The structural and catalytic properties of nanoparticles@MOF composites: A case study of Au@ZIF-8 hybrid crystals

Strain analysis of the MOF and its composites using high-resolution X-ray diffractionmeter (XRD) was carried out and the presence of non-uniform, depth-related strain in the MOF crystals was confirmed. Further analysis showed that the magnitude and distribution of strain in MOF crystals can be tuned with the incorporation of nanoparticles (NPs). Moreover, the spatial controlled structures can also optimize functionalities of the NPs@MOF, which was exemplified by their applications on the catalytic reduction of nitroarenes. It is anticipated that the investigation of MOF structure evolution through controlling the architectures of the MOF/NPs hybrid materials will shed a light on the study of optimizing the mechanical and chemical properties of MOF composites.     

Energy structure and absorption spectra of colloidal CdS nanocrystals in gelatin matrix

We investigate the energy structure of colloidal CdS nanocrystals by measuring the UV–vis absorption spectra. Nanocrystals were synthesized by sol–gel method in a gelatin matrix in the size range from 2.5 to 3.9 (±0.2) nm. In order to interpret the UV–vis absorption spectra we calculate the energy spectrum of electron quasi-stationary states using the model of open nanocrystal as well as the hole stationary spectrum in a two-band approach. It is shown that the main contribution to the absorption spectrum is made by interband transitions 1S_3/2→1S_e and 1P_3/2→1P_e, and its shape is determined by the size distribution of nanoparticles. For this system the estimated values of the effective masses of the heavy hole and light hole are 1.44m₀ and 0.28m₀, respectively.     

Effect of gate engineering in JLSRG MOSFET to suppress SCEs: An analytical study

In this work, an analytical model of gate-engineered junctionless surrounding gate MOSFET (JLSRG) has been proposed to uncover its potential benefit to suppress short-channel effects (SCEs). Analytical modelling of centre potential for gate-engineered JLSRG devices has been developed using parabolic approximation method. From the developed centre potential, the parameters like threshold voltage, surface potential, Electric Field, Drain-induced Barrier Lowering (DIBL) and subthershold swing are determined. A nice agreement between the results obtained from the model and TCAD simulation demonstrates the validity and correctness of the model. A comparative study of the efficacy to suppress SCEs for Dual-Material (DM) and Single-Material (SM) junctionless surrounding gate MOSFET of the same dimensions has also been carried out. Result indicates that TM-JLSRG devices offer a noticeable enhancement in the efficacy to suppress SCEs by as compared to SM-JLSRG and DM-JLSRG device structures. The effect of different length ratios of three channel regions related to three different gate materials of TM-JLSRG structure on the SCEs have also been discussed. As a result, we demonstrate that TM-JLSRG device can be considered as a competitive contender to the deep-submicron mainstream MOSFETs for low-power VLSI applications.     

Characterization of the channel walls roughness in photonic crystal fibers

We present electron microscope (FEI NanoSEM) and atomic force microscopy measurements of surface roughness in nanochannels in photonic crystal fibers (PCF). A method was invented to cleave the PCF along the axis without damaging the surface structure in the nanochannels allowing us to characterize the morphology of the nanochannels in the PCF. A multi-wall carbon nanotube mounted onto commercial AFM probes and super sharp silicon non-contact mode AFM probes were used to characterize the wall roughness in the nanochannels. The roughness is shown to have a Gaussian distribution, and has an amplitude smaller than 0.5 nm. The height–height correlation function is an exponential correlation function with an autocorrelation length of 13 nm, and 27 nm corresponding with scan sizes of 200×100 nm², and 1600×200 nm², respectively.     

Control of electron spin–orbit anisotropy in pyramidal InAs quantum dots

We investigate the electron spin–orbit interaction anisotropy of pyramidal InAs quantum dots using a fully three-dimensional Hamiltonian. The dependence of the spin–orbit interaction strength on the orientation of externally applied in-plane magnetic fields is consistent with recent experiments, and it can be explained from the interplay between Rashba and Dresselhaus spin–orbit terms in dots with asymmetric confinement. Based on this, we propose manipulating the dot composition and height as efficient means for controlling the spin–orbit anisotropy.     

Free vibration of non-uniform nanobeams using Rayleigh–Ritz method

In this article, boundary characteristic orthogonal polynomials have been implemented in the Rayleigh–Ritz method to investigate free vibration of non-uniform Euler–Bernoulli nanobeams based on nonlocal elasticity theory. Non-uniform cross section of nanobeams has been considered by taking linear as well as quadratic variations of Young's modulus and density along the space coordinate. Detailed analysis has been reported for all the possible cases of such variations. The objective of the present study is to analyze the effects of nonlocal parameter, boundary condition, length-to-diameter ratio and non-uniform parameter on the frequency parameters. It is found that clamped nanobeams are having highest frequency parameters than other types of boundary conditions for a particular set of parameters. It is also observed that frequency parameters decrease with increase in scaling effect parameter. First four deflection shapes of non-uniform nanobeams have also been incorporated. In this analysis, some of the new results in terms of boundary conditions have also been included.     

Optical,electrical and magnetic properties of nanostructured Mn3O4 synthesized through a facile chemical route

Nanostructured Mn₃O₄ sample with an average crystallite size of ∼15 nm is synthesized via the reduction of potassium permanganate using hydrazine. The average particle size obtained from the Transmission Electron Microscopy analysis is in good agreement with the average crystallite size estimated from X-ray diffraction analysis. The presence of Mn⁴⁺ ions at the octahedral sites is inferred from the results of Raman, UV–visible absorption and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analyzes. DC electrical conductivity of the sample in the temperature range 313–423 K, is about five orders of magnitude larger than that reported for single crystalline Mn₃O₄ sample. The dominant conduction mechanism is identified to be of the polaronic hopping of holes between cations in the octahedral sites. The zero field cooled and field cooled magnetization of the sample is studied in the range 20–300 K. The Curie temperature for the sample is about 45 K, below which the sample is ferrimagnetic. A blocking temperature of 35 K is observed in the field cooled curve. It is observed that the sample shows hysteresis at temperatures below the Curie temperature with no saturation, even at an applied field (20 kOe). The presence of an ordered core and disordered surface of spin arrangements is observed from the magnetization studies. Above the Curie temperature, the sample shows linear dependence of magnetization on applied field with no hysteresis characteristic of paramagnetic phase.     

Dielectric mismatch and shallow donor impurities in GaN/HfO2 quantum wells

In this work we investigate electron–impurity binding energy in GaN/HfO₂ quantum wells. The calculation considers simultaneously all energy contributions caused by the dielectric mismatch: (i) image self-energy (i.e., interaction between electron and its image charge), (ii) the direct Coulomb interaction between the electron–impurity and (iii) the interactions among electron and impurity image charges. The theoretical model account for the solution of the time-dependent Schrödinger equation and the results shows how the magnitude of the electron–impurity binding energy depends on the position of impurity in the well-barrier system. The role of the large dielectric constant in the barrier region is exposed with the comparison of the results for GaN/HfO₂ with those of a more typical GaN/AlN system, for two different confinement regimes: narrow and wide quantum wells.