The effects of different concentrations of graphene oxide (GO) on the structure and optical properties of ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) were investigated. The nanocomposites were synthesized via the sol-gel method in a gelatin medium. X-ray diffraction patterns (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy indicated that the GO sheets were reduced and changed to reduced GO (RGO) during the calcination of the nanocomposites at 400 °C. In addition, the XRD patterns of the NPs indicated a hexagonal (wurtzite) structure for all the products. Microscopic studies showed that the NPs were decorated and dispersed on the RGO sheets very well. However, these studies revealed that the RGO concentration had an effect on the crystal growth process for the ZnO NPs. Furthermore, these studies showed that the NPs could be grown with a single crystal quality in an optimum RGO concentration. According to the XRD results that were obtained from pure ZnO NPs, the calcinations temperature was decreased by the RGO. UV–vis and room temperature photoluminescence studies showed that the optical properties of the ZnO/RGO nanocomposite were affected by the RGO concentration. Finally, the obtained ZnO/RGO nanocomposite was used to generate a photocurrent. Observations showed that the photocurrent intensity of the nanocomposite was significantly increased by increasing the RGO, with an optimum RGO concentration.
The effect of the addition of an ionic dopant to calcium phosphates for biomedical applications requires specific research due to the essential roles played in such processes. In the present study, the mechanical and biological properties of Ni-doped hydroxyapatite (HA) and Ni-doped HA mixed with graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) were evaluated. Ni (3wt.% and 6wt.%)-doped HA was synthesized using a continuous precipitation method and calcined at 900°C for 1h. The GNP (0.5-2wt.%)-reinforced 6% Ni-doped HA (Ni6) composite was prepared using rotary ball milling for 15h. The sintering process was performed using hot isostatic pressing at processing conditions of 1150°C and 160MPa with a 1-h holding time. The results indicated that the phase compositions and structural features of the products were noticeably affected by the Ni and GNPs. The mechanical properties of Ni6 and 1.5Ni6 were increased by 55% and 75% in hardness, 59% and 163% in fracture toughness and 120% and 85% in elastic modulus compared with monolithic HA, respectively. The in-vitro biological behavior was investigated using h-FOB osteoblast cells in 1, 3 and 5days of culture. Based on the osteoblast results, the cytotoxicity of the products was indeed affected by the Ni doping. In addition, the effect of GNPs on the growth and proliferation of osteoblast cells was investigated in Ni6 composites containing different ratios of GNPs, where 1.5wt.% was the optimum value.
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