NC State Nanofabrication Facility Celebrates Re-opening

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Drs. Dan Stancil, Phil Barletta, John Muth, and John Gilligan celebrate NNF’s grand re-opening.

In early January, the NCSU Nanofabrication Facility (NNF) hosted a grand reopening. Dr. John Muth, Assistant Vice Chancellor Jon Horowitz (ORIED), and Dean John Gilligan (COE) opened the event, emphasizing the unique role of NNF on the NC State campus. NNF Director of Operations Phil Barletta then discussed some of the changes and improvements that are being initiated at the NNF including new equipment, a staff increase, and major building renovations. Nicole Hedges also highlighted NNF’s new website, which provides up to the minute lab conditions. Dr. Patrick Wellenius, an engineer at Protochips, and Mr. Wei-Yi Chang, a graduate student in Dr. Xiaoning Jiang’s group, spoke about the work they conduct in NNF and the support they receive from facility staff. Afterwards, attendees enjoyed pizza, refreshments, and each others’ company.

NCSU Nanofabrication Facility Grand Re-Opening

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Over the past several months, the NCSU Nanofabrication Facility (NNF) has been the recipient of a significant amount of internal investment including new equipment, a staff increase, and major building renovations.  In order to bring awareness to this investment — and usher in a “new era” — NNF will hold a grand re-opening on January 8, 2018 at 3 pm. NNF Director of Operations Phil Barletta introduce some of the changes and improvements that are being initiated in NNF. He will be joined by Assistant Vice Chancellor Jon Horowitz (ORIED) and Dean John Gilligan (COE) who will say a few words from a University and College perspective.

Details and information on registering can be found on the event website.

Engineers Synthesize Nickel Nanoparticles with Increased Surface Area

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Researchers at NC State have developed a technique to create nanoparticles with a unique structure: a core of nickel embedded in a silica shell with small orbs of nickel surrounding the core. This leads to an increased nickel surface area, making more of this metal available for catalysis. For more on this work, please see the NC State press release.

“Synthesis and Chemical Transformation of Ni Nanoparticles Embedded in Silica”

Authors: Brian B. Lynch and Joseph B. Tracy, North Carolina State University; Bryan D. Anderson, North Carolina State University and Air Force Research Laboratory; W. Joshua Kennedy, Air Force Research Laboratory

Published: Nov. 28, Nanoscale

DOI: 10.1039/C7NR06379B

Abstract: Ni nanoparticles (NPs) catalyze many chemical reactions, in which they can become contaminated or agglomerate, resulting in poorer performance. We report deposition of silica (SiO2) onto Ni NPs from tetraethyl orthysilicate (TEOS) through a reverse microemulsion approach, which is accompanied by an unexpected etching process. Ni NPs with an average initial diameter of 27 nm were embedded in composite SiO2-overcoated Ni NPs (SiO2-Ni NPs) with an average diameter of 30 nm. Each SiO2-Ni NP contained a ~7 nm oxidized Ni core and numerous smaller oxidized Ni NPs with diameters of ~2 nm distributed throughout the SiO2 shell. Etching of the Ni NPs is attributed to use of ammonium hydroxide as a catalyst for deposition of SiO2. Aliquots acquired during the deposition and etching process reveal agglomeration of SiO2 and Ni NPs, followed by dissociation into highly uniform SiO2-Ni NPs. This etching and embedding process may also be extended to other core materials. The stability of SiO2-Ni NPs was also investigated under high-temperature oxidizing and reducing environments. The structure of the SiO2-Ni NPs remained significantly unchanged after both oxidation and reduction, which suggests structural durability when used for catalysis.

RTNN Researchers Headline RTP180 Event

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Last week, three RTNN faculty members highlighted the monthly RTP 180° event: Tori Miller (NC State), Daphne Klotsa (UNC), and Claudia Gunsch (Duke). RTP 180° is held at The Frontier and features people from triangle universities, local companies, and the community at-large who take the stage to speak passionately about what matters to them. Drs. Miller, Klotsa, and Gunsch related their work in nano to a packed house. Dr. Klotsa kicked off the evening, highlighting her work in modeling nanoparticle packing. Dr. Gunsch emphasized the importance in studying the unintended effects of silver nanoparticles in the environment. Dr. Miller closed the evening talks, giving an overview of her work in metallurgy.

If you missed the opportunity to see the event live, you can see a recording of the event here.

 

RTNN hosts XRD Symposium

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Malvern PANalytical and the RTNN hosted a “Non-ambient X-ray Diffraction (XRD)” workshop at NC State November 8-9. The event brought together 48 attendees from 17 different universities and organizations to explore the research potential of non-ambient diffraction and practical advice for collecting accurate and useful data. On the evening of November 8, attendees learned more about on-going research during a poster session.

The picture shows Dr. Tom Blanton, the executive director of International Centre for Diffraction Data (ICDD), presenting his work on ‘Materials Characterization using the ICDD  PDF-4+’.