National Institute Of Materials Physics - Romania

Abstract: The particle reinforcement of fusion-relevant tungsten through the incorporation of tungsten sub-carbide W2C particles at the grain boundaries is demonstrated as an effective way of eliminating the harmful W oxide, enhancing densification and stabilising the composite's microstructure and flexural strength at room and high temperatures. The W2C particles are formed in situ during the sintering by carbon diffusion from WC nano-particles added as a precursor to the W matrix. Even in an extremely fast sintering process using Field-Assisted Sintering Technology (FAST, 1900 degrees C, 5 min), the added WC completely transforms to W2C, resulting in a W-W2C composite. While at least 5 vol % of WC nanoparticles are needed to eliminate the oxide, approximately 10 vol % result in a W-W2C composite with favourable characteristics: high density, high flexural strength at RT (>1200 MPa) as well as at elevated temperatures, and high thermal conductivity, which remains above 100 W/mK up to 1000 degrees C.

Abstract: Three-dimensional (3D) fibrous networks based on metal oxides were obtained by a bio-inspired approach: the replication of an ecological daily-waste, the eggshell membrane (ESM). The biomorphic process consists in the immersion of the ESM into aqueous solutions containing the metal salt precursors followed by the calcination of the metal ions impregnated ESM. Biomorphic ZnO, CuO and ZnO-CuO composite networks were obtained, their morphological, structural, compositional, optical, photocatalytical and electrical properties being evaluated. The scanning electron microscopy investigations proved that the hierarchical structure of the original organic template is perfectly replicated into inorganic architectures consisting of interconnected fibers containing metal oxide nanoparticles as building blocks. The photocatalytical properties of the metal oxide networks under solar simulator irradiation were tested through the degradation of methylene blue. Using Si/SiO2 patterned with interdigitated metallic electrodes as substrates during the calcination step, the electrical properties of the selfcontacted metal oxide networks were investigated. Thus, by replicating the unique architecture of the ESM, 3D metal oxide interwoven meshwork can be easily developed for various applications in fields such as photocatalysis, sensing, optoelectronic devices, etc.

Abstract: We developed a new type of chalcohalide glasses with physicochemical and nonlinear optical properties that are tunable by composition. It is found that more than 60 mol.% CdCl2 heavy metal halide can be dissolved into the ternary Ge Sb S system and forming stable glasses. The visible-light transparency range is extended to shorter wavelengths with the addition of CdCl2, which is beneficial for the optical quality control and infra-red (IR) system alignment. The third-order optical nonlinearity (TONL) is studied using the femtosecond Z-scan method. The results show that both the nonlinear refractive index and two photon absorption co-efficient decrease with CdCl2. Benefiting from the favorable property-tailoring effects of CdCl2, the TONL figure of merit (FOM) can be improved to meet the requirement (FOM < 1) for all-optical switching and IR photonic applications.

Abstract: Magnetic Fe@Y composites (carbon-coated magnetic iron nanoparticles incorporated in zeolite Y) with 5-8 wt % Fe were synthesized and characterized. Overall acidity of the samples ranged between 2.0 and 2.47 mmol/g and is mostly attributed to Lewis acid sites. The obtained materials were proven to catalyze the hydrolysis of the marine sulfated polysaccharide ulvan with high conversion rates. The distribution of the reaction products depended on the reaction conditions and the concentration of ulvan. The catalytic property catalytic performance correlations clearly showed that the acid zeolite Y is the active phase for the hydrolysis of ulvan, while the iron nanoparticles enable the catalyst separation in a magnetic field. Under oxygen pressure, the selectivity was completely changed to favor succinic acid production. All Fe@Y composites were recycled 10 times with no change in their catalytic performance after recovery via a simple magnetic separation and washing with water.

Abstract: Carbon layers are deposited on 100 nm thick atomically clean (001) lead zirconate titanate (PZT) in ultrahigh vacuum, ruling out the presence of any contaminants. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy is used to assess the substrate surface or interface composition, substrate polarization and the thickness of carbon layers, which ranges from less than one monolayer (1 ML) of graphene to several monolayers. Atomically clean PZT(001) exhibit inwards polarization, and this polarization reverses the sign upon carbon deposition. Cationic vacancies are detected near the PZT surface, consistent with heavy p doping of these films near the surface. The carbon layers exhibited a consistent proportion of atoms forming in-plane sp(2) bonds, as detected by near-edge absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) analysis and confirmed partially by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). In situ poling with simultaneous in-plane transport measurements revealed the presence of resistance anti-hysteresis versus the polarization orientation for films with less than 1 ML carbon amount, evolving towards 'normal' hysteresis for thicker carbon films. The anti-hysteresis is explained in terms of a mixed screening mechanism, involving charge carriers from the sp(2) carbon layers together with holes or ionized acceptors in PZT(001) near the interface. For thicker films, the compensation mechanism becomes extrinsic, involving mostly electrons and holes from carbon, yielding the expected hysteresis.

Abstract: Polyvinylidene fluoride-iron oxide (PVDF-Fe2O3) nanocomposites have been obtained my melt mixing of PVDF with Fe2O3 nanoparticles. The interactions between the polymeric matrix and the nanofiller have been investigated by wide angle X-ray scattering (WAXS), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and Raman spectroscopy, using both red and green excitations (lasers). WAXS, FTIR, and Raman spectra confirm that all samples contain alpha PVDF as the major crystalline form of the polymeric matrix. Experimental data revealed small changes in the positions of X-ray lines as well as modifications of the width of X-ray lines upon loading by Fe2O3 nanoparticles. FTIR and Raman spectra are dominated by the lines of the polymeric matrix. Within the experimental errors, the positions of Raman lines are not affected by the wavelength of the incoming electromagnetic radiation, although they are sensitive to the strain of the polymeric matrix induced by addition of the nanofiller. The loading of the polymeric matrix with nanoparticles stretches the macromolecular chains, affecting their vibrational spectra (FTIR and Raman). A complex dependence of the positions of some Raman and FTIR lines on the loading with Fe2O3 is reported. The manuscript provides a detailed analysis of the effects of nanofiller on the position of WAXS, FTIR, and Raman lines. (c) 2020 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2020, 137, 48907.

Abstract: A versatile, modular in situ high-intensity monochromatic illumination set-up installed on a standard Q-band ESR spectrometer equipped with a cryostat and probe head for measurements at cryogenic temperatures, which can be easily assembled from commercially available optical components is presented. Using as monochromatic light sources pig-tailed laser diodes (LDs) or fiber-coupled light-emitting diodes (LEDs), a high efficiency of the light transfer (more than 95%) through an optical guide inserted in the sample holder is achieved in the sample area of the microwave cavity. With various LEDs and LDs, one can perform ESR in situ illumination experiments from UV to far-IR, in both cw and pulse mode. Its operation is illustrated with an experiment revealing the presence of certain ESR silent defects in oxygen-doped floating-zone ultrapure Si samples irradiated at room temperature with high-energy-high-fluence electron beams and pulse annealed up to 300 degrees C. New information is obtained by comparing the ESR spectra recorded at T = 120 K, without and with 1.06 mu m across-the-gap in situ illumination.

Abstract: The dextran-thyme magnesium-doped hydroxyapatite (10MgHAp-Dex-thyme) composite layers were prepared by a dip-coating procedure from stable suspensions and further analyzed for the first time. Different characterization techniques were employed to explore the physical-chemical features of the 10MgHAp-Dex-thyme suspensions and derived coatings. Information regarding the 10MgHAp-Dex-thyme suspensions was extracted on the basis of dynamic light scattering, zeta potential, and ultrasound measurements. The crystalline quality of the biocomposite powders-resulting after the centrifugation of suspensions-and the layers deposited on glass was assessed by X-ray diffraction in symmetric and grazing incidence geometries, respectively. The chemical structure and presence of functional groups were evaluated for both powder and coating by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy in attenuated total reflectance mode. The extent of the antimicrobial effect range of the biocomposite suspensions and coatings was tested against different Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus faecalis, Escherichia coli, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa) and fungus (Candida albicans) strains with promising results.

Abstract: The main objective of this paper is to develop silver-doped hydroxyapatite suspensions (HApAg) with different concentrations of silver (x(Ag) = 0.05 and x(Ag) = 0.2) in order to obtain uniform and homogenous layers by spin-coating procedure. The colloidal properties of HApAg suspensions are evaluated by dynamic light scattering (DLS) analysis, zeta-potential (ZP), and ultrasound measurements. The ultrasound studies show that the HApAg20 sample revealed better stability than the HApAg5 sample. The structural and morphological analysis on suspensions and thin layers is also conducted. It is observed that the particles of the two samples have a similar shape and are uniform. The layers obtained present a homogeneous appearance of the surface without evidence of cracks or interruption of the coatings. The in vitro antifungal studies conducted on the two thin layers at two different time intervals (24 and 48 h) show that both HApAg5 (x(Ag) = 0.05) and HApAg20 (x(Ag) = 0.05) nanoparticles suspensions and composite layers inhibit the development of colony forming units (CFU) even after 24 h of incubation comparative to the control, represented by the Candida albicans (C. albicans) culture in a proper medium. The fungicidal effect was evident after 48 h of incubation in the case of both HApAg20 nanoparticles suspensions and composite layers.

Abstract: Magnetic imaging of superconductors typically requires a soft-magnetic material placed on top of the superconductor to probe local magnetic fields. For reasonable results the influence of the magnet onto the superconductor has to be small. Thin YBCO films with soft-magnetic coatings are investigated using SQUID magnetometry. Detailed measurements of the magnetic moment as a function of temperature, magnetic field and time have been performed for different heterostructures. It is found that the modification of the superconducting transport in these heterostructures strongly depends on the magnetic and structural properties of the soft-magnetic material. This effect is especially pronounced for an inhomogeneous coating consisting of ferromagnetic nanoparticles.