Our overall intent is to develop improved electrically active prostheticdevices to allow interactions between regenerated nerve fibers (axons) andexternal electronics. To allow for infiltration of axons, these devices mustbe highly porous. Additionally, they must exhibit selective and structuredconductivity to allow the connection of electrode sites with externalcircuitry with tunable electrical properties that enable the transmission ofneural signals through physical connections to external circuitry (e.g.through attached wires.) The chosen material must be biocompatible withminimal irresolvable inflammatory response to allow intimate contact withregenerated nerve tissue and mechanically compatible with the surroundingnervous tissue.

We have utilized electrospinning and projection lithography as tools tocreate conductive, porous networks of non-woven biocompatible fibers inorder to meet the materials requirements for the neural interface. Thebiocompatible fibers were based on the known biocompatible materialpoly(dimethyl siloxane) (PDMS) as well as a newer biomaterial materialdeveloped in our laboratories, poly(butylene fumarate) (PBF). Both of thepolymers cannot be electrospun using conventional electrospinning techniquesdue to their low glass transition temperatures, so in situcrosslinking methodologies were developed to facilitate micro- andnano-fiber formation during electrospinning. The conductivity of theelectrospun fiber mats was controlled by varying the loading withmulti-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs).

The cooling process of ultrathin hetero films upon excitation with short laser pulses was studied for epitaxial Bi(111) films on Si(001) and Si(111) substrates by means of the Debye-Waller effect with ultrafast electron diffraction. From the exponential decay of the temperature, a cooling time constant was determined as a function of thickness for both substrates. For Bi/Si(111), a linear dependence between the decay constant and thickness was observed, even for 2.8 nm thin films , as predicted from the diffuse mismatch model (DMM) and the acoustic mismatch model (AMM). However, with Bi/Si(001), a significant deviation from this linear dependence was observed for film thicknesses below 5 nm.

An electric insulation resistant coating has been developed by using photo-oxidized silicone oil. The silicone oil was exposed to ultraviolet⊈light in the air; which transformed the organic silicone oil into an inorganic amorphous glass film. Conventional large-area solar panels and smart papers are made of glass or plastic; in addition to being well insulated, waterproof, transparent, and hard, the panels are desirable to be light in weight and flexible. Here, metal foil is dipped into dimethylsiloxane silicone oil, and the silicone oil on the foil surface is irradiated with Xe2 excimer lamplight. Oxygen adsorbed on the sample surface is photo-excited by the irradiation to produce active oxygen. This active oxygen reacts with the silicone oil photo-excited and forms inorganic glass. With the process of the photo-oxidation, the silicone oil is vitrified, being inorganic.

Molecular sensing using stimuli-responsive viscoelastic property of amphiphilic polymer hydrogel was demonstrated. Thermo-responsive poly(N-isopropylacrylamide); NIPA, hydrogel immobilizing bovine serum albumin (BSA) in its polymer chain was synthesized on the AT-cut QCM (Quartz crystal microbalance). The device was provided to the sensing of anti-BSA antibody. The resonance behavior of QCM in response to the adsorption of anti-BSA antibody on the hydrogel was observed based on both the resonance frequency and resistance of QCM with impedance analysis. The QCM device coated with the LCST polymer hydrogel revealed a characteristic resonance behavior in response to the adsorption of anti-BSA antibody in the collapse phase of gel at which the gel lost most of its hydrated water. The resonance frequency and resistance in the collapsed gel were highly sensitive and their changes in response to the target adsorption were much larger than in the swelling state of gel. The use of the device at the LCST of NIPA gel is ideal because the largest amplification of the adsorption signal is available along with the largest phase change of NIPA gel.

The importance of the extracellular mechanical environment in stem cell differentiation has been extensively studied over the last decade. In neuronal cell differentiation, matrix stiffness and neurite outgrowth have been correlated, highlighting the impact of matrix effects on neuronal cell morphology. In addition, on materials that approach the physiological mechanical properties of brain tissue, neurons from mixed phenotype primary cultures will prevail. However, if the same mixed culture is grown on polystyrene, glial populations are more prevalent. Enhancing the understanding of these differentiation processes will further expand the ability to design materials for neuronal implants that are conducive to neuronal survival, resist glial scarring and promote neurite outgrowth and cell connectivity. Specifically, elastomers such as poly(glycerol sebacate) (PGS) hold promise in neuronal tissue engineering, due to their mechanical tunability. PGS is biocompatible, biodegradable and possesses mechanical properties similar to that of living tissue. Neuronal cell differentiation was studied on PGS, using P19 embryonic carcinoma cells, which can be differentiated into a neuronal phenotype using retinoic acid. Varying cure temperatures of PGS including 120°, 140° and 165°C were selected, which equate to an elastic modulus of 0.07, 0.43 and 2.30 MPa respectively. Cells were characterized via immunocytochemistry. A primarily astrocytic population, with limited neuronal differentiation and neurite outgrowth were observed on the PGS 120°C. Cells grown on PGS 140°C demonstrated marked neurite outgrowth, with an increase in neuronal cells. Cells grown on the PGS 165°C exhibited the largest population of neurons, with significant neurite outgrowth. These results indicate that substrate mechanical properties do impact neuronal differentiation, but that a material with a Young’s modulus similar to that of neuronal tissue (PGS 120°C) may not necessarily be the most conducive to in vitro differentiation.

With a wide band gap of greater than 3.0 eV and the ability to self-heal from radiation damage, icosahedral boron arsenide (B12As2) is an apt candidate for use in next-generation betavoltaics. By capturing and converting high energy electrons from radioisotopes into usable electricity, “nuclear batteries” made from B12As2 could potentially power devices for decades. Compared to bulk crystals or epitaxial films, B12As2 nanowires may have lower defect densities or may even be defect-free, leading to better electrical properties and device performance. In our study, B12As2 nanowires were synthesized via vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) growth using platinum powder and nickel powder on silicon carbide and 20 nm thick nickel film on silicon substrates from 700 °C to 1200 °C. Platinum yielded the highest quality nanowires from 900 °C to 950 °C, resulting in platinum particles densely covered with wires formed by straight segments connected by sharp angular kinks. At these growth temperatures, diameters ranged from less than 30 nm to about 300 nm as determined by scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. Growth temperatures of 850 °C or less produced curled wires 200-1000 nm in diameter. Transmission electron microscopy and selected area electron diffraction revealed excellent crystallinity in wires grown above 850 °C, while wires grown at or below 850 °C were partially amorphous. Wires grown from the 20 nm nickel film displayed similar morphologies at temperatures up to 850 °C; from 900 °C to 950 °C, straight, isolated wires were grown with diameters of 200-400 nm. Nickel powder only produced wires larger than 1 μm in diameter. The comparative quality and growth of B12As2nanowires will be discussed.

A large amount of liquid radioactive waste has been generated at the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant (NPP), Lithuania, during its operation. The contaminated liquids are treated with ion exchange-resins, which will generate significant waste stream for cementation. The cemented waste will be disposed of in a near-surface repository. The preliminary safety assessment uncovered that 14C is the most significant radionuclide affecting long-term safety of the closed repository. The method of combined acid striping and wet oxidation with subsequent catalytic combustion has been applied for 14C measurements in cemented ion-exchange resins. It allows separating organic and inorganic compounds from the same sample. At first, the inorganic fraction was extracted by adding acid to the sample followed by absorption of CO2 in a pair of alkali gas washed traps. The remaining carbon was extracted by application of a strong oxidizer. The preliminary results show that activity concentration of 14C in the solidified waste has an order of magnitude of tens and hundreds Bq per gram.

This study reports the influence of electrical and mechanical stresses on indium zinc oxide (IZO) thin film transistors (TFTs).The deformation is introduced by mounting the samples on cylindrical structures of varying radii creating tensile or compressive strains. The mechanical stresses are parallel and perpendicular to the length of the channel layer. Results reveal that, when the stresses are parallel to the channel length, mobilities increase under tensile stresses and reduce under compressive stresses; while, the effect on sub-threshold is contrary to this. However no changes are observed for mobilities and sub-threshold swings when the stresses are perpendicular to the channel length. The TFTs exhibit stability under the electromechanical stressing with no device failure observed over prolonged stress times.

For a sol-gel process occurring in a water/oil (w/o) system, the self-assembly of silica nuclei can be controlled by close control of synthesis conditions. We have synthesized ellipsoidal or spherical silica particles by a template-free scheme that involves controlling surface tension on silica nuclei through via use of different volume ratios of a w/o micellar system.

In this study we apply reaction thermodynamics to show that a significant volatile hydroxide vapor partial pressure forms at a metal-oxide interface and is a likely precursor source for nanowire growth. The growth of WO3 and CuO nanowires are used as examples for reactions dependent on only H2O and O2+H2O, respectively. Optimal temperatures, H2O (and O2) partial pressures for volatile hydroxide formation are calculated and experimentally investigated. We conclude that metal oxide nanowires can be readily grown at relatively low temperatures (close to or less than 500oC) over short anneal times (tens of minutes). The growth of these metal oxide nanowires, with many oxidation states, by this simple thermal technique is readily suited for a range of emergent large surface area nanostructured optical and electrical applications, including sensing, photocatalysis and ultracapacitors.

We present here some recent results of a research focused on the preparation of detonation nanodiamond/Au nanoparticles hybrid materials. Two different experimental routes are followed for the decoration of diamond nanoparticles by Au nanoparticles, that are in turn prepared by an innovative electroless approach.

Structure and morphology at the nanoscale level of the Au-on-nanodiamond deposits have been deeply investigated by electron microscopy (FE-SEM, HR-TEM) and diffraction (XRD) techniques.

Optical properties of these systems have been determined by performing scattering and UV-Vis absorption measurements, and by comparing the experimental data with simulated extinction spectra. The results highlighted very interesting plasmonic and scattering behaviors, mainly related to the high refractive index of diamond.

We propose to use Purcell effect emerged at slow light regions in photonic crystal waveguide (PC-WG) modes for controlling the relaxation time of excited carriers in QDs. Straight GaAs PC-WGs including InAs-QDs with various lattice constants of PC were prepared in order to control the wavelength of the slow light in the PC-WG modes. PL measurements of the PC-WGs indicated enhancements of emission from QDs at the localized wavelength of slow light regions due to the Purcell effect. The enhanced emission peak wavelength was continuously shifted with the PC lattice constant. These results suggest that the PC-WG can be utilized to modify the spontaneous emission rate and carrier relaxation time of the embedded QD. This modification can be applied and useful for various QD-based optical devices as well as our proposed all-optical switching device based on PC-WG/QD.

We demonstrate the newly developed technique Photomodulated Rayleigh Scattering spectroscopy in order to probe the electronic band structure of single semiconductor nanowires. We show that both the electronic transition energies and nanowire diameter can be measured simultaneously and with high accuracy in a single non-destructive measurement. We demonstrate our results for zincblende GaAs as well as wurtzite InP nanowires where we probed the band gaps and transition energies at both room and low temperatures. This technique should advance the study of optical properties of single nanowires as well as other types of nanostructures.

Three dimensional silica photonic crystals with the gyroid minimal surface structure have been synthesized using the butterfly Callophrys rubi as a template. The replicas are synthesized with a high degree of fidelity, which is confirmed by the spectral and morphological characterization. Further, the material is shown to be optically active.

In this work was studied the effect of silicon content from 0.5 to 3 wt.% Si on the macrostructure of casting ingots. Fe-Si alloys with low contents of impurities were produced in electric induction furnace under inert atmosphere. Castings of 12.5 cm thick, 25 cm long and 30 cm high were obtained of each alloy poured into metallic mould. The ingots obtained were sectioned in slices of 12 cm wide, 25 cm high and 2 cm thick, the central slice of each ingot was prepared metallographically to reveal the macrostructure of the six cast alloys. The results indicate that alloys with low silicon levels (0.5 and 1.0% Si) and with small solidification intervals have relatively fine equiaxed grains, while alloys with higher silicon content and a higher solidification intervals present predominantly columnar grains. These macrostructures are not the usually structures linked to short and long freezing range. Another important result is the absence of dendritic structure usually present in cast alloys.

High quality garnet-type Li7La3Zr2O12 solid electrolyte was synthesized using a solution-based technique. The electrolyte pellets were sintered at 900 oC, resulting in tetragonal phase, which then transformed to cubic phase after annealing at 1230 oC. The ionic conductivity of both phases was studied and revealed to be 3.67x10-7 S/cm and 1.67×10-4 S/cm, respectively. A proto-type cell comprising of Li7La3Zr2O12 electrolyte, LiCoO2 cathode and lithium metal anode was assembled. The cell made with the cubic phase electrolyte exhibited superior performance than the one made with the tetragonal phase electrolyte. The former cell possessed a very promising gravimetric discharge capacity of 3.4 mAh/g, which is the highest value obtained among similar setups.

In fine-grained metallic materials, the dominant grain boundary (GB) process, such as dislocation emission, dislocation absorption, and dislocation pile-up, causes non-uniform deformation, which results in high yield stress and low ductility. When a nano-scale void is introduced, the dislocation activity enhancement around the void could inhibit GB fracture and enhance ductility. In this study, by considering nanocrystalline Cu models, the influence of an intragranular nano-scale void on the fracture process has been investigated through molecular dynamics simulation. The dependence of ductility enhancement on the grain size and void size has especially been discussed at low and room temperatures. Sufficient dislocation activity enhancement accompanied by optimal void growth causes a fracture mode transition from GB fracture to transgranular fracture. While the ductility enhancement strongly depends on the void size at low temperature, it depends on the grain size at room temperature. The strong dependence of ductility enhancement on the temperature is found in the case of relatively small grains.

We compared growth enhancement of radish induced by O2, air, and Ar plasma irradiation. The average length of radish sprouts cultivated for 4 days after O2 plasma irradiation is 70% longer than that of sprouts without irradiation. The O2 plasma irradiation is more effective in enhancing growth than air and Ar radio frequency plasma irradiation. Cell morphology and cell size of sprouts with O2 plasma irradiation is nearly the same as those without irradiation. These results suggest that plasma induced acceleration of cell proliferation brings about the rapid growth.

The order in self-assembled block copolymer films with hexagonal structure is compared using an image analysis method and images taken by scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy. The coordinates of the centres of cylindrical elements in the assembled array are assigned using image analysis software. The method is then used to calculate the amount of elements that symmetrically overlap with another element when mapped through an origin point. Order is compared based on a single numerical value which is dependent on radial distance from the origin and the overlap tolerance value that is assigned. Samples of PS-b-PEO diblock copolymer with a range of molecular weights are compared, and it is found that the degree of ordering achieved is not related to the size of the molecule.