Optical Force on a Metal Nanorod Exerted by a Photonic Jet

In this article, we study the optical force exerted on nanorods. In recent years, the capture of micro-nanoparticles has been a frontier topic in optics. A Photonic Jet (PJ) is an emerging subwavelength beam with excellent application prospects. This paper studies the optical force exerted by photonic jets generated by a plane wave illuminating a Generalized Luneburg Lens (GLLs) on nanorods. In the framework of the dipole approximation, the optical force on the nanorods is studied. The electric field of the photonic jet is calculated by the open-source software package DDSCAT developed based on the Discrete Dipole Approximation (DDA). In this paper, the effects of the nanorods’ orientation and dielectric constant on the transverse force Fx and longitudinal force Fy are analyzed. Numerical results show that the maximum value of the positive force and the negative force are equal and appear alternately at the position of the photonic jet. Therefore, to capture anisotropic nanoscale-geometries (nanorods), it is necessary to adjust the position of GLLs continuously. It is worth emphasizing that manipulations with nanorods will make it possible to create new materials at the nanoscale.

Towards Catalysts Prepared by Cold Plasma

Cold (non-equilibrium) plasma techniques have long been used as plasma deposition methods to create new materials, often with unique properties, which cannot be produced any other way, as well as plasma treatment methods for the sophisticated modification of conventional materials [...]

Descriptors of intrinsic hydrodynamic thermal transport: screening a phonon database in a machine learning approach

Machine learning techniques are used to explore the intrinsic origins of the hydrodynamic thermal transport and to find new materials interesting for science and engineering. The hydrodynamic thermal transport is governed intrinsically by the hydrodynamic scale and the thermal conductivity. The correlations between these intrinsic properties and harmonic and anharmonic properties, and a large number of compositional (290) and structural (1224) descriptors of 131 crystal compound materials are obtained, revealing some of the key descriptors that determines the magnitude of the intrinsic hydrodynamic effects, most of them related with the phonon relaxation times. Then, a trained black-box model is applied to screen more than 5000 materials. The results identify materials with potential technological applications. Understanding the properties correlated to hydrodynamic thermal transport can help to find new thermoelectric materials and on the design of new materials to ease the heat dissipation in electronic devices.to ease the heat dissipation in electronic devices.

Bioinspired Self-Shaping Clay Composites for Sustainable Development

Bioinspired self-shaping is an approach used to transform flat materials into unusual three-dimensional (3D) shapes by tailoring the internal architecture of the flat material. Bioinspiration and bioinspired materials have a high potential for fostering sustainable development, yet are often fashioned out of expensive and synthetic materials. In this work, we use bioinspiration to endow clay with self-shaping properties upon drying. The composites created are based on clay and starch, and the internal architecture is built using celery fibers. The viscosity, shrinkage, and bending of the architected composite monolayers are studied for several compositions by measuring penetration depth and using optical characterization methods. Bilayer structures inspired from plants are then processed using a simple hand layup process to achieve bending, twisting, and combinations of those after drying. By layering a mixture of 32 vol% clay, 25.8 vol% starch, and 42.2 vol% water with 40 wt% embedded aligned celery fibers, it is possible to obtain the desired shape change. The work presented here aims at providing a simple method for teaching the concept of bioinspiration, and for creating new materials using only clay and plant-based ingredients. Rejuvenating clay with endowed self-shaping properties could further expand its use. Furthermore, the materials, methods, and principles presented here are affordable, simple, largely applicable, and could be used for sustainable development in the domain of education as well as materials and structures.

Stationary Phases for Green Liquid Chromatography

Industrial research, including pharmaceutical research, is increasingly using liquid chromatography techniques. This involves the production of large quantities of hazardous and toxic organic waste. Therefore, it is essential at this point to focus interest on solutions proposed by so-called “green chemistry”. One such solution is the search for new methods or the use of new materials that will reduce waste. One of the most promising ideas is to perform chromatographic separation using pure water, without organic solvents, as a mobile phase. Such an approach requires novel stationary phases or specific chromatographic conditions, such as an elevated separation temperature. The following review paper aims to gather information on stationary phases used for separation under purely aqueous conditions at various temperatures.

Additive Technologies in the Production of Vehicle Rubber with Sensory Properties

Annotation. Rubber products are widely used in the construction of vehicles, for example, as sealing and protective devices, suspension joints and are the basis of automobile tires. Modern trends related to increasing the level of vehicle safety require the use of innovative approaches in the design and use of new materials with unique properties. This article proposes an approach to create a rubber with sensory properties that can be used in various automotive products and prevent situations that can harm both human health and lead to serious damage to the structure of the vehicle itself. We have developed an intelligent vehicle door seal to prevent injury to a person when the door is closed carelessly. The sealant, which reacts to deformation when a foreign body enters the seal site, consists of rubber with the addition of piezoceramic powder and two electrode layers. Each electrode layer has several parallel strip-like electrodes positioned along the perimeter of the seal. This document describes possible applications for rubber products with sensory properties and an additive method for making such rubber with the addition of piezoceramic powder.

Dendriplex-Impregnated Hydrogels With Programmed Release Rate

Hydrogels are biocompatible matrices for local delivery of nucleic acids; however, functional dopants are required to provide efficient delivery into cells. In particular, dendrimers, known as robust nucleic acid carriers, can be used as dopants. Herein, we report the first example of impregnating neutral hydrogels with siRNA–dendrimer complexes. The surface chemistry of dendrimers allows adjusting the release rate of siRNA-containing complexes. This methodology can bring new materials for biomedical applications.

Machine learning and molecular dynamics simulations assisted evolutionary design and discovery pipeline to screen the efficient small molecule acceptors for PTB7-Th based organic solar cells with over 15% efficiency

Organic solar cells are the most promising candidates for future commercialization. This goal can be quickly achieved by designing new materials and predicting their performance without experimentation to reduce the...