2 research outputs found
Enhancing CaP Biomimetic Growth on TiO<sub>2</sub> Cuboids Nanoparticles via Highly Reactive Facets
Pure decahedral anatase TiO<sub>2</sub> particles with
high content
of reactive {001} facets were obtained from titaniumĀ(IV) tetrachloride
(TiCl<sub>4</sub>) using a microemulsions droplet system at specific
conditions as chemical microreactor. The product was systematically
characterized by X-ray diffraction, field-emission scanning and transmission
electron microscopy (FE-SEM, TEM), N<sub>2</sub> adsorptionādesorption
isotherms, FT-IR and UVāvis spectroscopy, and photoluminescence
studies. The obtained cuboids around 90 nm in size have a uniform
and dense surface morphology with a BET specific surface area of 11.91
m<sup>2</sup> g<sup>ā1</sup> and a band gap energy (3.18 eV)
slightly inferior to the anatase dominated by the less-reactive {101}
surface (3.20 eV). The presence of reactive facets on titania anatase
favors the biomimetic growth of amorphous tricalcium phosphate after
the first day of immersion in simulated human plasma. The results
presented here can facilitate and improve the integration of anchored
implants and enhance the biological responses to the soft tissues
Effect of Ionization on the Behavior of <i>n</i>āEicosanephosphonic Acid Monolayers at the Air/Water Interface. Experimental Determinations and Molecular Dynamics Simulations
Monolayers of <i>n</i>-eicosanephosphonic
acid, EPA, were studied using a Langmuir balance and a Brewster angle
microscope at different subphase pH values to change the charge of
the polar headgroups (<i>Z</i><sub>av</sub>) from 0 to ā2.
Molecular dynamics simulations (MDS) results for |<i>Z</i><sub>av</sub>| = 0, 1, and 2 were compared with the experimental
ones. EPA monolayers behave as mixtures of mutually miscible species
(C<sub>20</sub>H<sub>41</sub>āPO<sub>3</sub>H<sub>2</sub>,
C<sub>20</sub>H<sub>41</sub>āPO<sub>3</sub>H<sup>ā</sup>, and C<sub>20</sub>H<sub>41</sub>āPO<sub>3</sub><sup>2ā</sup>, depending on the subphase pH). The order and compactness of the
monolayers decrease when increasing |<i>Z</i><sub>av</sub>|, while go from strongly interconnected by phosphonicāphosphonic
hydrogen bonds (|<i>Z</i><sub>av</sub>| = 0ā0.03)
through an equilibrium between the total cohesive energy and the electrostatic
repulsion between the charged polar groups (0.03 < |<i>Z</i><sub>av</sub>| < 1.6) to an entirely ionic monolayer (|<i>Z</i><sub>av</sub>| ā 2). MDS reveal for |<i>Z</i><sub>av</sub>| = 0 that the chains form spiralled nearly rounded
structures induced by the hydrogen-bonded network. When |<i>Z</i><sub>av</sub>| ā 1 fingering domains were identified. When <i>Z</i> ā 2, the headgroups are more disordered and distanced,
not only in the <i>xy</i> plane but also in the <i>z</i> direction, forming a rough layer and responding to compression
with a large plateau in the isotherm. The monolayers collapse behavior
is consistent with the structures and domains founds in the different
ionization states and their consequent in-plane rigidity: there is
a transition from a solid-like response at low pH subphases to a fluid-like
response at high pH subphases. The film area in the close-packed state
increases relatively slow when the polar headgroups are able to form
hydrogen bonds but increases to near twice that this value when |<i>Z</i><sub>av</sub>| ā 2. Other nanoscopic properties
of monolayers were also determined by MDS. The computational results
confirm the experimental findings and offer a nanoscopic perspective
on the structure and interactions in the phosphonate monolayers