Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Self-Assembled Copper Nanoparticle Superlattices On Graphene Thin Films, Tianhao Ouyang

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Recently, Giovannetti et al. successfully demonstrated that some metals (such as Cu and Au) only have weak van der waals interaction with graphene and thus can only form weak bonding without severely shifting graphene’s band structure, which describes the energies range of the electrons in the material. Therefore, this opens up windows for graphene enhancement without greatly changing its properties. Furthermore, Zhou et al. later suggested the possibility of self-assembling periodic arrays of alkali atoms on graphene. In our group, graphene thin films fabricated in a cost effective way using solution-processed methods have been used extensively, including decorating …

Metal-Promoted Self-Assembly Of Collagen Mimetic Peptides Into Biofunctional Scaffolds For Stem Cell Delivery With The Aim Of Tissue Regeneration, Kevin Strauss

Open Access Theses

Collagen is a strong, sturdy, but malleable, protein found abundantly in the extracellular matrix. Consequently, it has become an invaluable biomaterial for use in regenerative medicine. However, natural collagen poses difficulties when it comes to customization and structural control, as well as the risk of infectious prions from animal sources. Our approach utilizes shorter, synthetic collagen mimetic peptide sequences. These peptides retain the incredible triple helical stability of natural collagen but can be modified with versatile metal-binding ligands. In the presence of an appropriate metal ion, the peptides self-assemble into diverse, three-dimensional morphologies. The peptide NCoH, functionalized with N-terminal NTA …

Randomness, Information Encoding, And Shape Replication In Various Models Of Dna-Inspired Self-Assembly, Eric M. Martinez

Theses and Dissertations

Self-assembly is the process by which simple, unorganized components autonomously combine to form larger, more complex structures. Researchers are turning to self-assembly technology for the design of ever smaller, more complex, and precise nanoscale devices, and as an emerging fundamental tool for nanotechnology.

We introduce the robust random number generation problem, the problem of encoding a target string of bits in the form of a bit string pad, and the problem of shape replication in various models of tile-based self-assembly. Also included are preliminary results in each of these directions with discussion of possible future work directions.

Synthesis, Morphological Control, Dispersion Stabilization And In Situ Self-Assembly Of Noble Metal Nanostructures Using Multidentate Resorcinarene Surfactants, Sangbum Han

Chemistry & Biochemistry Theses & Dissertations

In this dissertation, a detailed investigation on the influence of various macrocyclic resorcinarene surfactants in determining the morphology, stabilization and self-assembly of mono- and bi- metallic nanoparticles was undertaken. Chapter 2 describes the influence of resorcinarene surfactants functionalized with amine- and thiol- headgroups in determining the morphology of monometallic Pt nanoparticles synthesized via the Brust-Schiffrin reaction. We found that while resorcinarene benzylthiol can lead to the formation of highly branched Pt nanostructures, resorcinarene amine can lead to the formation of anisotropic crystalline Pt nanoparticles. Further, we have evaluated the influence of resorcinarene ligands in determining the catalytic activity of these …

Stimuli Responsive Polymer Self-Assembly And Disassembly, Jiaming Zhuang

Doctoral Dissertations

Stimuli responsive polymer assemblies have been long investigated for drug application due to their flexibility for surface functionalization to achieve desired interfacial property and capability of acting as a host for payloads encapsulation. These interfacial and host-guest properties are very critical and need to be customized really depending on nature of cargos and specific delivery application. More importantly, these properties are always desired to be adaptable in different environments. For instance, adjustable interfacial property can facilitate the carrier to overcome a variety of different barriers before it reach the target while changeable host-guest property allows to selectively releasing the payload …

Supramolecular Strategies For The Generation Of Nanoparticle Assemblies And Biomolecular Thin Films, Bradley P. Duncan

Doctoral Dissertations

The conceptual framework of supramolecular chemistry elucidates a powerful set of strategies for chemists to generate functional nanomaterials based on intermolecular forces. My research focused on tuning the molecular interactions of nanoscale components to create larger structures with enhanced properties. In one approach, I developed and optimized an additive-free, nanoimprint lithography-based methodology to generate stable thin films from a variety of proteins. The generalized process retains intrinsic properties of the protein as demonstrated by selective cellular adhesion. The heat and pressure of the nanoimprinting process induces slight structural reorganization of the peptide side chains to yield highly stable films held …

Size And Chemistry Selective Membranes From Block Polymer Templates, Ryan A. Mulvenna

Open Access Dissertations

The use of block polymers continues to gain attention with their myriad applications in industry for advanced applications in biology, medicine, electronics, and separations. The ability of block polymers to self assemble into ordered states on the nanometer level makes these materials suitable for applications that mandate structural order on this scale. By tuning the chemistry of these block domains, we may explore their utilization for advanced separations.

In this dossier, we detail the efforts into the controlled radical polymerization of polyisoprene-b-polystyrene-b-poly( N,N-dimethylacrylamide) (PI-PS-PDMA) via. a facile reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) mechanism. For this …

Scanning Probe Investigations Of Multidentate Thiol And Spatially Confined Porphyrin Nanoassemblies Using Nanoscale Lithography, Xianglin Zhai Zhai

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Approaches to prepare spatially selective surfaces were developed in this dissertation for constructing nanopatterns of organic thin film materials. Nanoscale surface patterns were prepared using immersion particle lithography and scanning probe lithography combined with organothiol chemistry. Organic thin films and nanomaterials can be patterned with tunable periodicities and designed shapes by selecting the diameter of mesospheres used as surface masks or scanning probe lithography, respectively. The surface platforms of well-defined nanopatterns are ideal for high resolution investigations using scanning probe microscopy (SPM). Local measurements of surface properties and conductive properties combined with nanolithography were accomplished at the molecular level. Sample …