Organosilane functionalised carbon nanoparticles comprising a carbon dot bonded to an organosilane functionalization agent in a first orientation having one or more functional groups capable of binding mercury located at or proximal to a free end thereof.

Discrete microstructures of predefined size and shape are prepared using sol-gel phase-reversible hydrogel templates. An aqueous solution of hydrogel-forming material is covered onto a microfabricated silicon wafer master template having predefined microfeatures, such as pillars. A hydrogel template is formed, usually by lowering the temperature, and the formed hydrogel template is peeled away from the silicon master template. The wells of predefined size and shape on the hydrogel template are filled with a solution or a paste of a water-insoluble polymer, and the solvent is removed to form solid structures. The formed microstructures are released from the hydrogel template by simply melting the hydrogel template in water. The microstructures are collected by centrifugation. The microstructures fabricated by this method exhibit pre-defined size and shape that exactly correspond to the microwells of the hydrogel template. The method of preparing microstructures based on hydrogel templates is simple and can easily produce large quantities of the microstructures.

A quantum dot includes a seed and a core enclosing the seed. The core is grown from the seed to improve size uniformity of the core. The seed includes a first compound without Cd. The first compound may be GaP. The core may include a second compound including elements from group XIII and group XV. The second compound may be InP. The quantum dot may also include a first shell of a third compound enclosing the core. The third compound may be ZnSe or ZnS. The quantum dot may also include a second shell of a fourth compound enclosing the first shell. The fourth compound may be ZnS when the third compound is ZnSe. Embodiments also relate to a quantum dot including first to third elements selected from XIII group elements and XV group elements and fourth to sixth elements selected from XII group elements and XVI group elements.

A quantum dot includes a seed and a core enclosing the seed. The core is grown from the seed to improve size uniformity of the core. The seed includes a first compound without Cd. The first compound may be GaP. The core may include a second compound including elements from group XIII and group XV. The second compound may be InP. The quantum dot may also include a first shell of a third compound enclosing the core. The third compound may be ZnSe or ZnS. The quantum dot may also include a second shell of a fourth compound enclosing the first shell. The fourth compound may be ZnS when the third compound is ZnSe. Embodiments also relate to a quantum dot including first to third elements selected from XIII group elements and XV group elements and fourth to sixth elements selected from XII group elements and XVI group elements.

A method for making an electronic assembly includes applying a protective layer including an organosulfur compound to at least a portion of a patterned conductive interconnect circuit, wherein the conductive interconnect circuit overlies at least a portion of a conductive layer on a substrate, and wherein the conductive layer includes nanowires; and engaging an electrical contact of an electronic component with the protective layer to electrically connect the electronic component and the patterned conductive layer.

The membrane of a conventional solid-state nanopore device, which is believed to be promising for understanding the structural characteristics of DNA and determining a nucleotide sequence, has been thick, and the accuracy in determining a nucleotide sequence in the DNA chain has been insufficient. A method characterized by forming a membrane by forming a first film on a first substrate having a surface of Si, then forming a hole in the first film in such a manner that the surface of the first substrate is exposed, then forming a second film on the first film and on the surface of the first substrate and then etching the first substrate with a solution which does not remove the second film.

The present invention provides a porous medium with increased hydrophobicity and a method of manufacturing the same, in which a micro-nano dual structure is provided by forming nanoprotrusions with a high aspect ratio by performing plasma etching on the surface of a porous medium with a micrometer-scale surface roughness and a hydrophobic thin film is deposited on the surface of the micro-nano dual structure, thus significantly increasing hydrophobicity. When this highly hydrophobic porous medium is used as a gas diffusion layer of a fuel cell, it is possible to efficiently discharge water produced during electrochemical reaction of the fuel cell, thus preventing flooding in the fuel cell. Moreover, it is possible to sufficiently supply reactant gases such as hydrogen and air (oxygen) to a membrane electrode assembly (MEA), thus improving the performance of the fuel cell.

Quantum dot delivery methods are described. In a first example, a method of delivering or storing a plurality of nano-particles involves providing a plurality of nano-particles. The method also involves forming a dispersion of the plurality of nano-particles in a medium for delivery or storage, wherein the medium is free of organic solvent. In a second example, a method of delivering or storing a plurality of nano-particles involves providing a plurality of nano-particles in an organic solvent. The method also involves drying the plurality of nano-particles for delivery or storage, the drying removing entirely all of the organic solvent.

A nanocrystal including a core including a Group III element and a Group V element, and a monolayer shell on the surface of the core, the shell including a compound of the formula ZnSe.sub.xS.sub.(1-x), wherein 0x1, and wherein an average mole ratio of Se:S in the monolayer shell ranges from about 2:1 to about 20:1.

A dye-sensitized solar cell can include a plurality of a plasmon-forming nanostructures. The plasmon-forming nanostructures can include an oxide core, an inner metallic shell on a surface of the oxide core, and an outer oxide shell on a surface of the inner metallic shell.