Synthesis and Optical Properties of SiO2-Coated CeO2 Nanoparticles

Silica (SiO₂)-coated ceria (CeO₂) nanoparticles were prepared using water-in-oil microemulsion. Polyoxyethylene (15) cetylether and cyclohexane were used as a surfactant and organic solvent. SiO₂-coated CeO₂ nanoparticles were obtained by hydrolysis of metal alkoxide (tetraethylorthosilicate, TEOS) in the solution containing CeO₂ precursor nanoparticles. The effects of CeO₂ sources (Ce metal salt) and CeO₂ particle-forming agents on the morphology of SiO₂–CeO₂ particles were investigated. Observation via transmission electron microscopy revealed that the type of particle-forming agent affected the nanoparticles' morphology and that CeO₂ nanoparticles were spherically coated with SiO₂ when using oxalic acid ((COOH)₂) as a particle-forming agent of CeO₂. Furthermore, the transmittance of the particles was high in the visible region (above 400 nm) and decreased in the ultraviolet region.     

Electrochemical lithium and sodium intercalation into TaFe1.25Te3

Lithium and sodium have been topotactically inserted in the lattice of TaFe_1.25Te₃ by electrochemical procedures. The existence of electronically unequivalent sites occupied by tellurium atoms conditions a two-step insertion process. In each step, the alkali metal ions occupy empty sites in the structure which are coordinated by tellurium atoms of a different set of sites. The␣thermodynamic and kinetic parameters of Li _x TaFe_1.25Te₃ and Na _x TaFe_1.25Te₃ have been determined and compared with other inserted binary and ternary chalcogenides. The values of the free energy of intercalation are less negative than those previously reported for TaTe₂ and close to those found for the misfit layer compound (PbS)_1.13TaS₂. The values of alkali metal ion diffusivity are closer to those reported for the binary telluride, due to the similarities in the atoms exposed to the interlayer space. Received: 14 October 1997 / Accepted: 14 November 1997     

ChemInform Abstract: Endohedral Nickel,Palladium, and Platinum Atoms in 10‐Vertex Germanium Clusters: Competition Between Bicapped Square Antiprismatic and Pentagonal Prismatic Structures

ChemInform is a weekly Abstracting Service, delivering concise information at a glance that was extracted from about 200 leading journals. To access a ChemInform Abstract of an article which was published elsewhere, please select a “Full Text” option. The original article is trackable via the “References” option.     

The role of residual technological impurities in the formation of radiative recombination centres in irradiated germanium

A comparison study of the photoluminescent (PL) spectra in pure and ultra-pure irradiated and annealed germanium has been performed. Some radiative recombination centres including impurities have been found. The spectra of samples bombarded by neutrons were found to include, along with the lines from intrinsic defects (Z, Y, X, W, V), the centres due to hydrogen and oxygen impurities (the lines T₁, T₂, U). A considerable number of the lines (A₁-A₃, B₁, B₂, C, D₁, D₂) in the PL spectra of crystals exposed to gamma-quanta and electrons were identified with the centres including carbon atoms. Such a great set of lines, presumably, results from the transformation of the above mentioned complexes in the course of annealing. The observed differences in the PL spectra within 0.72 to 0.74 eV range probably indicate a contribution of several types of intrinsic defects and other impurities, along with carbon, to complexing.     

Synthesis of α-In 2 Te 3 thin films from In/Te bilayer by Si ion irradiation

In this work, In/Te bilayer thin films were prepared using sequential thermal evaporation method and subsequently irradiated using swift heavy ions (SHIs) of 100 MeV silicon (Si) with different fluences (1×10¹³ to 5×10¹³/cm²). The inter-diffusion of In and Te layers was highly controlled by SHI irradiation and the In₂Te₃ formation capability was compared with that of the conventional annealing method. The structural as well as optical properties of a post-sintered SHI-irradiated In/Te bilayer were investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements and UV–visible spectroscopy, respectively. We found that irradiated samples showed single-phase In₂Te₃ under post-annealed conditions at 150 °C unlike that prepared using the conventional thermal annealing method, which showed mixed phases under similar conditions. This confirms the effective inter-diffusion in bilayer films by SHI irradiation toward the formation of single-phase In₂Te₃. The estimated optical band gap energy was found to be 1.1±0.5 eV and strongly corroborated the XRD results. In addition, the estimated refractive index (n) value of the SHI-irradiated sample (～3.3) was higher than that of the sample obtained through the conventional annealing method (～2.8). This proves that SHI offers a highly compact nature even at low temperatures. This work has a wide scope for achieving single-phase alloyed films through bilayer mixing by SHI irradiation.     

Structural transition of secondary phase oxide nanorods in epitaxial YBa2Cu3O7−δ films on vicinal substrates

A theoretical study of a structural transition of secondary phase oxide nanorods in epitaxial YBa₂Cu₃O_7?δ films on vicinal SrTiO₃ substrates is presented. Two possible types of film/substrate interface are considered, with one assuming complete coherence, while the other is defective as manifested by the presence of antiphase grain boundaries. Only in the former case does the increase of the vicinal angle of the substrate lead to a substantial change of the strain field in the film, resulting in a transition of the nanorod orientation from the normal to the in-plane direction of the film. The calculated threshold vicinal angle for the onset of the transition and lattice deformation of the YBa₂Cu₃O_7?δ film due to the inclusion of the nanorods is in very good agreement with experimental observations. This result sheds lights on the understanding of the role of the film/substrate lattice mismatch in controlling self-assembly of dopant nanostructures in matrix films.