National Institute Of Materials Physics - Romania

Publications

847 articles found

611. Synthesis and structural characteristics of nitrogen doped TiO2 aerogels

Authors: Popa, M; Macovei, D; Indrea, E; Mercioniu, I; Popescu, IC; Danciu, V

Published: JUL 2010, MICROPOROUS AND MESOPOROUS MATERIALS, 132, 86, DOI: 10.1016/j.micromeso.2009.12.024

Nitrogen doped TiO2 aerogels were obtained by sol gel process followed by supercritical drying with liquid CO2. Urea and NH3 (25% aqueous solution) were used as nitrogen sources. The as-prepared aerogels were submitted to thermal treatments performed under different experimental conditions (temperature and heating time). Increasing the temperature from 450 degrees C to 550 degrees C a decrease about 32% and 15.4% of the particle size and surface OH groups' concentration, respectively and an increase about 21.4% of the incorporated nitrogen in TiO2 lattice were observed. The immersion of the TiO2 aerogels in NH3 solution induced a decreasing by 48.86% and by 80% of the S-BET and the aerogel porosity, respectively. The photocatalytic activity of the obtained N-doped TiO2 was found to depend mainly on the nitrogen incorporation in the TiO2 lattice. (C) 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

612. Doped aluminium based spinels synthesized by a soft chemistry method

Authors: Mindru, I; Marinescu, G; Gingasu, D; Patron, L; Diamandescu, L; Ghica, C; Mironov, B

Published: JUN 15 2010, MATERIALS SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING B-ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL SOLID-STATE MATERIALS, 170, 106, DOI: 10.1016/j.mseb.2010.02.036

Structural and optical properties of (Co0.01Zn0.99)Al2O4 and Zn(Al(1.99)Ln(0.01))O-4 (where Ln(III)=Eu(III), Tb(III)) spinels obtained by a variant of the complexation method-tartarate route were studied. The tartarate precursors have been characterized by IR, UV-vis and luminescence spectroscopy. The doped aluminium based spinets have been investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transsmision electron microscopy (TEM), infrared spectroscopy (IR), ultraviolet visible spectroscopy (UV-vis) and luminescence spectroscopy. Pure spinel nanometer powders were obtained. Under excitation at 380 nm the nanoparticles exhibits strong luminescence corresponding to D-5(0) -> F-7(2) transition of Eu3+ ions and respectively, to D-5(4) -> 7 F-j (j = 3, 4, 5, 6) transition of Tb3+ ions. No blue emission from the D-5(3) state were observed. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

613. Removal of Reactive Black 5 azo dye from aqueous solutions by catalytic oxidation using CuO/Al2O3 and NiO/Al2O3

Authors: Bradu, C; Frunza, L; Mihalche, N; Avramescu, SM; Neata, M; Udrea, I

Published: JUN 7 2010, APPLIED CATALYSIS B-ENVIRONMENTAL, 96, 556, DOI: 10.1016/j.apcatb.2010.03.019

CuO/Al2O3 and NiO/Al2O3 catalysts prepared by incipient wetness impregnation were used for the oxidation of Reactive Black 5 (RB5) in aqueous solution. Removal of the dye was assessed by High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) and Total Organic Carbon (TOC) measurements and the generation of the hydroxyl radicals in the process was evaluated by chemiluminescence measurements. To put in evidence the interaction RB5 - catalyst and the surface species formed onto catalysts during the oxidation, Diffuse Reflectance Infrared Fourier Transform (DRIFT) analysis was performed. A different behavior of the two catalytic systems was revealed by the comparative analysis of the data obtained from the adsorption and oxidation tests. Only CuO/Al2O3 was effective in the RB5 degradation, NiO/Al2O3 acted as a simple adsorbent. In the presence of CuO/Al2O3, at H2O2 concentration of 40 mM the azo dye was totally eliminated from both solution and catalyst surface after 4 h, with a mineralization degree higher than 90%. However, a strong inhibition of the catalytic oxidation of RB5 was observed in the presence of phosphate ions. In the conditions of hydrogen peroxide excess, the rate equation in the case of copper catalyst was simply expressed by a pseudo-first order equation and the model was found to fit well the data. The amount of copper leached from catalyst during the oxidation process was only 1.0-1.6% per cycle leading to the conclusion that the decrease of the dye mineralization with the number of cycles has to be explained mostly by the surface covering with the reaction products, at least to a certain extent. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

614. RHENIUM-188 LABELLED ALBUMIN MICROSPHERES FOR THERAPY OF LIVER TUMORS

Authors: Borza, VN; Neacsu, E; Mustaciosu, C; Luca, A; Barna, C; Popescu, N; Mercioniu, I; Albert, P; Hurduc, A; Moldovan, L; Savi, GP; Savi, I; Matei, L

Published: MAY 15 2010, JOURNAL OF LABELLED COMPOUNDS & RADIOPHARMACEUTICALS, 53, 471, DOI:

615. Specificity of defects induced in silicon by RF-plasma hydrogenation

Authors: Ghica, C; Nistor, LC; Stefan, M; Ghica, D; Mironov, B; Vizireanu, S; Moldovan, A; Dinescu, M

Published: MAR 2010, APPLIED PHYSICS A-MATERIALS SCIENCE & PROCESSING, 98, 785, DOI: 10.1007/s00339-009-5527-1

Silicon wafers have been submitted to hydrogen RF-plasma treatment in various experimental conditions. Hydrogen RF-plasma treatment induced two kinds of effects on Si wafers, depending on the treatment conditions: surface corrugation and formation of structural defects below the free surface. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) investigations showed that the surface roughness significantly increased with the treatment duration, leading to the formation of pyramidal humps on the surface. The structural defects resulting after the plasma treatments were investigated by conventional and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (CTEM and HRTEM) techniques. The specificity of the induced extended defects due to hydrogen decoration was emphasized. Three types of extended defects were identified and characterized: planar defects in the {111} and {100} planes and nanometric voids. Point defects related to the hydrogenation process were investigated by electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) in correlation with the electron microscopy results.

616. Study of the Kramers rare earth ions ground multiplet with a large orbital contribution by multifrequency EPR spectroscopy: Ce3+ in PbWO4 scintillator

Authors: Popescu, FF; Bercu, V; Barascu, JN; Martinelli, M; Massa, CA; Pardi, LA; Stefan, M; Nistor, SV; Nikl, M

Published: MAR 2010, OPTICAL MATERIALS, 32, 575, DOI: 10.1016/j.optmat.2009.11.015

A multifrequency Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) investigation of Ce3+ impurities in PbWO4 single-crystals at the conventional microwave frequency (CMF) (X-band: 9.43 GHz) and at the high frequencies/fields (HF) 95, 190 and 285 GHz was carried out. The resulting spectra are well described at all frequencies by an axial spin-Hamiltonian corresponding to an effective spin one-half system in a tetragonal site symmetry. The diagonal values of the effective g matrix of the lowest doublet of the ground multiplet, g(parallel to) and g_, are frequency dependent at high fields. For the magnetic field perpendicular to the tetragonal axis, the g_-parameter exhibits also a small azimuthal angular dependence, which is frequency dependent, corresponding to the tetragonal S-4 symmetry. These HF effects are associated with the mixing by the large Zeeman interaction of some of the upper-lying doublets of the ground multiplet into the lowest-lying doublet states. The CMF and multifrequency HF-EPR analysis gives a good description of the magnetic properties and allows an estimation of the crystal field splitting of the ground multiplet of Ce3+ ions with tetragonal symmetry S-4 in the PbWO4 scintillator. (c) 2009 Elsevier BM. All rights reserved.

617. Structure and properties of silver doped SnSe2 and Ge2Sb2Te5 thin films prepared by pulsed laser deposition

Authors: Popescu, M; Velea, A; Sava, F; Lorinczi, A; Tomescu, A; Simion, C; Matei, E; Socol, G; Mihailescu, IN; Andonie, A; Stamatin, I

Published: MAR 2010, PHYSICA STATUS SOLIDI A-APPLICATIONS AND MATERIALS SCIENCE, 207, 520, DOI: 10.1002/pssa.200982900

Amorphous thin films of SnSe2 and Ge2Sb2Te5 doped by different amount of silver (0.1, 0.2, 0.5 and 1 Ag atoms per formula unit) have been prepared by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) starting from solid polycrystalline targets. The films were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The good gas sensing properties for CO, as well as the sensitivity for CH4 and NO of the Ag; doped SnSe2 films have been demonstrated in the composition SnSe2Ag0.2. The structural effect of silver introduced in Ge2Sb2Te5 matrix has been investigated. The freshly deposited thin films doped by various amount of Ag develop three phases: an amorphous one, and two crystalline phases consisting of a major fcc cubic phase of AgSbTe2 and a minor cubic phase of composition Ag2Te. (C) 2010 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim

618. Nanostructured gold layers. I. Deposition by Vacuum evaporation at small angles of incidence

Authors: Beica, T; Frunza, S; Zgura, I; Frunza, L; Cotarlan, C; Negrila, C; Vlaicu, AM; Zaharia, CN

Published: FEB 2010, JOURNAL OF OPTOELECTRONICS AND ADVANCED MATERIALS, 12, 353, DOI:

Gold layers were deposited at oblique incidence onto glass plates. A B30.2 Hochvakuum Bedampfungsanlage equipment was used in this aim. The deposition conditions were chosen in order to obtain nanostructured layers. Correlations were found among these conditions and the corresponding nomograms were then obtained. Examples of such depositions were given and the layers structure was characterized and additionally supported by observing the molecular alignment given in the liquid crystal cells obtained with these gold layers.

619. The influence of shape and potential barrier on confinement energy levels in quantum dots

Authors: Lepadatu, AM; Stavarache, I; Ciurea, ML; Iancu, V

Published: FEB 2010, JOURNAL OF APPLIED PHYSICS, 107, DOI: 10.1063/1.3284083

The influence of the shape of silicon quantum dots embedded in an amorphous silica matrix on the quantum confinement energy levels, as well as that of the Si/SiO2 potential barrier, are studied. The energy levels are computed using both the infinite and finite rectangular quantum well models for spherical quantum dots and the infinite rectangular quantum well for prolate spheroidal quantum dots. The results are compared with each other and also with the experimental activation energies obtained from the temperature dependence of the dark current. These activation energies are identified with the differences between the quantum confinement energies, subject to the selection rules. The finite rectangular quantum well model takes into account the experimental value of the finite potential barrier and the matrix-to-dot electron mass ratio. The energy levels are smaller than those for the infinite rectangular quantum well case; they decrease when the potential barrier decreases and the mass ratio increases. Different aspects of the models are discussed. All the errors are less than about 4%. The spheroidal shape lifts the degeneracy on the magnetic quantum number. The energy levels can decrease or increase with eccentricity as a consequence of the different quantum confinement effects along the major and minor axes. The supplementary information on the magnetic quantum number is beneficial for optical applications.

620. Organic Photovoltaic Cells Based on ZnO Thin Film Electrodes

Authors: Ghica, C; Ion, L; Epurescu, G; Nistor, L; Antohe, S; Dinescu, M

Published: FEB 2010, JOURNAL OF NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY, 10, 1326, DOI: 10.1166/jnn.2010.1836

Due to its wide band-gap (ca. 3.4 eV), ZnO is a possible candidate material to be used as transparent electrode for a new class of photovoltaic (PV) cells. Also, an increased interest for the photovoltaic properties of several organic monomers and polymers (merocyanines, phthalocyanines and porphyrins) was noticed, because of their high optical absorption in the visible region of the spectrum allowing them to be used as potential inexpensive materials for solar cells. Preparation and properties of CuPc (copper phthalocyanine) based photovoltaic cells using ZnO thin films as transparent conductor electrodes are presented in this paper. ZnO layers are grown by pulsed laser deposition, while the organic layers are obtained by thermal evaporation. Structural characterization is performed by electron microscopy. Optical and transport properties of the mutilayered structures are obtained by electrical and spectro-photometric measurements. The influence of the ZnO-polymer interface on the external quantum efficiency (EQE) of the photovoltaic cell is clearly evidenced by our measurements.