Due to their highly favorable materials properties such as direct bandgap, appropriate bandgap energy against solar spectrum, and ability to form multiple junctions, epitaxially grown III-V compound semiconductors such as gallium arsenide have provided unmatched performance over silicon in solar energy harvesting. However, their large-scale deployment in terrestrial photovoltaics remains as a daunting challenge mainly due to the high cost of growing device-quality epitaxial materials. In this regard, releasable multilayer epitaxial growth in conjunction with printing-based deterministic materials assemblies represents a promising approach that can overcome this challenge but also create novel engineering designs and device functionalities, each with significant practical values in photovoltaic technologies. This article will provide an overview of recent advances in materials design, fabrication concept, and nanophotonic light management of multilayer-grown nanomembrane-based GaAs solar cells aiming for high performance, cost-efficient platforms of III-V photovoltaics.

This work deals with SU-8 waveguides and waveguide structures fabricated on an oxidized silicon substrate using ‘Focused ion beam (FIB) lithography’. From our experimentation it seems that FIB method is practically not suitable for fabricating long SU-8 waveguide structures, rather it is more suitable for nanoscale modification of already fabricated waveguides, such as, to fabricate photonic crystal structures.

The Eu3+ doped CaIn2O4 is a novel oxide phosphor useful for multifunctional applications such as display systems, lasers, energy-converters, photocatalysts, optical imaging, medical tools, and several others. Here, a natural aloe-vera gel is explored to obtain a precursor gel bridging Eu3+, Ca2+ and In3+ cations in a network so that it yields Eu3+:CaIn2O4 of small crystallites bonding over a grafted C-sp2 surface layer. The Eu3+ in varied from 0.1 to 2 mol% promptly promotes blue and red light-emissions in two major bands over 300-580 nm and 600-900 nm in 5DJ → 7FJ′ (J = 3, 2, 1 and J′ = 4 →1) and 5D0 → 7F1→ 4 transitions in the Eu3+ species, what is it is required in many optical and catalytic devices. The novel results are described in correlation to the light absorption and core-shell nanostructure.

For the improvement of oxidation resistance of Nb-based alloys, PdAl-B2 is expected as Al reservoir for Al2O3 surface layer because it is in equilibrium with Nbss (bcc) phase. However, PdAl forms cracks during casting caused by B2 -> β’ transformation. To suppress B2 -> β’ transformation, Rh, Ru and Ir were chosen as additive elements. It is found that bcc / B2 two-phase field in Nb-Pd-Ir-Al system is limited to be small fraction of Ir, while (Pd,Rh)Al-B2 is in equilibrium with bcc solid solution in a wide composition range and addition of Rh prevents occurrence of B2 -> β’ transformation. Composition range of (Pd,Ru)Al-B2 in equilibrium with bcc phase is wider than (Pd,Ir)Al-B2 but narrower than (Pd,Rh)Al-B2. Rh and Ru addition are also beneficial for improving eutectic temperature of Nb-bcc / B2 aluminide two-phase alloys.

A polyethyleneimine (PEI) interlayer has been applied on indium tin oxide (ITO) to improve electron injection in organic devices including inverted organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). To understand the improvement effect by PEI insertion, the energy level alignment at bis(10-hydroxybenzo[h]quinolinato)beryllium (Bebq2)/PEI/ITO interfaces was investigated by UV photoemission spectroscopy (UPS). The deposition of a PEI layer was found to reduce the absolute work function of ITO by 1.4 eV. The vacuum level shifts at Bebq2/ITO and Bebq2/PEI interfaces were also determined as 0.3 eV and 0.1 eV in the direction to reduce the electron injection barrier, respectively. Thus the work function reduction by PEI and downward vacuum level shift at the Bebq2/PEI interface can contribute to the improvement effect. Kelvin probe measurement revealed the weak orientation polarization in Bebq2 film with the bottom side positively polarized. This polarization polarity is also advantageous for electron injection in inverted devices.

Recent theoretical and subsequent experimental studies suggest that the uptake and release of deuterium (D) in tungsten (W) under high flux ITER-relevant plasma exposure is controlled by dislocation microstructure. Thanks to numerical calculations, a comprehensive mechanism for the nucleation and growth of D bubbles on dislocation network was proposed. The process of bubble nucleation can be described as D atom trapping at a dislocation line, its in-core migration, the coalescence of several D atoms into a multiple cluster eventually transforming into a nano-bubble. This view implies that the initial microstructure might be crucial for D uptake and degradation of the sub-surface layer under prolonged plasma exposure. In this work, we apply several experimental techniques to investigate the microstructure and mechanical properties of surface and sub-surface layer of W in recrystallized and plastically-deformed condition exposed to the high flux plasma. We use transmission and scanning electron microscopy, thermal desorption spectroscopy as well as nano-indentation measurements.

Silicon Nitride based charge trap devices have been studied since the 1980s for applications in non-volatile memories. Silicon-Oxide-Nitride-Oxide-Silicon (SONOS) stack as the non-volatile memory gate stack has been the focus since the 1990s. Several enhancements in SONOS layer materials have been invented to reduce the programming voltage and improve the reliability of the SONOS memory. SONOS memories are a widely used class of non-volatile memories today. This paper will review the history of SONOS and highlight the various innovations that have enhanced SONOS memory performance, reliability and low cost of manufacture. Topics covered include various improvements in the SONOS stack such as Band gap engineering, High K–Metal Gate for SONOS, 3D SONOS, SONOS FinFETs (Field Effect Transistor) and embedded SONOS.

Vertically aligned BaTiO3 nanowire (NW) arrays on a Ti substrate were adopted for use in piezoelectric energy harvesting device that scavenges electricity from mechanical energy. BaTiO3 NWs were simultaneously grown at the top and bottom surfaces of a Ti substrate by two-step hydrothermal process. To characterized the piezoelectric output performance of the individual NW, we transferred a BaTiO3 single NW that was selected from well-aligned NW arrays onto a flexible substrate and measured the electric signals during the bending/unbending motions. For fabricating a piezoelectric energy harvester (PEH), both NW arrays were sandwiched between two transparent indium tin oxide (ITO)-coated polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic films and then packaged with polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) elastomer. A lead-free BaTiO3 NW array-based PEH produced an output voltage of about 90 V and a maximum current of 1.2 μA under periodically bending motions.

The upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) possess the ability to absorb near infrared energy (980 nm) and upconvert it to emit in the visible spectra. In this research, the UNCPs emit in red (660 nm) due to the electronic transitions between two rare earth ions: Er3+ and Yb3+, this process is called energy transfer upconversion (ETU). The UCNPs were functionalized with aminosilanes and folic acid receptors (UCNP-FR) and analyzed by transmission electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and luminescence measurements. UCNPs-FR of Y2O3 have a particle size of 70 ± 10 nm and the Gd2O3 have a 50 ± 10 nm particle size. Both showed a good luminescence spectrum in comparison with the bare ones. Cytotoxicity of different amounts between 0.001 µg/ml to 1 µg/ml of bare and functionalized UCNPs was measured with the colorimetric assay MTT in three cancer cell lines: human cervical adenocarcinoma (HeLa), human breast cancer cells MB-MDA-231. Some concentrations of bare UCNPs were cytotoxic for cancer cells; however after their functionalization they resulted to be non-cytotoxic. The functionalized UCNPs were able to bind to folate receptors which are overexpressed in cervical and breast cancers cells. It was demonstrated by confocal microscopy, that the functionalized UCNPs were internalized into the cancer cells, confirming that they can be used as biolabels for breast and cervical cancer cells.

Cement has been considered as a possible material present in the Deep Geological Disposal (DGD) [1] . In order to determine the effect of cementitious waters on the oxidation of the surface of Spent Fuel (SF), a series of electrochemical experiments were performed, to study the influence of two main components of cementitious water: calcium and silicate.

Test solutions with Na2SiO3 and/or CaCl2 were prepared at pH 12 and NaCl 0.1 mol·dm-3 as ionic medium. A 3 at.% doped SIMFUEL was used to perform cyclic voltammetric (CV), potentiostatic and corrosion potential (ECORR) experiments. After potentiostatic and ECORR experiments, the SIMFUEL surface was analyzed using X-Ray Photoelecton Spectroscopy (XPS).

The results showed that the presence of silicate decreased the SIMFUEL oxidation between -100 mV and 300 mV. When Ca2+ was added, the whole oxidation process was shifted to higher potentials which indicated a protective effect of the combination of Ca2+ and SiO32- . The XPS results obtained after potentiostatic experiments at 200 mV showed that the presence of silicate partially suppressed the oxidation of SIMFUEL, as indicated by the contribution of both U(IV) and U(V) XPS to the U 4f7/2 band (∼ 38%). After the addition of calcium, the predominant uranium oxidized state contribution on the surface was U(V) (40%). After the ECORR experiments, the ECORR values were similar either with or without silicate in solution (-80 mV and -70 mV respectively). The resulting surface also exhibited a similar composition. When calcium was added to the electrolyte, the ECORR value was suppressed to -105 mV, and XPS showed that the surface was less oxidized than with the other two electrolytes.

Synthetic organic pigments (SOPS) find wide use in modern and contemporary works of art. These laboratory-made pigments are used in many fields, including industrial and architectural paints, printing inks, plastics, textiles, and artists’ materials. They have been examined by a variety of techniques including spectroscopic methods such as Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Raman, and X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) as well as chromatographic or mass spectrometric techniques such as pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS) and laser desorption ionization mass spectrometry (LDI-MS). Often, a combination of techniques has been used to examine these pigments. Previously, we used a combination of Raman spectroscopy and LDI-MS to characterize commercially available SOPS. However, many pigments, termed “historical” are no longer manufactured, and therefore, may not have been characterized. This paper describes the synthesis of members of several classes of SOPS and their characterization.

In order to collect the hot electrons, light trapping using cylindrical quartz substrates for ultra-thin a-Si:H photovoltaic cells with no doped layers is introduced. The photovoltaic cell has the structure of 2 nm MoOx (hole collection layer) – 10 nm intrinsic a-Si:H (photoactive layer) – 1.5 nm LiF / 300 nm Al (electron collection layer and back electrode), all deposited in that order onto a cylindrical quartz substrate covered with a 100 nm ITO layer, which is acting as the transparent front electrode for the cell. By rotating the cell with respect to the incoming light, the angle of incidence of the incoming light for which the cell efficiency is at its highest value, is determined.

A major challenge in nanofabrication is the manipulation and exact placement of nano-objects on a specific template. Artificial DNA nanostructures such as DNA origami have garnered significant interest as templates for incorporating nanomaterials at precise sites while the structures are self-assembled. This work shows the usage of the DNA origami technique in the design and fabrication of nanostructures with the shapes of a circle and a triangle using the third part of the M13 virus genome, named mini-M13, as a scaffold. These DNA origami templates were modified to have DNA binding sites with a uniquely coded sequence. This method is used to attach 5 nm gold nanoparticles functionalized with the complementary DNA sequence. Two new metallic nanostructures with different nanoparticle arrays having minimum size but recognizable morphology are provided. The formation and dimensions of the nanostructures were verified using AFM and agarose gel electrophoresis.

Amorphous ferromagnetic alloy with the composition Fe56Co24Nb4B13Si2Cu1 was obtained by rapid quenching from the melt. Samples cut from the ribbons were annealed at 450, 550, 650 and 750 °C in a vacuum furnace. 57Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy was used to identify the phases formed based on the refined values of the hyperfine parameters. The as-quenched specimen was analyzed with a hyperfine magnetic field distribution and corresponded to an in-plane orientation of the magnetic moment directions. The sample annealed at 450 °C was found to be in a nanocrystalline state due to observation of the (FeCo)-Si alloy with the DO3 structure. The balance of the composition was represented by a metalloid-enriched amorphous grain boundary phase. In contradistinction to this, the samples annealed at 550-750 °C were totally crystallized and the new phases formed were α-(FeCo), (FeCo)2(BSi) and (FeCo)3(BSi). These findings suggest that nanocrystallization is obtained only at select processing temperatures. A new set of Mössbauer spectra was obtained by recording simultaneously the intensity transmitted by a sandwich of the sample with the stainless steel etalon, based on the dual absorber method recently introduced by us. The values of the recoilless fraction can be derived from the relative spectral areas. The f factor value dropped from 0.6 to 0.37 for the sample annealed at 450 °C, consistent with the onset of nanocrystallization in the system. For the completely crystallized specimens, the f factor maintained values close to 0.5. This indicates that the presence of quenched-in stresses may play a role in the ability of samples to undergo recoilless emission and absorption of gamma rays.

The development of biodegradable polymeric nanofiber scaffolds for a potential effort to repair injured nerve cells is of great interest in nerve tissue engineering applications. Poly (L-lactic acid) (PLLA) has been widely used in nerve conduit studies due to its biocompatibility, easily shaped properties and degradation to low toxic lactic acid. However, its hydrophobicity and lack of binding sites for cellular activities restricts its use as implants. In this regard, this study involves the incorporation of graphene oxide (GO) into PLLA nanofibers for enhancing mechanical properties, electrical conductivity and hydrophilicity of PLLA to make it suitable for a potential peripheral nerve regeneration application. For this purpose, PLLA and PLLA/GO nanofibers were prepared via electrospinning. The processing parameters and solution parameters were optimized to adjust physical and mechanical properties of nanofiber in terms of size, porosity and biologically active affinity for cellular interaction. The morphology and composition of the developed electrospun fibers were characterized via, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Raman Spectroscopy, tensile testing and contact angle measurements. The morphological results showed that using chloroform/DMF ratio of 8/2 for 7wt% PLLA led to the formation of bead free and thinner PLLA fibers than fibers produced from other concentration of PLLA. Moreover, the addition of the GO resulted in decrease of the average diameter of PLLA fibers from 828 nm to 490 nm and the thinnest nanofiber structure was obtained by addition of 10 v/v % GO. The sonication time of GO highly enhanced the porosity of the nanofibers, namely the porosity of the nanofibers increased with increasing sonication time. Raman Spectroscopy exhibits peaks at bands of 1775, 873 and 1455 cm-1 that are attributed to C=O stretching, C-COO stretching and CH3 asymmetric deformation respectively for PLLA and 1379 and 1599 cm-1 which represent structural imperfections and sp2 domain of carbon atoms respectively for GO. Hence, Raman peaks confirmed that GO was mixed in PLLA nanofibers. The incorporation of GO significantly improved the tensile strength from 2.25 MPa of pure PLLA to 8.13 MPa, 10.44 MPa and 12.93 MPa with 5, 7.5 and 10 v/v% of GO addition, respectively. The results revealed that the addition of GO led to enhanced chemical and physical properties of fibers which is promising for nerve regeneration applications.

The rectification of heat in graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) of asymmetric geometries is investigated by means of nonequilibrium molecular dynamics (NEMD). Two kinds of geometries of GNRs are addressed; a trapezoidal or T-shaped step is inserted halfway through a GNR in its longitudinal direction. The thermal conductivities (TCs) of the GNRs in the two longitudinal directions, forward and backward, are calculated making their width and temperature change. It is revealed that the thermal rectification ratio (TRR) of T-shaped GNRs are larger than those of trapezoidal GNRs and that the characteristics of heat transport in such asymmetric GNRs can be understood by considering the local phonon density of states (DOSs).

Human dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) can differentiate, showing potential for regenerative medicine. Designing artificial surfaces with properties appropriate for the initiation of extracellular matrix (ECM) adsorption and organization is a critical step in tissue engineering and can greatly impact protein adhesion. Sulfonated polystyrene (SPS), used as a scaffold for tissue development, stimulates protein adsorption due to the increased negative charge of sulfonate.

Graphene and graphene oxide (GO) sheets enhance stem cell growth and differentiation because they are soft membranes with “high in-plane” stiffness and have the potential to be transferable and implantable platforms. This project functionalized GO and reduced GO (RGO) with gold or silver nanoparticles, mixing with SPS to investigate their combined impact on DPSC differentiation and protein adsorption, hypothesizing that this combination supplies more charges to better absorb the proteins to the surface and stimulate differentiation.

Results indicate that proteins of cells plated on the gold-RGO/SPS surfaces were the most highly adsorbed and most densely packed. Additionally, the cell moduli data indicated that the metal-RGO solutions substantially induced a change in modulus even more than Dexamethasone, a glucocortoid known to enhance this process in DPSCs. This suggests that the metal-RGO solutions may be instrumental in osteogenic induction.

AISI 4140 steel is a popular low alloy steel due to its wide applications as workpiece in the metal-mechanic industry; there are extensive research about surface modification to enhance its properties for specific applications. The focus of this study was to investigate the influence of the nature of lubricants, mineral and vegetable oils, on the tribological performance of the hardened and tempered AISI 4140 steel against alumina (Al2O3). For this purpose, friction tests were conducted in a pin on disc tribometer according to ASTM standard G 99-05, at room temperature of 25 °C and in air with about 30% relative humidity. Lubricants were selected to be commercial Holifa B22/2 oil as mineral oil and Castor Oil as bio-lubricant, with kinematic viscosity at 25 °C of 667 and 662 cSt respectively. The following conditions were settled for all the experiments: relative sliding speed of 0.05 ms-1, sliding distance of 1000 m and wear track radius of 2 mm. Friction behaviour was reported as the average kinetic friction coefficient (µK) while wear performance was evaluated as wear rate (K). In order to identify and determine wear mechanisms, worn surfaces were analyzed by optical microscopy and profilometry. It was found that, for these tribosystems, hardened and tempered AISI 4140 steel had the best friction and wear performance under lubrication with Castor Oil. The lowest µK achieved was 0.035, whereas the lowest K was 1.02x10-8 mm3/Nm. With this bio-lubricant, there were reductions in friction and wear up to 72% compared with those under mineral oil lubrication.

First-order-reversal-curves (FORCs) are an elegant, nondestructive tool for characterizing the magnetic properties of materials comprising fine (micron- or nano-scale) magnetic particles. FORC measurements and analysis have long been the standard protocol used by geophysicists and earth and planetary scientists investigating the magnetic properties of rocks, soils, and sediments. FORC can distinguish between single-domain, multi-domain, and pseudo single-domain behavior, and it can distinguish between different magnetic mineral species [1]. More recently, FORC has been applied to a wider array of magnetic material systems because it yields information regarding magnetic interactions and coercivity distributions that cannot be obtained from major hysteresis loop measurements alone. In this paper, we will discuss this technique and present high-temperature FORC results for two magnetic nanoparticle materials: CoFe nanoparticles dispersed in a SiO2 matrix, and FeCo-based nanocrystalline amorphous/nanocomposites.

To classify the chemical form of stable carbon released from unirradiated stainless steel, which is the material used to simulate irradiated stainless steel, under highly alkaline and low-oxygen conditions, type 304 and 316 stainless-steel powders were immersed in 0.005 M NaOH solution. Gas and liquid samples were analyzed to identify the chemical form of carbon released from the stainless steel. The liquid samples were divided into unfiltered and filtered samples. In the gaseous phase, hydrocarbons such as methane and ethane were not detected. In the liquid phase, carboxylic acids (formic and acetic acids) were detected. However, the sum of the carbon concentrations of the carboxylic acids was significantly lower than the total organic carbon (TOC) concentration in the unfiltered samples. In the filtered samples, the TOC concentration was closer to the sum of the carbon concentrations than that for the unfiltered samples. In addition, the concentrations of the metallic elements (particularly Fe and Cr), which are the main constituents of the stainless steels, tended to decrease upon ultrafiltration. This suggests that the sorption of carbon on metallic compounds (e.g., colloidal iron hydroxide) may have occurred.