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Complete synthesis of germanium nanocrystal encrusted carbon colloids in supercritical CO2 and their superhydrophobic properties
Date
2011
Abstract
Colloidal carbon spheres were synthesized by the carbonization of squalane, a nonvolatile hydrocarbon solvent, in supercritical carbon dioxide. Precise pressure modulation of the fluid medium led to size controlled growth of carbon spheres ranging from 300-1500 nm in diameter. This unique synthetic approach of carbonizing a hydrocarbon suspension in supercritical fluid is found to suppress any particle aggregation, resulting in excellent sphere monodispersity. Core-shell hybrid structures of C-Ge were subsequently formed by inducing the growth of 10-40 nm sized germanium nanocrystals from the spheres in a hierarchical bottom-up approach. Extensive characterization of the spheres and nanocrystals was conducted using transmission and scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Raman and thermogravametric analysis. Assemblies of nanocrystal modified carbon colloids impart outstanding superhydrophobic properties due to the combined nano- and micro-structuring of the particle arrays.
Supervisor
Description
peer-reviewed
Publisher
American Chemical Society
Citation
Langmuir;27(17), pp. 11166-11173
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Files
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Ryan_2011_synthesis.pdf
Adobe PDF, 1.27 MB
Funding code
Funding Information
Science Foundation Ireland (SFI), Irish Government’s Programme for Research in Third Level Institutions, Cycle 4
Sustainable Development Goals
External Link
Type
Article
Rights
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/1.0/