Ionic Liquid-Functionalized Multiwalled Carbon Nanotube-Based Hydrophobic Coatings for Robust Antibacterial Applications.

In recent years, the biomimetic superhydrophobic coatings have received tremendous attention, owing to their potential in fabricating self-cleaning surfaces, in environmental applications. Consequently, extensive research has been devoted to create a superhydrophobic surface using the oxidized derivatives of CNTs and graphene. Thus, the design and development of a self-cleaning/superhydrophobic surface with good biocompatibility are an effective approach to deal with the bacterial infections related to biomedical devices used in hospitals. In this context, herein, we have developed the material based on ionic liquid (IL)-functionalized multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) for hydrophobic coatings, which was fully characterized with various techniques such as Fourier transform infrared, powder X-ray diffraction, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. We have evaluated the synthesized ILs for their antibacterial potential against the pathogenic bacterial strains such as Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus and methicillin-resistant S. aureus) and Gram-negative (Escherichia coli) bacterial strains. Further, atomic force and scanning electron microscopic studies have been performed to investigate the morphological changes to unravel the mechanism of action, whereas DNA binding study indicates the binding of IL-1d@MWCNT with DNA (Ka = 2.390 × 104 M-1). Furthermore, the developed material (IL-1d@MWCNT) is coated onto the surface of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and evaluated for hydrophobicity through water contact angle measurements and possesses long-term antibacterial efficiency against both under-investigating pathogenic strains. For the biocompatibility assay, the obtained coated PVC material has also been evaluated for its cytotoxicity, and results reveal no toxicity against viable cells. These all results are taken together, indicating that by coating with the developed material IL-1d@MWCNT, a robust self-sterilizing surface has achieved, which helps in maintaining a bacteria-free surface.

Optically Graded Ultra Dark Absorber for Visible and Near-infrared Wavelength Range.

Near perfect absorbers find application in many areas including solar cells, energy harvesting and antireflection coatings for space applications. Here we report the use of optical gradation concept to fabricate a near perfect absorber on etched Si wafer. As a proof of concept, 99.4% absorption is achieved in the broad range of 300 nm to 2000 nm. Moreover, absorption capacity of optically graded surface remains higher than 99% up to beam incident angle of 50°. While carbon nanotubes (index ~1.1) are used as top layer, subsequent layers with increasing optical index across the thickness are chosen so as to satisfy zero reflection condition on multilayered assembly. Inward bending of incident beam and total internal reflection of reflected beam caused due to optical index gradient contributes to absorb the incident beam more efficiently. In addition, multiple scattering of incident beam due to the presence of multiscale feature size in graded assembly helps to absorb shorter as well as longer wavelengths of incident light. The graded assembly shows contact angle of 160° with roll-off angle equal to 5° implying that the graded absorber is not only super black but also superhydrophobic and self-cleaning in nature. The combination of properties shown by the super absorber makes it very attractive, especially for next generation solar cells to harness energy in the wavelength range of 1000 nm to 2000 nm.

Development of pyrene-stacked carbon nanotube-based hybrid: measurement of NO3- ions using fluorescence spectroscopy.

Non-covalent bonding via π-π stacking is in demand these days because it does not affect the structure of the carbon nanotube (CNT). Herein, a hybrid material was fabricated via π-π stacking between the aromatic rings of carbon nanotubes and a dihydropyrimidone-based pyrene derivative. The developed CNT@pyrene hybrid material was fully characterized using SEM, EDX, TEM, XRD, and FTIR techniques. The hybrid was developed to improve the heat transport in the hybrid solution by anion addition. The emission profile of the developed hybrid was screened against TBA salts of different anions in EtOH-H2O (10-90% v/v) solvent system to identify the anion that can interact with the hybrid. The hybrid exhibited high sensitivity and selectivity towards NO3- ions with 1.5-fold enhancement in fluorescence intensity, while other anions neither showed significant responses nor interfered in the sensor's response. The limit of NO3- ions detection was found to be 8.1 nM, calculated using the 3-sigma method. It was observed that the proposed hybrid sensor showed stable response at different pH and diverse salt concentrations. The binding mechanism was elucidated by DFT-based theoretical calculations. Real sample analysis was performed for the detection of NO3- concentrations in local water bodies with accuracy as high as 95%. Viscosity and thermal conductivity experiments were performed to measure the effect of concentration, temperature, and pH on the NO3- response.

Augmenting static and dynamic mechanical strength of carbon nanotube/epoxy soft nanocomposites via modulation of purification and functionalization routes.

A detailed experimental investigation was carried out to establish the relationship between CNT purification and functionalization routes and the average response of CNT/epoxy nanocomposites under static and dynamic loading. It was shown that the relative improvement in the mechanical properties of the epoxy matrix due to the addition of CNTs depends on the choice of purification and functionalization steps. A better dispersion of CNTs was recorded for the functionalized CNTs as compared to the oxidized and CVD grown CNTs. Moreover, tensile, 3-point bending and nanoDMA testing performed on nanocomposites processed with CVD-grown, oxidized and functionalized CNTs revealed that COOH functionalization after the oxidation of CNTs at 350 °C is the optimized processing route to harness the excellent properties of CNTs in CNT/epoxy nanocomposites.

Wettability of Complex Fluids and Surfactant Capped Nanoparticle-Induced Quasi-Universal Wetting Behavior.

Even though there are quite large studies on wettability of aqueous surfactants and a few studies on effects of nanoparticles on wettability of colloids, to the best of authors' knowledge, there is no study reported on the combined effect of surfactant and nanoparticles in altering the wettability. The present study, for the first time, reports an extensive experimental and theoretical study on the combined effect of surfactants and nanoparticles on the wettability of complex fluids such as nanocolloids on different substrates, ranging from hydrophilic with a predominantly polar surface energy component (silicon wafer and glass) to near hydrophobic range with a predominantly dispersive component of surface energy (aluminum and copper substrates). Systematically planned experiments are carried out to segregate the contributing effects of surfactants, particles, and combined particle and surfactants in modulating the wettability. The mechanisms and the governing parameters behind the interactions of nanocolloids alone and of surfactant capped nanocolloids with different surfaces are found to be grossly different. The article, for the first time, also analyzes the interplay of the nature of surfaces, surfactant and particle concentrations on contact angle, and contact angle hysteresis (CAH) of particle and surfactant impregnated colloidal suspensions. In the case of nanoparticle suspensions, the contact angle is observed to decrease for the hydrophobic system and increase for the hydrophilic systems considered. On the contrary, the combined particle and surfactant colloidal system shows a quasi-unique wetting behavior of decreasing contact angle with particle concentration on all substrates. Also interestingly, the combined particle surfactant system at all particle concentrations shows a wetting angle much lower than that of the only-surfactant case at the same surfactant concentration. Such counterintuitive observations have been explained based on the near-surface interactivity of the particle, fluid, and surfactant molecules based on effective slip length considerations. The CAH analyses of colloidal suspensions at varying surfactant and particle concentrations reveal in-depth physical insight into contact line pinning, and a unique novel relationship is established between the contact angle and differential energy for distorting the instantaneous contact angle for a pinned sessile droplet. A detailed theoretical analysis of the governing parameters influencing the wettability has been presented invoking the principles of DLVO (Derjaguin-Landau-Verwey-Overbeek), surface energy and interaction parameters influencing at the molecular scale, and the theoretical framework is found to support the experimental observations.

Effects of interplay of nanoparticles, surfactants and base fluid on the surface tension of nanocolloids.

A systematically designed study has been conducted to understand and demarcate the degree of contribution by the constituting elements to the surface tension of nanocolloids. The effects of elements such as surfactants, particles and the combined effects of these on the surface tension of these complex fluids are studied employing the pendant drop shape analysis method by fitting the Young-Laplace equation. Only the particle has shown an increase in the surface tension with particle concentration in a polar medium like DI water, whereas only a marginal effect of particles on surface tension in weakly polar mediums like glycerol and ethylene glycol has been demonstrated. Such behaviour has been attributed to the enhanced desorption of particles to the interface and a theory has been presented to quantify this. The combined particle and surfactant effect on the surface tension of a complex nanofluid system showed a decreasing behaviour with respect to the particle and surfactant concentration with a considerably feeble effect of particle concentration. This combined colloidal system recorded a surface tension value below the surface tension of an aqueous surfactant system at the same concentration, which is a counterintuitive observation as only the particle results in an increase in the surface tension and only the surfactant results in a decrease in the surface tension. The possible physical mechanism behind such an anomaly happening at the complex fluid air interface has been explained. Detailed analyses based on thermodynamic, mechanical and chemical equilibrium of the constituents and their adsorption-desorption characteristics as extracted from the Gibbs adsorption analysis have been provided. The present paper conclusively explains several physical phenomena observed, yet hitherto unexplained, in the case of the surface tension of such complex fluids by segregating the individual contributions of each component of the colloidal system.