Search results for "nanostructure"
showing 10 items of 792 documents
Opals infiltrated with a stimuli-responsive hydrogel for ethanol vapor sensing
2013
We report on a novel class of optical materials for ethanol vapor sensing, based on polystyrene opals infiltrated with an innovative stimuli responsive hydrogel. We describe the fabrication process of the bare polystyrene opals and their subsequent infiltration. The optical characterization of the photonic crystal templates was performed to prove the good quality of the samples. Measurements on the infiltrated opals showed that the transmission spectra in the visible range strongly change at varying concentrations of ethanol vapor. The fabricated structures show a linear optical response in the visible range, for high values of ethanol concentration.
Know your full potential: Quantitative Kelvin probe force microscopy on nanoscale electrical devices
2018
In this study we investigate the influence of the operation method in Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM) on the measured potential distribution. KPFM is widely used to map the nanoscale potential distribution in operating devices, e.g., in thin film transistors or on cross sections of functional solar cells. Quantitative surface potential measurements are crucial for understanding the operation principles of functional nanostructures in these electronic devices. Nevertheless, KPFM is prone to certain imaging artifacts, such as crosstalk from topography or stray electric fields. Here, we compare different amplitude modulation (AM) and frequency modulation (FM) KPFM methods on a reference s…
Formation of lead by reduction of electrodeposited PbO2: comparison between bulk films and nanowires fabrication
2012
Metallic lead was deposited, both in form of bulk films and nanowire array within pores of anodic alumina membranes, following a new two-step procedure, consisting in anodic electrodeposition of α-PbO2, followed by its reduction to metallic lead. This method allows to overcome drawbacks of the “direct” electrodeposition of lead from aqueous solution, consisting, essentially, in the formation of dendritic deposits. Here, we report the comparison between results obtained in the two cases and discuss the kinetic of oxide reduction both for films and nanowires. Deposit morphology and structure are also discussed. We have found that reduction of α-PbO2 films proceeds always at high speed and uni…
Growth of two-dimensional Au patches in graphene pores: A density-functional study
2017
Inspired by recent studies of various two-dimensional (2D) metals such as Au, Fe and Ag, we study the growth of two-dimensional gold patches in graphene pores by density-functional theory. We find that at room temperature gold atoms diffuse readily on top of both graphene and two-dimensional gold with energy barriers less than $0.5$ eV. Furthermore, gold atoms move without barriers from the top of graphene to its edge and from the top of 2D gold to its edge. The energy barriers are absent even at the interface of 2D gold and graphene, so that the gold atoms move effortlessly across the interface. We hope our demonstration for the propensity of diffusing gold atoms to grow 2D gold patches in…
Anodic Alumina Membranes for Fuel Cell Technology and Nanostructure Template-assisted Deposition
2009
Anodic alumina membranes (AAMs) with ordered porous structure have been investigated as possible ionic conducting membranes for thin film (= 50μm) fuel cells (TFFC) and as templates for the production of a variety of nanostructure arrays. The aims of this work are to present some of our recent results pertaining to the functionalisation of AAM with proton conductors for the production of membranes to be used in hydrogen/oxygen TFFC, at low or intermediate temperature (25°C ≦ T ≦ 250°C), and to the fabrication by template technique of nanowires/nanotubes arrays of oxide and hydroxides for possible future technological application.
One-step large-scale deposition of salt-free DNA origami nanostructures
2015
AbstractDNA origami nanostructures have tremendous potential to serve as versatile platforms in self-assembly -based nanofabrication and in highly parallel nanoscale patterning. However, uniform deposition and reliable anchoring of DNA nanostructures often requires specific conditions, such as pre-treatment of the chosen substrate or a fine-tuned salt concentration for the deposition buffer. In addition, currently available deposition techniques are suitable merely for small scales. In this article, we exploit a spray-coating technique in order to resolve the aforementioned issues in the deposition of different 2D and 3D DNA origami nanostructures. We show that purified DNA origamis can be …
Growth and characterization of horizontally suspended CNTs across TiN electrode gaps.
2010
A technique is proposed to grow horizontal carbon nanotubes (CNTs) bridging metal electrodes and to assess their electrical properties. A test structure was utilized that allows for selective electrochemical sidewall catalyst placement. The selectivity of the technique is based on the connection of the desired metal electrodes to the silicon substrate where the potential for electrochemical deposition was applied. Control over the Ni catalyst size (15-30 nm) and density (up to 3 x 10(11) particles cm(-2)) is demonstrated. Horizontal CNTs with controlled diameter and density were obtained by CVD growth perpendicular to the sidewalls of patterned TiN electrode structures. Electrode gaps with …
Novel procedure for the template synthesis of metal nanostructures
2008
In this work we describe a novel method for the fabrication of a regular and uniform array of Cu nanowires into anodic alumina membranes. It is based on galvanic contact between the metal sputtered film covering the bottom of template and a less noble metal. The growth rate was estimated as function of the immersion time. Nanowires with aspect ratio from 12 to 286 were obtained by adjusting the deposition time. Copper nanowires were found to be polycrystalline with an average crystalline size of about 40 nm. This procedure can be applied for the preparation of a wide range of metallic nanostructures and it can be easily scaled up for industrial processing. Keywords: Displacement deposition,…
Nanostructured molecular surfaces: advances in investigation and patterning tools
2009
This feature article is aimed to showcase advanced soft and radiationless nanotools for the morphological characterization and for the preparation/modification of molecular surfaces, namely solid supported ultrathin films not exceeding 1–2 molecular layers. As to the characterization, the development of dynamic scanning force microscopy in attractive regime is presented as an important progress at least as far as it concerns imaging of nanoscale features of molecular surfaces with minimal probe–sample physical interaction. To date, this tool has been applied only by a few groups in spite of its larger resolution and image quality than the conventional scanning probe methods. As to the prepa…
Coherent control in single plasmonic nanostructures
2015
Coherent control in plasmonic nanostructures is a door to space-time confinement of optical excitation and femtosecond super-resolution spectroscopy. Towards this goal, here we demonstrate femtosecond pulse-shaping of single gold nanostructure and local phase compensation.