Adaptive Q control for tapping-mode nanoscanning using a piezoactuated bimorph probe

A new approach, called adaptive Q control, for tapping-mode atomic force microscopy (AFM) is introduced and implemented on a homemade AFM setup utilizing a laser Doppler vibrometer and a piezoactuated bimorph probe. In standard Q control, the effective Q factor of the scanning probe is adjusted prior to the scanning depending on the application. However, there is a trade-off in setting the effective Q factor of an AFM probe. The Q factor is either increased to reduce the tapping forces or decreased to increase the maximum achievable scan speed. Realizing these two benefits simultaneously using standard Q control is not possible. In adaptive Q control, the Q factor of the probe is set to an initial value as in standard Q control, but then modified on the fly during scanning when necessary to achieve this goal. In this article, we present the basic theory behind adaptive Q control, the electronics enabling the online modification of the probe's effective Q factor, and the results of the experiments comparing three different methods: scanning (a) without Q control, (b) with standard Q control, and (c) with adaptive Q control. The results show that the performance of adaptive Q control is superior to the other two methods.     

Investigation of the Reduction/Oxidation Behavior of Cobalt Supported on Nano-ceria

The oxidation and reduction behavior of cobalt catalysts supported on nano-ceria (5–8 nm) was investigated under hydrogen, oxygen and water atmospheres. A novel quantitative isothermal reduction (QIR) technique was introduced to analyze the kinetics and activation barrier of Co reduction. CoO to Co reduction was found to be of first order in the 250–350 °C temperature range. Temperature programmed reduction and oxidation experiments were conducted and the Kissinger method was used to obtain apparent activation energies for reduction and oxidation with O₂. The apparent activation energy for CoO reduction was found to agree with that obtained from the QIR technique. Re-oxidation of Co metal was found to have a slightly lower activation energy barrier than the reduction. The reduction and oxidation behavior was further investigated with in situ XANES where the reaction order for reduction was observed to change at 450 °C. The pre-reduced samples were seen to re-oxidize under a water atmosphere, where the oxidation followed first order kinetics. Re-oxidation by water yielded a higher activation energy when compared to re-oxidation under oxygen.     

Time dependence of material properties of polyethylene glycol hydrogels chain extended with short hydroxy acid segments

The objective of this work was to investigate the effect of chemical composition and segment number (n) on gelation, stiffness, and degradation of hydroxy acid-chain-extended star polyethylene glycol acrylate (SPEXA) gels. The hydroxy acids included glycolide (G), L-lactide (L), p-dioxanone (D) and ?-caprolactone (C). Chain-extension generated water soluble macromers with faster gelation rates, lower sol fractions, higher compressive moduli, and a wide-ranging degradation times when crosslinked into a hydrogel. SPEGA gels with the highest fraction of inter-molecular crosslinks had the most increase in compressive modulus with n whereas SPELA and SPECA had the lowest increase in modulus. SPEXA gels exhibited a wide range of degradation times from a few days for SPEGA to a few weeks for SPELA, a few months for SPEDA, and many months for SPECA. Marrow stromal cells and endothelial progenitor cells had the highest expression of vasculogenic markers when co-encapsulated in the faster degrading SPELA gel.     

Electrokinetic and antibacterial properties of needle like‐TiO2/polyrhodanine core/shell hybrid nanostructures

The aim of this study was to fabricate needle like‐TiO₂/polyrhodanine nanostructures by polymerizing rhodanine monomer on the TiO₂ nanoparticles' surfaces and investigate their antibacterial activities. The structural, thermal, morphological, surface and electrical properties of non‐covalently functionalized nanoparticles were characterized by using FTIR, XPS, elemental analysis, TGA, XRD, SEM‐EDX, TEM, contact angle, and conductivity measurements. Characterization results confirmed the formation of needle like‐TiO₂/polyrhodanine (PRh) core/shell hybrid nanostructures. Alterations on the surface and electrokinetic properties of the materials were characterized by zeta (ζ)‐potential measurements with the presence of various salts and surfactants. The ζ‐potential of needle like‐TiO₂ was observed to increase from ?7.6 mV to +28.4 mV after forming a core/shell needle like‐TiO₂/PRh nanocomposite structure and with the presence of cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) surfactant. Thereby colloidally more stable dispersions were formed. Antibacterial properties of needle like‐TiO₂/PRh were also tested against Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Escherichia coli by various methods and they showed good antibacterial activity. The highest killing efficiency was determined for needle like‐TiO₂/PRh against E. coli by colony‐counting method as 0.95. TEM experiments also showed the immobilizations of the nanoparticles on E. coli and revealed the interactions between E. coli and the nanoparticles. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015 , 132, 41554.     

Flocculation of coal suspension with mono/dual polymer systems and contribution of Ca(II)/Mg(II) ions

In the experimental study carried out on mono-flocculation, anionic and especially non-ionic polymers strongly flocculated the coal suspension than cationic polymer. The dual-flocculation of the coal suspension with cationic and anionic polymer combination was also studied and the high performances of flocculation were also reached with dual-polymer approach. Furthermore, dual-polymer system required lower concentrations for the successful flocculation of coal particles. On the other hand, the pre-destabilization of the coal suspension with calcium and magnesium ions at particular pH and concentrations highly improved the flocculation of fine coal particles with these polymers.     

Effective electrodeposition of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-based organic coating on metallic food packaging for active corrosion protection

Journal of Applied Electrochemistry - Modern technologies continuously need special materials with specific properties to adopt the desired application. Recently, numerous researches have been...     

The Effects of Annealing After Equal Channel Angular Extrusion (ECAE) on Mechanical and Magnetic Properties of 49Fe-49Co-2V Alloy

Metallurgical and Materials Transactions A - Equal channel angular extrusion (ECAE) of 49Fe-49Co-2V, also known as Hiperco® 50A or Permendur-2V, greatly improves the strength and ductility of...