Microstructure characterization of titanium dioxide nanodispersions and thin films for dye-sensitized solar cell devices

This article reports on the microstructure characterization of titanium dioxide nanodispersions and thin films made thereof for dye-sensitized solar cell devices. Structure–property relationships have been investigated mainly using electron microscopy to assess how microstructure (crystalline structure, defects) and morphological (e.g. heterogeneities, inclusions, voids) features in the electron transport element of the solar cell device correlate with electrical performance, namely, short-circuit photocurrent density (J_sc). This work shows that for a nanodispersion synthesized in the laboratory different electrical performances are measurable depending on the thin film forming process, more specifically, heat-sintering at 450 °C or pressure-sintering at 500 bar. For the heat-sintered device J_sc is about 7.3 mA/cm² whereas for the pressure-sintered one this value is much lower, this difference being attributed to the existence of inclusions in the titanium dioxide matrix, which are spatially isolated from the rest of the electron transport element thereby limiting the charge transport process by promoting their premature recombination. PACS 68.37.Lp; 73.61.Le; 81.40.-z; 84.60.Jt     

On Characters and Superdimensions of Some Infinite-Dimensional Irreducible Representations of osp(m|n)

Physics of Atomic Nuclei - Chiral spinors and self dual tensors of the Lie superalgebra osp(m|n) are infinite-dimensional representations belonging to the class of representations with Dynkin...     

On the Spin Depolarization of a Hall Ferromagnet in the Vicinity of ν = 1 in Two-Dimensional Electron Systems Based on ZnO

JETP Letters - The behavior of the degree of spin polarization and the specific exchange energy near the Hall ferromagnetic state with filling factor ν = 1 in strongly interacting...     

A Mechanistically and Operationally Simple Route to Metal–N-Heterocyclic Carbene (NHC) Complexes

We have been puzzled by the involvement of weak organic and inorganic bases in the synthesis of metal–N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) complexes. Such bases are insufficiently strong to permit the presumed required deprotonation of the azolium salt (the carbene precursor) prior to metal binding. Experimental and computational studies provide support for a base-assisted concerted process that does not require free NHC formation. The synthetic protocol was found applicable to a number of transition-metal- and main-group-centered NHC compounds and could become the synthetic route of choice to form M–NHC bonds.     

Tweaking the acid-sensitivity of transiently thermoresponsive Polyacrylamides with cyclic acetal repeating units

Merging the characteristics of thermoresponsive and stimuli-degradable polymers yields so-called transiently thermoresponsive polymers, which can find application for the design of injectable gels, nanoparticles, etc. within a biomedical context. Among these polymers, only a limited number is reported which shows selective degradation under mild acidic conditions. However,extension of the library of transiently thermoresponsive polymers is desired to broadening the biomaterials toolbox to suit specific needs. Three monomers were developed by modification of 2-hydroxyethylacrylamide(HEAm) via tetrahydropyranylation or-furanylation with 3,4-dihydro-2 H-pyran(DHP), 2,3-dihydrofuran(DHF) or 2,3-dihydro-5-methylfuran(MeDHF). The presence of an acetal or ketal bond provided the monomers a pH-dependent hydrolysis behavior ranging from minutes to days. RAFT polymerisation allowed for the construction of homopolymers with temperature responsive behavior and pH-dependent hydrolysis which was strongly influenced by nature of the monomeric repeating units.     

Nonexistence of localized band tail states in substitutional semiconductor alloys and some other disordered systems

A recent theory of semiconducting glasses seems to imply a substantial density of localized band tail states in substitutional semiconductor alloys, such as Sie or GaAsP, and also in homogenous strain-free amorphous Si and Ge. Experimental evidence against the existence of such states in these non-glassy disordered materials is overwhelming. The paradox is resolved by noting that if the material is in thermodynamic equilibrium, the disorder of the atomic potentials will not result in disorder of the valence or conduction band energy levels.     

Renormalization group studies of phase diagrams of Ising and XY-model films of variable thickness

We compare the critical behavior of $\text{spin}\text{-}\text{1}\text{2}$ Ising model (ordinary phase transition in two dimensions) and classical XY-model (topological phase transition in two dimensions) films, with two flat surfaces and nearest neighbor couplings K_S between surface spins and K_B between all others, as a function of film thickness. We carry out a real space Migdal-style renormalization in two stages. In the bulk stage the film is first renormalized towards a double layer, with the renormalized parameters as inter- and intra-layer couplings. Then the double layer is renormalized with those couplings as initial parameters. From the RG-equations for the bulk stage we find a tricritical point, not only for the Ising model (in which case it is well known) but also for the XY-model. It signals the existence of distinct surface and bulk transitions for sufficiently large values of $\text{K}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>S</mtext>}}\text{K}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>B</mtext>}}$. For the Ising model the complete program can be carried out and the phase diagram for films of arbitrary thickness is constructed. For the double layer XY-model a sufficiently complex Migdal-style renormalization appears to be unfeasible, presumably due to the possible presence of strings between the layers. Therefore, in an alternative approach, two representations for the partition function of the double layer XY-model are given. The system can be described in terms of its topological excitations, i.e., vortices on each layer and strings, either closed or terminating in vortices, between them. The system is also written as three coupled Coulomb gases. Based on this representation a renormalization group is found, and used, together with a Griffiths inequality for the correlation functions, to obtain information on the phase diagram. If there is a single phase transition, there is one phase where the correlations exhibit power law behavior and another where they fall off exponentially. The transition temperature increases monotonously with interlayer coupling to twice its value in two dimensions, but the nature of the phase transition for any finite inter-layer coupling appears to be different from that at zero coupling. We suggest that this is associated with the behavior of the internal strings. These results should be relevant for the renormalization of the film with isotropic bulk couplings as well as for layered systems of finite thickness, with different inter- and intra-layer couplings.     

The surface reconstructions of the (100) crystal faces of iridium,platinum and gold: I. Experimental observations and possible structural models

The structures of the reconstructed Ir(100), Pt(100) and Au(100) surfaces have been investigated. Low energy electron diffraction (LEED) patterns are analyzed and LEED intensity versus energy data are measured. A variety of structures is observed by LEED: Ir(100) exhibits a relatively simple (1 × 5) pattern; Pt(100) shows a series of closely related patterns, a typical representative of which has a $\text{(}\text{14}\text{1}\text{?1}\text{5}\text{)}$ structure; Au(100) usually exhibits a c(26 × 68) pattern, often inaccurately described in the literature as a (20 × 5) pattern. The reconstruction of Au(111) is also considered for comparison. Various plausible structural models are discussed, while laser simulation is used to lessen the number of these models. The analysis is completed in a companion paper where LEED intensity calculations are reported to determine the atomic locations.