Nanocrystalline ceramic films for efficient conversion of light into electricity

Transparent nanocrystalline films of oxide semiconductors such as TiO₂ and Fe₂O₃ have been prepared on a conducting glass support employing a sol-gel procedure. The films are composed of nanometer-sized particles sintered together to allow for percolative charge carrier transport. The internal surface of these films is very high, roughness factors of the order of 1000 being readily obtained. Electric polarization was applied for forward and reverse biasing of the films and the resulting optical changes have been analyzed to derive their flat band potential. Band gap excitation of such nanocrystalline semiconductors produces electron-hole pairs which migrate through the film to be collected as electric current. Steady state photolysis and time resolved laser techniques have been applied to scrutinize the mechanism of light induced charge separation within the nanostructure. When derivatized with a suitable chromophore, TiO₂ films give extraordinary efficiencies for the conversion of incident photons into electric current, exceeding 90% for certain transition metal complexes within the wavelength range of their absorption band. The underlying physical principles of these astonishing findings will be discussed. Exploiting this discovery, we have developed a new type of photovoltaic device whose overall light to electric energy conversion yield is 10% under simulated AM 1.5 solar radiation.     

吡啶团簇的多光子电离和离解研究

利用飞秒激光和飞行时间质谱结合从头计算对吡啶团簇的多光子电离和离解进行了研究. 给出了吡啶团簇的稳定结构和簇内的质子转移过程.     

Anharmonic effects in large-amplitude vibrations of metal clusters

Two types of extreme collective motion, large-amplitude many-phonon vibration of the ionic core and rotation of the cluster with high angular momenta, are considered. The interplay between vibration and collective motion towards fission is discussed. A new mechanism of formation and rupture of the neck is proposed which is based on the Franck-Condon principle, and accounts for the interplay between vibration and fission. Under rotation, the change of the shape of the cluster and a phase transition from axially symmetric to triaxial ellipsoid are predicted. For studying the effects, vibrational motion can be induced by laser radiation. Rotational motion may arise in collisions of clusters. Received 26 April 2001 and Received in final form 15 October 2001     

Observation of sharp resistance anomalies near Tc in granular superconductors

Granular films prepared from well-defined In clusters embedded in Kr (? 10-40 at % Kr) show sharp resistance anomalies very close to the superconducting transition temperature. The observed resistance peak(s), which go(es) above the normal state resistance R_N and which can be as high as ? 1.5 R_N, can be explained by a “mesoscopic” effect: Superconducting percolation aggregates of size ξ_ρ, larger than the superconducting coherence length ξ_S, but smaller than the quasiparticle relaxation length λ_Q*, have a superconducting gap, but are not yet able to carry a supercurrent.     

The use of sulfide cluster-derived catalysts to understand the promotional effect in hydrotreatment catalysis

Sulfide cluster-derived ensembles are promising models of the active sites in commercial hydrotreatment catalysts. A series of sulfide clusters were adsorbed intact onto high-surface-area γ-alumina, magnesium oxide and activated carbon supports, then pretreated to produce highly dispersed catalytic ensembles with sizes similar to those of their precursor clusters. The activities of the bimetallic cluster-derived catalysts were significantly higher than those of the monometallic catalysts. We took this as evidence that direct interactions between molybdenum and the promoter element cause the promotional effect observed in commercial hydrotreatment catalysts. The hydrodesulfurization and hydrodenitrogenation activities correlated with the extent of molybdenum reduction. Our results suggested that the active sites in promoted hydrotreatment catalysts are centered on molecular-scale ensembles containing molybdenum, sulfur and the promoter element.     

一维应变压缩下TC4钛合金绝热剪切研究

 利用内径为57 mm的压缩气炮，在撞击速度为0.2~1.2 km/s（相应的靶中压力为3~15 GPa）范围内进行对称碰撞实验，以研究TC4（Ti-Al6-V4）钛合金在一维应变冲击压缩条件下的绝热剪切现象。对回收得到的受冲击样品，在扫描电镜（SEM）下进行细观金相分析。结果指出，一维应变冲击压缩条件下，TC4钛合金中绝热剪切带产生的对称碰撞速度阈值为500 m/s（相当于样品中的压力为5.87 GPa）；主剪切带与冲击方向约为45°角，带上有圆形和椭圆形两种孔洞且随碰撞速度的增大而增多和长大，这是典型的韧性损伤特征。随碰撞速度增大，产生与主剪切带成15°角的支剪切带。这些与理论预言相符。X射线能谱分析结果指出，剪切带内材料发生了(α+β)→β相的转变，是典型的相变带。剪切带的温度估算与实验提供的信息吻合。     

A neutron polarization analysis study of Ce2Fe17 in its paramagnetic phase

Spin-flip (paramagnetic) scattering and neutron depolarization studies were performed on Ce₂Fe₁₇ in its paramagnetic phase on the Dhruva neutron polarization analysis spectrometer. The absence of normalQ dependence of the scattered spin flip intensity shows that Ce₂Fe₁₇ is not a normal paramagnetic and there exist superparamagnetic clusters of sufficiently large dimensions (～100Å). The observed neutron depolarization gives an indication of the dynamics of these Ce₂Fe₁₇ superparamagnetic clusters.     

Effect of carbon content on the microstructure and the cracking susceptibility of Fe-based laser-clad layer

The laser cladding of Fe-based alloys on a medium carbon steel substrate was performed using a CO₂ laser and Ar shielding gas that was blown into a molten pool. The microstructure and cracking susceptibility of the laser-clad layers were studied in terms of carbon additions. Results show that the small change of the carbon content in the alloy powders can obviously change the microstructure and properties of the layers. When the carbon content is in the range of 0.3–0.4 wt.%, the decrease of the carbon content in alloy powders will increase the hardness and toughness of the layers simultaneously under the same process parameters. As a result, crack-free coatings with high hardness can be obtained. As the carbon content increases from 0.2 wt.% to 0.4 wt.%, the segregation ratio of chromium increases, while the segregation ratios of nickel, manganese, and silicon first decrease and then increase. At the same time, a new designing principle concerning the composition and microstructure has been put forward, and the principal mechanisms of strengthening and toughening of the layers are fine-grain strengthening and low carbon martensitic phase transformation strengthening.