Investigation of patch antennas based on crossed idiosyncratic PBG structure

The method of finite difference time domain (FDTD) was used, and characteristics of the patch antenna based on drilling periodic air holes in the substrate were studied, the results indicate that the surface waves which propagate along the surface of the substrate can be suppressed by the crossed idiosyncratic PBG (photonic crystal band-gap) structure because of its effect of forbidden-band, that it can radiate most of electromagnetic waves’ energy in the substrate significantly, and that it has lower return loss (S11) compared to the conventional patch antennas, thus, a high gain is attained, its performance is improved. Due to these advantages, the use of photonic crystal patch antennas will be extended in areas such as mobile communication, satellite communication, aviation, etc.     

Facile controlled synthesis of micro/nanostructure MCrO4 (M = Ba, Pb) by using Gemini surfactant C12-PEG-C12 as a soft template

Gemini surfactants, double sodium α-sulfonic polyethylene glycol laurate (abbreviated C₁₂-PEG-C₁₂), were prepared and applied as soft templates in the controlled synthesis of BaCrO₄ and PbCrO₄ micro/nanocrystals. The template effects were investigated by adjusting the length of the spacer, using PEG400 and PEG4000, of the Gemini surfactant. The results indicated that the size and morphology of BaCrO₄ and PbCrO₄ micro/nanocrystals varied with the change in spacer length of C₁₂-PEG-C₁₂, suggesting that the different lengths of the polyethylene glycol group spacers in the Gemini surfactants played a key role in determining the size and shape of the MCrO₄ micro/nanoparticles. The dynamic process of the formation of the novel morphology BaCrO₄ crystals showed that the morphology grew from a round-bar polyhedron, to regular polyhedron, to approximate octahedron to a uniform pistachio nut shape. The growth mechanism of the BaCrO₄ micro/nanocrystals was explained that C₁₂-PEG-C₁₂ had a greater interfacial adsorption and would effectively control the shape evolution during the crystal growth, while PbCrO₄ could be explained that the Gemini surfactants can undergo liquid-crystalline phase transitions with long channels providing a soft template effect and derived the nanorods formation. Room temperature fluorescence spectra were studied and these showed that the pistachio-shaped BaCrO₄ microcrystals and PbCrO₄ nanorods possess photoactive luminescence properties with emission peaks at 470 and 549 nm, respectively.     

Synthesis of ZnO compound nanostructures via a chemical route for photovoltaic applications

A facile, low-temperature, and low-cost chemical route has been developed to prepare ZnO nanowire and nanosphere compound structures. The morphology, structure, and composition of the yielded products have been examined by field-emission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and X-ray diffraction measurements. We have systematically investigated the optical properties of the ZnO nanostructures by micro-Raman, photoluminescence, and transmission spectroscopy. The results demonstrate that the yielded ZnO nanostructures possess good optical quality with high light absorption. We have further successfully employed the obtained ZnO compound nanostructures in dye-sensitized solar cells. The light-to-electricity conversion results show that the compound nanostructure exhibits a significant enhancement of short-circuit current density due to the increased surface area and light scattering in the compound nanostructures. The present chemical route provides a simple way to synthesize various compound nanostructures with high surface area for nanodevice applications.     

Comparative study of electrochemical capacitance of multi-walled carbon nanotubes before and after chopping

In the work, short multi-walled carbon nanotubes (S-CNTs) were synthesized by chopping conventional μm-long multi-walled carbon nanotubes (L-CNTs) under ultrasonication in H₂SO₄/HNO₃ mixed acids. A comparative electrochemical investigation performed in 6 M KOH solution demonstrated that a specific capacitance (SC) of ca. 14.6 μF cm⁻² was delivered by the S-CNTs with the specific surface area (SSA) of 207 m² g⁻¹, much larger than that of ca. 10.1 μF cm⁻² for the L-CNTs with the SSA of 223 m² g⁻¹, the reason for which was that S-CNTs with two open ends, due to good ion penetrability, provided more entrances for electrolyte ions to access the inner surface easily through their shorter inner pathway so as to enhance their SSA utilization and geometric SC. The surface structure disruption of S-CNTs, owing to ultrasonication and oxidation during chopping process, deteriorated their electronic conductivity and resulted in an inferior power property in contrast to L-CNTs.     

Study on the optical limiting properties of the mixed liquid of carbon black suspensions and green tea solution by multi-pulse laser

The optical limiting properties of the mixed liquid of carbon black suspensions (CBS) and green tea solution were studied by using an 8 ns laser pulse at 532\,nm. The optical limiting effects of the CBS and mixed liquid have been compared between 5 and 10\,Hz repetition frequencies with nanosecond laser pulse. The experimental results indicate that the optical limiting threshold of the sample with the incidence laser at 10\,Hz repetition frequency is lower than at 5\,Hz repetition frequency. The possible reasons for the influence of the repetition frequency on the samples are discussed. And by observing the optical radiant distributions when the laser pulse passing through different samples, a possible mechanism for the observed effects is suggested. At the same time, the result shows that the optical limiting of CBS is the dominant factor to optical limiting of the mixed liquid.     

Influence of using nanoobjects as filler on functionality-based energy use of nanocomposites

The goal of our study was to investigate the potential benefits of reinforcing polymer matrices with nanoobjects for structural applications by looking at both the mechanical properties and environmental impacts. For determining the mechanical properties, we applied the material indices defined by Ashby for stiffness and strength. For the calculation of environmental impacts, we applied the life cycle assessment methodology, focusing on non-renewable energy use (NREU). NREU has shown to be a good indicator also for other environmental impacts. We then divided the NREU by the appropriate Ashby index to obtain the ‘functionality-based NREU’. We studied 23 different nanocomposites, based on thermoplastic and thermosetting polymer matrices and organophilic montmorillonite, silica, carbon nanotubes (single-walled and multiwalled) and calcium carbonate as filler. For 17 of these, we saw a decrease of the functionality-based NREU with increasing filler content. We draw the conclusion that the use of nanoobjects as filler can have benefits from both an environmental point of view and with respect to mechanical properties.     

分光计测定光栅常数

针对分光计测定光栅常数实验中入射光线偏离光栅法线的情形,提出了计算光栅常数的一个近似表达式。在不增加额外测量的前提下,使实验结果更接近于实际值。     

Cytotoxic effects and in vitro reversal of multidrug resistance by therapeutic ultrasound in human hepatocarcinoma cell line (HepG2)

Multidrug resistance (MDR) is one of the major obstacles to successful chemotherapy of human malignancies. Although many strategies have been explored to overcome MDR, none of them have been proven to be clinically useful until now. The aim of this study was to investigate whether a novel therapeutic ultrasound (US) approach would have useful effects on the reversal of MDR in cancer cells. Wild-type and MDR phenotype (HepG2/ADM) cells of the human hepatocarcinoma cell line HepG2 were exposed to 0.8 MHz US at an intensity of 0.43 W/cm² for a 9 s exposure (total energy density: 3.87 J/cm²). After US exposure, cell number and viability were counted immediately, and flow cytometry was performed to measure retention of rhodamine 123 and adriamycin in HepG2 and HepG2/MDR cells. Both cell lines were then incubated in suspension with adriamycin, vincristine, etoposide, cisplatin and 5-fluorouracil, respectively, and the MTT assay was used to determine cytotoxicity. The results showed that US exposure could significantly increase the uptake of Rh123 and ADM by HepG2/ADM tumor cells. The resistant index for the chemotherapeutic drugs was significantly lower in the US-exposed HepG2/ADM cells than in those not exposed to US. It was therefore concluded that US exposure could enhance the sensitivity of HepG2/ADM tumor cells to these chemotherapeutic agents, and the functional and structural changes induced by previous US exposure in MDR tumor cells may be responsible for it. However, further study is needed to investigate the mechanism behind US-mediated reversal of MDR.     

Silver fractal networks for surface-enhanced Raman scattering substrates

Based on diffusion-limited aggregation process, a convenient nanotechnique is demonstrated to obtain large silver fractal networks for a surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS)-active substrate. The silver fractal networks are of high SERS enhancement factor, large dynamical range. The observed SERS efficiency can be explained in terms of strongly localized plasmon modes relative to the single particle plasmon resonance.     

Hard magnetic properties in Pr2Fe14B/α-Fe nanocomposite magnets with a combined addition of V and C

Nanostructured Pr₈Fe_86−xV_xB_6−yC_y (x=0, 1; y=0, 1) ribbons composed of Pr₂Fe₁₄B and α-Fe phases with a high coercivity are fabricated by direct melt spinning. The effects of a single addition of V and a combined addition of V and C on the structures and magnetic properties of melt-spun Pr₈Fe₈₆VB_6−xC_x (x=0 and 1) ribbons have been investigated. Compared with addition-free ribbons, 1 at% V addition is found to reduce the grain sizes of the samples and improve their magnetic properties due to a strong exchange coupling between the hard and the soft phase. A remanence ratio of 0.82, a coercive field of 6.2 kOe and a maximum energy product of 23.4 MGOe in melt-spun Pr₈Fe₈₅VB₆ ribbons are obtained at room temperature. The combined addition of V and C is found to lead to the formation of an intermediate phase of VC at grain boundaries, which appears as a pinning barrier during magnetization and results in an increase of the coercivity value to 6.9 kOe for melt-spun Pr₈Fe₈₅VB₅C ribbons.