The study of exchange coupling in NiFe/Cu/IrMn trilayer structures by MOKE and FMR measurements

The exchange coupling strength of NiFe/Cu/IrMn trilayer films was examined with both a new magneto optical Kerr effect (MOKE) method developed for the exchange coupling field determination and ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) measurements. We found that the value for exchange coupling field obtained by the MOKE technique coincided with FMR result with high accuracy. Other peculiarities of FMR measurements due to interlayer exchange coupling such as angular dependence of resonance field on Cu spacer thickness are also shown in the article.     

Preparation of functional spherical polysilsesquioxane/gold nanoparticle composites and their applications in DNA assay

Functional spherical solid and hollow particles of polysilsesquioxanes (PSQs) containing amine, thiol, and vinyl groups were prepared by polymerizing organotrialkoxysilanes (OTASs) containing corresponding chemical groups. Fluorescent PSQ particles were prepared by physically entrapping Rhodamine 6G, Coumarin 7, and Fluoresceine sodium salts. The intensity of fluorescent light increased initially with increasing amount of entrapped fluorophores and then leveled off or decreased slightly after reaching a maximum value. PSQ particles containing gold nanoparticles (GNPs), both inside and on the surface, were prepared by the in situ reduction of gold ions by the PSQ particles. When the reduction reaction was carried out for extended periods of time, the GNP that had formed inside the poly(3-mercaptopropyl)silsesquioxane (PMPSQ) and polyvinylsilsesequioxane (PVSQ) particles underwent interesting morphological changes. PSQ particles containing amine and thiol groups fixed the GNPs on the surface, which could be utilized further in binding amine-modified oligo-DNA strands. The aggregation of PSQ/GNP particles combined with complementary oligo-DNA strands was examined to demonstrate that these particles could be applied to DNA assays and isolation. The particles were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, solid state nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, ultraviolet/visible spectroscopy, and fluorescence microscopy.     

Disease spreading on fitness-rewired complex networks

As people travel, human contact networks may change topologically from time to time. In this paper, we study the problem of epidemic spreading on this kind of dynamic network, specifically the one in which the rewiring dynamics of edges are carried out to preserve the degree of each node (called fitness rewiring). We also consider the adaptive rewiring of edges, which encourages disconnections from and discourages connections to infected nodes and eventually leads to the isolation of the infected from the susceptible with only a small number of links between them. We find that while the threshold of epidemic spreading remains unchanged and prevalence increases in the fitness rewiring dynamics, meeting of the epidemic threshold is delayed and prevalence is reduced (if adaptive dynamics are included). To understand these different behaviors, we introduce a new measure called the “mean change of effective links” and find that creation and deletion of pathways for pathogen transmission are the dominant factors in fitness and adaptive rewiring dynamics, respectively.     

Cone-shaped structures of GeO2 fabricated by a thermal evaporation process

We have synthesized cone-like GeO₂ structures via thermal heating of Ge powders. We have investigated the effects of substrate temperature on the sample morphology, revealing that cone-shaped structures are preferentially obtained at higher temperature. The cone-shaped structures, which gradually become thinner to form a sharp tip, appear to be a single-crystalline, hexagonal structure of GeO₂. Room-temperature photoluminescence measurement revealed two emission peaks, at about 2.78 and 3.04 eV.     

Effects of co-substitution on the electrical properties of BiFeO3 thin films prepared by chemical solution deposition

Ferroelectric BiFeO₃ thin films with Nd-Cr (or Sm-Cr) co-substitution (denoted by BNdFCr and BSmFCr, respectively) were deposited on the Pt(2 0 0)/TiO₂/SiO₂/Si(1 0 0) substrates by a chemical solution deposition method. X-ray diffraction patterns revealed the formation of BNdFCr and BSmFCr thin films without any secondary phases. The co-substituted BNdFCr (or BSmFCr) thin films, which were annealed at 550 °C for 30 min in N₂ atmosphere, exhibited enhanced electrical properties compared to BFO thin films with the remanent polarization (2P_r) and coercive electric field (2E_c) of 196, 188 μC/cm² and 600, 570 kV/cm with the electric field of 800 kV/cm, respectively. The leakage current densities of BNdFCr and BSmFCr thin films measured at room temperature were approximately three orders of magnitude lower than that of BFO thin film, and the leakage current at room temperature of the thin films exhibited three distinctive conduction behaviors. Furthermore, the values of pulse polarizations [i.e., +(P*-P^{^}) or −(P*-P^{^})] of BNdFCr and BSmFCr thin films were reasonably unchanged up to 1.4 × 10¹⁰ switching cycles.     

Magnetic and noise properties of as-deposited and annealed soft underlayer

We studied the magnetic and noise properties with various soft underlayer (SUL) types. For an as-deposited SUL, the results of spectrum, oscilloscope waveform and MFM indicated that the SUL types with IrMn pinning layer have more noise level than that of SUL types without IrMn pinning layer. And, after magnetic filed annealing along radial direction of disk, the exchange bias field increased and the noise level of type B (exchange bias type) decreased. These results reveal that incomplete or partial coupling may be generated at the interface between IrMn and ferromagnetic layer in as-deposited SUL. This incomplete coupling may result in complex or multidomain patterns in ferromagnetic layer.     

Edge-soliton-mediated vortex-core reversal dynamics

We report an additional reversal mechanism of magnetic vortex cores in nanodot elements driven by currents flowing perpendicular to the sample plane, occurring via dynamic transformations between two coupled edge solitons and bulk vortex solitons. This mechanism differs completely from the well-known switching process mediated by the creation and annihilation of vortex-antivortex pairs in terms of the associated topological solitons, energies, and spin-wave emissions. Strongly localized out-of-plane gyrotropic fields induced by the fast motion of the coupled edge solitons enable a magnetization dip that plays a crucial role in the formation of the reversed core magnetization. This work provides a deeper physical insight into the dynamic transformations of magnetic topological solitons in nanoelements.     

Synthesis and evaluation of triphenylphosphonium conjugated 18F-labeled silica nanoparticles for PET imaging

Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry - Accumulation of triphenylphosphonium (TPP) is normally observed in the mitochondria from the extracellular spaces due to the high difference in...     

Self‐emulsion polymerization of amphiphilic monomers—a green route to synthesis of polymeric nanoscaffolds

Self‐emulsion polymerization (SEP), a green route developed by us for the polymerization of amphiphilic monomers, does not require any emulsifier or an organic solvent except that the water‐soluble initiators such as 2,2′‐azobis[2‐(2‐imidazolin‐2‐yl)propane]dihydrochloride (VA‐044) and potassium persulfate (KPS) are only used. We report here the polymer nanoscaffolds from a number of amphiphilic monomers, which can be used for in situ encapsulation of a variety of nanoparticles. As a demonstration of the efficacy of these nanoscaffolds, the synthesis of a biocompatible hybrid nanoparticle (nanohybrid), prepared by encapsulating Fe₃O₄ magnetic nanoparticle (Fe₃O₄ MNPs) in poly(2‐hydroxyethyl methacrylate) in water, for MRI application is presented. The nanohybrid prepared following the SEP in the form of an emulsion does not involve the use of any stabilizing agent, crosslinker, polymeric emulsifier, or surfactant. This water‐soluble, spherical, and stable nanohybrid containing Fe₃O₄ MNPs of average size 10 ± 2 nm has a zeta potential value of ?41.89 mV under physiological conditions. Magnetic measurement confirmed that the nanohybrid shows typical magnetic behavior having a saturation magnetization (Ms) value of 32.3 emu/g and a transverse relaxivity (r2) value of 29.97 mM^?1 s^?1, which signifies that it can be used as a T2 contrast agent in MRI. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2019     

Directional Self‐Assembly of Fluorinated Star Block Polymer Thin Films Using Mixed Solvent Vapor Annealing

We demonstrate the directional alignment of perpendicular‐lamellae domains in fluorinated three‐armed star block polymer (BP) thin films using solvent vapor annealing with shear stress. The control of orientation and alignment was accomplished without any substrate surface modification. Additionally, three‐armed star poly(methyl methacrylate‐block‐styrene) [PMMA‐PS] and poly(octafluoropentyl methacrylate‐block‐styrene) were compared to their linear analogues to examine the impact of fluorine content and star architecture on self‐assembled BP feature sizes and interdomain density profiles. X‐ray reflectometry results indicated that the star BP molecular architecture increased the effective polymer segregation strength and could possibly facilitate reduced polymer domain spacings, which are useful in next‐generation nanolithographic applications. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2019 , 57, 1663–1672