Field-dependent abundances of hydride molecular ions in atom probe tomography of III-N semiconductors

We investigate the microscopic behaviour of hydrogen-containing species formed on the surface of III-N semiconductor samples by the residual hydrogen in the analysis chamber in laser-assisted atom probe tomography (APT). We analysed AlGaN/GaN heterostructures containing alternate layers with a thickness of about 20 nm. The formation of H-containing species occurs at field strengths between 22 and 26 V/nm and is independent of the analysed samples. The 3D APT reconstruction makes it possible to map the evolution of the surface behaviour of these species issued by chemical reactions. The results highlight the strong dependence of the relative abundances of hydrides on the surface field during evaporation. The relative abundances of the hydrides decrease when the surface field increases due to the evolution of the tip shape or the different evaporation behaviour of the different layers.     

Study on chemical composition and biological activities of essential oil and extracts from Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni leaves

Essential oil (EO), water extract (WE), and methanol-water (MWE) (50/50 v:v) were prepared from Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni leaves. Their chemicals compounds, antioxidant, anti-inflammation and antimicrobial activities were evaluated. The EO was analyzed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. The WE, and MWE compounds were identified by RP-HPLC. In EO, carvacrol, caryophyllene, caryophyllene oxide, spathulenol, cardinol, α-pinene, limonene, isopinocarveol and ibuprofen were identified as major compounds. Furthermore, in the WE and MWE, the major compounds were, quercetin dihydrate, protocatechuic acid and quercetin glucosyl. These results show that S. rebaudiana EO and extracts possess high antioxidant, anti-inflammation and antimicrobial properties. The antimicrobial and antifungal activities of the extracts (EO, WE, MWE) were tested on Staphylococcus aureus; Bacillus subtillis; Escherichia coli; Pseudomonas aeruginosa; Aspergillus niger and Candida albicans, the lowest activity was founded on the EO extract.     

N-doped carbon nanotubes for liquid-phase CC bond hydrogenation

The introduction of foreign elements inside the channel of carbon nanotubes could lead to a significant modification of the intrinsic properties of these nanomaterials. Nitrogen atoms entering in the graphene sheets as substitute of carbon could modify in a large extend the acido-basic properties and also adsorption of the nanotube itself. Depending on the synthesis conditions, i.e. nature of the N-source, temperature and C-to-N atomic ratio, various N-doped carbon nanotubes can be synthesized with different surface properties. The aim of the present work is to report the synthesis of N-doped CNTs using a common nitrogen source precursor namely ammonia (NH₃) with C₂H₆ as carbon source. The as-synthesized N-CNTs were subsequently employed as catalyst support in the liquid-phase hydrogenation of cinnamaldehyde using palladium as an active phase.