Organic molecules passivated Mn doped Zinc Selenide quantum dots and its properties

Quantum dots of Mn doped Zinc Selenide with N-Methylaniline as the capping agent was prepared by simple and inexpensive wet chemical method. Size of the particles observed by TEM was of the order of 2-4 nm which was well consistent with the size measured by UV analysis. The presence of paramagnetic substance Mn²⁺ in the ZnSe quantum dots was confirmed by EPR measurement. Mn doped ZnSe nanoparticles exhibited a strong blue emission that was strongly dependent upon the Mn dopant level and the surface passivation produced by N-Methylaniline. The stability of the product was studied by thermal analysis which shows that this product is highly suitable for opto-electronic applications.     

Synthesis and characterization of a new organic nonlinear optical crystal: l-Phenylalaninium maleate

l-Phenylalaninium maleate (abbreviated as LPM) chemical formula C₉H₁₂NO₂⁺·C₄H₃O₄⁻, a new organic nonlinear optical crystal was grown by slow evaporation technique. Transparent needle shaped crystal of dimensions 7 mm × 1 mm × 0.5 mm was obtained. Single crystals of LPM have been subjected to X-ray diffraction analysis to estimate the lattice parameters and the space group. The powder X-ray diffractogram of the crystal has been recorded and the reflections from various planes are identified. The XRD studies confirm the crystalline nature. The qualitative analysis on the crystal has been carried out using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and Fourier transform Raman (FTRaman) spectral measurements. The presence of hydrogen and carbon in the grown crystal was confirmed by using proton and carbon nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectral analyses. Optical behaviour of the crystal was investigated using UV–vis spectroscopy. The thermal stability of the crystal was analysed with the aid of thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The nonlinear optical (NLO) property of the crystal was tested by Nd:YAG laser source.     

Preliminary investigations on the antibacterial activity of zinc oxide nanostructures

We have fabricated electroactive multilayer thin films containing ferritin protein cages. The multilayer thin films were prepared on a solid substrate by the alternate electrostatic adsorption of (apo)ferritin and poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-co-2-carboxyisopropylacrylamide) (NIPAAm-co-CIPAAm) in pH 3.5 acetate buffer solution. The assembly process was monitored using a quartz crystal microbalance. The (apo)ferritin/poly(NIPAAm-co-CIPAAm) multilayer thin films were then cross-linked using a water-soluble carbodiimide, 1-[3-(dimethylamino)propyl]-3-ethylcarbodiimide. The cross-linked films were stable under a variety of conditions. The surface morphology and thickness of the multilayer thin films were characterized by atomic force microscopy, and the ferritin iron cores were observed by scanning electron microscopy to confirm the assembly mechanism. Cyclic voltammetry measurements showed different electrochemical properties for the cross-linked ferritin and apoferritin multilayer thin films, and the effect of stability of the multilayer film on its electrochemical properties was also examined. Our method for constructing multilayer films containing protein cages is expected to be useful in building more complex functional inorganic nanostructures.     

Improvement of Photocatalytic Activity by Zn Doping in Cu2O

Physics of the Solid State - Degradation of organic pollutants got more attention for detoxification of water. In this paper, pure and Zn-doped Cu2O particles were successfully synthesized by water...     

Effect of urea and thiourea on nonlinear optical hippuric acid crystals

Pure, urea and thiourea doped hippuric acid (HA) single crystals have been grown in acetone using slow evaporation technique at a constant temperature, with the vision to improve the properties of the crystals. The crystal systems and the unit cell parameters of the grown crystals were identified from single crystal X-ray diffraction. The crystalline nature of the grown crystals was confirmed by powder X-ray diffraction and the diffraction peaks were indexed. The variations in composition due to the addition of dopants were identified by CHNS analysis. FT-IR studies reveal the presence of different vibrational bands. The optical characteristics were assessed by UV–vis analysis and it indicates the transmission in the visible region. TGA and DSC studies indicate the thermal behavior of pure and doped crystals. The Second Harmonic Generation (SHG) has been tested using Kurtz Powder Technique for the pure and doped crystals. It is found that the thiourea doped hippuric acid crystals have SHG efficiency of 2.08 times higher than that of potassium dihydrogen phosphate (KDP) single crystal. The dielectric studies were carried out, and the variations of dielectric constant and dielectric loss with temperature have been studied.     

Synthesis and properties of α‐Fe2O3 nanorods

We report synthesis of α‐Fe₂O₃ (hematite) nanorods by reverse micelles method using cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) as surfactant and calcined at 300 °C. The calcined α‐Fe₂O₃ nanorods were characterized by X‐ray diffraction (XRD), high‐resolution scanning electron microscopy (HRSEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS), fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). The result showed that the α‐Fe₂O₃ nanorods were hexagonal structure. The nanorods have diameter of 30‐50 nm and length of 120‐150 nm. The weak ferromagnetic behavior was observed with saturation magnetization = 0.6 emu/g, coercive force = 25 Oe and remanant magnetization = 0.03 emu/g. (© 2010 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Effect of strontium chloride on the optical and mechanical properties of γ–glycine crystals

Single crystals of γ‐glycine have been grown from aqueous solution in the presence of small amount of strontium chloride. Single crystal X‐Ray diffraction analysis was used to measure the unit cell parameters and to confirm the crystal structure. The grown crystals have also been subjected to powder X‐Ray diffraction study to identify the crystalline nature. The presence of all the functional groups of the γ‐glycine has been confirmed by Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectral analysis. The presence of hydrogen and carbon in the glycine molecules was confirmed by using proton and carbon nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectral analyses. Optical behavior of the crystal was studied using UV – Visible absorbance spectroscopy and second harmonic generation (SHG) studies. The SHG efficiency of γ‐glycine is greater than that of standard potassium dihydrogen phosphate (KDP). Mechanical strength of the γ‐glycine crystal has been determined by microhardness studies. Thermal stability of the grown crystal is probed using thermo gravimetric analysis and differential thermal analysis. Laser damage threshold value has been determined using Q‐switched Nd:YAG laser operating at 1064 nm and with 13 ns pulse width in single shot mode. (© 2010 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)