Atomic-Scale Modeling of Water and Ice Behavior on Vibrating Surfaces: Toward the Design of Surface Acoustic Wave Anti-icing and Deicing Systems

Within these studies, atomic-scale molecular dynamics simulations have been performed to analyze the behavior of water droplets and ice clusters on hydrophilic and hydrophobic surfaces subjected to high-frequency vibrations. The methodology applied herewith aimed at understanding the phenomena governing the anti-icing and deicing process enabled by surface acoustic waves (SAWs). The complex wave propagation was…

3D Organic Nanofabrics: Plasma-Assisted Synthesis and Antifreezing Behavior of Superhydrophobic and Lubricant-Infused Slippery Surfaces

Herein, we present the development of supported organic nanofabrics formed by a conformal polymer-like interconnection of small-molecule organic nanowires and nanotrees. These organic nanostructures are fabricated by a combination of vacuum and plasma-assisted deposition techniques to generate step by step, single-crystalline organic nanowires forming one-dimensional building blocks, organic nanotrees applied as three-dimensional templates, and the…

Monodisperse Gold Cuboctahedral Nanocrystals Directly Synthesized in Reverse Micelles: Preparation, Colloidal Dispersion in Organic Solvents and Water, Reversible Self-Assembly and Plasmonic Properties

The synthesis of organic-solvent-dispersible gold nanoparticles in reverse micelles of didodecyldimethylammonium bromide (DDAB) is revisited in the present investigation. Some parameters of synthesis, specifically the reaction volume and the concentration of the reducing agent, were slightly modified obtaining directly monodisperse gold nanocrystals (AuNCs) without the need to use additional active surfactants or additional treatments such…

In Situ Determination of the Water Condensation Mechanisms on Superhydrophobic and Superhydrophilic Titanium Dioxide Nanotubes

One-dimensional (1D) nanostructured surfaces based on high-density arrays of nanowires and nanotubes of photoactive titanium dioxide (TiO2) present a tunable wetting behavior from superhydrophobic to superhydrophilic states. These situations are depicted in a reversible way by simply irradiating with ultraviolet light (superhydrophobic to superhydrophilic) and storage in dark. In this article, we combine in situ…

Ligand-Free Synthesis of Tunable Size Ln:BaGdF5 (Ln = Eu3+ and Nd3+) Nanoparticles: Luminescence, Magnetic Properties, and Biocompatibility

Bifunctional and highly uniform Ln:BaGdF5 (Ln = Eu3+ and Nd3+) nanoparticles have been successfully synthesized using a solvothermal method consisting of the aging at 120 degrees C of a glycerol solution containing the corresponding Lanthanide acetylacetonates and butylmethylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate. The absence of any surfactant in the synthesis process rendered hydrophilic nanospheres (with tunable diameter from…

Ultraviolet Pretreatment of Titanium Dioxide and Tin-Doped Indium Oxide Surfaces as a Promoter of the Adsorption of Organic Molecules in Dry Deposition Processes: Light Patterning of Organic Nanowires

In this article we present the preactivation of TiO2 and ITO by UV irradiation under ambient conditions as a tool to enhance the incorporation of organic molecules on these oxides by evaporation at low pressures. The deposition of p-stacked molecules on TiO2 and ITO at controlled substrate temperature and in the presence of Ar is…

Self-Assembling of Tetradecylammonium Chain on Swelling High Charge Micas (Na-Mica-3 and Na-Mica-2): Effect of Alkylammonium Concentration and Mica Layer Charge

A family of tetradecylammonium micas is synthesized using synthetic swelling micas with high layer charge (NanSi8-nAln,Mg6F4O20 center dot XH2O, where n = 2 and 3) exchanged with tetradecylammonium cations. The molecular arrangement of the surfactant is,elucidated on the basis of XRD patterns and DTA. The ordering conformation of the surfactant molecules into the interlayer space…

Ionic Liquid Mediated Synthesis and Surface Modification of Multifunctional Mesoporous Eu:GdF3 Nanoparticles for Biomedical Applications

A procedure for the synthesis of multifunctional europium(III)-doped gadolinium(III) fluoride (Eu:GdF3) nanoparticles (85 nm) with quasispherical shape by precipitation at 120 °C from diethylene glycol solutions containing lanthanide chlorides and an ionic liquid (1-Butyl, 2-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate) as fluoride source has been developed. These nanoparticles were polycrystalline and crystallized into a hexagonal structure, which is unusual…