The utilization of black phosphorus and its monolayer (phosphorene) and few-layers in field-effect transistors has attracted a lot of attention to this elemental two-dimensional material. Various studies on optimization of black phosphorus field-effect transistors, PN junctions, photodetectors, and other applications have been demonstrated. Although chemical sensing based on black phosphorus devices was theoretically predicted, there is still no experimental verification of such an important study of this material. In this article, we report on chemical sensing of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) using field-effect transistors based on multilayer black phosphorus. Black phosphorus sensors exhibited increased conduction upon NO2 exposure and excellent sensitivity for detection of NO2 down to 5 ppb. Moreover, when the multilayer black phosphorus field-effect transistor was exposed to NO2 concentrations of 5, 10, 20, and 40 ppb, its relative conduction change followed the Langmuir isotherm for molecules adsorbed on a surface. Additionally, on the basis of an exponential conductance change, the rate constants for adsorption and desorption of NO2 on black phosphorus were extracted for different NO2 concentrations, and they were in the range of 130-840 s. These results shed light on important electronic and sensing characteristics of black phosphorus, which can be utilized in future studies and applications.

New layered anisotropic infrared semiconductors, black arsenic-phosphorus (b-AsP), with highly tunable chemical compositions and electronic and optical properties are introduced. Transport and infrared absorption studies demonstrate the semiconducting nature of b-AsP with tunable bandgaps, ranging from 0.3 to 0.15 eV. These bandgaps fall into the long-wavelength infrared regime and cannot be readily reached by other layered materials.

Single crystals of orthorhombic black phosphorus can be grown by a short way transport reaction from red phosphorus and Sn/SnI 4 as mineralization additive. Sizes of several millimeters can be realized with high crystal quality and purity, making a large area preparation of single or multilayer phosphorene possible. An in situ neutron diffraction study has been performed addressing the formation of black phosphorus. Black phosphorus is formed directly via gas phase without the occurrence of any other intermediate phase. Crystal growth was initiated after cooling the starting materials down from elevated temperatures at 500 °C. Highlights:-Large black phosphorus crystals were grown by a short way transport reaction -In situ neutron diffraction affirm the formation of black P directly from gas phase -Large crystals can be used as starting material for phosphorene synthesis

Abstract:In fusion reactions of 58Ni beams with 54Fe and 58Ni target nuclei neutron deficient evaporation residues have been produced and separated from the beam in an electrostatic deflector with large acceptance. The recoil nuclei were implanted and detected in an array of 100 PIN photodiodes, where also their particle decays were recorded. The assignment of the 0.81 MeV proton line to the decay of 1~ could be experimentally proven by the observation, that it is followed by the 3.31 MeV alpha emission from 1~A proton decay from llYCs was not observed. The decay energies of a number of known c~ emitters have been measured with better precision.

The objective of this field study with an automatic milking system was to evaluate the effects of omitting the dry period on health and productivity during the subsequent lactation in dairy cows. A total of 98 German Simmental cows of six Southern German farms were assigned randomly to two experimental groups: The first group was dried-off 56 days before calving (D for dried-off, n = 49), and the second group was milked continuously during this period until calving (CM for continuous milking, n = 49). From the latter a third group emerged, including cows that dried-off themselves spontaneously (DS for dried-off spontaneously, n = 14). Blood serum values of glucose, β-hydroxybutyrate (BHBA), non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA) and IGF-1 showed most pronounced fluctuations in D cows. Over the entire study period, the concentrations of BHBA and NEFA were markedly lower in the CM and DS groups. Furthermore, IGF-1 concentration was lowest for D cows and also decrease in back fat thickness was more pronounced. Mean concentration of milk protein was markedly higher in CM and DS cows (3.70% and 3.71%) compared with D cows (3.38%). Owing to the lower 305-day milk yield (−15.6%) and the lower total milk yield (−3.1%), the total amount of produced protein in the subsequent lactation was 2.5% (6.8 kg) lower, although the additional protein amount in CM cows from week −8 to calving was 35.7 kg. The greatest benefit resulted from positive effects on fertility and the lower incidence of diseases: CM cows had their first oestrus 1 week earlier compared with D cows, they also conceived earlier and showed a significantly lower risk of developing hypocalcaemia, ketosis and puerperal disorders. The present study showed that the costs of medical treatment and milk losses were twice as high in D cows, compared with CM and DS cows, and thus the reduced costs because of the more stable health outweighed the financial losses of milk yield by + 18.49 € per cow and lactation.