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Nanocomposites and a composite based on poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT) were synthesized using commercial copper nanoparticles (Cu-NPs), copper/cuprous oxide nanoparticles (Cu|Cu2O-NPs), and copper sulfate (CuSO4), respectively. The Cu|Cu2O-NPs were synthesized using chemical reduction and characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The synthesis of Cu|Cu2O-NPs yielded a mixture of Cu and Cu2O, with metal Cu having a spherical morphology of approximately 40 nm in diameter and Cu2O with a diameter of 150 nm. To prepare the nanocomposites (NCs) and the composite material (MC), the NPs and the CuSO4 salt were incorporated into the PBAT matrix in concentrations of 1, 3, and 5% p/p via an ex situ method. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), a tensile test, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and agar diffusion assays were used for structural, thermomechanical, and antimicrobial characterization. Results showed that the reinforcements did not modify the chemical structure of the PBAT and only slightly increased the percentage of crystallization. The mechanical and thermal properties of the PBAT did not change much with the addition of fillers, except for a slight increase in tensile strength and thermal stability, respectively. The agar diffusion antimicrobial assays showed that the NCs and MCs had good inhibitory responses against the nonresistant strains Enterococcus faecalis, Streptococcus mutans, and Staphylococcus aureus. The MCs based on CuSO4 had the highest biocidal effect, even against the resistant bacteria Acinetobacter baumannii. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s11671-019-2987-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Mixing aqueous silver solutions with aqueous leaf aromatic plant extracts from basil, mint, marjoram and peppermint resulted in the synthesis of quasi-spherical silver nanoparticles in a range of size between 2 and 80 nm in diameter as analyzed by analytical high-resolution electron microscopy. The average size could be controlled by applying heat to the initial reaction system at different rates of heating, and by the specific botanical species employed for the reaction. Increasing the rate of heating resulted in a statistically significant decrease in the size of the nanoparticles produced, regardless of the species employed. This fact was more evident in the case of marjoram, which decreased the average diameter from 27 nm at a slow rate of heating to 8 nm at a high rate of heating. With regard to the species, minimum sizes of

In this work, we report a highly adherent, and uniform deposition of nanostructured tellurium. The deposition of the nanostructured tellurium was realized by the dripping of a modified solution of NaHTe based on the dissolution of NaBH4 and tellurium powder in an aqueous solution of NH4OH. This method allowed the relatively simple manipulation of tellurium nanostructures under laboratory ambient, without requiring the use of organic stabilizers. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) was realized on a powder sample obtained by the reaction between H2Te and aqueous solution of NH4OH. TEM analysis indicated that tellurium nanorods and Y-type nanostructures are grown from tellurium nanoparticles, such as in a hydrothermal system. Then, the nanoparticles serve as seeds for the growth of more extended tellurium nanostructures. Electron diffraction and X-ray diffraction analysis showed that depositions have the hexagonal structure of tellurium highly oriented on (101) direction.

CdSe nanowires (CdSe-NWs) at large scale were obtained through a simple and clean method. The reaction was carried out without complexing agents which often facilitate the preferential nanostructure growth. In this work, CdSe-NWs with lineal and zigzag shape around 40 and 130 nm in diameter with a wurtzite-type structure were synthesized. Quantitative EDX analysis indicated the stoichiometric formation of CdSe, while both HRTEM and HAADF-STEM analysis ruled out the presence of other phases such as CdO or nanotubes formation, respectively. Diameter and length of the nanowires varied with the reaction time and temperature. This synthesis method makes the nanostructures purification process easier and also is non-toxic and its high conversion make it an efficient method for obtaining CdSe-NWs.

The fabrication of ZnO (80 nm) thin film was achieved by hybrid atomic layer deposition (ALD) to prevent the reaction between the reactants and conductive layer of the substrates. ZnO nanorods (ZnO-NRs) growth over the substrates was performed by wet chemical procedure in which Zn(NO3)2 and hexamethylenetetramine were used as the precursors. HR-TEM, SAED, FE-SEM, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and UV–Vis spectroscopy were employed to characterize the ZnO-NRs samples on the substrates. XRD and HR-TEM analyses confirmed that the ZnO nanorod structure is hexagonal wurtzite type with growth in the [0001] direction. Length and thickness of the ZnO-NRs ranged between 45 and 90 nm and 480 and 600 nm, respectively. It was observed that the growth rate of NRs in [0001] direction is 10 times higher than in [1000] direction. The growth mechanism and resulted dimensions of nanorods are function of the synthesis parameters (in hybrid ALD process) such as reaction time, temperature, precursor molar ratio, and thickness of ZnO film.

A hydrothermal method to grow vertical-aligned ZnO nanorod arrays on ZnO films obtained by atomic layer deposition (ALD) is presented. The growth of ZnO nanorods is studied as function of the crystallographic orientation of the ZnO films deposited on silicon (100) substrates. Different thicknesses of ZnO films around 40 to 180 nm were obtained and characterized before carrying out the growth process by hydrothermal methods. A textured ZnO layer with preferential direction in the normal c-axes is formed on substrates by the decomposition of diethylzinc to provide nucleation sites for vertical nanorod growth. Crystallographic orientation of the ZnO nanorods and ZnO-ALD films was determined by X-ray diffraction analysis. Composition, morphologies, length, size, and diameter of the nanorods were studied using a scanning electron microscope and energy dispersed x-ray spectroscopy analyses. In this work, it is demonstrated that crystallinity of the ZnO-ALD films plays an important role in the vertical-aligned ZnO nanorod growth. The nanorod arrays synthesized in solution had a diameter, length, density, and orientation desirable for a potential application as photosensitive materials in the manufacture of semiconductor-polymer solar cells. PACS 61.46.Hk, Nanocrystals; 61.46.Km, Structure of nanowires and nanorods; 81.07.Gf, Nanowires; 81.15.Gh, Chemical vapor deposition (including plasma-enhanced CVD, MOCVD, ALD, etc.)

Silver nanoparticles were synthesized using the inert gas aggregation technique. We found the optimal experimental conditions to synthesize nanoparticles at different sizes: 1.3 ± 0.2, 1.7 ± 0.3, 2.5 ± 0.4, 3.7 ± 0.4, 4.5 ± 0.9, and 5.5 ± 0.3 nm. We were able to investigate the dependence of the size of the nanoparticles on the synthesis parameters. Our data suggest that the aggregation of clusters (dimers, trimer, etc.) into the active zone of the nanocluster source is the predominant physical mechanism for the formation of the nanoparticles. Our experiments were carried out in conditions that kept the density of nanoparticles low, and the formation of larges nanoparticles by coalescence processes was avoided. In order to preserve the structural and morphological properties, the impact energy of the clusters landing into the substrate was controlled, such that the acceleration energy of the nanoparticles was around 0.1 eV/atom, assuring a soft landing deposition. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy images showed that the nanoparticles were icosahedral in shape, preferentially oriented with a five-fold axis perpendicular to the substrate surface. Our results show that the synthesis by inert gas aggregation technique is a very promising alternative to produce metal nanoparticles when the control of both size and shape are critical for the development of practical applications.

Silver antimony selenide (AgSbSe2) thin films were prepared by heating sequentially deposited antimony sulphide (Sb2S3), silver selenide (Ag2Se) and Ag thin films in close contact with a selenium thin film. Sb2S3 thin film was prepared from chemical bath containing SbCl3 and Na2S2O3, Ag2Se from the bath containing AgNO3 and Na2SeSO3 and Se thin films from an acidified solution of Na2SeSO3, at room temperature on cleaned glass substrates. Ag thin film was deposited by vacuum thermal evaporation. The annealing temperature was varied from 300-390°C in vacuum (∼10−3 Torr) for 1 h. X-ray diffraction analysis showed the films formed at 350 °C was polycrystalline AgSb(S,Se)2 or AgSbSe2 depending on selenium thin film thickness. Morphology of these films was analyzed using Atomic Force Microscopy and Scanning Electron Microscopy. The elemental analysis was done using Energy Dispersive X-ray technique. Optical characterization of the thin films was done by optical transmittance spectra. The electrical characterizations were done using Hall effect and photocurrent measurements. A photovoltaic structure: Glass/ITO/CdS/AgSbSe2/Ag was formed, in which CdS was deposited by chemical bath deposition. J-V characteristics of this PV structure showed Voc=370 mV and Jsc=0.5 mA/cm2 under illumination using a tungsten halogen lamp.