Less and Less Noble: Local Adsorption Properties of Supported Au, Ni, and Pt Nanoparticles.

In this work, we studied the local adsorption properties of gold, nickel, and platinum nanoparticles. A correlation was established between the chemical properties of massive and nanosized particles of these metals. The formation of a stable adsorption complex M-A on the nanoparticles' surface was described.

Effective and Easy Techniques of Collagen Deposition onto Polylactide Films: DC-Discharge Plasma Treatment vs. Chemical Entrapment.

Enhancement of cell adhesion and growth on surface of the biodegradable materials is one of the important tasks in development of materials for regenerative medicine. This work focuses on comparison of various methods of collagen coating deposition onto polylactide films, aiming to increase their biocompatibility with human mesenchymal stromal cells. The collagen deposition was realized using either preliminary plasma treatment of the polylactide films or pre-swelling in solvent mixture.

The role of exchange interactions in the stability of cellulose.

The problem of the origin of biochirality and the related problem of the initial monomer selection are still under discussion, and the main point here is not the mechanics of enantiomer separation but the problem of the role of chirality in the very early stages of evolution. A recent breakthrough in understanding the influence of a static magnetic field on non-magnetic systems can shed light on this complex problem. The phenomenon of magnetosensitivity of non-magnetic systems was reported for only chiral systems and was closely related to the ability of some chiral substances to self-assemble.

Oxidation of Supported Nickel Nanoparticles at Low Exposure to O: Charging Effects and Selective Surface Activity.

The oxidation of Ni nanoparticles supported on highly oriented pyrolytic graphite was investigated under conditions of low exposure to oxygen by methods of scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy. It was found that charge transfer effects at the Ni-C interface influenced the surface activity of the nanoparticles. The O dissociation and the Ni oxidation were shown to occur only at the top of the nanoparticle, while the border of the Ni-C interface was the less preferable area for these processes.

Effect of CO Molecule Orientation on the Reduction of Cu-Based Nanoparticles.

The adsorption of CO on the surface of Cu-based nanoparticles was studied in the presence of an external electric field by means of scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and spectroscopy (STS). Nanoparticles were synthesized on the surface of a graphite support by the impregnation-precipitation method. The chemical composition of the surface of the nanoparticles was determined as a mixture of CuO, CuO and CuO oxides.

Plasma Treatment of Poly(ethylene terephthalate) Films and Chitosan Deposition: DC- vs. AC-Discharge.

Plasma treatment is one of the most promising tools to control surface properties of materials tailored for biomedical application. Among a variety of processing conditions, such as the nature of the working gas and time of treatment, discharge type is rarely studied, because it is mainly fixed by equipment used. This study aimed to investigate the effect of discharge type (direct vs.