In this paper we report the structural and property (magnetic and electrical transport) measurements of nanocrystals of half-doped La0.5Ca0.5MnO3(LCMO) synthesized by chemical route, having particle size down to an average diameter of 15nm. It was observed that the size reduction leads to change in crystal structure and the room temperature structure is arrested so that the structure does not evolve on cooling unlike bulk samples. The structural change mainly affects the orthorhombic distortion of the lattice. By making comparison with observed crystal structure data under hydrostatic pressure it is suggested that the change in the crystal structure of the nanocrystals occurs due to an effective hydrostatic pressure created by the surface pressure on size reduction. This not only changes the structure but also causes the room temperature structure to freeze-in. The size reduction also does not allow the long supercell modulation needed for the Charge Ordering, characteristic of this half-doped manganite, to set-in. The magnetic and transport measurements also show that the Charge Ordering (CO) does not occur when the size is reduced below a critical size. Instead, the nanocrystals show ferromagnetic ordering down to the lowest temperatures along with metallic type conductivity. Our investigation establishes a structural basis for the destabilization of CO state observed in half-doped manganite nanocrystals.

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Wide band gap metal oxide semiconductors such as zinc oxide ͑ZnO͒ show visible band photolysis that has been employed, among others, to degrade harmful organic contaminants into harmless mineral acids. Metal oxides show enhanced photocatalytic activity with the increase in electronic defects in the crystallites. By introducing defects into the crystal lattice of ZnO nanoparticles, we observe a redshift in the optical absorption shifting from the ultraviolet region to the visible region ͑400-700 nm͒, which is due to the creation of intermediate defect states that inhibit the electron hole recombination process. The defects were introduced by fast nucleation and growth of the nanoparticles by rapid heating using microwave irradiation and subsequent quenching during the precipitation reaction. To elucidate the nature of the photodegradation process, picosecond resolved time correlated single photon count ͑TCSPC͒ spectroscopy was carried out to record the electronic transitions resulting from the de-excitation of the electrons to their stable states. Photodegradation and TCSPC studies showed that defect engineered ZnO nanoparticles obtained through fast crystallization during growth lead to a faster initial degradation rate of methylene blue as compared to the conventionally synthesized nanoparticles.

In this paper we report a cheap, paper electronics based solid state gas sensor to detect NH 3 gas selectively with a detection capability of better than 1 ppm. The sensor uses perovskite halide CH 3 NH 3 PbI 3 (MAPI) as the active sensor material grown on a paper. This paper based sensor works at room temperature. The current through the paper sensor increases by one order on exposure to only 10 ppm NH 3 gas. The calibrated sensitivity is ~55% for 1 ppm of NH 3 gas in Nitrogen or Air. The current noise limited resolution estimated to be ~10 ppb. This work establishes perovskite halide as a new solid state gas sensing material that can reach sub ppm sensitivity using simple paper electronics. Use of paper and also solution method used to grow the active material makes the sensor cost effective and easy to manufacture. This type of disposable high sensitive paper sensor can be used for detection of NH 3 as a marker in exhaled breathes for non-invasive diagnosis. The sensor formed on the paper, since it supports unheated operation, needs less than few nanowatt power for its operation.

Surface modification can have a significant influence on the materials behavior at the nanoscale and can lead to nanostructures with novel properties. Here, we demonstrate the surface modification induced multiple photoluminescence and room temperature ferromagnetic activation of Mn 3 O 4 nanoparticles (NPs). Employing a systematic variation of the ligands, their functional groups and the structural position of the functional groups, we have identified the necessary and sufficient structural requirements of the surface co-ordinating ligands, in order to induce unprecedented optical/magnetic responses from the NPs. Using a multitude of spectroscopic techniques, we have investigated the mechanism behind the emergence of the multiple photoluminescence (PL), and it is revealed that the presence of a a-hydroxy carboxylate moiety in the ligands is necessary to activate the Jahn-Teller (J-T) splitting of Mn 3+ ions on the NP surface and the corresponding d-d transitions along with the ligandto-metal charge transfer transitions (LMCT, associated with Mn 2+/3+ -ligand interactions) is the key factor. However, the presence of a carboxylate group on the surface coordinating ligands is sufficient to activate the room temperature ferromagnetism of the NPs. Moreover, it has been observed that the ligands that induced the smallest crystal field splitting energy (CFSE) resulted in the strongest ferromagnetic activation of the NPs. Finally, the functionalized material has been identified as an efficient catalyst for the photo-degradation of a model cationic organic dye. Apart from the fundamental scientific interest, these results represent a promising route for the rational design of Mn 3 O 4 NPs adaptable to diverse applications.