Publications

In this work, a multi-analytical approach involving nitrogen porosimetry, small angle neutron and X-ray scattering, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopies, X-ray diffraction, thermal analysis and electron microscopy was applied to organically modified silica-based xerogels obtained through the sol-gel process. Starting from a tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) precursor, methyltriethoxysilane (MTES) was added to the reaction mixture at two different pH values (2.0 and 4.5) producing hybrid xerogels with different TEOS/MTES molar ratios. Significant differences in the structure were revealed in terms of the chemical composition of the silica network, hydrophilic/hydrophobic profile, particle dimension, pore shape/size and surface characteristics. The combined use of structural characterization methods allowed us to reveal a relation between the cavity dimensions, the synthesis pH value and the grade of methyl substitution. The effect of the structural properties on the controlled Captopril release efficiency has also been tested. This knowledge facilitates tailoring the pore network for specific usage in biological/medical applications. Knowledge on structural aspects, as reported in this work, represents a key starting point for the production of high-performance silica-based hybrid materials showing enhanced efficacy compared to bare silica prepared using only TEOS.

The influence of the rapid solidification technique and heat treatment on the martensitic transformation, magnetic properties, thermo- and magnetic induced strain and electrical resistivity is investigated for the Cu doped NiMnGa Heusler-based ferromagnetic shape memory ribbons. The martensitic transformation temperatures are unexpectedly low (below 90 K-which can be attributed to the disordered texture as well as to the uncertainty in the elements substituted by the Cu), preceded by a premartensitic transformation (starting at around 190 K). A thermal treatment slightly increases the transformation as well as the Curie temperatures. Additionally, the thermal treatment promotes a higher magnetization value of the austenite phase and a lower one in the martensite. The shift of the martensitic transformation temperatures induced by the applied magnetic field, quantified from thermo-magnetic and thermo-magnetic induced strain measurements, is measured to have a positive value of about 1 K/T, and is then used to calculate the transformation entropy of the ribbons. The magnetostriction measurements suggest a rotational mechanism in low fields for the thermal treated samples and a saturation tendency at higher magnetic fields, except for the temperatures close to the phase transition temperatures (saturation is not reached at 5 T), where a linear volume magnetostriction cannot be ruled out. Resistivity and magnetoresistance properties have also been measured for all the samples.

ZnS is a wide band gap material which was proposed as a possible candidate to replace CdS as a buffer layer in solar cells. However, the structural and optical properties are influenced by the deposition method. ZnS thin films were prepared using magnetron sputtering (MS), pulsed laser deposition (PLD), and a combined deposition technique that uses the same bulk target for sputtering and PLD at the same time, named MSPLD. The compositional, structural, and optical properties of the as-deposited and annealed films were inferred from Rutherford backscattering spectrometry, X-ray diffraction, X-ray reflectometry, Raman spectroscopy, and spectroscopic ellipsometry. PLD leads to the best stoichiometric transfer from target to substrate, MS makes fully amorphous films, whereas MSPLD facilitates obtaining the densest films. The study reveals that the band gap is only slightly influenced by the deposition method, or by annealing, which is encouraging for photovoltaic applications. However, sulphur vacancies contribute to lowering the bandgap and therefore should be controlled. Moreover, the results add valuable information towards the understanding of ZnS polymorphism. The combined MSPLD method offers several advantages such as an increased deposition rate and the possibility to tune the optical properties of the obtained thin films.

Polycrystalline NiO thick film-based gas sensors have been exposed to different test gas atmospheres at 250 degrees C and measured via simultaneous electrical resistance and work function investigations. Accordingly, we decoupled different features manifested toward the potential changes, i.e., work function, band-bending, and electron affinity. The experimental results have shown that the presence of moisture induces an unusual behavior toward carbon monoxide (CO) detection by considering different surface adsorption sites. On this basis, we derived an appropriate detection mechanism capable of explaining the lack of moisture influence over the CO detection with NiO-sensitive materials. As such, CO might have both chemical and dipolar interactions with pre-adsorbed or lattice oxygen species, thus canceling out the effect of moisture. Additionally, morphology, structure, and surface chemistry were addressed, and the results have been linked to the sensing properties envisaging the role played by the porous quasispherical-hollow structures and surface hydration.

In this work, the structural, thermal, vibrational, morphological, magnetic and optical properties of LaPO4:Ce/RE/Me (RE=Nd3+, Tb3+; Me-Cr3+, Mn2+) and LaPO4:Yb3+/Er3+ phosphors prepared by the co-precipitation method are presented. The obtained materials crystallized in monoclinic structure with the P2(1)/n space group and the particles were of nanorod shape with about 200 nm in length and the diameter approximately 19 nm. The presence of dopant ions was confirmed by both electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) and UV-visible spectroscopies. In addition, the down-conversion (DC) and up-conversion (UC) of the LaPO4 nanophosphors via the 275 and 980 nm excitations, respectively, were considered, and a wide range of electronic transitions was observed. Based on the photoluminescence (PL) spectra, there is an efficient energy transfer (ET) process from Ce3+ donors to Nd3+ and Tb3+ acceptors, and the computed ET efficiency was 70% and 88%, respectively. The Ce3+/Cr3+ and Ce3+/Mn2+ doped LaPO4 showed weak far-red and green luminescence with much smaller ET efficiency of about 3.7 and 0.4%, respectively. LaPO4:Yb3+/Er3+ showed UC luminescence under the 980 nm laser radiation, and the resulted red and green light was attributed to the Er3+ transitions.

High-quality ZnS thin films as buffer layer have been successfully synthesized and simulated using the low-cost Mist CVD technique and the SCAPS-1D software for different deposition times (30, 40, 50, and 60 min). The structural, morphological, and optical properties of the prepared ZnS films have been investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electronic microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and UV-Vis spectrophotometer. The time deposition effect on ZnS films' efficiency as a buffer layer has been evaluated. XRD pattern confirms the hexagonal/cubic structure of the prepared samples, with (111) as preferred orientation. Raman spectra confirm XRD findings by the two peaks located at 348 cm(-1) and 697 cm(-1) which correspond to ZnS samples' cubic and hexagonal structures. Scanning electronic microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) images show densely uniform grains with precise shapes and boundaries covering the entire sample's surface with a relative roughness for all deposition times. The optical transmittance shows an average of 78% in the visual field of light with an optical band gap varying between 3.69 and 3.80 eV. Numerical simulation of ZnO:Al/ZnS/CZTS/Mo cell using SCAPS-1D software shows that the sample deposited for 30 min presents the best performance with an efficiency of up to 8.9%.

This study presents the design and manufacture of metasurface lenses optimized for focusing light with 1.55 mu m wavelength. The lenses are fabricated on silicon substrates using electron beam lithography, ultraviolet-nanoimprint lithography and cryogenic deep reactive-ion etching techniques. The designed metasurface makes use of the geometrical phase principle and consists of rectangular pillars with target dimensions of height h = 1200 nm, width w = 230 nm, length l = 354 nm and periodicity p = 835 nm. The simulated efficiency of the lens is 60%, while the master lenses obtained by using electron beam lithography are found to have an efficiency of 45%. The lenses subsequently fabricated via nanoimprint are characterized by an efficiency of 6%; the low efficiency is mainly attributed to the rounding of the rectangular nanostructures during the pattern transfer processes from the resist to silicon due to the presence of a thicker residual layer.

Surface plasmon resonance containing amorphous As2S3 film is proposed as a chemical sensor to highlight several liquid hydrocarbons. Method is label-free and is based on detection of small changes in the refractive index. As2S3 operates as plasmonic waveguide which confines the probing beam to the interface with liquid hydrocarbons. The method can easily distinguish hydrocarbons with very close refractive indices. The film thicknesses were optimized to obtain the best sensitivity and resolving power Minimum reflectance of SPR less than 1 % was found for optimal calculated film thicknesses, the sensitivity to the refractive index changes being 2.10(-5).

Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) is a complex quaternary material, and obtaining a single-phase CZTS with no secondary phases is known to be challenging and dependent on the production technique. This work involves the synthesis and characterization of CZTS absorber layers for solar cells. Thin films were deposited on Si and glass substrates by a combined magnetron sputtering (MS) and pulsed laser deposition (PLD) hybrid system, followed by annealing without and with sulfur powder at 500 degrees C under argon (Ar) flow. Three different Cu2S, SnS2, and ZnS targets were used each time, employing a different target for PLD and the two others for MS. The effect of the different target arrangements and the role of annealing and/or sulfurization treatment were investigated. The characterization of the absorber films was performed by grazing incidence X-ray diffraction (GIXRD), X-ray reflectometry (XRR), Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and regular transmission spectroscopy. The film with ZnS deposited by PLD and SnS2 and Cu2S by MS was found to be the best for obtaining a single CZTS phase, with uniform surface morphology, a nearly stoichiometric composition, and an optimal band gap of 1.40 eV. These results show that a new method that combines the advantages of both MS and PLD techniques was successfully used to obtain single-phase Cu2ZnSnS4 films for solar cell applications.

Fuel cells are devices that transform efficiently the chemical energy of hydrogen or another fuel into clean electricity. The fuel cell technology is attractive for its high-energy efficiency and expanded fuel flexibility and it became very relevant in the last decade. Moreover, the utilization of fuel cells for portable electronic devices has seen remarkable increase in the last few years. Performances of fuel cells, among others, strongly depend on the types of electrocatalysts and membrane, anion exchange or cation exchange, used in the system. Therefore, a status report about the latest advances in electrocatalysts and electrodes for portable fuel cells is the objective of this review paper. Herein, the recent progress in designing electrocatalysts for producing high performance fuel cells with truly potential applicability to be used in portable devices is highlighted.