National Institute Of Materials Physics - Romania

ZnO nanofibers were obtained by electrospinning a solution of zinc acetate dihydrate and polyvinylpyrrolidone in N, N-dimethylformamide, followed by calcination at 500, 650 or 800 degrees C for 1 h. X-ray diffraction, selected area electron diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, reflectance spectroscopy and photoluminescence spectroscopy were used for the characterization of the resulting fibers. The thermally treated samples exhibit ZnO single phase with polycrystalline hexagonal structure. The morphological investigation revealed an accentuated contraction process during calcination, as well as the increase of the crystallite size and the appearance of a breaking tendency with the calcination temperature enhancement. Both UV and Visible emissions under excitation at 350 nm were showed by the optical studies, which also led to band gap values slightly lower than those reported for similar one-dimensional nanostructures. In order to assess the photocatalytic activity of ZnO fibers, the photodegradation of methylene blue in aqueous medium (10(-3) M) under UV irradiation (368 nm) was analyzed.

Heterostructures with layers from small molecules organic compounds were deposited on ITO/glass substrate by thermal vacuum evaporation (TVE) technique. Structural, optical and morphological investigations were carried out on the realised layers (zinc phthalocyanine-ZnPc, fullerene-C60 and 1,4,5,8-naphthalene-tetracarboxylic dianhydride-NTCDA). The films are polycrystalline keeping the morphological features characteristic to these materials. The prepared heterostructures reveal a large absorption domain in the visible domain. The current-voltage (I-V) characteristics of the investigated structures, recorded in dark, present an improvement in the current value (similar to one order of magnitude) for the standard structure (ITO/PEDOT: PSS/ZnPc/C60/NTCDA/Al) with a supplimentary layer of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS). For the inverted structure (Al/NTCDA/C60/ZnPc/ITO) was also noticed an increased curent value in comparasion with that observed for the standard structure.

An important parameter of deposited thin films is their adhesion to the substrate materials, we focused on the adhesion of TiO2 layer by sol-gel or sputtering onto textile substrate as checked by an ultra-sonication method. The characterization-made prior and after the tests have shown a good adherence of the nanoparticles, despite the low deposition temperature.

We investigate by different complementary methods the processes occurring when a polydimethylsiloxane film is used as interlayer for a silver doped hydroxyapatite coating. The X-ray diffraction and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy measurements show that the hydroxyapatite doped with silver is in a crystalline form and some SiO44- ions formation takes place at the surface and in the bulk of the new hydroxyapatite doped with silver/polydimethylsiloxane composite layer. The possibility of SiO44- ions incorporation in the structure of silver doped hydroxyapatite by the mechanism of SiO44-/PO43- ions substitution is analysed. The new formed silver doped hydroxyapatite/polydimethylsiloxane composite layer is compact, homogeneous, with no cracks as it was shown by Scanning Electron Microscopy and Glow Discharge Optical Emission Spectrometry.

Samarium doped hydroxyapatite (Sm:HAp), Ca10-xSmx(PO4)(6)(OH)(2) (HAp), bionanoparticles with different x(Sm) have been successfully synthesized by coprecipitation method. Detailed characterization of samarium doped hydroxyapatite nanoparticles (Sm: HAp-NPs) was carried out using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The biocompatibility of samarium doped hydroxyapatite was assessed by cell viability. The antibacterial activity of the Sm: HAp-NPs was tested against Gram-negative bacteria (Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Escherichia coli) andGram-positive bacteria (Enterococcus faecalis and Staphylococcus aureus). A linear increase of antimicrobial activity of P. aeruginosa has been observed when concentrations of Sm: HAp-NPs in the samples with x(Sm) = 0.02 were higher than 0.125 mg/mL. For Sm: HAp-NPs with x(Sm) = 0.05 a significant increase of antibacterial activity on E. coli was observed in the range 0.5-1 mg/mL. For low concentrations of Sm: HAp-NPs (x(Sm) = 0.05) from 0.031 to 0.125 mg/mL a high antibacterial activity on Enterococcus faecalis has been noticed. A growth of the inhibitory effect on S. aureus was observed for all concentrations of Sm: HAp-NPs with x(Sm) = 0.02.

The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of Ca10-x Eu-x(PO4)(6)(OH)(2), ( x(Eu)=0; 0.05) before and after immersion in simulated body fluid (SBF) for 72 hours. The samples have been investigated by X-Ray Diffraction, FT-IR Spectroscopy, Raman Spectroscopy and Steady-State Photoluminescence. Moreover, it was studied the antibacterial activity of the powders against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli bacterial strains. Our studies revealed that after soaking in SBF solution, the average crystallite size of the samples increased. Moreover, it was noticed that the luminescence of the samples is strongly influenced by the immersion in SBF solution.

Using electrodeposition, we have grown nanowires of ZnCoO with Cu codoping concentrations varying from 4-10 at. %, controlled only by the deposition potential. We demonstrate control over magnetic Co oxide nano-precipitate formation in the nanowires via the Cu concentration. The different magnetic behavior of the Co oxide nano-precipitates indicates the potential of ZnCoO for magnetic sensor applications. (C) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC.

By combining two types of ligands, phenylpyridine and quinoline, a new type of organometallic IrQ(ppy)(2) compound has been synthesized, which exhibits two phosphorescences: green and red. Using an appropriate catalyst, the final IrQ(ppy)(2) compound has a good chemical yield up to 60% and becomes a stable dual emitter at room temperature. This compound is important because it exhibits stable red emission which is limited by the quantum yield due to the low energy band gap. As a result, an overlap between the ground state and the excited state occurs due to the vibrations that increase the nonradiative transitions, destroying the red emissions. Structural characteristics of the IrQ(ppy)(2) powder reveal a triclinic structure confirmed by x-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy images. Thermal analysis of the final compound confirms a good stability against decomposition and structural changes up to 350 degrees C. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy reveals Ir-O chemical bonds and several differences between the intermediate and final compounds, such as Ir-Cl bonds. Cathodoluminescence patterns show a phosphorescent triclinic structure with a higher efficiency for the red color. Backscattering electron images prove that there is a uniform distribution of iridium ions in the IrQ(ppy)(2) nanocrystals.

A comparative study of two different biocatalytic models, e.g. enzyme immobilized on magnetic particles (EIMP) and cross-linking enzyme aggregates onto magnetic particles (CLEMPA) was performed. The first model was designed as enzyme-immobilized on the magnetic particles surface (EIMP). The second model was constructed as a network structure with the enzyme aggregates and magnetic particles placed into the nodes and polyglutaraldehyde cross-linker as the network ledges. The design was called cross-linking enzyme aggregates onto magnetic particles (CLEMPA). The biocatalysts were prepared using lipase enzyme from Aspergillus niger for catalyzing the glycerol (Gly) conversion to glycerol carbonate (GlyC). The biocatalyst characteristics for both designs (EIMP and CLEMPA) were evaluated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), laser light scattering (LLS) and UV-Vis techniques. The EIMP model was strongly influenced by the composition of the polymeric layer covering the particles surface, while the size of the magnetic particles affected mostly the CLEMPA design. Also, the biocatalytic capacity of the tested models was evaluated as maximum 52% Gly conversion with 90% GlyC selectivity for EIMP, and 73% Gly conversion with 77% GlyC selectivity for CLEMPA. Both biocatalytic models were successfully used to prepare GlyC from "crude" glycerol collected directly from the biodiesel process (e.g. 49% Gly conversion with 91% GlyC selectivity for EIMP and 70% Gly conversion with 80% GlyC selectivity for CLEMPA).