This study focuses on the design, fabrication, microstructural and property characterization, and biocompatibility evaluation of polypropylene (PP) reinforced with carbon nanofiber (CNF) and hydroxyapatite nanorod (HANR) fillers. The purpose is to develop advanced PP/CNF-HANR hybrids with good mechanical behavior, thermal stability, and excellent biocompatibility for use as craniofacial implant...

Liquid crystals are mostly formed by self-assembly of organic molecules. In contrast, inorganic materials available as liquid crystals are limited. Here we report the development of liquid-crystalline (LC) hydroxyapatite (HAp), which is an environmentally friendly and biocompatible biomineral. Its alignment behavior, magneto-optical properties, and atomic-scale structures are described. We succ...

The nanowire and nanorod morphology offers great advantages for application in a range of optoelectronic devices, but these high-quality nanorod arrays are typically based on high temperature growth techniques. Here, we demonstrate the successful room temperature growth of a hybrid perovskite (CH3NH3PbBr3) nanorod array, and we also introduce a new low temperature anion exchange technique to co...

Metal-doped zinc oxide (ZnO) nanorod arrays have attracted much attention due to improvement in their electrical, structural, and optical properties upon doping. In this chapter, we discuss the effects of aluminum (Al)and iron (Fe)-doping on ZnO nanorod arrays properties particularly for humidity sensor applications. Compared to Fe, Al shows more promising characteristics as doping element for ...

A coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulation was used to investigate the stress-strain behavior of nanorod-filled polymer composites. The effects of the interfacial interaction, aspect ratio of fillers, filler functionalization, chemical couplings between the polymer and the filler and the filler loading on the mechanical reinforcement were explored. The results indicate that there exists an ...

We proposed using metal-insulator-metal (MIM) nanorod arrays for subwavelength imaging to improve the resolution based on the notable ability of field confinement of the MIM nanorods. The field distribution of a single Au-SiO(2)-Au nanorod, coupling between two nanorods and image transfer of shaped dipole sources through nanorod arrays were investigated by using the finite-difference time-domai...

Gallium nitride [GaN] nanorods grown on a Si(111) substrate at 720°C via plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy were studied by field-emission electron microscopy and cathodoluminescence [CL]. The surface topography and optical properties of the GaN nanorod cluster and single GaN nanorod were measured and discussed. The defect-related CL spectra of GaN nanorods and their dependence on temperatu...

ZnO nanorod arrays are prepared on a silicon wafer through a multi-step hydrothermal process. The aspect ratios and densities of the ZnO nanorod arrays are controlled by adjusting the reaction times and concentrations of solution. The investigation of field emission properties of ZnO nanorod arrays revealed a strong dependency on the aspect ratio and their density. The aspect ratio and spacing ...

The effect of ZnO photoanode morphology on the performance of solid-state dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) is reported. Four different structures of dye-loaded ZnO layers have been fabricated in conjunction with poly(3-hexylthiophene). A significant improvement in device efficiency with ZnO nanorod arrays as photoanodes has been achieved by filling the interstitial voids of the nanorod arrays...

Preferentially aligned silver nanorod arrays prepared by oblique angle vapor deposition were evaluated as substrates for surface-enhanced infrared absorption (SEIRA) spectroscopy. These nanorod arrays have an irregular surface lattice and are composed of tilted, cylindrically shaped nanorods that have an average length of 868 nm +/- 95 nm and an average diameter of 99 nm +/- 29 nm. The overall ...