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Molybdenum disulphide, a diamagnetic layered dichalcogenide solid, is found to show magnetic ordering at room temperature when exposed to a 2 MeV proton beam. The temperature dependence of magnetization displays ferrimagnetic behavior with a Curie temperature of 895 K. A disorder mode corresponding to a zone-edge phonon and a Mo valence higher than +4 has been detected in the irradiated samples using Raman and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, respectively. The possible origins of long-range magnetic ordering in irradiated MoS2 samples are discussed.

We demonstrate the growth of high quality single phase films of VO2(A, B, and M) on SrTiO3 substrate by controlling the vanadium arrival rate (laser frequency) and oxidation of the V atoms. A phase diagram has been developed (oxygen pressure versus laser frequency) for various phases of VO2 and their electronic properties are investigated. VO2(A) phase is insulating VO2(B) phase is semi-metallic, and VO2(M) phase exhibits a metal-insulator transition, corroborated by photo-electron spectroscopic studies. The ability to control the growth of various polymorphs opens up the possibility for novel (hetero)structures promising new device functionalities.

The use of graphene electronics in space will depend on the radiation hardness of graphene. The damage threshold of graphene samples, subjected to 2 MeV H + irradiation, was found to increase with layer number and also when the graphene layer was supported by a substrate. The thermal properties of graphene as a function of the number of layers or as influenced by the substrate argue against a thermal model for the production of damage by the ion beam. We propose a model of intense electronically-stimulated surface desorption of the atoms as the most likely process for this damage mechanism.

Iron pyrite has received significant attention due to its high optical absorption. However, the loss of open circuit voltage (Voc) prevents its further application in photovoltaics. Herein, we have studied the photophysics of pyrite by ultrafast laser spectroscopy to understand fundamental limitation of low Voc by quantifying photocarrier losses in high quality, stoichiometric, and phase pure {100} faceted pyrite nanocubes. We found that fast carrier localization of photoexcited carriers to indirect band edge and shallow trap states is responsible for major carrier loss. Slow relaxation component reflects high density of defects within the band gap which is consistent with the observed Mott-variable range hopping (VRH) conduction from transport measurements. Magnetic measurements strikingly show the magnetic ordering associated with phase inhomogeneity, such as FeS2-δ (0 ≤ δ ≤ 1). This implies that improvement of iron pyrite solar cell performance lies in mitigating the intrinsic defects (such as sulfur vacancies) by blocking the fast carrier localization process. Photocarrier generation and relaxation model is presented by comprehensive analysis. Our results provide insight into possible defects that induce midgap states and facilitate rapid carrier relaxation before collection.

It is shown that polycrystalline fullerene thin films on hydrogen-passivated Si͑111͒ substrates irradiated by 2 MeV protons display ferromagneticlike behavior at 5 K. At 300 K, both the pristine and the irradiated film show diamagnetic behavior. Magnetization data in the temperature range of 2 -300 K in 1 T applied field, for the irradiated film show much stronger temperature dependence compared to the pristine film. Possible origins of ferromagneticlike signals in the irradiated films are discussed.

Graphene samples with 1, 2, and 4 layers and 1 þ 1 folded bi-layers and graphite have been irradiated with 2 MeV protons at fluences ranging from 1 Â 10 15 to 6 Â 10 18 ions/cm 2 . The samples were characterized using visible and UV Raman spectroscopy and Raman microscopy. The ion-induced defects were found to decrease with increasing number of layers. Graphene samples suspended over etched holes in SiO 2 have been fabricated and used to investigate the influence of the substrate SiO 2 for defect creation in graphene. While Raman vibrational modes at 1460 cm À1 and 1555 cm À1 have been observed in the visible Raman spectra of substantially damaged graphene samples, these modes were absent in the irradiated-suspended monolayer graphene.

Enamel matrix proteins, including the most abundant amelogenin and lesser amounts of enamelin, ameloblastin, and proteinases, play vital roles in controlling crystal nucleation and growth during enamel formation. The cooperative action between amelogenin and the 32-kDa enamelin is critical to regulating the growth morphology of octacalcium phosphate crystals. Using biophysical methods, we investigated the interaction between the 32-kDa enamelin and recombinant pig amelogenin 148 (rP148) at pH 6.5 in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS). Dynamic light scattering results showed a trend of increasing particle size in the mixture with the addition of enamelin to amelogenin. Upon addition of the 32-kDa enamelin, the shift and intensity decrease in the ellipticity minima of rP148 in the circular dichroism spectra of rP148 illustrated a direct interaction between the 2 proteins. In the fluorescence spectra, the maximum emission of rP148 was blue shifted from 335 to 333 nm in the presence of enamelin as a result of complexation of the 2 proteins. Our results demonstrate that the 32-kDa enamelin has a close association with amelogenin at pH 6.5 in PBS buffer. Our present study provides novel insights into the possible cooperation between enamelin and amelogenin in macromolecular coassembly and in controlling enamel mineral formation