Monitoring Chemical Reactions with SERS-Active Ag-Loaded Mesoporous TiO2 Films

Monitoring chemical reactions that occur in small spaces or confined environments is challenging. Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) spectroscopy offers the unique possibility to monitor spectral changes with high sensitivity and time resolution. Herein, we report the application of composite mesoporous TiO2 films loaded with Ag nanoparticles (NPs) to track in situ chemical processes in real time. In particular, the AgNPs@TiO2 system was employed to monitor two chemical reactions: one occurring on the Ag NPs surface and another taking place in the surrounding solution. In the first case, we monitored the decarboxylation reaction of 4-mercaptobenzoic acid on Ag NPs, which allowed us to…

CTAB Stabilizes Silver on Gold Nanorods

We present a study that allows us to explain the chemical changes behind the often observed but so far ununderstood drift of the plasmon resonance of chemically prepared gold nanorods in microfluid...

Synthesis, characterization and magnetism of monodispersed water soluble palladium nanoparticles

Water soluble, monodispersed Pd nanoparticles with a narrow particle size distribution have been successfully synthesized by controlled reduction of [PdCl4]2−. The resulting aqueous colloids are stable over extended periods of time and can be prepared at high nanoparticle loading (20 g/L of Pd) with no agglomeration. The size of the nanoparticles can be reduced from the nanometer (ca. 3.5 nm) to the sub-nanometer size range (ca. 0.9 nm). Detailed magnetic characterization indicated that the larger, 3.5 nm nanoparticles show ferromagnetic properties at room temperature, while the sub-nanometric ones lose this magnetic behavior.

Inulin coated plasmonic gold nanoparticles as a tumor-selective tool for cancer therapy.

Preferential uptake by cancer cells of PEG-inulin coated gold nanoparticles loaded with the drug doxorubicin.

Single-Molecule Magnets: Electrostatic Anchoring of Mn4 Single-Molecule Magnets onto Chemically Modified Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes (Adv. Funct. Mater. 5/2012)

Electrostatic Anchoring of Mn4 Single-Molecule Magnets onto Chemically Modified Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes

Two different routes that enable the electrostatic grafting of cationic single-molecule magnets (SMMs) onto the surface of chemically modified anionic multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) are described. The chemical nature and physical properties of the resulting hybrids are discussed on the basis of a complete battery of experimental techniques. The data show that the chemical nature of the SMM unit remains intact, while its magnetic response is significantly affected by the grafting process, which is likely due to surface effects.