Deposition of ZnS thin film by ultrasonic spray pyrolysis: effect of thickness on the crystallographic and electrical properties

Zinc sulfide (ZnS) thin films have been deposited on Si (1 0 0) substrate using ultrasonic spray pyrolysis. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis revealed that the films are (0 0 2) preferentially oriented with c-axis-oriented wurtzite structure. The crystallinity has been found to improve with film thickness in the 180–6000 nm range. Film structure has been analyzed by XRD, scanning electron microscope, FTIR, and Raman spectroscopies, while the stoichiometry has been verified by energy-dispersive spectroscopy and particle-induced X-ray emission techniques. Electrical properties of the grown films were characterized by current–voltage and capacitance–voltage measurements where, the films show better conducting behavior at higher thickness.     

He I ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy of benzene and pyridine in supersonic molecular beams using photoelectron imaging

We performed He I ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS) of jet-cooled aromatic molecules using a newly developed photoelectron imaging (PEI) spectrometer. The PEI spectrometer can measure photoelectron spectra and photoelectron angular distributions at a considerably higher efficiency than a conventional spectrometer that uses a hemispherical energy analyzer. One technical problem with PEI is its relatively high susceptibility to background electrons generated by scattered He I radiation. To reduce this problem, we designed a new electrostatic lens that intercepts background photoelectrons emitted from the repeller plate toward the imaging detector. An energy resolution (ΔE/E) of 0.735% at E = 5.461 eV is demonstrated with He I radiation. The energy resolution is limited by the size of the ionization region. Trajectory calculations indicate that the system is capable of achieving an energy resolution of 0.04% with a laser if the imaging resolution is not limited. Experimental results are presented for jet-cooled benzene and pyridine, and they are compared with results in the literature.     

Rydberg transitions in neon observed by optogalvanic effect in the 830-870 and 380-420 nm regions

New optogalvanic (OG) Rydberg-Rydberg transitions of neon have been observed in the near-infrared region (830-870 nm), using a commercial Fe-Ne hollow cathode. They involve transitions from the 3d[3/2] J=1 and 3d[7/2] J=3,4 levels to high-lying nf levels. In addition, other OG transitions, observed in the blue range, have been completely assigned to ns, nd, ns′ and nd′ Rydberg series excited from the 3p[1/2] J=1 and 3p[5/2] J=2,3 levels of neon. These transitions and assignments allowed us to extend the range of tunable laser calibration on the two edges of the visible range, where there is a lack of available calibration lines, i.e. the near-infrared and the far-blue range, with a 0.01 nm absolute accuracy.     

Photolysis of allene and propyne in the 7-30 eV region probed by the visible fluorescence of their fragments

The photolysis of allene and propyne, two isomers of C(3)H(4), has been investigated in the excitation energy range of 7-30 eV using vacuum ultraviolet synchrotron radiation. The visible fluorescence excitation spectra of the excited neutral photofragments of both isomers were recorded within the same experimental conditions. Below the first ionization potential (IP), this fluorescence was too weak to be dispersed and possibly originated from C(2)H or CH(2) radicals. Above IP, three excited photofragments have been characterized by their dispersed emission spectra: the CH radical (A (2)Delta-X (2)Pi), the C(2) radical (d (3)Pi(g)-a (3)Pi(u), "Swan's bands"), and the H atom (4-2 and 3-2 Balmer lines). A detailed analysis of the integrated emission intensities allowed us to determine several apparition thresholds for these fragments, all of them being interpreted as rapid and barrierless dissociation processes on the excited potential energy surfaces. In the low energy range explored in this work, both isomers exhibit different intensity distributions in their fragment emission as a function of the photolysis energy, indicating that mutual allene<-->propyne isomerization is not fully completed before dissociation occurs. The effect of isomerization on the dissociation into excited fragments is present in the whole excitation energy range albeit less important in the 7-16 eV region; it gradually increases with increasing excitation energy. Above 19 eV, the fragment distribution is very similar for the two isomers.     

Sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone)/manganese dioxide composite for the removal of low level radionuclide ions from aqueous solution

Various composite adsorbents based on sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone)/manganese dioxide were prepared for the removal of stable and radioactive ions from contaminated aqueous solution. Batch adsorption experiments revealed superior adsorption capacities of the composite using very low initial concentration of studied elements. Starting with 1000 µg L⁻¹ contaminated solution, the maximum equilibrium metal uptake capacity reached 2.0 mg g⁻¹ for Pb²⁺, 1.9 mg g⁻¹ for Cd²⁺, Cu²⁺ and Zn²⁺, and 3.7 mg g⁻¹ for Co²⁺. In addition, the distribution coefficient reached 11,600 mL g⁻¹ for ¹³⁷Cs and 70,000 mL g⁻¹ for ²¹⁰Pb.