Local and Permeating Disorder of Copper(I) Cations in Cu3BiS2Br2 and Cu4Bi3S5Br3–xClx (x = 1.19)

Melting reactions of Bi₂S₃, CuX (X = Cl, Br), copper, and sulfur resulted in black needles of qua‐ and quinternary copper bismuth sulfide halogenides. Cu₃BiS₂Br₂ (I) has a melting point of 638(5) K and crystallizes in the orthorhombic space group Pnma with a = 804.50(6) pm, b = 393.27(3) pm, and c = 2253.2(2) pm at T = 293(2) K. Cu₄Bi₃S₅Br_3–xCl_x (x = 1.19(2)) (II) crystallizes in the monoclinic space group I2/m with lattice parameters a = 1573.7(2) pm, b = 397.52(3) pm, c = 2164.9(3) pm, and β = 95.66(1) °. Both compounds exhibit networks of thio‐halogenido‐bismuthate(III) polyhedra that join corners, edges, and faces. The copper(I) cations are spread over numerous contiguous trigonal or tetrahedral voids. In case of (II) a continuous pathway for copper ion transport along [010] is formed. The pseudo‐potential barrier for hopping of copper ions was calculated as 30 meV only.     

Physicochemical study of the ‘anatase/electrolyte solution’ interface in suspension and closely packed particles of the solid

The electric double layer (EDL) developed at the interface of anatase in contact with aqueous electrolyte solutions was investigated at 25 °C. Potentiometric titrations (PT), measurements of the electrophoretic mobility (EM) in suspensions, and streaming potential (SP) measurements were taken. The surface charge over a wide pH range (ca. 3–10) and the point of zero charge (pzc = 6.3 ± 0.1) of anatase was easily determined by means of the suspension titration curve and the blank one, obtained at a single ionic strength value. Streaming potential measurements were conducted in anatase particles appropriately packed to form plugs. Two different plugs were prepared differing in the degree of particles' packing and, consequently, in the respective porosities. It was found that surface conductivity is lower at higher packing (lower porosity), because of the reduction of the total surface area in contact with the electrolyte. Moreover, it was found that the surface conductivity of the anatase samples increased at pH values away from pzc, while the mobility of the counter ions behind the shear plane decreased. This trend was attributed to the increase of the absolute surface charge. This increase caused an increase in the amount of the counter ions and, therefore, in the conductivity due to these ions. On the other hand, stronger electrostatic interactions between the surface of the solid and the counter ions reduced their mobility. The packing density of the anatase particles in the respective plugs, affected the values of ζ‐potential calculated from SP measurements when the effect of surface conductivity was neglected. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Parallel differential mobility analysis for electrostatic characterization and manipulation of nanoparticles and viruses

The electrophoretic mobility of charged, airborne nanoparticles (NPs) or macromolecules and their specific complexes opens new avenues for their analysis and handling. The newly developed parallel differential mobility analyzer in combination with an electrostatic particle sampler enables not only the characterization of bio-NPs, but even their sampling while preserving their bioactivity (e.g., the enzyme activity of galactosidase). Precondition for the applicability of this technique is a well-defined charging status of the NPs in question. This charge conditioning can be achieved by means of a radioactive source, Po-210, even if the yield in terms of charged particles is low for sub-20-nm particles and the aging of the source influences the size spectra measured. Nevertheless, this technique enables size-defined sampling and enrichment, combined with real-time measurement of the size of both NPs and viruses. Furthermore, it allows determination of the number of attached biospecific antibodies, thereby providing information about the surface coverage of viruses by antibodies.     

Coupling infrared multiphoton dissociation spectroscopy, mass-spectrometry and ion mobility spectrometry for the determination of structures of angiotensin II cations

Gas-phase structures of mass-selected singly- and doubly charged angiotensin ions have been determined by means of infrared multiple photon dissociation (IRMPD) spectroscopy and ion mobility spectrometry. Simulation of IRMPD spectra at the DFT level provides the location of the proton on the Arg side-chain in the case of the singly charged species. Interpretation of the ion mobility data suggests that the structures of singly- and doubly charged species are rather similar except for an internal proton transfer.     

Albumin adsorption on unmodified and sulfonated polystyrene surfaces, in relation to cell-substratum adhesion

Albumin is commonly applied for blocking the adsorption of other proteins and to prevent the nonspecific adhesion of cells to diverse artificial substrata. Here we address the question of how effective these albumin properties are--by investigating unmodified and sulfonated polystyrene substrata with distinctly different wettabilities. As clearly shown with (125)I-radioisotopic assays, above a concentration of 10-20 μg/mL, the efficiency of bovine serum albumin (BSA) adsorption became markedly higher on the sulfonated surface than on the unmodified one. This study was assisted with the atomic force microscopy. On the unmodified surface, BSA, adsorbed from sufficiently concentrated solutions, formed a monolayer, with occasional intrusions of multilayered patches. Conversely, the arrangement of BSA on the sulfonated surface was chaotic; the height of individual molecules was lower than on the unmodified polystyrene. Importantly, the adhesion study of LNCaP and DU145 cells indicated that both surfaces, subjected to the prior BSA adsorption, did not completely loose their cell-adhesive properties. However, the level of adhesion and the pattern of F-actin organization in adhering cells have shown that cells interacted with unmodified and sulfonated surfaces differently, depending on the arrangement of adsorbed albumin. These results suggest the presence of some bare substratum area accessible for cells after the albumin adsorption to both types of investigated surfaces.     

磷化铟高电子迁移率晶体管外延结构材料抗电子辐照加固设计

为研究磷化铟高电子迁移率晶体管(InP HEMT)外延结构材料的抗电子辐照加固设计的效果,本文采用气态源分子束外延法制备了系列InP HEMT外延结构材料.针对不同外延结构材料开展了1.5 MeV电子束辐照试验,在辐照注量为2×10¹⁵ cm^-2条件下,并测试了InP HEMT外延结构材料二维电子气辐照前后的电学特性,获得了辐照前后不同外延结构InP HEMT材料二维电子气归一化浓度和电子迁移率随外延参数的变化规律,分析了InP HEMT二维电子气辐射损伤与Si-δ掺杂浓度、InGaAs沟道厚度和沟道In组分以及隔离层厚度等结构参数的关系.结果表明:Si-δ掺杂浓度越大,隔离层厚度较薄,InGaAs沟道厚度较大,沟道In组分低的InP HEMT外延结构二维电子气辐射损伤相对较低,具有更强的抗电子辐照能力.经分析原因如下:1)电子束与材料晶格发生能量传递,破坏晶格完整性,且在沟道异质界面引入辐射诱导缺陷,增加复合中心密度,散射增强导致二维电子气迁移率和浓度降低;2)高浓度Si-δ掺杂和薄隔离层有利于提高量子阱二维电子气浓度,降低二维电子气受辐射...     

Quantifying cell adhesion through forces generated by acoustic streaming

The strength of cell adhesion is important in understanding the cell’s health and in culturing them. Quantitative measurement of cell adhesion strength is a significant challenge in bioengineering research. For this, the present study describes a system that can measure cell adhesion strength using acoustic streaming induced by Lamb waves. Cells are cultured on an ultrasound transducer using a range of preculture and incubation times with phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) just before the measurement. Acoustic streaming is then induced using several Lamb wave intensities, exposing the cells to shear flows and eventually detaching them. By relying upon a median detachment rate of 50 %, the corresponding detachment force, or force of cell adhesion, was determined to be on the order of several nN, consistent with previous reports. The stronger the induced shear flow, the more cells were detached. Further, we employed a preculture time of 8 to 24 h and a PBS incubation time of 0 to 60 min, producing cell adhesion forces that varied from 1.2 to 13 nN. Hence, the developed system can quantify cell adhesion strength over a wide range, possibly offering a fundamental tool for cell-based bioengineering.     

Current oscillation in GaN-HEMTs with p-GaN islands buried layer for terahertz applications

A GaN-based high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) with p-GaN islands buried layer (PIBL) for terahertz applications is proposed. The introduction of a p-GaN island redistributes the electric field in the gate-drain channel region, thereby promoting the formation of electronic domains in the two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) channel. The formation and regulation mechanism of the electronic domains in the device are investigated using Silvaco-TCAD software. Simulation results show that the 0.2 μ m gate HEMT with a PIBL structure having a p-GaN island doping concentration (N_p) of 2.5×10¹⁸ cm^-3-3×10¹⁸ cm^-3 can generate stable oscillations up to 344 GHz-400 GHz under the gate-source voltage (V_gs) of 0.6 V. As the distance (D_p) between the p-GaN island and the heterojunction interface increases from 5 nm to 15 nm, the fundamental frequency decreases from 377 GHz to 344 GHz, as well as the ratio of oscillation current amplitude of the fundamental component to the average component I_f1/I_avg ranging from 2.4% to 3.84%.     

Removal of GaN film over AlGaN with inductively coupled BCl3/Ar atomic layer etch

Atomic layer etching(ALE)of thin film GaN(0001)is reported in detail using sequential surface modification by BCl₃ adsorption and removal of the modified surface layer by low energy Ar plasma exposure in a reactive ion etching system.The estimated etching rate of GaN is~0.74 nm/cycle.The GaN is removed from the surface of AlGaN after 135 cycles.To study the mechanism of the etching,the detailed characterization and analyses are carried out,including scanning electron microscope(SEM),x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS),and atomic force microscope(AFM).It is found that in the presence of GaCl_x after surface modification by BCl₃,the GaCl_x disappears after having exposed to low energy Ar plasma,which effectively exhibits the mechanism of atomic layer etch.This technique enables a uniform and reproducible fabrication process for enhancement-mode high electron mobility transistors with a p-GaN gate.