Optical superradiance on cooperative transitions in metamaterials

The possibility of observing collective spontaneous emission upon a cooperative transition in an ensemble of interacting optical center pairs embedded in a metamaterial is investigated. It is shown that when the effective refractive index tends to zero, the relaxation rate of excited atomic states substantially decreases, allowing us to observe collective effects on weaker cooperative transitions.     

The preparation and properties of “porous silicon–nickel ferrite” nanoheterocomposites for gas detectors

This paper discusses the preparation and properties of gas detectors based on “porous silicon–nickel ferrite” nanocomposites. Impedance spectroscopy was used to measure sensitivity to ethanol and isopropanol vapours in the presence of an alternating electric field. The results were interpreted with the help of an equivalent electrical circuit. In the analysis of the resistive–capacitive properties in the equivalent circuit a constant phase element was used.     

Self‐Assembled Silver–Gold Nanoisland Films on Glass for SERS Applications

We present a study of resonant optical properties of gold‐protected silver nanoisland films. Silver nanoislands were grown on a glass substrate using out‐diffusion technique, the growth was followed by the deposition of nanometer‐thick gold coatings. Scanning electron microscopy and optical spectroscopy were used to characterize morphology and extinction spectra of the grown combined silver–gold nanostructures. Micro Raman spectroscopy of the combined nanoislands has demonstrated their signal enhancement factor exceeding that one of the initial silver nanoislands.     

Extraction Properties of Oligodentate Carbamoylmethylphosphine Oxides and β-Aminophosphine Oxides Toward Lanthanides and Rhenium(VII)

Abstract

The extraction properties of a series of carbamoylmethylphosphine oxides and β-aminophosphine oxides with lanthanide metal ions is presented. Tris[bis(2-diphenyl- phosphorylethyl)-aminoethyl]amine is shown to be highly effective for extraction of Re(VII).     

Local Particles Numbers in Critical Branching Random Walk

Critical catalytic branching random walk on an integer lattice ? ^d is investigated for all d∈?. The branching may occur at the origin only and the start point is arbitrary. The asymptotic behavior, as time grows to infinity, is determined for the mean local particles numbers. The same problem is solved for the probability of the presence of particles at a fixed lattice point. Moreover, the Yaglom type limit theorem is established for the local number of particles. Our analysis involves construction of an auxiliary Bellman–Harris branching process with six types of particles. The proofs employ the asymptotic properties of the (improper) c.d.f. of hitting times with taboo. The latter notion was recently introduced by the author for a non-branching random walk on ? ^d .     

Melamine–Barbiturate Supramolecular Assembly as a pH-Dependent Organic Radical Trap Material

In the last two decades, a large number of self-assembled materials were synthesized and they have already found their way into large-scale industry and science. Hydrogen-bond-based supramolecular adducts are found to have unique properties and to be perfect host structures for trapping target molecules or ions. Such chemical systems are believed to resemble living matter and can substitute a living cell in a number of cases. Herein, a report on an organic material based on supramolecular assembly of barbituric acid and melamine is presented. Surprisingly, the structure is found to host and stabilize radicals under mild conditions allowing its use for biological applications. The number of free radicals is found to be easily tuned by changing the pH of the environment and it increases when exposed to light up to a saturation level. We describe a preparation method as well as stability properties of melamine–barbiturate self-assembly, potentiometric titration, and hydrogen ions adsorption data and EPR spectra concerning the composite.     

La distribution on the crater surface of W-1%La2O3 produced by a single laser pulse

The W-1%La₂O₃ alloy has been irradiated by a single laser pulse (λ = 1064 nm) to simulate transient thermal loads of high energy occurring in a tokamak under operative conditions. A zone with a diameter of ~2 mm, namely, much larger than the focal spot, results to be affected by the pulse, and a crater of about 300 μm is observed in its center. La₂O₃ particles are not present inside the crater. The change of surface morphology is accompanied by elemental redistribution. Multipoint XPS analysis evidenced that the concentration of La is very low in the crater and increases moving toward the border of the affected zone while that of W shows an opposite trend. The composition changes involve only the outmost 5 nm of the sample: through depth profiling, no differences of chemical composition were detected deeper in the alloy between the center and external border of the affected area.