We propose and demonstrate the possibility of using a permanently microbent bare optical fiber for detecting chemical species. Two detection schemes, viz., a bright-field detection scheme (for the core modes), and a dark-field detection scheme (for the cladding modes) have been employed to produce a fiber-optic sensor. The sensor described here is sensitive enough to detect concentrations as low as nanomoles per liter of a chemical species, with a dynamic range of more than 6 orders of magnitude.

Electrospun ZnO nanofibers were obtained by calcinating PVA/Zinc Acetate composite fibers at various temperatures. Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) revealed that the ZnO fibers have diameters in the range of 100-200 nm. The fibers were characterized by FT-IR, TGA-DTA, and XRD studies. The XRD results showed that the crystal structure and the morphology of the fibers were largely dependent on the calcination temperature

No abstract

Composite materials with carbon nanotube and graphene attachments have been regarded as promising prospects. Carbon nanocomposites have gained considerable interest in different fields including biomedical applications due to its exceptional structural dimensions and outstanding mechanical, electrical, thermal, optical, and chemical characteristics. The significant advances made in carbon nanocomposite over past years along with the discovery of new nanocomposite processing technologies to improvise the functional impact of nanotube and graphene composites by providing proper methods of synthesis and improving the production of diverse composite based on carbon nanomaterials are discussed. Carbon nanocomposites are applied in various fields such as aviation, batteries, chemical industry, fuel cell, optics, power generation, space, solar hydrogen, sensors, and thermoelectric devices. The recent design, fabrication, characteristics, and applications of carbon nanocomposites such as active carbon, carbon black, graphene, nanodiamonds, and carbon nanotubes are explained in detail in this research. It is found that unlike traditional fiber composites, Van der Waals force interfacial compounds have an important effect on the mechanical performance of carbon nanomaterial-based composites.

No abstract