Single nanoscale cluster species revealed by 1H NMR diffusion-ordered spectroscopy and small-angle X-ray scattering.

A solved structure: The hydrated Ga(13) cluster, [Ga(13)(μ(3)-OH)(6)(μ-OH)(18)(H(2)O)(24)](NO(3))(15)], persists as a discrete nanoscale structure in an aqueous polar solvent at millimolar concentration. SAXS data confirm the presence of Ga(13) in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO). In aqueous [D(6)]DMSO (1)H NMR signals for the hydroxo and aquo ligands of Ga(13) were detected, thus showing a cluster with a hydrodynamic radius of (11.

Media ionic strength impacts embryonic responses to engineered nanoparticle exposure.

Embryonic zebrafish were used to assess the impact of solution ion concentrations on agglomeration and resulting in vivo biological responses of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs). The minimum ion concentration necessary to support embryonic development was determined. Surprisingly, zebrafish exhibit no adverse outcomes when raised in nearly ion-free media.

The nanomaterial characterization bottleneck.

The future of nanotechnology rests upon approaches to making new, useful nanomaterials and testing them in complex systems. Currently, the advance from discovery to application is constrained in nanomaterials relative to a mature market, as seen in molecular and bulk matter. To reap the benefits of nanotechnology, improvements in characterization are needed to increase throughput as creativity outpaces our ability to confirm results.

Vertically oriented hexagonal mesoporous films formed through nanometre-scale epitaxy.

Polymer- and surfactant-templated mesoporous inorganic materials offer a unique combination of controllable nanoscale architecture, materials variation and low-cost solution processing. Inorganic materials can be produced with a range of periodic pore structures, with feature size ranging from 2 to 30 nm, and from a diverse set of materials. Unfortunately in thin-film form, the pores of the ubiquitous hexagonal honeycomb phase tend to lie in the plane of the substrate making these materials unsuitable for applications where diffusion into the pores is required.

Ordered mesoporous silicon through magnesium reduction of polymer templated silica thin films.

This paper describes the process of making ordered mesoporous silicon (Si) thin films. The process begins with mesoporous silica (SiO 2) thin films that are produced via evaporation induced self-assembly (EISA) using sol-gel silica precursors with a diblock copolymer template. This results in a film with a cubic lattice of 15 nm diameter pores and 10 nm thick walls.

Hexagonal nanoporous germanium through surfactant-driven self-assembly of Zintl clusters.

Surfactant templating is a method that has successfully been used to produce nanoporous inorganic structures from a wide range of oxide-based material. Co-assembly of inorganic precursor molecules with amphiphilic organic molecules is followed first by inorganic condensation to produce rigid amorphous frameworks and then, by template removal, to produce mesoporous solids. A range of periodic surfactant/semiconductor and surfactant/metal composites have also been produced by similar methods, but for virtually all the non-oxide semiconducting phases, the surfactant unfortunately cannot be removed to generate porous materials.