Sub-100fs pulse generation from a fiber oscillator mode-locked by nanotubes

We report an ultrafast fiber laser based on carbon nanotube saturable absorber. 84 fs pulses are generated directly from the fiber oscillator with 61.2 nm spectral width. © 2011 Optical Society of America.

Co-catalytic absorption layers for controlled laser-induced chemical vapor deposition of carbon nanotubes.

The concept of co-catalytic layer structures for controlled laser-induced chemical vapor deposition of carbon nanotubes is established, in which a thin Ta support layer chemically aids the initial Fe catalyst reduction. This enables a significant reduction in laser power, preventing detrimental positive optical feedback and allowing improved growth control. Systematic study of experimental parameters combined with simple thermostatic modeling establishes general guidelines for the effective design of such catalyst/absorption layer combinations. Local growth of vertically aligned carbon nanotube forests directly on flexible polyimide substrates is demonstrated, opening up new routes for nanodevice design and fabrication.

Novel nanostructured biomaterials: implications for coronary stent thrombosis.

BACKGROUND: Nanomedicine has the potential to revolutionize medicine and help clinicians to treat cardiovascular disease through the improvement of stents. Advanced nanomaterials and tools for monitoring cell-material interactions will aid in inhibiting stent thrombosis. Although titanium boron nitride (TiBN), titanium diboride, and carbon nanotube (CNT) thin films are emerging materials in the biomaterial field, the effect of their surface properties on platelet adhesion is relatively unexplored. OBJECTIVE AND METHODS: In this study, novel nanomaterials made of amorphous carbon, CNTs, titanium diboride, and TiBN were grown by vacuum deposition techniques to assess their role as potential stent coatings. Platelet response towards the nanostructured surfaces of the samples was analyzed in line with their physicochemical properties. As the stent skeleton is formed mainly of stainless steel, this material was used as reference material. Platelet adhesion studies were carried out by atomic force microscopy and scanning electron microscopy observations. A cell viability study was performed to assess the cytocompatibility of all thin film groups for 24 hours with a standard immortalized cell line. RESULTS: The nanotopographic features of material surface, stoichiometry, and wetting properties were found to be significant factors in dictating platelet behavior and cell viability. The TiBN films with higher nitrogen contents were less thrombogenic compared with the biased carbon films and control. The carbon hybridization in carbon films and hydrophilicity, which were strongly dependent on the deposition process and its parameters, affected the thrombogenicity potential. The hydrophobic CNT materials with high nanoroughness exhibited less hemocompatibility in comparison with the other classes of materials. All the thin film groups exhibited good cytocompatibility, with the surface roughness and surface free energy influencing the viability of cells.

Effect of catalyst pretreatment on chirality-selective growth of single-walled carbon nanotubes

We show that catalyst pretreatment conditions can have a profound effect on the chiral distribution in single-walled carbon nanotube chemical vapor deposition. Using a SiO2-supported cobalt model catalyst and pretreatment in NH3, we obtain a comparably narrowed chiral distribution with a downshifted tube diameter range, independent of the hydrocarbon source. Our findings demonstrate that the state of the catalyst at the point of carbon nanotube nucleation is of fundamental importance for chiral control, thus identifying the pretreatment atmosphere as a key parameter for control of diameter and chirality distributions. © 2014 American Chemical Society.

Hybrid bulk heterojunction solar cells from a blend of poly(3-hexylthiophene) and TiO2 nanotubes

Hybrid bulk heterojunction solar cells based on blend of poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) and TiO2 nanotubes or dye(N719) modified TiO2 nanotubes were processed from solution and characterized to research the nature of organic/inorganic hybrid materials. Compared with the pristine polymer P3HT and TiO2 nanoparticles/P3HT solar cells, the TiO2 nanotubes/P3HT hybrid solar cells show obvious performance improvement, due to the formation of the bulk heterojunction and charge transport improvement. A further improvement in the device performance can be achieved by modifying TiO2 nanotube surface with a standard dye N719 which can play a role in the improvement of both the light absorption and charge dissociation. Compared with the non-modified TiO2 nanotubes solar cells, the modified ones have better power conversion efficiency under 100 mW/cm(2) illumination with 500W Xenon lamp. (C) 2008 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.

Growth of aligned single-walled carbon nanotubes under ac electric fields through floating catalyst chemical vapour deposition

Through floating catalyst chemical vapour deposition(CVD) method, well-aligned isolated single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) and their bundles were deposited on the metal electrodes patterned on the SiO2/Si surface under ac electric fields at relatively low temperature(280 degrees C). It was indicated that SWCNTs were effectively aligned under ac electric fields after they had just grown in the furnace. The time for a SWCNT to be aligned in the electric field and the effect of gas flow were estimated. Polarized Raman scattering was performed to characterize the aligned structure of SWCNTs. This method would be very useful for the controlled fabrication and preparation of SWCNTs in practical applications.

Frequency mixing and phase detection functionalities of three-terminal ballistic junctions

Three-terminal ballistic junctions (TBJs) are fabricated from a high-mobility InP/In0.75Ga0.25As heterostructure by electron-beam lithography. The voltage output from the central branch is measured as a function of the voltages applied to the left and right branches of the TBJs. The measurements show that the TBJs possess an intrinsic nonlinearity. Based on this nonlinearity, a novel room-temperature functional frequency mixer and phase detector are realized. The TBJ frequency mixer and phase detector are expected to have advantages over traditional circuits in terms of simple structure, small size and high speed, and can be used as a new type of building block in nanoelectronics.

Correlation effects for semiconducting single-wall carbon nanotubes: A density matrix renormalization group study

In this paper we report the applicability of the density matrix renormalization group (DMRG) approach to the cylindrical single wall carbon nanotube (SWCN) for the purpose of its correlation effect. By applying the DMRG approach to the t+U+V model, with t and V being the hopping and Coulomb energies between the nearest neighboring sites, respectively, and U the on-site Coulomb energy, we calculate the phase diagram for the SWCN with chiral numbers (n(1)=3, n(2)=2), which reflects the competition between the correlation energy U and V. Within reasonable parameter ranges, we investigate possible correlated ground states, the lowest excitations, and the corresponding correlation functions in which the connection with the excitonic insulator is particularly addressed.

Silver nanocrystals modified microstructured polymer optical fibres for chemical and optical sensing

In-fibre chemical and optical sensors based on silver nanocrystals modified microstructured polymer optical fibres (MPOFs) were demonstrated. The silver nanocrystals modified MPOFs were formed by direct chemical reduction of silver ammonia complex ions on the templates of array holes in the microstructure polymer optical fibres. The nanotube-like and nanoisland-like Ag-modified MPOFs could be obtained by adjusting the conditions of Ag-formation in the air holes of MPOFs. SEM images showed that the higher concentration of the reaction solution (silver ammonia 0.5 mol/L, glucose 0.25 mol/L), gave rise to a tubular silver layer in MPOF, while the lower concentration (silver ammonia 0.1 M, glucose 0.05 M) produced an island-like Ag nanocrystal modified MPOF. The tubular Ag-MPOF composite fibre was conductive and could be directly used as array electrodes in electrochemical analyses. It displayed high electrochemical activity on sensing nitrate or nitrite ions. The enhanced fluorescence of dye molecules was observed when the island-like Ag-modified MPOF was inserted into a fluorescent dye solution. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

硅铝酸盐纳米管（imogolite）的合成与组装

纳米管是重要的一维纳米材料，在催化、分离、光电子材料、生物医药、超分子组装及复合材料等领域的应用前景广阔。探索新型的纳米管材料、研究它们的性质以及与高分子体系的杂化行为对该领域的发展具有重要意义。 Imogolite是一种纳米管状结构的硅铝酸盐，结构规整、具有独特的亲水性以及在水溶液中的分散性，是一种理想的纳米管研究对象。本论文采用正硅酸乙酯水解法合成了imogolite纳米管。使用光学显微镜，TEM，SEM，FTIR，WAXD，TGA等手段系统地研究了imogolite纳米管的生长机理、imogolite纳米管在液滴干燥过程中的自组装行为、imogolite纳米管与聚电解质的组装行为，以及imogolite纳米管/水溶性聚合物体系在液滴干燥过程中的组装行为。 Imogolite纳米管在液滴蒸发过程中可发生有序排列的自组装行为，这与液滴干燥过程中的毛细管流动、表面张力效应及润湿性质等有关。在空气中干燥imogolite液滴时，溶液浓度、pH、离子强度均会影响纳米管在液滴干燥斑中的聚集形态。低浓度液滴干燥后形成的取向纳米管束结构很好地验证了环状干燥斑的形成机理。而在乙醇气氛下干燥imogolite液滴时，毛细管流动被抑制，体系的表面能降低，因此可获得在基底上单根均匀分散的imogolite纳米管。 利用上述结果，首次实现了对合成imogolite纳米管聚合生长过程的直接观察。发现imogolite纳米管在生长过程中，直径尺寸均匀稳定；而长度的多分散性始终存在，且长度多分散性指数小于2。聚合反应初期，纳米管数量和长度均增长迅速；反应后期，纳米管长度和体系浓度的增大致使纳米管运动受限，反应为扩散控制，但体系内仍有大量imogolite短管生成并持续生长，使纳米管数量和长度在反应后期仍可继续增长。这表明合成imogolite纳米管是由扩散控制的硬棒状分子单元逐步聚合形成。 基于imogolite纳米管独特的表面性质，研究了imogolite与水溶性聚合物之间的组装行为。首次发现imogolite纳米管能够与聚电解质(PAA，PAH，PSS，PDDA)在水溶液中组装形成稳定的微米管结构。此类微米管是由椭球形的囊泡相互连接形成的超分子组装体。微米管结构稳定，骨架为无规的imogolite纳米管，聚电解质起粘结作用。微米管的形成不依赖于聚电解质的电荷性质或氢键作用，但聚电解质的浓度和分子量、聚电解质与imogolite的配比、温度、外力场以及pH均能够影响微米管的生长及最终形态。 聚阴离子聚电解质PAA和PSS与imogolite纳米管之间存在较强的相互作用，这阻碍了纳米管在液滴蒸发过程中的自组装行为，使其无法有序排列。Imogolite纳米管在PEO液滴干燥过程中的自组装行为与PEO浓度、分子量和端基性质有关。对于低浓度PEO体系，PEO能通过被氧化的端羟基与imogolite纳米管相互作用，吸附到imogolite纳米管外壁的PEO分子可以改变纳米管的排列间距。这表明在聚合物/imogolite体系中，通过改变聚合物分子的结构参数，可调控imogolite纳米管在液滴干燥过程中的排列方式。

Density Gradient Ultracentrifugation of Nanotubes: Interplay of Bundling and Surfactants Encapsulation

Density gradient ultracentrifugation (DGU) has emerged as a promising tool to prepare chirality enriched nanotube samples. Here, we assess the performance of different surfactants for DGU. Bile salts (e.g., sodium cholate (SC), sodium deoxycholate (SDC), and sodium taurodeoxycholate (TDC)) are more effective in individualizing Single Wall Carbon Nanotubes (SWNTs) compared to linear chain surfactants (e.g., sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate (SDBS) and sodium dodecylsulfate (SDS)) and better suited for DGU. Using SC, a narrower diameter distribution (0.69-0.81 nm) is achieved through a single DGU step on CoMoCAT tubes, when compared to SDC and TDC (0.69-0.89 nm). No selectivity is obtained using SDBS. due to its ineffectiveness in debundling. We assign the reduce selectivity of dihydroxy bile salts (S DC and TDC) in comparison with trihydroxy SC to the formation of secondary micelles. This is determined by the number and position of hydroxyl ( OH) groups on the a-side of the steroid backbone. We also enrich CoMoCAT SWNT in the 0.84-0.92 nm range using the Pluronic F98 triblock copolymer. Mixtures of bile salts (SC) and linear chain surfactants (SOS) are used to enrich metallic and semiconducting laser-ablation grown SWNTs. We demonstrate enrichment of a single chirality, (6,5), combining diameter and metallic versus semiconductillg separation on CoMoCAT samples.

Accurate determination of electronic transition energy of carbon nanotubes from the resonant behavior of radial breathing modes and their overtones

The resonant Raman behavior of the radial breathing modes are very useful to analyze the electronic property of carbon nanotubes. We investigated the resonant behaviors of Stokes and anti-Stokes radial breathing mode and its overtone of a metallic nanotube, and show how to accurately determine the electronic transition energy of carbon nanotubes from radial breathing modes and their overtones. Based on the present results, the previously reported resonant Raman behavior of the radial breathing modes of SWINT bundles can be interpreted very well.

Photoluminescence from carbon nanotubes

We observed yellow colored light emission bands from multiwalled carbon nanotubes in photo-luminescence (PL) experiments. The light emission band features indicate that the PL bands are associated with the electronic properties inherent to the carbon nanotube (CNT) structures.