New insights on amorphous silicon-nitride microcavities

All amorphous silicon-nitride planar optical microcavities operating in the visible range have been grown by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition. The luminescence intensity of the N-rich silicon-nitride layer from a microcavity with 6 period distributed Bragg reflectors (DBRs) is two order of magnitude higher than that of the luminescent layer without the cavity. Moreover, a strong directionality of the microcavities emission can be observed. Such results can be ascribed to the anisotropic optical density of states induced in the Fabry–Perot structure. The quality factors of the resonators are strictly correlated to the number of periods of the DBRs.     

Thermo-physical properties measurements of hygroscopic and reactive material (zeolite 13X) for open adsorptive heat storage operation

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - The determination of the thermo-physical properties (density, specific heat capacity, and thermal conductivity) of hygroscopic and reactive solid...     

Experimental and modelization approach in the study of acid-site energy distribution by base desorption. Part I: modified silica surfaces

The acid properties of pure and modified silica surfaces were studied by 2-phenylethylamine (PEA) desorption in a thermogravimetric (TGA) apparatus, carrying out the experiments at different heating rates (5 < beta/(degrees C.min(-1)) < 30). The samples, containing about 13 wt % alumina, titania, and zirconia, were prepared by the sol-gel route from molecular precursors. The textural, structural, and surface properties of the materials were studied by complementary techniques (ICP, XRD, N(2) physisorption, SEM-EDS, and XPS). The chemical modification of the silica surface by enrichment with Al, Ti, or Zr, in amounts of about 90, 50, and 60% of that introduced in the preparation as determined by XPS, justified the increase of acidity of the modified silica surfaces compared with that of pure silica. The total number of strong acid sites was found to be in the order of SZ > SA > ST > S. Two different kinetic approaches were applied to the thermogravimetric data to kinetically interpret the PEA desorption from the different types of acid sites. The classical differential Kissinger model was found to be inadequate in representing the very complex situation of the acid surfaces. A more complex model is proposed by simultaneously taking into account PEA desorption from the different acid sites by a set of parallel and independent desorption reactions following Arrhenius's kinetic law. The fraction of each type of acid site on each surface and the relevant activation parameters were optimized through a computational procedure. Very good fitting of the experimental-calculated desorption profiles corroborated the validity of the model. For each surface, the acid-site energy distribution is presented and discussed in relationship to the surface composition of the oxides.     

Study of acidic commercial WO<Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript>/ZrO<Subscript>2</Subscript> catalysts by adsorption microcalorimetry and thermal analysis techniques

In this work we report about the characterization of the acidic and redox properties of four different commercial tungstated zirconia catalysts with W loadings of about 12–13 mass%. The samples have been characterized in terms of their micro-structural and surface properties by BET, X-ray diffraction, temperature programmed reduction, elemental chemical analysis and adsorption microcalorimetry of NH₃. Improved acidity has been detected upon addition of WO₃ to zirconia and differences between the samples were pointed out thanks to the results obtained by the complementary physico-chemical techniques used in this study.     

Calorimetric study of the acidic character of V<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>5</Subscript>–TiO<Subscript>2</Subscript>/SO<Subscript>4</Subscript><Superscript>2−</Superscript> catalysts used in methanol oxidation to dimethoxymethane

The surface acidic properties of sulfated vanadia–titania catalysts prepared by various methods were investigated by adsorption microcalorimetry, using ammonia as probe molecule. The acidic characteristics of the samples were shown to be strongly affected by the preparation method, calcination temperature, and sulfur content. The samples prepared by sol–gel and mechanical grinding exhibited higher acidity than co-precipitated samples. Moreover, increasing the calcination temperature of co-precipitated samples resulted in a decrease in surface area from 402 to 57 m² g⁻¹ and sulfur content from around 4 to 0.2 mass%, but up to a certain point generated a stronger acidity. The optimal calcination temperature appeared to be around 673 K.     

Design of amphoteric mixed oxides of zinc and Group 3 elements (Al, Ga, In): migration effects on basic features

The design of new amphoteric catalysts is of great interest for several industrial processes, especially those covering dehydration and dehydrogenation phenomena. Adsorption microcalorimetry was used to monitor the design of mixed oxides of zinc with Group 3 elements (aluminium, gallium, indium) with amphoteric character and enhanced specific surface area. Acid-base features were found to evolve non-linearly with the relative amounts of metal, and the strengths of the created acidic or basic sites were measured by adsorption microcalorimetry. A panel of bifunctional catalysts of various acid-base (amounts, strengths) and redox character was obtained. Besides, special interest was given to In-Zn mixed oxides for their enhanced basicity: this series of catalysts displays important basic features of high strength (q(diff) (SO? ads.) > 200 kJ mol(SO?)?1 in substantial amounts (1 - 2 μmol m(catalyst)?2), whose impact on efficiency or selectivity in catalytic dehydration/dehydrogenation can be valuable.     

Water sorption heats on silica-alumina-based composites for interseasonal heat storage

CaCl₂-containing composites have been prepared by depositing the hydrated salt (by incipient wetness impregnation) on three different silica-aluminas with various Si/Al ratios. The surface area and porosity of all the samples were determined by N₂-adsorption at ?196 °C, and their water sorption properties were investigated by thermogravimetry linked to differential scanning calorimetry (TG–DSC) in order to determine the quantity of adsorbed/desorbed water and the related heats. The heat released and the quantity of adsorbed water were found to depend on parameters such as the silica-alumina pore diameters, the Si/Al ratio, and the presence of accessible CaCl₂ active phase. The short-term stability of both supports and composites has been also checked by performing successive hydration–dehydration cycles. The sample with the lower Si/Al ratio provided the highest heat per surface area of material, and the heat released per mol of water increased with the amount of Al₂O₃ present in the samples. The deposition of CaCl₂ positively acted on the quantity of heat released during the water sorption, and the composite with the higher alumina content (75 mass% Al) showed the largest heat released per m² of material (2.4 J m^?2) compared to those containing 25 and 13 mass% Al (1.4 and 1.2 J m^?2, respectively).     

a-Si:H based two-dimensional photonic crystals

We describe the fabrication processes of silicon-based two-dimensional photonic crystals (2D-PCs) with a photonic band gap in the near-IR range. The procedures involve electron beam lithography followed by an anisotropic etching step of hydrogenated amorphous silicon thin films deposited by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition. Micrometric and submicrometric arrays of cylindrical holes are transferred using a poly-methylmethacrylate resist layer as a mask. A careful comparison between standard parallel plate reactive ion etching and inductively coupled plasma etching techniques is performed, aimed at obtaining periodic structures with high aspect ratio and good profile sharpness.