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Fluorescent gold nanoparticles are important biological labels, in particular for combined optical and electron microscopy. It is reported that density and type of surface ligands have key influence on the dominant UV‐vis fluorescence band in positively and negatively charged gold nanoparticles capped with citrate, gold oxide, and cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB). The peak excitation and emission energies and fluorescence intensities vary with nanoparticle size, reflecting changes in surface charge and surface potential as well as a varying density of surface adsorbates. The fluorescence peak shifts, the evolution of zeta potentials, and fluorescence intensity trends are explained by a model of the principal fluorescence transitions that takes into account the nanoparticle surface conditions, such as the adhesion of ligands. Varying surface ligands is a simple strategy to optimize fluorescence intensity and to design spectral properties of gold nanoparticles.

Bioprobes based on fluorescent ruby nanoparticles, which are suitable for ultrasensitive imaging, are reported. A stable aqueous/buffer colloid, permitting facile conjugation to proteins, is produced by femtosecond laser ablation of ruby and the nanoparticles (mean size 17 nm) are photostable, with long lifetime (1–4 ms) 694 nm emission. With time‐gating complete (>20 dB) suppression of cell autofluorescence and suppression of exogenous fluorophores is observed. Nanoparticles are imaged in as‐grown cells and those immunolabeled with quantum dots. Immunoassay binding to target biomolecules is also demonstrated.

We employ first-principles methods to study the mechanism controlling the electrical conduction in BiFeO3 (BFO). We find that under oxygen-rich conditions, Bi vacancies (V(Bi)) have lower defect formation energy than O vacancies (V(O)) (-0.43 eV vs. 3.35 eV), suggesting that V(Bi) are the acceptor defects and control the conductivity of BFO, making it a p-type semiconductor. In order to obtain further insight into the conduction mechanism, we calculate the effect of donor (Sn(4+)) and acceptor (Pb(2+)) impurities in BFO. Results indicate that Sn impurities prefer to substitute Fe sites to form shallow donor defects, which compensate the acceptor levels derived from V(Bi). Meanwhile, Pb atoms favour the substitution of Bi sites to form acceptor defects, reducing the overall concentration of holes (h(+)). Theoretical findings were later surveyed by current-voltage characteristics of Sn- or Pb-doped BFO nanofibers. This study is of general interest in carrier transport in charge compensation semiconductors, and of particular relevance within the context of defect-mediated conductivity in BFO.

Femtosecond laser ablation of gold in an aqueous solution of cetyl trimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) is shown to produce nanoparticle suspensions with superior colloidal stability compared to other surfactants, with shelf lives exceeding 2 months even at low concentrations of CTAB, below 1 mM. CTAB also helps control nanoparticle size with mean diameters of 6.3, 5.6, and 4.7 nm obtained in 0.1, 0.5, and 1 mM concentrations of CTAB respectively, compared to 11.9 nm obtained in pure deionized water under same ablation conditions. The size distributions produced with low concentrations of CTAB are comparable to those produced by other surfactants, typically used at high concentrations.

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In this paper we investigate O(2) sensing dynamics in BiFeO(3) (BFO) nanofibers at various concentrations and temperatures, by using a combined experiment and computer simulation approach. Samples of pristine BFO, Ni-doped BFO, and Pb-doped BFO nanofibers were prepared. By incorporating Ni and Pb, additional acceptor states are introduced in BFO. Density functional theory calculations show that Ni prefers to substitute Fe site while Pb substitutes Bi site, resulting in a new deep donor originating from Ni interstitial defects, along with oxygen vacancies (V(o)). We find that both the sensing response and recovery time are shorter in samples made of pristine BFO nanofibers than in Ni- and Pb-doped nanofiber samples. We interpret the observed sensing dynamics through charge transport theory of the major (acceptors) and minor (donors) carriers, and found that the minor carrier compensation plays a significant role in determining the response and recovery time of the sensor device. This minor carrier compensation charge transport mechanism will provide new insights into more robust sensor development strategies, and into the research of ion-electron coupling in chemical dynamics of semiconductors.