Gadolinium-containing calcium phosphates are promising contrast agents for various bioimaging modalities. Gadolinium-substituted tricalcium phosphate (TCP) powders with 0.51 wt% of gadolinium (0.01Gd-TCP) and 5.06 wt% of (0.1Gd-TCP) were synthesized by two methods: precipitation from aqueous solutions of salts (1) (Gd-TCP-pc) and mechano-chemical activation (2) (Gd-TCP-ma). The phase composition of the product depends on the synthesis method. The product of synthesis (1) was composed of β-TCP (main phase, 96%), apatite/chlorapatite (2%), and calcium pyrophosphate (2%), after heat treatment at 900 °C. The product of synthesis (2) was represented by β-TCP (main phase, 73%), apatite/chlorapatite (20%), and calcium pyrophosphate (7%), after heat treatment at 900 °C. The substitution of Ca²⁺ ions by Gd³⁺ in both β-TCP (main phase) and apatite (admixture) phases was proved by the electron paramagnetic resonance technique. The thermal stability and specific surface area of the Gd-TCP powders synthesized by two methods were significantly different. The method of synthesis also influenced the size and morphology of the prepared Gd-TCP powders. In the case of synthesis route (1), powders with particle sizes of tens of nanometers were obtained, while in the case of synthesis (2), the particle size was hundreds of nanometers, as revealed by transmission electron microscopy. The Gd-TCP ceramics microstructure investigated by scanning electron microscopy was different depending on the synthesis route. In the case of (1), ceramics with grains of 1–50 μm, pore sizes of 1–10 µm, and a bending strength of about 30 MPa were obtained; in the case of (2), the ceramics grain size was 0.4–1.4 μm, the pore size was 2 µm, and a bending strength of about 39 MPa was prepared. The antimicrobial activity of powders was tested for four bacteria (S. aureus, E. coli, S. typhimurium, and E. faecalis) and one fungus (C. albicans), and there was roughly 30% of inhibition of the micro-organism’s growth. The metabolic activity of the NCTC L929 cell and viability of the human dental pulp stem cell study demonstrated the absence of toxic effects for all the prepared ceramic materials doped with Gd ions, with no difference for the synthesis route.

The purpose of this work is to analyze the electron–nuclear interactions of the vanadyl-porphyrin (VP) complexes in oil asphaltenes. Asphaltenes from the Athabasca oil sands were studied by HYperfine Sublevel CORrelation Spectroscopy (HYSCORE) electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR). It makes it possible to resolve and interpret complex hyperfine spectra of intrinsic VP with strong and weak hyperfine interactions between the electron magnetic moment and various nuclear spins (¹H, ¹⁴N, ⁵¹V). The main parameters of spin-Hamiltonian for the VP spin system are determined. The axially symmetric structure of the VP complexes is revealed, and the local nuclear environment of the paramagnetic center is investigated. The results can be used for the study of asphaltene electron–nuclear structure and asphaltene aggregates with the aim of elucidating asphaltenes’ transformation(s) under the influence of external treatment.

High-spin defect centers in crystal matrices are used in quantum computing technologies, highly sensitive sensors, and single-photon sources. In this work, optically active nitrogen-vacancy color centers NV^– in a ²⁸Si-enriched (nuclear spin $$I = 0$$ ) 6H-²⁸SiC crystal have been studied using the photoinduced ( $$\lambda $$ = 980 nm) high-frequency (94 GHz, 3.4 T) pulsed electron paramagnetic resonance method at a temperature of $$T = 150{\kern 1pt} $$ K. Three structurally nonequivalent types of NV^– centers with axial symmetry have been identified and their spectroscopic parameters have been determined. Long spin–lattice, $${{T}_{1}} = 1.3{\kern 1pt} $$ ms, and spin–spin, $${{T}_{2}} = 59{\kern 1pt} $$ μs, ensemble relaxation times of NV^– centers with extremely narrow (450 kHz) absorption lines allow highly selective excitation of resonant transitions between sublevels $$({{m}_{I}})$$ caused by the weak hyperfine interaction $$(A \approx 1{\kern 1pt} $$ MHz) with ¹⁴N $$(I = 1)$$ nuclei for the quantum manipulation of the electron spin magnetization.

Optically active point defects in semiconductors have received great attention in the field of solid-state quantum technologies. Hexagonal boron nitride, with an ultra-wide band gap E g = 6 eV, containing a negatively charged boron vacancy ( V B − ) with unique spin, optical, and coherent properties presents a new two-dimensional platform for the implementation of quantum technologies. This work establishes the value of V B − spin polarization under optical pumping with λ _ext = 532 nm laser using high-frequency (ν _mw = 94 GHz) electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy. In optimal conditions polarization was found to be P ≈ 38.4%. Our study reveals that Rabi oscillations induced on polarized spin states persist for up to 30–40 μs, which is nearly two orders of magnitude longer than what was previously reported. Analysis of the coherent electron–nuclear interaction through the observed electron spin echo envelope modulation made it possible to detect signals from remote nitrogen and boron nuclei, and to establish a corresponding quadrupole coupling constant C _q = 180 kHz related to nuclear quadrupole moment of ¹⁴N. These results have fundamental importance for understanding the spin properties of boron vacancy.