24 research outputs found
Theoretical study of the insulating oxides and nitrides: SiO2, GeO2, Al2O3, Si3N4, and Ge3N4
An extensive theoretical study is performed for wide bandgap crystalline
oxides and nitrides, namely, SiO_{2}, GeO_{2}, Al_{2}O_{3}, Si_{3}N_{4}, and
Ge_{3}N_{4}. Their important polymorphs are considered which are for SiO_{2}:
-quartz, - and -cristobalite and stishovite, for
GeO_{2}: -quartz, and rutile, for Al_{2}O_{3}: -phase, for
Si_{3}N_{4} and Ge_{3}N_{4}: - and -phases. This work
constitutes a comprehensive account of both electronic structure and the
elastic properties of these important insulating oxides and nitrides obtained
with high accuracy based on density functional theory within the local density
approximation. Two different norm-conserving \textit{ab initio}
pseudopotentials have been tested which agree in all respects with the only
exception arising for the elastic properties of rutile GeO_{2}. The agreement
with experimental values, when available, are seen to be highly satisfactory.
The uniformity and the well convergence of this approach enables an unbiased
assessment of important physical parameters within each material and among
different insulating oxide and nitrides. The computed static electric
susceptibilities are observed to display a strong correlation with their mass
densities. There is a marked discrepancy between the considered oxides and
nitrides with the latter having sudden increase of density of states away from
the respective band edges. This is expected to give rise to excessive carrier
scattering which can practically preclude bulk impact ionization process in
Si_{3}N_{4} and Ge_{3}N_{4}.Comment: Published version, 10 pages, 8 figure
A germanate transparent conductive oxide
Wide bandgap conductors such as In2O3 and ZnO are used as transparent conducting oxides (TCOs). To date, TCOs are realized using post transition metal cations with largely spread s-orbitals such as In3+, Sn4+, Zn2+ and Cd2+. On the other hand, no good electronic conductor has been realized in oxides of Al, Si and Ge. Here we report the conversion of an oxide of Ge into a good electronic conductor by employing the concept of superdegeneracy. We find that cubic SrGeO3, synthesized under high pressure, displays a direct bandgap of 3.5 eV, a carrier mobility of 12 cm2(Vs)−1, and conductivities of 3 Scm−1 (DC) and 400 Scm−1 (optical conductivity). This is the first Ge-based electronic conductive oxide, and expands the family of TCOs from ionic oxides to covalent oxides
Protective Effects of a Rhodiola Crenulata Extract and Salidroside on Hippocampal Neurogenesis against Streptozotocin-Induced Neural Injury in the Rat
Previously we have demonstrated that a Rhodiola crenulata extract (RCE), containing a potent antioxidant salidroside, promotes neurogenesis in the hippocampus of depressive rats. The current study was designed to further investigate the protective effect of the RCE on neurogenesis in a rat model of Alzheimer's disease (AD) induced by an intracerebroventricular injection of streptozotocin (STZ), and to determine whether this neuroprotective effect is induced by the antioxidative activity of salidroside. Our results showed that pretreatment with the RCE significantly improved the impaired neurogenesis and simultaneously reduced the oxidative stress in the hippocampus of AD rats. In vitro studies revealed that (1) exposure of neural stem cells (NSCs) from the hippocampus to STZ strikingly increased intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels, induced cell death and perturbed cell proliferation and differentiation, (2) hydrogen peroxide induced similar cellular activities as STZ, (3) pre-incubation of STZ-treated NSCs with catalase, an antioxidant, suppressed all these cellular activities induced by STZ, and (4) likewise, pre-incubation of STZ-treated NSCs with salidroside, also an antioxidant, suppressed all these activities as catalase: reduction of ROS levels and NSC death with simultaneous increases in proliferation and differentiation. Our findings indicated that the RCE improved the impaired hippocampal neurogenesis in the rat model of AD through protecting NSCs by its main ingredient salidroside which scavenged intracellular ROS
Influence of Oxygen Vacancies in Gas Sensors Based on Metal-Oxide Semiconductors: A First-Principles Study
Despite advantages highlighted by MOX-based gas sensors, these devices still show drawbacks in their performances (e.g. selectivity and stability), so further investigations are necessary. SnO2 is the most used semiconductor for chemoresistive gas sensors production due to its broad spectrum of physical-chemical properties,
and then it represents the best candidate for the innovative work here proposed. Indeed, among the gaps in research on this material, it is placed the study of oxygen deficiency and its impact on the tin dioxide physicochemical properties. A series of first-principles study was carried out in order to study the impact of oxygen vacancies on the physical-chemical properties of SnO2. The results showed a high electrical
conductivity for the samples with oxygen vacancies, which can give a decrease of the operating temperature that sensing material needs to be thermo-activated. The arrangement of the impurity states is one of the important parameters that involve the reactions on the material surface, making the excitation of weakly bound valence
electrons into the unoccupied energy levels in the conduction bands