Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Sulfur Vacancies In Photorefractive Sn2P2S6 Crystals, Eric M. Golden, Sergey A. Basun, A. A. Grabar, I. M. Stoika, Nancy C. Giles, D. R. Evans, Larry E. Halliburton

Faculty Publications

A photoinduced electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectrum in single crystals of Sn2P2S6 (SPS) is assigned to an electron trapped at a sulfur vacancy. These vacancies are unintentionally present in undoped SPS crystals and are expected to play an important role in the photorefractive behavior of the material. Nonparamagnetic sulfur vacancies are formed during the initial growth of the crystal. Subsequent illumination below 100 K with 442 nm laser light easily converts these vacancies to EPR-active defects. The resulting S = 1/2 spectrum shows well-resolved and nearly isotropic hyperfine interactions with two P ions and two Sn ions. Partially resolved interactions …

Direct Electrochemistry And Glucose Biosensing Of Glucose Oxidase-Gold Nanoparticles Composite Synthesized By Enzyme Method, Fang He, Xiao-Li Qin, Ying-Chun Fu, Chao Chen, Qing-Ji Xie, Shou-Zhuo Yao

Journal of Electrochemistry

Glucose oxidase (GOx)-gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) composite was synthesized by the one-pot enzyme reaction in the mixture solution of NaAuCl₄, GOx and glucose, and a Nafion/GOx-AuNPs/glassy carbon electrode was fabricated by the cast-coating method to examine the direct electrochemistry of GOx and the biosensing performance on this electrode. Such a GOx-AuNPs composite showed good direct-electrochemistry activity and bioactivity of GOx, probably because the enzyme-mediated AuNPs are close to the redox active centers of GOx. This enzyme electrode exhibited a linear amperometric response to glucose concentration (0.54 mmol·L^-1) at -0.4 V (vs. SCE), and a detection limit of …

Synthesis Of Namnpo4 By Spraying Drying-High Temperature Sintering And Its Electrochemical Performance, Xiao-Chen Lin, Xiao-Biao Wu, Xu Hou, Yong Yang

Journal of Electrochemistry

As a cathode material for sodium ion batteries, NaMnPO₄/C nanocomposite is successfully synthesized by the combination of spraying drying and high temperature sintering methods. The crystal structure of the as-synthesized phosphate material is confirmed as the natrophilite NaMnPO₄, which possesses orthorhombic symmetry and Pmnb space group. It is shown that the precursors are hollow spherical particles and the obtained product consists of micro-scaled secondary particles, which are composed of NaMnPO₄ nanocrystallites (tens of nanometres) and amorphous carbon networks. The ionic and electronic conductivities of NaMnPO₄ are both effectively enhanced with the help of this …

Electrochemical Applications Of Single-Walled Carbon Nanohorns, Su-Ping Li, Huai-Min Guan, Shu-Yun Zhu, Muhammad Rehan Hassan Shah Gilani, Saima Hanif, Guo-Bao Xu, Yue-Jin Tong

Journal of Electrochemistry

Single-wall carbon nanohorns (SWCNHs) have unique properties, such as a large specific surface area, good electrical conductivity and biocompatibility. It has been widely utilized in many fields. In the present review, the progress in electrochemistry study of SWCNHs has been summarized and the future research trends have been proposed.

Comparison In Factors Affecting Electrochemical Properties Of Thermal-Reduced Graphene Oxide For Supercapacitors, Peng Xiao, Da-Hui Wang, Jun-Wei Lang

Journal of Electrochemistry

In this paper, thermal-reduced graphene oxide (T-RGO) materials are synthesized by modified Hummer’s method, followed by thermal reduction under argon atmosphere at different temperatures. Electrochemical investigations show that, for T-RGO electrodes, good electrical conductivity is necessary and the surface functional groups play more significant role than the specific surface area in determining the electrochemical capacitance. The T-RGO obtained at 900 °C (T-RGO900) with a relatively high Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area (314 m²·g^-1) and a high electrical conductivity (2421 S·m^-1) shows a low specific capacitance of 56 F·g^-1. In comparison, the T-RGO obtained …

One-Step Synthesis Of Pani/Nihcf Hybrid Film Using Unipolar Pulse Electrodeposition And Its Electrocatalytic Reduction Performance For H2O2 Detection, Sen-Liang Liao, Xiu-Min Li, Xiao-Gang Hao, Yan-Hong Wang, Chun-Feng Xue, Yong-Hong Wang

Journal of Electrochemistry

Organic–inorganic hybrid films composed of polyaniline/nickel hexacyanoferrate (PANI/NiHCF) were fabricated on platinum substrates using unipolar pulse one-step electrodeposition. The deposition mechanism of hybrid film was proposed: Due to high potential of unipolar pulse electrodeposition, which avoided the reduction of Fe(CN)₆^3-, the films with high electrocatalytic property and “insoluble” form of NiHCF were achieved. The morphology and composition of PANI/NiHCF hybrid film were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). The effect of pulse potential on the electrochemical performance of hybrid film was investigated in detail. Results showed that …

Nafion/Thionine/Platinum Nanowires-Modified Electrode For Electrocatalyzing Glucose, Yu-Ping Lin, You-Xiu Lin, Qian Zhou, Dian-Ping Tang

Journal of Electrochemistry

A new amperometric biosensor based on Nafion, thionine and latinum nanowires was developed for sensitive detection of glucose. Initially, positively charged thionine molecules were immobilized onto the surface of Nafion-modified glassy carbon electrode through the interaction between -SO₃^- and -NH₃⁺, and glucose oxidase was then assembled on the modified electrode by using platinum nanowires as the cross-linkage. The preparation process was characterized by using cyclic voltammetry. Two enzymatic biosensors modified with and without platinum nanowires were used for the detection of glucose, and the improved analytical properties were obtained with platinum nanowires. Experimental results indicated …

Resolve Mono-Electronic Process In The Voltammetric Behaviors Of Multi-Redox Bis-Coenzyme Q0, Hao Zhou, Yi-Tao Long

Journal of Electrochemistry

A widely held concept in electrochemistry is that truly elementary electron-transfer reactions always involve the exchange of one electron, therefore, an overall process involving a change of n electrons must involve n distinct electron-transfer steps. It is highly desirable to resolve multiple-step electron transfer reactions into each electron transfer step. The electrochemical behaviors of coenzyme Q₀ and methylene-bridged Bis-coenzyme Q₀ were investigated by cyclic voltammetry and square wave voltammetry in nonaqueous dichloromethane containing 0.15 mol·L^-1 Bu₄NClO₄ as the supporting electrolyte. The redox reaction of coenzyme Q₀ is well described as two chemically reversible …

Density Functional Theory Study On The Structures Of Solvent-Ion In The Electrolyte Of Lithium Ion Battery, Li-Dan Xing, Ru Yang, Xian-Wen Tang, Wen-Na Huang, Qi-Feng Liu, Qi-Peng Yu, Wei-Shan Li

Journal of Electrochemistry

In this work, the possible structures of solvent-ion complex, resulting from the electrostatic interaction in the propylene carbonate (PC) base electrolyte of lithium ion battery, have been investigated using the density functional theory. The calculated results show that the structure of solvent-ion complex depends on the solvent number. In the PC base electrolyte, maximum number of PC solvents that coexist in the Li⁺-solvent sheath is four. Additionally, the salt anion exists in a complex with the positively charged alkyl group of PC rather than in a free state. The calculated results give a good explanation to the reported …

Platinum Hollow Nanospheres With Different Sizes: Controllable Synthesis And Electrocatalytic Oxidation Toward Methanol, Xuan Lin, Mei-Qin Cheng, Zhong-Jin Shang, Ting Xiong, Xian-Tu Zhang, Wei Tian, Jian-Yun Lin, Qi-Ling Zhong, Bin Ren

Journal of Electrochemistry

The selenium (Se) templates and hollow platinum (Pthollow) nanospheres with different sizes were controllably synthesized by adjusting the concentration of sodium dodecyl sulphonate (SDSN) (CSDSN, μmol·L-1) which was used as a surfactant. Accordingly, the Pthollow nanospheres modified glassy carbon (GC) electrode (Pthollow/GC) was prepared. The morphology and composition of Pthollow nanospheres were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), selected area electron diffraction (SAED) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques. The electrocatalytic activities of Pthollow/GC and electrodeposited Pt nanoparticles modified glassy carbon electrode (Ptnano/GC) toward methanol oxidation …

Production And Applications Of Formaldehyde-Free Phenolic Resins Using 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural Derived From Glucose In-Situ, Yongsheng Zhang

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The phenol-formaldehyde (PF) resin manufacturing industry is facing a growing challenge with respect to concerns over human health, due to the use of carcinogenic formaldehyde and sustainability due to the use of petroleum-based phenol in PF resin manufacture. Glucose and its derivative, 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF), have proven to be potential substitutes for formaldehyde in the synthesis of phenolic novolac resins.

This thesis investigated a number of glucose and 5-HMF resin systems including the curing of phenol-glucose novolac resin (PG) with a bis-phenol-A type epoxy. The curing process was modeled according to the Sestak-Berggren equation (S, B) using Málek methods. This was …

Elucidating Fundamental Mechanisms In Focused Electron- And Ion-Beam Induced Synthesis, Carlos M. Gonzalez

Doctoral Dissertations

A focused electron beam deposition process (FEBID) coupled with in-situ infrared pulsed laser assist (LA-EBID) has been implemented for higher purity tungsten nanowires using W(CO)₆ [tungsten hexacarbonyl] as parent precursor gas. Nanowires made of Co from Co₂(CO)₈ [dicobalt octacarbonyl] and Pt from MeCpPtIVMe₃ [trimethyl methylcyclopentadienyl platinum] have also been realized by using inert focused ion beams of helium and helium and neon, respectively. In all cases, higher electrical conductivities, higher purities and larger grain sizes have been obtained when compared with preceding traditional additive edit techniques. These new approaches will make possible successful nanoscale direct-write …

The Structure And Ferroelectric Properties Of Iron-Doped Lead Titanate, Michael Bartlein

Theses and Dissertations

Multiferroics are a class of poorly understood, but technologically important materials. Lead(II) titanate (PbTiO$_3$) is a known perovskite ferroelectric. By doping PbTiO$_3$ with Fe$^{3+}$ at the Ti site, we produce the multiferroic PbTi$_{1-x}$Fe$_x$O$_3$ (PTFO). Using selected area electron diffraction on a transmission electron microscope, the structure of PTFO is investigated. Of particular interest is identifying the cubic-to-tetragonal transition at the Curie temperature. As the concentration of Fe increases, the crystal becomes more cubic and experiences a lower transition temperature. I also establish a procedure for preparing bulk PTFO samples for ferroelectric testing and present preliminary results establishing ferroelectricity in these …

Performance Analysis Of A Hybrid Raman Optical Parametric Amplifier In The O- And E-Bands For Cwdm Pons, Sasanthi Peiris, Nicolas Madamopoulos, Neophytos A. Antoniades, Dwight Richards, Roger Dorsinville

Publications and Research

We describe a hybrid Raman-optical parametric amplifier (HROPA) operating at the O- and E-bands and designed for coarse wavelength division multiplexed (CWDM) passive optical networks (PONs). We present the mathematical model and simulation results for the optimization of this HROPA design. Our analysis shows that separating the two amplification processes allows for optimization of each one separately, e.g., proper selection of pump optical powers and wavelengths to achieve maximum gain bandwidth and low gain ripple. Furthermore, we show that the proper design of optical filters incorporated in the HROPA architecture can suppress idlers generated during the OPA process, as well …

Atom-Based Geometrical Fingerprinting Of Conformal Two-Dimensional Materials, Mehrshad Mehboudi

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The shape of two-dimensional materials plays a significant role on their chemical and physical properties. Two-dimensional materials are basic meshes that are formed by mesh points (vertices) given by atomic positions, and connecting lines (edges) between points given by chemical bonds. Therefore the study of local shape and geometry of two-dimensional materials is a fundamental prerequisite to investigate physical and chemical properties. Hereby the use of discrete geometry to discuss the shape of two-dimensional materials is initiated.

The local geometry of a surface embodied in 3D space is determined using four invariant numbers from the metric and curvature tensors which …

Utilization Of Aqueous Raft Prepared Copolymers To Improve Anticancer Drug Efficacy, Andrew Christopher Holley

Dissertations

The advent of controlled radical polymerization (CRP) techniques, along with advancements in facile conjugation chemistry, now allow synthetic tailoring of precise, polymeric architectures necessary for drug/gene delivery. Reversible addition- fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization and its aqueous counterpart (aRAFT) afford quantitative control over key synthetic parameters including block length, microstructure, and placement of structo-pendent and structo-terminal functionality for conjugation of active agents and targeting moieties. The relevance of water-soluble and amphiphilic (co)polymers synthesized by RAFT for in vitro delivery of therapeutics in biological fluids is an especially attractive feature. In many cases, polymerization, binding, conjugation, …

Earth Abundant Thin Film Technology For Next Generation Photovoltaic Modules, Githin Alapatt

All Dissertations

With a cumulative generation capacity of over 100 GW, Photovoltaics (PV) technology is uniquely poised to become increasingly popular in the coming decades. Although, several breakthroughs have propelled PV technology, it accounts for only less than 1% of the energy produced worldwide. This aspect of the PV technology is primarily due to the somewhat high cost per watt, which is dependent on the efficiency of the PV cells as well as the cost of manufacturing and installing them. Currently, the efficiency of the PV conversion process is limited to about 25% for commercial terrestrial cells; improving this efficiency can increase …

The Development Of A Laminated Copolyester Electric Guitar, Addison S. Karnes

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is an investigation of the fabrication and assembly methodologies employed in the development of a proof-of-principle prototype electric guitar composed of laminated copolyester. The objective of the project was to develop the processes and procedures to create an optimized physical and visual bond between layers to minimize vibratory dissipation, thus maximizing sustain. A high speed CNC router, abrasive waterjet, laser engraver-cutter, as well as various manual fabrication and assembly methods were investigated in the construction of the guitar prototypes. The lamination processes explored include low-temperature, heat-assisted pressure bonding, solvent and chemical welding, and contact adhesives. The project concluded …

Spectroscopic Investigation Of The Chemical And Electronic Properties Of Chalcogenide Materials For Thin-Film Optoelectronic Devices, Kimberly Horsley

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Chalcogen-based materials are at the forefront of technologies for sustainable energy production. This progress has come only from decades of research, and further investigation is needed to continue improvement of these materials.

For this dissertation, a number of chalcogenide systems were studied, which have applications in optoelectronic devices, such as LEDs and Photovoltaics. The systems studied include Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGSe) and CuInSe2 (CISe) thin-film absorbers, CdTe-based photovoltaic structures, and CdTe-ZnO nanocomposite materials. For each project, a sample set was prepared through collaboration with outside institutions, and a suite of spectroscopy techniques was employed to answer specific questions about the system. These …

Functional Nanocomposites From Self-Assembly Of Block Copolymers With Nanoparticles, Xinyu Wang

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation studied the proper distribution and location control of nanoparticles (NPs) within block copolymer (BCP) templates. A facile ligand exchange reaction was introduced for the hydrophilic magnetic NPs (MNPs) that are readily dispersed in polar solvents with outstanding stability. Small molecule ligands were selected to associate strongly with particle surfaces, provide hydrophilic termini for polarity matching with polar solvents, and offer the potential for hydrogen-bonding interactions to facilitate NP incorporation into polymers. Areal ligand densities of NPs indicated a significant increase in the ligand coverage after the exchange reaction. Hydrophilic MNPs were shown to drive the self-assembly of BCPs …

Engineering Surface Functionality Of Nanoparticles For Biological Applications, Yi-Cheun Yeh

Doctoral Dissertations

Engineering the surface functionality of nanomaterials is the key to investigate the interactions between nanomaterials and biomolecules for potent biological applications such as therapy, imaging and diagnostics. My research has been orientted to engineer both of the surface monolayers and core materials to fabricate surface-functionalized nanomaterials through the synergistic multidisciplinary approach that combine organic chemistry, materials science and biology. This thesis illustrates the design and synthesis of the surface-funcitonalized quantum dots (QDs) and gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) for the fundamental studies and practical applications. For QDs, A new class of cationic QDs with quaternary ammonium derivatives was synthesized to provide permanent …

Patterning And Mechanical Analysis Of Fiber-Based Materials, Samuel A. Pendergraph

Doctoral Dissertations

The ability to define and control the topography of a surface has been studied extensively due to its importance in a wide variety of applications. The control of a non-planar topography would be very valuable since a number of structures that are pervasive in artificial applications (e.g. fibers, lenses) are curved interfaces. This potential of enabling applications that incorporate non-planar geometries was the motivation for this thesis. The first study of this thesis comprises the study of patterning the circumference of micrometer sized fibers. Specifically, a unique technique was described to pattern the fiber with a periodic array of colloids. …

Studies On The Wrinkling Of Thin Polymer Films Floating On Liquid, Kamil B. Toga

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation aims to broaden our understanding on wrinkling instabilities occurring on floating polymeric sheets, and tries to establish innovative methods that exploit these patterns in studies on material behavior and interfacial phenomena. We will address three major topics in this thesis including, i) characterization of the conditions required to buckle an annular disc, ii) characterization of wrinkles occurring around a droplet/bubble placed on a membrane that is kept taut at the liquid-air interface, and iii) using wrinkling patterns as a probe to understand the interfacial behavior and dynamics of ultrathin films. The first project in this thesis is about …

Magnetic And Transport Properties Of Nimnal Thin Films, Andriy Vovk, Minghui Yu, Leszek Malkinski, Charles O'Connor, Zhenjun Wang, Eden Durant, Jinke Tang, Vladimir Golub

Jinke Tang

The magnetic and transport properties of Ni₂MnAl thin films prepared using pulse laser deposition were investigated. It was shown that the films are granular and multiphase. Contrary to the data reported earlier we observe nonmonotonic temperature dependence of resistance with minimum in the vicinity of 100 K for the films deposited on substrates held at 773 K and negative magnetoresistance (MR) values of about 2.5% at 5 K and 1.6% at RT in magnetic field of 50 kOe. These values of MR are the highest reported up to date for Ni₂MnAl films. Large negative MR in …

Ultrafine Nife2o4 Powder Fabricated From Reverse Microemulsion Process, Jiye Fang, Narayan Shama, Le Duc Tung, Eun Young Shin, Charles J. O'Connor, Kevin L. Stokes, Gabriel Caruntu, John B. Wiley, Leonard Spinu, Jinke Tang

Jinke Tang

NiFe2O4 ultrafine powder with high crystallinity has been prepared through a reverse microemulsion route. The composition in starting solution was optimized, and the resulting NiFe2O4 was formed at temperature of around 550–600 °C, which is much lower than that observed from the solid-state reaction. Magnetic investigation indicates that samples are soft-magnetic materials with low coercivity and with the saturation magnetization close to the bulk value of Ni ferrite.

Preparation Of Pt/Dna-Mwcnts/Gc Electrode And Its Electrocatalytic Activity Toward H2O2 Reduction, Li-Li Fan, Li-Na Wu, Zhi-Yu Qu, Dan-Feng Liu, Jun-Ming Zhang, Si-Ming Fan, You-Jun Fan

Journal of Electrochemistry

The DNA-multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs)/glassy carbon (GC) electrode was prepared by modifying the DNA functionalized MWCNTs composite on a GC electrode. A novel non-enzymatic H₂O₂ sensing electrode was fabricated by electrodepositing Pt nanoparticles on the DNA-MWCNTs/GC electrode. The modified electrodes were characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM). The response properties of the sensing electrode to H₂O₂ were investigated by cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry. The results indicated that the sensing electrode exhibited a good linear relationship between response current and H₂O₂ concentration in the range of 0.04 ~ 18.07 mmol·L^-1 with …

Electro-Catalytic Properties Of Β-Pbo2/Sb-Sno2/Ti Electrode On Phenol Oxidation, Peng Li, Yue-Min Zhao, Li-Zhang Wang, Yan-Le Zhang, Zhao-Qing Lu

Journal of Electrochemistry

The combination technology of brush pyrolysis and electroplating was employed in the preparation of β-PbO₂/Sb-SnO₂/Ti electrode. X-ray Diffraction (XRD) and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) results showed that the Sb-SnO₂ as an interlayer would restrain the formation of lead fluoride and the crystallization degree on the electrode surface could be as high as 100%. The grain size was calculated by Scherrer formula to be 25.2 nm and the agglomeration of lead dioxide was effectively eliminated. The potential span of diffusion control phase, oxygen evolution potential, Tafel slope for the β-PbO₂/Sb-SnO₂/Ti electrode during …

Influence Of Pt:Ru Ratio In Nanotubes Array Structures On The Electrocatalytic Activity Of Methanol Oxidation, Jin-Hua Yuan, Feng-Bin Wang, Xing-Hua Xia

Journal of Electrochemistry

Bimetallic PtRu nanotubes array electrodes (NTAEs) with varied Pt to Ru atomic ratios have been prepared by electrochemical codeposition in 3-aminopropyltri-methoxysilane modified porous anodic alumina (PAA) membranes. The structure and morphology of the catalysts were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), respectively. Electrochemical results showed that the NTAEs with varied atomic ratios could be achieved by controlling the precursor concentration for deposition. The prepared nanoarrays composed of Pt or PtRu alloy promoted the mass-normalized activity toward the sluggish electrooxidation reaction of methanol due to the increased catalytic activity and real surface area, as well as the …

Boosting Electrocatalytic Activity Of Nitrogen-Doped Graphene/Carbon Nanotube Composite For Oxygen Reduction Reaction, Yu Zhang, Jin-Song Hu, Wen-Jie Jiang, Lin Guo, Zi-Dong Wei, Li-Jun Wan

Journal of Electrochemistry

Developing low-cost catalysts with high electrocatalytic activity for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) has recently attracted much attention because the sluggish ORR currently limits the performance and commercialization of fuel cells and metal-air batteries as well. Nitrogen doped carbon materials have been considered as a promising candidate for the replacement of high-cost and scarce Pt-based catalysts although their electrocatalytic activity still needs to be much improved. In this work, an improved nitrogen-doped graphene/carbon nanotubes composite (N-rGO/CNT) was developed as an efficient ORR electrocatalyst. It was found that the ORR activity of N-rGO/CNT composite could be significantly enhanced by introducing iron in …

Electrochemical And Spectroscopic Studies Of Ethanol Oxidation On Nano-Cubic Pt Modified By Tin Adatoms, Lu Rao, Bin-Wei Zhang, Yan-Yan Li, Yan-Xia Jiang, Shi-Gang Sun

Journal of Electrochemistry

The nano-cubic Pt modified by tin (Sn) was synthesized and used to investigate the role of this adatom played in the ethanol oxidation. The onset potential of ethanol oxidation was significantly shifted negatively which can be forward about 300 mV when the coverage of Sn (θSn)was 0.9. The electrtochemical in situ FTIR result demonstrated that the amount of CO2 increased first, and then decreased with θSn increased, and reached the maximun when θSn was 0.38. Furthermore, the formation of acetic acid could be observed at very low potential (-0.05 V) after modifying Sn adatom, and the amount of acetic acid …