Nanoscience and Nanotechnology Commons^™

Biomedical Applications Of Lanthanide Nanomaterials, For Imaging, Sensing And Therapy, Qize Zhang, Stephen O'Brien, Jan Grimm

Publications and Research

The application of nanomaterials made of rare earth elements within biomedical sciences continues to make significant progress. The rare earth elements, also called the lanthanides, play an essential role in modern life through materials and electronics. As we learn more about their utility, function, and underlying physics, we can contemplate extending their applications to biomedicine. This particularly applies to diagnosis and radiation therapy due to their relatively unique features, such as an ultra-wide Stokes shift in the luminescence, variable magnetism and potentially tunable properties, due to the library of lanthanides available and their multivalent oxidation state chemistry. The ability to …

Aptamer-Based Voltammetric Biosensing For The Detection Of Codeine And Fentanyl In Sweat And Saliva, Rosa Lashantez Cromartie

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Despite the many governmental and medicinal restrictions created to combat the opioid epidemic in the United States, opioid abuse and overdose rates continue to rise. The development of an aptamer-based voltammetric sensor and biosensor is described in this dissertation. The aim was to develop a low-cost, sensitive, and specific aptamer-based sensor for on-site, label-free determination of codeine and fentanyl in biological fluids. To do this, the surfaces of screen-printed carbon electrodes (SPCE) were modified with gold nanoparticles (AuNPs), followed by the addition of single-stranded DNA aptamers. These were covalently bound to the electrode surface. Operations of the sensors were collected …

The Primarily Undergraduate Nanomaterials Cooperative: A New Model For Supporting Collaborative Research At Small Institutions On A National Scale, Steven M. Huges, Mark P. Hendricks, Katherine M. Mullaugh, Mary E. Anderson, Anne K. Bently, Justin G. Clar, Clyde A. Daly Jr., Mark D. Ellison, Z. Vivian Feng, Natalia I. Gonzalex-Pech, Leslie S. Hamachi, Christine L. Heinecke, Joseph D. Keene, Adam M. Maley, Andrea M. Munro, Peter N. Njoki, Jacob H. Olshansky, Katherine E. Plass, Kathryn R. Riley, Matthew D. Sonntag, Sarah K. St. Angelo, Lucas B. Thompson, Emily J. Tollefson, Lauren E. Toote, Korin E. Wheeler

Chemistry Faculty Publications

The Primarily Undergraduate Nanomaterials Cooperative (PUNC) is an organization for research-active faculty studying nanomaterials at Primarily Undergraduate Institutions (PUIs), where undergraduate teaching and research go hand-in-hand. In this perspective, we outline the differences in maintaining an active research group at a PUI compared to an R1 institution. We also discuss the work of PUNC, which focuses on community building, instrument sharing, and facilitating new collaborations. Currently consisting of 37 members from across the United States, PUNC has created an online community consisting of its Web site (nanocooperative.org), a weekly online summer group meeting program for faculty and students, …

Polymer Based Triboelectric Nanogenerator For Cost‐Effective Green Energy Generation And Implementation Of Surface‐Charge Engineering, Diana Lopez, Aminur Rashid Chowdhury, Abu Masa Abdullah, Muhtasim Ul Karim Sadaf, Isaac Martinez, Brishty Deb Chowdhury, Serena Danti, Christopher J. Ellison, Karen Lozano, Mohammed Jasim Uddin

Chemistry Faculty Publications and Presentations

Performance of triboelectric nanogenerators for harvesting mechanical energy from the ambient environment has been limited by structural complexity, cost-effectiveness, and mechanical weakness of materials. Herein, a cost-effective vertical contact separation mode triboelectric nanogenerator using polyethylene (PE) and polycarbonate (PC) in a regular digital versatile disc is reported. This cost-effective nanogenerator with simplified structures is able to generate an open-circuit voltage of 215.3 V and short-circuit current of 80 μA. The effects of the distance of impact and the air gap between the triboelectric layers have also been tested from 3 to 9 cm, and 0.25 to 1 cm, respectively. It …

Exploring The Silent Aspect Of Carbon Nanopores, Teresa J. Bandosz

Publications and Research

Recently, owing to the discovery of graphene, porous carbons experienced a revitalization in their explorations. However, nowadays, the focus is more on search for suitable energy advancing catalysts sensing, energy storage or thermal/light absorbing features than on separations. In many of these processes, adsorption, although not emphasized sufficiently, can be a significant step. It can just provide a surface accumulation of molecules used in other application-driving chemical or physical phenomena or can be even an additional mechanism adding to the efficiency of the overall performance. However, that aspect of confined molecules in pores and their involvement in the overall performance …

Raising Dielectric Permittivity Mitigates Dopant-Induced Disorder In Conjugated Polymers, Meenakshi Upadhyaya, Michael Lu-Díaz, Subhayan Samanta, Muhammad Abdullah, Keith Dusoe, Kevin R. Kittilstved, Dhandapani Venkataraman, Zlatan Akšamija

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publication Series

Conjugated polymers need to be doped to increase charge carrier density and reach the electrical conductivity necessary for electronic and energy applications. While doping increases carrier density, Coulomb interactions between the dopant molecules and the localized carriers are poorly screened, causing broadening and a heavy tail in the electronic density-of-states (DOS). The authors examine the effects of dopant-induced disorder on two complimentary charge transport properties of semiconducting polymers, the Seebeck coefficient and electrical conductivity, and demonstrate a way to mitigate them. Their simulations, based on a modified Gaussian disorder model with Miller-Abrahams hopping rates, show that dopant-induced broadening of the …

In Depth Characterisation Of The Biomolecular Coronas Of Polymer Coated Inorganic Nanoparticles With Differential Centrifugal Sedimentation, André Perez-Potti, Hender Lopez, Beatriz Pelaz, Abuelmagd Abdelmonem, Mahmoud G. Soliman, Ingmar Schoen, Philip M. Kelly, Kenneth A. Dawson, Wolfgang J. Parak, Zeljka Krpetic, Marco P. Monopoli

Articles

Advances in nanofabrication methods have enabled the tailoring of new strategies towards the controlled production of nanoparticles with attractive applications in healthcare. In many cases, their characterisation remains a big challenge, particularly for small-sized functional nanoparticles of 5 nm diameter or smaller, where current particle sizing techniques struggle to provide the required sensitivity and accuracy. There is a clear need for the development of new reliable characterisation approaches for the physico-chemical characterisation of nanoparticles with significant accuracy, particularly for the analysis of the particles in the presence of complex biological fluids. Herein, we show that the Differential Centrifugal Sedimentation can …

Discharge Mode Transition In He/Ar Atmospheric Pressure Plasma Jet And Its Inactivation Effect Against Tumor Cells In Vitro, Bolun Pang, Zhijie Liu, Sitao Wang, Yuting Gao, Huaiyan Zhang, Feng Zhang, Xiamin Tantai, Dehui Xu, Dingxin Liu, Michael G. Kong

Bioelectrics Publications

Discharge characteristic comparisons between He and Ar plasma jets have been extensively reported, but is rarely reported for the comprehensive study of discharge mode transition from He jet to Ar jet, especially its induced liquid chemistry and biological effect. In this paper, we investigate the plasma jet mode transformation by varying the Ar contents in the He/Ar mixing working gas, particularly focusing on the effect of liquid chemistry of plasma activated water (PAW) and the corresponding inactivation effect against tumor cells in vitro. The mode transition process from He jet to Ar jet is characterized by the discharge images, …

3-D Fabry–Pérot Cavities Sculpted On Fiber Tips Using A Multiphoton Polymerization Process, Jonathan W. Smith, Jeremiah C. Williams, Joseph S. Suelzer, Nicholas G. Usechak, Hengky Chandrahalim

Faculty Publications

This paper presents 3-D Fabry–Pérot (FP) cavities fabricated directly onto cleaved ends of low-loss optical fibers by a two-photon polymerization (2PP) process. This fabrication technique is quick, simple, and inexpensive compared to planar microfabrication processes, which enables rapid prototyping and the ability to adapt to new requirements. These devices also utilize true 3-D design freedom, facilitating the realization of microscale optical elements with challenging geometries. Three different device types were fabricated and evaluated: an unreleased single-cavity device, a released dual-cavity device, and a released hemispherical mirror dual-cavity device. Each iteration improved the quality of the FP cavity's reflection spectrum. The …

Editorial: Carbon- And Inorganic-Based Nanostructures For Energy Applications, Federico Cesano, M. Jasim Uddin, Yuanbing Mao, Muhammad N. Huda

Chemistry Faculty Publications and Presentations

No abstract provided.

Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (Sers) As A Nanoscale Adsorption Phenomenon: Development Of Tailored Nanomaterials For Applications In Drug Detection, Chiara Deriu

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS) is an analytical technique in which nanostructured substrates amplify the inherently weak Raman signal of an adsorbed species by several orders of magnitude, enabling the detection of trace compounds, up to the single molecule level. While this may be an exceptional tool for any analytical scientist, SERS is at present relegated to the role of academic sensation, and is underutilized in everyday analytical practice. The SERS community is increasingly attributing this setback to a poor understanding of nanoscale surfaces and their chemical environment; since molecular adsorption at the nanostructured surface enables SERS detection, uncertainty about …

Designing A Reactor Chamber For Hot Electron Chemistry On Bimetallic Plasmonic Nanoparticles, Bryn Merrill, Bingjie Zhang, Jerry Larue

SURF Posters and Papers

Catalysis provides pathways for efficient and selective chemical reactions by lowering the energy barriers for desired products. Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) show excellent promise as plasmonic catalysts. Plasmonic materials have localized surface plasmon resonances, oscillations of the electron bath at the surface of a nanoparticle, that generate energetically intense electric fields which rapidly decay into energetically excited electrons. The excited electrons have the potential to destabilize atoms strongly bound to the catalysts through occupation of antibonding orbitals. Tuning the antibonding orbitals to make them accessible for occupancy by electrons is achieved by coating the AuNP in a thin layer of another …

Probing Nanoelectroporation And Resealing Of The Cell Membrane By The Entry Of Ca2+ And Ba2+ Ions, Wenfei Bo, Mantas Silkunas, Uma Mangalanathan, Vitalij Novickij, Maura Casciola, Iurii Semenov, Shu Xiao, Olga N. Pakhomova, Andrei G. Pakhomov

Bioelectrics Publications

The principal bioeffect of the nanosecond pulsed electric field (nsPEF) is a lasting cell membrane permeabilization, which is often attributed to the formation of nanometer-sized pores. Such pores may be too small for detection by the uptake of fluorescent dyes. We tested if Ca²⁺, Cd²⁺, Zn²⁺, and Ba²⁺ ions can be used as nanoporation markers. Time-lapse imaging was performed in CHO, BPAE, and HEK cells loaded with Fluo-4, Calbryte, or Fluo-8 dyes. Ca²⁺ and Ba²⁺ did not change fluorescence in intact cells, whereas their entry after nsPEF increased fluorescence within <1 ms. The threshold for one 300-ns pulse was at 1.5–2 kV/cm, much lower than >7 …

Size-Dependent Inhibitory Effects Of Antibiotic Nanocarriers On Filamentation Of E. Coli, Preeyaporn Songkiatisak, Feng Ding, Pavan Kumar Cherukuri, Xiao-Hong Nancy Xu

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Publications

Multidrug membrane transporters exist in both prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells and cause multidrug resistance (MDR), which results in an urgent need for new and more effective therapeutic agents. In this study, we used three different sized antibiotic nanocarriers to study their mode of action and their size-dependent inhibitory effects against Escherichia coli (E. coli). Antibiotic nanocarriers (AgMUNH–Oflx NPs) with 8.6 × 10², 9.4 × 10³ and 6.5 × 10⁵ Oflx molecules per nanoparticle (NP) were prepared by functionalizing Ag NPs (2.4 ± 0.7, 13.0 ± 3.1 and 92.6 ± 4.4 nm) with a monolayer …

Nanoscale Colocalization Of Fluorogenic Probes Reveals The Role Of Oxygen Vacancies In The Photocatalytic Activity Of Tungsten Oxide Nanowires, Meikun Shen, Tianben Ding, Steven T. Hartman, Fudong Wang, Christina Krucylak, Zheyu Wang, Che Tan, Bo Yin, Rohan Mishra, Matthew D. Lew, Bryce Sadtler

Electrical & Systems Engineering Publications and Presentations

Defect engineering is a strategy that has been widely used to design active semiconductor photocatalysts. However, understanding the role of defects, such as oxygen vacancies, in controlling photocatalytic activity remains a challenge. Here, we report the use of chemically triggered fluorogenic probes to study the spatial distribution of active regions in individual tungsten oxide nanowires using super-resolution fluorescence microscopy. The nanowires show significant heterogeneity along their lengths for the photocatalytic generation of hydroxyl radicals. Through quantitative, coordinate-based colocalization of multiple probe molecules activated by the same nanowires, we demonstrate that the nanoscale regions most active for the photocatalytic generation of …

Novel Silica Filled Deep Eutectic Solvent Based Nanofluids For Energy Transportation, Changhui Liu, Hui Fang, Xinjian Liu, Ben Xu, Zhonghao Rao

Chemistry Faculty Publications and Presentations

Liquid range of nanofluids is a crucial parameter as it intensively determines their application temperature scope. Meanwhile, improved thermal conductivity and stability are of great significances and comprise the main fundamental research topics of nanofluids. In this work, 2- butoxy-3,4-dihydropyran (DP), produced from a convenient one-pot three-component reaction in water, was employed as dual lipophilic brusher and metal nanoparticle anchor. It was found that DP was able to enhance the dispersing ability and thermal conductivity of SiO2 nanoparticle filled deep eutectic solvent (DES) based nanofluids simultaneously. The key to the success of this protocol mainly relies on the electrophilic property …

Synthesis Of Metal Oxide Surfaces And Interfaces With Crystallographic Control Using Solid-Liquid-Vapor Etching And Vapor-Liquid-Solid Growth, Beth S. Guiton, Lei Yu

Chemistry Faculty Patents

The present invention provides integrated nanostructures comprising a single-crystalline matrix of a material A containing aligned, single-crystalline nanowires of a material B, with well-defined crystallographic interfaces are disclosed. The nanocomposite is fabricated by utilizing metal nanodroplets in two subsequent catalytic steps: solid-liquid-vapor etching, followed by vapor-liquid-solid growth. The first etching step produces pores, or “negative nanowires” within a single-crystalline matrix, which share a unique crystallographic direction, and are therefore aligned with respect to one another. Further, since they are contained within a single, crystalline, matrix, their size and spacing can be controlled by their interacting strain fields, and the array …

Triperyleno[3,3,3]Propellane Triimides: Achieving A New Generation Of Quasi-D3h Symmetric Nanostructures In Organic Electronics, Lingling Lv, Josiah Roberts, Chengyi Xiao, Zhenmei Jia, Wei Jiang, Chad Risko, Lei Zhang

Chemistry Faculty Publications

Rigid three-dimensional (3D) polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), in particular 3D nanographenes, have garnered interest due to their potential use in semiconductor applications and as models to study through-bond and through-space electronic interactions. Herein we report the development of a novel 3D-symmetric rylene imide building block, triperyleno[3,3,3]propellane triimides (6), that possesses three perylene monoimide subunits fused on a propellane. This building block shows several promising characteristics, including high solubility, large π-surfaces, electron-accepting capabilities, and a variety of reactive sites. Further, the building block is compatible with different reactions to readily yield quasi-D_3h symmetric nanostructures (9, …

Oxidation Of N-Doped Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes And Formation Of Discontinuous Spiraled Carbon Nanoribbons, Aman Preet Kaur, Mark S. Meier, Rodney Andrews, Dali Qian

Chemistry Faculty Publications

The effects of five commonly used wet chemical oxidations were studied for the extent of oxidation of graphitized nitrogen-doped multiwalled carbon nanotubes (N-MWCNTs). KMnO₄/ H₂SO₄ was the most potent oxidant, as it produced the highest fraction of oxygen-containing functional groups. Electron microscopy studies showed that the treatment of annealed N-MWCNTs (G-N-MWCNTs) with H₂SO₄/HNO₃ and H₂SO₄/KMnO₄ mixtures leads to interesting spiraled ribbon textures. A structural model, involving the stacking of coiled subunits to form a discontinuous carbon nanoribbon rather than a continuous ribbon is proposed to …

Dynamics Of Singlet Fission And Electron Injection In Self-Assembled Acene Monolayers On Titanium Dioxide, Natalie A. Pace, Dylan H. Arias, Devin B. Granger, Steven Christensen, John E. Anthony, Justin C. Johnson

Chemistry Faculty Publications

We employ a combination of linear spectroscopy, electrochemistry, and transient absorption spectroscopy to characterize the interplay between electron transfer and singlet fission dynamics in polyacene-based dyes attached to nanostructured TiO₂. For triisopropyl silylethynyl (TIPS)-pentacene, we find that the singlet fission time constant increases to 6.5 ps on a nanostructured TiO₂ surface relative to a thin film time constant of 150 fs, and that triplets do not dissociate after they are formed. In contrast, TIPS-tetracene singlets quickly dissociate in 2 ps at the molecule/TiO₂ interface, and this dissociation outcompetes the relatively slow singlet fission process. The addition …

Hybrid Electrochemical Capacitors: Materials, Optimization, And Miniaturization, Richa Agrawal

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

With the ever-advancing technology, there is an incessant need for reliable electrochemical energy storage (EES) components that can provide desired energy and power. At the forefront of EES systems are electrochemical capacitors (ECs), also known as supercapacitors that typically have higher power and superior cycle longevity but lower energy densities than their battery counterparts. One of the routes to achieve higher energy density for ECs is using the hybrid EC configuration, which typically utilizes a redox electrode coupled with a counter double-layer type electrode.

In this dissertation, both scale-up (coin-cell type) as well as scale-down (on-chip miniaturized) hybrid ECs were …

Catalyzed Synthesis Of Zinc Clays By Prebiotic Central Metabolites, Marcelo I. Guzman, Ruixin Zhou, Kaustuv Basu, Hyman Hartman, Christopher J. Matocha, S. Kelly Sears, Hajatollah Vali

Chemistry Faculty Publications

How primordial metabolic networks such as the reverse tricarboxylic acid (rTCA) cycle and clay mineral catalysts coevolved remains a mystery in the puzzle to understand the origin of life. While prebiotic reactions from the rTCA cycle were accomplished via photochemistry on semiconductor minerals, the synthesis of clays was demonstrated at low temperature and ambient pressure catalyzed by oxalate. Herein, the crystallization of clay minerals is catalyzed by succinate, an example of a photoproduced intermediate from central metabolism. The experiments connect the synthesis of sauconite, a model for clay minerals, to prebiotic photochemistry. We report the temperature, pH, and concentration dependence …

Single Molecule-Level Study Of Donor-Acceptor Interactions And Nanoscale Environment In Blends, Nicole Quist, Rebecca Grollman, Jeremy Rath, Alex Robertson, Michael Haley, John E. Anthony, Oksana Ostroverkhova

Chemistry Faculty Publications

Organic semiconductors have attracted considerable attention due to their applications in low-cost (opto)electronic devices. The most successful organic materials for applications that rely on charge carrier generation, such as solar cells, utilize blends of several types of molecules. In blends, the local environment strongly influences exciton and charge carrier dynamics. However, relationship between nanoscale features and photophysics is difficult to establish due to the lack of necessary spatial resolution. We use functionalized fluorinated pentacene (Pn) molecule as single molecule probes of intermolecular interactions and of the nanoscale environment in blends containing donor and acceptor molecules. Single Pn donor (D) molecules …

Evolution From The Plasmon To Exciton State In Ligand-Protected Atomically Precise Gold Nanoparticles, Meng Zhou, Chenjie Zeng, Yuxiang Chen, Shuo Zhao, Matthew Y. Sfeir, Manzhou Zhu, Rongchao Jin

Publications and Research

The evolution from the metallic (or plasmonic) to molecular state in metal nanoparticles constitutes a central question in nanoscience research because of its importance in revealing the origin of metallic bonding and offering fundamental insights into the birth of surface plasmon resonance. Previous research has not been able to probe the transition due to the unavailability of atomically precise nanoparticles in the 1-3 nm size regime. Herein, we investigate the transition by performing ultrafast spectroscopic studies on atomically precise thiolate-protected Au₂₅, Au₃₈, Au₁₄₄, Au₃₃₃, Au_∼520 and Au_∼940 nanoparticles. Our results …

Metal-Organic Hybrid Nanocomposites For Energy Harvesting Applications, Thulitha Madawa Abeywickrama

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Various synthetic methods have been developed to produce metal nanostructures including copper and iron nanostructures. Modification of nanoparticle surface to enhance their characteristic properties through surface functionalization with organic ligands ranging from small molecules to polymeric materials including organic semiconducting polymers is a key interest in nanoscience. However, most of the synthetic methods developed in the past depend widely on non-aqueous solvents, toxic reducing agents, and high temperature and high-pressure conditions. Therefore, to produce metal nanostructures and their nanocomposites with a simpler and greener method is indeed necessary and desirable for their nano-scale applications. Hence the objective of this thesis …

Predictive Coupled-Cluster Isomer Orderings For Some SiNCM (M, N ≤ 12) Clusters: A Pragmatic Comparison Between Dft And Complete Basis Limit Coupled-Cluster Benchmarks, Jason N. Byrd, Jesse J. Lutz, Duminda S. Ranasinghe, Yifan Jin, Ajith Perera, Xiaofeng F. Duan, Larry W. Burggraf, John A. Montgomery Jr.

Faculty Publications

The accurate determination of the preferred Si₁₂C₁₂ isomer is important to guide experimental efforts directed towards synthesizing SiC nano-wires and related polymer structures which are anticipated to be highly efficient exciton materials for opto-electronic devices. In order to definitively identify preferred isomeric structures for silicon carbon nano-clusters, highly accurate geometries, energies and harmonic zero point energies have been computed using coupled-cluster theory with systematic extrapolation to the complete basis limit for set of silicon carbon clusters ranging in size from SiC₃ to Si₁₂C₁₂. It is found that post-MBPT(2) correlation energy plays a …

Light-Activated Photocurrent Degradation And Self-Healing In Perovskite Solar Cells, Wanyi Nie, Jean-Christophe Blancon, Amanda J. Neukirch, Kannatassen Appavoo, Hsinhan Tsai, Manish Chhowalla, Muhammad A. Alam, Matthew Y. Sfeir, Claudine Katan, Jacky Even, Sergei Tretiak, Jared J. Crochet, Gautam Gupta, Aditya D. Mohite

Publications and Research

Solution-processed organometallic perovskite solar cells have emerged as one of the most promising thin-film photovoltaic technology. However, a key challenge is their lack of stability over prolonged solar irradiation. Few studies have investigated the effect of light soaking on hybrid perovskites and have attributed the degradation in the optoelectronic properties to photochemical or field-assisted ion migration. Here we show that the slow photocurrent degradation in thin-film photovoltaic devices is due to the formation of light-activated meta-stable deep-level trap states. However, the devices can self-heal completely by resting them in the dark for <1 min or the degradation can be completely prevented by operating the devices at 0°C. We investigate several physical mechanisms to explain the microscopic origin for the formation of these trap states, among which the creation of small polaronic states involving localized cooperative lattice strain and molecular orientations emerges as a credible microscopic mechanism requiring further detailed studies.

Visible-Light-Responsible Co-Catalysts Enhanced By Graphene For Solar Energy Harvesting, Chen Ying

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This study focuses on the visible light response of hetero-structures of TiO2-graphene- MoS2 for solar energy harvestings. The commercial P25 TiO2 nano-particles, and selfprepared layered reduced graphene oxides (RG) and MoS2 were assembled for the targeted hetero-structure materials as visible-light responsible solar harvesting cocatalysts. The hydrothermal method was applied for nano-material synthesis, the reduction of graphene oxides, and bonding formation. Multiple characterization methods (SEM-TEM, XRD, XPS, UV-VIS, PL, FT-IR, TGA) have been applied to understand the electron-hole pair separation and recombination, and performance tuning in their visible-light photo-catalysis rhodamine B (Rh.B) degradations process

Compared to TiO2, an obvious red shift …

Forcespinning: A New Method For The Mass Production Of Sn/C Composite Nanofiber Anodes For Lithium Ion Batteries, Victor Agubra, Luis Zuniga, David De La Garza, Luis Gallegos, Madhab Pokhrel, Mataz Alcoutlabi

Chemistry Faculty Publications and Presentations

The development of nanostructured anode materials for rechargeable Lithium-ion Batteries has seen a growing interest. We herein report the use of a new scalable technique, Forcespinning (FS) to produce binder-free porous Sn/C composite nanofibers with different Sn particle size loading. The preparation process involves the FS of Sn/PAN precursor nanofibers and subsequently stabilizing in air at 280 °C followed by carbonization at 800 °C under an inert atmosphere. The Sn/C composite nanofibers are highly flexible and were directly used as binder-free anodes for lithium-ion batteries. The produced Sn/C composite nanofibers showed an improved discharge capacity of about 724 mA …

New Approach Of Modifying The Anatase To Rutile Transition Temperature In Tio2 Photocatalysts, Ciara Byrne, Rachel Fagan, Steven Hinder, Declan Mccormack, Suresh Pillai

Articles

In pure synthetic titanium dioxide, the anatase to rutile phase transition usually occurs between the temperatures of 600 °C and 700 °C. The phase transition temperature can be altered by various methods, including modifying the precursor or by adding dopant or modifier to the TiO2 sample. In an attempt to investigate the phase transition using aromatic carboxylic acids, the current study examines the impact of increasing concentrations of benzoic acid (1 : 0, 1 : 1, 1 : 4 and 1 : 8 molar ratio TiO2 : benzoic acid) on anatase to rutile transition. The samples were characterised using Raman …