A preliminary factor analytic investigation into the first-order factor structure of the Fifteen Factor Plus (15FQ+) on a sample of Black South African managers

The original publication is available at http://www.sajip.co.zaMoyo, S. & Theron, C. 2011. A preliminary factor analytic investigation into the first-order factor structure of the Fifteen Factor Plus (15FQ+) on a sample of Black South African managers. SA Journal of Industrial Psychology, 37(1), 1-22, doi: 10.4102/sajip.v37i1.934.Orientation: The Fifteen Factor Questionnaire Plus (15FQ+) is a prominent personality questionnaire that organisations frequently use in personnel selection in South Africa. Research purpose: The primary objective of this study was to undertake a factor analytic investigation of the first-order factor structure of the 15FQ+. Motivation for the study: The construct validity of the 15FQ+, as a measure of personality, is necessary even though it is insufficient to justify its use in personnel selection. Research design, approach and method: The researchers evaluated the fit of the measurement model, which the structure and scoring key of the 15FQ+ implies, in a quantitative study that used an ex post facto correlation design through structural equation modelling. They conducted a secondary data analysis. They selected a sample of 241 Black South African managers from a large 15FQ+ database. Main findings: The researchers found good measurement model fit. The measurement model parameter estimates were worrying. The magnitude of the estimated model parameters suggests that the items generally do not reflect the latent personality dimensions the designers intended them to with a great degree of precision. The items are reasonably noisy measures of the latent variables they represent. Practical/managerial implications: Organisations should use the 15FQ+ carefully on Black South African managers until further local research evidence becomes available. Contribution/value-add: The study is a catalyst to trigger the necessary additional research we need to establish convincingly the psychometric credentials of the 15FQ+ as a valuable assessment tool in South Africa.Publisher's versio

Resonance energy transfer in self-organized organic/inorganic dendrite structures

Hybrid materials formed by semiconductor quantum dots and J-aggregates of cyanine dyes provide a unique combination of enhanced absorption in inorganic constituents with large oscillator strength and extremely narrow exciton bands of the organic component. The optical properties of dendrite structures with fractal dimension 1.7–1.8, formed from J-aggregates integrated with CdTe quantum dots (QDs), have been investigated by photoluminescence spectroscopy and fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy. Our results demonstrate that (i)J-aggregates are coupled to QDs by F¨orster-type resonant energy transfer and (ii) there are energy fluxes from the periphery to the centre of the structure, where the QD density is higher than in the periphery of the dendrite. Such an anisotropic energy transport can be only observed when dendrites are formed from QDs integrated with J-aggregates. These QD/ J-aggregate hybrid systems can have applications in light harvesting systems and optical sensors with extended absorption spectra.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT

Effect of surface plasmon resonance in TiO2/Au thin films on the fluorescence of self-assembled CdTe QDs structure

The exceptional properties of localised surface plasmons (LSPs), such as local field enhancement and confinement effects, resonant behavior, make them ideal candidates to control the emission of luminescent nanoparticles. In the present work, we investigated the LSP effect on the steady-state and time-resolved emission properties of quantum dots (QDs) by organizing the dots into self-assembled dendrite structures deposited on plasmonic nanostructures. Self-assembled structures consisting of water-soluble CdTe mono-size QDs, were developed on the surface of co-sputtered TiO2 thin films doped with Au nanoparticles (NPs) annealed at different temperatures. Their steady-state fluorescence properties were probed by scanning the spatially resolved emission spectra and the energy transfer processes were investigated by the fluorescence lifetime imaging (FLIM) microscopy. Our results indicate that a resonant coupling between excitons confined in QDs and LSPs in Au NPs located beneath the self-assembled structure indeed takes place and results in (i) a shift of the ground state luminescence towards higher energies and onset of emission from excited states in QDs, and (ii) a decrease of the ground state exciton lifetime (fluorescence quenching).Financial support from the European Science Foundation (ESF) through PLASMON-BIONANOSENSE programme and Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) and FEDER through Projects PTDC-FIS-113199-2009 and PEst-C/FIS/UI0607/2013 are gratefully acknowledged. DM, DS and YR acknowledge support from Project FIS2013-41184-P of the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness MINECO

Strong coupling effects in hybrid plexitonic systems

Trabajo presentado a la 3rd International Conference on Applications of Optics and Photonics, celebrado en Faro (Portugal) del 8 al 12 de mayo de 2017.We investigated the interactions between localized plasmons in gold nanorods and excitons in J-aggregates and were able to track an anticrossing behavior of the hybridized modes both in the extinction and in the photoluminescence spectra of this hybrid system. We identified the nonlinear optical behavior of this system by transient absorption spectroscopy. Finally using magnetic circular dichroism spectroscopy we showed that nonmagnetic organic molecules exhibit magneto-optical response due to binding to a plasmonic nanoparticles. In our experiments we also studied the effect of detuning as well as the effect of off- and on resonance excitation on the hybrid states.We acknowledge financial support from Project Fis2016.80174-P (PLASMOQUANTA) from MINECO (Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad). L.L.-M. acknowledges funding from the European Research Council (ERC Advanced Grant 267867, Plasmaquo). This study was supported by the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation, grant no. 14.Y26.31.0011.Peer Reviewe

CdTe Quantum Dot/Dye Hybrid System as Photosensitizer for Photodynamic Therapy

We have studied the photodynamic properties of novel CdTe quantum dots—methylene blue hybrid photosensitizer. Absorption spectroscopy, photoluminescence spectroscopy, and fluorescence lifetime imaging of this system reveal efficient charge transfer between nanocrystals and the methylene blue dye. Near-infrared photoluminescence measurements provide evidence for an increased efficiency of singlet oxygen production by the methylene blue dye. In vitro studies on the growth of HepG2 and HeLa cancerous cells were also performed, they point toward an improvement in the cell kill efficiency for the methylene blue-semiconductor nanocrystals hybrid system

Strong plasmon-exciton coupling in a hybrid system of gold nanostars and J-aggregates

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License.Hybrid materials formed by plasmonic nanostructures and J-aggregates provide a unique combination of highly localized and enhanced electromagnetic field in metal constituent with large oscillator strength and extremely narrow exciton band of the organic component. The coherent coupling of localized plasmons of the multispiked gold nanoparticles (nanostars) and excitons of JC1 dye J-aggregates results in a Rabi splitting reaching 260 meV. Importantly, broad absorption features of nanostars extending over a visible and near-infrared spectral range allowed us to demonstrate double Rabi splitting resulting from the simultaneous coherent coupling between plasmons of the nanostars and excitons of J-aggregates of two different cyanine dyes.This work was supported by the ETORTEK 2011–2013 project ‘nanoIKER’ from the Department of Industry of the Basque Government and by the Visiting Fellowship program of Ikerbasque Foundation.Peer Reviewe

Whispering gallery mode resonators with J-aggregates

We have studied the optical properties of a hybrid system consisting of cyanine dye J-aggregates attached to a spherical microcavity. A periodic structure of narrow peaks was observed in the photoluminescence spectrum of the J-aggregates, arising from the coupling between the emission of J-aggregates and the whispering gallery modes (WGMs) of the microcavity. The most striking result of our study is the observation of polarization sensitive mode damping caused by re-absorption of J-aggregate emission. This effect manifests itself in dominating emission from TM modes in the spectral region of J-aggregates absorption band where the TE modes are strongly suppressed. In contrast, the TE modes totally dominate emission spectrum in the region where absorption is negligible. We also demonstrate that the emission intensity can be further enhanced by depositing a hybrid layer of J-aggregates and Ag nanoparticles onto the spherical microcavity. Owing to the concerted action of WGMs and plasmonic hot spots in the Ag aggregates, we observe an enhanced Raman signal from the J-aggregates. Microcavities covered by J-aggregates and plasmonic nanoparticles could be thus useful for a variety of photonic applications in basic science and technology.Peer Reviewe

Efficient energy transfer in hybrid organic/inorganic semiconductor nanostructures

Trabajo presentado al: "International Workshop Photonics of Functional Nanomaterials" celebrado en Hong Kong del 6 al 9 de Mayo de 2013.Highly luminescent semiconductor nanocrystals possess a number of interesting and important properties that are tunable thanks to their size-dependent discrete electronic spectra characteristic of quantum dots (QDs). In this work we studied the optical properties of a novel type of hybrid structures that combine CdTe QDs with organic dye molecules (Pseudocyanine iodide (PIC)) in a J-aggregate state. Due to the excitonic nature of electronic excitations, J-aggregates have the narrowest absorption and luminescence bands among organic materials, large oscillator strengths and giant third-order nonlinear susceptibility. It was found that aggregation of PIC molecules can be efficiently triggered by fast injection of solution of CdTe QDs into concentrated dye solution resulting in formation of hybrid nano-structures. In developed structures optical energy harvested by the quantum dots as artificial antennas then transferred to J-aggregates to enhance the photostability and efficiency of the carriers recombination. To fabricate CdTe/J-aggregates hybrid nanostructures we have used an approach based on electrostatic interaction between the positively charged dye and CdTe QDs capped with thioglycolic acid and, thus, carrying a negative charge. In order to develop an efficient hybrid material operating in the FRET regime, we carefully selected the PL colors (diameters) of the QD (donors of energy) to be optically coupled with absorption of J-aggregates. Also we took advantage of extremely thin surface ligand shell (~0.5 nm) of CdTe QDs, which insures high efficiency of energy transfer. Formed QD/J-aggregate FRET system shows the broadband absorption in the visible and the ultraviolet part of the spectrum typical of quantum dots, along with the narrow emission linewidths characteristic of J-band emitters (~15 nm full width at half-maximum). We use absorption and photoluminescence spectroscopy and photoluminescence lifetime studies to conclude that efficiency of energy transfer is 95%.Peer reviewe

Energy transfer in hybrid organic/inorganic semiconductor nanostructures

We report on direct formation of J-aggregates in cyanine dye solution by injection of colloidal CdTe quantum dots. The optical properties of formed J-aggregates have been investigated by absorption and photoluminescence spectroscopy and fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy. Quantum dots/J-aggregate system shows the enhanced absorption in visible and ultraviolet parts of the spectrum typical of quantum dots, along with the narrow emission linewidth and fast recombination rate characteristic of the J-band emitters. Our studies suggest electrostatic association between the J-aggregates and quantum dots, followed by highly efficient energy transfer. Copyright © 2012 American Scientific Publishers All rights reserved.Peer Reviewe

Coupling effect in hybrid system of plasmonic nanoparticles and J-aggregates yields double Rabi splitting

Trabajo presentado a la 16th International Conference on Transparent Optical Networks (ICTON), celebrada en Grazer Messe (Austria) del 6 al 10 de julio de 2014.In this paper, we discuss our recent results on development and characterization of three-component hybrid systems consisting of plasmonic nanostructures and two different organic dye molecules in a J-aggregate state. The measured absorption spectra exhibit a strongly suppressed absorption at wavelengths which correspond to the J-aggregate absorption bands, manifesting strong interaction between the localized surface plasmon of the plasmonic and excitonic systems. The observed dips in absorption spectra of hybrid systems correspond to an average vacuum Rabi splitting of the order of 200 meV. These findings could pave the way towards development of novel sensing devices using strong light-matter interaction on the nanoscale.Peer Reviewe