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The interaction between citrate capped silver nanoparticles and two different thiols, mercaptohexanol （MH） and cysteine, was investigated. The thiols interacted with silver nanoparticles in a significantly contrasting manner. With MH, a sparingly soluble silver（1） thiolate complex AgSRm （Rm = -（CH2）6OH） was formed on the silver nanoparticle surface. Cyclic voltammograms and UV-vis spectra were used to infer that the AgSRm complex on the nanoparticle surface undergoes a phase transition to give a mixture of AgSRm and Ag2S-like complexes. In contrast, when silver nanoparticles were exposed to cysteine, the citrate cap- ping agent on the silver nanoparticles was replaced by cysteine to give cysteine capped nanoparticles. As cysteine capped nanoparticles form, the electrochemical data displayed a decrease in oxidative peak charge but the UV-vis spectra showed a constant signal. Therefore, cysteine capped nanoparticles were suggested to have either inactivated the silver surface or else pro- moted detachment from the electrode surface.

The morphology and electronic structure of a Li4Ti5012 anode are known to determine its electrical and electrochemical properties in lithium rechargeable batteries. Ag-Li4Ti5012 nanofibers have been rationally designed and synthesized by an electrospinning technique to meet the requirements of one-dimensional （1D） morphology and superior electrical conductivity. Herein, we have found that the 1D Ag-Li4Ti5012 nanofibers show enhanced specific capacity, rate capability, and cycling stability compared to bare Li4Ti5012 nanofibers, due to the Ag nanoparticles （〈5 nm）, which are mainly distributed at interfaces between Li4Ti5O12 primary particles. This structural morphology gives rise to 20% higher rate capability than bare Li4Ti5O12 nanofibers by facilitating the charge transfer kinetics. Our findings provide an effective way to improve the electrochemical performance of Li4Ti5O12 anodes for lithium rechargeable batteries.

Six kinds of terbium ternary complexes with halo-benzoic acids were synthesized. Their compositions were determined by C, H elemental analyzer and EDTA titration. The infrared spectra, ultraviolet absorption spectra, and fluorescence spectra were also measured to identify the complexes. Elemental analysis showed that the compositions of these complexes were Tb（p-BrBA）3- H20, Tb（p-CIBA）3- 2H20, Tb（p-FBA）3- H20, Tb（o-FBA）3·2H20, Tb（o-CIBA）3· H20, and Tb（o-BrBA）3. H20, respectively. The monodispersed Ag@SiO2 core-shell nanoparticles with silica thicknesses of 10, 15, and 25 nm were success- fully prepared and characterized by transmission-electron microscopy. Fluorescence intensities of the complexes were detected before and after Ag@SiO2core-shell nanoparticles were added; the enhancement times were related to the silica-shell thick- ness. The fluorescence enhancement times were largest when the thickness of the silica shell was 25 nm. The mechanism may be attributed to the localized surface-plasmon resonance. Furthermore, the enhancement effect of terbium fluoro-benzoate complexes was the strongest in these complexes. This result may be attributed to the hydrogen bond between the hydroxyl on the surface of the silica shell and the fluorine atom.

Composition regulation of semiconductors can engineer their bandgaps and hence tune their properties. Herein, we report the first synthesis of ternary ZnxCd1-xS semiconductor nanorods by superionic conductor （AgRS）-mediated growth with [（C4H9）2NCS2]2M （M = Zn, ca） as single-source precursors. The compositions of the ZnKCd1-xS nanorods are conveniently tuned over a wide range by adjusting the molar ratio of the corresponding precursors, leading to tunable bandgaps and hence the progressive evolution of the light absorption and photoluminescence spectra. The nanorods present well-distributed size and length, which are controlled by the uniform Ag2S nanoparticles and the fixed amount of the precursors. The results suggest the great potential of superionic conductor-mediated growth in composition regulation and bandgap engineering of chalcogenide nanowires/nanorods.

Dopamine （DA） plays an important role in health and peripheral nervous systems. Colorimetric detection of DA has the ad- vantage of color change and simplicity in operation and instrumentation. Herein, we report a highly sensitive and selective colorimetric detection of DA by using two specific ligands modified Ag nanoparticles, where the DA molecules can make dual recognition with high specificity. The colloidal suspension of modified Ag nanoparticles was agglomerated after interacting with DA, while the color of Ag nanoparticles suspension changed from yellow to brown, arising from the interparticle plasmon coupling during the aggregation of Ag nanoparticles. The modified Ag nanoparticles suspension and agglomeration were con- firmed by transmission electron microscope images. The optical properties behind the color change were thoroughly investi- gated by using UV-Vis and Raman techniques. The changes in pH, zeta potential, particle size and surface charge density by adding DA were also determined by using dynamic light scattering measurements. The detection limits of modified Ag probes for DA was calculated to be 6.13×10 6 mol L-1 （S/N=2.04） and the correlation co-efficient was determined to be 0.9878. Be- cause of the simplicity in operation and instrumentation of the colorimetric method, this work may afford a feasible, fast ap- proach for detecting and monitoring the DA levels in physiological and pathological systems.

Biocompatible carbon-spheres-based nanocomposites exhibit great potential in biomedical and clinical applications. In this contribution we report the first green photochemical synthesis of carbon spheres through in-situ enwrapping around silver nanoparticles （CS-Ag NPs）. Since mesoporous carbon spheres can provide the location for combining Ag NPs and other agents, one-step synthesis of glutathione-stabilized CS-Ag NPs could be readily realized by photoreduction. TEM characterization of CS Ag NPs nanocomposites illustrates that Ag NPs were superbly wrapped inside the carbon spheres and also adhered to the surfaces of the carbon spheres. These porous CS-Ag NPs show excellent fluorescence and effective antibacterial efficiency, exhibiting ideal lengthened activities against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus compared with bare Ag NPs. The relevant rationale behind it could be attributed to the fact that CS-Ag NPs nanocomposites can provide some excellent niches for the durable and slow release of silver ions. This raises the possibility of promising applications of CS-Ag NPs nanocomposites as excellent antibacterial agents for the efficient monitoring of some disease-related bacteria.

The coupling of upconversion nanophosphors （UCNPs） with the surface plasmonic resonance （SPR） of noble metals is a promising way to improve luminescent efficiency of UCNPs; however, it is still a challenge to achieve stable, reproducible and effective upconversion luminescence （UCL） enhancement through such coupling. In this work, we present a novel strategy to improve UCL of NaYF4：ybB,Er3. UCNPs, by combining the near-field coupling of SPR of silver and the far-field coupling of poly（methyl methacrylate） （PMMA） opal photonic crystals （OPCs） with the UCNPs. In order to control the effective interaction distance between the UCNPs and the SPR, a porous silver film consisting of randomly distributed silver nanoparticles （NPs） （〉 100 nm） was prepared which demonstrated strong SPR over a broad wavelength range, and its coupling to the UCNPs was found to be much stronger than that of a dense film. In the far-field coupling of OPCs, the photonic stop band （PSB） of the PMMA OPCs was tuned to 980 nm, matching exactly the excitation light. By modulating the particle size of the UCNPs, and the direction and excitation power of the incident light, a maximum enhancement of 60-fold was observed, which is an important advance for metaMnduced UCL enhancement systems.

A simple,mild,and time-saving method is employed to synthesize Ag-SiO2 composite nanospheres with Ag nanoparticles uniformly distributed on the surface of SiO2 nanoparticles.The chemical elements and the morphology of Ag-SiO2 composite nanospheres were analyzed with transmission electron microscopy（TEM）,X-ray power diffraction（XRD）,and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy（XPS）.On the surface of Ag-SiO2 composite nanospheres,silane coupling agent（KH-550）is introduced as an intermediary to connect the surfaces of SiO2 nanospheres and Ag nanoparticles,which is also helpful for avoiding the aggregation of Ag nanoparticles.It is found that Ag-SiO2 composite nanospheres have very good catalytic properties for the reduction of organic dyes,which may have potential application in wastewater treatment.

Mono-disperse silver nanoparticles with tunable morphologies have been fabricated by reducing AgNO3 in the presence of N-dimethylformamide （DMF） and larger molecular weight poly （vinylpyrrolidone） （PVP）. By adjusting the reaction temperature, the conversion of the morphology can be easily and effectively controlled. The crystal structures and growth mechanism of mono-disperse silver nanoparticles were studied by using TEM, HR-TEM, FFT, XRD and UV-Vis spectra data. The results show that the morphologies of nanoparticles with spherical shape can be adjusted to a truncated triangle/hexagon along with the change of reaction temperature from 80 to 120 ℃. It is found that the shape transformation from sphere to mmcated triangle is caused by the difference in surface energy and the selective adsorption of PVP on silver atom.

Ag2S nanoparticles in polymethyl methacrylate （PMMA） are prepared in n-heptane/sodium bis（2-ethyl- hexyl）sulfosuccinate/water microemulsions. The Ag2S nanoparticles dispersed in the polymer are characterized by FT-IR spectrum, UV-Vis absorption spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy （TEM）, and X-ray powder diffraction （XRD）. The FT-IR spectrum shows that the composite has the characteristic bands of nano-Ag2S and pure PMMA. The TEM photograph of the sample shows that the Ag2S nanoparticles are elliptical. The phase structure of the composite is characterized by XRD, which reveals that Ag2S particles are formed. The UV-Vis absorption recorded at various times indicates an initial rapid formation of the nanoparticles and the quantum confinement effect of Ag2S nanoparticles.