National Institute Of Materials Physics - Romania

Nanoscale Condensed Matter Laboratory

Publications

articles found
11. Internal and external surface features of newly developed porous ceramics with random interconnected 3D channels by a fibrous sacrificial porogen method
Authors: Mocanu, AC; Miculescu, M; Machedon-Pisu, T; Maidaniuc, A; Ciocoiu, RC; Ionita, M; Pasuk, J; Stan, GE; Miculescu, F

Published: SEP 30 2019, DOI: 10.1016/j.apsusc.2019.05.354

Abstract: The bone remodeling research field has shifted focus towards sustainable, eco-friendly and reproducible manufacturing technologies of 3D structures. It is now accepted that a suitable internal architecture and an active interface between the 3D structure and host bone-tissue constitute the two most critical traits for a successful bone tissue engineering application. A completely reproducible synthesis set-up was recently developed for calcium phosphate (CaP) bioceramics preparation from natural highly available marble and seashells. The influence of the pressing force in the fabrication process of porous 3D scaffolds derived from such CaPs by a sacrificial porogen method using natural fibers is here investigated. The fiber-ceramic based-products underwent thermal processing, followed by surface and volume features characterization. After fibers' thermal removal, interconnected 3D channels were obtained, which could allow a suitable in vivo irrigation and implant-associated negative side-effects prevention. This method provides the prospect of tunable HA/beta-TCP content in the case of both precursors' derived-scaffolds. The morphological results revealed the internal and external pores dimensions, modulated through different pressing forces that led to a controlled total porosity, evidenced by computed tomography techniques. Further, the wettability and mechanical features supported the advance of the novel porous-ceramic-structure designs as reliable bone reconstruction alternatives.
12. CuxCeMgAlO mixed oxide catalysts derived from multicationic LDH precursors for methane total oxidation
Authors: Al-Aani, HMS; Iro, E; Chirra, P; Fechete, I; Badea, M; Negrila, C; Popescu, I; Olea, M; Marcu, IC

Published: SEP 25 2019, DOI: 10.1016/j.apcata.2019.117215

Abstract: A series of five Cu(x)CeMgAlO mixed oxides with different copper contents (x) ranging from 6 to 18 at. % with respect to cations, but with fixed 10 at. % Ce and Mg/Al atomic ratio of 3, were prepared by thermal decomposition of layered double hydroxide (LDH) precursors at 750 degrees C. The solid containing 15 at. % Cu, i.e. Cu (15)CeMgAlO, was also calcined at 550 and 650 degrees C. Powder XRD was used to characterize the crystalline structure and SEM-EDX was used to monitor the morphology and chemical composition of both as prepared and calcined materials. Additionally, the textural properties and the reducibility of the mixed oxide catalysts were studied by nitrogen adsorption/desorption and temperature programmed reduction with hydrogen (H-2-TPR) techniques, respectively. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was used to determine the chemical state of the elements on the catalyst surface and the diffuse reflectance UV-vis spectroscopy, to obtain information about the stereochemistry and aggregation of copper in the Cu-containing mixed oxides. Their catalytic properties in the total oxidation of methane, used as a volatile organic compound (VOC) model molecule, were evaluated and compared with those of an industrial Pd/Al2O3 catalyst. Their catalytic behavior was explained in correlation with their physicochemical properties. Cu(15)CeMgAlO mixed oxide was shown to be the most active catalyst in this series, with a T-50 (temperature corresponding to 50% methane conversion) value of only ca. 45 degrees C higher than that of a commercial Pd/Al2O3 catalyst. This difference becomes as low as ca. 25 degrees C for the Cu(15)CeMgAlO system calcined at 550 degrees C. The influences of the contact time and of the methane concentration in the feed gas on the catalytic performances of the Cu(15)CeMgAlO catalyst have been investigated and its good stability on stream was evidenced.
13. Photoluminescence and structural properties of the nitrogen doped TiO2 and the influence of SiO2 and Ag nanoparticles
Authors: Nila, A; Baibarac, M; Udrescu, A; Smaranda, I; Mateescu, A; Mateescu, G; Mereuta, P; Negrila, CC

Published: SEP 18 2019, DOI: 10.1088/1361-648X/ab2692

Abstract: Mixtures of nitrogen-doped titanium dioxide (TiO2:N) with different concentrations of Ag and/or SiO2 particles (0.5, 1 and 2 wt.%) were prepared in solid state by mechanico-chemical interactions. Using UV-VIS spectroscopy, Raman scattering, photoluminescence (PL) and photoluminescence excitation (PLE), the influence of the particles on the host material is evaluated. UV-VIS spectroscopy studies indicate a TiO2:N band gap shift to the UV range with increasing concentrations of SiO2 and Ag particles. PL intensities decrease with increasing concentrations of Ag and/or SiO2 particles in the TiO2:N host matrix, which in turn could effectively restrict the electron and hole recombination. To explain these processes, the different de-excitation ways will be advanced, taking into account the energy levels diagram of TiO2:N/Ag, TiO2:N/SiO2 and TiO2:N/Ag/SiO2 systems. PLE spectra show a gradual decrease in their relative intensities after 165 min of continuous irradiation due to photosensitivity of TiO2:N. The plasmonic effect of Ag particles in the TiO2:N/Ag system is highlighted for the first time by PLE studies.
14. Fabrication and characterization of Si1-xGex nanocrystals in as-grown and annealed structures: a comparative study
Authors: Sultan, MT; Maraloiu, AV; Stavarache, I; Gudmundsson, JT; Manolescu, A; Teodorescu, VS; Ciurea, ML; Svavarsson, HG

Published: SEP 17 2019, DOI: 10.3762/bjnano.10.182

Abstract: Multilayer structures comprising of SiO2/SiGe/SiO2 and containing SiGe nanoparticles were obtained by depositing SiO2 layers using reactive direct current magnetron sputtering (dcMS), whereas, Si and Ge were co-sputtered using dcMS and high-power impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS). The as-grown structures subsequently underwent rapid thermal annealing (550-900 degrees C for 1 min) in N-2 ambient atmosphere. The structures were investigated using X-ray diffraction, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy together with spectral photocurrent measurements, to explore structural changes and corresponding properties. It is observed that the employment of HiPIMS facilitates the formation of SiGe nanoparticles (2.1 +/- 0.8 nm) in the as-grown structure, and that presence of such nanoparticles acts as a seed for heterogeneous nucleation, which upon annealing results in the periodically arranged columnar self-assembly of SiGe core-shell nanocrystals. An increase in photocurrent intensity by more than an order of magnitude was achieved by annealing. Furthermore, a detailed discussion is provided on strain development within the structures, the consequential interface characteristics and its effect on the photocurrent spectra.
15. Backaction effects in cavity-coupled quantum conductors
Authors: Moldoveanu, V; Dinu, IV; Manolescu, A; Gudmundsson, V

Published: SEP 12 2019, DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevB.100.125416

Abstract: We study the electronic transport through a pair of distant nanosystems (S-a and S-b) embedded in a single-mode cavity. Each system is connected to source and drain particle reservoirs and the electron-photon coupling is described by the Tavis-Cummings model. The generalized master equation approach provides the reduced density operator of the double system in the dressed-states basis. It is shown that the photon-mediated coupling between the two subsystems leaves a signature on their transient and steady-state currents. In particular, a suitable bias applied on subsystem S-b induces a photon-assisted current in the other subsystem S-a which is otherwise in the Coulomb blockade. We also predict that a transient current passing through one subsystem triggers a charge transfer between the optically active levels of the second subsystem even if the latter is not connected to the leads. As a result of backaction, the transient current through the open system develops Rabi oscillations (ROs) whose period depends on the initial state of the closed system.
16. Manipulating the Optical Properties of Carbon Dots by Fine-Tuning their Structural Features
Authors: Luo, H; Papaioannou, N; Salvadori, E; Roessler, MM; Ploenes, G; van Eck, ERH; Tanase, LC; Feng, JY; Sun, YW; Yang, Y; Danaie, M; Jorge, AB; Sapelkin, A; Durrant, J; Dimitrov, SD; Titirici, MM

Published: OCT 8 2019, DOI: 10.1002/cssc.201901795

Abstract: As a new class of sustainable carbon material, "carbon dots" is an umbrella term covering many types of materials. Herein, a broad range of techniques was used to develop the understanding of hydrothermally synthesized carbon dots, and it is shown how fine-tuning the structural features by simple reduction/oxidation reactions can drastically affect their excited-state properties. Structural and spectroscopic studies found that photoluminescence originates from direct excitation of localized fluorophores involving oxygen functional groups, whereas excitation at graphene-like features leads to ultrafast phonon-assisted relaxation and largely quenches the fluorescent quantum yields. This is arguably the first study to identify the dynamics of photoluminescence including Stokes shift and allow the relaxation pathways in these carbon dots to be fully resolved. This comprehensive investigation sheds light on how understanding the excited-state relaxation processes in different carbon structures is crucial for tuning the optical properties for any potential commercial applications.
17. Probing single-unit-cell resolved electronic structure modulations in oxide superlattices with standing-wave photoemission
Authors: Yang, W; Chandrasena, RU; Gu, M; dos Reis, RMS; Moon, EJ; Arab, A; Husanu, MA; Nemsak, S; Gullikson, EM; Ciston, J; Strocov, VN; Rondinelli, JM; May, SJ; Gray, AX

Published: SEP 9 2019, DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevB.100.125119

Abstract: Control of structural coupling at complex-oxide interfaces is a powerful platform for creating ultrathin layers with electronic and magnetic properties unattainable in the bulk. However, with the capability to design and control the electronic structure of such buried layers and interfaces at a unit-cell level, a new challenge emerges to be able to probe these engineered emergent phenomena with depth-dependent atomic resolution as well as element- and orbital selectivity. Here, we utilize a combination of core-level and valence-band soft x-ray standing-wave photoemission spectroscopy, in conjunction with scanning transmission electron microscopy, to probe the depth-dependent and single-unit-cell resolved electronic structure of an isovalent manganite superlattice [Eu0.7Sr0.3MnO3/La0.7Sr0.3MnO3] x 15 wherein the electronic-structural properties are intentionally modulated with depth via engineered oxygen octahedra rotations/tilts and A-site displacements. Our unit-cell resolved measurements reveal significant transformations in the local chemical and electronic valence-band states, which are consistent with the layer-resolved first-principles theoretical calculations, thus opening the door for future depth-resolved studies of a wide variety of heteroengineered material systems.
18. Efficacy of annealing and fabrication parameters on photo-response of SiGe in TiO2 matrix
Authors: Sultan, MT; Gudmundsson, JT; Manolescu, A; Teodorescu, VS; Ciurea, ML; Svavarsson, HG

Published: SEP 6 2019, DOI: 10.1088/1361-6528/ab260e

Abstract: SiGe nanoparticles dispersed in a dielectric matrix exhibit properties different from those of bulk and have shown great potential in devices for application in advanced optoelectronics. Annealing is a common fabrication step used to increase crystallinity and to form nanoparticles in such a system. A frequent downside of such annealing treatment is the formation of insulating SiO2 layer at the matrix/SiGe interface, degrading the optical properties of the structure. An annealing process that could bypass this downside would therefore be of great interest. In this work, a short-time furnace annealing of a SiGe/TiO2 system is applied to obtain SiGe nanoparticles without formation of the undesired SiO2 layer between the dielectric matrix (TiO2) and SiGe. The structures were prepared by depositing alternate layers of TiO2 and SiGe films, using direct-current magnetron sputtering technique. A wide range spectral response with a response-threshold up to similar to 1300 nm was obtained, accompanied with an increase in photo-response of more than two-orders of magnitude. Scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy and grazing incidence x-ray diffraction were used to analyze the morphological changes in respective structures. Photoconductive properties were studied by measuring photocurrent spectra using applied dc-voltages at various temperatures.
19. Cavity-Photon-Induced High-Order Transitions between Ground States of Quantum Dots
Authors: Gudmundsson, V; Abdullah, NR; Tang, CS; Manolescu, A; Moldoveanu, V

Published: NOV 2019, DOI: 10.1002/andp.201900306

Abstract: It is shown that quantum electromagnetic transitions to high orders are essential to describe the time-dependent path of a nanoscale electron system in a Coulomb blockade regime when coupled to external leads and placed in a 3D rectangular photon cavity. The electronic system consists of two quantum dots embedded asymmetrically in a short quantum wire. The two lowest in energy spin degenerate electron states are mostly localized in each dot with only a tiny probability in the other dot. In the presence of the leads, a slow high-order transition between the ground states of the two quantum dots is identified. The Fourier power spectrum for photon-photon correlations in the steady state shows a Fano type of resonance for the frequency of the slow transition. Full account is taken of the geometry of the multilevel electronic system, and the electron-electron Coulomb interactions together with the para- and diamagnetic electron-photon interactions are treated with step-wise exact numerical diagonalization and truncation of appropriate many-body Fock spaces. The matrix elements for all interactions are computed analytically or numerically exactly.
20. Nanostructured palladium doped nickel electrodes for immobilization of oxidases through nickel nanoparticles
Authors: Barsan, MM; Matei, E; Enculescu, M; Costescu, R; Preda, N; Enache, TA; Enculescu, I; Diculescu, VC

Published: AUG 20 2019, DOI: 10.1016/j.electacta.2019.04.143

Abstract: The present investigation deals with the development, characterization and application of nano-structured Pd doped Ni electrodes (Pd@Ni), which uses the electrochemical properties of Pd in synergy with the magnetic properties of Ni for biosensors development. The Pd@Ni electrodes have been characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. It has been shown that palladium presented spherical assemblies ranging 150-200 nm medium diameter size that covers large areas of the electrode surface while metallic nickel, which confers magnetic properties, showed a uniform granular structure with sizes between 20 and 50 nm. Cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy were performed to understand the electrochemical process at the Pd@Ni electrodes in neutral media. The Pd@Ni electrodes were applied for the electrochemical detection of H2O2. Finally, Ni nanoparticles (NiNP) functionalized with the model enzyme glucose oxidase (GOx-NiNP) have been attached to the Pd@Ni electrode solely through magnetic interactions, and the obtained GOx-NiNP/Pd@Ni biosensor applied for glucose determination in aqueous solutions by fixed potential amperometry at -0.05 V (vs Ag/AgCl) with reduced interferences. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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