Kinetics of picosecond laser pulse induced charge separation and proton transfer in bacteriorhodopsin

Bacteriorhodopsin (BR) films oriented by an electrophoretic method are deposited on a transparent conductive ITO glass. A counterelectrode of copper and gelose gel is used to compose a sandwich-type photodetector with the structure of ITO/BR film/gelose gel/Cu. A single 30-ps laser pulse and a mode-locked pulse train are respectively used to excite the BR photodetector. The ultrafast failing edge and the bipolar response signal are measured by the digital oscilloscope under seven different time ranges. Marquardt nonlinear least squares fitting is used to fit all the experimental data and a good fitting equation is found to describe the kinetic process of the photoelectric signal. Data fitting resolves six exponential components that can be assigned to a seven-step BR photocycle model: BR-->K-->KL-->L-->M-->N-->O-->BR. Comparing tests of the BR photodetector with a 100-ps Si PIN photodiode demonstrates that this type of BIR photocletector has at least 100-ps response time and can also serve as a fast photoelectric switch. (C) 2003 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers.

Charge Separation in Wurtzite/Zinc-Blende Heterojunction GaN Nanowires

The electronic properties of wurtzite/zinc-blende (WZ/ZB) heterojunction GaN are investigated using first-principles methods. A small component of ZB stacking formed along the growth direction in the WZ GaN nanowires does not show a significant effect on the electronic property, whereas a charge separation of electrons and holes occurs along the directions perpendicular to the growth direction in the ZB stacking. The later case provides an efficient way to separate the charge through controlling crystal structure. These results have significant implications for most state of the art excitonic solar cells and the tuning region in tunable laser diodes.

Effect of Poly (3-hexylthiophene) Nanofibrils on Charge Separation and Transport in Polymer Bulk Heterojunction Photovoltaic Cells

Crystalline poly (3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) nanofibrils are introduced into the P3HT: [6, 6]-phenyl C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) composite films via P3HT preaggregation in solution by adding a small amount of acetone, and the correlation of P3HT nanofibrils and the optoelectronic properties of P3HT:PCBM bulk heterojunction photovoltaic cells is investigated. It is found that the optical absorption and the hole transport or the resulted P3HT:PCBM composite films increase with the increase of the amount of P3HT nanofibrils due to the increased P3HT crystallinity and highly interconnected nanofibrillar P3HT networks. However, it is also found that high contents of crystalline P3HT nanofibrils may restrain PCBM molecules from demixing with the P3HT component that forms electron traps in the active layer. and hence reduce the charge collection efficiency. Small contents of P3HT nanofibrils not only improve the demixing between P3HT and PCBM components, but also enhance the hole transport via crystalline P3HT nanofibrillar networks, resulting in efficient charge collection.

A STUDY OF CHARGE SEPARATION AND ELECTRON-CAPTURE INDUCED DECOMPOSITION SPECTRA OF PHENYLENEDIAMINE ISOMERS

The structures and decomposition reactions of doubly charged phenylenediamines were studied by means of charge separation (CS) and electron capture induced decomposition (ECID) spectra. The deisomerization of the three isomers is prior to the metastable d

Preparation, characterization and photophysical properties of layered zirconium bis(monohydrogenphosphate) intercalated with rare earth complexes

Two kinds of rare earth (RE) complexes were intercalated into zirconium bis(monohydrogenphosphate) (alpha -ZrP) by exchanging the RE complexes into the p-methyoxyaniline (PMA) preintercalated compound Zr(O3POH)(2). 2PMA (alpha -ZrP . 2PMA). Powder X-ray diffraction patterns reveal that Eu(DBM)(3)phen (DBM: dibenzoylmethane, phen: 1,10-phenanthroline) and Tb(AA)(3)phen (AA: acetylacetone) intercalated into alpha -ZrP . 2PMA. This was confirmed by the UV-visible spectra of both the RE complexes and the assemblies. At the same time, the assemblies have better luminescent properties, and the fluorescent lifetimes of RE3+ in the excited state in the assemblies are much longer than those in the complexes. The stabilities of the assemblies under UV radiation are much better than those of the RE complexes.

Effect on the property of the photoinduced carrier transport of CdS as sensitizer for TiO2 nanoparticulate thin films

The TiO2 nanoparticle thin films have been sensitized in situ with CdS nanoparticles. The SPS measurement showed that large surface state density was present on the TiO2 nanoparticles and the surface state can be efficiently decreased by sensitization as well as selecting suitable heat treatment, Both the photocurrent response and the charge recombination kinetics in TiO2 thin films were strongly influenced by trapping/detrapping of surface states. The slow photocurrent response of TiO2 nanoparticulate thin films upon the illumination was attributed to the trap saturation effects, The semiconductor sensitization made the slow photoresponse disappeared and the steady-state photocurrent value increased drastically, which suggested that the sensitization of TiO2 thin films with CdS could get a better charge separation and provide a simple alternative to minimize the effect of surface state on the photocurrent response.

Observation of charge-dependent azimuthal correlations and possible local strong parity violation in heavy-ion collisions

Parity (P)-odd domains, corresponding to nontrivial topological solutions of the QCD vacuum, might be created during relativistic heavy-ion collisions. These domains are predicted to lead to charge separation of quarks along the orbital momentum of the system created in noncentral collisions. To study this effect, we investigate a three-particle mixed-harmonics azimuthal correlator which is a P-even observable, but directly sensitive to the charge-separation effect. We report measurements of this observable using the STAR detector in Au + Au and Cu + Cu collisions at root s(NN) = 200 and 62 GeV. The results are presented as a function of collision centrality, particle separation in rapidity, and particle transverse momentum. A signal consistent with several of the theoretical expectations is detected in all four data sets. We compare our results to the predictions of existing event generators and discuss in detail possible contributions from other effects that are not related to P violation.

Controlled phase separation for efficient energy conversion in dye/polymer blend bulk heterojunction photovoltaic cells

Low-cost photovoltaic energy conversion using conjugated polymers has achieved great improvement due to the invention of organic bulk heterojunction. in which the nanoscale phase separation of electron donor and acceptor favors realizing efficient charge separation and collection. We investigated the polymer photovoltaic cells using N, N'-bis(1-ethylpropyl)-3,4,9,10-perylene bis(tetracarboxyl diimide)/poly(3-hexyl thiophene) blend as an active layer. It is found that processing conditions for the blend films have major effects on its morphology and hence the energy conversion efficiency of the resulting devices. By optimizing the processing conditions, the sizes of donor/acceptor phase separation can be adjusted for realizing efficient charge separation and collection. The overall energy conversion efficiency of the photovoltaic cell processed with optimized conditions increases by nearly 40% compared to the normally spin-coated and annealed cell.

Electron acceleration by an intense short-pulse laser in underdense plasma

Electron acceleration from the interaction of an intense short-pulse laser with low density plasma is considered. The relation between direct electron acceleration within the laser pulse and that in the wake is investigated analytically. The magnitude and location of the ponderomotive-force-caused charge separation field with respect to that of the pulse determine the relative effectiveness of the two acceleration mechanisms. It is shown that there is an optimum condition for acceleration in the wake. Electron acceleration within the pulse dominates as the pulse becomes sufficiently short, and the latter directly drives and even traps the electrons. The latter can reach ultrahigh energies and can be extracted by impinging the pulse on a solid target. (C) 2003 American Institute of Physics.

Generation of periodic ultrashort electron bunches and strongly asymmetric ion Coulomb explosion in nanometer foils interacting with ultra-intense laser pulse

The interaction of a linearly polarized intense laser pulse with an ultrathin nanometer plasma layer is investigated to understand the physics of the ion acceleration. It is shown by the computer simulation that the plasma response to the laser pulse comprises two steps. First, due to the vxB effect, electrons in the plasma layer are extracted and periodic ultrashort relativistic electron bunches are generated every half of a laser period. Second, strongly asymmetric Coulomb explosion of ions in the foil occurs due to the strong electrostatic charge separation, once the foil is burnt through. Followed by the laser accelerated electron bunch, the ion expansion in the forward direction occurs along the laser beam that is much stronger as compared to the backward direction. (c) 2008 American Institute of Physics.

Photorefractive performance of a novel multifunctional inorganic-organic hybridized nanocomposite sensitized by CdS nanoparticles

A novel multifunctional inorganic-organic photorefractive (PR) poly(N-vinyl)-3-[p-nitrophenylazolcarbazolyl-CdS nanocomposites with different molar ratios of US to poly(N-vinyl)-3-[p-nitrophenylazo]carbazolyl (PVNPAK) were synthesized via a postazo-coupling reaction and chemically hybridized approach, respectively. The nanocomposites are highly soluble and could be obtained as film-forming materials with appreciably high molecular weights and low glass transition temperature (T,) due to the flexible spacers. The PVNPAK matrix possesses a highest-occupied molecular orbital value of about -5.36 eV determined from cyclic voltammetry. Second harmonic generation (SHG) could be observed in PVNPAK film without any poling procedure and 4.7 pm/V of effective second-order nonlinear optical susceptibility is obtained. The US particles as photosensitizers had a nanoscale size in PVNPAK adopting transmission electron microscopy. The improvement of interface quality between US and polymer matrix is responsible for efficient photoinduced charge generation efficiency in the nanocomposites. An asymmetric optical energy exchange between two beams on the polymer composites PVNPAK-CdS/ECZ has been found even without an external field in two-beam coupling (TBC) experiment, and the TBC gain and diffraction efficiency of 14.26 cm(-1) and 3.4% for PVNPAK-5-CdS/ECZ, 16.43 cm(-1) and 4.4% for PVNPAK-15-CdS/ECZ were measured at a 647.1 nm wavelength, respectively.

Enhanced photoresponse from the ordered microstructure of naphthalocyanine-carbon nanotube composite film

Naphthalocyanine-sensitized multi-walled carbon nanotube (NaPc-MWNT) composites have been synthesized through the pi-stacking between naphthalocyanine (NaPc) and carbon nanotubes. The resultant nanocomposites were characterized with a scanning electron microscope (SEM), a transmission electron microscope (TEM), and by UV - vis absorption and photocurrent spectra. The long-range ordering was observed in the NaPc - MWNT composites by using a TEM. The enhancement in the absorption intensity and the broadening of the absorption wavelength observed in the composite films, which were due to the attachment of NaPc on the MWNT surface, is discussed based on the measured UV - vis absorption spectra. Furthermore, the photoconductivity of the poly( 3-hexylthiophene)(PAT6) - NaPc - MWNT composite film was found to increase remarkably in the visible region and broaden towards the red regions. These new phenomena were ascribed to the larger donor/acceptor (D/A) interface and the formation of a biconsecutive D/A network structure, as discussed in consideration of the photoinduced charge transfer between PAT6 and NaPc - MWNT.

Study of optical properties in GaAs1-xSbx/GaAs single quantum wells

GaAsSb/GaAs single quantum wells (SQWs) grown by molecular beam epitaxy are studied by selectively-excited photoluminescence (SEPL) measurement. For the first time, we have simultaneously observed the PL, from both type I and type II transitions in GaAsSb/GaAs heterostructure in the SEPL. The two transitions exhibit different PL, behaviours under different excitation energy. As expected, the peak energy of type I emission remains constant in the whole excitation energy range we used, while type U transition shows a significant blue shift with increasing excitation energy. The observed blue shift is well explained in terms of electron-hole charge separation model at the interface. Time-resolved(TR) PL exhibits more type 11 characteristic of GaAsSb/GaAs QW. Moreover, the results of the excitation-power-dependent PL and TRPL provide more direct information on the type-II nature of the band alignment in GaAsSb/GaAs quantum-well structures. By combining the experimental results with some simple calculations, we have obtained the strained and unstrained valence band offsets of Q(v) = 1.145 and Q(v)(0) = 0. 76 in our samples, respectively.

Selectively excited photoluminescence of GaAs1-xSbx/GaAs single quantum wells

GaAsSb/GaAs single quantum wells grown by molecular-beam epitaxy are studied by selectively excited photoluminescence measurements. We have simultaneously observed the photoluminescence (PL) from both type-I and type-II transitions in the samples. The two transitions exhibit different PL behavior under different excitation energies. As expected, the peak energy of the type-I emission remains constant in the entire excitation energy range we used, while the type-II transition shows a significant blueshift with increasing excitation energy. The observed blueshift can be well explained by an electron-hole charge separation model at interface. This result, along with the excitation-power-dependent PL and the measured longer carrier decay time, provides more direct information on the type-II nature of the band alignment in GaAsSb/GaAs quantum well structures. (C) 2002 American Institute of Physics.

Excitation and dissociation of tungsten hexacarbonyl W(CO)(6): Statistical and nonstatistical dissociation processes

We have studied the excitation and dissociation processes of the molecule W(CO)(6) in collisions with low kinetic energy (3 keV) protons, monocharged fluorine, and chlorine ions using double charge transfer spectroscopy. By analyzing the kinetic energy loss of the projectile anions, we measured the excitation energy distribution of the produced transient dications W(CO)(6)(2+). By coincidence measurements between the anions and the stable or fragments of W(CO)(6)(2+), we determined the energy distribution for each dissociation channel. Based on the experimental data, the emission of the first CO was tentatively attributed to a nonstatistical direct dissociation process and the emission of the second or more CO ligands was attributed to the statistical dissociation processes. The dissociation energies for the successive breaking of the W-CO bond were estimated using a cascade model. The ratio between charge separation and evaporation (by the loss of CO+ and CO, respectively) channels was estimated to be 6% in the case of Cl+ impact. (C) 2011 American Institute of Physics. [doi: 10.1063/1.3523347]