Explore the vast range of titles available.

Intrinsic fluorescence and versatile optical properties of Graphene Oxide (GO) in visible and near-infrared range introduce this nanomaterial as a promising candidate for numerous clinical applications for early-diagnose of diseases. Despite recent progresses in the impact of major features of GO on the photoluminescence properties of GO, their modifications have not yet systematically understood. Here, to study the modification effects on the fluorescence behavior, poly ethylene glycol (PEG) polymer, metal nanoparticles (Au and Fe 3 O 4 ) and folic acid (FA) molecules were used to functionalize the GO surface. The fluorescence performances in different environments (water, DMEM cell media and phosphate buffer with two different pH values) were assessed through fluorescence spectroscopy and fluorescent microscopy, while Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were utilized to evaluate the modifications of chemical structures. The modification of GO with desired molecules improved the photoluminescence property. The synthesized platforms of GO-PEG, GO-PEG-Au, GO-PEG-Fe 3 O 4 and GO-PEG-FA illustrated emissions in three main fluorescence regions (blue, green and red), suitable for tracing and bio-imaging purposes. Considering MTT results, these platforms potentially positioned themselves as non-invasive optical sensors for the diagnosis alternatives of traditional imaging agents.

A systematic study of various metal-insulator transition (MIT) associated phases of VO 2 , including metallic R phase and insulating phases (T, M1, M2), is required to uncover the physics of MIT and trigger their promising applications. Here, through an oxide inhibitor-assisted stoichiometry engineering, we show that all the insulating phases can be selectively stabilized in single-crystalline VO 2 beams at room temperature. The stoichiometry engineering strategy also provides precise spatial control of the phase configurations in as-grown VO 2 beams at the submicron-scale, introducing a fresh concept of phase transition route devices. For instance, the combination of different phase transition routes at the two sides of VO 2 beams gives birth to a family of single-crystalline VO 2 actuators with highly improved performance and functional diversity. This work provides a substantial understanding of the stoichiometry-temperature phase diagram and a stoichiometry engineering strategy for the effective phase management of VO 2 . Control of the phases associated with the metal-insulator transition in VO 2 underpins its applications as a phase change material. Here, the authors report phase management by means of oxide inhibitor-assisted growth and present high-performance VO 2 actuators based on asymmetric phase transition routes.

We studied the photocatalytic properties of rational designed TiO 2 -ZnO hybrid nanostructures, which were fabricated by the site-specific deposition of amorphous TiO 2 on the tips of ZnO nanorods. Compared with the pure components of ZnO nanorods and amorphous TiO 2 nanoparticles, these TiO 2 -ZnO hybrid nanostructures demonstrated a higher catalytic activity. The strong green emission quenching observed from photoluminescence of TiO 2 -ZnO hybrid nanostructures implied an enhanced charge transfer/separation process resulting from the novel type II heterostructures with fine interfaces. The catalytic performance of annealing products with different TiO 2 phase varied with the annealing temperatures. This is attributed to the combinational changes in E g of the TiO 2 phase, the specific surface area and the quantity of surface hydroxyl groups.

Thermally reduced graphene nanoplatelets were covalently functionalised via Bingel reaction to improve their dispersion and interfacial bonding with an epoxy resin. Functionalised graphene were characterized by microscopic, thermal and spectroscopic techniques. Thermal analysis of functionalised graphene revealed a significantly higher thermal stability compared to graphene oxide. Inclusion of only 0.1 wt% of functionalised graphene in an epoxy resin showed 22% increase in flexural strength and 18% improvement in storage modulus. The improved mechanical properties of nanocomposites is due to the uniform dispersion of functionalised graphene and strong interfacial bonding between modified graphene and epoxy resin as confirmed by microscopy observations.

Water resources sustainability has the main contribution to the existence and durability of the farming systems and strongly depends on the cropping pattern practices. A comprehensive cropping pattern planning takes in to account the high level of interrelation of the environmental, economic and social aspects of farming systems. In order to assess the sustainability of water resources and determine an optimal pattern of cropping in a rural farming system, this paper introduces two ratios of “net return/water consumption” and “labor employment/water consumption” and attempts to simultaneously optimize them as the sustainability indicators. To this purpose, a multi-objective fractional goal programming (MOFGP) procedure is considered as the main approach of the study to be accomplished by several other single and multi-objective linear and fractional programming models. The results show that the FP models are more significant to contribute in assessing the sustainability indicators compared to the LP models, and the MOFGP solution is considered better, compared to the single objective FP solutions. The results will be illustrated quantitatively.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

Glioblastoma (GBM), classified as a grade IV glioma, poses a significant challenge in the medical field due to the lack of efficient early detection techniques and targeted treatment options. This review addresses this critical unmet need by evaluating the transformative potential of carbon quantum dots (CQDs) and graphene quantum dots (GQDs), along with their biofunctionalized derivatives. These advanced nanomaterials offer remarkable opportunities to revolutionize the diagnosis and treatment of GBM at the cellular level. The excellent biocompatibility, stability, and adjustable surface properties of biofunctionalized GQDs (bGQDs) and biofunctionalized CQDs (bCQDs) create a strong foundation for the targeted management of GBM. Careful surface modifications enable selective toxicity toward GBM cells while preserving the health of normal cells. This approach enhances penetration through the blood–brain barrier and targets tumor cell nuclei precisely. Furthermore, the photophysical properties of bCQDs and bGQDs make them suitable for innovative anticancer treatments, including photodynamic and photothermal therapies. By incorporating anticancer agents and receptor-mediated targeting systems within bCQDs and bGQDs, therapeutic effectiveness is significantly improved through enhanced drug delivery and increased tumor specificity. Developing sensitive and selective biosensors for GBM using bCQDs and bGQDs as fluorescent and electrochemical sensing platforms enables real-time monitoring of disease progression. This review emphasizes the promising future of fluorescent CQDs and GQDs as powerful alternatives to traditional GBM management strategies, paving the way for more effective and personalized approaches in nanomedicine. Clinical trial number Since this study is a review, it is not eligible for submission to the clinical trial registry.

Fabricating high-performance perovskite solar cells (PSCs) with solution processing is conducive to low-cost commercial production, it is therefore rather critical to stabilize perovskite in both solution and solid phases. For this purpose, the speed-up ageing of perovskite solution in air was systematically studied and its severe spontaneous degradation was observed. To address this issue, we introduce 4-(trifluoromethyl) phenylhydrazine (TFPH) to modify the perovskite solution, which presents enhanced storage stability. Consequently, when the modified solution was used to prepare PSCs, we obtained much improved and well consistent power conversion efficiencies (PCEs, ~ 26.0%) regardless of the perovskite solution ageing time, as well as exciting operational stability, which maintains PCE ≥ 92% for 1830 hours. These results are attributed to TFPH’s multifunctionality: a) hydrazine groups inhibit perovskite decomposition by dual-pathway mechanism; b) trifluoromethyl boosts dipole moment, aiding crystallization and strain relaxation; c) impurity reduction and high-quality film jointly lower charge traps. This work substantially assists understanding and modifying perovskite degradation in both solution and solid phases. The developed performance stability and consistency on the TFPH modified device batches is of great significance for commercial production of PSCs. The stabilization of perovskites in both solution and solid phases is critical to the fabrication of solution-processed perovskite solar cells. Here, 4-(trifluoromethyl)phenylhydrazine is introduced to enhance storage stability, achieving consistent high efficiency of 26.0% in stable devices.

High crystallization and conductivity are always required for inorganic carrier transport materials for cheap and high‐performance inverted perovskite solar cells (PSCs). High temperature and external doping are inevitably introduced and thus greatly hamper the applications of inorganic materials for mass production of flexible and tandem devices. Here, an amorphous and dopant‐free inorganic material, Ni3+‐rich NiOx, is reported to be fabricated by a novel UV irradiation strategy, which is facile, easily scaled‐up, and energy‐saving because all the processing temperatures are below 82 ℃. The as‐prepared NiOx film shows highly improved conductivity and hole extraction ability. The rigid and flexible PSCs present the champion efficiencies of 22.45% and 19.7%, respectively. This work fills the gap of preparing metal oxide films at the temperature below 150 °C for inverted PSCs with the high efficiency of >22%. More importantly, this work upgrades the substantial understanding about inorganic materials to function well as efficient carrier transport layers without external doping and high crystallization. Fabrication of effective inorganic hole transport films at low temperature is crucial to move perovskite solar cells one step closer to mass production and then commercialization. Here, the authors report a photochemistry method to synthesize NiOx hole transport layer for perovskite solar cells with a champion performance of 22.45%.

Single-crystalline vanadium dioxide (VO 2 ) nanostructures have attracted an intense research interest recently because of their unique single-domain metal-insulator phase transition property. Synthesis of these nanostructures in the past was limited in density, alignment, or single-crystallinity. The assembly of VO 2 nanowires (NWs) is desirable for a “bottom-up” approach to the engineering of intricate structures using nanoscale building blocks. Here, we report the successful synthesis of horizontally aligned VO 2 NWs with a dense growth mode in the [1-100] quartz direction of a polished x-cut quartz surface using a simple vapor transport method. Our strategy of controlled growth of VO 2 NWs promisingly paves the way for designing novel metal-insulator transition devices based on VO 2 NWs.