Electrical Conductivity with Nanoparticles

Nanoparticles dispersed in a matrix bring their own properties to bear on the system, as seen with the reduced electrical conductivity with increasing concentration and the changes in magnetic properties. 

Some important observations, which should apply de facto to many nematic systems containing dispersed nanoparticles, particularly those with metal or semiconductor cores, were reported in 2006 by Prasad et al. [297]. The authors found that gold nanoparticles stabilized with dodecanethiol decreased the isotropic to nematic phase transition of 4-pentyl-4 -cyanobiphenyl (5CB) almost linearly with increasing nanoparticle concentration (x p) and increased the overall conductivity of these mixtures by about two orders of magnitude. However, the anisotropy of the electric conductivity (Act = [Pg.349]

In the temperature interval of —70 to 0°C and in the low-frequency range, an unexpected dielectric relaxation process for polymers is detected. This process is observed clearly in the sample PPX with metal Cu nanoparticles. In sample PPX + Zn only traces of this process can be observed, and in the PPX + PbS as well as in pure PPX matrix the process completely vanishes. The amplitude of this process essentially decreases, when the frequency increases, and the maximum of dielectric losses have almost no temperature dependence [104]. This is a typical dielectric response for percolation behavior [105]. This process may relate to electron transfer between the metal nanoparticles through the polymer matrix. Data on electrical conductivity of metal containing PPX films (see above) show that at metal concentrations higher than 5 vol.% there is an essential probability for electron transfer from one particle to another and thus such particles become involved in the percolation process. The minor appearance of this peak in PPX + Zn can be explained by oxidation of Zn nanoparticles. 

Glyco-AuNPs have been shown to simultaneously enrich and isolate proteins from a very dilute solution with minimal sample handling [84], AuNPs offer an additional advantage in that bound proteins can be identified directly by mass spectrometry without the elution of the captured protein because of the electrical conductivity of the nanoparticles. Lin et al. previously prepared Gal-AuNP and Pk-AuNP and... 

The heart of a fuel cell is the membrane electrode assembly (MEA). In the simplest form, the electrode component of the MEA would consist of a thin film containing a highly dispersed nanoparticle platinum catalyst. This catalyst layer is in good contact with the ionomeric membrane, which serves as the reactant gas separator and electrolyte in this cell. The membrane is about 25-100 p,m thick. The MEA then consists of an ionomeric membrane with thin catalyst layers bonded on each side. Porous and electrically conducting carbon paper/cloth current collectors act as gas distributors (Figure 27.1). Since ohmic losses occur within the ionomeric membrane, it is important to maximize the proton conductivity of the membrane, without sacrificing the mechanical and chemical stability. 

Most of the electrochemical phenomena occur in size regimes that are very small. The effects of size on diffusion kinetics, electrical double layer at the interface, elementary act of charge transfer and phase formation have recently been reviewed by Petrri and Tsirlina [12]. Mulvaney has given an excellent account of the double layers, optical and electrochemical properties associated with metal colloids [11]. Special emphasis has been given to the stability and charge transfer phenomenon in metal colloid systems. Willner has reviewed the area of nanoparticle-based functionalization of surfaces and their applications [6-8]. This chapter is devoted to electrochemistry with nanoparticles. One of the essential requirements for electrochemical studies is that the material should exhibit good conductivity. 

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