Abstract: Nowadays the electronic structure calculations allow the study of complex systems determining the hyperfine parameters measured at a probe atom, including the presence of crystalline defects. The hyperfine electric parameters have been measured by Mossbauer spectroscopy in silicon materials implanted with Mn-57 ->,Fe-57 ions, observing four main contributions to the spectra. Nevertheless, some ambiguities still remain in the Fe-57 Mossbauer spectra interpretation in this case, regarding the damage configurations and its evolution with annealing. In the present work several implantation environments are evaluated and the Fe-57 hyperfine parameters are calculated. The observed correlation among the studied local environments and the experimental observations is presented, and a tentative microscopic description of the behavior and thermal evolution of the characteristic defects local environments of the probe atoms concerning the location of vacancies and interstitial Si in the neighborhood of Fe-57 ions in substitutional and interstitial sites is proposed. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Abstract: The effects on river water quality of sewer overflows are not well known. Since the duration of the overflow is in the order of magnitude of minutes to hours, continuous measurements of water quality are needed and traditional grab sampling is unable to quantify the pollution loads. The objective of this paper was to demonstrate the applicability of high frequency measurements for assessing the impacts of waste water treatment plants on the water quality of the receiving surface water. In our in situ water quality monitoring setup, two types of multiparameter sensors mounted on a floating fixed platform were used to determine the dynamics of dissolved oxygen, specific conductivity, ammonium-N, nitrate-N and dissolved organic carbon downstream of a waste water treatment plant (WWTP), in combination with data on rainfall, river discharge and WWTP overflow discharge. The monitoring data for water quantity and water quality were used to estimate the pollution load from waste water overflow events and to assess the impact of waste water overflows on the river water quality. The effect of sewer overflow on a small river in terms of N load was shown to be significant. The WWTP overflow events accounted for about 1/3 of the river discharge. The NH4-N loads during overflow events contributed 29% and 21% to the August 2010 and June 2011 load, respectively, in only 8% and 3% of the monthly time span. The results indicate that continuous monitoring is needed to accurately represent the effects of sewer overflows in river systems.

Abstract: The properties and applications of metallic nanoparticles are inseparably connected not only to their detailed morphology and composition but also to their structural configuration and mutual interactions. As a result, the assemblies often have superior properties as compared to individual nanoparticles. Although it has been reported that nanoparticles can form highly symmetric clusters, if the configuration can be predicted as a function of the synthesis parameters, more targeted and accurate synthesis will be possible. We present here a theoretical model that accurately predicts the structure and configuration of self-assembled gold nanoclusters. The validity of the model is verified using quantitative experimental data extracted from electron tomography 3D reconstructions of different assemblies. The present theoretical model is generic and can in principle be used for different types of nanoparticles, providing a very wide window of potential applications.

Abstract: In-situ bright field transmission electron microscopy (TEM) nanomechanical tensile testing and in-situ automated crystallographic orientation mapping in TEM were combined to unravel the elementary mechanisms controlling the plasticity of ultrafine grained Aluminum freestanding thin films. The characterizations demonstrate that deformation proceeds with a transition from grain rotation to intragranular dislocation glide and starvation plasticity mechanism at about 1% deformation. The grain rotation is not affected by the character of the grain boundaries. No grain growth or twinning is detected. (C) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC.

Abstract: We calculate the spin-polarized electronic transport through a molecular bilayer spin valve from first principles, and establish the link between the magnetoresistance and the spin-dependent interactions at the metal-molecule interfaces. The magnetoresistance of a Fe vertical bar bilayer-C-70 vertical bar Fe spin valve attains a high value of 70% in the linearresponse regime, but it drops sharply as a function of the applied bias. The current polarization has a value of 80% in linear response and also decreases as a function of bias. Both these trends can be modeled in terms of prominent spin-dependent Fe vertical bar C-70 interface states close to the Fermi level, unfolding the potential of spinterface science to control and optimize spin currents.

Abstract: The interest in 2-dimensional systems with a honeycomb lattice and related Dirac-­type electronic bands has exceeded the prototype graphene1. Currently, 2-­dimensional atomic2,3 and nanoscale4-­8 systems are extensively investigated in the search for materials with novel electronic properties that can be tailored by geometry. The immediate question that arises is how to fabricate 2-­D semiconductors that have a honeycomb nanogeometry, and as a consequence of that, display a Dirac-­type band structure? Here, we show that atomically coherent honeycomb superlattices of rocksalt (PbSe, PbTe) and zincblende (CdSe, CdTe) semiconductors can be obtained by nanocrystal self-­assembly and facet-­to-­facet atomic bonding, and subsequent cation exchange. We present a extended structural analysis of atomically coherent 2-­D honeycomb structures that were recently obtained with self-assembly and facet-­to-­facet bonding9. We show that this process may in principle lead to three different types of honeycomb structures, one with a graphene type-­, and two others with a silicene-­type structure. Using TEM, electron diffraction, STM and GISAXS it is convincingly shown that the structures are from the silicene-­type. In the second part of this work, we describe the electronic structure of graphene-­type and silicene type honeycomb semiconductors. We present the results of advanced electronic structure calculations using the sp3d5s* atomistic tight-­binding method10. For simplicity, we focus on semiconductors with a simple and single conduction band for the native bulk semiconductor. When the 3-­D geometry is changed into 2-­D honeycomb, a conduction band structure transformation to two types of Dirac cones, one for S-­ and one for P-­orbitals, is observed. The width of the bands depends on the honeycomb period and the coupling between the nanocrystals. Furthermore, there is a dispersionless P-­orbital band, which also forms a landmark of the honeycomb structure. The effects of considerable intrinsic spin-­orbit coupling are briefly considered. For heavy-­element compounds such as CdTe, strong intrinsic spin-­‐orbit coupling opens a non-­trivial gap at the P-­orbital Dirac point, leading to a quantum Spin Hall effect10-­12. Our work shows that well known semiconductor crystals, known for centuries, can lead to systems with entirely new electronic properties, by the simple action of nanogeometry. It can be foreseen that such structures will play a key role in future opto-­electronic applications, provided that they can be fabricated in a straightforward way.

Abstract: The origin of the ferroelectric polarization switching in orthorhombic HfO2 has been investigated by first principles calculations. The phenomenon can be regarded as being the coordinated displacement of four O ions in the orthorhombic unit cell, which can lead to a saturated polarization as high as 53 mu C/cm(2). We show the correlation between the computed polarization reversal barrier and the experimental coercive fields. (C) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC.

Abstract: Gold-silica hybrids are appealing in different fields of applications like catalysis, sensorics, drug delivery, and biotechnology. In most cases, the morphology and distribution of the heterounits play significant roles in their functional behavior. Methods of synthesizing these hybrids, with variable ordering of the heterounits, are replete; however, a complete characterization in three dimensions could not be achieved yet. A simple route to the synthesis of Au-decorated SiO2 spheres is demonstrated and a study on the 3D ordering of the heterounits by scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) tomography is presentedat the final stage, intermediate stages of formation, and after heating the hybrid. The final hybrid evolves from a soft self-assembled structure of Au nanoparticles. The hybrid shows good thermal stability up to 400 degrees C, beyond which the Au particles start migrating inside the SiO2 matrix. This study provides an insight in the formation mechanism and thermal stability of the structures which are crucial factors for designing and applying such hybrids in fields of catalysis and biotechnology. As the method is general, it can be applied to make similar hybrids based on SiO2 by tuning the reaction chemistry as needed.

Abstract: ZnOCo nanocomposite thin films are synthesized by combination of pulsed laser deposition of ZnO and Co ion implantation. Both superparamagnetism and relaxor ferroelectricity as well as magnetoelectric coupling in the nanocomposites have been demonstrated. The unexpected relaxor ferroelectricity is believed to be the result of the local lattice distortion induced by the incorporation of the Co nanoparticles. Magnetoelectric coupling can be attributed to the interaction between the electric dipole moments and the magnetic moments, which are both induced by the incorporation of Co. The introduced ZnOCo nanocomposite thin films are different from conventional strain-mediated multiferroic composites.

Abstract: The characterization of biological and inorganic materials by determining their three-dimensional structure in conditions closer to their native state is a major challenge of technological research. Environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM) provides access to the observation of hydrated samples in water environments. Here, we present a specific device for ESEM in the scanning transmission electron microscopy mode, allowing the acquisition of tilt-series suitable for tomographic reconstructions. The resolution which can be obtained with this device is first determined. Then, we demonstrate the feasibility of tomography on wet materials. The example studied here is hydrophilic mesoporous silica (MCM-41). Finally, the minimum thickness of water which can be detected is calculated from Monte Carlo simulations and compared with the resolution expected in the tomograms.

Abstract: Janus particles present an important class of building blocks for directional assembly. These are compartmentalized colloids with two different hemispheres. Here, we consider a two-dimensional model of Janus disks consisting of a hydrophobic semicircle and an electro-negatively charged one. Placed in a solution, the hydrophobic sides will attract each other while the charged sides will give rise to a repulsive force. Using molecular dynamics simulations, we study the morphology of these particles when confined in a channel-like environment using a one dimensional harmonic confinement potential. The interest to this system is first of all due to the fact that it could serve as a simple model for membrane formation. Indeed, the recently synthesized new class of artificial amphiphiles, known as Janus dendrimers, were shown to self-assemble in bilayer structures mimicking biological membranes. In turn, Janus particles that combine the amphiphilicity and colloidal rigidity serve as a good model for Janus dendrimers. A variety of ordered membrane-like morphologies are found consisting of single and multiple chain configurations with different orientations of the particles with respect to each other that we summarize in a phase diagram.

Abstract: Chiral fermions are responsible for low-temperature properties of vortices in fermionic condensates, both superconducting (charged) and superfluid (neutral). One of the most striking consequences of this fact is that the core of a single-quantum vortex collapses at low temperatures, T -> 0 (i.e., the Kramer-Pesch effect for superconductors), due to the presence of chiral quasiparticles in the vortex-core region. We show that the situation changes drastically for fermionic condensates confined in quasi-one-dimensional and quasi-two-dimensional geometries. Here quantum confinement breaks the chirality of in-core fermions. As a result, instead of the ultimate shrinking, the core of a single-quantum vortex extends at low temperatures, and the condensate profile surprisingly mimics the multiquantum vortex behavior. Our findings are relevant for nanoscale superconductors, such as recent metallic nanoislands on silicon, and also for ultracold superfluid Fermi gases in cigar-shaped and pancake-shaped atomic traps.

Abstract: We present a systematic study of the energy spectra of graphene quantum rings having different geometries and edge types in the presence of a perpendicular magnetic field. Results are obtained within the tight-binding (TB) and Dirac models and we discuss which features of the former can be recovered by using the approximations imposed by the latter. Energy levels of graphene quantum rings obtained by diagonalizing the TB Hamiltonian are demonstrated to be strongly dependent on the rings geometry and the microscopical structure of the edges. This makes it difficult to recover those spectra by the existing theories that are based on the continuum (Dirac) model. Nevertheless, our results show that both approaches (i.e., TB and Dirac model) may provide similar results, but only for very specific combinations of ring geometry and edge types. The results obtained by a simplified model describing an infinitely thin circular Dirac ring show good agreement with those obtained for hexagonal and rhombus armchair graphene rings within the TB model. Moreover, we show that the energy levels of a circular quantum ring with an infinite mass boundary condition obtained within the Dirac model agree with those for a ring defined by a ring-shaped staggered potential obtained within the TB model.

Abstract: Highly ordered and self supported anatase TiO2 nanoparticle chains were fabricated by calcining conformally TiO2 coated multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). During annealing, the thin tubular TiO2 coating that was deposited onto the MWCNTs by atomic layer deposition (ALD) was transformed into chains of TiO2 nanoparticles ([similar]12 nm diameter) with an ultrahigh surface area (137 cm2 per cm2 of substrate), while at the same time the carbon from the MWCNTs was removed. Photocatalytic tests on the degradation of acetaldehyde proved that these forests of TiO2 nanoparticle chains are highly photoactive under UV light because of their well crystallized anatase phase.