Publications

The photoluminescence (PL) of two types of poly (N-vinyl-carbazole)(PVK)/carbon nanotubes (CN) composites, prepared by chemical and electrochemical method, has been investigated. In comparison with the pure PVK, the chemically prepared PVK/NC sample shows a significant PL quenching and a shorter decay time. For the samples prepared electrochemically, PL increases in intensity, red shifts and gets longer decay time with the increase of voltammetric cycles number. In addition, the latter shows a change in emission from high-energy excimer to low-energy excimer after a treatment with NH(4)OH.

Nowadays, porphyrin derivatives are extensively used as analytical reagents. This work put the basis for a rapid, simple and inexpensive method developed for pH determination. It was demonstrated the potential for a water soluble metalloporphyrin, 5,10,15,20-tetrakis(N-methyl-4-pyridyl) porphyrin-Zn(II) tetrachloride (Zn-TNMPyP) to be a potential optical pH sensor in the 5.5-10.5 domain. Monitoring of the variations in the absorption spectra of the Zn-TNMPyP, both regarding the Soret and the Q(0,1) band, generated by the exposure to different base concentrations allowed us to notice the linearity of the response at different pH values.

The attractive properties of Yttria doped ceria, particularly the structural and material properties, have led to vast research efforts to investigate and develop such materials. One of the main applications of this ceramic is in the solid oxides fuel cells for intermediate temperatures IT-SOFC. The aim of this paper is the preparation and characterization of Y doped Ceria - low Y doped alpha-Al2O3, a new composite for IT-SOFC. (10 mol %) Y : CeO2 and (150 ppm) Y : alpha - Al2O3 - composite were obtained by sol-gel or mechanical route for 10YSC, mechanical route for 150 Y : alpha - Al2O3. Grain shapes, grain size distributions and the mean grain value were determined by SEM, EDX and statistical investigations.

The synthesis of a new garnet, Er3Li0.275Nb0.275Ga4.45O12 (ErLNGG), by solid-state reaction, is reported. A comparison of the fluorescence spectra of Er3+ in ErLNGG and in Er-doped (5 at. %) Calcium Lithium Niobium Gallium Garnet (CLNGG) suggests an ordering of the partially disordered CLNGG when Ca2+ ions are completely substituted by Er3+ ions.

A designed experimental configuration for the simultaneous study of magnetization reversal and giant magnetoresistance effects in layered systems is reported. The suitability of the device, designed mainly for didactical purposes, to prove giant magneto-resistance effects is exemplified in case of exchange coupled spin valve structures. The multilayer structures were prepared by theromo-ionic vacuum arc methods and initially characterized by X-ray diffractometry and energy dispersive Xray spectroscopy. According to the performed experiments, it has been clearly proven the presence of magnetoresistance maxima ever ranges of applied fields inducing antiparallel magnetizations of the two ferromagnetic layers interfacing a thin conductive layer.

Chalcogenide phase change materials are one of the major contenders for the new non-volatile memory applications. Here is reported that the switching speed of Ge2Sb2Te5 is strongly dependent on the percent of defects in the material. Using cellular automata simulations it was shown that the size of the percolation cluster is minimum, thus the switching speed is maximum, for a percent of around 25% defects in the material. This is a property of the Ge2Sb2Te5 that can be useful for new phase change materials and devices design with better switching properties.

We present calculations on the transport properties of a double quantum dot (DQD) capacitively coupled to another individually biased dot. The effects of the intradot and interdot Coulomb interaction are included within the random-phase approximation (RPA) implemented in the Keldysh formalism. We show that by increasing the bias on the nearby dot the inelastic Coulomb scattering modifies the current in the double dot. The sign of the current depends on the detuning of the double dot levels and intradot transitions lead to negative differential conductance. The enhancement of the current due to the energy quanta transferred from the strongly biased dot suggests a quantum ratchet or Coulomb drag mechanism.

A series of xSnO(2)-(1-x)alpha-Fe2O3 (x=0.0-1.0) was prepared by a hydrothermal route starting with an aqueous mixture of iron (III) chloride hexahydrate, FeCl3 center dot 6H(2)O, and tin (IV) chloride pentahydrate, SnCl4 center dot 5H(2)O. The as resulted nanoscaled powders have been investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Sn-119 Mossbauer spectroscopy in transmission geometry and conversion electron. Under x = 0.300, the spectra reveal the appearance of magnetic hyperfine induced structure. At x = 0.300, the spectrum shows a magnetic phase (M) with the percentage of about 17%. The appearance of hyperfine magnetic fields suggests the location of the nonmagnetic Sn4+ ions, surrounded by the Fe3+ ions, in the interstitial and substitutional sites of alpha-Fe2O3 phase. On the other hand, the dependence of the total spectrum areas, vs. molar concentration x, displays a jump around x similar to 0.45, suggesting a change of the characteristic Debye temperature in the Mossbauer factor. The reported spectra have been fitted and the obtained hyperfine parameters are discussed in terms of reduced dimensional effects, super-transferred hyperfine interactions (STHI) and magnetic hyperfine field distribution (MHFD).

A new synthesis method for 70Ga(2)S(3)30La(2)S(3) (GLS) lanthanum based glass, which uses a RF-heating inductor, has been developed. The method gives the possibility to quench the melt without taking the crucible out of the reaction chamber. Glasses with good optical quality were obtained. The samples characterized by X-ray diffraction prove the amorphous state. The re-heating of GaLaS at temperatures of 620 degrees C leads to the appearance of large 30-80 mu m crystals, Ga3La1.66S7 structure being the main crystal form. High quality GLS thin films have been obtained by RF sputtering. The calculated refractive index was 2.48 for the thin films obtained by RF sputtering and 2.55 for bulk samples. Two kinds of the Urbach-density of state distribution are distinguished from optical transmission measurements corresponding to activation energies of 0.12 eV and 0.66 eV.

Electrochemical behavior of hemin on p-GaAs(1 0 0) electrodes was examined by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and impedance spectroscopy (EIS) in phosphate buffer solutions (PBS) at pH 7.45. CV investigations in 0.6 mM hemin in PBS revealed a pair of reversible peaks at -0.44 and -0.32 V vs. SCE resulting in stable adsorbed species. EIS spectra analysis pointed out that these adsorbed species bring significant changes in the semiconductor surface state population and the potential drop distribution between the semiconductor space charge region and the Helmholtz layer. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.