D. V. Dmitriev

The Dynamics of Platinum Precipitation in an Ion Exchange Membrane

Microscopy of polymer electrolyte membranes (PEMs) that have undergone operation under fuel cell conditions, have revealed a well defined band of platinum in the membrane. Here, we propose a physics based model that captures the mechanism of platinum precipitation in the polymer electrolyte membrane. While platinum is observed throughout the membrane, preferential growth of the platinum at the band of platinum is dependent on the electrochemical potential distribution in the membrane. In this paper, the location of the platinum band is calculated as a function of gas concentration at the cathode and anode, gas diffusion coefficients, and solubility constants of the gases in the membrane, which are functions of relative humidity. Potential cycling the PEM fuel cell under H 2 /N 2 conditions that resulted in the platinum band is near the cathode-membrane interface. As the oxygen concentration in the cathode gas stream increases and/or the hydrogen concentration in the anode gas stream decreases, the band moves toward the anode. The model developed in this paper agrees with the set of experimental data on the platinum band location and the platinum particle distribution and size.

Surface tension model for surfactant solutions at the critical micelle concentration.

A model for the limiting surface tension of surfactant solutions (surface tension at and above the critical micelle concentration, cmc) was developed. This model takes advantage of the equilibrium between the surfactant molecules on the liquid/vacuum surface and in micelles in the bulk at the cmc. An approximate analytical equation for the surface tension at the cmc was obtained. The derived equation contains two parameters, which characterize the intermolecular interactions in the micelles, and the third parameter, which is the surface area per surfactant molecule at the interface. These parameters were calculated using a new atomistic modeling approach. The performed calculations of the limiting surface tension for four simple surfactants show good agreement with experimental data (~30% accuracy). The developed model provides the guidance for design of surfactants with low surface tension values.

Exciton-plasmon interaction in hybrid quantum dot/metal cluster structures fabricated by molecular-beam epitaxy

Hybrid structures consisting of InAs/AlGaAs quantum dots and In clusters on the surface separated by an AlGaAs spacer with a specified thickness are investigated. The enhancement of the photoluminescence signal in the long-wavelength region manifesting itself in the appearance of a new narrow emission line is observed. This line is absent in the control structure with a quantum-dot array and no metal clusters. It also disappears with increasing thickness of the dielectric spacer between the layers. These results are explained in terms of a model taking into account the resonance interaction of excitons in quantum dots with localized surface plasmons in metal clusters.

Stalled phase transition model of high-elastic polymer

The microscopic model of semi-crystalline polymer in a high-elastic state is proposed. The model is based on the assumption that, below the melting temperature, the semi-crystalline polymer comprises crystal nuclei connected by stretched chain segments (SCS) with a random configuration of monomers. The key factor that stalls the phase transition below the melting temperature is the tension of the SCS. External stress applied to the polymer also shifts the equilibrium and causes unfolding of the nuclei, which enables large reversible deformation of the polymer without loss of integrity. The simple 1D model predicts a plateau in the stress?strain curve of the high-elastic polymer above the yield stress, which agrees with experimental observations. The model prediction for the temperature dependence of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) yield stress in the high-elastic state is in satisfactory agreement with experiment.

Molecular dynamics simulation of chains mobility in polyethylene crystal

The mobility of polymer chains in perfect polyethylene crystal was calculated as a function of temperature and chain length through Molecular dynamics in united atom approximation. The results demonstrate that the chain mobility drastically increases in the vicinity of the phase transition from the orthorhombic to quasi-hexagonal phase. In the quasi-hexagonal phase, the chain mobility is almost independent on temperature and inversely proportional to the chain length.

AlInAs quantum dots

A system of quantum dots on the basis of AlxIn1-xAs/AlyGa1-y As solid solutions has been studied. The usage of broadband AlxIn1-x solid solutions as the basis of quantum dots makes it possible to expand considerably the spectral emission range into the short-wave region, including the wavelength region near 770 nm being of interest for the design of aerospace systems of quantum cryptography. The optical characteristics of single AlxIn1-xAs quantum dots grown according to the Stranski–Krastanov mechanism are studied by the cryogenic microphotoluminescence method. The fine structure of exciton states of quantum dots is studied in the wavelength region near 770 nm. It is shown that the splitting of exciton states is comparable with the natural width of exciton lines, which is of great interest for the design of emitters of pairs of entangled photons on the basis of AlxAs1-x quantum dots.

Spectroscopy of Single AlInAs Quantum Dots

A system of quantum dots based on AlxIn1−xAs/AlyGa1−yAs solid solutions is investigated. The use of AlxIn1−xAs wide-gap solid solutions as the basis of quantum dots substantially extends the spectral emission range to the short-wavelength region, including the wavelength region near 770 nm, which is of interest for the development of aerospace systems of quantum cryptography. The optical characteristics of AlxIn1−xAs single quantum dots grown by the Stranski–Krastanov mechanism were studied by cryogenic microphotoluminescence. The statistics of the emission of single quantum dot excitons was studied using a Hanbury Brown–Twiss interferometer. The pair photon correlation function indicates the sub-Poissonian nature of the emission statistics, which directly confirms the possibility of developing single-photon emitters based on AlxIn1−xAs quantum dots. The fine structure of quantum dot exciton states was investigated at wavelengths near 770 nm. The splitting of the exciton states is found to be similar to the natural width of exciton lines, which is of great interest for the development of entangled photon pair emitters based on AlxIn1−xAs quantum dots.