Photoinduced Doughnut-Shaped Nanostructures

We show that an incoherent unpolarized single-beam illumination is able to photoinduce nano-doughnuts on the surface of azopolymer thin films. We demonstrate that individual doughnut-shaped nano-objects as well as clusters of several adjacent nano-doughnuts can be formed and tailored with wide range of typical sizes, thus providing a rich field for applications in nanophotonics and photochemistry.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figures, first version to chem. phys. lett. 201

Secondary organic aerosol production from modern diesel engine emissions

Secondary organic aerosol (SOA) production was observed at significant levels in a series of modern diesel exhaust (DE) aging experiments conducted at the European Outdoor Photoreactor/Simulation Chamber (EUPHORE). The greatest production occurred in DE with toluene addition experiments (>40%), followed by DE with HCHO (for OH radical generation) experiments. A small amount of SOA (3%) was observed for DE in dark with N<sub>2</sub>O<sub>5</sub> (for NO<sub>3</sub> radical production) experiments. The analysis for a limited number (54) of polar organic compounds (POC) was conducted to assess the composition of modern DE and the formation of photochemical transformation products. Distinct POC formation in light versus dark experiments suggests the role of OH initiated reactions in these chamber atmospheres. A trend of increasing concentrations of dicarboxylic acids in light versus dark experiments was observed when evaluated on a compound group basis. The four toluene addition experiments in this study were performed at different [tol]<sub>o</sub>/[NO<sub>x</sub>]<sub>o</sub> ratios and displayed an average SOA %yield (in relation to toluene) of 5.3±1.6%, which is compared to past chamber studies that evaluated the impact of [tol]<sub>o</sub>/[NO<sub>x</sub>]<sub>o</sub> on SOA production in more simplified mixtures

Light mediated emergence of surface patterns in azopolymers at low temperatures

Polymer thin films doped with azobenzene molecules do have the ability to organize themselves in spontaneous surface relief gratings (SRG) under irradiation with a single polarized beam. To shed some light in this still unexplained phenomenon, we use a new method that permits us to access experimentally the very first steps of the pattern formation process. Decreasing the temperature, we slow down the formation and organization of patterns, due to the large increase of the viscosity and relaxation time of the azopolymer. As a result decreasing the temperature allows us to access and study much shorter time scales,in the physical mechanisms underlying the pattern formation, than previously reported. We find that the patterns organize themselves in sub-structures which size increase with the temperature, following the diffusion coefficient evolution of the material. That result suggests that the pattern formation and organization is mainly governed by diffusive processes, in agreement with some theories of the SRG formation. Decreasing further the temperature we observe the emergence of small voids located at the junction of the sub-structures.Comment: 6 figures, 13 pages

Asymmetry Effects on Nuclear Fragmentation

We show the possibility of extracting important information on the symmetry term of the Equation of State ($EOS$) directly from multifragmentation reactions using stable isotopes with different charge asymmetries. We study n-rich and n-poor $Sn + Sn$ collisions at $50AMeV$ using a new stochastic transport approach with all isospin effects suitably accounted for. For central collisions a chemical component in the spinodal instabilities is clearly seen. This effect is reduced in the neck fragmentation observed for semiperipheral collisions, pointing to a different nature of the instability. In spite of the low asymmetry tested with stable isotopes the results are showing an interesting and promising dependence on the stiffness of the symmetry term, with an indication towards an increase of the repulsion above normal density.Comment: 8 pages (Latex), 7 Postscript figures, CRIS2000 Conference, Acicastello, Italy, May 22-26, (2000), Nucl. Phys. A (in press

Surface relief grating formation on nano-objects

We exploit the photoinduced migration effect in azopolymer thin films to induce surface relief patterning of nano-objects. Manipulation and precise control of the molecular order is achieved at the nanoscale. Interaction between a laser beam from an argon laser and the azopolymer nano-objects induces structures on the surface. The self-patterning process is observed to depend on the laser beam polarization

Biomaterials with potential use in bone tissue regeneration-collagen/chitosan/silk fibroin scaffolds cross-linked by EDC/NHS

Blending of different biopolymers, e.g., collagen, chitosan, silk fibroin and cross-linking modifications of these mixtures can lead to new materials with improved physico-chemical properties, compared to single-component scaffolds. Three-dimensional scaffolds based on threecomponent mixtures of silk fibroin, collagen and chitosan, chemically cross-linked, were prepared and their physico-chemical and biological properties were evaluated. A mixture of EDC (N-(3- dimethylaminopropyl)-N’-ethylcarbodiimide hydrochloride) and NHS (N-hydroxysuccinimide) was used as a cross-linking agent. FTIR was used to observe the position of the peaks characteristic for collagen, chitosan and silk fibroin. The following properties depending on the scaffold structure were studied: swelling behavior, liquid uptake, moisture content, porosity, density, and mechanical parameters. Scanning Electron Microscopy imaging was performed. Additionally, the biological properties of these materials were assessed, by metabolic activity assay. The results showed that the three-component mixtures, cross-linked by EDC/NHS and prepared by lyophilization method, presented porous structures. They were characterized by a high swelling degree. The composition of scaffolds has an influence on mechanical properties. All of the studied materials were cytocompatible with MG-63 osteoblast-like cells.This research was founded by National Science Centre, grant 2018/31/N/ST8/01391 and by Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange, Iwanowska project PPN/IWA/2018/1/00064/U/00001

Near-Field Optical control of Doughnut-Shaped Nanostructures

The application of a local near-field optical excitation can be used to control step-by-step the reshape of individual doughnut-shaped azopolymer nano-objects by varying the time of illumination demonstrating its promising performance as a functional nano-object. The possibility to provide both photoinduced reshaping opens a way to the fundamental study of size-dependent scaling laws of optical properties, photoinduced reshaping efficiency and nanoreactor or nanoresonator behavior at nanometer scale. As an example the nano-object is used to self-assembly polystyrene nanospheres in a supraball.Comment: 15 pages, 6 figure