Current Nanoscience - Volume 11, Issue 4, 2015

A WO3 nanoplate-like film with an average edge width of approximately 20 nm and thickness of approximately 250 nm was fabricated via electrochemical anodization of W film at 60 V in a bath with electrolytes composed of ethylene glycol and 0.7 wt% NH4F. The influence of applied potential on the morphology of the anodic oxide was investigated. The growth of the nanoplate-like morphology might be attributed to the competition between electrochemical oxide formation and chemical etching by the corrosive [WFn](n-6) complex ions at minimal applied potential of 60 V. In addition, the presence of tungstite (WO3˙H2O) with an orthorhombic structure was observed within the WO3 nanoplate-like film, which has a layered structure with sheets of distorted W–O octahedral units sharing corners. All of the anodic WO3 nanostructured films were annealed and their electrochemical ability was investigated under solarillumination. A maximum photocurrent density of 1.50 mA/cm2 was observed for the WO3 nanoplate-like film because more incident photons could be harvested to generate photo-induced charge carriers under solar-illumination.

In this paper we have implemented a simple DC model for CNTFETs already proposed by us in order to carry out static analysis of basic digital circuits, with a significant improvement compared to Wong model. In particular we have obtained a lighter ensuring compile and shorter execution time, without losing in accuracy.

Plant mediated biosynthesis of metallic nanoparticles is an emerging field and these nanoparticles have very high commercial value due to their wide applicability in an array of fields including nanomedicine. In the present study, we report for the first time the green synthesis of silver nanoparticles using fruit extract of Ficus benghalensis and which are characterized using the techniques UV–Vis, FT-IR, Particle size and Zeta potential. Treating the fruit extract with the 1mM solution of silver nitrate resulted in the formation of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) and the localized surface plasmon resonance of the formed AgNPs showed a peak at 402 nm in the UV-Vis spectrum. Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopic (FT-IR) studies revealed the functional groups present in the fruit extract and the responsible molecules for the reduction and stabilization of AgNPs. The average particle size was found to be 70nm to 90nm ±10nm and the negative zeta potential -33.8 mV was recorded as an indication of high polydispersity of the formed AgNPs. Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) coupled with X-ray Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDX) data reveals that the AgNPs are uniformly spherical in shape. It is further confirmed by Transmission electron microscopy analysis (TEM). The EDX data shows very strong silver signal and weak signals to other elements. The synthesized silver nanoparticles were found to be effective as antimicrobial agents against some important pathogenic microorganisms which point to the suitability of these AgNPs for biomedical applications.

We developed a flexible two-ply piezoelectric yarn-type generator using an electrospun polyvinylidenefluorideco- trifluoroethylene (PVDF–TrFE) mat and a commercially available silver-coated nylon fiber. By rolling the silvercoated nylon fiber into the electrospun PVDF–TrFE mat as the inner electrode, the two-dimensional piezoelectric PVDF– TrFE mat was easily transformed into a one-dimensional fiber. Then silver-coated nylon fiber rolled in PVDF–TrFE was plied with another similar fiber to make a flexible two-ply piezoelectric yarn. The overall fabrication processes of the flexible two-ply piezoelectric yarn are simple and have a high application potential. The flexible two-ply piezoelectric yarn can generate up to 0.7 V in compression and 0.55 V in tension. The yarn retained the piezoelectric performance in various shapes, such as a sewn structure. In addition, the piezoelectric performance was sensitive to velocity and pressure. The flexible two-ply piezoelectric yarn has potential applications as a human motion sensor, as a building block of energy- harvesting textiles, and in self-powered biomedical applications.