The red and blue luminescence in silicon nanocrystals with an oxidized, nitrogen-containing shell

Traditionally, two classes of silicon nanocrystals (SiNCs) are recognized with respect to their light-emission properties. These are usually referred to as the “red” and the “blue” emitting SiNCs, based on the spectral region in which the larger part of their luminescence is concentrated. The origin of the “blue” luminescence is still disputed and is very probably different in different systems. One of the important contributions to the discussion about the origin of the “blue” luminescence was the finding that the exposure of SiNCs to even trace amounts of nitrogen in the presence of oxygen induces the “blue” emission, even in originally “red”-emitting SiNCs. Here, we obtained a different result. We show that the treatment of “red” emitting, already oxidized SiNCs in a water-based environment containing air-related radicals including nitrogen-containing species as well as oxygen, diminishes, rather than induces the “blue” luminescence

Hydrothermal synthesis, characterization, and magnetic properties of cobalt chromite nanoparticle

The CoCr2O4 nanoparticles were prepared by hydrothermal treatment of chromium and cobalt oleates in a mixture of solvents (water and ethanol or pentanol) at various temperatures. The samples were further annealed at the temperatures from 300 to 500 C. The obtained nanoparticles were characterized using powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), high-resolution TEM, scanning electron microscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, Raman and infrared spectroscopy, and magnetic measurements. The particle size, ranging from 4.4 to 11.5 nm, was determined from the TEM and PXRD methods. The tendency of particles to form the aggregates with the increasing annealing temperature has been observed. The magnetic measurements revealed that the typical features of the CoCr 2O4 long-range magnetic order are suppressed in the nanoparticles