This book focuses on charged-particle optics and microscopy, as well as their applications in the materials sciences. Presenting a range of cutting-edge theoretical and methodological advances in electron microscopy and microanalysis, and examining their crucial roles in modern materials research, it offers a unique resource for all researchers who work in ultramicroscopy and/or materials research. The book addresses the growing opportunities in this field and introduces readers to the state of the art in charged-particle microscopy techniques. It showcases recent advances in scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and helium ion microscopy, including advanced spectroscopy, spherical-corrected microscopy, focused-ion imaging and in-situ microscopy. Covering these and other essential topics, the book is intended to facilitate the development of microscopy techniques, inspire young researchers, and make a valuable contribution to the field.

This book deals with the latest achievements in the field of ferroelectric domain engineering and characterization at micro- and nano-scale dimensions and periods. The book collects the results obtained in the last years by world scientific leaders in the field, thus providing a valid and unique overview of the state-of-the-art and also a view to future applications of those engineered and used materials in the field of photonics. The second edition covers the major aspects of ferroelectric domain engineering and combines basic research and latest updated applications such as challenging results by introducing either new as well as extended chapters on Photonics Crystals based on Lithium Niobate and Lithium Tantalate crystals; generation, visualization and controlling of THz radiation; latest achievements on Optical Parametric Oscillators for application in precise spectroscopy. Further more recent advancements in characterization by probe scanning microscopy and optical methods with device and technological orientation. A state-of-the-art report on periodically poled processes and their characterization methods are provided on different materials (LiNbO3, KTP) furnishing update research on ferroelectric crystal by extending materials research and applications.

Nanobiomaterials in Medical Imaging presents the latest developments in medical exploratory approaches using nanotechnology. Leading researchers from around the world discuss recent progress and state-of-the-art techniques. The book covers synthesis and surface modification of multimodal imaging agents, popular examples of nanoparticles and their applications in different imaging techniques, and combinatorial therapy for the development of multifunctional nanocarriers. The advantages and potential of current techniques are also considered. This book will be of interest to postdoctoral researchers, professors and students engaged in the fields of materials science, biotechnology and applied chemistry. It will also be highly valuable to those working in industry, including pharmaceutics and biotechnology companies, medical researchers, biomedical engineers and advanced clinicians.

This book presents studies of complex nanostructures with unique optical responses from both theoretical and experimental perspectives. The theory approaches the optical response of a complex structure from both quantum-mechanical and semiclassical frameworks, and is used to understand experimental results at a fundamental level as well as to form a quantitative model to allow the design of custom nanostructures. The experiments utilize scanning transmission electron microscopy and its associated analytical spectroscopies to observe nanoscale optical effects, such as surface plasmon resonances, with nanometer-scale spatial resolution. Furthermore, there is a focus in the dissertation on the combination of distinct techniques to study the difficult-to-access aspects of the nanoscale response of complex nanostructures: the combination of complementary spectroscopies, the combination of electron microscopy and photonics, and the combination of experiment and theory. Overall, the work demonstrates the importance of observing nanoscale optical phenomena in complex structures, and observing them directly at the nanoscale.

This book offers a comprehensive treatment of nonlocal elasticity theory as applied to the prediction of the mechanical characteristics of various types of biological and non-biological nanoscopic structures with different morphologies and functional behaviour. It combines fundamental notions and advanced concepts, covering both the theory of nonlocal elasticity and the mechanics of nanoscopic structures and systems. By reporting on recent findings and discussing future challenges, the book seeks to foster the application of nonlocal elasticity based approaches to the emerging fields of nanoscience and nanotechnology. It is a self-contained guide, and covers all relevant background information, the requisite mathematical and computational techniques, theoretical assumptions, physical methods and possible limitations of the nonlocal approach, including some practical applications. Mainly written for researchers in the fields of physics, biophysics, mechanics, and nanoscience, as well as computational engineers, the book can also be used as a reference guide for senior undergraduate and graduate students, as well as practicing engineers working in a range of areas, such as computational condensed matter physics, computational materials science, computational nanoscience and nanotechnology, and nanomechanics.

Among the most promising techniques to handle small objects at the micrometer scale are those that employ electrical forces, which have the advantages of voltage-based control and dominance over other forces. The book provides a state-of-the-art knowledge on both theoretical and applied aspects of the electrical manipulation of colloidal particles and fluids in microsystems and covers the following topics: dielectrophoresis, electrowetting, electrohydrodynamics in microsystems, and electrokinetics of fluids and particles. The book is addressed to doctoral students, young or senior researchers, chemical engineers and/or biotechnologists with an interest in microfluidics, lab-on-chip or MEMS.

In" Quantum Dots: Applications in Biology, Second Edition, "expert researchers in the field detail consolidated approaches as well as new trends in the field. Organized into five parts, the first part comprises an introduction on Quantum Dots (QDs) as fluorescent probes in Life Sciences. While the second section covers important features about QDs preparative processes and characterizations for their successful application as fluorophores. The third part presents main aspects related to QDs methods applied to live cells and tissues. The fourth section focuses on QDs experiments in small animals and the fifth part demonstrates the versatility of QDs in a set of FRET applications. Written in the highly successful "Methods in Molecular Biology" series format, chapters include introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step, readily reproducible laboratory protocols and key tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls.

Thorough and intuitive, In" Quantum Dots: Applications in Biology, Second Edition" aids scientists in continuing to study QDs by providing information about methods and protocols helping to expand their research."

This book investigates the latest developments in supramolecular assembly systems for mimicking biological structures and functions. Consisting of 14 chapters, it covers various assembly systems, such as polysaccharides, peptides, proteins, biopolymers, natural materials and various hybrid systems. Further, it focuses on different types of supramolecular systems with particular functions or structures that are relevant to living systems. A number of modern techniques used to study the supramolecular systems, such as total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy (TIRFM) and two-photon confocal microscopy, are also introduced in detail. Unlike conventional books on supramolecular assemblies, this book highlights the functions of the assembly systems, particularly their biological applications. As such, it offers a valuable resource for experienced researchers, as well as graduate students working in the field of supramolecular chemistry and biomimetic systems.

The influence of size effects on the properties of nanostructures is subject of this book. Size and interfacial effects in oxides, semiconductors, magnetic and superconducting nanostructures, from very simple to very complex, are considered. The most general meaning is assumed for size effects, including not only the influence of a reduced dimension/dimensionality, but also specific interfacial effects. Preparation and characterization tools are explained for various nanostructures. The specific applications are discussed with respect to size-related properties. A logic implication of type phenomenon-property-material-application is envisaged throughout this work.

This book explores the formation of colloidal gold-copper (AuCu) alloy nanoparticles and evaluate their application in heterogeneous catalysis. Metal alloys are extremely versatile materials that have been used since the Antiquity to improve the properties of commonly used metals, therefore the understanding of their properties has fostered the applications in areas such as photonics, sensors, clinical diagnostics, and especially in heterogeneous catalysis, which allows catalyst active sites to be modulated. In this book, readers will appreciate the fundamental aspects involved in the synthesis of AuCu nanoalloys, including real-time information about their atomic organization, electronic properties, as well a deeper understand about the behavior of AuCu supported nanoalloys under real catalytic conditions, providing interesting insights about the effect of the support on the nanoalloy stability. The results presented here open new horizons for using metal alloys in catalysis and also other areas where the metal-support interface may play a crucial role.

This thesis demonstrates that layered heterostructures of two-dimensional crystals graphene, hexagonal boron nitride, and transition metal dichalcogenides provide new and interesting interlayer transport phenomena. Low-energy electron microscopy is employed to study the surface of atomically thin WSe2 prepared by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition on epitaxial graphene substrates, and a method for unambiguously measuring the number of atomic layers is presented. Using very low-energy electrons to probe the surface of similar heterostructures, a relationship between extracted work function differences from the layers and the nature of the electrical contact between them is revealed. An extension of this analysis is applied to surface studies of MoSe2 prepared by molecular beam epitaxy on epitaxial graphene. A large work function difference is measured between the MoSe2 and graphene, and a model is provided which suggests that this observation results from an exceptional defect density in the MoSe2 film. The thesis expounds a theory for computing tunneling currents between two-dimensional crystals separated by a thin insulating barrier; a few situations resulting in resonant tunneling and negative differential resistance are illustrated by computed examples, as well as observed characteristics, for monolayer and bilayer graphene tunneling junctions and transistors.

This book is a comprehensive, theoretical, practical, and thorough guide to XAFS spectroscopy. The book addresses XAFS fundamentals such as experiments, theory and data analysis, advanced XAFS methods such as operando XAFS, time-resolved XAFS, spatially resolved XAFS, total-reflection XAFS, high energy resolution XAFS, and practical applications to a variety of catalysts, nanomaterials and surfaces. This book is accessible to a broad audience in academia and industry, and will be a useful guide for researchers entering the subject and graduate students in a wide variety of disciplines.

This book presents the findings of experimental and theoretical (including first-principles molecular dynamics simulation) studies of nanostructured and nanocomposite metal-based materials, and nanoscale multilayer coatings fabricated by physical or chemical vapor deposition, magnetron sputtering, electrospark alloying, ionic layer absorption, contact melting, and high-current electron beam irradiation. It also discusses novel methods of nanocomposite formation, as well as the structure of the deposited films, coatings and other nanoscale materials, their elemental and phase composition, and their physical-mechanical, tribological, magnetic and electrical properties. Lastly, it explores the influence of a various surface modification methods, such as thermal annealing, pulsed laser modification, and thermomechanical and ultrasonic treatment, as well as different properties of nanostructured films.

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have novel properties that make them potentially useful in many applications in nanotechnology, electronics, optics and other fields of materials science. These characteristics include extraordinary strength, unique electrical properties, and the fact that they are efficient heat conductors. Field emission is the emission of electrons from the surface of a condensed phase into another phase due to the presence of high electric fields. CNT field emitters are expected to make a breakthrough in the development of field emission display technology and enable miniature X-ray sources that will find a wide variety of applications in electronic devices, industry, and medical and security examinations.
This first monograph on the topic covers all aspects in a concise yet comprehensive manner - from the fundamentals to applications. Divided into four sections, the first part discusses the preparation and characterization of carbon nanotubes, while part two is devoted to the field emission properties of carbon nanotubes, including the electron emission mechanism, characteristics of CNT electron sources, and dynamic behavior of CNTs during operation. Part three highlights field emission from other nanomaterials, such as carbon nanowalls, diamond, and silicon and zinc oxide nanowires, before concluding with frontier R&D applications of CNT emitters, from vacuum electronic devices such as field emission displays, to electron sources in electron microscopes, X-ray sources, and microwave amplifiers. Edited by a pioneer in the field, each chapter is written by recognized experts in the respective fields.

This book provides a comparison between melt electrospinning and meltblowing as techniques for the production of polypropylene nanofibers. The author compares the morphological, structural, chemical and mechanical characteristics of the different produced fibers. Moreover, the degree of thermal degradation of the different fibers is also analyzed. The book is useful to chemists and material scientists working on the synthesis of nanofibers by melt processes, showing the limitations of each technique for nanofiber fabrication.

This book describes the physics behind the optical properties of plasmonic nanostructures focusing on chiral aspects. It explains in detail how the geometry determines chiral near-fields and how to tailor their shape and strength. Electromagnetic fields with strong optical chirality interact strongly with chiral molecules and, therefore, can be used for enhancing the sensitivity of chiroptical spectroscopy techniques. Besides a short review of the latest results in the field of plasmonically enhanced enantiomer discrimination, this book introduces the concept of chiral plasmonic near-field sources for enhanced chiroptical spectroscopy. The discussion of the fundamental properties of these light sources provides the theoretical basis for further optimizations and is of interest for researchers at the intersection of nano-optics, plasmonics and stereochemistry.

This book addresses perovskite quantum dots, discussing their unique properties, synthesis, and applications in nanoscale optoelectronic and photonic devices, as well as the challenges and possible solutions in the context of device design and the prospects for commercial applications. It particularly focuses on the luminescent properties, which differ from those of the corresponding quantum dots materials, such as multicolor emission, fluorescence narrowing, and tunable and switchable emissions from doped nanostructures. The book first describes the characterization and fabrication of perovskite quantum dots. It also provides detailed methods for analyzing the electrical and optical properties, and demonstrates promising applications of perovskite quantum dots. Furthermore, it presents a series of optoelectronic and photonic devices based on functional perovskite quantum dots, and explains the incorporation of perovskite quantum dots in semiconductor devices and their effect of the performance. It also explores the challenges related to optoelectronic devices, as well as possible strategies to promote their commercialization. As such, this book is a valuable resource for graduate students and researchers in the field of solid-state materials and electronics wanting to gain a better understanding of the characteristics of quantum dots, and the fundamental optoelectronic properties and operation mechanisms of the latest perovskite quantum dot-based devices.

This monograph solely presents the Fowler-Nordheim field emission (FNFE) from semiconductors and their nanostructures. The materials considered are quantum confined non-linear optical, III-V, II-VI, Ge, Te, carbon nanotubes, PtSb2, stressed materials, Bismuth, GaP, Gallium Antimonide, II-V, Bi2Te3, III-V, II-VI, IV-VI and HgTe/CdTe superlattices with graded interfaces and effective mass superlattices under magnetic quantization and quantum wires of the aforementioned superlattices. The FNFE in opto-electronic materials and their quantum confined counterparts is studied in the presence of light waves and intense electric fields on the basis of newly formulated electron dispersion laws that control the studies of such quantum effect devices. The importance of band gap measurements in opto-electronic materials in the presence of external fields is discussed from this perspective. This monograph contains 200 open research problems which form the very core and are useful for Ph. D students and researchers. The book can also serve as a basis for a graduate course on field emission from solids.

This book describes the latest progress in the application of nanotechnology for water treatment and purification. Leaders in the field present both the fundamental science and a comprehensive overview of the diverse range of tools and technologies that have been developed in this critical area. Expert chapters present the unique physicochemical and surface properties of nanoparticles and the advantages that these provide for engineering applications that ensure a supply of safe drinking water for our growing population. Application areas include generating fresh water from seawater, preventing contamination of the environment and creating effective and efficient methods for remediation of polluted waters. The chapter authors are leading world-wide experts in the field with either academic or industrial experience, ensuring that this comprehensive volume presents the state-of-the-art in the integration of nanotechnology with water treatment and purification.

Various nanoclusters and microparticles are considered in excited and ionized gases, as well as various processes with their participation. The concepts of these processes were developed 50 - 100 years ago mostly for dense media, and basing on these concepts, we analyze these processes in gases in two opposite regimes, so that in the kinetic regime surrounding atoms of a buffer gas do not partake in processesinvolving small particles, and the diffusion regime corresponds to a dense gas where interaction of small particles with a buffer gas subjects to laws of hydrodynamics. For calculation or estimation of the rates of these processes, we are based on the liquid drop model for small particles which was introduced in physics by N. Bohr about 80 years ago for the analysis of properties of atomic nuclei including the nuclear fusion and the hard sphere model (or the model of billiard balls) which was used by J. C. Maxwell 150 years ago and helped to create the kinetic theory of gases. These models along with the analysis of their accuracy allow one to study various processes, such as transport processes in gases involving small particles, charging of small particles in gases, chemical processes, atom attachment and quenching of excited atomic particles on the surface of a small particle, nucleation processes for small particles including coagulation, coalescence and growth of fractal aggregates, chain aggregates, fractal fibres and aerogels. Each analysis is finished by analytic formulas or simple models which allow us to calculate the rate of a certain real process with a known accuracy or to estimate this, and criteria of validity are given for these expressions obtained. Examples of real objects and processes involving small particles are analyzed.

This book offers an overview of the recent studies and advances in environmental catalysis by nanomaterials, considering both the fundamental and the technological aspects. It offers contributions in different areas of environmental catalysis, including the catalytic and photocatalytic abatement of environmentally hazardous effluents from stationary or mobile sources, the valorization of waste and the production of sustainable energy. In other words, this monograph provides an overview of modern environmental and energy related applications with a particular emphasis to nano-sized catalytic materials. Recent concepts, experimental data and advanced theories are reported in this book to give evidence of the environmental and sustainable applications that can be found in the highly interdisciplinary field of catalysis.

Posited by Professor Leon Chua at UC Berkeley more than 40 years ago, memristors, a nonlinear element in electrical circuitry, are set to revolutionize computing technology. Finally discovered by scientists at Hewlett-Packard in 2008, memristors generate huge interest because they can facilitate nanoscale, real-time computer learning, as well as due to their potential of serving as instant memories. This edited volume bottles some of the excitement about memristors, providing a state-of-the-art overview of neuromorphic memristor theory, as well as its technological and practical aspects. Based on work presented to specialist memristor seminars organized by the editors, the volume takes readers from a general introduction the fundamental concepts involved, to specialized analysis of computational modeling, hardware, and applications. The latter include the ground-breaking potential of memristors in facilitating hybrid wetware-hardware technologies for in-vitro experiments. The book evinces, and devotes space to the discussion of, the socially transformative potential of memristors, which could be as pervasive as was the invention of the silicon chip: machines that learn in the style of brains, are a computational Holy Grail. With contributions from key players in a fast-moving field, this edited volume is the first to cover memristors in the depth needed to trigger the further advances that surely lie around the corner.