This is a past event.

Please join physics graduate students, Jeff Kabel and Hitendra Singh for their in-person presentations on Thursday, January 18th at 4 PM - Fisher Hall 139.

PHOTOSTABLE FLUOROPHORES BY DYE-FILLED BORON NITRIDE NANOTUBES

Jeff Kabel (Advisor: Yoke Khin Yap)

Organic dyes have found applications in the life sciences because of their high brightness, biocompatibility, and cost efficiency. Unfortunately, many organic dyes are not photostable in the presence of oxygen. Traditional passivation methods have made organic dyes more photostable but consequently have lower brightness. Recently, some dyes have been encapsulated in carbon nanotubes; however, the ease of the energy transfer process between dyes and carbon nanotube readily quenches most fluorescence. Herein we demonstrate the encapsulation of an organic dye (Rhodamine B) inside boron nitride nanotubes (RhB@BNNT). The RhB@BNNTs are spectroscopically characterized for their photoemission intensity. Additionally, photobleaching experiments were conducted to demonstrate the encapsulated dye’s long-term photostability

EXPLORING ROTATIONAL DYNAMICS IN NANOTUBES: A DFT APPROACH

Hitendra Singh (Advisor: Ranjit Pati)

The discovery of 'magic angles' in bilayer graphene nanoflakes (BLGNFs) has ignited a wave of research into the rotational dynamics of nanostructures and their impact on material properties. This talk begins by exploring the seminal work done on BLGNFs, highlighting how specific rotational alignments can dramatically alter electronic behavior. Building on this foundational understanding, we shift focus to our current research, which aims to uncover similar rotational phenomena in concentric carbon nanotubes (CCNTs) and concentric boron nitride nanotubes (CBNNTs).

Our work employs Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations to meticulously study the effect of rotating one nanotube relative to another within these concentric structures. We hypothesize that, akin to BLGNFs, CCNTs, and CBNNTs may exhibit unique, angle-dependent properties that could be harnessed for advanced nanotechnological applications. We will discuss the theoretical framework, computational strategy, and preliminary findings of our investigations into these fascinating nanostructures.