Systems, methods, and devices are disclosed for producing quantum particles (e.g., quantum dots) having a uniform size by vaporization of molten precursor droplets. More particularly, the present technology produces quantum dots by melting or liquefying solid and substantially pure precursor materials followed by production of uniformly sized droplets of molten precursor by use of a droplet maker into a microwave generated plasma torch.

Methods and systems for building three-dimensional workpieces are described using a plurality of mechanosynthetic reactions. These methods may employ engineered reliability in reactions and process conditions and may use simulated or otherwise vetted reaction sequences, to allow workpieces requiring many reactions to be built with acceptable reliability. These many reactions may be the repetition of one or a small number of reactions, or many diverse reactions, or a combination thereof.

An apparatus may include a nonthermal plasma reactor vessel, a gaseous core precursor inlet, a gaseous shell precursor inlet, and a plasma source. The reactor vessel may include a core formation region and a shell formation region downstream of the core formation region. The gaseous core precursor inlet may be upstream of the core formation region and configured to introduce gaseous core precursors to the reactor vessel. The gaseous shell precursor inlet may be downstream of the core formation region, upstream of the shell formation region, and configured to introduce gaseous shell precursors to the reactor vessel. The plasma source may be configured to produce a plasma in the core formation region and the shell formation region. The gaseous core precursors may form negatively-charged core nanoparticles in the core formation region. The gaseous shell precursors may form shells on the core nanoparticles in the shell formation region.

Carbon opals, a form of colloidal crystal, are composed of ordered two-dimensional or three-dimensional arrays of Monodispersed Starburst Carbon Spheres (MSCS). Methods for producing such carbon opals include oxidizing as-synthesized MSCS, for example by heating in air, to increase surface charge. Such oxidation is believed to decrease settling rates of a colloidal suspension, enabling formation of an ordered colloidal crystal. Inverse opals, composed of any of a wide variety of materials, and based on a carbon opal template, have a reciprocal structure to a carbon opal. Inverse opals are formed by methods including: forming a carbon opal as described, impregnating a desired material into pores in the carbon opal to produce a hybrid structure, and removing the carbon portion from the hybrid structure.

The present invention relates to a method for preparing metal nanostructures using DNA, and more particularly, to a method for preparing metal nanostructures, in which a self-assembling DNA is used as a frame, and thus the orientation, shape and size of the nanostructures are easily controlled compared to conventional bottom-up methods. Metal nanostructures prepared by the method show excellent localized surface plasmon resonance properties, and thus can be used as fluorescent substances in drug delivery, biomedical imaging, and supersensitive biosensors.

A process of growth in the thickness of at least one facet of a colloidal inorganic sheet. By sheet is meant a structure having at least one dimension, the thickness, of nanometric size and lateral dimensions great compared to the thickness, typically more than 5 times the thickness. By homostructured is meant a material of homogeneous composition in the thickness and by heterostructured is meant a material of heterogeneous composition in the thickness. The process allows the deposition of at least one monolayer of atoms on at least one inorganic colloidal sheet, this monolayer being constituted of atoms of the type of those contained or not in the sheet. Homostructured and heterostructured materials resulting from such process as well as the applications of the materials are also described.

Articles and methods for forming nanostructures having unique and/or predetermined shapes are provided. The methods and articles may involve the use of nucleic acid containers as structural molds. For instance, a pre-designed nucleic acid container including a cavity may be used to control the shape-specific growth of nanoparticles. Growth of the nanoparticles within the cavities may be confined by the specific shape of the nucleic acid container. In some embodiments, the resulting nucleic acid-nanoparticle structures can be used to control the orientation and numbers of surface ligands on the surface of nanoparticles. The addressability of the surface ligands can be used to form higher ordered assemblies of the structures.

Controlling dimensions of nanowires includes lithographically forming a trench in a layer of a polymer resin with a width less than one micrometer where the polymer resin has a thickness less than one micrometer and is deposited over an electrically conductive substrate, depositing a nanowire material within the trench to form a nanowire, and obtaining the nanowire from the trench with a removal mechanism.

A process of growth in the thickness of at least one facet of a colloidal inorganic sheet. By sheet is meant a structure having at least one dimension, the thickness, of nanometric size and lateral dimensions great compared to the thickness, typically more than 5 times the thickness. By homostructured is meant a material of homogeneous composition in the thickness and by heterostructured is meant a material of heterogeneous composition in the thickness. The process allows the deposition of at least one monolayer of atoms on at least one inorganic colloidal sheet, this monolayer being constituted of atoms of the type of those contained or not in the sheet. Homostructured and heterostructured materials resulting from such process as well as the applications of the materials are also described.

A self-assembled carbon structure such as a carbon opal is disclosed herein. The structure is composed of hydrophilic carbon spheres oriented in a periodic colloidal crystal structure, wherein the carbon spheres have a porous surface, wherein the carbons spheres have an average particle diameter less than 3000 nm. Also disclosed is an inverse opal structure that includes a plurality of voids in the structural material. The voids are regularly arranged in an ordered periodic structure, the voids having a spherical shape. The inverse opal structure has a specific surface area greater than 100 m.sup.2/g and method for making the same together with materials that employ the same.