ENHANCEMENT IN ELECTROCHEMICAL PERFORMANCE OF LiFePO4-CARBONNANO COMPOSITE MATERIALS FOR LITHIUM ION BATTERIESbyKULWINDER S. DHINDSAMay 2015Advisor:Dr. Zhixian ZhouCo Advisors: Dr. Ratna Naik and Dr. Gholam-Abbas NazriMajor:Physics (Condensed Matter)Degree:Doctor of PhilosophyLiFePO4 has attracted great interest as a cathode material for lithi...

A novel design based on both FeOx and Si nano-dots bonded with graphene (FeOx·Si@GNS) as dual lithium-storage centers is reported. They show high performance as anode materials for Li-ion batteries with a remarkable reversible capacity of 1160 mA h g(-1) at 0.2 A g(-1), fast charging/discharging rate, and long cycling life (e.g., a capacity retention of 81.7% at 2.0 A g(-1) after 600 cycles). T...

The scalability of the resonant frequency in graphene-based nano-antennas (graphennas) and metallic nanoantennas as a function of their length is analyzed. The antenna resonances are obtained by combining the dispersion relation in free-standing graphene and gold layers, respectively, with the resonance condition. Graphennas are found to have a better scalability in terms of their resonant freq...

Many theoretical studies predict that DNA sequencing should be feasible by monitoring the transverse current through a graphene nanoribbon while a DNA molecule translocates through a nanopore in that ribbon. Such a readout would benefit from the special transport properties of graphene, provide ultimate spatial resolution because of the single-atom layer thickness of graphene, and facilitate hi...

Quantum-mechanical calculations of electron transport in ideal graphene nanoribbons show that the gap is predicted by noninteracting theories vanishes if long-range Coulomb interaction between electrons taken into account. This a result charge screening with lowest subband edge being pinned to chemical potential. However, reappears ribbon connected wider leads, which typically realized an exper...

We report on the direct and facile method for noble metal/graphene nano-composites from graphite without reducing agents. In this system, the irradiant white-light instead of the chemical reducing agent exerts the influence on the synthesis of noble metal nanoparticles on graphene. Noble metal salts adsorbed on graphene flakes which were functionalized with ionic surfactants were reduced by irr...

Homogeneous graphene-MOF composites based on a 2D pillared-bilayer MOF (Cd-PBM), {[Cd4(azpy)2(pyrdc)4(H2O)2]·9H2O}n (azpy = 4,4'-azopyridine, pyrdc = pyridine-2,3-dicarboxylate), have been synthesized, using both graphene oxide (GO) and benzoic acid functionalized graphene (BFG). The composites GO@Cd-PBM and BFG@Cd-PBM demonstrate growth of the 2D nano-sheets of MOF on the graphene surface. Whi...

Graphene displays properties that make it appealing for neuroregenerative medicine, yet its interaction with peripheral neurons has been scarcely investigated. Here, we culture on graphene two established models for peripheral neurons: PC12 cells and DRG primary neurons. We perform a nano-resolved analysis of polymeric coatings on graphene and combine optical microscopy and viability assays to ...

Graphene shows promise as a future material for nanoelectronics owing to its compatibility with industry-standard lithographic processing, electron mobilities up to 150 times greater than Si and a thermal conductivity twice that of diamond. The electronic structure of graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) and quantum dots (GQDs) has been predicted to depend sensitively on the crystallographic orientation...