DNA‐Directed Gold Nanodimers with Tunable Sizes and Interparticle Distances and Their Surface Plasmonic Properties

A quantitative understanding of the localized surface plasmon resonances (LSPRs) of metallic nanostructures has received tremendous interest. However, most of the current studies are concentrated on theoretical calculation due to the difficulty in experimentally obtaining monodisperse discrete metallic nanostructures with high purity. In this work, endeavors to assemble symmetric and asymmetric gold nanoparticle (AuNP) dimer structures with exceptional purity are reported using a DNA self‐assembly strategy through a one‐step gel electrophoresis, which greatly facilitates the preparation process and improves the final purity. In the obtained Au nanodimers, the sizes of AuNPs (13, 20, and 40 nm) and the interparticle distances (5, 10, and 15 nm) are tunable. The size‐ and distance‐dependent plasmon coupling of ensembles of single, isolated dimers in solution are subsequently investigated. The experimental measurements are correlated with the modeled plasmon optical properties of Au nanodimers, showing an expected resonance shift with changing particle sizes and interparticle distances. This new strategy of constructing monodisperse metallic nanodimers will be helpful for building more complicated nanostructures, and our theoretical and experimental understanding of the intrinsic dependence of plasmon property of metallic nanodimer on the sizes and interparticle distances will benefit the future investigation and exploitation of near‐field plasmonic properties.     

Effect of substrate temperature on structural, optical and electrical properties of ZnO thin films deposited by pulsed laser deposition

ZnO thin films were grown by the pulse laser deposition (PLD) method using Si (100) substrates at various substrate temperatures. The influence of the substrate temperature on the structural, optical, and electrical properties of the ZnO thin films was investigated. All of the thin films showed c-axis growth perpendicular to the substrate surface. At a substrate temperature of 500 °C, the ZnO thin film showed the highest (002) peak with a full width at half maximum (FWHM) of 0.39°. The X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) study showed that Zn was in excess irrespective of the substrate temperature and that the thin film had a nearly stoichiometrical composition at a substrate temperature of 500 °C. The photoluminescence (PL) investigation showed that the narrowest UV FWHM of 15.8 nm and the largest ratio of the UV peak to the deep-level peak of 32.9 were observed at 500 °C. Hall effect measurement systems provided information about the carrier concentration, mobility and resistivity. At a substrate temperature of 500 °C, the Hall mobility was the value of 37.4 cm²/Vs with carrier concentration of 1.36 × 10¹⁸ cm⁻³ and resistivity of 2.08 × 10⁻¹ Ω cm.     

A generalized finite element formulation for arbitrary basis functions: From isogeometric analysis to XFEM

Many of the formulations of current research interest, including iosogeometric methods and the extended finite element method, use nontraditional basis functions. Some, such as subdivision surfaces, may not have convenient analytical representations. The concept of an element, if appropriate at all, no longer coincides with the traditional definition. Developing a new software for each new class of basis functions is a large research burden, especially, if the problems involve large deformations, non‐linear materials, and contact. The objective of this paper is to present a method that separates as much as possible the generation and evaluation of the basis functions from the analysis, resulting in a formulation that can be implemented within the traditional structure of a finite element program but that permits the use of arbitrary sets of basis functions that are defined only through the input file. Elements ranging from a traditional linear four‐node tetrahedron through a higher‐order element combining XFEM and isogeometric analysis may be specified entirely through an input file without any additional programming. Examples of this framework to applications with Lagrange elements, isogeometric elements, and XFEM basis functions for fracture are presented. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Framework for Sustainable Food Packaging Design

The environmental impacts of packages have been found to be relatively small compared with the food items they contain. Furthermore, from the environmental and operational point of view, the most significant task of the package is to protect the product, which is important to acknowledge in the packaging design process. This study introduces a guiding framework for designing sustainable food packaging. In this approach, the entire life cycle of the product–package combination is taken into consideration. The emphasis is on the prevention of food losses in packaging design as a major environmental criterion. Consideration of the properties of both the package and the product itself when designing the final package will lead to a better end result with smaller product losses and environmental impacts. By using different assessment methods in the different stages of the packaging design, the sustainability of the package can be enhanced. The decision making of the packaging designer is facilitated with methods that are introduced step by step and in a certain order that will also allow for corrective measures through back‐loops in the design process. The purpose is to integrate sustainability aspects at all stages firmly into the design process. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Microfluidic Mass Production of Stabilized and Stealthy Liquid Metal Nanoparticles

Functional nanoparticles comprised of liquid metals, such as eutectic gallium indium (EGaIn) and Galinstan, present exciting opportunities in the fields of flexible electronics, sensors, catalysts, and drug delivery systems. Methods used currently for producing liquid metal nanoparticles have significant disadvantages as they rely on both bulky and expensive high‐power sonication probe systems, and also generally require the use of small molecules bearing thiol groups to stabilize the nanoparticles. Herein, an innovative microfluidics‐enabled platform is described as an inexpensive, easily accessible method for the on‐chip mass production of EGaIn nanoparticles with tunable size distributions in an aqueous medium. A novel nanoparticle‐stabilization approach is reported using brushed polyethylene glycol chains with trithiocarbonate end‐groups negating the requirements for thiol additives while imparting a “stealth” surface layer. Furthermore, a surface modification of the nanoparticles is demonstrated using galvanic replacement and conjugation with antibodies. It is envisioned that the demonstrated microfluidic technique can be used as an economic and versatile platform for the rapid production of liquid metal‐based nanoparticles for a range of biomedical applications.     

Plasmon Enhanced Fluorescence Based on Porphyrin–Peptoid Hybridized Gold Nanoparticle Platform

A porphyrin–peptoid‐hybridized silica‐coated gold nanoparticle is developed, which is inspired by the protein–chlorophyll ensemble found in photosynthetic antenna. In the natural antenna, chlorophylls are integrated into dense assemblies that are supported by frameworks of proteins, which ensure optimal pigment arrangement for effective light harvesting. In the subject platform, porphyrins are conjugated to the peptoid helix scaffold in a structurally well‐defined alignments and subsequently immobilized on the surface of nanoparticles. This prevents intermolecular aggregation among porphyrins and allows high resolution analysis of the effect of porphyrin configuration on the optical properties of the system. Interestingly, under the influence of plasmon from the gold nanoparticle core, the fluorescence of porphyrin is enhanced up to 24‐fold at the wavelength where the plasmon resonance matches the porphyrin excitation wavelength. In addition, differences in porphyrin configuration result in spectral modification of their fluorescence emissions. Particularly, the peptoid bearing two porphyrins at a distance of 6 Å shows the most significant alteration in fluorescence. The platform can facilitate extensive studies on the relationship between porphyrin arrangement design and their photophysical interaction in antenna complexes.     

Investigation of Potassium Storage in Layered P3‐Type K0.5MnO2 Cathode

Novel and low‐cost batteries are of considerable interest for application in large‐scale energy storage systems, for which the cost per cycle becomes critical. Here, this study proposes K_0.5MnO₂ as a potential cathode material for K‐ion batteries as an alternative to Li technology. K_0.5MnO₂ has a P3‐type layered structure and delivers a reversible specific capacity of ≈100 mAh g^?1 with good capacity retention. In situ X‐ray diffraction analysis reveals that the material undergoes a reversible phase transition upon K extraction and insertion. In addition, first‐principles calculations indicate that this phase transition is driven by the relative phase stability of different oxygen stackings with respect to the K content.     

A Composite Polymeric Carbon Nitride with In Situ Formed Isotype Heterojunctions for Highly Improved Photocatalysis under Visible Light

Introducing heterojunction is an effective way for improving the intrinsic photocatalytic activity of a graphitic carbon nitride (GCN) semiconductor. These heterostructures are mostly introduced by interfacing GCN with foreign materials that normally have entirely different physicochemical properties and show unfavorable compatibility, thus resulting in a limited improvement of the photocatalytic performance of the resultant materials. Herein, a composite polymeric carbon nitride (CPCN) that contains both melon‐based GCN and triazine‐based crystalline carbon nitride (CCN) is prepared by a simple thermal reaction between lithium chloride and GCN. Thanks to the intimate contact and good compatibility between GCN and CCN, an in situ formed heterojunction acts as a driving force for separating the photogenerated charge carriers in CPCN. As a result, CPCN exhibits a significantly improved photocatalytic performance under visible light irradiation, which is, respectively, 10.6 and 5.3 times as high as those of the GCN and CCN alone. This well designed isotype heterojunction by a coupling of CCN presents an effective avenue for developing efficient GCN photocatalysts.