Boundary graphene layer effect on surface plasmon oscillations in a quantum plasma half-space

The effect of graphene on unique features of surface plasmon-polariton excitations near the interface of vacuum and quantum plasma half-space is explored using a quantum hydrodynamic model including the Fermi electron temperature and the quantum Bohm potential together with the full set of Maxwell equations.It is found that graphene as a conductive layer significantly modifies the propagation properties of surface waves by making a change on the corresponding wave dispersion relation.It is shown that the presence of graphene layer on the interface of vacuum and plasma leads to a blue-shift in the surface Plasmon frequency.The results of present study must be contributed to the modern electronic investigations.     

Optimization based design of a wideband near zero refractive index metasurface for gain improvement of planar antennas in the terahertz band

Optical and Quantum Electronics - A high-sensitive refractive index (RI) measuring method is proposed through the combined use of elliptical core photonic crystal fiber (PCF) and Sagnac...     

V‐N‐C catalysts anchored to mesoporous Al‐SBA‐15 with tailorable pore sizes for the synthesis of spirooxindole dihydroquinazolinones derivatives

Heterogeneous nanoscale catalyst was successfully synthesized via anchoring of V‐bis(2‐aminobenzamide) complex on the Al‐SBA‐15. This modified mesoporous was identified by several characterization techniques, such as X‐ray diffraction, field emission‐scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform‐infrared, Brunauer–Emmett–Teller and transmission electron microscopy. V‐Bis(2‐aminobenzamide)@Al‐SBA‐15 was found to be an efficient heterogeneous catalyst for the rapid and desirable synthesis of various spirooxindole dihydroquinazolinones derivatives. In addition, the heterogeneous nanocatalyst was chemically stabilized in organic and aqueous solutions as well as can be expeditiously reused for at least seven cycles without a significant loss in catalytic activity.     

Emerging techniques for submicrometer particle sizing applied to Stöber silica

The accurate characterization of submicrometer and nanometer sized particles presents a major challenge in the diverse applications envisaged for them including cosmetics, biosensors, renewable energy, and electronics. Size is one of the principal parameters for classifying particles and understanding their behavior, with other particle characteristics usually only quantifiable when size is accounted for. We present a comparative study of emerging and established techniques to size submicrometer particles, evaluating their sizing precision and relative resolution, and demonstrating the variety of physical principles upon which they are based, with the aim of developing a framework in which they can be compared. We used in-house synthesized St?ber silica particles between 100 and 400 nm in diameter as reference materials for this study. The emerging techniques of scanning ion occlusion sensing (SIOS), differential centrifugal sedimentation (DCS), and nanoparticle tracking analysis (NTA) were compared to the established techniques of transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning mobility particle sizing (SMPS), and dynamic light scattering (DLS). The size distributions were described using the mode, arithmetic mean, and standard deviation. Uncertainties associated with the six techniques were evaluated, including the statistical uncertainties in the mean sizes measured by the single-particle counting techniques. Q-Q plots were used to analyze the shapes of the size distributions. Through the use of complementary techniques for particle sizing, a more complete characterization of the particles was achieved, with additional information on their density and porosity attained.     

Curvature effect on the electronic properties of BN nanoribbons

Density functional theory calculations have been used to investigate the rolling process of armchair boron nitride nanoribbons (n-ABNNRs, n?=?6,?8,?10,?12,?14,?16) to form (n,?0) zigzag boron nitrogen nanotubes (ZBNNTs, n?=?3–8). Results showed that by rolling (increasing the curvature) energy gap decreases and the difference between the initial and final states increases dramatically with decreasing the ribbon width. It was found that ZBNNTs have direct band gaps and the gap increases by diameter, while ABNNRs have direct band gaps which oscillate with the ribbon width.     

On the nucleation of cementite on bainitic ferrite–austenite interphase boundaries

Among all possible variants of the Isaichev orientation relationship between cementite and ferrite, a single major cementite variant has been observed to appear in bainite. Interphase boundary nucleation of cementite on ferrite–austenite semi-coherent interfaces is considered a plausible reason for this observation. With the aid of known crystallographic relations and habit planes of the ferrite–cementite, ferrite–austenite and austenite–cementite phases, a model for cementite nucleation has been proposed. The interphase-boundary nucleus is assumed to form on a semi-coherent ferrite–austenite interface and to possess ferrite–cementite and austenite–cementite habits as two main facets of the nucleus. It is shown that interphase cementite nucleation will be viable if the energies of all facets of the nucleus are in the semi-coherent range.     

Comparison of Trap‐state Distribution and Carrier Transport in Nanotubular and Nanoparticulate TiO2 Electrodes for Dye‐Sensitized Solar Cells

Dye‐sensitized solar cells (DSCs) with nanotubular TiO₂ electrodes of varying thicknesses are compared to DSCs based on conventional nanoparticulate electrodes. Despite the higher degree of order in one‐dimensional nanotubular electrodes, electron transport times and diffusion coefficients, determined under short‐circuit conditions, are comparable to those of nanoparticulate electrodes. The quasi‐Fermi level, however, is much lower in the nanotubes, suggesting a lower concentration of conduction band electrons. This provides evidence for a much higher diffusion coefficient for conduction band electrons in nanotubes than in nanoparticulate films. The electron lifetime and the diffusion length are significantly longer in nanotubular TiO₂ electrodes than in nanoparticulate films. Nanotubular electrodes have a trap distribution that differs significantly from nanoparticulate electrodes; they possess relatively deeper traps and have a characteristic energy of the exponential distribution that is more than two times that of nanoparticulate electrodes.     

First principles investigation of magnesium antimonite semiconductor compound in two different phases under hydrostatic pressure

We investigate the electronic and the structural properties of Mg₃Sb₂ in cubic and hexagonal phases using the full potential-linearized augmented plane wave (FP-LAPW) method within the framework of density functional theory. The effects of hydrostatic pressure on band gap, bandwidths of bands under Fermi energy labeled by B1 and B2 from the top, the energy gap between B1 and B2 (anti-symmetry gap) and also effective masses of electrons and holes are studied using optimized lattice parameters. We observe that the hydrostatic pressure decreases the band gap and the anti-symmetry gap while it increases the bandwidths of all bands below the Fermi energy. The effective masses of electrons and holes for the hexagonal phase depend on pressure in the Γ→Λ direction. In the cubic phase the effective mass of electrons is independent of pressure and the effective mass of holes depend on the pressure in the Γ→N direction.     

Fabrication of gas ionization sensor based on titanium oxide nanotube arrays

Gas sensors have been fabricated based on field ionization from titanium oxide nanotubes grown on titanium foil. Ordered nanaotube arrays of titanium oxides were grown by the anodization method. We measured breakdown voltages and discharge currents of the device for various gases. Our gas ionization sensors (GIS) presented good sensitivity, selectivity, and short response time. The GISs based on TiO₂ nanotube arrays showed lower breakdown voltage, higher discharge current, and good selectivity. An excellent response observed for Ar compared to other gases. Besides, by introducing 2 % CO and 4 % H₂ to N₂ flow gas, the amount of breakdown voltage shifts about 20 and 70 volts to the lower values, respectively. The GIS works at room temperature and has the ability of detect inert gases with high stability and good linearity. Besides, short response time of about 1 second for the GISs based on TiO₂ nanotube arrays makes them excellent for gas sensing applications. Sharp edges of the nanotubes, through enhancing the applied electric field, reduce operating voltage to the reasonable values and power consumption.