Enhanced Field Emission of Single-Wall Carbon Nanotube Cathode Prepared by Screen Printing with a Silver Paste Buffer Layer.

A high emission current with relatively low operating voltage is critical for field emission cathodes in vacuum electronic devices (VEDs). This paper studied the field emission performance of single-wall carbon nanotube (SWCNT) cold cathodes prepared by screen printing with a silver paste buffer layer. The buffer layer can both enforce the adhesion between the SWCNTs and substrate, and decrease their contact resistance, so as to increase emission current.

On the molecular mechanisms implicated in the bipolar cancellation of membrane electroporation.

Bipolar cancellation is the phenomenon in which the permeability of cell membranes subjected to high intensity short pulsed electric field (ns-μs range) is reduced or eliminated when the system is subjected to bipolar instead of monopolar pulses. Although several studies have tried to explain bipolar cancellation, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Very few articles study bipolar cancellation by means of molecular dynamics (MD) simulation.

An approach to determine solution properties in micro pipes by near-field microwave microscopy.

In this article, we propose a quantitative, non-destructive and noninvasive approach to obtain electromagnetic properties of liquid specimens utilizing a home-designed near-field microwave microscopy. The responses of aqueous solutions can be acquired with varying concentrations, types (CaCl, MgCl, KCl and NaCl) and tip-sample distances. An electromagnetic simulation model also successfully predicts the behaviors of saline samples.

Synthesis of Single-Crystal Graphene on Copper Foils Using a Low-Nucleation-Density Region in a Quartz Boat.

The nucleation of graphene at different locations in the quartz boat was studied, and the lowest nucleation density of graphene in the quartz boat was found. The nucleation density of graphene is the lowest at the bottom of the quartz boat near the gas inlet side. Based on the above results, a simple and reproducible way is proposed to significantly suppress the nucleation density of graphene on the copper foil during the chemical vapor deposition process.

Recent Progress in the Development of Graphene Detector for Terahertz Detection.

Terahertz waves are expected to be used in next-generation communications, detection, and other fields due to their unique characteristics. As a basic part of the terahertz application system, the terahertz detector plays a key role in terahertz technology. Due to the two-dimensional structure, graphene has unique characteristics features, such as exceptionally high electron mobility, zero band-gap, and frequency-independent spectral absorption, particularly in the terahertz region, making it a suitable material for terahertz detectors.

Effect of the Pressure of Reaction Gases on the Growth of Single-Crystal Graphene on the Inner Surfaces of Copper Pockets.

Single-crystal graphene has attracted much attention due to its excellent electrical properties in recent years, and many growth methods have been proposed, including the copper pockets method. In the copper pockets method, a piece of copper foil is folded into a pocket and put into a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) system for the growth of graphene. The dynamic balance of evaporation and deposition of copper on the inner surfaces of the copper pockets avoids high surface roughness caused by the evaporation of copper in open space, such as the outer surfaces of copper pockets.

Maximizing the Field Emission Performance of Graphene Arrays.

To design efficient and powerful field emission cathodes, the screening effect is of great importance and should be traded off between screening and emitter number. It has long been found that to achieve maximum emission efficiency in an array, neighboring emitters are at two or three times their height from each other. However, this is only true for one-dimensional emitters, such as carbon nanotubes, but for graphene, a two-dimensional material, it is different.

The Effect of KcsA Channel on Lipid Bilayer Electroporation Induced by Picosecond Pulse Trains.

Membrane proteins are the major component of plasma membranes, and they play crucial roles in all organisms. To understand the influence of the presence of KcsA channel on cell membrane electroporation induced by picosecond pulse trains (psPT), in this paper, the electroporation of KcsA membrane protein system and bare lipid bilayer system (POPC) with the applied psPT are simulated using molecular dynamics (MD) method. First, we find that the average pore formation time of the KcsA system is longer than the bare system with the applied psPT.

Transient proton transfer of base pair hydrogen bonds induced by intense terahertz radiation.

Local oriented intense electric fields play a vital role in biochemical reactions such as enzyme catalysis. Many researchers have gradually applied external oriented electric fields to control specific chemical reactions. The rapidly developing intense field of terahertz technology can provide a strong enough oriented electric field with specific polarization direction on a sub-picosecond timescale, which matches the timescale and intensity requirements for affecting specific ultrafast chemical reactions.

Interpretation of the molecular mechanism of the electroporation induced by symmetrical bipolar picosecond pulse trains.

Picosecond pulse trains (psPTs) are emerging as a new characteristic diagnostic and therapeutic tool in biomedical fields. To specifically determine the stimulus provided to cells, in this article, we use a molecular dynamics (MD) model to show the molecular mechanisms of electroporation induced by symmetrical bipolar psPTs and predict a bipolar cancellation for the studied picosecond pulses. Electric field conditions that do not cause electroporation reveal that the interfacial water molecules continuously flip and redirect as the applied bipolar psPT reverses, and the molecules cannot keep moving in one direction or leave the lipid-water interface.

Facile Synthesis of Ultralong and Thin Copper Nanowires and Its Application to High-Performance Flexible Transparent Conductive Electrodes.

A hydrothermal method for synthesizing ultralong and thin copper nanowires (CuNWs) with average diameter of 35 nm and average length of 100 μm is demonstrated in this paper. The concerning raw materials include copric (II) chloride dihydrate (CuCl·2HO), octadecylamine (ODA), and ascorbic acid, which are all very cheap and nontoxic. The effect of different reaction time and different molar ratios to the reaction products were researched.

The effect of ambient humidity on the electrical properties of graphene oxide films.

We investigate the effect of water adsorption on the electrical properties of graphene oxide (GO) films using the direct current (DC) measurement and alternating current (AC) complex impedance spectroscopy. GO suspension synthesized by a modified Hummer's method is deposited on Au interdigitated electrodes. The strong electrical interaction of water molecules with GO films was observed through electrical characterizations.

Light concentration and redistribution in polymer solar cells by plasmonic nanoparticles.

We propose an optoelectronic model to investigate polymer solar cells with plasmonic nanoparticles. The optical properties of the plasmonic active layers, approximated by the effective medium theory, are combined with the organic semiconductor model. The simulation suggests the enhancement on short-circuit photocurrent is due to light concentration and redistribution by particle plasmons.

Enhanced field electron emission of graphene sheets by CsI coating after electrophoretic deposition.

Because of the large quantities of edges, graphene can serve as an efficient edge emitter for field emission (FE). Cesium iodide (CsI) coating was promising to enhance the electron emission and utilized in FE applications. In this work, FE of graphene sheets after electrophoretic deposition (ED) was studied.

Conversion of hexagonal Sb2Te3 nanoplates into nanorings driven by growth temperature.

We describe a novel route for the conversion of hexagonal Sb(2)Te(3) nanoplates into nanorings driven by growth temperature in a simple solvothermal process. The transmission electron microscopy was employed to investigate systemically the morphology, size, crystallinity, and microstructure of the as-prepared products. The experiments indicated that the growth temperature had a great effect on the morphology of antimony telluride nanostructures.

Field emission from few-layer graphene nanosheets produced by liquid phase exfoliation of graphite.

Graphene nanosheets have been synthesized from commercial expandable graphite by heating in a microwave oven and dispersing in ethanol by ultrasonication. Scanning and transmission electron microscopy and electron energy-loss spectroscopy and atomic force microscope showed that the nanosheets were about 2 nm in thickness and 10 microm in diameter. The field emission of the graphene sheets has been investigated.

Near-infrared photoluminescence in germanium oxide enclosed germanium nano- and micro-crystals.

We have studied the near-infrared photoluminescence properties of free-standing germanium nano-crystals (20 nm on average) and micro-crystals (60 µm on average) at 80-300 K. Two peaks were observed at ∼1.0 and ∼1.

Biological effects of the carbon nanotubes.

The influences of the carbon nanotubes on proliferation state of chick embryo fibroblast cells and toxicity of the nanotubes to the cells have been investigated by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol 2-yl)-2,5 diphenylte-trazolium bromide (MTT) colorimetric method of Mosmann and the toxicology. We found that the toxicity of the carbon nanotubes to the chick embryo fibroblast cells is small, it is about first score (or degree).