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2012

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Articles 31 - 60 of 201

Full-Text Articles in Nanoscience and Nanotechnology

Topological Insulator Bi2te3 Films Synthesized By Metal Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition, Helin Cao, Rama Venkatasubramanian, Chang Liu, Jonathan Pierce, Haoran Yang, M. Zahid Hasan, Yue Wu, Yong P. Chen Oct 2012

Topological Insulator Bi2te3 Films Synthesized By Metal Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition, Helin Cao, Rama Venkatasubramanian, Chang Liu, Jonathan Pierce, Haoran Yang, M. Zahid Hasan, Yue Wu, Yong P. Chen

Birck and NCN Publications

Topological insulator (TI) materials such as Bi2Te3 and Bi2Se3 have attracted strong recent interests. Large scale, high quality TI thin films are important for developing TI-based device applications. In this work, structural and electronic properties of Bi2Te3 thin films deposited by metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) on GaAs (001) substrates were characterized via x-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES), and electronic transport measurements. The characteristic topological surface states with a single Dirac cone have been clearly revealed in the electronic band structure measured by ARPES, confirming the TI nature of the MOCVD Bi2Te3 films. Resistivity and …

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Exploitation And Exploration Of Pcr In Microfluidic Systems With Gradient Temperature Environments, Ilija Pjescic Oct 2012

Exploitation And Exploration Of Pcr In Microfluidic Systems With Gradient Temperature Environments, Ilija Pjescic

Doctoral Dissertations

The main goal of the work was to establish a wholesome picture off all relevant processes for a sample-in, answer out genetic system and to integrate the whole process on a one step device from sample collection to final result. The genetic analysis process consists of ideally three steps: sample preparation, chemical reaction, and analysis. Each of the steps is different and requires a specific environment, where sample preparation might use additives, they might later interfere with the reaction itself or lead to misleading results in the analysis phase. It was found to be quite a challenging process to synchronize …

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A Band-Pass Filter Approach Within Molecular Dynamics For The Prediction Of Intrinsic Quality Factors Of Nanoresonators, Ajit K. Vallabhaneni, Xiulin Ruan, Jeff F. Rhoads, Jayathi Murthy Oct 2012

A Band-Pass Filter Approach Within Molecular Dynamics For The Prediction Of Intrinsic Quality Factors Of Nanoresonators, Ajit K. Vallabhaneni, Xiulin Ruan, Jeff F. Rhoads, Jayathi Murthy

Birck and NCN Publications

The temperature and frequency dependence of the flexural mode quality factors (Q) of doubly clamped single wall carbon nanotube resonators are calculated using classical molecular dynamics simulations. The validity of the various methods available in the literature for calculating Q based on the temporal response of the system during ring-down is discussed and the discrepancies associated with the methods are explained. A new approach based on band-pass filtering is proposed for calculating Q, which reveals classical temperature dependence (Q similar to T-1) in contrast to the previously reported results (Q similar to T-beta, 0 < beta < 1). It is shown that the Q estimated from the temporal response is in good agreement with the Q estimated from frequency response. This work also demonstrates that the proposed method is particularly advantageous when multiple modes are simultaneously excited within the linear regime. (C) 2012 American Institute of Physics. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4754450]

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Cu2o And Au/Cu2o Particles: Surface Properties And Applications In Glucose Sensing, Yu-Ho Won, Lia A. Stanciu Oct 2012

Cu2o And Au/Cu2o Particles: Surface Properties And Applications In Glucose Sensing, Yu-Ho Won, Lia A. Stanciu

Birck and NCN Publications

In this work we investigated the surface and facet-dependent catalytic properties of metal oxide particles as well as noble metal/metal oxide heterogeneous structures, with cuprous oxide (Cu2O) and Au/Cu2O being selected as model systems. As an example of application, we explored the potential of these materials in developing electrocatalytic devices. Cu2O particles were synthesized in various shapes, then used for testing their morphology-dependent electrochemical properties applied to the detection of glucose. While we did not attempt to obtain the best detection limit reported to date, the octahedral and hexapod Cu2O particles showed reasonable detection limits of 0.51 and 0.60 mM, …

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Oscillator-Based Neuronal Modeling For Seizure Progression Investigation And Seizure Control Strategy, Wu Chen Oct 2012

Oscillator-Based Neuronal Modeling For Seizure Progression Investigation And Seizure Control Strategy, Wu Chen

Doctoral Dissertations

The coupled oscillator model has previously been used for the simulation of neuronal activities in in vitro rat hippocampal slice seizure data and the evaluation of seizure suppression algorithms. Each model unit can be described as either an oscillator which can generate action potential spike trains without inputs, or a threshold-based unit. With the change of only one parameter, each unit can either be an oscillator or a threshold-based spiking unit. This would eliminate the need for a new set of equations for each type of unit. Previous analysis has suggested that long kernel duration and imbalance of inhibitory feedback …

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Cross-Plane Electronic And Thermal Transport Properties Of P-Type La0.67sr0.33mno3/Lamno3 Perovskite Oxide Metal/Semiconductor Superlattices, Pankaj Jha, Timothy D. Sands, Laura Cassels, Philip Jackson, Tela Favaloro, Benjamin Kirk, Joshua Zide, Xianfan Xu, Ali Shakouri Sep 2012

Cross-Plane Electronic And Thermal Transport Properties Of P-Type La0.67sr0.33mno3/Lamno3 Perovskite Oxide Metal/Semiconductor Superlattices, Pankaj Jha, Timothy D. Sands, Laura Cassels, Philip Jackson, Tela Favaloro, Benjamin Kirk, Joshua Zide, Xianfan Xu, Ali Shakouri

Birck and NCN Publications

Lanthanum strontium manganate (La0.67Sr0.33MnO3, i.e., LSMO)/lanthanum manganate (LaMnO3, i.e., LMO) perovskite oxide metal/semiconductor superlattices were investigated as a potential p-type thermoelectric material. Growth was performed using pulsed laser deposition to achieve epitaxial LSMO (metal)/LMO (p-type semiconductor) superlattices on (100)-strontium titanate (STO) substrates. The magnitude of the in-plane Seebeck coefficient of LSMO thin films (/K) is consistent with metallic behavior, while LMO thin films were p-type with a room temperature Seebeck coefficient of 140 mu V/K. Thermal conductivity measurements via the photo-acoustic (PA) technique showed that LSMO/LMO superlattices exhibit a room temperature cross-plane thermal conductivity (0.89 W/m.K) that is significantly lower …

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Progress On: “Coherent Terahertz Acoustic Phonon Scattering: Novel Diagnostic For Erosion In Plasma Thruster Discharge Chamber Walls", Thomas E. Wilson, Iain D. Boyd Sep 2012

Progress On: “Coherent Terahertz Acoustic Phonon Scattering: Novel Diagnostic For Erosion In Plasma Thruster Discharge Chamber Walls", Thomas E. Wilson, Iain D. Boyd

Physics Faculty Research

The study is based on the success in obtaining the first experimental evidence for the direct excitation of coherent nanosecond-pulsed high-frequency acoustic phonons in semiconducting doping superstructures by electromagnetic fields of the same frequency. Acoustic phonons are detected by a superconducting bolometer, with nanosecond resolution, at the appropriate time-of-flight across a (100) silicon substrate for ballistic longitudinal phonons when a silicon delta-doped doping superlattice is illuminated with grating-coupled nanosecond-pulsed 246-GHz laser radiation with an approximate power density of 1 kW/mm2. The absorbed phonon power density in the bolometer detector is estimated to be 10 μW/mm2, in …

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Improvement Of Near-Infrared Absorption Linewidth In Algan/Gan Superlattices By Optimization Of Delta-Doping Location, C. Edmunds, L. Tang, J. Shao, D. Li, M. Cervantes, G. Gardner, Dmitri Zakharov, Michael J. Manfra, O. Malis Sep 2012

Improvement Of Near-Infrared Absorption Linewidth In Algan/Gan Superlattices By Optimization Of Delta-Doping Location, C. Edmunds, L. Tang, J. Shao, D. Li, M. Cervantes, G. Gardner, Dmitri Zakharov, Michael J. Manfra, O. Malis

Birck and NCN Publications

We report a systematic study of the near-infrared intersubband absorption in AlGaN/GaN superlattices grown by plasma-assisted molecular-beam epitaxy as a function of Si-doping profile with and without delta-doping. The transition energies are in agreement with theoretical calculations including many-body effects. A dramatic reduction of the intersubband absorption linewidth is observed when the delta-doping is placed at the end of the quantum well. This reduction is attributed to the improvement of interface roughness. The linewidth dependence on interface roughness is well reproduced by a model that considers the distribution of well widths measured with transmission electron microscopy. (C) 2012 American Institute …

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Maximal Force Characteristics Of The Ca2+-Powered Actuator Of Vorticella Convallaria, Sangjin Ryu, Matthew J. Lang, Paul Matsudaira Sep 2012

Maximal Force Characteristics Of The Ca2+-Powered Actuator Of Vorticella Convallaria, Sangjin Ryu, Matthew J. Lang, Paul Matsudaira

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

The millisecond stalk contraction of the sessile ciliate Vorticella convallaria is powered by energy from Ca2+ binding to generate contractile forces of ~10 nN. Its contractile organelle, the spasmoneme, generates higher contractile force under increased stall resistances. By applying viscous drag force to contracting V. convallaria in a microfluidic channel, we observed that the mechanical force and work of the spasmoneme depended on the stalk length, i.e., the maximum tension (150–350 nN) and work linearly depended on the stalk length (~2.5 nN and ~30 fJ per 1 mm of the stalk). This stalk-length dependency suggests that motor units of …

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Role Of Nanostructure On Reaction And Transport In Ni/Al Intermolecular Reactive Composites, Mathew J. Cherukara, Karthik Guda Vishnu, Alejandro Strachan Aug 2012

Role Of Nanostructure On Reaction And Transport In Ni/Al Intermolecular Reactive Composites, Mathew J. Cherukara, Karthik Guda Vishnu, Alejandro Strachan

Birck and NCN Publications

We use molecular dynamics to characterize the exothermic chemistry of Ni/Al nanolaminates for various temperatures, periodic lengths, and in the presence of extended defects. We show that the reaction is mass diffusion controlled for bulk nanolaminates, with the overall reaction time scaling with the square of the mean transport distance. The presence of voids or free surfaces not only leads to a significant decrease in reaction time (by as much as a factor of 5), but fundamentally changes the nature of the reaction. Free surfaces and voids running across several periods provide a mechanism for ballistic mass transport and change …

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Population And Coherence Dynamics In Light Harvesting Complex Ii (Lh2), Shu-Hao Yeh, Jing Zhu, Sabre Kais Aug 2012

Population And Coherence Dynamics In Light Harvesting Complex Ii (Lh2), Shu-Hao Yeh, Jing Zhu, Sabre Kais

Birck and NCN Publications

The electronic excitation population and coherence dynamics in the chromophores of the photosynthetic light harvesting complex 2 (LH2) B850 ring from purple bacteria (Rhodopseudomonas acidophila) have been studied theoretically at both physiological and cryogenic temperatures. Similar to the well-studied Fenna-Matthews-Olson (FMO) protein, oscillations of the excitation population and coherence in the site basis are observed in LH2 by using a scaled hierarchical equation of motion approach. However, this oscillation time (300 fs) is much shorter compared to the FMO protein (650 fs) at cryogenic temperature. Both environment and high temperature are found to enhance the propagation speed of the exciton …

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Naf-M (M = Fe, Cu) Nanocomposites As Conversion Cathode Materials For Sodium Ion Batteries, Ting Li, Zhong-Xue Chen, Yu-Liang Cao, Han-Xi Yang Aug 2012

Naf-M (M = Fe, Cu) Nanocomposites As Conversion Cathode Materials For Sodium Ion Batteries, Ting Li, Zhong-Xue Chen, Yu-Liang Cao, Han-Xi Yang

Journal of Electrochemistry

The NaF-M (M = Fe, Cu) nanocomposites were prepared by high-energy ball milling using TiN grinding nanoparticles and investigated as cathode materials for sodium ion batteries. The experimental results demonstrated that NaF-Fe and NaF-Cu nanocomposites can go through electrochemical conversion reaction with Na+ uptake or removal, delivering a reversible capacity of ~ 150 mAh·g-1, even through a reversed conversion from initial discharged state to a charged state. These results reveal the possibility to realize a conversion reaction as long as NaF and elemental metal particles are intimately contacted to form active nanocomposites at nanodomain, which suggests a …

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Preparation And Electrochemical Performance Of Nanostructured Mno2 Materials, Wen Wu, Dan-Dan Zhou, Meng-Yan Hou, Yong-Yao Xia Aug 2012

Preparation And Electrochemical Performance Of Nanostructured Mno2 Materials, Wen Wu, Dan-Dan Zhou, Meng-Yan Hou, Yong-Yao Xia

Journal of Electrochemistry

Nanostructured MnO2 materials were prepared in a micro-emulsion medium using sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS）as a surfactant by a redox reaction between potassium permanganate and aniline. The morphologies of the obtained MnO2 were critically dependent on the concentrations of SDS. The particle sizes varied with the change in the micro-emulsion medium. The optimized properties of MnO2 material obtained with the surfactant concentration of 0.2 mol.L-1 had a specific surface area of 228.2 m2.g-1, and delivered a specific capacitance of 237 F.g -1 in 1 mol.L-1 Li2SO4. Additionally, a …

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Carbon Nanotubes With Ni2P Nanoparticles As A Counter Electrode In Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells, Yan-Ye Dou, Nan-Fu Yan, Guo-Ran Li, Xue-Ping Gao Aug 2012

Carbon Nanotubes With Ni2P Nanoparticles As A Counter Electrode In Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells, Yan-Ye Dou, Nan-Fu Yan, Guo-Ran Li, Xue-Ping Gao

Journal of Electrochemistry

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) supported by Ni2P nanoparticles are prepared and used as a counter electrode in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) for the first time. The CNTs-Ni2P composite was prepared by the heat treatment of a mixed precursor including nickel chloride, sodium hypophosphite and CNTs in argon atmosphere. The X-Ray diffraction (XRD) results indicate that the as-prepared sample consists of hexagonal Ni2P and carbon nanotubes. No peaks of other nickel phosphides are observed in the XRD pattern. Microstructure of the Ni2P-CNTs composite was investigated using transmission electron microscopy (TEM). It is shown that the Ni …

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Electrochemical Performances Of Layered Polypyrrole/Chemically Reduced Graphene Oxide Nanocomposites As Supercapacitor Electrodes, Si-Zhe Xu, Xue-Jiao Zhou, Kun Wu, Yong-Qiang Yang, Hai-Xia Wu Aug 2012

Electrochemical Performances Of Layered Polypyrrole/Chemically Reduced Graphene Oxide Nanocomposites As Supercapacitor Electrodes, Si-Zhe Xu, Xue-Jiao Zhou, Kun Wu, Yong-Qiang Yang, Hai-Xia Wu

Journal of Electrochemistry

Nanocomposites of polypyrrole (Ppy) and chemically reduced graphene oxide (CRGO), Ppy/CRGO, have been fabricated through in-situ polymerization of pyrrole on graphene oxide (GO) sheets. The as-synthesized Ppy/CRGO composites were characterized complementarily using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). By controlling the initial ratio of the GO to pyrrole, the layered composites could be obtained and their thickness could be tuned properly. The Ppy/CRGO electrodes were prepared using a mechanical compressing technique and their electrical conductivity and electrochemical properties were characterized systematically. We demonstrated that as electrodes for supercapacitor, the Ppy/CRGO composites with Ppy …

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Electrochemical Corrosion And Protection Of Copper Foil Treated By Surface Siloxane Filming, Wei-Jun Miao, Yu-Bao Zhang, Ning-Yu Gu, Feng Liu Aug 2012

Electrochemical Corrosion And Protection Of Copper Foil Treated By Surface Siloxane Filming, Wei-Jun Miao, Yu-Bao Zhang, Ning-Yu Gu, Feng Liu

Journal of Electrochemistry

Copper foil specimens were immersed in hydro-alcoholic solution of 3-amino-propyl-trimethoxy-silane (γ-APS) to prepare a protective self-assembled siloxane membrane on the surface. Potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopic tests were performed in 0.1 mol.L-1 NaCl to evaluate the effects of the self-assembled siloxane membranes prepared at different pH of γ-APS on corrosion of copper foil. The surface morphology of siloxane membrane was studied by SEM. Experimental results revealed that the γ-APS self-assembled siloxane membranes effectively inhibited the corrosion of copper foil and the optimum anti-corrosion effect was found when the pH value of the silane solution was 7.

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Electrochemical Sensing Of Guanine And Adenine Based On The Boron-Doped Carbon Nanotubes Modified Electrode, Ya-Lin Xia, Chun-Yan Deng, Juan Xiang Aug 2012

Electrochemical Sensing Of Guanine And Adenine Based On The Boron-Doped Carbon Nanotubes Modified Electrode, Ya-Lin Xia, Chun-Yan Deng, Juan Xiang

Journal of Electrochemistry

In this work, the boron-doped carbon nanotubes (BCNTs) modified glassy carbon (GC) electrode was simply fabricated, and the electrochemical oxidation behaviors of guanine and adenine at the BCNTs/GC electrode were investigated. Compared with the bare GC and CNTs/GC electrodes, the BCNTs-modified electrode exhibited extraordinary electrocatalytic activity towards the oxidations of guanine and adenine as indicated by the obvious increase in current responses. Moreover, the peak separation between guanine and adenine was large enough for their potential recognition in mixture without any separation or pretreatment. Therefore, the simultaneous determination of guanine and adenine was successfully achieved. The BCNTs/GC electrode showed high …

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Direct Writing Of Au Nanoneedles Array On Glass By Confined Laser Spinning, Yingling Yang, Dong Lin, Gary J. Cheng Aug 2012

Direct Writing Of Au Nanoneedles Array On Glass By Confined Laser Spinning, Yingling Yang, Dong Lin, Gary J. Cheng

Birck and NCN Publications

Generation of gold nanoneedles on glass by confined laser spinning was explored by using a nanosecond pulsed laser. When the coated Au thin film was irradiated under the confinement of glass, gold nanoneedles were formed by spreading the molten liquid of gold under high pressure. The mechanism of the confined laser spinning process is studied. The maximum velocity and instability of molten liquid during confined laser spinning were estimated. The diameter of nanoneedles can be controlled by changing the thickness of coated gold thin film. Large scale of gold nanoneedles can be formed by this direct writing method and collected …

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Control Of Reflectance And Transmittance In Scattering And Curvilinear Hyperbolic Metamaterials, T. U. Tumkur, J. K. Kitur, B. Chu, Lei Gu, V. A. Podolskiy, Evgenii E. Narimanov, M. A. Noginov Aug 2012

Control Of Reflectance And Transmittance In Scattering And Curvilinear Hyperbolic Metamaterials, T. U. Tumkur, J. K. Kitur, B. Chu, Lei Gu, V. A. Podolskiy, Evgenii E. Narimanov, M. A. Noginov

Birck and NCN Publications

We demonstrate reduced reflectance in curvilinear lamellar hyperbolic metamaterials as well as planar hyperbolic metamaterials consisting of metal/dielectric multilayers, with scatterers deposited on the top. The reduced reflectance is accompanied by a significant enhancement in transmission along with non-reciprocity of transmittance in forward and backward propagating directions. The observed experimental behavior is qualitatively similar to the results of numerical solutions of Maxwell equations. The findings of this study pave the way to a variety of important applications, including broadband enhancement of light trapping in photovoltaic devices. (C) 2012 American Institute of Physics. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4746387]

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Multipartite Quantum Entanglement Evolution In Photosynthetic Complexes, Jing Zhu, Sabre Kais, Alan Aspuru-Guzik, Sam Rodriques, Ben Brock, Peter J. Love Aug 2012

Multipartite Quantum Entanglement Evolution In Photosynthetic Complexes, Jing Zhu, Sabre Kais, Alan Aspuru-Guzik, Sam Rodriques, Ben Brock, Peter J. Love

Birck and NCN Publications

We investigate the evolution of entanglement in the Fenna-Matthew-Olson (FMO) complex based on simulations using the scaled hierarchical equations of motion approach. We examine the role of entanglement in the FMO complex by direct computation of the convex roof. We use monogamy to give a lower bound for entanglement and obtain an upper bound from the evaluation of the convex roof. Examination of bipartite measures for all possible bipartitions provides a complete picture of the multipartite entanglement. Our results support the hypothesis that entanglement is maximum primary along the two distinct electronic energy transfer pathways. In addition, we note that …

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Electron Band Alignment At The Interface Of (100)Insb With Atomic-Layer Deposited Al2o3, H.Y. Chou, V. V. Afanas'ev, M. Houssa, A. Stesmans, Lin Dong, Peide Ye Aug 2012

Electron Band Alignment At The Interface Of (100)Insb With Atomic-Layer Deposited Al2o3, H.Y. Chou, V. V. Afanas'ev, M. Houssa, A. Stesmans, Lin Dong, Peide Ye

Birck and NCN Publications

From experiments on internal photoemission of electrons at the (100)InSb/Al2O3 interface, the top of the InSb valence band is found to be 3.05 +/- 0.10 eV below the oxide conduction band and corresponds to a conduction band offset of 2.9 +/- 0.1 eV. These results indicate that the top of valence band in InSb lies energetically at the same level as in GaSb and above the valence bands in InxGa1-xAs (0

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Size-Dependent Hardness Of Nanoscale Metallic Contacts From Molecular Dynamics Simulations, Hojin Kim, Alejandro Strachan Aug 2012

Size-Dependent Hardness Of Nanoscale Metallic Contacts From Molecular Dynamics Simulations, Hojin Kim, Alejandro Strachan

Birck and NCN Publications

We characterize how size and shape affects the hardness of nanoscale metallic contacts using large-scale molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. High-aspect-ratio contacts continue the experimentally observed trend of hardening with decreasing contact size down to the sub-10-nm regime. However, we find that this effect is shape dependent and the rate of hardening with decreasing contact size diminishes as the aspect ratio of the asperities becomes smaller. Interestingly, low-aspect-ratio asperities that can support simple dislocation glide exhibit softening with decreasing size. A detailed analysis of the MD trajectories reveals the dislocation mechanisms that govern these complex size effects.

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Shear-Horizontal Vibration Modes Of An Oblate Elliptical Cylinder And Energy Trapping In Contoured Acoustic Wave Resonators, Huijing He, Jiashi Yang, John A. Kosinski Aug 2012

Shear-Horizontal Vibration Modes Of An Oblate Elliptical Cylinder And Energy Trapping In Contoured Acoustic Wave Resonators, Huijing He, Jiashi Yang, John A. Kosinski

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

We study shear-horizontal free vibrations of an elastic cylinder with an oblate elliptical cross section and a traction-free surface. Exact vibration modes and frequencies are obtained. The results show the existence of thickness-shear and thickness-twist modes. The energy-trapping behavior of these modes is examined. Trapped modes are found wherein the vibration energy is largely confined to the central portion of the cross section and little vibration energy is found at the edges. It is also shown that face-shear modes are not allowed in such a cylinder. The results are useful for the understanding of the energy trapping phenomenon in contoured …

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Ultrastable Synergistic Tetravalent Rna Nanoparticles For Targeting To Cancers, Farzin Haque, Dan Shu, Yi Shu, Luda S. Shlyakhtenko, Piotr G. Rychahou, B. Mark Evers, Peixuan Guo Aug 2012

Ultrastable Synergistic Tetravalent Rna Nanoparticles For Targeting To Cancers, Farzin Haque, Dan Shu, Yi Shu, Luda S. Shlyakhtenko, Piotr G. Rychahou, B. Mark Evers, Peixuan Guo

Pharmaceutical Sciences Faculty Publications

One of the advantages of nanotechnology is the feasibility to construct therapeutic particles carrying multiple therapeutics with defined structure and stoichiometry. The field of RNA nanotechnology is emerging. However, controlled assembly of stable RNA nanoparticles with multiple functionalities which retain their original role is challenging due to refolding after fusion. Herein, we report the construction of thermodynamically stable X-shaped RNA nanoparticles to carry four therapeutic RNA motifs by self-assembly of reengineered small RNA fragments. We proved that each arm of the four helices in the X-motif can harbor one siRNA, ribozyme, or aptamer without affecting the folding of the central …

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An Extension To Particle Polarizability To Predict Coupling Behavior In Periodic Nanoplasmonic Arrays, Drew Dejarnette Aug 2012

An Extension To Particle Polarizability To Predict Coupling Behavior In Periodic Nanoplasmonic Arrays, Drew Dejarnette

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Plasmonic nanoparticles organized in arrays interact to create spectral patterns which are amplified by individual particle polarizability. It was hypothesized that particle polarizability could be used as a predictor of spectral behavior from far-field interactions within the array. Inter-particle coupling produced an extraordinary peak in extinction efficiency at wavelengths equal to or larger than the single particle plasmon resonance peak. Interactions that produced constructive coupling were found to mimic changes in the particle polarizability model. Testing of the hypothesis was performed using the coupled dipole approximation with parametric characterization of array geometries, giving specific particle size and lattice constant combinations …

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Probing And Controlling Fluid Rheology At Microscale With Magnetic Nanorods, Alexander Tokarev Aug 2012

Probing And Controlling Fluid Rheology At Microscale With Magnetic Nanorods, Alexander Tokarev

All Dissertations

This Dissertation is focused on the development of new methods for characterization and control of fluid rheology using magnetic nanorods. This Dissertation consists of five chapters. In the first chapter, we review current microrheologial methods and develop a Magnetic Rotational Spectroscopy (MRS) model describing nanorod response to a rotating magnetic field. Using numerical modeling, we analyze the effects of materials parameters of nanorods and fluids on the MRS characteristic features. The model is designed for a specific experimental protocol. We introduce and examine physical parameters which can be measured experimentally. The model allows identification of MRS features enabling the calculation …

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Component Mode Synthesis Approach For Quantum Mechanical Electrostatic And Transport Analysis Of Nanoscale Structures And Devices, Zhe Gao Aug 2012

Component Mode Synthesis Approach For Quantum Mechanical Electrostatic And Transport Analysis Of Nanoscale Structures And Devices, Zhe Gao

All Theses

As the dimensions of commonly used semiconductor devices have shrunk into nanometer regime, it is recognized that the influence of quantum effects on their electrostatic and transport properties cannot be ignored. In the past few decades, various computational models and approaches have been developed to analyze these properties in nanostructures and devices. Among these computational models, the Schršdinger-Poisson model has been widely adopted for quantum mechanical electrostatic and transport analysis of nanostructures and devices such as quantum wires, metal-oxide-semiconductor field effect transistors (MOSFETs) and nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS). The numerical results allow for evaluations of the electrical properties such as charge …

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Semiconductor Nanocrystals: From Quantum Dots To Quantum Disks, Zheng Li Aug 2012

Semiconductor Nanocrystals: From Quantum Dots To Quantum Disks, Zheng Li

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The bottom-up colloidal synthesis opened up the possibility of finely tuning and tailoring the semiconductor nanocrystals. Numerous recipes were developed for the preparation of colloidal semiconductor nanocrystals, especially the traditional quantum dots. However, due to the lack of thorough understanding to those systems, the synthesis chemistry is still on the empirical level. CdS quantum dots synthesis in non-coordinating solvent were taken as a model system to investigate its molecular mechanism and formation process, ODE was identified as the reducing agent for the preparation of CdS nanocrystals, non-injection and low-temperature synthesis methods developed. In this model system, we not only proved …

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Peptoid Based Slide Coatings For Disease Detection Via Elisa Microarray Analysis, Melissa Lea Hebert Aug 2012

Peptoid Based Slide Coatings For Disease Detection Via Elisa Microarray Analysis, Melissa Lea Hebert

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Poly-N-substituted glycines (peptoids) are a very versatile family of synthetic molecules that can be customized for any number of applications. In this study, we chose to use peptoids as a foundation for sandwich ELISA microarray analysis with a long term goal of creating an early detection device for complex diseases such as cancer. The peptoids were designed to self-assemble into microspheres to be used in coatings on the surface of the microarray substrates to increase the surface area available for antibody attachment. This increased antibody density would lead to an increase in the microarray analysis sensitivity and dynamic range. Studies …

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Plasmonic Pervaporation Via Gold Nanoparticle-Functionalized Nanocomposite Membranes, Aaron Russell Aug 2012

Plasmonic Pervaporation Via Gold Nanoparticle-Functionalized Nanocomposite Membranes, Aaron Russell

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Butanol derived from biological feedstocks has significant potential as a liquid fuel source, but the separation methods used in its production can be prohibitively expensive and are therefore currently the subject of extensive research. Pervaporation is a promising membrane process that is effective in butanol separations, but involves a large energy demand. This study examines the possibility of increasing flux and energy efficiency in pervaporation via plasmonic heating of gold nanoparticle-functionalized, polymer nanocomposite membranes (AuNCMs) in lieu of conventional feed heating. An economic analysis demonstrated that plasmonic pervaporation could achieve significant reductions in energy usage and utility cost in butanol …

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