Extraction of lanthanides(III) by phosphorylated naphthyridine ligands from carbonate solutions

The extraction capacities and selectivities of 1,8-naphthyridine-based neutral organophosphorus reagents in extracting trivalent lanthanides (Ln, Nd, Ho, Yb) from carbonate solutions were studied. The length and nature of the linker between the naphthyridine and phosphoryl moieties were found to have considerable influence on the efficiency and selectivity of lanthanide extraction.     

Adhesion-strong polymeric layers on polyethylene terephthalate films modified by irradiation with accelerated electrons

Regular trends in variation of the functional group composition, surface energy, and amorphous-crystalline structure of oriented polyethylene terephthalate films modified by irradiation with accelerated electrons to the absorbed dose in the range 25–300 kGy were studied by the methods of surface tension, indicator dye adsorption, and X-ray diffraction. The possibility of preparing gelatin emulsion layers exhibiting high adhesion strength was examined.     

Ion solvation of aqueous solutions of alkali, alkaline earth, and transition metal halides

The published data on the density and velocity of ultrasound are used to determine the ion solvation parameters of sodium, magnesium, and cobalt chlorides. It is shown that the solvation of typical coordination compounds, such as cobalt chloride, is determined by the same underlying systems and interactions as that of electrolytes with ions of alkali and alkaline earth metals.     

Piezoelectric energy nanoharvester based on an array of ZnO whisker nanocrystals and a flat copper electrode

A piezoelectric low-power nanogenerator based on an array of ZnO whisker nanocrystals and a movable flat top electrode has been developed. It has been shown that this element generates ac current under the effect of mechanical vibrations with a frequency up to 100 Hz, which makes it possible to accumulate the capacitor charge. The investigation of the sample on a vibration stand under the acceleration of 9.8 m/s² has demonstrated that the stable variable signal from 50 mV to 1.5 V appears at a frequency of 20–120 Hz. The experimental dependence of the generated voltage on the weight of the load applied to the top electrode is obtained. The appearance of the ac signal is explained in the context of the classical piezoelectric effect, namely, the ZnO whisker nanocrystals in the starting state are already bent, and the different-sign charges are generated under the effect of mechanical vibrations during bending and unbending.     

Manifestation of a semimetallic state in cyclotron resonance in low-symmetry HgTe-based quantum wells

Cyclotron-resonance measurements in 21-nm-thick HgTe/CdHgTe quantum wells of different crystallographic orientations have been performed. It has been found that, in contrast to the structures with the (001) orientation of the quantum-well plane, (013)-oriented quantum wells are semimetallic and their absorption spectra exhibit both electron and hole cyclotron-resonance lines. The simultaneous presence of the two types of charge carriers originates from an overlap between the upper heavy-hole quantum-confinement subbands hh1 and hh2. This overlap is caused by the strong interaction of these subbands with the Dyakonov-Khaetskii interface state. Calculations carried out using the eight-band kp-Hamiltonian indicate that, for known values of the band-structure parameters, the overlap between hh2 and hh1 subbands does not occur; this result is in agreement with the cyclotron-resonance data for (001)-oriented structures. The enhanced interaction between heavy-hole and interface states owing to the existence of steps at low-symmetry heterointerfaces may be the mechanism responsible for the appearance of an overlap between subbands in HgTe quantum wells with orientation different from (001).     

Theory of stimulated concentration scattering of light in a liquid suspension of transparent microspheres

A theory of stimulated light scattering in a nonlinear liquid suspension of transparent microspheres—an artificially created medium whose nonlinearity is caused by modulation of the concentration of microspheres by gradient forces in a field of spatially inhomogeneous laser radiation—is constructed. The threshold, angular, and spectral characteristics of the scattering are studied in the diffusion-limit approximation based on the solution of the system of wave equations in combination with the Planck-Nernst two-dimensional equation for the concentration of microspheres. The transient regime of scattering in the field of a specified step-like pump pulse is considered. A sharp angular dependence of the scattering efficiency on the microsphere radius is predicted and proposed for use in optical diagnostics of liquid suspensions of dielectric microspheres—highly efficient wideband nonlinear media.