The electrochemical behavior of ethylene electrooxidation on preferentially oriented Au surfaces is investigated in 1 M H2 SO4 aqueous solution at 25°C. A symmetric square wave periodic potential signal is applied to polycrystalline Au electrodes to obtain (111)-, (110)-, and (100)-type oriented surfaces, which are characterized by cyclic voltammograms and SEM micrographs. It is found that ethylene adsorbs at potentials just below the potential of zero charge of the Au/1 M H2 SO4 interface, and two residues are detected in an anodic stripping experiment. The adsorbed ethylene voltammetric electrooxidation, and the bulk ethylene anodic polarization curves are measured at the differently oriented Au surfaces.

The aim of this study was to analyze photosynthate partitioning in tomato photomorphogenic mutants at the ends of the vegetative (40 days after emergence [DAE]) and reproductive (69 DAE) stages and to determine its interaction with morphoanatomical aspects. The mutants aurea (au), phytochrome-deficient, high pigment-1 (hp1), light-exaggerated response, were studied along with the non-mutant Micro-Tom (MT) cultivar. The plants were analyzed at 40 and 68 DAE to identify photosynthate source organs and tissues as well as the target organs of remobilized photosynthate during the reproductive stage. The plants were evaluated for their internal and external morphology as well as the percentage of dry mass of their organs. Photosynthate allocation in the hp1 mutant occurred primarily in the roots and leaves, and allocation in the au mutant occurred primarily in fruits. The au mutant showed a high capacity for photosynthate remobilization to fruit during the reproductive stage, and the predominant sources of these remobilized photosynthates were the leaf spongy parenchyma, the root vascular cylinder and the marrow stem.

The aim of this study was to analyze photosynthate partitioning in tomato photomorphogenic mutants at the ends of the vegetative (40 days after emergence [DAE]) and reproductive (69 DAE) stages and to determine its interaction with morphoanatomical aspects. The mutants aurea (au), phytochrome-deficient, high pigment-1 (hp1), light-exaggerated response, were studied along with the non-mutant Micro-Tom (MT) cultivar. The plants were analyzed at 40 and 68 DAE to identify photosynthate source organs and tissues as well as the target organs of remobilized photosynthate during the reproductive stage. The plants were evaluated for their internal and external morphology as well as the percentage of dry mass of their organs. Photosynthate allocation in the hp1 mutant occurred primarily in the roots and leaves, and allocation in the au mutant occurred primarily in fruits. The au mutant showed a high capacity for photosynthate remobilization to fruit during the reproductive stage, and the predominant sources of these remobilized photosynthates were the leaf spongy parenchyma, the root vascular cylinder and the marrow stem.

Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGS) solar cells have been receiving unique attention from the research and industry community, stemming mostly from the excellent electronic properties that allowed this technology to achieve record-breaking efficiency values (23.35%). However, CIGS contains scarce and expensive elements (In and Ga). Therefore, a continuous absorber layer thickness reduction is needed to allow for a large-scale deployment. However, as the absorber thickness decreases, insufficient light absorption is more evident. The work performed in this thesis tackles this topic and two novel light management architectures are studied and developed. In the first approach, a broadband External Quantum Efficiency enhancement and a 3.28 mA/cm2 short circuit current increase are obtained with the introduction of Au nanoparticle aggregates at the solar cell rear contact. This improvement might be attributed to two factors: the top surface roughness introduced by the Au aggregates and a rear contact diffuse reflection increase, as demonstrated through optical simulations. The second approach consisted on optimizing the deposition of individual Au nanoparticles monolayers, to take advantage of the high scattering cross-section that the nanoparticles present at their resonant frequency. The deposition of individual nanoparticles with a minimal presence of aggregates is demonstrated.

Graphene [1] is a material that has been extensively explored in recent years as a material with optical properties that enable its application as active material in sensing devices. In this work we will study plasmonic effects and optical properties of graphene and metal nanoparticles (AuNPs), comparing its results, whenever possible, with results obtained in previous studies. Analysis will be supported by simulation results obtained with Matlab (“Mie analysis”).

Graphene [1] is a material that has been extensively explored in recent years as a material with optical properties that enable its application as active material in sensing devices.In this work we will study plasmonic effects and optical properties of graphene and metal nanoparticles (AuNPs), comparing its results, whenever possible, with results obtained in previous studies. Analysis will be supported by simulation results obtained with Matlab (“Mie analysis”).