Polymer assisted assembling of the semiconductor particles: Structural and electrical studies

CdS and Si semiconductor nanopraticles were embedded in a polymer matrix and characterized using various techniques. The surface properties and size distribution of the nanoparticles were monitored by POM and SEM and found to be uniform but around the crystalline frameworks of the polymer. XRD and FTIR analysis have been used to ensure the composite nature and particle size of the semiconductor loaded films. The electrical conductivity of these films were evaluated and found to increase with semiconductor dispersion and attains a percolation threshold at optimum composition. This composition and the distribution of the clusters is shown to vary with the type of the semiconductor, i.e., CdS or Si.     

Study of the peak effect phenomenon in single crystals of 2H-NbSe2

The weakly pinned single crystals of the hexagonal 2H-NbSe₂ compound have emerged as prototypes for determining and characterizing the phase boundaries of the possible order-disorder transformations in the vortex matter. We present here a status report based on the ac and dc magnetization measurements of the peak effect phenomenon in three crystals of 2H-NbSe₂, in which the critical current densities vary over two orders of magnitude. We sketch the generic vortex phase diagram of a weakly pinned superconductor, which also utilizes theoretical proposals. We also establish the connection between the metastability effects and pinning.     

Effect of ZnO on phase emergence, microstructure and surface modifications of calcium phosphosilicate glass/glass-ceramics having iron oxide

The effect of ZnO on phase emergence and microstructure properties of glass and glass-ceramics with composition 25SiO₂-50CaO-15P₂O₅-(10 − x)Fe₂O₃-xZnO (where x = 0, 2, 5, 7 mol%) has been studied. They have been characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Surface modifications of these glass-ceramics in simulated body fluid have been studied using Fourier transform infrared reflection spectroscopy (FTIR), XPS and SEM. Results have shown a decrease in the fraction of non-bridging oxygen with increase in zinc oxide content. Emergence of crystalline phases in glass-ceramics at different heat treatment temperatures was studied using XRD. When glass is heat treated at 800 °C calcium phosphate, hematite and magnetite are developed as major phases in the glass-ceramics samples with ZnO up to 5 mol%. In addition to these, calcium silicate (Ca₃Si₂O₇) phase is also observed when glass is heat treated at 1000 °C. The microstructure of the glass-ceramics heat treated at 800 °C exhibits the formation of nano-size (40-50 nm) grains. On heat treatment at 1000 °C crystallites grow to above 50 nm size and more than one phase are observed in the microstructure. The formation of thin flake-like structure with coarse particles is observed at high zinc oxide concentration (x = 7 mol%). In vitro studies have shown the surface modifications and formation of Ca-P-rich layer on the glass-ceramics when immersed in simulated body fluids (SBF) for different durations. The bioactive response was found to depend on ZnO content.     

Lifetime measurements for some levels in Be-like Cl XIV and S XIII

Lifetime measurements have been carried out for some low lying (n = 2) levels in the four-electron ions Cl XIV and S XIII using the beam-foil technique. Accurate oscillator strengths for the 2 s2 ¹ S - 2 s 2 p ¹ P o transition have been determined by the inclusion of prominent cascades in the analysis. Lifetimes of the levels of the 2 p2 ³ P j multiplet have also been measured for both ions. The results are compared with theoretical predictions and earlier measurements. Received: 29 October 1997 / Revised: 10 February 1998 / Accepted: 5 March 1998     

Temperature profiles in a two-component heterogeneous system heated with a cw laser

A formalism has been developed to calculate the steady-state temperature profiles induced by a cw laser in a composite system comprising a thick medium covered with a film of another medium. The analysis is carried out assuming that thermal and optical properties of the media are temperature-independent. A concept of the effective thermal conductivity for the system is introduced in terms of the maximum temperature rise. Temperature-distributions are numerically computed in typical cases for a circular Gaussian beam to illustrate dependence on film thickness, thermal conductivities and absorption coefficients of the media and size of the laser beam.     

Detailed electrical measurements on sago starch biopolymer solid electrolyte

The biopolymer solid electrolyte has been synthesized and characterized. Potassium iodide (KI) has been added in polymer matrix to develop solid polymer electrolyte. Relationships between electrical, ionic transport parameter and mechanism have been studied in detail. Impedance spectroscopy reveals the detailed electrical studies and ion transport mechanism. The ion dissociation factor is compared with a measured dielectric constant at a fixed frequency. The dielectric data are calculated which support the ionic conductivity data.     

Application of ionic liquid doped solid polymer electrolyte

The electrical, structural, and photoelectrochemical properties of the polymer electrolyte PEO:NaI/I₂ doped with an ionic liquid 1-ethyl 3-methylimidazolium dicyanamide (EMImDCN) have been reported. Incorporation of the ionic liquid (IL) increases the membrane homogeneity, decreased surface roughness, and enhances the short current (J _sc). Additionally, the doping of IL provides more charge carriers which enhances overall ionic conductivity (σ). The optimized σ was found at 40 wt.% IL composition. The fabricated DSSC using this new solid electrolyte showed 1.43% efficiency at 100 mW cm⁻².     

Optimum life testing plans in presence of hybrid censoring: A cost function approach

Hybrid censoring scheme is a combination of Type‐I and Type‐II censoring schemes. Determination of optimum hybrid censoring scheme is an important practical issue in designing life testing experiments to enhance the information on reliability of the product. In this work, we consider determination of optimum life testing plans under hybrid censoring scheme by minimizing the total cost associated with the experiment. It is shown that the proposed cost function is scale invariant for some selected distributions. Optimum solution cannot be obtained analytically. We propose a method for obtaining the optimum solution and consider Weibull distribution for illustration. We also studied the sensitivity of the optimal solution to the misspecification of parameter values and cost components through a well‐designed sensitivity analysis. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

On some permutation binomials and trinomials over $$\mathbb {F}_{2^n}$$

In this work, we completely characterize (1) permutation binomials of the form \(x^{{{2^n -1}\over {2^t-1}}+1}+ ax \in \mathbb {F}_{2^n}[x], n = 2^st, a \in \mathbb {F}_{2^{2t}}^{*}\), and (2) permutation trinomials of the form \(x^{2^s+1}+x^{2^{s-1}+1}+\alpha x \in \mathbb {F}_{2^t}[x]\), where s, t are positive integers. The first result, which was our primary motivation, is a consequence of the second result. The second result may be of independent interest.