Facile deposition of gold nanoparticle thin films on semi-permeable cellulose substrate

This study reports the facile method for the deposition of gold nanoparticle thin film onto a monoporous semi-permeable cellulose membrane through the diffusion of borohydride ions leading to the reduction of AuCl4− ions. The synthesis of gold nanoparticle thin film was deposited on one side of the membrane that was exposed to AuCl4− ions while the other side containing a reducing agent remained clear. The gold nanoparticle thin film exhibited a broad surface plasmon resonance (SPR) peak at 529 nm. Various characterization techniques were employed and all demonstrated the presence of gold thin film. The reported method represents a simplistic method for the deposition of gold nanoparticle thin films and various other metal nanoparticles may be deposited following this method

Selective adsorption of PVP on the surface of silver nanoparticles

The use of surfactants to affect the shape evolution of silver nanoparticles is explored. This allows one to fine-tune the morphological evolution and the optical properties of the metal nanoparticles. Polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP) has been used as a surfactant to control the growth of silver nanoparticles at room temperature. In this paper, molecular dynamics simulations were performed to understand regio-selective adsorption of PVP that leads to the preferential growth of silver nanoparticles in dimethylformamide (DMF). The interaction energies between PVP and Ag(1 1 0), Ag(1 0 0) and Ag(1 1 1) crystal planes were calculated and in addition the length density profile of the surfactant on silver surfaces was also examined. Importantly, it has been demonstrated that the length distribution profiles analysis obtained from the molecular dynamics study fully explained the adsorption of PVP on the surface of silver nanoparticles through the carbonyl group of the PVP ring. The application of molecular dynamics simulation technique is important in understanding the evolution of silver nanoparticles and is vital in choosing the right surfactants

Evaluating the antimicrobial activity and cytotoxicity of polydopamine capped silver and silver/polydopamine core-shell nanocomposites

Fabrication of bioactive nanomaterials with improved stability and low toxicity towards healthy mammalian cells have recently been a topic of interest. Bioactive metal nanomaterials such as silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) tend to lose their stability with time and become toxic to some extent, limiting their biological applications. AgNPs were separately encapsulated and loaded on the surface of a biocompatible polydopamine (PDA) to produce Ag-PDA and Ag@PDA nanocomposites to unravel the issue of agglomeration. PDA was coated through the self-polymerization of dopamine on the surface of AgNPs to produce Ag-PDA core-shells nanocomposites. For Ag@PDA, PDA spheres were first designed through self-polymerization of dopamine followed by in situ reduction of silver nitrate (AgNO3) without any reductant. AgNPs sizes were controlled by varying the concentration of AgNO3. The TEM micrograms showed monodispersed PDA spheres with an average diameter of 238 nm for Ag-PDA and Ag@PDA nanocomposites. Compared to Ag@PDA, Ag-PDA nanocomposites have shown insignificant toxicity towards human embryonic kidney (HEK-293T) and human dermal fibroblasts (HDF) cells with cell viability of over 95% at concentration of 250 µg/mL. A excellent antimicrobial activity of the nanocomposites was observed; with Ag@PDA possessing bactericidal effect at concentration as low as 12.5 µg/mL. Ag-PDA on the other hand were only found to be bacteriostatic against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria was also observed.The University of Witwatersrand School of Chemistry, The University of the Witwatersrand Postgraduate Merit Award and the National Research Foundation of South Africa.https://www.journals.elsevier.com/arabian-journal-of-chemistryhj2023Physic

The effects of carbon nanotubes on the electrocatalysis of hydrogen peroxide by metallo-phthalocyanines

The pre-grafted screen-printed gold electrode modified with phenyl-amino monolayer was investigated for covalent immobilization of phenyl-amine functionalized single-walled carbon nanotubes (PA-SWCNT) and metal tetra-amino phthalocyanine (MTAPc) using Schiff-base reactions with benzene-1,4-dicarbaldehyde (BDCA) as cross-linker. The PA-SWCNT and MTAPc modified electrodes were applied as hybrids for electrochemical sensing of H2O2. The step-by-step fabrication of the electrode was followed using electrochemistry, impedance spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy and all these techniques confirmed the fabrication and the immobilization of PA-SWCNT, MnTAPc and CoTAPc onto gold surfaces. The apparent electron transfer constant (kapp) showed that the carbon nanotubes and metallo-phthalocyanines hybrids possess good electron transfer properties compared to the bare, pre-grafted and the MTAPc modified gold electrode surfaces without PA-SWCNT. The electrochemical sensing of hydrogen peroxide was successful with PA-SWCNT–MTAPc hybrid systems showing higher electrocatalytic currents compared to the other electrodes. The analytical parameters obtained using chronoamperometry gave good linearity at H2O2 concentrations ranging from 1.0 to 30.0 μmol L−1. The values for the limit of detection (LoD) were found to be of the orders of 10−7 M using the 3δ for all the electrodes. The PA-SWCNT–MTAPc modified SPAuEs were much more sensitive compared to PA–MTAPc modified SPAuEs

Facile deposition of gold nanoparticle thin films on semi-permeable cellulose substrate

This study reports the facile method for the deposition of gold nanoparticle thin film onto a monoporous semi-permeable cellulose membrane through the diffusion of borohydride ions leading to the reduction of AuCl4− ions. The synthesis of gold nanoparticle thin film was deposited on one side of the membrane that was exposed to AuCl4− ions while the other side containing a reducing agent remained clear. The gold nanoparticle thin film exhibited a broad surface plasmon resonance (SPR) peak at 529 nm. Various characterization techniques were employed and all demonstrated the presence of gold thin film. The reported method represents a simplistic method for the deposition of gold nanoparticle thin films and various other metal nanoparticles may be deposited following this method

Selective adsorption of PVP on the surface of silver nanoparticles

The use of surfactants to affect the shape evolution of silver nanoparticles is explored. This allows one to fine-tune the morphological evolution and the optical properties of the metal nanoparticles. Polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP) has been used as a surfactant to control the growth of silver nanoparticles at room temperature. In this paper, molecular dynamics simulations were performed to understand regio-selective adsorption of PVP that leads to the preferential growth of silver nanoparticles in dimethylformamide (DMF). The interaction energies between PVP and Ag(1 1 0), Ag(1 0 0) and Ag(1 1 1) crystal planes were calculated and in addition the length density profile of the surfactant on silver surfaces was also examined. Importantly, it has been demonstrated that the length distribution profiles analysis obtained from the molecular dynamics study fully explained the adsorption of PVP on the surface of silver nanoparticles through the carbonyl group of the PVP ring. The application of molecular dynamics simulation technique is important in understanding the evolution of silver nanoparticles and is vital in choosing the right surfactants