Intense Femtosecond Laser-Mediated Electrical Discharge Enables Preparation of Amorphous Nickel Phosphide Nanoparticles.

Reported here is a high-efficiency preparation method of amorphous nickel phosphide (Ni-P) nanoparticles by intense femtosecond laser irradiation of nickel sulfate and sodium hypophosphite aqueous solution. The underlying mechanism of the laser-assisted preparation was discussed in terms of the breaking of chemical bond in reactants via highly intense electric field discharge generated by the intense femtosecond laser. The morphology and size of the nanoparticles can be tuned by varying the reaction parameters such as ion concentration, ion molar ratio, laser power, and irradiation time.

Sensing combustion intermediates by femtosecond filament excitation.

Simultaneous monitoring of multiple combustion intermediates using femtosecond filament-induced nonlinear spectroscopy is demonstrated. Clean fluorescence emissions from free radicals CH, CN, NH, OH, and C(2), as well as atomic C and H, are observed when a femtosecond filament is formed in the laminar ethanol/air flame on an alcohol burner. The fluorescence signals of these species are found to vary as functions of the position of interaction of the filament with the flame along the vertical axis of the central combusting flow, opening up a possibility for remote combustion diagnostic in engines by the excitation of femtosecond laser filament.