Electric field-induced emission enhancement and modulation in individual CdSe nanowires.

CdSe nanowires show reversible emission intensity enhancements when subjected to electric field strengths ranging from 5 to 22 MV/m. Under alternating positive and negative biases, emission intensity modulation depths of 14 ± 7% are observed. Individual wires are studied by placing them in parallel plate capacitor-like structures and monitoring their emission intensities via single nanostructure microscopy. Observed emission sensitivities are rationalized by the field-induced modulation of carrier detrapping rates from NW defect sites responsible for nonradiative relaxation processes. The exclusion of these states from subsequent photophysics leads to observed photoluminescence quantum yield enhancements. We quantitatively explain the phenomenon by developing a kinetic model to account for field-induced variations of carrier detrapping rates. The observed phenomenon allows direct visualization of trap state behavior in individual CdSe nanowires and represents a first step toward developing new optical techniques that can probe defects in low-dimensional materials.

Impact of carbon nanotubes on the ingestion and digestion of bacteria by ciliated protozoa.

Research on the toxicity of carbon nanotubes has focused on human health risks, and little is known about their impact on natural ecosystems. The ciliated protozoan Tetrahymena thermophila has been widely studied by ecotoxicologists because of its role in the regulation of microbial populations through the ingestion and digestion of bacteria, and because it is an important organism in wastewater treatment and an indicator of sewage effluent quality. Here we show that single-walled carbon nanotubes are internalized by T. thermophila, possibly allowing the nanotubes to move up the food chain. The internalization also causes the protozoa to aggregate, which impedes their ability to ingest and digest their prey bacteria species, although it might also be possible to use nanotubes to improve the efficiency of wastewater treatment.