Aqueous lubrication and wear properties of nonionic bottle-brush polymers.

The usage of aqueous lubricants in eco-friendly bio-medical friction systems has attracted significant attention. Several bottle-brush polymers with generally ionic functional groups have been developed based on the structure of biological lubricant lubricin. However, hydrophilic nonionic brush polymers have attracted less attention, especially in terms of wear properties.

Crystal structure and thermal properties of bis-[μ-2-(meth-oxy-carbonyl-hydrazinyl-idene)acetato-κ ,:]bis-[di-aqua-(thio-cyanato-κ)manganese(II)] tetra-hydrate.

The title compound, [Mn(CHNO)(NCS)(HO)]·4HO (I), exists as a centrosymmetric dimer. Each dimeric unit consists of tridentate (,,)-chelating Schiff bases with symmetry-maintained μ--bridged carboxyl-ate anions, terminally bound thio-cyanate anions, and ligated and solvated water mol-ecules. The complex exhibits a distorted octa-hedron geometry and the centrosymmetric μ--bridged carboxyl-ate anions connect the two manganese atoms to form an O ring.

Carbon nanotubes in the liquid phase: addressing the issue of dispersion.

The inherent size and hollow geometry with extraordinary electronic and optical properties make carbon nanotubes (CNTs) promising building blocks for molecular or nanoscale devices. Unfortunately, their hydrophobic nature and their existence in the form of agglomerated and parallel bundles make this interesting material inadequately soluble or dispersible in most of the common solvents, which is crucial to their processing. Therefore, various ingenious techniques have been reported to disperse the CNTs in various solvents with different experimental conditions.

Shape-tailoring and catalytic function of anisotropic gold nanostructures.

We report a facile, one-pot, shape-selective synthesis of gold nanoparticles in high yield by the reaction of an aqueous potassium tetrachloroaurate(III) solution with a commercially available detergent. We prove that a commercial detergent can act as a reducing as well as stabilizing agent for the synthesis of differently shaped gold nanoparticles in an aqueous solution at an ambient condition. It is noteworthy that the gold nanoparticles with different shapes can be prepared by simply changing the reaction conditions.

Carbon nanotubes: are they dispersed or dissolved in liquids?

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) constitute a novel class of nanomaterials with remarkable applications in diverse domains. However, the main intrincsic problem of CNTs is their insolubility or very poor solubility in most of the common solvents. The basic key question here is: are carbon nanotubes dissolved or dispersed in liquids, specifically in water? When analyzing the scientific research articles published in various leading journals, we found that many researchers confused between "dispersion" and "solubilization" and use the terms interchangeably, particularly when stating the interaction of CNTs with liquids.

Shape-tailoring of gold nanostructures: can a detergent act as the reducing or protecting agent?

A commercially available detergent was found to be an effective reducing as well as stabilizing agent for the synthesis of differently shaped gold nanoparticles in an aqueous solution at an ambient condition and the as-prepared gold nanoparticles behave as an efficient catalyst for the reduction reaction of 4-nitrophenol at room temperature.

Cucurbit[7]uril as a tool in the green synthesis of gold nanoparticles.

A simple, green, one-pot synthesis of gold nanoparticles was achieved through the reaction of an aqueous mixture of potassium tetrachloroaurate(III) and the macrocycle cucurbit[7]uril in the presence of sodium hydroxide at room temperature without introducing any kind of traditional reducing agents and/or external energy. The as-prepared gold nanoparticles showed catalytic activity for the reduction reaction of 4-nitrophenol in the presence of NaBH(4), which has been established by visual inspection and UV/Vis spectroscopy. This report is the first for the preparation of gold nanoparticles using cucurbit[7]uril in aqueous media through chemical reduction without employing conventional reducing agents and/or external energy.

Macrocycles as a tool: a facile and one-pot synthesis of silver nanoparticles using cucurbituril designed for cancer therapeutics.

Silver nanoparticles made easy: A simple, effective, and one-pot method toward the synthesis of a defined macrocycle-silver nanoparticle system in water has been described (see figure). Interestingly, cucurbituril (CB)[7]-protected AgNPs showed significantly increased cytotoxicity against MCF-7 and NCI-H358 cancer cells, as demonstrated by models in vitro.

Carbon nanotube and gold-based materials: a symbiosis.

Carbon nanotubes constitute a novel class of nanomaterials with potential applications in many areas. The attachment of metal nanoparticles to carbon nanotubes is new way to obtain novel hybrid materials with interesting properties for various applications such as catalysts and gas sensors as well as electronic and magnetic devices. Their unique properties such as excellent electronic properties, a good chemical stability, and a large surface area make carbon nanotubes very useful as a support for gold nanoparticles in many potential applications, ranging from advanced catalytic systems through very sensitive electrochemical sensors and biosensors to highly efficient fuel cells.

Supramolecular nanoencapsulation as a tool: solubilization of the anticancer drug trans-dichloro(dipyridine)platinum(II) by complexation with beta-cyclodextrin.

A novel, water-soluble trans-platinum complex was synthesized by inclusion complexation with beta-cyclodextrin. The complexation was confirmed by (1)H NMR, FT-IR, TGA, and XRD as well as by SEM and EDX. As the precursor complex is not water-soluble, it is difficult to employ it for biological applications.

Thermal decomposition kinetics of hydrazinium cerium 2,3-Pyrazinedicarboxylate hydrate: a new precursor for CeO2.

The thermal decomposition kinetics of N(2)H(5)[Ce(pyrazine-2,3-dicarboxylate)(2)(H(2)O)] (Ce-P) have been studied by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), for the first time; TGA analysis reveals an oxidative decomposition process yielding CeO(2) as the final product with an activation energy of approximately 160 kJ mol(-1). This complex may be used as a precursor to fine particle cerium oxides due to its low temperature of decomposition.