Photochemical performance and electrochemical capacitance of titania nanocomplexes

Titania nanocomplexes, comprising the disordered nanoribbons or nanowires on the top surface and highly ordered nanotube array on the underlaying layer, has been fabricated by longitudinally splitting off nanotubes in a controlled anodization process. Anatase titania nanocomplexes show higher photovoltage and photocurrent responses and photocatalysis activity than titania nanotube array due to the enhanced light harvesting caused by nanoribbons and nanowires. Furthermore, titania nanowire-nanotube demonstrates a higher photoelectrical performance than nanoribbon-nanotube due to its thicker space charge layer caused by long nanotubes and more effective surface area contributed by nanowires. Cyclic charge-discharge measurements show that titania nanotube array exhibits a much higher electric double layer capacitance than titania nanocomplexes because the surface nanoribbons or nanowires inhibit the free diffusion and transportation of electrolyte ions into the underlaying nanotubes. Therefore, titania nanocomplexes can act as a photoactive material for photocatalysis applications and titania nanotube array can act as an electrode substrate for electrochemical supercapacitor applications.     

Comprehensive structural studies of ultra-fine nanocrystalline calcium hydroxyapatite using MAS NMR and FT-IR spectroscopic methods

Three nanoapatites produced using a microwave solvothermal synthesis (MSS), including one with a mean crystal size of only 6 nm, were characterized by high-resolution solid-state NMR (¹H and ³¹P) and FT-IR spectroscopies. It was found that nanoapatite particles had an inner crystal core covered by a non-apatitic surface hydrated layer with an outermost liquid-like zone. Various physicochemical properties of those apatite compartments were determined. Important structural details, such as deficiency and disorder of structural OH⁻ ions were discovered and discussed. The materials were also compared with respect to the reaction time and thermal post-synthesis treatment in order to optimize their preparation conditions to the required performance. The study emphasizes the influence of the surface hydrated layer on the physicochemical properties and biological activity of nanoapatites.     

Abnormal morphology of amorphous germanium films in contact with palladium

The fractal and dense branching morphologies of amorphous germanium films in contact with palladium have been investigated by TEM. The experimental results suggest that the production of fractal morphology in Pd/a-Ge bilayer films was easier than that in a-Ge/Pd bilayer films. An island-like fractal morphology can be formed at the step and crevice hole areas annealed at higher temperatures. It is difficult for co-evaporated Pd-Ge films to realize fractal morphology. The formation of fractal morphology can be explained by a RSN model. The SAED patterns suggest that the dense branching morphology cannot be completely demonstrated by the Pd, Ge, Pa₂Ge, PdGe and Pd₂₅Ge₉, maybe it is a new phase.     

Nanocrystalline SnO2 from thermal decomposition of tin citrate crystal: Luminescence and Raman studies

Nanocrystalline SnO₂ particles are prepared by thermal decomposition of tin citrate crystal. Distinction between the surface traps and lattice defects is carried out by the photoluminescence emission study, which gives two characteristic peaks at ∼400 and 470 nm respectively. The peak at ∼400 nm shifts toward the lower wavelength with increase of heat treatment because of decrease of defects. The intensity of peak at 470 nm due to the surface traps decreases with increase in particle size. Raman spectra exhibited new peaks, which are related to a surface layer of small crystals, and shift in peaks are found with different particle sizes.     

Microstructure and tribological performance of an aluminium alloy based hybrid composite produced by friction stir processing

In this study, friction stir processing (FSP) was utilized to incorporate SiC and MoS₂ particles into the matrix of an A356 Al alloy to form surface hybrid composite. A constant tool rotation rate of 1600 rpm and travel speed of 50 mm/min with a tool tilt angle of 3° was used. The wear resistance of the processed samples improved significantly as compared to that of the as-cast alloy. Microstructural analyses showed a uniform distribution of reinforcement particles inside the nugget zone, and a MoS₂ rich mechanically mixed layer (MML) on the top of worn surface. This MoS₂ layer is considered to stifle plastic deformation and thus, to improve tribological properties of the alloy.     

Enhancement of wear resistance of ductile iron surface alloyed by stellite 6

This paper deals with the improvement of the wear resistance of ductile iron surface alloyed by a hypoeutectic stellite 6 alloy. In this regard, the surface alloyed layer with 3 mm thickness deposited on ductile iron using tungsten inert gas (TIG) surface processing. The microstructure, hardness and wear resistance of surface alloyed layer were investigated using optical microscopy, scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray diffraction analysis, Vickers hardness (HV0.3) and pin-on-plate tests. The results showed that the microstructure of the surface alloyed layer consisted of carbides dispersed in a Co-based solid solution matrix with dendritic structure. This microstructure was responsible for the improvement of the hardness and wear resistance of the coating. Further investigations showed that the dominant mechanism of the wear in the coated and uncoated samples was delamination wear.     

(Fe,Cr)7C3/Fe surface gradient composite: Microstructure,microhardness, and wear resistance

In this study, the (Fe,Cr)₇C₃/Fe surface gradient composite was produced by in situ synthesis process with subsequent heat treatment. According to the results of thermal analysis, the as-cast specimen was subjected to heat treatment at 1180 °C for 3 h in argon atmosphere. The phase composition, microstructure, microhardness, and wear resistance of the samples were analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Vickers hardness tester, and wear resistance tester, respectively. The XRD results show that α-Fe and (Fe,Cr)₇C₃ are the predominant crystalline phases in the composite obtained. The volume fraction of (Fe,Cr)₇C₃ particulates has a gradient distribution from the surface to the matrix, and the morphology of (Fe,Cr)₇C₃ particulates changes considerably. A dense ceramic layer is formed on the upper surface of (Fe,Cr)₇C₃/Fe surface gradient composite with a volume fraction of 90%. The microhardness of the dense ceramic layer is 1484 HV_0.1, and its relative wear resistance is five times higher than that of the iron matrix.     

Impact surface fractures of glass-fiber/epoxy lamina-coated glass plates by small steel-ball

Fiber orientation effects on the impact surface fracture of glass plates coated with a glass-fiber/epoxy lamina layer were investigated using a small-diameter steel-ball impact experiment. Four kinds of materials were used: soda-lime glass plates, unidirectional glass-fiber/epoxy layer (one ply, two plies) coated glass plates, crossed glass-fiber/epoxy layer (only two plies) coated glass plates. The maximum stress and absorbed fracture energy of these plates were measured by a single-grid strain gage bonded to the back surface of the glass plates during the impact of the steel ball. With increasing impact velocity, various surface cracks, such as ring, cone, radial and lateral cracks, occurred near the impact sites of the uncoated glass plates. Plates with glass-fiber coating had a plastic deformation zone between the fiber layer and the glass plate that formed around the impact site while the surface cracks in the plates drastically diminished. The principal direction of this plastic deformation and delamination followed the fiber orientation. The impact surface-fracture index expressed in terms of the maximum stress and the absorbed energy could be used as an effective evaluation parameter for surface resistance.     

Nanocrystallized steel surface by micro-shot peening for catalyst-free carbon nanotube growth

Nanocrystallized steel surface by micro-shot peening (MSP) were applied to carbon nanotube growth in this study. Micro-shot peening treatment severely deformed steel surface and nanocrystallized surface layer was formed by the plastic deformation. The grain sizes of the nanocrystallized layer were 10-30 nm after 300 s of MSP treatment. On the nanocrystallized surface, carbon nanotubes were formed with thermal chemical vapour deposition without catalysts. Before carbon nanotube growth, the nanocrystallized steel surface was reduced with H₂/N₂ gas at 600 °C. The carbon nanotube growth was performed at 600 °C with C₂H₂ gas carried by H₂/N₂ gas. The carbon nanotubes formed on the nano-structured surface was multi-walled carbon nanotube and the diameter was 10-20 nm. The reduction process before carbon nanotube growth was essential to form carbon nanotubes on the nanocrystallized surface with MSP.     

Characterization and humidity sensing of ZnO/42° YX LiTaO3 Love wave devices with ZnO nanorods

Love mode surface acoustic wave devices based on ZnO/42° YX LiTaO₃ were characterized with the thickness of the sputtered ZnO guiding layer varied from 250 nm to 1.18 μm. Phase velocity, temperature coefficient of resonant frequency, sensitivity, electromechanical coupling coefficient and humidity sensing of the Love mode SAW devices were studied as a function of the ZnO layer thickness. With increasing ZnO thickness over the range of thickness values we have examined, the sensitivity of 42° YX LiTaO₃ to liquid loading increased and the values of electromechanical coupling coefficient decreased. The device with a thickness of 250 nm showed the best humidity response. ZnO nanorods were grown on this device and its humidity sensing performance has been further improved due to their large surface-to-volume ratio of the ZnO nanorods.     

Nitriding of titanium by NH3 RF plasma: a study of the corrosion resistance and the mechanical properties of the protective films formed at the solid surface

The exposure of a titanium sample to an NH₃ low pressure plasma leads to the formation of a nitriding layer. The products formed at the titanium surface were identified by XRD spectroscopy. The modification of the corrosion resistance characteristics of titanium due to the NH₃ plasma treatment were investigated by electrochemical tests. The recorded polarization curves of the treated titanium samples were used to determine the values of the corrosion potential E_corr. This study confirms the increasing of the corrosion resistance as a function of the time exposure and the injected electric power in the silica reactor. The plasma treatment also induces drastic changes of the titanium target in hardness.     

Transparent hydrophobic organic-inorganic nanocomposite films

Hydrophobic, transparent organic-inorganic hybrid coatings were synthesized by the incorporation of SiO₂ nanoparticles in a matrix of 3-glycidoxypropyltrimethoxysilane (GPTS) and tetramethyl orthosilicate (TMOS) followed by overlaying isobutyltrimethoxysilane (IBTMS) film for enhanced hydrophobicity. Scanning probe microscopy, ellipsometry and contact angle measurements were used to study their morphology, thickness and surface properties. GPTS and TMOS sol with SiO₂ nanoparticles resulted in rough but transparent surface of homogeneous monolayer of ∼40 nm. The rough surface mimicking lotus leaf was chemically modified with a layer of IBTMS resulting in the contact angle of nearly 130°. Morphology as well as contact angles were dependent on the thickness of IBTMS hydrophobic coating layer. Process of creating rough but transparent and durable layer loaded with SiO₂ particles demonstrates the feasibility of meeting all three desired characteristics of transparency, durability and superhydrophobicity.     

Development of ternary-boride-based hard cladding material

A type of ternary-boride-based (TBB) hard cladding material (YF-2) has been developed successfully by a reaction sintering technique at 1563 K. The hardness of the cladding layer of YF-2 is about 84.5 HRA. Microstructure of YF-2 has been studied using scanning electron microanalyzer (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and electron probe microanalyzer (EPMA). Results show that the main composition of the cladding layer of YF-2 is TBB hard phase and ferrous-base binder phase, both of them distributed uniformly in the cladding layer. The bonding at the interface of the cladding layer and steel substrate is excellent, which has been confirmed by the three-point bend tests.     

Determination of crystallization as a function of Mo layer thickness in Mo/Si multilayers

Mo/Si multilayer samples with different Mo layer thickness were deposited by electron beam evaporation, while Kr⁺ ions (300 eV) were used for polishing the Si layers. Crystallization as a function of the Mo layer thickness deposited was investigated by grazing incidence X-ray diffraction, giving information on the crystalline phases, average size and crystallite formation. Comparison of these parameters for the samples examined provided novel results, especially regarding the in-plane and in-depth average sizes of the crystallites. The most important result is that crystallization takes place already when a 1 nm thick Mo layer has been deposited. Moreover, the average in-plane size of the crystallites was found to be independent of the layer thickness, while the average in-depth size corresponded to the thickness of the Mo layer. Depositions consist of polished Si layers were found to give a larger amount of crystalline material compared to those consist of unpolished Si layers.     

Influence of morphology and surface characteristics on the photocatalytic activity of rutile titania nanocrystals

This article presents the synthesis of phase-pure rutile titania with different morphologies via hydrothermal method at significantly low temperatures (40-150 °C) without any additives and their application as efficient photocatalyst for environmental remediation. Phase and morphology has been determined with X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Ultra violet diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (UV-DRS) shows the optical band-gap in the range of ∼2.8-3.1 eV and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller specific surface area is found to be between 70 and 140 m²/g depending on the synthesis conditions. Raman spectroscopic analyses of the samples provide valuable insights into the structural and stoichiometric details. Photodegradation of the pollutant azo-dye, methyl orange (MO) in presence and absence of oxygen was performed to study the photocatalytic efficiency of the synthesized materials. Complete photodegradation of the dye is confirmed with high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) study. Dependence of dye photodegradation rate on morphology, specific surface area, surface nonstoichiometry and acidity were investigated in detail. Catalyst performance was compared from the rate constants obtained for each reaction using non-linear least square fitting (NLSF) to the experimental data in a concentration ratio (C₀/C_t) versus time (t) plot which shows extraordinarily high activity for all samples compared to commercial reference. Among them the catalyst synthesized at 40 °C for 16 h showed best activity. Kinetic study of the reaction matches well with simulated fit to experimental data and confirms to be pseudo-first order reaction.     

Investigation of the surface morphology on epitaxially grown fullerene structures

Fullerene layers molecular beam epitaxially grown on, a vanadium-selenide substrate are investigated and the morphology of the layered structures is studied. The individual layer morphologies are derived from the atomic force microscopy picture of the surface. The pattern morphology of certain layers is analyzed by a box counting method. The surface morphology shows fractal behaviour. The pattern of each layer shows different dimensions. The actual dimension depends on the actual distance of the layer from the substrate. The change of the dimension is attributed to the change of the binding behaviour. The topology of the surface is also studied using participation ratio and structural entropy calculations.     

Effects of treatment with low molecular weight phenol formaldehyde resin on the surface characteristics of oil palm (Elaeis quineensis) stem veneer

Even though oil palm (Elaeis quineensis) stem (OPS) is highly potential as an alternative raw material in wood industry, it possesses some inferior characteristics. One of the critical weaknesses is a high degree of veneer surface roughness that resulted in high resin consumption during plywood manufacture. The objective of this study was to investigate effects of treatment with low molecular weight phenol formaldehyde (LMWPF) resin on the wettability and surface roughness of OPS veneer. OPS veneers were segregated into two categories namely outer and inner layer veneer, prior to soaking in LMWPF resin solution to obtain weight percent gain of 16–20%. The wettability of OPS veneers was assessed with contact angle measurement according to the sessile drop method. The veneer surface roughness was evaluated by determining the average roughness (R_a), mean peak-to-valley height (R_z), and maximum roughness (R_max) using a stylus profilometer in accordance with DIN standard 4768. The results show that the effect of LMWPF resin treatment on the surface roughness of the veneers is statistically significant. The technique used in the study was able to enhance the surface properties as well as improved the physical and mechanical properties of OPS plywood.     

Roughness determination of plasma-modified surface layers with atomic force microscopy

Graphite surfaces exposed to the deuterium plasma in the TEXTOR tokamak were characterized in detail by means of scanning probe microscopy, ion beam analysis and colorimetry methods. The aim is to study the composition and structure of thin layer deposits formed on surfaces subjected to the tokamak plasma. The surface roughness was measured and parametrized in terms of fractal dimension and scaling constant. Several different methods for the fractal analysis of plasma-exposed surfaces have been critically evaluated. The main emphasis of this paper is on the correlation between surface roughness (fractal parameters), the amount of deposited atoms and the layer thickness.     

Preparation of activated carbon from sorghum pith and its structural and electrochemical properties

The cost effective activated carbon (AC) has been prepared from sorghum pith by NaOH activation at various temperatures, including 300 °C (AC1), 400 °C (AC2) and 500 °C (AC3) for the electrodes in electric double layer capacitor (EDLC) applications. The amorphous nature of the samples has been observed from X-ray diffraction and Raman spectral studies. Subsequently, the surface functional groups, surface morphology, pore diameter and specific surface area have been identified through FT-IR, SEM, histogram and N₂ adsorption/desorption isotherm methods. The electrochemical characterization of AC electrodes has been examined using cyclic voltammetry technique in the potential range of −0.1-1.2 V in 1.0 M H₂SO₄ electrolyte at different scan rates (10, 20, 30, 40, 50 and 100 mV/s). The maximum specific capacitances of 320.6 F/g at 10 mV/s and 222.1 F/g at 100 mV/s have been obtained for AC3 electrode when compared with AC1 and AC2 electrodes. Based on the characterization studies, it has been inferred that the activated carbon prepared from sorghum pith may be one of the innovative carbon electrode materials for EDLC applications.