Thermodynamic investigation of the MOCVD of copper films from<Emphasis Type="Italic">bis</Emphasis>(2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-3,5-heptadionato)copper(II)

Equilibrium concentrations of various condensed and gaseous phases have been thermodynamically calculated, using the free energy minimization criterion, for the metalorganic chemical vapour deposition (MOCVD) of copper films usingbis(2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-3,5-heptadionato)copper(II) as the precursor material. From among the many chemical species that may possibly result from the CVD process, only those expected on the basis of mass spectrometric analysis and chemical reasoning to be present at equilibrium, under different CVD conditions, are used in the thermodynamic calculations. The study predicts the deposition of pure, carbon-free copper in the inert atmosphere of argon as well as in the reactive hydrogen atmosphere, over a wide range of substrate temperatures and total reactor pressures. Thin films of copper, grown on SiO₂/Si(100) substrates from this metalorganic precursor by low pressure CVD have been characterized by XRD and AES. The experimentally determined composition of CVD-grown copper films is in reasonable agreement with that predicted by thermodynamic analysis.     

Anomalous high pressure behaviour in nanosized rare earth sesquioxides

We report Raman spectroscopic studies of the nanosized rare earth sesquioxides, namely yttrium sesquioxide (Y(2)O(3)), gadolinium sesquioxide (Gd(2)O(3)) and samarium sesquioxide (Sm(2)O(3)), under high pressure. The samples were characterized using x-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy at atmospheric pressures. Y(2)O(3) and Gd(2)O(3) were found to be cubic at ambient, while Sm(2)O(3) was found to be predominantly cubic with a small fraction of monoclinic phase. The strongest Raman peaks are observed at 379, 344 and 363?cm(-1), respectively, for Y(2)O(3), Sm(2)O(3) and Gd(2)O(3). All the samples were found to be nanosized with 50-90?nm particle sizes. The high pressures were generated using a Mao-Bell type diamond anvil cell and a conventional laser Raman spectrometer is used to monitor the pressure-induced changes. Y(2)O(3) seems to undergo a crystalline to partial amorphous transition when pressurized up to about 19?GPa, with traces of hexagonal phase. However, on release of pressure, the hexagonal phase develops into the dominant phase. Gd(2)O(3) is also seen to develop into a mixture of amorphous and hexagonal phases on pressurizing. However, on release of pressure Gd(2)O(3) does not show any change and the transformation is found to be irreversible. On the other hand, Sm(2)O(3) shows a weakening of cubic phase peaks while monoclinic phase peaks gain intensity up to about a pressure of 6.79?GPa. However, thereafter the monoclinic phase peaks also reduce in intensity and mostly disordering sets in which does not show significant reversal as the pressure is released. The results obtained are discussed in detail.     

Comparison of corrosion performance of various conversion coatings on magnesium alloy using electrochemical techniques

Comparative studies on some of the important chemical conversion coatings, namely, phosphate–permanganate, galvanic black anodizing, dichromate treatment, and micro arc oxidized and modified acid fluoride anodizing on magnesium alloy AZ31B have been conducted. The surface morphology and composition of the coatings were examined through SEM and EDX techniques. Corrosion resistances of these coatings were compared using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and linear polarization studies. The corrosion resistances of the coatings investigated were found to be according to the order as follows: modified acid fluoride > micro arc oxidized phosphate > micro arc oxidized silicate > dichromate > galvanic black anodizing > phosphate-permanganate > bare magnesium.     

Adsorption behavior of dyes from aqueous solution using agricultural waste: modeling approach

The development of efficient and ecofriendly biosorbent for the removal of dyes is a priority in regions where human health is directly affected by elevated dye concentrations. Biosorption of dyes on shelled Moringa oleifera seed powder (SMOS) was investigated for the removal of methylene blue and Congo red from aqueous solution. Sorption studies led to the standardization of the optimum conditions: dye concentration (25 mg/l), contact time (40 min), particle size (105 μM), and volume (200 ml) at pH 6.5 and 2.5 for the removal of methylene blue (90.27 %) and Congo red (98.52 %). A single layer artificial neural network (ANN) model was developed to simulate the process and predict the removal efficiency of SMOS for the removal of dyes. Different ANN architectures were tested by varying network topology, resulting into an excellent agreement between the experimental data and the predicted values. The Levenberg–Marquardt algorithm was found best of BP algorithms with a minimum mean squared error for training and cross validation as 1.89951E?09 and 0.145001313, respectively.     

InGaAs-InGaN Wafer-Bonded Current Aperture Vertical Electron Transistors (BAVETs)

In this paper, we report the fabrication process and direct-current (DC) characteristics of a wafer-bonded heterostructure-based vertical transistor. It comprises an In_0.53Ga_0.47As/In_0.52Al_0.48As/In_0.53Ga_0.47As field-effect transistor wafer-bonded to a Ga-polar In_0.1Ga_0.9N/GaN template. In the DC-bias operation of this device, the current conduction is initially confined lateral to the InGaAs channel and then flows vertically through a conductive aperture defined in the InGaN/GaN layers. The narrow aperture is isolated by ion-implanted current blocking layer (CBL) regions. The I _d–V _ds characteristics of the device demonstrate transistor-like behavior. Design optimizations have been applied to the implant and doping conditions of the InGaN/GaN layers to eliminate the leakage paths through the CBL while simultaneously obtaining unhindered current conduction through the aperture of the device.     

Supercapacitor with superior electrochemical properties derived from symmetrical manganese oxide-carbon fiber coated with polypyrrole

A supercapacitor electrode comprising conducting polypyrrole (PPy) coated on manganese oxide-carbon fiber (CNFMnO₂) was successfully synthesized using electrospinning, followed by carbonization and in-situ polymerization. A non-uniform distribution of PPy on the surface of CNFMnO₂ was observed via FESEM analysis. The chemical bonding of CNFMnO₂/PPy and the valence state of manganese were revealed via FTIR, Raman spectroscopy, XRD and XPS measurements. CNFMnO₂/PPy composite possessed high specific capacitance and specific energy of 315.80 Fg^?1 and 13.68 Wh/kg, respectively. In addition, good electrochemical reversibility was proven upon CNFMnO₂/PPy even at higher sweep rate (5–200 mV/s). Moreover, this one-dimensional electrode achieved an excellent long-term cycling stability (82.46%) over 2000 CV cycles with low charge transfer resistance (4.61 Ω). The modification of CNFMnO₂/PPy contributes to good synergistic effects among the material which improve the electrochemical behavior of manganese oxide-based fiber composite for future supercapacitor.     

Synthetically modified nano‐cellulose for the removal of chromium: a green nanotech perspective

Existing processes for the decontamination of heavy metals from water are found to be cost‐prohibitive and energy‐intensive which is totally against the sustainable concept of development. Green nanotechnology for water purification for ecosystem management, agricultural and industry is an emerging as leading global priority and occupies better position over the current state of water purification. Herein, the diafunctionalised polyaniline modified nanocellulose composite sorbent (PANI‐NCC) has been used to introduce amine and imine functionalities for the removal of trivalent and hexavalent chromium from water bodies. The fabricated nanobiomaterial has been authenticated by modern spectroscopic, microscopic techniques. The modified PANI‐NCC is rod‐like in shape, ~60 nm in size. The roughness and crystallinity index is also quantified and found to be 49.67 nm and 84.18%, respectively. The optimised experimental finding provides the efficient removal of trivalent [Cr(III)] (47.06 mg/g; 94.12%) and hexavalent [Cr(VI)] (48.92 mg/g; 97.84%) chromium from synthetic waste water. The fabricated nano biosorbent is deemed to be a potent biosorbent for technological development to remove the toxic metals in the real environmental water samples.Inspec keywords: decontamination, water pollution, purificationOther keywords: nano‐cellulose, decontamination, heavy metals, green nanotechnology, water purification, ecosystem management, agricultural, global priority, diafunctionalised polyaniline modified nanocellulose composite sorbent, PANI‐NCC, amine functionalities, imine functionalities, trivalent chromium, hexavalent chromium, water bodies, nanobiomaterial, crystallinity index, synthetic waste water, fabricated nano biosorbent, potent biosorbent, toxic metals, real environmental water samples     

Removal of hazardous dye congored from waste material

The present paper is aimed to investigate and develop cheap adsorption methods for color removal from wastewater using waste material sawdust as adsorbent. Sawdust, a biosorbent, was successfully utilized in removing a water soluble azo dye, congored from wastewater. The paper incorporates effect of pH, temperature, amount of adsorbent, contact time, concentration of adsorbate, particle size on adsorption. Specific rate constants of the processes were calculated by kinetic measurements and a first order adsorption kinetics was observed in each case. Langmuir and Freundlich adsorption isotherm models were then applied to calculate thermodynamics parameters as well as to suggest the plausible mechanism of the ongoing adsorption processes. In order to observe the quality of wastewater COD measurements were also carried out before and after the treatments. A significant decrease in the COD values was observed, which clearly indicates that adsorption method offer good potential to remove congored from wastewater.