Hydrogenic impurity states in zinc-blende InGaN quantum dot

Within the framework of effective-mass approximation, the binding energy of a hydrogenic donor impurity in a zinc-blende (ZB) InGaN/GaN cylindrical quantum dot (QD) is investigated using a variational procedure. Numerical results show that the donor binding energy is highly dependent on impurity position and QD size. The donor binding energy E_b is largest when the impurity is located at the center of the QD. The donor binding energy is decreased when the dot height (radius) is increased.     

Interaction of Au nanowires with impurities

We report the results of our first-principles studies of the interaction between an infinite monoatomic gold nanowire and a carbon-monoxide molecule. We show that the gold monoatomic nanowire is capable of absorbing the CO molecule at the distances of about 1.8 ? and forms a bond with the carbon atom. Further, we find that dissociation of the CO molecule as the source of gold nanowire contamination with carbon, which is widely discussed in literature as the possible reason for the striking stability of gold nanowires under stretching, is thermodynamically unfavored.     

On the enhancement of the figure of merit in bulk nanocomposites

In this paper we make a detailed comparison of the thermoelectric properties of quantum dot superlattices with those of equivalently doped bulk material and show that a major contribution to the enhancement of the figure of merit comes from the increase of the thermoelectric power over that of bulk, in addition to the lattice thermal conductivity reduction in quantum dot superlattices. (© 2007 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Electrochemical hydrogen storage properties of melt-spun Ti0.9Zr0.1V0.2Ni1.5La0.5 alloy

The Ti_0.9Zr_0.1V_0.2Ni_1.5La_0.5 alloy samples were synthesized by melt-spinning technique at the different wheel velocity (cooling rate), and the structure and electrochemical hydrogen storage properties were investigated. The result indicated that the structure of the melt-spun ribbons mainly contains C14 Laves phase and V-based solid solution phase. The discharge capacity, cyclic stability, high-rate discharge ability and electrochemical kinetic of the alloy electrodes are correlated with the cooling rate (wheel velocity), and the maximum discharge capacity is over 200 mA·h/g at the wheel velocity of 20 m/s.     

Improvement in magnetic properties of La substituted BaFe12O19 particles prepared with an unusually low Fe/Ba molar ratio

In this study, effect of lanthanum substitution on the phase composition, lattice parameters and magnetic properties of barium hexaferrite has been studied in samples synthesized in ammonium nitrate melt. Samples, prepared with different lanthanum amount and having various initial Fe/(Ba+La) ratios in between 12 and 2 {(Ba_1−xLa_x)·n Fe₂O₃, where 0≤x≤1 and 1≤n≤6)}, are sintered at temperatures from 800 to 1200 °C. The lattice parameters, both a and c, decreases with increasing La amount which results in a decrease of the unit cell volume. The scanning electron microscope micrographs show that the pure and La-substituted sample with x=0.3, both calcinated at 1000 °C, have grain sizes smaller than 1 μm. The coercivities of the La-substituted samples increase with increasing La amount and reaches to a maximum value of 5.73 kOe, when x=0.3. Sintering at higher temperatures (above 1000 °C) decreases the coercivity, resembling a transition from single to multi-domain behavior of the particles, while saturation magnetization of the samples continues to increase due to the increasing grain size. Magnetization measurements of the samples prepared with different Fe/(Ba+La) molar ratios, n's, revealed that the specific saturation magnetization slightly increases with decreasing n, while coercivities fluctuates around 5.5 kOe. However, a sharp increase in the saturation magnetization has been observed in the sample having n=1 and washed in HCl. It was measured as 59.2 emu/g at 15 kOe, which is higher than that of the pure sample (57.5 emu/g). Thus, the magnetic parameters are optimized in the sample Ba_0.7La_0.3Fe₁₂O₁₉ so as to maximize both coercivity and specific saturation magnetization in the HCl-washed sample synthesized by starting with an unusually low Fe/(Ba+La) molar ratio of 2 (or n=1).     

Self-averaging in complex brain neuron signals

Nonlinear statistical properties of Ventral Tegmental Area (VTA) of limbic brain are studied in vivo. VTA plays key role in generation of pleasure and in development of psychological drug addiction. It is shown that spiking time-series of the VTA dopaminergic neurons exhibit long-range correlations with self-averaging behavior. This specific VTA phenomenon has no relation to VTA rewarding function. Last result reveals complex role of VTA in limbic brain. Received 17 April 2002 / Received in final form 30 September 2002 Published online 31 December 2002     

Effect of surface preparation on the morphology of ZnO nanorods

The effects of Si substrate orientation and surface treatment on the morphology and density of Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanorods were investigated. The size and density of ZnO nanorods were influenced by Si substrate orientation and surface preparation. ZnO nanorods synthesized on the ideally H-terminated Si(1 1 1) prepared with an NH₄F solution resulted in the biggest size and the lowest density. It is suggested that the smoother surface of the Si substrate and lattice shape match with a larger atomic distance result in the increase of the ZnO seedlayer's grain size, which in turn enhances the size of ZnO nanorods grown on it. The optical properties of the ZnO nanorods were affected by their size and crystallinity. The smallest ZnO nanorods with a preferential c-axis orientation synthesized on the HF-treated Si(1 1 1) surface showed the highest intensity ratio of UV to visible emission, and the biggest ZnO nanorods synthesized on the N₂-sparged NH₄F-treated Si(1 1 1) surface showed the lowest intensity ratio of UV to visible emission. Therefore, it can be concluded that Si substrate orientation and surface preparation significantly affect the optical properties of ZnO nanorods.     

La1．6（MoO4）3∶Eu3＋0．4纳米晶合成及发光特性

采用燃烧法合成了La1．6（MoO4）3∶Eu3＋0．4纳米晶末,研究了其声子-掺杂-晶格相互作用和发光性质。 X射线粉末衍射（XRD）分析表明,在500～900℃退火后,La1．6（MoO4）3∶Eu3＋0．4样品为单一晶相。对样品进行了光致发光（PL）测量,激发Mo6＋-O2－电荷迁移带,观察到Eu3＋的系列发光,表明Mo6＋-O2－带和Eu3＋间存在能量传递,中心波长分别在λ1＝469 nm和λ2＝426 nm处的两个one-phonon边带,相应的声子能量分别为767和1202 cm－1,分别对应于Mo O和Mo—O—Mo伸缩振动。同时,计算了两个局域模电子-声子耦合强度的黄昆因子分别为S1＝0.055和S2＝0.037,为揭示其三价离子高传导特性及其负热膨胀物理特性提供了实验基础。     

Influence of boron on the giant magnetocaloric effect of La(Fe0.9Si0.1)13

The influences of boron addition on the phase formation, Curie temperature and magnetic entropy change of the NaZn₁₃-type La(Fe_0.9Si_0.1)₁₃ compound have been investigated. Eight boron containing La(Fe_0.9Si_0.1)₁₃B_x samples were prepared with x=0, 0.03, 0.06, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.5 and 0.6, respectively. Experimental results show that a small amount of B addition in La(Fe_0.9Si_0.1)₁₃ forms the solid solution NaZn₁₃-type structure phase by substituting B for Si or doping B into interstitial position of the lattice, preserves its giant magnetocaloric effects due to their first-order structural/magnetic transition, as well as increase its Curie temperature T_c slightly. The maximum magnetic entropy changes in the magnetic field change of 0–1.6 T are around 20 J kg^–1 K^–1 for the samples with Boron addition less than 0.3, while improving the Curie temperatures by 2 K.