We present a review on the emerging materials for novel plasmonic colloidal nanocrystals. We start by explaining the basic processes involved in surface plasmon resonances in nanoparticles and then discuss the classes of nanocrystals that to date are particularly promising for tunable plasmonics: non-stoichiometric copper chalcogenides, extrinsically doped metal oxides, oxygen-deficient metal o...

The electrostatic properties of individual CdSe nanocrystals are directly measured using electrostatic force microscopy (EFM) in dry air at room temperature. We determine that the static dielectric constant of CdSe nanocrystals with diameters 5 nm is uniform. However, the charge per nanocrystal is nonuniform, with some nanocrystals possessing a positive charge. Furthermore, a small fraction of ...

Hydrophobic nanocrystals with various shape, size, and chemical composition were successfully functionalized by poly(amino acid) with one particle per micelle without aggregation or precipitation via a facile, general, and low-cost strategy. Via simply tuning the pH value, multifunctional nanocomposites consisting of different nanocrystals were also fabricated. Due to the poly(amino acid) coati...

X-ray diffraction patterns may be obtained from individual submicron protein nanocrystals using a femtosecond pulse from a free-electron X-ray laser. Many "single-shot" patterns are read out every second from a stream of nanocrystals lying in random orientations. The short pulse terminates before significant atomic (or electronic) motion commences, minimizing radiation damage. Simulated pattern...

: Nanocrystals are widely studied for their tunable optical properties, most importantly increased luminescence efficiency and emission energy. Quantum confinement effects are found for many different types of nanocrystals, and these introduce a relation between the emission wavelength and the size of nanocrystals. When ensembles of nanocrystals with a distribution of sizes are studied, this ca...

[111]- and {010}-faceted anatase nanocrystals with controllable crystal size and morphology were synthesized from tri-titanate H2Ti3O7 nanosheets by hydrothermal reaction. The nanostructures and the formation reaction mechanism of the obtained TiO2 nanocrystals were investigated using XRD, FE-SEM, and TEM. Furthermore, the photocatalytic and dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) performances of the ...

Doping—the intentional introduction of impurities into a material—is fundamental to controlling the properties of bulk semiconductors. The prospect of new technologies has motivated similar efforts to dope semiconductor nanocrystals since their discovery two decades ago. Despite some successes [1–5], many of these efforts have failed, for reasons that remain mysterious. For example, individual ...

Measurements are presented of the absorbance, fluorescence emission, fluorescence quantum yield, and fluorescence lifetime of CdSe/ZnS nanocrystals, also known as quantum dots (QDs). The study included three groups of nanocrystals whose surfaces were either passivated with organic molecules, modified further with carboxyl groups, or conjugated with CD14 mouse anti-human antibodies. The surface ...

Magnetic magnetite (Fe3O4) nanocrystals have been synthesized by combining nonhydrolytic reaction with seed-mediated growth. The shape of these magnetite nanocrystals can be controlled either as pure spheres or a mixture of mainly faceted nanocrystals. Faceted magnetite nanocrystals consist of truncated tetrahedral platelets (TTPs), truncated octahedrons (TOs), and octahedrons (OTs). Transmissi...

Calcium carbonate (CaCO3) nanocrystals derived from cockle shells emerge to present a good concert in bone tissue engineering because of their potential to mimic the composition, structure, and properties of native bone. The aim of this study was to evaluate the biological response of CaCO3 nanocrystals on hFOB 1.19 and MC3T3 E-1 osteoblast cells in vitro. Cell viability and proliferation were ...