Electronic Structure and Room Temperature Ferromagnetism in Gd-doped Cerium Oxide Nanoparticles for Hydrogen Generation via Photocatalytic Water Splitting.

Enhanced visible light photocatalytic activity of Gd-doped CeO2 nanoparticles (NPs) is experimentally demonstrated, whereas there are very few reports on this mechanism with rare earth doping. All-pure and Gd-doped CeO2 NPs are synthesized using a coprecipitation method and characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), absorption spectroscopy, surface-enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID). The effect of Gd-doping on properties of CeO2 is discussed along with defects and oxygen vacancies generation. The XRD confirms the incorporation of Gd3+ at the Ce3+/Ce4+ site by keeping the crystal structure same. The average particle size from transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images is in the range of 5-7 nm. The XPS spectra of Ce 3d, O 1s, and Gd 4d exhibits the formation of oxygen vacancies to maintain the charge neutrality when Ce4+ changes to Ce3+. The gradual increase in hydrogen production is observed with increasing Gd concentration. The observed results are in good correlation with the characterization results and a mechanism of water splitting is proposed on the basis of analyses. The absorption spectra reveal optical band gap (2.5-2.7 eV) of samples, showing band gap narrowing leads to desired optical absorbance and photoactivity of NPs.

Highly selective and reversible NO2 gas sensor using vertically aligned MoS2 flake networks.

We demonstrate a highly selective and reversible NO2 resistive gas sensor using vertically aligned MoS2 (VA-MoS2) flake networks. We synthesized horizontally and vertically aligned MoS2 flakes on SiO2/Si substrate using a kinetically controlled rapid growth CVD process. Uniformly interconnected MoS2 flakes and their orientation were confirmed by scanning electron microscopy, x-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The VA-MoS2 gas sensor showed two times higher response to NO2 compared to horizontally aligned MoS2 at room temperature. Moreover, the sensors exhibited a dramatically improved complete recovery upon NO2 exposure at its low optimum operating temperatures (100 °C). In addition, the sensing performance of the sensors was investigated with exposure to various gases such as NH3, CO2, H2, CH4 and H2S. It was observed that high response to gas directly correlates with the strong interaction of gas molecules on edge sites of the VA-MoS2. The VA-MoS2 gas sensor exhibited high response with good reversibility and selectivity towards NO2 as a result of the high aspect ratio as well as high adsorption energy on exposed edge sites.

Fabrication of sensitive bioelectrode based on atomically thin CVD grown graphene for cancer biomarker detection.

Motivation behind the present work is to fabricate a cost effective and scalable biosensing platform for an easy and reliable detection of cancer biomarker Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA). Here, we report the sensitive and selective detection of CEA using graphene based bio-sensing platform. Large sized (~ 2.5 × 1.0cm2), uniform, continuous, single and few layers graphene films have been grown on copper (Cu) substrate employing chemical vapor deposition (CVD) technique using hexane as a liquid precursor. Functional group has been created over Graphene/Cu substrate through π-π stacking of 1- pyrenebutanoic acid succinimidyl ester (PBSE). Further, to make the sensor specific to CEA, antibody of CEA (anti-CEA) has been covalently immobilized onto PBSE/Graphene/Cu electrode. Selective and sensitive detection of CEA is achieved by anti-CEA/PBSE/Graphene/Cu electrode through electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) measurements. Under optimal condition, the fabricated sensor shows linear response in the physiological range 1.0-25.0ngmL-1 (normal value ~ 5.0ngmL-1), revealing sensitivity 563.4Ωng-1mLcm-2 with a correlation coefficient of 0.996 and limit of detection (LOD) 0.23ngmL-1. In this way, one step electrode fabrication with high specific surface area provides a light weight, low cost, reliable and scalable novel biosensing platform for sensitive and selective detection of CEA. We believe that this bioelectrode equipped with specific recognition elements could be utilized for detection of other biomolecules too.

Surface-Engineered Nanostructure-Based Efficient Nonpolar GaN Ultraviolet Photodetectors.

Surface-engineered nanostructured nonpolar (112̅0) gallium nitride (GaN)-based high-performance ultraviolet (UV) photodetectors (PDs) have been fabricated. The surface morphology of a nonpolar GaN film was modified from pyramidal shape to flat and trigonal nanorods displaying facets along different crystallographic planes. We report the ease of enhancing the photocurrent (5.5-fold) and responsivity (6-fold) of the PDs using a simple and convenient wet chemical-etching-induced surface engineering. The fabricated metal-semiconductor-metal structure-based surface-engineered UV PD exhibited a significant increment in detectivity, that is, from 0.43 to 2.83 (×108) Jones, and showed a very low noise-equivalent power (∼10-10 W Hz-1/2). The reliability of the nanostructured PD was ensured via fast switching with a response and decay time of 332 and 995 ms, which were more than five times faster with respect to the unetched pyramidal structure-based UV PD. The improvement in device performance was attributed to increased light absorption, efficient transport of photogenerated carriers, and enhancement in conduction cross section via elimination of recombination/trap centers related to defect states. Thus, the proposed method could be a promising approach to enhance the performance of GaN-based PD technology.

Bio-functionalization of grade V titanium alloy with type I human collagen for enhancing and promoting human periodontal fibroblast cell adhesion - an in-vitro study.

Surface modification of medical grade V titanium alloy (Ti-6Al-4V) with biomolecules is an important and vital step for tailoring it for various biomedical applications. Present study investigates theinfluence of type I human collagen (T1HC) bio-conjugation through a three stage process. Polished grade V titanium alloy discs were functionalizedwith free OH group by means of controlled heat and alkali treatment followed by coating of 3-aminopropyltriethoxy (APTES) silane couplingagent. T1HC were bio-conjugated through 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethyl aminopropyl) carbodiimide hydrochloride N-hydroxysuccinimide (EDCNHS)coupling reaction. At each stage, grade V titanium alloy surfaces were characterized by atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning electronmicroscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and Xrayphotoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). FTIR and XPS studies confirms thecovalent attachment of APTES with titanium alloy surface while terminalamine groups of APTES remained free for further attachment of T1HCthrough covalent bond. Aqueous stability of bio-conjugated titanium discsat various pH and time intervals (i.e. at pH of 5.5, 6.8 and 8.0 at timeinterval of 27 and 48h) confirmed the stability of T1HC bioconjugated collagen on titanium surface. Further human periodontalfibroblast cell line (HPdlF) culture revealed enhanced adhesion on theT1HC bio-conjugated surface compared to the polystyrene and polishedgrade V titanium alloy surfaces.

Light Induced Electron-Phonon Scattering Mediated Resistive Switching in Nanostructured Nb Thin Film Superconductor.

The elemental Nb is mainly investigated for its eminent superconducting properties. In contrary, we report of a relatively unexplored property, namely, its superior optoelectronic property in reduced dimension. We demonstrate here that nanostructured Nb thin films (NNFs), under optical illumination, behave as room temperature photo-switches and exhibit bolometric features below its superconducting critical temperature. Both photo-switch and superconducting bolometric behavior are monitored by its resistance change with light in visible and near infrared (NIR) wavelength range. Unlike the conventional photodetectors, the NNF devices switch to higher resistive states with light and the corresponding resistivity change is studied with thickness and grain size variations. At low temperature in its superconducting state, the light exposure shifts the superconducting transition towards lower temperature. The room temperature photon sensing nature of the NNF is explained by the photon assisted electron-phonon scattering mechanism while the low temperature light response is mainly related to the heat generation which essentially changes the effective temperature for the device and the device is capable of sensing a temperature difference of few tens of milli-kelvins. The observed photo-response on the transport properties of NNFs can be very important for future superconducting photon detectors, bolometers and phase slip based device applications.

Wet chemical etching induced stress relaxed nanostructures on polar & non-polar epitaxial GaN films.

We report formation of aligned nanostructures on epitaxially grown polar and nonpolar GaN films via wet chemical (hot H3PO4 and KOH) etching. The morphological evolution exhibited stress relaxed faceted nanopyramids, flat/trigonal nanorods and porous structures with high hydrophilicity and reduced wettability. The nanostructured films divulged significant suppression of defects and displayed an enhanced intensity ratio of the near band edge emission to the defect band. Extensive photoemission analysis revealed variation in oxidation state along with elimination of OH- and adsorbed H2O molecules from the chemically modified surfaces. Fermi level pinning, and alteration in the surface polarity with substantial changes in the electron affinities were also perceived. The temperature dependent current-voltage analysis of the nanostructured surfaces displayed enhancement in current conduction. The in-depth analysis demonstrates that the chemically etched samples could potentially be utilized as templates in the design/growth of III-nitride based high performance devices.

Applications of Nanomaterials in Dental Science: A Review.

Nanotechnology has revolutionized health care industry in a large scale and its applications are a boon to modern medicine and dental science. It is expected to pervade and further revolutionize the art and science of dentistry and may well have important applications spanning all the aspects of oral diseases, diagnosis, prevention and treatment. Materials science in dentistry has embraced the technology to produce nanomaterials that are being used in caries inhibitors, antimicrobial resins, hard tissue remineralizing agents, targeted drug delivery, scaffolds, bio-membranes, nanocrystalline hydroxyl apatite, restorative cements, adhesion promoters and boosters, bioactive glass, tissue conditioners, reinforced methacrylate resins, root canal disinfectants, friction free orthodontic arch wires and nano composites life. These upcoming technologies have potential to bring about significant benefits in the form of improvement in dental science and to society. The present review presents the latest recent developments in this interdisciplinary field bridging nanotechnology and dental science.

Correlation of growth temperature with stress, defect states and electronic structure in an epitaxial GaN film grown on c-sapphire via plasma MBE.

The relationship of the growth temperature with stress, defect states, and electronic structure of molecular beam epitaxy grown GaN films on c-plane (0001) sapphire substrates is demonstrated. A minimum compressively stressed GaN film is grown by tuning the growth temperature. The correlation of dislocations/defects with the stress relaxation is scrutinized by high-resolution X-ray diffraction and photoluminescence measurements which show a high crystalline quality with significant reduction in the threading dislocation density and defect related bands. A substantial reduction in yellow band related defect states is correlated with the stress relaxation in the grown film. Temperature dependent Raman analysis shows the thermal stability of the stress relaxed GaN film which further reveals a downshift in the E2 (high) phonon frequency owing to the thermal expansion of the lattice at elevated temperatures. Electronic structure analysis reveals that the Fermi level of the films is pinned at the respective defect states; however, for the stress relaxed film it is located at the charge neutrality level possessing the lowest electron affinity. The analysis demonstrates that the generated stress not only affects the defect states, but also the crystal quality, surface morphology and electronic structure/properties.

Pit assisted oxygen chemisorption on GaN surfaces.

A comprehensive analysis of oxygen chemisorption on epitaxial gallium nitride (GaN) films grown at different substrate temperatures via RF-molecular beam epitaxy was carried out. Photoemission (XPS and UPS) measurements were performed to investigate the nature of the surface oxide and corresponding changes in the electronic structure. It was observed that the growth of GaN films at lower temperatures leads to a lower amount of surface oxide and vice versa was observed for a higher temperature growth. The XPS core level (CL) and valence band maximum (VBM) positions shifted towards higher binding energies (BE) with oxide coverage and revealed a downward band bending. XPS valence band spectra were de-convoluted to understand the nature of the hybridization states. UPS analysis divulged higher values of electronic affinity and ionization energy for GaN films grown at a higher substrate temperature. The surface morphology and pit structure were probed via microscopic measurements (FESEM and AFM). FESEM and AFM analysis revealed that the film surface was covered with hexagonal pits, which played a significant role in oxygen chemisorption. The favourable energetics of the pits offered an ideal site for oxygen adsorption. Pit density and pit depth were observed to be important parameters that governed the surface oxide coverage. The contribution of surface oxide was increased with an increase in average pit density as well as pit depth.