We study the coupling of spontaneously emitted photons from lasercooled Rb atoms to the guided modes of an optical nanofibre to demonstrate the potential such fibres offer as tools for detecting and manipulating cold atoms, even when the number of atoms is very small. We also demonstrate the integration of an optical nanofibre into an absorption spectroscopy setup, showcasing the ability of the...

This work shows a simple way of producing fixed bed microreactors or packed microcolumns by using electrodynamic focusing. Based on previous results that showed fibre focalization on orifices is possible, we explored this technique to electrospun fibres inside microchannels. Different polymeric nanofibres either neat or composite, i.e. fibres containing particles can be deposited without meanin...

Vertically-aligned carbon nanofibres (VACNFs) have been synthesized in a mixture of acetone and air using catalytic DC plasma-enhanced chemical vapour deposition. Typically, ammonia or hydrogen is used as an etchant gas in the mixture to remove carbon that otherwise passivates the catalyst surface and impedes growth. Our demonstration of the use of air as the etchant gas opens up the possibilit...

Carbon nanofibres were grown at low temperatures on a novel fibre catalyst, palladium particles, using a novel method, growth in fuel rich combustion conditions. The growth of carbon filaments by this process was found to be remarkably rapid. Preliminary analysis of how changes in operating parameters, for example gas flow rate and reactant ratio, showed that fibre diameter and other factors su...

Mesoporous silica nanofibers were synthesized within the pores of the anodic aluminum oxide template using a simple sol-gel method. Transmission electron microscopy investigation indicated that the concentration of the structure-directing agent (EO20PO70EO20) had a significant impact on the mesostructure of mesoporous silica nanofibers. Samples with alignment of nanochannels along the axis of m...