The optoelectronic properties of semiconductor quantum-dot (QD) solids depend on the electronic structure of the building blocks and their interactions. Disorder may affect the coupling on a local scale. We have measured the density of states of 2D arrays of PbSe QDs site by site using scanning tunneling spectroscopy. It markedly differs from that of isolated QDs due to electronic coupling in the array. We observe strong local variations in the coupling strength with two prototypical cases: delocalization of the conduction electrons only, and full coupling with both hole and electron delocalization over the QD sites in the array.

Electronic transport is profoundly modified in the presence of strong electron-vibration coupling. We show that in certain situations, the electron flow takes place only when vibrations are excited. By controlling the segregation of boron in semiconducting $\mathrm{Si}(111)\mathrm{\text{−}}\sqrt{3}\times \sqrt{3}R30°$ surfaces, we create a type of adatom with a dangling-bond state that is electronically decoupled from any other electronic state. However, probing this state with scanning tunnelling microscopy at 5 K yields high currents. These findings are rationalized by ab-initio calculations that show the formation of a local polaron in the transport process.

Si nanowires with a $⟨111⟩$ orientation, synthesized by vapor-liquid-solid process with low silane partial pressure reactant and gold as the catalyst, are known to exhibit sawtooth facets containing gold adsorbates. We report herein the study of the nanowire morphology by means of transmission electron microscopy and scanning tunneling microscopy. The nanowires consist of faceted sidewalls. The number of the sidewalls changes from 12 to 6 along the growth axis, giving rise to nanowires with an irregular hexagonal cross section at their base. The sidewalls are covered with Au-rich clusters. Their facets also exhibit atomic structures that reveal the presence of gold, resulting from the diffusion of gold during the growth. Based on these observations, the tapering of the nanowire is found to be related to two contributions: the reduction in the catalyst particle size during the growth and lateral overgrowth from the direct incorporation of Si species onto the nanowire sidewalls. Because the rearrangement of atoms at surfaces and interfaces might affect the growth kinetics, the trigonal symmetry as well as the higher lateral growth rate on the widest sidewalls are explained from the existence of an interfacial atomic structure with two inequivalent parts in the unit cell. Finally, spectroscopic measurements were performed on the major facets and revealed a metallic behavior at 77 K. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.81.115403 © 2010 The American Physical Society

This paper describes the physicochemical study of the adsorption of dysprosium (Dy³⁺) in aqueous solution onto two types of activated carbons synthesized from spent coffee ground. Potassium hydroxide (KOH)-activated carbon is a microporous material with a specific Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) surface area of 2330 m²·g⁻¹ and pores with a diameter of 3.2 nm. Carbon activated with water vapor and N₂ is a solid mesoporous, with pores of 5.7 nm in diameter and a specific surface of 982 m²·g⁻¹. A significant dependence of the adsorption capacity on the solution pH was found, but it does not significantly depend on the dysprosium concentration nor on the temperature. A maximum adsorption capacity of 31.26 mg·g⁻¹ and 33.52 mg·g⁻¹ for the chemically and physically activated carbons, respectively, were found. In both cases, the results obtained from adsorption isotherms and kinetic study were better a fit to the Langmuir model and pseudo-second-order kinetics. In addition, thermodynamic results indicate that dysprosium adsorption onto both activated carbons is an exothermic, spontaneous, and favorable process.

Bulk ZnO single crystals grown by the hydrothermal and flux methods have been characterized by steady-state and time resolved cathodoluminescence measurements performed on the different crystalline faces. A shift of the peak near band edge towards lower energies is observed in spectra recorded with increasing delay times. This behaviour is often observed in the etch pit regions in alkali flux grown crystals, which suggests the presence of a band related to dislocations or to the point defects surrounding the dislocations. In the low-energy region, cathodoluminescence spectra show that the relative intensity of the different components of the deep level band also depends on the atomic structure of the face under study. This complex behaviour is clearly revealed from the time resolved spectra. The differences observed are attributed to the nature of the defects present in each face and, in particular, to different impurity incorporation processes that could be mainly controlled by the atomic configuration and polarity of the planes.