Formation and characterization of leaf waste into organic compost.

In solid waste management, pollution-free disposal of leaf waste in urban areas is still not standardized and adopted. According to the World Bank report, 57% of wastes generated in South East Asia are consisted of food and green waste, which can be recycled into valuable bio-compost. The present study shows a method of leaf litter waste management by composting it using essential microbe (EM) method.

Intriguing physicochemical properties and impact of co-dopants on N-doped graphene oxide based ZnS nanowires for photocatalytic application.

Superparamagnetic N-doped graphene oxide (GO)- with ZnS nanowires was synthesized by a one-step hydrothermal method by doping dilute amounts of Ga, Cr, In, and Al ions for water treatment and biomedical applications. In these experiments, to enhance their properties, 2% of Ga, In, and or Al were codoped along with 2% Cr ions in these ZnS nanowires. The nanocomposite with the composition, InCrZnS, has better photocatalytic efficiency than other co-doped nanocomposites.

An investigation of luminescence properties of CaF: Dy nanophosphor irradiated with gamma rays and low energy proton beams.

This paper reports the luminescence properties of nanocrystalline calcium fluoride doped with dysprosium (CaF: Dy). The nanophosphor has been synthesized by the chemical co-precipitation technique and the dopant concentration has been optimized at 0.3 mol% using thermoluminescence (TL) intensity emitted post 50Gy gamma dose irradiation of samples doped with different dopant concentrations.

Electronic structure and defect-induced luminescence study of phase-stabilized t-ZrO nanocrystals.

Luminescent tetragonal-ZrO (t-ZrO ) nanocrystals were synthesized using an optimized combustion method without post-synthesis annealing and characterized using X-ray diffraction, electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, UV-Vis. spectroscopy, photoluminescence spectroscopy, thermoluminescence (TL), and vibrating sample magnetometry. The as-synthesized t-ZrO nanocrystals have a bandgap of 4.

Fractal characterizations of MeV ion treated CaF thin films.

We present the morphological evolution and fractal characterizations of CaF thin-film surfaces modified by bombardment with 100 MeV Au ions at various fluences. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) combined with line profile and two-dimensional power spectral density (2D-PSD) analysis was utilized to investigate the evolution of surface morphology as a function of fluence. The AFM images were utilized to investigate the relationship between fractal dimension, roughness exponent, lateral correlation length, and ion fluence.

Fragmentation dynamics of tetrachloromethane molecule induced by highly charged Ar-ion impact.

The ion impact multiple ionization and subsequent dissociation of CCl is studied using a beam of Ar ion having the energy of about 1 MeV in a linear time- of-flight mass spectrometer, coupled with a position-sensitive detector. The complete, as well as incomplete Coulomb explosion pathways, for CCl and CCl ions are identified and studied. The kinetic energy release distributions of channels, kinetic energies, and momentum distributions of fragmented ions, as well as neutrals, are also calculated.

Exploring three-body fragmentation of acetylene trication.

The three-body breakup of [CH] formed in collision with Xe moving at 0.5 atomic units of velocity is studied by using recoil ion momentum spectroscopy. Three-body breakup channels leading to (H, C, CH) and (H, H, C ) fragments are observed in the experiment and their kinetic energy release is measured.

A Thrifty Liquid-Phase Exfoliation (LPE) of MoSe and WSe Nanosheets as Channel Materials for FET Application.

Two-dimensional materials are trending nowadays because of their atomic thickness, layer-dependent properties, and their fascinating application in the semiconducting industry. In this work, we have synthesized MoSe and WSe nanosheets (NSs) via a liquid-phase exfoliation method and investigated these NSs as channel materials in field-effect transistors (FET). The x-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern revealed that the synthesized NSs have a 2H phase with 0.

Luminescence nanothermometry using a trivalent lanthanide co-doped perovskite.

This study investigates in detail the laser-mediated upconversion emission and temperature-sensing capability of (Ca YbEr )TiO. Samples were prepared at different concentrations to observe the effect of erbium on upconversion while increasing its concentration and keeping all the other parameters constant. Doping is a widespread technological process which involves incorporating an element called a dopant in a lower ratio to the host lattice to derive hybrid materials with desired properties.

Luminescence properties of Ce-doped ZrO phosphors synthesized by combustion method.

Zr Ce O with x = 0.005, 0.01, 0.

A VME: Versa Module Europa, crate controller for high speed data acquisition of heterogeneous, multi-detector systems.

Modern day complex experiments in physics demand highly efficient data acquisition (DAQ) systems capable of acquiring a large number of signals with a very high resolution and near zero dead time, without compromising on the event rate handling capability. To cater to the ever growing demands of the DAQ systems, an intelligent controller with a sequencer and an in-built busy logic has been developed. The heart of the controller is a field programmable gate array that provides (a) a sequencer engine, which holds a list of read-write commands that will be executed upon receiving a valid trigger, (b) a dual port random access memory divided into two blocks of 16 kbytes, each of which is configured in a ping-pong fashion to support data acquisition and data transfer functionalities simultaneously, thereby reducing the dead time, (c) a busy logic interface that validates the master strobe or trigger, a scalar for triggers received, and a time stamp engine for time stamping the events with 10 ns interval, (d) the Versa Module Europa (VME) backplane interface for 32 bit data transfer standards of the VME, and (e) a superspeed universal serial bus communication interface to transfer the data to a computer/single board computer (SBC).

Energy measurement of Am-Be neutrons by tagged neutron time-of-flight.

Neutron energy spectrum of a Am-Be source was measured in the energy range of 0.3 to ∼ 6.5 MeV using γ-ray tagged neutron time-of-flight method.

120 MeV swift Auion induced phase transition in ZrO: monoclinic to tetragonal and cubic to tetragonal structure.

This study reports the effect of 120 MeV swift Auion irradiation on the structures of monoclinic, tetragonal and cubic ZrO, probed through x-ray diffraction (XRD) and Raman spectroscopy. Three phases of ZrOwere prepared using the solution combustion method. The tetragonal and cubic phases of ZrOwere stabilized at room temperature by adding 6% and 10% of yttrium ions, respectively.

Gas sensing response of ion beam irradiated Ga-doped ZnO thin films.

The ion beam induced modified gallium doped ZnO thin films are studied for their gas sensing applications. The Ag and Si irradiated gallium doped zinc oxide thin films were exposed to various concentrations of ethanol and acetone gas for gas sensing applications. The Ag ion irradiated Ga-doped ZnO thin was optimized at different operating temperature.

Perspectives on metal induced crystallization of a-Si and a-Ge thin films.

In recent times, the metal induced crystallization (MIC) process in amorphous semiconductors (a-Si and a-Ge) has been extensively investigated by many researchers due to potential applications of crystalline semiconductors in high-density data storage devices, flat panel displays, and high performance solar cells. In this context, we have presented a review on different schemes of MIC in metal/a-Si and metal/a-Ge bilayer films (with stacking change) on various substrates under different annealing conditions. The parameters, which limit crystallization of a-Si and a-Ge have been analyzed and discussed extensively keeping in mind their applications in solar cells and flat panel displays.

Effects of Heavy Ion Irradiation on the Thermoelectric Properties of In(TeSe) Thin Films.

Ion irradiation is an exceptionally effective approach to induce controlled surface modification/defects in semiconducting thin films. In this investigation, ion-irradiated Se-Te-based compounds exhibit electrical transport properties that greatly favor the transformation of waste heat into electricity. Enhancements of both the Seebeck coefficient (S) and the power factor (PF) of In(TeSe) films under 120 MeV Ni ion irradiation were examined.

Sustainable Bioengineering of Gold Structured Wide-Area Supported Catalysts for Hand-Recyclable Ultra-Efficient Heterogeneous Catalysis.

Metal nanoparticles grafted within inert and porous wide-area supports are emerging as recyclable, sustainable catalysts for modern industry applications. Here, we bioengineered gold nanoparticle-based supported catalysts by utilizing the innate metal binding and reductive potential of eggshell as a sustainable strategy. Variable hand-recyclable wide-area three-dimensional catalysts between ∼80 ± 7 and 0.

Studies of pure and nitrogen gas mixed xenon ECR plasma: Signature of abundance dependent unusual trends in isotope anomaly.

We report the effect of N gas-mixing in the xenon electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) plasma, and abundance-dependent novel, exciting and unusual trends of the isotope anomaly. The xenon plasma was produced using a 10 GHz all-permanent-magnet NANOGAN ECR ion source, and the charge state distributions of naturally abundant six stable xenon isotopes with and without N gas-mixing (at 25%, 50%, and 75%) were recorded. The intensity ratio of the heavier to lighter isotope, where the heavier isotope is less abundant, showed a clear signature of the isotope anomaly as explained by the linear Landau wave damping theory.

Fragmentation dynamics of CHCl ( = 2,3): theory and experiment.

A combined theoretical and experimental study of the dissociation of the di- and trication of the CHCl molecule has been performed. Experimentally, these multi-charged ions were produced after interactions of a CHCl effusive jet with a mono-energetic beam of H or Ar projectile ions. Theoretically, we mapped the multi-dimensional potential energy surfaces of CHCl, HCClH and CHCl species in their electronic ground and electronically excited states using post-Hartree-Fock configuration interaction methods.

Thermoelectric and Photovoltaic Properties of Mn-Doped Kesterite CuZnMnSnSe.

The semiconductor CuZnSnSe (CZTSe) is a promising candidate for both thermoelectric and photovoltaic energy harvesting applications due to a combination of features such as direct band gap, high absorption coefficient, and low thermal conductivity. We report the solid-state synthesis and characterization of Mn-doped CuZnMnSnSe ( = 0, 0.05, 0.

Spatial distribution of fossil fuel derived CO over India using radiocarbon measurements in crop plants.

Examining the contribution of fossil fuel CO to the total CO changes in the atmosphere is of primary concern due to its alarming levels of fossil fuel emissions over the globe, specifically developing countries. Atmospheric radiocarbon represents an important observational constraint and utilized to trace fossil fuel derived CO (CO) in the atmosphere. For the first time, we have presented a detailed analysis on the spatial distribution of fossil fuel derived CO (CO) over India using radiocarbon (ΔC) measurements during three-year period.

Understanding the effect of irradiation temperature on microstructural evolution of 20MnMoNi55 steel.

In this study, the effect of irradiation temperature on microstructural evolution of Indian RPV steel is reported. This study, by virtue of helium ion irradiation at 77, 300 and 573 K, could bring out the effect of the irradiation induced defects on microstructural and mechanical property changes at different stages of their existence starting from the state of cascade damage till the point of their free migration. Irradiation experiments were performed with varying ion energies to achieve nearly uniform irradiation damage of 0.

A Combinatorial Study Investigating the Growth of Ultrasmall Embedded Silver Nanoparticles upon Thermal Annealing.

Ultrasmall nanoparticles (NPs) with a high active surface area are essential for optoelectronic and photovoltaic applications. However, the structural stability and sustainability of these ultrasmall NPs at higher temperatures remain a critical problem. Here, we have synthesized the nanocomposites (NCs) of Ag NPs inside the silica matrix using the atom beam co-sputtering technique.