Search results for " structural properties"
showing 8 items of 8 documents
Thermal and structural properties of a hemp–lime biocomposite
2013
Abstract The need to reduce greenhouse gases emission produced by the building sector leads to the research of renewable and less impacting materials that can replace traditional ones. This subject has encouraged new researches on biocomposite concretes with the aim to exploit renewable resources like vegetal fibres intended as materials whose production processes are generally characterized by low costs and energy demand. This biocomposite is obviously much lighter than concrete and, therefore, can be suitably used in such cases where a structure cannot be overloaded, for instance in the realization of a green covering on top of a preexistent building. In this work, a first analysis of the…
Evidence for a different electronic configuration as a primary effect during compression of orthorhombic perovskites: The case of NdM3+ O3 (M=Cr, Ga)
2018
(Mg,Fe)SiO3 perovskite is the most abundant mineral of the Earth's lower mantle, and compounds with the perovskite structure are perhaps the most widely employed ceramics. Hence, they attract both geophysicists and material scientists. Several investigations attempted to predict their structural evolution at high pressure, and recent advancements highlighted that perovskites having ions with the same formal valence at both polyhedral sites (i.e., 3+:3+) define different compressional patterns when transition metal ions (TMI) are involved. In this study, in situ high-pressure synchrotron XRD measurements coupled with ab initio simulations of the electronic population of NdCrO3 perovskite are…
Liquid structure and dynamics in the choline acetate:urea 1:2 deep eutectic solvent
2021
We report on the thermodynamic, structural, and dynamic properties of a recently proposed deep eutectic solvent, formed by choline acetate (ChAc) and urea (U) at the stoichiometric ratio 1:2, hereinafter indicated as ChAc:U. Although the crystalline phase melts at 36-38 degrees C depending on the heating rate, ChAc:U can be easily supercooled at sub-ambient conditions, thus maintaining at the liquid state, with a glass-liquid transition at about -50 degrees C. Synchrotron high energy x-ray scattering experiments provide the experimental data for supporting a reverse Monte Carlo analysis to extract structural information at the atomistic level. This exploration of the liquid structure of ChA…
Optical, structural, and morphological characterisation of epitaxial ZnO films grown by pulsed-laser deposition
2013
We report on ZnO epitaxial growth by pulsed-laser deposition (PLD) on different substrates, such as quartz, sapphire, and GaN template. Approximately 1 mu m-thick films were grown under different substrate temperatures and background oxygen conditions. X-ray diffraction analysis indicated preferential growth along the c-axis direction with a full-width at half maximum(FWHM) of the rocking curve as narrow as 230 arcs in the case of the GaN template. Low-temperature photoluminescence showed A-excitonic emission near 3.36 eV and a FWHM of (DXA)-X-0 emission as small as 2.89 meV at 9 K. Atomic force microscope measurements showed that roughness as low as 18 nm could be obtained. These results p…
Photocatalytic thin films of TiO2 formed by a sol-gel process using titanium tetraisopropoxide as the precursor
2008
Abstract Thin TiO 2 films were prepared with the dip-coating technique by using sols deriving from titanium tetraisopropoxide. TiO 2 films were formed on glass substrates previously covered by a SiO 2 layer obtained from a tetraethylortosilicate sol. The films, after a thermal treatment at 673 K, mainly consisted of TiO 2 anatase. The samples were characterised by X-ray diffraction, UV–Vis spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy. The photoactivity of the various films was tested by using as probe reaction the photo-oxidation of 2-propanol in gas-solid regime. The photoreactivity results indicated that the TiO 2 films were efficient for degrading 2-propanol und…
Aging of MCM41, MSU-H and MSU-F mesoporous systems investigated through the Raman spectroscopy
2014
Here we report an experimental investigation, based on the Raman spectroscopy, on the aging of some mesoporous silica based systems. In details, we studied the aging in air of the MCM41, the MSU-H and the MSU-F materials by acquiring the Raman spectra of as received and of mechanically pressed, at 0.2 and 0.45 GPa, powders. Our data evidenced that the starting powders of the MCM41 and of the MSU-H undergo structural modification when they are exposed to the ambient atmosphere, such modification consisting in the decrease of the D2 Raman band (originated by the three member rings). At variance the powders of the MSU-F appear to be stable. Furthermore, by pressing the starting powders to prod…
Dependence of the emission properties of the germanium lone pair center on Ge doping of silica
2011
We present an experimental investigation regarding the changes induced by the Ge doping level on the emission profile of the germanium lone pair center (GLPC) in Ge doped silica. The investigated samples have been produced by the sol-gel method and by plasma-activated chemical vapor deposition and have doping levels up to 20% by weight. The recorded photoluminescence spectra show that the GLPC emission profile is the same when the Ge content is lower than ∼ 1% by weight, whereas it changes for higher doping levels. We have also performed Raman scattering measurements that show the decrease of the D1 Raman band at 490 cm( - 1) when the Ge content is higher than 1% by weight. The data suggest…
Mechanical cleaning of graphene using in situ electron microscopy
2020
Avoiding and removing surface contamination is a crucial task when handling specimens in any scientific experiment. This is especially true for two-dimensional materials such as graphene, which are extraordinarily affected by contamination due to their large surface area. While many efforts have been made to reduce and remove contamination from such surfaces, the issue is far from resolved. Here we report on an in situ mechanical cleaning method that enables the site-specific removal of contamination from both sides of two dimensional membranes down to atomic-scale cleanliness. Further, mechanisms of re-contamination are discussed, finding surface-diffusion to be the major factor for contam…