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Sample records for tetrahedral amorphous carbon

  1. Chemical bonding modifications of tetrahedral amorphous carbon and nitrogenated tetrahedral amorphous carbon films induced by rapid thermal annealing

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McCann, R.; Roy, S.S.; Papakonstantinou, P.; Bain, M.F.; Gamble, H.S.; McLaughlin, J.A.

    2005-01-01

    Tetrahedral amorphous carbon (ta-C) and nitrogenated tetrahedral amorphous carbon films (ta-CN x ), deposited by double bend off plane Filtered Vacuum Cathodic Arc were annealed up to 1000 deg. C in flowing argon for 2 min. Modifications on the chemical bonding structure of the rapidly annealed films, as a function of temperature, were investigated by NEXAFS, X-ray photoelectron and Raman spectroscopies. The interpretation of these spectra is discussed. The results demonstrate that the structure of undoped ta-C films prepared at floating potential with an arc current of 80 A remains stable up to 900 deg. C, whereas that of ta-CN x containing 12 at.% nitrogen is stable up to 700 deg. C. At higher temperatures, all the spectra indicated the predominant formation of graphitic carbon. Through NEXAFS studies, we clearly observed three π* resonance peaks at the ' N K edge structure. The origin of these three peaks is not well established in the literature. However our temperature-dependant study ascertained that the first peak originates from C=N bonds and the third peak originates from the incorporation of nitrogen into the graphite like domains

  2. Single walled carbon nanotube network—Tetrahedral amorphous carbon composite film

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Iyer, Ajai, E-mail: ajai.iyer@aalto.fi; Liu, Xuwen; Koskinen, Jari [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, School of Chemical Technology, Aalto University, POB 16200, 00076 Espoo (Finland); Kaskela, Antti; Kauppinen, Esko I. [NanoMaterials Group, Department of Applied Physics, School of Science, Aalto University, POB 15100, 00076 Espoo (Finland); Johansson, Leena-Sisko [Department of Forest Products Technology, School of Chemical Technology, Aalto University, POB 16400, 00076 Espoo (Finland)

    2015-06-14

    Single walled carbon nanotube network (SWCNTN) was coated by tetrahedral amorphous carbon (ta-C) using a pulsed Filtered Cathodic Vacuum Arc system to form a SWCNTN—ta-C composite film. The effects of SWCNTN areal coverage density and ta-C coating thickness on the composite film properties were investigated. X-Ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements prove the presence of high quality sp{sup 3} bonded ta-C coating on the SWCNTN. Raman spectroscopy suggests that the single wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) forming the network survived encapsulation in the ta-C coating. Nano-mechanical testing suggests that the ta-C coated SWCNTN has superior wear performance compared to uncoated SWCNTN.

  3. The application of Car-Parrinello molecular dynamics to the study of tetrahedral amorphous carbon

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McKenzie, D.R.; McCulloch, D.G.; Goringe, C.M.

    1998-01-01

    The Car-Parrinello method for carrying out molecular dynamics enables the forces between atoms to be calculated by solving Schroedinger's equation for the valence electrons using Density Functional Theory. The method is capable of giving good structural predictions for amorphous network solids by quenching from the melt, even in situations where the bonding changes from one site to another. In amorphous carbon where, depending on its environment, carbon may show sp 2 or sp 3 bonds. The method is applied here to the study of network solids using the example of tetrahedral amorphous carbon

  4. Electron emission induced modifications in amorphous tetrahedral diamondlike carbon

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mercer, T.W.; DiNardo, N.J.; Rothman, J.B.; Siegal, M.P.; Friedmann, T.A.; Martinez-Miranda, L.J.

    1998-01-01

    The cold-cathode electron emission properties of amorphous tetrahedral diamondlike carbon are promising for flat-panel display and vacuum microelectronics technologies. The onset of electron emission is, typically, preceded by open-quotes conditioningclose quotes where the material is stressed by an applied electric field. To simulate conditioning and assess its effect, we combined the spatially localized field and current of a scanning tunneling microscope tip with high-spatial-resolution characterization. Scanning force microscopy shows that conditioning alters surface morphology and electronic structure. Spatially resolved electron-energy-loss spectroscopy indicates that the predominant bonding configuration changes from predominantly fourfold to threefold coordination. copyright 1998 American Institute of Physics

  5. Ultrafast carrier dynamics in tetrahedral amorphous carbon: carrier trapping versus electron-hole recombination

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Carpene, E; Mancini, E; Dallera, C; Schwen, D; Ronning, C; Silvestri, S De

    2007-01-01

    We report the investigation of the ultrafast carrier dynamics in thin tetrahedral amorphous carbon films by means of femtosecond time-resolved reflectivity. We estimated the electron-phonon relaxation time of a few hundred femtoseconds and we observed that under low optical excitation photo-generated carriers decay according to two distinct mechanisms attributed to trapping by defect states and direct electron-hole recombination. With high excitation, when photo-carrier and trap densities are comparable, a unique temporal evolution develops, as the time dependence of the trapping process becomes degenerate with the electron-hole recombination. This experimental evidence highlights the role of defects in the ultrafast electronic dynamics and is not specific to this particular form of carbon, but has general validity for amorphous and disordered semiconductors

  6. Amorphous-tetrahedral diamondlike carbon layered structures resulting from film growth energetics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Siegal, M. P.; Barbour, J. C.; Provencio, P. N.; Tallant, D. R.; Friedmann, T. A.

    1998-08-01

    High-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) shows that amorphous-tetrahedral diamondlike carbon (a-tC) films grown by pulsed-laser deposition on Si(100) consist of three-to-four layers, depending on the growth energetics. We estimate the density of each layer using both HRTEM image contrast and Rutherford backscattering spectrometry. The first carbon layer and final surface layer have relatively low density. The bulk of the film between these two layers has higher density. For films grown under the most energetic conditions, there exists a superdense a-tC layer between the interface and bulk layers. The density of all four layers, and the thickness of the surface and interfacial layers, correlate well with the energetics of the depositing carbon species.

  7. Silicon nitride gradient film as the underlayer of ultra-thin tetrahedral amorphous carbon overcoat for magnetic recording slider

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wang Guigen, E-mail: wanggghit@yahoo.com [Shenzhen Graduate School, Harbin Institute of Technology, Shenzhen 518055 (China); Kuang Xuping; Zhang Huayu; Zhu Can [Shenzhen Graduate School, Harbin Institute of Technology, Shenzhen 518055 (China); Han Jiecai [Shenzhen Graduate School, Harbin Institute of Technology, Shenzhen 518055 (China); Center for Composite Materials, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150080 (China); Zuo Hongbo [Center for Composite Materials, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150080 (China); Ma Hongtao [SAE Technologies Development (Dongguan) Co., Ltd., Dongguan 523087 (China)

    2011-12-15

    Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The ultra-thin carbon films with different silicon nitride (Si-N) film underlayers were prepared. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer It highlighted the influences of Si-N underlayers. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The carbon films with Si-N underlayers obtained by nitriding especially at the substrate bias of -150 V, can exhibit better corrosion protection properties - Abstract: There are higher technical requirements for protection overcoat of magnetic recording slider used in high-density storage fields for the future. In this study, silicon nitride (Si-N) composition-gradient films were firstly prepared by nitriding of silicon thin films pre-sputtered on silicon wafers and magnetic recording sliders, using microwave electron cyclotron resonance plasma source. The ultra-thin tetrahedral amorphous carbon films were then deposited on the Si-N films by filtered cathodic vacuum arc method. Compared with amorphous carbon overcoats with conventional silicon underlayers, the overcoats with Si-N underlayers obtained by plasma nitriding especially at the substrate bias of -150 V, can provide better corrosion protection for high-density magnetic recording sliders.

  8. Silicon nitride gradient film as the underlayer of ultra-thin tetrahedral amorphous carbon overcoat for magnetic recording slider

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang Guigen; Kuang Xuping; Zhang Huayu; Zhu Can; Han Jiecai; Zuo Hongbo; Ma Hongtao

    2011-01-01

    Highlights: ► The ultra-thin carbon films with different silicon nitride (Si-N) film underlayers were prepared. ► It highlighted the influences of Si-N underlayers. ► The carbon films with Si-N underlayers obtained by nitriding especially at the substrate bias of −150 V, can exhibit better corrosion protection properties - Abstract: There are higher technical requirements for protection overcoat of magnetic recording slider used in high-density storage fields for the future. In this study, silicon nitride (Si-N) composition-gradient films were firstly prepared by nitriding of silicon thin films pre-sputtered on silicon wafers and magnetic recording sliders, using microwave electron cyclotron resonance plasma source. The ultra-thin tetrahedral amorphous carbon films were then deposited on the Si-N films by filtered cathodic vacuum arc method. Compared with amorphous carbon overcoats with conventional silicon underlayers, the overcoats with Si-N underlayers obtained by plasma nitriding especially at the substrate bias of −150 V, can provide better corrosion protection for high-density magnetic recording sliders.

  9. Ion-Assisted Pulsed Laser Deposition of amorphous tetrahedral-coordinated carbon films

    Science.gov (United States)

    Friedmann, T. A.; Tallant, D. R.; Sullivan, J. P.; Siegal, M. P.; Simpson, R. L.

    1994-04-01

    A parametric study has been performed of amorphous tetrahedral carbon (a-tC) films produced by ion-assisted pulsed laser deposition (IAPLD). The ion voltage, current density, and feed gas composition (nitrogen in argon) have been varied. The resultant films were characterized by thickness, residual stress, Raman spectroscopy, and electrical resistivity. The Raman spectra have been fit to two gaussian peaks, the so called graphitic (G) peak and the disorder (D) peak. It has been found that the magnitude of the D peak and the residual compressive stress are inversely correlated. At low beam voltages and currents, the magnitude of the D peak is low, increasing as the ion beam voltage and current are raised. The ion beam voltage has the most dramatic effect on the magnitude of the D peak. At low voltages (200-500 V) the magnitude of the D peak is greater for ion beams with high percentages of nitrogen possibly indicative of C-N bonding in the films. At higher voltages (500-1500 V) the D peak intensity is less sensitive to the nitrogen content of the beam.

  10. Growth Mechanism and Origin of High s p3 Content in Tetrahedral Amorphous Carbon

    Science.gov (United States)

    Caro, Miguel A.; Deringer, Volker L.; Koskinen, Jari; Laurila, Tomi; Csányi, Gábor

    2018-04-01

    We study the deposition of tetrahedral amorphous carbon (ta-C) films from molecular dynamics simulations based on a machine-learned interatomic potential trained from density-functional theory data. For the first time, the high s p3 fractions in excess of 85% observed experimentally are reproduced by means of computational simulation, and the deposition energy dependence of the film's characteristics is also accurately described. High confidence in the potential and direct access to the atomic interactions allow us to infer the microscopic growth mechanism in this material. While the widespread view is that ta-C grows by "subplantation," we show that the so-called "peening" model is actually the dominant mechanism responsible for the high s p3 content. We show that pressure waves lead to bond rearrangement away from the impact site of the incident ion, and high s p3 fractions arise from a delicate balance of transitions between three- and fourfold coordinated carbon atoms. These results open the door for a microscopic understanding of carbon nanostructure formation with an unprecedented level of predictive power.

  11. Mo-containing tetrahedral amorphous carbon deposited by dual filtered cathodic vacuum arc with selective pulsed bias voltage

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pasaja, Nitisak; Sansongsiri, Sakon; Intarasiri, Saweat; Vilaithong, Thiraphat; Anders, Andre

    2007-01-01

    Metal-containing tetrahedral amorphous carbon films were produced by dual filtered cathodic vacuum arc plasma sources operated in sequentially pulsed mode. Negatively pulsed bias was applied to the substrate when carbon plasma was generated, whereas it was absent when the molybdenum plasma was presented. Film thickness was measured after deposition by profilometry. Glass slides with silver pads were used as substrates for the measurement of the sheet resistance. The microstructure and composition of the films were characterized by Raman spectroscopy and Rutherford backscattering, respectively. It was found that the electrical resistivity decreases with an increase of the Mo content, which can be ascribed to an increase of the sp 2 content and an increase of the sp 2 cluster size

  12. Effect of mating materials on wear properties of amorphous hydrogenated carbon (a-C:H coating and tetrahedral amorphous carbon (ta-C coating in base oil boundary lubrication condition

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xiang Li

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available In this study, wear behavior of amorphous hydrogenated carbon (a-C:H coating and tetrahedral amorphous carbon (ta-C coating when sliding against various mating materials in base oil boundary lubrication condition is comparatively investigated to find out the optimal combinations of DLC/mating material and corresponding wear mechanism of both DLC coating. Tribological tests were performed in a cylinder-on-disc tribometer, Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy, Raman spectroscopy is used for characterization of ta-C and a-C:H worn surface. The results show that the specific wear rate of ta-C coating increases along with the hardness and roughness of mating material increases, while the specific wear rate of a-C:H coating increases together with an increment in the ID/IG ratio. It is concluded that for ta-C coating, local stress concentration-induced microfracture is the main wear mechanism in relative high wear scenario, along with minor graphitization-induced wear which prevails in low wear scenario. On the other hand, a-C:H coating showed that simultaneous generation and removal of the graphitized layer on the contact surface is the predominant wear mechanism.

  13. Nanodiamonds on tetrahedral amorphous carbon significantly enhance dopamine detection and cell viability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peltola, Emilia; Wester, Niklas; Holt, Katherine B; Johansson, Leena-Sisko; Koskinen, Jari; Myllymäki, Vesa; Laurila, Tomi

    2017-02-15

    We hypothesize that by using integrated carbon nanostructures on tetrahedral amorphous carbon (ta-C), it is possible to take the performance and characteristics of these bioelectrodes to a completely new level. The integrated carbon electrodes were realized by combining nanodiamonds (NDs) with ta-C thin films coated on Ti-coated Si-substrates. NDs were functionalized with mixture of carboxyl and amine groups ND andante or amine ND amine , carboxyl ND vox or hydroxyl groups ND H and drop-casted or spray-coated onto substrate. By utilizing these novel structures we show that (i) the detection limit for dopamine can be improved by two orders of magnitude [from 10µM to 50nM] in comparison to ta-C thin film electrodes and (ii) the coating method significantly affects electrochemical properties of NDs and (iii) the ND coatings selectively promote cell viability. ND andante and ND H showed most promising electrochemical properties. The viability of human mesenchymal stem cells and osteoblastic SaOS-2 cells was increased on all ND surfaces, whereas the viability of mouse neural stem cells and rat neuroblastic cells was improved on ND andante and ND H and reduced on ND amine and ND vox. The viability of C6 cells remained unchanged, indicating that these surfaces will not cause excess gliosis. In summary, we demonstrated here that by using functionalized NDs on ta-C thin films we can significantly improve sensitivity towards dopamine as well as selectively promote cell viability. Thus, these novel carbon nanostructures provide an interesting concept for development of various in vivo targeted sensor solutions. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  14. Correlation between substrate bias, growth process and structural properties of phosphorus incorporated tetrahedral amorphous carbon films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu Aiping; Zhu Jiaqi; Han Jiecai; Wu Huaping; Jia Zechun

    2007-01-01

    We investigate the growth process and structural properties of phosphorus incorporated tetrahedral amorphous carbon (ta-C:P) films which are deposited at different substrate biases by filtered cathodic vacuum arc technique with PH 3 as the dopant source. The films are characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), atomic force microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, residual stress measurement, UV/VIS/NIR absorption spectroscopy and temperature-dependent conductivity measurement. The atomic fraction of phosphorus in the films as a function of substrate bias is obtained by XPS analysis. The optimum bias for phosphorus incorporation is about -80 V. Raman spectra show that the amorphous structures of all samples with atomic-scaled smooth surface are not remarkably changed when PH 3 is implanted, but some small graphitic crystallites are formed. Moreover, phosphorus impurities and higher-energetic impinging ions are favorable for the clustering of sp 2 sites dispersed in sp 3 skeleton and increase the level of structural ordering for ta-C:P films, which further releases the compressive stress and enhances the conductivity of the films. Our analysis establishes an interrelationship between microstructure, stress state, electrical properties, and substrate bias, which helps to understand the deposition mechanism of ta-C:P films

  15. Effect of nanoparticles as lubricant additives on friction and wear behavior of tetrahedral amorphous carbon (ta-C coating

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xiang Li

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available As diamond like carbon (DLC coating becomes increasingly popular in providing low friction and wear under lubricated conditions, the effect of various oil additives on tribological behavior of DLC coating is drawing more attention. Various oil additives, such as ZnDTP and MoDTC, have been widely used in automobile engine industry to pursuit excellent tribological performance in the insufficient lubrication condition. Although such commercial oil additives have been proven to reduce friction or/and wear to some extent, usage of such high -SAPS (sulphuric ash, phosphor, sulfphur conventional additives is bound to arouse concerns due to environmental reasons. In this research, we investigate the effect of two nanoparticle oil additives, which are cerium oxide (CeO2 and zirconium dioxide (ZrO2, on friction and wear of non-hydrogen tetrahedral amorphous carbon (ta-C coating. The results show that by adding ZrO2 nanoparticle, the friction of DLC coating could be reduced about 32% compared to non-additive base oil scenario, but specific wear rate increases by 40%. When CeO2 nanoparticle is used, friction increases by 22% compared to non-additive base oil scenario, however wear decreases by nearly 77%.

  16. Electron transport determines the electrochemical properties of tetrahedral amorphous carbon (ta-C) thin films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Palomäki, Tommi; Wester, Niklas; Caro, Miguel A.; Sainio, Sami; Protopopova, Vera; Koskinen, Jari; Laurila, Tomi

    2017-01-01

    Amorphous carbon based electrodes are very promising for electrochemical sensing applications. In order to better understand their structure-function relationship, the effect of film thickness on the electrochemical properties of tetrahedral amorphous carbon (ta-C) electrodes was investigated. ta-C thin films of 7, 15, 30, 50 and 100 nm were characterized in detail with Raman spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), conductive atomic force microscopy (c-AFM), scanning tunneling spectroscopy (STS) and X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) to assess (i) the surface properties of the films, (ii) the effect of film thickness on their structure and electrical properties and (iii) the subsequent correlation with their electrochemistry. The electrochemical properties were investigated by cyclic voltammetry (CV) using two different outer-sphere redox probes, Ru(NH 3 ) 6 3+/2+ and FcMeOH, and by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). Computational simulations using density functional theory (DFT) were carried out to rationalize the experimental findings. The characterization results showed that the sp 2 /sp 3 ratio increased with decreasing ta-C film thickness. This correlated with a decrease in mobility gap value and an increase in the average current through the films, which was also consistent with the computational results. XAS indicated that the surface of the ta-C films was always identical and composed of a sp 2 -rich layer. The CV measurements indicated reversible reaction kinetics for both outer-sphere redox probes at 7 and 15 nm ta-C films with a change to quasi-reversible behavior at a thickness of around 30 nm. The charge transfer resistance, obtained from EIS measurements, decreased with decreasing film thickness in accordance with the CV results. Based on the characterization and electrochemical results, we conclude that the reaction kinetics in the case of outer-sphere redox systems is determined mainly by the electron transport through the

  17. Conductivity enhancement of ion tracks in tetrahedral amorphous carbon by doping with N, B, Cu and Fe

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Krauser, J.; Nix, A.-K.; Gehrke, H.-G.; Hofsäss, H.; Trautmann, C.; Weidinger, A.

    2012-01-01

    Conducting ion tracks are formed when high-energy heavy ions (e.g. 1 GeV Au) pass through tetrahedral amorphous carbon (ta-C). These nanowires with a diameter of about 8 nm are embedded in the insulating ta-C matrix and of interest for various nanotechnological applications. Usually the overall conductivity of the tracks and the current/voltage characteristics (Ohmic or non-Ohmic) vary strongly from track to track, even when measured on the same sample, indicating that the track formation is neither complete nor homogeneous. To improve the track conductivity, doping of ta-C with N, B, Cu, or Fe is investigated. Beneficial changes in track conductivity after doping compete with a conductivity increase of the surrounding matrix material. Best results are achieved by incorporation of 1 at.% Cu, while for different reasons, the improvement of the tracks remains moderate for N, B, and Fe doping. Conductivity enhancement of the tracks is assumed to develop during the ion track formation process by an increased number of localized states which contribute to the current transport.

  18. Modeling amorphization of tetrahedral structures under local approaches

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jesurum, C.E.; Pulim, V.; Berger, B.; Hobbs, L.W.

    1997-01-01

    Many crystalline ceramics can be topologically disordered (amorphized) by disordering radiation events involving high-energy collision cascades or (in some cases) successive single-atom displacements. The authors are interested in both the potential for disorder and the possible aperiodic structures adopted following the disordering event. The potential for disordering is related to connectivity, and among those structures of interest are tetrahedral networks (such as SiO 2 , SiC and Si 3 N 4 ) comprising corner-shared tetrahedral units whose connectivities are easily evaluated. In order to study the response of these networks to radiation, the authors have chosen to model their assembly according to the (simple) local rules that each corner obeys in connecting to another tetrahedron; in this way they easily erect large computer models of any crystalline polymorphic form. Amorphous structures can be similarly grown by application of altered rules. They have adopted a simple model of irradiation in which all bonds in the neighborhood of a designated tetrahedron are destroyed, and they reform the bonds in this region according to a set of (possibly different) local rules appropriate to the environmental conditions. When a tetrahedron approaches the boundary of this neighborhood, it undergoes an optimization step in which a spring is inserted between two corners of compatible tetrahedra when they are within a certain distance of one another; component forces are then applied that act to minimize the distance between these corners and minimize the deviation from the rules. The resulting structure is then analyzed for the complete adjacency matrix, irreducible ring statistics, and bond angle distributions

  19. Crystalline and amorphous carbon nitride films produced by high-energy shock plasma deposition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bursilll, L.A.; Peng, Julin; Gurarie, V.N.; Orlov, A.V.; Prawer, S.

    1995-01-01

    High-energy shock plasma deposition techniques are used to produce carbon-nitride films containing both crystalline and amorphous components. The structures are examined by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, parallel-electron-energy loss spectroscopy and electron diffraction. The crystalline phase appears to be face-centered cubic with unit cell parameter approx. a=0.63nm and it may be stabilized by calcium and oxygen at about 1-2 at % levels. The carbon atoms appear to have both trigonal and tetrahedral bonding for the crystalline phase. There is PEELS evidence that a significant fraction of the nitrogen atoms have sp 2 trigonal bonds in the crystalline phase. The amorphous carbon-nitride film component varies from essentially graphite, containing virtually no nitrogen, to amorphous carbon-nitride containing up to 10 at % N, where the fraction of sp 3 bonds is significant. 15 refs., 5 figs

  20. Memristive effects in oxygenated amorphous carbon nanodevices

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bachmann, T. A.; Koelmans, W. W.; Jonnalagadda, V. P.; Le Gallo, M.; Santini, C. A.; Sebastian, A.; Eleftheriou, E.; Craciun, M. F.; Wright, C. D.

    2018-01-01

    Computing with resistive-switching (memristive) memory devices has shown much recent progress and offers an attractive route to circumvent the von-Neumann bottleneck, i.e. the separation of processing and memory, which limits the performance of conventional computer architectures. Due to their good scalability and nanosecond switching speeds, carbon-based resistive-switching memory devices could play an important role in this respect. However, devices based on elemental carbon, such as tetrahedral amorphous carbon or ta-C, typically suffer from a low cycling endurance. A material that has proven to be capable of combining the advantages of elemental carbon-based memories with simple fabrication methods and good endurance performance for binary memory applications is oxygenated amorphous carbon, or a-CO x . Here, we examine the memristive capabilities of nanoscale a-CO x devices, in particular their ability to provide the multilevel and accumulation properties that underpin computing type applications. We show the successful operation of nanoscale a-CO x memory cells for both the storage of multilevel states (here 3-level) and for the provision of an arithmetic accumulator. We implement a base-16, or hexadecimal, accumulator and show how such a device can carry out hexadecimal arithmetic and simultaneously store the computed result in the self-same a-CO x cell, all using fast (sub-10 ns) and low-energy (sub-pJ) input pulses.

  1. Tetrahedrality and hydrogen bonds in water

    Science.gov (United States)

    Székely, Eszter; Varga, Imre K.; Baranyai, András

    2016-06-01

    We carried out extensive calculations of liquid water at different temperatures and pressures using the BK3 model suggested recently [P. T. Kiss and A. Baranyai, J. Chem. Phys. 138, 204507 (2013)]. In particular, we were interested in undercooled regions to observe the propensity of water to form tetrahedral coordination of closest neighbors around a central molecule. We compared the found tetrahedral order with the number of hydrogen bonds and with the partial pair correlation functions unfolded as distributions of the closest, the second closest, etc. neighbors. We found that contrary to the number of hydrogen bonds, tetrahedrality changes substantially with state variables. Not only the number of tetrahedral arrangements increases with lowering the pressure, the density, and the temperature but the domain size of connecting tetrahedral structures as well. The difference in tetrahedrality is very pronounced between the two sides of the Widom line and even more so between the low density amorphous (LDA) and high density amorphous (HDA) phases. We observed that in liquid water and in HDA, the 5th water molecule, contrary to ice and LDA, is positioned between the first and the second coordination shell. We found no convincing evidence of structural heterogeneity or regions referring to structural transition.

  2. Effect of high substrate bias and hydrogen and nitrogen incorporation on filtered cathodic vacuum arc deposited tetrahedral amorphous carbon films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Panwar, O.S.; Khan, Mohd. Alim; Kumar, Mahesh; Shivaprasad, S.M.; Satyanarayana, B.S.; Dixit, P.N.; Bhattacharyya, R.; Khan, M.Y.

    2008-01-01

    The application of a sufficiently high negative substrate bias, during the growth of tetrahedral amorphous carbon (ta-C), is usually associated with low sp 3 bonding configuration and stressed films. However, in an effort to understand and utilize the higher pseudo thermo dynamical conditions during the film growth, at high negative substrate bias (- 300 V), reported here is a study on ta-C films grown under different hydrogen and nitrogen concentration. As grown ta-C films were studied under different negative substrate bias conditions. The variation of the sp 3 content and sp 3 /sp 2 ratio in the ta-C films exhibits a trend similar to those reported in literature, with a subtle variation in this report being the substrate bias voltage, which was observed to be around - 200 V, for obtaining the highest sp 3 (80%) bonding and sp 3 /sp 2 (3.95) ratio. The hydrogen and nitrogen incorporated ta-C films studied, at a bias of - 300 V, show an increase in sp 3 (87-91%) bonding and sp 3 /sp 2 (7-10) ratio in the range of studies reported. The inference is drawn on the basis of the set of data obtained from measurements carried out using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, X-ray induced Auger electron spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy of as grown and hydrogen and nitrogen incorporated ta-C films deposited using an S bend filtered cathodic vacuum arc system. The study indicates the possibility of further tailoring ta-C film properties and also extending capabilities of the cathodic arc system for developing carbon based films for electronics and tribological applications

  3. Effect of high substrate bias and hydrogen and nitrogen incorporation on filtered cathodic vacuum arc deposited tetrahedral amorphous carbon films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Panwar, O.S. [Plasma Processed Materials Group, National Physical Laboratory, Dr. K.S. Krishnan Road, New Delhi-110 012 (India)], E-mail: ospanwar@mail.nplindia.ernet.in; Khan, Mohd. Alim [Plasma Processed Materials Group, National Physical Laboratory, Dr. K.S. Krishnan Road, New Delhi-110 012 (India); Kumar, Mahesh; Shivaprasad, S.M. [Surface Physics and Nanostructures Group, National Physical Laboratory, Dr. K.S. Krishnan Road, New Delhi-110 012 (India); Satyanarayana, B.S. [MIT Innovation Centre and Electronics and Communication Department, Manipal Institute of Technology, Manipal-579104 (India); Dixit, P.N. [Plasma Processed Materials Group, National Physical Laboratory, Dr. K.S. Krishnan Road, New Delhi-110 012 (India); Bhattacharyya, R. [Emeritus Scientist, National Physical Laboratory, New Delhi-110012 (India); Khan, M.Y. [Department of Physics, Jamia Millia Islamia, Central University, New Delhi-110025 (India)

    2008-02-29

    The application of a sufficiently high negative substrate bias, during the growth of tetrahedral amorphous carbon (ta-C), is usually associated with low sp{sup 3} bonding configuration and stressed films. However, in an effort to understand and utilize the higher pseudo thermo dynamical conditions during the film growth, at high negative substrate bias (- 300 V), reported here is a study on ta-C films grown under different hydrogen and nitrogen concentration. As grown ta-C films were studied under different negative substrate bias conditions. The variation of the sp{sup 3} content and sp{sup 3}/sp{sup 2} ratio in the ta-C films exhibits a trend similar to those reported in literature, with a subtle variation in this report being the substrate bias voltage, which was observed to be around - 200 V, for obtaining the highest sp{sup 3} (80%) bonding and sp{sup 3}/sp{sup 2} (3.95) ratio. The hydrogen and nitrogen incorporated ta-C films studied, at a bias of - 300 V, show an increase in sp{sup 3} (87-91%) bonding and sp{sup 3}/sp{sup 2} (7-10) ratio in the range of studies reported. The inference is drawn on the basis of the set of data obtained from measurements carried out using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, X-ray induced Auger electron spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy of as grown and hydrogen and nitrogen incorporated ta-C films deposited using an S bend filtered cathodic vacuum arc system. The study indicates the possibility of further tailoring ta-C film properties and also extending capabilities of the cathodic arc system for developing carbon based films for electronics and tribological applications.

  4. Modelling the structure factors and pair distribution functions of amorphous germanium, silicon and carbon

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dalgic, Seyfettin; Gonzalez, Luis Enrique; Baer, Shalom; Silbert, Moises

    2002-01-01

    We present the results of calculations of the static structure factor S(k) and the pair distribution function g(r) of the tetrahedral amorphous semiconductors germanium, silicon and carbon using the structural diffusion model (SDM). The results obtained with the SDM for S(k) and g(r) are of comparable quality with those obtained by the unconstrained Reverse Monte Carlo simulations and existing ab initio molecular dynamics simulations for these systems. We have found that g(r) exhibits a small peak, or shoulder, a weak remnant of the prominent third neighbour peak present in the crystalline phase of these systems. This feature has been experimentally found to be present in recently reported high energy X-ray experiments of amorphous silicon (Phys. Rev. B 60 (1999) 13520), as well as in the previous X-ray diffraction of as-evaporated amorphous germanium (Phys. Rev. B 50 (1994) 539)

  5. Modelling the structure factors and pair distribution functions of amorphous germanium, silicon and carbon

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dalgic, Seyfettin; Gonzalez, Luis Enrique; Baer, Shalom; Silbert, Moises

    2002-12-01

    We present the results of calculations of the static structure factor S(k) and the pair distribution function g(r) of the tetrahedral amorphous semiconductors germanium, silicon and carbon using the structural diffusion model (SDM). The results obtained with the SDM for S(k) and g(r) are of comparable quality with those obtained by the unconstrained Reverse Monte Carlo simulations and existing ab initio molecular dynamics simulations for these systems. We have found that g(r) exhibits a small peak, or shoulder, a weak remnant of the prominent third neighbour peak present in the crystalline phase of these systems. This feature has been experimentally found to be present in recently reported high energy X-ray experiments of amorphous silicon (Phys. Rev. B 60 (1999) 13520), as well as in the previous X-ray diffraction of as-evaporated amorphous germanium (Phys. Rev. B 50 (1994) 539)

  6. Amorphous iron (II) carbonate

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sel, Ozlem; Radha, A.V.; Dideriksen, Knud

    2012-01-01

    Abstract The synthesis, characterization and crystallization energetics of amorphous iron (II) carbonate (AFC) are reported. AFC may form as a precursor for siderite (FeCO3). The enthalpy of crystallization (DHcrys) of AFC is similar to that of amorphous magnesium carbonate (AMC) and more...

  7. Tribological properties of amorphous hydrogenated (a-C:H) and hydrogen-free tetrahedral (ta-C) diamond-like carbon coatings under jatropha biodegradable lubricating oil at different temperatures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mobarak, H. M.; Masjuki, H. H.; Mohamad, E. Niza; Kalam, M. A.; Rashedul, H. K.; Rashed, M. M.; Habibullah, M.

    2014-10-01

    The application of diamond-like carbon (DLC) coatings on automotive components is emerging as a favorable strategy to address the recent challenges in the industry. DLC coatings can effectively lower the coefficient of friction (CoF) and wear rate of engine components, thereby improving their fuel efficiency and durability. The lubrication of ferrous materials can be enhanced by a large amount of unsaturated and polar components of oils. Therefore, the interaction between nonferrous coatings (e.g., DLC) and vegetable oil should be investigated. A ball-on-plate tribotester was used to run the experiments. Stainless steel plates coated with amorphous hydrogenated (a-C:H) DLC and hydrogen-free tetrahedral (ta-C) DLC that slide against 440C stainless steel ball were used to create a ball-on-plate tribotester. The wear track was investigated through scanning electron microscopy. Energy dispersive and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopies were used to analyze the tribofilm inside the wear track. Raman analysis was performed to investigate the structural changes in the coatings. At high temperatures, the CoF in both coatings decreased. The wear rate, however, increased in the a-C:H but decreased in the ta-C DLC-coated plates. The CoF and the wear rate (coated layer and counter surface) were primarily influenced by the graphitization of the coating. Tribochemical films, such as polyphosphate glass, were formed in ta-C and acted as protective layers. Therefore, the wear rate of the ta-C DLC was lower than that of the-C:H DLC.

  8. Characterization of amorphous and nanocrystalline carbon films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chu, Paul K.; Li Liuhe

    2006-01-01

    Amorphous and nanocrystalline carbon films possess special chemical and physical properties such as high chemical inertness, diamond-like properties, and favorable tribological proprieties. The materials usually consist of graphite and diamond microstructures and thus possess properties that lie between the two. Amorphous and nanocrystalline carbon films can exist in different kinds of matrices and are usually doped with a large amount of hydrogen. Thus, carbon films can be classified as polymer-like, diamond-like, or graphite-like based on the main binding framework. In order to characterize the structure, either direct bonding characterization methods or the indirect bonding characterization methods are employed. Examples of techniques utilized to identify the chemical bonds and microstructure of amorphous and nanocrystalline carbon films include optical characterization methods such as Raman spectroscopy, Ultra-violet (UV) Raman spectroscopy, and infrared spectroscopy, electron spectroscopic and microscopic methods such as scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Auger electron spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and electron energy loss spectroscopy, surface morphology characterization techniques such as scanning probe microscopy (SPM) as well as other characterization methods such as X-ray reflectivity and nuclear magnetic resonance. In this review, the structures of various types of amorphous carbon films and common characterization techniques are described

  9. On the properties of nanocomposite amorphous carbon films prepared by off-plane double bend filtered cathodic vacuum arc

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tay, B.K.; Zhang, P.

    2002-01-01

    It is known to deposit hard thin films, such as tetrahedral amorphous carbon (ta-C), using a filtered cathode vacuum arc (FCVA). These ta-C films have interesting and useful properties because of the high sp 3 fraction of carbon atoms (up to 87%) in the film. However, the high internal stress in the films can limit their applications as the film may flake away from the substrate. In order to reduce the internal stress of the ta-C films and in an attempt to improve adhesion of thick films of this type, growth modifications such as incorporating metal into the ta-C films have been carried out. Nanocomposite amorphous carbon films were deposited by FCVA technique using metal-carbon composite target. Atomic force microscopy, Raman, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy were used to characterize the morphology and structure of the films. Nanoindenter and surface profilometer were used to determine the hardness, Young's modulus, and internal stress. The same metal composition targets for different elements results in different metal composition in the corresponding nanocomposite amorphous carbon films. We attribute this observation to the dynamic balance deposition effect of the FCVA deposition process. The influence of the type of metallic elements and its composition in the films on the structural, mechanical properties, surface energy and field emission (FE) performance was studied. The incorporation of metal into the films results in the decrease of sp 3 fraction, internal stress in the films, but the hardness and Young's modulus remains at high level. The surface energy of the films increases with incorporating Ni atoms, but decreases after incorporating Fe and Al atoms into the films. After heat-treatment, the incorporation of metal into ta-C films can greatly improve the FE performance

  10. Large-deformation and high-strength amorphous porous carbon nanospheres

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Weizhu; Mao, Shimin; Yang, Jia; Shang, Tao; Song, Hongguang; Mabon, James; Swiech, Wacek; Vance, John R.; Yue, Zhufeng; Dillon, Shen J.; Xu, Hangxun; Xu, Baoxing

    2016-04-01

    Carbon is one of the most important materials extensively used in industry and our daily life. Crystalline carbon materials such as carbon nanotubes and graphene possess ultrahigh strength and toughness. In contrast, amorphous carbon is known to be very brittle and can sustain little compressive deformation. Inspired by biological shells and honeycomb-like cellular structures in nature, we introduce a class of hybrid structural designs and demonstrate that amorphous porous carbon nanospheres with a thin outer shell can simultaneously achieve high strength and sustain large deformation. The amorphous carbon nanospheres were synthesized via a low-cost, scalable and structure-controllable ultrasonic spray pyrolysis approach using energetic carbon precursors. In situ compression experiments on individual nanospheres show that the amorphous carbon nanospheres with an optimized structure can sustain beyond 50% compressive strain. Both experiments and finite element analyses reveal that the buckling deformation of the outer spherical shell dominates the improvement of strength while the collapse of inner nanoscale pores driven by twisting, rotation, buckling and bending of pore walls contributes to the large deformation.

  11. Thermal stability of amorphous carbon films grown by pulsed laser deposition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Friedmann, T. A.; McCarty, K. F.; Barbour, J. C.; Siegal, M. P.; Dibble, Dean C.

    1996-03-01

    The thermal stability in vacuum of amorphous tetrahedrally coordinated carbon (a-tC) films grown on Si has been assessed by in situ Raman spectroscopy. Films were grown in vacuum on room-temperature substrates using laser fluences of 12, 22, and 45 J/cm2 and in a background gas of either hydrogen or nitrogen using a laser fluence of 45 J/cm2. The films grown in vacuum at high fluence (≳20J/cm2) show little change in the a-tC Raman spectra with temperature up to 800 °C. Above this temperature the films convert to glassy carbon (nanocrystalline graphite). Samples grown in vacuum at lower fluence or in a background gas (H2 or N2) at high fluence are not nearly as stable. For all samples, the Raman signal from the Si substrate (observed through the a-tC film) decreases in intensity with annealing temperature indicating that the transparency of the a-tC films is decreasing with temperature. These changes in transparency begin at much lower temperatures (˜200 °C) than the changes in the a-tC Raman band shape and indicate that subtle changes are occurring in the a-tC films at lower temperatures.

  12. Tetrahedral ↔ octahedral network structure transition in simulated vitreous SiO2

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vo Van Hoang; Nguyen Trung Hai; Hoang Zung

    2006-01-01

    By using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations we found a transition from a tetrahedral to an octahedral network structure in an amorphous SiO 2 model under compression from 2.20 to 5.35 g/cm 3 . And on heating of a high density amorphous (hda) model of 5.35 g/cm 3 at zero pressure, the structure transforms to a low density amorphous (lda) form. Simulations were done in a model containing 3000 particles under periodic boundary conditions with interatomic potentials which have a weak Coulomb interaction and a Morse type short-range interaction

  13. Polyamorphism in tetrahedral substances: Similarities between silicon and ice

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garcez, K. M. S.; Antonelli, A.

    2015-07-01

    Tetrahedral substances, such as silicon, water, germanium, and silica, share various unusual phase behaviors. Among them, the so-called polyamorphism, i.e., the existence of more than one amorphous form, has been intensively investigated in the last three decades. In this work, we study the metastable relations between amorphous states of silicon in a wide range of pressures, using Monte Carlo simulations. Our results indicate that the two amorphous forms of silicon at high pressures, the high density amorphous (HDA) and the very high density amorphous (VHDA), can be decompressed from high pressure (˜20 GPa) down to the tensile regime, where both convert into the same low density amorphous. Such behavior is also observed in ice. While at high pressure (˜20 GPa), HDA is less stable than VHDA, at the pressure of 10 GPa both forms exhibit similar stability. On the other hand, at much lower pressure (˜5 GPa), HDA and VHDA are no longer the most stable forms, and, upon isobaric annealing, an even less dense form of amorphous silicon emerges, the expanded high density amorphous, again in close similarity to what occurs in ice.

  14. Fabrication of C60/amorphous carbon superlattice structures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kojima, Nobuaki; Ohshita, Yoshio; Yamaguchi, Masafumi

    2001-01-01

    The nitrogen doping effects in C 60 films by RF plasma source was investigated, and it was found that the nitrogen ion bombardment broke up C 60 molecules and changed them into amorphous carbon. Based on these results, formation of C 60 /amorphous carbon superlattice structure was proposed. The periodic structure of the resulted films was confirmed by XRD measurements, as the preliminary results of fabrication of the superlattice structure

  15. A possible mechanism of ultrafast amorphization in phase-change memory alloys: an ion slingshot from the crystalline to amorphous position

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kolobov, A V; Mishchenko, A S; Fons, P; Yakubenya, S M; Tominaga, J

    2007-01-01

    We propose that the driving force of the ultrafast crystalline-to-amorphous transition in phase-change memory alloys is caused by strained bonds existing in the (metastable) crystalline phase. For the prototypical example of Ge 2 Sb 2 Te 5 , we demonstrate that upon breaking of the longer Ge-Te bond by photoexcitation, a Ge ion is shot from an octahedral crystalline to a tetrahedral amorphous position by the uncompensated force of strained short bonds. Subsequent lattice relaxation stabilizes the tetrahedral surroundings of the Ge atoms and ensures the long-term stability of the optically induced phase

  16. From empirical to ab initio: transferable potentials in the atomistic simulation of amorphous carbons

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Marks, N.A.; Goringe, C.M.; McKenzie, D.R.; McCulloch, D.G.; Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology University, Melbourne, VIC

    2000-01-01

    Full text: Silicon is often described as the prototype covalent material, and when it comes to developing atomistic models this situation is well described by the sentiment that 'everything works for silicon'. The same cannot be said for carbon though, where the interaction potential has always proved problematical, be it with empirical, tight-binding or ab initio methods. Thus far the most decisive contributions to understanding amorphous carbon networks have come from ab initio simulations using the Car-Parrinello method, where the fully quantum treatment of the valence electrons has provided unexpected insight into the local structure. However such first principles calculations are restricted spatially and temporally to systems with approximately 100 atoms and times of order one picosecond. There is therefore demand for less expensive techniques capable of resolving important questions whose solution can only to found with larger simulations running for longer times. In the case of tetrahedral amorphous carbon, such issues include the release of compressive stress through annealing, the origin of graphitic surface layers and the nature of the film growth process and thermal spike. Against this background tight-binding molecular dynamics has emerged as a popular alternative to first principles methods, and our group has an ongoing program to understand film growth using one of the efficient variants of tight-binding. Another direction of research is a new empirical potential based on the Environment Dependent Interaction Potential (EDIP) recently developed for silicon. The EDIP approach represents a promising direction for empirical potentials through its use of ab initio data to motivate the functional form as well as the more conventional parametrisation. By inverting ab initio cohesive energy curves the authors of EDIP arrived at a pair potential expression which reduces to the well-known Stillinger-Weber form at integer coordination, while providing

  17. Amorphous carbon nanofibres inducing high specific capacitance of deposited hydrous ruthenium oxide

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Barranco, V.; Pico, F.; Ibanez, J.; Lillo-Rodenas, M.A.; Linares-Solano, A.; Kimura, M.; Oya, A.; Rojas, R.M.; Amarilla, J.M.; Rojo, J.M.

    2009-01-01

    Composites consisting of ruthenium oxide particles deposited on amorphous carbon nanofibres are prepared by a repetitive impregnation procedure. The choice of amorphous carbon nanofibres as support of amorphous ruthenium oxide leads to composites in which the deposited oxide consists of aggregates of extremely small primary particles (1-1.5 nm-size) and showing high porosity (specific surface area of 450 m 2 g -1 ). This special deposition of the oxide seems to favour: (i) high oxide capacitance (1000 Fg -1 ) at high oxide loadings (up to 20 wt%) and (ii) high capacitance retention (ca. 80% from the initial oxide capacitance) at high current densities (200 mA cm -2 ). Amorphous carbon nanofibres are suitable supports for amorphous ruthenium oxide and perhaps for other amorphous oxides acting as active electrode materials.

  18. Incidence Angle Effect of Energetic Carbon Ions on Deposition Rate, Topography, and Structure of Ultrathin Amorphous Carbon Films Deposited by Filtered Cathodic Vacuum Arc

    KAUST Repository

    Wang, N.

    2012-07-01

    The effect of the incidence angle of energetic carbon ions on the thickness, topography, and structure of ultrathin amorphous carbon (a-C) films synthesized by filtered cathodic vacuum arc (FCVA) was examined in the context of numerical and experimental results. The thickness of a-C films deposited at different incidence angles was investigated in the light of Monte Carlo simulations, and the calculated depth profiles were compared with those obtained from high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The topography and structure of the a-C films were studied by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), respectively. The film thickness decreased with the increase of the incidence angle, while the surface roughness increased and the content of tetrahedral carbon hybridization (sp 3) decreased significantly with the increase of the incidence angle above 45° , measured from the surface normal. TEM, AFM, and XPS results indicate that the smoothest and thinnest a-C films with the highest content of sp 3 carbon bonding were produced for an incidence angle of 45°. The findings of this study have direct implications in ultrahigh-density magnetic recording, where ultrathin and smooth a-C films with high sp 3 contents are of critical importance. © 2012 IEEE.

  19. Amorphous molecular junctions produced by ion irradiation on carbon nanotubes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang Zhenxia; Yu Liping; Zhang Wei; Ding Yinfeng; Li Yulan; Han Jiaguang; Zhu Zhiyuan; Xu Hongjie; He Guowei; Chen Yi; Hu Gang

    2004-01-01

    Experiments and molecular dynamics have demonstrated that electron irradiation could create molecular junctions between crossed single-wall carbon nanotubes. Recently molecular dynamics computation predicted that ion irradiation could also join single-walled carbon nanotubes. Employing carbon ion irradiation on multi-walled carbon nanotubes, we find that these nanotubes evolve into amorphous carbon nanowires, more importantly, during the process of which various molecular junctions of amorphous nanowires are formed by welding from crossed carbon nanotubes. It demonstrates that ion-beam irradiation could be an effective way not only for the welding of nanotubes but also for the formation of nanowire junctions

  20. Paramagnetic defects in hydrogenated amorphous carbon powders

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Keeble, D J; Robb, K M; Smith, G M; Mkami, H El; Rodil, S E; Robertson, J

    2003-01-01

    Hydrogenated amorphous carbon materials typically contain high concentrations of paramagnetic defects, the density of which can be quantified by electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR). In this work EPR measurements near 9.5, 94, and 189 GHz have been performed on polymeric and diamond-like hydrogenated amorphous carbon (a-C:H) powder samples. A similar single resonance line was observed at all frequencies for the two forms of a-C:H studied. No contributions to the spectrum from centres with resolved anisotropic g-values as reported earlier were detected. An increase in linewidth with microwave frequency was observed. Possible contributions to this frequency dependence are discussed

  1. Intrinsic graphene field effect transistor on amorphous carbon films

    OpenAIRE

    Tinchev, Savcho

    2013-01-01

    Fabrication of graphene field effect transistor is described which uses an intrinsic graphene on the surface of as deposited hydrogenated amorphous carbon films. Ambipolar characteristic has been demonstrated typical for graphene devices, which changes to unipolar characteristic if the surface graphene was etched in oxygen plasma. Because amorphous carbon films can be growth easily, with unlimited dimensions and no transfer of graphene is necessary, this can open new perspective for graphene ...

  2. Hydrogenated amorphous carbon next deposit after heat treatment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Salancon, E.; Durbeck, T.; Schwarz-Selinger, T.; Jacob, W.

    2006-01-01

    One of the main safety problems in the ITER tokamak project is the tritium adsorption in the reactor walls and in particular the deposits which appear after the plasma discharge. These deposits are amorphous hydrogenated carbon films, type polymer (soft a-C:H). The heating of these deposits with a pulse laser is a proposed solution for the tritium desorption. Meanwhile, Gibson and al show that in experimental conditions, products are deposed on the walls before entering the mass spectrometer. The authors present thermo-desorption spectra of different amorphous carbon films. (A.L.B.)

  3. Tribological properties of amorphous hydrogenated (a-C:H) and hydrogen-free tetrahedral (ta-C) diamond-like carbon coatings under jatropha biodegradable lubricating oil at different temperatures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mobarak, H.M.; Masjuki, H.H.; Mohamad, E. Niza; Kalam, M.A.; Rashedul, H.K.; Rashed, M.M.; Habibullah, M.

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • We tested a-C:H and ta-C DLC coatings as a function of temperature. • Jatropha oil contains large amounts of polar components that enhanced the lubricity of coatings. • CoF decreases with increasing temperature for both contacts. • Wear rate increases with increasing temperature in a-C:H and decreases in ta-C DLC. • At high temperature, ta-C coatings confer more protection than a-C:H coatings. - Abstract: The application of diamond-like carbon (DLC) coatings on automotive components is emerging as a favorable strategy to address the recent challenges in the industry. DLC coatings can effectively lower the coefficient of friction (CoF) and wear rate of engine components, thereby improving their fuel efficiency and durability. The lubrication of ferrous materials can be enhanced by a large amount of unsaturated and polar components of oils. Therefore, the interaction between nonferrous coatings (e.g., DLC) and vegetable oil should be investigated. A ball-on-plate tribotester was used to run the experiments. Stainless steel plates coated with amorphous hydrogenated (a-C:H) DLC and hydrogen-free tetrahedral (ta-C) DLC that slide against 440C stainless steel ball were used to create a ball-on-plate tribotester. The wear track was investigated through scanning electron microscopy. Energy dispersive and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopies were used to analyze the tribofilm inside the wear track. Raman analysis was performed to investigate the structural changes in the coatings. At high temperatures, the CoF in both coatings decreased. The wear rate, however, increased in the a-C:H but decreased in the ta-C DLC-coated plates. The CoF and the wear rate (coated layer and counter surface) were primarily influenced by the graphitization of the coating. Tribochemical films, such as polyphosphate glass, were formed in ta-C and acted as protective layers. Therefore, the wear rate of the ta-C DLC was lower than that of the-C:H DLC

  4. Tribological properties of amorphous hydrogenated (a-C:H) and hydrogen-free tetrahedral (ta-C) diamond-like carbon coatings under jatropha biodegradable lubricating oil at different temperatures

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mobarak, H.M., E-mail: mobarak.ho31@yahoo.com; Masjuki, H.H.; Mohamad, E. Niza, E-mail: edzrol@um.edu.my; Kalam, M.A.; Rashedul, H.K.; Rashed, M.M.; Habibullah, M.

    2014-10-30

    Highlights: • We tested a-C:H and ta-C DLC coatings as a function of temperature. • Jatropha oil contains large amounts of polar components that enhanced the lubricity of coatings. • CoF decreases with increasing temperature for both contacts. • Wear rate increases with increasing temperature in a-C:H and decreases in ta-C DLC. • At high temperature, ta-C coatings confer more protection than a-C:H coatings. - Abstract: The application of diamond-like carbon (DLC) coatings on automotive components is emerging as a favorable strategy to address the recent challenges in the industry. DLC coatings can effectively lower the coefficient of friction (CoF) and wear rate of engine components, thereby improving their fuel efficiency and durability. The lubrication of ferrous materials can be enhanced by a large amount of unsaturated and polar components of oils. Therefore, the interaction between nonferrous coatings (e.g., DLC) and vegetable oil should be investigated. A ball-on-plate tribotester was used to run the experiments. Stainless steel plates coated with amorphous hydrogenated (a-C:H) DLC and hydrogen-free tetrahedral (ta-C) DLC that slide against 440C stainless steel ball were used to create a ball-on-plate tribotester. The wear track was investigated through scanning electron microscopy. Energy dispersive and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopies were used to analyze the tribofilm inside the wear track. Raman analysis was performed to investigate the structural changes in the coatings. At high temperatures, the CoF in both coatings decreased. The wear rate, however, increased in the a-C:H but decreased in the ta-C DLC-coated plates. The CoF and the wear rate (coated layer and counter surface) were primarily influenced by the graphitization of the coating. Tribochemical films, such as polyphosphate glass, were formed in ta-C and acted as protective layers. Therefore, the wear rate of the ta-C DLC was lower than that of the-C:H DLC.

  5. Room-temperature low-voltage electroluminescence in amorphous carbon nitride thin films

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reyes, R.; Legnani, C.; Ribeiro Pinto, P. M.; Cremona, M.; de Araújo, P. J. G.; Achete, C. A.

    2003-06-01

    White-blue electroluminescent emission with a voltage bias less than 10 V was achieved in rf sputter-deposited amorphous carbon nitride (a-CN) and amorphous silicon carbon nitride (a-SiCN) thin-film-based devices. The heterojunction structures of these devices consist of: Indium tin oxide (ITO), used as a transparent anode; amorphous carbon film as an emission layer, and aluminum as a cathode. The thickness of the carbon films was about 250 Å. In all of the produced diodes, a stable visible emission peaked around 475 nm is observed at room temperature and the emission intensity increases with the current density. For an applied voltage of 14 V, the luminance was about 3 mCd/m2. The electroluminescent properties of the two devices are discussed and compared.

  6. Coaxial carbon plasma gun deposition of amorphous carbon films

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sater, D. M.; Gulino, D. A.; Rutledge, S. K.

    1984-01-01

    A unique plasma gun employing coaxial carbon electrodes was used in an attempt to deposit thin films of amorphous diamond-like carbon. A number of different structural, compositional, and electrical characterization techniques were used to characterize these films. These included scanning electron microscopy, scanning transmission electron microscopy, X ray diffraction and absorption, spectrographic analysis, energy dispersive spectroscopy, and selected area electron diffraction. Optical absorption and electrical resistivity measurements were also performed. The films were determined to be primarily amorphous, with poor adhesion to fused silica substrates. Many inclusions of particulates were found to be present as well. Analysis of these particulates revealed the presence of trace impurities, such as Fe and Cu, which were also found in the graphite electrode material. The electrodes were the source of these impurities. No evidence of diamond-like crystallite structure was found in any of the film samples. Details of the apparatus, experimental procedure, and film characteristics are presented.

  7. Coaxial carbon plasma gun deposition of amorphous carbon films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sater, D.M.; Gulino, D.A.

    1984-03-01

    A unique plasma gun employing coaxial carbon electrodes was used in an attempt to deposit thin films of amorphous diamond-like carbon. A number of different structural, compositional, and electrical characterization techniques were used to characterize these films. These included scanning electron microscopy, scanning transmission electron microscopy, X ray diffraction and absorption, spectrographic analysis, energy dispersive spectroscopy, and selected area electron diffraction. Optical absorption and electrical resistivity measurements were also performed. The films were determined to be primarily amorphous, with poor adhesion to fused silica substrates. Many inclusions of particulates were found to be present as well. Analysis of these particulates revealed the presence of trace impurities, such as Fe and Cu, which were also found in the graphite electrode material. The electrodes were the source of these impurities. No evidence of diamond-like crystallite structure was found in any of the film samples. Details of the apparatus, experimental procedure, and film characteristics are presented

  8. Properties of Amorphous Carbon Microspheres Synthesised by Palm Oil-CVD Method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zobir, S. A. M.; Zainal, Z.; Sarijo, S. H.; Rusop, M.

    2011-01-01

    Amorphous carbon microspheres were synthesized using a dual-furnace chemical vapour deposition method at 800-1000 deg. C. Palm oil-based cooking oil (PO) and zinc nitrate solution was used as a carbon source and catalyst precursor, respectively with PO to zinc nitrate ratio of 30:20 (v/v) and a silicon wafer as the sample target. Regular microsphere shape of the amorphous carbons was obtained and a uniform microsphere structure improved as the carbonization temperature increased from 800 to 1000 deg. C. At 800 deg. C, no regular microspheres were formed but more uniform structure is observed at 900 deg. C. Generally the microspheres size is uniform when the heating temperature was increased to 1000 deg. C, but the presence of mixed sizes can still be observed. X-ray diffraction patterns show the presence of oxide of carbon, ZnO phase together with Zn oxalate phase. Raman spectra show two broad peaks characteristic to amorphous carbon at 1344 and 1582 cm -1 for the D and G bands, respectively. These bands become more prominent as the preparation temperature increased from 800 to 1000 deg. C. This is in agreement with the formation of amorphous carbon microspheres as shown by the FESEM study and other Zn-based phases as a result of the oxidation process of the palm oil as the carbon source and the zinc nitrate as the catalyst precursor, respectively.

  9. Evolution of sp2 networks with substrate temperature in amorphous carbon films: Experiment and theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gago, R.; Vinnichenko, M.; Jaeger, H.U.; Maitz, M.F.; Belov, A.Yu.; Jimenez, I.; Huang, N.; Sun, H.

    2005-01-01

    The evolution of sp 2 hybrids in amorphous carbon (a-C) films deposited at different substrate temperatures was studied experimentally and theoretically. The bonding structure of a-C films prepared by filtered cathodic vacuum arc was assessed by the combination of visible Raman spectroscopy, x-ray absorption, and spectroscopic ellipsometry, while a-C structures were generated by molecular-dynamics deposition simulations with the Brenner interatomic potential to determine theoretical sp 2 site distributions. The experimental results show a transition from tetrahedral a-C (ta-C) to sp 2 -rich structures at ∼500 K. The sp 2 hybrids are mainly arranged in chains or pairs whereas graphitic structures are only promoted for sp 2 fractions above 80%. The theoretical analysis confirms the preferred pairing of isolated sp 2 sites in ta-C, the coalescence of sp 2 clusters for medium sp 2 fractions, and the pronounced formation of rings for sp 2 fractions >80%. However, the dominance of sixfold rings is not reproduced theoretically, probably related to the functional form of the interatomic potential used

  10. Evaluation of optical properties of the amorphous carbon film on fused silica

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Baydogan, Nilguen Dogan

    2004-01-01

    Deposition was done using a pulsed filtered cathodic arc with a graphite cathode. The carbon plasma is fully ionised and condenses on the substrate, forming diamond-like material but with amorphous structure. Optical properties of amorphous carbon films on fused-silica glass were investigated and the curves of optical density have a characteristic band at approximately 950 nm. Changes of the colourimetric quantities were evaluated and compared to uncoated fused silica glass. These changes were investigated as a function of the applied substrate bias voltage using the CIE and CIELAB colour systems. It is suggested that the mechanism of absorption is related to an allowed direct transition at the amorphous carbon films on fused silica glass. The optical energy gap of the amorphous carbon film depends on the bias voltage applied to the substrate holder. The optical colour parameters and optical band gap indicated that there is a relation between the dominant wavelength of the reflectance in the visible range and the wavelength of the optical band gap

  11. Designed synthesis of tunable amorphous carbon nanotubes (a ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Administrator

    Page 1. Electronic Supplementary Material. Graphical abstract. Designed synthesis of tunable amorphous carbon nanotubes (a-CNTs) by a novel route and their oxidation resistance properties by Longlong. Xu et al (pp 1397–1402).

  12. Structure and giant magnetoresistance of carbon-based amorphous films prepared by magnetron sputtering

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ma, L.; He, M.F.; Liu, Z.W.; Zeng, D.C.; Gu, Z.F.; Cheng, G.

    2014-01-01

    Pure amorphous carbon (a-C) and Co-doped Co x C 1−x films were prepared on n-Si(100) substrates by dc magnetron sputtering. In Co–C films, the nano-sized amorphous Co particles were homogeneously dispersed in the amorphous cross-linked carbon matrix. The structures of a-C and Co x C 1−x films were investigated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy. The results showed that the a-C films were diamond-like carbon (DLC) films. After doping cobalt into DLC film, the sp 3 -hybridized carbon content in DLC composite films almost had no change. The as-deposited Co x C 1−x granular films had larger value of magnetoresistance (MR) than the amorphous carbon film. A very high positive MR, up to 15.5% at magnetic field B = 0.8 T and x = 2.5 at.% was observed in a Co x C 1−x granular film with thickness of 80 nm at room temperature when the external magnetic field was perpendicular to the electric current and the film surface. With increase of the film thickness and Co-doped content, the MR decreased gradually. It remains a challenge to well explain the observed MR effect in the Co x C 1−x granular films. - Highlights: • The amorphous carbon films were diamond-like carbon films. • No carbide appearing, the Co–C composite films form a good metal/insulator system. • A high positive magnetoresistance, up to 15.5% at B = 0.8 T was observed in Co–C films

  13. Silicon and aluminum doping effects on the microstructure and properties of polymeric amorphous carbon films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Liu, Xiaoqiang, E-mail: lxq_suse@sina.com [Material Corrosion and Protection Key Laboratory of Sichuan province, Sichuan University of Science and Engineering, Zigong 643000 (China); Hao, Junying, E-mail: jyhao@licp.cas.cn [State Key Laboratory of Solid Lubrication, Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000 (China); Xie, Yuntao [Material Corrosion and Protection Key Laboratory of Sichuan province, Sichuan University of Science and Engineering, Zigong 643000 (China)

    2016-08-30

    Highlights: • Evolution of nanostructure and properties of the polymeric amorphous carbon films were firstly studied. • Si doping enhanced polymerization of the hydrocarbon chains and Al doping resulted in increase in the ordered carbon clusters of polymeric amorphous carbon films. • Soft polymeric amorphous carbon films exhibited an unconventional frictional behaviors with a superior wear resistance. • The mechanical and vacuum tribological properties of the polymeric amorphous carbon films were significantly improved by Si and Al co-doping. - Abstract: Polymeric amorphous carbon films were prepared by radio frequency (R.F. 13.56 MHz) magnetron sputtering deposition. The microstructure evolution of the deposited polymeric films induced by silicon (Si) and aluminum(Al) doping were scrutinized through infrared spectroscopy, multi-wavelength Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). The comparative results show that Si doping can enhance polymerization and Al doping results in an increase in the ordered carbon clusters. Si and Al co-doping into polymeric films leads to the formation of an unusual dual nanostructure consisting of cross-linked polymer-like hydrocarbon chains and fullerene-like carbon clusters. The super-high elasticity and super-low friction coefficients (<0.002) under a high vacuum were obtained through Si and Al co-doping into the films. Unconventionally, the co-doped polymeric films exhibited a superior wear resistance even though they were very soft. The relationship between the microstructure and properties of the polymeric amorphous carbon films with different elements doping are also discussed in detail.

  14. Tetrahedral hydrocarbon nanoparticles in space: X-ray spectra

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bilalbegović, G.; Maksimović, A.; Valencic, L. A.

    2018-06-01

    It has been proposed, or confirmed, that diamond nanoparticles exist in various environments in space: close to active galactic nuclei, in the vicinity of supernovae and pulsars, in the interior of several planets in the Solar system, in carbon planets, and other exoplanets, carbon-rich stars, meteorites, in X-ray active Herbig Ae/Be stars, and in the interstellar medium. Using density functional theory methods, we calculate the carbon K-edge X-ray absorption spectrum of two large tetrahedral nanodiamonds: C26H32 and C51H52. We also study and test our methods on the astrophysical molecule CH4, the smallest C-H tetrahedral structure. A possible detection of nanodiamonds from X-ray spectra by future telescopes, such as the project Arcus, is proposed. Simulated spectra of the diffuse interstellar medium using Cyg X-2 as a source show that nanodiamonds studied in this work can be detected by Arcus, a high-resolution X-ray spectrometer mission selected by NASA for a Phase A concept study.

  15. The effect of empirical potential functions on modeling of amorphous carbon using molecular dynamics method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li, Longqiu; Xu, Ming; Song, Wenping; Ovcharenko, Andrey; Zhang, Guangyu; Jia, Ding

    2013-01-01

    Empirical potentials have a strong effect on the hybridization and structure of amorphous carbon and are of great importance in molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. In this work, amorphous carbon at densities ranging from 2.0 to 3.2 g/cm 3 was modeled by a liquid quenching method using Tersoff, 2nd REBO, and ReaxFF empirical potentials. The hybridization, structure and radial distribution function G(r) of carbon atoms were analyzed as a function of the three potentials mentioned above. The ReaxFF potential is capable to model the change of the structure of amorphous carbon and MD results are in a good agreement with experimental results and density function theory (DFT) at low density of 2.6 g/cm 3 and below. The 2nd REBO potential can be used when amorphous carbon has a very low density of 2.4 g/cm 3 and below. Considering the computational efficiency, the Tersoff potential is recommended to model amorphous carbon at a high density of 2.6 g/cm 3 and above. In addition, the influence of the quenching time on the hybridization content obtained with the three potentials is discussed.

  16. Citrate effects on amorphous calcium carbonate (ACC) structure, stability, and crystallization

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Tobler, Dominique Jeanette; Rodriguez Blanco, Juan Diego; Dideriksen, Knud

    2015-01-01

    Understanding the role of citrate in the crystallization kinetics of amorphous calcium carbonate (ACC) is essential to explain the formation mechanisms, stabilities, surface properties, and morphologies of CaCO3 biominerals. It also contributes to deeper insight into fluid-mineral inte......Understanding the role of citrate in the crystallization kinetics of amorphous calcium carbonate (ACC) is essential to explain the formation mechanisms, stabilities, surface properties, and morphologies of CaCO3 biominerals. It also contributes to deeper insight into fluid...

  17. Combined HRTEM and PEELS analysis of nanoporous and amorphous carbon

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Peng, J.L.; Fan, X. D.; Bursill, L.A.

    1997-01-01

    Both the mass density (1.37 kgm/m 3 ) and sp 2 +sp 3 bonding fraction (0.15) were determined for an unusual nanoporous amorphous carbon consisting of curved single graphitic sheets. A combination of high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) and parallel electron energy loss spectroscopy (PEELS) was used. The values of these two parameters provide important constraints for the determination of the structure of this relatively low density variety of nanoporous carbon. The results are relevant also in the search for negatively-curved Schwarzite-related carbon structures. New date are also presented for highly-oriented pyrollytic graphite (HOPG), chemically vapour deposited (CVD) diamond, C 60 , glassy carbon (GC) and evaporated amorphous carbon (EAC); these are compared with the results for NAC. Kramers-Kronig analysis (KKA) of the low-loss PEELS data shows that the band gaps of both NAC and EAC are collapsed relative to that of CVD diamond. 18 refs., 2 tabs., 3 figs

  18. Combined HRTEM and PEELS analysis of nanoporous and amorphous carbon

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Peng, J.L.; Fan, X. D.; Bursill, L.A.

    1997-06-01

    Both the mass density (1.37 kgm/m{sup 3}) and sp{sup 2}+sp{sup 3} bonding fraction (0.15) were determined for an unusual nanoporous amorphous carbon consisting of curved single graphitic sheets. A combination of high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) and parallel electron energy loss spectroscopy (PEELS) was used. The values of these two parameters provide important constraints for the determination of the structure of this relatively low density variety of nanoporous carbon. The results are relevant also in the search for negatively-curved Schwarzite-related carbon structures. New date are also presented for highly-oriented pyrollytic graphite (HOPG), chemically vapour deposited (CVD) diamond, C{sub 60}, glassy carbon (GC) and evaporated amorphous carbon (EAC); these are compared with the results for NAC. Kramers-Kronig analysis (KKA) of the low-loss PEELS data shows that the band gaps of both NAC and EAC are collapsed relative to that of CVD diamond. 18 refs., 2 tabs., 3 figs.

  19. Amorphous carbon enhancement of hydrogen penetration into UO2

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zalkind, S.; Shamir, N.; Gouder, T.; Akhvlediani, R.; Hoffman, A.

    2014-01-01

    In a previous study, it was demonstrated that an amorphous carbon layer, deposited on a native oxide covered uranium surface, significantly enhances the interaction of hydrogen with the uranium metal. Fig. 1[2], demonstrates the preferential hydrogen attack (forming uranium hydride) on the carbon covered area of the naturally oxidized uranium metal

  20. Nanopillar arrays of amorphous carbon nitride

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sai Krishna, Katla; Pavan Kumar, B. V. V. S.; Eswaramoorthy, Muthusamy

    2011-07-01

    Nanopillar arrays of amorphous carbon nitride have been prepared using anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) membrane as a template. The amine groups present on the surface of these nanopillars were exploited for functionalization with oleic acid in order to stabilize the nanostructure at the aqueous-organic interface and also for the immobilization of metal nanoparticles and protein. These immobilised nanoparticles were found to have good catalytic activity.

  1. Revealing the 1 nm/s Extensibility of Nanoscale Amorphous Carbon in a Scanning Electron Microscope

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Zhang, Wei

    2013-01-01

    In an ultra-high vacuum scanning electron microscope, the edged branches of amorphous carbon film (∼10 nm thickness) can be continuously extended with an eye-identifying speed (on the order of ∼1 nm/s) under electron beam. Such unusual mobility of amorphous carbon may be associated with deformation...... promoted by the electric field, which resulted from an inner secondary electron potential difference from the main trunk of carbon film to the tip end of branches under electron beam. This result demonstrates importance of applying electrical effects to modify properties of carbon materials. It may have...... positive implications to explore some amorphous carbon as electron field emission device. SCANNING 35: 261-264, 2013. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc....

  2. Low-energy electron irradiation induced top-surface nanocrystallization of amorphous carbon film

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Cheng; Fan, Xue; Diao, Dongfeng

    2016-10-01

    We report a low-energy electron irradiation method to nanocrystallize the top-surface of amorphous carbon film in electron cyclotron resonance plasma system. The nanostructure evolution of the carbon film as a function of electron irradiation density and time was examined by transmission electron microscope (TEM) and Raman spectroscopy. The results showed that the electron irradiation gave rise to the formation of sp2 nanocrystallites in the film top-surface within 4 nm thickness. The formation of sp2 nanocrystallite was ascribed to the inelastic electron scattering in the top-surface of carbon film. The frictional property of low-energy electron irradiated film was measured by a pin-on-disk tribometer. The sp2 nanocrystallized top-surface induced a lower friction coefficient than that of the original pure amorphous film. This method enables a convenient nanocrystallization of amorphous surface.

  3. Amorphous Carbon Gold Nanocomposite Thin Films: Structural and Spectro-ellipsometric Analysis

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Montiel-Gonzalez, Z., E-mail: zeuzmontiel@hotmail.com [Instituto de Investigaciones en Materiales, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Circuito exterior s/n, Ciudad Universitaria, Coyoacan 04510, Mexico D.F (Mexico); Rodil, S.E.; Muhl, S. [Instituto de Investigaciones en Materiales, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Circuito exterior s/n, Ciudad Universitaria, Coyoacan 04510, Mexico D.F (Mexico); Mendoza-Galvan, A. [Centro de Investigacion y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politecnico Nacional, Unidad Queretaro, 76010 Queretaro, Queretaro (Mexico); Rodriguez-Fernandez, L. [Instituto de Fisica, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Circuito de la Investigacion Cientifica, Ciudad Universitaria, 04510, Mexico D.F (Mexico)

    2011-07-01

    Spectroscopic Ellipsometry was used to determine the optical and structural properties of amorphous carbon:gold nanocomposite thin films deposited by dc magnetron co-sputtering at different deposition power. The incorporation of gold as small particles distributed in the amorphous carbon matrix was confirmed by X-ray Diffraction, Rutherford Backscattering measurements and High Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy. Based on these results, an optical model for the films was developed using the Maxwell-Garnett effective medium with the Drude-Lorentz model representing the optical response of gold and the Tauc-Lorentz model for the amorphous carbon. The gold volume fraction and particle size obtained from the fitting processes were comparable to those from the physical characterization. The analysis of the ellipsometric spectra for all the samples showed strong changes in the optical properties of the carbon films as a consequence of the gold incorporation. These changes were correlated to the structural modification observed by Raman Spectroscopy, which indicated a clustering of the sp{sup 2} phase with a subsequent decrease in the optical gap. Finally, measurements of Reflection and Transmission Spectroscopy were carried out and Transmission Electron Microscopy images were obtained in order to support the ellipsometric model results.

  4. Theoretical investigation of magnetic properties in interfaces of magnetic nanoparticles and amorphous carbons

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sun, Shih-Jye, E-mail: sjs@nuk.edu.tw [Department of Applied Physics, National University of Kaohsiung, Kaohsiung 811, Taiwan (China); Hsu, Hua-Shu [Department of Applied Physics, National Pingtung University, Pingtung 900, Taiwan (China); Ovchinnikov, Sergei [Kirensky Institute of Physics, Federal Research Center KSC SB RAS, Krasnoyarsk 660036 (Russian Federation); Chen, Guan-Long [Department of Applied Physics, National University of Kaohsiung, Kaohsiung 811, Taiwan (China)

    2017-06-15

    Highlights: • The interfaces of amorphous carbons will be graphited and antiferromagnetic. • The ferromagnetism on the Co interfaces is induced by the medium electrons. • The spin-wave excitation will change between the acoustic and optical modes. • The charge exchange in the interfaces changes the magnetism of the interfaces. - Abstract: Based on the experimental finding of the exchange bias in amorphous carbon samples with embedded Co nanoparticles and on the graphited character of the amorphous carbon interface confirmed by molecular dynamics simulations we have proposed the interface of graphited carbon to be antiferromagnetic. A theoretical model, which comprises the Kondo interactions in the interfaces of Co nanoparticles and the induced antiferromagnetic interactions in the graphited carbons, is employed to evaluate the ferromagnetism of the interfaces of Co nanoparticles. We have shown that the ferromagnetism of interfaces of Co nanoparticles will be enhanced by the increase of antiferromagnetic interaction as well as the increase of electron density in the graphited carbons. In particular, we found that the antiferromagnetic interactions in graphited carbons will change the spin-wave excitation in interfaces of Co nanoparticles from the quasiacoustic mode to the quasioptical one.

  5. Research Update: Direct conversion of amorphous carbon into diamond at ambient pressures and temperatures in air

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Narayan, Jagdish; Bhaumik, Anagh

    2015-01-01

    We report on fundamental discovery of conversion of amorphous carbon into diamond by irradiating amorphous carbon films with nanosecond lasers at room-temperature in air at atmospheric pressure. We can create diamond in the form of nanodiamond (size range <100 nm) and microdiamond (>100 nm). Nanosecond laser pulses are used to melt amorphous diamondlike carbon and create a highly undercooled state, from which various forms of diamond can be formed upon cooling. The quenching from the super undercooled state results in nucleation of nanodiamond. It is found that microdiamonds grow out of highly undercooled state of carbon, with nanodiamond acting as seed crystals

  6. Controlled synthesis of concave tetrahedral palladium nanocrystals by reducing Pd(acac)2 with carbon monoxide

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhu, Hai; Chi, Quan; Zhao, Yanxi; Li, Chunya; Tang, Heqing; Li, Jinlin; Huang, Tao; Liu, Hanfan

    2012-01-01

    Graphical abstract: By using CO as a reducing agent, uniform and well-defined concave tetrahedral Pd nanocrystals were successfully synthesized. CO flow rate was the most essential for the formation of the concave tetrahedral nanostructures. The morphologies and sizes of the final products can be well controlled by adjusting the flow rate of CO. Highlights: ► By using CO as a reducing agent, concave tetrahedral Pd nanocrystals were obtained. ► CO flow rate is critical to the formation of concave tetrahedral Pd nanocrystals. ► The selective adsorption of CO on (1 1 0) facets is essential to concave Pd tetrahedra. -- Abstract: CO reducing strategy to control the morphologies of palladium nanocrystals was investigated. By using CO as a reducing agent, uniform and well-defined concave tetrahedral Pd nanocrystals with a mean size of about 55 ± 2 nm were readily synthesized with Pd(acac) 2 as a precursor and PVP as a stabilizer. The structures of the as-prepared Pd nanocrystals were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), ultraviolet–visible (UV–vis) absorption spectroscopy and electrochemical measurements. The results demonstrated that CO was the most essential for the formation of the concave tetrahedral Pd nanostructures. The morphologies and sizes of the final products can be well controlled by adjusting the flow rate of CO. The most appropriate CO flow rate, temperature and time for the formation of the ideal concave tetrahedral Pd nanocrystals was 0.033 mL s −1 , 100 °C and 3 h, respectively.

  7. Bonding topologies in diamondlike amorphous-carbon films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Siegal, M. P.; Provencio, P. N.; Tallant, D. R.; Simpson, R. L.; Kleinsorge, B.; Milne, W. I.

    2000-01-01

    The carbon ion energy used during filtered cathodic vacuum arc deposition determines the bonding topologies of amorphous-carbon (a-C) films. Regions of relatively low density occur near the substrate/film and film/surface interfaces; their thicknesses increase with deposition energy. The ion subplantation growth results in mass density gradients in the bulk portion of a-C in the growth direction; density decreases with distance from the substrate for films grown using ion energies 160 eV. Films grown between these energies are the most diamondlike with relatively uniform bulk density and the highest optical transparencies. Bonding topologies evolve with increasing growth energy consistent with the propagation of subplanted carbon ions inducing a partial transformation of σ- to π-bonded carbon atoms. (c) 2000 American Institute of Physics

  8. Sputtering of amorphous carbon layers studied by laser induced fluorescence

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pasch, E.

    1992-07-01

    In order to minimize the radiation losses, it is desirable to keep the plasmas in nuclear fusion devices free of high-Z-impurities. Therefore, the walls of TEXTOR and other tokamaks are covered with thin layers of amorphous carbon layers (a-C:H) or amorphous carbon/boron layers (a-C/B:H). The sputtering behaviour of these layers has been studied under bombardment by Ar + ions with energies of 1.5 keV and current densities of a few mA/cm 2 . Investigations of these coatings were carried out with the object to measure the velocity distribution of the sputtered atoms and the sputtered yields by laser induced fluorescence in the vacuum ultraviolet. (orig.)

  9. Convective heat transfer enhancement using Carbon nanofibers (CNFs): influence of amorphous carbon layer on heat transfer performance

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Taha, T.J.; Lefferts, Leonardus; van der Meer, Theodorus H.

    2013-01-01

    In this work, an experimental heat transfer investigation was carried out to investigate the combined influence of both amorphous carbon (a-C) layer thickness and carbon nanofibers (CNFs) on the convective heat transfer behavior. Synthesis of these carbon nano structures was achieved using catalytic

  10. Amorphous TiO2 doped with carbon for visible light photodegradation of rhodamine B and 4-chlorophenol

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shao, Penghui; Tian, Jiayu; Zhao, Zhiwei; Shi, Wenxin; Gao, Shanshan; Cui, Fuyi

    2015-01-01

    Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • Amorphous TiO 2 doped with carbon is prepared as a visible photocatalyst. • RhB and 4-chlorophenol are decomposed effectively by carbon-doped amorphous TiO 2 . • The mechanism for visible light photocatalysis is discussed detailedly. - Abstract: Visible light photocatalytic activity of amorphous TiO 2 doped with carbon is prepared by a facile sol-gel route for the first time. The most active sample with mesostructure of amorphous phase, high surface area (273 m 2 g −1 ) and large pore volume (0.33 cm 3 g −1 ) is identified by X-ray diffractometer, Raman spectrometer, transmission electron microscope and N 2 adsorption–desorption isotherms. In addition, the most active sample is characterized by Fourier transform-infrared spectrometer, X-ray photoelectron spectrometer, UV–vis diffuse reflectance spectrometer and luminescence spectrometer. The results show that the most active sample with oxygenic groups has a narrower bandgap and lower recombination of electron–hole, due to the carbon doping and phase of amorphous. Effective photodegradation capability and stability of rhodamine B and colorless 4-chlorophenol are verified by photocatalytic tests under visible light irradiation. A possible mechanism of amorphous TiO 2 doped with carbon for visible light photocatalysis is proposed. The findings of this paper will provide new insights to design visible light-induced photocatalyst based on amorphous TiO 2 for organic removal

  11. Amorphous calcium carbonate particles form coral skeletons

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mass, Tali; Giuffre, Anthony J.; Sun, Chang-Yu; Stifler, Cayla A.; Frazier, Matthew J.; Neder, Maayan; Tamura, Nobumichi; Stan, Camelia V.; Marcus, Matthew A.; Gilbert, Pupa U. P. A.

    2017-09-01

    Do corals form their skeletons by precipitation from solution or by attachment of amorphous precursor particles as observed in other minerals and biominerals? The classical model assumes precipitation in contrast with observed “vital effects,” that is, deviations from elemental and isotopic compositions at thermodynamic equilibrium. Here, we show direct spectromicroscopy evidence in Stylophora pistillata corals that two amorphous precursors exist, one hydrated and one anhydrous amorphous calcium carbonate (ACC); that these are formed in the tissue as 400-nm particles; and that they attach to the surface of coral skeletons, remain amorphous for hours, and finally, crystallize into aragonite (CaCO3). We show in both coral and synthetic aragonite spherulites that crystal growth by attachment of ACC particles is more than 100 times faster than ion-by-ion growth from solution. Fast growth provides a distinct physiological advantage to corals in the rigors of the reef, a crowded and fiercely competitive ecosystem. Corals are affected by warming-induced bleaching and postmortem dissolution, but the finding here that ACC particles are formed inside tissue may make coral skeleton formation less susceptible to ocean acidification than previously assumed. If this is how other corals form their skeletons, perhaps this is how a few corals survived past CO2 increases, such as the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum that occurred 56 Mya.

  12. Atomic-scale study of the amorphous-to-crystalline phase transition mechanism in GeTe thin films

    CERN Document Server

    Mantovan, R.; Mokhles Gerami, A.; Mølholt, T. E.; Wiemer, C.; Longo, M.; Gunnlaugsson, H. P.; Johnston, K.; Masenda, H.; Naidoo, D.; Ncube, M.; Bharuth-Ram, K.; Fanciulli, M.; Gislason, H. P.; Langouche, G.; Ólafsson, S.; Weyer, G.

    The underlying mechanism driving the structural amorphous-to-crystalline transition in Group VI chalcogenides is still a matter of debate even in the simplest GeTe system. We exploit the extreme sensitivity of 57Fe emission Mössbauer spectroscopy, following dilute implantation of 57Mn (T½ = 1.5 min) at ISOLDE/CERN, to study the electronic charge distribution in the immediate vicinity  of the 57Fe probe substituting Ge (FeGe), and to interrogate the local environment of FeGe over the amorphous-crystalline phase transition in GeTe thin films. Our results show that the local structure  of as-sputtered amorphous GeTe is a combination of tetrahedral and defect-octahedral sites. The main effect of the crystallization is the conversion from tetrahedral to defect-free octahedral sites.  We discover that only the tetrahedral fraction in amorphous GeTe participates to the change of the FeGe-Te chemical bond...

  13. Bonding topologies in diamondlike amorphous-carbon films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    SIEGAL,MICHAEL P.; PROVENCIO,PAULA P.; TALLANT,DAVID R.; SIMPSON,REGINA L.; KLEINSORGE,B.; MILNE,W.I.

    2000-01-27

    The carbon ion energy used during filtered cathodic vacuum arc deposition determines the bonding topologies of amorphous-carbon (a-C) films. Regions of relatively low density occur near the substrate/film and film/surface interfaces and their thicknesses increase with increasing deposition energy. The ion subplantation growth results in mass density gradients in the bulk portion of a-C in the growth direction; density decreases with distance from the substrate for films grown using ion energies < 60 eV and increases for films grown using ion energies > 160 eV. Films grown between these energies are the most diamondlike with relatively uniform bulk density and the highest optical transparencies. Bonding topologies evolve with increasing growth energy consistent with the propagation of subplanted carbon ions inducing a partial transformation of 4-fold to 3-fold coordinated carbon atoms.

  14. Bonding topologies in diamondlike amorphous-carbon films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Siegal, M. P. [Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87185-1421 (United States); Provencio, P. N. [Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87185-1421 (United States); Tallant, D. R. [Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87185-1421 (United States); Simpson, R. L. [Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87185-1421 (United States); Kleinsorge, B. [Department of Engineering, Cambridge University, Cambridge CB2 1PZ, (United Kingdom); Milne, W. I. [Department of Engineering, Cambridge University, Cambridge CB2 1PZ, (United Kingdom)

    2000-04-10

    The carbon ion energy used during filtered cathodic vacuum arc deposition determines the bonding topologies of amorphous-carbon (a-C) films. Regions of relatively low density occur near the substrate/film and film/surface interfaces; their thicknesses increase with deposition energy. The ion subplantation growth results in mass density gradients in the bulk portion of a-C in the growth direction; density decreases with distance from the substrate for films grown using ion energies <60 eV and increases for films grown using ion energies >160 eV. Films grown between these energies are the most diamondlike with relatively uniform bulk density and the highest optical transparencies. Bonding topologies evolve with increasing growth energy consistent with the propagation of subplanted carbon ions inducing a partial transformation of {sigma}- to {pi}-bonded carbon atoms. (c) 2000 American Institute of Physics.

  15. Ternary graphene/amorphous carbon/nickel nanocomposite film for outstanding superhydrophobicity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, Xiaobo; Zhou, Shengguo; Yan, Qingqing

    2018-04-01

    A novel superhydrophobic ternary graphene/amorphous carbon/nickel (G-Ni/a-C:H) carbon-based film was fabricated by a green approach of high-voltage electrochemical deposition without using aqueous solution, which was systematically investigated including the structure and relating applications on self-cleaning and corrosion resistance. Graphene and nickel nano-particle inserts were effective to tailor the feature of nanocrystallite/amorphous microstructure as well as micro-nanoscale hierarchical rose-petal-like surface for G-Ni/a-C:H carbon-based film. Surprisingly, this deposit could present outstanding superhydrophobicity with the contact angle of 158.98 deg and sliding angle of 2.75 deg without any further surface modification meanwhile it could possess fairly well adhesion. Furthermore, the superhydrophobic G-Ni/a-C:H carbon-based film could exhibit excellent corrosion resistance and self-cleaning performances compared to no graphene incorporated deposit. The procedure of fabricating deposit might be simple, scalable, and environmental friendly, indicating a promising prospect for industrial applications in the field of anti-fouling, anti-corrosion and drag resistance.

  16. Influence of thermal heating on diamond-like carbon film properties prepared by filtered cathodic arc

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Khamnualthong, N.; Siangchaew, K.; Limsuwan, P.

    2013-01-01

    Tetrahedral amorphous diamond-like carbon (ta-DLC) films were deposited on magnetic recording heads using the filtered cathodic arc method. The deposited film thickness was on the order of several nanometers. The DLC films were then annealed to 100 °C–300 °C for 30 and 60 min, and the structure of the ta-DLC films was investigated using Raman spectroscopy, where the gross changes were observed in the Raman D and G peaks. Detailed interpretation concluded that there was sp 2 clustering as a function of temperature, and there was no sp 3 -to-sp 2 conversion after heating up to 300 °C. Furthermore, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy suggested that oxidation of both the ta-DLC film and the adhesion layer occurs at 300 °C. Additionally, more film wear was observed with heating as measured by a nanoindenter. - Highlights: • Tetrahedral-amorphous diamond-like carbon (ta-DLC) by filtered cathodic arc • ta-DLC used in magnetic recording head as head overcoat • ta-DLC thickness range of less than 2 nm • ta-DLC property dependence on heating • Temperature effect range of up to 300 °C

  17. Short-range order in amorphous thin films of indium selenides

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zakharov, V.P.; Poltavtsev, Yu.G.; Sheremet, G.P.

    1982-01-01

    A structure of the short-range order and a character of interatomic interactions in indium selenides Insub(1-x)Sesub(x) with 0.333 <= x <= 0.75, obtained in the form of amorphous films 0.05-0.80 μm thick are studied using electron diffraction method. It is found out that mostly tetrahedrical coordination of nearest neighbours in the vicinity of indium atoms is characteristic for studied amorphous films, and coordination of selenium atoms is different. Amorphous film with x=0.75 posesses a considereably microheterogeneous structure of the short-range order, which is characterized by the presence of microunclusions of amorphous selenium and atoms of indium, octohedrically coordinated by selenium atoms

  18. The hydrogen and oxygen content of self-supporting carbon foils prepared by dc glow discharge in ethylene

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tait, N.R.S.; Tolfree, D.W.L.; John, P.; Odeh, I.M.; Thomas, M.J.K.; Tricker, M.J.; Wilson, J.J.B.; England, J.B.A.; Newton, D.

    1980-01-01

    The hydrogen and oxygen content of self-supporting carbon films produced by dc glow discharge have been determined using a precise method involving the elastic scattering of 25 MeV α-particles. The number of carbon-hydrogen bonds has been determined for similar samples using infrared spectroscopy. The results are compared with those for samples made by the carbon arc process. Assuming that the glow discharge carbon contains graphitic regions surrounded by amorphous tetrahedrally bonded material to which hydrogen can attach, a simple estimate is made of the relative numbers of carbon atoms in the two forms. (orig.)

  19. Low hydrogen containing amorphous carbon films - Growth and electrochemical properties as lithium battery anodes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Subramanian, V.; Masarapu, Charan; Wei, Bingqing [Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Delaware, 130 Academy Street, Newark, DE 19716 (United States); Karabacak, Tansel [Department of Applied Science, University of Arkansas at Little Rock, 2801 South University Avenue, Little Rock, AR 72204 (United States); Teki, Ranganath [Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY 12180 (United States); Lu, Toh-Ming [Department of Physics, Applied Physics, and Astronomy, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY 12180 (United States)

    2010-04-02

    Amorphous carbon films were deposited successfully on Cu foils by DC magnetron sputtering technique. Electrochemical performance of the film as lithium battery anode was evaluated across Li metal at 0.2 C rate in a non-aqueous electrolyte. The discharge curves showed unusually low irreversible capacity in the first cycle with a reversible capacity of {proportional_to}810 mAh g{sup -1}, which is at least 2 times higher than that of graphitic carbon. For the first time we report here an amorphous carbon showing such a high reversibility in the first cycle, which is very much limited to the graphitic carbon. The deposited films were extensively characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and step profilometer for the structural and surface properties. The hydrogen content of the synthesized films was studied using residual gas analysis (RGA). The low hydrogen content and the low specific surface area of the synthesized amorphous carbon film are considered responsible for such a high first cycle columbic efficiency. The growth mechanism and the reasons for enhanced electrochemical performance of the carbon films are discussed. (author)

  20. Low hydrogen containing amorphous carbon films-Growth and electrochemical properties as lithium battery anodes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Subramanian, V.; Karabacak, Tansel; Masarapu, Charan; Teki, Ranganath; Lu, Toh-Ming; Wei, Bingqing

    Amorphous carbon films were deposited successfully on Cu foils by DC magnetron sputtering technique. Electrochemical performance of the film as lithium battery anode was evaluated across Li metal at 0.2 C rate in a non-aqueous electrolyte. The discharge curves showed unusually low irreversible capacity in the first cycle with a reversible capacity of ∼810 mAh g -1, which is at least 2 times higher than that of graphitic carbon. For the first time we report here an amorphous carbon showing such a high reversibility in the first cycle, which is very much limited to the graphitic carbon. The deposited films were extensively characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and step profilometer for the structural and surface properties. The hydrogen content of the synthesized films was studied using residual gas analysis (RGA). The low hydrogen content and the low specific surface area of the synthesized amorphous carbon film are considered responsible for such a high first cycle columbic efficiency. The growth mechanism and the reasons for enhanced electrochemical performance of the carbon films are discussed.

  1. Opto-electrical properties of amorphous carbon thin film deposited from natural precursor camphor

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pradhan, Debabrata [Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai 400 076 (India)]. E-mail: dpradhan@sciborg.uwaterloo.ca; Sharon, Maheshwar [Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai 400 076 (India)

    2007-06-30

    A simple thermal chemical vapor deposition technique is employed for the pyrolysis of a natural precursor 'camphor' and deposition of carbon films on alumina substrate at higher temperatures (600-900 deg. C). X-ray diffraction measurement reveals the amorphous structure of these films. The carbon films properties are found to significantly vary with the deposition temperatures. At higher deposition temperature, films have shown predominately sp{sup 2}-bonded carbon and therefore, higher conductivity and lower optical band gap (Tauc gap). These amorphous carbon (a-C) films are also characterized with Raman and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. In addition, electrical and optical properties are measured. The thermoelectric measurement shows these as-grown a-C films are p-type in nature.

  2. Mechanochemical treatment of amorphous carbon from brown sphagnum moss for the preparation of carbon nanotubes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Onishchenko, D.V.

    2013-01-01

    Under consideration is the mechanism of multiwalled nanotubes formation during mechanical activation of amorphous carbon synthesized by pyrolysis of sphagnum moss. The formation of nanotubes has been shown to take place in the array of carbon particles. A complex study of the sorption characteristics of carbon nanotubes has been carried out. The dependence of the sorption capacity of carbon nanotubes on their storage time, as well as the effect of the process parameters of nanotubes formation on their ability for oxidative modification, is represented. (authors)

  3. Stabilization of amorphous calcium carbonate by controlling its particle size

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Nudelman, F.; Sonmezler, E.; Bomans, P.H.H.; With, de G.; Sommerdijk, N.A.J.M.

    2010-01-01

    Amorphous calcium carbonate (ACC) nanoparticles of different size are prepared using a flow system. Post-synthesis stabilization with a layer of poly[(a,ß)-DL-aspartic acid] leads to stabilization of the ACC, but only for particles

  4. Nanostructural characterization of amorphous diamondlike carbon films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Siegal, M. P. [Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87185 (United States); Tallant, D. R. [Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87185 (United States); Martinez-Miranda, L. J. [University of Maryland, Department of Materials and Nuclear Engineering, College Park, Maryland 20742 (United States); Barbour, J. C. [Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87185 (United States); Simpson, R. L. [Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87185 (United States); Overmyer, D. L. [Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87185 (United States)

    2000-04-15

    Nanostructural characterization of amorphous diamondlike carbon (a-C) films grown on silicon using pulsed-laser deposition (PLD) is correlated to both growth energetics and film thickness. Raman spectroscopy and x-ray reflectivity probe both the topological nature of three- and four-fold coordinated carbon atom bonding and the topographical clustering of their distributions within a given film. In general, increasing the energetics of PLD growth results in films becoming more ''diamondlike,'' i.e., increasing mass density and decreasing optical absorbance. However, these same properties decrease appreciably with thickness. The topology of carbon atom bonding is different for material near the substrate interface compared to material within the bulk portion of an a-C film. A simple model balancing the energy of residual stress and the free energies of resulting carbon topologies is proposed to provide an explanation of the evolution of topographical bonding clusters in a growing a-C film. (c) 2000 The American Physical Society.

  5. Nanostructural characterization of amorphous diamondlike carbon films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    SIEGAL,MICHAEL P.; TALLANT,DAVID R.; MARTINEZ-MIRANDA,L.J.; BARBOUR,J. CHARLES; SIMPSON,REGINA L.; OVERMYER,DONALD L.

    2000-01-27

    Nanostructural characterization of amorphous diamondlike carbon (a-C) films grown on silicon using pulsed-laser deposition (PLD) is correlated to both growth energetic and film thickness. Raman spectroscopy and x-ray reflectivity probe both the topological nature of 3- and 4-fold coordinated carbon atom bonding and the topographical clustering of their distributions within a given film. In general, increasing the energetic of PLD growth results in films becoming more ``diamondlike'', i.e. increasing mass density and decreasing optical absorbance. However, these same properties decrease appreciably with thickness. The topology of carbon atom bonding is different for material near the substrate interface compared to material within the bulk portion of an a-C film. A simple model balancing the energy of residual stress and the free energies of resulting carbon topologies is proposed to provide an explanation of the evolution of topographical bonding clusters in a growing a-C film.

  6. Growth Mechanism for Low Temperature PVD Graphene Synthesis on Copper Using Amorphous Carbon

    Science.gov (United States)

    Narula, Udit; Tan, Cher Ming; Lai, Chao Sung

    2017-03-01

    Growth mechanism for synthesizing PVD based Graphene using Amorphous Carbon, catalyzed by Copper is investigated in this work. Different experiments with respect to Amorphous Carbon film thickness, annealing time and temperature are performed for the investigation. Copper film stress and its effect on hydrogen diffusion through the film grain boundaries are found to be the key factors for the growth mechanism, and supported by our Finite Element Modeling. Low temperature growth of Graphene is achieved and the proposed growth mechanism is found to remain valid at low temperatures.

  7. A tetrapyridine ligand with a rigid tetrahedral core forms metal-organic frameworks with PtS type architecture.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Caputo, Christopher B; Vukotic, V Nicholas; Sirizzotti, Natalie M; Loeb, Stephen J

    2011-08-14

    A new tetradentate, pyridine ligand with a rigid tetrahedral core can be prepared in good yield by a cross-coupling methodology. Two metal organic framework structures of Cu(II) with PtS-type topology having a carbon atom as the tetrahedral node have been characterized utilising this ligand. This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2011

  8. Synthesis of Antimony Doped Amorphous Carbon Films

    Science.gov (United States)

    Okuyama, H.; Takashima, M.; Akasaka, H.; Ohtake, N.

    2013-06-01

    We report the effects of antimony (Sb) doping on the electrical and optical properties of amorphous carbon (a-C:H) films grown on silicon and copper substrates by magnetron sputtering deposition. For film deposition, the mixture targets fabricated from carbon and antimony powders was used. The atomic concentration of carbon, hydrogen, and antimony, in the film deposited from the 1.0 mol% Sb containing target were 81, 17, 2 at.%, respectively. These elements were homogeneously distributed in the film. On the structural effect, the average continuous sp2 carbon bonding networks decreased with Sb concentration increasing, and defects in the films were increased with the Sb incorporation because atomic radius of Sb atoms is twice larger size than that of carbon. The optical gap and the electrical resistivity were carried out before and after the Sb doping. The results show that optical gap dropped from 3.15 to 3.04 eV corresponding to non-doping to Sb-doping conditions, respectively. The electrical resistivity reduced from 10.5 to 1.0 MΩm by the Sb doping. These results suggest the doping level was newly formed in the forbidden band.

  9. Synthesis of Antimony Doped Amorphous Carbon Films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Okuyama, H; Takashima, M; Akasaka, H; Ohtake, N

    2013-01-01

    We report the effects of antimony (Sb) doping on the electrical and optical properties of amorphous carbon (a-C:H) films grown on silicon and copper substrates by magnetron sputtering deposition. For film deposition, the mixture targets fabricated from carbon and antimony powders was used. The atomic concentration of carbon, hydrogen, and antimony, in the film deposited from the 1.0 mol% Sb containing target were 81, 17, 2 at.%, respectively. These elements were homogeneously distributed in the film. On the structural effect, the average continuous sp 2 carbon bonding networks decreased with Sb concentration increasing, and defects in the films were increased with the Sb incorporation because atomic radius of Sb atoms is twice larger size than that of carbon. The optical gap and the electrical resistivity were carried out before and after the Sb doping. The results show that optical gap dropped from 3.15 to 3.04 eV corresponding to non-doping to Sb-doping conditions, respectively. The electrical resistivity reduced from 10.5 to 1.0 MΩm by the Sb doping. These results suggest the doping level was newly formed in the forbidden band.

  10. Screen-printed carbon electrode modified on its surface with amorphous carbon nitride thin film: Electrochemical and morphological study

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ghamouss, F. [Universite de Nantes, UMR 6006-CNRS, FR-2465-CNRS, Laboratoire d' Analyse isotopique et Electrochimique de Metabolismes (LAIEM) (France); Tessier, P.-Y. [Universite de Nantes, UMR CNRS 6502, Institut des Materiaux Jean Rouxel - IMN Faculte des Sciences and des Techniques de Nantes, 2 rue de la Houssiniere, 44322 Nantes Cedex 3 (France); Djouadi, A. [Universite de Nantes, UMR CNRS 6502, Institut des Materiaux Jean Rouxel - IMN Faculte des Sciences and des Techniques de Nantes, 2 rue de la Houssiniere, 44322 Nantes Cedex 3 (France); Besland, M.-P. [Universite de Nantes, UMR CNRS 6502, Institut des Materiaux Jean Rouxel - IMN Faculte des Sciences and des Techniques de Nantes, 2 rue de la Houssiniere, 44322 Nantes Cedex 3 (France); Boujtita, M. [Universite de Nantes, UMR 6006-CNRS, FR-2465-CNRS, Laboratoire d' Analyse isotopique et Electrochimique de Metabolismes (LAIEM) (France)]. E-mail: mohammed.boujtita@univ-nantes.fr

    2007-04-20

    The surface of a screen-printed carbon electrode (SPCE) was modified by using amorphous carbon nitride (a-CN {sub x}) thin film deposited by reactive magnetron sputtering. Scanning electron microscopy and photoelectron spectroscopy measurements were used to characterise respectively the morphology and the chemical structure of the a-CN {sub x} modified electrodes. The incorporation of nitrogen in the amorphous carbon network was demonstrated by X ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The a-CN {sub x} layers were deposited on both carbon screen-printed electrode (SPCE) and silicon (Si) substrates. A comparative study showed that the nature of substrate, i.e. SPCE and Si, has a significant effect on both the surface morphology of deposited a-CN {sub x} film and their electrochemical properties. The improvement of the electrochemical reactivity of SPCE after a-CN {sub x} film deposition was highlighted both by comparing the shapes of voltammograms and calculating the apparent heterogeneous electron transfer rate constant.

  11. Pressure-induced transformations in amorphous silicon: A computational study

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Garcez, K. M. S., E-mail: kmgarcez@ufma.br [Universidade Federal do Maranhão, 65700-000 Bacabal, Maranhão (Brazil); Antonelli, A., E-mail: aantone@ifi.unicamp.br [Instituto de Física Gleb Wataghin, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, UNICAMP, 13083-859 Campinas, São Paulo (Brazil)

    2014-02-14

    We study the transformations between amorphous phases of Si through molecular simulations using the environment dependent interatomic potential (EDIP) for Si. Our results show that upon pressure, the material undergoes a transformation from the low density amorphous (LDA) Si to the high density amorphous (HDA) Si. This transformation can be reversed by decompressing the material. This process, however, exhibits clear hysteresis, suggesting that the transformation LDA ↔ HDA is first-order like. The HDA phase is predominantly five-fold coordinated, whereas the LDA phase is the normal tetrahedrally bonded amorphous Si. The HDA phase at 400 K and 20 GPa was submitted to an isobaric annealing up to 800 K, resulting in a denser amorphous phase, which is structurally distinct from the HDA phase. Our results also show that the atomic volume and structure of this new amorphous phase are identical to those of the glass obtained by an isobaric quenching of the liquid in equilibrium at 2000 K and 20 GPa down to 400 K. The similarities between our results and those for amorphous ices suggest that this new phase is the very high density amorphous Si.

  12. Pressure-induced transformations in amorphous silicon: A computational study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garcez, K. M. S.; Antonelli, A.

    2014-02-01

    We study the transformations between amorphous phases of Si through molecular simulations using the environment dependent interatomic potential (EDIP) for Si. Our results show that upon pressure, the material undergoes a transformation from the low density amorphous (LDA) Si to the high density amorphous (HDA) Si. This transformation can be reversed by decompressing the material. This process, however, exhibits clear hysteresis, suggesting that the transformation LDA ↔ HDA is first-order like. The HDA phase is predominantly five-fold coordinated, whereas the LDA phase is the normal tetrahedrally bonded amorphous Si. The HDA phase at 400 K and 20 GPa was submitted to an isobaric annealing up to 800 K, resulting in a denser amorphous phase, which is structurally distinct from the HDA phase. Our results also show that the atomic volume and structure of this new amorphous phase are identical to those of the glass obtained by an isobaric quenching of the liquid in equilibrium at 2000 K and 20 GPa down to 400 K. The similarities between our results and those for amorphous ices suggest that this new phase is the very high density amorphous Si.

  13. Cell survival in carbon beams - comparison of amorphous track model predictions

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Grzanka, L.; Greilich, S.; Korcyl, M.

    Introduction: Predictions of the radiobiological effectiveness (RBE) play an essential role in treatment planning with heavy charged particles. Amorphous track models ( [1] , [2] , also referred to as track structure models) provide currently the most suitable description of cell survival under i....... Amorphous track modelling of luminescence detector efficiency in proton and carbon beams. 4.Tsuruoka C, Suzuki M, Kanai T, et al. LET and ion species dependence for cell killing in normal human skin fibroblasts. Radiat Res. 2005;163:494-500.......Introduction: Predictions of the radiobiological effectiveness (RBE) play an essential role in treatment planning with heavy charged particles. Amorphous track models ( [1] , [2] , also referred to as track structure models) provide currently the most suitable description of cell survival under ion....... [2] . In addition, a new approach based on microdosimetric distributions is presented and investigated [3] . Material and methods: A suitable software library embrasing the mentioned amorphous track models including numerous submodels with respect to delta-electron range models, radial dose...

  14. Structural, electronic, and vibrational properties of high-density amorphous silicon: a first-principles molecular-dynamics study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morishita, Tetsuya

    2009-05-21

    We report a first-principles study of the structural, electronic, and dynamical properties of high-density amorphous (HDA) silicon, which was found to be formed by pressurizing low-density amorphous (LDA) silicon (a normal amorphous Si) [T. Morishita, Phys. Rev. Lett. 93, 055503 (2004); P. F. McMillan, M. Wilson, D. Daisenberger, and D. Machon, Nature Mater. 4, 680 (2005)]. Striking structural differences between HDA and LDA are revealed. The LDA structure holds a tetrahedral network, while the HDA structure contains a highly distorted tetrahedral network. The fifth neighboring atom in HDA tends to be located at an interstitial position of a distorted tetrahedron composed of the first four neighboring atoms. Consequently, the coordination number of HDA is calculated to be approximately 5 unlike that of LDA. The electronic density of state (EDOS) shows that HDA is metallic, which is consistent with a recent experimental measurement of the electronic resistance of HDA Si. We find from local EDOS that highly distorted tetrahedral configurations enhance the metallic nature of HDA. The vibrational density of state (VDOS) also reflects the structural differences between HDA and LDA. Some of the characteristic vibrational modes of LDA are dematerialized in HDA, indicating the degradation of covalent bonds. The overall profile of the VDOS for HDA is found to be an intermediate between that for LDA and liquid Si under pressure (high-density liquid Si).

  15. Micro-friction behavior of amorphous carbon films on porous AAO membrane synthesized by the pyrolysis of polyethleneglycol 400

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tu, J.P.; Jiang, C.X.; Guo, S.Y.; Fu, M.F.

    2005-01-01

    The amorphous carbon films with different degrees of graphitization were synthesized by the pyrolysis of polyethleneglycol 400 infiltrated in the nano-sized pores of anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) membrane. The morphology and microstructure of the carbon films were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy. The micro-friction behavior of the amorphous carbon films sliding against GCr15 steel in ambient air was investigated using a ball-on-disk tester at an applied load of 980 mN and a sliding velocity of 0.2 m s -1 . The graphitization degree in the carbon films had effect on the micro-friction properties. In comparison, the amorphous carbon film with high graphitization degree showed low friction coefficient and high wear resistance. An efficient approach was brought for enhancing the friction performance of aluminum

  16. Micro-friction behavior of amorphous carbon films on porous AAO membrane synthesized by the pyrolysis of polyethleneglycol 400

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tu, J P [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027 (China); Jiang, C X [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027 (China); Department of Mechanical and Electronic Engineering, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330029 (China); Guo, S Y [Department of Mechanical Engineering, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou 310033 (China); Fu, M F [Department of Mechanical and Electronic Engineering, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330029 (China)

    2005-05-25

    The amorphous carbon films with different degrees of graphitization were synthesized by the pyrolysis of polyethleneglycol 400 infiltrated in the nano-sized pores of anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) membrane. The morphology and microstructure of the carbon films were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy. The micro-friction behavior of the amorphous carbon films sliding against GCr15 steel in ambient air was investigated using a ball-on-disk tester at an applied load of 980 mN and a sliding velocity of 0.2 m s{sup -1}. The graphitization degree in the carbon films had effect on the micro-friction properties. In comparison, the amorphous carbon film with high graphitization degree showed low friction coefficient and high wear resistance. An efficient approach was brought for enhancing the friction performance of aluminum.

  17. Ultrathin diamond-like carbon films deposited by filtered carbon vacuum arcs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anders, Andre; Fong, Walton; Kulkarni, Ashok; Ryan, Francis W.; Bhatia, C. Singh

    2001-01-01

    Ultrathin ( and lt; 5 nm) hard carbon films are of great interest to the magnetic storage industry as the areal density approaches 100 Gbit/in(sup 2). These films are used as overcoats to protect the magnetic layers on disk media and the active elements of the read-write slider. Tetrahedral amorphous carbon films can be produced by filtered cathodic arc deposition, but the films will only be accepted by the storage industry only if the ''macroparticle'' issue has been solved. Better plasma filters have been developed over recent years. Emphasis is put on the promising twist filter system - a compact, open structure that operates with pulsed arcs and high magnetic field. Based on corrosion tests it is shown that the macroparticle reduction by the twist filter is satisfactory for this demanding application, while plasma throughput is very high. Ultrathin hard carbon films have been synthesized using S-filter and twist filter systems. Film properties such as hardness, elastic modulus, wear, and corrosion resistance have been tested

  18. Interdispersed amorphous MnO{sub x}-carbon nanocomposites with superior electrochemical performance as lithium-storage material

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Guo, Juchen; Wang, Chunsheng [Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park, MD (United States); Liu, Qing; Zachariah, Michael R. [Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Maryland, College Park, MD (United States)

    2012-02-22

    The realization of manganese oxide anode materials for lithium-ion batteries is hindered by inferior cycle stability, rate capability, and high overpotential induced by the agglomeration of manganese metal grains, low conductivity of manganese oxide, and the high stress/strain in the crystalline manganese oxide structure during the repeated lithiation/delithiation process. To overcome these challenges, unique amorphous MnO{sub x}-C nanocomposite particles with interdispersed carbon are synthesized using aerosol spray pyrolysis. The carbon filled in the pores of amorphous MnO{sub x} blocks the penetration of liquid electrolyte to the inside of MnO{sub x}, thus reducing the formation of a solid electrolyte interphase and lowering the irreversible capacity. The high electronic and lithium-ion conductivity of carbon also enhances the rate capability. Moreover, the interdispersed carbon functions as a barrier structure to prevent manganese grain agglomeration. The amorphous structure of MnO{sub x} brings additional benefits by reducing the stress/strain of the conversion reaction, thus lowering lithiation/delithiation overpotential. As the result, the amorphous MnO{sub x}-C particles demonstrated the best performance as an anode material for lithium-ion batteries to date. (Copyright copyright 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

  19. Carbon isotope fractionation between amorphous calcium carbonate and calcite in earthworm-produced calcium carbonate

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Versteegh, E.A.A.; Black, S.; Hodson, M.E.

    2017-01-01

    In this study we investigate carbon isotope fractionation during the crystallization of biogenic calcium carbonate. Several species of earthworm including Lumbricus terrestris secrete CaCO_3. Initially a milky fluid comprising micro-spherules of amorphous CaCO_3 (ACC) is secreted into pouches of the earthworm calciferous gland. The micro-spherules coalesce and crystalize to form millimetre scale granules, largely comprising calcite. These are secreted into the earthworm intestine and from there into the soil. L. terrestris were cultured for 28 days in two different soils, moistened with three different mineral waters at 10, 16 and 20 °C. The milky fluid in the calciferous glands, granules in the pouches of the calciferous glands and granules excreted into the soil were collected and analysed by FTIR spectroscopy to determine the form of CaCO_3 present and by IRMS to determine δ"1"3C values. The milky fluid was ACC. Granules removed from the pouches and soil were largely calcite; the granules removed from the pouches contained more residual ACC than those recovered from the soil. The δ"1"3C values of milky fluid and pouch granules became significantly more negative with increasing temperature (p ≤ 0.001). For samples from each temperature treatment, δ"1"3C values became significantly (p ≤ 0.001) more negative from the milky fluid to the pouch granules to the soil granules (−13.77, −14.69 and −15.00 respectively at 10 °C; −14.37, −15.07 and −15.18 respectively at 16 °C and −14.89, −15.41 and −15.65 respectively at 20 °C). Fractionation of C isotopes occurred as the ACC recrystallized to form calcite with the fractionation factor ε_c_a_l_c_i_t_e_-_A_C_C = −1.20 ± 0.52‰. This is consistent with the crystallization involving dissolution and reprecipitation rather than a solid state rearrangement. Although C isotopic fractionation has previously been described between different species of dissolved inorganic carbon

  20. Inverse simulated annealing: Improvements and application to amorphous InSb

    OpenAIRE

    Los, Jan H.; Gabardi, Silvia; Bernasconi, Marco; Kühne, Thomas D.

    2014-01-01

    An improved inverse simulated annealing method is presented to determine the structure of complex disordered systems from first principles in agreement with available experimental data or desired predetermined target properties. The effectiveness of this method is demonstrated by revisiting the structure of amorphous InSb. The resulting network is mostly tetrahedral and in excellent agreement with available experimental data.

  1. Three-dimensional structure of Au nanoparticles supported on amorphous silica and carbon substrates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bruma, A; Li, Z Y

    2012-01-01

    Scanning Transmission Electron Microscope (STEM) has been employed to study the three-dimensional structure of gold (Au) nanoparticles deposited by means of thermal evaporation in high vacuum on amorphous silica (a-SiO 2 ) and amorphous carbon (a-C) supports. By performing quantitative analysis on the evolution of the high angle annular dark field (HAADF) images, we studied the influence of the nature and the temperature of support on the growth mode of gold nanoparticles.

  2. One-step liquid phase chemical method to prepare carbon-based amorphous molybdenum sulfides: As the effective hydrogen evolution reaction catalysts

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guo, Mengmeng; Wu, Qikang; Yu, Miaomiao; Wang, Yinling; Li, Maoguo

    2017-01-01

    Two different kinds of carbon-based amorphous molybdenum sulfide composite catalysts (activated carbon supported amorphous molybdenum sulfide and acetylene black supported amorphous molybdenum sulfide) had been prepared in a facile and scalable one-step liquid phase chemical method. The morphological and structural information of catalysts was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-Ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and it’s electro-catalytic HER activity were evaluated by linear sweep voltammetry(LSV), amperometric i-t technology and AC impedance technology. The as-prepared carbon-based amorphous molybdenum sulfides showed greatly enhanced electro-catalytic activity for HER compared with pure amorphous molybdenum sulfides. Especially, the nano-sized acetylene black supported molybdenum sulfide exhibited excellent electro-catalytic HER performances with a low onset potential of −116 mV versus reverse hydrogen electrode (RHE) and a small Tafel slope of 51 mV per decade.

  3. Protective amorphous carbon coatings on glass substrates

    Science.gov (United States)

    Silins, Kaspars; Baránková, Hana; Bardos, Ladislav

    2017-11-01

    Thick amorphous carbon films were deposited by the Magnets-in-Motion (M-M) rf linear hollow cathode at varying acetylene contents in Ar in a hybrid PVD/PE-CVD process directly on glass substrates. The hollow cathode plates manufactured from graphite were used as the PVD target. The measurements show that the films can reach thickness of up to 50 μm at deposition rates of up to 2.5 μm/min. Scratch test measurements confirm that well adhering films several μm thick can be achieved at C2H2 contents of up to 0.5%.

  4. Implantation of xenon in amorphous carbon and silicon for brachytherapy application

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Marques, F.C.; Barbieri, P.F.; Viana, G.A.; Silva, D.S. da

    2013-01-01

    We report a procedure to implant high dose of xenon atoms (Xe) in amorphous carbon, a-C, and amorphous silicon, a-Si, for application in brachytherapy seeds. An ion beam assisted deposition (IBAD) system was used for the deposition of the films, where one ion gun was used for sputtering a carbon (or silicon) target, while the other ion gun was used to simultaneously bombard the growing film with a beam of xenon ion Xe + in the 0–300 eV range. Xe atoms were implanted into the film with concentration up to 5.5 at.%, obtained with Xe bombardment energy in the 50–150 eV range. X-ray absorption spectroscopy was used to investigate the local arrangement of the implanted Xe atoms through the Xe L III absorption edge (4.75 keV). It was observed that Xe atoms tend to agglomerate in nanoclusters in a-C and are dispersed in a-Si.

  5. Synthesis and electrochemical performances of amorphous carbon-coated Sn-Sb particles as anode material for lithium-ion batteries

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang Zhong; Tian Wenhuai; Liu Xiaohe; Yang Rong; Li Xingguo

    2007-01-01

    The amorphous carbon coating on the Sn-Sb particles was prepared from aqueous glucose solutions using a hydrothermal method. Because the outer layer carbon of composite materials is loose cotton-like and porous-like, it can accommodate the expansion and contraction of active materials to maintain the stability of the structure, and hinder effectively the aggregation of nano-sized alloy particles. The as-prepared composite materials show much improved electrochemical performances as anode materials for lithium-ion batteries compared with Sn-Sb alloy and carbon alone. This amorphous carbon-coated Sn-Sb particle is extremely promising anode materials for lithium secondary batteries and has a high potentiality in the future use. - Graphical abstract: The amorphous carbon coating on the Sn-Sb particles was prepared from aqueous glucose solutions using a hydrothermal method. Because the outer layer carbon of composite materials is loose cotton-like and porous-like, it can accommodate the expansion and contraction of active materials to maintain the stability of the structure, and hinder effectively the aggregation of nano-sized alloy particles

  6. Control of wettability of hydrogenated amorphous carbon thin films by laser-assisted micro- and nanostructuring

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pfleging, Wilhelm; Kohler, Robert; Torge, Maika; Trouillet, Vanessa; Danneil, Friederike; Stueber, Michael

    2011-01-01

    A flexible and rapid surface functionalization of amorphous carbon films shows a great potential for various application fields such as biological surfaces and tribological systems. For this purpose, the combination of thin film deposition and subsequent laser material processing was investigated. Amorphous carbon layers doped with hydrogen were deposited on silicon wafers by reactive direct-current magnetron sputtering. Films with three different hydrogen contents were synthesized. Subsequent to the thin film deposition process, UV laser material processing at wavelengths of 193 nm or 248 nm was performed with respect to chemical surface modification and surface structuring on micro- and nanometer scale. Depending on structure size and laser-induced chemical surface modification the adjustment of the surface energy and wetting behaviour in a broad range from hydrophobic to hydrophilic was possible. The chemical modification and the ablation mechanisms near the ablation threshold were strongly influenced by the hydrogen content in amorphous carbon thin films. Structural and chemical information of the as-deposited and modified films was obtained by Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and contact angle measurements.

  7. Rational design of coaxial mesoporous birnessite manganese dioxide/amorphous-carbon nanotubes arrays for advanced asymmetric supercapacitors

    KAUST Repository

    Zhu, Shijin; Zhang, Jie; Ma, Junjun; Zhang, Yuxin; Yao, Kexin

    2015-01-01

    Coaxial mesoporous MnO2/amorphous-carbon nanotubes have been synthesized via a facile and cost-effective strategy at room temperature. The coaxial double nanotubes of inner (outer) MnO2 and outer (inner) amorphous carbon can be obtained via fine tuning the preparative factors (e.g., deposition order and processing temperature). Furthermore, the electrochemical properties of the coaxial nanotubes were evaluated by cycle voltammetric (CV) and galvanostatic charge-discharge (GC) measurements. The as-prepared coaxial double nanotubes of outer MnO2 and inner amorphous carbon exhibit the optimized pseudocapacitance performance (362 F g-1) with good cycling stability, and ideal rate capability owning to the unique nanostructures. When assembled into two-electrode asymmetric supercapacitor, an energy density of 22.56 W h kg-1 at a power density of 224.9 W kg-1 is obtained. These findings provide a new and facile approach to fabricate high-performance electrode for supercapacitors.

  8. Rational design of coaxial mesoporous birnessite manganese dioxide/amorphous-carbon nanotubes arrays for advanced asymmetric supercapacitors

    KAUST Repository

    Zhu, Shijin

    2015-03-01

    Coaxial mesoporous MnO2/amorphous-carbon nanotubes have been synthesized via a facile and cost-effective strategy at room temperature. The coaxial double nanotubes of inner (outer) MnO2 and outer (inner) amorphous carbon can be obtained via fine tuning the preparative factors (e.g., deposition order and processing temperature). Furthermore, the electrochemical properties of the coaxial nanotubes were evaluated by cycle voltammetric (CV) and galvanostatic charge-discharge (GC) measurements. The as-prepared coaxial double nanotubes of outer MnO2 and inner amorphous carbon exhibit the optimized pseudocapacitance performance (362 F g-1) with good cycling stability, and ideal rate capability owning to the unique nanostructures. When assembled into two-electrode asymmetric supercapacitor, an energy density of 22.56 W h kg-1 at a power density of 224.9 W kg-1 is obtained. These findings provide a new and facile approach to fabricate high-performance electrode for supercapacitors.

  9. Erasing no-man’s land by thermodynamically stabilizing the liquid-liquid transition in tetrahedral particles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smallenburg, Frank; Filion, Laura; Sciortino, Francesco

    2014-09-01

    One of the most controversial hypotheses for explaining the origin of the thermodynamic anomalies characterizing liquid water postulates the presence of a metastable second-order liquid-liquid critical point located in the `no-man’s land’. In this scenario, two liquids with distinct local structure emerge near the critical temperature. Unfortunately, as spontaneous crystallization is rapid in this region, experimental support for this hypothesis relies on significant extrapolations, either from the metastable liquid or from amorphous solid water. Although the liquid-liquid transition is expected to feature in many tetrahedrally coordinated liquids, including silicon, carbon and silica, even numerical studies of atomic and molecular models have been unable to conclusively prove the existence of this transition. Here we provide such evidence for a model in which it is possible to continuously tune the softness of the interparticle interaction and the flexibility of the bonds, the key ingredients controlling the existence of the critical point. We show that conditions exist where the full coexistence is thermodynamically stable with respect to crystallization. Our work offers a basis for designing colloidal analogues of water exhibiting liquid-liquid transitions in equilibrium, opening the way for experimental confirmation of the original hypothesis.

  10. First-principles study of amorphous Ga4Sb6Te3 phase-change alloys

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bouzid, Assil; Gabardi, Silvia; Massobrio, Carlo; Boero, Mauro; Bernasconi, Marco

    2015-05-01

    First-principles molecular dynamics simulations within the density functional theory framework were performed to generate amorphous models of the Ga4Sb6Te3 phase change alloy by quenching from the melt. We find that Ga-Sb and Ga-Te are the most abundant bonds with only a minor amount of Sb-Te bonds participating to the alloy network. Ga and four-coordinated Sb atoms present a tetrahedral-like geometry, whereas three-coordinated Sb atoms are in a pyramidal configuration. The tetrahedral-like geometries are similar to those of the crystalline phase of the two binary compounds GaTe and GaSb. A sizable fraction of Sb-Sb bonds is also present, indicating a partial nanoscale segregation of Sb. Despite the fact that the composition Ga4Sb6Te3 lies on the pseudobinary Ga Sb -Sb2Te3 tie line, the amorphous network can be seen as a mixture of the two binary compounds GaTe and GaSb with intertwined elemental Sb.

  11. Production of thin carbon stripper foils using heated-substrates in a cathodic arc deposition system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Merchant, A.R.; Lobanov, N.; Elliman, R.G.; Ophel, T.R.; Rode, A.; Weisser, D.C.; Turkentine, R.B.

    1998-01-01

    The lifetime of carbon stripper foil can have a marked impact on the successful running of a beam line. Standard techniques for production of carbon stripper foils include evaporation of carbon (ec) and laser-pulsed ablation (Ipa). Recent work by a using Ipa has been successful in substantially increasing the lifetime of a very thin foil. The suspected mechanism for the increased lifetime of the foil is that the amorphous carbon foil is density-matched to that of graphite (around 2.26g/cc). In this work, we attempt to reproduce this result by producing carbon stripper foils with a mass-density similar to graphite using a cathodic arc deposition system. The cathodic arc is well known for the production of tetrahedral amorphous carbon: a high density, high stress form of carbon with over 90% sp 3 -like bonds; to reduce the density of the carbon and promote more graphitic structure, a high bias was initially attempted but this proved unsuccessful. Another method is to use a heated-substrate holder to reduce compressive stress within the deposited film. The performance of the density-matched carbon stripper foils and the implications for future production of high-quality carbon stripper foils in our laboratory will be discussed. (authors)

  12. Thermodynamic properties of the amorphous and crystalline modifications of carbon and the metastable synthesis of diamond

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Guencheva, V.; Grantscharova, E.; Gutzow, I. [Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia (Bulgaria). Inst. of Physical Chemistry

    2001-07-01

    The temperature dependencies of the thermodynamic properties of the little known (or even hypothetical) undercooled carbon melt and of the glasses that could be obtained from it at appropriate cooling rates are constructed. This is done using both a general thermodynamic formalism to estimate equilibrium properties of undercooled glass-forming melts and the expected analogy in properties of Fourth Group Elements. A comparison of the hypothetical carbon glasses with amorphous materials, obtained by the pyrolisis of organic resins, usually called vitreous (or glassy) carbon, is made. It turns out that from a thermodynamic point of view existing vitreous carbon materials, although characterized by an amorphous, frozen-in structure, differ significantly from the carbon glasses, which could be obtained by a splat-cool-quench of the carbon melt. It is shown also that the hypothetical carbon glasses should have at any temperature a thermodynamic potential, significantly higher than that of diamond. Thus they could be used as a source of constant supersaturation in metastable diamond synthesis. Existing amorphous carbon materials, although showing considerably lower thermodynamic potentials than the hypothetical carbon glasses, could also be used as sources of constant supersaturation in a process of isothermal diamond synthesis if their thermodynamic potential is additionally increased (e.g. by mechano-chemical treatment or by dispersion into nano-size scale). Theoretical estimates made in terms of Ostwald's Rule of Stages indicate that in processes of metastable isothermal diamond synthesis additional kinetic factors (e.g. influencing the formation of sp{sup 3} - carbon structures in the ambient phase) and the introduction of active substrates (e.g. diamond powder) are to be of significance in the realization of this thermodynamic possibility. (orig.)

  13. Synthesis and electrochemical performances of amorphous carbon-coated Sn Sb particles as anode material for lithium-ion batteries

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Zhong; Tian, Wenhuai; Liu, Xiaohe; Yang, Rong; Li, Xingguo

    2007-12-01

    The amorphous carbon coating on the Sn-Sb particles was prepared from aqueous glucose solutions using a hydrothermal method. Because the outer layer carbon of composite materials is loose cotton-like and porous-like, it can accommodate the expansion and contraction of active materials to maintain the stability of the structure, and hinder effectively the aggregation of nano-sized alloy particles. The as-prepared composite materials show much improved electrochemical performances as anode materials for lithium-ion batteries compared with Sn-Sb alloy and carbon alone. This amorphous carbon-coated Sn-Sb particle is extremely promising anode materials for lithium secondary batteries and has a high potentiality in the future use.

  14. Structure-property relations in amorphous carbon for photovoltaics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Risplendi, Francesca; Cicero, Giancarlo; Bernardi, Marco; Grossman, Jeffrey C.

    2014-01-01

    Carbon is emerging as a material with great potential for photovoltaics (PV). However, the amorphous form (a-C) has not been studied in detail as a PV material, even though it holds similarities with amorphous Silicon (a-Si) that is widely employed in efficient solar cells. In this work, we correlate the structure, bonding, stoichiometry, and hydrogen content of a-C with properties linked to PV performance such as the electronic structure and optical absorption. We employ first-principles molecular dynamics and density functional theory calculations to generate and analyze a set of a-C structures with a range of densities and hydrogen concentrations. We demonstrate that optical and electronic properties of interest in PV can be widely tuned by varying the density and hydrogen content. For example, sunlight absorption in a-C films can significantly exceed that of a same thickness of a-Si for a range of densities and H contents in a-C. Our results highlight promising features of a-C as the active layer material of thin-film solar cells.

  15. Structure-property relations in amorphous carbon for photovoltaics

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Risplendi, Francesca; Cicero, Giancarlo [Dipartimento di Scienza Applicata e Tecnologia, Politecnico di Torino, 10129 Torino (Italy); Bernardi, Marco [Department of Physics, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720 (United States); Grossman, Jeffrey C., E-mail: jcg@mit.edu [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139 (United States)

    2014-07-28

    Carbon is emerging as a material with great potential for photovoltaics (PV). However, the amorphous form (a-C) has not been studied in detail as a PV material, even though it holds similarities with amorphous Silicon (a-Si) that is widely employed in efficient solar cells. In this work, we correlate the structure, bonding, stoichiometry, and hydrogen content of a-C with properties linked to PV performance such as the electronic structure and optical absorption. We employ first-principles molecular dynamics and density functional theory calculations to generate and analyze a set of a-C structures with a range of densities and hydrogen concentrations. We demonstrate that optical and electronic properties of interest in PV can be widely tuned by varying the density and hydrogen content. For example, sunlight absorption in a-C films can significantly exceed that of a same thickness of a-Si for a range of densities and H contents in a-C. Our results highlight promising features of a-C as the active layer material of thin-film solar cells.

  16. Streaming simplification of tetrahedral meshes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vo, Huy T; Callahan, Steven P; Lindstrom, Peter; Pascucci, Valerio; Silva, Cláudio T

    2007-01-01

    Unstructured tetrahedral meshes are commonly used in scientific computing to represent scalar, vector, and tensor fields in three dimensions. Visualization of these meshes can be difficult to perform interactively due to their size and complexity. By reducing the size of the data, we can accomplish real-time visualization necessary for scientific analysis. We propose a two-step approach for streaming simplification of large tetrahedral meshes. Our algorithm arranges the data on disk in a streaming, I/O-efficient format that allows coherent access to the tetrahedral cells. A quadric-based simplification is sequentially performed on small portions of the mesh in-core. Our output is a coherent streaming mesh which facilitates future processing. Our technique is fast, produces high quality approximations, and operates out-of-core to process meshes too large for main memory.

  17. Role of carbon atoms in the remote plasma deposition of hydrogenated amorphous carbon

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Benedikt, J.; Wisse, M.; Woen, R.V.; Engeln, R.; Sanden, M.C.M. van de

    2003-01-01

    The aim of this article is to determine the role of carbon atoms in the growth of hydrogenated amorphous carbon (a-C:H) films by means of an argon/acetylene expanding thermal plasma. Cavity ring down absorption spectroscopy is used to detect metastable carbon atoms by probing the 1s 2 2s 2 2p 3s 1 P 1 2 2s 2 2p 2 1 S 0 electronic transition. In addition to absorption measurements, the emission of the same transition is monitored by means of optical emission spectroscopy. These two measurements provide information about the local production of the C atoms and about their reactivity in the gas phase. It will be shown that under growth conditions in an Ar/C 2 H 2 expanding thermal plasma, the metastable carbon density is also representative for the ground state carbon density. From obtained results it is concluded that the carbon atoms react rapidly with acetylene in the gas phase and therefore their contribution to the growth of hard diamond-like a-C:H films can be neglected. Only at low acetylene flows, the condition when soft polymer-like films are deposited, carbon atoms are detected close to the substrate and can possibly contribute to the film growth

  18. Controlled fluoridation of amorphous carbon films deposited at reactive plasma conditions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yoffe Alexander

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available A study of the correlations between plasma parameters, gas ratios, and deposited amorphous carbon film properties is presented. The injection of a C4F8/Ar/N2 mixture of gases was successfully used in an inductively coupled plasma system for the preparation of amorphous carbon films with different fluoride doping at room-temperature, using silicon as a substrate. This coating was formed at low-pressure and low-energy using an inductively coupled plasma process. A strong dependence between the ratios of gases during deposition and the composition of the substrate compounds was shown. The values of ratios between Ar (or Ar+N2 and C4F8 - 1:1 and between N2 and Ar - 1:2 in the N2/Ar/C4F8 mixture were found as the best for low fluoridated coatings. In addition, an example of improving the etch-passivation in the Bosch procedure was described. Scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive spectroscopy options, X-ray diffraction, and X-ray reflectivity were used for quantitative analysis of the deposited films.

  19. Disentangling neighbors and extended range density oscillations in monatomic amorphous semiconductors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roorda, S; Martin, C; Droui, M; Chicoine, M; Kazimirov, A; Kycia, S

    2012-06-22

    High energy x-ray diffraction measurements of pure amorphous Ge were made and its radial distribution function (RDF) was determined at high resolution, revealing new information on the atomic structure of amorphous semiconductors. Fine structure in the second peak in the RDF provides evidence that a fraction of third neighbors are closer than some second neighbors; taking this into account leads to a narrow distribution of tetrahedral bond angles, (8.5 ± 0.1)°. A small peak which appears near 5 Å upon thermal annealing shows that some ordering in the dihedral bond-angle distribution takes place during structural relaxation. Extended range order is detected (in both a-Ge and a-Si) which persists to beyond 20 Å, and both the periodicity and its decay length increase upon thermal annealing. Previously, the effect of structural relaxation was only detected at intermediate range, involving reduced tetrahedral bond-angle distortions. These results enhance our understanding of the atomic order in continuous random networks and place significantly more stringent requirements on computer models intending to describe these networks, or their alternatives which attempt to describe the structure in terms of an arrangement of paracrystals.

  20. Erasing no-man's land by thermodynamically stabilizing the liquid-liquid transition in tetrahedral particles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smallenburg, Frank; Filion, Laura; Sciortino, Francesco

    2014-09-01

    One of the most controversial hypotheses for explaining the origin of the thermodynamic anomalies characterizing liquid water postulates the presence of a metastable second-order liquid-liquid critical point [1] located in the "no-man's land" [2]. In this scenario, two liquids with distinct local structure emerge near the critical temperature. Unfortunately, since spontaneous crystallization is rapid in this region, experimental support for this hypothesis relies on significant extrapolations, either from the metastable liquid or from amorphous solid water [3, 4]. Although the liquid-liquid transition is expected to feature in many tetrahedrally coordinated liquids, including silicon [5], carbon [6] and silica, even numerical studies of atomic and molecular models have been unable to conclusively prove the existence of this transition. Here we provide such evidence for a model in which it is possible to continuously tune the softness of the interparticle interaction and the flexibility of the bonds, the key ingredients controlling the existence of the critical point. We show that conditions exist where the full coexistence is thermodynamically stable with respect to crystallization. Our work offers a basis for designing colloidal analogues of water exhibiting liquid-liquid transitions in equilibrium, opening the way for experimental confirmation of the original hypothesis.

  1. Amorphous structure of iron oxide of bacterial origin

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hashimoto, Hideki; Fujii, Tatsuo [Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University, Okayama 700-8530 (Japan); Kohara, Shinji [Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute, Sayo, Hyogo 679-5198 (Japan); Asaoka, Hiroshi [Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University, Okayama 700-8530 (Japan); Kusano, Yoshihiro [Department of Fine and Applied Arts, Kurashiki University of Science and the Arts, Kurashiki, Okayama 712-8505 (Japan); Ikeda, Yasunori [Research Institute for Production Development, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-0805 (Japan); Nakanishi, Makoto [Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University, Okayama 700-8530 (Japan); Benino, Yasuhiko; Nanba, Tokuro [Graduate School of Environmental Science, Okayama University, Okayama 700-8530 (Japan); Takada, Jun, E-mail: jtakada@cc.okayama-u.ac.jp [Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University, Okayama 700-8530 (Japan); JST, CREST, Okayama 700-8530 (Japan)

    2012-12-14

    In nature, there are various iron oxides produced by the water-habitant bacterial group called 'iron-oxidizing bacteria'. These iron oxides have been studied mainly from biological and geochemical perspectives. Today, attempts are made to use such iron oxides as novel functional materials in several applications. However, their quantitative structural characteristics are still unclear. We studied the structure of iron oxide of microtubular form consisting of amorphous nanoparticles formed by an iron-oxidizing bacterium, Leptothrix ochracea, using a combination of high-energy X-ray diffraction and reverse Monte Carlo simulation. We found that its structure consists of a framework of corner- and edge-sharing distorted FeO{sub 6} octahedral units, while SiO{sub 4} tetrahedral units are isolated in the framework. The results reveal the atomic arrangement of iron oxide of bacterial origin, which is essential for investigating its potential as a functional material. -- Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The amorphous structure of bacterial iron oxide was investigated. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The structure was simulated by high-energy X-ray diffraction and reverse Monte Carlo simulation. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The structure was constructed of a framework of corner- and edge-sharing distorted FeO{sub 6} octahedral units. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer SiO{sub 4} tetrahedral units were distributed isolatedly in the framework of FeO{sub 6} octahedral units.

  2. Effective utilizations of palm oil mill fly ash for synthetic amorphous silica and carbon zeolite composite synthesis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Utama, P. S.; Saputra, E.; Khairat

    2018-04-01

    Palm Oil Mill Fly Ash (POMFA) the solid waste of palm oil industry was used as a raw material for synthetic amorphous silica and carbon zeolite composite synthesis in order to minimize the wastes of palm oil industry. The alkaline extraction combine with the sol-gel precipitation and mechanical fragmentation was applied to produce synthetic amorphous silica. The byproduct, extracted POMFA was rich in carbon and silica content in a significant amount. The microwave heated hydrothermal process used to synthesize carbon zeolite composite from the byproduct. The obtained silica had chemical composition, specific surface area and the micrograph similar to commercial precipitated silica for rubber filler. The microwave heated hydrothermal process has a great potential for synthesizing carbon zeolite composite. The process only needs one-step and shorter time compare to conventional hydrothermal process.

  3. First principles simulation of amorphous InSb

    Science.gov (United States)

    Los, Jan H.; Kühne, Thomas D.; Gabardi, Silvia; Bernasconi, Marco

    2013-05-01

    Ab initio molecular dynamics simulations based on density functional theory have been performed to generate a model of amorphous InSb by quenching from the melt. The resulting network is mostly tetrahedral with a minor fraction (10%) of atoms in a fivefold coordination. The structural properties are in good agreement with available x-ray diffraction and extended x-ray-absorption fine structure data and confirm the proposed presence of a sizable fraction of homopolar In-In and Sb-Sb bonds whose concentration in our model amounts to about 20% of the total number of bonds.

  4. First-principles study of the amorphous In3SbTe2 phase change compound

    Science.gov (United States)

    Los, Jan H.; Kühne, Thomas D.; Gabardi, Silvia; Bernasconi, Marco

    2013-11-01

    Ab initio molecular dynamics simulations based on density functional theory were performed to generate amorphous models of the phase change compound In3SbTe2 by quenching from the melt. In-Sb and In-Te are the most abundant bonds with only a minor fraction of Sb-Te bonds. The bonding geometry in the amorphous phase is, however, strongly dependent on the density in the range 6.448-5.75 g/cm3 that we investigated. While at high density the bonding geometry of In atoms is mostly octahedral-like as in the cubic crystalline phase of the ternary compound In3SbTe2, at low density we observed a sizable fraction of tetrahedral-like geometries similar to those present in the crystalline phase of the two binary compounds InTe and InSb that the ternary system can be thought to be made of. We show that the different ratio between octahedral-like and tetrahedral-like bonding geometries has fingerprints in the optical and vibrational spectra.

  5. Incidence Angle Effect of Energetic Carbon Ions on Deposition Rate, Topography, and Structure of Ultrathin Amorphous Carbon Films Deposited by Filtered Cathodic Vacuum Arc

    KAUST Repository

    Wang, N.; Komvopoulos, K.

    2012-01-01

    The effect of the incidence angle of energetic carbon ions on the thickness, topography, and structure of ultrathin amorphous carbon (a-C) films synthesized by filtered cathodic vacuum arc (FCVA) was examined in the context of numerical

  6. Short pulse laser-induced optical damage and fracto-emission of amorphous, diamond-like carbon

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    SOKOLOWSKI-TINTEN,K.; VON DER LINDE,D.; SIEGAL,MICHAEL P.; OVERMYER,DONALD L.

    2000-02-07

    Short pulse laser damage and ablation of amorphous, diamond-like carbon films is investigated. Material removal is due to fracture of the film and ejection of large fragments, which exhibit a broadband emission of microsecond duration.

  7. Environmentally stable adsorbent of tetrahedral silica and non-tetrahedral alumina for removal and recovery of malachite green dye from aqueous solution

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kannan, Chellapandian; Sundaram, Thiravium; Palvannan, Thayumanavan

    2008-01-01

    The conventional adsorbents like activated carbon, agricultural wastes, molecular sieves, etc., used for dye adsorption are unstable in the environment for long time, and hence the adsorbed dyes again gets liberated and pollute the environment. To avoid this problem, environmentally stable adsorbent of silica and alumina should be employed for malachite green adsorption. The adsorbents were characterized by Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) to confirm the tetrahedral framework of silica and non-tetrahedral framework of alumina. The adsorption equilibrium of dye on alumina and silica were 4 and 5 h, respectively, this less adsorption time on alumina might be due to the less activation energy on alumina (63.46 kJ mol -1 ) than silica (69.93 kJ mol -1 ). Adsorption increased with increase of temperature on silica, in alumina, adsorption increased up to 60 deg. C, and further increase of temperature decreased the adsorption due to the structural change of non-tetrahedral alumina in water. The optimum pH for dye adsorption on alumina was 5 and silica was 6. The dye adsorptions on both adsorbents followed pseudo-second-order kinetics. The adsorption well matched with Langmuir and Freundlich adsorption isotherms and found that adsorption capacity on alumina was more than silica. The thermodynamic studies proved that the adsorption was endothermic and chemisorptions (ΔH o > 40 kJ mol -1 ) on alumina and silica. Recovery of dye on alumina and silica were studied from 30 to 90 deg. C and observed that 52% of dye was recovered from alumina and only 3.5% from silica. The less recovery on silica proved the strong adsorption of dye on silica than alumina

  8. Environmentally stable adsorbent of tetrahedral silica and non-tetrahedral alumina for removal and recovery of malachite green dye from aqueous solution

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kannan, Chellapandian [Department of Chemistry, Periyar University, Salem 636011, Tamilnadu (India)], E-mail: chellapandiankannan@gmail.com; Sundaram, Thiravium [Department of Chemistry, Periyar University, Salem 636011, Tamilnadu (India); Palvannan, Thayumanavan [Department of Biochemistry, Periyar University, Salem 636011, Tamilnadu (India)

    2008-08-30

    The conventional adsorbents like activated carbon, agricultural wastes, molecular sieves, etc., used for dye adsorption are unstable in the environment for long time, and hence the adsorbed dyes again gets liberated and pollute the environment. To avoid this problem, environmentally stable adsorbent of silica and alumina should be employed for malachite green adsorption. The adsorbents were characterized by Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) to confirm the tetrahedral framework of silica and non-tetrahedral framework of alumina. The adsorption equilibrium of dye on alumina and silica were 4 and 5 h, respectively, this less adsorption time on alumina might be due to the less activation energy on alumina (63.46 kJ mol{sup -1}) than silica (69.93 kJ mol{sup -1}). Adsorption increased with increase of temperature on silica, in alumina, adsorption increased up to 60 deg. C, and further increase of temperature decreased the adsorption due to the structural change of non-tetrahedral alumina in water. The optimum pH for dye adsorption on alumina was 5 and silica was 6. The dye adsorptions on both adsorbents followed pseudo-second-order kinetics. The adsorption well matched with Langmuir and Freundlich adsorption isotherms and found that adsorption capacity on alumina was more than silica. The thermodynamic studies proved that the adsorption was endothermic and chemisorptions ({delta}H{sup o} > 40 kJ mol{sup -1}) on alumina and silica. Recovery of dye on alumina and silica were studied from 30 to 90 deg. C and observed that 52% of dye was recovered from alumina and only 3.5% from silica. The less recovery on silica proved the strong adsorption of dye on silica than alumina.

  9. Pressure-induced amorphization of NaVO/sub 3 at room temperature and its re-crystallization

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shen, Z.X.; Ong, C.W.; Tang, S.H.; Kuok, M.H.

    1994-01-01

    Pressure-induced amorphization is the subject of intense study for the past few years because of its importance in material science and in solid state physics. We reported a crystalline-amorphous phase transition at ca 60kbar in NaVO1/3, which is the lowest pressure for such transitions in ionic crystals. The transition is marked by the sudden appearance of very broad bands at the 800 and 350 cm/sup -1 regions. The amorphization includes the complete breaking up of the infinite chains of corner-linked tetrahedral VO/sub 4, most likely into VO/sup -/sub 3. On decompression, the amorphous phase transforms to another phase, probably also amorphous at ca 40 kbar. It reverts to the stable ambient condition α-phase upon heating. Here we report on the details of the transtitional region and the re-linking of the VO/sub 4 chains upon heating. (authors)

  10. Electronic sputtering by swift highly charged ions of nitrogen on amorphous carbon

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Caron, M.; Haranger, F.; Rothard, H.; Ban d'Etat, B.; Boduch, P.; Clouvas, A.; Potiriadis, C.; Neugebauer, R.; Jalowy, T.

    2001-01-01

    Electronic sputtering with heavy ions as a function of both electronic energy loss dE/dx and projectile charge state q was studied at the French heavy ion accelerator GANIL. Amorphous carbon (untreated, and sputter-cleaned and subsequently exposed to nitrogen) was irradiated with swift highly charged ions (Z=6-73, q=6-54, energy 6-13 MeV/u) in an ultrahigh vacuum scattering chamber. The fluence dependence of ion-induced electron yields allows to deduce a desorption cross-section σ which varies approximately as σ∼(dE/dx) 1.65 or σ∼q 3.3 for sputter-cleaned amorphous carbon exposed to nitrogen. This q dependence is close to the cubic charge dependence observed for the emission of H + secondary ions which are believed to be emitted from the very surface. However, the power law σ∼(dE/dx) 1.65 , related to the electronic energy loss gives the best empirical description. The dependence on dE/dx is close to a quadratic one thus rather pointing towards a thermal evaporation-like effect

  11. Piezoresistive effect observed in flexible amorphous carbon films

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, B.; Jiang, Y. C.; Zhao, R.; Liu, G. Z.; He, A. P.; Gao, J.

    2018-05-01

    Amorphous carbon (a-C) films, deposited on Si substrates at 500 °C, were transferred onto flexible polyethylene (PE) substrates by a lift-off method, which overcomes the limit of deposition temperature. After transferring, a-C films exhibited a large piezoresistive effect. Such flexible samples could detect the change of bending angle by attaching them onto Cu foils. The ratio of the bending and non-bending resistances reaches as large as ~27.8, which indicates a potential application as a pressure sensor. Also, the a-C/PE sample revealed an enhanced sensitivity to gas pressure compared with the a-C/Si one. By controlling the bending angle, the sensitivity range can be tuned to shift to a low- or high-pressure region. The fatigue test shows a less than 1% change in resistance after 10 000 bending cycles. Our work provides a route to prepare the flexible and piezoresistive carbon-based devices with high sensitivity, controllable pressure-sensing and high stability.

  12. On the structure of amorphous calcium carbonate--a detailed study by solid-state NMR spectroscopy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nebel, Holger; Neumann, Markus; Mayer, Christian; Epple, Matthias

    2008-09-01

    The calcium carbonate phases calcite, aragonite, vaterite, monohydrocalcite (calcium carbonate monohydrate), and ikaite (calcium carbonate hexahydrate) were studied by solid-state NMR spectroscopy ( (1)H and (13)C). Further model compounds were sodium hydrogencarbonate, potassium hydrogencarbonate, and calcium hydroxide. With the help of these data, the structure of synthetically prepared additive-free amorphous calcium carbonate (ACC) was analyzed. ACC contains molecular water (as H 2O), a small amount of mobile hydroxide, and no hydrogencarbonate. This supports the concept of ACC as a transient precursor in the formation of calcium carbonate biominerals.

  13. Enhancement of photovoltaic effects and photoconductivity observed in Co-doped amorphous carbon/silicon heterostructures

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jiang, Y. C.; Gao, J., E-mail: jugao@hku.hk [Research Center for Solid State Physics and Materials, School of Mathematics and Physics, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, Suzhou 215009, Jiangsu (China)

    2016-08-22

    Co-doped amorphous carbon (Co-C)/silicon heterostructures were fabricated by growing Co-C films on n-type Si substrates using pulsed laser deposition. A photovoltaic effect (PVE) has been observed at room temperature. Open-circuit voltage V{sub oc} = 320 mV and short-circuit current density J{sub sc }= 5.62 mA/cm{sup 2} were measured under illumination of 532-nm light with the power of 100 mW/cm{sup 2}. In contrast, undoped amorphous carbon/Si heterostructures revealed no significant PVE. Based on the PVE and photoconductivity (PC) investigated at different temperatures, it was found that the energy conversion efficiency increased with increasing the temperature and reached the maximum at room temperature, while the photoconductivity showed a reverse temperature dependence. The observed competition between PVE and PC was correlated with the way to distribute absorbed photons. The possible mechanism, explaining the enhanced PVE and PC in the Co-C/Si heterostructures, might be attributed to light absorption enhanced by localized surface plasmons in Co nanoparticles embedded in the carbon matrix.

  14. Feature-Sensitive Tetrahedral Mesh Generation with Guaranteed Quality

    OpenAIRE

    Wang, Jun; Yu, Zeyun

    2012-01-01

    Tetrahedral meshes are being extensively used in finite element methods (FEM). This paper proposes an algorithm to generate feature-sensitive and high-quality tetrahedral meshes from an arbitrary surface mesh model. A top-down octree subdivision is conducted on the surface mesh and a set of tetrahedra are constructed using adaptive body-centered cubic (BCC) lattices. Special treatments are given to the tetrahedra near the surface such that the quality of the resulting tetrahedral mesh is prov...

  15. The multilayered structure of ultrathin amorphous carbon films synthesized by filtered cathodic vacuum arc deposition

    KAUST Repository

    Wang, Na; Komvopoulos, Kyriakos

    2013-01-01

    The structure of ultrathin amorphous carbon (a-C) films synthesized by filtered cathodic vacuum arc (FCVA) deposition was investigated by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, electron energy loss spectroscopy, and x-ray photoelectron

  16. Vertical electric field stimulated neural cell functionality on porous amorphous carbon electrodes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jain, Shilpee; Sharma, Ashutosh; Basu, Bikramjit

    2013-12-01

    We demonstrate the efficacy of amorphous macroporous carbon substrates as electrodes to support neuronal cell proliferation and differentiation in electric field mediated culture conditions. The electric field was applied perpendicular to carbon substrate electrode, while growing mouse neuroblastoma (N2a) cells in vitro. The placement of the second electrode outside of the cell culture medium allows the investigation of cell response to electric field without the concurrent complexities of submerged electrodes such as potentially toxic electrode reactions, electro-kinetic flows and charge transfer (electrical current) in the cell medium. The macroporous carbon electrodes are uniquely characterized by a higher specific charge storage capacity (0.2 mC/cm(2)) and low impedance (3.3 kΩ at 1 kHz). The optimal window of electric field stimulation for better cell viability and neurite outgrowth is established. When a uniform or a gradient electric field was applied perpendicular to the amorphous carbon substrate, it was found that the N2a cell viability and neurite length were higher at low electric field strengths (≤ 2.5 V/cm) compared to that measured without an applied field (0 V/cm). While the cell viability was assessed by two complementary biochemical assays (MTT and LDH), the differentiation was studied by indirect immunostaining. Overall, the results of the present study unambiguously establish the uniform/gradient vertical electric field based culture protocol to either enhance or to restrict neurite outgrowth respectively at lower or higher field strengths, when neuroblastoma cells are cultured on porous glassy carbon electrodes having a desired combination of electrochemical properties. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Capillarity creates single-crystal calcite nanowires from amorphous calcium carbonate.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Yi-Yeoun; Hetherington, Nicola B J; Noel, Elizabeth H; Kröger, Roland; Charnock, John M; Christenson, Hugo K; Meldrum, Fiona C

    2011-12-23

    Single-crystal calcite nanowires are formed by crystallization of morphologically equivalent amorphous calcium carbonate (ACC) particles within the pores of track etch membranes. The polyaspartic acid stabilized ACC is drawn into the membrane pores by capillary action, and the single-crystal nature of the nanowires is attributed to the limited contact of the intramembrane ACC particle with the bulk solution. The reaction environment then supports transformation to a single-crystal product. Copyright © 2011 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  18. Nanostructural study of the thermal transformation of diamond-like amorphous carbon into an ultrahard carbon nanocomposite

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Martinez-Miranda, L. J.; Siegal, M. P.; Provencio, P. P.

    2001-01-01

    We studied the structural transformation of diamond-like amorphous carbon (a-C) films into ultrahard carbon nanocomposites via postannealing to 600 C using transmission electron microscopy, x-ray reflectivity, and small-angle scattering. Film density decreases monotonically above 200 C. Film surfaces roughen upon annealing to 300 C; however, a-C recovers its smoothness with higher temperature annealing. Finally, there exists some quasiperiodic nanostructural feature with a lattice spacing that increases with annealing, correlating well with purely a-C nanocomposite structures imaged from samples annealed at 600 C. We propose that these annealing-induced nanostructural changes are a derivative of localized stress fields in as-grown a-C films

  19. Nanostructural study of the thermal transformation of diamond-like amorphous carbon into an ultrahard carbon nanocomposite

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Martinez-Miranda, L. J.; Siegal, M. P.; Provencio, P. P.

    2001-07-23

    We studied the structural transformation of diamond-like amorphous carbon (a-C) films into ultrahard carbon nanocomposites via postannealing to 600 C using transmission electron microscopy, x-ray reflectivity, and small-angle scattering. Film density decreases monotonically above 200 C. Film surfaces roughen upon annealing to 300 C; however, a-C recovers its smoothness with higher temperature annealing. Finally, there exists some quasiperiodic nanostructural feature with a lattice spacing that increases with annealing, correlating well with purely a-C nanocomposite structures imaged from samples annealed at 600 C. We propose that these annealing-induced nanostructural changes are a derivative of localized stress fields in as-grown a-C films.

  20. Buckling instability in amorphous carbon films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhu, X D [CAS Key Laboratory of Basic Plasma Physics, Department of Modern Physics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230026 (China); Narumi, K [Advanced Science Research Center, Japan Atomic Energy Agency, 1233 Watanuki, Takasaki, Gunma 370-1292 (Japan); Naramoto, H [Advanced Science Research Center, Japan Atomic Energy Agency, 1233 Watanuki, Takasaki, Gunma 370-1292 (Japan)

    2007-06-13

    In this paper, we report the buckling instability in amorphous carbon films on mirror-polished sapphire (0001) wafers deposited by ion beam assisted deposition at various growth temperatures. For the films deposited at 150 deg. C, many interesting stress relief patterns are found, which include networks, blisters, sinusoidal patterns with {pi}-shape, and highly ordered sinusoidal waves on a large scale. Starting at irregular buckling in the centre, the latter propagate towards the outer buckling region. The maximum length of these ordered patterns reaches 396 {mu}m with a height of {approx}500 nm and a wavelength of {approx}8.2 {mu}m. However, the length decreases dramatically to 70 {mu}m as the deposition temperature is increased to 550 deg. C. The delamination of the film appears instead of sinusoidal waves with a further increase of the deposition temperature. This experimental observation is correlated with the theoretic work of Crosby (1999 Phys. Rev. E 59 R2542)

  1. Buckling instability in amorphous carbon films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhu, X D; Narumi, K; Naramoto, H

    2007-01-01

    In this paper, we report the buckling instability in amorphous carbon films on mirror-polished sapphire (0001) wafers deposited by ion beam assisted deposition at various growth temperatures. For the films deposited at 150 deg. C, many interesting stress relief patterns are found, which include networks, blisters, sinusoidal patterns with π-shape, and highly ordered sinusoidal waves on a large scale. Starting at irregular buckling in the centre, the latter propagate towards the outer buckling region. The maximum length of these ordered patterns reaches 396 μm with a height of ∼500 nm and a wavelength of ∼8.2 μm. However, the length decreases dramatically to 70 μm as the deposition temperature is increased to 550 deg. C. The delamination of the film appears instead of sinusoidal waves with a further increase of the deposition temperature. This experimental observation is correlated with the theoretic work of Crosby (1999 Phys. Rev. E 59 R2542)

  2. Unlocking the Electrocatalytic Activity of Chemically Inert Amorphous Carbon-Nitrogen for Oxygen Reduction: Discerning and Refactoring Chaotic Bonds

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Zhang, Caihong; Zhang, Wei; Wang, Dong

    2017-01-01

    Mild annealing enables inactive nitrogen (N)-doped amorphous carbon (a-C) films abundant with chaotic bonds prepared by magnetron sputtering to become effective for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) by virtue of generating pyridinic N. The rhythmic variation of ORR activity elaborates well...... on the subtle evolution of the amorphous C−N bonds conferred by spectroscopic analysis....

  3. THE EFFECT OF DIAMETER ON THE MECHANICAL-PROPERTIES OF AMORPHOUS-CARBON FIBERS FROM LINEAR LOW-DENSITY POLYETHYLENE

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    PENNING, JP; LAGCHER, R; PENNINGS, AJ

    The mechanical properties of amorphous carbon fibers, derived from linear low density polyethylene strongly depend on the fibre diameter, which may be attributed to the presence of a skin/core structure in these fibres. High strength carbon fibres could thus be prepared by using thin precursor

  4. Hard graphitelike hydrogenated amorphous carbon grown at high rates by a remote plasma

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Singh, Shailendra Vikram; Zaharia, T.; Creatore, M.

    2010-01-01

    Hydrogenated amorphous carbon (a-C:H) deposited from an Ar-C 2H2 expanding thermal plasma chemical vapor deposition (ETP-CVD) is reported. The downstream plasma region of an ETP is characterized by a low electron temperature (∼0.3 eV), which leads to an ion driven chemistry and negligible physical...

  5. Fracture of Carbon Nanotube - Amorphous Carbon Composites: Molecular Modeling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jensen, Benjamin D.; Wise, Kristopher E.; Odegard, Gregory M.

    2015-01-01

    Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are promising candidates for use as reinforcements in next generation structural composite materials because of their extremely high specific stiffness and strength. They cannot, however, be viewed as simple replacements for carbon fibers because there are key differences between these materials in areas such as handling, processing, and matrix design. It is impossible to know for certain that CNT composites will represent a significant advance over carbon fiber composites before these various factors have been optimized, which is an extremely costly and time intensive process. This work attempts to place an upper bound on CNT composite mechanical properties by performing molecular dynamics simulations on idealized model systems with a reactive forcefield that permits modeling of both elastic deformations and fracture. Amorphous carbon (AC) was chosen for the matrix material in this work because of its structural simplicity and physical compatibility with the CNT fillers. It is also much stiffer and stronger than typical engineering polymer matrices. Three different arrangements of CNTs in the simulation cell have been investigated: a single-wall nanotube (SWNT) array, a multi-wall nanotube (MWNT) array, and a SWNT bundle system. The SWNT and MWNT array systems are clearly idealizations, but the SWNT bundle system is a step closer to real systems in which individual tubes aggregate into large assemblies. The effect of chemical crosslinking on composite properties is modeled by adding bonds between the CNTs and AC. The balance between weakening the CNTs and improving fiber-matrix load transfer is explored by systematically varying the extent of crosslinking. It is, of course, impossible to capture the full range of deformation and fracture processes that occur in real materials with even the largest atomistic molecular dynamics simulations. With this limitation in mind, the simulation results reported here provide a plausible upper limit on

  6. Local order origin of thermal stability enhancement in amorphous Ag doping GeTe

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Xu, L.; Li, Y.; Yu, N. N.; Zhong, Y. P.; Miao, X. S., E-mail: miaoxs@mail.hust.edu.cn [Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST), Wuhan 430074 (China); School of Optical and Electronic Information, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074 (China)

    2015-01-19

    We demonstrate the impacts of Ag doping on the local atomic structure of amorphous GeTe phase-change material. The variations of phonon vibrational modes, boding nature, and atomic structure are shown by Raman, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and ab initio calculation. Combining the experiments and simulations, we observe that the number of Ge atoms in octahedral site decreases and that in tetrahedral site increases. This modification in local order of GeTe originating from the low valence element will affect the crystallization behavior of amorphous GeTe, which is verified by differential scanning calorimetry and transmission electron microscope results. This work not only gives the analysis on the structural change of GeTe with Ag dopants but also provides a method to enhance the thermal stability of amorphous phase-change materials for memory and brain-inspired computing applications.

  7. Bone tissue engineering on amorphous carbonated apatite and crystalline octacalcium phosphate-coated titanium discs

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Dekker, Robert J.; de Bruijn, Joost Dick; Stigter, Martin; Barrère, F.; Layrolle, Pierre; van Blitterswijk, Clemens

    2005-01-01

    Poor fixation of bone replacement implants, e.g. the artificial hip, in implantation sites with inferior bone quality and quantity may be overcome by the use of implants coated with a cultured living bone equivalent. In this study, we tested, respectively, amorphous carbonated apatite (CA)- and

  8. Nanostructural study of the thermal transformation of diamond-like amorphous carbon into an ultrahard carbon nanocomposite

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martínez-Miranda, L. J.; Siegal, M. P.; Provencio, P. P.

    2001-07-01

    We studied the structural transformation of diamond-like amorphous carbon (a-C) films into ultrahard carbon nanocomposites via postannealing to 600 °C using transmission electron microscopy, x-ray reflectivity, and small-angle scattering. Film density decreases monotonically above 200 °C. Film surfaces roughen upon annealing to 300 °C; however, a-C recovers its smoothness with higher temperature annealing. Finally, there exists some quasiperiodic nanostructural feature with a lattice spacing that increases with annealing, correlating well with purely a-C nanocomposite structures imaged from samples annealed at 600 °C. We propose that these annealing-induced nanostructural changes are a derivative of localized stress fields in as-grown a-C films.

  9. High throughput deposition of hydrogenated amorphous carbon coatings on rubber with expanding thermal plasma

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Pei, Y.T.; Eivani, A.R.; Zaharia, T.; Kazantis, A.V.; Sanden, van de M.C.M.; De Hosson, J.T.M.

    2014-01-01

    Flexible hydrogenated amorphous carbon (a-C:H) thin film coated on rubbers has shown outstanding protection of rubber seals from friction and wear. This work concentrates on the potential advances of expanding thermal plasma (ETP) process for a high throughput deposition of a-C:H thin films in

  10. Substrate temperature influence on the trombogenicity in amorphous carbon nitride thin coatings

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Galeano-Osorio, D.S.; Vargas, S.; Lopez-Cordoba, L.M.; Ospina, R.; Restrepo-Parra, E.; Arango, P.J.

    2010-01-01

    Carbon nitride thin films were obtained through plasma assisted physical vapor deposition technique by pulsed arc, varying the substrate temperature and investigating the influence of this parameter on the films hemocompatibility. For obtaining approaches of blood compatibility, environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM) was used in order to study the platelets adherence and their morphology. Moreover, the elemental chemical composition was determined by using energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), finding C, N and O. The coatings hemocompatibility was evaluated by in vitro thrombogenicity test, whose results were correlated with the microstructure and roughness of the films obtained. During the films growth process, the substrate temperature was varied, obtaining coatings under different temperatures, room temperature (T room ), 100 deg. C, 150 deg. C and 200 deg. C. Parameters as interelectrodic distance, voltage, work pressure and number of discharges, were remained constant. By EDS, carbon and nitrogen were found in the films. Visible Raman spectroscopy was used, and it revealed an amorphous lattice, with graphitic process as the substrate temperature was increased. However, at a critical temperature of 150 deg. C, this tendency was broken, and the film became more amorphous. This film showed the lowest roughness, 2 ± 1 nm. This last characteristic favored the films hemocompatibility. Also, it was demonstrated that the blood compatibility of carbon nitride films obtained were affected by the I D /I G or sp 3 /sp 2 ratio and not by the absolute sp 3 or sp 2 concentration.

  11. Corrosion resistant amorphous metals and methods of forming corrosion resistant amorphous metals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Farmer, Joseph C [Tracy, CA; Wong, Frank M. G. [Livermore, CA; Haslam, Jeffery J [Livermore, CA; Yang, Nancy [Lafayette, CA; Lavernia, Enrique J [Davis, CA; Blue, Craig A [Knoxville, TN; Graeve, Olivia A [Reno, NV; Bayles, Robert [Annandale, VA; Perepezko, John H [Madison, WI; Kaufman, Larry [Brookline, MA; Schoenung, Julie [Davis, CA; Ajdelsztajn, Leo [Walnut Creek, CA

    2009-11-17

    A system for coating a surface comprises providing a source of amorphous metal, providing ceramic particles, and applying the amorphous metal and the ceramic particles to the surface by a spray. The coating comprises a composite material made of amorphous metal that contains one or more of the following elements in the specified range of composition: yttrium (.gtoreq.1 atomic %), chromium (14 to 18 atomic %), molybdenum (.gtoreq.7 atomic %), tungsten (.gtoreq.1 atomic %), boron (.ltoreq.5 atomic %), or carbon (.gtoreq.4 atomic %).

  12. A suitable low-order, eight-node tetrahedral finite element for solids

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Key, S.W.; Heinstein, M.S.; Stone, C.M.; Mello, F.J.; Blanford, M.L.; Budge, K.G.

    1998-03-01

    To use the all-tetrahedral mesh generation existing today, the authors have explored the creation of a computationally efficient eight-node tetrahedral finite element (a four-node tetrahedral finite element enriched with four mid-face nodal points). The derivation of the element's gradient operator, studies in obtaining a suitable mass lumping, and the element's performance in applications are presented. In particular they examine the eight-node tetrahedral finite element's behavior in longitudinal plane wave propagation, in transverse cylindrical wave propagation, and in simulating Taylor bar impacts. The element samples only constant strain states and, therefore, has 12 hour-glass modes. In this regard it bears similarities to the eight-node, mean-quadrature hexahedral finite element. Comparisons with the results obtained from the mean-quadrature eight-node hexahedral finite element and the four-node tetrahedral finite element are included. Given automatic all-tetrahedral meshing, the eight-node, constant-strain tetrahedral finite element is a suitable replacement for the eight-node hexahedral finite element in those cases where mesh generation requires an inordinate amount of user intervention and direction to obtain acceptable mesh properties

  13. Highly ordered amorphous silicon-carbon alloys obtained by RF PECVD

    CERN Document Server

    Pereyra, I; Carreno, M N P; Prado, R J; Fantini, M C A

    2000-01-01

    We have shown that close to stoichiometry RF PECVD amorphous silicon carbon alloys deposited under silane starving plasma conditions exhibit a tendency towards c-Si C chemical order. Motivated by this trend, we further explore the effect of increasing RF power and H sub 2 dilution of the gaseous mixtures, aiming to obtain the amorphous counterpart of c-Si C by the RF-PECVD technique. Doping experiments were also performed on ordered material using phosphorus and nitrogen as donor impurities and boron and aluminum as acceptor ones. For nitrogen a doping efficiency close to device quality a-Si:H was obtained, the lower activation energy being 0,12 eV with room temperature dark conductivity of 2.10 sup - sup 3 (OMEGA.cm). Nitrogen doping efficiency was higher than phosphorous for all studied samples. For p-type doping, results indicate that, even though the attained conductivity values are not device levels, aluminum doping conducted to a promising shift in the Fermi level. Also, aluminum resulted a more efficie...

  14. Deposit of thin films of nitrided amorphous carbon using the laser ablation technique

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rebollo, P.B.; Escobar A, L.; Camps C, E.; Haro P, E.; Camacho L, M.A.; Muhl S, S.

    2000-01-01

    It is reported the synthesis and characterization of thin films of amorphous carbon (a-C) nitrided, deposited by laser ablation in a nitrogen atmosphere at pressures which are from 4.5 x 10 -4 Torr until 7.5 x 10 -2 Torr. The structural properties of the films are studied by Raman spectroscopy obtaining similar spectra at the reported for carbon films type diamond. The study of behavior of the energy gap and the ratio nitrogen/carbon (N/C) in the films, shows that the energy gap is reduced when the nitrogen incorporation is increased. It is showed that the refraction index of the thin films diminish as nitrogen pressure is increased, indicating the formation of graphitic material. (Author)

  15. The ir emission features: Emission from PAH (Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons) molecules and amorphous carbon particles

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Allamandola, L.J.; Tielens, A.G.G.M.; Barker, J.R.

    1986-01-01

    PAHs can have several forms in the interstellar medium. To assess the importance of each requires the availability of a collection of high quality, complete mid-ir interstellar emission spectra, a collection of laboratory spectra of PAH samples prepared under realistic conditions and a firm understanding of the microscopic emission mechanism. Given what we currently know about PAHs, the spectroscopic data suggests that there are at least two components which contribute to the interstellar emission spectrum: free molecule sized PAHs producing the narrow features and amorphous carbon particles (which are primarily made up of an irregular ''lattice'' of PAHs) contributing to the broad underlying components. An exact treatment of the ir fluorescence from highly vibrationally excited large molecules shows that species containing between 20 and 30 carbon atoms are responsible for the narrow features, although the spectra match more closely with the spectra of amorphous carbon particles. Since little is known about the spectroscopic properties of free PAHs and PAH clusters, much laboratory work is called for in conjunction with an observational program which focuses on the spatial characteristics of the spectra. In this way the distribution and evolution of carbon from molecule to particle can be traced. 38 refs., 9 figs.

  16. The ir emission features: Emission from PAH [Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons] molecules and amorphous carbon particles

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Allamandola, L.J.; Tielens, A.G.G.M.; Barker, J.R.

    1986-01-01

    PAHs can have several forms in the interstellar medium. To assess the importance of each requires the availability of a collection of high quality, complete mid-ir interstellar emission spectra, a collection of laboratory spectra of PAH samples prepared under realistic conditions and a firm understanding of the microscopic emission mechanism. Given what we currently know about PAHs, the spectroscopic data suggests that there are at least two components which contribute to the interstellar emission spectrum: free molecule sized PAHs producing the narrow features and amorphous carbon particles (which are primarily made up of an irregular ''lattice'' of PAHs) contributing to the broad underlying components. An exact treatment of the ir fluorescence from highly vibrationally excited large molecules shows that species containing between 20 and 30 carbon atoms are responsible for the narrow features, although the spectra match more closely with the spectra of amorphous carbon particles. Since little is known about the spectroscopic properties of free PAHs and PAH clusters, much laboratory work is called for in conjunction with an observational program which focuses on the spatial characteristics of the spectra. In this way the distribution and evolution of carbon from molecule to particle can be traced. 38 refs., 9 figs

  17. Tribological studies of nitrogen ion implantation induced overlayer coatings of amorphous carbon and carbonitride phase

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kumar, N.; Srivastava, S.K.; Pandian, R.; Bahuguna, Ashok; Dhara, S.; Nair, K.G.M.; Dash, S.; Tyagi, A.K.

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: ► Composite phase of amorphous carbon and carbonitride phase is observed on the N + ion implanted surface of steel. ► Advanced properties of implanted surface shows low friction coefficient of ∼0.05. ► High wear resistance 4.3 × 10 −8 mm 3 /Nm of N + implanted surface is obtained. -- Abstract: Morphology and microstructure of N + ion implanted 316 LN steel are found to modify with irradiated substrate temperature. At low temperature of 100 °C, self-similar micro-ripples are formed but at high temperature of 200 and 300 °C, micro-pores and blisters are observed on the implanted surface. Chemically modified surface is found to consist of amorphous carbon and carbonitride phase. Such composite characteristic of implanted steel surface at irradiated substrate temperature of 300 °C shows improved tribological properties with low friction coefficient and high wear resistance

  18. Intermediate-range structure of amorphous GeSe{sub 2} alloy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Murakami, Y. [Department of Material and Biological Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Yamagata University, Yamagata 990-8560 (Japan)], E-Mail: su105@kdeve.kj.yamagata-u.ac.jp; Usuki, T. [Department of Material and Biological Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Yamagata University, Yamagata 990-8560 (Japan); Sakurai, M. [Institute for Material Research, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8577 (Japan); Kohara, S. [Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute, Sayo, Hyogo 769-5198 (Japan)

    2007-03-25

    Neutron and high-energy X-ray diffraction measurements have been carried out at KENS-KEK and SPring-8, in order to investigate detailed structures of amorphous GeSe{sub 2} prepared by the rapid quenching method. Considerable intermediate-range ordering is evident from the presence of a first sharp diffraction peak at low magnetides of the scattering vector. Well-defined first and second peaks are found at around 2.36 and 3.90 A in the pair distribution function g(r). A small shoulder related to the existence of edge-sharing tetrahedral units is observed at a shorter r side of the second peak in g(r). Partial distribution functions, partial structure factors and bond-angle distributions can be obtained by Reverse Monte Carlo simulation. Results suggest that there are homo-polar bonds in tetrahedral structural units, and then the glass network is constructed by not only corner-sharing but also edge-sharing tetrahedra.

  19. Video Vectorization via Tetrahedral Remeshing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Chuan; Zhu, Jie; Guo, Yanwen; Wang, Wenping

    2017-02-09

    We present a video vectorization method that generates a video in vector representation from an input video in raster representation. A vector-based video representation offers the benefits of vector graphics, such as compactness and scalability. The vector video we generate is represented by a simplified tetrahedral control mesh over the spatial-temporal video volume, with color attributes defined at the mesh vertices. We present novel techniques for simplification and subdivision of a tetrahedral mesh to achieve high simplification ratio while preserving features and ensuring color fidelity. From an input raster video, our method is capable of generating a compact video in vector representation that allows a faithful reconstruction with low reconstruction errors.

  20. Facile fabrication of boron nitride nanosheets-amorphous carbon hybrid film for optoelectronic applications

    KAUST Repository

    Wan, Shanhong

    2015-01-01

    A novel boron nitride nanosheets (BNNSs)-amorphous carbon (a-C) hybrid film has been deposited successfully on silicon substrates by simultaneous electrochemical deposition, and showed a good integrity of this B-C-N composite film by the interfacial bonding. This synthesis can potentially provide the facile control of the B-C-N composite film for the potential optoelectronic devices. This journal is

  1. Low-energy excitations in amorphous films of silicon and germanium

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu, X.; Pohl, R.O.

    1998-01-01

    We present measurements of internal friction and shear modulus of amorphous Si (a-Si) and amorphous Ge (a-Ge) films on double-paddle oscillators at 5500 Hz from 0.5 K up to room temperature. The temperature- independent plateau in internal friction below 10 K, which is common to all amorphous solids, also exists in these films. However, its magnitude is smaller than found for all other amorphous solids studied to date. Furthermore, it depends critically on the deposition methods. For a-Si films, it decreases in the sequence of electron-beam evaporation, sputtering, self-ion implantation, and hot-wire chemical-vapor deposition (HWCVD). Annealing can also reduce the internal friction of the amorphous films considerably. Hydrogenated a-Si with 1 at.% H prepared by HWCVD leads to an internal friction more than two orders of magnitude smaller than observed for all other amorphous solids. The internal friction increases after the hydrogen is removed by effusion. Our results are compared with earlier measurements on a-Si and a-Ge films, none of which had the sensitivity achieved here. The variability of the low-energy tunneling states in the a-Si and a-Ge films may be a consequence of the tetrahedrally bonded covalent continuous random network. The perfection of this network, however, depends critically on the preparation conditions, with hydrogen incorporation playing a particularly important role. copyright 1998 The American Physical Society

  2. A suitable low-order, eight-node tetrahedral finite element for solids

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Key, S.W.; Heinstein, M.S.; Stone, C.M.; Mello, F.J.; Blanford, M.L.; Budge, K.G.

    1998-03-01

    To use the all-tetrahedral mesh generation existing today, the authors have explored the creation of a computationally efficient eight-node tetrahedral finite element (a four-node tetrahedral finite element enriched with four mid-face nodal points). The derivation of the element`s gradient operator, studies in obtaining a suitable mass lumping, and the element`s performance in applications are presented. In particular they examine the eight-node tetrahedral finite element`s behavior in longitudinal plane wave propagation, in transverse cylindrical wave propagation, and in simulating Taylor bar impacts. The element samples only constant strain states and, therefore, has 12 hour-glass modes. In this regard it bears similarities to the eight-node, mean-quadrature hexahedral finite element. Comparisons with the results obtained from the mean-quadrature eight-node hexahedral finite element and the four-node tetrahedral finite element are included. Given automatic all-tetrahedral meshing, the eight-node, constant-strain tetrahedral finite element is a suitable replacement for the eight-node hexahedral finite element in those cases where mesh generation requires an inordinate amount of user intervention and direction to obtain acceptable mesh properties.

  3. Spectroscopic properties of nitrogen doped hydrogenated amorphous carbon films grown by radio frequency plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hayashi, Y.; Yu, G.; Rahman, M. M.; Krishna, K. M.; Soga, T.; Jimbo, T.; Umeno, M.

    2001-01-01

    Nitrogen doped hydrogenated amorphous carbon thin films have been deposited by rf plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition using CH 4 as the source of carbon and with different nitrogen flow rates (N 2 /CH 4 gas ratios between 0 and 3), at 300 K. The dependence modifications of the optical and the structural properties on nitrogen incorporation were investigated using different spectroscopic techniques, such as, Raman spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, ultraviolet-visible (UV-VIS) spectroscopy, electron spin resonance (ESR), photoluminescence (PL) and spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE). Raman spectroscopy and IR absorption reveal an increase in sp 2 -bonded carbon or a change in sp 2 domain size with increasing nitrogen flow rate. It is found that the configuration of nitrogen atoms incorporated into an amorphous carbon network gradually changes from nitrogen atoms surrounded by three (σ bonded) to two (π bonded) neighboring carbons with increasing nitrogen flow rate. Tauc optical gap is reduced from 2.6 to 2.0 eV, and the ESR spin density and the peak-to-peak linewidth increase sharply with increasing nitrogen flow rate. Excellent agreement has been found between the measured SE data and modeled spectra, in which an empirical dielectric function of amorphous materials and a linear void distribution along the thickness have been assumed. The influence of nitrogen on the electronic density of states is explained based on the optical properties measured by UV-VIS and PL including nitrogen lone pair band. [copyright] 2001 American Institute of Physics

  4. The effect of substrate bias on titanium carbide/amorphous carbon nanocomposite films deposited by filtered cathodic vacuum arc

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang, Xu; Liang, Hong; Wu, Zhenglong; Wu, Xiangying; Zhang, Huixing

    2013-01-01

    The titanium carbide/amorphous carbon nanocomposite films have been deposited on silicon substrate by filtered cathodic vacuum arc (FCVA) technology, the effects of substrate bias on composition, structures and mechanical properties of the films are studied by scanning electron spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and nano-indentation. The results show that the Ti content, deposition rate and hardness at first increase and then decrease with increasing the substrate bias. Maximum hardness of the titanium carbide/amorphous carbon nanocomposite film is 51 Gpa prepared at −400 V. The hardness enhancement may be attributed to the compressive stress and the fraction of crystalline TiC phase due to ion bombardment

  5. Growth, characterisation and electronic applications of amorphous hydrogenated carbon

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Paul, S.

    2000-11-01

    My thesis proposes solutions to a number of riddles associated with the material, hydrogenated amorphous carbon, (a-C:H). This material has lately generated interest in the electronic engineering community, owing to some remarkable properties. The characterisation of amorphous carbon films, grown by radio frequency plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition has been reported. The coexistence of multiple phases in the same a-C:H film manifests itself in the inconsistent electrical behaviour of different parts of the film, thus rendering it difficult to predict the nature of films. For the first time, in this thesis, a reliable prediction of Schottky contact formation on a-C:H films is reported. A novel and simple development on a Scanning Electron Microscope, configured to study the electrical properties of the grown a-C:H films, has been reported. Since device performance is crucially linked to the density of states in the film, a study of the same was undertaken in my doctoral research. I present a mathematical formalism to estimate the density of states in a-C:H. The most commonly used metal, (aluminium), for contact formation on a-C:H films, has been concluded to be the least suitable. On the basis of the study presented in this thesis, copper and chromium are judged to be the best alternatives. The resilience of a-C:H/Si heterostructures under high voltages (upto 900 V) has been reported in this thesis for the first time. The performance of a-C:H grown at room temperature on GaAs, has been studied and concluded to be satisfactory on the basis of good adherence and low leakage currents. Such a structure was motivated by the applicability in Metal Insulator Semiconductor Field Effect Transistors (MISFET). (author)

  6. Self-selection in size and structure in argon clusters formed on amorphous carbon

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Krainyukova, Nina V.; Waal, Benjamin W. van de

    2004-07-01

    Argon clusters formed on an amorphous carbon substrate as deposited from the vapor phase were studied by means of transmission high energy electron diffraction using the liquid helium cryostat. Electron diffractograms were analysed on the basis of assumption that there exist a cluster size distribution in samples formed on substrate and multi-shell structures such as icosahedra, decahedra, fcc and hcp were probed for different sizes up to {approx}15 000 atoms. The experimental data were considered as a result of a superposition of diffracted intensities from clusters of different sizes and structures. The comparative analysis was based on the R-factor minimization that was found to be equal to 0.014 for the best fit between experiment and modelling. The total size and structure distribution function shows the presence of 'non-crystallographic' structures such as icosahedra and decahedra with five-fold symmetry that was found to prevail and a smaller amount of fcc and hcp structures. Possible growth mechanisms as well as observed general tendency to self-selection in sizes and structures are presumably governed by confined pore-like geometry in an amorphous carbon substrate.

  7. Substrate temperature influence on the trombogenicity in amorphous carbon nitride thin coatings

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Galeano-Osorio, D.S.; Vargas, S.; Lopez-Cordoba, L.M.; Ospina, R. [Laboratorio de Fisica del Plasma, Universidad Nacional de Colombia Sede Manizales, Km. 9 via al Magdalena, Manizales (Colombia); Restrepo-Parra, E., E-mail: erestrepopa@unal.edu.co [Laboratorio de Fisica del Plasma, Universidad Nacional de Colombia Sede Manizales, Km. 9 via al Magdalena, Manizales (Colombia); Arango, P.J. [Laboratorio de Fisica del Plasma, Universidad Nacional de Colombia Sede Manizales, Km. 9 via al Magdalena, Manizales (Colombia)

    2010-10-01

    Carbon nitride thin films were obtained through plasma assisted physical vapor deposition technique by pulsed arc, varying the substrate temperature and investigating the influence of this parameter on the films hemocompatibility. For obtaining approaches of blood compatibility, environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM) was used in order to study the platelets adherence and their morphology. Moreover, the elemental chemical composition was determined by using energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), finding C, N and O. The coatings hemocompatibility was evaluated by in vitro thrombogenicity test, whose results were correlated with the microstructure and roughness of the films obtained. During the films growth process, the substrate temperature was varied, obtaining coatings under different temperatures, room temperature (T{sub room}), 100 deg. C, 150 deg. C and 200 deg. C. Parameters as interelectrodic distance, voltage, work pressure and number of discharges, were remained constant. By EDS, carbon and nitrogen were found in the films. Visible Raman spectroscopy was used, and it revealed an amorphous lattice, with graphitic process as the substrate temperature was increased. However, at a critical temperature of 150 deg. C, this tendency was broken, and the film became more amorphous. This film showed the lowest roughness, 2 {+-} 1 nm. This last characteristic favored the films hemocompatibility. Also, it was demonstrated that the blood compatibility of carbon nitride films obtained were affected by the I{sub D}/I{sub G} or sp{sup 3}/sp{sup 2} ratio and not by the absolute sp{sup 3} or sp{sup 2} concentration.

  8. Electrochemical treatment of domestic wastewater using boron-doped diamond and nanostructured amorphous carbon electrodes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Daghrir, Rimeh; Drogui, Patrick; Tshibangu, Joel; Delegan, Nazar; El Khakani, My Ali

    2014-05-01

    The performance of the electrochemical oxidation process for efficient treatment of domestic wastewater loaded with organic matter was studied. The process was firstly evaluated in terms of its capability of producing an oxidant agent (H2O2) using amorphous carbon (or carbon felt) as cathode, whereas Ti/BDD electrode was used as anode. Relatively high concentrations of H2O2 (0.064 mM) was produced after 90 min of electrolysis time, at 4.0 A of current intensity and using amorphous carbon at the cathode. Factorial design and central composite design methodologies were successively used to define the optimal operating conditions to reach maximum removal of chemical oxygen demand (COD) and color. Current intensity and electrolysis time were found to influence the removal of COD and color. The contribution of current intensity on the removal of COD and color was around 59.1 and 58.8%, respectively, whereas the contribution of treatment time on the removal of COD and color was around 23.2 and 22.9%, respectively. The electrochemical treatment applied under 3.0 A of current intensity, during 120 min of electrolysis time and using Ti/BDD as anode, was found to be the optimal operating condition in terms of cost/effectiveness. Under these optimal conditions, the average removal rates of COD and color were 78.9 ± 2 and 85.5 ± 2 %, whereas 70% of total organic carbon removal was achieved.

  9. Synthesis and characterization of thin films of nitrided amorphous carbon deposited by laser ablation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rebollo P, B.

    2001-01-01

    The objective of this work is the synthesis and characterization of thin films of amorphous carbon (a-C) and thin films of nitrided amorphous carbon (a-C-N) using the laser ablation technique for their deposit. For this purpose, the physical properties of the obtained films were studied as function of diverse parameters of deposit such as: nitrogen pressure, power density, substrate temperature and substrate-target distance. For the characterization of the properties of the deposited thin films the following techniques were used: a) Raman spectroscopy which has demonstrated being a sensitive technique to the sp 2 and sp 3 bonds content, b) Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy which allows to know semi-quantitatively way the presence of the elements which make up the deposited films, c) Spectrophotometry, for obtaining the absorption spectra and subsequently the optical energy gap of the deposited material, d) Ellipsometry for determining the refraction index, e) Scanning Electron Microscopy for studying the surface morphology of thin films and, f) Profilemetry, which allows the determination the thickness of the deposited thin films. (Author)

  10. Friction and wear performance of bearing ball sliding against diamond-like carbon coatings

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Shenjiang; Kousaka, Hiroyuki; Kar, Satyananda; Li, Dangjuan; Su, Junhong

    2017-01-01

    We have studied the tribological properties of bearing steel ball (Japan standard, SUJ2) sliding against tetrahedral amorphous carbon (ta-C) coatings and amorphous hydrogenated carbon (a-C:H) coatings. The reciprocating sliding testes are performed with ball-on-plate friction tester in ambient air condition. Analysis of friction coefficient, wear volume and microstructure in wear scar are carried out using optical microscopy, atom force morphology (AFM) and Raman spectroscopy. The results show the SUJ2 on ta-C coating has low friction coefficient (around 0.15) but high wear loss. In contrast, the low wear loss of SUJ2 on a-C:H coating with high (around 0.4) and unsteady friction coefficient. Some Fe2O3, FeO and graphitization have been found on the wear scar of SUJ2 sliding against ta-C coating. Nearly no oxide materials exist on the wear scar of SUJ2 against a-C:H coating. The mechanism and hypothesis of the wear behavior have been investigated according to the measurement results. This study will contribute to proper selection and understand the tribological performance of bearing steels against DLC coatings.

  11. Metal (Ag/Ti)-Containing Hydrogenated Amorphous Carbon Nanocomposite Films with Enhanced Nanoscratch Resistance: Hybrid PECVD/PVD System and Microstructural Characteristics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Constantinou, Marios; Nikolaou, Petros; Koutsokeras, Loukas; Avgeropoulos, Apostolos; Moschovas, Dimitrios; Varotsis, Constantinos; Patsalas, Panos; Kelires, Pantelis; Constantinides, Georgios

    2018-03-30

    This study aimed to develop hydrogenated amorphous carbon thin films with embedded metallic nanoparticles (a-C:H:Me) of controlled size and concentration. Towards this end, a novel hybrid deposition system is presented that uses a combination of Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition (PECVD) and Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) technologies. The a-C:H matrix was deposited through the acceleration of carbon ions generated through a radio-frequency (RF) plasma source by cracking methane, whereas metallic nanoparticles were generated and deposited using terminated gas condensation (TGC) technology. The resulting material was a hydrogenated amorphous carbon film with controlled physical properties and evenly dispersed metallic nanoparticles (here Ag or Ti). The physical, chemical, morphological and mechanical characteristics of the films were investigated through X-ray reflectivity (XRR), Raman spectroscopy, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and nanoscratch testing. The resulting amorphous carbon metal nanocomposite films (a-C:H:Ag and a-C:H:Ti) exhibited enhanced nanoscratch resistance (up to +50%) and low values of friction coefficient (<0.05), properties desirable for protective coatings and/or solid lubricant applications. The ability to form nanocomposite structures with tunable coating performance by potentially controlling the carbon bonding, hydrogen content, and the type/size/percent of metallic nanoparticles opens new avenues for a broad range of applications in which mechanical, physical, biological and/or combinatorial properties are required.

  12. Effect of substrate temperature on the structure of amorphous oxygenated hydrocarbon films grown with a pulsed supersonic methane plasma flow

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fedoseeva, Yu. V., E-mail: fedoseeva@niic.nsc.ru [Nikolaev Institute of Inorganic Chemistry SB RAS, Novosibirsk 630090 (Russian Federation); Novosibirsk State University, Novosibirsk 630090 (Russian Federation); Pozdnyakov, G.A. [Khristianovich Institute of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics, SB RAS, Novosibirsk 630090 (Russian Federation); Okotrub, A.V.; Kanygin, M.A. [Nikolaev Institute of Inorganic Chemistry SB RAS, Novosibirsk 630090 (Russian Federation); Novosibirsk State University, Novosibirsk 630090 (Russian Federation); Nastaushev, Yu. V. [Rzhanov Institute of Semiconductor Physics SB RAS, Novosibirsk 630090 (Russian Federation); Vilkov, O.Y. [St. Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg 198504 (Russian Federation); Bulusheva, L.G. [Nikolaev Institute of Inorganic Chemistry SB RAS, Novosibirsk 630090 (Russian Federation); Novosibirsk State University, Novosibirsk 630090 (Russian Federation)

    2016-11-01

    Highlights: • A deposition of supersonic methane plasma flow on silicon substrate produces amorphous oxygenated hydrocarbon (CO{sub x}H{sub y}) film. • The thickness, composition, and wettability of the film depend on the substrate temperature. • A rise of the substrate temperature from 500 to 700 °C promotes the sp{sup 3}-hybridization carbon formation. - Abstract: Since amorphous oxygenated hydrocarbon (CO{sub x}H{sub y}) films are promising engineering materials a study of the structure and composition of the films depending on the conditions of synthesis is important for controlling of their physicochemical properties. Here, we used the methods of scanning and transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron, near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure, Fourier transform infrared and Raman spectroscopy to reveal changes in the chemical connectivity of CO{sub x}H{sub y} films grown on silicon substrates heated to 300, 500, and 700 °C using a supersonic flow of methane plasma. It was found that the CO{sub x}H{sub y} films, deposited at 300 and 500 °C, were mainly composed of the sp{sup 2}-hybridized carbon areas with various oxygen species. A rise of the substrate temperature caused an increase of the portion of tetrahedral carbon atoms as well as carboxyl and hydroxyl groups. With growth of the substrate temperature, the film thickness reduced monotonically from 400 to 180 nm, while the film adhesion improved substantially. The films, deposited at lower temperatures, showed high hydrophilicity due to porosity and presence of oxygenated groups both at the surface and in the bulk.

  13. Amorphous hydrogenated carbon films treated by SF{sub 6} plasma

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Marins, N M S; Mota, R P; Santos, D C R; Honda, R Y; Kayama, M E; Kostov, K G; Algatti, M A [Laboratorio de Plasma, Faculdade de Engenharia, UNESP, Av. Dr. Ariberto Pereira da Cunha-333, 12516-410, Guaratingueta, SP (Brazil); Cruz, N C; Rangel, E C, E-mail: nazir@feg.unesp.b [Laboratorio de Plasmas Tecnologicos, Unidade Diferenciada Sorocaba/Ipero, UNESP, Av. Tres de Marco-511, 18085-180, Sorocaba, SP (Brazil)

    2009-05-01

    This work was performed to verify the chemical structure, mechanical and hydrophilic properties of amorphous hydrogenated carbon films prepared by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition, using acetylene/argon mixture as monomer. Films were prepared in a cylindrical quartz reactor, fed by 13.56 MHz radiofrequency. The films were grown during 5 min, for power varying from 25 to 125 W at a fixed pressure of 9.5 Pa. After deposition, all samples were treated by SF{sub 6} plasma with the aim of changing their hydrophilic character. Film chemical structure investigated by Raman spectroscopy, revealed the increase of sp{sup 3} hybridized carbon bonds as the plasma power increases. Hardness measurements performed by the nanoindentation technique showed an improvement from 5 GPa to 14 GPa following the increase discharge power. The untreated films presented a hydrophilic character, which slightly diminished after SF{sub 6} plasma treatment.

  14. Vibrational Spectra of Tetrahedral Fullerenes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheng; Li; Tang

    1999-01-01

    From the topological structures of the following classes of tetrahedral fullerenes-(1) Cn(h, h; -i, i), Cn(h, 0; -i, 2i), Cn(2h + i, -h + i; i, i), Cn(h - i, h + 2i; -i, 2i), and Cn(h, i; 0, i) for Td symmetry; (2) Cn(h, k; k, h), Cn(h, k; -h - k, k), and Cn(h, k; -h, h + k) for Th symmetry; (3) Cn(h, k; i, j) for T symmetry-we have obtained theoretically the formulas for the numbers of their IR and Raman active modes for all of the tetrahedral fullerenes through the decomposition of their nuclear motions into irreducible representations by means of group theory. Copyright 1999 Academic Press.

  15. Spectroscopic and calorimetric investigation of short and intermediate-range structures and energetics of amorphous SiCO, SiCN, and SiBCN polymer-derived ceramics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Widgeon, Scarlett J.

    Polymer-derived ceramics (PDCs) are a new class of amorphous ceramics in the Si-B-C-N system that are synthesized by the pyrolysis of silicon-based organic polymers. PDCs are lightweight and are resistant to creep, crystallization, and oxidation at temperatures near 1800 K making them ideal for a variety of high temperature applications. In spite of being X-ray amorphous, these materials display structural heterogeneity at the nanometer length scale. Their structure and resulting properties can be drastically altered by the utilization of preceramic polymers with differing chemistry and architectures. Fundamental understanding of the atomic structure is critical in deciphering the structure-property relationships and ultimately in controlling their properties for specific engineering applications. The short-range atomic structure has been extensively investigated using a variety of techniques, however, the structures at length scales beyond next-nearest neighbors remained highly controversial. Here we report the results of a spectroscopic and calorimetric study of short and intermediate -range structure and energetic of SiOC and SiBCN PDCs derived from a wide variety of precursors. SiOC PDCs with different carbon contents were synthesized from polysiloxane precurors and their structures were studied using high-resolution 13C and 29Si nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. The results suggest that these PDCs consists of a continuous mass fractal backbone of corner-shared SiC xO4-x tetrahedral units with "voids" occupied by sp 2-hybridized graphitic carbon. The oxygen-rich SiCxO 4-x units are located at the interior of this backbone with a mass fractal dimension of ~ 2.5, while the carbon-rich units occupy the two-dimensional interface between the backbone and the free carbon nanodomains. Such fractal topology is expected to give rise to unusual mechanical and transport properties characteristic of fractal percolation networks. For example, elastic moduli and

  16. Nitrogen-doped amorphous carbon-silicon core-shell structures for high-power supercapacitor electrodes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tali, S A Safiabadi; Soleimani-Amiri, S; Sanaee, Z; Mohajerzadeh, S

    2017-02-10

    We report successful deposition of nitrogen-doped amorphous carbon films to realize high-power core-shell supercapacitor electrodes. A catalyst-free method is proposed to deposit large-area stable, highly conformal and highly conductive nitrogen-doped amorphous carbon (a-C:N) films by means of a direct-current plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition technique (DC-PECVD). This approach exploits C 2 H 2 and N 2 gases as the sources of carbon and nitrogen constituents and can be applied to various micro and nanostructures. Although as-deposited a-C:N films have a porous surface, their porosity can be significantly improved through a modification process consisting of Ni-assisted annealing and etching steps. The electrochemical analyses demonstrated the superior performance of the modified a-C:N as a supercapacitor active material, where specific capacitance densities as high as 42 F/g and 8.5 mF/cm 2 (45 F/cm 3 ) on silicon microrod arrays were achieved. Furthermore, this supercapacitor electrode showed less than 6% degradation of capacitance over 5000 cycles of a galvanostatic charge-discharge test. It also exhibited a relatively high energy density of 2.3 × 10 3  Wh/m 3 (8.3 × 10 6  J/m 3 ) and ultra-high power density of 2.6 × 10 8  W/m 3 which is among the highest reported values.

  17. Efficient Production of N-Butyl Levulinate Fuel Additive from Levulinic Acid Using Amorphous Carbon Enriched with Oxygenated Groups

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jinfan Yang

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this study was to develop an effective carbonaceous solid acid for synthesizing green fuel additive through esterification of lignocellulose-derived levulinic acid (LA and n-butanol. Two different sulfonated carbons were prepared from glucose-derived amorphous carbon (GC400 and commercial active carbon (AC400. They were contrastively studied by a series of characterizations (N2 adsorption, X-ray diffraction, elemental analysis, transmission electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and NH3 temperature programmed desorption. The results indicated that GC400 possessed stronger acidity and higher –SO3H density than AC400, and the amorphous structure qualified GC400 for good swelling capacity in the reaction solution. Assessment experiments showed that GC400 displayed remarkably higher catalytic efficiency than AC400 and other typical solid acids (HZSM-5, Hβ, Amberlyst-15 and Nafion-212 resin. Up to 90.5% conversion of LA and 100% selectivity of n-butyl levulinate could be obtained on GC400 under the optimal reaction conditions. The sulfonated carbon retained 92% of its original catalytic activity even after five cycles.

  18. Infrared analysis of thin films: amorphous, hydrogenated carbon on silicon

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jacob, Wolfgang; Keudell, Achim von; Schwarz-Selinger, Thomas

    2000-01-01

    The infrared analysis of thin films on a thick substrate is discussed using the example of plasma-deposited, amorphous, hydrogenated carbon layers (a-C:H) on silicon substrates. The framework for the optical analysis of thin films is presented. The main characteristic of thin film optics is the occurrence of interference effects due to the coherent superposition of light multiply reflected at the various internal and external interfaces of the optical system. These interference effects lead to a sinusoidal variation of the transmitted and reflected intensity. As a consequence, the Lambert-Beer law is not applicable for the determination of the absorption coefficient of thin films. Furthermore, observable changes of the transmission and reflection spectra occur in the vicinity of strong absorption bands due to the Kramers-Kronig relation. For a sound data evaluation these effects have to be included in the analysis. To be able to extract the full information contained in a measured optical thin film spectrum, an experimentally measured spectrum has to be simulated using the full formalism including the Kramers-Kronig relation. Infrared absorption spectra and the resulting k spectra in the range of the CH vibrational bands around 3000 cm -1 are presented for a variety of a-C:H layers. The shape and the total intensity of the peak are quite sensitive to the film structure. Soft, polymerlike hydrocarbon layers are characterized by a well structured, intense IR absorption band, while hard, amorphous, hydrogenated carbon layers exhibit a structureless, broad IR absorption band with relative low intensity. The k spectra of the CH vibrational bands can be considered as fingerprint for the type of a-C:H film. (author)

  19. Negative ion emission at field electron emission from amorphous (alpha-C:H) carbon

    CERN Document Server

    Bernatskij, D P; Ivanov-Omskij, V I; Pavlov, V G; Zvonareva, T K

    2001-01-01

    The study on the electrons field emission from the plane cathode surface on the basis of the amorphous carbon film (alpha-C:H) is carried out. The methodology, making it possible to accomplish simultaneously the registration of the emission currents and visually observe the distribution of the emission centers on the plane emitter surface is developed. The analysis of the oscillograms indicated that apart from the proper electron constituent the negative ions of hydrogen (H sup - and H sub 2 sup -), carbon (C sup -) and hydrocarbon (CH sub n sup -) are observed. The ions emission is connected with the processes of formation and degradation of the local emission centers

  20. Origins of amorphous interstellar grains

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hasegawa, H.

    1984-01-01

    The existence of amorphous interstellar grains has been suggested from infrared observations. Some carbon stars show the far infrared emission with a lambda -1 wavelength dependence. Far infrared emission supposed to be due to silicate grains often show the lambda -1 wavelength dependence. Mid infrared spectra around 10 μm have broad structure. These may be due to the amorphous silicate grains. The condition that the condensed grains from the cosmic gas are amorphous is discussed. (author)

  1. Distinct Short-Range Order Is Inherent to Small Amorphous Calcium Carbonate Clusters (<2 nm)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sun, Shengtong [Physical Chemistry, University of Konstanz, Universitätsstrasse 10 78457 Konstanz Germany; School of Chemical Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Chemical Engineering, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Multiphase Materials Chemical Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, 130 Meilong Road Shanghai 200237 P.R. China; Chevrier, Daniel M. [Department of Chemistry and Institute for Research in Materials, Dalhousie University, Halifax Nova Scotia B3H 4R2 Canada; Zhang, Peng [Department of Chemistry and Institute for Research in Materials, Dalhousie University, Halifax Nova Scotia B3H 4R2 Canada; Gebauer, Denis [Physical Chemistry, University of Konstanz, Universitätsstrasse 10 78457 Konstanz Germany; Cölfen, Helmut [Physical Chemistry, University of Konstanz, Universitätsstrasse 10 78457 Konstanz Germany

    2016-09-09

    Amorphous intermediate phases are vital precursors in the crystallization of many biogenic minerals. While inherent short-range orders have been found in amorphous calcium carbonates (ACCs) relating to different crystalline forms, it has never been clarified experimentally whether such orders already exist in very small clusters less than 2 nm in size. Here, we studied the stability and structure of 10,12-pentacosadiynoic acid (PCDA) protected ACC clusters with a core size of ca. 1.4 nm consisting of only seven CaCO3 units. Ligand concentration and structure are shown to be key factors in stabilizing the ACC clusters. More importantly, even in such small CaCO3 entities, a proto-calcite short-range order can be identified but with a relatively high degree of disorder that arises from the very small size of the CaCO3 core. Our findings support the notion of a structural link between prenucleation clusters, amorphous intermediates, and final crystalline polymorphs, which appears central to the understanding of polymorph selection.

  2. Heavy-ion induced desorption yields of amorphous carbon films bombarded with 4.2 MeV/u lead ions

    CERN Document Server

    Mahner, E; Küchler, D; Scrivens, R; Costa Pinto, P; Yin Vallgren, C; Bender, M

    2011-01-01

    During the past decade, intense experimental studies on the heavy-ion induced molecular desorption were performed in several particle accelerator laboratories worldwide in order to understand and overcome large dynamic pressure rises caused by lost beam ions. Different target materials and various coatings were studied for desorption and mitigation techniques were applied to heavy-ion accelerators. For the upgrade of the CERN injector complex, a coating of the Super Proton Synchrotron (SPS) vacuum system with a thin film of amorphous carbon is under study to mitigate the electron cloud effect observed during SPS operation with the nominal proton beam for the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). Since the SPS is also part of the heavy-ion injector chain for LHC, dynamic vacuum studies of amorphous carbon films are important to determine their ion induced desorption yields. At the CERN Heavy Ion Accelerator (LINAC 3), carbon-coated accelerator-type stainless steel vacuum chambers were tested for desorption using 4.2 Me...

  3. Computational Evaluation of Amorphous Carbon Coating for Durable Silicon Anodes for Lithium-Ion Batteries

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hwang, Jeongwoon; Ihm, Jisoon; Lee, Kwang-Ryeol; Kim, Seungchul

    2015-01-01

    We investigate the structural, mechanical, and electronic properties of graphite-like amorphous carbon coating on bulky silicon to examine whether it can improve the durability of the silicon anodes of lithium-ion batteries using molecular dynamics simulations and ab-initio electronic structure calculations. Structural models of carbon coating are constructed using molecular dynamics simulations of atomic carbon deposition with low incident energies (1–16 eV). As the incident energy decreases, the ratio of sp2 carbons increases, that of sp3 decreases, and the carbon films become more porous. The films prepared with very low incident energy contain lithium-ion conducting channels. Also, those films are electrically conductive to supplement the poor conductivity of silicon and can restore their structure after large deformation to accommodate the volume change during the operations. As a result of this study, we suggest that graphite-like porous carbon coating on silicon will extend the lifetime of the silicon anodes of lithium-ion batteries. PMID:28347087

  4. Computational Evaluation of Amorphous Carbon Coating for Durable Silicon Anodes for Lithium-Ion Batteries

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jeongwoon Hwang

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available We investigate the structural, mechanical, and electronic properties of graphite-like amorphous carbon coating on bulky silicon to examine whether it can improve the durability of the silicon anodes of lithium-ion batteries using molecular dynamics simulations and ab-initio electronic structure calculations. Structural models of carbon coating are constructed using molecular dynamics simulations of atomic carbon deposition with low incident energies (1–16 eV. As the incident energy decreases, the ratio of sp2 carbons increases, that of sp3 decreases, and the carbon films become more porous. The films prepared with very low incident energy contain lithium-ion conducting channels. Also, those films are electrically conductive to supplement the poor conductivity of silicon and can restore their structure after large deformation to accommodate the volume change during the operations. As a result of this study, we suggest that graphite-like porous carbon coating on silicon will extend the lifetime of the silicon anodes of lithium-ion batteries.

  5. Metal (Ag/Ti-Containing Hydrogenated Amorphous Carbon Nanocomposite Films with Enhanced Nanoscratch Resistance: Hybrid PECVD/PVD System and Microstructural Characteristics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marios Constantinou

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available This study aimed to develop hydrogenated amorphous carbon thin films with embedded metallic nanoparticles (a–C:H:Me of controlled size and concentration. Towards this end, a novel hybrid deposition system is presented that uses a combination of Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition (PECVD and Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD technologies. The a–C:H matrix was deposited through the acceleration of carbon ions generated through a radio-frequency (RF plasma source by cracking methane, whereas metallic nanoparticles were generated and deposited using terminated gas condensation (TGC technology. The resulting material was a hydrogenated amorphous carbon film with controlled physical properties and evenly dispersed metallic nanoparticles (here Ag or Ti. The physical, chemical, morphological and mechanical characteristics of the films were investigated through X-ray reflectivity (XRR, Raman spectroscopy, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM, Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM, Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM and nanoscratch testing. The resulting amorphous carbon metal nanocomposite films (a–C:H:Ag and a–C:H:Ti exhibited enhanced nanoscratch resistance (up to +50% and low values of friction coefficient (<0.05, properties desirable for protective coatings and/or solid lubricant applications. The ability to form nanocomposite structures with tunable coating performance by potentially controlling the carbon bonding, hydrogen content, and the type/size/percent of metallic nanoparticles opens new avenues for a broad range of applications in which mechanical, physical, biological and/or combinatorial properties are required.

  6. Structural properties of nitrogenated amorphous carbon films: Influence of deposition temperature and radiofrequency discharge power

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lazar, G.; Bouchet-Fabre, B.; Zellama, K.; Clin, M.; Ballutaud, D.; Godet, C.

    2008-01-01

    The structural properties of nitrogenated amorphous carbon deposited by radiofrequency magnetron sputtering of graphite in pure N 2 plasma are investigated as a function of the substrate temperature and radiofrequency discharge power. The film composition is derived from x-ray photoemission spectroscopy, nuclear reaction analysis and elastic recoil detection measurements and the film microstructure is discussed using infrared, Raman, x-ray photoemission and near edge x-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopic results. At low deposition temperature and low radiofrequency power, the films are soft, porous, and easily contaminated with water vapor and other atmospheric components. The concentration of nitrogen in the films is very large for low deposition temperatures (∼33.6 at. % N at 150 deg. C) but decreases strongly when the synthesis temperature increases (∼15 at. % N at 450 deg. C). With increasing deposition temperature and discharge power values, the main observed effects in amorphous carbon nitride alloys are a loss of nitrogen atoms, a smaller hydrogen and oxygen contamination related to the film densification, an increased order of the aromatic sp 2 phase, and a strong change in the nitrogen distribution within the carbon matrix. Structural changes are well correlated with modifications of the optical and transport properties

  7. Methods of quantum chemistry and nanotechnology as applied to the study of the energy states of amorphous tetrahedral structures

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    B. A. Golodenko

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available The technique and results of an experimental research of power conditions of amorphous alloy hydrogenated carbide silicon is described. Application of power spectra of a silicon valence zone for definition phase structure of its amorphous hydrogenated carbide is shown. Quantitative dependence of a share carbide phases of silicon in structure of its alloy from the maintenance of methane in an initial gas mix is established.

  8. Crystalline and Amorphous Phosphorus – Carbon Nanotube Composites as Promising Anodes for Lithium-Ion Batteries

    KAUST Repository

    Smajic, Jasmin

    2016-05-04

    Battery research has been going full steam and with that the search for alternative anodes. Among many proposed electrode materials, little attention has been given to phosphorus. Phosphorus boasts the third highest gravimetric charge capacity and the highest volumetric charge capacity of all elements. Because of that, it would be an attractive battery anode material were it not for its poor cyclability with significant capacity loss immediately after the first cycle. This is known to be the consequence of considerable volume changes of phosphorus during charge/discharge cycles. In this work, we propose circumventing this issue by mixing amorphous red phosphorus with carbon nanotubes. By employing a non-destructive sublimation-deposition method, we have synthesized composites where the synergetic effect between phosphorus and carbon nanotubes allow for an improvement in the electrochemical performance of battery anodes. In fact, it has been shown that carbon nanotubes can act as an effective buffer to phosphorus volumetric expansions and contractions during charging and discharging of the half-cells [1]. By modifying the synthesis parameters, we have also been able to change the degree of crystallinity of the phosphorus matrix in the composites. In fact, the less common phase of red phosphorus, named fibrous phosphorus, was obtained, and that explains some of the varying electrochemical performances observed in the composites. Overall, it is found that a higher surface area of amorphous phosphorus allows for a better anode material when using single-walled carbon nanotubes as fillers.

  9. Transformation of Mg-bearing amorphous calcium carbonate to Mg-calcite - In situ monitoring

    Science.gov (United States)

    Purgstaller, Bettina; Mavromatis, Vasileios; Immenhauser, Adrian; Dietzel, Martin

    2016-02-01

    The formation of Mg-bearing calcite via an amorphous precursor is a poorly understood process that is of relevance for biogenic and abiogenic carbonate precipitation. In order to gain an improved insight on the controls of Mg incorporation in calcite formed via an Mg-rich amorphous calcium carbonate (Mg-ACC) precursor, the precipitation of Mg-ACC and its transformation to Mg-calcite was monitored by in situ Raman spectroscopy. The experiments were performed at 25.0 ± 0.03 °C and pH 8.3 ± 0.1 and revealed two distinct pathways of Mg-calcite formation: (i) At initial aqueous Mg/Ca molar ratios ⩽ 1:6, Mg-calcite formation occurs via direct precipitation from solution. (ii) Conversely, at higher initial Mg/Ca molar ratios, Mg-calcite forms via an intermediate Mg-rich ACC phase. In the latter case, the final product is a calcite with up to 20 mol% Mg. This Mg content is significant higher than that of the Mg-rich ACC precursor phase. Thus, a strong net uptake of Mg ions from the solution into the crystalline precipitate throughout and also subsequent to ACC transformation is postulated. Moreover, the temporal evolution of the geochemical composition of the reactive solution and the Mg-ACC has no significant effect on the obtained ;solubility product; of Mg-ACC. The enrichment of Mg in calcite throughout and subsequent to Mg-ACC transformation is likely affected by the high aqueous Mg/Ca ratio and carbonate alkalinity concentrations in the reactive solution. The experimental results have a bearing on the formation mechanism of Mg-rich calcites in marine early diagenetic environments, where high carbonate alkalinity concentrations are the rule rather than the exception, and on the insufficiently investigated inorganic component of biomineralisation pathways in many calcite secreting organisms.

  10. X-ray and neutron scattering from amorphous diamondlike carbon and hydrocarbon films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Findeisen, E.

    1994-10-01

    In this report amorphous, diamondlike, carbon and hydrocarbon films are investigated by two different methods, namely, X-ray scattering and a combination of X-ray and neutron reflectivity. As specular reflectivity probes the scattering length density profile of a sample perpendicular to its surface, the combination of X-ray and neutron reflectivity reveals the nuclei density of both carbon and hydrogen separately. This allows to calculate the concentration of hydrogen in the films, which varies in the presented experiments between 0 and 36 atomic %. This method is a new and nondestructive technique to determine the concentration of hydrogen within an error of about ±1 at. % in samples with sharp interfaces. It is well suited for thin diamondlike carbon films. X-ray scattering is used to obtain structural information on the atomic scale, especially the average carbon-carbon distance and the average coordination number of the carbon atoms. As grazing incidence diffraction experiments were not successful, free-standing films are used for the scattering experiments with synchrotron light. However, the scattered intensity for large scattering vectors is, in spite of the intense primary beam, very weak, and therefore the accuracy of the obtained structural parameter is not sufficient to prove the diamondlike properties also on the atomic scale. (au) (10 tabs., 76 ills., 102 refs.)

  11. Solubility and bioavailability of stabilized amorphous calcium carbonate.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meiron, Oren E; Bar-David, Elad; Aflalo, Eliahu D; Shechter, Assaf; Stepensky, David; Berman, Amir; Sagi, Amir

    2011-02-01

    Since its role in the prevention of osteoporosis in humans was proven some 30 years ago, calcium bioavailability has been the subject of numerous scientific studies. Recent technology allowing the production of a stable amorphous calcium carbonate (ACC) now enables a bioavailability analysis of this unique form of calcium. This study thus compares the solubility and fractional absorption of ACC, ACC with chitosan (ACC-C), and crystalline calcium carbonate (CCC). Solubility was evaluated by dissolving these preparations in dilute phosphoric acid. The results demonstrated that both ACC and ACC-C are more soluble than CCC. Fractional absorption was evaluated by intrinsically labeling calcium carbonate preparations with (45)Ca, orally administrated to rats using gelatin capsules. Fractional absorption was determined by evaluating the percentage of the administrated radioactive dose per milliliter that was measured in the serum, calcium absorption in the femur, and whole-body retention over a 34-hour period. Calcium serum analysis revealed that calcium absorption from ACC and ACC-C preparations was up to 40% higher than from CCC, whereas retention of ACC and ACC-C was up to 26.5% higher than CCC. Absorbed calcium in the femurs of ACC-administrated rats was 30% higher than in CCC-treated animals, whereas 15% more calcium was absorbed following ACC-C treatment than following CCC treatment. This study demonstrates the enhanced solubility and bioavailability of ACC over CCC. The use of stable ACC as a highly bioavailable dietary source for calcium is proposed based on the findings of this study. Copyright © 2011 American Society for Bone and Mineral Research.

  12. Fabrication of periodical surface structures by picosecond laser irradiation of carbon thin films: transformation of amorphous carbon in nanographite

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Popescu, C.; Dorcioman, G. [National Institute for Lasers, Plasma and Radiation Physics, 409 Atomistilor Street, Magurele RO-077125 (Romania); Bita, B. [National Institute for Research and Development in Microtechnologies, 126A Erou Iancu Nicolae Street, Voluntari RO-077190 (Romania); Faculty of Physics, 405 Atomistilor Street, Magurele RO-077125 (Romania); Besleaga, C.; Zgura, I. [National Institute of Materials Physics, 105bis Atomistilor Street, Magurele RO-077125 (Romania); Himcinschi, C. [Institute of Theoretical Physics, TU Bergakademie Freiberg, Freiberg D-09596 (Germany); Popescu, A.C., E-mail: andrei.popescu@inflpr.ro [National Institute for Lasers, Plasma and Radiation Physics, 409 Atomistilor Street, Magurele RO-077125 (Romania)

    2016-12-30

    Highlights: • Ripples obtained on carbon films after irradiation with visible ps laser pulses. • Amorphous carbon was transformed in nanographite following irradiation. • Ripples had a complex morphology, being made of islands of smaller ripples. • Hydrophilic carbon films became hydrophobic after surface structuring. - Abstract: Thin films of carbon were synthesized by ns pulsed laser deposition in vacuum on silicon substrates, starting from graphite targets. Further on, the films were irradiated with a picosecond laser source emitting in visible at 532 nm. After tuning of laser parameters, we obtained a film surface covered by laser induced periodical surface structures (LIPSS). They were investigated by optical, scanning electron and atomic force microscopy. It was observed that changing the irradiation angle influences the LIPSS covered area. At high magnification it was revealed that the LIPSS pattern was quite complex, being composed of other small LIPSS islands, interconnected by bridges of nanoparticles. Raman spectra for the non-irradiated carbon films were typical for a-C type of diamond-like carbon, while the LIPSS spectra were characteristic to nano-graphite. The pristine carbon film was hydrophilic, while the LIPSS covered film surface was hydrophobic.

  13. Effects of hydrogenation on thermal conductivity of ultrananocrystalline diamond/amorphous carbon composite films prepared via coaxial arc plasma deposition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Takeichi, Satoshi; Nishiyama, Takashi; Tabara, Mitsuru; Kawawaki, Shuichi; Kohno, Masamichi; Takahashi, Koji; Yoshitake, Tsuyoshi

    2018-06-01

    Ultrananocrystalline diamond (UNCD)/hydrogenated amorphous carbon (a-C:H) composite (UNCD/a-C:H) and UNCD/non-hydrogenated amorphous carbon (a-C) composite (UNCD/a-C) films were prepared via coaxial arc plasma deposition, and their thermal conductivity and interfacial conductance in grain boundaries were measured using a time-domain thermoreflectance method. The interfacial conductance was estimated to be 1,010 and 4,892 MW/(m2·K) for UNCD/a-C:H and UNCD/a-C films, respectively. The reasons for the hydrogenated film having lower interfacial conductance than the non-hydrogenated film are 1) the reduced number of carriers that contribute to heat transport and 2) the hydrogen atoms, which are preferentially located at the grain boundaries and enhance phonon scattering.

  14. Relativistic Jahn-Teller effect in tetrahedral systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Opalka, Daniel; Domcke, Wolfgang; Segado, Mireia; Poluyanov, Leonid V.

    2010-01-01

    It is shown that orbitally degenerate states in highly symmetric systems are split by Jahn-Teller forces which are of relativistic origin (that is, they arise from the spin-orbit coupling operator). For the example of tetrahedral systems, the relativistic Jahn-Teller Hamiltonians of orbitally degenerate electronic states with spin 1/2 are derived. While both electrostatic and relativistic forces contribute to the Jahn-Teller activity of vibrational modes of E and T 2 symmetry in 2 T 2 states of tetrahedral systems, the electrostatic and relativistic Jahn-Teller couplings are complementary for 2 E states: The E mode is Jahn-Teller active through electrostatic forces, while the T 2 mode is Jahn-Teller active through the relativistic forces. The relativistic Jahn-Teller parameters have been computed with ab initio relativistic electronic-structure methods. It is shown for the example of the tetrahedral cluster cations of the group V elements that the relativistic Jahn-Teller couplings can be of the same order of magnitude as the familiar electrostatic Jahn-Teller couplings for the heavier elements.

  15. Mapping residual organics and carbonate at grain boundaries and in the amorphous interphase in mouse incisor enamel

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lyle M Gordon

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available Dental enamel has evolved to resist the most grueling conditions of mechanical stress, fatigue, and wear. Adding insult to injury, it is exposed to the frequently corrosive environment of the oral cavity. While its hierarchical structure is unrivaled in its mechanical resilience, heterogeneity in the distribution of magnesium ions and the presence of Mg-substituted amorphous calcium phosphate (Mg-ACP as an intergranular phase have recently been shown to increase the susceptibility of mouse enamel to acid attack. Herein we investigate the distribution of two important constituents of enamel, residual organic matter and inorganic carbonate. We find that organics, carbonate, and possibly water show distinct distribution patterns in the mouse enamel crystallites, at simple grain boundaries, and in the amorphous interphase at multiple grain boundaries. This has implications for the resistance to acid corrosion, mechanical properties, and the mechanism by which enamel crystals grow during amelogenesis.

  16. Resistance switching at the nanometre scale in amorphous carbon

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sebastian, Abu; Rossel, Christophe; Pozidis, Haralampos; Eleftheriou, Evangelos; Pauza, Andrew; Shelby, Robert M; RodrIguez, Arantxa Fraile

    2011-01-01

    The electrical transport and resistance switching mechanism in amorphous carbon (a-C) is investigated at the nanoscale. The electrical conduction in a-C thin films is shown to be captured well by a Poole-Frenkel transport model that involves nonisolated traps. Moreover, at high electric fields a field-induced threshold switching phenomenon is observed. The following resistance change is attributed to Joule heating and subsequent localized thermal annealing. We demonstrate that the mechanism is mostly due to clustering of the existing sp 2 sites within the sp 3 matrix. The electrical conduction behaviour, field-induced switching and Joule-heating-induced rearrangement of atomic order resulting in a resistance change are all reminiscent of conventional phase-change memory materials. This suggests the potential of a-C as a similar nonvolatile memory candidate material.

  17. Heat treatment of cathodic arc deposited amorphous hard carbon films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Anders, S.; Ager, J.W. III; Brown, I.G. [and others

    1997-02-01

    Amorphous hard carbon films of varying sp{sup 2}/sp{sup 3} fractions have been deposited on Si using filtered cathodic are deposition with pulsed biasing. The films were heat treated in air up to 550 C. Raman investigation and nanoindentation were performed to study the modification of the films caused by the heat treatment. It was found that films containing a high sp{sup 3} fraction sustain their hardness for temperatures at least up to 400 C, their structure for temperatures up to 500 C, and show a low thickness loss during heat treatment. Films containing at low sp{sup 3} fraction graphitize during the heat treatment, show changes in structure and hardness, and a considerable thickness loss.

  18. Transformation of amorphous calcium carbonate to rod-like single crystal calcite via "copying" collagen template.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xue, Zhonghui; Hu, Binbin; Dai, Shuxi; Du, Zuliang

    2015-10-01

    Collagen Langmuir films were prepared by spreading the solution of collagen over deionized water, CaCl2 solution and Ca(HCO3)2 solution. Resultant collagen Langmuir monolayers were then compressed to a lateral pressure of 10 mN/m and held there for different duration, allowing the crystallization of CaCO3. The effect of crystallization time on the phase composition and microstructure of CaCO3 was investigated. It was found that amorphous calcium carbonate (ACC) was obtained at a crystallization time of 6 h. The amorphous CaCO3 was transformed to rod-like single crystal calcite crystals at an extended crystallization time of 12 h and 24 h, via "copying" the symmetry and dimensionalities of collagen fibers. Resultant calcite crystallites were well oriented along the longitudinal axis of collagen fibers. The ordered surface structure of collagen fibers and electrostatic interactions played key roles in tuning the oriented nucleation and growth of the calcite crystallites. The mineralized collagen possessing both desired mechanical properties of collagen fiber and good biocompatibility of calcium carbonate may be assembled into an ideal biomaterial for bone implants. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  19. Channeling implantation of high energy carbon ions in a diamond crystal: Determination of the induced crystal amorphization

    Science.gov (United States)

    Erich, M.; Kokkoris, M.; Fazinić, S.; Petrović, S.

    2018-02-01

    This work reports on the induced diamond crystal amorphization by 4 MeV carbon ions implanted in the 〈1 0 0〉 oriented crystal and its determination by application of RBS/C and EBS/C techniques. The spectra from the implanted samples were recorded for 1.2, 1.5, 1.75 and 1.9 MeV protons. For the two latter ones the strong resonance of the nuclear elastic scattering 12C(p,p0)12C at 1.737 MeV was explored. The backscattering channeling spectra were successfully fitted and the ion beam induced crystal amorphization depth profile was determined using a phenomenological approach, which is based on the properly defined Gompertz type dechanneling functions for protons in the 〈1 0 0〉 diamond crystal channels and the introduction of the concept of ion beam amorphization, which is implemented through our newly developed computer code CSIM.

  20. Discovery of amorphous carbon veins in the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake fault zone: implications for the fault weakening mechanism

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, J.; Zhang, J.; Zhang, B.; Li, H.

    2013-12-01

    The 2008 Wenchuan earthquake generated 270- and 80-km-long surface ruptures along Yingxiu-Beichuan fault and Guanxian-Anxian fault, respectively. At the outcrop near Hongkou village, southwest segment of Yingxiu-Beichuan rupture, network black amorphous carbon veins were discovered near fault planes in the 190-m-wide earthquake fault zone. These veins are mainly composed of ultrafine- and fine-grained amorphous carbon, usually narrower than 5mm and injected into faults and cracks as far as several meter. Flowage structures like asymmetrical structures around few stiff rock fragments indicate materials flew when the veins formed. Fluidization of cataclastic amorphous carbon and the powerful driving force in the veins imply high pore pressure built up during earthquakes. High pore pressure solution and graphite reported in the fault gouge (Togo et al., 2011) can lead very low dynamic friction during the Wenchuan earthquake. This deduction hypothesis is in accordance with the very low thermal abnormal measured on the principle fault zone following the Wenchuan earthquake (Mori et al., 2010). Furthermore, network amorphous carbon veins of different generations suggest similar weakening mechanism also worked on historical earthquakes in Longmenshan fault zone. Reference: Brodsky, E. E., Li, H., Mori, J. J., Kano, Y., and Xue, L., 2012, Frictional Stress Measured Through Temperature Profiles in the Wenchuan Scientific Fault Zone Drilling Project. American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting. San Francisco, T44B-07 Li, H., Xu, Z., Si, J., Pei, J., Song, S., Sun, Z., and Chevalier, M., 2012, Wenchuan Earthquake Fault Scientific Drilling program (WFSD): Overview and Results. American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting. San Francisco, T44B-01 Mori, J. J., Li, H., Wang, H., Kano, Y., Pei, J., Xu, Z., and Brodsky, E. E., 2010, Temperature measurements in the WFSD-1 borehole following the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake (MW7.9). American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting. San Francisco, T53E

  1. Effect of ultraviolet light irradiation on amorphous carbon nitride films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang, M.; Nakayama, Y.

    1997-01-01

    The amorphous carbon nitride films were produced using electron cyclotron resonance nitrogen plasma with various mixtures of N 2 and CH 4 gases. The dependence of film structures on the nitrogen incorporation and the structural modifications of the film due to ultraviolet (UV) light irradiation were investigated using infrared and UV-VIS spectroscopy. It is found that UV irradiation results in the decrease of CH bonding, increase of CC and CN double bonding in the film and increase of the optical band gap of the film. It appears that both bond removal and reordering have taken place as a result of UV irradiation. The structural modifications due to nitrogen incorporation and UV light irradiation are explained by a cluster model. copyright 1997 American Institute of Physics

  2. Nanocomposite metal amorphous-carbon thin films deposited by hybrid PVD and PECVD technique.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Teixeira, V; Soares, P; Martins, A J; Carneiro, J; Cerqueira, F

    2009-07-01

    Carbon based films can combine the properties of solid lubricating graphite structure and hard diamond crystal structure, i.e., high hardness, chemical inertness, high thermal conductivity and optical transparency without the crystalline structure of diamond. Issues of fundamental importance associated with nanocarbon coatings are reducing stress, improving adhesion and compatibility with substrates. In this work new nanocomposite coatings with improved toughness based in nanocrystalline phases of metals and ceramics embedded in amorphous carbon matrix are being developed within the frame of a research project: nc-MeNxCy/a-C(Me) with Me = Mo, Si, Al, Ti, etc. Carbide forming metal/carbon (Me/C) composite films with Me = Mo, W or Ti possess appropriate properties to overcome the limitation of pure DLC films. These novel coating architectures will be adopted with the objective to decrease residual stress, improve adherence and fracture toughness, obtain low friction coefficient and high wear-resistance. Nanocomposite DLC's films were deposited by hybrid technique using a PVD-Physically Vapor Deposition (magnetron sputtering) and Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition (PECVD), by the use of CH4 gas. The parameters varied were: deposition time, substrate temperature (180 degrees C) and dopant (Si + Mo) of the amorphous carbon matrix. All the depositions were made on silicon wafers and steel substrates precoated with a silicon inter-layer. The characterisation of the film's physico-mechanical properties will be presented in order to understand the influence of the deposition parameters and metal content used within the a-C matrix in the thin film properties. Film microstructure and film hybridization state was characterized by Raman Spectroscopy. In order to characterize morphology SEM and AFM will be used. Film composition was measured by Energy-Dispersive X-ray analysis (EDS) and by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The contact angle for the produced DLC's on

  3. Tetrahedral gray code for visualization of genome information.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Natsuhiro Ichinose

    Full Text Available We propose a tetrahedral Gray code that facilitates visualization of genome information on the surfaces of a tetrahedron, where the relative abundance of each [Formula: see text]-mer in the genomic sequence is represented by a color of the corresponding cell of a triangular lattice. For biological significance, the code is designed such that the [Formula: see text]-mers corresponding to any adjacent pair of cells differ from each other by only one nucleotide. We present a simple procedure to draw such a pattern on the development surfaces of a tetrahedron. The thus constructed tetrahedral Gray code can demonstrate evolutionary conservation and variation of the genome information of many organisms at a glance. We also apply the tetrahedral Gray code to the honey bee (Apis mellifera genome to analyze its methylation structure. The results indicate that the honey bee genome exhibits CpG overrepresentation in spite of its methylation ability and that two conserved motifs, CTCGAG and CGCGCG, in the unmethylated regions are responsible for the overrepresentation of CpG.

  4. Short-pulse-laser-induced optical damage and fracto-emission of amorphous, diamond-like carbon films

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sokolowski-Tinten, Klaus; Ziegler, Wolfgang; von der Linde, Dietrich; Siegal, Michael P.; Overmyer, D. L.

    2005-03-01

    Short-pulse-laser-induced damage and ablation of thin films of amorphous, diamond-like carbon have been investigated. Material removal and damage are caused by fracture of the film and ejection of large fragments. The fragments exhibit a delayed, intense and broadband emission of microsecond duration. Both fracture and emission are attributed to the laser-initiated relaxation of the high internal stresses of the pulse laser deposition-grown films.

  5. A Low-Stress, Elastic, and Improved Hardness Hydrogenated Amorphous Carbon Film

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Qi Wang

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available The evolution of hydrogenated amorphous carbon films with fullerene-like microstructure was investigated with a different proportion of hydrogen supply in deposition. The results showed at hydrogen flow rate of 50 sccm, the deposited films showed a lower compressive stress (lower 48.6%, higher elastic recovery (higher 19.6%, near elastic recovery rate 90%, and higher hardness (higher 7.4% compared with the films deposited without hydrogen introduction. Structural analysis showed that the films with relatively high sp2 content and low bonded hydrogen content possessed high hardness, elastic recovery rate, and low compressive stress. It was attributed to the curved graphite microstructure, which can form three-dimensional covalently bonded network.

  6. Influences of carbon content and coating carbon thickness on properties of amorphous CoSnO3@C composites as anode materials for lithium-ion batteries

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fan, Fuqiang; Fang, Guoqing; Zhang, Ruixue; Xu, Yanhui; Zheng, Junwei; Li, Decheng

    2014-08-01

    A series of core-shell carbon coated amorphous CoSnO3 (CoSnO3@C) with different carbon content are synthesized. Effects of carbon content and coating carbon thickness on the physical and electrochemical performances of the samples were studied in detail. The samples were analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), galvanostatic charge-discharge and AC impedance spectroscopy, respectively. The results indicate that controlling the concentration of aqueous glucose solution influences the generation of in-situ carbon layer thickness. The optimal concentration of aqueous glucose solution, carbon content and carbon layer thickness are suggested as 0.25 M, 35.1% and 20 nm, respectively. CoSnO3@C composite prepared under the optimal conditions exhibits excellent cycling performance, whose reversible capacity could reach 491 mA h g-1 after 100 cycles.

  7. Band gap engineering of hydrogenated amorphous carbon thin films for solar cell application

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dwivedi, Neeraj; Kumar, Sushil; Dayal, Saurabh; Rauthan, C. M. S.; Panwar, O. S.; Malik, Hitendra K.

    2012-10-01

    In this work, self bias variation, nitrogen introduction and oxygen plasma (OP) treatment approaches have been used for tailoring the band gap of hydrogenated amorphous carbon (a-C:H) thin films. The band gap of a-C:H and modified a- C:H films is varied in the range from 1.25 eV to 3.45 eV, which is found to be nearly equal to the full solar spectrum (1 eV- 3.5 eV). Hence, such a-C:H and modified a-C:H films are found to be potential candidate for the development of full spectrum solar cells. Besides this, computer aided simulation with considering variable band gap a-C:H and modified a- C:H films as window layer for amorphous silicon p-i-n solar cells is also performed by AFORS-HET software and maximum efficiency as ~14 % is realized. Since a-C:H is hard material, hence a-C:H and modified a-C:H films as window layer may avoid the use of additional hard and protective coating particularly in n-i-p configuration.

  8. Structures of high and low density amorphous ice by neutron diffraction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Finney, J.L.; Hallbrucker, A.; Kohl, I.; Soper, A.K.; Bowron, D.T.

    2002-01-01

    Neutron diffraction with isotope substitution is used to determine the structures of high (HDA) and low (LDA) density amorphous ice. Both 'phases' are fully hydrogen bonded, tetrahedral networks, with local order similarities between LDA and ice Ih, and HDA and liquid water. Moving from HDA, through liquid water and LDA to ice Ih, the second shell radial order increases at the expense of spatial order. This is linked to a fifth first neighbor 'interstitial' that restricts the orientations of first shell waters. This 'lynch pin' molecule which keeps the HDA structure intact has implications for the nature of the HDA-LDA transition that bear on the current metastable water debate

  9. Annealing effect on the microstructure modification and tribological properties of amorphous carbon nitride films

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Zhou; Wang, Chengbing; Wang, Qi; Zhang, Junyan

    2008-10-01

    The influences of thermal annealing on the microstructural and tribological properties of amorphous carbon nitride films were investigated. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and Fourier transform infrared spectrometer were utilized to characterize bond configuration and chemical state of the films. The results indicated that at low annealing temperatures (200 and 300 °C), the volatile species and surface contamination are easily dissociated without obvious bulk modification; while at high annealing temperatures (400 and 500 °C), the microstructure of carbon nitride films changed and favored a graphitization process, which indicated the growth of more graphitic film structures. The faint Raman signal of C≡N decreased with annealing temperature (TA) and completely disappeared at TA of 500 °C, indicating that nitrile bonds were thermal unstable under high temperature. Surprisingly, the tribological properties of the films showed a remarkably decreasing in friction coefficient as the TA increased; it is attributed to the graphitization of carbon nitride films during thermal annealing, which favored transfer film formation between the carbon nitride films and counterface materials. The transfer films benefit the decrease in coefficient of friction.

  10. Electromagnetic wave absorption properties of composites with micro-sized magnetic particles dispersed in amorphous carbon

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Li, Bin Peng [Research Center of Carbon Fiber, Key Laboratory for Liquid–Solid Structural Evolution and Processing of Materials of Ministry of Education, Shandong University, Jinan 250061 (China); Tianjin Binhai New Area Finance Bureau, Tianjin 300450 (China); Wang, Cheng Guo, E-mail: sduwangchg@gmail.com [Research Center of Carbon Fiber, Key Laboratory for Liquid–Solid Structural Evolution and Processing of Materials of Ministry of Education, Shandong University, Jinan 250061 (China); Wang, Wen [Norinco Group China North Material Science and Engineering Technology Group Corporation, Jinan 250031 (China); Yu, Mei Jie; Gao, Rui; Chen, Yang; Xiang Wang, Yan [Research Center of Carbon Fiber, Key Laboratory for Liquid–Solid Structural Evolution and Processing of Materials of Ministry of Education, Shandong University, Jinan 250061 (China)

    2014-09-01

    Composites with micro-sized magnetic particles dispersed in amorphous carbon were fabricated conveniently and economically by carbonizing polyacrylonitrile (PAN) fibers mixed with micro-sized iron particles under different temperatures. The composites were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electric microscope (SEM). The electromagnetic (EM) properties were measured by a vector network analyzer in the frequency range of 2–18 GHz based on which analog computations of EM wave absorption properties were carried out. The influences of temperature on phase composition and EM wave absorption properties were also investigated, indicating that the composites had good electromagnetic absorption properties with both electrical loss and magnetic loss. Effective reflection loss (RL<−10 dB) was observed in a large frequency range of 7.5–18 GHz with the absorber thickness of 2.0–3.0 mm for the paraffin samples with composite powders heated up to 750 °C and the minimum absorption peak around −40 dB appeared at approximately 10 GHz with matching thickness of 2.0 mm for the paraffin sample with composite powders heated up to 800 °C. - Highlights: • High-performance electromagnetic wave absorption materials were fabricated conveniently and economically. • The materials are composites with micro-sized magnetic particles dispersed in porous amorphous carbon. • The influences of temperature on phase composition and electromagnetic wave absorption properties were investigated. • The composites heated up to 750 °C and 800 °C had good electromagnetic wave absorption property.

  11. Swift heavy ion-beam induced amorphization and recrystallization of yttrium iron garnet

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Costantini, Jean-Marc; Miro, Sandrine; Beuneu, François; Toulemonde, Marcel

    2015-01-01

    Pure and (Ca and Si)-substituted yttrium iron garnet (Y 3 Fe 5 O 12 or YIG) epitaxial layers and amorphous films on gadolinium gallium garnet (Gd 3 Ga 5 O 12 , or GGG) single crystal substrates were irradiated by 50 MeV 32 Si and 50 MeV (or 60 MeV) 63 Cu ions for electronic stopping powers larger than the threshold value (∼4 MeV μm −1 ) for amorphous track formation in YIG crystals. Conductivity data of crystalline samples in a broad ion fluence range (10 11 –10 16 cm −2 ) are modeled with a set of rate equations corresponding to the amorphization and recrystallization induced in ion tracks by electronic excitations. The data for amorphous layers confirm that a recrystallization process takes place above ∼10 14 cm −2 . Cross sections for both processes deduced from this analysis are discussed in comparison to previous determinations with reference to the inelastic thermal-spike model of track formation. Micro-Raman spectroscopy was also used to follow the related structural modifications. Raman spectra show the progressive vanishing and randomization of crystal phonon modes in relation to the ion-induced damage. For crystalline samples irradiated at high fluences (⩾10 14 cm −2 ), only two prominent broad bands remain like for amorphous films, thereby reflecting the phonon density of states of the disordered solid, regardless of samples and irradiation conditions. The main band peaked at ∼660 cm −1 is assigned to vibration modes of randomized bonds in tetrahedral (FeO 4 ) units. (paper)

  12. Surface energy of amorphous carbon films containing iron

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen, J. S.; Lau, S. P.; Tay, B. K.; Chen, G. Y.; Sun, Z.; Tan, Y. Y.; Tan, G.; Chai, J. W.

    2001-01-01

    Iron containing diamond-like amorphous carbon (a-C:Fe) films were deposited by filtered cathodic vacuum arc technique. The influences of Fe content and substrate bias on the surface energy of the films were investigated. The surface energy of a-C:Fe films was determined by the contact angle measurement. Atomic force microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and x-ray induced photoelectron spectroscopy were employed to analyze the origin of the variation of surface energy with various Fe content and substrate bias. It is found that the contact angle for water increases significantly after incorporating Fe into the films and the films become hydrophobic. The roughness of these films has no effect on the contact angle. The surface energy is reduced from 42.8 to 25 dyne/cm after incorporating Fe into the a-C film (10% Fe in the target), which is due to the reduction of both dispersive and polar component. The reduction in dispersive component is ascribed to the decrease of atomic density of the a-C:Fe films due to the increase in sp 2 bonded carbon. When sp 2 content increases to some extent, the atomic density remains constant and hence dispersive component does not change. The absorption of oxygen on the surface plays an important role in the reduction of the polar component for the a-C:Fe films. It is proposed that such network as (C n - O - Fe) - O - (Fe - O - C n ) may be formed and responsible for the reduction of polar component. [copyright] 2001 American Institute of Physics

  13. Understanding API-polymer proximities in amorphous stabilized composite drug products using fluorine-carbon 2D HETCOR solid-state NMR.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abraham, Anuji; Crull, George

    2014-10-06

    A simple and robust method for obtaining fluorine-carbon proximities was established using a (19)F-(13)C heteronuclear correlation (HETCOR) two-dimensional (2D) solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (ssNMR) experiment under magic-angle spinning (MAS). The method was applied to study a crystalline active pharmaceutical ingredient (API), avagacestat, containing two types of fluorine atoms and its API-polymer composite drug product. These results provide insight into the molecular structure, aid with assigning the carbon resonances, and probe API-polymer proximities in amorphous spray dried dispersions (SDD). This method has an advantage over the commonly used (1)H-(13)C HETCOR because of the large chemical shift dispersion in the fluorine dimension. In the present study, fluorine-carbon distances up to 8 Å were probed, giving insight into the API structure, crystal packing, and assignments. Most importantly, the study demonstrates a method for probing an intimate molecular level contact between an amorphous API and a polymer in an SDD, giving insights into molecular association and understanding of the role of the polymer in API stability (such as recrystallization, degradation, etc.) in such novel composite drug products.

  14. Electronic structure of filled tetrahedral semiconductors

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wood, D.M.; Zunger, Alex; Groot, R. de

    1985-01-01

    We discuss the susceptibility of zinc-blende semiconductors to band-structure modification by insertion of small atoms at their tetrahedral interstitial states. GaP is found to become a direct-gap semiconductor with two He atoms present at its interstitial sites; Si does not. Analysis of the factors

  15. Multiscale simulation of thermal disruption in resistance switching process in amorphous carbon

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Popov, A M; Nikishin, N G; Shumkin, G N

    2015-01-01

    The switching of material atomic structure and electric conductivity is used in novel technologies of making memory on the base of phase change. The possibility of making memory on the base of amorphous carbon is shown in experiment [1]. Present work is directed to simulation of experimentally observed effects. Ab initio quantum calculations were used for simulation of atomic structure changes in amorphous carbon [2]. These simulations showed that the resistance change is connected with thermally induced effects. The temperature was supposed to be the function of time. In present paper we propose a new multiscale, self-consistent model which combines three levels of simulation scales and takes into account the space and time dependencies of the temperature. On the first level of quantum molecular dynamic we provide the calculations of phase change in atomic structure with space and time dependence of the temperature. Nose-Hover thermostats are used for MD simulations to reproduce space dependency of the temperature. It is shown that atomic structure is localized near graphitic layers in conducting dot. Structure parameter is used then on the next levels of the modeling. Modified Ehrenfest Molecular Dynamics is used on the second level. Switching evolution of electronic subsystem is obtained. In macroscopic scale level the heat conductivity equation for continuous media is used for calculation space-time dependence of the temperature. Joule heat source depends on structure parameter and electric conductivity profiles obtained on previous levels of modeling. Iterative procedure is self-consistently repeated combining three levels of simulation. Space localization of Joule heat source leads to the thermal disruption. Obtained results allow us to explain S-form of the Volt-Ampere characteristic observed in experiment. Simulations were performed on IBM Blue Gene/P supercomputer at Moscow State University. (paper)

  16. Effect of metal doping on structural characteristics of amorphous carbon system: A first-principles study

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Li, Xiaowei; Zhang, Dong [Key Laboratory of Marine Materials and Related Technologies, Key Laboratory of Marine Materials and Protective Technologies of Zhejiang Province, Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Ningbo 315201 (China); Lee, Kwang-Ryeol, E-mail: krlee@kist.re.kr [Computational Science Center, Korea Institute of Science and Technology, Seoul 136-791 (Korea, Republic of); Wang, Aiying, E-mail: aywang@nimte.ac.cn [Key Laboratory of Marine Materials and Related Technologies, Key Laboratory of Marine Materials and Protective Technologies of Zhejiang Province, Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Ningbo 315201 (China)

    2016-05-31

    First-principles calculation was performed to investigate the effect of metal doping on the structural characteristics of amorphous carbon system, and the 3d transition metals (TM) were particularly selected as representative case. Results showed that the total energy in TM–C systems caused by distorting the bond angles was reduced distinctly for comparison with that in C–C system. Further electronic structure revealed that as the 3d electrons of doped TM increased, the bond characteristic of highest occupied molecular orbital changed from bonding (Sc, Ti) to nonbonding (V, Cr, Mn, Fe) and finally to antibonding (Co, Ni, Cu) between the TM and C atoms. Meanwhile, the TM–C bond presented a mixture of the covalent and ionic characters. The decrease of strength and directionality of TM–C bonds resulted in the total energy change upon bond angle distortion, which demonstrated that the bond characteristics played an important role in reducing residual stress of TM-doped amorphous carbon systems. - Highlights: • The bond characteristics as 3d electrons changed from bonding, nonbonding to antibonding. • The TM–C bond was a mixture of covalent and ionic characters. • Reduced strength and directionality of TM–C bond led to small distortion energy change. • The weak TM–C bond accounted for the reduced compressive stress caused by TM.

  17. Nanosized amorphous calcium carbonate stabilized by poly(ethylene oxide)-b-poly(acrylic acid) block copolymers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guillemet, Baptiste; Faatz, Michael; Gröhn, Franziska; Wegner, Gerhard; Gnanou, Yves

    2006-02-14

    Particles of amorphous calcium carbonate (ACC), formed in situ from calcium chloride by the slow release of carbon dioxide by alkaline hydrolysis of dimethyl carbonate in water, are stabilized against coalescence in the presence of very small amounts of double hydrophilic block copolymers (DHBCs) composed of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) and poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) blocks. Under optimized conditions, spherical particles of ACC with diameters less than 100 nm and narrow size distribution are obtained at a concentration of only 3 ppm of PEO-b-PAA as additive. Equivalent triblock or star DHBCs are compared to diblock copolymers. The results are interpreted assuming an interaction of the PAA blocks with the surface of the liquid droplets of the concentrated CaCO3 phase, formed by phase separation from the initially homogeneous reaction mixture. The adsorption layer of the block copolymer protects the liquid precursor of ACC from coalescence and/or coagulation.

  18. Gas desorption during friction of amorphous carbon films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rusanov, A; Fontaine, J; Martin, J-M; Mogne, T L; Nevshupa, R

    2008-01-01

    Gas desorption induced by friction of solids, i.e. tribodesorption, is one of the numerous physical and chemical phenomena, which arise during friction as result of thermal and structural activation of material in a friction zone. Tribodesorption of carbon oxides, hydrocarbons, and water vapours may lead to significant deterioration of ultra high vacuum conditions in modern technological equipment in electronic, optoelectronic industries. Therefore, knowledge of tribodesorption is crucial for the performance and lifetime of vacuum tribosystems. Diamond-like carbon (DLC) coatings are interesting materials for vacuum tribological systems due to their high wear resistance and low friction. Highly hydrogenated amorphous carbon (a-C:H) films are known to exhibit extremely low friction coefficient under high vacuum or inert environment, known as 'superlubricity' or 'superlow friction'. However, the superlow friction period is not always stable and then tends to spontaneous transition to high friction. It is supposed that hydrogen supply from the bulk to the surface is crucial for establishing and maintaining superlow friction. Thus, tribodesorption can serve also as a new technique to determine the role of gases in superlow friction mechanisms. Desorption of various a-C:H films, deposited by PECVD, ion-beam deposition and deposition using diode system, has been studied by means of ultra-high vacuum tribometer equipped with a mass spectrometer. It was found that in superlow friction period desorption rate was below the detection limit in the 0-85 mass range. However, transition from superlow friction to high friction was accompanied by desorption of various gases, mainly of H 2 and CH 4 . During friction transition, surfaces were heavily damaged. In experiments with DLC films with low hydrogen content tribodesorption was significant during the whole experiment, while low friction was not observed. From estimation of maximum surface temperature during sliding contact it

  19. Photophysical and photochemical investigations of fullerene presence in amorphous hydrogenated carbon films

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, J. Q.; Meeker, D. L.; Barashkov, N. N.

    1997-07-01

    The plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition system was used to grow amorphous hydrogenated carbon films deposited on silicon substrates. Extracts of the films were obtained by treatment with boiling cyclohexane solvent. The absorption spectra of these extracts showed the existence of small quantities of fullerenes. Using the molar extinction coefficient of C60 in cyclohexane, the mass of fullerenes in the films was estimated to be about 0.019 mg. C60 induced fluorescence quenching of anthracene was also observed. Additional evidence for the presence of fullerenes was based on their capability to accelerate the photo-oxidation of anthracene through the generation of singlet oxygen with a high quantum yield under ultraviolet irradiation.

  20. Atomic Nuclei with Tetrahedral and Octahedral Symmetries

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dudek, J.; Gozdz, A.; Schunck, N.

    2003-01-01

    We present possible manifestations of octahedral and tetrahedral symmetries in nuclei. These symmetries are associated with the O D h and T D d double point groups. Both of them have very characteristic finger-prints in terms of the nucleonic level properties - unique in the Fermionic universe. The tetrahedral symmetry leads to the four-fold degeneracies in the nucleonic spectra; it does not preserve the parity. The octahedral symmetry leads to the four-fold degeneracies in the nucleonic spectra as well but it does preserve the parity. Microscopic predictions have been obtained using mean-field theory based on the relativistic equations and confirmed by using ''traditional'' Schrodinger equation formalism. Calculations are performed in multidimensional deformation spaces using newly designed algorithms. We discuss some experimental fingerprints of the hypothetical new symmetries and possibilities of their verification through experiments. (author)

  1. Salt Fog Testing Iron-Based Amorphous Alloys

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rebak, Raul B.; Aprigliano, Louis F.; Day, S. Daniel; Farmer, Joseph C.

    2007-01-01

    Iron-based amorphous alloys are hard and highly corrosion resistant, which make them desirable for salt water and other applications. These alloys can be produced as powder and can be deposited as coatings on any surface that needs to be protected from the environment. It was of interest to examine the behavior of these amorphous alloys in the standard salt-fog testing ASTM B 117. Three different amorphous coating compositions were deposited on 316L SS coupons and exposed for many cycles of the salt fog test. Other common engineering alloys such as 1018 carbon steel, 316L SS and Hastelloy C-22 were also tested together with the amorphous coatings. Results show that amorphous coatings are resistant to rusting in salt fog. Partial devitrification may be responsible for isolated rust spots in one of the coatings. (authors)

  2. First-principles study of the liquid and amorphous phases of In2Te3

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dragoni, D.; Gabardi, S.; Bernasconi, M.

    2017-08-01

    Structural, dynamical, and electronic properties of the liquid and amorphous phase of the In2Te3 compound have been studied by means of density functional molecular dynamics simulations. This system is of interest as a phase change material, undergoing a fast and reversible change between the crystalline and amorphous phases upon heating. It can be seen as a constituent of ternary InSbTe alloys which are receiving attention for application in electronic phase change memories. Amorphous models of In2Te3 300 -atom large have been generated by quenching from the melt by using different exchange and correlation functionals and different descriptions of the van der Waals interaction. It turns out the local bonding geometry of the amorphous phase is mostly tetrahedral with corner and edge sharing tetrahedra similar to those found in the crystalline phases of the InTe, In2Te3 , and In2Te5 compounds. Benchmark calculations on the crystalline α phase of In2Te3 in the defective zincblend geometry have also been performed. The calculations reveal that the high symmetric F 4 ¯3 m structure inferred experimentally from x-ray diffraction for the α phase must actually result from a random distribution of Te-Te bonds in different octahedral cages formed by the coalescence of vacancies in the In sublattice.

  3. Transformation and Crystallization Energetics of Synthetic and Biogenic Amorphous Calcium Carbonate

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Radha, A. V. [Peter A. Rock Thermochemistry Lab. and Nanomaterials in the Environment, Agriculture, and Technology Organized Research Unit (NEAT ORU), Univ. of California, Davis, CA (United States); Forbes, Tori Z. [Peter A. Rock Thermochemistry Lab. and Nanomaterials in the Environment, Agriculture, and Technology Organized Research Unit (NEAT ORU), Univ. of California, Davis, CA (United States); Killian, Christopher E. [Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison, WI (United States); Gilbert, P.U.P.A [Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison, WI (United States); Navrotsky, Alexandra [Peter A. Rock Thermochemistry Lab. and Nanomaterials in the Environment, Agriculture, and Technology Organized Research Unit (NEAT ORU), Univ. of California, Davis, CA (United States)

    2010-01-01

    Amorphous calcium carbonate (ACC) is a metastable phase often observed during low temperature inorganic synthesis and biomineralization. ACC transforms with aging or heating into a less hydrated form, and with time crystallizes to calcite or aragonite. The energetics of transformation and crystallization of synthetic and biogenic (extracted from California purple sea urchin larval spicules, Strongylocentrotus purpuratus) ACC were studied using isothermal acid solution calorimetry and differential scanning calorimetry. Transformation and crystallization of ACC can follow an energetically downhill sequence: more metastable hydrated ACC → less metastable hydrated ACC→anhydrous ACC ~ biogenic anhydrous ACC→vaterite → aragonite → calcite. In a given reaction sequence, not all these phases need to occur. The transformations involve a series of ordering, dehydration, and crystallization processes, each lowering the enthalpy (and free energy) of the system, with crystallization of the dehydrated amorphous material lowering the enthalpy the most. ACC is much more metastable with respect to calcite than the crystalline polymorphs vaterite or aragonite. The anhydrous ACC is less metastable than the hydrated, implying that the structural reorganization during dehydration is exothermic and irreversible. Dehydrated synthetic and anhydrous biogenic ACC are similar in enthalpy. The transformation sequence observed in biomineralization could be mainly energetically driven; the first phase deposited is hydrated ACC, which then converts to anhydrous ACC, and finally crystallizes to calcite. The initial formation of ACC may be a first step in the precipitation of calcite under a wide variety of conditions, including geological CO₂ sequestration.

  4. Tetrahedral meshing via maximal Poisson-disk sampling

    KAUST Repository

    Guo, Jianwei

    2016-02-15

    In this paper, we propose a simple yet effective method to generate 3D-conforming tetrahedral meshes from closed 2-manifold surfaces. Our approach is inspired by recent work on maximal Poisson-disk sampling (MPS), which can generate well-distributed point sets in arbitrary domains. We first perform MPS on the boundary of the input domain, we then sample the interior of the domain, and we finally extract the tetrahedral mesh from the samples by using 3D Delaunay or regular triangulation for uniform or adaptive sampling, respectively. We also propose an efficient optimization strategy to protect the domain boundaries and to remove slivers to improve the meshing quality. We present various experimental results to illustrate the efficiency and the robustness of our proposed approach. We demonstrate that the performance and quality (e.g., minimal dihedral angle) of our approach are superior to current state-of-the-art optimization-based approaches.

  5. Structural morphology of amorphous conducting carbon film

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Unknown

    moves from low preparation temperature to high preparation temperature. The amorphous .... nm and the interac- tion between the pi-electron clouds of the two layers re- .... sp2 configuration forms to minimize stress and making. C900 films ...

  6. The effect of deposition energy of energetic atoms on the growth and structure of ultrathin amorphous carbon films studied by molecular dynamics simulations

    KAUST Repository

    Wang, N; Komvopoulos, K

    2014-01-01

    The growth and structure of ultrathin amorphous carbon films was investigated by molecular dynamics simulations. The second-generation reactive-empirical-bond-order potential was used to model atomic interactions. Films with different structures

  7. Tetrahedral meshing via maximal Poisson-disk sampling

    KAUST Repository

    Guo, Jianwei; Yan, Dongming; Chen, Li; Zhang, Xiaopeng; Deussen, Oliver; Wonka, Peter

    2016-01-01

    -distributed point sets in arbitrary domains. We first perform MPS on the boundary of the input domain, we then sample the interior of the domain, and we finally extract the tetrahedral mesh from the samples by using 3D Delaunay or regular triangulation for uniform

  8. Photophysical and photochemical investigations of fullerene presence in amorphous hydrogenated carbon films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chen, J.Q.; Meeker, D.L. [The Physics Program, University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, Texas 75083 (United States); Barashkov, N.N. [Department of Chemistry, University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, Texas 75083 (United States)

    1997-07-01

    The plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition system was used to grow amorphous hydrogenated carbon films deposited on silicon substrates. Extracts of the films were obtained by treatment with boiling cyclohexane solvent. The absorption spectra of these extracts showed the existence of small quantities of fullerenes. Using the molar extinction coefficient of C{sub 60} in cyclohexane, the mass of fullerenes in the films was estimated to be about 0.019 mg. C{sub 60} induced fluorescence quenching of anthracene was also observed. Additional evidence for the presence of fullerenes was based on their capability to accelerate the photo-oxidation of anthracene through the generation of singlet oxygen with a high quantum yield under ultraviolet irradiation. {copyright} {ital 1997 American Institute of Physics.}

  9. Infrared analysis of thin films amorphous, hydrogenated carbon on silicon

    CERN Document Server

    Jacob, W; Schwarz-Selinger, T

    2000-01-01

    The infrared analysis of thin films on a thick substrate is discussed using the example of plasma-deposited, amorphous, hydrogenated carbon layers (a-C:H) on silicon substrates. The framework for the optical analysis of thin films is presented. The main characteristic of thin film optics is the occurrence of interference effects due to the coherent superposition of light multiply reflected at the various internal and external interfaces of the optical system. These interference effects lead to a sinusoidal variation of the transmitted and reflected intensity. As a consequence, the Lambert-Beer law is not applicable for the determination of the absorption coefficient of thin films. Furthermore, observable changes of the transmission and reflection spectra occur in the vicinity of strong absorption bands due to the Kramers-Kronig relation. For a sound data evaluation these effects have to be included in the analysis. To be able to extract the full information contained in a measured optical thin film spectrum, ...

  10. Influence of the exchange and correlation functional on the structure of amorphous InSb and In3SbTe2 compounds

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gabardi, Silvia; Caravati, Sebastiano; Los, Jan H.; Kühne, Thomas D.; Bernasconi, Marco

    2016-05-01

    We have investigated the structural, vibrational, and electronic properties of the amorphous phase of InSb and In3SbTe2 compounds of interest for applications in phase change non-volatile memories. Models of the amorphous phase have been generated by quenching from the melt by molecular dynamics simulations based on density functional theory. In particular, we have studied the dependence of the structural properties on the choice of the exchange-correlation functional. It turns out that the use of the Becke-Lee-Yang-Parr functional provides models with a much larger fraction of In atoms in a tetrahedral bonding geometry with respect to previous results obtained with the most commonly used Perdew-Becke-Ernzerhof functional. This outcome is at odd with the properties of Ge2Sb2Te5 phase change compound for which the two exchange-correlation functionals yield very similar results on the structure of the amorphous phase.

  11. Influence of the exchange and correlation functional on the structure of amorphous InSb and In3SbTe2 compounds

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gabardi, Silvia; Caravati, Sebastiano; Bernasconi, Marco; Los, Jan H.; Kühne, Thomas D.

    2016-01-01

    We have investigated the structural, vibrational, and electronic properties of the amorphous phase of InSb and In 3 SbTe 2 compounds of interest for applications in phase change non-volatile memories. Models of the amorphous phase have been generated by quenching from the melt by molecular dynamics simulations based on density functional theory. In particular, we have studied the dependence of the structural properties on the choice of the exchange-correlation functional. It turns out that the use of the Becke-Lee-Yang-Parr functional provides models with a much larger fraction of In atoms in a tetrahedral bonding geometry with respect to previous results obtained with the most commonly used Perdew-Becke-Ernzerhof functional. This outcome is at odd with the properties of Ge 2 Sb 2 Te 5 phase change compound for which the two exchange-correlation functionals yield very similar results on the structure of the amorphous phase.

  12. Structural and mechanical properties of amorphous carbon films deposited by the dual plasma technique

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Yaohui Wang; Xu Zhang; Xianying Wu; Huixing Zhang; Xiaoji Zhang

    2008-01-01

    Direct current metal filtered cathodic vacuum are (FCVA) and acetylene gas (C2H2) were wielded to synthesize Ti-containing amorphous carbon films on Si (100). The influence of substrate bias voltage and acetylene gas on the microstructure and mechanical properties of the films were investigated. The results show that the phase of TiC in the (111) preferential crystallo-graphic orientation exists in the film, and rite main existing pattern of carbon is sp2. With increasing the acetylene flow rate, the con-tents of Ti and TiC phase of the film gradually reduce; however, the thickness of the film increases. When the substrate bias voltage reaches -600 V, the internal stress of the film reaches 1.6 GPa. The micro-hardness and elastic modulus of the film can reach 33.9 and 237.6 GPa, respectively, and the friction coefficient of the film is 0.25.

  13. Optical and luminescence properties of hydrogenated amorphous carbon

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rusli

    1996-03-01

    In this thesis, the optical and luminescence properties of hydrogenated amorphous carbon(a - C:H) thin films deposited using a Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapour Deposition (PECVD) system are studied. A photoluminescence (PL) measuring system with a wavelength range of 300nm to 900nm, used for the above study, has been set up as a main part of the research. Firstly, a simple yet powerful method developed to solve for the optical constants and thickness of a - C : H deposited on Si is presented. This is followed by an investigation into the optical properties of band gap modulated a - C : H thin films superlattice structures. a - C : H films, obtained from a wide range of deposition conditions, are then characterised in terms of their optical absorption, infrared absorption, Raman scattering, fraction of sp 2 to sp 3 bondings and unpaired electron spin density. Their PL characteristics, such as the peak emission energy, spectral bandwidth, quantum efficiency, fatigue and polarisation memory are investigated in relation to their microstructure. The results, taken together with those obtained from photoconductivity study and electric field quenching of PL, are used to understand the origin of the strong PL in a - C : H. Preliminary work on a - C : H electroluminescent celbis also presented. (author)

  14. Study on the substrate-induced crystallisation of amorphous SiC-precursor ceramics. TIB/A; Untersuchungen zur substratinduzierten Kristallisation amorpher SiC-Precursorkeramiken

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rau, C.

    2000-12-01

    In the present thesis the crystallization behaviour of amorphous silicon-carbon materials (SiC{sub x}) was studied. The main topic of the experimental studies formed thereby the epitactical crystallization of thin silicon carbide layers on monocrystalline substrates of silicon carbides or silicon. Furthermore by thermolysis of the polymer amorphous SiC{sub x}-powder was obtained.

  15. Establishing the solubility and local structure(s) of Amorphous Calcium Carbonate (ACC): Toward an understanding of invertebrate biomineralization

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mergelsberg, S. T.; Ulrich, R. N.; Michel, F. M.; Dove, P. M.

    2017-12-01

    Recent advances in high-resolution imaging show the widespreadd occurrence of multistep pathways to mineralization in biological and geological settings (De Yoreo et al., 2015, Science). For example, carbonate biomineralization often involves precipitation of amorphous calcium carbonate (ACC) as a reactive intermediate that subsequently transforms to crystalline products with diverse structures. Although current carbonate mineral proxies are based upon the composition of final crystalline products, the final signatures may be recording the properties of the initial amorphous phase. Thus, it is critical to establish the physical properties of ACC and understand the factors that influence its evolution to final products at conditions that approximate biological environments. This disconnect limits our ability to build a process-based understanding of when/how minor and trace elements are recorded in mineral composition proxies. In this experimental study, we quantified the chemical and physical properties of ACC and its evolution to final products. We first determined ACC solubility under controlled chemical conditions using a new type of flow-through reactor developed by our research group (Blue and Dove, 2015, GCA; Blue et al., 2017, GCA). The experimental design varied Mg concentration and total alkalinity while maintaining a mild pH that approximates biological environments. ACC solubility was measured at specific time points during the precipitation (from super- and undersaturated conditions) and during its subsequent evolution. Parallel experiments characterized the structure of the corresponding amorphous products using in situ pair distribution function (PDF) and small-angle x-ray scattering (SAXS) analyses. The measurements demonstrate at least two types of ACC can be produced by tuning Mg concentration and alkalinity. Each "phase" exhibits distinct short-range ordering that demonstrates structure-specific solubility. We also find temporal changes in the

  16. Ab initio investigation of inversion in tetrahedral molecules of transition metals

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Musaev, D.G.; Boldyrev, A.I.

    1984-01-01

    Tetrahedral and plane square configurations of TiH 4 , TiF 4 , molecules and ScH 4 - , ScF 4 - anions are optimized in the frames of Hartree-Fock-Roothaan method with the bases of DZHD and DZRS type. Inversion barriers of tetrahedral molecules through plane sqUare configuration which make up 46; 70; 27 and 39 kcal/mol in TiH 4 , TiF 4 , SoH 4 - and ScF 4 - respectively are estimated. Correlation diagrams under inversion are analyzed

  17. Sizeable magnetic circular dichroism of artificially precipitated Co clusters in amorphous carbon

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    H. S. Hsu

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available This study examines sizeable magnetic circular dichroism (MCD in Co(20%-doped amorphous carbon (a-C films. While as-grown films exhibit a non-detectable MCD signal, films that undergo rapid thermal annealing (RTA at 600°C in a vacuum yield broad MCD spectra with a large amplitude of ∼3.9 × 104 deg/cm in saturation field 0.78 T at the σ-σ* gap transition (∼5.5 eV. In such films after RTA, the metastable Co-C bonding is decomposed and suitable Co nanoparticles/a-C interfaces are thus formed. Our results indicate that the large change in MCD is contributed from Co nanoparticles and associated with the spin-dependent electronic structure at the Co/a-C interfaces.

  18. Amorphization of Fe-based alloy via wet mechanical alloying assisted by PCA decomposition

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Neamţu, B.V., E-mail: Bogdan.Neamtu@stm.utcluj.ro [Materials Science and Engineering Department, Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, 103-105, Muncii Avenue, 400641, Cluj-Napoca (Romania); Chicinaş, H.F.; Marinca, T.F. [Materials Science and Engineering Department, Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, 103-105, Muncii Avenue, 400641, Cluj-Napoca (Romania); Isnard, O. [Université Grenoble Alpes, Institut NEEL, F-38042, Grenoble (France); CNRS, Institut NEEL, 25 rue des martyrs, BP166, F-38042, Grenoble (France); Pană, O. [National Institute for Research and Development of Isotopic and Molecular Technologies, 65-103 Donath Street, 400293, Cluj-Napoca (Romania); Chicinaş, I. [Materials Science and Engineering Department, Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, 103-105, Muncii Avenue, 400641, Cluj-Napoca (Romania)

    2016-11-01

    Amorphization of Fe{sub 75}Si{sub 20}B{sub 5} (at.%) alloy has been attempted both by wet and dry mechanical alloying starting from a mixture of elemental powders. Powder amorphization was not achieved even after 140 hours of dry mechanical alloying. Using the same milling parameters, when wet mechanical alloying was used, the powder amorphization was achieved after 40 h of milling. Our assumption regarding the powder amorphization capability enhancement by contamination with carbon was proved by X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) measurements which revealed the presence of carbon in the chemical composition of the wet mechanically alloyed sample. Using shorter milling times and several process control agents (PCA) (ethanol, oleic acid and benzene) with different carbon content it was proved that the milling duration required for powder amorphization is linked to the carbon content of the PCA. Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), thermomagnetic (TG) and X-ray Diffraction (XRD) measurements performed to the heated samples revealed the fact that, the crystallisation occurs at 488 °C, thus leading to the formation of Fe{sub 3}Si and Fe{sub 2}B. Thermogravimetry measurements performed under H{sub 2} atmosphere, showed the same amount of contamination with C, which is about 2.3 wt%, for the amorphous samples regardless of the type of PCA. Saturation magnetisation of the wet milled samples decreases upon increasing milling time. In the case of the amorphous samples wet milled with benzene up to 20 h and with oleic acid up to 30 h, the saturation magnetisation has roughly the same value, indicating the same degree of contamination. The XRD performed on the samples milled using the same parameters, revealed that powder amorphization can be achieved even via dry milling, just by adding the equivalent amount of elemental C calculated from the TG plots. This proves that in this system by considering the atomic species which can contaminate the powder, they can be

  19. Thionyl chloride assisted functionalization of amorphous carbon nanotubes: A better field emitter and stable nanofluid with better thermal conductivity

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sarkar, S.K.; Jha, A. [School of Materials Science and Nanotechnology, Jadavpur University, Kolkata 700 032 (India); Chattopadhyay, K.K., E-mail: kalyan_chattopadhyay@yahoo.com [Thin Film & Nanoscience Laboratory, Department of Physics, Jadavpur University, Kolkata 700 032 (India); School of Materials Science and Nanotechnology, Jadavpur University, Kolkata 700 032 (India)

    2015-06-15

    Highlights: • Thionyl chloride assisted functionalization of amorphous carbon nanotubes (a-CNTs). • Improved dispersion enhanced thermal conductivity of engine oil. • Again f-a-CNTs showed enhanced field emission property compared to pure a-CNTs. - Abstract: Amorphous carbon nanotubes (a-CNTs) were synthesized at low temperature in open atmosphere and further functionalized by treating them in thionyl chloride added stearic acid-dichloro methane solution. The as prepared functionalized a-CNTs (f-a-CNTs) were characterized by Raman spectroscopy, Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, transmission and scanning electron microscopy. The nanofluid was prepared by dispersing f-a-CNTs in engine oil using ultrasonic treatment. The effective thermal conductivity of as prepared nanofluid was investigated at different loading (volume fraction of f-a-CNTs). Obtained experimental data of thermal conductivity were compared with the predicted values, calculated using existing theoretical models. Stability of the nanofluid was tested by means of zeta potential measurement to optimize the loading. The as prepared f-a-CNTs sample also showed improved field emission result as compared to pristine a-CNTs. Dependence of field emission behavior on inter electrode distance was investigated too.

  20. Fabrication of amorphous Si and C anode films via co-sputtering for an all-solid-state battery

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lee, K.S. [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Yonsei University Shinchondong, 262 Seongsanno, Seodaemoongu, Seoul 120-749 (Korea, Republic of); Department of Environment and Energy Engineering, Gachon University, Seongnamdaero 1342, 461-710 Gyeonggi-do (Korea, Republic of); Lee, S.H. [Department of Environment and Energy Engineering, Gachon University, Seongnamdaero 1342, 461-710 Gyeonggi-do (Korea, Republic of); Woo, S.P. [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Yonsei University Shinchondong, 262 Seongsanno, Seodaemoongu, Seoul 120-749 (Korea, Republic of); Department of Environment and Energy Engineering, Gachon University, Seongnamdaero 1342, 461-710 Gyeonggi-do (Korea, Republic of); Kim, H.S. [Department of Mechanical Engineering, Gachon University, Seongnamdaero 1342, 461-710 Gyeonggi-do (Korea, Republic of); Yoon, Y.S., E-mail: benedicto@gachon.ac.kr [Department of Environment and Energy Engineering, Gachon University, Seongnamdaero 1342, 461-710 Gyeonggi-do (Korea, Republic of)

    2014-08-01

    In this study, a combination of silicon and carbon as the anode material for an all-solid-state battery has been investigated to overcome their individual deficiencies. The capacity of silicon thin films with an input power of 60 W shows dramatic failure after 38 cycles due to serious volume expansion. In contrast, C thin films at 60 W show high stability of cyclic performance and capacity retention. The amorphous silicon and carbon composite reduced the volume expansion of silicon during long term cycles and enhanced the low specific capacity of the carbon. This resistance of the volume expansion might be expected from the cushion effect caused by the carbon, which was confirmed by scanning electron microscope images after a 100 cycle test. These results indicate that amorphous silicon and carbon composite thin films have a high possibility as the stable anode material for an all-solid-state battery. - Highlights: • Amorphous Si/C nanocomposite thin films have been prepared by co-sputtering. • Carbon can act as a cushion effect to prevent volume expansion of Si. • Amorphous Si/C nanocomposite thin films show structure stability at 100 cycles. • Capacity of the amorphous Si/C nanocomposite thin films was enhanced considerably.

  1. Influence of the exchange and correlation functional on the structure of amorphous InSb and In{sub 3}SbTe{sub 2} compounds

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gabardi, Silvia; Caravati, Sebastiano; Bernasconi, Marco, E-mail: marco.bernasconi@mater.unimib.it [Dipartimento di Scienza dei Materiali, Università di Milano-Bicocca, Via R. Cozzi 55, I-20125 Milano (Italy); Los, Jan H.; Kühne, Thomas D. [Institute of Physical Chemistry and Center for Computational Sciences, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Staudinger Weg 7, D-55128 Mainz (Germany)

    2016-05-28

    We have investigated the structural, vibrational, and electronic properties of the amorphous phase of InSb and In{sub 3}SbTe{sub 2} compounds of interest for applications in phase change non-volatile memories. Models of the amorphous phase have been generated by quenching from the melt by molecular dynamics simulations based on density functional theory. In particular, we have studied the dependence of the structural properties on the choice of the exchange-correlation functional. It turns out that the use of the Becke-Lee-Yang-Parr functional provides models with a much larger fraction of In atoms in a tetrahedral bonding geometry with respect to previous results obtained with the most commonly used Perdew-Becke-Ernzerhof functional. This outcome is at odd with the properties of Ge{sub 2}Sb{sub 2}Te{sub 5} phase change compound for which the two exchange-correlation functionals yield very similar results on the structure of the amorphous phase.

  2. DNA tetrahedral scaffolds-based platform for the construction of electrochemiluminescence biosensor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Feng, Qiu-Mei; Zhou, Zhen; Li, Mei-Xing; Zhao, Wei; Xu, Jing-Juan; Chen, Hong-Yuan

    2017-04-15

    Proximal metallic nanoparticles (NPs) could quench the electrochemiluminescence (ECL) emission of semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) due to Förster energy transfer (FRET), but at a certain distance, the coupling of light-emission with surface plasmon resonance (SPR) result in enhanced ECL. Thus, the modification strategies and distances control between QDs and metallic NPs are critical for the ECL intensity of QDs. In this strategy, a SPR enhanced ECL sensor based on DNA tetrahedral scaffolds modified platform was reported for the detection of telomerase activity. Due to the rigid three-dimensional structure, DNA tetrahedral scaffolds grafting on the electrode surface could accurately modulate the distance between CdS QDs and luminol labelled gold nanoparticles (L-Au NPs), meanwhile provide an enhanced spatial dimension and accessibility for the assembly of multiple L-Au NPs. The ECL intensities of both CdS QDs (-1.25V vs. SCE) and luminol (+0.33V vs. SCE) gradually increased along with the formation of multiple L-Au NPs at the vertex of DNA tetrahedral scaffolds induced by telomerase, bringing in a dual-potential ECL analysis. The proposed method showed high sensitivity for the identification of telomerase and was successfully applied for the differentiation of cancer cells from normal cells. This work suggests that DNA tetrahedral scaffolds could serve as an excellent choice for the construction of SPR-ECL system. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  3. Low-emissivity coating of amorphous diamond-like carbon/Ag-alloy multilayer on glass

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chiba, Kiyoshi; Takahashi, Toshiyuki; Kageyama, Takashi; Oda, Hironori

    2005-01-01

    Transparent low-emissivity (low-e) coatings comprising dielectrics of amorphous diamond-like carbon (DLC) and Ag-alloy films are investigated. All films have been prepared by dc magnetron sputtering. An index of refraction of the DLC film deposited in a gas mixture of Ar/H 2 (4%) shows n = 1.80 + 0.047i at 500 nm wavelength. A multilayer stack of DLC (70 nm thick)/Ag 87.5 Cu 12.5 -alloy (10 nm)/DLC (140 nm)/Ag 87.5 Cu 12.5 -alloy (10 nm)/DLC (70 nm) has revealed clear interference spectra with spectra selectivity. This coating performs low emittance less than 0.1 for black body radiation at 297 K, exhibiting a transparent heat mirror property embedded in DLC films

  4. Structures and properties of fluorinated amorphous carbon films

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, K. P.; Lin, P.; Shih, H. C.

    2004-07-01

    Fluorinated amorphous carbon (a-C:F) films were deposited by radio frequency bias assisted microwave plasma electron cyclotron resonance chemical vapor deposition with tetrafluoromethane (CF4) and acetylene (C2H2) as precursors. The deposition process was performed at two flow ratios R=0.90 and R=0.97, where R=CF4/(CF4+C2H2). The samples were annealed at 300 °C for 30 min. in a N2 atmosphere. Both Fourier transform infrared and electron spectroscopy for chemical analyzer were used to characterize the a-C:F film chemical bond and fluorine concentration, respectively. A high resolution electron energy loss spectrometer was applied to detect the electronic structure. The higher CF4 flow ratio (R=0.97) produced more sp3 linear structure, and it made the a-C:F film smoother and softer. A lifetime of around 0.34 μs and an energy gap of ˜2.75 eV were observed in both the as-deposited and after annealing conditions. The short carriers lifetime in the a-C:F film made the photoluminescence peak blueshift. The annealing changed both the structure and composition of the a-C:F film. The type of fluorocarbon bond and electronic structure characterized the mechanical and physical properties of a-C:F film.

  5. Carbon nanostructure formation driven by energetic particles

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhu Zhiyuan; Gong Jinlong; Zhu Dezhang

    2006-01-01

    Carbon nanostructures, especially carbon nanotubes (CNTs), have been envisaged to be the building blocks of a variety of nanoscale devices and materials. The inherent nanometer-size and ability of being either metallic or semiconductive of CNTs lead to their application in nanoelectronics. Excellent mechanical characteristics of CNTs suggest their use as structural reinforcements. However, to fully exploit the potential applications, effective means of tailoring CNT properties must be developed. Irradiation of materials with energetic particles beams (ions and electrons) is a standard and important tool for modifying material properties. Irradiation makes it possible to dope the samples, to create local amorphous region or vice versa, recrystallize the lattice and even drive a phase transition. In this paper, we report our results of (1) phase transfromation from carbon nanotubes to nanocrystalline diamond driven by hydrogen plasma, (2) onion-like nanostructure from carbon nanotubes driven by ion beams of several tens keV, and (3) amorphous carbon nanowire network formation by ion beam irradiation. Structural phase transformation from multiwalled carbon nanotubes to nanocrystalline diamond by hydrogen plasma post-treatment was carried out. Ultrahigh equivalent diamond nucleation density of more than 1011 nuclei/cm 2 was obtained. The diamond formation and growth mechanisms were proposed to be the consequence of the formation of sp3 bonded amorphous carbon clusters. The hydrogen chemisorption on curved graphite network and the energy deposited on CNTs by continuous impingement of activated molecular or atomic hydrogen are responsible for the formation of amorphous carbon matrix. Diamond nucleates and grows in the way similar to that of diamond chemical vapor deposition processes on amorphous carbon films. Furthermore, single crystalline diamond nanorods of 4-8 nm in diameter and up to 200 nm in length have been successfully synthesized by hydrogen plasma post

  6. Molecular dynamics simulation of chemical vapor deposition of amorphous carbon. Dependence on H/C ratio of source gas

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ito, Atsushi M.; Takayama, Arimichi; Nakamura, Hiroaki; Saito, Seiki; Ohno, Noriyasu; Kajita, Shin

    2011-01-01

    By molecular dynamics simulation, the chemical vapor deposition of amorphous carbon onto graphite and diamond surfaces was studied. In particular, we investigated the effect of source H/C ratio, which is the ratio of the number of hydrogen atoms to the number of carbon atoms in a source gas, on the deposition process. In the present simulation, the following two source gas conditions were tested: one was that the source gas was injected as isolated carbon and hydrogen atoms, and the other was that the source gas was injected as hydrocarbon molecules. Under the former condition, we found that as the source H/C ratio increases, the deposition rate of carbon atoms decreases exponentially. This exponential decrease in the deposition rate with increasing source H/C ratio agrees with experimental data. However, under the latter molecular source condition, the deposition rate did not decrease exponentially because of a chemical reaction peculiar to the type of hydrocarbon in the source gas. (author)

  7. Emission of blue light from hydrogenated amorphous silicon carbide

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nevin, W. A.; Yamagishi, H.; Yamaguchi, M.; Tawada, Y.

    1994-04-01

    THE development of new electroluminescent materials is of current technological interest for use in flat-screen full-colour displays1. For such applications, amorphous inorganic semiconductors appear particularly promising, in view of the ease with which uniform films with good mechanical and electronic properties can be deposited over large areas2. Luminescence has been reported1 in the red-green part of the spectrum from amorphous silicon carbide prepared from gas-phase mixtures of silane and a carbon-containing species (usually methane or ethylene). But it is not possible to achieve blue luminescence by this approach. Here we show that the use of an aromatic species-xylene-as the source of carbon during deposition results in a form of amorphous silicon carbide that exhibits strong blue luminescence. The underlying structure of this material seems to be an unusual combination of an inorganic silicon carbide lattice with a substantial 'organic' π-conjugated carbon system, the latter dominating the emission properties. Moreover, the material can be readily doped with an electron acceptor in a manner similar to organic semiconductors3, and might therefore find applications as a conductivity- or colour-based chemical sensor.

  8. Recent Experimental Results on Amorphous Carbon Coatings for Electron Cloud Mitigation

    CERN Document Server

    Yin Vallgren, C; Chiggiato, P; Costa Pinto, P; Neupert, H; Taborelli, M; Rumolo, G; Shaposhnikova, E; Vollenberg, W

    2011-01-01

    Amorphous carbon (a-C) thin films, produced in different coating configurations by using DC magnetron sputtering, have been investigated in laboratory for low secondary electron yield (SEY) applications. After the coatings had shown a reliable low initial SEY, the a-C thin films have been applied in the CERN Super Proton Synchrotron (SPS) and tested with Large Hadron Collider (LHC) type beams.Currently, we have used a-C thin film coated in so-called liner configuration for the electron cloud monitors. In addition the vacuum chambers of three dipole magnets have been coated and inserted into the machine. After describing the different configurations used for the coatings, results of the tests in the machine and a summary of the analyses after extraction will be presented. Based on comparison between different coating configurations, a new series of coatings has been applied on three further dipole magnet vacuum chambers. They have been installed and will be tested in coming machine development runs.

  9. Formation of a highly doped ultra-thin amorphous carbon layer by ion bombardment of graphene

    Science.gov (United States)

    Piotr Michałowski, Paweł; Pasternak, Iwona; Ciepielewski, Paweł; Guinea, Francisco; Strupiński, Włodek

    2018-07-01

    Ion bombardment of graphene leads to the formation of defects which may be used to tune properties of the graphene based devices. In this work, however, we present that the presence of the graphene layer on a surface of a sample has a significant impact on the ion bombardment process: broken sp2 bonds react with the incoming ions and trap them close to the surface of the sample, preventing a standard ion implantation. For an ion bombardment with a low impact energy and significant dose (in the range of 1014 atoms cm‑2) an amorphization of the graphene layer is observed but at the same time, most of the incoming ions do not penetrate the sample but stop at the surface, thus forming a highly doped ultra-thin amorphous carbon layer. The effect may be used to create thin layers containing desired atoms if no other technique is available. This approach is particularly useful for secondary ion mass spectrometry where a high concentration of Cs at the surface of a sample significantly enhances the negative ionization probability, allowing it to reach better detection limits.

  10. Amorphous Mn oxide-ordered mesoporous carbon hybrids as a high performance electrode material for supercapacitors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nam, Inho; Kim, Nam Dong; Kim, Gil-Pyo; Park, Junsu; Yi, Jongheop

    2012-07-01

    A supercapacitor has the advantages of both the conventional capacitors and the rechargeable batteries. Mn oxide is generally recognized one of the potential materials that can be used for a supercapacitor, but its low conductivity is a limiting factor for electrode materials. In this study, a hybrid of amorphous Mn oxide (AMO) and ordered mesoporous carbon (OMC) was prepared and characterized using X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, N2/77 K sorption techniques, and electrochemical analyses. The findings indicate that the electrochemical activities of Mn oxide were facilitated when it was in the hybrid state because OMC acted as a pathway for both the electrolyte ions and the electrons due to the characteristics of the ordered mesoporous structure. The ordered mesoporous structure of OMC was well maintained even after hybridization with amorphous Mn oxide. The electrochemical-activity tests revealed that the AMO/OMC hybrid had a higher specific capacitance and conductivity than pure Mn oxide. In the case where the Mn/C weight ratio was 0.75, the composite showed a high capacitance of 153 F/g, which was much higher than that for pure Mn oxide, due to the structural effects of OMC.

  11. A computational study of nodal-based tetrahedral element behavior.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gullerud, Arne S.

    2010-09-01

    This report explores the behavior of nodal-based tetrahedral elements on six sample problems, and compares their solution to that of a corresponding hexahedral mesh. The problems demonstrate that while certain aspects of the solution field for the nodal-based tetrahedrons provide good quality results, the pressure field tends to be of poor quality. Results appear to be strongly affected by the connectivity of the tetrahedral elements. Simulations that rely on the pressure field, such as those which use material models that are dependent on the pressure (e.g. equation-of-state models), can generate erroneous results. Remeshing can also be strongly affected by these issues. The nodal-based test elements as they currently stand need to be used with caution to ensure that their numerical deficiencies do not adversely affect critical values of interest.

  12. The Effect of Titanium Tetrahedral Coordination of Silica-Titania Catalyst on the Physical Properties of Biodiesel

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nizar, U. K.; Hidayatul, J.; Sundari, R.; Bahrizal, B.; Amran, A.; Putra, A.; Latisma DJ, L.; Dewata, I.

    2018-04-01

    This study investigates the correlation of the number of titanium tetrahedral coordination and biodiesel production. The solid-state method has been used to synthesis of silica-titania catalyst for biodiesel production, which the precursors, i.e. silica and titania commercials were heated in the temperature range of 450 - 550°C. The characterization of the prepared silica-titania has been studied by FTIR and DR UV-Vis in order to identify and calculate the presence of titanium tetrahedral coordination in silica-titania catalyst. A very small peak at around 950 cm-1 indicated the presence of titanium tetrahedral coordination through Si–O–Ti bonds. Deconvolution of DR UV-Vis spectra showed the coordination of titanium in silica-titania is more octahedral. However, the number of titanium tetrahedral coordination of the prepared silica-titania is found higher than that of TiO2 commercial. The increasing of titanium tetrahedral fraction in silica-titania affects the physical properties of biodiesel in terms of boiling point, viscosity and density, which is produced by the reaction of methanol and palm oil.

  13. A geometric toolbox for tetrahedral finite element partitions

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Brandts, J.; Korotov, S.; Křížek, M.; Axelsson, O.; Karátson, J.

    2011-01-01

    In this work we present a survey of some geometric results on tetrahedral partitions and their refinements in a unified manner. They can be used for mesh generation and adaptivity in practical calculations by the finite element method (FEM), and also in theoretical finite element (FE) analysis.

  14. Damage of amorphous carbon induced by soft x-ray femtosecond pulses above and below the critical angle

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Chalupský, Jaromír; Hájková, Věra; Altapova, V.; Burian, T.; Gleeson, A.J.; Juha, Libor; Jurek, M.; Sinn, H.; Störmer, M.; Sobierajski, R.; Tiedtke, K.; Toleikis, S.; Tschentscher, T.; Vyšín, Luděk; Wabnitz, H.; Gaudin, J.

    2009-01-01

    Roč. 95, č. 3 (2009), 031111/1-031111/3 ISSN 0003-6951 R&D Projects: GA AV ČR KAN300100702; GA MŠk LC510; GA MŠk(CZ) LC528; GA MŠk LA08024; GA AV ČR IAAX00100903; GA AV ČR IAA400100701 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10100523 Keywords : amorphous state * carbon * coatings * graphitisation * laser beam effects * nanostructured materials * phase transformations * reflectivity Subject RIV: BH - Optics, Masers, Lasers Impact factor: 3.554, year: 2009

  15. Influence of disorder on localization and density of states in amorphous carbon nitride thin films systems rich in π-bonded carbon atoms

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Alibart, F.; Lejeune, M.; Durand Drouhin, O.; Zellama, K.; Benlahsen, M.

    2010-01-01

    We discuss in this paper the evolution of both the density of states (DOS) located between the band-tail states and the DOS around the Fermi level N(E F ) in amorphous carbon nitride films (a-CN x ) as a function of the total nitrogen partial pressure ratio in the Ar/N 2 plasma mixture. The films were deposited by three different deposition techniques and their microstructure was characterized using a combination of infrared and Raman spectroscopy and optical transmission experiments, completed with electrical conductivity measurements, as a function of temperature. The observed changes in the optoelectronic properties are attributed to the modification in the atomic bonding structures, which were induced by N incorporation, accompanied by an increase in the sp 2 carbon bonding configurations and their relative disorder. The electrical conductivity variation was interpreted in terms of local effects on the nature and energy distribution of π and π* states.

  16. First principles investigation of interaction between impurity atom (Si, Ge, Sn) and carbon atom in diamond-like carbon system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li, Xiaowei; Wang, Aiying; Lee, Kwang-Ryeol

    2012-01-01

    The interaction between impurity atom (Si, Ge, and Sn) and carbon atom in diamond-like carbon (DLC) system was investigated by the first principles simulation method based on the density functional theory. The tetrahedral configuration was selected as the calculation model for simplicity. When the bond angle varied in a range of 90°–130° from the equivalent state of 109.471°, the distortion energy and the electronic structures including charge density of the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) and partial density of state (PDOS) in the different systems were calculated. The results showed that the addition of Si, Ge and Sn atom into amorphous carbon matrix significantly decreased the distortion energy of the system as the bond angles deviated from the equilibrium one. Further studies of the HOMO and PDOS indicated that the weak covalent bond between Si(Ge, Sn) and C atoms was formed with the decreased strength and directionality, which were influenced by the electronegative difference. These results implied that the electron transfer behavior at the junction of carbon nano-devices could be tailored by the impurity element, and the compressive stress in DLC films could be reduced by the incorporation of Si, Ge and Sn because of the formation of weaker covalent bonds. - Highlights: ►Distortion energy after bond angle distortion was decreased comparing with C-C unit. ►The weak covalent bond was formed between impurity atoms and corner carbon atoms. ►Observed electron transfer behavior affected the strength and directionality of bond. ►Reduction of strength and directionality of bond contributed to small energy change.

  17. Mesoporous calcium carbonate as a phase stabilizer of amorphous celecoxib--an approach to increase the bioavailability of poorly soluble pharmaceutical substances.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Forsgren, Johan; Andersson, Mattias; Nilsson, Peter; Mihranyan, Albert

    2013-11-01

    The bioavailability of crystalline pharmaceutical substances is often limited by their poor aqueous solubility but it can be improved by formulating the active substance in the amorphous state that is featured with a higher apparent solubility. Although the possibility of stabilizing amorphous drugs inside nano-sized pores of carbon nanotubes and ordered mesoporous silica has been shown, no conventional pharmaceutical excipients have so far been shown to possess this property. This study demonstrates the potential of using CaCO3 , a widely used excipient in oral drug formulations, to stabilize the amorphous state of active pharmaceutical ingredients, in particular celecoxib. After incorporation of celecoxib in the vaterite particles, a five to sixfold enhancement in apparent solubility of celecoxib is achieved due to pore-induced amorphization. To eliminate the possibility of uncontrolled phase transitions, the vaterite particles are stored in an inert atmosphere at 5 °C throughout the study. Also, to demonstrate that the amorphization effect is indeed associated with vaterite mesopores, accelerated stress conditions of 100% relative humidity are employed to impose transition from mesoporous vaterite to an essentially non-porous aragonite phase of CaCO3 , which shows only limited amorphization ability. Further, an improvement in solubility is also confirmed for ketoconazole when formulated with the mesoporous vaterite. Synthesis of the carrier particles and the incorporation of the active substances are carried out simultaneously in a one-step procedure, enabling easy fabrication. These results represent a promising approach to achieve enhanced bioavailability in new formulations of Type II BCS drugs. Copyright © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  18. Determination of the population of octahedral and tetrahedral interstitials in zirconium hydrides

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fedorov, V.M.; Gogava, V.V.; Shilo, S.I.; Biryukova, E.A.

    1983-01-01

    Results of neutron investigations of ZrHsub(1.66), ZrHsub(1.75) and ZrHsub(1.98) zirconium hydrides are presented. Investigations were conducted using plane polycrystal samples by multidetector system of scattered neutron detection. Neutron diffraction method was used to determine the number of interstitial hydrogen atoms in interstitials of the lattice cell in the case of statistic atom distribution. The numbers of interstitial atoms in octahedral interstitials for zirconium hydrides were determined experimentally; the difference of potential energies of hydrogen atoms in octa- and tetrahedral interstitials was determined as well. It is shown that experimentally determined difference of potential energies of hydrogen atoms, occupying octa- and tetrahedral positions in investigated zirconium hydrides results at room temperature in the pretailing occupation of tetrahedral interstitials by hydrogen atoms (85-90%); the occupation number grows with temperature decrease and the ordering of interstitial vacancies with formation of hydrogen superstructure takes place at low temperatures

  19. Field Emission and Radial Distribution Function Studies of Fractal-like Amorphous Carbon Nanotips

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lebrón-Colón M

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract The short-range order of individual fractal-like amorphous carbon nanotips was investigated by means of energy-filtered electron diffraction in a transmission electron microscope (TEM. The nanostructures were grown in porous silicon substrates in situ within the TEM by the electron beam-induced deposition method. The structure factorS(k and the reduced radial distribution functionG(r were calculated. From these calculations a bond angle of 124° was obtained which suggests a distorted graphitic structure. Field emission was obtained from individual nanostructures using two micromanipulators with sub-nanometer positioning resolution. A theoretical three-stage model that accounts for the geometry of the nanostructures provides a value for the field enhancement factor close to the one obtained experimentally from the Fowler-Nordheim law.

  20. Amorphous-silicon@silicon oxide/chromium/carbon as an anode for lithium-ion batteries with excellent cyclic stability

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li, Mingqi; Gu, Jingwei; Feng, Xiaofang; He, Hongyan; Zeng, Chunmei

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • A new amorphous-Si@SiO x /Cr/carbon anode composite for lithium-ion batteries is synthesized by a simple method. • At a current density of 100 mA g −1 , this as-prepared composite exhibit a stable discharge capacity of about 810 mAh g −1 with good capacity retention up to 200 cycles. Even at a current density of 800 mA g −1 , a stable discharge capacity of 570 mAh g −1 can be obtained. • This work creates a new method to improve the electrochemical performance of SiO-based electrode materials. - Abstract: A new amorphous-Si@SiO x /Cr/carbon (a-Si@SiO x /Cr/C) anode composite for lithium-ion batteries is synthesized, using SiO, chromium powder and graphite as starting materials. X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectra (XPS), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and high resolution transmission electron microscope (HRTEM) are employed to characterize the composition, morphology and microstructure of the composite. Coin-type cells are assembled to investigate the electrochemical behaviors of the as-prepared composites by constant current charge–discharge technique, cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The results show that chromium facilitates the crush of Si@SiO x and graphite during milling, and thus improves their mutual dispersion in the composite. When cycled at 100 mA g −1 , the a-Si@SiO x /Cr/C exhibits a stable discharge capacity of about 810 mAh g −1 (calculated on the mass of a-Si@SiO x /Cr/C) with good capacity retention up to 200 cycles. The improved electrochemical performance is attributed to the reduced particle size of a-Si@SiO x and the synergistic effect of carbon and chromium

  1. Structural and electrical properties of amorphous carbon–sulfur ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Unknown

    Amorphous carbon films; pyrolysis; scanning electron microscopy; electrical properties; thermal analysis. 1. Introduction ... phorus compounds may have useful mechanical or elec- .... SEM images of a-C:S samples with different S/P values.

  2. Influences of carbon content and coating carbon thickness on properties of amorphous CoSnO3@C composites as anode materials for lithium-ion batteries

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fan, Fuqiang; Fang, Guoqing; Zhang, Ruixue; Xu, Yanhui; Zheng, Junwei; Li, Decheng

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • The thickness of carbon coating layers can be successfully controlled through varying molar concentration of aqueous glucose solution. • Coating carbon thickness and carbon content are two important factors on the electrochemical performances of CoSnO3@C. • CoSnO 3 @C under optimized conditions exhibits the optimal balance between the volume buffering effect and reversible capacity. • As-prepared CoSnO 3 @C under optimized conditions shows excellent electrochemical performances, whose reversible capacity could reach 491 mA h g −1 after 100 cycles. - Abstract: A series of core–shell carbon coated amorphous CoSnO 3 (CoSnO 3 @C) with different carbon content are synthesized. Effects of carbon content and coating carbon thickness on the physical and electrochemical performances of the samples were studied in detail. The samples were analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), galvanostatic charge–discharge and AC impedance spectroscopy, respectively. The results indicate that controlling the concentration of aqueous glucose solution influences the generation of in-situ carbon layer thickness. The optimal concentration of aqueous glucose solution, carbon content and carbon layer thickness are suggested as 0.25 M, 35.1% and 20 nm, respectively. CoSnO 3 @C composite prepared under the optimal conditions exhibits excellent cycling performance, whose reversible capacity could reach 491 mA h g −1 after 100 cycles

  3. Magnetic Properties of Nanometer-sized Crystalline and Amorphous Particles

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mørup, Steen; Bødker, Franz; Hansen, Mikkel Fougt

    1997-01-01

    Amorphous transition metal-metalloid alloy particles can be prepared by chemical preparation techniques. We discuss the preparation of transition metal-boron and iron-carbon particles and their magnetic properties. Nanometer-sized particles of both crystalline and amorphous magnetic materials...... are superparamagnetic at finite temperatures. The temperature dependence of the superparamagnetic relaxation time and the influence of inter-particle interactions is discussed. Finally, some examples of studies of surface magnetization of alpha-Fe particles are presented....

  4. Covalently bonded disordered thin-film materials. Materials Research Society symposium proceedings Volume 498

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Siegal, M.P.; Milne, W.I.; Jaskie, J.E.

    1998-01-01

    The current and potential impact of covalently bonded disordered thin films is enormous. These materials are amorphous-to-nanocrystalline structures made from light atomic weight elements from the first row of the periodic table. Examples include amorphous tetrahedral diamond-like carbon, boron nitride, carbon nitride, boron carbide, and boron-carbon-nitride. These materials are under development for use as novel low-power, high-visibility elements in flat-panel display technologies, cold-cathode sources for microsensors and vacuum microelectronics, encapsulants for both environmental protection and microelectronics, optical coatings for laser windows, and ultra-hard tribological coatings. researchers from 17 countries and a broad range of academic institutions, national laboratories and industrial organizations come together in this volume to report on the status of key areas and recent discoveries. More specifically, the volume is organized into five sections. The first four highlight ongoing work primarily in the area of amorphous/nanocrystalline (disordered) carbon thin films; theoretical and experimental structural characterization; electrical and optical characterizations; growth methods; and cold-cathode electron emission results. The fifth section describes the growth, characterization and application of boron- and carbon-nitride thin films

  5. Practical implementation of tetrahedral mesh reconstruction in emission tomography

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boutchko, R.; Sitek, A.; Gullberg, G. T.

    2013-05-01

    This paper presents a practical implementation of image reconstruction on tetrahedral meshes optimized for emission computed tomography with parallel beam geometry. Tetrahedral mesh built on a point cloud is a convenient image representation method, intrinsically three-dimensional and with a multi-level resolution property. Image intensities are defined at the mesh nodes and linearly interpolated inside each tetrahedron. For the given mesh geometry, the intensities can be computed directly from tomographic projections using iterative reconstruction algorithms with a system matrix calculated using an exact analytical formula. The mesh geometry is optimized for a specific patient using a two stage process. First, a noisy image is reconstructed on a finely-spaced uniform cloud. Then, the geometry of the representation is adaptively transformed through boundary-preserving node motion and elimination. Nodes are removed in constant intensity regions, merged along the boundaries, and moved in the direction of the mean local intensity gradient in order to provide higher node density in the boundary regions. Attenuation correction and detector geometric response are included in the system matrix. Once the mesh geometry is optimized, it is used to generate the final system matrix for ML-EM reconstruction of node intensities and for visualization of the reconstructed images. In dynamic PET or SPECT imaging, the system matrix generation procedure is performed using a quasi-static sinogram, generated by summing projection data from multiple time frames. This system matrix is then used to reconstruct the individual time frame projections. Performance of the new method is evaluated by reconstructing simulated projections of the NCAT phantom and the method is then applied to dynamic SPECT phantom and patient studies and to a dynamic microPET rat study. Tetrahedral mesh-based images are compared to the standard voxel-based reconstruction for both high and low signal-to-noise ratio

  6. Practical implementation of tetrahedral mesh reconstruction in emission tomography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Boutchko, R; Gullberg, G T; Sitek, A

    2013-01-01

    This paper presents a practical implementation of image reconstruction on tetrahedral meshes optimized for emission computed tomography with parallel beam geometry. Tetrahedral mesh built on a point cloud is a convenient image representation method, intrinsically three-dimensional and with a multi-level resolution property. Image intensities are defined at the mesh nodes and linearly interpolated inside each tetrahedron. For the given mesh geometry, the intensities can be computed directly from tomographic projections using iterative reconstruction algorithms with a system matrix calculated using an exact analytical formula. The mesh geometry is optimized for a specific patient using a two stage process. First, a noisy image is reconstructed on a finely-spaced uniform cloud. Then, the geometry of the representation is adaptively transformed through boundary-preserving node motion and elimination. Nodes are removed in constant intensity regions, merged along the boundaries, and moved in the direction of the mean local intensity gradient in order to provide higher node density in the boundary regions. Attenuation correction and detector geometric response are included in the system matrix. Once the mesh geometry is optimized, it is used to generate the final system matrix for ML-EM reconstruction of node intensities and for visualization of the reconstructed images. In dynamic PET or SPECT imaging, the system matrix generation procedure is performed using a quasi-static sinogram, generated by summing projection data from multiple time frames. This system matrix is then used to reconstruct the individual time frame projections. Performance of the new method is evaluated by reconstructing simulated projections of the NCAT phantom and the method is then applied to dynamic SPECT phantom and patient studies and to a dynamic microPET rat study. Tetrahedral mesh-based images are compared to the standard voxel-based reconstruction for both high and low signal-to-noise ratio

  7. Kinetically Controlled Two-Step Amorphization and Amorphous-Amorphous Transition in Ice

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Chuanlong; Yong, Xue; Tse, John S.; Smith, Jesse S.; Sinogeikin, Stanislav V.; Kenney-Benson, Curtis; Shen, Guoyin

    2017-09-01

    We report the results of in situ structural characterization of the amorphization of crystalline ice Ih under compression and the relaxation of high-density amorphous (HDA) ice under decompression at temperatures between 96 and 160 K by synchrotron x-ray diffraction. The results show that ice Ih transforms to an intermediate crystalline phase at 100 K prior to complete amorphization, which is supported by molecular dynamics calculations. The phase transition pathways show clear temperature dependence: direct amorphization without an intermediate phase is observed at 133 K, while at 145 K a direct Ih-to-IX transformation is observed; decompression of HDA shows a transition to low-density amorphous ice at 96 K and ˜1 Pa , to ice Ic at 135 K and to ice IX at 145 K. These observations show that the amorphization of compressed ice Ih and the recrystallization of decompressed HDA are strongly dependent on temperature and controlled by kinetic barriers. Pressure-induced amorphous ice is an intermediate state in the phase transition from the connected H-bond water network in low pressure ices to the independent and interpenetrating H-bond network of high-pressure ices.

  8. Compositional study of glow-discharge A-SiC:H films for window layer of solar cells

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Imura, T; Hiraki, A

    1983-10-01

    A series of compositional studies on various types of amorphous silicon-carbon-hydrogen alloy (a-SiC:H) were performed by means of Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) and infrared spectroscopy (IR). The difference between CH4 and C2H4 as a carbon source was examined. From the infrared absorption study it is shown that C2H4-based a-SiC:H films contain carbons as -C2H5 and -CH3,, whereas CH4-based ones as tetrahedral atoms. These results will serve to elucidate the fabrication problems of solar cells. 14 references.

  9. Immobilization of sericin molecules via amorphous carbon plasma modified-polystyrene dish for serum-free culture

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tunma, Somruthai; Song, Doo-Hoon; Kim, Si-Eun; Kim, Kyoung-Nam; Han, Jeon-Geon; Boonyawan, Dheerawan

    2013-01-01

    In this study, we focused on sericin hydrolysates, originating from silkworm used in serum-free human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hBM-MSCs) culture. We reported the effect of a covalent linkage between a bioactive protein molecule and polystyrene dish surface via a carbon intermediate layer which can slow down the release rate of protein compounds into the phosphate buffer saline (PBS) solution. Films of amorphous carbon (a-C) and functionalized-carbon were deposited on PS culture dish surfaces by using a DC magnetron sputtering system and RF PECVD system. We found that a-C based-films can increase the hydrophilicity and biocompatibility of polystyrene (PS) dishes, especially a-C films and a-C:N 2 films showed good attachment of hBM-MSCs at 24 h. However, in the case of silica surface (a-C:SiO x films), the cells showed a ragged and unattached boundary resulting from the presence of surface silanol groups. For the UV–vis absorbance, all carbon modified-PS dishes showed a lower release rate of sericin molecules into PBS solution than PS control. This revealed that the functionalized carbon could be enhanced by specific binding properties with given molecules. The carbon-coated PS dishes grafting with sericin protein were used in a serum-free condition. We also found that hBM-MSCs have higher percentage of proliferated cells at day 7 for the modified dishes with carbon films and coated with sericin than the PS control coated with sericin. The physical film properties were measured by atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and contact angle measurement. The presence of -NH 2 groups of sericin compounds on the PS dish was revealed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The stability of covalent bonds of sericin molecules after washing out ungrafted sericin was confirmed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS).

  10. Immobilization of sericin molecules via amorphous carbon plasma modified-polystyrene dish for serum-free culture

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tunma, Somruthai; Song, Doo-Hoon; Kim, Si-Eun; Kim, Kyoung-Nam; Han, Jeon-Geon; Boonyawan, Dheerawan

    2013-10-01

    In this study, we focused on sericin hydrolysates, originating from silkworm used in serum-free human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hBM-MSCs) culture. We reported the effect of a covalent linkage between a bioactive protein molecule and polystyrene dish surface via a carbon intermediate layer which can slow down the release rate of protein compounds into the phosphate buffer saline (PBS) solution. Films of amorphous carbon (a-C) and functionalized-carbon were deposited on PS culture dish surfaces by using a DC magnetron sputtering system and RF PECVD system. We found that a-C based-films can increase the hydrophilicity and biocompatibility of polystyrene (PS) dishes, especially a-C films and a-C:N2 films showed good attachment of hBM-MSCs at 24 h. However, in the case of silica surface (a-C:SiOx films), the cells showed a ragged and unattached boundary resulting from the presence of surface silanol groups. For the UV-vis absorbance, all carbon modified-PS dishes showed a lower release rate of sericin molecules into PBS solution than PS control. This revealed that the functionalized carbon could be enhanced by specific binding properties with given molecules. The carbon-coated PS dishes grafting with sericin protein were used in a serum-free condition. We also found that hBM-MSCs have higher percentage of proliferated cells at day 7 for the modified dishes with carbon films and coated with sericin than the PS control coated with sericin. The physical film properties were measured by atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and contact angle measurement. The presence of sbnd NH2 groups of sericin compounds on the PS dish was revealed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The stability of covalent bonds of sericin molecules after washing out ungrafted sericin was confirmed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS).

  11. Influences of carbon content and coating carbon thickness on properties of amorphous CoSnO{sub 3}@C composites as anode materials for lithium-ion batteries

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fan, Fuqiang [Key Laboratory of Lithium Battery Materials of Jiangsu Province, Institute of chemical power sources, Soochow University, Suzhou 215006 (China); Fang, Guoqing [Key Laboratory of Lithium Battery Materials of Jiangsu Province, Institute of chemical power sources, Soochow University, Suzhou 215006 (China); Changzhou Institute of Energy Storage Materials and Devices, Changzhou 213000 (China); Zhang, Ruixue [Key Laboratory of Lithium Battery Materials of Jiangsu Province, Institute of chemical power sources, Soochow University, Suzhou 215006 (China); Xu, Yanhui; Zheng, Junwei [Key Laboratory of Lithium Battery Materials of Jiangsu Province, Institute of chemical power sources, Soochow University, Suzhou 215006 (China); College of Physics, Optoelectronics and Energy, Soochow University, Suzhou 215006 (China); Li, Decheng, E-mail: lidecheng@suda.edu.cn [Key Laboratory of Lithium Battery Materials of Jiangsu Province, Institute of chemical power sources, Soochow University, Suzhou 215006 (China); College of Physics, Optoelectronics and Energy, Soochow University, Suzhou 215006 (China)

    2014-08-30

    Highlights: • The thickness of carbon coating layers can be successfully controlled through varying molar concentration of aqueous glucose solution. • Coating carbon thickness and carbon content are two important factors on the electrochemical performances of CoSnO3@C. • CoSnO{sub 3}@C under optimized conditions exhibits the optimal balance between the volume buffering effect and reversible capacity. • As-prepared CoSnO{sub 3}@C under optimized conditions shows excellent electrochemical performances, whose reversible capacity could reach 491 mA h g{sup −1} after 100 cycles. - Abstract: A series of core–shell carbon coated amorphous CoSnO{sub 3} (CoSnO{sub 3}@C) with different carbon content are synthesized. Effects of carbon content and coating carbon thickness on the physical and electrochemical performances of the samples were studied in detail. The samples were analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), galvanostatic charge–discharge and AC impedance spectroscopy, respectively. The results indicate that controlling the concentration of aqueous glucose solution influences the generation of in-situ carbon layer thickness. The optimal concentration of aqueous glucose solution, carbon content and carbon layer thickness are suggested as 0.25 M, 35.1% and 20 nm, respectively. CoSnO{sub 3}@C composite prepared under the optimal conditions exhibits excellent cycling performance, whose reversible capacity could reach 491 mA h g{sup −1} after 100 cycles.

  12. Semiconducting Properties of Nanostructured Amorphous Carbon Thin Films Incorporated with Iodine by Thermal Chemical Vapor Deposition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kamaruzaman, Dayana; Ahmad, Nurfadzilah; Annuar, Ishak; Rusop, Mohamad

    2013-11-01

    Nanostructured iodine-post doped amorphous carbon (a-C:I) thin films were prepared from camphor oil using a thermal chemical vapor deposition (TCVD) technique at different doping temperatures. The structural properties of the films were studied by field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), Raman, and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) studies. FESEM and EDS studies showed successful iodine doping. FTIR and Raman studies showed that the a-C:I thin films consisted of a mixture of sp2- and sp3-bonded carbon atoms. The optical and electrical properties of a-C:I thin films were determined by UV-vis-NIR spectroscopy and current-voltage (I-V) measurement respectively. The optical band gap of a-C thin films decreased upon iodine doping. The highest electrical conductivity was found at 400 °C doping. Heterojunctions are confirmed by rectifying the I-V characteristics of an a-C:I/n-Si junction.

  13. Rapid growth of amorphous carbon films on the inner surface of micron-thick and hollow-core fibers

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ji, Longfei [Fujian Key Laboratory for Plasma and Magnetic Resonance, Department of Electric Science, School of Physics and Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian 361005 (China); School of Physics and Materials Engineering, Dalian Nationalities University, Dalian 116600 (China); School of Science, Changchun University of Science and Technology, Changchun, Jilin 130022 (China); Liu, Dongping, E-mail: Dongping.liu@dlnu.edu.cn [Fujian Key Laboratory for Plasma and Magnetic Resonance, Department of Electric Science, School of Physics and Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian 361005 (China); School of Physics and Materials Engineering, Dalian Nationalities University, Dalian 116600 (China); School of Science, Changchun University of Science and Technology, Changchun, Jilin 130022 (China); Zhou, Xinwei [Department of Mechanical Engineering, Zhejiang University, Zhejiang 310007 (China); Song, Ying [School of Physics and Materials Engineering, Dalian Nationalities University, Dalian 116600 (China); School of Physics and Optoelectronic Technology, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116023 (China); Ni, Weiyuan [School of Physics and Materials Engineering, Dalian Nationalities University, Dalian 116600 (China); School of Science, Changchun University of Science and Technology, Changchun, Jilin 130022 (China); Niu, Jinhai; Fan, Hongyu [School of Physics and Materials Engineering, Dalian Nationalities University, Dalian 116600 (China)

    2013-10-01

    Ultrathick (> 25 μm) carbon films were obtained on the inner surface of hollow and micron-thick quartz fibers by confining CH{sub 4}/He or C{sub 2}H{sub 2}/He microplasmas in their hollow cores. The resulting carbon films were studied by using scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The microplasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (CVD) technique resulted in the uniform growth of amorphous carbon films on the inner surface of very long (> 1 m) hollow-core fibers. Film deposition is performed by using microplasmas at atmospheric pressure and at 50 Pa. The carbon films obtained with the latter show the smooth inner surfaces and the well continuity across the film/optical fiber. Low-pressure CH{sub 4}/He and C{sub 2}H{sub 2}/He microplasmas can lead to a rapid growth (∼ 2.00 μm/min) of carbon films with their thickness of > 25 μm. The optical emission measurements show that various hydrocarbon species were formed in these depositing microplasmas due to the collisions between CH{sub 4}/C{sub 2}H{sub 2} molecules and energetic species. The microplasma-enhanced CVD technique running without the complicated fabrication processes shows its potentials for rapidly depositing the overlong carbon tubes with their inner diameters of tens of microns. - Highlights: • The microplasma device is applied for coating deposition inside hollow-core fibers. • The microplasma device results in > 25 μm-thick carbon films. • The microplasma device is simple for deposition of ultralong carbon tubes.

  14. Structural stability of hydrogenated amorphous carbon overcoats used in heat-assisted magnetic recording investigated by rapid thermal annealing

    KAUST Repository

    Wang, N.; Komvopoulos, K.; Rose, F.; Marchon, B.

    2013-01-01

    Ultrathin amorphous carbon (a-C) films are extensively used as protective overcoats of magnetic recording media. Increasing demands for even higher storage densities have necessitated the development of new storage technologies, such as heat-assisted magnetic recording (HAMR), which uses laser-assisted heating to record data on high-stability media that can store single bits in extremely small areas (∼1 Tbit/in.2). Because HAMR relies on locally changing the coercivity of the magnetic medium by raising the temperature above the Curie temperature for data to be stored by the magnetic write field, it raises a concern about the structural stability of the ultrathin a-C film. In this study, rapid thermal annealing (RTA) experiments were performed to examine the thermal stability of ultrathin hydrogenated amorphous carbon (a-C:H) films deposited by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition. Structural changes in the a-C:H films caused by RTA were investigated by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, x-ray reflectivity, and conductive atomic force microscopy. The results show that the films exhibit thermal stability up to a maximum temperature in the range of 400-450 °C. Heating above this critical temperature leads to hydrogen depletion and sp 2 clustering. The critical temperature determined by the results of this study represents an upper bound of the temperature rise due to laser heating in HAMR hard-disk drives and the Curie temperature of magnetic materials used in HAMR hard disks. © 2013 American Institute of Physics.

  15. Amorphous to crystalline phase transition in carbon induced by intense femtosecond x-ray free-electron laser pulses

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Gaudin, J.; Peyrusse, O.; Chalupský, Jaromír; Toufarová, Martina; Vyšín, Luděk; Hájková, Věra; Sobierajski, R.; Burian, Tomáš; Dastjani-Farahani, S.; Graf, A.; Amati, M.; Gregoratti, L.; Hau-Riege, S.P.; Hoffmann, G.; Juha, Libor; Krzywinski, J.; London, R.A.; Moeller, S.; Sinn, H.; Schorb, S.; Störmer, M.; Tschentscher, T.; Vorlíček, Vladimír; Vu, H.; Bozek, J.; Bostedt, C.

    2012-01-01

    Roč. 86, č. 2 (2012), "024103-1"-"024103-7" ISSN 1098-0121 R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GAP108/11/1312; GA ČR GAP205/11/0571; GA ČR GAP208/10/2302; GA AV ČR IAAX00100903; GA MŠk EE.2.3.20.0087 Grant - others:OP VK 2 LaserGen(XE) CZ.1.07/2.3.00/20.0087 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10100523 Keywords : amorphous carbon * phase transition * graphitization * x-ray laser * free-electron laser Subject RIV: BH - Optics, Masers, Lasers Impact factor: 3.767, year: 2012

  16. Diamond-like carbon coating under oleic acid lubrication: Evidence for graphene oxide formation in superlow friction

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Barros Bouchet, Maria Isabel; Martin, Jean Michel; Avila, José; Kano, Makoto; Yoshida, Kentaro; Tsuruda, Takeshi; Bai, Shandan; Higuchi, Yuji; Ozawa, Nobuki; Kubo, Momoji; Asensio, Maria C.

    2017-04-01

    The achievement of the superlubricity regime, with a friction coefficient below 0.01, is the Holy Grail of many tribological applications, with the potential to have a remarkable impact on economic and environmental issues. Based on a combined high-resolution photoemission and soft X-ray absorption study, we report that superlubricity can be realized for engineering applications in bearing steel coated with ultra-smooth tetrahedral amorphous carbon (ta-C) under oleic acid lubrication. The results show that tribochemical reactions promoted by the oil lubrication generate strong structural changes in the carbon hybridization of the ta-C hydrogen-free carbon, with initially high sp3 content. Interestingly, the macroscopic superlow friction regime of moving mechanical assemblies coated with ta-C can be attributed to a few partially oxidized graphene-like sheets, with a thickness of not more than 1 nm, formed at the surface inside the wear scar. The sp2 planar carbon and oxygen-derived species are the hallmark of these mesoscopic surface structures created on top of colliding asperities as a result of the tribochemical reactions induced by the oleic acid lubrication. Atomistic simulations elucidate the tribo-formation of such graphene-like structures, providing the link between the overall atomistic mechanism and the macroscopic experimental observations of green superlubricity in the investigated ta-C/oleic acid tribological systems.

  17. Surface morphology and grain analysis of successively industrially grown amorphous hydrogenated carbon films (a-C:H) on silicon

    Science.gov (United States)

    Catena, Alberto; McJunkin, Thomas; Agnello, Simonpietro; Gelardi, Franco M.; Wehner, Stefan; Fischer, Christian B.

    2015-08-01

    Silicon (1 0 0) has been gradually covered by amorphous hydrogenated carbon (a-C:H) films via an industrial process. Two types of these diamond-like carbon (DLC) coatings, one more flexible (f-DLC) and one more robust (r-DLC), have been investigated. Both types have been grown by a radio frequency plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (RF-PECVD) technique with acetylene plasma. Surface morphologies have been studied in detail by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and Raman spectroscopy has been used to investigate the DLC structure. Both types appeared to have very similar morphology and sp2 carbon arrangement. The average height and area for single grains have been analyzed for all depositions. A random distribution of grain heights was found for both types. The individual grain structures between the f- and r-type revealed differences: the shape for the f-DLC grains is steeper than for the r-DLC grains. By correlating the average grain heights to the average grain areas for all depositions a limited region is identified, suggesting a certain regularity during the DLC deposition mechanisms that confines both values. A growth of the sp2 carbon entities for high r-DLC depositions is revealed and connected to a structural rearrangement of carbon atom hybridizations and hydrogen content in the DLC structure.

  18. Thermal expansion coefficient measurement from electron diffraction of amorphous films in a TEM.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hayashida, Misa; Cui, Kai; Malac, Marek; Egerton, Ray

    2018-05-01

    We measured the linear thermal expansion coefficients of amorphous 5-30 nm thick SiN and 17 nm thick Formvar/Carbon (F/C) films using electron diffraction in a transmission electron microscope. Positive thermal expansion coefficient (TEC) was observed in SiN but negative coefficients in the F/C films. In case of amorphous carbon (aC) films, we could not measure TEC because the diffraction radii required several hours to stabilize at a fixed temperature. Crown Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  19. Effect of nitrogen plasma afterglow on the surface charge effect resulted during XPS surface analysis of amorphous carbon nitride thin films

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kayed, Kamal

    2018-06-01

    The aim of this paper is to investigate the relationship between the micro structure and the surface charge effect resulted during XPS surface analysis of amorphous carbon nitride thin films prepared by laser ablation method. The study results show that the charge effect coefficient (E) is not just a correction factor. We found that the changes in this coefficient value due to incorporation of nitrogen atoms into the carbon network are related to the spatial configurations of the sp2 bonded carbon atoms, order degree and sp2 clusters size. In addition, results show that the curve E vs. C(sp3)-N is a characteristic curve of the micro structure. This means that using this curve makes it easy to sorting the samples according to the micro structure (hexagonal rings or chains).

  20. Influence of deposition temperature and amorphous carbon on microstructure and oxidation resistance of magnetron sputtered nanocomposite Crsbnd C films

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nygren, Kristian; Andersson, Matilda; Högström, Jonas; Fredriksson, Wendy; Edström, Kristina; Nyholm, Leif; Jansson, Ulf

    2014-06-01

    It is known that mechanical and tribological properties of transition metal carbide films can be tailored by adding an amorphous carbon (a-C) phase, thus making them nanocomposites. This paper addresses deposition, microstructure, and for the first time oxidation resistance of magnetron sputtered nanocomposite Crsbnd C/a-C films with emphasis on studies of both phases. By varying the deposition temperature between 20 and 700 °C and alternating the film composition, it was possible to deposit amorphous, nanocomposite, and crystalline Crsbnd C films containing about 70% C and 30% Cr, or 40% C and 60% Cr. The films deposited at temperatures below 300 °C were X-ray amorphous and 500 °C was required to grow crystalline phases. Chronoamperometric polarization at +0.6 V vs. Ag/AgCl (sat. KCl) in hot 1 mM H2SO4 resulted in oxidation of Crsbnd C, yielding Cr2O3 and C, as well as oxidation of C. The oxidation resistance is shown to depend on the deposition temperature and the presence of the a-C phase. Physical characterization of film surfaces show that very thin C/Cr2O3/Crsbnd C layers develop on the present material, which can be used to improve the oxidation resistance of, e.g. stainless steel electrodes.

  1. Stabilization of iron and molybdenum amorphous state with interstitials under high rates of cooling

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Barmin, Yu.V.; Vavilova, V.V.; Verevkin, A.G.; Gertsen, A.T.; Kovneristyj, Yu.K.; Kotyurgin, E.A.; Mirkin, B.V.; Palij, N.A.

    1993-01-01

    Amorphous solidification of iron and molybdenum is investigated in thin films and on surface laser irradiated on air at 10 12 and 10 8 /Ks cooling rates correspondingly. Amorphous solidification occurs during ion plasma spraying in thin films of 50 nm at saturation of carbon and oxygen atoms in the ratio of C:0=2.3, but amorphous state is absent at room temperature. Metastable fcc phase, among bcc, is formed by crystallization

  2. ALGORITHMS FOR TETRAHEDRAL NETWORK (TEN) GENERATION

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    2000-01-01

    The Tetrahedral Network(TEN) is a powerful 3-D vector structure in GIS, which has a lot of advantages such as simple structure, fast topological relation processing and rapid visualization. The difficulty of TEN application is automatic creating data structure. Al though a raster algorithm has been introduced by some authors, the problems in accuracy, memory requirement, speed and integrity are still existent. In this paper, the raster algorithm is completed and a vector algorithm is presented after a 3-D data model and structure of TEN have been introducted. Finally, experiment, conclusion and future work are discussed.

  3. Recent Progress in Some Amorphous Materials for Supercapacitors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Qing; Xu, Yuxia; Zheng, Shasha; Guo, Xiaotian; Xue, Huaiguo; Pang, Huan

    2018-05-14

    A breakthrough in technologies having "green" and sustainable energy storage conversion is urgent, and supercapacitors play a crucial role in this area of research. Owing to their unique porous structure, amorphous materials are considered one of the best active materials for high-performance supercapacitors due to their high specific capacity, excellent cycling stability, and fast charging rate. This Review summarizes the synthesis of amorphous materials (transition metal oxides, carbon-based materials, transition metal sulfides, phosphates, hydroxides, and their complexes) to highlight their electrochemical performance in supercapacitors. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  4. Tetrahedral hohlraums at omega

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kyrala, G.A.; Goldman, S.R.; Batha, S.H.; Wallace, J.M.; Klare, K.A.; Schappert, G.T.; Oertel, J.; Turner, R.E.

    2000-01-01

    We have initiated a study of the usefulness of tetrahedrally illuminated spherical hohlraums, using the Omega laser beams, to drive planar shocks in packages that require indirect drive. A first suite of experiments used spherical hohlraums with a 2-μm thick gold wall surrounded by a 100-μm thick epoxy layer and had an internal diameter of 2.8 mm. Four laser entrance holes each of diameter 700 μm, located on the tips of a regular tetrahedron were used. The shock velocities and the shock uniformities were measured using optical shock break out techniques. The hohlraum x-ray radiation spectrum was also measured using a 10-channel x-ray detector. Tentatively, peak temperatures approaching 195 eV were achieved and shock speeds of 60 μm/ns were measured, when the hohlraum was driven by 22 kJ of 3 ω radiation. (authors)

  5. Superlubricity mechanism of diamond-like carbon with glycerol. Coupling of experimental and simulation studies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bouchet, M I De Barros; Matta, C; Le-Mogne, Th; Martin, J Michel; Zhang, Q; III, W Goddard; Kano, M; Mabuchi, Y; Ye, J

    2007-01-01

    We report a unique tribological system that produces superlubricity under boundary lubrication conditions with extremely little wear. This system is a thin coating of hydrogen-free amorphous Diamond-Like-Carbon (denoted as ta-C) at 353 K in a ta-C/ta-C friction pair lubricated with pure glycerol. To understand the mechanism of friction vanishing we performed ToF-SIMS experiments using deuterated glycerol and 13 C glycerol. This was complemented by first-principles-based computer simulations using the ReaxFF reactive force field to create an atomistic model of ta-C. These simulations show that DLC with the experimental density of 3.24 g/cc leads to an atomistic structure consisting of a 3D percolating network of tetrahedral (sp 3 ) carbons accounting for 71.5% of the total, in excellent agreement with the 70% deduced from our Auger spectroscopy and XANES experiments. The simulations show that the remaining carbons (with sp 2 and sp 1 character) attach in short chains of length 1 to 7. In sliding simulations including glycerol molecules, the surface atoms react readily to form a very smooth carbon surface containing OH-terminated groups. This agrees with our SIMS experiments. The simulations find that the OH atoms are mostly bound to surface sp 1 atoms leading to very flexible elastic response to sliding. Both simulations and experiments suggest that the origin of the superlubricity arises from the formation of this OH-terminated surface

  6. Biological characteristics of the MG-63 human osteosarcoma cells on composite tantalum carbide/amorphous carbon films.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yin-Yu Chang

    Full Text Available Tantalum (Ta is a promising metal for biomedical implants or implant coating for orthopedic and dental applications because of its excellent corrosion resistance, fracture toughness, and biocompatibility. This study synthesizes biocompatible tantalum carbide (TaC and TaC/amorphous carbon (a-C coatings with different carbon contents by using a twin-gun magnetron sputtering system to improve their biological properties and explore potential surgical implant or device applications. The carbon content in the deposited coatings was regulated by controlling the magnetron power ratio of the pure graphite and Ta cathodes. The deposited TaC and TaC/a-C coatings exhibited better cell viability of human osteosarcoma cell line MG-63 than the uncoated Ti and Ta-coated samples. Inverted optical and confocal imaging was used to demonstrate the cell adhesion, distribution, and proliferation of each sample at different time points during the whole culture period. The results show that the TaC/a-C coating, which contained two metastable phases (TaC and a-C, was more biocompatible with MG-63 cells compared to the pure Ta coating. This suggests that the TaC/a-C coatings exhibit a better biocompatible performance for MG-63 cells, and they may improve implant osseointegration in clinics.

  7. Immobilization of sericin molecules via amorphous carbon plasma modified-polystyrene dish for serum-free culture

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tunma, Somruthai [The Graduate School, Chiang Mai University, 239 Huay Kaew Road, Muang District, Chiang Mai 50200 (Thailand); Thailand Center of Excellence in Physics (ThEP), 239 Huay Kaew Road, Muang District, Chiang Mai 50200 (Thailand); Song, Doo-Hoon [Research Center for Orofacial Hard Tissue Regeneration, College of Dentistry, Yonsei University, 50 Yonsei-ro, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul 120-752 (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Si-Eun; Kim, Kyoung-Nam [Research Center for Orofacial Hard Tissue Regeneration, College of Dentistry, Yonsei University, 50 Yonsei-ro, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul 120-752 (Korea, Republic of); Department and Research Institute of Dental Biomaterials and Bioengineering, College of Dentistry, Yonsei University, 50 Yonsei-ro, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul 120-752 (Korea, Republic of); Han, Jeon-Geon [Center for Advanced Plasma Surface Technology, Sungkyunkwan University, 300 Chunchun-dong, Jangan-gu, Suwon 440-746 (Korea, Republic of); Boonyawan, Dheerawan [Thailand Center of Excellence in Physics (ThEP), 239 Huay Kaew Road, Muang District, Chiang Mai 50200 (Thailand); Department of Physics and Materials Science, Faculty of Science, Chiang Mai University, 239 Huay Kaew Road, Muang District, Chiang Mai 50200 (Thailand)

    2013-10-15

    In this study, we focused on sericin hydrolysates, originating from silkworm used in serum-free human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hBM-MSCs) culture. We reported the effect of a covalent linkage between a bioactive protein molecule and polystyrene dish surface via a carbon intermediate layer which can slow down the release rate of protein compounds into the phosphate buffer saline (PBS) solution. Films of amorphous carbon (a-C) and functionalized-carbon were deposited on PS culture dish surfaces by using a DC magnetron sputtering system and RF PECVD system. We found that a-C based-films can increase the hydrophilicity and biocompatibility of polystyrene (PS) dishes, especially a-C films and a-C:N{sub 2} films showed good attachment of hBM-MSCs at 24 h. However, in the case of silica surface (a-C:SiO{sub x} films), the cells showed a ragged and unattached boundary resulting from the presence of surface silanol groups. For the UV–vis absorbance, all carbon modified-PS dishes showed a lower release rate of sericin molecules into PBS solution than PS control. This revealed that the functionalized carbon could be enhanced by specific binding properties with given molecules. The carbon-coated PS dishes grafting with sericin protein were used in a serum-free condition. We also found that hBM-MSCs have higher percentage of proliferated cells at day 7 for the modified dishes with carbon films and coated with sericin than the PS control coated with sericin. The physical film properties were measured by atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and contact angle measurement. The presence of -NH{sub 2} groups of sericin compounds on the PS dish was revealed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The stability of covalent bonds of sericin molecules after washing out ungrafted sericin was confirmed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS).

  8. Formation of carbon nanotubes on an amorphous Ni{sub 25}Ta{sub 58}N{sub 17} alloy film by chemical vapor deposition

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gromov, D. G.; Dubkov, S. V., E-mail: sv.dubkov@gmail.com [National Research University of Electronic Technology MIET (Russian Federation); Pavlov, A. A. [Russian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Nanotechnologies of Microelectronics (Russian Federation); Skorik, S. N. [Technological Center Research and Production Complex (Russian Federation); Trifonov, A. Yu. [Lukin Scientific Research Institute of Physical Problems (Russian Federation); Kirilenko, E. P.; Shulyat’ev, A. S. [National Research University of Electronic Technology MIET (Russian Federation); Shaman, Yu. P. [Technological Center Research and Production Complex (Russian Federation); Rygalin, B. N. [National Research University of Electronic Technology MIET (Russian Federation)

    2016-12-15

    It is shown that it is possible to grow carbon nanotubes on the surface of an amorphous Ni–Ta–N metal alloy film with a low Ni content (~25 at %) by chemical deposition from acetylene at temperature 400–800°C. It is established that the addition of nitrogen into the Ni–Ta alloy composition is favorable for the formation of tantalum nitride and the expulsion of Ni clusters, which act as a catalyst of the growth of carbon nanotubes, onto the surface. From Raman spectroscopy studies, it is found that, as the temperature of synthesis is raised, the quality of nanotubes is improved.

  9. Molecular-scale tribology of amorphous carbon coatings: effects of film thickness, adhesion, and long-range interactions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gao, G T; Mikulski, Paul T; Harrison, Judith A

    2002-06-19

    Classical molecular dynamics simulations have been conducted to investigate the atomic-scale friction and wear when hydrogen-terminated diamond (111) counterfaces are in sliding contact with diamond (111) surfaces coated with amorphous, hydrogen-free carbon films. Two films, with approximately the same ratio of sp(3)-to-sp(2) carbon, but different thicknesses, have been examined. Both systems give a similar average friction in the load range examined. Above a critical load, a series of tribochemical reactions occur resulting in a significant restructuring of the film. This restructuring is analogous to the "run-in" observed in macroscopic friction experiments and reduces the friction. The contribution of adhesion between the probe (counterface) and the sample to friction was examined by varying the saturation of the counterface. Decreasing the degree of counterface saturation, by reducing the hydrogen termination, increases the friction. Finally, the contribution of long-range interactions to friction was examined by using two potential energy functions that differ only in their long-range forces to examine friction in the same system.

  10. Transformation of Graphitic and Amorphous Carbon Dust to Complex Organic Molecules in a Massive Carbon Cycle in Protostellar Nebulae

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nuth, Joseph A., III; Johnson, Natasha M.

    2012-01-01

    More than 95% of silicate minerals and other oxides found in meteorites were melted, or vaporized and recondensed in the Solar Nebula prior to their incorporation into meteorite parent bodies. Gravitational accretion energy and heating via radioactive decay further transformed oxide minerals accreted into planetesimals. In such an oxygen-rich environment the carbonaceous dust that fell into the nebula as an intimate mixture with oxide grains should have been almost completely converted to CO. While some pre-collapse, molecular-cloud carbonaceous dust does survive, much in the same manner as do pre-solar oxide grains, such materials constitute only a few percent of meteoritic carbon and are clearly distinguished by elevated D/H, N-15/N-16, C-13/C-12 ratios or noble gas patterns. Carbonaceous Dust in Meteorites: We argue that nearly all of the carbon in meteorites was synthesized in the Solar Nebula from CO and that this CO was generated by the reaction of carbonaceous dust with solid oxides, water or OH. It is probable that some fraction of carbonaceous dust that is newly synthesized in the Solar Nebula is also converted back into CO by additional thermal processing. CO processing might occur on grains in the outer nebula through irradiation of CO-containing ice coatings or in the inner nebula via Fischer-Tropsch type (FTT) reactions on grain surfaces. Large-scale transport of both gaseous reaction products and dust from the inner nebula out to regions where comets formed would spread newly formed carbonaceous materials throughout the solar nebula. Formation of Organic Carbon: Carbon dust in the ISM might easily be described as inorganic graphite or amorphous carbon, with relatively low structural abundances of H, N, O and S . Products of FTT reactions or organics produced via irradiation of icy grains contain abundant aromatic and aliphatic hydrocarbons. aldehydes, keytones, acids, amines and amides.. The net result of the massive nebular carbon cycle is to convert

  11. Thon rings from amorphous ice and implications of beam-induced Brownian motion in single particle electron cryo-microscopy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    McMullan, G., E-mail: gm2@mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk; Vinothkumar, K.R.; Henderson, R.

    2015-11-15

    We have recorded dose-fractionated electron cryo-microscope images of thin films of pure flash-frozen amorphous ice and pre-irradiated amorphous carbon on a Falcon II direct electron detector using 300 keV electrons. We observe Thon rings [1] in both the power spectrum of the summed frames and the sum of power spectra from the individual frames. The Thon rings from amorphous carbon images are always more visible in the power spectrum of the summed frames whereas those of amorphous ice are more visible in the sum of power spectra from the individual frames. This difference indicates that while pre-irradiated carbon behaves like a solid during the exposure, amorphous ice behaves like a fluid with the individual water molecules undergoing beam-induced motion. Using the measured variation in the power spectra amplitude with number of electrons per image we deduce that water molecules are randomly displaced by a mean squared distance of ∼1.1 Å{sup 2} for every incident 300 keV e{sup −}/Å{sup 2}. The induced motion leads to an optimal exposure with 300 keV electrons of 4.0 e{sup −}/Å{sup 2} per image with which to observe Thon rings centred around the strong 3.7 Å scattering peak from amorphous ice. The beam-induced movement of the water molecules generates pseudo-Brownian motion of embedded macromolecules. The resulting blurring of single particle images contributes an additional term, on top of that from radiation damage, to the minimum achievable B-factor for macromolecular structure determination. - Highlights: • Thon rings can be seen from amorphous ice. • Radiation damage to amorphous ice randomly displaces water molecules. • Each incident 300 keV e{sup −}/Å{sup 2} displaces water molecules on average by ∼1 Å. • Macromolecules embedded in amorphous ice undergo beam induced Brownian motion.

  12. Physics at low spin in the mass 160 region: the search for tetrahedral shapes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bark, R.A.; Sharpey-Schafer, J.F.; Maliage, S.M.; Madiba, T.E.; Komati, F.S.; Lawrie, E.A.; Lawrie, J.J.; Lindasy, R.; Maine, P.; Mullins, S.M.; Murray, S.H.T.; Ncapayi, N.J.; Ramashidza, T.M.; Smit, F.D.; Vymers, P.

    2010-01-01

    The low-lying, odd-spin negative parity bands in the mass 160 region have been identified as candidates for the rotation of a tetrahedral shape, as they have very weak in-band E2 transitions. We report the observation of such bands in 160 Yb and 154 Gd. They are crossed by 2 quasiparticle bands which allow band mixing calculations to be carried out to derive relative quadrupole moments. However, those studied are not consistent with zero, as required for tetrahedral shape. The aligned angular momenta of the bands suggest an octupole vibrational assignment.

  13. Amorphous chalcogenides as random octahedrally bonded solids: I. Implications for the first sharp diffraction peak, photodarkening, and Boson peak

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lukyanov, Alexey; Lubchenko, Vassiliy

    2017-09-01

    We develop a computationally efficient algorithm for generating high-quality structures for amorphous materials exhibiting distorted octahedral coordination. The computationally costly step of equilibrating the simulated melt is relegated to a much more efficient procedure, viz., generation of a random close-packed structure, which is subsequently used to generate parent structures for octahedrally bonded amorphous solids. The sites of the so-obtained lattice are populated by atoms and vacancies according to the desired stoichiometry while allowing one to control the number of homo-nuclear and hetero-nuclear bonds and, hence, effects of the mixing entropy. The resulting parent structure is geometrically optimized using quantum-chemical force fields; by varying the extent of geometric optimization of the parent structure, one can partially control the degree of octahedrality in local coordination and the strength of secondary bonding. The present methodology is applied to the archetypal chalcogenide alloys AsxSe1-x. We find that local coordination in these alloys interpolates between octahedral and tetrahedral bonding but in a non-obvious way; it exhibits bonding motifs that are not characteristic of either extreme. We consistently recover the first sharp diffraction peak (FSDP) in our structures and argue that the corresponding mid-range order stems from the charge density wave formed by regions housing covalent and weak, secondary interactions. The number of secondary interactions is determined by a delicate interplay between octahedrality and tetrahedrality in the covalent bonding; many of these interactions are homonuclear. The present results are consistent with the experimentally observed dependence of the FSDP on arsenic content, pressure, and temperature and its correlation with photodarkening and the Boson peak. They also suggest that the position of the FSDP can be used to infer the effective particle size relevant for the configurational equilibration in

  14. The Stabilization of Amorphous Zopiclone in an Amorphous Solid Dispersion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Milne, Marnus; Liebenberg, Wilna; Aucamp, Marique

    2015-10-01

    Zopiclone is a poorly soluble psychotherapeutic agent. The aim of this study was to prepare and characterize an amorphous form of zopiclone as well as the characterization and performance of a stable amorphous solid dispersion. The amorphous form was prepared by the well-known method of quench-cooling of the melt. The solid dispersion was prepared by a solvent evaporation method of zopiclone, polyvinylpyrrolidone-25 (PVP-25), and methanol, followed by freeze-drying. The physico-chemical properties and stability of amorphous zopiclone and the solid dispersion was studied using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), hot-stage microscopy (HSM), X-ray diffractometry (XRD), solubility, and dissolution studies. The zopiclone amorphous solid-state form was determined to be a fragile glass; it was concluded that the stability of the amorphous form is influenced by both temperature and water. Exposure of amorphous zopiclone to moisture results in rapid transformation of the amorphous form to the crystalline dihydrated form. In comparison, the amorphous solid dispersion proved to be more stable with increased aqueous solubility.

  15. On electronic structure of polymer-derived amorphous silicon carbide ceramics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Kewei; Li, Xuqin; Ma, Baisheng; Wang, Yiguang; Zhang, Ligong; An, Linan

    2014-06-01

    The electronic structure of polymer-derived amorphous silicon carbide ceramics was studied by combining measurements of temperature-dependent conductivity and optical absorption. By comparing the experimental results to theoretical models, electronic structure was constructed for a carbon-rich amorphous silicon carbide, which revealed several unique features, such as deep defect energy level, wide band-tail band, and overlap between the band-tail band and defect level. These unique features were discussed in terms of the microstructure of the material and used to explain the electric behavior.

  16. Thin films of hydrogenated amorphous carbon (a-C:H) obtained through chemical vapor deposition assisted by plasma

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mejia H, J.A.; Camps C, E.E.; Escobar A, L.; Romero H, S.; Chirino O, S.; Muhl S, S.

    2004-01-01

    Films of hydrogenated amorphous carbon (a-C:H) were deposited using one source of microwave plasma with magnetic field (type ECR), using mixtures of H 2 /CH 4 in relationship of 80/20 and 95/05 as precursory gases, with work pressures of 4X10 -4 to 6x10 -4 Torr and an incident power of the discharge of microwaves with a constant value of 400 W. It was analyzed the influence among the properties of the films, as the deposit rate, the composition and the bonding types, and the deposit conditions, such as the flow rates of the precursory gases and the polarization voltage of the sample holders. (Author)

  17. Derivation of Hamaker Dispersion Energy of Amorphous Carbon Surfaces in Contact with Liquids Using Photoelectron Energy-Loss Spectra

    Science.gov (United States)

    Godet, Christian; David, Denis

    2017-12-01

    Hamaker interaction energies and cutoff distances have been calculated for disordered carbon films, in contact with purely dispersive (diiodomethane) or polar (water) liquids, using their experimental dielectric functions ɛ ( q, ω) obtained over a broad energy range. In contrast with previous works, a q-averaged q is derived from photoelectron energy-loss spectroscopy (XPS-PEELS) where the energy loss function (ELF) q is a weighted average over allowed transferred wave vector values, q, given by the physics of bulk plasmon excitation. For microcrystalline diamond and amorphous carbon films with a wide range of (sp3/sp2 + sp3) hybridization, non-retarded Hamaker energies, A 132 ( L < 1 nm), were calculated in several configurations, and distance and wavenumber cutoff values were then calculated based on A 132 and the dispersive work of adhesion obtained from contact angles. A geometric average approximation, H 0 CVL = ( H 0 CVC H 0 LVL )1/2, holds for the cutoff separation distances obtained for carbon-vacuum-liquid (CVL), carbon-vacuum-carbon (CVC) and liquid-vacuum-liquid (LVL) equilibrium configurations. The linear dependence found for A CVL, A CLC and A CLV values as a function of A CVC, for each liquid, allows predictive relationships for Hamaker energies (in any configuration) using experimental determination of the dispersive component of the surface tension, {γ}_{CV}^d , and a guess value of the cutoff distance H 0 CVC of the solid. [Figure not available: see fulltext.

  18. Amorphous carbon nitrogenated films prepared by plasma immersion ion implantation and deposition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rangel, Elidiane C.; Durrant, Steven F.; Rangel, Rita C.C.; Kayama, Milton E.; Landers, Richard; Cruz, Nilson C. da

    2006-01-01

    In this work, an investigation was conducted on amorphous hydrogenated-nitrogenated carbon films prepared by plasma immersion ion implantation and deposition. Glow discharge was excited by radiofrequency power (13.56 MHz, 40 W) whereas the substrate-holder was biased with 25 kV negative pulses. The films were deposited from benzene, nitrogen and argon mixtures. The proportion of nitrogen in the chamber feed (R N ) was varied against that of argon, while keeping the total pressure constant (1.3 Pa). From infrared reflectance-absorbance spectroscopy it was observed that the molecular structure of the benzene is not preserved in the film. Nitrogen was incorporated from the plasma while oxygen arose as a contaminant. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy revealed that N/C and O/C atomic ratios change slightly with R N . Water wettability decreased as the proportion of N in the gas phase increased while surface roughness underwent just small changes. Nanoindentation measurements showed that film deposition by means of ion bombardment was beneficial to the mechanical properties of the film-substrate interface. The intensity of the modifications correlates well with the degree of ion bombardment

  19. The kinetics and mechanisms of amorphous calcium carbonate (ACC) crystallization to calcite, via vaterite.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodriguez-Blanco, Juan Diego; Shaw, Samuel; Benning, Liane G

    2011-01-01

    The kinetics and mechanisms of nanoparticulate amorphous calcium carbonate (ACC) crystallization to calcite, via vaterite, were studied at a range of environmentally relevant temperatures (7.5-25 °C) using synchrotron-based in situ time-resolved Energy Dispersive X-ray Diffraction (ED-XRD) in conjunction with high-resolution electron microscopy, ex situ X-ray diffraction and infrared spectroscopy. The crystallization process occurs in two stages; firstly, the particles of ACC rapidly dehydrate and crystallize to form individual particles of vaterite; secondly, the vaterite transforms to calcite via a dissolution and reprecipitation mechanism with the reaction rate controlled by the surface area of calcite. The second stage of the reaction is approximately 10 times slower than the first. Activation energies of calcite nucleation and crystallization are 73±10 and 66±2 kJ mol(-1), respectively. A model to calculate the degree of calcite crystallization from ACC at environmentally relevant temperatures (7.5-40 °C) is also presented.

  20. Amorphous metal composites

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Byrne, M.A.; Lupinski, J.H.

    1984-01-01

    This patent discloses an improved amorphous metal composite and process of making the composite. The amorphous metal composite comprises amorphous metal (e.g. iron) and a low molecular weight thermosetting polymer binder. The process comprises placing an amorphous metal in particulate form and a thermosetting polymer binder powder into a container, mixing these materials, and applying heat and pressure to convert the mixture into an amorphous metal composite

  1. Chemical Composition of the Graphitic Black Carbon Fraction in Riverine and Marine Sediments at Submicron Scales using Carbon X-ray Spectromicroscopy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Haberstroh, P.; Brandes, J.; Gelinas, Y.; Dickens, A.; Wirick, S.; Cody, G.

    2006-01-01

    The chemical composition of the graphitic black carbon (GBC) fraction of marine organic matter was explored in several marine and freshwater sedimentary environments along the west coast of North America and the Pacific Ocean. Analysis by carbon x-ray absorption near edge structure (C-XANES) spectroscopy and scanning transmission x-ray microscopy (STXM) show the GBC-fraction of Stillaguamish River surface sediments to be dominated by more highly-ordered and impure forms of graphite, together forming about 80% of the GBC, with a smaller percent of an aliphatic carbon component. Eel River Margin surface sediments had very little highly-ordered graphite, and were instead dominated by amorphous carbon and to a lesser extent, impure graphite. However, the GBC of surface sediments from the Washington State Slope and the Mexico Margin were composed almost solely of amorphous carbon. Pre-anthropogenic, highly-oxidized deep-sea sediments from the open Equatorial Pacific Ocean contained over half their GBC in different forms of graphite as well as highly-aliphatic carbon, low aromatic/highly-acidic aliphatic carbon, low aromatic/highly aliphatic carbon, and amorphous forms of carbon. Our results clearly show the impact of graphite and amorphous C phases in the BC fraction in modern riverine sediments and nearby marine shelf deposits. The pre-anthropogenic Equatorial Pacific GBC fraction is remarkable in the existence of highly-ordered graphite

  2. The effect of deposition energy of energetic atoms on the growth and structure of ultrathin amorphous carbon films studied by molecular dynamics simulations

    KAUST Repository

    Wang, N

    2014-05-16

    The growth and structure of ultrathin amorphous carbon films was investigated by molecular dynamics simulations. The second-generation reactive-empirical-bond-order potential was used to model atomic interactions. Films with different structures were simulated by varying the deposition energy of carbon atoms in the range of 1-120 eV. Intrinsic film characteristics (e.g. density and internal stress) were determined after the system reached equilibrium. Short- and intermediate-range carbon atom ordering is examined in the context of atomic hybridization and ring connectivity simulation results. It is shown that relatively high deposition energy (i.e., 80 eV) yields a multilayer film structure consisting of an intermixing layer, bulk film and surface layer, consistent with the classical subplantation model. The highest film density (3.3 g cm-3), sp3 fraction (∼43%), and intermediate-range carbon atom ordering correspond to a deposition energy of ∼80 eV, which is in good agreement with experimental findings. © 2014 IOP Publishing Ltd.

  3. Structural transformation of implanted diamond layers during high temperature annealing

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rubanov, S.; Fairchild, B.A.; Suvorova, A.; Olivero, P.; Prawer, S.

    2015-01-01

    In the recent years graphitization of ion-beam induced amorphous layers became the basic tool for device fabrication in diamond. The etchable graphitic layers can be removed to form free-standing membranes into which the desired structures can be sculpted using FIB milling. The optical properties of the devices fabricated using this method are assumed on the model of sharp diamond–air interface. The real quality of this interface could depend on degree of graphitization of the amorphous damage layers after annealing. In the present work the graphitization process was studied using conventional and analytical TEM. It was found that annealing at 550 °C results in a partial graphitization of the implanted volume with formation of the nano-crystalline graphitic phase sandwiched between layers of tetrahedral amorphous carbon. Annealing at 1400 °C resulted in complete graphitization of the amorphous layers. The average size of graphite nano-crystals did not exceed 5 nm with predominant orientation of c-planes normal to the sample surface.

  4. Room temperature vortex fluidic synthesis of monodispersed amorphous proto-vaterite.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peng, Wenhong; Chen, Xianjue; Zhu, Shenmin; Guo, Cuiping; Raston, Colin L

    2014-10-11

    Monodispersed particles of amorphous calcium carbonate (ACC) 90 to 200 nm in diameter are accessible at room temperature in ethylene glycol and water using a vortex fluidic device (VFD). The ACC material is stable for at least two weeks under ambient conditions.

  5. A simple chemical synthesis of amorphous carbon nanotubes–MnO{sub 2} flake hybrids for cold cathode application

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sarkar, Sourav [Thin Film and Nanoscience Laboratory, Department of Physics, Jadavpur University, Kolkata 700032 (India); Banerjee, Diptonil; Das, Nirmalya Sankar [School of Material Science and Nanotechnology, Jadavpur University, Kolkata 700032 (India); Chattopadhyay, Kalyan Kumar, E-mail: kalyan_chattopadhyay@yahoo.com [Thin Film and Nanoscience Laboratory, Department of Physics, Jadavpur University, Kolkata 700032 (India); School of Material Science and Nanotechnology, Jadavpur University, Kolkata 700032 (India)

    2015-08-30

    Highlights: • Amorphous carbon nanotubes (aCNTs) have been synthesized chemically. • The walls of the aCNTs have been anchored by MnO{sub 2} nanoflakes. • It is seen for the first time that MnO{sub 2} modified aCNTs show much better field emission property. • Experimental result has also been supported theoretically. • This can acts as doorstep to develop a new hybrid system as a novel cold cathode material. - Abstract: A simple approach has been implemented to synthesize amorphous carbon nanotubes (a-CNTs) and manganese oxide (MnO{sub 2}) hybrid nanostructure at temperature as low as ∼250 °C in open atmosphere. Microscopic studies of the samples revealed that the walls of the a-CNTs were coated uniformly by MnO{sub 2} nanoflakes. The composition of the as prepared sample was studied with the help of energy dispersive X-ray and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Electron field emission study was done in a custom built high vacuum field emission setup for the prepared a-CNT and manganese oxide (MnO{sub 2}) hybrid nanostructure. It is seen that the performance of the a-CNTs as cold cathode emitter has been enhanced greatly when MnO{sub 2} nanoflakes were coated uniformly over it. The turn on field has been reduced from 7.17 to value as low as 3.82 V/mm with enhancement factor increases from 2428 to 6965. Finite element based simulation study theoretically confirms the enhancement of field emission properties of as prepared MnO{sub 2} nanoflake coated a-CNTs. The results have been explained due to enhanced surface roughness leading to higher enhancement factor and overall increase of emission sites.

  6. Platinum containing amorphous hydrogenated carbon (a-C:H/Pt) thin films as selective solar absorbers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lan, Yung-Hsiang; Brahma, Sanjaya; Tzeng, Y.H.; Ting, Jyh-Ming

    2014-01-01

    We have investigated a double-cermet structured thin film in which an a-C:H thin film was used as an anti-reflective (AR) layer and two platinum-containing amorphous hydrogenated carbon (a-C:H/Pt) thin films were used as the double cermet layers. A reactive co-sputter deposition method was used to prepare both the anti-reflective and cermet layers. Effects of the target power and heat treatment were studied. The obtained films were characterized using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. The optical absorptance and emittance of the as deposited and annealed films were determined using UV–vis-NIR spectroscopy. We show that the optical absorptance of the resulting double-cermet structured thin film is as high as 96% and remains to be 91% after heat treatment at 400 °C, indicating the thermal stability of the film

  7. Thin films of amorphous nitrogenated carbon a-CN{sub x}: Electron transfer and surface reactivity

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tamiasso-Martinhon, P.; Cachet, H.; Debiemme-Chouvy, C.; Deslouis, C. [Universite Pierre et Marie Curie-Paris 6, Laboratoire Interfaces et Systemes Electrochimiques, CNRS, UPR15-LISE, 4 Place Jussieu, Paris F-75005 (France)

    2008-08-01

    The electrochemical behaviour of thin films of nitrogenated amorphous carbon a-CN{sub x} is similar to that of boron-doped diamond, with a wide potential window in aqueous media. They are elaborated by cathodic sputtering of a graphite target in an Ar-N{sub 2} active plasma for varying nitrogen contents, determined by XPS (0.06 {<=} x {<=} 0.39). Their electrochemical reactivity is sensitive to the surface state. The present study reports on the influence of electrochemical pre treatment on the electronic transfer rate of a fast redox system ferri-ferrocyanide, by focusing on the direction of the potential excursion. On the other hand, the role of both the pH and the potential on the interfacial capacitance in the presence of Na{sub 2}SO{sub 4} without redox species is documented. The results show up the sensitivity of the film surface to the electrochemical conditions. (author)

  8. Effect of substrate temperature on corrosion performance of nitrogen doped amorphous carbon thin films in NaCl solution

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Khun, N.W. [School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore 639798 (Singapore); Liu, E., E-mail: MEJLiu@ntu.edu.s [School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore 639798 (Singapore)

    2009-07-01

    Nitrogen doped amorphous carbon (a-C:N) thin films were deposited on p-Si substrates by DC magnetron sputtering at varying substrate temperature from room temperature (RT) to 300 {sup o}C. The bonding structure, surface morphology and adhesion strength of the a-C:N films were investigated by using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), micro-Raman spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy (AFM) and micro-scratch testing. The corrosion behavior of the a-C:N films was evaluated by potentiodynamic polarization test in a 0.6 M NaCl solution. The results indicated that the corrosion resistance of the films depended on the sp{sup 3}-bonded cross-link structure that was significantly affected by the substrate temperature.

  9. Effect of substrate temperature on corrosion performance of nitrogen doped amorphous carbon thin films in NaCl solution

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Khun, N.W.; Liu, E.

    2009-01-01

    Nitrogen doped amorphous carbon (a-C:N) thin films were deposited on p-Si substrates by DC magnetron sputtering at varying substrate temperature from room temperature (RT) to 300 o C. The bonding structure, surface morphology and adhesion strength of the a-C:N films were investigated by using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), micro-Raman spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy (AFM) and micro-scratch testing. The corrosion behavior of the a-C:N films was evaluated by potentiodynamic polarization test in a 0.6 M NaCl solution. The results indicated that the corrosion resistance of the films depended on the sp 3 -bonded cross-link structure that was significantly affected by the substrate temperature.

  10. Simultaneous travel time tomography for updating both velocity and reflector geometry in triangular/tetrahedral cell model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bai, Chao-ying; He, Lei-yu; Li, Xing-wang; Sun, Jia-yu

    2018-05-01

    To conduct forward and simultaneous inversion in a complex geological model, including an irregular topography (or irregular reflector or velocity anomaly), we in this paper combined our previous multiphase arrival tracking method (referred as triangular shortest-path method, TSPM) in triangular (2D) or tetrahedral (3D) cell model and a linearized inversion solver (referred to as damped minimum norms and constrained least squares problem solved using the conjugate gradient method, DMNCLS-CG) to formulate a simultaneous travel time inversion method for updating both velocity and reflector geometry by using multiphase arrival times. In the triangular/tetrahedral cells, we deduced the partial derivative of velocity variation with respective to the depth change of reflector. The numerical simulation results show that the computational accuracy can be tuned to a high precision in forward modeling and the irregular velocity anomaly and reflector geometry can be accurately captured in the simultaneous inversion, because the triangular/tetrahedral cell can be easily used to stitch the irregular topography or subsurface interface.

  11. Formation of hydrogenated amorphous carbon films of controlled hardness from a methane plasma

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vandentop, G.J.; Kawasaki, M.; Nix, R.M.; Brown, I.G.; Salmeron, M.; Somorjai, G.A.; Department of Chemistry, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, California 94720)

    1990-01-01

    Studies of amorphous hydrogenated carbon (a-C:H) film deposition revealed that methyl radicals are the precursor species responsible for the bulk mass deposition of the films, while the ions act to improve the mechanical properties. The films were deposited on Si(100) substrates both on the powered (negatively self-biased) and on the grounded electrodes from a methane rf plasma (13.56 MHz) at 68 to 70 mTorr and 300 to 370 K. The films produced on the powered electrode exhibited superior mechanical properties, such as high hardness. A mass spectrometer was used to identify neutral species and positive ions incident on the electrodes from the plasma, and also to measure ion energies. Methyl radicals were incident on the electrode surface with an estimated flux of 10 16 cm -2 s -1 , for a rf power of 50 W. Methyl radicals appear to be the dominant intermediates in the growth of the soft carbon polymer, and there is a remarkable decrease in deposition rate due to the introduction of NO, a radical scavenger. A novel pulsed biasing technique was used so that the role of ions in the plasma could be studied separately. It was found that the hardness of the films depends on the power supplied by the ions to the growing film surface (the time averaged difference between the plasma potential and the electrode potential), but not on the energy of individual ions. The pulsed biasing technique offers an efficient method to adjust the film hardness by independent control of the neutral radical and ion fluxes to the surface

  12. Surface charges and Np(V) sorption on amorphous Al- and Fe- silicates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Del Nero, M.; Assada, A.; Barillon, R.; Duplatre, G.; Made, B.

    2005-01-01

    Full text of publication follows: Sorption onto Si-rich alteration layers of crystalline minerals and nuclear glasses, and onto amorphous secondary silicates of rocks and soils, are expected to retard the migration of actinides in the near- and far-field of HLW repositories. We present experimental and modeling studies on the effects of silicate structure and bulk chemistry, and of solution chemistry, on charges and adsorption of neptunyl ions at surfaces of synthetic, amorphous or poorly ordered silica, Al-silicates and Fe-silicates. The Al-silicates display similar pH-dependent surface charges characterized by predominant Si-O - Si sites, and similar surface affinities for neptunyl ions, irrespective to their Si/Al molar ratio (varying from 10 to 4.3). Such experimental features are explained by incorporation of Al atoms in tetrahedral position in the silicate lattice, leading to only trace amounts of high-affinity Al-OH surface groups due to octahedral Al. By contrast, the structure of the Fe-silicates ensures the occurrence of high-affinity Fe-OH surface groups, whose concentration is shown by proton adsorption measurements to increase with decreasing of the silicate Si/Fe molar ratio (from 10 to 2.3). Nevertheless, experimental data of the adsorption of neptunyl and electrolyte ions show unexpectedly weak effect of the Si/Fe ratio, and suggest predominant Si-OH surface groups. A possible explanation is that aqueous silicate anions, released by dissolution, adsorb at OH Fe - surface groups and / or precipitate as silica gel coatings, because experimental solutions were found at near-equilibrium with respect to amorphous silica. Therefore, the environmental sorption of Np(V) onto Si-rich, amorphous or poorly ordered Al-silicates may primarily depend on pH and silicate specific surface areas, given the low overall chemical affinity of such phases for dissolved metals. By contrast, the sorption of Np(V) on natural, amorphous or poorly ordered Fe-silicates may be a

  13. Synthesis and high temperature stability of amorphous Si(B)CN-MWCNT composite nanowires

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bhandavat, Romil; Singh, Gurpreet

    2012-02-01

    We demonstrate synthesis of a hybrid nanowire structure consisting of an amorphous polymer-derived silicon boron-carbonitride (Si-B-C-N) shell with a multiwalled carbon nanotube core. This was achieved through a novel process involving preparation of a boron-modified liquid polymeric precursor through a reaction of trimethyl borate and polyureasilazane under atmospheric conditions; followed by conversion of polymer to glass-ceramic on carbon nanotube surfaces through controlled heating. Chemical structure of the polymer was studied by liquid-NMR while evolution of various ceramic phases was studied by Raman spectroscopy, solid-NMR, Fourier transform infrared and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction confirms presence of amorphous Si(B)CN coating on individual nanotubes for all specimen processed below 1400 degree C. Thermogravimetric analysis, followed by TEM revealed high temperature stability of the carbon nanotube core in flowing air up to 1300 degree C.

  14. Compositional characterization of carbon electrode material: A study using simultaneous TG-DTA-FTIR

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Raje, Naina; Aacherekar, Darshana A.; Reddy, A.V.R.

    2009-01-01

    Present work describes the application of thermal methods, especially the evolved gas analysis (EGA) for the compositional characterization of carbon electrode material with respect to its organic, amorphous and graphitic carbon content. Trace levels of organic carbon present in the amorphous carbon samples were determined qualitatively by using FTIR absorption spectroscopy. Amorphous and graphitic carbon content in synthetic mixture samples were determined quantitatively using simultaneous TG-DTA-FTIR measurements. FTIR system was calibrated using the measured absorption signal of the evolved carbon dioxide due to the decomposition of cadmium carbonate. Inter-comparison studies using TG-FTIR measurements show that simultaneous FTIR spectroscopy is an effective complementary quantitative measurement technique for thermogravimetric analysis involving the complex decomposition reaction processes.

  15. Tetrahedral-Mesh Simulation of Turbulent Flows with the Space-Time Conservative Schemes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chang, Chau-Lyan; Venkatachari, Balaji; Cheng, Gary C.

    2015-01-01

    Direct numerical simulations of turbulent flows are predominantly carried out using structured, hexahedral meshes despite decades of development in unstructured mesh methods. Tetrahedral meshes offer ease of mesh generation around complex geometries and the potential of an orientation free grid that would provide un-biased small-scale dissipation and more accurate intermediate scale solutions. However, due to the lack of consistent multi-dimensional numerical formulations in conventional schemes for triangular and tetrahedral meshes at the cell interfaces, numerical issues exist when flow discontinuities or stagnation regions are present. The space-time conservative conservation element solution element (CESE) method - due to its Riemann-solver-free shock capturing capabilities, non-dissipative baseline schemes, and flux conservation in time as well as space - has the potential to more accurately simulate turbulent flows using unstructured tetrahedral meshes. To pave the way towards accurate simulation of shock/turbulent boundary-layer interaction, a series of wave and shock interaction benchmark problems that increase in complexity, are computed in this paper with triangular/tetrahedral meshes. Preliminary computations for the normal shock/turbulence interactions are carried out with a relatively coarse mesh, by direct numerical simulations standards, in order to assess other effects such as boundary conditions and the necessity of a buffer domain. The results indicate that qualitative agreement with previous studies can be obtained for flows where, strong shocks co-exist along with unsteady waves that display a broad range of scales, with a relatively compact computational domain and less stringent requirements for grid clustering near the shock. With the space-time conservation properties, stable solutions without any spurious wave reflections can be obtained without a need for buffer domains near the outflow/farfield boundaries. Computational results for the

  16. Microwave plasma induced surface modification of diamond-like carbon films

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rao Polaki, Shyamala; Kumar, Niranjan; Gopala Krishna, Nanda; Madapu, Kishore; Kamruddin, Mohamed; Dash, Sitaram; Tyagi, Ashok Kumar

    2017-12-01

    Tailoring the surface of diamond-like carbon (DLC) film is technically relevant for altering the physical and chemical properties, desirable for useful applications. A physically smooth and sp3 dominated DLC film with tetrahedral coordination was prepared by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition technique. The surface of the DLC film was exposed to hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen plasma for physical and chemical modifications. The surface modification was based on the concept of adsorption-desorption of plasma species and surface entities of films. Energetic chemical species of microwave plasma are adsorbed, leading to desorbtion of the surface carbon atoms due to energy and momentum exchange. The interaction of such reactive species with DLC films enhanced the roughness, surface defects and dangling bonds of carbon atoms. Adsorbed hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen formed a covalent network while saturating the dangling carbon bonds around the tetrahedral sp3 valency. The modified surface chemical affinity depends upon the charge carriers and electron covalency of the adsorbed atoms. The contact angle of chemically reconstructed surface increases when a water droplet interacts either through hydrogen or van dear Waals bonding. These weak interactions influenced the wetting property of the DLC surface to a great extent.

  17. Neutron diffraction and thermal studies of amorphous CS2 realised by low-temperature vapour deposition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yamamuro, O.; Matsuo, T.; Onoda-Yamamuro, N.; Takeda, K.; Munemura, H.; Tanaka, S.; Misawa, M.

    2003-01-01

    We have succeeded in preparing amorphous carbon disulphide (CS 2 ) by depositing its vapour on a cold substrate at 10 K. Complete formation of the amorphous state has been confirmed by neutron diffraction and differential thermal analysis (DTA). The amorphous sample crystallized at ca. 70 K, which is lower than the hypothetical glass transition temperature (92 K) estimated from the DTA data of the (CS 2 ) x (S 2 Cl 2 ) 1-x binary mixture. CS 2 , a symmetric linear tri-atomic molecule, is the simplest of the amorphized molecular substances whose structural and thermal information has been reported so far. Comparison of the static structure factors S(Q) has shown that the orientational correlation of CS 2 molecules may be much stronger in the amorphous state than in the liquid state at higher temperature. (authors)

  18. Radiation amorphization of materials

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Neklyudov, I.M.; Chernyaeva, T.P.

    1993-01-01

    The results of experimental and theoretical research on radiation amorphization are presented in this analytical review. Mechanism and driving forces of radiation amorphization are described, kinetic and thermodynamic conditions of amorphization are formulated. Compositional criteria of radiation amorphization are presented, that allow to predict irradiation behaviour of materials, their tendency to radiation amorphization. Mechanism of transition from crystalline state to amorphous state are considered depending on dose, temperature, structure of primary radiation damage and flux level. (author). 134 refs., 4 tab., 25 fig

  19. Methods of amorphization and investigation of the amorphous state

    OpenAIRE

    EINFALT, TOMAŽ; PLANINŠEK, ODON; HROVAT, KLEMEN

    2013-01-01

    The amorphous form of pharmaceutical materials represents the most energetic solid state of a material. It provides advantages in terms of dissolution rate and bioavailability. This review presents the methods of solid-state amorphization described in literature (supercooling of liquids, milling, lyophilization, spray drying, dehydration of crystalline hydrates), with the emphasis on milling. Furthermore, we describe how amorphous state of pharmaceuticals differ depending on method of prepara...

  20. A tetrahedrally coordinated cobalt(II) aminophosphonate containing one-dimensional channels

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gemmill, William R.; Smith, Mark D.; Reisner, Barbara A.

    2005-01-01

    A tetrahedrally coordinated cobalt(II) phosphonate, Co(O 3 PCH 2 CH 2 NH 2 ), has been synthesized using hydrothermal techniques. X-ray diffraction indicates that this material is a three-dimensional open framework with rings aligned along a single axis forming infinite one-dimensional channels. The framework decomposes just above 400 deg. C. Magnetic susceptibility data are consistent with weak antiferromagnetic ordering at low temperatures

  1. The multilayered structure of ultrathin amorphous carbon films synthesized by filtered cathodic vacuum arc deposition

    KAUST Repository

    Wang, Na

    2013-08-01

    The structure of ultrathin amorphous carbon (a-C) films synthesized by filtered cathodic vacuum arc (FCVA) deposition was investigated by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, electron energy loss spectroscopy, and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Results of the plasmon excitation energy shift and through-thickness elemental concentration show a multilayered a-C film structure comprising an interface layer consisting of C, Si, and, possibly, SiC, a buffer layer with continuously increasing sp 3 fraction, a relatively thicker layer (bulk film) of constant sp 3 content, and an ultrathin surface layer rich in sp 2 hybridization. A detailed study of the C K-edge spectrum indicates that the buffer layer between the interface layer and the bulk film is due to the partial backscattering of C+ ions interacting with the heavy atoms of the silicon substrate. The results of this study provide insight into the minimum thickness of a-C films deposited by FCVA under optimum substrate bias conditions. Copyright © 2013 Materials Research Society.

  2. Efficient cold cathode emission in crystalline-amorphous hybrid: Study on carbon nanotube-cadmium selenide system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sarkar, S.; Banerjee, D.; Das, N. S.; Ghorai, U. K.; Sen, D.; Chattopadhyay, K. K.

    2018-03-01

    Cadmium Selenide (CdSe) quantum dot (QD) decorated amorphous carbon nanotubes (a-CNTs) hybrids have been synthesized by simple chemical process. The samples were characterized by field emission scanning and transmission electron microscopy, Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy, Raman and UV-Vis spectroscopy. Lattice image obtained from transmission electron microscopic study confirms the successful attachment of CdSe QDs. It is seen that hybrid samples show an enhanced cold emission properties with good stability. The results have been explained in terms of increased roughness, more numbers of emitting sites and favorable band bending induced electron transport. ANSYS software based calculation has also supported the result. Also a first principle based study has been done which shows that due to the formation of hybrid structure there is a profound upward shift in the Fermi level, i.e. a decrease of work function, which is believed to be another key reason for the observed improved field emission performance.

  3. Synthesis and characterization of thin films of nitrided amorphous carbon deposited by laser ablation; Sintesis y caracterizacion de peliculas delgadas de carbono amorfo nitrurado, depositadas por ablacion laser

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rebollo P, B

    2001-07-01

    The objective of this work is the synthesis and characterization of thin films of amorphous carbon (a-C) and thin films of nitrided amorphous carbon (a-C-N) using the laser ablation technique for their deposit. For this purpose, the physical properties of the obtained films were studied as function of diverse parameters of deposit such as: nitrogen pressure, power density, substrate temperature and substrate-target distance. For the characterization of the properties of the deposited thin films the following techniques were used: a) Raman spectroscopy which has demonstrated being a sensitive technique to the sp{sup 2} and sp{sup 3} bonds content, b) Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy which allows to know semi-quantitatively way the presence of the elements which make up the deposited films, c) Spectrophotometry, for obtaining the absorption spectra and subsequently the optical energy gap of the deposited material, d) Ellipsometry for determining the refraction index, e) Scanning Electron Microscopy for studying the surface morphology of thin films and, f) Profilemetry, which allows the determination the thickness of the deposited thin films. (Author)

  4. Indirect involvement of armorphous carbon layer on convective heat transfer enhancement using carbon nanofibers

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Taha, T.J.; Lefferts, Leonardus; van der Meer, Theodorus H.

    2015-01-01

    In this work, an experimental heat transfer investigation was carried out to investigate the combined influence of both amorphous carbon (a-C) layer thickness and carbon nanofibers (CNFs) on the convective heat transfer behavior. Synthesis of these carbon nanostructures was achieved using catalytic

  5. Thon rings from amorphous ice and implications of beam-induced Brownian motion in single particle electron cryo-microscopy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McMullan, G; Vinothkumar, K R; Henderson, R

    2015-11-01

    We have recorded dose-fractionated electron cryo-microscope images of thin films of pure flash-frozen amorphous ice and pre-irradiated amorphous carbon on a Falcon II direct electron detector using 300 keV electrons. We observe Thon rings [1] in both the power spectrum of the summed frames and the sum of power spectra from the individual frames. The Thon rings from amorphous carbon images are always more visible in the power spectrum of the summed frames whereas those of amorphous ice are more visible in the sum of power spectra from the individual frames. This difference indicates that while pre-irradiated carbon behaves like a solid during the exposure, amorphous ice behaves like a fluid with the individual water molecules undergoing beam-induced motion. Using the measured variation in the power spectra amplitude with number of electrons per image we deduce that water molecules are randomly displaced by a mean squared distance of ∼1.1 Å(2) for every incident 300 keV e(-)/Å(2). The induced motion leads to an optimal exposure with 300 keV electrons of 4.0 e(-)/Å(2) per image with which to observe Thon rings centred around the strong 3.7 Å scattering peak from amorphous ice. The beam-induced movement of the water molecules generates pseudo-Brownian motion of embedded macromolecules. The resulting blurring of single particle images contributes an additional term, on top of that from radiation damage, to the minimum achievable B-factor for macromolecular structure determination. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  6. Highly thermal conductive carbon fiber/boron carbide composite material

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chiba, Akio; Suzuki, Yasutaka; Goto, Sumitaka; Saito, Yukio; Jinbo, Ryutaro; Ogiwara, Norio; Saido, Masahiro.

    1996-01-01

    In a composite member for use in walls of a thermonuclear reactor, if carbon fibers and boron carbide are mixed, since they are brought into contact with each other directly, boron is reacted with the carbon fibers to form boron carbide to lower thermal conductivity of the carbon fibers. Then, in the present invention, graphite or amorphous carbon is filled between the carbon fibers to provide a fiber bundle of not less than 500 carbon fibers. Further, the surface of the fiber bundle is coated with graphite or amorphous carbon to suppress diffusion or solid solubilization of boron to carbon fibers or reaction of them. Then, lowering of thermal conductivity of the carbon fibers is prevented, as well as the mixing amount of the carbon fiber bundles with boron carbide, a sintering temperature and orientation of carbon fiber bundles are optimized to provide a highly thermal conductive carbon fiber/boron carbide composite material. In addition, carbide or boride type short fibers, spherical graphite, and amorphous carbon are mixed in the boron carbide to prevent development of cracks. Diffusion or solid solubilization of boron to carbon fibers is reduced or reaction of them if the carbon fibers are bundled. (N.H.)

  7. Etching characteristics and application of physical-vapor-deposited amorphous carbon for multilevel resist

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, H. T.; Kwon, B. S.; Lee, N.-E.; Park, Y. S.; Cho, H. J.; Hong, B.

    2008-01-01

    For the fabrication of a multilevel resist (MLR) based on a very thin, physical-vapor-deposited (PVD) amorphous carbon (a-C) layer, the etching characteristics of the PVD a-C layer with a SiO x hard mask were investigated in a dual-frequency superimposed capacitively coupled plasma etcher by varying the following process parameters in O 2 /N 2 /Ar plasmas: high-frequency/low-frequency combination (f HF /f LF ), HF/LF power ratio (P HF /P LF ), and O 2 and N 2 flow rates. The very thin nature of the a-C layer helps to keep the aspect ratio of the etched features low. The etch rate of the PVD a-C layer increased with decreasing f HF /f LF combination and increasing P LF and was initially increased but then decreased with increasing N 2 flow rate in O 2 /N 2 /Ar plasmas. The application of a 30 nm PVD a-C layer in the MLR structure of ArF PR/BARC/SiO x /PVD a-C/TEOS oxide supported the possibility of using a very thin PVD a-C layer as an etch-mask layer for the TEOS-oxide layer

  8. Amorphous Solid Water:

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wenzel, Jack; Linderstrøm-Lang, C. U.; Rice, Stuart A.

    1975-01-01

    -like structure factor. The Fourier-transformed structure e factor yields a real space pair distribution function consistent with local tetrahedral coordination and hydrogen bonding, as in other condensed phases of water. The intramolecular OD separation is 1.00 angstrom; the lack of data for very large wave...

  9. Characterization of diamond amorphized by ion implantation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Allen, W.R.; Lee, E.H.

    1992-01-01

    Single crystal diamond has been implanted at 1 MeV with 2 x 10 20 Ar/m 2 . Rutherford backscattering spectrometry in a channeled geometry revealed a broad amorphized region underlying a thin, partially crystalline layer. Raman spectroscopy disclosed modifications in the bonding characteristic of the appearance of non-diamond carbon. The complementary nature of the two analysis techniques is demonstrated. The Knoop hardness of the implanted diamond was reduced by implantation

  10. Thermal conductivity of the amorphous and nanocrystalline phases of the beech wood biocarbon nanocomposite

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kartenko, N. F.; Orlova, T. S.; Parfen'eva, L. S.; Smirnov, B. I.; Smirnov, I. A.

    2014-11-01

    Natural composites (biocarbons) obtained by carbonization of beech wood at different carbonization temperatures T carb in the range of 800-2400°C have been studied using X-ray diffraction. The composites consist of an amorphous matrix and nanocrystallites of graphite and graphene. The volume fractions of the amorphous and nanocrystalline phases as functions of T carb have been determined. Temperature dependences of the phonon thermal conductivity κ( T) of the biocarbons with different temperatures T carb (1000 and 2400°C) have been analyzed in the range of 5-300 K. It has been shown that the behavior of κ( T) of the biocarbon with T carb = 1000°C is controlled by the amorphous phase in the range of 5-50 K and by the nanocrystalline phase in the range of 100-300 K. The character of κ( T) of the biocarbon with T carb = 2400°C is determined by the heat transfer (scattering) in the nanocrystalline phase over the entire temperature range of 5-300 K.

  11. Structural Analyses of Phase Stability in Amorphous and Partially Crystallized Ge-Rich GeTe Films Prepared by Atomic Layer Deposition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gwon, Taehong; Mohamed, Ahmed Yousef; Yoo, Chanyoung; Park, Eui-Sang; Kim, Sanggyun; Yoo, Sijung; Lee, Han-Koo; Cho, Deok-Yong; Hwang, Cheol Seong

    2017-11-29

    The local bonding structures of Ge x Te 1-x (x = 0.5, 0.6, and 0.7) films prepared through atomic layer deposition (ALD) with Ge(N(Si(CH 3 ) 3 ) 2 ) 2 and ((CH 3 ) 3 Si) 2 Te precursors were investigated using Ge K-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS). The results of the X-ray absorption fine structure analyses show that for all of the compositions, the as-grown films were amorphous with a tetrahedral Ge coordination of a mixture of Ge-Te and Ge-Ge bonds but without any signature of Ge-GeTe decomposition. The compositional evolution in the valence band electronic structures probed through X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy suggests a substantial chemical influence of additional Ge on the nonstoichiometric GeTe. This implies that the ALD process can stabilize Ge-abundant bonding networks like -Te-Ge-Ge-Te- in amorphous GeTe. Meanwhile, the XAS results on the Ge-rich films that had undergone post-deposition annealing at 350 °C show that the parts of the crystalline Ge-rich GeTe became separated into Ge crystallites and rhombohedral GeTe in accordance with the bulk phase diagram, whereas the disordered GeTe domains still remained, consistent with the observations of transmission electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy. Therefore, amorphousness in GeTe may be essential for the nonsegregated Ge-rich phases and the low growth temperature of the ALD enables the achievement of the structurally metastable phases.

  12. Theory of amorphous ices.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Limmer, David T; Chandler, David

    2014-07-01

    We derive a phase diagram for amorphous solids and liquid supercooled water and explain why the amorphous solids of water exist in several different forms. Application of large-deviation theory allows us to prepare such phases in computer simulations. Along with nonequilibrium transitions between the ergodic liquid and two distinct amorphous solids, we establish coexistence between these two amorphous solids. The phase diagram we predict includes a nonequilibrium triple point where two amorphous phases and the liquid coexist. Whereas the amorphous solids are long-lived and slowly aging glasses, their melting can lead quickly to the formation of crystalline ice. Further, melting of the higher density amorphous solid at low pressures takes place in steps, transitioning to the lower-density glass before accessing a nonequilibrium liquid from which ice coarsens.

  13. Deposit of thin films of nitrided amorphous carbon using the laser ablation technique; Deposito de peliculas delgadas de carbono amorfo nitrurado utilizando la tecnica de ablacion laser

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rebollo, P.B.; Escobar A, L.; Camps C, E. [Departamento de Fisica, Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Nucleares, C.P. 52045 Salazar, Estado de Mexico (Mexico); Haro P, E.; Camacho L, M.A. [Departamento de Fisica, Universidad Autonoma Metropolitana Iztapalapa (Mexico); Muhl S, S. [Instituto de Investigacion en Materiales, UNAM (Mexico)

    2000-07-01

    It is reported the synthesis and characterization of thin films of amorphous carbon (a-C) nitrided, deposited by laser ablation in a nitrogen atmosphere at pressures which are from 4.5 x 10 {sup -4} Torr until 7.5 x 10 {sup -2} Torr. The structural properties of the films are studied by Raman spectroscopy obtaining similar spectra at the reported for carbon films type diamond. The study of behavior of the energy gap and the ratio nitrogen/carbon (N/C) in the films, shows that the energy gap is reduced when the nitrogen incorporation is increased. It is showed that the refraction index of the thin films diminish as nitrogen pressure is increased, indicating the formation of graphitic material. (Author)

  14. Ge L{sub 3}-edge x-ray absorption near-edge structure study of structural changes accompanying conductivity drift in the amorphous phase of Ge{sub 2}Sb{sub 2}Te{sub 5}

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mitrofanov, K. V. [Nanoelectronics Research Institute, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), 1-1-1 Higashi, Tsukuba 305-8562 (Japan); Kolobov, A. V., E-mail: a.kolobov@aist.go.jp; Fons, P. [Nanoelectronics Research Institute and Green Nanoelectronics Center, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), 1-1-1 Higashi, Tsukuba 305-8562, Japan and Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute (JASRI), SPring-8, 1-1-1, Kouto, Sayo, Hyogo 679-5198 (Japan); Wang, X.; Tominaga, J. [Nanoelectronics Research Institute and Green Nanoelectronics Center, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), 1-1-1 Higashi, Tsukuba 305-8562 (Japan); Tamenori, Y.; Uruga, T. [Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute (JASRI), SPring-8, 1-1-1, Kouto, Sayo, Hyogo 679-5198 (Japan); Ciocchini, N.; Ielmini, D. [DEIB - Politecnico di Milano, Piazza L. Da Vinci 32, 20133 Milano (Italy)

    2014-05-07

    A gradual uncontrollable increase in the resistivity of the amorphous phase of phase-change alloys, such as Ge{sub 2}Sb{sub 2}Te{sub 5}, known as drift, is a serious technological issue for application of phase-change memory. While it has been proposed that drift is related to structural relaxation, no direct structural results have been reported so far. Here, we report the results of Ge L{sub 3}-edge x-ray absorption measurements that suggest that the drift in electrical conductivity is associated with the gradual conversion of tetrahedrally coordinated Ge sites into pyramidal sites, while the system still remains in the amorphous phase. Based on electronic configuration arguments, we propose that during this process, which is governed by the existence of lone-pair electrons, the concentration of free carriers in the system decreases resulting in an increase in resistance despite the structural relaxation towards the crystalline phase.

  15. Development of amorphous carbon protective coatings on poly(vinyl)chloride

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rangel, Elidiane C.; Souza, Eduardo S. de; Moraes, Francine S. de; Marins, Nazir M.S.; Schreiner, Wido H.; Cruz, Nilson C.

    2010-01-01

    The great versatility of polymers has promoted their application in a series of ordinary situations. The development of specific devices from polymers, however, requires modifications to fit specific stipulations. In this work the surface properties of thin films grown onto polyvinylchloride (PVC) were investigated. Hydrogenated amorphous carbon films were deposited onto commercial PVC plates from acetylene and argon plasmas excited by radiofrequency (13.56 MHz, 70 W) power. The proportion of acetylene in the gas feed was varied against that of argon, keeping the total pressure constant at 2.5 Pa. Deposition time was 1800 s. Film elemental composition was analyzed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, XPS. Water contact angle measurements were performed using the sessile drop technique. The root mean squared roughness was derived from 50 x 50 μm 2 surface topographic images, acquired by scanning probe microscopy. Nanoindentation and pin-on-disk techniques were employed on the determination of film hardness and sliding wear, respectively. Oxidation resistance was obtained through the etching rate of the samples in oxygen radiofrequency (1.3 Pa, 50 W) plasmas. From XPS analysis it was detected oxygen and nitrogen contamination in all the samples. It was also found that sp 3 /sp 2 ratio depends on the proportion of argon in the plasma. At lower argon concentrations, hardness, wear and oxidation resistances were all improved with respect to the uncoated PVC. In such conditions, the surface wettability is low indicating a moderate receptivity to water. This combination of properties, ascribed to a balance between the ion bombardment and deposition processes, is suitable for materials exposed to rigorous weathering conditions.

  16. Iron-based amorphous alloys and methods of synthesizing iron-based amorphous alloys

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saw, Cheng Kiong; Bauer, William A.; Choi, Jor-Shan; Day, Dan; Farmer, Joseph C.

    2016-05-03

    A method according to one embodiment includes combining an amorphous iron-based alloy and at least one metal selected from a group consisting of molybdenum, chromium, tungsten, boron, gadolinium, nickel phosphorous, yttrium, and alloys thereof to form a mixture, wherein the at least one metal is present in the mixture from about 5 atomic percent (at %) to about 55 at %; and ball milling the mixture at least until an amorphous alloy of the iron-based alloy and the at least one metal is formed. Several amorphous iron-based metal alloys are also presented, including corrosion-resistant amorphous iron-based metal alloys and radiation-shielding amorphous iron-based metal alloys.

  17. Neutron diffraction and thermal studies of amorphous CS{sub 2} realised by low-temperature vapour deposition

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yamamuro, O.; Matsuo, T. [Osaka Univ., Dept. of Chemistry, Graduate School of Sciences (Japan); Onoda-Yamamuro, N. [Tokyo Denki Univ., College of Sciences and Technology (Japan); Takeda, K. [Naruto Univ., Dept. of Chemistry, Tokushima (Japan); Munemura, H.; Tanaka, S.; Misawa, M. [Niigata Univ. (Japan). Faculty of Science

    2003-08-01

    We have succeeded in preparing amorphous carbon disulphide (CS{sub 2}) by depositing its vapour on a cold substrate at 10 K. Complete formation of the amorphous state has been confirmed by neutron diffraction and differential thermal analysis (DTA). The amorphous sample crystallized at ca. 70 K, which is lower than the hypothetical glass transition temperature (92 K) estimated from the DTA data of the (CS{sub 2}){sub x}(S{sub 2}Cl{sub 2}){sub 1-x} binary mixture. CS{sub 2}, a symmetric linear tri-atomic molecule, is the simplest of the amorphized molecular substances whose structural and thermal information has been reported so far. Comparison of the static structure factors S(Q) has shown that the orientational correlation of CS{sub 2} molecules may be much stronger in the amorphous state than in the liquid state at higher temperature. (authors)

  18. A comparative chemical network study of HWCVD deposited amorphous silicon and carbon based alloys thin films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Swain, Bibhu P., E-mail: bibhuprasad.swain@gmail.com [Centre for Materials Science and Nanotechnology, Sikkim Manipal Institute of Technology, Majitar, Rangpo Sikkim (India); Swain, Bhabani S.; Hwang, Nong M. [Thin Films and Microstructure Laboratory, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Seoul National University, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

    2014-03-05

    Highlights: • a-SiC:H, a-SiN:H, a-C:H and a-SiCN:H films were deposited by hot wire chemical vapor deposition. • Evolution of microstructure of a-SiCN:H films deposited at different NH{sub 3} flow rate were analyzed. • The chemical network of Si and C based alloys were studied by FTIR and Raman spectroscopy. -- Abstract: Silicon and carbon based alloys were deposited by hot wire chemical vapor deposition (HWCVD). The microstructure and chemical bonding of these films were characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy. The electron microscopy revealed various microstructures were observed for a-C:H, a-SiC:H, a-SiN:H, a-CN:H and a-SiCN:H films. The microstructure of SiN:H films showed agglomerate spherical grains while a-C:H films showed more fractal surface with branched microstructure. However, a-SiC:H, a-CN:H and a-SiCN:H indicated uniform but intermediate surface fractal microstructure. A series of a-SiCN:H films were deposited with variation of NH{sub 3} flow rate. The nitrogen incorporation in a-SiCN:H films alter the carbon network from sp{sup 2} to sp{sup 3} bonding The detail chemical bonding of amorphous films was analyzed by curve fitting method.

  19. Encapsulated Vanadium-Based Hybrids in Amorphous N-Doped Carbon Matrix as Anode Materials for Lithium-Ion Batteries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Long, Bei; Balogun, Muhammad-Sadeeq; Luo, Lei; Luo, Yang; Qiu, Weitao; Song, Shuqin; Zhang, Lei; Tong, Yexiang

    2017-11-01

    Recently, researchers have made significant advancement in employing transition metal compound hybrids as anode material for lithium-ion batteries and developing simple preparation of these hybrids. To this end, this study reports a facile and scalable method for fabricating a vanadium oxide-nitride composite encapsulated in amorphous carbon matrix by simply mixing ammonium metavanadate and melamine as anode materials for lithium-ion batteries. By tuning the annealing temperature of the mixture, different hybrids of vanadium oxide-nitride compounds are synthesized. The electrode material prepared at 700 °C, i.e., VM-700, exhibits excellent cyclic stability retaining 92% of its reversible capacity after 200 cycles at a current density of 0.5 A g -1 and attractive rate performance (220 mAh g -1 ) under the current density of up to 2 A g -1 . The outstanding electrochemical properties can be attributed to the synergistic effect from heterojunction form by the vanadium compound hybrids, the improved ability of the excellent conductive carbon for electron transfer, and restraining the expansion and aggregation of vanadium oxide-nitride in cycling. These interesting findings will provide a reference for the preparation of transition metal oxide and nitride composites as well. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  20. Large-scale and patternable graphene: direct transformation of amorphous carbon film into graphene/graphite on insulators via Cu mediation engineering and its application to all-carbon based devices

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Yu-Ze; Medina, Henry; Lin, Hung-Chiao; Tsai, Hung-Wei; Su, Teng-Yu; Chueh, Yu-Lun

    2015-01-01

    Chemical vapour deposition of graphene was the preferred way to synthesize graphene for multiple applications. However, several problems related to transfer processes, such as wrinkles, cleanness and scratches, have limited its application at the industrial scale. Intense research was triggered into developing alternative synthesis methods to directly deposit graphene on insulators at low cost with high uniformity and large area. In this work, we demonstrate a new concept to directly achieve growth of graphene on non-metal substrates. By exposing an amorphous carbon (a-C) film in Cu gaseous molecules after annealing at 850 °C, the carbon (a-C) film surprisingly undergoes a noticeable transformation to crystalline graphene. Furthermore, the thickness of graphene could be controlled, depending on the thickness of the pre-deposited a-C film. The transformation mechanism was investigated and explained in detail. This approach enables development of a one-step process to fabricate electrical devices made of all carbon material, highlighting the uniqueness of the novel approach for developing graphene electronic devices. Interestingly, the carbon electrodes made directly on the graphene layer by our approach offer a good ohmic contact compared with the Schottky barriers usually observed on graphene devices using metals as electrodes.Chemical vapour deposition of graphene was the preferred way to synthesize graphene for multiple applications. However, several problems related to transfer processes, such as wrinkles, cleanness and scratches, have limited its application at the industrial scale. Intense research was triggered into developing alternative synthesis methods to directly deposit graphene on insulators at low cost with high uniformity and large area. In this work, we demonstrate a new concept to directly achieve growth of graphene on non-metal substrates. By exposing an amorphous carbon (a-C) film in Cu gaseous molecules after annealing at 850 °C, the carbon (a

  1. Electron stimulated reactions of methyl iodide coadsorbed with amorphous solid water

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Perry, C. C.; Faradzhev, N. S.; Madey, T. E.; Fairbrother, D. H.

    2007-01-01

    The electron stimulated reactions of methyl iodide (MeI) adsorbed on and suspended within amorphous solid water (ice) were studied using a combination of postirradiation temperature programmed desorption and reflection absorption infrared spectroscopy. For MeI adsorbed on top of amorphous solid water (ice), electron beam irradiation is responsible for both structural and chemical transformations within the overlayer. Electron stimulated reactions of MeI result principally in the formation of methyl radicals and solvated iodide anions. The cross section for electron stimulated decomposition of MeI is comparable to the gas phase value and is only weakly dependent upon the local environment. For both adsorbed MeI and suspended MeI, reactions of methyl radicals within MeI clusters lead to the formation of ethane, ethyl iodide, and diiodomethane. In contrast, reactions between the products of methyl iodide and water dissociation are responsible for the formation of methanol and carbon dioxide. Methane, formed as a result of reactions between methyl radicals and either parent MeI molecules or hydrogen atoms, is also observed. The product distribution is found to depend on the film's initial chemical composition as well as the electron fluence. Results from this study highlight the similarities in the carbon-containing products formed when monohalomethanes coadsorbed with amorphous solid water are irradiated by either electrons or photons

  2. Hydrogen in amorphous silicon

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Peercy, P.S.

    1980-01-01

    The structural aspects of amorphous silicon and the role of hydrogen in this structure are reviewed with emphasis on ion implantation studies. In amorphous silicon produced by Si ion implantation of crystalline silicon, the material reconstructs into a metastable amorphous structure which has optical and electrical properties qualitatively similar to the corresponding properties in high-purity evaporated amorphous silicon. Hydrogen studies further indicate that these structures will accomodate less than or equal to 5 at.% hydrogen and this hydrogen is bonded predominantly in a monohydride (SiH 1 ) site. Larger hydrogen concentrations than this can be achieved under certain conditions, but the excess hydrogen may be attributed to defects and voids in the material. Similarly, glow discharge or sputter deposited amorphous silicon has more desirable electrical and optical properties when the material is prepared with low hydrogen concentration and monohydride bonding. Results of structural studies and hydrogen incorporation in amorphous silicon were discussed relative to the different models proposed for amorphous silicon

  3. Amorphous nanophotonics

    CERN Document Server

    Scharf, Toralf

    2013-01-01

    This book represents the first comprehensive overview over amorphous nano-optical and nano-photonic systems. Nanophotonics is a burgeoning branch of optics that enables many applications by steering the mould of light on length scales smaller than the wavelength with devoted nanostructures. Amorphous nanophotonics exploits self-organization mechanisms based on bottom-up approaches to fabricate nanooptical systems. The resulting structures presented in the book are characterized by a deterministic unit cell with tailored geometries; but their spatial arrangement is not controlled. Instead of periodic, the structures appear either amorphous or random. The aim of this book is to discuss all aspects related to observable effects in amorphous nanophotonic material and aspects related to their design, fabrication, characterization and integration into applications. The book has an interdisciplinary nature with contributions from scientists in physics, chemistry and materials sciences and sheds light on the topic fr...

  4. Origin of temperature-induced low friction of sputtered Si-containing amorphous carbon coatings

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jantschner, O.; Field, S.K.; Holec, D.; Fian, A.; Music, D.; Schneider, J.M.; Zorn, K.; Mitterer, C.

    2015-01-01

    This work reports on a tribological study of magnetron-sputtered silicon-containing amorphous carbon thin films vs. their alumina counterparts. Temperature cycling during ball-on-disk tests in humid air revealed a decrease in the coefficient of friction from 0.3 to <0.02 beyond 240 ± 15 °C. Systematic variation of the environment confirmed oxygen to be responsible for the low friction. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy of the wear tracks indicates oxidation of Si-C bonds and formation of Si-O-C bonds, followed by further oxidation to SiO 2 above 450 °C. Ab initio molecular dynamics simulations of gas interactions with the a-C surface revealed dissociation of O 2 and the formation of oxides. Additional density functional theory calculations of Si incorporation into a graphene layer, resembling the surface of the film, showed preferential attraction of gaseous species (H, O, -OH, H 2 O), to Si-sites as compared to C-sites. Hence, the temperature- and atmosphere-induced changes in friction coefficient can be understood based on correlative X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and ab initio data: the formation of Si-O-C bonds stemming from a reaction of the as-deposited coating with atmosphere in the tribological contact is observed by theory and experiment

  5. Tribological properties, corrosion resistance and biocompatibility of magnetron sputtered titanium-amorphous carbon coatings

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dhandapani, Vishnu Shankar; Subbiah, Ramesh; Thangavel, Elangovan; Arumugam, Madhankumar; Park, Kwideok; Gasem, Zuhair M.; Veeraragavan, Veeravazhuthi; Kim, Dae-Eun

    2016-05-01

    Amorphous carbon incorporated with titanium (a-C:Ti) was coated on 316L stainless steel (SS) by magnetron sputtering technique to attain superior tribological properties, corrosion resistance and biocompatibility. The morphology, topography and functional groups of the nanostructured a-C:Ti coatings in various concentrations were analyzed using atomic force microscopy (AFM), Raman, X-Ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Raman and XPS analyses confirmed the increase in sp2 bonds with increasing titanium content in the a-C matrix. TEM analysis confirmed the composite nature of the coating and the presence of nanostructured TiC for Ti content of 2.33 at.%. This coating showed superior tribological properties compared to the other a-C:Ti coatings. Furthermore, electrochemical corrosion studies were performed against stimulated body fluid medium in which all the a-C:Ti coatings showed improved corrosion resistance than the pure a-C coating. Preosteoblasts proliferation and viability on the specimens were tested and the results showed that a-C:Ti coatings with relatively high Ti (3.77 at.%) content had better biocompatibility. Based on the results of this work, highly durable coatings with good biocompatibility could be achieved by incorporation of optimum amount of Ti in a-C coatings deposited on SS by magnetron sputtering technique.

  6. Physical–chemical and biological behavior of an amorphous calcium phosphate thin film produced by RF-magnetron sputtering

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Santos, Euler A. dos; Moldovan, Simona; Mateescu, Mihaela; Faerber, Jacques; Acosta, Manuel; Pelletier, Hervé; Anselme, Karine; Werckmann, Jacques

    2012-01-01

    This work evaluates the thermal reactivity and the biological reactivity of an amorphous calcium phosphate thin film produced by radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering onto titanium substrates. The analyses showed that the sputtering conditions used in this work led to the deposition of an amorphous calcium phosphate. The thermal treatment of this amorphous coating in the presence of H 2 O and CO 2 promoted the formation of a carbonated HA crystalline coating with the entrance of CO 3 2− ions into the hydroxyl HA lattice. When immersed in culture medium, the amorphous and carbonated coatings exhibited a remarkable instability. The presence of proteins increased the dissolution process, which was confirmed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analyses. Moreover, the carbonated HA coating induced precipitation independently of the presence of proteins under dynamic conditions. Despite this surface instability, this reactive calcium phosphate significantly improved the cellular behavior. The cell proliferation was higher on the Ticp than on the calcium phosphate coatings, but the two coatings increased cellular spreading and stress fiber formation. In this sense, the presence of reactive calcium phosphate coatings can stimulate cellular behavior. - Highlights: ► Functionalization of Ti with reactive CaP thin film by RF-magnetron sputtering. ► De-hydroxylation facilitating the insertion of CO 3 2− into the HA lattice. ► High surface reactivity in the presence of culture medium. ► Cell behavior improved by the presence of reactive films.

  7. Urea-functionalized crystalline capsules for recognition and separation of tetrahedral oxoanions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Custelcean, Radu [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Chemical Sciences Division

    2012-12-21

    We reviewed the persistent ability of tripodal TREN-based tris-urea receptors (TREN = tris(2-aminoethyl)amine) to self-assemble with a variety of oxoanions into dimeric capsules upon crystallization. The capsule crystallization allows for charge-, shape-, and size-selective encapsulation of tetrahedral XO4n-anions (n = 2,3), and provides an effective way to separate these anions from competitive aqueous environments.

  8. XMCD study of CoPt nanoparticles embedded in MgO and amorphous carbon matrices

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tournus, F.; Blanc, N.; Tamion, A.; Ohresser, P.; Perez, A.; Dupuis, V.

    2008-01-01

    We report the synthesis and characterization of CoPt nanoparticles, using X-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) at the Co L 2,3 edges. Clusters are produced in ultra-high vacuum conditions, following a physical route, and embedded in non-metallic matrices: MgO and amorphous carbon (a-C). In MgO, Co atoms are partially oxidized, which goes with a μ L /μ S enhancement. On the contrary, a-C appears as a very suitable matrix. In particular, annealing of CoPt cluster embedded in a-C is able to promote L 1 0 chemical order, without alteration of the sample. This transformation, which has been directly evidenced by transmission electron microscopy observations, is accompanied by a striking augmentation of μ S , μ L and the μ L /μ S ratio of Co. The presence of Pt leads to an enhanced Co magnetic moment, as compared to Co bulk, even for the chemically disordered alloy. Moreover, the high value of 1.91μ B /at. measured for μ S is unusual for Co and must be a signature of chemical order in CoPt alloy nanoparticles

  9. Electrochemical properties of N-doped hydrogenated amorphous carbon films fabricated by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition methods

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tanaka, Yoriko; Furuta, Masahiro; Kuriyama, Koichi; Kuwabara, Ryosuke; Katsuki, Yukiko [Division of Environmental Science and Engineering, Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Yamaguchi University, 1677-1 Yoshida, Yamaguchi-shi, Yamaguchi 753-8512 (Japan); Kondo, Takeshi [Department of Pure and Applied Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Technology, Tokyo University of Science, 2641 Yamazaki, Noda 278-8510 (Japan); Fujishima, Akira [Kanagawa Advanced Science and Technology (KAST), 3-2-1, Sakato, Takatsu-ku, Kawasaki-shi, Kanagawa 213-0012 (Japan); Honda, Kensuke, E-mail: khonda@yamaguchi-u.ac.j [Division of Environmental Science and Engineering, Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Yamaguchi University, 1677-1 Yoshida, Yamaguchi-shi, Yamaguchi 753-8512 (Japan)

    2011-01-01

    Nitrogen-doped hydrogenated amorphous carbon thin films (a-C:N:H, N-doped DLC) were synthesized with microwave-assisted plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition widely used for DLC coating such as the inner surface of PET bottles. The electrochemical properties of N-doped DLC surfaces that can be useful in the application as an electrochemical sensor were investigated. N-doped DLC was easily fabricated using the vapor of nitrogen contained hydrocarbon as carbon and nitrogen source. A N/C ratio of resulting N-doped DLC films was 0.08 and atomic ratio of sp{sup 3}/sp{sup 2}-bonded carbons was 25/75. The electrical resistivity and optical gap were 0.695 {Omega} cm and 0.38 eV, respectively. N-doped DLC thin film was found to be an ideal polarizable electrode material with physical stability and chemical inertness. The film has a wide working potential range over 3 V, low double-layer capacitance, and high resistance to electrochemically induced corrosion in strong acid media, which were the same level as those for boron-doped diamond (BDD). The charge transfer rates for the inorganic redox species, Fe{sup 2+/3+} and Fe(CN){sub 6}{sup 4-/3-} at N-doped DLC were sufficiently high. The redox reaction of Ce{sup 2+/3+} with standard potential higher than H{sub 2}O/O{sub 2} were observed due to the wider potential window. At N-doped DLC, the change of the kinetics of Fe(CN){sub 6}{sup 3-/4-} by surface oxidation is different from that at BDD. The rate of Fe(CN){sub 6}{sup 3-/4-} was not varied before and after oxidative treatment on N-doped DLC includes sp{sup 2} carbons, which indicates high durability of the electrochemical activity against surface oxidation.

  10. Tetrahedral mesh generation of real terrain and topography effect on ERT image in Beishan region, Gansu province

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lu Debao; Zhou Qiyou; Xiao Anlin; Song Zhen

    2014-01-01

    The paper starts from tetrahedral meshes generation of real terrain, a detailed way of tetradralization toward complicated terrain has been proposed based on comparing of advantage and disadvantage of several methods. DEM image has been used to help to generate tetrahedral mesh of research area. And then, forward soft Gmdata is used to calculate and analyze the topography effect on ERT Image with different kinds of terrain. Meanwhile, a quantitative way to define the topography effect was presented. Based on that, the method is used to eliminate the topography effect. The results show the method is effective and useful. (authors)

  11. Evolution of stacking fault tetrahedral and work hardening effect in copper single crystals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Hai Tao; Zhu, Xiu Fu; Sun, Ya Zhou; Xie, Wen Kun

    2017-11-01

    Stacking fault tetrahedral (SFT), generated in machining of copper single crystal as one type of subsurface defects, has significant influence on the performance of workpiece. In this study, molecular dynamics (MD) simulation is used to investigate the evolution of stacking fault tetrahedral in nano-cutting of copper single crystal. The result shows that SFT is nucleated at the intersection of differently oriented stacking fault (SF) planes and SFT evolves from the preform only containing incomplete surfaces into a solid defect. The evolution of SFT contains several stress fluctuations until the complete formation. Nano-indentation simulation is then employed on the machined workpiece from nano-cutting, through which the interaction between SFT and later-formed dislocations in subsurface is studied. In the meanwhile, force-depth curves obtained from nano-indentation on pristine and machined workpieces are compared to analyze the mechanical properties. By simulation of nano-cutting and nano-indentation, it is verified that SFT is a reason of the work hardening effect.

  12. Amorphous structure evolution of high power diode laser cladded Fe–Co–B–Si–Nb coatings

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhu Yanyan; Li Zhuguo; Huang Jian; Li Min; Li Ruifeng; Wu Yixiong

    2012-01-01

    Highlights: ► Fabricated amorphous composited coating by high power diode laser cladding with single track. ► Lower dilution and higher scanning speed are desired to obtain higher amorphous phase fraction. ► White spots phase with high content of Nb embedded in the amorphous matrix. - Abstract: Fe–Co–B–Si–Nb coatings were fabricated on the surface of low carbon steel using high power diode laser cladding of [(Fe 0.5 Co 0.5 ) 0.75 B 0.2 Si 0.05 ] 95.7 Nb 4.3 amorphous powders at three different scanning speeds of 6, 17 and 50 m/s. At each scanning speed, laser power was optimized to obtain low dilution ratio. Scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy with energy dispersive spectrometer and electron probe micro analysis were carried out to characterize the microstructure and chemical composition of the cladded coatings. Differential scanning calorimetry was also carried out to investigate the fraction of the amorphous phase. The results showed that dilution ratio and scanning speed were the two main factors for fabricating Fe–Co–B–Si–Nb amorphous coating by high power diode laser cladding. Low dilution ratio was crucial for the formation of amorphous phase. When the dilution ratio was low, the fraction of amorphous phase in the cladded coatings increased upon increasing the scanning speed.

  13. Cause and Cure - Deterioration in Accuracy of CFD Simulations With Use of High-Aspect-Ratio Triangular Tetrahedral Grids

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chang, Sin-Chung; Chang, Chau-Lyan; Venkatachari, Balaji Shankar

    2017-01-01

    Traditionally high-aspect ratio triangular/tetrahedral meshes are avoided by CFD re-searchers in the vicinity of a solid wall, as it is known to reduce the accuracy of gradient computations in those regions and also cause numerical instability. Although for certain complex geometries, the use of high-aspect ratio triangular/tetrahedral elements in the vicinity of a solid wall can be replaced by quadrilateral/prismatic elements, ability to use triangular/tetrahedral elements in such regions without any degradation in accuracy can be beneficial from a mesh generation point of view. The benefits also carry over to numerical frameworks such as the space-time conservation element and solution element (CESE), where triangular/tetrahedral elements are the mandatory building blocks. With the requirement of the CESE method in mind, a rigorous mathematical framework that clearly identities the reason behind the difficulties in use of such high-aspect ratio triangular/tetrahedral elements is presented here. As will be shown, it turns out that the degree of accuracy deterioration of gradient computation involving a triangular element is hinged on the value of its shape factor Gamma def = sq sin Alpha1 + sq sin Alpha2 + sq sin Alpha3, where Alpha1; Alpha2 and Alpha3 are the internal angles of the element. In fact, it is shown that the degree of accuracy deterioration increases monotonically as the value of Gamma decreases monotonically from its maximal value 9/4 (attained by an equilateral triangle only) to a value much less than 1 (associated with a highly obtuse triangle). By taking advantage of the fact that a high-aspect ratio triangle is not necessarily highly obtuse, and in fact it can have a shape factor whose value is close to the maximal value 9/4, a potential solution to avoid accuracy deterioration of gradient computation associated with a high-aspect ratio triangular grid is given. Also a brief discussion on the extension of the current mathematical framework to the

  14. Characterization of carbon ion implantation induced graded microstructure and phase transformation in stainless steel

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Feng, Kai; Wang, Yibo [Shanghai Key laboratory of Materials Laser Processing and Modification, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240 (China); Li, Zhuguo, E-mail: lizg@sjtu.edu.cn [Shanghai Key laboratory of Materials Laser Processing and Modification, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240 (China); Chu, Paul K. [Department of Physics and Materials Science, City University of Hong Kong, Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong (China)

    2015-08-15

    Austenitic stainless steel 316L is ion implanted by carbon with implantation fluences of 1.2 × 10{sup 17} ions-cm{sup −} {sup 2}, 2.4 × 10{sup 17} ions-cm{sup −} {sup 2}, and 4.8 × 10{sup 17} ions-cm{sup −} {sup 2}. The ion implantation induced graded microstructure and phase transformation in stainless steel is investigated by X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and high resolution transmission electron microscopy. The corrosion resistance is evaluated by potentiodynamic test. It is found that the initial phase is austenite with a small amount of ferrite. After low fluence carbon ion implantation, an amorphous layer and ferrite phase enriched region underneath are formed. Nanophase particles precipitate from the amorphous layer due to energy minimization and irradiation at larger ion implantation fluence. The morphology of the precipitated nanophase particles changes from circular to dumbbell-like with increasing implantation fluence. The corrosion resistance of stainless steel is enhanced by the formation of amorphous layer and graphitic solid state carbon after carbon ion implantation. - Highlights: • Carbon implantation leads to phase transformation from austenite to ferrite. • The passive film on SS316L becomes thinner after carbon ion implantation. • An amorphous layer is formed by carbon ion implantation. • Nanophase precipitate from amorphous layer at higher ion implantation fluence. • Corrosion resistance of SS316L is improved by carbon implantation.

  15. Preparation of hydrogenated amorphous carbon films using a microsecond-pulsed DC capacitive-coupled plasma chemical vapor deposition system operated at high frequency up to 400 kHz

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mamun, Md Abdullah Al; Furuta, Hiroshi; Hatta, Akimitsu

    2018-06-01

    Hydrogenated amorphous carbon (a-C:H) films are deposited on silicon (Si) substrates using a high-repetition microsecond-pulsed DC plasma chemical vapor deposition (CVD) system from acetylene (C2H2) at a gas pressure of 15 Pa inside a custom-made vacuum chamber. The plasma discharge characteristics, hydrocarbon species, and the microstructure of the resulting films are examined at various pulse repetition rates from 50 to 400 kHz and a fixed duty cycle of 50%. The optical emission spectra confirmed the increase in electron excitation energy from 1.09 to 1.82 eV and the decrease in the intensity ratio of CH/C2 from 1.04 to 0.75 with increasing pulse frequency, indicating the enhanced electron impact dissociation of C2H2 gas. With increasing pulse frequency, the deposition rate gradually increased, reaching a maximum rate of 60 nm/min at 200 kHz, after which a progressive decrease was noted, whereas the deposition area was almost uniform for all the prepared films. Clear trends of increasing sp3 content (amorphization) and decreasing hydrogen (H) content in the films were observed as the pulse repetition rate increased, while most of the hydrogen atoms bonded to carbon atoms by sp3 hybridization rather than by sp2 hybridization.

  16. Reciprocating sliding behaviour of self-mated amorphous diamond-like carbon coatings on Si3N4 ceramics under tribological stress

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vila, M.; Abreu, C.S.; Salgueiredo, E.; Almeida, F.A.; Fernandes, A.J.S.; Costa, F.M.; Gomes, J.R.; Silva, R.F.

    2006-01-01

    Amorphous diamond-like carbon films grown by magnetron sputtering have been deposited on silicon nitride based substrates for tribological purposes. A conductive Si 3 N 4 /30% vol.TiN composite was produced for bias substrate application. Friction and wear properties of carbon coated self-mated pairs were assessed using a reciprocal motion ball-on-flat setup in unlubricated conditions with applied normal loads of 3 N and 5 N. The worn surfaces were studied by Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) in order to identify the prevalent wear mechanism. Unbiased and biased substrates behaved differently, the former undergoing premature delamination while the latter endured the tribological test conditions (3 N, ∼ 43 m). Very low friction coefficient values of ∼ 0.015 were sustained assuring remarkable wear behaviour. Surface grooving and wear debris accumulation in the sliding track lead to a roughness increase from the nominal rms value of ∼ 12 nm to ∼ 97 nm, although no weight loss and surface profile modification was quantifiable

  17. Biomimetic mineralization of CaCO3 on a phospholipid monolayer: from an amorphous calcium carbonate precursor to calcite via vaterite.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xiao, Junwu; Wang, Zhining; Tang, Yecang; Yang, Shihe

    2010-04-06

    A phospholipid monolayer, approximately half the bilayer structure of a biological membrane, can be regarded as an ideal model for investigating biomineralization on biological membranes. In this work on the biomimetic mineralization of CaCO(3) under a phospholipid monolayer, we show the initial heterogeneous nucleation of amorphous calcium carbonate precursor (ACC) nanoparticles at the air-water interface, their subsequent transformation into the metastable vaterite phase instead of the most thermodynamically stable calcite phase, and the ultimate phase transformation to calcite. Furthermore, the spontaneity of the transformation from vaterite to calcite was found to be closely related to the surface tension; high surface pressure could inhibit the process, highlighting the determinant of surface energy. To understand better the mechanisms for ACC formation and the transformation from ACC to vaterite and to calcite, in situ Brewster angle microscopy (BAM), ex situ scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction analysis were employed. This work has clarified the crystallization process of calcium carbonate under phospholipid monolayers and therefore may further our understanding of the biomineralization processes induced by cellular membranes.

  18. Characterization of carbonated serpentine using XPS and TEM

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schulze, Roland K.; Hill, Mary Ann; Field, Robert D.; Papin, Pallas A.; Hanrahan, Robert J.; Byler, Darrin D.

    2004-01-01

    With the increasing concentration volume of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, there has been an increasing interest in carbon dioxide sequestration. One method is to store the carbon dioxide in mineral form, reacting solution dissolved CO 2 to precipitate carbonates. In order to understand whether or not such an endeavor is feasible, the carbonation reaction must first be understood. In this study, the surface of ground serpentine, untreated, heat treated and following a carbonation experiment, has been characterized using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The results indicate that the mechanism for the reaction involves dissolution of the serpentine through the formation of an amorphous phase and subsequent precipitation of magnesite. The rate limiting step appears to be the diffusion of Mg out of the amorphous phase

  19. DNA-mediated self-assembly of tetrahedral plasmonic clusters for metafluids

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schade, Nicholas; Sun, Li; Lee, You-Jin; Fan, Jonathan; Capasso, Federico; Yi, Gi-Ra; Manoharan, Vinothan

    2014-03-01

    We direct the self-assembly of clusters of gold nanospheres with the goal of creating a bulk, isotropic, optical metafluid. We use spherical gold nanoparticles that are exceptionally smooth, monocrystalline, and monodisperse. These particles exhibit highly reproducible scattering spectra compared with commercially available gold colloids. We label them with DNA sequences and mix them together to self-assemble small clusters. By controlling the particle sizes and the interactions between them, we maximize the yield of tetrahedral clusters, the ideal structures for isotropic metamaterials.

  20. Enhanced efficiency of hybrid amorphous silicon solar cells based on single-walled carbon nanotubes/polymer composite thin film.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rajanna, Pramod Mulbagal; Gilshteyn, Evgenia; Yagafarov, Timur; Alekseeva, Alena; Anisimov, Anton; Sergeev, Oleg; Neumueller, Alex; Bereznev, Sergei; Maricheva, Jelena; Nasibulin, Albert

    2018-01-09

    We report a simple approach to fabricate hybrid solar cells (HSCs) based on a single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) film and a thin film hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H). Randomly oriented high quality SWCNTs with an enhanced conductivity by means of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) polystyrene sulfonate are used as a window layer and a front electrode. A series of HSCs are fabricated in ambient conditions with different SWCNT film thicknesses. The polymethylmethacrylate layer drop-casted on fabricated HSCs reduces the reflection fourfold and enhances the short-circuit Jsc, open-circuit Voc, and efficiency by nearly 10%. A state-of-the-art J-V performance is shown for SWCNT/a-Si HSC with an open-circuit voltage of 900 mV and efficiency of 3.4% under simulated one-sun AM 1.5G direct illumination. © 2018 IOP Publishing Ltd.

  1. Formation of apatite on hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) film deposited by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu Xuanyong; Chu, Paul K.; Ding Chuanxian

    2007-01-01

    Hydrogenated amorphous silicon films were fabricated on p-type, 100 mm diameter silicon wafers by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) using silane and hydrogen. The structure and composition of the hydrogenated amorphous silicon films were investigated using micro-Raman spectroscopy and cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy (XTEM). The hydrogenated amorphous silicon films were subsequently soaked in simulated body fluids to evaluate apatite formation. Carbonate-containing hydroxyapatite (bone-like apatite) was formed on the surface suggesting good bone conductivity. The amorphous structure and presence of surface Si-H bonds are believed to induce apatite formation on the surface of the hydrogenated amorphous silicon film. A good understanding of the surface bioactivity of silicon-based materials and means to produce a bioactive surface is important to the development of silicon-based biosensors and micro-devices that are implanted inside humans

  2. Formation of apatite on hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) film deposited by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Liu Xuanyong [Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 1295 Dingxi Road, Shanghai 200050 (China) and Department of Physics and Materials Science, City University of Hong Kong, Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong (China)]. E-mail: xyliu@mail.sic.ac.cn; Chu, Paul K. [Department of Physics and Materials Science, City University of Hong Kong, Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong (China)]. E-mail: paul.chu@cityu.edu.hk; Ding Chuanxian [Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 1295 Dingxi Road, Shanghai 200050 (China)

    2007-01-15

    Hydrogenated amorphous silicon films were fabricated on p-type, 100 mm diameter <1 0 0> silicon wafers by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) using silane and hydrogen. The structure and composition of the hydrogenated amorphous silicon films were investigated using micro-Raman spectroscopy and cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy (XTEM). The hydrogenated amorphous silicon films were subsequently soaked in simulated body fluids to evaluate apatite formation. Carbonate-containing hydroxyapatite (bone-like apatite) was formed on the surface suggesting good bone conductivity. The amorphous structure and presence of surface Si-H bonds are believed to induce apatite formation on the surface of the hydrogenated amorphous silicon film. A good understanding of the surface bioactivity of silicon-based materials and means to produce a bioactive surface is important to the development of silicon-based biosensors and micro-devices that are implanted inside humans.

  3. Colloidal Photoluminescent Amorphous Porous Silicon, Methods Of Making Colloidal Photoluminescent Amorphous Porous Silicon, And Methods Of Using Colloidal Photoluminescent Amorphous Porous Silicon

    KAUST Repository

    Chaieb, Sahraoui

    2015-04-09

    Embodiments of the present disclosure provide for a colloidal photoluminescent amorphous porous silicon particle suspension, methods of making a colloidal photoluminescent amorphous porous silicon particle suspension, methods of using a colloidal photoluminescent amorphous porous silicon particle suspension, and the like.

  4. Colloidal Photoluminescent Amorphous Porous Silicon, Methods Of Making Colloidal Photoluminescent Amorphous Porous Silicon, And Methods Of Using Colloidal Photoluminescent Amorphous Porous Silicon

    KAUST Repository

    Chaieb, Saharoui; Mughal, Asad Jahangir

    2015-01-01

    Embodiments of the present disclosure provide for a colloidal photoluminescent amorphous porous silicon particle suspension, methods of making a colloidal photoluminescent amorphous porous silicon particle suspension, methods of using a colloidal photoluminescent amorphous porous silicon particle suspension, and the like.

  5. FIRST INFRARED BAND STRENGTHS FOR AMORPHOUS CO{sub 2}, AN OVERLOOKED COMPONENT OF INTERSTELLAR ICES

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gerakines, Perry A.; Hudson, Reggie L., E-mail: Reggie.Hudson@NASA.gov [Astrochemistry Laboratory, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771 (United States)

    2015-08-01

    Solid carbon dioxide (CO{sub 2}) has long been recognized as a component of both interstellar and solar system ices, but a recent literature search has revealed significant qualitative and quantitative discrepancies in the laboratory spectra on which the abundances of extraterrestrial CO{sub 2} are based. Here we report new infrared (IR) spectra of amorphous CO{sub 2}-ice along with band intensities (band strengths) of four mid-IR absorptions, the first such results in the literature. A possible thickness dependence for amorphous-CO{sub 2} IR band shapes and positions also is investigated, and the three discordant reports of amorphous CO{sub 2} spectra in the literature are addressed. Applications of our results are discussed with an emphasis on laboratory investigations and results from astronomical observations. A careful comparison with earlier work shows that the IR spectra calculated from several databases for CO{sub 2} ices, all ices being made near 10 K, are not for amorphous CO{sub 2}, but rather for crystalline CO{sub 2} or crystalline-amorphous mixtures.

  6. Influence of Magnesium Content on the Local Structure of Amorphous Calcium Carbonate (ACC): Real Time Determination by In Situ PDF Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mergelsberg, S. T.; Ulrich, R. N.; Michel, F. M.; Dove, P. M.

    2016-12-01

    Calcium carbonate minerals are an essential component in the exoskeletons of crustaceans and mollusks. The onset of exoskeleton mineralization includes the precipitation of amorphous calcium carbonate (ACC) as a reactive intermediate that later transforms to produce diverse structures. Despite the importance of ACC as a critical phase during skeleton formation, the chemical and physical properties are not well characterized at conditions that approximate biological environments. Of particular interest are the solubility of ACC, the short-range structure at the time of formation, and the evolution of ACC structure to final products. Recent advances showing the widespread occurrence of multistep pathways to mineralization in biological and geological settings (De Yoreo et al., 2015) underline the importance of understanding amorphous intermediates. Using quantitative laboratory techniques developed by our research group (Blue et al., 2013; Blue and Dove, 2015; Blue et al., in press), this experimental study quantifies the solubility of ACC in parallel with the physical characterization of the corresponding structure. We measured ACC solubility at specific time points during the precipitation and during its subsequent evolution under the mild pH conditions that approximate biological and environmental conditions. In parallel experiments, structural data were collected from in situ pair distribution function (PDF) analyses were conducted to follow the evolution of individual samples from initial precipitation to final product. The measurements are leading to a quantitative solubility function for ACC with variable Mg contents and an x-ray based understanding of ACC structure in the same particles. We are also finding temporal changes in the short-range order of ACC after precipitation and this order is dependent upon Mg content. Moreover, the data show Mg distribution through the ACC particles is dependent upon total alkalinity. Insights from this study hold promise

  7. Low-cost carbon-based counter electrodes for dye sensitized solar cells

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Barberio, M; Imbrogno, A; Bonanno, A; Xu, F; Grosso, D R

    2015-01-01

    In this work, we present the realization of four carbon-based counter electrodes for dye-sensitized solar cells. The photovoltaic behaviours of counter electrodes realized with graphene, multiwalled carbon nanotubes, and nanocomposites of multiwalled carbon nanotubes and metal nanoparticles are compared with those of classical electrodes (amorphous carbon and platinum). Our results show an increase of about 50% in PCE for graphene and Ag/carbon nanotube electrodes with respect to amorphous carbon and of 25% in comparison to platinum. An improvement in cell stability is also observed; in fact, the PCE of all carbon-based cells assumes a constant value during a period of one month while that with the Pt electrode decreases by 50% in one week. (paper)

  8. Shutdown dose rate analysis with CAD geometry, Cartesian/tetrahedral mesh, and advanced variance reduction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Biondo, Elliott D.; Davis, Andrew; Wilson, Paul P.H.

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • A CAD-based shutdown dose rate analysis workflow has been implemented. • Cartesian and superimposed tetrahedral mesh are fully supported. • Biased and unbiased photon source sampling options are available. • Hybrid Monte Carlo/deterministic techniques accelerate photon transport. • The workflow has been validated with the FNG-ITER benchmark problem. - Abstract: In fusion energy systems (FES) high-energy neutrons born from burning plasma activate system components to form radionuclides. The biological dose rate that results from photons emitted by these radionuclides after shutdown—the shutdown dose rate (SDR)—must be quantified for maintenance planning. This can be done using the Rigorous Two-Step (R2S) method, which involves separate neutron and photon transport calculations, coupled by a nuclear inventory analysis code. The geometric complexity and highly attenuating configuration of FES motivates the use of CAD geometry and advanced variance reduction for this analysis. An R2S workflow has been created with the new capability of performing SDR analysis directly from CAD geometry with Cartesian or tetrahedral meshes and with biased photon source sampling, enabling the use of the Consistent Adjoint Driven Importance Sampling (CADIS) variance reduction technique. This workflow has been validated with the Frascati Neutron Generator (FNG)-ITER SDR benchmark using both Cartesian and tetrahedral meshes and both unbiased and biased photon source sampling. All results are within 20.4% of experimental values, which constitutes satisfactory agreement. Photon transport using CADIS is demonstrated to yield speedups as high as 8.5·10"5 for problems using the FNG geometry.

  9. Controllable Electrochemical Activities by Oxidative Treatment toward Inner-Sphere Redox Systems at N-Doped Hydrogenated Amorphous Carbon Films

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yoriko Tanaka

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available The electrochemical activity of the surface of Nitrogen-doped hydrogenated amorphous carbon thin films (a-CNH, N-doped DLC toward the inner sphere redox species is controllable by modifying the surface termination. At the oxygen plasma treated N-doped DLC surface (O-DLC, the surface functional groups containing carbon doubly bonded to oxygen (C=O, which improves adsorption of polar molecules, were generated. By oxidative treatment, the electron-transfer rate for dopamine (DA positively charged inner-sphere redox analyte could be improved at the N-doped DLC surface. For redox reaction of 2,4-dichlorophenol, which induces an inevitable fouling of the anode surface by forming passivating films, the DLC surfaces exhibited remarkably higher stability and reproducibility of the electrode performance. This is due to the electrochemical decomposition of the passive films without the interference of oxygen evolution by applying higher potential. The N-doped DLC film can offer benefits as the polarizable electrode surface with the higher reactivity and higher stability toward inner-sphere redox species. By making use of these controllable electrochemical reactivity at the O-DLC surface, the selective detection of DA in the mixed solution of DA and uric acid could be achieved.

  10. Structural investigation of two carbon nitride solids produced by cathodic arc deposition and nitrogen implantation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Merchant, A R; McCulloch, D; McKenzie, D R; Yin, Y; Gerstner, E G [New South Wales Univ., Kensington, NSW (Australia)

    1997-12-31

    Carbon nitride materials have been the focus of research efforts worldwide. Most materials studied have been amorphous, with only a few groups claiming to have found a crystalline material. In this paper, carbon nitride materials prepared by two different techniques are analysed, and found to be remarkably similar in bonding and structure. The materials appear to have a primarily sp{sup 2} bonded carbon structure with a lower bond length than found in an amorphous carbon. This is explained by nitrogen substituting into `rings` to a saturation level of about one nitrogen per three carbon atoms. No evidence was found for a crystalline structure of formula C{sub 3}N{sub 4}, or any amorphous derivative of it. 16 refs., 1 tab., 5 figs.

  11. Structural investigation of two carbon nitride solids produced by cathodic arc deposition and nitrogen implantation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Merchant, A.R.; McCulloch, D.; McKenzie, D.R.; Yin, Y.; Gerstner, E.G. [New South Wales Univ., Kensington, NSW (Australia)

    1996-12-31

    Carbon nitride materials have been the focus of research efforts worldwide. Most materials studied have been amorphous, with only a few groups claiming to have found a crystalline material. In this paper, carbon nitride materials prepared by two different techniques are analysed, and found to be remarkably similar in bonding and structure. The materials appear to have a primarily sp{sup 2} bonded carbon structure with a lower bond length than found in an amorphous carbon. This is explained by nitrogen substituting into `rings` to a saturation level of about one nitrogen per three carbon atoms. No evidence was found for a crystalline structure of formula C{sub 3}N{sub 4}, or any amorphous derivative of it. 16 refs., 1 tab., 5 figs.

  12. Structural investigation of two carbon nitride solids produced by cathodic arc deposition and nitrogen implantation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Merchant, A.R.; McCulloch, D.; McKenzie, D.R.; Yin, Y.; Gerstner, E.G.

    1996-01-01

    Carbon nitride materials have been the focus of research efforts worldwide. Most materials studied have been amorphous, with only a few groups claiming to have found a crystalline material. In this paper, carbon nitride materials prepared by two different techniques are analysed, and found to be remarkably similar in bonding and structure. The materials appear to have a primarily sp 2 bonded carbon structure with a lower bond length than found in an amorphous carbon. This is explained by nitrogen substituting into 'rings' to a saturation level of about one nitrogen per three carbon atoms. No evidence was found for a crystalline structure of formula C 3 N 4 , or any amorphous derivative of it. 16 refs., 1 tab., 5 figs

  13. Laser annealing effects of the Raman laser on nitrogen implanted glassy carbon

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Barbara, D.; Prawer, S.; Jamieson, D.N.

    1996-01-01

    Raman analysis is a popular method of investigating crystallite sizes, ordering and the types of bonds that exist in ion irradiated carbon materials, namely graphite, diamond and glassy carbon (G.C.). In particular Raman spectroscopy is used in determining the tetrahedral bonding required for the elusive and potentially important new material called carbon nitride. Carbon nitride, β-C 3 N 4 , is predicted to exist in several forms. Forming the tetrahedral bond between C and N has proved troublesome bain of many experimenters. A proven method for synthesizing novel materials is ion implantation. Thus G.C. was implanted with N at low temperatures so that diffusion of the implanted N would be hindered. G.C. is a relatively hard, chemically inert, graphitic material. The opaque property of G.C. means that Raman spectroscopy will only give information about the structures that exist at the surface and near surface layers. It was decided, after observing conflicting Raman spectra at different laser powers, that an investigation of the laser annealing effects of the Raman laser on the N implanted G.C. was warranted. The results of the preliminary investigation of the effects of increasing the Raman laser power and determining a power density threshold for high dose N implanted G.C. are discussed. 4 refs., 4 figs

  14. Light emission in forward and reverse bias operation in OLED with amorphous silicon carbon nitride thin films

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reyes, R.; Cremona, M.; Achete, C. A.

    2011-01-01

    Amorphous silicon carbon nitride (a-SiC:N) thin films deposited by magnetron sputtering were used in the structure of an organic light emitting diode (OLED), obtaining an OLED operating in forward and reverse bias mode. The device consist of the heterojunction structure ITO/a-SiC:N/Hole Transport Layer (HTL)/ Electron Transport Layer (ETL)/a-SiC:N/Al. As hole transporting layer was used a thin film of 1-(3-methylphenyl)-1,2,3,4 tetrahydroquinoline - 6 - carboxyaldehyde - 1,1'- diphenylhydrazone (MTCD), while the tris(8-hydroxyquinoline aluminum) (Alq3) is used as electron transport and emitting layer. A significant increase in the voltage operation compared to the conventional ITO/MTCD/Alq3/Al structure was observed, so the onset of electroluminescence occurs at about 22 V in the forward and reverse bias mode of operation. The electroluminescence spectra is similar in both cases, only slightly shifted 0.14 eV to lower energies in relation to the conventional device.

  15. Light emission in forward and reverse bias operation in OLED with amorphous silicon carbon nitride thin films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Reyes, R [Facultad de Ingenieria Quimica y Textil, Universidad Nacional de Ingenieria, Av. Tupac Amaru SN, Lima (Peru); Cremona, M [Departamento de Fisica, PontifIcia Universidade Catolica de Rio de Janeiro, PUC-Rio, Cx. Postal 38071, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, CEP 22453-970 (Brazil); Achete, C A, E-mail: rreyes@uni.edu.pe [Departamento de Engenheria Metalurgica e de Materiais, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Cx. Postal 68505, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, CEP 21945-970 (Brazil)

    2011-01-01

    Amorphous silicon carbon nitride (a-SiC:N) thin films deposited by magnetron sputtering were used in the structure of an organic light emitting diode (OLED), obtaining an OLED operating in forward and reverse bias mode. The device consist of the heterojunction structure ITO/a-SiC:N/Hole Transport Layer (HTL)/ Electron Transport Layer (ETL)/a-SiC:N/Al. As hole transporting layer was used a thin film of 1-(3-methylphenyl)-1,2,3,4 tetrahydroquinoline - 6 - carboxyaldehyde - 1,1'- diphenylhydrazone (MTCD), while the tris(8-hydroxyquinoline aluminum) (Alq{sub 3}) is used as electron transport and emitting layer. A significant increase in the voltage operation compared to the conventional ITO/MTCD/Alq{sub 3}/Al structure was observed, so the onset of electroluminescence occurs at about 22 V in the forward and reverse bias mode of operation. The electroluminescence spectra is similar in both cases, only slightly shifted 0.14 eV to lower energies in relation to the conventional device.

  16. Light emission in forward and reverse bias operation in OLED with amorphous silicon carbon nitride thin films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Reyes, R; Cremona, M; Achete, C A

    2011-01-01

    Amorphous silicon carbon nitride (a-SiC:N) thin films deposited by magnetron sputtering were used in the structure of an organic light emitting diode (OLED), obtaining an OLED operating in forward and reverse bias mode. The device consist of the heterojunction structure ITO/a-SiC:N/Hole Transport Layer (HTL)/ Electron Transport Layer (ETL)/a-SiC:N/Al. As hole transporting layer was used a thin film of 1-(3-methylphenyl)-1,2,3,4 tetrahydroquinoline - 6 - carboxyaldehyde - 1,1'- diphenylhydrazone (MTCD), while the tris(8-hydroxyquinoline aluminum) (Alq 3 ) is used as electron transport and emitting layer. A significant increase in the voltage operation compared to the conventional ITO/MTCD/Alq 3 /Al structure was observed, so the onset of electroluminescence occurs at about 22 V in the forward and reverse bias mode of operation. The electroluminescence spectra is similar in both cases, only slightly shifted 0.14 eV to lower energies in relation to the conventional device.

  17. Adsorption Energies of Carbon, Nitrogen, and Oxygen Atoms on the Low-temperature Amorphous Water Ice: A Systematic Estimation from Quantum Chemistry Calculations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shimonishi, Takashi; Nakatani, Naoki; Furuya, Kenji; Hama, Tetsuya

    2018-03-01

    We propose a new simple computational model to estimate the adsorption energies of atoms and molecules to low-temperature amorphous water ice, and we present the adsorption energies of carbon (3 P), nitrogen (4 S), and oxygen (3 P) atoms based on quantum chemistry calculations. The adsorption energies were estimated to be 14,100 ± 420 K for carbon, 400 ± 30 K for nitrogen, and 1440 ± 160 K for oxygen. The adsorption energy of oxygen is consistent with experimentally reported values. We found that the binding of a nitrogen atom is purely physisorption, while that of a carbon atom is chemisorption, in which a chemical bond to an O atom of a water molecule is formed. That of an oxygen atom has a dual character, with both physisorption and chemisorption. The chemisorption of atomic carbon also implies the possibility of further chemical reactions to produce molecules bearing a C–O bond, though this may hinder the formation of methane on water ice via sequential hydrogenation of carbon atoms. These properties would have a large impact on the chemical evolution of carbon species in interstellar environments. We also investigated the effects of newly calculated adsorption energies on the chemical compositions of cold dense molecular clouds with the aid of gas-ice astrochemical simulations. We found that abundances of major nitrogen-bearing molecules, such as N2 and NH3, are significantly altered by applying the calculated adsorption energy, because nitrogen atoms can thermally diffuse on surfaces, even at 10 K.

  18. Verification of the three-dimensional tetrahedral grid SN code THOR

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schunert, S.; Ferrer, R.; Azmy, Y.

    2013-01-01

    In this work current capabilities implemented in the novel, arbitrary-order, tetrahedral-grid short characteristics S N radiation transport code THOR are verified based on four benchmark problems: (1) A one-group Method of Manufactured Solution (MMS) problem on a cuboidal domain, (2) an infinite medium eigenvalue problem with up-scattering, (3) a homogeneous torus and (4) a bare cube eigenvalue problem with anisotropic scattering up to order three. The first benchmark problem exercises the various spatial discretization options available in THOR: The short characteristics method in conjunction with polynomial expansions of the source and face fluxes either using the complete or Lagrange family of arbitrary orders. Using the numerical solution's order of convergence test in the framework of a mesh refinement study, correct implementation of a selection of spatial expansion orders is demonstrated for two meshes with tetrahedral aspect ratios close to unity and 50. The second benchmark problem exercises the implementation of angular fluxes on reflective boundary faces that are implicit within a mesh sweep, and up-scattering. The third benchmark problem comprises cyclic dependencies within the mesh sweep thus exercising the algorithm devised for 'breaking' the cyclic dependencies. Finally, the fourth benchmark problem, a simple bare cube, is used to test correct implementation of the anisotropic scattering capability. For all test problems THOR obtains solutions that converge to the reference/exact solution with the expected rate thereby contributing to our confidence in the correctness of its tested features in the present implementation. (authors)

  19. Stabilization of organic matter in soils: role of amorphous mineral phases

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zewde Tamrat, Wuhib; Rose, Jérôme; Levard, Clément; Chaurand, Perrine; Basile-Doelsch, Isabelle

    2016-04-01

    Soil organic matter (SOM) globally contributes the largest portion of continental carbon stock. One major issue concerning this large C pool includes its instability by mineralization and erosion due to land use. The main hypothesis of this work is that physicochemical stabilization of SOM is mainly driven by interactions of organic compounds, not with mineral surfaces as classically considered, but with amorphous polymers continuously formed by the alteration of soil minerals(1-3). Our objective is to understand how nano-organomineral complexes (nCOMx) are structured at the nanoscale, assess mechanisms of their formation, and quantify the effects of their occurrence on SOM turnovers. Due to inherent high complexity of natural samples, our methodology is based on the formation of nCOMx from both synthetic systems and natural mineral-weathered components. For the mineral component, biotite (from Bancroft, Canada) was selected. For the organic component, 3,4-Dihydroxy-L-phenylalanine, an amino acid with hydroxyl (pKa=9.95), carboxyl (pKa=2,58), amino (pKa=9,24) and an aromatic functions was chosen. The methodology aimed at developing conditions that generate biotite dissolution and nCOMx precipitation. The second step of the experiment consisted of the precipitation of nCOMx by slowly increasing pH over 3 to 12 hours of hydrolysis. Three final pH conditions were tested (4.2, 5 and 7) with Metal/Carbon ratios of 0.01, 0.1, 1, 10 and 'No Carbon'. The first results of dissolution rates and congruency, AFM imaging, ICPMS, HR-TEM and XRD as well as XAS characterizations (transmission and florescence mode at the Fe K-edge) of nCOMx will be presented. Experiments and analysis techniques were designed to study these synthetic phases with regard to Si, Al, Fe and OM proportions to increase the OM proportion (as in natural soil phases) and also increase the stability of the OM phase (as in increased residence time of OM in the soil). We will focus particularly on the Fe state

  20. Amorphous track models: a numerical comparison study

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Greilich, Steffen; Grzanka, Leszek; Hahn, Ute

    in carbon ion treatment at the particle facility HIT in Heidelberg. Apparent differences between the LEM and the Katz model are the way how interactions of individual particle tracks and how extended targets are handled. Complex scenarios, however, can mask the actual effect of these differences. Here, we......Amorphous track models such as Katz' Ion-Gamma-Kill (IGK) approach [1, 2] or the Local Effect Model (LEM) [3, 4] had reasonable success in predicting the response of solid state dosimeters and radiobiological systems. LEM is currently applied in radiotherapy for biological dose optimization...

  1. Artificial intelligence approach to planning the robotic assembly of large tetrahedral truss structures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Homemdemello, Luiz S.

    1992-01-01

    An assembly planner for tetrahedral truss structures is presented. To overcome the difficulties due to the large number of parts, the planner exploits the simplicity and uniformity of the shapes of the parts and the regularity of their interconnection. The planning automation is based on the computational formalism known as production system. The global data base consists of a hexagonal grid representation of the truss structure. This representation captures the regularity of tetrahedral truss structures and their multiple hierarchies. It maps into quadratic grids and can be implemented in a computer by using a two-dimensional array data structure. By maintaining the multiple hierarchies explicitly in the model, the choice of a particular hierarchy is only made when needed, thus allowing a more informed decision. Furthermore, testing the preconditions of the production rules is simple because the patterned way in which the struts are interconnected is incorporated into the topology of the hexagonal grid. A directed graph representation of assembly sequences allows the use of both graph search and backtracking control strategies.

  2. Deposition of amorphous carbon films using Ar and/or N{sub 2} magnetron sputter with ring permanent magnet

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kinoshita, Haruhisa, E-mail: rdhkino@ipc.shizuoka.ac.jp; Kubota, Masaya; Ohno, Genji

    2012-11-15

    Magnetron sputter with a rotating ring permanent magnet using Ar and/or N{sub 2} gases were first used to form amorphous carbon (a-C and a-CN{sub x}) films on p-Si wafers set on a grounded lower electrode. The a-C film was hard while the a-CN{sub x} films were soft. These films include a little O and H atoms unintentionally. Optical band gap, refractive index, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy absorption spectra, hardness and field emission threshold electric field were significantly different between a-C and a-CN{sub x} films. The optical band gap of the a-C film was 0.7 eV while those of a-CN{sub x} films were almost constant at about 1.25 eV. The low field emission threshold electric field of 13 V/{mu}m was obtained in hard a-C film.

  3. Ion implantation and amorphous metals

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hohmuth, K.; Rauschenbach, B.

    1981-01-01

    This review deals with ion implantation of metals in the high concentration range for preparing amorphous layers (>= 10 at%, implantation doses > 10 16 ions/cm 2 ). Different models are described concerning formation of amorphous phases of metals by ion implantation and experimental results are given. The study of amorphous phases has been carried out by the aid of Rutherford backscattering combined with the channeling technique and using transmission electron microscopy. The structure of amorphous metals prepared by ion implantation has been discussed. It was concluded that amorphous metal-metalloid compounds can be described by a dense-random-packing structure with a great portion of metal atoms. Ion implantation has been compared with other techniques for preparing amorphous metals and the adventages have been outlined

  4. Preparation and characterization of polymer-derived amorphous silicon carbide with silicon-rich stoichiometry

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Masuda, Takashi, E-mail: mtakashi@jaist.ac.jp [School of Material and Science, Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, 1-1 Asahidai, Nomi, Ishikawa 923-1292 (Japan); Iwasaka, Akira [School of Material and Science, Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, 1-1 Asahidai, Nomi, Ishikawa 923-1292 (Japan); Takagishi, Hideyuki [Faculty of Symbiotic System Science, Fukushima University, 1 Kanayagawa, Fukushima-shi, Fukushima 960-1296 (Japan); Shimoda, Tatsuya [School of Material and Science, Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, 1-1 Asahidai, Nomi, Ishikawa 923-1292 (Japan)

    2016-08-01

    Polydihydrosilane with pendant hexyl groups was synthesized to obtain silicon-rich amorphous silicon carbide (a-SiC) films via the solution route. Unlike conventional polymeric precursors, this polymer requires neither catalysts nor oxidation for its synthesis and cross-linkage. Therefore, the polymer provides sufficient purity for the fabrication of semiconducting a-SiC. Here, we investigated the correlation of Si/C stoichiometry between the polymer and the resultant a-SiC film. The structural, optical, and electrical properties of the films with various carbon contents were also explored. Experimental results suggested that the excess carbon that did not participate in Si−C configurations was decomposed and was evaporated during polymer-to-SiC conversion. Consequently, the upper limit of the carbon in resultant a-SiC film was < 50 at.%; namely, the polymer provided silicon-rich a-SiC, whereas the conventionally used polycarbosilane inevitably provides carbon-rich one. These features of this unusual polymer open up a frontier of polymer-derived SiC and solution-processed SiC electronics. - Highlights: • Polymeric precursor solution for silicon carbide (SiC) is synthesized. • Semiconducting amorphous SiC is prepared via solution route. • The excess carbon is decomposed during cross-linking resulting in Si-rich SiC films. • The grown SiC films contain substantial amount of hydrogen atoms as SiH{sub n}/CH{sub n} entities. • Presence of CH{sub n} entities induces dangling bonds, causing poor electrical properties.

  5. Crystalline-Amorphous Core−Shell Silicon Nanowires for High Capacity and High Current Battery Electrodes

    KAUST Repository

    Cui, Li-Feng

    2009-01-14

    Silicon is an attractive alloy-type anode material for lithium ion batteries because of its highest known capacity (4200 mAh/g). However silicon\\'s large volume change upon lithium insertion and extraction, which causes pulverization and capacity fading, has limited its applications. Designing nanoscale hierarchical structures is a novel approach to address the issues associated with the large volume changes. In this letter, we introduce a core-shell design of silicon nanowires for highpower and long-life lithium battery electrodes. Silicon crystalline- amorphous core-shell nanowires were grown directly on stainless steel current collectors by a simple one-step synthesis. Amorphous Si shells instead of crystalline Si cores can be selected to be electrochemically active due to the difference of their lithiation potentials. Therefore, crystalline Si cores function as a stable mechanical support and an efficient electrical conducting pathway while amorphous shells store Li ions. We demonstrate here that these core-shell nanowires have high charge storage capacity (̃1000 mAh/g, 3 times of carbon) with ̃90% capacity retention over 100 cycles. They also show excellent electrochemical performance at high rate charging and discharging (6.8 A/g, ̃20 times of carbon at 1 h rate). © 2009 American Chemical Society.

  6. Synthesis and electrochemical evaluation of an amorphous titanium dioxide derived from a solid state precursor

    Science.gov (United States)

    Joyce, Christopher D.; McIntyre, Toni; Simmons, Sade; LaDuca, Holly; Breitzer, Jonathan G.; Lopez, Carmen M.; Jansen, Andrew N.; Vaughey, J. T.

    Titanium oxides are an important class of lithium-ion battery electrodes owing to their good capacity and stability within the cell environment. Although most Ti(IV) oxides are poor electronic conductors, new methods developed to synthesize nanometer scale primary particles have achieved the higher rate capability needed for modern commercial applications. In this report, the anionic water stable titanium oxalate anion [TiO(C 2O 4) 2] 2- was isolated in high yield as the insoluble DABCO (1,4-diazabicyclo[2.2.2]octane) salt. Powder X-ray diffraction studies show that the titanium dioxide material isolated after annealing in air is initially amorphous, converts to N-doped anatase above 400 °C, then to rutile above 600 °C. Electrochemical studies indicate that the amorphous titanium dioxide phase within a carbon matrix has a stable cycling capacity of ∼350 mAh g -1. On crystallizing at 400 °C to a carbon-coated anatase the capacity drops to 210 mAh g -1, and finally upon carbon burn-off to 50 mAh g -1. Mixtures of the amorphous titanium dioxide and Li 4Ti 5O 12 showed a similar electrochemical profile and capacity to Li 4Ti 5O 12 but with the addition of a sloping region to the end of the discharge curve that could be advantageous for determining state-of-charge in systems using Li 4Ti 5O 12.

  7. Nuclear tetrahedral symmetry: possibly present throughout the periodic table.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dudek, J; Goźdź, A; Schunck, N; Miśkiewicz, M

    2002-06-24

    More than half a century after the fundamental, spherical shell structure in nuclei had been established, theoretical predictions indicated that the shell gaps comparable or even stronger than those at spherical shapes may exist. Group-theoretical analysis supported by realistic mean-field calculations indicate that the corresponding nuclei are characterized by the TD(d) ("double-tetrahedral") symmetry group. Strong shell-gap structure is enhanced by the existence of the four-dimensional irreducible representations of TD(d); it can be seen as a geometrical effect that does not depend on a particular realization of the mean field. Possibilities of discovering the TD(d) symmetry in experiment are discussed.

  8. Superhard carbon film deposition by means of Laser-Arco {sup registered} on the way from the laboratory into the industrial series coating; Abscheidung superharter Kohlenstoffschichten mittels Laser-Arco {sup registered} auf dem Weg vom Labor in die industrielle Serienfertigung

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Scheibe, Hans-Joachim; Leonhardt, Michael; Leson, Andreas; Meyer, Carl-Friedrich; Stucky, Thomas; Weihnacht, Volker [Fraunhofer-Institut fuer Werkstoff- und Strahltechnik (IWS), Dresden (Germany)

    2008-12-15

    Diamond-like carbon films (DLC) are more and more applied as wear protection coatings for components and tools due to their unique combination of high hardness, low friction and sticking tendency to metallic counter bodies. Up to now applied DLC films are hydrogen containing (a-C:H) or metal carbon films (Me-C:H) deposited by a plasma assisted CVD process from carbon-hydrogen gas mixtures. Their wide industrial effort results from that the can be deposited with slowly modified coating machines for classical hard coating (e.g. TiN or CrN). A new generation DLC films are the hydrogen-free ta-C films (ta-C = tetrahedral bounded amorphous carbon) with a between two and three-times higher hardness and with a resulting higher wear resistance under extreme condition than classical DLC films. They have excellent emergency running properties at lubrication break down. Their industrial application is more difficult due to that they cannot deposited with modified coating machines for classical hard and DLC coating and a new technology with corresponding equipment was not available up to now. The laser controlled, pulsed arc deposition technology (Laser-Arco {sup registered}) of the Fraunhofer IWS Dresden has this potential. In kind of a Laser-Arc-Module-source the ta-C film deposition can be integrated in every industrial used deposition machine. (orig.)

  9. Enhanced efficiency of hybrid amorphous silicon solar cells based on single-walled carbon nanotubes and polymer composite thin film

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rajanna, Pramod M.; Gilshteyn, Evgenia P.; Yagafarov, Timur; Aleekseeva, Alena K.; Anisimov, Anton S.; Neumüller, Alex; Sergeev, Oleg; Bereznev, Sergei; Maricheva, Jelena; Nasibulin, Albert G.

    2018-03-01

    We report a simple approach to fabricate hybrid solar cells (HSCs) based on a single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) film and thin film hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H). Randomly oriented high-quality SWCNTs with conductivity enhanced by means of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) polystyrene sulfonate are used as a window layer and a front electrode. A series of HSCs are fabricated in ambient conditions with varying SWCNT film thicknesses. The polymethylmethacrylate layer drop-casted on fabricated HSCs reduces the reflection fourfold and enhances the short-circuit J sc , open-circuit V oc , and efficiency by nearly 10%. A state-of-the-art J-V performance is shown for SWCNT/a-Si HSC with an open-circuit voltage of 900 mV and an efficiency of 3.4% under simulated one-sun AM 1.5 G direct illumination.

  10. Cause and Cure-Deterioration in Accuracy of CFD Simulations with Use of High-Aspect-Ratio Triangular/Tetrahedral Grids

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chang, Sin-Chung; Chang, Chau-Lyan; Venkatachari, Balaji

    2017-01-01

    In the multi-dimensional space-time conservation element and solution element16 (CESE) method, triangles and tetrahedral mesh elements turn out to be the most natural building blocks for 2D and 3D spatial grids, respectively. As such, the CESE method is naturally compatible with the simplest 2D and 3D unstructured grids and thus can be easily applied to solve problems with complex geometries. However, because (a) accurate solution of a high-Reynolds number flow field near a solid wall requires that the grid intervals along the direction normal to the wall be much finer than those in a direction parallel to the wall and, as such, the use of grid cells with extremely high aspect ratio (103 to 106) may become mandatory, and (b) unlike quadrilateral hexahedral grids, it is well-known that accuracy of gradient computations involving triangular tetrahedral grids tends to deteriorate rapidly as cell aspect ratio increases. As a result, the use of triangular tetrahedral grid cells near a solid wall has long been deemed impractical by CFD researchers. In view of (a) the critical role played by triangular tetrahedral grids in the CESE development, and (b) the importance of accurate resolution of high-Reynolds number flow field near a solid wall, as will be presented in the main paper, a comprehensive and rigorous mathematical framework that clearly identifies the reasons behind the accuracy deterioration as described above has been developed for the 2D case involving triangular cells. By avoiding the pitfalls identified by the 2D framework, and its 3D extension, it has been shown numerically.

  11. Nickel–carbon nanocomposites: Synthesis, structural changes and strengthening mechanisms

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nunes, D.; Vilarigues, M.; Correia, J.B.; Carvalho, P.A.

    2012-01-01

    The present work investigates Ni–nanodiamond and Ni–graphite composites produced by mechanical synthesis and subsequent heat treatments. Processing of nickel–carbon nanocomposites by this powder metallurgy route poses specific challenges, as carbon phases are prone to carbide conversion and amorphization. The processing window for carbide prevention has been established through X-ray diffraction by a systematic variation of the milling parameters. Transmission electron microscopy confirmed the absence of carbide and showed homogeneous particle distributions, as well as intimate bonding between the metallic matrix and the carbon phases. Ring diffraction patterns of chemically extracted carbon phases demonstrated that milled nanodiamond preserved crystallinity, while an essentially amorphous nature could be inferred for milled graphite. Raman spectra confirmed that nanodiamond particles remained largely unaffected by mechanical synthesis, whereas the bands of milled graphite were significantly changed into the typical amorphous carbon fingerprint. The results on the annealed nanocomposites showed that milling with Ni accelerated graphitization of the carbon phases during heat treatments at 973 and 1073 K in both composites. At the finer scales, the nanocomposites exhibited a remarkable microhardness enhancement (∼70%) compared with pure nanostructured nickel. The Hall–Petch relation and the Orowan–Ashby equation are used to discuss strengthening mechanisms and the load transfer ability to the reinforcing particles.

  12. Compositions of corrosion-resistant Fe-based amorphous metals suitable for producing thermal spray coatings

    Science.gov (United States)

    Farmer, Joseph C; Wong, Frank M.G.; Haslam, Jeffery J; Ji, Xiaoyan; Day, Sumner D; Blue, Craig A; Rivard, John D.K.; Aprigliano, Louis F; Kohler, Leslie K; Bayles, Robert; Lemieux, Edward J; Yang, Nancy; Perepezko, John H; Kaufman, Larry; Heuer, Arthur; Lavernia, Enrique J

    2013-09-03

    A method of coating a surface comprising providing a source of amorphous metal that contains manganese (1 to 3 atomic %), yttrium (0.1 to 10 atomic %), and silicon (0.3 to 3.1 atomic %) in the range of composition given in parentheses; and that contains the following elements in the specified range of composition given in parentheses: chromium (15 to 20 atomic %), molybdenum (2 to 15 atomic %), tungsten (1 to 3 atomic %), boron (5 to 16 atomic %), carbon (3 to 16 atomic %), and the balance iron; and applying said amorphous metal to the surface by a spray.

  13. Electromagnetic forward modelling for realistic Earth models using unstructured tetrahedral meshes and a meshfree approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Farquharson, C.; Long, J.; Lu, X.; Lelievre, P. G.

    2017-12-01

    Real-life geology is complex, and so, even when allowing for the diffusive, low resolution nature of geophysical electromagnetic methods, we need Earth models that can accurately represent this complexity when modelling and inverting electromagnetic data. This is particularly the case for the scales, detail and conductivity contrasts involved in mineral and hydrocarbon exploration and development, but also for the larger scale of lithospheric studies. Unstructured tetrahedral meshes provide a flexible means of discretizing a general, arbitrary Earth model. This is important when wanting to integrate a geophysical Earth model with a geological Earth model parameterized in terms of surfaces. Finite-element and finite-volume methods can be derived for computing the electric and magnetic fields in a model parameterized using an unstructured tetrahedral mesh. A number of such variants have been proposed and have proven successful. However, the efficiency and accuracy of these methods can be affected by the "quality" of the tetrahedral discretization, that is, how many of the tetrahedral cells in the mesh are long, narrow and pointy. This is particularly the case if one wants to use an iterative technique to solve the resulting linear system of equations. One approach to deal with this issue is to develop sophisticated model and mesh building and manipulation capabilities in order to ensure that any mesh built from geological information is of sufficient quality for the electromagnetic modelling. Another approach is to investigate other methods of synthesizing the electromagnetic fields. One such example is a "meshfree" approach in which the electromagnetic fields are synthesized using a mesh that is distinct from the mesh used to parameterized the Earth model. There are then two meshes, one describing the Earth model and one used for the numerical mathematics of computing the fields. This means that there are no longer any quality requirements on the model mesh, which

  14. Intense heavy ion beam-induced effects in carbon-based stripper foils

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kupka, Katharina

    2016-08-15

    Amorphous carbon or carbon-based stripper foils are commonly applied in accelerator technology for electron stripping of ions. At the planned facility for antiproton and ion research (FAIR) at the Helmholtzzentrum fuer Schwerionenforschung (GSI), Darmstadt, thin carbon stripper foils provide an option for directly delivering ions of intermediate charge states to the heavy ion synchrotron, SIS 18, in order to mitigate space charge limitations during high-intensity operation. In case of desired high end-energies in the synchrotron, a second stripping process by a thicker carbon foil provides ions of higher charge states for injection into the SIS18. High beam intensities and a pulsed beam structure as foreseen at FAIR pose new challenges to the stripper foils which experience enhanced degradation by radiation damage, thermal effects, and stress waves. In order to ensure reliable accelerator operation, radiation-hard stripper foils are required. This thesis aims to a better understanding of processes leading to degradation of carbon-based thin foils. Special focus is placed on ion-beam induced structure and physical property changes and on the influence of different beam parameters. Irradiation experiments were performed at the M3-beamline of the universal linear accelerator (UNILAC) at GSI, using swift heavy ion beams with different pulse lengths and repetition rates. Tested carbon foils were standard amorphous carbon stripper foils produced by the GSI target laboratory, as well as commercial amorphous and diamond-like carbon foils and buckypaper foils. Microstructural changes were investigated with various methods such as optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), profilometry and chromatic aberration measurements. For the investigation of structural changes X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Raman spectroscopy, high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), in-situ Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and small angle X

  15. Intense heavy ion beam-induced effects in carbon-based stripper foils

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kupka, Katharina

    2016-08-01

    Amorphous carbon or carbon-based stripper foils are commonly applied in accelerator technology for electron stripping of ions. At the planned facility for antiproton and ion research (FAIR) at the Helmholtzzentrum fuer Schwerionenforschung (GSI), Darmstadt, thin carbon stripper foils provide an option for directly delivering ions of intermediate charge states to the heavy ion synchrotron, SIS 18, in order to mitigate space charge limitations during high-intensity operation. In case of desired high end-energies in the synchrotron, a second stripping process by a thicker carbon foil provides ions of higher charge states for injection into the SIS18. High beam intensities and a pulsed beam structure as foreseen at FAIR pose new challenges to the stripper foils which experience enhanced degradation by radiation damage, thermal effects, and stress waves. In order to ensure reliable accelerator operation, radiation-hard stripper foils are required. This thesis aims to a better understanding of processes leading to degradation of carbon-based thin foils. Special focus is placed on ion-beam induced structure and physical property changes and on the influence of different beam parameters. Irradiation experiments were performed at the M3-beamline of the universal linear accelerator (UNILAC) at GSI, using swift heavy ion beams with different pulse lengths and repetition rates. Tested carbon foils were standard amorphous carbon stripper foils produced by the GSI target laboratory, as well as commercial amorphous and diamond-like carbon foils and buckypaper foils. Microstructural changes were investigated with various methods such as optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), profilometry and chromatic aberration measurements. For the investigation of structural changes X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Raman spectroscopy, high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), in-situ Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and small angle X

  16. ACBC to Balcite: Bioinspired Synthesis of a Highly Substituted High-Temperature Phase from an Amorphous Precursor

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Whittaker, Michael L.; Joester, Derk (NWU)

    2017-04-28

    Energy-efficient synthesis of materials locked in compositional and structural states far from equilibrium remains a challenging goal, yet biomineralizing organisms routinely assemble such materials with sophisticated designs and advanced functional properties, often using amorphous precursors. However, incorporation of organics limits the useful temperature range of these materials. Herein, the bioinspired synthesis of a highly supersaturated calcite (Ca0.5Ba0.5CO3) called balcite is reported, at mild conditions and using an amorphous calcium–barium carbonate (ACBC) (Ca1- x Ba x CO3·1.2H2O) precursor. Balcite not only contains 50 times more barium than the solubility limit in calcite but also displays the rotational disorder on carbonate sites that is typical for high-temperature calcite. It is significantly harder (30%) and less stiff than calcite, and retains these properties after heating to elevated temperatures. Analysis of balcite local order suggests that it may require the formation of the ACBC precursor and could therefore be an example of nonclassical nucleation. These findings demonstrate that amorphous precursor pathways are powerfully enabling and provide unprecedented access to materials far from equilibrium, including high-temperature modifications by room-temperature synthesis.

  17. Atomic Scale Picture of the Ion Conduction Mechanism in Tetrahedral Network of Lanthanum Barium Gallate

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jalarvo, Niina H [ORNL; Gourdon, Olivier [ORNL; Bi, Zhonghe [ORNL; Gout, Delphine J [ORNL; Ohl, Michael E [ORNL; Paranthaman, Mariappan Parans [ORNL

    2013-01-01

    Combined experimental study of impedance spectroscopy, neutron powder diffraction and quasielastic neutron scattering was performed to shed light into the atomic scale ion migration processes in proton and oxide ion conductor; La0.8Ba1.2GaO3.9 . This material consist of tetrahedral GaO4 units, which are rather flexible and rocking motion of these units promotes the ionic migration process. The oxide ion (vacancy) conduction takes place on channels along c axis, involving a single elementary step, which occurs between adjacent tetrahedron (inter-tetrahedron jump). The proton conduction mechanism consists of intra-tetrahedron and inter-tetrahedron elementary processes. The intra-tetrahedron proton transport is the rate-limiting process, with activation energy of 0.44 eV. The rocking motion of the GaO4 tetrahedron aids the inter-tetrahedral proton transport, which has the activation energy of 0.068 eV.

  18. A supercritical carbon dioxide plasma process for preparing tungsten oxide nanowires

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kawashima, Ayato; Nomura, Shinfuku; Toyota, Hiromichi; Takemori, Toshihiko; Mukasa, Shinobu; Maehara, Tsunehiro

    2007-01-01

    A supercritical carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) plasma process for fabricating one-dimensional tungsten oxide nanowires coated with amorphous carbon is presented. High-frequency plasma was generated in supercritical carbon dioxide at 20 MPa by using tungsten electrodes mounted in a supercritical cell, and subsequently an organic solvent was introduced with supercritical carbon dioxide into the plasma. Electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy investigations of the deposited materials showed the production of tungsten oxide nanowires with or without an outer layer. The nanowires with an outer layer exhibited a coaxial structure with an outer concentric layer of amorphous carbon and an inner layer of tungsten oxide with a thickness and diameter of 20-30 and 10-20 nm, respectively

  19. Structure and properties of carbon black particles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Wei

    Structure and properties of carbon black particles were investigated using atomic force microscopy, gas adsorption, Raman spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction. Supplementary information was obtained using TEM and neutron scattering. The AFM imaging of carbon black aggregates provided qualitative visual information on their morphology, complementary to that obtained by 3-D modeling based on TEM images. Our studies showed that carbon black aggregates were relatively flat. The surface of all untreated carbon black particles was found to be rough and its fractal dimension was 2.2. Heating reduced the roughness and fractal dimension for all samples heat treated at above 1300 K to 2.0. Once the samples were heat treated rapid cooling did not affect the surface roughness. However, rapid cooling reduced crystallite sizes, and different Raman spectra were obtained for carbon blacks of various history of heat treatment. By analyzing the Raman spectra we determined the crystallite sizes and identified amorphous carbon. The concentration of amorphous carbon depends on hydrogen content. Once hydrogen was liberated at increased temperature, the concentration of amorphous carbon was reduced and crystallites started to grow. Properties of carbon blacks at high pressure were also studied. Hydrostatic pressure did not affect the size of the crystallites in carbon black particles. The pressure induced shift in Raman frequency of the graphitic component was a result of increased intermolecular forces and not smaller crystallites. Two methods of determining the fractal dimension, the FHH model and the yardstick technique based on the BET theory were used in the literature. Our study proved that the FHH model is sensitive to numerous assumptions and leads to wrong conclusions. On the other hand the yardstick method gave correct results, which agreed with the AFM results.

  20. Thermal Conductivity and Wear Behavior of HVOF-Sprayed Fe-Based Amorphous Coatings

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Haihua Yao

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available To protect aluminum parts in vehicle engines, metal-based thermal barrier coatings in the form of Fe59Cr12Nb5B20Si4 amorphous coatings were prepared by high velocity oxygen fuel (HVOF spraying under two different conditions. The microstructure, thermal transport behavior, and wear behavior of the coatings were characterized simultaneously. As a result, this alloy shows high process robustness during spraying. Both Fe-based coatings present dense, layered structure with porosities below 0.9%. Due to higher amorphous phase content, the coating H-1 exhibits a relatively low thermal conductivity, reaching 2.66 W/(m·K, two times lower than the reference stainless steel coating (5.85 W/(m·K, indicating a good thermal barrier property. Meanwhile, the thermal diffusivity of amorphous coatings display a limited increase with temperature up to 500 °C, which guarantees a steady and wide usage on aluminum alloy. Furthermore, the amorphous coating shows better wear resistance compared to high carbon martensitic GCr15 steel at different temperatures. The increased temperature accelerating the tribological reaction, leads to the friction coefficient and wear rate of coating increasing at 200 °C and decreasing at 400 °C.

  1. Positrons in amorphous alloys

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Moser, Pierre.

    1981-07-01

    Positron annihilation techniques give interesting informations about ''empty spaces'' in amorphous alloys. The results of an extensive research work on the properties of either pre-existing or irradiation induced ''empty spaces'' in four amorphous alloys are presented. The pre-existing empty spaces appear to be small vacancy-like defects. The irradiation induced defects are ''close pairs'' with widely distributed configurations. There is a strong interaction between vacancy like and interstitial like components. A model is proposed, which explains the radiation resistance mechanism of the amorphous alloys. An extensive joint research work to study four amorphous alloys, Fe 80 B 20 ,Fe 40 Ni 40 P 14 B 6 , Cu 50 Ti 50 , Pd 80 Si 20 , is summarized

  2. Focused ion beam milling of carbon fibres

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Huson, Mickey G.; Church, Jeffrey S.; Hillbrick, Linda K.; Woodhead, Andrea L.; Sridhar, Manoj; Van De Meene, Allison M.L.

    2015-01-01

    A focused ion beam has been used to mill both individual carbon fibres as well as fibres in an epoxy composite, with a view to preparing flat surfaces for nano-indentation. The milled surfaces have been assessed for damage using scanning probe microscopy nano-indentation and Raman micro-probe analysis, revealing that FIB milling damages the carbon fibre surface and covers surrounding areas with debris of disordered carbon. The debris is detected as far as 100 μm from the milling site. The energy of milling as well as the orientation of the beam was varied and shown to have an effect when assessed by Raman spectroscopy. - Highlights: • Focused ion beam (FIB) milling was used to mill flat surfaces on carbon fibres. • Raman spectroscopy showed amorphous carbon was generated during FIB milling. • The amorphous debris is detected as far as 100 μm from the milling site. • This surface degradation was confirmed by nano-indentation experiments.

  3. Laser annealing effects of the Raman laser on nitrogen implanted glassy carbon

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Barbara, D.; Prawer, S.; Jamieson, D.N. [Melbourne Univ., Parkville, VIC (Australia). School of Physics

    1996-12-31

    Raman analysis is a popular method of investigating crystallite sizes, ordering and the types of bonds that exist in ion irradiated carbon materials, namely graphite, diamond and glassy carbon (G.C.). In particular Raman spectroscopy is used in determining the tetrahedral bonding required for the elusive and potentially important new material called carbon nitride. Carbon nitride, {beta}-C{sub 3}N{sub 4}, is predicted to exist in several forms. Forming the tetrahedral bond between C and N has proved troublesome bain of many experimenters. A proven method for synthesizing novel materials is ion implantation. Thus G.C. was implanted with N at low temperatures so that diffusion of the implanted N would be hindered. G.C. is a relatively hard, chemically inert, graphitic material. The opaque property of G.C. means that Raman spectroscopy will only give information about the structures that exist at the surface and near surface layers. It was decided, after observing conflicting Raman spectra at different laser powers, that an investigation of the laser annealing effects of the Raman laser on the N implanted G.C. was warranted. The results of the preliminary investigation of the effects of increasing the Raman laser power and determining a power density threshold for high dose N implanted G.C. are discussed. 4 refs., 4 figs.

  4. Laser annealing effects of the Raman laser on nitrogen implanted glassy carbon

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Barbara, D; Prawer, S; Jamieson, D N [Melbourne Univ., Parkville, VIC (Australia). School of Physics

    1997-12-31

    Raman analysis is a popular method of investigating crystallite sizes, ordering and the types of bonds that exist in ion irradiated carbon materials, namely graphite, diamond and glassy carbon (G.C.). In particular Raman spectroscopy is used in determining the tetrahedral bonding required for the elusive and potentially important new material called carbon nitride. Carbon nitride, {beta}-C{sub 3}N{sub 4}, is predicted to exist in several forms. Forming the tetrahedral bond between C and N has proved troublesome bain of many experimenters. A proven method for synthesizing novel materials is ion implantation. Thus G.C. was implanted with N at low temperatures so that diffusion of the implanted N would be hindered. G.C. is a relatively hard, chemically inert, graphitic material. The opaque property of G.C. means that Raman spectroscopy will only give information about the structures that exist at the surface and near surface layers. It was decided, after observing conflicting Raman spectra at different laser powers, that an investigation of the laser annealing effects of the Raman laser on the N implanted G.C. was warranted. The results of the preliminary investigation of the effects of increasing the Raman laser power and determining a power density threshold for high dose N implanted G.C. are discussed. 4 refs., 4 figs.

  5. Eelectrochemical properties and corrosion resistance of carbon-ion-implanted magnesium

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Xu, Ruizhen; Yang, Xiongbo; Li, Penghui; Suen, Kai Wong; Wu, Guosong; Chu, Paul K.

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • Carbon, as a biocompatible benign element, was implanted into Mg. • A protective amorphous carbon layer was formed after implantation. • Treated sample exhibits good corrosion resistance in two solutions. - Abstract: The corrosion resistance of magnesium-based biomaterials is critical to clinical applications. In this work, carbon as a biocompatible and benign nonmetallic element with high chemical inertness is implanted into pure magnesium to improve the corrosion behavior. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM), and Raman scattering reveal the formation of an amorphous carbon layer after ion implantation. Electrochemical studies demonstrate remarkable improvement in the corrosion resistance of magnesium in simulated body fluids (SBF) and Dulbecco’s Modified Eagle Medium (DMEM)

  6. Preparation of iron oxide-impregnated spherical granular activated carbon-carbon composite and its photocatalytic removal of methylene blue in the presence of oxalic acid.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kadirova, Zukhra C; Hojamberdiev, Mirabbos; Katsumata, Ken-Ichi; Isobe, Toshihiro; Matsushita, Nobuhiro; Nakajima, Akira; Sharipov, Khasan; Okada, Kiyoshi

    2014-01-01

    The spherical granular activated carbon-carbon composites (GAC-Fe) with different iron oxide contents (Fe mass% = 0.6-10) were prepared by a pore volume impregnation method. The X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and N2-adsorption results confirm the presence of amorphous iron oxide, pyrolytic carbon, and graphitized globular carbon nanoparticles covered with amorphous carbon in the CAG-Fe. The rate of photodegradation of methylene blue (MB) in aqueous solution under UV light in the presence of oxalic acid correlates with porosity of the prepared materials. The total MB removal includes the combination of adsorption and photodegradation without the addition of H2O2. The results of total organic carbon (TOC) analysis reveal that the decolorization of MB in aqueous solution containing oxalic acid corresponds to the decomposition of organic compounds to CO2 and H2O.

  7. From spent graphite to amorphous sp2+sp3 carbon-coated sp2 graphite for high-performance lithium ion batteries

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ma, Zhen; Zhuang, Yuchan; Deng, Yaoming; Song, Xiaona; Zuo, Xiaoxi; Xiao, Xin; Nan, Junmin

    2018-02-01

    Today, with the massive application of lithium ion batteries (LIBs) in the portable devices and electric vehicles, to supply the active materials with high-performances and then to recycle their wastes are two core issues for the development of LIBs. In this paper, the spent graphite (SG) in LIBs is used as raw materials to fabricate two comparative high-capacity graphite anode materials. Based on a microsurgery-like physical reconstruction, the reconstructed graphite (RG) with a sp2+sp3 carbon surface is prepared through a microwave exfoliation and subsequent spray drying process. In contrast, the neural-network-like amorphous sp2+sp3 carbon-coated graphite (AC@G) is synthesized using a self-reconfigurable chemical reaction strategy. Compared with SG and commercial graphite (CG), both RG and AC@G have enhanced specific capacities, from 311.2 mAh g-1 and 360.7 mAh g-1 to 409.7 mAh g-1 and 420.0 mAh g-1, at 0.1C after 100 cycles. In addition, they exhibit comparable cycling stability, rate capability, and voltage plateau with CG. Because the synthesis of RG and AC@G represents two typical physical and chemical methods for the recycling of SG, these results on the sp2+sp3 carbon layer coating bulk graphite also reveal an approach for the preparation of high-performance graphite anode materials derived from SG.

  8. Cu incorporated amorphous diamond like carbon (DLC) composites: An efficient electron field emitter over a wide range of temperature

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ahmed, Sk Faruque; Alam, Md Shahbaz; Mukherjee, Nillohit

    2018-03-01

    The effect of temperature on the electron field emission properties of copper incorporated amorphous diamond like carbon (a-Cu:DLC) thin films have been reported. The a-Cu:DLC thin films have been deposited on indium tin oxide (ITO) coated glass and silicon substrate by the radio frequency sputtering process. The chemical composition of the films was investigated using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and the micro structure was established using high resolution transmission electron microscopy. The sp2 and sp3 bonding ratio in the a-Cu:DLC have been analyzed by the Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy studies. The material showed excellent electron field emission properties; which was optimized by varying the copper atomic percentage and temperature of the films. It was found that the threshold field and effective emission barrier were reduced significantly by copper incorporation as well as temperature and a detailed explanation towards emission mechanism has been provided.

  9. Charged Nanowire-Directed Growth of Amorphous Calcium Carbonate Nanosheets in a Mixed Solvent for Biomimetic Composite Films.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Yangyi; Liu, Lei; Chen, Si-Ming; Chang, Fu-Jia; Mao, Li-Bo; Gao, Huai-Ling; Ma, Tao; Yu, Shu-Hong

    2018-04-19

    Bio-inspired mineralization is an effective way for fabricating complicated inorganic materials, which inspires us to develop new methods to synthesize materials with fascinating properties. In this article, we report that the charged tellurium nanowires (TeNWs) can be used as bio-macromolecule analogues to direct the formation of amorphous calcium carbonate (ACC) nanosheets (ACCNs) in a mixed solvent. The effects of surface charges and the concentration of the TeNWs on the formation of ACCNs have been investigated. Particularly, the produced ACCNs can be functionalized by Fe3O4 nanoparticles to produce magnetic ACC/Fe3O4 hybrid nanosheets, which can be used to construct ACC/Fe3O4 composite films through a self-evaporation process. Moreover, sodium alginate-ACC nanocomposite films with remarkable toughness and good transmittance can also be fabricated by using such ACCNs as nanoscale building blocks. This mineralization approach in a mixed solvent using charged tellurium nanowires as bio-macromolecule analogues provides a new way for the synthesis of ACCNs, which can be used as nanoscale building blocks for fabrication of biomimetic composite films.

  10. The transformation of amorphous calcium carbonate, ACC, to crystalline phases as function of time and temperature.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gies, Hermann; Happel, Marian; Niedermayr, Andrea; Immenhauser, Adrian

    2017-04-01

    We present results from a structural study of the transformation of freeze dried amorphous calcium carbonate, ACC, in crystalline material using pair distribution function analysis, PDF analysis, of X-ray powder diffraction data, XPD data. PDF analysis allows for the analysis of local order of structural subunit in the range between molecular unit (1. and 2. coordination sphere) and long range periodicity as in crystalline materials. ACC was precipitated from aqueous solutions at 298 K and 278 K using different amounts of Mg cations as stabilizer. The samples were immediately separated from the solution and freeze dried. For the transformation study, the samples were heated and analysed using XPD until they were crystallized. The radial distribution obtained from the XPD data were compared to simulated radial distributions of the calcium carbonate polymorphs and their hydrated phases. An ACC precipitated from a solution with Ca:Mg:CO3 = 1:5:4 at 298 K (ration in mmol, pH = 8.2) and freeze dried right after isolation from the solution revealed a close resemblance with ikaite in its local order. Another ACC with Ca:Mg:CO3 = 1:10:1.4 (T = 298, pH = 8.7) showed distinctly different local order resembling monohydrocalcite. Both ACC, however, still had considerable amounts of water dominating the Ca-coordination sphere. During the transformation to calcite, the structural changes in the sample concerned the hydrate water coordinating Ca which was removed and replaced by the carbonate oxygens. The study shows that ACC obtained from different starting solutions show specific local order. Freeze drying leads to solid ACC powder which still contain considerable amounts of hydrate water. Structural subunits are distinct in ACC and different from the crystalline phase. The study supplements recent reports presented by Konrad et al., Purgstaller et al., and Tobler et al.. F. Konrad et al., Cryst. Growth Des. 16, 6310-6317(2016) B. Purgstaller et al., Geochimica et Cosmochimica

  11. Face-specific Replacement of Calcite by Amorphous Silica Nanoparticles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liesegang, M.; Milke, R.; Neusser, G.; Mizaikoff, B.

    2016-12-01

    Amorphous silica, composed of nanoscale spheres, is an important biomineral, alteration product of silicate rocks on the Earth's surface, and precursor material for stable silicate minerals. Despite constant progress in silica sphere synthesis, fundamental knowledge of natural silica particle interaction and ordering processes leading to colloidal crystals is absent so far. To understand the formation pathways of silica spheres in a geologic environment, we investigated silicified Cretaceous mollusk shell pseudomorphs from Coober Pedy (South Australia) using focused ion beam (FIB)-SEM tomography, petrographic microscopy, µ-XRD, and EMPA. The shells consist of replaced calcite crystals (ionic strength remain constant throughout the replacement process, permitting continuous silica nanoparticle formation and diffusion-limited colloid aggregation. Our study provides a natural example of the transformation of an atomic crystal to an amorphous, mesoscale ordered material; thus, links the research fields of natural colloidal crystal formation, carbonate-silica replacement, and crystallization by oriented particle aggregation (CPA).

  12. Tribological properties of nitrogen-containing amorphous carbon film produced by dc plasma chemical vapor deposition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang Wei; Wazumi, Koichiro; Tanaka, Akihiro; Koga, Yoshinori

    2003-01-01

    The nitrogen-contained amorphous carbon (a-C:N) films were deposited in a dc plasma chemical vapor deposition system with different substrate bias voltages. The structural, mechanical, and tribological properties of the a-C:N films were investigated. The influence of the bias voltage on the tribological behaviors of the a-C:N films was evaluated under various environments (dry air, O 2 , N 2 , and vacuum) using a ball-on-disk friction tester. It showed that the sp 3 C and hydrogen concentration of the a-C:N films decreases with increasing the bias voltage. However, the nitrogen concentration increases with increasing the bias voltage. As a result, the hardness and internal stress decrease and the critical load for fracturing increases as the substrate bias increases. For the tribological properties of the a-C:N films, the friction coefficient of the films slightly decreases in the environments of N 2 , O 2 , or dry air, but increases slightly in the vacuum environment by increasing the bias voltage. It indicates that the incorporated nitrogen in the a-C:N films would decrease the friction coefficient of the films in N 2 or O 2 environments, but slightly increases the friction coefficient of the films in a vacuum. The excellent wear resistance of the a-C:N films, in the level of 10 -9 -10 -8 mm 3 /Nm, can be observed in N 2 , vacuum, and dry air environments. In addition, the effect of the bias voltage on the wear rate of the a-C:N films becomes less obvious by nitrogen incorporation. So, we suggest the incorporated nitrogen, which bonded to carbon and restrained the increase of the fraction of sp 2 C-C, would restrain the wear of the a-C:N films in different environments, especially in dry air

  13. Photodecomposition of Hg - Photo - CVD monosilane. Application to hydrogenated amorphous silicon thin films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Aka, B.

    1989-04-01

    The construction of a Hg-photo-CVD device is discussed. The system enables the manufacturing of hydrogenous thin films of amorphous silicon from monosilane compound. The reaction mechanisms taking place in the gaseous phase and at the surface, and the optimal conditions for the amorphous silicon film growth are studied. The analysis technique is based on the measurement of the difference between the condensation points of the gaseous components of the mixture obtained from the monosilane photolysis. A kinetic simplified model is proposed. Conductivity measurements are performed and the heat treatment effects are analyzed. Trace amounts of oxygen and carbon are found in the material. No Hg traces are detected by SIMS analysis [fr

  14. An Amorphous Carbon Nitride Composite Derived from ZIF-8 as Anode Material for Sodium-Ion Batteries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fan, Jing-Min; Chen, Jia-Jia; Zhang, Qian; Chen, Bin-Bin; Zang, Jun; Zheng, Ming-Sen; Dong, Quan-Feng

    2015-06-08

    An composite comprising amorphous carbon nitride (ACN) and zinc oxide is derived from ZIF-8 by pyrolysis. The composite is a promising anode material for sodium-ion batteries. The nitrogen content of the ACN composite is as high as 20.4 %, and the bonding state of nitrogen is mostly pyridinic, as determined by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The composite exhibits an excellent Na(+) storage performance with a reversible capacity of 430 mA h g(-1) and 146 mA h g(-1) at current densities of 83 mA g(-1) and 8.33 A g(-1) , respectively. A specific capacity of 175 mA h g(-1) was maintained after 2000 cycles at 1.67 A g(-1) , with only 0.016 % capacity degradation per cycle. Moreover, an accelerating rate calorimetry (ARC) test demonstrates the excellent thermal stability of the composite, with a low self heating rate and high onset temperature (210 °C). These results shows its promise as a candidate material for high-capacity, high-rate anodes for sodium-ion batteries. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  15. Structural amorphous steels

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lu, Z.P.; Liu, C.T.; Porter, W.D.; Thompson, J.R.

    2004-01-01

    Recent advancement in bulk metallic glasses, whose properties are usually superior to their crystalline counterparts, has stimulated great interest in fabricating bulk amorphous steels. While a great deal of effort has been devoted to this field, the fabrication of structural amorphous steels with large cross sections has remained an alchemist's dream because of the limited glass-forming ability (GFA) of these materials. Here we report the discovery of structural amorphous steels that can be cast into glasses with large cross-section sizes using conventional drop-casting methods. These new steels showed interesting physical, magnetic, and mechanical properties, along with high thermal stability. The underlying mechanisms for the superior GFA of these materials are discussed

  16. The effect of iron catalyzed graphitization on the textural properties of carbonized cellulose : Magnetically separable graphitic carbon bodies for catalysis and remediation

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hoekstra, Jacco; Beale, Andrew M.; Soulimani, Fouad; Versluijs-Helder, Marjan; Van De Kleut, Dirk; Koelewijn, Jacobus M.; Geus, John W.; Jenneskens, Leonardus W.

    2016-01-01

    Whereas pyrolysis of pristine microcrystalline cellulose spheres yields nonporous amorphous carbon bodies, pyrolysis of microcrystalline cellulose spheres loaded with iron salts leads to the formation of magnetically separable mesoporous graphitic carbon bodies. The microcrystalline cellulose

  17. H2O-induced trigonal-to-tetrahedral transition in boron zeolites

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fois, E.; Gamba, A.; Trudu, F.; Tabacchi, G.

    2008-01-01

    The behaviour of a protonated boron-containing zeolite at intermediate hydration degree has been investigated by means of periodic DFT approaches. Results of a combined room-temperature Car-Parrinello molecular dynamics blue-moon path sampling simulation indicate that, in the line with experimental findings, the BO 3 /Si-OH acid site typical of dry samples is converted to a hydrated H 3 O + hydrogen bonded to tetrahedral BO 4 - at moderate water content (four H 2 O per B site) with an activation free barrier of the order of few k T.

  18. Micro-raman and tip-enhanced raman spectroscopy of carbon allotropes

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hoffmann, G.G.; With, de G.; Loos, J.

    2008-01-01

    Raman spectroscopic data are obtained on various carbon allotropes like diamond, amorphous carbon, graphite, graphene and single wall carbon nanotubes by micro-Raman spectroscopy, tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy and tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy imaging, and the potentials of these techniques for

  19. Calculation of energetic characteristics of 3d-transition metal ion aquacomplexes in tetrahedral and octahedral coordination by broadened Hukkel method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhogolev, D.A.; Bunyatyan, B.Kh.; Yatsimirskij, K.B.

    1975-01-01

    Aquacomplexes formation energies of bi- and trivalent ions of 3d transition metals from Sc to Ni in the tetrahedral and octahedral coordinations have been calculated to compare their energetic advantages. Unlike ions of alkali metals and halogens, a tendency for higher or at least equal energetic effect of the formation of a tetrahedral complex, compared to octahedral, is characteristic of the ions under study. This can be explained by an increase in the covalency degree of the bond ion-ligand and by a considerable charge transfer from ligands to the central ion in the case of transition elements

  20. Characterization of Amorphous and Co-Amorphous Simvastatin Formulations Prepared by Spray Drying

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Goedele Craye

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available In this study, spray drying from aqueous solutions, using the surface-active agent sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS as a solubilizer, was explored as a production method for co-amorphous simvastatin–lysine (SVS-LYS at 1:1 molar mixtures, which previously have been observed to form a co-amorphous mixture upon ball milling. In addition, a spray-dried formulation of SVS without LYS was prepared. Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS revealed that SLS coated the SVS and SVS-LYS particles upon spray drying. X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC showed that in the spray-dried formulations the remaining crystallinity originated from SLS only. The best dissolution properties and a “spring and parachute” effect were found for SVS spray-dried from a 5% SLS solution without LYS. Despite the presence of at least partially crystalline SLS in the mixtures, all the studied formulations were able to significantly extend the stability of amorphous SVS compared to previous co-amorphous formulations of SVS. The best stability (at least 12 months in dry conditions was observed when SLS was spray-dried with SVS (and LYS. In conclusion, spray drying of SVS and LYS from aqueous surfactant solutions was able to produce formulations with improved physical stability for amorphous SVS.

  1. Characterization of Amorphous and Co-Amorphous Simvastatin Formulations Prepared by Spray Drying.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Craye, Goedele; Löbmann, Korbinian; Grohganz, Holger; Rades, Thomas; Laitinen, Riikka

    2015-12-03

    In this study, spray drying from aqueous solutions, using the surface-active agent sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) as a solubilizer, was explored as a production method for co-amorphous simvastatin-lysine (SVS-LYS) at 1:1 molar mixtures, which previously have been observed to form a co-amorphous mixture upon ball milling. In addition, a spray-dried formulation of SVS without LYS was prepared. Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) revealed that SLS coated the SVS and SVS-LYS particles upon spray drying. X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) showed that in the spray-dried formulations the remaining crystallinity originated from SLS only. The best dissolution properties and a "spring and parachute" effect were found for SVS spray-dried from a 5% SLS solution without LYS. Despite the presence of at least partially crystalline SLS in the mixtures, all the studied formulations were able to significantly extend the stability of amorphous SVS compared to previous co-amorphous formulations of SVS. The best stability (at least 12 months in dry conditions) was observed when SLS was spray-dried with SVS (and LYS). In conclusion, spray drying of SVS and LYS from aqueous surfactant solutions was able to produce formulations with improved physical stability for amorphous SVS.

  2. Impact of local symmetry breaking on the physical properties of tetrahedral liquids.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shi, Rui; Tanaka, Hajime

    2018-02-27

    Water and silica are the most important materials with local tetrahedral symmetry. They have similar crystalline polymorphs and exhibit anomalous density maximum in the liquid state. However, water and silica also show very different characteristics. For instance, the density of water varies much more sharply than that of liquid silica near the maximum as temperature changes. More notably, silica is a very good glass-former, but water is an extremely poor one. The physical origins of these similarities and differences still remain elusive, due to the lack of a microscopic understanding of the structural ordering in these two important liquids. Here, by accessing microscopic structural information by computer simulations, we reveal that local translational symmetry breaking is responsible for the density anomalies. On the other hand, the difference in the degree of local orientational symmetry breaking between water and silica, which originates from the difference in their bonding nature, causes not only the difference in the sharpness of density anomalies, but also their distinct glass-forming abilities. Our work not only shows the crucial roles of local translational and orientational symmetry breaking in the physical properties of the two extremely important materials, water and silica, but also provides a unified scenario applicable for other tetrahedral liquids such as Si, Ge, C, BeF 2 , and GeO 2 .

  3. Hydrogen in disordered and amorphous solids

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bambakidis, G; Bowman, R.C.

    1986-01-01

    This book presents information on the following topoics: elements of the theory of amorphous semiconductors; electronic structure of alpha-SiH; fluctuation induced gap states in amorphous hydrogenated silicon; hydrogen on semiconductor surfaces; the influence of hydrogen on the defects and instabilities in hydrogenated amorphous silicon; deuteron magnetic resonance in some amorphous semiconductors; formation of amorphous metals by solid state reactions of hydrogen with an intermetallic compound; NMR studies of the hydrides of disordered and amorphous alloys; neutron vibrational spectroscopy of disordered metal-hydrogen system; dynamical disorder of hydrogen in LaNi /SUB 5-y/ M /SUB y/ hydrides studied by quasi-elastic neutron scattering; recent studies of intermetallic hydrides; tritium in Pd and Pd /SUB 0.80/ Sg /SUB 0.20/ ; and determination of hydrogen concentration in thin films of absorbing materials

  4. Synthesis of hydrogen-carbon clathrate material and hydrogen evolution therefrom at moderate temperatures and pressures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lueking, Angela [State College, PA; Narayanan, Deepa [Redmond, WA

    2011-03-08

    A process for making a hydrogenated carbon material is provided which includes forming a mixture of a carbon source, particularly a carbonaceous material, and a hydrogen source. The mixture is reacted under reaction conditions such that hydrogen is generated and/or released from the hydrogen source, an amorphous diamond-like carbon is formed, and at least a portion of the generated and/or released hydrogen associates with the amorphous diamond-like carbon, thereby forming a hydrogenated carbon material. A hydrogenated carbon material including a hydrogen carbon clathrate is characterized by evolution of molecular hydrogen at room temperature at atmospheric pressure in particular embodiments of methods and compositions according to the present invention.

  5. Formation of carbon quantum dots and nanodiamonds in laser ablation of a carbon film

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sidorov, A. I.; Lebedev, V. F.; Kobranova, A. A.; Nashchekin, A. V.

    2018-01-01

    We have experimentally shown that nanosecond near-IR pulsed laser ablation of a thin amorphous carbon film produces carbon quantum dots with a graphite structure and nanodiamonds with a characteristic size of 20 - 500 nm on the substrate surface. The formation of these nanostructures is confirmed by electron microscopic images, luminescence spectra and Raman spectra. The mechanisms explaining the observed effects are proposed.

  6. Fundamentals of amorphous solids structure and properties

    CERN Document Server

    Stachurski, Zbigniew H

    2014-01-01

    Long awaited, this textbook fills the gap for convincing concepts to describe amorphous solids. Adopting a unique approach, the author develops a framework that lays the foundations for a theory of amorphousness. He unravels the scientific mysteries surrounding the topic, replacing rather vague notions of amorphous materials as disordered crystalline solids with the well-founded concept of ideal amorphous solids. A classification of amorphous materials into inorganic glasses, organic glasses, glassy metallic alloys, and thin films sets the scene for the development of the model of ideal amorph

  7. Physics of amorphous metals

    CERN Document Server

    Kovalenko, Nikolai P; Krey, Uwe

    2008-01-01

    The discovery of bulk metallic glasses has led to a large increase in the industrial importance of amorphous metals, and this is expected to continue. This book is the first to describe the theoretical physics of amorphous metals, including the important theoretical development of the last 20 years.The renowned authors stress the universal aspects in their description of the phonon or magnon low-energy excitations in the amorphous metals, e.g. concerning the remarkable consequences of the properties of these excitations for the thermodynamics at low and intermediate temperatures. Tunneling

  8. Amorphous surface layer versus transient amorphous precursor phase in bone - A case study investigated by solid-state NMR spectroscopy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Von Euw, Stanislas; Ajili, Widad; Chan-Chang, Tsou-Hsi-Camille; Delices, Annette; Laurent, Guillaume; Babonneau, Florence; Nassif, Nadine; Azaïs, Thierry

    2017-09-01

    The presence of an amorphous surface layer that coats a crystalline core has been proposed for many biominerals, including bone mineral. In parallel, transient amorphous precursor phases have been proposed in various biomineralization processes, including bone biomineralization. Here we propose a methodology to investigate the origin of these amorphous environments taking the bone tissue as a key example. This study relies on the investigation of a bone tissue sample and its comparison with synthetic calcium phosphate samples, including a stoichiometric apatite, an amorphous calcium phosphate sample, and two different biomimetic apatites. To reveal if the amorphous environments in bone originate from an amorphous surface layer or a transient amorphous precursor phase, a combined solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) experiment has been used. The latter consists of a double cross polarization 1 H→ 31 P→ 1 H pulse sequence followed by a 1 H magnetization exchange pulse sequence. The presence of an amorphous surface layer has been investigated through the study of the biomimetic apatites; while the presence of a transient amorphous precursor phase in the form of amorphous calcium phosphate particles has been mimicked with the help of a physical mixture of stoichiometric apatite and amorphous calcium phosphate. The NMR results show that the amorphous and the crystalline environments detected in our bone tissue sample belong to the same particle. The presence of an amorphous surface layer that coats the apatitic core of bone apatite particles has been unambiguously confirmed, and it is certain that this amorphous surface layer has strong implication on bone tissue biogenesis and regeneration. Questions still persist on the structural organization of bone and biomimetic apatites. The existing model proposes a core/shell structure, with an amorphous surface layer coating a crystalline bulk. The accuracy of this model is still debated because amorphous calcium

  9. Amorphous nanoparticles — Experiments and computer simulations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hoang, Vo Van; Ganguli, Dibyendu

    2012-01-01

    The data obtained by both experiments and computer simulations concerning the amorphous nanoparticles for decades including methods of synthesis, characterization, structural properties, atomic mechanism of a glass formation in nanoparticles, crystallization of the amorphous nanoparticles, physico-chemical properties (i.e. catalytic, optical, thermodynamic, magnetic, bioactivity and other properties) and various applications in science and technology have been reviewed. Amorphous nanoparticles coated with different surfactants are also reviewed as an extension in this direction. Much attention is paid to the pressure-induced polyamorphism of the amorphous nanoparticles or amorphization of the nanocrystalline counterparts. We also introduce here nanocomposites and nanofluids containing amorphous nanoparticles. Overall, amorphous nanoparticles exhibit a disordered structure different from that of corresponding bulks or from that of the nanocrystalline counterparts. Therefore, amorphous nanoparticles can have unique physico-chemical properties differed from those of the crystalline counterparts leading to their potential applications in science and technology.

  10. Research Progress on Fe-based Amorphous Coatings

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    LIANG Xiu-bing

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available The latest research progresses on Fe-based amorphous coatings were reviewed. The typical alloy system and the classification of Fe-based amorphous coatings were clarified. The status, progress and development of the Fe-based amorphous coatings prepared by thermal spray processing and laser cladding process were discussed. The main mechanical properties and potential applications of the Fe-based amorphous coatings were also described. Furthermore, based on the main problems mentioned above, the future development of the Fe-based amorphous coatings was discussed, including the exploitation preparation technologies of high amorphous content of the Fe-based coatings, the development of the low cost and high performance Fe-based coating alloys system, the broadening application of Fe-based amorphous coatings, and so on.

  11. Amorphous drugs and dosage forms

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Grohganz, Holger; Löbmann, K.; Priemel, P.

    2013-01-01

    The transformation to an amorphous form is one of the most promising approaches to address the low solubility of drug compounds, the latter being an increasing challenge in the development of new drug candidates. However, amorphous forms are high energy solids and tend to recry stallize. New...... formulation principles are needed to ensure the stability of amorphous drug forms. The formation of solid dispersions is still the most investigated approach, but additional approaches are desirable to overcome the shortcomings of solid dispersions. Spatial separation by either coating or the use of micro-containers...... before single molecules are available for the formation of crystal nuclei, thus stabilizing the amorphous form....

  12. Finite-element design and optimization of a three-dimensional tetrahedral porous titanium scaffold for the reconstruction of mandibular defects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luo, Danmei; Rong, Qiguo; Chen, Quan

    2017-09-01

    Reconstruction of segmental defects in the mandible remains a challenge for maxillofacial surgery. The use of porous scaffolds is a potential method for repairing these defects. Now, additive manufacturing techniques provide a solution for the fabrication of porous scaffolds with specific geometrical shapes and complex structures. The goal of this study was to design and optimize a three-dimensional tetrahedral titanium scaffold for the reconstruction of mandibular defects. With a fixed strut diameter of 0.45mm and a mean cell size of 2.2mm, a tetrahedral structural porous scaffold was designed for a simulated anatomical defect derived from computed tomography (CT) data of a human mandible. An optimization method based on the concept of uniform stress was performed on the initial scaffold to realize a minimal-weight design. Geometric and mechanical comparisons between the initial and optimized scaffold show that the optimized scaffold exhibits a larger porosity, 81.90%, as well as a more homogeneous stress distribution. These results demonstrate that tetrahedral structural titanium scaffolds are feasible structures for repairing mandibular defects, and that the proposed optimization scheme has the ability to produce superior scaffolds for mandibular reconstruction with better stability, higher porosity, and less weight. Copyright © 2017 IPEM. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Equipment for lustrous carbon determination

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. Witowski

    2008-07-01

    Full Text Available In this paper methods of determination of total pyrolytic carbon and its fraction: lustrous and amorphous carbon was shown. They are used in foundry industry as carbonaceous materials, i.e. in coal dust replacements and moulding sands. The principle of model analyser working, which uses NDIR module detection, and example results of such analysis were also presented.

  14. Magnetic Grüneisen parameter and magnetocaloric properties of a coupled spin–electron double-tetrahedral chain

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gálisová, Lucia; Strečka, Jozef

    2015-01-01

    Magnetocaloric effect in a double-tetrahedral chain, in which nodal lattice sites occupied by the localized Ising spins regularly alternate with three equivalent lattice sites available for mobile electrons, is exactly investigated by considering the one-third electron filling and the ferromagnetic Ising exchange interaction between the mobile electrons and their nearest Ising neighbours. The entropy and the magnetic Grüneisen parameter, which closely relate to the magnetocaloric effect, are exactly calculated in order to investigate the relation between the ground-state degeneracy and the cooling efficiency of the hybrid spin–electron system during the adiabatic demagnetization. - Highlights: • A double-tetrahedral chain of mobile electrons and localized Ising spins is studied. • Magnetic Grüneisen parameter for the system is exactly derived. • Macroscopically degenerate phases FRU and FM constitute the ground state. • MCE is three times higher nearby FRU–FM transition than in FRU phase at small fields

  15. Novel Solid Encapsulation of Ethylene Gas Using Amorphous α-Cyclodextrin and the Release Characteristics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ho, Binh T; Bhandari, Bhesh R

    2016-05-04

    This research investigated the encapsulation of ethylene gas into amorphous α-cyclodextrins (α-CDs) at low (LM) and high (HM) moisture contents at 1.0-1.5 MPa for 24-120 h and its controlled release characteristics at 11.2-52.9% relative humidity (RH) for 1-168 h. The inclusion complexes (ICs) were characterized using X-ray diffractometry (XRD), nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (CP-MAS (13)C NMR), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Ethylene concentrations in the ICs were from 0.45 to 0.87 mol of ethylene/mol CD and from 0.42 to 0.54 mol of ethylene/mol CD for LM and HM α-CDs, respectively. Ethylene gas released from the encapsulated powder at higher rates with increasing RH. An analysis of release kinetics using Avrami's equation showed that the LM and HM amorphous α-CDs were not associated with significant differences in release constant k and parameter n for any given RH condition. NMR spectra showed the presence of the characteristic carbon-carbon double bond of ethylene gas in the encapsulated α-CD powder.

  16. A novel tribological study on DLC-coated micro-dimpled orthopedics implant interface.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Choudhury, Dipankar; Urban, Filip; Vrbka, Martin; Hartl, Martin; Krupka, Ivan

    2015-05-01

    This study investigates a tribological performance of diamond like carbon (DLC) coated micro dimpled prosthesis heads against ceramic cups in a novel pendulum hip joint simulator. The simulator enables determining friction coefficient and viscous effects of a concave shaped specimen interface (conformal contact). Two types of DLC such as hydrogenated amorphous carbon (a-C:H) and tetrahedral amorphous carbon (Ta-C) and one set of micro dimple (diameter of 300µm, depth of 70µm, and pitch of 900µm) were fabricated on metallic prosthesis heads. The experiment results reveal a significant friction coefficient reduction to the 'dimpled a-C:H/ceramic' prosthesis compared to a 'Metal (CoCr)/ceramic' prosthesis because of their improved material and surface properties and viscous effect. The post-experiment surface analysis displays that the dimpled a-C:H yielded a minor change in the surface roughness, and generated a larger sizes of wear debris (40-200nm sized, equivalent diameter), a size which could be certainly stored in the dimple, thus likely to reducing their possible third body abrasive wear rate. Thus, dimpled a:C-H can be used as a 'metal on ceramic hip joint interface', whereas the simulator can be utilized as an advanced bio-tribometer. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Structure and gas-barrier properties of amorphous hydrogenated carbon films deposited on inner walls of cylindrical polyethylene terephthalate by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li Jing; Gong Chunzhi; Tian Xiubo; Yang Shiqin; Fu, Ricky K.Y.; Chu, Paul K.

    2009-01-01

    The influence of radio-frequency (RF) power on the structure and gas permeation through amorphous hydrogenated carbon films deposited on cylindrical polyethylene terephthalate (PET) samples is investigated. The results show that a higher radio-frequency power leads to a smaller sp 3 /sp 2 value but produces fewer defects with smaller size. The permeability of PET samples decreases significantly after a-C:H deposition and the RF only exerts a small influence. However, the coating uniformity, color, and wettability of the surface are affected by the RF power. A higher RF power results in to better uniformity and it may be attributed to the combination of the high-density plasma and sample heating.

  18. Gas barrier properties of hydrogenated amorphous carbon films coated on polyethylene terephthalate by plasma polymerization in argon/n-hexane gas mixture

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Polonskyi, Oleksandr; Kylián, Ondřej, E-mail: ondrej.kylian@gmail.com; Petr, Martin; Choukourov, Andrei; Hanuš, Jan; Biederman, Hynek

    2013-07-01

    Hydrogenated amorphous carbon thin films were deposited by RF plasma polymerization in argon/n-hexane gas mixture on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) foils. It was found that such deposited films may significantly improve the barrier properties of PET. It was demonstrated that the principal parameter that influences barrier properties of such deposited films towards oxygen and water vapor is the density of the coatings. Moreover, it was shown that for achieving good barrier properties it is advantageous to deposit coatings with very low thickness. According to the presented results, optimal thickness of the coating should not be higher than several tens of nm. - Highlights: • a-C:H films were prepared by plasma polymerization in Ar/n-hexane atmosphere. • Barrier properties of coatings are dependent on their density and thickness. • Highest barrier properties were observed for films with thickness 15 nm.

  19. Influence of krypton atoms on the structure of hydrogenated amorphous carbon deposited by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oliveira, M. H.; Viana, G. A.; de Lima, M. M.; Cros, A.; Cantarero, A.; Marques, F. C.

    2010-12-01

    Hydrogenated amorphous carbon (a-C:H) films were prepared by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition using methane (CH4) plus krypton (Kr) mixed atmosphere. The depositions were performed as function of the bias voltage and krypton partial pressure. The goal of this work was to study the influence of krypton gas on the physical properties of a-C:H films deposited on the cathode electrode. Krypton concentration up to 1.6 at. %, determined by Rutherford Back-Scattering, was obtained at high Kr partial pressure and bias of -120 V. The structure of the films was analyzed by means of optical transmission spectroscopy, multi-wavelength Raman scattering and Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy. It was verified that the structure of the films remains unchanged up to a concentration of Kr of about 1.0 at. %. A slight graphitization of the films occurs for higher concentration. The observed variation in the film structure, optical band gap, stress, and hydrogen concentration were associated mainly with the subplantation process of hydrocarbons radicals, rather than the krypton ion energy.

  20. Influence of krypton atoms on the structure of hydrogenated amorphous carbon deposited by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oliveira, M. H. Jr.; Viana, G. A.; Marques, F. C.; Lima, M. M. Jr. de; Cros, A.; Cantarero, A.

    2010-01-01

    Hydrogenated amorphous carbon (a-C:H) films were prepared by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition using methane (CH 4 ) plus krypton (Kr) mixed atmosphere. The depositions were performed as function of the bias voltage and krypton partial pressure. The goal of this work was to study the influence of krypton gas on the physical properties of a-C:H films deposited on the cathode electrode. Krypton concentration up to 1.6 at. %, determined by Rutherford Back-Scattering, was obtained at high Kr partial pressure and bias of -120 V. The structure of the films was analyzed by means of optical transmission spectroscopy, multi-wavelength Raman scattering and Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy. It was verified that the structure of the films remains unchanged up to a concentration of Kr of about 1.0 at. %. A slight graphitization of the films occurs for higher concentration. The observed variation in the film structure, optical band gap, stress, and hydrogen concentration were associated mainly with the subplantation process of hydrocarbons radicals, rather than the krypton ion energy.

  1. Amorphization of ceramics by ion beams

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McHargue, C.J.; Farlow, G.C.; White, C.W.; Williams, J.M.; Appleton, B.R.; Naramoto, H.

    1984-01-01

    The influence of the implantation parameters fluence, substrate temperature, and chemical species on the formation of amorphous phases in Al 2 O 3 and α-SiC was studied. At 300 0 K, fluences in excess of 10 17 ions.cm -2 were generally required to amorphize Al 2 O 3 ; however, implantation of zirconium formed the amorphous phase at a fluence of 4 x 10 16 Zr.cm -2 . At 77 0 K, the threshold fluence was lowered to about 2 x 10 15 Cr.cm -2 . Single crystals of α-SiC were amorphized at 300 0 K by a fluence of 2 x 10 14 Cr.cm -2 or 1 x 10 15 N.cm -2 . Implantation at 1023 0 K did not produce the amorphous phase in SiC. The micro-indentation hardness of the amorphous material was about 60% of that of the crystalline counterpart

  2. Tetrahedral 1B4Sb nanoclusters in GaP:(B, Sb)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Elyukhin, V A, E-mail: elyukhin@cinvestav.m [Departamento de Ingenieria Electrica-SEES, CINVESTAV-IPN, Avenida IPN 2508, Col. San Pedro Zacatenco, C. P. 07360, Mexico, D. F. (Mexico)

    2009-05-01

    Self-assembling conditions of 1B4Sb tetrahedral nanoclusters in GaP doped with boron and Sb isoelectronic impurities are represented in the ultradilute and dilute limits of the boron and Sb contents, respectively. The fulfilled estimates demonstrated the preferential complete or almost complete allocation of boron atoms in 1B4Sb nanoclusters at temperatures of 500 {sup 0}C and 900 {sup 0}C, respectively. The significant decrease of the sum of the free energies of the constituent compounds is the main origin of self-assembling. The reduction of the strain energy is the additional cause of this phenomenon.

  3. Amorphization within the tablet

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Doreth, Maria; Hussein, Murtadha Abdul; Priemel, Petra A.

    2017-01-01

    , the feasibility of microwave irradiation to prepare amorphous solid dispersions (glass solutions) in situ was investigated. Indomethacin (IND) and polyvinylpyrrolidone K12 (PVP) were tableted at a 1:2 (w/w) ratio. In order to study the influence of moisture content and energy input on the degree of amorphization......, tablet formulations were stored at different relative humidity (32, 43 and 54% RH) and subsequently microwaved using nine different power-time combinations up to a maximum energy input of 90 kJ. XRPD results showed that up to 80% (w/w) of IND could be amorphized within the tablet. mDSC measurements...

  4. Crystalline to amorphous transformation in silicon

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cheruvu, S.M.

    1982-09-01

    In the present investigation, an attempt was made to understand the fundamental mechanism of crystalline-to-amorphous transformation in arsenic implanted silicon using high resolution electron microscopy. A comparison of the gradual disappearance of simulated lattice fringes with increasing Frenkel pair concentration with the experimental observation of sharp interfaces between crystalline and amorphous regions was carried out leading to the conclusion that when the defect concentration reaches a critical value, the crystal does relax to an amorphous state. Optical diffraction experiments using atomic models also supported this hypothesis. Both crystalline and amorphous zones were found to co-exist with sharp interfaces at the atomic level. Growth of the amorphous fraction depends on the temperature, dose rate and the mass of the implanted ion. Preliminary results of high energy electron irradiation experiments at 1.2 MeV also suggested that clustering of point defects occurs near room temperature. An observation in a high resolution image of a small amorphous zone centered at the core of a dislocation is presented as evidence that the nucleation of an amorphous phase is heterogeneous in nature involving clustering or segregation of point defects near existing defects

  5. Amorphous titanium-oxide supercapacitors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fukuhara, Mikio; Kuroda, Tomoyuki; Hasegawa, Fumihiko

    2016-10-01

    The electric capacitance of an amorphous TiO2-x surface increases proportionally to the negative sixth power of the convex diameter d. This occurs because of the van der Waals attraction on the amorphous surface of up to 7 mF/cm2, accompanied by extreme enhanced electron trapping resulting from both the quantum-size effect and an offset effect from positive charges at oxygen-vacancy sites. Here we show that a supercapacitor, constructed with a distributed constant-equipment circuit of large resistance and small capacitance on the amorphous TiO2-x surface, illuminated a red LED for 37 ms after it was charged with 1 mA at 10 V. The fabricated device showed no dielectric breakdown up to 1,100 V. Based on this approach, further advances in the development of amorphous titanium-dioxide supercapacitors might be attained by integrating oxide ribbons with a micro-electro mechanical system.

  6. 3He/4He production ratios by tetrahedral symmetric condensation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Takahashi, Akito

    2006-01-01

    The present paper treats application of the Electronic Quasi-Particle Expansion Theory (EQPET) model for Tetrahedral Symmetric Condensate (TSC) of H/D mixed systems for Pd host metal. Production ratios of 3 He/ 4 He for multi-body fusion reactions in H/D mixed TSC systems are calculated as a function of H/D mixing ratio. The model is further extended to treat direct nuclear interactions between host-metal nucleus and TSC of pure four protons (or four deuterons), since TSC can become very small (far less than 1 pm radius) charge-neutral pseudo-particle. Results for the case of Ni + 4p/TSC are discussed with Ni + p capture reactions and Ni + 4p fission reactions. (authors)

  7. Amorphous metallic alloys for oxygen reduction reaction in a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gonzalez-Huerta, R.; Guerra-Martinez, I.; Lopez, J.S. [Inst. Politecnico Nacional, ESIQIE, Mexico City (Mexico). Lab. de Electroquimica; Pierna, A.R. [Basque Country Univ., San Sebastian (Spain). Dept. of Chemical Engineering and Environment; Solorza-Feria, O. [Inst. Politenico Nacional, Centro de Investigacion y de Estudios Avanzados, Mexico City (Mexico). Dept. de Quimica

    2010-07-15

    Direct methanol fuel cells (DMFC) and polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFC) represent an important, environmentally clean energy source. This has motivated extensive research on the synthesis, characterization and evaluation of novel and stable oxygen reduction electrocatalysts for the direct four-electron transfer process to water formation. Studies have shown that amorphous alloyed compounds can be used as electrode materials in electrochemical energy conversion devices. Their use in PEMFCs can optimize the electrocatalyst loading in the membrane electrode assembly (MEA). In this study, amorphous metallic PtSn, PtRu and PtRuSn alloys were synthesized by mechanical milling and used as cathodes for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in sulphuric acid and in a single PEM fuel cell. Two different powder morphologies were observed before and after the chemical activation in a hydrofluoric acid (HF) solution at 25 degrees C. The kinetics of the ORR on the amorphous catalysts were investigated. The study showed that the amorphous metallic PtSn electrocatalyst was the most active of the 3 electrodes for the cathodic reaction. Fuel cell experiments were conducted at various temperatures at 30 psi for hydrogen (H{sub 2}) and at 34 psi for oxygen (O{sub 2}). MEAs made of Nafion 115 and amorphous metallic PtSn dispersed on carbon powder in a PEMFC had a power density of 156 mW per cm{sup 2} at 0.43V and 80 degrees C. 12 refs., 1 tab., 5 figs.

  8. Enhancement of sp3 hybridized C in amorphous carbon films by Ar ion bombardment and Si incorporation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jung, Hae-Suk; Park, Hyung-Ho; Mendieta, I.R.; Smith, D.A.

    2003-01-01

    We report an effective method of increasing the sp 3 hybridization fraction in sputtered amorphous carbon (a-C) film by the combination of Ar ion bombardment and Si incorporation. In the deposition of an a-C film, Ar ion bombardment by controlling the applied bias voltage plays a role in creating high stress in film and causes the local bonding configuration to change to a sp 3 hybridized bond. Simultaneously, the incorporated Si in an a-C network breaks the sp 2 hybridized bonded ring and promotes the formation of a sp 3 hybridized bond. This enhancement of the sp 3 hybridized bonding characteristic is maximized for an a-C film with 23 at. % of Si and 100-150 V of applied bias voltage. In this region, the increase of resistivity, optical band gap, and mechanical hardness of a-C is attributed to the reduction of the sp 2 hybridized bonded ring and increased fraction of the sp 3 hybridized bond. However, at a higher bias voltage above 150 V, the enhancement effect is reduced due to the resputtering and thermally activated reconversion of a sp 3 to a sp 2 hybridized bond

  9. Amorphous silicon based particle detectors

    OpenAIRE

    Wyrsch, N.; Franco, A.; Riesen, Y.; Despeisse, M.; Dunand, S.; Powolny, F.; Jarron, P.; Ballif, C.

    2012-01-01

    Radiation hard monolithic particle sensors can be fabricated by a vertical integration of amorphous silicon particle sensors on top of CMOS readout chip. Two types of such particle sensors are presented here using either thick diodes or microchannel plates. The first type based on amorphous silicon diodes exhibits high spatial resolution due to the short lateral carrier collection. Combination of an amorphous silicon thick diode with microstrip detector geometries permits to achieve micromete...

  10. Re-crystallization of ITO films after carbon irradiation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Usman, Muhammad, E-mail: usmanm@ncp.edu.pk [Experimental Physics Laboratories, National Centre for Physics, Shahdara Valley Road, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad (Pakistan); Khan, Shahid, E-mail: shahidkhan@zju.edu.cn [State Key Laboratory of Silicon Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027 (China); Khan, Majid [Department of Physics, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad (Pakistan); Abbas, Turab Ali [Experimental Physics Laboratories, National Centre for Physics, Shahdara Valley Road, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad (Pakistan)

    2017-01-15

    Highlights: • Carbon irradiation on ITO destroys crystal structure until threshold ion fluence. • Carbon irradiation induced amorphization in ITO is recoverable at higher fluence. • Optical transmittance is reduced after carbon irradiation. • Electrical resistivity is increased after irradiation with carbon ions in ITO. • Bandgap is reduced with increasing fluence of carbon irradiation. - Abstract: 2.0 MeV carbon ion irradiation effects on Indium Tin Oxide (ITO) thin films on glass substrate are investigated. The films are irradiated with carbon ions in the fluence range of 1 × 10{sup 13} to 1 × 10{sup 15} ions/cm{sup 2}. The irradiation induced effects in ITO are compared before and after ion bombardment by systematic study of structural, optical and electrical properties of the films. The XRD results show polycrystalline nature of un-irradiated ITO films which turns to amorphous state after 1 × 10{sup 13} ions/cm{sup 2} fluence of carbon ions. Further increase in ion fluence to 1 × 10{sup 14} ions/cm{sup 2} re-crystallizes the structure and retains for even higher fluences. A gradual decrease in the electrical conductivity and transmittance of irradiated samples is observed with increasing ion fluence. The band gap of the films is observed to be decreased after carbon irradiation.

  11. Re-crystallization of ITO films after carbon irradiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Usman, Muhammad; Khan, Shahid; Khan, Majid; Abbas, Turab Ali

    2017-01-01

    Highlights: • Carbon irradiation on ITO destroys crystal structure until threshold ion fluence. • Carbon irradiation induced amorphization in ITO is recoverable at higher fluence. • Optical transmittance is reduced after carbon irradiation. • Electrical resistivity is increased after irradiation with carbon ions in ITO. • Bandgap is reduced with increasing fluence of carbon irradiation. - Abstract: 2.0 MeV carbon ion irradiation effects on Indium Tin Oxide (ITO) thin films on glass substrate are investigated. The films are irradiated with carbon ions in the fluence range of 1 × 10"1"3 to 1 × 10"1"5 ions/cm"2. The irradiation induced effects in ITO are compared before and after ion bombardment by systematic study of structural, optical and electrical properties of the films. The XRD results show polycrystalline nature of un-irradiated ITO films which turns to amorphous state after 1 × 10"1"3 ions/cm"2 fluence of carbon ions. Further increase in ion fluence to 1 × 10"1"4 ions/cm"2 re-crystallizes the structure and retains for even higher fluences. A gradual decrease in the electrical conductivity and transmittance of irradiated samples is observed with increasing ion fluence. The band gap of the films is observed to be decreased after carbon irradiation.

  12. A spin-frustrated cobalt(II) carbonate pyrochlore network.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zheng, Yanzhen; Ellern, Arkady; Kögerler, Paul

    2011-11-01

    The crystal structure of the cobalt(II) carbonate-based compound cobalt(II) dicarbonate trisodium chloride, Co(CO(3))(2)Na(3)Cl, grown from a water-ethanol mixture, exhibits a three-dimensional network of corner-sharing {Co(4)(μ(3)-CO(3))(4)} tetrahedral building blocks, in which the Co(II) centres define a pyrochlore lattice and reside in a slightly distorted octahedral Co(O-CO(2))(6) environment. The space outside the hexagonal framework defined by these interlinked groups is occupied by Na(+) and Cl(-) ions. Antiferromagnetic coupling between adjacent Co(II) centres, mediated by carbonate bridges, results in geometric spin frustration which is typical for pyrochlore networks. The Co and Cl atoms reside on the special position 3, one Na atom on position 2 and a carbonate C atom on position 3.

  13. Direct and inverse Staebler-Wronski effects observed in carbon-doped hydrogenated amorphous silicon photo-detectors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Arce, P.; Barcala, J.M.; Calvo, E.; Ferrando, A.; Josa, M.I.; Molinero, A.; Navarrete, J.; Oller, J.C.; Yuste, C.; Brochero, J.; Calderon, A.; Fernandez, M.G.; Gomez, G.; Gonzalez-Sanchez, F.J.; Martinez-Rivero, C.; Matorras, F.; Rodrigo, T.; Ruiz-Arbol, P.; Scodellaro, L.; Sobron, M.

    2011-01-01

    The photo-response behaviour of Amorphous Silicon Position Detectors (ASPDs) under prolonged illumination with a 681 nm diode-laser and a 633 nm He-Ne laser is presented. Both direct and inverse Staebler-Wronski effects are observed.

  14. A three-dimensional tetrahedral-shaped conjugated small molecule for organic solar cells

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    QIN Yang

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available We report the synthesis of a novel three-dimensional tetrahedral-shaped small molecule,SO,containing a tetraphenylsilane core and cyanoester functionalized terthiophene arms.A deep lying HOMO energy level of -5.3 eV and a narrow bandgap of 1.9 eV were obtained from cyclic voltammetry measurements.Absorption,X-ray scattering and differential scanning calorimetry experiments all indicate high crystallinity of this compound.Solar cells employing SO were fabricated and evaluated.The relatively low performance was mainly ascribed to lack of appreciable phase separation,which is confirmed by optical microscopy.

  15. Surface and corrosion characteristics of carbon plasma implanted and deposited nickel-titanium alloy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Poon, R.W.Y.; Liu, X.Y.; Chung, C.Y.; Chu, P.K.; Yeung, K.W.K.; Lu, W.W.; Cheung, K.M.C.

    2005-01-01

    Nickel-titanium shape memory alloys (NiTi) are potentially useful in orthopedic implants on account of their super-elastic and shape memory properties. However, the materials are prone to surface corrosion and the most common problem is out-diffusion of harmful Ni ions from the substrate into body tissues and fluids. In order to improve the corrosion resistance and related surface properties, we used the technique of plasma immersion ion implantation and deposition to deposit an amorphous hydrogenated carbon coating onto NiTi and implant carbon into NiTi. Both the deposited amorphous carbon film and carbon plasma implanted samples exhibit much improved corrosion resistances and surface mechanical properties and possible mechanisms are suggested

  16. Self-organized formation of metal-carbon nanostructures by hyperthermal ion deposition

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hannstein, I.K.

    2006-04-26

    The quasi-simultaneous deposition of mass-selected hyperthermal carbon and metal ions results in a variety of interesting film morphologies, depending on the metal used and the deposition conditions. The observed features are of the order of a few nanometres and are therefore interesting for future potential applications in the various fields of nanotechnology. The present study focuses on the structural analysis of amorphous carbon films containing either copper, silver, gold, or iron using amongst others Rutherford Backscattering Spectroscopy, High Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy, and Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy. The film morphologies found are as follows: copper-containing films consist of copper nanoclusters with sizes ranging from about 3 to 9 nm uniformly distributed throughout the amorphous carbon matrix. The cluster size hereby rises with the copper content of the films. The silver containing films decompose into a pure amorphous carbon film with silver agglomerates at the surface. Both, the gold- and the iron-containing films show a multilayer structure of metal-rich layers with higher cluster density separated by metal-depleted amorphous carbon layers. The layer distances are of the order of up to 15 nm in the case of gold-carbon films and 7 nm in the case of iron-carbon films. The formation of theses different structures cannot be treated in the context of conventional self-organization mechanisms basing upon thermal diffusion and equilibrium thermodynamics. Instead, an ion-induced atomic transport, sputtering effects, and the stability of small metal clusters were taken into account in order to model the structure formation processes. A similar multilayer morphology was recently also reported in the literature for metal-carbon films grown by magnetron sputtering techniques. In order to investigate, whether the mechanisms are the same as in the case of the ion beam deposited films described above, first experiments were conducted

  17. Recent advances in co-amorphous drug formulations

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dengale, Swapnil Jayant; Grohganz, Holger; Rades, Thomas

    2016-01-01

    with other amorphous stabilization techniques. Because of this, several research groups started to investigate the co-amorphous formulation approach, resulting in an increasing amount of scientific publications over the last few years. This study provides an overview of the co-amorphous field and its recent......Co-amorphous drug delivery systems have recently gained considerable interest in the pharmaceutical field because of their potential to improve oral bioavailability of poorly water-soluble drugs through drug dissolution enhancement as a result of the amorphous nature of the material. A co...... findings. In particular, we investigate co-amorphous formulations from the viewpoint of solid dispersions, describe their formation and mechanism of stabilization, study their impact on dissolution and in vivo performance and briefly outline the future potentials....

  18. Studies of hydrogen incorporation in hydrogenated amorphous carbon films by infrared absorption spectroscopy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Alameh, R.; Bounouh, Y.; Sadki, A.; Naud, C.; Theye, M.L.

    1997-01-01

    Author.Hydrogenated amorphous carbon (a-C:H) films presently attract considerable interest because of their potential applications in the domain of multifunctional coatings: transparent in the infrared, very hard, chemically inert, etc...This material is rather complex since it contains C atoms in both sp 3 (diamond) and sp 2 (graphite) electronic configurations, as well as a large concentration of H atoms. Its properties are strongly dependent on the deposition conditions which determine the film microstructure, i.e. the relative proportions of sp 3 and sp 2 C sites, their connection in the network and the hydrogen bonding modes. It has been suggested that the sp 2 C sites tend to cluster into unsaturated chains ans rings, which are then embedded in the sp 3 C sites m atrix . Hydrogen incorporation plays a crucial role in this intrinsic microheterogeneity, which determines the electronic properties, and especially the gap value, of a-C:H. We here present and discuss the results of Fourrier transform infrared absorption spectroscopy measurements performed on a-C:H films prepared under different conditions and submitted to controlled annealing cycles, which exhibit quite different optical gap values (from 1 to 2.5 eV). We carefully analyze the absorption bands detected in the 400-7500 cm -1 spectral range in terms of the vibration modes of C-H and C-C bonds in different local environments and we interpret the results in relation with the film microstructure and optical properties. Special attention is also paid to the absorption background and to the variations of the whole absorption spectra with measurement temperature

  19. Tribological properties, corrosion resistance and biocompatibility of magnetron sputtered titanium-amorphous carbon coatings

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dhandapani, Vishnu Shankar; Subbiah, Ramesh; Thangavel, Elangovan; Arumugam, Madhankumar; Park, Kwideok; Gasem, Zuhair M.; Veeraragavan, Veeravazhuthi; Kim, Dae-Eun

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • a-C:Ti nanocomposite coatings were prepared on 316L stainless steel by using R.F. magnetron sputtering method. • Properties of the nanocomposite coatings were analyzed with respect to titanium content. • Corrosion resistance, biocompatibility and hydrophobicity of nanocomposite coating were enhanced with increasing titanium content. • Coating with 2.33 at.% titanium showed superior tribological properties compared to other coatings. - Abstract: Amorphous carbon incorporated with titanium (a-C:Ti) was coated on 316L stainless steel (SS) by magnetron sputtering technique to attain superior tribological properties, corrosion resistance and biocompatibility. The morphology, topography and functional groups of the nanostructured a-C:Ti coatings in various concentrations were analyzed using atomic force microscopy (AFM), Raman, X-Ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Raman and XPS analyses confirmed the increase in sp"2 bonds with increasing titanium content in the a-C matrix. TEM analysis confirmed the composite nature of the coating and the presence of nanostructured TiC for Ti content of 2.33 at.%. This coating showed superior tribological properties compared to the other a-C:Ti coatings. Furthermore, electrochemical corrosion studies were performed against stimulated body fluid medium in which all the a-C:Ti coatings showed improved corrosion resistance than the pure a-C coating. Preosteoblasts proliferation and viability on the specimens were tested and the results showed that a-C:Ti coatings with relatively high Ti (3.77 at.%) content had better biocompatibility. Based on the results of this work, highly durable coatings with good biocompatibility could be achieved by incorporation of optimum amount of Ti in a-C coatings deposited on SS by magnetron sputtering technique.

  20. Characterization of amorphous silica obtained from KMnO/sub 4/ treated rice husk

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Javed, S.H.; Naveed, S.; Ramzan, N.

    2010-01-01

    Rice husk (RH) is available in large quantities in many rice producing areas of Pakistan. The use of rice husk as a fuel in heat generating systems adds to environmental pollution. Rice husk contains approximately 20 % silica which exists in hydrated form. This silica can be retrieved as amorphous silica under proper oxidizing conditions. In present study rice husk was treated with various dosages of potassium permanganate before subjecting to thermal treatment. Potassium permanganate acts as oxidizing agent during combustion process. Various ash samples were prepared by varying the potassium permanganate concentrations and the burning temperatures over long periods. Ash produced was characterized by XRD, FTIR and other analytical methods. It has been observed that low dosages of KMnO/sub 4/ favors the formation of amorphous silica along with low carbon contents. (author)

  1. Controllable Fabrication of Amorphous Co-Ni Pyrophosphates for Tuning Electrochemical Performance in Supercapacitors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Chen; Zhang, Ning; He, Yulu; Liang, Bo; Ma, Renzhi; Liu, Xiaohe

    2016-09-07

    Incorporation of two transition metals offers an effective method to enhance the electrochemical performance in supercapacitors for transition metal compound based electrodes. However, such a configuration is seldom concerned in pyrophosphates. Here, amorphous phase Co-Ni pyrophosphates are fabricated as electrodes in supercapacitors. Through controllably adjusting the ratios of Co and Ni as well as the calcination temperature, the electrochemical performance can be tuned. An optimized amorphous Ni-Co pyrophosphate exhibits much higher specific capacitance than monometallic Ni and Co pyrophosphates and shows excellent cycling ability. When employing Ni-Co pyrophosphates as positive electrode and activated carbon as a negative electrode, the fabricated asymmetric supercapacitor cell exhibits favorable capacitance and cycling ability. This study provides facile methods to improve the transition metal pyrophosphate electrodes for efficient electrodes in electrochemical energy storage devices.

  2. Evaluation of a 3D point cloud tetrahedral tomographic reconstruction method

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pereira, N. F.; Sitek, A.

    2010-09-01

    Tomographic reconstruction on an irregular grid may be superior to reconstruction on a regular grid. This is achieved through an appropriate choice of the image space model, the selection of an optimal set of points and the use of any available prior information during the reconstruction process. Accordingly, a number of reconstruction-related parameters must be optimized for best performance. In this work, a 3D point cloud tetrahedral mesh reconstruction method is evaluated for quantitative tasks. A linear image model is employed to obtain the reconstruction system matrix and five point generation strategies are studied. The evaluation is performed using the recovery coefficient, as well as voxel- and template-based estimates of bias and variance measures, computed over specific regions in the reconstructed image. A similar analysis is performed for regular grid reconstructions that use voxel basis functions. The maximum likelihood expectation maximization reconstruction algorithm is used. For the tetrahedral reconstructions, of the five point generation methods that are evaluated, three use image priors. For evaluation purposes, an object consisting of overlapping spheres with varying activity is simulated. The exact parallel projection data of this object are obtained analytically using a parallel projector, and multiple Poisson noise realizations of these exact data are generated and reconstructed using the different point generation strategies. The unconstrained nature of point placement in some of the irregular mesh-based reconstruction strategies has superior activity recovery for small, low-contrast image regions. The results show that, with an appropriately generated set of mesh points, the irregular grid reconstruction methods can out-perform reconstructions on a regular grid for mathematical phantoms, in terms of the performance measures evaluated.

  3. Evaluation of a 3D point cloud tetrahedral tomographic reconstruction method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pereira, N F; Sitek, A

    2010-01-01

    Tomographic reconstruction on an irregular grid may be superior to reconstruction on a regular grid. This is achieved through an appropriate choice of the image space model, the selection of an optimal set of points and the use of any available prior information during the reconstruction process. Accordingly, a number of reconstruction-related parameters must be optimized for best performance. In this work, a 3D point cloud tetrahedral mesh reconstruction method is evaluated for quantitative tasks. A linear image model is employed to obtain the reconstruction system matrix and five point generation strategies are studied. The evaluation is performed using the recovery coefficient, as well as voxel- and template-based estimates of bias and variance measures, computed over specific regions in the reconstructed image. A similar analysis is performed for regular grid reconstructions that use voxel basis functions. The maximum likelihood expectation maximization reconstruction algorithm is used. For the tetrahedral reconstructions, of the five point generation methods that are evaluated, three use image priors. For evaluation purposes, an object consisting of overlapping spheres with varying activity is simulated. The exact parallel projection data of this object are obtained analytically using a parallel projector, and multiple Poisson noise realizations of these exact data are generated and reconstructed using the different point generation strategies. The unconstrained nature of point placement in some of the irregular mesh-based reconstruction strategies has superior activity recovery for small, low-contrast image regions. The results show that, with an appropriately generated set of mesh points, the irregular grid reconstruction methods can out-perform reconstructions on a regular grid for mathematical phantoms, in terms of the performance measures evaluated.

  4. Evaluation of a 3D point cloud tetrahedral tomographic reconstruction method

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pereira, N F; Sitek, A, E-mail: nfp4@bwh.harvard.ed, E-mail: asitek@bwh.harvard.ed [Department of Radiology, Brigham and Women' s Hospital-Harvard Medical School Boston, MA (United States)

    2010-09-21

    Tomographic reconstruction on an irregular grid may be superior to reconstruction on a regular grid. This is achieved through an appropriate choice of the image space model, the selection of an optimal set of points and the use of any available prior information during the reconstruction process. Accordingly, a number of reconstruction-related parameters must be optimized for best performance. In this work, a 3D point cloud tetrahedral mesh reconstruction method is evaluated for quantitative tasks. A linear image model is employed to obtain the reconstruction system matrix and five point generation strategies are studied. The evaluation is performed using the recovery coefficient, as well as voxel- and template-based estimates of bias and variance measures, computed over specific regions in the reconstructed image. A similar analysis is performed for regular grid reconstructions that use voxel basis functions. The maximum likelihood expectation maximization reconstruction algorithm is used. For the tetrahedral reconstructions, of the five point generation methods that are evaluated, three use image priors. For evaluation purposes, an object consisting of overlapping spheres with varying activity is simulated. The exact parallel projection data of this object are obtained analytically using a parallel projector, and multiple Poisson noise realizations of these exact data are generated and reconstructed using the different point generation strategies. The unconstrained nature of point placement in some of the irregular mesh-based reconstruction strategies has superior activity recovery for small, low-contrast image regions. The results show that, with an appropriately generated set of mesh points, the irregular grid reconstruction methods can out-perform reconstructions on a regular grid for mathematical phantoms, in terms of the performance measures evaluated.

  5. Colors and the evolution of amorphous galaxies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gallagher, J.S. III; Hunter, D.A.

    1987-01-01

    UBVRI and H-alpha photometric observations are presented for 16 amorphous galaxies and a comparison sample of Magellanic irregular (Im) and Sc spiral galaxies. These data are analyzed in terms of star-formation rates and histories in amorphous galaxies. Amorphous galaxies have mean global colors and star-formation rates per unit area that are similar to those in giant Im systems, despite differences in spatial distributions of star-forming centers in these two galactic structural classes. Amorphous galaxies differ from giant Im systems in having somewhat wider scatter in relationships between B - V and U - B colors, and between U - B and L(H-alpha)/L(B). This scatter is interpreted as resulting from rapid variations in star-formation rates during the recent past, which could be a natural consequence of the concentration of star-forming activity into centrally located, supergiant young stellar complexes in many amorphous galaxies. While the unusual spatial distribution and intensity of star formation in some amorphous galaxies is due to interactions with other galaxies, several amorphous galaxies are relatively isolated and thus the processes must be internal. The ultimate evolutionary fate of rapidly evolving amorphous galaxies remains unknown. 77 references

  6. Electron paramagnetic resonance and Raman spectroscopy studies on carbon-doped MgB2 superconductor nanomaterials

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bateni, Ali; Somer, Mehmet; Erdem, Emre; Repp, Sergej; Weber, Stefan; Acar, Selcuk; Kokal, Ilkin; Häßler, Wolfgang

    2015-01-01

    Undoped and carbon-doped magnesium diboride (MgB 2 ) samples were synthesized using two sets of mixtures prepared from the precursors, amorphous nanoboron, and as-received amorphous carbon-doped nanoboron. The microscopic defect structures of carbon-doped MgB 2 samples were systematically investigated using X-ray powder diffraction, Raman and electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy. Mg vacancies and C-related dangling-bond active centers could be distinguished, and sp 3 -hybridized carbon radicals were detected. A strong reduction in the critical temperature T c was observed due to defects and crystal distortion. The symmetry effect of the latter is also reflected on the vibrational modes in the Raman spectra

  7. Self-assembled MoS2–carbon nanostructures: influence of nanostructuring and carbon on lithium battery performance

    KAUST Repository

    Das, Shyamal K.

    2012-01-01

    Composites of MoS 2 and amorphous carbon are grown and self-assembled into hierarchical nanostructures via a hydrothermal method. Application of the composites as high-energy electrodes for rechargeable lithium-ion batteries is investigated. The critical roles of nanostructuring of MoS 2 and carbon composition on lithium-ion battery performance are highlighted. © 2012 The Royal Society of Chemistry.

  8. A graphene oxide-carbon nanotube grid for high-resolution transmission electron microscopy of nanomaterials

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang Lina; Zhang Haoxu; Zhou Ruifeng; Chen Zhuo; Li Qunqing; Fan Shoushan; Jiang Kaili; Ge Guanglu; Liu Renxiao

    2011-01-01

    A novel grid for use in transmission electron microscopy is developed. The supporting film of the grid is composed of thin graphene oxide films overlying a super-aligned carbon nanotube network. The composite film combines the advantages of graphene oxide and carbon nanotube networks and has the following properties: it is ultra-thin, it has a large flat and smooth effective supporting area with a homogeneous amorphous appearance, high stability, and good conductivity. The graphene oxide-carbon nanotube grid has a distinct advantage when characterizing the fine structure of a mass of nanomaterials over conventional amorphous carbon grids. Clear high-resolution transmission electron microscopy images of various nanomaterials are obtained easily using the new grids.

  9. Self-assembled MoS2–carbon nanostructures: influence of nanostructuring and carbon on lithium battery performance

    KAUST Repository

    Das, Shyamal K.; Mallavajula, Rajesh; Jayaprakash, Navaneedhakrishnan; Archer, Lynden A.

    2012-01-01

    Composites of MoS 2 and amorphous carbon are grown and self-assembled into hierarchical nanostructures via a hydrothermal method. Application of the composites as high-energy electrodes for rechargeable lithium-ion batteries is investigated

  10. Preparation, physical-chemical characterisation and cytocompatibility of calcium carbonate cements

    OpenAIRE

    Combes, Christèle; Miao, Baoji; Bareille, Reine; Rey, Christian

    2006-01-01

    The feasibility of calcium carbonate cements involving the recrystallisation of metastable calcium carbonate varieties has been demonstrated. Calcium carbonate cement compositions presented in this paper can be prepared straightforwardly by simply mixing water (liquid phase) with two calcium carbonate phases (solid phase) which can be easily obtained by precipitation. An original cement composition was obtained by mixing amorphous calcium carbonate and vaterite with an aqueous medium. The cem...

  11. Verification of the three-dimensional tetrahedral grid S{sub N} code THOR

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Schunert, S. [Department of Nuclear Engineering, North Carolina State University (United States); Ferrer, R. [Studsvik Scandpower, Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Azmy, Y. [Department of Nuclear Engineering, North Carolina State University (United States)

    2013-07-01

    In this work current capabilities implemented in the novel, arbitrary-order, tetrahedral-grid short characteristics S{sub N} radiation transport code THOR are verified based on four benchmark problems: (1) A one-group Method of Manufactured Solution (MMS) problem on a cuboidal domain, (2) an infinite medium eigenvalue problem with up-scattering, (3) a homogeneous torus and (4) a bare cube eigenvalue problem with anisotropic scattering up to order three. The first benchmark problem exercises the various spatial discretization options available in THOR: The short characteristics method in conjunction with polynomial expansions of the source and face fluxes either using the complete or Lagrange family of arbitrary orders. Using the numerical solution's order of convergence test in the framework of a mesh refinement study, correct implementation of a selection of spatial expansion orders is demonstrated for two meshes with tetrahedral aspect ratios close to unity and 50. The second benchmark problem exercises the implementation of angular fluxes on reflective boundary faces that are implicit within a mesh sweep, and up-scattering. The third benchmark problem comprises cyclic dependencies within the mesh sweep thus exercising the algorithm devised for 'breaking' the cyclic dependencies. Finally, the fourth benchmark problem, a simple bare cube, is used to test correct implementation of the anisotropic scattering capability. For all test problems THOR obtains solutions that converge to the reference/exact solution with the expected rate thereby contributing to our confidence in the correctness of its tested features in the present implementation. (authors)

  12. Synthesis of BiFeO 3 by carbonate precipitation

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Magnetoelectric multiferroic BiFeO3 (BFO) was synthesized by a simple carbonate precipitation technique of metal nitrate solutions. X-ray powder diffraction and thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA) revealed that the precipitate consists of an intimate mixture of crystalline bismuth carbonate and an amorphous hydroxide of ...

  13. A new method of preparing single-walled carbon nanotubes

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    A novel method of purification for single-walled carbon nanotubes, prepared by an arc-discharge method, is described. The method involves a combination of acid washing followed by high temperature hydrogen treatment to remove the metal nanoparticles and amorphous carbon present in the as-synthesized singlewalled ...

  14. The asc trinodal platform: Two-step assembly of triangular, tetrahedral, and trigonal-prismatic molecular building blocks

    KAUST Repository

    Schoedel, Alexander; Cairns, Amy; Belmabkhout, Youssef; Wojtas, Łukasz; Mohamed, Mona Hassan; Zhang, ZhenJie; Proserpio, Davide Maria; Eddaoudi, Mohamed; Zaworotko, Michael J.

    2013-01-01

    The self-assembly of triangular, tetrahedral, and trigonal-prismatic molecular building blocks affords the first example of a trinodal family of metal-organic materials. Four examples of isoreticular expanded and functionalized frameworks are detailed. Gas adsorption experiments validated the permanent porosity of the parent structure. Copyright © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  15. The asc trinodal platform: Two-step assembly of triangular, tetrahedral, and trigonal-prismatic molecular building blocks

    KAUST Repository

    Schoedel, Alexander

    2013-02-10

    The self-assembly of triangular, tetrahedral, and trigonal-prismatic molecular building blocks affords the first example of a trinodal family of metal-organic materials. Four examples of isoreticular expanded and functionalized frameworks are detailed. Gas adsorption experiments validated the permanent porosity of the parent structure. Copyright © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  16. Nano structures of amorphous silicon: localization and energy gap

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Z Nourbakhsh

    2013-10-01

    Full Text Available Renewable energy research has created a push for new materials; one of the most attractive material in this field is quantum confined hybrid silicon nano-structures (nc-Si:H embedded in hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H. The essential step for this investigation is studying a-Si and its ability to produce quantum confinement (QC in nc-Si: H. Increasing the gap of a-Si system causes solar cell efficiency to increase. By computational calculations based on Density Functional Theory (DFT, we calculated a special localization factor, [G Allan et al., Phys. Rev. B 57 (1997 6933.], for the states close to HOMO and LUMO in a-Si, and found most weak-bond Si atoms. By removing these silicon atoms and passivating the system with hydrogen, we were able to increase the gap in the a-Si system. As more than 8% hydrogenate was not experimentally available, we removed about 2% of the most localized Si atoms in the almost tetrahedral a-Si system. After removing localized Si atoms in the system with 1000 Si atoms, and adding 8% H, the gap increased about 0.24 eV. Variation of the gap as a function of hydrogen percentage was in good agreement with the Tight –Binding results, but about 2 times more than its experimental value. This might come from the fact that in the experimental conditions, it does not have the chance to remove the most localized states. However, by improving the experimental conditions and technology, this value can be improved.

  17. Tribological performance of hard carbon coatings on 440C bearing steel

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kustas, F M; Misra, M S; Shepard, D F; Froechtenigt, J F [Martin Marietta Astronautics Group, Denver, CO (United States)

    1991-11-01

    Hard carbon coatings such as amorphous carbon, diamond and diamond-like carbon have received considerable attention for tribological applications owing to their high hardness, high modulus and desirable surface properties. Unfortunately, most of the deposition techniques induce high substrate temperatures that would temper traditional bearing steels and reduce the substrate load-carrying capability. Therefore, to effectively use these desirable coatings, a lower temperature deposition technique is required. Ion beam deposition can provide essentially ambient temperature conditions, accurate control of process parameters and good coating-substrate adhesion. To use these attributes, a test program was initiated to deposit mass-analyzed, high purity C{sup +} and CH{sub 4}{sup +} ions on molybdenum and 440C bearing steel for subsequent characterization by Raman spectroscopy and friction-wear tests. Results for a coating deposited from a carbon monoxide source showed an amorphous carbon-microcrystalline graphtie structure which exhibited very high microhardness and a three fold reduction in coefficient of friction for unlubricated tests compared to untreated 440C steel. In addition, incrementally increasing the applied load (by up to a factor of 5) resulted in progressively lower coefficients of friction, which conforms to solid lubrication theory. End-of-travel wear debris and some limited coating delamination were observed within thinner areas of the coating. Therefore an amorphous carbon-graphite coating applied to 440C steel at ambient temperature exhibits solid lubricating film characteristics with high load-carrying capability. (orig.).

  18. Broadband three-dimensional diamond-shaped invisible cloaks composed of tetrahedral homogeneous blocks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang Xinhua; Qu Shaobo; Wu Xiang; Wang Jiafu; Ma Hua; Xu Zhuo

    2010-01-01

    By means of embedded optical transformation, three-dimensional diamond-shaped invisible cloaks composed of tetrahedral homogeneous blocks have been designed in this paper. The constitutive parameters of the invisible cloaks can be obtained based on the form invariance of Maxwell's equations in coordinate transformation. Numerical methods using the finite element method verified the diamond-shaped cloaks. The invisible properties of the designed cloaks are nearly perfect when the original line section is sufficiently short compared with its counterpart in the after-transformed space. The designed cloaks can operate in a wide bandwidth due to the line transformation in the coordinate transformation process.

  19. Structure, thermodynamics, and crystallization of amorphous hafnia

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Luo, Xuhui; Demkov, Alexander A.

    2015-01-01

    We investigate theoretically amorphous hafnia using the first principles melt and quench method. We identify two types of amorphous structures of hafnia. Type I and type II are related to tetragonal and monoclinic hafnia, respectively. We find type II structure to show stronger disorder than type I. Using the phonon density of states, we calculate the specific heat capacity for type II amorphous hafnia. Using the nudged elastic band method, we show that the averaged transition barrier between the type II amorphous hafnia and monoclinic phase is approximately 0.09 eV/HfO 2 . The crystallization temperature is estimated to be 421 K. The calculations suggest an explanation for the low thermal stability of amorphous hafnia

  20. Amorphous-crystalline transition in thermoelectric NbO2

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Music, Denis; Chen, Yen-Ting; Bliem, Pascal; Geyer, Richard W

    2015-01-01

    Density functional theory was employed to design enhanced amorphous NbO 2 thermoelectrics. The covalent-ionic nature of Nb–O bonding is identical in amorphous NbO 2 and its crystalline counterpart. However, the Anderson localisation occurs in amorphous NbO 2 , which may affect the transport properties. We calculate a multifold increase in the absolute Seebeck coefficient for the amorphous state. These predictions were critically appraised by measuring the Seebeck coefficient of sputtered amorphous and crystalline NbO 2 thin films with the identical short-range order. The first-order phase transition occurs at approximately 550 °C, but amorphous NbO 2 possesses enhanced transport properties at all temperatures. Amorphous NbO 2 , reaching  −173 μV K −1 , exhibits up to a 29% larger absolute Seebeck coefficient value, thereby validating the predictions. (paper)

  1. Ultra-fine SnO2 nanoparticles doubly embedded in amorphous carbon and reduced graphene oxide (rGO) for superior lithium storage

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sher Shah, Md. Selim Arif; Lee, Jooyoung; Park, A. Reum; Choi, Youngjin; Kim, Woo-Jae; Park, Juhyun; Chung, Chan-Hwa; Kim, Jaeyun; Lim, Byungkwon; Yoo, Pil J.

    2017-01-01

    SnO 2 is a well-studied anode material for lithium ion batteries (LIBs). However, it undergoes severe capacity fading because of a large volume change (∼300%) during cycling. Composites of SnO 2 with electro-conductive graphene would deliver improved capacity and rate performance. Nevertheless, achieving the theoretical capacity of SnO 2 is still elusive, mainly because of disintegration of the active material from graphene and severe aggregation of SnO 2 , or Sn nanoparticles produced upon cycling. To surmount these limitations, in this work, nanocomposites containing ultra-fine sized SnO 2 nanoparticles (UFSN) with reduced graphene oxide and amorphous carbon were synthesized in a single step at low temperature and environmentally benign way, in which ascorbic acid was employed as the carbon source and reducing agent. UFSN could decrease the lithium ion diffusion path length. As a result of effective buffering effect afforded by the mesoporous structure against volume change and improved lithium ion diffusivity, the ternary nanocomposite achieves ultra-high capacity of 1245 mAh g −1 after 210 cycles at 100 mA g −1 and excellent cycling stability. Since the proposed approach is facile, straightforward, and highly reproducible, it is anticipated that this system would be a potential alternative to the conventional graphite anode for LIBs.

  2. Carbon–carbon bond cleavage for Cu-mediated aromatic trifluoromethylations and pentafluoroethylations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tsuyuka Sugiishi

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available This short review highlights the copper-mediated fluoroalkylation using perfluoroalkylated carboxylic acid derivatives. Carbon–carbon bond cleavage of perfluoroalkylated carboxylic acid derivatives takes place in fluoroalkylation reactions at high temperature (150–200 °C or under basic conditions to generate fluoroalkyl anion sources for the formation of fluoroalkylcopper species. The fluoroalkylation reactions, which proceed through decarboxylation or tetrahedral intermediates, are useful protocols for the synthesis of fluoroalkylated aromatics.

  3. Energy of the Isolated Metastable Iron-Nickel FCC Nanocluster with a Carbon Atom in the Tetragonal Interstice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bondarenko, Natalya V; Nedolya, Anatoliy V

    2017-12-01

    The energy of the isolated iron-nickel nanocluster was calculated by molecular mechanics method using Lennard-Jones potential. The cluster included a carbon atom that drifted from an inside octahedral interstice to a tetrahedral interstice in [Formula: see text] direction and after that in direction to the surface. In addition, one of 14 iron atoms was replaced by a nickel atom, the position of which was changing during simulation.The energy of the nanocluster was estimated at the different interatomic distances. As a result of simulation, the optimal interatomic distances of Fe-Ni-C nanocluster was chosen for the simulation, in which height of the potential barrier was maximal and face-centered cubic (FCC) nanocluster was the most stable.It is shown that there were three main positions of a nickel atom that significantly affected nanocluster's energy.The calculation results indicated that position of the carbon atom in the octahedral interstice was more energetically favorable than tetrahedral interstice in the case of FCC nanocluster. On the other side, the potential barrier was smaller in the direction [Formula: see text] than in the direction .This indicates that there are two ways for carbon atom to drift to the surface of the nanocluster.

  4. Model for amorphous aggregation processes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stranks, Samuel D.; Ecroyd, Heath; van Sluyter, Steven; Waters, Elizabeth J.; Carver, John A.; von Smekal, Lorenz

    2009-11-01

    The amorphous aggregation of proteins is associated with many phenomena, ranging from the formation of protein wine haze to the development of cataract in the eye lens and the precipitation of recombinant proteins during their expression and purification. While much literature exists describing models for linear protein aggregation, such as amyloid fibril formation, there are few reports of models which address amorphous aggregation. Here, we propose a model to describe the amorphous aggregation of proteins which is also more widely applicable to other situations where a similar process occurs, such as in the formation of colloids and nanoclusters. As first applications of the model, we have tested it against experimental turbidimetry data of three proteins relevant to the wine industry and biochemistry, namely, thaumatin, a thaumatinlike protein, and α -lactalbumin. The model is very robust and describes amorphous experimental data to a high degree of accuracy. Details about the aggregation process, such as shape parameters of the aggregates and rate constants, can also be extracted.

  5. Superplasticity of amorphous alloy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Levin, Yu.B.; Likhachev, V.L.; Sen'kov, O.N.

    1988-01-01

    Results of mechanical tests of Co 57 Ni 10 Fe 5 Si 11 B 17 amorphous alloy are presented and the effect of crystallization, occurring during deformation process, on plastic low characteristics is investiagted. Superplasticity of amorphous tape is investigated. It is shown, that this effect occurs only when during deformation the crystallization takes place. Process model, based on the usage disclination concepts about glass nature, is suggested

  6. The Case for Tetrahedral Oxy-subhydride (TOSH Structures in the Exclusion Zones of Anchored Polar Solvents Including Water

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Klaus Oehr

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available We hypothesize a mechanistic model of how negatively-charged exclusion zones (EZs are created. While the growth of EZs is known to be associated with the absorption of ambient photonic energy, the molecular dynamics giving rise to this process need greater elucidation. We believe they arise due to the formation of oxy-subhydride structures (OH−(H2O4 with a tetrahedral (sp3 (OH−(H2O3 core. Five experimental data sets derived by previous researchers were assessed in this regard: (1 water-derived EZ light absorbance at specific infrared wavelengths, (2 EZ negative potential in water and ethanol, (3 maximum EZ light absorbance at 270 nm ultraviolet wavelength, (4 ability of dimethyl sulphoxide but not ether to form an EZ, and (5 transitory nature of melting ice derived EZs. The proposed tetrahedral oxy-subhydride structures (TOSH appear to adequately account for all of the experimental evidence derived from water or other polar solvents.

  7. Amorphous silicon ionizing particle detectors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Street, Robert A.; Mendez, Victor P.; Kaplan, Selig N.

    1988-01-01

    Amorphous silicon ionizing particle detectors having a hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a--Si:H) thin film deposited via plasma assisted chemical vapor deposition techniques are utilized to detect the presence, position and counting of high energy ionizing particles, such as electrons, x-rays, alpha particles, beta particles and gamma radiation.

  8. Emerging trends in the stabilization of amorphous drugs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Laitinen, Riikka; Löbmann, Korbinian; Strachan, Clare J; Grohganz, Holger; Rades, Thomas

    2013-08-30

    The number of active pharmaceutical substances having high therapeutic potential but low water solubility is constantly increasing, making it difficult to formulate these compounds as oral dosage forms. The solubility and dissolution rate, and thus potentially the bioavailability, of these poorly water-soluble drugs can be increased by the formation of stabilized amorphous forms. Currently, formulation as solid polymer dispersions is the preferred method to enhance drug dissolution and to stabilize the amorphous form of a drug. The purpose of this review is to highlight emerging alternative methods to amorphous polymer dispersions for stabilizing the amorphous form of drugs. First, an overview of the properties and stabilization mechanisms of amorphous forms is provided. Subsequently, formulation approaches such as the preparation of co-amorphous small-molecule mixtures and the use of mesoporous silicon and silica-based carriers are presented as potential means to increase the stability of amorphous pharmaceuticals. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  9. Operating method of amorphous thin film semiconductor element

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mori, Koshiro; Ono, Masaharu; Hanabusa, Akira; Osawa, Michio; Arita, Takashi

    1988-05-31

    The existing technologies concerning amorphous thin film semiconductor elements are the technologies concerning the formation of either a thin film transistor or an amorphous Si solar cell on a substrate. In order to drive a thin film transistor for electronic equipment control by the output power of an amorphous Si solar cell, it has been obliged to drive the transistor weth an amorphous solar cell which was formed on a substrate different from that for the transistor. Accordingly, the space for the amorphous solar cell, which was formed on the different substrate, was additionally needed on the substrate for the thin film transistor. In order to solve the above problem, this invention proposes an operating method of an amorphous thin film semiconductor element that after forming an amorphous Si solar cell through lamination on the insulation coating film which covers the thin film transistor formed on the substrate, the thin film transistor is driven by the output power of this solar cell. The invention eliminates the above superfluous space and reduces the size of the amorphous thin film semiconductor element including the electric source. (3 figs)

  10. Crystallization inhibitors for amorphous oxides

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Reznitskij, L.A.; Filippova, S.E.

    1993-01-01

    Data for the last 10 years, in which experimental results of studying the temperature stabilization of x-ray amorphous oxides (including R 3 Fe 5 O 12 R-rare earths, ZrO 2 , In 2 O 3 , Sc 2 O 3 ) and their solid solution are presented, are generalized. Processes of amorphous oxide crystallization with the production of simple oxides, solid solutions and chemical compounds with different polyhedral structure, are investigated. Energy and crystallochemical criteria for selecting the doping inhibitor-components stabilizing the amorphous state are ascertained, temperatures and enthalpies of amorpous oxide crystallization are determined, examination of certain provisions of iso,orphous miscibility theory is conducted

  11. Solid state photochemistry. Subpanel A-2(b): Metastability in hydrogenated amorphous silicon

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Carlson, D. [Solarex Corporation, Newton, PA (United States)

    1996-09-01

    All device quality amorphous silicon based materials exhibit degradation in electronic properties when exposed to sunlight. The photo-induced defects are associated with Si dangling bonds that are created by the recombination and/or trapping of photogenerated carriers. The defects are metastable and can be annealed out at temperatures of about 150 to 200 degrees Centigrade. The density of metastable defects is larger in films that are contaminated with > 10{sup 19} per cubic cm of impurities such as oxygen, carbon and nitrogen. However, recent experimental results indicate that some metastable defects are still present in films with very low impurity concentrations. The photo-induced defects typically saturate after 100 to 1000 hours of exposure to one sun illumination depending on the deposition conditions. There is also experimental evidence that photo-induced structural changes are occurring in the amorphous silicon based materials and that hydrogen may be playing an important role in both the photo-induced structural changes and in the creation of metastable defects.

  12. Study of SEY degradation of amorphous carbon coatings

    CERN Document Server

    Bundaleski, N.; Santos, A.; Teodoro, O.M.N.D.; Silva, A.G.

    2013-04-22

    Deposition of low secondary electron yield (SEY) carbon coatings by magnetron sputtering onto the inner walls of the accelerator seems to be the most promising solution for suppressing the electron cloud problem. However, these coatings change their electron emission properties during long term exposure to air. The ageing process of carbon coated samples with initial SEY of about 0.9 received from CERN is studied as a function of exposure to different environments. It is shown that samples having the same initial SEY may age with different rates. The SEY increase can be correlated with the surface concentration of oxygen. Annealing of samples in air at 100-200 {\\deg}C reduces the ageing rate and even recovers previously degraded samples. The result of annealing is reduction of the hydrogen content in the coatings by triggering its surface segregation followed by desorption.

  13. Spectroscopic criteria for identification of nuclear tetrahedral and octahedral symmetries: Illustration on a rare earth nucleus

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dudek, J.; Curien, D.; Dedes, I.; Mazurek, K.; Tagami, S.; Shimizu, Y. R.; Bhattacharjee, T.

    2018-02-01

    We formulate criteria for identification of the nuclear tetrahedral and octahedral symmetries and illustrate for the first time their possible realization in a rare earth nucleus 152Sm. We use realistic nuclear mean-field theory calculations with the phenomenological macroscopic-microscopic method, the Gogny-Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov approach, and general point-group theory considerations to guide the experimental identification method as illustrated on published experimental data. Following group theory the examined symmetries imply the existence of exotic rotational bands on whose properties the spectroscopic identification criteria are based. These bands may contain simultaneously states of even and odd spins, of both parities and parity doublets at well-defined spins. In the exact-symmetry limit those bands involve no E 2 transitions. We show that coexistence of tetrahedral and octahedral deformations is essential when calculating the corresponding energy minima and surrounding barriers, and that it has a characteristic impact on the rotational bands. The symmetries in question imply the existence of long-lived shape isomers and, possibly, new waiting point nuclei—impacting the nucleosynthesis processes in astrophysics—and an existence of 16-fold degenerate particle-hole excitations. Specifically designed experiments which aim at strengthening the identification arguments are briefly discussed.

  14. Electron paramagnetic resonance and Raman spectroscopy studies on carbon-doped MgB{sub 2} superconductor nanomaterials

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bateni, Ali; Somer, Mehmet, E-mail: emre.erdem@physchem.uni-freiburg.de, E-mail: msomer@ku.edu.tr [Department of Chemistry, Koc University, RumelifeneriYolu, Sariyer, Istanbul (Turkey); Erdem, Emre, E-mail: emre.erdem@physchem.uni-freiburg.de, E-mail: msomer@ku.edu.tr; Repp, Sergej; Weber, Stefan [Institut für Physikalische Chemie, Universität Freiburg, Albertstr. 21, 79104 Freiburg (Germany); Acar, Selcuk; Kokal, Ilkin [Pavezyum Kimya Sanayi Dış Ticaret LTD. ŞTI., Tuzla, Istanbul (Turkey); Häßler, Wolfgang [Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research Dresden (IFW), P.O. Box 270116, 01171 Dresden (Germany)

    2015-04-21

    Undoped and carbon-doped magnesium diboride (MgB{sub 2}) samples were synthesized using two sets of mixtures prepared from the precursors, amorphous nanoboron, and as-received amorphous carbon-doped nanoboron. The microscopic defect structures of carbon-doped MgB{sub 2} samples were systematically investigated using X-ray powder diffraction, Raman and electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy. Mg vacancies and C-related dangling-bond active centers could be distinguished, and sp{sup 3}-hybridized carbon radicals were detected. A strong reduction in the critical temperature T{sub c} was observed due to defects and crystal distortion. The symmetry effect of the latter is also reflected on the vibrational modes in the Raman spectra.

  15. Ab initio simulation of amorphous silicon

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cooper, N.C.; McKenzie, D.R.; Goringe, C.M.

    1999-01-01

    Full text: A first-principles Car-Parrinello molecular dynamics simulation of amorphous silicon is presented. Density Functional Theory is used to describe the forces between the atoms in a 64 atom supercell which is periodically repeated throughout space in order to generate an infinite network of atoms (a good approximation to a real solid). A quench from the liquid phase is used to achieve a quenched amorphous structure, which is subjected to an annealing cycle to improve its stability. The final, annealed network is in better agreement with experiment than any previous simulation of amorphous silicon. Significantly, the predicted average first-coordination numbers of 3.56 and 3.84 for the quenched and annealed structures from this simulation agree very closely with the experimental values of 3.55 and 3.90 respectively, whereas all previous simulations yielded first coordination numbers greater than 4. This improved agreement in coordination numbers is important because it supports the experimental finding that dangling bonds (which are associated with under-coordinated atoms) are more prevalent than floating bonds (the strained, longer bond of a five coordinate atom) in pure amorphous silicon. Finally, the effect of adding hydrogen to amorphous silicon was investigated by specifically placing hydrogen atoms at the likely defect sites. After a structural relaxation to optimise the positions of these hydrogen atoms, the localised electronic states associated with these defects are absent. Thus hydrogen is responsible for removing these defect states (which are able to trap carriers) from the edge of the band gap of the amorphous silicon. These results confirm the widely held ideas about the effect of hydrogen in producing remarkable improvements in the electronic properties of amorphous silicon

  16. Neutron irradiation induced amorphization of silicon carbide

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Snead, L.L.; Hay, J.C.

    1998-01-01

    This paper provides the first known observation of silicon carbide fully amorphized under neutron irradiation. Both high purity single crystal hcp and high purity, highly faulted (cubic) chemically vapor deposited (CVD) SiC were irradiated at approximately 60 C to a total fast neutron fluence of 2.6 x 10 25 n/m 2 . Amorphization was seen in both materials, as evidenced by TEM, electron diffraction, and x-ray diffraction techniques. Physical properties for the amorphized single crystal material are reported including large changes in density (-10.8%), elastic modulus as measured using a nanoindentation technique (-45%), hardness as measured by nanoindentation (-45%), and standard Vickers hardness (-24%). Similar property changes are observed for the critical temperature for amorphization at this neutron dose and flux, above which amorphization is not possible, is estimated to be greater than 130 C

  17. The chemical composition and band gap of amorphous Si:C:N:H layers

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Swatowska, Barbara, E-mail: swatow@agh.edu.pl [AGH University of Science and Technology, Department of Electronics, Mickiewicza Av. 30, 30-059 Krakow (Poland); Kluska, Stanislawa; Jurzecka-Szymacha, Maria [AGH University of Science and Technology, Faculty of Materials Science and Ceramics, Mickiewicza Av. 30, 30-059 Krakow (Poland); Stapinski, Tomasz [AGH University of Science and Technology, Department of Electronics, Mickiewicza Av. 30, 30-059 Krakow (Poland); Tkacz-Smiech, Katarzyna [AGH University of Science and Technology, Faculty of Materials Science and Ceramics, Mickiewicza Av. 30, 30-059 Krakow (Poland)

    2016-05-15

    Highlights: • Six type of amorphous hydrogenated films were obtained and analysed. • Investigated chemical bondings strongly influenced energy gap values. • Analysed layers could be applied as semiconductors and also as dielectrics. - Abstract: In this work we presented the correlation between the chemical composition of amorphous Si:C:N:H layers of various content of silicon, carbon and nitrogen, and their band gap. The series of amorphous Si:C:N:H layers were obtained by plasma assisted chemical vapour deposition method in which plasma was generated by RF (13.56 MHz, 300 W) and MW (2.45 GHz, 2 kW) onto monocrystalline silicon Si(001) and borosilicate glass. Structural studies were based on FTIR transmission spectrum registered within wavenumbers 400–4000 cm{sup −1}. The presence of Si−C, Si−N, C−N, C=N, C=C, C≡N, Si−H and C−H bonds was shown. The values band gap of the layers have been determined from spectrophotometric and ellipsometric measurements. The respective values are contained in the range between 1.64 eV – characteristic for typical semiconductor and 4.21 eV – for good dielectric, depending on the chemical composition and atomic structure of the layers.

  18. Crystal growth of carbonate apatite using a CaCO3 flux.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Suetsugu, Y; Tanaka, J

    1999-09-01

    Single crystals of carbonate apatite were grown using a CaCO3 flux under an Ar gas pressure of 55 MPa. The crystals obtained were observed by scanning electron microscopy, optical microscopy and X-ray diffraction. Electron probe microanalyses and thermal analyses were performed. CO3 ions in planar triangle form replaced both OH sites and PO4 tetrahedral sites in the apatite structure: in particular, the OH sites were perfectly substituted by CO3 ions using this method.

  19. Nitrogen doping for adhesion improvement of DLC film deposited on Si substrate by Filtered Cathodic Vacuum Arc (FCVA) technique

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bootkul, D., E-mail: mo_duangkhae@hotmail.com [Department of General Science, Faculty of Science, Srinakharinwirot University, Bangkok 10110 (Thailand); Supsermpol, B.; Saenphinit, N. [Western Digital Company, Ayutthaya 13160 (Thailand); Aramwit, C. [Plasma and Beam Physics Research Facility, Department of Physics and Materials Science, Faculty of Science, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50202 (Thailand); Intarasiri, S., E-mail: saweat@gmail.com [Science and Technology Research Institute, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50202 (Thailand)

    2014-08-15

    Diamond-like carbon (DLC) films have been used in many applications due to their attractive combination of properties including chemical inertness, corrosion protection, biocompatibility, high hardness, and low wear rates. However, they still have some limitations such as high internal stresses and low toughness which lead to poor adhesion of films. Synthesis of nitrogen-doped DLC (N-DLC) offers the possibility of overcoming these limitations. In this study, DLC films, namely tetrahedral amorphous carbon (ta-C) and nitrogen doped tetrahedral amorphous carbon (ta-C:N) were deposited on single crystalline Si wafer substrates using the Filtered Cathodic Vacuum Arc (FCVA) technique. Film characterizations were carried out by Raman spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), triboindenter tester and nano-scratch tester. Measurement results showed that intentionally doping with nitrogen reduced the carbon sp{sup 3} content and increased the surface roughness in comparison with that of pure ta-C films. The hardness measurement confirmed the Raman and AFM analyses that adding nitrogen in ta-C films decreased the hardness, especially with high nitrogen content. However, the nano-scratch test revealed the increasing of the critical load with nitrogen. This work, then, extended its scope to investigate the properties of double-layer ta-C films which were composed of ta-C:N interlayer of various thickness around 10–30 nm and ta-C top-layer with thickness of around 80 nm. Microstructure characterization demonstrated that a ta-C:N interlayer gradually decreased the sp{sup 3} fraction in the films and increased film roughness whenever the ta-C:N interlayer thickness increased. In this structure, the tribological property in terms of adhesion to the Si substrate was significantly improved by about 20–90%, but the mechanical property in terms of hardness was gradually degraded by about 2–10%, compared to pure ta-C film, when the ta

  20. Heating- and pressure-induced transformations in amorphous and hexagonal ice: A computer simulation study using the TIP4P/2005 model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Engstler, Justin; Giovambattista, Nicolas

    2017-08-01

    We characterize the phase behavior of glassy water by performing extensive out-of-equilibrium molecular dynamics simulations using the TIP4P/2005 water model. Specifically, we study (i) the pressure-induced transformations between low-density (LDA) and high-density amorphous ice (HDA), (ii) the pressure-induced amorphization (PIA) of hexagonal ice (Ih), (iii) the heating-induced LDA-to-HDA transformation at high pressures, (iv) the heating-induced HDA-to-LDA transformation at low and negative pressures, (v) the glass transition temperatures of LDA and HDA as a function of pressure, and (vi) the limit of stability of LDA upon isobaric heating and isothermal decompression (at negative pressures). These transformations are studied systematically, over a wide range of temperatures and pressures, allowing us to construct a P-T phase diagram for glassy TIP4P/2005 water. Our results are in qualitative agreement with experimental observations and with the P-T phase diagram obtained for glassy ST2 water that exhibits a liquid-liquid phase transition and critical point. We also discuss the mechanism for PIA of ice Ih and show that this is a two-step process where first, the hydrogen-bond network (HBN) is distorted and then the HBN abruptly collapses. Remarkably, the collapse of the HB in ice Ih occurs when the average molecular orientations order, a measure of the tetrahedrality of the HBN, is of the same order as in LDA, suggesting a common mechanism for the LDA-to-HDA and Ih-to-HDA transformations.