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Fan, Hongyou

Publications and source records attributed to Fan, Hongyou.

At least 109 records · Page 6

Tuning and synthesis of metallic nanostructures by mechanical compression

The present invention provides a pressure-induced phase transformation process to engineer metal nanoparticle architectures and to fabricate new nanostructured materials. The reversible changes of the nanoparticle unit cell dimension under pressure allow precise control over interparticle separation in 2D or 3D nanoparticle assemblies, offering unique robustness for interrogation of both quantum and classic coupling interactions. Irreversible changes above a threshold pressure of about 8 GPa enables new nanostructures, such as nanorods, nanowires, or nanosheets.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Tuning and synthesis of semiconductor nanostructures by mechanical compression

A mechanical compression method can be used to tune semiconductor nanoparticle lattice structure and synthesize new semiconductor nanostructures including nanorods, nanowires, nanosheets, and other three-dimensional interconnected structures. II-VI or IV-VI compound semiconductor nanoparticle assemblies can be used as starting materials, including CdSe, CdTe, ZnSe, ZnS, PbSe, and PbS.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Preparation of highly luminescent and color tunable carbon nanodots under visible light excitation for in vitro and in vivo bio-imaging

Carbon nanodots (CDs) have generated enormous excitement because of their superiority in water solubility, chemical inertness, low toxicity, ease of functionalization and resistance to photobleaching. Here we report a facile thermal pyrolysis route to prepare CDs with high quantum yield (QY) using citric acid as the carbon source and ethylene diamine derivatives (EDAs) including triethylenetetramine (TETA), tetraethylenepentamine (TEPA) and polyene polyamine (PEPA) as the passivation agents. We find that the CDs prepared from EDAs, such as TETA, TEPA and PEPA, show relatively high photoluminescence (PL) QY (11.4, 10.6, and 9.8%, respectively) at 1 ex of 465 nm. The cytotoxicity of the CDs has been investigated through in vitro and in vivo bio-imaging studies. The results indicate that these CDs possess low toxicity and good biocompatibility. As a result, the unique properties such as the high PL QY at large excitation wave length and the low toxicity of the resulting CDs make them promising fluorescent nanoprobes for applications in optical bio-imaging and biosensing.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Tunable Quantum Dot Solids: Impact of Interparticle Interactions on Bulk Properties

QD-solids comprising self-assembled semiconductor nanocrystals such as CdSe are currently under investigation for use in a wide array of applications including light emitting diodes, solar cells, field effect transistors, photodetectors, and biosensors. The goal of this LDRD project was develop a fundamental understanding of the relationship between nanoparticle interactions and the different regimes of charge and energy transport in semiconductor quantum dot (QD) solids. Interparticle spacing was tuned through the application of hydrostatic pressure in a diamond anvil cell, and the impact on interparticle interactions was probed using x-ray scattering and a variety of static and transient optical spectroscopies. During the course of this LDRD, we discovered a new, previously unknown, route to synthesize semiconductor quantum wires using high pressure sintering of self-assembled quantum dot crystals. We believe that this new, pressure driven synthesis approach holds great potential as a new tool for nanomaterials synthesis and engineering.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

A modified Stillinger-Weber potential for TlBr and its polymorphic extension

TlBr is promising for g- and x- radiation detection, but suffers from rapid performance degradation under the operating external electric fields. To enable molecular dynamics (MD) studies of this degradation, we have developed a Stillinger-Weber type of TlBr interatomic potential. During this process, we have also addressed two problems of wider interests. First, the conventional Stillinger-Weber potential format is only applicable for tetrahedral structures (e.g., diamond-cubic, zinc-blende, or wurtzite). Here we have modified the analytical functions of the Stillinger-Weber potential so that it can now be used for other crystal structures. Second, past modifications of interatomic potentials cannot always be applied by a broad community because any new analytical functions of the potential would require corresponding changes in the molecular dynamics codes. Here we have developed a polymorphic potential model that simultaneously incorporates Stillinger-Weber, Tersoff, embedded-atom method, and any variations (i.e., modified functions) of these potentials. As a result, we have implemented this polymorphic model in MD code LAMMPS, and demonstrated that our TlBr potential enables stable MD simulations under external electric fields.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Synthesis of porphyrin nanostructures

The present disclosure generally relates to self-assembly methods for generating porphyrin nanostructures. For example, in one embodiment a method is provided that includes preparing a porphyrin solution and a surfactant solution. The porphyrin solution is then mixed with the surfactant solution at a concentration sufficient for confinement of the porphyrin molecules by the surfactant molecules. In some embodiments, the concentration of the surfactant is at or above its critical micelle concentration (CMC), which allows the surfactant to template the growth of the nanostructure over time. The size and morphology of the nanostructures may be affected by the type of porphyrin molecules used, the type of surfactant used, the concentration of the porphyrin and surfactant the pH of the mixture of the solutions, and the order of adding the reagents to the mixture, to name a few variables.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗