Well-designed multifunctional D-(+) Glucose capped nickel nanoparticles (G-Ni NPs) with reduced toxicity was synthesized via green chemistry using D-(+) Glucose and ammonia in water. Here, glucose serves as a reducing and capping agent, resulting in highly stable and well-dispersed G-Ni NPs in the solution. The temperature and field dependent magnetization (M–H) showed a typical magnetic behavior for the G-Ni NPs. In zero field cooled (ZFC) curve, the peak was observed at [similar]15 K, attributed to the blocking temperature (TB). At room temperature, the saturation magnetization (Ms), remanent magnetization (Mr), and coercivity (Hc) were found to be 35.57 emu/g, 11.77 emu/g, and 161 Oe, respectively. Interestingly, a dosage of 50 μg ml−1 G-Ni NPs were found to be well-tolerated by the cells with more than 50% cell viability. Hence, these smartly designed the G-Ni NPs can be envisioned as a future potential biomaterial for various applications.

Authors: Mohammad Vaseem, Nirmalya Tripathy, Gilson Khang, and Yoon-Bong Hahn, RSC Adv., 2013,3, 9698-9704

Publication Link: http://pubs.rsc.org/en/Content/ArticleLanding/2013/RA/C3RA40462E

Copper oxide (CuO) quantum dots (QDs) having a diameter of 5–8 nm were synthesized by a simple solution process. The as-synthesized QDs showed a highly crystalline monoclinic phase of CuO with a bandgap of 1.75 eV. The CuO QDs were further formulated as an ink for inkjet printing of CuO field effect transistors (FETs). The ink-jetting behavior of the as-formulated ink samples showed that the CuO concentration and digitally controlled number of over-prints are important factors for optimizing the uniformity and thickness of printed films with smooth edge definition. To examine the electrical properties, CuO FETs were fabricated based on inkjet-printed line and dot patterns. The inkjet-printed CuO FETs showed a p-type semiconducting nature with a high carrier mobility of 16.4 cm2 V1 s1 (line-pattern) and 16.6 cm2 V1 s1 (dot-pattern). Interestingly, when microwave-assisted annealing was applied the FET showed 2 times higher mobility (i.e., 28.7 for line-pattern and 31.2 cm2 V1 s1 for dot-pattern), which is the best among the p-type inorganic based FETs.

Link- http://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2013/tc/c3tc00869j

The development of a simple and reliable method for nanoparticles-based ink in an aqueous solution is still a challenge for its inkjet printing application. Herein, we demonstrate the inkjet printing of fractal-aggregated silver (Ag) electrode lines on substrates. Spherical, monodisperse Ag nanoparticles have been synthesized using silver nitrate as a precursor, ethylene glycol as a reducing agent, and polyvinyl pyrrollidone as a capping agent. As-synthesized pure Ag nanoparticles were well dispersed in water-ethylene glycol mixture, which was directly used as an ink for inkjet printing. Using this ink, the Ag electrodes of fractal-connected lines were printed on Si/SiO₂, glass, and polymer substrates. The fractal-connected Ag lines were attributed to the diffusion-limited aggregation of Ag nanoparticles and the effect of annealing on conductivity was also examined.

http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/am300689d