Preparation and Optical Properties of Nd:BiTiO Laser Crystal with Disordered Structure and Attractive Multiwavelength Emission Characteristics.

Laser crystals with multiwavelength emission characteristics are potential light sources for terahertz radiation. Herein, the pure and Nd-doped BiTiO (BTO) laser crystals with sizes up to 16 × 13 × 5 mm were successfully grown using the flux method in the KF-BO-CaBiTiO growth system. The crystal structure, ideal morphology, chemical, mechanical, and thermal properties, optical transmission and Raman spectra, refractive index, absorption, and fluorescence spectra, as well as fluorescence lifetimes, were systematically studied.

The Local and Electronic Structure Study of LuGdVO (0 ≤ ≤ 1) Solid Solution Nanocrystals.

Rare-earth-doped mixed crystals have demonstrated tunable optical properties, and it is of great importance to study the structural characteristics of the mixed-crystal hosts. Herein, LuGdVO (0 ≤ ≤ 1) solid solution nanocrystals were synthesized by a modified sol-gel method, with a pure crystalline phase and element composition. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Rietveld refinement results showed that LuGdVO nanocrystals are continuous solid solutions with a tetragonal zircon phase (space group 4/) and the lattice parameters strictly follow Vegard's law.

Growth, Structure and Optical Characterization of RbTiPO Single Crystal.

Phosphate crystals attract much attention on account of their rich crystal structures and excellent physical and chemical properties. Herein, RbTiPO single crystals were grown by the high temperature solution method using RbCO and NHHPO as the fluxes. This crystal, with non-centrosymmetric Pca2 space group, presents a three-dimensional framework structure composed of [TiO] octahedron, [PO] tetrahedra, and [PO] dimers.

Synthesis, Electronic Structure, and Electrochemical Properties of the Cubic MgMnO Spinel with Porous-Spongy Structure.

MgMnO nanoparticles with cubic spinel structure were synthesized by the sol-gel method using polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) as a chelating agent. X-ray powder diffraction, infrared spectrum (IR), scanning electron microscope (SEM), and transmission electron microscope (TEM) were used to characterize the crystalline phase and particle size of as-synthesized nanoparticles. The electronic structure of MgMnO spinel was studied by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS).

Role of Synthesis Method on Luminescence Properties of Europium(II, III) Ions in β-CaSiO: Probing Local Site and Structure.

The europium ion probes the symmetry disorder in the crystal structure, although the distortion due to charge compensation in the case of aliovalent dopant remains interesting, especially preparation involves low and high temperatures. This work studies the preparation of the β-CaSiO (from here on CS) particle from Pechini (CSP) and hydrothermal (CSH) methods, and its luminescence variance upon doping with Eu and Eu ions. The blue shift of the charge-transfer band (CTB) in the excitation spectra indicates a larger Eu-O distance in Eu doped CSH.

Structural and compositional analysis of a casting mold sherd from ancient China.

Casting had symbolic significance and was strictly controlled in the Shang dynasty of ancient China. Vessel casting was mainly distributed around the Shang capital, Yin Ruins, which indicates a rigorous centralization of authority. Thus, for a casting mold to be excavated far from the capital region is rare.

Selection for Oil Content During Soybean Domestication Revealed by X-Ray Tomography of Ancient Beans.

When and under what circumstances domestication related traits evolved in soybean (Glycine max) is not well understood. Seed size has been a focus of archaeological attention because increased soybean seed weight/size is a trait that distinguishes most modern soybeans from their ancestors; however, archaeological seed size analysis has had limited success. Modern domesticated soybean has a significantly higher oil content than its wild counterpart so oil content is potentially a source of new insight into soybean domestication.

Single-pulse enhanced coherent diffraction imaging of bacteria with an X-ray free-electron laser.

High-resolution imaging offers one of the most promising approaches for exploring and understanding the structure and function of biomaterials and biological systems. X-ray free-electron lasers (XFELs) combined with coherent diffraction imaging can theoretically provide high-resolution spatial information regarding biological materials using a single XFEL pulse. Currently, the application of this method suffers from the low scattering cross-section of biomaterials and X-ray damage to the sample.

Cation distribution in co-doped ZnAl2O4 nanoparticles studied by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and 27Al solid-state NMR spectroscopy.

Co(x)Zn(1-x)Al(2)O(4) (x = 0.01-0.6) nanoparticles were synthesized by the citrate sol-gel method and were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction and transmission electron microscopy to identify the crystalline phase and determine the particle size.