The Morphology of Patterning with Pseudoplastic Metal Nanoparticle Fluids during Heat Treatment

A pseudoplastic metal nanoparticle fluid （PMNF） is used in nanoimprint to fabricate semiconductors and func- tional devices. The evaporation of the solvent and the sintering of the Au PMNF are investigated. The key parameters, which influence the morphology of patterning, such as the radius of metal particles, the concentra- tion of metal particles, the Hamaker constant of the solvent, viscosity of the fluids and the evaporation velocity, are analyzed. Based on a two-sphere sintering model, the equations are derived, which represent the relationships between the relative shrinkage and radius of the metal particles, sintering temperature and time. The optimal parameters for the heat treatment are provided in nanoimprint.

Magnetic nanoparticles for environmental and biomedical applications： A review

Engineered magnetic nanoparticles （MNPs） hold great potential in environmental, biomedical, and clin- ical applications owing to their many unique properties. This contribution provides an overview of iron oxide MNPs used in environmental, biomedical, and clinical fields. The first part discusses the use of MNPs for environmental purposes, such as contaminant removal, remediation, and water treatment, with a focus on the use of zero-valent iron, magnetite （Fe304）, and maghemite （~,-Fe203） nanoparticles, either alone or incorporated onto membrane materials. The second part of this review elaborates on the use of MNPs in the biomedical and clinical fields with particular attention to the application of superparamag- netic iron oxide nanoparticles （SP1ONs）, which have gained research focus recently owing to their many desirable features such as biocompatibility, biodegradability, ease of synthesis and absence of hysteresis. The properties of MNPs and their ability to work at both cellular and molecular levels have allowed their application in vitro and in vivo including drug delivery, hyperthermia treatment, radio-therapeutics, gene delivery, and biotherapeutics. Physiochemical properties such as size, shape, and surface and magnetic properties as well as agglomeration of MNPs and methods to enhance their stability are also discussed.

Low-temperature electrochemical synthesis and characterization of ultrafine Y(OH)_3 and Y_2O_3 nanoparticles

Ultrafine Y（OH）3 nanoparticles were successfully deposited from an additive-free 0.005 mol/L YCl3 low-temperature bath on the steel cathode at the current density of 0.5 mA/cm2 and bath temperature of 10 oC. Heat treatment of the prepared Y（OH）3 nanoparticles at 600 oC in air led to the formation of Y2O3 nanoparticles. Thermal behavior and phase transformation during the heat treatment of Y（OH）3 were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry （DSC） and thermogramimetric analysis （TGA）. The morphologies, crystal structures and compositions of the prepared materials were examined by means of scanning and transmission electron microscopy （SEM and TEM） as well as X-ray diffraction （XRD） and FT-IR spectroscopy. The results showed that the prepared Y（OH）3 nanoparticles was essentially amorphous and composed of well dispersed ultrafine particles with size of 4 nm. After heat treatment, the obtained oxide product was well crystallized cubic phase of Y2O3 nanoparticles with the grain size of around 5 nm. It was concluded that low-temperature cathodic electrodeposition offered a facile and feasible way for preparation of ultrafine Y（OH）3 and Y2O3 nanoparticles.