Effect of nitrogen on mechanical,oxidation and structural behaviour of Ti–Si–B–C–N nanocomposite hard coatings deposited by DC sputtering

Ti–Si–B–C–N film was deposited by DC magnetron sputtering at different argon and nitrogen ratios such as N₂/Ar = 1 : 5, 2 : 4, 3 : 3, 4 : 1 and 5 : 0. The formation of TiN and TiB phases was observed because of incorporation of nitrogen. The hardness, modulus, microstructure, structure and bond formation with different nitrogen contents during the deposition were studied by nanoindentation, scanning electron microscope, X‐ray diffraction and X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy, respectively. The oxidation kinetics of Ti–Si–B–C–N was investigated. The nitrogen incorporation during deposition influences different properties of the coating. Hardness and modulus decreased, and microstructure showed very fine grain presence, and film changes to fully amorphous because of incorporation of nitrogen in the film. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Transfer measurements for the Ti+Ni systems at near barrier energies

Large enhancements have been observed in the sub-barrier fusion cross sections for Ti+Ni systems in our previous studies. Coupled channel calculations incorporating couplings to 2⁺ and 3⁻ states failed to explain these enhancements completely. A possibilty of transfer channels contributing to the residual enhancements had been suggested. In order to investigate the role of relevant transfer channels, measurements of one- and two-nucleon transfer were carried out for ^46,48Ti+⁶¹Ni systems. The present paper gives the results of these studies.     

Optical studies of Eu3+ doped oxyfluoroborate glass

Rare earth doped oxyfluoroborate glasses have been prepared with different concentration of Eu3+. The UV-Vis/NIR optical absorption, laser induced fluorescence and photoacoustic spectra of Eu3+ in this host have been studied. Different optical parameters such as oscillator strength, Judd-Ofelt intensity parameter, stimulated emission cross-section, transition probability, branching ratio and radiative lifetime, etc. have been calculated. Lifetime of the 5D0 level at various concentrations of Eu3+ have been used to explain the concentration dependent fluorescence quenching. The mechanism of quenching was found to be dipole-dipole. Energy transfer have also been studied from Eu3+ to Pr3+ in sample with 1 mol% (Eu3+) + 1 mol% Pr3+.     

Influence of various shapes of nanoparticles on unsteady stagnation-point flow of Cu-H2O nanofluid on a flat surface in a porous medium: A stability analysis

The nanofluid and porous medium together are able to fulfill the requirement of high cooling rate in many engineering problems. So, here the impact of various shapes of nanoparticles on unsteady stagnation-point flow of Cu-H₂O nanofluid on a flat surface in a porous medium is examined. Moreover, the thermal radiation and viscous dissipation effects are considered. The problem governing partial differential equations are converted into self-similar coupled ordinary differential equations and those are numerically solved by the shooting method. The computed results can reveal many vital findings of practical importance. Firstly, dual solutions exist for decelerating unsteady flow and for accelerating unsteady and steady flows, the solution is unique. The presence of nanoparticles affects the existence of dual solution in decelerating unsteady flow only when the medium of the flow is a porous medium. But different shapes of nanoparticles are not disturbing the dual solution existence range, though it has a considerable impact on thermal conductivity of the mixture. Different shapes of nanoparticles act differently to enhance the heat transfer characteristics of the base fluid, i.e., the water here. On the other hand, the existence range of dual solutions becomes wider for a larger permeability parameter related to the porous medium. Regarding the cooling rate of the heated surface, it rises with the permeability parameter, shape factor (related to various shapes of Cu-nanoparticles), and radiation parameter. The surface drag force becomes stronger with the permeability parameter. Also, with growing values of nanoparticle volume fraction, the boundary layer thickness (BLT) increases and the thermal BLT becomes thicker with larger values of shape factor. For decelerating unsteady flow, the nanofluid velocity rises with permeability parameter in the case of upper branch solution and an opposite trend for the lower branch is witnessed. The thermal BLT is thicker with radiation parameter. Due to the existence of dual solutions, a linear stability analysis is made and it is concluded that the upper branch and unique solutions are stable solutions.     

Dielectric relaxation in a new double perovskite oxide Ho2MgZrO6

A new double perovskite oxide holmium magnesium zirconate Ho₂MgZrO₆ (HMZ) was prepared by solid state reaction technique. The crystal structure has been determined by powder X-ray diffraction which shows monoclinic phase at room temperature with cell parameters a = 9.3028 ± 0.0030 Å, b = 5.2293 ± 0.0008 Å, c = 4.4009 ± 0.0009 Å, β = 103.3746 ± 0.0166°. An analysis of complex permittivity with frequency was carried out assuming a distribution of relaxation times. The frequency dependent electrical data are analyzed in the framework of conductivity and electric modulus formalisms. At the high temperature range, conductivity data satisfy the variable range hopping (VRH) model. In this regime, the conductivity of sample obeys Mott’s T^1/4 law, characteristic of VRH. High temperature data indicates the formation of thermally activated small polarons. The scaling behaviour of imaginary part of electric modulus suggests that the relaxation describes the same mechanism at various temperatures.     

Fluorescence Blinking Beyond Nanoconfinement: Spatially Synchronous Intermittency of Entire Perovskite Microcrystals

Abrupt fluorescence intermittency or blinking is long recognized to be characteristic of single nano‐emitters. Extended quantum‐confined nanostructures also undergo spatially heterogeneous blinking; however, there is no such precedent in dimensionally unconfined (bulk) materials. Herein, we report multi‐level blinking of entire individual organo–lead bromide perovskite microcrystals (volume=0.1–3 μm³) under ambient conditions. Extremely high spatiotemporal correlation (>0.9) in intracrystal emission intensity fluctuations signifies effective communication amongst photogenerated carriers at distal locations (up to ca. 4 μm) within each crystal. Fused polycrystalline grains also exhibit this intriguing phenomenon, which is rationalized by correlated and efficient migration of carriers to a few transient nonradiative traps, the nature and population of which determine blinking propensity. Observation of spatiotemporally correlated emission intermittency in bulk semiconductor crystals opens the possibility of designing novel devices involving long‐range (mesoscopic) electronic communication.