AES investigation of the stainless steel surface oxidized in plasma

Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) depth profiling was used to study the oxidation phenomena of AISI316L stainless steel during treatment with oxygen plasma. Samples were exposed to low-pressure RF plasma with a high dissociation degree, so that the flux of oxygen atoms onto the sample surface exceeded 10²⁴ m⁻² s⁻¹. A set of samples was oxidized 4 min at different temperatures up to 1300 K during plasma treatment. AES measurements showed that the oxide film thickness increased with the increasing temperature. The thickness of the oxide film on the samples oxidized in plasma at 300 K was nearly the same as for the untreated sample. The thickness of the oxide film of the samples which were oxidized at 1000 K was about 170 nm and it consisted of iron oxide. The thickest oxide film of about 350 nm was found on the samples heated in oxygen plasma to 1300 K. Depth profiling showed the uppermost layer of manganese oxide, followed by a mixture of chromium oxide and iron oxide. The scanning electron microscope analyses showed a dramatic increase of the surface roughness.     

TOWARD A FUZZY MODEL OF POLISH INTERNET MORTGAGE MARKET

This article presents our continuing efforts to develop a model of the Internet-based mortgage market in Poland. It sums up modeling research done over the last 4 years, also showing the stages and the process of building and verifying the proposed model consisting of three submodels. The submodels are described for three market situations; that is, a stable market, financial crisis, and economic boom. The proposed model variables are analyzed statistically and the submodels are verified. The article presents the most current stage of model development and concludes with suggestions for further research in this area leading to the ultimate application of the proposed model in a real-life prognosis process.     

Preparation of ultrathin PZT films by a chemical solution deposition method from a polymeric citrate precursor

Ultrathin PZT film was prepared using a chemical solution deposition method from polymeric citrate precursors. The PZT solution was spin-coated on an amorphous silica layer formed on a Si(1 0 0) substrate. The films were thermally treated from the substrate side with a low heating rate (1°/min) up to 700 °C and finally annealed for 10 h. Ultrathin PZT films without microstructural instability were prepared in spite of high temperature and long annealing time. AFM and HRTEM investigations revealed the formation of a well-developed dense microstructure consisting of spherical crystallites (4–7 nm). Low roughness (2.2 nm) of a ～26 nm thick layer was obtained for a two-layered PZT film. The grazing incidence X-ray diffraction (GIXRD) measurements confirmed the polycrystalline structure of ultrathin PZT films. Also, GIXRD and electron energy dispersive X-ray (EDS) analysis showed that compositional variations were smaller than expected, in spite of the long annealing time.     

Interfacial activity of narrow-range alcohol oxyethylates

Surface and interfacial tension isotherms for narrow-range distribution ALFOL 1214 alcohol oxyethylates were determined and compared with those obtained for broad-range alcohol oxyethylates. Various adsorption parameters were estimated. The effectiveness of surface tension reduction decreases when the length of polyoxyethylene hydrophile increases. Micellization is observed at log cmc ranging from −4.7 to −3.3. Effects of the length and distribution of the polyoxyethylene chain on cmc are very small. A minimum of A _min/N _av ^0.5 is obtained for N _av=8, where A _min and N _av denote the minimum interfacial area occupied by a statistical molecule at the saturated interface and the average degree of oxyethylation, respectively. The interface becomes saturated at pC ₂₀=−5.61±0.35, where pC ₂₀ denotes the logarithm of concentration required to obtain the surface pressure equal to 20 mNm⁻¹. The highest and lowest values of the surface excess at saturation and the free energy of adsorption, respectively, are obtained for an average degree of oxyethylation equal to 8. Parameters are correlated with the average degree of oxyethylation and the oxyethylene chain distribution parameter according to empirical second-order polynomials. Small differences in adsorption abilities at the water/air interface are only observed for narrow- and broad-range distributed oxyethylates. The differences become important for adsorption at the hexadecane/water interface. The lowest values of interfacial tension are obtained for narrow-range oxyethylates with N _av=7 and 8. The Krefeld fabric detergency tests indicated that the best detergency was observed for alcohol oxyethylates with N _av=5–7. Narrow-range oxyethylates exhibit somewhat better washing abilities than the broad-range products. No relationship between detergency of alcohol oxyethylates and their abilities to adsorb at the water/air and water/hydrocarbon interfaces is observed.     

Phytochemical Content and Antioxidant Properties of Seeds of Unconventional Oil Plants

The lipophilic and hydrophilic antioxidants were evaluated in eight plants: safflower (Carthamus tinctorius), viper’s bugloss (Echium vulgare), quince (Cydonia vulgaris), evening primrose (Oenothera biennis), rose mosqueta (Rosa affinis rubiginosa), black seed (Nigella sativa), sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides) and borage (Borago officinales). The highest amounts of tocopherols were contained in seeds of borage and sea buckthorn (66.9 mg/100 g and 45.9 mg/100 g, respectively). The sea buckthorn seed lipids had the highest amount of total sterols (10.4 mg/g of lipids). The predominant form was campesterol. Sitosterol was the major sterol in the lipids of other tested seeds. The content of phenolic compounds ranged from 736.5 mg/100 g dry matter (d.m.) (evening primrose) to 74.8 mg/100 g d.m. (safflower). The highest antioxidant activity, expressed in % scavenged DPPH· free radicals, was observed for evening primrose (91.2%), while the lowest for safflower (36.2%). The correlation coefficient between the level of phenolic compounds and antioxidant activity was 0.53.     

Microwave plasma‐initiated grafting of acrylic acid on Celgard 2500 membrane to prepare alkaline battery separators—Characteristics of process and product

A process of plasma‐initiated grafting of acrylic acid on commercial porous polypropylene membrane was studied. The influence of parameters of the plasma (power, gas pressure, time plasma‐sample distance, sample arrangement) and grafting (solvent composition, monomer concentration, time, inhibitor presence) on the degree of grafting, amount of homopolymer produced and surface electrical resistance was determined. A degree of grafting up to 18 mmol/g was obtained, which resulted in sample resistance as low as 30 mΩ cm². The molecular weight of AAc homopolymer that can be assumed as equal to the MW of grafted chains, ranged from 25,000 to 50,000,000 da. SEM and water permeability measurements show that grafting causes filling of the pores, which, however, does not stop K⁺ ions from penetrating the membrane. The performance of nickel‐cadmium cells with acrylic acid grafted membranes as separator is also presented. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2010