In this study, the used of tapered optical fiber tip as sensors coated with reduced Graphene Oxide (rGO) is investigated. The resultant rGO nanocomposites coated on the tapered fiber sensor were characterized by X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). Optimization of the rGO layer and the tapering parameters are found and the sensing...

A wearable, low-cost, highly repeatable piezoresistive sensor was fabricated by the synthesis of modified-graphite and polyurethane (PU) composites and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). Graphite sheets functionalized by using a silane coupling agent (KH550) were distributed in PU/N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) solution, which were then molded to modified-graphite/PU (MG/PU) composite films. Experimenta...

To investigate the uniformity of copper particles in formulation design of copper-coated graphite, a quadrat-based method was presented with the image processing. Firstly, the particles were located by the foreground and background clustering algorithm. Then, an improved uniformity quantification model was established using the size and position of the particles. The findings based on the exper...

The integration of catalyst metals into the graphene-based composites can be a new way to ensure thermal and electronic conductivities of the catalyst support materials in polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells. In this work, graphene nanosheets were synthesized via a mild and safer chemical route including three major steps: graphite oxidation, ultrasonic treatment and chemical reduction. The...

The spin-coated thin-film morphology of poly(4-vinylpyridine) has been studied by AFM; the dark lines or disks (circular holes) in the AFM height images correspond to the depressed regions. An epitaxy-like ‘‘nano-trench’’ pattern was observed in the noncrystalline polymer film deposited on the crystalline graphite substrate. The transition from surface-templated to isotropic dewetting occurs du...

Sensitive, selective and fast detection of chemical warfare agents is necessary for anti-terrorism purposes. In our search for functional materials sensitive to dimethyl methylphosphonate (DMMP), a simulant of sarin and other toxic organophosphorus compounds, we found that zinc oxide (ZnO) modification potentially enhances the absorption of DMMP on a manganese dioxide (MnO(2)) surface. The adso...

The construction, performance characteristics, and application of a novel polymeric membrane coated on a graphite electrode with unique selectivity towards SCN- are reported. The electrode was prepared by incorporating Ni(II)-2,2,4,9,9,11-hexamethyltetraazacyclotetradecanediene perchlorate into a plasticized poly(vinyl chloride) membrane. The influences of membrane composition, pH and foreign i...

Surfactant adsorption on hydrophobic surfaces is of current interest in attempts to solubilize single-wall carbon nanotubes and to render quantum dots biocompatible. A coarse grained method is presented for incorporating a hydrophobic surface into existing liquid force fields by appealing to statistical mechanics and probability theory. The dimensionality problem which arises is overcome with a...

We measured the manganese content of whole blood, plasma, platelets, mononucleated cells, polymorphonucleated cells, and erythrocytes. Platelets and blood cells were separated from whole blood by use of discontinuous gradients of colloidal polyvinylpyrrolidone-coated silica (Percoll), and their manganese content was measured by Zeeman graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrophotometry, after ...

In this study, vertical nanowire arrays of MoO(3-x) grown on metallic substrates with diameters of ~90 nm show high-capacity retention of ~630 mAhg(-1) for up to 20 cycles at 50 mAg(-1) current density. Particularly, they exhibit a capacity retention of ~500 mAhg(-1) in the voltage window of 0.7-0.1 V, much higher than the theoretical capacity of graphite. In addition, 10 nm Si-coated MoO(3-x) ...