Search results for " NATURA"

Formation of Si/SiO2 Luminescent Quantum Dots From Mesoporous Silicon by Sodium Tetraborate/Citric Acid Oxidation Treatment

2019

We propose a rapid, one-pot method to generate photoluminescent (PL) mesoporous silicon nanoparticles (PSiNPs). Typically, mesoporous silicon (meso-PSi) films, obtained by electrochemical etching of monocrystalline silicon substrates, do not display strong PL because the silicon nanocrystals (nc-Si) in the skeleton are generally too large to display quantum confinement effects. Here we describe an improved approach to form photoluminescent PSiNPs from meso-PSi by partial oxidation in aqueous sodium borate (borax) solutions. The borax solution acts to simultaneously oxidize the nc-Si surface and to partially dissolve the oxide product. This results in reduction of the size of the nc-Si core …

Pressure-Dependent Tuning of Photoluminescence and Size Distribution of Carbon Nanodots for Theranostic Anticancer Applications

2020

Carbon nanodots (CDs) have recently attracted attention in the field of nanomedicine because of the biocompatibility, cost-effective nature, high specific surface, good near infrared (NIR) photothermal conversion into heat and tunable fluorescence properties, which have paved the way toward incorporating use of CDs into innovative anticancer theranostic platforms. However, a reliable synthesis of CDs with established and controlled physiochemical proprieties is precluded owing to the lack of full manipulation of thermodynamic parameters during the synthesis, thus limiting their use in real world medical applications. Herein, we developed a robust solvothermal protocol which allow fine contr…

Biodegradable Ultrasmall-in-Nano Gold Architectures: Mid-Period In Vivo Distribution and Excretion Assessment

2018

Effect of thermal annealing on the luminescence of defective ZnO nanoparticles synthesized by pulsed laser ablation in water

2016

This work concerns ZnO nanoparticles (NPs), with sizes of tens of nm, produced by ablation with a pulsed Nd:YAG laser of a Zn plate in H2O. TEM images evidence the formation of nanoparticles with sizes of tens of nm. Moreover, HRTEM images and Raman spectra show that the distance between the crystalline planes and the vibrational modes are consistent with ZnO nanocrystal in wurtzite structure. Their optical properties are characterized by two emission bands both excited above the energy gap (3.4 eV): the first at 3.3 eV is associated with excitons recombination, the second at 2.2 eV is proposed to originate from a singly ionized oxygen vacancy. The green emission is independent of water pH,…

Laser fluence, repetition rate and pulse duration effects on paint ablation

2006

Abstract The efficiency (mm3/(J pulse)) of laser ablation of paint was investigated with nanosecond pulsed Nd:YAG lasers (λ = 532 nm) as a function of the following laser beam parameters: pulse repetition rate (1–10,000 Hz), laser fluence (0.1–5 J/cm2) and pulse duration (5 ns and 100 ns). In our study, the best ablation efficiency (η ≅ 0.3 mm3/J) was obtained with the highest repetition rate (10 kHz) at the fluence F = 1.5 J/cm2. This ablation efficiency can be associated with heat accumulation at high repetition rate, which leads to the ablation threshold decrease. Despite the low thermal diffusivity and the low optical absorption of the paint (thermal confinement regime), the ablation th…

The Recurrent Characteristics of Historic Buildings as a Support to Improve their Energy Performances: The Case Study of Palermo

2017

Abstract The analysis of the recurrent characteristics of the local historic architecture is useful to develop large-scale energy analyses, regulations and financial strategies, but also to support technical guidelines for an energy improvement balanced with conservation. For this purpose, a multi-scale methodology ranging from envelope components to the urban dimension is necessary. In the research here exposed, this approach is investigated by focusing on the historic architecture of Palermo. For this heritage, the collection of thermal and hygrometric data for envelope components is combined with the examination of representative constructions, based on building stock categorization. Int…

A library of monoalkenylsilsesquioxanes as potential comonomers for synthesis of hybrid materials

2018

In this paper we demonstrate a facile and efficient synthesis of monoalkenylsubstituted POSS compounds, i.e., R7(Si8O12)-alkenyl and R7(Si8O12)(OSiMe2)-alkenyl with a functional alkenyl group of chain length (from vinyl to dec-9-enyl, with or without additional –OSiMe2– spacer between the silsesquioxane core and alkenyl moiety) and with five types of inert groups (Et, iBu, iOc, Cy, Ph) at the POSS core. These compounds constitute a library of monosubstituted POSS systems, including thorough spectroscopic and thermal characteristics. These findings could be especially useful for material chemists applying the compounds as modifiers or comonomers for copolymerization reaction, e.g., with olef…

The transformation of a building of the 1970s into a contemporary sustainable building in the Mediterranean Basin

2008

The paper shows the design strategies adopted by a group of graduands of the Faculty of Building Engineering at the University of Palermo involved in a research project aimed to analyse the problems related to the renovation of modern buildings and to solve them by using sustainable approach. In particular, the aim of the research is to investigate these problems in the context of the Mediterranean Basin by adopting, when possible, design criteria inherited by the traditional architecture where sustainable design strategies were used unconsciously. The graduands thesis consists in the transformation of Mazara City Hall into the new "Satiro Danzante Museum" by using natural ventilation syste…

High Frequency Data Acquisition System for Modelling the Impact of Visitors on the Thermo-Hygrometric Conditions of Archaeological Sites: A Casa di D…

2018

[EN] The characterization of the microclimatic conditions is fundamental for the preventive conservation of archaeological sites. In this context, the identification of the factors that influence the thermo-hygrometric equilibrium is key to determine the causes of cultural heritage deterioration. In this work, a characterization of the thermo-hygrometric conditions of Casa di Diana (Ostia Antica, Italy) is carried out analyzing the data of temperature and relative humidity recorded by a system of sensors with high monitoring frequency. Sensors are installed in parallel, calibrated and synchronized with a microcontroller. A data set of 793,620 data, arranged in a matrix with 66,135 rows and …

Thermal and thermo-oxidative stability and kinetics of decomposition of PHBV/sisal composites

2017

The decomposition behaviours of composites made of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) and sisal were assessed in terms of thermal stability and decomposition kinetics, under inert and oxidative conditions, by means of multi-rate linear non-isothermal thermogravimetric experiments. A statistical design of experiments was applied to study the influence of the addition of sisal (0-10-20-30%wt), the presence coupling agent (Yes/No) and the applied conditions of work (inert or oxidative). An improvement of the thermal and thermo-oxidative stability of PHBV with the addition of sisal was observed for all cases. An accurate methodology based on iso-conversional methods was applied…