Applied Physics A最新文献

{"title":"Transparent conductive Al-doped ZnO thin films with enhanced UV attenuation","authors":"Mahiman Bansal,&nbsp;Ansh Vardhan,&nbsp;Sai Karthik Karnati,&nbsp;Shweta Singh,&nbsp;Tribhuvan Kushwaha,&nbsp;Satyam Sinha,&nbsp;Dharnesh Alamanda,&nbsp;Ashritha Salian,&nbsp;Pavan Pujar","doi":"10.1007/s00339-026-10315-9","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00339-026-10315-9","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Transparent conductive thin films that synchronously offer electrical conductivity, visible light transparency, and ultraviolet (UV) attenuation are becoming more popular for UV-shielding coatings, smart windows technologies, and next-generation optoelectronic devices. Indium tin oxide (ITO) remains one of the most widely used transparent conducting oxides because of its superior optoelectronic performance; nevertheless, its reliance on scarce indium and comparatively large optical bandgap drive the development of transparent conductive materials free of indium that have adjustable optical characteristics. In this work, Al-doped ZnO (AZO) thin films were developed using an economical deposition method to modify their optical and electrical properties for effective UV attenuation. The developed AZO films showed excellent transparency in the visible spectrum, an optical bandgap of around ~ 3.27 eV, and an electrical conductivity of about ~ 15 ± 5.17 S.cm^− 1. The film showed an average transmittance of 44.44% in the UV region (190–400 nm), indicating a substantial reduction in UV transmission. Changes in the optical response, including the enhanced UV attenuation were observed and was associated with the changes in the electronic structure brought on by Al incorporation and oxygen-vacancy-related defects. To directly assess the shielding performance, a real-time, in-house UV-intensity monitoring system was developed and utilized to quantify the transmitted UV radiation through the films. The AZO coatings demonstrated a measurable decrease in the transmitted UV intensity, highlighting the potential of bandgap-engineered, indium-free transparent conductive films for applications requiring simultaneous optical transparency, electrical conductivity, and UV attenuation.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":473,"journal":{"name":"Applied Physics A","volume":"132 11","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2026-10-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149189444","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Evaluating gamma-ray induced defect dynamics in HB-grade pencil graphite for radiotherapy-relevant dosimetry: an ESR and structural study","authors":"Duygu Ahi̇,&nbsp;Özgül Karataş","doi":"10.1007/s00339-026-10330-w","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00339-026-10330-w","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The present work evaluates the dosimetric properties of commercial HB-grade pencil graphite (2 mm diameter) by analyzing radiation-induced paramagnetic defects in the radiotherapy-relevant dose range. For this purpose, HB pencil lead graphite was ground into a fine powder (20–100 μm) and then exposed to ⁶⁰Co gamma radiation at clinical radiotherapy levels ranging from 0 to 20 Gy. The structural and magnetic alterations were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS), and temperature-dependent X-band electron spin resonance (ESR) spectroscopy (20–300 K). XRD analysis confirmed the stability of the long-range graphitic lattice post-irradiation, while Raman spectroscopy showed evidence of radiation-induced structural disorder. ESR spectra exhibited a narrow Lorentzian signal, consistent with localized paramagnetic centers associated with the heterogeneous graphite-clay composite. Low-temperature ESR measurements revealed Curie-type paramagnetism, with line broadening at lower temperatures suggesting strong dipole-dipole interactions between localized spins. Additionally, gamma exposure induced systematic variations in both the ESR g-factor and spectral linewidth. Furthermore, a linear dose-response relationship was observed over the investigated dose range, with R² ≈ 0.99 between the ESR signal intensity and the absorbed gamma dose. Consequently, the investigated graphite-clay composite shows potential for further dosimetric investigation, provided that future studies address the native background and broader statistical validation.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":473,"journal":{"name":"Applied Physics A","volume":"132 11","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2026-10-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149189115","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Dual response of polarisation and magnetisation in MoS₂/Sr-hexaferrite incorporated PVDF composites as EMI shielding material","authors":"Mousumi Pramanik,&nbsp;Aliva Saha,&nbsp;Tanmay Kundu,&nbsp;Suman Saha,&nbsp;Tanmoy Chakraborty,&nbsp;Sukhen Das,&nbsp;Kaustuv Das,&nbsp;Soumyaditya Sutradhar","doi":"10.1007/s00339-026-10275-0","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00339-026-10275-0","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>This research investigates EMI shielding performance of molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂) and strontium (Sr) hexaferrite binary fillers embedded polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) composite materials in the X-band frequency range (8–12 GHz). The MoS₂ was achieved via hydrothermal methods, while, Sr-hexaferrite were synthesized using sol-gel process. The laminated composites of Sr-hexaferrite-MoS₂ binary fillers incorporated PVDF were prepared by solution casting method. Comprehensive characterizations of the Sr-hexaferrite-MoS₂-PVDF composite materials were conducted using X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM) and dielectric spectroscopy. The coupled response of magnetic and dielectric behavior of Sr-hexaferrite-MoS₂ binary fillers in PVDF matrix was invstigated by magnetodielectric study. The EMI shielding effectiveness study demonstrated that the Sr-hexaferrite-MoS₂-PVDF composite materials achieved a maximum total shielding effectiveness (SE_T) of -71.47 dB, with absorption (SE_A) being the predominant mechanism. The results suggest that the coupled effects of magnetic and dielctric response of Sr-hexaferrite-MoS₂ binary fillers incorporated PVDF composite system lead to enhanced EMI shielding, making these composite materials highly suitable to combat against EMI effect and EM pollution.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":473,"journal":{"name":"Applied Physics A","volume":"132 11","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2026-10-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149189119","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Multifunctional Sm₂O₃/Er₂O₃/ZnFe₂O₄ nanocomposites with tunable magnetic, electrochemical, and biological properties","authors":"Ala Manohar,&nbsp;Thirukachhi Suvarna,&nbsp;Panchanathan Manivasagan,&nbsp;Eue-Soon Jang,&nbsp;Amjad A. Almunyif,&nbsp;Ki Hyeon Kim","doi":"10.1007/s00339-026-10318-6","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00339-026-10318-6","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Sm₂O₃/Er₂O₃/ZnFe₂O₄ nanocomposites were successfully fabricated through calcination at 700–900 °C and labeled SEZ-1, SEZ-2, and SEZ-3. XRD and TEM analyses confirmed the development of highly crystalline multiphase nanocomposites consisting of ZnFe₂O₄, Sm₂O₃, and Er₂O₃, without evidence of impurity or undesired secondary phases. FESEM observations further demonstrated the formation of relatively uniform morphologies and homogeneous compositional distributions. The microscopic analyses revealed agglomerated particles with calcination-temperature-dependent variations in particle size, together with a well-distributed elemental composition. Nitrogen adsorption–desorption measurements indicated mesoporous surface characteristics, with the samples exhibiting distinct surface areas and SEZ-1 providing the highest accessible porosity. XPS investigations confirmed the presence of the constituent elements in their respective oxidation states and revealed pronounced M-O bonding environments. Magnetic measurements showed that SEZ-3 attained the highest magnetization, which can be associated with its enhanced crystallinity and improved structural ordering at the higher calcination temperature. Electrochemical studies revealed that charge storage was mainly governed by pseudocapacitive processes. Among the samples, SEZ-3 exhibited improved charge-transfer kinetics and a greater capacitive contribution, whereas SEZ-1 achieved the highest specific capacitance (Cs), which can be related to its favorable porous characteristics and larger accessible surface area. In addition, the nanocomposites demonstrated good compatibility with both normal mouse muscle fibroblast (BLO-11) and human pancreatic carcinoma (PANC-1) cell lines, highlighting their suitability for multifunctional applications.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":473,"journal":{"name":"Applied Physics A","volume":"132 11","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2026-10-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149189319","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Experimental investigation and Box–Behnken analysis of radially graded concentric diamond lattice structures fabricated by vat photopolymerization","authors":"Muhammet Mevlüt Karaca","doi":"10.1007/s00339-026-10345-3","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00339-026-10345-3","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Radially graded concentric Diamond lattice structures were fabricated by vat photopolymerization, and the effects of the regional unit cell size distribution on their energy absorption and deformation behavior were investigated. The unit cell sizes of the inner, middle and outer concentric regions were varied independently at 5, 7.5 and 10 mm according to a three-factor Box–Behnken design, and 15 configurations were printed from an ABS-like photopolymer resin, with three specimens per configuration, and tested under quasi-static compression. Energy absorption (EA) and specific energy absorption (SEA) were evaluated using a fixed-strain approach at 50% strain, and at 60% and 70% strain as a sensitivity analysis. The relative density of the configurations ranged from 24.2% to 45.1%, and EA at 50% strain varied between 29.3 and 65.0 J, increasing with relative density (R² = 0.88), whereas SEA remained within 4.26–5.51 J/g. The load drops in the plateau region were associated with brittle wall fracture, splitting and localized collapse. Response surface models showed that EA was mainly governed by the middle and outer cell sizes, which had effects of similar magnitude (R² = 96.8%, predicted R² = 89.9%), whereas the middle cell size was the only significant factor for SEA (R² = 82.2%, predicted R² = 69.6%). These results indicate that the effect of the inner and outer regions on EA is largely related to the amount of material, while the middle-region cell size also affects the mass-normalized energy absorption. The significant factors remained unchanged at all three strain limits.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":473,"journal":{"name":"Applied Physics A","volume":"132 11","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2026-10-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149189116","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Influence of copper molar ratio on the structural, optical, electrical, and photoconductive properties of sol–gel spin-coated Cu2BaSnS4 thin films","authors":"M. J. Thamer,&nbsp;Nabeel Ali Bakr,&nbsp;Kiran Dasharath Diwate","doi":"10.1007/s00339-026-10340-8","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00339-026-10340-8","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Earth-abundant trigonal Cu₂BaSnS₄ (CBTS) thin films were fabricated via a low-cost sol–gel spin-coating route to evaluate the influence of copper molar ratios (1.8, 2.0, and 2.2 for samples A1, A2, and A3, respectively) on their physical and optoelectronic transport properties. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Raman spectroscopy confirmed the formation of polycrystalline trigonal CBTS across all films alongside varying proportions of binary secondary phases (SnS₂ and SnS), with sample A2 (Cu = 2.0) exhibiting minimized secondary phase contributions, whereas sample A3 (Cu = 2.2) revealed enhanced phase segregation including Cu₂S. Increasing the copper molar ratio promoted crystallite growth from 29.65 to 58.30 nm while reducing the dislocation density from 1.14 × 10¹⁵ to 0.29 × 10¹⁵ m^− 2. Quantitative FE-SEM ImageJ statistical analysis (<i>N</i> = 35) demonstrated a progressive enlargement in mean grain size from 46.76 ± 5.79 nm (A1) to 65.09 ± 11.10 nm (A3). UV–Vis spectroscopy revealed a direct optical bandgap broadening from 1.92 to 2.25 eV, driven by the Burstein–Moss shift and the formation of the wide-bandgap SnS₂ secondary phase, with sample A2 achieving a minimum Urbach energy of 210 meV, indicating lowest localized band-tail disorder. Hall effect measurements verified intrinsic p-type conductivity across all samples, with carrier density rising from 6.2 × 10¹⁷ to 3.1 × 10¹⁸ cm^− 3 and maximum electrical conductivity reaching 0.547 (Ω.cm)⁻¹. Sample A2 achieved the highest Hall mobility (3.1 cm²/V.s) and optimal photoconductive response under Tungsten-halogen illumination (100 mW/cm²), yielding a maximum photoconductive gain of 3.1 and a photoconductivity of 1.3 × 10^− 3 S. cm^− 1. These findings demonstrate that optimizing the copper molar ratio to 2.0 (sample A2) achieves an ideal balance between secondary phase suppression, structural ordering, and photo-carrier generation, highlighting the strong potential of CBTS thin films as eco-friendly absorber layers for advanced photovoltaic applications.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":473,"journal":{"name":"Applied Physics A","volume":"132 11","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2026-10-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149189127","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Effect of solution concentration on the physicochemical and electrostatic air-cleaning properties of electrodeposited Zn thin films","authors":"R. S. Sidharaddi,&nbsp;A. A. Mane,&nbsp;A. R. Jundle,&nbsp;M. H. Nadaf,&nbsp;K. A. Chavan,&nbsp;S. A. Nikam,&nbsp;V. S. Sawant","doi":"10.1007/s00339-026-10332-8","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00339-026-10332-8","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>In this study, zinc (Zn) thin films were electrodeposited on steel substrates using final deposition-bath ZnSO₄·7H₂O electrolyte concentrations of 40, 60, 80, and 100 mM to investigate their physicochemical properties and electrostatic air-cleaning (EAC) performance. The structural, morphological, and surface characteristics of the films were systematically correlated with particulate removal performance. X-ray diffraction (XRD) confirmed the formation of polycrystalline hexagonal close-packed (HCP) crystal structure of Zn, with the crystallite size increasing from 43.4 nm to 62.1 nm as the electrolyte concentration increased to 80 mM and subsequently decreasing to 53.7 nm at 100 mM. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) revealed an increase in average particle size from 205.58 nm to 370.45 nm and root mean square (RMS) surface roughness from 53.39 nm to 95.2 nm up to 80 mM, followed by a decrease to 219.1 nm and 54.89 nm, respectively, at 100 mM. The optimized ZM₃ electrode, deposited from a final bath concentration of 80 mM exhibited a thickness of 678 ± 2 nm and porous nanoflake morphology with nanoflake thickness of approximately 50–62 nm. Under an applied voltage of ± 8.5 kV, ZM₃ generated the highest negative-ion concentration of approximately 3.60 × 10⁵ ions cm^− 3. Consequently, it achieved the maximum particle removal efficiency (PRE) of 80.30 ± 1.10% within 120 s and an air-cleaning factor (ACF) of 11.39 ± 0.37 after 405 s, compared with 7.15 ± 0.25 for the uncoated steel electrode. Furthermore, the time required for the measured concentrations in the experimental chamber for ZM₃ EAC are found to be 135 s for PM_2.5 and 75 s for PM₁₀, respectively, while maintaining a low ozone concentration of 0.030 ppm after 405 s. The results demonstrate that electrolyte concentration strongly influences Zn-film crystallinity, particle size, surface roughness, morphology, ion generation, and EAC performance, with 80 mM providing the optimum balance for rapid particulate removal and enhanced indoor air-cleaning performance under controlled laboratory conditions.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":473,"journal":{"name":"Applied Physics A","volume":"132 11","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2026-10-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149189334","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Exploring the microstructural characteristics of additively manufactured 17-4PH stainless steel through HIP-integrated heat treatment","authors":"K. Kaviyarasan,&nbsp;R. Soundararajan,&nbsp;S. Sivasankaran,&nbsp;Ramesh A","doi":"10.1007/s00339-026-10347-1","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00339-026-10347-1","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>This study investigates the effects of thermal and thermomechanical post-processing on the microstructure of laser powder bed fusion (LPBF)-fabricated 17 − 4 PH stainless steel. Three conditions were examined: as-built (AB), H900 aged, and combined hot-isostatic pressing (HIP) with H900 ageing (HIP+H900). The AB condition had exhibited columnar prior austenite grains, cellular solidification substructure, lath martensite, retained austenite, and a pronounced heterogeneous crystallographic texture. H900 ageing had promoted dislocation recovery, grain boundary stabilisation, and the formation of Cu-rich precipitates consistent with established precipitation behaviour reported in literature for this alloy. The HIP+H900 condition exhibited a predominantly martensitic microstructure containing approximately 7.5% FCC retained austenite as measured by EBSD, the remaining approximately 92.5% was indexed as BCC phase encompassing lath martensite and residual δ-ferrite. The increased retained austenite fraction in HIP+H900 relative to AB and H900 conditions was attributed to partial austenite retention on cooling from the HIP thermal cycle at 1160 °C. Among the conditions examined, HIP+H900 exhibited the most homogenous microstructure, with near-complete pore elimination, reduced crystallographic texture, and the lowest local lattice, making it suitable for applications demanding structural integrity and microstructural stability, including gun barrels, exhaust systems, and advanced automotive components.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":473,"journal":{"name":"Applied Physics A","volume":"132 11","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2026-10-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149189010","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Construction of Co3O4/g-C3N4 S-scheme heterojunction with modulated charge transport and extended visible-light harvesting for photocatalytic mineralization of organic pollutants","authors":"Eman A. Alabdullkarem,&nbsp;Eman Aldosari,&nbsp;Narmina Alasgarova,&nbsp;Mehriban Yusifova,&nbsp;Gunash Nasrullayeva,&nbsp;Muhammad Jamshaid,&nbsp;Ali Ercetin","doi":"10.1007/s00339-026-10335-5","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00339-026-10335-5","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Developing semiconductor heterojunctions with efficient interfacial charge transport is an important strategy for improving visible-light-driven photocatalysis. In this work, a Co₃O₄/g-C₃N₄ heterojunction was constructed through a hydrothermal–ultrasonic interfacial assembly approach to combine the complementary optical and electronic properties of spinel Co₃O₄ and polymeric g-C₃N₄. The primary scientific significance of the designed heterojunction lies in the modulation of interfacial charge transport and the extension of visible-light utilization, which collectively facilitate the generation and separation of photogenerated charge carriers. The structural, chemical, morphological, optical, and charge transport properties of the Co₃O₄/g-C₃N₄ were studied using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) spectroscopy, photoluminescence spectroscopy (PL), and transient photocurrent density measurements under visible light on/off cycles. The XRD, SEM, and XPS results confirm the formation of Co₃O₄/g-C₃N₄ with physical interfacial contact of spinel Co₃O₄ nanoparticles anchored over g-C₃N₄ flakes. The optical (UV-vis and PL) and photoelectrochemical investigations indicate the notable enhancement in visible-light response and photogenerated carrier transport, evidenced by the red-shifting of the absorption edge, a decreased optical bandgap, quenched PL intensity, and high photocurrent density for Co₃O₄/g-C₃N₄. The photocatalytic efficiency was evaluated by degrading the textile dye methylene blue (MB) and fluoroquinolone antibiotic levofloxacin (LF) as typical pollutants over the catalysts Co₃O₄, g-C₃N₄, and Co₃O₄/g-C₃N₄. The heterojunction demonstrated 95.6% MB (0.0428 min^− 1) and 91.4% LF (0.0411 min^− 1) degradation outperforming the pristine Co₃O₄ (56.2% MB degradation with k_MB = 0.0121 min^− 1 and 47.8% LF degradation with k_LF = 0.0084 min^− 1) and g-C₃N₄ (45.6% MB degradation with k_MB = 0.0077 min^− 1 and 30.7% LF degradation with k_MB = 0.005 min^− 1). The excellent reusability of Co₃O₄/g-C₃N₄ evaluated from five cycles of MB and LF degradation highlights the photocorrosion resistance and practical applicability of the fabricated heterojunction for the mineralization of organic compounds.</p><h3>Graphical Abstract</h3><div><figure><div><div><picture><source><img></source></picture></div></div></figure></div></div>","PeriodicalId":473,"journal":{"name":"Applied Physics A","volume":"132 11","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2026-10-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149189442","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"First-principles investigation of Agₓ(Ge₂₅Sb₁₀Se₆₅)₁₀₀₋ₓ chalcogenide glasses toward infrared photonic and memory applications","authors":"Abhay P. Srivastava,&nbsp;Brijesh K. Pandey","doi":"10.1007/s00339-026-10329-3","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00339-026-10329-3","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>We investigated the structural, mechanical, vibrational, thermal, electronic, and optical properties of amorphous Ge₂₅Sb₁₀Se₆₅ and Agₓ(Ge₂₅Sb₁₀Se₆₅)₁₀₀₋ₓ (x = 5, 10, and 15 at%) glasses using first-principles calculations. Structural analysis shows that increasing Ag concentration increases the cell volume, average bond length, and coordination number, accompanied by systematic changes in the local atomic environment. The effective bulk, shear, and Young’s moduli decrease with Ag incorporation, indicating reduced resistance to elastic deformation within the adopted approximation. The calculated sound velocities and Debye temperature also decrease across the composition series. Vibrational density-of-states analysis reveals a redistribution of vibrational spectral weight as Ag content increases. Electronic calculations using PBE/GGA and HSE06 show progressive narrowing of the calculated energy gap, with HSE06 values decreasing from 1.80 eV for the undoped model to 0.98 eV at 15 at% Ag. The optical response exhibits corresponding composition-dependent changes. The static dielectric constant, refractive index, and reflectivity decrease with increasing Ag concentration, while the optical band edge, principal absorption peak, and energy-loss peak shift toward lower photon energies. Overall, the calculations show correlated, composition-dependent changes in the structural, mechanical, vibrational, electronic, and optical responses of the investigated amorphous Ag–Ge–Sb–Se models, making them suitable for Infrared Photonic and Memory Applications.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":473,"journal":{"name":"Applied Physics A","volume":"132 11","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2026-10-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149189117","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}