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Advances in Nanoparticles: Synthesis, Characterization, Theoretical Modelling, and Applications

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A special issue of Nanomaterials (ISSN 2079-4991).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 December 2018) | Viewed by 38793

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Dr. Luca Pasquini

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Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Bologna, Via Zamboni, 33, 40126 Bologna, BO, Italy
Interests: nanoparticles; alloys; grain boundaries; nanostructured materials; hydrogen storage; magnesium; material characterization; X-ray diffraction; microstructure
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Dear Colleagues,

Recent advances in the synthesis of nanoparticles (NPs) and in atomic-scale characterization, coupled with insights from theoretical modelling, have opened up exciting possibilities to tailor knowledge-based NPs for many applications, such as catalysis, plasmonics, sensors, magnetism, and nanomedicine.

The number of scientific papers with "nanoparticle" as a keyword has increased almost linearly in the last ten years, from about 13,000 in 2006 to about 46,000 in 2016. This impressive worldwide interest stems from the striking scientific appeal of nanoparticles (NPs), which constitute a bridge between the atomic and bulk worlds, as well as from their actual or potential applications in fields as diverse as catalysis, optics, magnetism, drug delivery. The preparation of NPs is a crossroad of materials science where chemists, physicists, and engineers frequently meet, leading to a continuous improvement of existing techniques and to the invention of new methods.

This symposium, L: Advances in nanoparticles: synthesis, characterization, theoretical modelling, and applications will be held 18–21 September, 2018, at the Warsaw University of Technology, Poland. It will bring together leading experts on advanced techniques for nanoparticle synthesis, in order to promote cross fertilization and to inspire progresses in the control of nanoparticle size, shape, composition and functionalization as well as in the fabrication of NPs with complex morphologies. Characterization techniques with high spatial resolution, spectroscopic capability and chemical sensitivity are an essential tool not only to investigate the output of the synthesis procedures but also to elucidate the structure-property relationships of the NPs. For this reason, this symposium will see the participation of leading experts in state-of-the-art characterization techniques for NPs structural/chemical analysis. This interdisciplinary forum will be completed by the attendance of renowned experts in theoretical modelling and simulation of NPs structure and properties, which is of paramount importance both for the understanding of the atomic and electronic structure and for the prediction of non-trivial behaviors and new phenomena. The symposium will pay particular attention to new directions in technological applications of NPs.

Prof. Dr. Luca Pasquini
Guest Editor

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Keywords

Nanoparticles, Quantum dots, Carbon nanostructures, Nanocomposites, Nanoalloys, Porous materials
Synthesis methods (physical and chemical)
Catalysis, Optical properties, Electronic properties, Magnetism, Nanomedicine, Imaging, Photocatalysis, Energy conversion and storage
High-resolution characterization, Electron microscopy, Spectroscopic and scattering techniques

Published Papers (11 papers)

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Research

13 pages, 9033 KiB

Open AccessArticle

One-Step Hydrothermal Synthesis of Yellow and Green Emitting Silicon Quantum Dots with Synergistic Effect

by Zhixia Zhang, Chunjin Wei, Wenting Ma, Jun Li, Xincai Xiao and Dan Zhao

Nanomaterials 2019, 9(3), 466; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano9030466 - 20 Mar 2019

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 3983

Abstract

The concept of synergistic effects has been widely applied in many scientific fields such as in biomedical science and material chemistry, and has further attracted interest in the fields of both synthesis and application of nanomaterials. In this paper, we report the synthesis of long-wavelength emitting silicon quantum dots based on a one-step hydrothermal route with catechol (CC) and sodium citrate (Na-citrate) as a reducing agent pair, and N-[3-(trimethoxysilyl)propyl]ethylenediamine (DAMO) as silicon source. By controlling the reaction time, yellow-emitting silicon quantum dots and green-emitting silicon quantum dots were synthesized with quantum yields (QYs) of 29.4% and 38.3% respectively. The as-prepared silicon quantum dots were characterized by fluorescence (PL) spectrum, UV–visible spectrum, high resolution transmission electron microscope (HRTEM), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectrometry energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), and Zeta potential. With the aid of these methods, this paper further discussed how the optical performance and surface characteristics of the prepared quantum dots (QDs) influence the fluorescence mechanism. Meanwhile, the cell toxicity of the silicon quantum dots was tested by the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazolyl-2)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium (MTT) bromide method, and its potential as a fluorescence ink explored. The silicon quantum dots exhibit a red-shift phenomenon in their fluorescence peak due to the participation of the carbonyl group during the synthesis. The high-efficiency and stable photoluminescence of the long-wavelength emitting silicon quantum dots prepared through a synergistic effect is of great value in their future application as novel optical materials in bioimaging, LED, and materials detection. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Nanoparticles: Synthesis, Characterization, Theoretical Modelling, and Applications)

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15 pages, 4270 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effective La-Na Co-Doped TiO₂ Nano-Particles for Dye Adsorption: Synthesis, Characterization and Study on Adsorption Kinetics

by Inderjeet Singh and Balaji Birajdar

Nanomaterials 2019, 9(3), 400; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano9030400 - 09 Mar 2019

Cited by 20 | Viewed by 3809

Abstract

The mesoporous La-Na co-doped TiO₂ nanoparticles (NPs) have been synthesized by non-aqueous, solvent-controlled, sol-gel route. The substitutional doping of large sized Na⁺¹ and La⁺³ at Ti⁴⁺ is confirmed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and further supported by Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and X-ray Photo-electron Spectroscopy (XPS). The consequent increase in adsorbed hydroxyl groups at surface of La-Na co-doped TiO₂ results in decrease in pH_IEP, which makes nanoparticle surface more prone to cationic methylene blue (MB) dye adsorption. The MB dye removal was examined by different metal doping, pH, contact time, NPs dose, initial dye concentration and temperature. Maximum dye removal percentage was achieved at pH 7.0. The kinetic analysis suggests adsorption dynamics is best described by pseudo second-order kinetic model. Langmuir adsorption isotherm studies revealed endothermic monolayer adsorption of Methylene Blue dye. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Nanoparticles: Synthesis, Characterization, Theoretical Modelling, and Applications)

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15 pages, 5802 KiB

Open AccessArticle

One-Step Synthesis of Metal/Oxide Nanocomposites by Gas Phase Condensation

by Nicola Patelli, Andrea Migliori, Vittorio Morandi and Luca Pasquini

Nanomaterials 2019, 9(2), 219; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano9020219 - 06 Feb 2019

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 3641

Abstract

Metallic nanoparticles (NPs), either supported on a porous oxide framework or finely dispersed within an oxide matrix, find applications in catalysis, plasmonics, nanomagnetism and energy conversion, among others. The development of synthetic routes that enable to control the morphology, chemical composition, crystal structure and mutual interaction of metallic and oxide phases is necessary in order to tailor the properties of this class of nanomaterials. With this work, we aim at developing a novel method for the synthesis of metal/oxide nanocomposites based on the assembly of NPs formed by gas phase condensation of metal vapors in a He/O₂ atmosphere. This new approach relies on the independent evaporation of two metallic precursors with strongly different oxidation enthalpies. Our goal is to show that the precursor with less negative enthalpy gives birth to metallic NPs, while the other to oxide NPs. The selected case study for this work is the synthesis of a Fe-Co/TiO_x nanocomposite, a system of great interest for its catalytic and magnetic properties. By exploiting the new concept, we achieve the desired target, i.e., a nanoscale dispersion of metallic alloy NPs within titanium oxide NPs, the structure of which can be tailored into TiO_1-δ or TiO₂ by controlling the synthesis and processing atmosphere. The proposed synthesis technique is versatile and scalable for the production of many NPs-assembled metal/oxide nanocomposites. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Nanoparticles: Synthesis, Characterization, Theoretical Modelling, and Applications)

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12 pages, 5251 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Determining the Composite Structure of Au-Fe-Based Submicrometre Spherical Particles Fabricated by Pulsed-Laser Melting in Liquid

by Hokuto Fuse, Naoto Koshizaki, Yoshie Ishikawa and Zaneta Swiatkowska-Warkocka

Nanomaterials 2019, 9(2), 198; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano9020198 - 03 Feb 2019

Cited by 18 | Viewed by 3192

Abstract

Submicrometre spherical particles made of Au and Fe can be fabricated by pulsed-laser melting in liquid (PLML) using a mixture of Au and iron oxide nanoparticles as the raw particles dispersed in ethanol, although the detailed formation mechanism has not yet been clarified. Using a 355 nm pulsed laser to avoid extreme temperature difference between two different raw particles during laser irradiation and an Fe₂O₃ raw nanoparticle colloidal solution as an iron source to promote the aggregation of Au and Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles, we performed intensive characterization of the products and clarified the formation mechanism of Au-Fe composite submicrometre spherical particles. Because of the above two measures (Fe₂O₃ raw nanoparticle and 355 nm pulsed laser), the products—whether the particles are phase-separated or homogeneous alloys—basically follow the phase diagram. In Fe-rich range, the phase-separated Au-core/Fe-shell particles were formed, because quenching induces an earlier solidification of the Fe-rich component as a result of cooling from the surrounding ethanol. If the particle size is small, the quenching rate becomes very rapid and particles were less phase-separated. For high Au contents exceeding 70% in weight, crystalline Au-rich alloys were formed without phase separation. Thus, this aggregation control is required to selectively form homogeneous or phase-separated larger submicrometre-sized particles by PLML. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Nanoparticles: Synthesis, Characterization, Theoretical Modelling, and Applications)

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9 pages, 1820 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Controllability Investigation of Magnetic Properties for FePt Alloy Nanocomposite Thin Films

by Jian Yu, Tingting Xiao, Xuemin Wang, Xiuwen Zhou, Xinming Wang, Liping Peng, Yan Zhao, Jin Wang, Jie Chen, Hongbu Yin and Weidong Wu

Nanomaterials 2019, 9(1), 53; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano9010053 - 03 Jan 2019

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3539

Abstract

An appropriate writing field is very important for magnetic storage application of L1₀ FePt nanocomposite thin films. However, the applications of pure L1₀ FePt are limited due to its large coercivity. In this paper, the ratios of L1₀ and non-L1₀ phase FePt alloy nanoparticles in FePt/MgO (100) nanocomposite thin films were successfully tuned by pulsed laser deposition method. By adjusting the pulsed laser energy density from 3 to 7 J/cm², the ordering parameter initially increased, and then decreased. The highest ordering parameter of 0.9 was obtained at the pulsed laser energy density of 5 J/cm². At this maximum value, the sample had the least amount of the soft magnetic phase of almost 0%, as analyzed by a magnetic susceptibility study. The saturation magnetization decreased with the increase in the content of soft magnetic phase. Therefore, the magnetic properties of FePt nanocomposite thin films can be controlled, which would be beneficial for the magnetic applications of these thin films. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Nanoparticles: Synthesis, Characterization, Theoretical Modelling, and Applications)

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12 pages, 3291 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Application of Glycation in Regulating the Heat-Induced Nanoparticles of Egg White Protein

by Chenying Wang, Xidong Ren, Yujie Su and Yanjun Yang

Nanomaterials 2018, 8(11), 943; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano8110943 - 15 Nov 2018

Cited by 16 | Viewed by 3570

Abstract

Due to the poor thermal stability of egg white protein (EWP), important challenges remain regarding preparation of nanoparticles for EWP above the denaturation temperature at neutral conditions. In this study, nanoparticles were fabricated from conjugates of EWP and isomalto-oligosaccharide (IMO) after heating at 90 °C for 30 min. Meanwhile, the effects of protein concentration, temperature, pH, ionic strength and degree of glycation (DG) on the formation of nanoparticles from IMO-EWP were investigated. To further reveal the formation mechanism of the nanoparticles, structures, thermal denaturation properties and surface properties were compared between EWP and IMO-EWP conjugates. Furthermore, the emulsifying activity index (EAI) and the emulsifying stability index (ESI) of nanoparticles were determined. The results indicated that glycation enhanced thermal stability and net surface charge of EWP due to changes in the EWP structure. The thermal aggregation of EWP was inhibited significantly by glycation, and enhanced with a higher degree of glycation. Meanwhile, the nanoparticles (<200 nm in size) were obtained at pH 3.0, 7.0 and 9.0 in the presence of NaCl. The increased thermal stability and surface net negative charge after glycation contributed to the inhibition. The EAI and ESI of nanoparticles were increased nearly 3-fold and 2-fold respectively, as compared to unheated EWP. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Nanoparticles: Synthesis, Characterization, Theoretical Modelling, and Applications)

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8 pages, 1530 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Tailoring the Grain Size of Bi-Layer Graphene by Pulsed Laser Deposition

by Jin Wang, Xuemin Wang, Jian Yu, Tingting Xiao, Liping Peng, Long Fan, Chuanbin Wang, Qiang Shen and Weidong Wu

Nanomaterials 2018, 8(11), 885; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano8110885 - 01 Nov 2018

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2631

Abstract

Improving the thermoelectric efficiency of a material requires a suitable ratio between electrical and thermal conductivity. Nanostructured graphene provides a possible route to improving thermoelectric efficiency. Bi-layer graphene was successfully prepared using pulsed laser deposition in this study. The size of graphene grains was controlled by adjusting the number of pulses. Raman spectra indicated that the graphene was bi-layer. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images clearly show that graphene changes from nanostructured to continuous films when more pulses are used during fabrication. Those results indicate that the size of the grains can be controlled between 39 and 182 nm. A detailed analysis of X-ray photoelectron spectra reveals that the sp² hybrid state is the main chemical state in carbon. The mobility is significantly affected by the grain size in graphene, and there exists a relatively stable region between 500 and 800 pulses. The observed phenomena originate from competition between decreasing resistance and increasing carrier concentration. These studies should be valuable for regulating grains sizes for thermoelectric applications of graphene. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Nanoparticles: Synthesis, Characterization, Theoretical Modelling, and Applications)

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13 pages, 3213 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Novel Fast Photothermal Therapy Using Hot Spots of Gold Nanorods for Malignant Melanoma Cells

by Yanhua Yao, Nannan Zhang, Xiao Liu, Qiaofeng Dai, Haiying Liu, Zhongchao Wei, Shaolong Tie, Yinyin Li, Haihua Fan and Sheng Lan

Nanomaterials 2018, 8(11), 880; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano8110880 - 28 Oct 2018

Cited by 11 | Viewed by 2862

Abstract

In this paper, the plasmon resonance effects of gold nanorods was used to achieve rapid photothermal therapy for malignant melanoma cells (A375 cells). After incubation with A375 cells for 24 h, gold nanorods were taken up by the cells and gold nanorod clusters were formed naturally in the organelles of A375 cells. After analyzing the angle and space between the nanorods in clusters, a series of numerical simulations were performed and the results show that the plasmon resonance coupling between the gold nanorods can lead to a field enhancement of up to 60 times. Such high energy localization causes the temperature around the nanorods to rise rapidly and induce cell death. In this treatment, a laser as low as 9.3 mW was used to irradiate a single cell for 20 s and the cell died two h later. The cell death time can also be controlled by changing the power of laser which is focused on the cells. The advantage of this therapy is low laser treatment power, short treatment time, and small treatment range. As a result, the damage of the normal tissue by the photothermal effect can be greatly avoided. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Nanoparticles: Synthesis, Characterization, Theoretical Modelling, and Applications)

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7 pages, 2864 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Hierarchical Structure and Catalytic Activity of Flower-Like CeO₂ Spheres Prepared Via a Hydrothermal Method

by Genli Shen, Mi Liu, Zhen Wang and Qi Wang

Nanomaterials 2018, 8(10), 773; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano8100773 - 29 Sep 2018

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2981

Abstract

Hierarchical CeO₂ particles were synthesized by a hydrothermal method based on the reaction between CeCl₃·7H₂O and PVP at 270 °C. The flower-like CeO₂ with an average diameter of about 1 μm is composed of compact nanosheets with thicknesses of about 15 nm and have a surface area of 36.8 m²/g, a large pore volume of 0.109 cm³/g, and a narrow pore size distribution (14.9 nm in diameter). The possible formation mechanism of the hierarchical CeO₂ nanoparticles has been illustrated. The 3D hierarchical structured CeO₂ exhibited a higher catalytic activity toward CO oxidation compared with commercial CeO₂. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Nanoparticles: Synthesis, Characterization, Theoretical Modelling, and Applications)

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9 pages, 1138 KiB

Open AccessArticle

InPBi Quantum Dots for Super-Luminescence Diodes

by Liyao Zhang, Yuxin Song, Qimiao Chen, Zhongyunshen Zhu and Shumin Wang

Nanomaterials 2018, 8(9), 705; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano8090705 - 10 Sep 2018

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2757

Abstract

InPBi thin film has shown ultra-broad room temperature photoluminescence, which is promising for applications in super-luminescent diodes (SLDs) but met problems with low light emission efficiency. In this paper, InPBi quantum dot (QD) is proposed to serve as the active material for future InPBi SLDs. The quantum confinement for carriers and reduced spatial size of QD structure can improve light emission efficiently. We employ finite element method to simulate strain distribution inside QDs and use the result as input for calculating electronic properties. We systematically investigate different transitions involving carriers on the band edges and the deep levels as a function of Bi composition and InPBi QD geometry embedded in InAlAs lattice matched to InP. A flat QD shape with a moderate Bi content of a few percent over 3.2% would provide the optimal performance of SLDs with a bright and wide spectrum at a short center wavelength, promising for future optical coherence tomography applications. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Nanoparticles: Synthesis, Characterization, Theoretical Modelling, and Applications)

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12 pages, 3119 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Biosynthesis of Silver Nanoparticles Using Ligustrum Ovalifolium Fruits and Their Cytotoxic Effects

by Bianca Moldovan, Vladislav Sincari, Maria Perde-Schrepler and Luminita David

Nanomaterials 2018, 8(8), 627; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano8080627 - 18 Aug 2018

Cited by 38 | Viewed by 4095

Abstract

The present study reports for the first time the efficacy of bioactive compounds from Ligustrum ovalifolium L. fruit extract as reducing and capping agents of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs), developing a green, zero energetic, cost effective and simple synthesis method of AgNPs. The obtained nanoparticles were characterized by UV-Vis spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), confirming that nanoparticles were crystalline in nature, spherical in shape, with an average size of 7 nm. The FTIR spectroscopy analysis demonstrated that the AgNPs were capped and stabilized by bioactive molecules from the fruit extract. The cytotoxicity of the biosynthesized AgNPs was in vitro evaluated against ovarian carcinoma cells and there were found to be effective at low concentration levels. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Nanoparticles: Synthesis, Characterization, Theoretical Modelling, and Applications)

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