nanotechnology - tu-ilmenau.de · iopscience.org /nano celebrating 30 years of publishing research...

NANOTECHNOLOGYiopscience.org/nano

Celebrating 30 years of publishing research at the forefront of nanoscale science and technology

Nanotechnology 3

iopscience.org/nano

Dear colleagues,

As we celebrate the 30th anniversary of Nanotechnology TM, I can’t help but reminisce on the long history of this fascinating field. One of the earliest discussions of nanotechnology is a speech given by the American physicist Richard Feynman in 1959: “There’s Plenty of Room at the Bottom: An Invitation to Enter a New Field of Physics”, given at the American Physical Society meeting at Caltech. However, it would be three decades before technology was sufficiently developed to realize Feynman’s vision.

Two milestones are worth mentioning. In 1990 IBM physicists used scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) to spell out the letters “IBM” using 35 individual atoms of xenon. In 1991 a new form of carbon was discovered – namely carbon nanotubes. These and other developments spurred many worldwide nanotechnology initiatives, and Nanotechnology has been there since the beginning.

Since its founding in 1990, the journal has reported on all aspects of the field, with 30 volumes and more than 17,000 articles ranging from quantum systems to renewable energy, nanofabrication and nanomedicine. Nanotechnology is dedicated to providing you with many more decades of cutting-edge research articles, reviews and focus collections. Thank you for your contributions and readership.

Ray LaPierre Editor-in-Chief, Nanotechnology iopscience.org/nano [email protected]


4 Nanotechnology Nanotechnology 5

iopscience.org/nano iopscience.org/nano

Contents

Foreword 3

Journal scope 5

Editorial Board 5

Top 10 articles 6 Covalent bonding of sulfur nanoparticles to unzipped multiwalled carbon nanotubes 6

for high-performance lithium–sulfur batteries Siqi Qi et al 2019 Nanotechnology 30 024001

Photonics and optoelectronics of two-dimensional materials beyond graphene 7 Joice Sophia Ponraj et al 2016 Nanotechnology 27 462001

Magnetic particle hyperthermia—a promising tumour therapy? 8 Silvio Dutz and Rudolf Hergt 2014 Nanotechnology 25 452001

Gold nanostars: surfactant-free synthesis, 3D modelling, and two-photon 9 photoluminescence imaging Hsiangkuo Yuan et al 2012 Nanotechnology 23 075102

Toxicity of silver nanoparticles in zebrafish models 10 P V Asharani et al 2008 Nanotechnology 19 255102

Luminescent nanomaterials for biological labelling 11 Feng Wang et al 2006 Nanotechnology 17 R1

Gas molecule adsorption in carbon nanotubes and nanotube bundles 12 Jijun Zhao et al 2002 Nanotechnology 13 195

Size-dependent elastic properties of nanosized structural elements 13 Ronald E Miller and Vijay B Shenoy 2000 Nanotechnology 11 139

Nanometre diameter fibres of polymer, produced by electrospinning 14 Darrell H Reneker and Iksoo Chun 1996 Nanotechnology 7 216

Calculation of thermal noise in atomic force microscopy 15 H -J Butt and M Jaschke 1995 Nanotechnology 6 1

Top 20–30 articles 16

Editorial Board

Journal scope

Ray LaPierre McMaster University, Canada

Editor-in-Chief

Section editors

Biology and Medicine Tal Dvir Tel Aviv University, Israel

Electronics and Photonics Caofeng Pan Beijing Institute of Nanoenergy and Nanosystems, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China

Energy at the Nanoscale Xudong Wang University of Wisconsin–Madison, WI, USA

Patterning and Nanofabrication Karl Berggren Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MA, USA

Sensing and Actuating Simon Hanna University of Bristol, UK

Materials: Synthesis or Self-Assembly Markus Buehler Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MA, USA

Materials: Properties, Characterization or Tools Dae Joon Kang Sungkyunkwan University, South Korea

Quantum Phenomena and Technology Jonathan Baugh University of Waterloo, Canada

As the first journal dedicated to nanoscale research, Nanotechnology publishes original research at the forefront of nanoscale science and technology across all disciplines. The journal’s scope encompasses the study of both fundamental phenomena at the nanoscale and applications of these phenomena.

To publish in Nanotechnology, your article will need to meet the highest scientific quality standards, contain significant and original new science, and make substantial advances in nanoscale science and technology.

Visit iopscience.org/nano for the full journal scope and a list of author benefits. You can also e-mail the journal team with any questions at [email protected].



Covalent bonding of sulfur nanoparticles to unzipped multiwalled carbon nanotubes for high-performance lithium–sulfur batteries

Siqi Qi, Jinhua Sun, Junpeng Ma, Yue Sun, Karel Goossens, Hui Li, Pan Jia, Xueying Fan, Christopher W Bielawski and Jianxin Geng2019 Nanotechnology 30 024001

The use of sulfur as a cathode material for lithium−sulfur (Li−S) batteries has attracted significant attention due to its high theoretical specific capacity (1675 mA h g−1); however, practicality is hindered by a number of obstacles, including the shuttling effect of polysulfides and the low electrical conductivity of sulfur. Herein, ball milling sulfur with unzipped multiwalled carbon nanotubes (UMWNTs) was found to covalently immobilize sulfur nanoparticles to the UMWNTs and resulted in composites (designated as S@UMWNTs) with high electrical conductivity. The unzipping degree of MWNTs was first controlled to optimize the immobilization of sulfur nanoparticles to UMWNTs and the electrochemical performance of the resulting Li−S batteries. The presence of C−S covalent bonds between the UMWNTs and sulfur nanoparticles was verified using x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and the formation of C−S bonds was ascribed to the reactions between the mechanically-induced sulfur radicals and the functional groups of UMWNTs.

about the author

Dr Jianxin Geng has received a number of awards and honours. In 2012 he received the support of the CAS “Hundred Talents Program”. In 2015 he was awarded the “Leading Talents for Technological Innovation” by the Ministry of Science and Technology of the People’s Republic China. In 2016 he received an “excellent” rating in the final review of the CAS “Hundred Talents Program”, and in 2017 was awarded the “National High Level Talents Special Support Plan”. Geng has more than 70 peer-reviewed papers published in highly prestigious journals.

paper

Top 10 articles

The following 10 articles represent the highest-impact and most influential research in the field of nanostructured materials published in Nanotechnology over the past three decades.

Photonics and optoelectronics of two-dimensional materials beyond graphene

Joice Sophia Ponraj, Zai-Quan Xu, Sathish Chander Dhanabalan, Haoran Mu, Yusheng Wang, Jian Yuan, Pengfei Li, Siddharatha Thakur, Mursal Ashrafi, Kenneth Mccoubrey, Yupeng Zhang, Shaojuan Li, Han Zhang and Qiaoliang Bao2016 Nanotechnology 27 462001

Apart from conventional materials, the study of two-dimensional (2D) materials has emerged as a significant field of study for a variety of applications. Graphene-like 2D materials are important elements of potential optoelectronics applications due to their exceptional electronic and optical properties. The processing of these materials towards the realization of devices has been one of the main motivations for the recent development of photonics and optoelectronics. The recent progress in photonic devices based on graphene-like 2D materials, especially topological insulators (TIs) and transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) with the methodology level discussions from the viewpoint of state-of-the-art designs in device geometry and materials are detailed in this review. We have started the article with an overview of the electronic properties and continued by highlighting their linear and nonlinear optical properties. The production of TIs and TMDs by different methods is detailed.

about the author

Professor Han Zhang was born in Wuhan, China, in 1984. He received his BS degree from Wuhan University in 2006 and PhD from Nanyang Technological University in 2010. He is currently a director of the Shenzhen Key Laboratory of 2D Materials and Devices, and the Shenzhen Engineering Laboratory of Phosphorene and Optoelectronics at Shenzhen University. To date, Zhang has published more than 200 scientific publications and 38 patents. His current research focus is the ultrafast and nonlinear photonics of two-dimensional materials. His publications have received more than 20,000 citations and have an H-index of 72. He was also selected as a highly cited researcher by Clarivate Analytics in 2018 and has been awarded/enrolled with the “Second Prize of Natural Science Award, Ministry of Education (Rank the second)”, “China’s Top 10 Optical Breakthroughs”, the “NSFC Key Project” and the “NSFC outstanding young scholar fund”.

topical review

citations

citations

5

98

article downloads

article downloads

2016

January 2019 June 2019March 2019

2017 2018

1050

0

1617 1311

447136



Magnetic particle hyperthermia—a promising tumour therapy?

Silvio Dutz and Rudolf Hergt2014 Nanotechnology 25 452001

We present a critical review of the state of the art of magnetic particle hyperthermia (MPH) as a minimal invasive tumour therapy. Magnetic principles of heating mechanisms are discussed with respect to the optimum choice of nanoparticle properties. In particular, the relation between superparamagnetic and ferrimagnetic single domain nanoparticles is clarified in order to choose the appropriate particle size distribution and the role of particle mobility for the relaxation path is discussed. Knowledge of the effect of particle properties for achieving high specific heating power provides necessary guidelines for development of nanoparticles tailored for tumour therapy. Nanoscale heat transfer processes are discussed with respect to the achievable temperature increase in cancer cells. The need to realize a well-controlled temperature distribution in tumour tissue represents the most serious problem of MPH, at present. Visionary concepts of particle administration, in particular by means of antibody targeting, are far from clinical practice, yet. On the basis of current knowledge of treating cancer by thermal damaging, this article elucidates possibilities, prospects, and challenges for establishment of MPH as a standard medical procedure.

about the author

Professor Dutz received his diploma engineer (Dipl.-Ing.) in biomedical engineering from the University of Applied Sciences in Jena, Germany, in 2002 and his PhD (Dr.-Ing.) from the University of Freiberg, Germany, in 2007. From 2009 to 2010 he spent time as a postdoc at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. Dutz is the chair of the Magnetic Nanoparticles Group at the Institute of Biomedical Engineering and Informatics at Technische Universität Ilmenau in Germany. With a background in materials science, biomedical engineering and electronics, his current research interests focus on synthesis, characterization and application of magnetic nanoparticles for medical applications as well as instrumentation for these techniques, especially magnetic hyperthermia, magnetic drug targeting and magnetic particle imaging. The most important achievement of his research has been the development and description of magnetic multicore nanoparticles for medical applications in the literature for the very first time. These show excellent performance for use in magnetic hyperthermia, as demonstrated by in vivo studies.

This work, published in Nanotechnology, was the first report of a method to synthesize biocompatible gold nanostars (GNS) not requiring toxic CTAB chemicals, opening the possibility for use for in vivo diagnostics and therapy. The high number of downloads reflects that the paper has gained great interest and triggered more research among many other groups worldwide. Dr Tuan Vo-DinhDepartment of Biomedical Engineering, Duke University, Durham, USADepartment of Chemistry, Duke University, Durham, USAFitzpatrick Institute for Photonics, Duke University, Durham, USA

topical review Gold nanostars: surfactant-free synthesis, 3D modelling, and two-photon photoluminescence imaging

Hsiangkuo Yuan, Christopher G Khoury, Hanjun Hwang, Christy M Wilson, Gerald A Grant and Tuan Vo-Dinh2012 Nanotechnology 23 075102

Understanding the control of the optical and plasmonic properties of unique nanosystems—gold nanostars—both experimentally and theoretically permits superior design and fabrication for biomedical applications. Here, we present a new, surfactant-free synthesis method of biocompatible gold nanostars with adjustable geometry such that the plasmon band can be tuned into the near-infrared region ‘tissue diagnostic window’, which is most suitable for in vivo imaging. Theoretical modelling was performed for multiple-branched 3D nanostars and yielded absorption spectra in good agreement with experimental results. The plasmon band shift was attributed to variations in branch aspect ratio, and the plasmon band intensifies with increasing branch number, branch length, and overall star size. Nanostars showed an extremely strong two-photon photoluminescence (TPL) process. The TPL imaging of wheat-germ agglutinin (WGA) functionalized nanostars on BT549 breast cancer cells and of PEGylated nanostars circulating in the vasculature, examined through a dorsal window chamber in vivo in laboratory mouse studies, demonstrated that gold nanostars can serve as an efficient contrast agent for biological imaging applications.

paper

article downloads

2012 20152013 20162014 2017 2018

article downloads

1351 1073 1117 1355 1335 1613 1439

citations citations

185 312

2014 2015 20172016 2018

1480 4488 996 755 623



Toxicity of silver nanoparticles in zebrafish models

P V Asharani, Yi Lian Wu, Zhiyuan Gong and Suresh Valiyaveettil2008 Nanotechnology 19 255102

This study was initiated to enhance our insight on the health and environmental impact of silver nanoparticles (Ag-np). Using starch and bovine serum albumin (BSA) as capping agents, silver nanoparticles were synthesized to study their deleterious effects and distribution pattern in zebrafish embryos (Danio rerio). Toxicological endpoints like mortality, hatching, pericardial edema and heart rate were recorded. A concentration-dependent increase in mortality and hatching delay was observed in Ag-np treated embryos. Additionally, nanoparticle treatments resulted in concentration-dependent toxicity, typified by phenotypes that had abnormal body axes, twisted notochord, slow blood flow, pericardial edema and cardiac arrhythmia. Ag+ ions and stabilizing agents showed no significant defects in developing embryos. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) of the embryos demonstrated that nanoparticles were distributed in the brain, heart, yolk and blood of embryos as evident from the electron-dispersive x-ray analysis (EDS). Furthermore, the acridine orange staining showed an increased apoptosis in Ag-np treated embryos. These results suggest that silver nanoparticles induce a dose-dependent toxicity in embryos, which hinders normal development.

paper Luminescent nanomaterials for biological labelling

Feng Wang, Wee Beng Tan, Yong Zhang, Xianping Fan and Minquan Wang2006 Nanotechnology 17 R1

The use of labelling or staining agents has greatly assisted the study of complex biological interactions in the field of biology. In particular, fluorescent labelling of biomolecules has been demonstrated as an indispensable tool in many biological studies. Types of fluorescent labelling agents that are commonly used include conventional classes of organic fluorophores such as fluorescein and cyanine dyes, as well as newer types of inorganic nanoparticles such as QDs, and novel fluorescent latex/silica nanobeads. The newer classes of fluorescent labels are gaining increasing popularity in place of their predecessors due to their better optical properties such as possessing an enhanced photostability and a larger Stokes shift over conventional organic fluorophores, for example. This paper gives an overview of the recent advances on these luminescent nanomaterials with emphases on their optical characteristics that are crucial in fluorescence microscopy, both advantages and limitations in their usage as well as challenges they face, and puts forward the future direction of fluorescent labels in the area of biolabelling.

topical review

citations citations

505 449

2008

2008

2014

2014

2010

2010

2016

2016

2012

2012

2018

2018

article downloads

article downloads

881

438

101

97

1068

504

789

461

1448

685

880

353



Gas molecule adsorption in carbon nanotubes and nanotube bundles

Jijun Zhao, Alper Buldum, Jie Han and Jian Ping Lu2002 Nanotechnology 13 195

We studied various gas molecules (NO2, O2, NH3, N2, CO2, CH4, H2O, H2, Ar) on single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) and bundles using first principles methods. The equilibrium position, adsorption energy, charge transfer, and electronic band structures are obtained for different kinds of SWNTs. Most molecules adsorb weakly on SWNTs and can be either charge donors or acceptors to the nanotubes. We find that the gas adsorption on the bundle interstitial and groove sites is stronger than that on individual nanotubes. The electronic properties of SWNTs are sensitive to the adsorption of certain gases such as NO2 and O2. Charge transfer and gas-induced charge fluctuation might significantly affect the transport properties of SWNTs. Our theoretical results are consistent with recent experiments.

paper Size-dependent elastic properties of nanosized structural elements

Ronald E Miller and Vijay B Shenoy2000 Nanotechnology 11 139

Effective stiffness properties (D) of nanosized structural elements such as plates and beams differ from those predicted by standard continuum mechanics (Dc). These differences (D-Dc)/Dc depend on the size of the structural element. A simple model is constructed to predict this size dependence of the effective properties. The important length scale in the problem is identified to be the ratio of the surface elastic modulus to the elastic modulus of the bulk. In general, the non-dimensional difference in the elastic properties from continuum predictions (D-Dc)/Dc is found to scale as αS/Eh, where α is a constant which depends on the geometry of the structural element considered, S is a surface elastic constant, E is a bulk elastic modulus and h a length defining the size of the structural element. Thus, the quantity S/E is identified as a material length scale for elasticity of nanosized structures. The model is compared with direct atomistic simulations of nanoscale structures using the embedded atom method for FCC Al and the Stillinger-Weber model of Si. Excellent agreement between the simulations and the model is found.

about the authors

Ron Miller received his BSc in mechanical engineering from the University of Manitoba in 1994, and his PhD in engineering from Brown University in 1997. He was a post-doctoral fellow in the Division of Engineering and Applied Sciences at Harvard University, and is co-author of more than 70 scientific articles and two textbooks published by Cambridge University Press. He has been a visiting research professor at EPFL (Lausanne, Switzerland), INPG (Grenoble, France), the Technion (Israel) and Brown University (USA). Miller is currently the chair of the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Carleton University.

Vijay B Shenoy is a professor at the Centre for Condensed Matter Theory, Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. His focus of research is on unravelling the physics of many-electron systems with correlations, and understanding the role of topology. His notable achievements include the prediction of rashbon condensates in cold atomic systems and theoretical demonstration of amorphous topological insulators.

paper

citations citations

915 1166

2008

2008

2014

2014

2010

2010

2016

2016

2012

2012

2018

2018

article downloads

article downloads

526

394

76

47

574

537

585

566

601

685

526

498



Nanometre diameter fibres of polymer, produced by electrospinning

Darrell H Reneker and Iksoo Chun1996 Nanotechnology 7 216

Electrospinning uses electrical forces to produce polymer fibres with nanometre-scale diameters. Electrospinning occurs when the electrical forces at the surface of a polymer solution or melt overcome the surface tension and cause an electrically charged jet to be ejected. When the jet dries or solidifies, an electrically charged fibre remains. This charged fibre can be directed or accelerated by electrical forces and then collected in sheets or other useful geometrical forms. More than 20 polymers, including polyethylene oxide, nylon, polyimide, DNA, polyaramid, and polyaniline, have been electrospun in our laboratory. Most were spun from solution, although spinning from the melt in vacuum and air was also demonstrated. Electrospinning from polymer melts in a vacuum is advantageous because higher fields and higher temperatures can be used than in air.

about the author

Darrell H Reneker is Distinguished Professor of Polymer Science (Emeritus) at the University of Akron. This Nanotechnology paper was the first full-length paper in a long series of frequently cited papers (H-Index 46) that vitalized an old, moribund and secret electrospinning technology. Reneker is a life member of the IEEE Society (Electrical Engineering), a fellow of the American Physical Society, a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors, a long-time member of the American Chemical Society, the Society of Polymer Engineering, and others. He is co-inventor on more than 20 patents and advisor to more than 25 PhD and post-doctoral students. Reneker is presently interested in technology transfer from university research, and in the structures and functions of electrons, ions, vesicles and cell-wall protein molecules that are involved in the saltatory transmission of electrical signals and the transport of substances in axons.

paper Calculation of thermal noise in atomic force microscopy

H-J Butt and M Jaschke1995 Nanotechnology 6 1

Thermal fluctuations of the cantilever are a fundamental source of noise in atomic force microscopy. We calculated thermal noise using the equipartition theorem and considering all possible vibration modes of the cantilever. The measurable amplitude of thermal noise depends on the temperature, the spring constant K of the cantilever and on the method by which the cantilever deflection is detected. If the deflection is measured directly, e.g. with an interferometer or a scanning tunneling microscope, the thermal noise of a cantilever with a free end can be calculated from square root kT/K. If the end of the cantilever is supported by a hard surface no thermal fluctuations of the deflection are possible. If the optical lever technique is applied to measure the deflection, the thermal noise of a cantilever with a free end is square root 4kT/3K. When the cantilever is supported thermal noise decreases to square root kT/3K, but it does not vanish.

about the author

Hans-Jürgen Butt studied physics in Hamburg and Göttingen, Germany. He then went to the Max Planck Institute of Biophysics in Frankfurt. After receiving his PhD in 1989, Butt was a post-doc in Santa Barbara, California, using the newly developed atomic force microscope. From 1990 to 1995, he spent time as a researcher back in Germany at the Max Planck Institute of Biophysics, and in 1996 became associate professor for physical chemistry at the University of Mainz, followed three years later by full professor at the University of Siegen. Two years later he joined the Max Planck Institute of Polymer Research in Mainz and became director for experimental physics of interfaces. His biggest achievements are his contributions to our understanding of atomic force microscopy, e.g. for measuring surface forces. In the last 10 years Butt has focused on the dynamics of wetting, in particular of liquid-repellent surfaces.

paper

citations citations

2409 955

20082008

20142014

20102010

20162016

20122012

20182018

article downloadsarticle downloads

526634

7635

574750

585738

601519

526542

The greatest achievement of this paper is, collectively, the many citing papers that ramify and encourage the laboratory-scale synthesis of specialized polymer nanofibers to serve applications in filtration, clinical medicine and polymer industries, along with management of biological information and function at the cellular level. Professor RenekerMaurice Morton Institute of Polymer Science, The University of Akron, USA



Top 20–30 articles

Over the course of the years, Nanotechnology has published research works that have excelled in innovation, scientific rigour and impact. Some of these publications were selected by the editors to complete our top 30.

Light triggered interfacial damage self-healing of poly(p-phenylene benzobisoxazole) fiber composites

Zhen Hu, Qing Shao, Yudong Huang, Long Yu, Dayu Zhang, Xirong Xu, Jing Lin, Hu Liu and Zhanhu Guo2018 Nanotechnology 29 185602

The interfacial microcracks in the resin matrix composites are difficult to be detected and repaired. However, the self-healing concept provides opportunities to fabricate composites with unusual properties. In the present study, photothermal conversion Ag–Cu2S nanoparticles were immobilized onto poly(p-phenylene benzobisoxazole) (PBO) fibers via a polydopamine chemistry. Benefitting from the photothermal effects of Ag–Cu2S, the obtained PBO fibers (Ag–Cu2S–PBO) efficiently converted the light energy into heat under Xenon lamp irradiation

Magnetic skyrmion-based synaptic devices

Yangqi Huang, Wang Kang, Xichao Zhang, Yan Zhou and Weisheng Zhao2017 Nanotechnology 28 08LT02

Magnetic skyrmions are promising candidates for next-generation information carriers, owing to their small size, topological stability, and ultralow depinning current density. A wide variety of skyrmionic device concepts and prototypes have recently been proposed, highlighting their potential applications. Furthermore, the intrinsic properties of skyrmions enable new functionalities that may be inaccessible to conventional electronic devices. Here, we report on a skyrmion-based artificial synapse device for neuromorphic systems.

paper

topical review open access

topical review

letter

paper open access

Flower-like N-doped MoS2 for photocatalytic degradation of RhB by visible light irradiation

Peitao Liu, Yonggang Liu, Weichun Ye, Ji Ma and Daqiang Gao2016 Nanotechnology 27 225403

In this paper, the photocatalytic performance and reusability of N-doped MoS2 nanoflowers with the specific surface area of 114.2 m2 g−1 was evaluated by discoloring of RhB under visible light irradiation. Results indicated that the 20 mg fabricated catalyst could completely degrade 50 ml of 30 mg l−1 RhB in 70 min with excellent recycling and structural stability.

Titanium nanostructures for biomedical applications

M Kulkarni, A Mazare, E Gongadze, Š Perutkova, V Kralj-Iglic, I Milošev, P Schmuki, A Iglic and M Mozetic 2015 Nanotechnology 26 062002

Titanium and titanium alloys exhibit a unique combination of strength and biocompatibility, which enables their use in medical applications and accounts for their extensive use as implant materials in the last 50 years. Currently, a large amount of research is being carried out in order to determine the optimal surface topography for use in bioapplications, and thus the emphasis is on nanotechnology for biomedical applications. It was recently shown that titanium implants with rough surface topography and free energy increase osteoblast adhesion, maturation and subsequent bone formation.

Synaptic electronics: materials, devices and applications

Duygu Kuzum, Shimeng Yu and H-S Philip Wong2013 Nanotechnology 24 382001

In this paper, the recent progress of synaptic electronics is reviewed. The basics of biological synaptic plasticity and learning are described. The material properties and electrical switching characteristics of a variety of synaptic devices are discussed, with a focus on the use of synaptic devices for neuromorphic or brain-inspired computing. Performance metrics desirable for large-scale implementations of synaptic devices are illustrated. A review of recent work on targeted computing applications with synaptic devices is presented.

citations

citations

citations

citations

citations

73

46

29

180

378



Nanostructured materials for water desalination

T Humplik, J Lee, S C O’Hern, B A Fellman, M A Baig, S F Hassan, M A Atieh, F Rahman, T Laoui, R Karnik and E N Wang2011 Nanotechnology 22 292001

Desalination of seawater and brackish water is becoming an increasingly important means to address the scarcity of fresh water resources in the world. Decreasing the energy requirements and infrastructure costs of existing desalination technologies remains a challenge. By enabling the manipulation of matter and control of transport at nanometer length scales, the emergence of nanotechnology offers new opportunities to advance water desalination technologies. This review focuses on nanostructured materials that are directly involved in the separation of water from salt as opposed to mitigating issues such as fouling.

Enhancing the conductivity of transparent graphene films via doping

Ki Kang Kim, Alfonso Reina, Yumeng Shi, Hyesung Park, Lain-Jong Li, Young Hee Lee and Jing Kong2010 Nanotechnology 21 285205

We report chemical doping (p-type) to reduce the sheet resistance of graphene films for the application of high-performance transparent conducting films. The graphene film synthesized by chemical vapor deposition was transferred to silicon oxide and quartz substrates using poly(methyl methacrylate). AuCl3 in nitromethane was used to dope the graphene films and the sheet resistance was reduced by up to 77% depending on the doping concentration. The p-type doping behavior was confirmed by characterizing the Raman G-band of the doped graphene film.

Zinc oxide nanorod based photonic devices: recent progress in growth, light emitting diodes and lasers

M Willander, O Nur, Q X Zhao, L L Yang, M Lorenz, B Q Cao, J Zúñiga Pérez, C Czekalla, G Zimmermann, M Grundmann, A Bakin, A Behrends, M Al-Suleiman, A El-Shaer, A Che Mofor, B Postels, A Waag, N Boukos, A Travlos, H S Kwack, J Guinard and D Le Si Dang2009 Nanotechnology 20 332001

Zinc oxide (ZnO), with its excellent luminescent properties and the ease of growth of its nanostructures, holds promise for the development of photonic devices. The recent advances in growth of ZnO nanorods are discussed. Results from both low temperature and high temperature growth approaches are presented. The techniques which are presented include metal–organic chemical vapour deposition (MOCVD), vapour phase epitaxy (VPE), pulse laser deposition (PLD), vapour–liquid–solid (VLS), aqueous chemical growth (ACG) and finally the electrodeposition technique as an example of a selective growth approach.

paper

paper

paper

paper

Silicon nanowire-based solar cells

Th Stelzner, M Pietsch, G Andrä, F Falk, E Ose and S Christiansen2008 Nanotechnology 19 295203

The fabrication of silicon nanowire-based solar cells on silicon wafers and on multicrystalline silicon thin films on glass is described. The nanowires show a strong broadband optical absorption, which makes them an interesting candidate to serve as an absorber in solar cells. The operation of a solar cell is demonstrated with n-doped nanowires grown on a p-doped silicon wafer. From a partially illuminated area of 0.6 cm2 open-circuit voltages in the range of 230–280 mV and a short-circuit current density of 2 mA cm−2 were obtained.

Highly-ordered TiO2 nanotube arrays up to 220 µm in length: use in water photoelectrolysis and dye-sensitized solar cells

Karthik Shankar, Gopal K Mor, Haripriya E Prakasam, Sorachon Yoriya, Maggie Paulose, Oomman K Varghese and Craig A Grimes2007 Nanotechnology 18 065707

The fabrication of highly-ordered TiO2 nanotube arrays up to 134 µm in length by anodization of Ti foil has recently been reported (Paulose et al 2006 J. Phys. Chem. B 110 16179). This work reports an extension of the fabrication technique to achieve TiO2

nanotube arrays up to 220 µm in length, with a length-to-outer diameter aspect ratio of ≈1400, as well as their initial application in dye-sensitized solar cells and hydrogen production by water photoelectrolysis.

The bactericidal effect of silver nanoparticles

Jose Ruben Morones, Jose Luis Elechiguerra, Alejandra Camacho, Katherine Holt, Juan B Kouri, Jose Tapia Ramírez and Miguel Jose Yacaman2005 Nanotechnology 16 2346

Nanotechnology is expected to open new avenues to fight and prevent disease using atomic scale tailoring of materials. Among the most promising nanomaterials with antibacterial properties are metallic nanoparticles, which exhibit increased chemical activity due to their large surface to volume ratios and crystallographic surface structure. The study of bactericidal nanomaterials is particularly timely considering the recent increase of new resistant strains of bacteria to the most potent antibiotics.

topical review

topical review

citations citations

citations

citations

citations

citations

282 305

244

612

418

3286



Influence of nanomorphology on the photovoltaic action of polymer–fullerene composites

D Chirvase, J Parisi, J C Hummelen and V Dyakonov2004 Nanotechnology 15 1317

Composites of conjugated poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) and the fullerene derivative [6,6]-phenyl-C61 butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) demonstrate an efficient photogeneration of mobile charge carriers. Thermal annealing of P3HT:PCBM based devices gives rise to a significant increase of the photovoltaic efficiency, as follows from measurements of the external quantum efficiency and the current–voltage characteristics. Upon annealing, the absorption spectrum of the P3HT:PCBM composite undergoes a strong modification, whereas in the pure components it remains unchanged.

Nanostructure fabrication using block copolymers

I W Hamley2003 Nanotechnology 14 R39

A brief overview is provided of recent developments in the use of block copolymer self-assembly to create morphologies that may be used to template the fabrication of nanostructures in other materials. The patterning of semiconductor surfaces using block copolymer film masks and the production of high-density arrays of magnetic domains are discussed. The use of block copolymer micelles as ‘nanoreactors’ to prepare metal and semiconductor nanoparticles is considered, and methods to pattern nanoparticles are highlighted.

Nanoscale molecular-switch crossbar circuits

Yong Chen, Gun-Young Jung, Douglas A A Ohlberg, Xuema Li, Duncan R Stewart, Jan O Jeppesen,Kent A Nielsen, J Fraser Stoddart and R Stanley Williams2003 Nanotechnology 14 462

Molecular electronics offer an alternative pathway to construct nanoscale circuits in which the critical dimension is naturally associated with molecular sizes. We describe the fabrication and testing of nanoscale molecular-electronic circuits that comprise a molecular monolayer of [2]rotaxanes sandwiched between metal nanowires to form an 8 × 8 crossbar within a 1 µm2 area. The resistance at each cross point of the crossbar can be switched reversibly. By using each cross point as an active memory cell, crossbar circuits were operated as rewritable, nonvolatile memory with a density of 6.4 Gbits cm−2.

Electrostatic field-assisted alignment of electrospun nanofibres

A Theron, E Zussman and A L Yarin2001 Nanotechnology 12 384

This paper describes an electrostatic field-assisted assembly technique combined with an electrospinning process used to position and align individual nanofibres (NFs) on a tapered and grounded wheel-like bobbin. The bobbin is able to wind a continuously as-spun nanofibre at its tip-like edge. The alignment approach has resulted in polyethylene oxide-based NFs with diameters ranging from 100–300 nm and lengths of up to hundreds of microns. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of this new approach for assembling NFs in parallel arrays while being able to control the average separation between the fibres.

Thermal conductivity of carbon nanotubes

Jianwei Che, Tahir Çagin and William A Goddard III2000 Nanotechnology 11 65

As the sizes of electronic and mechanical devices are decreased to the micron and nanometre level, it becomes particularly important to predict the thermal transport properties of the components. Using molecular level theories, such predictions are particularly important for modelling nano-electronic devices where scaling laws may change substantially but it is most difficult to accurately measure the properties. Hence, using the empirical bond order dependent force field, we have studied here the thermal conductivity of nanotubes’ dependence on structure, defects and vacancies.

Atomic layer epitaxy – a valuable tool for nanotechnology?

Mikko Ritala and Markku Leskelä1999 Nanotechnology 10 19

Atomic layer epitaxy (ALE) is a surface controlled, self-limiting method for depositing thin films from gaseous precursors. In this paper the basic principle of ALE and its potentials for nanotechnology are introduced. From the point of view of nanotechnology the most important benefits of ALE are excellent conformality and easily realized subnanometre level accuracy in controlling film thicknesses, which are discussed in more detail with selected examples from thin-film technology. Studies on ALE preparation of laterally confined structures are also reviewed. The paper concludes with an outlook discussing the capabilities and challenges of using ALE in nanotechnology in depositing materials with one or several dimensions confined to the nanometre level.

topical review

paper

paper

paper

paperpaper

citations citations

citations

citations

citations

citations

605 600

577739

482217



Energetics, structure, mechanical and vibrational properties of single-walled carbon nanotubes

Guanghua Gao, Tahir Çagin and William A Goddard III1998 Nanotechnology 9 184

In this paper, we present extensive molecular mechanics and molecular dynamics studies on the energy, structure, mechanical and vibrational properties of single-wall carbon nanotubes. In our study we employed an accurate interaction potential derived from quantum mechanics. We explored the stability domains of circular and collapsed cross section structures of armchair (n, n), zigzag (n,0), and chiral (2n, n) isolated single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) up to a circular cross section radius of 170 Å.

How does a tip tap?

N A Burnham, O P Behrend, F Oulevey, G Gremaud, P-J Gallo, D Gourdon, E Dupas, A J Kulik, H M Pollock and G A D Briggs1997 Nanotechnology 8 67

There is a demand for good theoretical understanding of the response of an atomic force microscope cantilever to the extremely nonlinear impacts received while tapping a sample. A model and numerical simulations are presented in this paper which provide a very pleasing comparison with experimental results. The dependence of the cantilever amplitude and phase upon the sample stiffness, adhesion and damping are investigated using these simulations, and it is found that ‘topographic’ tapping images are not independent of sample properties, nor will it be trivial to measure materials’ properties from the tapping data. The simulation can be applied to other probe microscope configurations as well.

Sequence logos, machine/channel capacity, Maxwell’s demon, and molecular computers: a review of the theory of molecular machines

T D Schneider 1994 Nanotechnology 5 1

Living cells contain many molecules which can make simple decisions, such as whether to bind to a particular nucleotide sequence or not. A theory describing the practical limits of these molecular machines is reviewed. Level 0 theory uses Shannon’s information theory to study genetic control systems. Level 1 theory uses Shannon’s channel capacity theorem to explain how these biological molecules are able to make their decisions precisely in the face of the thermal maelstrom surrounding them. Level 2 theory shows how the Second Law of Thermodynamics defines the exact extent of the choices available to a molecular machine when it dissipates a given amount of energy. Even the famous Maxwell demon must obey this result. The theory also has implications for designing molecular computers.

paper

paper

paper

citations

citations

citations

347

213

44

24 Nanotechnology

iopscience.org/nano

We would like to thank all of the journal’s authors, referees, board members

and readers for their vital contribution to the work and progress of Nanotechnology.

IOP PublishingTemple Circus, Temple Way,

Bristol BS1 6HG, UK


nanotechnology - tu-ilmenau.de · iopscience.org /nano celebrating 30 years of publishing research...

Documents