Many inorganic pigments contain heavy metals hazardous to health and environment. Much attention has been devoted to the quest for nontoxic alternatives based on rare-earth elements. However, the computation of colors from first principles is a challenge to electronic structure methods, especially for materials with localized f-orbitals. Here, starting from atomic positions only, we compute the...

Intrinsic Instability, multistability and hysteresis have been observed in the photoluminescence of bulk glass doped with Yb and Tm impurities at room temperature. Hysteretic switching of laser output also occurs near threshold in channel waveguides in this material. Local field effects are shown to present new, fundamental design limitations for compact optical amplifiers and oscillators. 42.6...

The crystal structure of the title compound, Ce[B(4)O(6)(OH)(2)]Cl, is built from polyborate sheets parallel to the (001) plane. These sheets stack along the [001] direction and are linked by Ce atoms exhibiting an CeO(8)Cl(2) coordination sphere. O-H⋯O and O-H⋯Cl hydrogen bonds additionally stabilize the structural set-up. The polyborate sheet is made up of zigzag borate chains running along t...

A tetravalent cerium macrocyclic complex (CeLK4) was prepared with an octadentate terephthalamide ligand comprised of hard catecholate donors and characterized in the solution state by spectrophotometric titrations and electrochemistry and in the crystal by X-ray diffraction. The solution-state studies showed that L exhibits a remarkably high affinity toward Ce4+, with log β110 = 61(2) and ΔG =...

We demonstrate the in vivo formation of nano-particulate Ce-containing structures in lungs instilled with 5 mg/kg CeCl3 using high resolution electron microscopy (HRTEM), energy loss spectroscopy (EELS), and elemental mapping (EDS). The observed high lung retention of Ce after instillation of CeCl3 (75-92% retained at 28 days) is unexpected since metal ions are usually readily transported acros...

At the onset of radiation exposure, free radicals are formed through ionizing reactions that are then capable of destroying normal tissues. While cells release a level of protective molecules, such as glutathione and metallothionine, they are not capable of blocking all damage, thus resulting in the death of normal tissues and therefore, we must continue to develop strategies to protect normal ...

The rapidly increasing production of engineered nanoparticles has raised questions regarding their environmental impact and their mobility to overcome biological important barriers. Nanoparticles were found to cross different mammalian barriers, which is summarized under the term translocation. The present work investigates the uptake and translocation of cerium dioxide nanoparticles into maize...

The surface chemistry of biomaterials can have a significant impact on their performance in biological applications. Our recent work suggests that cerium oxide nanoparticles are potent antioxidants in cell culture models and we have evaluated several therapeutic applications of these nanoparticles in different biological systems. Knowledge of protein adsorption and cellular uptake will be very ...

Conditions of cellular stress are often the cause of cell death or dysfunction. Sustained cell stress can lead to several health complications, such as extensive inflammatory responses, tumor growth, and necrosis. To prevent disease and protect human tissue during these conditions and to avoid medication side effects, nanomaterials with unique characteristics have been applied to biological sys...

2014 The compression curve of CeBi up to 20 GPa was measured at room temperature by x-ray diffraction in a diamond anvil cell. Below 13 GPa, CeBi maintains its cubic structure of the NaCl-type with a bulk modulus B0 = 49.6 GPa, smaller than that reported for LaBi (B0 = 55 GPa). This anomalous lowering is attributed to a continuous increase of the cerium valence. At P = 13 GPa, CeBi undergoes a ...