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Potential Device Applications (potential + device_application)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Chemistry	50%

Selected Abstracts

Gold Nanorods: From Synthesis and Properties to Biological and Biomedical Applications

ADVANCED MATERIALS, Issue 48 2009
Xiaohua Huang
Abstract Noble metal nanoparticles are capable of confining resonant photons in such a manner as to induce coherent surface plasmon oscillation of their conduction band electrons, a phenomenon leading to two important properties. Firstly, the confinement of the photon to the nanoparticle's dimensions leads to a large increase in its electromagnetic field and consequently great enhancement of all the nanoparticle's radiative properties, such as absorption and scattering. Moreover, by confining the photon's wavelength to the nanoparticle's small dimensions, there exists enhanced imaging resolving powers, which extend well below the diffraction limit, a property of considerable importance in potential device applications. Secondly, the strongly absorbed light by the nanoparticles is followed by a rapid dephasing of the coherent electron motion in tandem with an equally rapid energy transfer to the lattice, a process integral to the technologically relevant photothermal properties of plasmonic nanoparticles. Of all the possible nanoparticle shapes, gold nanorods are especially intriguing as they offer strong plasmonic fields while exhibiting excellent tunability and biocompatibility. We begin this review of gold nanorods by summarizing their radiative and nonradiative properties. Their various synthetic methods are then outlined with an emphasis on the seed-mediated chemical growth. In particular, we describe nanorod spontaneous self-assembly, chemically driven assembly, and polymer-based alignment. The final section details current studies aimed at applications in the biological and biomedical fields. [source]

High-Temperature Ferromagnetism and Tunable Semiconductivity of (Ba, Sr)M2,±,xRu4,,,xO11 (M,=,Fe, Co): A New Paradigm for Spintronics,

ADVANCED MATERIALS, Issue 7 2008
Larysa Shlyk
Ternary ruthenium ferrites (Ba,Sr)Fe2,±,xRu4,,,xO11 exhibit long-range ferromagnetic order well above room temperature along with favorable narrow- gap semiconducting properties. Electronic structure and physical properties can be tuned by simple chemical substitution of two elements, Fe and Co, or by varying the relative concentration of 3d and 4d elements within the homogeneity range. These promising properties within a single structural family open up a host of potential device applications. [source]

Rational Design, Synthesis, and Optical Properties of Film-Forming, Near-Infrared Absorbing, and Fluorescent Chromophores with Multidonors and Large Heterocyclic Acceptors

CHEMISTRY - A EUROPEAN JOURNAL, Issue 35 2009
Min Luo
Abstract A new series of film-forming, low-bandgap chromophores (1,a,b and 2,a,b) were rationally designed with aid of a computational study, and then synthesized and characterized. To realize absorption and emission above the 1000,nm wavelength, the molecular design focuses on lowering the LUMO level by fusing common heterocyclic units into a large conjugated core that acts an electron acceptor and increasing the charge transfer by attaching the multiple electron-donating groups at the appropriate positions of the acceptor core. The chromophores have bandgap levels of 1.27,0.71,eV, and accordingly absorb at 746,1003,nm and emit at 1035,1290,nm in solution. By design, the relatively high molecular weight (up to 2400,g,mol,1) and non-coplanar structure allow these near-infrared (NIR) chromophores to be readily spin-coated as uniform thin films and doped with other organic semiconductors for potential device applications. Doping with [6,6]-phenyl-C61 butyric acid methyl ester leads to a red shift in the absorption only for 1,a and 2,a. An interesting NIR electrochromism was found for 2,a, with absorption being turned on at 1034,nm when electrochemically switched (at 1000,mV) from its neutral state to a radical cation state. Furthermore, a large Stokes shift (256,318,nm) is also unique for this multidonor,acceptor type of chromophore, indicating a significant structural difference between the ground state and the excited state. Photoluminescence of the film of 2,a was further probed at variable temperatures and the results strongly suggest that the restriction of bond rotations certainly helps to diminish non-radiative decay and thus enhance the luminescence of these large chromophores. [source]

Covalent Attachment of Bacteriorhodopsin Monolayer to Bromo-terminated Solid Supports: Preparation, Characterization, and Protein Stability

CHEMISTRY - AN ASIAN JOURNAL, Issue 7 2008
Yongdong Jin Dr.
Abstract The interfacing of functional proteins with solid supports and the study of related protein-adsorption behavior are promising and important for potential device applications. In this study, we describe the preparation of bacteriorhodopsin (bR) monolayers on Br-terminated solid supports through covalent attachment. The bonding, by chemical reaction of the exposed free amine groups of bR with the pendant Br group of the chemically modified solid surface, was confirmed both by negative AFM results obtained when acetylated bR (instead of native bR) was used as a control and by weak bands observed at around 1610,cm,1 in the FTIR spectrum. The coverage of the resultant bR monolayer was significantly increased by changing the pH of the purple-membrane suspension from 9.2 to 6.8. Although bR, which is an exceptionally stable protein, showed a pronounced loss of its photoactivity in these bR monolayers, it retained full photoactivity after covalent binding to Br-terminated alkyls in solution. Several characterization methods, including atomic force microscopy (AFM), contact potential difference (CPD) measurements, and UV/Vis and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, verified that these bR monolayers behaved significantly different from native bR. Current,voltage (I,V) measurements (and optical absorption spectroscopy) suggest that the retinal chromophore is probably still present in the protein, whereas the UV/Vis spectrum suggests that it lacks the characteristic covalent protonated Schiff base linkage. This finding sheds light on the unique interactions of biomolecules with solid surfaces and may be significant for the design of protein-containing device structures. [source]