Arrays of Magnetic Ni Nanowires Grown Inside Polystyrene Nanotubes

A density functional theory (DFT) study of the doping effect on 4-[2-(2-N, N-dihydroxy amino thiophene) vinyl] benzenamine

In the present work, density functional theory was used at the B3LYP, CAM-B3LYP and B3PW91 levels with the 6–311 +  + G (d, p) basis set, in other to study the structural, optoelectronic, nonlinear optical, piezoelectric and thermodynamic properties of 4-[2-(2-N, N-dihydroxy amino thiophene) vinyl] benzenamine (DATVB) molecule doped with chlorine and fluorine respectively. The results obtained show that doping significantly improves the properties of this material. The materials obtained after doping 4-[2-(2-(5-(bis (chlorooxy) amino) thiophene) vinyl] benzenamine (BCATVB) and 4-[2-(2-(5-(bis (fluorooxy) amino) thiophene) vinyl] benzenamine (BFATVB) are good semiconductors because their gap energy is range between 1 and 1.5 eV which is less than 3 ev. Their first order hyperpolarizabilities ($${\beta }_{mol}$$ β mol ) are very high compared to para-nitroaniline (p-NA) known as reference molecule for nonlinear optical properties. The obtained results predisposes them as good nonlinear optical materials with applications in photonics, optical signal processing devices, dynamic imaging, data storage and computer devices. The piezoelectric and pyroelectric coefficients of the fluorinated molecule are higher than those of the reference organic molecule polyvinylidene fluoride. This led us to the conclusion that, these molecules can also be used for applications in piezoelectricity.

Applications, Surface Modification and Functionalization of Nickel Nanorods

The growing number of nanoparticle applications in science and industry is leading to increasingly complex nanostructures that fulfill certain tasks in a specific environment. Nickel nanorods already possess promising properties due to their magnetic behavior and their elongated shape. The relevance of this kind of nanorod in a complex measurement setting can be further improved by suitable surface modification and functionalization procedures, so that customized nanostructures for a specific application become available. In this review, we focus on nickel nanorods that are synthesized by electrodeposition into porous templates, as this is the most common type of nickel nanorod fabrication method. Moreover, it is a facile synthesis approach that can be easily established in a laboratory environment. Firstly, we will discuss possible applications of nickel nanorods ranging from data storage to catalysis, biosensing and cancer treatment. Secondly, we will focus on nickel nanorod surface modification strategies, which represent a crucial step for the successful application of nanorods in all medical and biological settings. Here, the immobilization of antibodies or peptides onto the nanorod surface adds another functionality in order to yield highly promising nanostructures.

Annealing effects on the magnetic properties of highly-packed vertically-aligned nickel nanotubes

Hysteresis loops showing the decrease of the saturation magnetic moment (left) through a dense array of vertically-aligned Ni nanotubes after their progressive thermal conversion into hybrid ferromagnetic/antiferromagnetic Ni/NiO nanotubes (right).