Transport properties in monolayer-bilayer-monolayer graphene planar junctions

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Kai-Long Chu; Zi-Bo Wang; Jiao-Jiao Zhou; Hua Jiang

2017-01-01

The transport study of graphene based junctions has become one of the focuses in graphene research.There are two stacking configurations for monolayer-bilayer-monolayer graphene planar junctions.One is the two monolayer graphene contacting the same side of the bilayer graphene,and the other is the two-monolayer graphene contacting the different layers of the bilayer graphene.In this paper,according to the Landauer-Büttiker formula,we study the transport properties of these two configurations.The influences of the local gate potential in each part,the bias potential in bilayer graphene,the disorder and external magnetic field on conductance are obtained.We find the conductances of the two configurations can be manipulated by all of these effects.Especially,one can distinguish the two stacking configurations by introducing the bias potential into the bilayer graphene.The strong disorder and the external magnetic field will make the two stacking configurations indistinguishable in the transport experiment.

Structure and properties of phosphorene-like IV-VI 2D materials.

Science.gov (United States)

Ma, Zhinan; Wang, Bo; Ou, Liangkai; Zhang, Yan; Zhang, Xu; Zhou, Zhen

2016-10-14

Because of the excellent physical and chemical properties of phosphorene, phosphorene and phosphorene-like materials have attracted extensive attention. Since phosphorus belongs to group V, some group IV-VI compounds could also form phosphorene-like configurations. In this work, GeO, SnO, GeS, and SnS monolayers were constructed to investigate the structural and electronic properties by employing first-principles computations. Phonon spectra suggest that these monolayers are dynamically stable and could be realized in experiments. These monolayers are all semiconductors with the band gaps of 2.26 ∼ 4.13 eV. Based on the monolayers, GeO, SnO, GeS, and SnS bilayers were also constructed. The band gaps of these bilayers are smaller than those of the corresponding monolayers. Moreover, the optical properties of these monolayers and bilayers were calculated, and the results indicate that the SnO, GeS and SnS bilayers exhibit obvious optical absorption in the visible spectrum. All the results suggest that phosphorene-like IV-VI materials are promising candidates for electronic and optical devices.

The electronic transport properties of defected bilayer sliding armchair graphene nanoribbons

Science.gov (United States)

Mohammadi, Amin; Haji-Nasiri, Saeed

2018-04-01

By applying non-equilibrium Green's functions (NEGF) in combination with tight-binding (TB) model, we investigate and compare the electronic transport properties of perfect and defected bilayer armchair graphene nanoribbons (BAGNRs) under finite bias. Two typical defects which are placed in the middle of top layer (i.e. single vacancy (SV) and stone wale (SW) defects) are examined. The results reveal that in both perfect and defected bilayers, the maximum current refers to β-AB, AA and α-AB stacking orders, respectively, since the intermolecular interactions are stronger in them. Moreover it is observed that a SV decreases the current in all stacking orders, but the effects of a SW defect is nearly unpredictable. Besides, we introduced a sequential switching behavior and the effects of defects on the switching performance is studied as well. We found that a SW defect can significantly improve the switching behavior of a bilayer system. Transmission spectrum, band structure, molecular energy spectrum and molecular projected self-consistent Hamiltonian (MPSH) are analyzed subsequently to understand the electronic transport properties of these bilayer devices which can be used in developing nano-scale bilayer systems.

Full-scale magnetic, microstructural, and physical properties of bilayered CoSiB/FeSiB ribbons

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Životský, O.; Titov, A.; Jirásková, Yvonna; Buršík, Jiří; Kalbáčová, J.; Janičkovič, D.; Švec, P.

2013-01-01

Roč. 581, DEC (2013), s. 685-692 ISSN 0925-8388 R&D Projects: GA MŠk(CZ) ED1.1.00/02.0068 Keywords : Bilayered ribbons * Soft magnetic materials * Microstructure * Surface and bulk magnetic properties Subject RIV: BM - Solid Matter Physics ; Magnetism Impact factor: 2.726, year: 2013

Exchange anisotropy and micromagnetic properties of PtMn/NiFe bilayers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pokhil, Taras; Linville, Eric; Mao, Sining

2001-01-01

Magnetic microstructure, exchange induced uniaxial and unidirectional anisotropy and structural transformation have been studied in PtMn/NiFe bilayer films and small elements as a function of annealing time. The relationship between the fcc-fct ordering phase transformation in PtMn and the development of exchange induced magnetic properties in PtMn/NiFe bilayers is complicated by the fact that the transformation occurs throughout the entire volume of the PtMn film, while the exchange between the layers is predominantly an interface effect. Consequently, the development of the exchange anisotropy should depend primarily on the character of the structural transformation at the interface between PtMn and NiFe. The purpose of this article is to correlate the volume phase transformation in PtMn to the development of exchange anisotropy and micromagnetic behavior in PtMn/NiFe bilayers. The interface structure can be inferred from the anisotropy and micromagnetic measurements, leading to a model that explains the relationship between the volume and interface transformation structures in PtMn, and magnetic properties of the bilayers. The structure and magnetic properties were characterized by x-ray diffraction, vibrating sample magnetometry, and magnetic force microscopy. [copyright] 2001 American Institute of Physics

A Molecular Dynamics Study of the Structural and Dynamical Properties of Putative Arsenic Substituted Lipid Bilayers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ratna Juwita

2013-04-01

Full Text Available Cell membranes are composed mainly of phospholipids which are in turn, composed of five major chemical elements: carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, and phosphorus. Recent studies have suggested the possibility of sustaining life if the phosphorus is substituted by arsenic. Although this issue is still controversial, it is of interest to investigate the properties of arsenated-lipid bilayers to evaluate this possibility. In this study, we simulated arsenated-lipid, 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-arsenocholine (POAC, lipid bilayers using all-atom molecular dynamics to understand basic structural and dynamical properties, in particular, the differences from analogous 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine, (POPC lipid bilayers. Our simulations showed that POAC lipid bilayers have distinct structural and dynamical properties from those of native POPC lipid bilayers. Relative to POPC lipid bilayers, POAC lipid bilayers have a more compact structure with smaller lateral areas and greater order. The compact structure of POAC lipid bilayers is due to the fact that more inter-lipid salt bridges are formed with arsenate-choline compared to the phosphate-choline of POPC lipid bilayers. These inter-lipid salt bridges bind POAC lipids together and also slow down the head group rotation and lateral diffusion of POAC lipids. Thus, it would be anticipated that POAC and POPC lipid bilayers would have different biological implications.

Tunable electric properties of bilayer InSe with different interlayer distances and external electric field

Science.gov (United States)

Shang, Jimin; Pan, Longfei; Wang, Xiaoting; Li, Jingbo; Wei, Zhongming

2018-03-01

Using density functional theory we explore the band structure of bilayer Indium selenide (InSe), and we find that the van der Waals interaction has significant effects on the electric and optical properties. We then explore the tuning electronic properties by different interlayer distances and by an external vertical electric field. Our results demonstrate that the band gaps of bilayer InSe can be continuously tuned by different interlayer coupling. With decreasing interlayer distances, the tunable band gaps of bilayer decrease linearly, owing to the enhancement of the interlayer interaction. Additionally, the band structure of bilayer InSe under external vertical fields is discussed. The presence of a small external electric field can make a new spatial distribution of electron-hole pairs. A well separation based on the electrons and holes, localized in different layers can be obtained using this easy method. These properties of bilayer InSe indicates potential applications in designing new optoelectronic devices.

Thickness dependencies of structural and magnetic properties of cubic and tetragonal Heusler alloy bilayer films

Science.gov (United States)

Ranjbar, R.; Suzuki, K. Z.; Sugihara, A.; Ando, Y.; Miyazaki, T.; Mizukami, S.

2017-07-01

The thickness dependencies of the structural and magnetic properties for bilayers of cubic Co-based Heusler alloys (CCHAs: Co2FeAl (CFA), Co2FeSi (CFS), Co2MnAl (CMA), and Co2MnSi (CMS)) and D022-MnGa were investigated. Epitaxy of the B2 structure of CCHAs on a MnGa film was achieved; the smallest thickness with the B2 structure was found for 3-nm-thick CMS and CFS. The interfacial exchange coupling (Jex) was antiferromagnetic (AFM) for all of the CCHAs/MnGa bilayers except for unannealed CFA/MnGa samples. A critical thickness (tcrit) at which perpendicular magnetization appears of approximately 4-10 nm for the CMA/MnGa and CMS/MnGa bilayers was observed, whereas this thickness was 1-3 nm for the CFA/MnGa and CFS/MnGa films. The critical thickness for different CCHAs materials is discussed in terms of saturation magnetization (Ms) and the Jex .

Regulation of membrane protein function by lipid bilayer elasticity-a single molecule technology to measure the bilayer properties experienced by an embedded protein

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lundbaek, Jens August

2006-01-01

Membrane protein function is generally regulated by the molecular composition of the host lipid bilayer. The underlying mechanisms have long remained enigmatic. Some cases involve specific molecular interactions, but very often lipids and other amphiphiles, which are adsorbed to lipid bilayers, regulate a number of structurally unrelated proteins in an apparently non-specific manner. It is well known that changes in the physical properties of a lipid bilayer (e.g., thickness or monolayer spontaneous curvature) can affect the function of an embedded protein. However, the role of such changes, in the general regulation of membrane protein function, is unclear. This is to a large extent due to lack of a generally accepted framework in which to understand the many observations. The present review summarizes studies which have demonstrated that the hydrophobic interactions between a membrane protein and the host lipid bilayer provide an energetic coupling, whereby protein function can be regulated by the bilayer elasticity. The feasibility of this 'hydrophobic coupling mechanism' has been demonstrated using the gramicidin channel, a model membrane protein, in planar lipid bilayers. Using voltage-dependent sodium channels, N-type calcium channels and GABA A receptors, it has been shown that membrane protein function in living cells can be regulated by amphiphile induced changes in bilayer elasticity. Using the gramicidin channel as a molecular force transducer, a nanotechnology to measure the elastic properties experienced by an embedded protein has been developed. A theoretical and technological framework, to study the regulation of membrane protein function by lipid bilayer elasticity, has been established

Reliable Piezoelectricity in Bilayer WSe2 for Piezoelectric Nanogenerators.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Ju-Hyuck; Park, Jae Young; Cho, Eun Bi; Kim, Tae Yun; Han, Sang A; Kim, Tae-Ho; Liu, Yanan; Kim, Sung Kyun; Roh, Chang Jae; Yoon, Hong-Joon; Ryu, Hanjun; Seung, Wanchul; Lee, Jong Seok; Lee, Jaichan; Kim, Sang-Woo

2017-08-01

Recently, piezoelectricity has been observed in 2D atomically thin materials, such as hexagonal-boron nitride, graphene, and transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs). Specifically, exfoliated monolayer MoS 2 exhibits a high piezoelectricity that is comparable to that of traditional piezoelectric materials. However, monolayer TMD materials are not regarded as suitable for actual piezoelectric devices due to their insufficient mechanical durability for sustained operation while Bernal-stacked bilayer TMD materials lose noncentrosymmetry and consequently piezoelectricity. Here, it is shown that WSe 2 bilayers fabricated via turbostratic stacking have reliable piezoelectric properties that cannot be obtained from a mechanically exfoliated WSe 2 bilayer with Bernal stacking. Turbostratic stacking refers to the transfer of each chemical vapor deposition (CVD)-grown WSe 2 monolayer to allow for an increase in degrees of freedom in the bilayer symmetry, leading to noncentrosymmetry in the bilayers. In contrast, CVD-grown WSe 2 bilayers exhibit very weak piezoelectricity because of the energetics and crystallographic orientation. The flexible piezoelectric WSe 2 bilayers exhibit a prominent mechanical durability of up to 0.95% of strain as well as reliable energy harvesting performance, which is adequate to drive a small liquid crystal display without external energy sources, in contrast to monolayer WSe 2 for which the device performance becomes degraded above a strain of 0.63%. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Device model investigation of bilayer organic light emitting diodes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Crone, B. K.; Davids, P. S.; Campbell, I. H.; Smith, D. L.

2000-01-01

Organic materials that have desirable luminescence properties, such as a favorable emission spectrum and high luminescence efficiency, are not necessarily suitable for single layer organic light-emitting diodes (LEDs) because the material may have unequal carrier mobilities or contact limited injection properties. As a result, single layer LEDs made from such organic materials are inefficient. In this article, we present device model calculations of single layer and bilayer organic LED characteristics that demonstrate the improvements in device performance that can occur in bilayer devices. We first consider an organic material where the mobilities of the electrons and holes are significantly different. The role of the bilayer structure in this case is to move the recombination away from the electrode that injects the low mobility carrier. We then consider an organic material with equal electron and hole mobilities but where it is not possible to make a good contact for one carrier type, say electrons. The role of a bilayer structure in this case is to prevent the holes from traversing the device without recombining. In both cases, single layer device limitations can be overcome by employing a two organic layer structure. The results are discussed using the calculated spatial variation of the carrier densities, electric field, and recombination rate density in the structures. (c) 2000 American Institute of Physics

Regulation of membrane protein function by lipid bilayer elasticity—a single molecule technology to measure the bilayer properties experienced by an embedded protein

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lundbæk, Jens August

2008-01-01

, regulate a number of structurally unrelated proteins in an apparently non-specific manner. It is well known that changes in the physical properties of a lipid bilayer (e.g., thickness or monolayer spontaneous curvature) can affect the function of an embedded protein. However, the role of such changes......-dependent sodium channels, N-type calcium channels and GABAA receptors, it has been shown that membrane protein function in living cells can be regulated by amphiphile induced changes in bilayer elasticity. Using the gramicidin channel as a molecular force transducer, a nanotechnology to measure the elastic...... properties experienced by an embedded protein has been developed. A theoretical and technological framework, to study the regulation of membrane protein function by lipid bilayer elasticity, has been established....

Structural and electro-optical properties of bilayer graphyne like BN sheet

Science.gov (United States)

Behzad, Somayeh

2016-12-01

The structural, electronic and optical properties of bilayer graphyne like BN sheet (BNyne) with different stacking manners have been explored by the first-principles calculations. The stabilities of α-BNyne bilayers with different stacking manners are compared. The α-BNyne Bilayers have wide band gaps. Compared to the single α-BNyne, the numbers of energy bands are doubled due to the interlayer interactions and the band gap is reduced. The AB-I configuration has a direct band gap while the band gap becomes indirect for AA-II. The calculated ε2 (ω) of bilayer α-BNyne for (Eǁx) is similar to that of the monolayer α-BNyne, except for the small changes of peak positions and increasing of peak intensities. For (Eǁz), the first absorption peak occures at 3.86 eV, and the prominant peak of monolayer at 9.17 eV becomes broadened. These changes are related to the new transitions resulting from the band splitting.

Molecular dynamics study on the relaxation properties of bilayered ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

2017-08-31

Aug 31, 2017 ... Abstract. The influence of defects on the relaxation properties of bilayered graphene (BLG) has been studied by molecular dynamics simulation in nanometre sizes. Type and position of defects were taken into account in the calculated model. The results show that great changes begin to occur in the ...

Preparation and Characterization of an Olive Flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus) Skin Gelatin and Polylactic Acid Bilayer Film.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Ka-Yeon; Song, Kyung Bin

2017-03-01

Olive flounder skin gelatin (OSG) was used as a film base material. A bilayer film of OSG and polylactic acid (PLA) was prepared using solvent casting method to enhance the film properties. Physical properties of the OSG-PLA film were increased compared with the nonaugmented OSG film. In particular, the PLA lamination decreased water vapor permeability from 2.17 to 0.92 × 10 -9 g·m/m 2 ·s·Pa, as well as of the water solubility from 16.62% to 9.27%, in the bilayer film relative to the OSG film. The oxygen permeability of the OSG-PLA bilayer film was held low by the OSG film, compensating for the high oxygen permeability of the PLA layer. Therefore, the OSG-PLA bilayer film with its enhanced physical properties and high water and oxygen barrier properties can be applied as a food packaging material. © 2017 Institute of Food Technologists®.

Mechanical and electronic properties of monolayer and bilayer phosphorene under uniaxial and isotropic strains.

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Ting; Han, Yang; Dong, Jinming

2014-11-14

The mechanical and electronic properties of both the monolayer and bilayer phosphorenes under either isotropic or uniaxial strain have been systematically investigated using first-principles calculations. It is interesting to find that: 1) Under a large enough isotropic tensile strain, the monolayer phosphorene would lose its pucker structure and transform into a flat hexagonal plane, while two inner sublayers of the bilayer phosphorene could be bonded due to its interlayer distance contraction. 2) Under the uniaxial tensile strain along a zigzag direction, the pucker distance of each layer in the bilayer phosphorene can exhibit a specific negative Poisson's ratio. 3) The electronic properties of both the monolayer and bilayer phosphorenes are sensitive to the magnitude and direction of the applied strains. Their band gaps decrease more rapidly under isotropic compressive strain than under uniaxial strain. Also, their direct-indirect band gap transitions happen at the larger isotropic tensile strains compared with that under uniaxial strain. 4) Under the isotropic compressive strain, the bilayer phosphorene exhibits a transition from a direct-gap semiconductor to a metal. In contrast, the monolayer phosphorene initially has the direct-indirect transition and then transitions to a metal. However, under isotropic tensile strain, both the bilayer and monolayer phosphorene show the direct-indirect transition and, finally, the transition to a metal. Our numerical results may open new potential applications of phosphorene in nanoelectronics and nanomechanical devices by external isotropic strain or uniaxial strain along different directions.

Agar/gelatin bilayer gel matrix fabricated by simple thermo-responsive sol-gel transition method.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Yifeng; Dong, Meng; Guo, Mengmeng; Wang, Xia; Zhou, Jing; Lei, Jian; Guo, Chuanhang; Qin, Chaoran

2017-08-01

We present a simple and environmentally-friendly method to generate an agar/gelatin bilayer gel matrix for further biomedical applications. In this method, the thermally responsive sol-gel transitions of agar and gelatin combined with the different transition temperatures are exquisitely employed to fabricate the agar/gelatin bilayer gel matrix and achieve separate loading for various materials (e.g., drugs, fluorescent materials, and nanoparticles). Importantly, the resulting bilayer gel matrix provides two different biopolymer environments (a polysaccharide environment vs a protein environment) with a well-defined border, which allows the loaded materials in different layers to retain their original properties (e.g., magnetism and fluorescence) and reduce mutual interference. In addition, the loaded materials in the bilayer gel matrix exhibit an interesting release behavior under the control of thermal stimuli. Consequently, the resulting agar/gelatin bilayer gel matrix is a promising candidate for biomedical applications in drug delivery, controlled release, fluorescence labeling, and bio-imaging. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Enhanced electrical properties in bilayered ferroelectric thin films

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Hao; Long, WeiJie; Chen, YaQing; Guo, DongJie

2013-03-01

Sr2Bi4Ti5O18 (SBTi) single layered and Sr2Bi4Ti5O18/Pb(Zr0.53Ti0.47)O3 (SBTi/PZT) bilayered thin films have been prepared on Pt/TiO2/SiO2/Si substrates by pulsed-laser deposition (PLD). The related structural characterizations and electrical properties have been comparatively investigated. X-ray diffraction reveals that both films have crystallized into perovskite phases and scanning electron microscopy shows the sharp interfaces. Both films show well-saturated ferroelectric hysteresis loops, however, compared with the single layered SBTi films, the SBTi/PZT bilayered films have significantly increased remnant polarization ( P r) and decreased coercive field ( E c), with the applied field of 260 kV/cm. The measured P r and E c of SBTi and SBTi/PZT films were 7.9 μC/cm2, 88.1 kV/cm and 13.0 μC/cm2, 51.2 kV/cm, respectively. In addition, both films showed good fatigue-free characteristics, the switchable polarization decreased by 9% and 11% of the initial values after 2.2×109 switching cycles for the SBTi single layered films and the SBTi/PZT bilayered films, respectively. Our results may provide some guidelines for further optimization of multilayered ferroelectric thin films.

Mechanical control of the electro-optical properties of monolayer and bilayer BC3 by applying the in-plane biaxial strain

Science.gov (United States)

Behzad, Somayeh

2017-11-01

Recently, a new two-dimensional (2D) material, the 2D BC3 crystal, has been synthesized. Here, the mechanical control of the electro-optical properties of monolayer and bilayer BC3 by applying the biaxial strain is investigated. The electronic structure calculations showed that the strain-free monolayer and bilayer BC3 are indirect band-gap semiconductors with band gap of 0.62 and 0.29 eV, respectively, where the conduction band minimum (CBM) is at the M point whereas the valence band maximum (VBM) is at the Γ point. The doubly degenerated bands in the monolayer BC3 are splitted in the bilayer BC3 due to the interlayer interactions. Both monolayer and bilayer BC3 remain indirect gap semiconductor under biaxial tensile strain and their band gaps increases with strain. On the other hand, by increasing the magnitude of tensile strain, the optical spectra shift to the lower energies and the static dielectric constant increases. These findings suggest the potential of strain-engineered 2D BC3 in electronic and optoelectronic device applications.

Theoretical study of electronic transport properties of a graphene-silicene bilayer

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Berdiyorov, G. R. [Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute, Qatar Foundation, P.O. Box 5825, Doha (Qatar); Bahlouli, H. [Department of Physics, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, 31261 Dhahran (Saudi Arabia); Saudi Center for Theoretical Physics, 31261 Dhahran (Saudi Arabia); Peeters, F. M. [Departement Fysica, Universiteit Antwerpen, Groenenborgerlaan 171, B-2020 Antwerpen (Belgium)

2015-06-14

Electronic transport properties of a graphene-silicene bilayer system are studied using density-functional theory in combination with the nonequilibrium Green's function formalism. Depending on the energy of the electrons, the transmission can be larger in this system as compared to the sum of the transmissions of separated graphene and silicene monolayers. This effect is related to the increased electron density of states in the bilayer sample. At some energies, the electronic states become localized in one of the layers, resulting in the suppression of the electron transmission. The effect of an applied voltage on the transmission becomes more pronounced in the layered sample as compared to graphene due to the larger variation of the electrostatic potential profile. Our findings will be useful when creating hybrid nanoscale devices where enhanced transport properties will be desirable.

Electronic properties of BN-doped bilayer graphene and graphyne in the presence of electric field

Science.gov (United States)

Majidi, R.; Karami, A. R.

2013-11-01

In the present paper, we have used density functional theory to study electronic properties of bilayer graphene and graphyne doped with B and N impurities in the presence of electric field. It has been demonstrated that a band gap is opened in the band structures of the bilayer graphene and graphyne by B and N doping. We have also investigated influence of electric field on the electronic properties of BN-doped bilayer graphene and graphyne. It is found that the band gaps induced by B and N impurities are increased by applying electric field. Our results reveal that doping with B and N, and applying electric field are an effective method to open and control a band gap which is useful to design carbon-based next-generation electronic devices.

Application To Bilayer System With Water-Soluble Contrast Enhancing Material

Science.gov (United States)

Yabuta, Mitsuo; Ito, Naoki; Yamazaki, Hiroyuki; Nakayama, Toshimasa

1987-09-01

We have developed ,a water-soluble contrast enhancing material, TAD-436 ( Tokyo Ohka. Anti-Defocus Material ) which is consisted of a water-soluble diazonium salt as bleaching compounds and a water-soluble anion type polymer as binder polymers. Needless to say that water is used as solvent in TAD; therefore, it can be spincoated directly on a positive photoresist layer of a quinonediazide-novolak resin type without causing intermixing and furtheremore the bilayer can be developed without stripping TAD immediately after exposure. TAD shows a satisfactory bleaching characteristics on g-line, increases r-value of underlying photoresist and reduces the thickness loss of photoresist layer in unexposed area. Application to bilayer system with TAD will raise the resolution of underlying photoresist and when the focus depth is changed it will make the change in the resist profile small. As the result of it, the notches in the resist patterns on steps is reduced, making the difference in the linewidth between the top and the bottom of steps small.

Bilayer graphene: gap tunability and edge properties

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Castro, Eduardo V; Santos, J M B Lopes dos; Peres, N M R; Guinea, F; Castro Neto, A H

2008-01-01

Bilayer graphene - two coupled single graphene layers stacked as in graphite - provides the only known semiconductor with a gap that can be tuned externally through electric field effect. Here we use a tight binding approach to study how the gap changes with the applied electric field. Within a parallel plate capacitor model and taking into account screening of the external field, we describe real back gated and/or chemically doped bilayer devices. We show that a gap between zero and midinfrared energies can be induced and externally tuned in these devices, making bilayer graphene very appealing from the point of view of applications. However, applications to nanotechnology require careful treatment of the effect of sample boundaries. This being particularly true in graphene, where the presence of edge states at zero energy - the Fermi level of the undoped system - has been extensively reported. Here we show that also bilayer graphene supports surface states localized at zigzag edges. The presence of two layers, however, allows for a new type of edge state which shows an enhanced penetration into the bulk and gives rise to band crossing phenomenon inside the gap of the biased bilayer system.

Exceptional Optoelectronic Properties of Hydrogenated Bilayer Silicene

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bing Huang

2014-05-01

Full Text Available Silicon is arguably the best electronic material, but it is not a good optoelectronic material. By employing first-principles calculations and the cluster-expansion approach, we discover that hydrogenated bilayer silicene (BS shows promising potential as a new kind of optoelectronic material. Most significantly, hydrogenation converts the intrinsic BS, a strongly indirect semiconductor, into a direct-gap semiconductor with a widely tunable band gap. At low hydrogen concentrations, four ground states of single- and double-sided hydrogenated BS are characterized by dipole-allowed direct (or quasidirect band gaps in the desirable range from 1 to 1.5 eV, suitable for solar applications. At high hydrogen concentrations, three well-ordered double-sided hydrogenated BS structures exhibit direct (or quasidirect band gaps in the color range of red, green, and blue, affording white light-emitting diodes. Our findings open opportunities to search for new silicon-based light-absorption and light-emitting materials for earth-abundant, high-efficiency, optoelectronic applications.

Thermoelectric properties of bismuth antimony tellurium thin films through bilayer annealing prepared by ion beam sputtering deposition

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zheng, Zhuang-hao [College of Physics Science and Technology, Shenzhen University, 518060 (China); Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Sensor Technology, Shenzhen 518060 (China); Fan, Ping, E-mail: fanping308@126.com [College of Physics Science and Technology, Shenzhen University, 518060 (China); Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Sensor Technology, Shenzhen 518060 (China); Luo, Jing-ting [College of Physics Science and Technology, Shenzhen University, 518060 (China); Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Sensor Technology, Shenzhen 518060 (China); Cai, Xing-min; Liang, Guang-xing; Zhang, Dong-ping [College of Physics Science and Technology, Shenzhen University, 518060 (China); Ye, Fan [Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Sensor Technology, Shenzhen 518060 (China)

2014-07-01

Bismuth antimony tellurium is one of the most important tellurium-based materials for high-efficient thermoelectric application. In this paper, ion beam sputtering was used to deposit Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3} and Sb{sub 2}Te{sub 3} bilayer thin films on borosilicate substrates at room-temperature. Then the bismuth antimony tellurium thin films were synthesized via post thermal treatment of the Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3} and Sb{sub 2}Te{sub 3} bilayer thin films. The effect of annealing temperature and compositions on the thermoelectric properties of the thin films was investigated. After the thin films were annealed from 150 °C to 350 °C for 1 h in the high vacuum condition, the Seebeck coefficient changed from a negative sign to a positive sign. The X-ray diffraction results showed that the synthesized tellurium-based thermoelectric thin film exhibited various alloys phases, which contributed different thermoelectricity conductivity to the synthesized thin film. The overall Seebeck coefficient of the synthesized thin film changed from negative sign to positive sign, which was due to the change of the primary phase of the tellurium-based materials at different annealing conditions. Similarly, the thermoelectric properties of the films were also associated with the grown phase. High-quality thin film with the Seebeck coefficient of 240 μV K{sup −1} and the power factor of 2.67 × 10{sup −3} Wm{sup −1} K{sup −2} showed a single Bi{sub 0.5}Sb{sub 1.5}Te{sub 3} phase when the Sb/Te thin film sputtering time was 40 min. - Highlights: • Bi{sub 0.5}Sb{sub 1.5}Te{sub 3} thermoelectric thin films synthesized via bilayer annealing • The film has single Bi{sub 0.5}Sb{sub 1.5}Te{sub 3} phase with best thermoelectric performance. • The film has high thermoelectric properties comparable with other best results.

Formation, Energetics, and Electronic Properties of Graphene Monolayer and Bilayer Doped with Heteroatoms

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yoshitaka Fujimoto

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Doping with heteroatoms is one of the most effective methods to tailor the electronic properties of carbon nanomaterials such as graphene and carbon nanotubes, and such nanomaterials doped with heteroatom dopants might therefore provide not only new physical and chemical properties but also novel nanoelectronics/optoelectronics device applications. The boron and nitrogen are neighboring elements to carbon in the periodic table, and they are considered to be good dopants for carbon nanomaterials. We here review the recent work of boron and nitrogen doping effects into graphene monolayer as well as bilayer on the basis of the first-principles electronic structure calculations in the framework of the density-functional theory. We show the energetics and the electronic properties of boron and nitrogen defects in graphene monolayer and bilayer. As for the nitrogen doping, we further discuss the stabilities, the growth processes, and the electronic properties associated with the plausible nitrogen defect formation in graphene which is suggested by experimental observations.

Spectral properties of excitons in the bilayer graphene

Science.gov (United States)

Apinyan, V.; Kopeć, T. K.

2018-01-01

In this paper, we consider the spectral properties of the bilayer graphene with the local excitonic pairing interaction between the electrons and holes. We consider the generalized Hubbard model, which includes both intralayer and interlayer Coulomb interaction parameters. The solution of the excitonic gap parameter is used to calculate the electronic band structure, single-particle spectral functions, the hybridization gap, and the excitonic coherence length in the bilayer graphene. We show that the local interlayer Coulomb interaction is responsible for the semimetal-semiconductor transition in the double layer system, and we calculate the hybridization gap in the band structure above the critical interaction value. The formation of the excitonic band gap is reported as the threshold process and the momentum distribution functions have been calculated numerically. We show that in the weak coupling limit the system is governed by the Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS)-like pairing state. Contrary, in the strong coupling limit the excitonic condensate states appear in the semiconducting phase, by forming the Dirac's pockets in the reciprocal space.

Active Bilayer PE/PCL Films for Food Packaging Modified with Zinc Oxide and Casein

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ana Rešček

2015-12-01

Full Text Available This paper studies the properties of active polymer food packaging bilayer polyethylene/polycaprolactone (PE/PCL films. Such packaging material consists of primary PE layer coated with thin film of PCL coating modified with active component (zinc oxide or zinc oxide/casein complex with intention to extend the shelf life of food and to maintain the quality and health safety. The influence of additives as active components on barrier, mechanical, thermal and antimicrobial properties of such materials was studied. The results show that, in comparison to the neat PE and PE/PCL films, some of PE/PCL bilayer films with additives exhibit improved barrier properties i.e. decreased water vapour permeability. Higher thermal stability of modified PE/PCL material is obtained due to a modified mechanism of thermal degradation. The samples with the additive nanoparticles homogeneously dispersed in the polymer matrix showed good mechanical properties. Addition of higher ZnO content contributes to the enhanced antibacterial activity of a material.

Mechanical properties of electrospun bilayer fibrous membranes as potential scaffolds for tissue engineering.

Science.gov (United States)

Pu, Juan; Komvopoulos, Kyriakos

2014-06-01

Bilayer fibrous membranes of poly(l-lactic acid) (PLLA) were fabricated by electrospinning, using a parallel-disk mandrel configuration that resulted in the sequential deposition of a layer with fibers aligned across the two parallel disks and a layer with randomly oriented fibers, both layers deposited in a single process step. Membrane structure and fiber alignment were characterized by scanning electron microscopy and two-dimensional fast Fourier transform. Because of the intricacies of the generated electric field, bilayer membranes exhibited higher porosity than single-layer membranes consisting of randomly oriented fibers fabricated with a solid-drum collector. However, despite their higher porosity, bilayer membranes demonstrated generally higher elastic modulus, yield strength and toughness than single-layer membranes with random fibers. Bilayer membrane deformation at relatively high strain rates comprised multiple abrupt microfracture events characterized by discontinuous fiber breakage. Bilayer membrane elongation yielded excessive necking of the layer with random fibers and remarkable fiber stretching (on the order of 400%) in the layer with fibers aligned in the stress direction. In addition, fibers in both layers exhibited multiple localized necking, attributed to the nonuniform distribution of crystalline phases in the fibrillar structure. The high membrane porosity, good mechanical properties, and good biocompatibility and biodegradability of PLLA (demonstrated in previous studies) make the present bilayer membranes good scaffold candidates for a wide range of tissue engineering applications. Copyright © 2014 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Electronic and optical properties of bilayer PbI2: a first-principles study

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Shen, Chenhai; Wang, Guangtao

2018-01-01

By employing first-principles methods, we investigate the effects of stacking patterns and interlayer coupling on the electronic structures and optical properties of bilayer (BL) PbI2. For optical properties, excitonic effects are considered. The results show that crystal-type BL PbI2 stacking pattern is the most stable bilayer structures with the equilibrium interlayer distance of 3.27 Å and a direct band structure. Moreover, for all considered patterns, the interlayer coupling can induce the band structures to transform from indirect to direct and also the band gap values to vary from 2.56 eV to 2.62 eV. In addition, our calculations show that the exciton binding energy of the most stable pattern is 0.81 eV, and excitonic effects have obvious influences on optical responses of BL PbI2. These results may be useful to future experimental studies on optoelectronic properties of two-dimensional BL PbI2 nanosheets.

The Effects of Alkyl Chain Combinations on the Structural and Mechanical Properties of Biomimetic Ion Pair Amphiphile Bilayers

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Cheng-hao Chen

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Ion pair amphiphile (IPA, a lipid-like complex composed of a pair of cationic and anionic surfactants, has great potentials in various pharmaceutical applications. In this work, we utilized molecular dynamics (MD simulation to systematically examine the structural and mechanical properties of the biomimetic bilayers consist of alkyltrimethyl-ammonium-alkylsulfate (CmTMA+-CnS− IPAs with various alkyl chain combinations. Our simulations show an intrinsic one-atom offset for the CmTMA+ and CnS− alignment, leading to the asymmetric index definition of ΔC = m − (n + 1. Larger |ΔC| gives rise to higher conformational fluctuations of the alkyl chains with the reduced packing order and mechanical strength. In contrast, increasing the IPA chain length enhances the van der Waals interactions within the bilayer and thus improves the bilayer packing order and mechanical properties. Further elongating the CmTMA+-CnS− alkyl chains to m and n ≥ 12 causes the liquid disorder to gel phase transition of the bilayer at 298 K, with the threshold membrane properties of 0.45 nm2 molecular area, deuterium order parameter value of 0.31, and effective bending rigidity of 20 kBT, etc. The combined results provide molecular insights into the design of biomimetic IPA bilayers with wide structural and mechanical characteristics for various applications.

Effects of co-sintering in self-standing CGO/YSZ and CGO/ ScYSZ dense bi-layers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Teocoli, Francesca; Ni, De Wei; Brodersen, Karen

2014-01-01

-layers are critical due to the mismatch of thermo-mechanical and sintering properties among the materials. Despite the better sinteractivity of ScYSZ, the self-standing CGO/ScYSZ bilayer presents more challenges in terms of densification compared with the CGO/YSZ bi-layer. In particular, above 1200 C, ScYSZ and CGO......-standing bi-layered electrolyte system. The combined use of thermo-mechanical analysis, optical dilatometry, and scanning electron microscopy ensures a systematic characterization of both the individual layers and CGO/YSZ and CGO/ScYSZ bi-layered laminates. The results of the co-firing process of the bi...

Low frequency acoustic properties of bilayer membrane acoustic metamaterial with magnetic oscillator

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nansha Gao

2017-07-01

Full Text Available A bilayer membrane acoustic metamaterial was proposed to overcome the influence of the mass law on traditional acoustic materials and obtain a lightweight thin-layer structure that can effectively isolate low frequency noise. The finite element analysis (FEA results agree well with the experimental results. It is proved that the sound transmission losses (STLs of the proposed structures are higher than those of same surface density acoustic materials. The introduction of the magnetic mass block is different from the traditional design method, in which only a passive mass block is fixed on the membrane. The magnetic force will cause tension in the membrane, increase membrane prestress, and improve overall structural stiffness. The effects of the geometry size on the STLs are discussed in detail. The kind of method presented in this paper can provide a new means for engineering noise control. Keywords: Bilayer membrane acoustic metamaterial, Low frequency sound insulation, Sound transmission loss, Magnet oscillator

Mechanical and tribological properties of a-C/a-C:Ti multilayer films with various bilayer periods

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bai, W.Q.; Cai, J.B.; Wang, X.L., E-mail: wangxl@zju.edu.cn; Wang, D.H.; Gu, C.D.; Tu, J.P., E-mail: tujp@zju.edu.cn

2014-05-02

Thick a-C/a-C:Ti multilayer films with bilayer periods of 12–70 nm were deposited on Ti6Al4V alloy substrate by means of closed field unbalance magnetron sputtering. The morphology and microstructure of the multilayer films were investigated by scanning electron microscopy, high resolution transmission electron microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Nanocrystalline TiC was distributed in the a-C:Ti layer and at the interface between the two adjacent layers. The mechanical and tribological properties were evaluated by Rockwell and scratch tests, a nanoindentor and a ball-on-disk tribometer. The multilayer film with a bilayer period of 12 nm showed the highest adhesion strength, hardness (26 GPa) and elastic modulus (232 GPa); it also had the lowest average coefficient of friction (0.09) and a wear rate of 8.06 × 10{sup −17} m{sup 3} N{sup −1} m{sup −1}. - Highlights: • a-C/a-C:Ti multilayers with various bilayer periods were prepared. • Nanocrystalline TiCs were confirmed in the a-C:Ti layer and at the interface. • These multilayers show fine ability to comply with substrate deformation. • The multilayer with a bilayer period of 12 nm exhibits the best properties.

Membrane-based biomolecular smart materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sarles, Stephen A; Leo, Donald J

2011-01-01

Membrane-based biomolecular materials are a new class of smart material that feature networks of artificial lipid bilayers contained within durable synthetic substrates. Bilayers contained within this modular material platform provide an environment that can be tailored to host an enormous diversity of functional biomolecules, where the functionality of the global material system depends on the type(s) and organization(s) of the biomolecules that are chosen. In this paper, we review a series of biomolecular material platforms developed recently within the Leo Group at Virginia Tech and we discuss several novel coupling mechanisms provided by these hybrid material systems. The platforms developed demonstrate that the functions of biomolecules and the properties of synthetic materials can be combined to operate in concert, and the examples provided demonstrate how the formation and properties of a lipid bilayer can respond to a variety of stimuli including mechanical forces and electric fields

Effects of core-to-dentin thickness ratio on the biaxial flexural strength, reliability, and fracture mode of bilayered materials of zirconia core (Y-TZP) and veneer indirect composite resins.

Science.gov (United States)

Su, Naichuan; Liao, Yunmao; Zhang, Hai; Yue, Li; Lu, Xiaowen; Shen, Jiefei; Wang, Hang

2017-01-01

Indirect composite resins (ICR) are promising alternatives as veneering materials for zirconia frameworks. The effects of core-to-dentin thickness ratio (C/Dtr) on the mechanical property of bilayered veneer ICR/yttria-tetragonal zirconia polycrystalline (Y-TZP) core disks have not been previously studied. The purpose of this in vitro study was to assess the effects of C/Dtr on the biaxial flexural strength, reliability, and fracture mode of bilayered veneer ICR/ Y-TZP core disks. A total of 180 bilayered 0.6-mm-thick composite resin disks in core material and C/Dtr of 2:1, 1:1, and 1:2 were tested with either core material placed up or placed down for piston-on-3-ball biaxial flexural strength. The mean biaxial flexural strength, Weibull modulus, and fracture mode were measured to evaluate the variation trend of the biaxial flexural strength, reliability, and fracture mode of the bilayered disks with various C/Dtr. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and chi-square tests were used to evaluate the variation tendency of fracture mode with the C/Dtr or material placed down during testing (α=.05). Light microscopy was used to identify the fracture mode. The mean biaxial flexural strength and reliability improved with the increase in C/Dtr when specimens were tested with the core material either up and down, and depended on the materials that were placed down during testing. The rates of delamination, Hertzian cone cracks, subcritical radial cracks, and number of fracture fragments partially depended on the C/Dtr and the materials that were placed down during testing. The biaxial flexural strength, reliability, and fracture mode in bilayered structures of Y-TZP core and veneer ICR depend on both the C/Dtr and the material that was placed down during testing. Copyright © 2016 Editorial Council for the Journal of Prosthetic Dentistry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Preparation and Mechanical Properties of TiC-Fe Cermets and TiC-Fe/Fe Bilayer Composites

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Zheng, Yong; Zhou, Yang; Li, Runfeng; Wang, Jiaqi; Chen, Lulu; Li, Shibo

2017-10-01

TiC-Fe cermets and TiC-Fe/Fe bilayer composites consisting of a pure Fe layer and a TiC-Fe cermets layer were fabricated by hot-pressing sintering. The pure Fe layer contributes to the toughness of composites, and the TiC-Fe cermets layer endows the composites with an improved tensile strength and hardness. The effect of TiC contents (30-60 vol.%) on the mechanical properties of TiC-Fe cermets and TiC-Fe/Fe bilayer composites was investigated. Among the TiC-Fe cermets, the 40 vol.% TiC-Fe cermets possessed the highest tensile strength of 581 MPa and Vickers hardness of 5.1 GPa. The maximum fracture toughness of 17.0 MPa m1/2 was achieved for the TiC-Fe cermets with 30 vol.% TiC. For the TiC-Fe/Fe bilayer composites, the 40 vol.% TiC-Fe/Fe bilayer composite owns the maximum tensile strength of 588 MPa, which is higher than that of 40 vol.% TiC-Fe cermets. In addition, the 33.5% increment of tensile strength of 30 vol.% TiC-Fe/Fe bilayer composite comparing with the 30 vol.% TiC-Fe cermets, which is attributed to the 30 vol.% TiC-Fe/Fe bilayer composite exhibited the largest interlaminar shear strength of 335 MPa. The bilayer composites are expected to be used as wear resistance components in some heavy wear conditions.

Hybrid matrix method for stable numerical analysis of the propagation of Dirac electrons in gapless bilayer graphene superlattices

Science.gov (United States)

Briones-Torres, J. A.; Pernas-Salomón, R.; Pérez-Álvarez, R.; Rodríguez-Vargas, I.

2016-05-01

Gapless bilayer graphene (GBG), like monolayer graphene, is a material system with unique properties, such as anti-Klein tunneling and intrinsic Fano resonances. These properties rely on the gapless parabolic dispersion relation and the chiral nature of bilayer graphene electrons. In addition, propagating and evanescent electron states coexist inherently in this material, giving rise to these exotic properties. In this sense, bilayer graphene is unique, since in most material systems in which Fano resonance phenomena are manifested an external source that provides extended states is required. However, from a numerical standpoint, the presence of evanescent-divergent states in the eigenfunctions linear superposition representing the Dirac spinors, leads to a numerical degradation (the so called Ωd problem) in the practical applications of the standard Coefficient Transfer Matrix (K) method used to study charge transport properties in Bilayer Graphene based multi-barrier systems. We present here a straightforward procedure based in the hybrid compliance-stiffness matrix method (H) that can overcome this numerical degradation. Our results show that in contrast to standard matrix method, the proposed H method is suitable to study the transmission and transport properties of electrons in GBG superlattice since it remains numerically stable regardless the size of the superlattice and the range of values taken by the input parameters: the energy and angle of the incident electrons, the barrier height and the thickness and number of barriers. We show that the matrix determinant can be used as a test of the numerical accuracy in real calculations.

Properties of POPC/POPE supported lipid bilayers modified with hydrophobic quantum dots on polyelectrolyte cushions.

Science.gov (United States)

Kolasinska-Sojka, Marta; Wlodek, Magdalena; Szuwarzynski, Michal; Kereiche, Sami; Kovacik, Lubomir; Warszynski, Piotr

2017-10-01

The formation and properties of supported lipid bilayers (SLB) containing hydrophobic nanoparticles (NP) was studied in relation to underlying cushion obtained from selected polyelectrolyte multilayers. Lipid vesicles were formed from zwitterionic 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (POPC) and negatively charged 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine (POPE) in phosphate buffer (PBS). As hydrophobic nanoparticles - quantum dots (QD) with size of 3.8nm (emission wavelength of 420nm) were used. Polyelectrolyte multilayers (PEM) were constructed by the sequential, i.e., layer-by-layer (LbL) adsorption of alternately charged polyelectrolytes from their solutions. Liposomes and Liposome-QDs complexes were studied with Transmission Cryo-Electron Microscopy (Cryo-TEM) to verify the quality of vesicles and the position of QD within lipid bilayer. Deposition of liposomes and liposomes with quantum dots on polyelectrolyte films was studied in situ using quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation (QCM-D) technique. The fluorescence emission spectra were analyzed for both: suspension of liposomes with nanoparticles and for supported lipid bilayers containing QD on PEM. It was demonstrated that quantum dots are located in the hydrophobic part of lipid bilayer. Moreover, we proved that such QD-modified liposomes formed supported lipid bilayers and their final structure depended on the type of underlying cushion. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Study on the optical and electrical properties of tetracyanoethylene doped bilayer graphene stack for transparent conducting electrodes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Limbu, Tej B.; Barrionuevo, Danilo; Katiyar, Ram S.; Morell, Gerardo; Mendoza, Frank; Carpena, Jennifer; Maruyama, Benji; Weiner, Brad R.

2016-01-01

We report the optical and electrical properties of chemically-doped bilayer graphene stack by tetracyanoethylene, a strong electron acceptor. The Tetracyanoethylene doping on the bilayer graphene via charge transfer was confirmed by Raman spectroscopy and Infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy. Doped graphene shows a significant increase in the sheet carrier concentration of up to 1.520 × 10"1"3 cm"−"2 with a concomitant reduction of the sheet resistance down to 414.1 Ω/sq. The high optical transmittance (ca. 84%) in the visible region in combination with the low sheet resistance of the Tetracyanoethylene-doped bilayer graphene stack opens up the possibility of making transparent conducting electrodes for practical applications.

Tunneling Plasmonics in Bilayer Graphene.

Science.gov (United States)

Fei, Z; Iwinski, E G; Ni, G X; Zhang, L M; Bao, W; Rodin, A S; Lee, Y; Wagner, M; Liu, M K; Dai, S; Goldflam, M D; Thiemens, M; Keilmann, F; Lau, C N; Castro-Neto, A H; Fogler, M M; Basov, D N

2015-08-12

We report experimental signatures of plasmonic effects due to electron tunneling between adjacent graphene layers. At subnanometer separation, such layers can form either a strongly coupled bilayer graphene with a Bernal stacking or a weakly coupled double-layer graphene with a random stacking order. Effects due to interlayer tunneling dominate in the former case but are negligible in the latter. We found through infrared nanoimaging that bilayer graphene supports plasmons with a higher degree of confinement compared to single- and double-layer graphene, a direct consequence of interlayer tunneling. Moreover, we were able to shut off plasmons in bilayer graphene through gating within a wide voltage range. Theoretical modeling indicates that such a plasmon-off region is directly linked to a gapped insulating state of bilayer graphene, yet another implication of interlayer tunneling. Our work uncovers essential plasmonic properties in bilayer graphene and suggests a possibility to achieve novel plasmonic functionalities in graphene few-layers.

Lipid Bilayer Formation on Organic Electronic Materials

KAUST Repository

Zhang, Yi; Wustoni, Shofarul; Savva, Achilleas; Giovannitti, Alexander; McCulloch, Iain; Inal, Sahika

2018-01-01

The lipid bilayer is the elemental structure of cell membrane, forming a stable barrier between the interior and exterior of the cell while hosting membrane proteins that enable selective transport of biologically important compounds and cellular

Effects of carotenoids on lipid bilayers.

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, Quentin R; Mostofian, Barmak; Fuente Gomez, Gabriel; Smith, Jeremy C; Cheng, Xiaolin

2018-01-31

Carotenoids have been found to be important in improving the integrity of biomembranes in eukaryotes. However, the molecular details of how carotenoids modulate the physical properties of biomembranes are unknown. To this end, we have conducted a series of molecular dynamics simulations of different biologically-relevant membranes in the presence of carotenoids. The carotenoid effect on the membrane was found to be specific to the identity of the carotenoid and the composition of the membrane itself. Therefore, different classes of carotenoids produce a different effect on the membrane, and different membrane phases are affected differently by carotenoids. It is apparent from our data that carotenoids do trigger the bilayer to become thinner. The mechanism by which this occurs depends on two competing factors, the ability of the lipid tails of opposing monolayers to either (1) compress or (2) interdigitate as the bilayer condenses. Indeed, carotenoids directly influence the physical properties via these two mechanisms, thus compacting the bilayer. However, the degree to which these competing mechanisms are utilized depends on the bilayer phase and the carotenoid identity.

Evaluation of the performance characteristics of bilayer tablets: Part II. Impact of environmental conditions on the strength of bilayer tablets.

Science.gov (United States)

Kottala, Niranjan; Abebe, Admassu; Sprockel, Omar; Bergum, James; Nikfar, Faranak; Cuitiño, Alberto M

2012-12-01

Ambient air humidity and temperature are known to influence the mechanical strength of tablets. The objective of this work is to understand the influence of processing parameters and environmental conditions (humidity and temperature) on the strength of bilayer tablets. As part of this study, bilayer tablets were compressed with different layer ratios, dwell times, layer sequences, material properties (plastic and brittle), first and second layer forces, and lubricant concentrations. Compressed tablets were stored in stability chambers controlled at predetermined conditions (40C/45%RH, 40C/75%RH) for 1, 3, and 5 days. The axial strength of the stored tablets was measured and a statistical model was developed to determine the effects of the aforementioned factors on the strength of bilayer tablets. As part of this endeavor, a full 3 × 2(4) factorial design was executed. Responses of the experiments were analyzed using PROC GLM of SAS (SAS Institute Inc, Cary, North Carolina, USA). A model was fit using all the responses to determine the significant interactions (p < 0.05). Results of this study indicated that storage conditions and storage time have significant impact on the strength of bilayer tablets. For Avicel-lactose and lactose-Avicel tablets, tablet strength decreased with the increasing humidity and storage time. But for lactose-lactose tablets, due to the formation of solid bridges upon storage, an increase in tablet strength was observed. Significant interactions were observed between processing parameters and storage conditions on the strength of bilayer tablets.

Potassium-doped n-type bilayer graphene

Science.gov (United States)

Yamada, Takatoshi; Okigawa, Yuki; Hasegawa, Masataka

2018-01-01

Potassium-doped n-type bilayer graphene was obtained. Chemical vapor deposited bilayer and single layer graphene on copper (Cu) foils were used. After etching of Cu foils, graphene was dipped in potassium hydroxide aqueous solutions to dope potassium. Graphene on silicon oxide was characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), and Raman spectroscopy. Both XPS and EDX spectra indicated potassium incorporation into the bilayer graphene via intercalation between the graphene sheets. The downward shift of the 2D peak position of bilayer graphene after the potassium hydroxide (KOH) treatment was confirmed in Raman spectra, indicating that the KOH-treated bilayer graphene was doped with electrons. Electrical properties were measured using Hall bar structures. The Dirac points of bilayer graphene were shifted from positive to negative by the KOH treatment, indicating that the KOH-treated bilayer graphene was n-type conduction. For single layer graphene after the KOH treatment, although electron doping was confirmed from Raman spectra, the peak of potassium in the X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) spectrum was not detected. The Dirac points of single layer graphene with and without the KOH treatment showed positive.

Interlayer thermal conductance within a phosphorene and graphene bilayer.

Science.gov (United States)

Hong, Yang; Zhang, Jingchao; Zeng, Xiao Cheng

2016-11-24

Monolayer graphene possesses unusual thermal properties, and is often considered as a prototype system for the study of thermal physics of low-dimensional electronic/thermal materials, despite the absence of a direct bandgap. Another two-dimensional (2D) atomic layered material, phosphorene, is a natural p-type semiconductor and it has attracted growing interest in recent years. When a graphene monolayer is overlaid on phosphorene, the hybrid van der Waals (vdW) bilayer becomes a potential candidate for high-performance thermal/electronic applications, owing to the combination of the direct-bandgap properties of phosphorene with the exceptional thermal properties of graphene. In this work, the interlayer thermal conductance at the phosphorene/graphene interface is systematically investigated using classical molecular dynamics (MD) simulation. The transient pump-probe heating method is employed to compute the interfacial thermal resistance (R) of the bilayer. The predicted R value at the phosphorene/graphene interface is 8.41 × 10 -8 K m 2 W -1 at room temperature. Different external and internal conditions, i.e., temperature, contact pressure, vacancy defect, and chemical functionalization, can all effectively reduce R at the interface. Numerical results of R reduction as a function of temperature, interfacial coupling strength, defect ratio, or hydrogen coverage are reported with the most R reduction amounting to 56.5%, 70.4%, 34.8% and 84.5%, respectively.

Computational Design of Multi-component Bio-Inspired Bilayer Membranes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Evan Koufos

2014-04-01

Full Text Available Our investigation is motivated by the need to design bilayer membranes with tunable interfacial and mechanical properties for use in a range of applications, such as targeted drug delivery, sensing and imaging. We draw inspiration from biological cell membranes and focus on their principal constituents. In this paper, we present our results on the role of molecular architecture on the interfacial, structural and dynamical properties of bio-inspired membranes. We focus on four lipid architectures with variations in the head group shape and the hydrocarbon tail length. Each lipid species is composed of a hydrophilic head group and two hydrophobic tails. In addition, we study a model of the Cholesterol molecule to understand the interfacial properties of a bilayer membrane composed of rigid, single-tail molecular species. We demonstrate the properties of the bilayer membranes to be determined by the molecular architecture and rigidity of the constituent species. Finally, we demonstrate the formation of a stable mixed bilayer membrane composed of Cholesterol and one of the phospholipid species. Our approach can be adopted to design multi-component bilayer membranes with tunable interfacial and mechanical properties. We use a Molecular Dynamics-based mesoscopic simulation technique called Dissipative Particle Dynamics that resolves the molecular details of the components through soft-sphere coarse-grained models and reproduces the hydrodynamic behavior of the system over extended time scales.

Bi-layer plate-type acoustic metamaterials with Willis coupling

Science.gov (United States)

Ma, Fuyin; Huang, Meng; Xu, Yicai; Wu, Jiu Hui

2018-01-01

Dynamic effective negative parameters are principal to the representation of the physical properties of metamaterials. In this paper, a bi-layer plate-type unit was proposed with both a negative mass density and a negative bulk modulus; moreover, through analysis of these bi-layer structures, some important problems about acoustic metamaterials were studied. First, dynamic effective mass densities and the bulk modulus of the bi-layer plate-type acoustic structure were clarified through both the direct and the retrieval methods, and, in addition, the intrinsic relationship between the sound transmission (absorption) characteristics and the effective parameters was analyzed. Furthermore, the properties of dynamic effective parameters for an asymmetric bi-layer acoustic structure were further considered through an analysis of experimental data, and the modified effective parameters were then obtained through consideration of the Willis coupling in the asymmetric passive system. In addition, by taking both the clamped and the periodic boundary conditions into consideration in the bi-layer plate-type acoustic system, new perspectives were presented for study on the effective parameters and sound insulation properties in the range below the cut-off frequency. The special acoustic properties established by these effective parameters could enrich our knowledge and provide guidance for the design and installation of acoustic metamaterial structures in future sound engineering practice.

Interlocking Friction Governs the Mechanical Fracture of Bilayer MoS2.

Science.gov (United States)

Jung, Gang Seob; Wang, Shanshan; Qin, Zhao; Martin-Martinez, Francisco J; Warner, Jamie H; Buehler, Markus J

2018-04-24

A molybdenum disulfide (MoS 2 ) layered system is a two-dimensional (2D) material, which is expected to provide the next generation of electronic devices together with graphene and other 2D materials. Due to its significance for future electronics applications, gaining a deep insight into the fundamental mechanisms upon MoS 2 fracture is crucial to prevent mechanical failure toward reliable applications. Here, we report direct experimental observation and atomic modeling of the complex failure behaviors of bilayer MoS 2 originating from highly variable interlayer frictions, elucidated with in situ transmission electron microscopy and large-scale reactive molecular dynamics simulations. Our results provide a systematic understanding of the effects that different stacking and loading conditions have on the failure mechanisms and crack-tip behaviors in the bilayer MoS 2 systems. Our findings unveil essential properties in fracture of this 2D material and provide mechanistic insight into its mechanical failure.

Effect of shear stress on electromagnetic behaviors in superconductor-ferromagnetic bilayer structure

Science.gov (United States)

Yong, Huadong; Zhao, Meng; Jing, Ze; Zhou, Youhe

2014-09-01

In this paper, the electromagnetic response and shielding behaviour of superconductor-ferromagnetic bilayer structure are studied. The magnetomechanical coupling in ferromagnetic materials is also considered. Based on the linear piezomagnetic coupling model and anti-plane shear deformation, the current density and magnetic field in superconducting strip are obtained firstly. The effect of shear stress on the magnetization of strip is discussed. Then, we consider the magnetic cloak for superconductor-ferromagnetic bilayer structure. The magnetic permeability of ferromagnetic material is obtained for perfect cloaking in uniform magnetic field with magnetomechanical coupling in ferromagnet. The simulation results show that the electromagnetic response in superconductors will change by applying the stress only to the ferromagnetic material. In addition, the performance of invisibility of structure for non-uniform field will be affected by mechanical stress. It may provide a method to achieve tunability of superconducting properties with mechanical loadings.

DNA nanotechnology: Bringing lipid bilayers into shape

Science.gov (United States)

Howorka, Stefan

2017-07-01

Lipid bilayers form the thin and floppy membranes that define the boundary of compartments such as cells. Now, a method to control the shape and size of bilayers using DNA nanoscaffolds has been developed. Such designer materials advance synthetic biology and could find use in membrane research.

Quantitative optical microscopy and micromanipulation studies on the lipid bilayer membranes of giant unilamellar vesicles

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bagatolli, Luis; Needham, David

2014-01-01

to study composition-structure-property materials relationships of free-standing lipid bilayer membranes. Because their size (~5 to 100 m diameter) that is well above the resolution limit of regular light microscopes, GUVs are suitable membrane models for optical microscopy and micromanipulation...

Dynamics, Surface Electrostatics and Phase Properties of Nanoscale Curved Lipid Bilayers

Science.gov (United States)

Koolivand, Amir

Surface electrostatic potential of a lipid bilayer governs many vital functions of living cells. Several classes of proteins are known of exhibiting strong binding preferences to curved lipid bilayer surfaces. In this project we employed electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) of a recently introduced phospholipid (IMTSL-PTE) bearing a pH-sensitive nitroxide covalently attached to the lipid head group to measure the surface electrostatics of the lipid membrane and nanopore-confined lipid bilayers as a function of the bilayer curvature. The pKa of the ionizable group of this lipid-based spin probe is reporting on the bilayer surface electrostatics potential by changes in the EPR spectra. Specifically, both rotational dynamics and magnetic parameters of the nitroxide are affected by the probe protonation. Effect of curvature on the surface electrostatic potential and dynamics of lipid bilayer was studied for POPG and DMPG unilamellar vesicles (ULVs). It was found that the magnitude of the negative surface electrostatic potential increased upon decrease in the vesicle diameter for the bilayers in the fluid phase; however, no significant changes were observed for DMPG ULVs in a gel phase. We speculate that biologically relevant fluid bilayer phase allows for a larger variability in the lipid packing density in the lipid polar head group region than a more ordered gel phase and it is likely that the lipid flip-flop is responsible for pH equilibration of IMTSL-PTE. The kinetic EPR study of nitroxide reduction showed that the rate of flip-flop is in the order of 10-5 s-1. The flip-flop rate constant increases when vesicle size deceases. Oxygen permeability measured by X-ban EPR decreases in higher curved vesicles---an observation that is consistent with a tighter packing in smaller vesicles. Partitioning of a small nitroxide molecule TEMPO into ULVs was measured by X-band (9 GHz) and W-band (95 GHz) EPR spectroscopy. The partitioning coefficient of this probe in the lipid

Interaction of elaiophylin with model bilayer membrane

Science.gov (United States)

Genova, J.; Dencheva-Zarkova, M.

2017-01-01

Elaiophylin is a new macrodiolide antibiotic, which is produced by the Streptomyces strains [1]. It displays biological activities against Gram-positive bacteria and fungi. The mode of action of this antibiotic has been attributed to an alteration of the membrane permeability. When this antibiotic is inserted into the bilayer membranes destabilization of the membrane and formation of ion-penetrable channels is observed. The macrodiolide antibiotic forms stable cation selective ion channels in synthetic lipid bilayer membranes. The aim of this work was to study the interactions of Elaiophylin with model bilayer membranes and to get information on the mechanical properties of lipid bilayers in presence of this antibiotic. Patch-clamp technique [2] were used in the study

Pair interaction of bilayer-coated nanoscopic particles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Qi-Yi, Zhang

2009-01-01

The pair interaction between bilayer membrane-coated nanosized particles has been explored by using the self-consistent field (SCF) theory. The bilayer membranes are composed of amphiphilic polymers. For different system parameters, the pair-interaction free energies are obtained. Particular emphasis is placed on the analysis of a sequence of structural transformations of bilayers on spherical particles, which occur during their approaching processes. For different head fractions of amphiphiles, the asymmetrical morphologies between bilayers on two particles and the inverted micellar intermediates have been found in the membrane fusion pathway. These results can benefit the fabrication of vesicles as encapsulation vectors for drug and gene delivery. (condensed matter: structure, thermal and mechanical properties)

Molecular packing and area compressibility of lipid bilayers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

White, S.H.; King, G.I.

1985-01-01

Knowledge of the molecular packing of lipids and water in lipid bilayers is important for understanding bilayer mechanics and thermodynamics. Information on packing is most often obtained from x-ray or neutron diffraction measurements. Given the d spacing, composition, and partial specific volumes of the lipid and water, it is a simple matter to calculate the area per lipid molecule, bilayer thickness, and bilayer mass density. The partial specific volumes are commonly assumed to be those of bulk water and of lipid in excess water regardless of the degree of bilayer hydration. The authors present evidence here that these assumptions should be seriously questioned. At low hydrations, they find the head groups of egg and dioleoyl lecithin to be much less tightly packed than previously thought and the partial specific volume of water to be considerably smaller than 1 ml/g. Because the molecular packing affects the mechanical properties of bilayers, they use the results to reevaluate published experiments concerning the elastic area compressibility modulus of egg lecithin bilayers and the repulsive hydration force between bilayers

Focused-ion-beam induced interfacial intermixing of magnetic bilayers for nanoscale control of magnetic properties

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Burn, D M; Atkinson, D; Hase, T P A

2014-01-01

Modification of the magnetic properties in a thin-film ferromagnetic/non-magnetic bilayer system by low-dose focused ion-beam (FIB) induced intermixing is demonstrated. The highly localized capability of FIB may be used to locally control magnetic behaviour at the nanoscale. The magnetic, electronic and structural properties of NiFe/Au bilayers were investigated as a function of the interfacial structure that was actively modified using focused Ga + ion irradiation. Experimental work used MOKE, SQUID, XMCD as well as magnetoresistance measurements to determine the magnetic behavior and grazing incidence x-ray reflectivity to elucidate the interfacial structure. Interfacial intermixing, induced by low-dose irradiation, is shown to lead to complex changes in the magnetic behavior that are associated with monotonic structural evolution of the interface. This behavior may be explained by changes in the local atomic environment within the interface region resulting in a combination of processes including the loss of moment on Ni and Fe, an induced moment on Au and modifications to the spin-orbit coupling between Au and NiFe. (paper)

The effect of calcium on the properties of charged phospholipid bilayers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pedersen, U.R.; Leidy, Chad; Westh, P.

2006-01-01

We have performed molecular dynamics simulations to investigate the structure and dynamics of charged bilayers as well as the distribution of counterions at the bilayer interface. For this, we have considered the negatively charged di-myristoyl-phosphatidyl-glycerol (DMPG) and di-myristoyl-phosph...

Tethered and Polymer Supported Bilayer Lipid Membranes: Structure and Function

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jakob Andersson

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Solid supported bilayer lipid membranes are model systems to mimic natural cell membranes in order to understand structural and functional properties of such systems. The use of a model system allows for the use of a wide variety of analytical tools including atomic force microscopy, impedance spectroscopy, neutron reflectometry, and surface plasmon resonance spectroscopy. Among the large number of different types of model membranes polymer-supported and tethered lipid bilayers have been shown to be versatile and useful systems. Both systems consist of a lipid bilayer, which is de-coupled from an underlying support by a spacer cushion. Both systems will be reviewed, with an emphasis on the effect that the spacer moiety has on the bilayer properties.

Lipid bilayer regulation of membrane protein function: gramicidin channels as molecular force probes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lundbæk, Jens August; Collingwood, S.A.; Ingolfsson, H.I.

2010-01-01

with collective physical properties (e.g. thickness, intrinsic monolayer curvature or elastic moduli). Studies in physico-chemical model systems have demonstrated that changes in bilayer physical properties can regulate membrane protein function by altering the energetic cost of the bilayer deformation associated...... with a protein conformational change. This type of regulation is well characterized, and its mechanistic elucidation is an interdisciplinary field bordering on physics, chemistry and biology. Changes in lipid composition that alter bilayer physical properties (including cholesterol, polyunsaturated fatty acids...... channels as molecular force probes for studying this mechanism, with a unique ability to discriminate between consequences of changes in monolayer curvature and bilayer elastic moduli....

Composition, structure and properties of POPC–triolein mixtures. Evidence of triglyceride domains in phospholipid bilayers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Duelund, Lars; Jensen, Grethe Vestergaard; Hannibal-Bach, Hans Kristian

2013-01-01

We have in this study investigated the composition, structure and spectroscopical properties of multilamellar vesicles composed of a phospholipid, 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (POPC), and up to 10mol% of triolein (TO), a triglyceride. We found in agreement with previous results...... as vesicular structures containing entrapped water. Bilayer structure of the membranes was supported by small angle X-ray scattering that showed the membranes to form a lamellar phase. Fluorescence spectroscopy with the polarity sensitive dye Nile red revealed, that the LF samples with more than 5mol......% TO contained pure TO domains. These observations are consistent with an earlier MD simulation study by us and our co-workers suggesting triglycerides to be located in lens shaped, blister-like domains between the two lipid bilayer leaflets (Khandelia et al. (2010) [26])....

Growth, structure and magnetic properties of single crystalline Fe/CoO/Ag(001) bilayers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Abrudan, R.M.

2007-07-16

The structural and magnetic properties of epitaxially deposited single-crystalline CoO layers and Fe/CoO bilayers on Ag(001) were investigated. CoO films on Ag(001) exhibit (1 x 1) Low Energy Electron Diffraction (LEED) patterns similar to the clean Ag(001) substrate. The vertical interlayer spacing of the CoO films, deduced from a kinematic analysis of LEED I(E) curves, is a {sub perpendicular} {sub to} /2=2.17 Aa, slightly expanded along the film normal. Scanning Tunneling Microscopy (STM) show a big improvement in the surface roughness after annealing the CoO films at 750 K in oxygen atmosphere. Magnetic measurements using the magneto-optical Kerr effect (MOKE) show a characteristic increase of the coercive field when the Fe/CoO bilayer system is cooled down from room temperature to 150 K. The ordering temperature for the antiferromagnetic layer is in the same range as the Neel temperature for bulk CoO (T{sub N}=290 K). X-ray absorption spectroscopy was employed to probe magnetic and electronic properties with elemental selectivity. Absorption spectra taken from bilayers with different amounts of deposited Fe show only a weak indication for the formation of Fe oxide at the Fe/CoO interface (0.3 ML Fe). From the spectral shape it is concluded that an FeO type of oxide is formed. X-ray Magnetic Circular Dichroism (XMCD) measurements exhibit a sizeable induced ferromagnetic signal at the Co L{sub 2,3} absorption edge, corresponding to an interface layer of 1.1 ML in which the magnetic spins couple with the Fe layer. The angular dependence of the X-ray Magnetic Linear Dichroism (XMLD) and X-ray Magnetic Circular Dichroism XMCD at both the Co and Fe L{sub 2,3} edges shows the orientation of the Co and Fe moments in the bilayers with respect to the crystallographic direction. PhotoElectron Emission Microscope (PEEM) is used to image each ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic layer separately. Magnetic contrast due to the induced magnetic spins at the interface is also

Characterization of the transverse relaxation rates in lipid bilayers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Watnick, P.I.; Dea, P.; Chan, S.I.

1990-01-01

The 2H NMR transverse relaxation rates of a deuterated phospholipid bilayer reflect slow motions in the bilayer membrane. A study of dimyristoyl lecithin specifically deuterated at several positions of the hydrocarbon chains indicates that these motions are cooperative and are confined to the hydrocarbon chains of the lipid bilayer. However, lipid head group interactions do play an important role in modulating the properties of the cooperative fluctuations of the hydrocarbon chains (director fluctuations), as evidenced by the effects of various lipid additives on the 2H NMR transverse relaxation rates of the dimyristoyl lecithin bilayer

Magnetic and exchange bias properties of YCo thin films and IrMn/YCo bilayers

Science.gov (United States)

Venkat Narayana, M.; Manivel Raja, M.; Jammalamadaka, S. Narayana

2018-02-01

We report on the structural and magnetic properties of YCo thin films and IrMn/YCo bilayers. X-ray diffraction infer that all the films are amorphous in nature. Magnetization versus magnetic field measurements reveal room temperature soft ferromagnetism in all the YCo films. Thin films which were grown at 100 W sputter power with growth rates of 0.677, 0.694 and 0.711 Å/sec show better morphology and composition than 50 W (0.333, 0.444 and 0.277 Å/sec) grown films. Perpendicular exchange bias in as deposited bilayers is evident for IrMn/YCo bilayers. Exchange bias (EB) decreases in case of in plane measurements and enhances for out of plane measurements after perpendicular field annealing. EB is more in case of out of plane direction due to large perpendicular anisotropy in comparison with in plane direction. Above the critical thickness, EB variation is explained on the basis of random field model in the Heisenberg regime, which has been proposed by Malozemoff. Indeed there exists an inverse relationship between EB and IrMn layer thickness. Evidenced vertical shift apart from the horizontal shift for magnetization loops is attributed to frozen magnetic moments in one of the layers at the interface. Present results would prove to be helpful in spintronic device applications.

Temperature-induced assembly of semiconductor nanocrystals into fractal architectures and thermoelectric power properties in Au/Ge bilayer films

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Li Quanbao; Wang Jian; Jiao Zheng [Shanghai Applied Radiation Institute, Institute of Nanochemistry and Nanobiology, School of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200444 (China); Wu Minghong, E-mail: mhwu@staff.shu.edu.cn [Shanghai Applied Radiation Institute, Institute of Nanochemistry and Nanobiology, School of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200444 (China); Shek, Chan-Hung; Lawrence Wu, C.M.; Lai, Joseph K.L. [Department of Physics and Materials Science, City University of Hong Kong, Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon Tong (Hong Kong); Chen Zhiwen, E-mail: cnzwchen@yahoo.com.cn [Shanghai Applied Radiation Institute, Institute of Nanochemistry and Nanobiology, School of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200444 (China); Department of Physics and Materials Science, City University of Hong Kong, Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon Tong (Hong Kong)

2011-08-15

Highlights: > Ge fractal architectures were achieved by temperature-induced assembly. > The appearance of fractal architectures influences the thermoelectric power. > But it has little effect on the resistivity. > The values of the superlocalization exponent were within 1.22 {<=} {xi} {<=} 1.29. > It was higher than expected for two-dimension fractal system. - Abstract: Fractal architectures of semiconductor nanocrystals were successfully achieved by temperature-induced assembly of semiconductor nanocrystals in gold/germanium (Au/Ge) bilayer films. New assessment strategies of fractal architectures are of fundamental importance in the development of micro/nano-devices. Temperature-dependent properties including resistivity and thermoelectric power (TEP) of Au/Ge bilayer films with self-similar fractal patterns were investigated in detail. Experimental results indicated that the microstructure of Au film plays an important role in the characteristics of Au/Ge bilayer films after annealing and the crystallization processes of amorphous Ge accompany by fractal formation of Ge nanocrystals via temperature-induced assembly. The appearance of fractal architectures has significantly influence on the TEP but little effect on the resistivity of the annealed bilayer film. By analysis of the data, we found that the values of superlocalization exponent are within 1.22 {<=} {xi} {<=} 1.29, which are higher than expected for two-dimension fractal systems. The results provided possible evidence for the superlocalization on fractal architectures in Au/Ge bilayer films. The TEP measurements are considered a more effective method than the conductivity for investigating superlocalization in a percolating system.

Micropipet manipulation of lipid membranes: Direct measurement of the material properties of a cohesive structure that is only two molecules thick

Science.gov (United States)

Needham, David

1993-01-01

The objectives are to demonstrate how we can make direct measurements of the mechanical properties of a special structure in biology, namely the lipid bilayer membrane, using a micromanipulation technique, and how these properties compare and contrast with 'more traditional' technological/engineering materials. Given that the investment in equipment and expertise to carry out these experiments is probably beyond the scope of most teaching labs, the described experiment is not intended as one that can actually be demonstrated in a student laboratory class. The intention behind presenting this work is to begin to raise awareness in the Material Science community about the material properties of biological material that form a new (to us) category of soft engineering materials that have dimensions on the nanoscale.

Transport Properties of an Electron-Hole Bilayer in Contact with a Superconductor Hybrid Junction

Science.gov (United States)

Bercioux, D.; Klapwijk, T. M.; Bergeret, F. S.

2017-08-01

We investigate the transport properties of a junction consisting of an electron-hole bilayer in contact with normal and superconducting leads. The electron-hole bilayer is considered as a semimetal with two electronic bands. We assume that in the region between the contacts the system hosts an exciton condensate described by a BCS-like model with a gap Γ in the quasiparticle density of states. We first discuss how the subgap electronic transport through the junction is mainly governed by the interplay between two kinds of reflection processes at the interfaces: the standard Andreev reflection at the interface between the superconductor and the exciton condensate, and a coherent crossed reflection at the semimetal-exciton-condensate interface that converts electrons from one layer into the other. We show that the differential conductance of the junction shows a minimum at voltages of the order of Γ /e . Such a minimum can be seen as a direct hallmark of the existence of the gapped excitonic state.

Plasmon modes of bilayer molybdenum disulfide: a density functional study

Science.gov (United States)

Torbatian, Z.; Asgari, R.

2017-11-01

We explore the collective electronic excitations of bilayer molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) using density functional theory together with random phase approximation. The many-body dielectric function and electron energy-loss spectra are calculated using an ab initio based model involving material-realistic physical properties. The electron energy-loss function of the bilayer MoS2 system is found to be sensitive to either electron or hole doping and this is due to the fact that the Kohn-Sham band dispersions are not symmetric for energies above and below the zero Fermi level. Three plasmon modes are predicted, a damped high-energy mode, one optical mode (in-phase mode) for which the plasmon dispersion exhibits \\sqrt q in the long wavelength limit originating from low-energy electron scattering and finally a highly damped acoustic mode (out-of-phase mode).

Electronic transport of bilayer graphene with asymmetry line defects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhao Xiao-Ming; Chen Chan; Liang Ying; Kou Su-Peng; Wu Ya-Jie

2016-01-01

In this paper, we study the quantum properties of a bilayer graphene with (asymmetry) line defects. The localized states are found around the line defects. Thus, the line defects on one certain layer of the bilayer graphene can lead to an electric transport channel. By adding a bias potential along the direction of the line defects, we calculate the electric conductivity of bilayer graphene with line defects using the Landauer–Büttiker theory, and show that the channel affects the electric conductivity remarkably by comparing the results with those in a perfect bilayer graphene. This one-dimensional line electric channel has the potential to be applied in nanotechnology engineering. (paper)

Mixed-chain phosphatidylcholine bilayers: structure and properties

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mattai, J.; Sripada, P.K.; Shipley, G.G.

1987-01-01

Calorimetric and x-ray diffraction data are reported for two series of saturated mixed-chain phosphatidylcholines (PCs), 18:0/n:0-PC and n:0/18:0-PC, where the sn-1 and sn-2 fatty acyl chains on the glycerol backbone are systematically varied by two methylene groups from 18:0 to 10:0 (n = 18, 16, 14, 12, or 10). Fully hydrated PCs were annealed at -4 0 C and their multilamellar dispersions characterized by differential scanning calorimetry and x-ray diffraction. All mixed-chain PCs form low-temperature crystalline bilayer phases following low-temperature incubation, except 18:0/10:0-PC. The subtransition temperature (T/sub s/) shifts toward the main (chain melting) transition temperature (T/sub m/) as the sn-1 or sn-2 fatty acyl chain is reduced in length. T/sub m/ decreases with acyl chain length for both series of PCs except 18:0/10:0-PC, while for the positional isomers, n:0/18:0-PC and 18:0/n:0-PC, T/sub m/ is higher for the isomer with the longer acyl chain in the sn-2 position of the glycerol backbone. The conversion from the crystalline bilayer L/sub c/phase to the liquid-crystalline L/sub α/ phase with melted hydrocarbon chains occurs through a series of phase changes which are chain length dependent. Molecular models indicate that the bilayer gel phases for the more asymmetric PC series, 18:0/n:0-PC, must undergo progressive interdigitation with chain length reduction to maintain maximum chain-chain interaction. The L/sub β/* phase of 18:0/10:p-PC is the most stable structure for this PC below T/sub m/. The formation and stability of the triple-chain structures can be rationalized from molecular models

Stacking stability of MoS2 bilayer: An ab initio study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tao Peng; Guo Huai-Hong; Yang Teng; Zhang Zhi-Dong

2014-01-01

The study of the stacking stability of bilayer MoS 2 is essential since a bilayer has exhibited advantages over single layer MoS 2 in many aspects for nanoelectronic applications. We explored the relative stability, optimal sliding path between different stacking orders of bilayer MoS 2 , and (especially) the effect of inter-layer stress, by combining first-principles density functional total energy calculations and the climbing-image nudge-elastic-band (CI-NEB) method. Among five typical stacking orders, which can be categorized into two kinds (I: AA, AB and II: AA', AB', A'B), we found that stacking orders with Mo and S superposing from both layers, such as AA' and AB, is more stable than the others. With smaller computational efforts than potential energy profile searching, we can study the effect of inter-layer stress on the stacking stability. Under isobaric condition, the sliding barrier increases by a few eV/(ucGPa) from AA' to AB', compared to 0.1 eV/(ucGPa) from AB to [AB]. Moreover, we found that interlayer compressive stress can help enhance the transport properties of AA'. This study can help understand why inter-layer stress by dielectric gating materials can be an effective means to improving MoS 2 on nanoelectronic applications. (condensed matter: structural, mechanical, and thermal properties)

Relation between interfacial structure and mechanical properties in AlN/TiN bilayers investigated by EXAFS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ersen, O.; Tuilier, M.-H.; Thobor-Keck, A.; Rousselot, C.; Cortes, R.

2005-01-01

The relation between the mechanical properties and the structure of AlN/TiN bilayers prepared by reactive magnetron sputtering in the 600 nm range is investigated. Al and Ti K-edge extended X-ray absorption fine structure is used in order to determine the local order around Al and Ti by comparison with 300 nm thick AlN and TiN single layers. The use of this powerful local probe allows the evidence of intermixing between AlN and TiN deposited layers, which is suggested by glow discharge optical emission spectroscopy experiments. The effect of ionic bombardment applied at various steps of the deposition process is studied. The ionic bombardment applied during the deposit induces substantial changes in the absorption spectra that are assigned to a decrease of intermixing and an improvement of local order. Simulations of (Al, Ti)N ternary alloys Al and Ti K-edge absorption spectra for increasing mean occupation factors C Ti (C Al ) of Ti(Al) substituting Al(Ti) in hexagonal AlN (cubic TiN) lattice are performed in order to determine the initial parameters for the fit of the experimental data. The refinements performed by using FEFFIT software demonstrate that an ionic bombardment applied during the deposition phase results in a significant reduction of the number of Al-Ti pairs within the bilayer and an improvement of the local order around Ti and Al, which is quantified by a decrease of the Debye-Waller parameters. This structural evolution is tentatively correlated with the improvement of mechanical properties of the bilayers

Relation between interfacial structure and mechanical properties in AlN/TiN bilayers investigated by EXAFS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ersen, O. [Equipe de Recherche Mecanique, Materiaux et Procedes de Fabrication, 61, rue Albert Camus, F-68093 Mulhouse (France)]. E-mail: ovidiu.ersen@ipcms.u-strasbg.fr; Tuilier, M.-H. [Equipe de Recherche Mecanique, Materiaux et Procedes de Fabrication, 61, rue Albert Camus, F-68093 Mulhouse (France); Thobor-Keck, A. [Centre de Recherche sur les Ecoulements les Surfaces et les Transferts (UMR CNRS 6000), ITSFC, 4, place Tharradin, BP 71427, F-25211 Montbeliard (France); Rousselot, C. [Centre de Recherche sur les Ecoulements les Surfaces et les Transferts (UMR CNRS 6000), ITSFC, 4, place Tharradin, BP 71427, F-25211 Montbeliard (France); Cortes, R. [Laboratoire de Physique de la Matiere Condensee (UMR CNRS 7643), Ecole Polytechnique, F-91128 Palaiseau cedex (France)

2005-06-01

The relation between the mechanical properties and the structure of AlN/TiN bilayers prepared by reactive magnetron sputtering in the 600 nm range is investigated. Al and Ti K-edge extended X-ray absorption fine structure is used in order to determine the local order around Al and Ti by comparison with 300 nm thick AlN and TiN single layers. The use of this powerful local probe allows the evidence of intermixing between AlN and TiN deposited layers, which is suggested by glow discharge optical emission spectroscopy experiments. The effect of ionic bombardment applied at various steps of the deposition process is studied. The ionic bombardment applied during the deposit induces substantial changes in the absorption spectra that are assigned to a decrease of intermixing and an improvement of local order. Simulations of (Al, Ti)N ternary alloys Al and Ti K-edge absorption spectra for increasing mean occupation factors C {sub Ti} (C {sub Al}) of Ti(Al) substituting Al(Ti) in hexagonal AlN (cubic TiN) lattice are performed in order to determine the initial parameters for the fit of the experimental data. The refinements performed by using FEFFIT software demonstrate that an ionic bombardment applied during the deposition phase results in a significant reduction of the number of Al-Ti pairs within the bilayer and an improvement of the local order around Ti and Al, which is quantified by a decrease of the Debye-Waller parameters. This structural evolution is tentatively correlated with the improvement of mechanical properties of the bilayers.

Biocompatibility of sol-gel hydroxyapatite-titania composite and bilayer coatings

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sidane, D., E-mail: dj.sidane@yahoo.fr [Laboratoire de Génie de l' Environnement (LGE), Faculté de Technologie, Université de Bejaia, 06000, Bejaia (Algeria); Rammal, H. [Equipe d' Accueil 4691 Biomatériaux et Inflammation en Site Osseux, SFR-CAP Santé (FED 4231), Université de Reims Champagne Ardenne, 1 Avenue du Maréchal Juin, 51100 Reims (France); Beljebbar, A. [UMR CNRS 7369, Equipe MéDIAN Biophotonique et Technologies pour la Santé, UFR de Pharmacie, SFR-CAP Santé (FED 4231), Université de Reims Champagne Ardenne, 51 rue Cognacq-Jay, 51096 Reims (France); Gangloff, S.C. [Equipe d' Accueil 4691 Biomatériaux et Inflammation en Site Osseux, SFR-CAP Santé (FED 4231), Université de Reims Champagne Ardenne, 1 Avenue du Maréchal Juin, 51100 Reims (France); Chicot, D. [FRE 3723 - LML - Laboratoire de Mécanique de Lille, Univ. Lille, 59000 Lille (France); Velard, F. [Equipe d' Accueil 4691 Biomatériaux et Inflammation en Site Osseux, SFR-CAP Santé (FED 4231), Université de Reims Champagne Ardenne, 1 Avenue du Maréchal Juin, 51100 Reims (France); Khireddine, H. [Laboratoire de Génie de l' Environnement (LGE), Faculté de Technologie, Université de Bejaia, 06000, Bejaia (Algeria); and others

2017-03-01

Titania-Hydroxyapatite (TiO{sub 2}/HAP) reinforced coatings are proposed to enhance the bioactivity and corrosion resistance of 316L stainless steel (316L SS). Herein, spin- and dip-coating sol-gel processes were investigated to construct two kinds of coatings: TiO{sub 2}/HAP composite and TiO{sub 2}/HAP bilayer. Physicochemical characterization highlighted the bioactivity response of the TiO{sub 2}/HAP composite once incubated in physiological conditions for 7 days whereas the TiO{sub 2}/HAP bilayer showed instability and dissolution. Biological analysis revealed a failure in human stem cells adhesion on TiO{sub 2}/HAP bilayer whereas on TiO{sub 2}/HAP composite the presence of polygonal shaped cells, possessing good behaviour attested a good biocompatibility of the composite coating. Finally, TiO{sub 2}/HAP composite with hardness up to 0.6 GPa and elastic modulus up to 18 GPa, showed an increased corrosion resistance of 316L SS. In conclusion, the user-friendly sol-gel processes led to bioactive TiO{sub 2}/HAP composite buildup suitable for biomedical applications. - Highlights: • 316L SS implant TiO{sub 2} reinforced HAP coatings were investigated and compared. • TiO{sub 2}/HAP composite had better structural features and biocompatible properties. • Improvement of 316L SS implants corrosion resistance. • TiO{sub 2}/HAP composite mechanical properties close to bone tissue • Low cost and desired material for hard tissue applications.

Biocompatibility of sol-gel hydroxyapatite-titania composite and bilayer coatings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sidane, D.; Rammal, H.; Beljebbar, A.; Gangloff, S.C.; Chicot, D.; Velard, F.; Khireddine, H.

2017-01-01

Titania-Hydroxyapatite (TiO 2 /HAP) reinforced coatings are proposed to enhance the bioactivity and corrosion resistance of 316L stainless steel (316L SS). Herein, spin- and dip-coating sol-gel processes were investigated to construct two kinds of coatings: TiO 2 /HAP composite and TiO 2 /HAP bilayer. Physicochemical characterization highlighted the bioactivity response of the TiO 2 /HAP composite once incubated in physiological conditions for 7 days whereas the TiO 2 /HAP bilayer showed instability and dissolution. Biological analysis revealed a failure in human stem cells adhesion on TiO 2 /HAP bilayer whereas on TiO 2 /HAP composite the presence of polygonal shaped cells, possessing good behaviour attested a good biocompatibility of the composite coating. Finally, TiO 2 /HAP composite with hardness up to 0.6 GPa and elastic modulus up to 18 GPa, showed an increased corrosion resistance of 316L SS. In conclusion, the user-friendly sol-gel processes led to bioactive TiO 2 /HAP composite buildup suitable for biomedical applications. - Highlights: • 316L SS implant TiO 2 reinforced HAP coatings were investigated and compared. • TiO 2 /HAP composite had better structural features and biocompatible properties. • Improvement of 316L SS implants corrosion resistance. • TiO 2 /HAP composite mechanical properties close to bone tissue • Low cost and desired material for hard tissue applications

Influence of an Fe cap layer on the structural and magnetic properties of Fe49Pt51/Fe bi-layers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chao-Yang, Duan; Bin, Ma; Zong-Zhi, Zhang; Qing-Yuan, Jin; Fu-Lin, Wei

2009-01-01

The influences of an Fe cap layer on the structural and magnetic properties of FePt/Fe bi-layers are investigated. Compared with single FePt alloy films, a thin Fe layer can affect the crystalline orientation and improve the chemical ordering of L1 0 FePt films. Moreover, the coercivity increases when a thin Fe layer covers the FePt layer. Beyond a critical thickness, however, the Fe cover layer quickens the magnetization reversal of Fe 49 Pt 51 /Fe bi-layers by their exchange coupling

Active Bilayer PE/PCL Films for Food Packaging Modified with Zinc Oxide and Casein

OpenAIRE

Rešček, Ana; Kratofil Krehula, Ljerka; Katančić, Zvonimir; Hrnjak-Murgić, Zlata

2015-01-01

This paper studies the properties of active polymer food packaging bilayer polyethylene/polycaprolactone (PE/PCL) films. Such packaging material consists of primary PE layer coated with thin film of PCL coating modified with active component (zinc oxide or zinc oxide/casein complex) with intention to extend the shelf life of food and to maintain the quality and health safety. The influence of additives as active components on barrier, mechanical, thermal and antimicrobial properties of such m...

Discrete particle modeling and micromechanical characterization of bilayer tablet compaction.

Science.gov (United States)

Yohannes, B; Gonzalez, M; Abebe, A; Sprockel, O; Nikfar, F; Kiang, S; Cuitiño, A M

2017-08-30

A mechanistic particle scale model is proposed for bilayer tablet compaction. Making bilayer tablets involves the application of first layer compaction pressure on the first layer powder and a second layer compaction pressure on entire powder bed. The bonding formed between the first layer and the second layer particles is crucial for the mechanical strength of the bilayer tablet. The bonding and the contact forces between particles of the first layer and second layer are affected by the deformation and rearrangement of particles due to the compaction pressures. Our model takes into consideration the elastic and plastic deformations of the first layer particles due to the first layer compaction pressure, in addition to the mechanical and physical properties of the particles. Using this model, bilayer tablets with layers of the same material and different materials, which are commonly used pharmaceutical powders, are tested. The simulations show that the strength of the layer interface becomes weaker than the strength of the two layers as the first layer compaction pressure is increased. The reduction of strength at the layer interface is related to reduction of the first layer surface roughness. The reduced roughness decreases the available bonding area and hence reduces the mechanical strength at the interface. In addition, the simulations show that at higher first layer compaction pressure the bonding area is significantly less than the total contact area at the layer interface. At the interface itself, there is a non-monotonic relationship between the bonding area and first layer force. The bonding area at the interface first increases and then decreases as the first layer pressure is increased. These results are in agreement with findings of previous experimental studies. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Buckling-dependent switching behaviours in shifted bilayer germanene nanoribbons: A computational study

Science.gov (United States)

Arjmand, T.; Tagani, M. Bagheri; Soleimani, H. Rahimpour

2018-01-01

Bilayer germanene nanoribbons are investigated in different stacks like buckled and flat armchair and buckled zigzag germanene nanoribbons by performing theoretical calculations using the nonequilibrium Greens function method combined with density functional theory. In these bilayer types, the current oscillates with change of interlayer distances or intra-layer overlaps and is dependent on the type of the bilayer. Band gap of AA-stacked of shifted flat bilayer armchair germanene nanoribbon oscillates by change of interlayer distance which is in contrast to buckled bilayer armchair germanene nanoribbon. So, results show the buckling makes system tend to be a semiconductor with wide band gap. Therefore, AA-stacked of shifted flat bilayer armchair germanene nanoribbon has properties between zigzag and armchair edges, the higher current under bias voltages similar to zigzag edge and also oscillations in current like buckled armchair edges. Also, it is found that HOMO-LUMO band gap strongly affects oscillation in currents and their I-V characteristic. This kind of junction improves the switching properties at low voltages around the band gap.

Bi-layer graphene structure with non-equivalent planes: Magnetic properties study

Science.gov (United States)

Mhirech, A.; Aouini, S.; Alaoui-Ismaili, A.; Bahmad, L.

2018-05-01

In this paper, we study the magnetic properties of a ferromagnetic bi-layer graphene structure with non-equivalent planes. The geometry of the studied system is formed by two layers (A) and (B) consisting of the spins σ = 1 / 2 and S = 1 . For this purpose, the influence of the coupling exchange interactions, the external magnetic and the crystal fields are investigated and presented as well as the ground state phase diagrams. The Monte Carlo simulations have been used to examine the behavior of the partial and the total magnetizations as a function of the system parameters. These effects on the compensation and critical temperatures behavior are also presented in different phase diagrams, for the studied system.

A criterion to identify the equilibration time in lipid bilayer simulations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rodolfo D. Porasso

2012-11-01

Full Text Available With the aim of establishing a criterion for identifying when a lipid bilayer has reached steady state using the molecular dynamics simulation technique, lipid bilayers of different composition in their liquid crystalline phase were simulated in aqueous solution in presence of CaCl_2 as electrolyte, at different concentration levels. In this regard, we used two different lipid bilayer systems: one composed by 288 DPPC (DiPalmitoylPhosphatidylCholine and another constituted by 288 DPPS (DiPalmitoylPhosphatidylSerine. In this sense, for both type of lipid bilayers, we have studied the temporal evolution of some lipids properties, such as the surface area per lipid, the deuterium order parameter, the lipid hydration and the lipid-calcium coordination. From their analysis, it became evident how each property has a different time to achieve equilibrium. The following order was found, from faster property to slower property: coordination of ions $approx$ deuterium order parameter > area per lipid $approx$ hydration. Consequently, when the hydration of lipids or the mean area per lipid are stable, we can ensure that the lipid membrane has reached the steady state.

Improving the antimicrobial properties of titanium condenser material by surface modification using nanotechnology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

George, Rani P.; Dash, S.; Krishnan, R.; Kamruddin, M.; Kalavathi, S.; Tyagi, A.K.; Manoharan, N.; Dayal, R.K.; Vishwakarma, Vinita; Theresa, Josephine

2008-01-01

Biofouling is one of the major problems faced by condenser materials of power plants using seawater for cooling. Fouling control strategies in condensers include a combination of mechanical and chemical treatments like sponge ball cleaning, back washing and chlorination. In general, numerous studies have shown that no routine treatment regime can successfully keep the condenser tube clean over a period extending to years. Surface properties of the substratum influence initial adhesion and growth of bacterial cells on materials, modification of the surface for mitigating microbial attachment is the need of the hour. Metal nanoparticles are known to exhibit enhanced physical and chemical properties when compared to their bulk counter parts because of their high surface to volume ratios. Metals like copper are very toxic to microorganisms and effectively kill most of the microbes by blocking the respiratory enzyme. Copper alloys with their excellent resistance to biofouling are used extensively for marine applications. However, they are prone to localized corrosion initiation and consequently are getting replaced by extremely corrosion resistant titanium. Still, the inertness and biocompatibility of titanium makes it very susceptible to biofouling. Hence, this study attempts to use nano technology methods of surface modification of titanium using thin film of copper and also multilayers and bilayers of copper and nickel. This is aimed at improving the antimicrobial properties of this condenser pipe material. These nano structured thin films have been grown on titanium substrate using pulsed DC magnetron-sputtering and pulsed laser deposition. The thin films were characterized using Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), Glancing Incidence X-ray Diffraction (GIXRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM with EDAX analysis). Antimicrobial properties were evaluated by exposure studies in seawater and bacterial cultures and by post exposure analysis using culture and

Multi-Stacked Supported Lipid Bilayer Micropatterning through Polymer Stencil Lift-Off

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yujie Zhu

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Complex multi-lamellar structures play a critical role in biological systems, where they are present as lamellar bodies, and as part of biological assemblies that control energy transduction processes. Multi-lamellar lipid layers not only provide interesting systems for fundamental research on membrane structure and bilayer-associated polypeptides, but can also serve as components in bioinspired materials or devices. Although the ability to pattern stacked lipid bilayers at the micron scale is of importance for these purposes, limited work has been done in developing such patterning techniques. Here, we present a simple and direct approach to pattern stacked supported lipid bilayers (SLBs using polymer stencil lift-off and the electrostatic interactions between cationic and anionic lipids. Both homogeneous and phase-segregated stacked SLB patterns were produced, demonstrating that the stacked lipid bilayers retain lateral diffusivity. We demonstrate patterned SLB stacks of up to four bilayers, where fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET and quenching was used to probe the interactions between lipid bilayers. Furthermore, the study of lipid phase behaviour showed that gel phase domains align between adjacent layers. The proposed stacked SLB pattern platform provides a robust model for studying lipid behaviour with a controlled number of bilayers, and an attractive means towards building functional bioinspired materials or devices.

Self-folding graphene-polymer bilayers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Deng, Tao [Institute of Microelectronics, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084 (China); Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21218 (United States); Yoon, ChangKyu [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21218 (United States); Jin, Qianru [Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21218 (United States); Li, Mingen [Department of Physics, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21218 (United States); Liu, Zewen [Institute of Microelectronics, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084 (China); Gracias, David H., E-mail: dgracias@jhu.edu [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21218 (United States); Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21218 (United States)

2015-05-18

In order to incorporate the extraordinary intrinsic thermal, electrical, mechanical, and optical properties of graphene with three dimensional (3D) flexible substrates, we introduce a solvent-driven self-folding approach using graphene-polymer bilayers. A polymer (SU-8) film was spin coated atop chemically vapor deposited graphene films on wafer substrates and graphene-polymer bilayers were patterned with or without metal electrodes using photolithography, thin film deposition, and etching. After patterning, the bilayers were released from the substrates and they self-folded to form fully integrated, curved, and folded structures. In contrast to planar graphene sensors on rigid substrates, we assembled curved and folded sensors that are flexible and they feature smaller form factors due to their 3D geometry and large surface areas due to their multiple rolled architectures. We believe that this approach could be used to assemble a range of high performance 3D electronic and optical devices of relevance to sensing, diagnostics, wearables, and energy harvesting.

Structural Phase Transition and Material Properties of Few-Layer Monochalcogenides.

Science.gov (United States)

Mehboudi, Mehrshad; Fregoso, Benjamin M; Yang, Yurong; Zhu, Wenjuan; van der Zande, Arend; Ferrer, Jaime; Bellaiche, L; Kumar, Pradeep; Barraza-Lopez, Salvador

2016-12-09

GeSe and SnSe monochalcogenide monolayers and bilayers undergo a two-dimensional phase transition from a rectangular unit cell to a square unit cell at a critical temperature T_{c} well below the melting point. Its consequences on material properties are studied within the framework of Car-Parrinello molecular dynamics and density-functional theory. No in-gap states develop as the structural transition takes place, so that these phase-change materials remain semiconducting below and above T_{c}. As the in-plane lattice transforms from a rectangle into a square at T_{c}, the electronic, spin, optical, and piezoelectric properties dramatically depart from earlier predictions. Indeed, the Y and X points in the Brillouin zone become effectively equivalent at T_{c}, leading to a symmetric electronic structure. The spin polarization at the conduction valley edge vanishes, and the hole conductivity must display an anomalous thermal increase at T_{c}. The linear optical absorption band edge must change its polarization as well, making this structural and electronic evolution verifiable by optical means. Much excitement is drawn by theoretical predictions of giant piezoelectricity and ferroelectricity in these materials, and we estimate a pyroelectric response of about 3×10^{-12}  C/K m here. These results uncover the fundamental role of temperature as a control knob for the physical properties of few-layer group-IV monochalcogenides.

CONDENSED MATTER: STRUCTURE, THERMAL AND MECHANICAL PROPERTIES: Pair interaction of bilayer-coated nanoscopic particles

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Qi-Yi

2009-02-01

The pair interaction between bilayer membrane-coated nanosized particles has been explored by using the self-consistent field (SCF) theory. The bilayer membranes are composed of amphiphilic polymers. For different system parameters, the pair-interaction free energies are obtained. Particular emphasis is placed on the analysis of a sequence of structural transformations of bilayers on spherical particles, which occur during their approaching processes. For different head fractions of amphiphiles, the asymmetrical morphologies between bilayers on two particles and the inverted micellar intermediates have been found in the membrane fusion pathway. These results can benefit the fabrication of vesicles as encapsulation vectors for drug and gene delivery.

DC conductivity of twisted bilayer graphene: Angle-dependent transport properties and effects of disorder

Science.gov (United States)

Andelković, M.; Covaci, L.; Peeters, F. M.

2018-03-01

The in-plane dc conductivity of twisted bilayer graphene is calculated using an expansion of the real-space Kubo-Bastin conductivity in terms of Chebyshev polynomials. We investigate within a tight-binding approach the transport properties as a function of rotation angle, applied perpendicular electric field, and vacancy disorder. We find that for high-angle twists, the two layers are effectively decoupled, and the minimum conductivity at the Dirac point corresponds to double the value observed in monolayer graphene. This remains valid even in the presence of vacancies, hinting that chiral symmetry is still preserved. On the contrary, for low twist angles, the conductivity at the Dirac point depends on the twist angle and is not protected in the presence of disorder. Furthermore, for low angles and in the presence of an applied electric field, we find that the chiral boundary states emerging between AB and BA regions contribute to the dc conductivity, despite the appearance of localized states in the AA regions. The results agree qualitatively with recent transport experiments in low-angle twisted bilayer graphene.

Strain-induced gap transition and anisotropic Dirac-like cones in monolayer and bilayer phosphorene

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wang, Can; Xia, Qinglin, E-mail: qlxia@csu.edu.cn; Nie, Yaozhuang; Guo, Guanghua, E-mail: guogh@csu.edu.cn [School of Physics and Electronics, Central South University, Changsha 410083 (China)

2015-03-28

The electronic properties of two-dimensional monolayer and bilayer phosphorene subjected to uniaxial and biaxial strains have been investigated using first-principles calculations based on density functional theory. Strain engineering has obvious influence on the electronic properties of monolayer and bilayer phosphorene. By comparison, we find that biaxial strain is more effective in tuning the band gap than uniaxial strain. Interestingly, we observe the emergence of Dirac-like cones by the application of zigzag tensile strain in the monolayer and bilayer systems. For bilayer phosphorene, we induce the anisotropic Dirac-like dispersion by the application of appropriate armchair or biaxial compressive strain. Our results present very interesting possibilities for engineering the electronic properties of phosphorene and pave a way for tuning the band gap of future electronic and optoelectronic devices.

Cluster Formation of Polyphilic Molecules Solvated in a DPPC Bilayer

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiang-Yang Guo

2017-10-01

Full Text Available We analyse the initial stages of cluster formation of polyphilic additive molecules which are solvated in a dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC lipid bilayer. Our polyphilic molecules comprise an aromatic (trans-bilayer core domain with (out-of-bilayer glycerol terminations, complemented with a fluorophilic and an alkyl side chain, both of which are confined within the aliphatic segment of the bilayer. Large-scale molecular dynamics simulations (1 μ s total duration of a set of six of such polyphilic additives reveal the initial steps towards supramolecular aggregation induced by the specific philicity properties of the molecules. For our intermediate system size of six polyphiles, the transient but recurrent formation of a trimer is observed on a characteristic timescale of about 100 ns. The alkane/perfluoroalkane side chains show a very distinct conformational distribution inside the bilayer thanks to their different philicity, despite their identical anchoring in the trans-bilayer segment of the polyphile. The diffusive mobility of the polyphilic additives is about the same as that of the surrounding lipids, although it crosses both bilayer leaflets and tends to self-associate.

Magnetic properties dependence on the coupled effects of magnetic fields on the microstructure of as-deposited and post-annealed Co/Ni bilayer thin films

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Franczak, Agnieszka [LISM, Universite de Reims Champagne-Ardenne, BP 1039, 51687 Reims Cedex 2 (France); Department of Materials Science, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, 3001 Leuven (Belgium); Levesque, Alexandra, E-mail: alexandra.levesque@univ-reims.fr [LISM, Universite de Reims Champagne-Ardenne, BP 1039, 51687 Reims Cedex 2 (France); Coïsson, Marco [Electromagnetism Division, Istituto Nazionale di Ricerca Metrologica, 10135 Torino (Italy); Li, Donggang [LISM, Universite de Reims Champagne-Ardenne, BP 1039, 51687 Reims Cedex 2 (France); Key Laboratory of Electromagnetic Processing of Materials (Ministry of Education), Northeastern University, 110004 Shenyang (China); Barrera, Gabriele [Electromagnetism Division, Istituto Nazionale di Ricerca Metrologica, 10135 Torino (Italy); Università di Torino, Dipartimento di Chimica, 10125 Torino (Italy); Celegato, Federica [Electromagnetism Division, Istituto Nazionale di Ricerca Metrologica, 10135 Torino (Italy); Wang, Qiang [Key Laboratory of Electromagnetic Processing of Materials (Ministry of Education), Northeastern University, 110004 Shenyang (China); Tiberto, Paola [Electromagnetism Division, Istituto Nazionale di Ricerca Metrologica, 10135 Torino (Italy); Chopart, Jean-Paul [LISM, Universite de Reims Champagne-Ardenne, BP 1039, 51687 Reims Cedex 2 (France)

2014-12-15

Magnetic films and multilayers are the focus of much attention motivated mainly by their wide range of applications, such as magnetic data storage devices and sensors. The magnetic multilayer structures are normally prepared through physical means of deposition, as molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) or sputtering. However, there are already examples of materials produced by electrochemical routes, which share with the other deposition techniques a high sensitivity of magnetic and transport properties of the samples on their crystallographic and chemical structure. In addition, electrochemical deposition allows growing structures with high aspect ratio, which are not possible to obtain by MBE deposition followed by lithographic processes. The present work investigates the Co/Ni bilayered nanocrystalline films produced through the temperature-elevated electrochemical deposition, and modified by annealing carried out also under an external magnetic field. The results indicate an increase of the coercive field of deposited Co/Ni bilayers, when the electrodeposition process was conducted under magnetic field of 1 T. The annealing processing caused further remarkable increase of the coercive field of as-prepared bilayers that has been preserved under magnetic annealing conditions. The magnetic properties are discussed in terms of samples microstructure. In as-prepared samples the in-plane magnetization was observed, while high temperature treatment, causing microstructural changes in the film, resulted also in appearance of a small component of magnetization oriented perpendicularly to the films’ plane that could have been observed by MFM analysis. The induced perpendicular magnetization component in the post-annealed samples was a result of the magnetic field applied in the perpendicular direction to the samples’ surface during annealing treatment. - Highlights: • Co deposits were obtained at high electrolyte temperature under applied B-field. • The

Magnetic properties dependence on the coupled effects of magnetic fields on the microstructure of as-deposited and post-annealed Co/Ni bilayer thin films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Franczak, Agnieszka; Levesque, Alexandra; Coïsson, Marco; Li, Donggang; Barrera, Gabriele; Celegato, Federica; Wang, Qiang; Tiberto, Paola; Chopart, Jean-Paul

2014-01-01

Magnetic films and multilayers are the focus of much attention motivated mainly by their wide range of applications, such as magnetic data storage devices and sensors. The magnetic multilayer structures are normally prepared through physical means of deposition, as molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) or sputtering. However, there are already examples of materials produced by electrochemical routes, which share with the other deposition techniques a high sensitivity of magnetic and transport properties of the samples on their crystallographic and chemical structure. In addition, electrochemical deposition allows growing structures with high aspect ratio, which are not possible to obtain by MBE deposition followed by lithographic processes. The present work investigates the Co/Ni bilayered nanocrystalline films produced through the temperature-elevated electrochemical deposition, and modified by annealing carried out also under an external magnetic field. The results indicate an increase of the coercive field of deposited Co/Ni bilayers, when the electrodeposition process was conducted under magnetic field of 1 T. The annealing processing caused further remarkable increase of the coercive field of as-prepared bilayers that has been preserved under magnetic annealing conditions. The magnetic properties are discussed in terms of samples microstructure. In as-prepared samples the in-plane magnetization was observed, while high temperature treatment, causing microstructural changes in the film, resulted also in appearance of a small component of magnetization oriented perpendicularly to the films’ plane that could have been observed by MFM analysis. The induced perpendicular magnetization component in the post-annealed samples was a result of the magnetic field applied in the perpendicular direction to the samples’ surface during annealing treatment. - Highlights: • Co deposits were obtained at high electrolyte temperature under applied B-field. • The

Lipids, lipid bilayers and vesicles as seen by neutrons

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Seto, Hideki

2011-01-01

Lipid molecules self-assemble into bilayers in water with their hydrocarbon chains facing inward due to their amphiphilic nature. The structural and dynamical properties of lipids and lipid bilayers have been studied by neutron scattering intensively. In this article, 3 topics are shown as typical examples. 1) a time-resolved small-angle neutron scattering on uni-lamellar vesicles composed of deuterated and protonated lipids to determine lipid kinetics, 2) small-angle neutron scattering to investigate spontaneous formation of nanopores on uni-lamellar vesicles, and 3) neutron spin echo study to determine bending modulus of lipid bilayers. (author)

The computational route from bilayer membranes to vesicle fusion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shillcock, Julian C; Lipowsky, Reinhard

2006-01-01

Biological membranes are examples of 'smart' materials whose properties and behaviour emerge from the propagation across many scales of the molecular characteristics of their constituents. Artificial smart materials, such as drug delivery vehicles and biosensors, often rely on modifying naturally occurring soft matter, such as polymers and lipid vesicles, so that they possess useful behaviour. However, the complexity of natural membranes, both in their static properties, exemplified in their phase behaviour, and in their dynamic properties, as in the kinetics of their formation and interactions, hinders their rational modification. Mesoscopic simulations, such as dissipative particle dynamics (DPD), allow in silico experiments to be easily and cheaply performed on complex, soft materials requiring as input only the molecular structure of the constituents at a coarse-grained level. They can therefore act as a guide to experimenters prior to performing costly assays. Additionally, mesoscopic simulations provide the only currently feasible window on the length- and timescales relevant to important biophysical processes such as vesicle fusion. We review here the development of computational models of bilayer membranes, and in particular the use of mesoscopic simulations to follow the molecular rearrangements that occur during membrane fusion

Bilayer graphene: physics and application outlook in photonics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yan Hugen

2015-05-01

Full Text Available Layered materials, such as graphene, transition metal dichacogenides and black phosphorus have attracted lots of attention recently. They are emerging novel materials in electronics and photonics, with tremendous potential in revolutionizing the traditional electronics and photonics industry. Marrying layered material to the nanophotonics is being proved fruitful. With the recent emphasis and development of metasurfaces in nanophotonics, atomically thin materials can find their unique position and strength in this field. In this article, I will focus on one specific two dimensional material: bilayer graphene. Basic physics will be reviewed, such as band-gap opening, electron-phonon interaction, phonon-plasmon interaction and Fano resonances in the optical response. Moreover, I will review the application of bilayer graphene as a sensitive and fast photodetector. An outlook will be given in the final part of the paper.

Transfer matrix theory of monolayer graphene/bilayer graphene heterostructure superlattice

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Yu

2014-01-01

We have formulated a transfer matrix method to investigate electronic properties of graphene heterostructure consisting of monolayer graphene and bilayer counterpart. By evaluating transmission, conductance, and band dispersion, we show that, irrespective of the different carrier chiralities in monolayer graphene and bilayer graphene, superlattice consisting of biased bilayer graphene barrier and monolayer graphene well can mimic the electronic properties of conventional semiconductor superlattice, displaying the extended subbands in the quantum tunneling regime and producing anisotropic minigaps for the classically allowed transport. Due to the lateral confinement, the lowest mode has shifted away from the charge neutral point of monolayer graphene component, opening a sizeable gap in concerned structure. Following the gate-field and geometry modulation, all electronic states and gaps between them can be externally engineered in an electric-controllable strategy.

Ferroelectric properties of bilayer structured Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3/SrBi2Ta2O9 (PZT/SBT) thin films on Pt/TiO2/SiO2/Si substrates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Wenqi; Li Aidong; Shao Qiyue; Xia Yidong; Wu Di; Liu Zhiguo; Ming Naiben

2008-01-01

Pb(Zr 0.52 Ti 0.48 )O 3 (PZT) thin films with large remanent polarization and SrBi 2 Ta 2 O 9 (SBT) thin films with excellent fatigue-resisting characteristic have been widely studied for non-volatile random access memories, respectively. To combine these two advantages , bilayered Pb(Zr 0.52 Ti 0.48 )O 3 /SrBi 2 Ta 2 O 9 (PZT/SBT) thin films were fabricated on Pt/TiO 2 /SiO 2 /Si substrates by chemical solution deposition method. X-ray diffraction patterns revealed that the diffraction peaks of PZT/SBT thin films were completely composed of PZT and SBT, and no other secondary phase was observed. The electrical properties of the bilayered structure PZT/SBT films have been investigated in comparison with pure PZT and SBT films. PZT/SBT bilayered thin films showed larger remanent polarization (2P r ) of 18.37 μC/cm 2 than pure SBT and less polarization fatigue up to 1 x 10 9 switching cycles than pure PZT. These results indicated that this bilayered structure of PZT/SBT is a promising material combination for ferroelectric memory applications

Process parameter impact on properties of sputtered large-area Mo bilayers for CIGS thin film solar cell applications

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Badgujar, Amol C.; Dhage, Sanjay R., E-mail: dhage@arci.res.in; Joshi, Shrikant V.

2015-08-31

Copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) has emerged as a promising candidate for thin film solar cells, with efficiencies approaching those of silicon-based solar cells. To achieve optimum performance in CIGS solar cells, uniform, conductive, stress-free, well-adherent, reflective, crystalline molybdenum (Mo) thin films with preferred orientation (110) are desirable as a back contact on large area glass substrates. The present study focuses on cylindrical rotating DC magnetron sputtered bilayer Mo thin films on 300 mm × 300 mm soda lime glass (SLG) substrates. Key sputtering variables, namely power and Ar gas flow rates, were optimized to achieve best structural, electrical and optical properties. The Mo films were comprehensively characterized and found to possess high degree of thickness uniformity over large area. Best crystallinity, reflectance and sheet resistance was obtained at high sputtering powers and low argon gas flow rates, while mechanical properties like adhesion and residual stress were found to be best at low sputtering power and high argon gas flow rate, thereby indicating a need to arrive at a suitable trade-off during processing. - Highlights: • Sputtering of bilayer molybdenum thin films on soda lime glass • Large area deposition using rotating cylindrical direct current magnetron • Trade of sputter process parameters power and pressure • High uniformity of thickness and best electrical properties obtained • Suitable mechanical and optical properties of molybdenum are achieved for CIGS application.

Novel β-TCP/PVA bilayered hydrogels with considerable physical and bio-functional properties for osteochondral repair.

Science.gov (United States)

Yao, Hang; Kang, Junpei; Li, Weichang; Liu, Jian; Xie, Renjian; Wang, Yingjun; Liu, Sa; Wang, Dong-An; Ren, Li

2017-12-07

Cartilage repairing grafts have been widely studied, and osteochondral replacement hydrogels have proven to be an excellent method in research and clinical fields. However, it has been difficult to simultaneously solve three main issues in osteochondral replacement preparation: surface lubrication, overall mechanical support and good simulations of cell regeneration. A novel integrated bilayered hydrogel osteochondral replacement was constructed by blending polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and β-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP) in this study. Separated nano-ball milling with ultrasound dispersion prepared β-TCP demonstrated suitable properties of tiny particle size, high purity and ideal distribution, improving the mechanical properties of the novel integrated hydrogel, and providing a cartilage-like lubrication effect and high biocompatibility, including cytocompatibility and osteogenesis. The reinforcement of β-TCP and integrated molding technology enabled the hydrogel to demonstrate excellent component compatibility and good bonding between the two layers, which promoted the strengthening of the compression modulus and tensile modulus up to three times by mechanical testing. The surface lubrication properties of the novel osteochondral hydrogel were similar to the natural cartilage by friction coefficient characterization. The two layers of the novel integrated graft provided a considerable bio-function by co-culturing with chondrocytes and synovium mesenchymal stem cells: chondrocytes promoted adherence achieved by the upper density layer and better osteogenesis performance of the porous lower layer. The design of the bilayered β-TCP/PVA osteochondral hydrogel is promising for use in articular cartilage repair.

Layer configurations comparison of bilayer-films for EGFET pH sensor application

Science.gov (United States)

Rahman, R. A.; Zulkefle, M. A.; Yusof, K. A.; Abdullah, W. F. H.; Rusop, M.; Herman, S. H.

2018-05-01

The comparison between bilayer configurations were presented in this paper. TiO2 and ZnO layer configurations were manipulated in order to investigate which configuration produce highest sensing performance to be applied as EGFET pH sensor. Both of the materials were deposited together as the bilayer film. The configurations were manipulated between TiO2/ZnO and ZnO/TiO2. ITO was used as the substrate in this study and both of the materials were deposited by using sol-gel spin coating technique. After deposition process, these bilayer film then undergone for EGFET pH sensor measurement and physical characterization. The EGFET pH sensor measurement was done by dipping the fabricated bilayer film into three different pH values, which is pH4, pH7 and pH10. Bilayer film act as the pH-sensitive membrane, which connected to the commercial metal-oxide semiconductor FET (MOSFET). This MOSFET was connected to the interfacing circuit. Voltage output obtained were recorded and the graph was plotted by using the data recorded. Based on the EGFET pH sensor measurement, TiO2/ZnO bilayer film exhibit higher sensing performance, compared with ZnO/TiO2. TiO2/ZnO bilayer film produced 53.10 mV/pH with the linearity value of 0.9913. Afterwards, fabricated bilayer films then were characterized with AFM to explore their surface roughness and surface topography behavior.

SFG studies on interactions between antimicrobial peptides and supported lipid bilayers.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Xiaoyun; Chen, Zhan

2006-09-01

The mode of action of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) in disrupting cell membrane bilayers is of fundamental importance in understanding the efficiency of different AMPs, which is crucial to design antibiotics with improved properties. Recent developments in the field of sum frequency generation (SFG) vibrational spectroscopy have made it a powerful and unique biophysical technique in investigating the interactions between AMPs and a single substrate supported planar lipid bilayer. We will review some of the recent progress in applying SFG to study membrane lipid bilayers and discuss how SFG can provide novel information such as real-time bilayer structure change and AMP orientation during AMP-lipid bilayer interactions in a very biologically relevant manner. Several examples of applying SFG to monitor such interactions between AMPs and a dipalmitoyl phosphatidylglycerol (DPPG) bilayer are presented. Different modes of actions are observed for melittin, tachyplesin I, d-magainin 2, MSI-843, and a synthetic antibacterial oligomer, demonstrating that SFG is very effective in the study of AMPs and AMP-lipid bilayer interactions.

Synthesis and microstructural studies of annealed Cu(2)O/Cu(x)S bilayer as transparent electrode material for photovoltaic and energy storage devices.

Science.gov (United States)

Taleatu, B A; Arbab, E A A; Omotoso, E; Mola, G T

2014-10-01

Cu2 O thin film and a transparent bilayer have been fabricated by electrodeposition method. The growths were obtained in potentiostatic mode with gradual degradation of anodic current. X-ray diffraction (XRD) study showed that the bilayer is polycrystalline and it possesses mixture of different crystallite phases of copper oxides. Surface morphology of the films was investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The SEM images revealed that the films were uniformly distributed and the starting material (Cu2 O) had cubical structure. Grains agglomeration and crystallinity were enhanced by annealing. Optical studies indicated that all the samples have direct allowed transition. Energy band gap of the bilayer film was reduced by annealing treatment thus corroborating quantum confinement upshot. © 2014 The Authors Journal of Microscopy © 2014 Royal Microscopical Society.

Anomalous conductivity noise in gapped bilayer graphene heterostructure

Science.gov (United States)

Aamir, Mohammed Ali; Karnatak, Paritosh; Sai, T. Phanindra; Ghosh, Arindam

Bilayer graphene has unique electronic properties - it has a tunable band gap and also, valley symmetry and pseudospin degree of freedom like its single layer counterpart. In this work, we present a study of conductance fluctuations in dual gated bilayer graphene heterostructures by varying the Fermi energy and the band gap independently. At a fixed band gap, we find that the conductance fluctuations obtained by Fermi energy ensemble sampling increase rapidly as the Fermi energy is tuned to charge neutrality point (CNP) whereas the time-dependent conductance fluctuations diminish rapidly. This discrepancy is completely absent at higher number densities, where the transport is expected to be through the 2D bulk of the bilayer system. This observation indicates that near the CNP, electrical transport is highly sensitive to Fermi energy, but becomes progressively immune to time-varying disorder. A possible explanation may involve transport via edge states which becomes the dominant conduction mechanism when the bilayer graphene is gapped and Fermi energy is situated close to the CNP, thereby causing a dimensional crossover from 2D to 1D transport. Our experiment outlines a possible experimental protocol to probe intrinsic topological states in gapped bilayer graphene.

Gas Separation through Bilayer Silica, the Thinnest Possible Silica Membrane.

Science.gov (United States)

Yao, Bowen; Mandrà, Salvatore; Curry, John O; Shaikhutdinov, Shamil; Freund, Hans-Joachim; Schrier, Joshua

2017-12-13

Membrane-based gas separation processes can address key challenges in energy and environment, but for many applications the permeance and selectivity of bulk membranes is insufficient for economical use. Theory and experiment indicate that permeance and selectivity can be increased by using two-dimensional materials with subnanometer pores as membranes. Motivated by experiments showing selective permeation of H 2 /CO mixtures through amorphous silica bilayers, here we perform a theoretical study of gas separation through silica bilayers. Using density functional theory calculations, we obtain geometries of crystalline free-standing silica bilayers (comprised of six-membered rings), as well as the seven-, eight-, and nine-membered rings that are observed in glassy silica bilayers, which arise due to Stone-Wales defects and vacancies. We then compute the potential energy barriers for gas passage through these various pore types for He, Ne, Ar, Kr, H 2 , N 2 , CO, and CO 2 gases, and use the data to assess their capability for selective gas separation. Our calculations indicate that crystalline bilayer silica, which is less than a nanometer thick, can be a high-selectivity and high-permeance membrane material for 3 He/ 4 He, He/natural gas, and H 2 /CO separations.

Biomimetic Cationic Nanoparticles Based on Silica: Optimizing Bilayer Deposition from Lipid Films

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rodrigo T. Ribeiro

2017-10-01

Full Text Available The optimization of bilayer coverage on particles is important for a variety of biomedical applications, such as drug, vaccine, and genetic material delivery. This work aims at optimizing the deposition of cationic bilayers on silica over a range of experimental conditions for the intervening medium and two different assemblies for the cationic lipid, namely, lipid films or pre-formed lipid bilayer fragments. The lipid adsorption on silica in situ over a range of added lipid concentrations was determined from elemental analysis of carbon, hydrogen, and nitrogen and related to the colloidal stability, sizing, zeta potential, and polydispersity of the silica/lipid nanoparticles. Superior bilayer deposition took place from lipid films, whereas adsorption from pre-formed bilayer fragments yielded limiting adsorption below the levels expected for bilayer adsorption.

Chiral tunneling in a twisted graphene bilayer.

Science.gov (United States)

He, Wen-Yu; Chu, Zhao-Dong; He, Lin

2013-08-09

The perfect transmission in a graphene monolayer and the perfect reflection in a Bernal graphene bilayer for electrons incident in the normal direction of a potential barrier are viewed as two incarnations of the Klein paradox. Here we show a new and unique incarnation of the Klein paradox. Owing to the different chiralities of the quasiparticles involved, the chiral fermions in a twisted graphene bilayer show an adjustable probability of chiral tunneling for normal incidence: they can be changed from perfect tunneling to partial or perfect reflection, or vice versa, by controlling either the height of the barrier or the incident energy. As well as addressing basic physics about how the chiral fermions with different chiralities tunnel through a barrier, our results provide a facile route to tune the electronic properties of the twisted graphene bilayer.

Probing Lipid Bilayers under Ionic Imbalance.

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Jiaqi; Alexander-Katz, Alfredo

2016-12-06

Biological membranes are normally under a resting transmembrane potential (TMP), which originates from the ionic imbalance between extracellular fluids and cytosols, and serves as electric power storage for cells. In cell electroporation, the ionic imbalance builds up a high TMP, resulting in the poration of cell membranes. However, the relationship between ionic imbalance and TMP is not clearly understood, and little is known about the effect of ionic imbalance on the structure and dynamics of biological membranes. In this study, we used coarse-grained molecular dynamics to characterize a dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine bilayer system under ionic imbalances ranging from 0 to ∼0.06 e charges per lipid (e/Lip). We found that the TMP displayed three distinct regimes: 1) a linear regime between 0 and 0.045 e/Lip, where the TMP increased linearly with ionic imbalance; 2) a yielding regime between ∼0.045 and 0.060 e/Lip, where the TMP displayed a plateau; and 3) a poration regime above ∼0.060 e/Lip, where we observed pore formation within the sampling time (80 ns). We found no structural changes in the linear regime, apart from a nonlinear increase in the area per lipid, whereas in the yielding regime the bilayer exhibited substantial thinning, leading to an excess of water and Na + within the bilayer, as well as significant misalignment of the lipid tails. In the poration regime, lipid molecules diffused slightly faster. We also found that the fluid-to-gel phase transition temperature of the bilayer dropped below the normal value with increased ionic imbalances. Our results show that a high ionic imbalance can substantially alter the essential properties of the bilayer, making the bilayer more fluid like, or conversely, depolarization of a cell could in principle lead to membrane stiffening. Copyright © 2016 Biophysical Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Modification of photosensing property of CdS–Bi{sub 2}S{sub 3} bi-layer by thermal annealing and swift heavy ion irradiation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shaikh, Shaheed U.; Siddiqui, Farha Y. [Thin Film and Nanotechnology Laboratory, Department of Physics (India); Department of Nanotechnology, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University, Aurangabad 431004 (India); Singh, Fouran; Kulriya, Pawan K. [Inter University Accelerator Center, Aruna Asaf Ali Marg, New Delhi 110 067 (India); Phase, D.M. [UGC DAE Consortium for Scientific Research, Khandwa Road, Indore 452017 (India); Sharma, Ramphal, E-mail: ramphalsharma@yahoo.com [Thin Film and Nanotechnology Laboratory, Department of Physics (India); Department of Nanotechnology, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University, Aurangabad 431004 (India)

2016-02-01

The CdS–Bi{sub 2}S{sub 3} bi-layer thin films have been deposited on Indium Tin Oxide (ITO) glass substrates at room temperature by Chemical Bath Deposition Technique (CBD) and bi-layer thin films were annealed in air atmosphere for 1 h at 250 {sup °}C. The air annealed sample was irradiated using Au{sup 9+} ions at the fluence 5 × 10{sup 11} ion/cm{sup 2} with 120 MeV energy. Effects of Swift Heavy Ion (SHI) irradiation on CdS–Bi{sub 2}S{sub 3} bi-layer thin films were studied. The results are explained on the basis annealing and high electronic excitation, using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Selective Electron Area Diffraction (SEAD), Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), Raman Spectroscopy, UV spectroscopy and I–V characteristics. The photosensing property after illumination of visible light over the samples is studied. These as-deposited, annealed and irradiated bi-layer thin films are used to sense visible light at room temperature. - Graphical abstract: Schematic illustration of CdS–Bi{sub 2}S{sub 3} bi-layer thin film (a) As-deposited (b) Annealed (c) irradiated sample respectively (d) Model of bi-layer photosensor device (e) Graph of illumination intensity verses photosensitivity. - Highlights: • CdS–Bi{sub 2}S{sub 3} bi-layer thin film prepared at room temperature. • Irradiated using Au{sup 9+} ions at the fluence of 5 × 10{sup 11} ion/cm{sup 2} with 120 MeV energy. • Study of modification induced by irradiations. • Study of Photosensitivity after annealing and irradiation.

Dual Salt- and Thermo-Responsive Programmable Bilayer Hydrogel Actuators with Pseudo-Interpenetrating Double-Network Structures.

Science.gov (United States)

Xiao, Shengwei; Zhang, Mingzhen; He, Xiaomin; Huang, Lei; Zhang, Yanxian; Ren, Baiping; Zhong, Mingqiang; Chang, Yung; Yang, Jintao; Zheng, Jie

2018-06-07

Development of smart soft actuators is highly important for fundamental research and industrial applications, but has proved to be extremely challenging. In this work, we present a facile, one-pot, one-step method to prepare dual-responsive bilayer hydrogels, consisting of a thermos-responsive poly(N-isopropyl acrylamide) (polyNIPAM) layer and a salt-responsive poly(3-(1-(4-vinylbenzyl)-1H-imidazol-3-ium-3-yl)propane-1-sulfonat) (polyVBIPS) layer. Both polyNIPAM and polyVBIPs layers exhibit a completely opposite swelling/shrinking behavior, where polyNIPAM shrinks (swells) but polyVBIPS swells (shrinks) in salt solution (water) or at high (low) temperatures. By tuning NIPAM:VBIPS ratios, the resulting polyNIPAM/polyVBIPS bilayer hydrogels enable to achieve fast and large-amplitude bidirectional bending in response to temperatures, salt concentrations, and salt types. Such bidirectional bending, bending orientation and degree can be reversibly, repeatedly, and precisely controlled by salt- or temperature-induced cooperative, swelling-shrinking properties from both layers. Based on their fast, reversible, bidirectional bending behavior, we further design two conceptual hybrid hydrogel actuators, serving as a six-arm gripper to capture, transport, and release an object and an electrical circuit switch to turn on-and-off a lamp. Different from the conventional two or multi-step methods for preparation of bilayer hydrogels, our simple, one-pot, one-step method and a new bilayer hydrogel system provide an innovative concept to explore new hydrogel-based actuators through combining different responsive materials that allow to program different stimulus for soft and intelligent materials applications.

Physical and electrical properties of bilayer CeO{sub 2}/TiO{sub 2} gate dielectric stack

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chong, M.M.V. [School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University of Singapore, Block N 4.1Nanyang Avenue, Singapore 639798 (Singapore); GlobalFoundries Singapore Private Limited, 60 Woodlands Industrial Park D Street 2, Singapore 738406 (Singapore); Lee, P.S. [School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University of Singapore, Block N 4.1Nanyang Avenue, Singapore 639798 (Singapore); Tok, A.I.Y., E-mail: MIYTOK@ntu.edu.sg [School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University of Singapore, Block N 4.1Nanyang Avenue, Singapore 639798 (Singapore)

2016-08-15

Highlights: • A bilayer gate dielectric stack of CeO{sub 2}/TiO{sub 2} to study the dependency of film growth with varying annealing temperatures is proposed. • The study demonstrates CeO{sub 2}/TiO{sub 2} bilayer stack with comparable κ-value as that of HfO{sub 2} but with reduced leakage current density of 4 orders of magnitude. • Schottky emission is the dominant leakage conduction mechanism of annealed CeO{sub 2}/TiO{sub 2} stack due to thermionic effect of interface properties. - Abstract: This study demonstrates a bilayer gate oxide structure of cerium oxide deposited via pulsed laser deposition and titanium oxide using conventional atomic layer deposition. Samples were deposited on p-type Si (100) substrate and exhibit interesting physical and electrical properties such that 600 °C annealed CeO{sub 2}/TiO{sub 2} samples having κ-value of 18 whereas pure CeO{sub 2} deposited samples have dielectric constant of 17.1 with leakage current density of 8.94 × 10{sup −6} A/cm{sup 2} at 1 V applied voltage. The result shows promising usage of the synthesized rare earth oxides as gate dielectric where ideal κ-value and significant reduction of the leakage current by 5 orders of magnitude is achieved. Leakage current conduction mechanism for as-deposited sample is found to be dominated by Poole–Frenkel (PF) emission; the trap level is found to be at 1.29 eV whereas annealed samples (600 °C and 800 °C) exhibited Schottky emission with trap levels at 1.45 eV and 0.81 eV, respectively.

Bifurcation of self-folded polygonal bilayers

Science.gov (United States)

Abdullah, Arif M.; Braun, Paul V.; Hsia, K. Jimmy

2017-09-01

Motivated by the self-assembly of natural systems, researchers have investigated the stimulus-responsive curving of thin-shell structures, which is also known as self-folding. Self-folding strategies not only offer possibilities to realize complicated shapes but also promise actuation at small length scales. Biaxial mismatch strain driven self-folding bilayers demonstrate bifurcation of equilibrium shapes (from quasi-axisymmetric doubly curved to approximately singly curved) during their stimulus-responsive morphing behavior. Being a structurally instable, bifurcation could be used to tune the self-folding behavior, and hence, a detailed understanding of this phenomenon is appealing from both fundamental and practical perspectives. In this work, we investigated the bifurcation behavior of self-folding bilayer polygons. For the mechanistic understanding, we developed finite element models of planar bilayers (consisting of a stimulus-responsive and a passive layer of material) that transform into 3D curved configurations. Our experiments with cross-linked Polydimethylsiloxane samples that change shapes in organic solvents confirmed our model predictions. Finally, we explored a design scheme to generate gripper-like architectures by avoiding the bifurcation of stimulus-responsive bilayers. Our research contributes to the broad field of self-assembly as the findings could motivate functional devices across multiple disciplines such as robotics, artificial muscles, therapeutic cargos, and reconfigurable biomedical devices.

Cationic Dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine and Dioleoyloxytrimethylammonium Propane Lipid Bilayers: Atomistic Insight for Structure and Dynamics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zhao, W.; Gurtovenko, A. A.; Vattulainen, I.

2012-01-01

We performed atomistic molecular dynamics simulations of lipid bilayers consisting of a mixture of cationic dioleoyloxytrimethylammonium propane (DOTAP) and zwitterionic dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine (DMPC) lipids at different DOTAP fractions. Our primary focus was the specific effects...... of unsaturated lipid chains on structural and dynamic properties of mixed cationic bilayers. The bilayer area, as well as the ordering of lipid tails, shows a pronounced nonmonotonic behavior when TAP lipid fraction increases. The minimum in area (maximum in ordering) was observed for a bilayer with TAP fraction...... lipids, which were found to form PC-PC and PC-TAP pairs, and the formation of lipid clusters....

An electrochemical investigation on the dissolution of bilayered porous anodic alumina

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liao, Jinfu; Ling, Zhiyuan; Li, Yi; Hu, Xing

2015-01-01

Highlights: • Pulse polarization was introduced to investigate the dissolution of PAA. • Electric field within the bilayers was estimated. • The formation of the barrier layer involves mainly solid-state processes. • The structure should be the determining factor in the dissolution of the bilayers. - Abstract: Anodic alumina attracts much research interest in many disciplines for its versatility. Meanwhile, some aspects regarding its growth are still not well-understood, such as the formation and properties of its bilayer structure. In this paper, along with capacitance measurement, pulse polarization is introduced to study the dissolution of bilayered porous anodic alumina (PAA). Combined with electron microscope observation, the electric field in the outer layer is estimated to be slightly higher than that in the inner layer. By comparing with (oxy-)hydroxide layers, the electric field distribution within barrier layer of PAA confirms that the bilayers are compact and are formed mainly by solid-state ionic migration. The changes of dissolution rates after annealing and application of electric pulses suggest that structure may be a determining factor for the dissolution behaviors of the bilayers.

Flexural phonon limited phonon drag thermopower in bilayer graphene

Science.gov (United States)

Ansari, Mohd Meenhaz; Ashraf, SSZ

2018-05-01

We investigate the phonon drag thermopower from flexural phonons as a function of electron temperature and carrier concentration in the Bloch-Gruneisen regime in non-strained bilayer graphene using Boltzmann transport equation approach. The flexural phonons are expected to be the major source of intrinsic scattering mechanism in unstrained bilayer graphene due to their large density. The flexural phonon modes dispersion relation is quadratic so these low energy flexural phonons abound at room temperature and as a result deform the bilayer graphene sheet in the out of plane direction and affects the transport properties. We also produce analytical result for phonon-drag thermopower from flexural phonons and find that phonon-drag thermopower depicts T2 dependence on temperature and n-1 on carrier concentration.

Optical and structural investigations of self-assembled Ge/Si bi-layer containing Ge QDs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Samavati, Alireza, E-mail: alireza.samavati@yahoo.com [Ibn Sina Institute for Fundamental Science Studies, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Skudai 81310, Johor (Malaysia); Othaman, Z., E-mail: zulothaman@gmail.com [Ibn Sina Institute for Fundamental Science Studies, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Skudai 81310, Johor (Malaysia); Ghoshal, S.K.; Dousti, M.R. [Advanced Optical Material Research Group, Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310 UTM Skudai, Johor (Malaysia)

2014-10-15

We report the influence of Si spacer thickness variation (10–40 nm) on structural and optical properties of Ge quantum dots (QDs) in Ge/Si(1 0 0) bi-layer grown by radio frequency magnetron sputtering. AFM images reveal the spacer dependent width, height, root mean square roughness and number density of QDs vary in the range of ∼12–25 nm, ∼2–6 nm, ∼1.95–1.05 nm and ∼0.55×10{sup 11}–2.1×10{sup 11} cm{sup −2}, respectively. XRD patterns exhibit the presence of poly-oriented structures of Ge with preferred growth along (1 1 1) direction accompanied by a reduction in strain from 4.9% to 1.2% (estimated from Williamson–Hall plot) due to bi-layering. The room temperature luminescence displays strong blue–violet peak associated with a blue shift as much as 0.05 eV upon increasing the thickness of Si spacer. This shift is attributed to the quantum size effect, the material intermixing and the strain mediation. Raman spectra for both mono and bi-layer samples show intense Ge–Ge optical phonon mode that is shifted towards higher frequency. Furthermore, the first order features of Raman spectra affirm the occurrence of interfacial intermixing and phase formation during deposition. The excellent features of the results suggest that our systematic method may constitute a basis for the tunable growth of Ge QDs suitable in nanophotonics. - Highlights: • High quality bilayered hetero-structure Ge/Si using economic and easy rf magnetron sputtering fabrication method. • The role of phonon-confinement and strain relaxation mechanisms. • Influence of bilayering on evolutionary growth dynamics. • Band gap shift of visible PL upon bilayering.

Size effect on magnetic properties of a nano-graphene bilayer structure: A Monte Carlo study

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Masrour, R. [Laboratory of Materials, Process, Environment and Quality, Cady Ayyad University, National School of Applied Sciences, Safi (Morocco); Laboratoire de Magnetisme et Physique des Hautes Energies L.M.P.H.E.URAC 12, Universite Mohammed V-Agdal, Faculte des Sciences, B.P. 1014 Rabat (Morocco); Bahmad, L., E-mail: bahmad@fsr.ac.ma [Laboratoire de Magnetisme et Physique des Hautes Energies L.M.P.H.E.URAC 12, Universite Mohammed V-Agdal, Faculte des Sciences, B.P. 1014 Rabat (Morocco); Benyoussef, A. [Laboratoire de Magnetisme et Physique des Hautes Energies L.M.P.H.E.URAC 12, Universite Mohammed V-Agdal, Faculte des Sciences, B.P. 1014 Rabat (Morocco)

2012-11-15

In this paper we use the Monte Carlo simulations to investigate the magnetic properties of an Ising ferromagnetic-antiferromagnetic model. The system is based on a nano-graphene structure-like bilayer with two bloc sizes: N=24 and 42 spins. For each size N, the upper layer A is formed with spin -3/2, whereas the lower layer B is composed of spin -5/2. We only consider the first nearest-neighbor interactions between the sites i and j. The magnetic properties are studied, in the absence as well as in the presence of a crystal magnetic field, and an external magnetic field. The increasing temperature and crystal field as well as the inter-layer coupling constant, are also studied for this system sizes N=24 and 42 spins. The zero-field-cooled and the field cooled magnetization behaviors are investigated for different values of external magnetic field and a fixed value of exchange interaction between the two blocs. The magnetizations as well as the magnetic susceptibilities versus the temperature are used in order to obtain blocking temperature. The saturation magnetization and coercive field are also obtained for the two sizes of the studied system. It is found that the blocking temperature decreases on increasing the crystal magnetic field and/or the external magnetic field, for a fixed system size. On the other hand, it is found that the blocking temperature increases on increasing the system size from N=24 to 42 spins, for fixed values of external and the crystal magnetic fields. - Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Magnetic properties of an Ising ferromagnetic-antiferromagnetic bilayer is studied. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Monte Carlo simulations are used. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Zero-field-cooled (ZFC) and field cooled (FC) magnetization behaviors for nano-graphene are obtained.

Electromagnetic coupling of spins and pseudospins in bilayer graphene

Science.gov (United States)

Winkler, R.; Zülicke, U.

2015-03-01

We present a theoretical study of bilayer-graphene's electronic properties in the presence of electric and magnetic fields. In contrast to known materials, including single-layer graphene, any possible coupling of physical quantities to components of the electric field has a counterpart where the analogous component of the magnetic field couples to exactly the same quantities. For example, a purely electric spin splitting appears as the magneto-electric analogue of the magnetic Zeeman spin splitting. The measurable thermodynamic response induced by magnetic and electric fields is thus completely symmetric. The Pauli magnetization induced by a magnetic field takes exactly the same functional form as the polarization induced by an electric field. Although they seem counterintuitive, our findings are consistent with fundamental principles such as time reversal symmetry. For example, only a magnetic field can give rise to a macroscopic spin polarization, whereas only a perpendicular electric field can induce a macroscopic polarization of the sublattice-related pseudospin in bilayer graphene. These rules enforced by symmetry for the matter-field interactions clarify the nature of spins versus pseudospins. We have obtained numerical values of prefactors for relevant terms. NSF Grant DMR-1310199 and Marsden Fund Contract No. VUW0719.

Fluorescent molecular probes based on excited state prototropism in lipid bilayer membrane

Science.gov (United States)

Mohapatra, Monalisa; Mishra, Ashok K.

2012-03-01

Excited state prototropism (ESPT) is observed in molecules having one or more ionizable protons, whose proton transfer efficiency is different in ground and excited states. The interaction of various ESPT molecules like naphthols and intramolecular ESPT (ESIPT) molecules like hydroxyflavones etc. with different microheterogeneous media have been studied in detail and excited state prototropism as a probe concept has been gaining ground. The fluorescence of different prototropic forms of such molecules, on partitioning to an organized medium like lipid bilayer membrane, often show sensitive response to the local environment with respect to the local structure, physical properties and dynamics. Our recent work using 1-naphthol as an ESPT fluorescent molecular probe has shown that the incorporation of monomeric bile salt molecules into lipid bilayer membranes composed from dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC, a lung surfactant) and dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine (DMPC), in solid gel and liquid crystalline phases, induce appreciable wetting of the bilayer up to the hydrocarbon core region, even at very low (fisetin, an ESIPT molecule having antioxidant properties, in lipid bilayer membrane has been sensitively monitored from its intrinsic fluorescence behaviour.

Lipid bilayers and interfaces

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kik, R.A.

2007-01-01

In biological systems lipid bilayers are subject to many different interactions with other entities. These can range from proteins that are attached to the hydrophilic region of the bilayer or transmembrane proteins that interact with the hydrophobic region of the lipid bilayer. Interaction between

Robustly Engineering Thermal Conductivity of Bilayer Graphene by Interlayer Bonding

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Xiaoliang; Gao, Yufei; Chen, Yuli; Hu, Ming

2016-01-01

Graphene and its bilayer structure are the two-dimensional crystalline form of carbon, whose extraordinary electron mobility and other unique features hold great promise for nanoscale electronics and photonics. Their realistic applications in emerging nanoelectronics usually call for thermal transport manipulation in a controllable and precise manner. In this paper we systematically studied the effect of interlayer covalent bonding, in particular different interlay bonding arrangement, on the thermal conductivity of bilayer graphene using equilibrium molecular dynamics simulations. It is revealed that, the thermal conductivity of randomly bonded bilayer graphene decreases monotonically with the increase of interlayer bonding density, however, for the regularly bonded bilayer graphene structure the thermal conductivity possesses unexpectedly non-monotonic dependence on the interlayer bonding density. The results suggest that the thermal conductivity of bilayer graphene depends not only on the interlayer bonding density, but also on the detailed topological configuration of the interlayer bonding. The underlying mechanism for this abnormal phenomenon is identified by means of phonon spectral energy density, participation ratio and mode weight factor analysis. The large tunability of thermal conductivity of bilayer graphene through rational interlayer bonding arrangement paves the way to achieve other desired properties for potential nanoelectronics applications involving graphene layers. PMID:26911859

Ultrafast lithium diffusion in bilayer graphene

Science.gov (United States)

Kühne, Matthias; Paolucci, Federico; Popovic, Jelena; Ostrovsky, Pavel M.; Maier, Joachim; Smet, Jurgen H.

2017-09-01

Solids that simultaneously conduct electrons and ions are key elements for the mass transfer and storage required in battery electrodes. Single-phase materials with a high electronic and high ionic conductivity at room temperature are hard to come by, and therefore multiphase systems with separate ion and electron channels have been put forward instead. Here we report on bilayer graphene as a single-phase mixed conductor that demonstrates Li diffusion faster than in graphite and even surpassing the diffusion of sodium chloride in liquid water. To measure Li diffusion, we have developed an on-chip electrochemical cell architecture in which the redox reaction that forces Li intercalation is localized only at a protrusion of the device so that the graphene bilayer remains unperturbed from the electrolyte during operation. We performed time-dependent Hall measurements across spatially displaced Hall probes to monitor the in-plane Li diffusion kinetics within the graphene bilayer and measured a diffusion coefficient as high as 7 × 10-5 cm2 s-1.

Assessment of bilayer silicene to probe as quantum spin and valley Hall effect

Science.gov (United States)

Rehman, Majeed Ur; Qiao, Zhenhua

2018-02-01

Silicene takes precedence over graphene due to its buckling type structure and strong spin orbit coupling. Motivated by these properties, we study the silicene bilayer in the presence of applied perpendicular electric field and intrinsic spin orbit coupling to probe as quantum spin/valley Hall effect. Using analytical approach, we calculate the spin Chern-number of bilayer silicene and then compare it with monolayer silicene. We reveal that bilayer silicene hosts double spin Chern-number as compared to single layer silicene and therefore accordingly has twice as many edge states in contrast to single layer silicene. In addition, we investigate the combined effect of intrinsic spin orbit coupling and the external electric field, we find that bilayer silicene, likewise single layer silicene, goes through a phase transitions from a quantum spin Hall state to a quantum valley Hall state when the strength of the applied electric field exceeds the intrinsic spin orbit coupling strength. We believe that the results and outcomes obtained for bilayer silicene are experimentally more accessible as compared to bilayer graphene, because of strong SO coupling in bilayer silicene.

Plasmonic Physics of 2D Crystalline Materials

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zahra Torbatian

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Collective modes of doped two-dimensional crystalline materials, namely graphene, MoS 2 and phosphorene, both monolayer and bilayer structures, are explored using the density functional theory simulations together with the random phase approximation. The many-body dielectric functions of the materials are calculated using an ab initio based model involving material-realistic physical properties. Having calculated the electron energy-loss, we calculate the collective modes of each material considering the in-phase and out-of-phase modes for bilayer structures. Furthermore, owing to many band structures and intreband transitions, we also find high-energy excitations in the systems. We explain that the material-specific dielectric function considering the polarizability of the crystalline material such as MoS 2 are needed to obtain realistic plasmon dispersions. For each material studied here, we find different collective modes and describe their physical origins.

Superhard behaviour, low residual stress, and unique structure in diamond-like carbon films by simple bilayer approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dwivedi, Neeraj; Kumar, Sushil; Malik, Hitendra K.

2012-01-01

Simple bilayer approach is proposed for synthesizing hard and superhard diamond-like carbon (DLC) coatings with reduced residual stress. For this, M/DLC bilayer (M = Ti and Cu) structures are grown using hybrid system involving radio frequency (RF)-sputtering and RF-plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition techniques. Ti/DLC bilayer deposited at negative self bias of 100 V shows superhard behaviour with hardness (H) as 49 GPa. Cu/DLC bilayer grown at self bias of 100 V exhibits hard behaviour with H as 22.8 GPa. The hardness of Ti/DLC (Cu/DLC) bilayer gets changed from superhard (hard) to hard (moderate hard) regime, when the self bias is raised to 300 V. Residual stress in Ti/DLC (Cu/DLC) bilayer is found to be significantly low that varies in the range of 1 GPa-1.65 GPa (0.8 GPa-1.6 GPa). The microstructure and morphology are studied by Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and atomic force microscopy (AFM). SEM and AFM pictures reveal the creation of nanostructured features in the deposited bilayers. Raman, SEM, and AFM analyses are correlated with the nano-mechanical properties. Owing to excellent nano-mechanical properties, these bilayers can find their direct industrial applications as hard and protective coatings.

Super-Sensitive and Robust Biosensors from Supported Polymer Bilayers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Paxton, Walter F. [Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)

2015-09-01

Biological organisms are potentially the most sensitive and selective biological detection systems known, yet we are currently severely limited in our ability to exploit biological interactions in sensory devices, due in part to the limited stability of biological systems and derived materials. This proposal addresses an important aspect of integrating biological sensory materials in a solid state device. If successful, such technology could enable entirely new classes of robust biosensors that could be miniaturized and deployed in the field. The critical aims of the proposed work were 1) the calibration of a more versatile approach to measuring pH, 2) the use of this method to monitor pH changes caused by the light-induced pumping of protons across vesicles with bacteriorhodopsin integrated into the membranes (either polymer or lipid); 3) the preparation of bilayer assemblies on platinum surfaces; 4) the enhanced detection of lightinduced pH changes driven by bR-loaded supported bilayers. I have developed a methodology that may enable that at interfaces and developed a methodology to characterize the functionality of bilayer membranes with reconstituted membrane proteins. The integrity of the supported bilayer films however must be optimized prior to the full realization of the work originally envisioned in the original proposal. Nevertheless, the work performed on this project and the encouraging results it has produced has demonstrated that these goals are challenging yet within reach.

Ab-initio study of superconducting state in intercalated MoSe2 and WSe2 bilayers

Science.gov (United States)

Szcześniak, R.; Durajski, A. P.; Jarosik, M. W.

2018-05-01

A two-dimensional systems have attracted significant interest due to their outstanding physical, chemical and optoelectronic properties. This paper focuses on the detailed investigations of the electronic, phononic and superconducting properties of transition-metal dichalcogenide bilayers MSe 2 (M = Mo, W) intercalated by calcium atoms. The first-principles calculations show that (MoSe2)2Ca and (WSe2)2Ca systems exhibit metallic behavior and weak phonon-mediated superconductivity with low critical temperature of 0.51 and 0.30 K, respectively. These results confirm other theoretical predictions and suggest that the investigated materials cannot be a good candidates for a nanoscale superconductors.

Bulletin of Materials Science | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Bulletin of Materials Science. YONG J IANG. Articles written in Bulletin of Materials Science. Volume 40 Issue 6 October 2017 pp 1255-1261. Molecular dynamics study on the relaxation properties of bilayered graphene with defects · WEI ZHANG JIU-REN YIN PING ZHANG YAN-HUAI DING YONG J IANG.

Microfabrication of SrRuO3 thin films on various oxide substrates using LaAlO3/BaOx sacrificial bilayers

Science.gov (United States)

Harada, Takayuki; Tsukazaki, Atsushi

2018-02-01

Oxides provide various fascinating physical properties that could find use in future device applications. However, the physical properties of oxides are often affected by formation of oxygen vacancies during device fabrication processes. In this study, to develop a damage-free patterning process for oxides, we focus on a lift-off process using a sacrificial template layer, by which we can pattern oxide thin films without severe chemical treatment or plasma bombardment. As oxides need high thin-film growth temperature, a sacrificial template needs to be made of thermally stable and easily etchable materials. To meet these requirements, we develop a sacrificial template with a carefully designed bilayer structure. Combining a thermally and chemically stable LaAlO3 and a water-soluble BaOx, we fabricated a LaAlO3/BaOx sacrificial bilayer. The patterned LaAlO3/BaOx sacrificial bilayers were prepared on oxide substrates by room-temperature pulsed laser deposition and standard photolithography process. The structure of the sacrificial bilayer can be maintained even in rather tough conditions needed for oxide thin film growth: several hundred degrees Celsius under high oxygen pressure. Indeed, the LaAlO3/BaOx bilayer is easily removable by sonication in water. We applied the lift-off method using the LaAlO3/BaOx sacrificial bilayer to a representative oxide conductor SrRuO3 and fabricated micron-scale Hall-bar devices. The SrRuO3 channels with the narrowest line width of 5 μm exhibit an almost identical transport property to that of the pristine film, evidencing that the developed process is beneficial for patterning oxides. We show that the LaAlO3/BaOx lift-off process is applicable to various oxide substrates: SrTiO3, MgO, and Al2O3. The new versatile patterning process will expand the range of application of oxide thin films in electronic and photonic devices.

Lipid Bilayer – mediated Regulation of Ion Channel Function by Amphiphilic Drugs

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lundbæk, Jens August

2008-01-01

that are transforming it into a subject of quantitative science. It is described how the hydrophobic interactions between a membrane protein and the host lipid bilayer provide the basis for a mechanism, whereby protein function is regulated by the bilayer physical properties. The use of gramicidin channels as single-molecule......Drugs that at pico- to nanomolar concentration regulate ion channel function by high-affi nity binding to their cognate receptor often have a “ secondary pharmacology, ” in which the same molecule at low micromolar concentrations regulates a diversity of membrane proteins in an apparently...... nonspecifi c manner. It has long been suspected that this promiscuous regulation of membrane protein function could be due to changes in the physical properties of the host lipid bilayer, but the underlying mechanisms have been poorly understood. Given that pharmacological research often involves drug...

Tribology of implantation bilayers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pivin, J.C.

1989-01-01

The mechanical behaviour of implantation films must be analysed in terms of bilayer rheology (laws of mechanical behaviour). Tribology takes into account thermodynamical, chemical and metallurgical parameters to interpret the friction properties of a system as a whole. One can distinguish between alloying effects of ion implantation and structural modifications. Alloying affects the basic properties of the crystal: elasticity, cohesion, mobility of planar defects, and its surface electronic structure, which determines the reactivity with the atmosphere or the friction counterpart (adhesion). Radiation damage and phase changes act more particularly on the modes of gliding and climbing of dislocations, and fracture mechanisms. 105 refs.; 11 figs.; 1 table

Controlled release from bilayer-decorated magnetoliposomes via electromagnetic heating.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Yanjing; Bose, Arijit; Bothun, Geoffrey D

2010-06-22

Nanoscale assemblies that can be activated and controlled through external stimuli represent a next stage in multifunctional therapeutics. We report the formation, characterization, and release properties of bilayer-decorated magnetoliposomes (dMLs) that were prepared by embedding small hydrophobic SPIO nanoparticles at different lipid molecule to nanoparticle ratios within dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) bilayers. The dML structure was examined by cryogenic transmission electron microscopy and differential scanning calorimetry, and release was examined by carboxyfluorescein leakage. Nanoparticle heating using alternating current electromagnetic fields (EMFs) operating at radio frequencies provided selective release of the encapsulated molecule at low nanoparticle concentrations and under physiologically acceptable EMF conditions. Without radio frequency heating, spontaneous leakage from the dMLs decreased with increasing nanoparticle loading, consistent with greater bilayer stability and a decrease in the effective dML surface area due to aggregation. With radio frequency heating, the initial rate and extent of leakage increased significantly as a function of nanoparticle loading and electromagnetic field strength. The mechanism of release is attributed to a combination of bilayer permeabilization and partial dML rupture.

Interface properties of bilayer structure Alq{sub 3}/Fe{sub 65}Co{sub 35}

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wang, Zhen, E-mail: wangzhen@chd.edu.cn [Department of Applied Physics, Chang’an University, Xi’an 710064 (China); Xu, Chunlong; Wang, Jinguo; Chang, Qiaoli [Department of Applied Physics, Chang’an University, Xi’an 710064 (China); Zuo, Yalu; Xi, Li [Key Laboratory for Magnetism and Magnetic Materials of Ministry of Education, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000 (China)

2015-04-01

Highlights: • Bilayer structure of Alq{sub 3}/FeCo was fabricated in a dual ultra high vacuum chamber. • Organic layer reacts partially with the FeCo film. • Electronic injection barrier is 0.76 eV in the interface. • The induced uniaxial anisotropy appears in Alq{sub 3}/FeCo. - Abstract: The interface between the organic and magnetic electrodes is a fundamental problem in organic spintronics devices. Therefore, bilayer structure of Alq{sub 3}/FeCo was fabricated in a dual ultra high vacuum chamber. The electronic structure of Alq{sub 3}–FeCo interface has been studied by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy with Argon ion etching technique. It was found that organic layer reacts partially with the FeCo film, forming complex binding of metallic carbide and/or oxidation state in the interfacial region. Electronic injection barrier is 0.76 eV in the interface. The structural variation of the contact region is proposed to be one of the possible factors resulting in spin-injection failure. The magnetic properties of FeCo film with different thicknesses on glass substrate and Alq{sub 3} layer are also investigated. The induced uniaxial anisotropy only presents in 3 nm FeCo thickness for glass/FeCo, while it appears in 3–5 nm FeCo for Alq{sub 3}/FeCo.

Electric and magnetic properties of a CoFe2O4/PZT bilayer grown on (100)SrTiO3 by using PLD

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, X. D.; Dho, J. H.

2010-01-01

We have investigated the electric and the magnetic properties of a ferrimagnetic and ferroelectric bilayer CoFe 2 O 4 (CFO)/PbZr 0.2 Ti 0.8 O 3 (PZT) grown on a (100)SrTiO 3 (STO) substrate by using pulsed laser deposition. PZT (100 nm) and CFO (70 nm) layers were sequentially deposited on the (100)STO substrate with a bottom electrode LaNiO 3 (50 nm) layer at 600 - 650 .deg. C. X-ray diffraction for the PZT layer exhibited both (200) and (002) peaks, which are due to the c- and the a-domains, and a decrease of tetragonality after CFO deposition. The electric properties of the CFO/PZT bilayer were characterized by using P-V loop, C-f, and C-V measurements. The remnant polarization and coercivity were slightly decreased after the top-layer CFO deposition while fatigue behavior was distinctively improved. The M-H loop measurement confirmed that the CFO layer possessed a typical ferrimagnetic property at room temperature.

Metallization and superconductivity in Ca-intercalated bilayer MoS2

Science.gov (United States)

Szczȱśniak, R.; Durajski, A. P.; Jarosik, M. W.

2017-12-01

A two-dimensional molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) has attracted significant interest recently due to its outstanding physical, chemical and optoelectronic properties. In this paper, using the first-principles calculations, the dynamical stability, electronic structure and superconducting properties of Ca-intercalated bilayer MoS2 are investigated. The calculated electron-phonon coupling constant implies that the stable form of investigated system is a strong-coupling superconductor (λ = 1.05) with a low value of critical temperature (TC = 13.3 K). Moreover, results obtained within the framework of the isotropic Migdal-Eliashberg formalism proved that Ca-intercalated bilayer MoS2 exhibits behavior that goes beyond the scope of the conventional BCS theory.

Exchange bias in diluted-antiferromagnet/antiferromagnet bilayers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mao, Zhongquan; Zhan, Xiaozhi; Chen, Xi

2015-01-01

The hysteresis-loop properties of a diluted-antiferromagnetic (DAF) layer exchange coupling to an antiferromagnetic (AF) layer are investigated by means of numerical simulations. Remarkable loop shift and coercivity enhancement are observed in such DAF/AF bilayers, while they are absent in the uncoupled DAF single layer. The influences of pinned domains, dilution, cooling field and DAF layer thickness on the loop shift are investigated systematically. The result unambiguously confirms an exchange bias (EB) effect in the DAF/AF bilayers. It also reveals that the EB effect originates from the pinned AF domains within the DAF layer. In contrast to conventional EB systems, frozen uncompensated spins are not found at the interface of the AF pinning layer. (paper)

Electronic transport in bilayer graphene

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koshino, Mikito

2009-01-01

We present theoretical studies on the transport properties and localization effects of bilayer graphene. We calculate the conductivity by using the effective mass model with the self-consistent Born approximation, in the presence and absence of an energy gap opened by the interlayer asymmetry. We find that, in the absence of the gap, the minimum conductivity approaches the universal value by increasing the disorder potential, and the value is robust in the strong disorder regime where mixing with high-energy states is considerable. The gap-opening suppresses the conductivity over a wide energy range, even in the region away from the gap.We also study the localization effects in the vicinity of zero energy in bilayer graphene. We find that the states are all localized in the absence of the gap, while the gap-opening causes a phase transition analogous to the quantum Hall transition, which is accompanied by electron delocalization.

Development and characterization of bilayer films of FucoPol and chitosan.

Science.gov (United States)

Ferreira, Ana R V; Torres, Cristiana A V; Freitas, Filomena; Sevrin, Chantal; Grandfils, Christian; Reis, Maria A M; Alves, Vítor D; Coelhoso, Isabel M

2016-08-20

Bilayer films of FucoPol and chitosan were prepared and characterized in terms of optical, morphologic, hygroscopic, mechanical and barrier properties, to evaluate their potential application in food packaging. Bilayer films have shown dense and homogeneous layers, and presented enhanced properties when comparing to monolayer FucoPol films. Though, a high swelling degree in contact with liquid water (263.3%) and a high water vapour permeability (0.75×10(-11)mol/msPa), typical of polysaccharide films, was still observed. However, they presented a low permeability to O2 and CO2 (0.47×10(-16)molm/m(2)sPa and 5.8×10(-16)molm/m(2)sPa, respectively). Tensile tests revealed a flexible and resistant film with an elongation at break of 38% and an elastic modulus of 137MPa. The studied properties, in particular the excellent barrier to gases, impart these bilayer films potential to be used in packaging of low moisture content products, as well as in multilayered hydrophobic/hydrophilic/hydrophobic barriers for food products with a broader range of water content. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Corrugation of Phase-Separated Lipid Bilayers Supported by Nanoporous Silica Xerogel Surfaces

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Goksu, E I; Nellis, B A; Lin, W; Satcher Jr., J H; Groves, J T; Risbud, S H; Longo, M L

2008-10-30

Lipid bilayers supported by substrates with nanometer-scale surface corrugations holds interest in understanding both nanoparticle-membrane interactions and the challenges of constructing models of cell membranes on surfaces with desirable properties, e.g. porosity. Here, we successfully form a two-phase (gel-fluid) lipid bilayer supported by nanoporous silica xerogel. Surface topology, diffusion, and lipid density in comparison to mica-supported lipid bilayers were characterized by AFM, FRAP, FCS, and quantitative fluorescence microscopy, respectively. We found that the two-phase lipid bilayer follows the xerogel surface contours. The corrugation imparted on the lipid bilayer results in a lipid density that is twice that on a flat mica surface. In direct agreement with the doubling of actual bilayer area in a projected area, we find that the lateral diffusion coefficient (D) of lipids on xerogel ({approx}1.7 {micro}m{sup 2}/s) is predictably lower than on mica ({approx}4.1 {micro}m{sup 2}/s) by both FRAP and FCS techniques. Furthermore, the gel-phase domains on xerogel compared to mica were larger and less numerous. Overall, our results suggest the presence of a relatively defect-free continuous two-phase bilayer that penetrates approximately midway into the first layer of {approx}50 nm xerogel beads.

Bulletin of Materials Science | News

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Bulletin of Materials Science; Volume 25; Issue 6. Issue front cover thumbnail. Volume 25, Issue 6. November 2002, pages 449-582. pp 449- .... Bi-layer functionally gradient thick film semiconducting methane sensors .... Thermal sensor properties of PANI(EB)–CSA ( = 0.4 ± 0.1 mol) polymer thin films.

Hybrid thin films based on bilayer heterojunction of titania nanocrystals/polypyrrole/natural dyes (Kappaphycus alvarezii) materials

Science.gov (United States)

Ghazali, Salmah Mohd; Salleh, Hasiah; Dagang, Ahmad Nazri; Ghazali, Mohd Sabri Mohd; Ali, Nik Aziz Nik; Rashid, Norlaily Abdul; Kamarulzaman, Nurul Huda; Ahmad, Wan Almaz Dhafina Che Wan

2017-09-01

In this research, hybrid thin films which consist of a combination of organic red seaweed (RS) (Kappaphycus alvarezii) and polypyrrole (PPy) with inorganic titania nanocrystals (TiO2 NCs) materials were fabricated. These hybrid thin films were fabricated accordingly with bilayer heterojunction of ITO/TiO2 NCs/PPy/RS via electrochemical method using Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS). The effect of number of scans (thickness) of titania on optical and electrical properties of hybrid thin films were studied. TiO2 NCs function as an electron acceptor and electronic conductor. Meanwhile, PPy acts as holes conductor and RS dye acts as a photosensitizer enhances the optical and electrical properties of the thin films. The UV absorption spectrum of TiO2 NCs, PPy and RS are characterized by UV-Visible spectroscopy, while the functional group of RS was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The UV-Vis spectra showed that TiO2 NCs, PPy and RS were absorbed over a wide range of light spectrum which were 200-300 nm, 300-900 nm and 250-900 nm; respectively. The FTIR spectra of the RS showed the presence of hydroxyl group which was responsible for a good sensitizer for these hybrid solar cells. The electrical conductivity of these hybrid thin films were measured by using four point probes. The electrical conductivity of ITO/ (1)TiO2 NCs/PPy/RS thin film under the radiation of 100 Wm-2 was 0.062 Scm-1, hence this hybrid thin films can be applied in solar cell application.

Cholesterol effect on water permeability through DPPC and PSM lipid bilayers: a molecular dynamics study.

Science.gov (United States)

Saito, Hiroaki; Shinoda, Wataru

2011-12-29

Water permeability of two different lipid bilayers of dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) and palmitoylsphingomyelin (PSM) in the absence and presence of cholesterol (0-50 mol %) have been studied by molecular dynamics simulations to elucidate the molecular mechanism of the reduction in water leakage across the membranes by the addition of cholesterol. An enhanced free energy barrier was observed in these membranes with increased cholesterol concentration, and this was explained by the reduced cavity density around the cholesterol in the hydrophobic membrane core. There was an increase of trans conformers in the hydrophobic lipid chains adjacent to the cholesterol, which reduced the cavity density. The enhanced free energy barrier was found to be the main reason to reduce the water permeability with increased cholesterol concentration. At low cholesterol concentrations the PSM bilayer exhibited a higher free energy barrier than the DPPC bilayer for water permeation, while at greater than 30 mol % of cholesterol the difference became minor. This tendency for the PSM and DPPC bilayers to resemble each other at higher cholesterol concentrations was similar to commonly observed trends in several structural properties, such as order parameters, cross-sectional area per molecule, and cavity density profiles in the hydrophobic regions of bilayer membranes. These results demonstrate that DPPC and PSM bilayers with high cholesterol contents possess similar physical properties, which suggests that the solubility of cholesterol in these lipid bilayers has importance for an understanding of multicomponent lipid membranes with cholesterol. © 2011 American Chemical Society

Spin-1 and -2 bilayer Bethe lattice: A Monte Carlo study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Masrour, R.; Jabar, A.; Benyoussef, A.; Hamedoun, M.

2016-01-01

The magnetic behaviors of bilayer with spin-1 and 2 Ising model on the Bethe lattice are investigated using the Monte Carlo simulations. The thermal magnetizations, the magnetic susceptibilities and the transition temperature of the bilayer spin-1 and 2 on the Bethe lattice are studied for different values of crystal field and intralayer coupling constants of the two layers and interlayer coupling constant between the layers. The thermal and magnetic hysteresis cycles are given for different values of the crystal field, for different temperatures and for different exchange interactions. - Highlights: • The magnetic properties of bilayer on the Bethe lattice have been investigated. • The transition temperature has been deduced. • The magnetic coercive filed has been established.

Spin-1 and -2 bilayer Bethe lattice: A Monte Carlo study

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Masrour, R., E-mail: rachidmasrour@hotmail.com [Laboratory of Materials, Processes, Environment and Quality, Cady Ayyed University, National School of Applied Sciences, 63 46000 Safi (Morocco); Laboratoire de Magnétisme et Physique des Hautes Energies L.M.P.H.E.URAC 12, Université Mohammed V, Faculté des Sciences, B.P. 1014 Rabat (Morocco); Jabar, A. [Laboratoire de Magnétisme et Physique des Hautes Energies L.M.P.H.E.URAC 12, Université Mohammed V, Faculté des Sciences, B.P. 1014 Rabat (Morocco); Benyoussef, A. [Laboratoire de Magnétisme et Physique des Hautes Energies L.M.P.H.E.URAC 12, Université Mohammed V, Faculté des Sciences, B.P. 1014 Rabat (Morocco); Institute of Nanomaterials and Nanotechnologies, MAScIR, Rabat (Morocco); Hassan II Academy of Science and Technology, Rabat (Morocco); Hamedoun, M. [Institute of Nanomaterials and Nanotechnologies, MAScIR, Rabat (Morocco)

2016-03-01

The magnetic behaviors of bilayer with spin-1 and 2 Ising model on the Bethe lattice are investigated using the Monte Carlo simulations. The thermal magnetizations, the magnetic susceptibilities and the transition temperature of the bilayer spin-1 and 2 on the Bethe lattice are studied for different values of crystal field and intralayer coupling constants of the two layers and interlayer coupling constant between the layers. The thermal and magnetic hysteresis cycles are given for different values of the crystal field, for different temperatures and for different exchange interactions. - Highlights: • The magnetic properties of bilayer on the Bethe lattice have been investigated. • The transition temperature has been deduced. • The magnetic coercive filed has been established.

Reversible Polarization Rotation in Epitaxial Ferroelectric Bilayers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Liu, Guangqing; Zhang, Qi; Huang, Hsin-Hui

2016-01-01

Polarization rotation engineering is a promising path to giant dielectric and electromechanical responses in ferroelectric materials and devices. This work demonstrates robust and reversible in- to out-of-plane polarization rotation in ultrathin (nanoscale) epitaxial (001) tetragonal PbZr0.3Ti0.7O3...... large-scale polarization rotation switching (≈60 μC cm−2) and an effective d 33 response 500% (≈250 pm V−1) larger than the PZT-R layer alone. Furthermore, this enhancement is stable for more than 107 electrical switching cycles. These bilayers present a simple and highly controllable means to design...... and optimize rotational polar systems as an alternate to traditional composition-based approaches. The precise control of the subtle interface-driven interactions between the lattice and the external factors that control polarization opens a new door to enhanced—or completely new—functional properties....

Intrinsic magnetism and spontaneous band gap opening in bilayer silicene and germanene.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Xinquan; Wu, Zhigang

2017-01-18

It has been long sought to create magnetism out of simple non-magnetic materials, such as silicon and germanium. Here we show that intrinsic magnetism exists in bilayer silicene and germanene with no need to cut, etch, or dope. Unlike bilayer graphene, strong covalent interlayer bonding formed in bilayer silicene and germanene breaks the original π-bonding network of each layer, leaving the unbonded electrons unpaired and localized to carry magnetic moments. These magnetic moments then couple ferromagnetically within each layer while antiferromagnetically across two layers, giving rise to an infinite magnetic sheet with structural integrity and magnetic homogeneity. Furthermore, this unique magnetic ordering results in fundamental band gaps of 0.55 eV and 0.32 eV for bilayer silicene and germanene, respectively. The integration of intrinsic magnetism and spontaneous band gap opening makes bilayer silicene and germanene attractive for future nanoelectronics as well as spin-based computation and data storage.

Separating attoliter-sized compartments using fluid pore-spanning lipid bilayers.

Science.gov (United States)

Lazzara, Thomas D; Carnarius, Christian; Kocun, Marta; Janshoff, Andreas; Steinem, Claudia

2011-09-27

Anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) is a porous material having aligned cylindrical compartments with 55-60 nm diameter pores, and being several micrometers deep. A protocol was developed to generate pore-spanning fluid lipid bilayers separating the attoliter-sized compartments of the nanoporous material from the bulk solution, while preserving the optical transparency of the AAO. The AAO was selectively functionalized by silane chemistry to spread giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs) resulting in large continuous membrane patches covering the pores. Formation of fluid single lipid bilayers through GUV rupture could be readily observed by fluorescence microscopy and further supported by conservation of membrane surface area, before and after GUV rupture. Fluorescence recovery after photobleaching gave low immobile fractions (5-15%) and lipid diffusion coefficients similar to those found for bilayers on silica. The entrapment of molecules within the porous underlying cylindrical compartments, as well as the exclusion of macromolecules from the nanopores, demonstrate the barrier function of the pore-spanning membranes and could be investigated in three-dimensions using confocal laser scanning fluorescence imaging. © 2011 American Chemical Society

Effect of free cholesterol on incorporation of triolein in phospholipid bilayers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Spooner, P.J.R.; Small, D.M.

1987-01-01

Triacylglycerols are the major substrates for lipolytic enzymes that act at the surface of emulsion-like particles such as triglyceride-rich lipoproteins, chylomicrons, and intracellular lipid droplets. This study examines the effect of cholesterol on the solubility of a triacylglycerol, triolein, in phospholipid surfaces. Solubilities of [carbonyl- 13 C] triolein in phospholipid bilayer vesicles containing between 0 and 50 mol % free cholesterol, prepared by cosonication, were measured by 13 C NMR. The carbonyl resonances from bilayer-incorporated triglyceride were shifted downfield in the 13 C NMR spectra from those corresponding to excess, nonincorporated material. This enabled solubilities to be determined directly from carbonyl peak intensities at most cholesterol concentration. The bilayer solubility of triolein was inversely proportional to the cholesterol/phospholipid mole ratio. In pure phospholipid vesicles the triolein solubility was 2.2 mol %. The triglyceride incorporation decreased to 1.1 mol % at a cholesterol/phospholipid mole ratio of 0.5, and at a mole ratio of 1.0 for the bilayer lipids, the triolein solubility was reduced to just 0.15 mol %. The effects of free cholesterol were more pronounced and progressive than observed previously on the bilayer solubility of cholestery oleate. As with cholesteryl oleate, they suggest that cholesterol also displaces solubilized triglyceride to deeper regions of the bilayer

Electronic transport of bilayer graphene with asymmetry line defects

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Xiao-Ming; Wu, Ya-Jie; Chen, Chan; Liang, Ying; Kou, Su-Peng

2016-11-01

In this paper, we study the quantum properties of a bilayer graphene with (asymmetry) line defects. The localized states are found around the line defects. Thus, the line defects on one certain layer of the bilayer graphene can lead to an electric transport channel. By adding a bias potential along the direction of the line defects, we calculate the electric conductivity of bilayer graphene with line defects using the Landauer-Büttiker theory, and show that the channel affects the electric conductivity remarkably by comparing the results with those in a perfect bilayer graphene. This one-dimensional line electric channel has the potential to be applied in nanotechnology engineering. Project supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (Grant Nos. 2011CB921803 and 2012CB921704), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 11174035, 11474025, 11504285, and 11404090), the Specialized Research Fund for the Doctoral Program of Higher Education, China, the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, China, the Scientific Research Program Fund of the Shaanxi Provincial Education Department, China (Grant No. 15JK1363), and the Young Talent Fund of University Association for Science and Technology in Shaanxi Province, China.

Inducing morphological changes in lipid bilayer membranes with microfabricated substrates

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Fangjie; Collins, Liam F.; Ashkar, Rana; Heberle, Frederick A.; Srijanto, Bernadeta R.; Collier, C. Patrick

2016-11-01

Lateral organization of lipids and proteins into distinct domains and anchoring to a cytoskeleton are two important strategies employed by biological membranes to carry out many cellular functions. However, these interactions are difficult to emulate with model systems. Here we use the physical architecture of substrates consisting of arrays of micropillars to systematically control the behavior of supported lipid bilayers - an important step in engineering model lipid membrane systems with well-defined functionalities. Competition between attractive interactions of supported lipid bilayers with the underlying substrate versus the energy cost associated with membrane bending at pillar edges can be systematically investigated as functions of pillar height and pitch, chemical functionalization of the microstructured substrate, and the type of unilamellar vesicles used for assembling the supported bilayer. Confocal fluorescent imaging and AFM measurements highlight correlations that exist between topological and mechanical properties of lipid bilayers and lateral lipid mobility in these confined environments. This study provides a baseline for future investigations into lipid domain reorganization on structured solid surfaces and scaffolds for cell growth.

Energy spectrums of bilayer triangular phosphorene quantum dots and antidots

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Z. T. Jiang

2017-04-01

Full Text Available We theoretically investigate the confined states of the bilayer triangular phosphorene dots and antidots by means of the tight-binding approach. The dependence of the energy levels on the size, the type of the boundary edges, and the orientation of the dots and antidots, and the influences of the electric and magnetic fields on the energy levels, are all completely analyzed. It is found that the energy level numbers of the bilayer dots and antidots are determined by the energy levels in two layers. The external electric field can effectively tune the energy levels of the edge states in both layers to move in opposite directions. With the increase of the magnetic field, the magnetic energy levels can approach the Landau levels of the phosphorene monolayer, the phosphorene bilayer, or both, depending on the specific geometry of the monolayer-bilayer hybrid phosphorene quantum dots. This research should be helpful for the overall understanding of the electronic properties of the multilayer hybrid phosphorene nanostructures and designing the corresponding phosphorene devices.

Neutrons in studies of phospholipid bilayers and bilayer–drug interaction. I. Basic principles and neutron diffraction

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Belička M.

2014-12-01

Full Text Available In our paper, we demonstrate several possibilities of using neutrons in pharmaceutical research with the help of examples of scientific results achieved at our University. In this first part, basic properties of neutrons and elementary principles of elastic scattering of thermal neutrons are described. Results of contrast variation neutron diffraction on oriented phospholipid bilayers with intercalated local anaesthetic or cholesterol demonstrate the potential of this method at determination of their position in bilayers. Diffraction experiments with alkan-1-ols located in the bilayers revealed their influence on bilayer thickness as a function of their alkyl chain length.

Twisted Bilayer Graphene. Interlayer configuration and magnetotransport signatures

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rode, Johannes C.; Smirnov, Dmitri; Belke, Christopher; Schmidt, Hennrik; Haug, Rolf J. [Institut fuer Festkoerperphysik, Hannover (Germany)

2017-11-15

Twisted Bilayer Graphene may be viewed as very first representative of the now booming class of artificially layered 2D materials. Consisting of two sheets from the same structure and atomic composition, its decisive degree of freedom lies in the rotation between crystallographic axes in the individual graphene monolayers. Geometrical consideration finds angle-dependent Moire patterns as well as commensurate superlattices of opposite sublattice exchange symmetry. Beyond the approach of rigidly interposed lattices, this review takes focus on the evolving topic of lattice corrugation and distortion in response to spatially varying lattice registry. The experimental approach to twisted bilayers requires a basic control over preparation techniques; important methods are summarized and extended on in the case of bilayers folded from monolayer graphene via AFM nanomachining. Central morphological parameters to the twisted bilayer, rotational mismatch and interlayer separation are studied in a broader base of samples. Finally, experimental evidence for a number of theoretically predicted, controversial electronic scenarios are reviewed; magnetotransport signatures are discussed in terms of Fermi velocity, van Hove singularities and Berry phase and assessed with respect to the underlying experimental conditions, thereby referring back to the initially considered variations in relaxed lattice structure. (copyright 2017 by WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

Physisorbed Polymer-Tethered Lipid Bilayer with Lipopolymer Gradient

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Christoph A. Naumann

2012-11-01

Full Text Available Physisorbed polymer-tethered lipid bilayers consisting of phospholipids and lipopolymers represent an attractive planar model membrane platform, in which bilayer fluidity and membrane elastic properties can be regulated through lipopolymer molar concentration. Herein we report a method for the fabrication of such a planar model membrane system with a lateral gradient of lipopolymer density. In addition, a procedure is described, which leads to a sharp boundary between regions of low and high lipopolymer molar concentrations. Resulting gradients and sharp boundaries are visualized on the basis of membrane buckling structures at elevated lipopolymer concentrations using epifluorescence microscopy and atomic force microscopy. Furthermore, results from spot photobleaching experiments are presented, which provide insight into the lipid lateral fluidity in these model membrane architectures. The presented experimental data highlight a planar, solid-supported membrane characterized by fascinating length scale-dependent dynamics and elastic properties with remarkable parallels to those observed in cellular membranes.

Transport in bilayer and trilayer graphene: band gap engineering and band structure tuning

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Jun

2014-03-01

Controlling the stacking order of atomically thin 2D materials offers a powerful tool to control their properties. Linearly dispersed bands become hyperbolic in Bernal (AB) stacked bilayer graphene (BLG). Both Bernal (ABA) and rhombohedral (ABC) stacking occur in trilayer graphene (TLG), producing distinct band structures and electronic properties. A symmetry-breaking electric field perpendicular to the sample plane can further modify the band structures of BLG and TLG. In this talk, I will describe our experimental effort in these directions using dual-gated devices. Using thin HfO2 film deposited by ALD as gate dielectric, we are able to apply large displacement fields D > 6 V/nm and observe the opening and saturation of the field-induced band gap Eg in bilayer and ABC-stacked trilayer graphene, where the conduction in the mid gap changes by more than six decades. Its field and temperature dependence highlights the crucial role played by Coulomb disorder in facilitating hopping conduction and suppressing the effect of Eg in the tens of meV regime. In contrast, mid-gap conduction decreases with increasing D much more rapidly in clean h-BN dual-gated devices. Our studies also show the evolution of the band structure in ABA-stacked TLG, in particular the splitting of the Dirac-like bands in large D field and the signatures of two-band transport at high carrier densities. Comparison to theory reveals the need for more sophisticated treatment of electronic screening beyond self-consistent Hartree calculations to accurately predict the band structures of trilayer graphene and graphenic materials in general.

Study of Sb/SnO{sub 2} bi-layer films prepared by ion beam sputtering deposition technique

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wang, Chun-Min [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 701, Taiwan, ROC (China); Huang, Chun-Chieh [Department of Electrical Engineering, Cheng Shiu University, No. 840, Chengcing Road, Niaosong Township, Kaohsiung 833, Taiwan, ROC (China); Kuo, Jui-Chao [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 701, Taiwan, ROC (China); Huang, Jow-Lay, E-mail: jlh888@mail.ncku.edu.tw [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 701, Taiwan, ROC (China); Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, National University of Kaohsiung, Kaohsiung 811, Taiwan, ROC (China); Research Center for Energy Technology and Strategy, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 701, Taiwan, ROC (China)

2014-11-03

In the present work, bi-layer thin films of Sb/SnO{sub 2} were produced on unheated glass substrates using ion beam sputtering (IBS) technique without post annealing treatment. The thickness of Sb layers was varied from 2 to 10 nm and the Sb layers were deposited on SnO{sub 2} layers having thicknesses of 40 nm to 115 nm. The effect of thickness was studied on the morphological, electrical and optical properties. The Sb/SnO{sub 2} bi-layer resulted in lowering the electrical resistivity as well as reducing the optical transmittance. However, the optical and electrical properties of the bi-layer films were mainly influenced by the thickness of Sb layers due to progressive transfer in structures from aggregate to continuous films. The bi-layer films show the electrical resistivity of 1.4 × 10{sup −3} Ω cm and an optical transmittance of 26% for Sb film having 10 nm thickness. - Highlights: • Bi-layer Sb/SnO{sub 2} structures were synthesized by ion beam sputtering (IBS) technique. • The 6 nm-thick Sb film is a transition region in this study. • The conductivity of the bi-layer films is increased as Sb thickness increases. • The transmittance of the bi-layer films is decreased as Sb thickness increases.

Enhanced Optical and Electrical Properties of TiO_2 Buffered IGZO/TiO_2 Bi-Layered Films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moon, Hyun-Joo; Kim, Daeil

2016-01-01

In and Ga doped ZnO (IGZO, 100-nm thick) thin films were deposited by radio frequency magnetron sputtering without intentional substrate heating on a bare glass substrate and a TiO_2-deposited glass substrate to determine the effect of the thickness of a thin TiO_2 buffer layer on the structural, optical, and electrical properties of the films. The thicknesses of the TiO_2 buffer layers were 5, 10 and 15 nm, respectively. As-deposited IGZO films with a 10 nm-thick TiO_2 buffer layer had an average optical transmittance of 85.0% with lower resistivity (1.83×10-2 Ω cm) than that of IGZO single layer films. The figure of merit (FOM) reached a maximum of 1.44×10-4 Ω-1 for IGZO/10 nm-thick TiO_2 bi-layered films, which is higher than the FOM of 6.85×10-5 Ω-1 for IGZO single layer films. Because a higher FOM value indicates better quality transparent conducting oxide (TCO) films, the IGZO/10 nm-thick TiO_2 bi-layered films are likely to perform better in TCO applications than IGZO single layer films.

Annealing-Induced Bi Bilayer on Bi2Te3 Investigated via Quasi-Particle-Interference Mapping.

Science.gov (United States)

Schouteden, Koen; Govaerts, Kirsten; Debehets, Jolien; Thupakula, Umamahesh; Chen, Taishi; Li, Zhe; Netsou, Asteriona; Song, Fengqi; Lamoen, Dirk; Van Haesendonck, Chris; Partoens, Bart; Park, Kyungwha

2016-09-27

Topological insulators (TIs) are renowned for their exotic topological surface states (TSSs) that reside in the top atomic layers, and hence, detailed knowledge of the surface top atomic layers is of utmost importance. Here we present the remarkable morphology changes of Bi2Te3 surfaces, which have been freshly cleaved in air, upon subsequent systematic annealing in ultrahigh vacuum and the resulting effects on the local and area-averaging electronic properties of the surface states, which are investigated by combining scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), scanning tunneling spectroscopy (STS), and Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) experiments with density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Our findings demonstrate that the annealing induces the formation of a Bi bilayer atop the Bi2Te3 surface. The adlayer results in n-type doping, and the atomic defects act as scattering centers of the TSS electrons. We also investigated the annealing-induced Bi bilayer surface on Bi2Te3 via voltage-dependent quasi-particle-interference (QPI) mapping of the surface local density of states and via comparison with the calculated constant-energy contours and QPI patterns. We observed closed hexagonal patterns in the Fourier transform of real-space QPI maps with secondary outer spikes. DFT calculations attribute these complex QPI patterns to the appearance of a "second" cone due to the surface charge transfer between the Bi bilayer and the Bi2Te3. Annealing in ultrahigh vacuum offers a facile route for tuning of the topological properties and may yield similar results for other topological materials.

SeZnSb alloy and its nano tubes, graphene composites properties

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Abhay Kumar Singh

2013-04-01

Full Text Available Composite can alter the individual element physical property, could be useful to define the specific use of the material. Therefore, work demonstrates the synthesis of a new composition Se96-Zn2-Sb2 and its composites with 0.05% multi-walled carbon nano tubes and 0.05% bilayer graphene, in the glassy form. The diffused amorphous structure of the multi walled carbon nano tubes and bilayer gaphene in the Se96-Zn2-Sb2 alloy have been analyzed by using the Raman, X-ray photoluminescence spectroscopy, Furrier transmission infrared spectra, photoluminescence, UV/visible absorption spectroscopic measurements. The diffused prime Raman bands (G and D have been appeared for the multi walled carbon nano tubes and graphene composites, while the X-ray photoluminescence core energy levels peak shifts have been observed for the composite materials. Subsequently the photoluminescence property at room temperature and a drastic enhancement (upto 80% in infrared transmission percentage has been obtained for the bilayer graphene composite, along with optical energy band gaps for these materials have been evaluated 1.37, 1.39 and 1.41 eV.

Corrosion resistance of sintered NdFeB coated with SiC/Al bilayer thin films by magnetron sputtering

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huang, Yiqin; Li, Heqin; Zuo, Min; Tao, Lei; Wang, Wei; Zhang, Jing; Tang, Qiong; Bai, Peiwen

2016-01-01

The poor corrosion resistance of sintered NdFeB imposes a great challenge in industrial applications. In this work, the SiC/Al bilayer thin films with the thickness of 510 nm were deposited on sintered NdFeB by magnetron sputtering to improve the corrosion resistance. A 100 nm Al buffer film was used to reduce the internal stress between SiC and NdFeB and improve the surface roughness of the SiC thin film. The morphologies and structures of SiC/Al bilayer thin films and SiC monolayer film were investigated with FESEM, AFM and X-ray diffraction. The corrosion behaviors of sintered NdFeB coated with SiC monolayer film and SiC/Al bilayer thin films were analyzed by polarization curves. The magnetic properties were measured with an ultra-high coercivity permanent magnet pulse tester. The results show that the surface of SiC/Al bilayer thin films is more compact and uniform than that of SiC monolayer film. The corrosion current densities of SiC/Al bilayer films coated on NdFeB in acid, alkali and salt solutions are much lower than that of SiC monolayer film. The SiC/Al bilayer thin films have little influence to the magnetic properties of NdFeB. - Highlights: • The same thick Al, SiC and SiC/Al films are deposited on NdFeB by magnetron sputtering. • 510 nm SiC/Al bilayer films can improve the corrosion resistance of the NdFeB evidently. • Al buffer layer improves effectively the surface roughness of the SiC thin film. • SiC/Al bilayer films do not deteriorate the magnetic properties of NdFeB.

Corrosion resistance of sintered NdFeB coated with SiC/Al bilayer thin films by magnetron sputtering

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Huang, Yiqin [School of Materials Science and Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei 230009 (China); Li, Heqin, E-mail: lhqjs@hfut.edu.cn [School of Materials Science and Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei 230009 (China); Zuo, Min; Tao, Lei; Wang, Wei [School of Materials Science and Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei 230009 (China); Zhang, Jing; Tang, Qiong [School of Materials Science and Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei 230009 (China); School of Electronic Science and Applied Physics, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei 230009 (China); Bai, Peiwen [School of Materials Science and Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei 230009 (China)

2016-07-01

The poor corrosion resistance of sintered NdFeB imposes a great challenge in industrial applications. In this work, the SiC/Al bilayer thin films with the thickness of 510 nm were deposited on sintered NdFeB by magnetron sputtering to improve the corrosion resistance. A 100 nm Al buffer film was used to reduce the internal stress between SiC and NdFeB and improve the surface roughness of the SiC thin film. The morphologies and structures of SiC/Al bilayer thin films and SiC monolayer film were investigated with FESEM, AFM and X-ray diffraction. The corrosion behaviors of sintered NdFeB coated with SiC monolayer film and SiC/Al bilayer thin films were analyzed by polarization curves. The magnetic properties were measured with an ultra-high coercivity permanent magnet pulse tester. The results show that the surface of SiC/Al bilayer thin films is more compact and uniform than that of SiC monolayer film. The corrosion current densities of SiC/Al bilayer films coated on NdFeB in acid, alkali and salt solutions are much lower than that of SiC monolayer film. The SiC/Al bilayer thin films have little influence to the magnetic properties of NdFeB. - Highlights: • The same thick Al, SiC and SiC/Al films are deposited on NdFeB by magnetron sputtering. • 510 nm SiC/Al bilayer films can improve the corrosion resistance of the NdFeB evidently. • Al buffer layer improves effectively the surface roughness of the SiC thin film. • SiC/Al bilayer films do not deteriorate the magnetic properties of NdFeB.

Enhancement of resistive switching properties in Al2O3 bilayer-based atomic switches: multilevel resistive switching

Science.gov (United States)

Vishwanath, Sujaya Kumar; Woo, Hyunsuk; Jeon, Sanghun

2018-06-01

Atomic switches are considered to be building blocks for future non-volatile data storage and internet of things. However, obtaining device structures capable of ultrahigh density data storage, high endurance, and long data retention, and more importantly, understanding the switching mechanisms are still a challenge for atomic switches. Here, we achieved improved resistive switching performance in a bilayer structure containing aluminum oxide, with an oxygen-deficient oxide as the top switching layer and stoichiometric oxide as the bottom switching layer, using atomic layer deposition. This bilayer device showed a high on/off ratio (105) with better endurance (∼2000 cycles) and longer data retention (104 s) than single-oxide layers. In addition, depending on the compliance current, the bilayer device could be operated in four different resistance states. Furthermore, the depth profiles of the hourglass-shaped conductive filament of the bilayer device was observed by conductive atomic force microscopy.

Communication: Effect of accidental mode degeneracy on Raman intensity in 2D materials: Hybrid functional study of bilayer phosphorene

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sun, Yi-Yang; Zhang, Shengbai [Department of Physics, Applied Physics and Astronomy, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York 12180 (United States)

2016-07-14

Bulk black phosphorus has two optical phonon modes labeled as A{sub g}{sup 2} and B{sub 2u}, respectively, that are nearly degenerate in frequency. However, density functional theory calculations using local or semi-local functionals cannot reproduce this degeneracy. Here, we propose a hybrid functional approach aided by van der Waals (vdW) force fields, which can accurately describe the lattice dynamic and electronic properties of both bulk and few-layer black phosphorus (phosphorene). Using this approach we show that in bilayer phosphorene, the two Raman modes derived from the B{sub 2u} and A{sub g}{sup 2} modes could exhibit strong resonance as a result of the accidental degeneracy so that both modes could be observed in Raman experiment. Without the mode degeneracy, however, the Raman intensity of the B{sub 2u}-derived mode would be too weak to be observed. We further show that the accidental degeneracy is correlated to the applied strain, which enables Raman spectroscopy to be a powerful tool for characterizing built-in strains in 2D materials, e.g., due to the interaction with substrates, which has emerged as an important issue in vdW epitaxy.

Role of material properties and mechanical constraint on stress-assisted diffusion in plate electrodes of lithium ion batteries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Song Yicheng; Zhang Junqian; Shao Xianjun; Guo Zhansheng

2013-01-01

This work investigates the stress-assisted diffusion of lithium ions in layered electrodes of Li-ion batteries. Decoupled diffusion governing equations are obtained. Material properties, which are characterized by a single dimensionless parameter, and mechanical constraint between a current collector and an active layer, which is characterized by the elastic modulus ratio and thickness ratio between the layers, are identified as key factors that govern the stress-assisted diffusion. For a symmetric plate electrode, stress is induced by the Li-ion concentration gradient, and stress-assisted diffusion therefore depends only on the material properties. For an asymmetric bilayer electrode, mechanical constraint plays a very important role in the diffusion via generation of bending stress. Diffusion may be facilitated, or inversely impeded, according to the constraint. By summarizing the coupling factors of common active materials and investigating the concentration variation induced by stress-assisted diffusion in various electrodes, this work provides insights on stress-assisted diffusion in a layered electrode, as well as suggestions for relevant modelling works on whether the stress-assisted diffusion should be taken into account according to the selection of material and structure. (paper)

Cholesterol Bilayer Domains in the Eye Lens Health: A Review.

Science.gov (United States)

Widomska, Justyna; Subczynski, Witold K; Mainali, Laxman; Raguz, Marija

2017-12-01

The most unique biochemical characteristic of the eye lens fiber cell plasma membrane is its extremely high cholesterol content, the need for which is still unclear. It is evident, however, that the disturbance of Chol homeostasis may result in damages associated with cataracts. Electron paramagnetic resonance methods allow discrimination of two types of lipid domains in model membranes overloaded with Chol, namely, phospholipid-cholesterol domains and pure Chol bilayer domains. These domains are also detected in human lens lipid membranes prepared from the total lipids extracted from lens cortices and nuclei of donors from different age groups. Independent of the age-related changes in phospholipid composition, the physical properties of phospholipid-Chol domains remain the same for all age groups and are practically identical for cortical and nuclear membranes. The presence of Chol bilayer domains in these membranes provides a buffering capacity for cholesterol concentration in the surrounding phospholipid-Chol domains, keeping it at a constant saturating level and thus keeping the physical properties of the membrane consistent with and independent of changes in phospholipid composition. It seems that the presence of Chol bilayer domains plays an integral role in the regulation of cholesterol-dependent processes in fiber cell plasm membranes and in the maintenance of fiber cell membrane homeostasis.

Effect of electrolyte composition and deposition current for Fe/Fe-P electroformed bilayers for biodegradable metallic medical applications

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mostavan, Afghany [Laboratory for Biomaterials and Bioengineering, Canada Research Chair Tier I, Department of Mining, Metallurgy and Materials Engineering, the CHU de Québec Research Centre, Québec City, QC G1V 0A6 (Canada); Department of Mining, Metallurgy and Materials Engineering, Laval University, Québec City, QC G1V 0A6 (Canada); Paternoster, Carlo; Tolouei, Ranna [Laboratory for Biomaterials and Bioengineering, Canada Research Chair Tier I, Department of Mining, Metallurgy and Materials Engineering, the CHU de Québec Research Centre, Québec City, QC G1V 0A6 (Canada); Ghali, Edward; Dubé, Dominique [Department of Mining, Metallurgy and Materials Engineering, Laval University, Québec City, QC G1V 0A6 (Canada); Mantovani, Diego, E-mail: Diego.Mantovani@gmn.ulaval.ca [Laboratory for Biomaterials and Bioengineering, Canada Research Chair Tier I, Department of Mining, Metallurgy and Materials Engineering, the CHU de Québec Research Centre, Québec City, QC G1V 0A6 (Canada); Department of Mining, Metallurgy and Materials Engineering, Laval University, Québec City, QC G1V 0A6 (Canada)

2017-01-01

With its proven biocompatibility and excellent mechanical properties, iron is an excellent source material for clinical cardiac and vascular applications. However, its relatively low degradation rate limits its use for the healing and remodeling of diseased blood vessels. To address these issues, a multi-purpose fabrication process to develop a bilayer alloy composed of electroformed iron (E-Fe) and iron-phosphorus (Fe-P) was employed. Bilayers of Fe/Fe-P were produced in an electrolytic bath. The effects of electrolyte chemical composition and deposition current density (i{sub dep}) on layer structure and chemical composition were assessed by scanning electron microscopy, electron probe microanalysis, X-ray diffraction and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The corrosion rate was determined by potentiodynamic polarization tests. The bilayers showed an increasing amount of P with increasing NaH{sub 2}PO{sub 4}·H{sub 2}O in the electrolyte. Fe-P structure became finer for higher P amounts. Potentiodynamic polarization tests revealed that the corrosion rate was strongly influenced by deposition conditions. For a P amount of ~ 2 wt. %, the corrosion rate was 1.46 mm/year, which confirms the potential of this material to demonstrate high mechanical properties and a suitable corrosion rate for biomedical applications. - Highlights: • A phosphates and Fe chloride electrolyte was used for the fabrication of a multilayer of Fe/FeP. • Up to ~ 14% at. P was deposited by co-deposition of Fe and P. • The corrosion rate for the layer with a ~ 3% at. P was the highest one and equal to 1.46 mm/year. • For a 14% at. P, the FeP alloy shows a texture change, with only (110) reflection visible.

Molecular Dynamics Simulations of Hydrophilic Pores in Lipid Bilayers

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Leontiadou, Hari; Mark, Alan E.; Marrink, Siewert J.

Hydrophilic pores are formed in peptide free lipid bilayers under mechanical stress. It has been proposed that the transport of ionic species across such membranes is largely determined by the existence of such meta-stable hydrophilic pores. To study the properties of these structures and understand

Lipid bilayers driven to a wrong lane in molecular dynamics simulations by subtle changes in long-range electrostatic interactions

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Patra, M.; Karttunen, M.E.J.; Hyvönen, M.T.; Falck, E.; Vattulainen, I.

2004-01-01

We provide compelling evidence that different treatments of electrostatic interactions in molecular dynamics simulations may dramatically affect dynamic properties of lipid bilayers. To this end, we consider a fully hydrated pure dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine bilayer through 50-ns molecular

Influence of storage period on properties of biopolymer packaging materials and pouches

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bulut Sandra N.

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Bilayer biodegradable films based on pumpkin oil cake (PuOC and zein, as well as pouches made from these materials, were prepared, and the changes of their mechanical, physicochemical and barrier properties were analyzed during four weeks of storage. Heat seal quality of formed pouches and composition of the gas atmosphere in the pouches were also monitored. The results showed that the bilayer film had a thickness of 300 ± 10 (μm, and no its changes were observed during the storage time. The tensile strength of the tested film increased slightly in the third week, but the elongation at break showed a decreasing trend during the whole storage period. The decreases in the moisture content, total soluble matter and swelling of the obtained film, were also observed. After one month of storage, the O2 transmission rate of tested films, increased from 27 to 64 (ml/m2 24h 1 bar, and the CO2 gas transmission rate from 147 to 188 (ml/m2 24h 1 bar. The heat seal strength of the PuOC/Zein pouches decreased during the whole storage period. The percentage of O2 in PuOC/Zein pouches increased up to 7 times during the storage period; however, the percentage of CO2 decreased up to 18 times already after one week, and then remained stable in the rest of the storage period. These results are, to a smaller extent, due to the gas transmission rate through the material, especially for CO2 , and to a greater extent, due to the low heat seal strength, which decreased through the storage period, and probably influenced the content of the gases in the pouches.[Project of the Serbian Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development, Grant no. 46010

Analysis of the hydrogen permeation properties of TiN-TiC bilayers deposited on martensitic stainless steel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Checchetto, R.; Horino, Y.; Benamati, G.

1996-01-01

The efficiency of TiN-TiC bilayer coatings, deposited by ion-beam-assisted deposition on martensitic steel, as a hydrogen permeation barrier was investigated by a gas phase method; the hydrogen permeability in the TiN-TiC bilayers is very low, at least 10 4 times lower than in the steel substrate in the temperature interval 470-570 K. Possible physical mechanisms, responsible for the reduced permeability of the ceramic bilayers, are discussed. In particular, from our experimental results, it can be concluded that chemisorption and/or hydrogen jumping from surface sites to the first subsurface atomic layer represents the hydrogen permeation limiting process. (orig.)

Barrier properties of lipid bilayers composed of lecithins with odd chain fatty acids

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Salvati, S.; Serlupi-Crescenzi, G.; Gier, J. de

Lecithins with fatty acid chain length of 17 carbon atoms and different degrees of unsaturation were synthesized. The thermotropic behaviour and barrier function of derived liposomal bilayers were studied.

Comparison study of transparent RF-sputtered ITO/AZO and ITO/ZnO bilayers for near UV-OLED applications

Science.gov (United States)

Rezaie, Mahdiyar Nouri; Manavizadeh, Negin; Abadi, Ehsan Mohammadi Nasr; Nadimi, Ebrahim; Boroumand, Farhad Akbari

2017-01-01

Hybrid inorganic/organic light-emitting diodes have attracted much attention in the field of luminescent electronics due to the desired incorporation of high optoelectronic features of inorganic materials with the processability and variety of organic polymers. To generate and emit a near ultraviolet (N-UV) ray, wide band gap semiconductors can be applied in the organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). In this paper, zinc oxide (ZnO) and aluminum-doped ZnO (AZO) thin films are deposited by radio frequency (RF) sputtering above the ITO electrode and poly [2-methoxy-5-(2-ethyl-hexyloxy)-1,4-phenylene-vinylene] (MEH-PPV) conjugated polymer is utilized as a complementary p-type semiconductor in OLED structure. The impact of ZnO and AZO thickness on the structural, electrical, optical and morphological properties of ITO/AZO and ITO/ZnO bilayers are scrutinized and compared. Results show that with the enlargement of both ZnO and AZO film thickness, the physical properties are gradually improved resulting in the better quality of transparent conducting thin film. The average electrical resistivity of 8.4 × 10-4 and 1.1 × 10-3 Ω-cm, average sheet resistance of 32.9 and 42.3 Ω/sq, average transmittance of 88.3 and 87.3% and average FOM of 1.0 × 104 and 7.4 × 103 (Ω-cm)-1 are obtained for ITO/AZO and ITO/ZnO bilayers, respectively. Moreover, comparing the results indicates that the strain and the stress within the ITO/AZO bilayer are decreased nearly 19% with respect to ITO/ZnO bilayer which yield higher quality of crystal. Consequently, the physical properties of ITO/AZO bilayer is found to be superior regarding ITO/ZnO bilayer. For fabricated UV-OLEDs, the turn-on voltages, the characteristic energy (Et) and the total concentration of traps (Nt) for the devices with the structures of ITO/ZnO/MEH-PPV/Al and ITO/AZO/MEH-PPV/Al are obtained 12 and 14 V, 0.108 and 0.191 eV, 9.33 × 1016 and 5.22 × 1016 cm-3, respectively. Furthermore, according to the electroluminescence

Bi-layered constructs of poly(glycerol-sebacate)-β-tricalcium phosphate for bone-soft tissue interface applications

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tevlek, Atakan [Bioengineering Division, Institute of Science and Engineering, Hacettepe University, Ankara (Turkey); Hosseinian, Pezhman; Ogutcu, Cansel [Nanotechnology and Nanomedicine Division, Institute of Science and Engineering, Hacettepe University, Ankara (Turkey); Turk, Mustafa [Biology Department, Kirikkale University, Kirikkale (Turkey); Aydin, Halil Murat, E-mail: hmaydin@hacettepe.edu.tr [Environmental Engineering Department, Bioengineering Division, Centre for Bioengineering, Hacettepe University, Ankara (Turkey)

2017-03-01

This study aims to establish a facile protocol for the preparation of a bi-layered poly(glycerol-sebacate) (PGS)/β-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP) construct and to investigate its potential for bone-soft tissue engineering applications. The layered structure was prepared by distributing the ceramic particles within a prepolymer synthesized in a microwave reactor followed by a cross-linking of the final construct in vacuum (< 10 mbar). The vacuum stage led to the separation of cross-linked elastomer (top) and ceramic (bottom) phases. Results showed that addition of β-TCP particles to the elastomer matrix after the polymerization led to an increase in compression strength (up to 14 ± 2.3 MPa). Tensile strength (σ), Young's modulus (E), and elongation at break (%) values were calculated as 0.29 ± 0.03 MPa and 0.21 ± 0.03; 0.38 ± 0.02 and 1.95 ± 0.4; and 240 ± 50% and 24 ± 2% for PGS and PGS/β-TCP bi-layered constructs, respectively. Morphology was characterized by using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and micro-computed tomography (μ-CT). Tomography data revealed an open porosity of 35% for the construct, mostly contributed from the ceramic phase since the elastomer side has no pore. Homogeneous β-TCP distribution within the elastomeric structure was observed. Cell culture studies confirmed biocompatibility with poor elastomer-side and good bone-side cell attachment. In a further study to investigate the osteogenic properties, the construct were loaded with BMP-2 and/or TGF-β1. The PGS/β-TCP bi-layered constructs with improved mechanical and biological properties have the potential to be used in bone-soft tissue interface applications where soft tissue penetration is a problem. - Highlights: • Biodegradable bi-layered constructs with elastomer and ceramic sides were prepared. • The constructs could be a promising material in guided bone regeneration. • Elastomer side of the construct acts as a barrier to prevent soft tissue ingrowth. �

Subterahertz Longitudinal Phonon Modes Propagating in a Lipid Bilayer Immersed in an Aqueous Medium

Science.gov (United States)

Zakhvataev, V. E.

2018-04-01

The properties of subterahertz longitudinal acoustic phonon modes in the hydrophobic region of a lipid bilayer immersed in a compressible viscous aqueous medium are investigated theoretically. An approximate expression is obtained for the Mandelstam-Brillouin components of the dynamic structure factor of a bilayer. The analysis is based on a generalized hydrodynamic model of the "two-dimensional lipid bilayer + three-dimensional fluid medium" system, as well as on known sharp estimates for the frequencies and lifetimes of long-wavelength longitudinal acoustic phonons in a free hydrated lipid bilayer and in water, obtained from inelastic X-ray scattering experiments and molecular dynamics simulations. It is shown that, for characteristic values of the parameters of the membrane system, subterahertz longitudinal phonon-like excitations in the hydrophobic part of the bilayer are underdamped. In this case, the contribution of the viscous flow of the aqueous medium to the damping of a longitudinal membrane mode is small compared with the contribution of the lipid bilayer. Quantitative estimates of the damping ratio agree well with the experimental results for the vibration mode of the enzyme lysozyme in aqueous solution [1]. It is also shown that a coupling between longitudinal phonon modes of the bilayer and relaxation processes in its fluid environment gives rise to an additional peak in the scattering spectrum, which corresponds to a non-propagating mode.

Surface and grain boundary interdiffusion in nanometer-scale LSMO/BFO bilayer

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kumar, Virendra [Department of Physics, National Institute of Technology, Kurukshetra 136119 (India); Gaur, Anurag, E-mail: anuragdph@gmail.com [Department of Physics, National Institute of Technology, Kurukshetra 136119 (India); Choudhary, R.J.; Gupta, Mukul [UGC-DAE Consortium for Scientific Research, Indore 452 001 (India)

2016-05-01

Epitaxial 150 nm thick LSMO/BFO bilayer is deposited on STO (100) substrate by pulsed laser deposition, to study magnetoelectric effect. Unexpected low value of room temperature magnetization in bilayer indicates towards the possibility of interdiffusion. Further, sharp fall in the value of T{sub C} (53 K) also added our anxiety towards possible interdiffusion in BFO/LSMO system. Low-angle x-ray diffraction technique is used to investigate interdiffusion phenomena, and the temperature-dependent interdiffusivity is obtained by accurately monitoring the decay of the first-order modulation peak as a function of annealing time. It has been found that the diffusivity at different temperatures follows Arrhenius-type behavior. X-ray reflection (XRR) pattern obtained for the bilayer could not be fitted in the Parratt’s formalism, which confirms the interdiffusion in it. Depth profiles of {sup 209}Bi, {sup 56}Fe ions measured by secondary ion mass spectroscope (SIMS) further substantiate the diffusion of these ions from upper BFO layer into lower LSMO layer. - Highlights: • The LSMO/BFO bilayer is deposited by PLD method. • Structural, magnetic and interfacial properties of deposited films were studied. • In this article, we have raised the problem of interdiffusion in this bilayer, which can hinder its application in devices. Therefore, we feel that our article presents important finding in the area of ceramics research.

Dispersion of fullerenes in phospholipid bilayers and the subsequent phase changes in the host bilayers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jeng, U-S. [National Synchrotron Radiation Research Center, Hsinchu 30077, Taiwan (China)]. E-mail: usjeng@nsrrc.org.tw; Hsu, C.-H. [National Synchrotron Radiation Research Center, Hsinchu 30077, Taiwan (China); Lin, T.-L. [Department of Engineering and System Science, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu 30013, Taiwan (China); Wu, C.-M. [Department of Chemical Engineering, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu 30013, Taiwan (China); Chen, H.-L. [Department of Chemical Engineering, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu 30013, Taiwan (China); Tai, L.-A. [Department of Chemistry, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu 30013, Taiwan (China); Hwang, K.-C. [Department of Chemistry, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu 30013, Taiwan (China)

2005-02-28

We have studied the structure and phase transition characteristics of the fullerenes (C{sub 60})-embedded lipid bilayers. With small-angle neutron scattering (SANS), we have observed a degradation of bilayer ordering and a suppression effect on the phase transitions of the host vesicle bilayers of dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC), due to the embedment of fullerenes. The fullerene-embedded lipid system with substrate-oriented bilayers is also investigated using X-ray reflectivity and grazing incident small-angle X-ray scattering (GISAXS). In the depth direction, the multilamellar peaks observed in the X-ray reflectivity profile for the oriented DPPC/C{sub 60} bilayers reveal a larger head-to-head distance D{sub HH} of 50.6 A and a bilayer spacing D of 59.8 A, compared to the D{sub HH}=47.7 A and D=59.5 A for a pure DPPC membrane measured at the same conditions. Furthermore, the lipid head layers and water layers in the extracted electron density profile for the complex system are highly smeared, implying a fluctuating or corrugated structure in this zone. Correspondingly, GISAXS for the oriented DPPC/C{sub 60} membrane reveals stronger diffuse scatterings along the membrane plane than that for the pure DPPC system, indicating a higher in-plane correlation associated with the embedded fullerenes.

Bilayers at High pH in the Fatty Acid Soap Systems and the Applications for the Formation of Foams and Emulsions.

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Wenlong; Zhang, Heng; Zhong, Yingping; Jiang, Liwen; Xu, Mengxin; Zhu, Xionglu; Hao, Jingcheng

2015-08-20

In our previous work, we reported bilayers at high pH in the stearic acid/CsOH/H2O system, which was against the traditional viewpoint that fatty acid (FA) bilayers must be formed at the pKa of the fatty acid. Herein, the microstructures at high pH of several fatty acid soap systems were investigated systematically. We found that palmitic acid/KOH/H2O, palmitic acid/CsOH/H2O, stearic acid/KOH/H2O, and stearic acid/CsOH/H2O systems can form bilayers at high pH. The bilayer structure was demonstrated by cryogenic transmission electron microscopy (cryo-TEM) and deuterium nuclear magnetic resonance ((2)H NMR), and molecular dynamics simulation was used to confirm the formation of bilayers. The influence of fatty acids with different chain lengths (n = 10, 12, 14, 16, and 18) and different counterions including Li(+), Na(+), K(+), Cs(+), (CH3)4N(+), (C2H5)4N(+), (C3H7)4N(+), and (C4H9)4N(+) on the formation of bilayers was discussed. The stability of foam and emulsification properties were compared between bilayers and micelles, drawing the conclusion that bilayer structures possess a much stronger ability to foam and stronger emulsification properties than micelles do.

Scattering Studies of Hydrophobic Monomers in Liposomal Bilayers: An Expanding Shell Model of Monomer Distribution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Richter, Andrew; Dergunov, Sergey; Ganus, Bill; Thomas, Zachary; Pingali, Sai Venkatesh; Urban, Volker S.; Liu, Yun; Porcar, Lionel; Pinkhassik, Eugene

2011-01-01

Hydrophobic monomers partially phase separate from saturated lipids when loaded into lipid bilayers in amounts exceeding a 1:1 monomer/lipid molar ratio. This conclusion is based on the agreement between two independent methods of examining the structure of monomer-loaded bilayers. Complete phase separation of monomers from lipids would result in an increase in bilayer thickness and a slight increase in the diameter of liposomes. A homogeneous distribution of monomers within the bilayer would not change the bilayer thickness and would lead to an increase in the liposome diameter. The increase in bilayer thickness, measured by the combination of small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) and small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), was approximately half of what was predicted for complete phase separation. The increase in liposome diameter, measured by dynamic light scattering (DLS), was intermediate between values predicted for a homogeneous distribution and complete phase separation. Combined SANS, SAXS, and DLS data suggest that at a 1.2 monomer/lipid ratio approximately half of the monomers are located in an interstitial layer sandwiched between lipid sheets. These results expand our understanding of using self-assembled bilayers as scaffolds for the directed covalent assembly of organic nanomaterials. In particular, the partial phase separation of monomers from lipids corroborates the successful creation of nanothin polymer materials with uniform imprinted nanopores. Pore-forming templates do not need to span the lipid bilayer to create a pore in the bilayer-templated films.

Nanobioarchitectures based on chlorophyll photopigment, artificial lipid bilayers and carbon nanotubes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marcela Elisabeta Barbinta-Patrascu

2014-12-01

Full Text Available In the last decade, building biohybrid materials has gained considerable interest in the field of nanotechnology. This paper describes an original design for bionanoarchitectures with interesting properties and potential bioapplications. Multilamellar lipid vesicles (obtained by hydration of a dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine thin film with and without cholesterol were labelled with a natural photopigment (chlorophyll a, which functioned as a sensor to detect modifications in the artificial lipid bilayers. These biomimetic membranes were used to build non-covalent structures with single-walled carbon nanotubes. Different biophysical methods were employed to characterize these biohybrids such as: UV–vis absorption and emission spectroscopy, zeta potential measurements, AFM and chemiluminescence techniques. The designed, carbon-based biohybrids exhibited good physical stability, good antioxidant and antimicrobial properties, and could be used as biocoating materials. As compared to the cholesterol-free samples, the cholesterol-containing hybrid structures demonstrated better stability (i.e., their zeta potential reached the value of −36.4 mV, more pronounced oxygen radical scavenging ability (affording an antioxidant activity of 73.25% and enhanced biocidal ability, offering inhibition zones of 12.4, 11.3 and 10.2 mm in diameter, against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Enterococcus faecalis, respectively.

Proximity effect bilayer nano superconducting quantum interference devices for millikelvin magnetometry

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Blois, A., E-mail: a.blois@ucl.ac.uk; Rozhko, S.; Romans, E. J. [London Centre for Nanotechnology, University College London (UCL), 17-19 Gordon Street, London WC1H 0AH (United Kingdom); Hao, L.; Gallop, J. C. [National Physical Laboratory, Hampton Road, Teddington, Middlesex TW11 0LW (United Kingdom)

2013-12-21

Superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUIDs) incorporating thin film nanobridges as weak links have sensitivities approaching that required for single spin detection at 4.2 K. However, due to thermal hysteresis they are difficult to operate at much lower temperatures which hinder their application to many quantum measurements. To overcome this, we have developed nanoscale SQUIDs made from titanium-gold proximity bilayers. We show that their electrical properties are consistent with a theoretical model developed for heat flow in bilayers and demonstrate that they enable magnetic measurements to be made on a sample at system temperatures down to 60 mK.

Molecular dynamics simulations of the interactions of medicinal plant extracts and drugs with lipid bilayer membranes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kopec, Wojciech; Telenius, Jelena; Khandelia, Himanshu

2013-01-01

Several small drugs and medicinal plant extracts, such as the Indian spice extract curcumin, have a wide range of useful pharmacological properties that cannot be ascribed to binding to a single protein target alone. The lipid bilayer membrane is thought to mediate the effects of many such molecu......Several small drugs and medicinal plant extracts, such as the Indian spice extract curcumin, have a wide range of useful pharmacological properties that cannot be ascribed to binding to a single protein target alone. The lipid bilayer membrane is thought to mediate the effects of many...

Cholesterol Perturbs Lipid Bilayers Nonuniversally

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pan Jianjun; Mills, Thalia T.; Tristram-Nagle, Stephanie; Nagle, John F.

2008-01-01

Cholesterol is well known to modulate the physical properties of biomembranes. Using modern x-ray scattering methods, we have studied the effects of cholesterol on the bending modulus K C , the thickness D HH , and the orientational order parameter S xray of lipid bilayers. We find that the effects are different for at least three classes of phospholipids characterized by different numbers of saturated hydrocarbon chains. Most strikingly, cholesterol strongly increases K C when both chains of the phospholipid are fully saturated but not at all when there are two monounsaturated chains

Adhesion Improvement and Characterization of Magnetron Sputter Deposited Bilayer Molybdenum Thin Films for Rear Contact Application in CIGS Solar Cells

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Weimin Li

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Molybdenum (Mo thin films are widely used as rear electrodes in copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS solar cells. The challenge in Mo deposition by magnetron sputtering lies in simultaneously achieving good adhesion to the substrates while retaining the electrical and optical properties. Bilayer Mo films, comprising five different thickness ratios of a high pressure (HP deposited bottom layer and a low pressure (LP deposited top layer, were deposited on 40 cm × 30 cm soda-lime glass substrates by DC magnetron sputtering. We focus on understanding the effects of the individual layer properties on the resulting bilayer Mo films, such as microstructure, surface morphology, and surface oxidation. We show that the thickness of the bottom HP Mo layer plays a major role in determining the micromechanical and physical properties of the bilayer Mo stack. Our studies reveal that a thicker HP Mo bottom layer not only improves the adhesion of the bilayer Mo, but also helps to improve the film crystallinity along the preferred [110] direction. However, the surface roughness and the porosity of the bilayer Mo films are found to increase with increasing bottom layer thickness, which leads to lower optical reflectance and a higher probability for oxidation at the Mo surface.

Bilayered Films Based on Novel Polymer Derivative for Improved Ocular Therapy of Gatifloxacin

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Naval Dinesh Aher

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Context. Thiomers could prove to be suitable mucoadhesives for fabrication of ocular inserts. Objective. The study intends to explore the application of thiolated sodium alginate (TSA to the preparation of bilayered ocular inserts of gatifloxacin. Methods. Cysteine moieties were grafted onto sodium alginate (SA and the resultant thiomer was characterized for relevant physicochemical properties. Bilayered inserts were fabricated with a mucoadhesive immediate release layer composed of either SA or TSA and a sustained release layer composed of acrylates. Films were prepared by solvent evaporation and evaluated for mechanical properties, drug content, and in vitro release. Results and Discussion. The synthesized TSA possessed 248.80±49.7 μmol thiol groups/gm and its solutions thickened on standing due to disulphide bridging. Its films showed improved mucoadhesion and also a strikingly beneficial property of resisting erosion and remaining as a hydrated adhesive layer for the duration of drug release. The bilayered films were found to be flexible, with good folding endurance, uniform thickness, and appropriate drug content, and showed a release of about 80% of loaded gatifloxacin in 12 h. Conclusion. The study demonstrates promise in employing thiolated polymer in conjunction with acrylates for the design of ocular inserts for twice a day therapy with gatifloxacin.

Bilayered Films Based on Novel Polymer Derivative for Improved Ocular Therapy of Gatifloxacin

Science.gov (United States)

Aher, Naval Dinesh; Nair, Hema Ajit

2014-01-01

Context. Thiomers could prove to be suitable mucoadhesives for fabrication of ocular inserts. Objective. The study intends to explore the application of thiolated sodium alginate (TSA) to the preparation of bilayered ocular inserts of gatifloxacin. Methods. Cysteine moieties were grafted onto sodium alginate (SA) and the resultant thiomer was characterized for relevant physicochemical properties. Bilayered inserts were fabricated with a mucoadhesive immediate release layer composed of either SA or TSA and a sustained release layer composed of acrylates. Films were prepared by solvent evaporation and evaluated for mechanical properties, drug content, and in vitro release. Results and Discussion. The synthesized TSA possessed 248.80 ± 49.7 μmol thiol groups/gm and its solutions thickened on standing due to disulphide bridging. Its films showed improved mucoadhesion and also a strikingly beneficial property of resisting erosion and remaining as a hydrated adhesive layer for the duration of drug release. The bilayered films were found to be flexible, with good folding endurance, uniform thickness, and appropriate drug content, and showed a release of about 80% of loaded gatifloxacin in 12 h. Conclusion. The study demonstrates promise in employing thiolated polymer in conjunction with acrylates for the design of ocular inserts for twice a day therapy with gatifloxacin. PMID:24516362

Corrosion resistance of sintered NdFeB coated with SiC/Al bilayer thin films by magnetron sputtering

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Yiqin; Li, Heqin; Zuo, Min; Tao, Lei; Wang, Wei; Zhang, Jing; Tang, Qiong; Bai, Peiwen

2016-07-01

The poor corrosion resistance of sintered NdFeB imposes a great challenge in industrial applications. In this work, the SiC/Al bilayer thin films with the thickness of 510 nm were deposited on sintered NdFeB by magnetron sputtering to improve the corrosion resistance. A 100 nm Al buffer film was used to reduce the internal stress between SiC and NdFeB and improve the surface roughness of the SiC thin film. The morphologies and structures of SiC/Al bilayer thin films and SiC monolayer film were investigated with FESEM, AFM and X-ray diffraction. The corrosion behaviors of sintered NdFeB coated with SiC monolayer film and SiC/Al bilayer thin films were analyzed by polarization curves. The magnetic properties were measured with an ultra-high coercivity permanent magnet pulse tester. The results show that the surface of SiC/Al bilayer thin films is more compact and uniform than that of SiC monolayer film. The corrosion current densities of SiC/Al bilayer films coated on NdFeB in acid, alkali and salt solutions are much lower than that of SiC monolayer film. The SiC/Al bilayer thin films have little influence to the magnetic properties of NdFeB.

Self-assembly of bimetallic AuxPd1-x alloy nanoparticles via dewetting of bilayers through the systematic control of temperature, thickness, composition and stacking sequence

Science.gov (United States)

Kunwar, Sundar; Pandey, Puran; Sui, Mao; Bastola, Sushil; Lee, Jihoon

2018-03-01

Bimetallic alloy nanoparticles (NPs) are attractive materials for various applications with their morphology and elemental composition dependent optical, electronic, magnetic and catalytic properties. This work demonstrates the evolution of AuxPd1-x alloy nanostructures by the solid-state dewetting of sequentially deposited bilayers of Au and Pd on sapphire (0001). Various shape, size and configuration of AuxPd1‑x alloy NPs are fabricated by the systematic control of annealing temperature, deposition thickness, composition as well as stacking sequence. The evolution of alloy nanostructures is attributed to the surface diffusion, interface diffusion between bilayers, surface and interface energy minimization, Volmer-Weber growth model and equilibrium configuration. Depending upon the temperature, the surface morphologies evolve with the formation of pits, grains and voids and gradually develop into isolated semi-spherical alloy NPs by the expansion of voids and agglomeration of Au and Pd adatoms. On the other hand, small isolated to enlarged elongated and over-grown layer-like alloy nanostructures are fabricated due to the coalescence, partial diffusion and inter-diffusion with the increased bilayer thickness. In addition, the composition and stacking sequence of bilayers remarkably affect the final geometry of AuxPd1‑x nanostructures due to the variation in the dewetting process. The optical analysis based on the UV–vis-NIR reflectance spectra reveals the surface morphology dependent plasmonic resonance, scattering, reflection and absorption properties of AuxPd1‑x alloy nanostructures.

A drift-diffusion-reaction model for excitonic photovoltaic bilayers: Photovoltaic bilayers: Asymptotic analysis and a 2D hdg finite element scheme

KAUST Repository

Brinkman, Daniel

2013-05-01

We present and discuss a mathematical model for the operation of bilayer organic photovoltaic devices. Our model couples drift-diffusion-recombination equations for the charge carriers (specifically, electrons and holes) with a reaction-diffusion equation for the excitons/polaron pairs and Poisson\\'s equation for the self-consistent electrostatic potential. The material difference (i.e. the HOMO/LUMO gap) of the two organic substrates forming the bilayer device is included as a work-function potential. Firstly, we perform an asymptotic analysis of the scaled one-dimensional stationary state system: (i) with focus on the dynamics on the interface and (ii) with the goal of simplifying the bulk dynamics away from the interface. Secondly, we present a two-dimensional hybrid discontinuous Galerkin finite element numerical scheme which is very well suited to resolve: (i) the material changes, (ii) the resulting strong variation over the interface, and (iii) the necessary upwinding in the discretization of drift-diffusion equations. Finally, we compare the numerical results with the approximating asymptotics. © 2013 World Scientific Publishing Company.

General model of phospholipid bilayers in fluid phase within the single chain mean field theory

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Guo, Yachong; Baulin, Vladimir A. [Departament d’Enginyeria Química, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Av. dels Paisos Catalans 26, 43007 Tarragona (Spain); Pogodin, Sergey [Institute of Chemical Research of Catalonia, ICIQ, Av. Paisos Catalans 16, 43007 Tarragona (Spain)

2014-05-07

Coarse-grained model for saturated phospholipids: 1,2-didecanoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DCPC), 1,2-dilauroyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DLPC), 1,2-dimyristoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DMPC), 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DPPC), 1,2-distearoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DSPC) and unsaturated phospholipids: 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (POPC), 1,2- dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DOPC) is introduced within the single chain mean field theory. A single set of parameters adjusted for DMPC bilayers gives an adequate description of equilibrium and mechanical properties of a range of saturated lipid molecules that differ only in length of their hydrophobic tails and unsaturated (POPC, DOPC) phospholipids which have double bonds in the tails. A double bond is modeled with a fixed angle of 120°, while the rest of the parameters are kept the same as saturated lipids. The thickness of the bilayer and its hydrophobic core, the compressibility, and the equilibrium area per lipid correspond to experimentally measured values for each lipid, changing linearly with the length of the tail. The model for unsaturated phospholipids also fetches main thermodynamical properties of the bilayers. This model is used for an accurate estimation of the free energies of the compressed or stretched bilayers in stacks or multilayers and gives reasonable estimates for free energies. The proposed model may further be used for studies of mixtures of lipids, small molecule inclusions, interactions of bilayers with embedded proteins.

Assessment of pseudo-bilayer structures in the heterogate germanium electron-hole bilayer tunnel field-effect transistor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Padilla, J. L.; Alper, C.; Ionescu, A. M.; Medina-Bailón, C.; Gámiz, F.

2015-01-01

We investigate the effect of pseudo-bilayer configurations at low operating voltages (≤0.5 V) in the heterogate germanium electron-hole bilayer tunnel field-effect transistor (HG-EHBTFET) compared to the traditional bilayer structures of EHBTFETs arising from semiclassical simulations where the inversion layers for electrons and holes featured very symmetric profiles with similar concentration levels at the ON-state. Pseudo-bilayer layouts are attained by inducing a certain asymmetry between the top and the bottom gates so that even though the hole inversion layer is formed at the bottom of the channel, the top gate voltage remains below the required value to trigger the formation of the inversion layer for electrons. Resulting benefits from this setup are improved electrostatic control on the channel, enhanced gate-to-gate efficiency, and higher I ON levels. Furthermore, pseudo-bilayer configurations alleviate the difficulties derived from confining very high opposite carrier concentrations in very thin structures

Assessment of pseudo-bilayer structures in the heterogate germanium electron-hole bilayer tunnel field-effect transistor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Padilla, J. L., E-mail: jose.padilladelatorre@epfl.ch; Alper, C.; Ionescu, A. M. [Nanoelectronic Devices Laboratory, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne CH-1015 (Switzerland); Medina-Bailón, C.; Gámiz, F. [Departamento de Electrónica y Tecnología de los Computadores, Universidad de Granada, Avda. Fuentenueva s/n, 18071 Granada (Spain)

2015-06-29

We investigate the effect of pseudo-bilayer configurations at low operating voltages (≤0.5 V) in the heterogate germanium electron-hole bilayer tunnel field-effect transistor (HG-EHBTFET) compared to the traditional bilayer structures of EHBTFETs arising from semiclassical simulations where the inversion layers for electrons and holes featured very symmetric profiles with similar concentration levels at the ON-state. Pseudo-bilayer layouts are attained by inducing a certain asymmetry between the top and the bottom gates so that even though the hole inversion layer is formed at the bottom of the channel, the top gate voltage remains below the required value to trigger the formation of the inversion layer for electrons. Resulting benefits from this setup are improved electrostatic control on the channel, enhanced gate-to-gate efficiency, and higher I{sub ON} levels. Furthermore, pseudo-bilayer configurations alleviate the difficulties derived from confining very high opposite carrier concentrations in very thin structures.

Chemically deposited TiO2/CdS bilayer system for ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

FTO/TiO2/CdS bilayers system showed improved performance of PEC properties over individual ... form distribution of nanocrystalline CdS on TiO2 and this is unfavourable for the ... (TEA), the pH of the solution maintained at 12·0 by drop.

Stacking change in MoS2 bilayers induced by interstitial Mo impurities.

Science.gov (United States)

Cortés, Natalia; Rosales, Luis; Orellana, Pedro A; Ayuela, Andrés; González, Jhon W

2018-02-01

We use a theoretical approach to reveal the electronic and structural properties of molybdenum impurities between MoS 2 bilayers. We find that interstitial Mo impurities are able to reverse the well-known stability order of the pristine bilayer, because the most stable form of stacking changes from AA' (undoped) into AB' (doped). The occurrence of Mo impurities in different positions shows their split electronic levels in the energy gap, following octahedral and tetrahedral crystal fields. The energy stability is related to the accommodation of Mo impurities compacted in hollow sites between layers. Other less stable configurations for Mo dopants have larger interlayer distances and band gaps than those for the most stable stacking. Our findings suggest possible applications such as exciton trapping in layers around impurities, and the control of bilayer stacking by Mo impurities in the growth process.

Photon-Assisted Resonant Chiral Tunneling Through a Bilayer Graphene Barrier

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Phillips A. H.

2011-01-01

Full Text Available The electronic transport property of a bilayer graphene is investigated under the effect of an electromagnetic field. We deduce an expression for the conductance by solving the Dirac equation. This conductance depends on the barrier height for graphene and the energy of the induced photons. A resonance oscillatory behavior of the conductance is observed. These oscillations are strongly depends on the barrier height for chiral tunneling through graphene. This oscillatory behavior might be due to the interference of different central band and sidebands of graphene states. The present investigation is very important for the application of bilayer graphene in photodetector devices, for example, far-infrared photodevices and ultrafast lasers.

Modeling Non-Linear Material Properties in Composite Materials

Science.gov (United States)

2016-06-28

Technical Report ARWSB-TR-16013 MODELING NON-LINEAR MATERIAL PROPERTIES IN COMPOSITE MATERIALS Michael F. Macri Andrew G...REPORT TYPE Technical 3. DATES COVERED (From - To) 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE MODELING NON-LINEAR MATERIAL PROPERTIES IN COMPOSITE MATERIALS ...systems are increasingly incorporating composite materials into their design. Many of these systems subject the composites to environmental conditions

Hematite/silver nanoparticle bilayers on mica--AFM, SEM and streaming potential studies.

Science.gov (United States)

Morga, Maria; Adamczyk, Zbigniew; Oćwieja, Magdalena; Bielańska, Elżbieta

2014-06-15

Bilayers of hematite/silver nanoparticles were obtained in the self-assembly process and thoroughly characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and in situ streaming potential measurements. The hematite nanoparticles, forming a supporting layer, were 22 nm in diameter, exhibiting an isoelectric point at pH 8.9. The silver nanoparticles, used to obtain an external layer, were 29 nm in diameter, and remained negative within the pH range 3 to 11. In order to investigate the particle deposition, mica sheets were used as a model solid substrate. The coverage of the supporting layer was adjusted by changing the bulk concentration of the hematite suspension and the deposition time. Afterward, silver nanoparticle monolayers of controlled coverage were deposited under the diffusion-controlled transport. The coverage of bilayers was determined by a direct enumeration of deposited particles from SEM micrographs and AFM images. Additionally, the formation of the hematite/silver bilayers was investigated by streaming potential measurements carried out under in situ conditions. The effect of the mica substrate and the coverage of a supporting layer on the zeta potential of bilayers was systematically studied. It was established that for the coverage exceeding 0.20, the zeta potential of bilayers was independent on the substrate and the supporting layer coverage. This behavior was theoretically interpreted in terms of the 3D electrokinetic model. Beside significance for basic sciences, these measurements allowed to develop a robust method of preparing nanoparticle bilayers of controlled properties, having potential applications in catalytic processes. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

New optical method for measuring the bending elasticity of lipid bilayers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Minetti, C; Dubois, F; Vitkova, V; Bivas, I

2016-01-01

The knowledge of the elasticity of lipid bilayer structures is fundamental for new developments in biophysics, pharmacology and biomedical research. Lipid vesicles are readily prepared in laboratory conditions and employed for studying the physical properties of lipid membranes. The thermal fluctuation analysis of the shape of lipid vesicles (or flicker spectroscopy) is one of the experimental methods widely used for the measurement of the bending modulus of lipid bilayers. We present direct phase measurements performed on dilute vesicular suspensions by means of a new optical method exploiting holographic microscopy. For the bending constant of phosphatidylcholine bilayers we report the value of 23k B T in agreement with values previously measured by micropipette aspiration, electrodeformation and flicker spectroscopy of giant lipid vesicles. The application of this novel approach for the evaluation of the bending elasticity of lipid membranes opens the way to future developments in the phase measurements on lipid vesicles for the evaluation of their mechanical constants. (paper)

Calculation of TC in a normal-superconductor bilayer using the microscopic-based Usadel theory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Martinis, John M.; Hilton, G.C.; Irwin, K.D.; Wollman, D.A.

2000-01-01

The Usadel equations give a theory of superconductivity, valid in the diffusive limit, that is a generalization of the microscopic equations of the BCS theory. Because the theory is expressed in a tractable and physical form, even experimentalists can analytically and numerically calculate detailed properties of superconductors in physically relevant geometries. Here, we describe the Usadel equations and review their solution in the case of predicting the transition temperature T C of a thin normal-superconductor bilayer. We also extend this calculation for thicker bilayers to show the dependence on the resistivity of the films. These results, which show a dependence on both the interface resistance and heat capacity of the films, provide important guidance on fabricating bilayers with reproducible transition temperatures

Multinuclear NMR studies of single lipid bilayers supported in cylindrical aluminum oxide nanopores.

Science.gov (United States)

Gaede, Holly C; Luckett, Keith M; Polozov, Ivan V; Gawrisch, Klaus

2004-08-31

Lipid bilayers were deposited inside the 0.2 microm pores of anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) filters by extrusion of multilamellar liposomes and their properties studied by 2H, 31P, and 1H solid-state NMR. Only the first bilayer adhered strongly to the inner surface of the pores. Additional layers were washed out easily by a flow of water as demonstrated by 1H magic angle spinning NMR experiments with addition of Pr3+ ions to shift accessible lipid headgroup resonances. A 13 mm diameter Anopore filter of 60 microm thickness oriented approximately 2.5 x 10(-7) mol of lipid as a single bilayer, corresponding to a total membrane area of about 500 cm2. The 2H NMR spectra of chain deuterated POPC are consistent with adsorption of wavy, tubular bilayers to the inner pore surface. By NMR diffusion experiments, we determined the average length of those lipid tubules to be approximately 0.4 microm. There is evidence for a thick water layer between lipid tubules and the pore surface. The ends of tubules are well sealed against the pore such that Pr3+ ions cannot penetrate into the water underneath the bilayers. We successfully trapped poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) with a molecular weight of 8000 in this water layer. From the quantity of trapped PEG, we calculated an average water layer thickness of 3 nm. Lipid order parameters and motional properties are unperturbed by the solid support, in agreement with existence of a water layer. Such unperturbed, solid supported membranes are ideal for incorporation of membrane-spanning proteins with large intra- and extracellular domains. The experiments suggest the promise of such porous filters as membrane support in biosensors.

Strong Rashba-Edelstein Effect-Induced Spin–Orbit Torques in Monolayer Transition Metal Dichalcogenide/Ferromagnet Bilayers

KAUST Repository

Shao, Qiming

2016-11-18

The electronic and optoelectronic properties of two-dimensional materials have been extensively explored in graphene and layered transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs). Spintronics in these two-dimensional materials could provide novel opportunities for future electronics, for example, efficient generation of spin current, which should enable the efficient manipulation of magnetic elements. So far, the quantitative determination of charge current-induced spin current and spin-orbit torques (SOTs) on the magnetic layer adjacent to two-dimensional materials is still lacking. Here, we report a large SOT generated by current-induced spin accumulation through the Rashba-Edelstein effect in the composites of monolayer TMD (MoS or WSe)/CoFeB bilayer. The effective spin conductivity corresponding to the SOT turns out to be almost temperature-independent. Our results suggest that the charge-spin conversion in the chemical vapor deposition-grown large-scale monolayer TMDs could potentially lead to high energy efficiency for magnetization reversal and convenient device integration for future spintronics based on two-dimensional materials.

Electrical control of 2D magnetism in bilayer CrI 3.

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Bevin; Clark, Genevieve; Klein, Dahlia R; MacNeill, David; Navarro-Moratalla, Efrén; Seyler, Kyle L; Wilson, Nathan; McGuire, Michael A; Cobden, David H; Xiao, Di; Yao, Wang; Jarillo-Herrero, Pablo; Xu, Xiaodong

2018-04-23

Controlling magnetism via electric fields addresses fundamental questions of magnetic phenomena and phase transitions 1-3 , and enables the development of electrically coupled spintronic devices, such as voltage-controlled magnetic memories with low operation energy 4-6 . Previous studies on dilute magnetic semiconductors such as (Ga,Mn)As and (In,Mn)Sb have demonstrated large modulations of the Curie temperatures and coercive fields by altering the magnetic anisotropy and exchange interaction 2,4,7-9 . Owing to their unique magnetic properties 10-14 , the recently reported two-dimensional magnets provide a new system for studying these features 15-19 . For instance, a bilayer of chromium triiodide (CrI 3 ) behaves as a layered antiferromagnet with a magnetic field-driven metamagnetic transition 15,16 . Here, we demonstrate electrostatic gate control of magnetism in CrI 3 bilayers, probed by magneto-optical Kerr effect (MOKE) microscopy. At fixed magnetic fields near the metamagnetic transition, we realize voltage-controlled switching between antiferromagnetic and ferromagnetic states. At zero magnetic field, we demonstrate a time-reversal pair of layered antiferromagnetic states that exhibit spin-layer locking, leading to a linear dependence of their MOKE signals on gate voltage with opposite slopes. Our results allow for the exploration of new magnetoelectric phenomena and van der Waals spintronics based on 2D materials.

Low Dimensional Carbon Materials for Nanooptics and Nanoplasmonics

Science.gov (United States)

2015-12-11

structure of the 2D glass supported by a graphene window and identified it as a bi-tetrahedral layer of SiO2 only 3 atoms thick. Our atomic resolution...developed can be directly applied to study other 2D materials such as molybdenum disulfide and 2D glasses . Novel properties in these materials open...up new avenues for studying old and new physics including glass phase transition and valley Hall effect. 15. SUBJECT TERMS graphene, bilayer graphene

Dynamic patterns in a supported lipid bilayer driven by standing surface acoustic waves.

Science.gov (United States)

Hennig, Martin; Neumann, Jürgen; Wixforth, Achim; Rädler, Joachim O; Schneider, Matthias F

2009-11-07

In the past decades supported lipid bilayers (SLBs) have been an important tool in order to study the physical properties of biological membranes and cells. So far, controlled manipulation of SLBs is very limited. Here we present a new technology to create lateral patterns in lipid membranes controllable in both space and time. Surface acoustic waves (SAWs) are used to generate lateral standing waves on a piezoelectric substrate which create local "traps" in the lipid bilayer and lead to a lateral modulation in lipid concentration. We demonstrate that pattern formation is reversible and does not affect the integrity of the lipid bilayer as shown by extracting the diffusion constant of fluid membranes. The described method could possibly be used to design switchable interfaces for the lateral transport and organization of membrane bound macromolecules to create dynamic bioarrays and control biofilm formation.

Mobility gap and quantum transport in a functionalized graphene bilayer

Science.gov (United States)

Missaoui, Ahmed; Jemaa Khabthani, Jouda; Jaidane, Nejm-Eddine; Mayou, Didier; Trambly de Laissardière, Guy

2018-05-01

In a Bernal graphene bilayer, carbon atoms belong to two inequivalent sublattices A and B, with atoms that are coupled to the other layer by bonds belonging to sublattice A and the other atoms belonging to sublattice B. We analyze the density of states and the conductivity of Bernal graphene bilayers when atoms of sublattice A or B only are randomly functionalized. We find that for a selective functionalization on sublattice B only, a mobility gap of the order of 0.5 eV is formed close to the Dirac energy at concentration of adatoms . In addition, at some other energies conductivity presents anomalous behaviors. We show that these properties are related to the bipartite structure of the graphene layer.

Edge states in gated bilayer-monolayer graphene ribbons and bilayer domain walls

Science.gov (United States)

Mirzakhani, M.; Zarenia, M.; Peeters, F. M.

2018-05-01

Using the effective continuum model, the electron energy spectrum of gated bilayer graphene with a step-like region of decoupled graphene layers at the edge of the sample is studied. Different types of coupled-decoupled interfaces are considered, i.e., zigzag (ZZ) and armchair junctions, which result in significant different propagating states. Two non-valley-polarized conducting edge states are observed for ZZ type, which are mainly located around the ZZ-ended graphene layers. Additionally, we investigated both BA-BA and BA-AB domain walls in the gated bilayer graphene within the continuum approximation. Unlike the BA-BA domain wall, which exhibits gapped insulating behaviour, the domain walls surrounded by different stackings of bilayer regions feature valley-polarized edge states. Our findings are consistent with other theoretical calculations, such as from the tight-binding model and first-principles calculations, and agree with experimental observations.

Enhanced Optical and Electrical Properties of TiO{sub 2} Buffered IGZO/TiO{sub 2} Bi-Layered Films

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Moon, Hyun-Joo; Kim, Daeil [University of Ulsan, Ulsan (Korea, Republic of)

2016-08-15

In and Ga doped ZnO (IGZO, 100-nm thick) thin films were deposited by radio frequency magnetron sputtering without intentional substrate heating on a bare glass substrate and a TiO{sub 2}-deposited glass substrate to determine the effect of the thickness of a thin TiO{sub 2} buffer layer on the structural, optical, and electrical properties of the films. The thicknesses of the TiO{sub 2} buffer layers were 5, 10 and 15 nm, respectively. As-deposited IGZO films with a 10 nm-thick TiO{sub 2} buffer layer had an average optical transmittance of 85.0% with lower resistivity (1.83×10-2 Ω cm) than that of IGZO single layer films. The figure of merit (FOM) reached a maximum of 1.44×10-4 Ω-1 for IGZO/10 nm-thick TiO{sub 2} bi-layered films, which is higher than the FOM of 6.85×10-5 Ω-1 for IGZO single layer films. Because a higher FOM value indicates better quality transparent conducting oxide (TCO) films, the IGZO/10 nm-thick TiO{sub 2} bi-layered films are likely to perform better in TCO applications than IGZO single layer films.

Fano resonances in bilayer phosphorene nanoring

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Rui; Wu, Zhenhua; Li, X. J.; Li, L. L.; Chen, Qiao; Li, Yun-Mei; Peeters, F. M.

2018-05-01

Tunable transport properties and Fano resonances are predicted in a circular bilayer phosphorene nanoring. The conductance exhibits Fano resonances with varying incident energy and applied perpendicular magnetic field. These Fano resonance peaks can be accurately fitted with the well known Fano curves. When a magnetic field is applied to the nanoring, the conductance oscillates periodically with magnetic field which is reminiscent of the Aharonov–Bohm effect. Fano resonances are tightly related to the discrete states in the central nanoring, some of which are tunable by the magnetic field.

Reactions of radicals with lecithin bilayers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barber, D.J.W.; Thomas, J.K.

1978-01-01

The kinetics of reaction of .OH and e/sub aq/ - with lecithin bilayers have been measured. The rate for .OH + lecithin is 5.1 +- 0.9 x 10 8 M -1 sec -1 while the e/sub aq/ - + lecithin rate is very slow. When a solute such as pyrene is solubilized in the bilayer, .OH and e/sub aq/ - may react with the solute; rates of 1.65 +- 0.12 x 10 9 M -1 sec -1 and 7 x 10 7 M -1 sec -1 have been measured for reaction of .OH and e/sub aq/ - , respectively, with pyrene in lecithin. These rates are lower than those observed for similar reactions in homogeneous systems. This is explained in terms of (a) the protective effect of the bilayer, this being especially true for e/sub aq/ - which does not readily leave the aqueous phase, and (b) in terms of the restricted diffusion imposed on the reactive species by the bilayer. The kinetics in these model systems are relevant to reactions of radicals with membranes. Long-term alteration in the model membrane following .OH attack is manifested in terms of damage to the head group, increasing water penetration of the bilayer, and of cross-linking with the membrane, thereby restricting motion in the interior of the bilayer. Increased rigidity and leakiness of membranes is an expected consequence of radiation damage

A simple analytical thermo-mechanical model for liquid crystal elastomer bilayer structures

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yun Cui

2018-02-01

Full Text Available The bilayer structure consisting of thermal-responsive liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs and other polymer materials with stretchable heaters has attracted much attention in applications of soft actuators and soft robots due to its ability to generate large deformations when subjected to heat stimuli. A simple analytical thermo-mechanical model, accounting for the non-uniform feature of the temperature/strain distribution along the thickness direction, is established for this type of bilayer structure. The analytical predictions of the temperature and bending curvature radius agree well with finite element analysis and experiments. The influences of the LCE thickness and the heat generation power on the bending deformation of the bilayer structure are fully investigated. It is shown that a thinner LCE layer and a higher heat generation power could yield more bending deformation. These results may help the design of soft actuators and soft robots involving thermal responsive LCEs.

Nanoporous microbead supported bilayers: stability, physical characterization, and incorporation of functional transmembrane proteins.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Davis, Ryan W. (University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM); Brozik, James A. (University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM); Brozik, Susan Marie; Cox, Jason M. (University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM); Lopez, Gabriel P. (University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM); Barrick, Todd A. (University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM); Flores, Adrean (University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM)

2007-03-01

The introduction of functional transmembrane proteins into supported bilayer-based biomimetic systems presents a significant challenge for biophysics. Among the various methods for producing supported bilayers, liposomal fusion offers a versatile method for the introduction of membrane proteins into supported bilayers on a variety of substrates. In this study, the properties of protein containing unilamellar phosphocholine lipid bilayers on nanoporous silica microspheres are investigated. The effects of the silica substrate, pore structure, and the substrate curvature on the stability of the membrane and the functionality of the membrane protein are determined. Supported bilayers on porous silica microspheres show a significant increase in surface area on surfaces with structures in excess of 10 nm as well as an overall decrease in stability resulting from increasing pore size and curvature. Comparison of the liposomal and detergent-mediated introduction of purified bacteriorhodopsin (bR) and the human type 3 serotonin receptor (5HT3R) are investigated focusing on the resulting protein function, diffusion, orientation, and incorporation efficiency. In both cases, functional proteins are observed; however, the reconstitution efficiency and orientation selectivity are significantly enhanced through detergent-mediated protein reconstitution. The results of these experiments provide a basis for bulk ionic and fluorescent dye-based compartmentalization assays as well as single-molecule optical and single-channel electrochemical interrogation of transmembrane proteins in a biomimetic platform.

The intriguing electronic and optical properties modulation of hydrogen and fluorine codecorated silicene layers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang, Qun; Tan, Chunjian; Meng, Ruishen; Jiang, Junke; Liang, Qiuhua; Sun, Xiang; Yang, Daoguo; Chen, Xianping

2017-01-01

respect to that of HSiF monolayer, and the superior optical properties is robust, independent of stacking pattern. The complete electron-hole separation also enhances the photocatalytic efficiency of HSiF bilayer. In a word, the moderate band gap, effective band gap modification by external electric field, robust direct band gap nature, suitable band edge positions, electron-hole separation, and fascinating visible light adsorption, which enable HSiF bilayer to have great potential applications in the field of solar energy conversion, high performance photocatalysis and nanoelectronic devices, and we call for more concern over this kind of 2D Janus materials which possesses excellent properties.

Mixed Mechanism of Lubrication by Lipid Bilayer Stacks.

Science.gov (United States)

Boţan, Alexandru; Joly, Laurent; Fillot, Nicolas; Loison, Claire

2015-11-10

Although the key role of lipid bilayer stacks in biological lubrication is generally accepted, the mechanisms underlying their extreme efficiency remain elusive. In this article, we report molecular dynamics simulations of lipid bilayer stacks undergoing load and shear. When the hydration level is reduced, the velocity accommodation mechanism changes from viscous shear in hydration water to interlayer sliding in the bilayers. This enables stacks of hydrated lipid bilayers to act as efficient boundary lubricants for various hydration conditions, structures, and mechanical loads. We also propose an estimation for the friction coefficient; thanks to the strong hydration forces between lipid bilayers, the high local viscosity is not in contradiction with low friction coefficients.

Numerical investigation on asymmetric bilayer system at integer filling factor

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Nomura, K.; Yoshioka, D.; Jungwirth, Tomáš; MacDonald, A. H.

2004-01-01

Roč. 22, - (2004), s. 60-63 ISSN 1386-9477. [International Conference on Electronic Properties of Two-Dimensional Systems /15./. Nara, 14.07.2003-18.07.2003] Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z1010914 Keywords : quantum Hall ferromagnet * asymmetric bilayer systems * anisotropy * stripe states Subject RIV: BM - Solid Matter Physics ; Magnetism Impact factor: 0.898, year: 2004

Infrared spectroscopy of fluid lipid bilayers.

Science.gov (United States)

Hull, Marshall C; Cambrea, Lee R; Hovis, Jennifer S

2005-09-15

Infrared spectroscopy is a powerful technique for examining lipid bilayers; however, it says little about the fluidity of the bilayer-a key physical aspect. It is shown here that it is possible to both acquire spectroscopic data of supported lipid bilayer samples and make measurements of the membrane fluidity. Attenuated total reflection-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FT-IR) is used to obtain the spectroscopic information and fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) is used to determine the fluidity of the samples. In the infrared spectra of lipid bilayers composed of 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine, the following major peaks were observed; nu(as)(CH3) 2954 cm(-1), nu(s)(CH3) 2870 cm(-1), nu(as)(CH2) 2924 cm(-1), nu(s)(CH2) 2852 cm(-1), nu(C=O) 1734 cm(-1), delta(CH2) 1463-1473 cm(-1), nu(as)(PO2-) 1226 cm(-1), nu(s)(PO2-) 1084 cm(-1), and nu(as)(N+(CH3)3) 973 cm(-1). The diffusion coefficient of the same lipid bilayer was measured to be 3.5 +/- 0.5 micom(2)/s with visual recovery also noted through use of epifluorescence microscopy. FRAP and visual data confirm the formation of a uniform, mobile supported lipid bilayer. The combination of ATR-FT-IR and FRAP provides complementary data giving a more complete picture of fully hydrated model membrane systems.

Viscoelastic deformation of lipid bilayer vesicles.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Shao-Hua; Sankhagowit, Shalene; Biswas, Roshni; Wu, Shuyang; Povinelli, Michelle L; Malmstadt, Noah

2015-10-07

Lipid bilayers form the boundaries of the cell and its organelles. Many physiological processes, such as cell movement and division, involve bending and folding of the bilayer at high curvatures. Currently, bending of the bilayer is treated as an elastic deformation, such that its stress-strain response is independent of the rate at which bending strain is applied. We present here the first direct measurement of viscoelastic response in a lipid bilayer vesicle. We used a dual-beam optical trap (DBOT) to stretch 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (POPC) giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs). Upon application of a step optical force, the vesicle membrane deforms in two regimes: a fast, instantaneous area increase, followed by a much slower stretching to an eventual plateau deformation. From measurements of dozens of GUVs, the average time constant of the slower stretching response was 0.225 ± 0.033 s (standard deviation, SD). Increasing the fluid viscosity did not affect the observed time constant. We performed a set of experiments to rule out heating by laser absorption as a cause of the transient behavior. Thus, we demonstrate here that the bending deformation of lipid bilayer membranes should be treated as viscoelastic.

Electroplex emission from bi-layer blue emitting organic materials

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Fujun; Zhao, Suling; Zhao, Dewei; Jiang, Weiwei; Li, Yuan; Yuan, Guangcai; Zhu, Haina; Xu, Zheng

2007-04-01

Electroluminescence (EL) and photoluminescence (PL) spectra of an electron donor, an (poly(N-vinylcarbazole) (PVK))/electron acceptor, and a (2-(4-biphenylyl)-5-(4-tert-butylphenyl)-1,3,4-oxadiazole (PBD)) bi-layer solid film are analysed. The EL emission peak has an apparent red-shift with the increase of driving voltage. There maybe exist an electroplex emission between the PVK and PBD interface under high electric field strength. According to their energy level, the electroplex emission peak should locate at 460 nm. There are great spectra overlapping between PVK emission and electroplex emission, and the ratio of electroplex emission intensity to exciton emission intensity (Ielectroplex/Iexciton) increases from 0.38 at 10 to 0.81 at 16 V. Therefore the measured emission peaks continuously shift from 410 nm at 10 V to 445 nm at 16 V.

Electroplex emission from bi-layer blue emitting organic materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Fujun; Zhao Suling; Zhao Dewei; Jiang Weiwei; Li Yuan; Yuan Guangcai; Zhu Haina; Xu Zheng

2007-01-01

Electroluminescence (EL) and photoluminescence (PL) spectra of an electron donor, an (poly(N-vinylcarbazole) (PVK))/electron acceptor, and a (2-(4-biphenylyl)-5-(4-tert-butylphenyl)-1,3,4-oxadiazole (PBD)) bi-layer solid film are analysed. The EL emission peak has an apparent red-shift with the increase of driving voltage. There maybe exist an electroplex emission between the PVK and PBD interface under high electric field strength. According to their energy level, the electroplex emission peak should locate at 460 nm. There are great spectra overlapping between PVK emission and electroplex emission, and the ratio of electroplex emission intensity to exciton emission intensity (I electroplex /I exciton ) increases from 0.38 at 10 to 0.81 at 16 V. Therefore the measured emission peaks continuously shift from 410 nm at 10 V to 445 nm at 16 V

Electroplex emission from bi-layer blue emitting organic materials

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhang Fujun; Zhao Suling; Zhao Dewei; Jiang Weiwei; Li Yuan; Yuan Guangcai; Zhu Haina; Xu Zheng [Key Laboratory for Information Storage, Display and Materials, Institute of Optoelectronic Technology, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing 100044 (China)

2007-04-15

Electroluminescence (EL) and photoluminescence (PL) spectra of an electron donor, an (poly(N-vinylcarbazole) (PVK))/electron acceptor, and a (2-(4-biphenylyl)-5-(4-tert-butylphenyl)-1,3,4-oxadiazole (PBD)) bi-layer solid film are analysed. The EL emission peak has an apparent red-shift with the increase of driving voltage. There maybe exist an electroplex emission between the PVK and PBD interface under high electric field strength. According to their energy level, the electroplex emission peak should locate at 460 nm. There are great spectra overlapping between PVK emission and electroplex emission, and the ratio of electroplex emission intensity to exciton emission intensity (I{sub electroplex}/I{sub exciton}) increases from 0.38 at 10 to 0.81 at 16 V. Therefore the measured emission peaks continuously shift from 410 nm at 10 V to 445 nm at 16 V.

Unraveling the interlayer-related phonon self-energy renormalization in bilayer graphene.

Science.gov (United States)

Araujo, Paulo T; Mafra, Daniela L; Sato, Kentaro; Saito, Riichiro; Kong, Jing; Dresselhaus, Mildred S

2012-01-01

In this letter, we present a step towards understanding the bilayer graphene (2LG) interlayer (IL)-related phonon combination modes and overtones as well as their phonon self-energy renormalizations by using both gate-modulated and laser-energy dependent inelastic scattering spectroscopy. We show that although the IL interactions are weak, their respective phonon renormalization response is significant. Particularly special, the IL interactions are mediated by Van der Waals forces and are fundamental for understanding low-energy phenomena such as transport and infrared optics. Our approach opens up a new route to understanding fundamental properties of IL interactions which can be extended to any graphene-like material, such as MoS₂, WSe₂, oxides and hydroxides. Furthermore, we report a previously elusive crossing between IL-related phonon combination modes in 2LG, which might have important technological applications.

Stacked bilayer phosphorene: strain-induced quantum spin Hall state and optical measurement

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Tian; Lin, Jia-He; Yu, Yan-Mei; Chen, Xiang-Rong; Liu, Wu-Ming

2015-01-01

Bilayer phosphorene attracted considerable interest, giving a potential application in nanoelectronics owing to its natural bandgap and high carrier mobility. However, very little is known regarding the possible usefulness in spintronics as a quantum spin Hall (QSH) state of material characterized by a bulk energy gap and gapless spin-filtered edge states. Here, we report a strain-induced topological phase transition from normal to QSH state in bilayer phosphorene, accompanied by band-inversion that changes number from 0 to 1, which is highly dependent on interlayer stacking. When the bottom layer is shifted by 1/2 unit-cell along zigzag/armchair direction with respect to the top layer, the maximum topological bandgap 92.5 meV is sufficiently large to realize QSH effect even at room-temperature. An optical measurement of QSH effect is therefore suggested in view of the wide optical absorption spectrum extending to far infra-red, making bilayer phosphorene a promising candidate for opto-spintronic devices. PMID:26370771

Chirality-induced magnon transport in AA-stacked bilayer honeycomb chiral magnets.

Science.gov (United States)

Owerre, S A

2016-11-30

In this Letter, we study the magnetic transport in AA-stacked bilayer honeycomb chiral magnets coupled either ferromagnetically or antiferromagnetically. For both couplings, we observe chirality-induced gaps, chiral protected edge states, magnon Hall and magnon spin Nernst effects of magnetic spin excitations. For ferromagnetically coupled layers, thermal Hall and spin Nernst conductivities do not change sign as function of magnetic field or temperature similar to single-layer honeycomb ferromagnetic insulator. In contrast, for antiferromagnetically coupled layers, we observe a sign change in the thermal Hall and spin Nernst conductivities as the magnetic field is reversed. We discuss possible experimental accessible honeycomb bilayer quantum materials in which these effects can be observed.

Microstructures and Recording Mechanism of Mo/Si Bilayer Applied for Write-Once Blue Laser Optical Recording

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sin-Liang Ou

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Mo/Si bilayer thin films were grown by magnetron sputtering and applied to write-once blu-ray disc (BD-R. The microstructures and optical storage properties of Mo/Si bilayer were investigated. From the temperature dependence of reflectivity measurement, it was revealed that a phase change occurred in the range of 255–425°C. Transmission electron microscopy analysis showed that the as-deposited film possessed Mo polycrystalline phase. The hexagonal MoSi2 and cubic Mo3Si phases appeared after annealing at 300 and 450°C, respectively. By measuring the optical reflectivity at a wavelength of 405 nm, the optical contrast of Mo/Si bilayer between as-deposited and 450°C-annealed states was evaluated to 25.8%. The optimum jitter value of 6.8% was obtained at 10.65 mW for 4× recording speed. The dynamic tests show that the Mo/Si bilayer has high potential in BD-R applications.

Engineering plant membranes using droplet interface bilayers.

Science.gov (United States)

Barlow, N E; Smpokou, E; Friddin, M S; Macey, R; Gould, I R; Turnbull, C; Flemming, A J; Brooks, N J; Ces, O; Barter, L M C

2017-03-01

Droplet interface bilayers (DIBs) have become widely recognised as a robust platform for constructing model membranes and are emerging as a key technology for the bottom-up assembly of synthetic cell-like and tissue-like structures. DIBs are formed when lipid-monolayer coated water droplets are brought together inside a well of oil, which is excluded from the interface as the DIB forms. The unique features of the system, compared to traditional approaches (e.g., supported lipid bilayers, black lipid membranes, and liposomes), is the ability to engineer multi-layered bilayer networks by connecting multiple droplets together in 3D, and the capability to impart bilayer asymmetry freely within these droplet architectures by supplying droplets with different lipids. Yet despite these achievements, one potential limitation of the technology is that DIBs formed from biologically relevant components have not been well studied. This could limit the reach of the platform to biological systems where bilayer composition and asymmetry are understood to play a key role. Herein, we address this issue by reporting the assembly of asymmetric DIBs designed to replicate the plasma membrane compositions of three different plant species; Arabidopsis thaliana , tobacco, and oats, by engineering vesicles with different amounts of plant phospholipids, sterols and cerebrosides for the first time. We show that vesicles made from our plant lipid formulations are stable and can be used to assemble asymmetric plant DIBs. We verify this using a bilayer permeation assay, from which we extract values for absolute effective bilayer permeation and bilayer stability. Our results confirm that stable DIBs can be assembled from our plant membrane mimics and could lead to new approaches for assembling model systems to study membrane translocation and to screen new agrochemicals in plants.

Molecular dynamics modelling of EGCG clusters on ceramide bilayers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yeo, Jingjie; Cheng, Yuan; Li, Weifeng; Zhang, Yong-Wei [Institute of High Performance Computing, A*STAR, 138632 (Singapore)

2015-12-31

A novel method of atomistic modelling and characterization of both pure ceramide and mixed lipid bilayers is being developed, using only the General Amber ForceField. Lipid bilayers modelled as pure ceramides adopt hexagonal packing after equilibration, and the area per lipid and bilayer thickness are consistent with previously reported theoretical results. Mixed lipid bilayers are modelled as a combination of ceramides, cholesterol, and free fatty acids. This model is shown to be stable after equilibration. Green tea extract, also known as epigallocatechin-3-gallate, is introduced as a spherical cluster on the surface of the mixed lipid bilayer. It is demonstrated that the cluster is able to bind to the bilayers as a cluster without diffusing into the surrounding water.

Microstructure and mechanical behavior of a shape memory Ni-Ti bi-layer thin film

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mohri, Maryam [School of Metallurgy and Materials Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Tehran, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Institute of Nanotechnology, 76021 Karlsruhe (Germany); Nili-Ahmadabadi, Mahmoud, E-mail: nili@ut.ac.ir [School of Metallurgy and Materials Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Tehran, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Center of Excellence for High Performance Materials, University of Tehran, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Ivanisenko, Julia [Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Institute of Nanotechnology, 76021 Karlsruhe (Germany); Schwaiger, Ruth [Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Institute for Applied Materials, 76021 Karlsruhe (Germany); Hahn, Horst; Chakravadhanula, Venkata Sai Kiran [Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Institute of Nanotechnology, 76021 Karlsruhe (Germany)

2015-05-29

Two different single-layers and a bi-layer Ni-Ti thin films with chemical compositions of Ni{sub 45}Ti{sub 50}Cu{sub 5}, Ni{sub 50.8}Ti{sub 49.2} and Ni{sub 50.8}Ti{sub 49.2}/Ni{sub 45}Ti{sub 50}Cu{sub 5} (numbers indicate at.%) determined by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy were deposited on Si (111) substrates using DC magnetron sputtering. The structures, surface morphology and transformation temperatures of annealed thin films at 500 °C for 15 min and 1 h were studied using grazing incidence X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), atomic force microscopy and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), respectively. Nanoindentation was used to characterize the mechanical properties. The DSC and X-ray diffraction results indicated the austenitic structure of the Ni{sub 50.8}Ti{sub 49.2} and martensitic structure of the Ni{sub 45}Ti{sub 50}Cu{sub 5} thin films while the bi-layer was composed of austenitic and martensitic thin films. TEM study revealed that copper encourages crystallization in the bi-layer such that crystal structure containing nano-precipitates in the Ni{sub 45}Ti{sub 50}Cu{sub 5} layer was detected after 15 min annealing while the Ni{sub 50.8}Ti{sub 49.2} layer crystallized after 60 min at 500 °C. Furthermore, after annealing at 500 °C for 15 min, a precipitate free zone and thin layer amorphous were observed closely to the interface in the top layer. The bi-layer was completely crystallized at 500 °C for 1 h and the orientation of the Ni-rich precipitates indicated a stress gradient in the bi-layer. The bi-layer thin film showed different transformation temperatures and mechanical behavior from the single-layers. The developed bi-layer has different phase transformation temperatures, the higher temperatures of shape memory effect and lower temperature of pseudo-elastic behavior compared to the single-layers. Also, the bi-layer thin film exhibited a combined pseudo-elastic behavior and shape memory effect with a reduced

Quantum mechanical rippling of a MoS2 monolayer controlled by interlayer bilayer coupling.

Science.gov (United States)

Zheng, Yi; Chen, Jianyi; Ng, M-F; Xu, Hai; Liu, Yan Peng; Li, Ang; O'Shea, Sean J; Dumitrică, T; Loh, Kian Ping

2015-02-13

Nanoscale corrugations are of great importance in determining the physical properties of two-dimensional crystals. However, the mechanical behavior of atomically thin films under strain is not fully understood. In this Letter, we show a layer-dependent mechanical response of molybdenum disulfide (MoS(2)) subject to atomistic-precision strain induced by 2H-bilayer island epitaxy. Dimensional crossover in the mechanical properties is evidenced by the formation of star-shaped nanoripple arrays in the first monolayer, while rippling instability is completely suppressed in the bilayer. Microscopic-level quantum mechanical simulations reveal that the nanoscale rippling is realized by the twisting of neighboring Mo-S bonds without modifying the chemical bond length, and thus invalidates the classical continuum mechanics. The formation of nanoripple arrays significantly changes the electronic and nanotribological properties of monolayer MoS(2). Our results suggest that quantum mechanical behavior is not unique for sp(2) bonding but general for atomic membranes under strain.

Influence of ferroelectric layer on artificial multiferroic LSMO/BTO bilayers deposited by Dc and RF sputtering

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ordonez, J. E.; Gomez, M. E.; Lopera, W. [Universidad del Valle, Department of Physics, A. A. 25360 Cali (Colombia)

2016-11-01

La{sub 2/3}Sr{sub 1/3}MnO{sub 3} (LSMO)/BaTiO{sub 3} (BTO) bilayers were deposited on (001) SrTiO{sub 3} substrates via Dc and RF sputtering at pure oxygen atmosphere at a substrate temperature of 830 degrees Celsius. We studied the structural, electrical and magnetic properties on LSMO/BTO bilayers, when LSMO thickness is fixed at nm and BTO thickness is varied from 20 to 100 nm. Reciprocal Space Maps in LSMO show a strained growth for all samples, while BTO layers are always relaxed. Magnetization and electrical measurements indicate the influence of the ferroelectric layer, due to saturation magnetization increases from 500 to 590 emu/cm{sup 3} and coercive field decreases from 178 to 82 Oe with BTO thickness. Mean Field mechanism is identified on all samples with critical exponent β between 0.42 and 0.54. Resistivity measurements show electron-electron and magnon-magnon scattering conduction mechanisms. The influence on magnetic and electrical properties of bilayers with BTO thickness is attributed to crystallographic strains at the interface and the corresponding relaxation with increasing BTO layer thickness. The thickness of the individual layers were obtained by X-ray reflectivity measurements in the bilayers, not shown. X-ray diffraction and Reciprocal Space Maps measurements show highly textured layers with preferential growth in the c-axis direction. (Author)

Electrospun gelatin biopapers as substrate for in vitro bilayer models of blood-brain barrier tissue.

Science.gov (United States)

Bischel, Lauren L; Coneski, Peter N; Lundin, Jeffrey G; Wu, Peter K; Giller, Carl B; Wynne, James; Ringeisen, Brad R; Pirlo, Russell K

2016-04-01

Gaining a greater understanding of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) is critical for improvement in drug delivery, understanding pathologies that compromise the BBB, and developing therapies to protect the BBB. In vitro human tissue models are valuable tools for studying these issues. The standard in vitro BBB models use commercially available cell culture inserts to generate bilayer co-cultures of astrocytes and endothelial cells (EC). Electrospinning can be used to produce customized cell culture substrates with optimized material composition and mechanical properties with advantages over off-the-shelf materials. Electrospun gelatin is an ideal cell culture substrate because it is a natural polymer that can aid cell attachment and be modified and degraded by cells. Here, we have developed a method to produce cell culture inserts with electrospun gelatin "biopaper" membranes. The electrospun fiber diameter and cross-linking method were optimized for the growth of primary human endothelial cell and primary human astrocyte bilayer co-cultures to model human BBB tissue. BBB co-cultures on biopaper were characterized via cell morphology, trans-endothelial electrical resistance (TEER), and permeability to FITC-labeled dextran and compared to BBB co-cultures on standard cell culture inserts. Over longer culture periods (up to 21 days), cultures on the optimized electrospun gelatin biopapers were found to have improved TEER, decreased permeability, and permitted a smaller separation between co-cultured cells when compared to standard PET inserts. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Possible mechanism of adhesion in a mica supported phospholipid bilayer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pertsin, Alexander; Grunze, Michael

2014-01-01

Phospholipid bilayers supported on hydrophilic solids like silica and mica play a substantial role in fundamental studies and technological applications of phospholipid membranes. In both cases the molecular mechanism of adhesion between the bilayer and the support is of primary interest. Since the possibilities of experimental methods in this specific area are rather limited, the methods of computer simulation acquire great importance. In this paper we use the grand canonical Monte Carlo technique and an atomistic force field to simulate the behavior of a mica supported phospholipid bilayer in pure water as a function of the distance between the bilayer and the support. The simulation reveals a possible adhesion mechanism, where the adhesion is due to individual lipid molecules that protrude from the bilayer and form widely spaced links with the support. Simultaneously, the bilayer remains separated from the bilayer by a thin water interlayer which maintains the bilayer fluidity

Nanoscale magnetism and novel electronic properties of a bilayer bismuth(111) film with vacancies and chemical doping.

Science.gov (United States)

Sahoo, M P K; Zhang, Yajun; Wang, Jie

2016-07-27

Magnetically doped topological insulators (TIs) exhibit several exotic phenomena including the magnetoelectric effect and quantum anomalous Hall effect. However, from an experimental perspective, incorporation of spin moment into 3D TIs is still challenging. Thus, instead of 3D TIs, the 2D form of TIs may open up new opportunities to induce magnetism. Based on first principles calculations, we demonstrate a novel strategy to realize robust magnetism and exotic electronic properties in a 2D TI [bilayer Bi(111) film: abbreviated as Bi(111)]. We examine the magnetic and electronic properties of Bi(111) with defects such as bismuth monovacancies (MVs) and divacancies (DVs), and these defects decorated with 3d transition metals (TMs). It has been observed that the MV in Bi(111) can induce novel half metallicity with a net magnetic moment of 1 μB. The origin of half metallicity and magnetism in MV/Bi(111) is further explained by the passivation of the σ-dangling bonds near the defect site. Furthermore, in spite of the nonmagnetic nature of DVs, the TMs (V, Cr, Mn, and Fe) trapped at the 5/8/5 defect structure of DVs can not only yield a much higher spin moment than those trapped at the MVs but also display intriguing electronic properties such as metallic, semiconducting and spin gapless semiconducting properties. The predicted magnetic and electronic properties of TM/DV/Bi(111) systems are explained through density of states, spin density distribution and Bader charge analysis.

Structure and dynamics of POPC bilayers in water solutions of room temperature ionic liquids

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Benedetto, Antonio; Bingham, Richard J.; Ballone, Pietro

2015-01-01

Molecular dynamics simulations in the NPT ensemble have been carried out to investigate the effect of two room temperature ionic liquids (RTILs), on stacks of phospholipid bilayers in water. We consider RTIL compounds consisting of chloride ([bmim][Cl]) and hexafluorophosphate ([bmim][PF 6 ]) salts of the 1-buthyl-3-methylimidazolium ([bmim] + ) cation, while the phospholipid bilayer is made of 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (POPC). Our investigations focus on structural and dynamical properties of phospholipid and water molecules that could be probed by inelastic and quasi-elastic neutron scattering measurements. The results confirm the fast incorporation of [bmim] + into the lipid phase already observed in previous simulations, driven by the Coulomb attraction of the cation for the most electronegative oxygens in the POPC head group and by sizeable dispersion forces binding the neutral hydrocarbon tails of [bmim] + and of POPC. The [bmim] + absorption into the bilayer favours the penetration of water into POPC, causes a slight but systematic thinning of the bilayer, and further stabilises hydrogen bonds at the lipid/water interface that already in pure samples (no RTIL) display a lifetime much longer than in bulk water. On the other hand, the effect of RTILs on the diffusion constant of POPC (D POPC ) does not reveal a clearly identifiable trend, since D POPC increases upon addition of [bmim][Cl] and decreases in the [bmim][PF 6 ] case. Moreover, because of screening, the electrostatic signature of each bilayer is only moderately affected by the addition of RTIL ions in solution. The analysis of long wavelength fluctuations of the bilayers shows that RTIL sorption causes a general decrease of the lipid/water interfacial tension and bending rigidity, pointing to the destabilizing effect of RTILs on lipid bilayers

Structure and dynamics of POPC bilayers in water solutions of room temperature ionic liquids

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Benedetto, Antonio [School of Physics, University College Dublin, Dublin 4 (Ireland); Laboratory for Neutron Scattering and Imaging, Paul Scherrer Institut, 5232 Villigen (Switzerland); Bingham, Richard J. [York Centre for Complex Systems Analysis, University of York, York YO10 5GE (United Kingdom); Ballone, Pietro [Center for Life Nano Science @Sapienza, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT), 00185 Roma (Italy); Department of Physics, Università di Roma “La Sapienza,” 00185 Roma (Italy)

2015-03-28

Molecular dynamics simulations in the NPT ensemble have been carried out to investigate the effect of two room temperature ionic liquids (RTILs), on stacks of phospholipid bilayers in water. We consider RTIL compounds consisting of chloride ([bmim][Cl]) and hexafluorophosphate ([bmim][PF{sub 6}]) salts of the 1-buthyl-3-methylimidazolium ([bmim]{sup +}) cation, while the phospholipid bilayer is made of 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (POPC). Our investigations focus on structural and dynamical properties of phospholipid and water molecules that could be probed by inelastic and quasi-elastic neutron scattering measurements. The results confirm the fast incorporation of [bmim]{sup +} into the lipid phase already observed in previous simulations, driven by the Coulomb attraction of the cation for the most electronegative oxygens in the POPC head group and by sizeable dispersion forces binding the neutral hydrocarbon tails of [bmim]{sup +} and of POPC. The [bmim]{sup +} absorption into the bilayer favours the penetration of water into POPC, causes a slight but systematic thinning of the bilayer, and further stabilises hydrogen bonds at the lipid/water interface that already in pure samples (no RTIL) display a lifetime much longer than in bulk water. On the other hand, the effect of RTILs on the diffusion constant of POPC (D{sub POPC}) does not reveal a clearly identifiable trend, since D{sub POPC} increases upon addition of [bmim][Cl] and decreases in the [bmim][PF{sub 6}] case. Moreover, because of screening, the electrostatic signature of each bilayer is only moderately affected by the addition of RTIL ions in solution. The analysis of long wavelength fluctuations of the bilayers shows that RTIL sorption causes a general decrease of the lipid/water interfacial tension and bending rigidity, pointing to the destabilizing effect of RTILs on lipid bilayers.

Viscoelastic deformation of lipid bilayer vesicles†

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Shao-Hua; Sankhagowit, Shalene; Biswas, Roshni; Wu, Shuyang; Povinelli, Michelle L.

2015-01-01

Lipid bilayers form the boundaries of the cell and its organelles. Many physiological processes, such as cell movement and division, involve bending and folding of the bilayer at high curvatures. Currently, bending of the bilayer is treated as an elastic deformation, such that its stress-strain response is independent of the rate at which bending strain is applied. We present here the first direct measurement of viscoelastic response in a lipid bilayer vesicle. We used a dual-beam optical trap (DBOT) to stretch 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (POPC) giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs). Upon application of a step optical force, the vesicle membrane deforms in two regimes: a fast, instantaneous area increase, followed by a much slower stretching to an eventual plateau deformation. From measurements of dozens of GUVs, the average time constant of the slower stretching response was 0.225 ± 0.033 s (standard deviation, SD). Increasing the fluid viscosity did not affect the observed time constant. We performed a set of experiments to rule out heating by laser absorption as a cause of the transient behavior. Thus, we demonstrate here that the bending deformation of lipid bilayer membranes should be treated as viscoelastic. PMID:26268612

Development and characterization of sugar palm starch and poly(lactic acid) bilayer films.

Science.gov (United States)

Sanyang, M L; Sapuan, S M; Jawaid, M; Ishak, M R; Sahari, J

2016-08-01

The development and characterization of environmentally friendly bilayer films from sugar palm starch (SPS) and poly(lactic acid) (PLA) were conducted in this study. The SPS-PLA bilayer films and their individual components were characterized for their physical, mechanical, thermal and water barrier properties. Addition of 50% PLA layer onto 50% SPS layer (SPS50-PLA50) increased the tensile strength of neat SPS film from 7.74 to 13.65MPa but reduced their elongation at break from 46.66 to 15.53%. The incorporation of PLA layer significantly reduced the water vapor permeability as well as the water uptake and solubility of bilayer films which was attributed to the hydrophobic characteristic of the PLA layer. Furthermore, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) image of SPS50-PLA50 revealed lack of strong interfacial adhesion between the SPS and PLA. Overall, the incorporation of PLA layer onto SPS films enhances the suitability of SPS based films for food packaging. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Diffusion quantum Monte Carlo and density functional calculations of the structural stability of bilayer arsenene

Science.gov (United States)

Kadioglu, Yelda; Santana, Juan A.; Özaydin, H. Duygu; Ersan, Fatih; Aktürk, O. Üzengi; Aktürk, Ethem; Reboredo, Fernando A.

2018-06-01

We have studied the structural stability of monolayer and bilayer arsenene (As) in the buckled (b) and washboard (w) phases with diffusion quantum Monte Carlo (DMC) and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. DMC yields cohesive energies of 2.826(2) eV/atom for monolayer b-As and 2.792(3) eV/atom for w-As. In the case of bilayer As, DMC and DFT predict that AA-stacking is the more stable form of b-As, while AB is the most stable form of w-As. The DMC layer-layer binding energies for b-As-AA and w-As-AB are 30(1) and 53(1) meV/atom, respectively. The interlayer separations were estimated with DMC at 3.521(1) Å for b-As-AA and 3.145(1) Å for w-As-AB. A comparison of DMC and DFT results shows that the van der Waals density functional method yields energetic properties of arsenene close to DMC, while the DFT + D3 method closely reproduced the geometric properties from DMC. The electronic properties of monolayer and bilayer arsenene were explored with various DFT methods. The bandgap values vary significantly with the DFT method, but the results are generally qualitatively consistent. We expect the present work to be useful for future experiments attempting to prepare multilayer arsenene and for further development of DFT methods for weakly bonded systems.

Electroplex emission from bilayer LED based on 1-phenyl-3-(dimethyl-amino) styryl-5-(p-(dimethylamino) phenyl) pyrazoline and 2,2'-(2,5-thiophenediyl) bis-(5-phenyl)-1,3,4-oxadiazole

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Zhiming; Li Guowen; Shen Jiacong; Ma Yuguang

2003-01-01

The photoluminescence (PL) and electroluminescence (EL) properties of a novel organic compound, 2,2'-(2,5-thiophenediyl) bis-(5-phenyl)-1,3,4-oxadiazole (TOXD), were studied as electron transporting material. The PL emission maximum peak is at 408 nm of TOXD in chloroform and is at 472 nm in solid film, respectively. The EL emission maximum peaks of the bilayer ITO/PDP/TOXD/Al LED located between emission maximum peaks of TOXD (470 nm) and PDP (500 nm) at lower driving voltage, 4.5-5.4 V, and shifted to 508 nm at 6.0 V and 518 nm at 7.0 V with increase of applied voltage. The new EL emission peak at 518 nm from the bilayer LED is ascribed to electroplex formation at the interface of TOXD and PDP film in bilayer LED under external electric field. The electroplex emission is close to the energy levels of PDP and TOXD

Theory of phase equilibria and critical mixing points in binary lipid bilayers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Risbo, Jens; Sperotto, Maria Maddalena; Mouritsen, Ole G.

1995-01-01

the transition is discussed in terms of the molecular properties of the lipid acyl chains. The results of the numerical model study are expected to have consequences for the interpretation of experimental measurements on lipid bilayer systems in terms of phase diagrams. (C) 1995 American Institute of Physics....

Tuning the energy gap of bilayer α-graphyne by applying strain and electric field

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Hang; Wu, Wen-Zhi; Jin, Yu; Wan-Lin, Guo

2016-02-01

Our density functional theory calculations show that the energy gap of bilayer α-graphyne can be modulated by a vertically applied electric field and interlayer strain. Like bilayer graphene, the bilayer α-graphyne has electronic properties that are hardly changed under purely mechanical strain, while an external electric field can open the gap up to 120 meV. It is of special interest that compressive strain can further enlarge the field induced gap up to 160 meV, while tensile strain reduces the gap. We attribute the gap variation to the novel interlayer charge redistribution between bilayer α-graphynes. These findings shed light on the modulation of Dirac cone structures and potential applications of graphyne in mechanical-electric devices. Project supported by the National Key Basic Research Program of China (Grant Nos. 2013CB932604 and 2012CB933403), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 51472117 and 51535005), the Research Fund of State Key Laboratory of Mechanics and Control of Mechanical Structures, China (Grant No. 0414K01), the Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics (NUAA) Fundamental Research Funds, China (Grant No. NP2015203), and the Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions.

The intriguing electronic and optical properties modulation of hydrogen and fluorine codecorated silicene layers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yang, Qun; Tan, Chunjian [Faculty of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Guilin University of Electronic Technology, 541004 Guilin (China); Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Technology & Systems, Education Ministry of China, Chongqing University and College of Opto-Electronic Engineering, Chongqing University, 400044 Chongqing (China); Meng, Ruishen; Jiang, Junke; Liang, Qiuhua; Sun, Xiang [Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Technology & Systems, Education Ministry of China, Chongqing University and College of Opto-Electronic Engineering, Chongqing University, 400044 Chongqing (China); Yang, Daoguo [Faculty of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Guilin University of Electronic Technology, 541004 Guilin (China); Chen, Xianping, E-mail: xianpingchen@cqu.edu.cn [Faculty of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Guilin University of Electronic Technology, 541004 Guilin (China); Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Technology & Systems, Education Ministry of China, Chongqing University and College of Opto-Electronic Engineering, Chongqing University, 400044 Chongqing (China)

2017-03-15

peak with respect to that of HSiF monolayer, and the superior optical properties is robust, independent of stacking pattern. The complete electron-hole separation also enhances the photocatalytic efficiency of HSiF bilayer. In a word, the moderate band gap, effective band gap modification by external electric field, robust direct band gap nature, suitable band edge positions, electron-hole separation, and fascinating visible light adsorption, which enable HSiF bilayer to have great potential applications in the field of solar energy conversion, high performance photocatalysis and nanoelectronic devices, and we call for more concern over this kind of 2D Janus materials which possesses excellent properties.

Photovoltaic properties of pentacene/[6,6]-phenyl C61 butyric acid methyl ester based bilayer hetero-junction solar cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reddy, V S; Karak, S; Ray, S K; Dhar, A

2009-01-01

The photovoltaic properties of devices based on a new combination, pentacene/[6,6]-phenyl C 61 butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) bilayer hetero-junctions, were investigated. The crystallinity of pentacene was found to be improved by depositing a PEDOT : PSS layer on an indium tin oxide substrate, which in turn doubled the power conversion efficiency of the device. The PCBM layer showed a significant contribution to the device photocurrent, which originated mainly due to the dissociation of excitons at the pentacene/PCBM interface. By optimizing the thickness of the pentacene and PCBM layers, a broader photo-response was obtained in the external quantum efficiency spectra indicating efficient light harvesting throughout the visible region of the solar spectrum.

Cholesterol Protects the Oxidized Lipid Bilayer from Water Injury

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Owen, Michael C; Kulig, Waldemar; Rog, Tomasz

2018-01-01

In an effort to delineate how cholesterol protects membrane structure under oxidative stress conditions, we monitored the changes to the structure of lipid bilayers comprising 30 mol% cholesterol and an increasing concentration of Class B oxidized 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoylphosphatidylcholine (POPC...... in a characteristic reduction in bilayer thickness and increase in area per lipid, thereby increasing the exposure of the membrane hydrophobic region to water. However, cholesterol was observed to help reduce water injury by moving into the bilayer core and forming more hydrogen bonds with the oxPLs. Cholesterol also...... resists altering its tilt angle, helping to maintain membrane integrity. Water that enters the 1-nm-thick core region remains part of the bulk water on either side of the bilayer, with relatively few water molecules able to traverse through the bilayer. In cholesterol-rich membranes, the bilayer does...

Influence of Long-Tailed Alcohols on the Solubilisation of Cationic DHAB Bilayers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jan B.F.N. Engberts

2005-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract: The effects of n-decanol and cetyl alcohol incorporated into cationic di-n-hexadecyldimethylammonium bromide (DHAB bilayers on the packing and the resistance against solubilisation by Triton X-100 have been investigated. Solubilisation experiments revealed that the mismatch between the C10-tail of n-decanol with the DHAB-tails does not affect the structural integrity of the vesicles. On the contrary, upon increasing amounts of cetyl alcohol, of which the tail matches in size with the DHAB-tails, breakdown of the vesicles is promoted, whereas complete solubilisation is strongly hampered. The system is further investigated by DSC and cryo-EM experiments. In addition, the effects of n-decanol and cetyl alcohol embedded into DHAB bilayers on the vesicular rate constants for the decarboxylation of 6-nitrobenzisoxazole-3-carboxylate (6-NBIC suggest that both alcohols affect the structure of the Stern region in an equal manner, leading to a decrease in the catalysis. Therefore, it is concluded that addition of the alcohols leads to changes in properties of the interior of the bilayer, rather than the polar-apolar interface.

Thermoluminescence dosimetry materials: properties and uses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McKeever, S.W.S.; Moscovitch, M.; Townsend, P.D.

1995-01-01

This book selects a range of the most popular thermoluminescence dosemeter (TLD) materials in use today and provides a critical account of their thermoluminescence (TL) and dosimetric properties. The information provided includes in-depth discussions of TL mechanisms, including an account of luminescence properties, and relevant information regarding dosimetric characteristics. The book is intended for those involved in TLD materials research, and for technicians and workers involved in the practical application of these materials in TL dosimetry. The advent of modern spectroscopic methods for measuring TL emission spectra (the so-called ''3-D'' presentation) seemed to the authors to be an invitation to compile such spectra for all the major TLD materials. Further consideration led to an expansion of the initial idea to include a compilation of dosimetric properties. One intention is to provide a synopsis of the TL and dosimetric properties of the most widely used TLD materials currently available and to form a link between the solid state defect properties of these materials and their actual dosimetric properties. A second intention is to provide a solid framework from which future studies of TLD materials could be launched. Too often in the past research into TLD materials has been haphazard, to say the least. By illustrating the links between solid state physics and the radiation dosimetry properties of these materials the book points to the future and to the pressing need for enhanced research on TLD materials. (Author)

Thermotropic and Barotropic Phase Behavior of Phosphatidylcholine Bilayers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nobutake Tamai

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Bilayers formed by phospholipids are frequently used as model biological membranes in various life science studies. A characteristic feature of phospholipid bilayers is to undergo a structural change called a phase transition in response to environmental changes of their surroundings. In this review, we focus our attention on phase transitions of some major phospholipids contained in biological membranes, phosphatidylcholines (PCs, depending on temperature and pressure. Bilayers of dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC, which is the most representative lipid in model membrane studies, will first be explained. Then, the bilayer phase behavior of various kinds of PCs with different molecular structures is revealed from the temperature–pressure phase diagrams, and the difference in phase stability among these PC bilayers is discussed in connection with the molecular structure of the PC molecules. Furthermore, the solvent effect on the phase behavior is also described briefly.

Excitonic condensation for the surface states of topological insulator bilayers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Zhigang; Fu Zhenguo; Zhang Ping; Hao Ningning

2012-01-01

We propose a generic topological insulator bilayer (TIB) system to study the excitonic condensation with self-consistent mean-field (SCMF) theory. We show that the TIB system presents the crossover behavior from the Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS) limit to the Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC) limit. Moreover, in comparison with traditional semiconductor systems, we find that for the present system the superfluid property in the BEC phase is more sensitive to electron-hole density imbalance and the BCS phase is more robust. Applying this TIB model to the Bi 2 Se 3 -family material, we find that the BEC phase is most likely to be observed in experiment. We also calculate the critical temperature for the Bi 2 Se 3 -family TIB system, which is ∼100 K. More interestingly, one can expect this relative high-temperature excitonic condensation, since our calculated SCMF critical temperature is approximately equal to the Kosterlitz-Thouless transition temperature. (paper)

Mimosa Origami: A nanostructure-enabled directional self-organization regime of materials

Science.gov (United States)

Wong, William S. Y.; Li, Minfei; Nisbet, David R.; Craig, Vincent S. J.; Wang, Zuankai; Tricoli, Antonio

2016-01-01

One of the innate fundamentals of living systems is their ability to respond toward distinct stimuli by various self-organization behaviors. Despite extensive progress, the engineering of spontaneous motion in man-made inorganic materials still lacks the directionality and scale observed in nature. We report the directional self-organization of soft materials into three-dimensional geometries by the rapid propagation of a folding stimulus along a predetermined path. We engineer a unique Janus bilayer architecture with superior chemical and mechanical properties that enables the efficient transformation of surface energy into directional kinetic and elastic energies. This Janus bilayer can respond to pinpoint water stimuli by a rapid, several-centimeters-long self-assembly that is reminiscent of the Mimosa pudica’s leaflet folding. The Janus bilayers also shuttle water at flow rates up to two orders of magnitude higher than traditional wicking-based devices, reaching velocities of 8 cm/s and flow rates of 4.7 μl/s. This self-organization regime enables the ease of fabricating curved, bent, and split flexible channels with lengths greater than 10 cm, demonstrating immense potential for microfluidics, biosensors, and water purification applications. PMID:28861471

Transport measurements in superconductor/Heusler bilayers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Imort, Inga-Mareen; Fabretti, Savio; Thomas, Patrick; Reiss, Guenter; Thomas, Andy [Fakultaet fuer Physik, Universitaet Bielefeld, Bielefeld (Germany)

2012-07-01

Superconductivity and ferromagnetism are two contrary phenomena due to their electronic properties. The investigation of superconductor (S)/ferromagnet (F) heterostructures has attracted a lot of scientific interest since they allow studying the interplay between superconductivity and ferromagnetism. Additionally, applications seem possible such as F/S/F spin valves and S/F/S π-junctions. Using transport- and magnetotransport-measurements, we investigate the behavior of the superconducting transition temperature T{sub c} in NbTi/Co{sub 2}FeSi bilayers as a function of different layer thicknesses and for varying magnetic moments of the Co{sub 2}FeSi layers. Using rf-magnetron sputtering, NbTi/Co{sub 2}FeSi bilayers were grown on single-crystalline MgO(001) substrates and in-situ annealed at different temperatures. The layered character of our samples has been tested by X-ray diffraction (XRD) scans. The electronic and magnetic transport measurements have been performed between 3 and 300 K with the magnetic field up to 4 T oriented in the film plane. The dependence of T{sub c} on the NbTi- and Co{sub 2}FeSi-layer thickness enables an estimation of the interface transparency of the NbTi/Co{sub 2}FeSi barrier in the framework of recent theoretical models.

Electroplex emission from bilayer LED based on 1-phenyl-3-(dimethyl-amino) styryl-5-(p-(dimethylamino) phenyl) pyrazoline and 2,2'-(2,5-thiophenediyl) bis-(5-phenyl)-1,3,4-oxadiazole

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhang Zhiming; Li Guowen; Shen Jiacong; Ma Yuguang

2003-12-20

The photoluminescence (PL) and electroluminescence (EL) properties of a novel organic compound, 2,2'-(2,5-thiophenediyl) bis-(5-phenyl)-1,3,4-oxadiazole (TOXD), were studied as electron transporting material. The PL emission maximum peak is at 408 nm of TOXD in chloroform and is at 472 nm in solid film, respectively. The EL emission maximum peaks of the bilayer ITO/PDP/TOXD/Al LED located between emission maximum peaks of TOXD (470 nm) and PDP (500 nm) at lower driving voltage, 4.5-5.4 V, and shifted to 508 nm at 6.0 V and 518 nm at 7.0 V with increase of applied voltage. The new EL emission peak at 518 nm from the bilayer LED is ascribed to electroplex formation at the interface of TOXD and PDP film in bilayer LED under external electric field. The electroplex emission is close to the energy levels of PDP and TOXD.

Closed-edged bilayer phosphorene nanoribbons producing from collapsing armchair phosphorene nanotubes

Science.gov (United States)

Liao, Xiangbiao; Xiao, Hang; Lu, Xiaobo; Chen, Youlong; Shi, Xiaoyang; Chen, Xi

2018-02-01

A new phosphorous allotrope, closed-edged bilayer phosphorene nanoribbon, is proposed via radially deforming armchair phosphorene nanotubes. Using molecular dynamics simulations, the transformation pathway from round PNTs falls into two types of collapsed structures: arc-like and sigmoidal bilayer nanoribbons, dependent on the number of phosphorene unit cells. The fabricated nanoribbions are energetically more stable than their parent nanotubes. It is also found via ab initio calculations that the band structure along tube axis substantially changes with the structural transformation. The direct-to-indirect transition of band gap is highlighted when collapsing into the arc-like nanoribbons but not the sigmoidal ones. Furthermore, the band gaps of these two types of nanoribbons show significant size-dependence of the nanoribbon width, indicative of wider tunability of their electrical properties.

Interface-mediation of lipid bilayer organization and dynamics.

Science.gov (United States)

Mize, Hannah E; Blanchard, G J

2016-06-22

We report on the morphology and dynamics of planar supported lipid bilayer structures as a function of pH and ionic strength of the aqueous overlayer. Supported lipid bilayers composed of three components (phosphocholine, sphingomyelin and cholesterol) are known to exhibit phase segregation, with the characteristic domain sizes dependent on the amount and identity of each constituent, and the composition of the aqueous overlayer in contact with the bilayer. We report on fluorescence anisotropy decay imaging measurements of a rhodamine chromophore tethered to the headgroup of a phosphoethanolamine, where anisotropy decay images were acquired as a function of solution overlayer pH and ionic strength. The data reveal a two-component anisotropy decay under all conditions, with the faster time constant being largely independent of pH and ionic strength and the slower component depending on pH and ionic strength in different manners. For liposomes of the same composition, a single exponential anisotropy decay was seen. We interpret this difference in terms of bilayer curvature and support surface-bilayer interactions, and the pH and ionic strength dependencies in terms of ionic screening and protonation in the bilayer headgroup region.

Droplet networks with incorporated protein diodes show collective properties

Science.gov (United States)

Maglia, Giovanni; Heron, Andrew J.; Hwang, William L.; Holden, Matthew A.; Mikhailova, Ellina; Li, Qiuhong; Cheley, Stephen; Bayley, Hagan

2009-07-01

Recently, we demonstrated that submicrolitre aqueous droplets submerged in an apolar liquid containing lipid can be tightly connected by means of lipid bilayers to form networks. Droplet interface bilayers have been used for rapid screening of membrane proteins and to form asymmetric bilayers with which to examine the fundamental properties of channels and pores. Networks, meanwhile, have been used to form microscale batteries and to detect light. Here, we develop an engineered protein pore with diode-like properties that can be incorporated into droplet interface bilayers in droplet networks to form devices with electrical properties including those of a current limiter, a half-wave rectifier and a full-wave rectifier. The droplet approach, which uses unsophisticated components (oil, lipid, salt water and a simple pore), can therefore be used to create multidroplet networks with collective properties that cannot be produced by droplet pairs.

Bilayer porous scaffold based on poly-({epsilon}-caprolactone) nanofibrous membrane and gelatin sponge for favoring cell proliferation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhou Zhihua; Zhou Yang [Department of Chemistry, Nanchang University, 999 Xuefu Avenue, Nanchang 330031 (China); Chen Yiwang, E-mail: ywchen@ncu.edu.cn [Department of Chemistry, Nanchang University, 999 Xuefu Avenue, Nanchang 330031 (China); Institute of Polymers, Nanchang University, 999 Xuefu Avenue, Nanchang 330031 (China); Nie Huarong, E-mail: niehr@iccas.ac.cn [Institute of Polymers, Nanchang University, 999 Xuefu Avenue, Nanchang 330031 (China); Wang Yang [First Affiliated Hospital, Nanchang University, 17 Yongwaizheng Road, Nanchang 330006 (China); Li Fan; Zheng Yan [Institute of Polymers, Nanchang University, 999 Xuefu Avenue, Nanchang 330031 (China)

2011-12-15

Electrospun poly-({epsilon}-caprolactone) (PCL) nanofibers has been widely used in the medical prosthesis. However, poor hydrophilicity and the lack of natural recognition sites for covalent cell-recognition signal molecules to promote cell attachment have limited its utility as tissue scaffolds. In this study, Bilayer porous scaffolds based on PCL electrospun membranes and gelatin (GE) sponges were fabricated through soft hydrolysis of PCL electrospun followed by grafting gelatin onto the fiber surface, through crosslinking and freeze drying treatment of additional gelatin coat and grafted gelatin surface. GE sponges were stably anchored on PCL membrane surface with the aid of grafted GE molecules. The morphologies of bilayer porous scaffolds were observed through SEM. The contact angle of the scaffolds was 0 Degree-Sign , the mechanical properties of scaffolds were measured by tensile test, Young's moduli of PCL scaffolds before and after hydrolysis are 66-77.3 MPa and 62.3-75.4 MPa, respectively. Thus, the bilayer porous scaffolds showed excellent hydrophilic surface and desirable mechanical strength due to the soft hydrolysis and GE coat. The cell culture results showed that the adipose derived mesenchymal stem cells did more favor to adhere and grow on the bilayer porous scaffolds than on PCL electrospun membranes. The better cell affinity of the final bilayer scaffolds not only attributed to the surface chemistry but also the introduction of bilayer porous structure.

Bilayer porous scaffold based on poly-(ε-caprolactone) nanofibrous membrane and gelatin sponge for favoring cell proliferation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhou Zhihua; Zhou Yang; Chen Yiwang; Nie Huarong; Wang Yang; Li Fan; Zheng Yan

2011-01-01

Electrospun poly-(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) nanofibers has been widely used in the medical prosthesis. However, poor hydrophilicity and the lack of natural recognition sites for covalent cell-recognition signal molecules to promote cell attachment have limited its utility as tissue scaffolds. In this study, Bilayer porous scaffolds based on PCL electrospun membranes and gelatin (GE) sponges were fabricated through soft hydrolysis of PCL electrospun followed by grafting gelatin onto the fiber surface, through crosslinking and freeze drying treatment of additional gelatin coat and grafted gelatin surface. GE sponges were stably anchored on PCL membrane surface with the aid of grafted GE molecules. The morphologies of bilayer porous scaffolds were observed through SEM. The contact angle of the scaffolds was 0°, the mechanical properties of scaffolds were measured by tensile test, Young's moduli of PCL scaffolds before and after hydrolysis are 66-77.3 MPa and 62.3-75.4 MPa, respectively. Thus, the bilayer porous scaffolds showed excellent hydrophilic surface and desirable mechanical strength due to the soft hydrolysis and GE coat. The cell culture results showed that the adipose derived mesenchymal stem cells did more favor to adhere and grow on the bilayer porous scaffolds than on PCL electrospun membranes. The better cell affinity of the final bilayer scaffolds not only attributed to the surface chemistry but also the introduction of bilayer porous structure.

Interaction of Cecropin B with Zwitterionic and Negatively Charged Lipid Bilayers Immobilized at Gold Electrode Surface

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Juhaniewicz, Joanna; Szyk-Warszyńska, Lilianna; Warszyński, Piotr; Sęk, Sławomir

2016-01-01

Membranolytic properties of cationic antimicrobial peptide cecropin B were investigated using electrochemical techniques, atomic force microscopy and quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring. Two types of artificial lipid bilayers supported on gold electrode were used as model systems composed of 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (POPC) and cholesterol (Chol) at 7:3 molar ratio and L-α-phosphatidylethanolamine (E. coli) (PE), L-α-phosphatidylglycerol sodium salt (E. coli) (PG) at 8:2 molar ratio. Thus the lipid content was intended to represent either mammalian or bacterial membrane respectively. Model bilayers were exposed to cecropin B at 1 μM concentration and the changes in bilayer structure, permeability and morphology were monitored as a function of time. We have found that cecropin B does not show any pronounced effect on POPC/Chol bilayer, while PE/PG system was strongly affected in the presence of the peptide. This observation suggests that cecropin B shows some selectivity with respect to lipid composition of the membrane. In case of PE/PG membrane, we have observed that peptide action involves electrostatically driven adsorption of the cecropin B at the top of the bilayer with simultaneous fluidization and swelling of the membrane. The latter may facilitate the rearrangement and insertion of the molecules into the core of the lipid bilayer, which leads to further rupture and degradation of the film through formation of mixed peptide-lipid aggregates.

Highly anisotropic electronic transport properties of monolayer and bilayer phosphorene from first principles

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jin, Zhenghe; Mullen, Jeffrey T. [Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695 (United States); Kim, Ki Wook, E-mail: kwk@ncsu.edu [Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695 (United States); Department of Physics, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695 (United States)

2016-08-01

The intrinsic carrier transport dynamics in phosphorene is theoretically examined. Utilizing a density functional theory treatment, the low-field mobility and the saturation velocity are characterized for both electrons and holes in the monolayer and bilayer structures. The analysis clearly elucidates the crystal orientation dependence manifested through the anisotropic band structure and the carrier-phonon scattering rates. In the monolayer, the hole mobility in the armchair direction is estimated to be approximately five times larger than in the zigzag direction at room temperature (460 cm{sup 2}/V s vs. 90 cm{sup 2}/V s). The bilayer transport, on the other hand, exhibits a more modest anisotropy with substantially higher mobilities (1610 cm{sup 2}/V s and 760 cm{sup 2}/V s, respectively). The calculations on the conduction-band electrons indicate a comparable dependence while the characteristic values are generally smaller by about a factor of two. The variation in the saturation velocity is found to be less pronounced. With the anticipated superior performance and the diminished anisotropy, few-layer phosphorene offers a promising opportunity particularly in p-type applications.

Development of an automation technique for the establishment of functional lipid bilayer arrays

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hansen, J S; Vogel, J; Geschke, O; Emnéus, J; Nielsen, C H; Perry, M; Vissing, T; Hansen, C R

2009-01-01

In the present work, a technique for establishing multiple black lipid membranes (BLMs) in arrays of micro structured ethylene tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE) films, and supported by a micro porous material was developed. Rectangular 8 × 8 arrays with apertures having diameters of 301 ± 5 µm were fabricated in ETFE Teflon film by laser ablation using a carbon dioxide laser. Multiple lipid membranes could be formed across the micro structured 8 × 8 array ETFE partitions. Success rates for the establishment of cellulose-supported BLMs across the multiple aperture arrays were above 95%. However, the time course of the membrane thinning process was found to vary considerably between multiple aperture bilayer experiments. An airbrush partition pretreatment technique was developed to increase the reproducibility of the multiple lipid bilayers formation during the time course from the establishment of the lipid membranes to the formation of bilayers. The results showed that multiple lipid bilayers could be reproducible formed across the airbrush-pretreated 8 × 8 rectangular arrays. The ionophoric peptide valinomycin was incorporated into established membrane arrays, resulting in ionic currents that could be effectively blocked by tetraethylammonium. This shows that functional bimolecular lipid membranes were established, and furthermore outlines that the established lipid membrane arrays could host functional membrane-spanning molecules

Amphotericin B induced interdigitation of apolipoprotein stabilized nanodisk bilayers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nguyen, T; Weers, P M; Sulchek, T; Hoeprich, P D; Ryan, R O

2006-12-07

Amphotericin B nanodisks (AMB-ND) are ternary complexes of AMB, phospholipid (PL) and apolipoprotein organized as discrete nanometer scale disk-shaped bilayers. In gel filtration chromatography experiments, empty ND lacking AMB elute as a single population of particles with a molecular weight in the range of 200 kDa. AMB-ND formulated at a 4:1 PL:AMB weight ratio, separated into two peaks. Peak 1 eluted at the position of control ND lacking AMB while the second peak, containing all of the AMB present in the original sample, eluted in the void volume. When ND prepared with increased AMB (1:1 phospholipid:AMB molar ratio) were subjected to gel filtration chromatography, an increased proportion of phospholipid and apolipoprotein were recovered in the void volume with the AMB. Prior to gel filtration the AMB-ND sample could be passed through a 0.22 {micro}m filter without loss of AMB while the voided material was lost. Native gel electrophoresis studies corroborated the gel permeation chromatography data. Far UV circular dichroism analyses revealed that apoA-I associated with AMB-ND denatures at a lower guanidine HCl concentration than apoA-I associated with ND lacking AMB. Atomic force microscopy revealed that AMB induces compression of the ND bilayer thickness consistent with bilayer interdigitation, a phenomenon that is likely related to the ability of AMB to induce pore formation in susceptible membranes.

Scaling behavior of the spin pumping effect in conductive ferromagnet/platinum bilayers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Czeschka, Franz D.; Althammer, Matthias; Huebl, Hans; Gross, Rudolf; Goennenwein, Sebastian T.B. [Walther-Meissner-Institut, Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Garching (Germany); Dreher, Lukas; Brandt, Martin S. [Walter Schottky Institut, Technische Universitaet Muenchen, Garching (Germany); Imort, Inga-Mareen; Reiss, Guenter; Thomas, Andy [Fakultaet fuer Physik, Universitaet Bielefeld (Germany); Schoch, Wladimir; Limmer, Wolfgang [Abteilung Halbleiterphysik, Universitaet Ulm (Germany)

2011-07-01

Spin pumping experiments allow to measure spin currents or the spin Hall angle. We have systematically studied the spin pumping DC voltage occurring in conjunction with ferromagnetic resonance in a series of conductive ferromagnet/platinum bilayers, made from elemental 3d transition metals, Heusler compounds, ferrite spinel oxides, and magnetic semiconductors. In all bilayers, we invariably observe the same DC voltage polarity. Moreover, we find that the voltage magnitude scales with the magnetization precession cone angle with a universal prefactor, irrespective of the magnetic properties, the charge carrier transport mechanism, and the charge carrier type in a given ferromagnet. These findings quantitatively corroborate the present theoretical understanding of spin pumping in combination with the inverse spin Hall effect, and establish spin pumping as a generic phenomenon.

Computer Simulations of Lipid Bilayers and Proteins

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sonne, Jacob

2006-01-01

The importance of computer simulations in lipid bilayer research has become more prominent for the last couple of decades and as computers get even faster, simulations will play an increasingly important part of understanding the processes that take place in and across cell membranes. This thesis...... entitled Computer simulations of lipid bilayers and proteins describes two molecular dynamics (MD) simulation studies of pure lipid bilayers as well as a study of a transmembrane protein embedded in a lipid bilayer matrix. Below follows a brief overview of the thesis. Chapter 1. This chapter is a short...... in the succeeding chapters is presented. Details on system setups, simulation parameters and other technicalities can be found in the relevant chapters. Chapter 3, DPPC lipid parameters: The quality of MD simulations is intimately dependent on the empirical potential energy function and its parameters, i...

Electrical control of the anomalous valley Hall effect in antiferrovalley bilayers

Science.gov (United States)

Tong, Wen-Yi; Duan, Chun-Gang

2017-08-01

In analogy to all-electric spintronics, all-electric valleytronics, i.e., valley manipulation via electric means, becomes an exciting new frontier as it may bring revolutions in the field of data storage with ultra-high speed and ultra-low power consumption. The existence of the anomalous valley Hall effect in ferrovalley materials demonstrates the possibility of electrical detection for valley polarization. However, in previously proposed valley-polarized monolayers, the anomalous valley Hall effect is controlled by external magnetic fields. Here, through elaborate structural design, we propose the antiferrovally bilayer as an ideal candidate for realizing all-electric valleytronic devices. Using the minimal k.p model, we show that the energy degeneracy between valley indexes in such system can be lifted by electric approaches. Subsequently, the anomalous valley Hall effect strongly depends on the electric field as well. Taking the bilayer VSe2 as an example, all-electric tuning and detecting of anomalous valley Hall effect is confirmed by density-functional theory calculations, indicating that the valley information in such antiferrovalley bilayer can be reversed by an electric field perpendicular to the plane of the system and easily probed through the sign of the Hall voltage.

Magnetoresistance and magnetostriction of Ni81Fe19 and Co90Fe10 mono- and bilayer films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sahingoz, R.; Hollingworth, M.P.; Gibbs, M.R.J.; Murdoch, S.J.

2005-01-01

Monolayer and bilayer films of Ni 81 Fe 19 , Co 90 Fe 10 , Co 90 Fe 10 /Ni 81 Fe 19 , and Ni 81 Fe 19 /Co 90 Fe 10 have been grown on thermally oxidized Si. The magnetoresistance (MR) of the samples was measured as a function of applied DC magnetic field, using a four-point probe method. The magnetostriction constant, λ s , was derived from the change of anisotropy field as a function of strain. The dependence of the MR on different combinations of film layers was investigated. The magnetoresistance of the bilayers changed dramatically upon reversal of the layer order. The mono- and bilayer samples with the same material on top of the substrate showed similar MR loop shapes. However, the saturation fields of the bilayers were larger than those for the monolayers. The magnetostriction of all samples was negative. We discuss the consequences for the study and optimization of spin-valve devices

Statistical thermodynamics of association colloids : the equilibrium structure of micelles, vesicles, and bilayer membranes

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Leermakers, F.A.M.

1988-01-01

The aim of the present study was to unravel the general equilibrium physical properties of lipid bilayer membranes. We consider four major questions:
1. What determines the morphology of the association colloids (micelles, membranes, vesicles) in general?
2. Do the

Highly selective water channel activity measured by voltage clamp: analysis of planar lipid bilayers reconstituted with purified AqpZ.

Science.gov (United States)

Pohl, P; Saparov, S M; Borgnia, M J; Agre, P

2001-08-14

Aquaporins are membrane channels selectively permeated by water or water plus glycerol. Conflicting reports have described ion conductance associated with some water channels, raising the question of whether ion conductance is a general property of the aquaporin family. To clarify this question, a defined system was developed to simultaneously measure water permeability and ion conductance. The Escherichia coli water channel aquaporin-Z (AqpZ) was studied, because it is a highly stable tetramer. Planar lipid bilayers were formed from unilamellar vesicles containing purified AqpZ. The hydraulic conductivity of bilayers made from the total extract of E. coli lipids increased 3-fold if reconstituted with AqpZ, but electric conductance was unchanged. No channel activity was detected under voltage-clamp conditions, indicating that less than one in 10(9) transport events is electrogenic. Microelectrode measurements were simultaneously undertaken adjacent to the membrane. Changes in sodium concentration profiles accompanying transmembrane water flow permitted calculation of the activation energies: 14 kcal/mol for protein-free lipid bilayers and 4 kcal/mol for lipid bilayers containing AqpZ. Neither the water permeability nor the electric conductivity exhibited voltage dependence. This sensitive system demonstrated that AqpZ is permeated by water but not charged ions and should permit direct analyses of putative electrogenic properties of other aquaporins.

Observation of undulation motion of lipid bilayers by neutron spin echo

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yamada, Norifumi L.; Seto, Hideki; Hishida, Mafumi

2010-01-01

Aqueous solutions of synthesized phospholipids have been well investigated as model biomembranes. These lipids usually self-assemble into regular stacks of bilayers with a characteristic repeat distance on the order of nm, whereas real biomembrane exist as single bilayers. The key phenomenon in understanding the formation of single isolated bilayers in 'unbinding' of lipid bilayers, in which the inter-bilayer distance of lipid bilayers diverges by the steric interaction due to the membrane undulation. In this paper, we show some results of neutron spin-echo (NSE) experiments to investigate the effect of the steric interaction on unbinding and related phenomena. (author)

Simulation studies of protein-induced bilayer deformations, and lipid-induced protein tilting, on a mesoscopic model for lipid bilayers with embedded proteins

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Venturoli, M.; Smit, B.; Sperotto, Maria Maddalena

2005-01-01

membranes. Here we present a mesoscopic model for lipid bilayers with embedded proteins, which we have studied with the help of the dissipative particle dynamics simulation technique. Because hydrophobic matching is believed to be one of the main physical mechanisms regulating lipid-protein interactions......-induced protein tilt, with the hydrophobic mismatch ( positive and negative) between the protein hydrophobic length and the pure lipid bilayer hydrophobic thickness. The protein-induced bilayer perturbation was quantified in terms of a coherence length, xi(P), of the lipid bilayer hydrophobic thickness pro. le...... for positive values of mismatch; a dependence on the protein size appears as well. In the case of large model proteins experiencing extreme mismatch conditions, in the region next to the so-called lipid annulus, there appears an undershooting ( or overshooting) region where the bilayer hydrophobic thickness...

Impact of amphiphilic molecules on the structure and stability of homogeneous sphingomyelin bilayer: Insights from atomistic simulations

Science.gov (United States)

Kumari, Pratibha; Kaur, Supreet; Sharma, Shobha; Kashyap, Hemant K.

2018-04-01

Modulation of lipid membrane properties due to the permeation of amphiphiles is an important biological process pertaining to many applications in the field of pharmaceutics, toxicology, and biotechnology. Sphingolipids are both structural and functional lipids that constitute an important component of mechanically stable and chemically resistant outer leaflets of plasma membranes. Here, we present an atomistic molecular dynamics simulation study to appreciate the concentration-dependent effects of small amphiphilic molecules, such as ethanol, acetone, and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), on the structure and stability of a fully hydrated homogeneous N-palmitoyl-sphingomyelin (PSM) bilayer. The study reveals an increase in the lateral expansion of the bilayer along with disordering of the hydrophobic lipid tails on increasing the concentration of ethanol. At higher concentrations of ethanol, rupturing of the bilayer is quite evident through the analysis of partial electron density profiles and lipid tail order parameters. For ethanol containing systems, permeation of water molecules in the hydrophobic part of the bilayer is allowed through local defects made due to the entry of ethanol molecules via ethanol-ethanol and ethanol-PSM hydrogen bonds. Moreover, the extent of PSM-PSM hydrogen bonding decreases with increasing ethanol concentration. On the other hand, acetone and DMSO exhibit minimal effects on the stability of the PSM bilayer at their lower concentrations, but at higher concentrations they tend to enhance the stability of the bilayer. The simulated potential of mean force (PMF) profiles for the translocation of the three solutes studied reveal that the free-energy of transfer of an ethanol molecule across the PSM lipid head region is lower than that for acetone and DMSO molecules. However, highest free-energy rise in the core hydrophobic part of the bilayer is observed for the DMSO molecule, whereas the ethanol and acetone PMF profiles show a lower barrier in

Photon-Assisted Resonant Chiral Tunneling Through a Bilayer Graphene Barrier

OpenAIRE

Phillips A. H.; Mina A. N.

2011-01-01

The electronic transport property of a bilayer graphene is investigated under the effect of an electromagnetic field. We deduce an expression for the conductance by solving the Dirac equation. This conductance depends on the barrier height for graphene and the energy of the induced photons. A resonance oscillatory behavior of the conductance is observed. These oscillations are strongly depends on the barrier height for chiral tunneling through graphene. This oscillatory behavio...

Bilayers Polypyrrole Coatings for Corrosion Protection of SAE 4140 Steel

OpenAIRE

Lehr, I.L.; Saidman, S.B.

2014-01-01

In this study polypyrrole (PPy) bilayers films were electrodeposited onto SAE 4140 steel. The inner layer was electropolymerized in the presence of molibdate and nitrate and the outer layer in a solution containing sodium bis (2-ethylhexyl) sulfosuccinate (AOT). The electrosynthesis was done under potentiostatic conditions. The corrosion protection properties of the films were examined in sodium chloride solution by open circuit measurements, linear polarization and electrochemical impedance ...

Cu2O/CuO Bilayered Composite as a High-Efficiency Photocathode for Photoelectrochemical Hydrogen Evolution Reaction

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Yang; Xu, Di; Wu, Qingyong; Diao, Peng

2016-10-01

Solar powered hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is one of the key reactions in solar-to-chemical energy conversion. It is desirable to develop photocathodic materials that exhibit high activity toward photoelectrochemical (PEC) HER at more positive potentials because a higher potential means a lower overpotential for HER. In this work, the Cu2O/CuO bilayered composites were prepared by a facile method that involved an electrodeposition and a subsequent thermal oxidation. The resulting Cu2O/CuO bilayered composites exhibited a surprisingly high activity and good stability toward PEC HER, expecially at high potentials in alkaline solution. The photocurrent density for HER was 3.15 mA·cm-2 at the potential of 0.40 V vs. RHE, which was one of the two highest reported at the same potential on copper-oxide-based photocathode. The high photoactivity of the bilayered composite was ascribed to the following three advantages of the Cu2O/CuO heterojunction: (1) the broadened light absorption band that made more efficient use of solar energy, (2) the large space-charge-region potential that enabled a high efficiency for electron-hole separation, and (3) the high majority carrier density that ensured a faster charge transportation rate. This work reveals the potential of the Cu2O/CuO bilayered composite as a promising photocathodic material for solar water splitting.

Study on the enhanced and stable field emission behavior of a novel electrosprayed Al-doped ZnO bilayer film

KAUST Repository

Mahmood, Khalid; Munir, Rahim; Swain, Bhabani Sankar; Han, Gill Sang; Kim, Byeong Jo; Jung, Hyun Suk

2014-01-01

A novel electrosprayed bilayer film composed of an over-layer (L 2) of aluminium-doped ZnO (AZO) nanoflakes (NF-AZO) and a under-layer (L1) of AZO nanocrystallites structure (NC-AZO) named BL:NF/NC-AZO is studied as an excellent field-emitter. The XRD pattern demonstrated that the doped bilayer film has preferential growth along the c-axis with hexagonal wurtzite structure and the (0 0 2) peak shifted toward the larger angle side after doping. The lowest turn-on field of ∼2.8 V μm-1, highest emission current density of 1.95 mA cm-2 is obtained for BL:NF/NC-AZO under the field of 6.8 V μm-1 and as well as the highest field enhancement factor (β) is estimated to be 4370 ± 3, compared to pure ZnO bilayer film (BL:NF/NC-ZnO) and also better than NC-AZO film and possesses the excellent long term stability of emission current. The PL intensity of doped ZnO bilayer film is very much stronger than pure ZnO bilayer structure. The superior field emission properties are attributed to the better morphologies, Al-doping and better crystallinity of bilayer AZO films. © 2014 The Royal Society of Chemistry.

Fabrication of PVDF-TrFE based bilayered PbTiO3/PVDF-TrFE films capacitor

Science.gov (United States)

Nurbaya, Z.; Wahid, M. H.; Rozana, M. D.; Annuar, I.; Alrokayan, S. A. H.; Khan, H. A.; Rusop, M.

2016-07-01

Development of high performance capacitor is reaching towards new generation where the ferroelectric materials take places as the active dielectric layer. The motivation of this study is to produce high capacitance device with long life cycle. This was configured by preparing bilayered films where lead titanate as an active dielectric layer and stacked with the top dielectric layer, poly(vinyledenefluoride-trifluoroethylene). Both of them are being referred that have one in common which is ferroelectric behavior. Therefore the combination of ceramic and polymer ferroelectric material could perform optimum dielectric characteristic for capacitor applications. The fabrication was done by simple sol-gel spin coating method that being varied at spinning speed property for polymer layers, whereas maintaining the ceramic layer. The characterization of PVDF-TrFE/PbTiO3 was performed according to metal-insulator-metal stacked capacitor measurement which includes structural, dielectric, and ferroelectric measurement.

Fabrication and characterization of an integrated ionic device from suspended polypyrrole and alamethicin-reconstituted lipid bilayer membranes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Northcutt, Robert; Sundaresan, Vishnu-Baba

2012-01-01

Conducting polymers are electroactive materials that undergo conformal relaxation of the polymer backbone in the presence of an electrical field through ion exchange with solid or aqueous electrolytes. This conformal relaxation and the associated morphological changes make conducting polymers highly suitable for actuation and sensing applications. Among smart materials, bioderived active materials also use ion transport for sensing and actuation functions via selective ion transport. The transporter proteins extracted from biological cell membranes and reconstituted into a bilayer lipid membrane in bioderived active materials regulate ion transport for engineering functions. The protein transporter reconstituted in the bilayer lipid membrane is referred to as the bioderived membrane and serves as the active component in bioderived active materials. Inspired by the similarities in the physics of transduction in conducting polymers and bioderived active materials, an integrated ionic device is formed from the bioderived membrane and the conducting polymer membrane. This ionic device is fabricated into a laminated thin-film membrane and a common ion that can be processed by the bioderived and the conducting polymer membranes couple the ionic function of these two membranes. An integrated ionic device, fabricated from polypyrrole (PPy) doped with sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate (NaDBS) and an alamethicin-reconstituted DPhPC bilayer lipid membrane, is presented in this paper. A voltage-gated sodium current regulates the electrochemical response in the PPy(DBS) layer. The integrated device is fabricated on silicon-based substrates through microfabrication, electropolymerization, and vesicle fusion, and ionic activity is characterized through electrochemical measurements. (paper)

Modulating the electronic and magnetic properties of bilayer borophene via transition metal atoms intercalation: from metal to half metal and semiconductor.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Xiuyun; Sun, Yi; Ma, Liang; Zhao, Xinli; Yao, Xiaojing

2018-07-27

Borophene, a two-dimensional monolayer made of boron atoms, has attracted wide attention due to its appealing properties. Great efforts have been devoted to fine tuning its electronic and magnetic properties for desired applications. Herein, we theoretically investigate the versatile electronic and magnetic properties of bilayer borophene (BLB) intercalated by 3d transition metal (TM) atoms, TM@BLBs (TM = Ti-Fe), using ab initio calculations. Four allotropes of AA-stacking (α 1 -, β-, β 12 - and χ 3 -) BLBs with different intercalation concentrations of TM atoms are considered. Our results show that the TM atoms are strongly bonded to the borophene layers with fairly large binding energies, around 6.31 ∼ 15.44 eV per TM atom. The BLBs with Cr and Mn intercalation have robust ferromagnetism, while for the systems decorated with Fe atoms, fruitful magnetic properties, such as nonmagnetic, ferromagnetic or antiferromagnetic, are identified. In particular, the α 1 - and β-BLBs intercalated by Mn or Fe atom can be transformed into a semiconductor, half metal or graphene-like semimetal. Moreover, some heavily doped TM@BLBs expose high Curie temperatures above room temperature. The attractive properties of TM@BLBs entail an efficient way to modulate the electronic and magnetic properties of borophene sheets for advanced applications.

Fragmented state of lipid bilayers in water

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Helfrich, W.; Thimmel, J.; Klösgen, Beate Maria

1999-01-01

The bilayers of some typical biological membrane lipids such as PC and DGDG disintegrate in a large excess of water to form an optically invisible dispersive bilayer phase. `Dark bodies' can be reversibly precipitated from it by raising the temperature. The dispersive phase probably consists...

Highly sensitive and selective room-temperature NO_2 gas sensor based on bilayer transferred chemical vapor deposited graphene

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Seekaew, Yotsarayuth; Phokharatkul, Ditsayut; Wisitsoraat, Anurat; Wongchoosuk, Chatchawal

2017-01-01

Highlights: • Simple and low-cost fabrication of bilayer graphene gas sensor was presented. • Layer effects of graphene on NO_2 gas-sensing properties were investigated. • Bilayer graphene sensor exhibited a high linear NO_2 sensitivity of 1.409 ppm"−"1. • The NO_2-sensing mechanisms based on band diagram were highlighted. - Abstract: This work presents a highly sensitive room-temperature gas sensor based on bilayer graphene fabricated by an interfacial transfer of chemical vapor deposited graphene onto nickel interdigitated electrodes. Scanning electron microscopic and Raman spectroscopic characterizations confirm the presence of graphene on interdigitated nickel electrodes with varying numbers of graphene layers. The NO_2 detection performances of bilayer graphene gas sensor have been investigated in comparison with those of monolayer and multilayer graphene gas sensors at room temperature. From results, the bilayer graphene gas sensor exhibits higher response, sensitivity and selectivity to NO_2 than monolayer and multilayer graphene. The sensitivity of bilayer graphene gas sensor is 1.409 ppm"−"1 towards NO_2 over a concentration range of 1–25 ppm, which is more than twice higher than that of monolayer graphene. The NO_2-sensing mechanism of graphene sensing film has been explained based on the direct charge transfer process due to the adsorption of NO_2 molecules.

A high performance transparent resistive switching memory made from ZrO_2/AlON bilayer structure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tsai, Tsung-Ling; Chang, Hsiang-Yu; Tseng, Tseung-Yuen; Lou, Jesse Jen-Chung

2016-01-01

In this study, the switching properties of an indium tin oxide (ITO)/zirconium oxide (ZrO_2)/ITO single layer device and those of a device with an aluminum oxynitride (AlON) layer were investigated. The devices with highly transparent characteristics were fabricated. Compared with the ITO/ZrO_2/ITO single layer device, the ITO/ZrO_2/AlON/ITO bilayer device exhibited a larger ON/OFF ratio, higher endurance performance, and superior retention properties by using a simple two-step forming process. These substantial improvements in the resistive switching properties were attributed to the minimized influence of oxygen migration through the ITO top electrode (TE), which can be realized by forming an asymmetrical conductive filament with the weakest part at the ZrO_2/AlON interface. Therefore, in the ITO/ZrO_2/AlON/ITO bilayer device, the regions where conductive filament formation and rupture occur can be effectively moved from the TE interface to the interior of the device.

Deuterium absorption in Mg70Al30 thin films with bilayer catalysts: A comparative neutron reflectometry study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Poirier, Eric; Harrower, Chris T.; Kalisvaart, Peter; Bird, Adam; Teichert, Anke; Wallacher, Dirk; Grimm, Nico; Steitz, Roland; Mitlin, David; Fritzsche, Helmut

2011-01-01

Highlights: → Mg 70 Al 30 thin films studied for hydrogen absorption using in situ neutron reflectometry. → Films with Ta/Pd, Ti/Pd and Ni/Pd bilayer catalysts systematically compared. → Measurements reveals deuterium spillover from the catalysts to the MgAl phase. → The use of Ti-Pd bilayer offers best results in terms of amount absorbed and kinetics. → Key results cross-checked with X-ray reflectometry. - Abstract: We present a neutron reflectometry study of deuterium absorption in thin films of Al-containing Mg alloys capped with a Ta/Pd, Ni/Pd and Ti/Pd-catalyst bilayer. The measurements were performed at room temperature over the 0-1 bar pressure range under quasi-equilibrium conditions. The modeling of the measurements provided a nanoscale representation of the deuterium profile in the layers at different stages of the absorption process. The absorption mechanism observed was found to involve spillover of atomic deuterium from the catalyst layer to the Mg alloy phase, followed by the deuteration of the Mg alloy. Complete deuteration of the Mg alloy occurs in a pressure range between 100 and 500 mbar, dependent on the type of bilayer catalyst. The use of a Ti/Pd bilayer catalyst yielded the best results in terms of both storage density and kinetic properties.

Electrochemical Measurements on Supported Phospholipid Bilayers: Preparation, Properties and Ion Transport Using Incorporated Ionophores

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Navrátil, Tomáš; Šestáková, Ivana; Štulík, Karel; Mareček, Vladimír

2010-01-01

Roč. 22, 17-18 (2010), s. 2043-2050 ISSN 1040-0397. [International Conference on Modern Electroanalytical Methods. Prague, 09.12.2009-14.12.2009] R&D Projects: GA AV ČR IAA400400806 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z40400503 Keywords : voltammetry * phospholipid bilayers * Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy Subject RIV: CG - Electrochemistry Impact factor: 2.721, year: 2010

Development of a new test for the easy characterization of the adhesion at the interface of bilayer tablets: proof-of-concept study by experimental design.

Science.gov (United States)

Busignies, Virginie; Mazel, Vincent; Diarra, Harona; Tchoreloff, Pierre

2014-12-30

Although, adhesion at the interface of bilayer tablets is critical for their design it is difficult to characterize this adhesion between layers. In view of this, a new test with an easy implementation was proposed for the characterization of the interface of bilayer tablets. This work is presented as a proof-of-concept study to investigate the reliability of this new test with regard to the effects of some critical process parameters (e.g., compaction pressure applied on each layer) and material attributes (e.g., elasticity of the layered materials) on the interfacial adhesion of bilayer tablets. This was investigated using a design of experiment approach and the results obtained were in good accordance with those obtained with other tests and thus, confirms the potential of such a method for the measurement of the interfacial adhesion of bilayer tablets. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Macroscopic properties of model disordered materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Knackstedt, M.A.; Roberts, A.P.

1996-01-01

Disordered materials are ubiquitous in nature and in industry. Soils, sedimentary rocks, wood, bone, polymer composites, foams, catalysts, gels, concretes and ceramics have properties that depend on material structure. Present techniques for predicting properties are limited by the theoretical and computational difficulty of incorporating a realistic description of material structure. A general model for microstructure was recently proposed by Berk [Berk, Phys.Rev.A, 44 5069 (1991)]. The model is based on level cuts of a Gaussian random field with arbitrary spectral density. The freedom in specifying the parameters of the model allows the modeling of physical materials with diverse morphological characteristics. We have shown that the model qualitatively accounts for the principal features of a wider variety of disordered materials including geologic media, membranes, polymer blends, ceramics and foams. Correlation functions are derived for the model microstructure. From this characterisation we derive mechanical and conductive properties of the materials. Excellent agreement with experimentally measured properties of disordered solids is obtained. The agreement provides a strong hint that it is now possible to correlate effective physical properties of porous solids to microstructure. Simple extensions to modelling properties of non-porous multicomponent blends; metal alloys, ceramics, metal/matrix and polymer composites are also discussed

The influence of hyaluronan on the structure of a DPPC-bilayer under high pressures.

Science.gov (United States)

Zander, Thomas; Wieland, D C Florian; Raj, Akanksha; Wang, Min; Nowak, Benedikt; Krywka, Christina; Dėdinaitė, Andra; Claesson, Per Martin; Garamus, Vasil M; Schreyer, Andreas; Willumeit-Römer, Regine

2016-06-01

The superior lubrication properties of synovial joints have inspired many studies aiming at uncovering the molecular mechanisms which give rise to low friction and wear. However, the mechanisms are not fully understood yet, and, in particular, it has not been elucidated how the biolubricants present at the interface of cartilage respond to high pressures, which arise during high loads of joints. In this study we utilize a simple model system composed of two biomolecules that have been implied as being important for joint lubrication. It consists of a solid supported dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholin (DPPC) bilayer, which was formed via vesicles fusion on a flat Si wafer, and the anionic polysaccharide hyaluronan (HA). We first characterized the structure of the HA layer that adsorbed to the DPPC bilayers at ambient pressure and different temperatures using X-ray reflectivity (XRR) measurements. Next, XRR was utilized to evaluate the response of the system to high hydrostatic pressures, up to 2kbar (200MPa), at three different temperatures. By means of fluorescence microscopy images the distribution of DPPC and HA on the surface was visualized. Our data suggest that HA adsorbs to the headgroup region that is oriented towards the water side of the supported bilayer. Phase transitions of the bilayer in response to temperature and pressure changes were also observed in presence and absence of HA. Our results reveal a higher stability against high hydrostatic pressures for DPPC/HA composite layers compared to that of the DPPC bilayer in absence of HA. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Effect of Ceramide Tail Length on the Structure of Model Stratum Corneum Lipid Bilayers.

Science.gov (United States)

Moore, Timothy C; Hartkamp, Remco; Iacovella, Christopher R; Bunge, Annette L; McCabe, Clare

2018-01-09

Lipid bilayers composed of non-hydroxy sphingosine ceramide (CER NS), cholesterol (CHOL), and free fatty acids (FFAs), which are components of the human skin barrier, are studied via molecular dynamics simulations. Since mixtures of these lipids exist in dense gel phases with little molecular mobility at physiological conditions, care must be taken to ensure that the simulations become decorrelated from the initial conditions. Thus, we propose and validate an equilibration protocol based on simulated tempering, in which the simulation takes a random walk through temperature space, allowing the system to break out of metastable configurations and hence become decorrelated from its initial configuration. After validating the equilibration protocol, which we refer to as random-walk molecular dynamics, the effects of the lipid composition and ceramide tail length on bilayer properties are studied. Systems containing pure CER NS, CER NS + CHOL, and CER NS + CHOL + FFA, with the CER NS fatty acid tail length varied within each CER NS-CHOL-FFA composition, are simulated. The bilayer thickness is found to depend on the structure of the center of the bilayer, which arises as a result of the tail-length asymmetry between the lipids studied. The hydrogen bonding between the lipid headgroups and with water is found to change with the overall lipid composition, but is mostly independent of the CER fatty acid tail length. Subtle differences in the lateral packing of the lipid tails are also found as a function of CER tail length. Overall, these results provide insight into the experimentally observed trend of altered barrier properties in skin systems where there are more CERs with shorter tails present. Copyright © 2017 Biophysical Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Development and characterization of novel antimicrobial bilayer films based on Polylactic acid (PLA)/Pickering emulsions.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Jun-You; Tang, Chuan-He; Yin, Shou-Wei; Yang, Xiao-Quan

2018-02-01

Biodegradable food packaging is sustainable and has a great application prospect. PLA is a promising alternative for petroleum-derived polymers. However, PLA packaging suffers from poor barrier properties compared with petroleum-derived ones. To address this issue, we designed bilayer films based on PLA and Pickering emulsions. The formed bilayer films were compact and uniform and double layers were combined firmly. This strategy enhanced mechanical resistance, ductility and moisture barrier of Pickering emulsion films, and concomitantly enhanced the oxygen barrier for PLA films. Thymol loadings in Pickering emulsion layer endowed them with antimicrobial and antioxidant activity. The release profile of thymol was well fitted with Fick's second law. The antimicrobial activity of the films depended on film types, and Pickering emulsion layer presented larger inhibition zone than PLA layer, hinting that the films possessed directional releasing role. This study opens a promising route to fabricate bilayer architecture creating synergism of each layer. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Development of Bilayer Tablets with Modified Release of Selected Incompatible Drugs.

Science.gov (United States)

Dhiman, Neha; Awasthi, Rajendra; Jindal, Shammy; Khatri, Smriti; Dua, Kamal

2016-01-01

The oral route is considered to be the most convenient and commonly-employed route for drug delivery. When two incompatible drugs need to be administered at the same time and in a single formulation, bilayer tablets are the most appropriate dosage form to administer such incompatible drugs in a single dose. The aim of the present investigation was to develop bilayered tablets of two incompatible drugs; telmisartan and simvastatin. The bilayer tablets were prepared containing telmisartan in a conventional release layer using croscarmellose sodium as a super disintegrant and simvastatin in a slow-release layer using HPMC K15M, Carbopol 934P and PVP K 30 as matrix forming polymers. The tablets were evaluated for various physical properties, drug-excipient interactions using FTIR spectroscopy and in vitro drug release using 0.1M HCl (pH 1.2) for the first hour and phosphate buffer (pH 6.8) for the remaining period of time. The release kinetics of simvastatin from the slow release layer were evaluated using the zero order, first order, Higuchi equation and Peppas equation. All the physical parameters (such as hardness, thickness, disintegration, friability and layer separation tests) were found to be satisfactory. The FTIR studies indicated the absence of interactions between the components within the individual layers, suggesting drug-excipient compatibility in all the formulations. No drug release from the slow-release layer was observed during the first hour of the dissolution study in 0.1M HCl. The release-controlling polymers had a significant effect on the release of simvastatin from the slow-release layer. Thus, the formulated bilayer tablets avoided incompatibility issues and proved the conventional release of telmisartan (85% in 45 min) and slow release of simvastatin (80% in 8 h). Stable and compatible bilayer tablets containing telmisartan and simvastatin were developed with better patient compliance as an alternative to existing conventional dosage forms.

Fabrication of Li-intercalated bilayer graphene

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

K. Sugawara

2011-06-01

Full Text Available We have succeeded in fabricating Li-intercalated bilayer graphene on silicon carbide. The low-energy electron diffraction from Li-deposited bilayer graphene shows a sharp 3×3R30° pattern in contrast to Li-deposited monolayer graphene. This indicates that Li atoms are intercalated between two adjacent graphene layers and take the same well-ordered superstructure as in bulk C6Li. The angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy has revealed that Li atoms are fully ionized and the π bands of graphene are systematically folded by the superstructure of intercalated Li atoms, producing a snowflake-like Fermi surface centered at the Γ point. The present result suggests a high potential of Li-intercalated bilayer graphene for application to a nano-scale Li-ion battery.

Strong influence of periodic boundary conditions on lateral diffusion in lipid bilayer membranes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Camley, Brian A. [Center for Theoretical Biological Physics and Department of Physics, University of California, San Diego, California 92093 (United States); Department of Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106 (United States); Lerner, Michael G. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Earlham College, Richmond, Indiana 47374 (United States); Laboratory of Computational Biology, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892 (United States); Pastor, Richard W. [Laboratory of Computational Biology, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892 (United States); Brown, Frank L. H. [Department of Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106 (United States); Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106 (United States)

2015-12-28

The Saffman-Delbrück hydrodynamic model for lipid-bilayer membranes is modified to account for the periodic boundary conditions commonly imposed in molecular simulations. Predicted lateral diffusion coefficients for membrane-embedded solid bodies are sensitive to box shape and converge slowly to the limit of infinite box size, raising serious doubts for the prospects of using detailed simulations to accurately predict membrane-protein diffusivities and related transport properties. Estimates for the relative error associated with periodic boundary artifacts are 50% and higher for fully atomistic models in currently feasible simulation boxes. MARTINI simulations of LacY membrane protein diffusion and LacY dimer diffusion in DPPC membranes and lipid diffusion in pure DPPC bilayers support the underlying hydrodynamic model.

Strong influence of periodic boundary conditions on lateral diffusion in lipid bilayer membranes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Camley, Brian A.; Lerner, Michael G.; Pastor, Richard W.; Brown, Frank L. H.

2015-01-01

The Saffman-Delbrück hydrodynamic model for lipid-bilayer membranes is modified to account for the periodic boundary conditions commonly imposed in molecular simulations. Predicted lateral diffusion coefficients for membrane-embedded solid bodies are sensitive to box shape and converge slowly to the limit of infinite box size, raising serious doubts for the prospects of using detailed simulations to accurately predict membrane-protein diffusivities and related transport properties. Estimates for the relative error associated with periodic boundary artifacts are 50% and higher for fully atomistic models in currently feasible simulation boxes. MARTINI simulations of LacY membrane protein diffusion and LacY dimer diffusion in DPPC membranes and lipid diffusion in pure DPPC bilayers support the underlying hydrodynamic model

Interfacial characterization and supercapacitive properties of polyaniline-Gum arabic nanocomposite/graphene oxide LbL modified electrodes

Science.gov (United States)

Oliveira, Rafaela D.; Santos, Cleverson S.; Ferreira, Rodolfo T.; Marciniuk, Gustavo; Marchesi, Luís F.; Garcia, Jarem R.; Vidotti, Marcio; Pessoa, Christiana A.

2017-12-01

In this manuscript, we describe the synthesis and electrochemical characterization of polyaniline-gum arabic nanocomposites and graphene oxide (PANI-GA/GO) modified electrodes with a detailed study concerning their supercapacitive properties. The electrode modification was carried out by using the Layer-by-Layer technique (LbL), where the PANI-GA nanocomposite dispersion was used as polycation and the GO colloidal dispersion as polyanion. The bilayer growth was followed by both UV-vis spectroscopy and cyclic voltammetry, and an increase in the characteristic PANI absorption and in the electrochemical signal was verified, confirming the electrode build up. Galvanostatic charge-discharge curves (GCDC) were performed to evaluate the supercapacitive properties of the modified electrodes, these results showed the dependence of the specific capacitance with the number of bilayers, where values of CS around 15 mF cm-2 (i = 0.1 mA cm-2) were found. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy confirmed the pseudocapacitive properties of the modified electrodes, showing an increase in the low-frequency capacitance with the number of bilayers. Hereby the (PANI-GA/GO)-LbL electrodes were shown to be good candidates for active materials in supercapacitors.

Electrochemical synthesis of bilayer coatings of poly(N-methylaniline) and polypyrrole on mild steel and their corrosion protection performances

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zeybek, Buelent [Ankara University, Faculty of Science, Department of Chemistry, Ankara (Turkey); Dumlupinar University, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Department of Chemistry, Kuetahya (Turkey); Ozcicek Pekmez, Nuran, E-mail: npekmez@hacettepe.edu.t [Hacettepe University, Faculty of Science, Department of Chemistry, Ankara (Turkey); Kilic, Esma [Ankara University, Faculty of Science, Department of Chemistry, Ankara (Turkey)

2011-10-30

Highlights: > The bilayers of poly(N-methylaniline) and polypyrrole-dodecylsulfate were synthesized. > These films on mild steel were characterized by cyclic voltammetry, FTIR and FESEM. > DS dopant allows permeation to cations and decreases the ingress of chloride ions. > The PNMA/PPy-DS bilayer coating exhibited the best corrosion resistance in 0.5 M HCl. > The protective properties of polymers was developed by preparing their bilayer coatings. - Abstract: Homopolymer and bilayer coatings of poly(N-methylaniline) (PNMA) and polypyrrole-dodecylsulfate (PPy-DS) have been electropolymerized on a mild steel (MS) surface by the potentiodynamic method in aqueous oxalic acid solutions. In order to include dodecylsulfate ion as dopant in the polypyrrole, sodium dodecylsulfate was also added to the polymerization solution of pyrrole. Characterization of coatings was carried out by the cyclic voltammetry, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). Corrosion behavior of the polymer coated MS electrodes was investigated in highly aggressive 0.5 M HCl solution by the Tafel test and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) techniques. Corrosion test revealed that among the protective coatings obtained, the PNMA/PPy-DS bilayer exhibited the best corrosion resistance at all immersion times.

Bioplasmonic Alloyed Nanoislands Using Dewetting of Bilayer Thin Films.

Science.gov (United States)

Kang, Minhee; Ahn, Myeong-Su; Lee, Youngseop; Jeong, Ki-Hun

2017-10-25

Unlike monometallic materials, bimetallic plasmonic materials offer extensive benefits such as broadband tuning capability or high environmental stability. Here we report a broad range tuning of plasmon resonance of alloyed nanoislands by using solid-state dewetting of gold and silver bilayer thin films. Thermal dewetting after successive thermal evaporation of thin metal double-layer films readily forms AuAg-alloyed nanoislands with a precise composition ratio. The complete miscibility of alloyed nanoislands results in programmable tuning of plasmon resonance wavelength in a broadband visible range. Such extraordinary tuning capability opens up a new direction for plasmonic enhancement in biophotonic applications such as surface-enhanced Raman scattering or plasmon-enhanced fluorescence.

1D Piezoelectric Material Based Nanogenerators: Methods, Materials and Property Optimization.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Xing; Sun, Mei; Wei, Xianlong; Shan, Chongxin; Chen, Qing

2018-03-23

Due to the enhanced piezoelectric properties, excellent mechanical properties and tunable electric properties, one-dimensional (1D) piezoelectric materials have shown their promising applications in nanogenerators (NG), sensors, actuators, electronic devices etc. To present a clear view about 1D piezoelectric materials, this review mainly focuses on the characterization and optimization of the piezoelectric properties of 1D nanomaterials, including semiconducting nanowires (NWs) with wurtzite and/or zinc blend phases, perovskite NWs and 1D polymers. Specifically, the piezoelectric coefficients, performance of single NW-based NG and structure-dependent electromechanical properties of 1D nanostructured materials can be respectively investigated through piezoresponse force microscopy, atomic force microscopy and the in-situ scanning/transmission electron microcopy. Along with the introduction of the mechanism and piezoelectric properties of 1D semiconductor, perovskite materials and polymers, their performance improvement strategies are summarized from the view of microstructures, including size-effect, crystal structure, orientation and defects. Finally, the extension of 1D piezoelectric materials in field effect transistors and optoelectronic devices are simply introduced.

Finite element analysis of the cyclic indentation of bilayer enamel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jia, Yunfei; Xuan, Fu-zhen; Chen, Xiaoping; Yang, Fuqian

2014-01-01

Tooth enamel is often subjected to repeated contact and often experiences contact deformation in daily life. The mechanical strength of the enamel determines the biofunctionality of the tooth. Considering the variation of the rod arrangement in outer and inner enamel, we approximate enamel as a bilayer structure and perform finite element analysis of the cyclic indentation of the bilayer structure, to mimic the repeated contact of enamel during mastication. The dynamic deformation behaviour of both the inner enamel and the bilayer enamel is examined. The material parameters of the inner and outer enamel used in the analysis are obtained by fitting the finite element results with the experimental nanoindentation results. The penetration depth per cycle at the quasi-steady state is used to describe the depth propagation speed, which exhibits a two-stage power-law dependence on the maximum indentation load and the amplitude of the cyclic load, respectively. The continuous penetration of the indenter reflects the propagation of the plastic zone during cyclic indentation, which is related to the energy dissipation. The outer enamel serves as a protective layer due to its great resistance to contact deformation in comparison to the inner enamel. The larger equivalent plastic strain and lower stresses in the inner enamel during cyclic indentation, as calculated from the finite element analysis, indicate better crack/fracture resistance of the inner enamel. (paper)

Finite element analysis of the cyclic indentation of bilayer enamel

Science.gov (United States)

Jia, Yunfei; Xuan, Fu-zhen; Chen, Xiaoping; Yang, Fuqian

2014-04-01

Tooth enamel is often subjected to repeated contact and often experiences contact deformation in daily life. The mechanical strength of the enamel determines the biofunctionality of the tooth. Considering the variation of the rod arrangement in outer and inner enamel, we approximate enamel as a bilayer structure and perform finite element analysis of the cyclic indentation of the bilayer structure, to mimic the repeated contact of enamel during mastication. The dynamic deformation behaviour of both the inner enamel and the bilayer enamel is examined. The material parameters of the inner and outer enamel used in the analysis are obtained by fitting the finite element results with the experimental nanoindentation results. The penetration depth per cycle at the quasi-steady state is used to describe the depth propagation speed, which exhibits a two-stage power-law dependence on the maximum indentation load and the amplitude of the cyclic load, respectively. The continuous penetration of the indenter reflects the propagation of the plastic zone during cyclic indentation, which is related to the energy dissipation. The outer enamel serves as a protective layer due to its great resistance to contact deformation in comparison to the inner enamel. The larger equivalent plastic strain and lower stresses in the inner enamel during cyclic indentation, as calculated from the finite element analysis, indicate better crack/fracture resistance of the inner enamel.

Molecular modeling of proteinlike inclusions in lipid bilayers: lipid-mediated interactions.

Science.gov (United States)

Kik, Richard A; Leermakers, Frans A M; Kleijn, J Mieke

2010-02-01

We investigated the insertion of transmembrane structures in a lipid bilayer and their interactions using self-consistent field theory. The lipids are coarse-grained on a united-atom level and consist of a phosphatidylcholinelike headgroup and two hydrophobic tails. The inclusions, acting as simple models for proteins that span biological membranes, are rigid rods (radius R ) with a hydrophobic surface and hydrophilic end caps. The insertion free energy Omega of an individual rod is strongly regulated by the affinity between its hydrophobic surface and the lipid tails. This affinity also controls the best match of the hydrophobic length of the rod with that of the bilayer. The line tension tau(=Omega/2piR) is practically independent of R . The perturbations in the bilayer as a function of distance from the inclusion, have the shape of a damped oscillation. The wavelength and decay length are related to the elastic properties of the bilayer and do not depend on R . These results are used to analyze how the lipid matrix affects the interaction between transmembrane objects, for computational reasons considering the limit of R-->infinity . Contributions on different length scales can be distinguished: (i) a long-range elastic interaction, which is an exponentially decaying oscillation; (ii) an exponentially decaying repulsion on an intermediate length scale, resulting from the loss of conformational entropy of the lipid tails; and (iii) a short-range interaction due to the finite compressibility of the lipid tails, which manifests either as a depletion attraction if there is no affinity between the tails and the inclusions' surface or, otherwise, as an oscillatory structural force.

In situ synthesis of bilayered gradient poly(vinyl alcohol)/hydroxyapatite composite hydrogel by directional freezing-thawing and electrophoresis method.

Science.gov (United States)

Su, Cui; Su, Yunlan; Li, Zhiyong; Haq, Muhammad Abdul; Zhou, Yong; Wang, Dujin

2017-08-01

Bilayered poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA)/hydroxyapatite (HA) composite hydrogels with anisotropic and gradient mechanical properties were prepared by the combination of directional freezing-thawing (DFT) and electrophoresis method. Firstly, PVA hydrogels with aligned channel structure were prepared by the DFT method. Then, HA nanoparticles were in situ synthesized within the PVA hydrogels via electrophoresis. By controlling the time of the electrophoresis process, a bilayered gradient hydrogel containing HA particles in only half of the gel region was obtained. The PVA/HA composite hydrogel exhibited gradient mechanical strength depending on the distance to the cathode. The gradient initial tensile modulus ranging from 0.18MPa to 0.27MPa and the gradient initial compressive modulus from 0.33MPa to 0.51MPa were achieved. The binding strength of the two regions was relatively high and no apparent internal stress or defect was observed at the boundary. The two regions of the bilayered hydrogel also showed different osteoblast cell adhesion properties. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Fatigue properties of piezoelectric-electrostrictive Pb(Mg1/3,Nb2/3)O3-PbTiO3 monolithic bilayer composites

Science.gov (United States)

Hall, A.; Akdogan, E. K.; Safari, A.

2006-11-01

The fatigue response of monolithic piezoelectric 0.65Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3-0.35PbTiO3-electrostrictive 0.90Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3-0.10PbTiO3 bilayer composites was investigated experimentally. The monomorph bilayers were cosintered at 1150°C, and the polarization hysteresis, relative permittivity, displacement, and cyclic fatigue (107cycles) were measured as a function of piezoelectric-electrostrictive volume fraction (PEVF) ratio. The highest tip displacement of bilayers was found in the 3:1 PEVF monolith, reaching 40μm at 5kV/cm applied field strength. By minimizing the electrostrictive layer thickness, tip displacement substantially increased, while maintaining a lower hysteresis than the purely piezoelectric counterpart. Fatigue measurements indicated a 31% decrease in displacement after 107cycles in 3:1 monoliths, whereas the 1:3 PEVF only showed a 12% decrease under the same conditions. There is a 30% increase in polarization after 107cycles for 1:1 PEVF bilayers, which is attributed to self-poling due to a diffuse transition layer in the vicinity of the interface. It was found that partial 90° domain switching occurred prior to poling because of the residual stresses in the composite, imposed by the electrostrictive layer and the spontaneous strain associated with the cubic-tetragonal transition in the ferroelectric layer. The results indicate that the electrostrictive layer, which is electrically in series with the piezoelectric one, enhances the fatigue resistance of the monolithic bilayer composites in addition to the increase in tip displacement.

Fabrication of PVDF-TrFE based bilayered PbTiO{sub 3}/PVDF-TrFE films capacitor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nurbaya, Z., E-mail: nurbayazainal@gmail.com [NANO-ElecTronic Centre (NET), Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi MARA, 40450 Shah Alam, Selangor (Malaysia); Razak School of Engineering and Advanced Technology, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 54100 Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia); Wahid, M. H.; Rozana, M. D. [Faculty of Applied Sciences, Department of Polymer, Universiti Teknologi MARA, 40450 Shah Alam, Selangor (Malaysia); Annuar, I. [UiTM Sarawak Kampus Kota Samarahan, Jalan Meranek, 94300 Sarawak (Malaysia); Alrokayan, S. A. H.; Khan, H. A. [Department of Biochemistry, College of Science, Bldg. 5, King Saud University (KSU) P.O: 2454 Riyadh 11451 (Saudi Arabia); Rusop, M., E-mail: nanouitm@gmail.com [NANO-ElecTronic Centre (NET), Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi MARA, 40450 Shah Alam, Selangor (Malaysia); NANO-Sci Tech Centre (NST), Institute of Science, Universiti Teknologi MARA, 40450 Shah Alam, Selangor (Malaysia)

2016-07-06

Development of high performance capacitor is reaching towards new generation where the ferroelectric materials take places as the active dielectric layer. The motivation of this study is to produce high capacitance device with long life cycle. This was configured by preparing bilayered films where lead titanate as an active dielectric layer and stacked with the top dielectric layer, poly(vinyledenefluoride-trifluoroethylene). Both of them are being referred that have one in common which is ferroelectric behavior. Therefore the combination of ceramic and polymer ferroelectric material could perform optimum dielectric characteristic for capacitor applications. The fabrication was done by simple sol-gel spin coating method that being varied at spinning speed property for polymer layers, whereas maintaining the ceramic layer. The characterization of PVDF-TrFE/PbTiO3 was performed according to metal-insulator-metal stacked capacitor measurement which includes structural, dielectric, and ferroelectric measurement.

In situ atomic force microscope imaging of supported lipid bilayers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kaasgaard, Thomas; Leidy, Chad; Ipsen, John Hjorth

2001-01-01

In situ AFM images of phospholipase A/sub 2/ (PLA/sub 2/) hydrolysis of mica-supported one- and two-component lipid bilayers are presented. For one-component DPPC bilayers an enhanced enzymatic activity is observed towards preexisting defects in the bilayer. Phase separation is observed in two-co...

Highly sensitive and selective room-temperature NO{sub 2} gas sensor based on bilayer transferred chemical vapor deposited graphene

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Seekaew, Yotsarayuth [Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Kasetsart University, Chatuchak, Bangkok 10900 (Thailand); Phokharatkul, Ditsayut; Wisitsoraat, Anurat [Nanoelectronics and MEMS Laboratory, National Electronics and Computer Technology Center, Klong Luang, Pathumthani 12120 (Thailand); Wongchoosuk, Chatchawal, E-mail: chatchawal.w@ku.ac.th [Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Kasetsart University, Chatuchak, Bangkok 10900 (Thailand)

2017-05-15

Highlights: • Simple and low-cost fabrication of bilayer graphene gas sensor was presented. • Layer effects of graphene on NO{sub 2} gas-sensing properties were investigated. • Bilayer graphene sensor exhibited a high linear NO{sub 2} sensitivity of 1.409 ppm{sup −1}. • The NO{sub 2}-sensing mechanisms based on band diagram were highlighted. - Abstract: This work presents a highly sensitive room-temperature gas sensor based on bilayer graphene fabricated by an interfacial transfer of chemical vapor deposited graphene onto nickel interdigitated electrodes. Scanning electron microscopic and Raman spectroscopic characterizations confirm the presence of graphene on interdigitated nickel electrodes with varying numbers of graphene layers. The NO{sub 2} detection performances of bilayer graphene gas sensor have been investigated in comparison with those of monolayer and multilayer graphene gas sensors at room temperature. From results, the bilayer graphene gas sensor exhibits higher response, sensitivity and selectivity to NO{sub 2} than monolayer and multilayer graphene. The sensitivity of bilayer graphene gas sensor is 1.409 ppm{sup −1} towards NO{sub 2} over a concentration range of 1–25 ppm, which is more than twice higher than that of monolayer graphene. The NO{sub 2}-sensing mechanism of graphene sensing film has been explained based on the direct charge transfer process due to the adsorption of NO{sub 2} molecules.

Tailored sequential drug release from bilayered calcium sulfate composites

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Orellana, Bryan R.; Puleo, David A.

2014-01-01

The current standard for treating infected bony defects, such as those caused by periodontal disease, requires multiple time-consuming steps and often multiple procedures to fight the infection and recover lost tissue. Releasing an antibiotic followed by an osteogenic agent from a synthetic bone graft substitute could allow for a streamlined treatment, reducing the need for multiple surgeries and thereby shortening recovery time. Tailorable bilayered calcium sulfate (CS) bone graft substitutes were developed with the ability to sequentially release multiple therapeutic agents. Bilayered composite samples having a shell and core geometry were fabricated with varying amounts (1 or 10 wt.%) of metronidazole-loaded poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) particles embedded in the shell and simvastatin directly loaded into either the shell, core, or both. Microcomputed tomography showed the overall layered geometry as well as the uniform distribution of PLGA within the shells. Dissolution studies demonstrated that the amount of PLGA particles (i.e., 1 vs. 10 wt.%) had a small but significant effect on the erosion rate (3% vs. 3.4%/d). Mechanical testing determined that introducing a layered geometry had a significant effect on the compressive strength, with an average reduction of 35%, but properties were comparable to those of mandibular trabecular bone. Sustained release of simvastatin directly loaded into CS demonstrated that changing the shell to core volume ratio dictates the duration of drug release from each layer. When loaded together in the shell or in separate layers, sequential release of metronidazole and simvastatin was achieved. By introducing a tunable, layered geometry capable of releasing multiple drugs, CS-based bone graft substitutes could be tailored in order to help streamline the multiple steps needed to regenerate tissue in infected defects. - Highlights: • Bilayered CS composites were fabricated as potential bone graft substitutes. • The shell

Tailored sequential drug release from bilayered calcium sulfate composites

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Orellana, Bryan R.; Puleo, David A., E-mail: puleo@uky.edu

2014-10-01

The current standard for treating infected bony defects, such as those caused by periodontal disease, requires multiple time-consuming steps and often multiple procedures to fight the infection and recover lost tissue. Releasing an antibiotic followed by an osteogenic agent from a synthetic bone graft substitute could allow for a streamlined treatment, reducing the need for multiple surgeries and thereby shortening recovery time. Tailorable bilayered calcium sulfate (CS) bone graft substitutes were developed with the ability to sequentially release multiple therapeutic agents. Bilayered composite samples having a shell and core geometry were fabricated with varying amounts (1 or 10 wt.%) of metronidazole-loaded poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) particles embedded in the shell and simvastatin directly loaded into either the shell, core, or both. Microcomputed tomography showed the overall layered geometry as well as the uniform distribution of PLGA within the shells. Dissolution studies demonstrated that the amount of PLGA particles (i.e., 1 vs. 10 wt.%) had a small but significant effect on the erosion rate (3% vs. 3.4%/d). Mechanical testing determined that introducing a layered geometry had a significant effect on the compressive strength, with an average reduction of 35%, but properties were comparable to those of mandibular trabecular bone. Sustained release of simvastatin directly loaded into CS demonstrated that changing the shell to core volume ratio dictates the duration of drug release from each layer. When loaded together in the shell or in separate layers, sequential release of metronidazole and simvastatin was achieved. By introducing a tunable, layered geometry capable of releasing multiple drugs, CS-based bone graft substitutes could be tailored in order to help streamline the multiple steps needed to regenerate tissue in infected defects. - Highlights: • Bilayered CS composites were fabricated as potential bone graft substitutes. • The shell

Electronic structure and optical properties of twisted bilayer graphene calculated via time evolution of states in real space

Science.gov (United States)

Le, H. Anh; Do, V. Nam

2018-03-01

We investigate the electronic and optical properties of twisted bilayer graphene with arbitrary twist angles θ . Our results are based on a method of evolving in time quantum states in lattice space. We propose an efficient scheme of sampling lattice nodes that helps to reduce significantly computational cost, particularly for tiny twist angles. We demonstrate the continuous variation of the density of states and the optical conductivity with respect to the twist angle. It indicates that the commensurability between the two graphene layers does not play an essential role in governing the electronic and optical properties. We point out that, for the twist angles roughly in the range 0 .1∘energy exhibits the typical W shape with a small peak locating at the Fermi energy. This peak is formed as the merging of two van Hove peaks and reflects the appearance of states strongly localized in the AA-like region of moiré zones. When decreasing the twist angle to zero, the W shape is gradually transformed to the U shape, which is seen as the behavior of the density of states in the limit of θ →0∘ .

Magnetic flux distributions in chiral helimagnet/superconductor bilayers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kato, Masaru, E-mail: kato@ms.osakafu-u.ac.jp [Department of Mathematical Sciences, Osaka Prefecture University, 1-1, Gakuencho, Nakaku, Sakai, Osaka 599-8531 (Japan); Fukui, Saoto [Department of Mathematical Sciences, Osaka Prefecture University, 1-1, Gakuencho, Nakaku, Sakai, Osaka 599-8531 (Japan); Sato, Osamu [Osaka Prefecture University College of Technology, 26-12, Saiwaicho, Neyagawa, Osaka 572-8572 (Japan); Togawa, Yoshihiko [Department of Physics and Electronics, Osaka Prefecture University, 1-1, Gakuencho, Nakaku, Sakai, Osaka 599-8531 (Japan)

2017-02-15

Highlights: • Vortex states in a chiral helimagnet/superconductor bilayer are investigated. • Vortex and anti-vortex appears depending on strength of helimagnet. • Vortex is elongated under a gradient field. • Vortices form a undulated triangular lattice. - Abstarct: Vortex states in a chiral helimagnet/superconductor bilayer are investigated numerically, using the Ginzburg–Landau equations with the finite element method. In this bilayer, effect of the chiral helimagnet on the superconductor is taken as an external field. Magnetic field distribution can be controlled by an applied field to the bilayer. It is shown that a single vortex in a gradient field is elongated along the field gradient. In zero applied field, there are up- and down vortices which are parallel or antiparallel to the z-axis, respectively. But increasing the applied field, down-vortices disappear and up-vortices form undulated triangular lattices.

Interfacial exciplex formation in bilayers of conjugated polymers

Science.gov (United States)

Nobuyasu, R. S.; Araujo, K. A. S.; Cury, L. A.; Jarrosson, T.; Serein-Spirau, F.; Lère-Porte, J.-P.; Dias, F. B.; Monkman, A. P.

2013-10-01

The donor-acceptor interactions in sequential bilayer and blend films are investigated. Steady-state and time-resolved photoluminescence (PL) were measured to characterize the samples at different geometries of photoluminescence collection. At standard excitation, with the laser incidence at 45° of the normal direction of the sample surface, a band related to the aggregate states of donor molecules appears for both blend and bilayer at around 540 nm. For the PL spectra acquired from the edge of the bilayer, with the laser incidence made at normal direction of the sample surface (90° geometry), a new featureless band emission, red-shifted from donor and acceptor emission regions was observed and assigned as the emission from interfacial exciplex states. The conformational complexity coming from donor/acceptor interactions at the heterojunction interface of the bilayer is at the origin of this interfacial exciplex emission.

Spin Hall magnetoresistance in antiferromagnet/normal metal bilayers

KAUST Repository

Manchon, Aurelien

2017-01-01

We investigate the emergence of spin Hall magnetoresistance in a magnetic bilayer composed of a normal metal adjacent to an antiferromagnet. Based on a recently derived drift diffusion equation, we show that the resistance of the bilayer depends on the relative angle between the direction transverse to the current flow and the Néel order parameter. While this effect presents striking similarities with the spin Hall magnetoresistance recently reported in ferromagnetic bilayers, its physical origin is attributed to the anisotropic spin relaxation of itinerant spins in the antiferromagnet.

Electrostatic double-layer interaction between stacked charged bilayers

Science.gov (United States)

Hishida, Mafumi; Nomura, Yoko; Akiyama, Ryo; Yamamura, Yasuhisa; Saito, Kazuya

2017-10-01

The inapplicability of the DLVO theory to multilayered anionic bilayers is found in terms of the co-ion-valence dependence of the lamellar repeat distance. Most of the added salt is expelled from the interlamellar space to the bulk due to the Gibbs-Donnan effect on multiple bilayers with the bulk. The electrostatic double-layer interaction is well expressed by the formula recently proposed by Trefalt. The osmotic pressure due to the expelled ions, rather than the van der Waals interaction, is the main origin of the attractive force between the bilayers.

Vacuum-assisted bilayer PEDOT:PSS/cellulose nanofiber composite film for self-standing, flexible, conductive electrodes.

Science.gov (United States)

Ko, Youngsang; Kim, Dabum; Kim, Ung-Jin; You, Jungmok

2017-10-01

Sustainable cellulose nanofiber (CNF)-based composites as functional conductive materials have garnered considerable attention recently for their use in soft electronic devices. In this work, self-standing, highly flexible, and conductive PEDOT:PSS-CNF composite films were developed using a simple vacuum-assisted filtration method. Two different composite films were successfully fabricated and then tested: 1) a single-layer composite composed of a mixture of PEDOT:PSS and CNF phases and 2) a bilayer composite composed of an upper PEDOT:PSS membrane layer and a CNF matrix sub-layer. The latter composite was constructed by electrostatic/hydrogen bonding interactions between PEDOT:PSS and CNFs coupled with sequential vacuum-assisted filtration. Our results demonstrated that the resultant bilayer composite film exhibited a competitive electrical conductivity (ca. 22.6Scm -1 ) compared to those of previously reported cellulose-based composites. Furthermore, decreases in the electrical properties were not observed in the composite films when they were bent up to 100 times at an angle of 180° and bent multiple times at an angle of 90°, clearly demonstrating their excellent mechanical flexibility. This study provides a straightforward method of fabricating highly flexible, lightweight, and conductive films, which have the potential to be used in high-performance soft electronic systems. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Multiferroic behavior on nanometric La2/3Ca1/3MnO3 / BaTiO3 bilayers

Science.gov (United States)

Prieto, Pedro; Ordoñez, John Edward; Gomez, Maria Elena; Lopera, Wilson

2014-03-01

We have deposited bilayers of the FM La2/3Ca1/3MnO3 and FE BaTiO3 as a route to design systems with artificial magnetoelectric coupling on LCMO/BTO/Nb:STO system. We maintain a fixed magnetic layer thickness (tLCMO = 48 nm) and varying the thickness of the ferroelectric layer (tBTO = 20, 50, 100 nm). We analyze the influence of the thickness ratio (tBTO/ tLCMO) in electrical and magnetic properties of manganite. From X-ray diffraction analysis we observed that the samples grew textured. Magnetization and transport measurements indicate a possible multiferroic behavior in the bilayer. We found an increase in the Curie and metal-insulator transition temperature in the bilayer in comparison with those for LCMO (48nm)/STO. Hysteresis loops on bilayers show ferromagnetic behavior. This work has been supported by the ``El Patrimonio Autónomo Fondo Nacional de Financiamiento para CT&I FJC'' Colciencias-CENM Research Projects: No. 1106-48-925531 and CI7917-CC 10510 contract 0002-2013 COLCIENCIAS-UNIVALLE.

Properties and characterization of modern materials

CERN Document Server

Altenbach, Holm

2017-01-01

This book focuses on robust characterization and prediction methods for materials in technical applications as well as the materials’ safety features during operation. In particular, it presents methods for reliably predicting material properties, an aspect that is becoming increasingly important as engineering materials are pushed closer and closer to their limits to boost the performance of machines and structures. To increase their engineering value, components are now designed under the consideration of their multiphysical properties and functions, which requires much more intensive investigation and characterization of these materials. The materials covered in this monograph range from metal-based groups such as lightweight alloys, to advanced high-strength steels and modern titanium alloys. Furthermore, a wide range of polymers and composite materials (e.g. with micro- and nanoparticles or fibres) is covered. The book explores methods for property prediction from classical mechanical characterization-...

Spin wave isolator based on frequency displacement nonreciprocity in ferromagnetic bilayer

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shichi, Shinsuke, E-mail: shinsuke-shichi@murata.com; Matsuda, Kenji; Okajima, Shingo; Hasegawa, Takashi; Okada, Takekazu [Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd., Kyoto 617-8555 (Japan); Kanazawa, Naoki; Goto, Taichi, E-mail: goto@ee.tut.ac.jp; Takagi, Hiroyuki; Inoue, Mitsuteru [Department of Electrical and Electronic Information Engineering, Toyohashi University of Technology, 1-1 Hibari-Ga-Oka, Tempaku, Toyohashi, Aichi 441-8580 (Japan)

2015-05-07

We demonstrated the spin wave isolator using bilayer ferromagnetic media comprising single crystalline and poly-crystalline yttrium iron garnet films, which can control the propagation frequency of magnetostatic waves by the direction of applied magnetic field. This isolator's property does not depend on their thickness then this can be downsized and integrated for nano-scale magnonic circuits. Calculated dispersion relationship shows good agreement with measured one.

Magnetically assisted bilayer composites for soft bending actuators

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Jang, S.H.; Na, Seon Hong; Park, Yong Lae

2017-01-01

This article presents a soft pneumatic bending actuator using a magnetically assisted bilayer composite composed of silicone polymer and ferromagnetic particles. Bilayer composites were fabricated by mixing ferromagnetic particles to a prepolymer state of silicone in a mold and asymmetrically

Probing the interlayer coupling of twisted bilayer MoS2 using photoluminescence spectroscopy.

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Shengxi; Ling, Xi; Liang, Liangbo; Kong, Jing; Terrones, Humberto; Meunier, Vincent; Dresselhaus, Mildred S

2014-10-08

Two-dimensional molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) is a promising material for optoelectronic devices due to its strong photoluminescence emission. In this work, the photoluminescence of twisted bilayer MoS2 is investigated, revealing a tunability of the interlayer coupling of bilayer MoS2. It is found that the photoluminescence intensity ratio of the trion and exciton reaches its maximum value for the twisted angle 0° or 60°, while for the twisted angle 30° or 90° the situation is the opposite. This is mainly attributed to the change of the trion binding energy. The first-principles density functional theory analysis further confirms the change of the interlayer coupling with the twisted angle, which interprets our experimental results.

Predicting proton titration in cationic micelle and bilayer environments

Science.gov (United States)

Morrow, Brian H.; Eike, David M.; Murch, Bruce P.; Koenig, Peter H.; Shen, Jana K.

2014-08-01

Knowledge of the protonation behavior of pH-sensitive molecules in micelles and bilayers has significant implications in consumer product development and biomedical applications. However, the calculation of pKa's in such environments proves challenging using traditional structure-based calculations. Here we apply all-atom constant pH molecular dynamics with explicit ions and titratable water to calculate the pKa of a fatty acid molecule in a micelle of dodecyl trimethylammonium chloride and liquid as well as gel-phase bilayers of diethyl ester dimethylammonium chloride. Interestingly, the pKa of the fatty acid in the gel bilayer is 5.4, 0.4 units lower than that in the analogous liquid bilayer or micelle, despite the fact that the protonated carboxylic group is significantly more desolvated in the gel bilayer. This work illustrates the capability of all-atom constant pH molecular dynamics in capturing the delicate balance in the free energies of desolvation and Coulombic interactions. It also shows the importance of the explicit treatment of ions in sampling the protonation states. The ability to model dynamics of pH-responsive substrates in a bilayer environment is useful for improving fabric care products as well as our understanding of the side effects of anti-inflammatory drugs.

Predicting proton titration in cationic micelle and bilayer environments

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Morrow, Brian H.; Shen, Jana K. [Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Maryland, Baltimore, Maryland 21201 (United States); Eike, David M.; Murch, Bruce P.; Koenig, Peter H. [Computational Chemistry, Modeling and Simulation GCO, Procter and Gamble, Cincinnati, Ohio 45201 (United States)

2014-08-28

Knowledge of the protonation behavior of pH-sensitive molecules in micelles and bilayers has significant implications in consumer product development and biomedical applications. However, the calculation of pK{sub a}’s in such environments proves challenging using traditional structure-based calculations. Here we apply all-atom constant pH molecular dynamics with explicit ions and titratable water to calculate the pK{sub a} of a fatty acid molecule in a micelle of dodecyl trimethylammonium chloride and liquid as well as gel-phase bilayers of diethyl ester dimethylammonium chloride. Interestingly, the pK{sub a} of the fatty acid in the gel bilayer is 5.4, 0.4 units lower than that in the analogous liquid bilayer or micelle, despite the fact that the protonated carboxylic group is significantly more desolvated in the gel bilayer. This work illustrates the capability of all-atom constant pH molecular dynamics in capturing the delicate balance in the free energies of desolvation and Coulombic interactions. It also shows the importance of the explicit treatment of ions in sampling the protonation states. The ability to model dynamics of pH-responsive substrates in a bilayer environment is useful for improving fabric care products as well as our understanding of the side effects of anti-inflammatory drugs.

Linking lipid architecture to bilayer structure and mechanics using self-consistent field modelling

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pera, H.; Kleijn, J. M.; Leermakers, F. A. M., E-mail: Frans.leermakers@wur.nl [Laboratory of Physical Chemistry and Colloid Science, Wageningen University, Dreijenplein 6, 6307 HB Wageningen (Netherlands)

2014-02-14

To understand how lipid architecture determines the lipid bilayer structure and its mechanics, we implement a molecularly detailed model that uses the self-consistent field theory. This numerical model accurately predicts parameters such as Helfrichs mean and Gaussian bending modulus k{sub c} and k{sup ¯} and the preferred monolayer curvature J{sub 0}{sup m}, and also delivers structural membrane properties like the core thickness, and head group position and orientation. We studied how these mechanical parameters vary with system variations, such as lipid tail length, membrane composition, and those parameters that control the lipid tail and head group solvent quality. For the membrane composition, negatively charged phosphatidylglycerol (PG) or zwitterionic, phosphatidylcholine (PC), and -ethanolamine (PE) lipids were used. In line with experimental findings, we find that the values of k{sub c} and the area compression modulus k{sub A} are always positive. They respond similarly to parameters that affect the core thickness, but differently to parameters that affect the head group properties. We found that the trends for k{sup ¯} and J{sub 0}{sup m} can be rationalised by the concept of Israelachivili's surfactant packing parameter, and that both k{sup ¯} and J{sub 0}{sup m} change sign with relevant parameter changes. Although typically k{sup ¯}<0, membranes can form stable cubic phases when the Gaussian bending modulus becomes positive, which occurs with membranes composed of PC lipids with long tails. Similarly, negative monolayer curvatures appear when a small head group such as PE is combined with long lipid tails, which hints towards the stability of inverse hexagonal phases at the cost of the bilayer topology. To prevent the destabilisation of bilayers, PG lipids can be mixed into these PC or PE lipid membranes. Progressive loading of bilayers with PG lipids lead to highly charged membranes, resulting in J{sub 0}{sup m}≫0, especially at low ionic

Single-molecule study of full-length NaChBac by planar lipid bilayer recording.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrew Jo

Full Text Available Planar lipid bilayer device, alternatively known as BLM, is a powerful tool to study functional properties of conducting membrane proteins such as ion channels and porins. In this work, we used BLM to study the prokaryotic voltage-gated sodium channel (Nav NaChBac in a well-defined membrane environment. Navs are an essential component for the generation and propagation of electric signals in excitable cells. The successes in the biochemical, biophysical and crystallographic studies on prokaryotic Navs in recent years has greatly promoted the understanding of the molecular mechanism that underlies these proteins and their eukaryotic counterparts. In this work, we investigated the single-molecule conductance and ionic selectivity behavior of NaChBac. Purified NaChBac protein was first reconstituted into lipid vesicles, which is subsequently incorporated into planar lipid bilayer by fusion. At single-molecule level, we were able to observe three distinct long-lived conductance sub-states of NaChBac. Change in the membrane potential switches on the channel mainly by increasing its opening probability. In addition, we found that individual NaChBac has similar permeability for Na+, K+, and Ca2+. The single-molecule behavior of the full-length protein is essentially highly stochastic. Our results show that planar lipid bilayer device can be used to study purified ion channels at single-molecule level in an artificial environment, and such studies can reveal new protein properties that are otherwise not observable in in vivo ensemble studies.

Poly(amidoamine) dendrimers on lipid bilayers II: Effects of bilayer phase and dendrimer termination.

Science.gov (United States)

Kelly, Christopher V; Leroueil, Pascale R; Orr, Bradford G; Banaszak Holl, Mark M; Andricioaei, Ioan

2008-08-07

The molecular structures and enthalpy release of poly(amidoamine) (PAMAM) dendrimers binding to 1,2-dimyristoyl- sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DMPC) bilayers were explored through atomistic molecular dynamics. Three PAMAM dendrimer terminations were examined: protonated primary amine, neutral acetamide, and deprotonated carboxylic acid. Fluid and gel lipid phases were examined to extract the effects of lipid tail mobility on the binding of generation-3 dendrimers, which are directly relevant to the nanoparticle interactions involving lipid rafts, endocytosis, lipid removal, and/or membrane pores. Upon binding to gel phase lipids, dendrimers remained spherical, had a constant radius of gyration, and approximately one-quarter of the terminal groups were in close proximity to the lipids. In contrast, upon binding to fluid phase bilayers, dendrimers flattened out with a large increase in their asphericity and radii of gyration. Although over twice as many dendrimer-lipid contacts were formed on fluid versus gel phase lipids, the dendrimer-lipid interaction energy was only 20% stronger. The greatest enthalpy release upon binding was between the charged dendrimers and the lipid bilayer. However, the stronger binding to fluid versus gel phase lipids was driven by the hydrophobic interactions between the inner dendrimer and lipid tails.

Alpha-tocopherol inhibits pore formation in oxidized bilayers

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Boonnoy, P.; Karttunen, M.; Wong-Ekkabut, J.

2017-01-01

In biological membranes, alpha-tocopherols (α-toc; vitamin E) protect polyunsaturated lipids from free radicals. Although the interactions of α-toc with non-oxidized lipid bilayers have been studied, their effects on oxidized bilayers remain unknown. In this study, atomistic molecular dynamics (MD)

Slaved diffusion in phospholipid bilayers

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Liangfang; Granick, Steve

2005-01-01

The translational diffusion of phospholipids in supported fluid bilayers splits into two populations when polyelectrolytes adsorb at incomplete surface coverage. Spatially resolved measurements using fluorescence correlation spectroscopy show that a slow mode, whose magnitude scales inversely with the degree of polymerization of the adsorbate, coexists with a fast mode characteristic of naked lipid diffusion. Inner and outer leaflets of the bilayer are affected nearly equally. Mobility may vary from spot to spot on the membrane surface, despite the lipid composition being the same. This work offers a mechanism to explain how nanosized domains with reduced mobility arise in lipid membranes. PMID:15967988

Materials with complex behaviour II properties, non-classical materials and new technologies

CERN Document Server

Oechsner, Andreas

2012-01-01

This book reviews developments and trends in advanced materials and their properties; modeling and simulation of non-classical materials and new technologies for joining materials. Offers tools for characterizing and predicting properties and behavior.

Chiral Tunnelling in Twisted Graphene Bilayer

OpenAIRE

He, Wen-Yu; Chu, Zhao-Dong; He, Lin

2013-01-01

The perfect transmission in graphene monolayer and the perfect reflection in Bernal graphene bilayer for electrons incident in the normal direction of a potential barrier are viewed as two incarnations of the Klein paradox. Here we show a new and unique incarnation of the Klein paradox. Owing to the different chiralities of the quasiparticles involved, the chiral fermions in twisted graphene bilayer shows adjustable probability of chiral tunnelling for normal incidence: they can be changed fr...

Incorporating isolated molybdenum (Mo) atoms into Bilayer Epitaxial Graphene on 4H-SiC(0001)

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Han; Wan, Wen; Li, Hui; Wong, Swee Liang; Lv, Lu; Gao, Yongli; Wee, Andrew T. S.

2014-03-01

The atomic structures and electronic properties of isolated Mo atoms in bilayer epitaxial graphene (BLEG) on 4H-SiC(0001) are investigated by low temperature scanning tunneling microscopy (LT-STM). LT-STM results reveal that isolated Mo dopants prefer to substitute C atoms at α-sites, and preferentially locate between the graphene bilayers. First-principles calculations confirm that the embedding of single Mo dopants within BLEG is energetically favorable as compared to monolayer graphene. The calculated bandstructures show that Mo-doped BLEG is n-doped, and each Mo atom introduces a local magnetic moment of 1.81 μB. Our findings demonstrate a simple and stable method to incorporate single transition metal dopants into the graphene lattice to tune its electronic and magnetic properties for possible use in graphene spin devices. NRF-CRP (Singapore) grants R-143-000-360-281and R-144-000-295-281. ``Shenghua Professorship'' startup funding from CSU and the support from the NSF of China (Grant No.11304398).

Properties of plastic filtration material

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Paluch, W.

1988-01-01

Discusses properties of filters made of thermoplastic granulated material. The granulated plastic has a specific density of 10.3-10.6 kN/m/sup 3/ and a bulk density of about 6 kN/m/sup 3/. Its chemical resistance to acids, bases and salts is high but is it soluble in organic solvents. Filters made of this material are characterized by a porosity coefficient of 36.5% and a bulk density of 5.7-6.8 kN/m/sup 3/. Physical and mechanical properties of filter samples made of thermoplastic granulated material (50x50x50 mm) were investigated under laboratory conditions. Compression strength and influencing factors were analyzed (ambient temperature, manufacturing technology). Tests show that this filtration material developed by Poltegor is superior to other filtration materials used in Poland.

GABA_A receptor function is regulated by lipid bilayer elasticity

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Søgaard, Rikke; Werge, Thomas; Berthelsen, Camilla

2006-01-01

( s) underlying these effects are poorly understood. DHA and Triton X-100, at concentrations that affect GABAA receptor function, increase the elasticity of lipid bilayers measured as decreased bilayer stiffness using gramicidin channels as molecular force transducers. We have previously shown...... reduced the peak amplitude of the GABA-induced currents and increased the rate of receptor desensitization. The effects of the amphiphiles did not correlate with the expected changes in monolayer spontaneous curvature. We conclude that GABAA receptor function is regulated by lipid bilayer elasticity....... PUFAs may generally regulate membrane protein function by affecting the elasticity of the host lipid bilayer....

Magnetic materials fundamentals, products, properties, applications

CERN Document Server

Hilzinger, Rainer

2013-01-01

At a practical level, this compendium reviews the basics of soft and hard magnetic materials, discusses the advantages of the different processing routes for the exploitation of the magnetic properties and hence assists in proper, fail-safe and economic application of magnetic materials. Essential guidelines and formulas for the calculation of the magnetic and electrical properties, temperature and long-term stability of permanent magnets, of inductive components and magnetic shielding are compiled. Selected fields of application and case studies illustrate the large diversity of technical applications. Application engineers will appreciate the comprehensive compilation of the properties and detailed characteristic curves of modern soft and hard magnetic materials. Materials scientists will enjoy the presentation of the different processing routes and their impact on the magnetic properties and students will profit from the survey from the basics of magnetism down to the applications in inductive components, ...

Lipid peroxidation and water penetration in lipid bilayers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Conte, Elena; Megli, Francesco Maria; Khandelia, Himanshu

2012-01-01

to the hydroperoxide groups to interact with the nitroxide at the methyl-terminal, confirming that the H-bonds experimentally observed are due to increased water penetration in the bilayer. The EPR and MD data on model membranes demonstrate that cell membrane damage by oxidative stress cause alteration of water......(zz) parameters revealed that OHPLPC, but mostly HpPLPC, induced a measurable increase in polarity and H-bonding propensity in the central region of the bilayer. Molecular dynamics simulation performed on 16-DSA in the PLPC-HpPLPC bilayer revealed that water molecules are statistically favored with respect...

Finite Element Method for Analysis of Material Properties

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rauhe, Jens Christian

and the finite element method. The material microstructure of the heterogeneous material is non-destructively determined using X-ray microtomography. A software program has been generated which uses the X-ray tomographic data as an input for the mesh generation of the material microstructure. To obtain a proper...... which are used for the determination of the effective properties of the heterogeneous material. Generally, the properties determined using the finite element method coupled with X-ray microtomography are in good agreement with both experimentally determined properties and properties determined using......The use of cellular and composite materials have in recent years become more and more common in all kinds of structural components and accurate knowledge of the effective properties is therefore essential. In this wok the effective properties are determined using the real material microstructure...

Deuterium absorption in Mg{sub 70}Al{sub 30} thin films with bilayer catalysts: A comparative neutron reflectometry study

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Poirier, Eric [National Research Council Canada/Canadian Neutron Beam Centre, Bldg. 459, Chalk River Laboratories, Chalk River, ON, K0J 1J0 (Canada); Harrower, Chris T.; Kalisvaart, Peter [Chemical and Materials Engineering, University of Alberta and National Research Council Canada/National Institute for Nanotechnology, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2M9 (Canada); Bird, Adam [National Research Council Canada/Canadian Neutron Beam Centre, Bldg. 459, Chalk River Laboratories, Chalk River, ON, K0J 1J0 (Canada); Teichert, Anke [Helmholtz Zentrum Berlin, Hahn-Meitner-Platz 1, 14109 Berlin (Germany); Instituut voor Kern-en Stralingsfysica and INPAC, K.U. Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200D, B-3001 Leuven (Belgium); Laboratorium voor Vaste-Stoffysica en Magnetisme and INPAC, K.U. Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200D, B-3001 Leuven (Belgium); Wallacher, Dirk; Grimm, Nico; Steitz, Roland [Helmholtz Zentrum Berlin, Hahn-Meitner-Platz 1, 14109 Berlin (Germany); Mitlin, David [Chemical and Materials Engineering, University of Alberta and National Research Council Canada/National Institute for Nanotechnology, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2M9 (Canada); Fritzsche, Helmut, E-mail: Helmut.Fritzsche@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca [National Research Council Canada/Canadian Neutron Beam Centre, Bldg. 459, Chalk River Laboratories, Chalk River, ON, K0J 1J0 (Canada)

2011-05-05

Highlights: > Mg{sub 70}Al{sub 30} thin films studied for hydrogen absorption using in situ neutron reflectometry. > Films with Ta/Pd, Ti/Pd and Ni/Pd bilayer catalysts systematically compared. > Measurements reveals deuterium spillover from the catalysts to the MgAl phase. > The use of Ti-Pd bilayer offers best results in terms of amount absorbed and kinetics. > Key results cross-checked with X-ray reflectometry. - Abstract: We present a neutron reflectometry study of deuterium absorption in thin films of Al-containing Mg alloys capped with a Ta/Pd, Ni/Pd and Ti/Pd-catalyst bilayer. The measurements were performed at room temperature over the 0-1 bar pressure range under quasi-equilibrium conditions. The modeling of the measurements provided a nanoscale representation of the deuterium profile in the layers at different stages of the absorption process. The absorption mechanism observed was found to involve spillover of atomic deuterium from the catalyst layer to the Mg alloy phase, followed by the deuteration of the Mg alloy. Complete deuteration of the Mg alloy occurs in a pressure range between 100 and 500 mbar, dependent on the type of bilayer catalyst. The use of a Ti/Pd bilayer catalyst yielded the best results in terms of both storage density and kinetic properties.

Bursting Bubbles and Bilayers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Steven P. Wrenn, Stephen M. Dicker, Eleanor F. Small, Nily R. Dan, Michał Mleczko, Georg Schmitz, Peter A. Lewin

2012-01-01

Full Text Available This paper discusses various interactions between ultrasound, phospholipid monolayer-coated gas bubbles, phospholipid bilayer vesicles, and cells. The paper begins with a review of microbubble physics models, developed to describe microbubble dynamic behavior in the presence of ultrasound, and follows this with a discussion of how such models can be used to predict inertial cavitation profiles. Predicted sensitivities of inertial cavitation to changes in the values of membrane properties, including surface tension, surface dilatational viscosity, and area expansion modulus, indicate that area expansion modulus exerts the greatest relative influence on inertial cavitation. Accordingly, the theoretical dependence of area expansion modulus on chemical composition - in particular, poly (ethylene glyclol (PEG - is reviewed, and predictions of inertial cavitation for different PEG molecular weights and compositions are compared with experiment. Noteworthy is the predicted dependence, or lack thereof, of inertial cavitation on PEG molecular weight and mole fraction. Specifically, inertial cavitation is predicted to be independent of PEG molecular weight and mole fraction in the so-called mushroom regime. In the “brush” regime, however, inertial cavitation is predicted to increase with PEG mole fraction but to decrease (to the inverse 3/5 power with PEG molecular weight. While excellent agreement between experiment and theory can be achieved, it is shown that the calculated inertial cavitation profiles depend strongly on the criterion used to predict inertial cavitation. This is followed by a discussion of nesting microbubbles inside the aqueous core of microcapsules and how this significantly increases the inertial cavitation threshold. Nesting thus offers a means for avoiding unwanted inertial cavitation and cell death during imaging and other applications such as sonoporation. A review of putative sonoporation mechanisms is then presented

Topological Quantum Phase Transitions in Two-Dimensional Hexagonal Lattice Bilayers

Science.gov (United States)

Zhai, Xuechao; Jin, Guojun

2013-09-01

Since the successful fabrication of graphene, two-dimensional hexagonal lattice structures have become a research hotspot in condensed matter physics. In this short review, we theoretically focus on discussing the possible realization of a topological insulator (TI) phase in systems of graphene bilayer (GBL) and boron nitride bilayer (BNBL), whose band structures can be experimentally modulated by an interlayer bias voltage. Under the bias, a band gap can be opened in AB-stacked GBL but is still closed in AA-stacked GBL and significantly reduced in AA- or AB-stacked BNBL. In the presence of spin-orbit couplings (SOCs), further demonstrations indicate whether the topological quantum phase transition can be realized strongly depends on the stacking orders and symmetries of structures. It is observed that a bulk band gap can be first closed and then reopened when the Rashba SOC increases for gated AB-stacked GBL or when the intrinsic SOC increases for gated AA-stacked BNBL. This gives a distinct signal for a topological quantum phase transition, which is further characterized by a jump of the ℤ2 topological invariant. At fixed SOCs, the TI phase can be well switched by the interlayer bias and the phase boundaries are precisely determined. For AA-stacked GBL and AB-stacked BNBL, no strong TI phase exists, regardless of the strength of the intrinsic or Rashba SOCs. At last, a brief overview is given on other two-dimensional hexagonal materials including silicene and molybdenum disulfide bilayers.

Growth feature of ionic nitrogen doped CN_x bilayer films with Ti and TiN interlayer by pulse cathode arc discharge

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhou, Bing; Liu, Zhubo; Piliptsou, D.G.; Rogachev, A.V.; Yu, Shengwang; Wu, Yanxia; Tang, Bin; Rudenkov, A.S.

2016-01-01

Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • Ti/ and TiN/CN_x (N"+) bilayers are prepared at various frequencies by pulse cathode arc. • Ti interlayer facilitates the introduction of N atoms into the CN_x (N"+) films. • The most N-sp"2C bonds (mainly graphite-like N) present in the TiN/CN_x (N"+, 3 Hz) film. • Ti/CN_x (N"+, 3 Hz) bilayer possesses small size and disordering of Csp"2 clusters. • The higher hardness and the lower stress presents in the TiN/CN_x (N"+, 10 Hz) bilayer. - Abstract: Using nano-scaled Ti and TiN as interlayer, ionic nitrogen doped carbon (CN_x (N"+)) bilayer films were prepared at various pulse frequencies by cathode arc technique. Elemental distribution at the interface, bonding compositions, microstructure, and mechanical properties of CN_x (N"+) bilayer films were investigated in dependence of interlayer and pulse frequency by Auger electron spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, nanoindentation, and surface profilometer. The results showed that the diffusion extent of C atoms at the interface of CN_x (N"+) bilayers is higher than for the α-C and CN_x (N_2) bilayers with the same interlayer. Nitrogen atoms could diffuse throughout the pre-deposited Ti and TiN layers into the Si substrate for all CN_x (N"+) bilayers. Ti interlayer facilitates the introduction of N atoms into the CN_x (N"+) films and exhibits a certain catalytic effect on the coordination of N atoms with sp"2- and sp"3-C binding. More nitrogenated and intense CN bonding configurations (mainly graphite-like N) form in the TiN/CN_x (N"+) bilayer. Ti/CN_x (N"+) bilayer prepared at low frequency possesses small size and disordering of Csp"2 clusters but TiN interlayer weakens the formation of Csp"2 bonding and increases the disordering of Csp"2 clusters in the films. The residual stress in the bilayer is lower than for CN_x (N"+) monolayer. The higher hardness and the lower residual stress are present in the TiN/CN_x (N"+, 10 Hz) bilayer.

Magnetotransport of High Mobility Holes in Monolayer and Bilayer WSe2

Science.gov (United States)

Tutuc, Emanuel

Transition metal dichalcogenides have attracted significant interest because of their two-dimensional crystal structure, large band-gap, and strong spin-orbit interaction which leads to spin-valley locking. Recent advances in sample fabrication have allowed the experimental study of low temperature magneto-transport of high mobility holes in WSe2. We review here the main results of these studies which reveal clear quantum Hall states in mono- and bilayer WSe2. The data allows the extraction of an effective hole mass of m* = 0.45me (me is the bare electron mass) in both mono and bilayer WSe2. A systematic study of the carrier distribution in bilayer WSe2 determined from a Fourier analysis of the Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations indicates that the two layers are weakly coupled. The individual layer density dependence on gate bias shows negative compressibility, a signature of strong electron-electron interaction in these materials associated with the large effective mass. We discuss the interplay between cyclotron and Zeeman splitting using the dependence of the quantum Hall state sequence on carrier density, and the angle between the magnetic field and the WSe2 plane. Work done in collaboration with B. Fallahazad, H. C. P. Movva, K. Kim, S. K. Banerjee, T. Taniguchi, and K. Watanabe. This work supported by the Nanoelectronics Research Initiative SWAN center, Intel Corp., and National Science Foundation.

Ion beam mixing isotopic metal bilayers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fell, C.J. [Newcastle Univ., NSW (Australia). Dept. of Physics; Kenny, M.J. [CSIRO, Lindfield, NSW (Australia). Div. of Applied Physics

1993-12-31

In order to obtain an insight into the mechanisms of ion-solid interactions, bilayer targets can be prepared from two different isotopes. A mixing study SIMS is to be carried out using specially grown monocrystalline bilayers of {sup 58}Ni / {sup 60}Ni. An important aspect of the work is the preparation of high quality single-crystal thin films. The Ni layers will be grown on the (110) surface of pure Ni and verified for crystallinity using Reflection High-Energy Electron Diffraction and Rutherford Backscattering channelling analysis. The Pd bilayers will be grown on a Pd (100) surface. RHEED will be used to confirm the two-dimensional crystallinity of the surface before and after deposition of each layer, and channelling used to confirm bulk film crystallinity. Single crystal substrates are currently being prepared. Analysis of the Ni (110) surface using RHEED at 9 kV shows a streak spacing which corresponds to a lattice spacing of 2.47 {+-} 0.09 Angstroms. 9 refs., 1 fig.

Ion beam mixing isotopic metal bilayers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fell, C J [Newcastle Univ., NSW (Australia). Dept. of Physics; Kenny, M J [CSIRO, Lindfield, NSW (Australia). Div. of Applied Physics

1994-12-31

In order to obtain an insight into the mechanisms of ion-solid interactions, bilayer targets can be prepared from two different isotopes. A mixing study SIMS is to be carried out using specially grown monocrystalline bilayers of {sup 58}Ni / {sup 60}Ni. An important aspect of the work is the preparation of high quality single-crystal thin films. The Ni layers will be grown on the (110) surface of pure Ni and verified for crystallinity using Reflection High-Energy Electron Diffraction and Rutherford Backscattering channelling analysis. The Pd bilayers will be grown on a Pd (100) surface. RHEED will be used to confirm the two-dimensional crystallinity of the surface before and after deposition of each layer, and channelling used to confirm bulk film crystallinity. Single crystal substrates are currently being prepared. Analysis of the Ni (110) surface using RHEED at 9 kV shows a streak spacing which corresponds to a lattice spacing of 2.47 {+-} 0.09 Angstroms. 9 refs., 1 fig.

Intercalation of small hydrophobic molecules in lipid bilayers containing cholesterol

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Worcester, D.L.; Hamacher, K.; Kaiser, H.; Kulasekere, R.; Torbet, J. [Univ. of Missouri, Columbia, MO (United States)

1994-12-31

Partitioning of small hydrophobic molecules into lipid bilayers containing cholesterol has been studied using the 2XC diffractometer at the University of Missouri Research Reactor. Locations of the compounds were determined by Fourier difference methods with data from both deuterated and undeuterated compounds introduced into the bilayers from the vapor phase. Data fitting procedures were developed for determining how well the compounds were localized. The compounds were found to be localized in a narrow region at the center of the hydrophobic layer, between the two halves of the bilayer. The structures are therefore intercalated structures with the long axis of the molecules in the plane of the bilayer.

Intercalation of small hydrophobic molecules in lipid bilayers containing cholesterol

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Worcester, D.L.; Hamacher, K.; Kaiser, H.; Kulasekere, R.; Torbet, J.

1994-01-01

Partitioning of small hydrophobic molecules into lipid bilayers containing cholesterol has been studied using the 2XC diffractometer at the University of Missouri Research Reactor. Locations of the compounds were determined by Fourier difference methods with data from both deuterated and undeuterated compounds introduced into the bilayers from the vapor phase. Data fitting procedures were developed for determining how well the compounds were localized. The compounds were found to be localized in a narrow region at the center of the hydrophobic layer, between the two halves of the bilayer. The structures are therefore intercalated structures with the long axis of the molecules in the plane of the bilayer

Well-Defined Polyethylene-Based Random, Block, and Bilayered Molecular Cobrushes

KAUST Repository

Zhang, Hefeng

2015-06-09

Novel well-defined polyethylene-based random, block, and bilayered molecular cobrushes were synthesized through the macromonomer strategy. Two steps were involved in this approach: (i) synthesis of norbornyl-terminated macromonomers of polyethylene (PE), polycaprolactone (PCL), poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO), and polystyrene (PS), as well as polyethylene-b-polycaprolactone (PE-b-PCL), by esterification of the hydroxyl-terminated precursors (PE, PCL, PEO, PS, and PE-b-PCL) with 5-norbornene-2-carboxylic acid and (ii) ring-opening metathesis (co)polymerization of the resulting macromonomers to afford the PE-based molecular cobrushes. The PE-macromonomers were synthesized by polyhomologation of dimethylsulfoxonium methylide, while the others by anionic polymerization. Proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H NMR) and high-temperature gel permeation chromatography (HT-GPC) were used to imprint the molecular characteristics of all macromonomers and molecular brushes and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) for the thermal properties. The bilayered molecular cobrushes of P(PE-b-PCL) adopt a wormlike morphology on silica wafer as visualized by atomic force microscopy (AFM). © 2015 American Chemical Society.

Ionic motion in PEDOT and PPy conducting polymer bilayers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zainudeen, Umer L.; Careem, M.A.; Skaarup, Steen

2006-01-01

Conducting polymer bilayers with poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) and polypyrrole (PPy), each containing dodecyl benzenesulfonate (DBS) as immobile dopant species, were synthesized galvanostatically. The electrochemical behaviour of the bilayers was investigated using cyclic voltammetry...

Virtual materials design using databases of calculated materials properties

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Munter, T R; Landis, D D; Abild-Pedersen, F; Jones, G; Wang, S; Bligaard, T

2009-01-01

Materials design is most commonly carried out by experimental trial and error techniques. Current trends indicate that the increased complexity of newly developed materials, the exponential growth of the available computational power, and the constantly improving algorithms for solving the electronic structure problem, will continue to increase the relative importance of computational methods in the design of new materials. One possibility for utilizing electronic structure theory in the design of new materials is to create large databases of materials properties, and subsequently screen these for new potential candidates satisfying given design criteria. We utilize a database of more than 81 000 electronic structure calculations. This alloy database is combined with other published materials properties to form the foundation of a virtual materials design framework (VMDF). The VMDF offers a flexible collection of materials databases, filters, analysis tools and visualization methods, which are particularly useful in the design of new functional materials and surface structures. The applicability of the VMDF is illustrated by two examples. One is the determination of the Pareto-optimal set of binary alloy methanation catalysts with respect to catalytic activity and alloy stability; the other is the search for new alloy mercury absorbers.

Fabrication of bi-layer graphene and theoretical simulation for its possible application in thin film solar cell.

Science.gov (United States)

Behura, Sanjay K; Mahala, Pramila; Nayak, Sasmita; Yang, Qiaoqin; Mukhopadhyay, Indrajit; Janil, Omkar

2014-04-01

High quality graphene film is fabricated using mechanical exfoliation of highly-oriented pyrolytic graphite. The graphene films on glass substrates are characterized using field-emission scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, UV-vis spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. A very high intensity ratio of 2D to G-band (to approximately 1.67) and narrow 2D-band full-width at half maximum (to approximately 40 cm(-1)) correspond to the bi-layer graphene formation. The bi-layer graphene/p-GaN/n-InGaN/n-GaN/GaN/sAl2O3 system is studied theoretically using TCAD Silvaco software, in which the properties of exfoliated bi-layer graphene are used as transparent and conductive film, and the device exhibits an efficiency of 15.24% compared to 13.63% for ITO/p-GaN/n-InGaN/n-GaN/GaN/Al2O3 system.

Interaction of Melittin with Negatively Charged Lipid Bilayers Supported on Gold Electrodes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Juhaniewicz, Joanna; Sek, Slawomir

2016-01-01

ABSTRACT: The interactions of melittin, a cationic antimicrobial peptide, with model lipid membranes consisting of negatively charged phospholipids: 1,2-dimyristoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoglycerol (DMPG) or 1,2-dimyristoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoserine (DMPS) were investigated using electrochemical techniques and atomic force microscopy. Lipid bilayers were deposited on gold electrodes using a combination of Langmuir-Blodgett and Langmuir-Schaefer methods and the resulting membranes established a barrier for electron transfer between the electrode and the redox probe in the solution. After exposure to melittin, the blocking properties of the membranes were monitored using cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. It was observed that after treatment with peptide, the charge transfer through lipid bilayer is initially strongly inhibited. However, after longer exposure to melittin, the structure of the lipid film becomes less compact and the electrode reactions are facilitated due to the presence of numerous defect sites exposing bare substrate. We have assumed that such behavior reflects initial adsorption of melittin on top of the membrane and its further insertion which leads to formation of the pores or partial micellization of the lipid film. AFM imaging revealed that the exposure to 10 μM melittin solution induces significant structural changes in DMPG and DMPS membranes. However, melittin seems to affect their organization in a different manner. DMPG film appears to be more susceptible to peptide action compared with DMPS bilayer. In the latter case, long-time exposure to melittin does not result in the rupture of the membrane but rather leads to formation of pore-like defects. This observation is explained in terms of different nanomechanical properties of DMPG and DMPS films and different barrier for the reorientation and insertion of the peptide molecules into the membranes.

Characteristics of molybdenum bilayer back contacts for Cu(In,Ga)Se2 solar cells on Ti foils

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Roger, Charles; Noël, Sébastien; Sicardy, Olivier; Faucherand, Pascal; Grenet, Louis; Karst, Nicolas; Fournier, Hélène; Roux, Frédéric; Ducroquet, Frédérique; Brioude, Arnaud; Perraud, Simon

2013-01-01

Molybdenum back contact properties are critical for Cu(In,Ga)Se 2 (CIGS) solar cell performance on metallic substrates. In this work, we investigated the properties of sputter-deposited Mo bilayer back contacts on Ti foils. The morphology, electrical resistivity, optical reflectance and residual mechanical stress of the bottom Mo layer were modified by varying the working pressure during its deposition. Working pressures ranging from 0.27 Pa to 4.00 Pa were used. The top Mo layer was deposited using constant conditions at a pressure of 0.13 Pa. It was demonstrated that unlike a Mo monolayer, the use of a Mo bilayer allows controlling the mechanical stress at the Mo/CIGS interface without degrading the optical reflectance and the electrical resistance of the back contact. It was also found that the morphology of the bottom Mo layer affects the growth of the top Mo layer, resulting in a modified back contact surface morphology. This induces changes in the crystalline orientation of the CIGS layer. The resulting solar cell characteristics strongly vary as a function of the bottom Mo layer deposition pressure. A bottom Mo layer growth at 2.93 Pa allows improving the solar cell conversion efficiency by 1.5 times compared to a bottom Mo layer deposited at 0.27 Pa. Using the improved Mo bilayer back contact, a maximum solar cell efficiency of 10.0% was obtained without sodium addition nor anti-reflection coating. - Highlights: • Mo bilayer back contacts for Cu(In,Ga)Se 2 solar cells were grown on Ti substrates. • The sputtering pressure of the bottom Mo layer was varied between 0.27 Pa and 4 Pa. • The top Mo layer controls the optical and electrical properties of the back contact. • The structure of the bottom Mo layer influences the morphology of the top Mo layer. • The back contact affects the CIGS texture, device series resistance and efficiency

A high performance transparent resistive switching memory made from ZrO{sub 2}/AlON bilayer structure

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tsai, Tsung-Ling; Chang, Hsiang-Yu; Tseng, Tseung-Yuen, E-mail: tseng@cc.nctu.edu.tw [Department of Electronics Engineering and Institute of Electronics, National Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu 30010, Taiwan (China); Lou, Jesse Jen-Chung [Department of Energy Information Engineering, School of Software and Microelectronics, Peking University, Wuxi 214125 (China)

2016-04-11

In this study, the switching properties of an indium tin oxide (ITO)/zirconium oxide (ZrO{sub 2})/ITO single layer device and those of a device with an aluminum oxynitride (AlON) layer were investigated. The devices with highly transparent characteristics were fabricated. Compared with the ITO/ZrO{sub 2}/ITO single layer device, the ITO/ZrO{sub 2}/AlON/ITO bilayer device exhibited a larger ON/OFF ratio, higher endurance performance, and superior retention properties by using a simple two-step forming process. These substantial improvements in the resistive switching properties were attributed to the minimized influence of oxygen migration through the ITO top electrode (TE), which can be realized by forming an asymmetrical conductive filament with the weakest part at the ZrO{sub 2}/AlON interface. Therefore, in the ITO/ZrO{sub 2}/AlON/ITO bilayer device, the regions where conductive filament formation and rupture occur can be effectively moved from the TE interface to the interior of the device.

Exploiting lipopolysaccharide-induced deformation of lipid bilayers to modify membrane composition and generate two-dimensional geometric membrane array patterns

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Adams, Peter G. [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Swingle, Kirstie L. [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Univ. of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM (United States); Paxton, Walter F. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Nogan, John J. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Stromberg, Loreen R. [Univ. of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM (United States); Firestone, Millicent A. [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Mukundan, Harshini [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); New Mexico Consortium, Los Alamos, NM (United States); Montaño, Gabriel A. [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

2015-05-27

Supported lipid bilayers have proven effective as model membranes for investigating biophysical processes and in development of sensor and array technologies. The ability to modify lipid bilayers after their formation and in situ could greatly advance membrane technologies, but is difficult via current state-of-the-art technologies. Here we demonstrate a novel method that allows the controlled post-formation processing and modification of complex supported lipid bilayer arrangements, under aqueous conditions. We exploit the destabilization effect of lipopolysaccharide, an amphiphilic biomolecule, interacting with lipid bilayers to generate voids that can be backfilled to introduce desired membrane components. We further demonstrate that when used in combination with a single, traditional soft lithography process, it is possible to generate hierarchically-organized membrane domains and microscale 2-D array patterns of domains. Significantly, this technique can be used to repeatedly modify membranes allowing iterative control over membrane composition. This approach expands our toolkit for functional membrane design, with potential applications for enhanced materials templating, biosensing and investigating lipid-membrane processes.

Effect of intra-membrane C60 fullerenes on the modulus of elasticity and the mechanical resistance of gel and fluid lipid bilayers

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Jihan; Liang, Dehai; Contera, Sonia

2015-10-01

Penetration and partition of C60 to the lipid bilayer core are both relevant to C60 toxicity, and useful to realise C60 biomedical potential. A key aspect is the effect of C60 on bilayer mechanical properties. Here, we present an experimental study on the mechanical effect of the incorporation of C60 into the hydrophobic core of fluid and gel phase zwitterionic phosphatidylcholine (PC) lipid bilayers. We demonstrate its incorporation inside the hydrophobic lipid core and the effect on the packing of the lipids and the vesicle size using a combination of infrared (IR) spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy (AFM) and laser light scattering. Using AFM we measured the Young's modulus of elasticity (E) of 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DPPC), 1,2-dimyristoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DMPC) and 1,2-distearoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DSPC) in the absence (presence) of intra-membranous C60 at 24.5 °C. E of fluid phase supported bilayers is not altered by C60, but E increases with incorporation of C60 in gel phase bilayers. The increase is higher for longer hydrocarbon chains: 1.6 times for DPPC and 2 times for DSPC. However the mechanical resistance of gel phase bilayers of curved bilayered structures decreases with the incorporation of C60. Our combined results indicate that C60 causes a decrease in gel phase lipid mobility, i.e. an increase in membrane viscosity.

Dielectric properties of agricultural materials and their applications

CERN Document Server

Nelson, Stuart

2015-01-01

Dielectric Properties of Agricultural Materials and Their Applications provides an understanding of the fundamental principles governing dielectric properties of materials, describes methods for measuring such properties, and discusses many applications explored for solving industry problems. The information in this reference stimulates new research for solving problems associated with production, handling, and processing of agricultural and food products. Anyone seeking a better understanding of dielectric properties of materials and application of radio-frequency and microwave electromagnetic energy for solution of problems in agriculture and related fields will find this an essential resource. Presents applications of dielectric properties for sensing moisture in grain and seed and the use of such properties in radio-frequency and microwave dielectric heating of agricultural materials Offers information for finding correlations between dielectric properties and quality attributes such as sweetness in melon...

Atomic force microscope image contrast mechanisms on supported lipid bilayers.

Science.gov (United States)

Schneider, J; Dufrêne, Y F; Barger, W R; Lee, G U

2000-08-01

This work presents a methodology to measure and quantitatively interpret force curves on supported lipid bilayers in water. We then use this method to correlate topographic imaging contrast in atomic force microscopy (AFM) images of phase-separated Langmuir-Blodgett bilayers with imaging load. Force curves collected on pure monolayers of both distearoylphosphatidylethanolamine (DSPE) and monogalactosylethanolamine (MGDG) and dioleoylethanolamine (DOPE) deposited at similar surface pressures onto a monolayer of DSPE show an abrupt breakthrough event at a repeatable, material-dependent force. The breakthrough force for DSPE and MGDG is sizable, whereas the breakthrough force for DOPE is too small to measure accurately. Contact-mode AFM images on 1:1 mixed monolayers of DSPE/DOPE and MGDG/DOPE have a high topographic contrast at loads between the breakthrough force of each phase, and a low topographic contrast at loads above the breakthrough force of both phases. Frictional contrast is inverted and magnified at loads above the breakthrough force of both phases. These results emphasize the important role that surface forces and mechanics can play in imaging multicomponent biomembranes with AFM.

Proton permeation of lipid bilayers.

Science.gov (United States)

Deamer, D W

1987-10-01

Proton permeation of the lipid bilayer barrier has two unique features. First, permeability coefficients measured at neutral pH ranges are six to seven orders of magnitude greater than expected from knowledge of other monovalent cations. Second, proton conductance across planar lipid bilayers varies at most by a factor of 10 when pH is varied from near 1 to near 11. Two mechanisms have been proposed to account for this anomalous behavior: proton conductance related to contaminants of lipid bilayers, and proton translocation along transient hydrogen-bonded chains (tHBC) of associated water molecules in the membrane. The weight of evidence suggests that trace contaminants may contribute to proton conductance across planar lipid membranes at certain pH ranges, but cannot account for the anomalous proton flux in liposome systems. Two new results will be reported here which were designed to test the tHBC model. These include measurements of relative proton/potassium permeability in the gramicidin channel, and plots of proton flux against the magnitude of pH gradients. (1) The relative permeabilities of protons and potassium through the gramicidin channel, which contains a single strand of hydrogen-bonded water molecules, were found to differ by at least four orders of magnitude when measured at neutral pH ranges. This result demonstrates that a hydrogen-bonded chain of water molecules can provide substantial discrimination between protons and other cations. It was also possible to calculate that if approximately 7% of bilayer water was present in a transient configuration similar to that of the gramicidin channel, it could account for the measured proton flux. (2) The plot of proton conductance against pH gradient across liposome membranes was superlinear, a result that is consistent with one of three alternative tHBC models for proton conductance described by Nagle elsewhere in this volume.

Material properties in complement activation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Moghimi, S. Moein; Andersen, Alina Joukainen; Ahmadvand, Davoud

2011-01-01

activation differently and through different sensing molecules and initiation pathways. The importance of material properties in triggering complement is considered and mechanistic aspects discussed. Mechanistic understanding of complement events could provide rational approaches for improved material design...

The Integrin Receptor in Biologically Relevant Bilayers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kalli, Antreas C.; Róg, Tomasz; Vattulainen, Ilpo

2017-01-01

/talin complex was inserted in biologically relevant bilayers that resemble the cell plasma membrane containing zwitterionic and charged phospholipids, cholesterol and sphingolipids to study the dynamics of the integrin receptor and its effect on bilayer structure and dynamics. The results of this study...... demonstrate the dynamic nature of the integrin receptor and suggest that the presence of the integrin receptor alters the lipid organization between the two leaflets of the bilayer. In particular, our results suggest elevated density of cholesterol and of phosphatidylserine lipids around the integrin....../talin complex and a slowing down of lipids in an annulus of ~30 Å around the protein due to interactions between the lipids and the integrin/talin F2–F3 complex. This may in part regulate the interactions of integrins with other related proteins or integrin clustering thus facilitating signal transduction...

Optical properties of low-dimensional materials

CERN Document Server

Ogawa, T

1998-01-01

This book surveys recent theoretical and experimental studies of optical properties of low-dimensional materials. As an extended version of Optical Properties of Low-Dimensional Materials (Volume 1, published in 1995 by World Scientific), Volume 2 covers a wide range of interesting low-dimensional materials including both inorganic and organic systems, such as disordered polymers, deformable molecular crystals, dilute magnetic semiconductors, SiGe/Si short-period superlattices, GaAs quantum wires, semiconductor microcavities, and photonic crystals. There are excellent review articles by promis

Characteristics of TiO_2/ZnO bilayer film towards pH sensitivity prepared by different spin coating deposition process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rahman, Rohanieza Abdul; Zulkefle, Muhammad Al Hadi; Abdullah, Wan Fazlida Hanim; Rusop, M.; Herman, Sukreen Hana

2016-01-01

In this study, titanium dioxide (TiO_2) and zinc oxide (ZnO) bilayer film for pH sensing application will be presented. TiO_2/ZnO bilayer film with different speed of spin-coating process was deposited on Indium Tin Oxide (ITO), prepared by sol-gel method. This fabricated bilayer film was used as sensing membrane for Extended Gate Field-Effect Transistor (EGFET) for pH sensing application. Experimental results indicated that the sensor is able to detect the sensitivity towards pH buffer solution. In order to obtained the result, sensitivity measurement was done by using the EGFET setup equipment with constant-current (100 µA) and constant-voltage (0.3 V) biasing interfacing circuit. TiO_2/ZnO bilayer film which the working electrode, act as the pH-sensitive membrane was connected to a commercial metal-oxide semiconductor FET (MOSFET). This MOSFET then was connected to the interfacing circuit. The sensitivity of the TiO2 thin film towards pH buffer solution was measured by dipping the sensing membrane in pH4, pH7 and pH10 buffer solution. These thin films were characterized by using Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FESEM) to obtain the surface morphology of the composite bilayer films. In addition, I-V measurement was done in order to determine the electrical properties of the bilayer films. According to the result obtained in this experiment, bilayer film that spin at 4000 rpm, gave highest sensitivity which is 52.1 mV/pH. Relating the I-V characteristic of the thin films and sensitivity, the sensing membrane with higher conductivity gave better sensitivity.

Cyclotron resonance in bilayer graphene.

Science.gov (United States)

Henriksen, E A; Jiang, Z; Tung, L-C; Schwartz, M E; Takita, M; Wang, Y-J; Kim, P; Stormer, H L

2008-02-29

We present the first measurements of cyclotron resonance of electrons and holes in bilayer graphene. In magnetic fields up to B=18 T, we observe four distinct intraband transitions in both the conduction and valence bands. The transition energies are roughly linear in B between the lowest Landau levels, whereas they follow square root[B] for the higher transitions. This highly unusual behavior represents a change from a parabolic to a linear energy dispersion. The density of states derived from our data generally agrees with the existing lowest order tight binding calculation for bilayer graphene. However, in comparing data to theory, a single set of fitting parameters fails to describe the experimental results.

Data analytics and parallel-coordinate materials property charts

Science.gov (United States)

Rickman, Jeffrey M.

2018-01-01

It is often advantageous to display material properties relationships in the form of charts that highlight important correlations and thereby enhance our understanding of materials behavior and facilitate materials selection. Unfortunately, in many cases, these correlations are highly multidimensional in nature, and one typically employs low-dimensional cross-sections of the property space to convey some aspects of these relationships. To overcome some of these difficulties, in this work we employ methods of data analytics in conjunction with a visualization strategy, known as parallel coordinates, to represent better multidimensional materials data and to extract useful relationships among properties. We illustrate the utility of this approach by the construction and systematic analysis of multidimensional materials properties charts for metallic and ceramic systems. These charts simplify the description of high-dimensional geometry, enable dimensional reduction and the identification of significant property correlations and underline distinctions among different materials classes.

Tungsten Trioxide/Zinc Tungstate Bilayers: Electrochromic Behaviors, Energy Storage and Electron Transfer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wei, Huige; Ding, Daowei; Yan, Xingru; Guo, Jiang; Shao, Lu; Chen, Haoran; Sun, Luyi; Colorado, Henry A.; Wei, Suying; Guo, Zhanhu

2014-01-01

Highlights: • Tungsten oxide and zinc tungstate bilayers have been prepared via a facile sol-gel method for integrated applications of electrochromic behaviors and energy storage;. • Electron transfer behaviors between the semiconductor bilayer films have been found dependent on the bilayer assembly sequence;. • Methylene blue (MB) has been employed for the first time as an indicator to study the electron transfer phenomenon in the bilayer films. - Abstract: Pair-sequentially spin-coated tungsten trioxide (WO 3 ) and zinc tungstate (ZnWO 4 ) bilayer films onto indium tin oxide (ITO) coated glass slides have been prepared via sol-gel methods followed by annealing. The bilayers (ZnWO 4 /WO 3 denoting the bilayer film with the inner layer of ZnWO 4 and the outer layer of WO 3 on the ITO while WO 3 /ZnWO 4 standing for the bilayer film with the inner layer of WO 3 and the outer layer of ZnWO 4 on the ITO) exhibit integrated functions of electrochromic and energy storage behaviors as indicated by the in situ spectroelectrochemistry and cyclic voltammetry (CV) results. Accordingly, blue color was observed for the bilayer films at -1 V in 0.5 M H 2 SO 4 solution. An areal capacitance of 140 and 230 μF/cm 2 was obtained for the ZnWO 4 /WO 3 , and WO 3 /ZnWO 4 film, respectively, at a scan rate of 0.05 V/s in the CV measurements. The CV results also unveiled the electron transfer behavior between the semiconductor films in the oxidation process, suggesting a sequence-dependent electrochemical response in the bilayer films. Meanwhile, methylene blue (MB) was used as an indicator to study the electron transfer phenomenon during the reduction process at negative potentials of -0.4 and -0.8 V, in 0.5 M Na 2 SO 4 . The results indicated that the electrons transfer across the bilayers was enhanced at more negative potentials

Atomistic calculations of interface elastic properties in noncoherent metallic bilayers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mi Changwen; Jun, Sukky; Kouris, Demitris A.; Kim, Sung Youb

2008-01-01

The paper describes theoretical and computational studies associated with the interface elastic properties of noncoherent metallic bicrystals. Analytical forms of interface energy, interface stresses, and interface elastic constants are derived in terms of interatomic potential functions. Embedded-atom method potentials are then incorporated into the model to compute these excess thermodynamics variables, using energy minimization in a parallel computing environment. The proposed model is validated by calculating surface thermodynamic variables and comparing them with preexisting data. Next, the interface elastic properties of several fcc-fcc bicrystals are computed. The excess energies and stresses of interfaces are smaller than those on free surfaces of the same crystal orientations. In addition, no negative values of interface stresses are observed. Current results can be applied to various heterogeneous materials where interfaces assume a prominent role in the systems' mechanical behavior

A simple method to tune graphene growth between monolayer and bilayer

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiaozhi Xu

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Selective growth of either monolayer or bilayer graphene is of great importance. We developed a method to readily tune large area graphene growth from complete monolayer to complete bilayer. In an ambient pressure chemical vapor deposition process, we used the sample temperature at which to start the H2 flow as the control parameter and realized the change from monolayer to bilayer growth of graphene on Cu foil. When the H2 starting temperature was above 700°C, continuous monolayer graphene films were obtained. When the H2 starting temperature was below 350°C, continuous bilayer films were obtained. Detailed characterization of the samples treated under various conditions revealed that heating without the H2 flow caused Cu oxidation. The more the Cu substrate oxidized, the less graphene bilayer could form.

Magnetization switching behavior with competing anisotropies in epitaxial Co3FeN /MnN exchange-coupled bilayers

Science.gov (United States)

Hajiri, T.; Yoshida, T.; Jaiswal, S.; Filianina, M.; Borie, B.; Ando, H.; Asano, H.; Zabel, H.; Kläui, M.

2016-11-01

We report unusual magnetization switching processes and angular-dependent exchange bias effects in fully epitaxial Co3FeN /MnN bilayers, where magnetocrystalline anisotropy and exchange coupling compete, probed by longitudinal and transverse magneto-optic Kerr effect (MOKE) magnetometry. The MOKE loops show multistep jumps corresponding to the nucleation and propagation of 90∘ domain walls in as-grown bilayers. By inducing exchange coupling, we confirm changes of the magnetization switching process due to the unidirectional anisotropy field of the exchange coupling. Taking into account the experimentally obtained values of the fourfold magnetocrystalline anisotropy, the unidirectional anisotropy field, the exchange-coupling constant, and the uniaxial anisotropy including its direction, the calculated angular-dependent exchange bias reproduces the experimental results. These results demonstrate the essential role of the competition between magnetocrystalline anisotropy and exchange coupling for understanding and tailoring exchange-coupling phenomena usable for engineering switching in fully epitaxial bilayers made of tailored materials.

Influence of ester-modified lipids on bilayer structure.

Science.gov (United States)

Villanueva, Diana Y; Lim, Joseph B; Klauda, Jeffery B

2013-11-19

Lipid membranes function as barriers for cells to prevent unwanted chemicals from entering the cell and wanted chemicals from leaving. Because of their hydrophobic interior, membranes do not allow water to penetrate beyond the headgroup region. We performed molecular simulations to examine the effects of ester-modified lipids, which contain ester groups along their hydrocarbon chains, on bilayer structure. We chose two lipids from those presented in Menger et al. [J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2006, 128, 14034] with ester groups in (1) the upper half of the lipid chain (MEPC) and (2) the middle and end of the lipid chain (MGPC). MGPC (30%)/POPC bilayers formed stable water pores of diameter 5-7 Å, but MGPC (22%)/POPC and MEPC (30%)/POPC bilayers did not form these defects. These pores were similar to those formed during electroporation; i.e., the head groups lined the pore and allowed water and ions to transport across the bilayer. However, we found that lateral organization of the MGPC lipids into clusters, instead of an electric field or charge disparity as in electroporation, was essential for pore formation. On the basis of this, we propose an overall mechanism for pore formation. The similarities between the ester-modified lipids and byproducts of lipid peroxidation with multiple hydrophilic groups in the middle of the chain suggest that free radical reactions with unsaturated lipids and sterols result in fundamental changes that may be similar to what is seen in bilayers with ester-modified lipids.

Microstructure and properties of ceramic materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yen Tungsheng

1984-01-01

Ceramics materials study is an important field in modern materials science. Each side presented 19 papers most of which were recent investigations giving rather extensive coverage of microstructure and properties of new materials. (Auth.)

Semiconductor materials and their properties

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Reinders, Angelina H.M.E.; Verlinden, Pierre; van Sark, Wilfried; Freundlich, Alexandre; Reinders, Angele; Verlinden, Pierre; van Sark, Wilfried; Freundlich, Alexandre

2017-01-01

Semiconductor materials are the basic materials which are used in photovoltaic (PV) devices. This chapter introduces solid-state physics and semiconductor properties that are relevant to photovoltaics without spending too much time on unnecessary information. Usually atoms in the group of

Mechanical Properties of Composite Materials

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mitsuhiro Okayasu

2014-10-01

Full Text Available An examination has been made of the mechanical and failure properties of several composite materials, such as a short and a long carbon fiber reinforced plastic (short- and long-CFRP and metal based composite material. The short CFRP materials were used for a recycled CFRP which fabricated by the following process: the CFRP, consisting of epoxy resin with carbon fiber, is injected to a rectangular plate cavity after mixing with acrylonitrile butadiene styrene resin with different weight fractions of CFRP. The fatigue and ultimate tensile strength (UTS increased with increasing CFRP content. These correlations, however, break down, especially for tensile strength, as the CFPR content becomes more than 70%. Influence of sample temperature on the bending strength of the long-CFRP was investigated, and it appears that the strength slightly degreases with increasing the temperature, due to the weakness in the matrix. Broken fiber and pull-out or debonding between the fiber and matrix were related to the main failure of the short- and long-CFRP samples. Mechanical properties of metal based composite materials have been also investigated, where fiber-like high hardness CuAl2 structure is formed in aluminum matrix. Excellent mechanical properties were obtained in this alloy, e.g., the higher strength and the higher ductility, compared tothe same alloy without the fiber-like structure. There are strong anisotropic effects on the mechanical properties due to the fiber-like metal composite in a soft Al based matrix.

Thin film free-standing PEDOT:PSS/SU8 bilayer microactuators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Taccola, S; Greco, F; Mazzolai, B; Mattoli, V; Jager, E W H

2013-01-01

Several smart active materials have been proposed and tested for the development of microactuators. Among these, conjugated polymers are of great interest because miniaturization improves their electrochemical properties, such as increasing the speed and stress output of microactuators, with respect to large-scale actuators. Recently we developed a novel fabrication process to obtain robust free-standing conductive ultra-thin films made of the conjugated polymer poly(3, 4-ethylenedioxythiophene) doped with the polyanion poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS). These conductive free-standing nanofilms, with thicknesses ranging between a few tens to several hundreds of nm, allow the realisation of new all polymer microactuators using facile microfabrication methods. Here, we report a novel processing method for manufacturing all polymer electrochemical microactuators. We fabricated and patterned free-standing PEDOT:PSS/SU8 bilayer microactuators in the form of microfingers of a variety of lengths using adapted microfabrication procedures. By imposing electrochemical oxidation/reduction cycles on the PEDOT:PSS we were able to demonstrate reversible actuation of the microactuators resulting in bending of the microfingers. A number of possible applications can be envisaged for these small, soft actuators, such as microrobotics and cell manipulation. (technical note)

Nuclear materials thermo-physical property database and property analysis using the database

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jeong, Yeong Seok

2002-02-01

It is necessary that thermo-physical properties and understand of nuclear materials for evaluation and analysis to steady and accident states of commercial and research reactor. In this study, development of nuclear materials thermo-properties database and home page. In application of this database, it is analyzed of thermal conductivity, heat capacity, enthalpy, and linear thermal expansion of fuel and cladding material and compared thermo-properties model in nuclear fuel performance evaluation codes with experimental data in database. Results of compare thermo-property model of UO 2 fuel and cladding major performance evaluation code, both are similar

Band-to-band tunneling distance analysis in the heterogate electron–hole bilayer tunnel field-effect transistor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Padilla, J. L., E-mail: jose.padilladelatorre@epfl.ch [Nanoelectronic Devices Laboratory, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne CH-1015 (Switzerland); Departamento de Electrónica y Tecnología de los Computadores, Universidad de Granada, Avda. Fuentenueva s/n, 18071 Granada (Spain); Palomares, A. [Departamento de Matemática Aplicada, Universidad de Granada, Avda. Fuentenueva s/n, 18071 Granada (Spain); Alper, C.; Ionescu, A. M. [Nanoelectronic Devices Laboratory, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne CH-1015 (Switzerland); Gámiz, F. [Departamento de Electrónica y Tecnología de los Computadores, Universidad de Granada, Avda. Fuentenueva s/n, 18071 Granada (Spain)

2016-01-28

In this work, we analyze the behavior of the band-to-band tunneling distance between electron and hole subbands resulting from field-induced quantum confinement in the heterogate electron–hole bilayer tunnel field-effect transistor. We show that, analogously to the explicit formula for the tunneling distance that can be easily obtained in the semiclassical framework where the conduction and valence band edges are allowed states, an equivalent analytical expression can be derived in the presence of field-induced quantum confinement for describing the dependence of the tunneling distance on the body thickness and material properties of the channel. This explicit expression accounting for quantum confinement holds valid provided that the potential wells for electrons and holes at the top and bottom of the channel can be approximated by triangular profiles. Analytical predictions are compared to simulation results showing very accurate agreement.

Towards tunable and multifunctional interfaces: Multicomponent amorphous alloys and bilayer stacks

Science.gov (United States)

Kast, Matthew G.

Controlling the electronic structure and requisite charge transfer at and across interfaces is a grand challenge of materials science. Despite decades of research and numerous successes in the fields microelectronics and photovoltaics much work remains to be done. In many applications, whether they be in microelectronics, photovoltaics or display technology there is a demand for multiple functions at a single interface. Historically, existent materials were either discarded as an option due to known properties or tested with some application based figure of merit in mind. Following this, the quality of the material and/or the preparation of the surface/interface to which the material would be deposited was optimized. As the microelectronics and photovoltaics industries have matured, continued progress (faster, lower power transistors and more efficient, cheaper, abundant solar cells) will require new materials (possibly not previously existent) that are fundamentally better for their application than their highly optimized existent counter parts. The manifestation of this has been seen in the microelectronics field with introduction of hafnium silicates to replace silica (which had previously been monumentally successful) as the gate dielectrics for the most advanced transistors. Continued progress in efficient, cheap, abundant photovoltaics will require similar advances. Advances will be needed in the area of new abundant absorbers that can be deposited cheaply which result in materials with high efficiencies. In addition, selective contacts capable of extracting charge from efficient absorbers with low ohmic losses and low recombination rates will be needed. Presented here are two approaches to the multifunctional interface problem, first the use of amorphous alloys that open up the accessible composition space of thin films significantly and second the use of bilayers that loosen the requirements of a single film at an interface.

Lipid bilayer membranes: Missing link in the comprehension of synovial lubrication?

Science.gov (United States)

Packard, Ross; Cowley, Leonie; Dubief, Yves

2010-03-01

The human body hosts an extremely efficient tribological system in its synovial joints that operate under very low friction and virtually no wear. It has long been assumed that the higher molecular weight molecules present in the synovial fluid (hyaluronic acid, lubricin) are solely responsible for the mechanical properties of joint. Smaller components, unsaturated phospholipids, have a virtually an undefined role, most probably because of the cancellation of their amphiphilic properties ex vivo caused by oxidation. Using experimental observations of multilamellar arrangements in synovial joints, we formulate the assumption that self-assembling structures provide the anisotropy necessary to synovial fluid to resist drainage under normal compression. Our molecular dynamics simulations demonstrate the tremendous mechanical properties of lipid bilayers and also highlight their weakening consistent with modifications resulting from injuries or joint prosthesis.

Porous Materials - Structure and Properties

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Anders

1997-01-01

The paper presents some viewpoints on the description of the pore structure and the modelling of the properties of the porous building materials. Two examples are given , where it has been possible to connect the pore structure to the properties: Shrinkage of autoclaved aerated concrete...

Compositional and structural characterization of monolayers and bilayers composed of native pulmonary surfactant from wild type mice

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bernardino de la Serna, Jorge; Hansen, Soren; Berzina, Zane

2013-01-01

spectrometry experiments were also performed in order to obtain relevant information on the lipid composition of this material. Bilayers composed of mice pulmonary surfactant showed coexistence of distinct domains at room temperature, with morphologies and lateral packing resembling the coexistence of liquid...

Bioactive glasses materials, properties and applications

CERN Document Server

Ylänen, Heimo

2011-01-01

Due to their biocompatibility and bioactivity, bioactive glasses are used as highly effective implant materials throughout the human body to replace or repair damaged tissue. As a result, they have been in continuous use since shortly after their invention in the late 1960s and are the subject of extensive research worldwide.Bioactive glasses provides readers with a detailed review of the current status of this unique material, its properties, technologies and applications. Chapters in part one deal with the materials and mechanical properties of bioactive glass, examining topics such

Characteristics of molybdenum bilayer back contacts for Cu(In,Ga)Se{sub 2} solar cells on Ti foils

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Roger, Charles, E-mail: charles.rgr@gmail.com [CEA, LITEN, 17 Rue des Martyrs, 38054 Grenoble Cedex 9 (France); Noël, Sébastien; Sicardy, Olivier; Faucherand, Pascal; Grenet, Louis; Karst, Nicolas; Fournier, Hélène; Roux, Frédéric [CEA, LITEN, 17 Rue des Martyrs, 38054 Grenoble Cedex 9 (France); Ducroquet, Frédérique [IMEP-LAHC, Minatec, Grenoble-INP, CNRS UMR 5130, 38016 Grenoble (France); Brioude, Arnaud [Laboratoire des Multimatériaux et Interfaces, UMR 5615, Villeurbanne (France); Perraud, Simon [CEA, LITEN, 17 Rue des Martyrs, 38054 Grenoble Cedex 9 (France)

2013-12-02

Molybdenum back contact properties are critical for Cu(In,Ga)Se{sub 2} (CIGS) solar cell performance on metallic substrates. In this work, we investigated the properties of sputter-deposited Mo bilayer back contacts on Ti foils. The morphology, electrical resistivity, optical reflectance and residual mechanical stress of the bottom Mo layer were modified by varying the working pressure during its deposition. Working pressures ranging from 0.27 Pa to 4.00 Pa were used. The top Mo layer was deposited using constant conditions at a pressure of 0.13 Pa. It was demonstrated that unlike a Mo monolayer, the use of a Mo bilayer allows controlling the mechanical stress at the Mo/CIGS interface without degrading the optical reflectance and the electrical resistance of the back contact. It was also found that the morphology of the bottom Mo layer affects the growth of the top Mo layer, resulting in a modified back contact surface morphology. This induces changes in the crystalline orientation of the CIGS layer. The resulting solar cell characteristics strongly vary as a function of the bottom Mo layer deposition pressure. A bottom Mo layer growth at 2.93 Pa allows improving the solar cell conversion efficiency by 1.5 times compared to a bottom Mo layer deposited at 0.27 Pa. Using the improved Mo bilayer back contact, a maximum solar cell efficiency of 10.0% was obtained without sodium addition nor anti-reflection coating. - Highlights: • Mo bilayer back contacts for Cu(In,Ga)Se{sub 2} solar cells were grown on Ti substrates. • The sputtering pressure of the bottom Mo layer was varied between 0.27 Pa and 4 Pa. • The top Mo layer controls the optical and electrical properties of the back contact. • The structure of the bottom Mo layer influences the morphology of the top Mo layer. • The back contact affects the CIGS texture, device series resistance and efficiency.

Quantitative Raman microspectroscopy for water permeability parameters at a droplet interface bilayer.

Science.gov (United States)

Braziel, S; Sullivan, K; Lee, S

2018-01-29

Using confocal Raman microspectroscopy, we derive parameters for bilayer water transport across an isolated nanoliter aqueous droplet pair. For a bilayer formed with two osmotically imbalanced and adherent nanoliter aqueous droplets in a surrounding oil solvent, a droplet interface bilayer (DIB), the water permeability coefficient across the lipid bilayer was determined from monitoring the Raman scattering from the C[triple bond, length as m-dash]N stretching mode of K 3 Fe(CN) 6 as a measure of water uptake into the swelling droplet of a DIB pair. We also derive passive diffusional permeability coefficient for D 2 O transport across a droplet bilayer using O-D Raman signal. This method provides a significant methodological advance in determining water permeability coefficients in a convenient and reliable way.

Adsorption and magnetism of bilayer graphene on the MnO polar surface with oxygen vacancies in the interface: First principles study

Science.gov (United States)

Ilyasov, Victor V.; Ershov, Igor V.; Popova, Inna G.; Pham, Khang D.; Nguyen, Chuong V.

2018-05-01

In this paper, we investigate systematically the structural, electronic, magnetic and adsorption properties of Bernal-stacked bilayer graphene on MnO(111) surface terminated by an oxygen atom, as a function of nonstoichiometric composition of the BLG/MnOx(111) interface. For additional functionalization of the BLG/MnOx(111) system, we also studied the adsorption properties of oxygen adsorbed on the BLG/MnOx(111) interface. Our results showed that the BLG is bound to the MnOx(111) substrate by the weak interaction for both spin-up and spin-down. Furthermore, we found that BLG adsorbed on the MnOx(111) substrate with a reduced oxygen symmetry in the interface is accompanied with a downshift of the Fermi level, which identifies the band structure of BLG as a p-type semiconductor. Upon interaction between BLG and MnOx(111) substrate, a forbidden gap of about 350 meV was opened between its bonding and antibonding π bands. A forbidden gap and the local magnetic moments in bilayer graphene can be controlled by changing the oxygen nonstoichometry or by oxygen adsorption. Additionally, magnetism has been predicted in the bilayer graphene adsorbed on the polar MnOx(111) surface with oxygen vacancies in the BLG/MnOx(111) interface, and its nature has also been discussed in this work. These results showed that the adsorption of bilayer graphene on the MnO(111) substrate can be used for developing novel generation of electronic and spintronic devices.

Pairing of cholesterol with oxidized phospholipid species in lipid bilayers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Khandelia, Himanshu; Loubet, Bastien; Olzynska, Agnieszka

2014-01-01

We claim that (1) cholesterol protects bilayers from disruption caused by lipid oxidation by sequestering conical shaped oxidized lipid species such as 1-palmitoyl-2-azelaoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (PZPC) away from phospholipid, because cholesterol and the oxidized lipid have complementary...... shapes and (2) mixtures of cholesterol and oxidized lipids can self-assemble into bilayers much like lysolipid–cholesterol mixtures. The evidence for bilayer protection comes from molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and dynamic light scattering (DLS) measurements. Unimodal size distributions of extruded...... vesicles (LUVETs) made up of a mixture of 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DOPC) and PZPC containing high amounts of PZPC are only obtained when cholesterol is present in high concentrations. In simulations, bilayers containing high amounts of PZPC become porous, unless cholesterol is also present...

Twisting dirac fermions: circular dichroism in bilayer graphene

Science.gov (United States)

Suárez Morell, E.; Chico, Leonor; Brey, Luis

2017-09-01

Twisted bilayer graphene is a chiral system which has been recently shown to present circular dichroism. In this work we show that the origin of this optical activity is the rotation of the Dirac fermions’ helicities in the top and bottom layer. Starting from the Kubo formula, we obtain a compact expression for the Hall conductivity that takes into account the dephasing of the electromagnetic field between the top and bottom layers and gathers all the symmetries of the system. Our results are based in both a continuum and a tight-binding model, and they can be generalized to any two-dimensional Dirac material with a chiral stacking between layers.

Characteristics of TiO{sub 2}/ZnO bilayer film towards pH sensitivity prepared by different spin coating deposition process

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rahman, Rohanieza Abdul, E-mail: rohanieza.abdrahman@gmail.com; Zulkefle, Muhammad Al Hadi, E-mail: alhadizulkefle@gmail.com [NANO-Electronic Centre, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), 40450 Shah Alam, Selangor (Malaysia); Abdullah, Wan Fazlida Hanim, E-mail: wanfaz@salam.uitm.edu.my [Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Shah Alam, 40450 Shah Alam, Selangor (Malaysia); Rusop, M., E-mail: rusop@salam.uitm.com [NANO-Electronic Centre, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), 40450 Shah Alam, Selangor (Malaysia); NANO-Science Technology Centre (NST), Institute of Science (IOS), Faculty of Applied Science, Universiti Teknologi MARA - UiTM, 40450 Shah Alam, Selangor (Malaysia); Herman, Sukreen Hana, E-mail: hana1617@salam.uitm.edu.my [NANO-Electronic Centre, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), 40450 Shah Alam, Selangor (Malaysia); CoRe of Frontier Materials & Industry Applications, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), 40450 Shah Alam, Selangor (Malaysia)

2016-07-06

In this study, titanium dioxide (TiO{sub 2}) and zinc oxide (ZnO) bilayer film for pH sensing application will be presented. TiO{sub 2}/ZnO bilayer film with different speed of spin-coating process was deposited on Indium Tin Oxide (ITO), prepared by sol-gel method. This fabricated bilayer film was used as sensing membrane for Extended Gate Field-Effect Transistor (EGFET) for pH sensing application. Experimental results indicated that the sensor is able to detect the sensitivity towards pH buffer solution. In order to obtained the result, sensitivity measurement was done by using the EGFET setup equipment with constant-current (100 µA) and constant-voltage (0.3 V) biasing interfacing circuit. TiO{sub 2}/ZnO bilayer film which the working electrode, act as the pH-sensitive membrane was connected to a commercial metal-oxide semiconductor FET (MOSFET). This MOSFET then was connected to the interfacing circuit. The sensitivity of the TiO2 thin film towards pH buffer solution was measured by dipping the sensing membrane in pH4, pH7 and pH10 buffer solution. These thin films were characterized by using Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FESEM) to obtain the surface morphology of the composite bilayer films. In addition, I-V measurement was done in order to determine the electrical properties of the bilayer films. According to the result obtained in this experiment, bilayer film that spin at 4000 rpm, gave highest sensitivity which is 52.1 mV/pH. Relating the I-V characteristic of the thin films and sensitivity, the sensing membrane with higher conductivity gave better sensitivity.

Bias induced modulation of electrical and thermal conductivity and heat capacity of BN and BN/graphene bilayers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chegel, Raad, E-mail: Raad.chegel@gmail.com

2017-04-15

By using the tight binding approximation and Green function method, the electronic structure, density of state, electrical conductivity, heat capacity of BN and BN/graphene bilayers are investigated. The AA-, AB{sub 1}- and AB{sub 2}- BN/graphene bilayers have small gap unlike to BN bilayers which are wide band gap semiconductors. Unlike to BN bilayer, the energy gap of graphene/BN bilayers increases with external field. The magnitude of the change in the band gap of BN bilayers is much higher than the graphene/BN bilayers. Near absolute zero, the σ(T) is zero for BN bilayers and it increases with temperature until reaches maximum value then decreases. The BN/graphene bilayers have larger electrical conductivity larger than BN bilayers. For both bilayers, the specific heat capacity has a Schottky anomaly.

Dynamic mechanical properties of buffer material

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takaji, Kazuhiko; Taniguchi, Wataru

1999-11-01

The buffer material is expected to maintain its low water permeability, self-sealing properties, radionuclides adsorption and retardation properties, thermal conductivity, chemical buffering properties, overpack supporting properties, stress buffering properties, etc. over a long period of time. Natural clay is mentioned as a material that can relatively satisfy above. Among the kinds of natural clay, bentonite when compacted is superior because (i) it has exceptionally low water permeability and properties to control the movement of water in buffer, (ii) it fills void spaces in the buffer and fractures in the host rock as it swells upon water uptake, (iii) it has the ability to exchange cations and to adsorb cationic radioelements. In order to confirm these functions for the purpose of safety assessment, it is necessary to evaluate buffer properties through laboratory tests and engineering-scale tests, and to make assessments based on the ranges in the data obtained. This report describes the procedures, test conditions, results and examinations on the buffer material of dynamic triaxial tests, measurement of elastic wave velocity and liquefaction tests that aim at getting hold of dynamic mechanical properties. We can get hold of dependency on the shearing strain of the shearing modulus and hysteresis damping constant, the application for the mechanical model etc. by dynamic triaxial tests, the acceptability of maximum shearing modulus obtained from dynamic triaxial tests etc. by measurement of elastic wave velocity and dynamic strength caused by cyclic stress etc. by liquefaction tests. (author)

Bilayer graphene quantum dot defined by topgates

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Müller, André; Kaestner, Bernd; Hohls, Frank; Weimann, Thomas; Pierz, Klaus; Schumacher, Hans W., E-mail: hans.w.schumacher@ptb.de [Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt, Bundesallee 100, 38116 Braunschweig (Germany)

2014-06-21

We investigate the application of nanoscale topgates on exfoliated bilayer graphene to define quantum dot devices. At temperatures below 500 mK, the conductance underneath the grounded gates is suppressed, which we attribute to nearest neighbour hopping and strain-induced piezoelectric fields. The gate-layout can thus be used to define resistive regions by tuning into the corresponding temperature range. We use this method to define a quantum dot structure in bilayer graphene showing Coulomb blockade oscillations consistent with the gate layout.

Anisotropic carrier mobility in single- and bi-layer C3N sheets

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Xueyan; Li, Qingfang; Wang, Haifeng; Gao, Yan; Hou, Juan; Shao, Jianxin

2018-05-01

Based on the density functional theory combined with the Boltzmann transport equation with relaxation time approximation, we investigate the electronic structure and predict the carrier mobility of single- and bi-layer newly fabricated 2D carbon nitrides C3N. Although C3N sheets possess graphene-like planar hexagonal structure, the calculated carrier mobility is remarkably anisotropic, which is found mainly induced by the anisotropic effective masses and deformation potential constants. Importantly, we find that both the electron and hole mobilities are considerable high, for example, the hole mobility along the armchair direction of single-layer C3N sheets can arrive as high as 1.08 ×104 cm2 V-1 s-1, greatly larger than that of C2N-h2D and many other typical 2D materials. Owing to the high and anisotropic carrier mobility and appropriate band gap, single- and bi-layer semiconducting C3N sheets may have great potential applications in high performance electronic and optoelectronic devices.

Molecular Simulations of Sequence-Specific Association of Transmembrane Proteins in Lipid Bilayers

Science.gov (United States)

Doxastakis, Manolis; Prakash, Anupam; Janosi, Lorant

2011-03-01

Association of membrane proteins is central in material and information flow across the cellular membranes. Amino-acid sequence and the membrane environment are two critical factors controlling association, however, quantitative knowledge on such contributions is limited. In this work, we study the dimerization of helices in lipid bilayers using extensive parallel Monte Carlo simulations with recently developed algorithms. The dimerization of Glycophorin A is examined employing a coarse-grain model that retains a level of amino-acid specificity, in three different phospholipid bilayers. Association is driven by a balance of protein-protein and lipid-induced interactions with the latter playing a major role at short separations. Following a different approach, the effect of amino-acid sequence is studied using the four transmembrane domains of the epidermal growth factor receptor family in identical lipid environments. Detailed characterization of dimer formation and estimates of the free energy of association reveal that these helices present significant affinity to self-associate with certain dimers forming non-specific interfaces.

Effect of stacking order on device performance of bilayer black phosphorene-field-effect transistor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mukhopadhyay, A.; Banerjee, L.; Sengupta, A.; Rahaman, H.

2015-01-01

We investigate the effect of stacking order of bilayer black phosphorene on the device properties of p-MOSFET and n-MOSFET. Two layers of black phosphorus are stacked in three different orders and are used as channel material in both n-MOSFET and p-MOSFET devices. The effects of different stacking orders on electron and hole effective masses and output characteristics of MOSFETs, such as ON currents, ON/OFF ratio, and transconductance are analyzed. Our results show that about 1.37 times and 1.49 times increase in ON current is possible along armchair and zigzag directions, respectively, 55.11% variation in transconductance is possible along armchair direction, by changing stacking orders (AA, AB, and AC) and about 8 times increase in ON current is achievable by changing channel orientation (armchair or zigzag) in p-MOSFET. About 14.8 mV/V drain induced barrier lowering is observed for both p-MOSFET and n-MOSFET, which signifies good immunity to short channel effects

Effect of stacking order on device performance of bilayer black phosphorene-field-effect transistor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mukhopadhyay, A., E-mail: arnabm.electinstru@gmail.com; Banerjee, L.; Sengupta, A.; Rahaman, H. [School of VLSI Technology, IIEST, Shibpur, Howrah 711103 (India)

2015-12-14

We investigate the effect of stacking order of bilayer black phosphorene on the device properties of p-MOSFET and n-MOSFET. Two layers of black phosphorus are stacked in three different orders and are used as channel material in both n-MOSFET and p-MOSFET devices. The effects of different stacking orders on electron and hole effective masses and output characteristics of MOSFETs, such as ON currents, ON/OFF ratio, and transconductance are analyzed. Our results show that about 1.37 times and 1.49 times increase in ON current is possible along armchair and zigzag directions, respectively, 55.11% variation in transconductance is possible along armchair direction, by changing stacking orders (AA, AB, and AC) and about 8 times increase in ON current is achievable by changing channel orientation (armchair or zigzag) in p-MOSFET. About 14.8 mV/V drain induced barrier lowering is observed for both p-MOSFET and n-MOSFET, which signifies good immunity to short channel effects.

Modeling the Effects of Lipid Composition on Stratum Corneum Bilayers Using Molecular Dynamics Simulations

Science.gov (United States)

Huzil, J. Torin; Sivaloganathan, Siv; Kohandel, Mohammad; Foldvari, Marianna

2011-11-01

The advancement of dermal and transdermal drug delivery requires the development of delivery systems that are suitable for large protein and nucleic acid-based therapeutic agents. However, a complete mechanistic understanding of the physical barrier properties associated with the epidermis, specifically the membrane structures within the stratum corneum, has yet to be developed. Here, we describe the assembly and computational modeling of stratum corneum lipid bilayers constructed from varying ratios of their constituent lipids (ceramide, free fatty acids and cholesterol) to determine if there is a difference in the physical properties of stratum corneum compositions.

Wafer-scale fabrication of glass-FEP-glass microfluidic devices for lipid bilayer experiments.

Science.gov (United States)

Bomer, Johan G; Prokofyev, Alexander V; van den Berg, Albert; Le Gac, Séverine

2014-12-07

We report a wafer-scale fabrication process for the production of glass-FEP-glass microdevices using UV-curable adhesive (NOA81) as gluing material, which is applied using a novel "spin & roll" approach. Devices are characterized for the uniformity of the gluing layer, presence of glue in the microchannels, and alignment precision. Experiments on lipid bilayers with electrophysiological recordings using a model pore-forming polypeptide are demonstrated.

Material properties characterization - concrete

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

England, G.L.; MacLeod, J.S.

1978-01-01

A review is presented of the six contributions in the SMiRT 4 conference to Session H5 on structural analysis of prestressed concrete reactor pressure vessels. These relate to short term stress-strain aspects of concrete loaded beyond the linear range in uniaxial and biaxial stress fields, to some time and temperature dependent properties of concrete at working stress levels, and to a programme of strain-gauge testing for the assessment of concrete properties. From the information discussed, it is clear that there are difficulties in determining material properties for concrete, and these are summarised. (UK)

Interactions of triglycerides with phospholipids: Incorporation into the bilayer structure and formation of emulsions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hamilton, J.A.

1989-01-01

Interactions of carbonyl 13 C-enriched triacylglycerols (TG) with phospholipid bilayers were studied by 13 C NMR spectroscopy. In spectra of DPPC vesicles with TG at 40-50 degree C, both triolein (TO) and tripalmitin (TP) had narrow carbonyl resonances, indicative of rapid motions, and chemical shifts indicative of H bonding of the TG carbonyls with solvent (H 2 O) at the aqueous interfaces of the vesicle bilayer. Below the phase transition temperature of the DPPC/TG vesicles, most phospholipid peaks broadened markedly. In DPPC vesicles with TP, the TP carbonyl peaks broadened beyond detection below the transition, whereas in vesicles with TO, the TO carbonyl peaks showed little change in line width or chemical shift and no change in the integrated intensity. These properties (extent of solubility in the PC surface, conformation, solvent accessibility, and molecular mobility) may be important for enzymatic hydrolysis and protein-mediated transfer of TG. In gel-phase DPPC, the molecular mobility of the TG depends on the nature of the TG acyl chains. In the DPPC/TG mixtures studied, attempts to incorporate TG in excess of the bilayer solubility resulted in production of emulsion particles. The significance of these results for TG metabolism is discussed

Properties of auxiliary filtering materials

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rudenko, L.I.; Sklyar, V.T.

1981-01-01

The authors have studied the physicochemical and filtering properties of the perlites FP-1 and FP-2, kieselguhr, diatomite, asbestos, wood pulp, and the diatomite powders Spidplace and Saperaid. They propose a classification for filtering materials according to their properties when mechanical impurities are being removed from the additives.

Filament networks attached to membranes: cytoskeletal pressure and local bilayer deformation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Auth, Thorsten; Safran, S A; Gov, Nir S

2007-01-01

Several cell types, among them red blood cells, have a cortical, two-dimensional (2D) network of filaments sparsely attached to their lipid bilayer. In many mammalian cells, this 2D polymer network is connected to an underlying 3D, more rigid cytoskeleton. In this paper, we consider the pressure exerted by the thermally fluctuating, cortical network of filaments on the bilayer and predict the bilayer deformations that are induced by this pressure. We treat the filaments as flexible polymers and calculate the pressure that a network of such linear chains exerts on the bilayer; we then minimize the bilayer shape in order to predict the resulting local deformations. We compare our predictions with membrane deformations observed in electron micrographs of red blood cells. The polymer pressure along with the resulting membrane deformation can lead to compartmentalization, regulate in-plane diffusion and may influence protein sorting as well as transmit signals to the polymerization of the underlying 3D cytoskeleton

Lifetime assessment of atomic-layer-deposited Al2O3-Parylene C bilayer coating for neural interfaces using accelerated age testing and electrochemical characterization.

Science.gov (United States)

Minnikanti, Saugandhika; Diao, Guoqing; Pancrazio, Joseph J; Xie, Xianzong; Rieth, Loren; Solzbacher, Florian; Peixoto, Nathalia

2014-02-01

The lifetime and stability of insulation are critical features for the reliable operation of an implantable neural interface device. A critical factor for an implanted insulation's performance is its barrier properties that limit access of biological fluids to the underlying device or metal electrode. Parylene C is a material that has been used in FDA-approved implantable devices. Considered a biocompatible polymer with barrier properties, it has been used as a substrate, insulation or an encapsulation for neural implant technology. Recently, it has been suggested that a bilayer coating of Parylene C on top of atomic-layer-deposited Al2O3 would provide enhanced barrier properties. Here we report a comprehensive study to examine the mean time to failure of Parylene C and Al2O3-Parylene C coated devices using accelerated lifetime testing. Samples were tested at 60°C for up to 3 months while performing electrochemical measurements to characterize the integrity of the insulation. The mean time to failure for Al2O3-Parylene C was 4.6 times longer than Parylene C coated samples. In addition, based on modeling of the data using electrical circuit equivalents, we show here that there are two main modes of failure. Our results suggest that failure of the insulating layer is due to pore formation or blistering as well as thinning of the coating over time. The enhanced barrier properties of the bilayer Al2O3-Parylene C over Parylene C makes it a promising candidate as an encapsulating neural interface. Copyright © 2013 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Strain-induced Weyl and Dirac states and direct-indirect gap transitions in group-V materials

Science.gov (United States)

Moynihan, Glenn; Sanvito, Stefano; O'Regan, David D.

2017-12-01

We perform comprehensive density-functional theory calculations on strained two-dimensional phosphorus (P), arsenic (As) and antimony (Sb) in the monolayer, bilayer, and bulk α-phase, from which we compute the key mechanical and electronic properties of these materials. Specifically, we compute their electronic band structures, band gaps, and charge-carrier effective masses, and identify the qualitative electronic and structural transitions that may occur. Moreover, we compute the elastic properties such as the Young’s modulus Y; shear modulus G; bulk modulus B ; and Poisson ratio ν and present their isotropic averages of as well as their dependence on the in-plane orientation, for which the relevant expressions are derived. We predict strain-induced Dirac states in the monolayers of As and Sb and the bilayers of P, As, and Sb, as well as the possible existence of Weyl states in the bulk phases of P and As. These phases are predicted to support charge velocities up to 106 m {{\\text{s}}-1} and, in some highly anisotropic cases, permit one-dimensional ballistic conductivity in the puckered direction. We also predict numerous band gap transitions for moderate in-plane stresses. Our results contribute to the mounting evidence for the utility of these materials, made possible by their broad range in tuneable properties, and facilitate the directed exploration of their potential application in next-generation electronics.

Step-wise potential development across the lipid bilayer under external electric fields

Science.gov (United States)

Majhi, Amit Kumar

2018-04-01

Pore formation across the bilayers under external electric field is an important phenomenon, which has numerous applications in biology and bio-engineering fields. However, it is not a ubiquitous event under all field applications. To initiate a pore in the bilayer a particular threshold electric field is required. The electric field alters the intrinsic potential distribution across the bilayer as we as it enhances total potential drop across the bilayer, which causes the pore formation. The intrinsic potential profile has a maximum peak value, which is 0.8 V and it gets enhanced under application of external field, 0.43 V/nm. The peak value becomes 1.4 V when a pore appears in the bilayer and it continues to evolve as along as the external electric field remains switched on.

Non-bilayer structures in mitochondrial membranes regulate ATP synthase activity.

Science.gov (United States)

Gasanov, Sardar E; Kim, Aleksandr A; Yaguzhinsky, Lev S; Dagda, Ruben K

2018-02-01

Cardiolipin (CL) is an anionic phospholipid at the inner mitochondrial membrane (IMM) that facilitates the formation of transient non-bilayer (non-lamellar) structures to maintain mitochondrial integrity. CL modulates mitochondrial functions including ATP synthesis. However, the biophysical mechanisms by which CL generates non-lamellar structures and the extent to which these structures contribute to ATP synthesis remain unknown. We hypothesized that CL and ATP synthase facilitate the formation of non-bilayer structures at the IMM to stimulate ATP synthesis. By using 1 H NMR and 31 P NMR techniques, we observed that increasing the temperature (8°C to 37°C), lowering the pH (3.0), or incubating intact mitochondria with CTII - an IMM-targeted toxin that increases the formation of immobilized non-bilayer structures - elevated the formation of non-bilayer structures to stimulate ATP synthesis. The F 0 sector of the ATP synthase complex can facilitate the formation of non-bilayer structures as incubating model membranes enriched with IMM-specific phospholipids with exogenous DCCD-binding protein of the F 0 sector (DCCD-BPF) elevated the formation of immobilized non-bilayer structures to a similar manner as CTII. Native PAGE assays revealed that CL, but not other anionic phospholipids, specifically binds to DCCD-BPF to promote the formation of stable lipid-protein complexes. Mechanistically, molecular docking studies identified two lipid binding sites for CL in DCCD-BPF. We propose a new model of ATP synthase regulation in which CL mediates the formation of non-bilayer structures that serve to cluster protons and ATP synthase complexes as a mechanism to enhance proton translocation to the F 0 sector, and thereby increase ATP synthesis. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Prevention of intra-abdominal adhesion by bi-layer electrospun membrane.

Science.gov (United States)

Jiang, Shichao; Wang, Wei; Yan, Hede; Fan, Cunyi

2013-06-04

The aim of this study was to compare the anti-adhesion efficacy of a bi-layer electrospun fibrous membrane consisting of hyaluronic acid-loaded poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) fibrous membrane as the inner layer and PCL fibrous membrane as the outer layer with a single-layer PCL electrospun fibrous membrane in a rat cecum abrasion model. The rat model utilized a cecal abrasion and abdominal wall insult surgical protocol. The bi-layer and PCL membranes were applied between the cecum and the abdominal wall, respectively. Control animals did not receive any treatment. After postoperative day 14, a visual semiquantitative grading scale was used to grade the extent of adhesion. Histological analysis was performed to reveal the features of adhesion tissues. Bi-layer membrane treated animals showed significantly lower adhesion scores than control animals (p compared with the PCL membrane. Histological analysis of the bi-layer membrane treated rat rarely demonstrated tissue adhesion while that of the PCL membrane treated rat and control rat showed loose and dense adhesion tissues, respectively. Bi-layer membrane can efficiently prevent adhesion formation in abdominal cavity and showed a significantly decreased adhesion tissue formation compared with the control.

Tensile and shear methods for measuring strength of bilayer tablets.

Science.gov (United States)

Chang, Shao-Yu; Li, Jian-Xin; Sun, Changquan Calvin

2017-05-15

Both shear and tensile measurement methods have been used to quantify interfacial bonding strength of bilayer tablets. The shear method is more convenient to perform, but reproducible strength data requires careful control of the placement of tablet and contact point for shear force application. Moreover, data obtained from the shear method depend on the orientation of the bilayer tablet. Although more time-consuming to perform, the tensile method yields data that are straightforward to interpret. Thus, the tensile method is preferred in fundamental bilayer tableting research to minimize ambiguity in data interpretation. Using both shear and tensile methods, we measured the mechanical strength of bilayer tablets made of several different layer combinations of lactose and microcrystalline cellulose. We observed a good correlation between strength obtained by the tensile method and carefully conducted shear method. This suggests that the shear method may be used for routine quality test of bilayer tablets during manufacturing because of its speed and convenience, provided a protocol for careful control of the placement of the tablet interface, tablet orientation, and blade is implemented. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Reconstruction of living bilayer human skin equivalent utilizing human fibrin as a scaffold.

Science.gov (United States)

Mazlyzam, A L; Aminuddin, B S; Fuzina, N H; Norhayati, M M; Fauziah, O; Isa, M R; Saim, L; Ruszymah, B H I

2007-05-01

Our aim of this study was to develop a new methodology for constructing a bilayer human skin equivalent to create a more clinical compliance skin graft composite for the treatment of various skin defects. We utilized human plasma derived fibrin as the scaffold for the development of a living bilayer human skin equivalent: fibrin-fibroblast and fibrin-keratinocyte (B-FF/FK SE). Skin cells from six consented patients were culture-expanded to passage 1. For B-FF/FK SE formation, human fibroblasts were embedded in human fibrin matrix and subsequently another layer of human keratinocytes in human fibrin matrix was stacked on top. The B-FF/FK SE was then transplanted to athymic mice model for 4 weeks to evaluate its regeneration and clinical performance. The in vivo B-FF/FK SE has similar properties as native human skin by histological analysis and expression of basal Keratin 14 gene in the epidermal layer and Collagen type I gene in the dermal layer. Electron microscopy analysis of in vivo B-FF/FK SE showed well-formed and continuous epidermal-dermal junction. We have successfully developed a technique to engineer living bilayer human skin equivalent using human fibrin matrix. The utilization of culture-expanded human skin cells and fibrin matrix from human blood will allow a fully autologous human skin equivalent construction.

Field-Induced Texturing of Ceramic Materials for Unparalleled Properties

Science.gov (United States)

2017-03-01

Texturing of Ceramic Materials for Unparalleled Properties by...influence over many properties , such as optical transparency, strength, electrical conductivity, and piezoelectricity .19 Highly textured materials are... Ceramic Materials for Unparalleled Properties by Raymond Brennan, Victoria Blair, Nicholas Ku, Krista Limmer, Tanya Chantawansri, Mahesh

Development and Demonstration of Material Properties Database and Software for the Simulation of Flow Properties in Cementitious Materials

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Smith, F. [Savannah River Site (SRS), Aiken, SC (United States). Savannah River National Lab. (SRNL); Flach, G. [Savannah River Site (SRS), Aiken, SC (United States). Savannah River National Lab. (SRNL)

2015-03-30

This report describes work performed by the Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) in fiscal year 2014 to develop a new Cementitious Barriers Project (CBP) software module designated as FLOExcel. FLOExcel incorporates a uniform database to capture material characterization data and a GoldSim model to define flow properties for both intact and fractured cementitious materials and estimate Darcy velocity based on specified hydraulic head gradient and matric tension. The software module includes hydraulic parameters for intact cementitious and granular materials in the database and a standalone GoldSim framework to manipulate the data. The database will be updated with new data as it comes available. The software module will later be integrated into the next release of the CBP Toolbox, Version 3.0. This report documents the development efforts for this software module. The FY14 activities described in this report focused on the following two items that form the FLOExcel package; 1) Development of a uniform database to capture CBP data for cementitious materials. In particular, the inclusion and use of hydraulic properties of the materials are emphasized; and 2) Development of algorithms and a GoldSim User Interface to calculate hydraulic flow properties of degraded and fractured cementitious materials. Hydraulic properties are required in a simulation of flow through cementitious materials such as Saltstone, waste tank fill grout, and concrete barriers. At SRNL these simulations have been performed using the PORFLOW code as part of Performance Assessments for salt waste disposal and waste tank closure.

Multifunctional stannum oxide compact bilayer modified by europium and erbium respectively doped ytterbium fluoride for high-performance dye-sensitized solar cell

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yue, Jingyi; Xiao, Yaoming; Li, Yanping; Han, Gaoyi

2017-01-01

Graphical abstract: Multifunctional SnO 2 compact bilayer respectively modified by YbF 3 :Eu 3+ (SYEu) and YbF 3 :Er 3+ (SYEr) demonstrates three functions: 1) reducing the recombination rate of electron-hole pairs, 2) improving the utilization of sunlight, and 3) enhancing the long-term stability of the photovoltaic device. Display Omitted -- Highlights: •Multifunctional SYEu/SYEr compact bilayer is designed and fabricated. •The compact bilayer exhibits a reduced electron recombination rate. •The compact bilayer shows enhanced UV and IR light response via light-conversions. •The double layer has no significant influence on arising quenching effect. -- Abstract: Multifunctional stannum oxide compact bilayer modified by europium and erbium respectively doped ytterbium fluoride (SYEu/SYEr) is designed and prepared by a convenient and low-cost spin-coating approach for dye-sensitized solar cell. The most important three functions of the compact bilayer are reducing the recombination rate of electrons as a barrier layer, enlarging the utilization of sunlight as a luminescence material both with down- and up- conversions, and enhancing the long-term stability of the device as a defender of the dye. Besides, the construction of double layer with down- and up- conversion functions has no significant influence on giving rise to quenching effect. Furthermore, these findings offer potential applications for photovoltaic device with a wide range response of sunlight via the variation in rare-earth species and cell structures.

Composition Dependence of Water Permeation Across Multicomponent Gel-Phase Bilayers

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hartkamp, R.M.; Moore, Timothy C.; Iacovella, Christopher R.; Thompson, Michael A.; Bulsara, Pallav A.; Moore, David J.; McCabe, Clare

2018-01-01

The permeability of multicomponent phospholipid bilayers in the gel phase is investigated via molecular dynamics simulation. The physical role of the different molecules is probed by comparing multiple mixed-component bilayers containing distearylphosphatidylcholine (DSPC) with varying amounts of

Narrow plasmon resonances enabled by quasi-freestanding bilayer epitaxial graphene

Science.gov (United States)

Daniels, Kevin M.; Jadidi, M. Mehdi; Sushkov, Andrei B.; Nath, Anindya; Boyd, Anthony K.; Sridhara, Karthik; Drew, H. Dennis; Murphy, Thomas E.; Myers-Ward, Rachael L.; Gaskill, D. Kurt

2017-06-01

Exploiting the underdeveloped terahertz range (~1012-1013 Hz) of the electromagnetic spectrum could advance many scientific fields (e.g. medical imaging for the identification of tumors and other biological tissues, non-destructive evaluation of hidden objects or ultra-broadband communication). Despite the benefits of operating in this regime, generation, detection and manipulation have proven difficult, as few materials have functional interactions with THz radiation. In contrast, graphene supports resonances in the THz regime through structural confinement of surface plasmons, which can lead to enhanced absorption. In prior work, the achievable plasmon resonances in such structures have been limited by multiple electron scattering mechanisms (i.e. large carrier scattering rates) which greatly broaden the resonance (>100 cm-1 3 THz). We report the narrowest room temperature Drude response to-date, 30 cm-1 (0.87 THz), obtained using quasi-free standing bilayer epitaxial graphene (QFS BLG) synthesized on (0 0 0 1)6H-SiC. This narrow response is due to a 4-fold increase in carrier mobility and improved thickness and electronic uniformity of QFS BLG. Moreover, QFS BLG samples patterned into microribbons targeting 1.8-5.7 THz plasmon resonances also exhibit low scattering rates (37-53 cm-1). Due to the improved THz properties of QFS BLG, the effects of e-beam processing on carrier scattering rates was determined and we found that fabrication conditions can be tuned to minimize the impact on optoelectronic properties. In addition, electrostatic gating of patterned QFS BLG shows narrow band THz amplitude modulation. Taken together, these properties of QFS BLG should facilitate future development of THz optoelectronic devices for monochromatic applications.

Changes in work function due to NO2 adsorption on monolayer and bilayer epitaxial graphene on SiC(0001)

Science.gov (United States)

Caffrey, Nuala M.; Armiento, Rickard; Yakimova, Rositsa; Abrikosov, Igor A.

2016-11-01

The electronic properties of monolayer graphene grown epitaxially on SiC(0001) are known to be highly sensitive to the presence of NO2 molecules. The presence of small areas of bilayer graphene, on the other hand, considerably reduces the overall sensitivity of the surface. We investigate how NO2 molecules interact with monolayer and bilayer graphene, both free-standing and on a SiC(0001) substrate. We show that it is necessary to explicitly include the effect of the substrate in order to reproduce the experimental results. When monolayer graphene is present on SiC, there is a large charge transfer from the interface between the buffer layer and the SiC substrate to the molecule. As a result, the surface work function increases by 0.9 eV after molecular adsorption. A graphene bilayer is more effective at screening this interfacial charge, and so the charge transfer and change in work function after NO2 adsorption is much smaller.

Modeling constrained sintering of bi-layered tubular structures

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tadesse Molla, Tesfaye; Kothanda Ramachandran, Dhavanesan; Ni, De Wei

2015-01-01

Constrained sintering of tubular bi-layered structures is being used in the development of various technologies. Densification mismatch between the layers making the tubular bi-layer can generate stresses, which may create processing defects. An analytical model is presented to describe the densi...... and thermo-mechanical analysis. Results from the analytical model are found to agree well with finite element simulations as well as measurements from sintering experiment....

Material Properties at Low Temperature

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Duthil, P

2014-01-01

From ambient down to cryogenic temperatures, the behaviour of materials changes greatly. Mechanisms leading to variations in electrical, thermal, mechanical, and magnetic properties in pure metals, alloys, and insulators are briefly introduced from a general engineering standpoint. Data sets are provided for materials commonly used in cryogenic systems for design purposes

Material Properties at Low Temperature

CERN Document Server

Duthil, P

2014-07-17

From ambient down to cryogenic temperatures, the behaviour of materials changes greatly. Mechanisms leading to variations in electrical, thermal, mechanical, and magnetic properties in pure metals, alloys, and insulators are briefly introduced from a general engineering standpoint. Data sets are provided for materials commonly used in cryogenic systems for design purposes.

Material Properties at Low Temperature

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Duthil, P [Orsay, IPN (France)

2014-07-01

From ambient down to cryogenic temperatures, the behaviour of materials changes greatly. Mechanisms leading to variations in electrical, thermal, mechanical, and magnetic properties in pure metals, alloys, and insulators are briefly introduced from a general engineering standpoint. Data sets are provided for materials commonly used in cryogenic systems for design purposes.

Tunable phonon-induced transparency in bilayer graphene nanoribbons.

Science.gov (United States)

Yan, Hugen; Low, Tony; Guinea, Francisco; Xia, Fengnian; Avouris, Phaedon

2014-08-13

In the phenomenon of plasmon-induced transparency, which is a classical analogue of electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) in atomic gases, the coherent interference between two plasmon modes results in an optical transparency window in a broad absorption spectrum. With the requirement of contrasting lifetimes, typically one of the plasmon modes involved is a dark mode that has limited coupling to the electromagnetic radiation and possesses relatively longer lifetime. Plasmon-induced transparency not only leads to light transmission at otherwise opaque frequency regions but also results in the slowing of light group velocity and enhanced optical nonlinearity. In this article, we report an analogous behavior, denoted as phonon-induced transparency (PIT), in AB-stacked bilayer graphene nanoribbons. Here, light absorption due to the plasmon excitation is suppressed in a narrow window due to the coupling with the infrared active Γ-point optical phonon, whose function here is similar to that of the dark plasmon mode in the plasmon-induced transparency. We further show that PIT in bilayer graphene is actively tunable by electrostatic gating and estimate a maximum slow light factor of around 500 at the phonon frequency of 1580 cm(-1), based on the measured spectra. Our demonstration opens an avenue for the exploration of few-photon nonlinear optics and slow light in this novel two-dimensional material.

ZnO/CdS bi-layer nanostructures photoelectrode for dye-sensitized solar cells

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dalal, Paresh V., E-mail: paresh10dalal@gmail.com [Physics Research Lab, Shri V. S. Naik Arts, Commerce and Science College, Raver-425508 (M. S.) (India); Deshpande, Milind P., E-mail: vishwadeshpande@yahoo.co.in [Department of Physics, Sardar Patel University, Vallabh Vidyanagar-388120 (Gujarat) (India); Solanki, Bharat G., E-mail: bhrt.solanki17@gmail.com; Soni, Saurabh S., E-mail: soni-b21@yahoo.co.in [Department of Chemistry, Sardar Patel University, Vallabh Vidyanagar-388120 (Gujarat) (India)

2016-05-06

Simple chemical deposition method for the synthesis of ZnO/CdS bilayer photoelectrode on fluorine doped tin oxide (FTO) coated glass substrate in aqueous medium at low temperature (< 373K) is described. The different preparative parameters such as deposition time, bath temperature, concentration of precursor solution and, pH of the bath etc. were optimized. Nanograined ZnO was deposited on FTO coated glass substrates by dip-coating method, whereas CdS nanorods were successfully synthesized on pre-deposited ZnO film by Chemical Bath Deposition (CBD) method. The Photovoltaic properties of FTO/ZnO/CdS bilayer photo electrodes were also studied. A maximum short circuit current density of 9.1 mA cm-2 and conversion efficiency 1.05% are observed for ZnO/CdS-10min. Layer, which supports fast electron injection kinetics due to hetero structured nanorod, while minimum values of 0.53mA cm-2 and 0.01% respectively are observed for only ZnO deposited layer.

Interaction between the intrinsic edge state and the helical boundary state of topological insulator phase in bilayer graphene

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lü, Xiaoling [School of Materials Science and Engineering, Changchun University of Science and Technology, Changchun 130022 (China); Jiang, Liwei [National Laboratory of Superhard Materials, Department of Physics, Jilin University, Changchun 130012 (China); Zheng, Yisong, E-mail: zhengys@jlu.edu.cn [National Laboratory of Superhard Materials, Department of Physics, Jilin University, Changchun 130012 (China)

2016-04-22

Graphene has intrinsic edge states localized at zigzag edge or lattice defect. Helical boundary states can also be established in such a two-dimensional carbon material at the boundary of topological insulator (TI) phase realized by the extrinsic Rashba spin–orbital coupling (SOC) in gated bilayer graphene. We theoretically investigate the interaction between these two kinds of edge (boundary) states when they coexist in a bilayer graphene. We find that this interaction gives rise to some very interesting results. In a zigzag edged nanoribbon of bilayer graphene, it is possible that the TI helical state does not localize at the TI phase boundary. Instead it moves to the nanoribbon edge even though the SOC is absent therein. In a bulk lattice of bilayer graphene embedded with two line defects, the numbers of helical state subbands at the two line defects are not equal to each other. In such a case, the backscattering lacking is still forbidden since the Kramers pairs are valley polarized. - Highlights: • The TI helical state moves to nanoribbon edge in a gated ZENR-BG. • The gapless modes of LD-BG at the two line defects are not equal to each other. • The Kramers pairs are still valley polarized in a gated LD-BG.

Fabrication of oriented wrinkles on polydopamine/polystyrene bilayer films.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Rong; Long, Yuhua; Zhu, Tang; Guo, Jing; Cai, Chao; Zhao, Ning; Xu, Jian

2017-07-15

Wrinkles exist widely in nature and our life. In this paper, wrinkles on polydopamine (PDA)/polystyrene (PS) bilayer films were formed by thermal annealing due to the different thermal coefficients of expansion of each layer. The factors that influenced the dimensions of wrinkles were studied. We found that oriented wrinkles could be formed if the bilayer films were patterned with micro-grooves, and the degree of the orientation depended on the thickness of the PDA and the dimensions of the grooves. Combined with the strong adhesion, biocompatibility and reactivity of PDA, the oriented wrinkles on PDA/PS patterned bilayers may find potential application in diffraction gratings, optical sensors and microfluidic devices. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Voltage tunable plasmon propagation in dual gated bilayer graphene

Science.gov (United States)

Farzaneh, Seyed M.; Rakheja, Shaloo

2017-10-01

In this paper, we theoretically investigate plasmon propagation characteristics in AB and AA stacked bilayer graphene (BLG) in the presence of energy asymmetry due to an electrostatic field oriented perpendicularly to the plane of the graphene sheet. We first derive the optical conductivity of BLG using the Kubo formalism incorporating energy asymmetry and finite electron scattering. All results are obtained for room temperature (300 K) operation. By solving Maxwell's equations in a dual gate device setup, we obtain the wavevector of propagating plasmon modes in the transverse electric (TE) and transverse magnetic (TM) directions at terahertz frequencies. The plasmon wavevector allows us to compare the compression factor, propagation length, and the mode confinement of TE and TM plasmon modes in bilayer and monolayer graphene sheets and also to study the impact of material parameters on plasmon characteristics. Our results show that the energy asymmetry can be harnessed to increase the propagation length of TM plasmons in BLG. AA stacked BLG shows a larger increase in the propagation length than AB stacked BLG; conversely, it is very insensitive to the Fermi level variations. Additionally, the dual gate structure allows independent modulation of the energy asymmetry and the Fermi level in BLG, which is advantageous for reconfiguring plasmon characteristics post device fabrication.

Modulated phases of phospholipid bilayers induced by tocopherols.

Science.gov (United States)

Kamal, Md Arif; Raghunathan, V A

2012-11-01

The influence of α-, γ- and δ-tocopherols on the structure and phase behavior of dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine (DPPC) bilayers has been determined from X-ray diffraction studies on oriented multilayers. In all the three cases the main-transition temperature (T(m)) of DPPC was found to decrease with increasing tocopherol concentration up to around 25 mol%. Beyond this the main transition is suppressed in the case of γ-tocopherol, whereas T(m) becomes insensitive to composition in the other two cases. The pre-transition is found to be suppressed over a narrow tocopherol concentration range between 7.5 and 10 mol% in DPPC-γ-tocopherol and DPPC-δ-tocopherol bilayers, and the ripple phase occurs down to the lowest temperature studied. In all the three cases a modulated phase is observed above a tocopherol concentration of about 10 mol%, which is similar to the P(β) phase reported in DPPC-cholesterol bilayers. This phase is found to occur even in excess water conditions at lower tocopherol concentrations, and consists of bilayers with periodic height modulation. These results indicate the ability of tocopherols to induce local curvature in membranes, which could be important for some of their biological functions. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Examining the origins of the hydration force between lipid bilayers using all-atom simulations.

Science.gov (United States)

Gentilcore, Anastasia N; Michaud-Agrawal, Naveen; Crozier, Paul S; Stevens, Mark J; Woolf, Thomas B

2010-05-01

Using 237 all-atom double bilayer simulations, we examined the thermodynamic and structural changes that occur as a phosphatidylcholine lipid bilayer stack is dehydrated. The simulated system represents a micropatch of lipid multilayer systems that are studied experimentally using surface force apparatus, atomic force microscopy and osmotic pressure studies. In these experiments, the hydration level of the system is varied, changing the separation between the bilayers, in order to understand the forces that the bilayers feel as they are brought together. These studies have found a curious, strongly repulsive force when the bilayers are very close to each other, which has been termed the "hydration force," though the origins of this force are not clearly understood. We computationally reproduce this repulsive, relatively free energy change as bilayers come together and make qualitative conclusions as to the enthalpic and entropic origins of the free energy change. This analysis is supported by data showing structural changes in the waters, lipids and salts that have also been seen in experimental work. Increases in solvent ordering as the bilayers are dehydrated are found to be essential in causing the repulsion as the bilayers come together.

Performance Enhancement of Small Molecular Solar Cells by Bilayer Cathode Buffer.

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Qinjun; Zhao, Huanbin; Zhou, Miao; Gao, Liyan; Hao, Yuying

2016-04-01

An effective composite bilayer cathode buffer structure is proposed for use in small molecular solar cells. CsF was doped in Alq3 to form the first cathode buffer, leading to small serial resistances. BCP was used as the second cathode buffer to block the holes to the electrode. The optimized bilayer cathode buffer significantly increased the short circuit and fill factor of devices. By integrating this bilayer cathode buffer, the CuPc/C60 small molecular heterojunction cell exhibited a power conversion efficiency of up to 0.8%, which was an improvement of 56% compared to a device with only the Alq3 cathode buffer. Meanwhile, the bilayer cathode buffer still has a good protective effect on the performance of the device.

Diffuse scattering and the fundamental properties of materials

CERN Document Server

EIce, Gene; Barabash, Rozaliya

2009-01-01

Diffuse Scattering-the use of off-specular X-Rays and neutrons from surfaces and interfaces-has grown rapidly as a tool for characterizing the surface properties of materials and related fundamental structural properties. It has proven to be especially useful in the understanding of local properties within materials. This book reflects the efforts of physicists and materials scientists around the world who have helped to refine the techniques and applications of diffuse scattering. Major topics specifically covered include: -- Scattering in Low Dimensions -- Elastic and Thermal Diffuse Scattering from Alloys -- Scattering from Complex and Disordered Materials -- Scattering from Distorted Crystals.

Control of spin-orbit torques through crystal symmetry in WTe2/ferromagnet bilayers

Science.gov (United States)

MacNeill, D.; Stiehl, G. M.; Guimaraes, M. H. D.; Buhrman, R. A.; Park, J.; Ralph, D. C.

2017-03-01

Recent discoveries regarding current-induced spin-orbit torques produced by heavy-metal/ferromagnet and topological-insulator/ferromagnet bilayers provide the potential for dramatically improved efficiency in the manipulation of magnetic devices. However, in experiments performed to date, spin-orbit torques have an important limitation--the component of torque that can compensate magnetic damping is required by symmetry to lie within the device plane. This means that spin-orbit torques can drive the most current-efficient type of magnetic reversal (antidamping switching) only for magnetic devices with in-plane anisotropy, not the devices with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy that are needed for high-density applications. Here we show experimentally that this state of affairs is not fundamental, but rather one can change the allowed symmetries of spin-orbit torques in spin-source/ferromagnet bilayer devices by using a spin-source material with low crystalline symmetry. We use WTe2, a transition-metal dichalcogenide whose surface crystal structure has only one mirror plane and no two-fold rotational invariance. Consistent with these symmetries, we generate an out-of-plane antidamping torque when current is applied along a low-symmetry axis of WTe2/Permalloy bilayers, but not when current is applied along a high-symmetry axis. Controlling spin-orbit torques by crystal symmetries in multilayer samples provides a new strategy for optimizing future magnetic technologies.

Optical and Structural Characterization of ZnO/TiO2 Bilayer Thin Films Grown by Sol-Gel Spin Coating

Science.gov (United States)

Gareso, P. L.; Musfitasari; Juarlin, Eko

2018-03-01

Structural and optical properties of ZnO/TiO2 bilayers thin films have been investigated using x-ray diffraction (X-RD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and optical transmittance UV-Vis measurements. ZnO thin films were prepared by dissolving zinc acetate dehydrated into a solvent of ethanol and then added triethanolamin. In the case of TiO2 layers, tetraisoproxide was dissolved into ethanol and then added an acetate acid. The layer of ZnO was deposited first followed by TiO2 layer on a glass substrate using a spin coating technique. The ZnO/TiO2 bilayers were annealed at various temperatures from 300°C until 600°C for 60 minutes. The X-ray diffraction results show that there was an enhancement of the x-ray spectra as annealed temperature increased to 600°C in comparison to the samples that were annealed at 300°C. Based on the optical measurement of UV-Vis, the band gap energy of ZnO/TiO2 bilayer is around 3.2 eV at temperature of 300°C. This value is similar to the band gap energy of ZnO. SEM results show that there is no cluster in the surface of ZnO/TiO2 bilayer.

Wavepacket revivals in monolayer and bilayer graphene rings.

Science.gov (United States)

García, Trinidad; Rodríguez-Bolívar, Salvador; Cordero, Nicolás A; Romera, Elvira

2013-06-12

We have studied the existence of quantum revivals in graphene quantum rings within a simplified model. The time evolution of a Gaussian-populated wavepacket shows revivals in monolayer and bilayer graphene rings. We have also studied this behavior for quantum rings in a perpendicular magnetic field. We have found that revival time is an observable that shows different values for monolayer and bilayer graphene quantum rings. In addition, the revival time shows valley degeneracy breaking.

Magnetically Assisted Bilayer Composites for Soft Bending Actuators

OpenAIRE

Jang, Sung-Hwan; Na, Seon-Hong; Park, Yong-Lae

2017-01-01

This article presents a soft pneumatic bending actuator using a magnetically assisted bilayer composite composed of silicone polymer and ferromagnetic particles. Bilayer composites were fabricated by mixing ferromagnetic particles to a prepolymer state of silicone in a mold and asymmetrically distributed them by applying a strong non-uniform magnetic field to one side of the mold during the curing process. The biased magnetic field induces sedimentation of the ferromagnetic particles toward o...

Comparative computational study of interaction of C60-fullerene and tris-malonyl-C60-fullerene isomers with lipid bilayer: relation to their antioxidant effect.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marine E Bozdaganyan

Full Text Available Oxidative stress induced by excessive production of reactive oxygen species (ROS has been implicated in the etiology of many human diseases. It has been reported that fullerenes and some of their derivatives-carboxyfullerenes-exhibits a strong free radical scavenging capacity. The permeation of C60-fullerene and its amphiphilic derivatives-C3-tris-malonic-C60-fullerene (C3 and D3-tris-malonyl-C60-fullerene (D3-through a lipid bilayer mimicking the eukaryotic cell membrane was studied using molecular dynamics (MD simulations. The free energy profiles along the normal to the bilayer composed of 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DPPC for C60, C3 and D3 were calculated. We found that C60 molecules alone or in clusters spontaneously translocate to the hydrophobic core of the membrane and stay inside the bilayer during the whole period of simulation time. The incorporation of cluster of fullerenes inside the bilayer changes properties of the bilayer and leads to its deformation. In simulations of the tris-malonic fullerenes we discovered that both isomers, C3 and D3, adsorb at the surface of the bilayer but only C3 tends to be buried in the area of the lipid headgroups forming hydrophobic contacts with the lipid tails. We hypothesize that such position has implications for ROS scavenging mechanism in the specific cell compartments.

Electronic Properties of Graphene-PtSe2 Contacts.

Science.gov (United States)

Sattar, Shahid; Schwingenschlögl, Udo

2017-05-10

In this article, we study the electronic properties of graphene in contact with monolayer and bilayer PtSe 2 using first-principles calculations. It turns out that there is no charge transfer between the components because of the weak van der Waals interaction. We calculate the work functions of monolayer and bilayer PtSe 2 and analyze the band bending at the contact with graphene. The formation of an n-type Schottky contact with monolayer PtSe 2 and a p-type Schottky contact with bilayer PtSe 2 is demonstrated. The Schottky barrier height is very low in the bilayer case and can be reduced to zero by 0.8% biaxial tensile strain.

Electronic Properties of Graphene–PtSe2 Contacts

KAUST Repository

Sattar, Shahid

2017-04-26

In this article, we study the electronic properties of graphene in contact with monolayer and bilayer PtSe2 using first-principles calculations. It turns out that there is no charge transfer between the components because of the weak van der Waals interaction. We calculate the work functions of monolayer and bilayer PtSe2 and analyze the band bending at the contact with graphene. The formation of an n-type Schottky contact with monolayer PtSe2 and a p-type Schottky contact with bilayer PtSe2 is demonstrated. The Schottky barrier height is very low in the bilayer case and can be reduced to zero by 0.8% biaxial tensile strain.

Electronic Properties of Graphene–PtSe2 Contacts

KAUST Repository

Sattar, Shahid; Schwingenschlö gl, Udo

2017-01-01

In this article, we study the electronic properties of graphene in contact with monolayer and bilayer PtSe2 using first-principles calculations. It turns out that there is no charge transfer between the components because of the weak van der Waals interaction. We calculate the work functions of monolayer and bilayer PtSe2 and analyze the band bending at the contact with graphene. The formation of an n-type Schottky contact with monolayer PtSe2 and a p-type Schottky contact with bilayer PtSe2 is demonstrated. The Schottky barrier height is very low in the bilayer case and can be reduced to zero by 0.8% biaxial tensile strain.

Calculations of the electrostatic potential adjacent to model phospholipid bilayers.

Science.gov (United States)

Peitzsch, R M; Eisenberg, M; Sharp, K A; McLaughlin, S

1995-03-01

We used the nonlinear Poisson-Boltzmann equation to calculate electrostatic potentials in the aqueous phase adjacent to model phospholipid bilayers containing mixtures of zwitterionic lipids (phosphatidylcholine) and acidic lipids (phosphatidylserine or phosphatidylglycerol). The aqueous phase (relative permittivity, epsilon r = 80) contains 0.1 M monovalent salt. When the bilayers contain equipotential surfaces are discrete domes centered over the negatively charged lipids and are approximately twice the value calculated using Debye-Hückel theory. When the bilayers contain > 25% acidic lipid, the -25 mV equipotential profiles are essentially flat and agree well with the values calculated using Gouy-Chapman theory. When the bilayers contain 100% acidic lipid, all of the equipotential surfaces are flat and agree with Gouy-Chapman predictions (including the -100 mV surface, which is located only 1 A from the outermost atoms). Even our model bilayers are not simple systems: the charge on each lipid is distributed over several atoms, these partial charges are non-coplanar, there is a 2 A ion-exclusion region (epsilon r = 80) adjacent to the polar headgroups, and the molecular surface is rough. We investigated the effect of these four factors using smooth (or bumpy) epsilon r = 2 slabs with embedded point charges: these factors had only minor effects on the potential in the aqueous phase.

Landau levels in biased graphene structures with monolayer-bilayer interfaces

Science.gov (United States)

Mirzakhani, M.; Zarenia, M.; Vasilopoulos, P.; Ketabi, S. A.; Peeters, F. M.

2017-09-01

The electron energy spectrum in monolayer-bilayer-monolayer and in bilayer-monolayer-bilayer graphene structures is investigated and the effects of a perpendicular magnetic field and electric bias are studied. Different types of monolayer-bilayer interfaces are considered as zigzag (ZZ) or armchair (AC) junctions which modify considerably the bulk Landau levels (LLs) when the spectra are plotted as a function of the center coordinate of the cyclotron orbit. Far away from the two interfaces, one obtains the well-known LLs for extended monolayer or bilayer graphene. The LL structure changes significantly at the two interfaces or junctions where the valley degeneracy is lifted for both types of junctions, especially when the distance between them is approximately equal to the magnetic length. Varying the nonuniform bias and the width of this junction-to-junction region in either structure strongly influence the resulting spectra. Significant differences exist between ZZ and AC junctions in both structures. The densities of states (DOSs) for unbiased structures are symmetric in energy whereas those for biased structures are asymmetric. An external bias creates interface LLs in the gaps between the LLs of the unbiased system in which the DOS can be quite small. Such a pattern of LLs can be probed by scanning tunneling microscopy.

Cu(InGa)Se{sub 2} absorber formation by in-situ, low-temperature annealing of co-evaporated bilayer (InGa){sub 2}Se{sub 3}/CuSe precursors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Moon, Kyeongchan; Kim, Woo Kyoung, E-mail: wkim@ynu.ac.kr

2015-12-01

Chalcopyrite Cu(InGa)Se{sub 2} (CIGS) absorbers were fabricated by the formation of bilayer stacked glass/Mo/(InGa){sub 2}Se{sub 3}/CuSe precursors followed by in-situ thermal annealing at 450 °C for approximately 10 min in a vacuum evaporator. The material properties (e.g., crystal orientation, compositional depth profile, and overall composition) and device performance of the resulting CIGS absorbers were compared with those of the CIGS absorbers formed by conventional 1-stage and 3-stage CIGS formation processes at a similar temperature. X-ray diffraction confirmed that the 1-stage co-evaporation and in-situ annealing of the bilayer precursor produced a polycrystalline CIGS absorber without a specific texture, whereas the CIGS absorber formed by the 3-stage process showed a highly (220) preferred orientation. Secondary ion mass spectrometry revealed Ga accumulation at the bottom of CIGS formed by in-situ annealing of the bilayer precursors. The cell efficiency of the device with the CIGS absorber formed by the in-situ, low-temperature (450 °C) annealing of bilayer stacked glass/Mo/(InGa){sub 2}Se{sub 3}/CuSe precursors was comparable to that produced by the conventional 3-stage process at a similar temperature. - Highlights: • Annealing of (InGa){sub 2}Se{sub 3}/CuSe precursors was compared with coevaporation process. • In-situ annealing of (InGa){sub 2}Se{sub 3}/CuSe precursors at 450 °C produced about 9% solar cell. • Ga profile within Cu(InGa)Se{sub 2} depended on process profile during co-evaporation.

Static mechanical properties of buffer material

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takaji, Kazuhiko; Suzuki, Hideaki

1999-11-01

The buffer material is expected to maintain its low water permeability, self-sealing properties, radionuclides adsorption and retardation properties, thermal conductivity, chemical buffering properties, overpack supporting properties, stress buffering properties, etc. over a long period of time. Natural clay is mentioned as a material that can relatively satisfy above. Among the kinds of natural clay, bentonite when compacted is superior because (i) it has exceptionally low water permeability and properties to control the movement of water in buffer, (ii) it fills void spaces in the buffer and fractures in the host rock as it swells upon water uptake, (iii) it has the ability to exchange cations and to adsorb cationic radioelements. In order to confirm these functions for the purpose of safety assessment, it is necessary to evaluate buffer properties through laboratory tests and engineering-scale tests, and to make assessments based on the ranges in the data obtained. This report describes the procedures, test conditions, results and examinations on the buffer material of unconfined compression tests, one-dimensional consolidation tests, consolidated-undrained triaxial compression tests and consolidated-undrained triaxial creep tests that aim at getting hold of static mechanical properties. We can get hold of the relationship between the dry density and tensile stress etc. by Brazilian tests, between the dry density and unconfined compressive strength etc. by unconfined compression tests, between the consolidation stress and void ratio etc. by one-dimensional consolidation tests, the stress pass of each effective confining pressure etc. by consolidated-undrained triaxial compression tests and the axial strain rate with time of each axial stress etc. by consolidated-undrained triaxial creep tests. (author)

Phase separation in lipid bilayers triggered by low pH

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suresh, Swetha; Edwardson, J. Michael

2010-01-01

Research highlights: → Lipid bilayers have been imaged by atomic force microscopy (AFM). → At pH 5 phase separation occurs in lipid bilayers containing mixed acyl chains. → Phase separation does not occur when lipids have only unsaturated chains. → Phase separation might drive protein clustering during endocytosis. -- Abstract: Endocytosis involves the capture of membrane from the cell surface in the form of vesicles, which become rapidly acidified to about pH 5. Here we show using atomic force microscopy (AFM) imaging that this degree of acidification triggers phase separation in lipid bilayers containing mixed acyl chains (e.g. palmitoyl/oleoyl) or complex mixtures (e.g. total brain extract) but not in bilayers containing only lipids with unsaturated chains (e.g. dioleoyl). Since mixed-chain lipids are major constituents of the outer leaflet of the plasma membrane, the type of phase separation reported here might support protein clustering and signaling during endocytosis.

SiC/SiC Cladding Materials Properties Handbook

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Snead, Mary A. [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States); Katoh, Yutai [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Koyanagi, Takaaki [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Singh, Gyanender P. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

2017-08-01

When a new class of material is considered for a nuclear core structure, the in-pile performance is usually assessed based on multi-physics modeling in coordination with experiments. This report aims to provide data for the mechanical and physical properties and environmental resistance of silicon carbide (SiC) fiber–reinforced SiC matrix (SiC/SiC) composites for use in modeling for their application as accidenttolerant fuel cladding for light water reactors (LWRs). The properties are specific for tube geometry, although many properties can be predicted from planar specimen data. This report presents various properties, including mechanical properties, thermal properties, chemical stability under normal and offnormal operation conditions, hermeticity, and irradiation resistance. Table S.1 summarizes those properties mainly for nuclear-grade SiC/SiC composites fabricated via chemical vapor infiltration (CVI). While most of the important properties are available, this work found that data for the in-pile hydrothermal corrosion resistance of SiC materials and for thermal properties of tube materials are lacking for evaluation of SiC-based cladding for LWR applications.

Tunneling Spectroscopy of Quantum Hall States in Bilayer Graphene

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Ke; Harzheim, Achim; Watanabe, Kenji; Taniguchi, Takashi; Kim, Philip

In the quantum Hall (QH) regime, ballistic conducting paths along the physical edges of a sample appear, leading to quantized Hall conductance and vanishing longitudinal magnetoconductance. These QH edge states are often described as ballistic compressible strips separated by insulating incompressible strips, the spatial profiles of which can be crucial in understanding the stability and emergence of interaction driven QH states. In this work, we present tunneling transport between two QH edge states in bilayer graphene. Employing locally gated device structure, we guide and control the separation between the QH edge states in bilayer graphene. Using resonant Landau level tunneling as a spectroscopy tool, we measure the energy gap in bilayer graphene as a function of displacement field and probe the emergence and evolution of incompressible strips.

Development of a highly efficient conversion electron Moessbauer spectroscopy (CEMS) detector for low temperature (xPb1-x)Te bilayers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pombo, Carlos Jose da Silva Matos

2006-01-01

The 57 Fe Moessbauer spectroscopy is a nuclear, non-destructive technique used for the investigation of structural, magnetic and hyperfine properties of several materials. It is a powerful tool in characterizing materials in physics, metallurgy, geology and biology field areas, especially magnetic materials, alloys and minerals containing Fe. Lately, the Conversion Electron Moessbauer Spectroscopy (CEMS) is widely used in making studies on ultra-thin magnetic films, as well as other nanostructured materials. In case of magnetic nanostructures, low temperature (LT) studies are especially important due to the possibility of dealing with superparamagnetic effects. In this work it was developed a CEMS measurement system for low temperatures ( R ) and an optical cryostat (Model SVT-400, Janis Research Co, USA), from which the project was originally conceived at the Applied Physics / Moessbauer spectroscopy Department from University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany. The LT-CEMS system was fully built, tested and successfully applied in a preliminary characterization of Fe/(Eu x Pb 1-x )Te(111) bilayers with use of a 15 angstrom, 57 Fe probe layer, with reasonable results at sample temperatures as low as 8 K. (author)

High transition temperature superconductor/insulator bilayers for the development of ultra-fast electronics