Ultra fine carbon nitride nanocrystals synthesized by laser ablation in liquid solution

Crystalline carbon nitride nanopowders and nanorods have been successfully synthesized at room temperature and pressure using the novel technique of pulsed laser ablation of a graphite target in liquid ammonia solution. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), selected area electron diffraction (SAED), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) were used to systematically study the morphology, nanostructure and chemical bonding. The experimental composition and structure of the nanoparticles are consistent with the theoretical calculations for α-C₃N₄. After 2 h ablation the particles had a size distribution ∼8–12 nm, whereas after 5 h ablation the particles had grown into nanorod-like structures with a crystalline C₃N₄ tip. A formation mechanism for these nanorods is proposed whereby nanoparticles are first synthesized via rapid formation of an embryonic particle, followed by a slow growth, eventually leading to a one-dimensional nanorod structure.     

Defect structure and optical damage resistance of Hf:Fe:LiNbO3 crystals

A series of Hf:Fe:LiNbO₃ crystals were grown by the Czochralski technique with various doping concentrations of HfO₂. Their defect structures were analyzed by the UV-visible absorption spectra and infrared absorption spectra. The optical damage resistance of Hf:Fe:LiNbO₃ crystals was measured by the photo-induced birefringence change and the transmitted light spot distortion method. The results show that the optical damage resistance ability of Hf:Fe:LiNbO₃ crystals enhances remarkably with the HfO₂ concentration increasing when the HfO₂ concentration is lower than its threshold concentration (4 mol%). However, when the HfO₂ concentration exceeds its threshold concentration, the optical damage resistance ability of the crystals returns to decrease. This unusual behavior is explained by using the photovoltaic field produced in the crystals.     

Variational derivation of improved KP-type of equations

The Kadomtsev-Petviashvili equation describes nonlinear dispersive waves which travel mainly in one direction, generalizing the Korteweg-de Vries equation for purely uni-directional waves. In this Letter we derive an improved KP-equation that has exact dispersion in the main propagation direction and that is accurate in second order of the wave height. Moreover, different from the KP-equation, this new equation is also valid for waves on deep water. These properties are inherited from the AB-equation (E. van Groesen, Andonowati, 2007 [1]) which is the unidirectional improvement of the KdV equation. The derivation of the equation uses the variational formulation of surface water waves, and inherits the basic Hamiltonian structure.     

液态水微观结构研究的新进展

液态水有很多奇异特性.近年来,对液态水以何种微观结构形式存在的问题争议激烈.文章介绍了当前对水的微观结构的一些研究及其进展,讨论了液态水中的氢键模式与水的结构关系,进而用一个简化模型探讨了氢键的取向性与强弱性对水的异常行为的作用.     

Anisotropic phononic crystal structure with low-frequency bandgap and heat flux manipulation

This study presents a two-dimensional phononic crystal with heat flux manipulation and wide bandgaps of out-of-plane modes within the low-frequency range. The anisotropic matrix made of spiral-multilayered materials with different thermal conductivities, and the coating layer inserted with metal are designed for heat flux manipulation. Rubber-coated metal cylinders are periodically embedded in the anisotropic matrix to obtain the low-frequency bandgaps of out-of-plane modes. Numerical simulation is carried out to validate the heat and elastic characteristics of the spiral-multilayered anisotropic structure and reveal the effects of the laying angle and temperature on the bandgaps. Subsequently, a spiral-multilayered plate with periodic structures is studied, which shows an obvious vibration attenuation in the frequency ranges of the bandgaps and a deflected heat flux from the initial propagation direction. In the experimental investigation, the multi-phase spiral-multilayered anisotropic plate is simplified to a single-phase anisotropic plate made of aluminum. The characteristics of this type of anisotropic phononic crystal structure may pave the way for the design of a new kind of thermo-acoustic metamaterial serving in combined thermal and acoustic environments.     

First-principles prediction of crystal structure and physical properties of ScB3

The crystal structure of ScB₃ is seeked by combining the developed particle swarm optimisation algorithm for crystal structure prediction with first-principles calculations. A new monoclinic phase with the C2/m symmetry is predicted successfully, which is energetically more superior to the early reported R-3m-, P2₁/m-, P6₃/mmc-, P-6m2-, Pnma-, and Pm-3m-type structures in the pressure range from 0 to 100?GPa. The obtained elastic constants and phonon dispersion curve reveal that the C2/m-ScB₃ is mechanically and dynamically stable. The predicted large bulk module, high shear modulus, small Poisson’s ratio as well as the considerable hardness indicate that the C2/m-ScB₃ has outstanding mechanical property. Meanwhile, the dependences of the bulk modulus and Young’s modulus of ScB₃ on the crystal orientation are investigated theoretically. Through applying the strain–stress method, the ideal tensile and shear strengths along different crystal directions are also estimated, and the obtained results confirm that the shear mode dominates the failure mode in the C2/m-ScB₃ structure and it is intrinsically a hard material. The electronic structure calculation and chemical bonding analysis illustrate that the strong covalent B-B and Sc-B bonds are responsible for its structural stability and high hardness.     

Deposition of Ni<Subscript> 13</Subscript> and Cu<Subscript> 13</Subscript> clusters on Ni(111) and Cu(111) surfaces

The soft deposition of Ni₁₃ and Cu₁₃ clusters on Ni(111) and Cu(111) surfaces is studied by means of constant-energy molecular-dynamics simulations. The atomic interactions are described by the Embedded Atom Method. It is shown that the shape of the nickel clusters deposited on Cu(111) surfaces remains rather intact, while the copper clusters impacting on Ni(111) surfaces collapse forming double and triple layered products. Furthermore, it is found that for an impact energy of 0.5 eV/atom the structures of all investigated clusters show the lowest similarity to the original structures, except for the case of nickel clusters deposited on a Cu(111) surface. Finally, it is demonstrated that when cluster and substrate are of different materials, it is possible to control whether the deposition results in largely intact clusters on the substrate or in a spreading of the clusters. This separation into hard and soft clusters can be related to the relative cohesive energy of the crystalline materials.     

Many-body effects in hyperfine interactions in <Superscript>205</Superscript>Pb<Superscript>+</Superscript>

Ab initio calculations have been carried out to study the magnetic dipole and electric quadrupole hyperfine structure constants of ²⁰⁵Pb⁺. Many-body effects have been considered to all orders using the relativistic coupled-cluster theory in the singles, doubles and partial triples approximation. The trends of these effects are found to be different from atomic systems that have been studied earlier.     

The atomic structure and the properties of ununbium (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Z</Emphasis> = 112) and Mercury (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Z</Emphasis> = 80)

A super heavy element Uub (Z = 112) has been studied theoretically in conjunction with rela-tivistic effects and the effects of electron correlations. The atomic structure and the oscillator strengths of low-lying levels have been calculated, and the ground states have also been determined for the singly and doubly charged ions. The influence of relativity and correlation effects to the atomic properties of such a super heavy element has been investigated in detail. The results have been compared with the properties of an element Hg. Two energy levels at wave numbers 64470 and 94392 are suggested to be of good candidates for experimental observations.