Nathan S. Lewis

Bio: Nathan S. Lewis is an academic researcher from California Institute of Technology. The author has contributed to research in topics: Semiconductor & Silicon. The author has an hindex of 112, co-authored 720 publications receiving 64808 citations. Previous affiliations of Nathan S. Lewis include Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory & Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Strain-Based Chemiresistive Polymer-Coated Graphene Vapor Sensors

Abstract: Suspended chemiresistive graphene sensors have been fabricated using well-established nanofabrication techniques to generate sensors that are highly sensitive to pyridine and with excellent discrimination between polar and nonpolar analytes. When coated with a polymer surface layer and suspended on 3-D patterned glass electrodes, a hybrid combination of polymer and graphene yields chemiresistive vapor sensors. Expansion and contraction of the polymer layer produces strain on the suspended graphene (Gr). Hence, when organic vapors permeate into the polymer layer, the high gauge factor of the graphene induces substantial electrical resistive changes as folds and creases are induced in the graphene. The hybrid suspended polymer/Gr sensor exhibits substantial responses to polar organic vapors, especially pyridine, while also exhibiting reversibility and increased discrimination between polar and nonpolar analytes compared to previous approaches. This sensor design also allows for potential tunability in the types of polymers used for the reactive surface layer, allowing for use in a variety of potential applications.

Applications of Scanning Tunneling Microscopy to Electrochemistry

Abstract: : Our efforts through the last contract period have involved the fundamental study of the STM imaging process, the investigation of the use of partially insulated STM tips as ultramicroelectrodes, and applications of STM for the generation of lithographic features. STM investigations of conducting polymers dispersed on graphite surfaces and doped with I2 revealed that, although the conducting backbone of the polymer could be imaged under a range of tunneling conditions, the non-conducting side groups of the polymer were not imaged. These images represent the first atomic resolution images of polymers, and studies of this studies of this type, involving the simultaneous imaging of nominally conducting and non-conducting groups, should prove essential in developing a theoretical understanding of the contrast mechanisms which dominate the imaging of individual adsorbed molecules with STM. Studies of ultramicroelectrodes, fabricated initially as partially insulated STM tips for use in solutions containing significant concentrations of electroactive species, have revealed the possibility of fabricating electrodes as small as one nanometer in diameter.

Transmission Infrared Spectra of CH_3-, CD_3-, andC_(10)H_(21)-Ge(111) Surfaces

Abstract: The surface chemistry of CH_3–, CD_3–, and C_(10)H_(21)–Ge(111) surfaces prepared through a bromination/alkylation method have been investigated by infrared spectroscopy. Well-ordered CH_3–Ge(111) surfaces could be prepared only if, prior to bromination, the surface was etched with 6.0 M HCl or with a two-step etch of H_2O_2 (1.5 M)/HF (5.1 M) followed by a short HF (6.0 M) etch. The etching method used to make the Ge precursor surface, and the formation of a bromine-terminated intermediate Ge surface, were of critical importance to obtain clear, unambiguous infrared absorption peaks on the methyl-terminated Ge surfaces. Polarization-dependent absorption peaks observed at 1232 cm^(–1) for CH_3–Ge(111) surfaces and at 951 cm^(–1) for CD_3–Ge(111) surfaces were assigned to the methyl “umbrella” vibrational mode. A polarization-dependent peak at 2121 cm^(–1) for CD_3–Ge(111) surfaces was assigned to the symmetric methyl stretching mode. Polarization-independent absorption peaks at 755 cm^(–1) for CH_3–Ge(111) and at 577 cm^(–1) for CD_3–Ge(111) were assigned to the methyl rocking mode. These findings provide spectroscopic evidence that the methyl monolayer structure on the alkylated Ge is well-ordered and similar to that on analogous Si(111) surfaces, despite differences in the composition of the precursor surfaces. The X-ray photoelectron spectra of CH_3–Ge(111) surfaces, however, were not highly dependent upon the etching method and showed a constant C 1s:Ge 3d ratio, independent of the etching method. The infrared spectra of C_(10)H_(21)–Ge(111) surfaces were also not sensitive to the initial etching method. Hence, while the final packing density of the alkyl groups on the surface was similar for all etch methods studied, not all methods yielded a well-ordered Ge(111)/overlayer interface.

Sensor array for detecting analyte in fluid

Abstract: PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a sensor array for detecting an analyte in a fluid SOLUTION: The sensor array comprises at least a first chemically sensitive resistor and a second chemically sensitive resistor electrically coupled to an electrically measuring device, and detects the analyte in the fluid Each of these chemically sensitive resistors contains a nonconductive organic polymer and a conductive mixture having a composition different from that of the nonconductive organic polymer Each resistor has an electrical path passing the nonconductive organic polymer and the conductive mixture, provides a first electric resistance when it contacts with a first fluid containing a first chemical analyte at a first concentration, provides a second electric resistance when it contacts with a second fluid containing the chemical analyte at a second different concentration, and is constituted so that the difference between the first electric resistance and second electric resistance of the first chemically sensitive resistor is different from the difference between the first electric resistance and second electric resistance of the second chemically sensitive resistor COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

I and i

Abstract: There is, I think, something ethereal about i —the square root of minus one. I remember first hearing about it at school. It seemed an odd beast at that time—an intruder hovering on the edge of reality. Usually familiarity dulls this sense of the bizarre, but in the case of i it was the reverse: over the years the sense of its surreal nature intensified. It seemed that it was impossible to write mathematics that described the real world in …

A low-cost, high-efficiency solar cell based on dye-sensitized colloidal TiO2 films

Abstract: THE large-scale use of photovoltaic devices for electricity generation is prohibitively expensive at present: generation from existing commercial devices costs about ten times more than conventional methods1. Here we describe a photovoltaic cell, created from low-to medium-purity materials through low-cost processes, which exhibits a commercially realistic energy-conversion efficiency. The device is based on a 10-µm-thick, optically transparent film of titanium dioxide particles a few nanometres in size, coated with a monolayer of a charge-transfer dye to sensitize the film for light harvesting. Because of the high surface area of the semiconductor film and the ideal spectral characteristics of the dye, the device harvests a high proportion of the incident solar energy flux (46%) and shows exceptionally high efficiencies for the conversion of incident photons to electrical current (more than 80%). The overall light-to-electric energy conversion yield is 7.1-7.9% in simulated solar light and 12% in diffuse daylight. The large current densities (greater than 12 mA cm-2) and exceptional stability (sustaining at least five million turnovers without decomposition), as well as the low cost, make practical applications feasible.

疟原虫var基因转换速率变化导致抗原变异[英]／Paul H, Robert P, Christodoulou Z, et al//Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A

Abstract: 抗原变异可使得多种致病微生物易于逃避宿主免疫应答。表达在感染红细胞表面的恶性疟原虫红细胞表面蛋白1（PfPMP1）与感染红细胞、内皮细胞、树突状细胞以及胎盘的单个或多个受体作用，在黏附及免疫逃避中起关键的作用。每个单倍体基因组var基因家族编码约60种成员，通过启动转录不同的var基因变异体为抗原变异提供了分子基础。

Heterogeneous photocatalyst materials for water splitting

Abstract: This critical review shows the basis of photocatalytic water splitting and experimental points, and surveys heterogeneous photocatalyst materials for water splitting into H2 and O2, and H2 or O2 evolution from an aqueous solution containing a sacrificial reagent Many oxides consisting of metal cations with d0 and d10 configurations, metal (oxy)sulfide and metal (oxy)nitride photocatalysts have been reported, especially during the latest decade The fruitful photocatalyst library gives important information on factors affecting photocatalytic performances and design of new materials Photocatalytic water splitting and H2 evolution using abundant compounds as electron donors are expected to contribute to construction of a clean and simple system for solar hydrogen production, and a solution of global energy and environmental issues in the future (361 references)