High-aspect ratio and horizontally oriented carbon nanotubes synthesized by RF-cCVD

Horizontally aligned long carbon nanotubes were efficiently synthesized on Si substrates by using a radio-frequency catalytic chemical vapor deposition method. The morphological as well as the growth properties of these nanotubes were systematically investigated with various analytical techniques including microscopy and Raman spectroscopy. Different reaction parameters such as temperature, type of hydrocarbon gas and catalyst amount were varied and their effects on the nanotube size, quality and alignment are reported. High-aspect ratio and horizontally oriented nanotubes were found to grow following the “tip growth” mechanism. The fast and localized heating rate produced by the RF generator helps nanotubes to separate and lift the nano-particles away from the support and hence contributes to the growth of CNTs with a very high-aspect ratio. Carbon nanotubes synthesized with methane show a better horizontal alignment compared to those synthesized with acetylene, which might be due to the flow rate of the hydrocarbon gas.     

用于蛋白快速分离的1-mm内径的高效聚合物整体材料

多年来,整体技术已经成功地从概念阶段发展到表征良好且可重复的商用阶段。不同的整体柱化学材料,包括阴离子交换剂、阳离子交换剂和在ProSwift线性整体柱的反相功能基团,均可用于多种蛋白质的分离。与更大尺寸的色谱柱相比,1-mm内径的色谱柱在灵敏度提高和使用方便二者间达到了很好的协调。由于背压较小,这些整体柱可以在高动力学流速下运行,从而可以在标准的分析型色谱仪器上使用,而不需要微柱或者毛细管柱高效液相色谱系统。     

Effects of annealing on structural and magnetic properties of template synthesized cobalt nanowires useful as data storage and nano devices

Cobalt nanowires of 100 nm diameter were synthesised electrochemically, in the pores of anodic alumina membrane (AAM). Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy was used to study the in situ growth of cobalt nanowires in the AAM. The structural and morphological characterization of template synthesized cobalt nanowires was done through X-ray diffractometer and scanning electron microscope, respectively. Effect of annealing on electrical and magnetic properties of cobalt nanowires was also investigated.     

Inhomogeneous Electronic Structure of FeTe1−x Se x Revealed by X-ray Absorption Near Edge Structure

Ab initio Fe K-edge X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) calculations on FeTe_1?x Se _x , based on its crystallographic structure, are compared with experimental data. The calculated XANES spectra are inconsistent with the observed increase of spectral weight in the preedge region of the experimental spectra on the ternary system in which Te is substituted by Se. However, the weighted average of the XANES of FeTe and FeSe binaries reproduce well the observed trend in the experimental spectra of the ternary systems. This suggests that the FeTe_1?x Se _x is characterized by an inhomogeneous local electronic structure, resulting from a random-alloy like local atomic structure. The calculated unoccupied Fe d-density of states at the Fermi level increases monotonically with Te content unlike the observed change in T _c with Te content. T _c increases with increasing Te content up to x=0.5; however, the superconductivity is suppressed in the FeTe due to magnetic order, which is not considered in these calculations.     

Effect of artificial roughness on heat transfer and friction factor in a solar air heater

Convective heat transfer coefficient between absorber plate and air in a flat-plate solar air heater can be enhanced by providing the absorber plate with artificial roughness. An investigation of fully developed turbulent flow in a solar air heater duct with small diameter protrusion wires on the absorber plate has been carried out and expressions for prediction of average Stanton number and average friction factor have been developed. The results of these expressions have been compared with available data. The results have been found to compare with a mean deviation of 6.3% for friction factor and −10.7% for the Nusselt number. The effect of height and pitch of the roughness elements on the heat transfer rate and friction has also been investigated.     

Conservation v. generation: The significance of Demand-Side Management (DSM), its tools and techniques

A balance between electricity supply and demand is needed at all times to ensure a stable and reliable market. This can be done in two ways, either by Supply-side Management by adding supply when demand is high or by Demand-Side Management (DSM) by curtailing the system demand when supply availability is less. Satish Saini explores the benefits of DSM as a solution to supply shortage and alternative to new plant build.     

Detecting hybridization of DNA by highly sensitive evanescent field etched core fiber Bragg grating sensors

Highly sensitive fiber Bragg grating sensors were developed by etching away the cladding and part of the core of the fiber and detecting the change of Bragg wavelength due to the change of index of the surrounding medium. A sensitivity of 1394 nm/riu was achieved when the diameter of the grating core was 3.4 /spl mu/m and the index of the surrounding medium was close to the index of the core of the fiber. Assuming a detectable spectral resolution of 0.01 nm realized in the experiment, the sensor achieves a minimum detectable index resolution of 7.2/spl times/10/sup -6/. Higher sensitivity at lower surrounding index was achieved by using higher order modes excited in the Bragg grating region. The use of the fiber Bragg grating sensor was further investigated to detect hybridization of DNA. Single stranded DNA oligonucleotide probes of 20 bases were immobilized on the surface of the fiber grating using relatively common glutarahyldehyde chemistry. Hybridization of complimentary target single strand DNA oligonucleotide was monitored in situ and successfully detected. The demonstrated fiber Bragg grating sensors provide an elegant method to monitor biological changes in an in situ manner, and provide temporal information in a single experiment.     

Fertilization stimulates an increase in inositol trisphosphate and inositol lipid levels in Xenopus eggs

Previous experiments from our lab have suggested that the hydrolysis of phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PIP2) is required for sperm-induced egg activation in Xenopus laevis. Here we measure the endogenous production of both Ins(1,4,5)P3 and PIP2 during the sperm-induced and ionomycin-induced calcium wave in the egg and find that both increase following fertilization. Ins(1,4,5)P3 increases 3.2-fold from an unfertilized egg level of 0.13 pmole per egg (0.29 microM) to a peak of 0.42 pmole per egg (0.93 microM) as the calcium wave reaches the antipode in the fertilized egg. This continuous production of Ins(1,4,5)P3 during the time that the Ca2+ wave is propagating across the egg suggests the involvement of Ins(1,4,5)P3 in wave propagation. This increase in Ins(1,4,5)P3 is smaller in ionomycin-activated eggs than in sperm-activated eggs, suggesting that the sperm-induced production of Ins(1,4,5)P3 involves a PIP2 hydrolysis pathway that is not simply raising intracellular Ca2+. While one might expect PIP2 levels to fall as a result of hydrolysis, we find that PIP2 actually increases 2-fold. The total lipid fraction in unfertilized egg exhibits 0.8 pmole PIP2 per egg and this increases to 1.5 pmole as the calcium wave reaches the antipode. The PIP2 concentration peaks 2 min after the completion of the calcium wave at 1.8 pmole per egg. The amount of PIP2 in the animal and vegetal hemispheres of the egg was also measured by cutting frozen eggs in half. The vegetal hemisphere contained twice the amount of PIP2 as the animal hemisphere but it also contained twice the amount of lipid. Thus, there was an equivalent amount of PIP2 normalized to lipid in each hemisphere. Isolated animal and vegetal hemisphere cortices exhibit similar PIP2 concentrations, suggesting that the 2-fold higher total PIP2 in the vegetal half is not due to a gradient of PIP2 in the plasma membrane, but rather implies that cytoplasmic organelle membranes also contain PIP2.     

Heat transfer and friction characteristics of rectangular solar air heater duct using rib-grooved artificial roughness

Experimental investigation on the heat transfer and friction characteristics of rib-grooved artificial roughness on one broad heated wall of a large aspect ratio duct shows that Nusselt number can be further enhanced beyond that of ribbed duct while keeping the friction factor enhancement low. The experimental investigation encompassed the Reynolds number range from 3000 to 21,000; relative roughness height 0.0181–0.0363; relative roughness pitch 4.5–10.0, and groove position to pitch ratio 0.3–0.7. The effect of important parameters on the heat transfer coefficient and friction factor has been discussed and the results are compared with the results of ribbed and smooth duct under similar flow conditions. The present investigation clearly demonstrates that the heat transfer coefficient for rib-grooved arrangement is higher than that for the transverse ribs, whereas the friction factor is slightly higher for rib-grooved arrangement as compared to that of rectangular transverse ribs of similar rib height and rib spacing. The conditions for best performance have been determined. Correlations for Nusselt number and friction factor have been developed that predict the values within reasonable limits.