Device and sensor miniaturization has enabled extraordinary functionality and sensitivity enhancements over the last decades while considerably reducing fabrication costs and energy consumption. The traditional materials and process technologies used today will, however, ultimately run into fundamental limitations. Combining large-scale directed assembly methods with high-symmetry low-dimensional carbon nanomaterials is expected to contribute toward overcoming shortcomings of traditional process technologies and pave the way for commercially viable device nanofabrication. The purpose of this article is to review the guided dielectrophoretic integration of individual single-walled carbon nanotube (SWNT)- and graphene-based devices and sensors targeting continuous miniaturization. The review begins by introducing the electrokinetic framework of the dielectrophoretic deposition process, then discusses the importance of high-quality solutions, followed by the site- and type-selective integration of SWNTs and graphene with emphasis on experimental methods, and concludes with an overview of dielectrophoretically assembled devices and sensors to date. The field of dielectrophoretic device integration is filled with opportunities to research emerging materials, bottom–up integration processes, and promising applications. The ultimate goal is to fabricate ultra-small functional devices at high throughput and low costs, which require only minute operation power.

The optical properties of N-ion-implanted diamond are evaluated. The color of implanted layer became glossy black with metallic luster, which was further enhanced after postimplantation annealing at 600 °C for 2 h in vacuum or inert gas atmosphere. Raman spectroscopy revealed that the crystalline diamond became completely disordered after irradiation, but surprisingly the crystalline nature was restored to a mixture of well-defined diamond and diamond-like carbon after annealing. When it was annealed in air at the same temperature, however, the black color disappeared, indicating a removal of the disordered or graphitized layer by oxidation. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Raman analyses indicate that the black color of as-implanted diamond is associated mainly with the disordered carbon and modified band structure. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) analysis shows that the implanted nitrogen atoms are in N–N and symmetrical 4N-vacancy bonding states, which are commonly found in the natural diamonds with yellow and brown tint.

The influences of temperature, cone height, and apex angle on the tensile and compressive behaviors of open-tip carbon nanocones (CNCs) under axial strains were examined. The tensile failure strain and failure load of the CNC were found to decline evidently as the system temperature increases. The average failure strain decreases with the growth in the cone height. Concerning compressive behaviors, the critical strain and critical load of the CNC reduce manifestly with the increase in the system temperature and the apex angle. As the cone height grows, the critical strain decreases evidently but the critical load has no obvious change. The buckling mode does not have much variation when the temperature increases. It displays a more distorted buckling pattern with the growth in the cone height and transfers from an axisymmetric pattern to an unsymmetrical and more warped pattern when the apex angle expands.

Development of phase composition in one-component, three-phase systems containing a liquid phase (melt) and two polymorphic solids has been discussed. Two types of polymorphic systems have been analyzed: enantiotropic systems composed of three thermodynamically stable phases and monotropic systems with two stable and one metastable phase. Detailed relations between transition rates, molecular characteristics, and external conditions have been derived. Simulation of isothermal crystallization of a model system has been performed and discussed.

Nonequilibrium phase composition in multiphase systems affects physical properties of many materials. Development of phase composition is controlled by external conditions and material characteristics. Based on the model presented in the Part I [A. Ziabicki and B. Misztal-Faraj, J. Mater. Res. 26(13), (2011)], rates of phase transitions in a three-phase model monotropic system composed of an amorphous (liquid) phase and two solid polymorphs have been analyzed. Effects of material characteristics including activation energy of molecular mobility, heat and entropy of the transitions, interface tensions, and concentration of predetermined nuclei have been discussed.

We have demonstrated that the microstructure of thick pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN) films can be controlled using physical vapor deposition by varying the film/substrate interface. PETN films were deposited on silicon and fused silica with and without a thin layer of sputtered aluminum to demonstrate the effects of the interface on subsequent film growth. Evolution of surface morphology, average density, and surface roughness as a function of film thickness were characterized using surface profilometry, scanning electron microscopy, and atomic force microscopy. Significant variations in density, pore size, and surface morphology were observed in films deposited on the different substrates. In addition, x-ray diffraction experiments showed that while films deposited on bare fused silica or silicon had only weak texturing, films deposited on a sputtered aluminum layer were highly oriented, with a strong (110) out-of-plane texture.

In this work, poly(2-ethyl-2-oxazoline) (PEtOx) is used for synthesis of silver-nanoparticle-embedded polymer nanofibers through a simple polyol process. The factors, such as AgNO3/PEtOx molar ratio R, reaction temperature T, and reaction time t, which would influence the morphology of the nanofiber were studied extensively. Long linear PEtOx nanofibers with length more than 1 μm were obtained under the optimum conditions of R = 5, T = 150 °C, and t = 1 h. PEtOx and reaction temperature were found to be the key factors affecting the final morphology of nanofibers in this system. The physical and chemical properties of these silver-nanoparticle-embedded PEtOx nanofibers were characterized by transmission electron microscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectrum, x-ray diffraction, and inductive coupled plasma-mass spectrometry. The growth mechanism of the nanofibers is elucidated, and the process is demonstrated to be both kinetically and thermodynamically controlled.

Selective CdSe tip growth on CdTe tetrapod-shaped colloidal seeds has been achieved for a Cd:surfactant molar ratio of 1:2, where surfactant is oleic acid. The average length of tetrapod arms increased from 12 to 21 nm while arm width remained constant of 3 nm. Formation of CdSe tips shifts the excitonic absorption maximum to the near-infrared region and the appearance of low-intensity absorption feature corresponding to a charge-transfer band. At the same time, luminescence band splits into a narrow (about 100 meV width) CdTe excitonic subband and a 230-meV-wide charge-transfer subband, with splitting energy increasing up to 260 meV depending on CdSe tip length. The intensity ratio of charge transfer to excitonic luminescence increases exponentially with splitting energy rise. Considerable modification of the photoluminescence spectrum has been observed with temperature variation in the range of 10–60 °C.

The dependences of unit cell parameter, x-ray diffraction line width B, and microhardness H on the composition of PbTe-Bi2Te3 (0–10 mol% Bi2Te3) semiconductor alloys, subjected to different types of heat treatment, were obtained. In the concentration ranges ∼0.5–1.5 and 3–4 mol% Bi2Te3 within the homogeneity region of PbTe (0–6 mol% Bi2Te3), anomalous constancy or decrease in B and H was observed. A long room temperature aging leads to a more distinct manifestation of these effects. It is suggested that the observed peculiarities in the concentration dependences of the properties are connected with percolation effects and self-organization processes in the solid solution.

Iron oxides, including maghemite (γ-Fe2O3) and magnetite (Fe3O4), have been widely applied in many fields. For technological advances in the future, further improvements of their ferromagnetic properties are desirable. The development of iron ferrites with a large coercive field (Hc) is one of issues of consequence. For ferrites, however, enlarging the Hc value is not easy because of their low magnetocrystalling anisotropy constant. Here we report single-crystalline Cu-doped γ-Fe2O3 nanowires in which the controlled diameter (70–100 nm) and the graded Cu dopant (7, 10, and 15%) are directly obtained by a simple chemical vapor deposition technique. In particular, the coercive value (over 2 T) of 10% Cu-doped γ-Fe2O3 nanowires is much higher than that (<80 Oe) of undoped γ-Fe2O3 nanowires at room temperature. On the basis of the experimental magnetization data, the achievement of such a higher coercive field of Cu-doped γ-Fe2O3 (10%) nanowires is tentatively suggested.

In the present work, Fe3O4 nanospheres, sponges, and urchins were prepared. Investigation of static magnetic and microwave electromagnetic (EM) characteristics of polymorphic Fe3O4 nanomaterials showed that morphology plays a crucial role in determining the resulting properties. Compared with Fe3O4 nanospheres and urchins, enhanced saturation magnetization and coercivity were observed in Fe3O4 sponges composed of ordered nanofibers. Enhancement of saturation magnetization and coercivity are associated with increased magnetic interactions and shape anisotropy, respectively. The Fe3O4 sponges and urchins produced reflection loss (RL) values of −35.77 dB at 8.0 GHz and −43.23 dB at 16.8 GHz, respectively. The excellent microwave absorption performance is ascribed to their unique morphologies. Such morphologies resulted in reinforced EM parameters and multiresonant behavior.

Synthesis of titania (TiO2) nanorods on various substrates has recently attracted attention for energy and environmental applications. Herein, we report growth of nanostructured TiO2 on Si(111) and glass borosilicate substrates by a two-step method. A thin film of anatase TiO2 was first laid down by spin coating and annealing, followed by the growth of rutile TiO2 nanorods with a hydrothermal method. To understand the role of the polycrystalline anatase TiO2 seed layer, we selected a relatively high temperature for the hydrothermal reaction, e.g., 175 °C at which no rutile TiO2 nanorods could grow without the precoated anatase TiO2 layer. The morphology and microstructure of both the polycrystalline anatase and rutile nanorod layers were characterized by electron microscopy and x-ray powder diffraction. Such a two-step fabrication method makes it possible to grow TiO2 nanorods on almost any substrate.