A quantum chemistry approach based on the analogy with π-system in polymers for a rapid estimation of the resonance wavelength of nanoparticle systems

In this paper, the Variational Method based on the Huckel Theory is applied to NPs chain and aggregate systems in order to estimate the energy of the plasmon and, in turn, the resonance wavelength shift, which is caused by the interaction of adjacent NPs. This method is based on the analogies of NPs dipole interactions and the pi-system in molecules. Differently from the Hartree-Fock method that is a self-consistent model, in this approach, the input data that this method requires is the dimer energy shift with respect to single NPs. This enables us to acquire a simultaneous estimation of the wavefunctions of the NPs system as well as the expectation energy value of every kind of NPs system. The main advantage of this approach is the rapid response and ease of application to every kind of geometries and spacing from the linear chain to clusters, without the necessity of a time-consuming calculation. The results obtained with this model are closely aligned to related literature and open the way to further development of this methodology for investigating other properties of NPs systems

Nanoparticle enhanced laser ablation and consequent effects on laser induced plasma optical emission

In this paper the plasmon enhanced ablation for elemental analysis is investigated with several experiments in order to point out the crucial questions concerning the laser matter interaction under the effect of plasmonic coupling between the nanoparticle (NP) system and the laser ablation pulse. The correlation between the electromagnetic field enhancement and the signal enhancement during NP enhanced laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (NELIBS), as well as the laser matter interaction at the nanoscale, is discussed in the case of noble metal NPs deposited on metal samples. The results suggest that, while laser pulse energy is concentrated in the space between the NPs, the NP system is shielded by the field enhancement distribution after the laser pulse interacts with the plasmons of the NP system. Finally the comparison of the laser energy transfer to the sample between NELIBS and conventional LIBS is discussed

Effect of spherical gold nanoparticles size on nanoparticle enhanced Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy

Recently the use of nanoparticles (NPs) for enhancing Laser ablation based analytical techniques, is getting a growing interest in analytical atomic spectroscopy. This technique is based on the deposition of NPs on the sample surface before the laser irradiation. The effect of the coupling of NPs plasmon with the laser pulse allows a notable improvement of the analytical signal. In this study, different sizes of spherical gold nanoparticles (AuNPs), 10 nm, 40 nm, 60 nm and 100 nm, have been employed to clarify the role of the NPs size on the signal enhancement during Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS). Therefore, a systematic investigation of the Nanoparticle Enhanced LIBS (NELIBS) have been done by varying the key experimental parameters as NPs surface concentration, laser fluence and laser spot size. The experimental results show that improvement of the emission signal during NELIBS occurs at specific NPs surface concentration and that this critical concentration depends on the NP size. When the concentration has been optimized for each NP size, the plasmon-enhanced ablation is moderately affected by the NPs size

Micromechanical tensile testing of cellulose-reinforced electrospun fibers using a template transfer method (TTM)

NatuurwetenskappeChemie & PolimeerwetenskapPlease help us populate SUNScholar with the post print version of this article. It can be e-mailed to: [email protected]

Sensing nanoparticle-protein corona using nanoparticle enhanced Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy signal enhancement

Recently nanoparticle enhanced Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (NELIBS) is getting a growing interest as an effective alternative method for improving the analytical performance of LIBS. On the other hand, the plasmonic effect during laser ablation can be used for a different task rather than elemental analysis. In this paper, the dependence of NELIBS emission signal enhancement on nanoparticle-protein solutions dried on a reference substrate (metallic titanium) was investigated. Two proteins were studied: Human Serum Albumin (HSA) and Cytochrome C (CytC). Both proteins have a strong affinity for the gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) due to the bonding between the single free exterior thiol (associated with a cysteine residue) and the gold surface to form a stable protein corona. Then, since the protein sizes are vastly different, a different number of protein units is needed to cover AuNP surface to form a protein layer. The NP-protein solution was dropped and dried onto the titanium substrate. Then the NELIBS signal enhancement of Ti emission lines was correlated to the solution characteristics as determined with Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS), Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) spectroscopy and Laser Doppler Electrophoresis (LDE) for ζ-potential determination. Moreover, the dried solutions were studied with TEM (Transmission Electron Microscopy) for the inspection of the inter-particle distance. The structural effect of the NP-protein conjugates on the NELIBS signal reveals that NELIBS can be used to determine the number of protein units required to form the nanoparticle-protein corona with good accuracy. Although the investigated NP-protein systems are simple cases in biological applications, this work demonstrates, for the first time, a different use of NELIBS that is beyond elemental analysis and it opens the way for sensing the nanoparticle protein corona

A transparent hybrid of nanocrystalline cellulose and amorphous calcium carbonate nanoparticles

Nanocellulose hybrids are promising candidates for biodegradable multifunctional materials. Hybrids of nanocrystalline cellulose (NCC) and amorphous calcium carbonate (ACC) nanoparticles were obtained through a facile chemical approach over a wide range of compositions. Controlling the interactions between NCC and ACC results in hard, transparent structures with tunable composition, homogeneity and anisotropy. © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2011

Influence of sample surface topography on laser ablation process

In this work we discuss how sample surface topography can significantly influence the laser ablation (LA) process and, in turn, the analytical response of the LA Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) method. Six different surface topographies were prepared on a certified aluminium alloy sample BAM 311 and SRM NIST 610 to investigate the phenomenon. All the samples were repetitively measured by LA-ICP-MS using a spot by spot analysis. The effect of laser fluence in the range of 1–13 J/cm2 was studied. For majority of measured isotopes, the ICP-MS signal was amplified with roughening of the sample surface. A stronger effect was observed on the Al alloy sample, where the more than sixty-time enhancement was achieved in comparison to the polished surface of the sample. Since the effect of surface topography is different for each analyte, it can be stated that surface properties affect not only the ICP-MS response, but also elemental fractionation in LA. The presented results show that different surface topographies may lead to misleading data interpretation because even when applying ablation preshots, the signal of individual elements changes. The utmost care must be taken when preparing the surface for single shot analysis or chemical mapping. On the other hand, by roughening the sample surface, it is possible to significantly increase the sensitivity of the method for individual analytes and supress a matrix effect

Highly Conducting, Strong Nanocomposites Based on Nanocellulose-Assisted Aqueous Dispersions of Single-Wall Carbon Nanotubes

It is challenging to obtain high-quality dispersions of single-wall nanotubes (SWNTs) in composite matrix materials, in order to reach the full potential of mechanical and electronic properties. The most widely used matrix materials are polymers, and the route to achieving high quality dispersions of SWNT is mainly chemical functionalization of the SWNT. This leads to increased cost, a loss of strength and lower conductivity. In addition full potential of colloidal self-assembly cannot be fully exploited in a polymer matrix. This may limit the possibilities for assembly of highly ordered structural nanocomposites. Here we show that nanofibrillated cellulose (NFC) can act as an excellent aqueous dispersion agent for as-prepared SWNTs, making possible low-cost exfoliation and purification of SWNTs with dispersion limits exceeding 40 wt %. The NFC:SWNT dispersion may also offer a cheap and sustainable alternative for molecular self-assembly of advanced composites. We demonstrate semitransparent conductive films, aerogels and anisotropic microscale fibers with nanoscale composite structure. The NFC:SWNT nanopaper shows increased strength at 3 wt % SWNT, reaching a modulus of 13.3 GPa, and a strength of 307 MPa. The anisotropic microfiber composites have maximum conductivities above 200 S cm^–1 and current densities reaching 1400 A cm^–2