Titania/hydroxyapatite bi-layer coating on Ti metal by electrophoretic deposition: Characterization and corrosion studies

Titania–hydroxyapatite (HAp) bi-layer coating on Ti metal substrate with improved adhesion strength is fabricated by a simple two step processes: electrodeposition of Ti sol and electrophoretic deposition of HAp powder, followed by heat treatment at 800 °C. At optimized process parameters, the bi-layer developed consists of dense, thin and crystalline titania interlayer with porous, thick and crystalline HAp top layer. The heat treatment of bi-layer coating allows elemental intermixing at the interface of TiO₂ and HAp, as determined by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and Raman spectra analysis. Compared to monolithic HAp coating, the TiO₂/HAp bi-layer coating shows significant enhancement in the adhesion strength (48 MPa) as well as corrosion resistance without compromising its biocompatibility. The steep increase in adhesion strength is believed to be due to mechanical interlocking and diffusion bonding at the interface. Presence of dense titania interlayer in the bi-layer coating reduces the corrosion current in Ringer's solution to a negligible value (～100 nA).     

Effect of beam limiting aperture and collector potential on multi-element focused ion beams

A compact microwave driven plasma based multi-element focused ion beam system has been developed. In the present work, the effect of reduced beam limiter (BL) aperture on the focused ion beam parameters, such as current and spot size, and a method of controlling beam energy independently by introducing a biased collector at focal point (FP) are investigated. It is found that the location of FP does not change due to the reduction of BL aperture. The location of FP and beam size are found to be weakly dependent on the collector potential in the range from -8 kV to -18 kV.     

Subcutoff microwave driven plasma ion sources for multielemental focused ion beam systems

A compact microwave driven plasma ion source for focused ion beam applications has been developed. Several gas species have been experimented including argon, krypton, and hydrogen. The plasma, confined by a minimum B multicusp magnetic field, has good radial and axial uniformity. The octupole multicusp configuration shows a superior performance in terms of plasma density (~1.3 x 10(11) cm(-3)) and electron temperature (7-15 eV) at a power density of 5-10 Wcm(2). Ion current densities ranging from a few hundreds to over 1000 mA/cm(2) have been obtained with different plasma electrode apertures. The ion source will be combined with electrostatic Einzel lenses and should be capable of producing multielemental focused ion beams for nanostructuring and implantations. The initial simulation results for the focused beams have been presented.     

Thermal Decomposition of Molecular Materials {\{{\rm N}(n{-}{\rm C}_{4}{\rm H}_{9})_{4}[{\rm M}^{\rm II} {\rm Fe}^{\rm III}({\rm C}_{2} {\rm O}_{4})_{3}]\}_{\infty},\,{\rm M}^{\rm II} = {\rm Zn},\, {\rm Co},\, {\rm Fe}}

Thermal decomposition of oxalate-based molecular precursors, namely ${\{{\rm N}(n{-} {\rm C}_{4} {\rm H}_{9})_{4}[{\rm Zn}^{\rm II}{\rm Fe}^{\rm III}({\rm C}_{2} {\rm O}_{4})_{3}]\}_{\infty}, \{{\rm N}(n{-}{\rm C}_{4}{\rm H}_{9})_{4}[{\rm Co}^{\rm II}{\rm Fe}^{\rm III}({\rm C}_{2}{\rm O}_{4})_{3}]\}_{\infty}}$ , and ${\{{\rm N}(n{-}{\rm C}_{4} {\rm H}_{9})_{4}[{\rm Fe}^{\rm II}{\rm Fe}^{\rm III}({\rm C}_{2}{\rm O}_{4})_{3}]\}_{\infty}}$ , abbreviated as BuZnFe, BuCoFe, and BuFeFe, respectively, are studied using thermogravimetry (TG) in the temperature range from ~300?K to ~675?K at multiple heating rates. This study also deals with how the thermal decomposition of the complexes proceed stepwise through a series of intermediate reactions. The effect of the divalent metal M^II on the nature of thermal decomposition of the complexes, reflected in their TG profiles in terms of number of steps involved, is reported in this study. The temperature range of thermal decomposition steps for BuZnFe, BuCoFe, and BuFeFe with the same heating rates are studied systematically. Two different isoconversional methods, namely an improved iterative method and a model-free method are employed to calculate the kinetic parameters, and thus the most probable reaction mechanism of thermal decomposition is determined. Based on kinetic parameters, the important thermodynamic parameters such as the changes of entropy, enthalpy, and Gibbs free energy are estimated for the activated complex formation from the precursors. Considering the mass loss during the different thermal decomposition steps of BuZnFe, BuCoFe, and BuFeFe, observed in the thermogravimetry profiles, the overall reactions of the thermal decompositions are demonstrated.     

A green chemistry approach for the synthesis and characterization of bioactive gold nanoparticles using Azolla microphylla methanol extract

This article reports the environmentally benign synthesis of gold nanoparticles （GNPs） using methanol extract of Azolla microphylla as the stabilizing and reducing agent. The GNPs were characterized by UV-vis spectrophotometry and FTIR, and the morphological characteristics were analyzed by XRD, FESEM-EDX and HRTEM. The GNPs could be formed in very short time, even in less than 30 min. The nanoparticles measured by UV-spectrophotometer demonstrated a peak at 540 nm corresponding to surface plasmon resonance spectra, and the peaks showed by FTIR suggested the presence of organic biomolecules on the surface of the GNPs. XRD results confirmed the crystalline nature of the GNPs, and FESEM-EDX and HRTEM analyses had been performed in the size ranges of 17-40nm and 1.25-17.5nm respectively. The synthesized GNPs showed excellent antioxidant activity. This study shows the feasibility of using plant sources for the biosynthesis of GNPs.     

Desktop‐Stereolithography 3D‐Printing of a Poly(dimethylsiloxane)‐Based Material with Sylgard‐184 Properties

The advantageous physiochemical properties of poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) have made it an extremely useful material for prototyping in various technological, scientific, and clinical areas. However, PDMS molding is a manual procedure and requires tedious assembly steps, especially for 3D designs, thereby limiting its access and usability. On the other hand, automated digital manufacturing processes such as stereolithography (SL) enable true 3D design and fabrication. Here the formulation, characterization, and SL application of a 3D‐printable PDMS resin (3DP‐PDMS) based on commercially available PDMS‐methacrylate macromers, a high‐efficiency photoinitiator and a high‐absorbance photosensitizer, is reported. Using a desktop SL‐printer, optically transparent submillimeter structures and microfluidic channels are demonstrated. An optimized blend of PDMS‐methacrylate macromers is also used to SL‐print structures with mechanical properties similar to conventional thermally cured PDMS (Sylgard‐184). Furthermore, it is shown that SL‐printed 3DP‐PDMS substrates can be rendered suitable for mammalian cell culture. The 3DP‐PDMS resin enables assembly‐free, automated, digital manufacturing of PDMS, which should facilitate the prototyping of devices for microfluidics, organ‐on‐chip platforms, soft robotics, flexible electronics, and sensors, among others.     

Design optimization of deep groove ball bearings using crowding distance particle swarm optimization

This paper presents a crowding distance particle swarm optimization technique to optimize the design parameters of deep groove ball bearings. The design optimization problem is multi-objective in nature. The considered objectives are maximizing dynamic and static load bearing capacities and minimizing elasto-hydrodynamic film thickness. The technique is applied to bearings used in transmission system of a tractor for the purpose of farming. Pareto optimal solutions are obtained using the proposed technique. The results obtained from the technique are found to be superior compared with NSGA-II and catalogue values.     

Effect of Confinement on the Critical Specific Heat of Liquid Helium Near the Lambda Point

Close study is devoted to the order-parameter fluctuations. When the temperature approaches the lambda-point temperature the magnitude of these fluctuations increases, leading to the divergence in the specific heat. When, on the other hand, the liquid helium is confined between parallel solid plates, the growth of the fluctuations is impeded and the divergence in the specific heat is suppressed. By an extension of the epsilon expansion to three-dimensional space we find good agreement between our calculation of the effect of confinement and the data from both earth-based and space experiments.