Recent Advances in Shape-Controlled Synthesis of Noble Metal Nanoparticles by Radiolysis Route.

This paper focuses on the recent advances on radiolysis-assisted shape-controlled synthesis of noble metal nanostructures. The techniques and protocols for producing desirable shapes of noble metal nanoparticles are discussed through introducing the critical parameters which can influence the nucleation and growth mechanisms. Nucleation rate plays a vital role on the crystallinity of seeds while growth rate of different seeds' facets determines the final shape of resultant nanoparticles. Nucleation and growth rate both can be altered with factors such as absorbed dose, capping agents, and experimental environment condition to control the final shape. Remarkable physical and chemical properties of synthesized noble metal nanoparticles by controlled morphology have been systematically evaluated to fully explore their applications.

Radiolytic formation of Fe3O4 nanoparticles: influence of radiation dose on structure and magnetic properties.

Colloidal Fe3O4 nanoparticles were synthesized using a gamma-radiolysis method in an aqueous solution containing iron chloride in presence of polyvinyl alcohol and isopropanol as colloidal stabilizer and hydroxyl radical scavenger, respectively. Gamma irradiation was carried out in a 60Co gamma source chamber at different absorbed doses. Increasing the radiation dose above a certain critical dose (100 kGy) leads to particle agglomeration enhancement, and this can influence the structure and crystallinity, and consequently the magnetic properties of the resultant particles. The optimal condition for formation of Fe3O4 nanoparticles with a uniform and narrow size distribution occurred at a dose of 100 kGy, as confirmed by X-ray diffractometry and transmission electron microscopy. A vibrating sample magnetometry study showed that, when radiation dose increased, the saturation and remanence magnetization decreased, whereas the coercivity and the remanence ratio increased. This magnetic behavior results from variations in crystallinity, surface effects, and particle size effects, which are all dependent on the radiation dose. In addition, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy was performed to investigate the nature of the bonds formed between the polymer chains and the metal surface at different radiation doses.

A review on radiation-induced nucleation and growth of colloidal metallic nanoparticles.

This review presents an introduction to the synthesis of metallic nanoparticles by radiation-induced method, especially gamma irradiation. This method offers some benefits over the conventional methods because it provides fully reduced and highly pure nanoparticles free from by-products or chemical reducing agents, and is capable of controlling the particle size and structure. The nucleation and growth mechanism of metallic nanoparticles are also discussed. The competition between nucleation and growth process in the formation of nanoparticles can determine the size of nanoparticles which is influenced by certain parameters such as the choice of solvents and stabilizer, the precursor to stabilizer ratio, pH during synthesis, and absorbed dose.

Visible light-induced degradation of methylene blue in the presence of photocatalytic ZnS and CdS nanoparticles.

ZnS and CdS nanoparticles were prepared by a simple microwave irradiation method under mild conditions. The obtained nanoparticles were characterized by XRD, TEM and EDX. The results indicated that high purity of nanosized ZnS and CdS was successfully obtained with cubic and hexagonal crystalline structures, respectively. The band gap energies of ZnS and CdS nanoparticles were estimated using UV-visible absorption spectra to be about 4.22 and 2.64 eV, respectively. Photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue was carried out using physical mixtures of ZnS and CdS nanoparticles under a 500-W halogen lamp of visible light irradiation. The residual concentration of methylene blue solution was monitored using UV-visible absorption spectrometry. From the study of the variation in composition of ZnS:CdS, a composition of 1:4 (by weight) was found to be very efficient for degradation of methylene blue. In this case the degradation efficiency of the photocatalyst nanoparticles after 6 h irradiation time was about 73% with a reaction rate of 3.61 × 10-3 min-1. Higher degradation efficiency and reaction rate were achieved by increasing the amount of photocatalyst and initial pH of the solution.

Room temperature radiolytic synthesized Cu@CuAlO(2)-Al(2)O(3) nanoparticles.

Colloidal Cu@CuAlO(2)-Al(2)O(3) bimetallic nanoparticles were prepared by a gamma irradiation method in an aqueous system in the presence of polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP) and isopropanol respectively as a colloidal stabilizer and scavenger of hydrogen and hydroxyl radicals. The gamma irradiation was carried out in a (60)Co gamma source chamber with different doses up to 120 kGy. The formation of Cu@CuAlO(2)-Al(2)O(3) nanoparticles was observed initially by the change in color of the colloidal samples from colorless to brown. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) confirmed the presence of bonds between polymer chains and the metal surface at all radiation doses. Results of transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDX), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) showed that Cu@CuAlO(2)-Al(2)O(3) nanoparticles are in a core-shell structure. By controlling the absorbed dose and precursor concentration, nanoclusters with different particle sizes were obtained. The average particle diameter increased with increased precursor concentration and decreased with increased dose. This is due to the competition between nucleation, growth, and aggregation processes in the formation of nanoclusters during irradiation.

Green formation of spherical and dendritic silver nanostructures under microwave irradiation without reducing agent.

The rapid and green formation of spherical and dendritic silver nanostructures based on microwave irradiation time was investigated. Silver nanoparticles were successfully fabricated by reduction of Ag(+) in a water medium and using polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) as the stabilizing agent and without the use of any other reducing agent, and were compared with those synthesized by conventional heating method. UV-vis absorption spectrometry, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) and photon correlation spectroscopy (PCS) measurements, indicated that increasing the irradiation time enhanced the concentration of silver nanoparticles and slightly increased the particle size. There was a lack of large silver nanoparticles at a high concentration, but interestingly, the formation and growth of silver dendrite nanostructures appeared. Compared to conventional heating methods, the silver nanoparticle suspension produced by irradiated microwaves was more stable over a six-month period in aqueous solution without any signs of precipitation.

Pinch-off mechanism in double-lateral-gate junctionless transistors fabricated by scanning probe microscope based lithography.

A double-lateral-gate p-type junctionless transistor is fabricated on a low-doped (10(15)) silicon-on-insulator wafer by a lithography technique based on scanning probe microscopy and two steps of wet chemical etching. The experimental transfer characteristics are obtained and compared with the numerical characteristics of the device. The simulation results are used to investigate the pinch-off mechanism, from the flat band to the off state. The study is based on the variation of the carrier density and the electric-field components. The device is a pinch-off transistor, which is normally in the on state and is driven into the off state by the application of a positive gate voltage. We demonstrate that the depletion starts from the bottom corner of the channel facing the gates and expands toward the center and top of the channel. Redistribution of the carriers due to the electric field emanating from the gates creates an electric field perpendicular to the current, toward the bottom of the channel, which provides the electrostatic squeezing of the current.