Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) activity of Ag, Au and Cu nanoclusters on TiO2-nanotubes/Ti substrate

Tubular arrays of TiO₂ nanotubes (ranging in diameter from 40 to 110 nm) on a Ti substrate were used as a support for Ag, Au or Cu deposits obtained by the sputter deposition technique, where the amount of metal varied from 0.01 to 0.2 mg/cm². Those composite supports were intended for surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) investigations. Composite samples were studied with the aid of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) to reveal their characteristic morphological and chemical features. Raman spectra of pyridine (as a probe molecule) were measured at different cathodic potentials ranging from −0.2 down to −1.2 V after the pyridine had been adsorbed on the metal-covered TiO₂ nanotube/Ti substrates. In addition, SERS spectra on a bulk standard activated Ag, Au and Cu substrates were also measured. The SERS activity of the composite samples was strongly dependent on the amount of metal deposit, e.g. at and above 0.06 mg Ag/cm², the intensity of SERS signal was even higher than that for the Ag reference substrate. The high activity of these composites is mainly a result of their specific morphology. The high SERS sensitivity on the surface morphology of the substrate made it possible to monitor very small temporal changes in the Ag metal clusters. This rearrangement was not detectable with microscopic (SEM) or microanalytical (AES) methods. The SERS activity of Au or Cu clusters was distinctly lower than those of Ag. The spectral differences exhibited by the three kinds of composites as compared to the reference metal samples are discussed.     

The influence of the oxygen exposure on the thermal faceting of W[1 1 1] tip

The oxygen induced faceting of the macroscopic W[1 1 1] tip has been studied for oxygen exposures in the range 0.5-31 L and annealing temperatures 800-1800 K using the field ion microscopy (FIM) technique. After annealing at temperatures lower than 800 K, higher than 1850 K or for exposures lower than 0.5 L faceting was not observed. For exposures 0.5-1.9 L and annealing temperatures 800-1600 K well developed {1 1 2} facets with sharp edges formed. For exposures higher than 2.0 L edges of the {1 1 2} facets were broadening and disappearing, what has been attributed to the formation of three-dimensional tungsten oxides. The oxides could be easily removed by annealing the tip at 1700 K, what leads to formation of sharp facet edges. On the basis of these results a modified procedure of the ultrasharp tip fabrication has been proposed.     

Comment on breakup densities of hot nuclei

In [V.E. Viola et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 93 (2004) 132701, D.S. Bracken et al., Phys. Rev. C 69 (2004) 034612] the observed decrease in spectral peak energies of IMFs emitted from hot nuclei was interpreted in terms of a breakup density that decreased with increasing excitation energy. Subsequently, Raduta et al. [Ad. Raduta et al., Phys. Lett. B 623 (2005) 43] performed MMM simulations that showed decreasing spectral peaks could be obtained at constant density. In this Letter we point out that this apparent inconsistency is due to a selective comparison of theory and data that overlooks the evolution of the fragment multiplicities as a function of excitation energy.     

On numerical realizability of thermal convection

Astounded at the regularity of convective structures observed in simulations of mesoscale flow past realistic topography, we investigate the computational aspects of a classical problem of flow over a heated plane. We find that the numerical solutions are sensitive to viscosity, either incorporated a priori or effectively realized in computational models. In particular, anisotropic viscosity can lead to regular convective structures that mimic naturally realizable Rayleigh–Bénard cells, which are unphysical for the specified external parameter range. Details of the viscosity appear to play a secondary role; that is, similar structures can occur for prescribed constant viscosities, explicit subgrid-scale turbulence models, ad-hoc numerical filters, or implicit dissipation of numerical schemes. This implies the need for a careful selection of numerical tools suitable for convection-resolving simulations of atmospheric circulations. The implicit large-eddy-simulation (ILES) approach using non-oscillatory schemes is especially attractive, as for under-resolved calculations it reproduces well the coarsened results of finely-resolved boundary layer convection.     

Surface‐enhanced Raman scattering study of monolayers formed from mixtures of 4–mercaptobenzoic acid and various aromatic mercapto‐derivative bases

Monolayers formed from aromatic compounds have many potential applications, for example in construction of bioelectronic elements having high efficiency of electron transfer. In this paper, the composition of monolayers formed on silver surfaces from mixtures of 4‐mercaptobenzoic acid (MBA) and four model (stable and easily available) aromatic thiols with strong base properties: 4,6‐diamino‐2‐mercaptopyrimidine (APY), 1H‐1,2,4‐triazole‐3‐thiol (HTR), 4‐methyl‐4H‐1,2,4‐triazole‐3‐thiol (MTR) and 3‐amino‐1,2,4‐triazole‐5‐thiol (ATR), were determined from surface‐enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) measurements. Our investigations showed that among studied aromatic bases, APY is the most promising candidate for the formation of mixed monolayers with MBA. In the whole pH range studied (2–12.5), mixed MBA + APY monolayers with similar surface concentration of both components are formed during the adsorption from the 0.5 mM MBA + 0.5 mM APY aqueous solution. Desorption of MBA and APY from the mixed monolayer is, however, significantly different. During immersion in water, surface concentration of APY decreases significantly faster than MBA (a significant part of the adsorbed MBA molecules is present on the silver surface even after 2 h of soaking in water). Presence of chlorides, bovine serum albumin or laccase in the surrounding solution does not observably influence the structure of MBA + APY monolayers. The properties of monolayers formed from MBA and substituted triazoles were found to be significantly different than those of MBA + APY monolayers. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Precision Penning trap mass measurements of rare isotopes produced by projectile fragmentation

The low-energy beam and ion trap facility LEBIT at NSCL/MSU is at present the only facility where precision experiments are performed with stopped rare isotope beams produced by fast-beam fragmentation. LEBIT combines high-pressure-gas stopping with advanced ion manipulation techniques to provide brilliant low-energy beams. So far these beams have mainly been used for mass measurements on short-lived rare isotopes with a 9.4T Penning trap mass spectrometer. Recent examples include ^70m Br , located at the proton dripline, ³²Si and the iron isotopes ^63-65Fe . While the measurement of ³²Si helps to solve a long-standing dispute over the validity of the isobaric multiplet mass equation (IMME) for the A = 32 , T = 2 multiplet, the mass measurements of ^65m,g Fe marked the first time a nuclear isomeric state has been discovered by Penning trap mass spectrometry.     

Aspects of Pre-quantum Description of Deformed Theories

We discuss deformations of the classical systems in the phase space and show that one can use non-canonical transformations to relate regular and deformed models. On the other hand some of the models can be obtained as a classical limit of the deformed quantum models, i.e. as the result of the dequantization procedure. Nonrelativistic deformations are described.     

Kinoform sampling filter

We present a new phase element which has the same optical properties as those of the amplitude sampling filter but it can use theoretically all the incident light for multiple image formation. The paper discusses a design method of the element and a diffraction efficiency of its structure obtained in a lithographic process. Then the quality and imaging ability of a phase element, fabricated according to the described design, are verified in an optical set-up.     

New approach to solution of photorefractive transport equations

In our work we propose a novel method of analysis of photorefractive transport equations. The method based on a perturbative approach can be used in the case of two wave mixing and four wave mixing geometry, i.e. for the samples illuminated by interference patterns. Presented approach can be employed for a broad range of material and experimental parameters, particularly for arbitrary depth of light modulation pattern. The approximate analytical solution is compared with results of numerical calculations and a good agreement practically in every case was found. Presented at 9-th International Workshop on Nonlinear Optics Applications, NOA 2007, May 17–20, 2007, Šwinoujście, Poland