Review
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Maria L. Scala-Benuzzi, Sol N. Fernandez, Gustavo Gimenez, Gabriel Ybarra, Galo J. A. A. Soler-Illia
Summary: Electrochemical sensors are increasingly important in medicine, environmental monitoring, and industrial process control. However, their development faces challenges such as low target compound concentrations and complex analytical matrices. Mesoporous Thin Films (MTFs) have attracted great interest as electrode modifications due to their high surface area, uniform pore distribution, and electrochemical signal modulation possibilities. To fully exploit the advantages of MTFs, reproducible methods for sensitive and selective MTF-modified electrodes need to be developed, and mass and charge transport processes within the film and on the electrode need to be understood.
Article
Engineering, Electrical & Electronic
S. D. Lokhande, M. B. Awale, V. D. Mote
Summary: Undoped and Cu-doped ZnO thin films were prepared by spray pyrolysis technique and characterized. The study found that Cu doping led to a decrease in crystallite size, transmittance, and energy band gap values. FESEM analysis revealed a nanoflake morphology, with a decrease in structural sharpness as the Cu concentration increased. Gas sensing analysis showed that the 2% Cu-doped ZnO thin film had the highest ammonia sensing response and the shortest recovery time.
JOURNAL OF MATERIALS SCIENCE-MATERIALS IN ELECTRONICS
(2022)
Review
Materials Science, Biomaterials
Fauzan Amri, Ni Luh Wulan Septiani, Muhammad Rezki, Muhammad Iqbal, Yusuke Yamauchi, Dmitri Golberg, Yusuf Valentino Kaneti, Brian Yuliarto
Summary: Mesoporous TiO2 has shown great promise in biosensing applications, particularly in detection of glucose, enzymes, DNA damage, and more. Biosensors based on mesoporous TiO2 have demonstrated superior performance and significant advancements in various detection projects.
JOURNAL OF MATERIALS CHEMISTRY B
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Aman Joshi, Prakash Chand, Sunaina Saini
Summary: In this study, the electrochemical behavior of doped bismuth phosphate nanostructures with rare earth elements (La, Ce, and Sm) synthesized using a hydrothermal route was analyzed. The results showed that the doping elements played a significant role in tuning the electrochemical properties of the working electrodes. Among them, Sm-doped bismuth phosphate nanostructures exhibited the highest specific capacity and cycle stability. These findings suggest that Sm-doped bismuth phosphate nanostructures have great potential for practical utility in energy storage applications.
JOURNAL OF ALLOYS AND COMPOUNDS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Aditya Ashok, Arya Vasanth, Tomota Nagaura, Miharu Eguchi, Nunzio Motta, Hoang-Phuong Phan, Nam-Trung Nguyen, Joseph G. Shapter, Jongbeom Na, Yusuke Yamauchi
Summary: This study presents a hybrid technique combining bottom-up electrochemical growth and top-down plasma treatment, resulting in the synthesis of mesoporous semiconductors with large crystalline domain sizes and excellent surface passivation. The films showed enhanced stability and optoelectronic properties without incorporating additional chemical or physical layers.
ANGEWANDTE CHEMIE-INTERNATIONAL EDITION
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Xiaoqiu Ju, He Cui, Tao Liu, Yabing Sun, Shourong Zheng, Xiaolei Qu
Summary: Novel phosphate adsorbents La2O3@PCMK-3 and La2O3@OCMK-3 were fabricated by solid-state grinding method, showing higher phosphate adsorption capacity and selectivity of La2O3@OCMK-3 due to enhanced dispersion of La2O3 in mesopores and surface functional groups in OCMK-3.
ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Svitlana Pastukh, Magdalena Laskowska, Mateusz Dulski, Tomasz Krzykawski, Krzysztof Parlinski, Przemyslaw Piekarz
Summary: A novel method was employed to prepare homogeneous copper pyrophosphate nanocrystals inside silica mesopores, and ab initio studies were carried out to characterize and identify the synthesized nanocrystals, optimizing the electronic and crystal structure within the density functional theory, taking into account the strong electron interactions in the 3d orbitals.
Article
Engineering, Electrical & Electronic
M. M. El-Desoky, M. M. Abdelrazek, Rasha M. Kamel, E. Sheha, Atif Mossad Ali, Ahmed E. Hannora
Summary: Lanthanum doped nanocrystalline V2O5 films were prepared using the sol-gel method with different concentrations of lanthanum. The addition of lanthanum resulted in the successful intercalation of lanthanum within the V2O5 layered structure. The crystal size decreased with the increase in lanthanum concentration. The prepared samples exhibited semiconductor behavior with increasing conductivity with temperature. The electrochemical properties suggested that the 1 mol% La concentration is a promising electrode material for batteries or supercapacitors.
JOURNAL OF MATERIALS SCIENCE-MATERIALS IN ELECTRONICS
(2023)
Article
Spectroscopy
Congcong Gong, Zhijian Li, Gang Liu, Shouzhi Pu
Summary: A novel ratiometric fluorescent nanoprobe was developed for detecting phosphate anion using metal-organic frameworks and Eu3+ and Ce3+ ions. The probe showed good linear response in the concentration range of 0.3-20 μM with a detection limit of 0.247 μM. This method demonstrates higher sensitivity and easier preparation compared to other detection strategies, making it promising for real water sample analysis.
SPECTROCHIMICA ACTA PART A-MOLECULAR AND BIOMOLECULAR SPECTROSCOPY
(2021)
Article
Polymer Science
Jakub Szewczyk, Daniel Aguilar-Ferrer, Emerson Coy
Summary: This review provides an overview of the current state of the art in the electrochemistry of polydopamine nanomaterials and their applications in the field of electrochemical analysis and sensing. The review covers topics such as the electrochemical oxidation mechanism of dopamine, the formation of polydopamine thin films, and the use of polydopamine in the construction and functionalization of electrochemical sensors. Future developments and prospects in the field are also outlined.
EUROPEAN POLYMER JOURNAL
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Mengzhou Wang, Mingyan Fu, Junfeng Li, Yihui Niu, Qingrui Zhang, Qina Sun
Summary: Polystyrene resins (PS) and zirconium phosphate (ZrP) combine to form ZrP-PS, an effective sorbent with high affinity for radioactive cesium, suitable for emergency treatment of radioactively contaminated water.
CHINESE CHEMICAL LETTERS
(2024)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
A. Alzaidi, E. S. Kikkinides, D. Schneider, P. A. Monson, R. Valiullin
Summary: Adsorption/desorption and melting/freezing in structurally disordered nanoporous solids exhibit strongly non-equilibrium behavior. However, many questions related to the free energy spectrum, existence and accessibility of equilibrium transitions, and relaxation dynamics towards the global energy minimum, still remain poorly addressed. In this study, a minimal model of pore networks with statistical disorder is used to explore the system free energies along solid-liquid and liquid-gas transitions. The rigorous results obtained provide insights into the equilibrium transition line in porous solids with arbitrary pore topology.
JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL PHYSICS
(2022)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Jissy Jacob, Vijay Robert, Ravi Babu Valapa, Sunny Kuriakose, Sabu Thomas, Sravanthi Loganathan
Summary: This study focuses on the fabrication of PLA/PEI-MS composites to improve the limitations of PLA as food packaging material. The addition of PEI-MS enhanced thermal stability and mechanical properties while reducing oxygen transmission rate for PLA composites.
ACS APPLIED POLYMER MATERIALS
(2022)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Jissy Jacob, Vijay Robert, Ravi Babu Valapa, Sunny Kuriakose, Sabu Thomas, Sravanthi Loganathan
Summary: The search for sustainable plastics is driven by the environmental pollution issues associated with petrochemical-derived plastics. Bioplastics, such as poly(lactic acid) (PLA), are increasingly being used in packaging due to limited fuel resources. However, poor ductility and gas barrier characteristics limit the use of PLA as food packaging material. This study aims to overcome these limitations by fabricating PLA/polyethylenimine-modified mesoporous silica (PEI-MS) composites. The influence of PEI content in MS and wt % loadings of optimized PEI content in MS on the properties of PLA is investigated in detail. The results show that PEI-MS modification improves the thermal stability and mechanical properties of PLA.
ACS APPLIED POLYMER MATERIALS
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Tomota Nagaura, Hoang-Phuong Phan, Victor Malgras, Tuan-Anh Pham, Hyunsoo Lim, Aditya Ashok, Jeonghun Kim, Jungmok You, Nam-Trung Nguyen, Jongbeom Na, Yusuke Yamauchi
Summary: This study presents a new synthesis route for mesoporous semiconductors through soft-template-assisted electrochemical deposition. The resulting films exhibit homogeneous distribution of mesopores and high sensitivity in photodetection, demonstrating the versatility and potential for applications in nanostructured semiconductors.
ANGEWANDTE CHEMIE-INTERNATIONAL EDITION
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Swapneel Thakkar, Lidia De Luca, Silvia Gaspa, Alberto Mariani, Sebastiano Garroni, Antonio Iacomini, Luigi Stagi, Plinio Innocenzi, Luca Malfatti
Summary: Graphene-enhanced Raman scattering (GERS) is a chemical-based enhancement of Raman signal. Graphene nanostructures can be used to build a platform for fast and sensitive detection of pesticides in water. The properties of graphene nanostructures affect GERS performance, with monolayers being more efficient than few-layer structures. Surface functionalization reduces GERS effect.
Article
Polymer Science
Franca Lucia Cossu, Matteo Poddighe, Luigi Stagi, Roberto Anedda, Plinio Innocenzi
Summary: Boric acid was found to be an effective catalyst for promoting the formation of glycine polypeptides, resulting in a product with an extended polymeric structure and intense blue fluorescence.
MACROMOLECULAR CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Federico Fiori, Hind Moukham, Federico Olia, Davide Piras, Sergio Ledda, Andrea Salis, Luigi Stagi, Luca Malfatti, Plinio Innocenzi
Summary: This study synthesized two carbon dots and tested their cellular uptake and bioimaging performance in vitro. The results showed that these carbon dots are highly biocompatible, exhibit high photostability, and can effectively be taken up by cells for bioimaging purposes.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Junkai Ren, Luigi Stagi, Luca Malfatti, Valentina Paolucci, Carlo Cantalini, Sebastiano Garroni, Marzia Mureddu, Plinio Innocenzi
Summary: Researchers have fabricated WS2/TiO2 heterostructures by incorporating two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides layers into titania mesoporous ordered thin films, resulting in improved performances of photocatalytic devices. An enhanced photocatalytic response has been observed, attributed to the interparticle electron transfer effect.
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Angela Terracina, Angelo Armano, Manuela Meloni, Annamaria Panniello, Gianluca Minervini, Antonino Madonia, Marco Cannas, Marinella Striccoli, Luca Malfatti, Fabrizio Messina
Summary: Carbon dots (CDs) are fluorescent nanoparticles with wide-ranging applications. However, their photostability and photoluminescence mechanism vary widely, and photobleaching can occur under intense light. This study investigates the photostability of different CDs and discovers that their resistance to photobleaching is correlated with their emission properties. The study also explores the influence of photobleaching dynamics on the photophysics of CDs.
ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Manuela Meloni, Luigi Stagi, Davide Sanna, Sebastiano Garroni, Laura Calvillo, Angela Terracina, Marco Cannas, Fabrizio Messina, Carlo Maria Carbonaro, Plinio Innocenzi, Luca Malfatti
Summary: This study presents a strategy to embed a pre-formed fluorescent molecule into carbon dots, allowing for fine control of emission properties and resistance to photobleaching. Embedding dyes in carbon dots represents an alternative method to optimize emission across the visible spectrum.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Junkai Ren, Luca Malfatti, Luigi Stagi, Davide Carboni, Roberto Anedda, Laura Calvillo, Plinio Innocenzi
Summary: Metal-free sulfur nanodots are a type of emerging nanoparticles used in photonics and nanobiotechnology. By modulating the surface interface with an organic polymer, the emission properties and colors of sulfur nanodots can be controlled.
CHEMISTRY OF MATERIALS
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Jessica De Santis, Valentina Paolucci, Luigi Stagi, Davide Carboni, Luca Malfatti, Carlo Cantalini, Plinio Innocenzi
Summary: The design of functional coatings for touchscreens and haptic interfaces is crucial in electronic devices. This study developed photoactivated anti-fingerprint coatings by incorporating 2D-SnSe2 nanoflakes into ordered mesoporous titania thin films. The resulting heterostructures showed enhanced ability to remove fingerprints and improved photocatalytic activity. The addition of SnSe2 did not affect the self-assembly process and the three-dimensional pore structure of the films. Furthermore, exposure of the films to sunlight and UV light completely eliminated fingerprints, suggesting potential applications in self-cleaning mechanisms.
Review
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Plinio Innocenzi
Summary: The synthesis of ordered mesoporous films via self-assembly is a significant achievement in nanoscience, but controlling the complex chemical-physical phenomena caused by solvent evaporation remains challenging. While there have been advancements in basic research, more understanding is needed on the self-organization mechanism and the physics and chemistry of mesoscale porosity.
