Multiband Hypersound Filtering in Two-Dimensional Colloidal Crystals: Adhesion, Resonances, and Periodicity.

The hypersonic phonon propagation in large-area two-dimensional colloidal crystals is probed by spontaneous micro Brillouin light scattering. The dispersion relation of thermally populated Lamb waves reveals multiband filtering due to three distinct types of acoustic band gaps. We find Bragg gaps accompanied by two types of hybridization gaps in both sub- and superwavelength regimes resulting from contact-based resonances and nanoparticle eigenmodes, respectively.

A Dirty Story: Improving Colloidal Monolayer Formation by Understanding the Effect of Impurities at the Air/Water Interface.

Colloidal monolayers are important tools to fabricate surface structures at the nanoscale. A typical monolayer fabrication strategy involves the self-assembly of colloidal building blocks at liquid interfaces, which are subsequently deposited on a solid substrate. Even though this process is well established, the resulting order of the particles within the colloidal monolayer differs between batches of colloidal particles and can even change with the age of the dispersion.

Amphiphile-Induced Anisotropic Colloidal Self-Assembly.

Spherical colloidal particles typically self-assemble into hexagonal lattices when adsorbed at liquid interfaces. More complex assembly structures, including particle chains and phases with square symmetry, were theoretically predicted almost two decades ago for spherical particles interacting via a soft repulsive shoulder. Here, we demonstrate that such complex assembly phases can be experimentally realized with spherical colloidal particles assembled at the air/water interface in the presence of molecular amphiphiles.

Modular AUV System with Integrated Real-Time Water Quality Analysis.

This paper describes the concept, the technical implementation and the practical application of a miniaturized sensor system integrated into an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) for real-time acquisition of water quality parameters. The main application field of the presented system is the analysis of the discharge of nitrates into Norwegian fjords near aqua farms. The presented system was developed within the research project SALMON (Sea Water Quality Monitoring and Management) over a three-year period.

Ordered nanopore arrays with large interpore distances via one-step anodization.

Preparation of pre-patterned alumina substrates using bottom-up techniques compatible with nanotechnology applications is still a challenge. We present a novel methodology to achieve superior order in 'anodic' alumina with large interpore distances by a convenient one-step anodization process. The use of transparent insulators renders such anodic layers applicable as templates for nanostructured photovoltaic or photoelectrochemical devices.