Water-alcohol-TiO dispersions as sustainable ink.

Nanocrystalline titanium dioxide (TiO) is a widespread multifunctional and environmentally friendly material that has numerous applications requiring micro-/nanofabrication or thin film deposition. In most cases, the fabrication of titania films can be achieved using cost-efficient solution chemistry combined with various coating or printing techniques. The practical implementation of these methods requires the preparation of a suitable ink with properly adjusted rheological properties.

Inkjet Printing Humidity Sensing Pattern Based on Self-Organizing Polystyrene Spheres.

This study is devoted to the development of photonic patterns based on polystyrene spheres (PSS) incorporated in chitosan hydrogels by inkjet printing. Using this method, high-resolution encrypted images that became visible only in high humidity were obtained. Inks based on PSS with carboxylic groups on the surface were made, and their rheological parameters (viscosity, surface tension, and ζ-potential) were optimized according to the Ohnesorge theory.

Correction: Inkjet assisted fabrication of planar biocompatible memristors.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1039/C9RA08114C.].

Inkjet assisted fabrication of planar biocompatible memristors.

In this study we address a novel design of a planar memristor and investigate its biocompatibility. An experimental prototype of the proposed memristor assembly has been manufactured using a hybrid nanofabrication method, combining sputtering of electrodes, patterning the insulating trenches, and filling them with a memristive substance. To pattern the insulating trenches, we have examined two nanofabrication techniques employing either a focused ion beam or a cantilever tip of an atomic force microscope.

Light-controllable systems based on TiO-ZIF-8 composites for targeted drug release: communicating with tumour cells.

Drug delivery systems based on the zeolitic imidazolate framework ZIF-8 have recently attracted viable research interest owing to their capability of decomposing in acidic media and thus performing targeted drug delivery. In vivo realization of this mechanism faces a challenge of relatively slow decomposition rates, even at elevated acidic conditions that are barely achievable in diseased tissues. In this study we propose to combine drug delivery nanocomposites with a semiconductor photocatalytic agent that would be capable of inducing a local pH gradient in response to external electromagnetic radiation.

Stimuli-Responsive Mechanoluminescence in Different Matrices.

Here, for the first time, we investigated the effects of matrixes with different nature on the stimuli-responsive mechanoluminescence (ML) of incorporated nanoparticles. It turned out that the contraction forces initiated by polymerization process can have compressive effects that differ by orders. This effect was achieved owing to the introduction of ML crystals in an alumina sol-gel system, which has large surface of coagulation contact.

Optical interference-based sensors for the visual detection of nano-scale objects.

In this study, we present a new concept for the simple visual detection of nano-scale objects in solutions. To achieve this goal, we developed chromogen-free interference-based sensors that provided a color visible reaction directly after the interaction of the analyte with the substrate. The effect is based on the strong optical interference occurring at the interface between the inkjet printed sol-gel titania film (a layer with high refractive index) and the adsorbed nano-sized objects (layer with low refractive index), which can be detected even with the naked eye.

Composites based on heparin and MIL-101(Fe): the drug releasing depot for anticoagulant therapy and advanced medical nanofabrication.

We describe the synthesis and properties of a new composite material based on heparin and MIL-101(Fe) metal-organic framework. The intrinsic instability of MIL-101(Fe) towards hydrolysis enables binding of heparin molecules to the framework structure as is evidenced by DFT calculations and adsorption experiments. The de novo formed heparin-MOF composites showed good biocompatibility in in vitro and demonstrated pronounced anticoagulant activity.

Photocatalytic and adsorption properties of TiO-pillared montmorillonite obtained by hydrothermally activated intercalation of titanium polyhydroxo complexes.

We report on a new approach for the synthesis of TiO-pillared montmorillonite, where the pillars exhibit a high degree of crystallinity (nanocrystals) representing a mixture of anatase and rutile phases. The structures exhibit improved adsorption and photocatalytic activity as a result of hydrothermally activated intercalation of titanium polyhydroxo complexes (i.e.

Inkjet fabrication of highly efficient luminescent Eu-doped ZrO nanostructures.

We have demonstrated for the first time an inkjet fabrication of highly efficient luminescent structures based on Eu-doped ZrO nanocrystals (3.4 ± 0.3 nm), with a refractive index close to the one of the bulk materials.

van der Waals Metal-Organic Framework as an Excitonic Material for Advanced Photonics.

Synergistic combination of organic and inorganic nature in van der Waals metal-organic frameworks supports different types of robust excitons that can be effectively and independently manipulated by light at room temperature, and opens new concepts for all-optical data processing and storage.

Reversible sol-gel-sol medium for enzymatic optical biosensors.

In this paper we for the first time report a reversible sol-gel-sol approach to obtain optical enzymatic biosensors with improved enzyme stability and good sensitivity by using desktop inkjet printing. The developed technique is based on the bio-inorganic inks allowing for a sol-gel-sol transition of the inorganic matrix: from liquid ink to a solid alumina matrix with entrapped enzymes and a subsequent color response due to the enzymatic reaction upon the resuspension of the matrix. This approach improves the stability of the enzymes entrapped in the porous inorganic matrix, and at the same time maintains a high sensitivity of the biomolecules, whose facile release is ensured by the gel-sol transition.

Inkjet printing of TiO/AlOOH heterostructures for the formation of interference color images with high optical visibility.

This paper describes a practical approach for the fabrication of highly visible interference color images using sol-gel ink technique and a common desktop inkjet printer. We show the potential of titania-boehmite inks for the production of optical heterostructures on various surfaces, which after drying on air produce optical solid layers with low and high refractive index. The optical properties of the surface heterostructures were adjusted following the principles of antireflection coating resulting in the enhancement of the interference color optical visibility of the prints by as much as 32%.

Inkjet Color Printing by Interference Nanostructures.

Color printing technology is developing rapidly; in less than 40 years, it moved from dot matrix printers with an ink-soaked cloth ribbon to 3D printers used to make three-dimensional color objects. Nevertheless, what remained unchanged over this time is the fact that in each case, dye inks (CMYK or RGB color schemes) were exclusively used for coloring, which inevitably limits the technological possibilities and color reproduction. As a next step in printing color images and storing information, we propose the technology of producing optical nanostructures.

Anomalous adsorption of biomolecules on a Zn-based metal-organic framework obtained via a facile room-temperature route.

Herein, we report a new method for the crystal growth of two Zn-based MOFs at room temperature (known MOF-5 and a new modification of [{Zn2(TBAPy)(H2O)2}·3.5DEF]n (1)) by employing slow diffusion conditions. Employing both Zn-based MOFs with different pore morphology made it possible to discover an anomalous adsorption of L-histidine in of up to 24.

The first depleted heterojunction TiO2-MOF-based solar cell.

A single-step hydrothermal synthesis of a TiO2-Mil-125 composite was applied for the first time to produce a depleted perovskite/TiO2-MOF heterojunction solar cell with 6.4% power conversion efficiency (PCE), characterized by durable stability in air.

A facile sol-gel synthesis of impurity-free nanocrystalline titania.

This paper reports an original technique that provides a highly pure crystalline sol of titania with controllable particle size by ultrasonic activation of the hydrolysis products of titanium isopropoxide in an aqueous medium at a near-neutral pH, which is potentially promising in impurity-sensitive electronics and biochemical engineering. Optimal conditions (H2O/TIP ratio, sonication time, etc.) for preparation of stable nanocrystalline titania sol were adopted.