The synthesis of nanostructured anionic-surfactant-templated mesoporous silica (AMS) recently appeared as a new strategy for the formation of nanostructured silica based materials. This method is based on the use of anionic surfactants together with a co-structure-directing agent (CSDA), mostly a silylated ammonium precursor. The presence of this CSDA is necessary in order to create ionic inter...

Gas detection is important for controlling industrial and vehicle emissions, household security and environmental monitoring. In recent decades many devices have been developed for detecting CO(2), CO, SO(2), O(2), O(3), H(2), Ar, N(2), NH(3), H(2)O and several organic vapours. However, the low selectivity or the high operation temperatures required when most gas sensors are used have prompted ...

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High performance thermoelectric materials in a wide range of temperatures are essential to broaden the application spectrum of thermoelectric devices. This paper presents experiments on the power and efficiency characteristics of lowand mid-temperature thermoelectric materials. We show that as long as an appreciable temperature difference can be created over a short thermoelectric leg, good pow...

This review presents a comprehensive overview of the hierarchical nanostructured materials with either geometry or composition complexity in environmental applications. The hierarchical nanostructures offer advantages of high surface area, synergistic interactions, and multiple functionalities toward water remediation, biosensing, environmental gas sensing and monitoring as well as catalytic ga...

Energy transport in nanostructures differs significantly from macrostructures because of classical and quantum size effects on energy carriers. Experimental results show that the thermal conductivity values of nanostructures such as superlattices are significantly lower than that of their bulk constituent materials. The reduction in thermal conductivity led to a large increase in the thermoelec...

Chemotherapy is the most extensively used treatment in the fight against malignant neoplasms. Unfortunately, chemotherapy use is plagued with numerous side effects. These side effects are caused primarily because of the non-specific nature of the treatment as the drug is capable of killing normal and cancerous cells alike. Several drug delivery systems have been investigated to reduce these sid...

Resonant plasmonic and metamaterial structures allow for control of fundamental optical processes such as absorption, emission and refraction at the nanoscale. Considerable recent research has focused on energy absorption processes, and plasmonic nanostructures have been shown to enhance the performance of photovoltaic and thermophotovoltaic cells. Although reducing metallic losses is a widely ...

Substantial progress has been made in the field of cardiovascular tissue engineering with an ever increasing number of clinically viable implants being reported. However, poor cellular integration of constructs remains a major problem. Limitations in our knowledge of cell/substrate interactions and their impact upon cell proliferation, survival and phenotype are proving to be a major hindrance....