Self-assembled nanocomposites have been extensively investigated due to the novel properties that can emerge when multiple material phases are combined. Growth of epitaxial nanocomposites using lattice-mismatched constituents also enables strain-engineering, which can be used to further enhance material properties. Here, we report self-assembled growth of highly tensile-strained Ge/In0.52Al0.48...

The enrichment of low-abundance proteins in complex biological samples plays an important role in clinical diagnostics and biomedical research. This work reports a novel one-step method for the synthesis of aptamer-modified graphene oxide (GO/Apt) nanocomposites, without introducing the use of gold, for the rapid and specific separation and enrichment of human α-thrombin from buffer solutions w...

Copolymers consisting of methyl methacrylate (MMA) and methacrylic acid (MAA) and their layered silicate nanocomposites were electrospun to form fibers with diameters in the sub-micron range. The presence of MAA increased the glass transition temperature and thermal stability of the copolymers through formation of anhydrides upon heating. Dispersion of layered silicates within the nanocomposite...

In recent years, nanocomposites based on various nano-scale carbon fillers, such as carbon nanotubes (CNTs), are increasingly being thought of as a realistic alternative to conventional smart materials, largely due to their superior electrical properties. Great interest has been generated in building highly sensitive strain sensors with these new nanocomposites. This article reviews the recent ...

PMMA/Na-MMT nanocomposites were synthesized through a soap-free emulsion polymerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA) using 2-acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propanesulfonic acid (AMPS). A conventional anionic surfactant, dodecylbenzenesulfonic acid sodium salt (DBS-Na), was also used to compare with AMPS in the interaction with pristine Na-MMT. Both surfactants were intercalated into the layers of the pr...

Sulfonated styrene-(ethylene-butylene)-styrene triblock copolymer (SSEBS) was synthesized by reaction of acetyl sulfate with SEBS. SSESB-clay nanocomposites were then prepared from hydrophilic Na-montmorillonite (MT) and organically (quaternary amine) modified hydrophobic nanoclay (OMT) at very low loading. SEBS did not show improvement in properties with MT-based nanocomposites. On sulfonation...

Self-assembled nanocomposites with a high interface-to-volume ratio offer an opportunity to overcome limitations in current technology, where intriguing transport behaviors can be tailored by the choice of proper interactions of constituents. Here we integrated metallic perovskite oxide SrRuO3-wurzite semiconductor ZnO nanocomposites to investigate the room-temperature metal-insulator transitio...

Y2O3/Y2O2S:Eu3+ nanocomposites were successfully prepared by reducing Y2O3:Eu3+ nanocrystals. The obtained Y2O3/Y2O2S:Eu3+ nanocomposites not only can emit enhanced red luminescence excited at 338 nm, but also can be used to improve the efficiency of the dye sensitized solar cells, resulting an efficiency of 8.38%, which is a noticeable enhancement of 12% compared to the cell without Y2O3/Y2O2S...

Biodegradable poly(L-lactide) (PLLA)/multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) nanocomposites were prepared via solution blending using two kinds of MWNTs, i.e., pristine multiwalled carbon nanotubes (p-MWNTs) and carboxyl-functionalized multiwalled carbon nanotubes (f-MWNTs). Various techniques were used to investigate the functionalization of MWNTs on the morphology, crystallization, and hydrolyti...

Well dispersion or intercalation/exfoliation of nanoscale fillers (such as nano-CaCO3 and nano-clay) in polymer matrix is currently not easy to be achieved. Supercritical carbon dioxide (ScCO2) has been reported to have great potential for facilitating the dispersion or intercalation/exfoliation of the nanoscale fillers in polymer matrix. So, in this paper, the effects of dissolved ScCO2 on the...