Structural, electronic and thermodynamic properties of cubic Zn3N2 under high pressure from first-principles calculations

The structural, electronic and thermodynamic properties of cubic Zn₃N₂ under hydrostatic pressure up to 80 GPa are investigated using the local density approximation method with pseudopotentials of the ab initio norm-conserving full separable Troullier-Martin scheme in the frame of density functional theory. The structural parameters obtained at ambient pressure are in agreement with experimental data and other theoretical results. The change of bond lengths of two different types of Zn-N bond with pressure suggests that the tetrahedral Zn-N bond is slightly less compressible than the octahedral bond. By fitting the calculated band gap, the first and second order pressure coefficients for the direct band gap ofthe Zn₃N₂ were determined to be 1.18×10⁻² eV/GPa and −2.4×10⁻⁴ eV/(GPa)², respectively. Based on the Mulliken population analysis, Zn₃N₂ was found to have a higher covalent character with increasing pressure. As temperature increases, heat capacity, enthalpy, product of temperature and entropy increase, whereas the Debye temperature and free energy decrease. The present study leads to a better understanding of how Zn₃N₂ materials respond to compression.     

Gas phase electronic spectrum of propadienylidene C3H2

The rotationally resolved vibronic bands in the forbidden electronic transition of the cumulene carbene C₃H₂ have been observed in the gas phase by cavity ring down absorption spectroscopy through a supersonic planar plasma with allene as precursor. The band detected in the 16 223 cm⁻¹ region is a result of vibronic interaction and is assigned to a combination of a₁ and b₂ vibrations with a frequency around 2250 cm⁻¹. Another vibronic band near 15 810 cm⁻¹ has an unusual rotational structure because the K_a = 0-1 subband is absent. It is assigned to a combination of a₁ and b₁ vibrations, ∼1850 cm⁻¹, which borrow intensity from the near lying state due to a-type Coriolis coupling. A rotational analysis using a conventional Hamiltonian for an asymmetric top molecule yields molecular constants for the vibrational excited levels of the ùA₂ state, which were used for the determination of the geometry. The stronger transition of C₃H₂, measured in a neon matrix in the 16 161-24 802 cm⁻¹ range, was not detected. The reason for this is a short lifetime of the state, leading to line broadening.     

Air-broadening coefficients of the HO2 radical in the 2ν1 band measured using cw-CRDS

In this paper we present measurements of the air-broadening coefficients of HO₂ at room temperature in the 2ν₁ band around 1.5 microns. The HO₂ radicals were created by flash photolysis of SOCl₂ in a flow of O₂/CH₃OH mixtures. To observe air-broadening, N₂ (79%) and O₂ (21%) were added using calibrated flow controllers and a total pressure controller. The total pressure was monitored in parallel using a capacitive pressure gauge. Air-broadening coefficients at 296 K were determined for 34 absorption lines between 6631 and 6671 cm⁻¹. The air-broadening coefficients of HO₂ show a rotational dependence (decreasing from about 0.14 cm⁻¹/atm for N″ = 3 to about 0.09 cm⁻¹/atm for N″ = 10). No evidence for collisional narrowing was observed.     

First principles studies of elastic and thermodynamic properties of fcc-VH2 with pressure and temperature

In this work, we study elastic and thermodynamic properties of VH₂ at different pressures and temperatures. Elastic constants and bulk modulus of VH₂ decrease with increase in temperature, and hence increase with pressure. Thermal expansion of the crystal lattice will be suppressed by high pressure. When the temperature is 1500 K, 15.99 GPa of pressure can completely restrain the volume expansion caused by temperature. At a given pressure, the lower the temperature, the easier the cell compression. At low temperatures, C_v is proportional to T³, and C_v tends to the Dulong-Petit limit at higher temperatures. The Debye temperature increases with pressure, but decreases with temperature. At low temperature and low pressure, thermal expansion coefficient increases sharply with temperature. At high temperature and high pressure, the increasing trend slows down.     

Measurements and theoretical calculations of N2-broadening and N2-shift coefficients in the ν2 band of CH3D

In this paper, we report measured Lorentz N₂-broadening and N₂-induced pressure-shift coefficients of CH₃D in the ν₂ fundamental band using a multispectrum fitting technique. These measurements were made by analyzing 11 laboratory absorption spectra recorded at 0.0056 cm⁻¹ resolution using the McMath-Pierce Fourier transform spectrometer located at the National Solar Observatory on Kitt Peak, Arizona. The spectra were obtained using two absorption cells with path lengths of 10.2 and 25 cm. The total sample pressures ranged from 0.98 to 402.25 Torr with CH₃D volume mixing ratios of 0.01 in nitrogen. We have been able to determine the N₂ pressure-broadening coefficients of 368 ν₂ transitions with quantum numbers as high as J″ = 20 and K = 16, where K″ = K′ ≡ K (for a parallel band). The measured N₂-broadening coefficients range from 0.0248 to 0.0742 cm⁻¹ atm⁻¹ at 296 K. All the measured pressure-shifts are negative. The reported N₂-induced pressure-shift coefficients vary from about −0.0003 to −0.0094 cm⁻¹ atm⁻¹. We have examined the dependence of the measured broadening and shift parameters on the J″, and K quantum numbers and also developed empirical expressions to describe the broadening coefficients in terms of m (m = −J″, J″, and J″ + 1 in the ^QP-, ^QQ-, and ^QR-branch, respectively) and K. On average, the empirical expressions reproduce the measured broadening coefficients to within 4.7%. The N₂-broadening and pressure-shift coefficients were calculated on the basis of a semiclassical model of interacting linear molecules performed by considering in addition to the electrostatic contributions the atom-atom Lennard-Jones potential. The theoretical results of the broadening coefficients are in good overall agreement with the experimental data (8.7%). The N₂-pressure shifts whose vibrational contribution is derived from parameters fitted in the ^QQ-branch of self-induced shifts of CH₃D, are also in reasonable agreement with the scattered experimental data (20% in most cases).     

Stabilization of a very high-k crystalline ZrO2 phase by post deposition annealing of atomic layer deposited ZrO2/La2O3 dielectrics on germanium

The impact of the ZrO₂/La₂O₃ film thickness ratio and the post deposition annealing in the temperature range between 400 °C and 600 °C on the electrical properties of ultrathin ZrO₂/La₂O₃ high-k dielectrics grown by atomic layer deposition on (1 0 0) germanium is investigated. As-deposited stacks have a relative dielectric constant of 24 which is increased to a value of 35 after annealing at 500 °C due to the stabilization of tetragonal/cubic ZrO₂ phases. This effect depends on the absolute thickness of ZrO₂ within the dielectric stack and is limited due to possible interfacial reactions at the oxide/Ge interface. We show that adequate processing leads to very high-k dielectrics with EOT values below 1 nm, leakage current densities in the range of 0.01 A/cm², and interface trap densities in the range of 2-5 × 10¹² eV⁻¹ cm⁻².     

Effect of Nd concentration on structural and optical properties of Nd:Y2O3 transparent ceramic

Y₂O₃ transparent ceramics with different Nd concentration (0.1-7.0at%) were fabricated using ZrO₂ as additive. All the samples exhibit high transparency over a broad spectral region. The elements (Y, O and Nd) are uniformly distributed in the ceramic body, and the average grain size increases with Nd content. Based on the absorption spectrum, the Judd-Ofelt intensity parameters are calculated (Ω₂=4.364×10⁻²⁰ cm², Ω₄=3.609×10⁻²⁰ cm² and Ω₆=2.919×10⁻²⁰ cm²). The absorption coefficients increase linearly with Nd³⁺ doping concentration. The absorption cross-section at 804 nm and stimulated emission cross-section at 1078 nm are calculated to be 1.54×10⁻²⁰ and 7.24×10⁻²⁰ cm², respectively. All the emission bands exhibit the highest emission intensities with 1.0at% Nd³⁺ ion content, while the lifetime decreases dramatically from 321.5 μs (0.1at% Nd) to 17.9 μs (7.0at% Nd). According to the emission spectra and measured lifetime, the optimum doping concentration of Nd³⁺ ion in Y₂O₃ transparent ceramic might be around 1.0at%.     

Crystal structure and photoluminescence of (Y1−xCex)2Si3O3N4

Oxonitridosilicate phosphors with compositions of (Y_1−xCe_x)₂Si₃O₃N₄ (x=0−0.2) have been synthesized by solid state reaction method. The structures and photoluminescence properties have been investigated. Ce³⁺ ions have substituted for Y³⁺ ions in the lattice. The emission and excitation spectra of these phosphors show the characteristic photoluminescence spectra of Ce³⁺ ions. Based on the analyses of the diffuse reflection spectra and the PL spectra, a systematic energy diagram of Ce³⁺ ion in the forbidden band of sample with x=0.02 is given. The best doping Ce content in these phosphors is ∼2 mol%. The quenching temperature is ∼405 K for the 2 mol% Ce content sample. The luminescence decay properties were investigated. The primary studies indicate that these phosphors are potential candidates for application in three-phosphor-converted white LEDs.     

Laser desorption of NO from a thick C60 film

The desorption of NO molecules from a thick C₆₀ film is reported. A thermal desorption spectrum indicates two adsorption sites with binding energies of E_b = 0.30 eV and 0.55 eV. For laser desorption the fullerene surface is exposed to NO and excited by 7 ns UV laser pulses. Desorbing NO molecules are recorded state selectively as well as time resolved. The time-of-flight measurement indicates three different desorption pathways. A fast channel shows rovibronic temperatures of T_rot(v″ = 0) = 370 K, T_rot(v″ = 1) = 390 K and T_vib = 610 K as well as strong rotational-translational coupling. The desorption yield for the fast channel increases linearly with pulse energy with a desorption cross section of σ = (5.1 ± 0.9) × 10⁻¹⁷ cm². Dominating the signal for small J″ values is a slow channel with low rotational and translational temperatures of about 110 K. We assign this peak to a laser-induced thermal desorption. For large pump-probe delays the data deviate from the Maxwellian flux distribution and a third channel appears with extremely late arrival times.     

Spectral properties of Nd-doped Sr3Ga2Ge4O14 crystal

Neodymium doped strontium gallogermanate crystals were grown successfully by the Bridgman technique. The linear thermal expansion coefficients for the c- and a-axes were measured as 5.8 × 10⁻⁶ °C⁻¹ and 6.5 × 10⁻⁶ °C⁻¹. Absorption spectra, and fluorescence spectra, as well as fluorescence decay curves of Nd³⁺-doped Sr₃Ga₂Ge₄O₁₄ crystal, have been recorded at room temperature and used to calculate the absorption and stimulated emission cross-sections. Based on the Judd-Ofelt theory, three intensity parameters were obtained. The luminescent quantum efficiency of the ⁴F_3/2 level was determined to be approximately 73.8% for this material. Compared with other Nd³⁺-doped laser crystals, Nd³⁺-doped Sr₃Ga₂Ge₄O₁₄ crystal displays special laser properties due to its disorder structure.     

Reasons for the deactivation of Pt/TiO2 photocatalyst treated by inert gas N2

The effect of N₂ treatment on the photocatalytic activity of Pt⁰/TiO₂ was investigated. The results showed that after treatment at 500 °C in N₂, 70% of the photocatalytic activity of 1.0 wt.% Pt⁰/TiO₂ was lost by the evaluation of photocatalytic oxidation reaction of C₃H₆. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Ar⁺ ion sputtering tests revealed that in the course of high-temperature N₂ treatment, the size of Pt⁰ particles on TiO₂ increases and a strong interaction between metal and support, i.e. Pt⁰ particles encapsulated by Ti_xO_y, happens, which are the reasons for the deactivation of Pt⁰/TiO₂ photocatalyst treated by high-temperature N₂.     

High-resolution FTIR spectroscopy of the 3ν2 band of PH3

High-resolution Fourier transform spectrum of phosphine (PH₃) at room temperature has been recorded in the region of the 3ν₂ band (2730-3100 cm⁻¹) at an apodized resolution of 0.005 cm⁻¹. About 200 vibration-rotation transitions have been least squares fitted with an rms of 0.00039 cm⁻¹ after taking into account the ΔK = ±3 interaction.     

Rotational spectra of gauche perfluoro-n-butane, C4F10; perfluoro-iso-butane, (CF3)3CF; and tris(trifluoromethyl)methane, (CF3)3CH

The microwave spectra of the gauche conformer of perfluoro-n-butane, n-C₄F₁₀, of perfluoro-iso-butane, (CF₃)₃CF, and of tris(trifluoromethyl)methane, (CF₃)₃CH, have been observed and assigned. The rotational and centrifugal distortion constants for gauche n-C₄F₁₀ are: A = 1058.11750(7) MHz, B = 617.6832(1) MHz, C = 552.18794(1) MHz, Δ_J = 0.0257(5) kHz, δ_J = 0.0052(3) kHz. A C-C-C-C dihedral angle, ω, of ∼55° has been determined. These values agree well with those obtained from a coupled cluster (CCSD/cc-PVTZ) calculation. The rotational and centrifugal distortion constants for iso-C₄F₁₀ and iso-C₄HF₉ are: B_o = 816.4519(4) MHz, D_J = 0.023(2) kHz, and B_o = 903.6985(25) MHz, D_J = 0.043(4) kHz, respectively. The dipole moment of iso-C₄F₁₀ and iso-C₄HF₉ have been measured and found to be 0.0338(8) and 1.69(9) D, respectively.     

Theoretical study on the kinetics for OH reactions with CH3OH and C2H5OH

Kinetics and mechanisms for reactions of OH with methanol and ethanol have been investigated at the CCSD(T)/6-311 + G(3df, 2p)//MP2/6-311 + G(3df, 2p) level of theory. The total and individual rate constants, and product branching ratios for the reactions have been computed in the temperature range 200-3000 K with variational transition state theory by including the effects of multiple reflections above the wells of their pre-reaction complexes, quantum-mechanical tunneling and hindered internal rotations. The predicted results can be represented by the expressions k₁ = 4.65 × 10⁻²⁰ × T^2.68 exp(414/T) and k₂ = 9.11 × 10⁻²⁰ × T^2.58 exp(748/T) cm³ molecule⁻¹ s⁻¹ for the CH₃OH and C₂H₅OH reactions, respectively. These results are in reasonable agreements with available experimental data except that of OH + C₂H₅OH in the high temperature range. The former reaction produces 96-89% of the H₂O + CH₂OH products, whereas the latter process produces 98-70% of H₂O + CH₃CHOH and 2-21% of the H₂O + CH₂CH₂OH products in the temperature range computed (200-3000 K).     

Studies of the electrochemical reduction processes of Bi, HTeO2 and their mixtures

The reduction process of Bi³⁺, HTeO₂⁺ and their mixtures on Au electrode surface was studied by cyclic voltammetry, linear sweep voltammetry, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and chronoamperometry. XRD and EDS methods were also used to measure the reductive products prepared under different potentials and provide the evidences of the reactions. The results indicate that the reduction of HTeO₂⁺ occurs at more positive potential than that of Bi³⁺, but its reduction rate is slower and adsorption phenomenon exists during its reduction process. Bi₂Te₃ compound can be obtained potentiostatically at a proper potential in all the mixed solutions with concentration ratio CHTe+O₂/CBi3+ in our research range (0.1-10). But pure Bi₂Te₃ compound can only be obtained at 42 mV in the solution with concentration ratio CHTe+O₂/CBi3+ equaling to 1. And the formation of Bi₂Te₃ compound is an inductive co-depositing process: (1) HTeO₂⁺ + 4e⁻ + 3H⁺ → Te⁰ + 2H₂O, (2) 3Te⁰ + 2Bi³⁺ + 6e⁻ → Bi₂Te₃.     

Mid-infrared polarization spectroscopy of C2H2: Non-intrusive spatial-resolved measurements of polyatomic hydrocarbon molecules for combustion diagnostics

Polarization spectroscopy in the mid-infrared (IRPS) has been applied to the detection of acetylene molecules making use of the asymmetric C-H stretching vibration at around 3 μm. The infrared laser pulses were produced through difference frequency generation in a LiNbO₃ crystal pumped by a Nd:YAG and dye laser system. By directly probing the ro-vibrational transitions with IRPS, sensitive detection of molecules with otherwise inaccessible electronic states was realized with high temporal and spatial resolution by using a pulsed laser and a cross-beam geometry. Detection sensitivities of 2 × 10¹³ molecules/cm³ (10 ppm in 70 mbar gas mixture) of C₂H₂ were achieved using the P(1 1) line of the (0 1 0(1 1)⁰)-(0 0 0 0⁰ 0⁰) band. The dependence of the IRPS signal on the pump laser fluence, acetylene mole fraction, and buffer gas pressure of Ar, N₂, H₂, and CO₂ has been studied experimentally. The investigation demonstrates the quantitative nature of IRPS for sensitive detection of polyatomic IR active molecules. In order to fully demonstrate the technique for combustion applications, nascent acetylene molecules were measured in a low pressure methane/oxygen flame.     

Characterization of Y2O3 gate dielectric on n-GaAs substrates

Physical and electrical properties of sputtered deposited Y₂O₃ films on NH₄OH treated n-GaAs substrate are investigated. The as-deposited films and interfacial layer formation have been analyzed by using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS). It is found that directly deposited Y₂O₃ on n-GaAs exhibits excellent electrical properties with low frequency dispersion (<5%), hysteresis voltage (0.24 V), and interface trap density (3 × 10¹² eV⁻¹ cm⁻²). The results show that the deposition of Y₂O₃ on n-GaAs can be an effective way to improve the interface quality by the suppression on native oxides formation, especially arsenic oxide which causes Fermi level pinning at high-k/GaAs interface. The Al/Y₂O₃/n-GaAs stack with an equivalent oxide thickness (EOT) of 2.1 nm shows a leakage current density of 3.6 × 10⁻⁶ A cm⁻² at a V_FB of 1 V. While the low-field leakage current conduction mechanism has been found to be dominated by the Schottky emission, Poole-Frenkel emission takes over at high electric fields. The energy band alignment of Y₂O₃ films on n-GaAs substrate is extracted from detailed XPS measurements. The valence and conduction band offsets at Y₂O₃/n-GaAs interfaces are found to be 2.14 and 2.21 eV, respectively.     

The elastic behavior of dense C3N4 under high pressure: First-principles calculations

We have carried a detailed theoretical study on the geometry, density of states, elastic properties, sound velocities and Debye temperature of α-, β-, c- and p-C₃N₄ compounds under a maximum of pressure up to 100 GPa by using first principles calculations. The optimized lattice constants under zero pressure and zero temperature agreed well with the previous experimental and theoretical results. The band gaps of the four types of dense C₃N₄ were widened gradually with the increase of pressure. The calculated Poisson’s ratio γ and B/G values suggest α-, c- and p-C₃N₄ are brittle materials under 0–100 GPa, whereas β-C₃N₄ will become a ductile material as external pressure reaches 57 GPa. We found that the Debye temperature of the four dense C₃N₄ gradually reduces in the order of c-C₃N₄>p-C₃N₄>α-C₃N₄>β-C₃N₄ at 0 GPa and 0 K. However, the Debye temperature of c-C₃N₄ was lower than p-C₃N₄ when external pressure exceeds 6.3 GPa. It may hint that the results could be served as a valuable prediction for further experiments.     

Energy distributions of atomic and molecular ions sputtered by C60 projectiles

In the process of investigating the interaction of fullerene projectiles with adsorbed organic layers, we measured the kinetic energy distributions (KEDs) of fragment and parent ions sputtered from an overlayer of polystyrene (PS) oligomers cast on silver under 15 keV C₆₀⁺ bombardment. These measurements have been conducted using our TRIFT™ spectrometer, recently equipped with the C₆₀⁺ source developed by Ionoptika, Ltd. For atomic ions, the intensity corresponding to the high energy tail decreases in the following order: C⁺(E^−0.4) > H⁺(E^−1.5) > Ag⁺(E^−3.5). In particular, the distribution of Ag⁺ is not broader than those of Ag₂⁺ and Ag₃⁺ clusters, in sharp contrast with 15 keV Ga⁺ bombardment. On the other hand, molecular ions (fragments and parent-like species) exhibit a significantly wider distribution using C₆₀⁺ instead of Ga⁺ as primary ions. For instance, the KED of Ag-cationized PS oligomers resembles that of Ag⁺ and Ag_n⁺ clusters. A specific feature of fullerene projectiles is that they induce the direct desorption of positively charged oligomers, without the need of a cationizing metal atom. The energy spectrum of these PS⁺ ions is significantly narrower then that of Ag-cationized oligomers. For characteristic fragments of PS, such as C₇H₇⁺ and C₁₅H₁₃⁺ and polycyclic fragments, such as C₉H₇⁺ and C₁₄H₁₀⁺, the high energy decay is steep (E⁻⁴ − E⁻⁸). In addition, reorganized ions generally show more pronounced high energy tails than characteristic ions, similar to the case of monoatomic ion bombardment. This observation is consistent with the higher excitation energy needed for their formation. Finally, the fraction of hydrocarbon ions formed in the gas phase via unimolecular dissociation of larger species is slightly larger with gallium than with fullerene projectiles.     

Experimental and kinetic modeling study of C2H4 oxidation at high pressure

A detailed chemical kinetic model for oxidation of C₂H₄ in the intermediate temperature range and high pressure has been developed and validated experimentally. New ab initio calculations and RRKM analysis of the important C₂H₃ + O₂ reaction was used to obtain rate coefficients over a wide range of conditions (0.003-100 bar, 200-3000 K). The results indicate that at 60 bar and medium temperatures vinyl peroxide, rather than CH₂O and HCO, is the dominant product. The experiments, involving C₂H₄/O₂ mixtures diluted in N₂, were carried out in a high pressure flow reactor at 600-900 K and 60 bar, varying the reaction stoichiometry from very lean to fuel-rich conditions. Model predictions are generally satisfactory. The governing reaction mechanisms are outlined based on calculations with the kinetic model. Under the investigated conditions the oxidation pathways for C₂H₄ are more complex than those prevailing at higher temperatures and lower pressures. The major differences are the importance of the hydroxyethyl (CH₂CH₂OH) and 2-hydroperoxyethyl (CH₂CH₂OOH) radicals, formed from addition of OH and HO₂ to C₂H₄, and vinyl peroxide, formed from C₂H₃ + O₂. Hydroxyethyl is oxidized through the peroxide HOCH₂CH₂OO (lean conditions) or through ethenol (low O₂ concentration), while 2-hydroperoxyethyl is converted through oxirane.