Sharif Digital Repository

The mechanism of gold nanowire (AuNW) and nanotube (AuNT) electrodeposition in a cyanide-free solution is investigated for the first time based on the analytical model of Szabo et al. (A. Szabo et al., J. Electroanal. Chem. 217 (1987) 417) for recessed cylindrical ultramicroelectrode (UME). Track-etched Polycarbonate Template (PCT) is served as cylindrical UME ensemble/arrays. Firstly, Au is nucleated through a charge transfer step and when the Nernst thickness exceeds the pore length, the radial diffusion is established around pore mouths. By overlapping of these domains, the planar diffusion toward the whole PCT surface is obtained. An analytic expression for global diffusion coefficient... 

Electrodeposition of long and well-defined gold nanotubes in polycarbonate (PC) templates is still a major concern due to pore blockage problems. In the present study, we introduce a novel method for electrodeposition of long gold nanotubes within the pores of PC templates for the first time. In order to deposit gold atoms onto the pore walls preferentially, pore walls were functionalized with a coupling agent. Short and thin Ni nanotubes were then electrodeposited at the bottom of the pores. Gold nanotubes were subsequently electrodeposited at constant potentials and low solution concentrations. The morphology of nanotubes was characterized by electron microscopy and their formation... 

Surface of polycarbonate substrates were activated by atmospheric plasma torch using different gas pressure, distance from the substrates, velocity of the torch and number of treatments. The modifications were analyzed by contact angle measurements, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and UV-vis spectrophotometry. Plasma treatment caused the surface characteristics to become more hydrophilic as measured by the water contact angle, which decreased from 88° to 18°. The decrease in contact angle was mainly due to oxidation of the surface groups, leading to formation of polar groups with hydrophilic property. XPS results showed an increase in the intensity of... 

CdSe nanowires were grown in polycarbonate track etched membrane with pore diameter of 80 nm by an electrochemical deposition technique. The mechanism of the growth was studied during the potentiostatic deposition of nanowires. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and energy dispersive spectrometry results showed binding of fragments and fraction of atoms for the CdSe nanowires. Microstructure and morphology of synthesized CdSe nanowires were observed by scanning electron microscopy. Optical spectrophotometry technique was used to determine the energy band gap of CdSe nanowires. It was found that the nanowires were resistive in the dark and exhibited a pronounced visible light photoconductivity.... 

Platinum nanowires (PtNWs) were electrodeposited on the polycarbonate templates (PCTs) in aqueous solution of H2PtCl6 in triply distilled water. Nanowires with diameters of 50 and 100 nanometers were electrodeposited on the same condition. The kinetics of electrodeposition process was studied by electrochemical techniques such as voltammetry and chronoamperometry methods. Increasing the scan rate, the peaks shifted to more negative potentials and the current density also increased in each peak which was typical for a diffusion-control process. The potential range for the deposition of platinum nanowires was specified and consequently the potentiostatic i-t transients were utilized to produce... 

Electrodeposition of gold nanowires is carried out in cyanide solution in polycarbonate templates with pore diameter of 80 nm. Electrochemical methods are utilized to characterize the gold electrodeposition and to obtain the nucleation and growth mechanism. The analysis of cyclic voltammograms shows that the electrodeposition of gold nanowires takes place under diffusion control. Current transients reveal that nucleation mechanism is instantaneous with a three-dimensional growth process. The transition-time measurements show that the gold elecrodeposition occurs as one-electron valence involved in the reaction mechanism. Charge transfer coefficient is also found to be 0.67 ± 0.01. The value... 

A developed route to form TiO2 self cleaning coatings on polycarbonate substrates is reported. TiO2 coatings on plastics may find widespread application in auto and construction industries if possess desired photocatalytic and mechanical properties. A chemical surface treatment method was used to create hydrophilic groups on the surface. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy showed the treatment led to the oxidation of surface groups. TiO2 deposition was based on wet coating using an anatase sol of TiO2 nanoparticles of 30 nm size. The sol was synthesized using a sol-gel route. A pre-coat of peroxotitanium complex was employed to improve adhesion and inhibit the substrate degradation. The coating... 

During recent years centrifugal-based microfluidic devices known as Lab-on-a-CD have attracted a lot of attentions. Applications of these CD-based platforms are ubiquitous in numerous biological analyses and chemical syntheses. Mixing of different species in microscale is one of the essential operations in biochemical applications where this seemingly simple task remains a major obstruction. Application of centrifugal force, however, may significantly improve the flow agitation and mixing, especially when it is combined with the Coriolis force which acts perpendicular to centrifugal force. In this study, mixing process in minichambers located on a rotating platform under a periodic... 

During recent years centrifugal-based microfluidic devices known as Lab-on-a-CD have attracted a lot of attentions. Applications of these CD-based platforms are ubiquitous in numerous biological analyses and chemical syntheses. Mixing of different species in microscale is one of the essential operations in biochemical applications where this seemingly simple task remains a major obstruction. Application of centrifugal force, however, may significantly improve the flow agitation and mixing, especially when it is combined with the Coriolis force which acts perpendicular to centrifugal force. In this study, mixing process in minichambers located on a rotating platform under a periodic... 

The polycarbonate (PC)/thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) blend membranes were prepared by phase inversion process applied to membrane bioreactor (MBR) to investigate the fouling characteristics. The impact of TPU and poly (vinylpyrrolidone) PVP concentration in polymer dopes on membrane structure, morphology, and performance were studied. The flat sheet fabricated membranes were characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM), water contact angle (WCA), membrane surface roughness measurements and mechanical strength. The membrane performance was investigated at subcritical operating conditions. Pure water and critical flux through the fabricated membranes were measured for better... 

Fabrication of well-defined gold nanowires (GNWs) is of significant importance in many fields such as sensing applications. In this study, the electrodeposition of well-defined GNWs inside polycarbonate (PC) template has been discussed in detail. GNWs were potentiostatically electrodeposited at different filling rates. The growth of GNWs at different stages of pore filling was monitored by electrochemical measurements and field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM). It was confirmed that under growth rates between 2.5 and 4 nm/s, GNWs with smooth ends grew uniformly inside the template without any imperfections or corrugations. The length of GNWs was electrochemically controlled to... 

An impedimetric human papilloma virus (HPV) DNA biosensor based on gold nanotubes (AuNTs) in label free detection was materialized. The AuNTs decorated nanoporous polycarbonate (AuNTs-PC) template as biosensor electrode was fabricated by electrodeposition method. The single strand DNA (ss-DNA) probe was covalently immobilized onto the AuNTs-PC electrode. The hybridization of target sequences with the ss-DNA probe was observed by the electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The biosensor showed high selectivity and could differentiate between the complementary, mismatch and non-complementary DNA sequences. The EIS measurements were matched to Randle's equivalent circuit. The... 

The Co nanowire arrays were synthesized by electrodeposition in polycarbonate template (PC) with 4 μm thickness. Electron field emission properties of cobalt nanowires were studied for wires with different aspect ratios, R ranged between 10 and 60, while the diameter of wires was fixed about 50 nm. The field emission properties of the samples showed low turn on electric field (Eto) with values varying between 2.9 and 11.3 V/μm showing a minimum value for R = 20 (Eto < 3 V/μm). On the other hand, the enhancement factor shows a peak for nanowires length about 1 μm. Field emission data using the Fowler-Nordhiem theory showed nearly straight-line nature confirming cold field emission of...