Cubic versus Hexagonal – Phase, Size and Morphology Effects on the Photoluminescence Quantum Yield of NaGdF4:Er3+/Yb3+ Upconverting Nanoparticles

Upconverting nanoparticles (UCNPs) are well-known for their capacity to convert near-infrared light into UV/visible light, benefitting various applications where light triggering is required. At the nanoscale, loss of luminescence intensity...

Generation in the regime with three resonance frequencies

If the group velocity of the wave is close to the bunch velocity, the bunch placed in the maximumum of the radiated pulse. It provides high effeciency of the electron-wave interaction. However, there are other factors related to particle dynamics, which have strong influence on the radiation process. In this paper the regime with three resonance frequencies is discussed. By varying the phase size of the electron bunch, the generation conditions at each of the frequencies can be changed. There are results for the spontaneous coherent super-radiative undulator emission in the terahertz frequency range from a short (as compared to the wavelength of the radiated wave) dense electron bunch. As a result, an electron bunch radiates two pulses with amplitudes of the radiated fields ∼ 10-70 MV/m.

TiO2: A Semiconductor Photocatalyst

Titanium dioxide (TiO2) is considered as an inert and safe material and has been used in many applications for decades. TiO2 have been widely studied, due to its interesting general properties in a wide range of fields including catalysis, antibacterial agents, in civil as nano-paint (self-cleaning) and especially photocatalysis, and that affect the quality of life. Thus, the development of nanotechnologies TiO2 nanoparticles, with numerous novel and useful properties, are increasingly manufactured and used. TiO2 doped with noble metal are good candidates in the performance these applications. The fascinating physical and chemical features of TiO2 depend on the crystal phase, size and shape of particles. For example, varying phases of crystalline TiO2 have different band gaps that rutile TiO2 of 3.0 eV and anatase TiO2 of 3.2 eV, determine the photocatalytic performance of TiO2. This chapter explains basic information on TiO2 and theoretical concepts of nanostructure of TiO2 nanoparticles as a semiconductor photocatalyst.

Production and Characterization of RE3+:Yb2O3 Nanoparticles

In this study, doped ytterbium oxide (Yb2O3) nanoparticles (NPs) with different dopant type (Eu and / or Tb) and undoped were synthesized by wet chemical method using nitrate salt as a starting source. Afterwards, they were calcined at 900 °C for 4 h. The crystal structure phase, size, and morphology of undoped and doped Yb2O3 nanoparticles (NPs) were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Undoped and doped NPs were exhibited cubic bixbyite-type crystal structure (Ia-3 space group). Lattice parameter changes caused by dopant element in NPs were examined using X-ray peak profile analysis. In order to investigate the occuring changes in the crystal structure, average crystallite size (CS) and lattice parameter (LP) values were computed with Williamson–Hall (W–H) and Cohen-Wagner (C–W) methods, respectively. It was observed that the crystal structure of the doped NPs expanded compared to the undoped Yb2O3 NPs, which explains the increase in the LP and CS values. The LP values of all the NPs were ranged from 10.444 Å (R2 = 94.9) to 10.453 Å (R2 = 81.8) while the CS of them were between 19 nm (R2 = 95.9) and 24 nm (R2 = 88.8). All the NPs exhibited nearly spherical and agglomerate structure and there were also few pores between the agglomerate particles in the structure. Besides, continuous agglomerate morphology formation was observed in particles containing Tb. The average nanoparticle size values were varied between 46 and 115 nm depending on the dopant element.

Microstructural Features and Surface Hardening of Ultrafine-Grained Ti-6Al-4V Alloy through Plasma Electrolytic Polishing and Nitrogen Ion Implantation

This work studies a near-surface layer microstructure in Ti-6Al-4V alloy samples subjected to plasma electrolytic polishing (PEP) and subsequent high-energy ion implantation with nitrogen (II). Samples with a conventional coarse-grained (CG) structure with an average α-phase size of 8 μm and an ultrafine-grained (UFG) structure (α-phase size up to 0.35 μm) produced by equal channel angular pressing were used in the studies. Features of phase composition and substructure in the thin surface layers are shown after sequential processing by PEP and II of both substrates with CG and UFG structures. Irrespective of a substrate structure, the so-called “long-range effect” was observed, which manifested itself in enhanced microhardness to a depth of surface layer up to 40 μm, exceeding the penetration distance of an implanted ion he. The effect of a UFG structure on depth and degree of surface hardening after PEP and ion-implantation is discussed.

Effect of Normalizing Treatment on Mechanical Properties of AISI 441 Stainless Steel Prepared by Investment Casting

In this paper, AISI 441 stainless steel was investigated as a casting steel using the investment casting process (ICP). The microstructure and mechanical properties of the as-cast and normalizing treatment samples were analyzed. The results show that the tensile strength of as-cast AISI 441 prepared by ICP is 458 MPa, and the elongation is 22.7%. Normalizing treatment can improve the mechanical performance of AISI 441 prepared by ICP, but strength and elongation have a slightly decreasing trend with increasing normalizing temperature and time. The suitable normalizing treatment condition is 850 °C for 2 h. It was found that normalizing temperature and time have little effect on grain size and carbonitride. There was an increasing trend in the mean equivalent length (MEL) of the Laves phase as normalizing temperature and time increases. The effect of normalizing treatment on strength increase was mainly related to the change of the Laves phase size.

Effects of temperature and FCC phase size on the deformation mechanism of pure titanium nanopillars: A molecular dynamics simulation

The mechanism of plastic deformation under tensile and compressive loading of hexagonal close-packed (HCP)/face-centered cubic (FCC) biphasic titanium (Ti) nanopillars at different temperatures (70 K, 150 K, 300 K and 400 K) and different FCC phase sizes (2 nm, 4 nm, 6 nm and 8 nm) was investigated by molecular dynamics (MD). The plastic deformation is mainly concentrated in the FCC phase during compression loading. The HCP/FCC interface is the main source of [Formula: see text] Shockley partial dislocations. As the temperature increases, the dislocation nucleation rate increases and the surface dislocation source is activated. During tensile loading, it is more likely that the Shockley partial dislocations react with each other in the FCC phase to form Lomer–Cottrell sessile dislocations and stacking fault (SF) nets. When the temperature is reduced to 70 K, tensile twins are formed at the phase interface. The plastic deformation is dominated by twins and [Formula: see text] dislocation slip occurs in the HCP phase. The effect of the FCC phase size on the plastic deformation mechanism of the nanopillar is strong. The FCC phase is transformed into the HCP phase when the FCC phase size in the nanopillar is reduced to 4 nm under compressive loading. However, twin deformation occurs at the HCP/FCC interface when the FCC phase size is reduced to 2 nm under tensile loading.

Dynamics of the nanocrystal structure and composition in growth solutions monitored by in situ lab-scale X-ray diffraction

Nanocrystal growth dynamics are investigated by a novel approach: real-time observation of nanocrystals in growth solutions using lab-scale in situ X-ray diffraction. The method reveals the evolution of crystal phase, size, shape, and composition.