National Institute Of Materials Physics - Romania

Iron oxide nanoparticles have been extensively studied for challenges in applicable areas such as medicine, pharmacy, and the environment. The functionalization of iron oxide nanoparticles with dextran opens new prospects for application. Suspension characterization methods such as dynamic light scattering (DLS) and zeta potential (ZP) have allowed us to obtain information regarding the stability and hydrodynamic diameter of these suspended particles. For rigorous characterization of the suspension of dextran-coated iron oxide nanoparticles (D-MNPs), studies have been performed using ultrasound measurements. The results obtained from DLS and ZP studies were compared with those obtained from ultrasound measurements. The obtained results show a good stability of D-MNPs. A comparison between the D-MNP dimension obtained from transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and DLS studies was also performed. A scanning electron spectroscopy (SEM) image of a surface D-MNP layer obtained from the stable suspension shows that the particles are spherical in shape. The topographies of the elemental maps of the D-MNP layer showed a uniform distribution of the constituent elements. The homogeneity of the layer was also observed. The morphology of the HeLa cells incubated for 24 and 48 h with the D-MNP suspension and D-MNP layers did not change relative to the morphology presented by the control cells. The cytotoxicity studies conducted at different time intervals have shown that a slight decrease in the HeLa cell viability after 48 h of incubation for both samples was observed.

Staggered gap radial heterojunctions based on ZnO-CuxO core-shell nanowires are used as water stable photocatalysts to harvest solar energy for pollutants removal. ZnO nanowires with a wurtzite crystalline structure and a band gap of approximately 3.3 eV are obtained by thermal oxidation in air. These are covered with an amorphous CuxO layer having a band gap of 1.74 eV and subsequently form core-shell heterojunctions. The electrical characterization of the ZnO pristine and ZnO-CuxO core-shell nanowires emphasizes the charge transfer phenomena at the junction and at the interface between the nanowires and water based solutions. The methylene blue degradation mechanism is discussed taking into consideration the dissolution of ZnO in water based solutions for ZnO nanowires and ZnO-CuxO core-shell nanowires with different shell thicknesses. An optimum thickness of the CuxO layer is used to obtain water stable photocatalysts, where the ZnO-CuxO radial heterojunction enhances the separation and transport of the photogenerated charge carriers when irradiating with UV-light, leading to swift pollutant degradation.

Phosphate-tellurite glasses exhibit magnetic properties, due to the presence of the small metallic Te colloids which were revealed in low field magnetic circular dichroism. These metallic colloids induce the red coloring of these glasses together with the absorbance in the visible region. The temperature dependence of the absorption spectrurn and the A-term in magnetic circular dichroism are specific for Te metallic nanoparticles, which results during the melting procedure over 1000 degrees C due to the conversion of Te4+ in Te-0 atoms. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy supports this fact due to the presence of small peaks as satellites in the region of Te 3d core-level spectrum. Quantification of these satellites compared with Te 3d(3/2) and 3d(5/2) peaks suggests a 14% concentration of Te metallic nanoparticles in these phosphate-tellurite glasses. The presence of metallic particles induces the crystallization effects of Te micrograins upon thermal treatments at higher temperatures.

The main objective of the tissue engineering field is to regenerate the damaged parts of the body by developing biological substitutes that maintain, restore, or improve original tissue function. In this context, by using the electrospinning technique, composite scaffolds based on polycaprolactone (PCL) and inorganic powders were successfully obtained, namely: zinc oxide (ZnO), titanium dioxide (TiO2) and hydroxyapatite (HAp). The novelty of this approach consists in the production of fibrous membranes based on a biodegradable polymer and loaded with different types of mineral powders, each of them having a particular function in the resulting composite. Subsequently, the precursor powders and the resulting composite materials were characterized by the structural and morphological point of view in order to determine their applicability in the field of bone regeneration. The biological assays demonstrated that the obtained scaffolds represent support that is accepted by the cell cultures. Through simulated body fluid immersion, the biodegradability of the composites was highlighted, with fiber fragmentation and surface degradation within the testing period.

This paper describes an alternative active layer for the solar cells based on the organometallic compounds in two configurations: bulk heterojunction and donor/acceptor junction between the organometallic compounds as the electron donor and carbon-based layer as the electron acceptor. Both configurations depend on the band alignment which ensures optimal charge transport towards electrodes in the sandwich structures of these active layers, but the optimization also depends by the exciton diffusion length which limits the thicknesses of the active layer. In the bulk heterojunctions, the exciton diffusion length could be extended to 100 nm which allows a better efficiency then bilayer structures. The photoconductive behaviors of these two configurations have shown the superiority of the bulk heterojunctions, increasing the intensity of the measured photocurrent. The redshift of the photoluminescence of Alq3-5Cl in the bulk heterojunctions reveals a better charge transfer towards the acceptor layer, in this case, formed from graphene oxide. The alternative of organometallic compounds as donor materials ensures a better thermal and chemical stability compared with other organic materials like perovskites.

Controlled deposition of g-C3N4 films, used as photoelectrodes in PEC water splitting is still considered a challenge. In this paper, nanosheets of g-C3N4 were deposited on FTO and FTO/TiO2 substrates via spray coating method. This method allows the preparation of g-C3N4 films with a better exposure of nanosheet edges to the solution and light, favoring the photocatalytic process. The morphology, chemical composition and optical properties of these films were investigated, their behavior as photoanodes in photoelectrochemical water splitting being also evaluated. The results evidenced the formation of g-C3N4 films with an enhanced visible light absorption and improved photocatalytic activity. The interaction of these films with TiO2 substrate consists in the insertion of nitrogen species in the TiO2 lattice. A significant increase in bulk donor densities value correlated with a longer lifetime of photogenerated electrons was observed for TiO2/g-C3N4 photoanode. (C) 2019 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Luminescent europium-doped hydroxylapatite (Eu(X)HAp) nanomaterials were successfully obtained by co-precipitation method at low temperature. The morphological, structural and optical properties were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR), UV-Vis and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. The cytotoxicity and biocompatibility of Eu(X)HAp were also evaluated using MTT (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide)) assay, oxidative stress assessment and fluorescent microscopy. The results reveal that the Eu3+ has successfully doped the hexagonal lattice of hydroxylapatite. By enhancing the optical features, these Eu(X)HAp materials demonstrated superior efficiency to become fluorescent labelling materials for bioimaging applications.

In the case of DEMO fusion reactor, the divertor should be able to extract a steady heat flux of about 10 MW/m(2). A promising concept is the W-monoblock which should be connected to a CuCrZr or an advanced Cu ODS alloy pipe passing through the W component. Taking into account the optimum operating temperature windows for W and existing Cu-based alloys and the thermal expansion coefficients mismatch of these two materials, a "thermal barrier" interface material is inserted in between in order to mitigate the thermal stresses and to optimize the heat flow through divertor components. In this work we investigate the feasibility to realize such divertor components using materials produced by FAST (field assisted sintering technology). This powder metallurgy technique was used firstly to produce W or W-based composites and the thermal barriers in an almost final shape and then to join the materials in realistic divertor mock-ups. The thermal barrier materials are various Cu-based composites which are included both as single material or as functionally graded components. The interface quality between different materials is investigated by scanning electron microscopy and the heat flow through components is evaluated using simulations.

W-laminates are multi layered composites realized from alternately stacked W and a second metal foils. Such materials are promising candidates for W-based structural materials for fusion reactors like DEMO or beyond concepts, due to the fact that cold-rolled ultrafine-grained thin W foils show exceptional properties in terms of ductility, toughness and ductile to brittle transition (DBT), in contrast to classic bulk W materials. Therefore, different routes to transfer the W foils properties to bulk materials have been investigated. In this work we present the results obtained for W-Cu laminates produced via a FAST (Field Assisted Sintering Technique) joining route. The main advantages of FAST resides in the short processing time, with subsequent lower recrystallization detrimental effects. Structural and thermophysical properties show that the best materials are obtained for about 100 mu m thick W foils and 50-100 mu m thick Cu foils, while tensile and Charpy impact tests results show that the FAST processed W-Cu laminates are similar to the W-Cu laminates obtained by diffusion bonding.

Crystallization processes of bismuth germanate glasses may be evidenced by the optical properties of Eu3+ ions, used as probes because these ions substitute the Bi3+ ions in the glass-ceramic samples. The gradual thermal annealing of these glasses induces rearranging of GeO4 tetrahedra around Bi3+ ions and transforms the red colored glasses in transparent glass-ceramic samples. The red color comes from the light scattering on GeO4 clusters and, after rearranging in Bi4Ge3O12 nanoparticles, convert the glass-ceramic samples in transparent materials. One of the most essential information is given by the phonon side bands investigations which, coupled with the Raman spectra allows the identification of Bi4Ge3O12 lattice vibration but also those of residual GeO4 tetrahedra. The measurements of the luminance and CIE circle have shown a significant increase of the light emission for the glass-ceramic samples, while the Magnetic Circular Dichroism indicate lower symmetry coordination around the Eu3+ ions in the glass sample compared with the glass-ceramic and also a change in the coordination number to the higher values.