Comparative study of the electrical properties of diamond films grown by microwave plasma assisted and hot-filament chemical vapor deposition

Schottky diodes were built on different polycrystalline diamond films grown by Microwave Plasma and Hot Filament Chemical Vapor Deposition and their electrical properties were studied. The barrier height increased with the diamond film quality and the corresponding ideality factor decreased. Even though the lower-quality HFCVD film displayed poor rectifying properties, it was found to be much less sensitive to variations in the operating conditions (air vs. vacuum). The activation energies of the films depend on morphological parameters, as preferable grain size or orientation. The bulk conduction also depends on the quality of the deposited films, changing from ohmic to trap-free or shallow trap SCLC and SCLC with an exponential distribution of traps. The hypothesis of using the electrical measurements as an indicator for film quality has been discussed.     

Effect of carbon surface oxidation on platinum supported carbon particles on the performance of gas diffusion electrodes for the oxygen reduction reaction

The effect of carbon surface oxidation on platinum supported carbon particles (Pt/C) with nitric acid was investigated by cyclic voltammetry, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, polarization experiments and chronoamperometry. Cyclic voltammograms, polarization curves and electrochemical impedance spectra showed that the treated catalyst had much larger active surface area and higher ionic conductivity than the untreated catalyst, and provided enhanced performance for oxygen reduction. The formation of acidic groups was examined by IR spectra. The Pt/C surface oxidation had a large effect on the performance of a gas diffusion electrode for oxygen reduction reaction.     

Synthesis of poly(methyl methacrylate)/silica nanocomposite through emulsion polymerization using dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate

Polymer/Silica nanocomposite latex particles were prepared by emulsion polymerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA) with dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate (DM). The reaction was performed using a nonionic surfactant and in the presence of silica nanoparticles as the seed. The polymer‐coated silica nanoparticles with polymer content and number average particle sizes ranged from 32 to 93 wt % and 114–310 nm, respectively, were obtained depending on reaction conditions. Influences of some synthetic conditions such as MMA, DM, surfactant concentration, and the nature of initiator on the coating of the silica nanoparticles were studied. Electrostatic attraction between anionic surface of silica beads and cationic amino groups of DM is the main driving force for the formation of the nanocomposites. It was demonstrated that the ratio of DM/MMA is important factor in stability of the system. The particle size, polymer content, efficiency of the coating reaction, and morphology of resulted nanocomposite particles showed a dependence on the amount of the surfactant. Zeta potential measurements confirmed that the DM was located at the surface of the nanocomposites particles. Thermogravimeteric analysis indicated a relationship between the composition of polymer shell and polymer content of the nanocomposites. The nanocomposites were also characterized by FTIR and differential scanning calorimetry techniques. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008     

A strategy for the electro-organic synthesis of new hydrocaffeic acid derivatives

Electrochemical treatment processes can significantly contribute to the protection of the environment through the minimization of waste and toxic materials in effluents. From a pharmaceutical point of view and due to the existing resemblance between the electrochemical and biological reactions, it can be assumed that the oxidation mechanisms on the electrode and in the body share similar principles. In this paper, the application of electrochemical studies in the design of an environmentally friendly method was delineated for the new hydrocaffeic acid (HCA, 3,4-dihydroxy hydrocinnamic acid) derivatives synthesis at carbon electrodes in an undivided cell. In this cell, the EC mechanism reaction was involved, comprising two steps alternatively; (1) electrochemical oxidation and (2) chemical reaction. In particular, the electro-organic reactions of HCA, an important biological molecule, were studied in a water–acetonitrile (90:10 v/v) mixture in the presence of benzenesulfinic acid (3) and p-toluenesulfinic acid (4). The research included the use of a variety of experimental techniques, such as cyclic voltammetry, controlled-potential electrolysis and product spectroscopic identification.     

Synthesis and thermomechanical characterization of polyurethane elastomers extended with α,ω‐alkane diols

A series of polyurethane (PU) elastomers was prepared by the reaction of poly(?‐caprolactone) and 4,4′‐diphenylmethane diisocyanate, which was extended with a series of chain extenders (CEs) having 2–10 methylene units in their structure. The completion of the reaction was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The chemical structures of the synthesized PU samples were characterized with Fourier transform infrared, ¹H‐NMR, and ¹³C‐NMR spectroscopy, and the thermal properties were determined by thermogravimetric analysis, DSC, and dynamic mechanical thermal analysis techniques. The mechanical properties were also studied and are discussed. The thermogravimetric analysis and DSC analysis showed that CE length had a considerable effect on the thermal properties of the prepared samples. The dynamic mechanical thermal analysis and damping peaks were also affected by the number of methylene units in the CE length. The elastomer extended with 1,2‐ethane diol exhibited optimum thermal properties, whereas the elastomer based on 1,10‐decane diol displayed the worst thermal properties. Tensile strength and elongation at break decreased with increasing CE length, whereas hardness showed the opposite trend. The glass‐transition temperature moved toward lower temperatures with increasing CE length. The decrease in the glass‐transition temperature and tensile properties were interpreted in terms of decreasing hard segments and increasing chain flexibility. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008     

Electrocopolymerization of aniline and ortho-phenylenediamine via facile negative shift of polyaniline redox peaks

Oxidative electropolymerization of aniline (Ani) in phosphoric acid (H₃PO₄) on composite 2B pencil graphite was accomplished using selected inorganic salts as supporting electrolytes. These salts determined the degree of conductivity of polyaniline (PAni) formed. The conductivity was in the order of CaCl₂ > KCl > ZnCl₂ > ZnSO₄ > Ca₃(PO₄)₂. The three pairs of redox peaks in the voltammogram of PAni formed in the presence of 0.06 M Ca₃(PO₄)₂ and 0.2 M ZnSO₄ have shifted 300 mV to the negative potential. The shifting of peaks is strongly influenced by type of anions' presence in the salts. However, the nature of the available cations had no significant effect. The negative shifts of redox peaks were exploited to facilitate the electrocopolymerization of Ani and ortho-phenylenediamine (oPD). The formation of the poly(Ani-co-oPD) was confirmed by the FTIR spectra.     

Optimal estimation of parameters of dynamical systems by neural network collocation method

In this paper we propose a new method to estimate parameters of a dynamical system from observation data on the basis of a neural network collocation method. We construct an object function consisting of squared residuals of dynamical model equations at collocation points and squared deviations of the observations from their corresponding computed values. The neural network is then trained by optimizing the object function.The proposed method is demonstrated by performing several numerical experiments for the optimal estimates of parameters for two different nonlinear systems. Firstly, we consider the weakly and highly nonlinear cases of the Lorenz model and apply the method to estimate the optimum values of parameters for the two cases under various conditions. Then we apply it to estimate the parameters of one-dimensional oscillator with nonlinear damping and restoring terms representing the nonlinear ship roll motion under various conditions. Satisfactory results have been obtained for both the problems.     

Accurate and simple synthesis formulas for coplanar waveguides

Simple and accurate closed‐form formulas obtained by using a differential evolution algorithm are presented for the synthesis of coplanar waveguides (CPW). The results of the synthesis formulas proposed in this article are compared with those of the quasi‐static analysis, the synthesis formulas reported by the other researchers and also the experimental works available in the literature. The accuracy of the proposed synthesis formulas is found to be better than 0.75% for 9256 CPWs samples. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J RF and Microwave CAE, 2008.     

Reconstruction of reflectance spectra using weighted principal component analysis

The weighted principal component analysis technique is employed for reconstruction of reflectance spectra of surface colors from the related tristimulus values. A dynamic eigenvector subspace based on applying certain weights to reflectance data of Munsell color chips has been formed for each particular sample and the color difference value between the target, and Munsell dataset is chosen as a criterion for determination of weighting factors. Implementation of this method enables one to increase the influence of samples which are closer to target on extracted principal eigenvectors and subsequently diminish the effect of those samples which benefit from higher amount of color difference. The performance of the suggested method is evaluated in spectral reflectance reconstruction of three different collections of colored samples by the use of the first three Munsell bases. The resulting spectra show considerable improvements in terms of root mean square error between the actual and reconstructed reflectance curves as well as CIELAB color difference under illuminant A in comparison to those obtained from the standard PCA method. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Col Res Appl, 33, 360–371, 2008     

Analytical modeling and experimental study of tensile strength of asphalt concrete composite at low temperatures

In this study, analytical modeling of the tensile strength of hot-mix asphalt (HMA) mixtures at low temperatures was developed. To do this, HMA mixtures were treated as a two-phase composite material with aggregates (coarse and fine) dispersed in an asphalt mastic matrix. A two-phase composite model, which was similar to Papanicolaou and Bakos's [J. Reinforced Plast. Compos. 11 (1992) 104] model with a particle embedded in an infinite matrix, was proposed. Unlike Papanicolaou and Bakos's model, an axial stress was introduced to the fiber end to consider the load transferred from the asphalt mastic the aggregate. Efforts were also made to consider the effect of aggregate gradation, asphalt mastic degradation, and interfacial damage between the aggregates and asphalt mastic matrix on the tensile strength of the HMA mixtures. Experimental investigations were conducted to validate the developed theoretical relations. A reasonable agreement was found between the predicted tensile strength and the experimental results at low temperatures. Parameters affecting the tensile strength of asphalt mixtures were discussed based on the calculated results.