Carbon supported CdSe nanocrystals

Insights to the mechanism of CdSe nanoparticle attachment to carbon nanotubes following the hot injection method are discussed. It was observed that the presence of water improves the nanotube coverage while Cl containing media are responsible for the shape transformation of the nanoparticles and further attachment to the carbon lattice. The experiments also show that the mechanism taking place involves the right balance of several factors, namely, low passivated nanoparticle surface, particles with well-defined crystallographic facets, and interaction with an organics-free sp2 carbon lattice. Furthermore, this procedure can be extended to cover graphene by quantum dots.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure

Quantitative Evaluation of Supported Catalysts Key Properties from Electron Tomography Studies: Assessing Accuracy Using Material-Realistic 3D-Models

Electron Tomography (ET) reconstructions can be analysed, via segmentation techniques, to obtain quantitative, 3D-information about individual nanoparticles in supported catalysts. This includes values of parameters out of reach for any other technique, like their volume and surface, which are required to determine the dispersion of the supported particle system or the specific surface area of the support; two figures that play a major role in the performance of this type of catalysts. However, both the experimental conditions during the acquisition of the tilt series and the limited fidelity of the reconstruction and segmentation algorithms, restrict the quality of the ET results and introduce an undefined amount of error both in the qualitative features of the reconstructions and in all the quantitative parameters measured from them. Here, a method based on the use of well-defined 3D geometrical models (phantoms), with morphological features closely resembling those observed in experimental images of an Au/CeO2 catalyst, has been devised to provide a precise estimation of the accuracy of the reconstructions. Using this approach, the influence of noise and the number of projections on the errors of reconstructions obtained using a Total Variation Minimization in 3D (TVM-3D) algorithm have been determined. Likewise, the benefits of using smart denoising techniques based on Undecimated Wavelet Transforms (UWT) have been also evaluated. The results clearly reveal a large impact of usual noise levels on both the quality of the reconstructions and nanometrological measurement errors. Quantitative clues about the key role of UWT to largely compensate them are also provided.This work has received support from Projects: PID2020-113006-RB-I00, PID2019-110018GA-I00, PID2020-114594GB-C22, funded by MCIN/AEI/https://doi.org/10.13039/501100011033.This work has also been co-financed by Project ref: MAT2017-87579-R and by the 2014 -2020 ERDF Operational Programme and by the Department of Economy, Knowledge, Business and University of the Regional Government of Andalusia, Project references: FEDER-UCA18-107139, FEDERUCA18-106895 and P18-FR-1422. STEM ET experiments were recorded at the DME-UCA Node of the Spanish Singular Infrastructure for Electron Microscopy of Materials (ICTS ELECMI)

3D characterization of CdSe nanoparticles attached to carbon nanotubes

The crystallographic structure of CdSe nanoparticles attached to carbon nanotubes has been elucidated by means of high resolution transmission electron microscopy and high angle annular dark field scanning transmission electron microscopy tomography. CdSe rod-like nanoparticles, grown in solution together with carbon nanotubes, undergo a morphological transformation and become attached to the carbon surface. Electron tomography reveals that the nanoparticles are hexagonal-based with the (001) planes epitaxially matched to the outer graphene layer.Comment: 7 pages, 8 figure

El Panoràmic 2019 : l'economia de les associacions catalanes : recerca qualitativa

En aquesta edició l’anàlisi se centra en l'economia de les associacions i entitats catalane

The complete genome sequence of Chromobacterium violaceum reveals remarkable and exploitable bacterial adaptability

Chromobacterium violaceum is one of millions of species of free-living microorganisms that populate the soil and water in the extant areas of tropical biodiversity around the world. Its complete genome sequence reveals (i) extensive alternative pathways for energy generation, (ii) ≈500 ORFs for transport-related proteins, (iii) complex and extensive systems for stress adaptation and motility, and (iv) wide-spread utilization of quorum sensing for control of inducible systems, all of which underpin the versatility and adaptability of the organism. The genome also contains extensive but incomplete arrays of ORFs coding for proteins associated with mammalian pathogenicity, possibly involved in the occasional but often fatal cases of human C. violaceum infection. There is, in addition, a series of previously unknown but important enzymes and secondary metabolites including paraquat-inducible proteins, drug and heavy-metal-resistance proteins, multiple chitinases, and proteins for the detoxification of xenobiotics that may have biotechnological applications

Sodium-lithium niobate piezoceramics prepared by mechanochemical activation assisted methods

The environmental protection issues are driving forces nowadays in the scientific research on materials. From this point of view, it is a need to find alternatives to the present commercial piezoceramics, based on lead titanates-zirconates. The production of these materials requires handling of big amounts of lead oxide, which is highly toxic. Alkaline niobate piezoceramics are considered a good alternative for the future substitution of commercial piezoceramics by lead-free materials. However, the processing of these ceramics is difficult by conventional ceramic routes. There is a need to search for new routes of processing. The mechanochemical activation was used in this work for the first time to get Na1-xLixNbO3 ceramics in the Na rich region. Stoichiometric mixtures of Na2CO3 or Na2O, Li2CO3 and Nb2O5 were activated in a vibrating mill. A progressive broadening of the X-ray diffraction peaks of the mixtures was observed as the milling time increased. Nevertheless, the precursors did not became fully amorphous. The thermal evolution of the activated precursors was also tested. Ceramics were obtained by sintering or hot pressing and their piezoelectric properties were studied.<br><br>La protección medioambiental es uno de los factores que impulsan diversas áreas de la investigación en materiales. Existe la necesidad de la búsqueda de alternativas a las cerámicas ferro-piezoeléctricas comerciales basadas en los titanatos-circonatos de plomo, que requieren el manejo de grandes cantidades de óxido de plomo, muy tóxico, en su procesado. Los niobatos alcalinos se consideran buenos candidatos para esta sustitución. Sin embargo, es difícil conseguir cerámicas con altas densificaciones. De aquí la necesidad de investigar nuevas rutas de procesado. La activación mecanoquímica se ha utilizado por primera vez en este trabajo para obtener cerámicas de Na1-xLixNbO3, en la región rica en Na. Se han activado mecanoquímicamente mezclas estequiométricas de Na2CO3 o Na2O, Li2CO3 y Nb2O5 en un molino vibratorio. Se ha observado el progresivo ensanchamiento de los picos de difracción de rayos X de las mezclas a medida que se aumentaba el tiempo de molienda, pero los precursores no llegan a ser amorfos para la difracción de rayos X. A partir de estos precursores se han obtenido cerámicas mediante sinterización o prensado en caliente y estudiado sus propiedades piezoeléctricas