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At least 199 records · Page 11

Probing spin waves in Co 3 O 4 nanoparticles for magnonics applications

The magnetic properties of spinel nanoparticles can be controlled by synthesizing particles of a specific shape and size. The synthesized nanorods, nanodots and cubic nanoparticles have different crystal planes selectively exposed on the surface. The surface effects on the static magnetic properties are well documented, while their influence on spin waves dispersion is still being debated. Our ability to manipulate spin waves using surface and defect engineering in magnetic nanoparticles is the key to designing magnonic devices. We synthesized cubic and spherical nanoparticles of a classical antiferromagnetic material Co 3 O 4 to study the shape and size effects on their static and dynamic magnetic proprieties. Using a combination of experimental methods, we probed the magnetic and crystal structures of our samples and directly measured spin wave dispersions using inelastic neutron scattering. We found a weak, but unquestionable, increase in exchange interactions for the cubic nanoparticles as compared to spherical nanoparticle and bulk powder reference samples. Interestingly, the exchange interactions in spherical nanoparticles have bulk-like properties, despite a ferromagnetic contribution from canted surface spins.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Synthesis, Electronic Structure, and Reactivity of a Planar Four‐Coordinate, Cobalt–Imido Complex

Abstract A four‐coordinate cobalt–imido complex, ( t Bu mPNP)Co=NMes ( t Bu mPNP=modified PNP pincer ligand) has been synthesized from addition of 2,4,6‐trimethylphenylazide (Mes–N 3 ) to the corresponding dinitrogen complex. The solid‐state structure determined by X‐ray diffraction established a rare, idealized planar geometry with a Co=N bond distance of 1.716(2) Å. Magnetic measurements revealed an S =1 ground state with CAS‐SCF calculations supporting radical character on the imide nitrogen. Thermolysis of the cobalt–imido compound induced selective insertion of the imido group into a Co−P bond and yielded a three‐coordinate cobalt complex with a distorted T‐shaped geometry. Transition state analysis conducted with DFT calculations established the thermodynamic stability of the P–N coupled product and provided insight into the exclusive selectivity.

Park, Yoonsu↗

Understanding process-microstructure-property relationships in laser powder bed fusion of non-spherical Ti-6Al-4V powder

Powder feedstock is a major cost driver in metal additive manufacturing (AM). Replacing the spherical powder with the cost-efficient non-spherical one can reduce the feedstock cost up to 50% and attract more interest to adopt AM in production and new alloy development. Here, for this paper, a comprehensive study was conducted to understand process-microstructure-property relationships in laser powder bed fusion of hydride-dehydride Ti-6Al-4V powder. We demonstrated that variation of laser scan speed had a significant impact on the grain structure, pore evolution and properties compared to laser power. Dynamic X-ray radiography showed that with decreasing scan speed at a constant laser power, a transition from conduction to keyhole mode laser processing occurred, in which a deeper melt pool at lower scan speed intensified texture. In other words, an increase in laser scan speed resulted in formation of the refined prior β grains with shape factor of ~5, lowering the anisotropy. Furthermore, the degree of variant selection was evaluated based on the analyzed texture as a function of laser power and scan speed. With increasing laser scan speed, the dominant α/α boundary type was altered from type 2 to 4 and the degree of variant selection was noticeably decreased. On the other hand, increasing laser power left the morphology of prior β grains, their size, and the dominant α/α boundary (type 4) unchanged, while the texture and anisotropy were intensified, and the degree of variant selection was slightly decreased. Finally, dependency of surface roughness and microhardness were discussed as a function of laser processing parameters.

variant selection↗

Are you using the right probe molecules for assessing the textural properties of metal–organic frameworks?

Textural properties—such as the surface area, pore size distribution, and pore volume—are at the forefront of characterization for porous materials. Therefore, it is essential to accurately and reproducibly report a material's textural properties as they could ultimately dictate its applicability. This work aims to provide insightful and comprehensive studies of textural properties for a set of metal–organic frameworks (MOFs), a class of porous materials, using various gases to equip researchers in the field with a helpful guide and reference. Here, we selected a series of nine MOFs with different surface areas, pore sizes, shapes, and chemical environments to represent a wide range of materials. We probed the textural properties of these MOFs using traditional and distinctive gases: N 2 , Kr and O 2 at 77 K, Ar at 87 K, and CO 2 at 195 and 273 K. With regard to surface area, we discuss the validity and challenges associated with the current BET method, the importance of utilizing the Rouquerol et al. consistency criteria to ensure accuracy and reproducibility, and the recommended gas probes for certain materials. For pore size distribution, we discuss the efficacy of each probe for determining the pore sizes within a porous material relative to the calculated distribution from its crystal structure, the limitations of current computational kernels used to calculate pore size distributions, and the need for advanced kernels to envelope the diversity of porous materials. Finally, for pore volume, we discuss the use of the Gurvich rule to obtain the total pore volume in comparison with calculated values from crystal structures and its consistency as a metric for porous materials. Ultimately, we hope that this article will aid researchers in characterizing the textural properties of porous materials and encourage the development of new kernels capable of encompassing the complexity of MOFs and other porous materials.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Dual microscopy to explore enhanced atmospheric ice nucleation on multi-component aerosols

Using an optical microscopy setup adapted to in-situ studies of ice formation at ambient pressure, we examined a specific multicomponent mineral, microcline, with the ultimate aim of gaining a more realistic understanding of ice nucleation in Earth’s atmosphere. We focused on a perthitic feldspar, microcline, to test the hypothesis that co-existence in some feldspars of K-rich and Na-rich phases are contributing to enhanced ice nucleation. On a sample deliberately chosen to contain lamella, a typical perthitic microstructure, and flat surface regions next to each other, we performed a series of ice formation experiments. We found microcline to promote ice formation, causing a large number of ice nucleation events at around - 27°C. The number of ice nuclei decreased from experimental run to experimental run, indicating surface aging upon repeated exposure to humidity. An analysis of 10 experimental runs of identical conditions did not reveal an obvious enhancement of ice formation at the lamellar microstructure. Instead, we find efficient nucleation at various surface sites that produce orientationally aligned ice crystallites with asymmetric shape. Based on this observation we propose that surface steps running along select directions produce microfacets of an orientation that is favorable to enhanced ice nucleation, similar to previously reported for K-rich feldspars.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Hund's coupling assisted orbital-selective superconductivity in Ba1-xKxFe2As2

While the superconducting transition temperature of hole-doped Ba_{1-x}K_{x}Fe_{2}As_{2} decreases past optimal doping, superconductivity does not completely disappear even for the fully doped KFe_{2}As_{2} compound. In fact, superconductivity is robust through a Lifshitz transition where electron bands become hole-like around the zone corner at around x=0.7, thus challenging the conventional understanding of superconductivity in iron-based systems. High-resolution angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy is used to investigate the superconducting gap structure, as well as the normal state electronic structure, around optimal doping and across the Lifshitz transition. Our findings reveal a largely orbital-dependent superconducting gap structure, where the more strongly correlated d_{xy} band has a vanishing superconducting gap at higher doping, aligning with the Hund's metal behavior observed in the normal state. Notably, the superconducting gap on the d_{xy} band disappears before the Lifshitz transition, suggesting that the Fermi surface topology may play a secondary role. We discuss how these results point to orbital-selective superconducting pairing and how strong correlations via Hund's coupling may shape superconducting gap structures in iron-based and other multiorbital superconductors.

FOS: Physical sciences↗

Synthesis, Electronic Structure, and Reactivity of a Planar Four–Coordinate, Cobalt–Imido Complex

A four-coordinate cobalt imido complex, ( tBu mPNP)Co=NMes ( tBu mPNP = modified PNP pincer ligand) has been synthesized from addition of 2,4,6-trimethylphenylazide (Mes–N 3 ) to the corresponding dinitrogen complex. The solid-state structure determined by X-ray diffraction established a rare, idealized planar geometry with a Co=N bond distance of 1.716(2) Å. Magnetic measurements revealed an S = 1 ground state with CAS-SCF calculations supporting radical character on the imide nitrogen. Here, thermolysis of the cobalt-imido compound induced selective insertion of the imido group into a Co–P bond and yielded a three-coordinate cobalt complex with a distorted T-shaped geometry. Transition state analysis conducted with DFT calculations established the thermodynamic stability of the P–N coupled product and provided insight into the exclusive selectivity.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

High-throughput homogenization of a quasi-Gaussian ultrafast laser beam using a combined refractive beam shaper and spatial light modulator

Efficiently shaping femtosecond, transverse Gaussian laser beams to flat-top beams with flat wavefronts is critical for large-scale material processing and manufacturing. Existing beam shaping devices fall short either in final beam homogeneity or efficiency. Here, we present an approach that uses refractive optics to perform the majority of the beam shaping and then uses a fine-tune device (spatial light modulator) to refine the intensity profile. For the beam that we selected, circularly asymmetric with intensity fluctuations, our method achieved a uniformity of 0.055 within 90% of the beam area at 92% efficiency. The optimization involved an iterative beam shaping process that converged to optimum within 10 iterations.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

Preprocessing for Unintended Conducted Emissions Classification with ResNet

Characterization of Unintended Conducted Emissions (UCE) from electronic devices is important when diagnosing electromagnetic interference, performing nonintrusive load monitoring (NILM) of power systems, and monitoring electronic device health, among other applications. Prior work has demonstrated that UCE analysis can serve as a diagnostic tool for energy efficiency investigations and detailed load analysis. While explaining the feature selection of deep networks with certainty is often not fully comprehensive, or in other applications, quite lacking, additional tools/methods for further corroboration and confirmation can help further the understanding of the researcher. This is true especially in the subject application of the study in this paper. Often the focus of such efforts is the selected features themselves, and there is not as much understanding gained about the noise in the collected data. If selected feature and noise characteristics are known, it can be used to further shape the design of the deep network or associated preprocessing. This is additionally difficult when the available data are limited, as in the case which the authors investigated in this study. Here, the authors present a novel work (which is a proposed complementary portion of the overall solution to the deep network classification explainability problem for this application) by applying a systematic progression of preprocessing and a deep neural network (ResNet architecture) to classify UCE data obtained via current transformers. By using a methodical application of preprocessing techniques prior to a deep classifier, hypotheses can be produced concerning what features the deep network deems important relative to what it perceives as noise. For instance, it is hypothesized in this particular study as a result of execution of the proposed method and periodic inspection of the classifier output that the UCE spectral features are relatively close to each other or to the interferers, as systematically reducing the beta parameter of the Kaiser window produced progressively better classification performance, but only to a point, as going below the Beta of eight produced decreased classifier performance, as well as the hypothesis that further spectral feature resolution was not as important to the classifier as rejection of the leakage from a spectrally distant interference. This can be very important in unpredictable low-FNR applications, where knowing the difference between features and noise is difficult. As a side-benefit, much was learned regarding the best preprocessing to use with the selected deep network for the UCE collected from these low power consumer devices obtained via current transformers. Baseline rectangular windowed FFT preprocessing provided a 62% classification increase versus using raw samples. After performing a more optimal preprocessing, more than 90% classification accuracy was achieved across 18 low-power consumer devices for scenarios in which the in-band features-to-noise ratio (FNR) was very poor.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

Phyllosphere exudates select for distinct microbiome members in sorghum epicuticular wax and aerial root mucilage

Phyllosphere exudates create specialized microhabitats that shape microbial community diversity. We explored the microbiome associated with two sorghum phyllosphere exudates, the epicuticular wax and aerial root mucilage. We assessed the microbiome associated with the wax from sorghum plants over two growth stages, and the root mucilage additionally from nitrogen-fertilized and non-fertilized plants. In parallel, we isolated and characterized hundreds of bacteria from wax and mucilage, and integrated data from cultivation-independent and cultivation-dependent approaches to gain insights into exudate diversity and bacterial phenotypes. We found that Sphingomonadaceae and Rhizobiaceae families were the major taxa in the wax regardless of water availability and plant developmental stage to plants. The cultivation-independent mucilage-associated bacterial microbiome contained Erwiniaceae, Flavobacteriaceae, Rhizobiaceae, Pseudomonadaceae, Sphingomonadaceae, and its structure was strongly influenced by sorghum development but only modestly influenced by fertilization. In contrast, the fungal community structure of mucilage was strongly affected by the year of sampling but not by fertilization or plant developmental stage, suggesting a decoupling of fungal-bacterial dynamics in the mucilage. Our bacterial isolate collection from wax and mucilage had several isolates that matched 100% to detected amplicon sequence variants, and were enriched on media that selected for phenotypes including phosphate solubilization, putative diazotrophy, resistance to desiccation, capability to grow on methanol as a carbon source, and ability to grow in the presence of linalool and β-caryophyllene (terpenes in sorghum wax). This work expands our understanding of the microbiome of phyllosphere exudates and supports our long-term goal to translate microbiome research to support sorghum cultivation.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

Decomposition Kinetics of H 2 O 2 on Pd Nanocrystals with Different Shapes and Surface Strains

Direct synthesis of hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) from H 2 and O 2 on a Pd-based catalyst has emerged as a promising route to replace the energy-consuming, highly inefficient anthraquinone process. However, Pd is also a good catalyst for the decomposition of H 2 O 2 , thereby compromising the selectivity toward the desired product. The coupling between the formation and decomposition reactions makes it difficult to single out the most important parameter that controls the selectivity toward direct synthesis of H 2 O 2 . Herein, support-free monometallic Pd nanocrystals with different shapes and surface strains are used to investigate their impacts on the decomposition kinetics of H 2 O 2 . The kinetics are analyzed by tracking the concentration of the remaining H 2 O 2 using infrared spectroscopy. The data indicates that both surface structure and strain affect the decomposition kinetics of H 2 O 2 , but their impacts are inferior to that caused by Br – , a surface capping agent for the Pd{100} facets. The experimental results are consistent with the trend obtained through density functional theory calculations. Furthermore, this work helps shed light on the development of Pd-based catalysts for the direct synthesis of H 2 O 2 by offering strategies to mitigate the decomposition of the desired product.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Atomic Three-Dimensional Investigations of Pd Nanocatalysts for Acetylene Semi-hydrogenation

Deciphering the three-dimensional (3D) insight into nanocatalyst surfaces at the atomic level is crucial to understanding catalytic reaction mechanisms and developing high-performance catalysts. Nevertheless, better understanding the inherent insufficiency of a long-range ordered lattice in nanocatalysts is a big challenge. Here, in this work, we report the local structure of Pd nanocatalysts, which is beneficial for demonstrating the shape-structure-adsorption relationship in acetylene hydrogenation. The 5.27 nm spherical Pd catalyst (Pd sph ) shows an ethylene selectivity of 88% at complete acetylene conversion, which is much higher than those of the Pd octahedron and Pd cube and superior to other reported monometallic Pd nanocatalysts so far. By virtue of the local structure revelation combined with the atomic pair distribution function (PDF) and reverse Monte Carlo (RMC) simulation, the atomic surface distribution of the unique compressed strain of Pd-Pd pairs in Pd sph was revealed. Density functional theory calculations verified the obvious weakening of the ethylene adsorption energy on account of the surface strain of Pd sph . It is the main factor to avoid the over-hydrogenation of acetylene. The present work, entailing shape-induced surface strain manipulation and atomic 3D insight, opens a new path to understand and optimize chemical activity and selectivity in the heterogeneous catalysis process.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Assessing the coating implications of slurry formulations in NCMA and LFMP blend cathodes for lithium-ion batteries

This paper investigates the implications of slurry formulations and electrode processing on the performance of lithium-ion battery (LIB) cathodes, focusing on Nickel Cobalt Manganese Aluminum (NCMA) and Lithium Ferro Manganese Phosphate (LFMP) blends. Through a comprehensive examination of electrode processing steps, from material selection to coating application, we elucidate the critical role of processing parameters in shaping electrode morphology and electrochemical behavior. Rheological studies reveal the influence of slurry composition on viscosity and flow behavior, highlighting the importance of achieving optimal rheological properties for uniform coating deposition. Electrochemical characterization, including cyclic voltammetry and rate capability tests, unveils the electrochemical behavior of NCMA, LFMP, and their blend, showcasing the synergistic effects of material blending on battery performance. In conclusion, our findings underscore the intricate relationship between slurry formulation, electrode processing, and LIB performance, offering valuable insights for the design and optimization of high-performance electrode materials for next-generation batteries.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗

Differential structure and functional gene response to geochemistry associated with the suspended and attached shallow aquifer microbiomes from the Illinois Basin, IL

Despite the clear ecological significance of the microbiomes inhabiting groundwater and connected ecosystems, our current understanding of their habitats, functionality, and the ecological processes controlling their assembly have been limited. In this study, an efficient pipeline combining geochemistry, high-throughput Fluidigm TM functional gene amplification and sequencing was developed to analyze the suspended and attached microbial communities inhabiting five groundwater monitoring wells in the Illinois Basin, USA. The dominant taxa in the suspended and the attached microbial communities exhibited significantly different spatial and temporal changes in both alpha- and beta-diversity. Further analyses of representative functional genes affiliated with N 2 fixation (nifH), methane oxidation (pmoA), and sulfate reduction (dsrB, and aprA), suggested functional redundancy within the shallow aquifer microbiomes. While more diversified functional gene taxa were observed for the suspended microbial communities than the attached ones except for pmoA, different levels of changes over time and space were observed between these functional genes. Notably, deterministic and stochastic ecological processes shaped the assembly of microbial communities and functional gene reservoirs differently. While homogenous selection was the prevailing process controlling assembly of microbial communities, the neutral processes (e.g., dispersal limitation, drift and others) were more important for the functional genes. The results suggest complex and changing shallow aquifer microbiomes, whose functionality and assembly vary even between the spatially proximate habitats and fractions. As a result, this research underscored the importance to include all the interface components for a more holistic understanding of the biogeochemical processes in aquifer ecosystems, which is also instructive for practical applications.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Architecture-Dependent Thin Film Self-Assembly of Star Polystyrene-poly(2-vinylpyridine) Block Copolymers

Controlling the orientation of nanostructured block copolymer (BCP) thin films is essential for their use in templating, transport, and pattern transfer. Conventional efforts mainly focus on adjusting enthalpic interactions between the blocks and interfaces, while entropic contributions are often overlooked. Here, we show that the morphology of BCP thin films can be precisely tuned by the architectural design of star BCPs. Specifically, we synthesized multiarm star BCPs with a polystyrene (PS) core and poly(2-vinylpyridine) (P2VP) corona, which exhibits a lamellar microdomain morphology. The entropic penalty associated with a parallel orientation of the microdomains to the substrate is controlled by varying the number of arms comprising the star BCPs, from 2-arms (triblock) to 3-arms and 4-arms. We systematically investigated the thin film morphology at different depths using grazing incidence small-angle X-ray and neutron scattering (GISAXS and GISANS), atomic force microscopy (AFM), water contact angle (WCA), and interference microscopy. The results show that 2-arm star BCPs show a parallel orientation, the 3-arm star BCPs form a uniform PS film at the air surface with a vertical orientation of the microdomains underneath, and the 4-arm star BCPs exhibit a parallel microdomain orientation at the air surface with mixed parallel and perpendicular microdomain orientation in the bulk. Additionally, we found that the inclination angle of microdomains at the edges of islands and holes, resulting from the incommensurability between film thickness and the characteristic period of the microdomain morphology, increases with a higher number of arms. This suggests a greater grain boundary tilt angle in the microdomains of star-shaped block copolymers (BCPs). When silicon substrates were modified with PS homopolymer, the selective interaction between substrate and core blocks promotes a parallel orientation for the 4-arm star BCPs. In conclusion, this work shows that control of arm number in star BCPs affords diverse BCP thin film morphologies, offering insights into the star BCP conformations in thin films across different depths.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

The eROSITA Final Equatorial-Depth Survey (eFEDS): The AGN catalog and its X-ray spectral properties

The eROSITA Final Equatorial Depth Survey (eFEDS), observed with eROSITA ahead of its planned 4-yr all-sky survey, is the largest contiguous-field X-ray survey at present. It yielded a large sample of X-ray sources with very rich multiband photometric and spectroscopic coverage. We present here the eFEDS active galactic nuclei (AGN) catalog and the eROSITA X-ray spectral properties of the eFEDS sources. Using a Bayesian method, we performed a systematic X-ray spectral analysis for all the eFEDS sources. We adopted multiple spectral models, including single-component power-law or hot-plasma models and double-component models of a power law plus soft excess. We investigated the capacity of eROSITA X-ray spectra for constraining AGN spectral shapes through a detailed analysis of the posterior parameter probability distribution functions. Hierarchical Bayesian modeling was used to recover the spectral parameter distribution of the sample. The source fluxes and luminosities were measured from the posterior of the spectral fitting. The eFEDS AGN catalog (22 079 sources) comprises ~80% of the eFEDS point sources. Despite a large number of faint sources, our spectral fitting provides reasonable measurements of spectral shapes and intrinsic luminosities for a majority of the sources. Because of sample selection bias, this AGN catalog is dominated by X-ray unobscured sources, with an obscured (logN H > 21.5) fraction of 8%; the power-law emission of the hot corona is also relatively soft, with a typical slope of 2.0. For type-I AGN, the X-ray emission is well correlated with the UV emission with the usual anticorrelation between the X-ray to UV spectral slope α OX and the UV luminosity. The X-ray spectral properties measured with various models are presented for all the eFEDS sources.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Future of condensed matter physics for the next 10 years

This perspective outlines a selection of research directions that members of the JPCM editorial board anticipate may shape the frontier of condensed matter physics over the next decade. Rather than a comprehensive review or formal roadmap, this perspective reflects a set of informed views drawn from diverse areas of expertise. Our intention is to spark curiosity, provoke discussion, and encourage readers to imagine—and pursue—the exciting possibilities that lie ahead.

chemical physics↗

Iterative reconstruction excursions for Baryon Acoustic Oscillations and beyond

ABSTRACT The density field reconstruction technique has been widely used for recovering the baryon acoustic oscillation (BAO) feature in galaxy surveys that has been degraded due to non-linearities. Recent studies advocated adopting iterative steps to improve the recovery much beyond that of the standard technique. In this paper, we investigate the performance of a few selected iterative reconstruction techniques focusing on the BAO and the broad-band shape of the two-point clustering. We include redshift-space distortions, halo bias, and shot noise and inspect the components of the reconstructed field in Fourier space and in configuration space using both density field-based reconstruction and displacement field-based reconstruction. We find that the displacement field reconstruction becomes quickly challenging in the presence of non-negligible shot noise and therefore present surrogate methods that can be practically applied to a much more sparse field such as galaxies. For a galaxy field, implementing a debiasing step to remove the Lagrangian bias appears crucial for the displacement field reconstruction. We show that the iterative reconstruction does not substantially improve the BAO feature beyond an aggressively optimized standard reconstruction with a small smoothing kernel. However, we find taking iterative steps allows us to use a small smoothing kernel more ‘stably’, i.e. without causing a substantial deviation from the linear power spectrum on large scales. In one specific example we studied, we find that a deviation of 13 per cent in $P(k\sim 0.1\, h{\rm \,\,Mpc^{-1}})$ with an aggressive standard reconstruction can reduce to 3–4 per cent with iterative steps.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗