Wei-Ming Zhang

Programmed fabrication of bimetallic nanobarcodes for miniature multiplexing bioanalysis.

Nanobarcodes with Morse code patterns are fabricated by a programmed electrochemical deposition process. These bimetallic nanobarcodes are stable and easy to decode using optical or electrical devices. Their discretionally patterned codes offer mass memory capacity for information carriers. They show promising features as probe molecules carriers in multiplexing bioanalysis.

Gold embedded maghemite hybrid nanowires and their gas sensing properties.

Well-defined gold embedded maghemite hybrid nanowires are synthesized, and their structures are fully characterized. They are composed of porous γ-Fe2O3 shells and embedded gold nanoparticles (3-10 nm), which is novel and very different from the conventional surface decoration configuration. These hybrid nanowires are produced by the de-alloying of Au-Fe alloy nanowires and subsequent heat treatment. The reaction mechanism is proposed and validated. The results of X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and thermogravimetry techniques prove consistently that the Fe composition of Au-Fe alloy nanowires change to γ-FeOOH first and then to γ-Fe2O3. The embedded gold particles are help to enhance the gas response properties of the hybrid nanowires, which is attributed to the nano open-circuit Schottky junctions between γ-Fe2O3 and the Au nanoparticles. The gas sensing experiment data with high repeatability demonstrate that these hybrid nanowires are excellent sensing materials, especially for ethanol, and have shown both high selectivity and high sensitivity.