Superwetting nanowire membranes for selective absorption

The construction of nanoporous membranes is of great technological importance for various applications, including catalyst supports, filters for biomolecule purification, environmental remediation and seawater desalination. A major challenge is the scalable fabrication of membranes with the desirable combination of good thermal stability, high selectivity and excellent recyclability. Here we present a self-assembly method for constructing thermally stable, free-standing nanowire membranes that exhibit controlled wetting behaviour ranging from superhydrophilic to superhydrophobic. These membranes can selectively absorb oils up to 20 times the material's weight in preference to water, through a combination of superhydrophobicity and capillary action. Moreover, the nanowires that form the membrane structure can be re-suspended in solutions and subsequently re-form the original paper-like morphology over many cycles. Our results suggest an innovative material that should find practical applications in the removal of organics, particularly in the field of oil spill cleanup.     

Functionalized interfaces by plasma treatments on silicon and silicon dioxide substrates

Plasma-enhanced chemical vapour deposition has been applied to the fabrication of high-quality SiO₂/Si interfaces and to the functionalization of the silicon dioxide surfaces for organic thin film transistor applications. The advantage of the method herein reported resides in the possibility of activating the substrate, depositing and functionalizing high-quality SiO₂ films in a single-run process, at low temperature. The structural properties of silicon dioxide samples have been studied by infrared spectroscopy, angle resolved and depth profiling X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The electronic properties have been retrieved from the leakage current values and the Fowler-Nordheim current plots.     

Heteroepitaxy and selective area heteroepitaxy for silicon photonics

This article reviews the major achievements in recent years on heteroepitaxy and selective area heteroepitaxy that are relevant to silicon photonics. Material aspects are given due importance without trying to cover all kinds of devices. Under heteroepitaxy several systems based on GaAs, InP and GaSb and their related materials and dilute III-nitrides all on Si substrates are covered and assessed. Quantum dot and quantum well lasers are taken as device examples. The potential of the emerging SnGeSi/Si system is highlighted. Under selective area heteroepitaxy, growth of InP from SiO₂ trenches in Si and epitaxial lateral overgrowth of InP on silicon are exemplified as the potential routes for monolithic integration on silicon. The expected trends and anticipated advances are indicated.     

Molecular level investigation into selective permeability of silicon based membranes with potential use in gas separation processes

Abstract

The effect of the modification of the molecular structure on the permeability coefficients of typical rubbery and glassy silane and siloxane polymers at different temperatures was experimentally investigated. It was shown that carbon dioxide had higher permeability coefficients than those of nitrogen and oxygen due to the higher affinity of the various polymers toward the gas molecules. In order to provide a detailed understanding into the effect of the molecular structure on the gas diffusion behaviour in polymers, molecular modelling of carbon dioxide diffusion in silicon based membranes was used. The polymer molecules were shown to have lower self-diffusion coefficients than the gas ones related to the small size of the gas molecules as compared to the large size of the polymeric segments, thus allowing the gas molecules to jump from one unoccupied site to another through a series of connected pores or channels within the polymeric matrix. Increasing the temperature was shown to have a proportional effect on the mean square displacement, possibly due to the increase in the kinetic energy available to the systems. At high temperatures, the glassy siloxane molecules had similar values for the mean square displacement to those of the gas molecules since the polymer in this case is in close proximity to its glass transition temperature. The presence of the alternating oxygen atoms in the main backbone of the polymeric chains led to higher values for the selfdiffusion coefficients for the siloxane polymers as compared to those of the silane polymers as a result of the change in the bond angle about the oxygen atom (~ 144°) as compared to the tetrahedral angle (~ 110°) about the silicon atoms.     

硅基分子筛富氧膜的研究

通过先制备大分子链结构规整的硅基聚合物先体 ,再利用热裂解法制得透气率和分离特性都较好的气体分离膜 .这种制膜技术已经基本成熟 ,制备成品率可达 80 %～ 90 % .把成品膜组装成小型膜装置后对空气进行实际分离 ,经检测发现其富氧效果显著 .例如在 0 .3MPa的压力下 ,分离率可达 4 1% ,通量达到了 18.6 2L/ (m2 ·d) .     

Metal affinity capture tandem mass spectrometry for the selective detection of phosphopeptides

We report a new method called metal affinity capture that when coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (MAC-MSMS) allows for the selective detection and identification of phosphopeptides in complex mixtures. Phosphopeptides are captured as ternary complexes with Ga(III) or Fe(III) and N(alpha),N(alpha)-bis(carboxymethyl)lysine (LysNTA) in solution and electrosprayed as doubly or triply charged positive ions. The gas-phase complexes uniformly dissociate to produce a common (LysNTA + H)+ ion that is used as a specific marker in precursor ion scans. The advantages of MAC-MSMS over the current methods of phosphopeptide detection are as follows. (1) MAC-MSMS uses metal complexes that self-assemble in solution at pH <5, which is favorable for the production of positive ions by electrospray. (2) Phosphorylation at tyrosine, serine, and threonine is detected by MAC-MSMS. (3) The phosphopeptide peaks in the mass spectra are encoded with the 69Ga-71Ga isotope pattern for selective recognition in mixtures. Detection by MAC-MSMS of singly and multiply phosphorylated peptides in tryptic digests is demonstrated at low-nanomolar protein concentrations.     

Functionalized micromachines for selective and rapid isolation of nucleic acid targets from complex samples

The transport properties of single-strand DNA probe-modified self-propelling micromachines are exploited for "on-the-fly" hybridization and selective single-step isolation of target nucleic acids from "raw" microliter biological samples (serum, urine, crude E. coli lysate, saliva). The rapid movement of the guided modified microrockets induces fluid convection, which enhances the hybridization efficiency, thus enabling the rapid and selective isolation of nucleic acid targets from untreated samples. The integration of these autonomous microrockets into a lab-on-chip device that provides both nucleic acid isolation and downstream analysis could thus be attractive for diverse applications.     

Highly selective zeolite membranes as explosive preconcentrators

Highly selective thin zeolite MFI membranes are synthesized on porous stainless steel and α-alumina supports using a seeded growth method. An ultraviolet (UV) light treatment is employed as a low temperature alternative to remove the organic structure-directing agent (SDA) to avoid membrane cracking. The feasibility of the use of the MFI membranes as an explosive preconcentrator is examined by measuring the permeation of nitrogen (N(2), an air surrogate) and 1,3,5-trimethylbenzene (TMB) (a 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) surrogate) in a mixture of N(2) and TMB. High N(2)/TMB selectivity (>10?000) and reasonable N(2) flux (13.5 mmol/m(2)·s) are observed. On the basis of the flux, a hollow fiber array based preconcentrator is proposed and estimated to provide 1000× concentration within about 1 min using a hollow fiber with a 50 μm internal radius. This high performance explosive preconcentrator may open a new venue for the detection of subppb or lower level of explosives simply in conjunction with conventional explosives detectors.     

fabrication of diamond membranes for MEMS using reactive ion etching of silicon

Polycrystalline diamond thin film has been grown on a silicon substrate using high pressure microwave plasma-assisted chemical vapor deposition from a gas mixture of methane and hydrogen at a substrate temperature of 950°C. A simple process flow has been developed to fabricate optically transparent polycrystalline synthetic diamond membranes/windows employing reactive ion etching (RIE) of a single crystal silicon substrate using an electron beam evaporated aluminum thin film mask pattern formed by photolithography. Scanning electron microscopy has been used to study the morphology of as-grown diamond thin films.     

Analytical analysis and finite element simulation of advanced membranes for silicon microphones

In this paper, advanced membrane designs are simulated in order to improve the sensitivity of micromachined silicon condenser microphones. Analytical analyzes and finite element simulations have been carried out to derive algebraic expressions for the mechanical compliance of corrugated membranes and membranes supported at spring elements. It is shown that the compliance of both types of membranes can be modeled with the help of an enhanced theory of circular membranes. For spring membranes, a numerically derived and design dependent constant takes into account the reduced suspension. The mechanical stress in corrugated membranes is calculated using a geometrical model and is confirmed by finite element simulations. A very good agreement between theory and experimental results is demonstrated for spring membranes of different shape and for membranes with varying number of corrugations. In a silicon microphone application, a high electro-acoustical sensitivity up to 8.2 mV/Pa/V is achieved with a membrane diameter of only 1 mm.     

LPCVD of tungsten by selective deposition on silicon

Tungsten has been deposited in a low pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD) system by silicon reduction of WF₆. Hydrogen passivation of the silicon was found essential to inhibit native oxide formation on the silicon. A self-limiting W thickness of 100 nm was achieved at a deposition temperature of 440 °C. A typical layer sheet resistance of 2 / was obtained. Layers deposited at higher temperature yielded greater thickness, but showed the inclusion of higher resistivity phase W.WSi₂ also observed, indicating solid phase reaction between the silicon and the deposited W. A reduced self-limiting thickness of W was observed when heavily doped single-crystal substrates were employed. This reduction in thickness was also observed when polycrystalline samples were employed.     

功能化碳纳米管负载钯纳米催化剂提高苯甲醇选择性氧化

对多壁碳纳米管进行纯化和功能化处理,比较了未氧化处理与经浓硝酸和浓硫酸混酸(浓硫酸与浓硝酸体积比为3∶1)处理后的不同多壁碳纳米管(MWCNTs)为载体的Pd催化剂(Pd/MWCNTs)的分散性和粒径。利用X线粉末衍射仪(XRD)、透射电镜(TEM)、X射线能谱(EDS)和傅里叶变换红外光谱仪(FT-IR)等测试手段对所得的样品进行了表征。结果表明,MWCNTs表面不修饰不利于金属Pd纳米粒子的沉积,混酸处理使MWCNTs表面有大量的含氧活性基团,能够促进负载的Pd纳米粒子均一分布,明显提高了苯甲醇氧化为苯甲醛的选择性和转化率。     

Effect of amine structure on CO2 capture by polymeric membranes

Abstract

Poly(amidoamine)s (PAMAMs) incorporated into a cross-linked poly(ethylene glycol) exhibited excellent CO₂ separation properties over H₂. However, the CO₂ permeability should be increased for practical applications. Monoethanolamine (MEA) used as a CO₂ determining agent in the current CO₂ capture technology at demonstration scale was readily immobilized in poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) matrix by solvent casting of aqueous mixture of PVA and the amine. The resulting polymeric membranes can be self-standing with the thickness above 3 μm and the amine fraction less than 80 wt%. The gas permeation properties were examined at 40 °C and under 80% relative humidity. The CO₂ separation performance increased with increase of the amine content in the polymeric membranes. When the amine fraction was 80 wt%, the CO₂ permeability coefficient of MEA containing membrane was 604 barrer with CO₂ selectivity of 58.5 over H₂, which was much higher than the PAMAM membrane (83.7 barrer and 51.8, respectively) under the same operation conditions. On the other hand, ethylamine (EA) was also incorporated into PVA matrix to form a thin membrane. However, the resulting polymeric membranes exhibited slight CO₂-selective gas permeation properties. The hydroxyl group of MEA was crucial for high CO₂ separation performance.     

Modification of silicon substrate using low-energy proton beam for selective growth of CNTs

A 3 keV low-energy proton beam was used to irradiate a silicon substrate for selective modification. The water contact angle measurement, chemical etching test with HF and the auger electron spectroscopy were used to investigate the chemical properties and the material composition of the proton beam-irradiated silicon substrate. The proton beam-irradiated silicon substrate was covered with a silicon oxide layer of about 60-70 angstroms due to the incorporation of oxygen molecules after exposure to ambient air. The silicon oxide layer produced by the proton beam was highly resistant to HF treatment which typically used to remove the silicon oxide on a substrate, and the surface of it was more hydrophilic than the native silicon oxide removed silicon surface with Si-H surface group. For the selective growth of carbon nanotubes (CNTs), the silicon oxide pattern was easily fabricated via proton beam irradiation when the silicon substrate was covered with a shadow mask. The Fe-Mo bimetallic catalysts for the growth of CNTs were adsorbed onto the silicon oxide layer, which is more hydrophilic than the silicon surface. The CNTs were grown on the patterned substrate using a chemical vapor deposition method, and it was confirmed by scanning electron microscopy.     

Method of selective doping of silicon by segregating impurities

An original method for the controlled doping of silicon by segregating donor impurities is proposed. The approach is based on a rapid variation of the growth temperature during the molecular beam epitaxy between the regimes of kinetically limited segregation and maximum segregation of the dopant. By example of antimony, it is demonstrated that the proposed method can be used to obtain several-nanometer-thick selectively Sb-doped Si epilayers, in which a tenfold change in the volume concentration of the dopant is achieved on a 2–3 nm scale.     

All-(111) surface silicon nanowires: selective functionalization for biosensing applications

We demonstrate the utilization of selective functionalization of carbon-silicon (C-Si) alkyl and alkenyl monolayers covalently linked to all-(111) surface silicon nanowire (Si-NW) biosensors. Terminal amine groups on the functional monolayer surfaces were used for conjugation of biotin n-hydroxysuccinimide ester. The selective functionalization is demonstrated by contact angle, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and high-resolution scanning electron microscopy (HRSEM) of 5 nm diameter thiolated Au nanoparticles linked with streptavidin and conjugated to the biotinylated all-(111) surface Si-NWs. Electrical measurements of monolayer passivated Si-NWs show improved device behavior and performance. Furthermore, an analytical model is presented to demonstrate the improvement in detection sensitivity of the alkyl and alkenyl passivated all-(111) Si-NW biosensors compared to conventional nanowire biosensor geometries and silicon dioxide passivation layers as well as interface design and electrical biasing guidelines for depletion-mode sensors.