Technique of synthesis and optical properties of CdS/polymethylmethacrylate nanocomposites

The technique of synthesis of polymethylmethacrylate — cadmium sulfide nanocomposites involving precipitation of CdS nanoparticles from polymethylmethacrylate solution in methylmethacrylate monomer with its subsequent polymerization is presented. The influence of molecular polymer mass and polymerization conditions on the dispersion stability is discussed. The spectral-luminescent properties of nanocomposites are investigated. A difference between the spectral-luminescent properties of the surface composite layer and the nanomaterial bulk, connected with redistribution of particles with higher degree of imperfection closer to the surface during polymerization is revealed. __________ Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Fizika, No. 12, pp. 81–85, December, 2006.     

Mixed-solvothermal synthesis of CdS micro/nanostructures and their optical properties

Several novel cadmium sulfide (CdS) micro/nanostructures, including cauliflower-like microspheres, football-like microspheres, tower-like microrods, and dendrites were controllably prepared via an oxalic acid-assisted solvothermal route using ethylene glycol (EG) and H₂O as pure and mixed solvents with different S sources. The as-prepared products were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), scanning electronic microscope (SEM) and UV-vis spectrophotometer (UV). It was found that CdS micro/nanostructures can be selectively obtained by varying the composition of solvent, concentration of oxalic acid, and sulfur sources. UV-vis absorption spectra reveal that their absorption properties are shape-dependent. The possible formation process of the CdS micro/nanostructures was briefly discussed. This route provides a facile way to tune the morphologies of CdS over a wide range.     

Femtosecond-laser-based synthesis of ultrastable microwave signals from optical frequency references

We use femtosecond laser frequency combs to convert optical frequency references to the microwave domain, where we demonstrate the synthesis of 10-GHz signals having a fractional frequency instability of < or =3.5 x 10(-15) at a 1-s averaging time, limited by the optical reference. The residual instability and phase noise of the femtosecond-laser-based frequency synthesizers are 6.5 x 10(-16) at 1 s and -98 dBc/Hz at a 1-Hz offset from the 10-GHz carrier, respectively. The timing jitter of the microwave signals is 3.3 fs.     

Catalytic synthesis of single-crystalline gallium nitride nanobelts

Single-crystalline gallium nitride nanobelts have been synthesized through the reaction of gallium vapor with flowing ammonia using nickel as a catalyst. The as-synthesized products were characterized using X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and selected-area electron diffraction (SAED). XRD and SAED results revealed that the products are pure, single-crystalline GaN with hexagonal structure. The widths and thickness of the nanobelts ranged from 80 to 200 nm, and 10 to 30 nm, respectively. The lengths were up to several tens of micrometers. The nanobelts had smooth surface with no amorphous sheath, and a sharp-tip end. The growth mechanism of nanobelts was discussed.     

Pt掺杂CdS光学性质的第一性原理研究

基于密度泛函理论的第一性原理平面波超软赝势方法,运用Castep计算分析了Pt元素掺杂CdS结构,对本征CdS和掺杂晶体的能带结构、态密度以及光学性质进行了分析对比, 由掺杂前后的结果分析发现：Pt掺杂闪锌矿相CdS产生了新的能带,带隙明显缩小;CdS的吸收边产生红移,禁带宽度变窄,在可见光区具有较大吸收系数,提高了可见光的利用率,表现出较好的可见光光催化活性。     

Hydrothermal synthesis of CdS meso-structures: effects of Zn dopant on optical and photovoltaic properties

Un- and Zn-doped CdS films were synthesized on fluorine (F)-doped tin oxide (FTO) coated glass substrates by hydrothermal method as photovoltaic applications. X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns clearly indicated hexagonal wurtzite structures in nature for all of the CdS samples. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) results showed spherical- and flower-like morphologies with micron- and nano-size. The effects of doping on the optical and photovoltaic properties were also investigated using UV–Vis, Raman spectroscopy and J–V plots.     

Pt掺杂CdS光学性质的第一性原理研究

基于密度泛函理论的第一性原理平面波超软赝势方法,运用Castep计算分析了Pt元素掺杂CdS结构,对本征CdS和掺杂晶体的能带结构、态密度以及光学性质进行了分析对比, 由掺杂前后的结果分析发现：Pt掺杂闪锌矿相CdS产生了新的能带,带隙明显缩小;CdS的吸收边产生红移,禁带宽度变窄,在可见光区具有较大吸收系数,提高了可见光的利用率,表现出较好的可见光光催化活性。     

Plasma induced optical nonlinearities and optical bistability in CdS

The transition from a low density gas of excitons to an electron-hole plasma is connected with strong variations of the optical properties. In this contribution we investigate both the optical nonlinearities produced in CdS by an intense laser beam in the spectral region close to the absorption edge and at the position of the laser itself. In a second part it is shown that the nonlinearities at the photon energy of the incident laser may lead to absorptive and dispersive optical bistability.     

Ultrasound-assisted microwave preparation of Ag-doped CdS nanoparticles

Ag-doped CdS nanoparticles were synthesized by an ultrasound-assisted microwave synthesis method. The X-ray diffraction patterns reveal a structural evolution from cubic to hexagonal with increasing molar ratios of Ag⁺/Cd²⁺ from 0% to 5%. It shows that the Ag-doped hexagonal CdS nanoparticles are polycrystal. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy of the CdS nanoparticles doping with 5% Ag⁺ shows that the doped Ag in CdS is metallic. Simultaneously, the characteristic Raman peaks of the CdS nanoparticles enhance with increasing Ag⁺ concentrations. The photocatalytic activity of different Ag-doped samples show a reasonable change due to different ratios of Ag which doped into CdS.     

Large-scale synthesis of single-crystalline MgO with bone-like nanostructures

Uniform bone-like MgO nanocrystals have been prepared via a solvothermal process using commercial Mg powders as the starting material in the absence of any catalyst or surfactant followed by a subsequent calcination. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) measurements indicate that the product consists of a large quantity of bone-like nanocrystals with lengths of 120–200 nm. The widths of these nanocrystals at both ends are in the range of 20–50 nm, which are 3–20 nm wider than those of the middle parts. Explorations of X-ray diffraction (XRD) and selected area electronic diffraction (SAED) exhibit that the product is high-quality cubic single-crystalline nanocrystals. The photoluminescence (PL) measurement suggests that the product has an intensive emission centered at 410 nm, showing that the product has potential application in optical devices. The advantages of our method lie in high yield, the easy availability of the starting materials and permitting large-scale production at low cost. The growth mechanism was proposed to be related with solvent’s oxidation in the precursor formation process and following nucleation and mass-transfer in the decomposition of the precursor.     

Structural and optical properties of CdS thin films

CdS thin films are deposited onto glass substrates by vacuum evaporation at 373 K and the films are annealed at different temperatures. Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS) and X-ray diffraction techniques are used to determine the thickness, composition, crystalline structure and grain size of the films. The films show a predominant hexagonal phase with small crystallites. The optical band gap of the films are estimated using the optical transmittance measurements. A decrease in the band gap is observed for the annealed films. The Raman peak position of the CdS A₁ (LO) mode did not change much whereas, the full width at half maximum (FWHM) is found to decrease with annealing.     

One-pot synthesis of single-crystalline Cu2O hollow nanocubes

Single-crystalline Cu₂O hollow nanocubes have been successfully synthesized via a simple wet chemical route in the absence of any surfactants or templates. By studying the growth process of the Cu₂O hollow nanocubes, we found that the Cu₂O hollow nanocubes were formed through a reducing and simultaneously etching process. The speed of reducing Cu(OH)₂ into Cu₂O was much faster than the speed of etching Cu₂O. As a result, Cu₂O solid nanocubes were firstly formed, and then the solid nanocubes were gradually etched into hollow nanocubes.     

Study of microwave plasma-assisted chemical vapor deposition of poly-and single-crystalline diamond films

We study conditions for microwave plasma-assisted chemical vapor deposition of high-quality single-crystal diamond films in a CVD reactor. These conditions are studied using the results of homoepitaxial growth of polycrystalline diamond films on diamond substrates and on the basis of numerical simulation of the microwave discharge in a CVD reactor. A high-quality single-crystal diamond layer is synthesized on a synthetic, type Ib diamond substrate. The properties of the obtained monolayer are studied by means of Raman and X-ray diffraction spectroscopy as well as optical and atomic-force microscopy.     

Dual microwave and optical oscillator

We describe and demonstrate a novel device in which a microwave oscillation and an optical oscillation are generated and directly coupled with each other. With the mutual influence between the microwave and the optical oscillations, we project that this device is capable of simultaneously generating stable optical pulses down to the subpicosecond level and spectrally pure microwave signals at frequencies greater than 70 GHz.     

The rapid preparation of large-scale CdS opal photonic crystals and study of the optical properties

Monodispersed silica microspheres of 270 nm are synthesized by a colloidal solution method. Larger scale perfect three-dimensional photonic crystals (PCs) are rapidly prepared using the evaporation of acetone to self-assemble the microspheres on quartz substrates by vertical deposition methods. We find that the pseudo-photonic band gap (PBG) of the PC structure changes with increasing annealing temperature; it drastically shifts from 450 nm for as-grown crystals to 409 nm for annealing at 800 °C. CdS photonic crystals are formed by infiltrating CdS nanocrystals of 6 nm into the SiO₂ PC structure. The transmission and spontaneous emission characteristics of CdS PCs have been investigated. The clear dip in the spontaneous emission spectrum relates to the photonic band gap of CdS PCs, indicating that the spontaneous emission is inhibited in the region of the PBG. The emission band of CdS PCs becomes narrower and sharper than that of CdS nanocrystals; this demonstrates that the emission band and intensity of the luminescent devices will be tuned by controlling the position of the PBG. PACS 42.70.Qs; 42.25.Bs; 78.20.-e; 78.55.Et     

Electronic and optical properties of CdS/CdZnS nanocrystals

Cd1-x ZnxS nanocrystals are prepared by a co-precipitation method with different atomic fractions of Zn.The texture,structural transformation and optical properties with increasing x value in Cd1-x ZnxS are studied with scanning electron microscopy,electron diffraction patterning,and absorption spectra respectively.Quantum confinement in a strained CdS/Cd1-xZnxS related nanodot with various Zn content values is investigated theoretically.Binding energies on exciton bound CdS/CdxZn1-xS quantum dot are computed,with consideration of the internal electric field induced by the spontaneous and piezoelectric polarizations,and thereby the interband emission energy is calculated as a function of the dot radius.The optical band gap from the UV absorption spectrum is compared with the interband emission energy computed theoretically.Our results show that the average diameter of composite nanoparticles ranges from 3 nm to 6 nm.The X-ray diffraction pattern shows that all the peaks shift towards the higher diffracting angles with an increase in Zn content.The lattice constant gradually decreases as the Zn content increases.The strong absorption edge shifts towards the lower wavelength region and hence the band gap of the films increases as the Zn content increases.The values of the absorption edge are found to shift towards the shorter wave length region and hence the direct band gap energy varies from 2.5 eV for the CdS film and 3.5 eV for the ZnS film.Our numerical results are in good agreement with the experimental results.     

A study of the synthesis of triazoles using microwave irradiation

Herein we describe the conversion of a known [3+2] cycloaddition reaction between an azide and an acetylene from a thermally promoted reaction to a microwave assisted process. Modification of conditions including concentration, temperature, solvent type and time were investigated. This methodology study led us to use high concentration and high temperatures to achieve the desired fast reaction times and high yields.     

Electrochemical synthesis of ZnO nanoflowers and nanosheets on porous Si as photoelectric materials

Well-aligned ZnO nanoflowers and nanosheets were synthesized on porous Si (PS) at different applied potentials by electrodeposition approach. The deposits were grown using the optimized program and were characterized by means of cyclic voltammetry (CV), amperometry I-t (I-t), open-circuit potentiometry. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis proved a strong preferential orientation (1 0 0) on PS. Scanning electronic microscopy (SEM) observation showed the deposits consist of nanoflowers with uniform grain size of about 100 nm in diameter and nanosheets, which may have potential applications in nanodevices and nanotechnologies. Thus, ZnO grown on PS can be used as photoelectric materials due to its larger photoelectric effect compared to Si wafer according to open-circuit potential (OCP) study. Optical band gap measurements were made on samples using UV-visible spectrophotometer thus giving a band gap of 3.35 eV.     

One step solution synthesis towards ultra-thin and uniform single-crystalline ZnO nanowires

Bundles of high-aspect-ratio single-crystalline ZnO nanowires were fabricated by a single-step mild hydrothermal condition without the use of a seeding layer, thus eliminating an annealing step. The growth yields nanowires of high aspect ratio (>200). No significant lateral growth takes place with prolonged reaction time. The morphology and aspect ratio of the final products depend on the concentration of the precursors; a highly water-soluble tetradentate cyclic tertiary amine and zinc nitrate system. The nanowires grow along the [0001] direction and have an average width of <10 nm and a narrow distribution of ±5 nm. Photoluminescence measurements of the ultra-thin nanowires exhibit a strong band-edge emission at room temperature. The highly crystalline sub tens of nanometer scale diameter nanowires can, in combination, be a good one-dimensional candidate to study optical and electronic properties. PACS 81.16.Be; 81.07.Bc