4 research outputs found
Photoelectrochemical Hydrogen Production of TiO<sub>2</sub> Passivated Pt/Si-Nanowire Composite Photocathode
Si
nanowire (SiNW) arrays decorated with Pt nanoparticles are passivated
with TiO<sub>2</sub> surface layer using atomic layer deposition (ALD).
The sandwich structure TiO<sub>2</sub>/Pt/SiNW shows superior photoelectrochemical
performance to the control planar silicon electrodes, especially under
the concentrated solar radiation. Pt nanoparticles separated from
aqueous electrolyte by TiO<sub>2</sub> layer of more than 15 nm still
well catalyze surface photoelectrochemical hydrogen production without
direct contact to the electrolyte. This structural configuration shows
remarkable chemical stability and anodically shifted onset potential,
suggesting great promise for applications in solar hydrogen production.
The maximum photon-to-energy conversion efficiency of the TiO<sub>2</sub>/Pt/SiNW reaches 15.6%
Nanosize and Surface Charge Effects of Hydroxyapatite Nanoparticles on Red Blood Cell Suspensions
In this paper, the effects of size and surface charge
of hydroxyapatite
(HAP) particles on a red blood cell (RBC) suspension were studied.
Results showed that the HAP particles exhibited nanosize and surface
charge effects on the RBC suspension. Differing from HAP microparticles,
HAP nanoparticles induced some aggregation of the RBCs in the unstructured
agglutinates. HAP nanoparticles were adhered to the surface membrane
of the RBCs due to their remarkably higher adsorption capacity than
the HAP microparticles, resulting in the formation of a sunken appearance
(ācavesā) on the surface membrane of the RBCs without
rupturing the lipid bilayer. In the case of high negatively charged
HAP nanoparticles after heparin modification, the aggregation of the
RBCs induced by the HAP nanoparticles was inhibited. Such HAP nanoparticle-induced
aggregation of the RBCs could be attributed to the bridging force
via the electrostatic interaction between the positively charged binding
sites on the HAP surface and the negatively charged groups on the
surface of the RBCs. The surface charge of the HAP nanoparticles is
thus a crucial factor influencing the interaction between the HAP
nanoparticles and the RBCs
Synthesis of Cerium Molybdate Hierarchical Architectures and Their Novel Photocatalytic and Adsorption Performances
Cerium molybdate (CeāMo) hierarchical architectures (such as the flowerlike, microspheric, and bundlelike structure) are successfully synthesized via a facile route with the assistance of amino acid (lysine, Lys). The influences of reaction parameters on the crystal structure and morphology of CeāMo hierarchical architectures are investigated. Samples obtained are characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transform infrared spectra (FT-IR), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Furthermore, the photocatalytic and adsorption performances of samples obtained are investigated using different dyes, such as Cationic red X-GTL, Congo red, Methylene blue, Acid blue 80, and Methyl orange, as the model. The results show that CeāMo hierarchical architectures exhibit remarkably high efficiency to photocatalytically decompose Congo red under visible light irradiation, and significant adsorption performance on Cationic red X-GTL and Methylene blue. Contrarily, neither photocatalytic nor adsorption performance was observed on Methyl orange and Acid blue 80. Therefore, the as-synthesized CeāMo hierarchical architectures display promising potential for the removal of organic contaminants for environmental protection
Luminescence Enhanced Eu<sup>3+</sup>/Gd<sup>3+</sup> Co-Doped Hydroxyapatite Nanocrystals as Imaging Agents In Vitro and In Vivo
Biocompatible, biodegradable,
and luminescent nano material can be used as an alternative bioimaging
agent for early cancer diagnosis, which is crucial to achieve successful
treatment. Hydroxyapatite (HAP) nanocyrstals have good biocompatibility
and biodegradability, and can be used as an excellent host for luminescent
rare earth elements. In this study, based on the energy transfer from
Gd<sup>3+</sup> to Eu<sup>3+</sup>, the luminescence enhanced imaging
agent of Eu/Gd codoping HAP (HAP:Eu/Gd) nanocrystals are obtained
via coprecipitation with plate-like shape and no change in crystal
phase composition. The luminescence can be much elevated (up to about
120%) with a nonlinear increase versus Gd doping content, which is
due to the energy transfer (<sup>6</sup>P<sub>J</sub> of Gd<sup>3+</sup> ā <sup>5</sup>H<sub>J</sub> of Eu<sup>3+</sup>) under 273
nm and the possible combination effect of the cooperative upconversion
and the successive energy transfer under 394 nm, respectively. Results
demonstrate that the biocompatible HAP:Eu/Gd nanocrystals can successfully
perform cell labeling and in vivo imaging. The intracellular HAP:Eu/Gd
nanocrystals display good biodegradability with a cumulative degradation
of about 65% after 72 h. This biocompatible, biodegradable, and luminescence
enhanced HAP:Eu/Gd nanocrystal has the potential to act as a fluorescent
imaging agent in vitro and in vivo