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Etching Method (etching + method)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Polymers and Materials Science	60%

Selected Abstracts

Large-Area Silver-Coated Silicon Nanowire Arrays for Molecular Sensing Using Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy,

ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS, Issue 16 2008
Baohua Zhang
Abstract A new and facile method to prepare large-area silver-coated silicon nanowire arrays for surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS)-based sensing is introduced. High-quality silicon nanowire arrays are prepared by a chemical etching method and used as a template for the generation of SERS-active silver-coated silicon nanowire arrays. The morphologies of the silicon nanowire arrays and the type of silver-plating solution are two key factors determining the magnitude of SERS signal enhancement and the sensitivity of detection; they are investigated in detail for the purpose of optimization. The optimized silver-coated silicon nanowire arrays exhibit great potential for ultrasensitive molecular sensing in terms of high SERS signal enhancement ability, good stability, and reproducibility. Their further applications in rapidly detecting molecules relating to human health and safety are discussed. A 10 s data acquisition time is capable of achieving a limit of detection of approximately 4,×,10,6M calcium dipicolinate (CaDPA), a biomarker for anthrax. This value is 1/15 the infectious dose of spores (6,×,10,5,M required), revealing that the optimized silver-coated silicon nanowire arrays as SERS-based ultrasensitive sensors are extremely suitable for detecting Bacillus anthracis spores. [source]

Controlled Etching of Carbon Nanotubes by Iron-Catalyzed Steam Gasification,

ADVANCED MATERIALS, Issue 21 2007
W. Xia
A localized etching method based on catalytic steam gasification was developed to modify carbon nanotubes in a pre-determined manner. The etching, occurring only at the interface, created different etching patterns depending on the iron catalyst by means of an eco-friendly, low-cost process using water vapor. Both the surface roughness and the number of surface defects such as edge planes were significantly enhanced. [source]

On mass transport in an air-breathing DMFC stack

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENERGY RESEARCH, Issue 12 2005
G. Q. Lu
Abstract An 8-cell air-breathing direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) stack with the active area of 5 cm2 of each cell has been developed. Stainless steel plates of 500 µm thickness with flow channels were fabricated using photochemical etching method as the current collectors. Different conditioning methods for membrane electrode assembly (MEA) activation were discussed. With proper control of water crossover to the cathode, cathode flooding was avoided in the DMFC stack. Methanol crossover at open circuit voltage (OCV) in the air-breathing DMFC was measured. Further, it was found that flow maldistribution might occur in the parallel flow field of the stack, making carbon dioxide gas management at the anode necessary. Using humidified hydrogen in the anode with a high flow rate, the oxygen transport limiting current density was characterized and found to be sufficient in the air-breathing cathode. The stack produced a maximum output power of 1.33 W at 2.21 V at room temperature, corresponding to a power density of 33.3 mW cm,2. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

Super-Hydrophobic PDMS Surface with Ultra-Low Adhesive Force,

MACROMOLECULAR RAPID COMMUNICATIONS, Issue 22 2005
Meihua Jin
Abstract Summary: Rough polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) surface containing micro-, submicro- and nano-composite structures was fabricated using a facile one-step laser etching method. Such surface shows a super-hydrophobic character with contact angle higher than 160° and sliding angle lower than 5°, i.e. self-cleaning effect like lotus leaf. The wettabilities of the rough PDMS surfaces can be tunable by simply controlling the size of etched microstructures. The adhesive force between etched PDMS surface and water droplet is evaluated, and the structure effect is deduced by comparing it with those own a single nano- or micro-scale structures. This super-hydrophobic PDMS surface can be widely applied to many areas such as liquid transportation without loss, and micro-pump (creating pushing-force) needless micro-fluidic devices. Etched PDMS surface containing micro-, submicro-, and nano-composite structures shows a self-cleaning effect with water CA as high as 162° and SA lower than 5°. [source]

Silver Coated Platinum Core,Shell Nanostructures on Etched Si Nanowires: Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) Processing and Application in SERS

CHEMPHYSCHEM, Issue 9 2010
Vladimir A. Sivakov Dr.
Abstract A new method to prepare plasmonically active noble metal nanostructures on large surface area silicon nanowires (SiNWs) mediated by atomic layer deposition (ALD) technology has successfully been demonstrated for applications of surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS)-based sensing. As host material for the plasmonically active nanostructures we use dense single-crystalline SiNWs with diameters of less than 100 nm as obtained by a wet chemical etching method based on silver nitrate and hydrofluoric acid solutions. The SERS active metal nanoparticles/islands are made from silver (Ag) shells as deposited by autometallography on the core nanoislands made from platinum (Pt) that can easily be deposited by ALD in the form of nanoislands covering the SiNW surfaces in a controlled way. The density of the plasmonically inactive Pt islands as well as the thickness of noble metal Ag shell are two key factors determining the magnitude of the SERS signal enhancement and sensitivity of detection. The optimized Ag coated Pt islands on SiNWs exhibit great potential for ultrasensitive molecular sensing in terms of high SERS signal enhancement ability, good stability and reproducibility. The plasmonic activity of the core-shell Pt//Ag system that will be experimentally realized in this paper as an example was demonstrated in numerical finite element simulations as well as experimentally in Raman measurements of SERS activity of a highly diluted model dye molecule. The morphology and structure of the core-shell Pt//Ag nanoparticles on SiNW surfaces were investigated by scanning- and transmission electron microscopy. Optimized core,shell nanoparticle geometries for maximum Raman signal enhancement is discussed essentially based on the finite element modeling. [source]