Electrospinning of Silica Nanofibers: Characterization and Application to Biosensing. (August 2006) Pei-Hsiang Tsou, B.S., National Chiao Tung University, Taiwan Chair of Advisory Committee: Dr. Jun Kameoka Electrospinning is a technique to achieve nanometer scale fibers. Similar to the conventional spin methods of making fabric, the viscous polymer solution is ejected from a spinneret; stretch...

We have demonstrated the operation of a thin-film thermo-optical beam deflector in a three-layer optical planar waveguide. The fabricated waveguide beam deflector consists of a thin-film SiO2 bottom cladding layer, a thin-film polymer top cladding layer, and alternatively positioned thin-film polymer and silica microprisms as the guiding layer. The beam deflection is achieved through the thermo...

Oriented silicon steel is vital for power transformer cores, while the high-temperature annealing process limits industrialization of environmentally friendly coatings on surface. In this paper, binders Al(H2PO4)3 solution and silica sol were introduced innovatively. They condensed into macromolecular polymer chains, network structures SiO2 particles at high temperatures, providing stability ad...

Highly effective mixing in microchannels is important for most chemical reactions conducted in microfluidic chips. To obtain a rigid and chemically resistant micromixer system at low cost, we fabricated a Y-shaped microchannel with built-in mixer structures by static liquid photolithography (SLP) from methacrylated polyvinylsilazane (MPVSZ) as an inorganic polymer photoresist which was then con...

Clinoptilolite is a natural mineral with exceptional physical characteristics resulting from its special crystal structure, mainstreamed into a large zeolite group called heulandites. An overall view of the research related to the synthesis, modification and application of synthetic clinoptilolite is presented. A single phase of clinoptilolite can be hydrothermally synthesized for 1-10 days in ...

We control the chain conformation of a semiconducting polymer by encapsulating it within the aligned nanopores of a silica host. The confinement leads to polarized, low-threshold amplified spontaneous emission from the polymer chains. The polymer enters the porous silica film from only one face and the filling of the pores is therefore graded. As a result, the profile of the index of refraction...

Square-planar polypyridine platinum(II) complexes have been introduced into a silica/polymer matrix by covalent ligand modification. The photophysical properties of the supported matrices are well retained as their model complexes, and the quantum yields for singlet oxygen ((1)O(2)) generation are comparable with that of TPP (tetraphenylporphyrin) under similar conditions. A preliminary applica...

A novel method was developed for the preparation of highly efficient anion- and cation-exchange microHPLC columns using an on-column polymerization of methacrylates having amine or sulfonic acid functional groups onto monolithic silica capillary columns modified with 3-methacryloxypropyltriethoxysilane as the anchor groups. The chromatographic evaluation of the columns using nucleic acids, nucl...

Core-shell microgels made of the thermoresponsive polymer poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) and silica nanoparticles as inorganic cores were investigated by dynamic light scattering (DLS) and small angle neutron scattering (SANS). In order to study the response of the particles upon changes of temperature, experiments were done in a temperature interval close to the volume phase transition t...

Understanding the molecular interactions between inorganic phases such as silica and organic material is fundamental for chromatographic applications, for tailoring silica-enzyme interactions, and for elucidating the mechanisms of biomineralization. The formation, structure, and properties of the organic/inorganic interface is crucial in this context. Here, we investigate the interaction of sel...