[1] Dynamics of lightning channel corona sheath surrounding thin channel core is examined on the basis of three transmission-line-type models of the return stroke that specify different attenuation of longitudinal current with height. The corona sheath conductivity is estimated using measured radial electric field in the immediate vicinity of the lightning channel and measured channel base curr...

We have prepared conductive core-sheath nanofibers via a combination of electrospinning and aqueous polymerization. Specifically, nanofibers electrospun from poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) and poly((L)-lactide) (PLA) were employed as templates to generate uniform sheaths of polypyrrole (PPy) via in situ polymerization. These conductive core-sheath nanofibers offer a unique system for studying the s...

In this work, we report on the development of slit-surface electrospinning--a process that co-localizes two solutions along a slit surface to spontaneously emit multiple core-sheath cone-jets at rates of up to 1 L/h. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that production of electrospun core-sheath fibers has been scaled to this magnitude. Fibers produced in this study were defect-...

A "sheath" fluid passing through a microfluidic channel at low Reynolds number can be directed around another "core" stream and used to dictate the shape as well as the diameter of a core stream. Grooves in the top and bottom of a microfluidic channel were designed to direct the sheath fluid and shape the core fluid. By matching the viscosity and hydrophilicity of the sheath and core fluids, th...

Chitosan is an abundantly common, naturally occurring, polysaccharide biopolymer. Its biocompatible, biodegradable, and antimicrobial properties have led to significant research toward biological applications such as drug delivery, artificial tissue scaffolds for functional tissue engineering, and wound-healing dressings. For applications such as tissue scaffolding, formation of highly porous m...

We demonstrate the surface-plasmon-induced enhancement of Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET)using a model multilayer core-shell nanostructure consisting of an Au core and surrounding FRET pairs, i.e., CdSe quantum dot donors and S101 dye acceptors. The multilayer configuration was demonstrated to exhibit synergistic effects of surface plasmon energy transfer from the metal to the CdSe and...

Silicon has a large specific capacity which is an order of magnitude beyond that of conventional graphite, making it a promising anode material for lithium ion batteries. However, the large volume changes (∼ 300%) during cycling caused material pulverization and instability of the solid-electrolyte interphase resulting in poor cyclability which prevented its commercial application. Here, we hav...

Electrospinning is a versatile technique to prepare polymer fibers in nano to micrometer size ranges using very high electrostatic fields. Electrospun nanofibers with tunable porosity and high specific surface area have various applications, including chromatographic supports for protein separation, biomedical devices, tissue engineering and drug delivery matrices, and as key components in sola...

The present work focuses on the electrical and mechanical characterization of nanocomposite fibers having core-sheath (or bicomponent) morphologies. Owing to their unique mechanical and electrical properties, multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) have been utilized in the nanocomposite construction. Submicron diameter nanofibers (200–300 nm) with core-sheath morphology were fabricated from a pol...