Abstract: Zinc(II)-phthalocyanine tetrasulfonic acid (Zn-PcS) molecules physisorbed on bilayer epitaxial graphene on silicon carbide (SiC(0001)) were studied by using scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy (STM/STS) and density functional theory (DFT). Two different methods were used to deposit Zn-PcS molecules and regardless of the method being used, the surface coverage stayed very low indicating the weakness of surface-molecule interaction. STS measurements revealed that derivative of tunneling current with respect to voltage (dI/dV) measured on Zn-PcS molecules did not exhibit the characteristic dip observed on dI/dV curves of pristine bilayer epitaxial graphene. DFT calculations show that the energy of the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) of the Zn-PcS molecule is below the Dirac point of graphene which enhances local density of states (LDOS). We attribute the disappearance of the dip in the dI/dV curves measured on the Zn-PcS/bilayer system to the LUMO of Zn-PcS. Charge density calculations along Zn-PcS/graphene interface reveal that there is a small charge transfer from graphene to the molecule. Calculated adsorption energy (3.13 eV) of the molecule is notably low and is consistent with the observed low surface coverage at room temperature.

Abstract: Sacrificial anodes have become a standard practice for the protection of ballast tanks of merchant vessels against corrosive damage. A well protected tank should extend the life span of a ship and consequently enhances its economic value. An in situ survey comprising more than 100 merchant vessels provided the opportunity to measure the impact of these anodes on the life expectancy of these vessels. Contrary to the general belief of these anodes beneficial effect, no significant difference was found in our observations in terms of corrosion occurrence between ship populations with and without sacrificial anodes, across all ship ages. This may be explained by the highly variable conditions and the complex geometry in a ballast tank severely impede optimal and straightforward installation of these anodes in these tanks. Also, poorly placed anodes in it may harm the integrity of the coating of the tank. We therefore plead for uniform and clear rules on anode installation and inspection.

Abstract: We analyze the combined effect of three ingredients of an aggregation model-surface tension, particle flow and particle source-representing typical characteristics of many aggregation growth processes in nature. Through extensive numerical experiments and for different underlying lattice structures we demonstrate that the location of incoming particles and their preferential direction of flow can significantly affect the resulting general shape of the aggregate, while the surface tension controls the surface roughness. Combining all three ingredients increases the aggregate shape plasticity, yielding a wider spectrum of shapes as compared to earlier works that analyzed these ingredients separately. Our results indicate that the considered combination of effects is fundamental for modeling the polymorphic growth of a wide variety of structures in confined geometries and/or in the presence of external fields, such as rocks, crystals, corals, and biominerals.

Abstract: A new, single-step protocol for wrapping individual nanosized β-casein micelles with silica is presented. This biomolecule-friendly synthesis proceeds at low protein concentration at almost neutral pH, and makes use of sodium silicate instead of the common silicon alkoxides. This way, formation of potentially protein-denaturizing alcohols can be avoided. The pH of the citrate-buffered synthesis medium is close to the isoelectric point of β-casein, which favours micelle formation. A limited amount of sodium silicate is added to the protein micelle suspension, to form a thin silica coating around the β-casein micelles. The size distribution of the resulting proteinsilica structures was characterized using DLS and SAXS, as well as 1H NMR DOSY with a dedicated pulsed-field gradient cryo-probehead to cope with the low protein concentration. The degree of silica-condensation was investigated by 29Si MAS NMR, and the nanostructure was revealed by advanced electron microscopy techniques such as ESEM and HAADF-STEM. As indicated by the combined characterization results, a silica shell of 2 nm is formed around individual β-casein micelles giving rise to separate protein coresilica shell nanoparticles of 17 nm diameter. This alcohol-free method at mild temperature and pH is potentially suited for packing protein molecules into bio-compatible silica nanocapsules for a variety of applications in biosensing, therapeutic protein delivery and biocatalysis.

Abstract: In this work, we demonstrate the successful incorporation of pure fullerene from solution into two-dimensional layered aluminosilicate minerals. Pure fullerenes are insoluble in water and neutral in terms of charge, hence they cannot be introduced into the clay galleries by ion exchange or intercalation from water solution. To overcome this bottleneck, we organically modified the clay with quaternary amines by using well-established reactions in clay science in order to expand the interlayer space and render the galleries organophilic. During the reaction with the fullerene solution, the organic solvent could enter into the clay galleries, thus transferring along the fullerene molecules. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the surfactant molecules, can be selectively removed by either simple ion-exchange reaction (e.g., interaction with Al(NO3)3 solution to replace the surfactant molecules with Al3+ ions) or thermal treatment (heating at 350 °C) to obtain novel fullerene-pillared clay structures exhibiting enhanced surface area. The synthesized hybrid materials were characterized in detail by a combination of experimental techniques including powder X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoemission, and UV/Vis spectroscopy as well as thermal analysis and nitrogen adsorptiondesorption measurements. The reported fullerene-pillared clay structures constitute a new hybrid system with very promising potential for the use in areas such as gas storage and/or gas separation due to their high surface area.

Abstract: A first germanium-based cationic clathrate of type-III, Ge129.3P42.7Te21.53, was synthesized and structurally characterized (space group P42/mnm, a = 19.948(3) Å, c = 10.440(2) Å, Z = 1). In its crystal structure, germanium and phosphorus atoms form three types of polyhedral cages centered with Te atoms. The polyhedra share pentagonal and hexagonal faces to form a 3D framework. Despite the complexity of the crystal structure, the Ge129.3P42.7Te21.53 composition corresponds to the Zintl counting scheme with a good accuracy. Ge129.3P42.7Te21.53 demonstrates semiconducting/insulating behavior of electric resistivity, high positive Seebeck coefficient (500 μV K1 at 300 K), and low thermal conductivity (<0.92 W m1 K1) within the measured temperature range.

Abstract: The crystal structure of K2CaV2O7 prepared by a conventional solid-state reaction has been solved by a direct method and refined using Rietveld full profile fitting based on X-ray powder diffraction data. This compound crystallises in the triclinic space group (P (1) over bar, Z = 2) with unit cell constants a = 7.1577(1) angstrom, b = 10.5104(2) angstrom, c = 5.8187(1) angstrom, alpha = 106.3368(9)degrees, beta = 106.235(1)degrees, gamma = 71.1375(9)degrees. The structure can be described as infinite undulating CaV2O72- layers parallel to the ac plane, which consist of pairs of edge-sharing CaO6 octahedra connected to each other through V2O7 pyrogroups. The potassium atoms are positioned in two sites between the layers, with a distorted IX-fold coordination of oxygen atoms. The chemical composition obtained from the structural solution was confirmed by energy-dispersive X-ray analysis. The stability of compounds in the family of alkali metal calcium pyrovanadates is discussed based on an analysis of the correlation between anion and cation sizes and theoretical first-principles calculations.

Abstract: Modeling the oxidation process of silicon nanowires through reactive force field based molecular dynamics simulations suggests that the formation of Si epoxide defects occurs both at the Si/SiOx interface and at the nanowire surface, whereas for flat surfaces, this defect is experimentally observed to occur only at the interface as a result of stress. In this paper, we argue that the increasing curvature stabilizes the defect at the nanowire surface, as suggested by our density functional theory calculations. The latter can have important consequences for the opto-electronic properties of thin silicon nanowires, since the epoxide induces an electronic state within the band gap. Removing the epoxide defect by hydrogenation is expected to be possible but becomes increasingly difficult with a reduction of the diameter of the nanowires.

Abstract: We derive an exact solution to the problem of spin snake states induced in a nonhomogeneous magnetic field by a combined action of the Rashba spin-orbit and Zeeman fields. The electron spin behavior as a function of the cyclotron orbit center position and an external homogeneous magnetic field was obtained. It is shown that in an antisymmetric magnetic field the electron spin in the snake states has only an in-plane projection, perpendicular to the magnetic interface, which vanishes at large positive momenta. Applying an external homogeneous magnetic field adds a finite out-of-plane spin component and simultaneously gaps out the spectral branches, which results in regular beating patterns of the spin current components.

Abstract: A method for measuring the binding rigidity of free-standing graphene from the dependence of the short-wavelength spectral range of transverse structural fluctuations of a crystal is proposed. The fluctuation spectrum is measured according to the variation in electron-diffraction patterns derived in a transmission electron microscope while tilting the sample.

Abstract: The ground-state properties of a paramagnetic Mott insulator at half-filling are investigated in the presence of an external electric field using the inhomogeneous Gutzwiller approximation for a single-band Hubbard model in a slab geometry. We find that the metal-insulator transition is shifted toward higher Hubbard repulsions by applying an electric field perpendicular to the slab. The main reason is the accumulation of charges near the surface. The spatial distribution of site-dependent quasiparticle weight shows that it is maximal in a few layers beneath the surface, while the central sites where the field is screened have a very low quasiparticle weight. Our results show that above a critical-field value, states near the surface will be metallic, while the bulk quasiparticle weight is extremely suppressed but never vanishing, even for large Hubbard repulsions above the bulk zero-field critical value. Below the critical-field value, our results hint toward an insulating state in which the electric field is totally screened and the slab is again at half-filling.

Abstract: In the present work, the microstructure and structure of La(0.25)Ce(0.52)Nd(0.17)Pr(0.06)(OH)(3) and La(0.25)Ce(0.52)Nd(0.17)Pr(0.06)O(2) is obtained from transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction measurements. Space group P6(3)/m is assigned to the structure of La(0.25)Ce(0.52)Nd(0.17)Pr(0.06)(OH)(3). Lanthanides are assigned to Wyckoff positions 2c. Cell parameters are a=6.375(5) angstrom and c=3.753(5) angstrom. The thermal decomposition of this compound was studied by differential scanning calorimetry. The process is exothermal with an enthalpy change Delta H degrees value of -254 +/- 10 kJ mol(-1). The decomposition kinetics is complex and two global processes with E(a) values of 98 +/- 4 and 61 +/- 2 kJ mol 21 were observed. The product is a lanthanide dioxide. Space group Fm3m is assigned to the La(0.25)Ce(0.52)Nd(0.17)Pr(0.06)O(2). Lanthanides are distributed in Wyckoff positions 4a. The cell parameter is a=5.479(5) angstrom. Nanopores in the oxide surface are obtained using this method and characterised by STEM measurements.

Abstract: Transmission electron microscopy and mechanical testing were employed to investigate the evolution of microstructure and functional superelastic properties of 0.1mm diameter as-drawn Ni-Ti wires subjected to a non-conventional heat treatment by controlled electric pulse current. This method enables a finer control of the recovery and recrystallisation processes taking place during the heat treatment and accordingly a better control on the final microstructure. The best functional properties were obtained for heat-treated Ni-Ti wires having a nanograined microstructure (20-50 nm) partially recovered through polygonization and partially recrystallized. Such microstructure is highly resistant against dislocation slip upon cycling, while microstructures annealed for longer time and showing mostly recrystallized grains were prone to dislocation slip, particularly as the grain size exceeds 100 nm. The density of dislocation defects increased significantly with increasing grain size of the microstructure. The activity of three <100>/{011} slip systems was identified in the largest grains of 500-1200 nm. An additional mode of plastic deformation, {114} compound austenite twinning, was observed in the largest grains of fully recrystallized microstructures. It is proposed that dislocation slip (and possibly deformation twinning) occurring in superelastic cycling is coupled with the stress-induced martensitic transformation.

Abstract: LaAMnSnO(6) (A = Sr, Ba) have been synthesized by high temperature solid-state reactions under dynamic 1% H(2)/Ar flow. Rietveld refinements on room temperature powder X-ray diffraction data indicate that LaSrMnSnO(6) crystallizes in the GdFeO(3)-structure, with space group Pnma and, combined with transmission electron microscopy, LaBaMnSnO(6) in Imma. Both space groups are common in disordered double-perovskites. The Mn(3+) and Sn(4+) ions whose valence states were confirmed by X-ray absorption spectroscopy, are completely disordered over the B-sites and the BO(6) octahedra are slightly distorted. LaAMnSnO(6) are ferromagnetic semiconductors with a T(C) = 83 K for the Sr- and 66 K for the Ba-compound. The title compounds, together with the previously reported LaCaMnSnO(6) provide an interesting example of progression from Pnma to Imma as the tolerance factor increases. An analysis of the relationship between space group and tolerance factor for the series LaAMnMO(6) (A = Ca, Sr, Ba; M = Sn, Ru) provides a better understanding of the symmetry determination for double perovskites.

Abstract: Reconstructed exit waves are useful to quantify unknown structure parameters such as the position and composition of the atom columns at atomic scale. Existing techniques provide a complex wave in a flat plane which is close to the plane where the electrons leave the atom columns. However, due to local deviation in the flatness of the exit surface, there will be an offset between the plane of reconstruction and the actual exit of a specific atom column. Using the channelling theory, it has been shown that this defocus offset can in principle be determined atom column-by-atom column. As such, the surface roughness could be quantified at atomic scale. However, the outcome strongly depends on the initial plane of reconstruction especially in a crystalline structure. If this plane is further away from the true exit, the waves of the atom columns become delocalized and interfere mutually which strongly complicates the interpretation of the exit wave in terms of the local structure. In this paper, we will study the delocalization with defocus using the channelling theory in a more systematic way.