Giant lateral electrostriction in ferroelectric liquid-crystalline elastomers

Mechanisms for converting electrical energy into mechanical energy are essential for the design of nanoscale transducers, sensors, actuators, motors, pumps, artificial muscles, and medical microrobots. Nanometre-scale actuation has to date been mainly achieved by using the (linear) piezoelectric effect in certain classes of crystals (for example, quartz), and 'smart' ceramics such as lead zirconate titanate. But the strains achievable in these materials are small--less than 0.1 per cent--so several alternative materials and approaches have been considered. These include grafted polyglutamates (which have a performance comparable to quartz), silicone elastomers (passive material--the constriction results from the Coulomb attraction of the capacitor electrodes between which the material is sandwiched) and carbon nanotubes (which are slow). High and fast strains of up to 4 per cent within an electric field of 150 MV x m(-1) have been achieved by electrostriction (this means that the strain is proportional to the square of the applied electric field) in an electron-irradiated poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene) copolymer. Here we report a material that shows a further increase in electrostriction by two orders of magnitude: ultrathin (less than 100 nanometres) ferroelectric liquid-crystalline elastomer films that exhibit 4 per cent strain at only 1.5 MV x m(-1). This giant electrostriction was obtained by combining the properties of ferroelectric liquid crystals with those of a polymer network. We expect that these results, which can be completely understood on a molecular level, will open new perspectives for applications.     

Platinum-supported mesoporous carbon (Pt/CMK-3) as anodic catalyst for direct methanol fuel cell applications: The effect of preparation and deposition methods

Platinum-supported ordered mesoporous carbon catalysts were prepared employing colloidal platinum reduced by four different reducing agents, viz., paraformaldehyde, sodium borohydride, ethylene glycol and hydrogen, and deposited over ordered mesoporous carbon (CMK-3) synthesized by silica hard template (SBA-15). The resulting platinum nanoparticles supported mesoporous carbon, designated as Pt/CMK-3, catalysts were tested for the electocatalytic oxidation of methanol. The effect of the various reduction methods on the influence of particle size vis- a-vis on the electrocatalytic effect is investigated. All the catalysts were systematically characterized by XRD, BET and TEM. The results of the synthetic methods, characterization techniques and the electrocatalytic performance indicate that the Pt/CMK-3 catalysts are superior to that prepared with activated carbon (Pt/AC) as well as with that of the commercial platinumsupported carbon catalyst (Pt/E-TEK). In particular, the catalyst, Pt/CMK-3, prepared using paraformaldehyde reduced platinum showed much higher activity and long-term stability as compared to the other reducing methods.     

模板剂对介孔碳孔道结构及有序性的影响

分别以三嵌段聚合物F127、P123以及P123/F127作为模板剂,酚醛树脂为有机碳源,采用溶剂挥发自组装法制备有序介孔碳材料。采用XRD,TEM和N2吸/脱附等手段对有序介孔碳进行表征,研究F127、P123及P123/F127复合模板剂对介孔碳孔道结构及有序性的影响。结果表明,使用单一模板剂时,F127较P123更易产生有序六方介孔结构;使用P123/F127复合模板剂,介孔碳有较好的二维六方有序性,介孔孔容和比表面积较单独使用F127作模板分别提高了50%与31%;当m(P123)/m(F127)=1/3时,所得介孔碳BET比表面积为498.5 m2/g,介孔孔容和比表面积分别为0.173 cm3/g和167m2/g,平均孔径为3.41 nm。     

C60基纳米结构膜的制备及其催化氧化甲醇的研究

采用光透电极(OTE)为基底,首次通过滴加涂覆C60溶胶的方法制备了纳米结构的C60／OTE薄膜,再电沉积Pt制得修饰电极Pt／C60／OTE,并经扫描电镜表征。该修饰电极对甲醇氧化表现出显著的催化作用。催化效果随Pt和C60量的增加而增加,并存在最佳值。表明C60纳米簇可作为一种新型的碳基材料并在直接甲醇燃料电池中有潜在的应用前景。     

Conversion of silicon carbide to crystalline diamond-structured carbon at ambient pressure

Synthetic diamond is formed commercially using high-pressure, chemical-vapour-deposition and shock-wave processes, but these approaches have serious limitations owing to low production volumes and high costs. Recently suggested alternative methods of diamond growth include plasma activation, high pressures, exotic precursors or explosive mixtures, but they suffer from very low yield and are intrinsically limited to small volumes or thin films. Here we report the synthesis of nano- and micro-crystalline diamond-structured carbon, with cubic and hexagonal structure, by extracting silicon from silicon carbide in chlorine-containing gases at ambient pressure and temperatures not exceeding 1,000 degrees C. The presence of hydrogen in the gas mixture leads to a stable conversion of silicon carbide to diamond-structured carbon with an average crystallite size ranging from 5 to 10 nanometres. The linear reaction kinetics allows transformation to any depth, so that the whole silicon carbide sample can be converted to carbon. Nanocrystalline coatings of diamond-structured carbon produced by this route show promising mechanical properties, with hardness values in excess of 50 GPa and Young's moduli up to 800 GPa. Our approach should be applicable to large-scale production of crystalline diamond-structured carbon.     

Single-crystal gallium nitride nanotubes

Since the discovery of carbon nanotubes in 1991 (ref. 1), there have been significant research efforts to synthesize nanometre-scale tubular forms of various solids. The formation of tubular nanostructure generally requires a layered or anisotropic crystal structure. There are reports of nanotubes made from silica, alumina, silicon and metals that do not have a layered crystal structure; they are synthesized by using carbon nanotubes and porous membranes as templates, or by thin-film rolling. These nanotubes, however, are either amorphous, polycrystalline or exist only in ultrahigh vacuum. The growth of single-crystal semiconductor hollow nanotubes would be advantageous in potential nanoscale electronics, optoelectronics and biochemical-sensing applications. Here we report an 'epitaxial casting' approach for the synthesis of single-crystal GaN nanotubes with inner diameters of 30-200 nm and wall thicknesses of 5-50 nm. Hexagonal ZnO nanowires were used as templates for the epitaxial overgrowth of thin GaN layers in a chemical vapour deposition system. The ZnO nanowire templates were subsequently removed by thermal reduction and evaporation, resulting in ordered arrays of GaN nanotubes on the substrates. This templating process should be applicable to many other semiconductor systems.     

Enhancement of the thermo-mechanical properties and efficacy of mixing technique in the preparation of graphene/PVC nanocomposites compared to carbon nanotubes/PVC

Thin films of poly vinyl chloride(PVC)/multiwalled carbon nanotubes(MWCNT) and PVC/graphene(GN) nanocomposites were prepared by mixing in the presence of different quantities of nanoparticles. Film casting was performed using tetrahydrofuran as a solvent. The as-prepared PVC/MWCNT and PVC/GN nanocomposites were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction,thermogravimetric analysis, differential scanning calorimetry, dynamic mechanical analysis, and diffused reflectance spectroscopy. Only the PVC/GN nanocomposite films were evaluated further for detailed mechanical analysis because of the poor dispersion of MWCNTs in PVC. The PVC/GN nanocomposite films were thermo-mechanically more stable than the PVC films. These nanocomposites have potential as a replacement material for PVC and PVC/MWCNT owing to their better dispersion and high stability.     

Self-directed self-assembly of nanoparticle/copolymer mixtures

The organization of inorganic nanostructures within self-assembled organic or biological templates is receiving the attention of scientists interested in developing functional hybrid materials. Previous efforts have concentrated on using such scaffolds to spatially arrange nanoscopic elements as a strategy for tailoring the electrical, magnetic or photonic properties of the material. Recent theoretical arguments have suggested that synergistic interactions between self-organizing particles and a self-assembling matrix material can lead to hierarchically ordered structures. Here we show that mixtures of diblock copolymers and either cadmium selenide- or ferritin-based nanoparticles exhibit cooperative, coupled self-assembly on the nanoscale. In thin films, the copolymers assemble into cylindrical domains, which dictate the spatial distribution of the nanoparticles; segregation of the particles to the interfaces mediates interfacial interactions and orients the copolymer domains normal to the surface, even when one of the blocks is strongly attracted to the substrate. Organization of both the polymeric and particulate entities is thus achieved without the use of external fields, opening a simple and general route for fabrication of nanostructured materials with hierarchical order.     

Ag/TiO2有序多孔复合薄膜的合成及其可见光光催化活性

以自组装SiO2胶体晶体为模板,采用TiCh溶胶凝胶浸渍提拉法制备了TiO2有序多孔薄膜(TIO),然后利用AgNO3液相渗透法将Ag纳米颗粒沉积在TIO上,成功制备了Ag/TiO2有序多孔复合薄膜(ATIO).通过Raman,FESEM,TEM,XPS和Uv-vis等分析手段对复合薄膜进行了表征,结果表明:Ag纳米颗粒的平均尺寸约为10 nm,而且与TiO2晶粒之间有强的相互作用.以亚甲基蓝(MB)水溶液为目标降解物,针对不同Ag/Ti相对原子浓度比的样品,考察了其低功率可见光光催化活性及循环使用性,并与Ag/TiO2无序复合薄膜(ATF)作了对比.研究发现,AgNO3前驱体溶液浓度为10 mmol/L的ATIO样品具有最高的可见光光催化活性,其光降解率是具有相同AgNOa前驱体溶液浓度ATF的3.19倍,显著增强的光催化活性来源于Ag纳米颗粒和TIO有序多孔结构的协同效应.循环降解实验证明样品具有稳定的光催化活性.     

酚醛树脂基泡沫炭的制备工艺改进及在光谱电化学中的应用

以聚氨酯泡沫为模板,利用酚醛树脂制备过程中的碱催化剂对模板进行原位开孔,经酚醛树脂浸渍-固化-炭化过程制备了网状泡沫炭.该工艺省去了传统方法中聚氨酯模板预开孔的过程,简化了实验步骤,得到了高开孔率的泡沫炭.所得泡沫炭展现了典型的三维立体网状大孔结构,孔径范围约为400～600μm,具有较高的抗氧化温度和较低的石墨化程度.研究了泡沫炭作为电极测量铁-邻二氮菲配合物的电化学行为,发现泡沫炭电极在铁-邻二氮菲配合物溶液中出现了氧化还原峰,在510nm波长处的吸光度随着工作电位的提高而降低,且电极具有一定的透光性,表明所得泡沫炭有望发展为良好的光透电极材料.     

Epitaxial self-assembly of block copolymers on lithographically defined nanopatterned substrates

Parallel processes for patterning densely packed nanometre-scale structures are critical for many diverse areas of nanotechnology. Thin films of diblock copolymers can self-assemble into ordered periodic structures at the molecular scale (approximately 5 to 50 nm), and have been used as templates to fabricate quantum dots, nanowires, magnetic storage media, nanopores and silicon capacitors. Unfortunately, perfect periodic domain ordering can only be achieved over micrometre-scale areas at best and defects exist at the edges of grain boundaries. These limitations preclude the use of block-copolymer lithography for many advanced applications. Graphoepitaxy, in-plane electric fields, temperature gradients, and directional solidification have also been demonstrated to induce orientation or long-range order with varying degrees of success. Here we demonstrate the integration of thin films of block copolymer with advanced lithographic techniques to induce epitaxial self-assembly of domains. The resulting patterns are defect-free, are oriented and registered with the underlying substrate and can be created over arbitrarily large areas. These structures are determined by the size and quality of the lithographically defined surface pattern rather than by the inherent limitations of the self-assembly process. Our results illustrate how hybrid strategies to nanofabrication allow for molecular level control in existing manufacturing processes.     

Thin Films for Coating Nanomaterials

Introduction The extremely high surface to volume ratio of nano- materials (particles, fullerenes, and fibers) results in increased chemical reactivity, environmental degrada- tion, tendency to agglomerate, and resistance touniform dispersion in any matrix. Therefore, under- standing ways to modify the surface to enhance its properties is essential if these materials need to be incorporated in modern technology. Surface modification in general is not new. The need for combining the desirable b…     

三维有序介孔镍铁磷化物的制备及电解水析氢性能研究

利用三维SiO₂纳米球阵列作为介孔模板,通过高温磷化合成了不同镍与铁物质的量比的三维有序介孔镍铁磷化物(3DOM Ni_XFe_1-XP);利用透射电子显微镜(TEM)、氮气吸脱附测试(BET)、X射线衍射(XRD)、X射线光电子能谱(XPS)等物理表征方法对所制备材料的形貌和结构进行分析,并通过电化学测试在0.5 mol/L H₂SO₄中系统评价了其电解水析氢(HER)性能。结果表明：3DOM Ni_XFe_1-XP成功地反向复制了SiO₂模板的有序介孔结构,孔道之间排列整齐且相互连通;随着Fe含量的增加,3DOM Ni_XFe_1-XP的HER性能呈现先升高后下降的趋势,在Ni与Fe物质的量比为7∶3时HER性能达到最优;当电流密度达到10 mA/cm²时,3DOM Ni_0.7Fe_0.3P所需过电位为132 mV...     

自组装单层膜的研究

自组装膜(self-assembled monolayers,SAMs)是通过有机分子反应活性头基与固体界面之间自发反应形成的稳定、有序、紧密堆积的超薄膜结构.近年来,通过界面自组装在固体表面形成超薄层有机材料的研究受到人们的广泛关注,在非线形化学、分子生物学、材料科学、分子器件、生物传感器等领域具有广泛的应用前景.对自组装单层膜的制备、特点、类型、机理和应用等方面进行了探讨.     

Fabrication of multilayer films from regenerated cellulose and graphene oxide through layer-by-layer assembly

A key challenge in the preparation of nanoplatelet-filled polymer composites is the ability to realize the nanometer-level dispersion and the planar orientation of nanosheets in polymer matrices. In this report, multilayer films were successfully fabricated by layer-by-layer assembly of regenerated cellulose and graphene oxide, in which graphene oxide nanosheets were used as the building blocks. The thickness of 50 layer film is about 20 mm and it exhibits a high degree of smoothness. This may be attributed to the well-defined layered structure with high degree of planar orientation and nanolevel assemblies of graphene oxide nanosheets in the polymer matrices. Typical field emission scanning electron microscope images demonstrate an ordered arrangement of layers. The electrical conductivity of the multilayer films shows a remarkable increase with increasing layer of the films. A significant enhancement of mechanical properties has been achieved, that is, a 110.8% improvement of elastic modulus and a 262.5% increase of hardness respectively.     

Three-dimensional ordered macroporous platinum-based electrode for methanol oxidation

The attractive application of the direct oxidation methanol fuel cell (DMFC) in wide application areas, such as portable energy and stationary power suppliers, stimulates researchers to search for optimal anodic electrocatalysts for the oxidation of methanol. In prac- tical performance, the catalysts are generally dispersed as nanoparticles for conducting supports with high sur- face area for obtaining maximum catalyst utilization. Porous carbon is one of the well-known supports for the dispe…     

Three-dimensional tubular carbon aerogel for supercapacitors

A three-dimensional elastic carbon nanotube aerogel is fabricated via a simple solution-based strategy using Te nanowires as templates, which can be recycled. The pipe diameter and wall thickness of the carbon nanotube are strongly dependent on the diameter of the Te nanowires and carbon source. The obtained free-standing carbon nanotube aerogel with a large specific surface area (up to 1865 m2?g-1) is promising as an electrode material for supercapacitors. After combination with MnO₂, the capacitor exhibits a specific capacitance of 360.4 F?g-1 at a current of 1 A?g-1 and retention of 97% after 2000 cycles. The high power capabilities and good stability make it a promising candidate as an electrode for supercapacitors.     

碳纳米管基电热材料的结构设计与应用

随着社会的发展，人们的日常生产生活对电热材料提出了更高的要求。碳纳米管因具有轻质、高电导率、高电热转换效率等特点，成为新型轻质高效电热材料的研究热点。纳米尺度的单根碳纳米管无法直接使用，因此，需要以有序的宏观形态进行组装以获得可用的高性能电热材料。介绍了基于碳纳米管的电热材料的主要宏观组装形态，对其结构设计进行了阐述，并对其应用方向进行了介绍，最后对碳纳米管的进一步工业化应用进行了展望。     

Microdomain patterns from directional eutectic solidification and epitaxy

Creating a regular surface pattern on the nanometre scale is important for many technological applications, such as the periodic arrays constructed by optical microlithography that are used as separation media in electrophoresis, and island structures used for high-density magnetic recording devices. Block copolymer patterns can also be used for lithography on length scales below 30 nanometres (refs 3-5). But for such polymers to prove useful for thin-film technologies, chemically patterned surfaces need to be made substantially defect-free over large areas, and with tailored domain orientation and periodicity. So far, control over domain orientation has been achieved by several routes, using electric fields, temperature gradients, patterned substrates and neutral confining surfaces. Here we describe an extremely fast process that leads the formation of two-dimensional periodic thin films having large area and uniform thickness, and which possess vertically aligned cylindrical domains each containing precisely one crystalline lamella. The process involves rapid solidification of a semicrystalline block copolymer from a crystallizable solvent between glass substrates using directional solidification and epitaxy. The film is both chemically and structurally periodic, thereby providing new opportunities for more selective and versatile nanopatterned surfaces.     

BCN薄膜的硬度和剩余应力的研究

类金刚石结构的立方“BCN”材料由于兼有金刚石和立方氮化硼超硬、低摩擦的优点, 如有低摩抗磨、高的热稳定性和化学稳定性,并克服了它们的缺点,因而BCN薄膜材料被作为耐磨保护层,在电学、光学方面的性能也得到广泛应用。应用反应磁控溅射法将高质量的BCN 薄膜沉淀在硅基底上,通过用微压痕测量和弯曲技术研究了他们硬度和剩余应力,发现施于薄膜沉淀物上的偏压对其硬度和剩余应力均有重要影响。