Defect-Rich Dopant-Free ZrO Nanoclusters and Their Size-Dependent Ferromagnetism.

As an intermediate form of matter between a single atom or molecule and the bulk, nanoclusters (NCs) provide novel properties because of their high surface area-to-volume ratios and distinct physical and electronic structures. These ultrasmall NCs offer a new approach to advance charge-spin manipulation for novel devices, including spintronics and magnetic tunneling junctions. Here, we deposit monosized ZrO NCs over a large area by using gas-phase aggregation followed by size selection by a quadrupole mass filter.

Blue-Light-Emitting Photostable Hybrid Films for High-Efficiency Large-Area Light Converter and Photonic Applications.

A blue fluorophore of Schiff base zinc complex is prepared by a hydrolysis-free solution-based synthetic method. Under ultraviolet (UV) excitation, the complex produces blue emission with a quantum yield ( Q) of 42.6% in methylene chloride and 24.

Highly Conducting Hybrid Silver-Nanowire-Embedded Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):Poly(styrenesulfonate) for High-Efficiency Planar Silicon/Organic Heterojunction Solar Cells.

Embedding nanowires, such as silver nanowires (AgNWs), in a transparent conductive polymer poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) to enhance its conductivity is technologically important for improving the performances of devices comprising transparent conductive layers. Addition of nanowires in the highly conducting form of cosolvent (ethylene glycol) or mixed-cosolvent (ethylene glycol and methanol) modified PEDOT:PSS could change the nanowire structure and significantly alter the conductivity. Here, we report a simple method to embed AgNWs in PEDOT:PSS efficiently to improve its conductivity.

White and Tunable Emission from and Rhodamine B Detection by Modified Zinc Oxide Nanowalls.

To gain better optical and optoelectrical properties, doping trivalent lanthanide cations into host materials is a very attractive approach in nanoscience. Here, we use a transparent conducting oxide, zinc oxide, as the host material to directly embed trivalent terbium cations without the need for any postgrowth treatment, and we investigate the photophysical effect of the dopant. Trivalent Tb cations embedded in ZnO nanowalls produce hypersensitive green emission (at 545 nm, corresponding to the D → F transition) and convert the emission color of ZnO from yellow into white.

Bimetallic Au@M (M = Ag, Pd, Fe, and Cu) Nanoarchitectures Mediated by 1,4-Phenylene Diisocyanide Functionalization.

Hybridization with gold has attracted a lot of attention in many application areas such as energy, nanomedicine, and catalysts. Here, we demonstrate electrochemical hybridization of two different metals by using bare and 1,4-phenylene diisocyanide (PDI) functionalized gold nanoislands (GNIs) supported on a Si substrate. As pristine GNIs are not tightly locked on the Si surface, bimetallic Au@M (M = Ag, Pd, Fe, and Cu) core-shell type nanostructures are produced by an electric-field-induced clustering of GNIs and metal deposition.

Reversible structural transformation and enhanced performance of PEDOT:PSS-based hybrid solar cells driven by light intensity.

Unlabelled: Hybrid solar cells made of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (

Pedot: PSS) and appropriate amounts of a cosolvent and a fluorosurfactant on planar n-type silicon substrates showed a photoconversion efficiency (PCE) of above 13%. These cells also exhibited stable, reproducible, and high external quantum efficiency (EQE) that was not sensitive to light-bias intensity (LBI). In contrast, solar cells made of pristine

Pedot: PSS showed low PCE and high EQE only under certain measurement conditions.

Poly(dimethyl siloxane) membrane for high temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cells.

Sulfonic acid-based membrane gives the relatively high conductivity only in the presence of water, but phosphoric acid presents the relatively high proton conductivity without water because of its self dissociation natures to develop high temperature PEMFCs. We synthesized the thermostable material that has phosphorous groups based on poly(dimethyl siloxane) (PDMS). PDMS, which is intrinsically hydrophobic was modified to be amphiphilic by substituting end groups with hydrophilic phosphorous groups.

Characterization of Nafion/zirconium sulphophenyl phosphate nanocomposite membrane for direct methanol fuel cells.

Layered structure zirconium sulphophenyl phosphate (ZrSPP) was prepared from the precipitation of Zr4+ ion and m-sulphophenyl phosphonic (SPP) acid at a mole ratio of P to Zr = 2.0. The reflective index measurement indicated that the methanol permeability of unmodified Nafion 117 was 2.

IFN-gamma regulates the expression of B7-H1 in dermal fibroblast cells.

Background: Programmed cell death ligand 1 (B7-H1) was recently cloned in antigen presenting cells (APCs) and represents a third member of the B7 family. Thus, B7-H1 may be a novel target for clinical intervention in human inflammatory disease.

Objective: The aim of this study is to investigate the signal transduction mechanism and transcriptional regulation of B7-H1 expression in human dermal fibroblasts.