Unifying polar and nematic active matter: Emergence and co-existence of half-integer and full-integer topological defects

The presence and significance of active topological defects is increasingly realised in diverse biological and biomimetic systems. We introduce a continuum model of polar active matter, based on conservation laws and symmetry arguments, that recapitulates both polar and apolar (nematic) features of topological defects in active turbulence. Using numerical simulations of the continuum model, we demonstrate the emergence of both half- and full-integer topological defects in polar active matter. Interestingly, we find that crossover from active turbulence with half- to full-integer defects can emerge with the coexistence region characterized by both defect types. These results put forward a minimal, generic framework for studying topological defect patterns in active matter which is capable of explaining the emergence of half-integer defects in polar systems such as bacteria and cell monolayers, as well as predicting the emergence of coexisting defect states in active matter.

Hydroxylation induced defect states and formation of bidentate acetate adstructure of TiO2 catalysts with acetic acid variation for catalytic application

TiO2 is considered a promising candidate for catalysis applications.The addition of acetic acid and its variation creates a strong bonding withoxide surfaces which generates various oxidizing agents. The XRD analysis of the prepared TiO2 nanoparticles reveals the semicrystalline nature. The result shows that holes are captured by surface and subsurface, producing≡〖Ti〗^IV‒〖OH〗^. , ≡〖Ti〗^IV‒O^(.-)‒〖Ti〗^IV≡ and reducing agent =〖Ti〗^III‒, which act as active oxidizersduring photocatalysis confirmingthe occurrence of OH radical by advanced oxidation process. Increasing acetic acid amount leads to disordered structural defects below the conduction band. XPS analysis shows the induction of hydroxylation of surface defects such as Ti‒OH.The results indicate that oxygen vacancy is favourabledue toa large number of surface defects. Detailed discussion of energy band structure with the concept of valence band and CB maximum isimplemented. The electron-withdrawing carboxylic group can affect oxygen vacancies and acetate ligands on the photocatalyst surface. The formation of bidentate acetate adstructure with lower acetic acid concentration leads to an explanation for higher visible light driven Mehtlyne blue (MB) degradation. The mechanism of formation of additional Ti-O-Ti bond by condensation process is also illustrated elaborately. Theoretical calculations of the potential of VB and CB show the effect of active sites on degradation and can be associated with redox reactions for water splitting ability. Possible model of sentisized photocatalysis for hydrogen production with hydrogen and oxygen evolution site is also proposed in this article. Thus, TiO2 nanoparticles with acetic acid variation are promising sources for photocatalytic/catalytic applications.evolution site is also proposed in this article. Thus, pH-dependent TiO2 nanoparticles are promising sources for photocatalytic/catalytic applications.

Effect of TiO2 surface treatment on electron transfer in dye-sensitized solar cells

Defect states in the TiO2 nanoparticles can cause severe charge recombination and poor electron-transport efficiency when used as a photoanode in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). Herein, we report a simple and practical way to passivate the surface defects of TiO2 through hydrothermal treating with acetic acid and H2SO4, introducing a high percentage of 101 facets and sulfonic acid functional groups on the TiO2 surface. A high efficiency of 8.12% has been achieved, which is 14% higher than that of untreated TiO2 under the same condition. EIS results prove that the multiacid-treated TiO2 can promote electron transport and reduce charge recombination at the interface of the TiO2 and electrolyte. This work provides an efficient approach to engineer the electron-transport pathway in DSSCs.

Ultra-weak emission and microcurrents instabilities in blue GaN LEDs at different stages of degradation

It is found that the ultra-weak luminescence observed in microcurrents mode in blue GaN LEDs with multiple quantum wells is due to tunnel-recombination processes with the participation of defect states and local potential wells of various depths, which arise as a result of planar fluctuations of indium in the InGaN layers of the active region. Digital photographs were obtained and patterns of ultra-weak luminescence of the surface of LED crystals were analyzed. It is shown that the patterns of luminescence, along with the current-voltage characteristic, demonstrate significant changes after testing even at the initial stages of degradation, which indicates a high sensitivity of these parameters to degradation processes and the possibility of their use in diagnostic and non-destructive testing methods.

Assessing the effect of H on the electronic properties of 4H-SiC

As a common impurity in 4H-silicon carbide (4H-SiC), hydrogen (H) may play a role in the tuning of the electronic properties of 4H-SiC. In this work, we systemically explore the effect of H on the electronic properties of both n-type and p-type 4H-SiC. The passivation of H for intrinsic defects such as carbon vacancies (VC) and silicon vacancies (VSi) in 4H-SiC is also evaluated. We find that interstitial H at the bonding center of the Si-C bond (Hi bc) and interstitial H at the tetrahedral center of Si (Hi Si-te) dominate the defect configurations of H in p-type and n-type 4H-SiC, respectively. For n-type 4H-SiC, the compensation of Hi Si-te is found to pin the Fermi energy and hinder the increase of electron concentration for highly N-doped 4H-SiC. The compensation of Hi bc is negligible compared to that of VC on the p-type doping of Al-doped 4H-SiC. We have further examined whether H can passivate VC and improve carrier lifetime in 4H-SiC. It turns out that nonequilibrium passivation of VC by H is effective to eliminate the defect states of VC, which enhances the carrier lifetime of moderately doped 4H-SiC. Regarding the quantum-qubit applications of 4H-SiC, we find that H can readily passivate VSi during the creation of VSi centers. Thermal annealing is needed to decompose the resulting VSi-nH (n=1~4) complexes and promote the uniformity of the photoluminescence of VSi arrays in 4H-SiC. The current work may inspire the further development of the impurity engineering of H in 4H-SiC.

SURFACE LUMINESCENCE OF A2B6 SEMICONDUCTOR QUANTUM DOTS (REVIEW)

Semiconductor zero-dimensional nanocrystals – quantum dots (QDs) – have been increasingly used in various fields of opto- and nanoelectronics in recent decades. This is because of the exciton nature of their luminescence, which can be controlled via the well known quantum-dimensional effect. At the same time, at small nanocrystall sizes, the influence of the surface on the optical and structural properties of nanocrystals increases significantly. The presence of broken bonds of surface atoms and point defects – vacancies and interstial atoms – can both weaken the exciton luminescence and create new effective channels of radiant luminescence. In some cases, these surface luminescence becomes dominant, leading to optical spectra broadening up to the quasi-white light. The nature of such localized states often remains unestablished due to the large number of the possible sorts of defects in both of QD and its surrounding. In contrast to exciton luminescence, which can be properly described within effective-mass approximations, the optical properties of defects relay on chemical nature of both defect itsself and its surrounding, what cannot be provided by “hydrogen-type coulomb defect” approximation. Moreover, charge state and related to this lattice relaxation must be taken into account, what requires an application of atomistic approach, such as Density functioal theory (DFT). Therefore, this review is devoted to the study of surface (defect) states and related luminescence, as well as the analysis of possible defects in nanocrystals of semiconductor compounds A2B6 (CdS, CdZnS, ZnS), responsible for luminescence processes, within ab initio approach. The review presents the results of the authors' and literature sources devoted to the study of the luminescent characteristics of ultra-small (<2 nm) QDs.

Defect characterization of heavy-ion irradiated AlInN/GaN on Si high-electron-mobility transistors

The characteristic energies of traps in InAlN/AlN/GaN high-electron mobility transistor structures on Si(111) substrates formed after irradiation with 75 MeV S-ions is studied by means of c-lattice parameter analysis, vertical IV-characteristics, micro-photoluminescence (µ-PL), photocurrent (PC) and thermally stimulated current (TSC) spectroscopy. From the lattice parameter analysis, point defect formation is concluded as the dominant source of defects upon irradiation. A strong compensation effect mani-fests itself through enhanced resistivity of the devices as found in vertical IV- measure-ments. The defect formation is detected optically by an additional PL-band within the green spectral region while defect states with threshold energies at 2.9 eV and 2.65 eV were observed by PC spectroscopy. TSC spectra exhibit two defect-related emissions between 300 K and 400 K with thermal activation energies of 0.78-0.82 eV and 0.91-0.98 eV, respectively. The data further supports the formation of Ga vacancies (VGa) and related complexes acting mainly as acceptors compensating the originally undoped n-type GaN buffer layers after irradiation.

Synthesis and Characterization of Manganese-Modified Black TiO2 Nanoparticles and Their Performance Evaluation for the Photodegradation of Phenolic Compounds from Wastewater

The release of phenolic-contaminated treated palm oil mill effluent (TPOME) poses a severe threat to human and environmental health. In this work, manganese-modified black TiO2 (Mn-B-TiO2) was produced for the photodegradation of high concentrations of total phenolic compounds from TPOME. A modified glycerol-assisted technique was used to synthesize visible-light-sensitive black TiO2 nanoparticles (NPs), which were then calcined at 300 °C for 60 min for conversion to anatase crystalline phase. The black TiO2 was further modified with manganese by utilizing a wet impregnation technique. Visible light absorption, charge carrier separation, and electron–hole pair recombination suppression were all improved when the band structure of TiO2 was tuned by producing Ti3+ defect states. As a result of the enhanced optical and electrical characteristics of black TiO2 NPs, phenolic compounds were removed from TPOME at a rate of 48.17%, which is 2.6 times higher than P25 (18%). When Mn was added to black TiO2 NPs, the Ti ion in the TiO2 lattice was replaced by Mn, causing a large redshift of the optical absorption edges and enhanced photodegradation of phenolic compounds from TPOME. The photodegradation efficiency of phenolic compounds by Mn-B-TiO2 improved to 60.12% from 48.17% at 0.3 wt% Mn doping concentration. The removal efficiency of phenolic compounds from TPOME diminished when Mn doping exceeded the optimum threshold (0.3 wt%). According to the findings, Mn-modified black TiO2 NPs are the most effective, as they combine the advantages of both black TiO2 and Mn doping.