Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Engineering Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Articles 1 - 3 of 3

Full-Text Articles in Engineering

Efficiently Dispersing Carbon Nanotubes In Polyphenylene Sulfide, Kevin M. Sommer, R. Byron Pipes Oct 2013

Efficiently Dispersing Carbon Nanotubes In Polyphenylene Sulfide, Kevin M. Sommer, R. Byron Pipes

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Thermal plastics are replacing conventional metals in the aerospace, sporting, electronics, and other industries. Thermal plastics are able to withstand relatively high temperatures, have good fatigue properties, and are lighter than metals. Unfortunately, they are not very electrically conductive. However, adding carbon nanotubes to thermal plastics such as polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) can drastically increase the plastic's conductivity at a low weight percent of nanotubes called the percolation threshold. The percolation threshold is the point where adding a little more carbon nanotubes brings together the network of nanotubes and greatly increases the conductivity. We need to learn how to increase the …


Dna Based Carbon Nanotube Porphyrin Nanohybrids Molecular Recognization And Regeneration, Molly M. Riccitelli, Hanyu Zhang, Jong Hyun Choi Oct 2013

Dna Based Carbon Nanotube Porphyrin Nanohybrids Molecular Recognization And Regeneration, Molly M. Riccitelli, Hanyu Zhang, Jong Hyun Choi

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

In the search to improve solar cells, scientists are exploring new materials that will provide better current transfer. One material that has emerged as a strong contender is the single walled carbon nanotube (SWNT). Current DNA-SWNT based films combined with chromophores have poor operational lifetimes compared to commercial solar cells. Once exposed to light the chromophore begins to degrade, eventually rendering the solar cell unusable. To solve this problem, we used a method involving multiple steps. First we found which DNA sequences formed structures around the SWNT that could hold the most chromophores by using a spectrophotometer to test the …


Synthesis And Characterization Of Nucleic Acid-Functionalized Nanomaterials, Brianna S. Carroll, Jong Hyun Choi Oct 2013

Synthesis And Characterization Of Nucleic Acid-Functionalized Nanomaterials, Brianna S. Carroll, Jong Hyun Choi

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Motor proteins such as kinesin move along microtubules in order to transport cellular cargos throughout the cell by obtaining energy from RNA hydrolysis which allows the cell to complete the tasks needed to stay alive. In this work, we developed synthetic molecular motors using DNA enzymes (DNAzyme) and fluorescent nanomaterials which mimic the functions and structures of motor proteins. A DNAzyme-capped CdS nanoparticle and a RNA-functionalized single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) were used as a walker and a track in the motor platform, respectively. As a walking mechanism, the DNAzyme cleaved the RNA substrates in the presence of metal cations. The …