Preparation and properties of colloidal particles. Silica on yttrium iron garnet

Various properties of particles can be altered by coating them with a layer of different chemical composition. Yttrium iron garnet (YIG) particles has been coated with silica for control of their sintering, corrosion resistance, and stabilization of magnetic properties. This silica cover was obtained by hydrolysis of tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS) in 2-propanol. This material was characterized by transmission (TEM) electron microscopy, (XEDS) X-ray energy-dispersive spectrometry, (XPS) X-ray photoemission spectroscopy and (VSM) vibrating sample magnetometry. YIG was heterocoagulated by silica as indicated by TEM micrographies. XPS measurements indicated that only binding energy for silicon and oxygen was found on the silica shell, which confirms that the YIG was covered. The values of the saturation magnetization differ from the heterocoagulated system to well-crystallized YIG.

Seasonal presence of acicular calcium oxalate crystals in the cambial zone of Citharexylum myrianthum (Verbenaceae)

This study focuses on the seasonal presence of acicular crystals in the cambial zone of Citharexylum myrianthum Chain. (Verbenaceae). Specimens collected in different months from 1996 to 2000 were examined for the abundance of acicular crystals in the cambium. This information was correlated with the phenology of the species and the climate of the region. Acicular calcium oxalate crystals were found in cambial fusiform and ray cell initials, as well as in their daughter cells. An abundance of crystals was observed during periods of water deficit and leaf fall (July). Fewer crystals were found in the beginning of the wet season and bud swelling (September). When trees were flowering and the soil was wet (November and December), acicular crystals were rarely observed. During this period, acicular crystals were found in differentiating phloem and xylem parenchyma cells, in fully differentiated phloem cells, but not in fully differentiated xylem cells.

Highly swollen liquid crystals as new reactors for the synthesis of nanomaterials

Synthesis and self-assembly of nanomaterials can be controlled by the properties of soft matter. on one hand, dedicated nanoreactors such as reverse microemulsions or miniemulsions can be designed. on the other hand, direct shape control can be provided by the topology of liquid crystals that confine the reacting medium within a specific geometry. In the first case, the preparation of micro- or miniemulsions generally requires energetic mechanical stirring. The second approach uses thermodynamically stable systems, but it remains usually limited to binary (water + surfactant) systems. We report the preparation of different families of materials in highly ordered quaternary mediums that exhibit a liquid crystal structure with a high cell parameter. They were prepared with the proper ratios of salted water, nonpolar solvent, surfactant. and cosurfactants that form spontaneously swollen hexagonal phases. These swollen liquid crystals can be prepared from all classes of surfactants (cationic, anionic, and nonionic). They contain a regular network of parallel cylinders, whose diameters can be swollen with a nonpolar solvent, that are regularly spaced in a continuous aqueous salt solution. We demonstrate in the present report that both aqueous and organic phases can be used as nanoreactors for the preparation of materials. This property is illustrated by various examples such as the synthesis of platinum nanorods prepared in the aqueous phase or zirconia needles or the photo- or gamma-ray-induced polymerization of polydiacetylene in the organic phase. In all cases, materials can be easily extracted and their final shapes are directed by the structure-directing effect imposed by the liquid crystal.

Effect of Different Solvent Ratios (Water/Ethylene Glycol) on the Growth Process of CaMoO4 Crystals and Their Optical Properties

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Active planar waveguides based on sol-gel Er3+-doped SiO2-ZrO2 for photonic applications: Morphological, structural and optical properties

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Enhanced Eu3+ Emission in Aqueous Phosphotungstate Colloidal Systems: Stabilization of Polyoxometalate Nanostructures

Luminescent Eu3+-containing polyphosphate tungstate aqueous colloidal systems were prgared and studied as a function of the relative polyphosphate tungstate content. In polyphosphate-rich solutions, Eu-H- ions occupy cagelike sites composed of phosphate groups from the metaphosphate chains. In these sites, an average number of 0.5 water molecule coordinates to an Eu3+ ion and the 500 emission quantum efficiency is 0.22. Tungstatc addition leads to important modifications in neighboring Eu3+ leading to coordination sites in the aqueous medium where metal ions are completely hidden from interactions with solvent molecules. Transmission electron microscopy results clearly show \V-rich nanoparticles with sizes between 5 and 10 nm for all tungstate relative concentrations. For high tungstatc relative contents (above 30 mol %), spectroscopic results suggest the presence of Eu34- in polyoxometalate (P0M)-like sites by comparison with the well-known decatungstoeuropate [EuW10O36](9-) structure. These new aqueous colloids display surprisingly high 5llo emission quantum efficiencies of ca 80% because of the strong ligand field provided by tungstate POM ligands and the complete absence of water molecules from the Eu3+ first coordination shell.

PbO-GeO2 rib waveguides for photonic applications

This work presents for the first time to our knowledge the fabrication and characterization of rib waveguides produced with PbO-GeO2 (PGO) thin films. The target was manufactured using pure oxides ( 60 PbO-40 GeO2, in wt%) and amorphous thin films were produced with the RF sputtering technique. PGO thin films present small absorption in the visible and in the near infrared and refractive index of similar to 2.0. The definition of the rib waveguide structure was made using conventional optical lithography followed by plasma etching, performed in a Reactive Ion Etching (RIE) reactor. Light propagation mode in the waveguide structure was analyzed using integrated optic simulation software. Optical loss measurements were performed to determine the propagation loss at 633 nm, for ribs with height of 70 nm and width of 3-5 mu m; experimental values around 2 dB/cm were found for the propagation loss and confirmed the theoretical calculations. The results obtained demonstrate that PGO thin films are potential candidates for application in integrated optics. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Stable colloidal suspensions of nanostructured zirconium oxide synthesized by hydrothermal process

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Effect of different surfactants on the shape, growth and photoluminescence behavior of MnWO4 crystals synthesized by the microwave-hydrothermal method

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

The Role of Short-Range Disorder in BaWO4 Crystals in the Intense Green Photoluminescence

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Structural refinement, growth process, photoluminescence and photocatalytic properties of (Ba1-xPr2x/3)WO4 crystals synthesized by the coprecipitation method

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Light-induced lens analysis in photorefractive crystals employing phase-shifting real-time holographic interferometry

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Nanocomposites of Styrene-Butadiene Rubber and Synthetic Anatase Obtained by a Colloidal Route and Their Photooxidation

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Denisiuk-type reflection holography display with sillenite crystals for imaging and interferometry of small objects

A novel setup for imaging and interferometry through reflection holography with Bi12TiPO20(BTO) sillenite photorefractive crystals is proposed. A variation of the lensless Denisiuk arrangement was developed resulting in a compact, robust and simple interferometer. A red He-Ne laser was used as light source and the holographic recording occurred by diffusion with the grating vector parallel to the crystal [0 0 1]-axis. In order to enhance the holographic image quality and reduce noise a polarizing beam splitter (PBS) was positioned at the BTO input and the crystal was tilted around the [0 0 1]-axis. This enabled the orthogonally polarized transmission and diffracted beams to be separated by the PBS, providing the holographic image only. The possibility of performing deformation and strain analysis as well as vibration measurement of small objects was demonstrated. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Measurement of low-derivative surface lenses by two-laser holography with Bi12TiO20 crystals

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)