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Despite the significant recent increase in quantum-based optoelectronics device research, few deposition techniques can reliably create the required functional nanoscale systems. Atomic layer deposition (ALD) was used here to study the quantum effects attainable through the use of this ångström-level controlled growth process. Size-dependent quantum confinement has been demonstrated using TiO(2) layers of nanoscale thickness applied to the surfaces of silicon wafers. TiO(2) films were deposited at 100 °C using TiCl(4) and H(2)O(2) in a viscous flow ALD reactor, at a rate of 0.61 Å/cycle. The low-temperature process was utilized to guarantee the amorphous deposition of TiO(2) layers and post-deposition thermal annealing was employed to promote crystallite-size modification. Hydrogen peroxide significantly reduced the residual chlorine that remained from a typical TiCl(4)-H(2)O ALD process at this temperature, down to 1.6%. Spectroscopic ellipsometry was used to quantify the optical properties both below and above the bandgap energy. A central composite design was employed to map the surface response of the film thickness-dependent bandgap shift for the as-deposited case and up to a thermal annealing temperature of 550 °C. The Brus model was used to develop a correlation between the amorphous TiO(2) film thickness and the quantum length to promote equivalent bandgap shifts.

Using the computational-thermodynamic approach, the potential compositions of Zr-Cu-Ni-Al alloy system exhibiting the two-liquid miscibility phase equilibrium in the liquid temperature region have been identified. The resulting Zr base bulk metallic glasses show a microstructure of two microscaled glassy phases. The glass possesses a remarkable macroscopic plastic strain of 30% at room temperature. The gain of mechanical properties is attributed to the unique glassy structure correlated with the chemical inhomogeneity on the micron scale, the hard phases surrounded by the soft phases, leading extensive shear-band formation, interactions, and multiplication.

To ensure the fidelity of protein biosynthesis, aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases (aaRSs) must recognize the tRNA identity elements of their cognate tRNAs and discriminate their cognate amino acids from structurally similar ones through a proofreading (editing) reaction. For a better understanding of these processes, we investigated the role of tRNA(Leu) tertiary structure in the aminoacylation and editing reactions catalyzed by leucyl-tRNA synthetase (LeuRS). We constructed a series of Escherichia coli tRNA(Leu) mutated transcripts with alterations of the nucleotides involved in tertiary interactions. Our results revealed that any disturbance of the tertiary interaction between the tRNA(Leu) D- and TpsiC-loops affected both its aminoacylation ability and its ability to stimulate the editing reaction. Moreover, we found that the various tertiary interactions between the D- and TpsiC-loops (G18:U55, G19:C56 and U54:A58) functioned differently within the aminoacylation and editing reactions. In these two reactions, the role of base pair 19:56 was closely correlated and dependent on the hydrogen bond number. In contrast, U54:A58 was more important in aminoacylation than in editing. Taken together, our results suggest that the elbow region of tRNA formed by the tertiary interactions between the D- and TpsiC-loops affects the interactions between tRNA and aaRS effectively both in aminoacylation and in editing.

We present a porous ductile Mo particles reinforced Mg-based metallic glass composite, exhibiting superior mechanical performance with up to 10% compressive strain and 1100 MPa stress at room temperature. For a given amount of particles, the porous particles will generate more interfaces between the reinforcements and matrix and, thus, can confine lots of microsized compartments of the Mg based glassy phase within the porous particles. This promotes the deformation to distribute more uniformly across the specimens, improving the ductility. We suggest that porous ductile particles might preferably be used to toughen amorphous materials with stubborn brittleness.