Metamorphic InAs(Sb)/InGaAs/InAlAs nanoheterostructures grown on GaAs for efficient mid-IR emitters

High-efficiency semiconductor lasers and light-emitting diodes operating in the 3–5?μm mid-infrared (mid-IR) spectral range are currently of great demand for a wide variety of applications, in particular, gas sensing, noninvasive medical tests, IR spectroscopy etc. III-V compounds with a lattice constant of about 6.1?Å are traditionally used for this spectral range. The attractive idea to fabricate such emitters on GaAs substrates by using In(Ga,Al)As compounds is restricted by either the minimum operating wavelength of ～8?μm in case of pseudomorphic AlGaAs-based quantum cascade lasers or requires utilization of thick metamorphic In_xAl_1-xAs buffer layers (MBLs) playing a key role in reducing the density of threading dislocations (TDs) in an active region, which otherwise result in a strong decay of the quantum efficiency of such mid-IR emitters. In this review we present the results of careful investigations of employing the convex-graded In_xAl_1-xAs MBLs for fabrication by molecular beam epitaxy on GaAs (001) substrates of In(Ga,Al)As heterostructures with a combined type-II/type-I InSb/InAs/InGaAs quantum well (QW) for efficient mid-IR emitters (3–3.6?μm). The issues of strain relaxation, elastic stress balance, efficiency of radiative and non-radiative recombination at T?=?10–300?K are discussed in relation to molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) growth conditions and designs of the structures. A wide complex of techniques including in-situ reflection high-energy electron diffraction, atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning and transmission electron microscopies, X-ray diffractometry, reciprocal space mapping, selective area electron diffraction, as well as photoluminescence (PL) and Fourier-transformed infrared spectroscopy was used to study in detail structural and optical properties of the metamorphic QW structures. Optimization of the growth conditions (the substrate temperature, the As₄/III ratio) and elastic strain profiles governed by variation of an inverse step in the In content profile between the MBL and the InAlAs virtual substrate results in decrease in the TD density (down to 3?×?10⁷ cm^?2), increase of the thickness of the low-TD-density near-surface MBL region to 250–300?nm, the extremely low surface roughness with the RMS value of 1.6–2.4?nm, measured by AFM, as well as rather high 3.5?μm-PL intensity at temperatures up to 300?K in such structures. The obtained results indicate that the metamorphic InSb/In(Ga,Al)As QW heterostructures of proper design, grown under the optimum MBE conditions, are very promising for fabricating the efficient mid-IR emitters on a GaAs platform.     

Synthesis,cytotoxicity, apoptosis and cell cycle arrest of a monoruthenium(II)-substituted Dawson polyoxotungstate

By 5-h reaction of cis-[Ru^IICl₂(DMSO)₄] (M2) with K₁₀[α₂-P₂W₁₇O₆₁] (M3) in ice-cooled, HCl-acidic aqueous solution, a water-soluble 1:2-type diamagnetic ruthenium(II) complex of formula K₁₈[Ru^II(DMSO)₂(P₂W₁₇O₆₁)₂]·35H₂O (M1) was unexpectedly obtained as an analytically pure, homogeneous tan-colored solid, in which two DMSO ligands are coordinated to the ruthenium(II) atom. The cytotoxic potential of the complex was tested on C33A, DLD-1, and HepG-2 cancer cells and human normal embryonic lung fibroblasts cell MRC-5; the viability of the treated cells was evaluated by MTT assay. The mode of cell death was assessed by morphological study of DNA damage and apoptosis assays. Compound M1 induced cell death in a dose-dependent manner, and the mode of cell death was essentially apoptosis though necrosis was also noticed. Cell cycle analysis by flow cytometry indicated that M1 caused cell cycle arrest and accumulated cells in S phase.     

A review of recent advances in catalytic combustion of VOCs on perovskite-type catalysts

Along with the rapid development of industry, VOCs gradually move into the spotlight, and now become a kind of harmful environmental pollutants that cannot be overlooked. This paper introduces the hazards of VOCs and the common catalytic combustion catalysts, noble metal catalysts and non-noble metal catalysts, for the elimination of VOCs. Perovskite catalysts, as one of the non-noble catalysts, play an important role in the field of catalytic combustion in recent years. According to the classification of elements doping in perovskites, the research achievements in the past five years were analyzed and reviewed. In addition, this paper also analyzes and elaborates the reaction kinetics and QSAR/QSPR models for the introduction of structural properties and reaction mechanisms.     

Vacuum‐driven fluid manipulation by a piezoelectric diaphragm micropump for microfluidic droplet generation with a rapid system response time

Recently, we developed a convenient microfluidic droplet generation device based on vacuum‐driven fluid manipulation with a piezoelectric diaphragm micropump. In the present study built on our previous work, we investigate the influence of settings applied to the piezoelectric pump, such as peak‐to‐peak drive voltage (V_p‐p) and wave frequency, on droplet generation characteristics. Stepwise adjustments to the drive voltage in ±10‐V_p‐p increments over the range of 200?250 V_p‐p during droplet creation revealed that the droplet generation rate could be reproducibly controlled at a specific drive voltage. The droplet generation rate switched within <0.5 s after the input of a new voltage. Although the droplet generation rate depended on the drive voltage, this setting had almost no influence on droplet size. The frequency over the selected range (50?60 Hz) did not markedly influence the droplet generation rate or droplet size. We show that the current fluid manipulation system can be conveniently used for both droplet generation and for rapid droplet reading, which is required in many microfluidic‐based applications.     

A simple,rapid and sensitive method based on modified multiwalled carbon nanotube for preconcentration and determination of lead ions in aqueous media in natural pHs

In this study, multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) was modified by the pyridine group using a silane agent and characterized by infrared spectroscopy (IR), thermal analysis (TG/DTA), and elemental analysis (CHN) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The application of this sorbent was investigated in determination of lead ions in aqueous samples, using flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS). Through this study, different parameters such as pH and sample flow rate on adsorption process and eluent concentration, volume and flow rate were optimized. The limit of detection (LOD), the relative standard deviation and the recovery of the method were 2 ng mL^?1, 1.3% and 99.7%, respectively. Two standard reference materials (NIST 1571 and NIST 1572) were used to verify accuracy of this method. Finally, the sorbent was successfully applied for extraction and determination of low levels of Pb(II) ions in aqueous samples.     

Synthesis and properties of novel N,C,N terdentate skeleton based on 1,3-di(pyridin-2-yl)benzene moiety-new tricks for old dogs

Utilization of intermolecular Friedel-Crafts and intramolecular condensation reaction,novel 1,3-di-(pyridine-2-yl)benzene(N,C,N terdentate) skeleton with electro-withdrawing group in 6' position of pyridyl and a cyclization between 6' position of pyridyl and 6 position of benzyl ring were firstly designed and synthesized.The structures of these novel N,C,N terdentate were confirmed by NMR,MS and X-ray single crystalanalyses.The photophysical properties of these compounds were briefly explored.     

Growth and characterization of two-dimensional crystals for communication and energy applications

This review article covers the growth and characterization of two-dimensional (2D) crystals of transition metal chalcogenides, h-BN, graphene, etc. The chemical vapor transport method for bulk single crystal growth is discussed in detail. Top-down methods like mechanical and liquid exfoliation and bottom-up methods like chemical vapor deposition and molecular beam epitaxy for mono/few-layer growth are described. The optimal characterization techniques such as optical, atomic force, scanning electron, and Raman spectroscopy for identification of mono/few-layer(s) of the 2D crystals are discussed. In addition, a survey was done for the application of 2D crystals for both creation and deterministic transfer of single-photon sources and photovoltaic systems. Finally, the application of plasmonic nanoantenna was proposed for enhanced solar-to-electrical energy conversion and faster/brighter quantum communication devices.     

开关型Pickering乳液体系

Pickering乳液以胶体尺寸的固体粒子代替传统表面活性剂作为稳定剂,具有超稳定,生物相容性好以及对环境友好等优点。开关型Pickering乳液可随pH值、CO₂/N₂浓度、温度、磁场强度及光强度等条件的变化而改变固体乳化剂的表面润湿性,实现在“乳化”与“破乳”之间的快速转换,在非均相催化、乳液聚合等诸多领域有广泛的应用前景。本文全面总结了近年来开关型Pickering乳液的研究进展及其在界面催化系统、液膜处理有机废水、药物的包封与释放等方面的应用。     

An improved depth-averaged nonhydrostatic shallow water model with quadratic pressure approximation

Phase-resolved information is necessary for many coastal wave problems, for example, for the wave conditions in the vicinity of harbor structures. Two-dimensional (2D) depth-averaging shallow water models are commonly used to obtain a phase-resolved solution near the coast. These models are in general more computationally effective compared with computational fluid dynamics software and will be even more capable if equipped with a parallelized code. In the current article, a 2D wave model solving the depth-averaged continuity equation and the Euler equations is implemented in the open-source hydrodynamic code REEF3D. The model is based on a nonhydrostatic extension and a quadratic vertical pressure profile assumption, which provides a better approximation of the frequency dispersion. It is the first model of its kind to employ high-order discretization schemes and to be fully parallelized following the domain decomposition strategy. Wave generation and absorption are achieved with a relaxation method. The simulations of nonlinear long wave propagations and transformations over nonconstant bathymetries are presented. The results are compared with benchmark wave propagation cases. A large-scale wave propagation simulation over realistic irregular topography is shown to demonstrate the model's capability of solving operational large-scale problems.