Up-conversion properties of lanthanide-organic frameworks and how to track ammunitions using these materials

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Synthesis, characterization and thermal behaviour of heavy trivalent lanthanide malonates

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

Structural Effects of Nanotubes, Nanowires, and Nanoporous Ti/TiO2 Electrodes on Photoelectrocatalytic Oxidation of 4,4-Oxydianiline

The present work illustrates the effect of electrolyte composition on the self-organized TiO2 nanotube arrays electrode preparation. The influence of structural and surface morphology of the TiO2 nanotube-like anode on their photoactivity and photoelectrocatalytic performance was also investigated. TiO2 nanotubular array electrodes are grown by anodization of Ti foil in 0.25wt % NH4F/glycerol/water, but nanowires can be obtained in 4% HF-DMSO as supporting electrolyte, even when both are subjected to electrochemical anodization at 30V during 50 h. The morphological characteristics are analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and field emission scanning electron microscope (FEG-SEM). The electrodes were successfully applied in photoelectrocatalytic oxidation of 4,4'-oxydianiline (ODAN) in aqueous solution, as a model of a harmful pollutant. Complete removal of the aromatic amine was obtained after 3 hours of photoelectrocatalytic treatment on nanotubular arrays electrodes.

Thermal decomposition of solid state compounds of lanthanide and yttrium benzoates in CO2 atmosphere

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

Thermal Behaviour Studies of Solid State Lanthanide (III) and Yttrium (III) Compounds of Cinnamylidenepyruvic Acid in an Atmosphere of Air

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

Antimony orthophosphate glasses with large nonlinear refractive indices, low two-photon absorption coefficients, and ultrafast response

Antimony glasses based on the composition Sb2O3-SbPO4 were prepared and characterized. The samples present high refractive index, good transmission from 380 to 2000 nm, and high thermal stability. The nonlinear refractive index, n(2), of the samples was studied using the optical Kerr shutter technique at 800 nm. The third-order correlation signals between pump and probe pulses indicate ultrafast response (<100 fs) for all compositions. Enhancement of n(2) was observed by adding lead oxide to the Sb2O3-SbPO4 composition. Large values of n(2)approximate to10(-14) cm(2)/W and negligible two-photon absorption coefficients (smaller than 0.01 cm/GW) were determined for all samples. The glass compositions studied present appropriate figure-of-merit for all-optical switching applications. (C) 2005 American Institute of Physics.

Synthesis, characterization and thermal behaviour of solid-state compounds of yttrium and lanthanide benzoates

Solid-state Ln(Bz)(3)center dot H(2)O compounds where Ln stands for trivalent yttrium or lanthanides and Bz is benzoate have been synthesized. Simultaneous thermogravimetry-differential thermal analysis (TG-DTA), X-ray powder diffractometry, infrared spectroscopy and chemical analysis were used to characterize and to study the thermal behaviour of these compounds. The results led to information about the composition, dehydration, thermal stability and thermal decomposition of the isolated compounds.

Dye-sensitized solar cell architecture based on indium-tin oxide nanowires coated with titanium dioxide

A new architecture for dye-sensitized solar cells is employed, based on a nanostructured transparent conducting oxide protruding from the substrate, covered with a separate active oxide layer. The objective is to decrease electron-hole recombination. The concept was tested by growing branched indium-tin oxide nanowires on glass using pulsed laser deposition followed by deposition of a sputtered titanium dioxide layer covering the wires. The separation of charge generation and charge transport functions opens many possibilities for dye-sensitized solar cell optimization. (c) 2007 Acta Materialia. Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Controlled growth of anodic aluminium oxide films with hexagonal array of nanometer-sized pores filled with textured copper nanowires

Anodic aluminium oxide (AAO) films exhibiting a homogeneous morphology of parallel pores perpendicular to the surface were prepared in a two-step anodization process and filled with copper by electrochemical deposition. The optimum growth conditions for the formation of freestanding AAO films with hexagonal compact array of cylindrical pores were studied by field emission scanning electron microscopy and small angle X-ray scattering. The results show well-defined periodic structures with uniform pores size distribution for films with pore diameters between 40 and 70 nm prepared using different voltages and temperatures during the second anodization step. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction analysis of AAO films filled with copper show the formation of nanowires with high structural order, exhibiting a preferential crystalline orientation along the (2 2 0) axis and only small fraction of copper oxides. The best results for textured Cu nanowires were obtained at a reduction potential of -300 mV. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effect of processing conditions on the nucleation and growth of indium-tin-oxide nanowires made by pulsed laser ablation

Indium-tin oxide nanowires were deposited by excimer laser ablation onto catalyst-free oxidized silicon substrates at a low temperature of 500 degrees C in a nitrogen atmosphere. The nanowires have branches with spheres at the tips, indicating a vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) growth. The deposition time and pressure have a strong influence on the areal density and length of the nanowires. At the earlier stages of growth, lower pressures promote a larger number of nucleation centers. With the increase in deposition time, both the number and length of the wires increase up to an areal density of about 70 wires/mu m(2). After this point all the material arriving at the substrate is used for lengthening the existing wires and their branches. The nanowires present the single-crystalline cubic bixbyite structure of indium oxide, oriented in the [100] direction. These structures have potential applications in electrical and optical nanoscale devices.

Synthesis, characterization and thermal behaviour of solid-state compounds of light trivalent lanthanide succinates

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

Synthesis, characterization and thermal behaviour of heavy lanthanide and yttrium pyruvates in the solid state

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

Lanthanide-Containing Light-Emitting Organic-Inorganic Hybrids: A Bet on the Future

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

Spectroscopic study of lanthanide squarate hydrates

In the present investigation some spectroscopic properties of several lanthanide squarate hydrates are reported. The Raman spectra show the same distinctive Jahn-Teller intensity pattern for non-totally symmetric modes, as previously observed for the free anion. In the case of the terbium salt, the Tb3+ emission is very intense even at room temperature, revealing an efficient excitation via the ligand electronic levels. The Tb3+ dilution in Gd3+ or La3+ hosts increases this excitation efficiency without any appreciable variation in the 5D4 excited-state lifetime. However, the Eu3+ emission is very weak, with excited states located above the 5D2 level (ca. 21 550 cm-1) being completely quenched at room temperature. At lower temperatures higher-lying levels are not so efficiently quenched. The broad band observed in the UV excitation spectra of Eu3+ and Tb3+ is easily assigned to an intra-ligand transition leading to ligand-to-lanthanide ion energy transfer processes. As observed for Tb3+, Eu3+ dilution in Gd3+ or La3+ hosts also increases the relative emission intensity mediated by the ligand, without variation in the 5D0 excited-state lifetime. The Eu3+ 5D0 excitation spectra show vibronic structures that can be interpreted on the basis of the data available from the vibrational spectra. An increase in the vibronic intensities is observed as the lanthanide concentration is increased. © 1994.