Haoxi Wu

Facile synthesis of free-standing Pd-based nanomembranes with enhanced catalytic performance for methanol/ethanol oxidation.

Macroscopic free-standing Pd and Pd/Pt bimetallic monolayer nanomembranes (Pd- and Pd/Pt-FNMs) derived from the spontaneous self-assembly of the as-produced Pd NPs and Pd/Pt bimetallic NPs at the water-air interface within 15 min are fabricated, respectively. The one-step method allows the growth of high-quality Pd-based FNMs with well-defined monolayer morphology, which exhibit significantly higher electrocatalytic activity for methanol/ethanol oxidation than commercial catalysts.

Enzymatic Plasmonic Engineering of Ag/Au Bimetallic Nanoshells and Their Use for Sensitive Optical Glucose Sensing

Enzyme works for plasmonic nanostructure: an interesting enzyme-responsive hybrid Ag/Au-GOx bimetallic nanoshell (NS) system is reported, in which control over the enzyme reaction of glucose oxidase (GOx) can automatically fine-tune the morphology (from complete NS to porous NS) and optical properties of the hybrid nanostructure. The phenomenon is further exploited as a new platform for sensitive optical glucose sensing.

Controlled synthesis of porous Ag/Au bimetallic hollow nanoshells with tunable plasmonic and catalytic properties

AbstractThis paper describes a simple and facile method for the synthesis of Ag/Au bimetallic hollow and porous nanoshells (HPNSs) with controllable porosity, using polycrystalline Ag nanoparticles as starting templates. The optical and catalytic properties of the HPNSs can be easily tuned by using hydrogen peroxide as a mild etchant to controllably dissolve Ag atoms from the precursor Ag/Au bimetallic hollow nanoshells (NSs). The surface plasmon bands of the HPNSs can be easily tuned from the visible to the near infrared (NIR) region. As a model reaction to evaluate the catalytic activity of the HPNSs, we chose the reduction of p-nitrophenol by NaBH4 to afford p-aminophenol. The porous NSs exhibit higher catalytic activity than non-porous NSs even though the latter have higher Au/Ag ratios than the former. Although the composition (Au/Ag ratio) may have some effect, the morphology (porosity) of the HPNSs plays the most important role in the catalysis. The as-synthesized plasmonic HPNSs, due to their facile aqueous-phase preparation, tunable optical properties (in the visible and NIR windows), and unique porous hollow structures, have promising potential applications in various fields ranging from biosensing, nanomedicine (drug/gene delivery, cancer theranostics, etc.), to catalysis and solar cells.

Self-standing non-noble metal (Ni–Fe) oxide nanotube array anode catalysts with synergistic reactivity for high-performance water oxidation

The oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is coupled with a number of important cathodic processes, for instance water splitting for hydrogen production and other energy storage devices based on O2–H2O chemistries such as metal–air batteries and unitized regenerative fuel cells, but they are limited by the slow kinetics. Attempts to solve this problem have received wide attention recently. However, accessing and stabilizing high-oxidation-state catalytically active species to further improve the high performance for the OER has been considered a huge challenge. Here, we report a Ni–Fe oxide-based nanotube array electrode, novel in design, with strong durability and excellent and synergistically enhanced catalytic performance for the OER. The OER electrode, with a nanotube array nanostructure, shows the remarkable features of a small overpotential of 0.28 V, favourable electrode kinetics and high stability, comparing favorably with the reported performances of the best OER electrocatalysts (IrO2), which is attributed to the formation and stabilization of the favourable OER catalytically active species NiOOH that is produced and reinforced by the introduction of Fe into nanostructured materials. This feasible strategy affords a new strategy for the development of effective and robust OER electrodes.

A polyimide derivative containing different carbonyl groups for flexible lithium ion batteries

A novel polyimide derivative is prepared by a condensation polymerization of pyromellitic dianhydride and 2,6-diaminoanthraquinone and a flexible electrode film –SWNT is further fabricated by filtration with single-walled carbon nanotube dispersions. connects different carbonyl groups of dianhydride and quinone together, therefore combining the advantages of different units together. Electrochemical tests show that –SWNT can transfer three electrons reversibly and theoretical calculations also prove that. –SWNT shows a high capacity of 190 mA h g−1 and superior rate performance, maintaining 120 mA h g−1 at 20C. –SWNT is a promising flexible electrode because of its good performance and flexibility.

Ionic Liquid-Functionalized Fluorescent Carbon Nanodots and Their Applications in Electrocatalysis, Biosensing, and Cell Imaging

In this article, ionic liquid-functionalized carbon nanodots (IL-CDs) were produced in a simple manner by electrochemical exfoliation of graphite rods in the presence of an amino-terminated ionic liquid, and their preliminary applications were exploited. TEM and AFM results showed that these IL-CDs are about 2.6 nm in diameter. The small-sized IL-CDs have strong photoluminescence, with a quantum yield of about 11.3%, and could be used for cell imaging. Moreover, the IL-CDs exhibit good electron transfer properties and catalytic activities for O2 and H2O2 reduction. Additionally, the as-prepared IL-CDs can be applied as a matrix for immobilizing enzymes (glucose oxidase) to construct biosensors. Due to these favorable properties, IL-CDs will find promising practical applications in electrocatalysis, biosensing, and bioimaging.

Smart Plasmonic Glucose Nanosensors as Generic Theranostic Agents for Targeting-Free Cancer Cell Screening and Killing

Fast and accurate identification of cancer cells from healthy normal cells in a simple, generic way is very crucial for early cancer detection and treatment. Although functional nanoparticles, like fluorescent quantum dots and plasmonic Au nanoparticles (NPs), have been successfully applied for cancer cell imaging and photothermal therapy, they suffer from the main drawback of needing time-consuming targeting preparation for specific cancer cell detection and selective ablation. The lack of a generic and effective method therefore limits their potential high-throughput cancer cell preliminary screening and theranostic applications. We report herein a generic in vitro method for fast, targeting-free (avoiding time-consuming preparations of targeting moiety for specific cancer cells) visual screening and selective killing of cancer cells from normal cells, by using glucose-responsive/-sensitive glucose oxidase-modified Ag/Au nanoshells (Ag/Au-GOx NSs) as a smart plasmonic theranostic agent. The method is generic to some extent since it is based on the distinct localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) responses (and colors) of the smart nanoprobe with cancer cells (typically have a higher glucose uptake level) and normal cells.

A facile and general preparation of high-performance noble-metal-based free-standing nanomembranes by a reagentless interfacial self-assembly strategy

As a simple and flexible 2D platform, the water-air interface is envisioned as an environmentally-friendly approach to prepare ultrathin free-standing nanomembranes (FNMs) of monolayered nanoparticles of interest via interfacial self-assembly. However, attempts so far have been rather rare due to the lack of efficient methods. In this article, we report on a facile and general strategy for fabrication of a family of noble metal-based FNMs by a simple and reagentless interfacial self-assembly tactics to prepare functional (plasmonic or catalytic) FNMs, such as Au, Ag, Pd, Pt-FNMs and their bimetallic hybrids, Ag/Au-FNMs and Pd/Pt-FNMs. The organic solvent-free process, varying somewhat from metal to metal only in precursors, reducing agents and dosage of reagents used, is found to be a general phenomenon and ligand-independent (irrespective of the monolayer quality of the resulting FNMs), allowing the growth of high-quality noble metal-based FNMs with well-defined nanoparticulate and monolayer morphology as large as several square centimeters. Heat treatment (boiling) is performed to accelerate the formation of FNMs within 15 min. More significantly, the as-prepared plasmonic Au-FNMs acting as a SERS substrate show a superior activity; whereas the resulting catalytic Pd-FNMs, except for their excellent ethanol electrooxidation performance, exhibit higher electrocatalytic activity for formic acid oxidation than commercial catalysts.

Free-Standing Monolayered Metallic Nanoparticle Networks as Building Blocks for Plasmonic Nanoelectronic Junctions

The effective coupling of optical surface plasmons (SPs) and electron transport in a plasmonic-electronic device is one of the fundamental issues in nanoelectronics and the emerging field of plasmonics, and offer promise in providing a solution to next generation nanocircuits in which all coupling is in the near field. Attempts toward this end, however, are limited because of the integration challenge to compatible nanodevices. To date, direct electrical detection of SP-electron coupling from metallic nanostructures alone are not reported, and thus it remains a great experimental challenge. In this paper, we succeed in preparing a new suspended-film-type nanoelectronic junction, in which free-standing 2D fractal nanoparticle networks act as plasmonically active nanocomponents. Direct electrical detection of optical collective SPs was evidenced by photocurrent response of the junction upon illumination. Room-temperature I-V characteristics, differing from nonlinear to Ohmic behaviors, are found to be sensitive to the nanometer-scale morphology changes of the nanomembranes. The finding and approach may enable the development of advanced plasmonic nanocircuits and new nanoelectronics, nanophotonics, and (solar) energy applications.