Systems of electrical devices with high-resolution components and methods of fabricating the electrical devices using micro-molding processes are described. Small foot print electrical devices can be achieved by fabricating components with highly conductive materials, and with closely spaced components.

A method of purifying a metal nanostructure composition containing desired nanostructures and undesired nanostructures. The method includes providing a solution within which metal nanostructures have been synthesized including desired and undesired nanostructures. The solution includes polyol and has a viscosity. The method includes diluting the solution with a dilutant to lower the viscosity of the solution and provide a diluted solution. The method includes sedimenting the undesired nanostructures from the diluted solution. The method includes collecting the supernatant with the desired nanostructures and retaining the undesired nanostructures inside the sedimentation device. In an example, such is via a sedimentation device, which is a special tray system designed with grooved bottoms to retain the undesired nanostructures.

The use of copper materials as a replacement for the more expensive coinage metals (i.e., silver, gold) in printed circuits has come to the forefront. For printing, the use of nanomaterials has allowed for significant advances through the use of nanoinks. Unfortunately, as the nanoregime is entered, the increased surface area leads to increased reactivity with atmospheric oxygen which results in a reduction in the conductivity of the printed circuits. To overcome this issue, a synthesis method uses a room temperature reduction of a copper organometallic precursor by the simple addition of catechol-based surfactants to prevent oxidation and agglomeration of the final copper nanoparticles. The selection of these catechol-based surfactants is based on non-aqueous solubility, high surface affinity, and anti-oxidative potential as surface ligands.

Carbon fiber reinforced metal matrix composite turbine rotors include a planar carbon fiber structure encapsulated within a metal matrix formed of sintered metal nanoparticles. The metal nanoparticles can include a metal having a high sintering temperature that would ordinarily destroy the carbon fiber. Novel techniques for making small uniform nanoparticles for sintering lowers the sintering temperature to a level that can accommodate carbon fiber. The composite rotors possess high strength to weight ratio.

A method for laser-induced growth of nano-units to form oriented, chiral, and complex structures is provided. Through a laser-induced photochemical reaction, a metal precursor undergoes photolysis to produce inorganic nanoparticles, and these nanoparticles are orientally deposited on a substrate along a polarization direction in a linearly polarized laser to form fusiform nano-units. Through mixed polarized light generated by a vortex plate, the nano-units can grow rapidly and form a specific arrangement to obtain special three-dimensional (3D) nanostructures with chiral features and complex patterns. This method can be implemented in a room temperature environment, has the characteristics of simple operation, short reaction time, high repeatability, long storage time, low cost, and controllable orientations and sites, and shows promising application prospects in the fields of optical devices, chiral catalysis, sensing, integrated circuits, and the like.

A method of synthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNP's) using an orange peel extract is described. The method includes preparing an orange peel extract by cutting a portion of an orange peel into smaller pieces and washing the cut orange peel pieces with de-ionized water to form a washed orange peel. The method further includes boiling the washed orange peel in de-ionized water for at least 3 minutes to form an extract solution and filtering the extract solution from the orange peel to obtain the orange peel extract. The method further includes forming a synthesis mixture of at least one silver salt and the orange peel extract and reacting the silver salt and the orange peel extract to form the silver nanoparticles within 1 minute. The silver nanoparticles find application in detection of mercury ions in an aqueous solution.

Carbon fiber reinforced metal matrix composite turbine rotors include a planar carbon fiber structure encapsulated within a metal matrix formed of sintered metal nanoparticles. The metal nanoparticles can include a metal having a high sintering temperature that would ordinarily destroy the carbon fiber. Novel techniques for making small uniform nanoparticles for sintering lowers the sintering temperature to a level that can accommodate carbon fiber. The composite rotors possess high strength to weight ratio.

A tastable, moldable, and/or extrudable structure using a metallic primary alloy. One or more additives are added to the metallic primary alloy so that in situ galvanically-active reinforcement particles are formed in the melt or on cooling from the melt. The composite contains an optimal composition and morphology to achieve a specific galvanic corrosion rate in the entire composite. The in situ formed galvanically-active particles can be used to enhance mechanical properties of the composite, such as ductility and/or tensile strength. The final casting can also be enhanced by heat treatment, as well as deformation processing such as extrusion, forging, or rolling, to further improve the strength of the final composite over the as-cast material.

Different Au—Pd nanoparticles, ranging from sharp-branched octopods to core@shell octahedra, can be achieved by inline manipulation of reagent flowrates in a microreactor for seeded growth. Significantly, these structures represent different kinetic products, demonstrating an inline control strategy toward kinetic nanoparticle products that should be generally applicable.

Methods for producing silver nanostructures with improved dimensional control, yield, purity, monodispersed, and scale of synthesis.