Solution Growth Research Articles

Amyloid fibril growth in a heterogeneous solution

Amyloid fibril growth in a heterogeneous solution

Synthesis, crystal structure and luminescent properties of a quinary borate-phosphate compound CsNa2Dy2(BO3)(PO4)2

Abstract Borate-phosphates exhibit a wide range of compositional and structural diversity, making them ideal hosts for luminescent materials. In this work, a new borate-phosphate compound CsNa2Dy2(BO3)(PO4)2 has been prepared under high temperature solution growth method. It crystallizes in an orthorhombic space group Cmcm with the following lattice parameters determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction: a = 6.9709(5), b = 14.9699(11), c = 10.6480(8) Å, z = 4. Its structure contains isolated BO3 planar triangles and PO4 tetrahedra, which are interconnected by Cs+, Na+ and Dy3+ ions. Solid solutions of CsNa2Y2(1−x)Dy2x (BO3)(PO4)2 (x = 0 − 0.08) are prepared and exhibit a yellow emissive luminescence by near-UV excitation due to the 4F9/2 → 6H(13/2, 15/2) transitions of Dy3+. The optimized concentration of Dy3+ is x = 0.01, and if over this critical value, the luminescent intensity will decrease due to concentration quenching. The Commission International de L’Eclairage (CIE) coordinates for CsNa2Y1.98Dy0.02(BO3)(PO4)2 are (x = 0.377, y = 0.404), corresponding to yellow color. The prepared phosphor may serve as a yellow phosphor for NUV-excited LEDs.

Self‐Cleaning Perovskite Single Crystals Fabricated with Bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide Derived Ionic Liquid Toward High‐Performance Photodetection

AbstractSurface defects are crucial to perovskite single crystals (SCs) for versatile optoelectronic applications, whereas suffers from the intricate post‐treatments and unsatisfactory reproducibility within solution growth strategy due to the residue solvent corrosion and adsorbed precursors deposition. Here, an ionic liquid, 1‐butyl‐3‐methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide (BMITFSI) is demonstrated, assisted solution growth approach for fabricating high‐quality self‐cleaning perovskite single crystals with no need for any post‐treatment. Benefiting from the in situ assembling in crystalline surface, BMITFSI can effectively decrease the crystallographic trap density by simultaneously introducing the self‐cleaning effect and optimizing the crystalline growth process. Particularly, as fabricated MAPbI3 single crystal exhibits an impressive photodetection performance with a specific detectivity of 2.83 × 1012 Jones in visible‐IR spectrum and a sensitivity of 7.24 × 104 µC Gyair−1 cm−2 in X‐ray detection, which is as good as the conventionally fabricated crystal with elaborate post‐treatments. Based on the chemical composition independent universality, this work paves an easy but efficient route to improve the current crystallization methodology toward high‐quality perovskite SCs fabrication.

Preparation, Crystal Structure, Physico‐chemical and Nonlinear Optical Properties of a New D‐π‐A Centrosymmetric Stilbazolium Framework of 4‐[2‐(3hydroxy‐phenyl)‐vinyl]‐1‐methyl‐pyridinium iodide (HMPI)

AbstractNew organic Stilbazolium cation Salt of 4‐[2‐(3 hydroxy‐phenyl)‐vinyl]‐1‐methyl‐pyridinium iodide (HMPI), which was obtained through solvent evaporation solution growth. The crystal structure was proved via the SC‐XRD technique. Its outcome reveals that the HMPI crystallised in a centrosymmetric pattern (P121/n1) and monoclinic crystal system. The compositional analysis was performed via 1H NMR and 13C NMR. The FT‐IR spectrum was used to determine the vibrational mode of the different molecular groups present in the material. The intermolecular interactions in the crystal structure were studied using Hirshfeld surface analysis. The molecular orbital energies (HOMO‐LUMO) and molecular electrostatic potential (MESP) were estimated using the Gaussian program with the density functional theory (DFT) method. The linear optical study revealed the transmittance percentage, lower cut‐off wavelength, and energy band gap for HMPI crystal. In the photoluminescence study, a green colour broad emission peak is observed at 521 nm. TG and DTA measured the thermal behaviour of grown HMPI crystal. Chemical etching and atomic force microscopy (AFM) experiments were used to report the surface properties of grown HMPI crystal. The Z‐scan technique, a He−Ne continuous wave laser at 632.8 nm used to measure the third‐order nonlinear optical susceptibility of the HMPI crystal. The Z scan approach reveals a saturable absorption and self‐defocusing nature of the title crystal.

A critical analysis of extracts of okra seeds and amla offering green chemistry for synthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles and their promising role in reducing crude oil viscosity

To produce zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles, aqueous solution growth offers cost and energy advantages over gas phase methods making the process green, but the quality of the ZnO nanoparticles could be compromised. It is often exaggerated that plant extracts can make the solution growth process even more ‘green’, but its overall impact requires careful evaluation. In this study, the effectiveness of plant extracts obtained from okra seeds and amla and their impact on ZnO nanoparticle production are investigated. Results showed that certain chemicals like phenolic compounds from amla can exhibit significant antioxidant activity. Extraction in water at room temperature is advantageous for the green synthesis, but may require greater amount of plant part or longer extraction time. Characterization techniques including FT-IR spectroscopy, UV–vis spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) are employed. There are possibilities of some impurity caused by remnants of precursor for ZnO, indicating requirement for additional purification stages. SEM analysis reveals distinct morphologies influenced by plant extracts, with particle sizes ranging from sub-100 nm to several microns. Elemental composition of synthesized ZnO are consistent with that of commercial ones. Apart from synthesizing ZnO nanoparticles, their impact on the viscosity of Arab Medium Crude Oil is also investigated. Dispersion of the ZnO particles in the oil reveals up to 70% reduction in viscosity.

Bubble deformation and breakup in a non-uniform electric field

In this paper, the deformation and breakup characteristics of bubbles during their growth in a mixture solution were studied with a needle-ring electrode configuration in the presence of an electric field by using high-speed photography. Four distinct bubble breakup behaviors of the dripping, cone, kink and branch regimes were achieved successfully by manipulating the electric field. By considering the applied voltage and gas flow rate, the cone structure, interface stability, departure frequency and bubble size distribution in different regimes were quantitatively discussed. It is found that the cone height, interface curvature, departure frequency and bubble size distribution are evidently associated with bubble breakup regimes. As the electric field strength increased, the bubbles stretched in the direction of the electric field and the instability of the gas–liquid interface became stronger, which eventually resulted in the bubbles fragmenting into a cluster of microbubbles. This work provides a fundamental understanding of bubble deformation and breakup mechanisms under the electric field.

Nucleation kinetics, chemical etching, hirshfeld surface, and photoluminescence of Rubidium hydrogen oxalate dihydrate NLO single crystal

The nucleation dynamics of a semi-organic Rubidium hydrogen oxalate dihydrate (RbHOH) crystal were assessed using double-distilled water as a solvent medium to obtain good quality crystal using the solution growth technique. Gravimetric analysis of solubility revealed that it has a positive temperature coefficient of solubility, which is appropriate for bulk growth. Other nucleation parameters such as metastable zonewidth, induction period, and interfacial energy were carried out using the classical theory of nucleation. The photoconductivity experiments reveal that the grown crystal exhibits a positive photoconductivity nature. Chemical etching and atomic force microscopy (AFM) experiments were performed on the produced crystal surface. From AFM experiments, effectively assessed amplitude parameters were calculated. Etching studies showed the presence of etch pit patterns such as tiny hillocks and rectangular shapes. Intermolecular interactions were analysed by using Hirshfeld surface analysis. In the photoluminescence (PL) studies, the grown crystal indicates green emission peaks at 519 nm, and the bandgap energy is found to be 4.8 eV. At room temperature, the refractive index of the RbHOH crystal was determined to be 1.669. The nonlinear optical (NLO) efficiency of the grown crystal was examined using a second harmonic generation efficiency test, and it was determined to be 0.58 times that of KDP.

Growth and characterization of novel piezo-/ferroelectric single crystals from the PSN-BS-PT ternary system

Bismuth-based single crystals with the nominal composition of 0.1Pb(Sc1/2Nb1/2)O3-0.315BiScO3-0.585PbTiO3 (0.1PSN-0.315BS-0.585PT) ternary complex perovskite system were successfully grown using a high-temperature solution growth (HTSG) method. A mixture of PbO and Bi2O3 in a molar ratio of 73:27 was used as flux, and the flux to charge ratio was optimized to be 70:30 (wt%). The grown crystals, with dimensions up to 3 mm, exhibit a pseudo-cubic morphology. The XRD patterns of the ground powder and naturally formed pseudo-cubic facets confirm that the grown single crystals crystallize in the perovskite structure with the rhombohedral symmetry as the major phase, and the naturally grown pseudo-cubic facets are parallel to {100}C. The domain structures in the (001)-oriented single crystals examined by polarized light microscopy (PLM) and optical crystallography reveal the coexistence of rhombohedral and monoclinic phases in majority, with the presence of a minor tetragonal phase likely grown at the late stage of the growth, demonstrating the morphotropic phase boundary (MPB) characteristics for the grown crystals. Upon heating, phase transition from the major rhombohedral and monoclinic to the cubic phase take place at TC = 370 °C. The ferroelectric properties are displayed by polarization-electric field (P-E) hysteresis loops with a remanent polarization of 17 µC/cm2 and a high coercive field of 68 kV/cm. The piezoelectric coefficient (d33) is found to be 478 pC/N. The high Curie temperature and decent piezo- and ferroelectric performance of the PSN-BS-PT crystals make this ternary complex perovskite system a promising candidate for potential applications in high-temperature and high-power electromechanical transduction.

Development of a new family of hole transport semiconductor oxides for fully transparent optoelectronic devices

Highly crystalline p-type NbxNi1-xO films have been prepared at various concentrations of Nb doping (x = 0–0.17) using a solution growth approach. The films exhibit cubic crystal structures with preferential orientation along the (200) plane. The Nb-doping of NiO films increases the lattice constant, lattice strain, and deformation energy density. The SEM images depict the increase in the grain size of NiO nanocrystals with increasing the Nb concentration. The EDS spectra inspect the stoichiometry of the prepared films. The AFM measurements revealed that the surface roughness increases from 0.4 nm to 2.1 nm with increasing Nb doping. The deposited films showed high optical transparency reaching 80 %. The optical bandgap energy decreases from 3.35 eV to 2.63 eV, and the Urbach tail energy decreases from 0.78 eV to 0.52 eV with the increase of Nb doping. The photoluminescence measurements reveal the suppression of the density of the Ni and O vacancies by 70 % due to the inclusion of Nb doping in the Ni sites. The electrical resistivity of the Nb-doped NiO films decreased by 200 times, the hole mobility increased by 12-fold, and the carrier density increased by 15-fold compared to un-doped NiO films. Owing to these outstanding properties, NbxNi1-xO films are a promising alternative to PEDOT: PSS for developing durable and efficient optoelectronic devices.

Synthesis, structure, growth, characterization and quantum chemical studies on 2-amino-5-bromopyridinium trichloroacetate: A novel phasematchable organic NLO single crystal

Organic crystals have become excellent candidates towards nonlinear optical (NLO) applications as they possess superior second and third order optical nonlinearities and high electro-optic coefficients when compared with their inorganic counterparts. In this direction, 2-Amino-5-bromopyridinium trichloroacetate (2A5BPT), a new organic second-order nonlinear optical compound is synthesized and optical grade single crystals are formed utilizing a slow evaporation solution growth approach at room temperature while using methanol as the solvent. Single crystal X-ray diffraction study shows that the title compound is assigned to monoclinic crystal system having non-centrosymmetric space group Cc. The crystal is transparent ( ̴ 85%) throughout the whole visible spectrum, according to the Ultraviolet-Visble (UV–Vis) spectra, with a cutoff wavelength of 367 nm and an optical energy band gap Eg of 3.32 eV. The crystal possesses good thermal stability. The compound has a 1.6 times greater powder second harmonic generation (SHG) efficiency than potassium dihydrogen phosphate (KDP). The phase matchability of the 2A5BPT is studied through particle size dependence of SHG. The intermolecular connection demonstrated by numerous inter contacts has been shown by a molecular Hirshfeld surface analysis of the crystal structure, and the related 2-dimensional finger print analysis further evaluates the individual contribution from each atom. In order to examine the first order hyperpolarizability, molecular electrostatic potential, and Highest occupied molecular orbital-Lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (HOMO-LUMO) energies, the quantum chemical calculations for the title molecule (2A5BPT) were carried out by density functional theory (DFT) utilizing the B3LYP/6–311++G(d,p) basis set. According to these results, the 2A5BPT crystal could be suitable for optoelectronic applications.

A new Ni/Bi Co-doping rare earth iron garnet crystal with high transmittance, low temperature and wavelength coefficients

Bi-doped rare earth iron garnet (Bi:RIG) crystal is an ideal magneto-optical material for optical isolators in the near-infrared band, which has been widely used in optical communication applications. In this paper, centimeter-sized and good-quality Ni2+-doped Bi:RIG crystals were successfully grown by top-seeded solution growth (TSSG). The transmittance reaches 72.6% at 1550 nm, which is higher than commercial Bi:TbIG crystal and close to the theoretical values of RIG crystals. Doping Ni can not only greatly improve the transmittance, magnetic, and magneto-optical properties, but also decrease the Faraday rotation temperature (FTC) and wavelength coefficients (FWC) of the Bi:RIG crystal. The FTC and FWC of (Bi0.37Ho1.18Eu0.83Gd0.62)(Fe4.20Ni0.25Ga0.55)O12 crystal reduced to − 6.3 × 10−4 K−1 and 8.0 × 10−4 nm−1, which are about 30% and 80% of commercial Bi:TbIG crystal, respectively. (Bi0.37Ho1.18Eu0.83Gd0.62)(Fe4.20Ni0.25Ga0.55)O12 exhibits potential for utilization in new high-performance, wideband magneto-optical isolators, and is expected to find application in the field of wavelength division multiplexing fiber communication.

Growth and blow-up of solutions with positive initial energy for a viscoelastic Kirchhoff equation with a logarithmic nonlinearity, delay and Balakrishnan-Taylor damping terms

Growth and blow-up of solutions with positive initial energy for a viscoelastic Kirchhoff equation with a logarithmic nonlinearity, delay and Balakrishnan-Taylor damping terms

Insights into the nucleation and growth of BiOCl nanoparticles by in situ X-ray pair distribution function analysis and in situ liquid cell TEM.

The synthesis of bismuth oxyhalides as defined nanostructures is hindered by their fast nucleation and growth in aqueous solutions. Using our recently developed single-source precursor, the formation of bismuth oxychloride in such solutions can be slowed significantly. As reported herein, this advance enables BiOCl formation to be investigated by in situ X-ray total scattering and in situ liquid cell transmission electron microscopy. In situ pair distribution function analysis of X-ray total scattering data reveals the local order of atomic structures throughout the synthesis, while in situ liquid cell transmission electron microscopy allows for tracking the growth of individual nanoparticles. Through this work, the precursor complex is shown to give rise to BiOCl upon heating in solution without the observation of structurally distinct intermediates. The emerging nanoparticles have a widened interlayer spacing, which moderately decreases as the particles grow. Mechanistic insights into the formation of bismuth oxyhalide nanoparticles, including the absence of distinct intermediates within the available time resolution, will help facilitate future design of controlled BiOX nanostructures.

Harnessing Digital Health Solutions to Enhance Medication Adherence in Patients With Depression

ABSTRACT The growth of digital health solutions is rapidly advancing, and mental health care is rapidly changing due to the enormous explosion of digital technology infrastructure and processes. Digital technology is poised to dramatically alter patient care delivery, thanks to the adoption of artificial intelligence, big data, wearable mobile technology, and network information. This review covers the uptake and implementation of digital solutions for medication adherence in major depressive disorder and explores potential barriers to access.

Growth of meromorphic solutions of complex differential and difference equations

Growth of meromorphic solutions of complex differential and difference equations

Smart Animal Repelling Device: Utilizing IoT and AI for Effective Anti-Adaptive Harmful Animal Deterrence

The coexistence of human populations with wildlife often leads to conflicts in which harmful animals cause damage to crops and property and threaten human welfare. Certain limitations influence the effectiveness and environmental impacts of traditional methods used to repel animals. The present research outlines a growth of solutions that utilize the Internet of Things and machine learning techniques to address this issue. This study centers on a Smart Animal Repelling Device (SARD) that seeks to safeguard crops from ungulate assaults, substantially reducing production expenditures. This is achieved by developing virtual fences that use Artificial Intelligence (AI) and ultrasonic emission. This study introduces a comprehensive distributed system for resource management in Edge or Fog settings. The SARD framework leverages the principle of containerization and utilizes Docker containers to execute Internet of Things (IoT) applications in microservices. The software system inside the suggested structure can include various IoT applications and resources and power management strategies for Edge and fog computing systems. The experimental findings demonstrate that the intelligent animal-repellent system effectively uses animal detection on power-efficient computational methods. This implementation ensures the system maintains high mean average accuracy (93.25%) while simultaneously meeting real-time demands for anti-adaptive harmful animal deterrence.

Growth of solutions for a system of nonlocal singular viscoelastic equation with sources and distributed delay terms

Growth of solutions for a system of nonlocal singular viscoelastic equation with sources and distributed delay terms

Third order nonlinearity examined by pulsed and CW lasers: an organic urea barbituric acid (UBA) single crystal for optical limiting application with DFT study

Bulk size of urea barbituric acid single crystal which has not been reported earlier was successfully grown by slow evaporation solution growth method. Single-crystal XRD brought out the lattice constant and the crystal system is observed to be monoclinic with space group P. Functional group of UBA were determined by FT-IR. UBA crystal is entirely visible from 270 to 900 nm with linear optical energy gap value to be 4.50 eV. The observed HOMO–LUMO energy gap was 5.21 eV. Thermally, UBA crystal is found to be stable up to 184˚°C. The Cp value of UBA increases from 1.21 to 1.58 J g−1K−1 with the temperature difference from 30 to 100˚°C. UBA shows good photoconductive nature and it found to be positive and Laser Damage Threshold (LDT) value of UBA crystal is 0.97 GW cm−2. Hardness testing confirms that UBA crystal belongs to soft nature category. Dielectric properties of UBA crystal are studied as a function of frequency and temperature. Third order NLO properties of the UBA crystal were studied under CW and pulsed lasers (ns) regimes using Z-scan technique. Good Optical limiting (OL) response (2.2860 х 1012 W/m2) confirms the efficiency of UBA crystal to be used as optical limiters for protection towards short pulse lasers.

High-Frequency Linear Array (20 MHz) Based on Lead-Free BCTZ Crystal.

Centimeter-sized BaTiO3-based crystals grown by top-seeded solution growth from the BaTiO3-CaTiO3-BaZrO3 system were used to process a high-frequency (HF) lead-free linear array. Piezoelectric plates with (110)pc cut within 1° accuracy were used to manufacture two 1-3 piezo-composites with thicknesses of 270 and [Formula: see text] for resonant frequencies in air of 10 and 30 MHz, respectively. The electromechanical characterization of the BCTZ crystal plates and the 10-MHz piezocomposite yielded the thickness coupling factors of 40% and 50%, respectively. We quantified the electromechanical performance of the second piezocomposite (30 MHz) according to the reduction in the pillar sizes during the fabrication process. The dimensions of the piezocomposite at 30 MHz were sufficient for a 128-element array with a 70- [Formula: see text] element pitch and a 1.5-mm elevation aperture. The transducer stack (backing, matching layers, lens, and electrical components) was tuned with the characteristics of the lead-free materials to deliver optimal bandwidth and sensitivity. The probe was connected to a real-time HF 128-channel echographic system for acoustic characterization (electroacoustic response and radiation pattern) and to acquire high-resolution in vivo images of human skin. The center frequency of the experimental probe was 20 MHz, and the fractional bandwidth at -6 dB was 41%. Skin images were compared against those obtained with a lead-based 20-MHz commercial imaging probe. Despite significant differences in sensitivity between elements, in vivo images obtained with a BCTZ-based probe convincingly demonstrated the potential of integrating this piezoelectric material in an imaging probe.

Novel laser crystal Lu2TeO6: crystal growth, thermal properties, and spectral analysis

In this paper, novel tellurate crystals Lu2TeO6 and Nd:Lu2TeO6 in a trigonal system are successfully grown by the top-seeded solution growth (TSSG) method using TeO2 and Li2CO3 as fluxes.