Applied Physics APub Date : 2026-10-08DOI: 10.1007/s00339-026-10277-y
M. F. Hasaneen, J. Laifi, N. M. A. Hadia, M. G. Moustafa
{"title":"Facile chemical co-precipitation synthesis of Zn1−xCoxO nanostructures (0.0 ≤ x ≤ 0.2): exploring structural, optical, and magnetic correlations at high doping levels","authors":"M. F. Hasaneen, J. Laifi, N. M. A. Hadia, M. G. Moustafa","doi":"10.1007/s00339-026-10277-y","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00339-026-10277-y","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>In this study, Zn<sub>1−<i>x</i></sub>Co<sub><i>x</i></sub>O nanostructures with cobalt concentrations <i>x</i> = 0.00, 0.04, 0.08, 0.12, 0.16, and 0.20 were synthesized via a chemical co-precipitation method followed by annealing at 500 °C. X-ray diffraction (XRD) confirmed that the hexagonal wurtzite ZnO structure was preserved across the investigated composition range, with systematic changes in the diffraction peaks consistent with Co-related modifications of the ZnO lattice. According to the Scherrer equation, the crystallite size decreased from 40.8 nm at <i>x</i> = 0.00 to 35.43 nm at <i>x</i> = 0.20. Similarly, the Williamson-Hall analysis indicated a reduction from 74.14 nm to 57.27 nm, along with composition-dependent variations in microstrain and dislocation density. The morphological and compositional characteristics were evaluated using field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). The vibrational and thermal characteristics of these samples were examined using FTIR and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) techniques. UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy combined with the <i>Kubelka-Munk</i> method revealed a gradual decrease in the direct optical band gap from 3.20 eV for pristine ZnO to approximately 3.06 eV at <i>x</i> = 0.20. Room-temperature magnetic measurements showed unsaturated M-H behavior with a dominant paramagnetic-like response and a very small ferromagnetic-like contribution. The effective magnetic moment per Co<sup>2+</sup> ion decreased with increasing Co concentration, suggesting enhanced short-range magnetic interactions among neighboring Co ions. These findings elucidate the physical and magnetic behavior of Co-doped ZnO, enhancing its potential in future electronic and magnetic technologies.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":473,"journal":{"name":"Applied Physics A","volume":"132 11","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2026-10-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149132927","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}
Applied Physics APub Date : 2026-10-08DOI: 10.1007/s00339-026-10316-8
Lotfi Sellaoui, Nawres Boussetta, Rihab Ghorbali, Houcine Ghalla, Marcos Leandro Silva Oliveira, Luis Felipe Oliveira Silva, Guilherme Luiz Dotto, Nadia Zaidi, Adrian Bonilla-Petriciolet
{"title":"Adsorption of nimesulide and paracetamol on aluminum-coated biochar: insights from statistical physics modeling","authors":"Lotfi Sellaoui, Nawres Boussetta, Rihab Ghorbali, Houcine Ghalla, Marcos Leandro Silva Oliveira, Luis Felipe Oliveira Silva, Guilherme Luiz Dotto, Nadia Zaidi, Adrian Bonilla-Petriciolet","doi":"10.1007/s00339-026-10316-8","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00339-026-10316-8","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Pharmaceutical contaminants in water bodies pose significant environmental and health risks, necessitating efficient removal technologies. This study investigated the adsorption of two widely used pharmaceuticals, nimesulide (NMS) and paracetamol (PCM), onto aluminum-coated biochar. Equilibrium adsorption isotherms were obtained at different temperatures (298–328 K) and analyzed using advanced statistical physics models, particularly a double-layer model, to elucidate the underlying adsorption mechanisms. The highest adsorption capacities were 113.48 mg/g for NMS and 76.40 mg/g for PCM at 298 K under the optimized adsorption conditions (pH 5, adsorbent dosage of 0.50 g/L, and contact time of 8 h). These results indicated that the biochar exhibited higher adsorption capacity for NMS than for PCM, mainly due to stronger intermolecular interactions. Adsorption occurred predominantly via physisorption mechanisms involving hydrogen bonding, hydrophobic interactions, and van der Waals forces. Steric analysis showed temperature-dependent adsorption configurations, especially for PCM, which transitioned from non-parallel to parallel orientation as the temperature increased. Thermodynamic parameters indicated that the adsorption processes were spontaneous and favored at lower temperatures. Overall, this work provides valuable insights into the molecular-level behavior of pharmaceutical adsorption on metal-modified biochar, supporting its potential application in water treatment. Classical Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models were also applied and compared with the double-layer model to provide complementary insights into the adsorption behavior.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":473,"journal":{"name":"Applied Physics A","volume":"132 11","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2026-10-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149098991","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}
Applied Physics APub Date : 2026-10-08DOI: 10.1007/s00339-026-10313-x
Priya A. Patil, Paresh S. Gaikar, Balasaheb D. Aghav
{"title":"Dual-functional rGO–ZnO heterostructures for room-temperature ethanol gas sensing and sunlight-driven decolorization of malachite green dye","authors":"Priya A. Patil, Paresh S. Gaikar, Balasaheb D. Aghav","doi":"10.1007/s00339-026-10313-x","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00339-026-10313-x","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>A reduced graphene oxide–zinc oxide (rGO–ZnO) nanocomposite was synthesized via a facile one-step hydrothermal method using pre-synthesized graphene oxide (GO) as a precursor and evaluated as a dual-functional material for chemiresistive ethanol gas sensing and sunlight-driven photocatalytic degradation of malachite green dye. Comprehensive structural and spectroscopic characterization confirmed a hierarchical rGO–ZnO framework in which the rGO matrix suppresses ZnO agglomeration and increases active sites for gas adsorption. The rGO–ZnO sensor exhibited a strong, selective response to ethanol at room temperature with a lowest measured response at 0.1 ppm. The sensor delivered response of 97.53% to 100 ppm ethanol with response time of 10 s, and a recovery time of 6 s. Notably, although rGO is intrinsically p-type and ZnO is n-type, the composite exhibited an overall p-type like sensing response, indicating that hole accumulation at the rGO–ZnO interface dominates the charge transport pathway and overrides the intrinsic n-type behavior of ZnO. Under sunlight, the nanocomposite decolorise 99.2% of malachite green dye within 360 s. This dual functionality arises from rGO’s synergistic roles: as a hole-conduction network modulating the ZnO depletion layer during sensing and as an electron acceptor suppressing recombination during photocatalysis. These results establish the rGO–ZnO heterostructure as a promising multifunctional platform for gas sensing and photocatalytic remediation.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":473,"journal":{"name":"Applied Physics A","volume":"132 11","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2026-10-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149098921","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":"Synthesis of plasmonic Ag-ZnO-TiO2 nanocomposites for enhanced visible-light photocatalytic activity","authors":"Samra Arshad, Nageen Fatima, Alisha Ijaz, Hanh Thi Thu Tran, Tet Vui Chong","doi":"10.1007/s00339-026-10310-0","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00339-026-10310-0","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Recent studies have investigated semiconductor photocatalysts such as Zinc Oxide (ZnO) and Titanium Dioxide (TiO<sub>2</sub>) for solar-driven environmental remediation, particularly in wastewater and treatment. The nanocomposites were prepared by incorporating silver into ZnO and subsequently combining the Ag-ZnO component with TiO<sub>2</sub>. In this study, a novel Ag-ZnO-TiO<sub>2</sub> nanocomposite photocatalyst was successfully synthesized via the sol-gel method using different TiO<sub>2</sub> ratios (1:1, 1:2, and 2:1). The composites were characterized by X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), and UV-Vis spectroscopy. XRD analysis confirmed orthorhombic and hexagonal crystal structures, while SEM revealed aggregated particles with predominantly spherical morphology. The optical band gaps of the Ag-TiO<sub>2</sub>-ZnO composites were found to be 3.16, 2.61, and 2.95 eV. Photocatalytic performance under visible light irradiation against synthetic dyes showed significant enhancement compared to bare ZnO and TiO<sub>2</sub>. The photocatalytic performance of the nanocomposites was evaluated using methylene blue as a model organic pollutant under light irradiation. This improvement was attributed to enhanced electron transfer, reduced electron-hole recombination and increased visible-light absorption induced by plasmonic Ag nanoparticles.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":473,"journal":{"name":"Applied Physics A","volume":"132 11","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2026-10-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149098920","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}
Applied Physics APub Date : 2026-10-08DOI: 10.1007/s00339-026-09784-9
Hongtao Zhang, Boshi Yuan, Tingting Jing, Kaichun Zhang
{"title":"High-fidelity transient thermal analysis of nanosecond laser paint removal on 7075 aluminum alloy via fourier neural operator accelerated modeling","authors":"Hongtao Zhang, Boshi Yuan, Tingting Jing, Kaichun Zhang","doi":"10.1007/s00339-026-09784-9","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00339-026-09784-9","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Investigating the transient thermal behavior during laser paint removal is essential for preserving the structural integrity of 7075-T6 aluminum alloys in aerospace maintenance. This study explores the thermal effects of nanosecond laser cleaning through multi-delay metallographic analysis and physics-informed accelerated numerical modeling [1]. Comparative experiments conducted under continuous wave (CW) and nanosecond-pulsed (ns) regimes reveal that nanosecond pulses significantly minimize the thermal damage, achieving a heat-affected zone (HAZ) of less than 50 μm, compared to over 200 μm in CW cases. To overcome the computational bottleneck of traditional thermal simulations, a Fourier Neural Operator (FNO) framework was developed. By employing a transfer learning strategy—pre-training on 1 000 high-fidelity finite difference simulations and fine-tuning on 35 experimental samples—the model achieved ultra-fast inference with a speedup of 6.9 × 10<sup>5</sup> times. The optimized FNO model successfully captured extreme temperature spikes (exceeding 3 300 °C) with a minimum peak error of 1.65% and a mean error of 9.01%. The results demonstrate the superior selectivity of nanosecond pulses for damage-free cleaning and the efficacy of FNO as a real-time surrogate model for complex laser-material interactions.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":473,"journal":{"name":"Applied Physics A","volume":"132 11","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2026-10-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149132926","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}
Applied Physics APub Date : 2026-10-08DOI: 10.1007/s00339-026-10324-8
Ahmed Yahya, Adam Zakria
{"title":"Dual-phase-lag thermoelastic shock response of an inhomogeneous temperature-dependent lamina with nonlinear material properties","authors":"Ahmed Yahya, Adam Zakria","doi":"10.1007/s00339-026-10324-8","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00339-026-10324-8","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>This paper develops a dual-phase-lag thermoelastic model for a one-dimensional inhomogeneous lamina exposed to coupled thermal and mechanical shock loading. The formulation is built for a graded medium whose elastic, thermal, inertial and thermoelastic coupling coefficients depend simultaneously on the spatial coordinate and the local temperature increment. The dual-phase-lag heat law introduces two physically distinct delay times: the heat-flux lag and the temperature-gradient lag. This feature allows the model to describe delayed heat-flow response without forcing the thermal disturbance to behave as a purely diffusive process. The governing equations are derived from the nonlinear constitutive law, the equation of motion, the energy balance and the DPL heat-flux relation. Because the coefficients depend on temperature, the transformed problem is nonlinear and is treated through a Picard-type iterative procedure in the Laplace domain, followed by numerical inversion. Parametric results are presented for the effects of the heat-flux lag, the temperature-gradient lag, spatial inhomogeneity and temperature-dependent conductivity and stiffness. The results show that the lag ratio strongly controls the sharpness of the thermal wave front, while thermal stiffening can reduce displacement but increase local stress. The model provides a useful framework for graded laminae used in laser processing, microelectronic strips, thermal barrier layers and other structures subjected to fast transient heating.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":473,"journal":{"name":"Applied Physics A","volume":"132 11","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2026-10-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149098992","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}
Applied Physics APub Date : 2026-10-07DOI: 10.1007/s00339-026-10319-5
N. I. Z. Azman, C. D. F. C. Fadzrizal, S. Baudha, M. A. Jusoh
{"title":"Effect of particle refinement on return loss and bandwidth performance of TiCN/NiFe₂O₄ composite patch antennas","authors":"N. I. Z. Azman, C. D. F. C. Fadzrizal, S. Baudha, M. A. Jusoh","doi":"10.1007/s00339-026-10319-5","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00339-026-10319-5","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Titanium carbonitride/nickel ferrite (TiCN/NiFe₂O₄) composite-based microstrip patch antennas (MPAs) were investigated to determine how controlled TiCN particle refinement affects measured impedance matching and bandwidth. TiCN powder was subjected to ball-milling durations of 0, 2, 4, 6, and 8 h, while nominal NiFe₂O₄ powder was prepared by a solid-state reaction followed by calcination at 1100 °C. The materials were characterized using dynamic light scattering, X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller analysis, and thermogravimetric analysis. The TiCN Z-average particle size decreased from 887.3 nm for the unmilled powder to 278.9–297.4 nm after milling. XRD revealed hematite-dominant patterns and did not conclusively confirm the formation of single-phase spinel NiFe₂O₄. Five TiCN/NiFe₂O₄ composite-based MPAs were subsequently fabricated by screen printing and evaluated using a vector network analyzer over 5–20 GHz. Sample 4, containing TiCN milled for 6 h, achieved the most negative measured reflection coefficient (S₁₁) of -42.90 dB at 12.53 GHz, with an impedance bandwidth of 1.70 GHz and a voltage standing-wave ratio of 1.01. Sample 5 exhibited dual-band operation at 7.60 and 13.07 GHz and produced the widest measured bandwidth of 3.83 GHz at the higher resonance. Although Sample 3 had the smallest TiCN particle size, Sample 4 provided the best impedance matching, indicating that particle size alone did not govern the measured response. Because independent replicate particle-size measurements and antenna prototypes were not available, experimental uncertainty could not be statistically established. These preliminary results demonstrate that the TiCN milling condition can modify the input-matching and bandwidth characteristics of screen-printed TiCN/NiFe₂O₄ composite antennas.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":473,"journal":{"name":"Applied Physics A","volume":"132 11","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2026-10-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149098915","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}
Applied Physics APub Date : 2026-10-06DOI: 10.1007/s00339-026-10284-z
Ali Fatemi, Tavakkol Tohidi, Kazem Jamshidi-Ghaleh
{"title":"Post-synthesis gamma radiation effects on the optical and morphological properties of CsPbBr3 perovskite nanocrystals","authors":"Ali Fatemi, Tavakkol Tohidi, Kazem Jamshidi-Ghaleh","doi":"10.1007/s00339-026-10284-z","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00339-026-10284-z","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>CsPbBr<sub>3</sub> nanocrystals (NCs) synthesis followed through the simple, cost effective and, room temperature (RT) method of ligand assisted re-precipitation (LARP). The CsPbBr<sub>3</sub> NCs exposed to gamma radiation in six different doses of 4, 7, 10, 30, 70, and 100 kGy for study the radiation effect on NCs. UV-Vis, photoluminescence (PL), and bandgap spectra were analyzed to evaluate the optical characteristics of the NCs. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and FESEM analyses were performed to study the crystal structure and morphological alterations of the NCs under gamma radiation doses. Dynamic light scattering (DLS) analysis was used to investigate the size distribution of colloidal NCs particles. By increasing the radiation dose absorption and PL intensity reduced to 37% of first sample for 4 kGy and 3% for 100 kGy, and increased bandgap, from 2.3 eV to 2.5 eV, correspondingly enlarged grain size from 26 nm for unirradiated sample to 50, 61 and 59 nm for 4, 30 and 100 kGy irradiated samples respectively. XRD patterns showed a gradual decrease in crystallinity and a significant increase in particle size. The results revealed significant structural and optical changes and control over the NCs, which render them potential candidates for applications in sensors, optoelectronic devices (e.g., LEDs and photovoltaic cells), and radiation detection.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":473,"journal":{"name":"Applied Physics A","volume":"132 11","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2026-10-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149098065","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":"Dielectric response of spinel based magnetic oxide of Mn, Cr, Co, Fe and Al as a function of frequency and temperature","authors":"Sanjula Pradhan, Chinmaya Mohapatra, Rachana Sain, Chandan Upadhyay, Nand Kishore Prasad","doi":"10.1007/s00339-026-10321-x","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00339-026-10321-x","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>This study focuses on the design of a spinel structured high-entropy oxide (HEO) (Mn<sub>0.6</sub>Cr<sub>0.6</sub>Co<sub>0.6</sub>Fe<sub>0.6</sub>Al<sub>0.6</sub>)O<sub>4</sub> that is obtained after sintering at 900 °C in an open atmosphere. The cation disorder as well as local lattice distortions due to the presence of multivalent cations in this HEO influenced both ferrimagnetic and dielectric characteristics. The Rietveld analysed X-ray diffraction pattern confirmed the presence of spinel structured HEO along with the rhombohedral Cr<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> phase. The scanning electron microscopy analysis proposed a homogeneous distribution of all the cations in the sample, and its average size was found to be 0.112 ± 0.023 μm. A thorough dielectric analysis of the sample displayed a higher value of dielectric constant, thermally triggered dielectric response with regulated losses at higher temperatures. The non-Debye type relaxation behaviour of the sample could be attributed to its structural disorder as well as the presence of multivalent cations.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":473,"journal":{"name":"Applied Physics A","volume":"132 11","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2026-10-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149098068","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}