A natural vanishing act: the enzyme-catalyzed degradation of carbon nanomaterials.

Over the past three decades, revolutionary research in nanotechnology by the scientific, medical, and engineering communities has yielded a treasure trove of discoveries with diverse applications that promise to benefit humanity. With their unique electronic and mechanical properties, carbon nanomaterials (CNMs) represent a prime example of the promise of nanotechnology with applications in areas that include electronics, fuel cells, composites, and nanomedicine. Because of toxicological issues associated with CNMs, however, their full commercial potential may not be achieved.

Transferable graphene oxide films with tunable microstructures.

This report describes methods to produce large-area films of graphene oxide from aqueous suspensions using electrophoretic deposition. By selecting the appropriate suspension pH and deposition voltage, films of the negatively charged graphene oxide sheets can be produced with either a smooth "rug" microstructure on the anode or a porous "brick" microstructure on the cathode. Cathodic deposition occurs in the low pH suspension with the application of a relatively high voltage, which facilitates a gradual change in the colloids' charge from negative to positive as they adsorb protons released by the electrolysis of water.

Sacrificial layer electrophoretic deposition of free-standing multilayered nanoparticle films.

Sacrificial layer electrophoretic deposition (SLED) is a technique to assemble nanoparticles that yields free-standing, multilayered nanoparticle films with macroscopic lateral dimensions after the sacrificial layer is dissolved.

Controlled electrophoretic deposition of uniquely nanostructured star polymer films.

The controlled electrophoretic deposition of polystyrene/divinylbenzene (PS/DVB) star polymer films from a colloidal suspension is reported. Liquid suspensions, containing the PS/DVB star polymer, were prepared by injecting a dichloromethane (DCM) solution of the star polymer into a stratified liquid combination of hexane and DCM. A variety of hexane/DCM volume ratios were examined to identify the optimal solution conditions for electrophoretic deposition; thin films were produced from both unmixed and well-mixed hexane/DCM suspensions.