Publications

A controlled pinning change from the ab-plane dominant to the c-axis dominant has been achieved in a novel method of nanostructured YBa2Cu3Ox (YBCO) growth. The method is a synchronous self-assembly of BaZrO3 (BZO) and Ag-assisted YBCO nanothreads. The formation of entangled nanothreads increases the critical current density while keeping the critical temperature close to that in pure YBCO films. The nanothreads extend through the whole thickness of thick films, making the method suitable for increasing total critical current density per centimeter of width (Ic-w). Two growth mechanisms, the formation of BZO nanorods and YBCO nanocolumns, complement each other, form a coherent structure and produce samples with strong correlated pinning. In addition to the increase in Ic-w, correlated pinning leads to an increase in vortex melting temperature in a wide range of magnetic fields. The films grown by this method have high Ic-w both in low magnetic fields along the c axis and high magnetic fields in the ab plane of YBCO. Such a superconductor would be suitable for both cable and magnet applications.

We report columnar growth of YBa2Cu3Ox (YBCO) films by pulsed laser deposition using nanodots of Au, Ag and Pd deposited on SrTiO3 substrate prior to the growth of the film. The nanodots initiate formation of densely packed YBCO columns with c-axis along the length of the columns. The obtained columnar structure offers enhanced pinning of magnetic flux and provides high critical current density in a magnetic field directed along the c-axis of YBCO while keeping high critical current density for other directions of magnetic field. The evidence of columnar structure is given by the planar and cross-sectional atomic force microscopy, transmissional election microscopy and rotational transport measurements of critical current. By creating the columnar structure, an improvement of critical current up to about 200% is achieved comparable to the reference samples without nanodots in a wide range of magnetic field and thickness of the samples. The largest increase in critical current is observed in magnetic fields close to the matching field calculated from the density of nanoparticles or density of YBCO columns. (C) 2009 Elsevier BM. All rights reserved.

The Pd-TPPTS complex (TPPTS - trisodium salt of 3,3',3 ''-phosphanetriyl benzenesulfonic acid) and PdCl42- salt heterogenised onto Zn2AlNO3 layered double hydroxide (LDH) using an ion-exchange procedure, have been shown to be efficient green catalysts in the cycloisomerisation reaction of acetylenic carboxylic acids to the corresponding 5-membered heterocycles.

We have studied the effect of the morphology on the optical and electrical properties of the TPyP thin films deposited by vacuum evaporation on different substrates (Si with different characteristics, ITO, quartz and glass). The presence of some well-defined B and Q absorption bands has been evidenced. FTIR and photoluminescence measurements have been used to confirm the preservation of the chemical structure of the compound during the evaporation process. The contact Au/TPyP/Si(n) is rectifier, while a blocking behavior has been shown by Si(n)/TPyP/Si(n) and ITO/TPyP/Si(n) and an injector dominated behavior by Si(p)/TPyP/Si(p) and ITO/TPyP/Si(p) heterostructures. The best transmission was obtained on TPyP film deposited on ITO and the highest value of the current in heterostructures Si(n) electrode characterised by a large grain morphology and in consequence by a weak optical and charge carrier scattering at the grain boundaries.

Nonlinear optical borate crystals of Gd1-x-yRxNdyCa4O(BO3)(3) crystals with large size and good quality have been grown from the melt by the Czochralski pulling method. The chemical compositions of the grown crystals were determined and nonlinear optical properties of these new biaxial crystals are reported. According to our assumptions, the obtained results demonstrate that the grown crystals convert the near infrared radiation of similar to 936 nm into blue light (similar to 468 nm) by type-I noncritical phase matching (NCPM) second harmonic generation (SHG) processes along Z axis. Preliminary investigations of self frequency doubling (SFD) processes in Gd1-x-yRxNdyCa4O(BO3)(3) crystals have been carried out.

Non-centrosymmetric superconductor Li-2(Pc1-xPtx)(3)B, x = 0-1 was synthesized from mixtures of the elements. A simple semi-open method is proposed using endings-pressed stainless steel tubes placed in a high-vacuum furnace. Heating regime employed a short-time overheating at 900 degrees C and a slow cooling step between T-s and 550 degrees C within 3 h. To adequately compensate Li-losses and attain maximum critical temperature, the optimum T-s and starting Li-content were found to change from 720 to 740 degrees C and from Li-2.4 to Li-2.6, respectively, when x was changing from 0 to 1. It was shown that placing Li separately in the tube also produces superconducting samples. Li being supplied to the (Pd,Pt)-B mixture through the vapour transport. This result enables the possibility of thin films growth using a (Pd,Pt)-B precursor film heat treated in a Li-vapour atmosphere. Preliminary results on thin films growth are introduced. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The effects of the self-assembled layers formed by adsorption of 4 4'-thio-bis-benzenethiol from ethanol solutions on p-S1(111) and p-GaAs(1 00) electrodes were examined by EIS AFM and XPS investigations All the experimental data led to the conclusion that the thio-bis-benzenethiolate film spontaneously formed on Si and GaAs surfaces brings about chemical passivation both in air and in solution as well as strong adsorbate-substrate interactions which affect the semiconductor surface state population and the field effects operating in the interfacial region Semiempirical PM3 molecular orbital calculations showed that electronic interaction of the thiolate film with the two semiconducting electrodes can be understood in terms of changes in the local density of the electronic states at the surface (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd All rights reserved

The interaction between CO and WO3 based gas sensors was investigated in operando conditions by using resistance, catalytic conversion and DRIFTS measurements. The experimental results are showing that the sensing involves the reduction of the metal oxide, which is the opposite of the case of SnO2, the other extremely relevant material for semiconducting oxides based gas sensors. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

We report the complete macroscopic average strain and stress tensors for a cold-rolled uranium plate, based on the neutron TOF measurements. Both tensors were determined by the least-squares refinement of the interplanar spacings of 19 Bragg reflections. Based on the pole figures, as determined by GSAS, a triclinic sample symmetry of the uranium plate was assumed. Strain and stress are tensile in both the transverse and rolling directions and very small in the normal direction (through the thickness of the plate). Shear strain and stress components are compressive and of significant magnitude. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The ratchet regime of unbiased double quantum dots driven out of equilibrium by an independently biased nearby detector has been theoretically studied using the nonequilibrium Keldysh formalism and the random-phase approximation for the Coulomb effects. When the detector is suitably biased the energy exchange between the two systems removes the Coulomb blockade on the double dot via inelastic interdot tunneling. The energy detuning determines whether the current flows in the same direction as the driving current (positive flow) or in the opposite direction (electronic counterflow). In both cases the intradot transitions lead to negative-differential conductance. Besides the ratchet contribution to the current we also single out a Coulomb drag component.