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8: Structure at the Nano Scale
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8.1: Microparticle Characterization via Confocal Microscopy
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Confocal microscopy was invented by Marvin Minsky (FIGURE) in 1957, and subsequently patented in 1961. Minsky was trying to study neural networks to understand how brains learn, and needed a way to image these connections in their natural state (in three dimensions). He invented the confocal microscope in 1955, but its utility was not fully realized until technology could catch up. In 1973 Egger published the first recognizable cells, and the first commercial microscopes were produced in 1987.
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8.2: Transmission Electron Microscopy
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TEMs provide images with significantly higher resolution than visible-light microscopes (VLMs) do because of the smaller de Broglie wavelength of electrons. These electrons allow for the examination of finer details, which are several thousand times higher than the highest resolution in a VLM. Nevertheless, the magnification provide in a TEM image is in contrast to the absorption of the electrons in the material, which is primarily due to the thickness or composition of the material.
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8.3: Scanning Tunneling Microscopy
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Scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) is a powerful instrument that allows one to image the sample surface at the atomic level. As the first generation of scanning probe microscopy (SPM), STM paves the way for the study of nano-science and nano-materials.
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8.4: Magnetic Force Microscopy
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Magnetic force microscopy (MFM) is a natural extension of scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), whereby both the physical topology of a sample surface and the magnetic topology may be seen. Scanning tunneling microscopy was developed in 1982 by Gerd Binnig and Heinrich Rohrer, and the two shared the 1986 Nobel prize for their innovation.
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8.5: Spectroscopic Characterization of Nanoparticles
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Quantum dots (QDs) are small semiconductor nanoparticles generally composed of two elements that have extremely high quantum efficiencies when light is shined on them.
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8.6: Measuring the Specific Surface Area of Nanoparticle Suspensions using NMR
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Surface area is a property of immense importance in the nano-world, especially in the area of heterogeneous catalysis. A solid catalyst works with its active sites binding to the reactants, and hence for a given active site reactivity, the higher the number of active sites available, the faster the reaction will occur.
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8.7: Characterization of Graphene by Raman Spectroscopy
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Graphene is a quasi-two-dimensional material, which comprises layers of carbon atoms arranged in six-member rings. Since being discovered by Andre Geim and co-wokers at the University of Manchester, graphene has become one of the most exciting topics of research because of its distinctive band structure and physical properties, such as the observation of a quantum hall effect at room temperature, a tunable band gap, and a high carrier mobility.
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8.8: Characterization of Covalently Functionalized Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes
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Characterization of nanoparticles in general, and carbon nanotubes in particular, remains a technical challenge even though the chemistry of covalent functionalization has been studied for more than a decade. It has been noted by several researchers that the characterization of products represents a constant problem in nanotube chemistry.
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8.9: Characterization of Bionanoparticles by Electrospray-Differential Mobility Analysis
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Electrospray-differential mobility analysis (ES-DMA) is an analytical technique that uses first an electrospray to aerosolize particles and then DMA to characterize their electrical mobility at ambient conditions. This versatil tool can be used to quantitative characterize biomolecules and nanoparticles from 0.7 to 800 nm. In the 1980s, it was discovered that ES could be used for producing aerosols of biomacromolecules.
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