Optoelectronic Properties,Elastic Moduli and Thermoelectricity of SrAlGa： An Ab Initio Study

Half-Heusler compounds are an impressive class of materials with a huge potential for different applications such as in future energy, especially in the fields of thermoelectrics and solar cells. We present ab fnitio total energy calculations within the modified Becke-Johnson generalized gradient approximation （mBJ-GGA） to obtain the physical properties of SrAlGa compounds. The structural, elastic, acoustic, electronic, chemical bonding, optical, and thermoelectric properties are calculated and compared with the available calculation data. The SrAlGa is found to be a small-band-gap （0.125-0.175 eV） material, suitable for thermoelectric applications with a relatively high Seebeck coefficient. Also, SrAIGa has the potential in the optoelectronic applications due to high optical conductivity and reflectivity in the infrared and visible region of electromagnetic spectra.     

Classification of static spherically symmetric perfect fluid space-times via conformal vector fields in f(T) gravity

In this paper, we classify static spherically symmetric (SS) perfect fluid space-times via conformal vector fields (CVFs) in f(T) gravity. For this analysis, we first explore static SS solutions by solving the Einstein field equations in f(T) gravity. Secondly, we implement a direct integration technique to classify the resulting solutions. During the classification, there arose 20 cases. Studying each case thoroughly, we came to know that in three cases the space-times under consideration admit proper CVFs in f(T) gravity. In one case, the space-time admits proper homothetic vector fields, whereas in the remaining 16 cases either the space-times become conformally flat or they admit Killing vector fields.     

Effect of layer sliding on the interfacial electronic properties of intercalated silicene/indium selenide van der Waals heterostructure

Methods capable of tuning the properties of van der Waals (vdW) layered materials in a controlled and reversible manner are highly desirable. Interfacial electronic properties of two-dimensional vdW heterostructure consisting of silicene and indium selenide (InSe) have been calculated using density functional theory-based computational code. Furthermore, in order to vary the aforementioned properties, silicene is slid over a InSe layer in the presence of Li intercalation. On intercalation of the heterostructure, the buckling parameter associated with the corrugation of silicene decreases from 0.44 Å to 0.36 Å, whereas the InSe structure remains unaffected. Potential energy scans reveal a significant increase in the sliding energy barrier for the case of intercalated heterostructure as compared with the unintercalated heterostructure. The sliding of the silicene encounters the maximum energy barrier of 0.14 eV. Anisotropic analysis shows the noteworthy differences between calculated in-plane and out-of-plane part of dielectric function. A variation of the planar average charge density difference, dipole charge transfer and dipole moment have been discussed to elucidate the usability spectrum of the heterostructure. The employed approach based on intercalation and layer sliding can be effectively utilized for obtaining next-generation multifunctional devices.     

Effect of Temperature Anisotropy on Various Modes and Instabilities for a Magnetized Non-relativistic Bi-Maxwellian Plasma

Using kinetic theory for homogeneous collisionless magnetized plasmas, we present an extended review of the plasma waves and instabilities and discuss the anisotropic response of generalized relativistic dielectric tensor and Onsager symmetry properties for arbitrary distribution functions. In general, we observe that for such plasmas only those modes whose magnetic-field perturbations are perpendicular to the ambient magnetic field, i.e., B ₁ $\bot $ B ₀, are effected by the anisotropy. However, in oblique propagation all modes do show such anisotropic effects. Considering the non-relativistic bi-Maxwellian distribution and studying the relevant components of the general dielectric tensor under appropriate conditions, we derive the dispersion relations for various modes and instabilities. We show that only the electromagnetic R- and L- waves, those derived from them (i.e., the whistler mode, pure Alfvén mode, firehose instability, and whistler instability), and the O-mode are affected by thermal anisotropies, since they satisfy the required condition $\mathbf{B}_{1}\bot \mathbf{B}_{0}$ . By contrast, the perpendicularly propagating X-mode and the modes derived from it (the pure transverse X-mode and Bernstein mode) show no such effect. In general, we note that the thermal anisotropy modifies the parallel propagating modes via the parallel acoustic effect, while it modifies the perpendicular propagating modes via the Larmor-radius effect. In oblique propagation for kinetic Alfvén waves, the thermal anisotropy affects the kinetic regime more than it affects the inertial regime. The generalized fast mode exhibits two distinct acoustic effects, one in the direction parallel to the ambient magnetic field and the other in the direction perpendicular to it. In the fast-mode instability, the magneto-sonic wave causes suppression of the firehose instability. We discuss all these propagation characteristics and present graphic illustrations. The threshold conditions for different instabilities are also obtained.     

Application of hollow fiber liquid phase microextraction for pinic acid and pinonic acid analysis from organic aerosols

A method based on hollow fiber liquid phase microextraction (HF-LPME) for analysis of pinic acid and pinonic acid was developed and for the first time successfully applied to ambient aerosol samples. In this method, the aerosol samples were dissolved in 0.05 M H₂SO₄ and the solution was extracted using three-phase HF-LPME where donor phase was 0.1 M (NH₄)₂CO₃. Different parameters like type of organic solvent for membrane phase, extraction time and stirring speed etc. were optimized. Optimum extraction time was 4.5 h and optimum-stirring speed was found to be 900 rpm. We used 6-undecanone as organic phase along with tri-n-octylphosphine oxide (optimum TOPO contents was 15% w/v), which gave an enormous enrichment for both pinic and pinonic acid. Enrichment factors of 28,050 and 27,400 times were obtained for pinonic acid and pinic acid, respectively, that are the highest ever published. The extraction efficiency for pinic acid and pinonic acid were 68.5% and 70.1%, respectively. Very low limits of detection were obtained. Values of 1.0 ng L^?1 and 0.5 ng L^?1 in aqueous solutions, corresponding to 24 pg m^?3 and 12 pg m^?3 in aerosol samples were the limits of detections for pinonic acid and pinic acid, respectively. Both pinonic acid and pinic acid were found in all aerosol samples analyzed.     

超强激光与等离子体靶相互作用中高能离子的定向发射

等离子体薄靶作为控制激光加热和产生高能粒子的驱动源在激光核聚变快点火方案中被广泛应用.本文用二维粒子模拟方法研究了超强超短脉冲激光与平板等离子体薄靶相互作用中产生的高能离子.模拟研究结果表明,在平板等离子体薄靶后表面所产生的高能离子的角分布较小,定向性好,能获得很高的能量.并且等离子体薄靶的形状对高能离子的产生和会聚有一定的影响.     

Extraction of iridium(IV) from hydrochloric acid media with crown ether in chloroform, and its determination by ICP–AES

A new method for the quantitative extraction and determination of trace amounts of iridium from hydrochloric acid media has been established based on the formation of an ion-association complex of iridium hexachloro anion IrCl₆ ^2– with dicyclohexyl-18-crown-6 (DC18C6) oxonium cation in chloroform, then determination by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP–AES). The effect of various factors (solvent, acid concentration, crown ether, reagent concentration, shaking time, composition of the extracted species, foreign ions, etc.) on the extraction and back-extraction of iridium has been investigated. The procedure was used to determine traces of iridium in palladium chloride and rhodium chloride.     

Synthesis and physical properties of LiBC intermetallics

Polycrystalline samples of LiBC compounds, which were predicted as possible candidate for high-T_c superconductivity, have been synthesised by a flux method for a wide range of flux compositions Li_xBC (x=0.5-2.4). Scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction patterns showed a plate-like morphology and a single-phase nature of LiBC samples for the starting flux composition of Li_1.25BC. The lattice constants a, c display a systematic variation with x and a maximum volume of the hexagonal unit cell at x=1.25. Electrical resistivity measurements revealed an extrinsic semiconducting behaviour of the single-phase LiBC with an activation energy of 18 meV and a maximum specific resistivity of 2.5 Ω cm at 300 K. In contrast to the theoretical prediction of high T_c, no superconducting features were detected down to 2 K both, by measurements of electrical resistivity and magnetic susceptibility. However, the results do not allow to refute the theoretical prediction because of the lack of accurate chemical analysis methods for the LiBC compounds synthesised.