Answer all questions. Show all calculations. Internet sources require a URL and date accessed. Do not cut-n-paste text from the Internet. Rewrite in your own words. Pay attention to number of significant figures and units. Ensure assignment is in legible handwriting (‘typed report’ is preferred).
Q1. Using the Internet, obtain a representative current price for gold, in Australian $ per gram and $ per m3. (Caution: gold is often priced per troy ounce) (4 marks)
Q2. a) A biodiagnostic test kit for some dreadful medical condition contains 0.2 ml of fluid in which are suspended 1×1013 gold nanospheres, each of diameter 20 nm. What is the raw material cost of the gold in this kit? (5 marks)
b) What conclusion do you draw regarding the economic viability of this product? (1 marks)
Q3. List and briefly describe four technical reasons why gold is a popular choice of material for nanotechnology applications (one or two sentences per reason) (8 marks)
Q4. Describe the UV/Vis absorption spectra for gold nanorod and gold nanosphere particles, including the wavelength position and number of peak(s), and explain the main differences between them. (Explain in two or three sentences) (4 marks)
Q5. Name and illustrate 3 different shapes of gold nanoparticle. It is acceptable to cut-and-paste an image off the Internet here. Label all images. Ensure all images have a scale bar. (3 marks)
Q6. Pick one particle shape from Q5 and write up to 50 words on it that describe the particle’s most important attributes. (5 marks)
Q7. Your employer wishes to know how a ‘spectrally selective’ window coating works in a hot climate like Australia. Use one or more diagrams in your explanation. (write up to 100 words) (5 marks)
Q8. Use the Internet or your local hardware store to discover what 1 m2 of 4 mm thick window glass would cost. Work out the raw material cost of applying a 50 nm thick coating of gold to this glass (use the data from Q1, ignore the actual cost of equipment, labour, capital etc). (5 marks)
