Electrorheological Fluids Based on Titania Particles Coated with Silica and Their Application in Smart Windows

The electrorheological (ER) fluids are colloidal suspension of highly polarizable particles in a non-conducting solvent.Chains of submicron-sized particles formed along an applied DC electric field by the so-called electrorheological effect.According to the obvious change of transmittance of the ER fluids in a DC electric field when the polarized particles arranged along the field,the model of smart window was proposed by sandwiching the ER fluids based on titania particles coated with silica between a pair of In-Sn oxide (ITO) coated glasses.The solar transmittance change as much as 48.0% was obtained with the wavelength of 500 nm at the maximum on applying and removing the electric field of 500V/mm.     

Functionalized Nanostructures with Liquid‐Like Behavior: Expanding the Gallery of Available Nanostructures

Recently, we have developed a novel family of functionalized nanostructures that exhibit liquid‐like behavior in the absence of solvents and preserve their nanostructure in the liquid state. The gallery of nanostructures developed so far includes functionalized silica and magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles, layer‐like organosilicate nanoparticles, polyoxometalate clusters, and organic–inorganic hybrid networks. In an effort to demonstrate the wider applicability of this concept and to provide a deeper insight into this class of materials, the present work cites additional paradigms of functionalized nanostructures with similar behavior as above. In one case, surface functionalization of anatase nanoparticles (TiO₂, an inorganic nanostructure) with a quaternary ammonium organosilane leads to ionically modified nanoparticles that, when electrostatically combined with a poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG)‐tailed sulfonate anion, exhibit liquid‐like behavior in the absence of solvents. In a different but quite interesting case of a bionanostructure, ion‐exchange functionalization of a DNA oligonucleotide with a PEG‐tailed quaternary ammonium cation leads to an easily separable liquid derivative with attractive features. These examples show the versatility of this concept over a range of nanostructures.     

MICROSTRUCTURE AND PROPERTIES OF C-Cu NANOSTRUCTURE THIN FILM

Nanostructured C-Cu thin films were deposited by reactive sputtering method and co-sputtering method. The relationships between microstructures, properties, and depo-sition parameters were studied and the results obtained from TEM, AFM, and XPS.indicate that the thin films are nanostructural, and have good in-depth uniformity. Theselected area electron diffraction (SAED) found that the nanosize Cu particles havethe fcc structure and the others are amorphous carbon or nanocrystallized graphiticcarbon. The peak positions of the Cu and C in XPS indicate them to be at the ele-mental state. In the IR transmission spectrum, diamond two-phonon absorption andgraphite Raman peaks were observed, which suggests microcrystal diamond particlesand graphite components exist in the C-Cu film. The higher electrical resistivity wasobtained.     

Nanostructured component fabrication by electron beam-physical vapor deposition

Fabrication of cost-effective, nano-grained net-shaped components has brought considerable interest to Department of Defense, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and Department of Energy. The objective of this paper is to demonstrate the versatility of electron beam-physical vapor deposition (EB-PVD) technology in engineering new nanostructured materials with controlled microstructure and microchemistry in the form of coatings and net-shaped components for many applications including the space, turbine, optical, biomedical, and auto industries. Coatings are often applied on components to extent their performance and life under severe environmental conditions including thermal, corrosion, wear, and oxidation. Performance and properties of the coatings depend upon their composition, microstructure, and deposition condition. Simultaneous co-evaporation of multiple ingots of different compositions in the high energy EB-PVD chamber has brought considerable interest in the architecture of functional graded coatings, nano-laminated coatings, and design of new structural materials that could not be produced economically by conventional methods. In addition, high evaporation and condensate rates allowed fabricating precision net-shaped components with nanograined microstructure for various applications. Using EB-PVD, nano-grained rhenium (Re) coatings and net-shaped components with tailored microstructure and properties were fabricated in the form of tubes, plates, and Re-coated spherical graphite cores. This paper will also present the results of various metallic and ceramic coatings including chromium, titanium carbide (TiC), titanium diboride (TiB₂), hafnium nitride (HfN), titanium-boron-carbonitride (TiBCN), and partially yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ) TBC coatings deposited by EB-PVD for various applications. This paper was presented at the International Symposium on Manufacturing, Properties, and Applications of Nanocrystalline Materials sponsored by the ASM International Nanotechnology Task Force and TMS Powder Materials Committee, October 18–20, 2004, Columbus, OH.     

Nanoscale Studies of the Early Stages of Oxidation of a TiAl-Base Alloy

The strategy to perform nanoscale studies of the initial stages of oxidation of TiAl involved first gaining some information on the electronic structure of pure TiO₂ surfaces and then on TiAl surfaces before and after oxidation both in low- and high-oxygen potentials. Both materials were studied in atomically-cleaned states generated by repeated sputtering and heating. It was found that the oxygen vacancies created additional defect states in the band gap of stoichiometric TiO₂. The results obtained on TiO₂ were used as fingerprints to study the oxide nucleation. The results on the initial stages of oxidation of TiAl confirm the nucleation of Ti₂O₃ islands of nanometer size and monolayer height in a low-oxygen-pressure environment, whilst a TiO₂ layer developed in an atmospheric environment. The ledges on atomically-cleaned surfaces usually acted as nucleation sites.     

铁氮共掺杂纳米TiO2的水热法制备及其在可见光下抗菌性能的研究

以硫酸氧钛为前驱体，硝酸铁和盐酸胍作为掺杂的铁源和氮源，采用水热法制备了铁氮共掺杂纳米TiO2粉体。利用XRD、BET对样品进行表征，研究了掺杂后TiO2粉体的晶型、粒径、比表面积等性能。结果表明，所制备的共掺杂TiO2粉体呈黄色，均为锐钛矿相TiO2，经谢尔公式计算其粒径约为10nm，比表面积分布为（135～150）m^2／g。采用紫外．可见光漫反射光谱对样品进行表征，结果表明经过铁氮共掺杂改性后的TiO2具有很强的紫外线的吸收能力，并实现了良好的可见光响应。采用菌落计数法进行了样品抗菌性能的研究，在可见光照射下样品对大肠杆菌表现出良好的杀灭性能。     

Design of fluidized bed photoreactors: Optical properties of photocatalytic composites of titania CVD-coated onto quartz sand

Volumetric optical properties (spectral absorption, scattering and extinction coefficients) of differently expanded narrow-path fluidized beds (FB) of a photocatalyst obtained by plasma-CVD deposition of titania onto quartz sand, relevant for photoreactor design purposes, are determined by using an unidirectional and unidimensional (1DD) model for the solution of the radiative transfer equation (RTE). Two simplified approaches are used: a Kubelka-Munk (KM) type of solution, by which the RTE is transformed into a pair of ordinary differential equations, and a discrete ordinate method (DOM) by which the complete RTE is transformed into an algebraic system that can be solved computationally. The second approach was validated by introducing the obtained optical parameters into a more elaborated bi-directional and two-dimensional (2DD) DOM model. Despite its simplicity, the KM method was able to yield fair order-of-magnitude estimates of the spectral optical properties of these FB.     

Syntheses of TiO2 photocatalysts by the molten salts method: Application to the photocatalytic degradation of Prosulfuron

Titania photocatalysts were synthesised by the molten salts method by reaction of a titanium precursor with three different alkali metal nitrates (LiNO₃, NaNO₃, KNO₃). The titania powders obtained have been characterised using TEM, XRD, BET and UV-Vis absorption spectroscopy. Their photoactivities were evaluated by degrading a commercial sulfonylurea herbicide, Prosulfuron^®. It has been found that the rate constants increased in the following order: Li2 prepared in KNO₃, with a rate constant 1.4 times smaller than that of P25. The effect of calcination was also studied, especially for the sample prepared in NaNO₃ (TiO₂[Na]). An improvement in photocatalytic activity was observed when TiO₂[Na] was calcined in the region of 700–800 °C. Even though the photocatalytic activities obtained did not exceed or even equal to that of Degussa P25, nevertheless, this study constitutes the first attempt to synthesise titania photocatalysts by the molten salts method.     

Investigation of bio-ethanol steam reforming over cobalt-based catalysts

The catalytic performance of cobalt catalysts supported on γ-Al₂O₃, TiO₂, ZrO₂ were studied for bio-ethanol steam reforming (BESR) reaction. The supported catalysts (10 wt%Co) were prepared by impregnation and characterized through Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), H₂ chemisorption, laser Raman Spectroscopy, Diffuse Reflectance Infrared Fourier Transform Spectroscopy (DRIFTS), and temperature-programmed reaction (TPRxn). The metallic cobalt sites were found to correlate with the BESR reaction activity. The reaction and H₂ chemisorption showed that ZrO₂ supported catalyst showed the best dispersion and best catalytic activity. Over the 10% Co/ZrO₂ catalyst, using a H₂O:EtOH:inert molar ratio of 10:1:75 and a GHSV = 5000 h⁻¹, 100% ethanol conversion and a yield of 5.5 mol H₂/mol EtOH were obtained at 550 °C and atmospheric pressure.