Accurate measurement of magnesium content in alphaolefins by laser induced breakdown spectroscopy （LIBS） technique

In this paper,results are presented on first application of laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy(LIBS) technique for quantitative determination of Mg concentration in alpha-olefins. It is demonstrated that this technique gives accuracies in Mg concentrations which are comparable with those of traditional methods,as ICP-OES,in short times and without need for sample preparation. Limits of detection for Mg of the order of 500 ppb are demonstrated. Moreover,a brief discussion about the realization of proper calibration curves and the definition of the limit of detection(LOD) is reported.     

Cellulose II Aerogel‐Based Triboelectric Nanogenerator

Cellulose‐based triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) have gained increasing attention. In this study, a novel method is demonstrated to synthesize cellulose‐based aerogels and such aerogels are used to fabricate TENGs that can serve as mechanical energy harvesters and self‐powered sensors. The cellulose II aerogel is fabricated via a dissolution–regeneration process in a green inorganic molten salt hydrate solvent (lithium bromide trihydrate), where. The as‐fabricated cellulose II aerogel exhibits an interconnected open‐pore 3D network structure, higher degree of flexibility, high porosity, and a high surface area of 221.3 m² g^?1. Given its architectural merits, the cellulose II aerogel‐based TENG presents an excellent mechanical response sensitivity and high electrical output performance. By blending with other natural polysaccharides, i.e., chitosan and alginic acid, electron‐donating and electron‐withdrawing groups are introduced into the composite cellulose II aerogels, which significantly improves the triboelectric performance of the TENG. The cellulose II aerogel‐based TENG is demonstrated to light up light‐emitting diodes, charge commercial capacitors, power a calculator, and monitor human motions. This study demonstrates the facile fabrication of cellulose II aerogel and its application in TENG, which leads to a high‐performance and eco‐friendly energy harvesting and self‐powered system.     

Unified fixed‐point analysis of IEEE 802.11 WLAN under saturated and unsaturated conditions

Most of analysis so far for IEEE 802.11 wireless local area networks (WLANs) focuses on saturated condition. However, it is of practical value to take into account the unsaturation case. In this paper, we modified Bianchi's Markov back‐off model to make it applicable to unsaturated condition and the analytic results are provided by employing the renewal‐reward theorem. Under our proposed model, we study the fixed‐point solution of the system and provide a condition to guarantee both the uniqueness and balance of the fixed point. From the fixed point, we find that under unsaturated condition, network parameters should be adjusted according to the traffic load. Then, we study the system throughput. In the case where there are a large number of nodes, we provide closed‐form formulas for the collision probability, the aggregate attempt rate, and the throughput. We find that in such a scenario, the system yields similar performance as that under saturated situation. Moreover, we compare all the results with those under saturated condition and find the latter is a special case of our results. Hence, all of our analysis based on unsaturated condition well covers saturated condition. Our analytical results are validated through ns2 simulations. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Surface‐Enhanced Raman Scattering Using Microstructured Optical Fiber Substrates

Microstructured optical fibers (MOFs) represent a promising platform technology for fully integrated next generation surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) sensors and plasmonic devices. In this paper we demonstrate silver nanoparticle substrates for SERS detection within MOF templates with exceptional temporal and mechanical stability, using organometallic precursors and a high‐pressure chemical deposition technique. These 3D substrates offer significant benefits over conventional planar detection geometries, with the long electromagnetic interaction lengths of the optical guided fiber modes exciting multiple plasmon resonances along the fiber. The large Raman response detected when analyte molecules are infiltrated within the structures can be directly related to the deposition profile of the nanoparticles within the MOFs via electrical characterization.     

Intracellular Fate of Hydrophobic Nanocrystal Self‐Assemblies in Tumor Cells

Control of interactions between nanomaterials and cells remains a biomedical challenge. A strategy is proposed to modulate the intralysosomal distribution of nanoparticles through the design of 3D suprastructures built by hydrophilic nanocrystals (NCs) coated with alkyl chains. The intracellular fate of two water‐dispersible architectures of self‐assembled hydrophobic magnetic NCs: hollow deformable shells (colloidosomes) or solid fcc particles (supraballs) is compared. These two self‐assemblies display increased cellular uptake by tumor cells compared to dispersions of the water‐soluble NC building blocks. Moreover, the self‐assembly structures increase the NCs density in lysosomes and close to the lysosome membrane. Importantly, the structural organization of NCs in colloidosomes and supraballs are maintained in lysosomes up to 8 days after internalization, whereas initially dispersed hydrophilic NCs are randomly aggregated. Supraballs and colloidosomes are differently sensed by cells due to their different architectures and mechanical properties. Flexible and soft colloidosomes deform and spread along the biological membranes. In contrast, the more rigid supraballs remain spherical. By subjecting the internalized suprastructures to a magnetic field, they both align and form long chains. Overall, it is highlighted that the mechanical and topological properties of the self‐assemblies direct their intracellular fate allowing the control intralysosomal density, ordering, and localization of NCs.     

Encapsulation of Nanoparticles Using Nitrilotriacetic Acid End‐Functionalized Polystyrenes and Their Application for the Separation of Proteins

The use of nitrilotriacetic acid end‐functionalized polystyrenes (NTA‐PS) as a multifunctional nanocarrier for the aqueous dispersion of CdSe, γ‐Fe₂O₃ and gold nanoparticles (NPs) is described. When the amphiphilic end‐ functionalized polystyrenes and NPs are dissolved together in tetrahydrofuran, the addition of water causes the spontaneous formation of micellar aggregates, resulting in the successful encapsulation and aqueous dispersion of NPs. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy, and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) are used to characterize the structure and properties of the NPs‐containing micellar aggregates (nanocarrier). After complexation of Ni²⁺ with NTA on the surface of the nanocarrier containing γ‐Fe₂O₃, specific binding between Ni‐NTA complex and histidine‐tagged (His‐tagged) proteins enables selective separation of His‐tagged proteins using a magnet.     

Ideal Energy‐Level Alignment at the ZnO/P3HT Photovoltaic Interface

Hybrid semiconductor‐polymer nanostructured solar cells hold the promise of photovoltaic energy conversion based on abundant and nontoxic materials and scalable manufacturing processes. After a decade of intense research activity, hybrid solar cells still exhibit low short‐circuit currents and moderate open‐circuit voltages. These bottlenecks call for a detailed understanding of the physics underlying the device operation at the nanoscale. Using first‐principles calculations the ideal energy‐level alignment of hybrid solar cell interfaces based on the wide bandgap semiconductor ZnO and the polymer poly(3‐hexylthiophene) (P3HT) is investigated. The interfacial charge transfer is quantified and it is shown that this effect increases the ideal open‐circuit voltage with respect to the electron‐affinity rule by as much as 0.5 V. The results of this work suggests that there is significant room for optimizing this class of excitonic solar cells by tailoring the semiconductor/polymer interface at the nanoscale.     

Cold isostatic pressing technique for producing highly efficient flexible dye‐sensitised solar cells on plastic substrates

One of the biggest challenges for making dye‐sensitised solar cells (DSCs) on plastic substrates is the difficulty in making good quality nanoporous TiO₂ films with both good mechanical stability and high electrical conductivity. Cold isostatic pressing (CIP) is a powder compaction technique that applies an isostatic pressure to a powder sample in all directions. It is particularly suitable for making thin films on plastic substrates, including non‐flat surfaces. Cold isostatically pressed nanocrystalline TiO₂ electrodes with excellent mechanical robustness were prepared on indium tin oxide (ITO)‐coated polyethylene naphthalate (PEN) substrates in the absence of organic binders and without heat treatment. The morphology and the physical properties of the TiO₂ films prepared by the CIP method were found to be very compatible with requirements for flexible DSCs on plastics. This room‐temperature processing technique has led to an important technical breakthrough in producing high efficiency flexible DSCs. Devices fabricated on ITO/PEN films by this method using standard P‐25 TiO₂ films with a Ru‐complex sensitiser yielded a maximum incident photon‐to‐current conversion efficiency of 72% at the wavelength of 530 nm and showed high conversion efficiencies of 6.3% and 7.4% for incident light intensities of 100 and 15 mW cm⁻², respectively, which are the highest power conversion efficiencies achieved so far for any DSC on a polymer substrate using the widely used, commercially available P‐25 TiO₂ powder. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Onset of Darcy‐Brinkman Convection in a Binary Viscoelastic Fluid‐Saturated Porous Layer with Internal Heat Source

The onset of Darcy‐Brinkman convection in a binary viscoelastic fluid‐saturated sparsely packed porous layer with an internal heat source is studied using both linear and nonlinear stability analyses. The Oldroyd‐B model is employed to describe the rheological behavior of binary fluid. An extended form of the Darcy‐Oldroyd law incorporating Brinkman's correction and time derivative is used to describe the flow through a porous layer. The onset criterion for stationary, oscillatory, and finite amplitude convection is derived analytically. There is a competition between the processes of thermal diffusion, solute diffusion, and viscoelasticity that causes the convection to set in through an oscillatory mode rather than a stationary mode. The effect of internal Rayleigh number, relaxation and retardation parameters, solute Rayleigh number, Darcy number, Darcy‐Prandtl number, and Lewis number on the stability of a system is investigated and is shown graphically. The nonlinear theory based on the truncated representation of the Fourier series method is used to find heat and mass transfer. The transient behavior of the Nusselt and Sherwood numbers is obtained using numerical methods. Some known results are recovered for the particular cases of the present study. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heat Trans Asian Res, 42(8): 676–703, 2013; Published online in Wiley Online Library ( wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/htj ). DOI 10.1002/htj.21056