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Full-Text Articles in Nanoscience and Nanotechnology

Cellulose Nanofiber-Reinforced Impact Modified Polypropylene: Assessing Material Properties From Fused Layer Modeling And Injection Molding Processing, Jordan Elliott Sanders Dec 2017

Cellulose Nanofiber-Reinforced Impact Modified Polypropylene: Assessing Material Properties From Fused Layer Modeling And Injection Molding Processing, Jordan Elliott Sanders

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to investigate the use of cellulose nanofibers (CNF) compounded into an impact modified polypropylene (IMPP) matrix. A IMPP was used because it shrinks less than a PP homopolymer during FLM processing. An assessment of material properties from fused layer modeling (FLM), an additive manufacturing (AM) method, and injection molding (IM) was conducted. Results showed that material property measurements in neat PP were statistically similar between IM and FLM for density, strain at yield and flexural stiffness. Additionally, PP plus the coupling agent maleic anhydride (MA) showed statistically similar results in comparison of IM and …


Computational Prediction Of Conductivities Of Disk-Shaped Particulate Composites, Jian Qiu Nov 2017

Computational Prediction Of Conductivities Of Disk-Shaped Particulate Composites, Jian Qiu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The effective conductivities are determined for randomly oriented disk-shaped particles using an efficient computational algorithm based on the finite element method. The pairwise intersection criteria of disks are developed using a set of vector operations. An element partition scheme has been implemented to connect the elements on different disks across the lines of intersection. The computed conductivity is expressed as a function of the density and the size of the circular disks or elliptical plates. It is further expressed in a power-law form with the key parameters determined from curve fittings. The particle number and the trial number of simulations …


Fabrication And Characterization Of A Mcro/Nanofluidic Platform For Electroporation., Hanwen Yuan Aug 2017

Fabrication And Characterization Of A Mcro/Nanofluidic Platform For Electroporation., Hanwen Yuan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

For traditional electroporation devices, there are a number of problems associated with these devices such as insufficient understanding of its theoretical mechanism, low cell viability, inadequate electroporation efficiency, excess voltage applied to generate required electric field due to the large size of these devices and sample contamination. Although newly developed microfluidic electroporation devices have solved most of the above existing problems in traditional bulk electroporation devices, they appear to lack the ability to control the precise dose of biomolecules or genes transfecting into cells and, from a manufacturing perspective, the fabrication methods do not enable repeatable production of such devices …


Magnetic Field-Induced Intramolecular Cyclization As A Trigger For Nanoparticle-Based Delivery Systems., Sara Katherine Biladeau Aug 2017

Magnetic Field-Induced Intramolecular Cyclization As A Trigger For Nanoparticle-Based Delivery Systems., Sara Katherine Biladeau

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) are used in a variety of applications, including as agents for magnetic resonance imaging, generation of local hyperthermia, and as platforms for drug delivery. Iron-based MNPs are often coated with a shell, such as silica or gold, to increase biocompatibility for drug delivery applications. Many MNPs used for cancer therapy rely on either an internal trigger, such as a difference in pH, or an external trigger, such as light or an alternating magnetic field (AMF), to cause release of a payload, typically a chemotherapeutic drug. Internal triggers are appealing because drug release can be targeted to a …


Development And Degradation Analysis Of Novel Micro And Nanostructured Transition Metal Oxide (Tmo) Anodes For Aqueous Sodium Ion Batteries., Santanu Mukherjee May 2017

Development And Degradation Analysis Of Novel Micro And Nanostructured Transition Metal Oxide (Tmo) Anodes For Aqueous Sodium Ion Batteries., Santanu Mukherjee

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

One of the primary motivations driving battery technology research is the need to develop cleaner and more efficient energy storage systems. The portable electronics industry has developed exponentially, especially over the last couple of decades and therefore the importance of efficient electrochemical energy storage systems cannot be overstated. Li-ion batteries have been the predominant rechargeable energy in use, however, they have their own particular drawbacks viz. flammability of the electrolyte, expensive mining of the Li metal etc. This is where the importance of Na-ion batteries lie. This research focuses on using existing transition metal oxides (TMOs) and tuning their crystal …


Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging And Spectroscopy Aided Tracking Of Zno And Cds:Mn/Zns/ N-Acetyl Cysteine (Nac) Quantum Dots In Citrus Plants, Torus Washington Jan 2017

Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging And Spectroscopy Aided Tracking Of Zno And Cds:Mn/Zns/ N-Acetyl Cysteine (Nac) Quantum Dots In Citrus Plants, Torus Washington

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis, we present an efficacious way of tracking nanoparticle movement in plant tissue through the use of fluorescence lifetime imaging (FLIM) and spectroscopy as well as a review of nanoparticle uptake in plants and the proposed mechanisms governing them. Given the increasing number of nanomaterials in agriculture and society as a whole, proper imaging tools and proactive measures must be taken to track nanoparticle movement in plant tissues and create infrastructure and products to keep things sustainable and safe. Herein we report a ZnO comparable nanoparticle— a CdS:Mn/ZnS/ N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) quantum dot— which boasts longer lifetimes and …


High Power Continuous Wave Quantum Cascade Lasers With Increased Ridge Width, Ankesh Todi Jan 2017

High Power Continuous Wave Quantum Cascade Lasers With Increased Ridge Width, Ankesh Todi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Quantum Cascade Lasers have recently gained considerable attention for their capability to emit infrared radiation in a broad infrared spectral region, very compact dimensions, and high optical power/efficiency. Increasing continuous wave optical power is one of the main research directions in the field. A straightforward approach to increasing optical power in the pulsed regime is to increase number of stages in the cascade structure. However, due to a low active region thermal conductivity, the increase in number of stages leads to active region overheating in continuous wave operation. In this work, an alternative approach to power scaling with device dimensions …


Effects Of Surfactant Concentrations On Perovskite Emitters Embedded In Polystyrene, Eric Calkins Jan 2017

Effects Of Surfactant Concentrations On Perovskite Emitters Embedded In Polystyrene, Eric Calkins

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

With their simple fabrication, narrow light spectrum, and color tunability, a class of materials known as perovskites are emerging as promising candidates for light emission applications. These materials, when exposed to normal atmospheric conditions show significant degradation. Improved protection has been demonstrated by embedding perovskites in polymers. Furthermore, the addition of a surfactant into the precursor solution has been shown to increase stability and allow for color tuning by exploiting quantum confinement effects. However, the effects of surfactants typically used to stabilize perovskites in solution have not been explored in this polymer embedding strategy. Here we determine the physical and …


Freestanding Holey Thin Films For Renewable Energy Storage, Kyle Marcus Jan 2017

Freestanding Holey Thin Films For Renewable Energy Storage, Kyle Marcus

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The rapid advancement of portable and wearable technologies has challenged research to improve upon current renewable battery energy storage systems. By using nanotechnology, it is now possible to access more of the energy storage theoretical values that have been unattainable thus far. We have developed a method to create freestanding holey thin films through combinations of electrochemical and chemical vapor deposition (CVD) techniques to be used in renewable energy storage systems. Freestanding thin films promote excellent contact between the residual conductive framework and any functionalized active component specific to the designed material. Without requiring any other additives, the as-prepared freestanding …


Mechanism Of Actin Bundle Assembly, Mechanics And Structure By Ion Interaction, Nicholas Castaneda Jan 2017

Mechanism Of Actin Bundle Assembly, Mechanics And Structure By Ion Interaction, Nicholas Castaneda

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The assembly of actin filaments into bundles plays an essential role in mechanical strength and dynamic reorganization of cytoskeleton. Divalent counterions at high concentrations promote bundle formation through electrostatic attraction between charged filaments. Although it has been hypothesized that specific cation interactions may contribute to salt-induced bundling, molecular mechanisms of how salt modulates bundle assembly and mechanics are not well established. Here we determine the mechanical and dynamic properties of actin bundles with physiologically relevant cations. Using total internal reflection fluorescence (TIRF) microscopy, we measure the bending stiffness of actin bundles determined by persistence length analysis. We characterize real-time formation …