Vacancy engineering of Cu2-xSe nanoparticles with tunable LSPR and magnetism for dual-modal imaging guided photothermal therapy of cancer.

The vacancies in the semiconductor nanocrystals not only induce unique properties, but also provide spaces for engineering them with multifunctions by the introduction of other elements. Herein, the vacancy of Cu2-xSe nanoparticles was tuned by doping with magnetic ferric ions (Fe3+) at room temperature, and the position and intensity of the near-infrared localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) in the resultant nanostructure can be finely controlled by altering the feeding amount of Fe3+ ions. The results of the density-functional theory (DFT) calculations show that both doping and replacement reactions are favourable. Owing to its tunable near-infrared absorption and magnetic property, the obtained hybrid nanostructure was demonstrated to be a novel nanotheranostic agent for effective deep-tissue photoacoustic imaging, magnetic resonance imaging, and photothermal therapy of cancer.

Aqueous preparation of surfactant-free copper selenide nanowires.

Uniform surfactant-free copper selenide (Cu2-xSe) nanowires were prepared via an aqueous route. The effects of reaction parameters such as Cu/Se precursor ratio, Se/NaOH ratio, and reaction time on the formation of nanowires were comprehensively investigated. The results show that Cu2-xSe nanowires were formed through the assembling of CuSe nanoplates, accompanied by their self-redox reactions. The resultant Cu2-xSe nanowires were explored as a potential thermoelectric candidate in comparison with commercial copper selenide powder. Both synthetic and commercial samples have a similar performance and their figures of merit are 0.29 and 0.38 at 750K, respectively.

Simply mixed commercial red phosphorus and carbon nanotube composite with exceptionally reversible sodium-ion storage.

Recently, sodium ion batteries (SIBs) have been given intense attention because they are the most promising alternative to lithium ion batteries for application in renewable power stations and smart grid, owing to their low cost, their abundant natural resources, and the similar chemistry of sodium and lithium. Elemental phosphorus (P) is the most promising anode materials for SIBs with the highest theoretical capacity of 2596 mA h g(-1), but the commercially available red phosphorus cannot react with Na reversibly. Here, we report that simply hand-grinding commercial microsized red phosphorus and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) can deliver a reversible capacity of 1675 mA h g(-1) for sodium ion batteries (SIBs), with capacity retention of 76.6% over 10 cycles. Our results suggest that the simply mixed commercial red phosphorus and CNTs would be a promising anode candidate for SIBs with a high capacity and low cost.