Rod-shaped particles, 370 nm in diameter and consisting of 1 microm long Pt and Au segments, move autonomously in aqueous hydrogen peroxide solutions by catalyzing the formation of oxygen at the Pt end. In 2-3% hydrogen peroxide solution, these rods move predominantly along their axis in the direction of the Pt end at speeds of up to 10 body lengths per second. The dimensions of the rods and their speeds are similar to those of multiflagellar bacteria. The force along the rod axis, which is on the order of 10(-14) N, is generated by the oxygen concentration gradient, which in turn produces an interfacial tension force that balances the drag force at steady state. By solving the convection-diffusion equation in the frame of the moving rod, it was found that the interfacial tension force scales approximately as SR(2)gamma/muDL, where S is the area-normalized oxygen evolution rate, gamma is the liquid-vapor interfacial tension, R is the rod radius, mu is the viscosity, D is the diffusion coefficient of oxygen, and L is the length of the rod. Experiments in ethanol-water solutions confirmed that the velocity depends linearly with the product Sgamma, and scaling experiments showed a strong dependence of the velocity on R and L. The direction of motion implies that the gold surface is hydrophobic under the conditions of the experiment. Tapping-mode AFM images of rods in air-saturated water show soft features that are not apparent in images acquired in air. These features are postulated to be nanobubbles, which if present in hydrogen peroxide solutions, would account for the observed direction of motion.

The successful synthesis of pure boron nitride (BN) nanotubes is reported here. Multi-walled tubes with inner diameters on the order of 1 to 3 nanometers and with lengths up to 200 nanometers were produced in a carbon-free plasma discharge between a BN-packed tungsten rod and a cooled copper electrode. Electron energy-loss spectroscopy on individual tubes yielded B:N ratios of approximately 1, which is consistent with theoretical predictions of stable BN tube structures.

Individual monolayers of metal dichalcogenides are atomically thin two-dimensional crystals with attractive physical properties different from those of their bulk counterparts. Here we describe the direct synthesis of WS2 monolayers with triangular morphologies and strong room-temperature photoluminescence (PL). The Raman response as well as the luminescence as a function of the number of S–W–S layers is also reported. The PL weakens with increasing number of layers due to a transition from direct band gap in a monolayer to indirect gap in multilayers. The edges of WS2 monolayers exhibit PL signals with extraordinary intensity, around 25 times stronger than that at the platelet’s center. The structure and chemical composition of the platelet edges appear to be critical for PL enhancement.

The Raman scattering of single- and few-layered WS2 is studied as a function of the number of S-W-S layers and the excitation wavelength in the visible range (488, 514 and 647 nm). For the three excitation wavelengths used in this study, the frequency of the A1g(Γ) phonon mode monotonically decreases with the number of layers. For single-layer WS2, the 514.5 nm laser excitation generates a second-order Raman resonance involving the longitudinal acoustic mode (LA(M)). This resonance results from a coupling between the electronic band structure and lattice vibrations. First-principles calculations were used to determine the electronic and phonon band structures of single-layer and bulk WS2. The reduced intensity of the 2LA mode was then computed, as a function of the laser wavelength, from the fourth-order Fermi golden rule. Our observations establish an unambiguous and nondestructive Raman fingerprint for identifying single- and few-layered WS2 films.

Public Reporting Burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 1 hour per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Manuscript published: Nature 439, 303-306 (2006) Report Title ABSTRACT This is a report of a publication supported by the research grant:"Artificial 'spin ice' in a geometrically frustrated lattice of nanoscale ferromagnetic islands", R.

Introduction of pentagon-heptagon pair defects into the hexagonal network of a single carbon nanotube can change the helicity of the tube and alter its electronic structure. Using a tight-binding method to calculate the electronic structure of such systems we show that they behave as nanoscale metal/semiconductor or semiconductor/semiconductor junctions. These junctions could be the building blocks of nanoscale electronic devices made entirely of carbon.

Standard applications of density functional theory do not adequately describe the exfoliation energy of graphite. In fact, the local density approximation ͑LDA͒ and generalized gradient approximation ͑GGA͒ are in qualitative disagreement: the LDA binds at the experimental lattice constant, whereas the GGA does not. However, the variation in the energy under interlayer shifts, due predominantly to the overlap of orbitals ͑not dispersion interactions͒, is nearly identical in these approximations. We combine these results with experimental information on the exfoliation energy to create an improved registry-dependent classical potential for the interlayer interaction in graphitic structures.

As shown by AFM, rod-shaped Au/Pt nanoparticles move autonomously in aqueous H2O2 solutions by catalyzing the formation of oxygen at the Pt end. In 2-3% H2O2 solution, these rods move predominantly along their axis in the direction of the Pt end at speeds of up to 10 body lengths per second. The dimensions of the rods and their speeds are similar to those of multiflagellar bacteria. The force along the rod axis is generated by the oxygen concentration gradient, which in turn produces an interfacial tension force that balances the drag force at steady state. -(PAXTON, W. F.; KISTLER, K. C.; OLMEDA, C. C.; SEN*, A.; ST. ANGELO, S. K.; CAO, Y.; MALLOUK, T. E.; LAMMERT, P. E.; CRESPI, V. H.; J. Am. Chem. Soc. 126 (2004)