Porous silica xerogel films as antireflective coatings – Fabrication and characterization

The paper presents a simple fabrication method of porous silica xerogel films. By adding a surface active agent Triton X-100™ to the starting solution, we can considerably reduce the surface tension, which, in turn, allows to fabricate silica films of high porosity. The paper presents the influence of surfactant content and the influence of heating temperature on the refractive index and thickness of the fabricated films. We fabricated silica films of the minimum refractive index below 1.3 and corresponding porosity ∼50%. Due to low refractive index, the elaborated porous silica xerogel films can be applied to reduce the light reflection coefficient in optical systems. In this work the spectral characteristics of the refractive index, extinction coefficients, the reflection and transmission coefficients and also depolarization factor are presented. The paper also provides results of surface morphology of produced layers, obtained using an atomic force microscope.     

The missing link in COS metabolism: a model study on the reactivation of carbonic anhydrase from its hydrosulfide analogue

Carbonic anhydrase (CA) is known to react with carbonyl sulfide, an atmospheric trace gas, whereby H(2)S is formed. It has been shown that, in the course of this reaction, the active catalyst, the His(3)ZnOH structural motif, is converted to its hydrosulfide form: His(3)ZnOH+COS-->His(3)ZnSH+CO(2). In this study, we elucidate the mechanism of reactivation of carbonic anhydrase (CA) from its hydrosulfide analogue by using density functional calculations, a model reaction and in vivo experimental investigation. The desulfuration occurs according to the overall equation His(3)ZnSH+H(2)O right harpoon over left harpoon His(3)ZnOH+H(2)S. The initial step is a protonation equilibrium at the zinc-bound hydrosulfide. The hydrogen sulfide ligand thus formed is then replaced by a water molecule, which is subsequently deprotonated to yield the reactivated catalytic centre of CA. Such a mechanism is thought to enable a plant cell to expel H(2)S or rapidly metabolise it to cysteine via the cysteine synthase complex. The proposed mechanism of desulfuration of the hydrosulfide analogue of CA can thus be regarded as the missing link between COS consumption of plants and their sulfur metabolism.     

Optimization of Extreme Load and Break-in Period in Plain ZDDP Oil with FeF3 Catalyst Using Design of Experiment and Fundamental Study under Different Speeds

The mechanism of tribofilm formation and breakdown was carefully followed and studied in 0.1 P% (percentage phosphorus content) plain zinc dialkyldithiophosphate (ZDDP) oil in the presence of iron fluoride (FeF₃) catalyst under extreme Hertzian contact pressure (3.0 GPa) and two different rotational speeds or variable speed with break in period (100 rpm for the first 5,000 revolutions and a 700 rpm until failure or 100,000 revolutions, whichever comes first). At the onset of large frictional fluctuations, the contact surface temperature increased significantly and reached 90°C ± 5°C. The present article describes an innovative method of reducing the surface temperature by using a break in period of 2 or 3 min and rerunning the test until failure. The two different rotational speeds or variable speed will be compared to a steady-state speed of 700 rpm.

Thermal decomposition of ZDDP is examined in the presence of powder and dispersed FeF₃ using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Surface analyses were carried out using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) coupled with X-ray of the wear tracks, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and auger electron spectroscopy (AES). Results showed that submicrometer dispersed FeF₃ provided excellent wear protection when combined with ZDDP in the variable-speed test with break-in by forming a tribofilm that is amorphous in nature and rich in phosphorus, which was shown by the TEM and X-ray analyses.     

Full-scale field tests of concrete slabs subjected to blast loads

This paper describes full-scale field explosion tests on protected and unprotected concrete slabs. The experiments were performed by the Protective Technologies Research & Development Center of the Faculty of Engineering Sciences of the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU-PTR&DC) under a contract with the Israeli Ministry of Defense (MoD) and the supervision of the IDF Steering Committee for R&D of Protective Structures. The aims of the tests were to: (1) extract data on the dynamic response of an elementary concrete structure to blast loads in order to verify and validate (V&V) our corresponding computer codes; and (2) check the ability of aluminum foams to mitigate blast wave loads. Time-dependent measurements of the response of the concrete slabs to the blast wave loads were successfully recorded using a variety of measurement devices. The obtained data have been used to verify and validate our computer codes.     

Preparation and characterization of safe microparticles based on xylan

This work describes the preparation and evaluation of safe xylan-based microparticles prepared by cross-linking polymerization using sodium trimetaphosphate. The resulting microparticles were evaluated for morphology, particle size, polymer-cross-link agent interaction, and in vitro toxicity. The microparticles showed narrow monodisperse size distributions with their mean sizes being between 3.5 and 12.5?µm in dried state. FT-IR analyzes confirmed the interaction between sodium trimetaphosphate and xylan during the cross-linking process with formation of phosphate ester bonds. Additionally, the X-ray diffraction patterns and FT-IR analyzes suggested that little or no cross-linking agent remained inside the microparticles. Furthermore, the in-vitro studies using Artemia salina and human erythrocytes revealed that the microparticles are not toxic. Therefore, the overall results suggest that these xylan microparticles can be used as a platform for new drug delivery system.     

Dielectric Properties of a Printed Sol–Gel Matrix Composite

Low temperature processable materials with high dielectric constants are required for application on flexible organic substrates, for example, in printed electronics. To date, mainly organic polymers with embedded functional particles have been investigated for this purpose. For the first time, we present a printable dielectric composite material composed of ferroelectric high permittivity particles (BaTiO₃) bonded by a mainly inorganic sol–gel derived network. The exemplary optimization of the properties by varying the sol–gel precursor illustrates the potential of sol–gel chemistry for printable functional materials. An operational gravure printed capacitor including printed silver electrodes is presented. The measured dielectric constants are among the highest reported in literature for low temperature cured films with moderate dissipation factors. Besides these promising dielectric properties, this composite film shows a ferroelectric response.     

Effects of impurities on the lattice dynamics of nanocrystalline silicon for thermoelectric application

Doped silicon nanoparticles were exposed to air and sintered to form nanocrystalline silicon. The composition, microstructure, and structural defects were investigated with TEM, XRD, and PDF and the lattice dynamics was evaluated with measurements of the heat capacity, of the elastic constants with resonant ultrasound spectroscopy and of the density of phonon states (DPS) with inelastic neutron scattering. The results were combined and reveal that the samples contain a large amount of silicon dioxide and exhibit properties that deviate from bulk silicon. Both in the reduced DPS and in the heat capacity a Boson peak at low energies, characteristic of amorphous SiO₂, is observed. The thermal conductivity is strongly reduced due to nanostructuration and the incorporation of impurities.     

Thermoelectric Properties of Nanocrystalline Silicon from a Scaled‐Up Synthesis Plant

Silicon based thermoelectrics are promising candidates for high temperature energy scavenging applications. We present the properties of thermoelectrics made from highly boron doped silicon nanoparticles. The particles were produced by a continuous gas phase process in a scaled‐up synthesis plant enabling production rates in the kg h^?1 regime. The silicon nanoparticles were compacted by direct current assisted sintering to yield nanocrystalline bulk silicon with average crystallite size between 40 and 80 nm and relative densities above 97% of the density of single crystalline silicon. The influence of the sintering temperature on the thermoelectric properties is investigated. It was found that high sintering temperatures are beneficial for an enhancement of the power factor, while the thermal conductivity was only moderately affected. The optimization of the compaction procedure with respect to the transport properties leads to zT values of the p‐type nanosilicon of 0.32 at 700 °C, demonstrating the potential of our method.     

Is the Management of the Future Internet Ignored? A Report on ManFI 2009

This report summarizes the presentations and discussions at the 1st IFIP/IEEE International Workshop on Management of the Future Internet (ManFI 2009). This report provides a broad, high-level view of key requirements, challenges, strategies and R&D results associated with the current state-of-the-field in Future Internet management.