Observing the colloidal stability of iron oxide nanoparticles in situ.

Colloidal processes such as nucleation, growth, ripening, and dissolution are fundamental to the synthesis and application of engineered nanoparticles, as well as numerous natural systems. In nanocolloids consisting of a dispersion of nanoparticles in solution, colloidal stability is influenced by factors including the particle surface facet and capping layer, and local temperature, chemistry, and acidity. In this paper, we investigate colloidal stability through the real-time manipulation of nanoparticles using in situ liquid cell Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy (STEM). In a distribution of uniform iron oxide nanoparticles, we use the electron beam to precisely control the local chemistry of the solution and observe the critical role that surface chemistry plays in nanoparticle stability. By functionalizing the nanoparticle surfaces with charged amino acids and peptides, stability can be tuned to promote dissolution, growth, or agglomeration, either permanently or reversibly. STEM imaging is used to quantify kinetics of individual nanoparticles subject to local variations in chemistry. These measurements of dissolution and growth rates of iron oxide nanoparticles provide insights into nanoparticle stability relevant to synthesis and functionalization for biomedical applications.

Chemical Stabilization and Electrochemical Destabilization of the Iron Keggin Ion in Water.

The iron Keggin ion is identified as a structural building block in both magnetite and ferrihydrite, two important iron oxide phases in nature and in technology. Discrete molecular forms of the iron Keggin ion that can be both manipulated in water and chemically converted to the related metal oxides are important for understanding growth mechanisms, in particular, nonclassical nucleation in which cluster building units are preserved in the aggregation and condensation processes. Here we describe two iron Keggin ion structures, formulated as [Bi6FeO4Fe12O12(OH)12(CF3COO)10(H2O)2]3+ (Kegg-1) and [Bi6FeO4Fe12O12(OH)12(CF3COO)12]1+ (Kegg-2). Experimental and simulated X-ray scattering studies show indefinite stability of these clusters in water from pH 1-3. The tridecameric iron Keggin-ion core is protected from hydrolysis by a synergistic effect of the capping Bi3+ cations and the trifluoroacetate ligands that, respectively, bond to the iron and bridge to the bismuth. By introducing electrons to the aqueous solution of clusters, we achieve complete separation of bismuth from the cluster, and the iron Keggin ion rapidly converts to magnetite and/or ferrihydrite, depending on the mechanism of reduction. In this strategy, we take advantage of the easily accessible reduction potential and crystallization energy of bismuth. Reduction was executed in bulk by chemical means, by voltammetry, and by secondary effects of transmission electron microscopy imaging of solutions. Prior, we showed a less stable analogue of the iron Keggin cluster converted to ferrihydrite simply upon dissolution. The prior and currently studied clusters with a range of reactivity provide a chemical system to study molecular cluster to metal oxide conversion processes in detail.

Synthesis of phase-pure and monodisperse iron oxide nanoparticles by thermal decomposition.

Superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) are used for a wide range of biomedical applications requiring precise control over their physical and magnetic properties, which are dependent on their size and crystallographic phase. Here we present a comprehensive template for the design and synthesis of iron oxide nanoparticles with control over size, size distribution, phase, and resulting magnetic properties. We investigate critical parameters for synthesis of monodisperse SPIONs by organic thermal decomposition. Three different, commonly used, iron containing precursors (iron oleate, iron pentacarbonyl, and iron oxyhydroxide) are evaluated under a variety of synthetic conditions. We compare the suitability of these three kinetically controlled synthesis protocols, which have in common the use of iron oleate as a starting precursor or reaction intermediate, for producing nanoparticles with specific size and magnetic properties. Monodisperse particles were produced over a tunable range of sizes from approximately 2-30 nm. Reaction parameters such as precursor concentration, addition of surfactant, temperature, ramp rate, and time were adjusted to kinetically control size and size-distribution, phase, and magnetic properties. In particular, large quantities of excess surfactant (up to 25 : 1 molar ratio) alter reaction kinetics and result in larger particles with uniform size; however, there is often a trade-off between large particles and a narrow size distribution. Iron oxide phase, in addition to nanoparticle size and shape, is critical for establishing magnetic properties such as differential susceptibility (dm/dH) and anisotropy. As an example, we show the importance of obtaining the required size and iron oxide phase for application to Magnetic Particle Imaging (MPI), and describe how phase purity can be controlled. These results provide much of the information necessary to determine which iron oxide synthesis protocol is best suited to a particular application.

High performance weak donor-acceptor polymers in thin film transistors: effect of the acceptor on electronic properties, ambipolar conductivity, mobility, and thermal stability.

We have studied the electronic, physical, and transistor properties of a family of donor-acceptor polymers consisting of diketopyrrolopyrrole (DPP) coupled with different accepting companion units in order to determine the effects of donor-acceptor interaction. Using the electronically neutral benzene (B), the weakly accepting benzothiadiazole (BT), and the strongly accepting benzobisthiadiazole (BBT), the accepting strength of the companion unit was systematically modulated. All polymers exhibited excellent transistor performance, with mobilities above 0.1 cm(2)V(-1)s(-1), even exceeding 1 cm(2)V(-1)s(-1) for one of the BBT-containing polymers. We find that the BBT is the strongest acceptor, enabling the BBT-containing polymers to be strongly ambipolar. The BBT moiety also strengthens interchain interactions, which provides higher thermal stability and performance for transistors with BBT-containing polymers as the active layer.

Onset of Rayleigh-Bénard convection in cylindrical containers.

We determined the critical Rayleigh numbers Ra{c} for the onset of convection in cylindrical containers with aspect ratios 1 approximately 4, an m=1 mode was found again, but near Gamma=4 either m=1 or m=2 was observed in different runs. These results are consistent with the marginal stability curves calculated by Buell and Catton in the sense that the mode that is the first as a function of Ra to acquire a positive growth rate is the one that is observed. For Gamma approximately >4, the theoretical marginal curves for the four lowest modes lie very close together. There we found patterns near onset that corresponded to various modes, including m=2 and 4. At relatively large Gamma approximately > 6, we observed parallel straight rolls quite close to onset. Our patterns agree with several DNS investigations by others, but at some Gamma values differ from those observed experimentally by Stork and Müller. Some results for the pattern evolution with increasing Ra are reported as well.