Structural evolution of mechanically alloyed nanocrystalline FeAl intermetallics

Nanostructured FeAl intermetallics were prepared directly by mechanical alloying (MA) in a high-energy planetary ball-mill. The phase transformations and structural changes occurring in the studied material during mechanical alloying were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD). Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) was employed to examine the morphology of the powders. Thermal behavior of the milled powders was examined by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Disordered Fe(Al) solid solution was formed at the early stage. After 30 h of milling, Fe(Al) solid solution transformed into an ordered FeAl phase. The average crystallite size reduction down to about 12 nm was accompanied by the introduction of the average lattice strain up to 1.7%. The TEM picture showed that the size of milled powders was less than 30 nm. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Resonant tunneling through S- and U-shaped graphene nanoribbons

We theoretically investigate resonant tunneling through S- and U-shaped nanostructured graphene nanoribbons. A rich structure of resonant tunneling peaks is found emanating from different quasi-bound states in the middle region. The tunneling current can be turned on and off by varying the Fermi energy. Tunability of resonant tunneling is realized by changing the width of the left and/or right leads and without the use of any external gates.

Enhanced infrared emission from colloidal HgTe nanocrystal quantum dots on silicon-on-insulator photonic crystals

A two dimensional silicon-on-insulator based photonic crystal structure is used to enhance the emission from colloidal HgTe nanocrystal quantum dots embedded in a thin polymer film. The enhancement is resonant to the leaky eigenmodes of the photonic crystals due to coherent scattering effects. Transmittance and photoluminescence experiments are presented to map the leaky mode dispersion and the angle dependence of the emission enhancement factor, which reaches values up to 80 (650) for vertical (oblique) emission in the telecommunication wavelength range.

Nonpolar growth and characterization of InN overlayers on vertically oriented GaN nanorods

Nanostructured hexagonal InN overlayers were heteroepitaxially deposited on vertically oriented c-axis GaN nanorods by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition. InN overlayers grown in radial directions are featured by a nonpolar heteroepitaxial growth mode on GaN nanorods, showing a great difference from the conventional InN growth on (0001) c-plane GaN template. The surface of InN overlayers is mainly composed of several specific facets with lower crystallographic indices. The orientation relationship between InN and GaN lattices is found to be [0001](InN) parallel to [0001](GaN) and [1100](InN)parallel to[1100](GaN). A strong photoluminescence of InN nanostructures is observed. (C) 2009 American Institute of Physics. [DOI 10.1063/1.3177347]

Structure, magnetization, and low-temperature spin dynamic behavior of zincblende Mn-rich Mn(Ga)As nanoclusters embedded in GaAs

We have fabricated a set of samples of zincblende Mn-rich Mn(Ga)As clusters embedded in GaAs matrices by annealing (Ga,Mn)As films with different nominal Mn content at 650 degrees C. For the samples with Mn content no more than 4.5%, the Curie temperature reaches nearly 360 K. However, when Mn content is higher than 5.4%, the samples exhibit a spin-glass-like behavior. We suggest that these different magnetic properties are caused by the competing result of dipolar and Ruderman-Kittel-Kasuya-Yosida interaction among clusters. The low-temperature spin dynamic behavior, especially the relaxation effect, shows the extreme creeping effect which is reflected by the time constant tau of similar to 10(11) s at 10 K. We explain this phenomenon by the hierarchical model based on the mean-field approach. We also explain the memory effect by the relationship between the correlation function and the susceptibility.

Surface plasmon waves generated by nanogrooves through spectral interference

A pure surface plasmon polariton (SPP) model predicted that the SPP excitation in a slit-groove structure at metallodielectric interfaces exhibits an intricate dependence on the groove width P. Lalanne et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 95, 263902 (2005); Nat. Phys. 2, 551 (2006)]. In this paper, we present a simple far-field experiment to test and validate this interesting theoretical prediction. The measurement results clearly demonstrate the predicted functional dependence of the SPP coupling efficiency on groove width, in good agreement with the SPP picture.

聚合物薄膜的表面形态结构及相关纳米材料制备

本工作主要从实验上探索了基板、溶液浓度、溶剂性质、组成对均聚物、嵌段共聚物以及嵌段共聚物与均聚物共混薄膜表面形态结构的影响。在此基础上，又以嵌段共聚物薄膜为模板，制备了多种纳米粒子。用原子力显微镜（AFM）研究了超稀PS溶液在固体基板上的表面形貌、表面粗糙度及其润湿性质。研究发现：在所用PS分子量范围内（1）随分子量的增加，退火前PS微区的平均直径增加，而平均高度减小。退火后PS微区的平均直径减小，而平均高度增加。（2）首次观察到：薄膜的表面粗糙度（Ra）除了与溶剂的蒸汽压及所用基板有关外，还和溶剂的偶极矩有关。无论在Si片还是mica上，当l所用溶剂具粼目近的偶极矩不同的蒸汽压时，蒸汽压越小，表面Ra也越小；当所用溶剂具有相近的蒸汽压不同的偶极矩时，偶极矩越大，表面Ra就越小。对所用的每一种溶剂，Si片上薄膜的Ra均大于mica上薄膜的Ra，这可能是由Si片表面的粗糙度大于mica表面的粗糙度引起的。以PS-b-P4VP嵌段共聚物为研究对象，探索了共聚物组成、基板、溶液浓度和溶剂对薄膜表面形貌的影响，并对非对称PS-b-P4VP薄膜在甲醇蒸气下表面形貌随时间的演变过程进行了观察。首次观察到：本体为柱状结构的Ps-b-P4VP薄膜，随着在甲醇蒸气中处理时间的增加，形貌从无特征表面、凹陷结构和条带共存的杂化形貌、条状微区、六方排列的凹陷结构、再到条状微区的转变。不同膜厚其形貌转变程度亦不同，膜越厚观察到的形貌转变就越多。而对于厚度约为18.6nm本体为球状结构的PS-b-P4VP薄膜，当在甲醇蒸气中退火时，只观察到了六方排列的凹陷结构并且这种结构不随退火时间的增加而改变。通过对不同组成PS-b-P4VP／hPS混合物薄膜在云母和石墨上表面形貌的研究，首次观察到：在云母基板上随混合物中Φps的增加，表面形貌经历着由六方有序的球状微区向条状结构再向球状微区最后到宏观相分离结构的转变；而在石墨基板上，随Φps的增加，表面形貌逐渐由条带结构向球状结构转变，未观察到明显的宏观相分离。以PS-b-P4vP胶束薄膜为模板合成了Ag-Pd及ZnO纳米结构，并对不同表面活性剂包裹的CdSe在PS-b-P4VP薄膜中的选择性分布进行了探索。 以PS-b-P4VP胶束薄膜为研究对象研究了溶剂蒸气及酸溶液对其表面形貌的影响。实验结果表明，除了甲醇蒸气，用一元酸处理薄膜也能得到纳米孔结构。

Spin split cyclotron resonance in GaAs quantum wells

The cyclotron resonance (CR) of electrons in GaAs/AlGaAs quantum wells is investigated theoretically to explain a recent CR experiment, where two CR peaks were observed at high magnetic fields when both spin-up and spin-down states of the lowest Landau level are occupied. Our theoretical model takes into account the conduction band non-parabolicity, the electron bulk longitude-optic-phonon coupling, and the self-consistent subband structure. A good agreement is found.

Fabrication of Novel Superhydrophobic Surfaces and Water Droplet Bouncing Behavior - Part 1: Stable ZnO-PDMS Superhydrophobic Surface with Low Hysteresis Constructed Using ZnO Nanoparticles

A superhydrophobic surface has many advantages in micro/nanomechanical applications, such as low adhesion, low friction and high restitution coefficient, etc. In this paper, we introduce a novel and simple route to fabricate superhydrophobic surfaces using ZnO nanocrystals. First, tetrapod-like ZnO nanocrystals were prepared via a one-step, direct chemical vapor deposition (CVD) approach. The nanostructured ZnO material was characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) and the surface functionalized by aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APS) was found to be hydrophobic. Then the superhydrophobic surface was constructed by depositing uniformly ZnO hydrophobic nanoparticles (HNPs) on the Poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) film substrate. Water wettability study revealed a contact angle of 155.4 +/- 2 degrees for the superhydrophobic surface while about 110 degrees for pure smooth PDMS films. The hysteresis was quite low, only 3.1 +/- 0.3 degrees. Microscopic observations showed that the surface was covered by micro- and nano-scale ZnO particles. Compared to other approaches, this method is rather convenient and can be used to obtain a large area superhydrophobic surface. The high contact angle and low hysteresis could be attributed to the micro/nano structures of ZnO material; besides, the superhydrophobic property of the as-constructed ZnO-PDMS surface could be maintained for at least 6 months. (C) Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2010

Activated carbon supported bimetallic CoMo carbides synthesized by carbothermal hydrogen reduction

A carbothermal hydrogen reduction method was employed for the preparation of activated carbon supported bimetallic carbide. The resultant samples were characterized by BET surface area measurement, X-ray diffraction, and temperature-programmed reduction-mass spectroscopy. The results showed that nanostructured beta-Mo2C can be formed on the activated carbon by carbothermal hydrogen reduction above 700 degreesC. The particle sizes of beta-Mo2C increase with increasing reaction temperatures and Mo loading. The bimetallic CoMo carbide can be synthesized by the carbothermal hydrogen reduction even around 600 degreesC. The bimetallic CoMo carbide is from carbothermal hydrogen reduction of CoMoO4 precursor and is easily formed when the Co/Mo molar ratio is 1.0. Separation of the bimetallic CoMo carbide phase into Mo carbide and Co metal occurs when the temperature of the reduction is above 700 degreesC. The addition of a second metal such as Co and Ni, decreases the formation temperature of carbide because the second metal promotes formation of CHx species from reactive carbon atoms or groups on carbon material and hydrogen, which further carburizes oxide precursors. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Layer-by-layer assembly of carbon nanotubes and Prussian blue nanoparticles: A potential tool for biosensing devices

A promising method for assembling carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) protected Prussian blue nanoparticles (P-PB) to form three-dimensional (3D) nanostructured films is proposed. The electrostatic interaction, combined with layer-by-layer self-assembly (LBL), between negatively charged CNTs and positively charged P-PB is strong enough to drive the formation of the 3D nanostructured films. Thus, prepared multilayer films were characterized by ultraviolet-visible-near-infrared spectroscopy (UV-vis-NIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and cyclic voltammetry (CV).

Fabrication, thermal stability and mechanical properties of novel (W0.5Al0.5)C-0.8-Co composite prepared by mechanical alloying and hot-pressing sintering

A novel cemented carbides (W0.5Al0.5)C-0.8-Co with different cobalt contents were prepared by mechanical alloying and hot-pressing technique. Hot-pressing technique as a common technique was performed to fabricate the bulk bodies of the hard alloys. The novel cemented carbides have superior mechanical properties compared to WC-Co. The density, operating cost of the novel material were much lower than WC-Co. There is almost no eta-phase in the (W0.5Al0.5)C-0.8-Co cemented carbides system although the carbon deficient get the value of 20%, and successfully got the nanostructured rounded (W0.5Al0.5)C-0.8 particles.