Nanoartography 2018
2018 Award Winners
Click on the images to see them in full size.
FIRST PLACE
CoS2 based Nano-Micro battle stations ready for combat
Mohit Saraf, Indian Institute of Technology Indore, India.
This type of never seen before morphology was grown by a simple hydrothermal reaction. Out of a plethora of materials available in the literature, this unique morphology was obtained in an attempt to synthesize CoS2nanomaterials. We believe that this type of nano-micro structure represents futuristic battle stations, which are ready to combat anytime. Image width is ~ 0.02 mm.
SECOND PLACE (tie two ways)
A Polymer Whirled
Sarah Gleeson, Drexel University, Pennsylvania, USA.
This image shows the cross-sectional edge of a polycaprolactone coating, captured with a scanning electron microscope. This coating creates a neutral surface on a polycaprolactone-block-poly (acrylic acid) single crystal film, to prevent mineral overgrowth when placed into a body-mimicking ion solution. The semicrystalline polymer film is typically characterized by hard jagged faces and distinct striated lamellae. It was striking to see this portion of the coating which had coiled upon itself after being fractured, creating beautiful concentric wrinkles against a smooth polymer backdrop. Image width is 0.055 mm.
SECOND PLACE (tie two ways)
Hellfire
Jizhen Zhang, Institute for Frontier Materials, Deakin University, Geelong, Australia.
The image represents a cross-section of MXene (Ti3C2Tx) aerogel film prepared by the freeze-drying approach being developed by our research group. The combination of MXene flakes and porous forms flame-like architecture. The MXene aerogel film with highly aligned MXene flakes and connected interspace enable high rate charge and discharge for energy storage applications. This image was captured using a scanning electron microscope image. Image width is 0.2 mm.
THIRD PLACE (tie three ways)
Floating Zinc Lotus
Shayan Kaviani, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Nebraska, USA.
The image presents a flower-like zinc oxide nanostructure, grown on zinc-oxide nanowires, with wurtzite crystal phase. The ZnO flowers and nanowires are produced using chemical batch deposition (CBD) technique. The image is colored as a purple lotus flower floating on water. The image width is 0.030 mm.
THIRD PLACE (tie three ways)
Time for Fall: Manganese Oxide
Mallory Clites, Drexel University, Pennsylvania, USA.
Nanorods of manganese oxide are formed via hydrothermal treatment and then broken down slightly using acid leaching. The effect creates an array of small, broken fall leaves. Image width is 0.1 mm.
THIRD PLACE (tie three ways)
Nano Volcano
Simge Uzun, A.J. Drexel Nanomaterials Institute, Drexel University, Pennsylvania, USA.
The Nano Volcano is an SEM image of a wet-spun polymer-based MXene fiber. Polyethylene glycol (PEG) and Ti3C2 MXene dispersions are mixed in water, and the solution is used to extrude these hybrid fibers. Here, the composite MXene fiber is represented as an active volcano, where an immense amount of energy can be released. Similarly, in this photo, we see the deeper layers of a functional fiber that has the capability to store energy. Image width is 0.24 mm.
PEOPLE'S CHOICE
Antman
Alberto Brambila Solórzano, Colima´s University, Colima, Mexico.
“The Antman” is a monster for his prey, in his microscopic world. It is a clear example of the beauty of nature. Width of the image is 3 mm.
DREXEL PEOPLE'S CHOICE
Nano-Duck
Kanit Hantanasirisakul, Drexel University, Pennsylvania, USA.
This Nano-duck is Cr2TiAlC2 MAX particle. The size of the duck is ~3 µm. The rocks where it’s sitting on are also MAX particles covered with ‘nano-moss’.
HONORABLE MENTION
MXene Lion on the Hunt
Armin VahidMohammadi and Majid Beidaghi, Auburn University, Alabama, USA.
The image shows a completely oxidized two‐dimensional (2D) vanadium carbide MXene particle that resembles the head of a female lion. The image is taken with scanning electron microscopy and fake colors are added using computer graphics software. The teeth and the eye are the only things added to the image and no other manipulation has been done. Scale bar is 0.003 mm.
HONORABLE MENTION
Acoustic Levitation
Aleks Labuda, Oxford Instruments, California, USA
This micro-photograph depicts the first experiment in the field of hydrodynamic quantum analogs. These silicone oil droplets are bouncing indefinitely above a vibrating pool of silicone oil at 15 Hz. The surface waves generated by the droplets determine their spacing. These waves are analogous to quantum mechanical waves that guide the dynamics of quantum particles. While these droplets move-like quantum particles, they "behave" like quantum waves. The droplets’ wavefields mediate their interactions with their surroundings, with each other, and even with themselves – similarly to electrons in the double-slit experiment.
Such bouncing droplets were discovered in 2005 by Yves Couder and mark the first real-world demonstration of the pilot-wave theory postulated by de Broglie in 1927. This behavior provides measurable and intuitive insight into the mystery of particle-wave duality. Image width is 25 mm.
HONORABLE MENTION
A Fog Day in the Park
Ricardo Tranquilin, CDMF/LIEC/Federal University of Sao Carlos, Sao Paulo, Brazil.
The general idea of this work is the association of nature with microscopic images, both in their shapes and colors, so it is possible to converge the microscopic world to the common world, where so we can show that this small world works with the same forms of the macro world. Also, take a special look at the images that exhibit abstract forms. The material
presented in this image is the titanium oxide deposited in aluminum oxide. Image width is 0.05 mm.
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