Engineering Commons^™

Terahertz Radiation From Electrically Driven Graphene, Single Walled Carbon Nanotubes, And Platinum Nanostructures, Martin M. Muthee

Doctoral Dissertations

Terahertz power generation continues to be a subject of great interest owing mainly to the sparsity and diversity of sources. Though there has been remarkable development in sources, ranging from quantum cascade lasers, time domain spectroscopy systems and multiplier sources, there still exists hurdles when it comes to integration and application. While some sources excel in a particular attribute like power, they are severely limited when it comes to on-chip or system integration, for example. Furthermore, tunable bandwidth and power are inversely related. Electrically driven radiation sources are emergent and this thesis presents work in terahertz generation from arrays of …

Study Of The Self-Assembly Process Of Microporous Materials Using Molecular Modeling, Mohammad Navaid Khan

Doctoral Dissertations

Zeolites are an important class of materials in modern technology with applications in catalysis, separations, biosensing and microelectronics. There are over 200 different zeolite frameworks reported in literature, but only a handful have been used commercially. Understanding their self-assembly process would assist in the fabrication of new zeolites through the control of their pore size/shape, and surface area for advanced applications. With our research we aim to elucidate aspects of zeolite formation using molecular simulations. We have extended the lattice model of silica tetrahedra developed by Jin et al. [L. Jin, S. M. Auerbach and P. A. Monson J. Chem. …

Potential Applications For Halloysite Nanotubes Based Drug Delivery Systems, Lin Sun

Doctoral Dissertations

Drug delivery refers to approaches, formulations, technologies, and systems for transporting a drug in the body. The purpose is to enhance the drug efficacy and to reduce side reactions, which can significantly improve treatment outcomes. Halloysite is a naturally occurred alumino-silicate clay with a tubular structure. It is a biocompatible material with a big surface area which can be used for attachment of targeted molecules. Besides, loaded molecules can present a sustained release manner in solution. These properties make halloysite nanotubes (HNTs) a good option for drug delivery.

In this study, a drug delivery system was built based on halloysite …

Clay Nanotube Composites For Antibacterial Nanostructured Coatings, Christen J. Boyer

Doctoral Dissertations

A surging demand for the development of new antimicrobial nanomaterials exists due to the frequency of medical device-associated infections and the transfer of pathogens from highly touched objects. Naturally occurring halloysite clay nanotubes (HNTs) have shown to be ideal particles for polymer reinforcement, time-release drug delivery, nano-reactor synthesis, and as substrate material for nanostructured coatings.

This research demonstrates the feasibility of a novel method for coating HNTs with metals for antibacterial applications. The first ever ability to coat HNTs through electrolysis was developed for customizable and multi-functional antibacterial nanoparticle platforms. HNTs were investigated as substrate for the deposition of copper …

Refractive Index Engineering And Optical Properties Enhancement By Polymer Nanocomposites, Cheng Li

Doctoral Dissertations

The major part of this dissertation discusses the engineering of the refractive index of materials using solution-processable polymer nanocomposites and their applications in building optical components and devices. Three particular polymer nanocomposites have been introduced to achieve materials with tunable refractive indices and enhanced optical properties, which can be used to manipulate the behavior of light or electromagnetic radiations. In the first system, polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS)/polymer nanocomposites are developed. Thin films with tunable, low refractive indicies were fabricated from the composites. The mechanical strength of these films was characterized, and their application in antireflective coatings is discussed. In the …