Magnetometry and electron paramagnetic resonance studies of phosphine- and thiol-capped gold nanoparticles

In the last years, the number of studies performed by wholly independent research groups that confirm the permanent magnetism, first observed in our research lab, for thiol-capped Au nanoparticles (NPs) has rapidly increased. Throughout the years, the initial magnetometry studies have been completed with element-specific magnetization measurements based on, for example, the x-ray magnetic circular…

Structural characterization of polyhydroxy fatty acid nanoparticles related to plant lipid biopolyesters

In the present work, we report the physico-chemical properties and structural characteristics of special polyhydroxy fatty acid nanoparticles after their fusion by means of attenuated total reflection-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), scanning electronic microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and light microscopy. All the characteristics and properties investigated…

A thermal study approach to roman age wall painting mortars

Roman ancient mortars have been widely studied, in connection with both diagnosis and application required for restoring. Thermoanalytical experiments performed on mortars from Pompeii and Herculaneum provided a very good understanding of the technology employed. The mortars from Pompeii were obtained by the proper mixing of lime and marble grains while mortars of Herculaneum by…

Theoretical Analysis of the Performance of One-Dimensional Photonic Crystal-Based Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

A simple analytical model that allows designing one-dimensional photonic crystal based dye sensitized solar cells of optimized performance, accounting for the actual optical features of the device, is herein presented. Based on the theoretical description of the effect of coupling such Bragg mirrors to the light harvesting electrode, recently reported experimental values of the spectral…

Evaluation of Different Dielectric Barrier Discharge Plasma Configurations As an Alternative Technology for Green C-1 Chemistry in the Carbon Dioxide Reforming of Methane and the Direct Decomposition of Methanol

Carbon dioxide reforming of methane and direct decomposition of methanol have been investigated using dielectric harrier discharges (DBD)) at atmospheric pressure and reduced working temperatures. Two different plasma reactor configurations are compared and especial attention is paid to the influence of the surface roughness of the electrodes oil the conversion yields in the first plasma…

Spark Plasma Sintering of Ultrafine TiCxN1-x Powders Synthesized by a Mechanically Induced Self-Sustaining Reaction

High-purity, nanometer-sized titanium carbonitride powders, TiCxN1-x, were obtained with a mechanically induced self-sustaining reaction (MSR) in a high-energy planetary ball mill from a mixture of titanium and different carbon precursors under a nitrogen atmosphere. A promising method for developing dense TiCxN1-x materials is the coupling of MSR with the spark plasma sintering (SPS) technique. The…