Innovative materials for phosphor converted white light-emitting diodes are in high demand owing to the huge potential of the light-emitting diode technology to reduce energy consumption worldwide. As the primary blue diode is already highly optimized, the conversion phosphors are of crucial importance for any further improvements. We report on the discovery of the high performance red phosphor Sr[Li 2 Al 2 O 2 N 2 ]:Eu 2+ meeting all requirements for a phosphor’s optical properties. It combines the optimal spectral position for a red phosphor, as defined in the 2016 Research & Development-plan of the United States government, with an exceptionally small spectral full width at half maximum and excellent thermal stability. A white mid-power phosphor-converted light-emitting diode prototype utilising Sr[Li 2 Al 2 O 2 N 2 ]:Eu 2+ shows an increase of 16% in luminous efficacy compared to currently available commercial high colour-rendering phosphor-converted light-emitting diodes, while retaining excellent high colour rendition. This phosphor enables a big leap in energy efficiency of white emitting phosphor-converted light-emitting-diodes.

This study compared shear bond strengths of six self-adhesive resin cements to zirconium oxide ceramic with and without air-particle abrasion. One hundred twenty zirconia samples were air-abraded (group SB; n = 60) or left untreated (group NO). Composite cylinders were bonded to the zirconia samples with either BisCem (BC), Maxcem (MC), G-Cem (GC), RelyX Unicem Clicker (RUC), RelyX Unicem Applicator (RUA), or Clearfil SA Cement (CSA). Shear bond strength was tested after thermocycling, and data were analyzed with analysis of variance and Holm-Sidak pairwise comparisons. Without abrasion, RUA (8.0 MPa), GC (7.9 MPa), and CSA (7.6 MPa) revealed significantly higher bond strengths than the other cements. Air-particle abrasion increased bond strengths for all test cements (p < 0.001). GC (22.4 MPa) and CSA (18.4 MPa) revealed the highest bond strengths in group SB. Bond strengths of self-adhesive resin cements to zirconia were increased by air-particle abrasion. Cements containing adhesive monomers (MDP/4-META) were superior to other compositions.

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While the influence of silicate oxide glass composition on its chemical durability is increasingly known, the contribution of structure only is less well understood, yet is crucial for an accurate description of aqueous alteration mechanisms. The effect of structural disorder can be investigated by varying the thermal history of the glass. Furthermore, the structural changes generated by selfirradiation in nuclear glasses can be compared with those induced by fast quenching. In the context of deep geological disposal of vitreous matrices, it is then challenging to address the structural impact on glass durability. Here, a borosilicate glass, the International Simple Glass, was fiberized to obtain a rapidly quenched sample. The quenching rate and fictive temperature were evaluated from in situ Raman and Brillouin spectroscopies. Multinuclear nuclear magnetic resonance was used to obtain insight into the effect of quenching on the pristine and altered glass structure. Higher bond angle distribution and lower mixing of alkalis were observed in the fast quenched glass. Some of AlO 4 groups are then Ca-compensated, while a part of BO 4 is transformed into BO 3 units. The structural modifications increase the hydrolysis of the silicate network occurring in the forward rate regime at 90°C by a factor of 1.4-1.8 depending on the pH value. Residual rate regime is similarly affected, more significantly at the beginning of the experiments conducted in silica saturated solutions. These findings prove that the reactivity of glass remains controlled by its structure under the various alteration regimes.

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