Under the correct conditions, aluminum can be anodized in an electrochemical
cell to produce hexagonally ordered arrays of nanoscale
pores. This study examines how adding the chemicals methanol and
acetic acid to a typical anodization solution alters pore-growth patterns
across the surface oxide layer. The existence of the unique pore-growth...
The swelling and deswelling behavior of poly(methacrylic acid) (PMAA)
thin films and the permeability of poly(styrene) (PS) membranes was
investigated using quartz crystal microbalance and ellipsometry.
The system consisted of either homopolymer PMAA film or diblock
poly(methyl methacrylate)-poly(methacrylic acid) (PMMA-PMAA)
brushes with a hydrophobic PS membrane capping layer. Results show...
In the field of clinical diagnostics, biosensors are used to identify genetic
disorders by hybridizing a surface-bound DNA sequence with the
patient’s DNA. To further improve biosensor design, two nonlinear
optical techniques, sum frequency generation (SFG) and second
harmonic generation (SHG), were used to probe the orientation,
chirality, and surface...
The formation of organic layers on hydrogen-passivated silicon (HPS)
surfaces via (UV) ultraviolet treatment was completed for three styrene
derivatives with different conjugated lengths. The styrene molecules
were synthesized and characterized using nuclear magnetic resonance
(NMR) spectroscopy and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry
(GC-MS). Layer formation on silicon was then accomplished through...
Polymer nanoparticles (PNPs) were formed from amphiphilic diblock
copolymers consisting of a hydrophilic block with pendant polyethylene
glycol tosylate (PEG-OTs) groups and a hydrophobic block with pendant
terthiophene (TTT) groups. The resulting PNPs were characterized
using dynamic light scattering (DLS) and transmission electron
microscopy (TEM) to determine size, shape, and...
Chip-based devices and biosensors
incorporate the attachment of biomolecules
at interfaces. The behavior of biomolecules
at the surface and interfaces differs from the
behavior of biomolecules in the bulk solution.
Surface-analysis techniques are therefore
required to characterize these interfaces.
Second harmonic generation (SHG) has been
used to characterize DNA on...
In this research project, particle sorting of
Brownian liquids was explored by sweeping
two noncoherent pairs of parallel optical
standing waves in a translating medium.
Each wave was created by interfering two
coherent beams of light, and the resulting
fringe periods were determined by the angle
of intersection. Adjusting the...
Numerous studies have been structured to
investigate magnetoelectric multiferroic
materials, which possess simultaneous
ferroelectric and (anti)ferromagnetic
ordering. Bismuth ferrite (BiFeO3), referred
to as BFO, has drawn special attention
because of its unique ability to maintain both
electric and magnetic dipole moments at
room temperature. BFO shows great
potential to revolutionize...
A self-assembled monolayer of an alkene or
alkyne can be applied to a hydrogenpassivated
silicon surface using UV hydrosilylation.
This research shows that
field-induced oxides can be used as a
negative resist to selectively prevent
bromostyrene attachment, providing a
means of nanopatterning organic molecules
on silicon. The negative resist effects...