University of Groningen
Iron nanoparticles by inert gas condensation
Xing, Lijuan
IMPORTANT NOTE: You are advised to consult the publisher's version (publisher's PDF) if you wish to cite from it. Please check the document version below.
Document Version
Publisher's PDF, also known as Version of record
Publication date: 2018
Link to publication in University of Groningen/UMCG research database
Citation for published version (APA):
Xing, L. (2018). Iron nanoparticles by inert gas condensation: Structure and magnetic characterization. University of Groningen.
Copyright
Other than for strictly personal use, it is not permitted to download or to forward/distribute the text or part of it without the consent of the author(s) and/or copyright holder(s), unless the work is under an open content license (like Creative Commons).
Take-down policy
If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim.
Downloaded from the University of Groningen/UMCG research database (Pure): http://www.rug.nl/research/portal. For technical reasons the number of authors shown on this cover page is limited to 10 maximum.
Acknowledgements
More than four years ago, I came to Groningen alone but not lonely, standing at
the beginning of a new stage of life as a PhD candidate. At that time, I didn’t have a clear mind on what was waiting for me in the future. Now, looking back to those days, I am more than grateful to the many amazing people who offered me much help and were always by my side.First and foremost, I would like to thank my supervisor, Professor George Palasantzas. I am grateful for your support and inspiration to my work, and for your guidance when I felt lost in the study, without which I could not have come so far. Thanks for all the discussions, suggestions, and feedbacks that keep the study on track. Besides work, I sincerely appreciate your considerate concern when I was confronted with problems and depression in my life.
Many thanks to my second promoter, Professor Bart J. Kooi. Bart, thanks for giving me the chance to be part of our group. You are always available for discussions, and I have learned and benefited a lot from the TEM training and all the suggestions and comments you offered on my work. I would like to thank my master supervisor, Professor Jingde Zhang, who has encouraged me now and then and has taught me what makes a great life. My thanks go to Professor Katja Loos, Meike Stöhr, and Harold Zandvliet for being part of the assessment committee and for the helpful comments that help to improve the thesis. Moreover, I would like to acknowledge the financial support of China Scholarship Council.
I would like to thank all the group members in my group nanostructured materials and interfaces (NMI). Dear Gert, many thanks for all the help you give in the four years that free my work from any technical problems, and for the organization of the lab days when we have fun together. Your enthusiasm is always appealing and contagious. Anna, thank you for your efforts to help me out when I felt overwhelmed facing unexpected incidents in my daily life. Bin, we have been friends for more than eleven years since we were pretty young. Because of you, I didn’t feel lonely when I first stepped on this distant and strange country. You are always a faithful listener and a reliable companion. Thank you for the helpful discussions and suggestions on my project. I hope that you enjoy your research work in Shenzhen and have a beautiful life with Beibei. Many thanks go to Mehdi for the training and help on AFM operations. Jamo, thank you for the introduction into the Dutch culture and customs so that I could get accustomed soon at the
108
beginning of my life here. Paul, thanks for your efforts in the translation of the Dutch summary, and I admire your passion and prudence on research. Xukai, Weiteng, Xiaotian and Heng, it’s my great pleasure to meet you guys in our group, and I really appreciate all the good times we have together in Groningen, dinners, card games, and barbeques. I hope you enjoy the time as PhDs. My thanks go to Zahra for being here with me as ladies in the group where gentlemen are the absolute majority, and also for the Iranian desserts. Sytze, I hope you have a prosperous PhD period in our group. Vitaly, I learned a lot from your comments in the group meeting and I hope you have a good time in our group. Dr. Xiaolan Hu, many thanks for all your help, and I benefit a lot from our talks and discussions. Dr. Jian Sun, it is my pleasure to meet you at the end of my PhD stage, and hope you enjoy your stay in our group. Lam, wish you all the best in Eindhoven. Farnaz, hope everything goes well with your thesis and defense. Thanks again for all your company and the wonderful memories. I sincerely hope the best for your future and hopefully see you somewhere someday.
I would like to thank my paranymphs, Peiliang and Xiaotian, for helping me to take care of the preparations for the defense. Thanks also go to Xiaotian for the contribution in the design of the thesis cover.
I would also like to thank the many friends I met in Groningen without whose company I could not have made these years so enjoyable and memorable. Pu, you are definitely a wonderful person to be friends with. You are ready to help all the time, and it is always a pleasure to talk with you. Hope you a good new start back in Shanxi and a happing life together with Songni. Jiquan, Zhonghong, and Hehe, enjoy your stay in Sweden, and congratulations for the upcoming birth of Hehe’s younger sister. Xiaoming, Ping, Guodong, and Buding, we have so many good times together. I wish you a happy life, and see you back in China. Jun and Hongyu, I can feel your love for each other all the time in your life that is full of joy. Wish you all the best on the coming birth of the new family member. See you in Cologne. Wangli, Jianjun, and Tangguo, looking forward to the reunion of your family soon in Beijing, and see you later. Baiyu, Shengjie, Xiaolin, and Xiaojun, it is a great pleasure to meet you in Groningen. Wish you all the best in the future. Ling and Zhiwei, it is so nice to be friends with you, and wish you a happy life. Yanjun and Peipei, enjoy in Tianjin. Jingjing and Yuanze, hope everything is going well with your PhD work. Qingkai and Mengmeng, have a nice stay in the Netherlands and a good new beginning back in China. Tao, Wenjun, and Nuannuan, enjoy in Leiden. Lei and Juan, hope you enjoy the following new stage of life. Jie and Honghua, have a good time in France. Hengxu, see you soon in Germany. Jinfeng, hope everything goes well with you in the US. Peng, be yourself. Further I would like
Acknowledgements 109
to thank Jin Xu, Huatang, Rojing, Shishi & Yizhi, Elma, Jing Wu, Miao Wang, Huifang, Jing Liu, Qihong, Bin Jiang, Yi Zhang, Qian Li, Min Wu & Xuewen, Liqiang & Yuanyuan, Fubiao & Dandan & Biangbiang, Chenyu & Panpan, Jinling & Zhuohua, Beibei & Jiawen & Robin & Xuegao for all the good times we had together. Wish you all the best!
I want to thank many old friends I made before coming to the Netherlands who also offered me a lot of company and help in the past a few years. Beining, it is amazing to have you listen to me at all times. Best wishes to Ziyang and you in Shenzhen, and I hope to visit you soon. Junxiao, thanks for your company during my trip in Swiss when we had really wonderful times together. Wish you all the best with the research in ETH. Tingke, hope everything goes well with you in UK. Dear Peiliang, how wonderful it is to meet you in this city. In my life there are a few places, where something happened, and then there are all the other places. Groningen is, I believe, one of the few places with special meanings to me, because of you. Thanks for your love, understanding, and tolerance.
Finally, my deep and sincere gratitude to my family for their infinite love and continuous support. Many thanks to my mother who gives me life and proper guidance that has made me who I am. Yinhui, thank you for taking care of our family during the last a few years. Daddy, I love you forever. Dear grandmas, I feel so sorry that I was not able to be there with you during your last days. I miss you so much. I would also like to thank all my relatives for their care and love. Thanks for everything.
Lijuan Xing Groningen
