Modification of TiO 2 with metal chalcogenide nanoclusters for hydrogen evolution

Using density functional theory, corrected for on-site Coulomb interactions (DFT+U), we have investigated surface modification of TiO2 with metal chalcogenide nanoclusters for hydrogen evolution. The nanoclusters have composition M4X4 (M = Sn, Zn; X = S, Se) and are adsorbed at the rutile (110) surface. The nanoclusters adsorb exothermically, with adsorption energies in the range -3.00 eV to -2.70 eV. Computed density of states (DOS) plots show that cluster-derived states extend into the band-gap of the rutile support, which indicates that modification produces a redshift in light absorption. After modification, photoexcited electrons and holes are separated onto surface and cluster sites, respectively. The free energy of H adsorption is used to assess the performance of metal chalcogenide modified TiO2 as a catalyst for HER. Adsorption of H at nanocluster (S, Se) and surface (O) sites is considered, together with the effect of H coverage. Adsorption free energies at cluster sites in the range (-0.15 eV, 0.15 eV) are considered to be favourable for HER. The results of this analysis indicate that the sulphide modifiers are more active towards HER than the selenide modifiers and exhibit hydrogen adsorption free energies in the active range, for most coverages. Conversely, the adsorption free energies at the selenide nanoclusters are only in the active range at low H coverages. Our results indicate that surface modification with small, dispersed nanoclusters of appropriately selected materials can enhance the photocatalytic activity of TiO2 for HER applications

Multi-variable compensated quantum yield measurements of upconverting nanoparticles with high dynamic range : a systematic approach

Non-linear materials such as upconverting nanoparticles (UCNPs) are emerging technology with fast-growing applications in various fields. The power density dependence of the emission quantum yield (QY) of these non-linear materials makes them challenging to characterize using currently available commercial QY systems. We propose a multimodal system to measure QY over a wide dynamic range (1:104), which takes into account and compensates for various distorting parameters (scattering, beam profile, inner filter effect and bandwidth of emission lines). For this, a beam shaping approach enabling speckle free beam profiles of two different sizes (530 µm or 106 µm) was employed. This provides low noise high-resolution QY curves. In particular, at low power densities, a signal-to-noise ratio of >50 was found. A Tm-based core-shell UCNP with excitation at 976 nm and emission at 804 nm was investigated with the system

Multi-spectral in-vivo FPGA-based surgical imaging

Intelligent and adaptive in-vivo, catheter-based imaging systems with enhanced processing and analytical capability have the potential to enhance surgical operations and improve patient care. The paper describes an intelligent surgical imaging system based on a ‘chip on tip’, which reduces the need for conventional imaging. The associated embedded system provides real-time, in-vivo imaging analysis and data display for surgeons, enhancing their ability to detect clinically significant tissue. The paper presents initial work on an field programmable gate array implementation of a contrast limited adaptive histogram equalization algorithm, Hessian matrix construction and region of interest function on the AMD-Xilinx’s Kria KV260 board. It outlines optimizations undertaken to reduce the BRAMs by 38%, DSP48 blocks by 80%, flip-flops by 33% and LUTs by 36%, thus creating a design operating at 121 FPS

Microcamera Visualisation System to Overcome Specular Reflections for Tissue Imaging

In vivo tissue imaging is an essential tool for medical diagnosis, surgical guidance, and treatment. However, specular reflections caused by glossy tissue surfaces can significantly degrade image quality and hinder the accuracy of imaging systems. In this work, we further the miniaturisation of specular reflection reduction techniques using micro cameras, which have the potential to act as intra-operative supportive tools for clinicians. In order to remove these specular reflections, two small form factor camera probes, handheld at 10 mm footprint and miniaturisable to 2.3 mm, are developed using different modalities, with line-of-sight to further miniaturisation. (1) The sample is illuminated via multi-flash technique from four different positions, causing a shift in reflections which are then filtered out in a post-processing image reconstruction step. (2) The cross-polarisation technique integrates orthogonal polarisers onto the tip of the illumination fibres and camera, respectively, to filter out the polarisation maintaining reflections. These form part of a portable imaging system that is capable of rapid image acquisition using different illumination wavelengths, and employs techniques that lend themselves well to further footprint reduction. We demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed system with validating experiments on tissue-mimicking phantoms with high surface reflection, as well as on excised human breast tissue. We show that both methods can provide clear and detailed images of tissue structures along with the effective removal of distortion or artefacts caused by specular reflections. Our results suggest that the proposed system can improve the image quality of miniature in vivo tissue imaging systems and reveal underlying feature information at depth, for both human and machine observers, leading to better diagnosis and treatment outcomes