The paper presents the results of observation and investigation of the manifestations of individual molecular vibrations in polymer thermoluminescence processes. The features of these manifestations are as follows: 1) despite the quasi-continuous spectrum of trap energies for charge carriers in polymers, the activation energies, determined by fractional thermoluminescence method, exhibit discrete values; 2) these activation energy values coincide with the quanta of molecular vibrations in the system; 3) the temperature dependence of the thermoluminescence intensity reveals specific features caused by molecular vibrations. This temperature dependence, and the activation energies were experimentally investigated for polymers deposited on different substrates, polymers with varying degrees of crystallinity, and nanoscale polymer systems embedded in porous silica. The experimental results are consistent with the proposed model of the participation of molecular vibrations in the processes of charge release from traps during thermoluminescence.

For the first time, optical absorption and luminescent properties of nanostructured dual-phase anatase-brookite (A/B) TiO2 doped with Sm3+, Gd3+, Tb3+, Tm3+ and Yb3+ rear earth (RE) ions are reported. The RE-doped TiO2 particles had a spherical shape with a typical size of 10–25 μm in diameter and consisted of grown together nanocrystallite aggregates of 5–8 nm. SEM/EDS analysis confirmed successful incorporation of RE-dopants onto the surface of the TiO2 particles. With FTIR spectroscopy, a formation of RE–Ti–O and RE–OH bonds near the surface defect states was found. UV-Vis-NIR diffuse reflectance spectra exhibited a blue shift of the TiO2 main absorption band maximum for Gd3+ dopant and a red shift of the absorption edge for Yb3+. Several characteristic NIR absorption bands of RE ions were also detected for Sm3+ -, Tm3+ - and Yb3+ -doped TiO2, assigned to their 4f -4f transitions, while Gd3+ - and Tb3+ -doped samples show no absorption in this region. The calculated band gap energies (Eg) of RE-doped TiO2 were 3.02, 2.97, 2.93, 2.92, 2.88 and 2.91 eV, for undoped and doped with Sm3+, Tm3+, Tb3+, Yb3+, and Gd3+ samples, respectively. It was shown that under excitation of A/B TiO2 nanocrystals above the TiO2 band gap energy, the particles exhibited characteristic luminescence corresponding to 4f –4f transitions of RE3+ ions. It was explained that in RE-doped A/B dual-phase TiO2 nanostructures, the regions at A/B junctions or grain boundaries of TiO2 nanocrystals can easily accommodate RE3+ ions and provide for efficient energy transfer from TiO2 to RE3+ ions under appropriate alignment of excited state energy levels of the dopant in TiO2 band gap. Such energy transfer was observed only in samples doped with Sm3+, Tb3+, and Tm3+, while no emission was observed for Yb3+ - and Gd3+ -doped TiO2 due to the higher energy of their excited states. RE-doped A/B dual-phase TiO2 nanostructures may find potential applications in various optical and engineering fields, such as LED, optic systems, communication devices, and heterogeneous photocatalysis.

This year, the outstanding Ukrainian scientist, a recognized expert in the fields of solid-state physics, quantum electronics, and molecular crystal spectroscopy, a twice laureate of the State Prize of Ukraine, an Honored Worker of Science and Technology, and Academician Marat Terentiyovych Shpak would have been 100 years old.

A brief overview of the main results obtained on the spectral-luminescence properties of triplet excitons in crystalline and glassy benzophenone is given. The studies were mainly performed at the Institute of Physics of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. Brief information on the achievements in the physics of triplet excitons in organic semiconductors is also presented. The peculiarities of phosphorescence and the structure of the glassy benzophenone phase are discussed. The conditions for the existence of excitonic phosphorescence in molecular crystals are considered. The achievements of various authors in the molecular spectroscopy of triplet state have been analyzed. It is shown that among molecular crystals, benzophenone is one of the most convenient objects for studying phosphorescence and spectral properties of the triplet state of organic compounds.

Bands structure and nuclear shape in the N ≈ 90 region are investigated using the interacting boson model. The energy levels and the energy ratios are investigated. We have studied the ratio δE(J−)/E(2+1) versus the mass number for the J− = 1− to 11− states. The ratio E(J+i)/E(2+1) of the yrast bands versus angular momentum (J+i) has been calculated. The 152Sm, 154Gd and 160Er nuclei have a rotational SU(3) character, while the 156Dy, 170W, and 176Os nuclei reflect the X(5) character. To investigate the shape evolution, the potential energy surface as a function of β2 and β3 are plotted. The obtained results are compared with available empirical data. The results are in general good agreement for energy spectra, while they show reasonable agreement for other calculations or at least their overall trend.

The energies of the subshells (2p, 3p) and selected atomic properties of several negative ions (S(−1), Cl(−1), K(−1), and Sc(−1)) were calculated within the Hartree–Fock approximation. The energies were evaluated for the atomic number 16 ≤ Z < 21. The study showed that the estimates used to calculate the atomic properties using this method were accurate. The functions D(r1) and f(r12), which describe the probability of finding a single electron and two electrons separated by a distance r12, respectively, were studied, and the values of the Hartree–Fock expectations ⟨rn12⟩, ⟨rn1⟩ were studied, where n is the value between –2 to 2. The expected energy value is ⟨EHF⟩, ⟨VT⟩, ⟨Ven⟩, ⟨Vee⟩ and ⟨T⟩ were calculated. We can conclude that the increasing of an atomic number leads to the increasing of all the studied energies of the elements under consideration. All functions were standard. The Mathcad 2014 application was used to program the equations. Regarding the computations, they were all done in atomic units (a.u).

This study employs density functional theory (DFT) and Raman spectroscopy to examine the spectrum manifestation of the interaction between amyl acetate (AmAc) and chloroform. A red shift in the C=O stretching vibration band was seen when the concentration of AmAc in the solution decreased, suggesting that intermolecular hydrogen bonds were forming in the solution. At the DFT/B3LYP/6-311++G(d, p) level, the optimal geometry of the complexes consisting of AmAc monomers, dimers, and chloroform molecules was determined. Topological analysis methods such as AIM, RDG, NCI, ELF, and LOL were used to gather information regarding the existence and characteristics of H-bonds (including C–H···O). Important insights on intermolecular interactions in solution were provided by the discovery of the connection between the C=O stretching vibrational bands and the creation of molecular clusters.

Для визначення вмiсту бору в зразках корозiйностiйкої хромонiкелевої неiржавної сталi, легованої бором, запропоновано використання методу iзотопного розбавлення, який є методом внутрiшнього стандарту. Дослiдження виконано з використанням мас-спектрометра з iндуктивно-зв’язаною плазмою на 10 зразках неiржавної сталi, легованої бором, з природним спiввiдношенням iзотопiв бору. Як внутрiшнiй стандарт використовували порошок елементарного аморфного бору зi збагаченням за 10B до 95,0%.Для порiвняння додатково проведено мас-спектрометричне вимiрювання вмiсту бору в цих самих зразках за допомогою методу калiбрувальних розчинiв (метод зовнiшнього стандарту). В цьому випадку вмiст бору визначався як вiдношення iнтенсивностi бору до сумарної iнтенсивностi всiх елементiв зразка. Встановлено, що результати визначення вмiсту бору якiсно спiвпадають для обох методiв визначення (внутрiшнiй та зовнiшнiй стандарти), але можна зробити висновок про те, що метод iзотопного розбавлення є бiльш точним методом визначення вмiсту елементiв. На результати такого аналiзу не впливають неспектральнi iнтерференцiї, якi пов’язанi з дрейфом чутливостi приладу з часом i матричними ефектами, оскiльки вимiрюються не абсолютнi концентрацiї iзотопiв, а їх спiввiдношення.

On September 1, we marked the 100th anniversary of the birth of one of the founders of the restoration of Ukraine’s statehood in the late 1980s and, during the difficult 1990s, an outstanding Ukrainian scientist, the founder of the modern Lviv school of statistical physics, Professor, Academician of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, the full and honorary member of the Shevchenko Scientific Society Ihor Yukhnovskii. At the end of his complicated and eventful life, he reflected, “Now I don’t know what was most important to me in my life: physics or politics?” Let us also reflect on this question.