Despite theoretical predictions, the question of room-temperature magnetic order in graphene must be conclusively resolved before graphene can fully achieve its potential as a spintronic medium. Through scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and point I-V measurements, the current study reveals that unlike pristine samples, graphene nanostructures, when functionalized with aryl radicals, can susta...

2014 Room temperature plasma anodization of silicon (growth rate of a few nm/min.) is possible through a thin calcia stabilized zirconia (CSZ) layer. The anodization kinetics, the composition and the electrical properties of the anodic SiO2 films are studied. Constant voltage or low current anodization lead to quasi defect free films with reduced surface roughness. The dielectric breakdown fiel...

Q uantum information devices promise unique opportunities in information technology. Physicists are intrigued with building such devices because they probe our understanding of the nature of quantum mechanics. Quantum effects, although providing the basis of atomic, molecular, and solid state physics, usually are not observed in everyday life because the highly fragile nature of coherence and e...

High-energy rechargeable batteries based on earth-abundant materials are important for mobile and stationary storage technologies. Rechargeable sodium-sulfur batteries able to operate stably at room temperature are among the most sought-after platforms because such cells take advantage of a two-electron-redox process to achieve high storage capacity from inexpensive electrode materials. Here we...

By recognizing the vital importance of two-hole Cooper pairs (CPs) in addition to the usual two-electron ones in a strongly-interacting many-electron system, the concept of CPs was re-examined with striking conclusions: namely, they are gapped and linearly-dispersive resonances with a finite lifetime—but provided the ideal-gas Fermi sea is replaced by a BCS-correlated unperturbed ground-state “...

Room temperature ionic liquids (RTILs) are comprised of bulky organic cations and anions (Holbrey & Seddon, 1999; Weingärtner, 2008). Because of the intricate interplay of various interand intramolecular interactions, RTILs have rich dynamical properties and have found diverse applications. In particular, negligible vapor pressure of RTILs makes them a green alternative of conventional organic ...

Water becomes ordered in the form of hexagonal ice at room temperature under controlled humidity conditions upon confinement in the nanometer range between protective graphene sheets and crystalline (111) surfaces with hexagonal symmetry of the alkali earth fluoride BaF2. Interfacial water/substrate pseudoepitaxy turns out to be a critical parameter since ice is only formed when the lattice mis...

The unique catalytic activity of vanadium nitrogenase suggests a new direction for the direct production of biofuels from CO with either synthetic catalysts or nitrogenase-containing bacteria. The reduction of CO by V nitrogenase to light hydrocarbons shows striking similarities to the established Fischer-Tropsch process; however, the enzyme does not use H(2) directly for this reaction. ADP=ade...

R3 R2 There is good evidence that the first room-temperature ionic liquid or RTIL was identified and characterized by Walden in 1914, who examined the electrical conductivity of ethylammonium nitrate.1 Thus, it would not be an exaggeration to say that the very beginnings of electrochemistry involved room-temperature ionic liquids! Although once considered to be a curious subset of the general c...

Alkali activated binders are a new class of binding material with comparable or enhanced performance to Portland cement. These binding materials are obtained by a chemical reaction between an alumino-silicate material and a highly alkaline solution. In most cases, the setting-hardening process of this binder is performed at high curing temperatures. In this paper, alkali activated mortars based...