Graft polymerization has been used, for the first time, to prepare a dense conductive polymer coating on free-standing luminescent silicon nanoparticles. The silicon nanoparticles maintained their photoluminescence and crystallinity after surface modification. The nanoparticles were first surface hydroxylated and then reacted with (3-bromopropyl)trichlorosilane to form a dense bromopropylsilane...

Spherically shaped carbon/silicon nanocomposites have been obtained in a one-step procedure using hydrothermal carbonization of glucose in the presence of commercially available silicon nanoparticles and have been tested electrochemically as an anode material for lithium-ion batteries.

Silicon nanoparticles of three types (oxide-terminated silicon nanospheres, micron-sized hydrogen-terminated porous silicon grains and micron-size oxide-terminated porous silicon grains) were incorporated into silica aerogels at the gel preparation stage. Samples with a wide range of concentrations were prepared, resulting in aerogels that were translucent (but weakly coloured) through to compl...

This paper outlines the preparation of monodisperse MnFe(2)O(4) nanoparticles modified with omega-alkenyl moieties in a one-pot reaction, requiring no ligand-exchange step, followed by deposition of the resulting surfactant-coated nanoparticles onto a hydrogen-terminated silicon (111) wafer and covalent anchoring to the surface via UV-initiated bonding, creating a stable two-dimensional array o...

Germanium nanowires (GeNWs) were synthesized using chemical vapor deposition (CVD) based on vapor–liquid–solid (VLS) mechanism with Au nanoparticles as catalyst and germanium tetrachloride (GeCl4) as a precursor of germanium. Au catalysts were deposited on silicon wafer as a thin film, firstly by sputtering technique and secondly by submerging the silicon substrates in Au colloidal s...

This contribution reviews plasma polymer nanoparticles produced by gas aggregation cluster sources either via plasma polymerization of volatile monomers or via radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering of conventional polymers. The formation of hydrocarbon, fluorocarbon, silicon- and nitrogen-containing plasma polymer nanoparticles as well as core@shell nanoparticles based on plasma polymers is...

Significant efforts have been devoted to synthesis and characterization of engineered silicon nanostructures able to withstand the large stresses and strains produced by lithium alloying/dealloying reactions during electrochemical cycling. Less attention has been given to ensuring robust connection between silicon and its host structure in the anode. The current work develops a new methodology ...

Fluorescence spectra of anti-tumoral drug emodin loaded on nanostructured porous silicon have been recorded. The use of colloidal nanoparticles allowed embedding of the drug without previous porous silicon functionalization and leads to the observation of an enhancement of fluorescence of the drug. Mean pore size of porous silicon matrices was 60 nm, while silver nanoparticles mean diameter was...

Introduction Silicon-based nanoparticles offer promise as biologically targeted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) agents based on their exceptional NMR properties [1], lack of background signal and diverse functionalization chemistry [2]. Specifically, the long room-temperature nuclear relaxation (T1) times makes them suitable candidates as ex-vivo polarized imaging agents, as they can be transp...

Spherical silicon nanoparticles with sizes of a few hundreds of nanometers represent a unique optical system. According to theoretical predictions based on Mie theory they can exhibit strong magnetic resonances in the visible spectral range. The basic mechanism of excitation of such modes inside the nanoparticles is very similar to that of split-ring resonators, but with one important differenc...