DNA-programmable nanoparticle crystallization

It was first shown more than ten years ago that DNA oligonucleotides can be attached to gold nanoparticles rationally to direct the formation of larger assemblies. Since then, oligonucleotide-functionalized nanoparticles have been developed into powerful diagnostic tools for nucleic acids and proteins, and into intracellular probes and gene regulators. In contrast, the conceptually simple yet powerful idea that functionalized nanoparticles might serve as basic building blocks that can be rationally assembled through programmable base-pairing interactions into highly ordered macroscopic materials remains poorly developed. So far, the approach has mainly resulted in polymerization, with modest control over the placement of, the periodicity in, and the distance between particles within the assembled material. That is, most of the materials obtained thus far are best classified as amorphous polymers, although a few examples of colloidal crystal formation exist. Here, we demonstrate that DNA can be used to control the crystallization of nanoparticle-oligonucleotide conjugates to the extent that different DNA sequences guide the assembly of the same type of inorganic nanoparticle into different crystalline states. We show that the choice of DNA sequences attached to the nanoparticle building blocks, the DNA linking molecules and the absence or presence of a non-bonding single-base flexor can be adjusted so that gold nanoparticles assemble into micrometre-sized face-centred-cubic or body-centred-cubic crystal structures. Our findings thus clearly demonstrate that synthetically programmable colloidal crystallization is possible, and that a single-component system can be directed to form different structures.     

基于嵌段共聚物自组装制备Janus纳米粒子的研究进展

 Janus 粒子的两面具有不同的组成或性质,在乳液稳定、药物载体、界面催化及超结构的构筑等方面有着重要应用价值。尤其是基于嵌段共聚物的Janus 纳米粒子,其两面的聚合物链通过共价键相连,结构非常稳定。由于其纳米尺度和柔性及对溶剂、温度、pH 值等外部刺激具有响应性,嵌段共聚物Janus 纳米粒子备受关注。实现嵌段共聚物Janus 纳米粒子形貌和结构可控、组成多样化及批量化制备是该研究的重点和难点。本文综述嵌段共聚物自组装制备Janus 纳米粒子的方法,比较了不同方法的特点及适用范围。     

金属纳米颗粒增强太阳能电池光吸收效应研究

采用Mie理论,对球形纳米金属颗粒进行数值计算,研究了金属纳米颗粒在发生表面等离激元共振时表现出的散射效应.改变金属材料类型或者颗粒尺寸大小,金属纳米球的散射效率均发生不同程度的变化.这一现象表明:金属纳米颗粒的散射效应受材料类型和尺寸大小的影响显著.计算结果表明,半径为100nm的Ag纳米颗粒在发生表面等离激元共振时,散射效率最高,吸收效应最弱.     

Selective oxidation with dioxygen by gold nanoparticle catalysts derived from 55-atom clusters

Supported gold nanoparticles have excited much interest owing to their unusual and somewhat unexpected catalytic properties, but the origin of the catalytic activity is still not fully understood. Experimental work on gold particles supported on a titanium dioxide (110) single-crystal surface has established a striking size threshold effect associated with a metal-to-insulator transition, with gold particles catalytically active only if their diameters fall below approximately 3.5 nm. However, the remarkable catalytic behaviour might also in part arise from strong electronic interaction between the gold and the titanium dioxide support. In the case of industrially important selective oxidation reactions, explanation of the effectiveness of gold nanoparticle catalysts is complicated by the need for additives to drive the reaction, and/or the presence of strong support interactions and incomplete understanding of their possible catalytic role. Here we show that very small gold entities ( approximately 1.4 nm) derived from 55-atom gold clusters and supported on inert materials are efficient and robust catalysts for the selective oxidation of styrene by dioxygen. We find a sharp size threshold in catalytic activity, in that particles with diameters of approximately 2 nm and above are completely inactive. Our observations suggest that catalytic activity arises from the altered electronic structure intrinsic to small gold nanoparticles, and that the use of 55-atom gold clusters may prove a viable route to the synthesis of robust gold catalysts suited to practical application.     

不同围压下岩石破坏全过程数值模拟

虚内键模型认为固体材料在细观上是由离散的质量微粒组成,质量微粒之间由虚内键连接,通过虚内键之间特定的连接法则和相互作用推导出了材料的宏观本构方程并将破坏准则嵌入到了本构方程中.采用Monte-Carlo方法来描述岩石材料的非均质性,并假定微元强度服从Weibull分布,通过虚内键的密度或刚度演化,再现了不同围压下岩石破坏全过程.根据数值模拟结果,利用最小二乘法的线性拟合,得出了岩石强度随围压变化的表达式.     

Non-fluorous polymers with very high solubility in supercritical CO2 down to low pressures

Liquid and supercritical carbon dioxide have attracted much interest as environmentally benign solvents, but their practical use has been limited by the need for high CO2 pressures to dissolve even small amounts of polar, amphiphilic, organometallic, or high-molecular-mass compounds. So-called 'CO2-philes' efficiently transport insoluble or poorly soluble materials into CO2 solvent, resulting in the development of a broad range of CO2-based processes, including homogeneous and heterogeneous polymerization, extraction of proteins and metals, and homogeneous catalysis. But as the most effective CO2-philes are expensive fluorocarbons, such as poly(perfluoroether), the commercialization of otherwise promising CO2-based processes has met with only limited success. Here we show that copolymers can act as efficient, non-fluorous CO2-philes if their constituent monomers are chosen to optimize the balance between the enthalpy and entropy of solute-copolymer and copolymer-copolymer interactions. Guided by heuristic rules regarding these interactions, we have used inexpensive propylene and CO2 to synthesize a series of poly(ether-carbonate) copolymers that readily dissolve in CO2 at low pressures. Even though non-fluorous polymers are generally assumed to be CO2-phobic, we expect that our design principles can be used to create a wide range of non-fluorous CO2-philes from low-cost raw materials, thus rendering a variety of CO2-based processes economically favourable, particularly in cases where recycling of CO2-philes is difficult.     

DNA-based self-assembly of chiral plasmonic nanostructures with tailored optical response

Matter structured on a length scale comparable to or smaller than the wavelength of light can exhibit unusual optical properties. Particularly promising components for such materials are metal nanostructures, where structural alterations provide a straightforward means of tailoring their surface plasmon resonances and hence their interaction with light. But the top-down fabrication of plasmonic materials with controlled optical responses in the visible spectral range remains challenging, because lithographic methods are limited in resolution and in their ability to generate genuinely three-dimensional architectures. Molecular self-assembly provides an alternative bottom-up fabrication route not restricted by these limitations, and DNA- and peptide-directed assembly have proved to be viable methods for the controlled arrangement of metal nanoparticles in complex and also chiral geometries. Here we show that DNA origami enables the high-yield production of plasmonic structures that contain nanoparticles arranged in nanometre-scale helices. We find, in agreement with theoretical predictions, that the structures in solution exhibit defined circular dichroism and optical rotatory dispersion effects at visible wavelengths that originate from the collective plasmon-plasmon interactions of the nanoparticles positioned with an accuracy better than two nanometres. Circular dichroism effects in the visible part of the spectrum have been achieved by exploiting the chiral morphology of organic molecules and the plasmonic properties of nanoparticles, or even without precise control over the spatial configuration of the nanoparticles. In contrast, the optical response of our nanoparticle assemblies is rationally designed and tunable in handedness, colour and intensity-in accordance with our theoretical model.     

聚苯胺/聚(苯乙烯-苯乙烯磺酸钠)纳米核-壳结构聚合物的微乳液法合成及性能表征

核壳结构的导电聚合物微粒以其优良的物理性质和化学性质,在能源、光电子、导电涂料等领域有广泛的应用前景。在微乳液体系中合成了核壳结构的聚苯胺/聚(苯乙烯-苯乙烯磺酸钠)微球。即首先在水包油（o/w）微乳液体系中制备苯乙烯和苯乙烯磺酸钠共聚物纳米微球,然后在低温下,使苯胺单体于共聚物纳米微球表面原位聚合制备核壳结构的纳米微球。     

冲蚀磨损研究的进展

冲蚀磨损是引起材料破坏或设备失效的重要原因之一．介绍了冲蚀磨损的实质及其磨损理论,并探讨了影响冲蚀磨损的主要因素．研究结果表明,冲蚀磨损是液体或固体小颗粒以一定速度或角度对材料表面进行冲击所造成的一种材料损耗现象,冲蚀量的衡量体系依据材料属于塑性还是脆性具有不同的理论模型;影响冲蚀磨损的因素主要有粒子性能、环境因素和材料性能等方面．     

Self-assembly of nanoparticles into structured spherical and network aggregates

Multi-scale ordering of materials is central for the application of molecular systems in macroscopic devices. Self-assembly based on selective control of non-covalent interactions provides a powerful tool for the creation of structured systems at a molecular level, and application of this methodology to macromolecular systems provides a means for extending such structures to macroscopic length scale. Monolayer-functionalized nanoparticles can be made with a wide variety of metallic and non-metallic cores, providing a versatile building block for such approaches. Here we present a polymer-mediated 'bricks and mortar' strategy for the ordering of nanoparticles into structured assemblies. This methodology allows monolayer-protected gold particles to self-assemble into structured aggregates while thermally controlling their size and morphology. Using 2-nm gold particles as building blocks, we show that spherical aggregates of size 97 +/- 17 nm can be produced at 23 degrees C, and that 0.5-1 microm spherical assemblies with (5-40) x 10(5) individual subunits form at -20 degrees C. Intriguingly, extended networks of approximately 50-nm subunits are formed at 10 degrees C, illustrating the potential of our approach for the formation of diverse structural motifs such as wires and rods. These findings demonstrate that the assembly process provides control over the resulting aggregates, while the modularity of the 'bricks and mortar' approach allows combinatorial control over the constituents, providing a versatile route to new materials systems.     

铁电纳米颗粒相变中的尺寸效应

由铁电纳米颗粒和介电质基体组成的复合材料具有很多功能特性,这些特性可广泛用于新型电子和能量收集装置.然而,铁电颗粒的形状、尺寸和在介电质基体中的取向对这些功能的影响还没有被研究清楚.利用一种中尺度建模方法,模拟了具有极性、弹性和热自由度的铁电纳米复合材料的性质,以及这些性质对尺寸、形状和取向的依赖性.基于时间依赖的朗道...     

磷酸钴纳米粒子的微波辐射制备法

介绍用微波辐射法对磷酸钴纳米粒子的制备方法和分离方法.并对磷酸钴纳米粒子进行了结构和组成的测试,讨论了影响粒子形成的主要因素.通过实验得到了平均粒径为50.64nm的球形微粒的磷酸钴纳米粒子.     

氟化锂及氮化亚铜人工固态电解质膜对锂离子电池正极三元材料的改性

在锂离子电池充放电过程中,电解液与电极材料发生反应,形成的固态电解质膜(solid electrolyte interphase,SEI)随着充放电次数的增加而变厚,这将降低电池的循环稳定性。所制备的人工固态电解质膜(a-SEI)可改善锂离子电池的循环稳定性,其主要成分为使用液相法制备的氟化锂(LiF)、氮化亚铜(Cu 3N)纳米颗粒。通过两种不同路径,将两种纳米颗粒先后在锂离子电池正极三元材料LiNi 0.8 Co 0.1 Mn 0.1 O 2(NCM811)电极片表面和活性材料颗粒表面涂覆生成一层a-SEI。使用扫描电子显微镜(SEM)、X射线衍射仪(XRD)、电化学阻抗谱(EIS)等材料表征和电化学分析方法,解析a-SEI对锂离子电池循环稳定性的影响。结果表明,NCM811材料表面包覆Cu 3N作为a-SEI的电化学性能最好,相比纯NCM811材料,50周循环后的容量保持率可提升26.5%。     

Spontaneous skyrmion ground states in magnetic metals

Since the 1950s, Heisenberg and others have addressed the problem of how to explain the appearance of countable particles in continuous fields. Stable localized field configurations were searched for an ingredient for a general field theory of elementary particles, but the majority of nonlinear field models were unable to predict them. As an exception, Skyrme succeeded in describing nuclear particles as localized states, so-called 'skyrmions'. Skyrmions are a characteristic of nonlinear continuum models ranging from microscopic to cosmological scales. Skyrmionic states have been found under non-equilibrium conditions, or when stabilized by external fields or the proliferation of topological defects. Examples are Turing patterns in classical liquids, spin textures in quantum Hall magnets, or the blue phases in liquid crystals. However, it has generally been assumed that skyrmions cannot form spontaneous ground states, such as ferromagnetic or antiferromagnetic order, in magnetic materials. Here, we show theoretically that this assumption is wrong and that skyrmion textures may form spontaneously in condensed-matter systems with chiral interactions without the assistance of external fields or the proliferation of defects. We show this within a phenomenological continuum model based on a few material-specific parameters that can be determined experimentally. Our model has a condition not considered before: we allow for softened amplitude variations of the magnetization, characteristic of, for instance, metallic magnets. Our model implies that spontaneous skyrmion lattice ground states may exist generally in a large number of materials, notably at surfaces and in thin films, as well as in bulk compounds, where a lack of space inversion symmetry leads to chiral interactions.     

Water-driven structure transformation in nanoparticles at room temperature

The thermodynamic behaviour of small particles differs from that of the bulk material by the free energy term gammaA--the product of the surface (or interfacial) free energy and the surface (or interfacial) area. When the surfaces of polymorphs of the same material possess different interfacial free energies, a change in phase stability can occur with decreasing particle size. Here we describe a nanoparticle system that undergoes structural changes in response to changes in the surface environment rather than particle size. ZnS nanoparticles (average diameter 3 nm) were synthesized in methanol and found to exhibit a reversible structural transformation accompanying methanol desorption, indicating that the particles readily adopt minimum energy structural configurations. The binding of water to the as-formed particles at room temperature leads to a dramatic structural modification, significantly reducing distortions of the surface and interior to generate a structure close to that of sphalerite (tetrahedrally coordinated cubic ZnS). These findings suggest a route for post-synthesis control of nanoparticle structure and the potential use of the nanoparticle structural state as an environmental sensor. Furthermore, the results imply that the structure and reactivity of nanoparticles at planetary surfaces, in interplanetary dust and in the biosphere, will depend on both particle size and the nature of the surrounding molecules.     

Creep-strengthening of steel at high temperatures using nano-sized carbonitride dispersions

Creep is a time-dependent mechanism of plastic deformation, which takes place in a range of materials under low stress-that is, under stresses lower than the yield stress. Metals and alloys can be designed to withstand creep at high temperatures, usually by a process called dispersion strengthening, in which fine particles are evenly distributed throughout the matrix. For example, high-temperature creep-resistant ferritic steels achieve optimal creep strength (at 923 K) through the dispersion of yttrium oxide nanoparticles. However, the oxide particles are introduced by complicated mechanical alloying techniques and, as a result, the production of large-scale industrial components is economically unfeasible. Here we report the production of a 9 per cent Cr martensitic steel dispersed with nanometre-scale carbonitride particles using conventional processing techniques. At 923 K, our dispersion-strengthened material exhibits a time-to-rupture that is increased by two orders of magnitude relative to the current strongest creep-resistant steels. This improvement in creep resistance is attributed to a mechanism of boundary pinning by the thermally stable carbonitride precipitates. The material also demonstrates enough fracture toughness. Our results should lead to improved grades of creep-resistant steels and to the economical manufacture of large-scale steel components for high-temperature applications.     

DNA-guided crystallization of colloidal nanoparticles

Many nanometre-sized building blocks will readily assemble into macroscopic structures. If the process is accompanied by effective control over the interactions between the blocks and all entropic effects, then the resultant structures will be ordered with a precision hard to achieve with other fabrication methods. But it remains challenging to use self-assembly to design systems comprised of different types of building blocks-to realize novel magnetic, plasmonic and photonic metamaterials, for example. A conceptually simple idea for overcoming this problem is the use of 'encodable' interactions between building blocks; this can in principle be straightforwardly implemented using biomolecules. Strategies that use DNA programmability to control the placement of nanoparticles in one and two dimensions have indeed been demonstrated. However, our theoretical understanding of how to extend this approach to three dimensions is limited, and most experiments have yielded amorphous aggregates and only occasionally crystallites of close-packed micrometre-sized particles. Here, we report the formation of three-dimensional crystalline assemblies of gold nanoparticles mediated by interactions between complementary DNA molecules attached to the nanoparticles' surface. We find that the nanoparticle crystals form reversibly during heating and cooling cycles. Moreover, the body-centred-cubic lattice structure is temperature-tuneable and structurally open, with particles occupying only approximately 4% of the unit cell volume. We expect that our DNA-mediated crystallization approach, and the insight into DNA design requirements it has provided, will facilitate both the creation of new classes of ordered multicomponent metamaterials and the exploration of the phase behaviour of hybrid systems with addressable interactions.     

Directed self-assembly of a colloidal kagome lattice

A challenging goal in materials chemistry and physics is spontaneously to form intended superstructures from designed building blocks. In fields such as crystal engineering and the design of porous materials, this typically involves building blocks of organic molecules, sometimes operating together with metallic ions or clusters. The translation of such ideas to nanoparticles and colloidal-sized building blocks would potentially open doors to new materials and new properties, but the pathways to achieve this goal are still undetermined. Here we show how colloidal spheres can be induced to self-assemble into a complex predetermined colloidal crystal-in this case a colloidal kagome lattice-through decoration of their surfaces with a simple pattern of hydrophobic domains. The building blocks are simple micrometre-sized spheres with interactions (electrostatic repulsion in the middle, hydrophobic attraction at the poles, which we call 'triblock Janus') that are also simple, but the self-assembly of the spheres into an open kagome structure contrasts with previously known close-packed periodic arrangements of spheres. This open network is of interest for several theoretical reasons. With a view to possible enhanced functionality, the resulting lattice structure possesses two families of pores, one that is hydrophobic on the rims of the pores and another that is hydrophilic. This strategy of 'convergent' self-assembly from easily fabricated colloidal building blocks encodes the target supracolloidal architecture, not in localized attractive spots but instead in large redundantly attractive regions, and can be extended to form other supracolloidal networks.     

磁性纳米Fe_3O_4与Fe_3O_4/TiO_2复合材料的制备

用共沉淀法制备了纳米Fe3O4.TEM及XRD的测定结果表明制备了尖晶石型纳米Fe3O4,VSM结果显示样品具有超顺磁性.在此基础上采用均匀沉淀法制备了Fe3O4/TiO2复合材料,XRD和UV-Vis结果表明制备出双层封闭结构的复合粒子的光吸收带发生了较大幅度的红移,并进入可见光区,同时吸收光强度也明显增大,这对开发日光型催化剂是十分有利的.     

Structural diversity in binary nanoparticle superlattices

Assembly of small building blocks such as atoms, molecules and nanoparticles into macroscopic structures--that is, 'bottom up' assembly--is a theme that runs through chemistry, biology and material science. Bacteria, macromolecules and nanoparticles can self-assemble, generating ordered structures with a precision that challenges current lithographic techniques. The assembly of nanoparticles of two different materials into a binary nanoparticle superlattice (BNSL) can provide a general and inexpensive path to a large variety of materials (metamaterials) with precisely controlled chemical composition and tight placement of the components. Maximization of the nanoparticle packing density has been proposed as the driving force for BNSL formation, and only a few BNSL structures have been predicted to be thermodynamically stable. Recently, colloidal crystals with micrometre-scale lattice spacings have been grown from oppositely charged polymethyl methacrylate spheres. Here we demonstrate formation of more than 15 different BNSL structures, using combinations of semiconducting, metallic and magnetic nanoparticle building blocks. At least ten of these colloidal crystalline structures have not been reported previously. We demonstrate that electrical charges on sterically stabilized nanoparticles determine BNSL stoichiometry; additional contributions from entropic, van der Waals, steric and dipolar forces stabilize the variety of BNSL structures.