SnO Nanostructured Thin Films for Room-Temperature Gas Sensing of Volatile Organic Compounds.

We demonstrated room-temperature gas sensing of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) using SnO nanostructured thin films grown via the aerosol chemical vapor deposition process at deposition temperatures ranging from 450 to 600 °C. We investigated the film's sensing response to the presence of three classes of VOCs: apolar, monopolar, and biopolar. The synthesis process was optimized, with the most robust response observed for films grown at 550 °C as compared to other temperatures.

Nanoscale Matrix Topography Influences Microscale Cell Motility through Adhesions, Actin Organization, and Cell Shape.

Mammalian cells are exposed to complex microenvironments of varying micro- and nanoscale structural features. These multiscale extracellular cues dictate important aspects of cell behavior, including migration, proliferation and differentiation. In this study, we fabricated anodized aluminum oxide (AAO) membranes of either 80 or 40 nm pore diameters.

Cationically Substituted BiFeOCl Nanosheets as Li Ion Battery Anodes.

Cation substitution of Bi with Fe in BiOCl leads to the formation of ionically layered BiFeOCl nanosheets. The synthesis follows a hydrolysis route using bismuth(III) nitrate and iron(III) chloride, followed by postannealing at 500 °C. Room temperature electrical conductivity improves from 6.

Indirect Phase Transformation of CuO to Cu2O on a Nanowire Surface.

The reduction of CuO nanowires (NWs) to Cu2O NWs undergoes an indirect phase transformation on the surface: from single crystalline CuO, to a disordered Cu2-δO phase, and then to crystalline Cu2O. A 9-12 nm disordered Cu2-δO is formed on the NW surface by exposing CuO NWs to CO at 1 Torr, 300 °C for 30 min. After 60 min, this layer decreases to 2-3 nm and is eliminated after 180 min.

Electrical conductivity of p-type BiOCl nanosheets.

High quality BiOCl nanosheets were fabricated using facile, room temperature hydrolysis of Bi(NO3)3 and HCl. The resulting nanosheets had dimensions of 500 nm with the exposed {001} facet. The band gap of the nanosheets was found to be 3.