Optical excitations in hexagonal nanonetwork materials

Optical excitations in hexagonal nanonetwork materials, for example, Boron-Nitride (BN) sheets and nanotubes, are investigated theoretically. The bonding of BN systems is positively polarized at the B site, and is negatively polarized at the N site. There is a permanent electric dipole moment along the BN bond, whose direction is from the B site to the N site. When the exciton hopping integral is restricted to the nearest neighbors, the flat band of the exciton appears at the lowest energy. The higher optical excitations have excitation bands similar to the electronic bands of graphene planes and carbon nanotubes. The symmetry of the flat exciton band is optically forbidden, indicating that the excitons related to this band will show quite long lifetime which will cause strong luminescence properties.Comment: 4 pages; 3 figures; proceedings of "XVIth International Winterschool on Electronic Properties of Novel Materials (IWEPNM2002)

Descripción botánica del hibrido interespecífico entre Zea mays x Zea diploperennis

En la Facultad de Agronomía de la Universidad Nacional de La Pampa se obtuvieron híbridos entre Zea mays L. y Zea diploperennis Litis usando a Zea mays L. como madre. Para lograr la inducción fotoperiódica de Zea diploperennis se le suministraron aproximadamente 12 hs de oscuridad (para ello se cubrían las plantas a las 20 hs, y se descubrían a las 8 hs, del día siguiente); después de 15 días de inducción se constató en el ápice vegetativo su pasaje a reproductivo. A mediados de febrero de 1987 se dispuso de polen de Zea diploperennis L para fertilizar las plantas de maíz. Las semillas, producto de cruzamiento, se sembraron a campo en noviembre de 1988 y se lograron siete plantas híbridas

Chemically active substitutional nitrogen impurity in carbon nanotubes

We investigate the nitrogen substitutional impurity in semiconducting zigzag and metallic armchair single-wall carbon nanotubes using ab initio density functional theory. At low concentrations (less than 1 atomic %), the defect state in a semiconducting tube becomes spatially localized and develops a flat energy level in the band gap. Such a localized state makes the impurity site chemically and electronically active. We find that if two neighboring tubes have their impurities facing one another, an intertube covalent bond forms. This finding opens an intriguing possibility for tunnel junctions, as well as the functionalization of suitably doped carbon nanotubes by selectively forming chemical bonds with ligands at the impurity site. If the intertube bond density is high enough, a highly packed bundle of interlinked single-wall nanotubes can form.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures; major changes to the tex

GPS low noise amplifier with high immunity to wireless jamming signals and power control option

A SiGe GPS low noise amplifier with power control option and high immunity to wireless jamming signals is presented. These novel features applied to Atmel’s ATR0610 GPS LNA allow significant power saving at the radio interface while meeting the out-of-band linearity requirements. The results show the noise figure less than 2.1 dB, including the embedded pre-select filter, and out-of-band IIP3 above +8 dBm in the frequency range between 1.8GHz and 2 GHz with 3mA current consumption. The GPS system performance shows GPS sensitivity below -141 dBm with 5 ms integration interval

BN domains included into carbon nanotubes: role of interface

We present a density functional theory study on the shape and arrangement of small BN domains embedded into single-walled carbon nanotubes. We show a strong tendency for the BN hexagons formation at the simultaneous inclusion of B and N atoms within the walls of carbon nanotubes. The work emphasizes the importance of a correct description of the BN-C frontier. We suggest that BN-C interface will be formed preferentially with the participation of N-C bonds. Thus, we propose a new way of stabilizing the small BN inclusions through the formation of nitrogen terminated borders. The comparison between the obtained results and the available experimental data on formation of BN plackets within the single walled carbon nanotubes is presented. The mirror situation of inclusion of carbon plackets within single walled BN nanotubes is considered within the proposed formalism. Finally, we show that the inclusion of small BN plackets inside the CNTs strongly affects the electronic character of the initial systems, opening a band gap. The nitrogen excess in the BN plackets introduces donor states in the band gap and it might thus result in a promising way for n-doping single walled carbon nanotubes

Atmospheric-pressure plasma seawater desalination: Clean energy, agriculture, and resource recovery nexus for a blue planet

Water connects every aspect of life. Only 4% of the world's water is fresh water, as most water sources have different degrees of salinity. As a result, billions of people face water scarcity, which is a global challenge. Desalination technologies that separate fresh water from solvated salt ions in saline water are attracting major attention. However, conventional desalination processes including thermally and pressure driven processes are highly energy intensive. To address this issue we demonstrate that the atmospheric-pressure plasma (APP) treatment of saline water can be a new potential alternative low-energy and green desalination route. Valuable salts are recovered by direct salt crystal precipitation within a short plasma processing time. During desalination and salt precipitation, plasma activated desalinated water (PADW) is generated and can be used for clean energy processes such as water electrolysis and sustainable agriculture by enhanced plant seed germination. In addition, functional nanomaterials can be extracted from the precipitated salt. The PADW exhibited a low salinity of 5.6 mS/cm with a low pH value of 2.1. The unique intrinsic PADW chemistries enabled electrochemical water splitting for both the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) at a Pt electrode and the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) at a RuO2 electrode. Moreover, the feasibility of using PADW in sustainable agriculture was demonstrated by enhancing mungbean seed germination using tap water mixed with PADW. At optimum mix concentration, both seed germination rates and germination percentages increased. Finally, we demonstrated the feasibility of synthesizing high-value 2D nanomaterials exemplified by Mg(OH)2 nanosheets via a single step thermal process using the salt precipitated from the seawater by the plasma process. Combined with straightforward use of renewable electricity to generate APPs, this study reveals the plasma potential for sustainable recovery of clean water, clean energy applications, sustainable agriculture, and manufacturing of advanced functional nanomaterials – all from the greatest treasure of our blue planet – seawater.</p

Colonization, disability, and the intranet: the ethnic cleansing of space?

The article analyzes teacher’s emplacement of the image of disability within school’s intranet sites in England. The image unearthed within such sites was problematic as it did not display a positive or realistic image of disability or disabled people. Within the article historical archaeology and colonialism are employed as theoretic framework to interpret this artifact of disability. The article also provides an ethnographic subscript to the creation of a space of possibilities and how this became striated by missionary teachers who colonized this brave new intranet world. Deciphering of the organization and representation of the disabled indigene, through this theoretical framework, unearthed a cartography inscribed by the scalpel of old world geometry

Nanoindentation study of the mechanical and damage behaviour of suspension plasma sprayed TiO2 coatings

TiO2 coatings can be used as self-cleaning surfaces owing to their photocatalytic and hydrophilic properties. Suspension plasma spray (SPS) has proven to be a feasible and cheap technique for producing self-cleaning surfaces with acceptable photo-activity. This paper presents a nanoindentation study of the mechanical properties (hardness. Young's modulus and scratch resistance) of photoactive layers of suspension plasma sprayed TiO2 coatings applied on to glass substrates. Microstructure observation showed that the rutile grains were surrounded by fine anatase crystals. Under the same spraying conditions, the resulting anatase/rutile concentrations varied depending on the cooling rate (the substrate being either cooled with water or in air). The results showed that higher concentrations of anatase, which is softer than rutile, reduced the scratch damage and increased the friction coefficient. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.The study was financially supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (PID-600200-2009-5 and MAT2009-14144-C03-01 -02).Rayón Encinas, E.; Bonache Bezares, V.; Salvador Moya, MD.; Bannier, E.; Sánchez, E.; Denoirjean, A.; Ageorges, H. (2012). Nanoindentation study of the mechanical and damage behaviour of suspension plasma sprayed TiO2 coatings. Surface and Coatings Technology. 206(10):2655-2660. doi:10.1016/j.surfcoat.2011.11.010S265526602061