Advanced flicker spectroscopy of fluid membranes

The bending elasticity of a fluid membrane is characterized by its modulus and spontaneous curvature. We present a new method, advanced flicker spectroscopy of giant nonspherical vesicles, which makes it possible to simultaneously measure both parameters for the first time. Our analysis is based on the generation of a large set of reference data from Monte Carlo simulations of randomly triangulated surfaces. As an example of the potential of the procedure, we monitor thermal trajectories of vesicle shapes and discuss the elastic response of zwitterionic membranes to transmembrane pH gradients. Our technique makes it possible to easily characterize membrane curvature as a function of environmental conditions.     

PLD-assisted VLS growth of aligned ferrite nanorods, nanowires, and nanobelts-synthesis, and properties

We report here a systematic synthesis and characterization of aligned alpha-Fe2O3 (hematite), epsilon-Fe2O3, and Fe3O4 (magnetite) nanorods, nanobelts, and nanowires on alumina substrates using a pulsed laser deposition (PLD) method. The presence of spherical gold catalyst particles at the tips of the nanostructures indicates selective growth via the vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) mechanism. Through a series of experiments, we have produced a primitive "phase diagram" for growing these structures based on several designed pressure and temperature parameters. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis has shown that the rods, wires, and belts are single-crystalline and grow along <111>m or <110>h directions. X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements confirm phase and structural analysis. Superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) measurements show that the iron oxide structures exhibit interesting magnetic behavior, particularly at room temperature. This work is the first known report of magnetite 1D nanostructure growth via the vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) mechanism without using a template, as well as the first known synthesis of long epsilon-Fe2O3 nanobelts and nanowires.     

Rapid bioenabled formation of ferroelectric BaTiO3 at room temperature from an aqueous salt solution at near neutral pH

A 12-mer peptide, identified through phage display biopanning, has been used for the first time to induce the rapid formation of ferroelectric (tetragonal) nanocrystalline BaTiO3 at room temperature from an aqueous salt precursor solution at near neutral pH. BaTiO3 is widely used in capacitors, thermistors, displays, and sensors owing to its attractive dielectric, ferroelectric, pyroelectric, optical, and electrochemical properties. Two 12-mer peptides (BT1 and BT2) were selected from a phage-displayed peptide library via binding to tetragonal BaTiO3 powder. While these peptides possessed various types of amino acids, 8 of the 12 amino acids were common to both peptides. Each of these peptides induced the formation of faceted nanoparticles (50-100 nm diameter) from an aqueous precursor solution. X-ray diffraction and selected area electron diffraction patterns obtained from these faceted nanoparticles were consistent with the BaTiO3 compound. Rietveld analyses of the X-ray diffraction patterns yielded good fits to tetragonal crystal structures, with the BaTiO3 formed in the presence of the BT2 peptide exhibiting the most tetragonal character. A coating of the latter BaTiO3 nanoparticles exhibited polarization hysteresis (a well-known characteristic of ferroelectric materials) at room temperature and a relative permittivity of 2200. Such rapid, peptide-induced precipitation at room temperature provides new opportunities for direct BaTiO3 formation on low-melting or reactive materials (e.g., plastics, cloths, bio-organics) and the low temperature integration of BaTiO3 into electronic devices (e.g., on silicon or flexible polymer substrates).     

Hydrogen storage in sonicated carbon materials

The hydrogen storage in purified single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWNTs), graphite and diamond powder was investigated at room temperature and ambient pressure. The samples were sonicated in 5 M HNO₃ for various periods of time using an ultrasonic probe of the alloy Ti-6Al-4V. The goal of this treatment was to open the carbon nanotubes. The maximum value of overall hydrogen storage was found to be 1.5 wt %, as determined by thermal desorption spectroscopy. The storage capacity increases with sonication time. The sonication treatment introduces particles of the Ti alloy into the samples, as shown by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, and chemical analysis. All of the hydrogen uptake can be explained by the assumption that the hydrogen is only stored in the Ti-alloy particles. The presence of Ti-alloy particles does not allow the determination of whether a small amount of hydrogen possibly is stored in the SWNTs themselves, and the fraction of nanotubes opened by the sonication treatment is unknown. Received: 18 December 2000 / Accepted: 18 December 2000 / Published online: 9 February 2001     

Chemical synthesis of nanoscale Aurivillius ceramics, Bi2A2TiM2O12 (A?=?Ca, Sr, Ba and M?=?Nb, Ta)

A group of three-layered Aurivillius compounds with composition Bi₂A₂TiM₂O₁₂, where A?=?Ca, Sr, Ba and M?=?Nb and Ta, have been synthesized as nanoscale powders using two variants of the complex polymerization method. A new modified method is presented that yields single phase powders using reaction temperatures as low as 700?°C and accommodates a wide range of chemical substitutions. The resulting crystallites have dimensions below 100?nm and surface area ~10?m²/g. In situ analysis of the decomposition of the polymeric precursor shows that the polymer yields a three-phase mixture consisting of Bi₂A₂TiM₂O₁₂ and the metastable ??- and ??-polymorphs of Bi₂O₃ upon heating under flowing air. Full kinetics analysis of a 2-step solid state synthesis method was used to demonstrate that the crystallization of ?? Bi₂O₃ in the sol?Cgel method greatly accelerates the conversion to the Aurivillius phase. The fluorite structure of ?? Bi₂O₃ is the same as that of the [Bi₂O₂]²⁺ layer in the Aurivillius phase, facilitating rapid and low-temperature crystallization of the Aurivillius phase from the ?? Bi₂O₃ template.     

The electronic structure of polymerized fullerenes and dimerized heterofullerenes

\chem{Rb_1C_{60}} and dimerised using electron energy-loss spectroscopy in transmission. From the excitation spectra a reduced density of states is observed for polymerized . This is in contrast to and can be explained by the different type of \squt{doping} and by the different bonding between the fullerene molecules in the two systems. Additional information about the optical properties was obtained from the low energy loss function. Using a Kramers-Kronig analysis, the dielectric function, (), and the optical conductivity, (), have been derived. and the onset of the spectral weight have been compared between the polymer, the dimer and . This onset of spectral weight is found to be at and for o- and for , respectively. Received: 28 October 1996/Accepted: 13 December 1996