Dan-Ling Zhou

One-pot green synthesis of nitrogen-doped carbon nanoparticles as fluorescent probes for mercury ions

Herein, a simple, green, and low-cost way was developed in the synthesis of fluorescent nitrogen-doped carbon nanoparticles (FNCPs) with nitrogen content of 6.88%, using one-pot hydrothermal treatment of strawberry juice. The as-prepared FNCPs exhibited a maximum emission at 427 nm with a quantum yield of 6.3%, which could be specifically quenched by Hg2+. This phenomenon was used to develop a fluorescent method for facile detection of Hg2+ with a linear range from 10 nM to 50 μM and a detection limit of 3 nM (S/N = 3), and further extended to measure environmental water samples with satisfactory recovery. This study provides a green strategy in the synthesis of FNCPs to detect Hg2+ with good performance.

Caffeine assisted one-step synthesis of flower-like gold nanochains and their catalytic behaviors

In this report, flower-like Au nanochains were facilely prepared by a one-step synthesis with the assistance of caffeine as a structure directing and weak stabilizing agent. It was found that the reaction temperature and the ratio of [caffeine]/[HAuCl4] were the key factors during the synthesis process, and their growth mechanism was discussed in some detail. The as-prepared Au superstructures displayed an excellent catalytic ability towards the reduction of p-nitrophenol, which showed potential applications in the construction of optical and catalytic devices.

Facile synthesis of ultrathin worm-like Au nanowires for highly active SERS substrates

In this report, ultrathin worm-like Au nanowires were constructed with the assistance of L-glutamic acid as a structure-directing agent and a weak stabilizing agent. The morphology of the Au products was found to be strongly dependent on the experimental parameters such as the amount of L-glutamic acid, as well as the reaction temperature. This synthesis was a seedless process, without using any template, surfactant, or toxic organic agent. Furthermore, the as-prepared Au nanowires were applied to facilely fabricate porous Au films with controllable thickness via simple gravity settling. The Au films showed high surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) enhancement, using 4-mercaptobenzoic acid as a model probe. The Au films may be promising candidates for SERS sensing. This strategy provides an environmental friendly way for the preparation of various metal nanostructures with novel morphologies and useful applications.

Facile synthesis of MnO2–Ag hollow microspheres with sheet-like subunits and their catalytic properties

Hierarchical MnO2–Ag hollow microspheres (HMs) with sheet-like subunits were facilely prepared through an in situ redox reaction and spontaneously self-assembled orientation via Ostwald ripening in a urea solution under a lower hydrothermal temperature (130 °C), without using any seed, template or capping agent. The as-prepared samples display an excellent electrocatalytic ability by the typical amperometric detection of H2O2 as a model system. The as-formed H2O2 sensor has a wide linear range from 1.31 μM to 36.71 mM (R = 0.9997), low detection limit (1.31 μM), high sensitivity (8.46 μA mM−1), and fast response (<5 s).