Zhengren Huang

Controlled fabrication of silver nanoneedles array for SERS and their application in rapid detection of narcotics

Novel surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrates with high SERS-activity are ideal for novel SERS sensors, detectors to detect illicitly sold narcotics and explosives. The key to the wider application of SERS technique is to develop plasmon resonant structure with novel geometries to enhance Raman signals and to control the periodic ordering of these structures over a large area to obtain reproducible Raman enhancement. In this work, a simple Ar(+)-ion sputtering route has been developed to fabricate silver nanoneedles arrays on silicon substrates for SERS-active substrates to detect trace-level illicitly sold narcotics. These silver nanoneedles possess a very sharp apex with an apex diameter of 15 nm and an apex angle of 20°. The SERS enhancement factor of greater than 10(10) was reproducibly achieved by the well-aligned nanoneedles arrays. Furthermore, ketamine hydrochloride molecules, one kind of illicitly sold narcotics, can be detected down to 27 ppb by using our SERS substrate within 3 s, indicating the sensitivity of our SERS substrates for trace amounts of narcotics and that SERS technology can become an important analytical technique in forensic laboratories because it can provide a rapid and nondestructive method for trace detection.

Aligned gold nanoneedle arrays for surface-enhanced Raman scattering

A simple Ar(+)-ion irradiation route has been developed to prepare gold nanoneedle arrays on glass substrates for surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS)-active substrates. The nanoneedles exhibited very sharp tips with an apex diameter of 20 nm. These arrays were evaluated as potential SERS substrates using malachite green molecules and exhibited a SERS enhancement factor of greater than 10(8), which is attributed to the localized electron field enhancement around the apex of the needle and the surface plasmon coupling originating from the periodic structure. This work demonstrates a new technique for producing controllable and reproducible SERS substrates potentially applicable for chemical and biological assays.

Engineering Metal Nanostructure for SERS Application

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) has attracted great attention due to its remarkable enhancement and excellent selectivity in the detection of various molecules. Noble metal nanomaterials have usually been employed for producing substrates that can be used in SERS because of their unique local plasma resonance. As the SERS enhancement of signals depends on parameters such as size, shape, morphology, arrangement, and dielectric environment of the nanostructure, there have been a number of studies on tunable nanofabrication and synthesis of noble metals. In this work, we will illustrate progress in engineering metallic nanostructures with various morphologies using versatile methods. We also discuss their SERS applications in different fields and the challenges.

Sintering kinetics of YAG ceramics

Solid state reactive (SSR) sintering kinetics was observed for YAG ceramics. There were two densification stages in sintering process due to its reaction. After the first stage, samples began to expand, then, the second densification stage began. At a heating rate of 10 °C/min, the sample warped down and warped back to straight. The apparent activation energy of the first densification process was about 522 kJ/mol for the initial shrinkage of Al2O3 and Y2O3 mixed powder green-body, which increased in the following process due to the solid state reaction. In the second densification stage, synthesis reaction of YAG still worked. Green-bodies processed with higher heating rate got more shrinkage at the same temperature than lower heating rate green bodies. And its kinetic field diagram was abnormal, compared with that of other reported ceramics, such as Al2O3. It was found that the reaction of YAG provided positive effect to the sintering driving force. The apparent activation energy for densification of SSR YAG sintered in ArH5 atmosphere was 855 kJ/mol at temperature holding sintering. And the apparent activation energy for grain growth was 1053 kJ/mol.

Sintering of transparent Nd:YAG ceramics in oxygen atmosphere

Abstract Yttrium aluminum garnet (YAG) transparent ceramics were fabricated by sintering at oxygen atmosphere. Tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) was added as the sintering additive to control the grain growth and densification. Pores were eliminated clearly at temperature lower than 1700 °C, while grain size was around 3 μm. The in-line transmittance was 80% at 1064 nm when samples were sintered at 1710 °C. The effect of TEOS was studied in oxygen atmosphere sintering for Nd:YAG transparent ceramics. At higher temperature like 1710 °C, the grain growth mechanism was solute drag, while at 1630 and 1550 °C the grain growth was controlled by liquid phase sintering mechanism. And 0.5 wt.% TEOS was the best adding content for Nd:YAG sintered in oxygen atmosphere.

Manufacture of large-scale lightweight SiC mirror for space

Large-scale lightweight silicon carbide (SiC) mirrors were manufactured for space. Sintered SiC (SSiC) ceramic was adopted as the material to manufacture these mirrors. Complex structure designed for highly weight reduction and installation requirements was near-net-shape formed on SiC green body by digital machining technique before the high temperature sintering process. The dimensional accuracy of thin ribs and faceplate can be precisely controlled above 99.5%. During sintering process, the temperature distribution was kept uniform enough to avoid residual stress and deformation in the whole furnace. Isotropic shrinkage occurs during densification from SiC green body to ceramic with a fluctuation less than 0.3%, which is the dimension error of the final size as well. Mirror surface with low surface roughness, high shape accuracy and reflectivity was finished by polishing and plating. Moreover, large-scale lightweight SSiC mirror was demonstrated to be suitable for space use by tests simulating launch conditions and space environments.

Microstructure of reaction layer and its effect on the joining strength of SiC/SiC joints brazed using Ag–Cu–In–Ti alloy

The SiC/SiC joints were vacuum brazed at 700 °C, 740 °C, 780 °C and 800 °C for 10 min respectively, using Ag-Cu-In-Ti active filler alloy. The microstructure and joining strength of the joints were characterized by electron probe X-ray microanalyser (EPMA), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and four-point bending strength test. The interface of the joints was composed of three parts: SiC substrate, reaction layer and filler alloy. A representative microstructure of the reaction layer: In-containing layer/TiC layer/Ti5Si3 layer was found from the TEM image. The forming of the In-containing layer could be attributed to the crack or delamination of SiC/TiC interface. The In-containing layer intensified the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) mismatch of SiC and the reaction layer, and affected the joining strength. With the increase of the reaction layer’s thickness, the joining strength firstly increased, then declined, and the maximum four-point bending strength reached 234 MPa.

Research progress of optical fabrication and surface-microstructure modification of SiC

SiC has become the best candidate material for space mirror and optical devices due to a series of favorable physical and chemical properties. Fine surface optical quality with the surface roughness (RMS) less than 1nm is necessary for fine optical application. However, various defects are present in SiC ceramics, and it is very difficult to polish SiC ceramic matrix with the 1nm RMS. Surface modification of SiC ceramics must be done on the SiC substrate. Four kinds of surface-modification routes including the hot pressed glass, the C/SiC clapping, SiC clapping, and Si clapping on SiC surface have been reported and reviewed here. The methods of surface modification, the mechanism of preparation, and the disadvantages and advantages are focused on in this paper. In our view, PVD Si is the best choice for surface modification of SiC mirror.

Nucleation and Growth Mechanism of Si Amorphous Film Deposited by PIAD

The nanoscale Si films with the thickness of 2 nm, 5 nm, 10 nm, and 20 nm were deposited by plasma ion assisted deposition (PIAD) on glass substrate, in order to investigate the initial stage and the nucleation and growth mechanism of the Si film. The atomic force microscopy (AFM) was used to investigate the surface topography of the as-deposited Si film. The initial nucleation and growth process of the film was described. The continuous film had been already formed when the film thickness was 10 nm. The growth of the deposited Si film accorded with the Volmer-Weber growth mode.

Pressureless Sintering of Boron Carbide with Al2O3 and SiC as Sintering Aids

The effect of Al2O3 and SiC as the sintering additives for pressureless sintering boron carbide (B4C) was investigated. The aids were 10 wt% Al2O3 (10A), 10 wt% Al2O3 and 15 wt% SiC (10A15S), 10 wt% Al2O3 and 30 wt% SiC (10A30S), and 30 wt% SiC (30S) (all based on B4C). The sintering behavior, microstructure evolution and phase compositions of the samples were studied. 10A15S and 10A30S can effectively enhance the densification of B4C, comparing with 10A and 30S. The linear shrinkage rate of 14% for the 10A15S and 10A30S samples can be reached. The bending strength approaching 400MPa for the 10A30S sample sintered at 2170°C can be obtained.