The thermal decomposition reactions of CH₃CH₂C(CH₃)₂COOAg (1), (CH₃)₃SiCH₂COOAg (2), CF₃COOAg (3), (CH₃)₃CCOOAg (4), C₂H₅COOAg (5), C₃F₇COOAg (6), C₆F₁₃COOAg (7) and (CF₂)₃(COOAg)₂ (8) were studied in N₂ atmosphere using thermogravimetry (TG), derivative thermogravimetry and differential thermal analysis. Characterized compounds decomposed in one- or multi-step processes with metallic silver formation in the range 215–465 °C. TG-IR studies of gases evolved during thermolysis revealed products of decomposition, such as carboxylic acids, CO₂ and recombination reactions.

Powders and thin films of copper nitride, Cu₃N, can be synthesised simply from copper(ii) trifluoroacetate, the latter by facile solution processing, resulting in stoichiometric nanostructured semiconducting materials with a band gap of 1.48 eV.

The purpose of this study is to examine the microstructure and micromechanical properties of pulsed-laser irradiated stainless steel. The laser marking was conducted for AISI 304 and AISI 316 stainless steel samples through a Nd:YAG (1064 nm) laser. The influence of process parameters such as the pulse repetition rate and scanning speed have been considered. The microstructures of obtained samples were analyzed using confocal optical microscopy (COM). The continuous stiffness measurements (CSM) technique was applied for nanoindentional hardness and elastic modulus determination. The phase compositions of obtained specimens were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and confirmed by Raman spectroscopy. The results revealed that surface roughness is directly related to overlapping distance and the energy provided by a single pulse. The hardness of irradiated samples changes significantly with the indentation depth. The instrumental hardness H_IT and elastic modulus E_IT drop sharply with the rise of the indentation depth. Thus, the hardness enhancement can be observed as the indentation depth varies between 100–1000 nm for all exanimated samples. The maximum values of H_IT and E_IT were evaluated for the region of small depths (100–200 nm). The XRD results reveal the presence of iron and chromium oxides due to irradiation, which indicates a surface hardening effect.

Zinc oxide nanoparticles were prepared from Zn₅(CO₃)₂(OH)₆ precursor, capped with poly(vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP), and annealed at 600 °C. The obtained powders were characterized by a powder X-ray diffraction (PXD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), UV–visible spectroscopy (UV–vis), Raman spectroscopy, infrared spectroscopy (IR), thermal analysis (TGA/DTA), and third-order nonlinear (NL) optical measurement. Morphological evaluation by TEM and SEM measurements indicated that the precursor micro-particles are ball-shaped structures composed of plates with a thickness of approximately 10 nm. ZnO thin films, as well as ZnO/polymer multilayer layouts, were obtained by wet chemical methods (spin- and dip-coating). Surface topography and morphology of the obtained films were studied by SEM and AFM microscopy. Films with uniformly distributed ZnO plates, due to the erosion of primary micro-particles were formed. The fabricated specimens were also analyzed using a spectroscopic ellipsometry in order to calculate dielectric function and film thickness.

This work presents attempts to synthesize silver-doped copper nitride nanostructures using chemical solution methods. Copper(II) nitrate and silver(I) nitrate were used as precursors and the oleylamine as a reducing and capping agent. Homogeneous Cu₃N/Ag nanostructures with a diameter of ~ 20 nm were obtained in a one-pot synthesis by the addition of the copper(II) salt precursor to the already-synthesized silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs). Synthesis in a two-pot procedure performed by adding Ag NPs to the reaction medium of the Cu₃N synthesis resulted in the formation of a Cu₃N@Ag nanocomposite, in which Ag NPs are uniformly distributed in the Cu₃N matrix. The morphology, structure, and chemical composition of the obtained specimens were studied by TEM, XRD, XPS, and FT-IR methods, while optical properties using UV–Vis spectroscopy and spectrofluorimetry. The band gap energy decreased for Cu₃N/Ag (E_g = 2.1 eV), in relation to pure Cu₃N (E_g = 2.4. eV), suggesting the insertion of Ag atoms into the Cu₃N crystal lattice. Additionally, Cu₃N and Cu₃N/Ag nanostructures were loaded on graphene (GNP) and tested as a catalyst in the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and linear sweep voltammetry (LSV). The Cu₃N/Ag-modified GNP hybrid material revealed catalytic activity superior to that of Cu₃N-based GNP hybrid material and pure GNP, comparable to that of a commercial Pt/C electrode. Graphical Abstract

For the first time, organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) based on bis(8-hydroxyquinoline) zinc with a styryl group (ZnStq) dispersed in poly(N-vinylcarbazole) matrix (ZnStq_R:PVK, where R = H, Cl, OCH₃) were fabricated. The ZnStq_R:PVK films made via the spin-coating method were used as the active layer in these devices. The produced OLEDs showed strong electroluminescence with yellow emissions at 590, 587 and 578 nm for the ZnStq_H:PVK, ZnStq_Cl:PVK and ZnStq_OCH₃:PVK, respectively. For all the studied thin films, the main photoluminescence emission bands were observed between 565 and 571 nm. The OLED with the ZnStq_OCH₃:PVK layer with a narrow electroluminescence spectrum was found to have sufficient color purity to produce ultra-high-resolution displays with reduced power consumption (full width at half maximum of 59 nm, maximum brightness of 2244 cd/m² and maximum current efficiency of 1.24 cd/A, with a turn-on voltage of 6.94 V and a threshold voltage of 7.35 V). To characterize the photophysical properties of the active layer, the ZnStq_R:PVK layers samples were additionally deposited on glass and silicon substrates. We found that the obtained results predestine ZnStq_R:PVK layers for use in the lighting industry in the future.