Concentric Sub‐micrometer‐Sized Cables Composed of Ni Nanowires and Sub‐micrometer‐Sized Fullerene Tubes

Highly ordered arrays of submicrometer‐sized coaxial cables composed of submicrometer‐sized C₆₀ and C₇₀ tubes filled with Ni nanowires are successfully prepared by combining a sol–gel method with an electrodeposition process. The wall thickness of the submicrometer‐sized tubes can be adjusted by the concentration of fullerenes and the immersion time. The thermal stability of the submicrometer‐sized C₆₀ tubes is studied by Raman spectroscopy and it is found that these structures can be easily decomposed to form carbon nanotubes at relatively low temperatures (above 573 K) in an alumina template. These novel coaxial cable structures have been characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), high‐resolution TEM (HRTEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), field‐emission SEM (FESEM), Raman spectroscopy, elemental mapping, energy dispersive X‐ray (EDX) spectroscopy, X‐ray diffraction (XRD), vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) experiments, and superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) measurements. Magnetic measurements show that these submicrometer‐sized cables exhibit enhanced ferromagnetic behavior as compared to bulk nickel. Moreover, submicrometer‐sized C₇₀/Ni cables show uniaxial magnetic anisotropy with the easy magnetic axis being parallel to the long axis of the Ni nanowires. C₇₀/Ni cables also exhibit a new magnetic transition at ca. 10 K in the magnetization–temperature (M–T) curve, which is not observed for the analogous C₆₀/Ni structures. The origin of this transition is not yet clear, but might be related to interactions between the Ni nanowires and C₇₀ molecules. There is no preferred magnetization axis in submicrometer‐sized C₆₀/Ni cables, which implies that the Ni nanocrystals have different packing modes in the two composites. These different crystalline packing modes lead to different magnetic anisotropy in the two composites, although the Ni nanocrystals have the same face‐centered cubic (fcc) structure in both cases.     

Nanowire Structural Evolution from Fe3O4 to ϵ‐Fe2O3

The ?‐Fe₂O₃ phase is commonly considered an intermediate phase during thermal treatment of maghemite (γ‐Fe₂O₃) to hematite (α‐Fe₂O₃). The routine method of synthesis for ?‐Fe₂O₃ crystals uses γ‐Fe₂O₃ as the source material and requires dispersion of γ‐Fe₂O₃ into silica, and the obtained ?‐Fe₂O₃ particle size is rather limited, typically under 200 nm. In this paper, by using a pulsed laser deposition method and Fe₃O₄ powder as a source material, the synthesis of not only one‐dimensional Fe₃O₄ nanowires but also high‐yield ?‐Fe₂O₃ nanowires is reported for the first time. A detailed transmission electron microscopy (TEM) study shows that the nanowires of pure magnetite grow along [111] and <211> directions, although some stacking faults and twins exist. However, magnetite nanowires growing along the <110> direction are found in every instance to accompany a new phase, ?‐Fe₂O₃, with some micrometer‐sized wires even fully transferring to ?‐Fe₂O₃ along the fixed structural orientation relationship, (001) ∥ (111), [010] ∥ <110>. Contrary to generally accepted ideas regarding epsilon phase formation, there is no indication of γ‐Fe₂O₃ formation during the synthesis process; the phase transition may be described as being from Fe₃O₄ to ?‐Fe₂O₃, then to α‐Fe₂O₃. The detailed structural evolution process has been revealed by using TEM. 120° rotation domain boundaries and antiphase boundaries are also frequently observed in the ?‐Fe₂O₃ nanowires. The observed ?‐Fe₂O₃ is fundamentally important for understanding the magnetic properties of the nanowires.     

Noise sources in miniature fluxgate sensors Part I: theoretical treatment

A mathematical model for miniature fluxgate magnetometers is presented in the first part of this work. It is based on certain well-defined and easy-measurable parameters of the hysteresis loop exhibited by the fluxgate magnetic core, i.e., the coercive force and the field intensities at which the flux-reversal starts and saturates. Two signal extraction techniques are modeled, the classical second-order harmonic one, and the current sampling one. For both cases, analytical expressions (in time and frequency domains) are derived for the magnetometer transfer function (voltage vs field) and the influence of the aforementioned hysteresis loop parameters on the magnetometer response. Consequently the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) in the ELF (Extremely Low Frequency) range and the effective magnetometer bandwidth are calculated for both cases. The SNR is a function of the variance of the aforementioned hysteresis loop parameters. Several noise-sources of different origin have been found to influence this variance, namely: (a) the magnetic (Barkhausen) noise, (b) the noise superimposed to the excitation waveform, (c) the noise generated due to electromagnetic-interference, and (d) the noise generated due to mechanical vibration of fluxgate cores. The extend, up to which the power of these noise-sources boost the variance of the aforementioned hysteresis loop parameters, is a function of certain fluxgate core characteristics, namely: (a) the saturation magnetization, (b) the coercive field, (c) the flux-reversal duration, (d) the dependence of flux-reversal duration on the excitation field slope (slew rate), (e) the core cross-section, and (f) the core frequency response (magnetic damping and magnetic viscosity). Finally, the conditions are investigated so that the current-sampling technique exhibits better SNR compared to the classical second-order-harmonic one. In the second part of this work the theory presented here is applied to explain the noise performance of miniature fluxgates employing amorphous wire cores.     

Amphiphilic Polymeric Nanocarriers with Luminescent Gold Nanoclusters for Concurrent Bioimaging and Controlled Drug Release

Multifunctional theranostic systems with good biocompatibility, strong clinical imaging capability, and target specificity are the desired features of future medicine. Here, the design of a theranostic nanocomposite capable of simultaneous targeting and imaging of the cancer cells is presented. It releases its drug payload by a controlled release mechanism. The nanocomposite contains luminescent gold nanocluster (L‐AuNC) photostable and biocompatible diagnostic probes conjugated to a folic acid (FA)‐modified pH‐responsive amphiphilic polymeric system for controlled drug release. The nanocomposite uses a core‐satellite structure to encapsulate hydrophobic drugs and releases the drug payload in mildly acidic endosomal/lysosomal compartments by the action of the pH‐labile linkages in the polymer. In vivo studies show the selective accumulation of the FA‐conjugated nanocomposite in tumor tissues by folate‐receptor‐mediated endocytosis. These findings demonstrate the potential of the nanocomposite as a nontoxic, folate‐targeting, pH‐responsive drug carrier that is useful for the early detection and therapy of folate‐overexpressing cancerous cells.     

三相磁阀式可控电抗器研究及展望

本文介绍了三相磁控电抗器的发展历史和研究现状,分析了不同种类的三相磁控电抗器的工作原理和电磁特性,结合其优缺点对未来的研究做出展望.     

Genetically Programmed Regioselective Immobilization of Enzymes in Biosilica Microparticles

Diatoms are single‐celled microalgae that produce a large variety of hierarchically porous, silica‐based microparticles as cell wall material. The presence of genetically encoded silica nanopatterns endows the biosilica with favorable properties for a wide range of applications including catalysis, chemical sensing, photonics, and drug delivery. Enhancing the performance of diatom biosilica requires i) a better understanding of the structure–property relationship in this material, and ii) methods that enable the manipulation of the biosilica structure and properties in a targeted manner. Here, genetic engineering of the diatom Thalassiosira pseudonana is employed to immobilize enzymes (glucose oxidase and horseradish peroxidase) into structurally distinct regions of the biosilica, which are termed valves and girdle bands. Remarkably, glucose oxidase in girdle bands exhibits >3‐fold higher catalytic activities compared to its location in valves. It is demonstrated through enzyme accessibility studies, protein engineering, and genetic engineering of biosilica morphology that the divergent enzyme activities are caused by the differences in the inherent silica nanopatterns of valves and girdle bands. This work highlights the importance of silica nanoscale architecture for the activity of immobilized enzymes and provides unprecedented tools for the biotechnological production of silica microparticles with tailored catalytic activities and anisotropic functionalities.     

Suppression of phonon‐mediated hot carrier relaxation in type‐II InAs/AlAsxSb1 − x quantum wells: a practical route to hot carrier solar cells

InAs/AlAs_xSb_{1 − x} quantum wells are investigated for their potential as hot carrier solar cells. Continuous wave power and temperature‐dependent photoluminescence indicate a transition in the dominant hot carrier relaxation process from conventional phonon‐mediated carrier relaxation below 90 K to a regime where inhibited radiative recombination dominates the hot carrier relaxation at elevated temperatures. At temperatures below 90 K, photoluminescence measurements are consistent with type‐I quantum wells that exhibit hole localization associated with alloy/interface fluctuations. At elevated temperatures, hole delocalization reveals the true type‐II band alignment, where it is observed that inhibited radiative recombination due to the spatial separation of the charge carriers dominates hot carrier relaxation. This decoupling of phonon‐mediated relaxation results in robust hot carriers at higher temperatures, even at lower excitation powers. These results indicate type‐II quantum wells offer potential as practical hot carrier systems. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

GaAs半导体对1.06m激光的吸收响应

人射光脉冲波长为1064nm时，GaAs光导开关上的直流电场强度为10~3V/Cm。讨一论了恒定光强和高斯光强时，GaAs杂质吸收载流子浓度随时问变化;将高斯光强时的模拟结果同实验相比较，二者吻合很好。     

Porous Polymersomes with Encapsulated Gd‐Labeled Dendrimers as Highly Efficient MRI Contrast Agents

The use of nanovesicles with encapsulated Gd as magnetic resonance (MR) contrast agents has largely been ignored due to the detrimental effects of the slow water exchange rate through the vesicle bilayer on the relaxivity of encapsulated Gd. Here, the facile synthesis of a composite MR contrast platform is described; it consists of dendrimer conjugates encapsulated in porous polymersomes. These nanoparticles exhibit improved permeability to water flux and a large capacity to store chelated Gd within the aqueous lumen, resulting in enhanced longitudinal relaxivity. The porous polymersomes, ～130 nm in diameter, are produced through the aqueous assembly of the polymers, polyethylene oxide‐b‐polybutadiene (PBdEO), and polyethylene oxide‐b‐polycaprolactone (PEOCL). Subsequent hydrolysis of the caprolactone (CL) block resulted in a highly permeable outer membrane. To prevent the leakage of small Gd‐chelate through the pores, Gd was conjugated to polyamidoamine (PAMAM) dendrimers via diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid dianhydride (DTPA dianhydride) prior to encapsulation. As a result of the slower rotational correlation time of Gd‐labeled dendrimers, the porous outer membrane of the nanovesicle, and the high Gd payload, these functional nanoparticles are found to exhibit a relaxivity (R1) of 292 109 mM ^?1 s^?1 per particle. The polymersomes are also found to exhibit unique pharmacokinetics with a circulation half‐life of >3.5 h and predominantly renal clearance.     

Amplifying Nanoparticle Targeting Performance to Tumor via Diels–Alder Cycloaddition

Traditional targeting approach utilizing biological ligands has to face the problems of limited receptors and tumor heterogeneity. Herein, a two‐step tumor‐targeting and therapy strategy based on inverse electron‐demand [4+2] Diels–Alder cycloaddition (iEDDA) is described. Owing to the unique acidic tumor microenvironment, an intravenous injection of tetrazine modified pH (low) insertion peptide could efficiently target and incorporate onto various cell surfaces in tumor tissue, such as cancer cells, vascular endothelial cells, and tumor‐associated fibroblasts. The “receptor‐like” tetrazine groups with a large amount and homogeneous intratumoral distribution could then serve as the baits to greatly amplify the tumor‐targeting ability of indocyanine green (ICG)‐loaded and trans‐cyclooctene (TCO)‐conjugated human serum albumin (HSA) nanoparticles (TCO‐HSA‐ICG NPs) via iEDDA after the second intravenous injection. Compared with the passive enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect and traditional active targeting approaches, the targeting performance and photothermal therapeutic effect based on the two‐step strategy are significantly enhanced, while no notable toxicity is observed. As acidity is a characteristic of solid tumor, the two‐step strategy can serve as a universal and promising modality for safe and high‐performance nanoparticle‐based antitumor therapy.