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The optically active Nitrogen-Vacancy (NV) defect in diamond holds substantial promise as a potential single photon source for quantum cryptography. Here we report enhanced spectral properties of an NV centre through a high-quality single-moded cavity coupled to an optical fibre. We use the secure bit rate of the BB84 quantum key distribution protocol as our figure of merit to demonstrate the significant...
We have demonstrated the fabrication and characterization of single-layered hybrid polymer-quantum dot light-emitting diodes (PQD-LEDs) with the emissive composite film of 2,3-dibutoxy-l,4-poly(phenylene vinylene) (DBPPV) and CdSe/ZnS core/shell quantum dots (QDs). The electrical and optical characteristics are significantly influenced by the thickness of the emissive layer. When the thickness of...
Ruthenium porphyrin functionalised single-walled carbon nanotube arrays have been prepared using coordination of the axial position of the metal ion onto 4-aminopyridine pre-assembled single-walled carbon nanotubes directly anchored to a silicon(100) surface (SWCNTs-Si). The formation of these ruthenium porphyrin functionalised single-walled carbon nanotube array electrodes (RuTPP-SWCNTs-Si) has been...
Memory structures based on InAs nanocrystals directly grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) on SiO2 have been studied. The nanocrystals have a typical diameter of 5 nm and the density is about 2 times 1011 cm-2. High resolution TEM measurements have shown high crystalline quality and low size dispersion. Using these 7 nm-quantum dots, a test structure with a 3.5 nm-thick SiO2 tunnel oxide and a 10...
The technique of absorbance modulation optical lithography (AMOL) may provide an opportunity to improve the resolution in optical lithographical processes by allowing near-field images to be generated using light sources in the far-field. We report on finite element method (FEM) simulations of the photochromic layer in the AMOL process and demonstrate the ability of a change in absorbance to create...
In this paper, molecular dynamic simulations of crack propagation in body centre cubic (bcc) single crystal have been performed. The crack propagation behaviors on two different slip planes ({1 1 0} and {2 1 1}) have been investigated. A self-adaptive time step algorithm has been proposed to increase the stability of the simulations. It has been found that the slip plane significantly affects the...
Gold nanoshells have gained attention recently due to their versatile optical properties. In particular, their spectrally selective extinction has been exploited for experimental medical applications, functional coatings and contrast enhancement for analytical techniques. Here we discuss nanoshells and the formation of gold nanorings by the galvanic replacement of Ag nanosphere template particles...
Numerous techniques for the purification of chemically synthesized graphene have been investigated, exploiting the relative aqueous solubilities of the impurities and carbon sheets. This demonstrates that simple aqueous washing provides a reliable platform for the purification of graphene, without the need for harsh chemical treatments. The presence of cavities or pores in the as-obtained graphene...
Antimicrobial/antifungal effects of silver nanoparticles obtained with a novel electrochemical method on Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Aspergillus niger and Penicillium phoeniceum cultures have been studied. The tests conducted have demonstrated that synthesized silver nanoparticles - when added to water paints or cotton fabrics - show a pronounced antibacterial/antifungal effect.
Conventional methods of producing carbon nanotubes are generally limited by the length and quality of the tubes and maybe more importantly, cost. This paper presents the development of solvothermal techniques designed to produce a highly scalable and cost effective method for producing carbon nanotubes in long and highly aligned bundles, without the use of transition metal catalysts. In addition,...
Time of Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) was used to investigate the chemical nature of methane plasma treated graphite surfaces. Principle Component Analysis (PCA) was applied to the SIMS data, revealing chemical changes to the surfaces, in particular the extent of hydrogenation. The hydrogen content of the HOPG surface is observed to increase with systematic increases in power of...
One important application of nanotechnology is that of drug delivery, and in particular the targeted delivery of drugs using nanotubes. A proper understanding of the encapsulation behavior of drug molecules into nanotubes is vital for the development of nanoscale drug delivery vehicles. Furthermore, there are many other materials which may form single-walled nanotubes, such as carbon, boron carbide,...
Surface roughness is known to play a significant role in the cell-surface attachment process, particularly when the surface irregularities are of a dimension that is comparable to the bacterial size and hence provide shelter from unfavorable environmental factors. To explore the influence of nano-scale surface roughness on bacterial attachment this study utilized as-received and chemically treated...
Polyacrylic acid based hydrogels were prepared by free radical polymerization with redox initiator system in the presence of N,N’-methylenebisacrylamide. Silver (Ag) nanoparticles have been uniformly distributed in these hydrogel networks via in situ reduction of silver nitrate by sodium borohydride (reducing agent). The UV-vis spectrophotometry and scanning electron microscopy are applied to confirm...
Pathological thrombus formation is initiated by the interaction of blood platelets to immobilized proteins at the vessel wall. Platelet surface adhesion leads to biochemical activation and structural reorganization resulting in spreading of the platelet across the adhesive surface. Extensive studies have been carried out to examine platelet spreading responses on continuous substrates but little is...
Transcutaneous vaccine delivery has the potential to greatly improve immunization effectiveness and safety. This work characterizes our novel micro-nanoneedles and their payload release profile in vitro and in vivo. We found that these dry-coated micro-nanoneedles quickly deliver the payload to the epidermis.
The analysis of membrane domain segregation and phase separation is of significant interest for the understanding of cell membranes. In this paper, we report a new approach to atomic force microscopy (AFM) of artificial membranes, using both functionalised AFM tips and “Force Volume” AFM imaging for the analysis of membrane phase separation. Simultaneous topology and mapping of interaction forces...
ZnO nanostructures were grown from a solution of zinc nitrate hexahydrate and hexamethylenetetramine onto different substrates that were pretreated with an RF sputter coated ZnO seed layer. The choice of substrate was observed to have a direct effect on the morphology, orientation and surface coverage of the nanostructured arrays. Substrates that were covered in a 1.2 mum sputter coated ZnO seed layer,...
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