Synthesis of a nanocomposite composed of reduced graphene oxide and gold nanoparticles.

We report a seeded-growth process that results in the adhesion of size-controlled gold (Au) nanoparticles (NPs) to the surface of reduced graphene oxide (rGO), leading to the formation of rGO-Au nanocomposites. The synthesis approach involves the utilization of Au molecular precursors (i.e., the seeds) bonded to oxygen functionalities which intrinsically exist on GO. Upon reduction of the Au precursors, surface deposition of Au NPs is ensured. It is found that the size of Au NPs is controlled via the variation of precursor concentration in the growth solution. The redox chemistry between GO and Au precursors causes the reduction of GO to rGO and the generation of Au NPs on the surface of rGO. Microscopic and spectroscopic measurements have been performed to provide evidence for the suggested redox chemistry.

Structure and performance of dielectric films based on self-assembled nanocrystals with a high dielectric constant.

Self-assembled films built from nanoparticles with a high dielectric constant are attractive as a foundation for new dielectric media with increased efficiency and range of operation, due to the ability to exploit nanofabrication techniques and emergent electrical properties originating from the nanoscale. However, because the building block is a discrete one-dimensional unit, it becomes a challenge to capture potential enhancements in dielectric performance in two or three dimensions, frequently due to surface effects or the presence of discontinuities. This is a recurring theme in nanoparticle film technology when applied to the realm of thin film semiconductor and device electronics. We present the use of chemically synthesized (Ba,Sr)TiO3 nanocrystals, and a novel deposition-polymerization technique, as a means to fabricate the dielectric layer. The effective dielectric constant of the film is tunable according to nanoparticle size, and effective film dielectric constants of up to 34 are enabled. Wide area and multilayer dielectrics of up to 8 cm(2) and 190 nF are reported, for which the building block is an 8 nm nanocrystal. We describe models for assessing dielectric performance, and distinct methods for improving the dielectric constant of a nanocrystal thin film. The approach relies on evaporatively driven assembly of perovskite nanocrystals with uniform size distributions in a tunable 7-30 nm size range, coupled with the use of low molecular weight monomer/polymer precursor chemistry that can infiltrate the porous nanocrystal thin film network post assembly. The intercrystal void space (low k dielectric volume fraction) is minimized, while simultaneously promoting intercrystal connectivity and maximizing volume fraction of the high k dielectric component. Furfuryl alcohol, which has good affinity to the surface of (Ba,Sr)TiO3 nanocrystals and miscibility with a range of solvents, is demonstrated to be ideal for the production of nanocomposites. The nanocrystal/furfuryl alcohol dispersions are suitable for the fabrication of thin films by chemical deposition techniques, including spin-coating, printing or a spraying process. To demonstrate the application of this technique to device fabrication, a multilayer capacitor with capacitance of 0.83 nF mm(-2) at 1 MHz is presented.

Synthesis of hollow ellipsoidal silica nanostructures using a wet-chemical etching approach.

We have utilized wet-chemical etching of ellipsoidal silica nanoparticles (ESNs) to form silica nanoshells of a range of elliptical morphologies, with the thicknesses of the ellipsoidal silica nanoshells (ESSs) controlled through variation of synthesis conditions. A mechanism has been proposed to explain how the nanoshells are formed, and we demonstrate that the porosity of the silica ellipsoid plays a role in generating silica shells. Our self-templated, wet-etching approach is an attractive alternate procedure to the approaches presently in existence for the following reasons: (i) it is a facile, one-step process that directly produces ellipsoidal silica nanoshells, while overcoming barriers (such as requirement of removing a solid-core template seed) utilized in many reported chemical etching studies; (ii) it results in ellipsoidal silica nanostructures with dimension less than 100 nm; (iii) with an appropriate etchant, the roughness of the silica shells can be well-controlled; and (iv) it results in tunable, uniform size particles with controllable shell thicknesses. Moreover, the silica materials with the unique structures might be adjusted to meet practical application requirements.

Formation of Graphene Oxide Nanocomposites from Carbon Dioxide Using Ammonia Borane.

To efficiently recycle CO(2) to economically viable products such as liquid fuels and carbon nanomaterials, the reactivity of CO(2) is required to be fully understood. We have investigated the reaction of CO(2) with ammonia borane (AB), both molecules being able to function as either an acid or a base, to obtain more insights into the amphoteric activity of CO(2). In the present work, we demonstrate that CO(2) can be converted to graphene oxide (GO) using AB at moderate conditions. The conversion consists of two consecutive steps: CO(2) fixation (CO(2) pressure < 3 MPa and temperature < 100 °C) and graphenization (600-750 °C under 0.1 MPa of N(2)). The first step generates a solid compound that contains methoxy (OCH(3)), formate (HCOO) and aliphatic groups while the second graphenization is the pyrolysis of the solid compound to produce graphene oxide-boron oxide nanocomposites, which have been confirmed by micro-Raman spectroscopy, solid state (13)C and (11)B magic angle spinning-nuclear magnetic resonance (MAS-NMR), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Our observations also show that the mass of solid product in CO(2) fixation process and raw graphene oxide nanocomposites is twice and 1.2 times that of AB initially charged, respectively. The formation of aliphatic groups without using metal-containing compounds at mild conditions is of great interest to the synthesis of various organic products starting from CO(2.).

A Study of the Effect of Heat-Treatment on the Morphology of Nafion Ionomer Dispersion for Use in the Passive Direct Methanol Fuel Cell (DMFC).

Aggregation in heat-treated Nafion ionomer dispersion and 117 membrane are investigated by 1H and 19F Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectra, spin-lattice relaxation time, and self-diffusion coefficient measurements. Results demonstrate that heat-treatment affects the average Nafion particle size in aqueous dispersions. Measurements on heat-treated Nafion 117 membrane show changes in the 1H isotropic chemical shift and no significant changes in ionic conductivity. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis of prepared cathode catalyst layer containing the heat-treated dispersions reveals that the surface of the electrode with the catalyst ink that has been pretreated at ca. 80 °C exhibits a compact and uniform morphology. The decrease of Nafion ionomer's size results in better contact between catalyst particles and electrolyte, higher electrochemically active surface area, as well as significant improvement in the DMFC's performance, as verified by electrochemical analysis and single cell evaluation.

Template-free synthesis of silica ellipsoids.

We have created ellipsoidal or spherical morphologies of silica particles in a template-free scheme that involves controlling surface tension forces through selected volume ratios of a water/oil micellar system.

Density functional theory and Raman spectroscopy applied to structure and vibrational mode analysis of 1,1',3,3'-tetraethyl-5,5',6,6'-tetrachloro- benzimidazolocarbocyanine iodide and its aggregate.

We have measured electronic and Raman scattering spectra of 1,1',3,3'-tetraethyl-5,5',6,6'-tetrachloro-benzimidazolocarbocyanine iodide (TTBC) in various environments, and we have calculated the ground state geometric and spectroscopic properties of the TTBC cation in the gas and solution phases (e.g., bond distances, bond angles, charge distributions, and Raman vibrational frequencies) using density functional theory. Our structure calculations have shown that the ground state equilibrium structure of a cis-conformer lies ∼200 cm(-1) above that of a trans-conformer and both conformers have C(2) symmetry. Calculated electronic transitions indicate that the difference between the first transitions of the two conformers is about 130 cm(-1). Raman spectral assignments of monomeric- and aggregated-TTBC cations have been aided by density functional calculations at the same level of the theory. Vibrational mode analyses of the calculated Raman spectra reveal that the observed Raman bands above 700 cm(-1) are mainly associated with the in-plane deformation of the benzimidazolo moieties, while bands below 700 cm(-1) are associated with out-of-plane deformations of the benzimidazolo moieties. We have also found that for the nonresonance excited experimental Raman spectrum of aggregated-TTBC cation, the Raman bands in the higher-frequency region are enhanced compared with those in the nonresonance spectrum of the monomeric cation. For the experimental Raman spectrum of the aggregate under resonance excitation, however, we find new Raman features below 600 cm(-1), in addition to a significantly enhanced Raman peak at 671 cm(-1) that are associated with out-of-plane distortions. Also, time-dependent density functional theory calculations suggest that the experimentally observed electronic transition at ∼515 nm (i.e., 2.41 eV) in the absorption spectrum of the monomeric-TTBC cation predominantly results from the π → π∗ transition. Calculations are further interpreted as indicating that the observed shoulder in the absorption spectrum of TTBC in methanol at 494 nm (i.e., 2.51 eV) likely results from the ν(") = 0 → ν' = 1 transition and is not due to another electronic transition of the trans-conformer-despite the fact that measured and calculated NMR results (not provided here) support the prospect that the shoulder might be attributable to the 0-0 band of the cis-conformer.

A covalently linked phenanthridine-ruthenium(II) complex as a RNA probe.

A phenanthridine derivative covalently linked to a ruthenium complex yields an imaging probe whose fluorescence intensity and lifetime change substantially in the presence of RNA.

Enhanced dehydrogenation of LiBH4 catalyzed by carbon-supported Pt nanoparticles.

The catalytic dehydrogenation of LiBH(4) doped with exceptionally low quantities of carbon-supported Pt nanoparticles can be improved significantly, and smaller Pt nanoparticles result in greater enhanced catalytic dehydrogenation of LiBH(4) than do larger Pt nanoparticles.

Two color RNA intercalating probe for cell imaging applications.

Here we report on a phenanthridine derivative which has a covalently linked fluorescein molecule in order to increase the light absorption and hence fluorescence signal intensity when bound to duplex RNA. Steady-state fluorescence shows that the energy transfer efficiency from the fluorescein to the phenanthridine fluorophore is approximately 77%, which results in the probe being over 5x brighter than other phenanthridine derivatives when bound to RNA. Due to the relatively long lifetime (approximately 20 ns) of the probe, time-resolved fluorescence is used to increase the signal to background ratio in cell growth medium from 7 (steady-state value) to over 40. Moreover, fluorescence images of cells containing the probe show that the fluorescein signal is readily apparent along with that of the intercalated fluorophore, allowing this probe to be used as a dual color probe which simultaneously reports the probes' location and that of RNA.

Design and characterization of two-dye and three-dye binary fluorescent probes for mRNA detection.

We report the design, synthesis and characterization of binary oligonucleotide probes for mRNA detection. The probes were designed to avoid common problems found in standard binary probes such as direct excitation of the acceptor fluorophore and overlap between the donor and acceptor emission spectra. Two different probes were constructed that contained an array of either two or three dyes and that were characterized using steady-state fluorescence spectroscopy, time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy and fluorescence depolarization measurements. The three-dye binary probe (BP-3d) consists of a Fam fluorophore which acts as a donor, collecting light and transferring it as energy to Tamra, which subsequently transfers energy to Cy5 when the two probes are hybridized to mRNA. This design allows the use of 488 nm excitation, which avoids the direct excitation of Cy5 and at the same time provides a good fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) efficiency. The two-dye binary probe system (BP-2d) was constructed of Alexa488 and Cy5 fluorophores. Although the overlap between the fluorescence of Alexa488 and the absorption of Cy5 is relatively low, FRET still occurs due to their close physical proximity when the probes are hybridized to mRNA. This framework also decreases the direct excitation of Cy5 and reduces the fluorescence overlap between the donor and the acceptor. Picosecond time-resolved spectroscopy showed a reduction in the fluorescence lifetime of donor fluorophores after the formation of the hybrid between the probes and target mRNA. Interestingly, BP-2d in the presence of mRNA shows a slow rise in the fluorescence decay of Cy5 due to a relatively low FRET rate, which together with the reduction in the Alexa488 lifetime provides a way to improve the signal to background ratio using time-resolved fluorescence spectra (TRES). In addition, fluorescence depolarization measurements showed complete depolarization of the acceptor dyes (Cy5) for both BP-3d (due to sequential FRET steps) and BP-2d (due to the relatively low FRET rate) in the presence of the mRNA target.

Combinatorial fluorescence energy transfer molecular beacons for probing nucleic acid sequences.

We report the design, synthesis, and characterization of molecular beacons (MB) consisting of three distinct fluorophores, 6-carboxyfluorescein (Fam), N,N,N',N'-tetramethyl-6-carboxyrhodamine (Tam), and Cyanine-5 (Cy5). The primary light absorber/energy donor (Fam) is located on one terminus of the MB, whereas the primary energy acceptor/secondary donor (Tam) and secondary acceptor (Cy5) are located at the other terminus of the MB. In the absence of target DNA or RNA, the MB exists in the stem-closed form. Excitation of Fam initiates an energy transfer cascade from Fam to Tam and further to Cy5 generating unique fluorescence signatures defined as the ratio of the emission from each of the three fluorophores. This energy transfer cascade was investigated in detail by steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy, as well as fluorescence depolarization studies. In the presence of the complementary target DNA, the MB opened efficiently and hybridized with the target separating Fam and Tam by a large distance, so that energy transfer from Fam to Tam was blocked in the stem-open form. This opening of the MB generates a "bar code" fluorescence signature, which is different from the signature of the stem-closed MB. The fluorescence signature of this combinatorial fluorescence energy transfer MB can be tuned by variation of the spacer length between the individual fluorophores.

Spectroscopic investigation of a FRET molecular beacon containing two fluorophores for probing DNA/RNA sequences.

We report the design, synthesis, and characterization of a molecular beacon (MB) consisting of two fluorescent dyes (Alexa 488 and RedX) for DNA and RNA analysis. In the absence of the target DNA or RNA the MB is in its stem-closed form and shows efficient energy transfer from the donor (Alexa) to the acceptor (RedX), generating mostly fluorescence from RedX. In the presence of the complementary target DNA the MB opened efficiently, hybridizes with the target DNA, and energy transfer is blocked in the stem-open form. This attachment to the target generates a fluorescence signature, which is clearly distinguishable from the fluorescence signature of the stem-closed form, allowing for ratiometric analysis of the fluorescence signal. In addition to steady-state fluorescence analysis, time resolved fluorescence (ps time range) and fluorescence depolarization studies were performed. We show that fluorescence lifetime and fluorescence depolarization measurements are useful analytical tools to optimize the MB design.

Diameter-selective dispersion of single-walled carbon nanotubes using a water-soluble, biocompatible polymer.

One-step diameter-selective dispersion of HiPco single-walled carbon nanotubes has been accomplished through noncovalent complexation of the nanotubes with a water-soluble, biocompatible polymer chitosan at room temperature.

Optical spectra of a novel polyoxometalate occluded within modified MCM-41.

The novel polyoxometalate ([(Eu2PW10O38)4(W3O8(H2O)2(OH)4)]22-), also referred to herein as Eu8P4W43, has been immobilized inside the channels of MCM-41 mesoporous molecular sieve material by means of the incipient wetness method. For proper host-guest interaction, amine groups were introduced into the system as a result of an aminosilylation procedure. A stable and integrated Eu8P4W43 polyoxometalate was shown to be formed inside the channels of the modified MCM-41. The products were characterized by XRD, UV-vis absorption, emission, Raman excitation, Raman, and 31P solid-state NMR measurements. Infrared and Raman spectra of the polyoxometalate/MCM-41 composite systems are interpreted as showing spectral shifts due to site induced electrostatic interactions. The photoluminescent behavior of the composite at room temperature indicates a characteristic Eu3+ emission pattern corresponding to 5D0- 7F(J) transitions. A strong photoluminescence suggests the potential utility of the polyoxometalate as a luminescent material.

Microwave absorption by nanostructural ferric oxide encapsulated within MCM-41.

A new functional material with nonzero microwave absorption ability at zero applied magnetic field results from loading MCM-41 to a high percentage by weight with ferric oxide.