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Publication: Light Manipulation in Metallic Nanowire Networks with Functional Connectivity

December 27, 2016

The massive exploitation of metamaterials at the nanoscale has cause a leap in controlling light-matter interactions, bringing forward a manifold of entirely new functionalities. Traditionally the design of metamaterials has been inspired by the assembly of subwavelength spaced building blocks, which control their optical properties.
In this study, we are into introducing a new class of optical materials based on nano-sized metallic networks. The key design principle is a sub-wavelength network with functional connectivity in analogy to other robust networks, such as the internet.

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Publication: Scalable, ultra-resistant structural colors based on network metamaterials

November 23, 2016

Structural colours have drawn wide attention for their potential as a future printing technology for various applications, ranging from biomimetic tissues to adaptive camouflage materials. However, an efficient approach to realise robust colours with a scalable fabrication technique is still lacking, hampering the realisation of practical applications with this platform. Here we develop a new approach based on large scale network metamaterials, which combine dealloyed subwavelength structures at the nanoscale with loss-less, ultra-thin dielectrics coatings.

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Publication: The Hidden Pathways in Dense Energy Materials

November 25, 2015

The structure and chemistry of internal phase boundaries in nanocrystalline materials are inaccessible to the majority of today’s analytical techniques. Therefore the full potential of these defect structures for applications are far from being fully realized. In this study, we develop a correlative approach using atom probe tomography (APT), high resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM/TEM) and Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy (RBS) to analyze the chemistry and structure of defects in nanocrystalline materials suited for energy applications.

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Publication: New approaches to nanoparticle sample fabrication for atom probe tomography

May 5, 2015

Due to their unique properties, nano-sized materials such as nanoparticles and nanowires are receiving considerable attention. However, little data is available about their chemical makeup at the atomic scale, especially in three dimensions (3D). Atom probe tomography is able to answer many important questions about these materials if the challenge of producing a suitable sample can be overcome.

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La prova sperimentale di una teoria di Turing

March 26, 2015

Un gruppo internazionale di ricerca, costituto da Henning Galinski, Iwan Schenker e Ralph Spolenak dell’ETH di Zurigo, Antonio Ambrosio e Pasqualino Maddalena del CNR-SPIN e Dipartimento di Fisica dell'Ateneo federiciano e Federico Capasso della Harvard University ha dimostrato che strutture complesse che si formano sulla superficie di film di polimeri contenenti azobenzene possono essere interpretate proprio secondo la teoria ispirata da Turing.

Featured in: CNR, Le ScienzeIl Fatto Quotidiano

Reference: Instability-induced pattern formation of photoactivated functional polymers - Henning Galinski, Antonio Ambrosio, Pasqualino Maddalena, Iwan Schenker, Ralph Spolenak and Federico Capasso - PNAS

Publication: Platinum-Based Nanowire Networks with Enhanced Oxygen-Reduction Activity

November 26, 2014

Platinum is a favorite material for numerous applications, including electrodes for solid oxide fuel cells, but of course it is costly. The authors use dealloying to prepare thin films of spongelike nanoporous Pt-Y-Al, the yttrium being added to engineer the material’s bandstructure and reduce the amount of platinum required. This yields electrodes with enhanced thermal stability and 13 times the electrocatalytic activity of conventional systems.

Featured in: More Catalysis with Less Platinum - Physics

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Publication: Instability-induced pattern formation of photoactivated functional polymers

November 19, 2014

Photoactivated pattern formation in functional polymers has attracted major interest due to its potential applications in molecular electronics and photoresponsive systems. Here, we demonstrate that photoactivated pattern formation on azobenzene-containing polymer films can be entirely explained by the physical concept of phase separation.

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