Nanogold is an emerging material for enhancing surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS), which enables the detection of hazardous analytes at trace levels. This study presents a simple, single-step plasma synthesis method to control the size and yield of Au nanoparticles by using plasma-liquid redox chemistry. The pin-based argon plasma reduces the Au precursor in under 5 min, synthesizing Au spherical particles ranging from ∼20 nm at 0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMolybdenum-based nanoparticles are often used as oil additives to enhance a material's tribological performance. Here, we present a highly efficient synthetic route for the bulk production of two types of MoS nanostructures: multi-wall nanotubes and fullerene-like nanostructures. The presented two-step synthesis involves the transformation of ammonium heptamolybdate tetrahydrate and aniline into precursor nanowires, which are later transformed into MoS through heating in a HS, H, and argon atmosphere to approximately 800 °C.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe accurate and rapid identification of explosives and their toxic by-products is an important aspect of safety protocols, forensic investigations and pollution studies. Herein, surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) is used to detect different explosive molecules using an improved substrate design by controllable oxidation of the tungsten surface and deposition of Au layers. The resulting furrow-like morphology formed at the intersection of the tungsten Wulff facets increases nanoroughness and improves the SERS response by over 300 % compared to the untreated surface.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn this work, nanocomposites based on titanium dioxide and reduced graphene oxide (TiO@rGO) with different weight percentages of rGO (4, 8, and 16 wt%) were prepared by the hydrothermal/solvothermal synthesis method and thermally treated at 300 °C. The prepared nanocomposites were explored for the removal of methylene blue dye (MB) in the presence of simulated solar illumination as well as natural sunlight. The structural, morphological, chemical, and optical properties of the as-synthesized TiO@rGO nanocomposites were characterized.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMechanical energy harvesting using piezoelectric nanogenerators (PNGs) offers an attractive solution for driving low-power portable devices and self-powered electronic systems. Here, we designed an eco-friendly and flexible piezocomposite nanogenerator (c-PNG) based on H(ZrTi)O nanowires (HZTO-nw) and BaCaZrTiO multipods (BCZT-mp) as fillers and polylactic acid (PLA) as a biodegradable polymer matrix. The effects of the applied stress amplitude, frequency and pressing duration on the electric outputs in the piezocomposite nanogenerator (c-PNG) device were investigated by simultaneous recording of the mechanical input and the electrical outputs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIt is shown that surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) can identify bacteria based on their genomic DNA composition, acting as a "sample-distinguishing marker". Successful spectral differentiation of bacterial species was accomplished with nanogold aggregates synthesized through single-step plasma reduction of the ionic gold-containing vapored precursor. A high enhancement factor (EF = 10) in truncated coupled plasmonic particulates allowed SERS-probing at nanogram sample quantities.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe formation of giant hailstones is a rare weather event that has devastating consequences in inhabited areas. This hazard has been occurring more frequently and with greater size of hailstones in recent years, and thus needs to be better understood. While the generally accepted mechanism is thought to be a process similar to the formation of smaller hailstones but with exceptional duration and stronger updrafts, recent evidence suggests that biotic and abiotic factors also influence the growth of these unusually large ice chunks.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe design of lead-free ceramics for piezoelectric energy harvesting applications has become a hot topic. Among these materials, BaCaZrTiO (BCZT) and BaTiSnO (BTSn) are considered as potential candidates due to their enhanced piezoelectric properties. Here, the structural, electrical, piezoelectric and piezoelectric energy harvesting properties of the (1 - )BaCaZrTiO-BaTiSnO (BTSn, = 0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHigh specific surface area makes carbon nanofibres suitable for catalyst support. Here we report on optimization of carbon nanofibre (CNF) growth on molybdenum carbide nanowires (MoCNW) by direct carburization of nanowire bundles. Typical CNFs obtained by this method are several hundreds of nanometres long at a diameter of 10-20 nm.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTo improve functionalization of MoSI cluster polymers we have studied the effects of adsorption doping on the electrical transport, bundling, and optical absorption spectra. Doping results both in enhanced conductivity and aggregated bundles in dispersion. The different electronic properties of different bundle diameters can be ascribed to self-doping during the synthesis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFProtein structures evolved through a complex interplay of cooperative interactions, and it is still very challenging to design new protein folds de novo. Here we present a strategy to design self-assembling polypeptide nanostructured polyhedra based on modularization using orthogonal dimerizing segments. We designed and experimentally demonstrated the formation of the tetrahedron that self-assembles from a single polypeptide chain comprising 12 concatenated coiled coil-forming segments separated by flexible peptide hinges.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJoule heating of bundles of Mo(6)S(3)I(6) nanowires, in real time, was studied using in situ TEM probing. TEM imaging, electron diffraction, and conductivity measurements showed a complete transformation of Mo(6)S(3)I(6) into Mo via thermal decomposition. The resulting Mo nanowires had a conductivity that was 2-3 orders higher than the starting material.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOne-dimensional nanostructures based on the Mo-S-I system have recently aroused a lot of interest as a viable alternative to the ubiquitous carbon nanotube due to their uniform structure and electronic properties for a given composition. Previous research on the Mo(6)S(3)I(6) and Mo(6)S(4.5)I(4.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe investigate for the first time the topological characteristics of large molecular-scale inorganic networks self-assembled in solution using the unique sulfur-bonding chemistry of conducting MoSI molecular wires and gold nanoparticles (GNPs). The network self-assembly is shown to display power-law distribution of graph edges, indicating an intrinsic tendency to self-organize into scale-invariant critical state, without any external control parameter. We discuss the electronic transport properties of such networks particularly with regard to the possibility of data processing.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe report on a new highly reproducible route to recognitive self-assembly of molecular-scale circuits using sulfur-terminated subnanometer diameter Mo6S9-xIx (MoSIx) molecular nanowires. We demonstrate solution-processed attachment of MoSIx connecting leads to gold nanoparticles (GNPs). We also show that naked nanowires have the potential to bind thiolated proteins such as green fluorescent protein directly, thus providing a universal construct to which almost any protein could be attached.
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