Adjusting valence state of europium in sintered porous glass by adding of aluminum and yttrium

We report on valence state adjusting of europium in porous glass by co-doping with aluminum or yttrium into porous glass. The influence of Al³⁺ and Y³⁺ on the emission intensity of Eu³⁺ and Eu²⁺ in sintered high-silica porous glass has been investigated. It is found that the emission intensity of Eu³⁺ can be increased by adding of Y³⁺ and Al³⁺, and the emission intensity of Eu²⁺ can be decreased by adding of Y³⁺ and increased by Al³⁺. At the same time, the emission peak position of Eu²⁺ can also be changed by adding of Al³⁺ or Y³⁺. It is suggested that the adjusting of valence state and the peak position shift is relative to the optical basicity of glasses or crystal field strength around REs.     

Metal-nanoparticle-induced crystallization of amorphous Ge film using ferritin

The metal-induced lateral crystallization (MILC) of an amorphous Ge (a-Ge) thin film using Ni nanoparticles (NPs) was investigated. Ni-NPs were formed and evenly distributed onto a 30 nm thick a-Ge film by cage-shaped protein. After complete elimination of protein shell, crystal growth was performed at 400 °C. Raman spectra and electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) studies revealed that a poly-Ge film with a maximum grain size approximately 1 μm was successfully formed. The Ni contamination in the poly-Ge film was reduced by more than one order of magnitude compared with that in the case of a conventional MILC process.     

Metal Complexes Supported on Solid Matrices for Visible‐Light‐Driven Molecular Transformations

Hybridization of visible‐light‐responsive metal complexes with solid matrices offers an attractive route for practical catalyst design of nanostructured photocatalysts that are operationally simple and can attain unprecedented reactions owing to synergistic effects. This Minireview highlights the precise architectures of hybrid photocatalysts that enable efficient and selective photochemical molecular transformations, including selective oxidation by O₂ and H₂ evolution from water. Several techniques for the immobilization of metal complexes are discussed, including encapsulation within zeolite cavities, anchoring within mesoporous channels, incorporation within the macroreticular space of ion‐exchange resins, intercalation within the interlayer spaces of layered materials, and anchoring onto the plasmonic colloidal Ag nanoparticles. The relationships between photoluminescence characteristics and photocatalytic activities of these hybrid materials are also discussed.     

Scales and Universality in Few-Body Systems

The role of scales in the physics of large few-body systems is reviewed. They are evidenced by considering weakly-bound three and four particles, where point-like interactions are regularized and renormalized in a procedure characterized by the emergence of physical scales fixed by observables. The results obtained with renormalized zero-ranged two-body interactions are presented in the form of universal scaling plots, or correlations between observables, where we also consider results of several other model calculations, as well as experimental results obtained in nuclear physics and cold-atom laboratories. The universal correlations between few-body observables are useful to predict one in terms of another observable and we discuss applications in setting low energies properties of halo nuclei, molecular and cold atom systems.     

Structure,Stability and Response to the Electric Field of Antiferroelectric Smectic Materials

Abstract

The structure and switching of five antiferroelectric mesogens are studied by the constant temperature-pressure molecular dynamics simulation. The conformations of the end chains in the smectic phase are compared with those at an isolated single molecule estimated by the method of molecular orbitals, where the bending angle of the chiral chain as well as the angle of the achiral one is shown to be enhanced. The tilt angles obtained here are in well agreement with the experimental ones. The response of the anticlinic alignment to the transverse electric field is also tested.     

Trimer–Tetramer Interwoven States in the Scaling Limit

We report here some results we have obtained on the scale dependence of tetramer energies at the unitary limit, considering the number of tetramer energy levels appearing between the ground and the excited Efimov trimers. Our numerical investigation is done by solving a renormalized set of Faddeev–Yakubovsky equations for identical bosons with zero-range interaction, requiring a four-body scale, which in principle can be independent of the trimer properties. The ratio between the three- and four-body scales is introduced by considering the two lower trimer states and corresponding associated tetramers. We conclude that at least three tetramers are possible to exist between two Efimov states by varying the relation between such scales, and considering the relation between three-body Efimov states in the unitary limit. The results for the trimer–tetramer interwoven states are shown through a correlation between tetramers attached to consecutive Efimov trimer states.