Sample records for zns nanoparticles doped

  1. Effect of Cr doping on structural and magnetic properties of ZnS nanoparticles

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

    Virpal,; Singh, Jasvir; Sharma, Sandeep

    2016-05-23

    The structural, optical and magnetic properties of pure and Cr doped ZnS nanoparticles were studied at room temperature. X-ray diffraction analysis confirmed the absence of any mixed phase and the cubic structure of ZnS in pure and Cr doped ZnS nanoparticles. Fourier transfer infrared spectra confirmed the Zn-S stretching bond at 664 cm{sup −1} of ZnS in all prepared nanoparticles. The UV-Visible absorption spectra showed blue shift which became even more pronounced in Cr doped ZnS nanoparticles. However, at relatively higher Cr concentrations a slower red shift was shown by the doped nanoparticles. This phenomenon is attributed to sp-d exchange interactionmore » that becomes prevalent at higher doping concentrations. Further, magnetic hysteresis measurements showed that Cr doped ZnS nanoparticles exhibited ferromagnetic behavior at room temperature.« less

  2. Synthesis and characterization of Ce, Cu co-doped ZnS nanoparticles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Harish, G. S.; Sreedhara Reddy, P.

    2015-09-01

    Ce, Cu co-doped ZnS nanoparticles were prepared at room temperature using a chemical co-precipitation method. The prepared nanoparticles were characterized by X- ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy dispersive analysis of X-rays (EDAX), diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), photoluminescence (PL) and high resolution Raman spectroscopic techniques. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray diffraction studies showed that the diameter of the particles was around 2-3 nm. Broadened XRD peaks revealed the formation of nanoparticles with a face centered cubic (fcc) structure. DRS studies confirmed that the band gap increased with an increase in the dopant concentration. The Raman spectra of undoped and Ce, Cu ions co-doped ZnS nanoparticles showed longitudinal optical mode and transverse optical mode. Compared with the Raman modes (276 and 351 cm-1) of undoped ZnS nanoparticles, the Raman modes of Ce, Cu co- doped ZnS nanoparticles were slightly shifted towards lower frequency. PL spectra of the samples showed remarkable enhancement in the intensity upon doping.

  3. Photoluminescence study of Mn doped ZnS nanoparticles prepared by co-precipitation method

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Deshpande, M. P.; Patel, Kamakshi; Gujarati, Vivek P.; Chaki, S. H.

    2016-05-01

    ZnS nanoparticles co-doped with different concentration (5,10,15%) of Mn were synthesized using polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) as a capping agent under microwave irradiation. We confirmed doping of Mn in the host ZnS by EDAX whereas powder X-ray diffractogram showed the cubic zinc blende structure of all these samples. TEM images did showed agglomeration of particles and SAED pattern obtained indicated polycrystalline nature. From SAED pattern we calculated lattice parameter of the samples which have close resemblance from that obtained from XRD pattern. The band gap values of pure and doped ZnS nanoparticles were calculated from UV-Visible absorption spectra. ZnS itself is a luminescence material but when we dope it with transition metal ion such as Mn, Co, and Cu they exhibits strong and intense luminescence in the particular region. The photoluminescence spectra of pure ZnS nanoparticles showed an emission at 421 and 485nm which is blue emission which was originated from the defect sites of ZnS itself and also sulfur deficiency and when doped with Mn2+ an extra peak with high intensity was observed at 530nm which is nearly yellow-orange emission which isrelated to the presence of Mn in the host lattice.

  4. Enhancement of efficiency by embedding ZnS and Mn-doped ZnS nanoparticles in P3HT:PCBM hybrid solid state solar cells

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jabeen, Uzma; Adhikari, Tham; Shah, Syed Mujtaba; Nunzi, Jean-Michel; Badshah, Amin; Ahmad, Iqbal

    2017-06-01

    Zinc sulphide (ZnS) and Mn-doped ZnS nanoparticles were synthesized by wet chemical method. The synthesized nanoparticles were characterized by UV-visible, fluorescence, X-ray diffraction (XRD), fourier transform infra-red (FTIR) spectrometer, field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) and high resolution transmission electron microscope (HRTEM). Scanning electron microscope (SEM) was used to find particle size while chemical composition of the synthesized materials was investigated by EDAX. UV-visible absorption spectrum of Mn-doped ZnS was slightly shifted to lower wavelength with respect to the un-doped zinc sulphide with decrease in the size of nanoparticles. Consequently, the band gap was tuned from 3.04 to 3.13 eV. The photoluminescence (PL) emission positioned at 597 nm was ascribed to 4T1 → 6A1 transition within the 3d shell of Mn2+. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis revealed that the synthesized nanomaterials existed in cubic crystalline state. The effect of embedding un-doped and doped ZnS nanoparticles in the active layer and changing the ratio of PCBM ([6, 6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester) to nanoparticles on the performance of hybrid solar cell was studied. The device with active layer consisting of poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT), [6, 6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM), and un-doped ZnS nanoparticles combined in the ratio of (1:0.5:0.5) attained an efficiency of 2.42% which was found 71% higher than the reference device under the same conditions but not containing nanoparticles. Replacing ZnS nanoparticles with Mn-doped ZnS had a little effect on the enhancement of efficiency. The packing behavior and morphology of blend of nanoparticles with P3HT:PCBM were examined using atomic force microscope (AFM) and XRD. Contribution to the topical issue "Materials for Energy harvesting, conversion and storage II (ICOME 2016)", edited by Jean-Michel Nunzi, Rachid Bennacer and Mohammed El Ganaoui

  5. Synthesis, structural and optical properties of PVP coated transition metal doped ZnS nanoparticles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Desai, N. V.; Shaikh, I. A.; Rawal, K. G.; Shah, D. V.

    2018-05-01

    The room temperature photoluminescence (PL) of transition metal doped ZnS nanoparticles is investigated in the present study. The PVP coated ZnS nanoparticles doped with transition metals are synthesized by facile wet chemical co-precipitation method with the concentration of impurity 1%. The UV-Vis absorbance spectra have a peak at 324nm which shifts slightly to 321nm upon introduction of the impurity. The incorporation of the transition metal as dopant is confirmed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). The particle size and the morphology are characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), XRD and UV-Vis spectroscopy. The average size of synthesized nanoparticles is about 2.6nm. The room temperature photoluminescence (PL) of undoped and doped ZnS nanoparticles show a strong and sharp peak at 782nm and 781.6nm respectively. The intensity of the PL changes with the type of doping having maximum for manganese (Mn).

  6. Effect of Mo and Ti doping concentration on the structural and optical properties of ZnS nanoparticles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Naz, Hina; Ali, Rai Nauman; Zhu, Xingqun; Xiang, Bin

    2018-06-01

    In this paper, we report the effect of single phase Mo and Ti doping concentration on the structural and optical properties of the ZnS nanoparticles. The structural and optical properties of the as-synthesized samples have been examined by x-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), UV-visible near infrared absorption spectroscopy and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. TEM characterizations reveal a variation in the doped ZnS nanoparticle size distribution by utilizing different dopants of Mo and Ti. In absorption spectra, a clear red shift of 14 nm is observed with increasing Mo concentration as compared to pure ZnS nanoparticles, while by increasing Ti doping concentration, blue shift of 14 nm is obtained. Moreover, it demonstrates that the value of energy band gap decreases from 4.03 eV to 3.89 eV in case of Mo doping. However, the value of energy band gap have shown a remarkable increase from 4.11 eV to 4.27 eV with increasing Ti doping concentration. Our results provide a new pathway to understand the effect of Mo and Ti doping concentrations on the structural and optical properties of ZnS nanoparticles as it could be the key to tune the properties for future optoelectronic devices.

  7. Photoluminescence study of ZnS and ZnS:Pb nanoparticles

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

    Virpal,, E-mail: virpalsharma.sharma@gmail.com; Hastir, Anita; Kaur, Jasmeet

    2015-05-15

    Photoluminescence (PL) study of pure and 5wt. % lead doped ZnS prepared by co-precipitation method was conducted at room temperature. The prepared nanoparticles were characterized by X-ray Diffraction (XRD), UV-Visible (UV-Vis) spectrophotometer, Photoluminescence (PL) and Raman spectroscopy. XRD patterns confirm cubic structure of ZnS and PbS in doped sample. The band gap energy value increased in case of Pb doped ZnS nanoparticles. The PL spectrum of pure ZnS was de-convoluted into two peaks centered at 399nm and 441nm which were attributed to defect states of ZnS. In doped sample, a shoulder peak at 389nm and a broad peak centered atmore » 505nm were observed. This broad green emission peak originated due to Pb activated ZnS states.« less

  8. Optical properties and toxicity of undoped and Mn-doped ZnS semiconductor nanoparticles synthesized through the aqueous route

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Labiadh, Houcine; Sellami, Badreddine; Khazri, Abdelhafidh; Saidani, Wiem; Khemais, Said

    2017-02-01

    Undoped and Mn-doped ZnS nanoparticles were synthesized at 95 °C in basic aqueous solution using the nucleation-doping strategy. Various samples of the Mn:ZnS NPs with 5, 10 and 20% of Mn dopant have been prepared and characterized using X-ray diffraction, energy-dispersive X-ray analysis, high resolution electron microscopy and photoluminescence (PL) measurements. When increasing the concentration of manganese Mn, the photoluminescence intensity gradually decreases. The PL spectra of the Mn-doped ZnS nanoparticles at room temperature exhibit both, the 450 nm blue defect-related emission and the 592 nm orange Mn2+ emission. It is vital to obtain NPs that meet the application requirements, however their environmental toxicity needs to be investigated. In this study, the induction of oxidative stress within the digestive gland of the Ruditapes decussatus organism (clam) is described. Antioxidant enzyme activities (superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT)) as well as malondialdehyde (MDA) levels have been determined in the digestive gland after exposure to 100 μg/L of ZnS, ZnS:Mn (5%), ZnS:Mn (10%) and ZnS:Mn (20%). The nanomaterials studied exhibit different responses in the digestive gland. Undoped Mn-ZnS has no effect on the markers considered, showing the limited interaction between this nanoparticle and the cells of the test organisms. In contrast, Mn-doped ZnS increases the activities of SOD and CAT and the level of MDA species, although this toxicity is highly dependent on the chemical properties of the material. These findings provide ideas for future considerations of ZnS nanoparticles, as well as information on the interaction between these materials and an aquatic environment. These data are the first evidence available of the formation of ZnS NPs using aqueous method and are an indication of the importance of knowing the biological target of the NPs when testing their potential impact on environmental model organisms.

  9. Hydrothermal synthesis and magnetic properties of Mn doped ZnS nanoparticles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rashad, M. M.; Rayan, D. A.; El-Barawy, K.

    2010-01-01

    Nanocrystallite Mn doped Zn1-XS (X = 0 to 0.4) powders have been synthesized through a hydrothermal route. The effect of the hydrothermal temperature and Mn2+ ions substitution on the crystal structure, crystallite size, microstructure and magnetic properties were investigated using (XRD), (SEM) and (VSM). The results revealed that wurtzite zinc sulfide phase was formed using thiourea as a sulfur source at temperature 150- 200oC for 24 h. The crystallite size was (7.9-15.1 nm) was obtained at the same conditions. The doping of Mn2+ ions decreased the crystallite size of the formed ZnS wurtzite phase was in the range between 7.9 and 3.8 nm. SEM micrographs showed that the produced ZnS and Mn doped ZnS particles were appeared as spherical shape. The magnetic properties were improved by substitution of Mn2+ ions up to 0.2.

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

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hamanaka, Yasushi; Yukitoki, Daichi; Kuzuya, Toshihiro

    2015-09-01

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

  11. Effect of aluminum and yttrium doping on zinc sulphide nanoparticles

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

    Sharma, Swati, E-mail: sharma.swati1507@gmail.com; Kashyap, Jyoti; Kapoor, A.

    2016-05-06

    In this work, pristine and doped Zinc Sulphide (ZnS) nanoparticles have been synthesized via chemical co-precipitation method. ZnS nanoparticles have been doped with Aluminium (Al) and Yttrium (Y) with doping concentration of 5wt% each. The structural and optical properties of the as prepared nanoparticles have been studied using X-Ray diffraction (XRD) technique and Photoluminescence spectroscopy. Average grain size of 2-3nm is observed through the XRD analysis. Effect of doping on stress, strain and lattice constant of the nanoparticles has also been analyzed. Photoluminescence spectra of the as prepared nanoparticles is enhanced due to Al doping and quenched due to Ymore » doping. EDAX studies confirm the relative doping percentage to be 3.47 % and 3.94% by wt. for Al and Y doped nanoparticles respectively. Morphology of the nanoparticles studied using TEM and SEM indicates uniform distribution of spherical nanoparticles.« less

  12. Effect of isovalent dopants on photodegradation ability of ZnS nanoparticles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Khaparde, Rohini; Acharya, Smita

    2016-06-01

    Isovalent (Mn, Cd, Cu, Co)-doped-ZnS nanoparticles having size vary in between 2 to 5 nm are synthesized by co-precipitation route. Their photocatalytic activity for decoloration of Cango Red and Malachite Green dyes is tested in visible radiation under natural conditions. Structural and morphological features of the samples are investigated by X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) and UVsbnd Vis spectrometer. Single phase zinc blende structure of as-synthesized undoped and doped-ZnS is confirmed by XRD and revealed by Rietveld fitting. SEM and TEM images show ultrafine nanoparticles having size in the range of 2 to 5 nm. UV-Vis absorption spectra exhibit blue shift in absorption edge of undoped and doped ZnS as compared to bulk counterpart. The photocatalytic activity as a function of dopant concentration and irradiation time is systematically studied. The rate of de-coloration of dyes is detected by UVsbnd Vis absorption spectroscopy and organic dye mineralization is confirmed by table of carbon (TOC) study. The photocatalytic activity of Mn-doped ZnS is highest amongst all dopants; however Co as a dopant is found to reduce photocatalytic activity than pure ZnS.

  13. Influence of the dopant concentration on structural, optical and photovoltaic properties of Cu-doped ZnS nanocrystals based bulk heterojunction hybrid solar cells

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jabeen, Uzma; Adhikari, Tham; Shah, Syed Mujtaba; Pathak, Dinesh; Wagner, Tomas; Nunzi, Jean-Michel

    2017-06-01

    Zinc sulphide (ZnS) and Cu-doped ZnS nanoparticles were synthesized by the wet chemical method. The nanoparticles were characterized by UV-visible, fluorescence, fourier transform infra-red (FTIR) spectrometry, X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectrometry (XPS), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). Scanning electron microscopy supplemented with EDAX was employed to observe the morphology and chemical composition of the un-doped and doped samples. A significant blue shift of the absorption band with respect to the un-doped zinc sulphide was sighted by increasing the Cu concentration in the doped sample with decreasing the size of nanoparticles. Consequently, the band gap was tuned from 3.13 to 3.49 eV due to quantum confinement. The green emission arises from the recombination between the shallow donor level (sulfur vacancy) and the t2 level of Cu2+. However, the fluorescence emission spectrum of the undoped ZnS nanoparticles was deconvoluted into two bands, which are centered at 419 and 468 nm. XRD analysis showed that the nanomaterials were in cubic crystalline state. XRD peaks show that there were no massive crystalline distortions in the crystal lattice when the Cu concentration (0.05-0.1 M) was increased in the ZnS lattice. However, in the case of Cu-doped samples (0.15-0.2 M), the XRD pattern showed an additional peak at 37° due to incomplete substitution occurring during the experimental reaction step. A comparative study of surfaces of undoped and Cu-doped ZnS nanoparticles were investigated using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The synthesized nanomaterial in combination with poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) was used in the fabrication of solar cells. The devices with ZnS nanoparticles showed an efficiency of 0.31%. The overall power conversion efficiency of the solar cells at 0.1 M Cu content in doped ZnS nanoparticles was found to be 1.6 times higher than the

  14. Silver nanoparticles-enhanced time-resolved fluorescence sensor for VEGF(165) based on Mn-doped ZnS quantum dots.

    PubMed

    Zhu, Dong; Li, Wei; Wen, Hong-Mei; Yu, Sheng; Miao, Zhao-Yi; Kang, An; Zhang, Aihua

    2015-12-15

    A silver nanoparticles (AgNPs)-enhanced time-resolved fluorescence (TR-FL) sensor based on long-lived fluorescent Mn-doped ZnS quantum dots (QDs) is developed for the sensitive detection of vascular endothelial growth factor-165 (VEGF165), a predominant cancer biomarker in cancer angiogenesis. The aptamers bond with the Mn-doped ZnS QDs and the BHQ-2 quencher-labelling strands hybridized in duplex are coupled with streptavidin (SA)-functionalized AgNPs to form the AgNPs-enhanced TR-FL sensor, showing lower fluorescence intensity in the duplex state due to the fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) between the Mn-doped ZnS QDs and quenchers. Upon the addition of VEGF165, the BHQ-2 quencher-labelling strands of the duplex are displaced, leading to the disruption of the FRET. As a result, the fluorescence of the Mn-doped QDs within the proximity of the AgNPs is recovered. The FL signal can be measured free of the interference of short-lived background by setting appropriate delay time and gate time, which offers a signal with high signal-to-noise ratio in photoluminescent biodetection. Compared with the bare TR-FL sensor, the AgNPs-based TR-FL sensor showed a huge improvement in fluorescence based on metal-enhanced fluorescence (MEF) effect, and the sensitivity increased 11-fold with the detection limit of 0.08 nM. In addition, the sensor provided a wide range of linear detection from 0.1 nM to 16 nM. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  15. Electrical properties of a novel 1,3-bis-(p-iminobenzoic acid) indane Langmuir-Blodgett films containing ZnS nanoparticles.

    PubMed

    Sari, H; Uzunoglu, T; Capan, R; Serin, N; Serin, T; Tarimci, C; Hassan, A K; Namli, H; Turhan, O

    2007-08-01

    ZnS nanoparticles have been formed in a newly synthesized 1,3-bis-(p-iminobenzoic acid) indane (IBI) by exposing Zn2+ doped multilayered Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) film to H2S gas after the growth. The formation of ZnS nanoparticles in the LB film structure was verified by measuring UV-Visible absorption spectra. DC electrical measurements were carried out for thin films of IBI prepared in a metal/LB films/metal sandwich structure with and without ZnS nanoparticles. It was observed that ZnS nanoparticles in the LB films cause a blue-shift in the absorption spectra as well as a decrease in both capacitance and conductivity values. By analysing I-V curves and assuming a Schottky conduction mechanism the barrier height was found to be about 1.13 eV and 1.21 eV for IBI LB films without and with ZnS nanoparticles, respectively. It is thought that the presence of ZnS nanoparticles influences the barrier height at the metal-organic film interface and causes a change in electrical conduction properties of LB films.

  16. Protein-directed synthesis of Mn-doped ZnS quantum dots: a dual-channel biosensor for two proteins.

    PubMed

    Wu, Peng; Zhao, Ting; Tian, Yunfei; Wu, Lan; Hou, Xiandeng

    2013-06-03

    Proteins typically have nanoscale dimensions and multiple binding sites with inorganic ions, which facilitates the templated synthesis of nanoparticles to yield nanoparticle-protein hybrids with tailored functionality, water solubility, and tunable frameworks with well-defined structure. In this work, we report a protein-templated synthesis of Mn-doped ZnS quantum dots (QDs) by exploring bovine serum albumin (BSA) as the template. The obtained Mn-doped ZnS QDs give phosphorescence emission centered at 590 nm, with a decay time of about 1.9 ms. A dual-channel sensing system for two different proteins was developed through integration of the optical responses (phosphorescence emission and resonant light scattering (RLS)) of Mn-doped ZnS QDs and recognition of them by surface BSA phosphorescent sensing of trypsin and RLS sensing of lysozyme. Trypsin can digest BSA and remove BSA from the surface of Mn-doped ZnS QDs, thus quenching the phosphorescence of QDs, whereas lysozyme can assemble with BSA to lead to aggregation of QDs and enhanced RLS intensity. The detection limits for trypsin and lysozyme were 40 and 3 nM, respectively. The selectivity of the respective channel for trypsin and lysozyme was evaluated with a series of other proteins. Unlike other protein sensors based on nanobioconjugates, the proposed dual-channel sensor employs only one type of QDs but can detect two different proteins. Further, we found the RLS of QDs can also be useful for studying the BSA-lysozyme binding stoichiometry, which has not been reported in the literature. These successful biosensor applications clearly demonstrate that BSA not only serves as a template for growth of Mn-doped ZnS QDs, but also impacts the QDs for selective recognition of analyte proteins. Copyright © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  17. Multicolor tuning of manganese-doped ZnS colloidal nanocrystals.

    PubMed

    Quan, Zewei; Yang, Dongmei; Li, Chunxia; Kong, Deyan; Yang, Piaoping; Cheng, Ziyong; Lin, Jun

    2009-09-01

    In this paper, we report a facile route which is based on tuning doping concentration of Mn(2+) ions in ZnS nanocrystals, to achieve deliberate color modulation from blue to orange-yellow under single-wavelength excitation. X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), as well as photoluminescence (PL) spectra were employed to characterize the obtained samples. In this process, the relative emission intensities of both ZnS host (blue) and Mn(2+) dopant (orange-yellow) are sensitive to the Mn(2+) doping concentration, due to the energy transfer from ZnS host to Mn(2+) dopant. As a result of fine-tuning of these two emission components, white emission can be realized for Mn(2+)-doped ZnS nanocrystals. Furthermore, the as-synthesized doped nanocrystals possess extremely narrow size distribution and can be readily transferred into aqueous solution for the next potential applications.

  18. Starch-assisted synthesis and optical properties of ZnS nanoparticles

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

    Tian, Xiuying, E-mail: xiuyingt@yahoo.com; Wen, Jin; Wang, Shumei

    Highlights: • ZnS spherical nanostructure was prepared via starch-assisted method. • The crystalline lattice structure, morphologies, chemical and optical properties of ZnS nanoparticles. • The forming mechanism of ZnS nanoparticles. • ZnS spherical nano-structure can show blue emission at 460–500 nm. - Abstract: ZnS nanoparticles are fabricated via starch-assisted method. The effects of different starch amounts on structure and properties of samples are investigated, and the forming mechanism of ZnS nanoparticles is discussed. By X-ray diffraction (XRD), high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) and selected area electron diffraction (SAED), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), ultraviolet–visible (UV–vis)more » spectroscopy and fluorescence (FL) spectrometer, their phases, crystalline lattice structure, morphologies, chemical and optical properties are characterized. The results show that ZnS has polycrystalline spherical structure with the mean diameter of 130 nm. Sample without starch reveals irregular aggregates with particle size distribution of 0.5–2 μm. The band gap value of ZnS is 3.97 eV. The chemical interaction exists between starch molecules and ZnS nanoparticles by hydrogen bonds. The stronger FL emission peaks of ZnS synthesized with starch, indicate a larger content of sulfur vacancies or defects than ZnS synthesized without starch.« less

  19. Controlling the Photocorrosion of Zinc Sulfide Nanoparticles in Water by Doping with Chloride and Cobalt Ions.

    PubMed

    Weide, Philipp; Schulz, Katharina; Kaluza, Stefan; Rohe, Markus; Beranek, Radim; Muhler, Martin

    2016-12-06

    Photodegradation under UV light irradiation is a major drawback in photocatalytic applications of sulfide semiconductors. ZnS nanoparticles were doped with very low amounts of chloride or cobalt ions in the ppm range and codoped with chloride and cobalt ions during their synthesis by precipitation in aqueous solution followed by calcination. The high-temperature wurtzite phase annealed at 800 °C had a high susceptibility to UV irradiation in water, while the low-temperature zincblende phase annealed at 400 °C was found to be stable. Chlorine doping increased the rate of photocorrosion in water, whereas cobalt doping led to a stabilization of the ZnS nanoparticles. Based on photochemical and spectroscopic investigations applying UV/vis, X-ray photoelectron, and photoluminescence spectroscopy, the increased susceptibility of Cl-doped ZnS is ascribed to a higher number of surface point defects, whereas the stabilization by Co 2+ is caused by additional recombination pathways for the charge carriers in the bulk, thus avoiding photocorrosion processes at the surface. Additional doping of Cl-doped ZnS with cobalt ions was found to counteract the detrimental effect of the chloride ions efficiently.

  20. Two and four photon absorption and nonlinear refraction in undoped, chromium doped and copper doped ZnS quantum dots

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sharma, Dimple; Malik, B. P.; Gaur, Arun

    2015-12-01

    The ZnS quantum dots (QDs) with Cr and Cu doping were synthesized by chemical co-precipitation method. The nanostructures of the prepared undoped and doped ZnS QDs were characterized by UV-vis spectroscopy, Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The sizes of QDs were found to be within 3-5 nm range. The nonlinear parameters viz. Two photon absorption coefficient (β2), nonlinear refractive index (n2), third order nonlinear susceptibility (χ3) at wavelength 532 nm and Four photon absorption coefficient (β4) at wavelength 1064 nm have been calculated by Z-scan technique using nanosecond Nd:YAG laser in undoped, Cr doped and Cu doped ZnS QDs. Higher values of nonlinear parameters for doped ZnS infer that they are potential material for the development of photonics devices and sensor protection applications.

  1. Microwave mediated synthesis of ZnS spherical nanoparticles for IR optical ceramics

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ravichandran, D.; Wharton, T.; Devan, B.; Korenstein, R.; Tustison, R.; Komarneni, S.

    2011-06-01

    The existing material choice for long-wave infrared (LWIR) and semi-active laser domes is multispectral zinc sulfide (ZnS), made by chemical vapor deposition. An alternative route to make more erosion-resistant ZnS could be through hot pressing ZnS nanoparticles into small-grain material. We have attempted to produce ZnS nanoparticles both by microwave and microwave-hydrothermal methods. Microwave route produced ultrahigh purity, homogeneous, well dispersed, and uniformly spherical ZnS nanoparticles. Microwave-hydrothermal route produced equiaxed cubic-faceted nanoparticles. The powder X-ray diffraction patterns of ZnS shows the presence of broad reflections corresponding to the (1 1 1), (2 2 0), and (3 1 1) planes of the cubic crystalline ZnS material. The domain size of the particles estimated from the Debye-Scherrer formula for the main reflection (111) gives a value of 2.9 and 2.5 for the microwave and microwave-hydrothermal methods respectively.

  2. Rapid growth and photoluminescence properties of doped ZnS one-dimensional nanostructures

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhuo, R. F.; Feng, H. T.; Yan, D.; Chen, J. T.; Feng, J. J.; Liu, J. Z.; Yan, P. X.

    2008-06-01

    In this paper we report the synthesis of doped ZnS one-dimensional (1D) nanostructures by well-established technique of chemical vapor deposition using Zn and S powder as precursors. The ZnS 1D nanostructures were grown on the surface of Au particle-filled anodic aluminum oxide templates, catalyst-free graphite sheets and silicon substrates. ZnS 1D nanostructures with Mn, Cu and Fe as dopants were prepared via a rapid process of 15-20 min. The morphologies of ZnS nanostructures synthesized on different substrates and at different growth temperatures have distinct dissimilarities. The size of ZnS nanowires originated from the Au catalysts could be varied by altering the size of membrane nanopores as well as the embedded Au particles. Room-temperature photoluminescence measurements reveal strong blue, green and yellow-orange light emissions from the doped ZnS 1D nanostructures.

  3. Observation of ZnS nanoparticles sputtered from ZnS films under 2 MeV Au irradiation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kuiri, P. K.; Joseph, B.; Ghatak, J.; Lenka, H. P.; Sahu, G.; Acharya, B. S.; Mahapatra, D. P.

    2006-07-01

    ZnS nanoparticles have been observed on catcher foils due to 2 MeV Au ion irradiation of ZnS films thermally evaporated on Si(1 0 0) substrates. The structure and size distribution of nanoclusters collected were studied using transmission electron microscopy for irradiation fluences in the range of 1 × 10 11-1 × 10 15 ions cm -2. The nanoclusters were found to have a hexagonal wurtzite structure. Optical absorption measurements on similarly deposited ZnS on silica glass indicate the film to be also composed of hexagonal wurtzite ZnS. Based on this and available data we argue that the observed nanoparticles on the catcher foils are the results of shock waves induced emission of material chunks with the same atomic coordination as in the target.

  4. ZnO nanorods decorated with ZnS nanoparticles

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

    Joicy, S.; Sivakumar, P.; Thangadurai, P., E-mail: thangaduraip.nst@pondiuni.edu.in

    In this study, ZnO nanorods (NRs) and ZnS nanoparticles decorated ZnO-NRs were prepared by a combination of hydrothermal and hydrolysis method. Structural and optical properties of the samples were studied by XRD, FE-SEM, UV-Vis DRS and photoluminescence spectroscopy. Microscopy analysis revealed that the diameter of ZnO-NRs was ∼500 nm and the length was ranging from a few hundred nm to several micrometers and their surface was decorated with ZnS nanoparticles. UV-Vis DRS showed the absorption of ZnS decorated ZnO-NRs was blue shifted with respect to pure ZnO-NRs which enhanced the separation of electron-hole pairs. PL spectrum of ZnS decorated ZnO-NRs showedmore » a decrease in intensity of UV and green emissions with the appearance of blue emission at 436 nm.« less

  5. Facile production of ZnS quantum dot nanoparticles by Saccharomyces cerevisiae MTCC 2918.

    PubMed

    Sandana Mala, John Geraldine; Rose, Chellan

    2014-01-20

    Microbial synthesis of nanoparticles is a green route towards ecofriendly measures to overcome the toxicity and non-applicability of nanomaterials in clinical uses obtained by conventional physical and chemical approaches. Nanoparticles in the quantum regime have remarkable characteristics with excellent applicability in bioimaging. Yeasts have been commercially exploited for several industrial applications. ZnS nanoparticles as semiconductor quantum dots have mostly been synthesized by bacterial species. Here in, we have attempted to produce ZnS nanoparticles in quantum regime by Saccharomyces cerevisiae MTCC 2918 fungus and characterize its size and spectroscopic properties. Intracellular ZnS nanoparticles were produced by a facile procedure and freeze thaw extraction using 1mM zinc sulfate. The ZnS nanoparticles showed surface plasmon resonance band at 302.57nm. The ZnS nanoparticles were in low yield and in the size range of 30-40nm. Powder XRD analysis revealed that the nanoparticles were in the sphalerite phase. Photoluminescence spectra excited at 280nm and 325nm revealed quantum confinement effects. This suggests that yeasts have inherent sulfate metabolizing systems and are capable fungal sources to assimilate sulfate. Further insights are required to identify the transport/reducing processes that may have caused the synthesis of ZnS nanoparticles such as an oxidoreductase enzyme-mediated mechanism. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  6. Fabrication of ZnS nanoparticle chains on a protein template

    PubMed Central

    Hulleman, J.; Kim, S. M.; Tumkur, T.; Rochet, J.-C.; Stach, E.; Stanciu, L.

    2011-01-01

    In the present study, we have exploited the properties of a fibrillar protein for the template synthesis of zinc sulfide (ZnS) nanoparticle chains. The diameter of the ZnS nanoparticle chains was tuned in range of ~30 to ~165 nm by varying the process variables. The nanoparticle chains were characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy, UV–Visible spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, electron energy loss spectroscopy, and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. The effect of incubation temperature on the morphology of the nanoparticle chains was also studied. PMID:21804765

  7. High potential of Mn-doped ZnS nanoparticles with different dopant concentrations as novel MRI contrast agents: synthesis and in vitro relaxivity studies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jahanbin, Tania; Gaceur, Meriem; Gros-Dagnac, Hélène; Benderbous, Soraya; Merah, Souad Ammar

    2015-06-01

    Over several decades, metal-doped quantum dots (QDs) with core-shell structure have been studied as dual probes: fluorescence and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) probes (Dixit et al., Mater Lett 63(30):2669-2671, 2009). However, metal-doped nanoparticles, in which the majority of metal ions are close to the surface, can affect their efficacy as MRI contrast agents (CAs). In this context, herein the high potential of synthesized Mn-doped ZnS QDs via polyol method as imaging probe is demonstrated. The mean diameters of QDs were measured via transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Optical and magnetic properties of MnZnS nanoparticles were characterized using fluorescence spectroscopy and super quanducting interference devices magnetometer and electron paramagnetic resonance system, respectively. T1- and T2-weighted images of nanoparticles in aqueous solution were acquired from spin-echo sequences at 3 T. From TEM images and XRD spectra of the prepared nanoparticles, it is observed that the average diameter of particles does not significantly change with Mn dopant content ( 1.6-1.9 nm). All three samples exhibit broad blue emission under UV light excitation. According to the MRI studies, MnZnS nanoparticles generate strong T1 contrast enhancement (bright T1-weighted images) at the low concentration (<0.1 mM). The MnZnS nanoparticles exhibit the high longitudinal ( r 1) relaxivity that increases from 20.34 to 75.5 mM-1 s-1 with the Mn dopant contents varying between 10 and 30 %. Strong signal intensity on T1-weighted images and high r 1 with {r2 }/{r_{1 }} ≈ 1 can demonstrate the high potential of the synthesized Mn:ZnS nanoparticles, which can serve as an effective T1 CA.

  8. Fast imaging of eccrine latent fingerprints with nontoxic Mn-doped ZnS QDs.

    PubMed

    Xu, Chaoying; Zhou, Ronghui; He, Wenwei; Wu, Lan; Wu, Peng; Hou, Xiandeng

    2014-04-01

    Fingerprints are unique characteristics of an individual, and their imaging and recognition is a top-priority task in forensic science. Fast LFP (latent fingerprint) acquirement can greatly help policemen in screening the potential criminal scenes and capturing fingerprint clues. Of the two major latent fingerprints (LFP), eccrine is expected to be more representative than sebaceous in LFP identification. Here we explored the heavy metal-free Mn-doped ZnS quantum dots (QDs) as a new imaging moiety for eccrine LFPs. To study the effects of different ligands on the LFP image quality, we prepared Mn-doped ZnS QDs with various surface-capping ligands using QDs synthesized in high-temperature organic media as starting material. The orange fluorescence emission from Mn-doped ZnS QDs clearly revealed the optical images of eccrine LFPs. Interestingly, N-acetyl-cysteine-capped Mn-doped ZnS QDs could stain the eccrine LFPs in as fast as 5 s. Meanwhile, the levels 2 and 3 substructures of the fingerprints could also be simultaneously and clearly identified. While in the absence of QDs or without rubbing and stamping the finger onto foil, no fluorescent fingerprint images could be visualized. Besides fresh fingerprint, aged (5, 10, and 50 days), incomplete eccrine LFPs could also be successfully stained with N-acetyl-cysteine-capped Mn-doped ZnS QDs, demonstrating the analytical potential of this method in real world applications. The method was also robust for imaging of eccrine LFPs on a series of nonporous surfaces, such as aluminum foil, compact discs, glass, and black plastic bags.

  9. Influence of Structural Defects on Biomineralized ZnS Nanoparticle Dissolution: An in-Situ Electron Microscopy Study.

    PubMed

    Eskelsen, Jeremy R; Xu, Jie; Chiu, Michelle; Moon, Ji-Won; Wilkins, Branford; Graham, David E; Gu, Baohua; Pierce, Eric M

    2018-02-06

    The dissolution of metal sulfides, such as ZnS, is an important biogeochemical process affecting fate and transport of trace metals in the environment. However, current studies of in situ dissolution of metal sulfides and the effects of structural defects on dissolution are lacking. Here we have examined the dissolution behavior of ZnS nanoparticles synthesized via several abiotic and biological pathways. Specifically, we have examined biogenic ZnS nanoparticles produced by an anaerobic, metal-reducing bacterium Thermoanaerobacter sp. X513 in a Zn-amended, thiosulfate-containing growth medium in the presence or absence of silver (Ag), and abiogenic ZnS nanoparticles were produced by mixing an aqueous Zn solution with either H 2 S-rich gas or Na 2 S solution. The size distribution, crystal structure, aggregation behavior, and internal defects of the synthesized ZnS nanoparticles were examined using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (TEM) coupled with X-ray energy dispersive spectroscopy. The characterization results show that both the biogenic and abiogenic samples were dominantly composed of sphalerite. In the absence of Ag, the biogenic ZnS nanoparticles were significantly larger (i.e., ∼10 nm) than the abiogenic ones (i.e., ∼3-5 nm) and contained structural defects (e.g., twins and stacking faults). The presence of trace Ag showed a restraining effect on the particle size of the biogenic ZnS, resulting in quantum-dot-sized nanoparticles (i.e., ∼3 nm). In situ dissolution experiments for the synthesized ZnS were conducted with a liquid-cell TEM (LCTEM), and the primary factors (i.e., the presence or absence structural defects) were evaluated for their effects on the dissolution behavior using the biogenic and abiogenic ZnS nanoparticle samples with the largest average particle size. Analysis of the dissolution results (i.e., change in particle radius with time) using the Kelvin equation shows that the defect-bearing biogenic ZnS nanoparticles

  10. Synthesis of Mn doped ZnS nanocrystals: Crystallographic and morphological study

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shaikh, Azharuddin Z.; Shirsath, Narendra B.; Sonawane, Prabhakar S.

    2018-05-01

    The influence of doping concentration on the physical properties of ZnS nanocrystals synthesized using coprecipitation method at room temperature is reported in this paper. In particular, we have studied the structural properties of Zn1-xMnxS where (x=0.01, 0.03, 0.05) by X-ray diffraction. X-ray peak broadening analysis used to calculate the crystalline sizes, lattice parameters, number of unit cell per particle and volume of unit cell. Crystalline ZnS with a cubic structure is confirmed by XRD results. The grain size of pure and Mn doped samples were found in the range of 7nm to 9nm. All the physical parameters of cubic ZnS nanocrystals were calculated are similar with standard values. The scanning electron microscope (SEM) which revealed that the synthesized nanocrystals are well-crystalline and possessing cubic phase.

  11. Influence of Structural Defects on Biomineralized ZnS Nanoparticle Dissolution: An In-Situ Electron Microscopy Study

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

    Eskelsen, Jeremy R.; Xu, Jie; Chiu, Michelle Y.

    The dissolution of metal sulfides, such as ZnS, plays an important role in the fate of metal contaminants in the environment. Here we have examined the dissolution behavior of ZnS nanoparticles synthesized via several abiotic and biological pathways. Specifically, the biogenic ZnS nanoparticles were produced by an anaerobic, metal-reducing bacterium Thermoanaerobacter sp. X513 in a Zn-amended, thiosulfate-containing growth medium, whereas the abiogenic ZnS nanoparticles were produced by mixing an aqueous Zn solution with either H 2S-rich gas or Na 2S solution. For biogenic synthesis, we prepared two types of samples, in the presence or absence of trace silver (Ag). Themore » size distribution, crystal structure, aggregation behavior, and internal defects of the synthesized ZnS nanoparticles were primarily examined using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy coupled with X-ray energy dispersive spectroscopy. The characterization results show that both the biogenic and abiogenic samples were dominantly composed of sphalerite. In the absence of Ag, the biogenic ZnS nanoparticles were significantly larger (i.e., ~10 nm) than the abiogenic ones (i.e., ~3–5 nm) and contained structural defects (e.g., twins and stacking faults). The presence of trace Ag showed a restraining effect on the particle size of the biogenic ZnS, resulting in quantum-dot-sized nanoparticles (i.e., ~3 nm). In situ dissolution experiments for the synthesized ZnS were conducted with a liquid-cell coupled to a transmission electron microscope (LCTEM), and the primary factors (i.e., the presence or absence structural defects) were evaluated for their effects on the dissolution behavior using the biogenic and abiogenic ZnS nanoparticle samples with the largest average particle size. Analysis of the dissolution results (i.e., change in particle radius with time) using the Kelvin equation shows that the defect-bearing biogenic ZnS nanoparticles (γ = 0.799 J/m 2) have a significantly

  12. Outstanding features of Cu-doped ZnS nanoclusters

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tawfik, Wael Z.; Farghali, A. A.; Moneim, Ahmed; Imam, N. G.; El-Dek, S. I.

    2018-05-01

    ZnS and their Cu-doped nanoclusters (NCs) were synthesized successfully using the wet chemical route with different Cu content. The crystalline structure was investigated using x-ray powder diffraction which assured the single-phase formation in cubic symmetry. High-resolution transmission electron microscope indicated the microstructure of NCs with a size ranging from 2–4 nm. A butterfly hysteresis (M-H) loop was observed at room temperature with large values of coercivity for the Cu content of x = 0.05. Photoluminescence emission spectra were recorded from 500–615 nm for pure and Cu-doped ZnS NCs at a 350 nm excitation wavelength. The sample exhibited green fluorescence bands peaking at 535, 544, 552.5, 558.2, and 560.6 nm, which confirmed the characteristic feature of Zn2+ as luminescent centers in the lattice. The additional yellow and orange emissions are due to defect levels or/and impurity centers. The dielectric constant as well as the conductivity values increased with increasing Cu content.

  13. Latex-mediated synthesis of ZnS nanoparticles: green synthesis approach

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hudlikar, Manish; Joglekar, Shreeram; Dhaygude, Mayur; Kodam, Kisan

    2012-05-01

    A low-cost, green synthesis of ZnS nanoparticles is reported using 0.3 % latex solution prepared from Jatropha curcas L. ZnS nanoparticles were characterized by X-ray diffraction, selected area electron diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, energy dispersive analysis of X-rays, UV-vis optical absorption and photoluminescence techniques. Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy was performed to find the role of cyclic peptides namely curcacycline A (an octapeptide), curcacycline B (a nonapeptide) and curcain (an enzyme) as a possible reducing and stabilizing agents present in the latex of J. curcas L. The average size of ZnS nanoparticles was found to be 10 nm. Latex of J. curcas L. itself acts as a source of sulphide (S-2) ions that are donated to Zn ions under present experimental conditions. Source of sulphide (S-2) ions is still unclear, but we speculate that cysteine or thiol residues present in enzyme curcain may be donating these sulphide (S-2) ions.

  14. Synthesis, characterization and photovoltaic performance of Mn-doped ZnS quantum dots- P3HT hybrid bulk heterojunction solar cells

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jabeen, Uzma; Adhikari, Tham; Shah, Syed Mujtaba; Pathak, Dinesh; Nunzi, Jean-Michel

    2017-11-01

    Zinc sulphide (ZnS) and transition metal-doped ZnS nanocrystals were synthesized by co-precipitation method. Further the synthesized nanocrystals were characterized by Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FESEM), High Resolution Transmission Electron Microscope (HRTEM), Fluorescence, UV-Visible, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier Transformed Infra-red (FTIR) Spectrometer (FTIR). Scanning electron microscope supplemented with EDAX was employed to attain grain size and chemical composition of the nanomaterials. A considerable blue shift of absorption band was noted by the manganese concentration (0.5 M) in the doped sample in comparison with ZnS quantum dots because of the decrease in the size of nanoparticles which may be due to quantum confinement. The photoluminescence emission observed at 596 nm is due to the emission of divalent manganese and can be ascribed to a 4T1→6A1 transition within the 3d shell. Though, the broad blue emission band was observed at 424 nm which may originates from the radiative recombination comprising defect states in the un-doped zinc sulphide quantum dots. XRD analysis exhibited that the synthesized nanomaterial endured in cubic structure. The synthesized nanomaterial combined with organic polymer P3HT, poly (3-hexyl thiophene) and worked in the construction of inverted solar cells. The photovoltaic devices with un-doped zinc sulphide quantum dots showed power conversion efficiency of 0.48% without annealing and 0.52% with annealing. By doping with manganese, the efficiency was enhanced by a factor of 0.52 without annealing and 0.59 with annealing. The morphology and packing behavior of blend of nanocrystals with organic polymer were explored using Atomic Force Microscopy.

  15. Controlled synthesis of Eu 2+ and Eu 3+ doped ZnS quantum dots and their photovoltaic and magnetic properties

    DOE PAGES

    Horoz, Sabit; Yakami, Baichhabi; Poudyal, Uma; ...

    2016-04-27

    Eu-doped ZnS quantum dots (QDs) have been synthesized by wet-chemical method and found to form in zinc blende (cubic) structure. Both Eu 2+ and Eu 3+ doped ZnS can be controllably synthesized. The Eu 2+ doped ZnS QDs show broad photoluminescence emission peak around 512 nm, which is from the Eu2+ intra-ion transition of 4f 6d1 – 4f 7, while the Eu 3+ doped samples exhibit narrow emission lines characteristic of transitions between the 4f levels. The investigation of the magnetic properties shows that the Eu 3+ doped samples exhibit signs of ferromagnetism, on the other hand, Eu 2+ dopedmore » samples are paramagnetic of Curie-Weiss type. The incident photon to electron conversion efficiency is increased with the Eu doping, which suggests the QD solar cell efficiency can be enhanced by Eu doping due to widened absorption windows. This is an attractive approach to utilize benign and environmentally friendly wide band gap ZnS QDs in solar cell technology.« less

  16. Synthesis of Mn-doped ZnS architectures in ternary solution and their optical properties

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wang, Xinjuan; Zhang, Qinglin; Zou, Bingsuo; Lei, Aihua; Ren, Pinyun

    2011-10-01

    Mn-doped ZnS sea urchin-like architectures were fabricated by a one-pot solvothermal route in a ternary solution made of ethylenediamine, ethanolamine and distilled water. The as-prepared products were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and photoluminescence spectra (PL). It was demonstrated that the as-prepared sea urchin-like architectures with diameter of 0.5-1.5 μm were composed of nanorods, possessing a wurtzite structures. The preferred growth orientation of nanorods was found to be the [0 0 2] direction. The PL spectra of the Mn-doped ZnS sea urchin-like architectures show a strong orange emission at 587 nm, indicating the successful doping of Mn 2+ ions into ZnS host. Ethanolamine played the role of oriented-assembly agent in the formation of sea urchin-like architectures. A possible growth mechanism was proposed to explain the formation of sea urchin-like architectures.

  17. Structural and optical properties of Mg doped ZnS quantum dots and biological applications

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ashokkumar, M.; Boopathyraja, A.

    2018-01-01

    Zn1-xMgxS (x = 0, 0.2 and 0.4) quantum dots (QDs) were prepared by co-precipitation method. The Mg dopant did not modify the cubic blende structure of ZnS QDs. The Mg related secondary phase was not detected even for 40% of Mg doping. The size mismatch between host Zn ion and dopant Mg ion created distortion around the dopant. The creation of distortion centres produced small changes in the lattice parameters and diffraction peak position. All the QDs showed small sulfur deficiency and the deficiency level were increased by Mg doping. Band gap of the QD was decreased due to the dominated quantum confinement effect over compositional effect at initial doping of Mg. But at higher doping the band gap was increased due to compositional effect, since there was no change in average crystallite size. The prepared QDs had three emission bands in the UV and Visible regions corresponding to near band edge emission and defect related emissions. The electron transport reaction chain which forms free radicals was broken by sulfur vacancy trap sites. Therefore, the ZnS QDs had better antioxidant activity and the antioxidant behaviour was enhanced by Mg doping. The enhanced UV absorption and emission of 20% of Mg doped ZnS QDs let to maximize the zone of inhibition against E. Coli bacterial strain.

  18. Structural, magnetic and optical properties of ZnO nanostructures converted from ZnS nanoparticles

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

    Patel, Prayas Chandra; Ghosh, Surajit; Srivastava, P.C., E-mail: pcsrivastava50@gmail.com

    Graphical abstract: The phase conversion of ZnS to highly crystalline hexagonal ZnO was done by heat treatment. - Highlights: • Phase change of cubic ZnS to hexagonal ZnO via heat treatment. • Band gap was found to decrease with increasing calcinations temperature. • ZnO samples have higher magnetic moment than ZnS. • Blocking Temperature of the samples is well above room temperature. • Maximum negative%MR with saturation value ∼38% was found for sample calcined at 600° C. - Abstract: The present work concentrates on the synthesis of cubic ZnS and hexagonal ZnO semiconducting nanoparticle from same precursor via co-precipitation method.more » The phase conversion of ZnS to highly crystalline hexagonal ZnO was done by heat treatment. From the analysis of influence of calcination temperature on the structural, optical and vibrational properties of the samples, an optimum temperature was found for the total conversion of ZnS nanoparticles to ZnO. Role of quantum confinement due to finite size is evident from the blue shift of the fundamental absorption in UV–vis spectra only in the ZnS nanoparticles. The semiconducting nature of the prepared samples is confirmed from the UV–vis, PL study and transport study. From the magnetic and transport studies, pure ZnO phase was found to be more prone to magnetic field.« less

  19. The influence of doping element on structural and luminescent characteristics of ZnS thin films

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kryshtab, T.; Khomchenko, V. S.; Andraca-Adame, J. A.; Rodionov, V. E.; Khachatryan, V. B.; Tzyrkunov, Yu. A.

    2006-10-01

    For the fabrication of green and blue emitting ZnS structures the elements of I, III, and VII groups (Cu, Al, Ga, Cl) are used as dopants. The influence of type of impurity, doping technique, and type of substrate on crystalline structure and surface morphology together with luminescent properties was investigated. The doping of thin films was realized during the growth process and/or post-deposition thermal treatment. ZnS thin films were deposited by physical (EBE) and chemical (MOCVD) methods onto glass or ceramic (BaTiO 3) substrates. Closed spaced evaporation and thermodiffusion methods were used for the post-deposition doping of ZnS films. X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques, atomic force microscopy (AFM), and measurements of photoluminescent (PL) spectra were used for the investigations. It was shown that the doping by the elements of I (Cu) and III (Al, Ga) groups does not change the crystal structure during the thermal treatment up to 1000 ∘C, whereas simultaneous use of the elements of I (Cu) and VII (Cl) groups leads to decrease of the phase transition temperature to 800 ∘C. The presence of impurities in the growth process leads to a grain size increase. At post-deposition treatment Ga and Cl act as activators of recrystallization process. The transition of ZnS sphalerite lattice to wurtzite one leads to the displacement of the blue emission band position towards the short-wavelength range by 10 nm.

  20. Controlled synthesis of Eu{sup 2+} and Eu{sup 3+} doped ZnS quantum dots and their photovoltaic and magnetic properties

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

    Horoz, Sabit; Poudyal, Uma; Wang, Wenyong

    2016-04-15

    Eu-doped ZnS quantum dots (QDs) have been synthesized by wet-chemical method and found to form in zinc blende (cubic) structure. Both Eu{sup 2+} and Eu{sup 3+} doped ZnS can be controllably synthesized. The Eu{sup 2+} doped ZnS QDs show broad photoluminescence emission peak around 512 nm, which is from the Eu{sup 2+} intra-ion transition of 4f{sup 6}d{sup 1} – 4f{sup 7}, while the Eu{sup 3+} doped samples exhibit narrow emission lines characteristic of transitions between the 4f levels. The investigation of the magnetic properties shows that the Eu{sup 3+} doped samples exhibit signs of ferromagnetism, on the other hand, Eu{supmore » 2+} doped samples are paramagnetic of Curie-Weiss type. The incident photon to electron conversion efficiency is increased with the Eu doping, which suggests the QD solar cell efficiency can be enhanced by Eu doping due to widened absorption windows. This is an attractive approach to utilize benign and environmentally friendly wide band gap ZnS QDs in solar cell technology.« less

  1. Study of electrostatically self-assembled thin films of CdS and ZnS nanoparticle semiconductors

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Suryajaya

    In this work, CdS and ZnS semiconducting colloid nanoparticles coated with organic shell, containing either SO[3-] or NH[2+] groups, were deposited as thin films using the technique of electrostatic self-assembly. The films produced were characterized with UV-vis spectroscopy and spectroscopic ellipsometry - for optical properties; atomic force microscopy (AFM) - for morphology study; mercury probe - for electrical characterisation; and photon counter - for electroluminescence study. UV-vis spectra show a substantial blue shift of the main absorption band of both CdS and ZnS, either in the form of solutions or films, with respect to the bulk materials. The calculation of nanoparticles' radii yields the value of about 1.8 nm for both CdS and ZnS.The fitting of standard ellipsometry data gave the thicknesses (d) of nanoparticle layers of around 5 nm for both CdS and ZnS which corresponds well to the size of particles evaluated from UV-vis spectral data if an additional thickness of the organic shell is taken into account. The values of refractive index (n) and extinction coefficient (k) obtained were about 2.28 and 0.7 at 633 nm wavelength, for both CdS and ZnS.Using total internal reflection (TIRE), the process of alternative deposition of poly-allylamine hydrochloride (PAH) and CdS (or ZnS) layers could be monitored in-situ. The dynamic scan shows that the adsorption kinetic of the first layer of PAH or nanoparticles was slower than that of the next layer. The fitting of TIRE spectra gavethicknesses of about 7 nm and 12 nm for CdS and ZnS, respectively. It supports the suggestion of the formation of three-dimensional aggregates of semiconductor nanoparticles intercalated with polyelectrolyte.AFM images show the formation of large aggregates of nanoparticles, about 40-50 nm, for the films deposited from original colloid solutions, while smaller aggregates, about 12-20 nm, were obtained if the colloid solutions were diluted.Current-voltage (I-V) and capacitance

  2. Influence of thiol capping on the photoluminescence properties of L-cysteine-, mercaptoethanol- and mercaptopropionic acid-capped ZnS nanoparticles.

    PubMed

    Tiwari, A; Dhoble, S J; Kher, R S

    2015-11-01

    Mercaptoethanol (ME), mercaptopropionic acid (MPA) and L-cysteine (L-Cys) having -SH functional groups were used as surface passivating agents for the wet chemical synthesis of ZnS nanoparticles. The effect of the thiol group on the optical and photoluminescence (PL) properties of ZnS nanoparticles was studied. L-Cysteine-capped ZnS nanoparticles showed the highest PL intensity among the studied capping agents, with a PL emission peak at 455 nm. The PL intensity was found to be dependent on the concentration of Zn(2+) and S(2-) precursors. The effect of buffer on the PL intensity of L-Cys-capped ZnS nanoparticles was also studied. UV/Vis spectra showed blue shifting of the absorption edge. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  3. Optical, thermal and morphological study of ZnS doped PVA polymer nano composites

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Guruswamy, B.; Ravindrachary, V.; Shruthi, C.; Sagar, Rohan N.; Hegde, Shreedatta

    2018-05-01

    The effect of ZnS nano particle doping on optical, thermal properties and morphological study of the PVA polymer has been investigated using FTIR, UV-Visible and TGA, FESEM techniques. Nano sized ZnS particles were synthesized by a simple wet chemical route. Pure and ZnS/PVA nano composites were prepared using solution casting technique. The FTIR study confirms that the ZnS nano particles interacts with the OH group of PVA polymer and forms the complex. The formation of these complexes affects the optical and thermal properties of the composite. The changes in optical properties were studied using UV-Vis absorption method. The variation in thermal property was analysed using TGA results. The modified surface morphology analysis was carried out using FESEM.

  4. ZnS nanoparticles electrodeposited onto ITO electrode as a platform for fabrication of enzyme-based biosensors of glucose.

    PubMed

    Du, Jian; Yu, Xiuping; Wu, Ying; Di, Junwei

    2013-05-01

    The electrochemical and photoelectrochemical biosensors based on glucose oxidase (GOD) and ZnS nanoparticles modified indium tin oxide (ITO) electrode were investigated. The ZnS nanoparticles were electrodeposited directly on the surface of ITO electrode. The enzyme was immobilized on ZnS/ITO electrode surface by sol-gel method to fabricate glucose biosensor. GOD could electrocatalyze the reduction of dissolved oxygen, which resulted in a great increase of the reduction peak current. The reduction peak current decreased linearly with the addition of glucose, which could be used for glucose detection. Moreover, ZnS nanoparticles deposited on ITO electrode surface showed good photocurrent response under illumination. A photoelectrochemical biosensor for the detection of glucose was also developed by monitoring the decreases in the cathodic peak photocurrent. The results indicated that ZnS nanoparticles deposited on ITO substrate were a good candidate material for the immobilization of enzyme in glucose biosensor construction. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  5. A Post-synthetic Modification of II–VI Nanoparticles to Create Tb3+ and Eu3+ Luminophores

    PubMed Central

    Mukherjee, Prasun; Sloan, Robin F.; Shade, Chad M.; Waldeck, David H.; Petoud, Stéphane

    2013-01-01

    We describe a novel method for creating luminescent lanthanide-containing nanoparticles in which the lanthanide cations are sensitized by the semiconductor nanoparticle’s electronic excitation. In contrast to previous strategies, this new approach creates such materials by addition of external salt to a solution of fully formed nanoparticles. We demonstrate this post-synthetic modification for the lanthanide luminescence sensitization of two visible emitting lanthanides (Ln), Tb3+ and Eu3+ ions, through ZnS nanoparticles in which the cations were added post-synthetically as external Ln(NO3)3·xH2O salt to solutions of ZnS nanoparticles. The post-synthetically treated ZnS nanoparticle systems display Tb3+ and Eu3+ luminescence intensities that are comparable to those of doped Zn(Ln)S nanoparticles, which we reported previously (J. Phys. Chem. A, 2011, 115, 4031–4041). A comparison with the synthetically doped systems is used to contrast the spatial distribution of the lanthanide ions, bulk versus surface localized. The post-synthetic strategy described in this work is fundamentally different from the synthetic incorporation (doping) approach and offers a rapid and less synthetically demanding protocol for Tb3+:ZnS and Eu3+:ZnS luminophores, thereby facilitating their use in a broad range of applications. PMID:23997842

  6. Synthesis and influence of ultrasonic treatment on luminescence of Mn incorporated ZnS nanoparticles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cadis, A.-I.; Muresan, L. E.; Perhaita, I.; Munteanu, V.; Karabulut, Y.; Garcia Guinea, J.; Canimoglu, A.; Ayvacikli, M.; Can, N.

    2017-10-01

    Manganese (Mn) doping of ZnS phosphors was achieved by precipitation method using different ultrasound (US) maturation times. The structural and luminescence properties of the samples were carried out by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), photoluminescence (PL), and cathodoluminescence (CL). The real amount of manganese incorporated in ZnS lattice was calculated based on ICP-OES results. According with XRD patterns, the phase structure of ZnS:Mn samples is cubic. EDS spectra reveal deviations of the Mn dopant concentration from the target composition. Both 300 K PL and CL emission spectra of the Mn doped ZnS phosphors display intense orange emission at 590 and 600 nm, respectively, which is characteristic emission of Mn ion corresponding to a 4T1→6A1 transition. Both PL and CL spectra confirmed manganese is substitutionally incorporated into the ZnS host as Mn2+. However, it is suggested that the origin of broad blue emission around 400 nm appeared in CL is due to the radiative recombination at deep level defect states in the ZnS. The ultrasound treatment at first enhances the luminescent intensity by ∼3 times in comparison with samples prepared by classical way. This study gives rise to an optimization guideline, which is extremely demanded for the development of new luminescent materials.

  7. Optical and AFM study of electrostatically assembled films of CdS and ZnS colloid nanoparticles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Suryajaya; Nabok, A.; Davis, F.; Hassan, A.; Higson, S. P. J.; Evans-Freeman, J.

    2008-05-01

    CdS and ZnS semiconducting colloid nanoparticles coated with the organic shell, containing either SO 3- or NH 2+ groups, were prepared using the aqueous phase synthesis. The multilayer films of CdS (or ZnS) were deposited onto glass, quartz and silicon substrates using the technique of electrostatic self-assembly. The films produced were characterized with UV-vis spectroscopy, spectroscopic ellipsometry and atomic force microscopy. A substantial blue shift of the main absorption band with respect to the bulk materials was found for both CdS and ZnS films. The Efros equation in the effective mass approximation (EMA) theoretical model allowed the evaluation of the nanoparticle radius of 1.8 nm, which corresponds well to the ellipsometry results. AFM shows the formation of larger aggregates of nanoparticles on solid surfaces.

  8. Bias Voltage-Dependent Impedance Spectroscopy Analysis of Hydrothermally Synthesized ZnS Nanoparticles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dey, Arka; Dhar, Joydeep; Sil, Sayantan; Jana, Rajkumar; Ray, Partha Pratim

    2018-04-01

    In this report, bias voltage-dependent dielectric and electron transport properties of ZnS nanoparticles were discussed. ZnS nanoparticles were synthesized by introducing a modified hydrothermal process. The powder XRD pattern indicates the phase purity, and field emission scanning electron microscope image demonstrates the morphology of the synthesized sample. The optical band gap energy (E g = 4.2 eV) from UV measurement explores semiconductor behavior of the synthesized material. The electrical properties were performed at room temperature using complex impedance spectroscopy (CIS) technique as a function of frequency (40 Hz-10 MHz) under different forward dc bias voltages (0-1 V). The CIS analysis demonstrates the contribution of bulk resistance in conduction mechanism and its dependency on forward dc bias voltages. The imaginary part of the impedance versus frequency curve exhibits the existence of relaxation peak which shifts with increasing dc forward bias voltages. The dc bias voltage-dependent ac and dc conductivity of the synthesized ZnS was studied on thin film structure. A possible hopping mechanism for electrical transport processes in the system was investigated. Finally, it is worth to mention that this analysis of bias voltage-dependent dielectric and transport properties of as-synthesized ZnS showed excellent properties for emerging energy applications.

  9. Room temperature synthesis of Mn2+ doped ZnS d-dots and observation of tunable dual emission: Effects of doping concentration, temperature, and ultraviolet light illumination

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kole, A. K.; Tiwary, C. S.; Kumbhakar, P.

    2013-03-01

    Mn2+ doped (0-50.0 molar %) ZnS d-dots have been synthesized in water medium by using an environment friendly low cost chemical technique. Tunable dual emission in UV and yellow-orange regions is achieved by tailoring the Mn2+ doping concentration in the host ZnS nanocrystal. The optimum doping concentration for achieving efficient photoluminescence (PL) emission is determined to be ˜1.10 (at. %) corresponding to 40.0 (molar %) of Mn2+ doping concentration used during synthesis. The mechanism of charge transfer from the host to the dopant leading to the intensity modulated tunable (594-610 nm) yellow-orange PL emission is straightforwardly understood as no capping agent is used. The temperature dependent PL emission measurements are carried out, viz., in 1.10 at. % Mn2+ doped sample and the experimental results are explained by using a theoretical PL emission model. It is found that the ratio of non-radiative to radiative recombination rates is temperature dependent and this phenomenon has not been reported, so far, in Mn2+ doped ZnS system. The colour tuning of the emitted light from the samples are evident from the calculated chromaticity coordinates. UV light irradiation for 150 min in 40.0 (molar %) Mn2+ doped sample shows an enhancement of 33% in PL emission intensity.

  10. Conjugation of glucose oxidase onto Mn-doped ZnS quantum dots for phosphorescent sensing of glucose in biological fluids.

    PubMed

    Wu, Peng; He, Yu; Wang, He-Fang; Yan, Xiu-Ping

    2010-02-15

    Integrating various enzymes with nanomaterials provides various nanohybrids with new possibilities in biosensor applications. Furthermore, the enzymatic activity and stability are also improved due to the large surface area of nanomaterials. Here we report the conjugation of glucose oxidase (GOD) onto phosphorescent Mn-doped ZnS quantum dots (QDs) using 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropy)carbodiimide (EDC)/N-hydroxysuccinimide (NHS) as coupling reagents for glucose biosensing based on the effective quenching of the room temperature phosphorescence (RTP) of Mn-doped ZnS QDs by the H(2)O(2) generated from GOD-catalyzed oxidation of glucose. The obtained bioconjugate not only provided improved enzymatic performance with Michaelis-Menten constant of 0.70 mM but also favored biological applications because the phosphorescent detection mode avoided the interference from autofluorescence and scattering light from the biological matrix. In addition, the GOD-conjugated Mn-doped ZnS QDs showed better thermal stability in the temperature range of 20-80 degrees C. The GOD-Mn-doped ZnS QDs based RTP sensor for glucose gave a detection limit of 3 microM and two linear ranges from 10 microM to 0.1 mM and from 0.1 to 1 mM. The developed biosensor was successfully applied to the determination of glucose in real serum samples without the need for any complicated sample pretreatments.

  11. Synthesis and characterization of Ag doped ZnS quantum dots for enhanced photocatalysis of Strychnine asa poison: Charge transfer behavior study by electrochemical impedance and time-resolved photoluminescence spectroscopy.

    PubMed

    Gupta, Vinod Kumar; Fakhri, Ali; Azad, Mona; Agarwal, Shilpi

    2018-01-15

    In this study, the photocatalytic degradation of Strychnine was investigated by ZnS quantum dots and doped with silver in UV systems. ZnS and Ag-ZnS quantum dots were synthesized by chemical method and characterized by powder X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, UV-vis spectra and photoluminescence. The charge transfer process on the semicon-ductor/electrolyte interface was investigated via electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and time-resolved photoluminescence. The average diameters of ZnS and Ag doped ZnS QDs were 3.0-5.0nm and 3.0-5.3nm, respectively. The band gap of ZnS and Ag-ZnS QDs was computed as 3.47 and 3.1eV, respectively. The surface area values of ZnS and Ag-ZnS QDs have been found as 78.25 and 89.54m 2 /g, respectively. The influences of key operating parameters such as initial pH, catalyst dosage, UV radiation intensity, reaction time as well as the effect of initial Strychnine concentration on mineralization extents were studied. The results of the study showed that the maximum removal efficiency of Strychnine had been achieved by un-doped and Ag-doped ZnS QDs at radiation intensity of 100W/m 2 , at time of 60min, pH of 3 and initial Strychnine concentration of 20mg/ml. Also the observations clearly showed that the photocatalysis process with Ag doped ZnS QDs are more effective than un-doped ZnS QDs. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  12. Investigations on structural and optical properties of starch capped ZnS nanoparticles synthesized by microwave irradiation method

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lalithadevi, B.; Mohan Rao, K.; Ramananda, D.

    2018-05-01

    Following a green synthesis method, zinc sulfide (ZnS) nanoparticles were prepared by chemical co-precipitation technique using starch as capping agent. Microwave irradiation was used as heating source. X-ray diffraction studies indicated that nanopowders obtained were polycrystalline possessing ZnS simple cubic structure. Transmission electron microscopic studies indicated that starch limits the agglomeration by steric stabilization. Interaction between ZnS and starch was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy as well as Raman scattering studies. Quantum size effects were observed in optical absorption studies while quenching of defect states on nanoparticles was improved with increase in starch addition as indicated by photoluminescence spectra.

  13. Visible Light-Induced Degradation of Methylene Blue in the Presence of Photocatalytic ZnS and CdS Nanoparticles

    PubMed Central

    Soltani, Nayereh; Saion, Elias; Hussein, Mohd Zobir; Erfani, Maryam; Abedini, Alam; Bahmanrokh, Ghazaleh; Navasery, Manizheh; Vaziri, Parisa

    2012-01-01

    ZnS and CdS nanoparticles were prepared by a simple microwave irradiation method under mild conditions. The obtained nanoparticles were characterized by XRD, TEM and EDX. The results indicated that high purity of nanosized ZnS and CdS was successfully obtained with cubic and hexagonal crystalline structures, respectively. The band gap energies of ZnS and CdS nanoparticles were estimated using UV-visible absorption spectra to be about 4.22 and 2.64 eV, respectively. Photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue was carried out using physical mixtures of ZnS and CdS nanoparticles under a 500-W halogen lamp of visible light irradiation. The residual concentration of methylene blue solution was monitored using UV-visible absorption spectrometry. From the study of the variation in composition of ZnS:CdS, a composition of 1:4 (by weight) was found to be very efficient for degradation of methylene blue. In this case the degradation efficiency of the photocatalyst nanoparticles after 6 h irradiation time was about 73% with a reaction rate of 3.61 × 10−3 min−1. Higher degradation efficiency and reaction rate were achieved by increasing the amount of photocatalyst and initial pH of the solution. PMID:23202896

  14. Optical Properties of Synthesized Nanoparticles ZnS Using Methacrylic Acid as the Capping Agent

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nazerdeylami, Somayeh; Saievar Iranizad, Esmaiel; Molaei, Mehdi

    Optical analysis (UV-vis spectroscopy) of solution of ZnS nanoparticles prepared at room temperature by a chemical capping method using methacrylic acid (MAA) capping agent at concentration of 0.05, 0.2, 0.5 and 1.17 molar is investigated. The spectroscopy results indicate increasing of band gap of ZnS through increasing concentration of the methacrylic acid as capping agent in the solution. According to the relation of Effective Mass Approximation, it is concluded that the size of nanoparticles decreased with the increasing concentration of the capping agent in the tested solutions. The size of the particles is found to be in 1.77-2.05 nm range.

  15. Using fluorescence measurement of zinc ions liberated from ZnS nanoparticle labels in bioassay for Escherichia coli O157:H7

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cowles, Chad L.; Zhu, Xiaoshan; Pai, Chi-Yun

    2011-10-01

    In this study, an alternative approach using ZnS nanoparticle biolabels as fluorescence signal transducers is reported for the immunoassay of E. coli O157:H7 in tap water samples. Instead of measuring the fluorescence of ZnS nanoparticles in the assay, the fluorescence signal is generated through the binding of zinc ions released from nanoparticle labels with zinc-ion sensitive fluorescence indicator Fluozin-3. In the assay, ZnS nanoparticles around 50 nm in diameter were synthesized, bioconjugated, and applied for the detection of E. coli O157:H7. The assay shows a detection range over two orders of magnitude and a detection limit around 1000 colony-forming units (cfu) of E. coli O157:H7.

  16. Polymerizable-group capped ZnS nanoparticle for high refractive index inorganic-organic hydrogel contact lens.

    PubMed

    Zhao, Peili; Xu, Jinku; Zhang, Yongchun; Zhu, Weiyue; Cui, Yuezhi

    2018-09-01

    Refractive index (RI) is an important parameter for contact lens biomaterials. In this paper, a novel polymerizable-group capped ZnS nanoparticle (NP) was synthesized by chemical link between hydroxyl group on the surface of ZnS (ME-capped) and isocyanate group of polymerizable molecule of 2-isocyanatoethyl methacrylate. Then the ZnS NP copolymerized with monomer of 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) and N,N-dimethylacrylamide (DMA) to prepare high refractive index hydrogel contact lens with high content of inorganic ZnS NP. Increasing polymerizable-group capped ZnS content in the hydrogels improved its RI value and mechanical properties, however decreased slightly its transmittance, equilibrium (ESR) and lysozyme deposition on the hydrogel surface. The ZnS-containing hydrogels possessed good cytocompatibility and in vivo biocompatibility in rabbit eyes, demonstrating a potential application as high RI ocular refractive correction biomaterial. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  17. Plasma-assisted quadruple-channel optosensing of proteins and cells with Mn-doped ZnS quantum dots.

    PubMed

    Li, Chenghui; Wu, Peng; Hou, Xiandeng

    2016-02-21

    Information extraction from nano-bio-systems is crucial for understanding their inner molecular level interactions and can help in the development of multidimensional/multimodal sensing devices to realize novel or expanded functionalities. The intrinsic fluorescence (IF) of proteins has long been considered as an effective tool for studying protein structures and dynamics, but not for protein recognition analysis partially because it generally contributes to the fluorescence background in bioanalysis. Here we explored the use of IF as the fourth channel optical input for a multidimensional optosensing device, together with the triple-channel optical output of Mn-doped ZnS QDs (fluorescence from ZnS host, phosphorescence from Mn(2+) dopant, and Rayleigh light scattering from the QDs), to dramatically improve the protein recognition and discrimination resolution. To further increase the cross-reactivity of the multidimensional optosensing device, plasma modification of proteins was explored to enhance the IF difference as well as their interactions with Mn-doped ZnS QDs. Such a sensor device was demonstrated for highly discriminative and precise identification of proteins in human serum and urine samples, and for cancer and normal cells as well.

  18. Fabrication of single Ga-doped ZnS nanowires as high-gain photosensors by focused ion beam deposition

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yen, Shih-Hsiang; Hung, Yu-Chen; Yeh, Ping-Hung; Su, Ya-Wen; Wang, Chiu-Yen

    2017-09-01

    ZnS nanowires were synthesized via a vapor-liquid-solid mechanism and then fabricated into a single-nanowire field-effect transistor by focused ion beam (FIB) deposition. The field-effect electrical properties of the FIB-fabricated ZnS nanowire device, namely conductivity, mobility and hole concentration, were 9.13 Ω-1 cm-1, 13.14 cm2 V-1 s-1and 4.27 × 1018 cm-3, respectively. The photoresponse properties of the ZnS nanowires were studied and the current responsivity, current gain, response time and recovery time were 4.97 × 106 A W-1, 2.43 × 107, 9 s and 24 s, respectively. Temperature-dependent I-V measurements were used to analyze the interfacial barrier height between ZnS and the FIB-deposited Pt electrode. The results show that the interfacial barrier height is as low as 40 meV. The energy-dispersive spectrometer elemental line scan shows the influence of Ga ions on the ZnS nanowire surface on the FIB-deposited Pt contact electrodes. The results of temperature-dependent I-V measurements and the elemental line scan indicate that Ga ions were doped into the ZnS nanowire, reducing the barrier height between the FIB-deposited Pt electrodes and the single ZnS nanowire. The small barrier height results in the FIB-fabricated ZnS nanowire device acting as a high-gain photosensor.

  19. Phosphorescent inner filter effect-based sensing of xanthine oxidase and its inhibitors with Mn-doped ZnS quantum dots.

    PubMed

    Tang, Dandan; Zhang, Jinyi; Zhou, Rongxin; Xie, Ya-Ni; Hou, Xiandeng; Xu, Kailai; Wu, Peng

    2018-05-10

    Overexpression and crystallization of uric acid have been recognized as the course of hyperuricemia and gout, which is produced via xanthine oxidase (XOD)-catalyzed oxidation of xanthine. Therefore, the medicinal therapy of hyperuricemia and gout is majorly based on the inhibition of the XOD enzymatic pathway. The spectroscopic nature of xanthine and uric acid, namely both absorption (near the ultraviolet region) and emission (non-fluorescent) characteristics, hinders optical assay development for XOD analysis. Therefore, the state-of-the-art analysis of XOD and the screening of XOD inhibitors are majorly based on chromatography. Here, we found the near ultraviolet absorption of uric acid overlapped well with the absorption of a large bandgap semiconductor quantum dots, ZnS. On the other hand, the intrinsic weak fluorescence of ZnS QDs can be substantially improved via transition metal ion doping. Therefore, herein, we developed an inner filter effect-based assay for XOD analysis and inhibitor screening with Mn-doped ZnS QDs. The phosphorescence of Mn-doped ZnS QDs could be quenched by uric acid generated from xanthine catabolism by XOD, leading to the phosphorescence turn-off detection of XOD with a limit of detection (3σ) of 0.02 U L-1. Furthermore, the existence of XOD inhibitors could inhibit the XOD enzymatic reaction, resulting in weakened phosphorescence quenching. Therefore, the proposed assay could also be explored for the facile screening analysis of XOD inhibitors, which is important for the potential medicinal therapy of hyperuricemia and gout.

  20. ZnS, CdS and HgS nanoparticles via alkyl-phenyl dithiocarbamate complexes as single source precursors.

    PubMed

    Onwudiwe, Damian C; Ajibade, Peter A

    2011-01-01

    The synthesis of II-VI semiconductor nanoparticles obtained by the thermolysis of certain group 12 metal complexes as precursors is reported. Thermogravimetric analysis of the single source precursors showed sharp decomposition leading to their respective metal sulfides. The structural and optical properties of the prepared nanoparticles were characterized by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) UV-Vis and photoluminescence spectroscopy. The X-ray diffraction pattern showed that the prepared ZnS nanoparticles have a cubic sphalerite structure; the CdS indicates a hexagonal phase and the HgS show the presence of metacinnabar phase. The TEM image demonstrates that the ZnS nanoparticles are dot-shaped, the CdS and the HgS clearly showed a rice and spherical morphology respectively. The UV-Vis spectra exhibited a blue-shift with respect to that of the bulk samples which is attributed to the quantum size effect. The band gap of the samples have been calculated from absorption spectra and werefound to be about 4.33 eV (286 nm), 2.91 eV (426 nm) and 4.27 eV (290 nm) for the ZnS, CdS and HgS samples respectively.

  1. ZnS, CdS and HgS Nanoparticles via Alkyl-Phenyl Dithiocarbamate Complexes as Single Source Precursors

    PubMed Central

    Onwudiwe, Damian C.; Ajibade, Peter A.

    2011-01-01

    The synthesis of II-VI semiconductor nanoparticles obtained by the thermolysis of certain group 12 metal complexes as precursors is reported. Thermogravimetric analysis of the single source precursors showed sharp decomposition leading to their respective metal sulfides. The structural and optical properties of the prepared nanoparticles were characterized by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) UV-Vis and photoluminescence spectroscopy. The X-ray diffraction pattern showed that the prepared ZnS nanoparticles have a cubic sphalerite structure; the CdS indicates a hexagonal phase and the HgS show the presence of metacinnabar phase. The TEM image demonstrates that the ZnS nanoparticles are dot-shaped, the CdS and the HgS clearly showed a rice and spherical morphology respectively. The UV-Vis spectra exhibited a blue-shift with respect to that of the bulk samples which is attributed to the quantum size effect. The band gap of the samples have been calculated from absorption spectra and werefound to be about 4.33 eV (286 nm), 2.91 eV (426 nm) and 4.27 eV (290 nm) for the ZnS, CdS and HgS samples respectively. PMID:22016607

  2. Structural and optical properties of nanocrystalline ZnS and ZnS:Al films

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hurma, T.

    2018-06-01

    ZnS and ZnS:Al films have been deposited by ultrasonic spray pyrolysis (USP) method. Three different atomic ratios of aluminium were used as the dopant element. The effects of aluminum incorporation on structural and optical properties of the ZnS films have been investigated. The XRD analysis showed that the cubic structure of the ZnS was not much affected by Al doping. The crystal size of the films decreased, as the Al ratio increased. Al incorporation caused an increase in the intensity of ZnS films' peaks observed in Raman spectra and nearly symmetrical peaks were observed. Al doping caused a small decrease in optical band gap of the ZnS film. The coating of ZnS:Al films on the surface was quite good and there were not any deformation in their crystallization levels. Reflectance values of films are about 5% in the visible region but a little decrease is seen with aluminum doping. We can say that Al doping tends to improve the optical properties of the ZnS:Al films when compared with the undoped ZnS.

  3. Effect of Au irradiation energy on ejection of ZnS nanoparticles from ZnS film

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kuiri, P. K.; Ghatak, J.; Joseph, B.; Lenka, H. P.; Sahu, G.; Mahapatra, D. P.; Tripathi, A.; Kanjilal, D.; Mishra, N. C.

    2007-01-01

    ZnS films deposited on Si have been irradiated with Au ions at 35 keV, 2, and 100 MeV. Sputtered particles, collected on catcher foils during irradiation, were analyzed using transmission electron microscopy. For the case of 35 keV Au irradiation, no nanoparticle (NP) could be observed on the catcher foil. However, NPs 2-7 nm in size, have been observed on the catcher foils for MeV irradiations at room temperature. For particle sizes ≥3 nm, the distributions could be fitted to power law decays with decay exponents varying between 2 and 3.5. At 2 MeV, after correction for cluster breakup effects, the decay exponent has been found to be close to 2, indicating shock waves induced ejection to be the dominant mechanism. The corrected decay exponent for the 100 MeV Au irradiation case has been found to be about 2.6. Coulomb explosion followed by thermal spike induced vaporization of ZnS seems to be the dominant mechanism regarding material removal at such high energy. In such a case the evaporated material can cool down going into the fragmentation region forming clusters.

  4. Synthesis and enhanced humidity detection response of nanoscale Au-particle-decorated ZnS spheres

    PubMed Central

    2014-01-01

    We successfully prepared Au-nanoparticle-decorated ZnS (ZnS-Au) spheres by sputtering Au ultrathin films on surfaces of hydrothermally synthesized ZnS spheres and subsequently postannealed the samples in a high-vacuum atmosphere. The Au nanoparticles were distributed on ZnS surfaces without substantial aggregation. The Au nanoparticle diameter range was 5 to 10 nm. Structural information showed that the surface of the annealed ZnS-Au spheres became more irregular and rough. A humidity sensor constructed using the Au-nanoparticle-decorated ZnS spheres demonstrated a substantially improved response to the cyclic change in humidity from 11% relative humidity (RH) to 33% to 95% RH at room temperature. The improved response was associated with the enhanced efficiency of water molecule adsorption onto the surfaces of the ZnS because of the surface modification of the ZnS spheres through noble-metal nanoparticle decoration. PMID:25520595

  5. Efficient photocatalytic degradation of malachite green dye under visible irradiation by water soluble ZnS:Mn/ZnS core/shell nanoparticles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Khaparde, Rohini A.; Acharya, Smita A.

    2018-05-01

    ZnS:Mn/ ZnS core/shell nanoparticles was prepared by two step synthesis method. In first step, oleic acid - coated Mn doped ZnS core nanoparticles were prepared which were charged through ligand exchange. Shell of ZnS NPs was finally deposited upon the surface of charged Mn doped ZnS core. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) image exhibit morphological confirmation of ZnS:Mn/ZnS core/shell. As Nano ZnS are the most suitable candidates for photocatalyst that extensively involved in degradation and complete mineralization of various toxic organic pollutants owing to its high efficiency, strong oxidizing power, non-toxicity, high photochemical and biological stability, corrosive resistance and low cost. Photodegradation of malachite green is systematically investigated by adding different molar proportional of ZnS:Mn/ZnS core/shell in the dye. The rate of de-coloration of dye is detected by UV-VIS absorption spectroscopy. Efficient detoriation in the colour of dye is attributed to the core /shell morphology of the particles.

  6. Computational study of the absorption spectrum of defected ZnS nanoparticles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Michos, F. I.; Sigalas, M. M.

    2018-04-01

    Energy levels and absorption spectra of defected ZnS nanoparticles (NPs) were calculated with Density Functional Theory (DFT) and Time Dependent DFT. Several types of defects were examined such as vacancies and substitutions. NPs with S vacancies were found to have their absorption spectra moved to lower energies well inside the visible spectrum with significantly high oscillator strength. Also, NPs with substitution of S atoms with Cl, Br, or I showed significant absorption. In general, this type of defect moves the absorption spectra in lower energies, thus bringing the absorption edge into the visible spectrum, while the unperturbed NPs have absorption edges in the UV region. In addition, ZnS NPs are made from more abundant and less toxic elements than the more commonly used CdSe NPs. For that reason, they may find significant applications in solar cells and other photonic applications, as well as in biosensing applications as biomarkers.

  7. Extinction of photoemission of Mn-Doped ZnS nanofluid in weak magnetic field

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Vu, Anh-Tuan; Bui, Hong-Van; Pham, Van-Ben; Le, Van-Hong; Hoang, Nam-Nhat

    2016-08-01

    The observation of extinction of photoluminescence of Mn-doped ZnS nanofluid under applying of weak magnetic field is reported. At a constant field of 270 Gauss and above, the exponential decays of photoluminescent intensity was observed in disregard of field direction. About 50% extinction was achieved after 30 minute magnetization and a total extinction after 1 hour. The memory effect preserved for more than 2 hours at room temperature. This extinction was observed in a system with no clear ferromagnetic behavior.

  8. Luminescence characteristics of impurities-activated ZnS nanocrystals prepared in microemulsion with hydrothermal treatment

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Xu, S. J.; Chua, S. J.; Liu, B.; Gan, L. M.; Chew, C. H.; Xu, G. Q.

    1998-07-01

    Cu-, Eu-, or Mn-doped ZnS nanocrystalline phosphors were prepared at room temperature using a chemical synthesis method. Transmission electron microscopy observation shows that the size of the ZnS clusters is in the 3-18 nm range. New luminescence characteristics such as strong and stable visible-light emissions with different colors were observed from the doped ZnS nanocrystals at room temperature. These results strongly suggest that impurities, especially transition metals and rare-earth metals-activated ZnS nanoclusters form a new class of luminescent materials.

  9. Carrier-induced ferromagnetism in half-metallic Co-doped ZnS-diluted magnetic semiconductor: a DFT study

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Saikia, D.; Borah, J. P.

    2018-03-01

    Systematic experimental and theoretical calculations have been performed to investigate the origin of the carrier-induced ferromagnetism in the Co-doped ZnS-diluted magnetic semiconductors. The crystalline structure, morphology of the chemically synthesized Co-doped ZnS nanoparticles are evaluated using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and obtained the average crystallite size in the range 5-8 nm. Fourier transform-infrared spectra reveal the characteristic Zn-S vibrations of cubic ZnS and also show the splitting of peaks with increasing Co concentration which indicates that the Co-doping level beyond 3% affects the structure of ZnS. The room temperature ferromagnetic behavior analyzed by M- H curve exhibited up to the doping level 5%, achieving due to the indirect ` p- d' exchange interactions between the localized ` d' spins of Co2+ ion and the free-delocalized carriers in the host lattice. The existence of the antiferromagnetic coupling is discernable beyond the 5% doping level, owing to the short-range super-exchange interactions between the characteristic ` d' spins of the Co2+ ions which minimize the ferromagnetic ordering. Band structure and density of states (DOS) calculations demonstrate the p- d hybridization mechanism in Co-doped ZnS system which is the main cause of realizing ferromagnetic ordering in the system and also shows the half-metallic characteristics with the combination of semiconducting and metallic nature in the spin-up and spin-down states, respectively.

  10. Optical and electrical properties of copper-incorporated ZnS films applicable as solar cell absorbers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mehrabian, M.; Esteki, Z.; Shokrvash, H.; Kavei, G.

    2016-10-01

    Un-doped and Cu-doped ZnS (ZnS:Cu) thin films were synthesized by Successive Ion Layer Absorption and Reaction (SILAR) method. The UV-visible absorption studies have been used to calculate the band gap values of the fabricated ZnS:Cu thin films. It was observed that by increasing the concentration of Cu2+ ions, the Fermi level moves toward the edge of the valence band of ZnS. Photoluminescence spectra of un-doped and Cu-doped ZnS thin films was recorded under 355 nm. The emission spectrum of samples has a blue emission band at 436 nm. The peak positions of the luminescence showed a red shift as the Cu2+ ion concentration was increased, which indicates that the acceptor level (of Cu2+) is getting close to the valence band of ZnS.

  11. An experimental and theoretical investigation on the optical and photocatalytic properties of ZnS nanoparticles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    La Porta, F. A.; Nogueira, A. E.; Gracia, Lourdes; Pereira, W. S.; Botelho, G.; Mulinari, T. A.; Andrés, Juan; Longo, E.

    2017-04-01

    From the viewpoints of materials chemistry and physical chemistry, crystal structure directly determines the electronic structure and furthermore their optical and photocatalytic properties. Zinc sulfide (ZnS) nanoparticles (NPs) with tunable photoluminescence (PL) emission and high photocatalytic activity have been obtained by means of a microwave-assisted solvothermal (MAS) method using different precursors (i.e., zinc nitrate (ZN), zinc chloride (ZC), or zinc acetate (ZA)). The morphologies, optical properties, and electronic structures of the as-synthesized ZnS NPs were characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) isotherms for N2 adsorption/desorption processes, diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), PL measurements and theoretical calculations. Density functional theory calculations were used to determine the geometries and electronic properties of bulk wurtzite (WZ) ZnS NPs and their (0001), (101 ̅0), (112 ̅0), (101 ̅1), and (101 ̅2) surfaces. The dependence of the PL emission behavior of ZnS NPs on the precursor was elucidated by examining the energy band structure and density of states. The method for degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB) was used as a probe reaction to investigate the photocatalytic activity of the as-Synthesised ZnS NPs under UV light irradiation. The PL behavior as well as photocatalytic activities of ZnS NPs were attributed to specific features of the structural and electronic structures. Increased photocatalytic degradation was observed for samples synthesized using different precursors in the following order: ZAZnS NPs were also briefly discussed.

  12. A novel metallogel based approach to synthesize (Mn, Cu) doped ZnS quantum dots and labeling of MCF-7 cancer cells.

    PubMed

    Bhowal, Soumya; Ghosh, Arijit; Chowdhuri, Srijita Paul; Mondal, Raju; Das, Benu Brata

    2018-05-08

    The present study aims to formulate a common synthetic strategy for preparing quantum dots (QDs) in a greener way by using combination of popular methods, viz. a colloidal method with suitable capping agent and low molecular weight gel based synthesis. Pyridine dicarboxylic acid (PDC) in presence of AlCl3 forms a stable metallogel, which serves as an excellent medium for selective ZnS QD synthesis. The aromatic pyridine moiety, well known for being a capping agent, indeed plays its part in the run up to QD synthesis. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first example of a metallogel based doped ZnS QD synthesis. Altering the doping material and its composition changes the properties of the QDs, but herein we also tried to establish how these changes affect the gel morphology and stability of both gel and QDs. We further demonstrate, by using live cell confocal microscopy, the delivery of QDs Cu ZnS and MnZnS nanomaterials in the nucleus and the cytoplasm of human breast cancer cells (MCF7), implicating the use of metallogel based QDs for bio-imaging and bio-labeling.

  13. Thermal and optical characterization of biologically synthesized ZnS nanoparticles synthesized from an endophytic fungus Aspergillus flavus: A colorimetric probe in metal detection

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Uddandarao, Priyanka; Balakrishnan, Raj Mohan

    2017-03-01

    Nanostructured semiconductor materials are of great importance for several technological applications due to their optical and thermal properties. The design and fabrication of metal sulfide nanoparticles with tunable properties for advanced applications have drawn a great deal of attention in the field of nanotechnology. ZnS is a potential II-IV group material which is used in hetero-junction solar cells, light emitting diodes, optoelectronic devices, electro luminescent devices and photovoltaic cells. Due to their multiple applications, there is a need to elucidate their thermal and optical properties. In the present study, thermal and optical properties of biologically synthesized ZnS nanoparticles are determined in detail with Thermal Gravimetric Analysis (TGA), Derivative Thermogravimetric Analysis (DTG), Differential Scanning Calorimeter (DSC), Diffuse Reflectance Spectroscopy (DRS), Photoluminescence (PL) and Raman spectroscopy. The results reveal that ZnS NPs exhibit a very strong quantum confinement with a significant increase in their optical band gap energy. These biologically synthesized ZnS NPs contain protein residues that can selectively bind with metal ions in aqueous solutions and can exhibit an aggregation-induced color change. This phenomenon is utilized to quantitatively measure the metal concentrations of Cu2 + and Mn2 + in this study. Further the stability of nanoparticles for the metal sensing process is accessed by UV-Vis spectrometer, zeta potential and cyclic voltammeter. The selectivity and sensitivity of ZnS NPs indicate its potential use as a sensor for metal detection in the ecosystem.

  14. One-step large scale gas phase synthesis of Mn2 + doped ZnS nanoparticles in reducing flames

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Athanassiou, E. K.; Grass, R. N.; Stark, W. J.

    2010-05-01

    Metal sulfide nanoparticles have attracted considerable interest because of their unique semiconducting and electronic properties. In order to prepare these fascinating materials at an industrial scale, however, solvent-free, dry processes would be most advantageous. In the present work, we demonstrate how traditional oxide nanoparticle synthesis in flames can be extended to sulfides if we apply a careful control on flame gas composition and sulfur content. The ultra-fast (<1 ms) gas phase kinetics at elevated temperatures allow direct sulfidization of metals in flames (\\mathrm {MO}_{x} \\Rightarrow \\mathrm {MS}_{x} ). As a representative example, we prepared air-stable Mn2 + doped zinc sulfide nanoparticles. Post-sintering of the initially polycrystalline nanopowder resulted in a material of high crystallinity and improved photoluminescence. An analysis of the thermodynamics, gas composition, and kinetics in these reducing flames indicates that the here-presented extension of flame synthesis provides access to a broad range of metal sulfide nanoparticles and offers an alternative to non-oxide phosphor preparation.

  15. Room-temperature phosphorescence chemosensor and Rayleigh scattering chemodosimeter dual-recognition probe for 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene based on manganese-doped ZnS quantum dots.

    PubMed

    Zou, Wen-Sheng; Sheng, Dong; Ge, Xin; Qiao, Jun-Qin; Lian, Hong-Zhen

    2011-01-01

    Rayleigh scattering (RS) as an interference factor to detection sensitivity in ordinary fluorescence spectrometry is always avoided in spite of considerable efforts toward the development of RS-based resonance Rayleigh scattering (RRS) and hyper-Rayleigh scattering (HRS) techniques. Here, combining advantages of quantum dots (QDs) including chemical modification of functional groups and the installation of recognition receptors at their surfaces with those of phosphorescence such as the avoidance of autofluorescence and scattering light, l-cys-capped Mn-doped ZnS QDs have been synthesized and used for room-temperature phosphorescence (RTP) to sense and for RS chemodosimetry to image ultratrace 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) in water. The l-cys-capped Mn-doped ZnS QDs interdots aggregate with TNT species induced by the formation of Meisenheimer complexes (MHCs) through acid-base pairing interaction between l-cys and TNT, hydrogen bonding, and electrostatic interaction between l-cys intermolecules. Although the resultant MHCs may quench the fluorescence at 430 nm, interdots aggregation can greatly influence the light scattering property of the aqueous QDs system, and therefore, dominant RS enhancement at defect-related emission wavelength was observed under the excitation of violet light of Mn-doped ZnS QDs, which was applied in chemodosimetry to image TNT in water. Meanwhile, Mn-doped ZnS QDs also exhibited a highly selective response to the quenching of the (4)T(1)-(6)A(1) transition emission (RTP) and showed a very good linearity in the range of 0.0025-0.45 μM TNT with detection limit down to 0.8 nM and RSD of 2.3% (n = 5). The proposed methods are well-suited for detecting the ultratrace TNT and distinguishing different nitro compounds.

  16. Visible light photocatalytic H2-production activity of wide band gap ZnS nanoparticles based on the photosensitization of graphene

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wang, Faze; Zheng, Maojun; Zhu, Changqing; Zhang, Bin; Chen, Wen; Ma, Li; Shen, Wenzhong

    2015-08-01

    Visible light photocatalytic H2 production from water splitting is considered an attractive way to solve the increasing global energy crisis in modern life. In this study, a series of zinc sulfide nanoparticles and graphene (GR) sheet composites were synthesized by a two-step hydrothermal method, which used zinc chloride, sodium sulfide, and graphite oxide (GO) as the starting materials. The as-prepared ZnS-GR showed highly efficient visible light photocatalytic activity in hydrogen generation. The morphology and structure of the composites obtained by transmission electron microscope and x-ray diffraction exhibited a small crystallite size and a good interfacial contact between the ZnS nanoparticles and the two-dimensional (2D) GR sheet, which were beneficial for the photocatalysis. When the content of the GR in the catalyst was 0.1%, the ZG0.1 sample exhibited the highest H2-production rate of 7.42 μmol h-1 g-1, eight times more than the pure ZnS sample. This high visible-light photocatalytic H2 production activity is attributed to the photosensitization of GR. Irradiated by visible light, the electrons photogenerated from GR transfer to the conduction band of ZnS to participate in the photocatalytic process. This study presents the visible-light photocatalytic activity of wide bandgap ZnS and its application in H2 evolution.

  17. Visible light photocatalytic H2-production activity of wide band gap ZnS nanoparticles based on the photosensitization of grapheme.

    PubMed

    Wang, Faze; Zheng, Maojun; Zhu, Changqing; Zhang, Bin; Chen, Wen; Ma, Li; Shen, Wenzhong

    2015-08-28

    Visible light photocatalytic H(2) production from water splitting is considered an attractive way to solve the increasing global energy crisis in modern life. In this study, a series of zinc sulfide nanoparticles and graphene (GR) sheet composites were synthesized by a two-step hydrothermal method, which used zinc chloride, sodium sulfide, and graphite oxide (GO) as the starting materials. The as-prepared ZnS-GR showed highly efficient visible light photocatalytic activity in hydrogen generation. The morphology and structure of the composites obtained by transmission electron microscope and x-ray diffraction exhibited a small crystallite size and a good interfacial contact between the ZnS nanoparticles and the two-dimensional (2D) GR sheet,which were beneficial for the photocatalysis. When the content of the GR in the catalyst was 0.1%, the ZG0.1 sample exhibited the highest H(2)-production rate of 7.42 μmol h(−1) g(−1), eight times more than the pure ZnS sample. This high visible-light photocatalytic H(2) production activity is attributed to the photosensitization of GR. Irradiated by visible light, the electrons photogenerated from GR transfer to the conduction band of ZnS to participate in the photocatalytic process. This study presents the visible-light photocatalytic activity of wide bandgap ZnS and its application in H(2) evolution.

  18. Preparation, properties and anticancer effects of mixed As4S4/ZnS nanoparticles capped by Poloxamer 407.

    PubMed

    Bujňáková, Z; Baláž, M; Zdurienčíková, M; Sedlák, J; Čaplovičová, M; Čaplovič, Ľ; Dutková, E; Zorkovská, A; Turianicová, E; Baláž, P; Shpotyuk, O; Andrejko, S

    2017-02-01

    Arsenic sulfide compounds have a long history of application in a traditional medicine. In recent years, realgar has been studied as a promising drug in cancer treatment. In this study, the arsenic sulfide (As 4 S 4 ) nanoparticles combined with zinc sulfide (ZnS) ones in different molar ratio have been prepared by a simple mechanochemical route in a planetary mill. The successful synthesis and structural properties were confirmed and followed via X-ray diffraction and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy measurements. The morphology of the particles was studied via scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy methods and the presence of nanocrystallites was verified. For biological tests, the prepared As 4 S 4 /ZnS nanoparticles were further milled in a circulation mill in a water solution of Poloxamer 407 (0.5wt%), in order to cover the particles with this biocompatible copolymer and to obtain stable nanosuspensions with unimodal distribution. The average size of the particles in the nanosuspensions (~120nm) was determined by photon cross-correlation spectroscopy method. Stability of the nanosuspensions was determined via particle size distribution and zeta potential measurements, confirming no physico-chemical changes for several months. Interestingly, with the increasing amount of ZnS in the sample, the stability was improved. The anti-cancer effects were tested on two melanoma cell lines, A375 and Bowes, with promising results, confirming increased efficiency of the samples containing both As 4 S 4 and ZnS nanocrystals. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  19. Remarkably Enhancing Green-Excitation Efficiency for Solar Energy Utilization: Red Phosphors Ba2ZnS3:Eu2+, X- Co-Doped Halide Ions (X = Cl, Br, I).

    PubMed

    Luo, Tingting; Du, Yun; Qiu, Zhongxian; Li, Yanmei; Wang, Xiaofang; Zhou, Wenli; Zhang, Jilin; Yu, Liping; Lian, Shixun

    2017-05-15

    Eu 2+ -activated Ba 2 ZnS 3 has been reported as a red phosphor with a broad emission band peaking at 650 nm under blue excitation for white-LED. In this study, Ba 2 ZnS 3 :Eu 2+ , X - (X = F, Cl, Br, I) phosphors doped with halide ions were prepared by traditional high-temperature solid-state reaction. Phase identification of powders was performed by X-ray powder diffraction analysis, confirming the existence of single-phase Ba 2 ZnS 3 crystals without dopant. The corresponding excitation spectra showed an additional broad band in the green region peaking at 550 nm when the phosphor was halogenated except by the smallest F - . It was proved that the green-excitation efficiency successively strengthened from Cl - , to Br - , to I - , which suggested larger halide ions made a greater contribution to the further splitting of the t 2g energy level of the doped Eu 2+ ions in the host Ba 2 ZnS 3 , and the optimized formula Ba 1.995 ZnS 2.82 :Eu 2+ 0.005 , I - 0.18 showed a potential application in solar spectral conversion for agricultural greenhouse and solar cell. Defect chemistry theory and crystal field theory provided insights into the key role of halide ions in enhancing green-excitation efficiency.

  20. Ultrasonic assisted synthesis of adenosine triphosphate capped manganese-doped ZnS quantum dots for selective room temperature phosphorescence detection of arginine and methylated arginine in urine based on supramolecular Mg(2+)-adenosine triphosphate-arginine ternary system.

    PubMed

    Ren, Hu-Bo; Yan, Xiu-Ping

    2012-08-15

    An ultrasonic assisted approach was developed for rapid synthesis of highly water soluble phosphorescent adenosine triphosphate (ATP)-capped Mn-doped ZnS QDs. The prepared ATP-capped Mn-doped ZnS QDs allow selective phosphorescent detection of arginine and methylated arginine based on the specific recognition nature of supramolecular Mg(2+)-ATP-arginine ternary system in combination with the phosphorescence property of Mn-doped ZnS QDs. The developed QD based probe gives excellent selectivity and reproducibility (1.7% relative standard deviation for 11 replicate detections of 10 μM arginine) and low detection limit (3 s, 0.23 μM), and favors biological applications due to the effective elimination of interference from scattering light and autofluorescence. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  1. Photo-sensitization of ZnS nanoparticles with renowned ruthenium dyes N3, N719 and Z907 for application in solid state dye sensitized solar cells: A comparative study.

    PubMed

    Nosheen, Erum; Shah, Syed Mujtaba; Hussain, Hazrat; Murtaza, Ghulam

    2016-09-01

    This article presents a comprehensive relative report on the grafting of ZnS with renowned ruthenium ((Ru) dyes i.e. N3, N719 and Z907) and gives insight into their charge transfer interaction and sensitization mechanism for boosting solar cell efficiency. Influence of dye concentration on cell performance is also reported here. ZnS nanoparticles synthesized by a simple coprecipitation method with an average particle size of 15±2nm were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), Elemental dispersive X-ray analysis (EDAX), tunneling electron microscopy (TEM) and UV-Visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy. UV-Vis, photoluminescence (PL) and Fourier transform infra-red (FT-IR) spectroscopy confirms the successful grafting of these dyes over ZnS nanoparticles surface. Low-energy metal-to-ligand charge-transfer transition (MLCT) bands of dyes are mainly affected on grafting over the nanoparticle surface. Moreover their current voltage (I-V) results confirm the efficiency enhancement in ZnS solid state dye sensitized solar cells (SSDSSCs) owing to effective sensitization of this material with Ru dyes and helps in finding the optimum dye concentration for nanoparticles sensitization. Highest rise in overall solar cell efficiency i.e. 64% of the reference device has been observed for 0.3mM N719-ZnS sample owing to increased open circuit voltage (Voc) and fill factor (FF). Experimental and proposed results were found in good agreement with each other. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  2. Insights into Comparative Antimicrobial Efficacies of Synthetic and Organic Agents: The Case of ZnS Nanoparticles and Zingiber officinale Rosc.

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Obidi, O. F.; Nejo, A. O.; Ayeni, R. A.; Revaprasadu, N.

    2018-03-01

    The differences among the antimicrobial activities of synthetic nanoparticles (NPs), organic agents and conventional antibiotics against human pathogens are little known. We compared the antimicrobial activities of aqueous, ethanol and ethyl acetate extracts of Zingiber officinale rhizomes with ZnS NPs and tetracycline/nystatin using agar-diffusion techniques. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and ultraviolet spectroscopy were used to characterize ZnS NPs. At 100 mg/ml, ethanol and ethyl acetate extract inhibited Acinetobacter baumannii, Salmonella typhimurium, Enterococcus faecium, Shigella flexneri, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Staphylococcus epidermidis and Candida albicans with zones of inhibition (ZOI) ranging between 0-42 mm and 0-39 mm, respectively. Candida albicans had a remarkable ZOI of 42 mm and 22 mm from ethanol and ZnS NPs compared with 20 mm from conventional nystatin. TEM and FTIR revealed spherically shaped polydispersed NPs with particle size of 12.5 nm and the role of banana peel extracts in ZnS NPs synthesis. Organic and synthetic NPs proved potential alternatives to conventional antimicrobial agents.

  3. Insights into Comparative Antimicrobial Efficacies of Synthetic and Organic Agents: The Case of ZnS Nanoparticles and Zingiber officinale Rosc.

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Obidi, O. F.; Nejo, A. O.; Ayeni, R. A.; Revaprasadu, N.

    2018-06-01

    The differences among the antimicrobial activities of synthetic nanoparticles (NPs), organic agents and conventional antibiotics against human pathogens are little known. We compared the antimicrobial activities of aqueous, ethanol and ethyl acetate extracts of Zingiber officinale rhizomes with ZnS NPs and tetracycline/nystatin using agar-diffusion techniques. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and ultraviolet spectroscopy were used to characterize ZnS NPs. At 100 mg/ml, ethanol and ethyl acetate extract inhibited Acinetobacter baumannii, Salmonella typhimurium, Enterococcus faecium, Shigella flexneri, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Staphylococcus epidermidis and Candida albicans with zones of inhibition (ZOI) ranging between 0-42 mm and 0-39 mm, respectively. Candida albicans had a remarkable ZOI of 42 mm and 22 mm from ethanol and ZnS NPs compared with 20 mm from conventional nystatin. TEM and FTIR revealed spherically shaped polydispersed NPs with particle size of 12.5 nm and the role of banana peel extracts in ZnS NPs synthesis. Organic and synthetic NPs proved potential alternatives to conventional antimicrobial agents.

  4. Mechanochemistry of Chitosan-Coated Zinc Sulfide (ZnS) Nanocrystals for Bio-imaging Applications.

    PubMed

    Bujňáková, Zdenka; Dutková, Erika; Kello, Martin; Mojžiš, Ján; Baláž, Matej; Baláž, Peter; Shpotyuk, Oleh

    2017-12-01

    The ZnS nanocrystals were prepared in chitosan solution (0.1 wt.%) using a wet ultra-fine milling. The obtained suspension was stable and reached high value of zeta potential (+57 mV). The changes in FTIR spectrum confirmed the successful surface coating of ZnS nanoparticles by chitosan. The prepared ZnS nanocrystals possessed interesting optical properties verified in vitro. Four cancer cells were selected (CaCo-2, HCT116, HeLa, and MCF-7), and after their treatment with the nanosuspension, the distribution of ZnS in the cells was studied using a fluorescence microscope. The particles were clearly seen; they passed through the cell membrane and accumulated in cytosol. The biological activity of the cells was not influenced by nanoparticles, they did not cause cell death, and only the granularity of cells was increased as a consequence of cellular uptake. These results confirm the potential of ZnS nanocrystals using in bio-imaging applications.

  5. Mechanochemistry of Chitosan-Coated Zinc Sulfide (ZnS) Nanocrystals for Bio-imaging Applications

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bujňáková, Zdenka; Dutková, Erika; Kello, Martin; Mojžiš, Ján; Baláž, Matej; Baláž, Peter; Shpotyuk, Oleh

    2017-05-01

    The ZnS nanocrystals were prepared in chitosan solution (0.1 wt.%) using a wet ultra-fine milling. The obtained suspension was stable and reached high value of zeta potential (+57 mV). The changes in FTIR spectrum confirmed the successful surface coating of ZnS nanoparticles by chitosan. The prepared ZnS nanocrystals possessed interesting optical properties verified in vitro. Four cancer cells were selected (CaCo-2, HCT116, HeLa, and MCF-7), and after their treatment with the nanosuspension, the distribution of ZnS in the cells was studied using a fluorescence microscope. The particles were clearly seen; they passed through the cell membrane and accumulated in cytosol. The biological activity of the cells was not influenced by nanoparticles, they did not cause cell death, and only the granularity of cells was increased as a consequence of cellular uptake. These results confirm the potential of ZnS nanocrystals using in bio-imaging applications.

  6. Dye-doped silica-based nanoparticles for bioapplications

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nhung Tran, Hong; Nghiem, Thi Ha Lien; Thuy Duong Vu, Thi; Tan Pham, Minh; Van Nguyen, Thi; Trang Tran, Thu; Chu, Viet Ha; Thuan Tong, Kim; Thuy Tran, Thanh; Le, Thi Thanh Xuan; Brochon, Jean-Claude; Quy Nguyen, Thi; Nhung Hoang, My; Nguyen Duong, Cao; Thuy Nguyen, Thi; Hoang, Anh Tuan; Hoa Nguyen, Phuong

    2013-12-01

    This paper presents our recent research results on synthesis and bioapplications of dye-doped silica-based nanoparticles. The dye-doped water soluble organically modified silicate (ORMOSIL) nanoparticles (NPs) with the size of 15-100 nm were synthesized by modified Stöber method from methyltriethoxysilane CH3Si(OCH3)3 precursor (MTEOS). Because thousands of fluorescent dye molecules are encapsulated in the silica-based matrix, the dye-doped nanoparticles are extremely bright and photostable. Their surfaces were modified with bovine serum albumin (BSA) and biocompatible chemical reagents. The highly intensive luminescent nanoparticles were combined with specific bacterial and breast cancer antigen antibodies. The antibody-conjugated nanoparticles can identify a variety of bacterium, such as Escherichia coli O157:H7, through antibody-antigen interaction and recognition. A highly sensitive breast cancer cell detection has been achieved with the anti-HER2 monoclonal antibody-nanoparticles complex. These results demonstrate the potential to apply these fluorescent nanoparticles in various biodetection systems.

  7. Halobenzoquinone-mediated assembly of amino acid modified Mn-doped ZnS quantum dots for halobenzoquinones detection in drinking water.

    PubMed

    Jiao, Zhe; Zhang, Pengfei; Chen, Hongwei; Li, Jingwen; Zhong, Zhengquan; Fan, Hongbo; Cheng, Faliang

    2018-10-05

    Halobenzoquinones (HBQs) were reported as disinfection byproducts (DBPs) which had potential risk of bladder cancer. In this paper, a highly selective analytical method for HBQs was developed by HBQs-mediated assembly of amino acid modified Mn-doped ZnS/Quantum Dots (Mn: ZnS QDs). In the presence HBQs, a charge-transfer complex (CTC) was formed between aromatic rings of HBQs and the primary amino groups on the surface of the QDs. The formation of CTC led to the aggregation of QDs, as a result fluorescence decreasing occurred. The decrease was correlated with the concentration of HBQs. Then a fluorescence sensor array for discrimination of three kinds of HBQs including 2,6-Dichloro-1,4-benzoquinone (DCBQ), 2,6-Dibromo-1,4-benzoquinone (DBBQ) and 2,3,6-trichloro-1,4-benzoquinone (TCBQ) was developed. Four kinds of amino acids including cysteine, threonine, tyrosine and tryptophan were embellished on the Mn: ZnS QDs. The different extents of aggregation led to different fluorescence decreasing effect, thus distinct fluorescence patterns were created. It showed that three kinds of HBQs could be discriminated successfully by fluorescence sensor array at a range of concentrations through principal component analysis (PCA). The unknown samples were predicted by with a stepwise linear discriminant analysis (SLDA) using Mahalanobis distance as a selection criterion with accuracy of 100%. Remarkably, the practicability of the proposed sensor array was further validated by identification of three kinds of HBQs at different concentrations in real drinking water samples. Compared to LC/MS/MS, this fluorescent sensor array-based method was proved to be more convenient since the nanoparticles can be prepared flexibly according to the property of the target. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  8. Synthesis and characterization of Gd-doped magnetite nanoparticles

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

    Zhang, Honghu; Iowa State Univ., Ames, IA; Malik, Vikash

    There has been rising interest in the synthesis of magnetite nanoparticles due to their importance in biomedical and technological applications. Tunable magnetic properties of magnetite nanoparticles to meet specific requirements will greatly expand the spectrum of applications. Tremendous efforts have been devoted to studying and controlling the size, shape and magnetic properties of magnetite nanoparticles. We investigate gadolinium (Gd) doping to influence the growth process as well as magnetic properties of magnetite nanocrystals via a simple co-precipitation method under mild conditions in aqueous media. Gd doping was found to affect the growth process leading to synthesis of controllable particle sizesmore » under the conditions tested (0–10 at% Gd 3+). Typically, undoped and 5 at% Gd-doped magnetite nanoparticles were found to have crystal sizes of about 18 and 44 nm, respectively, supported by X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. These results showed that Gd-doped nanoparticles retained the magnetite crystal structure, with Gd 3+ randomly incorporated in the crystal lattice, probably in the octahedral sites. The composition of 5 at% Gd-doped magnetite was Fe (3-x)Gd xO 4 (x=0.085±0.002), as determined by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. 5 at% Gd-doped nanoparticles exhibited ferrimagnetic properties with small coercivity (~65 Oe) and slightly decreased magnetization at 260 K in contrast to the undoped, superparamagnetic magnetite nanoparticles. Templation by the bacterial biomineralization protein Mms6 did not appear to affect the growth of the Gd-doped magnetite particles synthesized by this method.« less

  9. Synthesis and characterization of Gd-doped magnetite nanoparticles

    DOE PAGES

    Zhang, Honghu; Iowa State Univ., Ames, IA; Malik, Vikash; ...

    2016-10-04

    There has been rising interest in the synthesis of magnetite nanoparticles due to their importance in biomedical and technological applications. Tunable magnetic properties of magnetite nanoparticles to meet specific requirements will greatly expand the spectrum of applications. Tremendous efforts have been devoted to studying and controlling the size, shape and magnetic properties of magnetite nanoparticles. We investigate gadolinium (Gd) doping to influence the growth process as well as magnetic properties of magnetite nanocrystals via a simple co-precipitation method under mild conditions in aqueous media. Gd doping was found to affect the growth process leading to synthesis of controllable particle sizesmore » under the conditions tested (0–10 at% Gd 3+). Typically, undoped and 5 at% Gd-doped magnetite nanoparticles were found to have crystal sizes of about 18 and 44 nm, respectively, supported by X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. These results showed that Gd-doped nanoparticles retained the magnetite crystal structure, with Gd 3+ randomly incorporated in the crystal lattice, probably in the octahedral sites. The composition of 5 at% Gd-doped magnetite was Fe (3-x)Gd xO 4 (x=0.085±0.002), as determined by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. 5 at% Gd-doped nanoparticles exhibited ferrimagnetic properties with small coercivity (~65 Oe) and slightly decreased magnetization at 260 K in contrast to the undoped, superparamagnetic magnetite nanoparticles. Templation by the bacterial biomineralization protein Mms6 did not appear to affect the growth of the Gd-doped magnetite particles synthesized by this method.« less

  10. Synthesis and Characteristics of ZnS Nanospheres for Heterojunction Photovoltaic Device

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chou, Sheng-Hung; Hsiao, Yu-Jen; Fang, Te-Hua; Chou, Po-Hsun

    2015-06-01

    The synthesis of ZnS nanospheres produced using the microwave hydrothermal method was studied. The microstructure and surface and optical properties of ZnS nanospheres on glass were characterized using scanning electron microscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, x-ray diffraction, and ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy. The influence of deposition time on the transmission and photovoltaic performance was determined. The power conversion efficiency of an Al-doped ZnO/ZnS nanosphere/textured p-Si device improved from 0.93 to 1.77% when the thickness of the ZnS nanostructured film was changed from 75 to 150 nm.

  11. Temperature evolution in silver nanoparticle doped PETN composite

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kameswari, D. P. S. L.; Kiran, P. Prem

    2018-04-01

    Optical absorption and the associated spatio-temporal evolution of temperature silver nanoparticles doped energetic material composite is presented. Silver nanoparticles of radii 10 - 150 nm are doped in Penta Erythrtol Tetra Nitrate (PETN), a secondary energetic material to form the composite materials. Of all the composites the ones doped with 35 nm sized nanoparticles have shown maximum absorption at excitation wavelength of 532 nm. The spatio-temporal evolution of temperature within these composites up on excitation with ns laser pulses of energy density 0.5 J/cm2 is studied. The role of particle sizes on the temperature of composites is studied and a maximum temperature of 2200 K at the nanoparticle interface is observed for 35 nm doped PETN composite.

  12. Nanoparticles doped film sensing based on terahertz metamaterials

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Liu, Weimin; Fan, Fei; Chang, Shengjiang; Hou, Jiaqing; Chen, Meng; Wang, Xianghui; Bai, Jinjun

    2017-12-01

    A nanoparticles concentration sensor based on doped film and terahertz (THz) metamaterial has been proposed. By coating the nanoparticles doped polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) film on the surface of THz metamaterial, the effects of nanoparticle concentration on the metamaterial resonances are investigated through experiments and numerical simulations. Results show that resonant frequency of the metamaterial linearly decreases with the increment of doping concentration. Furthermore, numerical simulations illustrate that the redshift of resonance results from the changes of refractive index of the doped film. The concentration sensitivity of this sensor is 3.12 GHz/0.1%, and the refractive index sensitivity reaches 53.33 GHz/RIU. This work provides a non-contact, nondestructive and sensitive method for the detection of nanoparticles concentration and brings out a new application on THz film metamaterial sensing.

  13. Synthesis and Characterization of Manganese Doped Silicon Nanoparticles

    PubMed Central

    Zhang, Xiaoming; Brynda, Marcin; Britt, R. David; Carroll, Elizabeth; Larsen, Delmar S.; Louie, Angelique Y.; Kauzlarich, Susan M.

    2008-01-01

    Mn doped Si nanoparticles have been synthesized via a low temperature solution route and characterize by X-ray powder diffraction, TEM, optical and emission spectroscopy and by EPR. The particle diameter was 4 nm and the surface was capped by octyl groups. 5% Mn doping resulted in a green emission with slightly lower quantum yield than undoped Si nanoparticles prepared by the same method. Mn2+ doped into the nanoparticle is confirmed by epr hyperfine and the charge carrier dynamics were probed by ultrafast transient absorption spectroscopy. Both techniques are consistent with Mn2+ on or close to the surface of the nanoparticle. PMID:17691792

  14. Ultrasound-assisted microwave preparation of Ag-doped CdS nanoparticles.

    PubMed

    Ma, Jun; Tai, Guo'an; Guo, Wanlin

    2010-03-01

    Ag-doped CdS nanoparticles were synthesized by an ultrasound-assisted microwave synthesis method. The X-ray diffraction patterns reveal a structural evolution from cubic to hexagonal with increasing molar ratios of Ag(+)/Cd(2+) from 0% to 5%. It shows that the Ag-doped hexagonal CdS nanoparticles are polycrystal. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy of the CdS nanoparticles doping with 5% Ag(+) shows that the doped Ag in CdS is metallic. Simultaneously, the characteristic Raman peaks of the CdS nanoparticles enhance with increasing Ag(+) concentrations. The photocatalytic activity of different Ag-doped samples show a reasonable change due to different ratios of Ag which doped into CdS. Copyright 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  15. Sonochemical synthesis and photocatalytic property of zinc oxide nanoparticles doped with magnesium(II)

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

    Lu, Xianyong, E-mail: xylu@buaa.edu.cn; Liu, Zhaoyue; Zhu, Ying

    2011-10-15

    Highlights: {yields} Mg-doped ZnO nanoparticles were synthesized by sonochemical strategy. {yields} Mg-doped ZnO nanoparticles present good photocatalytic properties. {yields} The change of band gap contributes to their high efficiency in photocatalyst. -- Abstract: Mg-doped ZnO nanoparticles were successfully synthesized by sonochemical method. The products were characterized by scan electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray powder diffraction (XRD). SEM images revealed that ZnO doped with Mg(II) nanoparticles and ZnO nanoparticles synthesized by the same strategy all had spherical topography. XRD patterns showed that the doped nanoparticles had the same crystals structures as the pure ZnO nanoparticles. The Mg-doped ZnO nanoparticles had largermore » lattice volume than the un-doped nanoparticles. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) not only demonstrated the moral ratio of Mg and Zn element on the surface of nanoparticles, but their valence in nanoparticles as well. The Mg-doped ZnO nanoparticles presented good properties in photocatalyst compared with pure ZnO nanoparticles.« less

  16. The Crystal Structure of Micro- and Nanopowders of ZnS Studied by EPR of Mn2+ and XRD.

    PubMed

    Nosenko, Valentyna; Vorona, Igor; Grachev, Valentyn; Ishchenko, Stanislav; Baran, Nikolai; Becherikov, Yurii; Zhuk, Anton; Polishchuk, Yuliya; Kladko, Vasyl; Selishchev, Alexander

    2016-12-01

    The crystal structure of micro- and nanopowders of ZnS doped with different impurities was analyzed by the electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) of Mn 2+ and XRD methods. The powders of ZnS:Cu, ZnS:Mn, ZnS:Co, and ZnS:Eu with the particle sizes of 5-7 μm, 50-200 nm, 7-10 μm, and 5-7 nm, respectively, were studied. Manganese was incorporated in the crystal lattice of all the samples as uncontrolled impurity or by doping. The Mn 2+ ions were used as EPR structural probes. It is found that the ZnS:Cu has the cubic structure, the ZnS:Mn has the hexagonal structure with a rhombic distortion, the ZnS:Co is the mixture of the cubic and hexagonal phases in the ratio of 1:10, and the ZnS:Eu has the cubic structure and a distorted cubic structure with stacking defects in the ratio 3:1. The EPR technique is shown to be a powerful tool in the determination of the crystal structure for mixed-polytype ZnS powders and powders with small nanoparticles. It allows observation of the stacking defects, which is revealed in the XRD spectra.

  17. Spectral engineering of optical fiber through active nanoparticle doping

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lindstrom-James, Tiffany

    The spectral engineering of optical fiber is a method of intentional doping of the core region in order to absorb/emit specific wavelengths of light therby providing enhanced performance over current fibers. Efforts here focused on developing an understanding of optically active nanoparticles based on alkaline earth fluorides that could be easily and homogeneously incorporated into the core of a silica based optical fiber preform and result in efficient and tailorable spectral emissions. Doped and undoped calcium, strontium and barium fluoride nanoparticles were successfully synthesized and characterized for their physical, chemical, and optical behavior. Distinct spectroscopic differences as a result of different host materials, varying rare earth doping levels and processing conditions, indicated the ability to influence the spectral behavior of the doped nanoparticle. By using photoluminescence to predict diffusion behavior, the application of a simple one dimensional model for diffusion provided a method for predicting the diffusion coefficient of europium ions in alkaline earth fluorides with order of magnitude accuracy. Modified chemical vapor deposition derived silica preforms were individually solution doped with europium doped alkaline earth fluoride nanoparticles. By using the rare earth doped alkaline earth fluoride nanoparticles as the dopant materials in the core of optical fiber preforms, the resultant optical properties of the glass were significantly influenced by their presence in the core. The incorporation of these rare earth doped alkaline earth fluoride nanoparticles was found to significantly influence the local chemical and structural environment about the rare earth ion, demonstrated homogeneity and uniform distribution of the rare earth dopant and resulted in specifically unique spectral behavior when compared to conventional doping methods. A more detailed structural model of the doped core glass region has been developed based on the

  18. Ultrasensitive, Real-time and Discriminative Detection of Improvised Explosives by Chemiresistive Thin-film Sensory Array of Mn2+ Tailored Hierarchical ZnS

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhou, Chaoyu; Wu, Zhaofeng; Guo, Yanan; Li, Yushu; Cao, Hongyu; Zheng, Xuefang; Dou, Xincun

    2016-05-01

    A simple method combing Mn2+ doping with a hierarchical structure was developed for the improvement of thin-film sensors and efficient detection of the explosives relevant to improvised explosive devices (IEDs). ZnS hierarchical nanospheres (HNs) were prepared via a solution-based route and their sensing performances were manipulated by Mn2+ doping. The responses of the sensors based on ZnS HNs towards 8 explosives generally increase firstly and then decrease with the increase of the doped Mn2+ concentration, reaching the climate at 5% Mn2+. Furthermore, the sensory array based on ZnS HNs with different doping levels achieved the sensitive and discriminative detection of 6 analytes relevant to IEDs and 2 military explosives in less than 5 s at room temperature. Importantly, the superior sensing performances make ZnS HNs material interesting in the field of chemiresistive sensors, and this simple method could be a very promising strategy to put the sensors based on thin-films of one-dimensional (1D) nanostructures into practical IEDs detection.

  19. Ultrasensitive, Real-time and Discriminative Detection of Improvised Explosives by Chemiresistive Thin-film Sensory Array of Mn2+ Tailored Hierarchical ZnS

    PubMed Central

    Zhou, Chaoyu; Wu, Zhaofeng; Guo, Yanan; Li, Yushu; Cao, Hongyu; Zheng, Xuefang; Dou, Xincun

    2016-01-01

    A simple method combing Mn2+ doping with a hierarchical structure was developed for the improvement of thin-film sensors and efficient detection of the explosives relevant to improvised explosive devices (IEDs). ZnS hierarchical nanospheres (HNs) were prepared via a solution-based route and their sensing performances were manipulated by Mn2+ doping. The responses of the sensors based on ZnS HNs towards 8 explosives generally increase firstly and then decrease with the increase of the doped Mn2+ concentration, reaching the climate at 5% Mn2+. Furthermore, the sensory array based on ZnS HNs with different doping levels achieved the sensitive and discriminative detection of 6 analytes relevant to IEDs and 2 military explosives in less than 5 s at room temperature. Importantly, the superior sensing performances make ZnS HNs material interesting in the field of chemiresistive sensors, and this simple method could be a very promising strategy to put the sensors based on thin-films of one-dimensional (1D) nanostructures into practical IEDs detection. PMID:27161193

  20. Formation of ZnS nanostructures by a simple way of thermal evaporation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yuan, H. J.; Xie, S. S.; Liu, D. F.; Yan, X. Q.; Zhou, Z. P.; Ci, L. J.; Wang, J. X.; Gao, Y.; Song, L.; Liu, L. F.; Zhou, W. Y.; Wang, G.

    2003-11-01

    The mass synthesis of ZnS nanobelts, nanowires, and nanoparticles has been achieved by a simple method of thermal evaporation of ZnS powders onto silicon substrates in the presence of Au catalyst. The temperature of the substrates and the concentration of ZnS vapor were the critical experimental parameters for the formation of different morphologies of ZnS nanostructures. Scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy show that the diameters of as-prepared nanowires were 30-70 nm. The UV emission at 374 nm is probably related to the exciton emission, while the mechanism of blue emission at 443 nm is probably mainly due to the presence of various surface states.

  1. Room temperature ferromagnetism in Mg-doped ZnO nanoparticles

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

    Singh, Jaspal, E-mail: jaspal0314@gmail.com; Vashihth, A.; Gill, Pritampal Singh

    Zn{sub 1-x}Mg{sub x}O (x = 0, 0,10) nanoparticles were successfully synthesized using sol-gel method. X-ray diffraction (XRD) confirms that the synthesized nanoparticles possess wurtzite phase having hexagonal structure. Morphological analysis was carried out using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) which depicts the spherical morphology of ZnO nanoparticles. Energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) showed the presence of Mg in ZnO nanoparticles. Electron spin resonance (ESR) signal was found to be decreasing with increasing of Mg-doping concentration. The room temperature ferromagnetism was observed in undoped and Mg-doped ZnO nanoparticles. The increase of Mg-doping concentration resulted in decrease of saturation magnetization value which could bemore » attributed to decrease of oxygen vacancies present in host nanoparticles.« less

  2. Aqueous synthesis of Ag and Mn co-doped In2S3/ZnS quantum dots with tunable emission for dual-modal targeted imaging.

    PubMed

    Lai, Pei-Yu; Huang, Chih-Ching; Chou, Tzung-Han; Ou, Keng-Liang; Chang, Jia-Yaw

    2017-03-01

    Here, we present the microwave-assisted synthesis of In 2 S 3 /ZnS core/shell quantum dots (QDs) co-doped with Ag + and Mn 2+ (referred to as AgMn:In 2 S 3 /ZnS). Ag + altered the optical properties of the host QDs, whereas the spin magnetic moment (S=5/2) of Mn 2+ efficiently induced the longitudinal relaxation of water protons. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of the aqueous synthesis of color-tunable AgMn:In 2 S 3 /ZnS core/shell QDs with magnetic properties. The synthetic procedure is rapid, facile, reproducible, and scalable. The obtained QDs offered a satisfactory quantum yield (45%), high longitudinal relaxivity (6.84s -1 mM -1 ), and robust photostability. In addition, they exhibited excellent stability over a wide pH range (5-12) and high ionic strength (0.15-2.0M NaCl). As seen by confocal microscopy and magnetic resonance imaging, AgMn:In 2 S 3 /ZnS conjugated to hyaluronic acid (referred to as AgMn:In 2 S 3 /ZnS@HA) efficiently and specifically targeted cluster determinant 44, a receptor overexpressed on cancer cells. Moreover, AgMn:In 2 S 3 /ZnS@HA showed negligible cytotoxicity in vitro and in vivo, rendering it a promising diagnostic probe for dual-modal imaging in clinical applications. In this manuscript, we reported a facial and rapid method to prepare In 2 S 3 /ZnS core/shell quantum dots (QDs) co-doped with Ag + and Mn 2+ (referred to as AgMn:In 2 S 3 /ZnS). Ag + dopants were used to alter the optical properties of the In 2 S 3 host, whereas Mn 2+ co-dopants with their unpaired electrons provided paramagnetic properties. The emission wavelength of the core/shell QDs could be tuned from 550 to 743nm with a maximum PL quantum yield of 45%. The resulting core/shell QDs also maintained a stable emission in aqueous solution at broad ranges of pH (5-12) and ionic strength (0.15-2.0M NaCl), as well as a high photostability under continuous irradiation. In vivo cytotoxicity experiments showed that up to 500μg/mL AgMn:In 2 S 3 /Zn

  3. Anomalous antibacterial activity and dye degradation by selenium doped ZnO nanoparticles.

    PubMed

    Dutta, Raj Kumar; Nenavathu, Bhavani Prasad; Talukdar, Soumita

    2014-02-01

    Selenium doped ZnO nanoparticles synthesized by mechanochemical method were spherically shaped of size distribution of 10.2±3.4 nm measured by transmission electron microscopy. Diffused reflectance spectroscopy revealed increase in the band gap, ranging between 3.47 eV and 3.63 eV due to Se doping in ZnO nanoparticles. The antibacterial activity of pristine and Se doped ZnO nanoparticles was attributed to ROS (reactive oxygen species) generation in culture media confirmed by TBARS assay. Compared to complete inhibition of growth by 0.45 mg/mL of pristine ZnO nanoparticles, the batches of 0.45 mg/mL of selenium doped ZnO nanoparticles exhibited only 51% inhibition of growth of Escherichia coli. The reduced antibacterial activity of selenium doped ZnO nanoparticles was attributed to two opposing factors, e.g., ROS generation for inhibition of growth, countered by sustaining growth of E. coli due to availability of Se micronutrients in culture media, confirmed by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer measurement. Higher ROS generation by selenium doped ZnO nanoparticles was attributed to creation of oxygen vacancies, confirmed from green emission peak observed at 565 nm. The impact of higher ROS generation by selenium doped ZnO nanoparticles was evident from enhanced photocatalytic degradation of trypan blue dye, than pristine ZnO nanoparticles. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  4. White light emission from Mn2 + doped ZnS nanocrystals through the surface chelating of 8-hydroxyquinoline-5-sulfonic acid

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lü, Xiaodan; Yang, Jing; Fu, Yuqin; Liu, Qianqian; Qi, Bin; Lü, Changli; Su, Zhongmin

    2010-03-01

    White light emitting semiconductor nanocrystals (NCs) have been successfully synthesized from 8-hydroxyquinoline-5-sulfonic acid (HQS) decorated manganese doped ZnS NCs through fine tuning the surface-coordination emission and dopant emission of the NC host. The HQS functionalized manganese doped ZnS NCs (QS-ZnS:Mn), with a cubic crystal structure, have the same diameter of about 4.0 nm as ZnS:Mn NCs without HQS. The intensity of the surface-coordination emission peak increased with increasing HQS content or augmenting excited wavelength. The emission of white light was achieved by carefully controlling the dosage of HQS in NCs and appropriately tuning the excited wavelength. The color coordinates (0.35, 0.34) for the efficient white light emitting NCs were very close to the ideal Commission Internationale de l'Eclairage (CIE) chromaticity coordinates for pure white light (0.33, 0.33). The photoluminescence (PL) decay study revealed that the white light emitting NCs exhibited maximum lifetime values at different emission peaks for different NC samples. The study results also indicated that the HQS molecules were attached to the surface of ZnS:Mn NCs in a single coordination fashion due to the steric hindrance effect of the special spherical surface of NCs, which made the QS-ZnS:Mn NCs possess stable and high fluorescent properties in different organic solvents as compared with the conventional small molecule complexes.

  5. Pseudo-bi-enzyme glucose sensor: ZnS hollow spheres and glucose oxidase concerted catalysis glucose.

    PubMed

    Shuai, Ying; Liu, Changhua; Wang, Jia; Cui, Xiaoyan; Nie, Ling

    2013-06-07

    This work creatively uses peroxidase-like ZnS hollow spheres (ZnS HSs) to cooperate with glucose oxidase (GOx) for glucose determinations. This approach is that the ZnS HSs electrocatalytically oxidate the enzymatically generated H2O2 to O2, and then the O2 circularly participates in the previous glucose oxidation by glucose oxidase. Au nanoparticles (AuNPs) and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are used as electron transfer and enzyme immobilization matrices, respectively. The biosensor of glucose oxidase-carbon nanotubes-Au nanoparticles-ZnS hollow spheres-gold electrode (GOx-CNT-AuNPs-ZnS HSs-GE) exhibits a rapid response, a low detection limit (10 μM), a wide linear range (20 μM to 7 mM) as well as good anti-interference, long-term longevity and reproducibility.

  6. Advances in highly doped upconversion nanoparticles.

    PubMed

    Wen, Shihui; Zhou, Jiajia; Zheng, Kezhi; Bednarkiewicz, Artur; Liu, Xiaogang; Jin, Dayong

    2018-06-20

    Lanthanide-doped upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) are capable of converting near-infra-red excitation into visible and ultraviolet emission. Their unique optical properties have advanced a broad range of applications, such as fluorescent microscopy, deep-tissue bioimaging, nanomedicine, optogenetics, security labelling and volumetric display. However, the constraint of concentration quenching on upconversion luminescence has hampered the nanoscience community to develop bright UCNPs with a large number of dopants. This review surveys recent advances in developing highly doped UCNPs, highlights the strategies that bypass the concentration quenching effect, and discusses new optical properties as well as emerging applications enabled by these nanoparticles.

  7. Room temperature ferromagnetism in Mn-doped NiO nanoparticles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Layek, Samar; Verma, H. C.

    2016-01-01

    Mn-doped NiO nanoparticles of the series Ni1-xMnxO (x=0.00, 0.02, 0.04 and 0.06) are successfully synthesized using a low temperature hydrothermal method. Samples up to 6% Mn-doping are single phase in nature as observed from powder x-ray diffraction (XRD) studies. Rietveld refinement of the XRD data shows that all the single phase samples crystallize in the NaCl like fcc structure with space group Fm-3m. Unit cell volume decreases with increasing Mn-doping. Pure NiO nanoparticles show weak ferromagnetism, may be due to nanosize nature. Introduction of Mn within NiO lattice improves the magnetic properties significantly. Room temperature ferromagnetism is found in all the doped samples whereas the magnetization is highest for 2% Mn-doping and then decreases with further doping. The ZFC and FC branches in the temperature dependent magnetization separate well above 350 K indicating transition temperature well above room temperature for 2% Mn-doped NiO Nanoparticle. The ferromagnetic Curie temperature is found to be 653 K for the same sample as measured by temperature dependent magnetization study using vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) in high vacuum.

  8. Electrocatalytic activity of ZnS nanoparticles in direct ethanol fuel cells

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bredol, Michael; Kaczmarek, Michał; Wiemhöfer, Hans-Dieter

    2014-06-01

    Low temperature fuel cells consuming ethanol without reformation would be a major step toward the use of renewable energy sources from biomass. However, the necessary electrodes and electrocatalysts still are far from being perfect and suffer from various poisoning and deactivation processes. This work describes investigations on systems using carbon/ZnS-based electrocatalysts for ethanol oxidation in complete membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs). MEAs were built on Nafion membranes with active masses prepared from ZnS nanoparticles and Vulcan carbon support. Under operation, acetic acid and acetaldehyde were identified and quantified as soluble oxidation products, whereas the amount of CO2 generated could not be quantified directly. Overall conversion efficiencies of up to 25% were estimated from cells operated over prolonged time. From polarization curves, interrupt experiments and analysis of reaction products, mass transport problems (concentration polarization) and breakthrough losses were found to be the main deficiencies of the ethanol oxidation electrodes fabricated so far.

  9. Microwave absorption properties of gold nanoparticle doped polymers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jiang, C.; Ouattara, L.; Ingrosso, C.; Curri, M. L.; Krozer, V.; Boisen, A.; Jakobsen, M. H.; Johansen, T. K.

    2011-03-01

    This paper presents a method for characterizing microwave absorption properties of gold nanoparticle doped polymers. The method is based on on-wafer measurements at the frequencies from 0.5 GHz to 20 GHz. The on-wafer measurement method makes it possible to characterize electromagnetic (EM) property of small volume samples. The epoxy based SU8 polymer and SU8 doped with gold nanoparticles are chosen as the samples under test. Two types of microwave test devices are designed for exciting the samples through electrical coupling and magnetic coupling, respectively. Measurement results demonstrate that the nanocomposites absorb a certain amount of microwave energy due to gold nanoparticles. Higher nanoparticle concentration results in more significant absorption effect.

  10. Enhanced peroxidase activity and tumour tissue visualization by cobalt-doped magnetoferritin nanoparticles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhang, Tongwei; Cao, Changqian; Tang, Xu; Cai, Yao; Yang, Caiyun; Pan, Yongxin

    2017-01-01

    Magnetoferritin (M-HFn) is a biomimetic magnetic nanoparticle with a human heavy-chain ferritin (HFn) shell, trapping a magnetite (Fe3O4) core that has inherited peroxidase-like activity. In this study, cobalt-doped M-HFn nanoparticles (M-HFn-Co x Fe3-x O4) with different amounts of cobalt were successfully synthesized. Experimental results indicate that the controlled doping of a certain amount of cobalt into the magnetite cores of M-HFn nanoparticles enhances its peroxidase-like catalytic activity and efficacy for visualizing tumour tissues. For example, compared with sample Co0 (without cobalt doping), the peroxidase-like activity of the cobalt-doped nanoparticle sample Co60 (with a cobalt doping molar percentage of ˜34.2%) increases 1.7 times, and has the maximal reaction velocity (V max) values. Moreover, after a one-step incubation with Co60 nanoparticles, and using the peroxidase substrate 3,3‧-diaminobenzidine tetrahydrochloride (DAB) for colour development, the tumour tissues of breast, colorectal, stomach and pancreas tumours showed a deeper brown colour with clear boundaries between the healthy and tumourous cells. Therefore, this suggests that the cobalt-doped magnetoferritin nanoparticles enhance peroxidase activity and tumour tissue visualization.

  11. Enhanced peroxidase activity and tumour tissue visualization by cobalt-doped magnetoferritin nanoparticles.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Tongwei; Cao, Changqian; Tang, Xu; Cai, Yao; Yang, Caiyun; Pan, Yongxin

    2017-01-27

    Magnetoferritin (M-HFn) is a biomimetic magnetic nanoparticle with a human heavy-chain ferritin (HFn) shell, trapping a magnetite (Fe 3 O 4 ) core that has inherited peroxidase-like activity. In this study, cobalt-doped M-HFn nanoparticles (M-HFn-Co x Fe 3-x O 4 ) with different amounts of cobalt were successfully synthesized. Experimental results indicate that the controlled doping of a certain amount of cobalt into the magnetite cores of M-HFn nanoparticles enhances its peroxidase-like catalytic activity and efficacy for visualizing tumour tissues. For example, compared with sample Co0 (without cobalt doping), the peroxidase-like activity of the cobalt-doped nanoparticle sample Co60 (with a cobalt doping molar percentage of ∼34.2%) increases 1.7 times, and has the maximal reaction velocity (V max ) values. Moreover, after a one-step incubation with Co60 nanoparticles, and using the peroxidase substrate 3,3'-diaminobenzidine tetrahydrochloride (DAB) for colour development, the tumour tissues of breast, colorectal, stomach and pancreas tumours showed a deeper brown colour with clear boundaries between the healthy and tumourous cells. Therefore, this suggests that the cobalt-doped magnetoferritin nanoparticles enhance peroxidase activity and tumour tissue visualization.

  12. Synthesis and photoluminescent and nonlinear optical properties of manganese doped ZnS nanoparticles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nazerdeylami, Somayeh; Saievar-Iranizad, Esmaiel; Dehghani, Zahra; Molaei, Mehdi

    2011-01-01

    In this work we synthesized ZnS:Mn 2+ nanoparticles by chemical method using PVP (polyvinylpyrrolidone) as a capping agent in aqueous solution. The structure and optical properties of the resultant product were characterized using UV-vis optical spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), photoluminescence (PL) and z-scan techniques. UV-vis spectra for all samples showed an excitonic peak at around 292 nm, indicating that concentration of Mn 2+ ions does not alter the band gap of nanoparticles. XRD patterns showed that the ZnS:Mn 2+ nanoparticles have zinc blende structure with the average crystalline sizes of about 2 nm. The room temperature photoluminescence (PL) spectrum of ZnS:Mn 2+ exhibited an orange-red emission at 594 nm due to the 4T 1- 6A 1 transition in Mn 2+. The PL intensity increased with increase in the Mn 2+ ion concentration. The second-order nonlinear optical properties of nanoparticles were studied using a continuous-wave (CW) He-Ne laser by z-scan technique. The nonlinear refractive indices of nanoparticles were in the order of 10 -8 cm 2/W with negative sign and the nonlinear absorption indices of these nanoparticles were obtained to be about 10 -3 cm/W with positive sign.

  13. Time-resolved determination of Fe(II) ions using cysteine-bridged Mn-doped ZnS quantum dots as a phosphorimetric probe.

    PubMed

    Jing, Wenjie; Lu, Yuexiang; Wang, Feiyang; He, Liuying; Sun, Jingwei; Liu, Yueying

    2018-05-12

    A time-resolved phosphorescence (TRP) is applied to the highly sensitive determination of Fe(II) ions. The method is based on the use of a phosphorescent probe consisting of cysteine-bridged Mn-doped ZnS quantum dots (Mn/ZnS QDs). The presence of cysteine enhances the phosphorescence of the QDs and also increases the efficiency of quenching caused by Fe(II) ions. This results in strongly improved selectivity for Fe(II). The linear response is obtained in the concentration range of 50-1000 nM with a 19 nM detection limit. Phosphorescence is recorded at excitation/emission peaks of 301/602 nm. The interference of short-lived fluorescent and scattering background from the biological fluids is eliminated by using the TRP mode with a delay time of 200 μs. The determination of Fe(II) in human serum samples spiked at a 150 nM level gave a 92.4% recovery when using the TRP mode, but only 52.4% when using steady-state phosphorescence. This demonstrates that this probe along with TRP detection enables highly sensitive and accurate determination of Fe(II) in serum. Graphical abstract Schematic of a novel phosphorescent method for the detection of Fe 2+ ions based on cysteine-bridged Mn-doped ZnS quantum dots. The sensitivity of this assay greatly increases due to the addition of cysteine. Interferences by short-lived auto-fluorescence and the scattering light from the biological fluids is eliminated by using time-resolved phosphorescence mode.

  14. Room temperature ferromagnetism in Fe-doped CuO nanoparticles.

    PubMed

    Layek, Samar; Verma, H C

    2013-03-01

    The pure and Fe-doped CuO nanoparticles of the series Cu(1-x)Fe(x)O (x = 0.00, 0.02, 0.04, 0.06 and 0.08) were successfully prepared by a simple low temperature sol-gel method using metal nitrates and citric acid. Rietveld refinement of the X-ray diffraction data showed that all the samples were single phase crystallized in monoclinic structure of space group C2/c with average crystallite size of about 25 nm and unit cell volume decreases with increasing iron doping concentration. TEM micrograph showed nearly spherical shaped agglomerated particles of 4% Fe-doped CuO with average diameter 26 nm. Pure CuO showed weak ferromagnetic behavior at room temperature with coercive field of 67 Oe. The ferromagnetic properties were greatly enhanced with Fe-doping in the CuO matrix. All the doped samples showed ferromagnetism at room temperature with a noticeable coercive field. Saturation magnetization increases with increasing Fe-doping, becomes highest for 4% doping then decreases for further doping which confirms that the ferromagnetism in these nanoparticles are intrinsic and are not resulting from any impurity phases. The ZFC and FC branches of the temperature dependent magnetization (measured in the range of 10-350 K by SQUID magnetometer) look like typical ferromagnetic nanoparticles and indicates that the ferromagnetic Curie temperature is above 350 K.

  15. Survival of Verwey transition in gadolinium-doped ultrasmall magnetite nanoparticles.

    PubMed

    Yeo, Sunmog; Choi, Hyunkyung; Kim, Chul Sung; Lee, Gyeong Tae; Seo, Jeong Hyun; Cha, Hyung Joon; Park, Jeong Chan

    2017-09-28

    We have demonstrated that the Verwey transition, which is highly sensitive to impurities, survives in anisotropic Gd-doped magnetite nanoparticles. Transmission electron microscopy analysis shows that the nanoparticles are uniformly distributed. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and EDS mapping analysis confirm Gd-doping on the nanoparticles. The Verwey transition of the Gd-doped magnetite nanoparticles is robust and the temperature dependence of the magnetic moment (zero field cooling and field cooling) shows the same behaviour as that of the Verwey transition in bulk magnetite, at a lower transition temperature (∼110 K). In addition, irregularly shaped nanoparticles do not show the Verwey transition whereas square-shaped nanoparticles show the transition. Mössbauer spectral analysis shows that the slope of the magnetic hyperfine field and the electric quadrupole splitting change at the same temperature, meaning that the Verwey transition occurs at ∼110 K. These results would provide new insights into understanding the Verwey transition in nano-sized materials.

  16. Structural, magnetic and electronic structure properties of Co doped ZnO nanoparticles

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

    Kumar, Shalendra, E-mail: shailuphy@gmail.com; School of Materials Science and Engineering, Changwon National University, Changwon, Gyeongnam 641-773; Song, T.K., E-mail: tksong@changwon.ac.kr

    Highlights: • XRD and HR-TEM results show the single phase nature of Co doped ZnO nanoparticles. • XMCD and dc magnetization results indicate the RT-FM in Co doped ZnO nanoparticles. • Co L{sub 3,2} NEXAFS spectra infer that Co ions are in 2+ valence state. • O K edge NEXAFS spectra show that O vacancy increases with Co doping in ZnO. - Abstract: We reported structural, magnetic and electronic structure studies of Co doped ZnO nanoparticles. Doping of Co ions in ZnO host matrix has been studied and confirmed using various methods; such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanningmore » electron microscopy (FE-SEM), energy dispersed X-ray (EDX), high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), near edge X-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) spectroscopy, magnetic hysteresis loop measurements and X-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD). From the XRD and HR-TEM results, it is observed that Co doped ZnO nanoparticles have single phase nature with wurtzite structure and exclude the possibility of secondary phase formation. FE-SEM and TEM micrographs show that pure and Co doped nanoparticles are nearly spherical in shape. O K edge NEXAFS spectra indicate that O vacancies increase with Co doping. The Co L{sub 3,2} edge NEXAFS spectra revealed that Co ions are in 2+ valence state. DC magnetization hysteresis loops and XMCD results clearly showed the intrinsic origin of temperature ferromagnetism in Co doped ZnO nanoparticles.« less

  17. Toward deep blue nano hope diamonds: heavily boron-doped diamond nanoparticles.

    PubMed

    Heyer, Steffen; Janssen, Wiebke; Turner, Stuart; Lu, Ying-Gang; Yeap, Weng Siang; Verbeeck, Jo; Haenen, Ken; Krueger, Anke

    2014-06-24

    The production of boron-doped diamond nanoparticles enables the application of this material for a broad range of fields, such as electrochemistry, thermal management, and fundamental superconductivity research. Here we present the production of highly boron-doped diamond nanoparticles using boron-doped CVD diamond films as a starting material. In a multistep milling process followed by purification and surface oxidation we obtained diamond nanoparticles of 10-60 nm with a boron content of approximately 2.3 × 10(21) cm(-3). Aberration-corrected HRTEM reveals the presence of defects within individual diamond grains, as well as a very thin nondiamond carbon layer at the particle surface. The boron K-edge electron energy-loss near-edge fine structure demonstrates that the B atoms are tetrahedrally embedded into the diamond lattice. The boron-doped diamond nanoparticles have been used to nucleate growth of a boron-doped diamond film by CVD that does not contain an insulating seeding layer.

  18. Facile one-step synthesis of magnesium-doped ZnO nanoparticles: optical properties and their device applications

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Oh, Ji-Young; Lim, Sang-Chul; Ahn, Seong Deok; Lee, Sang Seok; Cho, Kyoung-Ik; Bon Koo, Jae; Choi, Rino; Hasan, Musarrat

    2013-07-01

    In this study, magnesium-doped (Mg-doped) zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles were successfully synthesized by a sonochemical process under mild conditions. The x-ray diffraction pattern indicated that the Mg-doped ZnO nanoparticles maintain a wurtzite structure without impurities. We observed a blue-shift of the bandgap of the Mg-doped ZnO nanoparticles as the Mg-doping ratio increased. We also fabricated thin-film transistor (TFT) devices with the doped-ZnO nanoparticles. Devices using Mg-doped ZnO nanoparticles as a channel layer showed insensibility to white-light irradiation compared with undoped ZnO TFTs.

  19. Eu2+ -induced enhancement of defect luminescence of ZnS.

    PubMed

    Xiao-Bo, Zhang; Fu-Xiang, Wei

    2016-12-01

    The Eu 2 + -induced enhancement of defect luminescence of ZnS was studied in this work. While photoluminescence (PL) spectra exhibited 460 nm and 520 nm emissions in both ZnS and ZnS:Eu nanophosphors, different excitation characteristics were shown in their photoluminescence excitation (PLE) spectra. In ZnS nanophosphors, there was no excitation signal in the PLE spectra at the excitation wavelength λ ex  > 337 nm (the bandgap energy 3.68 eV of ZnS); while in ZnS:Eu nanophosphors, two excitation bands appeared that were centered at 365 nm and 410 nm. Compared with ZnS nanophosphors, the 520 nm emission in the PL spectra was relatively enhanced in ZnS:Eu nanophosphors and, furthermore, in ZnS:Eu nanophosphors the 460 nm and 520 nm emissions increased more than 10 times in intensity. The reasons for these differences were analyzed. It is believed that the absorption of Eu 2 + intra-ion transition and subsequent energy transfer to sulfur vacancy, led to the relative enhancement of the 520 nm emission in ZnS:Eu nanophosphors. In addition, more importantly, Eu 2 + acceptor-bound excitons are formed in ZnS:Eu nanophosphors and their excited levels serve as the intermediate state of electronic relaxation, which decreases non-radiative electronic relaxation and thus increases the intensity of the 460 nm and 520 nm emission dramatically. In summary, the results in this work indicate a new mechanism for the enhancement of defect luminescence of ZnS in Eu 2 + -doped ZnS nanophosphors. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  20. Synthesis and Thermoluminescence of ZnS:Mn2+ Nanoparticles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zahedifar, M.; Taghavinia, N.; Aminpour, M.

    2007-08-01

    The controlled chemical method has been used for synthesis of Mn doped ZnS nanoparticles. Optical absorption studies showed that increasing of surfactant density, from 0.0001 to 0.5 mol/lit., causes the size of nanoparticles to decrease from 4.8 nm to about 3 nm and the band gap width to increase from 4.15 to 4.50 eV. Also increasing the temperature during the synthesis process caused the nanoparticle size to be increased. As a new result we observed a thermoluminescence (TL) glow peak at about 475 K, with its intensity depending on concentration of the Mn dopant. Activation energy of this glow peak was obtained to be about 0.6eV. A discussion of the obtained results is also presented.

  1. Magnetic and resonance properties of ferrihydrite nanoparticles doped with cobalt

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Stolyar, S. V.; Yaroslavtsev, R. N.; Iskhakov, R. S.; Bayukov, O. A.; Balaev, D. A.; Dubrovskii, A. A.; Krasikov, A. A.; Ladygina, V. P.; Vorotynov, A. M.; Volochaev, M. N.

    2017-03-01

    Powders of undoped ferrihydrite nanoparticles and ferrihydrite nanoparticles doped with cobalt in the ratio of 5: 1 have been prepared by hydrolysis of 3 d-metal salts. It has been shown using Mössbauer spectroscopy that cobalt is uniformly distributed over characteristic crystal-chemical positions of iron ions. The blocking temperatures of ferrihydrite nanoparticles have been determined. The nanoparticle sizes, magnetizations, surface anisotropy constants, and bulk anisotropy constants have been estimated. The doping of ferrihydrite nanoparticles with cobalt leads to a significant increase in the anisotropy constant of a nanoparticle and to the formation of surface rotational anisotropy with the surface anisotropy constant K u = 1.6 × 10-3 erg/cm2.

  2. Electronic structure, magnetic and structural properties of Ni doped ZnO nanoparticles

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

    Kumar, Shalendra, E-mail: shailuphy@gmail.com; Vats, Prashant; Gautam, S.

    Highlights: • XRD, and HR-TEM results show the single phase nature of Ni doped ZnO nanoparticles. • dc magnetization results indicate the RT-FM in Ni doped ZnO nanoparticles. • Ni L{sub 3,2} edge NEXAFS spectra infer that Ni ions are in +2 valence state. • O K edge NEXAFS spectra show that O vacancy increases with Ni doping in ZnO. - Abstract: We report structural, magnetic and electronic structural properties of Ni doped ZnO nanoparticles prepared by auto-combustion method. The prepared nanoparticles were characterized by using X-ray diffraction (XRD), high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM), near edge X-ray absorption finemore » structure (NEXAFS) spectroscopy, and dc magnetization measurements. The XRD and HR-TEM results indicate that Ni doped ZnO nanoparticles have single phase nature with wurtzite lattice and exclude the presence of secondary phase. NEXAFS measurements performed at Ni L{sub 3,2}-edges indicates that Ni ions are in +2 valence state and exclude the presence of Ni metal clusters. O K-edge NEXAFS spectra indicate an increase in oxygen vacancies with Ni-doping, while Zn L{sub 3,2}-edge show the absence of Zn-vacancies. The magnetization measurements performed at room temperature shows that pure and Ni doped ZnO exhibits ferromagnetic behavior.« less

  3. Structural and optical properties of pure and copper doped zinc oxide nanoparticles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sajjad, Muhammad; Ullah, Inam; Khan, M. I.; Khan, Jamshid; Khan, M. Yaqoob; Qureshi, Muhammad Tauseef

    2018-06-01

    Pure and copper-doped zinc oxide nanoparticles (NPs) have been synthesized via chemical co-precipitation method where hydrazine is used as reducing agent and aqueous extract of Euphorbia milii plant as capping agent. Main objectives of the reported work are to investigate the effect of copper doping on crystal structure of ZnO nanoparticles; to study the effect of copper doping on optical band gap of ZnO nanoparticles and photoluminescence (PL) study of pure and copper-doped ZnO nanoparticles. To achieve the aforementioned objectives, XRD and SEM tests were performed for the identification and confirmation of crystal structure and morphology of the prepared samples. From XRD data the average grain size for pure ZnO was observed to be 24.62 nm which was first decreased to 18.95 nm for 5 wt% Cu-doped sample and then it was found to increase up to 37.80 nm as the Cu doping was increased to 7 wt%. Optical band gap of pure and Cu-doped ZnO nanoparticles was calculated from diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) spectra and was found to decrease from 3.13 eV to 2.94 eV as the amount of Cu increases up to 7 wt%. In photoluminescence study, PL technique was used and enhanced visible spectrum was observed. For further characterization FT-IR and EDX tests were also carried out.

  4. Effect of cobalt doping on structural and optical properties of ZnO nanoparticles

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

    Singh, J.; Chanda, A., E-mail: anupamamatsc@gmail.com; Gupta, S.

    Cobalt doped ZnO nanoparticles of uniform sizes were prepared by a chemical method using ZnCl{sub 2} and NaOH as the source materials. The formation of Co-doped ZnO nanoparticles was confirmed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), high resolution TEM (HR-TEM) and selected area electron diffraction (SAED) studies. The optical properties of obtained products were examined using room temperature UV-visible and FTIR spectroscopy. SAED of cobalt doped ZnO nanoparticles shows homogeneous distribution of nanoparticles with hexagonal structure. The HRTEM image of the Co-doped ZnO nanoparticles reveals a clear lattice spacing of 0.52 nm corresponding to the interplanar spacing of wurtzite ZnO (002) plane.more » The absorption band at 857 cm{sup −1} in FTIR spectra confirmed the tetrahedral coordination of Zn and a shift of absorption peak to shorter wavelength region and decrease in absorbance with Co doping.is observed in UV-Visible spectra.« less

  5. Superparamagnetic behavior of Fe-doped SnO2 nanoparticles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hachisu, M.; Onuma, K.; Kondo, T.; Miike, K.; Miyasaka, T.; Mori, K.; Ichiyanagi, Y.

    2014-02-01

    SnO2 is an n-type semiconductor with a wide band gap of 3.62 eV, and SnO2 nanoparticles doped with magnetic ions are expected to realized new diluted magnetic semiconductors (DMSs). Realizing ferromagnetism at room temperature is important for spintronics device applications, and it is interesting that the magnetic properties of these DMS systems can be varied significantly by modifying the preparation methods or conditions. In this study, the magnetic properties of Fe-doped (3% and 5%) SnO2 nanoparticles, prepared using our novel chemical preparation method and encapsulated in amorphous SiO2, were investigated. The particle size (1.8-16.9 nm) and crystal phase were controlled by the annealing temperature. X-ray diffraction confirmed a rutile SnO2 single-phase structure for samples annealed at 1073-1373 K, and the composition was confirmed using X-ray fluorescence analysis. SQUID magnetometer measurements revealed superparamagnetic behavior of the 5%-Fe-doped sample at room temperature, although SnO2 is known to be diamagnetic. Magnetization curves at 5 K indicated that the 3%-Fe-doped has a larger magnetization than that of the 5%-Fe-doped sample. We conclude that the magnetization of the 5%-Fe-doped sample decreased at 5 K due to the superexchange interaction between the antiferromagnetic coupling in the nanoparticle system.

  6. Scintillation of rare earth doped fluoride nanoparticles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jacobsohn, L. G.; McPherson, C. L.; Sprinkle, K. B.; Yukihara, E. G.; DeVol, T. A.; Ballato, J.

    2011-09-01

    The scintillation response of rare earth (RE) doped core/undoped (multi-)shell fluoride nanoparticles was investigated under x-ray and alpha particle irradiation. A significant enhancement of the scintillation response was observed with increasing shells due: (i) to the passivation of surface quenching defects together with the activation of the REs on the surface of the core nanoparticle after the growth of a shell, and (ii) to the increase of the volume of the nanoparticles. These results are expected to reflect a general aspect of the scintillation process in nanoparticles, and to impact radiation sensing technologies that make use of nanoparticles.

  7. Photoluminescence and doping mechanism of theranostic Eu3+/Fe3+ dual-doped hydroxyapatite nanoparticles.

    PubMed

    Chen, Min-Hua; Yoshioka, Tomohiko; Ikoma, Toshiyuki; Hanagata, Nobutaka; Lin, Feng-Huei; Tanaka, Junzo

    2014-10-01

    Theranostic nanoparticles currently have been regarded as an emerging concept of 'personalized medicine' with diagnostic and therapeutic dual-functions. Eu 3+ doped hydroxyapatite (HAp) has been regarded as a promising fluorescent probe for in vivo imaging applications. Additionally, substitution of Ca 2+ with Fe 3+ in HAp crystal may endow the capability of producing heat upon exposure to a magnetic field. Here we report a preliminary study of doping mechanism and photoluminescence of Eu 3+ and Fe 3+ doped HAp nanoparticles (Eu/Fe:HAp). HAp with varied concentration of Eu 3+ and Fe 3+ doping are presented as Eu(10 mol%):HAp, Eu(7 mol%)-Fe(3 mol%):HAp, Eu(5 mol%)-Fe(5 mol%):HAp, Eu(3 mol%)-Fe(7 mol%):HAp, and Fe(10 mol%):HAp in the study. The results showed that the HAp particles, in nano-size with rod-like morphology, were successfully doped with Eu 3+ and Fe 3+ , and the particles can be well suspended in cell culture medium. Photoluminescence analysis revealed that particles have prominent emissions at 536 nm, 590 nm, 615 nm, 650 nm and 695 nm upon excitation at a wavelength of 397 nm. Moreover, these Eu/Fe:HAp nanoparticles belonged to B-type carbonated HAp, which has been considered an effective biodegradable and biocompatible drug/gene carrier in biological applications.

  8. Photoluminescence and doping mechanism of theranostic Eu3+/Fe3+ dual-doped hydroxyapatite nanoparticles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chen, Min-Hua; Yoshioka, Tomohiko; Ikoma, Toshiyuki; Hanagata, Nobutaka; Lin, Feng-Huei; Tanaka, Junzo

    2014-10-01

    Theranostic nanoparticles currently have been regarded as an emerging concept of ‘personalized medicine’ with diagnostic and therapeutic dual-functions. Eu3+ doped hydroxyapatite (HAp) has been regarded as a promising fluorescent probe for in vivo imaging applications. Additionally, substitution of Ca2+ with Fe3+ in HAp crystal may endow the capability of producing heat upon exposure to a magnetic field. Here we report a preliminary study of doping mechanism and photoluminescence of Eu3+ and Fe3+ doped HAp nanoparticles (Eu/Fe:HAp). HAp with varied concentration of Eu3+ and Fe3+ doping are presented as Eu(10 mol%):HAp, Eu(7 mol%)-Fe(3 mol%):HAp, Eu(5 mol%)-Fe(5 mol%):HAp, Eu(3 mol%)-Fe(7 mol%):HAp, and Fe(10 mol%):HAp in the study. The results showed that the HAp particles, in nano-size with rod-like morphology, were successfully doped with Eu3+ and Fe3+, and the particles can be well suspended in cell culture medium. Photoluminescence analysis revealed that particles have prominent emissions at 536 nm, 590 nm, 615 nm, 650 nm and 695 nm upon excitation at a wavelength of 397 nm. Moreover, these Eu/Fe:HAp nanoparticles belonged to B-type carbonated HAp, which has been considered an effective biodegradable and biocompatible drug/gene carrier in biological applications.

  9. Cobalt nanoparticles/nitrogen-doped graphene with high nitrogen doping efficiency as noble metal-free electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction reaction.

    PubMed

    Liang, Jingwen; Hassan, Mehboob; Zhu, Dongsheng; Guo, Liping; Bo, Xiangjie

    2017-03-15

    Nitrogen-doped graphene (N/GR) has been considered as active metal-free electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). However, the nitrogen (N) doping efficiency is very low and only few N atoms are doped into the framework of GR. To boost the N doping efficiency, in this work, a confined pyrolysis method with high N doping efficiency is used for the preparation of cobalt nanoparticles/nitrogen-doped GR (Co/N/GR). Under the protection of SiO 2 , the inorganic ligand NH 3 in cobalt amine complex ([Co(NH 3 ) 6 ] 3+ ) is trapped in the confined space and then can be effectively doped into the framework of GR without the introduction of any carbon residues. Meanwhile, due to the redox reaction between the cobalt ions and carbon atoms of GR, Co nanoparticles are supported into the framework of N/GR. Due to prevention of GR layer aggregation with SiO 2 , the Co/N/GR with high dispersion provides sufficient surface area and maximum opportunity for the exposure of Co nanoparticles and active sites of N dopant. By combination of enhanced N doping efficiency, Co nanoparticles and high dispersion of GR sheets, the Co/N/GR is remarkably active, cheap and selective noble-metal free catalysts for ORR. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  10. Colloidal Synthesis of Te-Doped Bi Nanoparticles: Low-Temperature Charge Transport and Thermoelectric Properties.

    PubMed

    Gu, Da Hwi; Jo, Seungki; Jeong, Hyewon; Ban, Hyeong Woo; Park, Sung Hoon; Heo, Seung Hwae; Kim, Fredrick; Jang, Jeong In; Lee, Ji Eun; Son, Jae Sung

    2017-06-07

    Electronically doped nanoparticles formed by incorporation of impurities have been of great interest because of their controllable electrical properties. However, the development of a strategy for n-type or p-type doping on sub-10 nm-sized nanoparticles under the quantum confinement regime is very challenging using conventional processes, owing to the difficulty in synthesis. Herein, we report the colloidal chemical synthesis of sub-10 nm-sized tellurium (Te)-doped Bismuth (Bi) nanoparticles with precisely controlled Te content from 0 to 5% and systematically investigate their low-temperature charge transport and thermoelectric properties. Microstructural characterization of nanoparticles demonstrates that Te ions are successfully incorporated into Bi nanoparticles rather than remaining on the nanoparticle surfaces. Low-temperature Hall measurement results of the hot-pressed Te-doped Bi-nanostructured materials, with grain sizes ranging from 30 to 60 nm, show that the charge transport properties are governed by the doping content and the related impurity and nanoscale grain boundary scatterings. Furthermore, the low-temperature thermoelectric properties reveal that the electrical conductivity and Seebeck coefficient expectedly change with the Te content, whereas the thermal conductivity is significantly reduced by Te doping because of phonon scattering at the sites arising from impurities and nanoscale grain boundaries. Accordingly, the 1% Te-doped Bi sample exhibits a higher figure-of-merit ZT by ∼10% than that of the undoped sample. The synthetic strategy demonstrated in this study offers the possibility of electronic doping of various quantum-confined nanoparticles for diverse applications.

  11. Synthesis of robust water-soluble ZnS:Mn/SiO2 core/shell nanoparticles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sun, Jing; Zhuang, Jiaqi; Guan, Shaowei; Yang, Wensheng

    2008-04-01

    Water-soluble Mn doped ZnS (ZnS:Mn) nanocrystals synthesized by using 3-mercaptopropionic acid (MPA) as stabilizer were homogeneously coated with a dense silica shell through a multi-step procedure. First, 3-mercaptopropyl triethoxy silane (MPS) was used to replace MPA on the particle surface to form a vitreophilic layer for further silica deposition under optimal experimental conditions. Then a two-step silica deposition was performed to form the final water-soluble ZnS:Mn/SiO2 core/shell nanoparticles. The as-prepared core/shell nanoparticles show little change in fluorescence intensity in a wide range of pH value.

  12. Eu-doped ZnO nanoparticles: Sonochemical synthesis, characterization, and sonocatalytic application.

    PubMed

    Khataee, Alireza; Karimi, Atefeh; Zarei, Mahmoud; Joo, Sang Woo

    2015-03-30

    Undoped and europium (III)-doped ZnO nanoparticles were prepared by a sonochemical method. The prepared samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis. The crystalline sizes of undoped and 3% Eu-doped ZnO were found to be 16.04 and 8.22nm, respectively. The particle size of Eu-doped ZnO nanoparticles was much smaller than that of pure ZnO. The synthesized nanocatalysts were used for the sonocatalytic degradation of Acid Red 17. Among the Eu-doped ZnO catalysts, 3% Eu-doped ZnO nanoparticles showed the highest sonocatalytic activity. The effects of various parameters such as catalyst loading, initial dye concentration, pH, ultrasonic power, the effect of oxidizing agents, and the presence of anions were investigated. The produced intermediates of the sonocatalytic process were monitored by GC-Mass (GC-MS) spectrometry. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  13. Simple and Sensitive Molecularly Imprinted Polymer - Mn-Doped ZnS Quantum Dots Based Fluorescence Probe for Cocaine and Metabolites Determination in Urine.

    PubMed

    Chantada-Vázquez, María Pilar; Sánchez-González, Juan; Peña-Vázquez, Elena; Tabernero, María Jesús; Bermejo, Ana María; Bermejo-Barrera, Pilar; Moreda-Piñeiro, Antonio

    2016-03-01

    A new molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP)-based fluorescent artificial receptor has been prepared by anchoring a selective MIP for cocaine (COC) on the surface of polyethylene glycol (PEG) modified Mn-doped ZnS quantum dots (QDs). The prepared material combines the high selectivity attributed to MIPs and the sensitive fluorescent property of the Mn-doped ZnS QDs. Simple and low cost methods have therefore been optimized for assessing cocaine abuse in urine by monitoring the fluorescence quenching when the template (COC) and also metabolites from COC [benzoylecgonine (BZE) and ecgonine methyl ester (EME)] are present. Fluorescence quenching was not observed when performing experiments with other drugs of abuse (and their metabolites) or when using nonimprinted polymer (NIP)-coated QDs. Under optimized operating conditions (1.5 mL of 200 mg L(-1) MIP-coated QDs solution, pH 5.5, and 15 min before fluorescence scanning) two analytical methods were developed/validated. One of the procedures (direct method) consisted of urine sample 1:20 dilution before fluorescence measurements. The method has been found to be fast, precise, and accurate, but the standard addition technique for performing the analysis was required because of the existence of matrix effect. The second procedure performed a solid phase extraction (SPE) first, avoiding matrix effect and allowing external calibration. The limits of detection of the methods were 0.076 mg L(-1) (direct method) and 0.0042 mg L(-1) (SPE based method), which are lower than the cutoff values for confirmative conclusions regarding cocaine abuse.

  14. Investigation on the structures and magnetic properties of carbon or nitrogen doped cobalt ferrite nanoparticles.

    PubMed

    Cao, Derang; Pan, Lining; Li, Jianan; Cheng, Xiaohong; Zhao, Zhong; Xu, Jie; Li, Qiang; Wang, Xia; Li, Shandong; Wang, Jianbo; Liu, Qingfang

    2018-05-21

    Carbon or nitrogen doped cobalt ferrite nanoparticles were synthesized in the air by a facile calcination process. X-ray diffraction, mapping, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and mössbauer spectra results indicate that the nonmetal elements as the interstitial one are doped into cobalt ferrite nanoparticles. The morphologies of doped cobalt ferrite nanoparticles change from near-spherical to irregular cubelike shapes gradually with the increased carbon or nitrogen concentration, and their particles sizes also increase more than 200 nm. Furthermore, the saturation magnetization of carbon doped cobalt ferrite is improved. Although the saturation magnetization of N-doped cobalt ferrite is not enhanced obviously due to the involved hematite, they also do not drop drastically. The results reveal an approach to synthesize large scale ferrite nanoparticles, and improve the magnetic properties of ferrite nanoparticles, and also provide the potential candidates to synthesis co-doped functional magnetic materials.

  15. Pseudocapacitance of Co doped NiO nanoparticles and its room temperature ferromagnetic behavior

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bharathy, G.; Raji, P.

    2018-02-01

    Co doped NiO nanoparticles CoxNi1-xO (x = 0.0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4) were synthesized by the Sol-gel technique. The impact of Co doping concentration on structural, functional and magnetic properties of NiO nanoparticles was analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), FESEM with EDAX, FTIR and VSM. The average crystallite size was measured to be 34 nm and 11 nm for NiO and Co doped NiO nanoparticles respectively. FESEM reveals that particles are spherical in shape with average size around 30 nm. The elemental composition was analyzed by EDAX. FTIR spectra reveal the existence of NiO peaks in the prepared samples, room temperature ferromagnetism was observed for pure and Co doped NiO nanoparticles by VSM. Pure NiO particles shows ferromagnetic behavior with low coercivity and it increases gradually when doping ratio increases. Higher saturation magnetization was obtained for the sample 0.1 M of Co doped NiO nanoparticle as 22.09 emu/gm. An attempt has been made to study the pseudocapacitance behavior of pure and Co doped NiO nano particles in various scan rates. Electrochemical studies show that 0.4 M Co doped sample gives better charge storage capacity with maximum specific capacitance of 379 Fg-1 at a scan rate of 20 mVs-1. It reveals that it is a promising electrode material for super capacitor applications.

  16. Facile synthesis of antimony-doped tin oxide nanoparticles by a polymer-pyrolysis method

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

    Li, Yuan-Qing, E-mail: yqli@mail.ipc.ac.cn; Wang, Jian-Lei; Fu, Shao-Yun, E-mail: syfu@mail.ipc.ac.cn

    2010-06-15

    In this article, antimony-doped tin oxide (ATO) nanoparticles was synthesized by a facile polymer-pyrolysis method. The pyrolysis behaviors of the polymer precursors prepared via in situ polymerization of metal salts and acrylic acid were analyzed by simultaneous thermogravimetric and differential scanning calorimetry (TG-DSC). The structural and morphological characteristics of the products were studied by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscope (TEM). The results reveal that the ATO nanoparticles calcined at 600 {sup o}C show good crystallinity with the cassiterite structure and cubic-spherical like morphology. The average particle size of ATO decreases from 200 to 15 nm as themore » Sb doping content increases from 5 mol% to 15 mol%. Electrical resistivity measurement shows that the resistivity for the 10-13 mol% Sb-doped SnO{sub 2} nanoparticles is reduced by more than three orders compared with the pure SnO{sub 2} nanoparticles. In addition, due to its versatility this polymer-pyrolysis method can be extended to facile synthesis of other doped n-type semiconductor, such as In, Ga, Al doped ZnO, Sn doped In{sub 2}O{sub 3}.« less

  17. Metal-doped semiconductor nanoparticles and methods of synthesis thereof

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Ren, Zhifeng (Inventor); Wang, Wenzhong (Inventor); Chen, Gang (Inventor); Dresselhaus, Mildred (Inventor); Poudel, Bed (Inventor); Kumar, Shankar (Inventor)

    2009-01-01

    The present invention generally relates to binary or higher order semiconductor nanoparticles doped with a metallic element, and thermoelectric compositions incorporating such nanoparticles. In one aspect, the present invention provides a thermoelectric composition comprising a plurality of nanoparticles each of which includes an alloy matrix formed of a Group IV element and Group VI element and a metallic dopant distributed within the matrix.

  18. Metal-doped semiconductor nanoparticles and methods of synthesis thereof

    DOEpatents

    Ren, Zhifeng [Newton, MA; Chen, Gang [Carlisle, MA; Poudel, Bed [West Newton, MA; Kumar, Shankar [Newton, MA; Wang, Wenzhong [Beijing, CN; Dresselhaus, Mildred [Arlington, MA

    2009-09-08

    The present invention generally relates to binary or higher order semiconductor nanoparticles doped with a metallic element, and thermoelectric compositions incorporating such nanoparticles. In one aspect, the present invention provides a thermoelectric composition comprising a plurality of nanoparticles each of which includes an alloy matrix formed of a Group IV element and Group VI element and a metallic dopant distributed within the matrix.

  19. Plasmonic properties and enhanced fluorescence of gold and dye-doped silica nanoparticle aggregates

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Green, Nathaniel Scott

    The development of metal-enhanced fluorescence has prompted a great interest in augmenting the photophysical properties of fluorescent molecules with noble metal nanostructures. Our research efforts, outlined in this dissertation, focus on augmenting properties of fluorophores by conjugation with gold nanostructures. The project goals are split into two separate efforts; the enhancement in brightness of fluorophores and long distance non-radiative energy transfer between fluorophores. We believe that interacting dye-doped silica nanoparticles with gold nanoparticles can facilitate both of these phenomena. Our primary research interest is focused on optimizing brightness, as this goal should open a path to studying the second goal of non-radiative energy transfer. The two major challenges to this are constructing suitable nanomaterials and functionalizing them to promote plasmonically active complexes. The synthesis of dye-doped layered silica nanoparticles allows for control over the discrete location of the dye and a substrate that can be surface functionalized. Controlling the exact location of the dye is important to create a silica spacer, which promotes productive interactions with metal nanostructures. Furthermore, the synthesis of silica nanoparticles allows for various fluorophores to be studied in similar environments (removing solvent and other chemo-sensitive issues). Functionalizing the surface of silica nanoparticles allows control over the degree of silica and gold nanoparticle aggregation in solution. Heteroaggregation in solution is useful for producing well-aggregated clusters of many gold around a single silica nanoparticle. The dye-doped surface functionalized silica nanoparticles can than be mixed efficiently with gold nanomaterials. Aggregating multiple gold nanospheres around a single dye-doped silica nanoparticle can dramatically increase the fluorescent brightness of the sample via metal-enhanced fluorescence due to increase plasmonic

  20. Optical absorption properties of Ge 2–44 and P-doped Ge nanoparticles

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

    Qin, Wei; Lu, Wen-Cai; Zhao, Li-Zhen

    The optical absorption properties of non-crystalline and crystalline Ge nanoparticles with the sizes from ~ 2.5 to 15 Å have been studied at the B3LYP/6-31G level using time-dependent density functional theory. Hydrogen passivation and phosphorus doping on some selected Ge nanoparticles were also calculated. With the increase of cluster size, the optical absorption spectra of the non-crystalline Ge nanoparticles change from many peaks to a continuous broad band and at the same time exhibit a systematic red-shift. Doping phosphorus also causes the absorption spectra to shift toward the lower energy region for both non-crystalline and crystalline Ge nanoparticles. The non-crystallinemore » Ge nanoparticles are found to have stronger absorption in the visible region in comparison with the crystalline ones, regardless phosphorus doping.« less

  1. Optical absorption properties of Ge 2–44 and P-doped Ge nanoparticles

    DOE PAGES

    Qin, Wei; Lu, Wen-Cai; Zhao, Li-Zhen; ...

    2017-09-15

    The optical absorption properties of non-crystalline and crystalline Ge nanoparticles with the sizes from ~ 2.5 to 15 Å have been studied at the B3LYP/6-31G level using time-dependent density functional theory. Hydrogen passivation and phosphorus doping on some selected Ge nanoparticles were also calculated. With the increase of cluster size, the optical absorption spectra of the non-crystalline Ge nanoparticles change from many peaks to a continuous broad band and at the same time exhibit a systematic red-shift. Doping phosphorus also causes the absorption spectra to shift toward the lower energy region for both non-crystalline and crystalline Ge nanoparticles. The non-crystallinemore » Ge nanoparticles are found to have stronger absorption in the visible region in comparison with the crystalline ones, regardless phosphorus doping.« less

  2. Room-temperature ferromagnetic Zn1- x Ni x S nanoparticles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kunapalli, Chaitanya Kumar; Shaik, Kaleemulla

    2018-05-01

    Nickel-doped zinc sulfide nanoparticles (Zn1- x Ni x S) at x = 0.00, 0.02, 0.05, 0.08 and 0.10 were synthesized by solid-state reaction. The (nickel sulfide) NiS and (zinc sulfide) ZnS nanoparticles in desired ratios were taken, mixed and ground for 6 h at a speed rate of 300 rpm using a planetary ball mill. The milled nanoparticles were sintered at 600 °C for 8 h using a high-temperature vacuum furnace. The structural, optical, luminescence and magnetic properties of the Zn1- x Ni x S nanoparticles were characterized by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV-Vis-NIR diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). No change in crystal structure was observed from XRD by substitution of Ni into ZnS lattice. The mean crystallite size was found to be 37 nm. The band gap of Zn1- x Ni x S nanoparticles decreased from 3.57 to 3.37 eV on increasing the dopant concentration. The room-temperature photoluminescence (PL) spectra of Zn1- x Ni x S nanoparticles showed two broad and intense emission peaks at 420 and 438 nm with excitation wavelength of 330 nm. The Zn1- x Ni x S nanoparticles showed ferromagnetism at 100 K and at room temperature (300 K) and also the strength of magnetization increased with Ni concentration. The maximum magnetization value of 0.18 emu/g was observed for x = 0.10 at 100 K. The strength of the magnetization observed at 100 K was higher than that of magnetization observed at 300 K.

  3. Correlated vortex pinning in Si-nanoparticle doped MgB 2

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kušević, I.; Babić, E.; Husnjak, O.; Soltanian, S.; Wang, X. L.; Dou, S. X.

    2004-12-01

    The magnetoresistivity and critical current density of well characterized Si-nanoparticle doped and undoped Cu-sheathed MgB 2 tapes have been measured at temperatures T≥28 K in magnetic fields B≤0.9 T. The irreversibility line Birr( T) for doped tape shows a stepwise variation with a kink around 0.3 T. Such Birr( T) variation is typical for high-temperature superconductors with columnar defects (a kink occurs near the matching field Bϕ) and is very different from a smooth Birr( T) variation in undoped MgB 2 samples. The microstructure studies of nanoparticle doped MgB 2 samples show uniformly dispersed nanoprecipitates, which probably act as a correlated disorder. The observed difference between the field variations of the critical current density and pinning force density of the doped and undoped tape supports the above findings.

  4. Highly Al-doped TiO{sub 2} nanoparticles produced by Ball Mill Method: structural and electronic characterization

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

    Santos, Desireé M. de los, E-mail: desire.delossantos@uca.es; Navas, Javier, E-mail: javier.navas@uca.es; Sánchez-Coronilla, Antonio

    2015-10-15

    Highlights: • Highly Al-doped TiO{sub 2} nanoparticles were synthesized using a Ball Mill Method. • Al doping delayed anatase to rutile phase transformation. • Al doping allow controlling the structural and electronic properties of nanoparticles. - Abstract: This study presents an easy method for synthesizing highly doped TiO{sub 2} nanoparticles. The Ball Mill method was used to synthesize pure and Al-doped titanium dioxide, with an atomic percentage up to 15.7 at.% Al/(Al + Ti). The samples were annealed at 773 K, 973 K and 1173 K, and characterized using ICP-AES, XRD, Raman spectroscopy, FT-IR, TG, STEM, XPS, and UV–vis spectroscopy.more » The effect of doping and the calcination temperature on the structure and properties of the nanoparticles were studied. The results show high levels of internal doping due to the substitution of Ti{sup 4+} ions by Al{sup 3+} in the TiO{sub 2} lattice. Furthermore, anatase to rutile transformation occurs at higher temperatures when the percentage of doping increases. Therefore, Al doping allows us to control the structural and electronic properties of the nanoparticle synthesized. So, it is possible to obtain nanoparticles with anatase as predominant phase in a higher range of temperature.« less

  5. Room temperature ferromagnetism in non-magnetic doped TiO2 nanoparticles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gómez-Polo, C.; Larumbe, S.; Pastor, J. M.

    2013-05-01

    Room-temperature ferromagnetism in non-magnetic doped TiO2 semiconductor nanoparticles is analyzed in the present work. Undoped and N-doped TiO2 nanoparticles were obtained employing sol-gel procedure using urea as the nitrogen source. The obtained gels were first dried at 70 °C and afterwards calcined in air at 300 °C. A residual carbon concentration was retained in the samples as a consequence of the organic decomposition process. Post-annealing treatments at 300 °C under air and vacuum conditions were also performed. The crystallographic structure of nanoparticles was analyzed by X-ray diffraction, obtaining a single anatase crystalline phase after the calcinations (mean nanoparticle diameters around 5-8 nm). SQUID magnetometry was employed to analyze the magnetic response of the samples. Whereas for the undoped samples synthesized with hydrolysis rate h = 6, paramagnetic like behavior is observed at room temperature, the N-doped nanoparticles (h = 3) show a weak ferromagnetic response (saturation magnetization ≈10-3 emu/g). Moreover, a clear reinforcement of the room-temperature ferromagnetism response is found with the post-annealing treatments, in particular that performed in vacuum. Thus, the results indicate the dominant role of the oxygen stoichiometry and the oxygen vacancies in the room temperature ferromagnetic response of these TiO2 nanoparticles.

  6. Structural, morphological and gas sensing study of zinc doped tin oxide nanoparticles synthesized via hydrothermal technique

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Singh, Davender; Kundu, Virender Singh; Maan, A. S.

    2016-07-01

    The pure and Zn-doped SnO2 nanoparticles were prepared successfully by hydrothermal route on large scale having different doping concentration of zinc from 0 to 0.20%. The calcined nanoparticles were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) for structural and morphological studies. XRD analyses reveal that the nanoparticles of these doping concentrations are polycrystalline in nature and existed as tetragonal rutile structure, SEM study of images confirms the existence of very small, homogeneously distributed, and spherical nanoparticles. The particles size of the nanoparticles was calculated by Scherrer formula and was found in the range of 9-21 nm. The presence of dopant (i.e. zinc) and formation of Sn-O phase and hydrous nature of Zn-doped SnO2 nanoparticles are confirmed by EDX and FTIR study. The gas sensing properties of pure and Zn-doped SnO2 nanoparticles were investigated for various concentrations of methanol, ethanol and acetone at different operating temperatures and it has been found that with doping concentration of zinc (x = 0.20%) shows the maximum response 78% to methanol, 65% to ethanol and 62% to acetone respectively at different operating temperature within the measurement limit for a concentration of 100 ppm of each gases.

  7. Structural and photoluminescence properties of Ni doped CdS nanoparticles synthesis by sol gel method

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mahdi, Hadeel Salih; Parveen, Azra; Azam, Ameer

    2018-05-01

    Ni doped CdS nanoparticles have been successfully synthesized by sol-gel method. Nickel nitrate, cadmium nitrate, sodium sulfide has been used as precursors for the preparation of these Ni-doped CdS nanoparticles. The structural properties were studied by X-ray diffraction analysis. Surface morphology and the composition of the samples were studied by scanning electron microscope (SEM). The X-ray diffraction results revealed that the Ni-doped CdS nanoparticles were in hexagonal structure. The crystallite size was determined from Debye-Scherer equation and showed that the particle size increases with the doping of Ni. Optical absorption spectra of Ni doped CdS also was studied by Photoluminescence spectroscopy in the range of 200-600 nm.

  8. Sonochemically synthesized iron-doped zinc oxide nanoparticles: Influence of precursor composition on characteristics

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

    Roy, Anirban; Maitra, Saikat; Ghosh, Sobhan

    Highlights: • Sonochemical synthesis of iron-doped zinc oxide nanoparticles. • Green synthesis without alkali at room temperature. • Characterization by UV–vis spectroscopy, FESEM, XRD and EDX. • Influence of precursor composition on characteristics. • Composition and characteristics are correlated. - Abstract: Iron-doped zinc oxide nanoparticles have been synthesized sonochemically from aqueous acetyl acetonate precursors of different proportions. Synthesized nanoparticles were characterized with UV–vis spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and microscopy. Influences of precursor mixture on the characteristics have been examined and modeled. Linear correlations have been proposed between dopant dosing, extent of doping and band gap energy. Experimental data corroborated with themore » proposed models.« less

  9. Photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue on Sn-doped titania nanoparticles synthesized by solution combustion route

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

    Bhange, P.D., E-mail: pallavi.ncl@gmail.com; Awate, S.V.; Gholap, R.S.

    2016-04-15

    Highlights: • Series of Sn-doped titania nanoparticles were prepared by solution combustion synthesis method. • Sn-doped titania nanoparticles were tested for degradation of MB under UV light irradiation. • The maximum Sn doping in the TiO{sub 2} lattice is found to be less than 10%. • The crystallite size decreases with increase in the Sn content. • The doping of Sn into TiO{sub 2} lattice hinders the recombination of electrons and holes thus enhance the photocatalytic activity. - Abstract: Series of tin-doped titania nanoparticles with varying tin content in the range 0–20 mol% have been prepared by solution combustion synthesismore » route using urea as a fuel. The structure, surface morphology and optical activity of Sn-doped TiO{sub 2} nanoparticles were investigated by various analytical techniques such as powder XRD, SEM, TEM, UV–vis and N{sub 2} adsorption study. The crystalline structures of the various phases were studied by rietveld refinement of the XRD data. The photocatalytic performance of Sn-doped titania nanoparticles were tested for degradation of MB under UV and visible light irradiation. The results reveal that the photocatalytic activity increases with increase in tin content which may be due to decrease in crystallite size with increase in surface area. The doping of Sn into TiO{sub 2} lattice hinders the recombination of electrons and holes thus enhance the quantum efficiency of photocatalytic reaction.« less

  10. Sonocatalytic degradation of humic acid by N-doped TiO2 nano-particle in aqueous solution.

    PubMed

    Kamani, Hossein; Nasseri, Simin; Khoobi, Mehdi; Nabizadeh Nodehi, Ramin; Mahvi, Amir Hossein

    2016-01-01

    Un-doped and N-doped TiO2 nano-particles with different nitrogen contents were successfully synthesized by a simple sol-gel method, and were characterized by X-ray diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscopy, Energy dispersive X-ray analysis and UV-visible diffuse reflectance spectra techniques. Then enhancement of sonocatalytic degradation of humic acid by un-doped and N-doped TiO2 nano-particles in aqueous environment was investigated. The effects of various parameters such as initial concentration of humic acid, N-doping, and the degradation kinetics were investigated. The results of characterization techniques affirmed that the synthesis of un-doped and N-doped TiO2 nano-particles was successful. Degradation of humic acid by using different nano-particles obeyed the first-order kinetic. Among various nano-particles, N-doped TiO2 with molar doping ratio of 6 % and band gap of 2.92 eV, exhibited the highest sonocatalytic degradation with an apparent-first-order rate constant of 1.56 × 10(-2) min(-1). The high degradation rate was associated with the lower band gap energy and well-formed anatase phase. The addition of nano-catalysts could enhance the degradation efficiency of humic acid as well as N-doped TiO2 with a molar ratio of 6 %N/Ti was found the best nano-catalyst among the investigated catalysts. The sonocatalytic degradation with nitrogen doped semiconductors could be a suitable oxidation process for removal of refractory pollutants such as humic acid from aqueous solution.

  11. Synthesis and photocatalytic studies of ZnS nanoparticles from heteroleptic complex of Zn(II) 1-cyano-1-carboethoxy-2,-2-ethylenedithiolato diisopropylthiourea and its adducts with N-donor ligands

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Osuntokun, Jejenija; Ajibade, Peter A.; Onwudiwe, Damian C.

    2016-12-01

    Zinc complexes of the type [Zn(diptu)2(ced)] (1), [Zn(diptu)2(ced)py] (2), [Zn(diptu)2(ced)bpy] (3), and [Zn(diptu)2(ced)phen] (4), (where (diptu)2(ced) = 1-cyano-1-carboethoxyethylene-2,2-dithiolato-κS,S‧-bis(N,N-diisopropyllthiourea), py = pyridine, bpy = 2, 2‧ bipyridine and phen = 1, 10 phenanthroline have been synthesized and characterized by elemental analyses, Fourier transform infra-red (FTIR) and Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopies. The parent complex (1) was formulated as four coordinate species, which gave rise to 5 coordinate complex in (2) and six coordinate compounds in (3) and (4), with the dithiolate acting as bidentate chelating ligand. The complexes were used as single-source precursors for the synthesis of HDA-capped ZnS nanoparticles. The nanoparticles gave different morphologies with sizes in the range of 1.92-4.72 nm as observed from the TEM analysis and supported by XRD. The UV-vis spectroscopy showed that all the ZnS nanoparticles are blue shifted, with respect to the bulk, which confirmed quantum confinement. The photoluminescence spectra showed narrow and broad emission peaks around 290 and 360 nm which are ascribed to spontaneous emission peaks from band to band transition and surface states respectively. Photocatalytic activities of all the nanoparticles were investigated with methylene blue (MB) acting as the organic dye, and the UV-vis spectral revealed a gradual decrease in absorption peak that confirmed the degradation of the MB.

  12. Effect of Zn-doping on structural and magnetic properties of copper ferrite nanoparticles

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

    Gautam, Nisha; Thirupathi, Gadipelly; Singh, Rajender

    2016-05-23

    The nanoparticles of CuFe{sub 2}O{sub 4} (CF) and Cu{sub 0.8}Zn{sub 0.2}Fe{sub 2}O{sub 4} (CZF) were synthesized using co-precipitation method to study the effect of Zn doping in Cu-ferrite. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns were well fitted with two-phase structure using Rietveld analysis as Fd-3 m space group (spinel system) and C12/c1 space group (monoclinic system CuO-phase). The average crystallite size of the CF and CZF nanoparticles for spinel structure are 6 and 7 nm respectively. The spinel phase fraction is increased from 56% to 71% with Zn-doping of 20% in CF. The transmission electron micrograph analysis showed the narrow size distribution formore » CZF nanoparticles. The magnetization plots as a function of magnetic field (M (H)) of CF and CZF nanoparticles indicate superparamagnetic behavior. The magnetization is increased with Zn-doping in CF. The stable spinel Cu-ferrite can be obtained with Zn-doping in CF.« less

  13. Thermally stable solids based on endohedrally doped ZnS clusters.

    PubMed

    Matxain, Jon M; Piris, Mario; Lopez, Xabier; Ugalde, Jesus M

    2009-01-01

    The existence of inorganic, hollow, fullerene-like ZnS clusters has been theoretically predicted and then recently confirmed experimentally. These clusters were observed to trap alkali metals and halogens because the ionization energies (IE) of alkali metals are very similar to the electron affinities (EA) of halogens. This opens the possibility of forming molecular solids composed of these fullerene building blocks because the energy released due to the difference between the IE and EA would be very small. Herein we have focused on assembling bare Zn(12)S(12) and endohedral X@Zn(12)S(12)-Y@Zn(12)S(12) dimers (X = Na, K; Y = Cl, Br) by considering the square-faces-square orientation of every two adjacent clusters, which leads to a fcc cubic crystal structure in the solid. The structures were fully optimized in all cases, and their thermal stability was confirmed by ab initio thermal molecular dynamics calculations. The optimum lattice parameter of the solids was found to be around 13.8 A, which corresponds to distances of about 2.5 A between monomers, which is typical of covalent Zn-S bonds. The resulting solids are nanoporous materials similar to B(12)N(12). Due to their nanoporous structure, these zeolite-shaped solids could be used in heterogeneous catalysis and as storage materials and molecular sieves.

  14. The cellular magnetic response and biocompatibility of biogenic zinc- and cobalt-doped magnetite nanoparticles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Moise, Sandhya; Céspedes, Eva; Soukup, Dalibor; Byrne, James M.; El Haj, Alicia J.; Telling, Neil D.

    2017-01-01

    The magnetic moment and anisotropy of magnetite nanoparticles can be optimised by doping with transition metal cations, enabling their properties to be tuned for different biomedical applications. In this study, we assessed the suitability of bacterially synthesized zinc- and cobalt-doped magnetite nanoparticles for biomedical applications. To do this we measured cellular viability and activity in primary human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells and human osteosarcoma-derived cells. Using AC susceptibility we studied doping induced changes in the magnetic response of the nanoparticles both as stable aqueous suspensions and when associated with cells. Our findings show that the magnetic response of the particles was altered after cellular interaction with a reduction in their mobility. In particular, the strongest AC susceptibility signal measured in vitro was from cells containing high-moment zinc-doped particles, whilst no signal was observed in cells containing the high-anisotropy cobalt-doped particles. For both particle types we found that the moderate dopant levels required for optimum magnetic properties did not alter their cytotoxicity or affect osteogenic differentiation of the stem cells. Thus, despite the known cytotoxicity of cobalt and zinc ions, these results suggest that iron oxide nanoparticles can be doped to sufficiently tailor their magnetic properties without compromising cellular biocompatibility.

  15. The cellular magnetic response and biocompatibility of biogenic zinc- and cobalt-doped magnetite nanoparticles

    PubMed Central

    Moise, Sandhya; Céspedes, Eva; Soukup, Dalibor; Byrne, James M.; El Haj, Alicia J.; Telling, Neil D.

    2017-01-01

    The magnetic moment and anisotropy of magnetite nanoparticles can be optimised by doping with transition metal cations, enabling their properties to be tuned for different biomedical applications. In this study, we assessed the suitability of bacterially synthesized zinc- and cobalt-doped magnetite nanoparticles for biomedical applications. To do this we measured cellular viability and activity in primary human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells and human osteosarcoma-derived cells. Using AC susceptibility we studied doping induced changes in the magnetic response of the nanoparticles both as stable aqueous suspensions and when associated with cells. Our findings show that the magnetic response of the particles was altered after cellular interaction with a reduction in their mobility. In particular, the strongest AC susceptibility signal measured in vitro was from cells containing high-moment zinc-doped particles, whilst no signal was observed in cells containing the high-anisotropy cobalt-doped particles. For both particle types we found that the moderate dopant levels required for optimum magnetic properties did not alter their cytotoxicity or affect osteogenic differentiation of the stem cells. Thus, despite the known cytotoxicity of cobalt and zinc ions, these results suggest that iron oxide nanoparticles can be doped to sufficiently tailor their magnetic properties without compromising cellular biocompatibility. PMID:28045082

  16. Structural, morphological and magnetic properties of pure and Ni-doped ZnO nanoparticles synthesized by sol-gel method

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Undre, Pallavi G.; Birajdar, Shankar D.; Kathare, R. V.; Jadhav, K. M.

    2018-05-01

    In this work pure and Ni-doped ZnO nanoparticles have been prepared by sol-gel method. Influence of nickel doping on structural, morphological and magnetic properties of prepared nanoparticles was investigated by X-ray diffraction technique (XRD), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Pulse field magnetic hysteresis loop. X-ray diffraction pattern shows the formation of a single phase with hexagonal wurtzite structure of both pure and Ni-doped ZnO nanoparticles. The lattice parameters `an' and `c' of Ni-doped ZnO is slightly less than that of pure ZnO nanoparticles. The crystalline size of prepared nanoparticles is found to be in 29 and 31 nm range. SEM technique used to examine the surface morphology of samples, SEM image confirms the nanocrystalline nature of present samples. From the pulse field hysteresis loop technique pure and Ni-doped ZnO nanoparticles show diamagnetic and ferromagnetic behavior at room temperature respectively.

  17. Synthesis of Fluorine-Doped Hydrophilic Carbon Nanoparticles from Hexafluorobenzene by Femtosecond Laser Pulses.

    PubMed

    Okamoto, Takuya; Mitamura, Koji; Hamaguchi, Tomoyuki; Matsukawa, Kimihiro; Yatsuhashi, Tomoyuki

    2017-05-05

    We report on the preparation and characterization of fluorine-doped hydrophilic carbon nanoparticles by the exposure of hexafluorobenzene or a water/hexafluorobenzene bilayer solution to femtosecond laser pulses. Uniform atom distributions are achieved not only on the particle surface but also inside the particles. The semi-ionic character of C-F bonds and the non-aggregating feature of the nanoparticles play key roles in the water-dispersible character of fluorine-doped carbon nanoparticles. We suggest the following building-up process of carbon nanoparticles: the fragmentation of hexafluorobenzene initiated by the electrons generated in laser-induced plasma followed by the reconstruction of a carbon framework of nanoparticles. © 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  18. Spectroscopic and fiber optic ethanol sensing properties Gd doped ZnO nanoparticles.

    PubMed

    Noel, J L; Udayabhaskar, R; Renganathan, B; Muthu Mariappan, S; Sastikumar, D; Karthikeyan, B

    2014-11-11

    We report the structural, optical and gas sensing properties of prepared pure and Gd doped ZnO nanoparticles through solgel method at moderate temperature. Structural studies are carried out by X-ray diffraction method confirms hexagonal wurtzite structure and doping induced changes in lattice parameters is observed. Optical absorption spectral studies shows red shift in the absorption peak corresponds to band-gap from 3.42 eV to 3.05 eV and broad absorption in the visible range after Gd doping is observed. Scanning electron microscopic studies shows increase in particle size where the particle diameters increase from few nm to micrometers after Gd doping. The clad modified ethanol fiber-optic sensor studies for ethanol sensing exhibits best sensitivity for the 3% Gd doped ZnO nanoparticles and the sensitivity get lowered incase of higher percentage of Gd doped ZnO sample. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  19. Improving surface-enhanced Raman scattering properties of TiO(2) nanoparticles by metal Co doping.

    PubMed

    Yang, Libin; Qin, Xiaoyu; Gong, Mengdi; Jiang, Xin; Yang, Ming; Li, Xiuling; Li, Guangzhi

    2014-04-05

    In this paper, pure and different amount Co ions doped TiO2 nanoparticles were synthesized by a sol-hydrothermal method and were served as SERS-active substrate. The effect of metal Co doping on SERS properties of TiO2 nanoparticles was mostly investigated. The results indicate that abundant metal doping energy levels can be formed in the energy gap of TiO2 by an appropriate amount Co ions doping, which can promote the charge transfer from TiO2 to molecule, and subsequently enhance SERS signal of adsorbed molecule on TiO2 substrate, and improve remarkably SERS properties of TiO2 nanoparticles. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  20. Growth of MPS-capped ZnS quantum dots in self-assembled thin films: Influence of heat treatment

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Koç, Kenan; Tepehan, Fatma Zehra; Tepehan, Galip Gültekin

    2015-12-01

    The colloidal ZnS quantum dots (QDs) were prepared using 3-mercaptopropyltrimethoxysilane (MPS) molecules. Sol-gel spin coating method was used to deposit the colloidal nanoparticles on a glass substrate. Several features of the MPS were made use to produce self assembled thin films of ZnS quantum dots in a SiO2 network. Produced films were heat treated in between 225 °C and 325 °C to investigate their growth kinetics. The result showed that their size changed approximately from 3 nm to 4 nm and the first excitation peak position changed from 4.6 eV to 4.1 eV in this temperature interval. The activation energy of the nanoparticles for the Ostwald ripening process was found to be 59 kJ/mol.

  1. Structural, Optical, and Electronic Characterization of Fe-Doped Alumina Nanoparticles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Heiba, Zein K.; Mohamed, Mohamed Bakr; Wahba, Adel Maher; Imam, N. G.

    2018-01-01

    The effects of iron doping on the structural, optical, and electronic properties of doped alumina have been studied. Single-phase iron-doped alumina Al2- x Fe x O3 ( x = 0.00 to 0.30) nanoparticles were synthesized via citrate-precursor method. Formation of single-phase hexagonal corundum structure with no other separate phases was demonstrated by x-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. The effects of iron doping on the α-Al2O3 structural parameters, viz. atomic coordinates, lattice parameters, crystallite size, and microstrain, were estimated from XRD data by applying the Rietveld profile fitting method. Transmission electron microscopy further confirmed the nanosize nature of the prepared samples with size ranging from 12 nm to 83 nm. The electronic band structure was investigated using density functional theory calculations to explain the decrease in the energy gap of Al2- x Fe x O3 as the amount of Fe was increased. The colored emission peaks in the visible region (blue, red, violet) of the electromagnetic spectrum obtained for the Fe-doped α-Al2O3 nanoparticles suggest their potential application as ceramic nanopigments.

  2. Ions doped melanin nanoparticle as a multiple imaging agent.

    PubMed

    Ha, Shin-Woo; Cho, Hee-Sang; Yoon, Young Il; Jang, Moon-Sun; Hong, Kwan Soo; Hui, Emmanuel; Lee, Jung Hee; Yoon, Tae-Jong

    2017-10-10

    Multimodal nanomaterials are useful for providing enhanced diagnostic information simultaneously for a variety of in vivo imaging methods. According to our research findings, these multimodal nanomaterials offer promising applications for cancer therapy. Melanin nanoparticles can be used as a platform imaging material and they can be simply produced by complexation with various imaging active ions. They are capable of specifically targeting epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-expressing cancer cells by being anchored with a specific antibody. Ion-doped melanin nanoparticles were found to have high bioavailability with long-term stability in solution, without any cytotoxicity in both in vitro and in vivo systems. By combining different imaging modalities with melanin particles, we can use the complexes to obtain faster diagnoses by computed tomography deep-body imaging and greater detailed pathological diagnostic information by magnetic resonance imaging. The ion-doped melanin nanoparticles also have applications for radio-diagnostic treatment and radio imaging-guided surgery, warranting further proof of concept experimental.

  3. Cytotoxicity and physicochemical characterization of iron–manganese-doped sulfated zirconia nanoparticles

    PubMed Central

    Al-Fahdawi, Mohamed Qasim; Rasedee, Abdullah; Al-Qubaisi, Mothanna Sadiq; Alhassan, Fatah H; Rosli, Rozita; El Zowalaty, Mohamed Ezzat; Naadja, Seïf-Eddine; Webster, Thomas J; Taufiq-Yap, Yun Hin

    2015-01-01

    Iron–manganese-doped sulfated zirconia nanoparticles with both Lewis and Brønsted acidic sites were prepared by a hydrothermal impregnation method followed by calcination at 650°C for 5 hours, and their cytotoxicity properties against cancer cell lines were determined. The characterization was carried out using X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, Brauner–Emmett–Teller (BET) surface area measurements, X-ray fluorescence, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, zeta size potential, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The cytotoxicity of iron–manganese-doped sulfated zirconia nanoparticles was determined using 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assays against three human cancer cell lines (breast cancer MDA-MB231 cells, colon carcinoma HT29 cells, and hepatocellular carcinoma HepG2 cells) and two normal human cell lines (normal hepatocyte Chang cells and normal human umbilical vein endothelial cells [HUVECs]). The results suggest for the first time that iron–manganese-doped sulfated zirconia nanoparticles are cytotoxic to MDA-MB231 and HepG2 cancer cells but have less toxicity to HT29 and normal cells at concentrations from 7.8 μg/mL to 500 μg/mL. The morphology of the treated cells was also studied, and the results supported those from the cytotoxicity study in that the nanoparticle-treated HepG2 and MDA-MB231 cells had more dramatic changes in cell morphology than the HT29 cells. In this manner, this study provides the first evidence that iron–manganese-doped sulfated zirconia nanoparticles should be further studied for a wide range of cancer applications without detrimental effects on healthy cell functions. PMID:26425082

  4. Auto-combustion synthesis and characterization of Mg doped CuAlO2 nanoparticles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Agrawal, Shraddha; Parveen, Azra; Naqvi, A. H.

    2015-06-01

    The synthesis of pure and Mg doped Copper aluminumoxide CuAlO2nanoparticles, a promising p-type TCO (transparent conducting oxide) have been done bysol gel auto combustion method using NaOH as a fuel, calcinated at 600°C. The structural properties were examined by XRD and SEM techniques. The optical absorption spectra of CuAlO2 sample recorded by UV-VIS spectrophotometer in the range of 200 to 800 nm have been presented. The crystallite size was determined by powder X-ray diffraction technique. The electrical behavior of pure and Mg doped CuAlO2 has been studied over a wide range of frequencies by using complex impedance spectroscopy.The variation of a.c. conductivity has been studied as function of frequency and temperature. The data taken together conclude that doping causes decreases in the ac conductivity of the nanoparticles as compared with the pure nanoparticles. Mg doping affects the optical properties and band gap.

  5. Transparent nanocrystalline ZnO and ZnO:Al coatings obtained through ZnS sols

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kolobkova, E. V.; Evstropiev, S. K.; Nikonorov, N. V.; Vasilyev, V. N.; Evstropyev, K. S.

    2017-11-01

    Thin and uniform ZnO and ZnO:Al coatings were prepared on glass surfaces by using film-forming colloidal solutions containing small ZnS nanoparticles and polyvinylpyrrolidone as a polymer stabilizer. Film-forming ZnS sols were synthesized in the mixed water-propanol-2 solutions by chemical reaction between zinc nitrate and sodium sulfide. The addition of modifying component such as Al(NO3)3 into the film-forming solutions allows one to obtain thin and uniform ZnO:Al coatings. An increase in the sodium sulfide content in film-forming solutions leads to the growth of light absorption in the UV. The evolution of a coating material at all technological stages from the ZnS sols up to the transparent ZnO and ZnO:Al2O3 coatings (the latter kind being denoted further, in accord with a common practice, by ZnO:Al) was studied using the optical spectroscopy, XRD analysis, DSC-TGA, and SEM methods. The chemical processes of decomposing salts and the polymer occur by heating the intermediate composite ZnS/polyvinylpyrrolidone coatings in the 280-500 °C temperature range. Experimental data show that the ZnO and ZnO:Al coatings prepared consist of the slightly elongated oxide nanoparticles. These coatings fully cover the glass surface and demonstrate a high transparency in the UV and visible.

  6. Magnetic anomalies in Fe-doped NiO nanoparticle

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pradeep, R.; Gandhi, A. C.; Tejabhiram, Y.; Mathar Sahib, I. K. Md; Shimura, Y.; Karmakar, L.; Das, D.; Wu, Sheng Yun; Hayakawa, Y.

    2017-09-01

    Undoped and iron-doped NiO nanoparticle were synthesized by standard hydrothermal method. A detailed study is carried out on the effect of dopant concentration on morphology, structural, resonance and magnetic properties of NiO nanoparticle by varying the Fe concentration from 0.01 to 0.10 M. The synchrotron-x-ray diffraction confirmed that no secondary phase was observed other than NiO. The x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy studies revealed that, Fe was primarily in the trivalent state, replacing the Ni2+ ion inside the octahedral crystal site of NiO. The Electron paramagnetic studies revealed the ferromagnetic cluster formation at high doping concentration (5 and 10%). The ZFC-FC curves displayed an average blocking temperature around 180 K due to particle size distribution. The anomalous behaviour of spontaneous exchange bias (H SEB) and magnetic remanence (M r) for all Fe-doped samples observed at 5 K showed an increase (0.1316-0.1384 emu g-1) in the moment of frozen spin (M p) as the dopant concentration increased. The role of frozen spin moment in spontaneous exchange bias behaviour was discussed.

  7. Photodegradation of Eosin Y Using Silver-Doped Magnetic Nanoparticles

    PubMed Central

    Alzahrani, Eman

    2015-01-01

    The purification of industrial wastewater from dyes is becoming increasingly important since they are toxic or carcinogenic to human beings. Nanomaterials have been receiving significant attention due to their unique physical and chemical properties compared with their larger-size counterparts. The aim of the present investigation was to fabricate magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) using a coprecipitation method, followed by coating with silver (Ag) in order to enhance the photocatalytic activity of the MNPs by loading metal onto them. The fabricated magnetic nanoparticles coated with Ag were characterised using different instruments such as a scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy-dispersive X-ray (EDAX) spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. The average size of the magnetic nanoparticles had a mean diameter of about 48 nm, and the average particle size changed to 55 nm after doping. The fabricated Ag-doped magnetic nanoparticles were used for the degradation of eosin Y under UV-lamp irradiation. The experimental results revealed that the use of fabricated magnetic nanoparticles coated with Ag can be considered as reliable methods for the removal of eosin Y since the slope of evaluation of pseudo-first-order rate constant from the slope of the plot between ln⁡(C o/C) and the irradiation time was found to be linear. Ag-Fe3O4 nanoparticles would be considered an efficient photocatalyst to degrade textile dyes avoiding the tedious filtration step. PMID:26617638

  8. Synthesis and Luminescence Properties of Core/Shell ZnS:Mn/ZnO Nanoparticles.

    PubMed

    Jiang, Daixun; Cao, Lixin; Liu, Wei; Su, Ge; Qu, Hua; Sun, Yuanguang; Dong, Bohua

    2009-01-01

    In this paper the influence of ZnO shell thickness on the luminescence properties of Mn-doped ZnS nanoparticles is studied. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images showed that the average diameter of ZnS:Mn nanoparticles is around 14 nm. The formation of ZnO shells on the surface of ZnS:Mn nanoparticles was confirmed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns, high-resolution TEM (HRTEM) images, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) measurements. A strong increase followed by a gradual decline was observed in the room temperature photoluminescence (PL) spectra with the thickening of the ZnO shell. The photoluminescence excitation (PLE) spectra exhibited a blue shift in ZnO-coated ZnS:Mn nanoparticles compared with the uncoated ones. It is shown that the PL enhancement and the blue shift of optimum excitation wavelength are led by the ZnO-induced surface passivation and compressive stress on the ZnS:Mn cores.

  9. Effect of Zn doping on structural, optical and thermal properties of CeO2 nanoparticles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ramasamy, V.; Vijayalakshmi, G.

    2015-09-01

    The undoped and Zn doped CeO2 nanoparticles were synthesized by chemical precipitation method at room temperature. The undoped and Zn doped CeO2 nanoparticles have been characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), ultraviolet visible and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and thermogravimetry and differential thermal analysis (TG-DTA). The cubic fluorite structures of the CeO2 nanoparticles were determined by XRD. The influence of particle size on structural parameters such as lattice parameter (a), inter planar distance (d), dislocation density (δ), microstrain (ε), lattice strain (η) and texture co-efficient (TC) were also determined. The lattice strains were determined by Williamson-Hall plot method. The effect of Zn doping with shifting of the bands were observed by UV-Vis spectroscopy and also their optical band gap were determined. The emission spectra and energy band diagram of the undoped and Zn doped samples were derived from PL spectroscopy. The structural bond vibrations of undoped and Zn doped CeO2 nanoparticles were analyzed by FTIR spectroscopy. The thermal property (weight loss and decomposition) of the sample is observed by TG-DTA curve.

  10. Effect of Aluminum Doping on the Nanocrystalline ZnS:Al3+ Films Fabricated on Heavily-Doped p-type Si(100) Substrates by Chemical Bath Deposition Method

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhu, He-Jie; Liang, Yan; Gao, Xiao-Yong; Guo, Rui-Fang; Ji, Qiang-Min

    2015-06-01

    Intrinsic ZnS and aluminum-doped nanocrystalline ZnS (ZnS:Al3+) films with zinc-blende structure were fabricated on heavily-doped p-type Si(100) substrates by chemical bath deposition method. Influence of aluminum doping on the microstructure, and photoluminescent and electrical properties of the films, were intensively investigated. The average crystallite size of the films varying in the range of about 9.0 ˜ 35.0 nm initially increases and then decreases with aluminum doping contents, indicating that the crystallization of the films are initially enhanced and then weakened. The incorporation of Al3+ was confirmed from energy dispersive spectrometry and the induced microstrain in the films. Strong and stable visible emission band resulting from the defect-related light emission were observed for the intrinsic ZnS and ZnS:Al3+ films at room temperature. The photoluminescence related to the aluminum can annihilate due to the self-absorption of ZnS:Al3+ when the Al3+ content surpasses certain value. The variation of the resistivity of the films that initially reduces and then increases is mainly caused by the partial substitute for Zn2+ by Al3+ as well as the enhanced crystallization, and by the enhanced crystal boundary scattering, respectively.

  11. Intra- and interparticle magnetism of cobalt-doped iron-oxide nanoparticles encapsulated in a synthetic ferritin cage

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Skoropata, E.; Desautels, R. D.; Falvo, E.; Ceci, P.; Kasyutich, O.; Freeland, J. W.; van Lierop, J.

    2014-11-01

    We present an in-depth examination of the composition and magnetism of cobalt (Co2 +)-doped iron-oxide nanoparticles encapsulated in Pyrococcus furiosus ferritin shells. We show that the Co2 + dopant ions were incorporated into the γ -Fe2O3/Fe3O4 core, with small paramagnetic-like clusters likely residing on the surface of the nanoparticle that were observed for all cobalt-doped samples. In addition, element-specific characterization using Mössbauer spectroscopy and polarized x-ray absorption indicated that Co2 + was incorporated exclusively into the octahedral B sites of the spinel-oxide nanoparticle. Comparable superparamagnetic blocking temperatures, coercivities, and effective anisotropies were obtained for 7%, 10%, and 12% cobalt-doped nanoparticles, and were only slightly reduced for 3% cobalt, indicating a strong effect of cobalt incorporation, with a lesser effect of cobalt content. Due to the regular particle size and separation that result from the use of the ferritin cage, a comparison of the effects of interparticle interactions on the disordered assembly of nanoparticles was also obtained that indicated significantly different behaviors between undoped and cobalt-doped nanoparticles.

  12. Synthesis, characterization and optical properties of gelatin doped with silver nanoparticles.

    PubMed

    Mahmoud, K H; Abbo, M

    2013-12-01

    In this study, silver nanoparticles were synthesized by chemical reduction of silver salt (AgNO3) solution. Formation of nanoparticles was confirmed by UV-visible spectrometry. The surface plasmon resonance peak is located at 430 nm. Doping of silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) with gelatin biopolymer was studied. The silver content in the polymer matrix was in the range of 0.4-1 wt%. The formation of nanoparticles disappeared for silver content higher than 1 wt%. The morphology and interaction of gelatin doped with Ag NPs was examined by transmission electron microscopy and FTIR spectroscopy. The content of Ag NPs has a pronounced effect on optical and structural properties of gelatin. Optical parameters such as refractive index, complex dielectric constant were calculated. The dispersion of the refractive index was discussed in terms of the single--oscillator Wemple-DiDomenico model. Color properties of the prepared samples were discussed in the framework of CIE L(*)u(*)v(*) color space. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  13. Synthesis, characterization and optical properties of gelatin doped with silver nanoparticles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mahmoud, K. H.; Abbo, M.

    2013-12-01

    In this study, silver nanoparticles were synthesized by chemical reduction of silver salt (AgNO3) solution. Formation of nanoparticles was confirmed by UV-visible spectrometry. The surface plasmon resonance peak is located at 430 nm. Doping of silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) with gelatin biopolymer was studied. The silver content in the polymer matrix was in the range of 0.4-1 wt%. The formation of nanoparticles disappeared for silver content higher than 1 wt%. The morphology and interaction of gelatin doped with Ag NPs was examined by transmission electron microscopy and FTIR spectroscopy. The content of Ag NPs has a pronounced effect on optical and structural properties of gelatin. Optical parameters such as refractive index, complex dielectric constant were calculated. The dispersion of the refractive index was discussed in terms of the single - oscillator Wemple-DiDomenico model. Color properties of the prepared samples were discussed in the framework of CIE L*u*v* color space.

  14. Optimization Photodetectors from Zinc Sulfide Deposited on Porous Silicon with Different Doping Metals

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nayef, Uday Muhsin; Khalaf, Haider Amer

    In this work, the structural properties of the zinc sulfide (ZnS) films have been investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis which show an enhancement in the crystallite degree after doping with copper (Cu). Good matching between the ZnS and porous silicon (PS) structure was noted from the atomic force microscope (AFM) results. The reflectivity gave a clear observation of anti-reflected coating improvement for PS layer and more enhancements after the ZnS deposition. The optical properties show a blue shift in the bandgap for the ZnS deposited with higher substrate temperature and a red shift after doped with different elements. For ZnS/PS heterojunction, the electrical resistivity has been increased after PS layer formed and changed with the variation of the pore size and it was much higher after ZnS deposited on the PS. However, use of ZnS:Cu/PS photodetector showed much higher output current at the ultraviolet (UV) region compared to ZnS/PS. The ZnS:Cu/PS photodetector showed higher output current value than that of the ZnS/PS leading to improvement in the quantum efficiency of 42%.

  15. Effect of silver doping on the elastic properties of CdS nanoparticles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dey, P. C.; Das, R.

    2018-05-01

    CdS and Ag doped CdS (CdS/Ag) nanoparticles have been prepared via chemical method from a Cadmium acetate precursor and Thiourea. The synthesized CdS and CdS/Ag nanoparticles have been characterized by the X-ray Diffraction and High Resolution Transmission Electron Microscope. Here, these nanoparticles have been synthesized at room temperature and all the characterization have also been done at room temperature only. The XRD results reveal that the products are crystalline with cubic zinc blende structure. HRTEM images show that the prepared nanoparticles are nearly spherical in shape. Williamson-Hall method and Size-Strain Plot (SSP) have been used to study the individual contribution of crystalline sizes and lattice strain on the peak broadening of the CdS and CdS/Ag nanoparticles. The different modified model of Williamson-Hall method such as, uniform deformation model, uniform stress deformation model and uniform energy density deformation model and SSP method have been used to calculate the different physical parameter such as lattice strain, stress and energy density for all diffraction peaks of the XRD, corresponding to the CdS and silver doped CdS (CdS/Ag). The obtained results reveal that the average particle size of the prepared CdS and CdS/Ag nanoparticles estimated from the HRTEM images, Williamson-Hall analysis and SSP method are highly correlated with each other. Further, all these result confirms that doping of Ag significantly affects the elastic properties of CdS.

  16. Flux pinning in nanoparticle doped MgB 2/Cu tapes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Babić, E.; Kušević, I.; Husnjak, O.; Soltanian, S.; Wang, X. L.; Dou, S. X.

    2007-09-01

    The irreversibility fields Birr and critical current densities Jc of undoped and Si and SiC nanoparticle doped (5, 10 and 20 wt%) MgB2 tapes were measured in the temperature (T) range 2-38 K and in magnetic fields B ⩽ 16 T. Whereas Birr of undoped tapes varies smoothly with T, those of doped tapes show a change in slope around a crossover field Bcr which increases with nanoparticle content and also depends on their type. This indicates matching effect in vortex pinning, probably associated with Mg2Si nanoprecipitates formed during heat treatment. Indeed, Birr of doped tapes was enhanced in respect to that of undoped one with the highest enhancement for Birr ≈ Bcr, but the enhancement remained high ≈1.4 even for Birr ≫ Bcr (low temperatures). The variations of Jc and the pinning force density Fp = JcB with B and T support the above findings.

  17. Systematic investigation of structural and morphological studies on doped TiO2 nanoparticles for solar cell applications

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Murugadoss, G.; Jayavel, R.; Rajesh Kumar, M.

    2014-12-01

    Optical, structural and thermal properties of the doped with different ions (transition metals, other metals or post transition metals, non-metals, alkali metals and lanthanides) in TiO2 nanocrystals were investigated. The doped nanoparticles were synthesized by modified chemical method. Ethanol-deionised water mixer (20:1) was used as solvent for synthesize of the undoped and doped TiO2 nanoparticles. Systematic studies on structural and morphological changes by thermal treatment on TiO2 were examined. It has been observed that with Eu and Al doping TiO2, the phase transition temperature for anatase to rutile phase increased. Blue and red shifting absorptions were observed for doped TiO2 in visible region. Among the dopant, significant blue shift was obtained for Cu, Cd, Ag, Y, Ce and In doped TiO2 and red shift was obtained for Zr, Sm, Al, Na, S, Fe, Ni, Eu and Gd doped TiO2 nanoparticles.

  18. Preparation of manganese doped cadmium sulfide nanoparticles in zincblende phase and their magnetic properties.

    PubMed

    Nakaya, Masafumi; Tanaka, Itaru; Muramatsu, Atsushi

    2012-12-01

    In this study, the random dope of Mn into CdS nanoparticles in zincblende phase has been carried out under the mild reaction condition. The resulting nanoparticles were characterized by energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffractometer (XRD), UV-Vis spectrometer, PL spectrometer, and SQUID. EDX showed that the compositions of Mn doped CdS nanoparticles were readily controlled. TEM showed the particle sizes were not significantly affected by the compositions, retaining to be ca. 3 nm with a narrow size distribution. UV-Vis and PL spectra of the resulting nanoparticles showed the intra-Mn level may be affected by the quantum size effect. SQUID measurement showed that the resulting nanoparticles showed diamagnetism, paramagnetism and superparamagnetism dependent on Mn content.

  19. Rapid synthesis of Co, Ni co-doped ZnO nanoparticles: Optical and electrochemical properties

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

    Romeiro, Fernanda C.; Marinho, Juliane Z.; Lemos, Samantha C.S.

    We report for the first time a rapid preparation of Zn{sub 1−2x}Co{sub x}Ni{sub x}O nanoparticles via a versatile and environmentally friendly route, microwave-assisted hydrothermal (MAH) method. The Co, Ni co-doped ZnO nanoparticles present an effect on photoluminescence and electrochemical properties, exhibiting excellent electrocatalytic performance compared to undoped ZnO sample. Photoluminescence spectroscopy measurements indicated the reduction of the green–orange–red visible emission region after adding Co and Ni ions, revealing the formation of alternative pathways for the generated recombination. The presence of these metallic ions into ZnO creates different defects, contributing to a local structural disorder, as revealed by Raman spectra. Electrochemicalmore » experiments revealed that the electrocatalytic oxidation of dopamine on ZnO attached to multi-walled carbon nanotubes improved significantly in the Co, Ni co-doped ZnO samples when compared to pure ZnO. - Graphical abstract: Rapid synthesis of Co, Ni co-doped ZnO nanoparticles: optical and electrochemical properties. Co, Ni co-doped ZnO hexagonal nanoparticles with optical and electrocatalytic properties were successfully prepared for the first time using a microwave hydrothermal method at mild conditions. - Highlights: • Co{sup 2+} and Ni{sup 2+} into ZnO lattice obtained a mild and environmentally friendly process. • The heating method strongly influences in the growth and shape of the particles. • Short-range defects generated by the ions insertion affects the photoluminescence. • Doped ZnO nanoparticles improve the electrocatalytic properties of pure oxide.« less

  20. Aluminum doping tunes band gap energy level as well as oxidative stress-mediated cytotoxicity of ZnO nanoparticles in MCF-7 cells

    PubMed Central

    Akhtar, Mohd Javed; Alhadlaq, Hisham A.; Alshamsan, Aws; Majeed Khan, M.A.; Ahamed, Maqusood

    2015-01-01

    We investigated whether Aluminum (Al) doping tunes band gap energy level as well as selective cytotoxicity of ZnO nanoparticles in human breast cancer cells (MCF-7). Pure and Al-doped ZnO nanoparticles were prepared by a simple sol-gel method. Characterization study confirmed the formation of single phase of AlxZn1-xO nanocrystals with the size range of 33–55 nm. Al-doping increased the band gap energy of ZnO nanoparticles (from 3.51 eV for pure to 3.87 eV for Al-doped ZnO). Al-doping also enhanced the cytotoxicity and oxidative stress response of ZnO nanoparticles in MCF-7 cells. The IC50 for undoped ZnO nanoparticles was 44 μg/ml while for the Al-doped ZnO counterparts was 31 μg/ml. Up-regulation of apoptotic genes (e.g. p53, bax/bcl2 ratio, caspase-3 & caspase-9) along with loss of mitochondrial membrane potential suggested that Al-doped ZnO nanoparticles induced apoptosis in MCF-7 cells through mitochondrial pathway. Importantly, Al-doping did not change the benign nature of ZnO nanoparticles towards normal cells suggesting that Al-doping improves the selective cytotoxicity of ZnO nanoparticles toward MCF-7 cells without affecting the normal cells. Our results indicated a novel approach through which the inherent selective cytotoxicity of ZnO nanoparticles against cancer cells can be further improved. PMID:26347142

  1. Aluminum doping tunes band gap energy level as well as oxidative stress-mediated cytotoxicity of ZnO nanoparticles in MCF-7 cells

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Akhtar, Mohd Javed; Alhadlaq, Hisham A.; Alshamsan, Aws; Majeed Khan, M. A.; Ahamed, Maqusood

    2015-09-01

    We investigated whether Aluminum (Al) doping tunes band gap energy level as well as selective cytotoxicity of ZnO nanoparticles in human breast cancer cells (MCF-7). Pure and Al-doped ZnO nanoparticles were prepared by a simple sol-gel method. Characterization study confirmed the formation of single phase of AlxZn1-xO nanocrystals with the size range of 33-55 nm. Al-doping increased the band gap energy of ZnO nanoparticles (from 3.51 eV for pure to 3.87 eV for Al-doped ZnO). Al-doping also enhanced the cytotoxicity and oxidative stress response of ZnO nanoparticles in MCF-7 cells. The IC50 for undoped ZnO nanoparticles was 44 μg/ml while for the Al-doped ZnO counterparts was 31 μg/ml. Up-regulation of apoptotic genes (e.g. p53, bax/bcl2 ratio, caspase-3 & caspase-9) along with loss of mitochondrial membrane potential suggested that Al-doped ZnO nanoparticles induced apoptosis in MCF-7 cells through mitochondrial pathway. Importantly, Al-doping did not change the benign nature of ZnO nanoparticles towards normal cells suggesting that Al-doping improves the selective cytotoxicity of ZnO nanoparticles toward MCF-7 cells without affecting the normal cells. Our results indicated a novel approach through which the inherent selective cytotoxicity of ZnO nanoparticles against cancer cells can be further improved.

  2. Aluminum doping tunes band gap energy level as well as oxidative stress-mediated cytotoxicity of ZnO nanoparticles in MCF-7 cells.

    PubMed

    Akhtar, Mohd Javed; Alhadlaq, Hisham A; Alshamsan, Aws; Majeed Khan, M A; Ahamed, Maqusood

    2015-09-08

    We investigated whether Aluminum (Al) doping tunes band gap energy level as well as selective cytotoxicity of ZnO nanoparticles in human breast cancer cells (MCF-7). Pure and Al-doped ZnO nanoparticles were prepared by a simple sol-gel method. Characterization study confirmed the formation of single phase of Al(x)Zn(1-x)O nanocrystals with the size range of 33-55 nm. Al-doping increased the band gap energy of ZnO nanoparticles (from 3.51 eV for pure to 3.87 eV for Al-doped ZnO). Al-doping also enhanced the cytotoxicity and oxidative stress response of ZnO nanoparticles in MCF-7 cells. The IC50 for undoped ZnO nanoparticles was 44 μg/ml while for the Al-doped ZnO counterparts was 31 μg/ml. Up-regulation of apoptotic genes (e.g. p53, bax/bcl2 ratio, caspase-3 &caspase-9) along with loss of mitochondrial membrane potential suggested that Al-doped ZnO nanoparticles induced apoptosis in MCF-7 cells through mitochondrial pathway. Importantly, Al-doping did not change the benign nature of ZnO nanoparticles towards normal cells suggesting that Al-doping improves the selective cytotoxicity of ZnO nanoparticles toward MCF-7 cells without affecting the normal cells. Our results indicated a novel approach through which the inherent selective cytotoxicity of ZnO nanoparticles against cancer cells can be further improved.

  3. Synthesis, structural and paramagnetic properties of SnO{sub 2} doped NiO nanoparticles

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

    Islam, I., E-mail: ishtihadahislam@gmail.com; Dwivedi, Sonam; Dar, Hilal A.

    2016-05-06

    In this work, Sn doped NiO nanoparticles were synthesized by co-precipitation route to explore the impact of doping on lattice structure, dielectric constant and magnetization. X-ray diffraction analysis confirmed cubic (Fd-3m) structure of Sn doped NiO. Average crystallite size decreases from 78.2 nm (Ni{sub 0.95}Sn{sub 0.05}O) to 64.23 nm (Ni{sub 0.8}Sn{sub 0.2}O). Scanning electron microscopy images confirm that nanocrystals have agglomerated spherical morphology. The Raman spectrum exhibits a strong, broad peak at 410 cm{sup -1} and is attributed to the Ni-O stretching mode and doped samples show a blue shift. The dielectric constants at about 1 Hz are measured to be about 1.795,more » 1.030, 0.442, and 0.302 × 10{sup 3} Ni{sub 1-x}Sn{sub x}O (x = 0.05, 0.1, 0.15, 0.2), respectively. The dielectric constant in nanoparticles of doped Ni{sub 1-x}Sn{sub x}O is three orders of magnitude higher as compared to pure NiO ceramics. The nature of magnetization - applied field (M-H) infers paramagnetic behaviour for Sn doped NiO nanoparticles.« less

  4. Hafnium-doped hydroxyapatite nanoparticles with ionizing radiation for lung cancer treatment.

    PubMed

    Chen, Min-Hua; Hanagata, Nobutaka; Ikoma, Toshiyuki; Huang, Jian-Yuan; Li, Keng-Yuan; Lin, Chun-Pin; Lin, Feng-Huei

    2016-06-01

    Recently, photodynamic therapy (PDT) is one of the new clinical options by generating cytotoxic reactive oxygen species (ROS) to kill cancer cells. However, the optical approach of PDT is limited by tissue penetration depth of visible light. In this study, we propose that a ROS-enhanced nanoparticle, hafnium-doped hydroxyapatite (Hf:HAp), which is a material to yield large quantities of ROS inside the cells when the nanoparticles are bombarded with high penetrating power of ionizing radiation. Hf:HAp nanoparticles are generated by wet chemical precipitation with total doping concentration of 15mol% Hf(4+) relative to Ca(2+) in HAp host material. The results show that the HAp particles could be successfully doped with Hf ions, resulted in the formation of nano-sized rod-like shape and with pH-dependent solubility. The impact of ionizing radiation on Hf:HAp nanoparticles is assessed by using in-vitro and in-vivo model using A549 cell line. The 2',7'-dichlorofluorescein diacetate (DCFH-DA) results reveal that after being exposed to gamma rays, Hf:HAp could significantly lead to the formation of ROS in cells. Both cell viability (WST-1) and cytotoxicity (LDH) assay show the consistent results that A549 lung cancer cell lines are damaged with changes in the cells' ROS level. The in-vivo studies further demonstrate that the tumor growth is inhibited owing to the cells apoptosis when Hf:HAp nanoparticles are bombarded with ionizing radiation. This finding offer a new therapeutic method of interacting with ionizing radiation and demonstrate the potential of Hf:HAp nanoparticles in tumor treatment, such as being used in a palliative treatment after lung surgical procedure. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is one of the new clinical options by generating cytotoxic reactive oxygen species (ROS) to kill cancer cells. Unfortunately, the approach of PDT is usually limited to the treatment of systemic disease and deeper tumor, due to the limited tissue penetration depth of visible

  5. XRD analysis of undoped and Fe doped TiO{sub 2} nanoparticles by Williamson Hall method

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

    Bharti, Bandna; Barman, P. B.; Kumar, Rajesh, E-mail: rajesh.kumar@juit.ac.in

    2015-08-28

    Undoped and Fe doped titanium dioxide (TiO{sub 2}) nanoparticles were synthesized by sol-gel method at room temperature. The synthesized samples were annealed at 500°C. For structural analysis, the prepared samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD). The crystallite size of TiO{sub 2} and Fe doped TiO{sub 2} nanoparticles were calculated by Scherer’s formula, and was found to be 15 nm and 11 nm, respectively. Reduction in crystallite size of TiO{sub 2} with Fe doping was observed. The anatase phase of Fe-doped TiO{sub 2} nanoparticles was also confirmed by X-ray diffraction. By using Williamson-Hall method, lattice strain and crystallite size weremore » also calculated. Williamson–Hall plot indicates the presence of compressive strain for TiO{sub 2} and tensile strain for Fe-TiO{sub 2} nanoparticles annealed at 500°C.« less

  6. Electrochemical Hydrogen Storage in Facile Synthesized Co@N-Doped Carbon Nanoparticle Composites.

    PubMed

    Zhou, Lina; Qu, Xiaosheng; Zheng, Dong; Tang, Haolin; Liu, Dan; Qu, Deyang; Xie, ZhiZhong; Li, Junsheng; Qu, Deyu

    2017-11-29

    A Co@nitrogen-doped carbon nanoparticle composite was synthesized via a facile molecular self-assembling procedure. The material was used as the host for the electrochemical storage of hydrogen. The hydrogen storage capacity of the material was over 300 mAh g -1 at a rate of 100 mAg -1 . It also exhibited superior stability for storage of hydrogen, high rate capability, and good cyclic life. Hybridizing metallic cobalt nanoparticle with nitrogen-doped mesoporous carbon is found to be a good approach for the electrochemical storage of hydrogen.

  7. Scattering of Electromagnetic Radiation by ITO Nanoparticles with Various Doping Levels

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bugaev, A. S.; Astapenko, V. A.; Manuilovich, E. S.; Sakhno, S. V.; Khramov, E. S.; Yakovets, A. V.

    2018-02-01

    The process of scattering of radiation by indium‒tin oxide (ITO) nanoparticles is theoretically studied at various degrees of doping and for different radii of nanoparticles. Qualitative conclusions are made about the character of the dependence of the scattering cross section on the frequency with variation of the particle size and the percentage content of tin. The prospects of using ITO nanoparticles as an active substance in optical sensors are estimated.

  8. Influence of plasmon coupling on the photoluminescence of ZnS/Ag nanoparticles obtained by laser irradiation in liquid

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Moos, Rafaela; Graff, Ismael L.; de Oliveira, Vinicius S.; Schreiner, Wido H.; Bezerra, Arandi G.

    2017-10-01

    We investigate the photoluminescence, optical absorption and structural properties of ZnS submitted to laser irradiation in water and isopropyl alcohol. Nanoparticles were produced by irradiating micro-sized ZnS particles dispersed in both liquids, with and without the addition of Ag nanoparticles, taking advantage of the laser-assisted fragmentation effect. When ZnS microparticles are irradiated either in pure water or isopropyl alcohol a considerable size reduction is achieved (from micra to few nanometers). The photoluminescence of these nanoparticles mainly occurs in the UV, centered at 350 nm, and with smaller intensity in the visible, centered at 600 nm. Irradiation of ZnS microparticles dispersed in colloidal silver triggers a reaction between both materials, modifying its optical absorption and photoluminescent properties. After irradiation of ZnS in alcohol containing Ag nanoparticles, a giant increase of the UV photoluminescence is observed. Interestingly, when the irradiation is performed in aqueous Ag nanoparticles colloids, the photoluminescence suffers a red-shift towards the violet-blue. The data show that core-shell (Ag-ZnO) nanostructures are formed after irradiation and the visible emission likely originates from the ZnO shell grown around silver nanoparticles. The presence of Ag nanoparticles in the liquid medium promotes a stronger absorption of the laser beam during irradiation due to the coupling with the surface plasmon resonance, fostering intense reactions among ZnS, Ag nanoparticles, and the liquid medium. Our study shows that with a simple change of the liquid medium wherein the irradiation is conducted the photoluminescence can be tuned from UV to visible and core-shell nanostructures can be obtained.

  9. Advancements in the Quantification of the Crystal Structure of ZNS Materials Produced in Variable Gravity

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Castillo, Martin

    2016-07-01

    Screens and displays consume tremendous amounts of power. Global trends to significantly consume less power and increase battery life have led to the reinvestigation of electroluminescent materials. The state of the art in ZnS materials has not been furthered in the past 30 years and there is much potential in improving electroluminescent properties of these materials with advanced processing techniques. Self-propagating high temperature synthesis (SHS) utilises a rapid exothermic process involving high energy and nonlinearity coupled with a high cooling rate to produce materials formed outside of normal equilibrium boundaries thus possessing unique properties. The elimination of gravity during this process allows capillary forces to dominate mixing of the reactants which results in a superior and enhanced homogeneity in the product materials. ZnS type materials have been previously conducted in reduced gravity and normal gravity. It has been claimed in literature that a near perfect phases of ZnS wurtzite was produced. Although, the SHS of this material is possible at high pressures, there has been no quantitative information on the actual crystal structures and lattice parameters that were produced in this work. Utilising this process with ZnS doped with Cu, Mn, or rare earth metals such as Eu and Pr leads to electroluminescence properties, thus making this an attractive electroluminescent material. The work described here will revisit the synthesis of ZnS via high pressure SHS and will re-examine the work performed in both normal gravity and in reduced gravity within the ZARM drop tower facility. Quantifications in the lattice parameters, crystal structures, and phases produced will be presented to further explore the unique structure-property performance relationships produced from the SHS of ZnS materials.

  10. Flux pinning and inhomogeneity in magnetic nanoparticle doped MgB2/Fe wires

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Novosel, Nikolina; Pajić, Damir; Mustapić, Mislav; Babić, Emil; Shcherbakov, Andrey; Horvat, Joseph; Skoko, Željko; Zadro, Krešo

    2010-06-01

    The effects of magnetic nanoparticle doping on superconductivity of MgB2/Fe wires have been investigated. Fe2B and SiO2-coated Fe2B particles with average diameters 80 and 150 nm, respectively, were used as dopands. MgB2 wires with different nanoparticle contents (0, 3, 7.5, 12 wt.%) were sintered at temperature 750°C. The magnetoresistivity and critical current density Jc of wires were measured in the temperature range 2-40 K in magnetic field B <= 16 T. Both transport and magnetic Jc were determined. Superconducting transition temperature Tc of doped wires decreases quite rapidly with doping level (~ 0.5 K per wt.%). This results in the reduction of the irreversibility fields Birr(T) and critical current densities Jc(B,T) in doped samples (both at low (5 K) and high temperatures (20 K)). Common scaling of Jc(B,T) curves for doped and undoped wires indicates that the main mechanism of flux pinning is the same in both types of samples. Rather curved Kramer's plots for Jc of doped wires imply considerable inhomogeneity.

  11. Preparation and characterization of zinc and copper co-doped WO3 nanoparticles: Application in photocatalysis and photobiology.

    PubMed

    Mohammadi, Sanaz; Sohrabi, Maryam; Golikand, Ahmad Nozad; Fakhri, Ali

    2016-08-01

    In this study, pure, Zn, Cu, Zn,Cu co-doped WO3 nanoparticles samples were prepared by precipitation and co-precipitation methods. These nanoparticles were characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer (EDX), Dynamic light scattering (DLS), UV-visible and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. The synthesized pure, Zn, Cu, Zn,Cu co-doped WO3 nanoparticles have smart optical properties and average sizes with 3.2, 3.12, 3.08 and 2.97eV of band-gap, 18.1, 23.2, 25.7 and 30.2nm, respectively. Photocatalytic activity of four nanoparticles was studying towards degradation of gentamicin antibiotic under ultraviolet and visible light irradiation. The result showed that Zn,Cu co-doped WO3 possessed high photocatalytic activity. The photocatalytic activity of WO3 nanoparticles could be remarkably increased by doping the Zn and Cu impurity. This can be attributed to the fact that the red shift of absorption edge and the trapping effect of the mono and co-doped WO3 nanoparticles. The research result presents a general and effective way to prepare different photocatalysts with enhanced visible and UV light-driven photocatalytic performance. Antibacterial activity of four different WO3 nanoparticles against Escherichia coli bacterium has been assessed by the agar disc method under light irradiation and dark medium. It is concluded from the present findings that WO3 nanoparticles can be used as an efficient antibacterial agent. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  12. Silver-doped manganese dioxide and trioxide nanoparticles inhibit both gram positive and gram negative pathogenic bacteria.

    PubMed

    Kunkalekar, R K; Prabhu, M S; Naik, M M; Salker, A V

    2014-01-01

    Palladium, ruthenium and silver-doped MnO2 and silver doped Mn2O3 nanoparticles were synthesized by simple co-precipitation technique. SEM-TEM analysis revealed the nano-size of these synthesized samples. XPS data illustrates that Mn is present in 4+ and 3+ oxidation states in MnO2 and Mn2O3 respectively. Thermal analysis gave significant evidence for the phase changes with increasing temperature. Antibacterial activity of these synthesized nanoparticles on three Gram positive bacterial cultures (Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 6538, Streptococcus epidermis ATCC 12228, Bacillus subtilis ATCC 6633) and three Gram negative cultures (Escherichia coli ATCC 8739, Salmonella abony NCTC 6017 and Klebsiella pneumoniae ATCC 1003) was investigated using a disc diffusion method and live/dead assay. Only Ag-doped MnO2 and Ag-doped Mn2O3 nanoparticles showed antibacterial property against all six-test bacteria but Ag-doped MnO2 was found to be more effective than Ag-doped Mn2O3. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  13. Gas-sensing performances of Cd-doped ZnO nanoparticles synthesized by a surfactant-mediated method for n-butanol gas

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhao, Rongjun; Li, Kejin; Wang, Zhezhe; Xing, Xinxin; Wang, Yude

    2018-01-01

    Zinc oxide nanoparticles with the different Cd doping contents were prepared by with a surfactant-mediated method in this paper. The effects of Cd doping on the gas sensing properties of the ZnO nanoparticles were studied. The morphology and microstructure of as-prepared samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD); scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and high-resolution TEM (HRTEM), respectively. The results reveal that all the products are the high crystalline hexagonal wurtzite ZnO crystal structure. The gas-sensing characteristics of the Cd doped ZnO nanoparticles for volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were investigated. At its optimal operation temperature of 300 °C, the sensing properties of the Cd doped ZnO nanoparticles for n-butanol gas exhibit a high-performance gas sensing performances including high gas response, good selectivity, response/recovery time, and repeatability as well as stability. Especially, its response reaches 130 for 100 ppm n-butanol of ZnO nanoparticles with 2.5% Cd doping. Those values demonstrate the potential of using as-prepared Cd doped ZnO nanoparticles for n-butanol gas detection, making them to be promising candidates for practical detectors to n-butanol gas. Apart from these, the mechanism related to the advanced properties was also investigated and presented.

  14. Structural and optical characterization of Eu3+ doped beta-Ga2O3 nanoparticles using a liquid-phase precursor method.

    PubMed

    Kim, Moung-O; Kang, Bongkyun; Yoon, Daeho

    2013-08-01

    Eu3+ doped beta-Ga2O3 and non-doped beta-Ga2O3 nanoparticles were synthesized at 800 degrees C using a liquid-phase precursor (LPP) method, with different annealing times and Eu3+ ion concentrations. Eu3+ doped beta-Ga2O3 nanoparticles showed broad XRD peaks, revealing a second phase compared with the non-doped beta-Ga2O3 nanoparticles. The cathode luminescence (CL) spectra of beta-Ga2O3 and Eu3+ doped beta-Ga2O3 nanoparticles showed a broad band emission (300-500 nm) of imperfection and two component emissions. The luminescence quenching properties of Eu3+ dopant ion concentration appeared gradually beyond 5 mol% in our investigation.

  15. The bipyridine adducts of N-phenyldithiocarbamato complexes of Zn(II) and Cd(II); synthesis, spectral, thermal decomposition studies and use as precursors for ZnS and CdS nanoparticles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Onwudiwe, Damian C.; Strydom, Christien A.

    2015-01-01

    Bipyridine adducts of N-phenyldithiocarbamato complexes, [ML12L2] (M = Cd(II), Zn(II); L1 = N-phenyldithiocarbamate, L2 = 2,2‧ bipyridine), have been synthesized and characterised. The decomposition of these complexes to metal sulphides has been investigated by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The complexes were used as single-source precursors to synthesize MS (M = Zn, Cd) nanoparticles (NPs) passivated by hexadecyl amine (HDA). The growth of the nanoparticles was carried out at two different temperatures: 180 and 220 °C, and the optical and structural properties of the nanoparticles were studied using UV-Vis spectroscopy, photoluminescence spectroscopy (PL), transmission emission microscopy (TEM) and powdered X-ray diffraction (p-XRD). Nanoparticles, whose average diameters are 2.90 and 3.54 nm for ZnS, and 8.96 and 9.76 nm for CdS grown at 180 and 220 °C respectively, were obtained.

  16. Novel strontium-doped bioactive glass nanoparticles enhance proliferation and osteogenic differentiation of human bone marrow stromal cells

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Strobel, L. A.; Hild, N.; Mohn, D.; Stark, W. J.; Hoppe, A.; Gbureck, U.; Horch, R. E.; Kneser, U.; Boccaccini, A. R.

    2013-07-01

    The present study investigates a new family of bioactive glass nanoparticles with and without Sr-doping focusing on the influence of the nanoparticles on human bone marrow stromal cells (hBMSCs) in vitro. The bioactive glass nanoparticles were fabricated by flame spray synthesis and a particle diameter of 30-35 nm was achieved. Glass nanoparticles were undoped (BG 13-93-0Sr) or doped with 5 wt% strontium (Sr) (BG 13-93-5Sr) and used at concentrations of 10 and 100 μg/cm² (particles per culture plate area), respectively. Cells were cultured for 14 days after which the samples were analysed regarding metabolic activity and expression of various bone-specific genes. Cell growth and morphology indicated the high cytocompatibility of the nanoparticulate bioactive glass. The presence of the nanoparticles enhanced cell growth compared to the plain polystyrene control group. At a concentration of 100 μg/cm², Sr-doped particles led to significantly enhanced gene expression of osteocalcin, collagen type 1 and vascular endothelial growth factor. Thus, Sr-doped nanoparticles showing a dose-dependent increase of osteogenic differentiation in hBMSCs are a promising biomaterial for bone regeneration purposes.

  17. Preparation and characterization of Ag-doped In2O3 nanoparticles gas sensor

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Anand, Kanica; Kaur, Jasmeet; Singh, Ravi Chand; Thangaraj, Rengasamy

    2017-08-01

    Pure and Ag-doped In2O3 nanoparticles are synthesized by the co-precipitation method and are characterized by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy and photoluminescence spectroscopy. Gas sensing properties of the sensors has been investigated towards methanol, ethanol, acetone and LPG at different operating temperatures. It is found that the sensor response magnitude of the 3% Ag-doped In2O3 nanoparticles sensors is higher to 50 ppm of ethanol at 300 °C, to acetone at 350 °C and to LPG at 400 °C. This is mainly attributed to the large number of oxygen vacancies and defects in doped sensors as corroborated by the photoluminescence studies.

  18. Effect of dopent on the structural and optical properties of ZnS thin film as a buffer layer in solar cell application

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

    Vashistha, Indu B., E-mail: indu-139@yahoo.com; Sharma, S. K.; Sharma, Mahesh C.

    2015-08-28

    In order to find the suitable alternative of toxic CdS buffer layer, deposition of pure ZnS and doped with Al by chemical bath deposition method have been reported. Further as grown pure and doped thin films have been annealed at 150°C. The structural and surface morphological properties have been characterized by X-Ray diffraction (XRD) and Atomic Force Microscope (AFM).The XRD analysis shows that annealed thin film has been polycrystalline in nature with sphalerite cubic crystal structure and AFM images indicate increment in grain size as well as growth of crystals after annealing. Optical measurement data give band gap of 3.5more » eV which is ideal band gap for buffer layer for solar cell suggesting that the obtained ZnS buffer layer is suitable in a low-cost solar cell.« less

  19. Development and application of molecularly imprinted polymer - Mn-doped ZnS quantum dot fluorescent optosensing for cocaine screening in oral fluid and serum.

    PubMed

    Chantada-Vázquez, María Pilar; de-Becerra-Sánchez, Carolina; Fernández-Del-Río, Alba; Sánchez-González, Juan; Bermejo, Ana María; Bermejo-Barrera, Pilar; Moreda-Piñeiro, Antonio

    2018-05-01

    A molecularly imprinted polymer - Mn-doped ZnS quantum dot-based fluorescence probe for cocaine abuse screening has been prepared and applied to complex samples such as serum and oral fluid. The fluorescent sensing material was prepared by anchoring a selective MIP for COC on the surface of polyethylene glycol (PEG) modified Mn-doped ZnS quantum dots (QDs). Simple and low cost methods have thus been optimized for assessing cocaine abuse in serum and oral fluid by monitoring fluorescence quenching when cocaine (COC) is present (optimized operating conditions with 1.5mL of 200mgL -1 MIP-coated QDs solution, pH 5.5, and 15min before fluorescence scanning). The matrix effect was found to be important when analyzing oral fluid and serum, and several strategies based on centrifugation for oral fluid and solid phase extraction (SPE) for serum were explored. Two analytical methods were developed for oral fluid. The first one (direct method) requires a centrifugation step (6°C, 4000rpm, 20min) to avoid the matrix effect, and allows for cocaine determination by using an aqueous calibration (1:20 dilution). The second method was developed for oral fluid sampled by Salivette devices, and also requires a further centrifugation (6°C, 4000rpm, 20min) of the recovered oral fluid. This method, however, requires the standard addition technique (1:20 dilution) because of the existence of the matrix effect. Regarding serum samples, a direct method (serum dilution) was not possible, and an SPE procedure was needed to avoid the matrix effect (use of aqueous calibration). The limits of detection and quantification when using the Salivette method were 0.035mgL -1 and 0.117mgL -1, respectively; whereas, 0.015mgL -1 (LOD) and 0.050mgL -1 (LOQ) were obtained for serum. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  20. Spectral features and antibacterial properties of Cu-doped ZnO nanoparticles prepared by sol-gel method

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Alireza, Samavati; A, F. Ismail; Hadi, Nur; Z, Othaman; M, K. Mustafa

    2016-07-01

    Zn1-x Cu x O (x = 0.00, 0.01, 0.03, and 0.05) nanoparticles are synthesized via the sol-gel technique using gelatin and nitrate precursors. The impact of copper concentration on the structural, optical, and antibacterial properties of these nanoparticles is demonstrated. Powder x-ray diffraction investigations have illustrated the organized Cu doping into ZnO nanoparticles up to Cu concentration of 5% (x = 0.05). However, the peak corresponding to CuO for x = 0.01 is not distinguishable. The images of field emission scanning electron microscopy demonstrate the existence of a nearly spherical shape with a size in the range of 30-52 nm. Doping Cu creates the Cu-O-Zn on the surface and results in a decrease in the crystallite size. Photoluminescence and absorption spectra display that doping Cu causes an increment in the energy band gap. The antibacterial activities of the nanoparticles are examined against Escherichia coli (Gram negative bacteria) cultures using optical density at 600 nm and a comparison of the size of inhibition zone diameter. It is found that both pure and doped ZnO nanoparticles indicate appropriate antibacterial activity which rises with Cu doping. Project supported by the Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) (Grant No. R. J1300000.7809.4F626). Dr. Samavati is thankful to RMC for postdoctoral grants.

  1. Synthesis and magnetic properties of Zr doped ZnO Nanoparticles.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Jing; Gao, Daqiang; Yang, Guijin; Zhang, Jinlin; Shi, Zhenhua; Zhang, Zhaohui; Zhu, Zhonghua; Xue, Desheng

    2011-11-10

    Zr doped ZnO nanoparticles are prepared by the sol-gel method with post-annealing. X-ray diffraction results show that all samples are the typical hexagonal wurtzite structure without any other new phase, as well as the Zr atoms have successfully entered into the ZnO lattices instead of forming other lattices. Magnetic measurements indicate that all the doping samples show room temperature ferromagnetism and the pure ZnO is paramagneism. The results of Raman and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy indicate that there are a lot of oxygen vacancies in the samples by doping element of Zr. It is considered that the observed ferromagnetism is related to the doping induced oxygen vacancies.

  2. Efficiency of Nb-Doped ZnO Nanoparticles Electrode for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells Application

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Anuntahirunrat, Jirapat; Sung, Youl-Moon; Pooyodying, Pattarapon

    2017-09-01

    The technological of Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) had been improved for several years. Due to its simplicity and low cost materials with belonging to the part of thin films solar cells. DSSCs have numerous advantages and benefits among the other types of solar cells. Many of the DSSC devices had use organic chemical that produce by specific method to use as thin film electrodes. The organic chemical that widely use to establish thin film electrodes are Zinc Oxide (ZnO), Titanium Dioxide (TiO2) and many other chemical substances. Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles had been used in DSSCs applications as thin film electrodes. Nanoparticles are a part of nanomaterials that are defined as a single particles 1-100 nm in diameter. From a few year ZnO widely used in DSSC applications because of its optical, electrical and many others properties. In particular, the unique properties and utility of ZnO structure. However the efficiency of ZnO nanoparticles based solar cells can be improved by doped various foreign impurity to change the structures and properties. Niobium (Nb) had been use as a dopant of metal oxide thin films. Using specification method to doped the ZnO nanoparticles thin film can improved the efficiencies of DSSCs. The efficiencies of Nb-doped ZnO can be compared by doping 0 at wt% to 5 at wt% in ZnO nanoparticles thin films that prepared by the spin coating method. The thin film electrodes doped with 3 at wt% represent a maximum efficiencies with the lowest resistivity of 8.95×10-4 Ω·cm.

  3. Clean Photothermal Heating and Controlled Release from Near-Infrared Dye Doped Nanoparticles without Oxygen Photosensitization.

    PubMed

    Guha, Samit; Shaw, Scott K; Spence, Graeme T; Roland, Felicia M; Smith, Bradley D

    2015-07-21

    The photothermal heating and release properties of biocompatible organic nanoparticles, doped with a near-infrared croconaine (Croc) dye, were compared with analogous nanoparticles doped with the common near-infrared dyes ICG and IR780. Separate formulations of lipid-polymer hybrid nanoparticles and liposomes, each containing Croc dye, absorbed strongly at 808 nm and generated clean laser-induced heating (no production of (1)O2 and no photobleaching of the dye). In contrast, laser-induced heating of nanoparticles containing ICG or IR780 produced reactive (1)O2, leading to bleaching of the dye and also decomposition of coencapsulated payload such as the drug doxorubicin. Croc dye was especially useful as a photothermal agent for laser-controlled release of chemically sensitive payload from nanoparticles. Solution state experiments demonstrated repetitive fractional release of water-soluble fluorescent dye from the interior of thermosensitive liposomes. Additional experiments used a focused laser beam to control leakage from immobilized liposomes with very high spatial and temporal precision. The results indicate that fractional photothermal leakage from nanoparticles doped with Croc dye is a promising method for a range of controlled release applications.

  4. Clean Photothermal Heating and Controlled Release From Near Infrared Dye Doped Nanoparticles Without Oxygen Photosensitization

    PubMed Central

    Guha, Samit; Shaw, Scott K.; Spence, Graeme T.; Roland, Felicia M.; Smith, Bradley D.

    2015-01-01

    The photothermal heating and release properties of biocompatible organic nanoparticles, doped with a near-infrared croconaine (Croc) dye, were compared with analogous nanoparticles doped with the common near-infrared dyes ICG and IR780. Separate formulations of lipid-polymer-hybrid nanoparticles and liposomes, each containing Croc dye, absorbed strongly at 808 nm and generated clean laser-induced heating (no production of 1O2 and no photobleaching of the dye). In contrast, laser-induced heating of nanoparticles containing ICG or IR780 produced reactive 1O2 leading to bleaching of the dye and also decomposition of co-encapsulated payload such as the drug Doxorubicin. Croc dye was especially useful as a photothermal agent for laser controlled release of chemically sensitive payload from nanoparticles. Solution state experiments demonstrated repetitive fractional release of water soluble fluorescent dye from the interior of thermosensitive liposomes. Additional experiments used a focused laser beam to control leakage from immobilized liposomes with very high spatial and temporal precision. The results indicate that fractional photothermal leakage from nanoparticles doped with Croc dye is a promising method for a range of controlled release applications. PMID:26149326

  5. Quantum dot-doped silica nanoparticles as probes for targeting of T-lymphocytes.

    PubMed

    Bottini, Massimo; D'Annibale, Federica; Magrini, Andrea; Cerignoli, Fabio; Arimura, Yutaka; Dawson, Marcia I; Bergamaschi, Enrico; Rosato, Nicola; Bergamaschi, Antonio; Mustelin, Tomas

    2007-01-01

    To enhance diagnostic or therapeutic efficacy, novel nanomaterials must be engineered to function in biologically relevant environments, be visible by conventional fluorescent microscopy, and have multivalent loading capacity for easy detection or effective drug delivery. Here we report the fabrication of silica nanoparticles doped with quantum dots and superficially functionalized with amino and phosphonate groups. The amino groups were acylated with a water-soluble biotin-labeling reagent. The biotinylated nanoparticles were subsequently decorated with neutravidin by exploiting the strong affinity between neutravidin and biotin. The resultant neutravidin-decorated fluorescent silica nanoparticles stably dispersed under physiological conditions, were visible by conventional optical and confocal fluorescent microscopy, and could be further functionalized with macromolecules, nucleic acids, and polymers. We also coated the surface of the nanoparticles with biotinylated mouse anti-human CD3 (alphaCD3). The resultant fluorescent nanoassembly was taken up by Jurkat T cells through receptor-mediated endocytosis and was partially released to lysosomes. Thus, quantum dot-doped silica nanoparticles decorated with neutravidin represent a potentially excellent scaffold for constructing specific intracellular nanoprobes and transporters.

  6. The effect of doping titanium dioxide nanoparticles on phase transformation, photocatalytic activity and anti-bacterial properties

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Buzby, Scott Edward

    Nanosized titanium dioxide has a variety of important applications in everyday life including a photocatalyst for pollution remediation, photovoltaic devices, sunscreen, etc. This study focuses on the various properties of titanium dioxide nanoparticles doped with various cation and anion species. Samples were produced by various methods including metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD), plasma assisted metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (PA-MOCVD) and sol-gel. Numerous techniques such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), electron microscopy both scanning (SEM) and transmission (TEM) were used for physical characterization. Photocatalytic properties were determined by the oxidation of methylene blue dye and 2-chlorophenol in water as well as gaseous formic acid with results analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and ultra violet - visible spectroscopy (UV-VIS). For the purpose of enhancement of the photocatalytic activity of titanium dioxide nanoparticles, the effect of anion doping and the anatase-rutile phase ratio were studied. Although anatase, rutile and mixed crystallite phases all show some degree of activity in photocatalytic reactions, these results show that anatase is better suited for the degradation of organic compounds in an aqueous medium any advantage in photocatalytic activity gained through the enhancement in optical response from the smaller band gap by addition of rutile was overcome by the negatives associated with the rutile phase. Furthermore substitutional nitrogen doping showed significant improvement in UV photocatalysis as well as allowing for visible light activation of the catalyst. Further studies on the phase transitions in titanium dioxide nanoparticles were carried out by synthesizing various cation doped samples by sol-gel. Analysis of the phases by XRD showed an inverse relationship between dopant size and rutile percentage

  7. Boosting photocatalytic overall water splitting by Co doping into Mn3O4 nanoparticles as oxygen evolution cocatalysts.

    PubMed

    Yoshinaga, Taizo; Saruyama, Masaki; Xiong, Anke; Ham, Yeilin; Kuang, Yongbo; Niishiro, Ryo; Akiyama, Seiji; Sakamoto, Masanori; Hisatomi, Takashi; Domen, Kazunari; Teranishi, Toshiharu

    2018-06-14

    The effect of cobalt doping into a manganese oxide (tetragonal spinel Mn 3 O 4 ) nanoparticle cocatalyst up to Co/(Co + Mn) = 0.4 (mol/mol) on the activity of photocatalytic water oxidation was studied. Monodisperse ∼10 nm Co y Mn 1-y O (0 ≤y≤ 0.4) nanoparticles were uniformly loaded onto photocatalysts and converted to Co x Mn 3-x O 4 nanoparticles through calcination. 40 mol% cobalt-doped Mn 3 O 4 nanoparticle-loaded Rh@Cr 2 O 3 /SrTiO 3 photocatalyst exhibited 1.8 times-higher overall water splitting activity than that with pure Mn 3 O 4 nanoparticles. Investigation on the band structure and electrocatalytic water oxidation activity of Co x Mn 3-x O 4 nanoparticles revealed that the Co doping mainly contributes to the improvement of water oxidation kinetics on the surface of the cocatalyst nanoparticles.

  8. Microwave-assisted one-pot synthesis of water-soluble rare-earth doped fluoride luminescent nanoparticles with tunable colors

    PubMed Central

    Mi, Cong-Cong; Tian, Zhen-huang; Han, Bao-fu; Mao, Chuan-bin; Xu, Shu-kun

    2012-01-01

    Polyethyleneimine (PEI) functionalized multicolor luminescent LaF3 nanoparticles were synthesized via a novel microwave-assisted method, which can achieve fast and uniform heating under eco-friendly and energy efficient conditions. The as-prepared nanoparticles possess a pure hexagonal structure with an average size of about 12 nm. When doped with different ions (Tb3+ and Eu3+), the morphology and structure of the nanoparticles were not changed, whereas the optical properties varied with doped ions and their molar ratio, and as a result emission of four different colors (green, yellow, orange and red) were achieved by simply switching the types of doping ions (Eu3+ versus Tb3 +) and the molar ratio of the two doping ions. PMID:22879690

  9. Auto-combustion synthesis and characterization of Mg doped CuAlO{sub 2} nanoparticles

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

    Agrawal, Shraddha, E-mail: shraddhaa32@gmail.com; Parveen, Azra; Naqvi, A. H.

    2015-06-24

    The synthesis of pure and Mg doped Copper aluminumoxide CuAlO{sub 2}nanoparticles, a promising p-type TCO (transparent conducting oxide) have been done bysol gel auto combustion method using NaOH as a fuel, calcinated at 600°C. The structural properties were examined by XRD and SEM techniques. The optical absorption spectra of CuAlO{sub 2} sample recorded by UV-VIS spectrophotometer in the range of 200 to 800 nm have been presented. The crystallite size was determined by powder X-ray diffraction technique. The electrical behavior of pure and Mg doped CuAlO{sub 2} has been studied over a wide range of frequencies by using complex impedance spectroscopy.Themore » variation of a.c. conductivity has been studied as function of frequency and temperature. The data taken together conclude that doping causes decreases in the ac conductivity of the nanoparticles as compared with the pure nanoparticles. Mg doping affects the optical properties and band gap.« less

  10. Study the Polyol Process of Preparing the ru Doped FePt Nanoparticles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lee, Chih-Hao; Hsu, Jen-Ho; Su, Hui-Chia; Huang, Tzu Wen

    The structure of Ru doped FePt nanoparticles using polyol process was studied. The particle size grown is around 5 nm, and a shell structure might be formed. By selecting the time and temperature of adding the Ru precursors into solution, three different processes to synthesize the FePtRu particles were studied resulting in different growing mechanics. The possible models during the reaction process are also discussed. The phase transition temperature for the as-grown FCC FePt nanoparticle to transform into L10 FePt nanoparticle is about 823 K which is about the same as the one without doping Ru atoms. From the XAS study of each element, the possible scenario is that: although Ru atoms with the size close to the Pt, they do not totally replace the Pt sites in the FePt alloy. Instead, most of Ru formed a shell outside the FePt nanoparticles and Fe atoms are replaced.

  11. Biomineralization-Inspired Synthesis of Cerium-Doped Carbonaceous Nanoparticles for Highly Hydroxyl Radical Scavenging Activity

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zou, Shenqiang; Zhu, Xiaofang; Zhang, Lirong; Guo, Fan; Zhang, Miaomiao; Tan, Youwen; Gong, Aihua; Fang, Zhengzou; Ju, Huixiang; Wu, Chaoyang; Du, Fengyi

    2018-03-01

    Cerium oxide nanoparticles recently have received extensive attention in biomedical applications due to their excellent anti-oxidation performance. In this study, a simple, mild, and green approach was developed to synthesize cerium-doped carbonaceous nanoparticles (Ce-doped CNPs) using bio-mineralization of bull serum albumin (BSA) as precursor. The resultant Ce-doped CNPs exhibited uniform and ultrasmall morphology with an average size of 14.7 nm. XPS and FTIR results revealed the presence of hydrophilic group on the surface of Ce-doped CNPs, which resulted in excellent dispersity in water. The CCK-8 assay demonstrated that Ce-doped CNPs possessed favorable biocompatibility and negligible cytotoxicity. Using H2O2-induced reactive oxygen species (ROS) as model, Ce-doped CNPs showed highly hydroxyl radical scavenging capability. Furthermore, flow cytometry and live-dead staining results indicated that Ce-doped CNPs protected cells from H2O2-induced damage in a dose-dependent effect, which provided a direct evidence for anti-oxidative performance. These findings suggest that Ce-doped CNPs as novel ROS scavengers may provide a potential therapeutic prospect in treating diseases associated with oxidative stress.

  12. Synthesis and characterization of lanthanum doped zinc oxide nanoparticles

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

    Kumar, Vinod; Sonia,; Suman,

    La doped ZnO (Zn{sub 1-x}La{sub x}O, x = 0, 3, 6 and 9) were prepared via chemical co-precipitation method using Zinc Acetate, Lanthanum Acetate and Sodium Hydroxide at 50°C. Hydrate nanoparticles were annealed in air at 300°C for 3 hours. The synthesized samples have been characterized by powder X-ray diffraction and UV–Visible spectrophotometer. The XRD measurement revealsthat the prepared nanoparticles have different microstructure without changing a hexagonal wurtzite structure. The result shows the change in nanoparticles size with the increment of lanthanum concentration for lower concentration for x = 0 to 6 and decreases at x = 9.

  13. Structure, morphology and optical properties of undoped and MN-doped ZnO(1-x)Sx nano-powders prepared by precipitation method

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dejene, F. B.; Onani, M. O.; Koao, L. F.; Wako, A. H.; Motloung, S. V.; Yihunie, M. T.

    2016-01-01

    The undoped and Mn-doped ZnO(1-x)Sx nano-powders were successfully synthesized by precipitation method without using any capping agent. Its structure, morphology, elemental analysis, optical and luminescence properties were determined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), UV-vis spectroscopy (UV) and photoluminescence spectroscopy (PL). A typical SEM image of the un-doped ZnO(1-x)Sx nanoparticles exhibit flake like structures that changes to nearly spherical particles with Mn-doping. The XRD of undoped and Mn doped ZnO(1-x)Sx pattern reveals the formation of a product indexed to the hexagonal wurtzite phase of ZnS. The nanopowders have crystallite sizes estimated from XRD measurements were in the range of 10-20 nm. All the samples showed absorption maximum of ZnO(1-x)Sx at 271 nm and high transmittance in UV and visible region, respectively. The undoped ZnO(1-x)Sx nanoparticles show strong room-temperature photoluminescence with four emission bands centering at 338 nm, 384 nm, 448 nm and 705 nm that may originate to the impurity of ZnO(1-x)Sx, existence of oxide related defects. The calculated bandgap of the nanocrystalline ZnO(1-x)Sx showed a blue-shift with respect to the Mn-doping. The PL spectra of the Mn-doped samples exhibit a strong orange emission at around 594 nm attributed to the 4T1-6A1 transition of the Mn2+ ions.

  14. The bipyridine adducts of N-phenyldithiocarbamato complexes of Zn(II) and Cd(II); synthesis, spectral, thermal decomposition studies and use as precursors for ZnS and CdS nanoparticles.

    PubMed

    Onwudiwe, Damian C; Strydom, Christien A

    2015-01-25

    Bipyridine adducts of N-phenyldithiocarbamato complexes, [ML(1)2L(2)] (M=Cd(II), Zn(II); L(1)=N-phenyldithiocarbamate, L(2)=2,2' bipyridine), have been synthesized and characterised. The decomposition of these complexes to metal sulphides has been investigated by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The complexes were used as single-source precursors to synthesize MS (M=Zn, Cd) nanoparticles (NPs) passivated by hexadecyl amine (HDA). The growth of the nanoparticles was carried out at two different temperatures: 180 and 220 °C, and the optical and structural properties of the nanoparticles were studied using UV-Vis spectroscopy, photoluminescence spectroscopy (PL), transmission emission microscopy (TEM) and powdered X-ray diffraction (p-XRD). Nanoparticles, whose average diameters are 2.90 and 3.54 nm for ZnS, and 8.96 and 9.76 nm for CdS grown at 180 and 220 °C respectively, were obtained. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  15. Colloidal synthesis of monodispersed ZnS and CdS nanocrystals from novel zinc and cadmium complexes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Onwudiwe, Damian C.; Mohammed, Aliyu D.; Strydom, Christien A.; Young, Desmond A.; Jordaan, Anine

    2014-06-01

    Monodispersed spherical and hexagonal shaped ZnS and CdS nanocrystals respectively, have been synthesized using novel heteroleptic complexes of xanthate (S2CObu) and dithiocarbamate (S2CNMePh). The nanocrystals were prepared via colloidal route and stabilized in hexadecylamine (HDA). The morphology of the as-prepared nanocrystals was characterized using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), and powdered X-ray diffraction (p-XRD) analysis. An average diameter of 7.2 nm and 8.6 nm were obtained for the ZnS and CdS respectively. The optical properties of the nanoparticles studied by UV-vis and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy showed a blue shift in the absorption spectra, and band edge emission respectively.

  16. Indium vacancy induced d0 ferromagnetism in Li-doped In2O3 nanoparticles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cao, Haiming; Xing, Pengfei; Zhou, Wei; Yao, Dongsheng; Wu, Ping

    2018-04-01

    Li-doped In2O3 nanoparticles with room temperature d0 ferromagnetism were prepared by a sol-gel method. X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and photoluminescence were carried out to investigate the effects of Li incorporation on the lattice defects. As the content of Li increases, non-monotonic changes in shifts of XRD peak (2 2 2) and the intensity ratios of indium vacancies related photoluminescence peak (PII) with respect to oxygen vacancies related peak (PI) are observed. Results show that at low doping level (≤2 at.%) Li prefers to occupy In sites, while with further doping the interstitial sites are more favorable for Li. Combined with the consistent non-monotonic change in saturation magnetization, we think that indium vacancies resulting from Li-doping play an important role in inducing d0 ferromagnetism in our Li-doped In2O3 nanoparticles, and the FM coupling is mainly mediated by the LiIn-ONN-VIn-ONN-LiIn chains.

  17. Ce doped NiO nanoparticles as selective NO2 gas sensor

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gawali, Swati R.; Patil, Vithoba L.; Deonikar, Virendrakumar G.; Patil, Santosh S.; Patil, Deepak R.; Patil, Pramod S.; Pant, Jayashree

    2018-03-01

    Metal oxide gas sensors are promising portable gas detection devices because of their advantages such as low cost, easy production and compact size. The performance of such sensors is strongly dependent on material properties such as morphology, structure and doping. In the present study, we report the effect of cerium (Ce) doping on nickel oxide (NiO) nano-structured thin film sensors towards various gases. Bare NiO and Ce doped NiO nanoparticles (Ce:NiO) were synthesized by sol-gel method. To understand the effect of Ce doping in nickel oxide, various molar percentages of Ce with respect to nickel were incorporated. The structure, phase, morphology and band-gap energy of as-synthesized nanoparticles were studied by XRD, SEM, EDAX and UV-vis spectroscopy. Thin film gas sensors of all the samples were prepared and subjected to various gases such as LPG, NH3, CH3COCH3 and NO2. A systematic and comparative study reveals an enhanced gas sensing performance of Ce:NiO sensors towards NO2 gas. The maximum sensitivity for NO2 gas is around 0.719% per ppm at moderate operating temperature of 150 °C for 0.5% Ce:NiO thin film gas sensor. The enhanced gas sensing performance for Ce:NiO is attributed to the distortion of crystal lattice caused by doping of Ce into NiO.

  18. Toxicity of tungsten carbide and cobalt-doped tungsten carbide nanoparticles in mammalian cells in vitro.

    PubMed

    Bastian, Susanne; Busch, Wibke; Kühnel, Dana; Springer, Armin; Meissner, Tobias; Holke, Roland; Scholz, Stefan; Iwe, Maria; Pompe, Wolfgang; Gelinsky, Michael; Potthoff, Annegret; Richter, Volkmar; Ikonomidou, Chrysanthy; Schirmer, Kristin

    2009-04-01

    Tungsten carbide nanoparticles are being explored for their use in the manufacture of hard metals. To develop nanoparticles for broad applications, potential risks to human health and the environment should be evaluated and taken into consideration. We aimed to assess the toxicity of well-characterized tungsten carbide (WC) and cobalt-doped tungsten carbide (WC-Co) nanoparticle suspensions in an array of mammalian cells. We examined acute toxicity of WC and of WC-Co (10% weight content Co) nanoparticles in different human cell lines (lung, skin, and colon) as well as in rat neuronal and glial cells (i.e., primary neuronal and astroglial cultures and the oligodendrocyte precursor cell line OLN-93). Furthermore, using electron microscopy, we assessed whether nanoparticles can be taken up by living cells. We chose these in vitro systems in order to evaluate for potential toxicity of the nanoparticles in different mammalian organs (i.e., lung, skin, intestine, and brain). Chemical-physical characterization confirmed that WC as well as WC-Co nanoparticles with a mean particle size of 145 nm form stable suspensions in serum-containing cell culture media. WC nanoparticles were not acutely toxic to the studied cell lines. However, cytotoxicity became apparent when particles were doped with Co. The most sensitive were astrocytes and colon epithelial cells. Cytotoxicity of WC-Co nanoparticles was higher than expected based on the ionic Co content of the particles. Analysis by electron microscopy demonstrated presence of WC nanoparticles within mammalian cells. Our findings demonstrate that doping of WC nanoparticles with Co markedly increases their cytotoxic effect and that the presence of WC-Co in particulate form is essential to elicit this combinatorial effect.

  19. Mg-doped ZnO nanoparticles for efficient sunlight-driven photocatalysis.

    PubMed

    Etacheri, Vinodkumar; Roshan, Roshith; Kumar, Vishwanathan

    2012-05-01

    Magnesium-doped ZnO (ZMO) nanoparticles were synthesized through an oxalate coprecipitation method. Crystallization of ZMO upon thermal decomposition of the oxalate precursors was investigated using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques. XRD studies point toward a significant c-axis compression and reduced crystallite sizes for ZMO samples in contrast to undoped ZnO, which was further confirmed by HRSEM studies. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), UV/vis spectroscopy and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy were employed to establish the electronic and optical properties of these nanoparticles. (XPS) studies confirmed the substitution of Zn(2+) by Mg(2+), crystallization of MgO secondary phase, and increased Zn-O bond strengths in Mg-doped ZnO samples. Textural properties of these ZMO samples obtained at various calcination temperatures were superior in comparison to the undoped ZnO. In addition to this, ZMO samples exhibited a blue-shift in the near band edge photoluminescence (PL) emission, decrease of PL intensities and superior sunlight-induced photocatalytic decomposition of methylene blue in contrast to undoped ZnO. The most active photocatalyst 0.1-MgZnO obtained after calcination at 600 °C showed a 2-fold increase in photocatalytic activity compared to the undoped ZnO. Band gap widening, superior textural properties and efficient electron-hole separation were identified as the factors responsible for the enhanced sunlight-driven photocatalytic activities of Mg-doped ZnO nanoparticles.

  20. Enhanced antibactericidal function of W4+-doped titania-coated nickel ferrite composite nanoparticles: a biomaterial system.

    PubMed

    Sunkara, B K; Misra, R D K

    2008-03-01

    The study demonstrates a distinct enhancement of antimicrobial activity of W4+-doped titania that is coated on nickel ferrite nanoparticles in comparison to undoped titania. The composite nanoparticles were synthesized by uniquely combining reverse micelle and chemical hydrolysis synthesis methods [Rana S, Rawat J, Misra RDK, Acta Biomater 2005;1:691]. The superior antimicrobial activity of W4+-doped titania is related to the inhibition of electron-hole recombination and decrease in the band gap energy of titania. The function of the ferrite is to facilitate the removal of nanoparticles from the sprayed surface using a small magnetic field. The coating of ferrite nanoparticles with titania retains superparamagnetic character and magnetic strength of composite nanoparticles signifying non-deterioration of magnetic properties and promoting their use as removable antimicrobial photocatalyst nanoparticles.

  1. Ultrasmall lanthanide-doped nanoparticles as multimodal platforms

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yust, Brian G.; Pedraza, Francisco J.; Sardar, Dhiraj K.

    2014-03-01

    Recently, there has been a great amount of interest in nanoparticles which are able to provide a platform with high contrast for multiple imaging modalities in order to advance the tools available to biomedical researchers and physicians. However, many nanoparticles do not have ideal properties to provide high contrast in different imaging modes. In order to address this, ultrasmall lanthanide doped oxide and fluoride nanoparticles with strong NIR to NIR upconversion fluorescence and a strong magnetic response for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) have been developed. Specifically, these nanoparticles incorporate gadolinium, dysprosium, or a combination of both into the nano-crystalline host to achieve the magnetic properties. Thulium, erbium, and neodymium codopants provide the strong NIR absorption and emission lines that allow for deeper tissue imaging since near infrared light is not strongly absorbed or scattered by most tissues within this region. This also leads to better image quality and lower necessary excitation intensities. As a part of the one pot synthesis, these nanoparticles are coated with peg, pmao, or d-glucuronic acid to make them water soluble, biocompatible, and bioconjugable due to the available carboxyl or amine groups. Here, the synthesis, morphological characterization, magnetic response, NIR emission, and the quantum yield will be discussed. Cytotoxicity tested through cell viability at varying concentrations of nanoparticles in growth media will also be discussed.

  2. Antimicrobial function of Nd3+-doped anatase titania-coated nickel ferrite composite nanoparticles: a biomaterial system.

    PubMed

    Rana, S; Rawat, J; Sorensson, M M; Misra, R D K

    2006-07-01

    The present study describes and makes a relative comparison of the antimicrobial function of undoped and neodymium-doped titania coated-nickel ferrite composite nanoparticles processed by uniquely combining the reverse micelle and chemical hydrolysis approaches. This methodology facilitates the formation of undoped and doped photocatalytic titania shells and a magnetic ferrite core. The ferrite core is needed to help in the removal of particles from the sprayed surface using a small magnetic field. Doping of the titania shell with neodymium significantly enhances the photocatalytic and anti-microbial function of the core-shell composite nanoparticles without influencing the magnetic characteristics of the nickel ferrite core. The increased performance is believed to be related to the inhibition of electron-hole recombination and a decrease in the band gap energy of titania. The retention of magnetic strength ensures controlled movement of the composite nanoparticles by the magnetic field, facilitating their application as removable anti-microbial photocatalyst nanoparticles. The consistent behavior of the composite nanoparticles points to the viability of the synthesis process adopted.

  3. Structural and optical properties of chromium doped zinc oxide nanoparticles synthesized by sol-gel method

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

    Naqvi, Syed Mohd. Adnan, E-mail: adiaks2004@yahoo.co.in; Irshad, Kashif, E-mail: alig.kashif@gmail.com; Soleimani, Hassan, E-mail: hassan.soleimani@petronas.com.my, E-mail: noorhana-yahya@petronas.com.my

    2014-10-24

    Nanosized Cr-doped ZnO nano particles were synthesized by facile sol-gel auto combustion method. The structural and optical properties of Cr-doped ZnO nanoparticles have been investigated by XRD and UV-Vis spectroscopy at room temperature for 0% to 8% concentration. X-ray diffraction analysis reveals that the Cr-doped ZnO crystallizes in a single phase polycrystalline nature with wurtzite lattice. With every % of doping, the peaks are shifting scarcely and doping of Cr is possible up to 7%. After that, the last peak vanishes, that signifies its structure is transmuted from 8% doping. The average crystallite size decreases with increase in Cr concentrationmore » (i.e. 28.9 nm for 0% to 25.8 nm for 8%). The UV-Vis spectra of the nanoparticles betoken an incrementation in the band gap energy from 3.401, 3.415, 3.431, 3.437,3.453, 3.514,3.521, 3.530 and 3.538 eV respectively, for 0,1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 % doping concentration.« less

  4. Controlled cobalt doping in biogenic magnetite nanoparticles

    PubMed Central

    Byrne, J. M.; Coker, V. S.; Moise, S.; Wincott, P. L.; Vaughan, D. J.; Tuna, F.; Arenholz, E.; van der Laan, G.; Pattrick, R. A. D.; Lloyd, J. R.; Telling, N. D.

    2013-01-01

    Cobalt-doped magnetite (CoxFe3 −xO4) nanoparticles have been produced through the microbial reduction of cobalt–iron oxyhydroxide by the bacterium Geobacter sulfurreducens. The materials produced, as measured by superconducting quantum interference device magnetometry, X-ray magnetic circular dichroism, Mössbauer spectroscopy, etc., show dramatic increases in coercivity with increasing cobalt content without a major decrease in overall saturation magnetization. Structural and magnetization analyses reveal a reduction in particle size to less than 4 nm at the highest Co content, combined with an increase in the effective anisotropy of the magnetic nanoparticles. The potential use of these biogenic nanoparticles in aqueous suspensions for magnetic hyperthermia applications is demonstrated. Further analysis of the distribution of cations within the ferrite spinel indicates that the cobalt is predominantly incorporated in octahedral coordination, achieved by the substitution of Fe2+ site with Co2+, with up to 17 per cent Co substituted into tetrahedral sites. PMID:23594814

  5. Controlled cobalt doping in biogenic magnetite nanoparticles.

    PubMed

    Byrne, J M; Coker, V S; Moise, S; Wincott, P L; Vaughan, D J; Tuna, F; Arenholz, E; van der Laan, G; Pattrick, R A D; Lloyd, J R; Telling, N D

    2013-06-06

    Cobalt-doped magnetite (CoxFe3 -xO4) nanoparticles have been produced through the microbial reduction of cobalt-iron oxyhydroxide by the bacterium Geobacter sulfurreducens. The materials produced, as measured by superconducting quantum interference device magnetometry, X-ray magnetic circular dichroism, Mössbauer spectroscopy, etc., show dramatic increases in coercivity with increasing cobalt content without a major decrease in overall saturation magnetization. Structural and magnetization analyses reveal a reduction in particle size to less than 4 nm at the highest Co content, combined with an increase in the effective anisotropy of the magnetic nanoparticles. The potential use of these biogenic nanoparticles in aqueous suspensions for magnetic hyperthermia applications is demonstrated. Further analysis of the distribution of cations within the ferrite spinel indicates that the cobalt is predominantly incorporated in octahedral coordination, achieved by the substitution of Fe(2+) site with Co(2+), with up to 17 per cent Co substituted into tetrahedral sites.

  6. Platinum nanoparticles on gallium nitride surfaces: effect of semiconductor doping on nanoparticle reactivity.

    PubMed

    Schäfer, Susanne; Wyrzgol, Sonja A; Caterino, Roberta; Jentys, Andreas; Schoell, Sebastian J; Hävecker, Michael; Knop-Gericke, Axel; Lercher, Johannes A; Sharp, Ian D; Stutzmann, Martin

    2012-08-01

    Platinum nanoparticles supported on n- and p-type gallium nitride (GaN) are investigated as novel hybrid systems for the electronic control of catalytic activity via electronic interactions with the semiconductor support. In situ oxidation and reduction were studied with high pressure photoemission spectroscopy. The experiments revealed that the underlying wide-band-gap semiconductor has a large influence on the chemical composition and oxygen affinity of supported nanoparticles under X-ray irradiation. For as-deposited Pt cuboctahedra supported on n-type GaN, a higher fraction of oxidized surface atoms was observed compared to cuboctahedral particles supported on p-type GaN. Under an oxygen atmosphere, immediate oxidation was recorded for nanoparticles on n-type GaN, whereas little oxidation was observed for nanoparticles on p-type GaN. Together, these results indicate that changes in the Pt chemical state under X-ray irradiation depend on the type of GaN doping. The strong interaction between the nanoparticles and the support is consistent with charge transfer of X-ray photogenerated free carriers at the semiconductor-nanoparticle interface and suggests that GaN is a promising wide-band-gap support material for photocatalysis and electronic control of catalysis.

  7. Preparation and thermoelectric properties of sulfur doped Ag2Te nanoparticles via solvothermal methods.

    PubMed

    Zhou, Wenwen; Zhao, Weiyun; Lu, Ziyang; Zhu, Jixin; Fan, Shufen; Ma, Jan; Hng, Huey Hoon; Yan, Qingyu

    2012-07-07

    In this work, n-type Ag(2)Te nanoparticles are prepared by a solvothermal approach with uniform and controllable sizes, e.g. 5-15 nm. The usage of dodecanethiol during the synthesis effectively introduces sulfur doping into the sample, which optimizes the charge carrier concentration of the nanoparticles to >1 × 10(20) cm(-3). This allows us to achieve the desired electrical resistivities of <5 × 10(-6)Ω m. It is demonstrated that Ag(2)Te particles prepared by this solvothermal process can exhibit high ZT values, e.g. 15 nm Ag(2)Te nanoparticles with effective sulphur doping show a maximum ZT value of ~0.62 at 550 K.

  8. Synthesis and characterization of arsenic-doped cysteine-capped thoria-based nanoparticles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pereira, F. J.; Díez, M. T.; Aller, A. J.

    2013-09-01

    Thoria materials have been largely used in the nuclear industry. Nonetheless, fluorescent thoria-based nanoparticles provide additional properties to be applied in other fields. Thoria-based nanoparticles, with and without arsenic and cysteine, were prepared in 1,2-ethanediol aqueous solutions by a simple precipitation procedure. The synthesized thoria-based nanoparticles were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (ED-XRS), Raman spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy and fluorescence microscopy. The presence of arsenic and cysteine, as well as the use of a thermal treatment facilitated fluorescence emission of the thoria-based nanoparticles. Arsenic-doped and cysteine-capped thoria-based nanoparticles prepared in 2.5 M 1,2-ethanediol solutions and treated at 348 K showed small crystallite sizes and strong fluorescence. However, thoria nanoparticles subjected to a thermal treatment at 873 K also produced strong fluorescence with a very narrow size distribution and much smaller crystallite sizes, 5 nm being the average size as shown by XRD and TEM. The XRD data indicated that, even after doping of arsenic in the crystal lattice of ThO2, the samples treated at 873 K were phase pure with the fluorite cubic structure. The Raman and FT-IR spectra shown the most characteristics vibrational peaks of cysteine together with other peaks related to the bonds of this molecule to thoria and arsenic when present.

  9. Highly selective manganese-doped zinc sulfide quantum dots based label free phosphorescent sensor for phosphopeptides in presence of zirconium (IV).

    PubMed

    Gong, Yan; Fan, Zhefeng

    2015-04-15

    We report a room-temperature phosphorescence (RTP) sensor for phosphopeptides based on zirconium (IV)-modulated mercaptopropionic acid (MPA)-capped Mn-doped ZnS quantum dots (QDs). This sensor incorporates the advantages of the well-known Zr(4+)-phosphopeptide affinity pair and the RTP properties of doped QDs. The RTP of Mn-doped ZnS QDs capped with MPA can be effectively quenched by Zr(4+). The high affinity of phosphopeptides to Zr(4+) enables the dissociation of the ion from the surface of MPA-capped ZnS QDs, thereby forming a stable complex with phosphopeptides in the solution, and recovering the RTP of the QDs. The Zr(4+)-induced RTP quenching and subsequent phosphopeptide-induced RTP recovery for MPA-capped ZnS QDs provide a solid basis for the present RTP sensor based on QDs for the detection of phosphopeptides. The detection limit for phosphopeptides is 0.9ngmL(-1), the relative standard deviations is 2.5%, and the recovery of urine and serum samples with phosphopeptides addition rangs from 96% to 105% at optimal conditions. The proposed method was successfully applied to biological fluids and obtained satisfactory results. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  10. Influence of Co2+ on electrical and optical behavior of Mn2+-doped ZnS quantum dots

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sakthivel, P.; Muthukumaran, S.

    2018-07-01

    Co2+-doped Zn0.98Mn0.02S quantum dots with various concentrations of Co2+ from 0% to 4% have been successfully synthesized by a simple co-precipitation method. X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern confirmed the acquirement of cubic structure and phase purity in all the samples. The average crystallite size of the particles was ∼3 nm observed from XRD result. Surface morphology of the samples was studied using scanning electron microscope (SEM). TEM study was also taken to know the structural parameters of the samples. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra proved the presence of Co2+ and Mn2+ in ZnS host lattice. Energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis confirmed the elemental composition with their normal stoichiometric ratio. In the dielectric study, dielectric dispersion and dielectric loss were increased with Co2+ composition due to the increase of carrier concentration. From the AC conductivity measurement, the maximum conductivity was observed for Co2+ = 2% due to their higher charge carrier density and it was decreased for Co2+ = 4% due to the scattering of charge carriers. Because of the low dielectric constant at higher frequency, these materials can be used for high-frequency applications. The variation of peak intensity and wavelength shifting in UV-vis absorption and transmittance were discussed on the basis of formation of secondary phase and variation of charge carrier density. The continuous red shift of energy gap by Co2+-doping is attributed to the direct energy transfer between excited states and 3d levels of Co2+ ions. Photoluminescence spectra showed the strong and broad blue emission bands between 468 nm and 483 nm. Since higher transmittance was observed for Co2+ = 2% addition, this material can be selected for optimum applications of optoelectronic devices.

  11. Ho-nanoparticle-doping for improved high-energy laser fibers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Friebele, E. Joseph; Baker, Colin C.; Burdett, Ashley A.; Rhonehouse, Daniel L.; Bowman, Steven R.; Kim, Woohong; Sanghera, Jasbinder S.; Kucera, Courtney; Vargas, Amber; Ballato, John; Hemming, Alexander; Simakov, Nikita; Haub, John

    2017-02-01

    A significant issue for holmium-doped fiber lasers (HoDFLs) operating near 2 μm is multiphonon quenching due to the high phonon energy 1100 cm-1 of the silica host, which complicates power scaling due to reduced lifetimes and increased heating. Nanoparticle (NP) doping is a new technique where the structure surrounding the Ho ions is developed chemically prior to doping into the silica core. We have incorporated Ho3+ ions into various NPs, such as LaF3, Al2O3 and Lu2O3, to shield them from the silica glass matrix. Results indicate slightly longer lifetimes with Ho:LaF3 NPs and the possibility of further improvement with oxide NPs. We report the first of lasing in a Ho:Lu2O3 NP-doped fiber pumped at 1.95 μm and operating at 2.09 μm with a record slope efficiency of 85.2%.

  12. Metal-doped inorganic nanoparticles for multiplex detection of biomarkers by a sandwich-type ICP-MS immunoassay.

    PubMed

    Ko, Jung Aa; Lim, H B

    2016-09-28

    Metal-doped inorganic nanoparticles were synthesized for the multiplex detection of biomarkers by a sandwich-type inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) immunoassay. The synthesized Cs-doped multicore magnetic nanoparticles (MMNPs) were used not only for magnetic extraction of targets but also for ratiometric measurement in ICP-MS. In addition, three different metal/dye-doped silica nanoparticles (SNPs) were synthesized as probes for multiplex detection: Y/RhBITC (rhodamine B isothiocyanate)-doped SNPs for CRP (cardiovascular disease), Cd/RhBITC-doped SNPs for AFP (tumor), and Au/5(6)-XRITC (X-rhodamine-5-(and-6)-isothiocyanate)-doped SNPs for NSE (heart disease). For quantification, the doped metals of SNPs were measured by ICP-MS and then the signal ratio to Cs of MMNPs was plotted with respect to the concentration of targets by a ratiometry. Limits of detection (LOD) of 0.35 ng/mL to 77 ng mL(-1) and recoveries of 83%-125% were obtained for serum samples spiked with the biomarkers. Since no sample treatment was necessary prior to the extraction, the proposed method provided short analysis time and convenience for the multiplex determination of biomarkers, which will be valuable for clinical application. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  13. Structural studies and band gap tuning of Cr doped ZnO nanoparticles

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

    Srinet, Gunjan, E-mail: gunjansrinet@gmail.com; Kumar, Ravindra, E-mail: gunjansrinet@gmail.com; Sajal, Vivek, E-mail: gunjansrinet@gmail.com

    2014-04-24

    Structural and optical properties of Cr doped ZnO nanoparticles prepared by the thermal decomposition method are presented. X-ray diffraction studies confirmed the substitution of Cr on Zn sites without changing the wurtzite structure of ZnO. Modified form of W-H equations was used to calculate various physical parameters and their variation with Cr doping is discussed. Significant red shift was observed in band gap, i.e., a band gap tuning is achieved by Cr doping which could eventually be useful for optoelectronic applications.

  14. Ag-doped manganite nanoparticles: new materials for temperature-controlled medical hyperthermia.

    PubMed

    Melnikov, O V; Gorbenko, O Yu; Markelova, M N; Kaul, A R; Atsarkin, V A; Demidov, V V; Soto, C; Roy, E J; Odintsov, B M

    2009-12-15

    The purpose of this study was to introduce newly synthesized nanomaterials as an alternative to superparamagnetic ironoxide based particles (SPIO) and thus to launch a new platform for highly controllable hyperthermia cancer therapy and imaging. The new material that forms the basis for this article is lanthanum manganite particles with silver ions inserted into the perovskite lattice: La(1-x)Ag(x)MnO(3+delta). Adjusting the silver doping level, it is possible to control the Curie temperature (T(c)) in the hyperthermia range of interest (41-44 degrees C). A new class of nanoparticles based on silver-doped manganites La(1-x)Ag(x)MnO(3+delta) is suggested. New nanoparticles are stable, and their properties were not affected by the typical ambient conditions in the living tissue. It is possible to monitor the particle uptake and retention by MRI. When these particles are placed into an alternating magnetic field, their temperature increases to the definite value near T(c) and then remains constant if the magnetic field is maintained. During the hyperthermia procedure, the temperature can be restricted, thereby preventing the necrosis of normal tissue. A new class of nanoparticles based on silver-doped manganites La(1-x)Ag(x)MnO(3+delta) was suggested. Ag-doped perovskite manganites particles clearly demonstrated the effect of adjustable Curie temperature necessary for highly controllable cellular hyperthermia. The magnetic relaxation properties of the particles are comparable with that of SPIO, and so we were able to monitor the particle movement and retention by MRI. Thus, the new material combines the MRI contrast enhancement capability with targeted hyperthermia treatment.

  15. Linear and nonlinear optical studies of bare and copper doped TiO2 nanoparticles via sol gel technique

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rajamannan, B.; Mugundan, S.; Viruthagiri, G.; Praveen, P.; Shanmugam, N.

    2014-01-01

    In general, the nanoparticles of TiO2 may exist in the phases of anatase, rutile and brookite. In the present work, we used titanium terta iso propoxide and 2-propanol as a common starting material to prepare the precursors of bare and copper doped nanosized TiO2. Then the synthesized products were calcinated at 500 °C and after calcination the pure TiO2 nanoparticles in anatase phase were harvested. The crystallite sizes of bare and copper doped TiO2 nanoparticles were calculated from X-ray diffraction analysis. The existence of functional groups of the samples was identified by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The optical properties of bare and doped samples were carried out using UV-DRS and photoluminescence measurements. The surface morphology and the element constitution of the copper doped TiO2 nanoparticles were studied by scanning electron microscope fitted with energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer arrangement. The nonlinear optical properties of the products were confirmed by Kurtz second harmonic generation (SHG) test and the output power generated by the nanoparticle was compared with that of potassium di hydrogen phosphate (KDP).

  16. Linear and nonlinear optical studies of bare and copper doped TiO2 nanoparticles via sol gel technique.

    PubMed

    Rajamannan, B; Mugundan, S; Viruthagiri, G; Praveen, P; Shanmugam, N

    2014-01-24

    In general, the nanoparticles of TiO2 may exist in the phases of anatase, rutile and brookite. In the present work, we used titanium terta iso propoxide and 2-propanol as a common starting material to prepare the precursors of bare and copper doped nanosized TiO2. Then the synthesized products were calcinated at 500°C and after calcination the pure TiO2 nanoparticles in anatase phase were harvested. The crystallite sizes of bare and copper doped TiO2 nanoparticles were calculated from X-ray diffraction analysis. The existence of functional groups of the samples was identified by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The optical properties of bare and doped samples were carried out using UV-DRS and photoluminescence measurements. The surface morphology and the element constitution of the copper doped TiO2 nanoparticles were studied by scanning electron microscope fitted with energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer arrangement. The nonlinear optical properties of the products were confirmed by Kurtz second harmonic generation (SHG) test and the output power generated by the nanoparticle was compared with that of potassium di hydrogen phosphate (KDP). Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  17. Catalytic activity of Pd-doped Cu nanoparticles for hydrogenation as a single-atom-alloy catalyst.

    PubMed

    Cao, Xinrui; Fu, Qiang; Luo, Yi

    2014-05-14

    The single atom alloy of extended surfaces is known to provide remarkably enhanced catalytic performance toward heterogeneous hydrogenation. Here we demonstrate from first principles calculations that this approach can be extended to nanostructures, such as bimetallic nanoparticles. The catalytic properties of the single-Pd-doped Cu55 nanoparticles have been systemically examined for H2 dissociation as well as H atom adsorption and diffusion, following the concept of single atom alloy. It is found that doping a single Pd atom at the edge site of the Cu55 shell can considerably reduce the activation energy of H2 dissociation, while the single Pd atom doped at the top site or in the inner layers is much less effective. The H atom adsorption on Cu55 is slightly stronger than that on the Cu(111) surface; however, a larger nanoparticle that contains 147 atoms could effectively recover the weak binding of the H atoms. We have also investigated the H atom diffusion on the 55-atom nanoparticle and found that spillover of the produced H atoms could be a feasible process due to the low diffusion barriers. Our results have demonstrated that facile H2 dissociation and weak H atom adsorption could be combined at the nanoscale. Moreover, the effects of doping one more Pd atom on the H2 dissociation and H atom adsorption have also been investigated. We have found that both the doping Pd atoms in the most stable configuration could independently exhibit their catalytic activity, behaving as two single-atom-alloy catalysts.

  18. Preparation of nanocomposites resin from seed Pterodon emarginatus doped maghemite nanoparticles.

    PubMed

    Silveira, L B; Martins, Q S; Maia, J C; Santos, J G

    2012-06-01

    Electrical characterization and magnetic nanocomposite resin seeds Pterodon emarginatus (PE) doped with nanoparticles of maghemite and treated by different chemical processes is reported in this paper. The pure PE resin showed semiconducting characteristics probably the presence of natural iron oxide in its molecular structure. The analysis of Mössbauer spectra pure resin showed two magnetic sites presented on measurements made at temperature of 300 K. Six "LEDs" to have been doped maghemite nanoparticles forming concentrations of 2.6 x 10(15) to 1.56 x 10(16) particles/cm2 forming the LED-PEMN. In the presence of the applied current versus voltage (0 to 0.9 V) LED-PEMN shown semiconducting properties. In the presence of frequency versus voltage sample of pure resin and LED features small decrease. While samples of LED-PEMN suffers loss frequency linearly with concentration and voltage. The pure PE resin shows high resistance to the applied voltage while the LED-PEMN is observed linear increase with the strength and concentration of nanoparticles of maghemite.

  19. Self-assembled Targeting of Cancer Cells by Iron(III)-doped, Silica Nanoparticles.

    PubMed

    Mitchell, K K Pohaku; Sandoval, S; Cortes-Mateos, M J; Alfaro, J G; Kummel, A C; Trogler, W C

    2014-12-07

    Iron(III)-doped silica nanoshells are shown to possess an in vitro cell-receptor mediated targeting functionality for endocytosis. Compared to plain silica nanoparticles, iron enriched ones are shown to be target-specific, a property that makes them potentially better vehicles for applications, such as drug delivery and tumor imaging, by making them more selective and thereby reducing the nanoparticle dose. Iron(III) in the nanoshells can interact with endogenous transferrin, a serum protein found in mammalian cell culture media, which subsequently promotes transport of the nanoshells into cells by the transferrin receptor-mediated endocytosis pathway. The enhanced uptake of the iron(III)-doped nanoshells relative to undoped silica nanoshells by a transferrin receptor-mediated pathway was established using fluorescence and confocal microscopy in an epithelial breast cancer cell line. This process was also confirmed using fluorescence activated cell sorting (FACS) measurements that show competitive blocking of nanoparticle uptake by added holo-transferrin.

  20. Effects of Ti doping on the dielectric properties of HfO{sub 2} nanoparticles

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

    Pokhriyal, S.; Biswas, S., E-mail: drsomnathbiswas@gmail.com

    2016-05-06

    We report the effects of Ti doping on the dielectric properties of HfO{sub 2} [Hf{sub 1-x}Ti{sub x}O{sub 2} (x = 0.2-0.8)] nanoparticles at room temperature. The Hf{sub 1-x}Ti{sub x}O{sub 2} nanoparticles were synthesized by a wet chemical process. The structural and morphological properties of the derived samples were analyzed with X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). Impedance analysis was performed in pelletized samples in the frequency range of 1 MHz to 1 GHz. The obtained results were analyzed in correlation with microstructure and doping concentration in the derived samples. The averagemore » size of the Hf{sub 1-x}Ti{sub x}O{sub 2} nanoparticles is typically in the range of 4-8 nm depending on the processing temperature. The Hf{sub 1−x}Ti{sub x}O{sub 2} nanoparticles show reduction in crystallinity with the increase in Ti doping. The dielectric constants of the derived samples decrease with the increase in frequency. The ac-conductivity in the samples increases with the increase in frequency irrespective of Ti concentration and shows significant drop with the increase in Ti concentration at all frequencies.« less

  1. Microwave synthesis of pure and doped cerium (IV) oxide (CeO2) nanoparticles for methylene blue degradation.

    PubMed

    El Rouby, W M A; Farghali, A A; Hamdedein, A

    2016-11-01

    Cerium (IV) oxide (CeO 2 ), samarium (Sm) and gadolinium (Gd) doped CeO 2 nanoparticles were prepared using microwave technique. The effect of microwave irradiation time, microwave power and pH of the starting solution on the structure and crystallite size were investigated. The prepared nanoparticles were characterized using X-ray diffraction, FT-Raman spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscope. The photocatalytic activity of the as-prepared CeO 2 , Sm and Gd doped CeO 2 toward degradation of methylene blue (MB) dye was investigated under UV light irradiation. The effect of pH, the amount of catalyst and the dye concentration on the degradation extent were studied. The photocatalytic activity of CeO 2 was kinetically enhanced by trivalent cation (Gd and Sm) doping. The results revealed that Gd doped CeO 2 nanoparticles exhibit the best catalytic degradation activity on MB under UV irradiation. For clarifying the environmental safety of the by products produced from the degradation process, the pathways of MB degradation were followed using liquid chromatography/mass spectroscopy (LC/MS). The total organic carbon content measurements confirmed the results obtained by LC/MS. Compared to the same nanoparticles prepared by another method, it was found that Gd doped CeO 2 prepared by hydrothermal process was able to mineralize MB dye completely under UV light irradiation.

  2. Synthesis of zinc sulfide nanoparticles during zinc oxidization by H2S and H2S/H2O supercritical fluids

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Vostrikov, A. A.; Fedyaeva, O. N.; Sokol, M. Ya.; Shatrova, A. V.

    2014-12-01

    Formation of zinc sulfide nanoparticles was detected during interaction of bulk samples with hydrogen sulfide at supercritical parameters. Synthesis proceeds with liberation of H2 by the reaction nZn + nH2S = (ZnS) n + nH2. It has been found by the X-ray diffraction method, scanning electron microscopy, and mass spectrometry that the addition of water stimulates coupled reactions of nanoparticle synthesis nZn + nH2O = (ZnO) n + nH2 and (ZnO) n + nH2S = (ZnS) n + nH2O and brings about an increase in the synthesis rate and morphological changes of (ZnS) n nanoparticles.

  3. APTES-Terminated ultrasmall and iron-doped silicon nanoparticles as X-Ray dose enhancer for radiation therapy.

    PubMed

    Klein, Stefanie; Wegmann, Marc; Distel, Luitpold V R; Neuhuber, Winfried; Kryschi, Carola

    2018-04-15

    Silicon nanoparticles with sizes between were synthesized through wet-chemistry procedures using diverse phase transfer reagents. On the other hand, the preparation of iron-doped silicon nanoparticles was carried out using the precursor Na 4 Si 4 containing 5% Fe. Biocompatibility of all silicon nanoparticle samples was achieved by surface-stabilizing with (3-aminopropyl)triethoxysilane. These surface structures provided positive surface charges which facilitated electrostatic binding to the negatively charged biological membranes. The mode of interaction with membranes, being either incorporation or just attachment, was found to depend on the nanoparticle size. The smallest silicon nanoparticles (ca. 1.5 nm) were embedded in the mitochondrial membrane in MCF-7 cells. When interacting with X-rays these silicon nanoparticles were observed to enhance the superoxide formation upon depolarizing the mitochondrial membrane. X-ray irradiation of MCF-7 cells loaded with the larger silicon nanoparticles was shown to increase the intracellular singlet oxygen generation. The doping of the silicon nanoparticles with iron led to additional production of hydroxyl radicals via the Fenton reaction. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  4. A comparative study of the magnetization in transition metal ion doped CeO2, TiO2 and SnO2 nanoparticles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Apostolov, A. T.; Apostolova, I. N.; Wesselinowa, J. M.

    2018-05-01

    Using the microscopic s-d model taking into account anharmonic spin-phonon interactions we have studied the magnetic properties of Co and Cu ion doped CeO2 and TiO2 nanoparticles and compared them with those of SnO2. By Co-doping there is a maximum in the magnetization M(x) curve for all nanoparticles observed in the most transition metal doped ones. The s-d interaction plays an important role by the decrease of M at higher dopant concentration. We have discussed the magnetization in dependence of different model parameters. By small Cu-ion doping there are some differences. In CeO2M decreases with the Cu-concentration, whereas in TiO2 and SnO2M increases. For higher Cu dopant concentrations M(X) decreases in TiO2 nanoparticles. We obtain room temperature ferromagnetism also in Zn doped CeO2, TiO2 and SnO2 nanoparticles, i.e. in non-transition metal ion doped ones. The different behavior of M in Co and Cu doped nanoparticles is due to a combination effect of multivalent metal ions, oxygen vacancies, different radius of cation dopants, connection between lattice and magnetism, as well as competition between the s-d and d-d ferromagnetic or antiferromagnetic interactions.

  5. Nitrogen-doped mesoporous carbon-armored cobalt nanoparticles as efficient hydrogen evolving electrocatalysts.

    PubMed

    Tang, Duihai; Li, Kuo; Zhang, Wenting; Qiao, Zhen-An; Zhu, Junjiang; Zhao, Zhen

    2018-03-15

    A series of Co nanoparticles embedded, N-doped mesoporous carbons have been synthesized through chelate-assisted co-assembly strategy followed by thermal treatment. The preparation is based on an assembly process, with evaporation of an ethanol-water solution containing melamine formaldehyde resin (MF resin) as carbon source, nitrogen source, and chelating agent. Moreover, F127 and Co(NO 3 ) 2 are used as template and metallic precursor, respectively. The Co nanoparticles embedded, N-doped mesoporous carbon annealed at 800 °C (denoted as MFCo800) shows high electrocatalytic activity for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) with high current density and low overpotential, which has the ability to operate in both acidic and alkaline electrolytes. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  6. Neodymium-doped nanoparticles for infrared fluorescence bioimaging: The role of the host

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

    Rosal, Blanca del; Pérez-Delgado, Alberto; Rocha, Ueslen

    2015-10-14

    The spectroscopic properties of different infrared-emitting neodymium-doped nanoparticles (LaF{sub 3}:Nd{sup 3+}, SrF{sub 2}:Nd{sup 3+}, NaGdF{sub 4}: Nd{sup 3+}, NaYF{sub 4}: Nd{sup 3+}, KYF{sub 4}: Nd{sup 3+}, GdVO{sub 4}: Nd{sup 3+}, and Nd:YAG) have been systematically analyzed. A comparison of the spectral shapes of both emission and absorption spectra is presented, from which the relevant role played by the host matrix is evidenced. The lack of a “universal” optimum system for infrared bioimaging is discussed, as the specific bioimaging application and the experimental setup for infrared imaging determine the neodymium-doped nanoparticle to be preferentially used in each case.

  7. Titanium-doped cerium oxide nanoparticles protect cells from hydrogen peroxide-induced apoptosis

    PubMed Central

    Clark, Andrea; Zhu, Aiping; Petty, Howard R.

    2014-01-01

    To develop new nanoparticle materials possessing anti-oxidative capacity with improved physical characteristics, we have studied titanium-doped cerium oxide (CeTiO2) nanoparticles. CeTiO2 nanoparticles had a mode diameter of 15-20 nm. These nanoparticles demonstrated catalase activity, and did not promote the activation of hemolytic or cytolytic pathways in living cells. Using surface plasmon resonance enhanced microscopy, we find that these nanoparticles associate with cells. Transmission electron microscopy studies demonstrated that these nanoparticles accumulate within the vacuolar compartment of cells. Importantly, CeTiO2 nanoparticles decrease hydrogen peroxide-mediated apoptosis of cells as judged by the reduced cleavage of a caspase 3-sensitive label. CeTiO2 nanoparticles may contribute to deflecting tissue damage in a broad spectrum of oxidant-mediated diseases, such as macular degeneration and Alzheimer's disease. PMID:24791147

  8. Titanium-doped cerium oxide nanoparticles protect cells from hydrogen peroxide-induced apoptosis

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Clark, Andrea; Zhu, Aiping; Petty, Howard R.

    2013-12-01

    To develop new nanoparticle materials possessing antioxidative capacity with improved physical characteristics, we have studied titanium-doped cerium oxide (CeTiO2) nanoparticles. CeTiO2 nanoparticles had mode diameters in the range of 15-20 nm. These nanoparticles demonstrated catalase activity, and did not promote the activation of hemolytic or cytolytic pathways in living cells. Using surface plasmon resonance-enhanced microscopy, we find that these nanoparticles associate with cells. Transmission electron microscopy studies demonstrated that these nanoparticles accumulate within the vacuolar compartment of cells. Importantly, CeTiO2 nanoparticles decrease hydrogen peroxide-mediated apoptosis of cells as judged by the reduced cleavage of a caspase 3-sensitive label. CeTiO2 nanoparticles may contribute to deflecting tissue damage in a broad spectrum of oxidant-mediated diseases, such as macular degeneration and Alzheimer's disease.

  9. Photocatalytic degradation of humic substances in aqueous solution using Cu-doped ZnO nanoparticles under natural sunlight irradiation.

    PubMed

    Maleki, Afshin; Safari, Mahdi; Shahmoradi, Behzad; Zandsalimi, Yahya; Daraei, Hiua; Gharibi, Fardin

    2015-11-01

    In this study, Cu-doped ZnO nanoparticles were investigated as an efficient synthesized catalyst for photodegradation of humic substances in aqueous solution under natural sunlight irradiation. Cu-doped ZnO nanocatalyst was prepared through mild hydrothermal method and was characterized using FT-IR, powder XRD and SEM techniques. The effect of operating parameters such as doping ratio, initial pH, catalyst dosage, initial concentrations of humic substances and sunlight illuminance were studied on humic substances degradation efficiency. The results of characterization analyses of samples confirmed the proper synthesis of Cu-doped ZnO nanocatalyst. The experimental results indicated the highest degradation efficiency of HS (99.2%) observed using 1.5% Cu-doped ZnO nanoparticles at reaction time of 120 min. Photocatalytic degradation efficiency of HS in a neutral and acidic pH was much higher than that at alkaline pH. Photocatalytic degradation of HS was enhanced with increasing the catalyst dosage and sunlight illuminance, while increasing the initial HS concentration led to decrease in the degradation efficiency of HS. Conclusively, Cu-doped ZnO nanoparticles can be used as a promising and efficient catalyst for degradation of HS under natural sunlight irradiation.

  10. Controllable fabrication of Pt nanocatalyst supported on N-doped carbon containing nickel nanoparticles for ethanol oxidation.

    PubMed

    Yu, Jianguo; Dai, Tangming; Cao, Yuechao; Qu, Yuning; Li, Yao; Li, Juan; Zhao, Yongnan; Gao, Haiyan

    2018-08-15

    In this paper, platinum nanoparticles were deposited on a carbon carrier with the partly graphitized carbon and the highly dispersive carbon-coated nickel particles. An efficient electron transfer structure can be fabricated by controlling the contents of the deposited platinum. The high resolution transmission electron microscopy images of Pt 2 /Ni@C N-doped sample prove the electron transfer channel from Pt (1 1 1) crystal planes to graphite (1 0 0) or Ni (1 1 1) crystal planes due to these linked together crystal planes. The Pt 3 /Ni@C N-doped with low Pt contents cannot form the electron transfer structure and the Pt 1 /Ni@C N-doped with high Pt contents show an obvious aggregation of Pt nanoparticles. The electrochemical tests of all the catalysts show that the Pt 2 /Ni@C N-doped sample presents the highest catalytic activity, the strongest CO tolerance and the best catalytic stability. The high performance is attributed to the efficient electronic transport structure of the Pt 2 /Ni@C N-doped sample and the synergistic effect between Pt and Ni nanoparticles. This paper provides a promising method for enhancing the conductivity of electrode material. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  11. Comparative study of Ni and Cu doped ZnO nanoparticles: Structural and optical properties

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Thakur, Shaveta; Thakur, Samita; Sharma, Jyoti; Kumar, Sanjay

    2018-05-01

    Nanoparticles of undoped and doped (0.1 M Ni2+ and Cu2+) ZnO are synthesized using chemical precipitation method. The crystallite size, morphology, chemical bonding and optical properties of as prepared nanoparticles are determined by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and UV-visible spectra. XRD analysis shows that the prepared samples are single phase and have hexagonal wurtzite structure. The crystallite size of the doped and undoped nanoparticles is determined using Scherrer method. The crystallite size is found to be increased with concentration of nickel and copper. All stretching and vibrational bands are observed at their specific positions through FTIR. The increase in band gap can be attributed to the different chemical nature of dopant and host cation.

  12. Study of ZnO and Mg doped ZnO nanoparticles by sol-gel process

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

    Ansari, Mohd Meenhaz, E-mail: meenhazphysics@gmail.com; Arshad, Mohd; Tripathi, Pushpendra

    Nano-crystalline undoped and Mg doped ZnO (Mg-ZnO) nanoparticles with compositional formula Mg{sub x}Zn{sub 1-x}O (x=0,1,3,5,7,10 and 12 %) were synthesized using sol-gel process. The XRD diffraction peaks match with the pattern of the standard hexagonal structure of ZnO that reveals the formation of hexagonal wurtzite structure in all samples. SEM images demonstrates clearly the formation of spherical ZnO nanoparticles, and change of the morphology of the nanoparticles with the concentration of the magnesium, which is in close agreement with that estimated by Scherer formula based on the XRD pattern. To investigate the doping effect on optical properties, the UV–VIS absorptionmore » spectra was obtained and the band gap of the samples calculated.« less

  13. Size-dependent abnormal thermo-enhanced luminescence of ytterbium-doped nanoparticles.

    PubMed

    Cui, Xiangshui; Cheng, Yao; Lin, Hang; Huang, Feng; Wu, Qingping; Wang, Yuansheng

    2017-09-21

    Thermal quenching above 300 K is widely expected in photoluminescence. Luminescence quenching is usually ascribed to the non-radiative relaxation of excited electrons to the ground state of the activators, during which a high temperature always plays a role in pushing the excited electrons towards the quenching channels, leading to thermal quenching. For the lanthanide-doped nanoparticles, however, there is a special luminescence quenching channel that does not exist in their bulk counterparts, i.e., energy migration-induced surface quenching. Herein, a size-dependent abnormal thermal enhancement of luminescence in the temperature range of 300 K to 423 K in the ytterbium-doped fluoride nanoparticles is presented for the first time. Importantly, in this work, we originally demonstrate that the energy migration-induced surface quenching can be suppressed by increasing temperature, which results in the abnormal thermal enhancement of luminescence. According to the temperature-dependent X-ray diffraction and lifetime analyses, an underlying mechanism based on the effect of thermal lattice expansion on ytterbium-mediated energy migration is proposed. This new finding adds new insights to the size effect on the luminescent characteristics of nanoparticles, which could be utilized to construct some unique nanostructures, especially for many important temperature-related purposes, such as thermal sensing technology.

  14. Synthesis, self-assembly, and properties of Mn doped ZnO nanoparticles.

    PubMed

    Barick, K C; Bahadur, D

    2007-06-01

    We report here a novel process to prepare Mn doped ZnO nanoparticles by a soft chemical route at low temperature. The synthesis process is based on the hydrolysis of zinc acetate dihydrate and manganese acetate tetrahydrate heated under reflux to 160-175 degrees C using diethylene glycol as a solvent. X-ray diffraction analysis reveals that the Mn doped ZnO crystallizes in a wurtzite structure with crystal size of 15-25 nm. These nano size crystallites of Mn doped ZnO self-organize into polydisperse spheres in size ranging from 100-400 nm. Transmission Electron Microscopy image also shows that each sphere is made up of numerous nanocrystals of average diameter 15-25 nm. By means of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and electron spin resonance spectroscopy, we determined the valence state of Mn ions as 2+. These nanoparticles were found to be ferromagnetic at room temperature. Monodisperse porous spheres (approximately 250 nm) were obtained by size selective separation technique and then self-assembled in a closed pack periodic array through sedimentation with slow solvent evaporation, which gives strong opalescence in visible region.

  15. Facile synthesis of ferromagnetic Ni doped CeO2 nanoparticles with enhanced anticancer activity

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Abbas, Fazal; Jan, Tariq; Iqbal, Javed; Ahmad, Ishaq; Naqvi, M. Sajjad H.; Malik, Maaza

    2015-12-01

    NixCe1-xO2 (where x = 0, 0.01, 0.03, 0.05 and 0.07) nanoparticles were synthesized by soft chemical method and were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Raman, UV-vis absorption spectroscopy and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). XRD and Raman results indicated the formation of single phase cubic fluorite structure for the synthesized nanoparticles. Ni dopant induced excessive structural changes such as decrease in crystallite size as well as lattice constants and enhancement in oxygen vacancies in CeO2 crystal structure. These structural variations significantly influenced the optical and magnetic properties of CeO2 nanoparticles. The synthesized NixCe1-xO2 nanoparticles exhibited room temperature ferromagnetic behavior. Ni doping induced effects on the cytotoxicity of CeO2 nanoparticles were examined against HEK-293 healthy cell line and SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cancer cell line. The prepared NixCe1-xO2 nanoparticles demonstrated differential cytotoxicity. Furthermore, anticancer activity of CeO2 nanoparticles observed to be significantly enhanced with Ni doping which was found to be strongly correlated with the level of reactive oxygen species (ROS) production. The prepared ferromagnetic NixCe1-xO2 nanoparticles with differential cytotoxic nature may be potential for future targeted cancer therapy.

  16. Patterning of silver nanoparticles on visible light-sensitive Mn-doped lithium niobate photogalvanic crystals

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

    Liu Xiaoyan; Ohuchi, Fumio; Hatano, Hideki

    2011-08-01

    Visible light-induced polarization-dependent photochemical deposition of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) has been demonstrated using Mn-doped congruent LiNbO{sub 3} (CLN) single crystals. Mn-doped CLN has a strong absorption over a wide region of the visible spectrum that allowed effective visible light irradiation for photochemical deposition. The AgNPs deposition on Mn-doped CLN was compared with that on non-doped congruent LiNbO{sub 3}, and together these further confirmed that the photochemical deposition on LiNbO{sub 3} is caused by the strong photogalvanic effect.

  17. Development of Iron Doped Silicon Nanoparticles as Bimodal Imaging Agents

    PubMed Central

    Singh, Mani P.; Atkins, Tonya M.; Muthuswamy, Elayaraja; Kamali, Saeed; Tu, Chuqiao; Louie, Angelique Y.; Kauzlarich, Susan M.

    2012-01-01

    We demonstrate the synthesis of water-soluble allylamine terminated Fe doped Si (SixFe) nanoparticles as bimodal agents for optical and magnetic imaging. The preparation involves the synthesis of a single source iron containing precursor, Na4Si4 with x% Fe (x = 1, 5, 10), and its subsequent reaction with NH4Br to produce hydrogen terminated SixFe nanoparticles. The hydrogen-capped nanoparticles are further terminated with allylamine via thermal hydrosilylation. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) indicates that the average particle diameter is ~3.0±1.0 nm. The Si5Fe nanoparticles show strong photoluminescence quantum yield in water (~ 10 %) with significant T2 contrast (r2/r1value of 4.31). Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) and Mössbauer spectroscopies indicate that iron in the nanoparticles is in the +3 oxidation state. Analysis of cytotoxicity using the resazurin assay on HepG2 liver cells indicates that the particles have minimal toxicity. PMID:22616623

  18. Development of iron-doped silicon nanoparticles as bimodal imaging agents.

    PubMed

    Singh, Mani P; Atkins, Tonya M; Muthuswamy, Elayaraja; Kamali, Saeed; Tu, Chuqiao; Louie, Angelique Y; Kauzlarich, Susan M

    2012-06-26

    We demonstrate the synthesis of water-soluble allylamine-terminated Fe-doped Si (Si(xFe)) nanoparticles as bimodal agents for optical and magnetic imaging. The preparation involves the synthesis of a single-source iron-containing precursor, Na(4)Si(4) with x% Fe (x = 1, 5, 10), and its subsequent reaction with NH(4)Br to produce hydrogen-terminated Si(xFe) nanoparticles. The hydrogen-capped nanoparticles are further terminated with allylamine via thermal hydrosilylation. Transmission electron microscopy indicates that the average particle diameter is ∼3.0 ± 1.0 nm. The Si(5Fe) nanoparticles show strong photoluminescence quantum yield in water (∼10%) with significant T(2) contrast (r(2)/r(1) value of 4.31). Electron paramagnetic resonance and Mössbauer spectroscopies indicate that iron in the nanoparticles is in the +3 oxidation state. Analysis of cytotoxicity using the resazurin assay on HepG2 liver cells indicates that the particles have minimal toxicity.

  19. Magnetic Properties of Copper Doped Nickel Ferrite Nanoparticles Synthesized by Co Precipitation Method

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Anjana, V.; John, Sara; Prakash, Pooja; Nair, Amritha M.; Nair, Aravind R.; Sambhudevan, Sreedha; Shankar, Balakrishnan

    2018-02-01

    Nickel ferrite nanoparticles with copper atoms as dopant have been prepared using co-precipitation method with general formula Ni1-xCuxFe2O4 (x=0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8 and 1) and are sintered at quite ambient temperature. Structural and magnetic properties were examined using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray Diffraction method (XRD) and Vibrating Sample Magnetometer (VSM) to study the influence of copper doping in nickel ferrite magnetic nanoparticles. X-ray studies proves that the particles are possessing single phase spinel structure with an average particle size calculated using Debye Scherer formula. Magnetic measurements reveal that saturation magnetization value (Ms) decreases while magnetic coercivity (Hc) increases upon doping.

  20. Optical, electrochemical and thermal properties of Mn2+ doped CdS nanoparticles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Muruganandam, S.; Anbalagan, G.; Murugadoss, G.

    2015-08-01

    Mn2+ doped (1-5 and 10 %) CdS nanoparticles have been synthesized by the chemical precipitation method using polyvinylpyrrolidone as a capping agent. The particle size, morphology and optical properties have been studied by X-ray powder diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, UV-Visible and photoluminescence spectroscopy. Powder diffraction data have confirmed that the crystallite size is around 2-5 nm. The band gap of the nanoparticles has been calculated using UV-Visible absorption spectra. An optimum concentration, Mn2+ (3 %) has been selected by optical study. The functional groups of the capping agent have been identified by fourier transform infrared spectroscopy study. The presence of dopant (Mn2+) has been confirmed by electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy. Thermal properties of CdS:Mn2+ have been analyzed using thermogravimetric-differential thermal analyser. The electrochemical properties of the undoped and doped samples have been studied by cyclic voltammetry for electrode applications. In addition, magnetic properties of Mn2+ doped CdS have been studied using a vibrating sample magnetometer.

  1. Synthesis and antimicrobial activity of silver-doped hydroxyapatite nanoparticles.

    PubMed

    Ciobanu, Carmen Steluta; Iconaru, Simona Liliana; Chifiriuc, Mariana Carmen; Costescu, Adrian; Le Coustumer, Philippe; Predoi, Daniela

    2013-01-01

    The synthesis of nanosized particles of Ag-doped hydroxyapatite with antibacterial properties is of great interest for the development of new biomedical applications. The aim of this study was the evaluation of Ca(10-x)Ag(x)(PO4)6(OH)2 nanoparticles (Ag:HAp-NPs) for their antibacterial and antifungal activity. Resistance to antimicrobial agents by pathogenic bacteria has emerged in the recent years and became a major health problem. Here, we report a method for synthesizing Ag doped nanocrystalline hydroxyapatite. A silver-doped nanocrystalline hydroxyapatite was synthesized at 100°C in deionised water. Also, in this paper Ag:HAp-NPs are evaluated for their antimicrobial activity against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria and fungal strains. The specific antimicrobial activity revealed by the qualitative assay is demonstrating that our compounds are interacting differently with the microbial targets, probably due to the differences in the microbial wall structures.

  2. Surface molecularly imprinted polymer capped Mn-doped ZnS quantum dots as a phosphorescent nanosensor for detecting patulin in apple juice.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Wengang; Han, Yong; Chen, Xiumei; Luo, Xueli; Wang, Jianlong; Yue, Tianli; Li, Zhonghong

    2017-10-01

    A Mn-doped ZnS quantum dots (QDs) based nanosensor for selective phosphorescent determination of patulin (PAT) was synthesized with 6-hydroxynicotinic acid (6-HNA) as dummy template via a surface molecular imprinting sol-gel process. FTIR and XRD indicated the successful graft of molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) onto crystal QDs. Binding tests revealed that the MIP-QDs presented higher selectivity, adsorption capacity and mass transfer rate than non-imprinted polymers, demonstrating a specific recognition for PAT among competitive mycotoxins and its analogues with the imprinting factor of 2.02. The MIP-QDs could recognize PAT in a linear range of 0.43-6.50μmolL -1 with a detection limit of 0.32μmolL -1 and a correlation coefficient (R 2 ) of 0.9945. Recoveries of 102.9-127.2% with relative standard deviations <4.95% were achieved in apple juice samples which were in good agreement with high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) (P>0.05). The results indicated a simple phosphorescent nanosensor for PAT detection in complex matrix. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. Co/Cr co-doped MgGa{sub 2}O{sub 4} nanoparticles: Microstructure and optical properties

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

    Duan, Xiulan, E-mail: xlduan@sdu.edu.cn; Liu, Jian; Yu, Fapeng

    2016-01-15

    Graphical abstract: The Ga 2p{sub 3/2} spectra consist of two peaks, corresponding to Ga{sup 3+} ions placed at octahedral and tetrahedral sites, respectively. The fraction of tetrahedral Ga{sup 3+} ions (∼1117 eV) increases with increasing doping concentration. - Highlights: • Structural and properties of Co{sup 2+}/Cr{sup 3+}: MgGa{sub 2}O{sub 4} nanoparticles were characterized. • The distribution of cations was studied using XPS. • The inversion degree increased with increasing content of doping ions. • The doping concentration has also effect on absorption and emission properties. • Optical properties of nanoparticles were discussed based on the structural results. - Abstract: MgGa{submore » 2}O{sub 4} nanoparticles co-doped with Co{sup 2+}/Cr{sup 3+} ions were prepared by a citrate sol–gel method. Their microstructure and optical properties were studied using X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), infrared spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy. MgGa{sub 2}O{sub 4} nanoparticles with the size of 10–30 nm were obtained when the precursor was annealed at 800 °C. Results indicated that Ga{sup 3+} and Mg{sup 2+} cations occupied the octahedral sites as well as the tetrahedral sites in samples. The inversion degree of Ga or Mg increased with increasing content of doping ions. Absorption spectra indicated that Co{sup 2+} and Cr{sup 3+} ions entered both the tetrahedral and octahedral sites of spinel structure by substituting Mg{sup 2+} and Ga{sup 3+} ions, respectively. Emission spectra of the co-doped MgGa{sub 2}O{sub 4} showed a broad emission band peaking at 700 and 680 nm, relevant to the emission characteristic of octahedral Cr{sup 3+} and tetrahedral Co{sup 2+} ions.« less

  4. Low-power upconversion in dye-doped polymer nanoparticles.

    PubMed

    Simon, Yoan C; Bai, Shuo; Sing, Michelle K; Dietsch, Hervé; Achermann, Marc; Weder, Christoph

    2012-04-13

    Examples of nanoscale low-power upconverting systems are rapidly increasing because of their potential application in numerous areas such as bioimaging or drug delivery. The fabrication of dye-doped cross-linked rubbery nanoparticles that exhibit upconversion even at relatively low power densities is reported here. The nanoparticles were prepared by surfactant-free emulsion polymerization of n-butylacrylate with divinylbenzene as a cross-linker, followed by dyeing of the resulting particles with a two-chromophore system composed of a palladium porphyrin sensitizer, and diphenylanthracene. Blue emission (≈440 nm) of these systems was observed upon excitation at 532 nm. In addition to their optical properties, the particles were characterized by electron microscopy and dynamic light scattering. Copyright © 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  5. Parameters optimization for synthesis of Al-doped ZnO nanoparticles by laser ablation in water

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Krstulović, Nikša; Salamon, Krešimir; Budimlija, Ognjen; Kovač, Janez; Dasović, Jasna; Umek, Polona; Capan, Ivana

    2018-05-01

    Al-doped ZnO crystalline colloidal nanoparticles were synthesized by a laser ablation of ZnO:Al2O3 in MilliQ water. Experiments were performed systematically by changing the number of applied laser pulses and laser output energy with the aim to affect the nanoparticle size, composition (Al/Zn ratio) and characteristics (band-gap, crystallinity). Distinctly, set of nanoparticle syntheses was performed in deionized water for comparison. SEM investigation of colloidal nanoparticles revealed that the formed nanoparticles are 30 nm thick discs with average diameters ranging from 450 to 510 nm. It was found that craters in the target formed during the laser ablation influence the size of synthesized colloidal nanoparticles. This is explained by efficient nanoparticle growth through diffusion process which take place in spatially restricted volume of the target crater. When laser ablation takes place in deionized water the synthesized nanoparticles have a mesh-like structure with sparse concentration of disc-like nanoparticles. Al/Zn ratio and band-gap energy of nanoparticles are highly influenced by the number and output energy of applied laser pulses. In addition, the procedure how to calculate the concentration of colloidal nanoparticles synthesized by laser ablation in liquids is proposed. The Al-doped ZnO colloidal nanoparticles properties were obtained using different techniques like scanning electron microscopy, optical microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, grazing-incidence X-ray diffraction, photoabsorption, photoluminescence and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy.

  6. Mössbauer and magnetic studies of surfactant mediated Ca-Mg doped ferrihydrite nanoparticles.

    PubMed

    Layek, Samar; Mohapatra, M; Anand, S; Verma, H C

    2013-03-01

    Ultrafine (2-5 nm) particles of amorphous Ca-Mg co-doped ferrihydrite have been synthesized by surfactant mediated co-precipitation method. The evolution of the amorphous ferrihydrite by Ca-Mg co-doping is quite different from our earlier investigations on individual doping of Ca and Mg. Amorphous phase of ferrihydrite for the present study has been confirmed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Mössbauer spectroscopy at room temperature and low temperatures (40 K and 20 K). Hematite nanoparticles with crystallite size about 8, 38 and 70 nm were obtained after annealing the as-prepared samples at 400, 600 and 800 degrees C respectively in air atmosphere. Superparamagnetism has been found in 8 nm sized hematite nanoparticles which has been confirmed from the magnetic hysteresis loop with zero remanent magnetization and coercive field and also from the superparamagnetic doublet of its room temperature Mössbauer spectrum. The magnetic properties of the 38 and 70 nm sized particles have been studied by room temperature magnetic hysteresis loop measurements and Mössbauer spectroscopy. The coercive field in these hematite nanoparticles increases with increasing particle size. Small amount of spinel MgFe2O4 phase has been detected in the 800 degrees C annealed sample.

  7. Optical absorption and thermal stability study of Cu doped NiO nanoparticles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Varunkumar, K.; Ethiraj, Anita Sagadevan; Kechiantz, Ara

    2018-05-01

    This work reports variation of Cu doping concentration in NiO nanoparticles (NiO:Cu NPs) synthesized via chemical co-precipitation from solution by using NiCl2.6H2O as precursor, CuSO4.5H2O as dopant and NaOH as surfactant. We studied optical and thermal stability of prepared NiO:Cu NPs by UV-Vis absorbance, Diffuse Reflectance Spectroscopy (DRS), Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS), and Thermo Gravimetric/Differential Scanning Calorimetry (TGA/DSC) analyses. Optical absorption data of NiO:Cu NPs indicated strong absorption peaks shifted towards blue with respect to the peak of undoped NiO NPs due to quantum confinement effect. The bandgap estimated via Tauc plot first increased from 3.32eV (undoped NiO NPs) to 3.37 eV (8 at % of Cu in NiO NPs) and further increase of Cu doping to 10 at% reduced the bandgap to 3.35 eV. Such behavior of the bandgap clearly indicates that the size of NiO NPs first reduces with Cu doping up to 8 at % and then increases with further Cu doping to 10 at %. This behavior of reduction in particle size with increased doping can be attributed to the dislocation density and microstrain developed in NiO:Cu NPs. Thermal stability analysis demonstrated that in addition undoped NiO NPs, all NiO:Cu nanoparticle samples exhibited good thermal stability.

  8. High-purity nano particles ZnS production by a simple coupling reaction process of biological reduction and chemical precipitation mediated with EDTA.

    PubMed

    Xin, Baoping; Huang, Qun; Chen, Shi; Tang, Xuemei

    2008-01-01

    High-purity nanoparticles ZnS has been successfully synthesized using a simple coupling reaction process of biological reduction and chemical precipitation mediated with EDTA referred to as the CRBRCP-EDTA process. This research investigated the optimum conditions of the transformation of SO(4) (2-) into S(2-) by SRB, and the production of ZnS in the CRBRCP-EDTA process. The results showed that the molar ratio of Zn(2+) to EDTA = 1:1 was crucial for SRB growth and ZnS synthesis. At the ratio(n) (Zn2+)/n) (EDTA) = 1:1, lower Zn(2+) concentration enhanced both the growth of SRB and the reduction of SO(4) (2-), leading to higher ZnS production. Although increase in Na(2)SO(4) concentration resulted in decrease in both SRB growth and SO(4) (2-) reduction, it improved the S(2-) and ZnS production. Under the optimum conditions (0.05 mol L(-1) ZnCl(2), 0.05 mol L(-1) EDTA, and 0.1 mol L(-1) Na(2)SO(4)), the synthesized ZnS was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The analysis showed that the obtained ZnS were high-purity and well-distributed solid spheres with diameters of about 15 nm for primary particles and around 400 nm for secondary particles. When polyacrylamide (PAM) was incorporated in the CRBRCP-EDTA process, the secondary particle's diameters were reduced to less than 100 nm. The photoluminescence (PL) spectra of produced ZnS centered at 396 nm, the spectrum with PAM added showed the gradual increase in absorption and stronger intensity in PL property. The present simple, low-cost, and safe method may be extended to prepare other metal-sulfide nanocomposites.

  9. EPR investigations of silicon carbide nanoparticles functionalized by acid doped polyaniline

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Karray, Fekri; Kassiba, Abdelhadi

    2012-06-01

    Nanocomposites (SiC-PANI) based on silicon carbide nanoparticles (SiC) encapsulated in conducting polyaniline (PANI) are synthesized by direct polymerization of PANI on the nanoparticle surfaces. The conductivity of PANI and the nanocomposites was modulated by several doping levels of camphor sulfonic acid (CSA). Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) investigations were carried out on representative SiC-PANI samples over the temperature range [100-300 K]. The features of the EPR spectra were analyzed taking into account the paramagnetic species such as polarons with spin S=1/2 involved in two main environments realized in the composites as well as their thermal activation. A critical temperature range 200-225 K was revealed through crossover changes in the thermal behavior of the EPR spectral parameters. Insights on the electronic transport properties and their thermal evolutions were inferred from polarons species probed by EPR and the electrical conductivity in doped nanocomposites.

  10. Ion-doping as a strategy to modulate hydroxyapatite nanoparticle internalization

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhao, Z.; Espanol, M.; Guillem-Marti, J.; Kempf, D.; Diez-Escudero, A.; Ginebra, M.-P.

    2016-01-01

    Although it is widely acknowledged that ionic substitutions on bulk hydroxyapatite substrates have a strong impact on their biological performance, little is known of their effect on nanoparticles (NPs) especially when used for gene transfection or drug delivery. The fact that NPs would be internalized poses many questions but also opens up many new possibilities. The objective of the present work is to synthesize and assess the effect of a series of hydroxyapatite-like (HA) NPs doped with various ions on cell behavior, i.e. carbonate, magnesium and co-addition. We synthesized NPs under similar conditions to allow comparison of results and different aspects in addition to assessing the effect of the doping ion(s) were investigated: (1) the effect of performing the cell culture study on citrate-dispersed NPs and on agglomerated NPs, (2) the effect of adding/excluding 10% of foetal bovine serum (FBS) in the cell culture media and (3) the type of cell, i.e. MG-63 versus rat mesenchymal stem cells (rMSCs). The results clearly demonstrated that Mg-doping had a major effect on MG-63 cells with high cytotoxicity but not to rMSCs. This was a very important finding because it proved that doping could be a tool to modify NP internalization. The results also suggest that NP surface charge had a large impact on MG-63 cells and prevents their internalization if it is too negative--this effect was less critical for rMSCs.Although it is widely acknowledged that ionic substitutions on bulk hydroxyapatite substrates have a strong impact on their biological performance, little is known of their effect on nanoparticles (NPs) especially when used for gene transfection or drug delivery. The fact that NPs would be internalized poses many questions but also opens up many new possibilities. The objective of the present work is to synthesize and assess the effect of a series of hydroxyapatite-like (HA) NPs doped with various ions on cell behavior, i.e. carbonate, magnesium and co

  11. Magnetic study of Co-doped CdSe nanoparticles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Das, Sayantani; Banerjee, Sourish; Sinha, T. P.

    2018-04-01

    Cobalt (2 %, 5 % and 10 %) doped cadmium selenide (CdSe) nanoparticles have been synthesized by soft chemical route. The XRD pattern shows the cubic structure of the sample. Crystallization temperature of the samples is calculated using differential scanning calorimeter. The average particle size of all the samples is found to be ˜ 25 nm. Field dependent (M-H) and temperature dependent (M-T) magnetization explains the presence of ferromagnetic components in the samples at room temperature and low temperature. In order to estimate the antiferromagnetic coupling among the doped TM atoms, an M-T measurement at 500 Oe has been carried out under zero field cooled (ZFC) and field cooled (FC) conditions and Curie-Weiss temperature θ of the samples has been estimated from 1/χ vs T plots.

  12. In vivo demonstration of enhanced radiotherapy using rare earth doped titania nanoparticles.

    PubMed

    Townley, Helen E; Kim, Jeewon; Dobson, Peter J

    2012-08-21

    Radiation therapy is often limited by damage to healthy tissue and associated side-effects; restricting radiation to ineffective doses. Preferential incorporation of materials into tumour tissue can enhance the effect of radiation. Titania has precedent for use in photodynamic therapy (PDT), generating reactive oxygen species (ROS) upon photoexcitation, but is limited by the penetration depth of UV light. Optimization of a nanomaterial for interaction with X-rays could be used for deep tumour treatment. As such, titania nanoparticles were doped with gadolinium to optimize the localized energy absorption from a conventional medical X-ray, and further optimized by the addition of other rare earth (RE) elements. These elements were selected due to their large X-ray photon interaction cross-section, and potential for integration into the titania crystal structure. Specific activation of the nanoparticles by X-ray can result in generation of ROS leading to cell death in a tumour-localized manner. We show here that intratumoural injection of RE doped titania nanoparticles can enhance the efficacy of radiotherapy in vivo.

  13. Investigations on structural, optical and magnetic properties of Dy-doped zinc ferrite nanoparticles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Vinosha, P. Annie; Deepapriya, S.; Rodney, John. D.; Das, S. Jerome

    2018-04-01

    A persuasive and thriftily feasible homogeneous co-precipitation route was adopted to fabricate dysprosium (Dy) doped zinc ferrite (Zn1-xDyxFe2O4)nanoparticles in order to examine their structural, optical and magnetic properties. Theas-synthesized Zn1-xDyxFe2O4 was studied for its momentous applications in photo-degradation of organic Methylene Blue (MB) dye. The paper marksthe connotation of zinc ferrite nanocatalyst in Photo-Fenton degradation. The chemical composition of dysprosium has a decisive feature of this research work. From X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), spinel phase formation of theas-synthesized Zn1-xDyxFe2O4 nanoparticles was observedand the crystallite size was foundto increase as the doping concentration increased. Theabsorption bands peaked between 600-400 cm-l waspragmatic by Fourier Transform Infrared spectral analysis (FTIR). Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) micrograph elucidated the morphology and the speck size of as-synthesized nanoparticles. Surface area and pore size were determined by Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) technique.

  14. Exploring Reaction Conditions to Improve the Magnetic Response of Cobalt-Doped Ferrite Nanoparticles

    PubMed Central

    Galarreta, Itziar; Gil de Muro, Izaskun; Lezama, Luis

    2018-01-01

    With the aim of studying the influence of synthesis parameters in structural and magnetic properties of cobalt-doped magnetite nanoparticles, Fe3−xCoxO4 (0 < x < 0.15) samples were synthetized by thermal decomposition method at different reaction times (30–120 min). The Co ferrite nanoparticles are monodisperse with diameters between 6 and 11 nm and morphologies depending on reaction times, varying from spheric, cuboctahedral, to cubic. Chemical analysis and X-ray diffraction were used to confirm the composition, high crystallinity, and pure-phase structure. The investigation of the magnetic properties, both magnetization and electronic magnetic resonance, has led the conditions to improve the magnetic response of doped nanoparticles. Magnetization values of 86 emu·g−1 at room temperature (R.T.) have been obtained for the sample with the highest Co content and the highest reflux time. Magnetic characterization also displays a dependence of the magnetic anisotropy constant with the varying cobalt content. PMID:29370104

  15. Interactions of aqueous amino acids and proteins with the (110) surface of ZnS in molecular dynamics simulations

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

    Nawrocki, Grzegorz; Cieplak, Marek

    2014-03-07

    The growing usage of nanoparticles of zinc sulfide as quantum dots and biosensors calls for a theoretical assessment of interactions of ZnS with biomolecules. We employ the molecular-dynamics-based umbrella sampling method to determine potentials of mean force for 20 single amino acids near the ZnS (110) surface in aqueous solutions. We find that five amino acids do not bind at all and the binding energy of the remaining amino acids does not exceed 4.3 kJ/mol. Such energies are comparable to those found for ZnO (and to hydrogen bonds in proteins) but the nature of the specificity is different. Cysteine canmore » bind with ZnS in a covalent way, e.g., by forming the disulfide bond with S in the solid. If this effect is included within a model incorporating the Morse potential, then the potential well becomes much deeper—the binding energy is close to 98 kJ/mol. We then consider tryptophan cage, a protein of 20 residues, and characterize its events of adsorption to ZnS. We demonstrate the relevance of interactions between the amino acids in the selection of optimal adsorbed conformations and recognize the key role of cysteine in generation of lasting adsorption. We show that ZnS is more hydrophobic than ZnO and that the density profile of water is quite different than that forming near ZnO—it has only a minor articulation into layers. Furthermore, the first layer of water is disordered and mobile.« less

  16. Interpreting the adsorption of serum albumin and lactoglobulin onto ZnS nanopaticles: effect of conformational rigidity of the proteins.

    PubMed

    Saikia, Jiban; Saha, Bedabrata; Das, Gopal

    2014-02-15

    The work we have undertaken is to investigate the adsorption of two different proteins (BSA and BLG) having near same IEP and differing in their conformational flexibility, onto the surface of ZnS nanoparticles (ZnS NPs). BSA and BLG both have an IEP value around pH~5. BSA is more prone to conformational deformation and considered "soft" while BLG holds the conformational rigidity and considered as "hard" protein. To ascertain the differences in surface coverage and conformation of the protein onto ZnS surface (PZC ~ 3.7), we have evaluated the adsorption profile at pH 7, where the entire surface behaves negatively. An integrated approach was taken by incorporating zeta (ζ) potential, fluorescence and CD for analyzing the adsorption process. In both systems, an increase in protein surface coverage was observed with the increase in free protein concentration in the solution and ζ values approaching that of native protein at high surface coverage. An alteration in the tertiary structure was observed for both BSA and BLG. The CD spectra analysis reveals that the secondary structure of the BSA was more deviated from the native protein structure, accommodating the increased adsorption value. For BLG no such prominent structural alteration was observed. These findings help us to understand better, how adjustment of the protein adsorption amount can be achieved onto the surface of nanoparticles having like charges. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  17. Electrocatalytic N-Doped Graphitic Nanofiber - Metal/Metal Oxide Nanoparticle Composites.

    PubMed

    Tang, Hongjie; Chen, Wei; Wang, Jiangyan; Dugger, Thomas; Cruz, Luz; Kisailus, David

    2018-03-01

    Carbon-based nanocomposites have shown promising results in replacing commercial Pt/C as high-performance, low cost, nonprecious metal-based oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) catalysts. Developing unique nanostructures of active components (e.g., metal oxides) and carbon materials is essential for their application in next generation electrode materials for fuel cells and metal-air batteries. Herein, a general approach for the production of 1D porous nitrogen-doped graphitic carbon fibers embedded with active ORR components, (M/MO x , i.e., metal or metal oxide nanoparticles) using a facile two-step electrospinning and annealing process is reported. Metal nanoparticles/nanoclusters nucleate within the polymer nanofibers and subsequently catalyze graphitization of the surrounding polymer matrix and following oxidation, create an interconnected graphite-metal oxide framework with large pore channels, considerable active sites, and high specific surface area. The metal/metal oxide@N-doped graphitic carbon fibers, especially Co 3 O 4 , exhibit comparable ORR catalytic activity but superior stability and methanol tolerance versus Pt in alkaline solutions, which can be ascribed to the synergistic chemical coupling effects between Co 3 O 4 and robust 1D porous structures composed of interconnected N-doped graphitic nanocarbon rings. This finding provides a novel insight into the design of functional electrocatalysts using electrospun carbon nanomaterials for their application in energy storage and conversion fields. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  18. Investigation on structural and electrical properties of Fe doped ZnO nanoparticles synthesized by solution combustion method

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

    Ram, Mast, E-mail: mastram1999@yahoo.com; Bala, Kanchan; Sharma, Hakikat

    In the present study, nanoparticles of Fe doped zinc oxide (ZnO) [Zn{sub 1-x}Fe{sub x}O where x=0.0, 0.01, 0.02, 0.03 and 0.05] were prepared by cost effective solution combustion method. The powder X-ray diffractometry confirms the formation of single phase wurtzite structure. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were used to investigate the micrsostructure of Fe-doped ZnO nanoparticles. The DC electrical conductivity was found to increase with temperature and measurement was carried out in the temperature range of 300-473K. DC electrical conductivity increases with temperature and decreases with Fe doping concentration.

  19. Well-dispersed NiO nanoparticles supported on nitrogen-doped carbon nanotube for methanol electrocatalytic oxidation in alkaline media

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wang, Pengcheng; Zhou, Yingke; Hu, Min; Chen, Jian

    2017-01-01

    Nitrogen-doped carbon nanotube supporting NiO nanoparticles were synthesized by a chemical precipitation process coupled with subsequent calcination. The morphology and structure of the composites were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and the electrochemical performance was evaluated using cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometric technique. The effects of nitrogen doping, calcination temperature and content of NiO nanoparticles on the electrocatalytic activity toward methanol oxidation were systematically studied. The results show that the uniformly dispersed ultrafine NiO nanoparticles supported on nitrogen-doped carbon nanotube are obtained after calcination at 400 °C. The optimized composite catalysts present high electrocatalytic activity, fast charge-transfer process, excellent accessibility and stability for methanol oxidation reaction, which are promising for application in the alkaline direct methanol fuel cells.

  20. Synthesis and characterization of spin-coated ZnS thin films

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zaman, M. Burhanuz; Chandel, Tarun; Dehury, Kshetramohan; Rajaram, P.

    2018-05-01

    In this paper, we report synthesis of ZnS thin films using a sol-gel method. A unique aprotic solvent, dimethlysulphoxide (DMSO) has been used to obtain a homogeneous ZnS gel. Zinc acetate and thiourea were used as the precursor sources for Zn and S, respectively, to deposit nanocrystalline ZnS thin films. Optical, structural and morphological properties of the films were studied. Optical studies reveal high transmittance of the samples over the entire visible region. The energy band gap (Eg) for the ZnS thin films is found to be about 3.6 eV which matches with that of bulk ZnS. The interference fringes in transmissions spectrum show the high quality of synthesized samples. Strong photoluminescence peak in the UV region makes the films suitable for optoelectronic applications. X-ray diffraction studies reveal that sol-gel derived ZnS thin films are polycrystalline in nature with hexagonal structure. SEM studies confirmed that the ZnS films show smooth and uniform grains morphology having size in 20-25 nm range. The EDAX studies confirmed that the films are nearly stoichiometric.

  1. F-doped VO2 nanoparticles for thermochromic energy-saving foils with modified color and enhanced solar-heat shielding ability.

    PubMed

    Dai, Lei; Chen, Shi; Liu, Jianjun; Gao, Yanfeng; Zhou, Jiadong; Chen, Zhang; Cao, Chuanxiang; Luo, Hongjie; Kanehira, Minoru

    2013-07-28

    F-doped VO2 (M1) nanoparticles were prepared via one-pot hydrothermal synthesis. The F-doping can minimise the size of the VO2 (M1) nanoparticles, induce a homogeneous size distribution and effectively decrease the phase transition temperature to 35 °C at 2.93% F in VO2. VO2 smart glass foils obtained by casting these nanoparticles exhibit excellent thermochromism in the near-infrared region, which suggests that these foils can be used for energy-efficient glass. Compared to a pure VO2 foil, the 2.93% F-doped VO2 foil exhibits an increased solar-heat shielding ability (35.1%) and a modified comfortable colour, while still retaining an excellent solar modulation ability (10.7%) and an appropriate visible transmittance (48.7%). The F-doped VO2 foils are the first to simultaneously meet the requirements of a reduced phase transition temperature, diluted colour and excellent thermochromic properties, and these properties make the further improved F-doped VO2 foils suitable for commercial applications in energy efficient glass.

  2. Synthesis and Antimicrobial Activity of Silver-Doped Hydroxyapatite Nanoparticles

    PubMed Central

    Ciobanu, Carmen Steluta; Iconaru, Simona Liliana; Chifiriuc, Mariana Carmen; Costescu, Adrian; Le Coustumer, Philippe; Predoi, Daniela

    2013-01-01

    The synthesis of nanosized particles of Ag-doped hydroxyapatite with antibacterial properties is of great interest for the development of new biomedical applications. The aim of this study was the evaluation of Ca10−xAgx(PO4)6(OH)2 nanoparticles (Ag:HAp-NPs) for their antibacterial and antifungal activity. Resistance to antimicrobial agents by pathogenic bacteria has emerged in the recent years and became a major health problem. Here, we report a method for synthesizing Ag doped nanocrystalline hydroxyapatite. A silver-doped nanocrystalline hydroxyapatite was synthesized at 100°C in deionised water. Also, in this paper Ag:HAp-NPs are evaluated for their antimicrobial activity against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria and fungal strains. The specific antimicrobial activity revealed by the qualitative assay is demonstrating that our compounds are interacting differently with the microbial targets, probably due to the differences in the microbial wall structures. PMID:23509801

  3. Effects of metallic nanoparticle doped flux on the interfacial intermetallic compounds between lead-free solder ball and copper substrate

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

    Sujan, G.K., E-mail: sgkumer@gmail.com; Haseeb, A.S.M.A., E-mail: haseeb@um.edu.my; Afifi, A.B.M., E-mail: amalina@um.edu.my

    2014-11-15

    Lead free solders currently in use are prone to develop thick interfacial intermetallic compound layers with rough morphology which are detrimental to the long term solder joint reliability. A novel method has been developed to control the morphology and growth of intermetallic compound layers between lead-free Sn–3.0Ag–0.5Cu solder ball and copper substrate by doping a water soluble flux with metallic nanoparticles. Four types of metallic nanoparticles (nickel, cobalt, molybdenum and titanium) were used to investigate their effects on the wetting behavior and interfacial microstructural evaluations after reflow. Nanoparticles were dispersed manually with a water soluble flux and the resulting nanoparticlemore » doped flux was placed on copper substrate. Lead-free Sn–3.0Ag–0.5Cu solder balls of diameter 0.45 mm were placed on top of the flux and were reflowed at a peak temperature of 240 °C for 45 s. Angle of contact, wetting area and interfacial microstructure were studied by optical microscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. It was observed that the angle of contact increased and wetting area decreased with the addition of cobalt, molybdenum and titanium nanoparticles to flux. On the other hand, wettability improved with the addition of nickel nanoparticles. Cross-sectional micrographs revealed that both nickel and cobalt nanoparticle doping transformed the morphology of Cu{sub 6}Sn{sub 5} from a typical scallop type to a planer one and reduced the intermetallic compound thickness under optimum condition. These effects were suggested to be related to in-situ interfacial alloying at the interface during reflow. The minimum amount of nanoparticles required to produce the planer morphology was found to be 0.1 wt.% for both nickel and cobalt. Molybdenum and titanium nanoparticles neither appear to undergo alloying during reflow nor have any influence at the solder/substrate interfacial reaction. Thus

  4. Electrical properties of aluminum-doped zinc oxide (AZO) nanoparticles synthesized by chemical vapor synthesis.

    PubMed

    Hartner, Sonja; Ali, Moazzam; Schulz, Christof; Winterer, Markus; Wiggers, Hartmut

    2009-11-04

    Aluminum-doped zinc oxide nanoparticles have been prepared by chemical vapor synthesis, which facilitates the incorporation of a higher percentage of dopant atoms, far above the thermodynamic solubility limit of aluminum. The electrical properties of aluminum-doped and undoped zinc oxide nanoparticles were investigated by impedance spectroscopy. The impedance is measured under hydrogen and synthetic air between 323 and 673 K. The measurements under hydrogen as well as under synthetic air show transport properties depending on temperature and doping level. Under hydrogen atmosphere, a decreasing conductivity with increasing dopant content is observed, which can be explained by enhanced scattering processes due to an increasing disorder in the nanocrystalline material. The temperature coefficient for the doped samples switches from positive temperature coefficient behavior to negative temperature coefficient behavior with increasing dopant concentration. In the presence of synthetic air, the conductivity firstly increases with increasing dopant content by six orders of magnitude. The origin of the increasing conductivity is the generation of free charge carriers upon dopant incorporation. It reaches its maximum at a concentration of 7.7% of aluminum, and drops for higher doping levels. In all cases, the conductivity under hydrogen is higher than under synthetic air and can be changed reversibly by changing the atmosphere.

  5. Supercritical temperature synthesis of fluorine-doped VO2(M) nanoparticle with improved thermochromic property

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Riapanitra, Anung; Asakura, Yusuke; Cao, Wenbin; Noda, Yasuto; Yin, Shu

    2018-06-01

    Fluorine-doped VO2(M) nanoparticles have been successfully synthesized using the hydrothermal method at a supercritical temperature of 490 °C. The pristine VO2(M) has the critical phase transformation temperature of 64 °C. The morphology and homogeneity of the monoclinic structure VO2(M) were adopted by the fluorine-doped system. The obtained particle size of the samples is smaller at the higher concentration of anion doping. The best reduction of critical temperature was achieved by fluorine doping of 0.13% up to 48 °C. The thin films of the fluorine-doped VO2(M) showed pronounced thermochromic property and therefore are suitable for smart window applications.

  6. Synthesis and characterization of biopolymer protected zinc sulphide nanoparticles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Senapati, U. S.; Sarkar, D.

    2015-09-01

    Zinc sulphide (ZnS) nanoparticles are prepared by a simple, economic and green synthesis route. X-ray diffraction patterns confirm zinc blend structure. ZnS formation is confirmed through chemical analysis by energy dispersive analysis of X-rays. Transmission electron microscopy reveals formation of nanosize with dimension in the range of 8-2 nm. Band gap of the nanocrystals is found to lie in the range of 4.51-4.65 eV. Photoluminescence study indicate defect like vacancies. The growth mechanism of ZnS nanoparticles is discussed with the help of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analysis. The materials show high dielectric constant compared to its bulk counterpart. The dielectric loss of the samples shows anomalous behaviour. The frequency dependent A.C. conductivity of the samples is discussed both in high and low frequency regimes. Current-voltage (I-V) characteristic performed under dark and under illumination, shows excellent light response of the material.

  7. Hydrothermal Synthesis of Nanoclusters of ZnS Comprised on Nanowires

    PubMed Central

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

    2013-01-01

    Cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide cationic (CTAB) surfactant was used as template for the synthesis of nanoclusters of ZnS composed of nanowires, by hydrothermal method. The structural and morphological studies were performed by using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) techniques. The synthesized ZnS nanoclusters are composed of nanowires and high yield on the substrate was observed. The ZnS nanocrystalline consists of hexagonal phase and polycrystalline in nature. The chemical composition of ZnS nanoclusters composed of nanowires was studied by X-ray photo electron microscopy (XPS). This investigation has shown that the ZnS nanoclusters are composed of Zn and S atoms. PMID:28348350

  8. Hydrothermal Synthesis of Nanoclusters of ZnS Comprised on Nanowires.

    PubMed

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

    2013-09-09

    Cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide cationic (CTAB) surfactant was used as template for the synthesis of nanoclusters of ZnS composed of nanowires, by hydrothermal method. The structural and morphological studies were performed by using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) techniques. The synthesized ZnS nanoclusters are composed of nanowires and high yield on the substrate was observed. The ZnS nanocrystalline consists of hexagonal phase and polycrystalline in nature. The chemical composition of ZnS nanoclusters composed of nanowires was studied by X-ray photo electron microscopy (XPS). This investigation has shown that the ZnS nanoclusters are composed of Zn and S atoms.

  9. Enhanced room temperature ferromagnetism in Cr-doped ZnO nanoparticles prepared by auto-combustion method

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Haq, Khizar-ul; Irfan, M.; Masood, Muhammad; Saleem, Murtaza; Iqbal, Tahir; Ahmad, Ishaq; Khan, M. A.; Zaffar, M.; Irfan, Muhammad

    2018-04-01

    Zn1‑x Cr x O (x = 0.00, 0.01, 0.03, 0.05, 0.07, and 0.09) nanoparticles were synthesized, by an auto-combustion method. Structural, optical, and magnetic characteristics of Cr-doped ZnO samples calcined at 600 °C have been analyzed by using X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM), UV–Vis spectroscopy and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). The XRD data confirmed the hexagonal wurtzite structure of pure and Cr-doped ZnO nanoparticles. The calculated values of grain size using Scherrer's formula are in the range of 30.7–9.2 nm. The morphology of nanopowders has been observed by FESEM, and EDS results confirmed a systematic increase of Cr content in the samples and clearly indicate with no impurity element. The band gaps, computed by UV–Vis spectroscopy, are in the range of 2.83–2.35 eV for different doping concentrations. By analyzing VSM data, significantly enhanced room temperature ferromagnetism is identified in Cr-doped ZnO samples. The value of magnetization is a 12 times increased of the value reported by Daunet al. (2010). Room temperature ferromagnetism of the nanoparticles is of vital prominence for spintronics applications. Project supported by the Office of Research, Innovation, and Commercialization (ORIC), MUST Mirpur (AJK).

  10. The investigation of photo-induced chemiluminescence on Co2+-doped TiO2 nanoparticles and its analytical application.

    PubMed

    Li, Guixin; Nan, Hongyan; Zheng, Xingwang

    2009-07-01

    A novel space- and time-resolved photo-induced chemiluminescence (PICL) analytical method was developed based on the photocatalysis of the Co2+-doped TiO2 nanoparticles. The PICL reaction procedure under the photocatalysis of Co2+-doped TiO2 nanoparticles was investigated using cyclic voltammetry and potentiometry. Meanwhile, the effect of the electrical double layer outside the Co2+-doped TiO2 nanoparticles on the PICL was investigated by contrasting with the Co2+-doped TiO2-SiO2 core-shell nanoparticles. Significantly, the CL intensity increased apparently and the time of the CL was prolonged in the presence of procaterol hydrochloride because the mechanism of the enhanced PICL reaction may be modified. The route of the PICL was changed due to the participation of the procaterol hydrochloride enriched at the surface of the Co2+-doped TiO2-SiO2 in the PICL reaction, which prolonged the time of the CL reaction and resulted in the long-term PICL. The analytical characteristics of the proposed in-situ PICL method were investigated using the procaterol hydrochloride as the model analyte. The investigation results showed that this new PICL analytical method offered higher sensitivity to the analysis of the procaterol hydrochloride and the PICL intensity was linear with the concentration of the procaterol hydrochloride in the range from ca. 2.0 x 10(-10) to 1.0 x 10(-8) g mL(-1).

  11. The pure rotational spectrum of ZnS (X 1Σ +)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zack, L. N.; Ziurys, L. M.

    2009-10-01

    The pure rotational spectrum of ZnS (X 1Σ +) has been measured using direct-absorption millimeter/sub-millimeter techniques in the frequency range 372-471 GHz. This study is the first spectroscopic investigation of this molecule. Spectra originating in four zinc isotopologues ( 64ZnS, 66ZnS, 68ZnS, and 67ZnS) were recorded in natural abundance in the ground vibrational state, and data from the v = 1 state were also measured for the two most abundant zinc species. Spectroscopic constants have been subsequently determined, and equilibrium parameters have been estimated. The equilibrium bond length was calculated to be re ˜ 2.0464 Å, which agrees well with theoretical predictions. In contrast, the dissociation energy of DE ˜ 3.12 eV calculated for ZnS, assuming a Morse potential, was significantly higher than past experimental and theoretical estimates, suggesting diabatic interaction with other potentials that lower the effective dissociation energy. Although ZnS is isovalent with ZnO, there appear to be subtle differences in bonding between the two species, as suggested by their respective force constants and bond length trends in the 3d series.

  12. Synthesis and characterization of Ni doped ZnO nanoparticles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tamgadge, Y. S.; Gedam, P. P.; Ganorkar, R. P.; Mahure, M. A.; Pahurkar, V. G.; Muley, G. G.

    2018-05-01

    In this paper, we present synthesis of L-valine assisted surface modification of Ni doped ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) using chemical precipitation method. Samples were calcined at 500oC for 2h. Uncalcined and calcined samples were characterized by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) spectroscopy. Ni doped ZnO NPs with average particle size of 8 nm have been successfully obtained using L-valine as surface modifying agent. Increase in the particle size was observed after the calcination. XRD and TEM studies confirmed the purity, surface morphology and hexagonal wurtzite crystal structure of ZnO NPs. UV-vis spectroscopy indicated the blue shift of excitons absorption wavelength and surface modification by L-valine.

  13. 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.

  14. Ultra-small dye-doped silica nanoparticles via modified sol-gel technique.

    PubMed

    Riccò, R; Nizzero, S; Penna, E; Meneghello, A; Cretaio, E; Enrichi, F

    2018-01-01

    In modern biosensing and imaging, fluorescence-based methods constitute the most diffused approach to achieve optimal detection of analytes, both in solution and on the single-particle level. Despite the huge progresses made in recent decades in the development of plasmonic biosensors and label-free sensing techniques, fluorescent molecules remain the most commonly used contrast agents to date for commercial imaging and detection methods. However, they exhibit low stability, can be difficult to functionalise, and often result in a low signal-to-noise ratio. Thus, embedding fluorescent probes into robust and bio-compatible materials, such as silica nanoparticles, can substantially enhance the detection limit and dramatically increase the sensitivity. In this work, ultra-small fluorescent silica nanoparticles (NPs) for optical biosensing applications were doped with a fluorescent dye, using simple water-based sol-gel approaches based on the classical Stöber procedure. By systematically modulating reaction parameters, controllable size tuning of particle diameters as low as 10 nm was achieved. Particles morphology and optical response were evaluated showing a possible single-molecule behaviour, without employing microemulsion methods to achieve similar results. Graphical abstractWe report a simple, cheap, reliable protocol for the synthesis and systematic tuning of ultra-small (< 10 nm) dye-doped luminescent silica nanoparticles.

  15. Structural, optical, and photoluminescence characterization of electron beam evaporated ZnS/CdSe nanoparticles thin films

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mohamed, S. H.; Ali, H. M.

    2011-01-01

    Structural, optical, and photoluminescence investigations of ZnS capped with CdSe films prepared by electron beam evaporation are presented. X-ray diffraction analysis revealed that the ZnS/CdSe nanoparticles films contain cubic cadmium selenide and hexagonal zinc sulfide crystals and the ZnS grain sizes increased with increasing ZnS thickness. The refractive index was evaluated in terms of envelope method, which has been suggested by Swanepoel in the transparent region. The refractive index values were found to increase with increasing ZnS thickness. However, the optical band gap and the extinction coefficient were decreased with increasing ZnS thickness. Photoluminescence (PL) investigations revealed the presence of two broad emission bands. The ZnS thickness significantly influenced the PL intensities.

  16. Granulometric characterization of airborne particulate release during spray application of nanoparticle-doped coatings

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Göhler, Daniel; Stintz, Michael

    2014-08-01

    Airborne particle release during the spray application of coatings was analyzed in the nanometre and micrometre size range. In order to represent realistic conditions of domestic and handcraft use, the spray application was performed using two types of commercial propellant spray cans and a manual gravity spray gun. Four different types of coatings doped with three kinds of metal-oxide tracer nanoparticle additives (TNPA) were analyzed. Depending on the used coating and the kind of spray unit, particulate release numbers between 5 × 108 and 3 × 1010 particles per gram ejection mass were determined in the dried spray aerosols. The nanoparticulate fraction amounted values between 10 and 60 no%. The comparison between nanoparticle-doped coatings with non-doped ones showed no TNPA-attributed differences in both the macroscopic spray process characteristics and the particle release numbers. SEM, TEM and EDX-analyzes showed that the spray aerosols were composed of particles made up solely from matrix material and sheathed pigments, fillers and TNPAs. Isolated ZnO- or Fe2O3-TNPAs could not be observed.

  17. Effect of cobalt doping on the phase transformation of TiO2 nanoparticles.

    PubMed

    Barakat, M A; Hayes, G; Shah, S Ismat

    2005-05-01

    Co-doped TiO2 nanoparticles containing 0.0085, 0.017, 0.0255, 0.034, and 0.085 mol % Co(III) ion dopant were synthesized via sol-gel and dip-coating techniques. The effects of metal ion doping on the transformation of anatase to the rutile phase have been investigated. Several analytical tools, such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscope (TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDAX) were used to investigate the nanoparticle structure, size distribution, and composition. Results obtained revealed that the rutile to anatase concentration ratio increases with increase of the cobalt dopant concentration and annealing temperature. The typical composition of Co-doped TiO2 was Ti(1-x)Co(x)O2, where x values ranged from 0.0085 to 0.085. The activation energy for the phase transformation from anatase to rutile was measured to be 229, 222, 211, and 195 kJ/mole for 0.0085, 0.017, 0.0255, and 0.034 mol % Co in TiO2, respectively.

  18. Efficient photocatalytic performance enhancement in Co-doped ZnO nanowires coupled with CuS nanoparticles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Wei; Wang, Guojing; Feng, Yimeng; Li, Zhengcao

    2018-01-01

    In this research, a kind of highly efficient semiconductor photocatalyst was fabricated by depositing CuS nanoparticles uniformly on the surface of Co-doped ZnO nanowires. ZnO nanowires were synthesized by hydrothermal method and CuS nanoparticles were modified by successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR). By conducting methyl orange (MO) degradation experiments under the illumination of visible light, the photocatalytic activity of Co-doped ZnO nanowires modified with CuS nanoparticles was found to be nearly three times active when compared to bare ZnO nanowires. Its superior photocatalytic performance has two main reasons. The doped Co2+ ions can inhibit the recombination of photo-generated electron-hole pairs and decrease the optical bandgap, while the p-n heterostructure can enhance the visible light absorption ability and promote the separation of photo-excited charge carriers. Furthermore, the effect of the amount of deposited CuS nanoparticles on the photocatalysis was also investigated. The photocatalytic efficiency firstly raised along with the increment of SILAR cycle times and reached a maximum at 10 cycles but then decreased as the cycle times continue to increase. This originates from that an excessive amount of CuS would not only cover the active reacting sites, but also serve as recombination centers. Overall, this new nanostructure is expected to work as an efficient photocatalyst.

  19. Magnetic and dielectric study of Fe-doped CdSe nanoparticles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Das, Sayantani; Banerjee, Sourish; Bandyopadhyay, Sudipta; Sinha, Tripurari Prasad

    2018-01-01

    Nanoparticles of cadmium selenide (CdSe) and Fe (5% and 10%) doped CdSe have been synthesized by soft chemical route and found to have cubic structure. The magnetic field dependent magnetization measurement of the doped samples indicates the presence of anti-ferromagnetic order. The temperature dependent magnetization (M-T) measurement under zero field cooled and field cooled conditions has also ruled out the presence of ferromagnetic component in the samples at room temperature as well as low temperature. In order to estimate the anti-ferromagnetic coupling among the doped Fe atoms, an M-T measurement at 500 Oe has been carried out, and the Curie-Weiss temperature θ of the samples has been estimated from the inverse of susceptibility versus temperature plots. The dielectric relaxation peaks are observed in the spectra of imaginary part of dielectric constant. The temperature dependent relaxation time is found to obey the Arrhenius law having activation energy 0.4 eV for Fe doped samples. The frequency dependent conductivity spectra are found to obey the power law. [Figure not available: see fulltext.

  20. Photocatalytic characteristics of single phase Fe-doped anatase TiO{sub 2} nanoparticles sensitized with vitamin B{sub 12}

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

    Gharagozlou, Mehrnaz, E-mail: gharagozlou@icrc.ac.ir; Bayati, R.

    Highlights: • Anatase TiO{sub 2}/B{sub 12} hybrid nanostructured catalyst was successfully synthesized by sol–gel technique. • The nanoparticle catalyst was doped with iron at several concentrations. • Nanoparticles were characterized in detail by XRD, Raman, TEM, EDS, and spectroscopy techniques. • The formation mechanism and role of point defects on photocatalytic properties were discussed. • A structure-property-processing correlation was established. - Abstract: We report a processing-structure-property correlation in B{sub 12}-anatase titania hybrid catalysts doped with several concentrations of iron. Our results clearly show that low-level iron doping alters structure, defect content, and photocatalytic characteristics of TiO{sub 2}. XRD and Ramanmore » studies revealed formation of a single-phase anatase TiO{sub 2} where no iron based segregation in particular iron oxide, was detected. FT-IR spectra clearly confirmed sensitization of TiO{sub 2} nanoparticles with vitamin B{sub 12}. TEM micrographs and diffraction patterns confirmed crystallization of anatase nanoparticles with a radius of 15–20 nm. Both XRD and Raman signals showed a peak shift and a peak broadening which are surmised to originate from creation of point defects, namely oxygen vacancy and titanium interstitial. The doped samples revealed a narrower band gap as compared to undoped samples. Photocatalytic activity of the samples was assessed through measuring the decomposition rate of rhodamine B. It was found that sensitization with vitamin B{sub 12} and Fe-doping significantly enhances the photocatalytic efficiency of the anatase nanoparticles. We also showed that there is an optimum Fe-doping level where the maximum photocatalytic activity is achieved. The boost of photocatalytic activity was qualitatively understood to originate from a more effective use of the light photons, formation of point defects, which enhance the charge separation, higher carrier mobility.« less

  1. Synthesis and humidity sensing analysis of ZnS nanowires

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Okur, Salih; Üzar, Neslihan; Tekgüzel, Nesli; Erol, Ayşe; Çetin Arıkan, M.

    2012-03-01

    ZnS nanowires synthesized by the vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) method and humidity sensing properties of obtained ZnS nanowires were investigated by quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) method and electrical measurements. The synthesized nanowires were exposed to relative humidity (RH) between 22% and 97% under controlled environment. Our experimental results show that ZnS nanowires have a great potential for humidity sensing applications in room temperature operations.

  2. Magnetic properties of Co-ferrite-doped hydroxyapatite nanoparticles having a core/shell structure

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Petchsang, N.; Pon-On, W.; Hodak, J. H.; Tang, I. M.

    2009-07-01

    The magnetic properties of Co-ferrite-doped hydroxyapatite (HAP) nanoparticles of composition Ca 10-3xFe 2xCo x(PO 4) 6(OH) 2 (where x=0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4 and 0.5% mole) are studied. Transmission electron microscope micrograms show that the 90 nm size nanoparticles annealed at 1250 °C have a core/shell structure. Their electron diffraction patterns show that the shell is composed of the hydroxyapatite and the core is composed of the Co-ferrite, CoFe 2O 4. Electron spin resonance measurements indicate that the Co 2+ ions are being substituted into the Ca(1) sites in HAP lattice. X-ray diffraction studies show the formation of impurity phases as higher amounts of the Fe 3+/Co 2+ ions which are substituted into the HAP host matrix. The presence of two sextets (one for the A-site Fe 3+ and the other for the B-site Fe 3+) in the Mössbauer spectrum for all the doped samples clearly indicates that the CoFe 2O 4.cores are in the ferromagnetic state. Evidence of the impurity phases is seen in the appearance of doublet patterns in the Mössbauer spectrums for the heavier-doped ( x=0.4 and 0.5) specimens. The decrease in the saturation magnetizations and other magnetic properties of the nanoparticles at the higher doping levels is consistent with some of the Fe 3+ and Co 2+ which being used to form the CoO and Fe 2O 3 impurity phase seen in the XRD patterns.

  3. Single crystalline wurtzite ZnO/zinc blende ZnS coaxial heterojunctions and hollow zinc blende ZnS nanotubes: synthesis, structural characterization and optical properties.

    PubMed

    Huang, Xing; Willinger, Marc-Georg; Fan, Hua; Xie, Zai-lai; Wang, Lei; Klein-Hoffmann, Achim; Girgsdies, Frank; Lee, Chun-Sing; Meng, Xiang-Min

    2014-08-07

    Synthesis of ZnO/ZnS heterostructures under thermodynamic conditions generally results in the wurtzite (WZ) structure of the ZnS component because its WZ phase is thermodynamically more stable than its zinc blende (ZB) phase. In this report, we demonstrate for the first time the preparation of ZnO/ZnS coaxial nanocables composed of single crystalline ZB structured ZnS epitaxially grown on WZ ZnO via a two-step thermal evaporation method. The deposition temperature is believed to play a crucial role in determining the crystalline phase of ZnS. Through a systematic structural analysis, the ZnO core and the ZnS shell are found to have an orientation relationship of (0002)ZnO(WZ)//(002)ZnS(ZB) and [01-10]ZnO(WZ)//[2-20]ZnS(ZB). Observation of the coaxial nanocables in cross-section reveals the formation of voids between the ZnO core and the ZnS shell during the coating process, which is probably associated with the nanoscale Kirkendall effect known to result in porosity. Furthermore, by immersing the ZnO/ZnS nanocable heterojunctions in an acetic acid solution to etch away the inner ZnO cores, single crystalline ZnS nanotubes orientated along the [001] direction of the ZB structure were also achieved for the first time. Finally, optical properties of the hollow ZnS tubes were investigated and discussed in detail. We believe that our study could provide some insights into the controlled fabrication of one dimensional (1D) semiconductors with desired morphology, structure and composition at the nanoscale, and the synthesized WZ ZnO/ZB ZnS nanocables as well as ZB ZnS nanotubes could be ideal candidates for the study of optoelectronics based on II-VI semiconductors.

  4. Microstructural and optical properties of Ca and Cr doped cobalt ferrite nanoparticles synthesized by auto combustion

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Agrawal, Shraddha; Parveen, Azra; Azam, Ameer

    2018-05-01

    The Ca and Cr doped cobalt ferrite nanoparticles (Co0.8Ca0.2) (Fe0.8 Cr0.2)2O4 were synthesized by auto combustion method. Microstructural studies were carried out by X-ray diffraction (XRD). The crystalline size of synthesized nanoparticles as determined by the XRD was found to be 17.6 nm. These structural studies suggest that the crystal system remains spinal even with the doping of calcium and chromium. Optical properties of Ca and Cr doped cobalt ferrite were studied by UV-visible technique in the range of 200-800 nm. The energy band gap was calculated with the help of Tauc relationship. Ca and Cr doped cobalt ferrite annealed at 600°C exhibit significant dispersion in complex permeability. The dielectric constant and dielectric loss of cobalt ferrite were studied as a function of frequency and were explained on the basis of Koop's theory based on Maxwell Wagner two layer models and electron hopping.

  5. Determining the Catalytic Activity of Transition Metal-Doped TiO2 Nanoparticles Using Surface Spectroscopic Analysis

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yang, Sena; Lee, Hangil

    2017-11-01

    The modified TiO2 nanoparticles (NPs) to enhance their catalytic activities by doping them with the five transition metals (Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, and Ni) have been investigated using various surface analysis techniques such as scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Raman spectroscopy, scanning transmission X-ray microscopy (STXM), and high-resolution photoemission spectroscopy (HRPES). To compare catalytic activities of these transition metal-doped TiO2 nanoparticles (TM-TiO2) with those of TiO2 NPs, we monitored their performances in the catalytic oxidation of 2-aminothiophenol (2-ATP) by using HRPES and on the oxidation of 2-ATP in aqueous solution by taking electrochemistry (EC) measurements. As a result, we clearly investigate that the increased defect structures induced by the doped transition metal are closely correlated with the enhancement of catalytic activities of TiO2 NPs and confirm that Fe- and Co-doped TiO2 NPs can act as efficient catalysts.

  6. Structural and optical studies of Mg doped nanoparticles of chromium oxide (Cr2O3) synthesized by co-precipitation method

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Singh, Jarnail; Verma, Vikram; Kumar, Ravi

    2018-04-01

    We present here the synthesization, structural and optical studies of Mg doped nanoparticles of Chromium oxide (Cr2O3) prepared using co-precipitation method. These samples were characterized using powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), Raman spectroscopy and UV-Vis spectroscopy techniques. We have demonstrated that there is negligible change in optical band gap with the Mg doping. The prepared Cr2O3 nanoparticles are spherical in shape, but they are transformed into platelets when doped with Mg. The XRD studies reveal that the Mg doping in Cr2O3 doesn't affect the structure of Chromium oxide (Cr2O3).

  7. Stability and electronic properties of oxygen-doped ZnS polytypes: DFTB study

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Popov, Ilya S.; Vorokh, Andrey S.; Enyashin, Andrey N.

    2018-06-01

    Synthesis from aqueous solutions is an affordable method for fabrication of II-VI semiconductors. However, application of this method often imposes a disorder of crystal lattice, manifesting as a rich variety of polytypes arising from wurtzite and zinc blende phases. The origin of this disordering still remains debatable. Here, the influence of the most likely impurity at water environment - substitutional oxygen - on the polytypic equilibrium of zinc sulphide is studied by means of density-functional tight-binding method. According to calculations, the inclusion of such oxygen does not affect the polytypic equilibrium. Apart of thermodynamic stability, the electronic and elastic properties of ZnS polytypes are studied as the function of oxygen distribution.

  8. Room temperature ferromagnetism in Fe-doped CeO2 nanoparticles.

    PubMed

    Maensiri, Santi; Phokha, Sumalin; Laokul, Paveena; Seraphin, Supapan

    2009-11-01

    RT ferromagnetism was observed in nanoparticles of Fe-doped CeO2 (i.e., Ce(0.97)Fe(0.03)O2) synthesized by a sol-gel method. The undoped and Fe-doped CeO2 were characterized by XRD, Raman spectroscopy, TEM, and VSM. The undoped samples and Ce(0.97)Fe(0.03)O2 precursor exhibit a diamagnetic behavior. The 673 K-calcined Ce(0.97)Fe(0.03)O2 sample is paramagnetic whereas 773 and 873 K-calcined Ce(0.97)Fe(0.03)O2 samples are ferromagnetism having the magnetizations of 4.65 x 10(-3) emu/g and 6.20 x 10(-3) emu/g at 10 kOe, respectively. Our results indicate that the ferromagnetic property is intrinsic to the Fe-doped CeO2 system and is not a result of any secondary magnetic phase or cluster formation.

  9. Fluorescent vancomycin and terephthalate comodified europium-doped layered double hydroxides nanoparticles: synthesis and application for bacteria labelling

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sun, Jianchao; Fan, Hai; Wang, Nan; Ai, Shiyun

    2014-09-01

    Vancomycin (Van)- and terephthalate (TA)-comodified europium-doped layered double hydroxides (Van-TA-Eu-LDHs) nanoparticles were successfully prepared by a two-step method, in which, TA acted as a sensitizer to enhance the fluorescent property and Van was modified on the surface of LDH to act as an affinity reagent to bacteria. The obtained products were characterized by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscope and fluorescent spectroscopy. The results demonstrated that the prepared Van- and TA-comodified europium-doped layered double hydroxides (Van-TA-Eu-LDHs) nanoparticles with diameter of 50 nm in size showed highly efficient fluorescent property. Furthermore, due to the high affinity of Van to bacteria, the prepared Van-TA-Eu-LDHs nanoparticles showed efficient bacteria labelling by fluorescent property. The prepared nanoparticles may have wide applications in the biological fields, such as biomolecular labelling and cell imaging.

  10. Lanthanide-Doped Ceria Nanoparticles as Backside Coaters to Improve Silicon Solar Cell Efficiency.

    PubMed

    Hajjiah, Ali; Samir, Effat; Shehata, Nader; Salah, Mohamed

    2018-05-23

    This paper introduces lanthanide-doped ceria nanoparticles as silicon solar cell back-side coaters, showing their influence on the solar cell efficiency. Ceria nanoparticles can be synthesized to have formed oxygen vacancies (O-vacancies), which are associated with converting cerium ions from the Ce 4+ state ions to the Ce 3+ ones. These O-vacancies follow the rule of improving silicon solar cell conductivity through a hopping mechanism. Besides, under near-ultra violet (near-UV) excitation, the reduced trivalent cerium Ce 3+ ions are directly responsible for down converting the un-absorbed UV wavelengths to a resultant green photo-luminescence emission at ~520 nm, which is absorbed through the silicon solar cell’s active layer. Adding lanthanide elements such as Neodymium “Nd” as ceria nanoparticle dopants helps in forming extra oxygen vacancies (O-vacancies), followed by an increase in the number of Ce 4+ to Ce 3+ ion reductions, thus enhancing the conductivity and photoluminescence down conversion mechanisms. After introducing lanthanide-doped ceria nanoparticles on a silicon solar cell surface, a promising enhancement in the behavior of the solar cell current-voltage curve is observed, and the efficiency is improved by about 25% of its initial value due to the mutual impact of improving both electric conductivity and optical conversions.

  11. Fluorescence resonance energy transfer between ZnSe ZnS quantum dots and bovine serum albumin in bioaffinity assays of anticancer drugs

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shu, Chang; Ding, Li; Zhong, Wenying

    2014-10-01

    In the current work, using ZnSe ZnS quantum dots (QDs) as representative nanoparticles, the affinities of seven anticancer drugs for bovine serum albumin (BSA) were studied using fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET). The FRET efficiency of BSA-QD conjugates can reach as high as 24.87% by electrostatic interaction. The higher binding constant (3.63 × 107 L mol-1) and number of binding sites (1.75) between ZnSe ZnS QDs and BSA demonstrated that the QDs could easily associate to plasma proteins and enhance the transport efficacy of drugs. The magnitude of binding constants (103-106 L mol-1), in the presence of QDs, was between drugs-BSA and drugs-QDs in agreement with common affinities of drugs for serum albumins (104-106 L mol-1) in vivo. ZnSe ZnS QDs significantly increased the affinities for BSA of Vorinostat (SAHA), Docetaxel (DOC), Carmustine (BCNU), Doxorubicin (Dox) and 10-Hydroxycamptothecin (HCPT). However, they slightly reduced the affinities of Vincristine (VCR) and Methotrexate (MTX) for BSA. The recent work will not only provide useful information for appropriately understanding the binding affinity and binding mechanism at the molecular level, but also illustrate the ZnSe ZnS QDs are perfect candidates for nanoscal drug delivery system (DDS).

  12. Goat anti-rabbit IgG conjugated fluorescent dye-doped silica nanoparticles for human breast carcinoma cell recognition.

    PubMed

    Chen, Min-Yan; Chen, Ze-Zhong; Wu, Ling-Ling; Tang, Hong-Wu; Pang, Dai-Wen

    2013-11-12

    We report an indirect method for cancer cell recognition using photostable fluorescent silica nanoprobes as biological labels. The dye-doped fluorescent silica nanoparticles were synthesized using the water-in-oil (W/O) reverse microemulsion method. The silica matrix was produced by the controlled hydrolysis of tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS) in water nanodroplets with the initiation of ammonia (NH3·H2O). Fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) or rhodamine B isothiocyanate conjugated with dextran (RBITC-Dextran) was doped in silica nanoparticles (NPs) with a size of 60 ± 5 nm as a fluorescent signal element by covalent bonding and steric hindrance, respectively. The secondary antibody, goat anti-rabbit IgG, was conjugated on the surface of the PEG-terminated modified FITC-doped or RBITC-Dextran-doped silica nanoparticles (PFSiNPs or PBSiNPs) by covalent binding to the PEG linkers using the cyanogen bromide method. The concentrations of goat anti-rabbit IgG covering the nanoprobes were quantified via the Bradford method. In the proof-of-concept experiment, an epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM) on the human breast cancer SK-Br-3 cell surface was used as the tumor marker, and the nanoparticle functionalized with rabbit anti-EpCAM antibody was employed as the nanoprobe for cancer cell recognition. Compared with fluorescent dye labeled IgG (FITC-IgG and RBITC-IgG), the designed nanoprobes display dramatically increased stability of fluorescence as well as photostability under continuous irradiation.

  13. Preparation of Boron Nitride Nanoparticles with Oxygen Doping and a Study of Their Room-Temperature Ferromagnetism.

    PubMed

    Lu, Qing; Zhao, Qi; Yang, Tianye; Zhai, Chengbo; Wang, Dongxue; Zhang, Mingzhe

    2018-04-18

    In this work, oxygen-doped boron nitride nanoparticles with room-temperature ferromagnetism have been synthesized by a new, facile, and efficient method. There are no metal magnetic impurities in the nanoparticles analyzed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The boron nitride nanoparticles exhibit a parabolic shape with increase in the reaction time. The saturation magnetization value reaches a maximum of 0.2975 emu g -1 at 300 K when the reaction time is 12 h, indicating that the Curie temperature ( T C ) is higher than 300 K. Combined with first-principles calculation, the coupling between B 2p orbital, N 2p orbital, and O 2p orbital in the conduction bands is the main origin of room-temperature ferromagnetism and also proves that the magnetic moment changes according the oxygen-doping content change. Compared with other room temperature ferromagnetic semiconductors, boron nitride nanoparticles have widely potential applications in spintronic devices because of high temperature oxidation resistance and excellent chemical stability.

  14. Microstructural and optical properties of Co doped NiO nanoparticles synthesized by auto combustion using NaOH as fuel

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Parveen, Azra; Agrawal, Shraddha; Azam, Ameer

    2018-05-01

    The nanoparticles of 5% Co doped NiO were synthesized by auto-combustion method in aqueous medium using NaOH as a fuel. The obtained particles were characterized using X-ray diffraction studies XRD. The results of structural characterization shows the formation of Co doped Nickel oxide nanoparticles in single phase without any impurity. The optical absorption spectra of Co doped NiO sample recorded by UV-VIS spectrophotometer in the range of 200 to 800 nm have been presented. The variation of dielectric constant and dielectric loss has been studied as function of frequency. Co doping affects the optical properties and band gap. NiO can potentially be used in optical, electronic, catalytic materials, antimicrobial agent and super-paramagnetic devices.

  15. Biomimetic synthesis of chiral erbium-doped silver/peptide/silica core-shell nanoparticles (ESPN)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mantion, Alexandre; Graf, Philipp; Florea, Ileana; Haase, Andrea; Thünemann, Andreas F.; Mašić, Admir; Ersen, Ovidiu; Rabu, Pierre; Meier, Wolfgang; Luch, Andreas; Taubert, Andreas

    2011-12-01

    Peptide-modified silver nanoparticles have been coated with an erbium-doped silica layer using a method inspired by silica biomineralization. Electron microscopy and small-angle X-ray scattering confirm the presence of an Ag/peptide core and silica shell. The erbium is present as small Er2O3 particles in and on the silica shell. Raman, IR, UV-Vis, and circular dichroism spectroscopies show that the peptide is still present after shell formation and the nanoparticles conserve a chiral plasmon resonance. Magnetic measurements find a paramagnetic behavior. In vitro tests using a macrophage cell line model show that the resulting multicomponent nanoparticles have a low toxicity for macrophages, even on partial dissolution of the silica shell.Peptide-modified silver nanoparticles have been coated with an erbium-doped silica layer using a method inspired by silica biomineralization. Electron microscopy and small-angle X-ray scattering confirm the presence of an Ag/peptide core and silica shell. The erbium is present as small Er2O3 particles in and on the silica shell. Raman, IR, UV-Vis, and circular dichroism spectroscopies show that the peptide is still present after shell formation and the nanoparticles conserve a chiral plasmon resonance. Magnetic measurements find a paramagnetic behavior. In vitro tests using a macrophage cell line model show that the resulting multicomponent nanoparticles have a low toxicity for macrophages, even on partial dissolution of the silica shell. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available: Figures S1 to S12, Tables S1 and S2. See DOI: 10.1039/c1nr10930h

  16. DNA base pair resolution measurements using resonance energy transfer efficiency in lanthanide doped nanoparticles.

    PubMed

    Delplanque, Aleksandra; Wawrzynczyk, Dominika; Jaworski, Pawel; Matczyszyn, Katarzyna; Pawlik, Krzysztof; Buckle, Malcolm; Nyk, Marcin; Nogues, Claude; Samoc, Marek

    2015-01-01

    Lanthanide-doped nanoparticles are of considerable interest for biodetection and bioimaging techniques thanks to their unique chemical and optical properties. As a sensitive luminescence material, they can be used as (bio) probes in Förster Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) where trivalent lanthanide ions (La3+) act as energy donors. In this paper we present an efficient method to transfer ultrasmall (ca. 8 nm) NaYF4 nanoparticles dispersed in organic solvent to an aqueous solution via oxidation of the oleic acid ligand. Nanoparticles were then functionalized with single strand DNA oligomers (ssDNA) by inducing covalent bonds between surface carboxylic groups and a 5' amine modified-ssDNA. Hybridization with the 5' fluorophore (Cy5) modified complementary ssDNA strand demonstrated the specificity of binding and allowed the fine control over the distance between Eu3+ ions doped nanoparticle and the fluorophore by varying the number of the dsDNA base pairs. First, our results confirmed nonradiative resonance energy transfer and demonstrate the dependence of its efficiency on the distance between the donor (Eu3+) and the acceptor (Cy5) with sensitivity at a nanometre scale.

  17. Morphology and thermal studies of zinc sulfide and cadmium sulfide nanoparticles in polyvinyl alcohol matrix

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Osuntokun, Jejenija; Ajibade, Peter A.

    2016-09-01

    Zn(II) and Cd(II) metal complexes of 1-cyano-1-carboethoxyethylene-2,2-dithiolato-κS,S'-bis(N,N-dimethylthiourea-κS) have been synthesized and characterized with analytical and spectroscopic techniques. The complexes were thermolysed in hexadecylamine at 200 °C to prepare ZnS and CdS nanoparticles. The nanoparticles were characterized with scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM), and powder X-ray diffraction (p-XRD). TEM images showed spherically shaped nanoparticles, whose sizes are in the range 4.33-7.21 nm for ZnS and 4.95-7.7 nm CdS respectively and XRD confirmed cubic crystalline phases for the nanoparticles. The optical band gap energy evaluated from the absorption spectra are 2.88 eV (430 nm) and 2.81 eV (440 nm) for the ZnS and CdS nanoparticles respectively. The as-prepared metal sulfide nanoparticles were further incorporated into polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) to give ZnS/PVA and CdS/PVA composites. The polymer nanocomposites were studied to investigate their morphology and thermal properties relative to the pure PVA. XRD diffractions indicated that the crystalline phases of the nanoparticles and the sizes in PVA matrices remained unaltered. Infra-red spectra studies revealed interactions between the PVA and the metal sulfide nanoparticles and TGA studies show that the ZnS/PVA and CdS/PVA nanocomposites exhibit better thermal stability than the pure PVA.

  18. Low-Temperature Surface Preparation and Epitaxial Growth of ZnS and Cu 2ZnSnS 4 on ZnS(110) and GaP(100)

    DOE PAGES

    Harvey, Steven P; Wilson, Samual; Moutinho, Helio R; ...

    2017-08-12

    Here we give a summary of the low-temperature preparation methods of ZnS(110) and GaP(100) crystals for epitaxial growth of ZnS and Cu 2ZnSnS 4 (CZTS) via molecular beam epitaxy. Substrates were prepared for epitaxial growth by means of room-temperature aqueous surface treatments and subsequent ultra-high vacuum transfer to the deposition system. Epitaxial growth of ZnS was successful at 500 K on both ZnS(110) and GaP(100) as only single domains were observed with electron backscatter diffraction; furthermore, transmission electron microscopy measurements confirmed an epitaxial interface. Epitaxial growth of CZTS was successful on ZnS at 700 K. However, epitaxial growth was notmore » possible on GaP at 700 K due to Ga xS y formation, which significantly degraded the quality of the GaP crystal surface. Although CZTS was grown epitaxially on ZnS, growth of multiple crystallographic domains remains a problem that could inherently limit the viability of epitaxial CZTS for model system studies.« less

  19. Low-Temperature Surface Preparation and Epitaxial Growth of ZnS and Cu 2ZnSnS 4 on ZnS(110) and GaP(100)

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

    Harvey, Steven P; Wilson, Samual; Moutinho, Helio R

    Here we give a summary of the low-temperature preparation methods of ZnS(110) and GaP(100) crystals for epitaxial growth of ZnS and Cu 2ZnSnS 4 (CZTS) via molecular beam epitaxy. Substrates were prepared for epitaxial growth by means of room-temperature aqueous surface treatments and subsequent ultra-high vacuum transfer to the deposition system. Epitaxial growth of ZnS was successful at 500 K on both ZnS(110) and GaP(100) as only single domains were observed with electron backscatter diffraction; furthermore, transmission electron microscopy measurements confirmed an epitaxial interface. Epitaxial growth of CZTS was successful on ZnS at 700 K. However, epitaxial growth was notmore » possible on GaP at 700 K due to Ga xS y formation, which significantly degraded the quality of the GaP crystal surface. Although CZTS was grown epitaxially on ZnS, growth of multiple crystallographic domains remains a problem that could inherently limit the viability of epitaxial CZTS for model system studies.« less

  20. Ytterbium-doped Y 2O 3 nanoparticle silica optical fibers for high power fiber lasers with suppressed photodarkening

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yoo, S.; Kalita, M. P.; Boyland, A. J.; Webb, A. S.; Standish, R. J.; Sahu, J. K.; Paul, M. C.; Das, S.; Bhadra, S. K.; Pal, M.

    2010-09-01

    We report efficient laser demonstration and spectroscopic characteristics of a Yb-doped Y 2O 3 (or Y 3Al 5O 12) nanoparticle silica fiber developed by conventional fiber fabrication technique. The spectroscopy study evidences modification in the environment of Yb ions by the Y 2O 3 nanoparticles. As a result, photodarkening induced loss is reduced by 20 times relative to Yb-doped aluminosilicate fibers. The fiber is suitable for power scaling with good laser slope efficiency of 79%.

  1. Biocompatibility and antibacterial activity of nitrogen-doped titanium dioxide nanoparticles for use in dental resin formulations

    PubMed Central

    Zane, Andrew; Zuo, Ranfang; Villamena, Frederick A; Rockenbauer, Antal; Digeorge Foushee, Ann Marie; Flores, Kristin; Dutta, Prabir K; Nagy, Amber

    2016-01-01

    The addition of antibacterial functionality to dental resins presents an opportunity to extend their useful lifetime by reducing secondary caries caused by bacterial recolonization. In this study, the potential efficacy of nitrogen-doped titanium dioxide nanoparticles for this purpose was determined. Nitrogen doping was carried out to extend the ultraviolet absorbance into longer wavelength blue light for increased biocompatibility. Titanium dioxide nanoparticles (approximately 20–30 nm) were synthesized with and without nitrogen doping using a sol–gel method. Ultraviolet–Visible spectroscopy indicated a band of trap states, with increasing blue light absorbance as the concentration of the nitrogen dopant increased. Electron paramagnetic resonance measurements indicated the formation of superoxide and hydroxyl radicals upon particle exposure to visible light and oxygen. The particles were significantly toxic to Escherichia coli in a dose-dependent manner after a 1-hour exposure to a blue light source (480 nm). Intracellular reactive oxygen species assay demonstrated that the particles caused a stress response in human gingival epithelial cells when exposed to 1 hour of blue light, though this did not result in detectable release of cytokines. No decrease in cell viability was observed by water-soluble tetrazolium dye assay. The results show that nitrogen-doped titanium dioxide nanoparticles have antibacterial activity when exposed to blue light, and are biocompatible at these concentrations. PMID:27980404

  2. Biocompatibility and antibacterial activity of nitrogen-doped titanium dioxide nanoparticles for use in dental resin formulations.

    PubMed

    Zane, Andrew; Zuo, Ranfang; Villamena, Frederick A; Rockenbauer, Antal; Digeorge Foushee, Ann Marie; Flores, Kristin; Dutta, Prabir K; Nagy, Amber

    The addition of antibacterial functionality to dental resins presents an opportunity to extend their useful lifetime by reducing secondary caries caused by bacterial recolonization. In this study, the potential efficacy of nitrogen-doped titanium dioxide nanoparticles for this purpose was determined. Nitrogen doping was carried out to extend the ultraviolet absorbance into longer wavelength blue light for increased biocompatibility. Titanium dioxide nanoparticles (approximately 20-30 nm) were synthesized with and without nitrogen doping using a sol-gel method. Ultraviolet-Visible spectroscopy indicated a band of trap states, with increasing blue light absorbance as the concentration of the nitrogen dopant increased. Electron paramagnetic resonance measurements indicated the formation of superoxide and hydroxyl radicals upon particle exposure to visible light and oxygen. The particles were significantly toxic to Escherichia coli in a dose-dependent manner after a 1-hour exposure to a blue light source (480 nm). Intracellular reactive oxygen species assay demonstrated that the particles caused a stress response in human gingival epithelial cells when exposed to 1 hour of blue light, though this did not result in detectable release of cytokines. No decrease in cell viability was observed by water-soluble tetrazolium dye assay. The results show that nitrogen-doped titanium dioxide nanoparticles have antibacterial activity when exposed to blue light, and are biocompatible at these concentrations.

  3. Stable tetragonal phase and magnetic properties of Fe-doped HfO2 nanoparticles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sales, T. S. N.; Cavalcante, F. H. M.; Bosch-Santos, B.; Pereira, L. F. D.; Cabrera-Pasca, G. A.; Freitas, R. S.; Saxena, R. N.; Carbonari, A. W.

    2017-05-01

    In this paper, the effect in structural and magnetic properties of iron doping with concentration of 20% in hafnium dioxide (HfO2) nanoparticles is investigated. HfO2 is a wide band gap oxide with great potential to be used as high-permittivity gate dielectrics, which can be improved by doping. Nanoparticle samples were prepared by sol-gel chemical method and had their structure, morphology, and magnetic properties, respectively, investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with electron back scattering diffraction (EBSD), and magnetization measurements. TEM and SEM results show size distribution of particles in the range from 30 nm to 40 nm with small dispersion. Magnetization measurements show the blocking temperature at around 90 K with a strong paramagnetic contribution. XRD results show a major tetragonal phase (94%).

  4. The magnetic and adsorption properties of ZnO1-xSx nanoparticles.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Huiyun; Liu, Guixian; Cao, Yanqiang; Chen, Jing; Shen, Kai; Kumar, Ashwini; Xu, Mingxiang; Li, Qi; Xu, Qingyu

    2017-10-11

    Sulfur is easy to be incorporated into ZnO nanoparticles by the solution-combustion method. Herein, the magnetic and adsorption properties of a series of ZnO 1-x S x (x = 0, 0.05, 0.1, 0.15, and 0.2) nanoparticles were systematically investigated. The X-ray diffraction patterns show that the as-prepared ZnO 1-x S x nanoparticles have the hexagonal wurtzite structure of ZnO with a low sulfur content that gradually transforms into the zinc blende structure of ZnS when the x value is greater than 0.1. PL spectra show several bands due to different transitions, which have been explained by the recombination of free excitons or defect-induced transitions. The introduction of sulfur not only modifies the bandgap of ZnO, but also impacts the concentration of Zn vacancies. The as-prepared ZnO shows weak room-temperature ferromagnetism, and the incorporation of sulfur improves the ferromagnetism owing to the increased concentration of Zn vacancies, which may be stabilized by the doped sulfur ions. The adsorption capability of ZnO 1-x S x nanoparticles has been significantly improved, and the process can be well described by the pseudo-first-order kinetic model and the Freundlich isotherm model. The mechanism has been confirmed to be due to the active sulfate groups existing in zinc oxysulfide nanoparticles.

  5. MUC-1 aptamer-conjugated dye-doped silica nanoparticles for MCF-7 cells detection.

    PubMed

    Cai, Li; Chen, Ze-Zhong; Chen, Min-Yan; Tang, Hong-Wu; Pang, Dai-Wen

    2013-01-01

    In this work, we have prepared three types of aptamer-conjugated Rubpy-doped silica nanoparticles for Human breast carcinoma MCF-7 cells labeling. Probe A is prepared through covalent conjugation between amine-labeled MUC-1 aptamer and carboxyl-modified Rubpy-doped NPs (NPs-aptamer). Probe B is prepared based on the interaction between biotin-labeled MUC-1 aptamer and avidin-conjugated Rubpy-doped NPs (NPs-avidin-biotin-aptamer). For Probe C, there is a PEG with flexible long chain as the bridge between avidin and the NPs (NPs-PEG-avidin-biotin-aptamer). In addition, we further investigate the practical number of MUC-1 aptamers on an NP of each probe using hoechst33258 dye. The binding efficiency of MUC-1 aptamer on the three types of probes as follows: Probe A < Probe B < Probe C. In addition, microscopic fluorescence imaging shows that Probe C containing the PEG molecules can be effectively applied for the recognition of MUC-1 protein in human breast carcinoma MCF-7 cells thus demonstrates that the PEG with flexible long chain as the bridge between the aptamer and NP can greatly enhances the freedom of MUC-1 aptamer. Compared with common organic dyes, the dye-doped silica nanoparticles serve as a stable bioprobe because of their facile conjugation with the desirable biomolecules, and have exhibited great potential in bioanalysis. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Elemental, morphological, structural, optical, and magnetic properties of erbium doped ZnO nanoparticles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Poornaprakash, B.; Chalapathi, U.; Purusottam Reddy, B.; Prabhakar Vattikuti, S. V.; Siva Pratap Reddy, M.; Park, Si-Hyun

    2018-03-01

    The sensible tuning of the structural, optical, and magnetic properties of ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) with suitable doping can enhance their applicability in diverse fields. In this study, we synthesized ZnO NPs with Er (0-4 at%) doping and their elemental, structural, optical, and magnetic properties were studied. Both field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) studies of the suspensions consist of hexagonal shaped NPs. All the prepared NPs exhibited hexagonal phase as demonstrated by powder x-ray diffraction studies. A blue shift was observed in the Er doped ZnO NPs compared to pure ZnO, indicating the increased optical bandgap. Vibrating sample magnetometer studies exhibited the pure ZnO NPs was typical diamagnetic feature whereas all the Er doped ZnO NPs were paramagnetic feature at 300 K. This is the first paramagnetic report on Er doped ZnO NPs.

  7. Bio-green synthesis of Fe doped SnO2 nanoparticle thin film

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gattu, Ketan P.; Ghule, Kalyani; Huse, Nanasaheb P.; Dive, Avinash S.; Bagul, Sagar B.; Digraskar, Renuka V.; Sharma, Ramphal; Ghule, Anil V.

    2017-05-01

    Herein Fe doped SnO2 nanoparticles have been synthesized using simple, cost effective and ecofriendly biosynthesis method, in which remnant water (ideally kitchen waste) collected from soaked Bengal gram beans (Cicer arietinum L.) was used. This extract consists of different bio-molecules which acted as complexing as well as capping agents for synthesis of Fe-doped SnO2 nanoparticles. The X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and Field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) revealed uniform size distribution with the average size of 6 nm and confirmed the formation of rutile structure with space group (P42/mnm) and nanocrystalline nature of the products with spherical morphology. Further, the gas sensing properties of the materials have been studied in comparison with other gases. The reported gas sensing results are promising, which suggest that the Fe-dopant is a promising noble metal additives to fabricate low cost SnO2 based sensor.

  8. Ultrasonic synthesis of In-doped SnS nanoparticles and their physical properties

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jamali-Sheini, Farid; Cheraghizade, Mohsen; Yousefi, Ramin

    2018-05-01

    Indium (In)-doped Tin (II) Sulfide (SnS) nanoparticles (NPs) were synthesized by an ultra-sonication method and their optical, electrical, dielectric and photocatalytic properties were investigated. XRD patterns of the obtained NPs indicated formation of orthorhombic polycrystalline SnS. Field emission scanning electron microscopy exhibited flower-like NPs with particle sizes below 100 nm for both SnS and In-doped SnS samples. Optical analysis showed a decrease in energy band gap of SnS NPs upon In doping. In addition, electrical results demonstrated p-type nature of the synthesized SnS NPs and enhanced electrical conductivity of the NPs due to increased tin vacancy. Dielectric experiments on SnS NPs suggested an electronic polarizations effect to be responsible for changing dielectric properties of the particles, in terms of frequency. Finally, photocatalytic experiments revealed that high degradation power can be obtained using In-doped SnS NPs.

  9. Atomistic nucleation sites of Pt nanoparticles on N-doped carbon nanotubes.

    PubMed

    Sun, Chia-Liang; Pao, Chih-Wen; Tsai, Huang-Ming; Chiou, Jau-Wern; Ray, Sekhar C; Wang, Houng-Wei; Hayashi, Michitoshi; Chen, Li-Chyong; Lin, Hong-Ji; Lee, Jyh-Fu; Chang, Li; Tsai, Min-Hsiung; Chen, Kuei-Hsien; Pong, Way-Faung

    2013-08-07

    The atomistic nucleation sites of Pt nanoparticles (Pt NPs) on N-doped carbon nanotubes (N-CNTs) were investigated using C and N K-edge and Pt L3-edge X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES)/extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectroscopy. Transmission electron microscopy and XANES/EXAFS results revealed that the self-organized Pt NPs on N-CNTs are uniformly distributed because of the relatively high binding energies of the adsorbed Pt atoms at the imperfect sites. During the atomistic nucleation process of Pt NPs on N-CNTs, stable Pt-C and Pt-N bonds are presumably formed, and charge transfer occurs at the surface/interface of the N-CNTs. The findings in this study were consistent with density functional theory calculations performed using cluster models for the undoped, substitutional-N-doped and pyridine-like-N-doped CNTs.

  10. Multifunctional Eu3+- and Er3+/Yb3+-doped GdVO4 nanoparticles synthesized by reverse micelle method

    PubMed Central

    Gavrilović, Tamara V.; Jovanović, Dragana J.; Lojpur, Vesna; Dramićanin, Miroslav D.

    2014-01-01

    Synthesis of Eu3+- and Er3+/Yb3+-doped GdVO4 nanoparticles in reverse micelles and their multifunctional luminescence properties are presented. Using cyclohexane, Triton X-100, and n-pentanol as the oil, surfactant, and co-surfactant, respectively, crystalline nanoparticles with ~4 nm diameter are prepared at low temperatures. The particle size assessed using transmission electron microscopy is similar to the crystallite size obtained from X-ray diffraction measurements, suggesting that each particle comprises a single crystallite. Eu3+-doped GdVO4 nanoparticles emit red light through downconversion upon UV excitation. Er3+/Yb3+-doped GdVO4 nanoparticles exhibit several functions; apart from the downconversion of UV radiation into visible green light, they act as upconvertors, transforming near-infrared excitation (980 nm) into visible green light. The ratio of green emissions from 2H11/2 → 2I15/2 and 4S3/2 → 4I15/2 transitions is temperature dependent and can be used for nanoscale temperature sensing with near-infrared excitation. The relative sensor sensitivity is 1.11%K−1, which is among the highest sensitivities recorded for upconversion-luminescence-based thermometers. PMID:24572638

  11. Multifunctional Eu3+- and Er3+/Yb3+-doped GdVO4 nanoparticles synthesized by reverse micelle method

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gavrilović, Tamara V.; Jovanović, Dragana J.; Lojpur, Vesna; Dramićanin, Miroslav D.

    2014-02-01

    Synthesis of Eu3+- and Er3+/Yb3+-doped GdVO4 nanoparticles in reverse micelles and their multifunctional luminescence properties are presented. Using cyclohexane, Triton X-100, and n-pentanol as the oil, surfactant, and co-surfactant, respectively, crystalline nanoparticles with ~4 nm diameter are prepared at low temperatures. The particle size assessed using transmission electron microscopy is similar to the crystallite size obtained from X-ray diffraction measurements, suggesting that each particle comprises a single crystallite. Eu3+-doped GdVO4 nanoparticles emit red light through downconversion upon UV excitation. Er3+/Yb3+-doped GdVO4 nanoparticles exhibit several functions; apart from the downconversion of UV radiation into visible green light, they act as upconvertors, transforming near-infrared excitation (980 nm) into visible green light. The ratio of green emissions from 2H11/2 --> 2I15/2 and 4S3/2 --> 4I15/2 transitions is temperature dependent and can be used for nanoscale temperature sensing with near-infrared excitation. The relative sensor sensitivity is 1.11%K-1, which is among the highest sensitivities recorded for upconversion-luminescence-based thermometers.

  12. Multifunctional Eu3+- and Er3+/Yb3+-doped GdVO4 nanoparticles synthesized by reverse micelle method.

    PubMed

    Gavrilović, Tamara V; Jovanović, Dragana J; Lojpur, Vesna; Dramićanin, Miroslav D

    2014-02-27

    Synthesis of Eu(3+)- and Er(3+)/Yb(3+)-doped GdVO4 nanoparticles in reverse micelles and their multifunctional luminescence properties are presented. Using cyclohexane, Triton X-100, and n-pentanol as the oil, surfactant, and co-surfactant, respectively, crystalline nanoparticles with ~4 nm diameter are prepared at low temperatures. The particle size assessed using transmission electron microscopy is similar to the crystallite size obtained from X-ray diffraction measurements, suggesting that each particle comprises a single crystallite. Eu(3+)-doped GdVO4 nanoparticles emit red light through downconversion upon UV excitation. Er(3+)/Yb(3+)-doped GdVO4 nanoparticles exhibit several functions; apart from the downconversion of UV radiation into visible green light, they act as upconvertors, transforming near-infrared excitation (980 nm) into visible green light. The ratio of green emissions from (2)H11/2 → (2)I15/2 and (4)S3/2 → (4)I15/2 transitions is temperature dependent and can be used for nanoscale temperature sensing with near-infrared excitation. The relative sensor sensitivity is 1.11%K(-1), which is among the highest sensitivities recorded for upconversion-luminescence-based thermometers.

  13. Formation and nitrile hydrogenation performance of Ru nanoparticles on a K-doped Al2O3 surface.

    PubMed

    Muratsugu, Satoshi; Kityakarn, Sutasinee; Wang, Fei; Ishiguro, Nozomu; Kamachi, Takashi; Yoshizawa, Kazunari; Sekizawa, Oki; Uruga, Tomoya; Tada, Mizuki

    2015-10-14

    Decarbonylation-promoted Ru nanoparticle formation from Ru3(CO)12 on a basic K-doped Al2O3 surface was investigated by in situ FT-IR and in situ XAFS. Supported Ru3(CO)12 clusters on K-doped Al2O3 were converted stepwise to Ru nanoparticles, which catalyzed the selective hydrogenation of nitriles to the corresponding primary amines via initial decarbonylation, the nucleation of the Ru cluster core, and the growth of metallic Ru nanoparticles on the surface. As a result, small Ru nanoparticles, with an average diameter of less than 2 nm, were formed on the support and acted as efficient catalysts for nitrile hydrogenation at 343 K under hydrogen at atmospheric pressure. The structure and catalytic performance of Ru catalysts depended strongly on the type of oxide support, and the K-doped Al2O3 support acted as a good oxide for the selective nitrile hydrogenation without basic additives like ammonia. The activation of nitriles on the modelled Ru catalyst was also investigated by DFT calculations, and the adsorption structure of a nitrene-like intermediate, which was favourable for high primary amine selectivity, was the most stable structure on Ru compared with other intermediate structures.

  14. The stable and water-soluble neodymium-doped lanthanide fluoride nanoparticles for near infrared probing of copper ion.

    PubMed

    Xue, Fang-Min; Wang, He-Fang

    2012-09-15

    Neodymium (Nd(3+)) doped nanomaterials exhibited the unique near infrared (NIR) luminescence properties. However, the application of Nd-doped nanomaterials to chemosensors was rarely explored. Herein, the water-soluble 2-aminoethyl dihydrogen phosphate stabilized Nd-doped LaF(3) (ADP-Nd-LaF(3)) nanoparticles were explored as the NIR probe for chemosensors. The NIR emission intensity at 1061 nm of ADP-Nd-LaF(3) nanoparticles kept stable in the aqueous solution of various pH and coexisting of most common metal ions except copper ion, consequently, the ADP-Nd-LaF(3) nanoparticles were developed as a high selective NIR probe for Cu(II). The NIR emission of ADP-Nd-LaF(3) exhibits a linear quenching response to Cu(II) in the range 5-100 μM, with a detection limit of 0.8 μM. The precision of eleven replicate detections of 5 μM Cu(II) was 0.5% (RSD). The recovery of spiked Cu(II) in human urine and waste water samples ranged from 102 to 109%. The possible mechanism of Cu(II)-induced fluorescence quenching of ADP-Nd-LaF(3) nanoparticles was also discussed. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  15. Multi-phase structures of boron-doped copper tin sulfide nanoparticles synthesized by chemical bath deposition for optoelectronic devices

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rakspun, Jariya; Kantip, Nathakan; Vailikhit, Veeramol; Choopun, Supab; Tubtimtae, Auttasit

    2018-04-01

    We investigated the influence of boron doping on the structural, optical, and electrical properties of copper tin sulfide (CTS) nanoparticles coated on a WO3 surface and synthesized using chemical bath deposition. Boron doping at concentrations of 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0 wt% was investigated. The X-ray diffraction pattern of CTS showed the presence of monoclinic Cu2Sn3S7, cubic Cu2SnS3, and orthorhombic Cu4SnS4. Boron doping influenced the preferred orientation of the nanoparticles for all phase structures and produced a lattice strain effect and changes in the dislocation density. Increasing the concentration of boron in CTS from 0.5 wt% to 2.0 wt% reduced the band gap for all phases of CTS from 1.46 to 1.29 eV and reduced the optical transmittance. Optical constants, such as the refractive index, extinction coefficient, and dissipation factor, were also obtained for B-doped CTS. The dispersion behavior of the refractive index was investigated in terms of a single oscillator model and the physical parameters were determined. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy confirmed the successful synthesis of CTS nanoparticles. Cyclic voltammetry indicated that optimum boron doping (<1.5 wt% for all phases) resulted in desirable p-n junction behavior for optoelectronic applications.

  16. Clad-pumped Er-nanoparticle-doped fiber laser (Conference Presentation)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Baker, Colin C.; Friebele, E. Joseph; Rhonehouse, Daniel L.; Marcheschi, Barbara A.; Peele, John R.; Kim, Woohong; Sanghera, Jasbinder S.; Zhang, Jun; Chen, Youming; Pattnaik, Radha K.; Dubinskii, Mark

    2017-03-01

    Erbium-doped fiber lasers are attractive for directed energy weapons applications because they operate in a wavelength region that is both eye-safer and a window of high atmospheric transmission. For these applications a clad-pumped design is desirable, but the Er absorption must be high because of the areal dilution of the doped core vs. the pump cladding. High Er concentrations typically lead to Er ion clustering, resulting in quenching and upconversion. Nanoparticle (NP) doping of the core overcomes these problems by physically surrounding the Er ions with a cage of Al and O in the NP, which keeps them separated to minimize excited state energy transfer. A significant issue is obtaining high Er concentrations without the NP agglomeration that degrades the optical properties of the fiber core. We have developed the process for synthesizing stable Er-NP suspension which have been used to fabricate EDFs with Er concentrations >90 dB/m at 1532 nm. Matched clad fibers have been evaluated in a core-pumped MOPA with pump and signal wavelengths of 1475 and 1560 nm, respectively, and efficiencies of 72% with respect to absorbed pump have been obtained. We have fabricated both NP- and solution-doped double clad fibers, which have been measured in a clad-pumped laser testbed using a 1532 nm pump. The 1595 nm laser efficiency of the NP-doped fiber was 47.7%, which is high enough for what is believed to be the first laser experiment with the cladding pumped, NP-doped fiber. Further improvements are likely with a shaped cladding and new low-index polymer coatings with lower absorption in the 1500 - 1600 nm range.

  17. High temperature ferromagnetism in Ni doped ZnO nanoparticles: Milling time dependence

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pal, Bappaditya; Giri, P. K.; Sarkar, D.

    2014-04-01

    We report on the room temperature ferromagnetism (RT FM) in the Zn1-xNixO (x = 0, 0.03, and 0.05) nanoparticles (NPs) synthesized by a ball milling technique. X-ray diffraction analysis confirms the single crystalline ZnO wurtzite structure with presence of small intensity secondary phase related peak which disappear with increasing milling time for Ni doped samples. HRTEM lattice images show that the doped NPs are single crystalline with a dspacing of 2.44 Å. Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy analysis confirms the presence of Ni ions in the ZnO matrix. Magnetic measurement (RT) exhibits the hysteresis loop with saturation magnetization (Ms) of 1.6-2.56 (emu/g) and coercive field (Hc) of 296-322 Oe. M-T measurement shows a Curie temperature of the order of 325°C for 3% Ni doped sample. Micro -Raman studies show doping/disorder induced additional modes at ˜510, 547, 572 cm-1 in addition to 437 cm-1 peak of pure ZnO. UV-Vis absorption spectra illustrate band gap shift due to doping. Alteration of Ms value with the variation of doping concentration and milling time has been studied and discussed.

  18. Toxicity of Tungsten Carbide and Cobalt-Doped Tungsten Carbide Nanoparticles in Mammalian Cells in Vitro

    PubMed Central

    Bastian, Susanne; Busch, Wibke; Kühnel, Dana; Springer, Armin; Meißner, Tobias; Holke, Roland; Scholz, Stefan; Iwe, Maria; Pompe, Wolfgang; Gelinsky, Michael; Potthoff, Annegret; Richter, Volkmar; Ikonomidou, Chrysanthy; Schirmer, Kristin

    2009-01-01

    Background Tungsten carbide nanoparticles are being explored for their use in the manufacture of hard metals. To develop nanoparticles for broad applications, potential risks to human health and the environment should be evaluated and taken into consideration. Objective We aimed to assess the toxicity of well-characterized tungsten carbide (WC) and cobaltdoped tungsten carbide (WC-Co) nanoparticle suspensions in an array of mammalian cells. Methods We examined acute toxicity of WC and of WC-Co (10% weight content Co) nanoparticles in different human cell lines (lung, skin, and colon) as well as in rat neuronal and glial cells (i.e., primary neuronal and astroglial cultures and the oligodendro cyte precursor cell line OLN-93). Furthermore, using electron microscopy, we assessed whether nanoparticles can be taken up by living cells. We chose these in vitro systems in order to evaluate for potential toxicity of the nanoparticles in different mammalian organs (i.e., lung, skin, intestine, and brain). Results Chemical–physical characterization confirmed that WC as well as WC-Co nanoparticles with a mean particle size of 145 nm form stable suspensions in serum-containing cell culture media. WC nanoparticles were not acutely toxic to the studied cell lines. However, cytotoxicity became apparent when particles were doped with Co. The most sensitive were astrocytes and colon epithelial cells. Cytotoxicity of WC-Co nanoparticles was higher than expected based on the ionic Co content of the particles. Analysis by electron microscopy demonstrated presence of WC nanoparticles within mammalian cells. Conclusions Our findings demonstrate that doping of WC nanoparticles with Co markedly increases their cytotoxic effect and that the presence of WC-Co in particulate form is essential to elicit this combinatorial effect. PMID:19440490

  19. Synthesis of Er-doped Lu2O3 nanoparticles and transparent ceramics

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Serivalsatit, K.; Wasanapiarnpong, T.; Kucera, C.; Ballato, J.

    2013-05-01

    Transparent rare earth-doped Lu2O3 ceramics have received much attention for use in solid-state scintillator and laser applications. The fabrication of these ceramics, however, requires ultrafine and uniform powders as precursors. Presented here is the synthesis of Er-doped Lu2O3 nanopowders by a solution precipitation method using Er-doped lutetium sulfate solution and hexamethylenetetramine as a precipitant and the fabrication of Er-doped Lu2O3 transparent ceramics from these nanopowders. The precipitated precursors were calcined at 1100 °C for 4 h in order to convert the precursors into Lu2O3 nanoparticles with an average particle size of 60 nm. Thermal decomposition and phase evolution of the precursors were studied by simultaneous thermal analysis (STA), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Er-doped Lu2O3 transparent ceramics were fabricated from these nanopowders using vacuum sintering followed by hot isostatic pressing at 1700 °C for 8 h. The transparent ceramics exhibit an optical transmittance of 78% at a wavelength of 1.55 μm.

  20. Structural, chemical and optical evaluation of Cu-doped ZnO nanoparticles synthesized by an aqueous solution method

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

    Iribarren, A., E-mail: augusto@imre.oc.uh.cu; Hernández-Rodríguez, E.; Maqueira, L.

    Highlights: • Cu-doped ZnO nanoparticles obtained by chemical synthesis. • Substitutional or interstitial Cu into ZnO lead specific structural, chemical, and optical changes. • Incorporation efficiency of Cu atoms in ZnO as a function of the Cu concentration in the precursor dissolution. - Abstract: In this work a study of ZnO and Cu-doped ZnO nanoparticles obtained by chemical synthesis in aqueous media was carried out. Structural analysis gave the dominant presence of wurtzite ZnO phase forming a solid solution Zn{sub 1−x}Cu{sub x}O. For high Cu doping CuO phase is also present. For low Cu concentration the lattice shrinks due tomore » Cu atoms substitute Zn atoms. For high Cu concentration the lattice enlarges due to predominance of interstitial Cu. From elemental analysis we determined and analyzed the incorporation efficiency of Cu atoms in Zn{sub 1−x}Cu{sub x}O as a function of the Cu concentration in the precursor dissolution. Combining structural and chemical results we described the Cu/Zn precursor concentrations r{sub w} in which the solid solution of Cu in ZnO is predominant. In the region located at r{sub w} ≈ 0.2–0.3 it is no longer valid. For Cu/Zn precursor concentration r{sub w} > 0.3 interstitial Cu dominates, and some amount of copper oxide appears. As the Cu concentration increases, the effective size of nanoparticles decreases. Photoluminescence (PL) measurements of the Cu-doped ZnO nanoparticles were carried out and analyzed.« less

  1. Silver-doped calcium phosphate nanoparticles: synthesis, characterization, and toxic effects toward mammalian and prokaryotic cells.

    PubMed

    Peetsch, Alexander; Greulich, Christina; Braun, Dieter; Stroetges, Christian; Rehage, Heinz; Siebers, Bettina; Köller, Manfred; Epple, Matthias

    2013-02-01

    Spherical silver-doped calcium phosphate nanoparticles were synthesized in a co-precipitation route from calcium nitrate/silver nitrate and ammonium phosphate in a continuous process and colloidally stabilized by carboxymethyl cellulose. Nanoparticles with 0.39 wt% silver content and a diameter of about 50-60 nm were obtained. The toxic effects toward mammalian and prokaryotic cells were determined by viability tests and determination of the minimal inhibitory and minimal bactericidal concentrations (MIC and MBC). Three mammalian cells lines, i.e. human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSC) and blood peripheral mononuclear cells (PBMC, monocytes and T-lymphocytes), and two prokaryotic strains, i.e. Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) were used. Silver-doped calcium phosphate nanoparticles and silver acetate showed similar effect toward mammalian and prokaryotic cells with toxic silver concentrations in the range of 1-3 μg mL(-1). Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  2. Synthesis of Olive-Like Nitrogen-Doped Carbon with Embedded Ge Nanoparticles for Ultrahigh Stable Lithium Battery Anodes.

    PubMed

    Ma, Xiaomei; Zhou, Yongning; Chen, Min; Wu, Limin

    2017-05-01

    The development of environment-friendly and high-performance carbon materials for energy applications has remained a great challenge. Here, a novel and facile method for synthesis of olive-like nitrogen-doped carbon embedded with germanium (Ge) nanoparticles using widespread and nontoxic dopamine as carbon and nitrogen precursors is demonstrated, especially by understanding the tendency of pure GeO 2 nanoparticles forming ellipsoidal aggregation, and the chelating reaction of the catechol structure in dopamine with metal ions. The as-synthesized Ge/N-C composites show an olive-like porous carbon structure with a loading weight of as high as 68.5% Ge nanoparticles. A lithium ion battery using Ge/N-C as the anode shows 1042 mAh g -1 charge capacity after 2000 cycles (125 d) charge/discharge at C/2 (1C = 1600 mA g -1 ) with a capacity maintaining efficiency of 99.6%, significantly exceeding those of the previously reported Ge/C-based anode materials. This prominent cyclic charge/discharge performance of the Ge/N-C anode is attributed to the well-dispersed Ge nanoparticles in graphitic N-doped carbon matrix, which facilitates high rates (0.5-15 C) of charge/discharge and increases the anode structure integrity. The synthesis strategy presented here may be a very promising approach to prepare a series of active nanoparticle-carbon hybrid materials with nitrogen doping for more and important applications. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  3. Structural, magnetic and electronic structural properties of Mn doped CeO2 nanoparticles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kumari, Kavita; Vij, Ankush; Hashim, Mohd.; Chae, K. H.; Kumar, Shalendra

    2018-05-01

    Nanoparticles of Ce1-xMnxO2, (x=0.0, 0.01, and 0.05) have been synthesized by using co-precipitation method, and then characterized by x-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), near edge x-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) spectroscopy and dc magnetization measurements. XRD results clearly showed that the all the samples have single phase nature and exclude the presence of any secondary phase. The average particle size calculated using XRD TEM measurements found to decrease with increase in Mn doping in the range of 4.0 - 9.0 nm. The structural parameters such as strain, interplaner distance and lattice parameter is observed to decrease with increase in doping. The morphology of Ce1-xMnxO2 nanoparticles measured using TEM micrographs indicate that nanoparticle have spherical shape morphology. Magnetic hysteresis curve for Ce1-xMnxO2, (x = 0.0, 0.01, and 0.05) confirms the ferromagnetic ordering room temperature. The value of saturation magnetization is observed to decrease with increase in temperature from 10 K to 300 K. The NEXAFS spectra measured at Ce M4,5 edge reveals that Ce-ions are in +4 valance state.

  4. Study of cobalt effect on structural and optical properties of Dy doped ZnO nanoparticles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kumar, Pawan; Pandey, Praveen C.

    2018-05-01

    The present study has been carried out to investigate the effect of Co doping on structural and optical properties of Dy doped ZnO nanoparticles. We have prepared pure Zinc oxide, Dy (1%) doped ZnO and Dy (1%) doped ZnO co-doped with Co(2%) with the help of simple sol-gel combustion method. The structural analysis carried out using X-ray diffraction spectra (XRD) indicates substitution of Dy and Co at Zn site of ZnO crystal structure and hexagonal crystal structure without any secondary phase formation in all the samples. The surface morphology was analyzed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Absorption study indicates that Dy doping causes a small shift in band edge, while Co co-doping results significant change is absorption edge as well as introduce defect level absorption in the visible region. The band gap of samples decreases due to Dy and Co doping, which can be attributed to defect level formation below the conduction band in the system.

  5. The optoelectronic properties and role of Cu concentration on the structural and electrical properties of Cu doped ZnO nanoparticles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Omri, K.; Bettaibi, A.; Khirouni, K.; El Mir, L.

    2018-05-01

    In the current study, we synthesized a Cu-doped ZnO (CZO) nanoparticles material using a sol-gel method with different doping concentrations of Cu (0, 2, 3 and 4 at.%). The control of the Cu concentration on structural, electrical and optical properties of CZO nanoparticles was investigated in detail. The XRD analysis of the CZO nanoparticles reveals the formation of ZnO hexagonal wurtzite structure for all samples which confirm the incorporation of Cu2+ ions into the ZnO lattice by substitution. Furthermore, CZO nanoparticles showed a small red shift of absorption band with the incorporation of Cu from 0 to 4 at.%; i.e. a decreased band gap value from 3.34 eV to 3.27 eV with increasing of Cu doping content. The frequency dispersion of the electric conductivity were studied using the Jonscher universal power law, according to relation σ(ω) = σDC + A ωs(T). Alternative current conductivity increases with increasing Cu content in spite of the decrease the activation energy with copper loading. It was found that the conductivity reached its maximum value for critical Cu concentration of 3 at.%. The frequency relaxation phenomenon was also investigated and all results were discussed in term of the copper doping concentration.

  6. Gold Nanoparticles Doped with (199) Au Atoms and Their Use for Targeted Cancer Imaging by SPECT.

    PubMed

    Zhao, Yongfeng; Pang, Bo; Luehmann, Hannah; Detering, Lisa; Yang, Xuan; Sultan, Deborah; Harpstrite, Scott; Sharma, Vijay; Cutler, Cathy S; Xia, Younan; Liu, Yongjian

    2016-04-20

    Gold nanoparticles have been labeled with various radionuclides and extensively explored for single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) in the context of cancer diagnosis. The stability of most radiolabels, however, still needs to be improved for accurate detection of cancer biomarkers and thereby monitoring of tumor progression and metastasis. Here, the first synthesis of Au nanoparticles doped with (199)Au atoms for targeted SPECT tumor imaging in a mouse triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) model is reported. By directly incorporating (199)Au atoms into the crystal lattice of each Au nanoparticle, the stability of the radiolabel can be ensured. The synthetic procedure also allows for a precise control over both the radiochemistry and particle size. When conjugated with D-Ala1-peptide T-amide, the Au nanoparticles doped with (199)Au atoms can serve as a C-C chemokine receptor 5 (CCR5)-targeted nanoprobe for the sensitive and specific detection of both TNBC and its metastasis in a mouse tumor model. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  7. Plasma-Functionalized Polytetrafluoroethylene Nanoparticles for Improved Wear in Lubricated Contact

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

    Sharma, Vinay; Timmons, Richard; Erdemir, Ali

    Plasma-functionalized polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) nanoparticles were employed to evaluate their utility in improving the lubrication property of a group III mineral oil with a significantly low amount of zinc dialkyl dithiophosphate (ZDDP). The particles were coated with two consecutive films; the initial coating contained silica to enhance amorphous glassy tribofilm formation, followed by a methacrylate film to protect the silica coating and enhance dispersibility in the oil. The functionalized nanoparticles were evaluated for their tribological performance using a high-frequency reciprocating rig, in a cylinder-on-flat configuration. The oil formulations containing ZDDP (350 ppm phosphorus level) and the functionalized nanoparticles resulted in dramaticmore » reductions in the friction coefficient and overall wear compared to the samples containing nonfunctionalized PTFE nanoparticles, ZDDP (350 ppm P), and samples devoid of nanoparticles but containing ZDDP with a 700 ppm P treat rate. XPS and XANES spectroscopy were employed to characterize the tribological films formed on the test samples. The samples with functionalized particles and ZDDP clearly exhibited tribofilms with Si- and F-doped polyphosphates of Zn coupled with the presence of ZnS at the metal-tribofilm interface. On the other hand, oils without the functionalized nanoparticles have oxides of Fe and to a lesser extent short-chain phosphates of Zn. The overall results suggest that the synergism between plasma-coated PTFE nanoparticles and ZDDP contributed to the development of protective tribofilms even at reduced amount of phosphorus in the oil. This new method of employing nanoparticles to deliver novel antifriction and antiwear chemistries at the tribological interfaces stands out as a promising approach to further reduce P levels in oils without compromising friction and wear performance.« less

  8. Magnetism mediated by a majority of [Fe³⁺ + VO²⁻] complexes in Fe-doped CeO₂ nanoparticles.

    PubMed

    Paidi, V K; Ferreira, N S; Goltz, D; van Lierop, J

    2015-08-26

    We examine the role of Fe(3+) and vacancies (V(O)) on the magnetism of Fe-doped CeO2 nanoparticles. Magnetic nanoparticles of Ce(100-x)Fe(x)O2 (x  =  0, 0.26, 1.82, 2.64, 5.26, 6.91, and 7.22) were prepared by a co-precipitation method, and their structural, compositional and magnetic properties were investigated. The CeO2 nanoparticles had a mixed valance of Ce(4+) and Ce(3+) ions, and doping introduced Fe(3+) ions. The decrease in Ce(3+) and increase in Fe(3+) concentrations indicated the presence of more [Fe(3+) + V(O)(2-)] complexes with Fe loading in the particles. Charge neutralization, Fe(3+) + V(O)(2-) + 2Ce(4+) ↔ 2Ce(3+) + Fe(3+), identified the impact of V(O) on the magnetism, where our results suggest that the Fe-doped CeO2 nanoparticle magnetism is mediated by a majority of [Fe(3+) + V(O)(2-)]-Ce(3+) -[Fe(3+) + V(O)(2-)] complexes.

  9. Competition of the self-activated and Mn-related luminescence in ZnS single crystals

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bacherikov, Yu. Yu.; Vorona, I. P.; Markevich, I. V.; Korsunska, N. O.; Kurichka, R. V.

    2018-06-01

    The photoluminescence (PL) and photoluminescence excitation (PLE) spectra of ZnS single crystals thermally doped from ZnS/MnS mixture were studied at 300 and 77 K. PL spectra exhibit bands caused by Mn-related centers and centers of self-activated (SA) emission. Besides intrinsic maximum, a number of narrow peaks corresponded to Mn-related absorption are found in the PLE spectra of both SA and Mn-related emission. A redistribution of SA and Mn-related emission intensities is observed with temperature change. The mechanism of this phenomenon involving free hole trapping by MnZn and the possible position of a ground energy level of substitutional Mn are discussed.

  10. Microstructure Hierarchical Model of Competitive e+-Ps Trapping in Nanostructurized Substances: from Nanoparticle-Uniform to Nanoparticle-Biased Systems.

    PubMed

    Shpotyuk, Oleh; Ingram, Adam; Bujňáková, Zdenka; Baláž, Peter

    2017-12-01

    Microstructure hierarchical model considering the free-volume elements at the level of interacting crystallites (non-spherical approximation) and the agglomerates of these crystallites (spherical approximation) was developed to describe free-volume evolution in mechanochemically milled As 4 S 4 /ZnS composites employing positron annihilation spectroscopy in a lifetime measuring mode. Positron lifetime spectra were reconstructed from unconstrained three-term decomposition procedure and further subjected to parameterization using x3-x2-coupling decomposition algorithm. Intrinsic inhomogeneities due to coarse-grained As 4 S 4 and fine-grained ZnS nanoparticles were adequately described in terms of substitution trapping in positron and positronium (Ps) (bound positron-electron) states due to interfacial triple junctions between contacting particles and own free-volume defects in boundary compounds. Compositionally dependent nanostructurization in As 4 S 4 /ZnS nanocomposite system was imagined as conversion from o-Ps trapping sites to positron traps. The calculated trapping parameters that were shown could be useful to characterize adequately the nanospace filling in As 4 S 4 /ZnS composites.

  11. Analysis of YBCO high temperature superconductor doped with silver nanoparticles and carbon nanotubes using Williamson-Hall and size-strain plot

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dadras, Sedigheh; Davoudiniya, Masoumeh

    2018-05-01

    This paper sets out to investigate and compare the effects of Ag nanoparticles and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) doping on the mechanical properties of Y1Ba2Cu3O7-δ (YBCO) high temperature superconductor. For this purpose, the pure and doped YBCO samples were synthesized by sol-gel method. The microstructural analysis of the samples is performed using X-ray diffraction (XRD). The crystalline size, lattice strain and stress of the pure and doped YBCO samples were estimated by modified forms of Williamson-Hall analysis (W-H), namely, uniform deformation model (UDM), uniform deformation stress model (UDSM) and the size-strain plot method (SSP). These results show that the crystalline size, lattice strain and stress of the YBCO samples declined by Ag nanoparticles and CNTs doping.

  12. Low-temperature CO oxidation over Cu/Pt co-doped ZrO2 nanoparticles synthesized by solution combustion.

    PubMed

    Singhania, Amit; Gupta, Shipra Mital

    2017-01-01

    Zirconia (ZrO 2 ) nanoparticles co-doped with Cu and Pt were applied as catalysts for carbon monoxide (CO) oxidation. These materials were prepared through solution combustion in order to obtain highly active and stable catalytic nanomaterials. This method allows Pt 2+ and Cu 2+ ions to dissolve into the ZrO 2 lattice and thus creates oxygen vacancies due to lattice distortion and charge imbalance. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) results showed Cu/Pt co-doped ZrO 2 nanoparticles with a size of ca. 10 nm. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Raman spectra confirmed cubic structure and larger oxygen vacancies. The nanoparticles showed excellent activity for CO oxidation. The temperature T 50 (the temperature at which 50% of CO are converted) was lowered by 175 °C in comparison to bare ZrO 2 . Further, they exhibited very high stability for CO reaction (time-on-stream ≈ 70 h). This is due to combined effect of smaller particle size, large oxygen vacancies, high specific surface area and better thermal stability of the Cu/Pt co-doped ZrO 2 nanoparticles. The apparent activation energy for CO oxidation is found to be 45.6 kJ·mol -1 . The CO conversion decreases with increase in gas hourly space velocity (GHSV) and initial CO concentration.

  13. Nanoparticles Doped Liquid Crystal Filled Photonic Bandgap Fibers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Scolari, Lara; Gauza, Sebastian; Xianyu, Haiqing; Zhai, Lei; Eskildsen, Lars; Alkeskjold, Thomas Tanggaard; Wu, Shin-Tson; Bjarklev, Anders

    2008-10-01

    We infiltrate liquid crystals doped with BaTiO3 nanoparticles in a photonic crystal fiber and compare the measured transmission spectrum to the one achieved with undoped liquid crystals. New interesting features such as frequency dependent behavior and a transmission spectrum with tunable attenuation on the short wavelength side of the bandgap suggest a potential application of this device as a tunable all-in-fiber gain equalization filter. The tunability of the device is demonstrated by changing the temperature of the liquid crystal and by varying both the amplitude and the frequency of the applied external electric field.

  14. Efficacy of heat generation in CTAB coated Mn doped ZnFe2O4 nanoparticles for magnetic hyperthermia

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Raland, R. D.; Borah, J. P.

    2017-01-01

    Manganese doped Zinc ferrite (Mn-ZnFe2O4, where Mn  =  0%, 3%, 5% and 7%) nanoparticles were synthesized by a simple co-precipitation method. CTAB (cetyltrimethylammonium bromide) was used as a surfactant to inhibitgrowth and agglomeration. In this work, we have discussed on the influence of CTAB and Mn doping in tailoring the structural and magnetic properties of Mn-ZnFe2O4 nanoparticles for the effective application of magnetic hyperthermia. X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern confirmed the formation of cubic spinel structure of Mn-ZnFe2O4 nanoparticles. Lattice parameter and x-ray densities were obtained from the Rietveld refinement of the XRD pattern. The presence of CTAB as a stabilizing layer adsorbed on the surface of the nanoparticles were confirmed by transmission electron microscope (TEM) and Raman vibrational spectrum. The saturation magnetization showsan increasing trend with Mn addition owing to cationic re-distribution and an increase super-exchange interaction between the two sub-lattices. Superparamagnetic behaviorof Mn-ZnFe2O4 nanoparticles were confirmed by temperature-dependent zero-field-cooling (ZFC) and field-cooling (FC) magnetization curves. The efficiency of induction heating measured by its specific absorption rate (SAR) and intrinsic loss power (ILP) value varies as a function of saturation magnetization. It has been hypothesized that the maximum generation of heat arises from Neel relaxation mechanism. The optimum generation of heat of Mn-ZnFe2O4 nanoparticle is determined by the higher frequency (f  =  337 kHz) range and maximum concentration of Mn doping.

  15. Towards understanding the electronic structure of Fe-doped CeO2 nanoparticles with X-ray spectroscopy.

    PubMed

    Wang, Wei-Cheng; Chen, Shih-Yun; Glans, Per-Anders; Guo, Jinghua; Chen, Ren-Jie; Fong, Kang-Wei; Chen, Chi-Liang; Gloter, Alexandre; Chang, Ching-Lin; Chan, Ting-Shan; Chen, Jin-Ming; Lee, Jyh-Fu; Dong, Chung-Li

    2013-09-21

    This study reports on the electronic structure of Fe-doped CeO2 nanoparticles (NPs), determined by coupled X-ray absorption spectroscopy and X-ray emission spectroscopy. A comparison of the local electronic structure around the Ce site with that around the Fe site indicates that the Fe substitutes for the Ce. The oxygen K-edge spectra that originated from the hybridization between cerium 4f and oxygen 2p states are sensitive to the oxidation state and depend strongly on the concentration of Fe doping. The Ce M(4,5)-edges and the Fe L(2,3)-edges reveal the variations of the charge states of Ce and Fe upon doping, respectively. The band gap is further obtained from the combined absorption-emission spectrum and decreased upon Fe doping, implying Fe doping introduces vacancies. The oxygen vacancies are induced by Fe doping and the spectrum reveals the charge transfer between Fe and Ce. Fe(3+) doping has two major effects on the formation of ferromagnetism in CeO2 nanoparticles. The first, at an Fe content of below 5%, is that the formation of Fe(3+)-Vo-Ce(3+) introduces oxygen deficiencies favoring ferromagnetism. The other, at an Fe content of over 5%, is the formation of Fe(3+)-Vo-Fe(3+), which favors antiferromagnetism, reducing the Ms. The defect structures Fe(3+)-Vo-Ce(3+) and Fe(3+)-Vo-Fe(3+) are crucial to the magnetism in these NPs and the change in Ms can be described as the effect of competitive interactions of magnetic polarons and paired ions.

  16. Morphology and crystallinity of ZnS nanocolumns prepared by glancing angle deposition.

    PubMed

    Lu, Lifang; Zhang, Fujun; Xu, Zheng; Zhao, Suling; Wang, Yongsheng

    2010-03-01

    ZnS films with different morphologies and nanometer structures were fabricated via high vacuum electron beam deposition by changing the oblique angle alpha between the incoming particle flux and the substrate normal. The morphology and crystallinity of ZnS nanocrystalline films prepared on the substrates at alpha = 0 degrees and 80 degrees were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and X-ray diffraction. These experimental results show that the ZnS nanocolumn structure was formed at the situation of alpha = 80 degrees. The incidence angle also strongly influenced the crystallinity of thin films. The most intensive diffraction peaks changed from (220) to (111) when the incidence angle was set to 0 degrees and 80 degrees. The dynamic growth process of ZnS films at alpha = 0 degrees and 80 degrees has been analyzed by shadow effect and atomic surface diffusion. The transmittance spectra of the ZnS thin films prepared at different oblique angles were measured, and the transmissivity of ZnS nanocolumn thin films was enhanced compared with ZnS thin films prepared by normal deposition in the visible light range.

  17. Ni doped Fe3O4 magnetic nanoparticles.

    PubMed

    Larumbe, S; Gómez-Polo, C; Pérez-Landazábal, J I; García-Prieto, A; Alonso, J; Fdez-Gubieda, M L; Cordero, D; Gómez, J

    2012-03-01

    In this work, the effect of nickel doping on the structural and magnetic properties of Fe3O4 nanoparticles is analysed. Ni(x)Fe(3-x)O4 nanoparticles (x = 0, 0.04, 0.06 and 0.11) were obtained by chemical co-precipitation method, starting from a mixture of FeCl2 x 4H2O and Ni(AcO)2 x 4H2O salts. The analysis of the structure and composition of the synthesized nanoparticles confirms their nanometer size (main sizes around 10 nm) and the inclusion of the Ni atoms in the characteristic spinel structure of the magnetite Fe3O4 phase. In order to characterize in detail the structure of the samples, X-ray absorption (XANES) measurements were performed on the Ni and Fe K-edges. The results indicate the oxidation of the Ni atoms to the 2+ state and the location of the Ni2+ cations in the Fe2+ octahedral sites. With respect to the magnetic properties, the samples display the characteristic superparamagnetic behaviour, with anhysteretic magnetic response at room temperature. The estimated magnetic moment confirms the partial substitution of the Fe2+ cations by Ni2+ atoms in the octahedral sites of the spinel structure.

  18. All-optical control of long-lived nuclear spins in rare-earth doped nanoparticles.

    PubMed

    Serrano, D; Karlsson, J; Fossati, A; Ferrier, A; Goldner, P

    2018-05-29

    Nanoscale systems that coherently couple to light and possess spins offer key capabilities for quantum technologies. However, an outstanding challenge is to preserve properties, and especially optical and spin coherence lifetimes, at the nanoscale. Here, we report optically controlled nuclear spins with long coherence lifetimes (T 2 ) in rare-earth-doped nanoparticles. We detect spins echoes and measure a spin coherence lifetime of 2.9 ± 0.3 ms at 5 K under an external magnetic field of 9 mT, a T 2 value comparable to those obtained in bulk rare-earth crystals. Moreover, we achieve spin T 2 extension using all-optical spin dynamical decoupling and observe high fidelity between excitation and echo phases. Rare-earth-doped nanoparticles are thus the only nano-material in which optically controlled spins with millisecond coherence lifetimes have been reported. These results open the way to providing quantum light-atom-spin interfaces with long storage time within hybrid architectures.

  19. Microstructure, ferromagnetic and photoluminescence properties of ITO and Cr doped ITO nanoparticles using solid state reaction

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Babu, S. Harinath; Kaleemulla, S.; Rao, N. Madhusudhana; Rao, G. Venugopal; Krishnamoorthi, C.

    2016-11-01

    Indium-tin-oxide (ITO) (In0.95Sn0.05)2O3 and Cr doped indium-tin-oxide (In0.90Sn0.05Cr0.05)2O3 nanoparticles were prepared using simple low cost solid state reaction method and characterized by different techniques to study their structural, optical and magnetic properties. Microstructures, surface morphology, crystallite size of the nanoparticles were studied using X-ray diffractometer (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM). From these methods it was found that the particles were about 45 nm. Chemical composition and valence states of the nanoparticles were studied using energy dispersive analysis of X-rays (EDAX) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). From these techniques it was observed that the elements of indium, tin, chromium and oxygen were present in the system in appropriate ratios and they were in +3, +4, +3 and -2 oxidation states. Raman studies confirmed that the nanoparticle were free from unintentional impurities. Two broad emission peaks were observed at 330 nm and 460 nm when excited wavelength of 300 nm. Magnetic studies were carried out at 300 K and 100 K using vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) and found that the ITO nanoparticles were ferromagnetic at 100 K and 300 K. Where-as the room temperature ferromagnetism completely disappeared in Cr doped ITO nanoparticles at 100 K and 300 K.

  20. Synthesis and characterization of rod like C doped ZnO nanoparticles with enhanced photocatalytic activities

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Labhane, P. K.; Sapkal, B. M.; Sonawane, G. H.

    2018-05-01

    Carbon (C) doped ZnO rod like nanoparticles were prepared by simple co-precipitation method. The effect of C doping on ZnO has been evaluated by using XRD, Williamson-Hall Plot, FESEM and EDX data. UV light assisted photocatalytic activities of prepared samples were evaluated spectrophotometrically by the degradation of methylene blue (MB). C doped ZnO shows excellent catalytic efficiency compared to pure ZnO, degrading MB completely within 100 min under UV light. Photocatalysis follows the first order kinetics law and the calculated apparent reaction kinetics rate constant suggest the better activity of C-ZnO.

  1. Substrate dependent hierarchical structures of RF sputtered ZnS films

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chalana, S. R.; Mahadevan Pillai, V. P.

    2018-05-01

    RF magnetron sputtering technique was employed to fabricate ZnS nanostructures with special emphasis given to study the effect of substrates (quartz, glass and quartz substrate pre-coated with Au, Ag, Cu and Pt) on the structure, surface evolution and optical properties. Type of substrate has a significant influence on the crystalline phase, film morphology, thickness and surface roughness. The present study elucidates the suitability of quartz substrate for the deposition of stable and highly crystalline ZnS films. We found that the role of metal layer on quartz substrate is substantial in the preparation of hierarchical ZnS structures and these structures are of great importance due to its high specific area and potential applications in various fields. A mechanism for morphological evolution of ZnS structures is also presented based on the roughness of substrates and primary nonlocal effects in sputtering. Furthermore, the findings suggest that a controlled growth of hierarchical ZnS structures may be achieved with an ordinary RF sputtering technique by changing the substrate type.

  2. Self-assembly and alignment of semiconductor nanoparticles on cellulose nanocrystals

    Treesearch

    Sonal Padalkar; Jeff R. Capadona; Stuart J. Rowan; Christoph Weder; Robert J. Moon; Lia A. Stanciu

    2011-01-01

    The synthesis of cadmium sulfide (CdS), zinc sulfide (ZnS), and lead sulfide (PbS) nanoparticle chains on cellulose nanocrystal (CNC) templates can be accomplished by the reaction of the precursor salts. The use of a cationic surfactant, cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), was critical for the synthesis of well-defined semiconductor nanoparticle chains on the...

  3. Photo-induced Leishmania DNA degradation by silver-doped zinc oxide nanoparticle: an in-vitro approach.

    PubMed

    Nadhman, Akhtar; Sirajuddin, Muhammad; Nazir, Samina; Yasinzai, Masoom

    2016-06-01

    Recently, the authors reported newly synthesised polyethylene glycol (PEG)ylated silver (9%)-doped zinc oxide nanoparticle (doped semiconductor nanoparticle (DSN)) which has high potency for killing Leishmania tropica by producing reactive oxygen species on exposure to sunlight. The current report is focused on Leishmania DNA interaction and damage caused by the DSN. Here, we showed that the damage to Leishmania DNA was indirect, as the DSN was unable to interact with the DNA in intact Leishmania cell, indicating the incapability of PEGylated DSN to cross the nucleus barrier. The DNA damage was the result of high production of singlet oxygen on exposure to sunlight. The DNA damage was successfully prevented by singlet oxygen scavenger (sodium azide) confirming involvement of the highly energetic singlet oxygen in the DNA degradation process.

  4. Pulsed laser ablation synthesis of silver nanoparticles and their use in fluorescence enhancement of Tb3+-doped aluminosilicate glass

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Verma, R. K.; Kumar, K.; Rai, S. B.

    2010-10-01

    Spherical silver nanoparticles have been synthesized using laser ablation in distilled water. These nanoparticles are embedded in Tb 3+-doped aluminosilicate glass through the sol-gel technique. The presence of these nanoparticles is seen to increase the emission intensity of the Tb 3+ ions by more than 100%. Energy transfer from the excited silver nanoparticles to Tb 3+ ions is the probable cause for this increase in emission intensity.

  5. Effect of CTAB concentration on synthesis of nickel doped manganese oxide nanoparticles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shobana, R.; Saravanakumar, B.; Ravi, G.; Yuvakkumar, R.

    2018-05-01

    In this work the effect of concentration of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) in the synthesis of Nickel doped Manganese oxide (Ni-MnO2) nanoparticles have been carried out by adopting the sol-gel process. The synthesized products were characterized by XRD, Infra- Red (FTIR) and SEM analysis. The XRD confirms the formation of Ni-MnO2 nanoparticles illustrate peak at 31.4° with lattice plane (-231). The IR spectra correspond to the peak at 592 and 846 cm-1 attributed to the characteristics peak for Ni-MnO2 nanoparticles. The SEM images for all three Ni-MnO2 nanoparticles for different concentration of CTAB allows us to assess the formation route of nano tentacles from 10 mM, 30 mM and 50 mM. The configured nano tentacles of Ni-MnO2 nanoparticles presumably leads to more significantly change its properties, particularly in its electrochemical properties show the ways to be suitable candidates for supercapacitor, battery, photo catalytic and fuel cell applications.

  6. Improving the selective cancer killing ability of ZnO nanoparticles using Fe doping.

    PubMed

    Thurber, Aaron; Wingett, Denise G; Rasmussen, John W; Layne, Janet; Johnson, Lydia; Tenne, Dmitri A; Zhang, Jianhui; Hanna, Charles B; Punnoose, Alex

    2012-06-01

    This work reports a new method to improve our recent demonstration of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles (NPs) selectively killing certain human cancer cells, achieved by incorporating Fe ions into the NPs. Thoroughly characterized cationic ZnO NPs (∼6 nm) doped with Fe ions (Zn(1-x )Fe (x) O, x = 0-0.15) were used in this work, applied at a concentration of 24 μg/ml. Cytotoxicity studies using flow cytometry on Jurkat leukemic cancer cells show cell viability drops from about 43% for undoped ZnO NPs to 15% for ZnO NPs doped with 7.5% Fe. However, the trend reverses and cell viability increases with higher Fe concentrations. The non-immortalized human T cells are markedly more resistant to Fe-doped ZnO NPs than cancerous T cells, confirming that Fe-doped samples still maintain selective toxicity to cancer cells. Pure iron oxide samples displayed no appreciable toxicity. Reactive oxygen species generated with NP introduction to cells increased with increasing Fe up to 7.5% and decreased for >7.5% doping.

  7. Luminescent Processes Elucidated by Simple Experiments on ZnS.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Schwankner, R.; And Others

    1981-01-01

    Describes some impurity-related optical properties of semiconductors, with special emphasis on the luminescence of zinc sulfide (ZnS). Presents and interprets five experiments using a ZnS screen, ultraviolet lamp, transparent Dewar liquid nitrogen, and a helium/neon gas base. Includes application of luminescence measurements to archaeology. (SK)

  8. Interaction of light with dye-doped calcium phosphate nanoparticles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Russin, Timothy John

    In this work we present work on a novel amorphous calcium phosphate nanoparticle system for use in bioimaging and drug delivery applications. The system, by virtue of its synthesis, can be made to encapsulate and protect any number of molecules that are not suitable for biological applications on their own; for example, medication that is poorly soluble in aqueous solution can be encapsulated for delivery, or fragile optical molecules can be encapsulated to protect them from the local environment. We have encapsulated the near-infrared dye indocyanine green, which has beneficial properties for optical imaging (low biotoxicity, absorption and emission at a minimum of tissue absorption). There are two original works presented in this thesis. The first describes the measurement of the quantum yield of the indocyanine green-doped nanoparticles, as well as the development of a theoretical method to extract the molecular quantum yield of a fluorophore encapsulated in a dielectric sphere from effective quantum yield measurements of nanoparticle dispersions in solution. The second work is an application of diffuse scattering theory to the problem of light propagation in biological tissue; specifically, the limits on penetration depth for photodynamic therapy and bioimaging.

  9. Luminescence study on Eu3+ doped Y2O3 nanoparticles: particle size, concentration and core-shell formation effects

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Robindro Singh, L.; Ningthoujam, R. S.; Sudarsan, V.; Srivastava, Iti; Dorendrajit Singh, S.; Dey, G. K.; Kulshreshtha, S. K.

    2008-02-01

    Nanoparticles of Eu3+ doped Y2O3 (core) and Eu3+ doped Y2O3 covered with Y2O3 shell (core-shell) are prepared by urea hydrolysis for 3 h in ethylene glycol medium at a relatively low temperature of 140 °C, followed by heating at 500 and 900 °C. Particle sizes determined from x-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopic studies are 11 and 18 nm for 500 and 900 °C heated samples respectively. Based on the luminescence studies of 500 and 900 °C heated samples, it is confirmed that there is no particle size effect on the peak positions of Eu3+ emission, and optimum luminescence intensity is observed from the nanoparticles with a Eu3+ concentration of 4-5 at.%. A luminescence study establishes that the Eu3+ environment in amorphous Y (OH)3 is different from that in crystalline Y2O3. For a fixed concentration of Eu3+ doping, there is a reduction in Eu3+ emission intensity for core-shell nanoparticles compared to that of core nanoparticles, and this has been attributed to the concentration dilution effect. Energy transfer from the host to Eu3+ increases with increase of crystallinity.

  10. An efficient polymeric micromotor doped with Pt nanoparticle@carbon nanotubes for complex bio-media.

    PubMed

    Li, Yana; Wu, Jie; Xie, Yuzhe; Ju, Huangxian

    2015-04-14

    A highly efficient polymeric tubular micromotor doped with Pt nanoparticle@carbon nanotubes is fabricated by template-assisted electrochemical growth. The micromotors preserve good navigation in multi-media and surface modification, along with simple synthesis, easy functionalization and good biocompatibility, displaying great promise in biological applications.

  11. Structure and high photocatalytic activity of (N, Ta)-doped TiO{sub 2} nanoparticles

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

    Le, N. T. H.; Lam, V. D.; Manh, D. H.

    2016-10-14

    A hydrothermal method was used to prepare three nano-crystalline samples of TiO{sub 2} (S1), N-doped TiO{sub 2} (S2), and (N, Ta)-codoped TiO{sub 2} (S3) with average crystallite sizes (D) of 13–25 nm. X-ray diffraction studies confirmed a single phase of the samples with a tetragonal/anatase structure. A slight increase in the lattice parameters was observed when N and/or Ta dopants were doped into the TiO{sub 2} host lattice. Detailed analyses of extended X-ray absorption spectra indicated that N- and/or Ta-doping into TiO{sub 2} nanoparticles influenced the co-ordination number and radial distance (R) of Ti ions in the anatase structure. Concerning theirmore » absorption spectra, (N, Ta)-doping narrowed the band gap (E{sub g}) of TiO{sub 2} from 3.03 eV for S1 through 2.94 eV for S2 to 2.85 eV for S3. Such results revealed the applicability of these nanoparticles in the photocatalytic field working in the ultraviolet (UV)-visible region. Among these, photocatalytic activity of S3 was the strongest. By using S3 as a catalyst powder, the degradation efficiency of methylene blue solution was about 99% and 93% after irradiation of UV-visible light for 75 min and visible-light for 180 min, respectively.« less

  12. Local structure analysis of diluted magnetic semiconductor Co and Al co-doped ZnO nanoparticles

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

    Hyodo, K.; Morimoto, S.; Yamazaki, T.

    2016-02-01

    In this study, Co and Al ions co-doped ZnO nanoparticles (Zn(Al, Co)O NPs) were prepared by our original chemical preparation method. The obtained samples prepared by this method, were encapsulated in amorphous SiO{sub 2}. X-ray diffraction (XRD) results showed Zn(Al, Co)O NPs had a single-phase nature with hexagonal wurtzite structure. These particle sizes could be controlled to be approximately 30 nm. We investigate the effect that the increase in the carrier has on the magnetization by doping Al to Co-doped ZnO NPs. The local structures were qualitatively analyzed using X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) measurements.

  13. Photocatalytic activity of Li-doped TiO{sub 2} nanoparticles: Synthesis via ionic liquid-assisted hydrothermal route

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

    Ravishankar, T.N.; Nagaraju, G., E-mail: nagarajugn@rediffmail.com; Department of Chemistry, Siddaganga Institute of Technology, Tumkur, Karnataka

    Highlights: • TiO{sub 2}: Li nanoparticles were synthesized via an ionic liquid-assisted hydrothermal method. • The doping of Li to anatase TiO{sub 2} affects the properties of the resultant product. • TiO{sub 2}: Li nanoparticles were used as a photocatalyst for the degradation of dye. • TiO{sub 2}: Li nanoparticles were used as sensor, and antibacterial agent. • TiO{sub 2}: Li were used as reducing agent for the reduction of Cr{sup 6+} to Cr{sup 3+}. - Abstract: We have proposed a simple one pot synthesis of lithium-doped TiO{sub 2} nanoparticles (TiO{sub 2}:Li) via an ionic liquid-assisted hydrothermal method and theirmore » potential use as a photocatalyst for the degradation of organic dye, as well as the reduction of toxic Cr{sup 6+} to non toxic Cr{sup 3+}. The structure of TiO{sub 2}:Li nanoparticles was examined by XRD, FTIR, XPS, Raman, UV–vis, Photoluminescence spectroscopy and morphology by SEM and TEM. The incorporation of Li into anatase-phase TiO{sub 2} affected the optical properties of the resultant TiO{sub 2} nanoparticles. The photocatalytic activity of the TiO{sub 2}:Li nanoparticles was determined by degradation of trypan blue. Degradation studies showed improved photocatalytic activity of TiO{sub 2}:Li nanoparticles compared to TiO{sub 2} nanoparticles and bulk TiO{sub 2}. TiO{sub 2}:Li nanoparticles also functioned as a detoxification agent which was confirmed by the reduction of Cr{sup 6+} to Cr{sup 3+}.« less

  14. Thermal, optical and vibrational studies of tyrosine doped LaF3:Ce nanoparticles for bioimaging and biotagging

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Singh, Amit T.

    2018-05-01

    Upconversion quantum dots of tyrosine doped LaF3:Ce nanoparticles have been synthesized by wet chemical route. The thermal studies (TGA/DTA) confirm the crystallinity and stability of different phases of synthesized nanoparticles. The UV-Visible spectra show multiple absorption edges at 215.60 nm and 243.10 nm indicating quantum dot nature of the synthesized nanoparticles. The PL spectra showed upconversion with sharp emission peak at 615 nm (red colour). The FT-RAMAN spectra of the synthesized nanoparticles show the modification of the surface of the nanoparticles in the form of functional groups and skeletal groups. Upconversion nature of the synthesized nanoparticles indicates their potential application in bioimaging and biotagging.

  15. Enhanced photo-catalytic activity of Sr and Ag co-doped TiO2 nanoparticles for the degradation of Direct Green-6 and Reactive Blue-160 under UV & visible light.

    PubMed

    Naraginti, Saraschandra; Thejaswini, T V L; Prabhakaran, D; Sivakumar, A; Satyanarayana, V S V; Arun Prasad, A S

    2015-10-05

    This work is focused on sol-gel synthesis of silver and strontium co-doped TiO2 nanoparticles and their utilization as photo-catalysts in degradation of two textile dyes. Effect of pH, intensity of light, amount of photo-catalyst, concentration of dye, sensitizers, etc., were studied to optimize conditions for obtaining enhanced photo-catalytic activity of synthesized nanoparticles. XRD, BET, HR-TEM, EDAX and UV-Vis (diffused reflectance mode) techniques were used to characterize the nanoparticles. Interestingly, band gap of Sr and Ag co-doped TiO2 nanoparticles showed considerable narrowing (2.6 eV) when compared to Ag doped TiO2 (2.7 eV) and undoped TiO2 (3.17 eV) nanoparticles. Incorporation of Ag and Sr in the lattice of TiO2 could bring isolated energy levels near conduction and valence bands thus narrowing band gap. The XRD analysis shows that both Ag and Sr nanoparticles are finely dispersed on the surface of titania framework, without disturbing its crystalline structure. TEM images indicate that representative grain sizes of Ag-doped TiO2 & Sr and Ag co-doped TiO2 nanoparticles are in the range of 8-20 nm and 11-25 nm, respectively. Effective degradation of Direct Green-6 (DG-6) and Reactive Blue-160 (RB-160) under UV and visible light has been achieved using the photo-catalysts. Sr and Ag co-doped TiO2 photo-catalysts showed higher catalytic activity during degradation process in visible region when compared to Ag-doped and undoped TiO2 nanoparticles which could be attributed to the interactive effect caused by band gap narrowing and enhancement in charge separation. For confirming degradation of the dyes, total organic carbon (TOC) content was monitored periodically. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  16. Structure and photoluminescence properties of ZnS films grown on porous Si substrates

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wang, Cai-feng; Hu, Bo; Yi, Hou-hui; Li, Wei-bing

    2011-11-01

    ZnS films were deposited on porous silicon (PS) substrates with different porosities. With the increase of PS substrate porosity, the XRD diffraction peak intensity decreases and the surface morphology of the ZnS films becomes rougher. Voids appear in the films, due to the increased roughness of PS structure. The photoluminescence (PL) spectra of the samples before and after deposition of ZnS were measured to study the effect of substrate porosity on the luminescence properties of ZnS/PS composites. As-prepared PS substrates emit strong red light. The red PL peak of PS after deposition of ZnS shows an obvious blueshift. As PS substrate porosity increases, the trend of blueshift increases. A green emission at about 550 nm was also observed when the porosity of PS increased, which is ascribed to the defect-center luminescence of ZnS. The effect of annealing time on the structural and luminescence properties of ZnS/PS composites were also studied. With the increase of annealing time, the XRD diffraction peak intensity and the self-activated luminescence intensity of ZnS increase, and, the surface morphology of the ZnS films becomes smooth and compact. However, the red emission intensity of PS decreases, which was associated with a redshift. White light emission was obtained by combining the luminescence of ZnS with the luminescence of PS.

  17. Simple preparation of fluorescent composite films based on cerium and europium doped LaF3 nanoparticles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Secco, Henrique de L.; Ferreira, Fabio F.; Péres, Laura O.

    2018-03-01

    The combination of materials to form hybrids with unique properties, different from those of the isolated components, is a strategy used to prepare functional materials with improved properties aiming to allow their application in specific fields. The doping of lanthanum fluoride with other rare earth elements is used to obtain luminescent particles, which may be useful to the manufacturing of electronic devices' displays and biological markers, for instance. The application of the powder of nanoparticles has limitations in some fields; to overcome this, the powder may be incorporated in a suitable polymeric matrix. In this work, lanthanum fluoride nanoparticles, undoped and doped with cerium and europium, were synthesized through the co-precipitation method in aqueous solution. Aiming the formation of solid state films, composites of nanoparticles in an elastomeric matrix, the nitrile rubber (NBR), were prepared. The flexibility and the transparency of the matrix in the regions of interest are advantages for the application of the luminescent composites. The composites were applied as films using the casting and the spin coating techniques and luminescent materials were obtained in the samples doped with europium and cerium. Scanning electron microscopy images showed an adequate dispersion of the particles in the matrix in both film formation techniques. Aggregates of the particles were detected in the samples which may affect the uniformity of the emission of the composites.

  18. Doping of magnetite nanoparticles facilitates clean harvesting of diatom oil as biofuel for sustainable energy

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kumar, Vikas; Singh, Ramesh; Thakur, Shipra; Ballabh Joshi, Khashti; Vinayak, Vandana

    2018-04-01

    Photosynthetic unicellular brown algae diatoms are considered as photobioreactors (PBRs) that synthesize and store oil in the form of lipid droplets and the much of the crude oil we use comes from fossil diatoms. The clean extraction of this crude oil from diatoms is difficult task. The construction of green chemical protocols for the clean separation of diatom oil from cells without killing or to harm the diatom cells is still in its primitive stage. In this report we would like to propose that facile doping of magnetite on diatoms can be used for clean oil separation in PBRs. We doped magnetite nanoparticles onto the surface of diatom Diadesmis confervaceae a diatom which oozes oil naturally. Doping magnetite onto diatoms can also facilitate easy separation of oil when cells are kept in an electromagnetic field. The cell wall of diatom besides having SiOH group has 281 amino acids of which 187–188 amino acids are conserved and are known for metal binding sites. The magnetite nanoparticles bind to the SiOH groups and metal binding sites of amino acids. The presence of appropriate amine functionalized linkers forming peptide aminosilane shells can further facilitate the binding of peptide/polypeptides which can be used in drug delivery. Besides this the magnetite doped diatoms have wide applications in removal of phosphates and chromium from waste water too.

  19. Efficient photocatalytic degradation of rhodamine-B by Fe doped CuS diluted magnetic semiconductor nanoparticles under the simulated sunlight irradiation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sreelekha, N.; Subramanyam, K.; Amaranatha Reddy, D.; Murali, G.; Rahul Varma, K.; Vijayalakshmi, R. P.

    2016-12-01

    The present work is planned for a simple, inexpensive and efficient approach for the synthesis of Cu1-xFexS (x = 0.00, 0.01, 0.03, 0.05 and 0.07) nanoparticles via simplistic chemical co-precipitation route by using ethylene diamine tetra acetic acid (EDTA) as a capping molecules. As synthesized nanoparticles were used as competent catalysts for degradation of rhodamine-B organic dye pollutant. The properties of prepared samples were analyzed with energy dispersive analysis of X-rays (EDAX), X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), UV-visible optical absorption spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra, Raman spectra and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). EDAX spectra corroborated the existence of Fe in prepared nanoparticles within close proximity to stoichiometric ratio. XRD, FTIR and Raman patterns affirmed that configuration of single phase hexagonal crystal structure as that of (P63/mmc) CuS, without impurity crystals. The average particle size estimated by TEM scrutiny is in the assortment of 5-10 nm. UV-visible optical absorption measurements showed that band gap narrowing with increasing the Fe doping concentration. VSM measurements revealed that 3% Fe doped CuS nanoparticles exhibited strong ferromagnetism at room temperature and changeover of magnetic signs from ferromagnetic to the paramagnetic nature with increasing the Fe doping concentration in CuS host lattice. Among all Fe doped CuS nanoparticles, 3% Fe inclusion CuS sample shows better photocatalytic performance in decomposition of RhB compared with the pristine CuS. Thus as synthesized Cu0·97Fe0·03S nanocatalysts are tremendously realistic compounds for photocatalytic fictionalization in the direction of organic dye degradation under visible light.

  20. N-doped graphene coupled with Co nanoparticles as an efficient electrocatalyst for oxygen reduction in alkaline media

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhang, Geng; Lu, Wangting; Cao, Feifei; Xiao, Zhidong; Zheng, Xinsheng

    2016-01-01

    Development of low-cost and highly efficient electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is still a great challenge for the large-scale application of fuel cells and metal-air batteries. Herein, a noble metal-free ORR electrocatalyst in the form of N-doped graphene coupled with part of Co nanoparticles encased in N-doped graphitic shells (named as SUCo-0.03-800) is prepared by facile one-step pyrolysis of the mixture of sucrose, urea and cobalt nitrate. The novel structure is confirmed by High Resolution-TEM, XRD, XPS and Raman spectroscopy. SUCo-0.03-800 presents comparable ORR catalytic activity to commercial Pt/C catalyst with a dominating four-electron pathway under alkaline conditions, and both of its mass activity and volume activity also outperform Co-free N-doped graphene and other Co/N-C hybrids with higher Co content, which may probably be ascribed to the high specific surface area, novel structure and synergistic effect between encased Co nanoparticles and N-doped graphitic shell. Additionally, SUCo-0.03-800 also shows outstanding stability and improved selectivity towards ORR, making it a promising alternative to Pt with potential application in fuel cells and metal-air batteries.

  1. Behaviour of nematic liquid crystals doped with ferroelectric nanoparticles in the presence of an electric field

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Emdadi, M.; Poursamad, J. B.; Sahrai, M.; Moghaddas, F.

    2018-06-01

    A planar nematic liquid crystal cell (NLC) doped with spherical ferroelectric nanoparticles is considered. Polarisation of the nanoparticles are assumed to be along the NLC molecules parallel and antiparallel to the director with equal probability. The NLC molecules anchoring to the cell walls are considered to be strong, while soft anchoring at the nanoparticles surface is supposed. Behaviour of the NLC molecules and nanoparticles in the presence of a perpendicular electric field to the NLC cell is theoretically investigated. The electric field of the nanoparticles is taken into account in the calculations. Freedericksz transition (FT) threshold field in the presence of nanoparticles is found. Then, the director and particles reorientations for the electric fields larger than the threshold field are studied. Measuring the onset of the nanoparticles reorientation is proposed as a new method for the FT threshold measurement.

  2. Study of the Photodynamic Activity of N-Doped TiO2 Nanoparticles Conjugated with Aluminum Phthalocyanine

    PubMed Central

    Pan, Xiaobo; Liang, Xinyue; Yao, Longfang; Wang, Xinyi; Jing, Yueyue; Fei, Yiyan; Chen, Li

    2017-01-01

    TiO2 nanoparticles modified with phthalocyanines (Pc) have been proven to be a potential photosensitizer in the application of photodynamic therapy (PDT). However, the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) by TiO2 nanoparticles modified with Pc has not been demonstrated clearly. In this study, nitrogen-doped TiO2 conjugated with Pc (N-TiO2-Pc) were studied by means of monitoring the generation of ROS. The absorbance and photokilling effect on HeLa cells upon visible light of different regions were also studied and compared with non-doped TiO2-Pc and Pc. Both N-TiO2-Pc and TiO2-Pc can be activated by visible light and exhibited much higher photokilling effect on HeLa cells than Pc. In addition, nitrogen-doping can greatly enhance the formation of 1O2 and •O2−, while it suppresses the generation of OH•. This resulted in significant photodynamic activity. Therefore, N-TiO2-Pc can be an excellent candidate for a photosensitizer in PDT with wide-spectrum visible irradiation. PMID:29053580

  3. Luminescence of Er/Yb and Tm/Yb doped FAp nanoparticles and ceramics

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Grigorjeva, L.; Smits, K.; Millers, D.; Jankoviča, Dz

    2015-03-01

    The nanoparticles of hydroxiapatite and fluorapatite doped with Er/Yb and Tm/Yb were synthesized and characterized by FTIR, XRD, SEM and TEM methods. The results of up-conversion luminescence studies were presented for the samples as prepared, annealed at 500°C and at 900-1000 °C. At annealing above 800°C the ceramic state was formed. It is shown that fluorapatite host is more appropriate than hydroxiapatite host for rare ions luminescence and up-conversion processes. The post preparing annealing of nanarticles significantly enhanced the luminescence intensity. The Tm/Yb doped fluorapatite shows intense up-conversion luminescence in 790-800 nm spectral region and is potentially useful for biomedical applications.

  4. One-step synthesis of nitrogen, boron co-doped fluorescent carbon nanoparticles for glucose detection.

    PubMed

    Liang, Meijuan; Ren, Yi; Zhang, Haijuan; Ma, Yunxia; Niu, Xiaoying; Chen, Xingguo

    2017-09-01

    Heteroatom-doped carbon nanoparticles (CNPs) have attracted considerable attention due to an effective improvement in their intrinsic properties. Here, a facile and simple synthesis of nitrogen, boron co-doped carbon nanoparticles (NB-CNPs) from a sole precursor, 3-aminophenylboronic acid, was performed via a one-step solid-phase approach. Because of the presence of boronic acid, NB-CNPs can be used directly as a fluorescent probe for glucose. Based on a boronic acid-triggered specific reaction, we developed a simple NB-CNP probe without surface modification for the detection of glucose. When glucose was introduced, the fluorescence of NB-CNPs was suppressed through a surface-quenching states mechanism. Obvious fluorescence quenching allowed the highly sensitive determination of glucose with a limit of detection of 1.8 μM. Moreover, the proposed method has been successfully used to detect glucose in urine from people with diabetes, suggesting potential application in sensing glucose. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  5. Significant enhancement in photocatalytic performance of Ni doped BiFeO3 nanoparticles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nadeem, M.; Khan, Wasi; Khan, Shakeel; Shoeb, Mohd; Husain, Shahid; Mobin, Mohammad

    2018-06-01

    In the present work, we have investigated the effect of Ni doping on the microstructure and photocatalytic properties of BiFeO3 samples. All the compositions of BiFe1‑xNixO3 (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.07) have been synthesized via cost effective ethylene glycol based sol-gel method. The Rietveld refinement of the XRD data revealed rhombohedral crystal structure with R3c space group. The FTIR spectroscopy confirms the formation of BiFeO3 compound. UV–visible DRS result affirmed that the band gap of the samples can be tuned towards visible range by the Ni substitution. The photoluminescence spectra indicate lower intensity with the Ni content, signify reduction in recombination rate of the electron-hole pairs. The photocatalytic response of the nanoparticles was examined for the degradation of methylene blue (MB) dye under visible light irradiation and the highest photocatalytic response was observed for 7% Ni doped sample. Therefore, the observed results suggest potential application of the synthesized nanoparticles for wastewater treatment purpose.

  6. Micro-emulsion-assisted synthesis of ZnS nanospheres and their photocatalytic activity

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

    Li Yao; He Xiaoyan; Cao Minhua

    2008-11-03

    ZnS nanospheres with rough surface were synthesized by using a micro-emulsion-assisted solvothemal process. The molar ratio of [water]/[surfactant] played an important role in controlling the size of the ZnS nanospheres. X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), field emission-scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM), and selected area electron diffraction (SAED) were used for the characterization of the resulting ZnS nanospheres. A possible formation mechanism was proposed. These ZnS nanospheres exhibited a good photocatalytic activity for degradation of an aqueous p-nitrophenol solution and the total organic carbon (TOC) of the degradation product has also been investigated.

  7. Flexible, ferroelectric nanoparticle doped polymer dispersed liquid crystal devices for lower switching voltage and nanoenergy generation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nimmy John, V.; Varanakkottu, Subramanyan Namboodiri; Varghese, Soney

    2018-06-01

    Flexible polymer dispersed liquid crystal (F-PDLC) devices were fabricated using transparent conducting ITO/PET film. Polymerization induced phase separation (PIPS) method was used for pure and ferroelectric BaTiO3 (BTO) and ZnO doped PDLC devices. The distribution of nanoparticles in the PDLC and the formation of micro cavities were studied using field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). It was observed that the addition of ferroelectric BTO nanoparticles has reduced the threshold voltage (Vth) and saturation voltage (Vsat) of FNP-PDLC by 85% and 41% respectively due to the spontaneous polarization of ferroelectric nanoparticles. The ferroelectric properties of BTO and ZnO in the fabricated devices were investigated using dynamic contact electrostatic force microscopy (DC EFM). Flexing the device can generate a potential due to the piezo-tribo electric effect of the ferroelectric nanomaterial doped in the PDLC matrix, which could be utilized as an energy generating system. The switching voltage after multiple flexing was also studied and found to be in par with non-flexing situations.

  8. Concise N-doped Carbon Nanosheets/Vanadium Nitride Nanoparticles Materials via Intercalative Polymerization for Supercapacitors.

    PubMed

    Tan, Yongtao; Liu, Ying; Tang, Zhenghua; Wang, Zhe; Kong, Lingbin; Kang, Long; Liu, Zhen; Ran, Fen

    2018-02-13

    N-doped carbon nanosheets/vanadium nitride nanoparticles (N-CNS/VNNPs) are synthesized via a novel method combining surface-initiated in-situ intercalative polymerization and thermal-treatment process in NH 3 /N 2 atmosphere. The pH value of the synthesis system plays a critical role in constructing the structure and enhancing electrochemical performance for N-CNS/VNNPs, which are characterized by SEM, TEM, XRD, and XPS, and measured by electrochemical station, respectively. The results show that N-CNS/VNNPs materials consist of 2D N-doped carbon nanosheets and 0D VN nanoparticles. With the pH value decreasing from 2 to 0, the sizes of both carbon nanosheets and VN nanoparticles decreased to smaller in nanoscale. The maximum specific capacitance of 280 F g -1 at the current density of 1 A g -1 for N-CNS/VNNPs is achieved in three-electrode configuration. The asymmetric energy device of Ni(OH) 2 ||N-CNS/VNNPs offers a specific capacitance of 89.6 F g -1 and retention of 60% at 2.7 A g -1 after 5000 cycles. The maximum energy density of Ni(OH) 2 ||N-CNS/VNNPs asymmetric energy device is as high as 29.5 Wh kg -1 .

  9. Investigation of photoluminescence and dielectric properties of pure and Fe doped nickel oxide nanoparticles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gupta, Jhalak; Ahmad, Arham S.

    2018-05-01

    The nanocrystallites of pure and Fe doped Nickel Oxide (NiO) were synthesized by the cost effective co-precipitation method using nickel nitrate as the initial precursor. The synthesized nickel oxide nanoparticles were characterized by X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Photoluminiscence Spectroscopy (PL), LCR meter. The crystallite size of synthesized pure Nickel Oxide nanoparticles obtained by XRD using Debye Scherer's formula was found to be 21.8nm and the size decreases on increasing the dopant concentration. The optical properties were analyzed by PL and dielectric ones by using LCR meter.

  10. Small-angle neutron scattering investigations of Co-doped iron oxide nanoparticles. Preliminary results

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Creanga, Dorina; Balasoiu, Maria; Soloviov, Dmitro; Balasoiu-Gaina, Alexandra-Maria; Puscasu, Emil; Lupu, Nicoleta; Stan, Cristina

    2018-03-01

    Preliminary small-angle neutron scattering investigations on aqueous suspensions of several cobalt doped ferrites (CoxFe3-xO4, x=0; 0.5; 1) nanoparticles prepared by chemical co-precipitation method, are reported. The measurements were accomplished at the YuMO instrument in function at the IBR-2 reactor. Results of intermediary data treatment are presented and discussed.

  11. Bismuth doping effect on crystal structure and photodegradation activity of Bi-TiO2 nanoparticles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wu, Ming-Chung; Chang, Yin-Hsuan; Lin, Ting-Han

    2017-04-01

    The bismuth precursor is adopted as dopant to synthesize bismuth doped titanium dioxide nanoparticles (Bi-TiO2 NPs) with sol-gel method following by the thermal annealing treatment. We systematically developed a series of Bi-TiO2 NPs at several calcination temperatures and discovered the corresponding crystal structure by varying the bismuth doping concentration. At a certain 650 °C calcination temperature, the crystal structure of bismuth titanate (Bi2Ti2O7) is formed when the bismuth doping concentration is as high as 10.0 mol %. The photocatalytic activity of Bi-TiO2 NPs is increased by varying the doping concentration at the particular calcination temperature. By the definition X-ray diffraction (XRD) structural identification, a phase diagram of Bi-TiO2 NPs in doping concentration versus calcination temperature is provided. It can be useful for further study in the crystal structure engineering and the development of photocatalyst.

  12. Cobalt-Assisted Morphology and Assembly Control of Co-Doped ZnO Nanoparticles

    PubMed Central

    Han, Xianying; Wahl, Sebastian; Russo, Patrícia A.

    2018-01-01

    The morphology of metal oxide nanostructures influences the response of the materials in a given application. In addition to changing the composition, doping can also modify the morphology of a host nanomaterial. Herein, we determine the effect of dopant concentration, reaction temperature, and reaction time on the morphology and assembly of CoxZn1−xO nanoparticles synthesized through non-aqueous sol-gel in benzyl alcohol. With the increase of the atom % of cobalt incorporated from 0 to 15, the shape of the nanoparticles changes from near spherical, to irregular, and finally to triangular. The tendency of the particles to assemble increases in the same direction, with Co0.05Zn0.95O consisting of non-assembled particles, whereas Co0.15Zn0.85O consists of triangular nanoparticles forming spherical structures. The morphology and assembly process are also sensitive to the reaction temperature. The assembly process is found to occur during the nucleation or the early stages of particle growth. The cobalt ions promote the change in the shape during the growth stage of the nanoparticles. PMID:29673179

  13. Exploiting Fast Exciton Diffusion in Dye-Doped Polymer Nanoparticles to Engineer Efficient Photoswitching.

    PubMed

    Trofymchuk, Kateryna; Prodi, Luca; Reisch, Andreas; Mély, Yves; Altenhöner, Kai; Mattay, Jochen; Klymchenko, Andrey S

    2015-06-18

    Photoswitching of bright fluorescent nanoparticles opens new possibilities for bioimaging with superior temporal and spatial resolution. However, efficient photoswitching of nanoparticles is hard to achieve using Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) to a photochromic dye, because the particle size is usually larger than the Förster radius. Here, we propose to exploit the exciton diffusion within the FRET donor dyes to boost photoswitching efficiency in dye-doped polymer nanoparticles. To this end, we utilized bulky hydrophobic counterions that prevent self-quenching and favor communication of octadecyl rhodamine B dyes inside a polymer matrix of poly(D,L-lactide-co-glycolide). Among tested counterions, only perfluorinated tetraphenylborate that favors the exciton diffusion enables high photoswitching efficiency (on/off ratio ∼20). The switching improves with donor dye loading and requires only 0.1-0.3 wt % of a diphenylethene photochromic dye. Our nanoparticles were validated both in solution and at the single-particle level. The proposed concept paves the way to new efficient photoswitchable nanomaterials.

  14. Pharmacokinetics, tissue distribution, and excretion of zinc oxide nanoparticles

    PubMed Central

    Baek, Miri; Chung, Hae-Eun; Yu, Jin; Lee, Jung-A; Kim, Tae-Hyun; Oh, Jae-Min; Lee, Won-Jae; Paek, Seung-Min; Lee, Jong Kwon; Jeong, Jayoung; Choy, Jin-Ho; Choi, Soo-Jin

    2012-01-01

    Background This study explored the pharmacokinetics, tissue distribution, and excretion profile of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles with respect to their particle size in rats. Methods Two ZnO nanoparticles of different size (20 nm and 70 nm) were orally administered to male and female rats, respectively. The area under the plasma concentration-time curve, tissue distribution, excretion, and the fate of the nanoparticles in organs were analyzed. Results The plasma zinc concentration of both sizes of ZnO nanoparticles increased during the 24 hours after administration in a dose-dependent manner. They were mainly distributed to organs such as the liver, lung, and kidney within 72 hours without any significant difference being found according to particle size or rat gender. Elimination kinetics showed that a small amount of ZnO nanoparticles was excreted via the urine, while most of nanoparticles were excreted via the feces. Transmission electron microscopy and x-ray absorption spectroscopy studies in the tissues showed no noticeable ZnO nanoparticles, while new Zn-S bonds were observed in tissues. Conclusion ZnO nanoparticles of different size were not easily absorbed into the bloodstream via the gastrointestinal tract after a single oral dose. The liver, lung, and kidney could be possible target organs for accumulation and toxicity of ZnO nanoparticles was independent of particle size or gender. ZnO nanoparticles appear to be absorbed in the organs in an ionic form rather than in a particulate form due to newly formed Zn-S bonds. The nanoparticles were mainly excreted via the feces, and smaller particles were cleared more rapidly than the larger ones. ZnO nanoparticles at a concentration below 300 mg/kg were distributed in tissues and excreted within 24 hours. These findings provide crucial information on possible acute and chronic toxicity of ZnO nanoparticles in potential target organs. PMID:22811602

  15. Effect of TiO2 nanoparticles doping on structural and electrical properties of PVA: NaBr polymer electrolyte

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sagar, Rohan N.; Ravindrachary, V.; Guruswamy, B.; Hegde, Shreedatta; Mahanthesh, B. K.; Kumari, R. Padma

    2018-05-01

    The effect of TiO2 nanoparticles on morphology and electrical properties of PVA: NaBr composite films were carried out using various techniques. The pure and TiO2 nanoparticle doped PVA: NaBr composite films were prepared using solvent casting method. The FTIR spectral studies shows that the Ti+ ions of TiO2 interacts with hydroxyl group (OH) of PVA via hydrogen bonding and forms the charge transfer complexes (CTC). These interactions are of inter/intra molecular type and affects the surface morphology as well as the electrical properties of composite films. XRD study shows that the crystallinity of the composite increases with doping level. SEM studies shows that the increase in roughness of the surface of the composite films and uniform dispersion of nanofillers in polymer matrix. Electrical properties are analyzed using impedance analyzer and higher conductivity (10-4Scm-1) is achieved for 5 wt % TiO2 doping concentration.

  16. Recent Advances in Inorganic Nanoparticle-Based NIR Luminescence Imaging: Semiconductor Nanoparticles and Lanthanide Nanoparticles.

    PubMed

    Kim, Dokyoon; Lee, Nohyun; Park, Yong Il; Hyeon, Taeghwan

    2017-01-18

    Several types of nanoparticle-based imaging probes have been developed to replace conventional luminescent probes. For luminescence imaging, near-infrared (NIR) probes are useful in that they allow deep tissue penetration and high spatial resolution as a result of reduced light absorption/scattering and negligible autofluorescence in biological media. They rely on either an anti-Stokes or a Stokes shift process to generate luminescence. For example, transition metal-doped semiconductor nanoparticles and lanthanide-doped inorganic nanoparticles have been demonstrated as anti-Stokes shift-based agents that absorb NIR light through two- or three-photon absorption process and upconversion process, respectively. On the other hand, quantum dots (QDs) and lanthanide-doped nanoparticles that emit in NIR-II range (∼1000 to ∼1350 nm) were suggested as promising Stokes shift-based imaging agents. In this topical review, we summarize and discuss the recent progress in the development of inorganic nanoparticle-based luminescence imaging probes working in NIR range.

  17. Graphene transforms wide band gap ZnS to a visible light photocatalyst. The new role of graphene as a macromolecular photosensitizer.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Yanhui; Zhang, Nan; Tang, Zi-Rong; Xu, Yi-Jun

    2012-11-27

    We report the assembly of nanosized ZnS particles on the 2D platform of a graphene oxide (GO) sheet by a facile two-step wet chemistry process, during which the reduced graphene oxide (RGO, also called GR) and the intimate interfacial contact between ZnS nanoparticles and the GR sheet are achieved simultaneously. The ZnS-GR nanocomposites exhibit visible light photoactivity toward aerobic selective oxidation of alcohols and epoxidation of alkenes under ambient conditions. In terms of structure-photoactivity correlation analysis, we for the first time propose a new photocatalytic mechanism where the role of GR in the ZnS-GR nanocomposites acts as an organic dye-like macromolecular "photosensitizer" for ZnS instead of an electron reservoir. This novel photocatalytic mechanism is distinctly different from all previous research on GR-semiconductor photocatalysts, for which GR is claimed to behave as an electron reservoir to capture/shuttle the electrons photogenerated from the semiconductor. This new concept of the reaction mechanism in graphene-semiconductor photocatalysts could provide a new train of thought on designing GR-based composite photocatalysts for targeting applications in solar energy conversion, promoting our in-depth thinking on the microscopic charge carrier transfer pathway connected to the interface between the GR and the semiconductor.

  18. Ultra-small Nd3+-doped nanoparticles as near-infrared luminescent biolabels of hemin in bacteria

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Xi, Yonglan; Chang, Zhizhou; Ye, Xiaomei; Huang, Hongying; Huang, Yanan; Xiao, Qingbo; Lin, Hongzhen

    2016-01-01

    Near-infrared (NIR) luminescent Nd3+-doped nanoparticles (NPs) have attracted considerable attention in bioimaging and biodetection. Here, we demonstrate sub-6 nm NaGdF4:Nd3+,Fe3+ NPs as luminescent biolabels of hemin molecules that act as the exogenous electron carriers in microbial communities. Contrary to the severe quenching of the visible luminescence for either upconverting or downconverting NPs, the Nd3+-doped NPs show superior properties in avoiding the optical absorption of hemin within the UV and visible spectral regions. A detailed examination showed that the Nd3+-doped NPs exhibit no obvious toxic effects on the microbial communities and show scarce influence on the characteristics of labeled hemin molecules in enhancing the reducing power of the fermentation system. More importantly, by monitoring the NIR luminescence of Nd3+-doped NPs, the selective accumulation of exogenous electron carriers in bacteria that are lacking reducing power has been revealed for the first time. The application of Nd3+-doped NPs as biolabels in bacteria would provide new opportunities for further unravelling the role of exogenous electron carriers in anaerobic digestion.Near-infrared (NIR) luminescent Nd3+-doped nanoparticles (NPs) have attracted considerable attention in bioimaging and biodetection. Here, we demonstrate sub-6 nm NaGdF4:Nd3+,Fe3+ NPs as luminescent biolabels of hemin molecules that act as the exogenous electron carriers in microbial communities. Contrary to the severe quenching of the visible luminescence for either upconverting or downconverting NPs, the Nd3+-doped NPs show superior properties in avoiding the optical absorption of hemin within the UV and visible spectral regions. A detailed examination showed that the Nd3+-doped NPs exhibit no obvious toxic effects on the microbial communities and show scarce influence on the characteristics of labeled hemin molecules in enhancing the reducing power of the fermentation system. More importantly, by

  19. Field emission and photoluminescence characteristics of ZnS nanowires via vapor phase growth

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chang, Yongqin; Wang, Mingwei; Chen, Xihong; Ni, Saili; Qiang, Weijing

    2007-05-01

    Large-area ZnS nanowires were synthesized through a vapor phase deposition method. X-ray diffraction and electron microscopy results show that the products are composed of single crystalline ZnS nanowires with a cubic structure. The nanowires have sharp tips and are distributed uniformly on silicon substrates. The diameter of the bases is in the range of 320-530 nm and that of the tips is around 20-30 nm. The strong ultraviolet emission in the photoluminescence spectra also demonstrates that the ZnS nanowires are of high crystalline perfection. Field emission measurements reveal that the ZnS nanowires have a fairly low threshold field, which may be ascribed to their very sharp tips, rough surfaces and high crystal quality. The perfect field emission ability of the ZnS nanowires makes them a promising candidate for the fabrication of flexible cold cathodes.

  20. Valence band-edge engineering of nickel oxide nanoparticles via cobalt doping for application in p-type dye-sensitized solar cells.

    PubMed

    Natu, Gayatri; Hasin, Panitat; Huang, Zhongjie; Ji, Zhiqiang; He, Mingfu; Wu, Yiying

    2012-11-01

    We have systematically studied the effects of substitutional doping of p-type nanoparticulate NiO with cobalt ions. Thin films of pure and Co-doped NiO nanoparticles with nominal compositions Co(x)Ni(1-x)O(y) (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.1) were fabricated using sol-gel method. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy revealed a surface enrichment of divalent cobalt ions in the Co(x)Ni(1-x)O(y) nanoparticles. Mott-Schottky analysis in aqueous solutions was used to determine the space charge capacitance values of the films against aqueous electrolytes, which yielded acceptor state densities (N(A)) and apparent flat-band potentials (E(fb)). Both N(A) and E(fb) values of the doped NiO were found to gradually increase with increasing amount of doping; thus the Fermi energy level of the charge carriers decreased with Co-doping. The photovoltage of p-DSCs constructed using the Co(x)Ni(1-x)O(y) films increased with increasing amount of cobalt, as expected from the trend in the E(fb). Co-doping increased both carrier lifetimes within the p-DSCs and the carrier transport times within the nanoparticulate semiconductor network. The nominal composition of Co₀.₀₆Ni₀.₉₄O(y) was found to be optimal for use in p-DSCs.

  1. Phase transformation from cubic ZnS to hexagonal ZnO by thermal annealing

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mahmood, K.; Asghar, M.; Amin, N.; Ali, Adnan

    2015-03-01

    We have investigated the mechanism of phase transformation from ZnS to hexagonal ZnO by high-temperature thermal annealing. The ZnS thin films were grown on Si (001) substrate by thermal evaporation system using ZnS powder as source material. The grown films were annealed at different temperatures and characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), photoluminescence (PL), four-point probe, scanning electron microscope (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray diffraction (EDX). The results demonstrated that as-deposited ZnS film has mixed phases but high-temperature annealing leads to transition from ZnS to ZnO. The observed result can be explained as a two-step process: (1) high-energy O atoms replaced S atoms in lattice during annealing process, and (2) S atoms diffused into substrate and/or diffused out of the sample. The dissociation energy of ZnS calculated from the Arrhenius plot of 1000/T versus log (resistivity) was found to be 3.1 eV. PL spectra of as-grown sample exhibits a characteristic green emission at 2.4 eV of ZnS but annealed samples consist of band-to-band and defect emission of ZnO at 3.29 eV and 2.5 eV respectively. SEM and EDX measurements were additionally performed to strengthen the argument.

  2. Spectral evolution of distributed feedback laser of gold nanoparticles doped solid-state dye laser medium

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    An, N. T. M.; Lien, N. T. H.; Hoang, N. D.; Nghia, N. T.; Hoa, D. Q.

    2017-10-01

    Characteristics of suppressed relaxation oscillation of a distributed feedback dye laser (DFDL) based on the energy transfer process in a mixture of spherical gold nanoparticles-doped solid-state polymethylmetacrylate dissolved 4-(Dicyanomethylene)-2-methyl-6-(4-dimethylaminostyryl)-4H-pyran dye was theoretically and experimentally studied. Single pulse generation regime of the DFDL can be obtained with a suitable gold nanoparticle concentration and ratio of pump power over lasing threshold. Numerical analysis and experimental approach showed that in this regime, the first-pulse laser pulsewidth is rather unchanged while varying the gold nanoparticles concentration in the range of 2.0 × 109-2.0 × 1010 par cm-3. The enhancement of first pulse and the suppression of the secondary pulses by bi-direction energy transfer of spherical gold nanoparticles were experimentally observed.

  3. Oxidation Induced Doping of Nanoparticles Revealed by in Situ X-ray Absorption Studies.

    PubMed

    Kwon, Soon Gu; Chattopadhyay, Soma; Koo, Bonil; Dos Santos Claro, Paula Cecilia; Shibata, Tomohiro; Requejo, Félix G; Giovanetti, Lisandro J; Liu, Yuzi; Johnson, Christopher; Prakapenka, Vitali; Lee, Byeongdu; Shevchenko, Elena V

    2016-06-08

    Doping is a well-known approach to modulate the electronic and optical properties of nanoparticles (NPs). However, doping at nanoscale is still very challenging, and the reasons for that are not well understood. We studied the formation and doping process of iron and iron oxide NPs in real time by in situ synchrotron X-ray absorption spectroscopy. Our study revealed that the mass flow of the iron triggered by oxidation is responsible for the internalization of the dopant (molybdenum) adsorbed at the surface of the host iron NPs. The oxidation induced doping allows controlling the doping levels by varying the amount of dopant precursor. Our in situ studies also revealed that the dopant precursor substantially changes the reaction kinetics of formation of iron and iron oxide NPs. Thus, in the presence of dopant precursor we observed significantly faster decomposition rate of iron precursors and substantially higher stability of iron NPs against oxidation. The same doping mechanism and higher stability of host metal NPs against oxidation was observed for cobalt-based systems. Since the internalization of the adsorbed dopant at the surface of the host NPs is driven by the mass transport of the host, this mechanism can be potentially applied to introduce dopants into different oxidized forms of metal and metal alloy NPs providing the extra degree of compositional control in material design.

  4. Co-precipitation synthesis and characterization of tin-doped α-Fe2O3 nanoparticles with enhanced photocatalytic activities

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mansour, Houda; Bargougui, Radhouane; Autret-Lambert, Cécile; Gadri, Abdellatif; Ammar, Salah

    2018-03-01

    In this study, Sn-doped hematite (α-Fe2O3) nanoparticles with various dopant concentrations ranging from 1 to 6 mol% were prepared successfully using a simple co-precipitation technique. The effects of Sn doping on the structural, morphological, optical, and magnetic properties were determined using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), UV-visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, and a superconducting quantum interference device. XRD analysis showed that all of the samples had a typical hematite-type hexagonal structure of Fe2O3 without any additional peaks due to spurious phases. The cell parameters a and c decreased monotonically as the Sn content increased, thereby indicating that Sn ions were substituted into the α-Fe2O3 lattice. These results and the TEM analyses showed that the size of the nanoparticles decreased to 10 nm as the Sn doping concentration increased. UV-visible absorption measurements showed that the decrease in particle size was accompanied by a decrease in the band gap value from 2.07 eV for α-Fe2O3 to 1.87 eV with 6 mol% Sn doping. Furthermore, the magnetic properties demonstrated that all of the samples exhibited ferromagnetic behavior at room temperature. The photocatalytic activities of the samples were studied based on the degradation of methylene blue as a model compound, where the results showed that an appropriate amount of Sn dopant could greatly increase the amount of hydroxyl radicals generated by α-Fe2O3 nanoparticles, which were responsible for the obvious increase in the photocatalytic activity.

  5. Comparative study on the physical properties of transition metal-doped (Co, Ni, Fe, and Mn) ZnO nanoparticles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Azab, A. A.; Ateia, Ebtesam E.; Esmail, S. A.

    2018-07-01

    Nano-crystalline of TM-doped ZnO with general formula Zn0.97TM0.03O (TM: Mn, Fe, Co, and Ni) was prepared using sol-gel method. The dependence of crystal structure, morphology, and optical and magnetic properties on the type of transition metals was investigated. The XRD investigation of pure and TM-doped ZnO nanoparticles samples confirms the formation of single-phase hexagonal wurtzite structure. The estimated crystallite sizes are found in the range of 17 and 38 nm for the doped and pure samples, respectively. The obtained data suggest that the dopant type plays a vital role in the physical properties of the investigated samples. The optical band-gap energy Eg has been calculated from near infrared (NIR) and visible (VIS) reflectance spectra using the Kubelka-Munk function. Minimum value of 2.398 eV and maximum one of 3.29 eV were obtained for Manganese-doped ZnO and pure ZnO, respectively. The analysis of XRD and VSM of the samples confirms that the observed room-temperature (RT) ferromagnetism can be attributed to an intrinsic property of doped material sample and not due to formation of any secondary phase. The magnetic results show that Mn is the most effective dopant for producing ferromagnetism in nanoparticles of ZnO.

  6. Microstress, strain, band gap tuning and photocatalytic properties of thermally annealed and Cu-doped ZnO nanoparticles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Prasad, Neena; V. M. M, Saipavitra; Swaminathan, Hariharan; Thangaraj, Pandiyarajan; Ramalinga Viswanathan, Mangalaraja; Balasubramanian, Karthikeyan

    2016-06-01

    ZnO nanoparticles and Cu-doped ZnO nanoparticles were prepared by co-precipitation method. Also, a part of the pure ZnO nanoparticles were annealed at 750 °C for 3, 6, and 9 h. X-ray diffraction studies were carried out and the lattice parameters, unit cell volume, interplanar spacing, and Young's modulus were calculated for all the samples, and also the crystallite size was found using the Scherrer method. X-ray peak broadening analysis was used to estimate the crystallite sizes and the strain using the Williamson-Hall (W-H) method and the size-strain plot (SSP) method. Stress and the energy density were calculated using the W-H method assuming different models such as uniform deformation model, uniform strain deformation model, uniform deformation energy density model, and the SSP method. Optical absorption properties of the samples were understood from their UV-visible spectra. Photocatalytic activities of ZnO and 5 % Cu-doped ZnO were observed by the degradation of methylene blue dye in aqueous medium under the irradiation of 20-W compact fluorescent lamp for an hour.

  7. Optical transmission larger than 1 (T>1) through ZnS -SiO2/AgOx/ZnS-SiO2 sandwiched thin films

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wei, Jingsong; Xiao, Mufei

    2006-09-01

    Optical transmission through flat media should be smaller than 1. However, we have observed optical transmission up to T =1.18. The samples were ZnS -SiO2/AgOx/ZnS-SiO2 sandwiched thin films on glass substrate. The supertransmission could only be observed in the near field. We attribute the supertransmission to the lateral propagation relayed by the laser activated and decomposed Ag nanoparticles.

  8. [Preparation and transmissivity of ZnS nanocolumn thin films with glancing angle deposition technology].

    PubMed

    Lu, Li-Fang; Xu, Zheng; Zhang, Fu-Jun; Zhao, Su-Ling; Song, Dan-Dan; Li, Jun-Ming; Wang, Yong-Sheng; Xu, Xu-Rong

    2010-02-01

    Nanocrystalline ZnS thin films were fabricated by glancing angle deposition (GLAD) technology in an electron beam evaporation system. Deposition was carried out in the custom vacuum chamber at a base pressure 3 x 10(-4) Pa, and the deposition rate was fixed at 0.2 nm x s(-1). ZnS films were deposited on pieces of indium tin oxide (ITO) substrates when the oblique angle of the substrate relative to the incoming molecular flux was set to 0 degrees, 80 degrees and 85 degrees off the substrate normal respectively. X-ray diffraction (XRD) spectra and scanning electron microscope (SEM) images showed that ZnS nanocrystalline films were formed on the substrates at different oblique angle, but the nanocolumn structure was only formed under the situation of alpha = 80 degrees and 85 degrees. The dynamics during the deposition process of the ZnS films at alpha = 0 degrees, 80 degrees and 85 degrees was analyzed. The transmitted spectra of ZnS thin films deposited on ITO substrates showed that the ZnS nanocolumn thin films could enhance the transmissivity in visible range. The ZnS nanocolumn could be used into electroluminescence device, and it would enhance the luminous efficiency of the device.

  9. Decreased Dissolution of ZnO by Iron Doping Yields Nanoparticles with Reduced Toxicity in the Rodent Lung and Zebrafish Embryos

    PubMed Central

    Xia, Tian; Zhao, Yan; Sager, Tina; George, Saji; Pokhrel, Suman; Li, Ning; Schoenfeld, David; Meng, Huan; Lin, Sijie; Wang, Xiang; Wang, Meiying; Ji, Zhaoxia; Zink, Jeffrey I.; Mädler, Lutz; Castranova, Vincent; Lin, Shuo; Nel, Andre E.

    2014-01-01

    We have recently shown that the dissolution of ZnO nanoparticles and Zn2+ shedding leads to a series of sub-lethal and lethal toxicological responses at cellular level that can be alleviated by iron-doping. Iron-doping changes the particle matrix and slows the rate of particle dissolution. To determine whether iron doping of ZnO also leads to lesser toxic effects in vivo, toxicity studies were performed in rodent and zebrafish models. First, we synthesized a fresh batch of ZnO nanoparticles doped with 1–10 wt % of Fe. These particles were extensively characterized to confirm their doping status, reduced rate of dissolution in an exposure medium and reduced toxicity in a cellular screen. Subsequent studies compared the effects of undoped to doped particles in the rat lung, mouse lung and the zebrafish embryo. The zebrafish studies looked at embryo hatching and mortality rates as well as the generation of morphological defects, while the endpoints in the rodent lung included an assessment of inflammatory cell infiltrates, LDH release and cytokine levels in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. Iron doping, similar to the effect of the metal chelator, DTPA, interfered in the inhibitory effects of Zn2+ on zebrafish hatching. In the oropharyngeal aspiration model in the mouse, iron doping was associated with decreased polymorphonuclear cell counts and IL-6 mRNA production. Doped particles also elicited decreased heme oxygenase 1 expression in the murine lung. In the intratracheal instillation studies in the rat, Fe-doping was associated with decreased polymorphonuclear cell counts, LDH and albumin levels. All considered, the above data show that Fe-doping is a possible safe design strategy for preventing ZnO toxicity in animals and the environment. PMID:21250651

  10. Effect of DOPE and cholesterol on the protein adsorption onto lipid nanoparticles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Caracciolo, Giulio; Pozzi, Daniela; Capriotti, Anna Laura; Cavaliere, Chiara; Laganà, Aldo

    2013-03-01

    Upon administration, nanoparticles (NPs) are exposed to biological fluids from which they adsorb proteins and other biomolecules to form a "protein corona". NP-protein interactions are still poorly understood and quantitative studies to characterize them remain scarce. Here, we have investigated the effect of neutral dioleoylphosphatidylethanolamine (DOPE) and cholesterol on the adsorption of human plasma proteins onto the surface of 1,2-dioleoyl-3-trimethylammonium-propane (DOTAP)-based cationic liposomes of 100 nm in diameter. Quantitative analysis of the protein corona revealed that replacing cationic DOTAP lipids with neutral lipids, being indifferently DOPE or cholesterol, reduces the affinity of fibrinogen, prothrombin, vitamin K, and vitronectin for the lipid surface. On the other side, DOPE specifically promotes the adsorption of apolipoproteins and serum albumin, while cholesterol induces the preferential binding of immunoglobulins and complement proteins. The results of this study will help to explain why NPs of different lipid compositions have a dramatic difference in their in vivo transfection efficiency and will be useful for design of lipid NPs with optimal circulation profiles.

  11. Characterization of lysosome-destabilizing DOPE/PLGA nanoparticles designed for cytoplasmic drug release.

    PubMed

    Chhabra, Resham; Grabrucker, Andreas M; Veratti, Patrizia; Belletti, Daniela; Boeckers, Tobias M; Vandelli, Maria Angela; Forni, Flavio; Tosi, Giovanni; Ruozi, Barbara

    2014-08-25

    Polymeric nanoparticles (NPs) offer a promising approach for therapeutic intracellular delivery of proteins, conventionally hampered by short half-lives, instability and immunogenicity. Remarkably, NPs uptake occurs via endocytic internalization leading to NPs content's release within lysosomes. To overcome lysosomal degradation and achieve NPs and/or loaded proteins release into cytosol, we propose the formulation of hybrid NPs by adding 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine (DOPE) as pH sensitive component in the formulation of poly-lactide-co-glycolide (PLGA) NPs. Hybrid NPs, featured by different DOPE/PLGA ratios, were characterized in terms of structure, stability and lipid organization within the polymeric matrix. Experiments on NIH cells and rat primary neuronal cultures highlighted the safety profile of hybrid NPs. Moreover, after internalization, NPs are able to transiently destabilize the integrity of lysosomes in which they are taken up, speeding their escape and favoring cytoplasmatic localization. Thus, these DOPE/PLGA-NPs configure themselves as promising carriers for intracellular protein delivery. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  12. Electrophoretic Deposition of Hydroxyapatite Film Containing Re-Doped MoS₂ Nanoparticles.

    PubMed

    Shalom, Hila; Feldman, Yishay; Rosentsveig, Rita; Pinkas, Iddo; Kaplan-Ashiri, Ifat; Moshkovich, Alexey; Perfilyev, Vladislav; Rapoport, Lev; Tenne, Reshef

    2018-02-26

    Films combining hydroxyapatite (HA) with minute amounts (ca. 1 weight %) of (rhenium doped) fullerene-like MoS₂ (IF) nanoparticles were deposited onto porous titanium substrate through electrophoretic process (EPD). The films were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy. The SEM analysis showed relatively uniform coatings of the HA + IF on the titanium substrate. Chemical composition analysis using energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) of the coatings revealed the presence of calcium phosphate minerals like hydroxyapatite, as a majority phase. Tribological tests were undertaken showing that the IF nanoparticles endow the HA film very low friction and wear characteristics. Such films could be of interest for various medical technologies. Means for improving the adhesion of the film to the underlying substrate and its fracture toughness, without compromising its biocompatibility are discussed at the end.

  13. Structural, Optical, and Electrical Properties of Cobalt-Doped CdS Quantum Dots

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Thambidurai, M.; Muthukumarasamy, N.; Velauthapillai, Dhayalan; Agilan, S.; Balasundaraprabhu, R.

    2012-04-01

    In the present work, a systematic study has been carried out to understand the influence of cobalt (Co) doping on various properties of CdS nanoparticles. CdS and Co-doped CdS quantum dots have been prepared at room temperature using a chemical precipitation method without using catalysts, capping agents, or surfactants. X-ray diffraction reveals that both undoped and Co-doped CdS nanoparticles exhibit hexagonal structure without any impurity phase, and the lattice constants of CdS nanoparticles are observed to decrease slightly with increasing cobalt concentration. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) shows that the particle size of CdS and 5.02% Co-doped CdS nanoparticles is in the range of 2 nm to 4 nm. The Raman spectra of Co-doped CdS nanoparticles exhibit a red-shift compared with that of bulk CdS, which may be attributed to optical phonon confinement. The optical absorption spectra of Co-doped CdS nanoparticles also exhibit a red-shift with respect to that of CdS nanoparticles. The electrical conductivity of CdS and Co-doped CdS nanoparticles is found to increase with increasing temperature and cobalt concentration.

  14. Influence of Co doping on combined photocatalytic and antibacterial activity of ZnO nanoparticles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Anandan, M.; Dinesh, S.; Krishnakumar, N.; Balamurugan, K.

    2016-11-01

    The present work aims to investigate the structural, optical, photocatalyst and antibacterial properties of bare and cobalt doped ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) with different concentrations Zn1-x Co x O (x = 0, 0.03, 0.06 and 0.09) synthesized by co-precipitation method. The XRD patterns confirmed that all samples of cobalt doped ZnO nanostructures revealed the formation of single phase having hexagonal wurtzite structure with crystallite size in the range of 31-41 nm. Further, the decreasing trend in lattice parameters and grain sizes were also seen with increasing doping concentrations which confirms the incorporation of Co ions into the ZnO lattice. This result was further supported by the FT-IR data. HR-TEM images demonstrated the distinct hexagonal like morphology with small agglomeration. The UV-visible absorption spectra exhibits red shift with increase in Co doping concentration in ZnO while corresponding bandgap energy of cobalt doped ZnO NPs decreased with increased Co doping concentration. PL spectra showed a weak UV and visible emission band which may be ascribed to the reduction in oxygen vacancy and defects by cobalt doping. XPS and EDX spectral results confirm the composition and the purity of Co doped ZnO NPs. Furthermore, the Co doped ZnO NPs were found to exhibit lesser photocatalytic activity for the degradation of methyl green dye under UV light illumination in comparison with the bare ZnO NPs. Moreover, anti-bacterial studies reveals that the Co doped ZnO NPs possess more antibacterial effect against gram positive Basillus subtills and gram negative Klebsiella pneumoniae bacterial strains than the bare ZnO NPs.

  15. Synthesis of erbium,ytterbium-doped hexagonal phase sodium yttrium fluoride nanoparticles and application to ligand exchange and energy transfer studies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Goel, Vishya

    Nanoparticles containing rare earth ions have the ability to absorb and convert infrared light into visible light. The purpose of this work is to synthesize rare earth ion-doped NaYF4 nanoparticles in their most efficient form, the hexagonal phase. These nanoparticles are then used in ligand exchange and energy transfer studies. The synthesis procedure produces gram scale quantities of nanoparticles. Such a scale is important for reproducibility and application of these materials. Oleylamine-capped NaYF4 nanoparticles were synthesized and were doped with 2 % Er3+ and 20 % Yb3+ using a thermal decomposition method. The procedure was optimized in terms of precursor concentration and injection rate. The samples were characterized using photoluminescence spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and X-ray diffraction. Photoluminescence spectra were collected using infrared excitation (980 nm). Control of the temperature and injection resulted in 15 nm (diameter) hexagonal phase NaYF4:Er3+,Yb3+ nanoparticles capped with oleylamine. The nanoparticles exhibited bright emission in the red (640 nm) and green (540 nm) portions of the visible spectrum. The surface of the nanoparticles was modified with decanoic acid, dodecanedioic acid, or dodecane sulfonic acid using a ligand exchange reaction. Energy transfer was studied from the oleylamine-capped nanoparticles to the fluorophores Nile Red, 4-(dicyanomethylene)-2-t-butyl-6(1,1,7,7-tetramethyljulolidyl-9-enyl)-4H-pyran, and poly(2-methoxy-5-(2-ethylhexyloxy)-1,4-phenylene vinylene). Successful surface ligand exchange was achieved and the preliminary exploration of upconverting nanoparticles as an energy transfer donor was performed.

  16. Surface-Directed Synthesis of Erbium-Doped Yttrium Oxide Nanoparticles within Organosilane Zeptoliter Containers

    PubMed Central

    2015-01-01

    We introduce an approach to synthesize rare earth oxide nanoparticles using high temperature without aggregation of the nanoparticles. The dispersity of the nanoparticles is controlled at the nanoscale by using small organosilane molds as reaction containers. Zeptoliter reaction vessels prepared from organosilane self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) were used for the surface-directed synthesis of rare earth oxide (REO) nanoparticles. Nanopores of octadecyltrichlorosilane were prepared on Si(111) using particle lithography with immersion steps. The nanopores were filled with a precursor solution of erbium and yttrium salts to confine the crystallization step to occur within individual zeptoliter-sized organosilane reaction vessels. Areas between the nanopores were separated by a matrix film of octadecyltrichlorosilane. With heating, the organosilane template was removed by calcination to generate a surface array of erbium-doped yttria nanoparticles. Nanoparticles synthesized by the surface-directed approach retain the periodic arrangement of the nanopores formed from mesoparticle masks. While bulk rare earth oxides can be readily prepared by solid state methods at high temperature (>900 °C), approaches for preparing REO nanoparticles are limited. Conventional wet chemistry methods are limited to low temperatures according to the boiling points of the solvents used for synthesis. To achieve crystallinity of REO nanoparticles requires steps for high-temperature processing of samples, which can cause self-aggregation and dispersity in sample diameters. The facile steps for particle lithography address the problems of aggregation and the requirement for high-temperature synthesis. PMID:25163977

  17. Improved thermal stability of methylsilicone resins by compositing with N-doped graphene oxide/Co3O4 nanoparticles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jiang, Bo; Zhao, Liwei; Guo, Jiang; Yan, Xingru; Ding, Daowei; Zhu, Changcheng; Huang, Yudong; Guo, Zhanhu

    2016-06-01

    Nanoparticles play important roles in enhancing the thermal-resistance of hosting polymer resins. Despite tremendous efforts, developing thermally stable methylsilicone resin at high temperatures is still a challenge. Herein, we report a strategy to increase the activation energy to slow down the decomposition/degradation of methylsilicone resin using synergistic effects between the Co3O4 nanoparticles and the nitrogen doped graphene oxide. The N-doped graphene oxides composited with Co3O4 nanoparticles were prepared by hydrolysis of cobalt nitrate hexahydrate in the presence of graphene oxide and were incorporated into the methylsilicone resin. Two-stage decompositions were observed, i.e., 200-300 and 400-500 °C. The activation energy for the low temperature region was enhanced by 47.117 kJ/mol (vs. 57.76 kJ/mol for pure resin). The enhanced thermal stability was due to the fact that the nanofillers prevented the silicone hydroxyl chain ends ``biting'' to delay the degradation. The activation energy for high-temperature region was enhanced by 11.585 kJ/mol (vs. 171.95 kJ/mol for pure resin). The nanofillers formed a protective layer to isolate oxygen from the hosting resin. The mechanism for the enhanced thermal stability through prohibited degradation with synergism of these nitrogen-doped graphene oxide nanocomposites was proposed as well.

  18. Nonlinear optical characterization of ZnS thin film synthesized by chemical spray pyrolysis method

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    G, Sreeja V.; V, Sabitha P.; Anila, E. I.; R, Reshmi; John, Manu Punnan; Radhakrishnan, P.

    2014-10-01

    ZnS thin film was prepared by Chemical Spray Pyrolysis (CSP) method. The sample was characterized by X-ray diffraction method and Z scan technique. XRD pattern showed that ZnS thin film has hexagonal structure with an average size of about 5.6nm. The nonlinear optical properties of ZnS thin film was studied by open aperture Z-Scan technique using Q-switched Nd-Yag Laser at 532nm. The Z-scan plot showed that the investigated ZnS thin film has saturable absorption behavior. The nonlinear absorption coefficient and saturation intensity were also estimated.

  19. Liquid-Phase Epitaxial Growth of ZnS, ZnSe and Their Mixed Compounds Using Te as Solvent

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nakamura, Hiroshi; Aoki, Masaharu

    1981-01-01

    Epitaxial layers of ZnS, ZnSe and their mixed compounds were grown on ZnS substrates by the liquid-phase epitaxial growth (LPE) method using Te as the solvent. The open-tube slide-boat technique was used, and a suitable starting temperature for growth was found to be 850°C for ZnS and 700-800°C for ZnSe. The ZnS epitaxial layers grown on {111}A and {111}B oriented ZnS substrates were thin (˜1 μm) and smooth, had low, uniform Te concentrations (˜0.1 at.%) and were highly luminescent. The ZnSe epitaxial layers were relatively thick (10-30 μm) and had fairly high Te concentrations (a few at.%). Various mixed compound ZnS1-xSex were also grown on ZnS substrates.

  20. Investigation of thioglycerol stabilized ZnS quantum dots in electroluminescent device performance

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

    Ethiraj, Anita Sagadevan, E-mail: anita.ethiraj@vit.ac.in; Center for Nanotechnology Research, VIT University, Vellore, TamilNadu-632014; Rhen, Dani

    2016-05-06

    The present work is focused on the investigation of thioglycerol (TG) stabilized Zinc Sulfide Quantum dots (ZnS QDs) in the hybrid electroluminescence (EL) device. Optical absorption spectroscopy clearly indicates the formation of narrow size distributed ZnS in the quantum confinement regime. X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Photoluminescence (PL), Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS) data supports the same. The hybrid EL device with structure of ITO (indium tin oxide)//PEDOT:PSS ((poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-poly(styrene sulfonate)//HTL (α NPD- N,N′-diphenyl-N,N′-bis(1-naphthyl)-(1,1′-phenyl)-4,4′-diamine// PVK:ZnS QDs//ETL(PBD- 2-tert-butylphenyl- 5-biphenyl-1,3,4-oxadiazole)//LiF:Al (Device 1) was fabricated. Reference device without the ZnS QDs were also prepared (Device 2). The results show that the ZnS QDs based device exhibitedmore » bright electroluminescence emission of 24 cd/m{sup 2} at a driving voltage of 16 Volts under the forward bias conditions as compared to the reference device without the ZnS QDs, which showed 6 cd/m{sup 2} at ∼22 Volts.« less

  1. 2D double-layer-tube-shaped structure Bi2S3/ZnS heterojunction with enhanced photocatalytic activities

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gao, Xiaoming; Wang, Zihang; Fu, Feng; Li, Xiang; Li, Wenhong

    2015-10-01

    Bi2S3/ZnS heterojunction with 2D double-layer-tube-shaped structures was prepared by the facile synthesis method. The corresponding relationship was obtained among loaded content to phase, morphology, and optical absorption property of Bi2S3/ZnS composite. The results shown that Bi2S3 loaded could evidently change the crystallinity of ZnS, enhance the optical absorption ability for visible light of ZnS, and improve the morphologies and microstructure of ZnS. The photocatalytic activities of the Bi2S3/ZnS sample were evaluated for the photodegradation of phenol and desulfurization of thiophene under visible light irradiation. The results showed that Bi2S3 loaded greatly improved the photocatalytic activity of ZnS, and the content of loaded Bi2S3 had an impact on the catalytic activity of ZnS. Moreover, the mechanism of enhanced photocatalytic activity was also investigated by analysis of relative band positions of Bi2S3 and ZnS, and photo-generated hole was main active radicals during photocatalytic oxidation process.

  2. Structural, optical and morphological characterization of Cu-doped α-Fe2O3 nanoparticles synthesized through co-precipitation technique

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lassoued, Abdelmajid; Lassoued, Mohamed Saber; Dkhil, Brahim; Gadri, Abdellatif; Ammar, Salah

    2017-11-01

    Pure and copper (Cu concentration varying from 2 to 8%) doped hematite (α-Fe2O3) nanocrystals were synthesized through co-precipitation method using simple equipment. X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Fourier Transform Infra-Red (FT-IR), Raman spectroscopy, Differential Thermal Analysis (DTA), Thermo Gravimetric Analysis (TGA) and Ultraviolet-Visible (UV-Vis) techniques were used to characterize the synthesized samples. XRD measurements confirm that all the prepared nanocrystals consist only in nanocrystalline hematite phase. These results along with TEM and SEM show that the size of the nanoparticles decreases with Cu-doping down to 21 nm. FT-IR confirm the phase purity of the nanoparticles synthesized. The Raman spectroscopy was used not only to prove that we synthesized pure and Cu-doped hematite but also to identify their phonon modes. The TGA showed three mass losses, whereas DTA resulted in three endothermic peaks. The UV-Vis absorption measurements confirm that the decrease of particle size is accompanied by a decrease in the band gap value from 2.12 eV for pure α-Fe2O3 down to 1.91 eV for 8% Cu-doped α-Fe2O3. 8% Cu-doped hematite had the smallest size, the best crystallinity and the lowest band gap.

  3. Structural, optical and dielectric properties of pure and chromium (Cr) doped nickel oxide nanoparticles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gupta, Jhalak; Ahmed, Arham S.

    2018-05-01

    The pure and Cr doped nickel oxide (NiO) nanoparticles have been synthesized by cost effective co-precipitation method having nickel nitrate as initial precursor. The synthesized samples were characterized by X-Ray diffraction (XRD), UV-Visible Spectroscopy(UV-Vis) and LCR meter for structural, optical and dielectric properties respectively. The crystallite size of pure nickel oxide nanoparticles characterized by XRD using Debye Scherer's formula was found to be 21.7nm and the same decreases on increasing Cr concentration whereas optical and dielectric properties were analyzed by UV-Vis and LCR meter respectively. The energy band gaps were determined by UV-Vis using Tauc relation.

  4. Stimulated low-frequency Raman scattering in aqueous suspension of nanoparticles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Averyushkin, Anatolii S.; Baranov, Anatoly N.; Bulychev, Nikolay A.; Kazaryan, Mishik A.; Kudryavtseva, Anna D.; Shevchenko, Mikhail A.; Strokov, Maxim A.; Tcherniega, Nikolay V.; Zemskov, Konstantin I.

    2018-04-01

    The low-frequency acoustic mode in nanoparticles of different nature in aqueous suspension has been studied by stimulated low-frequency Raman scattering (SLFRS). Nanoparticles investigated (CuO, Ag, Au, ZnS) had different dimensions and different vibrational properties. Synthesis of cupric oxide nanoparticles in acoustoplasma discharge is described in details. SLFRS has been excited by nanosecond pulses of ruby laser. Spectra of the scattered light had been registered with the help of Fabry-Perot interferometer. SLFRS conversion efficiency, threshold and frequency shift of the scattered light are measured.

  5. Ultrathin nitrogen-doped graphitized carbon shell encapsulating CoRu bimetallic nanoparticles for enhanced electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution.

    PubMed

    Xu, You; Li, Yinghao; Yin, Shuli; Yu, Hongjie; Xue, Hairong; Li, Xiaonian; Wang, Hongjing; Wang, Liang

    2018-06-01

    Design of highly active and cost-effective electrocatalysts is very important for the generation of hydrogen by electrochemical water-splitting. Herein, we report the fabrication of ultrathin nitrogen-doped graphitized carbon shell encapsulating CoRu bimetallic nanoparticles (CoRu@NCs) and demonstrate their promising feasibility for efficiently catalyzing the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) over a wide pH range. The resultant CoRu@NC nanohybrids possess an alloy-carbon core-shell structure with encapsulated low-ruthenium-content CoRu bimetallic alloy nanoparticles (10-30 nm) as the core and ultrathin nitrogen-doped graphitized carbon layers (2-6 layers) as the shell. Remarkably, the optimized catalyst (CoRu@NC-2 sample) with a Ru content as low as 2.04 wt% shows superior catalytic activity and excellent durability for HER in acidic, neutral, and alkaline conditions. This work offers a new method for the design and synthesis of non-platium-based electrocatalysts for HER in all-pH.

  6. Ultrathin nitrogen-doped graphitized carbon shell encapsulating CoRu bimetallic nanoparticles for enhanced electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Xu, You; Li, Yinghao; Yin, Shuli; Yu, Hongjie; Xue, Hairong; Li, Xiaonian; Wang, Hongjing; Wang, Liang

    2018-06-01

    Design of highly active and cost-effective electrocatalysts is very important for the generation of hydrogen by electrochemical water-splitting. Herein, we report the fabrication of ultrathin nitrogen-doped graphitized carbon shell encapsulating CoRu bimetallic nanoparticles (CoRu@NCs) and demonstrate their promising feasibility for efficiently catalyzing the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) over a wide pH range. The resultant CoRu@NC nanohybrids possess an alloy–carbon core–shell structure with encapsulated low-ruthenium-content CoRu bimetallic alloy nanoparticles (10–30 nm) as the core and ultrathin nitrogen-doped graphitized carbon layers (2–6 layers) as the shell. Remarkably, the optimized catalyst (CoRu@NC-2 sample) with a Ru content as low as 2.04 wt% shows superior catalytic activity and excellent durability for HER in acidic, neutral, and alkaline conditions. This work offers a new method for the design and synthesis of non-platium-based electrocatalysts for HER in all-pH.

  7. Zirconium and silver co-doped TiO2 nanoparticles as visible light catalyst for reduction of 4-nitrophenol, degradation of methyl orange and methylene blue

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Naraginti, Saraschandra; Stephen, Finian Bernard; Radhakrishnan, Adhithya; Sivakumar, A.

    2015-01-01

    Catalytic activity of Zr and Ag co-doped TiO2 nanoparticles on the reduction of 4-nitrophenol, degradation of methylene blue and methyl orange was studied using sodium borohydride as reducing agent. The nanoparticles were characterized using X-ray diffraction, energy dispersive X-ray, high resolution transmission electron microscopy, selected area electron diffraction and UV-Vis spectroscopy. The rate of the reduction/degradation was found to increase with increasing amount of the photocatalyst which could be attributed to higher dispersity and small size of the nanoparticles. The catalytic activity of Zr and Ag co-doped TiO2 nanoparticles showed no significant difference even after recycling the catalyst four times indicating a promising potential for industrial application of the prepared photocatalyst.

  8. Thermoluminescence dosimetry properties of new Cu doped CaF(2) nanoparticles.

    PubMed

    Zahedifar, M; Sadeghi, E

    2013-12-01

    Nanoparticles of Cu-doped calcium fluoride were synthesised by using the hydrothermal method. The structure of the prepared nanomaterial was characterised by the X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern and energy dispersive spectrometer. The particle size of 36 nm was calculated from the XRD data. Its shape and size were also observed by scanning electron microscope. Thermoluminescence (TL) and photoluminescence of the produced phosphor were also considered. The computerised glow curve deconvolution procedure was used to identify the number of glow peaks included in the TL glow curve of the CaF2:Cu nanoparticles. The TL glow curve contains two overlapping glow peaks at ∼413 and 451 K. The TL response of this phosphor was studied for different Cu concentrations and the maximum sensitivity was found at 1 mol% of Cu impurity. Other dosimetric characteristics of the synthesised nanophosphor are also presented and discussed.

  9. Preparation and characterization of ultrafine nanoparticles of Cu doped lithium tetraborate

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Khalilzadeh, Nasrin; Saion, Elias Bin; Mirabolghasemi, Hamed; Crouse, Karen A.; Shaari, Abdul Halim Bin; Hashim, Mansor Bin

    This study details an innovative single-step thermal synthesis of nano-sized lithium tetraborate doped with 0.1 %wt copper and its characterization. The heating temperature for the synthesis of the nanoparticle material was optimized by variation between 200 and 850 °C. The optimum amount of polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP) the capping agent was determined to be 0.027 mol per 1 g LTB-Cu. The calcination time was 2 h. Characterization of the samples was carried out using Thermogravimetry Analysis (TGA), Derivative Thermogravimetry (DTG), Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) Spectroscopy, X-ray diffractometer (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Ultraviolet-Visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy. The product was thermally stable above 450 °C. FTIR, XRD and TEM results confirmed the formation of pure nano-crystalline copper doped lithium tetraborate between 450 and 750 °C. The optical bandgap was estimated to be 5.02-6.05 eV in the presence of different amounts of PVP at various calcination temperatures.

  10. Synthesis and Characterization of Nd(3+)-Doped CaF2 Nanoparticles.

    PubMed

    Yuan, Dan; Li, Weiwei; Mei, Bingchu; Song, Jinghong

    2015-12-01

    The Ca(1-x)F(2+x):Nd(x) nanoparticles were synthesized by chemical direct precipitation method. X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Image analyzer, absorption spectrum and transmittance were taken to characterization the phases, morphologies, sizes, size distribution and optical properties of the samples. The results indicate that the Ca(1-x)F(2+x):Nd(x) samples can be rationally modified in size and morphology by altering the Nd3+ ions doping concentration. With increasing concentration of Nd3+ ions, the particle size decreased from 24 to 14 nm, the intensity of the diffraction peaks decreased, the Ca(1-x)F(2+x):Nd(x) particles aggregated ion of the formed clusters which should have an effect on both speed and orientation of the particles growth. The transmittance of ceramics with a thickness of 2 mm showed that the transmittance can reach 90% when the doping concentration was 5%, which should be profitable for LD pumping.

  11. Linear and nonlinear optical characteristics of Te nanoparticles-doped germanate glasses

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Xu, Zhousu; Guo, Qiangbing; Liu, Chang; Ma, Zhijun; Liu, Xiaofeng; Qiu, Jianrong

    2016-10-01

    Te nanoparticles (NPs)-doped GeO2-MgO-B2O3-Al2O3-TeO2 glasses were prepared by the conventional melt-quenching method. Based on X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy and transmission electron microscope observation, the coloration of the glass at high TeO2 concentration is ascribed to the precipitation of elemental Te NPs with a size of 5-10 nm in the germanate glass. Optical absorption spectra and nonlinear optical (NLO) properties of the glass samples were analyzed by UV-3600 spectrophotometry and Z-scan technique, respectively. The nonlinear absorption coefficient ( β) and the imaginary part of the third-order NLO susceptibility (Im χ (3)) were estimated to be 1.74 cm/GW and 1.142 × 10-12 esu for laser power of 95 μW, respectively. Due to the excellent NLO properties, the Te NPs-doped germanate glasses may have potential applications for ultrafast optical switch and photonics.

  12. Facile synthesis of nickel-doped Co9S8 hollow nanoparticles with large surface-controlled pseudocapacitive and fast sodium storage

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhou, Hepeng; Cao, Yijun; Ma, Zilong; Li, Shulei

    2018-05-01

    Transition metal sulfides are considered to be promising candidates as anodes for sodium ion batteries (SIBs). However, their further applications are limited by poor electrical conductivity and sluggish electrochemical kinetics. We report, for the first time, nickel-doped Co9S8 hollow nanoparticles as SIB anodes with enhanced electrical conductivity and a large pseudocapacitive effect, leading to fast kinetics. This compound exhibits excellent sodium storage performance, including a high capacity of 556.7 mA h g-1, a high rate capability of 2000 mA g-1 and an excellent stability up to 200 cycles. The results demonstrate that nickel-doped Co9S8 hollow nanoparticles are a promising anode material for SIBs.

  13. Facile synthesis of nickel-doped Co9S8 hollow nanoparticles with large surface-controlled pseudocapacitive and fast sodium storage.

    PubMed

    Zhou, Hepeng; Cao, Yijun; Ma, Zilong; Li, Shulei

    2018-05-11

    Transition metal sulfides are considered to be promising candidates as anodes for sodium ion batteries (SIBs). However, their further applications are limited by poor electrical conductivity and sluggish electrochemical kinetics. We report, for the first time, nickel-doped Co 9 S 8 hollow nanoparticles as SIB anodes with enhanced electrical conductivity and a large pseudocapacitive effect, leading to fast kinetics. This compound exhibits excellent sodium storage performance, including a high capacity of 556.7 mA h g -1 , a high rate capability of 2000 mA g -1 and an excellent stability up to 200 cycles. The results demonstrate that nickel-doped Co 9 S 8 hollow nanoparticles are a promising anode material for SIBs.

  14. Upconversion improvement in KLaF4:Yb3+/Er3+ nanoparticles by doping Al3+ ions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhou, Haifang; Wang, Xiechun; Lai, Yunfeng; Cheng, Shuying; Zheng, Qiao; Yu, Jinlin

    2017-10-01

    Rare-earth ion-doped upconversion (UC) materials show great potential applications in optical and optoelectronic devices due to their novel optical properties. In this work, hexagonal KLaF4:Yb3+/Er3+ nanoparticles (NPs) were successfully synthesized by a hydrothermal method, and remarkably enhanced upconversion luminescence in green and red emission bands in KLaF4:Yb3+/Er3+ NPs has been achieved by doping Al3+ ions under 980 nm excitation. Compared to the aluminum-free KLaF4:Yb3+/Er3+ NPs sample, the UC fluorescence intensities of the green and red emissions of NPs doped with 10 at.% Al3+ ions were significantly enhanced by 5.9 and 7.3 times, respectively. Longer lifetimes of the doped samples were observed for the 4S3/2 state and 4F9/2 state. The underlying reason for the UC enhancement by doping Al3+ ions was mainly ascribed to distortion of the local symmetry around Er3+ ions and adsorption reduction of organic ligands on the surface of NPs. In addition, the influence of doping Al3+ ions on the structure and morphology of the NPs samples was also discussed.

  15. Magnetism mediated by a majority of [Fe3+ + \\mathbf{V}_{\\mathbf{O}}^{\\mathbf{2-}} ] complexes in Fe-doped CeO2 nanoparticles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Paidi, V. K.; Ferreira, N. S.; Goltz, D.; van Lierop, J.

    2015-08-01

    We examine the role of Fe3+ and vacancies ({{V}\\text{O}} ) on the magnetism of Fe-doped CeO2 nanoparticles. Magnetic nanoparticles of Ce100-xFexO2 (x  =  0, 0.26, 1.82, 2.64, 5.26, 6.91, and 7.22) were prepared by a co-precipitation method, and their structural, compositional and magnetic properties were investigated. The CeO2 nanoparticles had a mixed valance of Ce4+ and Ce3+ ions, and doping introduced Fe3+ ions. The decrease in Ce3+ and increase in Fe3+ concentrations indicated the presence of more [Fe3+ +V\\text{O}2- ] complexes with Fe loading in the particles. Charge neutralization, Fe3+ + V\\text{O}2- + 2Ce4+ ≤ftrightarrow 2Ce3+ + Fe3+, identified the impact of {{V}\\text{O}} on the magnetism, where our results suggest that the Fe-doped CeO2 nanoparticle magnetism is mediated by a majority of [Fe3+ +V\\text{O}2- ]—Ce3+ —[Fe3+ +V\\text{O}2- ] complexes.

  16. Synthesis of Er(III)/Yb(III)-doped BiF3 upconversion nanoparticles for use in optical thermometry.

    PubMed

    Du, Peng; Yu, Jae Su

    2018-03-23

    The authors describe an ethylene glycol assisted precipitation method for synthesis of Er(III)/Yb(III)-doped BiF 3 nanoparticles (NPs) at room temperature. Under 980-nm light irradiation, the NPs emit upconversion (UC) emission of Er(III) ions as a result of a two-photon absorption process. The temperature-dependent green emissions (peaking at 525 and 545 nm) are used to establish an unambiguous relationship between the ratio of fluorescence intensities and temperature. The NPs have a maximum sensitivity of 6.5 × 10 -3  K -1 at 619 K and can be applied over the 291-691 K temperature range. The results indicate that these NPs are a promising candidate for optical thermometry. Graphical abstract Schematic of the room-temperature preparation of Er(III)/Yb(III)-doped BiF 3 nanoparticles with strongly temperature-dependent upconversion emission.

  17. Structural determination of Bi-doped magnetite multifunctional nanoparticles for contrast imaging.

    PubMed

    Laguna-Marco, M A; Piquer, C; Roca, A G; Boada, R; Andrés-Vergés, M; Veintemillas-Verdaguer, S; Serna, C J; Iadecola, A; Chaboy, J

    2014-09-14

    To determine with precision how Bi atoms are distributed in Bi-doped iron oxide nanoparticles their structural characterization has been carried out by X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) recorded at the K edge of Fe and at the L3 edge of Bi. The inorganic nanoparticles are nominally hybrid structures integrating an iron oxide core and a bismuth oxide shell. Fe K-edge XAS indicates the formation of a structurally ordered, non-stoichiometric magnetite (Fe3-δO4) phase for all the nanoparticles. The XAS spectra show that, in the samples synthesized by precipitation in aqueous media and laser pyrolysis, the Bi atoms neither enter into the iron oxide spinel lattice nor form any other mixed Bi-Fe oxides. No modification of the local structure around the Fe atoms induced by the Bi atoms is observed at the Fe K edge. In addition, contrary to expectations, our results indicate that the Bi atoms do not form a well-defined Bi oxide structure. The XAS study at the Bi L3 edge indicates that the environment around Bi atoms is highly disordered and only a first oxygen coordination shell is observed. Indefinite [BiO6-x(OH)x] units (isolated or aggregated forming tiny amorphous clusters) bonded through hydroxyl bridges to the nanoparticle, rather than a well defined Bi2O3 shell, surround the nanoparticle. On the other hand, the XAS study indicates that, in the samples synthesized by thermal decomposition, the Bi atoms are embedded in a longer range ordered structure showing the first and second neighbors.

  18. Effects of rare earth doping on multi-core iron oxide nanoparticles properties

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Petran, Anca; Radu, Teodora; Borodi, Gheorghe; Nan, Alexandrina; Suciu, Maria; Turcu, Rodica

    2018-01-01

    New multi-core iron oxide magnetic nanoparticles doped with rare earth metals (Gd, Eu) were obtained by a one step synthesis procedure using a solvothermal method for potential biomedical applications. The obtained clusters were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy-dispersive X-ray microanalysis (EDX), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and magnetization measurements. They possess high colloidal stability, a saturation magnetization of up to 52 emu/g, and nearly spherical shape. The presence of rare earth ions in the obtained samples was confirmed by EDX and XPS. XRD analysis proved the homogeneous distribution of the trivalent rare earth ions in the inverse-spinel structure of magnetite and the increase of crystal strain upon doping the samples. XPS study reveals the valence state and the cation distribution on the octahedral and tetrahedral sites of the analysed samples. The observed shift of the XPS valence band spectra maximum in the direction of higher binding energies after rare earth doping, as well as theoretical valence band calculations prove the presence of Gd and Eu ions in octahedral sites. The blood protein adsorption ability of the obtained samples surface, the most important factor of the interaction between biomaterials and body fluids, was assessed by interaction with bovine serum albumin (BSA). The rare earth doped clusters surface show higher afinity for binding BSA. In vitro cytotoxicity test results for the studied samples showed no cytotoxicity in low and medium doses, establishing a potential perspective for rare earth doped MNC to facilitate multiple therapies in a single formulation for cancer theranostics.

  19. Thermally conductive of nanofluid from surfactant doped polyaniline nanoparticle and deep eutectic ionic liquid

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Siong, Chew Tze; Daik, Rusli; Hamid, Muhammad Azmi Abdul

    2014-09-01

    Nanofluid is a colloidal suspension of nano-size particles in a fluid. Spherical shape dodecylbenzenesulfonic acid doped polyaniline (DBSA-PANI) nanoparticles were synthesized via reverse micellar polymerization in isooctane with average size of 50 nm- 60 nm. The aim of study is to explore the possibility of using deep eutectic ionic liquid (DES) as a new base fluid in heat transfer application. DES was prepared by heating up choline chloride and urea with stirring. DES based nanofluids containing DBSA-PANI nanoparticles were prepared using two-step method. Thermal conductivity of nanofluids was measured using KD2 Pro Thermal Properties Analyzer. When incorporated with DBSA-PANI nanoparticles, DES with water was found to exhibit a bigger increase in thermal conductivity compared to that of the pure DES. The thermal conductivity of DES with water was increased by 4.67% when incorporated with 0.2 wt% of DBSA-PANI nanoparticles at 50°C. The enhancement in thermal conductivity of DES based nanofluids is possibly related to Brownian motion of nanoparticles as well as micro-convection of base fluids and also interaction between dopants and DES ions.

  20. In vivo magnetic resonance and fluorescence dual imaging of tumor sites by using dye-doped silica-coated iron oxide nanoparticles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jang, Haeyun; Lee, Chaedong; Nam, Gi-Eun; Quan, Bo; Choi, Hyuck Jae; Yoo, Jung Sun; Piao, Yuanzhe

    2016-02-01

    The difficulty in delineating tumor is a major obstacle for better outcomes in cancer treatment of patients. The use of single-imaging modality is often limited by inadequate sensitivity and resolution. Here, we present the synthesis and the use of monodisperse iron oxide nanoparticles coated with fluorescent silica nano-shells for fluorescence and magnetic resonance dual imaging of tumor. The as-synthesized core-shell nanoparticles were designed to improve the accuracy of diagnosis via simultaneous tumor imaging with dual imaging modalities by a single injection of contrast agent. The iron oxide nanocrystals ( 11 nm) were coated with Rhodamine B isothiocyanate-doped silica shells via reverse microemulsion method. Then, the core-shell nanoparticles ( 54 nm) were analyzed to confirm their size distribution by transmission electron microscopy and dynamic laser scattering. Photoluminescence spectroscopy was used to characterize the fluorescent property of the dye-doped silica shell-coated nanoparticles. The cellular compatibility of the as-prepared nanoparticles was confirmed by a trypan blue dye exclusion assay and the potential as a dual-imaging contrast agent was verified by in vivo fluorescence and magnetic resonance imaging. The experimental results show that the uniform-sized core-shell nanoparticles are highly water dispersible and the cellular toxicity of the nanoparticles is negligible. In vivo fluorescence imaging demonstrates the capability of the developed nanoparticles to selectively target tumors by the enhanced permeability and retention effects and ex vivo tissue analysis was corroborated this. Through in vitro phantom test, the core/shell nanoparticles showed a T2 relaxation time comparable to Feridex® with smaller size, indicating that the as-made nanoparticles are suitable for imaging tumor. This new dual-modality-nanoparticle approach has promised for enabling more accurate tumor imaging.

  1. Preparation of ZnS microdisks using chemical bath deposition and ZnS/p-Si heterojunction solar cells

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hsiao, Y. J.; Meen, T. H.; Ji, L. W.; Tsai, J. K.; Wu, Y. S.; Huang, C. J.

    2013-10-01

    The synthesis and heterojunction solar cell properties of ZnS microdisks prepared by the chemical bath deposition method were investigated. The ZnS deposited on the p-Si blanket substrate exhibits good coverage. The lower reflectance spectra were found as the thickness of the ZnS film increased. The optical absorption spectra of the 80 °C ZnS microdisk exhibited a band-gap energy of 3.4 eV and the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of the AZO/ZnS/p-Si heterojunction solar cell with a 300 nm thick ZnS film was η=2.72%.

  2. Synthesis, Characterization and Comparative Luminescence Studies of Rare-Earth-Doped Gd2O3 Nanoparticles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pyngrope, D.; Singh, L. R.; Prasad, A. I.; Bora, A.

    2018-04-01

    A facile direct precipitation method was used for the synthesis of luminescence nanomaterial. Gd2O3 doped with rare earth element Eu3+ is synthesized by polyol route. The synthesized nanoparticles show their characteristic red emission. The nanoparticles are characterized by x-ray diffractometer (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and photoluminescence (PL) study. The synthesized nanoparticles are spherical particles with 30 nm size. The photoluminescence studies show the characteristic Eu3+ red emission. The PL study shows the intensity of the magnetic dipole transition ( 5 D0 \\to 7 F1 ) at 592 nm compared to that of the electronic dipole transition ( 5 D0 \\to 7 F2 ) at 615 nm. The nanomaterials can show significant application in various display devices and biomedical applications for tracking.

  3. Thermo- and electro-optical properties of photonic liquid crystal fibers doped with gold nanoparticles.

    PubMed

    Siarkowska, Agata; Chychłowski, Miłosz; Budaszewski, Daniel; Jankiewicz, Bartłomiej; Bartosewicz, Bartosz; Woliński, Tomasz R

    2017-01-01

    Thermo- and electro-optical properties of a photonic liquid crystal fiber (PLCF) enhanced by the use of dopants have been investigated. A 6CHBT nematic liquid crystal was doped with four different concentrations of gold nanoparticles (NPs), 0.1, 0.3, 0.5 and 1.0 wt %, for direct comparison of the influence of the dopant on the properties of the PLCF. The thermo-optical effects of the liquid crystal doped with gold NPs were compared in three setups, an LC cell, a microcapillary and within the PLCF, to determine if the observed responses to external factors are caused by the properties of the infiltration material or due to the setup configuration. The results obtained indicated that with increasing NP doping a significant reduction of the rise time under an external electric field occurs with a simultaneous decrease in the nematic-isotropic phase transition temperature, thus improving the thermo- and electro-optical properties of the PLCF.

  4. The photocatalytic investigation of methylene blue dye with Cr doped zinc oxide nanoparticles

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

    Ray, Rajeev; Kumar, Ashavani, E-mail: ashavani@yahoo.com

    2015-08-28

    The present work reports eco-friendly and cost effective sol-gel technique for synthesis of Chromium doped ZnO nanoparticles at room temperature. In this process Zinc nitrate, Chromium nitrate were used as precursor. Structural as well as optical properties of Cr induced ZnO samples were analysed by X-ray diffraction technique (XRD), SEM, PL and UV-Visible spectroscopy (UV-Vis) respectively. XRD analysis shows that the samples have hexagonal (wurtzite) structure with no additional peak which suggests that Cr ions fit into the regular Zn sites of ZnO crystal structure. By using Scherrer’s formula for pure and Cr doped ZnO samples the average grain sizemore » was found to be 32 nm. Further band gap of pure and doped ZnO samples have been calculated by using UV-Vis spectra. The photo-catalytic degradation of methyl blue dye under UV irradiation was examined for synthesized samples. The results show that the concentration plays an important role in photo-catalytic activity.« less

  5. Magnetic nanoparticles formed in glasses co-doped with iron and larger radius elements

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Edelman, I.; Ivanova, O.; Ivantsov, R.; Velikanov, D.; Zabluda, V.; Zubavichus, Y.; Veligzhanin, A.; Zaikovskiy, V.; Stepanov, S.; Artemenko, A.; Curély, J.; Kliava, J.

    2012-10-01

    A new type of nanoparticle-containing glasses based on borate glasses co-doped with low contents of iron and larger radius elements, Dy, Tb, Gd, Ho, Er, Y, and Bi, is studied. Heat treatment of these glasses results in formation of magnetic nanoparticles, radically changing their physical properties. Transmission electron microscopy and synchrotron radiation-based techniques: x-ray diffraction, extended x-ray absorption fine structure, x-ray absorption near-edge structure, and small-angle x-ray scattering, show a broad distribution of nanoparticle sizes with characteristics depending on the treatment regime; a crystalline structure of these nanoparticles is detected in heat treated samples. Magnetic circular dichroism (MCD) studies of samples subjected to heat treatment as well as of maghemite, magnetite, and iron garnet allow to unambiguously assign the nanoparticle structure to maghemite, independently of co-dopant nature and of heat treatment regime used. Different features observed in the MCD spectra are related to different electron transitions in Fe3+ ions gathered in the nanoparticles. The static magnetization in heat treated samples has non-linear dependence on the magnetizing field with hysteresis. Zero-field cooled magnetization curves show that at higher temperatures the nanoparticles occur in superparamagnetic state with blocking temperatures above 100 K. Below ca. 20 K, a considerable contribution to both zero field-cooled and field-cooled magnetizations occurs from diluted paramagnetic ions. Variable-temperature electron magnetic resonance (EMR) studies unambiguously show that in as-prepared glasses paramagnetic ions are in diluted state and confirm the formation of magnetic nanoparticles already at earlier stages of heat treatment. Computer simulations of the EMR spectra corroborate the broad distribution of nanoparticle sizes found by "direct" techniques as well as superparamagnetic nanoparticle behaviour demonstrated in the magnetization studies.

  6. Structural and Magnetic Properties of Dilute Ca²⁺ Doped Iron Oxide Nanoparticles.

    PubMed

    Samar Layek; Rout, K; Mohapatra, M; Anand, S; Verma, H C

    2016-01-01

    Undoped and calcium substituted hematite (α-Fe₂O₃) nanoparticles are synthesized by surfactant-directed co-precipitation and post annealing method. The annealed nanoparticles were found to be in single phase in nature and crystallize in the rhombohedral structure with space group R3c as confirmed by Rietveld refinement of the X-ray diffraction (XRD) data. Average crystallite sizes are calculated to be 20 to 30 nm and 50 to 60 nm for the nanoparticles annealed at 400 and 600 °C respectively. Mössbauer spectra for all the nanoparticles could be fitted with a sextet corresponding to the single magnetic state of the iron atoms in its Fe³⁺ state in the hematite matrix. The FTIR and Raman spectra of all the samples correspond to specific modes of α-Fe₂O₃. UV-Vis spectra of annealed samples showed broad peaks in the range of 525-630 nm resulting from spin-forbidden ligand field transition together with the spin-flip transition among the 2t₂g states. The estimated band gap energies were in the range of 1.6 to 1.9 eV which are much lower than the reported values for nano hematite. From the room temperature magnetic hysteresis loop measurements, weak ferromagnetic behavior is observed in all undoped and Ca²⁺ doped hematite samples. Morin temperature (T(M)) is calculated to be 257 and 237 K for 1.45% doped samples with particle size 54 and 27 nm respectively. The sample with Ca content of 1.45 wt% when annealed at 400 °C showed that the particles were of different shapes which included both quasi spherical and rod shaped. On annealing the same sample at 600 °C, the nanorods collapsed to form bigger spherical and ellipsoidal particles.

  7. Synthesis and characterization of Nd3+: Yb3+ co-doped near infrared sensitive fluorapatite nanoparticles as a bioimaging probe

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Karthi, S.; Kumar, G. A.; Sardar, D. K.; Santhosh, C.; Girija, E. K.

    2018-03-01

    Trivalent Nd and Yb co-doped rod shaped hexagonal phase fluorapatite (FAP) nanoparticles of length and width about 32 and 13 nm, respectively were prepared by hydrothermal method and investigated the ability for 980 nm emission via Nd3+ → Yb3+ energy transfer with the objective of utilizing them in biomedical imaging. Nd3+ → Yb3+ energy transfer in FAP was studied as a function of both Nd3+ and Yb3+ concentrations and found that when Yb3+ concentration was 10 mol% the FAP phase has partially turned in to YbPO4 phase. The Yb3+ emission intensity at 980 nm significantly increased up to 5 mol% Yb3+ doping and then reduced drastically for further increase in its concentration. Nd3+ →Yb3+ energy transfer rates were evaluated from the decay curves and found that a transfer rate of 71% for 2 mol% Nd3+ co-doped with 5 mol% Yb3+. The cytocompatibility test with fibroblast like cells using MTT assay revealed that the nanoparticles are compatible with the cells.

  8. A newly developed Fe-doped calcium sulfide nanoparticles with magnetic property for cancer hyperthermia

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wu, Steven Yueh-Hsiu; Tseng, Ching-Li; Lin, Feng-Huei

    2010-05-01

    In this study, a magnetic iron-doped calcium sulfide (Fe-CaS) nanoparticle was newly developed and studied for the purpose of hyperthermia due to its promising magnetic property, adequate biodegradation rate, and relatively good biocompatibility. Fe-CaS nanoparticles were synthesized by a wet chemical co-precipitation process with heat treatment in a N2 atmosphere, and were subsequently cooled in N2 and exposed to air at a low temperature. The crystal structure of the Fe-CaS nanoparticles was similar to that of the CaS, which was identified by an X-ray diffractometer (XRD). The particle size was less than 40 nm based on a Debye-Scherrer equation and transmission electron microscope (TEM) examination. Magnetic properties obtained from the SQUID magnetometer demonstrated that the synthesized CaS was a diamagnetic property. Once the Fe ions were doped, the synthesized Fe-CaS converted into paramagnetism which showed no hysteresis loop. Having been heated above 600 °C in N2, the Fe-CaS showed a promising magnetic property to produce enough energy to increase the temperature for hyperthermia. 10 mg/ml of the Fe-CaS was able to generate heat to elevate the media temperature over 42.5 °C within 6 min. The area of the hysteresis loop increased with the increasing of the treated temperature, especially at 800 °C for 1 h. This is because more Fe ions replaced Ca ions in the lattice at the higher heat treatment temperature. The heat production was also increasing with the increasing of heat treatment temperature, which resulted in an adequate specific absorption ratio (SAR) value, which was found to be 45.47 W/g at 37 °C under an alternative magnetic field of f = 750 KHz , H = 10 Oe. The in vitro biocompatibility test of the synthesized Fe-CaS nanoparticles examined by the LDH assay showed no cytotoxicity to 3T3 fibroblast. The result of in vitro cell hyperthermia shows that under magnetic field the Fe-CaS nanoparticles were able to generate heat and kill the CT-26 cancer

  9. Mg-doped VO2 nanoparticles: hydrothermal synthesis, enhanced visible transmittance and decreased metal-insulator transition temperature.

    PubMed

    Zhou, Jiadong; Gao, Yanfeng; Liu, Xinling; Chen, Zhang; Dai, Lei; Cao, Chuanxiang; Luo, Hongjie; Kanahira, Minoru; Sun, Chao; Yan, Liuming

    2013-05-28

    This paper reports the successful preparation of Mg-doped VO2 nanoparticles via hydrothermal synthesis. The metal-insulator transition temperature (T(c)) decreased by approximately 2 K per at% Mg. The Tc decreased to 54 °C with 7.0 at% dopant. The composite foils made from Mg-doped VO2 particles displayed excellent visible transmittance (up to 54.2%) and solar modulation ability (up to 10.6%). In addition, the absorption edge blue-shifted from 490 nm to 440 nm at a Mg content of 3.8 at%, representing a widened optical band gap from 2.0 eV for pure VO2 to 2.4 eV at 3.8 at% doping. As a result, the colour of the Mg-doped films was modified to increase their brightness and lighten the yellow colour over that of the undoped-VO2 film. A first principle calculation was conducted to understand how dopants affect the optical, Mott phase transition and structural properties of VO2.

  10. Potassium-doped copper oxide nanoparticles synthesized by a solvothermal method as an anode material for high-performance lithium ion secondary battery

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Thi, Trang Vu; Rai, Alok Kumar; Gim, Jihyeon; Kim, Jaekook

    2014-06-01

    A simple and efficient approach was developed to synthesize CuO nanoparticles with improved electrochemical performance. Potassium (K+)-doped CuO nanoparticles were synthesized by a simple and cost-effective solvothermal method followed by annealing at 500 °C for 5 h under air atmosphere. For comparison, an undoped CuO sample was also synthesized under the same conditions. X-ray diffraction analysis demonstrates that the K+ ion doping caused no change in the phase structure, and highly crystalline KxCu1-xO1-δ (x = 0.10) powder without any impurity was obtained. As an anode material for a lithium ion battery, the K+-doped CuO nanoparticle electrode exhibited better capacity retention with a reversible capacity of over 354.6 mA h g-1 for up to 30 cycles at 0.1 C, as well as a high charge capacity of 162.3 mA h g-1 at a high current rate of 3.2 C, in comparison to an undoped CuO electrode (275.9 mA h g-1 at 0.1 C and 68.9 mA h g-1 at 3.2 C). The high rate capability and better cycleability of the doped electrode can be attributed to the influence of the K+ ion nanostructure on the increased electronic conductivity, diffusion efficiency, and kinetic properties of CuO during the lithiation and delithiation process.

  11. Electrophoretic Deposition of Hydroxyapatite Film Containing Re-Doped MoS2 Nanoparticles

    PubMed Central

    Shalom, Hila; Feldman, Yishay; Rosentsveig, Rita; Pinkas, Iddo; Kaplan-Ashiri, Ifat; Moshkovich, Alexey; Perfilyev, Vladislav; Rapoport, Lev

    2018-01-01

    Films combining hydroxyapatite (HA) with minute amounts (ca. 1 weight %) of (rhenium doped) fullerene-like MoS2 (IF) nanoparticles were deposited onto porous titanium substrate through electrophoretic process (EPD). The films were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy. The SEM analysis showed relatively uniform coatings of the HA + IF on the titanium substrate. Chemical composition analysis using energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) of the coatings revealed the presence of calcium phosphate minerals like hydroxyapatite, as a majority phase. Tribological tests were undertaken showing that the IF nanoparticles endow the HA film very low friction and wear characteristics. Such films could be of interest for various medical technologies. Means for improving the adhesion of the film to the underlying substrate and its fracture toughness, without compromising its biocompatibility are discussed at the end. PMID:29495394

  12. The development of a new optical sensor based on the Mn doped ZnS quantum dots modified with the molecularly imprinted polymers for sensitive recognition of florfenicol

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sadeghi, Susan; Jahani, Moslem; Belador, Foroogh

    2016-04-01

    The Mn doped ZnS quantum dots (Mn:ZnS QDs) capped with the florfenicol molecularly imprinted polymer (Mn:ZnS QDs@MIP) were prepared via the sol-gel surface imprinting approach using 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES) as the functional monomer and tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) as the cross-linker for the optosensing of the florfenicol. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffractometer, IR spectroscopy, UV-Vis absorption spectrophotometry, and spectrofluorometry were used to elucidate the formation, morphology, and identification of the products. To illustrate the usefulness of the new imprinted material, the non-imprinted coated Mn:ZnS QDs (Mn:ZnS QDs@NIP) were synthesized without the presence of the florfenicol. It was revealed that the fluorescence (FL) intensity of the Mn:ZnS QDs@MIP increased with increasing the FF concentration. Under the optimal conditions, changes in the FL intensity in the presence of the target molecule showed a linear response in the concentration range of 30-700 μmol L- 1 with a detection limit of 24 μmol L- 1. The developed method was finally applied successfully to the determination of FF in different meat samples with satisfactory recoveries.

  13. Novel preparation of N-doped SnO 2 nanoparticles via laser-assisted pyrolysis: Demonstration of exceptional lithium storage properties

    DOE PAGES

    Wang, Luyuan Paul; Leconte, Yann; Feng, Zhenxing; ...

    2016-12-05

    Here, laser pyrolyzed SnO 2 nanoparticles with an option of nitrogen (N) doping are prepared using a cost-effective method. The electrochemical performance of N-doped samples is tested for the first time in Li-ion batteries where the sample with 3% of N-dopant exhibits optimum performance with a capacity of 522 mAh g active material –1 that can be obtained at 10 A g –1 (6.7C).

  14. Investigation of Influence of Surface Nanoparticle on Emission Properties of Scandia-Doped Dispenser Cathodes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhang, Xizhu; Wang, Jinshu; Wang, Yiman; Liu, Wei; Zhou, Meiling; Gao, Zhiyuan

    2013-06-01

    The microstructure of a fully activated scandia doped dispenser (SDD) cathode has been studied by scanning electron microscope (SEM). The observation results display that nanoparticles appear at the growth steps and the surface of tungsten grains of the fully activated SDD cathode. To study the influence of the nanoparticles on the emission, the local electric field strengths around the nanoparticles have been calculated by Maxwell 2D code and Comsol. The calculation results show that the local electric field strengths are enhanced by 1.1 to 3.8 times to average value based on different model conditions. The highest field strength is about 1.54 × 105 V/cm at an average field strength of 40 KV/cm, which is related to a space-charge limited (SCL) current density of 100 A/cm2 in the experimental configuration. This implies the field strength is not high enough to cause field emission.

  15. One-Pot Process in Scalable Bath for Water-Dispersed ZnS Nanocrystals with the Tailored Size

    DOE PAGES

    Jung, Hyunsung; Phelps, Tommy J.; Rondinone, Adam J.; ...

    2017-05-01

    Well-dispersed ZnS nanocrystals with tailored size in aqueous solutions were synthesized by employing cysteine-sulfur (Cys-S) complexes with low molecular weight in a scalable anoxic vessel. High yield production of water-dispersed ZnS nanocrystals on a 10-L scale was demonstrated in an aqueous solution process. The average crystallite size of ZnS was controlled by changing the ratio of the cysteine to sulfide in the applied Cys-S complexes. A decrease in the crystallite size of ZnS likely resulted in both the blue shift of peak positions and the relative variation of peak intensities in the photoluminescence properties. In addition, the pH-dependent stability againstmore » aggregation of ZnS nanocrystals was investigated to reduce agglomeration.« less

  16. Field emission from ZnS nanorods synthesized by radio frequency magnetron sputtering technique

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ghosh, P. K.; Maiti, U. N.; Jana, S.; Chattopadhyay, K. K.

    2006-11-01

    The field emission property of zinc sulphides nanorods synthesized in the thin film form on Si substrates has been studied. It is seen that ZnS nanorod thin films showed good field emission properties with a low-macroscopic turn-on field (2.9-6.3 V/μm). ZnS nanorods were synthesized by using radio frequency magnetron sputtering of a polycrystalline prefabricated ZnS target at a relatively higher pressure (10 -1 mbar) and at a lower substrate temperature (233-273 K) without using any catalyst. Transmission electron microscopic image showed the formation of ZnS nanorods with high aspect ratio (>60). The field emission data were analysed using Fowler-Nordhiem theory and the nearly straight-line nature of the F-N plots confirmed cold field emission of electrons. It was also found that the turn-on field decreased with the decrease of nanorod's diameters. The optical properties of the ZnS nanorods were also studied. From the measurements of transmittance of the films deposited on glass substrates, the direct allowed bandgap values have been calculated and they were in the range 3.83-4.03 eV. The thickness of the films was ˜600 nm.

  17. Structural properties and optical characterization of flower-like Mg doped NiO

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

    Allaedini, Ghazaleh, E-mail: jiny-ghazaleh@yahoo.com; Tasirin, Siti Masrinda; Aminayi, Payam

    In this study, un-doped and Mg doped NiO nanoparticles have been synthesized through a simple sol-gel method. To investigate the effect of Mg-doping on the structure of NiO, the obtained nanoparticles were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Flower/star like morphology was clearly observed in the SEM micrographs. The BET (Brunauer-Emmett-Teller) nitrogen absorption isotherm exhibits high specific surface area (∼37 m{sup 2} /g) for the Mg doped NiO nanoparticles. X-Ray diffraction (XRD) of the prepared Mg-NiO nanoparticles showed a face-centered cubic (f.c.c) structure, and the average particle size was estimated to be 32 nm using Scherrer’s formula. Energy Dispersive X-Ray (EDX)more » confirms that the NiO particles are successfully doped with Mg. Photoluminescence (PL) and UV-Vis optical absorption characteristics of the prepared nanoparticles have also been investigated in this study. The PL emission response showed a blue shift when NiO was doped with Mg, which is indicative of interstitial oxygen. The UV-Vis results demonstrate a band gap increase as NiO nanoparticles are doped with Mg.« less

  18. Structural and magnetic properties of cobalt-doped iron oxide nanoparticles prepared by solution combustion method for biomedical applications.

    PubMed

    Venkatesan, Kaliyamoorthy; Rajan Babu, Dhanakotti; Kavya Bai, Mane Prabhu; Supriya, Ravi; Vidya, Radhakrishnan; Madeswaran, Saminathan; Anandan, Pandurangan; Arivanandhan, Mukannan; Hayakawa, Yasuhiro

    2015-01-01

    Cobalt-doped iron oxide nanoparticles were prepared by solution combustion technique. The structural and magnetic properties of the prepared samples were also investigated. The average crystallite size of cobalt ferrite (CoFe2O4) magnetic nanoparticle was calculated using Scherrer equation, and it was found to be 16±5 nm. The particle size was measured by transmission electron microscope. This value was found to match with the crystallite size calculated by Scherrer equation corresponding to the prominent intensity peak (311) of X-ray diffraction. The high-resolution transmission electron microscope image shows clear lattice fringes and high crystallinity of cobalt ferrite magnetic nanoparticles. The synthesized magnetic nanoparticles exhibited the saturation magnetization value of 47 emu/g and coercivity of 947 Oe. The anti-microbial activity of cobalt ferrite nanoparticles showed better results as an anti-bacterial agent. The affinity constant was determined for the nanoparticles, and the cytotoxicity studies were conducted for the cobalt ferrite nanoparticles at different concentrations and the results are discussed.

  19. Defect mediated magnetic interaction and high Tc ferromagnetism in Co doped ZnO nanoparticles.

    PubMed

    Pal, Bappaditya; Giri, P K

    2011-10-01

    Structural, optical and magnetic studies have been carried out for the Co-doped ZnO nanoparticles (NPs). ZnO NPs are doped with 3% and 5% Co using ball milling and ferromagnetism (FM) is studied at room temperature and above. A high Curie temperature (Tc) has been observed from the Co doped ZnO NPs. X-ray diffraction and high resolution transmission electron microscopy analysis confirm the absence of metallic Co clusters or any other phase different from würtzite-type ZnO. UV-visible absorption and photoluminescence studies on the doped samples show change in band structure and oxygen vacancy defects, respectively. Micro-Raman studies of doped samples shows defect related additional strong bands at 547 and 574 cm(-1) confirming the presence of oxygen vacancy defects in ZnO lattice. The field dependence of magnetization (M-H curve) measured at room temperature exhibits the clear M-H loop with saturation magnetization and coercive field of the order of 4-6 emu/g and 260 G, respectively. Temperature dependence of magnetization measurement shows sharp ferromagnetic to paramagnetic transition with a high Tc = 791 K for 3% Co doped ZnO NPs. Ferromagnetic ordering is interpreted in terms of overlapping of polarons mediated through oxygen vacancy defects based on the bound magnetic polaron (BMP) model. We show that the observed FM data fits well with the BMP model involving localised carriers and magnetic cations.

  20. SEMICONDUCTOR MATERIALS: White light photoluminescence from ZnS films on porous Si substrates

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Caifeng, Wang; Qingshan, Li; Bo, Hu; Weibing, Li

    2010-03-01

    ZnS films were deposited on porous Si (PS) substrates using a pulsed laser deposition (PLD) technique. White light emission is observed in photoluminescence (PL) spectra, and the white light is the combination of blue and green emission from ZnS and red emission from PS. The white PL spectra are broad, intense in a visible band ranging from 450 to 700 nm. The effects of the excitation wavelength, growth temperature of ZnS films, PS porosity and annealing temperature on the PL spectra of ZnS/PS were also investigated.

  1. Preparation and characterization of ZnS thin films by the chemical bath deposition method (Conference Presentation)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ando, Shizutoshi; Iwashita, Taisuke

    2017-06-01

    Nowadays, the conversion efficiency of Cu(In・Ga)Se2 (CIGS)-based solar cell already reached over 20%. CdS thin films prepared by chemical bath deposition (CBD) method are used for CIGS-based thin film solar cells as the buffer layer. Over the past several years, a considerable number of studies have been conducted on ZnS buffer layer prepared by CBD in order to improve in conversion efficiency of CIGS-based solar cells. In addition, application to CIGS-based solar cell of ZnS buffer layer is expected as an eco-friendly solar cell by cadmium-free. However, it was found that ZnS thin films prepared by CBD included ZnO or Zn(OH)2 as different phase [1]. Nakata et. al reported that the conversion efficiency of CIGS-based solar cell using ZnS buffer layer (CBD-ZnS/CIGS) reached over 18% [2]. The problem which we have to consider next is improvement in crystallinity of ZnS thin films prepared by CBD. In this work, we prepared ZnS thin films on quarts (Si02) and SnO2/glass substrates by CBD with the self-catalysis growth process in order to improve crystallinity and quality of CBD-ZnS thin films. The solution to use for CBD were prepared by mixture of 0.2M ZnI2 or ZnSO4, 0.6M (NH2)2CS and 8.0M NH3 aq. In the first, we prepared the particles of ZnS on Si02 or SnO2/glass substrates by CBD at 80° for 20 min as initial nucleus (1st step ). After that, the particles of ZnS on Si02 or SnO2/glass substrates grew up to be ZnS thin films by CBD method at 80° for 40 min again (2nd step). We found that the surface of ZnS thin films by CBD with the self-catalyst growth process was flat and smooth. Consequently, we concluded that the CBD technique with self-catalyst growth process in order to prepare the particles of ZnS as initial nucleus layer was useful for improvement of crystallinity of ZnS thin films on SnO2/glass. [1] J.Vidal et,al., Thin Solid Films 419 (2002) 118. [2] T.Nakata et.al., Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. 41(2B), L165-L167 (2002)

  2. The preparation and characterization of La doped TiO 2 nanoparticles and their photocatalytic activity

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Liqiang, Jing; Xiaojun, Sun; Baifu, Xin; Baiqi, Wang; Weimin, Cai; Honggang, Fu

    2004-10-01

    In this paper, pure and La doped TiO2 nanoparticles with different La content were prepared by a sol-gel process using Ti (OC4H9)4 as raw material, and also were characterized by XRD, TG-DTA, TEM, XPS, DRS and Photoluminescence (PL) spectra. We mainly investigated the effects of calcining temperature and La content on the properties and the photocatalytic activity for degrading phenol of as-prepared TiO2 samples, and also discussed the relationships between PL spectra and photocatalytic activity as well as the mechanisms of La doping on TiO2 phase transformation. The results showed that La3+ did not enter into the crystal lattices of TiO2 and was uniformly dispersed onto TiO2 as the form of La2O3 particles with small size, which possibly made La dopant have a great inhibition on TiO2 phase transformation; La dopant did not give rise to a new PL signal, but it could improve the intensity of PL spectra with a appropriate La content, which was possibly attributed to the increase in the content of surface oxygen vacancies and defects after doping La; La doped TiO2 nanoparticles calcined at 600°C exhibited higher photocatalytic activity, indicating that 600°C was an appropriate calcination temperature. The order of photocatalytic activity of La doped TiO2 samples with different La content was as following: 1>1.5>3>0.5>5>0 mol%, which was the same as the order of their PL intensity, namely, the stronger the PL intensity, the higher the photocatalytic activity, demonstrating that there were certain relationships between PL spectra and photocatalytic activity. This could be explained by the points that PL spectra mainly resulted from surface oxygen vacancies and defects during the process of PL, while surface oxygen vacancies and defects could be favorable in capturing the photoinduced electrons during the process of photocatalytic reactions.

  3. Organic Dye Degradation Under Solar Irradiation by Hydrothermally Synthesized ZnS Nanospheres

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Samanta, Dhrubajyoti; Chanu, T. Inakhunbi; Basnet, Parita; Chatterjee, Somenath

    2018-02-01

    The green synthesis of ZnS nanospheres using Citrus limetta (sweet lime) juice as a capping agent through a conventional hydrothermal method was studied. The particle size, morphology, chemical composition, band gap, and optical properties of the synthesized ZnS nanospheres were characterized using x-ray diffraction spectroscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, and ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy. The photocatalytic activity of the ZnS nanospheres was evaluated by degradation of rhodamine B (RhB) and methyl orange (MO) under solar irradiation. Upon 150 min of solar irradiation, the extent of degradation was 94% and 77% for RhB and MO, respectively.

  4. Luminescence study of Eu3+ doped GdVO4 nanoparticles: Concentration, particle size, and core/shell effects

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Singh, N. Shanta; Ningthoujam, R. S.; Devi, L. Romila; Yaiphaba, N.; Sudarsan, V.; Singh, S. Dorendrajit; Vatsa, R. K.; Tewari, R.

    2008-11-01

    Nanoparticles of GdVO4 doped with Eu3+ and core/shell of GdVO4:Eu3+/GdVO4 are prepared by urea hydrolysis method using ethylene glycol as capping agent as well as reaction medium at 130 °C. Unit cell volume increases when GdVO4 is doped with Eu3+ indicating the substitution of Gd3+ lattice sites by Eu3+. From luminescence study, it is confirmed that there is no particle size effect on emission positions of Eu3+. Optimum luminescence intensity is found to be in 5-10 at. % Eu3+. Above these concentrations, luminescence intensity decreases due to concentration quenching effect. There is an enhancement in luminescence intensity of core/shell nanoparticles. This has been attributed to the reduction in surface inhomogenities of Eu3+ surroundings by bonding to GdVO4 shell. The lifetime for D50 level increases with annealing and core/shell formation.

  5. On the role of Fe ions on magnetic properties of doped TiO2 nanoparticles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tolea, F.; Grecu, M. N.; Kuncser, V.; Constantinescu, S. Gr.; Ghica, D.

    2015-04-01

    The role of iron doping on magnetic properties of hydrothermal anatase TiO2:57Fe (0-1 at. %) nanoparticles is investigated by combining superconducting quantum interference device magnetometry with Mössbauer and electron paramagnetic resonance techniques. The results on both as-prepared and thermally treated samples in reduced air atmosphere reveal complexity of magnetic interactions, in connection to certain iron ion electron configurations and defects (oxygen vacancies, F-center, and Ti3+ ions). The distribution of iron ions is predominantly at nanoparticle surface layers. Formation of weak ferromagnetic domains up to 380 K is mainly related to defects, supporting the bound magnetic polaron model.

  6. Formation and stability of manganese-doped ZnS quantum dot monolayers determined by QCM-D and streaming potential measurements.

    PubMed

    Oćwieja, Magdalena; Matras-Postołek, Katarzyna; Maciejewska-Prończuk, Julia; Morga, Maria; Adamczyk, Zbigniew; Sovinska, Svitlana; Żaba, Adam; Gajewska, Marta; Król, Tomasz; Cupiał, Klaudia; Bredol, Michael

    2017-10-01

    Manganese-doped ZnS quantum dots (QDs) stabilized by cysteamine hydrochloride were successfully synthesized. Their thorough physicochemical characteristics were acquired using UV-Vis absorption and photoluminescence spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, dynamic light scattering (DLS), transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. The average particle size, derived from HR-TEM, was 3.1nm, which agrees with the hydrodynamic diameter acquired by DLS, that was equal to 3-4nm, depending on ionic strength. The quantum dots also exhibited a large positive zeta potential varying between 75 and 36mV for ionic strength of 10 -4 and 10 -2 M, respectively (at pH 6.2) and an intense luminescent emission at 590nm. The quantum yield was equal to 31% and the optical band gap energy was equal to 4.26eV. The kinetics of QD monolayer formation on silica substrates (silica sensors and oxidized silicon wafers) under convection-controlled transport was quantitatively evaluated by the quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) and the streaming potential measurements. A high stability of the monolayer for ionic strength 10 -4 and 10 -2 M was confirmed in these measurements. The experimental data were adequately reflected by the extended random sequential adsorption model (eRSA). Additionally, thorough electrokinetic characteristics of the QD monolayers and their stability for various ionic strengths and pH were acquired by streaming potential measurements carried out under in situ conditions. These results were quantitatively interpreted in terms of the three-dimensional (3D) electrokinetic model that furnished bulk zeta potential of particles for high ionic strengths that is impractical by other experimental techniques. It is concluded that these results can be used for designing of biosensors of controlled monolayer structure capable to bind various ligands via covalent as well as electrostatic interactions

  7. Phosphorescent quantum dots/ethidium bromide nanohybrids based on photoinduced electron transfer for DNA detection.

    PubMed

    Bi, Lin; Yu, Yuan-Hua

    2015-04-05

    Mercaptopropionic acid-capped Mn-doped ZnS quantum dots/ethidium bromide (EB) nanohybrids were constructed for photoinduced electron transfer (PIET) and then used as a room-temperature phosphorescence (RTP) probe for DNA detection. EB could quench the RTP of Mn-doped ZnS QDs by PIET, thereby forming Mn-doped ZnS QDs/EB nanohybrids and storing RTP. Meanwhile, EB could be inserted into DNA and EB could be competitively desorbed from the surface of Mn-doped ZnS QDs by DNA, thereby releasing the RTP of Mn-doped ZnS QDs. Based on this mechanism, a RTP sensor for DNA detection was developed. Under optimal conditions, the detection limit for DNA was 0.045 mg L(-1), the relative standard deviation was 1.7%, and the method linear ranged from 0.2 to 20 mg L(-1). The proposed method was applied to biological fluids, in which satisfactory results were obtained. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  8. Some physical investigations on ZnS 1- xSe x films obtained by selenization of ZnS sprayed films using the Boubaker polynomials expansion scheme

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fridjine, S.; Touihri, S.; Boubaker, K.; Amlouk, M.

    2010-01-01

    ZnS 1- xSe x thin films have been grown by selenization process, applied to ZnS sprayed thin films deposited on Pyrex glass substrates at 550 °C. The crystal structure and surface morphology were investigated by the XRD technique and by the atomic force microscopy. This structural study shows that selenium-free ( x=0) ZnS thin films, prepared at substrate temperature TS=450 °C, were well crystallized in cubic structure and oriented preferentially along (1 1 1) direction. The thermal and mechanical properties were also investigated using a photothermal protocol along with Vickers hardness measurements. On the other hand, the analyze of the transmittance T( λ) and the reflectance R( λ), optical measurements of these films depicts a decrease in the band gap energy value Eg with an increase in Se content ( x). Indeed, Eg values vary from 3.6 to 3.1 eV.

  9. ZnS thin films deposition by thermal evaporation for photovoltaic applications

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Benyahia, K.; Benhaya, A.; Aida, M. S.

    2015-10-01

    ZnS thin films were deposited on glass substrates by thermal evaporation from millimetric crystals of ZnS. The structural, compositional and optical properties of the films are studied by X-ray diffraction, SEM microscopy, and UV-VIS spectroscopy. The obtained results show that the films are pin hole free and have a cubic zinc blend structure with (111) preferential orientation. The estimated optical band gap is 3.5 eV and the refractive index in the visible wavelength ranges from 2.5 to 1.8. The good cubic structure obtained for thin layers enabled us to conclude that the prepared ZnS films may have application as buffer layer in replacement of the harmful CdS in CIGS thin film solar cells or as an antireflection coating in silicon-based solar cells.

  10. Magnetic and magnetothermal studies of pure and doped gadolinium silicide nanoparticles for self-controlled hyperthermia applications

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Alnasir, M. Hisham; Awan, M. S.; Manzoor, Sadia

    2018-03-01

    We report on magnetic and magnetothermal properties of undoped and doped gadolinium silicide (Gd5Si4) nanoparticles with the objective of simultaneously attaining high specific absorption rate (SAR) and low Curie temperature (TC) suitable for self-controlled hyperthermia applications for which TC ∼ 315-320 K. Pellets of doped gadolinium silicide Gd5(Si1-xGex)4 and (Gd1-xRx)5Si4 with R = Ho, Nd and Er and 0 ≤ x ≤ 0.35 were made by arc melting and reduced to nanoparticulate form by surfactant assisted ball milling. Structural and morphological studies were done using X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy respectively. All samples show soft magnetic properties. At low fields there is a ferromagnetic to paramagnetic transition that reduces remanance and coercivity to zero making these materials very attractive for biomedical applications. Zero-field-cooled thermal demagnetization measurements showed that TC of these nanoparticles can be lowered to lie within the limits required for self-controlled hyperthermia by varying the dopant concentration. Specific absorption rates (SAR's) were obtained from magnetothermia measurements made in an ac magnetic field of amplitude 10 Oe and frequency 300 kHz. We have identified samples that have SAR values larger or comparable to those of magnetite and several ferrite nanoparticles, while having Curie temperatures that are low enough for self controlled hyperthermia applications.

  11. Ultra-Smooth ZnS Films Grown on Silicon via Pulsed Laser Deposition

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Reidy, Christopher; Tate, Janet

    2011-10-01

    Ultra-smooth, high quality ZnS films were grown on (100) and (111) oriented Si wafers via pulsed laser deposition with a KrF excimer laser in UHV (10-9 Torr). The resultant films were examined with optical spectroscopy, electron diffraction, and electron probe microanalysis. The films have an rms roughness of ˜1.5 nm, and the film stoichiometry is approximately Zn:S :: 1:0.87. Additionally, each film exhibits an optical interference pattern which is not a function of probing location on the sample, indicating excellent film thickness uniformity. Motivation for high-quality ZnS films comes from a proposed experiment to measure carrier amplification via impact ionization at the boundary between a wide-gap and a narrow-gap semiconductor. If excited charge carriers in a sufficiently wide-gap harvester can be extracted into a narrow-gap host material, impact ionization may occur. We seek near-perfect interfaces between ZnS, with a direct gap between 3.3 and 3.7 eV, and Si, with an indirect gap of 1.1 eV.

  12. High-Throughput Fabrication Method for Producing a Silver-Nanoparticles-Doped Nanoclay Polymer Composite with Novel Synergistic Antibacterial Effects at the Material Interface.

    PubMed

    Cai, Shaobo; Pourdeyhimi, Behnam; Loboa, Elizabeth G

    2017-06-28

    In this study, we report a high-throughput fabrication method at industrial pilot scale to produce a silver-nanoparticles-doped nanoclay-polylactic acid composite with a novel synergistic antibacterial effect. The obtained nanocomposite has a significantly lower affinity for bacterial adhesion, allowing the loading amount of silver nanoparticles to be tremendously reduced while maintaining satisfactory antibacterial efficacy at the material interface. This is a great advantage for many antibacterial applications in which cost is a consideration. Furthermore, unlike previously reported methods that require additional chemical reduction processes to produce the silver-nanoparticles-doped nanoclay, an in situ preparation method was developed in which silver nanoparticles were created simultaneously during the composite fabrication process by thermal reduction. This is the first report to show that altered material surface submicron structures created with the loading of nanoclay enables the creation of a nanocomposite with significantly lower affinity for bacterial adhesion. This study provides a promising scalable approach to produce antibacterial polymeric products with minimal changes to industry standard equipment, fabrication processes, or raw material input cost.

  13. Structural, electrical and magnetic properties of Sc3+ doped Mn-Zn ferrite nanoparticles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Angadi, V. Jagdeesha; Choudhury, Leema; Sadhana, K.; Liu, Hsiang-Lin; Sandhya, R.; Matteppanavar, Shidaling; Rudraswamy, B.; Pattar, Vinayak; Anavekar, R. V.; Praveena, K.

    2017-02-01

    Sc3+ doped Mn0.5Zn0.5ScyFe2-yO4 (y=0.00, 0.01, 0.03 and 0.05) nanoparticles were synthesized by solution combustion method using mixture of fuels were reported for the first time. The mixture of fuels plays an important role in obtaining nano crystalline, single phase present without any heat treatment. X-ray diffraction (XRD) results confirm the formation of the single-phase ferrites which crystallize in cubic spinel structure. The Fourier transform infrared spectra (FTIR) exhibit two prominent bands around 360 cm-1 and 540 cm-1 which are characteristic feature of spinel ferrite. The transmission electron microscope (TEM) micrographs revealed the nanoparticles to be nearly spherical in shape and of fairly uniform size. The room temperature impedance spectra (IS) and vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM) measurements were carried out in order to study the effect of doping (Sc3+) on the characteristic properties of Mn-Zn ferrites. Further, the frequency dependent dielectric constant and dielectric loss were found to decrease with increasing multiple Sc3+ concentration. Nyquist plot in the complex impedance spectra suggest the existence of multiple electrical responses. Magnetic measurements reveals that saturation magnetization (Ms), remnant magnetization (Mr), magnetic moment (ηB) and magnetic particle size (Dm) increase with Sc3+ ion concentration up to x=0.03 and then decrease. The values of spin canting angle (αY-K) and the magnetic particle size (Dm) are found to be in the range of 68-75° and 10-19 nm respectively with Sc3+ concentration. The room temperature Mössbauer spectra were fitted with two sextets corresponding to ions at tetrahedral (A-) and octahedral (B-) sites confirms the spinel lattice. The ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) spectra's has shown that high concentration of scandium doping leads to an increase in dipolar interaction and decrease in super exchange interaction.

  14. Hydrothermal preparation of copper doped NaTaO3 nanoparticles and study on the photocatalytic mechanism.

    PubMed

    Liu, Yulu; Su, Yiguo; Han, Hui; Wang, Xiaojing

    2013-02-01

    Effects of copper cations doping into wide band gap semiconductor photocatalysts of tantalate on morphology, visible light response, and photocatalytic performance were studied. A series of Cu-doped NaTaO3 catalysts were prepared by hydrothermal method. XRD and XPS results suggested that copper were successfully doped into the NaTaO3 nanocrystal in the Cu2+ state. TEM studies showed the formation of the cube shape nanoparticles of NaTaO3 as well as Cu-doped NaTaO3. UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectra clearly indicated the red-shift in the series of copper doped NaTaO3 catalysts, resulting in a decrease in the band gap of NaTaO3. The trend of red shift was increased with an increase of copper doping concentration, whereas the photo-degradation methylene blue (MB) is not improved by the doping of copper ions. The simulation of energy band structure by density functional theory unfolded that the substitution of Ta5+ ions by Cu2+ ions results in forming an intermediate band (IB) upper the top of the valence band (VB), which is mainly attributed to the state of Cu 3d. The intermediate band is responsible for the red-shift caused by the doping of Cu ions. Meanwhile Cu species can become the recombination centers of photoinduced electrons and holes. Thus, the quickly recombination of e(-)h(+) pairs is one of the most significant factors which deteriorate the photoactivity of Cu-doped NaTaO3.

  15. Structural and photoluminescence properties of Ce, Dy, Er-doped ZnO nanoparticles

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

    Jayachandraiah, C.; Kumar, K. Siva; Krishnaiah, G., E-mail: ginnerik@gmail.com

    2015-06-24

    Undoped ZnO and rare earth elements (Ce, Dy and Er with 2 at. %) doped nanoparticles were synthesized by wet chemical co-precipitation method at 90°C with Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) as capping agent. The structural, morphological, compositional and photoluminescence studies were performed with X-ray diffraction (XRD), Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), FTIR spectroscopy and Photoluminescence (PL) respectively. XRD results revealed hexagonal wurtzite structure with average particle size around 18 nm - 14 nm and are compatible with TEM results. EDS confirm the incorporation of Ce, Dy and Er elements into the host ZnO matrix and is validated by FTIR analysis. PLmore » studies showed a broad intensive emission peak at 558 nm in all the samples. The intensity for Er- doped ZnO found maximum with additional Er shoulder peaks at 516nm and 538 nm. No Ce, Dy emission centers were found in spectra.« less

  16. Thermal optical nonlinearity in photonic crystal fibers filled with nematic liquid crystals doped with gold nanoparticles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lesiak, Piotr; Budaszewski, Daniel; Bednarska, Karolina; Wójcik, Michał; Sobotka, Piotr; Chychłowski, Miłosz; Woliński, Tomasz R.

    2017-05-01

    In this work we studied a newly reported class of nonlinear effects observed in 5CB liquid crystals doped with gold nanoparticles (GNPs). The size of the GNP was determined by direct TEM imaging and by X-ray scattering of the diluted NP solution. GNPs was coated by thiols with the ratio of mesogenic to n-alkyl thiols varying from 1:2 to 1:1. The research involved comparing properties of both undoped and doped 5CB (nematic LC) by infiltrating LC cell and microholes of the photonic crystal fiber (PCF) separately. In our experiment the PCF fiber type LMA-10 made by NKT Photonics as host material has been used.

  17. Probing the defects in nano-semiconductors using positrons

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nambissan, P. M. G.

    2011-01-01

    Positron annihilation spectroscopy (PAS) is a very useful tool to study the defect properties of nanoscale materials. The ability of thermalized positrons to diffuse over to the surfaces of nanocrystallites prior to annihilation helps to explore the disordered atomic arrangement over there and is very useful in understanding the structure and properties of nanomaterials. As examples, the results of studies on FeS2 nanorods and ZnS nanoparticles are presented. In semiconductor nanoparticles, there are positron trapping sites within the grains also and these are characterised by using appropriate models on the measured positron lifetimes. We have observed vivid changes in the measured positron lifetimes and Doppler broadened gamma ray spectral lineshapes during structural transformations prompted by substitutional effects in Mn2+-doped ZnS nanorods. Interestingly, the nanoparticles did not exhibit the transformation, implying the morphologies of the nanosystems playing a decisive role. Quantum confinement effect in CdS nanoparticles was another phenomenon that could be seen through positron annihilation experiments. Coincidence Doppler broadening measurements have been useful to identify the elemental environment around the vacancy clusters that trap positrons. Recent studies on nanocrystalline oxide and sulphide semiconductors are also discussed.

  18. Controlled p-doping of black phosphorus by integration of MoS2 nanoparticles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jeon, Sumin; Kim, Minwoo; Jia, Jingyuan; Park, Jin-Hong; Lee, Sungjoo; Song, Young Jae

    2018-05-01

    Black phosphorus (BP), a new family of two dimensional (2D) layered materials, is an attractive material for future electronic, photonic and chemical sensing devices, thanks to its high carrier density and a direct bandgap of 0.3-2.0 eV, depending on the number of layers. Controllability over the properties of BP by electrical or chemical modulations is one of the critical requirements for future various device applications. Herein, we report a new doping method of BP by integration of density-controlled monolayer MoS2 nanoparticles (NPs). MoS2 NPs with different density were synthesized by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and transferred onto a few-layer BP channel, which induced a p-doping effect. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) confirmed the size and distribution of MoS2 NPs with different density. Raman and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were measured to confirm the oxidation on the edge of MoS2 NPs and a doping effect of MoS2 NPs on a BP channel. The doping mechanism was explained by a charge transfer by work function differences between BP and MoS2 NPs, which was confirmed by Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM) and electrical measurements. The hole concentration of BP was controlled with different densities of MoS2 NPs in a range of 1012-1013 cm-2.

  19. Europium-Doped Lanthanum Hafnate Nanoparticles: Structure, Photoluminescence, and Radioluminescence

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wahid, Kareem; Pokhrel, Madhab; Mao, Yuanbing

    Due to their novel physical properties, nanostructured phosphors are of interest for radiation-based imaging and therapeutics. Herein, the structural and luminescent properties of europium-doped lanthanum hafnate (La2Hf2O7:xmol%Eu3+, x = 0 - 35) nanoparticles are investigated for use as scintillators. X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy confirm samples prepared through a combined co-precipitation and low-temperature molten salt synthetic process homogenously form spherical nanocrystals of 36 nm in the ordered pyrochlore phase. Ultraviolet and X-ray excitation of these samples induce strong red emissions in the 580 - 590 and 612 - 630 nm range corresponding to the 5D0->7 F1 magnetic dipole and 5D0->7 F2 electric dipole transitions of Eu3+. Optical response and quantum yield are optimized at 5% Eu3+; a proposed trade-off between quenching mechanisms (defect-states/cross-relaxation) and dopant concentration is discussed. Owing to their high density, large effective atomic number, and bright luminescence, these La2Hf2O7:xmol%Eu3+ nanoparticles warrant further investigation for scintillator applications. The authors thank the support from the Defense Threat Reduction Agency of the U.S. Department of Defense (award #HDTRA1- 10-1-0114).

  20. Sol-gel synthesis of Cu-doped p-CdS nanoparticles and their analysis as p-CdS/n-ZnO thin film photodiode

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Arya, Sandeep; Sharma, Asha; Singh, Bikram; Riyas, Mohammad; Bandhoria, Pankaj; Aatif, Mohammad; Gupta, Vinay

    2018-05-01

    Copper (Cu) doped p-CdS nanoparticles have been synthesized via sol-gel method. The as-synthesized nanoparticles were successfully characterized and implemented for fabrication of Glass/ITO/n-ZnO/p-CdS/Al thin film photodiode. The fabricated device is tested for small (-1 V to +1 V) bias voltage. Results verified that the junction leakage current within the dark is very small. During reverse bias condition, the maximum amount of photocurrent is obtained under illumination of 100 μW/cm2. Electrical characterizations confirmed that the external quantum efficiency (EQE), gain and responsivity of n-ZnO/p-CdS photodiode show improved photo response than conventional p-type materials for such a small bias voltage. It is therefore revealed that the Cu-doped CdS nanoparticles is an efficient p-type material for fabrication of thin film photo-devices.

  1. Hydrogen sensor based on Sm-doped SnO{sub 2} nanostructures

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

    Singh, Gurpreet; Hastir, Anita; Singh, Ravi Chand, E-mail: ravichand.singh@gmail.com

    2016-05-23

    In this paper the effect of samarium doping on the structural and hydrogen gas sensing properties of SnO{sub 2} nanoparticles has been reported. X-ray Diffraction (XRD) results revealed tetragonal rutile structure of both undoped and Sm-doped SnO{sub 2} nanoparticles. It has been observed that doping with samarium led to reduction in crystallite size of SnO{sub 2} nanoparticles which was confirmed from XRD analysis. Shifting and broadening of Raman peaks in case of doped nanoparticles has been explained by well-known phonon confinement model. The optimum operable temperature of both the sensors was found to 400 °C and the sensor response towardsmore » hydrogen gas has been improved after doping with samarium which was attributed to increase in sensing sites for the gas adsorption.« less

  2. Development of europium doped core-shell silica cobalt ferrite functionalized nanoparticles for magnetic resonance imaging.

    PubMed

    Kevadiya, Bhavesh D; Bade, Aditya N; Woldstad, Christopher; Edagwa, Benson J; McMillan, JoEllyn M; Sajja, Balasrinivasa R; Boska, Michael D; Gendelman, Howard E

    2017-02-01

    The size, shape and chemical composition of europium (Eu 3+ ) cobalt ferrite (CFEu) nanoparticles were optimized for use as a "multimodal imaging nanoprobe" for combined fluorescence and magnetic resonance bioimaging. Doping Eu 3+ ions into a CF structure imparts unique bioimaging and magnetic properties to the nanostructure that can be used for real-time screening of targeted nanoformulations for tissue biodistribution assessment. The CFEu nanoparticles (size ∼7.2nm) were prepared by solvothermal techniques and encapsulated into poloxamer 407-coated mesoporous silica (Si-P407) to form superparamagnetic monodisperse Si-CFEu nanoparticles with a size of ∼140nm. Folic acid (FA) nanoparticle decoration (FA-Si-CFEu, size ∼140nm) facilitated monocyte-derived macrophage (MDM) targeting. FA-Si-CFEu MDM uptake and retention was higher than seen with Si-CFEu nanoparticles. The transverse relaxivity of both Si-CFEu and FA-Si-CFEu particles were r 2 =433.42mM -1 s -1 and r 2 =419.52mM -1 s -1 (in saline) and r 2 =736.57mM -1 s -1 and r 2 =814.41mM -1 s -1 (in MDM), respectively. The results were greater than a log order-of-magnitude than what was observed at replicate iron concentrations for ultrasmall superparamagnetic iron oxide (USPIO) particles (r 2 =31.15mM -1 s -1 in saline) and paralleled data sets obtained for T 2 magnetic resonance imaging. We now provide a developmental opportunity to employ these novel particles for theranostic drug distribution and efficacy evaluations. A novel europium (Eu 3+ ) doped cobalt ferrite (Si-CFEu) nanoparticle was produced for use as a bioimaging probe. Its notable multifunctional, fluorescence and imaging properties, allows rapid screening of future drug biodistribution. Decoration of the Si-CFEu particles with folic acid increased its sensitivity and specificity for magnetic resonance imaging over a more conventional ultrasmall superparamagnetic iron oxide particles. The future use of these particles in theranostic tests will

  3. Copper doping enhanced the oxidative stress-mediated cytotoxicity of TiO2 nanoparticles in A549 cells.

    PubMed

    Ahmad, J; Siddiqui, M A; Akhtar, M J; Alhadlaq, H A; Alshamsan, A; Khan, S T; Wahab, R; Al-Khedhairy, A A; Al-Salim, A; Musarrat, J; Saquib, Q; Fareed, M; Ahamed, M

    2018-05-01

    Physicochemical properties of titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO 2 NPs) can be tuned by doping with metals or nonmetals. Copper (Cu) doping improved the photocatalytic behavior of TiO 2 NPs that can be applied in various fields such as environmental remediation and nanomedicine. However, interaction of Cu-doped TiO 2 NPs with human cells is scarce. This study was designed to explore the role of Cu doping in cytotoxic response of TiO 2 NPs in human lung epithelial (A549) cells. Characterization data demonstrated the presence of both TiO 2 and Cu in Cu-doped TiO 2 NPs with high-quality lattice fringes without any distortion. The size of Cu-doped TiO 2 NPs (24 nm) was lower than pure TiO 2 NPs (30 nm). Biological results showed that both pure and Cu-doped TiO 2 NPs induced cytotoxicity and oxidative stress in a dose-dependent manner. Low mitochondrial membrane potential and higher caspase-3 enzyme (apoptotic markers) activity were also observed in A549 cells exposed to pure and Cu-doped TiO 2 NPs. We further observed that cytotoxicity caused by Cu-doped TiO 2 NPs was higher than pure TiO 2 NPs. Moreover, antioxidant N-acetyl cysteine effectively prevented the reactive oxygen species generation, glutathione depletion, and cell viability reduction caused by Cu-doped TiO 2 NPs. This is the first report showing that Cu-doped TiO 2 NPs induced cytotoxicity and oxidative stress in A549 cells. This study warranted further research to explore the role of Cu doping in toxicity mechanisms of TiO 2 NPs.

  4. A novel drug delivery of 5-fluorouracil device based on TiO2/ZnS nanotubes.

    PubMed

    Faria, Henrique Antonio Mendonça; de Queiroz, Alvaro Antonio Alencar

    2015-11-01

    The structural and electronic properties of titanium oxide nanotubes (TiO2) have attracted considerable attention for the development of therapeutic devices and imaging probes for nanomedicine. However, the fluorescence response of TiO2 has typically been within ultraviolet spectrum. In this study, the surface modification of TiO2 nanotubes with ZnS quantum dots was found to produce a red shift in the ultra violet emission band. The TiO2 nanotubes used in this work were obtained by sol-gel template synthesis. The ZnS quantum dots were deposited onto TiO2 nanotube surface by a micelle-template inducing reaction. The structure and morphology of the resulting hybrid TiO2/ZnS nanotubes were investigated by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction techniques. According to the results of fluorescence spectroscopy, pure TiO2 nanotubes exhibited a high emission at 380nm (3.26eV), whereas TiO2/ZnS exhibited an emission at 410nm (3.02eV). The TiO2/ZnS nanotubes demonstrated good bio-imaging ability on sycamore cultured plant cells. The biocompatibility against mammalian cells (Chinese Hamster Ovarian Cells-CHO) suggesting that TiO2/ZnS may also have suitable optical properties for use as biological markers in diagnostic medicine. The drug release characteristic of TiO2/ZnS nanotubes was explored using 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), an anticancer drug used in photodynamic therapy. The results show that the TiO2/ZnS nanotubes are a promising candidate for anticancer drug delivery systems. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  5. Structural and magnetic properties of cobalt-doped iron oxide nanoparticles prepared by solution combustion method for biomedical applications

    PubMed Central

    Venkatesan, Kaliyamoorthy; Rajan Babu, Dhanakotti; Kavya Bai, Mane Prabhu; Supriya, Ravi; Vidya, Radhakrishnan; Madeswaran, Saminathan; Anandan, Pandurangan; Arivanandhan, Mukannan; Hayakawa, Yasuhiro

    2015-01-01

    Cobalt-doped iron oxide nanoparticles were prepared by solution combustion technique. The structural and magnetic properties of the prepared samples were also investigated. The average crystallite size of cobalt ferrite (CoFe2O4) magnetic nanoparticle was calculated using Scherrer equation, and it was found to be 16±5 nm. The particle size was measured by transmission electron microscope. This value was found to match with the crystallite size calculated by Scherrer equation corresponding to the prominent intensity peak (311) of X-ray diffraction. The high-resolution transmission electron microscope image shows clear lattice fringes and high crystallinity of cobalt ferrite magnetic nanoparticles. The synthesized magnetic nanoparticles exhibited the saturation magnetization value of 47 emu/g and coercivity of 947 Oe. The anti-microbial activity of cobalt ferrite nanoparticles showed better results as an anti-bacterial agent. The affinity constant was determined for the nanoparticles, and the cytotoxicity studies were conducted for the cobalt ferrite nanoparticles at different concentrations and the results are discussed. PMID:26491320

  6. Improving the Performance of Gold-Nanoparticle-Doped Solid-State Dye Laser Using Thermal Conversion Effect

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    An, N. T. M.; Lien, N. T. H.; Hoang, N. D.; Hoa, D. Q.

    2018-04-01

    Energy transfer between spherical gold nanoparticles with size of more than 15 nm and molecules of organic dye 4-(dicyanomethylene)-2-methyl-6-(4-dimethylaminostyryl)-4 H-pyran (DCM) has been studied. Such radiative energy transfer led to high local temperature, giving rise to a bleaching effect that resulted in rapid degradation of the laser medium. Gold nanoparticles were dispersed at concentrations from 5 × 109 particles/mL to 5 × 1010 particles/mL in DCM polymethylmethacrylate polymer using a radical polymerization process with 2,2'-azobis(isobutyronitrile) (AIBN) as initiator. Using the fast thermoelectric cooling method, the laser medium stability was significantly improved. The output stability of a distributed feedback dye laser pumped by second-harmonic generation from a neodymium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet (Nd:YAG) laser was investigated. Moreover, bidirectional energy transfer between gold nanoparticles and dye molecules was observed.

  7. Structural, optical and high pressure electrical resistivity studies of pure NiO and Cu-doped NiO nanoparticles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Marselin, M. Abila; Jaya, N. Victor

    2016-04-01

    In this paper, pure NiO and Cu-doped NiO nanoparticles are prepared by co-precipitation method. The electrical resistivity measurements by applying high pressure on pure NiO and Cu-doped NiO nanoparticles were reported. The Bridgman anvil set up is used to measure high pressures up to 8 GPa. These measurements show that there is no phase transformation in the samples till the high pressure is reached. The samples show a rapid decrease in electrical resistivity up to 5 GPa and it remains constant beyond 5 GPa. The electrical resistivity and the transport activation energy of the samples under high pressure up to 8 GPa have been studied in the temperature range of 273-433 K using diamond anvil cell. The temperature versus electrical resistivity studies reveal that the samples behave like a semiconductor. The activation energies of the charge carriers depend on the size of the samples.

  8. Low-temperature thermoelectric power factor enhancement by controlling nanoparticle size distribution.

    PubMed

    Zebarjadi, Mona; Esfarjani, Keivan; Bian, Zhixi; Shakouri, Ali

    2011-01-12

    Coherent potential approximation is used to study the effect of adding doped spherical nanoparticles inside a host matrix on the thermoelectric properties. This takes into account electron multiple scatterings that are important in samples with relatively high volume fraction of nanoparticles (>1%). We show that with large fraction of uniform small size nanoparticles (∼1 nm), the power factor can be enhanced significantly. The improvement could be large (up to 450% for GaAs) especially at low temperatures when the mobility is limited by impurity or nanoparticle scattering. The advantage of doping via embedded nanoparticles compared to the conventional shallow impurities is quantified. At the optimum thermoelectric power factor, the electrical conductivity of the nanoparticle-doped material is larger than that of impurity-doped one at the studied temperature range (50-500 K) whereas the Seebeck coefficient of the nanoparticle doped material is enhanced only at low temperatures (∼50 K).

  9. Synthesis of Ce doped ZnO nanoparticles coupled with graphene oxide as efficient photocatalyst for the degradation of dye under day light

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Labhane, P. K.; Patle, L. B.; Huse, V. R.; Sonawane, G. H.

    2018-05-01

    Ce doped ZnO nanoparticles coupled with graphene oxide (Ce-ZnO/GO) photocatalyst was prepared by co-precipitation and wet impregnation method. The effect of Ce doping on ZnO and ZnO-GO composite has been evaluated by using XRD, Williamson-Hall Plot, FESEM and EDX data. Solar light photocatalytic activities of samples were evaluated spectrophotometrically by the degradation of methylene blue (MB). Ce doped ZnO coupled with GO shows excellent catalytic efficiency compared to other samples, degrading MB completely within 120 min under day light.

  10. Fe-doping effects on the structural, vibrational, magnetic, and electronic properties of ceria nanoparticles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Aragón, Fermin F. H.; Aquino, Juan C. R.; Ramos, Jesus E.; Coaquira, José A. H.; Gonzalez, Ismael; Macedo, Waldemar A. A.; da Silva, Sebastião W.; Morais, Paulo C.

    2017-11-01

    In this work, we report on a single-pot synthesis route based on a polymeric precursor method used for successfully producing undoped and iron-doped CeO2 nanoparticles with iron contents up to 10.0 mol. %. The formation of high-crystalline nanoparticles with a cubic fluorite structure is determined for all the studied samples. Meanwhile, the magnetic measurements of the undoped ceria nanoparticles revealed the occurrence of ferromagnetism of bound magnetic polarons of a fraction of Ce3+ at room temperature, and only a paramagnetic behavior of Fe3+ ions was determined for Fe-doped ceria nanoparticles. A monotonous reduction of the effective magnetic moment of the Fe3+ ions was determined. It suggests a change from a high-spin to low-spin state of Fe ions as the Fe content is increased. The 3+ valence state of the iron ions has been confirmed by the Fe K-edge X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) and Mössbauer spectroscopy measurements. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy data analysis evidenced a coexistence of Ce3+ and Ce4+ ions and a decreasing tendency of the relative fraction of Ce3+ ions in the surface region of the particles as the iron content is increased. Although the coexistence of Ce3+ and Ce4+ is confirmed by results obtained via Ce L3-edge XANES measurements, any clear dependence of the relative relation of Ce3+ ions on the iron content is determined, suggesting a homogeneous distribution of Ce3+ and Ce4+-ions in the whole volume of the particles. Ce L3-edge extended X-ray absorption fine structure revealed that the Ce-O bond distance shows a monotonous decrease as the Fe content is increased, which is in good agreement with the shrinking of the unit cell volume with the iron content determined from XRD data analysis, reinforcing the substitutional solution of Ce and Fe ions in the CeO2 matrix.

  11. Understanding the role of iron in the magnetism of Fe doped ZnO nanoparticles.

    PubMed

    Beltrán, J J; Barrero, C A; Punnoose, A

    2015-06-21

    The actual role of transition metals like iron in the room temperature ferromagnetism (RTFM) of Fe doped ZnO nanoparticles is still an unsolved problem. While some studies concluded that the Fe ions participate in the magnetic interaction, others in contrast do not believe Fe to play a direct role in the magnetic exchange interaction. To contribute to the understanding of this issue, we have carefully investigated the structural, optical, vibrational and magnetic properties of sol-gel synthesized Zn1-xFexO (0 < x < 0.10) nanoparticles. No Fe(2+) was detected in any sample. We found that high spin Fe(3+) ions are substitutionally incorporated at the Zn(2+) in the tetrahedral-core sites and in pseudo-octahedral surface sites in ZnO. Superficial OH(-) was observed in all samples. For x ≤ 0.03, an increment in Fe doping concentration decreased a and c lattice parameters, average Zn-O bond length, average crystallite size and band gap; while it increased the degree of distortion and quadrupole splitting. Undoped ZnO nanoparticles exhibited very weak RTFM with a saturation magnetization (Ms) of ∼0.47 memu g(-1) and this value increased to ∼2.1 memu g(-1) for Zn0.99Fe0.01O. Very interestingly, the Ms for Zn0.99Fe0.01O and Zn0.97Fe0.03O increased by a factor of about ∼2.3 by increasing annealing for 1 h to 3 h. For x ≥ 0.05, ferrimagnetic disordered spinel ZnFe2O4 was formed and this phase was found to become more ordered with increasing annealing time. Fe does not contribute directly to the RTFM, but its presence promoted the formation of additional single charged oxygen vacancies, zinc vacancies, and more oxygen-ended polar terminations at the nanoparticle surface. These defects, which are mainly superficial, altered the electronic structure and are considered as the main sources of the observed ferromagnetism.

  12. In vitro antibacterial activity of ZnO and Nd doped ZnO nanoparticles against ESBL producing Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hameed, Abdulrahman Syedahamed Haja; Karthikeyan, Chandrasekaran; Ahamed, Abdulazees Parveez; Thajuddin, Nooruddin; Alharbi, Naiyf S.; Alharbi, Sulaiman Ali; Ravi, Ganasan

    2016-04-01

    Pure ZnO and Neodymium (Nd) doped ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) were synthesized by the co-precipitation method. The synthesized nanoparticles retained the wurtzite hexagonal structure. From FESEM studies, ZnO and Nd doped ZnO NPs showed nanorod and nanoflower like morphology respectively. The FT-IR spectra confirmed the Zn-O stretching bands at 422 and 451 cm-1 for ZnO and Nd doped ZnO NPs respectively. From the UV-VIS spectroscopic measurement, the excitonic peaks were found around 373 nm and 380 nm for the respective samples. The photoluminescence measurements revealed that the broad emission was composed of ten different bands due to zinc vacancies, oxygen vacancies and surface defects. The antibacterial studies performed against extended spectrum β-lactamases (ESBLs) producing strains of Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae showed that the Nd doped ZnO NPs possessed a greater antibacterial effect than the pure ZnO NPs. From confocal laser scanning microscopic (CLSM) analysis, the apoptotic nature of the cells was confirmed by the cell shrinkage, disorganization of cell wall and cell membrane and dead cell of the bacteria. SEM analysis revealed the existence of bacterial loss of viability due to an impairment of cell membrane integrity, which was highly consistent with the damage of cell walls.

  13. Improved diode performance of Ag nanoparticle dispersed Er doped In2O3 film

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ghosh, Anupam; Dwivedi, Shyam Murli Manohar Dhar; Chakrabartty, Shubhro; Mondal, Aniruddha

    2018-04-01

    Ag nanoparticle(NP) dispersedEr doped In2O3 film was prepared by sol-gel method followed by thermal evaporation cum glancing angle deposition technique. The Schottky contact based devicecontaining Ag NPs shows ideality factor of ˜180 at 10 K and ˜5 at 300 K, which is lesser as compared to the device that does not contain Ag NPs. The lower ideality factor value all over the temperature range makes the diode more reliable.

  14. Preparation and characterization of copper oxide nanoparticles decorated carbon nanoparticles using laser ablation in liquid

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Khashan, K. S.; Jabir, M. S.; Abdulameer, F. A.

    2018-05-01

    Carbon nanoparticles CNPs ecorated by copper oxide nano-sized particles would be successfully equipped using technique named pulsed laser ablation in liquid. The XRD pattern proved the presence of phases assigned to carbon and different phases of copper oxide. The chemical structure of the as-prepared nanoparticles samples was decided by Energy Dispersive Spectrum (EDS) measurement. EDS analysis results show the contents of Carbon, Oxygen and Copper in the final product. These nanoparticles were spherical shaped with a size distribution 10 to 80 nm or carbon nanoparticles and 5 to 50 nm for carbon decorated copper oxide nanoparticles, according to Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) images and particle-size distribution histogram. It was found that after doping with copper oxide, nanoparticles become smaller and more regular in shape. Optical absorption spectra of prepared nanoparticles were measured using UV–VIS spectroscopy. The absorption spectrum of carbon nanoparticles without doping indicates absorption peak at about 228 nm. After doping with copper oxide, absorption shows appearance of new absorption peak at about (254-264) nm, which is referred to the movement of the charge between 2p and 4s band of Cu2+ ions.

  15. The Cathodoluminescence of Cleartran: A Novel Form of Polycrystalline ZnS.

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1986-12-01

    Temperature TO Transverse Optical UV Ultraviolet Vm= Micrometer 4_I xiI VS_ZI AFIT/DS/ENP/86-2 . - - Abstract Cathodolumine4cence studies were carried out...The results of these studies were compared to and contrasted with the cathodoluminescence of cvd ZnS samples grown by Raytheon and CVD Inc., with...luminogen impurity" (2:406). Since that time and until 1957, most II-VI compound research consisted of luminescence studies of ZnS (mostly phosphors) and

  16. Optical and thermogravimetric analysis of Zn1-xCuxS/PVA nanocomposite films

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mohamed, Mohamed Bakr; Heiba, Zein K.; Imam, N. G.

    2018-07-01

    Cu doped ZnS nanoparticles with cubic blend structure had been prepared successfully through thermolysis route and then composited with poly vinyl alcohol using casting method. Zn1-xCuxS/PVA nanocomposites were characterized using different characterization techniques. The quantum dot nature of the ZnS:Cu phase was confirmed by transmission electron microscope technique. Thermal stability was studied by thermogravimetric analysis. The ultra violet measurements illustrated that addition of Zn1-xCuxS nanoparticles to PVA matrix increased the film absorbance. Furthermore, the energy gap and refractive index of the composites were obtained from ultra violet and photoluminescence spectrophotometers. The photoluminescence spectra of ZnS:Cu/PVA nanocomposite films demonstrated a quite broad emission peak at 435 nm with highest photoluminescence intensity in nanocomposite doped with 1% Cu.

  17. Screening metal nanoparticles using boron-doped diamond microelectrodes

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

    Ivandini, Tribidasari A., E-mail: ivandini.tri@sci.ui.ac.id; Rangkuti, Prasmita K.; Einaga, Yasuaki

    2016-04-19

    Boron-doped diamond (BDD) microelectrodes were used to observe the correlation between electrocatalytic currents caused by individual Pt nanoparticle (Pt-np) collisions at the electrode. The BDD microelectrodes, ∼20 µm diameter and ∼2 µm particle size, were fabricated at the surface of tungsten wires. Pt-np with a size of 1 to 5 nm with agglomerations up to 20 nm was used for observation. The electrolytic currents were observed via catalytic reaction of 15 mM hydrazine in 50 mM phosphate buffer solution at Pt-np at 0.4 V when it collides with the surface of the microelectrodes. The low current noise and wider potential window in the measurements using BDD microelectrodemore » produced a better results, which represents a better correlation to the TEM result of the Pt-np, compared to when gold microelectrodes was used.« less

  18. Lanthanum doped titania decorated with silver plasmonic nanoparticles with enhanced photocatalytic activity under UV-visible light

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dal'Toé, Adrieli T. O.; Colpani, Gustavo Lopes; Padoin, Natan; Fiori, Márcio Antônio; Soares, Cíntia

    2018-05-01

    Lanthanum doped titanium dioxide decorated with silver plasmonic nanoparticles (Ag-La/TiO2 NPs) materials were prepared using a simple ultrasound-assisted wet impregnation method followed by silver photodeposition. The obtained photocatalysts with different Ag contents were characterized by XRD, FE-SEM, EDX, TEM, BET, XPS, DRS and PL techniques. Moreover, the size distribution of the nanoparticles aggregates was assessed. The characterization analysis revealed that La doping slightly changed the crystalline phase of TiO2, increased the amount of surface hydroxyl groups and interacted with TiO2 nanoparticles via Ti-O-La bond, while Ag photodeposition enhanced the absorption of visible light due to the effects of localized surface plamon resonance and significantly decreased electronic recombination rate by the Schottky junction. Furthermore, the combination of Ag-La induced the formation of oxygen vacancies, which increased the amount of adsorbed surface hydroxyl groups in Ag-La/TiO2. In addition, Ag-La possibly decreased the semiconductor surface energy, which acted positively in the reduction of NPs aggregation. These features along with better textural properties (greater surface areas) played a fundamental role in the enhancement of the photocatalytic activity of Ag-La/TiO2 composites for the decolorization of methylene blue under UV-visible irradiation compared to the mono-metallic (La/TiO2 and Ag/TiO2) modified photocatalysts. Finally, a mechanism for the transfer of charge carriers in Ag-La/TiO2 photocatalyst under UV-visible irradiation was proposed.

  19. Silica nanoparticles with a substrate switchable luminescence

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bochkova, O. D.; Mustafina, A. R.; Fedorenko, S. V.; Konovalov, A. I.

    2011-04-01

    Silica nanoparticles with visible (Tb and Ru doped), near IR (Yb doped) and dual visible-near IR luminescence (Ru-Yb doped) were obtained by reverse w/o microemulsion procedure. Plenty of luminescent complexes (from 4900 to 10000) encapsulated into each nanoparticle ensures the intensive luminescence of nanoparticles and their applicability as biomarkers. The silica surface decoration by definite anchor groups is the required step for the gaining to these nanoparticles marking and sensing functions. Thus covalent and non-covalent surface modification of these nanoparticles was developed to provide the binding with biotargets and sensing of anions. The dicationic surfactant coating of negatively charged Tb(III)-TCAS doped silica nanoparticles was chosen as the basis for the anion responsible system. The reversible insertion of the quenching anions (namely phenol red) into the surfactant based layer at the surface of luminescent nanoparticles switches off the Tb-centered luminescence. In turn the reversible reestablishment of the luminescence results from the competitive insertion of the non-quenching anions into the surfactant layer at the silica/water interface. The hydrophobic anions exemplified by dodecylsulfates versus hydrophilic ones (hydrophosphates) are preferable in the competition with phenol red anions.

  20. Co@Co3O4 nanoparticle embedded nitrogen-doped carbon architectures as efficient bicatalysts for oxygen reduction and evolution reactions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Qi, Chunling; Zhang, Li; Xu, Guancheng; Sun, Zhipeng; Zhao, Aihua; Jia, Dianzeng

    2018-01-01

    The oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) play crucial roles in efficient energy conversion and storage solutions. Here, Co@Co3O4 nanoparticle embedded nitrogen-doped carbon architectures (denoted as Co@Co3O4/NCs) are prepared via a simple two-step and in situ approach by carbonization and subsequent oxidation of Co-MOF containing high contents of carbon and nitrogen. When evaluated as electrocatalyst towards both ORR and OER in a KOH electrolyte solution, the as-fabricated Co@Co3O4/NC-2 exhibits similar ORR catalytic activity to the commercial Pt/C catalyst, but superior stability and good methanol tolerance. Furthermore, the as-fabricated catalysts also show promising catalytic activity for OER. The effective catalytic activities originate from the synergistic effects between well wrapped Co@Co3O4 nanoparticles and nitrogen doped carbon structures.