Abstract:
A nanosensor for detecting an analyte can include a substrate, a photoluminescent nanostructure, and a polymer interacting with the photoluminescent nanostructure. The nanosensor can be used in in vivo for biomedical applications.
Abstract:
The present disclosure is directed to materials, devices, and methods for resonant ambient thermal energy harvesting. Thermal energy can be harvested using thermoelectric resonators that capture and store ambient thermal fluctuations and convert the fluctuations to energy. The resonators can include non-linear heat transfer elements, such as thermal diodes, to enhance their performance. Incorporation of thermal diodes can allow for a dynamic rectification of temperature fluctuations into a single polarity temperature difference across a heat engine for power extraction, as compared to the dual polarity nature of the output voltage of linear thermal resonators, which typically necessitates electrical rectification to be routed to an entity for energy storage. In some embodiments, the thermal diode can be applied to transient energy harvesting to construct thermal diode bridges. Methods for constructing such devices, and using such devices, are also provided.
Abstract:
A composite can include alternating layers of a first layer including a 2D material and a second layer including a polymer matrix. Fabrication methods can take a thin layer of molecular thickness and construct large composite stacks that scale exponentially with the number of processing steps. An analogous shear scrolling method can create Archimedean scroll fibers from single layers with similar scaling. These methods can produce materials that demonstrate the α→∞ limit while combining electrical and optical properties minimal volume fraction of the filler.
Abstract:
Systems and methods related to optical nanosensors comprising photoluminescent nanostructures are generally described. Generally, the nanosensors comprise a photoluminescent nanostructure and a polymer that interacts with the photoluminescent nanostructure. In some cases, the interaction between the polymer and the nanostructure can be non-covalent (e.g., via van der Waals interactions). The nanosensors comprising a polymer and a photoluminescent nanostructure may be particularly useful in determining the presence and/or concentration of relatively small molecules, in some embodiments. In addition, in some instances the nanosensors may be capable of determining relatively low concentrations of analytes, in some cases determining as little as a single molecule. In some embodiments, the interaction between the analyte and the nanosensor (e.g., between the analyte and the photoluminescent nanostructure) can be reversible, which may allow, for example, for the reuse of a nanosensor after it has been exposed to an analyte.
Abstract:
An imaging probe can include a photoluminescent carbon nanostructure configured to emit a wavelength of light detectable through living tissue, and a targeting moiety including a first binding partner configured to interact with a second binding partner.