Physics Research Collection

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Now showing 1 - 5 of 253
  • Publication
    Update on the status of the Educational Irish Research Satellite (EIRSAT-1)
    The Educational Irish Research Satellite, EIRSAT-1, is a 2U CubeSat being implemented by a student-led team at University College Dublin, as part of the 2nd round of the European Space Agency’s Fly Your Satellite! programme. In development since 2017, the mission has several scientific, technological and outreach goals. It will fly an in-house developed antenna deployment module, along with three custom payloads, which are integrated with commercial off-the-shelf subsystems. In preparation for the flight model, a full-system engineering qualification model of the spacecraft has undergone an extensive period of test campaigns, including full functional tests, a mission test, and environmental testing at the European Space Agency’s CubeSat Support Facility in Redu, Belgium. Beyond the technical, educational, and capacity-building goals of the mission, EIRSAT-1 aims to inspire wider study of STEM subjects, while highlighting the importance of multidisciplinary teams and creating greater awareness of space in everyday life. A wide range of outreach activities are being undertaken to realise these aims. This paper provides a status update on key aspects of the EIRSAT-1 project and the next steps towards launch.
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  • Publication
    Development of a Nanosatellite System Modeling Architecture for EIRSAT-1
    Over the last two decades, CubeSats which are nanosatellites with form factors based on units (U) of 10 x 10 x 10 cm3, have become more common in academia, enabling students to gain hands-on experience with satellite design, testing and deployment [15]. The use of Commercial-Off-TheShelf (COTS) components reduces development cost and time, making CubeSats an accessible and cost effective route to space. CubeSats are increasingly important for in-orbit demonstrations of new technologies. Further, their flexibility allows them to be configured for a wide range of science mission profiles, either as a standalone platform, as a communications relay for lunar and inter-planetary missions, such as NASA's Mars Cube One (MarCO) satellites [14], or as a daughter spacecraft to study a near-Earth object such as LICIACube [2]. Several CubeSats for high energy astrophysics are currently in orbit and in development [9].
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  • Publication
    Thermally-controlled spherical peptide gel architectures prepared using the pH switch method
    Self-assembling nanostructured peptide gels are promising materials for sensing, drug delivery, and energy harvesting. Of particular interest are short diphenylalanine (FF) peptides modified with 9-fluorenylmethyloxycarbonyl (Fmoc), which promotes the association of the peptide building blocks. Fmoc-FF gels generally form fibrous networks and while other structures have been demonstrated, further control of the gelation and resulting ordered three-dimensional structures potentially offers new possibilities in tissue engineering, sensing, and drug release applications. Herein, we report that the structure tunability of Fmoc-FF gels can be achieved by controlling the water content and the temperature. We further explore the incorporation of metal nanoparticles in the formation of the gel to enable optical sensing applications based on hybrid Fmoc-FF-nanoparticle microspheres. Finally, fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy reveals a correlation between lifetime and reduced bandgap, in support of a semiconductor-induced charge transfer mechanism that might also increase the stability of an excited state of a probe molecule. The observations potentially further widen the use of these peptide materials in bioimaging and sensing applications.
      15Scopus© Citations 1
  • Publication
    Plasmonic photo-catalysis using a CdS-silver nanowire composite
    We examine the potential of cadmium sulfide when combined with plasmonic nanostructures to support photo-induced catalysis. Super-bandgap irradiation of a silver nanowire and cadmium sulfide composite for the probe molecule p-aminothiophenol (PATP) showed the formation of dimercaptoazobenzene (DMAB) from PATP. Our results demonstrate that cadmium sulfide can be used as an alternative material to semiconductors, such as titanium dioxide, for plasmonic photocatalysis applications.
    Scopus© Citations 3  15
  • Publication
    Cellulose Acetate-Based Plasmonic Crystals for Surface-Enhanced Raman and Fluorescence Spectroscopy
    (American Chemical Society (ACS), 2022-03-23) ; ;
    In order to meet environmental concerns, there is an increasing demand for biodegradable and sustainable materials in many areas, including photonics. Cellulose and its derivatives are potentially eco-friendly alternatives to conventional plastics, because of their abundance and lower environmental impact. Here, we report the fabrication of plasmonic structures by molding cellulose acetate into submicrometric periodic lattices, using soft lithography. The fabricated platforms can be used for the enhancement of Raman and fluorescence signals of a range of analytes including a model immunoassay utilizing a streptavidin-conjugated dye, which is characterized by a 23-fold enhancement in fluorescence signal intensity, which shows the potential of the platform to be further used for the assay-based development of diagnostic tools.
    Scopus© Citations 2  15