Synthesis Of Inorganic Nanomaterials Research Articles

Metal-Driven Viscoelastic Wormlike Micelle in Anionic/Zwitterionic Surfactant Systems and Template-Directed Synthesis of Dendritic Silver Nanostructures

In this work, metal ion-induced viscoelastic wormlike micelles in anionic/zwitterionic surfactant solutions (sodium dodecylsulfate/tetradecyldimethylammoniumpropanesulfonate, SDS/TPS) are reported. Steady and dynamic rheology and cryogenic transmission electron microscopy (cryo-TEM) are employed to characterize wormlike micelles in the SDS/TPS/Ca(NO(3))(2) system. Moreover, the surfactant mixing ratio and surfactant tail length are varied to reveal the factors that influence wormlike micelle growth and solution viscoelasticity. A series of metal ions such as Na(+), Mg(2+), Zn(2+), and Al(3+) are proven to promote viscoelastic wormlike micelle formation in the SDS/TPS system. The metal-containing wormlike micelles are expected to be good candidates for directing the synthesis of inorganic nanomaterials. In this article, dendritic silver nanostructures have been prepared in the surfactant wormlike micelle by in situ UV irradiation for the first time.

Reverse Vesicles from a Salt-Free Catanionic Surfactant System: A Confocal Fluorescence Microscopy Study

We give a detailed confocal fluorescence microscopy study on reverse vesicles from a salt-free catanionic surfactant system. When tetradecyltrimethylammonium laurate (TTAL) and lauric acid (LA) are mixed in cyclohexane at the presence of a small amount of water, stable reverse vesicular phases form spontaneously. The reverse vesicular phases can be easily labeled with dyes of varying molecular size and hydrophobicity while the dyes are nearly insoluble in cyclohexane without reverse vesicles. This indicates the reverse vesicular phases can be good candidates to host guest molecules. With the help of a fluorescence microscope combined a confocal method, the features of these interesting reverse supramolecular self-assemblies were revealed for the first time. Because of the absence of electrostatic repulsions and hydration forces between adjacent vesicles, the reverse vesicles have a strong propensity to aggregate with each other and form three-dimensional clusters. The size distributions of both individual reverse vesicles and clusters are polydisperse. Huge multilamellar reverse vesicles with closely stacked thick walls (giant reverse onions) were observed. Besides the spherical reverse vesicles and onions, other supramolecular structures such as tubes have also been detected and structural evolutions between different structures were noticed. These interesting supramolecular self-assemblies form in a nonpolar organic solvent may serve as ideal micro- or nanoreaction centers for biological reactions and synthesis of inorganic nanomaterials.

Ionic Liquids for Lanthanide and Actinide Chemistry

AbstractIonic liquid chemistry has developed into a tremendously popular field of chemistry in the last decade. It has been realized that ionic liquids show features that cannot be realized in conventional molecular solvents. The widely tuneable class of ionic liquids has become important for lanthanide and actinide coordination chemistry, f‐element spectroscopy, f‐element electrochemistry and electrodeposition, organic synthesis and catalysis as well as inorganic nanomaterial synthesis. For example, ionic liquids offer the possibility to synthesize and crystallize quite uncommon lanthanide compounds. Ionic liquids can also be designed in such a way that they become excellent media to study the optical properties of lanthanide compounds. And even ionic liquids based on f‐elements can be made. Hydrophobic ionic liquids may replace organic solvents in liquid/liquid f‐element extraction processes, not only as a safer extraction phase but also as a smart extractant. Their wide electrochemical window and large ion conductivity make ionic liquids interesting solvents to study the electrodeposition of the very electropositive lanthanide elements. For f‐element‐catalyzed reactions, higher reaction rates, enhanced selectivity, better immobilization of the catalyst and an easy product recovery have often been observed in certain ionic liquids.

Near-Infrared Light Emitting Luciferase via Biomineralization

A new strategy based on biomineralization is presented to rationally tune the emission wavelength of luciferase. In this study luciferase (Luc8) was used as a template to direct the synthesis of near-infrared (NIR) light emitting PbS quantum dots (QDs) at ambient conditions to form a Luc8-PbS nanocomplex. The as-synthesized PbS QDs exhibited photoluminescence in the range of 800-1050 nm, and the Luc8 enzyme remained active within the Luc8-PbS complex. Upon the addition of the substrate coelenterazine, the energy produced by Luc8 was nonradiatively transferred to PbS QDs via bioluminescence resonance energy transfer (BRET) and enabled the complex to emit NIR light. This is the first study to form dual functional bioinorganic hybrid nanostructures via active enzyme-templated synthesis of inorganic nanomaterials.

Microwave chemistry for inorganic nanomaterials synthesis

This Feature Article gives an overview of microwave-assisted liquid phase routes to inorganic nanomaterials. Whereas microwave chemistry is a well-established technique in organic synthesis, its use in inorganic nanomaterials' synthesis is still at the beginning and far away from having reached its full potential. However, the rapidly growing number of publications in this field suggests that microwave chemistry will play an outstanding role in the broad field of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology. This article is not meant to give an exhaustive overview of all nanomaterials synthesized by the microwave technique, but to discuss the new opportunities that arise as a result of the unique features of microwave chemistry. Principles, advantages and limitations of microwave chemistry are introduced, its application in the synthesis of different classes of functional nanomaterials is discussed, and finally expected benefits for nanomaterials' synthesis are elaborated.

Ionic liquids for synthesis of inorganic nanomaterials

In this review, the recent development of synthesizing inorganic nanomaterials in ionic liquids (ILs) is outlined. There are encouraging results suggesting that the ionic liquid route can guide design, production, and application of inorganic nanomaterials across the range of size, shape, composition, and functionality. All examples clearly show that ILs add great value to inorganic nanomaterials area.

Organic chemistry in inorganic nanomaterials synthesis

Research on the preparation of inorganic nanoparticles and nanostructures has made immense progress in the past few years. The synthesis protocols developed give access to nanomaterials with a wide range of compositions, monodisperse crystallite sizes, sophisticated crystallite shapes, and with complex assembly properties. The objective of this Feature Article is to have a closer look at the organic side of inorganic nanomaterials’ synthesis performed in nonaqueous, but liquid reaction media. Based on selected literature examples, we will discuss the complex role of the organic components in determining the compositional, structural, and morphological characteristics of the inorganic products.

Synthesis of inorganic nanomaterials mediated by protein assemblies

Biological materials naturally display a variety of functional structures highly organized at the nanoscale. Various bioassemblies have been shown to template complex, multidimensional inorganic nanoarchitectures that are typically not available by conventional synthetic methodologies. In addition to the various naturally occurring templates, the powerful techniques developed by life sciences are an interesting tool for engineering approaches towards material science. Besides a structural and morphological control during synthesis, biotemplating procedures may add another dimension to inorganic materials such as biofunctionality (e.g., motility functions). This overview is focussed on recent advances in the fabrication of inorganic nanomaterials taking advantage of protein assemblies. It tries to elucidate chemical methodologies and reviews examples of templates based on protein and peptide building blocks that have been successfully employed to manufacture inorganic nanostructures.

Synthesis of inorganic nanomaterials

Synthesis forms a vital aspect of the science of nanomaterials. In this context, chemical methods have proved to be more effective and versatile than physical methods and have therefore, been employed widely to synthesize a variety of nanomaterials, including zero-dimensional nanocrystals, one-dimensional nanowires and nanotubes as well as two-dimensional nanofilms and nanowalls. Chemical synthesis of inorganic nanomaterials has been pursued vigorously in the last few years and in this article we provide a perspective on the present status of the subject. The article includes a discussion of nanocrystals and nanowires of metals, oxides, chalcogenides and pnictides. In addition, inorganic nanotubes and nanowalls have been reviewed. Some aspects of core-shell particles, oriented attachment and the use of liquid-liquid interfaces are also presented.

Recent Advances in Ionic Liquids for Synthesis of Inorganic Nanomaterials

Ionic liquids (ILs) are organic salts of low melting points with a wide range of liquidus temperature and intrinsically useful characteristics of negligible vapour pressure, thermal stability, high ionic conductivity and a large electrochemical window. As a green recyclable alternative to traditional organic solvents, the ILs have shown promise in the liquid/liquid extraction of organics from water and metal ions from solution, and separating isomeric organic compounds, selective catalytic processes for organic chemical reactions and solar cells and other electrochemical devices. In recent years, the advantages of the ILs in inorganic nanomaterial synthetic procedures have been realized and received more and more attention. In this brief review, the latest developments regarding the use of the IL as reaction medium for inorganic nanomaterials are outlined, mainly focused on (1) the preorganized structure of the IL as template effect for porous inorganic nanomaterials and (2) the intrinsic high charge and polarizability of the IL to create electrostatic and steric stabilization for metal nanoparticles and to favor phase transfer of the nanoparticles from water to water-immiscible solvent. Keywords: Inorganic Nanomaterials, electrochemical devices

Interfacing biology with nanoparticles

New approaches are constantly being developed for both the synthesis of inorganic nanomaterials and their surface modification for sensing and electronic applications. Insofar as surface modification of gold nanoparticles is concerned, thiol chemistry is the most popular approach to bind ligands to their surface. We have been pursuing the possibility of using amine functionality to bind ligands to the surface of gold nanoparticles and have found that amine binding is as strong as thiol binding. The advantages of using amine chemistry for surface modification of nanogold are many, the possibility of complexing a large variety of biomolecules such as amino acids and proteins being one of the most important. In this article, we review the work from this laboratory on the stabilization of gold nanoparticles using amino acids as well as using amino acids as reducing agents to obtain stable aqueous solutions of gold nanoparticles of variable size. We also discuss the possibility of forming bioconjugates of enzymes with gold nanoparticles decorating the surface of polymer microspheres and their application as reusable biocatalysts. There is much to be gained by marrying nanomaterials with biology with considerable spin-offs likely in both nanotechnology and biotechnology.

Nanoparticle Synthesis in Engineered Organic Nanoscale Reactors

AbstractIn this review, the recent achievements in the synthesis of inorganic nanomaterials inside the spatially confined volume of individual micro‐ and submicroreactors (emulsions, micelles, organized thin films, polyelectrolyte capsules, etc.) are presented. The advantages and shortcomings of each type of microreactor are discussed. Particular attention is paid to polyelectrolyte capsules as confined microreactors with controlled shell permeability and the possibility of shell engineering on the nanolevel, thus tailoring different functionalities. Nanomaterials synthesized inside a confined multifunctional microreactor have several advantages: i) absence of particle aggregates, ii) amorphous or metastable crystal phases, and iii) unique composite inorganic/inorganic and inorganic/organic structures.

Microtubule Templated Synthesis of Inorganic Nanomaterials

AbstractProtein microtubules (MTs) have been used as templates for the biomimetic synthesis of metal oxide, metal sulfide, and metallic nanomaterials. These materials were coated onto MTs via three distinct synthetic pathways: metal ion hydrolysis which yielded iron oxide or zinc oxide-coated microtubules, metal ion/sulfide co-precipitation which yielded zinc sulfide coated MTs, and metal ion reduction which yielded gold-coated MTs. The growth process of metal oxide coating involves heterogeneous nucleation on the MT surface and produces even, microcrystalline films. Metal sulfide and metal coating initially involves the formation of nanoparticle arrays that decorate the MT surface and can eventually lead to either semi- or fully continuous coatings.

Polyamine−Quantum Dot Nanocomposites: Linear versus Starburst Stabilizer Architectures

Recently, a number of research groups have found that dendrimers are effective templates for the synthesis of inorganic nanomaterials (Sooklal, K.; Hanus, L. H.; Ploehn, H. J.; Murphy, C. J. Adv. Mater. 1998, 10, 1083. Balogh, L.; Tomalia, D. A. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1998, 120, 7355. Zhao, M.; Sun, L.; Crooks, R. M. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1998, 120, 4877.). Here, we report that linear polymer analogues of the dendrimer molecules can be used to make CdS nanocomposites with similar optical properties in solution, albeit with reduced quantum yield of emission. High local concentration of chelating nitrogens on the polymer or dendrimer is hypothesized to be the key feature for ultrasmall, defect-free CdS nanoparticle formation. Immobilization of the nanocomposites in a sol−gel glass is an effective means to capture them in a solid form.