We report that the proton-coupled electron transfer kinetics of 1,4-benzoquinone was significantly enhanced in electrified nanopores in aqueous media. At nanoporous Pt and Au electrodes, the voltammetric behaviour of 1,4-benzoquinone at nanoporous electrodes was clearly distinct from that at flat surfaces. Proton transfer as well as electron transfer kinetics were facilitated in the nanopores b...

The intrinsic defects in reduced graphene oxide (rGO) formed during reduction processes can act as nanopores, making rGO a promising ultrathin-film membrane candidate for separations. To assess the potential of rGO for such applications, molecular dynamics techniques are employed to understand the defect formation in rGO and their separation performance in water desalination and natural gas pur...

We report results of EPR measurements of activated carbon fibers. Experiments made for pristine activated carbon fibers and activated carbon fibers with adsorbed molecules (CCl4, C6H5NO2, and H2O) confirmed the localized character of paramagnetic centers observed in the system. Pristine activated carbon fibers are characterized by single Lorentzian line. Broader component of EPR signal appears ...

We report the formation of solid-state nanopores using a scanning helium ion microscope. The fabrication process offers the advantage of high sample throughput along with fine control over nanopore dimensions, producing single pores with diameters below 4 nm. Electronic noise associated with ion transport through the resultant pores is found to be comparable with levels measured on devices made...

For increasing the number of internal hot spots in the individual plasmonic nanoparticles, porous Au nanostructures were synthesized by a hybrid approach combining a physical process, which defined the overall shapes and dimensions of the nanostructures, and a chemical process, which incorporated nanopores inside the patterned nanostructures. This approach allows us to synthesize lithographical...

We have developed a novel approach for creating membrane-spanning protein-based pores. The construction principle is based on using well-defined, circular DNA nanostructures to arrange a precise number of pore-forming protein toxin monomers. We can thereby obtain, for the first time, protein pores with specifically set diameters. We demonstrate this principle by constructing artificial alpha-he...

We investigated the effect ofnanoscale topography on neurite development in pheochromocytoma (PC12 cells) by culturing the cells on substrates having nanoscale pillars and pores with sizes comparable with filipodia. We found that cells on nanopillars and nanopores developed fewer and shorter neurites than cells on smooth substrates, and that cells on nanopores developed more and longer neurites...

We report on the fabrication and characterization of gold nanoelectrodes with carefully controlled nanometer dimensions in a matrix of insulating silicon nitride. A focused electron beam was employed to drill nanopores in a thin silicon nitride membrane. The size and shape of the nanopores were studied with high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and electron-energy-loss two-dimensiona...

Track-etched polymer membranes are used to realize low-voltage electroosmotic (EO) pumps. The nanopores in polycarbonate (PC) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) membranes were fabricated by the track-etching technique, the pore diameter was controlled in the range of 100 to 250 nm by adjusting the etching time. The results show that these EO pumps can provide high flow rates at low applied vo...

Low-frequency ionic current noise in solid-state nanopores imposes a limitation on the time resolution achieved in translocation experiments. Recently, this 1/f noise was described as obeying Hooge's phenomenological relation, where the noise scales inversely with the number of charge carriers present. Here, we consider an alternative model in which the low-frequency noise originates from surfa...