Applications of atomic layer chemical vapor deposition for the processing of nanolaminate structures

Atomic layer chemical vapor deposition (ALCVD) is a variant of a CVD process that involves surface deposition for the controlled growth of nano-thickness films. ALCVD is based on the self-limiting surface reaction with less than a monolayer chemisorption of chemical precursors. Advantages of the ALCVD process are uniform film growth on large area substrate, easy control of composition in atomic level, low growth temperature, multi-layer thin film growth with various composition, and wide process window. Since initially developed by Suntola in 1977, ALCVD has been used for the growth of various materials, including oxides, nitrides, metals, elements, and compound semiconductors. This article reviews the basic principle, mechanism, characteristics, and applications of ALCVD.     

A method for continuous monitoring of bond formation between rubber and reinforced wire

The integrity of a high performance, steel-belted tire is heavily dependent on the adhesion of steel reinforcement to rubber. A bronze coating, having a nominal composition of 98.5% Cu (the balance being Sn), is plated on tire bead wire to promote adhesion of the steel reinforcement to rubber.

Pull-out force is the current standard for evaluating adhesion as recommended by ASTM. This paper describes an in-situ, continuous monitoring system designed to detect the rate of adhesive bond formation between rubber and steel reinforcement during the vulcanization process. Parameters such as oxide chemical structure and thickness were investigated to assess the rate of bond formation during vulcanization and their effect on adhesion.

Results proved that this monitoring technique is an efficient, reproducible, and reliable technique for studying the interfacial interactions occurring between steel reinforcement and rubber during vulcanization.     

Efficient Anchorage of Palladium Nanoparticles on the Multi‐Walled Carbon Nanotubes as Electrocatalyst for the Hydrazine Electrooxidation in Strong Acidic Solutions

A facile homogeneous precipitation–reduction reaction method, which involves PdCl₂ → PdO · H₂O → Pd⁰ reaction path, is used to synthesize the multi‐walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) supported Pd nanoparticles (Pd/MWCNTs) catalysts. The particle size of Pd/MWCNTs catalysts can be easily tuned by controlling the hydrolysis temperature of PdCl₂. X‐ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) measurements show the particle size of Pd/MWCNTs catalysts increases with hydrolysis temperature of PdCl₂, which is ascribed to the fact that the particle size of PdO · H₂O nanoparticles increases with hydrolysis temperature of PdCl₂. At the lower hydrolysis temperature, the as‐prepared Pd/MWCNTs catalyst possesses the higher dispersion and the smaller particle size. Consequently, the resultant Pd/MWCNTs catalyst exhibits the big electrochemical active surface area and the excellent electrocatalytic performance for hydrazine electrooxidation in strong acidic solutions. In addition, the electrochemical measurement indicate that particle size effect of Pd‐NPs occurs during the N₂H₄ electrooxidation. In brief, the mass activity and specific activity of the Pd/MWCNTs catalyst increases and decreases with decreasing the particle size of Pd‐NPs for the N₂H₄ electrooxidation, respectively.     

聚乙烯醇/聚丙烯酸钠/Zn0.2Fe2.8O4复合水凝胶的制备及其溶胀行为

将水溶性纳米Zn0.2Fe2.8O4(ZFO)粒子、用氢氧化钠(NaOH)中和的丙烯酸(PAAS)加入一定量的聚乙烯醇(PVA)水溶液中分散均匀,再加入引发剂过硫酸钾、交联剂N,N’-亚甲基双丙烯酰胺引发聚合,制备了PVA/PAAS/ZFO水凝胶。采用傅里叶红外光谱仪(FTIR)、透射电子显微镜(TEM)对其组成和结构进行表征,并系统研究了复合水凝胶在不同溶剂中的溶胀性能。结果表明,纳米ZFO粒子均匀分散在PVA/PAAS凝胶网络中,纳米ZFO粒子的加入使水凝胶的溶胀速率和平衡溶胀度先增加后减小,在纳米ZFO含量为1%时达到最大;在不同浓度的电解质溶液和不同pH值的溶液中进行溶胀时,水凝胶表现出良好的离子浓度和p H刺激响应性。     

Preparation of In-doped Y2O3 ceramics through a sol-gel process: Effects on the structural and electronic properties

The Pechini-type sol-gel (PSG) process has been used for the preparation of doped oxides due to its capability to overcome most of the difficulties that frequently occur by using other producing methods. In this work we analyze the case of samples of pure and In-doped yttria (Y₂O₃) prepared by the PSG process. We experimentally characterize the synthesized samples by x-ray diffraction, micro-Raman spectroscopy, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and time-differential perturbed γ-γ angular correlation (PAC) spectroscopy, and we compare these results with those obtained starting from commercial oxide powders. We found that the PSG process can be used to successfully produce doped yttria in the cubic phase, with the impurities substitutionally located at the cationic sites of the structure. By the proposed PSG route, the inclusion of impurities does not affect the particle size nor the resistivity. However, when we compare the PSG samples with other samples produced from commercial powder, we found that the first have lower resistivities at grain interiors. On the other hand, PAC spectroscopy in ¹¹¹In(→¹¹¹Cd)-doped yttria allows the study of the dynamic hyperfine interactions observed by the radioactive ¹¹¹Cd impurity-probe, which can be used to “sense” the host electron availability near the impurities after the electron-capture decay of ¹¹¹In. Differences between PAC spectra for PSG samples and the commercial powder suggest that the PSG process introduces additional donor defects into the yttria electronic structure, which is consistent with the lower resistivity observed in the PSG samples by EIS spectroscopy.     

氧化物/氧化物陶瓷基复合材料研究进展

随着连续纤维增韧陶瓷基复合材料的快速发展,氧化物/氧化物基复合材料已成为 航空航天领域热端高温部件的新兴候选材料,本文从纤维、基体及界面相的角度重点介绍了氧 化物/氧化物基复合材料及其主要制备工艺,并指出了这一领域未来的发展趋势。     

Propylene epoxidation over Ti/MCM-41 catalysts prepared by chemical vapor deposition

Ti-containing mesoporous catalysts were prepared by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) of TiCl₄ on silica MCM-41 in the 700–900 °C temperature range. These samples were characterized (with XRD, ICP, nitrogen adsorption, FT-IR, ESCA, and TEM) and evaluated for the epoxidation of propylene with two alkyl hydroperoxides. The increase of CVD temperature resulted in the decrease of titanium content, catalyst hydroxyl population, crystallinity, and surface area. Catalyst selectivity to the desired product – propylene oxide – was highly sensitive to the deposition temperature. The best Ti/MCM-41 catalyst was prepared at the temperature of 800 °C, which had the maximum propylene oxide yield of 94.3%.     

Oxygenation kinetics of YBCO-TSMG samples using the nanoindentation technique

Since hardness is a quantitative measure of bulk mechanical properties, it can be used to examine the kinetics of crack propagation inside YBa₂Cu₃O_7−δ (YBCO or Y-123) ceramics. YBCO samples with a tetragonal phase were oxygenated at a range of temperatures (from 250 °C to 750 °C) for different times. For each oxygenation temperature and time, hardness was measured by the nanoindentation technique, to study the defects (macro-/microcracks and porosity) produced along the c-axis. These defects were visualized by optical microscopy. The main purpose of this study was to establish the oxygenation kinetics for YBCO samples, which were textured by the top-seeded melt growth technique. We studied the evolution of hardness perpendicular to the ab-plane, as measured by the nanoindentation technique at a maximum penetration depth of 150 nm. The results indicate that the nanoindentation technique can be used successfully to monitor oxygenation and to establish the kinetics of the process.     

Samarium doped ceria (SDC) synthesized by a metal triethanolamine complex decomposition method: Characterization and an ionic conductivity study

Samarium doped ceria (SDC) powders as solid electrolyte ceramics were successfully prepared via thermal decomposition of metal organic complexes containing triethanolamine (TEA) as a ligand. The SDC powders synthesized using various samarium doping contents were characterized by X-ray diffractometry, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray absorption spectroscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) analysis. The influences of samarium doping and the calcination temperature on the characteristics of the SDC materials were thoroughly investigated. An appropriate temperature for SDC powder calcination was identified by thermogravimetric analysis to be 600 °C. After sintering the calcined SDC powders at 1500 °C to obtain highly dense ceramic pellets, the electrical conductivity of the materials was examined by impedance spectroscopy. The influence of percentage of Sm³⁺ dopants in SDC materials on the observed conductivity were explained by correlating with the detailed analysis of the local structure and environment of Sm³⁺ within the SDC materials by using X-ray absorption spectroscopy. The conductivities of the SDC products reported in this work indicate that they are promising candidates for solid electrolytes in solid oxide fuel cell applications.