National Institute Of Materials Physics - Romania

Water soluble gold nanoparticles, obtained by the reduction of the gold (III) chloride with sodium borohydride in the presence of citric acid or thioctic acid, were covered with a paramagnetic silica layer using the Stober method, yielding a hybrid metallic-inorganic nanomaterial (gold nanoparticles, with an average size of 5 nm, embedded into silica nanoparticles, with an average size of 100 nm). The paramagnetic silica layer was formed by copolymerization of a paramagnetic silica precursor (derived from 3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane) with tetramethyorthosilicate. The paramagnetic silica precursor was obtained by coupling 3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane with 3-carboxy-proxyl free radical. TEM pictures show that each silica nanoparticle of about 100 nm in size embedded about 10 gold nanoparticles. These hybrid nanoparticles are quite stable and exhibit the expected paramagnetic characteristics, as seen by electron paramagnetic resonance. The accessibility of methanol through the silica layer was also studied. Depending on the capping ligands of the gold nanoparticles (citric or thioctic acid), different silica networks are formed, as seen by the mobility of the spin-label inside the silica layer. The EPR spectra showed that the paramagnetic silica layer is very robust and the mobility of the spin-probe inside the silica layer is very little affected by methanol. However, if spin-labeled thioctic acid protected gold nanoparticles were used in the material synthesis, the mobility of the spins attached to the gold surface is quite high in the presence of methanol, while the spins embedded into the silica layer remains immobilized.

Thin films of hydroxyapatite (HAp) (Ca-10(PO4)(6)(OH)(2)) were vacuum deposited on different substrates (quartz and silver) in connection with biomedical applications. Characteristics of thin films were putted into evidence by (SEM) and (XPS) analysis. The FT-IR spectroscopy was performed on hydroxyapatite powder and thin films deposited on quartz. The deposition of HAp thin films presents good surface quality as a smooth and an adherent layer. The biological tests confirm the characteristics of these thin films as bioactive materials. The hydroxyapatite thin films supports have a micro cell configuration that allows them to be used for obtaining medical biocompatible supports.

An x-ray spectroscopy study was performed for YbCU5-xAlx (x = 0.0-2.0) using high-resolution partial-fluorescence yield (PFY) and resonant inelastic x-ray scattering (RlXS) at the Yb L-3 absorption edge. From a careful analysis of the PFY and RlXS spectra, the mean-valence of Yb was estimated and is found to increase quite rapidly for compositions between 0 <= x <= 1.0, indicating strong intermediate-valence behavior. The mean valence continues to increase gradually with x and becomes nearly trivalent for x = 2.0. Our results, however, reveal that valence fluctuation occurs even at x = 1.5, for which non-Fermi liquid quantum critical behavior is known. The valence evolution cannot be explained solely in terms of chemical pressure effects. The study suggests the role of valence-coupled spin fluctuations for the quantum critical behavior.

This report presents the capabilities of the CMS experiment to explore the rich heavy-ion physics programme offered by the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC). The collisions of lead nuclei at energies root(NN)-N-S = 5(5 TeV, will probe quark and gluon matter at unprecedented values of energy density. The prime goal of this research is to study the fundamental theory of the strong interaction - Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD) - in extreme conditions of temperature, density and parton momentum fraction (low-x). This report covers in detail the potential of CMS to carry out a series of representative Pb-Pb measurements. These include \"bulk\" observables, (charged hadron multiplicity, low p(T) inclusive hadron identified spectra and elliptic flow) which provide information on the collective properties of the system, as well as perturbative probes such as quarkonia, heavy-quarks, jets and high p(T) hadrons which yield \"tomographic\" information of the hottest and densest phases of the reaction.

Thickness oscillations under light irradiation or by switching-off the light have been revealed in amorphous selenium films. The explanation was given in the frame of a theory that takes into account the balance between the expansion of the inter-chain distance due to electrical charging and better ordering of chains due to freedom of chains to accommodate into the structure as a result of the diminishing or increasing of the spatial hindrance.

The hydroxyapatite (HAp) is an important material for orthopedics and dentistry applications. In the present study a simple method was tried for added the iron oxide nanoparticles into HAp so as to establish and induce a biocompatibility. In the research the mechanism of the coated of iron oxide with HAp would also be described by the analysis of X-ray diffractometer, scanning electron microscope and Fourier transformation infrared. Osteoblast cells were permanent monitored to detect any possible influence due to samples that might alter the cell growth, viability and proliferation.

The temperature dependence of the interfacial tension for three compounds from the homologous series of alkylcyanobiphenyl (nCB), 5CB, 7CB and 8CB, at the interface with glycerol was measured in a temperature range from mesomorphic to isotropic phase. The drop shape method of measure was used. The interfacial tension of all the studied liquid crystals presents an anomalous behaviour with maximum and small upward jumps at the phase transitions, in rising temperature.

We demonstrate multiple wavelength InGaAs quantum dot lasers using ion implantation induced intermixing. Proton implantation, followed by annealing is used to create differential interdiffusion in the active region of the devices. The characteristics (lasing-spectra, threshold currents and slope efficiencies) of the multi-wavelength devices are compared to those of as-grown devices and the differences are explained in terms of altered energy level spacing in the annealed quantum dots.