Publications

Ribbons of Fe-Pd ferromagnetic shape memory alloys were prepared by rapid solidification via the melt-spinning technique. The effect of moderate and high temperature heat treatments on the martensitic transformation and the related changes of the magnetic behavior was analyzed by X-ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry and temperature, and field-dependent magnetometry. In addition, information about magnetic easy axis and magnetically field-induced strains (MFIS) were achieved from linear thermal expansion measurements performed under cooling at different applied fields. The observed low values of MFIS in the as-prepared ribbons are due, besides to the small size and random orientation of the grains, to the high atomic disorder inside the crystalline grains. The anisotropy field is enhanced by the reduced atomic disorder, as reflected by the increased MFIS values after thermal treatments.

The charge storage properties of Ge nanocrystals-based MOS-like capacitors with tunnel and gate HfO2 are studied. HfO2/Ge/HfO2/Si trilayer structures were prepared by magnetron sputtering (in Ar) and subsequent rapid thermal annealing (650 degrees C). HfO2/Si structures were also prepared, some under similar conditions, while others were deposited in Ar:O-2. TEM investigations and C-V measurements were performed. TEM on annealed trilayers evidences the formation of ordered and precisely positioned array of Ge nanocrystals embedded in crystalline HfO2. The annealed Al/HfO2/Ge/HfO2/p-Si/Al capacitors present counterclockwise C-V hysteresis (0.8 V memory window) mainly given by Ge nanocrystals, with negligible contribution from crystallized-HfO2 traps.

ZnO complex microstructures were deposited onto interdigitated metallic electrodes by electrospraying. Simple methods, such as wet chemical precipitation and optical lithography, were used for the synthesis of flower-like and snowflake-like ZnO structures and for the preparation of interdigitated metallic electrodes, respectively. The electrosprayed ZnO particles preserve the structural, optical and morphological properties of the chemically synthesized ZnO powders. During the electrospraying process, the ZnO microstructures form bridges between the interdigitated metallic electrodes leading to electrical contacting. Changes in the electron transport through the ZnO microstructures are evidenced by their exposure to ammonia or their passivation with poly(methyl methacrylate). Merging such easy-scalable and low-cost techniques, devices based on electrosprayed complex ZnO structures can be designed.

The main purpose of this study was to evaluate the inhibitory effect of glycerol- iron oxide thin films on Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Our results suggest that glycerol-iron oxide thin films could be used in the future for various biomedical and pharmaceutical applications. The glycerol-iron oxide thin films have been deposited by spin coating method on a silicon (111) substrate. The structural properties have been studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron spectroscopy (SEM). The XRD investigations of the prepared thin films demonstrate that the crystal structure of glycerol-iron oxide nanoparticles was not changed after spin coating deposition. On the other hand, the SEM micrographs suggest that the size of the glycerol-iron oxide microspheres increased with the increase of glycerol exhibiting narrow size distributions. The qualitative depth profile of glycerol-iron oxide thin films was identified by glow discharge optical emission spectroscopy (GDOES). The GDOES spectra revealed the presence of the main elements: Fe, O, C, H, and Si. The antimicrobial activity of glycerol-iron oxide thin films was evaluated by measuring the zone of inhibition. After 18 hours of incubation at 37 degrees C, the diameters of the zones of complete inhibition have been measured obtaining values around 25 mm.

One of the most fundamental aspects of the heterogeneous catalysis field is the manipulation of the catalysts' activity. In photocatalysis this is carried out by maximizing the right crystal plane of a semiconductor oxide. Until now, most of the papers have achieved this by a combination of different oxides, with noble metals and sometimes with carbon nanomaterials. In this work MWCNTs (multiwalled carbon nanotubes) were applied as "crystallization promoters" in a very simple, safe, one-step hydrothermal method. By this method TiO2 nano/micro crystals with exposed {001} facets were obtained in the first step. The next episode in the crystal manipulation "saga" was the modification of the (001) crystallographic plane's structure by creating ordered/own faceted "crystallographic holes". These elements are capable of further enhancing the obtained activity of titania microcrystals to a higher extent, as shown by the UV driven photocatalytic phenol degradation experiments. The appearance of the holes was "provoked" by simple calcination and their presence and influence were demonstrated by XPS and HRTEM.

Titanium films sputtered on FTO glass were used for obtaining highly oriented titania nanotubes via anodization technique. Then, pulsed laser deposition of CdS was carried out for sensitizing of similar to 60 nm wide titania nanotubes by applying 50, 100, 150 or 200 subsequent laser pulses. Scanning electron microscopy was used to indicate which samples had the open nanotubular structure of titania preserved after the deposition of CdS. Energy dispersive spectroscopy showed that a higher number of applied laser pulses results in the increase of Cd and S quantity within samples. Pulsed laser deposition technique was also employed for the fabrication of PbS counter electrode. I-V characteristics of the photovoltaic cells consisting the obtained electrodes were measured and compared under one-sun illumination. The photovoltaic cell with photoanode sensitized with CdS by applying 150 laser pulses showed the highest current density and voltage among the investigated cell.

Influence of Nd substitution for Ni on the magnetic properties and the martensitic transformation (MT) characteristics are investigated on Ni57-xNdxFe18Ga25 (x=0 divided by 4) ferromagnetic shape memory alloys (FSMAs) in bulk and also in ribbons prepared by melt spinning method and subjected to different thermal treatments. Increasing the Nd content induces a decrease of both the Curie and the MT temperatures. (C) 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Ge and Si nanocrystals (NCs), quantum dots (QDs), and amorphous nanoparticles (NPs) have a significant role in the developement of micro- and nanoelectronic devices due to capability to tune their electrical and photoconductive properties by tailoring the morphology and structure parameters. Ge and Si NCs/QDs/NPs are zero-dimensional (0D) systems and the SiO2 films containing them are percolative systems. In this review, the role of deposition and annealing conditions in the morphology and structure of Ge and Si NCs/QDs/NPs embedded in amorphous SiO2 matrix is discussed for a wide variety of films and multilayered structures. The electrical and photoconductive properties of nanostructures deposited by different techniques as magnetron sputtering, ion implantation, chemical vapour deposition, sol-gel and molecular beam epitaxy, and subsequently annealed in conventional furnace or by rapid thermal annealing under different conditions are analised. We demonstrate how the electrical and photoconductive properties of nanostructures can be tuned by varying the deposition and annealing parameters. The role of Si-rich oxide and defects in the formation of Ge and Si NCs is shown and the role of defects in improving electrical properties and enhancing the photoconductivity of films and multilayered structures is highlighted. We evidence the contribution of quantum confinement effect and show that the most probable transport mechanisms in these percolative systems are tunnelling and hopping.

Zinc silicate ceramics have been prepared by using conventional ceramic technology. Morphological, structural, and dielectric characterizations of the samples were performed using scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and terahertz time-domain spectroscopy. The achieved absorption properties of zinc silicates make them very attractive solutions for submillimeter-wave applications.

SERS studies were performed on films of two families of multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) under an excitation light of 514.5 nm and 647.1 nm. These included Aldrich-MWCNTs, which alternate semiconducting and metallic tubes and M-MWCNTs that contain only metallic tubes obtained by water assisted catalytic chemical vapour deposition (CCVD). The two families of MWCNTs reveal similar spectra in the Stokes branch, which feature an increasing Raman intensity when the glass substrate is replaced with an Au or Ag substrate, indicating a (surface enhanced Raman scattering) SERS mechanism. In the anti-Stokes branch, despite an enhancement of approximately 100 times compared to the predictions of the Boltzmann law, only Aldrich-MWCNTs exhibit a Raman spectrum with an intensity that increases as a result of the change in the glass substrate to Au or Ag, a fact that is revealed by the signature of the SERS process. The invariance of the Raman intensity in the anti-Stokes branch as a result of the change of the substrate is characteristic of M-MWCNTs and results from a Raman light scattering process that takes place only within the skin depth of the metallic structure.