Fluorescent carbon nanoparticle (CNP) having 2-6 nm in size with quantum yield of about ~3% were synthesized via nitric acid oxidation of carbon soot and this approach can be used for milligram scale synthesis of these water soluble particles. These CNPs are nano-crystalline with predominantly graphitic structure and shows green fluorescence under UV exposure. While nitric acid oxidation induces nitrogen and oxygen incorporation into soot particle that afforded water solubility and light emitting property; the isolation of small particles from a mixture of different size particles improved the fluorescence quantum yield. These CNP shows encouraging cell imaging application. They enter into cell without any further functionalization and fluorescence property of these particles can be used for fluorescence based cell imaging application.

Fluorescent nanoparticle-based imaging probes have advanced current labelling technology and are expected to generate new medical diagnostic tools based on their superior brightness and photostability compared with conventional molecular probes. Although significant progress has been made in fluorescent semiconductor nanocrystal-based biological labelling and imaging, the presence of heavy metals and the toxicity issues associated with heavy metals have severely limited the application potential of these nanocrystals. Here, we report a fluorescent carbon nanoparticle-based, alternative, nontoxic imaging probe that is suitable for biological staining and diagnostics. We have developed a chemical method to synthesise highly fluorescent carbon nanoparticles 1–10 nm in size; these particles exhibit size-dependent, tunable visible emission. These carbon nanoparticles have been transformed into various functionalised nanoprobes with hydrodynamic diameters of 5–15 nm and have been used as cell imaging probes.

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Vertical contact-separation mode triboelectric generator (TEG) based on lead-free perovskite, zinc stannate (ZnSnO 3 )-polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) composite and polyamide-6 (PA6) membrane is demonstrated. For the 5wt% PVDF-ZnSnO 3 nanocomposites, the facile phaseinversion method provides a simple route to achieve high crystallinity and β-phase with a piezoelectric coefficient d 33 of -65 pmV -1 , as compared to -44 pmV -1 for pristine PVDF membranes. Consequently, at a cyclic excitation impact of 490 N/3 Hz, the PVDF-ZnSnO 3 /PA6 based TEGs provide a significantly higher voltage of 520 V and a current © 2016. This manuscript version is made available under the Elsevier user license http://www.elsevier.com/open-access/userlicense/1.0/ 2 density of 2.7 mAm -2 (corresponding charge density of 62.0 µCm -2 ), as compared to the pristine PVDF-PA6 TEG which provides up to 300 V with a current density of 0.91 mAm -2(corresponding to a charge density of 55.0 µCm -2 ). This increase in the electrical output can be attributed to not only the enhanced polarisation of PVDF by ZnSnO 3 leading to an increase in the β-phase content, but also to the surface charge density increase by stress induced polarisation of ZnSnO 3 , leading to the generation of stronger piezoelectric potential.The work thus introduces a novel method of enhancing the surface charge density via the addition of suitable high polarization piezoelectric materials thus eliminating the need for prior charge injection for fluoropolymer membranes.

Electronic structures of graphene oxide (GO) and hydro-thermally reduced graphene oxides (rGOs) processed at low temperatures (120–180°C) were studied using X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES), X-ray emission spectroscopy (XES) and resonant inelastic X-ray scattering (RIXS). C K-edge XANES spectra of rGOs reveal that thermal reduction restores C = C sp2 bonds and removes some of the oxygen and hydroxyl groups of GO, which initiates the evolution of carbonaceous species. The combination of C K-edge XANES and Kα XES spectra shows that the overlapping π and π* orbitals in rGOs and GO are similar to that of highly ordered pyrolytic graphite (HOPG), which has no band-gap. C Kα RIXS spectra provide evidence that thermal reduction changes the density of states (DOSs) that is generated in the π-region and/or in the gap between the π and π* levels of the GO and rGOs. Two-dimensional C Kα RIXS mapping of the heavy reduction of rGOs further confirms that the residual oxygen and/or oxygen-containing functional groups modify the π and σ features, which are dispersed by the photon excitation energy. The dispersion behavior near the K point is approximately linear and differs from the parabolic-like dispersion observed in HOPG.

Water soluble graphene with various chemical- and biofunctionalities is essential for their different applications. However, exfoliated graphenes are insoluble in water and water soluble graphene oxide precipitate if they are chemically reduced to graphene. We have developed a polyacrylate coating method for graphene oxide and then chemically reduced it into graphene. We found that polyacrylate coating can improve the colloidal stability of both graphene and graphene oxide. The coated graphene has been characterized using XPS, FTIR, XRD and micro-Raman spectroscopy. The primary amine present on the coating backbone has been used to derive glucose functionalized water soluble graphene. Various other functional graphenes can be anticipated from the polyacrylate coated graphene.

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We report an investigation into the magnetic and electronic properties of partially hydrogenated vertically aligned few layers graphene (FLG) synthesized by microwave plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition. The FLG samples are hydrogenated at different substrate temperatures to alter the degree of hydrogenation and their depth profile. The unique morphology of the structure gives rise to a unique geometry in which graphane/graphone is supported by graphene layers in the bulk, which is very different from other widely studied structures such as one-dimensional nanoribbons. Synchrotron based x-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy measurements have been used to investigate the electronic structure and the underlying hydrogenation mechanism responsible for the magnetic properties. While ferromagnetic interactions seem to be predominant, the presence of antiferromagnetic interaction was also observed. Free spins available via the conversion of sp2 to sp3 hybridized structures, and the possibility of unpaired electrons from defects induced upon hydrogenation are thought to be likely mechanisms for the observed ferromagnetic orders.