Preparation and growth mechanism of nickel nanowires under applied magnetic field

Nickel nanowires with large aspect ratio of up to 300 have been prepared by a hydrazine hydrate reduction method under applied magnetic field. The diameter of nickel nanowires is about 200 nm and length up to 60 μm. The role of magnetic field on the growth of magnetic nanowires is discussed and a magnetic nanowire growth mechanism has been proposed. Nickel ions are firstly reduced to nickel atoms by hydrazine hydrates in a strong alkaline solution and grow into tiny spherical nanoparticles. Then, these magnetic particles will align under a magnetic force and form linear chains. Furthermore, the as-formed chains can enhance the local magnetic field and attract other magnetic particles nearby, resulting finally as linear nanowires. The formation and the size of nanowires depend strongly on the magnitude of applied magnetic field.

Effects of Strain Rate,Temperature and Grain Size on the Mechanical Properties and Microstructure Evolutions of Polycrystalline Nickel Nanowires:A Molecular Dynamics Simulation

Through molecular dynamics（MD） simulation, the dependencies of temperature, grain size and strain rate on the mechanical properties were studied. The simulation results demonstrated that the strain rate from 0.05 to 2 ns–1 affected the Young＇s modulus of nickel nanowires slightly, whereas the yield stress increased. The Young＇s modulus decreased approximately linearly; however, the yield stress firstly increased and subsequently dropped as the temperature increased. The Young＇s modulus and yield stress increased as the mean grain size increased from 2.66 to 6.72 nm. Moreover, certain efforts have been made in the microstructure evolution with mechanical properties association under uniaxial tension. Certain phenomena such as the formation of twin structures, which were found in nanowires with larger grain size at higher strain rate and lower temperature, as well as the movement of grain boundaries and dislocation, were detected and discussed in detail. The results demonstrated that the plastic deformation was mainly accommodated by the motion of grain boundaries for smaller grain size. However, for larger grain size, the formations of stacking faults and twins were the main mechanisms of plastic deformation in the polycrystalline nickel nanowire.

Ni nanocomposite films formed by Ni nanowires embedded in Ni matrix using electrodeposition

Ni nanocomposite films formed by Ni nanowires embedded in Ni matrix(Ni nanowire/Ni composite films)were fabricated by electrodeposition combined with supersonic stirring in a conventional Watts'bath containing Ni nanowires with diameter about 30 nm.The deposition temperature-dependent microstructure,crystal orientation,lattice constant and corrosion behavior of the Ni nanowire/Ni composite films were investigated by field emission scanning electron microscope,X-ray diffraction and potentiodynamic polarization tests,respectively.And the possible mechanism was discussed.It is found that to some extent,the deposition temperature has an impact on the microstructure,crystal orientation,lattice constant and corrosion property of the Ni nanowire/Ni composite films.The Ni nanowire/Ni composite films prepared at 50℃exhibit a novel inter-twisted-nanowire microstructure and have the best corrosion resistance.

Aligned Ni nanowires towards highly stretchable electrode

Easy fabrication of super-stretchable electrodes can pave the way for smart and wearable electronics.Using drop casting unidirectional nickel nanowires with polyurethane matrix,we fabricated a super-stretchable film with high electric conductivity.The as-fabricated film can withstand a 300%tensile strain in the direction perpendicular to nanowires,owing to the transformation of percolating nanowire network from 2D to 3D.In contrast to the decreased film conductivities under large tension in most stretchable electrodes,which usually associate with fractures and irreversible deformations,our film conductivity can increase with the applied strain.This probably benefits from the enhanced electrical contacts between twisted nanowires under tension.The developed super-stretchable film with unprecedented behavior in this work sheds light on the facile fabrication of super-stretchable electrodes with durable performance.

A lab-on-a-disc platform based on nickel nanowire net and smartphone imaging for rapid and automatic detection of foodborne bacteria

Foodborne pathogenic bacteria have been considered as a major risk factor for food safety. It is of great significance to carry out in-field screening of pathogenic bacteria to prevent the outbreaks of foodborne diseases. In this study, a portable lab-on-a-disc platform with a microfluidic disc was developed for rapid and automatic detection of Salmonella typhimurium using a nickel nanowire(Ni NW) net for effective separation of target bacteria, horseradish peroxidase nanoflowers(HRP NFs) for efficient amplification of biological signals, and a self-developed smartphone APP for accurate analysis of colorimetric images. First,the microfluidic disc was preloaded with reagents and samples and centrifuged to form one bacterial sample column, one immune Ni NW column, one HRP NF column, two washing buffer columns and one tetramethylbenzidine(TMB) column, which were separated by air gaps. Then, a rotatable magnetic field was specifically developed to assemble the Ni NWs into a net, which was automatically controlled by a stepped motor to successively pass through the sample column for specific capture of target bacteria, the HRP NF column for specific label of target bacteria, the washing columns for effective removal of sample background and non-specific binding NFs, and the TMB column for colorimetric determination of target bacteria. The color change of TMB from colorless to blue was finally analyzed using the smartphone APP to quantitatively determine the target bacteria. This lab-on-a-disc platform could detect Salmonella typhimurium from 5.6 × 10^(1) CFU/20 μL to 5.6 × 10^(5) CFU/20 μL in 1 h with a lower detection limit of 56 CFU/20 μL. The recovery of target bacteria in spiked chicken samples ranged from 97.5% to 101.8%. This portable platform integrating separation, labeling, washing, catalysis and detection onto a single disc is featured with automatic operation, fast reaction, and small size and has shown its potential for in-field detection of foodborne pathogens.