A novel way of modifying the thermal gradient in Vertical Bridgman‐Stockbarger Technique and studies on its effect on the growth of benzophenone single crystals

In order to grow benzophenone single crystal, an organic nonlinear optical material, a cost‐effective Vertical Bridgman‐Stockbarger system has been designed and fabricated by employing a two‐zone, transparent furnace made out of immiscible liquids. Transparent, optical quality benzophenone single crystals were successfully grown as a result of a suitable thermal gradient achieved by means of introducing an intermediate liquid in between the two immiscible liquids. The effect of change in the volume of the intermediate liquid thereby the thermal gradient on the growth parameters was analyzed. The quality of the grown single crystal was justified using X‐ray powder diffraction analysis, FTIR, TG‐DTA and optical transmission studies. (© 2004 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Optically directed assembly of continuous mesoscale filaments

We demonstrate irreversible continuous filament formation when a weak laser focus is positioned near the edge of an evaporating colloidal droplet containing carbon and gold nanoparticles. Optical trapping, hydrothermal, and chemical interactions lead to controlled colloidal synthesis of stable, irreversible mesoscale filaments of arbitrary shape and size. Mechanisms for this optically directed assembly are discussed with fluid dynamics, molecular dynamics, and lattice kinetic Monte Carlo calculations.     

On the correlation between phonon spectra and surface segregation features in Ag-Cu–Ni ternary nanoalloys

Atomic scale characterization of chemical ordering, compositional distribution and microstructure is of tremendous importance for applications such as catalysis which is primarily dominated by processes occurring at surface and is strongly influenced by the subsurface layers. Phonon spectra obtained from molecular dynamics simulations of single metals as well as their bimetallic and ternary alloy nanoclusters can be used to obtain new insights into the atomic scale distribution in the nanoclusters, their microstructure and dynamical properties. Monte-Carlo (MC) simulations are used to obtain the minimum energy configurations of various Ag–Cu–Ni ternary alloys in which the Ag content is systematically varied from 0 to 50%Ag while keeping the relative composition of Cu and Ni constant. Detailed compositional analyses of the final MC configurations are carried out. The generated microstructure comprised of surface segregated structures in which Ag atoms occupy low coordination sites such as corners, edges and faces. As the Ag content in the ternary alloy is increased, the surface sites get increasingly occupied with the lowest coordination sites being populated first. The Cu and Ni compositions in the interior of the cluster show compositional oscillation. The final alloy microstructure is dictated by the competition between the various entropic and energetic factors. Our analysis of the phonon density of states identifies various surface (low frequency) and bulk (high frequency) modes which is determined by their location in the nanocluster and the local environment. Systematic trends in the observed peak intensities and frequency shifts at the low and high frequency ends of the spectrum for the various alloy compositions are explained on the basis of bond-lengths, local coordination, extent of alloying, and neighboring elemental environment. We find that the characteristic microstructural features observed at the atomic scale are strongly correlated to the vibrational densities of states of the constituent atoms in nanoalloys. Comparisons with experimental investigations are made where possible. Such a characterization method provides a predictive tool for materials which are extremely important for catalytic applications and emerging energy technologies.     

Interface proximity effects on ionic conductivity in nanoscale oxide-ion conducting yttria stabilized zirconia: an atomistic simulation study

We present an atomistic simulation study on the size dependence of dopant distribution and the influence of nanoscale film thickness on carrier transport properties of the model oxide-ion conductor yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ). Simulated amorphization and recrystallization approach was utilized to generate YSZ films with varying thicknesses (3-9 nm) on insulating MgO substrates. The atomic trajectories generated in the molecular dynamics simulations are used to study the structural evolution of the YSZ thin films and correlate the resulting microstructure with ionic transport properties at the nanoscale. The interfacial conductivity increases by 2 orders of magnitude as the YSZ film size decreases from 9 to 3 nm owing to a decrease in activation energy barrier from 0.54 to 0.35 eV in the 1200-2000 K temperature range. Analysis of dopant distribution indicates surface enrichment, the extent of which depends on the film thickness. The mechanisms of oxygen conductivity for the various film thicknesses at the nanoscale are discussed in detail and comparisons with experimental and other modeling studies are presented where possible. The study offers insights into mesoscopic ion conduction mechanisms in low-dimensional solid oxide electrolytes.     

Higher moments of certain <Emphasis Type="Italic">L</Emphasis>-functions on the critical line

We study the sixth-power moments of certain L-functions belonging to a sub-class of the Selberg’s class on the critical line and, using this, we conclude an upper bound for the fourth-power moments of certain L-functions related to GL ₃ on the critical line. This is an analogue of the upper bound for the twelfth-power moment of the Riemann zeta-function on the critical line. Published in Lietuvos Matematikos Rinkinys, Vol. 47, No. 3, pp. 341–380, July–September, 2007.     

Effect of Nanoscale Confinement on Freezing of Modified Water at Room Temperature and Ambient Pressure

Understanding the phase behavior of confined water is central to fields as diverse as heterogeneous catalysis, corrosion, nanofluidics, and to emerging energy technologies. Altering the state points (temperature, pressure, etc.) or introduction of a foreign surface can result in the phase transformation of water. At room temperature, ice nucleation is a very rare event and extremely high pressures in the GPa–TPa range are required to freeze water. Here, we perform computer experiments to artificially alter the balance between electrostatic and dispersion interactions between water molecules, and demonstrate nucleation and growth of ice at room temperature in a nanoconfined environment. Local perturbations in dispersive and electrostatic interactions near the surface are shown to provide the seed for nucleation (nucleation sites), which lead to room temperature liquid–solid phase transition of confined water. Crystallization of water occurs over several tens of nanometers and is shown to be independent of the nature of the substrate (hydrophilic oxide vs. hydrophobic graphene and crystalline oxide vs. amorphous diamond‐like carbon). Our results lead us to hypothesize that the freezing transition of confined water can be controlled by tuning the relative dispersive and electrostatic interaction.     

A Mean Value Theorem for Dirichlet Series and a General Divisor Problem

 We consider the mean value formula for general Dirichlet series by applying the approximate functional equation of Ramachandra’s type, and derive the sum formula for its coefficients. The improvement of Landau’s classical results is established for the general divisor function. We also obtain the asymptotic behaviour of the mean value when the real part of s is near the abscissa of absolute convergence. Received 2 July 2001; in revised form 29 October 2001