Abstract Among the possible alternatives to microbiological techniques, small and extremely sensitive sensors called micromechanical oscillators are increasingly being used for the detection of very small masses or for stress sensing. Several types of biological bodies can be detected using micromechanical oscillators including proteins, peptides, viruses and bacteria. Therefore it is of great importance for the advancement of these detection methods to have a better understanding of the mechanisms used to attach the targeted bodies to the mechanical oscillators. In the present study, a silane-based self-assembled monolayers (SAM) are created over commercial cantilever mechanical oscillators. The fabricated SAMs are thoroughly characterized using high resolution angle-resolved XPS. A proof-of-concept experiment is conducted to study the performance of the characterized SAMs; this experiment is prepared in order to detect the interaction of the micromechanical oscillators with a protein (BSA) using a fluid cell from a BioAFM.

In this work we have studied the properties of CdS films obtained by the chemical bath deposition technique. We studied the influence of pH control of the reaction solution on the structural and optical properties of chemically deposited CdS films. For this, we deposited two sets of CdS films on glass substrates using two different reaction solutions. The main difference between the solutions was that one included the use of a pH-10 NH4OH/NH4Cl controller solution or buffer, which produces a more uniform pH of the reaction solution during the film-growth process. Using each reaction solution, five CdS films were deposited at 80 °C, varying the deposition time from 15 to 120 minutes. The structural and optical properties of both sets of films were determined by X-ray diffraction and by absorption, transmission and reflection spectroscopy. The differences in the properties of the films were analyzed in terms of pH control.

In this work we report the optical and structural properties of composite materials based on the semiconductor PbS enclosed in type A zeolite. The composite materials were obtained by chemical reaction in several steps of the zeolite in alkaline aqueous solutions containing de Pb2+ and S2- ions successively. Three samples were prepared at temperatures of 40, 50 and 60°C during the chemical reaction with S2- ions. The obtained materials were studied by x-ray diffraction, scanning and transmission electron microscopy, diffuse reflectance spectroscopy and photoluminescence. The experimental results show the formation of spherical-shaped PbS particles with nanometric size and cubic crystalline structure embedded in the zeolite matrix. The absorption spectra of the samples display a well defined absorption band at about 300 nm due to the PbS nanoparticles in the zeolite matrix. In addition, an absorption peak appears in the absorption spectra at about 400 nm assigned to exciton transitions.

En este trabajo se reportan las propiedades ópticas y estructurales de materiales compuestos con base en el semiconductor PbS en matrices de zeolitas tipo A. Estos materiales fueron obtenidos mediante reacción química en varias etapas de la zeolita en medios acuosos alcalinos con iones de Pb2+ y S2- sucesivamente. Se prepararon tres muestras llevando a cabo la reacción química con iones de S2- a las temperaturas de 40, 50 y 60°C, respectivamente. Los materiales obtenidos fueron estudiados por difracción de rayos X, microscopía electrónica de barrido y de transmisión, espectroscopía óptica por reflectancia difusa y fotoluminiscencia. Los resultados muestran la formación de partículas de PbS de tamaño nanométrico, forma esférica y estructura cristalina cúbica distribuidas en la matriz de la zeolita. En el espectro de absorción de las muestras se observa una banda de absorción bien definida centrada en aproximadamente 300 nm debida a las nanopartículas de PbS en la matriz de zeolita. Adicionalmente aparece un pico de absorción alrededor de 400 nm asignado a transiciones excitónicas.