FIB-milled plasmonic nanoapertures allow for long trapping times of individual proteins

We have developed a fabrication methodology for label-free optical trapping of individual nanobeads and proteins in inverted-bowtie-shaped plasmonic gold nanopores. Arrays of these nanoapertures can be reliably produced using focused ion beam (FIB) milling with gap sizes of 10–20 nm, single-nanometer variation, and with a remarkable stability...

Smooth estimation of size distributions in an oriented cylinder model

Kernel estimators are proposed for estimating the cumulative distribution functions and the probability density functions of several quantities of interest in a stereological oriented cylinder model. This oriented cylinder model was developed to represent anisotropic microstructural features in materials. The asymptotic properties of these...

3D Printing for the Fabrication of Biofilm-Based Functional Living Materials

Bacterial biofilms are three-dimensional networks of cells entangled in a self-generated extracellular polymeric matrix composed of proteins, lipids, polysaccharides, and nucleic acids. Biofilms can establish themselves on virtually any accessible surface and lead to varying impacts ranging from infectious diseases to degradation of toxic...

Parametric reconstruction of glass fiber-reinforced polymer composites from X-ray projection data—A simulation study

We present a new approach to estimate geometry parameters of glass fibers in glass fiber-reinforced polymers from simulated X-ray micro-computed tomography scans. Traditionally, these parameters are estimated using a multi-step procedure including image reconstruction, pre-processing, segmentation and analysis of features of interest. Each...

Artefact biography 2.0: the information value of corroded archaeological bronzes

The different phases in the life of archaeological objects can be described by artefact biography. This dissertation defines an updated version: artefact biography 2.0, and the life phases of Early Iron Age bronze studs from Oss-Zevenbergen, the Netherlands, are elaborated. Throughout the thesis, the research revolves around information value....

Unravelling the chemical influence of water on the PMMA/aluminum oxide hybrid interface in situ

Understanding the stability of chemical interactions at the polymer/metal oxide interface under humid conditions is vital to understand the long-term durability of hybrid systems. Therefore, the interface of ultrathin PMMA films on native aluminum oxide, deposited by reactive adsorption, was studied. The characterization of the interface of the...

Mechanical instability of monocrystalline and polycrystalline methane hydrates

Despite observations of massive methane release and geohazards associated with gas hydrate instability in nature, as well as ductile flow accompanying hydrate dissociation in artificial polycrystalline methane hydrates in the laboratory, the destabilising mechanisms of gas hydrates under deformation and their grain-boundary structures have not...

High charge mobility in two-dimensional percolative networks of PbSe quantum dots connected by atomic bonds

Two-dimensional networks of quantum dots connected by atomic bonds have an electronic structure that is distinct from that of arrays of quantum dots coupled by ligand molecules. We prepared atomically coherent two-dimensional percolative networks of PbSe quantum dots connected via atomic bonds. Here, we show that photoexcitation leads to...

High Temperature Phase Transitions of Actinide Dioxides

The safety of nuclear power plants is one of the major issues in nuclear materials research. In this context, this PhD thesis presents an original experimental investigation of melting behaviour of several refractory nuclear materials, whose phase diagrams are often still uncertain at temperatures exceeding 2500 K. The physicochemical properties...

Improvement of a-Si:H devices by analysis, simulations and experiment

Due increasing energy use per capita and increasing world population, the world faces an energy-crisis. However, the energy required to solve it is abundantly available: solar energy. The technology to convert this energy to electricity, solar cell technology, is well-developed. The technical issue is how to manufacture solar cells at such a...

Disorder strongly enhances Auger recombination in conductive quantum-dot solids

Auger recombination (AR) can be an important loss mechanism for optoelectronic devices, but it is typically not very efficient at low excitation densities. Here we show that in conductive quantum-dot solids, AR is the dominant charge carrier decay path even at excitation densities as low as 10?3 per quantum dot, and that AR becomes faster as the...

Opportunities for innovation in neutron activation analysis

Neutron activation laboratories worldwide are at a turning point at which new staff has to be found for the retiring pioneers from the 1960s–1970s. A scientific career in a well-understood technique, often characterized as ‘mature’ may only be attractive to young scientists if still challenges for further improvement and inspiring new...

An experimentally validated and parameterized periodic unit-cell reconstruction of open-cell foams

The physical behavior of open-cell foams depends on their microscopic structure. An open-cell geometrical model is proposed, which can serve as the basis for a future macroscopic analysis. The strut geometry is of particular interest, as it is reported to have substantial influence on the occurring thermo-hydraulic and mechanical phenomena....

Research in materials science and technology; annual report 1998

Research in materials science and technology; annual report 1997

Fracture mechanics of concrete: Will applications start to emerge?

Fracture mechanics of concrete has developed into an active field of research in the past decades. It promises a rational solution technique to structural problems in reinforced concrete in the limit state. Numerical tools have been developed on the basis of fracture mechanics theories. The question to be addressed is how much of the early...

Chemical vapour deposition of tungsten by H2 reduction of WCl6. Fourth European workshop on refractory metals and silicides: Selected papers, Saltsjobaden, Sweden, March 24-27, 1991