FY2013 Annual Report

Nanoparticles by Design Unit

Associate Professor Mukhles Sowwan

Abstract

In FY2013, the focus was primarily on studying the new creation and the growth mechanisms of size selected nanoparticles using magnetron sputter inert gas condensation method. The nanoparticles were characterized using different nanotechnology tools such as the X-Ray Diffractometer (XRD), X-ray Photoelectron Spectrocospy (XPS) system, and the Environmental Transmission Electron Microscope (ETEM), in addition to molecular dynamics simulations and modeling.

1. Staff

Prof. Mukhles Sowwan, Associate Professor
Dr. Cathal Cassidy, Group Leader
Dr. Rosa Diaz, Group Leader
Dr. Vidya Singh, Researcher
Dr. Panagiotis Grammatikopoulos, Researcher
Dr. Jeong-Hwan Kim, Researcher
Dr. Maria Benelmekki, Researcher
Dr. Jerome Vernieres, Researcher (from August 2013)
Dr. Chhagan Lal, Researcher (from August 2013 until December 2013)
Dr. Murtaza Bohra, Researcher (until May 2014)
Ms. Yumi Takahashi, Research Administrator (from Feb 2013)

2. Collaborations

Theme: Nanoparticle deposition for Hydrogen Storage Applications
- Type of collaboration: Joint research
- Researchers:
  - Prof. Tessui Nakagawa, University of the Ryukyus
  - Prof. Bruce M. Clemens, Stanford University
Theme: Magnetic nanoparticle investigations
- Type of collaboration: Joint research
- Researchers:
  - Prof. Jean-François Bobo (CNRS, Toulouse, France)
Theme: Microbial fuel cell enhancement via electrode nanocluster decoration
- Type of collaboration: Joint research
- Researchers (OIST):
  - Prof. Igor Goryanin
  - Dr. Larisa Kiseleva
  - Dr. Slava Fedorovich
  - Mr. David Simpson
Theme: Theoretical modeling of nanocluster growth, coalescence and substrate interaction
- Type of collaboration: Joint research
- Researchers
  - Prof. Kai Nordlund (University of Helsinki)
  - Dr. Flyura Djurabekova (University of Helsinki)
  - Prof. Joseph Kioseoglou (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki)
  - Prof. Hiromitsu Takaba (Kogakuin University)

3. Findings

4. Publications

4.1 Journals

Grammatikopoulos, P., Cassidy, C., Singh, V., Benelmekki, M. & Sowwan, M. Coalescence behaviour of amorphous and crystalline tantalum nanoparticles: a molecular dynamics study. Journal of Materials Science doi:10.1007/s10853-013-7893-5 (2013).
Cassidy, C., Singh, V., Hawash, Z., Murtaza, B., Kim, J.-H. & Sowwan, M. Size-controlled deposition of Ag and Si nanoparticle structures with gas-aggregated sputtering. MRS Proceedings Library 1546, doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1557/opl.2013.658 (2013).
Cassidy, C., Singh, V., Grammatikopoulos, P., Djurabekova, F., Nordlund, K. & Sowwan, M. Inoculation of silicon nanoparticles with silver atoms.Scintific Reports 3, 3083(3081-3087), doi:10.1038/srep03083 (2013).
Benelmekki, M., Bohra, M., Kim, J.-H., Diaz, R. E., Vernieres, J., Grammatikopoulos, P. & Sowwan, M. Facile Single-Step Synthesis of Ternary Multicore Magneto-Plasmonic Nanoparticles. Nanoscale, doi:10.1039/C3NR06114K (2014).

4.2 Books and Other One-Time Publications

Nothing to Report

4.3 Oral and Poster Presentations

Grammatikopoulos, P., Cassidy, C., Singh, V. & Sowwan, M. Molecular Dynamics Study on Tantalum Nanoparticle Coalescence for Porous Film Engineering, in XIV International Conference on Intergranular and Interphase Boundaries in Materials, June 23-28, 2013, Athena Pallas Village, Halkidiki, Greece (2013).
Kim, J.-H., Bohra, M., Singh, V., Cassidy, C. & Sowwan, M. Multi-Functional Inorganic Nanocluster Design by Coupling Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) and in situ Polymeric Interfacing, in International Soft Matter Conference (ISMC) 2013, Sep 15-19, Rome, Italy (2013).

5. Intellectual Property Rights and Other Specific Achievements (Heading 3)

Nothing to report

6. Meetings and Events

6.6 Seminars

Title: Electrical Transport in G4 DNA molecules

Date: July 31, 2009
Venue: lab1, Seminar Room, C016
Speakers: Danny Porath, Ph.D., Institute of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Title: Review of recent developments in analytical electron microscopy: from nanoparticles optical analysis to 3D reconstruction in neurosciencATAN Inc.

Date: August 6, 2013
Venue: Lab1, Seminar Room, C016
Speakers: Alan Maigne, Ph.D., GATAN Inc.

Title: Thin Film and Nanostructured Materials for Photovoltaic and Hydrogen Storage Applications

Date: September 12, 2013
Venue: Center Building, C209
Speakers: Clemens, Bruce, Ph.D., Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Photon Science (SLAC), Applied Physics by courtesy, Stanford University

Title: Nanoparticles and quantum dots: from nucleation mechanisms to applications in solar cells

Date: September 12, 2013
Venue: Center Building, C209
Speakers: Stacey Bent, Ph.D., Department of Chemical Engineering, Stanford University

Title: Multi-Scale Modeling on Catalysis and functional Materials

Date: March 13, 2014
Venue: Lab 1, Seminar Room C015
Speakers: Hiromitsu Takaba, Ph.D., Department of Environmental and Energy Chemistry, Faculty of Engineering, Kogakuin University

Title: A New Perspective in Multifunctional Composite Materials via Hybridization and Nanotechnology

Date: March 26, 2014
Venue: Lab 1, Seminar Room D014
Speakers: Aly-Hassan, Mohamed S., Ph.D., Department of Advanced Fibro-Science Kyoto Institute of Technology, Japan

7. Others