Электрон-фононное взаимодействие в композитах с колллоидными квантовыми точками: исследование методами люминесцентной спектроскопии и комбинационного рассеяния света

The temperature-dependent luminescence spectra were analyzed to determine the parameters of the electron-phonon interaction (Huang-Rhys factor and the average phonon energy) for nanocomposites with colloidal CdSe/CdS/ZnS quantum dots (deposited on the surface of a glass substrate and embedded in a thin polymer film of polyisobutylene, and in a frozen colloidal solution in toluene). The measured values of the parameters are analyzed in comparison with model calculations and data obtained using the low-frequency Raman spectroscopy. It is found that in the case of a vitrified colloidal solution of quantum dots in toluene, the matrix effect leads to a noticeable change in the parameters of the electron-phonon interaction.

Some living eukaryotes during and after scanning electron microscopy

Electron microscopy (EM) is an essential imaging method in biological sciences. Since biological specimens are exposed to radiation and vacuum conditions during EM observations, they die due to chemical bond breakage and desiccation. However, some organisms belonging to the taxa of bacteria, fungi, plants, and animals (including beetles, ticks, and tardigrades) have been reported to survive hostile scanning EM (SEM) conditions since the onset of EM. The surviving organisms were observed (i) without chemical fixation, (ii) after mounting to a precooled cold stage, (iii) using cryo-SEM, or (iv) after coating with a thin polymer layer, respectively. Combined use of these techniques may provide a better condition for preservation and live imaging of multicellular organisms for a long time beyond live-cell EM.