3D semiconducting nanostructures via inverse lipid cubic phases.

Well-ordered and highly interconnected 3D semiconducting nanostructures of bismuth sulphide were prepared from inverse cubic lipid mesophases. This route offers significant advantages in terms of mild conditions, ease of use and electrode architecture over other routes to nanomaterials synthesis for device applications. The resulting 3D bicontinous nanowire network films exhibited a single diamond topology of symmetry Fd3m (Q) which was verified by Small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and holds great promise for potential applications in optoelectronics, photovoltaics and thermoelectrics.

Triplex-directed covalent cross-linking of a DNA nanostructure.

The triplex approach to DNA recognition is exploited to direct covalent inter-strand cross-links to unique locations within a pre-assembled DNA nanostructure. This approach can be used to improve the stability of DNA nanostructures and demonstrates the feasibility of directing other reactive groups to unique locations within these complexes.

Surfactant-mediated electrodeposition of bismuth telluride films and its effect on microstructural properties.

We report the synthesis of highly crystallographically textured films of stoichiometric bismuth telluride (Bi(2)Te(3)) in the presence of a surfactant, sodium lignosulfonate (SL), that resulted in the improved alignment of films in the (110) plane and offered good control over the morphology and roughness of the electrodeposited films. SL concentrations in the range 60-80 mg dm(-3) at a deposition potential of -0.1 V vs SCE (saturated calomel electrode) were found to yield the most improved crystallinity and similar or superior thermoelectric properties compared with results reported in the literature.

Triplex-directed recognition of a DNA nanostructure assembled by crossover strand exchange.

DNA has been widely exploited for the self-assembly of nanosized objects and arrays that offer the potential to act as scaffolds for the spatial positioning of molecular components with nanometer precision. Methods that allow the targeting of components to specific locations within these structures are therefore highly sought after. Here we report that the triplex approach to DNA recognition, which relies on the specific binding of an oligonucleotide within the major groove of double-helical DNA, can be exploited to recognize specific loci within a DNA double-crossover tile and array, a nanostructure assembled by crossover strand exchange.

Optimization of the electrodeposition process of high-performance bismuth antimony telluride compounds for thermoelectric applications.

High-quality films of bismuth antimony telluride were synthesized by electrodeposition from nitric acid electroplating baths. The influence of a surfactant, sodium ligninsulfonate, on the structure, morphology, stoichiometry, and homogeneity of the deposited films has been investigated. It was found that addition of this particular surfactant significantly improved the microstructural properties as well as homogeneity of the films with a significant improvement in the thermoelectric properties over those deposited in the absence of surfactant.

High density p-type Bi0.5Sb1.5Te3 nanowires by electrochemical templating through ion-track lithography.

High density p-type Bi0.5Sb1.5Te3 nanowire arrays are produced by a combination of electrodeposition and ion-track lithography technology.

Loosening the DNA wrapping around single-walled carbon nanotubes by increasing the strand length.

In this study, we discuss the influence of DNA strand length on DNA wrapping of single-walled carbon nanotubes under high-shear sonication and find that different strand length results in changed DNA-nanotube interaction, which is sensitively probed by the upshift extent of the Raman radial breathing mode bands of nanotubes due to DNA wrapping. The difference in the interaction between nanotubes and DNA strands of various length results in apparently different degrees of wrapping compactness, revealed by atomic force microscopy observations, and nanotube selectivity in wrapping, indicated by both Raman and photoluminescence spectroscopy results. The above findings can be utilized to precisely control the nanotube diameter distribution and modulate the physicochemical properties of the nanotube wrapped by DNA without any direct functionalization of nanotubes.

Addressable molecular node assembly--high information density DNA nanostructures.

The inherent self-assembly properties of DNA make it ideal in nanotechnology. We present a fully addressable DNA nanostructure with the smallest possible unit cell, a hexagon with a side-length of only 3.4 nm.

Triplex addressability as a basis for functional DNA nanostructures.

Here, we present the formation of a fully addressable DNA nanostructure that shows the potential to be exploited as, for example, an information storage device based on pH-driven triplex strand formation or nanoscale circuits based on electron transfer. The nanostructure is composed of two adjacent hexagonal unit cells (analogous to naphthalene) in which each of the eleven edges has a unique double-stranded DNA sequence, constructed using novel three-way oligonucleotides. This allows each ten base-pair side, just 3.