Publications

First principles FPLAPW calculations were performed in the framework of Density Functional Theory (DFT), to study the electronic structures and magnetic properties for the new full-Heusler compounds: Sc(2)CoZ (Z = Si, Ge, Sn). The investigated materials are stable against decomposition, in ferromagnetic configuration and crystallize in the inverse Heusler structures. The half-metallic properties as function of the variation of unit cell volumes are analysed regarding the fourth main group constituent elements. The electronic structure calculations for Sc2CoSi and Sc2CoSn show half-metallic characters, with indirect band gaps of 0.544 eV and 0.408 eV at optimised lattice parameters of 6.28 angstrom and 6.62 angstrom, respectively. For Sc2CoGe compound, the Fermi energy is not pinned inside the energy band gap from minority density of states, neither for unit cell contraction nor for enlargement. The calculated total magnetic moments are 1 mu B/f.u., for all compounds, in agreement with Slater-Pauling rule. (C) 2014 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.

We study the effects of intraband relaxation processes on optical manipulation protocols for sp biexcitons hosted by CdTe disk-shaped quantum dots. The many-body states are calculated within the configuration interaction method starting from single-particle states given by the k.p theory. The time-dependent occupations of relevant many-body states are extracted from the von Neumann-Lindblad equation for the density operator. We mainly investigate the generation of sp biexcitons with two pulses of different polarizations sigma(+) and sigma(-). The fast hole relaxation processes prevent a high-fidelity controlled operation on sp biexcitons and lead to the occupation of some transient states which can be optically probed. More importantly, the many-body structure of the transient states consists of two holes on the s shell and antiparallel sp triplet states for electrons. Our simulations show that these triplet states are more stable against decoherence as they can only be damaged through slow electron relaxation. The configuration mixing due to correlation effects is also discussed.

Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy investigations carried out in solutions with different pH brought evidence that the monolayers of L-cysteine-thiolate self-assembled on GaAs (hid) electrodes exert a complex molecular control over their electrochemical behavior. The analysis of the impedance spectra coupled with that of the XPS data and the AFM images taken before and after the EIS measurements reveled that both pH and applied potential brings significant changes at the electrified interface. The most important effect of pH is the conformational change of the L-cysteine-thiolate molecule observed at pH 11 that allows the interaction of the carboxyl group with the substrate atoms. A similar conformational change occurs at pH 5.5 but only under the applied potential control, being just a consequence of another major effect of the applied electric field. This is the H+ transfer inside the L-cysteine-thiolate film, an electric field driven process but pH dependent, which results in significant charge diminution both in the organic overlayer and in the semiconductor depletion region. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The energy band alignment at interfaces between different materials is a key factor, which determines the function of electronic devices. While the energy band alignment of conventional semiconductors is quite well understood, systematic experimental studies on oxides are still missing. This work presents an extensive study on the intrinsic energy band alignment of a wide range of functional oxides using photoelectron spectroscopy with in-situ sample preparation. The studied materials have particular technological importance in diverse fields as solar cells, piezotronics, multiferroics, photoelectrochemistry and oxide electronics. Particular efforts have been made to verify the validity of transitivity, in order to confirm the intrinsic nature of the obtained band alignment and to understand the underlying principles. Valence band offsets up to 1.6 eV are observed. The large variation of valence band maximum energy can be explained by the different orbital contributions to the density of states in the valence band. The framework provided by this work enables the general understanding and prediction of energy band alignment at oxide interfaces, and furthermore the tailoring of energy level matching for charge transfer in functional oxides. (C) 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim

We report on the changes on the microstructural, hardness, and corrosion properties induced by carbo-chromization of 316L stainless steel prepared by Spark Plasma Sintering technique. The thermo-chemical treatments have been performed using pack cementation. The carburizing and chromization were carried out between 1153 K (880 A degrees C)/4 h to 1253 K (980 A degrees C)/12 h and 1223 K (950 A degrees C)/6 h to 1273 K (1000 A degrees C)/12 h in a solid powder mixture of charcoal/BaCO3 and ferrochromium/alumina/NH4Cl, respectively. The obtained layers were investigated using X-ray and electron diffraction, optical and scanning electron microscopies, Vickers micro-hardness, and potentiodynamic measurements. The thickness of the carbo-chromized layer ranges between 300 and 500 mu m. Besides the host gamma-phase, the layers are mainly constituted of carbides (Fe7C3, Cr23C6, Cr7C3, and Fe3C) and traces of alpha'-martensite. The average hardness values decrease smoothly from 650 HV at the sample surface down to 200 HV at the center of the sample. The potentiodynamic tests revealed that the carbo-chromized samples have smaller corrosion resistance with respect to the untreated material. For strong chromization regimes, the corrosion rate is increased by a factor of four with respect to that of the untreated material, while the micro-hardness of the layer is three times larger. Such materials are suited to be used in environments where good corrosion resistance and wear properties are required.

A new noniterative method, for determining the dielectric, piezoelectric and elastic constants, in complex form, for piezoceramic materials, in the thickness extensional mode, was proposed. This method is very flexible, as it is based on the standard approach to determine the elastic stiffness, followed by the measurement of the impedance at two frequencies to calculate the dielectric and piezoelectric constants, by solving a system of two equations. The new method was tested on materials with various thickness coupling factors (k(t) = 4.5-60%) and mechanical quality factors (Q(m) = 20-1600), proving very good accuracy for all of them. The accuracy of standard method was also evaluated for the same materials. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Organic heterostructures were fabricated by matrix assisted pulsed laser evaporation (MAPLE) method using arylenevinylene oligomers based on triphenylamine (P78)/carbazole (P13) group and tris(8-hydroxyquinolinato)aluminum salt (Alq3). Optical properties of the organic multilayer structures were characterized by spectroscopic techniques: FTIR, UV-vis and photoluminescence (PL). A good transparency (over 60%) was remarked for the structures with two organic layers in the 550-800 nm range. Photoluminescence (PL) spectra proved that the emission characteristics of the materials have been preserved. I-V characteristics of (ITO/oligomer/Alq3/Al and ITO/Alq3/Al) heterostructures were symmetrically while rectifying properties of these heterostructures have not been observed. A comparison between the heterostructures made of layers with different thickness reveals that the higher current (8 x 10(-6) A at 1 V) was obtained for the ITO/P78/Alq3/Al heterostructure, which is characterized by a larger thickness of the double organic layer. AFM measurements revealed a similar topography while RMS values of the reported structures depend on the organic material. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

We report the continuous, single step synthesis of titania/iron-based magnetic nanocomposites in a single step using gas-phase laser pyrolysis technique by separately and simultaneously introducing the precursors (together with C2H4 sensitizer) in the reaction zone: Fe(CO)(5) on the central flow and, using air as carrier, TiCl4 on the annular coflow. The laser power and, for the last experiment, the injection geometry were modified in order to change the Fe/Ti ratio in the resulted nanopowders. Due to the specific geometry, the reaction zone (visible as a flame) have a reductive inner central zone surrounded by and oxidative environment, allowing the formation of the metallic-carbidic iron and/or iron-doped titania and iron oxide nanophases. The raw Fe-containing nanopowders have a ferromagnetic behavior, those synthesized at higher laser power and gas velocities show significant saturation magnetization M-s values (10-12 emu/g), whereas those obtained (with higher yield and carbon content) at lower laser power and gas velocities (using wider central nozzle cross-section) have a very weak magnetization (M-s similar to 0.05 emu/g) in spite of the higher ethylene carried Fe(CO)(5) flow. The powders were annealed in air at 400 degrees C show lower carbon content and, for those highly Fe-doped, the hematite phase formation. Preliminary tests using UV light confirm the photocatalytic action of the annealed nanopowders in salicylic acid degradation process in solution. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

This paper presents some studies about the bi-layer organic heterostructures realized with zinc phthalocyanine (ZnPc) as donor layer and 1,4,5,8-naphthalene-tetracarboxylic dianhydride (NTCDA) as acceptor layer, on substrate of glass covered by Al doped ZnO (AZO) layer. These heterostructures have been prepared using laser techniques: pulsed laser deposition (PLD) in an atmosphere of oxygen for AZO films deposition and matrix assisted pulsed laser evaporation (MAPLE) for organic films deposition. The influence of the deposition conditions on the transmission of the organic films has been analysed. The effect of the oxygen plasma treatment, with duration of 5 min and 10 min, on the surface topography, structural and optical properties of AZO layers deposited by PLD and, as consequence, on the optical and electrical properties of the single layer (ZnPc) and bi-layer (ZnPc/NTCDA) organic heterostructure, deposited by MAPLE, was investigated. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.