Stability, electronic and phononic properties of β and 1T structures of SiTex (x = 1, 2) and their vertical heterostructures

By performing first-principles calculations, we predict a novel, stable single layer phase of silicon ditelluride, 1T-SiTe2, and its possible vertical heterostructures with single layer β-SiTe. Structural optimization and phonon calculations reveal that 1T-SiTe2 structure has a dynamically stable ground state. Further analysis of the vibrational spectrum at the - point shows that single layer 1T-SiTe2 has characteristic phonon modes at 80, 149, 191 and 294 cm-1. Electronic-band structure demonstrates that 1T-SiTe2 phase exhibits a nonmagnetic metallic ground state with a negligible intrinsic spinorbit splitting. Moreover, it is shown that similar structural parameters of 1T-SiTe2 and existing β-SiTe phases allows construction of 1T-β heterostructures with a negligible lattice mismatch. In this regard, it is found that two energetically favorable stacking orders, namely AA and ATB, have distinctive shear and layer breathing phonon modes. It is important to note that the combination of semiconducting β-SiTe and metallic 1T-SiTe2 building blocks forms ultra-thin Schottky barriers that can be used in nanoscale optoelectronic device technologies.TUBITAK (116C073--114F397); The Science Academy, Turkey under the BAGEP progra

Monitoring the effect of asymmetrical vertical strain on Janus single layers of MoSSe via vibrational spectrum

Using first principles calculations, we study the structural and phononic properties of the recently synthesized Janus type single layers of molybdenum dichalcogenides. The Janus MoSSe single layer possesses 2H crystal structure with two different chalcogenide sides that lead to out-of-plane anisotropy. By virtue of the asymmetric structure of the ultra-thin Janus type crystal, we induced the out-of-plane anisotropy to show the distinctive vertical pressure effect on the vibrational properties of the Janus material. It is proposed that for the corresponding Raman active optical mode of the Janus structure, the phase modulation and the magnitude ratio of the strained atom and its first neighbor atom adjust the distinctive change in the eigen-frequencies and Raman activity. Moreover, a strong variation in the Raman activity of the Janus structure is obtained under bivertical and univertical strains. Not only eigen-frequency shifts but also Raman activities of the optical modes of the Janus structure exhibit distinguishable features. This study reveals that the vertical anisotropic feature of the Janus structure under Raman measurement allows us to distinguish which side of the Janus crystal interacts with the externals (substrate, functional adlayers, or dopants).TUBITAK (117F095); FLAG-ERA-TRANS2DTM

Structural, electronic and phononic properties of PtSe2: From monolayer to bulk

The layer dependent structural, electronic and vibrational properties of the 1T phase of two dimensional (2D) platinum diselenide are investigated by means of state-of-the-art first-principles calculations. The main findings of the study are: (i) monolayer platinum diselenide has a dynamically stable 2D octahedral structure with 1.66 eV indirect band gap, (ii) the semiconducting nature of 1T-PtSe2 monolayers remains unaffected even at high biaxial strains, (iii) top-to-top (AA) arrangement is found to be energetically the most favorable stacking of 1T-PtSe2 layers, (iv) the lattice constant (layer-layer distance) increases (decreases) with increasing number of layers, (v) while monolayer and bilayer 1T-PtSe2 are indirect semiconductors, bulk and few-layered 1T-PtSe2 are metals, (vi) Raman intensity and peak positions of the A1g and Eg modes are found to be highly dependent on the layer thickness of the material, hence; the number of layers of the material can be determined via Raman measurements.TUBITAK under the project number 117F09

Protective effects of zingerone against sodium arsenite-induced lung toxicity: A multi-biomarker approach

Objective(s): Sodium arsenite (SA) exposure is toxic to the body. Zingerone (ZNG) is a flavonoid with many biological properties found naturally in honey and plants. This study aimed to determine the effects of ZNG on SA-induced rat lung toxicity.Materials and Methods: Thirty-five male Sprague rats were divided into Control, SA, ZNG, SA+ZNG25, and SA+ZNG50 groups (n=7). SA 10 mg/kg and ZNG were administered at two doses (25 and 50 mg/kg) (orally, 14 days). Analysis of oxidative stress, inflammation damage, apoptosis damage, and autophagic damage markers in lung tissue were determined by biochemical and histological methods. Results: The administration of ZNG reduced oxidative stress by increasing SA-induced decreased antioxidant enzyme activities, increasing Nrf-2, HO-1, and NQO1, and decreasing MDA level. ZNG administration reduced inflammation marker levels. Anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 increased and apoptotic Bax and Caspase-3 decreased with ZNG. ZNG promoted the regression of autophagy by reducing Beclin-1, LC3A, and LC3B levels.Conclusion: Evaluating all data showed that SA caused toxic damage to lung tissue by increasing inflammation, apoptosis, autophagy, and oxidant levels, whereas ZNG had a protective effect by reducing this damage

Mitogenome Phylogeny Including Data from Additional Subspecies Provides New Insights into the Historical Biogeography of the Eurasian lynx Lynx lynx.

Previous molecular studies of the wide-ranging Eurasian lynx Lynx lynx focused mainly on its northern Palearctic populations, with the consequence that the reconstruction of this species' evolutionary history did not include genetic variation present in its southern Palearctic distribution. We sampled a previously not considered Asian subspecies (L. l. dinniki), added published data from another Asian subspecies (L. l. isabellinus), and reassessed the Eurasian lynx mtDNA phylogeny along with previously published data from northern Palearctic populations. Our mitogenome-based analyses revealed the existence of three major clades (A: Central Asia, B: SE Europe/SW Asia, C: Europe and Northern Asia) and at least five lineages, with diversification in Lynx lynx commencing at least 28kyr earlier than hitherto estimated. The subspecies L. l. isabellinus harbors the most basal matriline, consistent with the origin of Lynx lynx in this subspecies' current range. L. l. dinniki harbors the second most basal matriline, which is related to, and may be the source of, the mtDNA diversity of the critically endangered Balkan lynx L. l. balcanicus. Our results suggest that the Anatolian peninsula was a glacial refugium for Eurasian lynx, with previously unconsidered implications for the colonization of Europe by this species

Bilayers of Janus WSSe: Monitoring the stacking type: Via the vibrational spectrum

Motivated by the recent successful synthesis of Janus type single layers of transition metal dichalcogenides, we investigate the stability, vibrational and electronic properties of the Janus single layer structure of WSSe and its bilayers by means of density functional theory. The structural and vibrational analysis show that the Janus single layer of WSSe forms a dynamically stable structure in the 2H phase. Owing to its non-centrosymmetric structure, the Janus WSSe single layer has two in-plane (E) and two out-of-plane (A) Raman active phonon modes. The eigen-frequencies of the prominent Raman active modes are calculated to be 277 (A) and 322 (E) cm-1. Similar to single layer WS2 and WSe2, Janus WSSe is a direct band gap semiconductor that has two electronically different faces. In addition, the possible bilayer stacking orders of the Janus WSSe single layers are investigated. It is found that there are 3 stacking types of bilayer Janus WSSe and each stacking type has distinctive Raman characteristics in its vibrational spectrum. Our results show that thanks to the vibrational characteristics, which stem from the distinctive interlayer interactions at different sides, the stability and stacking types of the bilayer of WSSe Janus structure can be monitored.TUBITAK ULAK-BIM, the High Performance and Grid Computing Center (TR-Grid e-Infrastructure) and TUBITAK project number 117F09