Nanoscale & Nanoscale Advances Blog

Jong Hak Kim and co-workers from Yonsei University report very impressive quasi-solid-state dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) efficiencies in their recent Nanoscale paper.

The group covalently modified the surfaces of alumina nanoparticles with an ionic liquid to improve their miscibility with ionic liquids, such as MPII. They used a hybrid gel composite of MPII and the surface-modified nanoparticles as the electrolyte in quasi-solid-state DSSCs. The energy conversion efficiencies were greater when using their modified nanoparticles than when using pristine alumina.

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Hybrid electrolytes prepared from ionic liquid-grafted alumina for high-efficiency quasi-solid-state dye-sensitized solar cells
Won Seok Chi, Dong Kyu Roh, Sang Jin Kim, Sung Yeon Heo and Jong Hak Kim
DOI: 10.1039/C3NR00291H

Scientists from Tsinghua University in China have found a way to synthesis water soluble nanocrystals with sizes smaller than 10nm using a formamide solvent-system.

So far, many groups have been successful in synthesising hydrophobic nanocrystals, but their inability to disperse in water has hindered their applications in electronics, catalysis and biomedicine. Hydrophobic nanocrystals can be made hydrophilic by using ligands to modify the surface, although these post-synthesis treatments are usually time-consuming and not environmentally friendly.  Wang and co-workers have solved these problems with their direct synthesis of water-soluble nanocrystals, which does not use toxic solvents and has no need for post-modifications.

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Formamide: an efficient solvent to synthesize water-soluble, sub-10-nanometer nanocrystals
Xun Wang, Biao Xu and Zhi Cheng Zhang
DOI: 10.1039/C3NR00643C

Gaoquan Shi and co-workers have made composite films comprising graphene oxide sheets and silk fibroin in a layered structure, which mimic natural nacre. They demonstrate a facile solution-casting method for incorporating the fibroin into graphene oxide.

The impressive mechanical properties of their material, surpassing those of natural nacre in some ways, make it potentially useful as a high-strength structural material. The biocompatibility of the material components also makes the composite promising for biological applications, such as tissue engineering.

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Strong composite films with layered structures prepared by casting silk fibroin–graphene oxide hydrogels
Liang Huang, Chun Li, Wenjing Yuan and Gaoquan Shi
DOI: 10.1039/C3NR00196B

Camouflaging nanoparticles so that they are not attacked by the immune system is a major challenge in developing long-circulating, effective drug-delivery vehicles. Attaching CD47, a transmembrane protein that serves as a universal molecular ‘marker-of-self’, to the surface of nanoparticles is one way to enable active immune evasion. However, functionalising the particle surface evenly and with uniformly oriented protein is very difficult.

Liangfang Zhang et al. show that their membrane translocation approach is very effective for functionalizing nanoparticles with molecules of CD47 in their recent Nanoscale Communication. They were able to coat nanoparticles with immunomodulatory proteins at an equivalent density to those on red blood cells, and in the correct orientation.

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‘Marker-of-self’ functionalization of nanoscale particles through a top-down cellular membrane coating approach
Che-Ming J. Hu, Ronnie H. Fang, Brian T. Luk, Kevin N. H. Chen, Cody Carpenter, Weiwei Gao, Kang Zhang and Liangfang Zhang
DOI: 10.1039/C3NR00015J

Lixia Yuan, Yunhui Huang and co-workers report a simple one-pot method to synthesize a nanocluster composite assembled by interconnected ultrafine  SnO2@C nanospheres in their recent Nanoscale paper. They found that with a mixture of sodium carboxyl methyl cellulose and styrene butadiene rubber as a binder, the SnO2@C nanocluster anode exhibits superior cycling stability and rate capability.

Electrode materials are crucial for the overall performance of lithium ion batteries. Graphite is a traditionally used anode material, and tin dioxide is one promising alternative with a higher theoretical lithium storage capacity. However, the practical use of tin dioxide is limited by its rapid capacity fading, low initial coulombic efficiency and poor rate performance. Scientists from China have recently come up with a clever solution to these problems by skilfully combining SnO2@C nanoclusters with a suitable binder.

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A SnO2@carbon nanocluster anode material with superior cyclability and rate capability for lithium-ion batteries
Min He, Lixia Yuan, Xianluo Hu, Wuxing Zhang, Jie Shu and Yunhui Huang
DOI: 10.1039/C3NR34133J