Size‐Tunable Synthesis of Hollow Gold Nanospheres through Control of Reaction Temperature
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A series of surface-modified clays containing nanophase (np) iron/oxyhydroxides of extremely small particle sizes, with total iron contents as high as found in Mars soil, were prepared by iron deposition on the clay surface from ferrous chloride solution. Comprehensive studies of the iron mineralogy in these 'Mars-soil analogs' were conducted using chemical extractions, solubility analyses, pH and redox, x ray and electron diffractometry, electron microscopic imaging specific surface area and particle size determinations, differential thermal analyses, magnetic properties characterization, spectral reflectance, and Viking biology simulation experiments. The clay matrix and the procedure used for synthesis produced nanophase iron oxides containing a certain proportion of divalent iron, which slowly converts to more stable, fully oxidized iron minerals. The noncrystalline nature of the iron compounds precipitated on the surface of the clay was verified by their complete extractability in oxalate. Lepidocrocite (gamma-FeOOH) was detected by selected area electron diffraction. It is formed from a double iron Fe(II)/Fe(III) hydroxyl mineral such as 'green rust', or ferrosic hydroxide. Magnetic measurements suggested that lepidocrocite converted to the more stable meaghemite (gamma-Fe203) by mild heat treatment and then to nanophase hematite (aplha-Fe203) by extensive heat treatment. Their chemical reactivity offers a plausible mechanism for the somewhat puzzling observations of the Viking biology experiments. Their unique chemical reactivities are attributed to the combined catalytic effects of the iron oxide/oxyhydroxide and silicate phase surfaces. The mode of formation of these (nanophase) iron oxides on Mars is still unknown.
This report summarizes our research activities at the University of Virginia conducted under the support of this NASA research grant from March 2004 to October 2004 and provides a summary of the research to be conducted in the remaining period of the project at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). The original research objectives will remain the same after our transition to UIUC. In the beginning of this program we completed the analysis on the graphite polymer micro and nanocomposites that were studied at NASA Langley and UVa in the summer of 2003. A publication summarizing this work was submitted in the fall of 2004 to the journal of Experimental Mechanics and the reviewer comments are currently addressed. The research program aims at understanding the local interactions between the polymer matrix and hard reinforcement in polymer nanocomposites (PNCs). The materials selected for this study were PNCs with different fillers (14nm silica nanospheres or nanoclays) and volume fractions (0.5%, 1%, 2% and 5%).
Graphene nanosheet bisphenol A polycarbonate nanocomposites (0.027 2.2 vol %) prepared by both emulsion mixing and solution blending methods, followed by compression molding at 287 C, exhibited dc electrical percolation threshold of approx.0.14 and approx.0.38 vol %, respectively. The conductivities of 2.2 vol % graphene nanocomposites were 0.512 and 0.226 S/cm for emulsion and solution mixing. The 1.1 and 2.2 vol % graphene nanocomposites exhibited frequency-independent behavior. Inherent conductivity, extremely high aspect ratio, and nanostructure directed assembly of the graphene using PC nanospheres are the main factors for excellent electrical properties of the nanocomposites. Dynamic tensile moduli of nanocomposites increased with increasing graphene in the nanocomposite. The glass transition temperatures were decreased with increasing graphene for the emulsion series. High-resolution electron microscopy (HR-TEM) and small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) showed isolated graphene with no connectivity path for insulating nanocomposites and connected nanoparticles for the conductive nanocomposites. A stacked disk model was used to obtain the average particle radius, average number of graphene layers per stack, and stack spacing by simulation of the experimental SANS data. Morphology studies indicated the presence of well-dispersed graphene and small graphene stacking with infusion of polycarbonate within the stacks.
Allophane is an amorphous or poorly crystalline hydrous aluminosilicate material. Allophane's chemical structure represents a hollow nanosphere, 5-6 nm in diameter with 4-7 large pores in the structure. Identification of allophane and other amorphous and nanophase minerals on Mars has provided clues about the aqueous geochemical environment there. These materials likely represent partially altered or leached basaltic ash and therefore, could represent a geologic marker for where water was present on the Martian surface; as well as indicate regions of climate change, where surface water was not present long enough or sufficiently warm to form clays. Characterization of these materials is important for increasing spectral recognition capabilities using visible/near-infrared (VNIR) and thermal infrared (TIR) spectra of Mars. A suite of synthetic allophane samples was created using a method that has been modified to produce allophane with Fe isomorphically substituted for Al in octahedral coordination. Compositions of the materials range from high-Si allophane (molar Al:Si = 1:2) to protoimogolite (Al:Si = 2:1), with Fe(3+) and Fe(2+) isomorphically substituted for Al from 0-10 mol% of total Al. These compositions span the range observed in natural terrestrial allophanes. Fe K-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy provided information on the speciation and electrochemical and structural position of Fe in the framework. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy confirmed syntheses and demonstrated changes in infrared spectroscopic signature with Fe substitution. VNIR reflectance spectra and TIR Thermal infrared emissivity spectra were also collected for direct comparison to Martian data. By increasing spectral recognition capacities of nanophase materials, more accurate estimates can be made on the aqueous geochemical environment of Mars.
We study the behavior of plasmon resonances of metal nanospheres embedded in an absorbing medium. First-principles far-field computations based on the general Lorenz–Mie theory show that increasing absorption in the host medium broadens and suppresses plasmon resonances in the extinction and effective scattering efficiency factors and suppresses resonance features in the phase function. These effects of absorption are analogous to those on the morphology-dependent resonances of dielectric particles with large size parameters.