Electronic structure and optical properties of Cs 2 HgCl 4 : DFT calculations and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements

Over the past few years, the photogenic fabrication of metal oxide nanoparticles has attracted considerable attention, owing to the simple, eco-friendly, and non-toxic procedure. Herein, we fabricated NiO nanoparticles and altered their optical properties by doping with a rare earth element (lanthanum) using Sesbania grandiflora broth for antibacterial applications. The doping of lanthanum with NiO was systematically studied. The optical properties of the prepared nanomaterials were investigated through UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectra (UV-DRS) analysis, and their structures were studied using X-ray diffraction analysis. The morphological features of the prepared nanomaterials were examined by scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy, their elemental structure was analyzed by energy-dispersive X-ray spectral analysis, and their oxidation states were analyzed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Furthermore, the antibacterial action of NiO and La-doped NiO nanoparticles was studied by the zone of inhibition method for Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacterial strains such as Escherichia coli and Bacillus sublitis. It was evident from the obtained results that the optimized compound NiOLa-04 performed better than the other prepared compounds. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on the phytosynthetic fabrication of rare-earth ion Lanthanum (La3+)-doped Nickel Oxide (NiO) nanoparticles and their anti-microbial studies.

Download Full-text

Study on the Electrical, Structural, Chemical and Optical Properties of PVD Ta(N) Films Deposited with Different N2 Flow Rates

Coatings ◽

10.3390/coatings11080937 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (8) ◽

pp. 937

Author(s):

Yingying Hu ◽

Md Rasadujjaman ◽

Yanrong Wang ◽

Jing Zhang ◽

Jiang Yan ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Crystal Structure ◽

Optical Properties ◽

Photoelectron Spectroscopy ◽

Crystal Size ◽

Silicon Substrates ◽

X Ray Diffraction ◽

Dc Magnetron Sputtering ◽

Flow Rates ◽

X Ray ◽

N2 Flow Rate

By reactive DC magnetron sputtering from a pure Ta target onto silicon substrates, Ta(N) films were prepared with different N2 flow rates of 0, 12, 17, 25, 38, and 58 sccm. The effects of N2 flow rate on the electrical properties, crystal structure, elemental composition, and optical properties of Ta(N) were studied. These properties were characterized by the four-probe method, X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE). Results show that the deposition rate decreases with an increase of N2 flows. Furthermore, as resistivity increases, the crystal size decreases, the crystal structure transitions from β-Ta to TaN(111), and finally becomes the N-rich phase Ta3N5(130, 040). Studying the optical properties, it is found that there are differences in the refractive index (n) and extinction coefficient (k) of Ta(N) with different thicknesses and different N2 flow rates, depending on the crystal size and crystal phase structure.

Download Full-text