National Institute Of Materials Physics - Romania

In this paper, we report on the structural, optical, and electrical properties of a wide compositional range of AlxIn1-xN thin layers deposited on glass and polyethylene terephthalate substrates. AlxIn1-xN layers of controlled composition were obtained by a simple reactive magnetron co-sputtering protocol, using a single aluminium target with indium insets, by varying the Al/In target surface area ratio, and the composition of the deposition atmosphere. The relevant physical properties were investigated and discussed. It is shown that the texture of the thin films is dependent on the cation ratio, while the bowing parameters of lattice constants and band gap values are larger than those of epitaxial layers. (C) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC.

(Sn0.9-xIn0.1CuxO2-delta)-O-(I) (x = 0.02; 0.03 and 0.05 mol%) mesoarchitectures have been synthesized using an ionic surfactant (CTAB) as template for sensing applications. The procedure implies a facile, hydrothermal synthesis route in order to obtain mesoarchitectures built from nanoparticles. The sensors were obtained by screen-printing deposition onto planar Al2O3 substrates provided with interdigitated Pt electrodes on one side and a Pt heater on the back side. The assessment of the well organized porous structure, for the sensitive materials, as specific surface area and uniform pore size distributions were revealed by N-2 adsorption/desorption. The morphological and structural features of the resultant material were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Raman spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction (XRD), while the surface chemistry was closely monitored by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Thus, the incorporation of Cu1+ and In3+ into SnO2 lattice inducing the formation of oxygen vacancies combined with hydroxyl groups adsorbed on the outermost surface layer enhanced the sensitivity and selectivity of our sensing material. The sensors have been tested for NO2, CH4, CO, H2S target gases under humid air conditions very close to real working conditions. The sample with x = 0.05 mol% exhibits very attractive sensing properties for application as selective, low operating temperature (100 degrees C), low cost H2S sensor. With a deeper understanding of the underlying mechanisms and further improvement of the synthesis one can foresee promising applications in catalysis. (C) 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Silver nanoparticles were obtained by picosecond laser ablation in water at 1064 nm, using focusing geometry to design the particles' size. The position of the target surface with respect to the focal point strongly influences the NPs' size: above and in the focus it is up to 20 nm and below focus <= 150 nm. Generated particles have a spherical shape. The solutions were further employed on human cells and the tests showed a deteriorating effect on DNA.

Si/SiO2 quantum dots (QDs) are novel particles with unique physicochemical properties that promote them as potential candidates for biomedical applications. Although their interaction with human cells has been poorly investigated, oxidative stress appears to be the main factor involved in the cytotoxicity of these nanoparticles. In this study, we show for the first time the influence of Si/SiO2 QDs on cellular redox homeostasis and glutathione distribution in human lung fibroblasts. The nanoparticles morphology, composition and structure have been investigated using high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), selected area electron diffraction (SAED), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. MRC-5 cells (human lung fibroblasts) were incubated with various concentrations of Si/SiO2 QDs ranging between 25 and 200 mu g/mL for up to 72 h. The results of the MTT and sulforhodamine B assays showed that exposure to QDs led to a time-dependent decrease in cell viability and biomass. The increase in reactive oxygen species (ROS) and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels together with the lower glutathione content suggested that the cellular redox homeostasis was altered. Regarding GSH distribution, the first two days of treatment resulted in a localization of GSH mainly in the cytoplasm, while at longer incubation time the nuclear/cytoplasmic ratio indicated a nuclear localization. These modifications of cell redox state also affected the redox status of proteins, which was demonstrated by the accumulation of oxidized proteins and actin S-glutathionylation. In addition, the externalization of phosphatidylserine provided evidence that apoptosis might be responsible for cell death, but necrosis was also revealed. Our results suggest that Si/SiO2 quantum dots exerted cytotoxicity on MRC-5 cells by disturbing cellular homeostasis which had an effect upon protein redox status. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

High density (above 93%) superconducting bulks of MgB2 with addition of hexagonal BN (h-BN) and cubic BN (c-BN) with compositions ((MgB2) + (BN)(x), x = 0.01, 0.03, 0.05) were obtained by ex situ spark plasma sintering. All the investigated samples have the critical temperature T-c = 38.8 K. The variation of the critical current density J(c) with the external magnetic field H for h-BN added sample is almost overlapping the J(c)(H) dependence for the pristine MgB2 sample. On the other hand, J(c) for the samples added with c-BN is larger at high magnetic fields, while the decrease of J(c) at low H is very small. At T = 20 K, a J(c) of 10(2) A cm(-2) is determined for the sample with x(c-BN) = 0.005 at H = 58 kOe, and for the sample with x(c-BN) = 0.01 at 54 kOe. Magnetic relaxation measurements indicate a significant flux pinning enhancement in MgB2 samples added with c-BN. It is proposed that the disorder at the interface caused by the convenient lattice matching relationship between the lateral plane of the MgB2 crystal prism and the face of the c-BN crystal cube is responsible for the observed vortex pinning increase.

Tetragonal Sr2FeMoO6 powders were prepared by the sol gel and solid-state reaction methods. The structure, microstructure and magnetic characteristics of the double perovskite Sr2FeMoO6 in the form of as-prepared powders and classical sintered ceramics were analyzed and compared. Moreover, the magnetic properties of Sr2FeMoO6 ceramics obtained by sol gel and solid state reaction methods and sintered by the classical method were compared with those of Sr2FeMoO6 ceramics obtained by the same two methods, but sintered by the spark plasma sintering technique. The morphology of the powders obtained from the gel precursor and oxides mixture was characterized by homogeneity, as well as the grains shape and size. The powder prepared by the sol gel method was finer (particle average size of 0.6 mu m) than those obtained from oxides mixture (particle average size of 0.9 mu m). Sintered ceramics with tetragonal Sr2FeMoO6 phase were prepared from the two mentioned powders by classical sintering at 1200 degrees C, 2 h in 5%H-2/Ar. The pellets obtained from the gel powder exhibited higher magnetic characteristics than those derived from the oxides mixture. The saturation magnetization and the total magnetic moment of the samples prepared by the sol-gel method were M-sat=41.18 emu/g and mu(exp)/f.u.=3.26, respectively, while for the samples derived from the oxides mixture were M-sat=40.77 emu/g and mu(exp)/f.u=3.10. Also, Sr2FeMoO6 pellets sintered by the conventional method showed higher saturation magnetization values than those sintered by spark plasma sintering technique. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd and Techna Group S.r.l. All rights reserved.

Colloidal nanocrystals electronic energy levels are determined by strong size-dependent quantum confinement. Understanding the configuration of the energy levels of nanocrystal superlattices is vital in order to use them in heterostructures with other materials. A powerful method is reported to determine the energy levels of PbS nanocrystal assemblies by combining the utilization of electric-double-layer-gated transistors and advanced ab-initio theory.

Magnetic and electrical properties of the nanostructured ZnO films are affected by the nonrandom distribution of impurities in the film due to segregation at grain boundaries (GBs) or extended defects. However, mapping the nature and distribution of the impurities in the film is not trivial. Here we demonstrate a simple, statistically relevant, and nondestructive procedure of quantitative determination of the paramagnetic impurities segregated at the GBs in nanostructured semiconducting and insulating films. From correlated electron paramagnetic resonance and transmission electron microscopy investigations, we determined the localization of trace amounts of Mn2+ ions, present as native impurities in a ZnO film deposited by magnetron sputtering at room temperature. In the as-deposited ZnO film, the Mn2+ ions were all localized in nanosized pockets of highly disordered ZnO dispersed between nanocrystalline columns. After the samples had been annealed in air at >400 degrees C, the size of the intercrystalline region decreased and the diffusion in GBs was activated, resulting in the localization of a portion of the Mn2+ ions in the peripheral atomic layers of the ZnO columns neighboring the GBs. The proportion of Mn2+ ions still localized at the GBs after annealing at 600 degrees C was 37%. The proposed method for the assessment of the presence and nature of impurities and the quantitative evaluation of their distribution in semiconducting and insulating nanostructures is expected to find direct applications in nanotechnology, in the synthesis and quality assurance of thin films for spintronics and opto- and nanoelectronics.

Relaxor ferroelectrics have neither long range ferroelectric order nor structural transformation down to the lowest temperatures, and display isotropic optical properties like quadratic electro-optic effect. However, if an anisotropy is forced through an external agent, like electric field or uniaxial strain, a ferroelectric and structural long range order can be induced in these materials. Here, we show that epitaxial strain in relaxor ferroelectric thin films can be employed to induce a linear electro-optic effect, opening the path to new strain-controlled electro-optic materials. Epitaxial thin films with Pb1-3x/2LaxZr0.2Ti0.8O3 (x = 0.22) composition grown by pulsed laser deposition on (001) SrRuO3/SrTiO3 single crystal heterostructures become tetragonal below the susceptibility peak, which occurs at a temperature 140K higher as compared to bulk. These films show piezoelectric properties and almost linear electro-optic behaviour. (C) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC.

The GeTiO2 amorphous films were deposited by magnetron sputtering and subsequently annealed at 400, 550, 600 and 700 degrees C for nanostructuring. The structure of annealed films was investigated by X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. The transmittance spectra of all annealed GeTiO2 films were measured and simulated by using Bruggeman effective medium approximation considering components of TiO2 anatase, crystalline Ge, GeO2 and voids determined from the structure investigations. The electrical behavior of 400, 600 and 700 degrees C annealed films was studied by measuring current-voltage characteristics. We found that by increasing the annealing temperature the films thickness decreases from 330 nm (as-deposited films) to 290 nm (700 degrees C annealed films). The 400 degrees C annealed films are amorphous, while all the others annealed at higher temperatures are crystallized (X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy). In the 550 and 600 degrees C annealed films we found the (TiGe)O-2 rutile structure which is formed by starting from the GeO2 tetragonal structure with high Ti content. Additionally, these films contain TiO2 anatase structure and cubic Ge nanocrystals. At 700 degrees C annealing temperature, a surface layer of GeO2 tetragonal nanocrystals is formed by Ge diffusion and a part of Ge is lost. The experimental transmittance spectra indicate a broadening of the transparency range by increasing the annealing temperature, and the simulated ones also indicate this behavior with the decrease of Ge content, the experimental and simulated spectra being in good agreement. Also, the increase of annealing temperature produces an increase of electrical conductivity. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.