Hexagonal (wurtzite) GaN inclusions as a defect in cubic (zinc-blende) GaN

The dependence of the hexagonal fraction with thickness in MBE-grown bulk cubic (c-) GaN epilayer is presented in this paper. A number of c-GaN epilayers with different thicknesses were characterized via PL and XRD measurements. From the PL spectra, the signal due to h-GaN inclusions increases as the thickness of the c-GaN increases. On the contrary, in the XRD diffractogram, c-GaN shows a dominant signal at all thicknesses, and only a weak peak at ∼35° is observed in the diffractogram, implying the existence of a small amount of h-GaN in the c-GaN layer. The best quality of c-GaN is observed in the first 10 μm of GaN on the top of GaAs substrate. Even though the hexagonal content increases with the thickness, the average content remains below 20% in c-GaN layers up to 50 μm thick. The surface morphology of thick c-GaN is also presented.     

Luminescence studies of a combustion-synthesized blue–green BaAlxOy:Eu,Dy nanoparticles

Blue–green emitting BaAl_xO_y:Eu²⁺,Dy³⁺ phosphor was synthesized by the combustion method. The influence of various parameters on the structural, photoluminescence (PL) and thermoluminescence (TL) properties of the phosphor were investigated by various techniques. Phosphor nanocrystallites with high brightness were obtained without significantly changing the crystalline structure of the host. In the PL studies, broad-band excitation and emission spectra were observed with major peaks at 340 and 505 nm, respectively. The observed afterglow is ascribed to the generation of suitable traps due to the presence of the co-doped Dy³⁺ ions. Though generally broad, the peak structure of the TL glow curves obtained after irradiation with UV light was non-uniform with suggesting the contribution to afterglow from multiple events at the luminescent centers. Further insight on the afterglow behavior of the phosphor was deduced from TL decay results.     

Boron doped diamond and glassy carbon electrodes comparative study of the oxidation behaviour of cysteine and methionine

The electrochemical oxidation behaviour at boron doped diamond and glassy carbon electrodes of the sulphur-containing amino acids cysteine and methionine, using cyclic and differential pulse voltammetry over a wide pH range, was compared. The oxidation reactions of these amino acids are irreversible, diffusion-controlled pH dependent processes, and occur in a complex cascade mechanism. The amino acid cysteine undergoes similar three consecutive oxidation reactions at both electrodes. The first step involves the oxidation of the sulfhydryl group with radical formation, that undergoes nucleophilic attack by water to give an intermediate species that is oxidized in the second step to cysteic acid. The oxidation of the sulfhydryl group leads to a disulfide bridge between two similar cysteine moieties forming cysteine. The subsequent oxidation of cystine occurs at a higher potential, due to the strong disulfide bridge covalent bond. The electro-oxidation of methionine at a glassy carbon electrode occurs in two steps, corresponding to the formation of sulfoxide and sulfone, involving the adsorption and protonation/deprotonation of the thiol group, followed by electrochemical oxidation. Methionine undergoes a one-step oxidation reaction at boron doped diamond electrodes due to the negligible adsorption, and the oxidation also leads to the formation of methionine sulfone.     

The Determination of Methanol Using an Electrolytically Fabricated Nickel Microparticle Modified Boron Doped Diamond Electrode

A nickel modified boron doped diamond (Ni‐BDD) electrode and nickel foil electrode were used in the determination of methanol in alkaline solutions. The Ni‐BDD electrode was electrodeposited from a 1 mM Ni(NO₃)₂ solution (pH 5), followed by repeat cycling in KOH. Subsequent analysis utilised the Ni(OH)₂/NiOOH redox couple to electrocatalyse the oxidation of methanol. Methanol was determined to limits of 0.3 mM with a sensitivity of 110 nA/mM at the Ni‐BDD electrode. The foil electrode was less sensitive achieving a limit of 1.6 mM and sensitivity of 27 nA/mM. SEM analysis of the electrodes found the Ni‐BDD to be modified by a quasi‐random microparticle array.     

Abrasive Stripping Voltammetric Studies of Lignin and Lignin Model Compounds

Lignin is potentially a major renewable, nonfossil source of aromatic and cyclohexyl compounds. In this study, we have investigated the abrasive stripping voltammetry of lignin and four lignin model compounds in the room temperature ionic liquids (RTILs) [C₄mim][NTf₂], [N_6,2,2,2][NTf₂] and [C₄mim][OTf] (where [C₄mim]⁺=1‐butyl‐3‐methylimidazolium, [N_6,2,2,2]⁺=n‐hexyltriethylammonium, [NTf₂]^?=bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide and [OTf]^? =trifluoromethanesulfonate) on a gold macrodisk and in 0.1 M H₂SO₄ and 0.1 M NaOH on a boron‐doped diamond (BDD) macroelectrode, with the hope of using the voltammetry to fingerprint the functional groups within the lignin molecule. The use of RTILs on metal electrodes, or either acidic or basic media in combination with BDD electrodes allows solvent systems with wide electrochemical potential windows, useful for studying voltammetry which may be difficult to observe in systems where early breakdown of the solvent occurs.     

Discrete maximum principle based on repair technique for diamond type scheme of diffusion problems

In this paper, two repair techniques are proposed for diamond schemes of anisotropic diffusion problems to ensure that the repaired solutions satisfy the discrete maximum principle. One of them is an extension of that in [Liska R, Shashkov M. Enforcing the discrete maximum principle for linear finite element solutions of second‐order elliptic problems. Communications in Computational Physics 2008; 3(4):852–877.] for linear finite element solutions, which is a local repair technique, and another is a new global repair technique. Both of them keep total energy conservation and are easy to be implemented in existing codes. Numerical examples show that these two repair techniques do not destroy the accuracy of solution for the diamond schemes on distorted meshes. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Surface modification of titanium membrane by chemical vapor deposition and its electrochemical self-cleaning

Membrane separation is applied widely in many fields, while concentration polarization and membrane fouling, limiting its promotion and application greatly, are the bottlenecks in membrane application. Among which, membrane fouling is irreversible, membrane must be periodically cleaned or even replaced to restore permeability. Membrane cleaning has become one of the key issues in membrane separation areas. Considering incomparable electrochemical advantages of boron-doped diamond (BDD) film electrode over conventional electrode, a new composite membrane Ti/BDD, made by depositing CVD (chemical vapor deposition) boron-doped diamond film on titanium(Ti) membrane to modify porous titanium surface, that can be cleaned electrochemically is proposed. Feasibility of its preparation and application is discussed in this paper. Results shows that based on the unique electrochemical properties of diamond, cleaning level of this composite Ti/BDD membrane is significantly increased, making membrane life and efficiency improved prominently.     

A convenient dynamic loading device for studying kinetics of phase transitions and metastable phases using symmetric diamond anvil cells

We have designed and implemented a novel DLD for controlling pressure and compression/decompression rate. Combined with the use of the symmetric diamond anvil cells (DACs), the DLD adopts three piezo-electric (PE) actuators and three static load screws to remotely control pressure in accurate and consistent manner at room temperature. This device allows us to create different loading mechanisms and frames for a variety of existing and commonly used diamond cells rather than designing specialized or dedicated diamond cells with various drives. The sample pressure compression/decompression rate that we have achieved is up to 58.6/43.3?TPa/s, respectively. The minimum of load time is less than 1?ms. The DLD is a powerful tool for exploring the effects of rapid (de)compression on the structure of materials and the properties of materials.     

Investigation of the resistive transition of CaLaBaCu3O7 in magnetic fields up to 10 tesla and pressures up to 46 GPa

Abstract

The onset critical temperature T _co, of CaLaBaCu₃O₇, is measured as a function of pressure by means of a cryogenic diamond anvil cell. We find ?T _co/?p = 0.14 ± 0.02K/GPa. The pressure dependence of the upper critical field B _c2 as a function of pressure is determined for T/T_c , = 0.96. From this we found the corresponding volume dependence of the number of charge carriers to be much smaller than the value derived from Hall effect measurements in YBa₂Cu₃O₇.

Les dérivées par rapport à la pression de la température critique supérieure T_co , (avec ?T _co,??p = 0.14 ± 0.02K/GPa) et du champs critique B _c2 à T/T_c , = 0.96 ont été déterminé á l'aide d'une presse à diamants. Pour le composé CaLaBaCu₃O₇, la variation de la densité de charges en fonction du volume est beaucoup plus faible que celle détermiée par effet Hall dans YBa₂Cu₃O₇.