Impact of Carbon-Based Nanoparticles on Polyvinyl Alcohol Polarizer Features: Photonics Applications.

Among different inorganic and organic polarizer elements, thin-film light polarizers occupy a special place because of their flexibility, ease of integration into any optoelectronic circuit, and good functioning in the visible and near-infrared spectral range and can compete with Glan and Nicolas volumetric prisms. This paper presents the results of a study on how carbon-based nanoparticles influence on the basic properties of a well-known PVA-based polymer matrix, using which it is possible to obtain good transparency for parallel light components. An accent is made on graphene oxide nanoparticles, which are used as PVA sensitizers. It was shown for the first time that the structuring of PVA with graphene oxides allows an increased transmittance of the parallel light component to be obtained, saving the transmittance of the orthogonal one. Moreover, the graphene network can increase the mechanical strength of such thin-film PVA-based polarizers and provoke a change in the wetting angle. These advantages make it possible to use graphene oxide-structured thin-film light polarizers based on a PVA matrix as an independent optoelectronic element. Some comparative results for polarizers based on PVA-C70 structures are shown as well.

Advanced and Functional Structured Ceramics: MgF2 and ZnS.

Due to difficulties in obtaining monomaterials, intensive research into the properties of ceramic compositions has been undertaken, along with developments to the properties of the compositions. These are not inferior to monomeric structures for a number of basic parameters. Among the different types of ceramics, magnesium fluoride and zinc sulfide occupy a special place due to their unique properties and specific applications. In this paper, we studied functional optoelectronics and modulating technique elements based on the advanced ceramics MgF2 and ZnS. The results of the transmittance spectral parameters and the contact angle estimation as well as an AFM analysis of the studied ceramics, both pure and structured with carbon nanotubes, are presented. We observed that the main characteristics of the studied materials with a surface modified by carbon nanotubes could be significantly changed when an innovative laser-oriented deposition method was applied. This method permitted the CNTs to be deposited in a vertical position on the material surface. The main features of the carbon nanotubes-such as the smaller value of the refractive index, the greater strength between the carbon atoms, and the effective surface-were taken into consideration. The analytical, quantum chemical, and experimental results of the studies of the changes in the basic physical parameters of the selected model of the inorganic matrices of the ceramics are given.

Advantages of the Surface Structuration of KBr Materials for Spectrometry and Sensors.

A potassium bromide (KBr) material, which has been widely used as the key element in Fourier spectrometers and as the output window of the IR-lasers, was studied via applying carbon nanotubes in order to modify the potassium bromide surface. The laser-oriented deposition method was used to place the carbon nanotubes at the matrix material surface in the vertical position at different electric fields varying from 100 to 600 V × cm-1. The main idea of the improvement of the spectral properties of the potassium bromide structure is connected with the fact that the refractive index of the carbon nanotubes is substantially less than the refractive index of the studied material, and the small diameter of the carbon nanotubes allows one to embed these nano-objects in the voids of the lattice of the model matrix systems. Moreover, the mechanical characteristics and wetting features of potassium bromide structures have been investigated under the condition mentioned above. Analytical and quantum-chemical simulations have supported the experimental results.