D.S. Rana

Ag-doped ZnO nanoellipsoids: Potential scaffold for photocatalytic and sensing applications

Well-crystalline Ag-doped ZnO nanoellipsoids (NEs) were synthesized in large quantity and used as effective photocatalyst for the photocatalytic degradation of methyl orange (MO) and efficient electron mediator for the fabrication of highly sensitive, reliable and robust hydrazine chemical sensor. The Ag-doped NEs were synthesized by facile low-temperature (~60°C) solution process and characterized in detail using various characterization techniques. The characterizations revealed that the synthesized nanostructures are well-crystalline, possessing ellipsoidal shapes and were grown in very high density. The photocatalytic activities of these Ag-doped NEs were evaluated by measuring the rate of photodegradation reaction of hazardous methyl orange (MO) dye under UV light irradiation. By comparing the photocatalytic performance of Ag-doped ZnO NEs with those of ZnO nanoflowers, the former was found to be a much superior photocatalyst than the later. Further, Ag-doped ZnO NEs based hydrazine sensor exhibited a high sensitivity of ~9.46 µA/cm(2)µM and detection limit of 0.07 µM in a response time of <10s. Thus we find that Ag-doped ZnO nanomaterials synthesized by simple solution process holds potential as efficient photocatalysts and efficient electron mediators for the fabrication of robust and highly sensitive chemical sensors.

Terahertz spectroscopic evidence of low-energy excitations in NdNiO3

Formation of charge-density-waves in ordered electronic phases (such as charge-order) is an emergent phenomenon in the perovskite class of correlated oxides. This scenario is visualized to prevail in exotic RNiO3 (R=rare-earth) nickelates in which the structure controls the incipient charge-order to form in weak localization limit. However, any consequent effect demonstrating these nickelates in rare category of charge-density-waves conductors with controlled charge-lattice interactions has been a fundamental challenge so-far. Here, we present first evidence of the charge-density-waves in a prototypical NdNiO3 system employing terahertz time-domain spectroscopy along selective crystal axes. A finite peak structure at 5meV in the terahertz conductivity displays all the characteristics of a charge-density-wave condensate. Contrasting charge-dynamics of collective charge-density-waves mode and Drude conductivity emerging, respectively, from orthorhombic and cubic symmetries disentangle charge-ordering from the insulating state, establish a novel structure-property cause-effect relationship, and present opportunities to harness these diverse attributes in oxide electronics.

Cation disorder and epitaxial strain modulated Drude-Smith type terahertz conductivity and Hall-carrier switching in Ca1-x Ce x RuO3 thin films.

The CaRuO3 is a non-Fermi liquid pseudo-cubic perovskite with a magnetic ground state on the verge of phase transition and it lies in the vicinity of the quantum critical point. To understand the sensitivity of its ground state, the effects of subtle aliovalent chemical disorder on the static and high frequency dynamic conductivity in the coherently strained structures were explored. The Ce-doped Ca1-x Ce x RuO3 (0  ⩽  x  ⩽  0.1) thin films were deposited on LaAlO3 (1 0 0) and SrTiO3 (1 0 0) substrates and studies for low-energy terahertz (THz) carrier dynamics, dc transport and Hall effect. These compositions exhibited a very effective and unusual Hall-carrier switching in both compressive and tensile strain induced epitaxial thin films. The dc resistivity depicts a switching from a non-Fermi liquid to a Fermi liquid behavior without any magnetic phase transition. A discernible and gradual crossover from Drude to Drude-Smith THz dynamic optical conductivity was observed while traversing from pure to 10% Ce-doped CaRuO3 films. Overall, a nearly Fermi liquid behavior, effective carrier switching and unusual features in THz conductivity, were all novel features realized for the first time in physically and/or chemically modified CaRuO3. These new phases highlight the novel subtleties and versatility of the systems lying near the quantum critical point.

Charge transport in NdNiO3 thin films: Effects of mn-doping versus tensile strain

We have performed a comparative study of total three films, two films of NdNiO3 deposited on SrTiO3 (STO) and NdGaO3 (NGO) single-crystals and one 10% Mn-doped thin film of NdNi0.9Mn0.1O3 deposited on NGO. We find that both, the enhanced tensile strain and the Mn-doping drive the system to an insulating state from a metallic state at high temperatures. NdNiO3/NGO film shows a metal-insulator transition, which disappears in the other two films due to opening of charge-transfer gap. These results reveal that the effect of tensile strain on the resistivity of NdNiO3 is profound at low temperatures, whereas Mn-doping clearly dominates at high temperatures.

Contrasting effects of compressive and tensile strain and doping-induced opening of charge-transfer gap in NdNi0.90Mn0.10O3 thin films

We have studied the effects of Mn-doping in a series of NdNi1−xMnxO3 (x = 0, 0.10) thin films deposited on NdGaO3 (001) and YAlO3 (100) substrates, respectively with tensile and compressive in-plane strains. Interestingly, only 10% Mn-doping totally suppresses the metallicity in both the thin films indicating an opening of charge-transfer gap. In addition, we have also observed contrasting effects of compressive and tensile strains on electrical transport of Mn-doped thin films. There is an enhancement in magnetization as a result of Mn-doping.