The growth of Fe nanoclusters on the Ge(001) surface has been studied using lowtemperature scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM) and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. STM results indicate that Fe nucleates on the Ge(001) surface, forming wellordered nanoclusters of uniform size. Depending on the preparation conditions, two types of nanoclusters were observed having either four or six...

Metal nanoclusters exhibit unusual optical and catalytic properties due to their unique electronic structures. Here, surfactant-free silver nanoclusters supported on carbon nanodots were synthesized through a facile and green approach with only glucose and AgNO3 as precursors and without any other protecting ligands and reducing agents. The hybrid nanoclusters exhibited enhanced blue fluorescen...

Monothiolate protected gold nanoclusters with near IR luminescence underwent a five-toten fold enhancement of quantum efficiency by heating in the presence of excess thiols. Two monothiolate nanoclusters, mercaptosuccinic acid and tiopronin, were shown to benefit from this procedure. Emission maximum around 700-900 nm is favorable for bioimaging applications due to reduction of background signa...

Plasma membrane compartmentalization imposes lateral segregation on membrane proteins that is important for regulating signal transduction. We use computational modeling of immunogold spatial point patterns on intact plasma membrane sheets to test different models of inner plasma membrane organization. We find compartmentalization at the nanoscale level but show that a classical raft model of p...

The development of efficient and economic photovoltaic (PV) systems harvesting solar energy is one of the grand challenges for engineering and scientific researchers. The theoretical conversion limit of a single-junction solar cell is 31% according to Shockley and Queisser (SQ), which the most advanced single-junction PV devices are approaching. Thus it is important to develop new methods and d...

Optical extinction by a dilute dispersion of metal nanoclusters in GaAs is calculated using the optical theorem and Maxwell-Garnet theory with complex dielectric functions for Cr, Fe, Ni, Cu, Ag, Au, Er, and As. The large dielectric function of the semiconductor host-shifts the surface plasmon resonance frequencies from the ultraviolet to the near infrared. The noble metals have well-defined re...

A peptide sequence N(3)-GVGV-OMe (G: glycine; V: valine) was attached to a benzene 1,3,5-tricarboxamide (BTA) derivative via"click chemistry" to afford a C(3)-symmetric artificial oligopeptide. The key feature of this oligopeptide is that the binding sites (triazole groups formed by click reaction) are located at the center, while the three oligopeptide arms with a strong tendency to assemble a...

Copper-based fungicides have been used to control various plant diseases for more than one hundred years and play very important roles in agriculture. Accumulation of copper freshwater environment pose severe threats human health the environment. The current study evaluated developmental behavioral toxicity PEG@Cu NCs (copper nanoclusters), Kocide® 3000 hydroxide), Cu(CH3COO)2 acetate) zebrafis...

Deformation-induced grain-growth in nanocrystalline materials is a widely-reported phenomenon that has been attributed to grain boundary (GB) processes. In this paper, we report on the opposite phenomenon, wherein stable (NC) Cu-Ta alloy undergoes further refinement of nano-grains during severe plastic deformation (SPD). SPD up 250% results significant grain-size reduction despite 350°C increas...