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We study the influence of the liquid-vapor surface on the crystallization kinetics of supercooled metal alloys. While a good glass former, $\rm{Cu}_{50}\rm{Zr}_{50}$, shows no evidence of surface enhancement of crystallization,…
By the use of a point charge model based on the Judd-Ofelt transition theory, the luminescence from Eu3+ ions embedded in Gd2O3 clusters is calculated and compared to the experimental data. The main result of the numerical study is that…
Ti-O nanoparticles have been synthesized via hollow cathode sputtering in an Ar-O2 atmosphere using high power pulsing. It is shown that the stoichiometry and the size of the nanoparticles can be varied independently, the former through…
We study the effects of ions on the reorientation dynamics of liquid water with polarization-resolved femtosecond mid-infared spectroscopy. We probe the anisotropy of the excitation of the O-D stretch vibration of HDO molecules in solutions…
We obtain evidence that the dynamics of glassy systems below the glass transition is characterized by self-organized criticality. Using molecular dynamics simulations of a model glass-former we identify clusters of cooperatively jumping…
We show that D- and L-enantiomorphous crystals of NaBrO3 in equilibrium with the corresponding solution, self-aggregate leading to large crystal assemblies. Surprisingly, crystal-to-crystal interaction is not a random process and takes…
The hydrothermal carbonation of calcium hydroxide (Ca(OH)2) at high pressure of CO2 (initial PCO2 1/4 55 bar) and moderate to high temperature (30 and 90 1C) was used to synthesize fine particles of calcite. This method allows a high…
The interplay of charge, spin, and lattice degrees of freedom in matter leads to various forms of ordered states through phase transitions. An important subclass of these phenomena of complex materials is charge ordering (CO), mainly driven…
Understanding the conditions which favor crystallisation or vitrification of liquids has been a long-standing scientific problem. Another connected, and not yet well understood question is the relationship between the glassy and the various…
Organic molecules such as steroids or amino acids form crystals that can facilitate the formation of ice -- arguably the most important phase transition on earth. However, the origin of the ice nucleating ability of organic crystals is…
We characterise the structural properties of the quasi-liquid layer (QLL) at two low-index ice surfaces in the presence of sodium chloride (Na$^+/$Cl$^-$) ions by molecular dynamics simulations. We find that the presence of a high surface…
We use ab initio simulations to study the static and dynamic properties of a sodium borosilicate liquid with composition 3Na_2O-B_2O_3-6SiO_2, i.e. a system that is the basis of many glass-forming materials. In particular we focus on the…
Colloids are suspensions of small solid particles in a liquid, and exhibit glassy behavior when the particle concentration is high. In these samples, the particles are roughly analogous to individual molecules in a traditional glass. This…
Circular dichroism (CD), induced by chirality, is an important tool for manipulating light or for characterizing morphology of molecules, proteins, crystals and nano-structures. CD is manifested over a wide size-range, from molecules to…
This work explores the enhancement of ionization clusters around a gold nanoparticle (NP), indicative of the induction of DNA lesions, a potential trigger for cell-death. Monte Carlo track structure simulations were performed to determine…
Recent theories predict that when a supercooled liquid approaches the glass transition, particle clusters with a special "amorphous order" nucleate within the liquid, which lead to static correlations dictating the dramatic slowdown of…
Control of the crystallization process at the microscopic level makes it possible to generate the nanocrystalline samples with the desired structural and morphological properties, that is of great importance for modern industry. In the…
Poly- and single-crystalline Na$_x$CoO$_2$ has been successfully intercalated with H$_2$O and D$_2$O as confirmed by X-ray diffraction and thermogravimetric analysis. Resistivity, magnetic susceptibility, and specific heat measurements show…
We examine the behavior of spherical silica particles trapped at an air-nematic liquid crystal interface. When a strong normal anchoring is imposed, the beads spontaneously form various structures depending on their area density and the…
We have measured the magnetic susceptibility of single crystal samples of non-hydrated NaxCoO2 (x ~ 0.75, 0.67, 0.5, and 0.3) and hydrated Na0.3CoO2-yH2O (y ~ 0, 0.6, 1.3). Our measurements reveal considerable anisotropy between the…