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Now showing 1 - 5 of 5
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    Applications of MXenes in human-like sensors and actuators
    (New York, NY [u.a.] : Springer, 2022) Pang, Jinbo; Peng, Songang; Hou, Chongyang; Wang, Xiao; Wang, Ting; Cao, Yu; Zhou, Weijia; Sun, Ding; Wang, Kai; RĂ¼mmeli, Mark H.; Cuniberti, Gianaurelio; Liu, Hong
    Human beings perceive the world through the senses of sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch, space, and balance. The first five senses are prerequisites for people to live. The sensing organs upload information to the nervous systems, including the brain, for interpreting the surrounding environment. Then, the brain sends commands to muscles reflexively to react to stimuli, including light, gas, chemicals, sound, and pressure. MXene, as an emerging two-dimensional material, has been intensively adopted in the applications of various sensors and actuators. In this review, we update the sensors to mimic five primary senses and actuators for stimulating muscles, which employ MXene-based film, membrane, and composite with other functional materials. First, a brief introduction is delivered for the structure, properties, and synthesis methods of MXenes. Then, we feed the readers the recent reports on the MXene-derived image sensors as artificial retinas, gas sensors, chemical biosensors, acoustic devices, and tactile sensors for electronic skin. Besides, the actuators of MXene-based composite are introduced. Eventually, future opportunities are given to MXene research based on the requirements of artificial intelligence and humanoid robot, which may induce prospects in accompanying healthcare and biomedical engineering applications. [Figure not available: see fulltext.]
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    Graphene transfer methods: A review
    (New York, NY [u.a.] : Springer, 2021) Ullah, Sami; Yang, Xiaoqin; Ta, Huy Q.; Hasan, Maria; Bachmatiuk, Alicja; Tokarska, Klaudia; Trzebicka, Barbara; Fu, Lei; Rummeli, Mark H.
    Graphene is a material with unique properties that can be exploited in electronics, catalysis, energy, and bio-related fields. Although, for maximal utilization of this material, high-quality graphene is required at both the growth process and after transfer of the graphene film to the application-compatible substrate. Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) is an important method for growing high-quality graphene on non-technological substrates (as, metal substrates, e.g., copper foil). Thus, there are also considerable efforts toward the efficient and non-damaging transfer of quality of graphene on to technologically relevant materials and systems. In this review article, a range of graphene current transfer techniques are reviewed from the standpoint of their impact on contamination control and structural integrity preservation of the as-produced graphene. In addition, their scalability, cost- and time-effectiveness are discussed. We summarize with a perspective on the transfer challenges, alternative options and future developments toward graphene technology.
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    The Influence of Particle Size Distribution and Shell Imperfections on the Plasmon Resonance of Au and Ag Nanoshells
    (New York, NY [u.a.] : Springer, 2017) Mann, Daniel; Nascimento-Duplat, Daniel; Keul, Helmut; Möller, Martin; Verheijen, Marcel; Xu, Man; Urbach, H. Paul; Adam, Aurèle J. L.; Buskens, Pascal
    Au and Ag nanoshells are of interest for a wide range of applications. The plasmon resonance of such nanoshells is the property of interest and can be tuned in a broad spectral regime, ranging from the ultraviolet to the mid-infrared. To date, a large number of manuscripts have been published on the optics of such nanoshells. Few of these, however, address the effect of particle size distribution and metal shell imperfections on the plasmon resonance. Both are inherent to the chemical synthesis of metal nanoshells and therefore to a large extent unavoidable. It is of vital importance to understand their effect on the plasmon resonance, since this determines the scope and limitations of the technology and may have a direct impact on the application of such particles. Here, we elucidate the effect of particle size distribution and imperfections in the metal shell on the plasmon resonance of Au and Ag nanoshells. The size of the polystyrene core and the thickness of the Au and Ag shells are systematically varied to study their influence on the plasmon resonance, and the results are compared to values obtained through optical simulations using extended Mie theory and finite element method. Discrepancies between theory and practice are studied in detail and discussed extensively. Quantitative information on the minimum thickness of the metal shell, which is required to realize a satisfactory plasmon resonance of a metal nanoshell, is provided for Au and Ag.
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    Selective electrodeposition of indium microstructures on silicon and their conversion into InAs and InSb semiconductors
    (New York, NY [u.a.] : Springer, 2023) Hnida-Gut, Katarzyna E.; Sousa, Marilyne; Tiwari, Preksha; Schmid, Heinz
    Abstract: The idea of benefitting from the properties of III-V semiconductors and silicon on the same substrate has been occupying the minds of scientists for several years. Although the principle of III-V integration on a silicon-based platform is simple, it is often challenging to perform due to demanding requirements for sample preparation rising from a mismatch in physical properties between those semiconductor groups (e.g. different lattice constants and thermal expansion coefficients), high cost of device-grade materials formation and their post-processing. In this paper, we demonstrate the deposition of group-III metal and III-V semiconductors in microfabricated template structures on silicon as a strategy for heterogeneous device integration on Si. The metal (indium) is selectively electrodeposited in a 2-electrode galvanostatic configuration with the working electrode (WE) located in each template, resulting in well-defined In structures of high purity. The semiconductors InAs and InSb are obtained by vapour phase diffusion of the corresponding group-V element (As, Sb) into the liquified In confined in the template. We discuss in detail the morphological and structural characterization of the synthesized In, InAs and InSb crystals as well as chemical analysis through scanning electron microscopy (SEM), scanning transmission electron microscopy (TEM/STEM), and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). The proposed integration path combines the advantage of the mature top-down lithography technology to define device geometries and employs economic electrodeposition (ED) and vapour phase processes to directly integrate difficult-to-process materials on a silicon platform. Graphical abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.].
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    Photocatalytic nitrogen reduction to ammonia: Insights into the role of defect engineering in photocatalysts
    (New York, NY [u.a.] : Springer, 2021) Shen, Huidong; Yang, Mengmeng; Hao, Leiduan; Wang, Jinrui; Strunk, Jennifer; Sun, Zhenyu
    Engineering of defects in semiconductors provides an effective protocol for improving photocatalytic N2 conversion efficiency. This review focuses on the state-of-the-art progress in defect engineering of photocatalysts for the N2 reduction toward ammonia. The basic principles and mechanisms of thermal catalyzed and photon-induced N2 reduction are first concisely recapped, including relevant properties of the N2 molecule, reaction pathways, and NH3 quantification methods. Subsequently, defect classification, synthesis strategies, and identification techniques are compendiously summarized. Advances of in situ characterization techniques for monitoring defect state during the N2 reduction process are also described. Especially, various surface defect strategies and their critical roles in improving the N2 photoreduction performance are highlighted, including surface vacancies (i.e., anionic vacancies and cationic vacancies), heteroatom doping (i.e., metal element doping and nonmetal element doping), and atomically defined surface sites. Finally, future opportunities and challenges as well as perspectives on further development of defect-engineered photocatalysts for the nitrogen reduction to ammonia are presented. It is expected that this review can provide a profound guidance for more specialized design of defect-engineered catalysts with high activity and stability for nitrogen photochemical fixation.