Hot Articles for February!

Dynachromes – dynamic electrochromic polymers capable of property tuning and patterning via multiple constitutional component exchange
Daminda Navarathne and W.G. Skene

 

Graphical abstract: Dynachromes – dynamic electrochromic polymers capable of property tuning and patterning via multiple= 

Single-crystal FeFe(CN)6 nanoparticles: a high capacity and high rate cathode for Na-ion batteries
Xianyong Wu, Wenwen Deng, Jiangfeng Qian, Yuliang Cao, Xinping Ai and Hanxi Yang

Hot deformation induced bulk nanostructuring of unidirectionally grown p-type (Bi,Sb)2Te3 thermoelectric materials
Tiejun Zhu, Zhaojun Xu, Jian He, Junjie Shen, Song Zhu, Lipeng Hu, Terry M. Tritt and Xinbing Zhao

 

These papers are free to access until 18th March 2014 

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Themed Issue on the Fabrication Technology of Nanomaterials

Fabrication Technology of Nanomaterials brings together scaleable, high throughput nano and multiscale fabricaton techniques applied to pultifunctional materials.  The aim of thi sissue is to highlight the important contributions in this research area as well as highlighting the impact of nanostructured materials.

This issue was Guest Edited by Professor Fabio Biscarini and Dr massimilliano Cavallini of the Institute of Nanostructured Materials, CNR Bologna, Italy.  The full issue can be found here.

Below is a sample of the Papers, Applications, Communication and Feature Articles that can be found in the fabrication technology of nanomaterials themed issue:

Feature Article

Continuous and high-throughput nanopatterning methodologies based on mechanical deformation
Jong G. Ok, Se Hyun Ahn, Moon Kyu Kwak and L. Jay Guo

Application

Micro/nano-scale materials and structures for constructing neuronal networks and addressing neurons
Zhuo Huang and Xingyu Jiang

Communication

Nanofabrication of TaS2 conducting layers nanopatterned with Ta2O5 insulating regions via AFM
Eugenio Coronado, Alicia Forment-Aliaga, Efren Navarro-Moratalla, Elena Pinilla-Cienfuegos and Andres Castellanos-Gomez

Paper

Carbon nanorods and graphene-like nanosheets by hot filament CVD: growth mechanisms and electron field emission
B. B. Wang, K. Ostrikov, T. van der Laan, K. Zheng, J. J. Wang, Y. P. Yan and X. J. Quan

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Hot Article: Versatile van der Waals epitaxy-like growth of crystal films using two-dimensional nanosheets as a seed layer: orientation tuning of SrTiO3 films along three important axes on glass substrates

Thin films are a part of everyday life; if you looked in a mirror today you experienced the advantages of a thin film at work. Crystalline thin films can be made of a range of functional materials and are essential to achieve the desired functionality of various devices including micromachines (not the miniature racing cars but micro-electronic-mechanical systems or MEMS). Crystal films can offer characteristics such as ferroelectricity and piezoelectricity, however these properties are strongly dependent on crystal orientation, degree of orientation and film crystallinity.

Epitaxial growth has become a highly important method for growing crystalline films as it allows for tailoring of properties in order to control electronic, optical and magnetic qualities. Unfortunately as described in this paper by Shibata et al, one of the basic requirements for attaining a good epitaxy is a close structural matching between a substrate and a growing crystal epilayer. This restriction causes a major obstacle for its wide application. In order to overcome this problem these researchers, led by Takayoshi Sasaki, have used 2D inorganic nanosheets of either Ca2Nb3O10, Ti0.87O20.52- or MoO2δ- as highly organised layers depositied onto amorphous glass. These different surfaces allow for the deposition of SrTiO3 on to the glass with precise and selective control of crystallographic orientation.

This novel technique has already grabbed press attention because of its cost-effective and universal nature that comes from the possibility to use conventional substrates such as glass and plastic that wasn’t possible before. Whilst some development is still required this technique is already being seen as a huge leap forward in the growth of crystal films that will bring significant technological innovation in the future.

Versatile van der Waals epitaxy-like growth of crystal films using two-dimensional nanosheets as a seed layer: orientation tuning of SrTiO3 films along three important axes on glass substrates

Tatsuo Shibata, Hikaru Takano, Yasuo Ebina, Dae Sung Kim, Tadashi C. Ozawa, Kosho Akatsuka, Tsuyoshi Ohnishi, Kazunori Takada, Toshihiro Kogure and Takayoshi Sasaki

J. Mater. Chem. C, 2014, 2, 441-449 C3TC31787K

H. L. Parker is a guest web writer for the Journal of Materials Chemistry blog. She currently works at the Green Chemistry Centre of Excellence, the University of York.

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Hot Article: Micro- and nano-motors for biomedical applications

Abdelmohsen et al write in the first line of this review “biological motors are one of the most remarkable products of evolution” and I couldn’t agree more. Nanoscale biomotors are common in nature and these tiny machines have inspired scientists to copy nature and attempt to develop man-made micro- and nano-motors themselves. Incredibly, machines that are as small as one 60,000th of a human hair have already been made.

Micro-machines show remarkable promise for use in a wide range of biomedical applications; including drug delivery, sensing and isolation, nanosurgery and imaging that would enable targeted or non-invasive medicine to be carried out. Although as this review points out there is still a considerable amount of work to take micro- and nano-machines for in vivo applications from concept into reality.

This paper covers topics including micro-motor design, potential fuel and fuel free machines and new developments for their use in biomedical applications and gives an interesting and balanced insight into the work of micro-machines highlighting the opportunities and challenges currently facing this field.

Micro- and nano-motors for biomedical applications

Loai K. E. A. Abdelmohsen, Fei Peng, Yingfeng Tu and Daniela A. Wilson,

 J. Mater. Chem. B, 2014. C3TB21451F

H. L. Parker is a guest web writer for the Journal of Materials Chemistry blog. She currently works at the Green Chemistry Centre of Excellence, the University of York.

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Hot Article: Synthesis of boronic acid-functionalized molecularly imprinted silica nanoparticles for glycoprotein recognition and enrichment

Glycoproteins are abundant in living organisms and appear in nearly every biological process studied. There are also many clinical biomarkers and therapeutic targets that are glycoproteins. The diverse function of glycoproteins is due to their structure – they consist of a polypeptide covalently bonded to a carbohydrate moiety.

The recognition and analysis of glycoproteins can be tricky. Mass spectrometry has proven a powerful tool; however when glycoproteins are in low abundance an enrichment process is required in order to see the proteins. In order to improve glycoprotein recognition Lin et al have developed a novel imprinting strategy using reversible covalent complexation of glycoprotein to create glycoprotein-specific recognition cavities on 3-acrylamidophenylboronic acid-immobilized silica nanoparticles (SiO2@AAPBA).

When tested the materials exhibited high glycoprotein adsorption capacity and excellent recognition selectivity not just between glycoproteins and non-glycoproteins but also between specific glycoproteins themselves.

Synthesis of boronic acid-functionalized molecularly imprinted silica nanoparticles for glycoprotein recognition and enrichment

Zian Lin, Lixiang Sun, Wei Lui, Zhiwei Xia, Huanghao Yang and Guonan Chen,
J. Mater. Chem. B, 2014, 2, 637-643. C3TB21520B

H. L. Parker is a guest web writer for the Journal of Materials Chemistry blog. She currently works at the Green Chemistry Centre of Excellence, the University of York.

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Hot Article: Heat is Power

Writing this blog I am currently experiencing the uncomfortable outcome of not having a desk at home: scorched knees from my overworked laptop giving off enough heat to penetrate two substantial layers of clothing.

It is well known and, as I am experiencing, easily demonstrated that machines generate heat when they operate. This waste heat is an unfortunate trade off in order for it to produce enough power to perform its intended task. However, this heat whilst unavoidable does not have to be wasted. Through the use of thermoelectric materials this heat could be captured and used to generate emission-free renewable power.

This paper by Peng et al presents results of the enhancement of promising thermoelectric Yb-filled COSb3 skutterudite bulk materials, by incorporating nanoparticles into the bulk material lattice, in order to improve thermoelectric performance. By inclusion of AgSbTe2 nanoparticles the electrical resistivity of the composites is decreased and the ability of the material to convert heat to electricity is also improved. Overall this leads to a remarkable boost of the power factor that can be achieved.

A Study of Yb0.2Co4Sb12-AgSbTe2 nanocomposites: simultaneous enhancement of all three thermoelectric properties

Jiangying Peng, Liangwei Fu, Qiongzhen Lui, Ming Liu, Junyou Yang, Dale Hitchcock, Menghan, Zhou and Jian He
J. Mater. Chem. A, 2014, 2, 73-79. C3TA13729E

H. L. Parker is a guest web writer for the Journal of Materials Chemistry blog. She currently works at the Green Chemistry Centre of Excellence, the University of York.

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Hot Article: A facile strategy for the preparation of well-dispersed bimetal oxide CuFe2O4 nanoparticles supported on mesoporous silica

Who said a complex problem demands a complex solution? A recent article by Li et al. has shown that this could not be further from the truth. This team at the University of Hangzhou have taken a relatively simple approach to remedy the more complex problems of phase separation and poor reproducibility that are associated with the synthesis of bimetal oxide nanoparticles supported on mesoporous silica.

These materials, that combine just the right amounts of nano-activity with the benefit of macro-sized supports for easier handling, show great potential in the field of catalysis however difficulties in their preparation is creating limitations. As this paper demonstrates, the addition of a facile pre-drying treatment inserted into the material preparation process is the key to avoiding problems. The work mainly focuses on applying this technique to the synthesis of CuFe2O4 catalysts, but also tests the same procedure on NiFe2O4, CuCr2O4 and CoFe2O4 with great success. Catalytic activity of the synthesised CuFe2O4 was tested using the enantioselective reduction of acetophenone at room temperature, resulting in a yield of 93% and 93% ee. The magnetic properties of the catalyst, due to the presence of Fe, lead to easy recovery from the reaction and subsequent reuse showed retention of activity and enantioselectivity.

A facile strategy for the preparation of well-dispersed bimetal oxide CuFe2O4 nanoparticles supported on mesoporous silica
Bin Li, Min Li, Chaohua Yao, Yifeng Shi, Danru Ye, Jing Wu and Dongyuan Zhao
J. Mater. Chem. A, 2013, 1, 6742-6749.  C3TA10506G

H. L. Parker is a guest web writer for the Journal of Materials Chemistry blog. She currently works at the Green Chemistry Centre of Excellence, the University of York.

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Hot Articles for January!

Metal-ion doped luminescent thin films for optoelectronic applications
Yang Zhang and Jianhua Hao

Photon upconversion facilitated molecular solar energy storage
Karl Börjesson, Damir Dzebo, Bo Albinsson and Kasper Moth-Poulsen

In Situ synthesis and thermoelectric properties of PbTe-graphene nanocomposites by utilizing a facile and novel wet chemical method
Jingdu Dong, Wei Liu, Han Li, Xianli Su, Xinfeng Tang and Ctirad Uher

These papers are free to access until 3rd March 2014 

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Read more »

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2014 Journal of Materials Chemistry Lectureship – Nominations now open!

Now in its 5th year, we are looking for nominations from you for the next Journal of Materials Chemistry Lectureship recipient.

We are pleased to announce that the 2014 Lectureship is now open for nominations. This annual lectureship honours a younger scientist who has made a significant contribution to the field of materials chemistry.

Xinliang Feng, the winner of the 2013 lectureship, was chosen as last year’s recipient by the Journal of Materials Chemistry Executive Editorial Board.

Qualification
To be eligible for the Journal of Materials Chemistry Lectureship, the candidate should be in the earlier stages of their scientific career, typically within 10 years of attaining their doctorate or equivalent degree, and will have made a significant contribution to the field.

Description
The recipient of the award will be asked to present one Journal of Materials Chemistry lecture, at a conference decided upon by the recipient and the Editorial Office. The Journal of Materials Chemistry Editorial Office will provide the sum of £1000 to the recipient for travel and accommodation costs. The award recipient will be presented with the award at this lecture. They will also be asked to contribute a lead article to the journal and will have their work showcased on the back cover of the issue in which their article is published.

Selection
The recipient of the lectureship will be selected and endorsed by the Journal of Materials Chemistry Executive Editorial Board.

Nominations
Those wishing to make a nomination should send details of the nominee including a brief C.V. (no longer than 2 pages) together with a letter supporting the nomination (no longer than 2 pages), to the Journal of Materials Chemistry Editorial Office by 28 March 2014. Please note that self-nomination is permitted.

Send a nomination here today: materials-rsc@rsc.org

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Introducing Journal of Materials Chemistry A Associate Editor Shizhang Qiao

Professor Shizhang Qiao received his PhD degree in chemical engineering from Hong Kong University of Science and Technology in 2000, and is currently a professor (Chair of Nanotechnology) at School of Chemical Engineering of the University of Adelaide, Australia.  His research expertise is in nanomaterials and nanoporous materials for drug/gene delivery and new energy technologies.  He has co-authored more than 170 papers in refereed journals (6400 citations with h-index 42), including Nature, Nature Communications, JACS, Angew. Chem., Adv. Mater., and has filed several patents on novel nanomaterials that are promising for drug/gene delivery, fuel cells, photocatalysis and lithium ion batteries. He has attracted more than 6.5 million dollars in research grants from industrial partners and Australian Research Council (ARC).

In recognition of his achievements in research, he was honoured with a prestigious ARC Discovery Outstanding Researcher Award (DORA), an Emerging Researcher Award (2013, ENFL Division of the American Chemical Society) and a UQ Foundation Research Excellence Award. He was also awarded an ARC ARF Fellowship, an ARC APD Fellowship and an inaugural UQ Mid-Career Research Fellowship.

Dr Qiao is currently appointed to ARC College of Experts. He has been an Associate Editor of Journal of Materials Chemistry A since June 2013.

His recent papers include:

Functionalized large pore mesoporous silica nanoparticles for gene delivery featuring controlled release and co-delivery
Sandy Budi Hartono, Nghia Truong Phuoc, Meihua Yu, Zhongfan Jia, Michael J. Monteiro, Shizhang Qiao and Chengzhong Yu
J. Mater. Chem. B, 2014, Advance Article

Encapsulation of lipase in mesoporous silica yolk-shell spheres with enhanced enzyme stability
Zheng Yang Zhao, Jian Liu, Mandy Hahn, Shizhang Qiao, Anton P. J. Middelberg and Lizhong He
RSC Adv., 2013, 3, 22008-22013

Mesoporous hybrid material composed of Mn3O4 nanoparticles on nitrogen-doped graphene for highly efficient oxygen reduction reaction
Jingjing Duan, Yao Zheng, Sheng Chen, Youhong Tang, Mietek Jaroniec and Shizhang Qiao
Chem. Commun., 2013, 49, 7705-7707

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