No Arabic abstract
In this work, optimized size distribution and optical properties in colloidal synthesis of gold nanoparticles (GNPs) were obtained using a proposed ultrasonic Tuerkevich-Frens method. The effect of three ultrasound (20 kHz) irradiation powers has been analyzed as size and shape control parameter. The GNPs colloidal solutions were obtained from chloroauric acid (HAuCl$_{4}$) and trisodium citrate ($rm C_{6}H_{5}Na_{3}O_{7}cdot 2H_{2}O$) under continuous irradiation for 1 hour without any heat or stirring. The surface plasmon resonance (SPR) was monitored in the UV-Vis spectra every 10 minutes to found the optimal time for localized SPR wavelength ($lambda_{rm LSPR}$) and the 210 sample procedure reduces the $lambda_{rm LSPR}$ localization to 20 minutes, while 150 and 60 samples show $lambda_{rm LSPR}$ in 60 minutes. The nucleation and growth of GNPs showed changes in shape and size distribution, which were associated with physical (cavitation, temperature) and chemical (radical generation, pH) conditions in the solution. The results showed quasispherical GNPs as pentakis dodecahedron ($lambda_{rm LSPR}$=560 nm), triakis icosahedron ($lambda_{rm LSPR}$=535 nm), and tetrakis hexahedron ($lambda_{rm LSPR}$= 525 nm) in a size range from 12-16 nm. US irradiation induced a disproportionation process, electrons of AuCl$_{2}^-$ rapidly exchanged through the gold surface. After AuCl$_{4}^-$ and Cl$^-$ are desorbed and a complex tetrachloroaurate is recycled for the two-electron reduction by citrate, aurophilic interaction between complexes AuCl$_{2}^-$, electrons exchange and gold seeds, the deposition of new gold atoms on the surface promoting the growth of GNPs. These mechanisms are enhanced by the cavitation effects and transmitted energy into the solution, showing that the plasmonic response from our nanoparticles can be tuned with this simple method and minimum intrumentation.
We present theoretical calculations for the absorption properties of protein-coated gold nanoparticles on graphene and graphite substrates. As the substrate is far away from nanoparticles, numerical results show that the number of protein bovine serum molecules molecules aggregating on gold surfaces can be quantitatively determined for gold nanoparticles with arbitrary size by means of the Mie theory and the absorption spectra. The presence of graphitic substrate near protein-conjugated gold nanoparticles substantially enhances the red shift of the surface plasmon resonances of the nanoparticles. Our findings show that graphene and graphite provide the same absorption band when the distance between the nanoparticles and the substrate is large. However at shorter distances, the resonant wavelength peak of graphene-particle system differs from that of graphite-particle system. Furthermore, the influence of the chemical potential of graphene on the optical spectra is also investigated.
Superlubricity, or alternatively termed structural (super)lubrictiy, is a concept where ultra-low friction is expected at the interface between sliding surfaces if these surfaces are incommensurate and thus unable to interlock. In this work, we now report on sudden, reversible, friction changes that have been observed during AFM based nanomanipulation experiments of gold nanoparticles sliding on highly oriented pyrolythic graphite. These effects are can be explained by rotations of the gold nanoparticles within the concept of structural superlubricity, where the occurrence of ultra-low friction can depend extremely sensitively on the relative orientation between the slider and the substrate. From our theoretical simulations it will become apparent how even miniscule magnitudes of rotation are compatible to the observed effects and how size and shape of the particles can influence the dependence between friction and relative orientation.
Homogeneous single phase GdCrO3 nanoparticles are synthesized by a modified-hydrothermal synthesis. The sample shows a compensation temperature at 128 K, below which the DC magnetization becomes negative and positive at low temperatures due to the competition between the two sublattice magnetization. At Neel temperature (168K), the line width and the intensity show an abrupt transition, revealed from electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy.
We study the effects of low-energy electron beam irradiation up to 10 keV on graphene based field effect transistors. We fabricate metallic bilayer electrodes to contact mono- and bi-layer graphene flakes on SiO$_2$, obtaining specific contact resistivity $rho_c simeq 19 kOmega mu m^2$ and carrier mobility as high as 4000 cm$^2$V$^{-1}$s$^{-1}$. By using a highly doped p-Si/SiO$_2$ substrate as back gate, we analyze the transport properties of the device and the dependence on the pressure and on the electron bombardment. We demonstrate that low energy irradiation is detrimental on the transistor current capability, resulting in an increase of the contact resistance and a reduction of the carrier mobility even at electron doses as low as 30 $e^-/nm^2$. We also show that the irradiated devices recover by returning to their pristine state after few repeated electrical measurements.
We propose a new approach to understand the time-dependent temperature increasing process of gold-silica core-shell nanoparticles injected into chicken tissues under near-infrared laser irradiation. Gold nanoshells strongly absorb near-infrared radiations and efficiently transform absorbed energy into heat. Temperature rise given by experiments and numerical calculations based on bioheat transfer are in good agreement. Our work improves the analysis of a recent study [Richardson et al., Nano Lett. 9, 1139 (2009)] by including effects of the medium perfusion on temperature increase. The theoretical analysis can also be used to estimate the distribution of nanoparticles in experimental samples and provide a relative accuracy prediction for the temperature profile of new systems. This methodology would provide a novel and reliable tool for speeding up photothermal investigations and designing state-of-the-art photothermal devices.