It has been for a long time recognized that nanoparticles are of great scientific interest as they are effectively a bridge between bulk materials and atomic structures. At first, size effects occurring in single elements have been studied. More recently, progress in chemical and physical synthesis routes permitted the preparation of more complex structures. Such structures take advantages of new adjustable parameters including stoichiometry, chemical ordering, shape and segregation opening new fields with tailored materials for biology, mechanics, optics magnetism, chemistry catalysis, solar cells and microelectronics. Among them, core/shell structures are a particular class of nanoparticles made with an inorganic core and one or several inorganic shell layer(s). In earlier work, the shell was merely used as a protective coating for the core. More recently, it has been shown that it is possible to tune the physical properties in a larger range than that of each material taken separately. The goal of the present review is to discuss the basic properties of the different types of core/shell nanoparticles including a large variety of heterostructures. We restrict ourselves on all inorganic (on inorganic/inorganic) core/shell structures. In the light of recent developments, the applications of inorganic core/shell particles are found in many fields including biology, chemistry, physics and engineering. In addition to a representative overview 2 of the properties, general concepts based on solid state physics are considered for material selection and for identifying criteria linking the core/shell structure and its resulting properties. Chemical and physical routes for the synthesis and specific methods for the study of core/shell nanoparticle are briefly discussed.
Recent studies show that low grain sizes are favorable to improve ductility and machinability in tungsten, as well as the resistance to ablation and spallation if this material is to be used in thermonuclear fusion environment. However, current production routes are not suitable for the fabrication of large bulk nanostructured tungsten samples. The authors propose here a new methodology based on powder metallurgy, including the powder synthesis by the reduction of tungsten trioxide by magnesium using the Self-propagating High-temperature Synthesis process in the presence of a reaction moderator, and the densification procedure. Results show that full tungsten densification may be obtained by SPS at a temperature lower than 1800 C and that the resulting morphology, keeping a partial nanostructure inherited from the synthesized powders, seems indeed favorable to the use of these materials in fusion environments.
Using Si as anode materials for Li-ion batteries remain challenging due to its morphological evolution and SEI modification upon cycling. The present work aims at developing a composite consisting of carbon-coated Si nanoparticles (Si@C NPs) intimately embedded in a three-dimensional (3D) graphene hydrogel (GHG) architecture to stabilize Si inside LiB electrodes. Instead of simply mixing both components, the novelty of the synthesis procedure lies in the in situ hydrothermal process, which was shown to successfully yield graphene oxide reduction, 3D graphene assembly production, and homogeneous distribution of Si@C NPs in the GHG matrix. Electrochemical characterizations in half-cells, on electrodes not containing additional conductive additive, revealed the importance of the protective C shell to achieve high specific capacity (up to 2200 mAh.g−1), along with good stability (200 cycles with an average Ceff > 99%). These performances are far superior to that of electrodes made with non-C-coated Si NPs or prepared by mixing both components. These observations highlight the synergetic effects of C shell on Si NPs, and of the single-step in situ preparation that enables the yield of a Si@C-GHG hybrid composite with physicochemical, structural, and morphological properties promoting sample conductivity and Li-ion diffusion pathways.
Nanoparticles (NP) are introduced in a growing number of commercial products, including food and beverage, daily use hygiene products such as toothpaste, or orally-administered drugs. To study the possible toxicity of these nanoparticles, a model system is the in vitro response of eukaryotic cells to the presence of NP. However, to understand the observed effects, it is clear that good physical and chemical characterization of NP, and in particular of their dispersion are needed. Indeed, the expected effects should be different if the study is dealing with agglomerates or isolated nanoparticles. For fundamental understanding, it appears important to work with nanoparticles as well dispersed as possible while being in relevant biological condition, i.e. cellular culture cell.In this context, we have studied the dispersion of a very common industrial titania NP (Degussa P25 produced in ton quantities). When dispersed in water, the suspensions of NP appear stable for weeks.. When transferred in the cell culture medium (DMEM) or if directly dispersed in DMEM, strong evolution of size is seen as well as sedimentation. To address this problem, we have compared different ways, coming from materials science, of dispersing NP in water with the idea to break in a preliminary step some of the necks between nanoparticles. The effect of dry ball milling, liquid ball milling, size of the balls and Ultrasonic dispersion will be compared. The best results were obtained from high power ultrasonic dispersion. To avoid direct aggregation, when going to DMEM, a “surfactant” relevant with biological studies (Foetal Bovine Serum (FBS)) was added in the suspension in order to coat the nanoparticles prior to transfer in DMEM (or other cell media). The result obtained with various surfactants and cell media will be presented. It must be noted that our best results were obtained in the FBS + DMEM medium.
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