Z-scan and optical limiting properties of Hibiscus Sabdariffa dye

The intensity-dependent refractive index n 2 and the nonlinear susceptibility χ (3) of Hibiscus Sabdariffa dye solutions in the nanosecond regime at 532 nm are reported. More presicely, the variation of n 2, β, and real and imaginary parts of χ (3) versus the natural dye extract concentration has been carried out by z-scan and optical limiting techniques. The third-order nonlinearity of the Hibiscus Sabdariffa dye solutions was found to be dominated by nonlinear refraction, which leads to strong optical limiting of laser

Rapid Microwave Assisted Sol-Gel Synthesis of CeO2 and CexSm1-xO2 Nanoparticle Catalysts for CO Oxidation

CeO2 and CexSm1-xO2 nanoparticle mixed oxides have been synthesized by microwave assisted sol-gel (MW sol-gel) and conventional sol-gel (C sol-gel) synthesis carried out at 60oC (typical sol-gel) and 100oC (approaching the MW temperature). Different characterization techniques, namely, XRD, BET, Raman, SEM, FTIR, TEM, XPS, H2-TPR, CO2-TPD, and XPS have been employed to understand the process-structure-properties relationship of the catalysts. The CO oxidation performance has been determined both in the absence and in the presence of H2 in the feed gas stream. Microwave heating yields a more thermally stable precursor material, which preserves 75% of its mass up to 600oC, attributable to the different chemical nature of the precursor, compared to the typical sol-gel material with the same composition. Varying the synthesis method has no profound effect on the surface area of the materials, which is in the range 4-35m2/g. Conventional sol-gel synthesis performed at 60 and 100oC yields CeO2 particles with a crystallite size of 29 nm and 24 nm compared to 21-27 nm for MW sol-gel synthesis (at different power values). The MW sol-gel CexSm1-xO2 catalysts exhibit a smaller crystallite size (12-18 nm). The pure ceria nanoparticles were shown to have a stoichiometry of approximately CeO1.95. The presence of Ce3+ and Sm3+ in the mixed oxide particles facilitates the presence of oxygen vacant sites, confirmed by Raman. Oxygen mobile species have been traced using H2-TPR studies and a compressive lattice strain in the 0.45-1.9% range of the cubic CexSm1-xO2 lattice were found to be strongly correlated with the CO oxidation performance in the presence and absence of H2 in the oxidation feed stream. MW sol-gel synthesis led to more active CeO2 and Ce0.5Sm0.5O2 catalysts, demonstrated by T50 (temperature where 50% CO conversion is achieved), being reduced by 131 oC and 47 oC, respectively, compared to typical sol-gel catalysts. Conventional synthesis performed at 100oC leads to a CeO2 catalyst of initially higher activity at a certain temperature window (220-420oC), though with a slower increase of XCO with temperature compared to the MW one. MW sol-gel synthesized Ce0.8Sm0.2O2 exhibited a high performance (~90%) for CO oxidation over a period of more than 20 h in stream. In addition the effect of reaction temperature and contact time (W/F) on the activity of the CeO2-based materials for CO oxidation kinetics were investigated. The activation energy of the reaction was found to be in the 36-43 kJ/mole range depending on the catalyst composition

Rapid Microwave Assisted Sol-Gel Synthesis of CeO2 and CexSm1-xO2 Nanoparticle Catalysts for CO Oxidation

CeO2 and CexSm1-xO2 nanoparticle mixed oxides have been synthesized by microwave assisted sol-gel (MW sol-gel) and conventional sol-gel (C sol-gel) synthesis carried out at 60oC (typical sol-gel) and 100oC (approaching the MW temperature). Different characterization techniques, namely, XRD, BET, Raman, SEM, FTIR, TEM, XPS, H2-TPR, CO2-TPD, and XPS have been employed to understand the process-structure-properties relationship of the catalysts. The CO oxidation performance has been determined both in the absence and in the presence of H2 in the feed gas stream. Microwave heating yields a more thermally stable precursor material, which preserves 75% of its mass up to 600oC, attributable to the different chemical nature of the precursor, compared to the typical sol-gel material with the same composition. Varying the synthesis method has no profound effect on the surface area of the materials, which is in the range 4-35m2/g. Conventional sol-gel synthesis performed at 60 and 100oC yields CeO2 particles with a crystallite size of 29 nm and 24 nm compared to 21-27 nm for MW sol-gel synthesis (at different power values). The MW sol-gel CexSm1-xO2 catalysts exhibit a smaller crystallite size (12-18 nm). The pure ceria nanoparticles were shown to have a stoichiometry of approximately CeO1.95. The presence of Ce3+ and Sm3+ in the mixed oxide particles facilitates the presence of oxygen vacant sites, confirmed by Raman. Oxygen mobile species have been traced using H2-TPR studies and a compressive lattice strain in the 0.45-1.9% range of the cubic CexSm1-xO2 lattice were found to be strongly correlated with the CO oxidation performance in the presence and absence of H2 in the oxidation feed stream. MW sol-gel synthesis led to more active CeO2 and Ce0.5Sm0.5O2 catalysts, demonstrated by T50 (temperature where 50% CO conversion is achieved), being reduced by 131 oC and 47 oC, respectively, compared to typical sol-gel catalysts. Conventional synthesis performed at 100oC leads to a CeO2 catalyst of initially higher activity at a certain temperature window (220-420oC), though with a slower increase of XCO with temperature compared to the MW one. MW sol-gel synthesized Ce0.8Sm0.2O2 exhibited a high performance (~90%) for CO oxidation over a period of more than 20 h in stream. In addition the effect of reaction temperature and contact time (W/F) on the activity of the CeO2-based materials for CO oxidation kinetics were investigated. The activation energy of the reaction was found to be in the 36-43 kJ/mole range depending on the catalyst composition

Doping of large ionization potential indenopyrazine polymers via Lewis acid complexation with tris(pentafluorophenyl)borane: a simple method for improving the performance of organic thin-film transistors

Molecular doping, under certain circumstances, can be used to improve the charge transport in organic semiconductors through the introduction of excess charge carriers which can in turn negate unwanted trap states often present in organic semiconductors. Here, two Lewis basic indenopyrazine copolymers with large ionization potential (5.78 and 5.82 eV) are prepared to investigate the p-doping efficiency with the Lewis acid dopant, tris(pentafluorophenyl)borane, using organic thin-film transistors (OTFTs). The formation of Lewis acid–base complex between the polymer and dopant molecules is confirmed via optical spectroscopy and electrical field-effect measurements, with the latter revealing a dopant-concentration-dependent device performance. By adjusting the amount of p-dopant, the hole mobility can be increased up to 11-fold while the OTFTs’ threshold voltages are reduced. The work demonstrates an alternative doping mechanism other than the traditional charge transfer model, where the energy level matching principle can limit the option of dopants