Substitution effects on the bulk and surface properties of (Li,Ni)Mn<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>4</Subscript>

Manganese oxides of spinel structure, LiMn₂O₄, Li_1-x Ni _x Mn₂O₄ (0.25 ≤ x≤ 0.75), and NiMn₂O₄, were studied by EDS, XRD, SEM, magnetic (M-H, M-T), and XPS measurements. The samples were synthesized by an ultrasound-assisted sol-gel method. EDS analysis showed good agreement with the formulations of the oxides. XRD and Rietveld refinement of X-ray data indicate that all samples crystallize in the Fd3m space group characteristic of the cubic spinel structure. The a-cell parameter ranges from a = 8.2276 Å (x = 0) to a = 8.3980 Å (x = 1). SEM results showed particle agglomerates ranging in size from 2.3 μm (x = 0) down to 0.8 μm (x = 1). Hysteresis magnetization vs. applied field curves in the 5–300K range was recorded. ZFC-FC measurements indicate the presence of two magnetic paramagnetic-ferrimagnetic transitions. The experimental Curie constant was found to vary from 5 to 7.1 cm³ K mol^?1 for the range of compositions studied (0 ≤ x ≤ 1). XPS studies of these oxides revealed the presence of Ni²⁺, Mn³⁺, and Mn⁴⁺. The experimental Ni/Mn atomic ratios obtained by XPS were in good agreement with the nominal values. A linear relationship of the average oxidation state of Mn with Ni content was observed. The oxide’s cation distributions as a function of Ni content from x = 0 ?Li⁺[Mn³⁺Mn⁴⁺]O₄ to x = 1 \( {\mathrm{Ni}}_{0.35}^{2+}{\mathrm{Mn}}_{0.65}^{3+}\left[{\mathrm{Ni}}_{0.65}^{2+}\right.\left.{\mathrm{Mn}}_{1.35}^{3+}\right]{\mathrm{O}}_4 \) were proposed.     

Time evolution of the Infrared Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy of DNA bases Guanine and Adenine

Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) of DNA bases Guanine and Adenine was studied using a high-power CO₂ pulsed laser (λ=10.591 μm, τ _FWHM=64 ns and fluences ranging from 25 to 70 J/cm²). The strong emission of the adenine and guanine plasma, collected using a high-resolution spectrometer, at medium-vacuum conditions (4 Pa) and at 1 mm from the target, exhibits excited molecular bands of CN (B² Σ ⁺–X² Σ ⁺) and excited neutral H and ionized N⁺ and C⁺. The medium-weak emission is due to excited species C²⁺, C³⁺, N, O, O⁺, O²⁺ and molecular band systems of $\mathrm{C}_{2}(\mathrm{d}^{3}\varPi_{\mathrm{g}}\mbox{--}\mathrm{a}^{3}\varPi_{\mathrm{u}};\ \mathrm{D}^{1}\varSigma_{\mathrm{u}}^{+}\mbox{--}\mathrm{X}^{1}\varSigma_{\mathrm{g}}^{+})$ , OH(A² Σ ⁺–X² Π), NH(A³ Π–X³ Σ ^?), CH(A² Π–X² Π), $\mathrm{N}_{2}^{+}(\mathrm{B}^{2}\varSigma_{\mathrm{u}}^{+}\mbox{--} \mathrm{X}^{2}\varSigma_{\mathrm{g}}^{+})$ and N₂(C³ Π _u–B³ Π _g). We focus our attention on the temporal evolution of different atomic/ionic and molecular species. The velocity distributions for various (different) species were obtained from time-of-flight (TOF) measurements. Intensities of some lines from C⁺ were used for determining electron temperature and their Stark-broadened profiles were employed to estimate the temporal evolution of electron density.     

Fabrication and electrochemical performance of La<Subscript>0.5</Subscript>Sr<Subscript>0.5</Subscript>CoO<Subscript>3</Subscript> impregnated porous YSZ cathode

La_0.5Sr_0.5CoO₃-yttria-stabilized zirconia (LSCO-YSZ) composite cathode for solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) has been fabricated by wet impregnation method. Nitrate precursors of La, Sr, and Co have been impregnated into the pre-sintered porous YSZ matrix, which is converted into LSCO phase after calcination at 850 °C in the presence of glycine as confirmed from X-ray diffraction. LSCO of 5, 7, and 10 wt% impregnated porous YSZ have been electrochemically characterized using 2-probe AC conductivity method. Maximum ionic conductivity of 0.27 S/cm at 800 °C and activation energy of 0.15 eV between 600 and 800 °C have been observed for 10 wt% LSCO-YSZ cathode. Area-specific resistance of 1.01 Ω cm² at 800 °C is estimated for the electrolyte-supported half-cell (10 wt% LSCO-YSZ/YSZ). After testing the LSCO-YSZ cathode matrix, the electrolyte-supported full cell (10 wt% LSCO-YSZ/YSZ/NiO-YSZ) has been tested and produced maximum power density 51.12 mW/cm² (109.38 mA/cm²) at 800 °C. The electrolyte-supported full cell exhibited 6 Ω cm² electrode polarization at 800 °C in H₂, which is in higher side leading to low performance. LSCO-YSZ/YSZ/NiO-YSZ SOFC found to give stable performance up to 2 h and scanning electron microscopy analysis has been carried out before and after cell testing to assess the morphological changes.     

Synthesis, crystal structure, and spectroscopic study of K0.92(2) Zn0.08(2) H1.92(2) (PO4) (Zn-KDP)

The structure of K0.92₍₂₎ Zn_0.08(2) H_1.92(2) (PO₄) was determined using single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The crystal structure of the Zn-KDP belonged to the tetragonal space group $ \mathrm{I}\overline{4}2\mathrm{d} $ , with cell parameters of a?=?b?=?7.4487(5)?Å and c?=?6.9703(5)?Å, 386.73(5) Å3, Z?=?4, and R?=?0.023. Zn²⁺ ions were used as substitutes for K⁺ ions with hydrogen vacancy. The Zn-KDP single crystals were submitted to further Raman, infrared, and ¹H NMR studies to investigate chemical group functionalisation, possible bonding between the organic and inorganic materials, and partial substitution of K⁺ by Zn²⁺. The latter partial substitution was confirmed by the deviation of IR frequencies for O–H stretching, the variation of IR and Raman frequencies for stretching and bending vibrations ν(PO₄) of H₂PO₄, and the appearance of additional Raman (147, 386 and 481 cm^?1) vibrational bands. Electrical conductivity measurements were performed on polycrystalline pellets of Zn-KDP and pure KDP at room temperatures (RT) of up to 473K. In both cases, a conductivity jump close to 453K was observed, and a stronger increase of conductivity was measured.     

A measurement of semileptonic B decaysto narrow orbitally-excited charm mesons

The decay chain is identified in a sample of 3.9 million hadronic Z decays collected with the OPAL detector at LEP. The branching ratio BR is measured to be for the J ^P =1⁺ (D⁰ ₁) state. For decays into the J ^P =2⁺ (D₂ ^*0) state, an upper limit of 1.4 x 10^-3 is placed on the branching ratio at the 95% confidence level.Received: 20 December 2002, Revised: 15 April 2003, Published online: 12 September 2003     

Confinement, average forces, and the Ehrenfest theorem for a one-dimensional particle

The topics of confinement, average forces, and the Ehrenfest theorem are examined for a particle in one spatial dimension. Two specific cases are considered: (i) A free particle moving on the entire real line, which is then permanently confined to a line segment or ‘a box’ (this situation is achieved by taking the limit V ₀?→?∞ in a finite well potential). This case is called ‘a particle-in-an-infinite-square-well-potential’. (ii) A free particle that has always been moving inside a box (in this case, an external potential is not necessary to confine the particle, only boundary conditions). This case is called ‘a particle-in-a-box’. After developing some basic results for the problem of a particle in a finite square well potential, the limiting procedure that allows us to obtain the average force of the infinite square well potential from the finite well potential problem is re-examined in detail. A general expression is derived for the mean value of the external classical force operator for a particle-in-an-infinite-square-well-potential, $\hat{F}$ . After calculating similar general expressions for the mean value of the position ( $\hat{X}$ ) and momentum ( $\hat{P}$ ) operators, the Ehrenfest theorem for a particle-in-an-infinite-square-well-potential (i.e., $\mathrm{d}\langle\hat{X}\rangle/\mathrm{d}t=\langle\hat{P}\rangle/M$ and $\mathrm{d}\langle\hat{P}\rangle/\mathrm{d}t=\langle\hat{F}\rangle$ ) is proven. The formal time derivatives of the mean value of the position ( $\hat{x}$ ) and momentum ( $\hat{p}$ ) operators for a particle-in-a-box are re-introduced. It is verified that these derivatives present terms that are evaluated at the ends of the box. Specifically, for the wave functions satisfying the Dirichlet boundary condition, the results, $\mathrm{d}\langle\hat{x}\rangle/\mathrm{d}t=\langle\hat{p}\rangle/M$ and $\mathrm{d}\langle\hat{p}\rangle/\mathrm{d}t=\mathrm{b.t.}+\langle\hat{f}\rangle$ , are obtained where b.t. denotes a boundary term and $\hat{f}$ is the external classical force operator for the particle-in-a-box. Thus, it appears that the expected Ehrenfest theorem is not entirely verified. However, by considering a normalized complex general state that is a combination of energy eigenstates to the Hamiltonian describing a particle-in-a-box with v(x)?=?0 ( $\Rightarrow\hat{f}=0$ ), the result that the b.t. is equal to the mean value of the external classical force operator for the particle-in-an-infinite-square-well-potential is obtained, i.e., $\mathrm{d}\langle\hat{p}\rangle/\mathrm{d}t$ is equal to $\langle\hat{F}\rangle$ . Moreover, the b.t. is written as the mean value of a quantity that is called boundary quantum force, f _B. Thus, the Ehrenfest theorem for a particle-in-a-box can be completed with the formula $\mathrm{d}\langle\hat{p}\rangle/\mathrm{d}t=\langle{{f_\mathrm{B}}}\rangle$ .     

Determination of the strong coupling αS from hadronic event shapes with \mathcal{O}(\ensuremath {\alpha _{\mathrm {S}}}^{3}) and resummed QCD predictions using JADE data

Event Shape Data from e⁺e^? annihilation into hadrons collected by the JADE experiment at centre-of-mass energies between 14 GeV and 44 GeV are used to determine the strong coupling α_S. QCD predictions complete to next-to-next-to-leading order (NNLO), alternatively combined with resummed next-to-leading-log-approximation (NNLO?+?NLLA) calculations, are used. The combined value from six different event shape observables at the six JADE centre-of-mass energies using the NNLO calculations is $$\begin{array}{rcl}\ensuremath {\ensuremath {\alpha _{\mathrm {S}}}(\ensuremath {m_{\ensuremath {\mathrm {Z^{0}}}}})}&=&0.1210\pm 0.0007\ensuremath {\mathrm {(stat.)}}\pm 0.0021\ensuremath {\mathrm {(exp.)}}\\[6pt]&&{}\pm 0.0044\ensuremath {\mathrm {(had.)}}\pm 0.0036\ensuremath {\mathrm {(theo.)}}\end{array}$$ and with the NNLO?+?NLLA calculations the combined value is $$\begin{array}{rcl}\ensuremath {\ensuremath {\alpha _{\mathrm {S}}}(\ensuremath {m_{\ensuremath {\mathrm {Z^{0}}}}})}&=&0.1172\pm 0.0006\ensuremath {\mathrm {(stat.)}}\pm 0.0020\ensuremath {\mathrm {(exp.)}}\\[6pt]&&{}\pm 0.0035\ensuremath {\mathrm {(had.)}}\pm 0.0030\ensuremath {\mathrm {(theo.)}}.\end{array}$$ The stability of the NNLO and NNLO?+?NLLA results with respect to missing higher order contributions, studied by variations of the renormalisation scale, is improved compared to previous results obtained with NLO?+?NLLA or with NLO predictions only. The observed energy dependence of α_S agrees with the QCD prediction of asymptotic freedom and excludes absence of running with 99% confidence level.     

Effect of Y3+ substitution on the structural,dielectric, and electrical properties of nanosized ZnAl 2 O 4 spinel

In the present work, we have studied the structural, dielectric, and electrical properties of a series of nanosized $\mathrm{ZnAl}_{2-2x}\mathrm{Y}_{2x}\mathrm{O}_{4}$ ( $x = 0.00$ , 0.01, 0.02, 0.03, 0.04, 0.05, 0.07, and 0.10) system prepared by chemical coprecipitation method. Powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) was carried out to study the influence of $\mathrm{Y}^{3+}$ substitution on the crystal structure of these samples. High Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy (HRTEM) images reveal the nanocrystalline nature of the samples. The Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectra confirmed the preference of $\mathrm{Y}^{3+}$ ions at the octahedral B site. The variation of dielectric constant and loss tangent (1 kHz to 1 MHz) at room temperature for all the samples show the normal behavior of spinel compounds. AC conductivity study reveals that the conduction is due to small polaron hopping. The electrical modulus analysis shows that nanocrystalline $\mathrm{ZnAl}_{2-2x}\mathrm{Y}_{2x}\mathrm{O}_{4}$ system exhibits non-Debye-type relaxation. The DC electrical resistivity measured in the temperature range 303–373 K was found to increase with temperature and yttrium content.     

Studies on structural and electrical properties of Mg<Subscript>0. 5+y</Subscript> (Zr<Subscript>2-y</Subscript>Fe<Subscript>y</Subscript>) <Subscript>2</Subscript> (PO<Subscript>4</Subscript>) <Subscript>3</Subscript> ceramic electrolytes

The sample of Mg_{0. 5+y} (Zr_1-y Fe_y) ₂ (PO₄) ₃ (0.0 ≤y ≤0.5) was synthesized using the sol-gel method. The structures of the samples were investigated using X-ray diffraction and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy measurement. XRD studies showed that samples had a monoclinic structure which was iso-structured with the parent compound, Mg_0.5Zr (PO₄) ₃. The complex impedance spectroscopy was carried out in the frequency range 1–6 MHz and temperature range 303 to 773 K to study the electrical properties of the electrolytes. The substitutions of Fe³⁺ with Zr⁴⁺ in the Mg_0.5Zr (PO₄) ₃ structure was introduced as an extrainterstitial Mg²⁺ ion in the modified structured. The compound of Mg_0.5+y (Zr_1-y Fe_y)₂(PO₄)₃ with y?=?0.4 gives a maximum conductivity value of 1.25?×?10^?5 S cm^?1 at room temperature and 7.18?×?10^?5 S cm^?1 at 773 K. Charge carrier concentration, mobile ion concentration, and ion hopping rate are calculated by fitting the conductance spectra to power law variation, σ _ac (ω)?=?σ _o ? +?Aω ^α . The charge carrier concentration and mobile ion concentration increases with increase of Fe³⁺ inclusion. This implies the increase in conductivity of the compounds was due to extra interstitial Mg²⁺ ions.     

Effects of Si and Ti impurities on electrical properties of sol–gel-derived amorphous SrTa2O6 thin films by UV/O3 treatment

Sol–gel-derived SrTa₂O₆ thin films were fabricated at a low temperature of 500 °C. To improve their leakage current properties, additional UV/O₃-assisted annealing was performed from room temperature to 290 °C. UV/O₃ treatment at 290 °C gave a very low leakage current that was six orders of magnitude lower than that of an untreated thin film. During UV/O₃-assisted annealing, Si and Ti ions diffused from the substrates into the SrTa₂O₆ thin films and occupied the Ta⁵⁺ sites, subsequently generating Si^? and Ti^?. At a heating temperature of 290 °C, large amounts of Ti ions diffused throughout the SrTa₂O₆ thin film. These Ti ions contributed to the generation of inactive combinations of $(\mathrm{Si}^{-}\mbox{--}\mathrm{V}_{\mathrm{o}}^{+})^{+}\mbox{--}\mathrm{Ti}^{-}$ and $(\mathrm{Ti}^{-}\mbox{--}\mathrm{V}_{\mathrm{o}}^{+})^{+}\mbox{--}\mathrm{Ti}^{-}$ , which greatly reduced oxygen vacancies (V_o). Thus, the leakage current was significantly reduced.     

Electrical and magnetic properties of La0.67Ba0.33Mn1−x (Me) x O3 perovskite manganites: case of manganese substituted by trivalent (Me = Cr) and tetravalent (Me = Ti) elements

The effects of non-magnetic Ti⁴⁺ substitution on the structural, electrical and magnetic properties of La_0.67Ba_0.33Mn_1?x Ti _x O₃ (0≤x≤0.1) are investigated and compared to those existing in La_0.67Ba_0.33Mn_1?x Cr _x O₃ (magnetic Cr³⁺). The structural refinement by the Rietveld method revealed that Ti-doped samples crystallize in the cubic lattice with space group $\mathrm{Pm}\bar{3}\mathrm{m}$ , while samples with Cr crystallize in the hexagonal setting of the rhombohedral $\mathrm{R}\bar{3}\mathrm{C}$ space group for identical contents of dopant. The most relevant structural features are an increase of the lattice parameters, of the cell volume and of the inter-ionic distances with increasing Ti doping level. Both series of samples show a decrease of the paramagnetic–ferromagnetic transition temperature when the amount of chromium or titanium increases. Transport measurements show that when increasing the metal doping, the resistivity increases whereas the metallic behavior of the parent compound La_0.67Ba_0.33MnO₃ is destroyed. For a substitution higher than 5 at.% of Ti and 10 at.% of Cr, the samples exhibit a semiconducting behavior in the whole range of temperature, for which the electronic transport can be explained by variable range hopping and/or small polaron hopping models.     

The effect of NH<Subscript>4</Subscript>NO<Subscript>3</Subscript> towards the conductivity enhancement and electrical behavior in methyl cellulose-starch blend based ionic conductors

Solid polymer electrolytes based on methyl cellulose (MC)-potato starch (PS) blend doped with ammonium nitrate (NH₄NO₃) are prepared by solution cast technique. The interaction between the electrolyte’s materials is proven by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) analysis. The thermal stability of the electrolytes is obtained from thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The room temperature conductivity of undoped 60 wt.% MC-40 wt.% PS blend film is identified to be (1.04 ± 0.19) × 10^?11 S cm^?1. The addition of 30 wt.% NH₄NO₃ to the polymer blend has optimized the room temperature conductivity to (4.37 ± 0.16) × 10^?5 S cm^?1. Conductivity trend is verified by X-ray diffraction (XRD), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and dielectric analysis. Temperature-dependence of conductivity obeys Arrhenius rule. Conductivity is found to be influenced by the number density (n) and mobility (μ) of ions. From transference number measurements (TNM), ions are found to be the dominant charge carriers.     

CeO<Subscript>2</Subscript> and Nb<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>5</Subscript> modified Ni-YSZ anode for solid oxide fuel cell

Ni sintering at high temperature (～ 800 °C) operation drastically degrades the performance of Ni-yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) anode in solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC). Mixed ionic and electronic conductive oxides such as CeO₂ and Nb₂O₅ enhance the dispersion of Ni, CeO₂ enhances the redox behavior and promotes charge transfer reactions, and Nb₂O₅ increases the triple phase boundary. In the present work, anode-supported SOFC is fabricated and tested in H₂ fuel at 800 °C. YSZ and lanthanum strontium manganite (LSM)-YSZ are used as the electrolyte and composite cathode with NiO-YSZ, CeO₂-NiO-YSZ, and Nb₂O₅-NiO-YSZ as an anode. The peak power density obtained for the cell with 10% CeO₂–30% NiO-YSZ anode at the 5 and 25 h of operation is 330 and 290 mW cm^?2 which is higher than that for 40% NiO-YSZ anode (275 mW cm^?2 at 5 h). The peak power density obtained for the cell with 10% Nb₂O₅–30% NiO-YSZ anode at the 5 and 25 h of operation is 301 and 285 mW cm^?2 which is higher than that for 40% NiO-YSZ anode (275 mW cm^?2 at 5 h). Physical characterization has been carried to study morphology, elemental analysis, particle size, and phase formation of the fabricated anode before and after cell operation to correlate the cell performance.     

Pyroxene inclusions in paleo-Christian mosaic tesserae: a new tool for constraining the glass manufacturing temperature

The mineral inclusions of two orange glass tesserae from paleo-Christian mosaics were investigated in order to derive the melting temperature reached during their production (sourced from Padua and Vicenza, Veneto region, Italy). In particular, clinopyroxene crystals were studied by single-crystal X-ray diffraction and electron microprobe WDS analysis. The crystals show C2/c symmetry, typical of disordered Ca/Na and Mg/Al distributions indicating high-temperature of formation (>700°C). The cation site populations were obtained by combining results from the two experimental techniques enabled us to derive the following stoichiometric formula:

Temperature dependence of yields from multi-foil SPES target

The temperature dependence of neutron-rich isotope yields was studied within the framework of the HRIBF-SPES Radioactive Ion Beams (RIB) project. On-line release measurements of fission fragments from a uranium carbide target at $\ensuremath 1600 {}^{\circ}\mathrm{C}$\ensuremath 1600 {}^{\circ}\mathrm{C} , 1800 ^°C\ensuremath 1800 {}^{\circ}\mathrm{C} and 2000 ^°C\ensuremath 2000 {}^{\circ}\mathrm{C} were performed at ORNL (USA). The fission reactions were induced by a 40MeV proton beam accelerated into a uranium carbide target coupled to a plasma ion source. The experiments allowed for tests of performance of the SPES multi-foil target prototype loaded with seven UC₂/graphite discs (ratio C/U = 4 with density about 4g/cm³.     

A new one-dimensional hybrid material lattice: AC conductivity and structural characterization of [C<Subscript>7</Subscript>H<Subscript>12</Subscript>N<Subscript>2</Subscript>][CdCl<Subscript>4</Subscript>]

The present paper reports the synthesis, crystal structure, ¹³C and ¹¹¹Cd cross-polarization magic-angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance(CP-MAS-NMR) analysis and ac conductivity for a new organic–inorganic hybrid salt, [C₇H₁₂N₂][CdCl₄]. The compound crystallizes in the triclinic system, space group P\( \overline 1 \), with unit cell dimensions: a?=?7.1050(3) Å, b?=?8.9579(3) Å, c?=?9.4482(3) Å, α?=?81.415(1)°, β?=?89.710(2)°, γ?=?85.765(1)°, V?=?592.97(4) Å³, and Z?=?2. The asymmetric unit is composed of one-2,4-diammonium toluene cation and one [CdCl₄]^2? anion. The Cd atom is in a slightly distorted octahedra coordination environment. Its structure can be described by infinite chains of CdCl₆ octahedron linked to organic cations by a strong charge-assisted N–H???Cl interactions in order to build organic–inorganic layers staked along \( \left[ {0\overline 1 1} \right] \) direction. The solid state ¹³C CP-MAS-NMR spectra has shown seven isotropic resonances, confirming the existence of seven non-equivalent carbon atoms, which is consistent with crystal structure determined by X-ray diffraction. As for ¹¹¹Cd MAS-NMR, it has shown one cadmium site with isotropic chemical shift observed at 167.2 ppm. The complex impedance of the compound has been investigated in the temperature range of 403–460 K and in the frequency range of 200 Hz–5 MHz. The impedance plots have shown semicircle arcs at different temperatures and an electrical equivalent circuit has been proposed to explain the impedance results. The circuits consist of the parallel combination of bulk resistance R _p and constant phase elements.     

Quantum Marginal Inequalities and the Conjectured Entropic Inequalities

A conjecture – the modified super-additivity inequality of relative entropy – was proposed in Zhang et al. (Phys. Lett. A 377:1794–1796, 2013): There exist three unitary operators \(U_{A}\in \mathrm {U}(\mathcal {H}_{A}), U_{B}\in \mathrm {U}(\mathcal {H}_{B})\) , and \(U_{AB}\in \mathrm {U}(\mathcal {H}_{A}\otimes \mathcal {H}_{B})\) such that $$\mathrm{S}\left(U_{AB}\rho_{AB}U^{\dagger}_{AB}||\sigma_{AB}\right)\geqslant \mathrm{S}\left(U_{A}\rho_{A}U^{\dagger}_{A}||\sigma_{A}\right) + \mathrm{S}\left(U_{B}\rho_{B}U^{\dagger}_{B}||\sigma_{B}\right), $$ where the reference state σ is required to be full-ranked. A numerical study on the conjectured inequality is conducted in this note. The results obtained indicate that the modified super-additivity inequality of relative entropy seems to hold for all qubit pairs.     

Photoreflectance spectroscopy of the chalcopyrite semiconductor <Emphasis Type="Bold">AgInS</Emphasis><Subscript>2</Subscript> for ordinary and extraordinary rays

Photoreflectance spectra have been measured on the chalcopyrite semiconductor silver indium disulfide (\(\hbox {AgInS}_{2}\)) for light polarization \({\varvec{E}}\) perpendicular (\({\varvec{E}} \bot {c}\)) and parallel to the c-axis (\({\varvec{E}} \vert \vert {c}\)) at temperature between 10 and 300 K. The measured photoreflectance spectra revealed distinct structures at 1.8–2.1 eV. The lowest bandgap energies \(E_{0A}\), \(E_{0B}\), and \(E_{0C}\) of \(\hbox {AgInS}_{2}\) show unusual temperature dependence at low temperatures (\(\le\)140 K). The \(E_{0\alpha }\) (\(\alpha =A, B, C\)) is found to increase with increasing temperature from 10 to \(\sim\)140 K and decreases with a further increase in temperature. This result has been successfully explained by taking into account the effects of thermal expansion and electron–phonon interaction. The spin–orbit and crystal-field splitting parameters of \(\hbox {AgInS}_{2}\) are determined to be \(\Delta _{{\mathrm{so}}}=38\) meV and \(\Delta _{{\mathrm{cr}}}=-168\) meV at T = 10 K, respectively, and are discussed from an aspect of the electronic energy band structure consequences. The temperature dependence of spin–orbit and crystal-field splitting parameters of \(\hbox {AgInS}_{2}\) was also presented.     

Optimization of rechargeable zinc-air battery with Co<Subscript>3</Subscript>O<Subscript>4</Subscript>/MnO<Subscript>2</Subscript>/CNT bifunctional catalyst: effects of catalyst loading,binder content,and spraying area

The air cathode is the most crucial component for a zinc-air battery (ZAB) system, which inquires fast diffusion of gaseous O₂ and decent bifunctional catalytic performance. Herein, based on our previous attempts, we developed a bi-functional electro-catalyst utilizing co-doped manganese dioxide nanotube/carbon nanotube (CNT) composite to improve the catalytic activity toward both oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER). A simple characterization of the morphology and physicochemical properties of various Co₃O₄/MnO₂/CNT (CMC) composites was performed by employing various techniques (SEM, TEM, and XRD). More importantly, using CMC composite as the bifunctional cathode catalysts, we thoroughly investigated the effects of catalyst loading, bonding layer loading, and spraying area in catalyst layer (CL) on cell performance and charge-discharge cyclic ability for rechargeable zinc-air batteries. The highest peak power density of 400.3 mW cm^?2 can be reached when the catalyst loading is 3 mg cm^?2, the spraying area is 1 cm² and the binder content is 80 μL. The rechargeable zinc-air batteries with the air electrodes containing different spraying areas and bonding layer loadings are stably operated for 22 h at a high current density (100 mA cm^?2) and show a maximum voltage gap of 1.5 V between charge and discharge voltages. All these optimization efforts are particularly important to future large-scale applications in ZAB.

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On Gravitational Effects in the Schrödinger Equation

The Schrödinger  equation for a particle of rest mass $m$ and electrical charge $ne$ interacting with a four-vector potential $A_i$ can be derived as the non-relativistic limit of the Klein–Gordon  equation $\left( \Box '+m^2\right) \varPsi =0$ for the wave function $\varPsi $ , where $\Box '=\eta ^{jk}\partial '_j\partial '_k$ and $\partial '_j=\partial _j -\mathrm {i}n e A_j$ , or equivalently from the one-dimensional  action $S_1=-\int m ds +\int neA_i dx^i$ for the corresponding point particle in the semi-classical approximation $\varPsi \sim \exp {(\mathrm {i}S_1)}$ , both methods yielding the equation $\mathrm {i}\partial _0\varPsi \approx \left( \frac{1}{2m}\eta ^{\alpha \beta }\partial '_{\alpha }\partial '_{\beta } + m + n e\phi \right) \varPsi $ in Minkowski  space–time  , where $\alpha ,\beta =1,2,3$ and $\phi =-A_0$ . We show that these two methods generally yield equations  that differ in a curved background  space–time   $g_{ij}$ , although they coincide when $g_{0\alpha }=0$ if $m$ is replaced by the effective mass $\mathcal{M}\equiv \sqrt{m^2-\xi R}$ in both the Klein–Gordon  action $S$ and $S_1$ , allowing for non-minimal coupling to the gravitational  field, where $R$ is the Ricci scalar and $\xi $ is a constant. In this case $\mathrm {i}\partial _0\varPsi \approx \left( \frac{1}{2\mathcal{M}'} g^{\alpha \beta }\partial '_{\alpha }\partial '_{\beta } + \mathcal{M}\phi ^{(\mathrm g)} + n e\phi \right) \varPsi $ , where $\phi ^{(\mathrm g)} =\sqrt{g_{00}}$ and $\mathcal{M}'=\mathcal{M}/\phi ^{(\mathrm g)} $ , the correctness of the gravitational  contribution to the potential having been verified to linear order $m\phi ^{(\mathrm g)} $ in the thermal-neutron beam interferometry experiment due to Colella et al. Setting $n=2$ and regarding $\varPsi $ as the quasi-particle wave function, or order parameter, we obtain the generalization of the fundamental macroscopic Ginzburg-Landau equation of superconductivity to curved space–time. Conservation of probability and electrical current requires both electromagnetic gauge and space–time  coordinate conditions to be imposed, which exemplifies the gravito-electromagnetic analogy, particularly in the stationary case, when div ${{\varvec{A}}}=\hbox {div}{{\varvec{A}}}^{(\mathrm g)}=0$ , where ${{\varvec{A}}}^{\alpha }=-A^{\alpha }$ and ${{\varvec{A}}}^{(\mathrm g)\alpha }=-\phi ^{(\mathrm g)}g^{0\alpha }$ . The quantum-cosmological Schrödinger  (Wheeler–DeWitt) equation is also discussed in the $\mathcal{D}$ -dimensional  mini-superspace idealization, with particular regard to the vacuum potential $\mathcal V$ and the characteristics of the ground state, assuming a gravitational  Lagrangian   $L_\mathcal{D}$ which contains higher-derivative  terms up to order $\mathcal{R}^4$ . For the heterotic superstring theory  , $L_\mathcal{D}$ consists of an infinite series in $\alpha '\mathcal{R}$ , where $\alpha '$ is the Regge slope parameter, and in the perturbative approximation $\alpha '|\mathcal{R}| \ll 1$ , $\mathcal V$ is positive semi-definite for $\mathcal{D} \ge 4$ . The maximally symmetric ground state satisfying the field equations is Minkowski  space for $3\le {\mathcal {D}}\le 7$ and anti-de Sitter  space for $8 \le \mathcal {D} \le 10$ .