Small angle X-ray scattering and photoluminescence study of ZnO nanoparticles synthesized by hydrothermal process

Polydisperse ZnO nanoparticles have been synthesized by a hydrothermal process. Small-angle X-ray Scattering (SAXS) was performed for particle size distribution analysis of ZnO nanoparticles. Room-temperature photoluminescence measurements revealed that the ZnO nanoparticles have a single visible emission peak ～600?nm, although polydispersity of the sample shows no presence on PL spectrum. It seems the orange emission ～600?nm is due to the presence of Zn(OH)₂ on the surface of ZnO nanoparticles, instead of the commonly assumed interstitial oxygen defect.     

Electroluminescence microspectroscopy of silicon nanocrystals obtained by Si(+) ion implantation in SiO(2)

Room-temperature electroluminescence (EL) has been measured at both macroscopic and microscopic levels from metal-oxide-semiconductor devices containing silicon nanocrystals (Si-nc) embedded in silicon dioxide (SiO(2)) obtained by high-temperature annealing (1050 and 1100?°C) after Si(+) ion implantation. It is found that spatially integrated (macroscopic) EL is dominated by a near-infrared band centered where the photoluminescence (PL) band of Si-nc (from 700 to 1000?nm) is located. However, on a microscopic scale, EL emission is inhomogeneous, the sample surface exhibiting many visible spots of micron-order diameter. EL spectra from a microscopic surface of ～1?μm(2)(μEL) on visible spots have revealed dominant contributions between ～550 and ～650?nm, attributed to oxide defects. These spectral features rapidly decrease with distance from a bright spot, while lower-intensity near-infrared contributions (750-950?nm) remain unaffected up to relatively large distances before eventually becoming extinct. The macroscopic EL measurements can be explained as a superposition of the μEL and PL spectra. A luminescent mechanism is proposed in which charge carriers mostly tunnel through high-defect-density channels in the oxide, yielding bright visible spots, while Si-nc in these channels and their surroundings contribute to the luminescence by hosting electron-hole recombinations (EL) and/or exhibiting PL due to optical excitation from the nearby visible EL spot.     

On confocal Raman spectroscopy of semicrystalline polymers: the effect of optical scattering

A series of semicrystalline polymers has been prepared through morphological control. Each of these has an identical refractive index but a different, well-defined, scattering behavior. From existing geometrical optical theories of confocal Raman spectroscopy, these materials should behave identically. Initially, the extent of scattering in each system was assessed quantitatively, from the near-infrared through the visible wavelength range, by UV/visible spectroscopy. The effect of optical scattering on the variation of intensity of the Raman scattered radiation with subsurface position was then examined in all four materials; the effect of surface roughness was also considered in the highest clarity system. Where surface effects are removed through careful sample preparation and the materials are interrogated using identical optical systems to mitigate against the impact of refractive index mismatch and other optical effects, the Raman response is strongly affected by the scattering characteristics of each material. A simple empirical relationship has been determined that adequately described all our specimens.     

Tolerance Limits for Surface Errors of Plates for Reflection Echelon

Expressions have been obtained for the intensity distribution of the fringes in the reflection echelon in the presence of surface errors on the plates. The errors considered are the ones arising during the polishing process, due to inhomogeneous reflection coating, and due to the residual curvature of the plates. These expressions have been utilized for the evaluation of the intensity distribution in a reflection echelon consisting of 20, 30, 40 and 50 plates. Hence permissible errors on the surfaces of the echelon plates have been obtained and it has been confirmed that in order to take full advantage of number N of the plates, surface errors should not exceed 1/4 N of a wavelength in the middle of the visible spectrum.     

Radiography and partial tomography of wood with thermal neutrons

The effective high neutron scattering absorption coefficient of hydrogen (48.5 cm²/g) due to the scattering allows neutrons to reveal hydrocarbon structures with more contrast than X-rays, but at the same time limits the sample size and thickness that can be investigated. Many planar shaped objects, particularly wood samples, are sufficiently thin to allow thermal neutrons to transmit through the sample in a direction perpendicular to the planar face but not in a parallel direction, due to increased thickness. Often, this is an obstacle that prevents some tomographic reconstruction algorithms from obtaining desired results because of inadequate information or presence of distracting artifacts due to missing projections. This can be true for samples such as the distribution of glue in glulam (boards of wooden layers glued together), or the course of partially visible annual rings in trees where the features of interest are parallel to the planar surface of the sample. However, it should be possible to study these features by rotating the specimen within a limited angular range. In principle, this approach has been shown previously in a study with fast neutrons [2]. A study of this kind was performed at the Antares facility of FRM II in Garching with a 2.6×10⁷/cm² s thermal neutron beam. The limit of penetration was determined for a wooden step wedge carved from a 2 cm×4 cm block of wood in comparison to other materials such as heavy metals and Lucite as specimens rich in hydrogen. The depth of the steps was 1 cm, the height 0.5 cm. The annual ring structures were clearly detectable up to 2 cm thickness. Wooden specimens, i.e. shivers, from a sunken old ship have been subjected to tomography. Not visible from the outside, clear radial structures have been found that are typical for certain kinds of wood. This insight was impaired in a case where the specimen had been soaked with ethylene glycol. In another large sample study, a planar board made of glulam has been studied to show the glued layers. This study shows not only the limits of penetration in wood but also demonstrates access to structures perpendicular to the surface in larger planar objects by tomography with fast neutrons, even with incomplete sets of projection data that covers an angular range of only 90° or even 60°.     

Origin of Interference Colors on Austenitic Stainless Steel

Data are presented on the coloring conditions, colored layer parameters, and color characteristics of stainless steel 304 samples treated in an electrolytic cell (60 Hz, 100 mV) using a mixture of 5 M sulfuric acid and 2.5 M chromic acid. Reflectance spectra indicate that the samples have high-purity color mainly in the yellow region and that the color is due to interference oscillations in the visible range. In addition, reflectance data in conjunction with composition-depth profiles obtained using glow discharge spectrometry indicate that the coloration of the samples is due not only to reflectance oscillations but also to the subtraction effect. The reduced Fe content and significant oxygen content in the near-surface region attest to the formation of a mixed oxide layer. Atomic-force microscopy examination indicates that the sample surface has an island structure.     

Facile synthesis of Au/ZnO nanoparticles and their enhanced photocatalytic activity for hydroxylation of benzene

Au/ZnO nanocomposites have been prepared by a simple chemical method. For the first time, the nanocomposites were directly used as photocatalysts for hydroxylation of aromatic hydrocarbons under UV and visible light irradiation. The results show that the as-prepared photocatalysts display high photocatalytic activity for UV and visible catalytic hydroxylation of benzene. Without the assistance of any solvent or additive, high selectivity and high conversion efficiency were still obtained. Different photocatalytic mechanisms were proposed depending on whether excitation happens on ZnO semiconductor or on the surface plasmon band of Au. The former is Au nanoparticles act as electron buffer due to irradiation by UV light and ZnO nanoparticles as reactive sites for hydroxylation of benzene, the latter is that Au nanoparticles act as light harvesters and inject electrons into ZnO conduction band and as photocatalytic sites under visible light irradiation.     

多孔硅的高效可见光发射来自其表面

用扫描电镜继续对发光多孔硅的阴极射线发光进行了系统的研究,得到了其阴极荧光发射部位、强度分布显微照片,发现在样品的表面层脱落处（暴露着多孔层大量微孔）无阴极射线发光产生,只有表面层未脱落处才有阴极射线发光;对样品的截面实验研究同样清楚地表明多孔硅样品的阴极射线发光只来源于其表面层,多孔层、硅单晶衬底区域不发生阴极射线发光．实验还提供了阴极射线发光强度在截面上随深度变化情况显微照片．阴极射线发光光谱表明其光谱峰值位置在680nm处,相似于多孔硅的光致发光．实验结果再次表明多孔硅的可见光来源于其表面层中的荧光物质．     

Role of convective heat removal and electromagnetic field structure in the microwave heating of materials

The temperature distributions arising in a low-loss dielectric sample in the process of microwave heating have been studied by means of numerical simulation. The convective heat removal has been demonstrated to play the determining role in the energy balance of the sample. The obtained temperature distributions have been compared with the results of a purposely designed microwave heating experiment with multi-channel temperature measurement. The temperature on the surface of the sample agreed well to the simulation accounting for convective heat removal. The temperature measured inside the sample was higher than predicted by simulation. The electrodynamic calculations have shown that due to diffraction effects the electromagnetic field inside the sample is inhomogeneous even if the sample is irradiated by microwaves isotropically. Thus, it is concluded that in order to simulate the microwave heating process accurately, it is necessary to account for air convection and calculate the structure of electromagnetic field inside the sample.     

Laboratory studies of alkali metal filter deposition, ultraviolet transmission, and visible blocking

Far-ultraviolet alkali metal or Wood's filters have been produced and tested supporting the production of a flight filter for the Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 on the Hubble Space Telescope. Sodium layers 0.5-1-mum thick transmit up to 40% in the ultraviolet while efficiently blocking visible wavelengths. The prevention of visible pinholes is assisted by a clean, sleek-free surface and a cooled substrate during deposition. The coatings are stabilized efficiently by a bismuth overcoating whose transmission spectrum is presented. We also report for the first time, to our knowledge, the first demonstrated long-wavelength cutoff from a lithium filter, with a shorter cutoff wavelength than sodium and potentially higher stability for astronomical imaging.     

钛表面等离子体电解氧化制备的Ca-P-Si生物活性陶瓷膜的电化学性能

采用等离子体电解氧化法在钛表面制备Ca-P-Si生物活性陶瓷氧化膜。将纯钛及等离子体电解氧化后纯钛两种样品分别浸在37℃的Hank模拟体液中,用电化学实验分析其电化学性能。动电位极化曲线和交流阻抗结果表明,经过等离子体电解氧化处理后纯钛的自腐蚀电位升高了0.7V,经过28d的浸泡,微弧氧化处理后钛的阻抗值仍接近未处理时的1.5倍。微孤氧化陶瓷膜提高钛基体耐腐蚀性能归因于外层的羟基磷灰石层及微弧氧化的致密内层形成隔离层将基体与溶液隔离,起到了抗腐蚀作用。     

Early stage reactivity and in vitro behavior of silica-based bioactive glasses and glass-ceramics

The surface reactivity of different sets of glasses and glass-ceramics belonging to the SiO₂–P₂O₅–CaO–MgO–K₂O–Na₂O system have been investigated. The attention was focused on the role of their composition on the bioactivity kinetics, in terms of pH modifications, silica-gel formation and its evolution toward hydroxycarbonatoapatite, after different times of soaking in simulated body fluid. Glasses and glass ceramics have been characterized by thermal analysis, SEM-EDS observations and phase analysis (XRD). XPS measurements have been carried out on the most representative set of sample in order to evaluate the evolution of the surface species during the growth of silica-gel and hydroxycarbonatoapatite. The response of murine fibroblast 3T3 to the material before and after a conditioning pre-treatment (immersion in SBF) has been investigated on the same set of samples in order to point out the role of the bioactivity mechanism on cell viability. The main differences among the various glasses have been related to the modifier oxides ratio and to the MgO content, which seems to have an influence on the glass stability, both in terms of thermal properties and surface reactivity. The surface characterization and in vitro tests revealed few variations in the reactivity of the different glasses and glass-ceramics in their pristine form. On the contrary, the different surface properties before and after the pre-treatment in SBF seem to play a role on the biocompatibility of both glass and glass-ceramics, due to the different ion release and hydrophilicity of the surfaces, affecting both cell viability and protein adsorption.     

Surface plasmon coupled fluorescence in the ultraviolet and visible spectral regions using zinc thin films

The use of zinc thin films deposited onto glass supports for surface plasmon coupled fluorescence (SPCF) over a broad 200 nm wavelength range is demonstrated. Fresnel calculations performed in the ultraviolet and visible spectral range are predicted to generate surface plasmon modes in 30 nm zinc thin films. In this spectral range, the extent of coupling of light to zinc thin films was shown to be significant as compared to similar aluminum, gold, and silver thin films. The experimental demonstration of SPCF using 30 nm zinc thin films in the ultraviolet and visible spectral regions was undertaken using three different fluorophores 2-AP, POPOP, and FITC, respectively. Surface plasmon coupled fluorescence from zinc thin films was p-polarized and highly directional with lambda max conferred at an angle of 58, 68, and 60 degrees for FITC, POPOP, and 2-AP, respectively. s-Polarized emission from zinc thin films was negligible for all fluorophores except for a sample spin coated from a 10% PVA solution, which resulted in significant s-polarized emission due to the generation of waveguide modes. The experimental results are consistent with reflectivity curves that are theoretically predicted using Fresnel calculations. Given the growing use and utility of plasmon-enhanced fluorescence in the analytical and biological sciences, our findings will serve as a useful tool for workers in the ultraviolet and visible spectral regions.     

Realization of an extremely low reflectance surface based on InP porous nanostructures for application to photoelectrochemical solar cells

Extremely low reflectance was obtained from InP porous nanostructures in UV, visible, and near-infrared ranges. Porous samples were electrochemically prepared on which 130-nm-diameter nanopores were formed in a straight, vertical direction and were laterally separated by 50-nm-thick InP nanowalls. The reflectance strongly depended on the surface morphology. The lowest reflectance of 0.1% in the visible light range was obtained after the irregular top layer had been completely removed. Superior photoelectrochemical properties were obtained on the InP porous structures due to two unique features: the large surface area inside pores, and the large photon absorption enhanced on the low reflectance surface.     

Colloidal PbS nanocrystals with narrow photoluminescence spectra

Luminescent PbS nanocrystals have been synthesized by the colloidal method. PVA has been employed to modify the surface of prepared PbS nanocrystals and improve their optical properties. Optical and morphological characteristics of lead sulfide nanocrystals have been studied by high resolution electron microscopy and spectrophotometer. Optical absorption and photoluminescence (PL) studies of the PbS nanocrystals have shown the strong quantum confinement effects. For the first time, the prepared lead sulfide nanocrystals have emitted at 608 nm wavelength with narrow band width (21 nm) and high Stokes shift. Experimental results have shown that the surface charge traps have higher contribution to the optical properties of colloidal PbS nanocrystals and in our sample photoluminescence was due to hole relaxation. These properties made them a material with potential application in nanophotonics.     

Glutathione-induced aggregation of gold nanoparticles: electromagnetic interactions in a closely packed assembly

Gold nanoparticles of variable sizes have been prepared by reducing HAuCl4 with trisodium citrate by Frens' method. The synthesized gold particles show intense surface plasmon band in the visible region. The optical resonances in the visible are due to the surface plasmon oscillation, which is a function of geometry of the particles. The work reported here describes the interaction between nanoscale gold particles and a biomolecule, glutathione at low pH. Glutathione, which is a major cellular antioxidant and consists of amino acids glutamic acid, cysteine, and glycine, has been used as a molecular linker between the gold nanoparticles. In glutathione, the reactivity of the a-amines (adjacent to -COOH) is found to be pH-dependent. Linking via the a-amines are activated at low pH but suppressed at high pH due to electrostatic repulsive forces between the gold surfaces and the charged carboxylate groups. In colloidal solutions, the colour of gold nanoparticles may range from red to purple to blue, depending on the degree of aggregation as well as orientation of the individual particles within the aggregates. The citrate-functionalized gold nanoparticles with glutathione in variable acidic pH condition produce different but well-ordered aggregates. It is observed that a new peak appearing at a longer wavelength intensifies and shifts further to the red from the original peak position depending on the particle size, concentration of glutathione, and pH of the solution. The aggregates have been characterized by UV/Vis, FTIR, XRD, and TEM. On the basis of the first appearance of a clearly defined new peak at longer wavelength, a higher sensitivity of glutathione detection has been achieved with gold nanoparticles of larger dimension.     

Features of spectra of low-energy neon ions scattered from gallium phosphide

Using mass-resolved ion scattering spectrometry, spectra of Ne⁺ ions scattered at an angle of 120° from the surface of GaP in the energy range of 0.4–1.96 keV have been studied in detail. In the spectra, in addition to the peaks of elastic binary Ne⁺/P and Ne⁺/Ga collisions, the peak of sputtered neon ions has been found, as well as the wide peak (a “hump”), the energy of which slightly depends on the energy of primary ions and the intensity considerably increases with an increase in this energy. In our opinion, the main contribution to this peak is made by neon ions that undergo multiple collisions with gallium and phosphorus atoms on the surface and deeper layers of the sample and keep their charge due to reionization processes.     

Preparation of Fe-doped TiO2 nanotube arrays and their photocatalytic activities under visible light

Fe-doped TiO₂ nanotube arrays have been prepared by the template-based liquid phase deposition method. Their morphologies, structures and optical properties were investigated by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and UV-vis absorption spectroscopy. Their photocatalytic activities were evaluated by the degradation of methylene blue under visible light. The UV-vis absorption spectra of the Fe-doped TiO₂ nanotube arrays showed a red shift and an enhancement of the absorption in the visible region compared to the undoped sample. The Fe-doped TiO₂ nanotube arrays exhibited good photocatalytic activities under visible light irradiation, and the optimum dopant amount was found to be 5.9 at% in our experiments.     

Superconducting State of a Disk with a Pentagonal/Hexagonal Trench/Barrier

We study the influence of a pentagonal (hexagonal) trench or barrier on the superconducting properties of a perforated disk. Effects associated to the pinning (anti-pinning) force of the central hole and the trench (barrier) and the interplay between the boundary conditions and the shape of the inner defects on the vortex configuration are studied for a thin disk. Also, we considered two cases for the value of the order parameter at the surface. The first one is ψ _s ≠0; this is the usual supercondutor/vacuum interface, for which the deGennes parameter is b→∞. The second one is ψ _s =0, which is the surface of the sample in a complete normal state, simulated by b=0. The vorticity, Gibbs free energy, magnetic induction, supercurrent density, magnetization and Cooper pairs density as a function of the external magnetic field are calculated. We show that in our sample new phenomena are possible due to the competing interactions of the boundary and the geometry of the sample and the added geometry of the nanoengineered trench and barrier.     

Fabrication of photoactive heterostructures based on quantum dots decorated with Au nanoparticles

Silica based multifunctional heterostructures, exhibiting near infrared (NIR) absorption (650–1200 nm) and luminescence in the visible region, represent innovative nanosystems useful for diagnostic or theranostic applications. Herein, colloidal synthetic procedures are applied to design a photoactive multifunctional nanosystem. Luminescent silica (SiO₂) coated quantum dots (QDs) have been used as versatile nanoplatforms to assemble on their surface gold (Au) seeds, further grown into Au spackled structures. The synthesized nanostructures combine the QD emission in the visible region, and, concomitantly, the distinctive NIR absorption of Au nanodomains. The possibility of having multiple QDs in a single heterostructure, the SiO₂ shell thickness, and the extent of Au deposition onto SiO₂ surface have been carefully controlled. The work shows that a single QD entrapped in 16 nm thick SiO₂ shell, coated with Au speckles, represents the most suitable geometry to preserve the QD emission in the visible region and to generate NIR absorption from metal NPs. The resulting architectures present a biomedical potential as an effective optical multimodal probes and as promising therapeutic agents due to the Au NP mediated photothermal effect.