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At least 127 records · Page 7

Fiber-Coupled Multipass NIR Sensor for In Situ, Real-Time Water Vapor Outgassing Monitoring

This work presents the recent development of a fiber-coupled multipass near-infrared (NIR) gas sensor used to monitor water vapor desorption of small material coupons. The gas sensor design employs a White cell topology to maximize the optical path length over a compact, hand-size footprint. Water vapor concentrations are quantified over a large dynamic range by simultaneously applying wavelength modulation and tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy techniques. A custom headspace optimized for material desorption experiments is assembled using commercially available vacuum chamber components. We provide in situ measurements of water vapor desorption from two geometries of the industrially important silicone elastomer Sylgard-184 as a case study for sensor viability. To corroborate the results, the gas sensor data are compared to numerical simulations based on a triple-mode diffusion–sorption model, consisting of Henry, Langmuir, and Pooling modes.

gas sensor↗

Illuminating Galaxy Evolution at Cosmic Noon with ISCEA: the Infrared Satellite for Cosmic Evolution Astrophysics

ISCEA (Infrared Satellite for Cosmic Evolution Astrophysics) is a small astrophysics mission whose Science Goal is to discover how galaxies evolved in the cosmic web of dark matter at cosmic noon. Its Science Objective is to determine the history of star formation and its quenching in galaxies as a function of local density and stellar mass when the Universe was 3-5 Gyrs old (1.2 10 Mpc in each of 50 protocluster (cluster and cosmic web) fields at 1.2 < z < 2.1. ISCEA measures the star formation quenching factor in those fields, and galaxy kinematics with a precision < 50 km/s to deduce the 3D spatial distribution in each field. ISCEA will transform our understanding of galaxy evolution at cosmic noon. ISCEA is a small satellite observatory with a 30cm equivalent diameter aperture telescope with a FoV of 0.32 deg^2, and a multi-object spectrograph with a digital micro-mirror device (DMD) as its programmable slit mask. ISCEA will obtain spectra of 1000 galaxies simultaneously at an effective resolving power of R=1000, with 2.8"x2.8" slits, over the NIR wavelength range of 1.1 to 2.0 microns, a regime not accessible from the ground without large gaps in coverage. ISCEA will achieve a pointing accuracy of <= 2" FWHM over 200s. ISCEA will be launched into a Low Earth Orbit, with a prime mission of 2.5 years. ISCEA's space-qualification of DMDs opens a new window for spectroscopy from space, enabling revolutionary advances in astrophysics.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Annealing Controls Ultrafast Dynamics of Carrier Production in Organic Photovoltaics Incorporating a Nonfullerene Acceptor

Nonfullerene acceptors have emerged as leading candidates in organic photovoltaics pushing past some of the limitations of their fullerene counterparts with absorption extending in the visible and NIR, decreased air-sensitivity, and tunable energy levels. Significant progress has been made in demonstrating the potential of nonfullerene acceptor-based devices to reach high efficiencies; however, a photophysical and mechanistic understanding of charge generation in these nonfullerene acceptors lags behind. In particular, the effects of annealing on carrier production have not been previously examined. Here, we use transient absorption spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy to examine the effect of solvent vapor annealing on a perylene diimide-based nonfullerene acceptor, PDI-DPP-PDI. We find that when mixed with the donor PTB7-Th, the effect of solvent vapor annealing on PDI-DPP-PDI is to reduce geminate recombination, leading to balanced exciton generation and charge separation.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Zn‐Doped P‐Type InAs Nanocrystal Quantum Dots

Abstract Doped heavy metal‐free III–V semiconductor nanocrystal quantum dots (QDs) are of great interest both from the fundamental aspects of doping in highly confined structures, and from the applicative side of utilizing such building blocks in the fabrication of p–n homojunction devices. InAs nanocrystals (NCs), that are of particular relevance for short‐wave IR detection and emission applications, manifest heavy n‐type character poising a challenge for their transition to p‐type behavior. The p‐type doping of InAs NCs is presented with Zn – enabling control over the charge carrier type in InAs QDs field effect transistors. The post‐synthesis doping reaction mechanism is studied for Zn precursors with varying reactivity. Successful p‐type doping is achieved by the more reactive precursor, diethylzinc. Substitutional doping by Zn 2+ replacing In 3+ is established by X‐ray absorption spectroscopy analysis. Furthermore, enhanced near infrared photoluminescence is observed due to surface passivation by Zn as indicated from elemental mapping utilizing high‐resolution electron microscopy corroborated by X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy study. The demonstrated ability to control the carrier type, along with the improved emission characteristics, paves the way towards fabrication of optoelectronic devices active in the short‐wave infrared region utilizing heavy‐metal free nanocrystal building blocks.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗

Self-Assembled BaTiO 3 –Au x Ag 1– x Low-Loss Hybrid Plasmonic Metamaterials with an Ordered “Nano-Domino-like” Microstructure

Metallic plasmonic hybrid nanostructures have attracted enormous research interest due to the combined physical properties coming from different material components and the broad range of applications in nanophotonic and electronic devices. However, the high loss and narrow range of property tunability of the metallic hybrid materials have limited their practical applications. In this study, a metallic alloy-based self-assembled plasmonic hybrid nanostructure, i.e., a BaTiO 3 –Au x Ag 1– x (BTO) vertically aligned nanocomposite, has been integrated by a templated growth method for low-loss plasmonic systems. Comprehensive microstructural characterizations including high-resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy (HRSTEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), and three-dimensional (3D) electron tomography demonstrate the formation of an ordered “nano-domino-like” morphology with Au 0.4 Ag 0.6 nanopillars as cylindrical cores and BTO as square shells. By comparing with the BTO–Au hybrid thin film, the BTO–Au 0.4 Ag 0.6 alloyed film exhibits much broader plasmon resonance, hyperbolic dispersion, low-loss, and thermally robust features in the UV–vis–NIR wavelength region. This study provides a feasible platform for a complex alloyed plasmonic hybrid material design with low-loss and highly tunable optical properties toward all-optical integrated devices.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Transuranium Sulfide via the Boron Chalcogen Mixture Method and Reversible Water Uptake in the NaCu T S 3 Family

The behavior of 5f electrons in soft ligand environments makes actinides, and especially transuranium chalcogenides, an intriguing class of materials for fundamental studies. Due to the affinity of actinides for oxygen, however, it is a challenge to synthesize actinide chalcogenides using non-metallic reagents. Using the Boron Chalcogen Mixture (BCM) method, we achieved the synthesis of the transuranium sulfide NaCuNpS 3 starting from the oxide reagent, NpO 2 . Via the same synthetic route, the isostructural composition of NaCuUS 3 was synthesized and the material contrasted with NaCuNpS 3 . Single crystals of the U-analog, NaCuUS 3 , were found to undergo an unexpected reversible hydration process to form NaCuUS 3 ·xH 2 O (x ≈ 1.5). Here, a large combination of techniques was used to fully characterize the structure, hydration process, and electronic structures, specifically a combination of single crystal, powder, high temperature powder X-ray diffraction, extended X-ray ab-sorption fine structure, infrared, and inductively coupled plasma spectroscopies, thermogravimetric analysis, and density functional theory calculations. The outcome of these analyses enabled us to determine the composition of NaCuUS 3 ·xH 2 O and obtain a structural model that demonstrated the retention of the local structure within the [CuUS 3 ] – layers throughout the hydration-dehydration process. Band structure, density of states, and Bader charge calculations for NaCuUS 3 , NaCu-US 3 ·xH 2 O, and NaCuNpS 3 along with X-ray absorption near edge structure, UV-vis-NIR and work function measurements on ACuUS 3 (A = Na, K, and Rb) and NaCuUS 3 ·xH 2 O samples were carried out to demonstrate that electronic properties arise from the [CuTS 3 ] – layers and show surprisingly little dependence on the interlayer distance.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Ultrafast Laser-Excited Optical Emission of Xe under Loose-Focusing Conditions

The optical filament-based radioxenon sensing can potentially overcome the constraints of conventional detection techniques that are relevant for nuclear security applications. This study investigates the spectral signatures of pure xenon (Xe) when excited by ultrafast laser filaments at near-atmosphericpressure and in short and loose-focusing conditions. The two focusing conditions lead to laser intensity differences of several orders of magnitude and different plasma transient behavior. The gaseous sample was excited at atmospheric pressure using ∼7 mJ pulses with a 35 fs pulse duration at 800 nm wavelength. The optical signatures were studied by time-resolved spectrometry and imaging in orthogonal light collection configurations in the ∼400 nm (VIS) and ∼800 nm (NIR) spectral regions. The most prominent spectral lines of atomic Xe are observable in both focusing conditions. An on-axis light collection from an atmospheric air–Xe plasma mixture demonstrates the potential of femtosecond filamentation for the remote sensing of noble gases.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

Quantification of Ni–N–O Bond Angles and NO Activation by X-ray Emission Spectroscopy

Here, a series of β-diketiminate Ni–NO complexes with a range of NO binding modes and oxidation states were studied by X-ray emission spectroscopy (XES). The results demonstrate that XES can directly probe and distinguish end-on vs side-on NO coordination modes as well as one-electron NO reduction. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations show that the transition from the NO 2s2s σ* orbital has higher intensity for end-on NO coordination than for side-on NO coordination, whereas the 2s2s σ orbital has lower intensity. XES calculations in which the Ni–N–O bond angle was fixed over the range from 80° to 176° suggest that differences in NO coordination angles of ~10° could be experimentally distinguished. Calculations of Cu nitrite reductase (NiR) demonstrate the utility of XES for characterizing NO intermediates in metalloenzymes. This work shows the capability of XES to distinguish NO coordination modes and oxidation states at Ni and highlights applications in quantifying small molecule activation in enzymes.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Degenerate doping in B-Ga 2 O 3 Single Crystals through Hf-doping

n-type conductivity of β-Ga 2 O 3 grown from the melt is typically achieved using Sn and Si. In this paper, we experimentally and computationally investigate Hf doping of β-Ga 2 O 3 single crystals using UV–vis-NIR absorption and Hall effect measurements and hybrid functional calculations. Unintentionally-doped and Hf-doped samples with a nominal concentration of 0.5at% were grown from the melt using vertical gradient freeze and Czochralski method in mixed Ar + O 2 atmosphere. We demonstrate Hf dopants, predicted to incorporate on the octahedral GaII site as a shallow donor, achieve degenerate doping in β-Ga 2 O 3 with a measured electron concentration ~2 × 10 19 cm -3 , mobility 80–65 cm 2 V -1 s -1 , and resistivity down to 5 mΩ cm in our samples. The concentration of Hf was measured to be 1.3 × 10 19 atoms cm -3 using glow discharge mass spectroscopy on doped samples, confirming Hf to be the cause of n-type conductivity (electron concentration ~2 × 10 19 cm -3 ).

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

The preparation and characterization of chemically deuterium incorporated cotton fibers

Preparation of deuterium incorporated cellulose is a vital tool to investigate cellulose internal structure and to expand the application fields of cellulose materials. In this study, cellulosic cotton fibers with anti-rehydration (exchange-resistant) deuterium incorporated in cellulose were prepared by chemical hydrogen–deuterium exchange treatment. The chemical hydrogen–deuterium exchange process, along with exchange time, were characterized by nuclear magnetic resonance hydrogen spectroscopy (1H-NMR). The anti-rehydration deuterium incorporation was determined by Fourier Transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and Stable Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometer (IRSM). Here, the effect of the deuterium hydroxyl substitution on cotton fiber’s spectral data, microstructure, crystalline information, degree of polymerization, as well as it’s thermogravimetric analysis (charcoalization and combustion) are explored. Analysis of the chemical exchange process indicated that the hydrogen–deuterium exchange occurred preferentially in the amorphous cellulose component over the first several minutes. Deuterium exchange in the anti-rehydration crystalline phase took several hours. Increasing the treatment time, enhanced exchange-resistant deuterium incorporation to as high as about 60% of the cotton fibers’ cellulose hydroxyl groups was achieved. The characterization of FTIR, Fourier transform Raman (FT-Raman), and near-infrared spectra (NIR) all exhibited the deuterium spectral isotope effect on cellulose hydroxl groups. While, apart from the effect of reaction temperature, deuterium incorporation isotope effect did not affect the cellulose microstructure, crystalline index and the degree of polymerization properties. Furthermore, the thermogravimetric analysis of deuterated cotton fibers under N 2 and air atmosphere were both altered due to the thermodynamic isotope effect. These observations revealed the hydrogen–deuterium exchange treatment process and impacts on cellulose fiber properties, which helped us to better understand the cellulose internal structure and may facilitate the potential utilization of deuterated cellulosic materials.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

Au 76 (SC 6 H 4 - p -CH 3 ) 42 Square Quantum Platelet: One-Dimensional Growth of Quantum Rods Turns 90 Degrees

The growth pattern of atomically precise nanoclusters (NCs) is of fundamental interest, and the structural effect on their photoluminescence (PL) is important owing to their PL in the second near-infrared (NIR-II) range (900–1700 nm optoelectronically or 1000–1700 nm biologically) that holds great promise for optoelectronic and biomedical applications. Because of the small energy gaps required for NIR-II emission, the PL performance of NIR-II luminophores is largely limited by nonradiative processes. In this work, we discovered a Au 76 (p-MBT) 42 (Au 76 ) (p-MBTH = p-methylbenzenethiol) nanocluster featuring a face-centered cubic (fcc) core in a square shape (edge length: 1 nm). This square quantum platelet can be viewed as a side-facet (010) growth of the Au 52 (p-MBT) 32 (Au 52 ) rod, as opposed to the (001) facet growth. We found that Au 76 exhibits bright emission centered at 970 nm with a PL quantum yield (PLQY) of 30% in solution under ambient conditions, which can be further enhanced to 40% when the solution is deaerated. X-ray crystallography analysis coupled with time-resolved spectroscopy revealed that the nearly doubled PLQY compared to Au 52 (18.3%) was resulted from shorter Au–Au bond lengths in Au 76 (average 2.835 Å) than that in Au 52 (3.04 Å). This work provides important insights into the design of highly luminescent NCs, which are promising for photovoltaics, photocatalysis, and optoelectronic applications.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Physical and dynamical characterization of hyperbolic comet C/2017 U7 (PANSTARRS)

Here we present here a dynamical and observational study of the comet C/2017 U7 (PANSTARRS). This comet was discovered in 2017 and found to have a hyperbolic orbit. Our dynamical analysis shows that the object has probably originated in the Oort cloud, however an interstellar origin cannot be discarded. The observations were obtained in 2018 and 2019 using the Goodman High Throughput Spectrograph (GHTS) at the SOAR telescope. We obtained visible spectra covering the wavelength range of 0.5 - 0.9 μm and also images in the SDSS filters system. Both the low-resolution reflectance spectrum and the reflectance spectra derived from the SDSS filters show an atypical band at ~ 0.595 μm. We conducted a comparative study of the colors and reflectance spectra of different small body populations (e.g., comets, Centaurs, and trans-Neptunian objects or TNOs) from the literature and concluded that the spectra and the colors of this comet are atypical, showing only some overlap with those of some known members of the TNOs and Centaurs, within the large uncertainties of the measurements of those populations. It is found that the feature and overall spectral shape can be reproduced by laboratory spectra of kerite, a template for aliphatic-rich hydrocarbons that has been previously identified in NIR cometary spectra absorptions. It is tentatively proposed that the unusual spectral shape is the result of a particle size distribution of dust grains in the coma or on the surface that has arisen due to a low grain ejection velocity from the surface and large nucleus size.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Pressure-Induced Spectroscopic Changes in a Californium 1D Material Are Twice as Large as Found in the Holmium Analog

Here, in this study, the synthesis, characterization, and pressure response of a 1D californium mellitate (mellitate = 1,2,3,4,5,6-benzenehexacarboxylate) coordination polymer, Cf 2 (mell)(H 2 O) 10 ·4H 2 O (Cf-1), are reported. The Cf–O lengths within the crystal structure are compared to its gadolinium (Gd-1) and holmium (Ho-1) analogs as well. These data show that the average Cf–O bond distance is slightly longer than the average Gd–O bond, consistent with trends in effective ionic radii. UV–vis-NIR absorption spectra as a function of pressure were collected using diamond-anvil techniques for both Cf-1 and Ho-1. These experiments show that the Cf(III) f → f transitions have a stronger dependence on pressure than that of the holmium analog. In the former case, the shift is nearly linear with applied pressure and averages 6.6 cm –1 /GPa, whereas in the latter, it is <3 cm –1 /GPa.

absorption spectroscopy↗

Pressure-driven symmetry transitions in dense H 2 O ice

X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy of H 2 O (ice) structures are measured under static compression in combination with grain normalizing heat treatment via direct laser heating. Here, we report the transition from cubic ice-VII to a structure of tetragonal symmetry, ice-VII t at 5.1 ± 0.5 GPa. This is succeeded by the H-bond symmetrization transition occurring at a pressure of 30.9 ± 3 GPa. Both experimental observations are supported by simulated Raman spectra from density-functional theory quantum calculations. The transition to H-bond symmetrization is evidenced by the reversible emergence of its characteristic Raman mode and a 2.5-fold increase in bulk modulus, implying a significant increase in bonding strength.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗

A Performance Comparison of Low-Cost Near-Infrared (NIR) Spectrometers to a Conventional Laboratory Spectrometer for Rapid Biomass Compositional Analysis

The performance of a conventional laboratory near-infrared (NIR) spectrometer and two NIR spectrometer prototypes (a Texas Instruments NIRSCAN Nano evaluation model (EVM) and an InnoSpectra NIR-M-R2 spectrometer) are compared by collecting reflectance spectra of 270 well-characterized herbaceous biomass samples, building calibration models using the partial least squares (PLS-2) algorithm to predict five constituents of the samples from the reflectance spectra, and comparing the resulting model statistics. The prediction models developed using spectra from the Foss XDS spectrometer were slightly better than the prediction models developed using spectra from either the TI NIRSCAN Nano EVM and the InnoSpectra NIR-M-R2 as measured by the root mean square error (RMSECV) and the correlation coefficient (R 2 _cv) for “leave-one-out” cross-validation (CV). The models built from the two prototype units were not statistically significantly different from each other (p = 0.05). The Foss spectrometer has a larger wavelength range (400–2500 nm) compared with the two prototypes (900–1700 nm). When the spectra from the Foss XDS spectrometer were truncated so their wavelength range matched the wavelength range of the two prototype units, the resulting model was not statistically significantly different from the models from either prototype.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

Impact of Cosmic Filaments on Galaxy Morphological Evolution and Predictions of Early Cosmic Web Structure for Roman

We leverage the IllustrisTNG cosmological simulations to test how the large-scale cosmic web shapes galaxy morphology and to forecast the early cosmic web structure that the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will reveal. In the hydrodynamic TNG50 and N-body TNG50-Dark runs, we reconstruct the cosmic web at redshifts z = 0, 0.5, 1, 2, 3, and 4 with the Monte Carlo Physarum Machine density estimator and the DisPerSE structure identification framework. We confirm that dark matter halos start out predominantly prolate (elongated), and their shapes are aligned with their nearest filaments; prolate galaxies retain strong shape alignment with their outer halos to later times. At z ≥ 1, the fraction of prolate (spheroidal) halos increases (decreases) toward lower stellar mass, higher redshift, and lower filament density. At z < 1, more spheroidal (oblate) stellar structures preferentially reside in higher-density (lower-density) filaments. We also find that higher-density filaments favor extended rotationally supported disks, whereas lower-density filaments more often host smaller dispersion-supported systems. Then, generating mock galaxy samples from TNG100 and TNG50, we predict the early cosmic web accessible to Roman. We find that the spectroscopic emission-line depth planned for the High-Latitude Wide-Area Survey (HLWAS) yields a highly incomplete galaxy sample that does not accurately trace the z = 1 cosmic web. A survey ≥2.5× deeper over a few square degrees would enable a proper reconstruction and reveal qualitatively correct filament–galaxy morphology relationships. Nevertheless, the planned HLWAS Deep field should still identify most galaxy overdensities; targeted deeper spectroscopy of these regions would efficiently and adequately map the early filamentary structure.

Hasan, Farhanul [Space Telescope Science Institute↗

Strong NIR II Chiroptical Response and Magnetic Anisotropy via Modular Installation of Chiral Capping Ligands on a Light-Emitting Diradicaloid Scaffold

Low-energy molecular lumiphores have seen increased interest due to potential imaging and communications applications. Specifically, molecules that emit in the near-infrared (NIR, 700–1700 nm) or telecom (∼1260–1625 nm) regions, where attenuation is minimized in biological tissue and optical fibers, respectively, can drastically improve image resolution and depth penetration; however, bright low-energy emission is rare due to exponentially decreasing quantum yields in this region. Chiral molecules exhibiting strong NIR or telecom absorption/emission would be of particular interest due to advanced security and spintronics applications, but these compounds remain scarce and are currently restricted to lanthanide or nanoparticle-based systems. Here, we report the synthesis of a chiral organic-based NIR emitter, enabled by simple peripheral installation of chiral capping ligands. These ligands twist the achiral NIR-emissive core, breaking inversion symmetry. Furthermore, this twisting enables strong chiroptical responses observed via static and transient circular dichroism and increased magnetic anisotropy through electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) measurements, establishing this strategy as a promising method for the development of new chiral emitters and sensors.

Electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy↗