Advances in diamond nanofabrication for ultrasensitive devices

This paper reviews some of the major recent advances in single-crystal diamond nanofabrication and its impact in nano- and micro-mechanical, nanophotonics and optomechanical components. These constituents of integrated devices incorporating specific dopants in the material provide the capacity to enhance the sensitivity in detecting mass and forces as well as magnetic field down to quantum mechanical limits and will lead pioneering innovations in ultrasensitive sensing and precision measurements in the realm of the medical sciences, quantum sciences and related technologies

Advances in Diamond Nanofabrication for Ultrasensitive Devices

This paper reviews some of the major recent advances in single-crystal diamond nanofabrication and its impact in nano- and micromechanical, nanophotonics and optomechanical components. These constituents of integrated devices incorporating specific dopants in the material provide the capacity to enhance the sensitivity in detecting mass and forces as well as magnetic field down to quantum mechanical limits and will lead pioneering innovations in ultrasensitive sensing and precision measurements in the realm of the medical sciences, quantum sciences and related technologies

Synthesis of functional hydrophilic polyethersulfone-based electrospun nanofibrous membranes for water treatment

The current study presents the synthesis and characterization of new ultrafiltration (UF) electrospun nanofibrous membranes (ENMs) combined with hydrophilic polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) for particular use in water purification. Three approaches were used to enhance the physicochemical properties of the typical ENMs. In the first strategy, n-methyl-pyrrolidinone (NMP) was mixed with dimethylformamide (DMF) during dope solution preparation wherein the mixed solvent could play a role in enhancing inter-fiber junctions. In the next strategy, PVP was added to the ENMs to enhance their water production. The final treatment was utilizing hot pressing on the resultant electrospun mat to strengthen its structure. Compared to pristine ENMs, the tensile strength and the elongation-at-break of the hot pressed ENMs were improved by 4.12 % and 9.09 %, respectively. However, the introduction of PVP into the ENMs was found to be significant in decreasing water contact angle by 50.8 % (from 123.27° to 60.66°), revealing a significant improvement in the membrane hydrophilicity. The ENMs also exhibited excellent water productivity of over 2996 L/m2h under gravitational force. It was observed that the hot pressed ENMs have smaller pore diameter (77.47 nm) in comparison to the pristine ENMs (97.15 nm). The enhanced mechanical and hydrophilic characteristics of the prepared ENMs showed high applicability to water treatment

Iron oxide nanoparticles incorporated polyethersulfone electrospun nanofibrous membranes for effective oil removal

This paper reports the synthesis and characterization of novel ultrafiltration (UF) electrospun nanofibrous membranes (ENMs) incorporated with iron oxide (Fe3O4) nanoparticles (NPs) for effective oily solution treatment. Three strategies were employed to improve the physiochemical properties of the resultant ENMs. Firstly, n-methyl-pyrrolidinone (NMP) was added to dimethylformamide (DMF) wherein the solvent stimulated fusion of the inter-fiber junctions was enhanced. Secondly, Fe3O4 NPs were introduced into the ENMs to improve their hydrophilicity and anti-fouling resistance against oil molecules. Thirdly, hot pressed technique was adopted to strengthen the electrospun mat, avoiding delamination of the ENMs layer during liquid filtration processes. The findings indicated that the developed Fe3O4 NPs incorporated ENMs exhibited outstanding oil elimination (94.01%) and excellent water flux recovery (79.50%) when tested with synthetic oil solution (12,000 ppm). Water productivity of over 3200 L/m2 h was achieved without forfeiting the rate of oil removal under gravity. Extraordinarily low flux declination disclosed by the proposed ENMs was attributed to their tailored surface resistance mediated oil anti-fouling character. The enhanced mechanical and oil anti-fouling traits of the prepared ENMs were established to be potential for the treatment of diverse oily effluents (especially emulsions of oil–water) in the industries