Biomedical subjects

Je-Luen Li

Publications and source records attributed to Je-Luen Li.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Anisotropic adsorption of molecular assemblies on crystalline surfaces.

Orientational order of surfactant micelles and proteins on crystalline templates has been observed but, given that the template unit cell is significantly smaller than the characteristic size of the adsorbate, this order cannot be attributed to lattice epitaxy. We interpret the template-directed orientation of rodlike molecular assemblies as arising from anisotropic van der Waals interactions between the assembly and crystalline surfaces where the anisotropic van der Waals interaction is calculated using the Lifshitz methodology. Provided the assembly is sufficiently large, substrate anisotropy provides a torque that overcomes rotational Brownian motion near the surface. The probability of a particular orientation is computed by solving a Smoluchowski equation that describes the balance between van der Waals and Brownian torques. Torque aligns both micelles and protein fibrils; the interaction energy is minimized when the assembly lies perpendicular to a symmetry axis of a crystalline substrate. Theoretical predictions agree with experiments for both hemi-cylindrical micelles and protein fibrils adsorbed on graphite.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2006

Functionalized single graphene sheets derived from splitting graphite oxide.

A process is described to produce single sheets of functionalized graphene through thermal exfoliation of graphite oxide. The process yields a wrinkled sheet structure resulting from reaction sites involved in oxidation and reduction processes. The topological features of single sheets, as measured by atomic force microscopy, closely match predictions of first-principles atomistic modeling. Although graphite oxide is an insulator, functionalized graphene produced by this method is electrically conducting.

Electric Conductivity↗

PubMed2006

Oxygen-driven unzipping of graphitic materials.

Optical microscope images of graphite oxide (GO) reveal the occurrence of fault lines resulting from the oxidative processes. The fault lines and cracks of GO are also responsible for their much smaller size compared with the starting graphite materials. We propose an unzipping mechanism to explain the formation of cracks on GO and cutting of carbon nanotubes in an oxidizing acid. GO unzipping is initiated by the strain generated by the cooperative alignment of epoxy groups on a carbon lattice. We employ two small GO platelets to show that through the binding of a new epoxy group or the hopping of a nearby existing epoxy group, the unzipping process can be continued during the oxidative process of graphite. The same epoxy group binding pattern is also likely to be present in an oxidized carbon nanotube and cause its breakup.

Journal Article↗