[en] Cadmium sulphide (CdS) and Cu doped CdS film were deposited onto commercially available FTO glass substrate by the hydrothermal assisted chemical bath deposition (HACBD). The effect of doping on the properties of CdS films were investigated. Optical, morphological, structural and photoluminescence properties of deposited films were investigated using UV–vis spectroscopy, SEM, FTIR, x-ray diffraction and photoluminescence spectroscopy (PL). Lower value of the bandgap energy was observed for the Cu doped CdS films as compared to those of the undoped CdS films. XRD patterns revealed a cubic and hexagonal crystal structure phase with (1 1 1) and (0 0 2) as the preferential orientation having an average crystallite size of 18 nm. SEM images revealed a change in the morphology of CdS and Cu-CdS thin films from spherical to disclike structures. PL spectra showed strong emission peak in visible region for both doped and undoped films. The associated chemical bonds were investigated using FTIR spectroscopy. (paper)

[en] This paper discusses the amplitude-squared squeezing for the superposition of two coherent states with their phase differences being separately π/2, 3π/2, and π, as well as for the superposition state of two pseudoclassical states. According to the analysis, it is found that the superposition state of two coherent states with their phase differences π/2 and 3π/2, and the superposition state of two pseudoclassical states both do exhibit the amplitude-squared squeezing. Also, some specific states are found to exhibit even stronger squeezing effects when relative phase of the superposition is equal to the average photon number. Amplitude-squared squeezing is dependent on the difference in phase between two coherent states

[en] The time evolution of the linear entropy of an atom in k-photon Jaynes-Cummings model is investigated taking into consideration Stark shift and Kerr-like medium. The effect of both the Stark shift and Kerr-like medium on the linear entropy is analyzed using a numerical technique for the field initially in coherent state and in even coherent state. The results show that the presence of the Kerr-like medium and Stark shift has an important effect on the properties of the entropy and entanglement. It is also shown that the setting of the initial state plays a significant role in the evolution of the linear entropy and entanglement. (electromagnetism, optics, acoustics, heat transfer, classical mechanics, and fluid dynamics)

[en] This paper stuides numerically the model equation in a one dimensional defective photonic lattice by modifying the potential function to a periodic function. It is found that defect modes (DMs) can be regarded as Bloch modes which are excited from the extended photonic band-gap structure at Bloch wave-numbers with k_x = 0. The DMs for both positive and negative defects are considered in this method. (classical areas of phenomenology)

[en] The authors report that nitrogen-doped graphene oxide (NGO) catalyzes the oxidative decomposition of the fluorophore Rhodamine B (RhB) by hydrogen peroxide. The catalytic decomposition of hydrogen peroxide yields free hydroxyl radicals that destroy RhB so that the intensity of the yellow fluorescence is reduced. Nitrogen doping enhances the electronic and optical properties and surface chemical reactivities of GO such as widening of bandgap, increase in conductivity, enhanced quenching and adsorbing capabilities etc. The catalytic properties of NGO are attributed to its large specific surface and high electron affinity of nitrogen atoms. The chemical and structural properties of GO and NGO were characterized by XRD, FTIR, SEM, UV-visible and Raman spectroscopies. The method was optimized by varying the concentration of RhB, nitrogen dopant and hydrogen peroxide. The fluorescent probe, best operated at excitation/emission wavelengths of 554/577 nm, allows hydrogen peroxide to be determined in concentrations as low as 94 pM with a linear range spanning from 1 nM to 1 μM.

[en] The authors report on the synthesis of carboxy functionalized graphene oxide (fGO) decorated with magnetite (Fe₃O₄) nanoparticles. The resulting nanomaterial was used to prepare a composite with polyaniline (PANI) which was characterized by UV-vis, Fourier transform-infrared and Raman spectroscopies. Its surface morphologies were characterized by atomic force and scanning electron microscopies. A screen-printed carbon electrode was then modified with the nanocomposite to obtain an enzyme-free glucose sensor. The large surface of fGO and Fe₃O₄ along with the enhanced charge transfer capability of PANI warrant a pronounced electrochemical response (typically measured at 0.18 V versus Ag/AgCl) which is suppressed in the presence of glucose. This reduction of current by glucose was used to design a sensitive method for quantification of glucose. The response of the modified SPCE is linear in the 0.05 μM – 5 mM glucose concentration range, and the lower detection limit is 0.01 μM.

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[en] In recent scientific research, an interest has been gained significantly by rare earth metals such as cerium (Ce), samarium (Sm) and gadolinium (Gd) due to their use in fuel cells as electrolyte and catalysts. When used in an electrolyte, these materials lower the fuel cell's operating temperature compared to a conventional electrolyte, for example, yittria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) which operates at a high temperature (≥800 °C). In this paper, the tri-doped ceria, M_0.2Ce_0.8O_2-δ (M = Sm_0.1, Ca_0.05, Gd_0.05) electrolyte powders was synthesized using the co-precipitation method at 80 °C. These dopants were used for CeO₂ with a total molar ratio of 1 M. Dry-pressed powder technique was used to make fuel cell pellets from the powder and placed them in the furnace to sinter at 700 °C for 60 min. Electrical conductivity of such a pellet in air was 1.2 × 10⁻² S cm⁻¹ at 700 °C measured by the ProboStat-NorECs setup. The crystal structure was determined with the help of X-ray diffraction (XRD), which showed that all the dopants were successfully doped in CeO₂. Raman spectroscopy and UV-VIS spectroscopy were also carried out to analyse the molecular vibrations and absorbance, respectively. The maximum open-circuit voltages (OCVs) for hydrogen and ethanol fuelled at 550 °C were observed to be 0.89 V and 0.71 V with power densities 314 mW cm⁻² and 52.8 mW cm⁻², respectively.

[en] Highlights: • The highly defective N-doped graphene nanosheets (NGNS) are synthesized in a quasi-closed MMT nanoreactor. • NGNS supported on carbon paper exhibit superior electrochemical performance as positive and negative electrodes. • NGNS@CP//NGNS@CP symmetric SC demonstrates excellent flexible performance. • NGNS@CP//NGNS@CP symmetric SC displays outstanding energy storage capability. -- Abstract: Two-dimensional graphene-based materials are of great interest in electrochemical energy storage devices owing to their high theoretical specific capacitance; however, it is a big challenge to approach the theoretical limit. Here, we report a facile strategy for the selective production of N-doped graphene nanosheets (NGNS) in quasi-closed montmorillonite (MMT), which act as a nanoreactor and open only along the perimeter to enable the entrance of aniline (AN) monomer. As a proof of concept applications, as-synthesized NGNS are used as the electrode material for a symmetric supercapacitor (SSC). The NGNS supported on carbon paper (NGNS@CP) exhibits excellent capacitive performance in an aqueous neutral electrolyte (LiCl) by achieving a high capacitance of 480 and 472 F g⁻¹ at 1 A g⁻¹ for negative and positive electrodes, respectively. The NGNS@CP electrode also shown outstanding rate capabilities and cycling stabilities in positive and negative voltage windows by retaining the 98.07, and 99.44 % of the original value, respectively. Moreover, the assembled flexible symmetric supercapacitor (NGNS@CP//NGNS@CP) using LiCl/PVA hydro-gel electrolyte can operate at high voltage window of 0.0–2.0 V and achieved an ultra-high energy density of 82.72 Wh kg⁻¹ at a moderate power density of 425.68 W kg⁻¹ with remarkable cycling stability of 96.91 % over 10000 charge/discharge cycles. Furthermore, the NGNS@CP//NGNS@CP demonstrates excellent flexibility and one device can power the two light-emitting diodes brightly. The achieved energy density of the NGNS@CP//NGNS@CP is much superior to the previous graphene-based SSCs and suggests a new generation of ultra-fast symmetric supercapacitor as novel high-performance energy storage devices.