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Vertically aligned ZnO nanowires (NWs) hybridized with reduced graphene oxide sheets (rGO) were applied in efficient visible light photoinactivation of bacteria. To incorporate graphene oxide (GO) sheets within the NWs two different methods of drop-casting and electrophoretic deposition (EPD) were utilized. The EPD method yielded effective penetration of the positively charged GO sheets into the NWs to form a spider net-like structure, whereas the drop-casting method resulted in only a surface coverage of the GO sheets on top of the NWs. The electrical connection between the EPD-incorporated sheets and the NWs was checked by monitoring the electron transfer from UV-assisted photoexcited ZnO NWs into the GO sheets, during photocatalytic reduction of the sheets. The obtained rGO/ZnO composites were applied in visible light photoinactivation of Escherichia coli bacteria. The ZnO NWs could inactivate only ∼58% of the bacteria, while both drop-casting and EPD-prepared GO/ZnO composites exhibited strong antibacterial activities (especially the EPD sample with ∼99.5% photoinactivation), under visible light irradiation for 1 h. In fact, the visible light photocatalytic activity of the EPD-prepared GO/ZnO NW composite was found ∼1.9 and 6.2 folds of the activity of the GO/ZnO composite prepared by drop-casting method and the bare ZnO NWs.

Graphene nanoplatelets with lateral dimensions of ∼50–200 nm and thicknesses

Graphene oxide (GO) sheets were synthesized through a modified Hummers’ method. Using high resolution transmission electron microscopy the thickness of the GO sheets in a multilayer structure of stacked GO sheets was found ∼0.8 nm. A nanosecond pulsed laser (with wavelength of 532 nm and average power of 0.3 W) was applied for effective and environment friendly reduction of the GO sheets in an ammonia solution (pH ∼9) at room temperature conditions. The deoxygenation of the GO sheets by the pulsed laser reduction method was confirmed by using UV–visible, Fourier transform infrared, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and thermo gravimetric analysis. Based on XPS analysis, the O/C ratio of the GO sheets decreased from 49% to 21% after 10 min laser irradiation. This reduction efficiency was comparable with the efficiency achieved by hydrazine which yielded the O/C ratio of 15% at 80 °C after 10 min. Using Raman spectroscopy it was found that the pulsed laser reduction method resulted in nearly no aggregation of the reduced GO sheets in the ammonia solution. These results can help to further promotion and application of pulsed lasers in environment friendly reduction of GO.

Pd–WO3 nanostructures were incorporated on graphene oxide (GO) and partially reduced graphene oxide (PRGO) sheets using a controlled hydrothermal process to fabricate effective hydrogen gas sensors. Pd–WO3 nanostructures showed ribbon-like morphologies and Pd–WO3/GO presented an irregular nanostructured form, while Pd–WO3/PRGO exhibited a hierarchical nanostructure with a high surface area. Gas sensing properties of thin films of these materials were studied for different hydrogen concentrations (from 20 to 10,000 ppm) at various temperatures (from room temperature to 250 °C). Although adding GO in the Pd–WO3, after hydrothermal process could increase the film conductivity, gas sensitivity was reduced to half, due to lower surface area of the irregular morphology in comparison with the ribbon-like morphology. The Pd–WO3/PRGO films showed an optimum sensitivity (∼10 folds better than the sensitivity of Pd–WO3/GO), and a fast response and recovery time (

Superparamagnetic ZnFe2O4/reduced graphene oxide (rGO) composites containing ZnFe2O4 nanoparticles (with ∼5–20 nm sizes) attached onto rGO sheets (with ∼1 μm lateral dimensions) were synthesized by hydrothermal reaction method. By increasing the graphene content of the composite from 0 to 40 wt%, the size as well as the number of the ZnFe2O4 nanoparticles decreased and the saturated magnetization of the composites reduced from 10.2 to 1.8 emu/g, resulting in lower responses to external magnetic fields. Concerning this, the time needed for 90% separation of ZnFe2O4/rGO (40 wt%) composite from its solution (2 mg/mL in ethanol) was found 60 min in the presence of an external magnetic field (∼1 Tesla), while using ZnFe2O4/rGO (15 wt%), only 2 min was required (comparable to the separation time of pure ZnFe2O4 nanoparticles). Correspondingly, the magnetic separation time of 10 μM methyl orange and rhodamine B from aqueous solutions containing 2 mg/mL ZnFe2O4/rGO (15 wt%) was found 16 min).

Vertically aligned ZnO@CdS nanorod heterostructure films with various loadings of CdS nanoparticleshell were synthesized and applied in photoinactivation of Escherichia coli bacteria under visible lightirradiation. While neither the bare ZnO nanorods (with band-gap energy (E g )of 3.28 eV) under visiblelight irradiation nor the nanorod heterostructures in dark exhibited any significant antibacterial activity,the ZnO@CdS nanorod heterostructures (with E g 2.5–2.6 eV) could successfully inactivate the bacteriaunder visible light irradiation. Furthermore, it was found that an optimum loading of the CdS shell (cor-responding to the effective thickness less than 15 nm) is required to achieve a complete inactivation ofthe bacteria after 24 h visible light irradiation at room temperature. Using X-ray photoelectron spectros-copy, the lower photoinactivation efficiencies of the ZnO@CdS nanorod heterostructure at CdS thick-nesses lower and higher than the optimum one were assigned to lower amounts of CdS nanoparticlesand OH bonds (substantially existed on the hydrothermally synthesized ZnO nanorods) which areresponsible for absorption of the visible light and production of hydroxyl radicals, respectively. Watercontact angle measurements showed that the sample with more surface OH groups has a more hydro-philic surface and so more antibacterial activity. 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Asian red ginseng was used for green reduction of chemically exfoliated graphene oxide (GO) into reduced graphene oxide (rGO). The reduction level and electrical conductivity of the ginseng-rGO sheets were comparable to those of hydrazine-rGO ones. Reduction by ginseng resulted in repairing the sp2 graphitic structure of the rGO, while hydrazine-rGO showed more defects and/or smaller aromatic domains. The ginseng-rGO sheets presented a better stability against aggregation than the hydrazine-rGO ones in an aqueous suspension. Whilst the hydrophobic hydrazine-rGO films exhibited no toxicity against human neural stem cells (hNSCs), the hydrophilic GO and ginseng-rGO films (as more biocompatible films) showed proliferation of the stem cells after 3 days. On the other hand, the hydrazine-rGO and especially the ginseng-rGO films exhibited more differentiation of hNSCs into neurons (rather than glia) than the GO film, after 3 weeks. The accelerated differentiation on the rGO films was assigned to their higher capability for electron transfer. Meanwhile, the better differentiation on the ginseng-rGO film (as compared to the hydrazine-rGO film) was attributed to its higher biocompatibility, more hydrophilicity and the π−π attachment of ginsenoside molecules (as powerful antioxidants) on surface of the reduced sheets.

Graphene nanogrids (fabricated by graphene nanoribbons obtained through oxidative unzipping of multi-walled carbon nanotubes) were used as two-dimensional selective templates for accelerated differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs), isolated from umbilical cord blood, into osteogenic lineage. The biocompatible and hydrophilic graphene nanogrids showed high actin cytoskeleton proliferations coinciding with patterns of the nanogrids. The amounts of proliferations were found slightly better than proliferation on hydrophilic graphene oxide (GO) sheets, and significantly higher than non-uniform proliferations on hydrophobic reduced graphene oxide (rGO) sheets and polydimethylsiloxane substrate. In the presence of chemical inducers, the reduced graphene oxide nanoribbon (rGONR) grid showed a highly accelerated osteogenic differentiation of the hMSCs (a patterned differentiation) in short time of 7 days in which the amount of the osteogenesis was ∼2.2 folds greater than the differentiation (a uniform differentiation) on the rGO sheets. We found that although in the absence of any chemical inducers the graphene nanogrids showed slight patterned osteogenic differentiations, the graphene sheets could not present any differentiation. Therefore, the highly accelerated differentiation on the rGONR grid was assigned to both its excellent capability in adsorption of the chemical inducers and physical stresses induced by the surface topographic features of the nanogrids.

Tungsten oxide thin films (deposited by thermal evaporation or sol gel method) were used for photocatalytic reduction of graphene oxide (GO) platelets (synthesized through a chemical exfoliation method) on surface of the films under UV or visible light of the environment, in the absence of any aqueous ambient at room temperature. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) technique was employed to characterize surface morphology of the GO sheets and the tungsten oxide films. Moreover, using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), chemical state of the tungsten oxide films and the photocatalytic reduction of the GO platelets were quantitatively investigated. The better performance of the sol–gel tungsten oxide films in photocatalytic reduction of GO platelets as compared to the evaporated tungsten oxide films was assigned to lower W 5+ /W 6+ ratio (i.e., a better stoichiometry) and higher surface water content of the sol–gel film. The GO reduction level achieved after 24 h UV-assisted photocatalytic reduction on surface of the sol–gel tungsten oxide film was comparable with the reduction level usually obtainable by hydrazine. The sol–gel tungsten oxide film even showed an efficient photocatalytic reduction of the GO platelets after exposure to the visible light of the environment for 2 days.

Reduced graphene oxide nanomesh (rGONM), as one of the recent structures of graphene with a surprisingly strong near-infrared (NIR) absorption, is used for achieving ultraefficient photothermal therapy. First, by using TiO2 nanoparticles, graphene oxide nanoplatelets (GONPs) are transformed into GONMs through photocatalytic degradation. Then rGONMs functionalized by polyethylene glycol (PEG), arginine-glycine-aspartic acid (RGD)-based peptide, and cyanine 7 (Cy7) are utilized for in vivo tumor targeting and fluorescence imaging of human glioblastoma U87MG tumors having αν β3 integrin receptors, in mouse models. The rGONM-PEG suspension (1 μg mL(-1) ) exhibits about 4.2- and 22.4-fold higher NIR absorption at 808 nm than rGONP-PEG and graphene oxide (GO) with lateral dimensions of ≈60 nm and ≈2 μm. In vivo fluorescence imaging demonstrates high selective tumor uptake of rGONM-PEG-Cy7-RGD in mice bearing U87MG cells. The excellent NIR absorbance and tumor targeting of rGONM-PEG-Cy7-RGD results in an ultraefficient photothermal therapy (100% tumor elimination 48 h after intravenous injection of an ultralow concentration (10 μg mL(-1) ) of rGONM-PEG-Cy7-RGD followed by irradiation with an ultralow laser power (0.1 W cm(-2) ) for 7 min), whereas the corresponding rGO- and rGONP-based composites do not present remarkable treatments under the same conditions. All the mice treated by rGONM-PEG-Cy7-RGD survived over 100 days, whereas the mice treated by other usual rGO-based composites were dead before 38 days. The results introduce rGONM as one of the most promising nanomaterials in developing highly desired ultraefficient photothermal therapy.

Green tea-reduced graphene oxide (GT-rGO) sheets have been exploited for high efficiency near infrared (NIR) photothermal therapy of HT29 and SW48 colon cancer cells. The biocompatibility of GT-rGO sheets was investigated by means of MTT assays. The polyphenol constituents of GT-rGO act as effective targeting ligands for the attachment of rGO to the surface of cancer cells, as confirmed by the cell granularity test in flow cytometry assays and also by scanning electron microscopy. The photo-thermal destruction of higher metastatic cancer cells (SW48) is found to be more than 20% higher than that of the lower metastatic one (HT29). The photo-destruction efficiency factor of the GT-rGO is found to be at least two orders of magnitude higher than other carbon-based nano-materials. Such excellent cancer cell destruction efficiency provided application of a low concentration of rGO (3 mg/L) and NIR laser power density (0.25 W/cm(2)) in our photo-thermal therapy of cancer cells.

Single-layer reduced graphene oxide nanoribbons (rGONRs) were obtained through an oxidative unzipping of multi-walled carbon nanotubes and a subsequent deoxygenation by hydrazine and bovine serum albumin. Human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) were isolated from umbilical cord blood and used for checking the concentration- and time-dependent cyto- and geno-toxic effects of the rGONRs and reduced graphene oxide sheets (rGOSs). The cell viability assay indicated significant cytotoxic effects of 10 μg/mL rGONRs after 1 h exposure time, while the rGOSs exhibited the same cytotoxicity at concentration of 100 μg/mL after 96 h. The oxidative stress was found as the main mechanism involved in the cytotoxicity of the rGOSs which induced a slight cell membrane damage, while RNA efflux of the hMSCs indicated that neither generation of reactive oxygen species nor the significant membrane damage of the cells could explain the cell destructions induced by the rGONRs. Our results demonstrated that, the rGONRs could penetrate into the cells and cause DNA fragmentations as well as chromosomal aberrations, even at low concentration of 1.0 μg/mL after short exposure time of 1 h.

In this study, graphene sheets and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were selectively grown on Fe foil at a relatively low growth temperature and varying cooling rates using a hot filament chemical vapor deposition (HFCVD) apparatus with C 2 H 2 as the precursor. The results of the scanning electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy revealed that the increase of the cooling rate from 7 to 10 or 20 °C/min provoked a structure transition from CNT to graphene. The optimum crystal quality of the graphene sheets (Iq/Id ∼1.1) was achieved at the cooling rate of 20 °C/min. According to the AFM analysis, the thickness of the stacked graphene sheets was found to be ∼2.9–3.8 nm containing ∼8–11 monolayers. The XRD profiles suggest the coexistence of graphene, graphene oxide, and Fe3C structures on Fe foil.

The graphene-based materials with unique, versatile, and tunable properties have brought new opportunities for the leading edge of advanced nanobiotechnology. In this regard, the use of graphene in gene delivery applications is still at early stages. In this study, we successfully designed a new complex of carboxylated-graphene (G-COOH) with ethidium bromide (EtBr) and used it as a nanovector for efficient gene delivery into the AGS cells. G-COOH, with carboxyl functions on its surface, in the presence of EtBr, formaldehyde, and cyclohexylisocyanide were participated in Ugi four component reaction to fabricate a stable amphiphilic graphene-EtBr (AG-EtBr) composite. The coupling reaction was confirmed by further analyses with FT-IR, AFM, UV-vis, Raman, photoluminescence, EDS, and XPS. The AG-EtBr nanocomposite was able to interact with a plasmid DNA (pDNA). This nanocomposite has been applied for transfection of cultured mammalian cells successfully. Moreover, the AG-EtBr composites showed a remarkable decreased cytotoxicity in compared to EtBr. Interestingly, the advantages of AG-EtBr in cell transfection are more dramatic (3-fold higher) than Lipofectamine2000 as a commercial nonviral vector. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report in which EtBr is used as an intercalating agent along with graphene to serve as a new vehicle for gene delivery application.

A remote controllable working graphite nanostructured swimmer based on a graphene jet nanomotor has been demonstrated for the first time. Graphite particles with pyramidal-like morphologies were fabricated by the creation of suitable defects in wide high-purity graphite flakes followed by a severe sonication. The particles were able to be self-exfoliated in water after Na intercalation between the graphene constituents. The self-exfoliation resulted in jet ejection of graphene flakes from the end of the swimmers (with speeds as high as ∼7000 m/s), producing a driving force (at least ∼0.7 L (pN) where L (μm) is swimmer size) and consequently the motion of the swimmer (with average speed of ∼17-40 μm/s). The jet ejection of the graphene flakes was assigned to the explosion of H2 nanobubbles produced between the Na intercalated flakes. The direction of motion of the swimmers equipped with TiO2 nanoparticles (NPs) can be controlled by applying a magnetic field in the presence of UV irradiation (higher UV intensity, lower radius of rotation). In fact, the negative surface charge of the graphene flakes of the swimmers increased by UV irradiation due to transferring the photoexcited electrons of TiO2 NPs into the flakes. Because of higher production of H2 nanobubbles under UV irradiation, the speed of swimmers exposed to UV light significantly increased. In contrast, UV irradiation with various intensities could not affect total distance traversed by the self-exfoliated swimmers having the same initial sizes. These confirmed the mass ejection mechanism for motion of the swimmers. The self-exfoliation of swimmers (and so their motion) occurred only in water (and not, e.g., in organic solutions). Such swimmers promise the design of remote controllable nanovehicles with the capability of initiating and/or improving their operations in response to environmental changes in order to realize broad ranges of versatile and fantastic nanotechnology-based applications.

Recent studies showed that a large amount of graphene oxide accumulated in kidney and liver when it injected intravenously. Evaluation of lethal and apoptosis gene expression in these tissues, which are under stress is very important. In this paper the in vivo dose-dependent effects of graphene oxide and reduced graphene oxide nanoplatelets on kidney and liver of mice were studied. Balb/C mice were treated by 20 mg/kg body weight of nanoplatelets. Molecular biology analysis showed that graphene nanoplatelets injected intravenously lead to overexpression of BAX gene in both kidney and liver tissues (P ≥ 0.01). In addition these nanoparticles significantly increase BCL2 gene expression in both kidney and liver tissues (P ≥ 0.05). Graphene significantly increase level of SGPT in groups 1 (220.64 ± 13), 2 (164.44 ± 9.3) in comparison to control group (P ≤ 0.05). Also in comparison with control group (148.11 ± 10.4), (P ≤ 0.05), the level of SGOT in groups 1(182.01 ± 12.6) and 2 (178.2 ± 2.2) significantly increased.

In recent years, quantum dots (QDs) have been widely used in upcoming nanotechnology-based solar cells, light-emitting diodes and even bioimaging, due to their tunable optical properties and excellent quantum yields. But, such nanostructures are currently constituted by heavy elements which can threat the human health and living environment. Hence, in this work, the in vivo effects of CdTe nanocrystals (NCs) (as one of the promising QDs) on spermatozoa of male mice and subsequently on fertility of female mice were investigated, for the first time. To do this, CdTe NCs were synthesized through an environment-friendly (aqueous-based solution) method. The sperm cells presented a high potential for uptake of the heavy QDs. Meantime, the NCs exhibited concentration-dependent adverse effects on morphology, viability, kinetic characteristics and DNA of the spermatozoa. At low concentration of 0.1 μg/mL, the NCs showed a moderate toxicity (~ 25% reduction in viability and motility of the spermatozoa), while remarkable toxicities were observed at higher concentrations of 1.0–100 μg/mL (~ 67% reduction in viability and motility for 100 μg/mL). Furthermore, significant in vitro DNA fragmentation of the spermatozoa was observed at CdTe concentrations ≥ 10 μg/mL. In vivo toxicity of the NCs was found lower than the in vitro toxicity. Nevertheless, the in vivo destructive effects of the NCs still caused ~ 34% reduction in viability as well as motility and ~ 5% damages in DNA of male mice spermatozoa. These resulted in ~ 26% decrease in fertility and gestation of female mice, along with an overall hormone secretion during the pregnancy, and ~ 39% reduction in viability of pups/pregnant females.

The present study analyzed the dose-dependent cyto- and genotoxicity of graphene oxide and reduced graphene oxide on spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs) for the first time. The results showed that graphene oxide significantly increased oxidative stress at concentrations of 100 and 400μg/ml, while low concentrations did not have a significant effect. In addition, according to the MTT assay, the cell number decreased in high-concentration (100 and 400μg/ml) graphene oxide-treated samples compared to untreated cells. However, a reduced graphene-treated sample demonstrated a significant increase in cell number. Moreover, microscopic analysis found high concentrations of graphene nanosheets in cell culture medium that reduced the number of colonies and colony forming cells. We conclude that a high concentration of graphene can be toxic to SSCs. However, such toxicity can be reduced by the surface modification of graphene nanomaterials.

Reduced graphene oxide (RGO) was used to improve the hydrogen sensing properties of Pd and Pt-decorated TiO2 nanoparticles by facile production routes. The TiO2 nanoparticles were synthesized by sol–gel method and coupled on GO sheets via a photoreduction process. The Pd or Pt nanoparticles were decorated on the TiO2/RGO hybrid structures by chemical reduction. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy demonstrated that GO reduction is done by the TiO2 nanoparticles and Ti–C bonds are formed between the TiO2 and the RGO sheets as well. Gas sensing was studied with different concentrations of hydrogen ranging from 100 to 10,000 ppm at various temperatures. High sensitivity (92%) and fast response time (less than 20 s) at 500 ppm of hydrogen were observed for the sample with low concentration of Pd (2 wt.%) decorated on the TiO2/RGO sample at a relatively low temperature (180 °C). The RGO sheets, by playing scaffold role in these hybrid structures, provide new pathways for gas diffusion and preferential channels for electrical current. Based on the proposed mechanisms, Pd/TiO2/RGO sample indicated better sensing performance compared to the Pt/TiO2/RGO. Greater rate of spill-over effect and dissociation of hydrogen molecules on Pd are considered as possible causes of the enhanced sensitivity in Pd/TiO2/RGO.

An easy method for green and low-temperature (40 °C) reduction of graphene oxide (GO) by increasing the antioxidant activity of green tea polyphenols (GTPs) in the presence of iron was developed. The reduction level (obtained by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy) and electrical conductivity (obtained by current–voltage measurement) of the GO sheets reduced by GTPs in the presence of iron were comparable to those of hydrazine-reduced GO and much better than those of the GO reduced by only GTPs (in the absence of iron) at reduction temperatures of 40–80 °C. Raman spectroscopy indicated that application of GTPs in the presence of iron, in contrast to hydrazine, resulted in better recovering of the sp2-hybridized structure of the sheets. The lasting water dispersion of the polyphenolic-reduced GO sheets in the presence of iron was assigned to π–π adsorption of Fe2+-polyphenol radicals on surface of the reduced sheets. A mechanism describing the role of iron in the reduction of the GO by epicatechin gallate and epigallocatechin gallate of green tea was also proposed.

Graphene–tungsten oxide composite thin films with sheetlike surface morphology were fabricated and applied in photoinactivation of viruses under visible light irradiation. Using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, it was found that the chemically exfoliated graphene oxide sheets incorporated in the tungsten oxide film reduced through a visible light photocatalytic reduction. In addition, annealing the films at 450 °C in air resulted in formation of W–C and W–O—C bonds to obtain graphene–tungsten oxide composite films. The composite films fabricated by this method showed an excellent visible light photocatalytic performance in photoinactivation of bacteriophage MS2 viruses, as compared to tungsten oxide and as-prepared graphene–tungsten oxide films, which contained no W–C and W–O—C bonds. To study the inactivation mechanism of the viruses, breakage of protein capsid and then efflux of the viral RNA enveloped in the protein layer of the viruses were evaluated. The photocatalysis of the viruses on surface of t...

Interactions of chemically exfoliated graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets and Escherichia coli bacteria living in mixed-acid fermentation with an anaerobic condition were investigated for different exposure times. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy showed that as the exposure time increased (from 0 to 48 h), the oxygen-containing functional groups of the GO decreased by ∼60%, indicating a relative chemical reduction of the sheets by interaction with the bacteria. Raman spectroscopy and current–voltage measurement confirmed the reduction of the GO exposed to the bacteria. The reduction was believed to be due to the metabolic activity of the surviving bacteria through their glycolysis process. It was found that the GO sheets could act as biocompatible sites for adsorption and proliferation of the bacteria on their surfaces, while the bacterially-reduced GO (BRGO) sheets showed an inhibition for proliferation of the bacteria on their surfaces. It was shown that the slight antibacterial property of the BRGO sheets and the detaching of the already proliferated bacteria from the surface of these sheets contributed to the growth inhibition of the bacteria on the surface of the reduced sheets.

Two types of unfunctionalized and functionalized multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were prepared to be applied in fabrication of MWCNT–ZnO nanocomposite thin films with various MWCNT contents. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy indicated formation of functional groups on surface of the functionalized MWCNTs in the MWCNT–ZnO nanocomposite. Formation of the effective carbonaceous bonds between the ZnO and the MWCNTs was also investigated through photoinactivation of Escherichia coli bacteria on surface of the both unfunctionalized and functionalized MWCNT–ZnO nanocomposites. The functionalized MWCNT–ZnO nanocomposites showed significantly stronger photoinactivation of the bacteria than the unfunctionalized ones, for all of the various MWCNT contents (from 2 to 30 wt%). While the functionalized MWCNT–ZnO nanocomposites with the optimum MWCNT content of 10 wt% inactivated whole of the bacteria after 10 min UV–visible light irradiation, the unfunctionalized ones could inactivate only 63% of the bacteria under the same conditions. The significant enhancement of the photoinactivation of the bacteria onto the surface of the functionalized MWCNT–ZnO nanocomposites was assigned to charge transfer through Zn–O–C bands formed between the Zn atoms of the ZnO film and oxygen atoms of the carboxylic functional groups of the functionalized MWCNTs.

Bioactivity of Escherichia coli bacteria (as a simple model for microorganisms) and interaction of them with the environment were controlled by their capturing within aggregated graphene nanosheets. The oxygen-containing functional groups of chemically exfoliated single-layer graphene oxide nanosheets were reduced by melatonin as a biocompatible antioxidant. While each one of the graphene (oxide) suspension and melatonin solution did not separately show any considerable inactivation effects on the bacteria, aggregation of the sheets in the melatonin-bacterial suspension resulted in trapping the bacteria within the aggregated sheets, i.e., a kind of inactivation. The bacteria trapped within the aggregated sheets were biologically disconnected from their environment, because they could not proliferate in a culture medium and consume the glucose of their environment. However, after removing the sheets from the surface of the microorganisms by using sonication, they could again interact with their environment. The reactivated bacteria consumed glucose and could be proliferated; i.e., they were alive within the aggregated graphene sheets (here, at least for 24 h). The trapped alive bacteria could be photothermally inactivated forever by near-infrared irradiation at 808 nm. These results suggest that graphene nanosheets may potentially serve as an encapsulating material for delivery of such microorganisms and as an effective photothermal agent for inactivation of the graphene-wrapped microorganisms.

Thin films of (WO 3 ) 1–x –(Fe 2 O 3 ) x composition were deposited by thermal evaporation on glass substrates and then all samples were annealed at 200–500 °C in air. Optical properties such as transmittance, reflectance, optical bangap energy, and the optical constants of the “as deposited” and the annealed films were studied using ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometry. It was shown that the annealing process changes the film optical properties which were related to Fe 2 O 3 concentration. Moreover, using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, we have indicated that WO 3 is stoichiometric, while iron oxide was in both FeO and Fe 2 O 3 compositions so that the FeO composition converted to Fe 2 O 3 after the annealing process. Using atomic force microscopy, it was observed that surface of the “as deposited” films were smooth with a nanometric grain size. The film surface remained unchanged after annealing up to 300 °C. Surface roughness and the grain size of the films with x = 0, 0.05, and 0.75 highly increased at higher annealing temperatures (400 and 500 °C), but were nearly unchanged for medium x-values (0.3 and 0.4).

Graphene oxide platelets synthesized by using a chemical exfoliation method were dispersed in a suspension of ZnO nanoparticles to fabricate ZnO/graphene oxide composite. Formation of graphene oxide platelets (with average thickness of ∼0.8 nm) hybridized by ZnO nanoparticles (with average diameter of ∼20 nm) was investigated. The 2D band in Raman spectrum confirmed formation of single-layer graphene oxides. The gradual photocatalytic reduction of the graphene oxide sheets in the ZnO/graphene oxide suspension of ethanol was studied by using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy for different ultra violet (UV)–visible irradiation times. After 2 h irradiation, the relative concentration of the C–OH, C O and O C–OH bonds showed nearly 80% reduction relative to the corresponding concentrations before irradiation. The chemical reduction was accompanied by variations in the optical absorption of the ZnO/graphene (oxide) suspension, as its color changed from light brown to black. The current–voltage measurement showed that electrical sheets resistance of the ZnO/graphene oxide sheets decreased by increasing the irradiation time. Therefore, the ZnO nanoparticles in the ZnO/graphene oxide composite could be applied in gradual chemical reduction and consequently tuning the electrical conductivity of the graphene oxide platelets by variation of UV irradiation time in a photocatalytic process.

Vertically aligned multi-wall carbon nanotube (CNT) arrays were fabricated in tip-growth mode on Ni/Si substrates using plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition. In a purification process including hydrogenation and acid washing of the Ni/CNTs, the oxygen-containing functional groups were substantially reduced and a wide hollow core at the tip of the CNTs was formed by removing the Ni seeds. Sol–gel silver nanoparticles were deposited on the surface of the unpurified Ni/CNTs, while they could also be embedded within the hollow core of the Ni-removed CNTs. The persistency of the silver ions in the Ni-removed Ag–CNTs in comparison to the release of the silver ions from the Ag–Ni/CNTs in a dilute HNO3 solution confirmed the effective embedding of the Ag nanoparticles within the hollow core of the Ni-removed CNTs. The Ni-removed Ag–CNTs showed a strong antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli bacteria in the dark (inactivation of 99.8 ± 0.1% of the bacteria as compared to the Ni-removed CNTs and the Ag–Ni/CNTs with 62 ± 11 and 47 ± 18% inactivation in 120 min), while the bacteria even exhibited some proliferation on the surface of the unpurified Ni/CNT arrays. In the context of cell membrane rupture of the bacteria through a direct contact mechanism, it was proposed that the Ni seeds acted as obstacles for an effective contact between the bacteria and the tips of the CNT arrays.

The effect of thickness of TiO2 coating on synergistic photocatalytic activity of TiO2 (anatase)/α-Fe2O3/glass thin films as photocatalysts for degradation of Escherichia coli bacteria in a low-concentration H2O2 solution and under visible light irradiation was investigated. Nanograined α-Fe2O3 films with optical band-gap of 2.06 eV were fabricated by post-annealing of thermal evaporated iron oxide thin films at 400 °C in air. Increase in thickness of the Fe2O3 thin film (here, up to 200 nm) resulted in a slight reduction of the optical band-gap energy and an increase in the photoinactivation of the bacteria. Sol–gel TiO2 coatings were deposited on the α-Fe2O3 (200 nm)/glass films, and then, they were annealed at 400 °C in air for crystallization of the TiO2 and formation of TiO2/Fe2O3 heterojunction. For the TiO2 coatings with thicknesses ≤50 nm, the antibacterial activity of the TiO2/α-Fe2O3 (200 nm) was found to be better than the activity of the bare α-Fe2O3 film. The optimum thickness of the TiO2 coating was found to be 10 nm, resulting in about 70 and 250% improvement in visible light photo-induced antibacterial activity of the TiO2/α-Fe2O3 thin film as compared to the corresponding activity of the bare α-Fe2O3 and TiO2 thin films, respectively. The improvement in the photoinactivation of bacteria on surface of TiO2/α-Fe2O3 was assigned to formation of Ti–O–Fe bond at the interface.

CuO nanoparticles with average diameter of about 20 nm were accumulated on surface of sol–gel silica thin films heat treated at 300 °C in air. Heat treatment of the CuO nanoparticles at 600 °C in a reducing environment resulted in effective reduction of the nanoparticles and penetration of them into the film. While the thin films heat treated at 300 °C exhibited a strong antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli bacteria, the reducing process decreased their antibacterial activity. However, by definition of normalized antibacterial activity (antibacterial activity/surface concentration of coppers) it was found that Cu nanoparticles were more toxic to the bacteria than the CuO nanoparticles (by a factor of ∼ 2.1). Thus, the lower antibacterial activity of the reduced thin films was assigned to diffusion of the initially accumulated copper-based nanoparticles into the film. The CuO nanoparticles also exhibited a slight photocatalytic activity for inactivation of the bacteria (∼ 22% improvement in their antibacterial activity). Instead, the normalized antibacterial activity of the Cu nanoparticles covered by a thin oxide layer highly increased (∼ 63% improvement) in the photocatalytic process. A mechanism was also proposed to describe the better antibacterial activity of the Cu than CuO nanoparticles in dark and under light irradiation.

Antibacterial activity of sol–gel synthesized Ag–TiO 2 nanocomposite layer (30 nm) deposited on rough anatase ( a ) TiO 2 thin film (∼ 200 nm in thickness) was investigated against Escherichia coli bacteria, in dark and also in exposure to UV light. The nanocomposite thin films were transparent with a surface plasmon resonance absorption band at a wavelength of 410 nm. The metallic silver nanoparticles with an average diameter of 30 nm and fcc crystalline structure were self-accumulated on surface of a mesoporous and aqueous TiO 2 layer with a capillary pore structure having a pore radius of 3.0 nm. By adding the silver nanoparticles in the TiO 2 layer, recombination of the photoexcited electron–hole pairs in the ( a )TiO 2 thin film was delayed, while the pore structure was unchanged. Decrease in the recombination rate and accumulation of the silver nanoparticles on the film surface let the mesoporous Ag–TiO 2 /( a )TiO 2 nanocomposite thin films have excellent antibacterial activity against E. coli bacteria. It was found that the relative rate of reduction of the viable bacteria in dark (in exposure to the UV light) for the Ag–TiO 2 /( a )TiO 2 nanocomposite thin film was 3.2 × 10 –2 min –1 (26 × 10 –2 min –1 ) which was 4.6 (2.0) times greater than the corresponding value for the ( a )TiO 2 thin film. The behavior of silver ion release showed that the dominant mechanism of the release process in long time was based on water diffusion through the capillary mesoporous of the TiO 2 layer, unlike the usual diffusion of water on the surface of silver-based bulk materials. Therefore, the synthesized Ag–TiO 2 /( a )TiO 2 nanocomposite thin film can be utilized as a promising and effective bactericidal material in the future.

TiO2 nanoparticles were physically attached to chemically synthesized single-layer graphene oxide nanosheets deposited between Au electrodes in order to investigate the electrical, chemical, and structural properties of the TiO2/graphene oxide composition exposed to UV irradiation. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy showed that after effective photocatalytic reduction of the graphene oxide sheets by the TiO2 nanoparticles in ethanol, the carbon content of the reduced graphene oxides gradually decreased by increasing the irradiation time, while no considerable variation was detected in the reduction level of the reduced sheets. Raman spectroscopy indicated that, at first, the photocatalytic reduction resulted in a significant increase in the graphitized sp2 structure over the disorders in the graphene oxides. After that, as the carbon content decreased by UV irradiation, further disorders appeared in the reduced graphene oxide sheets, confirming degradation of the reduced sheets after the photocatalytic redu...

A mechano-chemical atomic force microscope (AFM) nanolithography on a metallic thin film (50 nm in thickness) covered by a spin-coated soft polymeric mask layer (50–60 nm in thickness) has been introduced. The surface stochastic properties of initial grooves mechanically patterned on the mask layer (grooves before chemical wet-etching) and the lithographed patterns on the metallic thin film (the grooves after chemical wet-etching) have been investigated and compared by using the structure factor, power spectral density, and AFM tip deconvolution analyses. The effective shape of cross section of the before and after etching grooves have been determined by using the tip deconvolution surface analysis. The wet-etching process improved the shape of the grooves and also smoothed the surface within them. We have indicated that relaxation of the surface tension of the deposited mask layer after the AFM scribing is independent from surface density of the grooves and also their length scale. Based on the statistical analysis, it was found that increase of the width of the grooves after the wet-etching and also relaxation of surface tension of the mask layer resulted in a down limit in the size of the metallic nanowires made by the combined nanolithography method. An extrapolation of the analyzed statistical data has indicated that, in this method, the minimum obtainable width and length of the metallic nanowires are about 55 nm and 2 μm, respectively.

Local photodegradation of graphene oxide sheets at the tip of ZnO nanorods was used to achieve semiconducting graphene nanomeshes. The chemically exfoliated graphene oxide sheets, with a thickness of approximately 0.9 nm, were deposited on quartz substrates. Vertically aligned ZnO nanorod arrays with diameters of 140 nm and lengths of

In this investigation, the effect of gold nanocrystals on the electrochromical properties of sol–gel Au doped WO3 thin films has been studied. The Au–WO3 thin films were dip-coated on both glass and indium tin oxide coated conducting glass substrates with various gold concentrations of 0, 3.2 and 6.4 mol%. Optical properties of the samples were studied by UV–visible spectrophotometry in a range of 300–1100 nm. The optical density spectra of the films showed the formation of gold nanoparticles in the films. The optical bandgap energy of Au–WO3 films decreased with increasing the Au concentration. Crystalline structure of the doped films was investigated by X-ray diffractometry, which indicated formation of gold nanocrystals in amorphous WO3 thin films. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was used to study the surface chemical composition of the samples. XPS analysis indicated the presence of gold in metallic state and the formation of stoichiometric WO3. The electrochromic properties of the Au–WO3 samples were also characterized using lithium-based electrolyte. It was found that doping of Au nanocrystals in WO3 thin films improved the coloration time of the layer. In addition, it was shown that variation of Au concentration led to color change in the colored state of the Au–WO3 thin films.

Graphene thin films with very low concentration of oxygen-containing functional groups were produced by reduction of graphene oxide nanosheets (prepared by using a chemical exfoliation) in a reducing environment and using two different heat treatment procedures (called one and two-step heat treatment procedures). The effects of heat treatment procedure and temperature on thickness variation of graphene platelets and also on reduction of the oxygen-containing functional groups of the graphene oxide nanosheets were studied by atomic force microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. While formation of the thin films composed of single-layer graphene nanosheets with minimum thickness of 0.37 nm and nearly without any functional group bonds was observed at the high temperature of 1000 °C in the one-step reducing procedure, similar high quality graphene thin films were obtained at the lower temperature of 500 °C in our two-step reducing temperature. The results also indicated possibility of efficient reduction of the graphene oxide thin films at even lower heat treatment temperatures (⩽500 °C).

Gold–silver alloy nanoparticles with various Au concentrations in sputtered SiO2 thin films were synthesized by using RF reactive magnetron co-sputtering and then heat-treated in reducing Ar + H2 atmosphere at different temperatures. The UV–visible absorption spectra of the bimetallic systems confirmed the formation of alloy nanoparticles. The optical absorption of the Au–Ag alloy nanoparticles exhibited only one plasmon resonance absorption peak located at 450 nm between the absorption bands of pure Au and Ag nanoparticles at 400 and 520 nm, respectively, for the thin films annealed at 800 °C. The maximum absorption wavelength of the surface plasmon band showed a red shift with increasing Au content. XPS results indicated that the alloys were in metallic state, and they had a greater tendency to lose electrons as compared to their corresponding monometallic state. Moreover, the positive and negative shift of the Au(4f) core-level binding energies was observed for low and high Au concentration, respectively. Also a negative shift of the Ag(3d) binding energies was increased by increasing Au concentration. Diffusion of the particles toward the surface by increasing the temperature has also been illustrated by AFM images. Based on AFM observations, we have found that the particle size reduced from 35 to 20 nm by increasing the annealing temperature from 600 to 800 °C, while particle size increased by increasing Au concentration in films. In addition, lateral force microscopy (LFM) analysis showed that the alloy particles were uniformly distributed on the surface.

The visible light photocatalytic activity of α-Fe 2 O 3 nanograin chains coated by anatase TiO 2 nanolayer, as a photocatalyst thin film for inactivation of Escherichia coli bacteria, was investigated for the solutions containing 10 6 colony forming units per milliliter of the bacteria, without and with H 2 O 2 (60 μM). Thin films of the α-Fe 2 O 3 nanograins with the grain size of 40–280 nm were grown on glass substrates by post-annealing of the thermal evaporated Fe 3 O 4 thin films at 400 °C in air. The TiO 2 layer with thickness of about 20 nm was coated on the nanograins by dipping the Fe 2 O 3 thin films in a prepared TiO 2 sol and re-annealing them at 400 °C in air. The antibacterial activity of the α-Fe 2 O 3 nanograins with the optical band-gap of 2.1 eV (so better activity than the TiO 2 in the visible light) was doubled in presence of the low-concentration H 2 O 2 . Deposition of the TiO 2 nanolayer on the α-Fe 2 O 3 nanograins resulted in 24 and 54% (59 and 276%) improvement in the photocatalytic activity of the TiO 2 /α-Fe 2 O 3 thin film than the bare α-Fe 2 O 3 nanograin (TiO 2 ) thin film, for the solution without and with H 2 O 2 , respectively. In addition, for the TiO 2 /α-Fe 2 O 3 thin film, the bactericidal activity was improved by a factor of 2.5 in presence of the low-concentration H 2 O 2 as compared to the case without H 2 O 2 . A mechanism was proposed based on which the electrons excited in the photocatalytic process were directly or indirectly absorbed by H 2 O 2 to produce active OH − radicals for promoting inactivation of the bacteria.

TiO 2 /multi-wall carbon nanotube (MWNT) heterojunction arrays were synthesized and immobilized on Si(0 0 1) substrate as photocatalysts for inactivation of Escherichia coli bacteria. The vertically aligned MWNT arrays were grown on ∼5 nm Ni thin film deposited on the Si by using plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition at 650 °C. Then, the MWNTs were coated by TiO 2 using dip-coating sol–gel method. Post annealing of the TiO 2 /MWNTs at 400 °C resulted in crystallization of the TiO 2 coating and formation of Ti–C and Ti–O–C carbonaceous bonds at the heterojunction. The visible light-induced photoinactivation of the bacteria increased from MWNTs to TiO 2 to TiO 2 /MWNTs, in which the bacteria could even slightly breed on the MWNTs. In addition, the TiO 2 /MWNTs annealed at 400 °C showed a highly improved antibacterial activity than the TiO 2 /MWNTs annealed at 100 °C. The excellent visible light-induced photocatalytic efficiency of the TiO 2 /MWNTs/Si film annealed at 400 °C was attributed to formation of the carbonaceous bonds at the heterojunction, in contrast to the 100 °C annealed TiO 2 /MWNTs/Si sample which had no such effective bonds.

Bactericidal activity of high concentration Ag nanoparticles immobilized on surface of an aqueous sol–gel silica thin film was investigated against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus bacteria. Size of the surface nanoparticles was estimated in the range of 35–80 nm by using atomic force microscopy. Due to accumulation of the silver nanoparticles at near the surface (at depth of 6 nm and about 40 times greater than the silver concentration in the sol), the synthesized Ag–SiO 2 thin film (with area of 10 mm 2 ) presented strong antibacterial activities against E. coli and S. aureus bacteria with relative rate of reduction of the viable bacteria of 1.05 and 0.73 h −1 for initial concentration of about 10 5 cfu/ml, respectively. In addition, the dominant mechanism of silver release in long times was determined based on water diffusion in surface pores of the silica film, unlike the usual diffusion of water on the surface of silver-based bulk materials. Therefore, the Ag nanoparticles embedded near the surface of the SiO 2 thin film can be utilized in various antibacterial applications with a strong and long life activity.

Graphene oxide platelets synthesized by using a chemical exfoliation method were deposited on anatase TiO2 thin films. Postannealing of the graphene oxide/TiO2 thin films at 400 °C in air resulted in partial formation of a Ti−C bond between the platelets and their beneath thin film. By using atomic force microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analyses, UV−visible light-induced photocatalytic reduction of the graphene oxide platelets of the annealed graphene oxide/TiO2 thin films immersed in ethanol was studied for the different irradiation times. After 4 h of photocatalytic reduction, the vertical space between the platelets decreased from about 1.1 to less than 0.8 nm and the concentration of the C═O bond was reduced 85%, indicating effective reduction of the graphene oxide platelets to the graphene ones. The graphene oxide/TiO2 thin films reduced at different irradiation times were utilized as nanocomposite photocatalysts for degradation of E. coli bacteria in an aqueous solution under solar li...

In this study, electrochromic properties of cuprous oxide nanoparticles, self-accumulated on the surface of a sol–gel silica thin film, have been investigated by using UV–visible spectrophotometry in a lithium-based electrolyte cell. The cuprous oxide nanoparticles showed a reversible electrochromic process with a thin film transmission reduction of about 50% in a narrow wavelength range of 400–500 nm, as compared to the bleached state of the film. Using optical transmission measurement, we have found that the band gap energy of the films reduced from 2.7 eV for Cu2O to 1.3 eV for CuO by increasing the annealing temperature from 220 to 300 °C in an N2 environment for 1 h. Study of the band gaps of the as-deposited, colored and bleached states of the nanoparticles showed that the electrochromic process corresponded to a reversible red–ox conversion of Cu2O to CuO on the film surface, in addition to the reversible red–ox reaction of the Cu2O film. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy indicated that the copper oxide nanoparticles accumulated on the film surface, after annealing the samples at 200 °C. Surface morphology of the films and particle size of the surface copper oxides have also been studied by atomic force microscopy analysis. The copper oxide nanoparticles with average size of about 100 nm increased the surface area ratio and surface roughness of the silica films from 2.2% and 0.8 nm to 51% and 21 nm, respectively.

In this work, aligned and compact Ag nanorods capped by sol–gel mesoporous TiO2 layer were grown on Ti/Si(100) in order to be applied in antibacterial applications. The Ag nanorods with a high effective surface were grown by applying an electric field perpendicular to the surface of the Ag/Ti/Si thin film while it was being heat-treated at 700 °C in an Ar + H2 ambient. The grown silver nanorods had widths and lengths of 20–50 and 250–500 nm with an abundance in {100} facet, respectively. The TiO2 cap layer also had the specific surface area, the total pore volume and the pore diameter of 474 m2/g, 0.49 cm3/g and 8.0 nm, respectively. Antibacterial activities of the TiO2-capped Ag nanorods against E. coli bacteria were examined in the dark and under UV irradiation, and then compared to the corresponding activities of the TiO2-capped Ag thin film and the TiO2-capped Ag nanoparticles grown on the Ti layer. The Ag+ ion release measurements showed that the mesoporous and aqueous TiO2 cap layer can control the silver release process by inter-diffusion of water and silvers thorough its capillary structures, completely different from the ion release behavior of the silver nanorods not capped by the TiO2 layer. The results showed a strong and lasting antibacterial activity for the TiO2-capped Ag nanorods with 2.34 h− 1 for the relative rate of reduction of the number of viable bacteria.

To obtain metallic nanofingers applicable in surface acoustic wave (SAW) sensors, a mechano-chemical atomic force microscope (AFM) nanolithography on a metallic thin film (50 nm in thickness)/piezoelectric substrate covered by a spin-coated polymeric mask layer (50–60 nm in thickness) was implemented. The effective shape of cross-section of the before and after etching grooves have been determined by using the AFM tip deconvolution surface analysis, structure factor, and power spectral density analyses. The wet-etching process improved the shape and aspect ratio (height/width) of the grooves and also smoothed the surface within them. We have shown that the relaxed surface tension of the polymeric mask layer resulted in a down limitation in width and length of the lithographed nanofingers. The surface tension of the mask layer can be changed by altering the initial concentration of the polymer in the deposition process. As the surface tension reduced, the down limitation decreased. In fact, an extrapolation of the analyzed statistical data has indicated that by decreasing the surface tension from 39 to 10 nN/nm, the minimum obtainable width and length of the metallic nanofingers was changed from about 55 nm and 2 μm to 15 nm and 0.44 μm, respectively. Using the extrapolation’s results, we have shown that the future SAW sensors buildable by this nanolithography method possess a practical bound in their synchronous frequency (∼58 GHz), mass sensitivity (∼6125 MHz-mm 2 /ng), and the limit of mass resolution (∼4.88 × 10 −10 ng/mm 2 ).

In this work, we compared formation and properties of heat-treated Ag nanoparticles in silica matrix synthesized by RF-reactive magnetron cosputtering and sol–gel methods separately. The sol–gel and sputtered films were annealed at different temperatures in air and in a reduced environment, respectively. The optical UV-visible spectrophotometry have shown that the absorption peak appears at 456 and 400 nm wavelength indicating formation of silver nanoparticles in SiO2 matrix for both the sol–gel and sputtering methods at 100 and 800 °C, respectively. XPS measurements showed that the metallic Ag0 nanoparticles can be obtained from both the techniques at these temperatures. According to XPS and AFM analysis, by increasing annealing temperature, the concentration of the Ag nanoparticles on the surface decreased and the nanoparticles diffused into the substrate for the sol–gel films, while for the films deposited by cosputtering method, the Ag surface concentration increased by increasing the temperature. Based on AFM observations, the size of nanoparticles on the surface were obtained at about 25 and 55 nm for sputtered and sol–gel films, respectively, supporting our optical data analysis. In comparison, the sputtering technique can produce Ag metallic nanoparticles with a narrower particle size distribution relative to the sol–gel method. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

In this work, we have studied single-texture formation of CoSi2 layer in heat-treated Co/Ta0.7W0.3/Si(100) structure. Moreover, self-encapsulation process of the CoSi2 layer and surface roughness of the encapsulated layer, as a contact layer, has been examined. A direct current magnetron co-sputtering technique was employed to deposit a 10 nm Ta0.7W0.3 alloy intermediate layer. After growth of the layer on the Si substrate, a 25 nm Co layer was deposited using thermal evaporation method. Post-annealing process of the films was treated in an N2(80%) + H2(20%) ambient in a temperature range from 400 to 1000 °C for 60 min. X-ray diffraction analysis showed that a single-texture CoSi2 layer with (100) orientation was formed in this structure in the temperature range of 800–1000 °C. The self-encapsulation process of the CoSi2 layer has been also investigated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. It was found that the CoSi2 layer was encapsulated by a TaSi2 layer in the temperature range of 800–900 °C. The sheet resistance of the CoSi2 formed at 1000 °C was measured ∼ 10 μΩ cm. Atomic force microscopy images showed that surface roughness of the TaSi2 surface was around 15 nm. Agglomeration of the TaSi2 on the CoSi2 layer resulted in increasing the surface roughness, at 1000 °C.

Formation and thermal stability of nanothickness NiSi layer in Ni(Pt 4at.%)/Si(100) and Ni0.6Si0.4(Pt 4at.%)/Si(100) structures have been investigated using magnetron co-sputtering deposition method. Moreover, to study the effect of Si substrate in formation of NiSi and its thermal stability, we have used Ta diffusion barrier between the Ni0.6Si0.4 layer and the Si substrate. Post annealing treatment of the samples was performed in an N2 environment in a temperature range from 200 to 900?C for 2min. The samples were analyzed by four point probe sheet resistance (Rs) measurement, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) techniques. It was found that the annealing process resulted in an agglomeration of the nanothickness Ni(Pt) layer, and consequently, phase formation of discontinuous NiSi grains at the temperatures greater than 700?C. Instead, for the Ni0.6Si0.4(Pt)/Si structure, 100?C excess temperature in both NiSi formation and agglomeration indicated that it can be considered as a more thermally stable structure as compared with the Ni(Pt 4at.%)/Si(100) structure. XRD, AFM and Rs analyses confirmed formation of a continuous NiSi film with Rs value of 5?/? in a temperature range of 700-800?C. Use of Ta diffusion barrier showed that the role of diffusion of Ni atoms into the Si substrate is essential in complete silicidation of a NiSi layer.

A simple method for synthesis of Na 0.65 WO 3 nanobelts by using sodium, as a catalyst, in soda-lime glass substrate was reported. The synthesized product was characterized and analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometery. According to SEM observations, nanobelts with U-shape cross section grew between sodium-tungsten oxide islands. The thickness, width, and length of nanobelts were measured

In this work, formation of gold nanoparticles in radio frequency (RF) reactive magnetron co-sputtered Au-SiO 2 thin films post annealed at different temperatures in Ar + H 2 atmosphere has been investigated. Optical, surface topography, chemical state and crystalline properties of the prepared films were analyzed by using UV–visible spectrophotometry, atomic force microscopy (AFM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and X-ray diffractometry (XRD) techniques, respectively. Optical absorption spectrum of the Au-SiO 2 thin films annealed at 800 °C showed one surface plasmon resonance (SPR) absorption peak located at 520 nm relating to gold nanoparticles. According to XPS analysis, it was found that the gold nanoparticles had a tendency to accumulate on surface of the heat-treated films in the metallic state. AFM images showed that the nanoparticles were uniformly distributed on the film surface with grain size of about 30 nm. Using XRD analysis average crystalline size of the Au particles was estimated to about 20 nm.

In this research, the effect of Ni, Pd and Ni–Pd catalysts have studied on morphology and structure of synthesized multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). Initially, thin films of Ni (with two thicknesses of 10 and 20 nm), Pd/Ni (5/10 nm) and Pd (10 nm) were deposited as catalysts on SiO2 (60 nm)/Si(1 0 0) substrates, using dc magnetron sputtering technique. The deposited films were annealed at 900 °C in ammonia environment for 45 min, in order to obtain nano-structured catalyst on the surface. Using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), the average size of Ni nano-islands (synthesized by the 10 and 20 nm Ni films), Pd and Ni–Pd nano-islands were measured about 55, 110, 45 and 50 nm, respectively. According to X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis (XPS), the ratio of Ni/Pd on the surface was about 3 for the bilayer sample. The CNTs were synthesized on the nano-island catalysts at 940 °C in CH4 ambient using a thermal chemical vapor deposition method. The results revealed that average diameter of the CNTs were about 70, 110, 120 nm for Ni, Ni–Pd and Pd catalysts, respectively. Raman spectra of the MWCNTs showed that intensity ratio of two main peaks located in the range of 1550–1600 and 1250–1450 cm−1 (as a quality factor for the CNTs) for Ni, Pd and Ni–Pd catalysts were 1.42, 0.91 and 0.85, respectively. Therefore, based on our data analysis, although addition of Pd to Ni catalyst caused a considerable reduction in the quality of the grown MWCNTs as compared to the pure Ni catalyst, but it resulted in an enhancement in the methane decomposition rate. For the pure Pd catalyst samples, both a slow methane decomposition rate as compared with Ni–Pd catalyst samples and a poor quality of CNTs were observed as compared with the Ni catalyst, under similar experimental conditions.