Ni2MnGa(100) ferromagnetic shape memory alloy: A surface study

Ni₂MnGa(100) single crystal studied using low energy electron diffraction (LEED) and ultraviolet photoemission spectroscopy (UPS) exhibits interesting modification of the surface properties that are mainly influenced by surface composition as well as intrinsic effects. In the martensite phase, the LEED spot profiles show presence of an incommensurate modulation for the stoichiometric surface. In contrast, a commensurate modulation is observed for Mn-excess Ni–Mn–Ga surface. A pre-martensite phase is identified at the surface. Both the surface martensitic and pre-martensitic transition temperatures decrease as the Mn content increases. The UPS spectra in the austenite phase exhibit systematic change in shape as a function of surface composition that can be related to changes in the hybridization between Ni and Mn 3d states. The spectra in the martensite phase exhibit interesting modifications near the Fermi level, which has been compared to density of states calculated for a modulated structure by ab-initio density functional theory. Intrinsic surface properties dissimilar from the bulk are enhanced hysteresis width of the martensite transition and increased pre-martensitic transition temperature.     

Electronic structure of Fe2CrSn

From the first principles calculation based on the density functional theory, we find that consideration of electron–electron correlation drives Fe₂CrSn from a barely half-metallic state to a magnetic semiconductor. However, in both cases, the magnetic state remains ferrimagnetic with a total spin moment of 2μ_B$2{\mathrm{\mu }}_{\mathrm{B}}$, with Cr carrying a large local moment that is oppositely aligned to that of Fe.     

Investigation of the specificity of Raman spectroscopy in non-invasive blood glucose measurements

Although several in vivo blood glucose measurement studies have been performed by different research groups using near-infrared (NIR) absorption and Raman spectroscopic techniques, prospective prediction has proven to be a challenging problem. An important issue in this case is the demonstration of causality of glucose concentration to the spectral information, especially as the intrinsic glucose signal is smaller compared with that of the other analytes in the blood–tissue matrix. Furthermore, time-dependent physiological processes make the relation between glucose concentration and spectral data more complex. In this article, chance correlations in Raman spectroscopy-based calibration model for glucose measurements are investigated for both in vitro (physical tissue models) and in vivo (animal model and human subject) cases. Different spurious glucose concentration profiles are assigned to the Raman spectra acquired from physical tissue models, where the glucose concentration is intentionally held constant. Analogous concentration profiles, in addition to the true concentration profile, are also assigned to the datasets acquired from an animal model during a glucose clamping study as well as a human subject during an oral glucose tolerance test. We demonstrate that the spurious concentration profile-based calibration models are unable to provide prospective predictions, in contrast to those based on actual concentration profiles, especially for the physical tissue models. We also show that chance correlations incorporated by the calibration models are significantly less in Raman as compared to NIR absorption spectroscopy, even for the in vivo studies. Finally, our results suggest that the incorporation of chance correlations for in vivo cases can be largely attributed to the uncontrolled physiological sources of variations. Such uncontrolled physiological variations could either be intrinsic to the subject or stem from changes in the measurement conditions.     

A novel access to bisformylated pyrroles via decarboxylation of N-aryl-γ-lactam-carboxylic acids under Vilsmeier reaction conditions

A simple methodology for the conversion of substituted N-aryl-γ-lactam 2/3-carboxylic acids to substituted N-aryl-diformylated pyrroles has been developed. Several γ-lactam 2/3-carboxylic acids were subjected to Vilsmeier reagent and substituted diformylated pyrroles are isolated in one-step process.     

Light Harvesting and White‐Light Generation in a Composite of Carbon Dots and Dye‐Encapsulated BSA‐Protein‐Capped Gold Nanoclusters

Several strategies have been adopted to design an artificial light‐harvesting system in which light energy is captured by peripheral chromophores and it is subsequently transferred to the core via energy transfer. A composite of carbon dots and dye‐encapsulated BSA‐protein‐capped gold nanoclusters (AuNCs) has been developed for efficient light harvesting and white light generation. Carbon dots (C‐dots) act as donor and AuNCs capped with BSA protein act as acceptor. Analysis reveals that energy transfer increases from 63 % to 83 % in presence of coumarin dye (C153), which enhances the cascade energy transfer from carbon dots to AuNCs. Bright white light emission with a quantum yield of 19 % under the 375 nm excitation wavelength is achieved by changing the ratio of components. Interesting findings reveal that the efficient energy transfer in carbon‐dot–metal‐cluster nanocomposites may open up new possibilities in designing artificial light harvesting systems for future applications.     

Crystallization kinetics of Ag-doped Se–Bi–Te chalcogenide glasses

Effect of Ag doping on the crystallization kinetics of amorphous Se_80.5Bi_1.5Te_18?yAg_y (for y = 0, 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0 at.%) glassy alloys has been studied by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The DSC curves recorded at four different heating rates are analyzed to determine the transition temperature, activation energy, thermal stability, glass forming ability, and dimensionality of growth during phase transformation. Present study shows that the thermal stability and the glass-forming ability increase with an increase in the Ag content which is in agreement with the earlier studies. Our results show that Se_80.5Bi_1.5Te₁₆Ag₂ composition is thermally more stable and has a little tendency to crystallize in comparison to other compositions under study. The increase in thermal stability with increasing Ag concentration is attributed to an increase in the cohesive energy.     

Dynamics of coupled vortices in a pair of ferromagnetic disks

We here experimentally demonstrate that gyration modes of coupled vortices can be resonantly excited primarily by the ac current in a pair of ferromagnetic disks with variable separation. The sole gyration mode clearly splits into higher and lower frequency modes via dipolar interaction, where the main mode splitting is due to a chirality sensitive phase difference in gyrations of the coupled vortices, whereas the magnitude of the splitting is determined by their polarity configuration. These experimental results show that the coupled pair of vortices behaves similar to a diatomic molecule with bonding and antibonding states, implying a possibility for designing the magnonic band structure in a chain or an array of magnetic vortex oscillators.