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CONTAMINATION OF GROUNDWATER BY ORGANIC POLLUTANTS LEACHED FROM IN-SITU SPENT SHALE

Description: The potential for contamination of groundwater by organic pollutants leached from in-situ spent shale was studied in a series of laboratory leaching experiments. Both batch-mode and continuous-flow column experiments were conducted to study the leaching phenomenon. Experimental variables included retorting characteristics of spent shale, leaching time, initial quality of leach water, temperature of leach water, and particle size of spent shale. Several unique samples of spent shale were examined during the eaching experiments, including spent shale samples produced during combustion retorting, inert gas retorting, and combustion retorting employing recycle gas. The solid-phase organic carbon content of spent shale samples ranged from 0.2 to 3.9 percent by weight. Leachate derived from the batch-mode experiments was analyzed for organic carbon, organic nitrogen, phenols, and acid/base/netral fractions. The highest levels of organic carbon were detected in leachate derived from spent shale produced during either inert gas retorting or combstion retorting using recycle gas. The highest levels of phenols were observed in leachate obtained from spent shale produced during inert gas retorting; significant levels of organic nitrogen were also detected in various leachate samples. The most predominant organic fraction measured in leachate samples was the neutral fraction associated with spent shale produced during inert gas retorting. Batch-mode experimental results describing equilibrium conditions were analyzed according to the Freundlich and langmuir isotherm models. Those models were found to be appropriate for describing equilibrium relationships between leachate and spent shale produced during inert gas retorting. To a somewhat lesser extent, these same models were found to be appropriate for modeling equilibrium relationships involving combustion-retorted spent shale. A kinetic analysis of results derived from the continuous-flow column experiments was conducted in an attempt to identify a rate-controlling mass transfer mechanism. Internal diffusion appeared to be the most likely rate-limiting mechanism for leaching from combustion-retorted spent shale. In ...
Date: June 1, 1978
Creator: Amy, Gary L.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department

Magnetic nanoparticles for applications in oscillating magnetic field

Description: Enzymatic and thermochemical catalysis are both important industrial processes. However, the thermal requirements for each process often render them mutually exclusive: thermochemical catalysis requires high temperature that denatures enzymes. One of the long-term goals of this project is to design a thermocatalytic system that could be used with enzymatic systems in situ to catalyze reaction sequences in one pot; this system would be useful for numerous applications e.g. conversion of biomass to biofuel and other commodity products. The desired thermocatalytic system would need to supply enough thermal energy to catalyze thermochemical reactions, while keeping the enzymes from high temperature denaturation. Magnetic nanoparticles are known to generate heat in an oscillating magnetic field through mechanisms including hysteresis and relaxational losses. We envisioned using these magnetic nanoparticles as the local heat source embedded in sub-micron size mesoporous support to spatially separate the particles from the enzymes. In this study, we set out to find the magnetic materials and instrumental conditions that are sufficient for this purpose. Magnetite was chosen as the first model magnetic material in this study because of its high magnetization values, synthetic control over particle size, shape, functionalization and proven biocompatibility. Our experimental designs were guided by a series of theoretical calculations, which provided clues to the effects of particle size, size distribution, magnetic field, frequency and reaction medium. Materials of theoretically optimal size were synthesized, functionalized, and their effects in the oscillating magnetic field were subsequently investigated. Under our conditions, the materials that clustered e.g. silica-coated and PNIPAM-coated iron oxides exhibited the highest heat generation, while iron oxides embedded in MSNs and mesoporous iron oxides exhibited the least bulk heating. It is worth noting that the specific loss power of PNIPAM-coated Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4} was peculiarly high, and the heat loss mechanism of this material remains to be ...
Date: December 15, 2010
Creator: Peeraphatdit, Chorthip
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department

Measurement of double polarized asymmetries in quasi-elastic processes ${}^3\vec{He}(\vec{e},e' d)$ and ${}^3\vec{He}(\vec{e},e' p)$

Description: This thesis is dedicated to a study of a spin-isospin structure of the polarized {sup 3}He. First, an introduction to the spin structure of {sup 3}He is given, followed by a brief overview of past experiments. The main focus of the thesis is the E05-102 experiment at Jefferson Lab, in which the reactions {sup 3}{ovr He} ({rvec e}, e'd) and {sup 3}{ovr He} ({rvec e}, e'p) in the quasi-elastic region were studied. The purpose of this experiment was to better understand the effects of the S'- and D-state contributions to the {sup 3}He ground-state wave-functions by a precise measurement of beam-target asymmetries A{sub x} and A{sub z} in the range of recoil momenta from 0 to about 300 MeV/c. The experimental equipment utilized in these measurements is described, with special attention devoted to the calibration of the hadron spectrometer, BigBite. Results on the measured asymmetries are presented, together with first attempts at their comparison to the state-of-the art Faddeev calculations. The remaining open problems and challenges for future work are also discussed.
Date: August 1, 2012
Creator: Mihovilovic, Miha
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department

Measurement of Single Spin Asymmetries in Semi-Inclusive Deep Inelastic Scattering Reaction n↑ ( e,e' pi{sup +}) X at Jefferson Lab

Description: What constitutes the spin of the nucleon? The answer to this question is still not completely understood. Although we know the longitudinal quark spin content very well, the data on the transverse quark spin content of the nucleon is still very sparse. Semi-inclusive Deep Inelastic Scattering (SIDIS) using transversely polarized targets provide crucial information on this aspect. The data that is currently available was taken with proton and deuteron targets. The E06-010 experiment was performed at Jefferson Lab in Hall-A to measure the single spin asymmetries in the SIDIS reaction n↑(e, e′π{sup ±}/K{sup ±})X using transversely polarized {sup 3}He target. The experiment used the continuous electron beam provided by the CEBAF accelerator with a beam energy of 5.9 GeV. Hadrons were detected in a high-resolution spectrometer in coincidence with the scattered electrons detected by the BigBite spectrometer. The kinematic coverage focuses on the valence quark region, x = 0.19 to 0.34, at Q{sup 2} = 1.77 to 2.73 (GeV/c){sup 2}. This is the first measurement on a neutron target. The data from this experiment, when combined with the world data on the proton and the deuteron, will provide constraints on the transversity and Sivers distribution functions on both the u and d-quarks in the valence region. In this work we report on the single spin asymmetries in the SIDIS n↑(e, e′π{sup +})X reaction.
Date: June 1, 2010
Creator: Allada, Kalyan
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department

Measurement of single-target spin asymmetries in the electroproduction of negative pions in the semi-inclusive deep inelastic reaction n{up_arrow}(e,e'{pi}{sup -})X on a transversely polarized {sup 3}He target

Description: The experiment E06010 measured the target single spin asymmetry (SSA) in the semiinclusive deep inelastic (SIDIS) n{up_arrow}(e, e'{pi}{sup -})X reaction with a transversely polarized {sup 3}He target as an e#11;ective neutron target. This is the very #12;rst independent measurement of the neutron SSA, following the measurements at HERMES and COMPASS on the proton and the deuteron. The experiment acquired data in Hall A at Je#11;erson Laboratory with a continuous electron beam of energy 5.9 GeV, probing the valence quark region, with x = 0.13 {rt_arrow} 0.41, at Q{sup 2} = 1.31 {rt_arrow} 3.1 GeV{sup 2}. The two contributing mechanisms to the measured asymmetry, viz, the Collins effect and the Sivers effect can be realized through the variation of the asymmetry as a function of the Collins and Sivers angles. The neutron Collins and Sivers moments, associated with the azimuthal angular modulations, are extracted from the measured asymmetry for the very #12;first time and are presented in this thesis. The kinematics of this experiment is comparable to the HERMES proton measurement. However, the COMPASS measurements on deuteron and proton are in the low-x region. The results of this experiment are crucial as the first step toward the extraction of quark transversity and Sivers distribution functions in SIDIS. With the existing results on proton and deuteron, these new results on neutron will provide powerful constraints on the transversity and Sivers distributions of both the u and d-quarks in the valence region.
Date: June 1, 2010
Creator: Dutta, Chiranjib
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department

Indirectly detected chemical shift correlation NMR spectroscopy in solids under fast magic angle spinning

Description: The development of fast magic angle spinning (MAS) opened up an opportunity for the indirect detection of insensitive low-{gamma} nuclei (e.g., {sup 13}C and {sup 15}N) via the sensitive high-{gamma} nuclei (e.g., {sup 1}H and {sup 19}F) in solid-state NMR, with advanced sensitivity and resolution. In this thesis, new methodology utilizing fast MAS is presented, including through-bond indirectly detected heteronuclear correlation (HETCOR) spectroscopy, which is assisted by multiple RF pulse sequences for {sup 1}H-{sup 1}H homonuclear decoupling. Also presented is a simple new strategy for optimization of {sup 1}H-{sup 1}H homonuclear decoupling. As applications, various classes of materials, such as catalytic nanoscale materials, biomolecules, and organic complexes, are studied by combining indirect detection and other one-dimensional (1D) and two-dimensional (2D) NMR techniques. Indirectly detected through-bond HETCOR spectroscopy utilizing refocused INEPT (INEPTR) mixing was developed under fast MAS (Chapter 2). The time performance of this approach in {sup 1}H detected 2D {sup 1}H{l_brace}{sup 13}C{r_brace} spectra was significantly improved, by a factor of almost 10, compared to the traditional {sup 13}C detected experiments, as demonstrated by measuring naturally abundant organic-inorganic mesoporous hybrid materials. The through-bond scheme was demonstrated as a new analytical tool, which provides complementary structural information in solid-state systems in addition to through-space correlation. To further benefit the sensitivity of the INEPT transfer in rigid solids, the combined rotation and multiple-pulse spectroscopy (CRAMPS) was implemented for homonuclear {sup 1}H decoupling under fast MAS (Chapter 3). Several decoupling schemes (PMLG5{sub m}{sup {bar x}}, PMLG5{sub mm}{sup {bar x}x} and SAM3) were analyzed to maximize the performance of through-bond transfer based on decoupling efficiency as well as scaling factors. Indirect detection with assistance of PMLG{sub m}{sup {bar x}} during INEPTR transfer proved to offer the highest sensitivity gains of 3-10. In addition, the CRAMPS sequence was applied under fast MAS to increase the ...
Date: August 15, 2011
Creator: Mao, Kanmi
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department

Input/Output of ab-initio nuclear structure calculations for improved performance and portability

Description: Many modern scientific applications rely on highly computation intensive calculations. However, most applications do not concentrate as much on the role that input/output operations can play for improved performance and portability. Parallelizing input/output operations of large files can significantly improve the performance of parallel applications where sequential I/O is a bottleneck. A proper choice of I/O library also offers a scope for making input/output operations portable across different architectures. Thus, use of parallel I/O libraries for organizing I/O of large data files offers great scope in improving performance and portability of applications. In particular, sequential I/O has been identified as a bottleneck for the highly scalable MFDn (Many Fermion Dynamics for nuclear structure) code performing ab-initio nuclear structure calculations. We develop interfaces and parallel I/O procedures to use a well-known parallel I/O library in MFDn. As a result, we gain efficient I/O of large datasets along with their portability and ease of use in the down-stream processing. Even situations where the amount of data to be written is not huge, proper use of input/output operations can boost the performance of scientific applications. Application checkpointing offers enormous performance improvement and flexibility by doing a negligible amount of I/O to disk. Checkpointing saves and resumes application state in such a manner that in most cases the application is unaware that there has been an interruption to its execution. This helps in saving large amount of work that has been previously done and continue application execution. This small amount of I/O provides substantial time saving by offering restart/resume capability to applications. The need for checkpointing in optimization code NEWUOA has been identified and checkpoint/restart capability has been implemented in NEWUOA by using simple file I/O.
Date: December 15, 2010
Creator: Laghave, Nikhil
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department

An investigation of exploitation versus exploration in GBEA optimization of PORS 15 and 16 Problems

Description: It was hypothesized that the variations in time to solution are driven by the competing mechanisms of exploration and exploitation.This thesis explores this hypothesis by examining two contrasting problems that embody the hypothesized tradeoff between exploration and exploitation. Plus one recall store (PORS) is an optimization problem based on the idea of a simple calculator with four buttons: plus, one, store, and recall. Integer addition and store are classified as operations, and one and memory recall are classified as terminals. The goal is to arrange a fixed number of keystrokes in a way that maximizes the numerical result. PORS 15 (15 keystrokes) represents the subset of difficult PORS problems and PORS 16 (16 keystrokes) represents the subset of PORS problems that are easiest to optimize. The goal of this work is to examine the tradeoff between exploitation and exploration in graph based evolutionary algorithm (GBEA) optimization. To do this, computational experiments are used to examine how solutions evolve in PORS 15 and 16 problems when solved using GBEAs. The experiment is comprised of three components; the graphs and the population, the evolutionary algorithm rule set, and the example problems. The complete, hypercube, and cycle graphs were used for this experiment. A fixed population size was used.
Date: May 8, 2012
Creator: Koch, Kaelynn
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department

A Measurement of the Weak Charge of the Proton through Parity Violating Electron Scattering using the Qweak Apparatus: A 21% Result

Description: After a decade of preparations, the Qweak experiment at Jefferson Lab is making the first direct measurement of the weak charge of the proton, Q^p_W. This quantity is suppressed in the Standard Model making a good candidate for search for new physics beyond the SM at the TeV scale. Operationally, we measure a small (about -0.200 ppm) parity-violating asymmetry in elastic electron-proton scattering in integrating mode while flipping the helicity of the electrons 1000 times per second. Commissioning took place Fall 2010, and we finished taking data in early summer 2012. This dissertation is based on the data taken on an initial two weeks period (Wien0). It will provide an overview of the Qweak apparatus, description of the data acquisition and analysis software systems, and final analysis and results from the Wien0 data set. The result is a 16% measurement of the parity violating electron-proton scattering asymmetry, A = -0.2788 +/- 0.0348 (stat.) +/- 0.0290 (syst.) ppm at Q^2 = 0.0250 +/- 0.0006 (GeV)^2. From this a 21% measurement of the weak charge of the proton, Q_w^p(msr)= +0.0952 +/- 0.0155 (stat.) +/- 0.0131 (syst.) +/- 0.0015 (theory) is extracted. From this a 2% measurement of the weak mixing angle, sin^2theta_W(msr)= +0.2328 +/- 0.0039 (stat.) +/- 0.0033 (syst.) +/- 0.0004 (theory) and improved constraints on isoscalar/isovector effective coupling constants of the weak neutral hadronic currents are extracted. These results deviate from the Standard Model by one standard deviation. The Wien0 results are a proof of principle of the Qweak data analysis and a highlight of the road ahead for obtaining full results.
Date: August 1, 2013
Creator: Beminiwattha, Rakitha
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department

A Measurement of the neutron electric form factor at very large momentum transfer using polaried electrions scattering from a polarized helium-3 target

Description: Knowledge of the electric and magnetic elastic form factors of the nucleon is essential for an understanding of nucleon structure. Of the form factors, the electric form factor of the neutron has been measured over the smallest range in Q{sup 2} and with the lowest precision. Jefferson Lab experiment 02-013 used a novel new polarized {sup 3}He target to nearly double the range of momentum transfer in which the neutron form factor has been studied and to measure it with much higher precision. Polarized electrons were scattered off this target, and both the scattered electron and neutron were detected. G{sup n}{sub E} was measured to be 0.0242 ± 0.0020(stat) ± 0.0061(sys) and 0.0247 ± 0.0029(stat) ± 0.0031(sys) at Q{sup 2} = 1.7 and 2.5 GeV{sup 2}, respectively.
Date: October 1, 2010
Creator: Kelleher, Aidan
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department

Determination of the Azimuthal Asymmetry of Deuteron Photodisintegration in the Energy Region E{sub {gamma}} = 1.1 - 2.3 GeV

Description: Deuteron photodisintegration is a benchmark process for the investigation of the role of quarks and gluons in nuclei. Existing theoretical models of this process describe the available cross sections with the same degree of success. Therefore, spin-dependent observables are crucial for a better understanding of the underlying dynamical mechanisms. However, data on the induced polarization (P{sub y}), along with the polarization transfers (C{sub x'} and C{sub z'} ), have been shown to be insensitive to differences between theoretical models. On the other hand, the beam-spin asymmetry {Sigma} is predicted to have a large sensitivity and is expected to help in identifying the energy at which the transition from the hadronic to the quark-gluon picture of the deuteron takes place. Here, the work done to determine the experimental values of the beam-spin asymmetry in deuteron photodisintegration for photon energies between 1.1 – 2.3 GeV is presented. The data were taken with the CLAS at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility during the g13 experiment. Photons with linear polarization of ~80% were produced using the coherent bremsstrahlung facility in Hall B. The work done by the author to calibrate a specific detector system, select deuteron photodisintegration events, study the degree of photon polarization, and finally determine the azimuthal asymmetry and any systematic uncertainties associate with it, is comprehensively explained. This work shows that the collected data provide the kinematic coverage and statistics to test the available QCD-based models. The results of this study show that the available theoretical models in their current state do not adequately predict the azimuthal asymmetry in the energy region 1.1 – 2.3 GeV.
Date: May 20, 2012
Creator: Zachariou, Nicholas
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department

Developing nanotechnology for biofuel and plant science applications

Description: This dissertation presents the research on the development of mesoporous silica based nanotechnology for applications in biofuels and plant science. Mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) have been the subject of great interest in the last two decades due to their unique properties of high surface area, tunable pore size and particle morphology. The robust nature of the silica framework is easily functionalized to make the MSNs a promising option for selective separations. Also, the independent channels that form the pores of MSN have been exploited in the use of particles as platforms for molecular delivery. Pore size and organic functionality are varied to identify the ideal adsorbent material for free fatty acids (FFAs). The resulting material is able to sequester FFAs with a high degree of selectivity from a simulated solution and microalgal oil. The recyclability and industrial implications are also explored. A continuation of the previous material, further tuning of MSN pore size was investigated. Particles with a smaller diameter selectively sequester polyunsaturated free fatty acids (PUFAs) over monounsaturated FFAs and saturated FFAs. The experimental results were verified with molecular modeling. Mesoporous silica nanoparticle materials with a pore diameter of 10 nm (MSN-10) were decorated with small gold nanoparticles. The resulting materials were shown to deliver proteins and DNA into plant cells using the biolistic method.
Date: June 20, 2012
Creator: Valenstein, Justin
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department

Developing new optical imaging techniques for single particle and molecule tracking in live cells

Description: Differential interference contrast (DIC) microscopy is a far-field as well as wide-field optical imaging technique. Since it is non-invasive and requires no sample staining, DIC microscopy is suitable for tracking the motion of target molecules in live cells without interfering their functions. In addition, high numerical aperture objectives and condensers can be used in DIC microscopy. The depth of focus of DIC is shallow, which gives DIC much better optical sectioning ability than those of phase contrast and dark field microscopies. In this work, DIC was utilized to study dynamic biological processes including endocytosis and intracellular transport in live cells. The suitability of DIC microscopy for single particle tracking in live cells was first demonstrated by using DIC to monitor the entire endocytosis process of one mesoporous silica nanoparticle (MSN) into a live mammalian cell. By taking advantage of the optical sectioning ability of DIC, we recorded the depth profile of the MSN during the endocytosis process. The shape change around the nanoparticle due to the formation of a vesicle was also captured. DIC microscopy was further modified that the sample can be illuminated and imaged at two wavelengths simultaneously. By using the new technique, noble metal nanoparticles with different shapes and sizes were selectively imaged. Among all the examined metal nanoparticles, gold nanoparticles in rod shapes were found to be especially useful. Due to their anisotropic optical properties, gold nanorods showed as diffraction-limited spots with disproportionate bright and dark parts that are strongly dependent on their orientation in the 3D space. Gold nanorods were developed as orientation nanoprobes and were successfully used to report the self-rotation of gliding microtubules on kinesin coated substrates. Gold nanorods were further used to study the rotational motions of cargoes during the endocytosis and intracellular transport processes in live mammalian cells. New rotational information ...
Date: December 15, 2010
Creator: Sun, Wei
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department

High Temperature coatings based on {beta}-NiAI

Description: High temperature alloys are reviewed, focusing on current superalloys and their coatings. The synthesis, characerization, and oxidation performance of a NiAl–TiB{sub 2} composite are explained. A novel coating process for Mo–Ni–Al alloys for improved oxidation performance is examined. The cyclic oxidation performance of coated and uncoated Mo–Ni–Al alloys is discussed.
Date: July 10, 2012
Creator: Severs, Kevin
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department

Homometallic and Heterometallic Antiferromagnetic Rings: Magnetic Properties Studied by Nuclear Magnetic Resonance

Description: The aim of the present thesis is to investigate the local magnetic properties of homometallic Cr{sub 8} antiferromagnetic (AFM) ring and the changes occurring by replacing one Cr{sup 3+} ion with diamagnetic Cd{sup 2+} (Cr{sub 7}Cd) and with Ni{sup 2+} (Cr{sub 7}Ni). In the heterometallic ring a redistribution of the local magnetic moment is expected in the low temperature ground state. We have investigated those changes by both {sup 53}Cr-NMR and {sup 19}F-NMR. We have determined the order of magnitude of the transferred hyperfine coupling constant {sup 19}F - M{sup +} where M{sup +} = Cr{sup 3+}, Ni{sup 2+} in the different rings. This latter result gives useful information about the overlapping of the electronic wavefunctions involved in the coordinative bond.
Date: May 9, 2012
Creator: Casadei, Cecilia
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department

Increasing the efficiency of organic solar cells by photonic and electrostatic-field enhancements

Description: Organic photovoltaic (OPV) technology is an attractive solar-electric conversion paradigm due to the promise of low cost roll-to-roll production and amenability to flexible substrates. Power conversion efficiency (PCE) exceeding 7% has recently been achieved. OPV cells suffer from low charge carrier mobilities of polymers, leading to recombination losses, higher series resistances and lower fill-factors. Thus, it is imperative to develop fabrication methodologies that can enable efficient optical absorption in films thinner than optical absorption length. Active layers conformally deposited on light-trapping, microscale textured, grating-type surfaces is one possible approach to achieve this objective. In this study, 40% theoretical increase in photonic absorption over flat OPVs is shown for devices with textured geometry by the simulation results. For verifying this theoretical result and improving the efficiency of OPVs by light trapping, OPVs were fabricated on grating-type textured substrates possessing t pitch and -coat PV active-layer on these textured substrates led to over filling of the valleys and shunts at the crest, which severely affected the performance of the resultant PV devices. Thus, it is established that although the optical design is important for OPV performance but the potential of light trapping can only be effectively tapped if the textures are amenable for realizing a conformal active layer. It is discovered that if the height of the underlying topographical features is reduced to sub-micron regime (e.g. 300 nm) and the pitch is increased to more than a micron (e.g. 2 μm), the textured surface becomes amenable to coating a conformal PV active-layer. The resultant PV cells showed 100% increase in average light absorption near the band edge due to trapping of higher wavelength photons, and 20% improvement in power conversion efficiency as compared with the flat PV cell. Another factor that severely limits the performance of OPVs is recombination of charge carriers. ...
Date: November 3, 2012
Creator: Nalwa, Kanwar
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department

Hot electron dynamics in graphene

Description: Graphene, a two-dimensional (2D) honeycomb structure allotrope of carbon atoms, has a long history since the invention of the pencil [Petroski (1989)] and the linear dispersion band structure proposed by Wallace [Wal]; however, only after Novoselov et al. successively isolated graphene from graphite [Novoselov et al. (2004)], it has been studied intensively during the recent years. It draws so much attentions not only because of its potential application in future electronic devices but also because of its fundamental properties: its quasiparticles are governed by the two-dimensional Dirac equation, and exhibit a variety of phenomena such as the anomalous integer quantum Hall effect (IQHE) [Novoselov et al. (2005)] measured experimentally, a minimal conductivity at vanishing carrier concentration [Neto et al. (2009)], Kondo effect with magnetic element doping [Hentschel and Guinea (2007)], Klein tunneling in p-n junctions [Cheianov and Fal’ko (2006), Beenakker (2008)], Zitterbewegung [Katsnelson (2006)], and Schwinger pair production [Schwinger (1951); Dora and Moessner (2010)]. Although both electron-phonon coupling and photoconductivity in graphene also draws great attention [Yan et al. (2007); Satou et al. (2008); Hwang and Sarma (2008); Vasko and Ryzhii (2008); Mishchenko (2009)], the nonequilibrium behavior based on the combination of electronphonon coupling and Schwinger pair production is an intrinsic graphene property that has not been investigated. Our motivation for studying clean graphene at low temperature is based on the following effect: for a fixed electric field, below a sufficiently low temperature linear eletric transport breaks down and nonlinear transport dominates. The criteria of the strength of this field [Fritz et al. (2008)] is eE = T2/~vF (1.1) For T >√eE~vF the system is in linear transport regime while for T <√eE~vF the system is in nonlinear transport regime. From the scaling’s point of view, at the nonlinear transport regime the temperature T and electric field E are also ...
Date: October 20, 2011
Creator: Ling, Meng-Cheieh
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department

Ag on Si(111) from basic science to application

Description: In our work we revisit Ag and Au adsorbates on Si(111)-7x7, as well as experiment with a ternary system of Pentacene, Ag and Si(111). Of particular interest to us is the Si(111)-({radical}3x{radical}3)R30{degree}–Ag (Ag-Si-{radical}3 hereafter). In this thesis I systematically e plore effects of Ag deposition on the Ag-Si-{radical}3 at different temperatures, film thicknesses and deposition fluxes. The generated insight of the Ag system on the Si(111) is then applied to generate novel methods of nanostructuring and nanowire growth. I then extend our expertise to the Au system on the Ag-Si(111) to gain insight into Au-Si eutectic silicide formation. Finally we explore behavior and growth modes of an organic molecule on the Ag-Si interface.
Date: April 4, 2012
Creator: Belianinov, Aleksey
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department

Enhanced performance of organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) and OLED-based photoluminescent sensing platforms by novel microstructures and device architectures

Description: After a general introduction to OLEDs and OLED-based PL sensors, the transient emission mechanism of guest-host OLEDs is described both experimentally and theoretically. A monolithic and easy-to-apply process is demonstrated for fabricating multicolor microcavity OLEDs (that improve the sensor platform). The outcoupling issues of OLEDs at the substrate/air interface are addressed by using a microstructured polymer film resulting from a PS and polyethylene glycol (PEG) mixture. Based on the understanding of OLEDs and their improvement, research was done in order to realize integrated all organic-based O{sub 2} and pH sensors with improved signal intensity and sensitivity. The sensor design modification and optimization are summarized
Date: August 1, 2012
Creator: Liu, Rui
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department

Electroproduction de pions neutres dans le Hall A au Jefferson Laboratory

Description: The past decade has seen a strong evolution of the study of the hadron structure through exclusive processes, allowing to access to a more complete description of this structure. Exclusive processes include DVCS (Deeply Virtual Compton Scattering) as well as hard exclusive meson production. This document is particularly focussed on the latter, and more particularly on exclusive neutral pion production. In this thesis is described the analysis of triple coincidence events H(e, e'{gamma}{gamma})X, which were a consequent by-product of the DVCS experiment which occured during Fall 2004 at Jefferson Lab Hall A, to extract the ep {yields} ep{pi}{sup 0} cross section. This cross section has been measured at two values of four-momentum transfer Q{sup 2} = 1.9 GeV{sup 2} and Q{sup 2} = 2.3 GeV{sup 2}. The statistical precision for these measurements is achieved at better than 5 %. The kinematic range allows to study the evolution of the extracted cross section as a function of Q{sup 2} and W. Results are be confronted with Regge inspired calculations and Generalized (GPD) predictions. An intepretation of our data within the framework of semi-inclusive deep inelastic scattering is also discussed.
Date: June 1, 2010
Creator: Fuchey, Eric
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department

Deciphering the details of RNA aminoglycoside interactions: from atomistic models to biotechnological applications

Description: A detailed study was done of the neomycin-B RNA aptamer for determining its selectivity and binding ability to both neomycin– and kanamycin-class aminoglycosides. A novel method to increase drug concentrations in cells for more efficiently killing is described. To test the method, a bacterial model system was adopted and several small RNA molecules interacting with aminoglycosides were cloned downstream of T7 RNA polymerase promoter in an expression vector. Then, the growth analysis of E. coli expressing aptamers was observed for 12-hour period. Our analysis indicated that aptamers helped to increase the intracellular concentration of aminoglycosides thereby increasing their efficacy.
Date: July 23, 2012
Creator: Ilgu, Muslum
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department

Feet on the potential energy surface, head in the pie clouds

Description: This work presents explorations of the potential energy surface of clusters of atoms and of the interactions between molecules. First, structures of small aluminum clusters are examined and classified as ground states, transition states, or higher-order saddle points. Subsequently, the focus shifts to dispersion-dominated π-π interactions when the potential energy surfaces of benzene, substituted benzene, and pyridine dimers are explored. Because DNA nucleotide bases can be thought of as substituted heterocycles, a natural extension of the substituted benzene and pyridine investigations is to model paired nucleotide bases. Finally, the success of the dispersion studies inspires the development of an extension to the computational method used, which will enable the dispersion energy to be modeled – and the potential energy surface explored – in additional chemical systems. The effective fragment potential (EFP) method is described, as well as various quantum mechanical methods. An ab inito quantum mechanical study of 13-atom aluminum clusters is described. EFP studies of aromatic dimers are reported in which dispersion energy makes a significant contribution to the attraction between monomers. Theory and code development toward a means of computing dispersion energy in mixed ab inito-EFP systems are described.
Date: July 12, 2012
Creator: Smith, Quentin
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department

Organic Light-Emitting Diodes (OLEDs) and Optically-Detected Magnetic Resonance (ODMR) studies on organic materials

Description: Organic semiconductors have evolved rapidly over the last decades and currently are considered as the next-generation technology for many applications, such as organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) in flat-panel displays (FPDs) and solid state lighting (SSL), and organic solar cells (OSCs) in clean renewable energy. This dissertation focuses mainly on OLEDs. Although the commercialization of the OLED technology in FPDs is growing and appears to be just around the corner for SSL, there are still several key issues that need to be addressed: (1) the cost of OLEDs is very high, largely due to the costly current manufacturing process; (2) the efficiency of OLEDs needs to be improved. This is vital to the success of OLEDs in the FPD and SSL industries; (3) the lifetime of OLEDs, especially blue OLEDs, is the biggest technical challenge. All these issues raise the demand for new organic materials, new device structures, and continued lower-cost fabrication methods. In an attempt to address these issues, we used solution-processing methods to fabricate highly efficient small molecule OLEDs (SMOLEDs); this approach is costeffective in comparison to the more common thermal vacuum evaporation. We also successfully made efficient indium tin oxide (ITO)-free SMOLEDs to further improve the efficiency of the OLEDs. We employed the spin-dependent optically-detected magnetic resonance (ODMR) technique to study the luminescence quenching processes in OLEDs and organic materials in order to understand the intrinsic degradation mechanisms. We also fabricated polymer LEDs (PLEDs) based on a new electron-accepting blue-emitting polymer and studied the effect of molecular weight on the efficiency of PLEDs. All these studies helped us to better understand the underlying relationship between the organic semiconductor materials and the OLEDs’ performance, and will subsequently assist in further enhancing the efficiency of OLEDs. With strongly improved device performance (in addition to other OLEDs' attributes such as mechanical ...
Date: November 30, 2011
Creator: Cai, Min
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department

Paralization and check pointing of GPU applications through program transformation

Description: GPUs have emerged as a powerful tool for accelerating general-purpose applications. The availability of programming languages that makes writing general-purpose applications for running on GPUs tractable have consolidated GPUs as an alternative for accelerating generalpurpose applications. Among the areas that have bene#12;ted from GPU acceleration are: signal and image processing, computational uid dynamics, quantum chemistry, and, in general, the High Performance Computing (HPC) Industry. In order to continue to exploit higher levels of parallelism with GPUs, multi-GPU systems are gaining popularity. In this context, single-GPU applications are parallelized for running in multi-GPU systems. Furthermore, multi-GPU systems help to solve the GPU memory limitation for applications with large application memory footprint. Parallelizing single-GPU applications has been approached by libraries that distribute the workload at runtime, however, they impose execution overhead and are not portable. On the other hand, on traditional CPU systems, parallelization has been approached through application transformation at pre-compile time, which enhances the application to distribute the workload at application level and does not have the issues of library-based approaches. Hence, a parallelization scheme for GPU systems based on application transformation is needed. Like any computing engine of today, reliability is also a concern in GPUs. GPUs are vulnerable to transient and permanent failures. Current checkpoint/restart techniques are not suitable for systems with GPUs. Checkpointing for GPU systems present new and interesting challenges, primarily due to the natural di#11;erences imposed by the hardware design, the memory subsystem architecture, the massive number of threads, and the limited amount of synchronization among threads. Therefore, a checkpoint/restart technique suitable for GPU systems is needed. The goal of this work is to exploit higher levels of parallelism and to develop support for application-level fault tolerance in applications using multiple GPUs. Our techniques reduce the burden of enhancing single-GPU applications to support these features. ...
Date: November 15, 2012
Creator: Solano-Quinde, Lizandro Dami#19 & Laboratory], an
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department