Transport properties (thermal conductivity, electrical resistivity and thermopower) of decagonal quasicrystal d-AlCoNi, and approximant phases Y-AlCoNi, o-Al13Co4, m-Al13Fe4, m-Al13(Fe,Ni)4 and T-AlMnFe have been reviewed. Among all presented alloys the stacking direction (periodic for decagonal quasicrystals) is the most conductive one for the charge and heat transport, and the in/out-of-plane anisotropy is much larger than the in-plane anisotropy. There is a strong relationship between periodicity length along stacking direction and anisotropy of transport properties in both quasicrystals and their approximants suggesting a decrease of the anisotropy with increasing number of stacking layers.

In this paper we present systematic investigations on the growth of SnS van der Waals epitaxies (vdWEs) on different substrates, including crystalline and layered substrates, by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). Experimental growth of SnS on conventional 3D substrates, such as GaAs, indicates strong interaction between the SnS layer and the substrate resulting in poor crystallinity in general. Substantial improvement in the film crystallinity can be obtained when the deposition is made on layered substrates, with saturated surface bonds, as observed in SnS films deposited on mica and crystalline substrates with a graphene buffer layer. Crystal size as large as one micron and rocking curve FWHM of 0.118° was observed despite the large lattice mismatches. This represents significant improvement over the reported value of ∼3°. Several symmetric growth orientations are observed for films grown on mica substrates. The results indicate that weak vdW interactions between the saturated bonds of the substrate surface and the SnS unit layer which is an important factor for achieving high quality epitaxy layered materials.

Ultrathin layers of positively charged poly(diallyl dimethylammonium) choloride (PDDA) and negatively charged poly(sodium 4-styrenesulfonate) (PSS) were deposited on SiO2/ polyethylene glycol hybrid membranes via layer-by-layer assembly technique, and carbon dioxide absorption/separation properties were investigated. Quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) measurements revealed that both PDDA and PSS nanocoatings have a good affinity for CO2 absorption. PDDA-deposited film shows about two times higher CO2 ideal gas selectivity compared with unmodified silica film.

A simple method is proposed for the chemical modification of carbon nanotubes (CNT) thin film counter electrodes (CE) for the replacement of fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) and platinum catalyst (Pt) while retaining light transparency. In order to decrease the sheet resistance, CNT thin films underwent various concentrations (≤10 M) and durations of HNO3 treatment prior to cell fabrication, and the effect on thin film properties was analyzed. P-doping was observed, and the maximum change in work function was found to be +0.35 eV with 4 M HNO3. Optimum sheet resistance reduction (50%) and work function increment were achieved after 1 h treatment with 4 M HNO3. Changes in optical transmittances for all samples were negligible (± 5%). Pristine and HNO3 treated films on plastic substrates were tested as CE in flexible bifacial dye sensitized solar cells (DSSC). Most significant improvements in conversion efficiencies were obtained when CNT on plastic substrates were pretreated with 8 M HNO3 (from 1.18% to 1.40% under roomlight, from 0.19% to 0.26% under 1 Sun).

This research shows the influence of the synthesis route in the structural and morphological characteristics as well as in the luminescent properties of doped with europium and pure SrTiO3 (STO) powders prepared by microwave assisted hydrothermal synthesis, MWH, and by the polymeric precursor method, PPM. The XRD at room temperature of the STO powders nominally pure obtained by PPM at 700°C for 3 hours, as well as by the MWH at 190°C by 30 minutes present all the reflection peaks for the cubic perovskite structure (JCPDS-ICDD 35-734). The morphology varies according to the synthesis route. The particles of pure STO obtained by PPM presents morphology in the form of plates and the morphology of the particles synthesized by MWH is spherical with approximately 150 nm. The photoluminescent analysis shows for pure STO wide bands associated with the transition of charge transfer from the titanates group (TiO3)2- that are centered on 450 nm. In both preparation methods the emission bands obtained in the composites spectra were found to be asymmetric and low intense. However, in the case of the STO prepared by the PPM a bigger FWHM of the band can be observed. The excitation of the samples was done using a laser (Coherent Innova) with wavelength of 350 nm.

Flexible devices utilizing crystalline semiconductor nano or microstructures materials are attractive for many applications. However, these materials are fabricated or grown in unusable forms for flexible systems due to their rigid crystalline mother substrates. We demonstrate a transfer printing technique for transferring vertical arrays of one-dimensional (1D) materials from mother substrates to flexible substrates with subsequent device fabrication steps to create flexible devices from these arrays. The transfer printing technique is based on vertical embossing of arrays of 1D materials into thermoplastic (Poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA)) transfer layers, while the device fabrication steps rely on encapsulation with insulating polymers and contact deposition. We investigated the use of flexible insulating layers like polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and polyurethane (PU) which are shown to be effective for encapsulation and contact isolation. Representative flexible resistive devices were created from these transferred arrays and insulating layers which showed a reversible tactile characteristic. Electronic characterization and flexibility testing was carried out to show the potential of these methods for enabling large-scale integrations of nano and microstructures into vertical and flexible packages.

Papers in the Appendix were published in electronic format as Volume 1534

Grain boundary chemistry in an X750 Ni alloy was analyzed by atom probe tomography in an effort to clarify the possible roles of elemental segregation and carbide presence on the stress corrosion cracking behavior of Ni alloys. Two types of cracks are observed: straight cracks along twin boundaries and wavy cracks at general boundaries. It was found that carbides (M23C6 and TiC) are present at both twin and general boundaries, with comparable B and P segregation for all types of grain boundaries. Twin boundaries intercept γ’ precipitates while the general boundaries wave around the γ’ and carbide precipitates. Near a crack tip, oxidation takes place on the periphery of carbide precipitate.

In the fall of 2012 the Stanford University materials science course Solar Cells, Fuel Cells and Batteries: Materials for the Energy Solution was offered as a flipped class and a massively open online course (MOOC). To the best of our knowledge, this was the first materials science MOOC. Here we describe how the course was implemented, and present results on performance, demographics and other observations that were made. Finally, we provide some perspectives for the future of the implementation of these engineering MOOCs.

Acid hydrolysis of cellulose leads to the formation of nanowhiskers, which can self-assemble to form a liquid crystal phase at a concentration determined by their aspect ratio. This work investigates the properties of the un-hydrolysed materials on which the length of the nanowhiskers depend. It was found that the length is determined by the branching pattern of the cellulose microfibrils and the crystallinity of the material.

Sharper nanotips are required for application in nanoprobing systems due to a shrinking contact size with each new transistor technology node. We describe a two-step etching process to fabricate W nanotips with controllable tip dimensions. The first process is an optimized AC electrochemical etching in KOH to fabricate nanotips with a radius of curvature (ROC) down to 90 nm. This was followed by a secondary nanotip sharpening process by laser irradiation in KOH. High aspect ratio nanotips with ROC close to 20 nm were obtained. Finally we demonstrate the application of the fabricated nanotips for nanoprobing on advanced technology SRAM devices.

A study about the achievement of dichromatic white light-emitting diodes (LEDs) was performed. A series of dual wavelength LEDs with different last quantum-well (LQW) structure were fabricated. The bottom seven blue light QWs (close to n-GaN layer) of the four samples were the same. The LQW of sample A was 3 nm, and that of sample B, C and D were 6 nm, a special high In content ultra-thin layer was inserted in the middle of the LQW of sample C and on top of that of sample D. XRD results showed In concentration fluctuation and good interface quality of the four samples. PL measurements showed dual wavelength emitting, the blue light peak position of the four samples were almost the same, sample A with a narrower LQW showed an emission wavelength much shorter than that of sample B, C, D. EL measurement was done at an injection current of 100 mA. Sample A only showed LQW emission due to holes distribution. Because of wider LQW, the emission wavelength of sample B, C and D was longer and peak intensity was weaker. Sample D with insert layer on top of LQW showed strongest yellow light emission with a blue peak. As the injection current increased, sample A showed highest output light power due to narrower LQW. Of the other three samples with wider LQW, sample D showed highest output power. Effective yellow light emission has always been an obstacle to the achievement of dichromatic white LED. Sample D with insert layer close to p-GaN can confine the hole distribution more effectively hence the recombination of holes and electrons was enhanced, the yellow light emission was improved and dichromatic white LED was achieved.

Hydrogen can be used as an environmentally friendly fuel to power vehicles, electric devices, and spacecraft with water vapor as the only emission. One associated challenge is the development of safe hydrogen storage systems. Hydrogen tanks and other hydrogen infrastructure elements will be exposed to both high-pressure hydrogen and cyclic stresses. In our work, 304 stainless steel specimens were precharged with hydrogen and subjected to rotational bending fatigue with a maximum stress amplitude of 90 ksi. A diffusion model was solved to approximate the concentration of hydrogen in the specimen at the time of the test. Contrary to our previous work with simple bending fatigue tests, hydrogen precharging actually increased rotational bending fatigue life from 28,074 (Sx = 7,430, N = 103) cycles to 91,513 (Sx = 40,209, N=32) cycles, a factor of approximately 3.25. This result demonstrates that the effect of hydrogen on fatigue life can be highly situational, and great care should be taken when designing systems that will be exposed to high-pressure hydrogen under fatigue conditions.

The aim of this work is to improve bone-implant bonding. This can, potentially, be achieved through the use of an implant coating composed of fibre networks. It is hypothesised that such an implant can achieve strong peri-prosthetic bone anchorage, when seeded with human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs). The materials employed were 444 and 316L stainless steel fibre networks of the same fibre volume fraction. The present work confirms that hMSCs are able to proliferate and differentiate towards the osteogenic lineage when seeded onto the fibre networks. Cellular viability, proliferation and metabolic activity were assessed and the results suggest higher proliferation rates when hMSC are seeded onto the 444 networks as compared to 316L. Cell distribution was found uniform across the seeded surfaces with 444 showing a somewhat higher infiltration depth.

The use of Ga-Au alloys of different compositions as metal catalysts for the growth of abrupt SiGe/Si nanowire axial heterostructures has been investigated. The heterostructures grown in a continuous process by just switching the gas precursors, show uniform nanowire diameters, almost abrupt compositional changes and no defects between the different sections. These features represent significant improvements over the results obtained using pure Au.

We summarize some recent new results probing inter- and intra-chain coupling in aggregated P3HT in isolated nanoparticles and nanofibers. Time-resolved photoluminescence studies show interesting correlations between amplitude and decay constant for different decay components that are tied to both polymer regio-regularity and nanoparticle processing conditions. In the frequency domain, we observe distinct signatures of both H- and J-aggregate type exciton coupling, manifested as different vibronic progressions with different electronic origins, linewidths, and Huang-Rhys factors. We show how the extent of this H/J composite coupling can be tuned to a certain extent by changes in molecular parameters (polymer molecular weight and regioregularity) and by solvent processing conditions. Finally we discuss recent results of near-field optical absorption probes of nanoparticles and nanofibers where optical contrast is afforded by the different absorption cross-section (at 532 nm) for aggregated vs. unaggregated P3HT.

Silicon is a very promising material for anodes of lithium ion batteries. It exhibits a high theoretical capacity of 3579 mAh/g. However, during the lithiation and de-lithiation, silicon materials experience up to a 300% volume change, leading to poor cyclability [1-2]. Research shows that reducing the silicon particle size can mitigate this problem. Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) function well as electrode materials in electrolytic cells because of their high electrical conductivity and surface area. In this work, we combine silicon nanoparticles (Si NPs) and CNTs as anode materials. Si NPs are generated using a plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition technique and their surface is modified with a 12-carbon long aliphatic chain to impart solubility in non-polar solvents. They are applied onto a nanotube-based layer using a wet-phase deposition technique. SEM and TEM analysis confirm that they form a conformal coating onto the nanotube surface. The CNTs - Si NPs composite active material is tested in half-cells where lithium foil acts as counter electrode. We have achieved an average of 810 mAh/g discharge capacity for composites with a CNTs to Si NPs weight ratio of 1:1. We expect to be able to increase the discharge capacity by increasing the Si NPs weight content.

Thanks to an original approach based on the carburization of silicon nanowires, silicon carbide-based one dimensional nanostructures – SiC nanotubes, Si-SiC core-shell nanowires and SiC nanowires – have been synthesized. The original process, which relies on controlling the out-diffusion of Si atoms through SiC, can be monitored by the temperature, the pressure and the time of carburization. These SiC-based 1D nanostructures have been characterized by SEM, FIB-SEM and TEM microscopies and also Raman spectroscopy. Bio-nano-sensors, nano-Field-Effect-Transistors (nano-FETs) or gas sensors may be some applications for these nanostructures.

We investigated quantization behavior in conductance of an Ag/Ta2O5/Pt gapless-type atomic switch. Stepwise increases and decreases in the conductance were observed when small positive and negative bias voltages were applied to the Ag electrode, respectively, where each step corresponds to the conductance of a single atomic point contact. The conductance level could also be controlled by applying voltage pulses with varied amplitudes. Furthermore, when the interval time of consecutive input pulses was turned, we also observed long-term potentiation behavior similar to that of biological synapses. These results indicate that the oxide-based, gapless-type atomic switch has potential for use as a building block of neural computing systems.

The structure of nanocrystalline diamond was approximated by spherical nanograins assuming that the grain core with a perfect crystal lattice is surrounded by a sequence of shells with (essentially) identical atomic architecture but with altered density. We call such a model a nanocrystal with density modulated waves. To examine the effect of density modulation present in nanograins, we built atomistic models of nanodiamond grains and compared the average values of inter-atomic distances calculated for the grains with density waves to those calculated for grains with the perfect, diamond crystal lattice. We show that the atomic structure of nanodiamond can be best described by a model where, between the inner core and the surface layer, three density waves with intermittent compressive and tensile strains exist. The sequence of the density waves is preserved in all examined nanodiamond samples without regard to chemical treatment and vacuum annealing (at up to 1200°C).