Hole-Phonon Relaxation and Photocatalytic Properties of Titanium Dioxide and Zinc Oxide: First-Principles Approach

First-principles calculations for the temporal characteristics of hole-phonon relaxation in the valence band of titanium dioxide and zinc oxide have been performed. A first-principles method for the calculations of the quasistationary distribution function of holes has been developed. The results show that the quasistationary distribution of the holes in TiO2 extends to an energy level approximately 1eV below the top of the valence band. This conclusion in turn helps to elucidate the origin of the spectral dependence of the photocatalytic activity of TiO2. Analysis of the analogous data for ZnO shows that in this material spectral dependence of photocatalytic activity in the oxidative reactions is unlikely.

Optical and electronic properties of amorphous diamond

The optical and electronic properties of highly tetrahedral amorphous diamond-like carbon (amorphous diamond, a-D) films were investigated. The structure of the films grown on silicon and glass substrates, under similar deposition conditions using a compact filtered cathodic vacuum arc system, are compared using electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS). Results from hydrogenation of the films are also reported. The hydrogenated films show two prominent IR absorption peaks centered at 2920 and 2840 cm-1, which are assigned to the stretch mode of the C-H bond in the sp3 configuration on the C-H3 and C-H sites respectively. The high loss EELS spectra show no reduction in the high sp3 content in the hydrogenated films. UV and visible transmission spectra of a-D thin films are also presented. The optical band gap of 2.0-2.2 eV for the a-D films is found to be consistent with the electronic bandgap. The relationship between the intrinsic compressive stress in the films and the refractive index is also presented. The space charge limited current flow is analyzed and coupled with the optical absorption data to give an estimate of 1018 cm-3 eV-1 for the valence band edge density of states.

Functional properties of enzymatically modified protein from fish waste

Fish flour from dried waste consisting of head, tail, fins and entrails was enzimatically hydrolysed using various proteases and the hydrolysate was spray dried. The functional properties such as water-fat absorption ratio, foaming and solubility index of the hydrolysates and fish flour revealed that some of the products might find significant uses in the food and/or cosmetics industry. Electrophoretic separation of the proteins from the fish flour and of the hydrolysates indicated that almost all the flour proteins are susceptible to proteolytic cleavage with the exception of one or two. The extent of degree of hydrolysis from 43-70.3% with a simultaneous decrease in unpleasant smell suggest an economical tool for minimizing odour pollution due to fish industry waste deterioration.

Microwave power effects on the properties of phosphorus-doped SiC:H films prepared using ECR-CVD

There has been a growing interest in hydrogenated silicon carbide films (SiC:H) prepared using the electron cyclotron resonance-chemical vapour deposition (ECR-CVD) technique. Using the ECR-CVD technique, SiC:H films have been prepared from a mixture of methane, silane and hydrogen, with phosphine as the doping gas. The effects of changes in the microwave power (from 150 to 900 W) on the film properties were investigated in a series of phosphorus-doped SiC:H films. In particular, the changes in the deposition rate, optical bandgap, activation energy and conductivity were investigated in conjunction with results from Raman scattering and Fourier transform infra-red (FTIR) analysis. It was found that increase in the microwave power has the effect of enhancing the formation of the silicon microcrystalline phase in the amorphous matrix of the SiC:H films. This occurs in correspondence to a rapid increase in the conductivity and a reduction in the activation energy, both of which exhibit small variations in samples deposited at microwave powers exceeding 500 W. Analysis of IR absorption results suggests that hydrogen is bonded to silicon in the Si-H stretching mode and to carbon in the sp3 CHn rocking/wagging and bending mode in films deposited at higher microwave powers.

Effect of frozen storage on the physical properties of corrugated fibre-board master cartons and waxed duplex cartons

Deteriorative changes in physical properties of corrugated fibre-board master cartons and waxed duplex cartons during frozen storage under commercial conditions were studied. Such changes due to prolonged exposure of these boards to moisture in the laboratory, effect of repeated wax-coating on the water resisting capacity of the boards and protection provided by increasing wax contents in the boards against water absorption and consequent deterioration in physical properties are reported.

Structural and functional properties of the hemoglobin components from the Caspian Sea Acipenser persicus and Acipenser stellatus

Hemoglobin (Hb) variability is a commonly used index of phylogenetic differentiation and molecular adaptation in fish. In the current study, the structural and functional characteristics of Hbs from two Sturgeon species of the Southern Caspian Sea Basin were investigated. After extraction and separation of hemoglobin from whole blood , the polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDSPAGE), native-PAGE and isoelectric focusing (IEF) were used to confirm Hb variability in these fishes. Ion-exchange on CM-cellulose chromatography was used for purification of the dominant Hbs from these fishes. The accuracy of the methods was confirmed by IEF and SDS-PAGE. Spectral studies using fluorescence spectrophotometery, circular dichroism spectropolarimetry (CD) analysis and UV–vis spectrophotometery. Oxygen affinities of these Hbs were compared using Hb-oxygen dissociation curves. Also, the dominant Hbs from these blood fishes were utilized for further experiments. The behavior of Hbs during the denaturation process by n-dodecyl trimethylammonium bromide (DTAB) is investigated by UV–vis spectrophotometer and circular dichroism spectropolarimetry. The thermal denaturation properties of the Hbs wereinvestigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and Hbs aggregation performed chemically in the presence of dithiotreitol (DTT) by UV–vis spectrophotometer and chemometric study. The results demonstrate a significant relationship between stability of fish hemoglobins and the ability of fish for entering to deeper depths. The UV–Vis absorption spectra identified species of hemoglobin and showed the concentration of oxyHb and metHb decreases and deoxyHb increases upon interaction with DTAB. Besides the UV–vis spectrophotometry, the interaction of DTAB with hemoglobins has been studied using circular dichroism spectropolarimetry analysis. This experiment was utilized to measure the unfolding mechanism and compared alpha-helix secondary structure under different conditions for Hbs. The results reveal that the Acipenser stellatus Hb in comparison with Acipenser persicus Hb has more stability and more structural compactness. Besides, the results confirm the hypothesis that there is a meaningful relation between average habitat depth, partial oxygen pressure, oxygen affinity, structural compactness of Hb, and its stability.

Sintered metal foams for acoustic absorption

Metal foams fabricated via sintering offer novel mechanical and acoustic properties. Previously, polymer foams have been used as a means of absorbing acoustic energy. However, the structural applications of these foams are limited. The metal sintering approach offers a cost-effective means for the mass-production of open-cell metal foams. The static flow resistance of sintered metal foams was characterized for a range of practical pore sizes and porosities. The measured values for the flow resistance were subsequently used in a phenomenological acoustic model to predict the impedances and propagation constants of the foams. The predictions were then compared to acoustic measurements. At low frequencies (0-1000Hz), the phenomenological model captures the magnitude and frequency dependence of the absorption. At higher frequencies, as expected, the phenomenological model underpredicted the acoustic properties of the foams. However, an alternative microstructural model demonstrated good correlation to the measured results in this frequency range. The effects of foam type and arrangement on the absorption pattern were examined. General trends were identified for enhancing the low frequency performance of an acoustic absorber incorporating sintered foams.

Local structure of Mn in (La1-xHox) 2/3Ca1/3MnO3 studied by X-ray absorption fine structure

Results of X-ray absorption fine structure measurements in manganites (La1-xHox)2/3Ca1/3MnO3 with 0.15 < x < 0.50 are presented. When LaMnO3 is doped with a, divalent element such as Ca2+, substituting for La3+, holes are induced in the filled Mn d orbitais. This leads to a, strong ferromagnetic coupling between Mn sites. Ca ions in La1-xCa xMnO3 introduce a distortion of the crystal lattice and mixed valence Mn ions (Mn3+ and Mn4+). On the other hand, in manganites (La1-xHox)2/3Ca 1/3MnO3 the substitution of La for Ho causes a lattice distortion and induces a disorder, which reduces a magnetic interaction. The ferromagnetic transition temperature and conductivity decrease very quickly with increasing x. The magnetic and transport properties of compounds depend on the local atomic structure around Mn ions. The information on the bond lengths and Debye-Waller factor are obtained from the extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) data analysis. The charge state of Mn is determined from the position of the absorption edge in X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) data. XAFS results are in good agreement with magnetic characteristics of the studied materials.

Electronic structure and optical properties of GaN with Mn-doping

Calculations of the electronic structure and the density of states of GaN with Mn are carried out by means of first-principles plane-wave pesudopotential method based on density functional theory. The results reveal a 100% spin polarized impurity band in band structure of Ga1-xMnxN due to hybridization of Mn 3d and N 2p orbitals. The material is half metallic and suited for spin injectors. In addition, a peak of refractive index can be observed near the energy gap. The absorption coefficient increases in the UV region with the increase of the Mn content.

Impacts of hydrogen dilution on growth and optical properties of a-SiC : H films

Hydrogenated amorphous silicon-carbon (a-SiC:H) films were deposited by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) with a fixed methane to silane ratio ([CH4]/[SiH4]) of 1.2 and a wide range of hydrogen dilution (R-H=[H-2]/[SiH4 + CH4]) values of 12, 22, 33, 102 and 135. The impacts of RH on the structural and optical properties of the films were investigated by using UV-VIS transmission, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) absorption, Raman scattering and photoluminescence (PL) measurements. The effects of high temperature annealing on the films were also probed. It is found that with increasing hydrogen dilution, the optical band gap increases, and the PL peak blueshifts from similar to1.43 to 1.62 eV. In annealed state, the room temperature PL peak for the low R-H samples disappears, while the PL peak for the high R-H samples appears at similar to 2.08 eV, which is attributed to nanocrystalline Si particles confined by Si-C and Si-O bonds.

Optical properties of highly ordered AlN nanowire arrays grown on sapphire substrate

Highly ordered AlN nanowire arrays were synthesized via a simple physical vapor deposition method on sapphire substrate. The nanowires have an extremely sharp tip < 10 nm, with the average length around 3 mu m. Raman spectroscopy analysis on the AlN nanowire arrays revealed that the lifetime of the phonons is shorter than that in bulk AlN. The transmission spectra of the AlN nanowires showed a blueshift similar to 0.27 eV at the absorption edge with that of the bulk AlN, which is closely related to the small size of the nanowires. (c) 2005 American Institute of Physics.

Structural and optical properties of ZnO thin films on glass substrate grown by laser-ablating Zn target in oxygen atmosphere

C-axis-orientated ZnO thin films were prepared on glass substrates by pulsed-laser deposition (PLD) technique in an oxygen-reactive atmosphere, using a metallic Zn target. The effects of growth condition such as laser energy and substrate temperature on the structural and optical properties of ZnO films had been investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission spectra and room-temperature (RT) photoluminescence (PL) measurements. The results showed that the thickness, crystallite size, and compactness of ZnO films increased with the laser energy and substrate temperature. Both the absorption edges and the UV emission peaks of the films exhibited redshift, and UV emission intensity gradually increased as the laser energy and substrate temperature increased. From these results, it was concluded that crystalline quality of ZnO films was improved with increasing laser energy and substrate temperature. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.N. All rights reserved.

The plasmon resonance absorption of Ag/SiO2 nanocomposite films

The plasmon resonance absorption of the Ag/SiO2 nanocomposite film is investigated. The measured absorption spectra are compared with those calculated by the Mie theory. The results indicate that the Mie theory on the basis of classical electrodynamics can only partially explain the optical absorption spectra of the Ag/SiO2 nanocomposite film. We believe that the plasmon resonance absorption is mainly an intrinsic quality of the metal particle, and can be explained only with the electronic structure of the metal particle. In the latter, surface resonance state is introduced to systematically discuss the optical absorption spectra of the Ag/SiO2 nanocomposite film. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Nonlinear optical properties and thermal stability of the poled polymer NTAB/PEK-c

Films of high glass' transition temperature polymer polyetherketone doped with chromophore 2,2'[4-[(5-nitro-2-thiazolyl)azophenyl]-amino]-bisethanol NTAB) were prepared, poled by the corona-onset poling setup which includes a grid voltage making the surface-charge distribution uniform at elevated temperature. The thickness of the films was measured by the Model 2010 Prism Coupler system. Second harmonic generation d(33) was measured by the second harmonic generation method, and the d33 is 38.12 pm/V at 1064 nm under the absorption correction. The nonlinear optical activity maintains is 80% of its initial value. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Optical properties of NAEC-PMMA nonlinear polymeric thin film

Novel guest nonlinear optical (NLO) chromophore molecules (4-nitrobenzene)-3-azo-9-ethylcarbazole (NAEC) were doped in poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) host with a concentration of approximately 15% by weight. For a useful macroscopic electro-optic (EO) effect, these NLO molecules NAEC were arranged in a noncentrosymmetric structure in the host polymer by corona-onset poling at elevated temperature (COPET). For applying NAEC-PMMA polymer in optical devices such as EO switch, its optical properties have been investigated. The UV/Visible absorption spectra for the unpoled and poled polymer film were determined. The refractive index of the film was also determined from measurements of the coupling angles with the reflective intensity at 632.8 nm wavelength. Using the simple reflection technique, the EO coefficient 33 value was measured as 60 pm/V at 632.8 nm wavelength. The second-order nonlinear coefficient d(33) was characterized by the second-harmonic-generation (SHG) experimental setup and the calculated d(33) value reached 18.4 pm/V at 1064 nm wavelength. The relation between the second-order nonlinear coefficients d(33) and d(13) for the poled polymer film was also discussed in detail and the ratio d(33)/d(13) value was obtained as 3.3. (C) 2002 Kluwer Academic Publishers.