Applications of colloidal semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) have recently begun to move from the laboratory into the commercial sector. This article provides a brief description of QDs and their associated optical properties, highlighting the concept that QD size is now a parameter used to tune photophysical properties.
23 August 2011
Exploration of the Stranski-Krastanow growth of strained semiconductor heterostructures marked the major breakthrough for easy fabrication of defect-free quantum dots (QDs). For the first time, single QDs are facilitating the development of electrically operated emitters of single polarized or entangled photons on demand: an essential component for quantum communication systems.
23 August 2011
Many electronic systems such as flat-panel displays, optical detectors, and sensor arrays would benefit greatly from mechanical flexibility. Ultraflexible and foldable electronics demonstrate ultimate flexibility, and are highly portable. A major obstacle toward the development of foldable electronics is the fundamental compromise between operation voltage, transistor performance, and mechanical flexibility.
23 August 2011
An overview of III-Nitride based laser diodes (LDs) is presented focusing on the materials challenges in each phase of device development. We discuss early breakthroughs leading to the first commercial GaN LDs, covering crystal growth, p-type doping, and defect reduction.
23 August 2011
With the emergence of the printed electronics industry, the development of sensing technologies on non conventional substrates such as plastic foils is on-going.
23 August 2011
Bio-sensing represents one of the most attractive applications of carbon material based electronic devices; nevertheless, the complete integration of bioactive transducing elements still represents a major challenge, particularly in terms of preserving biological function and specificity while maintaining the sensor's electronic performance.
23 August 2011
The absence of an optimal nano-sized reference material has been the biggest obstacle in evaluating the safety of carbon nanotubes as biomaterials.
23 August 2011
Biosensing is paramount for improving the quality of human life. Biosensors and biosensing protocols are able to detect a wide range of compounds, sensitively and selectively, with applications in security, health care for point-of-care analyses of diseases, and environmental safety.
08 July 2011
Carbon nanotubes and graphene are both low-dimensional sp2 carbon nanomaterials exhibiting many unique physical and chemical properties that are interesting in a wide range of areas including nanomedicine.
08 July 2011
Over the last several years, a significant share of the scientific community has focused its attention on the hydrogen storage problem. Since 1997, when carbon nanotubes appeared to be a promising storage material, many theoretical and experimental groups have investigated the hydrogen storage capacity of these carbon nanostructures.
08 July 2011
Nanotechnology has given scientists new tools for the development of advanced materials for the detection and diagnosis of disease. In particular, superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) have been extensively investigated as novel magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast agents due to a combination of favorable superparamagnetic properties, biodegradability, and surface properties.
08 July 2011
Today polymer/carbon nanotube (CNT) composites can be found in sports equipment, cars, and electronic devices. The growth of old and new markets in this area has been stimulated by our increased understanding of relevant production and processing methods, as well as the considerable price reduction of industrial CNT grades.
08 July 2011
The preservation of waterlogged archaeological wooden finds, such as Henry VIII's flagship the Mary Rose, is complicated by the biological, chemical, and mechanical changes induced from prolonged exposure to a marine environment. Of particular concern are sulfur species that form acidic compounds that attack wood. Here we show that different sulfur compounds do not form acids at the same rate or pathway and propose a preservation strategy of applying SrCO3 nanoparticles.
08 July 2011
Molybdenum oxide nanowires have been found to show promise in a diverse range of applications, ranging from electronics to energy storage and micromechanics. This review focuses on recent research on molybdenum oxide nanowires: from synthesis and device assembly to fundamental properties.
08 July 2011
We examine several systems where protein hot spots, the active domains on proteins and the interactive dynamics in them, play a critical role in the interactions at the interface of these unique systems.
08 July 2011
Neutron imaging is a non-destructive technique that can reveal the interior of many materials and engineering components and also probe magnetic fields. Within the past few years, several new imaging modes have been introduced that extend the scope of neutron imaging beyond conventional neutron attenuation imaging, yielding both 2- and 3D information about properties and phenomena inaccessible until now.
15 June 2011
Sensitive magnetometry has been established as a powerful technique for the characterization and testing of materials, with the most demanding applications relying on SQUID magnetometers operating at cryogenic temperatures. The recent development of compact, non-cryogenic atomic magnetometers with sub-femtotesla sensitivity and easy sample access has opened up a number of new possibilities.
15 June 2011
Strong intrinsic nonlinear optical (NLO) signals not only make nanostructures promising agents for bio-imaging, but also advance NLO microscopy for the study of interactions between nanomaterials and live cells. Single beam modalities such as multiphoton luminescence, second harmonic generation, and third harmonic generation provide a simple way to probe many types of nanostructures.
15 June 2011
The laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) technique has been used to analyze a diverse array of materials for several decades. LIBS is ideal for rapid materials analysis since data can be collected in real time with no sample preparation. The coupling of LIBS with multivariate analysis has increased in recent years and allows for rapid processing of spectral information for qualitative or quantitative analysis.
15 June 2011
We are facing accelerated global warming due to the accumulation of greenhouse gases. A hydrogen-based economy is one potential approach toward maintaining our standard of living while lowering carbon dioxide emissions. Palladium is a unique material with a strong affinity to hydrogen owing to both its catalytic and hydrogen absorbing properties.
15 June 2011