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Superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONS) were synthesized by thermal decomposition of an organometallic precursor at high temperature and coated with a bi-layer composed of oleic acid and methoxy-polyethylene glycol-phospholipid. The formulations were named SPION-PEG350 and SPION-PEG2000. Transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and magnetic measurements show that the SPIONs are near-spherical, well-crystalline, and have high saturation magnetization and susceptibility. FTIR spectroscopy identifies the presence of oleic acid and of the conjugates mPEG for each sample. In vitro biocompatibility of SPIONS was investigated using three cell lines; up to 100μg/ml SPION-PEG350 showed non-toxicity, while SPION-PEG2000 showed no signal of toxicity even up to 200μg/ml. The uptake of SPIONS was detected using magnetization measurement, confocal and atomic force microscopy. SPION-PEG2000 presented the highest internalization capacity, which should be correlated with the mPEG chain size. The in vivo results suggested that SPION-PEG2000 administration in mice triggered liver and kidney injury. From the Clinical Editor The potential use of superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONS) in the clinical setting have been studied by many researchers. The authors synthesized two types of SPIONS here and investigated the physical properties and biological compatibility. The findings should provide more data on the design of SPIONS for clinical application in the future.

Transferring CVD graphene using surfactantprotectedAu nanoparticles (Au NPs) avoids the use of PMMAand opens new ways of building heterojunctions for TERS andSERS applications. Thermal treatment removes organics fromthe Au NPs and leads to larger nanoparticles and theformation of networks, dimmers, and nanoplates of variousshapes (circles, hexagons, and triangles). Raman and HRTEMrevealed bilayer graphene and Moirépatterns as determined bythe 2D band and dislocated atomic layers, respectively. TERS performed on the heterojunction exhibits a reversible increase infrequency and sharpening of the characteristic bands in graphene along with the exaltation of bands such as D + D′. A closeexamination into a single triangular-shape nanoplate reveals that the most irregular area of the nanoplate is consistent with thehigher Raman enhancement of Rh6G when compared to other areas of the same feature. This work may shed light onto newways of transferring graphene, fundamental aspects concerning local strains in the heterojunction, and SERS on a single Aunanostructure. Fil: Pérez, Luis Alberto. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Investigaciones en Físico-química de Córdoba. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Químicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Físico-química de Córdoba; Argentina Fil: Dalfovo, Maria Celeste. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisicoquímicas Teóricas y Aplicadas. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisicoquímicas Teóricas y Aplicadas; Argentina Fil: Troiani, Horacio Esteban. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Centro Atómico Bariloche; Argentina Fil: Soldati, Analía Leticia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Centro Atómico Bariloche; Argentina Fil: Lacconi, Gabriela Ines. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Investigaciones en Físico-química de Córdoba. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Químicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Físico-química de Córdoba; Argentina Fil: Ibañez, Francisco Javier. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisicoquímicas Teóricas y Aplicadas. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisicoquímicas Teóricas y Aplicadas; Argentina

A scalable, simple, robust and reproducible method is presented for the preparation of chemically homogeneous and ordered nanocrystalline and mesoporous Zr1-xCexO2 thin films. The method utilizes widely available commercial block copolymers as templates. We show how the preparation conditions, film compositions and thermal treatments determine the mesoporous and crystalline structure. Through the scanning of the synthetic process, it was possible to arrive at an optimized and very reproducible method which allows the preparation of high quality, transparent, nanocrystalline and ordered Zr1-xCexO2 mesoporous thin films with different compositions. Fil: Violi, Ianina Lucila. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Centro de Investigaciones en Bionanociencias "Elizabeth Jares Erijman"; Argentina. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Gerencia del Área de Seguridad Nuclear y Ambiente. Gerencia de Química (CAC); Argentina Fil: Luca, Vittorio. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Centro Atómico Constituyentes; Argentina Fil: Soldati, Analía Leticia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Gerencia de Área de Aplicaciones de la Tecnología Nuclear. Gerencia de Investigación Aplicada; Argentina Fil: Troiani, Horacio Esteban. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Norte; Argentina. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Gerencia de Área de Aplicaciones de la Tecnología Nuclear. Gerencia de Investigación Aplicada; Argentina Fil: Soler Illia, Galo Juan de Avila Arturo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Gerencia del Área Investigaciones y Aplicaciones no Nucleares; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de San Martin. Instituto de Nanosistemas; Argentina Fil: Zelcer, Andrés. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Centro de Investigaciones en Bionanociencias "Elizabeth Jares Erijman"; Argentina. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Gerencia del Área de Seguridad Nuclear y Ambiente. Gerencia de Química (CAC); Argentina. Universidad Nacional de San Martín. Escuela de Ciencia y Tecnología; Argentina

Anodes and cathodes of fuel cells are usually composed of metallic nanoparticles (NPs) dispersed on carbon, in order to increase their active area. Since the degradation of the catalyst affects the performance of the fuel cells, understanding the stability of its components is pivotal to make these systems more reliable. As such, graphene sheets and carbon nanotubes have been employed as alternative supports to improve the stability of anodes in fuel cells. In this context, we have used polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) combined with a one-step chemical reduction induced by ethylene glycol to synthesize Pd NPs dispersed on chemically converted graphene (CCG). We compared the electrochemical stability of Pd NPs supported on carbon black (C), multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and CCG. MWCNTs and CCG make Pd NPs electrochemically more stable than carbon black. Pd/CCG catalysts are more stable than Pd/MWCNTs during the first potential cycles, while Pd/MWCNTs showed a higher long-term stability. These results allow us to consider a competition between agglomeration of NPs and degradation of the support, where the agglomeration seems to be limited by the available surface area of the support. Fil: Martins, Cauê A.. Universidade Federal do Mato Grosso do Sul; Brasil. Universidade Federal da Grande Dourados; Brasil Fil: Fernández, Pablo Sebastián. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisicoquímicas Teóricas y Aplicadas. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisicoquímicas Teóricas y Aplicadas; Argentina Fil: De Lima, Fabio. Universidade Federal do Mato Grosso do Sul; Brasil Fil: Troiani, Horacio Esteban. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Gerencia del Area de Investigación y Aplicaciones No Nucleares. Gerencia de Física (Centro Atómico Bariloche); Argentina Fil: Martins, María Elisa. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisicoquímicas Teóricas y Aplicadas. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisicoquímicas Teóricas y Aplicadas; Argentina Fil: Arenillas de la Puente, Ana. Instituto Nacional del Carbón; España. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas; España Fil: Gilberto, Maia. Universidade Federal do Mato Grosso do Sul; Brasil Fil: Camara, Giuseppe A.. Universidade Federal do Mato Grosso do Sul; Brasil

Multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) with a diameter of 30e50 nm was added to the negative electrode of a NieMH battery in order to study the effect of its purification treatment on the electrochemical performance. Three different reflux assisted digestion methods were analyzed. MWCNT were structural characterized before and after purifications by means of different techniques such as HRTEM, EDS, SEM, XRD and FTIR. Subsequently they were incorporated into the working electrode to evaluate the electrochemical performance by charge/discharge cycling and rate capability. Fil: Benavides Castillo, Lisbeth Alexandra. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Gerencia del _rea Investigaciones y Aplicaciones No Nucleares. Gerencia de Física (cab). Grupo de Fisica de Metales; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina Fil: Cuscueta, Diego Javier. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Gerencia del _rea Investigaciones y Aplicaciones No Nucleares. Gerencia de Física (cab). Grupo de Fisica de Metales; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina Fil: Troiani, Horacio Esteban. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Gerencia del _rea Investigaciones y Aplicaciones No Nucleares. Gerencia de Física (cab). Grupo de Fisica de Metales; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina Fil: Ghilarducci, Ada Albertina. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Gerencia del _rea Investigaciones y Aplicaciones No Nucleares. Gerencia de Física (cab). Grupo de Fisica de Metales; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina Fil: Salva, Horacio Ramon. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Gerencia del Area de Investigación y Aplicaciones No Nucleares. Gerencia de Física (Centro Atómico Bariloche); Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina

In this research work, DEXTRAN- and polyethyl- ene glycol (PEG)-coated iron-oxide superparamagnetic nano- particles were synthetized and their cytotoxicity and biodistribution assessed. Well-crystalline hydrophobic Fe3O4 SPIONs were formed by a thermal decomposition process with d 5 18 nm and r 5 2 nm; finally, the character of SPIONs was changed to hydrophilic by a post-synthesis pro- cedure with the functionalization of the SPIONs with PEG or DEXTRAN. The nanoparticles present high saturation mag- netization and superparamagnetic behavior at room tempera- ture, and the hydrodynamic diameters of DEXTRAN- and PEG-coated SPIONs were measured as 170 and 120 nm, respectively. PEG- and DEXTRAN-coated SPIONs have a Spe- cific Power Absorption SPA of 320 and 400 W/g, respectively, in an ac magnetic field with amplitude of 13 kA/m and fre- quency of 256 kHz. In vitro studies using VERO and MDCK cell lineages were performed to study the cytotoxicity and cell uptake of the SPIONs. For both cell lineages, PEG- and DEXTRAN-coated nanoparticles presented high cell viability for concentrations as high as 200 lg/mL. In vivo studies were conducted using BALB/c mice inoculating the SPIONs intrave- nously and exposing them to the presence of an external magnet located over the tumour. It was observed that the amount of PEG-coated SPIONs in the tumor increased by up to 160% when using the external permanent magnetic as opposed to those animals that were not exposed to the exter- nal magnetic field. V C

Here we investigate the electrochemical behavior of Pd/C synthesized by reduction with ethylene glycol in the presence of polyvinylpyrrolidone (EG-PVP). EG-PVP produces nanoparticles (NPs) with a narrow size distribution, but some of them remain covered by impurities after the synthesis. After successive voltammetric cycles, NPs become cleaner, but some agglomeration and structural modification occur; these effects affect the electrochemical behavior of Pd/C in different ways, so we used CO as a probe to better understand the processes taking place. CO stripping shows that the general features of the multiple oxidation peaks change with the number of cycles. Possibly, CO and OH from different NPs react when the particles agglomerate, contributing to CO stripping changes. Finally, different active areas are found when the charges involved in CO oxidation and PdO reduction are compared. Such differences are rationalized in terms of a balance between the increase of sites which promote the oxidation of CO and the loss of area provoked by the growing of the particles. Fil: Martins, Cauê A.. Universidade Federal do Mato Grosso do Sul; Brasil Fil: Fernández, Pablo Sebastián. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisicoquímicas Teóricas y Aplicadas. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisicoquímicas Teóricas y Aplicadas; Argentina Fil: Troiani, Horacio E.. Comision Nacional de Energía Atómica. Gerencia de Área Investigaciones y Aplicaciones no Nucleares. Gerencia de Física (Centro Atómico Bariloche). División Física de Metales; Argentina Fil: Martins, María Elisa. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisicoquímicas Teóricas y Aplicadas. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisicoquímicas Teóricas y Aplicadas; Argentina Fil: Arenillas de la Puente, Ana. Instituto Nacional del Carbón; España Fil: Camara, Giuseppe A.. Universidade Federal do Mato Grosso do Sul; Brasil

Carbon supported Pt nanoparticles (NPs) have been prepared through polyols method using PVP. As observed with a large number of surfactants employed in NPs synthesis, it is very difficult to attain an efficient NPs cleaning, which is a fundamental requirement in catalysis researches. The aim of this paper was to obtain clean NPs, beginning by using “soft” methods, in order to keep unaltered both the NPs size and shape; however, an important surfactant remnant was observed. Consequently, it was performed an electrochemical cleaning through PVP and glycolate electro-oxidation, being accompanied with important perturbations of NPs atoms and dissolution and re-deposition of Pt. Finally, the performance of the catalyst towards the glycerol electro-oxidation reaction (GER), before and after the cleaning process was studied. In addition, we demonstrate how the impurities bring about poor reproducibility in this kind of experiments due to the fact that the cleaning process is occurring at the same time that the GER and because cleaning extent along cycles varies for each independent experiment. Fil: Fernández, Pablo Sebastián. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico la Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisicoquímicas Teóricas y Aplicadas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de La Plata; Argentina Fil: Ferreira, Dênis S.. Universidade Federal Do Mato Grosso Do Sul; Brasil Fil: Martins, Cauê A.. Universidade Federal Do Mato Grosso Do Sul; Brasil Fil: Troiani, Horacio Esteban. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Gerencia del Area de Investigación y Aplicaciones No Nucleares. Gerencia de Física (Centro Atómico Bariloche); Argentina Fil: Câmara, Giuseppe A.. Universidade Federal Do Mato Grosso Do Sul; Brasil Fil: Martins, María Elisa. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico la Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisicoquímicas Teóricas y Aplicadas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de La Plata; Argentina

Gold nanoparticles (NP) were synthesized inside ordered mesoporous TiO2 thin films (MTTF) by stepwise reduction of AuCl4 − with NaBH4. This leads to an optical material (Au@TiO2) of interest for plasmonic applications. The films (pure titania or gold-titania nanocomposites) were thoroughly characterized by UV−visible and ellipsometry spectroscopies. The dielectric function of the MTTF, considered as the dielectric environment in which the NP are embedded, was acquired by ellipsometry and rationalized by the asymmetric Bruggeman model as an effective medium formed by the mixture of dense TiO2 and air. Nanocomposite Au@TiO2 systems present an isotropic dispersion of Au NP in the 5−8 nm range. The UV−visible spectra obtained with a low nanoparticle filling fraction of the pore volume (f NP < 2%) are accurately reproduced by both Maxwell−Garnett (MG) and Mie theories. Accurate and coincident values of f NP and NP size are obtained by this method. The dielectric function of Au NP used in this work was studied in detail; in particular, the interface damping parameter related to the NP/MTTF interface was determined by comparison with TEM microscopy. The potential of the ellipsometry technique to determine the material plasmonic response, and its correspondence with the UV−visible spectra, are discussed. This spectroscopy technique opens the possibility to study the plasmon response of the material to changes in the environment due to the presence of vapors, and other in situ experiments, as well as to provide nanostructural information of metallic nanoparticles (NP size, interparticle distance, number of NP) with well-defined spatial localization in a multilayered system. Fil: Sanchez, Veronica Muriel. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Centro Atómico Constituyentes; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Química Inorgánica, Analítica y Química Física; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina Fil: Martínez, Eduardo David. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Centro Atómico Constituyentes; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina Fil: Martinez Ricci, Maria Luz. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Química, Física de los Materiales, Medioambiente y Energía. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Química, Física de los Materiales, Medioambiente y Energía; Argentina Fil: Troiani, Horacio Esteban. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Centro Atómico Bariloche; Argentina. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Gerencia del Área de Energía Nuclear. Instituto Balseiro; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina Fil: Soler Illia, Galo Juan de Avila Arturo. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Centro Atómico Constituyentes; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Química Inorgánica, Analítica y Química Física; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina

International audience; In the past decade, the surprising magnetic behavior of gold nanoparticles has been reported. This unexpected property is mainly attributed both to size and surface effects. Mesoporous thin films are ideal matrices for metallic nanoparticles inclusion, because of their highly accessible and tailorable pore systems that lead to completely tunable chemical environments. Exploiting these features, we synthesized Au nanoparticles within mesoporous titania thin films (film thickness of ∼150 nm and pore diameter of ∼5 nm), and we studied their magnetic properties under confinement. Here, we present the results of the magnetization as a function of temperature and magnetic field for this system, which are consistent with the previously reported for free (unconfined) thiol-capped gold nanoparticles. The successful inclusion of stable magnetic Au nanoparticles within transparent mesoporous thin films opens the gates for the application of these nanocomposites in two-dimensional (2D) microdevices technology and magneto-optical devices.

Nanoparticles (NPs) with magnetic properties based on magnetite (Fe3O4, MAG) modified with oleic acid (OA), chitosan (CS) and bovine serum albumin (BSA) have been prepared. A versatile method of synthesis was employed, involving two steps: (i) co-precipitation of MAG; and (ii) nanoprecipitation of macromolecules on as-formed MAG NPs. Experimental variables have been explored to determine the set of conditions that ensure suitable properties of NPs in terms of their size, functionality and magnetic properties. It was found that the presence of OA in Fe+2/Fe+3 solutions yields MAG NPs with lower aggregation levels, while increasing initial amounts of OA may change the capability of NPs to disperse in aqueous or organic media by modifying the stabilization mechanism. Incorporation of CS was verified through Fourier transform IR spectroscopy. This biopolymer stabilizes NPs by electrostatic repulsions leading to stable ferrofluids and minimal fraction of recoverable solid NPs. BSA was successfully added to NP formulations, increasing their functionality and probably their biocompatibility. In this case too stable ferrofluids were obtained, where BSA acts as a polyelectrolyte. From the proposed methodology it is possible to achieve a wide range of NPs magnetically active intended for several applications. The required properties may be obtained by varying experimental conditions. Fil: Nicolás, Paula. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Bahía Blanca. Planta Piloto de Ingeniería Química (i); Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Sur; Argentina Fil: Saleta, Martin Eduardo. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Gerencia del Area de Investigación y Aplicaciones No Nucleares. Gerencia de Física (Centro Atómico Bariloche); Argentina Fil: Troiani, Horacio Esteban. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Gerencia del Area de Investigación y Aplicaciones No Nucleares. Gerencia de Física (Centro Atómico Bariloche); Argentina Fil: Zysler, Roberto Daniel. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Gerencia del Area de Investigación y Aplicaciones No Nucleares. Gerencia de Física (Centro Atómico Bariloche); Argentina Fil: Lassalle, Verónica Leticia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Bahía Blanca. Instituto de Química del Sur; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Sur; Argentina Fil: Ferreira, Maria Lujan. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Bahía Blanca. Planta Piloto de Ingeniería Química (i); Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Sur; Argentina

Uniform polycrystalline SnO2 microtubes formed by sintered nanoparticles (fixed to a surface or in free standing form) were obtained with the infiltration technique using SnCl4 as precursor and a porous polycarbonate (PC) film as template. The advantage of this synthesis method was based on its simplicity, reproducibility, low cost, and the possible applicability to other complex oxides. The morphology and crystal structure of SnO2 tubes were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The crystalline sizes of the nanoparticles assembled in the tube walls obtained at 600 °C were in the range of 5–7 nm, calculated from both the XRD and the TEM data. The length of the microtubes fixed to a silicon nitride surface ranged between 2 and 7 μm. Sensors fabricated with this material showed unusual sensitivity to ethanol at room temperature and fast reversible response, as compared to those obtained by the deposition of metallic tin film and further oxidation (Rheotaxial Growth and Thermal Oxidation method).

This work reports the preparation, characterization and applications of silver nanoparticles synthesized through the chemical reduction of AgNO3 and protected by surface modifier. In order to characterize the formation of nanoparticles and the role of synthesis parameters (time, temperature) several studies were made, such as UV–vis spectroscopy, TEM and AFM. We present the incorporation of Ag nanoparticles in sol–gel obtained matrix, because this technique allows the incorporation of larger concentrations of active optical agents and the obtainment of full-dense films at lower temperature than those possible by other methods. The final goal of this work is the preparation of 80SiO2·20B2O3 films for active optical waveguides doped with Ag nanoparticles and Erbium. We are looking for the reinforcement of the fluorescence intensity due to the effect of the resonant coupling of both optical agents (Er and nanoparticles) to produce optical amplifiers.

Nanoparticles assembled into nanostructures (NAN) of manganese perovskite oxides for different compositions and diameters have been synthesized following a template-assisted method. We discuss the relationship among geometrical, structural and nanostructural parameters observed when synthesizing LaMnO3, La0.66Sr0.33MnO3, La0.66Ca0.33MnO3 and La0.325Pr0.300Ca0.375MnO3 manganite based complex oxides. For all the studied compounds, the structures are composed of an assembly of small (some few tens of nanometers) grains. They form nanotubes above some threshold diameter of the template, and nanowires below it. Here we focus on the correlation between grain size and the diameter at which the tube to wire crossover occurs. The threshold for this tube to wall crossover seems to depend on the specific compound. We present evidence from TEM observations that allow a rationalization of several phenomena in the synthesis process. Fil: Leyva de Guglielmino, Ana Gabriela. Universidad Nacional de San Martín; Argentina. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Centro Atómico Constituyentes; Argentina Fil: Troiani, Horacio Esteban. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Centro Atómico Bariloche; Argentina. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Gerencia del Área de Energía Nuclear. Instituto Balseiro; Argentina Fil: Curiale, Carlos Javier. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Centro Atómico Bariloche; Argentina. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Gerencia del Área de Energía Nuclear. Instituto Balseiro; Argentina Fil: Sanchez, Rodolfo Daniel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Gerencia del Área de Energía Nuclear. Instituto Balseiro; Argentina. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Centro Atómico Bariloche; Argentina Fil: Levy, Pablo Eduardo. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Centro Atómico Constituyentes; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina

Advanced Functional Materials Vol. 17 (8), p. 1247 - 1254, Environment-sensitive Bragg reflectors are built using functional mesoporous thin films as building blocks. Tuning of optical properties is achieved by changing the composition or porosity of the slabs or the introduction of planar defects. Sorption or capillary condensation of molecules into the pore system results in a 10-40 nm photonic bandgap (PBG) shift. Organic functions added to the pore surface change the response, permitting tailoring of the selectivity towards small-size molecules.

Since the discovery of carbon nanotubes (CNT), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) has been the most important tool in their investigation. It is possible to use electron irradiation in a TEM to construct a single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) from an amorphous carbon film. Here we show that such a synthesis method creates a large number of carbon ad-atoms, which after some critical amount of radiation act to restore the system by reconstructing the carbon film. The behavior of the ad-atoms can be controlled by adjusting the current density in the microscope, suggesting that carbon nanomaterials can be tailored by electron irradiation., R.C. thanks the University of Texas at Austin for their fellowship support.

Oat (Avena sativa) biomass was studied as an alternative to recover Au(III) ions from aqueous solutions and for its capacity to reduce Au(III) to Au(0) forming Au nanoparticles. To study the binding trend of Au(III) to oat and the possible formation of Au nanoparticles, the biomass and a solution of Au(III) were reacted for a period of 1 h at pH values ranging from 2 to 6. The results demonstrated that Au(III) ions were bound to oat biomass in a pH-dependent manner, with the highest adsorption (about 80%) at pH 3. HRTEM studies showed that oat biomass reacted with Au(III) ions formed Au nanoparticles of fcc tetrahedral, decahedral, hexagonal, icosahedral multitwinned, irregular, and rod shape. To our knowledge, this is the second report about the production of nanorods as a product of the reaction of a Au(III) solution with a biological material. These studies also showed that the pH of the reaction influenced the nanoparticle size. The smaller nanoparticles and the higher occurrence of these were observed at pH values of 3 and 4, whereas the larger nanoparticles were observed at pH 2. Fil: Armendariz, Veronica. University of Texas at El Paso; Estados Unidos Fil: Herrera, Isaac. University of Texas at El Paso; Estados Unidos Fil: Peralta Videa, Jose R.. University of Texas at El Paso; Estados Unidos. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México; México Fil: José Yacamán, Miguel. University of Texas at El Paso; Estados Unidos Fil: Troiani, Horacio Esteban. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Norte; Argentina. University of Texas at Austin; Estados Unidos Fil: Santiago, Patricia. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México; México Fil: Gardea Torresdey, Jorge L.. University of Texas at El Paso; Estados Unidos

Molecular dynamics simulations and high resolution TEM experiments are performed to assess the fracture of nanotubes under high stretching conditions. Brittle or plastic response is controlled by the rate of applied strain to the tube as well as by the number of defects (in particular vacancies). Simulations predict that under high temperatures and presence of defects (as induced under the high-energy electron beam of the TEM) the tubes exhibit mainly plastic deformation, with the appearance of medium size carbon chains as the latest stage before fracture. These results are in agreement with in-situ TEM observation. Carbon exhibits a very rich dynamics of bond-breaking and bond-reconstruction that allows transformations from fullerenes to tubes to chains., This work was supported by the ECRTNs NANOPHASE (HPRN-CT-2000-00167), COMELCAN (HPRN-CT-2000-00128), EXC!TiNG (HPRN-CT- 2002-00317), by Spanish MCyT(MAT2001-0946) and University of the Basque Country (9/UPV 00206.215-13639/2001).

The preparation and study of quantum dots and quantum wires play a very important role in nanotechnology. In this particular study, we report on the uptake of silver by living alfalfa plants. X-ray absorption spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) studies corroborated silver metal uptake by alfalfa plants from a silver-rich solid medium and the subsequent formation of silver nanoparticles. Silver nanoparticle alignment, structure, and coalescence were observed using TEM with an atomic resolution analysis. Dark field image TEM showed the connection of silver nanoparticles of different sizes by possibly noncrystalline silver atomic wires. To our knowledge, this is the first report on the formation of silver nanoparticles by a living plant system.

In modern nanotechnology one of the most exciting areas is the interaction between inorganic quantum dots and biological structures. For instance gold clusters surrounded by a shell of organic ligands covalently attach to proteins or other biological substances and can be used for labeling in structural biology. In the present report we show the possibility of using live plants for the fabrication of nanoparticles. Alfalfa plants were grown in an AuCl4 rich environment. The absorption of Au metal by the plants was confirmed by X-ray absorption studies (XAS), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Atomic resolution analysis confirmed the nucleation and growth of Au nanoparticles inside the plant and that the Au nanoparticles are in a crystalline state. Images also showed defects such as twins in the crystal structure, and in some cases icosahedral nanoparticles were found. X-ray EDS studies corroborated that the nanoparticles are pure gold. This is the first report on the formation of gold nanoparticl...

Metal-porous oxide nanocomposites present great interest in optical devices and heterogeneous catalysis. For these applications, particle shape and size control, as well as accessibility, are critical aspects. In this work, gold nanoparticles (NPs) were infiltrated into mesoporous TiO2 thin films (MTTF) by an impregnation-reduction method. In situ ellipsometry measurements were performed during thermal treatment to follow in real time the changes in the optical constants and thickness of the composites systems while being submitted to continuous heating at different rates, from room temperature up to 600 °C. Complementary characterization by UV–visible spectrophotometry, grazing incident wide angle scattering (GIWAXS), and X-ray reflectometry (XRR) were performed. TEM microscopy was used to analyze the morphological changes in the composite films after the thermal treatment. Our experiments demonstrate that particle coarsening starts at temperatures below 200 °C through the processes of ripening and particle migration, leading to changes in the particle size distribution (PSD) until a mechanical restriction, due to the porous geometry, induces a change of the particle shape from spherical to ellipsoidal. This results in an internal stress that swells the mesoporous film. The effect of the gold filling fraction and the heating ramp was analyzed. A mechanism based on the kinetics of particle migration and coalescence, through the modeling of the localized surface plasmon resonance under the dipolar approximation, is proposed to explain the changes in the optical properties of these composites materials and unravel the thermal activated processes occurring in metal crystallites supported on porous oxide frameworks. Fil: Martínez, Eduardo David. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Gerencia del Área de Seguridad Nuclear y Ambiente. Gerencia de Química (CAC); Argentina Fil: Cédric, Boissiere. College de France; Francia Fil: Grosso, David. College de France; Francia Fil: Sanchez, Clément. College de France; Francia Fil: Troiani, Horacio Esteban. Comision Nacional de Energia Atomica. Gerencia D/area de Energia Nuclear; Argentina Fil: Galo, J. A. A. Soler Illia. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Gerencia del Área de Seguridad Nuclear y Ambiente. Gerencia de Química (CAC); Argentina

Carbon-supported platinum nanoparticles Pt/C (NPs) are used in many fields of science. These kinds of materials have been extensively studied in electrochemistry due to the fact that they are applied in fuel cell technology. Although there are a myriad of methods for Pt NP synthesis, the need for obtaining Pt/C NPs with a good dispersion (covering over the entire support), a narrow size distribution, and clean surface (among other parameters) is far to be overcome. On this sense herein we describe a very easy and quick method of synthesis of highly dispersed Pt NPs followed by a simple electrochemical cleaning step. The catalysts were electrochemically characterized by studying their behavior in 0.5 M H2SO4 and also by using CO as a probe during the CO electro-oxidation reaction (COEOR). This paper shows how to obtain highly dispersed and clean Pt/C NPs that produce very reproducible results. Besides, we demonstrate how the presence of impurities negatively affects the electrochemical reproducibility of Pt NPs with a clear impact on their catalytic activity., Instituto de Investigaciones Fisicoquímicas Teóricas y Aplicadas

We introduce a nanoparticle-mesoporous oxide thin film composite (NP-MOTF) as low-cost and straightforward sensing platforms for surface-enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS). Titania, zirconia, and silica mesoporous matrices templated with Pluronics F-127 were synthesized via evaporation-induced self-assembly and loaded with homogeneously dispersed Ag nanoparticles by soft reduction or photoreduction. Both methods give rise to uniform and reproducible Raman signals using 4-mercaptopyridine as a probe molecule. Details on stability and reproducibility of the Raman enhancement are discussed. Extensions in the design of these composite structures were explored including detection of nonthiolated molecules, such as rhodamine 6-G or salicylic acid, patterning techniques for locating the enhancement regions and bilayered mesoporous structures to provide additional control on the environment, and potential size-selective filtration. These inorganic oxide–metal composites stand as extremely simple, reproducible, and versatile platforms for Raman spectroscopy analysis. Fil: Wolosiuk, Alejandro. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Gerencia del Área de Seguridad Nuclear y Ambiente. Gerencia de Química (CAC); Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina Fil: Tognalli, Nicolas Gerardo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Centro Atómico Bariloche; Argentina. Centro de Innovación Tecnológica Empresarial y Social S.A.; Argentina Fil: Martínez, Eduardo David. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Gerencia del Área de Seguridad Nuclear y Ambiente. Gerencia de Química (CAC); Argentina. Universidad Nacional de San Martín. Instituto Sabato; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina Fil: Granada, Mara. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Gerencia del Área de Investigaciones y Aplicaciones no Nucleares. Gerencia de Física (Centro Atómico Constituyentes); Argentina Fil: Fuertes, María Cecilia. Universidad Nacional de San Martín. Instituto Sabato; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Gerencia del Área de Seguridad Nuclear y Ambiente. Gerencia de Química (CAC); Argentina Fil: Troiani, Horacio Esteban. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Gerencia del Area de Investigación y Aplicaciones No Nucleares. Gerencia de Física (Centro Atómico Bariloche); Argentina Fil: Bilmes, Sara A.. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Química Inorgánica, Analítica y Química Física; Argentina Fil: Fainstein, Alejandro. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Gerencia del Área de Seguridad Nuclear y Ambiente. Gerencia de Química (CAC); Argentina Fil: Soler Illia, Galo Juan de Avila Arturo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Gerencia del Área de Seguridad Nuclear y Ambiente. Gerencia de Química (CAC); Argentina

Controlling the structures of supports and supported phases is important for catalytic applications where synergic effects can play a main role. In this context, we present versatile methods for suitable microstructurization of CeO2 support and improved dispersion of supported Pt crystallites in a Pt/CeO2 system for enhanced catalytic oxidation of CO. The physicochemical properties investigated using SEM, BET, visible Raman, H2-TPR and OSC measurements demonstrated the important role played by the precursor on the properties of CeO2. Further, 0.5 wt% Pt deposited over CeO2 via ethylene glycol assisted reduction (EGR) was found to be more advantageous than conventional impregnation (IMP) in producing very finely dispersed Pt particles that did not noticeably sinter even after thermal treatment at 500 ◦C for longer duration. H2-chemisorption and H2-TPR experiments further substantiated better Pt dispersion on CeO2 prepared in the presence of Cl− ions regardless of the method employed, thus suggesting a strong microstructural effect of support during growth and anti-sintering activity of Pt crystallites. The CO oxidation activity additionally demonstrates that samples prepared by EGR method show remarkably better performance (100% conversion in

We report the synthesis of rare-earth manganese-oxide-based nanotubes. The pore wetting technique was used to obtain structures of nominal composition La0.325Pr0.300Ca0.375MnO3 with 800 nm external diameter, 4000 nm length, and wall thickness below 100 nm exhibiting magnetic and magnetoresistive behavior below 200 K, including nonvolatile memory. Walls are found to be formed by small crystals of approximately 20 nm. Structures obtained using different diameter of pores, as small as 100 nm, have a similar aspect ratio. Results show the realization of nanotubes of manganites exhibiting intrinsic phase separation.

We report a fully integrated core−shell nanoparticle system responsive to glucose. The system is comprised of self-assembled glucose oxidase and an osmium molecular wire on core−shell Au nanoparticles. Characterization of the functional nanoparticles by spectroscopy, quartz crystal microbalance and electrochemical techniques has shown that the catalytically active shell has a structure as designed and all components are active in the self-assembled multilayer shell. Furthermore, amperometric reagentless detection of glucose and contactless photonic biosensing by the Os(II) resonant Raman signal have been demonstrated. The enzymatic reduction of FAD by glucose and further reduction of the Raman silent Os(III) by FADH2 yields a characteristic enzyme−substrate calibration curve in the millimolar range. Furthermore, coupling of electronic resonant Raman of the osmium complex with the SERS amplification by Au NPs plasmon resonance has been demonstrated which leads to an extra enhancement of the biosensor signal. We present a proof of concept extending the work done with planar surfaces to core−shell NPs as an advance in the design of glucose-responsive chemistry detected by SERS-like methods. Fil: Scodeller, Pablo David. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Química, Física de los Materiales, Medioambiente y Energía. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Química, Física de los Materiales, Medioambiente y Energía; Argentina Fil: Flexer, Victoria. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Química, Física de los Materiales, Medioambiente y Energía. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Química, Física de los Materiales, Medioambiente y Energía; Argentina Fil: Szamocki, R.. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Química, Física de los Materiales, Medioambiente y Energía. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Química, Física de los Materiales, Medioambiente y Energía; Argentina Fil: Calvo, Ernesto Julio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Química, Física de los Materiales, Medioambiente y Energía. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Química, Física de los Materiales, Medioambiente y Energía; Argentina Fil: Tognalli, Nicolas Gerardo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica; Argentina Fil: Troiani, Horacio Esteban. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina Fil: Fainstein, Alejandro. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina

We report on energetic surface reconstruction phenomena observed on bimetallic nanoparticle systems of AuPd and AuCu, similar to a resolidification effect observed during the cooling process in lead clusters. These binary alloy nanoparticles show the fivefold edges truncated, resulting in { 100 } facets on decahedral structures, an effect largely envisioned and reported theoretically, with no experimental evidence so far. We demonstrate experimentally as well as by computational simulations that this new eutectic structure is favored in such nanoalloy systems. Fil: Rodríguez López J. L.. Instituto Potosino de Investigación Científica y Tecnológica ; México Fil: Montejano Carrizales, J. M.. Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí; México Fil: Pal, U.. Universidad Auto´noma de Puebla; México Fil: Sánchez Ramírez, J. F.. Universidad Auto´noma de Puebla; México Fil: Troiani, Horacio Esteban. Comision Nacional de Energía Atómica. Gerencia de Área Investigaciones y Aplicaciones no Nucleares. Gerencia de Física (Centro Atómico Bariloche). División Física de Metales; Argentina Fil: García, D.. The University of Texas; Estados Unidos Fil: Miki Yoshida, M.. The University of Texas; Estados Unidos Fil: José Yacamán, Miguel. The University of Texas; Estados Unidos

The synthesis method for obtaining sub-micrometric structures of rare earth manganese-based mixed oxide compounds is described. Pore wetting of porous polycarbonate templates with the liquid precursor was followed by a two-stage thermal treatment to obtain single phase La0.325Pr0.300Ca0.375MnO3 hollow and solid structures, with external diameter determined by the sacrificial template pore size. The first thermal stage, a microwave assisted denitration process, determines the shape of the structures. The second treatment, performed at 1073 K, allows to obtain the crystallographic structure of the compound. A variety of techniques (scanning and transmission electron microscopy, scanning probe microscopy) allowed to fully characterize the microstructure and morphology of these self-standing manganite nanostructures. For 1 mum pore size templates we obtained tubes, with external diameter around 800 nm and wall thickness around 150 nm; densely packed nanoparticles sized 20-50 nm are the building blocks of the walls. For pore size below 0. 1 mum, solid nanowires were obtained, the size of constituent crystallites being around 10 nm. Overall obtained material exhibits ferromagnetic ordering below 200 K.

Starting from an amorphous C film, single-walled carbon nanotubes were obtained in situ in a high-resolution electron microscope by the combined effect of irradiation and axial strain. Ductile nanotubes developed either a junction or a linear chain of C atoms before failure. These facts have been put in direct evidence for the first time. Tight-binding calculations indicate that the bonding in the linear chain is of a cumulene type., This work was supported by the CONYCYT, Argentina, by special funds from Texas Materials Institute and the Center for Nano and Molecular Technology (UT-Austin), CONACYT, México, the University of the Basque Country, DGES, and by the EU research training network NANOPHASE (HPRN-CT-2000-00167).

La1-xSrxCo1-yFeyO3-? oxides are good candidates for solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) cathodes because these materials present high ionic and electronic conductivity, and compatibility with Cerium Gadolinium Oxide (CGO) electrolytes allowing a lower operation temperature. In this work, we report the synthesis of La0.4Sr0.6Co0.8Fe0.2O3-? (LSCF) nanotubes prepared by a porous polycarbonate membrane approach, obtaining different microstructures depending on sintering conditions. The structure and morphology of the nanotubes and deposited films were characterized by X-ray diffraction, transmission and scanning microscopy. Finally, we obtained nanostructured films of vertically aligned LSCF tubes deposited over the whole surface of CGO pellets with diameter up to 2.5cm in a direct and single step process.