Publications

Amorphous hematite synthesized by a simple and fast microwave route was used to obtain Fe16N2 fine particles by reducing in 5% H-2/Ar gas flow, followed by long time nitridation in ammonia gas flow at temperatures below 200 degrees C. Depending on nitridation temperature, various amounts of metallic iron were present along with the alpha" -Fe16N2 main phase. A small amount of iron oxide was observed by Mossbauer spectroscopy, but it was undetected by X-ray diffraction due to its high degree of amorphization. Increased amounts of Fe3N and Fe4N phases were observed at a nitridation temperature above 150 degrees C, which had a detrimental effect on the magnetic properties. Structural information and phase composition were extracted from Rietveld refinement of the XRD data. Values of the magnetization at saturation measured at 40 kOe and 25 degrees C of 222 emu/g for alpha"-Fe16N2 and 192 emu/g for metallic iron were obtained via magnetic measurements, Rietveld, and Mossbauer analysis.

We present a comparative study between the properties of Yb3+/Er3+ co-doped LiYF4 thin films obtained by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) and matrix-assisted pulsed evaporation (MAPLE) growth techniques, respectively. We performed structural, morphological, and optical analyses in order to draw a conclusion about the potential of MAPLE as a growth technique used for the obtaining of RE-doped fluoride thin films having up-conversion properties. For both techniques the surface morphology is typical for laser processed thin films of RE-doped fluorides, with roughness values of the order of few hundreds of nanometers and a higher density of defects in the sample obtained by MAPLE. Up-conversion properties do not exhibit major differences between the thin film samples and the pressed target. Under 980 nm laser light pumping, both Yb3+/Er3+ co-doped LiYF4 thin film samples, obtained by PLD and MAPLE, show green ((H-2(11/2), S-4(3/2)) -> I-4(15/2)) and red (F-4(9/2) -> I-4(15/2)) up-conversion luminescence explained by a two-photon processes. Therefore MAPLE is a viable growth technique for the fundamental study of RE-doped fluoride thin films and their respective functional properties. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

We report the structural, electronic and magnetic investigation using extended X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy (EXAFS), photoelectron microscopy, spin-resolved photoemission and magneto-optical Kerr effect on the properties of MnGe systems obtained by molecular beam epitaxy deposition of manganese on Ge(001) wafers annealed on temperatures between 50 and 450 C. Magnetic ordering can be achieved when the substrate temperature is higher than 250 C, when the manganese tends to diffuse into the Ge matrix and segregate in MnGe-like compounds, as proved by EXAFS. High spatial resolution photoelectron spectroscopy reveals Mn inhomogeneities in the 5-10 m range, even though Mn is found mostly in the same chemical state all over the surface.

The present work was focused on the synthesis and characterization of hydroxyapatite doped with low concentrations of zinc (Zn: HAp) (0.01 < x(Zn) < 0.05). The incorporation of low concentrations of Zn2+ ions in the hydroxyapatite (HAp) structure was achieved by co-precipitation method. The physico-chemical properties of the samples were characterized by X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), zeta-potential, and DLS and N2-BET measurements. The results obtained by XRD and FTIR studies demonstrated that doping hydroxyapatite with low concentrations of zinc leads to the formation of a hexagonal structure with lattice parameters characteristic to hydroxyapatite. The XRD studies have also shown that the crystallite size and lattice parameters of the unit cell depend on the substitutions of Ca2+ with Zn2+ in the apatitic structure. Moreover, the FTIR analysis revealed that the water content increases with the increase of zinc concentration. Furthermore, the Energy Dispersive X-ray Analysis (EDAX) and XPS analyses showed that the elements Ca, P, O, and Zn were found in all the Zn: HAp samples suggesting that the synthesized materials were zinc doped hydroxyapatite, Ca10-Zn-x(x)(PO4) (6)(OH), with 0.01 <= x(Zn) <= 0.05. Antimicrobial assays on Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli bacterial strains and HepG2 cell viability assay were carried out.

New composite materials based on single-walled carbon nanotubes effectively separated into semiconducting (S-SWNTs) and metallic tubes (M-SWNTs) and poly(ortho-phenylenevinylene) (POPV) were synthesized by the electrochemical polymerization of the alpha,alpha,alpha',alpha',-tetrabromo-o-xylene monomer onto the surface of Au supports covered with carbon nanotubes films. Using FTIR spectroscopy, an increase of the quinoid structure weight is highlighted when a charge transfer is induced to take place between the two constituents of the POPV/S-SWNT composite material. In addition, a down-shift of the Raman line belonging to POPV (from 530 cm-(1) to 515 cm(-1)), which was accoinpanied by an increase in relative peak intensity, is reported as a result of steric hindrance effects induced by the covalent bonding of POPV onto the S-SWNT surface. The non-covalent functionalization of M-SWNTs with POPV is demonstrated to occur by Raman scattering and FTIR spectroscopy. The photoluminescence (PL) spectrum of POPV exhibits two bands at 2.82 and 2.25 eV, which were assigned to the electronic emission transitions of macromolecular chains having 3 and 7-10 repeating units, respectively. We demonstrate that POPV photoluminescence quenching in the presence of M + S-SWNTs, M-SWNTs and S-SWNTs is achieved by tubes with chirality (14,7), (12,10) and (11,9), respectively. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

In the present work, optical, structural and morphological properties of CdS-doped phosphate films obtained by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) method were investigated. In the deposition process, a target based on a mixture composed of Li2O-Al2O3-BaO-La2O3-ZnO-P2O5 glass and CdS powder as dopant was used. The phosphate glass target was obtained by non-conventional wet route of raw reagents processing followed by melt-quenching technique. The complex oxide composition of the glass as well as the final PLD target consisting in a mixture of glass and CdS powder followed by pressing and heat treatment represents the novelty of the work. CdS dopant particles were highlighted by X-ray diffraction analysis as well as by Raman spectroscopy. Thus, cubic CdS particles having less than 10 nm size corroborated with specific LO (longitudinal optical phonons) and 2LO CdS Raman peaks from 300 and 600 cm(-1), respectively, certified the presence of the dopant in the deposited films. Specific vibration modes for the vitreous phosphate matrix were revealed by fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and spherulitic units characteristic to PLD technique were found by scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy analyses. A relative large luminescence band located around 430 nm was provided by UV excitation, representative for CdS nanoparticles having about 9-10 nm size.

The performance of the poly(2, 2'-bithiophene-co-pyrene) copolymer doped with bis(2-ethyl hexyl) sulfosuccinate sodium (AOT) anions [(PBTh-Py)(+)AOT(-)] and its composite with single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) [(PBTh-Py)(+)AOT(-)/SWNTs] as active materials for the electrodes of symmetrical supercapacitors is demonstrated in this work. Using cyclic voltammetry, the influence of the electrolyte concentration and the different cations on the oxidation and reduction processes at the electrolyte/electrode interface is reported. Using charge-discharge galvanostatic measurements in the case of the symmetrical-supercapacitors having as electrode active materials, the (PBTh-Py)(+)AOT(-) copolymer and the (PBTh-Py)(+)AOT(-)/SWNTs composite, values of the specific capacitance equal with 11.5 and 59 F g(-1), respectively, for current densities of 100 mA g(-1), were reported.

The localization and distribution of the Mn2+ ions in two sol-gel deposited ZnO films doped with different manganese concentrations were investigated by electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy and analytical transmission electron microscopy. In the lightly doped sample the Mn2+ ions are mainly localized substitutionally at isolated tetrahedrally coordinated Zn2+ sites in both crystalline ZnO nanograins (34%) and surrounding disordered ZnO (52%). In the highly doped ZnO film, a much smaller proportion of manganese substitutes Zn2+ in the crystalline and disordered ZnO (10%). The main amount (85%) of manganese aggregates in a secondary phase as an insular-like distribution between the ZnO nanograins. The remaining Mn2+ ions (14% and 5% at low and high doping levels, respectively) are localized at isolated, six-fold coordinated sites, very likely in the disordered intergrain region. Annealing at 600 degrees C induced changes in the Mn2+ ions distribution, reflecting the increase of the ZnO crystallization degree, better observed in the lightly doped sample. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Group IV photonics is on its way to be integrated with electronic circuits, making information transfer and processing faster and more energy efficient. Light sources, a critical component of photonic integrated circuits, are still in development. Here, we compare multi-quantum-well (MQW) light-emitting diodes (LEDs) with Ge0.915Sn0.085 wells and Si0.1Ge0.8Sn0.1 barriers to a reference Ge0.915Sn0.085 homo-junction LED. Material properties as well as band structure calculations are discussed, followed by optical investigations. Electroluminescence spectra acquired at various temperatures indicate effective carrier confinement for electrons and holes in the GeSn quantum wells and confirm the excellent performance of GeSn/SiGeSn MQW light emitters. (C) 2017 Optical Society of America

For practical applications of superconducting materials in applied magnetic fields, artificial pinning centres in addition to natural ones are required to oppose the Lorentz force. These pinning centres are actually various types of defects in the superconductor matrix. The pinning centres can be categorised on their dimension (volume, surface or point) and on their character (normal cores or AK cores). Different samples have been produced by Pulsed Laser Deposition, with various thicknesses, temperatures and nanostructured additions to the superconducting matrix. They have been characterized by SQUID Magnetic Properties Measurement System and Physical Properties Measurement System, as well as by Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). Correlations between pinning architecture, TEM images, and critical currents at various fields and field orientations will be shown for a large number of YBa2Cu3Ox films with various types and architectures of artificial pinning centres. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.