by the exploitation of liquid catalyst droplets.

Pseudo-stir bar hollow fiber solid/liquid phase microextraction combined with anodic stripping voltammetry for determination of lead and cadmium in water samples

PubMed Central

Es’haghi, Zarrin; Hoseini, Hasan Ali; Mohammadi-Nokhandani, Saeed; Ebrahimi, Javad

2013-01-01

A new procedure is presented for the determination of low concentrations of lead and cadmium in water samples. Ligand assisted pseudo-stir bar hollow fiber solid/liquid phase microextraction using sol–gel sorbent reinforced with carbon nanotubes was combined with differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry for simultaneous determination of cadmium and lead in tap water, and Darongar river water samples. In the present work, differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry (DPASV) using a hanging mercury drop electrode (HMDE) was used in order to determine the ultra trace level of lead and cadmium ions in real samples. This method is based on accumulation of lead and cadmium ions on the electrode using different ligands; Quinolin-8-ol, 5,7-diiodo quinoline-8-ol, 4,5-diphenyl-1H-imidazole-2(3H)-one and 2-{[2-(2-Hydroxy-ethylamino)-ethylamino]-methyl}-phenol as the complexing agent. The optimized conditions were obtained. The relationship between the peak current versus concentration was linear over the range of 0.05–500 ng mL−1 for Cd (II) and Pb (II). The limits of detection for lead and cadmium were 0.015 ng mL−1 and 0.012 ng mL−1, respectively. Under the optimized conditions, the pre-concentration factors are 2440 and 3710 for Cd (II) and Pb (II) in 5 mL of water sample, respectively. PMID:25685537

Recent advances in the research of inorganic nanotubes and fullerene-like nanoparticles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tenne, Reshef

2014-06-01

This minireview outlines the main scientific directions in the research of inorganic nanotubes (INT) and fullerene-like (IF) nanoparticles from layered compounds, in recent years. In particular, this review describes to some detail the progress in the synthesis of new nanotubes, including those from misfit compounds; core-shell and the successful efforts to scale-up the synthesis of WS2 multiwall nanotubes. The high-temperature catalytic growth of nanotubes, via solar ablation is discussed as well. Furthermore, the doping of the IF-MoS2 nanoparticles and its influence on the physiochemical properties of the nanoparticles, including their interesting tribological properties are briefly discussed. Finally, the numerous applications of these nanoparticles as superior solid lubricants and for reinforcing variety of polymers are discussed in brief.

A study of the dispersity of iron oxide and iron oxide-noble metal (Me = Pd, Pt) supported systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cherkezova-Zheleva, Z. P.; Shopska, M. G.; Krstić, J. B.; Jovanović, D. M.; Mitov, I. G.; Kadinov, G. B.

2007-09-01

Samples of one-(Fe) and two-component (Fe-Pd and Fe-Pt) catalysts were prepared by incipient wetness impregnation of four different supports: TiO2 (anatase), γ-Al2O3, activated carbon, and diatomite. The chosen synthesis conditions resulted in the formation of nanosized supported phases—iron oxide (in the one-component samples), or iron oxide-noble metal (in the two-component ones). Different agglomeration degrees of these phases were obtained as a result of thermal treatment. Ultradisperse size of the supported phase was maintained in some samples, while a process of partial agglomeration occurred in others, giving rise to nearly bidisperse (ultra-and highdisperse) supported particles. The different texture of the used supports and their chemical composition are the reasons for the different stability of the nanosized supported phases. The samples were tested as heterogeneous catalysts in total benzene oxidation reaction.

Effect of Surfactant Type and Sonication Energy on the Electrical Conductivity Properties of Nanocellulose-CNT Nanocomposite Films.

PubMed

Siljander, Sanna; Keinänen, Pasi; Räty, Anna; Ramakrishnan, Karthik Ram; Tuukkanen, Sampo; Kunnari, Vesa; Harlin, Ali; Vuorinen, Jyrki; Kanerva, Mikko

2018-06-20

We present a detailed study on the influence of sonication energy and surfactant type on the electrical conductivity of nanocellulose-carbon nanotube (NFC-CNT) nanocomposite films. The study was made using a minimum amount of processing steps, chemicals and materials, to optimize the conductivity properties of free-standing flexible nanocomposite films. In general, the NFC-CNT film preparation process is sensitive concerning the dispersing phase of CNTs into a solution with NFC. In our study, we used sonication to carry out the dispersing phase of processing in the presence of surfactant. In the final phase, the films were prepared from the dispersion using centrifugal cast molding. The solid films were analyzed regarding their electrical conductivity using a four-probe measuring technique. We also characterized how conductivity properties were enhanced when surfactant was removed from nanocomposite films; to our knowledge this has not been reported previously. The results of our study indicated that the optimization of the surfactant type clearly affected the formation of freestanding films. The effect of sonication energy was significant in terms of conductivity. Using a relatively low 16 wt. % concentration of multiwall carbon nanotubes we achieved the highest conductivity value of 8.4 S/cm for nanocellulose-CNT films ever published in the current literature. This was achieved by optimizing the surfactant type and sonication energy per dry mass. Additionally, to further increase the conductivity, we defined a preparation step to remove the used surfactant from the final nanocomposite structure.

A platonic solid templating Archimedean solid: an unprecedented nanometre-sized Ag37 cluster

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Xiao-Yu; Su, Hai-Feng; Yu, Kai; Tan, Yuan-Zhi; Wang, Xing-Po; Zhao, Ya-Qin; Sun, Di; Zheng, Lan-Sun

2015-04-01

The spontaneous formation of discrete spherical nanosized molecules is prevalent in nature, but the authentic structural mimicry of such highly symmetric polyhedra from edge sharing of regular polygons has remained elusive. Here we present a novel ball-shaped {(HNEt3)[Ag37S4(SC6H4tBu)24(CF3COO)6(H2O)12]} cluster (1) that is assembled via a one-pot process from polymeric {(HNEt3)2[Ag10(SC6H4tBu)12]}n and CF3COOAg. Single crystal X-ray analysis confirmed that 1 is a Td symmetric spherical molecule with a [Ag36(SC6H4tBu)24] anion shell enwrapping a AgS4 tetrahedron. The shell topology of 1 belongs to one of 13 Archimedean solids, a truncated tetrahedron with four edge-shared hexagons and trigons, which are supported by a AgS4 Platonic solid in the core. Interestingly, the cluster emits green luminescence centered at 515 nm at room temperature. Our investigations have provided a promising synthetic protocol for a high-nuclearity silver cluster based on underlying geometrical principles.The spontaneous formation of discrete spherical nanosized molecules is prevalent in nature, but the authentic structural mimicry of such highly symmetric polyhedra from edge sharing of regular polygons has remained elusive. Here we present a novel ball-shaped {(HNEt3)[Ag37S4(SC6H4tBu)24(CF3COO)6(H2O)12]} cluster (1) that is assembled via a one-pot process from polymeric {(HNEt3)2[Ag10(SC6H4tBu)12]}n and CF3COOAg. Single crystal X-ray analysis confirmed that 1 is a Td symmetric spherical molecule with a [Ag36(SC6H4tBu)24] anion shell enwrapping a AgS4 tetrahedron. The shell topology of 1 belongs to one of 13 Archimedean solids, a truncated tetrahedron with four edge-shared hexagons and trigons, which are supported by a AgS4 Platonic solid in the core. Interestingly, the cluster emits green luminescence centered at 515 nm at room temperature. Our investigations have provided a promising synthetic protocol for a high-nuclearity silver cluster based on underlying geometrical principles. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available: detailed synthesis procedure, tables, crystal data in CIF files, IR data, TGA results and powder X-ray diffractogram for 1. CCDC 1042228. See DOI: 10.1039/c5nr01222h

Catalytic wet air oxidation of bisphenol A solution in a batch-recycle trickle-bed reactor over titanate nanotube-based catalysts.

PubMed

Kaplan, Renata; Erjavec, Boštjan; Senila, Marin; Pintar, Albin

2014-10-01

Catalytic wet air oxidation (CWAO) is classified as an advanced oxidation process, which proved to be highly efficient for the removal of emerging organic pollutant bisphenol A (BPA) from water. In this study, BPA was successfully removed in a batch-recycle trickle-bed reactor over bare titanate nanotube-based catalysts at very short space time of 0.6 min gCAT g(-1). The as-prepared titanate nanotubes, which underwent heat treatment at 600 °C, showed high activity for the removal of aqueous BPA. Liquid-phase recycling (5- or 10-fold recycle) enabled complete BPA conversion already at 200 °C, together with high conversion of total organic carbon (TOC), i.e., 73 and 98 %, respectively. The catalyst was chemically stable in the given range of operating conditions for 189 h on stream.

Novel polyoxometalate silica nano-sized spheres: efficient catalysts for olefin oxidation and the deep desulfurization process.

PubMed

Nogueira, Lucie S; Ribeiro, Susana; Granadeiro, Carlos M; Pereira, Eulália; Feio, Gabriel; Cunha-Silva, Luís; Balula, Salete S

2014-07-07

A novel method to prepare silica nano-sized particles incorporating polyoxometalates was developed leading to a new efficient heterogeneous oxidative catalyst. Zinc-substituted polyoxotungstate [PW11Zn(H2O)O39](5-) (PW11Zn) was encapsulated into silica nanoparticles using a cross-linked organic-inorganic core, performed through successive spontaneous reactions in water. The potassium salt of PW11Zn and the composite formed, PW11Zn-APTES@SiO2, were characterized by a myriad of solid-state methods such as FT-IR, FT-Raman, (31)P and (13)C CP/MAS solid-state NMR, elemental analysis and SEM-EDS, confirming the integrity of the PW11Zn structure immobilized in the silica nanoparticles. The new composite has shown to be a versatile catalyst for the oxidation of olefins and also to catalyze the desulfurization of a model oil using H2O2 as the oxidant and acetonitrile as the solvent. The novel composite material was capable of being recycled without significant loss of activity and maintaining its structural stability for consecutive desulfurization and olefin oxidative cycles.

Enhancement in ionic conductivity on solid polymer electrolytes containing large conducting species

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

Praveen, D.; Damle, Ramakrishna

2016-05-23

Solid Polymer Electrolytes (SPEs) lack better conducting properties at ambient temperatures. Various methods to enhance their ionic conductivity like irradiation with swift heavy ions, γ-rays, swift electrons and quenching at low temperature etc., have been explored in the literature. Among these, one of the oldest methods is incorporation of different conducting species into the polymer matrix and/or addition of nano-sized inert particles into SPEs. Various new salts like LiBr, Mg(ClO{sub 4}){sub 2}, NH{sub 4}I etc., have already been tried in the past with some success. Also various nanoparticles like Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}, TiO{sub 2} etc., have been tried in themore » past. In this article, we have investigated an SPE containing Rubidium as a conducting species. Rubidium has a larger ionic size compared to lithium and sodium ions which have been investigated in the recent past. In the present article, we have investigated the conductivity of large sized conducting species and shown the enhancement in the ionic conductivity by addition of nano-sized inert particles.« less

Diffusion of multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) through a high density polyethylene (HDPE) geomembrane

PubMed Central

Saheli, P. T.; Rowe, R. K.; Petersen, E. J.; O’Carroll, D. M.

2017-01-01

The new applications for carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in various fields and consequently their greater production volume have increased their potential release to the environment. Landfills are one of the major locations where carbon nanotubes are expected to be disposed and it is important to ensure that they can limit the release of CNTs. Diffusion of multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) dispersed in an aqueous media through a high-density polyethylene (HDPE) geomembrane (as a part of the landfill barrier system) was examined. Based on the laboratory tests, the permeation coefficient was estimated to be less than 5.1×10−15 m2/s. The potential performance of a HDPE geomembrane and geosynthetic clay liner (GCL) as parts of a composite liner in containing MWCNTs was modelled for six different scenarios. The results suggest that the low value of permeation coefficient of an HDPE geomembrane makes it an effective diffusive barrier for MWCNTs and by keeping the geomembrane defects to minimum during the construction (e.g., number of holes and length of wrinkles) a composite liner commonly used in municipal solid waste landfills will effectively contain MWCNTs. PMID:28740357

Combined synthesis and in situ coating of nanoparticles in the gas phase

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lähde, Anna; Raula, Janne; Kauppinen, Esko I.

2008-12-01

Combined gas phase synthesis and coating of sodium chloride (NaCl) and lactose nanoparticles has been developed using an aerosol flow reactor. Nano-sized core particles were produced by the droplet-to-particle method and coated in situ by the physical vapour deposition of L-leucine vapour. The saturation of L-leucine in the reactor determined the resulting particle size and size distribution. In general, particle size increased with the addition of L-leucine and notable narrowing of the core particle size distribution was observed. In addition, homogeneous nucleation of the vapour, i.e. formation of pure L-leucine particles, was observed depending on the saturation conditions of L-leucine as well as the core particle characteristics. The effects of core particle properties, i.e. size and solid-state characteristics, on the coating process were studied by comparing the results for coated NaCl and lactose particles. During deposition, L-leucine formed a uniform coating on the surface of the core particles. The coating stabilised the nanoparticles and prevented the sintering of particles during storage.

Enhanced Nitrobenzene reduction by zero valent iron pretreated with H2O2/HCl.

PubMed

Yang, Zhe; Ma, Xiaowen; Shan, Chao; Fang, Zhuoyao; Pan, Bingcai

2018-04-01

In this study a novel iron-based reducing agent of highly effective reduction toward nitrobenzene (NB) was obtained by pretreating zero valent iron (ZVI) with H 2 O 2 /HCl. During the H 2 O 2 /HCl pretreatment, ZVI undergoes an intensive corrosion process with formation of various reducing corrosion products (e.g., Fe 2+ , ferrous oxides/hydroxides, Fe 3 O 4 ), yielding a synergetic system (prtZVI) including liquid, suspensions and solid phase. The pretreatment process remarkably enhances the reductive performance of ZVI, where a rapid reduction of NB (200 mg L -1 ) in the prtZVI suspension was accomplished in a broad pH range (3-9) and at low dosage. Nitrosobenzene and phenylhydroxylamine are identified as the intermediates for NB reduction with the end-product of aniline. Compared with the virgin ZVI as well as another nanosized ZVI, the prtZVI system exhibits much higher electron efficiency for NB reduction as well as higher utilization ratio of Fe 0 . A rapid reduction of various nitroaromatics in an actual pharmaceutical wastewater further demonstrated the feasibility of the prtZVI system in real wastewater treatment. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Characterization of nano-sized oxides in Fe-12Cr oxide-dispersion-strengthened ferritic steel using small-angle neutron scattering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Han, Young-Soo; Mao, Xiaodong; Jang, Jinsung; Kim, Tae-Kyu

2015-04-01

The ferritic ODS steel was manufactured by hot isostatic pressing and heat treatment. The nano-sized microstructures such as yttrium oxides and Cr oxides were quantitatively analyzed by small-angle neutron scattering (SANS). The effects of the fabrication conditions on the nano-sized microstructure were investigated in relation to the quantitative analysis results obtained by SANS. The ratio between magnetic and nuclear scattering components was calculated, and the characteristics of the nano-sized yttrium oxides are discussed based on the SANS analysis results.

The effects of liquid-phase oxidation of multiwall carbon nanotubes on their surface characteristics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Burmistrov, I. N.; Muratov, D. S.; Ilinykh, I. A.; Kolesnikov, E. A.; Godymchuk, A. Yu; Kuznetsov, D. V.

2016-01-01

The development of new sorbents based on nanostructured carbon materials recently became a perspective field of research. Main topic of current study is to investigate the effect of different regimes of multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) surface modification process on their structural characteristics. MWCNT samples were treated with nitric acid at high temperature. Structural properties were studied using low temperature nitrogen adsorption and acid-base back titration methods. The study showed that diluted nitric acid does not affect MWCNT structure. Concentrated nitric acid treatment leads to formation of 2.8 carboxylic groups per 1 nm2 of the sample surface.

Electron field emission from phase pure nanotube films grown in a methane/hydrogen plasma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Küttel, Olivier M.; Groening, Oliver; Emmenegger, Christoph; Schlapbach, Louis

1998-10-01

Phase pure nanotube films were grown on silicon substrates by a microwave plasma under conditions which normally are used for the growth of chemical vapor deposited diamond films. However, instead of using any pretreatment leading to diamond nucleation we deposited metal clusters on the silicon substrate. The resulting films contain only nanotubes and also onion-like structures. However, no other carbon allotropes like graphite or amorphous clustered material could be found. The nanotubes adhere very well to the substrates and do not need any further purification step. Electron field emission was observed at fields above 1.5 V/μm and we observed an emission site density up to 104/cm2 at 3 V/μm. Alternatively, we have grown nanotube films by the hot filament technique, which allows to uniformly cover a two inch wafer.

Fullerene-like WS(2) nanoparticles and nanotubes by the vapor-phase synthesis of WCl(n) and H(2)S.

PubMed

Margolin, A; Deepak, F L; Popovitz-Biro, R; Bar-Sadan, M; Feldman, Y; Tenne, R

2008-03-05

Inorganic fullerene-like (IF) nanoparticles and nanotubes of WS(2) were synthesized by a gas phase reaction starting from WCl(n) (n = 4, 5, 6) and H(2)S. The effect of the various metal chloride precursors on the formation of the products was investigated during the course of the study. Various parameters have been studied to understand the growth and formation of the IF-WS(2) nanoparticles and nanotubes. The parameters that have been studied include flow rates of the various carrier gases, heating of the precursor metal chlorides and the temperature at which the reactions were carried out. The best set of conditions wherein maximum yields of the high quality pure-phase IF-WS(2) nanoparticles and nanotubes are obtained have been identified. A detailed growth mechanism has been outlined to understand the course of formation of the various products of WS(2).

Fullerene-like WS2 nanoparticles and nanotubes by the vapor-phase synthesis of WCln and H2S

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Margolin, A.; Deepak, F. L.; Popovitz-Biro, R.; Bar-Sadan, M.; Feldman, Y.; Tenne, R.

2008-03-01

Inorganic fullerene-like (IF) nanoparticles and nanotubes of WS2 were synthesized by a gas phase reaction starting from WCln (n = 4, 5, 6) and H2S. The effect of the various metal chloride precursors on the formation of the products was investigated during the course of the study. Various parameters have been studied to understand the growth and formation of the IF-WS2 nanoparticles and nanotubes. The parameters that have been studied include flow rates of the various carrier gases, heating of the precursor metal chlorides and the temperature at which the reactions were carried out. The best set of conditions wherein maximum yields of the high quality pure-phase IF-WS2 nanoparticles and nanotubes are obtained have been identified. A detailed growth mechanism has been outlined to understand the course of formation of the various products of WS2.

Analytical study of bound states in graphene nanoribbons and carbon nanotubes: The variable phase method and the relativistic Levinson theorem

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

Miserev, D. S., E-mail: d.miserev@student.unsw.edu.au, E-mail: erazorheader@gmail.com

2016-06-15

The problem of localized states in 1D systems with a relativistic spectrum, namely, graphene stripes and carbon nanotubes, is studied analytically. The bound state as a superposition of two chiral states is completely described by their relative phase, which is the foundation of the variable phase method (VPM) developed herein. Based on our VPM, we formulate and prove the relativistic Levinson theorem. The problem of bound states can be reduced to the analysis of closed trajectories of some vector field. Remarkably, the Levinson theorem appears as the Poincaré index theorem for these closed trajectories. The VPM equation is also reducedmore » to the nonrelativistic and semiclassical limits. The limit of a small momentum p{sub y} of transverse quantization is applicable to an arbitrary integrable potential. In this case, a single confined mode is predicted.« less

Noncatalytic hydrogenation of naphthalene in nanosized membrane reactors with accumulated hydrogen and controlled adjustment of their reaction zone volumes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Soldatov, A. P.

2017-05-01

As part of ongoing studies aimed at designing the next generation of nanosized membrane reactors (NMRs) with accumulated hydrogen, the noncatalytic hydrogenation of naphthalene in pores of ceramic membranes (TRUMEM ultrafiltration membranes with D av = 50 and 90 nm) is performed for the first time, using hydrogen preadsorbed in a hybrid carbon nanostructure: mono- and multilayered oriented carbon nanotubes with graphene walls (OCNTGs) that form on inner pore surfaces. In this technique, the reaction proceeds in the temperature range of 330-390°C at contact times of 10-16 h. The feedstock is an 8% naphthalene solution in decane. The products are analyzed via chromatography on a quartz capillary column coated with polydimethylsiloxane (SE-30). It is established for the first time that in NMRs, the noncatalytic hydrogenation of naphthalene occurs at 370-390°C, forming 1,2,3,4-tetrahydronaphthalene in amounts of up to 0.61%. The rate constants and activation energy (123.5 kJ/mol) of the noncatalytic hydrogenation reaction are determined for the first time. The possibility of designing an NMR with an adjustable reaction zone volume is explored. Changes in the pore structure of the membranes after their modification with pyrocarbon nanosized crystallites (PNCs) are therefore studied as well. It is shown that lengthening the process time reduces pore size: within 23 h after the deposition of PNCs, the average pore radius ( r av) falls from 25 to 3.1 nm. The proposed approach would allow us to design nanoreactors of molecular size and conduct hydrogenation reactions within certain guidelines to synthesize new chemical compounds.

A Solid-State Fibriform Supercapacitor Boosted by Host-Guest Hybridization between the Carbon Nanotube Scaffold and MXene Nanosheets.

PubMed

Yu, Chenyang; Gong, Yujiao; Chen, Ruyi; Zhang, Mingyi; Zhou, Jinyuan; An, Jianing; Lv, Fan; Guo, Shaojun; Sun, Gengzhi

2018-06-25

Fiber-shaped supercapacitors with improved specific capacitance and high rate capability are a promising candidate as power supply for smart textiles. However, the synergistic interaction between conductive filaments and active nanomaterials remains a crucial challenge, especially when hydrothermal or electrochemical deposition is used to produce a core (fiber)-shell (active materials) fibrous structure. On the other hand, although 2D pseudocapacitive materials, e.g., Ti 3 C 2 T x (MXene), have demonstrated high volumetric capacitance, high electrical conductivity, and hydrophilic characteristics, MXene-based electrodes normally suffer from poor rate capability owing to the sheet restacking especially when the loading level is high and solid-state gel is used as electrolyte. Herein, by hosting MXene nanosheets (Ti 3 C 2 T x ) in the corridor of a scrolled carbon nanotube (CNT) scaffold, a MXene/CNT fiber with helical structure is successfully fabricated. These features offer open spaces for rapid ion diffusion and guarantee fast electron transport. The solid-state supercapacitor based on such hybrid fibers with gel electrolyte coating exhibits a volumetric capacitance of 22.7 F cm -3 at 0.1 A cm -3 with capacitance retention of 84% at current density of 1.0 A cm -3 (19.1 F cm -3 ), improved volumetric energy density of 2.55 mWh cm -3 at the power density of 45.9 mW cm -3 , and excellent mechanical robustness. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Skeleton/skin structured (RGO/CNTs)@PANI composite fiber electrodes with excellent mechanical and electrochemical performance for all-solid-state symmetric supercapacitors.

PubMed

Liu, Dong; Du, Pengcheng; Wei, Wenli; Wang, Hongxing; Wang, Qi; Liu, Peng

2018-03-01

Polyaniline coated reduced graphene oxide/carbon nanotube composite fibers ((RGO/CNTs)@PANI, RCP) with skeleton/skin structure are designed as fiber-shaped electrodes for high performance all-solid-state symmetric supercapacitor. The one-dimensional reduced graphene oxide/carbon nanotube composite fibers (RGO/CNTs, RC) are prepared via a simple in-situ reduction of graphene oxide in presence of carbon nanotubes in quartz glass pipes, which exhibit excellent mechanical performance of >193.4 MPa of tensile strength. Then polyaniline is coated onto the RC fibers by electrodepositing technique. The electrochemical properties of the RCP fiber-shaped electrodes are optimized by adjusting the feeding ratio of carbon nanotubes. The optimized one exhibits good electrochemical characteristic such as highest volumetric specific capacitance of 193.1 F cm -3 at 1 A cm -3 , as well as excellent cyclic retention of 92.60% after 2000 cyclic voltammetry cycles. Furthermore, the all-solid-state symmetric supercapacitor, fabricated by using the final composite fiber as both positive and negative electrodes pre-coated with the poly(vinyl alcohol)/H 2 SO 4 gel polyelectrolyte, possesses volumetric capacitance of 36.7 F cm -3 at 0.2 A cm -3 and could light up a red light-emitting diode easily. The excellent mechanical and electrochemical performances make the designed supercapacitor as promising high performance wearable energy storage device. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Amorphous and crystalline TiO2 nanotube arrays for enhanced Li-ion intercalation properties.

PubMed

Guan, Dongsheng; Cai, Chuan; Wang, Ying

2011-04-01

We have employed a simple process of anodizing Ti foils to prepare TiO2 nanotube arrays which show enhanced electrochemical properties for applications as Li-ion battery electrode materials. The lengths and pore diameters of TiO2 nanotubes can be finely tuned by varying voltage, electrolyte composition, or anodization time. The as-prepared nanotubes are amorphous and can be converted into anatase nanotubes with heat treatment at 480 degrees C. Rutile crystallites emerge in the anatase nanotube when the annealing temperature is increased to 580 degrees C, resulting in TiO2 nanotubes of mixed phases. The morphological features of nanotubes remain unchanged after annealing. Li-ion insertion performance has been studied for amorphous and crystalline TiO2 nanotube arrays. Amorphous nanotubes with a length of 3.0 microm and an outer diameter of 125 nm deliver a capacity of 91.2 microA h cm(-2) at a current density of 400 microA cm(-2), while those with a length of 25 microm and an outer diameter of 158 nm display a capacity of 533 microA h cm-2. When the 3-microm long nanotubes become crystalline, they deliver lower capacities: the anatase nanotubes and nanotubes of mixed phases show capacities of 53.8 microA h cm-2 and 63.1 microA h cm(-2), respectively at the same current density. The amorphous nanotubes show excellent capacity retention ability over 50 cycles. The cycled nanotubes show little change in morphology compared to the nanotubes before electrochemical cycling. All the TiO2 nanotubes demonstrate higher capacities than amorphous TiO2 compact layer reported in literature. The amorphous TiO2 nanotubes with a length of 1.9 microm exhibit a capacity five times higher than that of TiO2 compact layer even when the nanotube array is cycled at a current density 80 times higher than that for the compact layer. These results suggest that anodic TiO2 nanotube arrays are promising electrode materials for rechargeable Li-ion batteries.

Correlated Electrons in Carbon Nanotubes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Odintsov, Arkadi A.; Yoshioka, Hideo

Single-wall carbon nanotubes are almost ideal systems for the investigation of exotic many-body effects due to non-Fermi liquid behavior of interacting electrons in one dimension. Recent theoretical and experimental results are reviewed with a focus on electron correlations. Starting from a microscopic lattice model we derive an effective phase Hamiltonian for conducting single-wall nanotubes with arbitrary chirality. The parameters of the Hamiltonian show very weak dependence on the chiral angle, which makes the low-energy physics of conducting nanotubes universal. The temperature-dependent resistivity and frequency-dependent optical conductivity of nanotubes with impurities are evaluated within the Luttinger-like model. Localization effects are studied. In particular, we found that intra-valley and inter-valley electron scattering can not coexist at low energies. Low-energy properties of clean nanotubes are studied beyond the Luttinger liquid approximation. The strongest Mott-like electron instability occurs at half filling. In the Mott insulating phase electrons at different atomic sublattices form characteristic bound states. The energy gaps occur in all modes of elementary excitations and estimate at 0.01-0.1 eV. We finally discuss observability of the Mott insulating phase in transport experiments. The accent is made on the charge transfer from external electrodes which results in a deviation of the electron density from half-filling.

An all-solid-state yarn supercapacitor using cotton yarn electrodes coated with polypyrrole nanotubes.

PubMed

Wei, Chengzhuo; Xu, Qi; Chen, Zeqi; Rao, Weida; Fan, Lingling; Yuan, Ye; Bai, Zikui; Xu, Jie

2017-08-01

A novel all-solid-state yarn supercapacitor (YSC) has been fabricated by using the cotton yarns coated with polypyrrole (PPy) nanotubes. The interconnected network structure of PPy can increase the surface area as well as the electrode/electrolyte interface area, thus resulting in improved electrochemical performance. For the proposed YSC, a high areal-specific capacitance of 74.0mFcm -2 and a desirable energy density of 7.5μWhcm -2 are achieved. The flexibility of the YSC demonstrates that it is suitable for the integration as flexible power sources in wearable electronic textiles. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Shape dependence of slip length on patterned hydrophobic surfaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gu, Xiaokun; Chen, Min

2011-08-01

The effects of solid-liquid interfacial shape on the boundary velocity slip of patterned hydrophobic surfaces are investigated. The scaling law in literature is extended to demonstrate the role of such shape, indicating a decrease of the effective slip length with increasing interfacial roughness. A patterned surface with horizontally aligned carbon nanotube arrays reaches an effective slip length of 83 nm, by utilizing large intrinsic slippage of carbon nanotube while keeping away from the negative effects of interfacial curvature through the flow direction. The results emphasize the importance of avoiding the solid-liquid interfacial roughness in low-friction patterned surface design and manufacture.

Electrochemical properties of rapidly solidified Si-Ti-Ni(-Cu) base anode for Li-ion rechargeable batteries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kwon, Hye Jin; Sohn, Keun Yong; Park, Won-Wook

2013-11-01

In this study, rapidly solidified Si-Ti-Ni-Cu alloys have been investigated as high capacity anodes for Li-ion secondary batteries. To obtain nano-sized Si particles dispersed in the inactive matrix, the alloy ribbons were fabricated using the melt spinning process. The thin ribbons were pulverized using ball-milling to make a fine powder of ˜ 4 µm average size. Coin-cell assembly was carried out under an argon gas in a glove box, in which pure lithium was used as a counter-electrode. The cells were cycled using the galvanostatic method in the potential range of 0.01 V and 1.5 V vs. Li/Li+. The microstructure and morphology were examined using an x-ray diffractometer, Field-Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy and High Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy. Among the anode alloys, the Si70Ti15Ni15 electrodes had the highest discharge capacity (974.1 mAh/g) after the 50th cycle, and the Si60Ti16Ni16Cu8 electrode showed the best coulombic efficiency of ˜95.9% in cyclic behavior. It was revealed that the Si7Ni4Ti4 crystal phase coexisting with an amorphous phase, could more efficiently act as a buffer layer than the fully crystallized Si7Ni4Ti4 phase. Consequently, the electrochemical properties of the anode materials pronouncedly improved when the nano-sized primary Si particle was dispersed in the inactive Si7Ni4Ti4-based matrix mixed with an amorphous structure.

Preparation of hemoglobin-loaded nano-sized particles with porous structure as oxygen carriers.

PubMed

Zhao, Jian; Liu, Chang-Sheng; Yuan, Yuan; Tao, Xin-Yi; Shan, Xiao-Qian; Sheng, Yan; Wu, Fan

2007-03-01

Hb (hemoglobin)-loaded particles (HbP) encapsulated by a biodegradable polymer used as oxygen carrier were prepared. A modified double emulsion and solvent diffusion/evaporation method was adopted. All experiments were performed based on two types of biodegradable polymers, poly(epsilon-caprolactone) (PCL) and poly(epsilon-caprolactone-ethylene glycol) (PCL-PEG). The biodistribution and the survival time in blood of the particles were investigated in a mouse model. Encapsulation efficiency and pore-connecting efficiency were evaluated by a novel sulfocyanate potassium method. The influence of process parameters on the particle size and pore-connecting efficiency (PCE%) of nanoparticles have been discussed. The prepared conditions: solvent, external aqueous phase, pressure were discussed. The system utilizing dichloromethane (DCM)/ethyl acetate (EA) as a solvent with an unsaturated external aqueous phase yielded the highest encapsulation efficiency (87.35%) with a small mean particle size (153 nm). The formation of porous channels was attributed to the diffusion of solvent. The PCE% was more sensitive to the rate of solvent diffusion that was obviously affected by the preparation temperature. The PCE% reached 87.47% when PCL-PEG was employed at 25 degrees C. P(50) of HbP was 27 mmHg, which does not seem to be greatly affected by the encapsulation procedure. In vivo, following intravenous injection of 6-coumarin labeled HbP, the major organ accumulating Hb-loaded particles was the liver. The half-life of nano-sized PCL HbP was 3.1 times as long as the micro-sized PCL HbP. Also, Nano-sized as well as a PEGylated surface on HbP is beneficial for prolonged blood residence (7.2 fold increase).

Eco-friendly microwave-assisted protocol to prepare hyaluronan-fatty acid conjugates and to induce their self-assembly process.

PubMed

Calce, Enrica; Mercurio, Flavia Anna; Leone, Marilisa; Saviano, Michele; De Luca, Stefania

2016-06-05

An environmentally sustainable and energy-efficient synthetic process has been developed to prepare hyaluronan-based nano-sized material. It consists in a microwave-promoted acylation of the hydroxyl function of the polysaccharide with natural fatty acids, performed under solvent-free conditions. The efficient interaction of the solid reagents with the MW radiation accounts for the obtained high yielded products. The self-assembly process of the obtained compounds very fast occurred in an aqueous medium under MW-radiation, thus allowing the development of a green protocol for the nano-particles preparation. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Analytical prediction of forced convective heat transfer of fluids embedded with nanostructured materials (nanofluids)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vasu, V.; Rama Krishna, K.; Kumar, A. C. S.

2007-09-01

Nanofluids are a new class of heat transfer fluids developed by suspending nanosized solid particles in liquids. Larger thermal conductivity of solid particles compared to the base fluid such as water, ethylene glycol, engine oil etc. significantly enhances their thermal properties. Several phenomenological models have been proposed to explain the anomalous heat transfer enhancement in nanofluids. This paper presents a systematic literature survey to exploit the characteristics of nanofluids, viz., thermal conductivity, specific heat and other thermal properties. An empirical correlation for the thermal conductivity of Al_{2}O_{3} + water and Cu + water nanofluids, considering the effects of temperature, volume fraction and size of the nanoparticle is developed and presented. A correlation for the evaluation of Nusselt number is also developed and presented and compared in graphical form. This enhanced thermophysical and heat transfer characteristics make fluids embedded with nanomaterials as excellent candidates for future applications.

Solution combustion synthesis and characterization of nanosized bismuth ferrite

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sai Kumar, V. Sesha; Rao, K. Venkateswara; Krishnaveni, T.; Kishore Goud, A. Shiva; Reddy, P. Ranjith

2012-06-01

The present paper describes a simple method of nanosized BiFeO3 by the solution combustion synthesis using bismuth and iron nitrates as oxidizers and the combination fuel of citric acid and ammonium hydroxide, with fuel to oxidizer ratio (Ψ = 1) one. The X-ray Diffraction results indicated rhombohedral phase (R3m) with JCPDS data card no: 72-2035. The ferroelectric transition of the sample at 8310C was detected by differential thermal analysis. Thermal analysis was done by Thermal gravimetric-Differential thermal analyzer and obtained results were presented in this paper.

Nanocomposites in food packaging – A review

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

A nanocomposite is a multiphase material derived from the combination of two or more components, including a matrix (continuous phase) and a discontinuous nano-dimensional phase with at least one nano-sized dimension (i.e. less than 100 nm). The main types of nanostructures are presented in this ch...

LiMn2O4–yBryNanoparticles Synthesized by a Room Temperature Solid-State Coordination Method

PubMed Central

2009-01-01

LiMn2O4–yBrynanoparticles were synthesized successfully for the first time by a room temperature solid-state coordination method. X-ray diffractometry patterns indicated that the LiMn2O4–yBrypowders were well-crystallized pure spinel phase. Transmission electron microscopy images showed that the LiMn2O4–yBrypowders consisted of small and uniform nanosized particles. Synthesis conditions such as the calcination temperature and the content of Br−were investigated to optimize the ideal condition for preparing LiMn2O4–yBrywith the best electrochemical performances. The optimized synthesis condition was found in this work; the calcination temperature is 800 °C and the content of Br−is 0.05. The initial discharge capacity of LiMn2O3.95Br0.05obtained from the optimized synthesis condition was 134 mAh/g, which is far higher than that of pure LiMn2O4, indicating introduction of Br−in LiMn2O4is quite effective in improving the initial discharge capacity. PMID:20628635

Hydrogen Crystallization in Low-Density Aerogels

DOE PAGES

Kucheyev, S. O.; Van Cleve, E.; Johnston, L. T.; ...

2015-03-17

Crystallization of liquids confined in disordered low-density nanoporous scaffolds is poorly understood. Here in this work, we use relaxation calorimetry to study the liquid–solid phase transition of H 2 in a series of silica and carbon (nanotube- and graphene-based) aerogels with porosities ≳94%. Results show that freezing temperatures of H 2 inside all the aerogels studied are depressed but do not follow predictions of the Gibbs–Thomson theory based on average pore diameters measured by conventional gas sorption techniques. Instead, we find that, for each material family investigated, the depression of average freezing temperatures scales linearly with the ratio of themore » internal surface area (measured by gas sorption) and the total pore volume derived from the density of aerogel monoliths. The slope of such linear dependences is, however, different for silica and carbon aerogels, which we attribute to microporosity of carbons and the presence of macropores in silica aerogels. In conclusion, our results have important implications for the analysis of pore size distributions of low-density nanoporous materials and for controlling crystallization of fuel layers in targets for thermonuclear fusion energy applications.« less

Hydrogen crystallization in low-density aerogels.

PubMed

Kucheyev, S O; Van Cleve, E; Johnston, L T; Gammon, S A; Worsley, M A

2015-04-07

Crystallization of liquids confined in disordered low-density nanoporous scaffolds is poorly understood. Here, we use relaxation calorimetry to study the liquid-solid phase transition of H2 in a series of silica and carbon (nanotube- and graphene-based) aerogels with porosities ≳94%. Results show that freezing temperatures of H2 inside all the aerogels studied are depressed but do not follow predictions of the Gibbs-Thomson theory based on average pore diameters measured by conventional gas sorption techniques. Instead, we find that, for each material family investigated, the depression of average freezing temperatures scales linearly with the ratio of the internal surface area (measured by gas sorption) and the total pore volume derived from the density of aerogel monoliths. The slope of such linear dependences is, however, different for silica and carbon aerogels, which we attribute to microporosity of carbons and the presence of macropores in silica aerogels. Our results have important implications for the analysis of pore size distributions of low-density nanoporous materials and for controlling crystallization of fuel layers in targets for thermonuclear fusion energy applications.

Nanosized copper ferrite materials: Mechanochemical synthesis and characterization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Manova, Elina; Tsoncheva, Tanya; Paneva, Daniela; Popova, Margarita; Velinov, Nikolay; Kunev, Boris; Tenchev, Krassimir; Mitov, Ivan

2011-05-01

Nanodimensional powders of cubic copper ferrite are synthesized by two-steps procedure of co-precipitation of copper and iron hydroxide carbonates, followed by mechanochemical treatment. X-ray powder diffraction, Mössbauer spectroscopy and temperature-programmed reduction are used for the characterization of the obtained materials. Their catalytic behavior is tested in methanol decomposition to hydrogen and CO and total oxidation of toluene. Formation of nanosized ferrite material is registered even after one hour of milling time. It is established that the prolonging of treatment procedure decreases the dispersion of the obtained product with the appearance of Fe 2O 3. It is demonstrated that the catalytic behavior of the samples depends not only on their initial phase composition, but on the concomitant ferrite phase transformations by the influence of the reaction medium.

Superparamagnetic and ferrimagnetic behavior of nanocrystalline ZnO(MnO)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kuryliszyn-Kudelska, I.; Dobrowolski, W.; Arciszewska, M.; Romčević, N.; Romčević, M.; Hadžić, B.; Sibera, D.; Narkiewicz, U.

2018-04-01

We have studied the magnetic properties of nanocrystals of ZnO:MnO prepared by traditional wet chemistry method. The detailed structural and morphological characterization was performed. The results of systematic measurements of AC magnetic susceptibility as a function of temperature and frequency as well as DC magnetization are reported. We observed two different types of magnetic behavior depending on the concentration doping. For samples with low nominal content (up to 30 wt% of MnO), superparamagnetic behavior was observed. We attribute the observed superparamagnetism to the presence of nanosized ZnMnO3 phase. For nanocrystals doped above nominal 60 wt% of MnO ferrimagnetism was detected with TC at around 42 K. This magnetic behavior we assign to the presence of nanosized Mn3O4 phase.

Effects of Al(III) and Nano-Al13 Species on Malate Dehydrogenase Activity

PubMed Central

Yang, Xiaodi; Cai, Ling; Peng, Yu; Li, Huihui; Chen, Rong Fu; Shen, Ren Fang

2011-01-01

The effects of different aluminum species on malate dehydrogenase (MDH) activity were investigated by monitoring amperometric i-t curves for the oxidation of NADH at low overpotential using a functionalized multi-wall nanotube (MWNT) modified glass carbon electrode (GCE). The results showed that Al(III) and Al13 can activate the enzymatic activity of MDH, and the activation reaches maximum levels as the Al(III) and Al13 concentration increase. Our study also found that the effects of Al(III) and Al13 on the activity of MDH depended on the pH value and aluminum speciation. Electrochemical and circular dichroism spectra methods were applied to study the effects of nano-sized aluminum compounds on biomolecules. PMID:22163924

Effects of Al(III) and nano-Al13 species on malate dehydrogenase activity.

PubMed

Yang, Xiaodi; Cai, Ling; Peng, Yu; Li, Huihui; Chen, Rong Fu; Shen, Ren Fang

2011-01-01

The effects of different aluminum species on malate dehydrogenase (MDH) activity were investigated by monitoring amperometric i-t curves for the oxidation of NADH at low overpotential using a functionalized multi-wall nanotube (MWNT) modified glass carbon electrode (GCE). The results showed that Al(III) and Al(13) can activate the enzymatic activity of MDH, and the activation reaches maximum levels as the Al(III) and Al(13) concentration increase. Our study also found that the effects of Al(III) and Al(13) on the activity of MDH depended on the pH value and aluminum speciation. Electrochemical and circular dichroism spectra methods were applied to study the effects of nano-sized aluminum compounds on biomolecules.

Synthesis of 1D-glyconanomaterials by a hybrid noncovalent-covalent functionalization of single wall carbon nanotubes: a study of their selective interactions with lectins and with live cells.

PubMed

Pernía Leal, M; Assali, M; Cid, J J; Valdivia, V; Franco, J M; Fernández, I; Pozo, D; Khiar, N

2015-12-07

To take full advantage of the remarkable applications of carbon nanotubes in different fields, there is a need to develop effective methods to improve their water dispersion and biocompatibility while maintaining their physical properties. In this sense, current approaches suffer from serious drawbacks such as loss of electronic structure together with low surface coverage in the case of covalent functionalizations, or instability of the dynamic hybrids obtained by non-covalent functionalizations. In the present work, we examined the molecular basis of an original strategy that combines the advantages of both functionalizations without their main drawbacks. The hierarchical self-assembly of diacetylenic-based neoglycolipids into highly organized and compacted rings around the nanotubes, followed by photopolymerization leads to the formation of nanotubes covered with glyconanorings with a shish kebab-type topology exposing the carbohydrate ligands to the water phase in a multivalent fashion. The glyconanotubes obtained are fully functional, and able to establish specific interactions with their cognate receptors. In fact, by taking advantage of this selective binding, an easy method to sense lectins as a working model of toxin detection was developed based on a simple analysis of TEM images. Remarkably, different experimental settings to assess cell membrane integrity, cell growth kinetics and cell cycle demonstrated the cellular biocompatibility of the sugar-coated carbon nanotubes compared to pristine single-walled carbon nanotubes.

Nanocellulose-stabilized Pickering emulsions and their applications

PubMed Central

Fujisawa, Shuji; Togawa, Eiji; Kuroda, Katsushi

2017-01-01

Abstract Pickering emulsion, which is an emulsion stabilized by solid particles, offers a wide range of potential applications because it generally provides a more stable system than surfactant-stabilized emulsion. Among various solid stabilizers, nanocellulose may open up new opportunities for future Pickering emulsions owing to its unique nanosizes, amphiphilicity, and other favorable properties (e.g. chemical stability, biodegradability, biocompatibility, and renewability). In this review, the preparation and properties of nanocellulose-stabilized Pickering emulsions are summarized. We also provide future perspectives on their applications, such as drug delivery, food, and composite materials. PMID:29383046

Nanocellulose-stabilized Pickering emulsions and their applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fujisawa, Shuji; Togawa, Eiji; Kuroda, Katsushi

2017-12-01

Pickering emulsion, which is an emulsion stabilized by solid particles, offers a wide range of potential applications because it generally provides a more stable system than surfactant-stabilized emulsion. Among various solid stabilizers, nanocellulose may open up new opportunities for future Pickering emulsions owing to its unique nanosizes, amphiphilicity, and other favorable properties (e.g. chemical stability, biodegradability, biocompatibility, and renewability). In this review, the preparation and properties of nanocellulose-stabilized Pickering emulsions are summarized. We also provide future perspectives on their applications, such as drug delivery, food, and composite materials.

Critical evaluation and comparison of enrichment efficiency of multi-walled carbon nanotubes, C18 silica and activated carbon towards some pesticides from environmental waters.

PubMed

El-Sheikh, Amjad H; Sweileh, Jamal A; Al-Degs, Yahya S; Insisi, Ahmad A; Al-Rabady, Nancy

2008-02-15

In this work, optimization of multi-residue solid phase extraction (SPE) procedures coupled with high-performance liquid chromatography for the determination of Propoxur, Atrazine and Methidathion from environmental waters is reported. Three different sorbents were used in this work: multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), C18 silica and activated carbon (AC). The three optimized SPE procedures were compared in terms of analytical performance, application to environmental waters, cartridge re-use, adsorption capacity and cost of adsorbent. Although the adsorption capacity of MWCNT was larger than AC and C18, however, the analytical performance of AC could be made close to the other sorbents by appropriate optimization of the SPE procedures. A sample of AC was then oxidized with various oxidizing agents to show that ACs of various surface properties has different enrichment efficiencies. Thus researchers are advised to try AC of various surface properties in SPE of pollutants prior to using expensive sorbents (such as MWCNT and C18 silica).

Resistance, bioaccumulation and solid phase extraction of uranium (VI) by Bacillus vallismortis and its UV-vis spectrophotometric determination.

PubMed

Ozdemir, Sadin; Oduncu, M Kadir; Kilinc, Ersin; Soylak, Mustafa

2017-05-01

Bioaccumulation, resistance and preconcentration of uranium(VI) by thermotolerant Bacillus vallismortis were investigated in details. The minimum inhibition concentration of (MIC) value of U(VI) was found as 85 mg/L and 15 mg/L in liquid and solid medium, respectively. Furthermore, the effect of various U(VI) concentrations on the growth of bacteria and bioaccumulation on B. vallismortis was examined in the liquid culture media. The growth was not significantly affected in the presence of 1.0, 2.5 and 5.0 mg/L U(VI) up to 72 h. The highest bioaccumulation value at 1 mg/L U(VI) concentration was detected at the 72nd hour (10 mg/g metal/dry bacteria), while the maximum bioaccumulation value at 5 mg/L U(VI) concentration was determined at the 48th hour (50 mg metal/dry bacteria). In addition to these, various concentration of U(VI) on α-amylase production was studied. The α-amylase activities at 0, 1, 2.5 and 5 mg/L U(VI) were found as 3313.2, 3845.2, 3687.1 and 3060.8 U/mg, respectively at 48th. Besides, uranium (VI) ions were preconcentrated with immobilized B. vallismortis onto multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) and were determined by UV-vis spectrophotometry. The surface macro structure and functionalities of B. vallismortis immobilized onto multiwalled carbon nanotube with and without U(VI) were examined by FT-IR and SEM. The optimum pH and flow rate for the biosorption of U(VI) were 4.0-5.0 and 1.0 mL/min, respectively. The quantitative elution occurred with 5.0 mL of 1 mol/L HCl. The loading capacity of immobilized B. vallismortis was determined as 23.6 mg/g. The certified reference sample was employed for the validation of developed solid phase extraction method. The new validated method was applied to the determination of U(VI) in water samples from Van Lake-Turkey. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Synthesis of highly aligned carbon nanotubes by one-step liquid-phase process: Effects of carbon sources on morphology of carbon nanotubes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yamagiwa, Kiyofumi; Kuwano, Jun

2017-06-01

This paper describes a unique and innovative synthesis technique for carbon nanotubes (CNTs) by a one-step liquid-phase process under ambient pressure. Vertically aligned multi-walled CNT arrays with a maximum height of 100 µm are prepared on stainless steel substrates, which are submerged and electrically heated in straight-chain primary alcohols with n C = 1-4 (n C: number of C atoms in the molecule) containing an appropriate amount of cobalt-based organometallic complex as a catalyst precursor. Structural isomers of butanol were also used for the synthesis to examine the effects of structural factors on the morphology of the deposited products. Notably, 2-methyl-2-propanol, which is a tertiary alcohol, produced only a small amount of low-crystallinity carbonaceous deposits, whereas vertically aligned CNTs were grown from the other isomers of butanol. These results suggest that the presence or absence of β-hydrogen in the molecular structure is a key factor for understanding the dissociation behavior of the carbon source molecules on the catalyst.

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

Patel, Sajan; Petty, Clayton W.; Krafcik, Karen Lee

Electrostatic modes of atomic force microscopy have shown to be non-destructive and relatively simple methods for imaging conductors embedded in insulating polymers. Here we use electrostatic force microscopy to image the dispersion of carbon nanotubes in a latex-based conductive composite, which brings forth features not observed in previously studied systems employing linear polymer films. A fixed-potential model of the probe-nanotube electrostatics is presented which in principle gives access to the conductive nanoparticle's depth and radius, and the polymer film dielectric constant. Comparing this model to the data results in nanotube depths that appear to be slightly above the film–air interface.more » Furthermore, this result suggests that water-mediated charge build-up at the film–air interface may be the source of electrostatic phase contrast in ambient conditions.« less

Hybrid zero valent iron (ZVI)/H2O2 oxidation process for landfill leachate treatment with novel nanosize metallic calcium/iron composite.

PubMed

Lee, Son Dong; Mallampati, Srinivasa Reddy; Lee, Byoung Ho

2017-04-01

A novel nanosize metallic calcium/iron dispersed reagent was synthesized and tested as coagulant/catalyst in a hybrid zero valent iron (ZVI)/H 2 O 2 oxidation process to treat leachate. Two different types of leachates, one from municipal solid waste (MSW) tipping hall (MSWIL) and second from an MSW landfill site (MSWLL), were collected and characterized. The morphology, elemental composition, and mineral phases of the nano-Ca/CaO and nano-Fe/Ca/CaO were characterized by scanning electron microscopy-electron dispersive spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) and x-ray powder diffraction (XRD) analysis. The coagulation process with 2.5 g L -1 nano-Ca/CaO attained 64.0, 56.0, and 20.7% removal of color, chemical oxygen demand (COD), and total suspended solids (TSS) in MSWLL. With only 1.0 g L -1 of nano-Fe/Ca/CaO, relatively high color, COD and TSS removal was achieved in MSWLL at 67.5, 60.2, and 37.7%, respectively. The heavy metal removal efficiency reached 91-99% after treatment with nano-Fe/Ca/CaO in both leachate samples. The coupling process, using 1.0 g L -1 of nano-Fe/Ca/CaO and 20 mM H 2 O 2 doses, achieved enhancement removal of color, COD, and TSS, up to 95%, 96%, and 66%, respectively, without initial pH control. After this treatment, the color, COD, TSS, and heavy metals were significantly decreased, fitting the Korean discharge regulation limit. A hybrid coupled zero valent iron (ZVI)/H 2 O 2 oxidation process with novel nanosized metallic calcium/iron dispersed reagent proved to be a suitable treatment for dealing with leachate samples. Conventional treatments (biological or physicochemical) are not sufficient anymore to reach the level of purification needed to fully reduce the negative impact of landfill leachates on the environment. This implies that new treatment alternatives species must be proposed. A coupled zero valent iron (ZVI)/H 2 O 2 oxidation process proved to be a suitable treatment for dealing with leachate samples. Coagulation with nFe/Ca/CaO allows 91-99% of heavy metals removal. The coupled coagulation-oxidation process by nFe/Ca/CaO reveals excellent ability to treat leachate. After coupled treatment the color, COD, and TSS were also much lower than the discharge regulation limit.

Calcium Alginate-Caged Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes Dispersive Microsolid Phase Extraction Combined With Gas Chromatography-Flame Ionization Detection for the Determination of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Water Samples.

PubMed

Abboud, Ayad Sami; Sanagi, Mohd Marsin; Ibrahim, Wan Aini Wan; Keyon, Aemi S Abdul; Aboul-Enein, Hassan Y

2018-02-01

In this study, caged calcium alginate-caged multiwalled carbon nanotubes dispersive microsolid phase extraction was described for the first time for the extraction of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from water samples prior to gas chromatographic analysis. Fluorene, phenanthrene and fluoranthene were selected as model compounds. The caged calcium alginate-caged multiwalled carbon nanotubes was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy and thermal gravimetry analyses. The effective parameters namely desorption solvent, solvent volume, extraction time, desorption time, the mass of adsorbent and sample volume were optimized. Under the optimum extraction conditions, the developed method showed good linearity in the range of 0.5-50 ng mL-1 (R2 ≥ 0.996), low limits of detection and quantification (0.42-0.22 ng mL-1) (0.73-1.38 ng mL-1) respectively, good relative recoveries (71.2-104.2%) and reproducibility (RSD 1.8-12.4%, n = 3) for the studied PAHs in water sample. With high enrichment factor (1,000), short extraction time (<30 min), low amounts of adsorbent (100 mg) and low amounts of solvent (0.1 mol) have proven that the microsolid phase extraction method based on calcium alginate-caged multiwalled carbon nanotubes are environmentally friendly and convenient extraction method to use as an alternative adsorbent in the simultaneous preconcentration of PAHs from environmental water samples. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

X-band microwave absorbing characteristics of multicomponent composites with magnetodielectric fillers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Afghahi, Seyyed Salman Seyyed; Jafarian, Mojtaba; Stergiou, Charalampos A.

2016-12-01

We have studied the microwave absorbing performance in the X-band (8-12.4 GHz) of epoxy composites filled with magnetic and dielectric oxides and multiwalled carbon nanotubes. To this end, pure cobalt-substituted Ba-hexaferrite and calcium titanate were synthesized with the hydrothermal method in the form of nanosized powder. Moreover, the produced powders were characterized in regard of their structural, morphological and static magnetic properties. For the electromagnetic investigation, composite samples were also prepared with various thicknesses up to 4 mm and two basic filler compositions; namely 30 wt% of BaCoFe11O19 and 30 wt% of the mixture BaCoFe11O19/CaTiO3/carbon nanotubes. The magnetic composites show strong but narrowband reflection losses up to 27.5 dB, whereas the magnetodielectric composites with maximum losses of 15.8 dB possess wider bandwidth of operation, due to improved impedance matching. Furthermore, the characteristic frequency of the maximum losses for these quarter-wavelength absorbers was verified to be in inverse proportion to the layer thickness. These findings are supported by reflectance measurements of the samples both in waveguide and free-space.