Indium selenide microrod films: chemical bath deposition from acidic bath

Films of indium selenide was deposited onto glass and indium tin oxide coated glass substrates in acidic medium using chemical bath deposition at room temperature. Indium sulphate and sodium selenosulphate were used as precursors of In³⁺ and Se^2?, respectively. The structural, surface morphological and optical properties of the deposited films were studied. Diffractograms in structural study revealed the deposited material is In₂Se₃ films. Controlled bath conditions resulted in the evolution of the In₂Se₃ microrod-like morphology. The optical band gap of the film was found to be 1.7 eV.     

Hybrid genetic algorithms and line search method for industrial production planning with non-linear fitness function

Many engineering, science, information technology and management optimization problems can be considered as non-linear programming real-world problems where all or some of the parameters and variables involved are uncertain in nature. These can only be quantified using intelligent computational techniques such as evolutionary computation and fuzzy logic. The main objective of this research paper is to solve non-linear fuzzy optimization problem where the technological coefficient in the constraints involved are fuzzy numbers, which was represented by logistic membership functions using the hybrid evolutionary optimization approach. To explore the applicability of the present study, a numerical example is considered to determine the production planning for the decision variables and profit of the company.     

Interfacial reactions in Mo-Zr multilayer structure: an X-ray reflectivity study

The effect of elevated temperature on the structural stability and alloy formation in Mo-Zr multilayers is investigated. Mo-Zr multilayers deposited by the electron beam evaporation technique under ultra-high vacuum conditions are annealed up to 650 °C. The changes induced due to thermal treatment are observed using X-ray reflectivity (both specular and off-specular) and X-ray diffraction techniques. The Mo-Zr multilayers remained as an insoluble layered structure even after annealing as revealed from X-ray reflectivity measurements. The interfacial roughness is found to be very similar at all interfaces and decreases on annealing. The multilayer structure remains intact on annealing with expansion of the multilayer period and a marginal increase in X-ray reflectivity.     

Water permeation and corrosion resistance of single- and two-component hydrophobic polysiloxane barrier coatings

The degradation of corrosion preventative coatings contributes to the high cost and time requirements for maintaining structures in harsh environments. However, the development of new hydrophobic coatings holds the promise of extending the usable life of structures in marine environments. In this work, we quantify the barrier properties and corrosion resistance of two novel highly hydrophobic polysiloxane formulations and the legacy silicone alkyd topcoat used on the topside of Navy’s ships, all with haze gray pigmentation. Based on FTIR-ATR and EIS measurements of the pristine coatings, both the single- (1K) and the two-component (2K) polysiloxane provide significantly improved barrier characteristics (lower water diffusion coefficient and capacitance) than the silicone alkyd. These results were confirmed through a 3-month-long immersion corrosion test, which also showed that the 1K and 2K polysiloxane coatings had comparable degradation characteristic and remained highly hydrophobic.     

Influence of Electric Poling on Pb0.9Bi0.1Fe0.55Nb0.45O3 Multiferroic

This paper analyzes the influence of electric poling on structure, magnetism, and ferroelectricity by temperature-dependent Raman scattering (180 K–500 K), magnetic susceptibility, and ferroelectric measurements on Pb_0.9Bi_0.1Fe_0.55Nb_0.45O₃ (PBFNO) multiferroic. X-ray diffraction (XRD) has confirmed the monoclinic structure for PBFNO sample before and after poling. Rietveld refined XRD for poled and unpoled sample shows the influence of electric poling on Fe-O1, Fe-O2, Nb–O, and Bi-O modes with small variation in the lattice parameters. The unpoled PBFNO exhibits broad and overlapping 10 active modes at room temperature (100 to 1300 cm^?1) at 147, 212, 255, 431, 479, 561, 700, 795, 835, and 1112 cm^?1. In case of a poled sample, Pb–O and Nb–O-Nb modes become more active compared to the unpoled sample. Changes observed in the temperature-dependent magnetic measurements, i.e., ZFC/FC and M-H loop, evidence the poling effects on Fe–O and Nb–O active modes. By poling the improvement in ferroelectric domain, ordering occurs, and it is confirmed by P-E loops. The consequences of numerous investigations on electric poling of PBFNO will provide the foundation for future device development and design.