Study on the productivity of silicon nanoparticles by picosecond laser ablation in water: towards gram per hour yield

Fabrication of Mie-resonant silicon nanoparticles using laser annealing for surface-enhanced fluorescence spectroscopy

Silicon nanostructures with unique Mie resonances have garnered considerable attention in the field of nanophotonics. Here, we present a simple and efficient method for the fabrication of silicon (Si) nanoparticle substrates using continuous-wave (CW) laser annealing. The resulting silicon nanoparticles exhibit Mie resonances in the visible region, and their resonant wavelengths can be precisely controlled. Notably, laser-annealed silicon nanoparticle substrates show a 60-fold enhancement in fluorescence. This tunable and fluorescence-enhancing silicon nanoparticle platform has tremendous potential for highly sensitive fluorescence sensing and biomedical imaging applications.

Unveiling Fundamentals of Multi-Beam Pulsed Laser Ablation in Liquids toward Scaling up Nanoparticle Production

Pulsed laser ablation in liquids (PLAL) is a versatile technique to produce high-purity colloidal nanoparticles. Despite considerable recent progress in increasing the productivity of the technique, there is still significant demand for a practical, cost-effective method for upscaling PLAL synthesis. Here we employ and unveil the fundamentals of multi-beam (MB) PLAL. The MB-PLAL upscaling approach can bypass the cavitation bubble, the main limiting factor of PLAL efficiency, by splitting the laser beam into several beams using static diffractive optical elements (DOEs). A multimetallic high-entropy alloy CrFeCoNiMn was used as a model material and the productivity of its nanoparticles in the MB-PLAL setup was investigated and compared with that in the standard single-beam PLAL. We demonstrate that the proposed multi-beam method helps to bypass the cavitation bubble both temporally (lower pulse repetition rates can be used while keeping the optimum processing fluence) and spatially (lower beam scanning speeds are needed) and thus dramatically increases the nanoparticle yield. Time-resolved imaging of the cavitation bubble was performed to correlate the observed production efficiencies with the bubble bypassing. The results suggest that nanoparticle PLAL productivity at the level of g/h can be achieved by the proposed multi-beam strategy using compact kW-class lasers and simple inexpensive scanning systems.

Picosecond Laser-Ablated Nanoparticles Loaded Filter Paper for SERS-Based Trace Detection of Thiram, 1,3,5-Trinitroperhydro-1,3,5-triazine (RDX), and Nile Blue

Recently, filter paper (FP)-based surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrates have stimulated significant attention owing to their promising advantages such as being low-cost, easy to handle, and practically suitable for real-field applications in comparison to the solid-based substrates. Herein, a simple and versatile approach of laser-ablation in liquid for the fabrication of silver (Ag)-gold (Au) alloy nanoparticles (NPs). Next, the optimization of flexible base substrate (sandpaper, printing paper, and FP) and the FP the soaking time (5−60 min) was studied. Further, the optimized FP with 30 min-soaked SERS sensors were exploited to detect minuscule concentrations of pesticide (thiram-50 nM), dye (Nile blue-5 nM), and an explosive (RDX-1,3,5-Trinitroperhydro-1,3,5-triazine-100 nM) molecule. Interestingly, a prominent SERS effect was observed from the Au NPs exhibiting satisfactory reproducibility in the SERS signals over ~1 cm2 area for all of the molecules inspected with enhancement factors of ~105 and relative standard deviation values of <15%. Furthermore, traces of pesticide residues on the surface of a banana and RDX on the glass slide were swabbed with the optimized FP substrate and successfully recorded the SERS spectra using a portable Raman spectrometer. This signifies the great potential application of such low-cost, flexible substrates in the future real-life fields.

Picosecond Pulsed-Periodic High-Peak Power Nd:YAG Laser Operationally Controlled by KTP-Based Pockels Cell

Electro-optical modulators are effectively used for ultrafast pulse lasers operation control. The scheme of picosecond pulse-periodic high-peak-power Nd:YAG lasers is composed of an active-passive mode-locked and negative feedback-controlled master oscillator and regenerative amplifier based on common end-diode-pumped Nd:YAG crystal. A double-crystal thermally compensated Pockels cell based on KTP crystals of the Y-cut direction is employed as a key control element. The cell was assembled using a pair of equal-length crystals grown according to high-resistivity technology. The scheme provides output pulses with energy up to 1.6 mJ, a duration of 25 ps at repetition rates tunable from 0 to 200 Hz. The laser operation stages are analyzed in detail. The scheme looks attractive and promising for developing advanced ultrafast laser systems with higher repetition rates, peak and, accordingly, average power levels. The Pockels cell based on KTP crystals expands the line of available fast electro-optical control elements, along with the previously used RTP ones. The factors limiting laser pulse energy and repetition rate are discussed. Parasitic nonlinear conversion in the crystals of the Pockels cell along the axis may play an essential role. The results of comparative measurements of the second and third harmonics made with the Pockels cells based on KTP and RTP crystals of both X-cut and Y-cut directions are presented. The minimum second and third harmonics efficiency levels observed in the Y-cut Pockels cells of the KTP crystal seem to be their important advantage.

Pulsed Laser in Liquids Made Nanomaterials for Catalysis

Catalysis is essential to modern life and has a huge economic impact. The development of new catalysts critically depends on synthetic methods that enable the preparation of tailored nanomaterials. Pulsed laser in liquids synthesis can produce uniform, multicomponent, nonequilibrium nanomaterials with independently and precisely controlled properties, such as size, composition, morphology, defect density, and atomistic structure within the nanoparticle and at its surface. We cover the fundamentals, unique advantages, challenges, and experimental solutions of this powerful technique and review the state-of-the-art of laser-made electrocatalysts for water oxidation, oxygen reduction, hydrogen evolution, nitrogen reduction, carbon dioxide reduction, and organic oxidations, followed by laser-made nanomaterials for light-driven catalytic processes and heterogeneous catalysis of thermochemical processes. We also highlight laser-synthesized nanomaterials for which proposed catalytic applications exist. This review provides a practical guide to how the catalysis community can capitalize on pulsed laser in liquids synthesis to advance catalyst development, by leveraging the synergies of two fields of intensive research.

Nanoparticles Engineering by Pulsed Laser Ablation in Liquids: Concepts and Applications

Laser synthesis emerges as a suitable technique to produce ligand-free nanoparticles, alloys and functionalized nanomaterials for catalysis, imaging, biomedicine, energy and environmental applications. In the last decade, laser ablation and nanoparticle generation in liquids has proven to be a unique and efficient technique to generate, excite, fragment and conjugate a large variety of nanostructures in a scalable and clean way. In this work, we give an overview on the fundamentals of pulsed laser synthesis of nanocolloids and new information about its scalability towards selected applications. Biomedicine, catalysis and sensing are the application areas mainly discussed in this review, highlighting advantages of laser-synthesized nanoparticles for these types of applications and, once partially resolved, the limitations to the technique for large-scale applications.

The influence of the fluid nature on femtosecond laser ablation properties of a SiO2/Si target and synthesis of ultrafine-grained Si nanoparticles

Nanocrystalline silicon nanoparticles with a median crystallite size of 3-4 nm and several crystalline phases and defects (e.g. twin boundary) were produced by femtosecond laser processing of a SiO₂/Si target in various organic fluids. Furthermore, a nanoscaled amorphous oxide layer and a few atomic layers of a graphite shell were detected in ethanol and 2-butanol correspondingly. The ultrafast laser pulses may manipulate nanostructures at the atomic level and generate a high density of defects; this may be correlated with significant thermal stresses on nanoparticles and rapid condensation of primary nanoparticles with high cooling rates. Size distribution width and a polydispersity index slightly increased with increasing laser fluence in ethanol. In 2-butanol, the maximum ablation volume was observed. The specific ablation rates in 2-butanol and ethanol were approximately five times higher than n-hexane. The lowest ablation efficiency in n-hexane can be associated with femtosecond laser-induced photolysis and pyrolysis of solvent molecules, as total energy deposition on the material may be reduced due to the formation of carbonaceous products. The roughened zones (average roughness of ∼400 nm) in circumferences of the ablated craters in 2-butanol may be related to a correlation between the erosive power of the vapour bubble collapse and higher pressure at the bubble wall in relatively high dynamic viscosity fluids. Furthermore, sputtering of a pristine surface by releasing nanoparticles from the collective collapse of up-flow vapour bubbles can also contribute to the generation of roughened regions.

Advances in Laser Ablation Synthesized Silicon-Based Nanomaterials for the Prevention of Bacterial Infection

Nanomaterials have unique properties and characteristics derived from their shape and small size that are not present in bulk materials. If size and shape are decisive, the synthesis method used, which determines the above parameters, is equally important. Among the different nanomaterial’s synthesis methods, we can find chemical methods (microemulsion, sol-gel, hydrothermal treatments, etc.), physical methods (evaporation-condensation, laser treatment, etc.) and biosynthesis. Among all of them, the use of laser ablation that allows obtaining non-toxic nanomaterials (absence of foreign compounds) with a controlled 3D size, has emerged in recent years as a simple and versatile alternative for the synthesis of a wide variety of nanomaterials with numerous applications. This manuscript reviews the latest advances in the use of laser ablation for the synthesis of silicon-based nanomaterials, highlighting its usefulness in the prevention of bacterial infection.

SERS based detection of multiple analytes from dye/explosive mixtures using picosecond laser fabricated gold nanoparticles and nanostructures

Surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) is a cutting edge analytical tool for trace analyte detection due to its highly sensitive, non-destructive and fingerprinting capability. Herein, we report the detection of multiple analytes from various mixtures using gold nanoparticles (NPs) and nanostructures (NSs) as SERS platforms. NPs and NSs were achieved through the simple approach of laser ablation in liquids (LAL) and their morphological studies were conducted with a UV-Visible absorption spectrometer, a high resolution transmission electron microscope (HRTEM) and a field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM). The fabricated NPs/NSs allowed the sensitive and selective detection of different mixed compounds containing (i) rhodamine 6G (Rh6G) and methylene blue (MB), (ii) crystal violet (CV) and malachite green (MG), (iii) picric acid (explosive) and MB (dye), (iv) picric acid and 3-nitro-1,2,4- triazol-5-one (explosive, NTO) and (v) picric acid and 2,4-dinitrotoluene (explosive, DNT) using a portable Raman spectrometer. Thus, the obtained results demonstrate the capability of fabricated SERS substrates in identifying explosives and dyes from various mixtures. This could pave a new way for simultaneous detection of multiple analytes in real field applications.

Materials, Processes, and Facile Manufacturing for Bioresorbable Electronics: A Review

Bioresorbable electronics refer to a new class of advanced electronics that can completely dissolve or disintegrate with environmentally and biologically benign byproducts in water and biofluids. They have provided a solution to the growing electronic waste problem with applications in temporary usage of electronics such as implantable devices and environmental sensors. Bioresorbable materials such as biodegradable polymers, dissolvable conductors, semiconductors, and dielectrics are extensively studied, enabling massive progress of bioresorbable electronic devices. Processing and patterning of these materials are predominantly relying on vacuum-based fabrication methods so far. However, for the purpose of commercialization, nonvacuum, low-cost, and facile manufacturing/printing approaches are the need of the hour. Bioresorbable electronic materials are generally more chemically reactive than conventional electronic materials, which require particular attention in developing the low-cost manufacturing processes in ambient environment. This review focuses on material reactivity, ink availability, printability, and process compatibility for facile manufacturing of bioresorbable electronics.

Reliable laser fabrication: the quest for responsive biomaterials surface

This review presents current efforts in laser fabrication, focusing on the surface features of biomaterials and their biological responses; this provides insight into the engineering of bio-responsive surfaces for future medical devices.

Laser Synthesis and Processing of Colloids: Fundamentals and Applications

Driven by functionality and purity demand for applications of inorganic nanoparticle colloids in optics, biology, and energy, their surface chemistry has become a topic of intensive research interest. Consequently, ligand-free colloids are ideal reference materials for evaluating the effects of surface adsorbates from the initial state for application-oriented nanointegration purposes. After two decades of development, laser synthesis and processing of colloids (LSPC) has emerged as a convenient and scalable technique for the synthesis of ligand-free nanomaterials in sealed environments. In addition to the high-purity surface of LSPC-generated nanoparticles, other strengths of LSPC include its high throughput, convenience for preparing alloys or series of doped nanomaterials, and its continuous operation mode, suitable for downstream processing. Unscreened surface charge of LSPC-synthesized colloids is the key to achieving colloidal stability and high affinity to biomolecules as well as support materials, thereby enabling the fabrication of bioconjugates and heterogeneous catalysts. Accurate size control of LSPC-synthesized materials ranging from quantum dots to submicrometer spheres and recent upscaling advancement toward the multiple-gram scale are helpful for extending the applicability of LSPC-synthesized nanomaterials to various fields. By discussing key reports on both the fundamentals and the applications related to laser ablation, fragmentation, and melting in liquids, this Article presents a timely and critical review of this emerging topic.

Facile fabrication of bioactive ultra-small protein–hydroxyapatite nanoconjugates via liquid-phase laser ablation and their enhanced osteogenic differentiation activity

Ultra-small protein–hydroxyapatite nanoconjugates promote the osteogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells.

Ultrasmall, Ligand-Free Ag Nanoparticles with High Antibacterial Activity Prepared by Pulsed Laser Ablation in Liquid

Since ancient times, silver and its compounds have been known to have a broad spectrum of antimicrobial activities for bacteria, fungi, and viruses. Due to the increasing bacterial resistance to classic antibiotics, the investigations of Ag NPs have increased. Herein, we present the preparation of ligand-free Ag NPs with 3 and 20 nm sizes by applying picosecond laser ablation in liquid at 355 and 1065 nm. Our laser processing system allows a high control on particle sizes. The produced nanoparticles were characterized by means of transmission electron microscopy, UV-Vis spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction. The size effect on the antibacterial activity of Ag NPs was tested againstE. coliandS. aureus. The growth curves of bacteria were monitored at 0–5 mg/L of Ag NPs by a multimode microplate reader. The size effects as well as the concentration of Ag NPs on their antibacterial activity are discussed.

Fabrication of hybrid nanocomposite scaffolds by incorporating ligand-free hydroxyapatite nanoparticles into biodegradable polymer scaffolds and release studies

We report on the optical fabrication approach of preparing free-standing composite thin films of hydroxyapatite (HA) and biodegradable polymers by combining pulsed laser ablation in liquid and mask-projection excimer laser stereolithography (MPExSL). Ligand-free HA nanoparticles were prepared by ultrafast laser ablation of a HA target in a solvent, and then the nanoparticles were dispersed into the liquid polymer resin prior to the photocuring process using MPExSL. The resin is poly(propylene fumarate) (PPF), a photo-polymerizable, biodegradable material. The polymer is blended with diethyl fumarate in 7:3 w/w to adjust the resin viscosity. The evaluation of the structural and mechanical properties of the fabricated hybrid thin film was performed by means of SEM and nanoindentation, respectively, while the chemical and degradation studies were conducted through thermogravimetric analysis, and FTIR. The photocuring efficiency was found to be dependent on the nanoparticle concentration. The MPExSL process yielded PPF thin films with a stable and homogenous dispersion of the embedded HA nanoparticles. Here, it was not possible to tune the stiffness and hardness of the scaffolds by varying the laser parameters, although this was observed for regular PPF scaffolds. Finally, the gradual release of the hydroxyapatite nanoparticles over thin film biodegradation is reported.

Fast and cost-effective fabrication of large-area plasmonic transparent biosensor array

Surface enhanced Raman-based sensors are widely used for chemical and biological species analysis; but to date the high cost, long production time, hazardous, and toxic content as well as small sensing area and opacity are limiting their capabilities for widespread applications in the medical and environmental fields. We present a novel cost-effective method for fast laser-based fabrication of affordable large-area and transparent periodic arrays of ligand-free metallic nanoparticles, offering a maximum possibility for the adsorption/immobilization of molecules and labeling. Further, we demonstrate a remarkable detection limit in the picomolar range by means of Raman scattering, thus evidencing a superior signal-to-noise ratio compared to other sensor substrates. The high sensitivity performance along with a fast and cheap fabrication procedure of reusable large-area transparent plasmonic devices opens the route for direct, in situ multimodal optical analysis with broad applications in the biomedical/analytical fields.

Facile laser-assisted synthesis of inorganic nanoparticles covered by a carbon shell with tunable luminescence

Inorganic nanoparticles covered by luminescent carbon shell are prepared by one-step laser based synthesis.