ABSTRACT
Solar energy conversion devices composed of highly crystalline gel polymers with disk-WO3 nanostructure and plate-WO3 microstructures (D-WO3 and P-WO3, respectively) exhibited higher power conversion efficiency than those with a gel electrolyte. In this study, D-WO3 and P-WO3 were prepared using a hydrothermal process and their structural and morphological features were investigated for application in solar energy conversion devices. The P-WO3 solid-state electrolyte significantly enhanced the cell performance owing to its charge transportation and light-scattering characteristics. The P-WO3 solid-state electrolyte showed a power conversion efficiency of 6.3%, which is higher than those of the gel (4.2%) and D-WO3 solid-state (5.5%) electrolytes. The electro-chemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), intensity-modulated voltage spectroscopy (IMVS), diffuse reflectance, and incident photon-to-current conversion efficiency (IPCE) analysis results showed that the P-WO3 solid-state electrolyte showed improved charge transportation and light scattering, and hence enhanced the cell performance.
ABSTRACT
This paper deals with the newly found antibacterial efficiency of coral-like crystalline Rh nanoplates. Rh nanoplates with rough surface morphology synthesized by inverse-directional galvanic replacement exhibited highly enhanced antibacterial efficiency compared to Rh3+ ion and Rh nanospheres. The observed antibacterial efficiency was comparable to Ag nanoplates, a well-known anticancer nano-agent. Results clearly demonstrate that the composition and morphology of a nanostructure play significant roles in antibacterial effects.
ABSTRACT
Rhodium nanoparticles are promising transition metal nanocatalysts for electrochemical and synthetic organic chemistry applications. However, notwithstanding their potential, to date, Rh nanoparticles have not been utilized for biological applications; there has been no cytotoxicity study of Rh reported in the literature. In this regard, the absence of a facile and controllable synthetic strategy of Rh nanostructures with various sizes and morphologies might be responsible for the lack of progress in this field. Herein, we have developed a synthetic strategy for Rh nanostructures with controllable morphology through an inverse-directional galvanic replacement reaction. Three types of Rh-based nanostructures-nanoshells, nanoframes, and porous nanoplates-were successfully synthesized. A plausible synthetic mechanism based on thermodynamic considerations has also been proposed. The cytotoxicity, surface functionalization, and photothermal therapeutic effect of manufactured Rh nanostructures were systematically investigated to reveal their potential for in vitro and in vivo biological applications. Considering the comparable behavior of porous Rh nanoplates to that of gold nanostructures that are widely used in nanomedicine, the present study introduces Rh-based nanostructures into the field of biological research.
Subject(s)
Antineoplastic Agents/pharmacology , Metal Nanoparticles/chemistry , Photochemotherapy , Photosensitizing Agents/pharmacology , Rhodium/pharmacology , Animals , Antineoplastic Agents/chemistry , Cell Line, Tumor , Cell Proliferation/drug effects , Drug Screening Assays, Antitumor , HeLa Cells , Humans , Male , Mice , Mice, Inbred BALB C , Mice, Nude , Neoplasms, Experimental/drug therapy , Neoplasms, Experimental/pathology , Particle Size , Photosensitizing Agents/chemistry , Rhodium/chemistry , Surface PropertiesABSTRACT
Gold nanomaterials are commonly used in biomedical applications owing to their excellent biocompatibility and unique physicochemical and optical properties, whereas Pd nanomaterials are mainly used as catalysts. Here, we re-examined the possible applications of Pd nanomaterials. Reducing agent-assisted excessive galvanic replacement-mediated porous Au nanoplates, porous Pt nanoplates, and porous Pd nanoplate synthesis enabled us to compare the properties and efficiency of nanoplates composed of three metal elements (Au, Pt, and Pd). According to our analytical results, porous Pd nanoplates exhibited exceptional all-round excellence in photothermal conversion, therapeutic gene loading/releasing, cytotoxicity, and in vitro combination cancer treatment. We believe that this discovery broadens the potential applications of metal nanomaterials, with an emphasis on more efficient biomedical applications in limited conventional fields.
