Article
Optics
Chansun Park, Sangsu Kim, Alima Melis, Jiwon Seo, Shinhaeng Cho, Jung-yeol Yeom
Summary: This paper introduces the characteristics and efficiency of post-treatment methods for enhancing the timing resolution of ceramic Ce:GAGG scintillators. The study found that mechanical polishing followed by heat treatment significantly improved the optical properties and scintillation performance.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Christian T. Plass, Valentina Bonino, Maurizio Ritzer, Lukas R. Jager, Vicente Rey-Bakaikoa, Martin Hafermann, Jaime Segura-Ruiz, Gema Martinez-Criado, Carsten Ronning
Summary: The dynamics of color centers in quantum technology are influenced by the local environment, and a combined approach of X-ray fluorescence analysis and X-ray excited optical luminescence (XEOL) was used to study this relationship. The simultaneous acquisition of data revealed compositional and functional variations at the nanoscale, demonstrating the extraordinary capabilities of these techniques. The findings on cobalt doped zinc oxide nanowires showed an anticorrelation between the band edge emission of the zinc oxide host and the intra-3d cobalt luminescence, indicating two competing recombination paths. Time-resolved XEOL measurements also revealed two exponential decays of the cobalt luminescence, with the fast decay attributed to a recombination cascade within the cobalt atom.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Takahiro Kondo, Kotaro Suzuki, Shunsuke Toya, Hayato Higashi, Kentaro Furusawa, Yuika Saito
Summary: Ultraviolet photoluminescence (PL) spectra were obtained from individual nanostructured ZnO clusters using a specially designed microscopy apparatus. Atomic force microscopy was used to analyze the morphologies of the clusters. The study also investigated the mechanism of nanoparticle formation through laser ablation in liquid.
JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY C
(2023)
Article
Optics
Juhan Saaring, Alexander Vanetsev, Kirill Chernenko, Eduard Feldbach, Irina Kudryavtseva, Hugo Mandar, Siim Pikker, Rainer Parna, Vitali Nagirnyi, Sergey Omelkov, Ivo Romet, Ott Rebane, Marco Kirm
Summary: The photoluminescence properties of BaGeF6 were studied experimentally, and the energy gap width was determined. Multiple intrinsic emissions were discovered, including a broad emission band believed to be of excitonic origin. Several ultrafast emissions were also observed, attributed to radiative transitions between Ba 5p core level and sub-bands of the valence band, as well as intraband luminescence.
JOURNAL OF LUMINESCENCE
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Xiaorong Song, Mei Li, Siqi Ni, Kaidong Yang, Shihua Li, Renfu Li, Wei Zheng, Datao Tu, Xueyuan Chen, Huanghao Yang
Summary: In this study, a novel urinary time-resolved PL (TRPL) diagnosis strategy was developed using synthetic biomarkers called europium complexes of diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (Eu-DTPA) and activatable nanoprobes. The TRPL of Eu-DTPA in the enhancer was used to detect kidney and liver injuries in mice, which cannot be achieved by traditional blood assays.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Chun Gu, Hang Zhang, Yonggang Liu, Junhong Yu, Junheng Pan, Guoqiang Luo, Qiang Shen, Jau Tang, Jianbo Hu
Summary: The study observed a novel behavior of hybrid carrier relaxation dynamics in highly defective ZnO crystals using transient absorption spectroscopy. This behavior may provide a new route for defect engineering in crystals with high defect density.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Marina Garcia-Carrion, Julio Ramirez-Castellanos, Emilio Nogales, Bianchi Mendez
Summary: The temperature-dependent luminescence properties of gamma-Ga2O3 nanoparticles were studied under steady-state and pulsed-light excitation. The main photoluminescence emission at room temperature is a single blue band centered around 2.76 eV, with a small blueshift of 0.03 eV at 4 K. The emission shows positive thermal quenching and is affected by two non-radiative levels with activation energies of 7 meV and 40 meV.
Article
Materials Science, Ceramics
Viviane Oliveira Soares, Francisco Carlos Serbena, Gabriel dos Santos Oliveira, Crislaine da Cruz, Robson Ferrari Muniz, Edgar Dutra Zanotto
Summary: This study successfully developed a transparent nanostructured glass-ceramic material with high transparency and nanocrystals using a two-stage heat treatment method. The material has nanocrystals smaller than 50 nm, high transmittance and hardness, suitable for various applications.
CERAMICS INTERNATIONAL
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
A. Ziani, S. Al-Taweel, M. A. Nadeem, H. Idriss
Summary: The properties of Au/ZnO materials with different Au contents were studied, and it was found that the presence of Au led to pronounced plasmon resonance and faster decay rate. The effect of Au particles on the radiative recombination rates of ZnO was quantified by fitting and integrating the coverage of Au atoms on the surface. The highest charge trapping efficiency of Au atoms was observed at very low coverage.
JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY C
(2022)
Review
Chemistry, Analytical
Yang Feng, Yingying Su, Rui Liu, Yi Lv
Summary: Phosphorescent nanoprobes utilizing time-resolved luminescence methodology offer autofluorescence-free background, enhancing sensitivity and selectivity of optical sensors. Smart or activatable phosphorescent nanoprobes can amplify target signals while minimizing background signals effectively. Advanced development in phosphorescence-based activatable nanoprobes and long-lived emissive nanomaterials has been reviewed to accelerate time-resolved optical sensing advancement.
TRAC-TRENDS IN ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Alkiviathes Meldrum
Summary: This article provides an introduction to the basics and technical aspects of performing time-resolved photoluminescence experiments on nanocrystals and related materials using single-photon-counting systems. It covers topics such as experimental setup, detector properties, optical reflections, and instrumentation settings. The main objective is to help students understand the experimental setup and hardware parameters in order to obtain useful TRPL data.
JOVE-JOURNAL OF VISUALIZED EXPERIMENTS
(2022)
Article
Physics, Applied
Maxim Saifulin, Plamen Boutachkov, Elena Gorokhova, Piotr Rodnyi, Pascal Simon, Christina Trautmann, Ivan Venevtsev, Beata Walasek-Hoehne
Summary: Indium doped zinc oxide (ZnO(In)) was investigated as a promising scintillation material for beam monitoring and ion counting. The ionoluminescence and UV/Vis light transmission spectra were studied and showed that ZnO(In) has higher radiation hardness and longer lifetime compared to plastic scintillators commonly used for fast-counting applications.
JOURNAL OF APPLIED PHYSICS
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Kasper Wenderich, Kaijian Zhu, Yibin Bu, Frans D. Tichelaar, Guido Mul, Annemarie Huijser
Summary: The study aims to investigate the photophysics of Ru/TiO2 in light-induced processes and the role of UV versus visible excitation using time-resolved photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. The PL of Ru/TiO2 at a 267 nm excitation shows a significantly blue-shifted spectrum compared to TiO2, suggesting surface PL quenching due to charge transfer. Through global analysis, it is found that the red-shift in PL spectra with time for both TiO2 and Ru/TiO2 is likely caused by the diffusion of electrons and their recombination with hole polarons. Ru nanoclusters deposited on SiO2 show strong emission while completely quenched when deposited on TiO2, indicating interfacial charge separation with high quantum yield. The insights obtained suggest that Ru nanoclusters should be supported on semiconductors for highly effective photo(thermal)catalysis.
JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY C
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Juhan Saaring, Alexander Vanetsev, Kirill Chernenko, Eduard Feldbach, Irina Kudryavtseva, Hugo Mandar, Rainer Parna, Vitali Nagirnyi, Sergey Omelkov, Ivo Romet, Ott Rebane, Marco Kirm
Summary: Highly crystalline K2GeF6 micropowders were prepared by co-precipitation in the hydrofluoric acid-water-alcohol solution and studied by cathodoluminescence and time-resolved luminescence spectroscopy. Various intrinsic emissions were identified, including the radiative decay of self-trapped excitons and cross-luminescence transitions from hole states. Important electronic band structure parameters were determined from the luminescence excitation spectra.
JOURNAL OF ALLOYS AND COMPOUNDS
(2021)
Review
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Benjamin Sreenan, Bryan Lee, Li Wan, Ruosheng Zeng, Jialong Zhao, Xiaoshan Zhu
Summary: This review discusses the applications of colloidal semiconductor nanocrystals (NCs) in biosensing/imaging and the technique of time-resolved luminescence measurement. The traditional luminescence-intensity measurement suffers from autofluorescence in biological samples, limiting the sensitivities. To overcome this, the review suggests using time-resolved luminescence measurement with long-lived probes. However, the current long-lived probes have optical limitations. Therefore, developing probes with high brightness, low-energy excitation, and long lifetimes is crucial for low-cost, compact, and sensitive instruments for in-field or point-of-care testing. Mn-doped NCs offer potential solutions to these challenges.
ACS APPLIED NANO MATERIALS
(2022)
Article
Materials Science, Ceramics
Virginija Vitola, Ivita Bite, Donats Millers, Aleksejs Zolotarjovs, Katrina Laganovska, Krisjanis Smits, Agnese Spustaka
CERAMICS INTERNATIONAL
(2020)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Edgars Butanovs, Alexei Kuzmin, Sergei Piskunov, Krisjanis Smits, Aleksandr Kalinko, Boris Polyakov
Summary: The study demonstrates the growth of high-quality few-layer ReS2 using pre-deposited rhenium oxide coating on different semiconductor material nanowires, creating novel core-shell heterostructures for energy applications involving photocatalytic and electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution.
APPLIED SURFACE SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
V. Vitola, V Lahti, I Bite, A. Spustaka, D. Millers, M. Lastusaari, L. Petit, K. Smits
Summary: By directly doping SrAl2O4: Eu, Dy, B particles into a phosphate glass, the glass exhibited improved afterglow performance, especially at low temperatures. Despite the partial decomposition of the particles, the glass showed promising potential for low temperature applications.
SCRIPTA MATERIALIA
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
K. Buks, J. Andzane, K. Smits, J. Zicans, J. Bitenieks, A. Zarins, D. Erts
MATERIALS TODAY ENERGY
(2020)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Krisjanis Buks, Jana Andzane, Lasma Bugovecka, Mikhail Katkov, Krisjanis Smits, Olesja Starkova, Juris Katkevics, Loreta Brauna, Vanda Voikiva, Donats Erts
Summary: The study demonstrates a new approach of encapsulating a bismuth selenide-multiwalled carbon nanotubes hybrid network in polyvinyl alcohol for the fabrication of flexible thermoelectric films. The developed material shows excellent thermoelectric performance and environmental stability.
ADVANCED MATERIALS INTERFACES
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Gunta Kunakova, Edijs Kauranens, Kiryl Niherysh, Mikhael Bechelany, Krisjanis Smits, Gatis Mozolevskis, Thilo Bauch, Floriana Lombardi, Donats Erts
Summary: Researchers investigated all-around ZnO-encapsulated Bi2Se3 nanoribbons and found them to have improved charge transport characteristics compared to nanoribbons grown on SiO2 substrates, due to reduced carrier densities at the nanoribbon/substrate interface.
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Andris Sutka, Linards Lapcinskis, Osvalds Verners, Liva Germane, Krisjanis Smits, Arturs Pludons, Sergejs Gaidukovs, Martins Zubkins, Kaspars Pudzs, Peter Cameron Sherrell, Juris Blums
Summary: This study presents a frictional electrification polymer inspired by the ordering in spider silk, which shows enhanced contact electrification by adding α-FeOOH nanowires. Experimental results demonstrate that this structural design can effectively promote mechanical energy harvesting of materials.
ADVANCED MATERIALS TECHNOLOGIES
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Andris Sutka, Linda Mezule, Viktorija Denisova, Jochen Meier-Haack, Akshay Kulkarni, Sanda Bitina, Krisjanis Smits, Svetlana Vihodceva
Summary: This study presents a scalable and rapid method for producing antibacterial coatings on flexible polymer substrates. By spin-coating a slurry of ZnO nanoparticles in toluene, a stable modification layer was obtained on polystyrene and poly(ethylene-co-vinyl acetate) substrates, showing high antibacterial efficiency.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Tatjana Glaskova-Kuzmina, Leons Stankevics, Sergejs Tarasovs, Jevgenijs Sevcenko, Vladimir Spacek, Anatolijs Sarakovskis, Aleksejs Zolotarjovs, Krishjanis Shmits, Andrey Aniskevich
Summary: The study shows that CSR nanoparticles have a significant effect on the mechanical properties and glass transition temperature of epoxy resin. They can improve the fracture toughness and interlaminar fracture toughness of the material to some extent, but reduce the tensile strength and elastic modulus.
Article
Crystallography
Ashish Kumar Singh, Reinis Drunka, Krisjanis Smits, Martins Vanags, Mairis Iesalnieks, Aiga Anna Joksa, Ilmars Blumbergs, Ints Steins
Summary: Lightweight magnesium alloys have advantages over Al alloys but are more susceptible to galvanic corrosion. PEO coatings reinforced by nanoparticles can improve corrosion resistance and mechanical properties. This study investigates the effect of processing time on nanoparticle-reinforced PEO coatings on an AZ31 magnesium alloy.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Liga Avotina, Liga Bikse, Yuri Dekhtyar, Annija Elizabete Goldmane, Gunta Kizane, Aleksei Muhin, Marina Romanova, Krisjanis Smits, Hermanis Sorokins, Aleksandr Vilken, Aleksandrs Zaslavskis
Summary: This study examines the electrical properties and layer quality of field emission microtriodes based on tungsten (W) and silicon dioxide (SiO2) with planar electrode geometry. It is found that the FIB microtriode exhibits higher field emission efficiency compared to the PL microtriode due to its higher local electric field near the cathode.
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Jana Andzane, Mikhail V. Katkov, Krisjanis Buks, Anatolijs Sarakovskis, Krisjanis Smits, Donats Erts
Summary: In this study, N-MWCNTs were synthesized and their magnetoresistance and thermoelectrical properties were systematically investigated. The switching of magnetoresistance from negative to positive values at low temperatures was observed, and the n-type conductance and thermal stability of N-MWCNTs were revealed.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Linards Lapcinskis, Artis Linarts, Kaspars Malnieks, Hyunseung Kim, Kristaps Rubenis, Kaspars Pudzs, Krisjanis Smits, Andrejs Kovalovs, Kaspars Kalnins, Aile Tamm, Chang Kyu Jeong, Andris Sutka
Summary: This study demonstrates the relationship between triboelectric surface charge density and nanoparticle concentration in polymer-based nanocomposites, highlighting the importance of surface viscoelastic deformation in triboelectric generation. The findings emphasize the role of physical and mechanical properties rather than electronic or chemical properties in polymeric triboelectrification, contributing to a better understanding of the mechanism and potential applications in triboelectric sensors and energy harvesters.
JOURNAL OF MATERIALS CHEMISTRY A
(2021)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
R. Krukovskyi, K. Smits, I Semkiv, S. Krukovskyi, I Saldan, H. Ilchuk, O. Kuntyi
FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS
(2020)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Anzelms Zukuls, Raivis Eglitis, Tanel Kaambre, Reinis Ignatans, Krisjanis Smits, Kristaps Rubenis, Dzintars Zacs, Andris Sutka
