Environmental and food safety concerns over transgenic plants have hampered commercial applications of transgenic plant technology worldwide. A recently developed transgene deletion technology, named gene deletor tech...Environmental and food safety concerns over transgenic plants have hampered commercial applications of transgenic plant technology worldwide. A recently developed transgene deletion technology, named gene deletor technology, may be used to eliminate all transgenes from pollen, seeds, fruits or other organs when functions of transgenes are no longer needed or their presence may cause concerns. In this review, I will briefly describe the principle of the gene deletor technology with major supporting experimental data. I will also explain main characteristics and requirements of the gene deletor technology. Finally, I will discuss the gene deletor technology in the context of how it may be used to alleviate environmental and food safety concerns over transgenic plants in vegetatively and sexually propagated plants, to prevent volunteer transgenic plants, to protect proprietary transgenic technologies, and to allow farmers to reuse their harvested seeds for future planting.展开更多
Controlled growth of islands on plasmonic metal nanoparticles represents a novel strategy in creating unique morphologies that are difficult to achieve by conventional colloidal synthesis processes,where the nanoparti...Controlled growth of islands on plasmonic metal nanoparticles represents a novel strategy in creating unique morphologies that are difficult to achieve by conventional colloidal synthesis processes,where the nanoparticle morphologies are typically determined by the preferential development of certain crystal facets.This work exploits an effective surface-engineering strategy for site-selective island growth of Au on anisotropic Au nanostructures.Selective ligand modification is first employed to direct the site-selective deposition of a thin transition layer of a secondary metal,e.g.,Pd,which has a considerable lattice mismatch with Au.The selective deposition of Pd on the original seeds produces a high contrast in the surface strain that guides the subsequent site-selective growth of Au islands.This strategy proves effective in not only inducing the island growth of Au on Au nanostructures but also manipulating the location of grown islands.By taking advantage of the iodide-assisted oxidative ripening process and the surface strain profile on Au nanostructures,we further demonstrate the precise control of the islands’number,coverage,and wetting degree,allowing fine-tuning of nanoparticles’optical properties.展开更多
A method for the synthesis of a new class of anisotropic mesostructured gold material,which we call“mesoflowers”,is demonstrated.The mesoflowers,unsymmetrical at the single particle level,resemble several natural ob...A method for the synthesis of a new class of anisotropic mesostructured gold material,which we call“mesoflowers”,is demonstrated.The mesoflowers,unsymmetrical at the single particle level,resemble several natural objects and are made up of a large number of stems with unusual pentagonal symmetry.The mesostructured material has a high degree of structural purity with star-shaped,nano-structured stems.The mesoflowers were obtained in high yield,without any contaminating structures and their size could be tuned from nano-to meso-dimensions.The dependence of various properties of the mesoflowers on their conditions of formation was studied.The near-infrared infrared(NIR IR)absorption exhibited by the mesoflowers has been used for the development of infrared filters.Using a prototypical device,we demonstrated the utility of the gold mesoflowers in reducing the temperature rise in an enclosure exposed to daylight in peak summer.These structures showed a high degree of surface-enhanced Raman scattering(SERS)activity compared to spherical analogues.SERS-based imaging of a single mesoflower is demonstrated.The high SERS activity and NIR IR absorption property open up a number of exciting applications in diverse areas.展开更多
Core-shell nanostructures usually exhibit tunable catalytic properties in comparison with their single core or shell counterpart due to electronic interaction and lattice strain between the core and shell regions.Here...Core-shell nanostructures usually exhibit tunable catalytic properties in comparison with their single core or shell counterpart due to electronic interaction and lattice strain between the core and shell regions.Herein,we report the intriguing evolution of copper(Cu)shells on the gold(Au)cores at different Au/Cu precursor ratios during the synthesis of core-shell Au-Cu nanoparticles at an organic medium via seed-mediated growth method.In brief,at relatively low Cu ratios,quasi-spherical Au-Cu nanoparticles with conventional core-shell structures are the majority products,in which the Cu shell thickness increases with the increase of Cu precursor ratios.The dif-ference is that at high Cu ratios,the Cu shells no longer increase their thickness,but evolve into a dendritic structure.Interestingly,the core-shell Au-Cu nanoparticles with dendritic Cu shells could be transformed into interesting Au-Cu cage-bell structures after a ripening process at elevated temperature.Further,through galvanic replacement reaction with Pt precursors,the thin Cu shells could be converted into CuPt alloy shells on the Au cores,which exhibit enhanced activity towards methanol oxidation reaction with satisfactory durability,in comparison with that of commercial Pt/C catalysts.展开更多
A novel and facile seed-mediated method for the preparation of monodispersed gold nanorods(GNRs) is presented by introducing pyrogallol as a reductant. Fast Fourier transformation of high-resolution transmission elect...A novel and facile seed-mediated method for the preparation of monodispersed gold nanorods(GNRs) is presented by introducing pyrogallol as a reductant. Fast Fourier transformation of high-resolution transmission electron microscopy reveals that the synthesized GNRs are single crystalline. The longitudinal surface plasmon resonance of GNRs can be finely tuned by varying silver ion concentrations or seed amounts. Also, both thick(diameter >30 nm) and thin(diameter <10 nm) GNRs with exceptional monodispersity can be well prepared by this method. These findings indicate that this method has a greater performance in controlling the morphology of GNRs than that of traditional approach with ascorbic acid as a reductant.展开更多
Arrays of noble metal nanoparticles show potential applications in （bio-）sensing, optical storage, surface-enhanced spectroscopy, and waveguides. For all such potential devices, controlling the size, morphology, and...Arrays of noble metal nanoparticles show potential applications in （bio-）sensing, optical storage, surface-enhanced spectroscopy, and waveguides. For all such potential devices, controlling the size, morphology, and interparticle spacing of the nanoparticles is very important. Here, we combine seed-mediated growth with nanosphere lithography to study the controllable growth of gold nanoparticles （Au NPs）, in which the self-assembly monolayer of polystyrene （PS） on a silicon surface is used to guide the modification of allaunesilanes and the subsequent adsorption of gold seeds; seed-mediated growth is applied to controlling the morphology and size of Au NPs. The size of adsorption region （determining the number of adsorbed gold seeds） is controlled by etching PS microspheres with oxygen plasma or annealing PS microspheres at the glass transition temperature. The size and morphology of the Au NPs are controlled by changing growth conditions. In such a way, we have achieved the dual control of the obtained Au NPs. Preliminary results show that this strategy holds a great promise. This approach can also be extended to a wide range of materials and substrates.展开更多
Silver nanoplates,with average thickness about 5 nm and average tunable size from 40 to 500 nm,were synthesized via a simple room-temperature solution-phase chemical reduction method in the presence of appropriate con...Silver nanoplates,with average thickness about 5 nm and average tunable size from 40 to 500 nm,were synthesized via a simple room-temperature solution-phase chemical reduction method in the presence of appropriate concentration of trisodium citrate and silver seeds.The optical in-plane dipole plasmon resonance bands of these silver plates could be tuned from 520 to 1100 nm.Control experiments were explored for understanding of the growth mechanism.It is found that both the amount of citrate ions and the small silver seeds added to the growth solution are the key to controlling the silver nanoplates without changing their thickness and crystal structure.Small silver seeds are found to play an important role in the formation of large thin silver nanoplates when poly（vinylpyrrolidone）（PVP） are used as capping agent.展开更多
This review highlights work from the authors' laboratory on the recent development of seed-mediated growth method for noble metal nanocrystals. The seed-mediated growth method has become one of the most efficient ...This review highlights work from the authors' laboratory on the recent development of seed-mediated growth method for noble metal nanocrystals. The seed-mediated growth method has become one of the most efficient and versatile methods for synthe-sizing high-quality noble metal nanocrystals. The seed-mediated growth method can separate the nucleation and growth stages of metal nanocrystals, and thus provide better control over the size, size distribution, and crystallographic evolution of metal nanocrystals. Because of its high controllability, the seed-mediated growth method is especially promising in providing mechanistic insights into the growth mechanisms of noble metal nanocrystals. In this review, the thermodynamic and kinetic parameters for the nucleation and growth of noble metal nanocrystals are systematically summarized. Mechanistic understanding of these parameters is provided. These studies provide useful guidelines for the rational design and synthesis of novel noble metal nanocrystals with high quality.展开更多
Triangular silver nanoplates in aqueous solvent and on the surface of quartz substrate have been synthesized by seed-mediated growth approach in the presence of tannin.It was found that both the amount of tannin and t...Triangular silver nanoplates in aqueous solvent and on the surface of quartz substrate have been synthesized by seed-mediated growth approach in the presence of tannin.It was found that both the amount of tannin and the small triangular silver nanoplate seeds added to the growth solution are the key factors to modulation absorption band of triangular silver nanoplates.The optical in-plane dipole surface plasmon resonance (SPR) bands of these Ag nanoplates can be tuned from 608 nm to 980 nm via tannin deoxidization method.The formation mechanism of triangular silver nanoplates was proposed.The tannin deoxidization method realizes a convenient modulation of the absorption band of Ag nanostructures within the visible near-infrared (IR) region both in aqueous solvent and on substrates under mild conditions.展开更多
We report the synthesis of gold nanorods （NRs） by seed-mediated growth method. A small amount of different shapes such as triangles, hexagons and a large amount of rods are obtained by varying the proportion of seed...We report the synthesis of gold nanorods （NRs） by seed-mediated growth method. A small amount of different shapes such as triangles, hexagons and a large amount of rods are obtained by varying the proportion of seed to metal salt, adding NaOH to growth solution as well as using the seed solution of CTAB-capped agent. The gold nanorod （NR） formation yield is improved. Meanwhile, the growth mechanism of high yield gold NRs is discussed. The high quality single size NRs can be separated from polydisperse samples using surfactant-assisted nanorod self-assembly. The gold NRs synthesized were characterized by transmission electron microscopy （TEM） and UV-vis spectroscopy.展开更多
We report a comparative investigation of the characteristics of modified TiO2 nanorods grown on conducting indium tin oxide glass （/TO） substrates by two different hydrothermal methods： the direct method by which r...We report a comparative investigation of the characteristics of modified TiO2 nanorods grown on conducting indium tin oxide glass （/TO） substrates by two different hydrothermal methods： the direct method by which rutile TiOa nanorods were grown directly on plain ITO substrates and the seed-mediated one using which a thin film of anatase TiO2 seed layer was laid down by spin coating and annealing prior to the growth of TiO2 nanorods on it. Microstructural analysis of the samples using X-ray diffraction confirmed their rutile nature. The average crystallite size estimated using Scherrer＇s formula was found to fall in the range of 11-17 nm in both cases. Field emission scanning electron microscopy revealed the nanorod morphologies of a dandelion arrangement in the case of directly grown ones and a proper vertical orientation in the case of the seed-mediated method. UV-Vis spectroscopy analysis of both the samples exhibited redshifts with intense absorption of visible radiation, and the seed-mediated one was found to possess an increased bandgap. The transport nature of the samples was characterized by significant increase in both dark and photocurrents. The results show that the dark and photocurrent values of the directly grown TiO2 nanorods were greater than those of the seed-mediated ones by - seven and five folds, respectively, and therefore, it could serve as efficient photoelectrodes in dye-sensitized solar cells.展开更多
Silver nanostructure compact aggregates on the surface of quartz glass substrates were synthesized by small gold seeds with the assistance of poly vinypyrrolidone (PVP) and irradiation of fluorescent lamp. The formati...Silver nanostructure compact aggregates on the surface of quartz glass substrates were synthesized by small gold seeds with the assistance of poly vinypyrrolidone (PVP) and irradiation of fluorescent lamp. The formation mechanism of silver nanostructure was proposed. The results show that both the PVP and the light irradiation are the keys to in-situ growth of silver nanostructure on quartz glass substrates. The silver nanostructure of the substrates which finally grow up to 150 nm after 20 h irradiation exhibits irregular shape, and some of nanoparticles stack to form bilayer. A new broad band appears in the absorption spectra of the substrates due to the interparticle dipole?dipole coupling of surface plasmon resonance response of the triangular silver nanoplate particles, which red shifts 600?800 nm as the particles grow up. The substrates have an emission band centered at 400 nm on their fluorescence spectra, and the fluorescence intensity shrinks as the average size of the silver nanostructure increases. The strongest SERS signal of SERS-active substrate is fabricated after 16 h.展开更多
Indium hydroxide(ln(OH)3)and indium oxide(ln2O3)particles are typically synthesized through chemical precipitation methods.In this study,we used a seed-mediated growth method and microreactor-based synthesis process.W...Indium hydroxide(ln(OH)3)and indium oxide(ln2O3)particles are typically synthesized through chemical precipitation methods.In this study,we used a seed-mediated growth method and microreactor-based synthesis process.We synthesized cubic In(OH)3 particles with a crystal size of 172 nm from an 5%(w/v)indium chloride solution.The In2O3 particles synthesized through the thermal decomposition of In(OH)3 particles featured crystals up to 90 nm in size with an average size of 73 nm,which were much larger than the 20-30 nm In2O3 particles synthesized by a traditional precipitation method.The concentrations of the seed and growth solutions were varied from 1%to 7%(w/v).The crystal size of the particles increased with the concentration of the seed and growth solutions;this tendency was the opposite to that observed for the precipitation method.Through the use of a 5%(w/v)seed solution,the flow rate of the growth solution was varied from 1 to 10mL/min,and the resulting crystal size decreased as the flow rate was increased.To understand the reasons for this trend,the growth rate of the crystals was determined at different flow rates(i.e.,1,5,and 10 mL/min).A growth model consistent with the experimental results was established,which demonstrated that slow addition of the growth solution was beneficial for preparing large indium hydroxide particles.展开更多
This paper presents an approach to synthesis of gold nanoparticles with different morphologies and investigation of the relationship between morphologies and their optical properties.Spherical gold nanoparticles with ...This paper presents an approach to synthesis of gold nanoparticles with different morphologies and investigation of the relationship between morphologies and their optical properties.Spherical gold nanoparticles with different sizes are synthesized via reduction method.Using seed-mediated solution growth method,gold nanoparticles with shuttle,star and stick shapes can be obtained.The sizes and morphologies of the gold nanoparticles are characterized by transmission electron microscopy （TEM）.The characterization results illustrate the growth process of the gold nanoparticles with different morphologies.Absorption spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy measurements are performed to demonstrate the relationship between the morphologies and optical properties.The results of Raman characterization show that the gold nanoparticles with different morphologies can be used to probe molecules with different concentrations.展开更多
Seed-mediated growth is the most general way to controllably synthesize bimetal nano-heterostructures. Despite successful instances through trial and error were reported, the way for second metal depositing on the see...Seed-mediated growth is the most general way to controllably synthesize bimetal nano-heterostructures. Despite successful instances through trial and error were reported, the way for second metal depositing on the seed. namely whether the symmetry of resulted nano-heterostructure follows the original crystal symmetry of seed metal, remains an unpredictable issue to date. In this work, we propose that the ther- modynamic factor, i.e., the difference of equilibrium electrochemical potentials （corresponding to their Fermi levels） of two metals in the growth solution, plays a key role for the symmetry breaking of bimetal nano-heterostructures during the seed-mediated growth. As a proof-of-principle experiment, by revers- ing the relative position of Fermi levels of the Pd nanocube seeds and the second metal Au with changing the concentration of reductant （L-ascorbic acid） in the growth solution, the structure of as-prepared prod- ucts successfully evolved from centrosymmetric Pd@Au core-shell trisoctabedra to asymmetric Pd-Au hetero-dimers. The idea was further demonstrated by the growth of Ag on the Pd seeds. The present work intends to reveal the origin of symmetry breaking in the seed-mediated growth of nano-heterostructures from the viewpoint of thermodynamics, and these new insights will in turn help to achieve rational con- struction of bimetal nano-heterostructures with soecific functions.展开更多
文摘Environmental and food safety concerns over transgenic plants have hampered commercial applications of transgenic plant technology worldwide. A recently developed transgene deletion technology, named gene deletor technology, may be used to eliminate all transgenes from pollen, seeds, fruits or other organs when functions of transgenes are no longer needed or their presence may cause concerns. In this review, I will briefly describe the principle of the gene deletor technology with major supporting experimental data. I will also explain main characteristics and requirements of the gene deletor technology. Finally, I will discuss the gene deletor technology in the context of how it may be used to alleviate environmental and food safety concerns over transgenic plants in vegetatively and sexually propagated plants, to prevent volunteer transgenic plants, to protect proprietary transgenic technologies, and to allow farmers to reuse their harvested seeds for future planting.
基金supported by the US National Science Foundation(CHE-1808788).
文摘Controlled growth of islands on plasmonic metal nanoparticles represents a novel strategy in creating unique morphologies that are difficult to achieve by conventional colloidal synthesis processes,where the nanoparticle morphologies are typically determined by the preferential development of certain crystal facets.This work exploits an effective surface-engineering strategy for site-selective island growth of Au on anisotropic Au nanostructures.Selective ligand modification is first employed to direct the site-selective deposition of a thin transition layer of a secondary metal,e.g.,Pd,which has a considerable lattice mismatch with Au.The selective deposition of Pd on the original seeds produces a high contrast in the surface strain that guides the subsequent site-selective growth of Au islands.This strategy proves effective in not only inducing the island growth of Au on Au nanostructures but also manipulating the location of grown islands.By taking advantage of the iodide-assisted oxidative ripening process and the surface strain profile on Au nanostructures,we further demonstrate the precise control of the islands’number,coverage,and wetting degree,allowing fine-tuning of nanoparticles’optical properties.
基金We thank Department of Science and Technology,Government of India for constantly supporting our research program on nanomaterials.
文摘A method for the synthesis of a new class of anisotropic mesostructured gold material,which we call“mesoflowers”,is demonstrated.The mesoflowers,unsymmetrical at the single particle level,resemble several natural objects and are made up of a large number of stems with unusual pentagonal symmetry.The mesostructured material has a high degree of structural purity with star-shaped,nano-structured stems.The mesoflowers were obtained in high yield,without any contaminating structures and their size could be tuned from nano-to meso-dimensions.The dependence of various properties of the mesoflowers on their conditions of formation was studied.The near-infrared infrared(NIR IR)absorption exhibited by the mesoflowers has been used for the development of infrared filters.Using a prototypical device,we demonstrated the utility of the gold mesoflowers in reducing the temperature rise in an enclosure exposed to daylight in peak summer.These structures showed a high degree of surface-enhanced Raman scattering(SERS)activity compared to spherical analogues.SERS-based imaging of a single mesoflower is demonstrated.The high SERS activity and NIR IR absorption property open up a number of exciting applications in diverse areas.
基金supports from the National Natural Science Foundation of China(22272179,22075290,21972068)Beijing Natural Science Foundation(Z200012)+1 种基金CAS Project for Young Scientists in Basic Research(YSBR-044)State Key Laboratory of Biofibers and Eco-textiles,Qingdao University(KFKT202206).
文摘Core-shell nanostructures usually exhibit tunable catalytic properties in comparison with their single core or shell counterpart due to electronic interaction and lattice strain between the core and shell regions.Herein,we report the intriguing evolution of copper(Cu)shells on the gold(Au)cores at different Au/Cu precursor ratios during the synthesis of core-shell Au-Cu nanoparticles at an organic medium via seed-mediated growth method.In brief,at relatively low Cu ratios,quasi-spherical Au-Cu nanoparticles with conventional core-shell structures are the majority products,in which the Cu shell thickness increases with the increase of Cu precursor ratios.The dif-ference is that at high Cu ratios,the Cu shells no longer increase their thickness,but evolve into a dendritic structure.Interestingly,the core-shell Au-Cu nanoparticles with dendritic Cu shells could be transformed into interesting Au-Cu cage-bell structures after a ripening process at elevated temperature.Further,through galvanic replacement reaction with Pt precursors,the thin Cu shells could be converted into CuPt alloy shells on the Au cores,which exhibit enhanced activity towards methanol oxidation reaction with satisfactory durability,in comparison with that of commercial Pt/C catalysts.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(61271056,61301039,61102031,21205036)Hunan Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China(13JJ4091,12JJ6060)+2 种基金China Postdoctoral Science Foundation funded projects(2014M550261,2014T70459)the Scientific Research Fund of Hunan Provincial Education Department(13A003)the Economical Forest Cultivation and Utilization of 2011 Collaborative Innovation Center in Hunan Province[(2013)448]
文摘A novel and facile seed-mediated method for the preparation of monodispersed gold nanorods(GNRs) is presented by introducing pyrogallol as a reductant. Fast Fourier transformation of high-resolution transmission electron microscopy reveals that the synthesized GNRs are single crystalline. The longitudinal surface plasmon resonance of GNRs can be finely tuned by varying silver ion concentrations or seed amounts. Also, both thick(diameter >30 nm) and thin(diameter <10 nm) GNRs with exceptional monodispersity can be well prepared by this method. These findings indicate that this method has a greater performance in controlling the morphology of GNRs than that of traditional approach with ascorbic acid as a reductant.
基金Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China （Grant No 10334060） and The State Key Development Program for Basic Research of China （Grant No 2005CB623602）.
文摘Arrays of noble metal nanoparticles show potential applications in （bio-）sensing, optical storage, surface-enhanced spectroscopy, and waveguides. For all such potential devices, controlling the size, morphology, and interparticle spacing of the nanoparticles is very important. Here, we combine seed-mediated growth with nanosphere lithography to study the controllable growth of gold nanoparticles （Au NPs）, in which the self-assembly monolayer of polystyrene （PS） on a silicon surface is used to guide the modification of allaunesilanes and the subsequent adsorption of gold seeds; seed-mediated growth is applied to controlling the morphology and size of Au NPs. The size of adsorption region （determining the number of adsorbed gold seeds） is controlled by etching PS microspheres with oxygen plasma or annealing PS microspheres at the glass transition temperature. The size and morphology of the Au NPs are controlled by changing growth conditions. In such a way, we have achieved the dual control of the obtained Au NPs. Preliminary results show that this strategy holds a great promise. This approach can also be extended to a wide range of materials and substrates.
基金Project (10804101) supported by the National Nature Science Foundation of ChinaProject (2007CB815102) supported by the National Basic Research Program of ChinaProject (2007B08007) supported by the Science and Technology Development Foundation of Chinese Academy of Engineering Physics
文摘Silver nanoplates,with average thickness about 5 nm and average tunable size from 40 to 500 nm,were synthesized via a simple room-temperature solution-phase chemical reduction method in the presence of appropriate concentration of trisodium citrate and silver seeds.The optical in-plane dipole plasmon resonance bands of these silver plates could be tuned from 520 to 1100 nm.Control experiments were explored for understanding of the growth mechanism.It is found that both the amount of citrate ions and the small silver seeds added to the growth solution are the key to controlling the silver nanoplates without changing their thickness and crystal structure.Small silver seeds are found to play an important role in the formation of large thin silver nanoplates when poly（vinylpyrrolidone）（PVP） are used as capping agent.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (21175126)
文摘This review highlights work from the authors' laboratory on the recent development of seed-mediated growth method for noble metal nanocrystals. The seed-mediated growth method has become one of the most efficient and versatile methods for synthe-sizing high-quality noble metal nanocrystals. The seed-mediated growth method can separate the nucleation and growth stages of metal nanocrystals, and thus provide better control over the size, size distribution, and crystallographic evolution of metal nanocrystals. Because of its high controllability, the seed-mediated growth method is especially promising in providing mechanistic insights into the growth mechanisms of noble metal nanocrystals. In this review, the thermodynamic and kinetic parameters for the nucleation and growth of noble metal nanocrystals are systematically summarized. Mechanistic understanding of these parameters is provided. These studies provide useful guidelines for the rational design and synthesis of novel noble metal nanocrystals with high quality.
基金Project(10804101) supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of ChinaProject(2007CB815102) supported by the National Basic Research Program of ChinaProject(2007B08007) supported by the Science and Technology Development Foundation of Chinese Academy of Engineering Physics
文摘Triangular silver nanoplates in aqueous solvent and on the surface of quartz substrate have been synthesized by seed-mediated growth approach in the presence of tannin.It was found that both the amount of tannin and the small triangular silver nanoplate seeds added to the growth solution are the key factors to modulation absorption band of triangular silver nanoplates.The optical in-plane dipole surface plasmon resonance (SPR) bands of these Ag nanoplates can be tuned from 608 nm to 980 nm via tannin deoxidization method.The formation mechanism of triangular silver nanoplates was proposed.The tannin deoxidization method realizes a convenient modulation of the absorption band of Ag nanostructures within the visible near-infrared (IR) region both in aqueous solvent and on substrates under mild conditions.
基金Funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (No.pp002-68678)the China Scholarship Council Program (No.2006180267)
文摘We report the synthesis of gold nanorods （NRs） by seed-mediated growth method. A small amount of different shapes such as triangles, hexagons and a large amount of rods are obtained by varying the proportion of seed to metal salt, adding NaOH to growth solution as well as using the seed solution of CTAB-capped agent. The gold nanorod （NR） formation yield is improved. Meanwhile, the growth mechanism of high yield gold NRs is discussed. The high quality single size NRs can be separated from polydisperse samples using surfactant-assisted nanorod self-assembly. The gold NRs synthesized were characterized by transmission electron microscopy （TEM） and UV-vis spectroscopy.
基金partially funded by the Loyola College-Times of India Major Research Grants (6LCTOI14LIF002)
文摘We report a comparative investigation of the characteristics of modified TiO2 nanorods grown on conducting indium tin oxide glass （/TO） substrates by two different hydrothermal methods： the direct method by which rutile TiOa nanorods were grown directly on plain ITO substrates and the seed-mediated one using which a thin film of anatase TiO2 seed layer was laid down by spin coating and annealing prior to the growth of TiO2 nanorods on it. Microstructural analysis of the samples using X-ray diffraction confirmed their rutile nature. The average crystallite size estimated using Scherrer＇s formula was found to fall in the range of 11-17 nm in both cases. Field emission scanning electron microscopy revealed the nanorod morphologies of a dandelion arrangement in the case of directly grown ones and a proper vertical orientation in the case of the seed-mediated method. UV-Vis spectroscopy analysis of both the samples exhibited redshifts with intense absorption of visible radiation, and the seed-mediated one was found to possess an increased bandgap. The transport nature of the samples was characterized by significant increase in both dark and photocurrents. The results show that the dark and photocurrent values of the directly grown TiO2 nanorods were greater than those of the seed-mediated ones by - seven and five folds, respectively, and therefore, it could serve as efficient photoelectrodes in dye-sensitized solar cells.
基金Projects(10804101,60908023)supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of ChinaProject(2007CB815102)supported by the National Basic Research Program of ChinaProject(2007B08007)supported by the Science and Technology Development Foundation of Chinese Academy of Engineering Physics
文摘Silver nanostructure compact aggregates on the surface of quartz glass substrates were synthesized by small gold seeds with the assistance of poly vinypyrrolidone (PVP) and irradiation of fluorescent lamp. The formation mechanism of silver nanostructure was proposed. The results show that both the PVP and the light irradiation are the keys to in-situ growth of silver nanostructure on quartz glass substrates. The silver nanostructure of the substrates which finally grow up to 150 nm after 20 h irradiation exhibits irregular shape, and some of nanoparticles stack to form bilayer. A new broad band appears in the absorption spectra of the substrates due to the interparticle dipole?dipole coupling of surface plasmon resonance response of the triangular silver nanoplate particles, which red shifts 600?800 nm as the particles grow up. The substrates have an emission band centered at 400 nm on their fluorescence spectra, and the fluorescence intensity shrinks as the average size of the silver nanostructure increases. The strongest SERS signal of SERS-active substrate is fabricated after 16 h.
基金This work was financially supported by the National Basic Research Foundation of China(Grant No.2013CB733600)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant Nos.21276140,20976096 and 21036002).
文摘Indium hydroxide(ln(OH)3)and indium oxide(ln2O3)particles are typically synthesized through chemical precipitation methods.In this study,we used a seed-mediated growth method and microreactor-based synthesis process.We synthesized cubic In(OH)3 particles with a crystal size of 172 nm from an 5%(w/v)indium chloride solution.The In2O3 particles synthesized through the thermal decomposition of In(OH)3 particles featured crystals up to 90 nm in size with an average size of 73 nm,which were much larger than the 20-30 nm In2O3 particles synthesized by a traditional precipitation method.The concentrations of the seed and growth solutions were varied from 1%to 7%(w/v).The crystal size of the particles increased with the concentration of the seed and growth solutions;this tendency was the opposite to that observed for the precipitation method.Through the use of a 5%(w/v)seed solution,the flow rate of the growth solution was varied from 1 to 10mL/min,and the resulting crystal size decreased as the flow rate was increased.To understand the reasons for this trend,the growth rate of the crystals was determined at different flow rates(i.e.,1,5,and 10 mL/min).A growth model consistent with the experimental results was established,which demonstrated that slow addition of the growth solution was beneficial for preparing large indium hydroxide particles.
基金Merit-funded Science and Technology Project for Returned Oversea Scholars from Ministry of Human and Social Security of Shanxi provinceNatural Science Foundation for Young Scientists of Shanxi province(No.2011011020-2)Shanxi Province Foundation for Returness(No.2008062)
文摘This paper presents an approach to synthesis of gold nanoparticles with different morphologies and investigation of the relationship between morphologies and their optical properties.Spherical gold nanoparticles with different sizes are synthesized via reduction method.Using seed-mediated solution growth method,gold nanoparticles with shuttle,star and stick shapes can be obtained.The sizes and morphologies of the gold nanoparticles are characterized by transmission electron microscopy （TEM）.The characterization results illustrate the growth process of the gold nanoparticles with different morphologies.Absorption spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy measurements are performed to demonstrate the relationship between the morphologies and optical properties.The results of Raman characterization show that the gold nanoparticles with different morphologies can be used to probe molecules with different concentrations.
基金supported by the National Basic Research Program of China(2015CB93230)the National Key Research and Development Program of China(2017YFA0206801)+1 种基金the National Natural Science Foundation of China(21333008,21671163,21721001,and 21773190)the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities(20720160026)
文摘Seed-mediated growth is the most general way to controllably synthesize bimetal nano-heterostructures. Despite successful instances through trial and error were reported, the way for second metal depositing on the seed. namely whether the symmetry of resulted nano-heterostructure follows the original crystal symmetry of seed metal, remains an unpredictable issue to date. In this work, we propose that the ther- modynamic factor, i.e., the difference of equilibrium electrochemical potentials （corresponding to their Fermi levels） of two metals in the growth solution, plays a key role for the symmetry breaking of bimetal nano-heterostructures during the seed-mediated growth. As a proof-of-principle experiment, by revers- ing the relative position of Fermi levels of the Pd nanocube seeds and the second metal Au with changing the concentration of reductant （L-ascorbic acid） in the growth solution, the structure of as-prepared prod- ucts successfully evolved from centrosymmetric Pd@Au core-shell trisoctabedra to asymmetric Pd-Au hetero-dimers. The idea was further demonstrated by the growth of Ag on the Pd seeds. The present work intends to reveal the origin of symmetry breaking in the seed-mediated growth of nano-heterostructures from the viewpoint of thermodynamics, and these new insights will in turn help to achieve rational con- struction of bimetal nano-heterostructures with soecific functions.
