Date of Award
5-2012
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Legacy Department
Chemistry
Committee Chair/Advisor
Chumanov, George
Committee Member
Christensen , Kenneth
Committee Member
Anker , Jeffery
Committee Member
Bhattacharyya , Gautum
Abstract
There has been a growing interest in the field of nanoscience for the last several decades including the use in optical, electrical, biological and medicinal applications. This thesis focuses on the synthesis of different nanoparticles for their potential uses in drug delivery and antimicrobial agents as well as porous alumina membranes as surface enhanced Raman scattering or SERS substrates.
The synthesis of nanocomposites (NCs) composed of silica and poly(4-vinyl pyridine) (P4VP) in a basic ethanol solution is presented in chapter 2. The composition of the NCs appears to be homogenous after synthesis and is greatly affected by heat and pH changes. When the NCs are heated, a core-shell nanostructure is produced with silica forming a shell around a P4VP core. At lower pHs, the NCs form a silica core with a P4VP shell while at higher pHs the silica is etched away causing the NC to decompose.
A novel synthesis method of growing stable copper oxide nanoparticles with poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) is presented in chapter 3. Insoluble copper (I) oxide is dissolved with ammonium hydroxide and reduced using sodium borohydride to form metallic copper nanoparticles that oxidize overtime to form copper oxide nanoparticles stable in an aqueous environment. In addition to copper oxide nanoparticles, copper (I) iodide and copper (II) sulfide particles were also synthesized in the presence of PAA.
In chapter 4, alumina membranes with 100nm and 200nm pores were coated with silver and used as SERS substrates to detect small molecules. The alumina membranes are coated with silver by reducing silver (I) oxide with ethanol. The thickness of the silver layer depends primarily on the length of time the substrate comes into contact with the Ag2O in solution with longer exposure times producing thicker films. Raman scattering of 10-100nM adenine concentrations were collected.
Recommended Citation
Snyder, Whitney, "SYNthesis, CHARACTERIZATION AND APPLICATIONS OF DIFFERENT NANOSTRUCTURES" (2012). All Theses. 1377.
https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_theses/1377